Shinku woke up, not even realizing when he had fallen into slumber. The floor, just below the huge curtain at the edge of the room, showed some drips of sunlight, indicating that the sun had already shown itself outside. The young man pulled himself up, blinking for a moment, then gradually composed himself up to come back to the real world.
Shinku's alertness finally took over the moment he recalled about a stranger named Slark, that had a necklace belonging to their clan. Quickly, he put himself into a deep trance, using his shadow art to sense all the sentient beings around him. This time though, he singled out the two spirit signatures that were both on the room beside him. His otherworldly senses showed that both his targets were still at the room, and were both conscious.
In his deep trance, the young man noticed the small creature to be moving about the most while the taller one between them, stayed stationary at one place. There were a couple more movements by the duo inside the room when finally, they made their way outside. For a while, Shinku observed that the taller one stopped in front of his room. He flinched, worrying that he had been detected. It wasn't that long however, when the duo had gone on their way towards the stairs.
Shinku decided to snap out of his trance, realizing that his targets were getting away. He quickly stood up, grabbed his sword and ran his way towards the door. Before he could get far from his bed though, Shinku came across the view of a short note posted on a small table beside his desk.
Free eat all you can breakfast at 7:00 am
The young man calmed down, realizing that the two must have just gone downstairs for the free breakfast. He decided to drop by the restroom first for a quick morning hygiene routine before finally making his way out of his room.
The hallway was quiet, either signaling that most of the guests were already at the dining hall downstairs or perhaps still wandering in dreamland. He walked warily along the hallway, uneasy of the fact that the place was totally empty. Midway, his stomach growled, reminding the young man that he hasn't eaten anything since the previous day. Being a bit at ease now, Shinku slowly marched, making his way down for breakfast.
'I wonder what kind of food could they have here? Wew when was the last time I have eaten something?' Shinku thought, as hunger took over him. For a moment, the young man seemed to have forgotten of the targets that he was tracking just a moment ago. His body had now felt a bit heavier, with the effects of starvation dragging the assassin's body down as he approached the stairs.
As he turned however, Shinku was alerted by a sudden movement just beside him. He tried to grab his sword but the motion was very quick that he could only find himself seized by a tall man from behind.
"Alright, spit it out, stranger. You came all this way to follow us for what reason exactly? What exactly are you following me and Slark for the first place?!"
Shinku quickly recognized his captors, upon hearing the voice of the rodent-like creature from over his head. By the creature's speech, it was made clear that the two had found out of Shinku's stealthy pursuit.
Too weak from starvation, Shinku wasn't able to use his shadow art to escape from the eco warrior. For a while, he tried to meld with his shadow but no matter how much he tries, he can't seem to be successful in warping out of captivity. For a while, he tried to struggle but his meager strength couldn't even make him move an inch.
The scene seemed a little awkward and a bit hopeless at the moment as the long-eared warrior's stomach growled a bit too but he wasn't as hungry at least. Suddenly, lightning danced around the Slark's body, and gradually became a bit out of control to say the least for anyone around the corner. The lightning gradually turned to purplish then black, as darkness started to fill in Slark's head.
Fear slowly took a hold of Shinku as an unknown, frightening energy rose from his captor. He could feel a sudden contrast of both burning and freezing sensation from his captor's body. Fortunately, there wasn't anyone around to witness the tension between the two.
"Listen, just stop following us and explain what you are actually here for." Apex finally spoke again, followed by a sigh and a frow.
Leaving him without a choice, Shinku could only respond to his captors' inquisition. "That necklace, who asked you to sell that? Are you working directly with them? That necklace belongs to my village." Shinku tried to calm himself down, hoping that he could find a way to break free.
Slark sighed and gave a breath of relief. "Someone named Staten from a company called Avernus Tech held an auction during an event called Staten's Island. I can try to help you get it back but if you help me out first with a task." The long-eared warrior explained as he let go of Shinku.
Shinku listened, wary of his opponents' next moves, as Slark explained about the origin of the necklace. As much as the assassin could hope to have full information of where the necklace was, the stranger withheld some information and proceeded on making a deal with him.
"A racing tournament has come up, you heard of the famous X-7 races, right stranger? Well let's say in business terms, I'll help you if you help me out. Plus you don't really have a choice right now in the matter. Anyways, deal is I have this communicator linked to my number. You use it during the time we get split up and contact me when me and Apex get to the race, got it?" The long-eared warrior pulled out a communicator and gave it to Shinku.
Shinku grimaced, furious at the fact that the eco warrior was trying to make use of his need for information. The assassin crossed his arms, tepidly listening to the eco warrior's narration about a certain X-7 race, where his assistance would be needed.
As much as he wanted to use the opportunity to turn against the eco warrior, he deemed it better to accept the man's deal instead. As the long-eared warrior emphasized, Shinku had no other choice regarding the matter. He is a foreigner on Val'arcen, and searching for any lead about his village's murderers would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He needed even the slightest detail he could get to come in closer to his goal.
"Fine." Shinku replied belligerently, as he grabbed the communication device that was handed to him.
"Me or Apex will contact you after we split up to make sure things go through." Slark ended, as Shinku turned to walk away. Shinku then went downstairs, without even a gesture of courtesy for his new found acquaintances.
Apex winced and bent leaning into Slark's ear and whispered "Sure we can trust this guy?
Jak turned and whispered back "We have to, it's the only way we can do this mission with help. Besides it will make our jobs a hell of a lot easier."
Shinku lumbered down the stairs, dismayed at how the previous events had turned up. Being used by another person is the least that he wanted at the moment however, he couldn't simply pass a deal that could at least get him closer to his quest for vengeance. His growling stomach only made his discomfort worse, making young man feel even more weary.
The assassin of shadows held the device in front of him, as he made his way towards the dining hall. 'A race eh. Did I look like a racer to those two?' Shinku thought suddenly puzzled on how he would be able to actually partake of the deal. He would have tried to use the device to ask the duo however, the smell of food finally lured him into the sumptuous buffet.