The pair continued along the road, stopping at several vendors and salesman to satiate Shen Yi's curiosity.
"You're like a child seeing something for the first time," Theriault complained as Shen Yi dragged him to another store.
No more supernatural beings approached them after the spider monster tried to reach under Shen Yi's skirt, courtesy of Theriault's way of handling someone who had bothered him.
'I guess they're shy,' The boy thought with his hands in his jacket pockets, picking up several different supernatural presences near them.
"Japan is so beautiful! And we're in Tokyo, there's plenty of places to visit here right?" Shen Yi asked, a bright smile on her face as she looked at Theriault.
The boy shrugged, grabbing a map out of the back of a tourist's pants. "Hmm, yeah there's plenty of places to visit, even Tokyo has some nice spots according to this map... Oh wait, never mind, this is a manga poster."
Throwing the poster aside, Theriault looked around. "I don't get it, why hasn't the human sucker-"
"Vampire," Shen Yi interjected.
"Been active. I've been waiting for some kind of hint or spike in attention toward us, but nothing... Is it possible that it doesn't even want us? Usually, predators like that go for harder prey, and as far as I can tell... I'm the hardest prey here in Tokyo... It doesn't make any sense."
"Yeah yeah, you're super great, I'm sure the vampire-"
"Human Sucker,"
"Is just waiting for the right moment to suck all the life out of you as it did its other victims," Shen Yi said sarcastically, looking up at a street sign and shrugging as she walked into a random shop.
'God... It's like taking care of a child,' Theriault thought, looking around once more before following Shen Yi inside.
"Haha... Guess they can't sense me, that's useful information," A voice said as the pair disappeared inside the strip mall.
...
"Higher," Theriault instructed, smacking Shen Yi's ribs with a bo, an amused expression on his face as the girl struggled to keep her stance.
"Your family was extremely wise in the ways of fighting, but your body is weak compared to their style. Just from what I've seen of both your mother and father, I can tell you were the spoiled brat of the family."
Shen Yi didn't say anything, not wanting to break her focus as she balanced on one tippy-toe, sword in hand as she tightened her core, taking hits from Theriault without warning.
*Thwack!*
Shen Yi wobbled as the wooden bo smacked against the side of her head, her vision blurring. 'Stay up!' She yelled in her mind, regaining her balance and breathing out slowly, her vision returning to normal as Theriault stood in front of her, smiling.
"That's more like it... You'd still be killed by nearly everything, but at least you're getting the hang of focus... It's a start."
Theriault threw the bo staff down. "Go wash up before dinner... God, that human sucker better reveal itself soon..." Theriault said, his lighthearted smile as Shen Yi saw his actual mood.
He was annoyed, not only at himself, or her, but at the monsters too. Most of all, he was annoyed at the "Human Sucker."
"What exactly is the mission Theriault?" Shen Yi asked, choosing to stay around instead of going to shower as Theriault had asked.
"Don't worry about it," He said, striking down her questions quickly as he walked toward the door.
"If I'm going to travel with you don't you think it would be helpful for me to know? What if I decide I don't want to travel with you since you don't trust me!" Shen Yi yelled as Theriault opened the door, desperate to not be ignored like he had been doing for the couple of days they'd been traveling together.
"Then don't? And it's not a trust thing, it's a you don't need to know thing. If I told you what I was really after you'd probably decide I was evil or something… Since all of you, Keymasters, I mean are like sheep, believing one true good and one true evil and ignoring anything in the gray…" Theriault said, pausing and looking at Shen Yi with his cocky smirk.
"Hurry up and wash up, You can walk around the block and search again, I have... Things to do," He finished before leaving the room.
"He's so infuriating!" Shen Yi yelled, tossing her sword to the side in anger.
"Then why do you continue to amuse him?" A voice said. Shen Yi turned quickly, looking around the room, not seeing anyone.
"The only way to get what you want with those kinds of people…" A voice said, getting closer and closer. "Is to control them." It finished, the voice sounding as if it was right next to her ear, whispering a sweet promise.
The feeling faded after a moment, returning Shen Yi to normal. She picked up her mother's sword, making it disappear in a flash of light, and walked to the door. 'What was that?' Was all she could think as she rushed to the shower.
***
After a long day of walking around Tokyo, Shen Yi returned to their hostel, exhausted. She was also hungry and didn't feel like eating alone.
"Theriault?" Shen Yi called out, unable to resist the urge to call out for the boy that had been so hostile to her earlier.
'Didn't he say he wanted to look for the vampire when I got back?' Shen Yi thought as she waited, bored out of her mind as the sunset. She wanted to explore the city more.
Though she wouldn't admit it to Theriault, she had been having a lot of fun just hanging out and exploring this colorful city. The vampire was important sure, but she didn't care much about it.
"... Theriault?" Shen Yi called out again, her patience wearing thin as the sun went down and her stomach growled louder than ever.
She heard footsteps coming from the other end of the hallway, turning and looking down the hall, which ended in the loungeroom at the end.
It wasn't Theriault, but Luis, his eyes blank as he looked up at Shen Yi, his gaze causing her to take a step back.
"You alright?" She asked, looking around as he started walking toward her, his eery footsteps tapping along the wooden planks.
"I'm fine. Are you hungry?" He asked, a monotone edge in his voice that made Shen Yi hesitate.
"Yeah, I am." Shen Yi answered, keeping her distance as Luis walked past her, his blank eyes a drastic contrast to the first time she'd met him.
Just as she was reaching for her sword out of instinct, Theriault walked out of their small practice room, holding The Lingjing figurine and looking as if he'd been up for days. His hair was disheveled, bags under his eyes, and his clothes were wrinkled.
"Hey, where have you been?" Shen Yi asked, thankful that she had a good excuse to look away from Luis as he approached.
Theriault looked at the two of them as if he was dreaming. "Don't worry about it," He replied, zipping up his jacket. "Are you ready to go?" He asked, pocketing the figurine quickly and tightening his tie.
Shen Yi looked him up and down. This was not the same guy she'd started to get used to having around, no this was a shell of him.
Theriault looked dead, literally. His skin was so pale that she could see his veins right through his skin/
"Um... Sure." Shen Yi said, taking a last glance at Luis, who stared back at her, and walked out with Theriault.
"What's going on here?" Shen Yi asked, looking back at the room as they walked out. "Why is he acting so weird?" She asked, gesturing back toward Luis.
Theriault yawned, shrugging. "Monsters are a weird race, they have their own problems and normalities. For all we know he's in mating season or something," Theriault said, shrugging off the subject as they stepped outside.
"Wait, what do you mean?" Shen Yi asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"I dunno, maybe he's in heat or something," Theriault shrugged. "I've heard of that happening before," Theriault said, yawning once again.
"Are you okay? You seem a lot less... Dickish." Shen Yi said, squinting her eyes as she watched Theriault's tired form walk in front of her.
Theriault stopped, looking behind them, before taking a deep breath. "Alright, I'm done being awake today. Let's find some food and then go to sleep." Theriault said, his voice having lost its edge, its sharpness gone.
Shen Yi was confused. He was so adamant this morning about wanting to find this monster and getting his payment for the figurine, what had changed?
"Alright... let's go." Shen Yi said, turning to follow Theriault as he walked ahead, his steps slow and deliberate. The look of his sluggish form left a weird feeling in Shen Yi's mind.
She followed Theriault to the local ramen shop that was right around the corner, their footsteps echoing in the empty streets.
_
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