Chapter 2: Unlikely Friends

Tompah and Kazuki jolted out of the bar together, the doors swinging behind them as they ran out. Kazuki didn't know where Tompah was going to take him, but he did know that this was the best way to get away from Vaush. Eventually, they came to a stop somewhere in the middle of the forest where they knew no one would be following them. The two huffed and puffed gasping for air.

Tompah began to laugh "wow that was fun." Kazuki laughed with him, wondering whether or not he was safe with this person.

"hey, Tompa?" Kazuki stammered.

"Please don't ask me what a contractor is..." Tompah stuttered "There isn't much a point in explaining all those words."

Kazuki couldn't tell whether Tompah was being stubborn like Vaush or if he was really just so unintelligent that he couldn't answer the question. "Could you at least give me the gist?"

Tompah took a seat and caught his breath, holding up a finger as he eventually laid down. Kazuki took the opportunity to sit down at a nearby tree and pulled out a blank white box with a smiley face on it as well as a lighter. He then pulled out what looked like a cigarette from the box and lit it taking a big inhale before exhaling the smoke. Tompah complained about the smell, Making Kazuki ribbet with laughter.

"Are you ready to tell me the gist at least? Oh, and you're free to take a hit if you want".

Tompah waved the offer away with his hand. "Nah no thanks that's not my thing, anyway a contractor is basically like someone who does a job."

Kazuki tilted his head "you mean like an employee?" Kazuki Croaked "why would you ever take an exam to be an employee?"

Tompah got excited "you don't know what a contractor is, yet you have a spirit? "Kazuki's cigarette fell out of his mouth. "Don't worry, I don't mind it, I'm sure a lot of people here hate you for it."

Kazuki nodded his head "I've been called an abomination by many."

Tompah grunted "Yeah that's what they do in Leiss, I don't understand why people hate others with spirits here."

Kazuki was confused as to why and what he was calling a spirit. "What are you talking about, what's a spirit?"

Tompah looked at Kazuki even more confused than Kazuki was. "What do you mean what is a spirit? Don't you have some kind of relic or animal that follows you around?"

Kazuki shook his head. "one day I woke up and I had toad eyes and a frog tongue and had an insane craving for flies. I even started shedding once a week, I call it a curse because that's what it is." Kazuki leaned down to pick up the cig that he dropped. "Anyway, what does my affliction have to do with knowing what a contractor is?"

Tompah smacked his hand to his forehead and grunted. "This is why I told you there's no point in trying to tell you what it is. Just pass the test and be a contractor, your "curse" will get you through it easy." Tompah made quotation marks with his fingers around the word curse.

Kazuki sighed and took another hit off of his cigarette. "Fine, you amuse me, so I'll come with you. where are we going anyway?"

Tompah got up and off the ground and gave Kazuki a hand. "to the exam location."

Kazuki took his hand and pinched the end of his cig to make it stop burning before putting it back in its box. "Okay, now that I can think, How do we find the exam location."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I know how to get there, I just read the map wrong. I went to a different town when I was supposed to go another one." Tompah scratched the back of his head a little embarrassed by his current situation. "Hey, wait do you...do you know how to read a map?" Kazuki pretended as if he didn't hear what he was saying and started whistling.

"The least you could have done was say no" Tompah exclaimed.

"you got the point either way" Kazuki chuckled as Tompah began to walk westward.

They traveled for half of a day, passing a river, trees, and eventually finding a road that they could follow all the way up to a small town. The place looked to be the last place you would ever want to stay the night, however, Kazuki and Tompa both knew that they had no choice. They would only be there for the night. It was a small church town with a worshiping house in the middle followed by homes on either side. In the center of the small-town square was a statue of the god of which Kazuki did not know.

"Hey Tompah, do you know where we are?" Kazuki made sure to stay close to Tompah as he passed by the villagers who glared at him when he walked by.

"Yeah, according to the map this is Boobies."

Kazuki started to laugh uproariously "Wha? That's that the name of a restaurant!"

Tompah's brain stopped when he heard those words. "No, I'm sure that's what it says on the map." Tompah walked up to one of the resident villager women and asked "hey, are we in boobies?" almost immediately after the words exited his lips, the woman laughed and walked away.

Kazuki in between dying of laughter and noticing his friend's failed attempt at flirting, walked up to Tompah "Hey can I see that map by chance?" Kazuki said still recovering from his fit of laughter.

Tompah pulled the map out of his tunic and handed it over completely defeated "I thought you said that you couldn't read a map."

"Well, I can read a map, I just can't read a map" Kazuki opened the map slowly as he spoke.

"yeah, well same here."

"wha? what do you mean by same here" when Kazuki opened the map smoke started coming out of his ears as if his brain had turned off. "also where are we" Kazuki could swear he could hear the gears stop turning in his head.

Tompah laughed and went beside Kazuki and pointed where they were on the map. "See right here, we're in boo-, bood- ..." Upon trying to read the word on the page Tompah's brain stopped working. The realization that Kazuki had, blew his mind.

"Tompa, you can't read? That says doobie's town" Kazuki was more interested in Tompah than he ever had been now.

"Yeah, and you can't read a map." Tompah said as if to try to gotcha him.

"but we can read a map, right?" Kazuki asked. Tompah scrunched up his nose to that answer.

"I was trying to catch you in a sick burn and you just...Sure whatever we can read the map" Tompah felt reverse got by this.

Kazuki was confused as to what frustrated Tompah "maybe we should call it a night. How long are we staying here till?"

Tompah recuperated himself "just for the night. Then we take the train to the next city."

Kazuki got excited "a train? I've never been on one, how often have you used them?"

As Kazuki was talking, Tompah led Kazuki over to the cathedral in the middle of the town "I've been on trains to a lot of places in Liess, well I guess I never went to Rolent, that's the only place in Liess you couldn't travel to by train." As he was talking Tompah made sure to find someone who worked in the cathedral.

Kazuki's throbbed the moment that Tompah said his hometown name. "Have you ever left Leiss?"

Tompah laughed "the only people who leave Leiss are pirates. So, no I've never been anywhere else. It would be nice though."

Before Kazuki was able to respond a nun found the two in their search and walked up to the two of them

"Excuse me, are you two here for a reason?" Her voice was expressly rude to the two of them. "Don't you know how late it is?"

Kazuki made sure to get in her immediate sights so as to not draw attention to Tompah who out of surprise bumped his head on one of the pews.

"Actually, we are here to find a place to stay the night," Kazuki answered quickly. "We are traveling from out of town and thought this would be a good place to stop before hopping on the train."

The nun looked behind him to see Tompah now standing and acting normal as he rubbed his head and unsuccessfully whistled. She then sighed. "Come with me, we have a spare room the two of you can stay."

Kazuki and Tompah did as told following her through to the back of the cathedral and into a room that looked like a children's playroom. The nun then went into a closet pulling out two pillows and blankets for the two of them.

"You two can sleep on the ground. Make sure to wake up before the children come." The nun swiftly left the room as Kazuki went and sat at a corner putting the pillow at his back and leaning on the wall. Tompah on the other hand decided to sleep right next to Kazuki, putting his pillow just a few inches next to where he was sitting. Kazuki confused as to why this stranger felt so comfortable around him turned around to face Tonopah.

"You, ok? Why sleep next to me when there's a whole room?" Kazuki sounded almost annoyed.

"Cuz, I don't like sleeping alone at night. I hope that doesn't bother you." Tompah yawned as he spoke. This then forced Kazuki to yawn as he spoke as well.

"Don't you sleep alone on the train all the time?" Kazuki pulled out his lighter and started to play with it.

"There's always someone I'm sitting next to when I'm on the train." Tompah yawned again. "If I don't have a choice then, of course, I'll just sleep alone. But right now, I have a choice?"

"And you aren't scared I'm gonna kill you or hurt you? I am a complete stranger to you after all."

"You have no reason to do that yet so no." Tompah gave Kazuki a blank look as he said that as if the question Kazuki asked made no sense.

"Yet?" Kazuki started to laugh, "I like the way you think Tompah."

"yeah, so do I" Tompah laughed alongside him "I think you and I are gonna be good friends.

Kazuki agreed with the subtle nod of his head. "Uhm, Tompah"

"Are you gonna ask me what a Contractor is again? I told you it's too hard to ex-."

"Why do you want to be one so bad?" Kazuki interrupted.

Tompah sat up and got into a thinking pose holding his chin with his thumb and index finger. "I dunno."

Kazuki tilted his head at that answer not understanding what he meant. "you want to be a contractor, but you don't know why?"

Tompah sighed "you ask too many hard questions. I guess I just want to be like my dad, He was a contractor back when I was a kid, he was the strongest guy I knew."

Kazuki continued to play with the lighter in his hands "so contractors are strong, huh?" Kazuki croaked unwillingly.

Tompah laid back down on the ground looking up at the ceiling before yawning again "Yeah at least I think so."

Kazuki noticing that Tompah didn't have much left in him simply watched as Tompah started to fall asleep on him. "Good Night Tompah, see you soon." Tompah fell asleep before answering and started to snore. After that Kazuki leaned back and closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

"Kill..."

"Kill..."

"Kill..."

Kazuki woke up in sitting in an Alley alone. It was dark and his clothes were wet making him reek of roadkill. He felt weak and sore, and when he looked down at his clothes he was covered in blood. Immediately upon seeing it he got up in a panic not knowing why he was covered in it. Shortly thereafter a drunk came into the alleyway and started peeing on the side of the building. Kazuki tried to stay silent but he unwillingly croaked which put the peeing man's attention on him.

"Hey, it's a fucking abomination, what are you gettin off to me pissin?" When the man finished, he sloppily pulled up his pants as he approached Kazuki who was trying to get away but met a wall at the end of the alley.

"Please just go away?" Kazuki pleaded "please I don't want to-" Kazuki croaked interrupting himself.

"you don't wanna what huh? is that a fuckin threat?" The man spit on the ground and attempted to punch Kazuki who slipped right past it and fell to the ground, too sore to put up much a fight.

"Please just leave me alone" Kazuki begged.

The man took the chance to start kicking and stomping on Kazuki "No abomination is going to tell me what to do."

as he was getting kicked Kazuki balled up to lessen the damage waiting for this to end before he was alerted to the sound of a croaking frog. Fear was the first emotion that overtook him as he looked up to see a frog sitting in front of him clear as day.

"Kill" it croaked to him. Kazuki tired and sore looked in the eyes of the frog and nodded his head allowing for the voice to take over him as he shot his tongue out of his mouth to grab the foot of the man kicking him and pulled his head back to make him trip.

"what the fuck" the man cried out as he hit his head on the ground. Kazuki then got on top of him and started to choke him. The man attempted to fight back by trying to get Kazuki's hands off of his throat. "let...go" Kazuki ignored his feeble cries to let go and only strengthened his hold on him, his mind completely blank unable to pull away as he watched the poor drunk turn blue and purple.

Kazuki woke up in the middle of the night gasping for air and holding onto his neck as if he was the one who was getting choked. He looked around him finding himself in the church again and looked down to see Tompah rubbing his belly as he slept. Kazuki then gave out a deep sigh of relief. He then pulled out his blank box and picked up the cig he was smoking earlier before lighting it and taking a deep hit. Just after he did, a child walked into the room rubbing their eyes as if they had just woken up.

"Poppa?"