We made it to New Veritas within a few days to a weekand the town was just as she said, not too big, not too small. I noticed a few cars rolling in and out the town also a few people riding on the beasts they tamed along their adventure.
"I'm tired...my feet can't handle this anymore! We've fought like a million Salabeaks, those annoying ass birds." Hosaki said then reached out for me. "Carry me, now."
I looked at her then sighed and crouched down a bit so she could climb upon my back. She held onto me and I carried her down the sidewalk. As you could tell, we became rather good friends while travelling together. My first priority was to find a motel or an inn we could stay in for a few days since we both were pretty tired of sleeping outside.
"There's an motel~ Veritas Motel and Inn." Hosaki pointed.
I looked at the be building and we walked into the main building to get a room.
"Welcome! How many will be staying and how long?" The receptionist asked.
"Just two and I'm not really sure to be honest." I said.
"That's alright, you can stay for as long as you need. You both seem to be out there in the wilderness for a while huh?" The receptionist smiled at us.
I shrugged and continued with the process of getting both of us a room to stay in. After getting us booked, I reached in my pocket and felt that my wallet was no longer in my pocket. "Fuck.."
"Don't worry, I got it settled." Hosaki smiled and reached into her tail then pulled out her wallet then paid for it.
"Thanks." I said, embarrassed.
She smiled and placed her wallet back into her tail. The receptionist handed us a key card and told us the room number. We thanked the receptionist and headed straight to our room. We both flopped on one of the beds and sighed.
Hosaki rolled around on the bed and hummed happily. "Poshi Poshi!~ Finally a comfortable bed to sleep on..!~"
"I agree...I can't take sleeping outside anymore. It was nice the first couple of days then suddenly the beasts began to grow more aggressive and we could barely get any sleep." I said.
Hosaki sat up on her elbows and looked at me. "Your first goal is to get to the four towers right? What do you think is going to happen after you conquer the towers?"
"I don't know honestly. It is a test so I guess the reward will be pretty good." I said and stared at the ceiling.
Hosaki got out of her bed then trotted her way over to mine then laid beside me. She smiled and closed her eyes.
"What are you doing?" I asked and looked at her.
"We've been sleeping together a lot so it feels kinda weird not laying next to you." She said and her tail wagged.
I looked at her then at her tail. The temptation to rub her tail overpowered me and I went straight for it. I've never felt a fox tail before and it looked extremely fluffy. I placed my hand on her tail and rubbed it slowly.
"E-Eehhh?! W-What are you-" She asked and her face became completely red.
I jerked my hand back then turned over to the other side. "Nothing. I wasn't thinking straight."
Hosaki sat up and looked at me. She noticed my blush and her tail swayed. "I didn't mean to freak out like that...You just caught me off guard. No one's ever tried to pet my tail before.."
I closed my eyes. "No it's fine, I should've asked for permission first. I didn't realize your tail would've been that sensitive."
She poked my cheek and pouted. "You don't have to be like that, if you want to pet my tail...you can! You're the only human I would allow to do this!"
I sat up and looked at Hosaki. She turned around with her tail facing me. Her tail began wagging and I stared at it. I turned towards her tail and held it in my hand. She made a little sound and blushed. I began rubbing her tail gently and my cheeks began heating up once again. She was making soft sounds as I rubbed her tail.
"Come on, do you need to make those sounds while I'm doing this?" I asked.
"It...it feels so weird since no one but me has touched my tail.." She said and looked back at me.
I finished petting her tail then stood up off the bed. "I'm gonna take a shower."
"Leave your clothes out here, I'm gonna cleanse them for you." Hosaki said and got off the bed as well.
"You can do that?" I asked.
"I can put a spell on it where it stays fresh for good or put a spell on it where this is your battle attire or something. Clothes Magic." She said and smiled.
"Clothes Magjc. That's a new one. Alright." I shrugged and walked to the bathroom and began to undress and tossed my clothes outside the bathroom. I closed the door and Hosaki walked to my clothes then picked them up.
.....
Penelope sighed as rode the train to the city Einhart was in. "It's been a week now and still no word about Asin. It's growing impossible to not think of the worst. You said you were his brother to me earlier today. Who exactly are you?"
"My name is Zero like I said when we first met. Asin is my half brother. Same father, different mothers. As it stands right now, my goal isn't to find my mother, but to find Asin and tell him to not pursue this goal of finding Mom. What she is doing will put all of us in jeopardy." He said.
"What do you mean?" Penelope asked.
"Her goal is to create an energy so powerful it would make anyone Godlike just by having said energy, but to complete that goal she found an item called an Eternal Diamond." Zero explained.
"Eternal Diamond? What is that?" Penelope asked.
"It is an insanely powerful object that grants the wielder power that's unexplainable. Even with all of her extensive research, Mom can't even figure out what this gemstone can do. She still plans on using it and that's not a good idea in the slightest. If he reaches her, his life will be in more danger than he realizes. If it means I must fight him to get him to stop, I will do it." Zero said.
"I see...Why is she doing this? Does she know the dangers of this project?" Penelope asked.
"She completely knows what she's doing. That's why it's so dangerous. That's why she must be stopped.." Zero said.
.....
Hosaki and I finished taking our showers and headed out to go find a place to eat. We took a taxi to a nearby diner and reserved a table for us. After waiting the fifteen minutes, we were able to get a table.
We sat down and looked at the menus.
"Hehe..~" Hosaki giggled.
"What?" I asked and noticed her tail wagging.
"It's like we are on a date..~" She said and peeked at me from her menu.
"It's it a bit too early for you to be thinking of us dating? We've only known each other for a week." I said and looked back at my menu.
"Love knows no time frame." She said and smiled.
"Well I do. And right now we are just friends." I said.
"Urk!!" Hosaki grunted and she felt like an arrow struck through her heart. "So straightforward and cruel..!"
I looked at her and smiled then noticed the waiter coming back so we could order. We ordered what we wanted and he typed it on a little device then nodded and took our menus. He walked away.
"Do you really mean it? Are we nothing but friends?" She asked. "After all we've done together? We bathed together in the same body of water, we slept together, we ate together, hunted together, found treasures together and we are just friends?"
"Okay, I guess I can make it to where we are great friends. It's just you barely know anything about me except the basics and I barely know you aside from the basics." I said.
"I mean you told me a lot. Your father passing away, your brother disappearing, how you saved an entire village with your friend, you mastering your teacher's lessons. I mean I know a lot now." Hosaki said.
"Yeah but you never told me anything of your past. Anytime I ask you just...become bashful and change the subject." I said.
Hosaki's ears folded back and she averted eye contact. "That's because it isn't worth talking about. My family mean nothing to me anymore."
I looked at her and reached over the table and pat her hand gently. "It's alright, you don't have to talk about it."
"Asin.." She said and looked at me. She smiled at me then her tail began swaying. "I just feel bad because you want to learn more about me.."
"You feel bad? I feel bad because you have to pay for everything. That Mecha broke my phone and knocked my wallet out of my pocket. I could've paid for this." I said and sat back in my seat.
"Honestly I don't mind paying. You saved my tail more times than I could count. Who knew that F to C Class beasts fight in groups like that. It's like they are smart enough to know they can't win alone. It's fascinating to be honest." Hosaki said.
"Apparently these beasts can evolve? Is that true?" I asked.
"Yeah it's 100% true. I've seen a beast evolve mid fight. Most beasts can evolve but not all of them. S Class Beasts can not evolve...well some can but I'll explain that later, anyway A Class Beasts can evolve into S Class Beasts but only if they have something called the L-Cells within them." Hosaki explained.
"L-Cells?" I asked.
"Legendary Cells. It's what causes the A Class Beasts to achieve a Legendary Form. Sadly this doesn't last very long and they just revert back to their A Class Form." Hosaki explained.
"What do you called those types of beasts then?" I asked.
"Pseudo Legendary Beasts or simply an EX-A Class Beast." Hosaki answered.
"Are these beasts a staple for everyday life?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, the higher class beasts drop the most rare items that can be sold for a lot of cash! That's why Beast Hunters exist plus fighting these beasts can guarantee a lot of experience. Beasts are either killed or tamed. A tamed beast can be used for battle for their Master. Not everyone can be a Beast Tamer though. It requires you to understand how exactly a beast feels and how to tame a beast and all that jazz." Hosaki said. "My family...after they kicked me out, a bunch of hunters came and picked them off one by one. One of them was tamed and now they can't escape their Master's hold."
"There's a lot going on in the Frontiers huh...I have to keep all of this in mind.." I said.
"Beasts are very common in the Reigoku Region. We probably have the most beasts in the region since the King is a Beast Master himself. His wife however isn't and she's a total walking time bomb. I refuse to enter their kingdom for that reason. They have an army of Legendary S Class Beasts and Dark Beasts with them. Especially the S Class Beast you encountered...Midnight." Hosaki said and her tail swayed.
"That thing is also a beast..? Interesting." I said.
....
"Professor Lasslow! We can't keep running these tests! King Reigoku will soon figure us out and kill us!" A scientist said.
"This is for my son. I will not have another incident like what happened to my husband. This Eternal Diamond...is our last hope. If we can just harness its power.." My mom said and looked at the Diamond.
"You've lost your mind! You can continue with these tests, but I'm not!" The scientist said then ran off.
"You can run, but I have a mission to complete. My son...he has the potential to become something more than a hero. My end is near and his legacy has just begun.." My mom said and put her goggles back on.