Mercenary

Standing before the Wandering Moon, Timothy and his companions prepared to depart from Acropolis and resume their voyage.

"You're heading to the Sanctum Islands, correct?" Kheer inquired, "You should keep in mind. Sanctum Islands are challenging to find. Not many people reached their top, so they began to believe it's only a fairytale."

"Legend or not, we'll uncover it and have to see for ourselves. The Cyber Refuge might not have physically existed, but it was still interactable." Timothy responded and peeked at Kou with a broad smile. "Of course. With Kyora on our side — the finest navigator ever — it should be a piece of cake." Kou stated, darting at her.

"What can I say? I'm the best, alright. Anyway, I did some digging online and found something that could be useful for our course there. Hope you're ready for this because it's gonna be epic!" she excited everyone, but suddenly Timothy's and Chiaki's eyes tingled.

"Guys, something is-!" he couldn't end his sentence. Out of nowhere, he perceived an intense force peaking from the flimsy air. A sudden gust rammed him, pushing him back on the sand. It was like a hurricane.

He obscured his view while Kou and Kyora tightly held onto him, screaming and using his steady body to avoid getting blown away.

A sudden white, mirror-like barrier shielded them, expanding on each side as strange bombs fell from their front, exploding around their positions in quick succession.

Once the wind died down, everyone raised their glances. Timothy noticed Chiaki standing ahead, maintaining her palm behind the barrier, and standing casually without concern.

She didn't look fearful or nervous. She was as calm as the ocean. "C-Chiaki? What did she do? Did she move? But I couldn't see her. Even with the forbidden technique of inspection." Timothy said, observing her from behind. "How fast did she become!?" he thought in his head.

Chiaki's eyes tensed as she swayed her hand to the side and shattered her barrier. "Show yourselves..." Several men showed themselves from diverse corners, holding explosive weapons. "Lookie, lookie. What do we have here? It's some chick trying to look cool just because she stopped a few bombs." One man claimed, chortling disturbingly.

Chiaki folded her arms, asking, "And you are trying to hurt the people I love. Who are you? What's your problem?" she wondered and became frustrated, "I don't like people who want to exterminate my friends. Introduce yourselves and 'inspire' me. You won't like me when I'm pissed off. So, I'll give you a warning. Pick your words wisely."

Her sinister stare formed unspecified, fierce vibrations through her pink, glowing eyes. It caught the men in its path and drove them to tumble on the ground and become senseless.

Timothy's eyes opened wide, astonishing him. "Supremacy? Impossible! She was born with it too!?" he thought, disbelieving his experience. He could see Chiaki's mauve hair, black hood, and her top ripple in the wind. "She's so cool!" he shouted.

He started hopping on his feet and called out to her, "Chiaki!" She peered at him from the corner of her eye in bafflement and caught Timothy running toward her. "That was amazing!" he wrapped his hands around her hips and lifted her in the air, "Aaah! Hey! Stop it! Tim! You're embarrassing me in front of everyone!" she screamed, depicting a goofy expression.

Her pupils speckled, and her mouth spread wide. She fought back, swinging her legs and arms before her, trying to free herself from Timothy's tight grip. She couldn't and struggled. It caused her to tear up, "S-Stop! I'm ticklish over there!" he didn't stop and was overexcited. "Please, let me go... I'm going to puke."

People around her became unimpressed while Ralphie passionately danced toward Timothy and Chiaki. "Chiaki-rose! Let me hold you too!" he begged as Timothy spun around. She smacked her sole into Ralphie's nose and glanced at him angrily, "No! You're out of the question!"

Timothy paused and stopped laughing as he looked confused. He continued holding her as if she sat in his arms. "Hey... You gained a few pounds." Chiaki's cheeks flushed, and she hurriedly slapped her palm into Timothy's face, upset. "Be quiet! At least give me a compliment if you'll hold me like I'm your girlfriend!" she called. She finally freed herself from Timothy's clutches.

Kyora blinked in bewilderment, "And she's quite straightforward..." "Chiaki Yasuda. $400 million reward and white-haired pirate's $500 million bolts. It should make us rich." Chiaki grabbed Timothy's palm and confused him, "Thanks." She absorbed blue flames into her hand and strode forward, her eyes changing to blue. "Whoa! W-What the hell did you do, Chiaki?" Timothy asked, darting at his palm.

"I borrowed your ability." She confirmed, causing Timothy to become astonished, "What?" he looked at her dumbfounded. "You're my partner. I can link with your whenever I want. I'm able to absorb your ability and utilize it for myself for 180 seconds." She explained and rapidly amused Tarot in the background. "Oh, don't tell me you forgot. That's the primary reason why we came here. To find an instructor who could teach me more about my abilities."

Timothy's eyes and mouth widened, "Shock!!" he yelled, gasping loudly. "So, let me take care of these guys. And since my own ability isn't the most suitable for fighting, I'll just have yours for a while." She voiced and propelled Timothy to spin on the spot, "I'm in love!"

"Whaaat?! The only thing you're in love with is food!" his friends surrounded him and didn't believe his words. "You don't even know what 'being in love' means, idiot!" Timothy stopped spinning and raised his fingers, "Um, actually. I know *exactly* what love is. I'm not stupid. You can ask Ayuka." Instantly, everyone's eyes locked on Ayuka, who stood amidst them.

Ayuka's eyebrows twitched as she threw looks among the others. She straightened, crossed her arms, and said, "I have no clue what he's talking about." "Oh... reaaaally?" Yumiko leaned her head closer, covering her lips and trying to hide her chuckles. "Yumiko! Shut up!" Ayuka roared, ticked off. "Okay!" Yumiko formed a feline face and jigged aside.

Chiaki interrupted their conversation and looked at the assailants. "Now. Whoever you are. If you want my bounty, you can forget it."

The unknown man who stood among his fallen comrades had a grave countenance. "The name's Hywel Gough. I'm a mercenary from Armagh Jungle."

To be continued...