Dealmaking

The child fell to the ground and looked up at him, a scowl on his face. He had never been damaged by someone other than Ronin before. At least, that's what his name was to the child. "Fine. However, you have to make this entire ordeal worth my time. You came into our territory and then proceeded to injure me." The child responded, standing up while rubbing the back of his head in pain. "Yeah, and you thought it would be a good idea to take your temper out on us when all we wanted to do was talk with you." Aaron retorted while putting his hand back into his pocket, causing the child to flinch back, although Aaron didn't know why. Unbeknownst to him, he had begun to expel a large force of mana, and this amount continued to grow. It had started at a single thousand, which was around ten times as weak as the leader's passive mana expulsion rate. Every ten seconds, Aaron unknowingly multiplied it by two, meaning that in the forty seconds he's been here, he's doubled his power four times over, meaning it's gone to sixteen thousand.

"Before I ask what you want to talk to me about, please tone down your mana aura. It'll collapse this building on its own if you increase it any further." The child asked Aaron, who finally realised that he was increasing his strength. "I apologise for that. I didn't even realise that I was doing that, so forgive me in that regard, but now we must get to the part of this conversation here we make deals. You have something I want, and I have two things you want. You want this traitorous soldier and a decent place to live. I have a kingdom, and I require citizens. I do believe we have some compromises we can make." Aaron explained as the child scoffed. "You? A kingdom? There's no way in hell someone like you would have your own city where people could live." The child responded as he and Ronin began laughing. "That's like saying monsters and humans could live together!"

"Oh, that's what we're trying to achieve. My Kingdom, the Kingdom of Monsters, which we haven't named yet." Aaron replied, bringing his hand out of his pocket covered in scales once again. "I'm Aaron, the ruler of my Kingdom, and these people, including the ones you injured, work with me. Not for me, but with me. See, I like the idea of equality, and having these people work alongside me feels calming." Aaron explained, his arm turning back into that of a human again. "I possess the ability to change my shape into whatever I like, although I don't use it much. Think of me as an ultimate being, able to take the form of, and create, whatever I like. It's one of my signature abilities." Aaron continued as Ronin grew slightly irritated. Aaron got recognition, but he didn't?

Ronin had conveniently forgotten that he was the one who had attacked the entire city, killing many people and being the cause of the damage inside the city. Ronin drew his sword slightly, the weapon measuring around thirty inches in length. It was a Nodachi. "Aaron, one wrong move, and he's going to attack you," Jude whispered to Aaron, alerting him of Ronin's movements. Aaron smiled slightly, flicking his wrist up. The sword that Ronin was about to draw was sent flying through the house's roof. Aaron lifted his hand into the air, and the sword fell into his hand through the ceiling once more. It was almost like Aaron had planned this movement, which he had. "Thanks for that, Jude. Now, I have to admit that only people like me and you can hold a weapon like this without any assistance. However, I do think it may be just a bit too long." Aaron commented, handing the sword to the child. "Feel the torque of this blade, child," Aaron told him.

"Don't call me child. Seriously. If you repeat that, I'll punch you hard enough to cripple you for life." The child warned Aaron while accepting the sword from his hands. He then proceeded to drop it to the ground while holding it. "What the hell? Why is it so heavy?" The child asked, shocked at what Ronin carried around daily. "It's because I can. Plus, I learned how to effectively wield such weapons long ago. Now, if you don't mind, I'll take back my blade from you, and we will not speak of my blade length again." Ronin responded while picking up and sheathing his Nodachi again, staring at Aaron. He then noticed that Seph and None were standing behind him as separate beings, and he ground his teeth together in anger. He certainly hadn't forgotten the humiliation he had faced because of those two.

"Now, back to our deal-making." Aaron picked up, alerting the child. "You need housing, and I need citizens. I'm pretty sure that you'll be able to fill in the blanks here, right?" Aaron reminded the child, who stared at him blankly. "Forgive my ignorance, but would you mind explaining to me what you mean by this deal? I'm obviously young, so I do not entirely understand your offer." The oblivious child asked.

"Here, let me explain it more simply. I need people to live in my city. You need homes to live in. You could come and live in my Kingdom, and yes, that includes you, Ronin." Aaron told the child, much to the displeasure of Ronin. He disliked the idea of being around Aaron's group more than he needed to be, and living in their city would be a constant reminder that they were under him.

"Sure, I'm alright with that plan." The child responded, barely taking time to think about it. "My only condition is that you treat me the same s you would treat the others in your group."

"Sure, that's fine with me. Now, are you ready to move out?" Aaron asked, causing the leader to smile and Ronin to scowl. "Oh, we already were ready. Once I got wind that you were coming, I told everyone to prepare to move out, just in case you burned this place down." The child replied.

"Smart one, aren't you, child?" Aaron commented, which led to the child attempting to hit him in the groin, but he failed. "Close one. Call me Oki." He scowled as Aaron chuckled. "Fine then, Oki. Come on, let's go." Aaron responded as Ronin drew his sword from its sheath and stabbed it towards Aaron once again.