Chapter 12: Tokyo's Trouble Pt. 1

Theriault and Shen Yi walked the busy streets of Tokyo avoiding pedestrians as the two kept their heads down.

Theriault hadn't told her what they were in Japan for, but just being out in the open was beginning to make her feel vulnerable.

It had only been two days since she'd left her estate. Just thinking about what had happened made her feel sick, and sleeping in an airport hadn't helped.

"We should wait it out here for a few days just in case, it's better to be cautious when you're vulnerable," Theriault had explained, buying both their tickets to Tokyo two days in advance.

She wasn't sure what to make of the younger boy. He was cute, in his own way, and sometimes he seemed naive. Shen Yi didn't know what to think, one minute he couldn't do basic things, then the next he was jumping out windows and beating up higher-ranking families, he was an enigma.

"What?" Theriault said, seeing her staring at him as they walked past a street vendor selling some kind of foreign treat.

"Empanadas!" A man yelled, walking up to the two with a weird food Shen Yi had never seen before in his hand. "Empanadas for sale! Only 100 yuan!" The man walked in front of Theriault, holding the treat out.

"Luis, it's nice to see you again," Theriault said, grabbing the treat, biting into it, and handing it over to Shen Yi.

"Take a bite, it will keep your connection to your key hidden so other Keymasters and Arcadians can't sense that energy."

Shen Yi looked at the food with scrunched eyebrows before taking a small bite, her eyes lighting up as she tasted the most delicious taste her tongue had ever come into contact with.

"Haha, it's a treat from my hometown," Luis said, seeing the look of pure joy as she took another bite.

"So, do you have what we discussed a few months ago?" Luis asked, turning to Theriault as the boy looked around.

"Yes, once we're somewhere away from prying eyes I'll hand it over... for the price we agreed upon of course," Theriault stared down at Luis, his eyes cold as the Mexican man stood there, carefree.

Luis chuckled, "Chill out man, you'll get what you came for, who knows, you might even get more if you hear me out... But you're right, let's go back to the estate," Luis turned and went back to his little street shop, waving his hand and collapsing it immediately, turning it into a backpack.

"What kind of key do you have? Illusion?" Shen Yi asked, intrigued by the ability and wanting to make the most of being alone for the first time and learn as much as possible.

"Haha... A key? No No, my power derives from something much darker..." Luis said mysteriously, not elaborating as he gestured for the two to follow.

"Like Arcadians, or as humans know them, dragons. Luis's kind hasn't been wiped out, you can find them if you look hard enough, not that the normal humans notice at all..." Theriault explained as he walked next to Shen Yi, his head down and attention darting every which way as he looked for someone who could be spying on them.

"So he's a monster?" Shen Yi asked, not getting an answer as Theriault seemed to have used up all his minutes.

She hated getting ignored, it almost made her want to use her power, but for some reason, she couldn't figure him out, it just didn't work on Theriault.

After another mile or so, Theriault and Shen Yi found themselves in front of a large building, a "For Sale" sign hung up on the door.

"You just leave the talking to me, Luis is friendly enough... but a lot of these ones wouldn't mind killing us and leaving our bodies in the middle of the street," Theriault warned, keeping Shen Yi behind him as they followed Luis inside the building, the door locking itself behind them... Always a good sign.

"And there I was!" A voice yelled as they walked into a living room, the television blasting a show neither could understand. "Stranded, alone, abandoned by all my people, but luckily, I was always strong, so naturally other monsters began to have respect for me..."

Shen Yi widened her eyes as she saw the person talking, a large pink skinned woman with yellow hair.

"Man, I haven't seen a troll in a while," Theriault said aloud, causing the talking to stop as Luis sighed.

"Everyone, this is Theriault and his partner, they have what he promised months ago…"

The Pink skinned troll flashed a set of yellow jagged teeth. "Have you even seen it yet!" She bellowed, standing up and looking at Theriault, distrust fully apparent in her demeanor.

"I- Well no," Luis admitted as the monsters got up, readying themselves for an attack as Theriault stood there, smiling his cocky cold smile as he reached into his pocket.

In the palm of his hand was the Lingjing figurine. It had been the first thing he'd demanded from Shen Yi when they'd began their journey, and she saw why.

Instantly five sets of hands were inches from grabbing it, only missing because of Theriault's quick reflexes.

"Ah ah ah," the boy said, wagging his finger at the monsters as he pocketed the figurine, "My payment first."

"About that…"

Theriault shook his head. "Nope, whatever you're going to say I refuse, we agreed on a payment for the Lingjing figurine, and I want it now," He said, anger beginning to creep into

his voice as Luis cleared his throat.

"Ah my friend, please hear the problem and understand," The man said, causing Theriault to sigh as he looked at Shen Yi.

"You're pretty quiet, how about you take over the leader role?" He said, pushing her in front of him.

"She'll listen to you, because she has some empathy, as for me… I just wanted what was promised to me…"

The group looked at Shen Yi, who took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Okay, I'm listening," she said, looking at each of them in turn.

The pink-skinned creature spoke up first, its voice high-pitched and somewhat grating. "We have some new… a threat to Tokyo, and to us." it said.

Shen Yi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of threat?" She asked, a little nervous as she tried to keep the shakiness out of her voice.

"The kind that could destroy the citezens of Tokyo… and also take the souls of monsters. one of the lizard people that the pink skinned troll had been boasting too replied.

This time Theriault spoke up. "Take a monsters soul? How is that possible?" He asked, joining the conversation and forgetting about his promos to stay out of it.

The pink skinned troll nodded. "It's unlike anything we've ever seen… I believe an ancient being has somehow made its way back into modern civilization…"

Shen Yi frowned. "What makes you think that?" She asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Well… It's common knowledge most monsters are nearly extinct, not only we were naturally wiped out, but a lot of monsters were used for weapons of different cultures, including the keys you too carry around for protection… But suddenly these… Things come back, I don't know what they're called, but they should be king extinct, it's just that really, they shouldn't even exist."

The Siamese twins spoke up next. "We've seen what you can do," one of them said, looking at Theriault with bright hopeful eyes "And we think you're the only one who can stop this threat."

Theriault rolled his eyes, but then sat forward. "Yeah? And what's in it for me exactly?" He asked, an amused smile on his face as he saw the monsters scramble to think of something.

"These monsters are responsible for the stolen artifact you wanted to trade the Lingjing figurine for," Luis spoke up.

Theriault looked at him, then to Shen Yi, and finally back to the rest of the monsters. "I… See… But is that all? I'm doing much more work now," He said, using a weird tone of voice.

"He wants more," One of the lizard-men told the troll.

"Yes I got that!" The troll yelled angrily, clenching her jaw and looking at Theriault with contempt. "If you get rid of this threat, not only will you get the cornucopia, but also the wings of Icarus," She said, shocking the room.

"Well…" Theriault said, standing up and brushing off his pants. "You've got a deal Stella."

…

"I've wanted to tell you this for the longest time Jimin," A man said, hugging his girlfriend in the middle of the alleyway, kissing down toward her neck and pushing her against the wall.

"Oh is that right?" The girl, Park Jimin said, tilting her head to accept the kisses to her neck as she pulled him closer.

"Yes, yes," The man assured, sliding his hands up the girls thigh.

"Well… Isn't that just sweet," She said as her eyes flashed red and the man dropped dead right in front of her, his body completely dry, every ounce of moisture and life sucked out of him as Park Jimin licked her lips, blood dripping down her mouth as sharp fangs protruded from it.

"Ah… Love is a beautiful thing."

_

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