"That's not how you treat others. It doesn't matter if they're animal or human, at least have some ounce of respect." Douma glared at the group who scurried back in fear, especially the boy holding the racket.
The children seemed mad however Yushiro didn't care. They were cold-hearted troublemakers.
All three of them watched the group walk away talking amongst themselves. Douma glanced back and noticed the familiar feline he fought back at Cryptic Sanctuary. Chachamaru seemed to recognize him as well.
"Is this your new friend Yushiro?"
"Well if it isn't the snotty brat! It's been a while huh."
Internally, Yushiro was fuming. He wanted both of them to just keep quiet and calm down. Oh great we're gonna be stuck here if this escalates!
"I wasn't expecting to see you here. Let me guess, you found someone to tame that attitude of yours?" Douma kept his fan and waited for the feline's response. He could tell the feline was getting ticked off by his presence.
Chachamaru hissed at Douma. "Listen here, since you dare challenge me then I should remind you that our battle isn't over yet."
"It was over a long time ago you could barely keep up." The blonde yawned which made Chachamaru eager to sink his claws into the ground.
"Guys cut it out!" Yushiro yelled, both Douma and Chachamaru looked at him cluelessly.
"Look Douma I'm grateful for your help but I can't accept the way you're treating Chachamaru, he didn't mean for any of this to happen. Chachamaru is my friend and I'm not afraid to say it."
Douma raised a brow at Yushiro. He wasn't trying to interrogate the feline, knowing how Chachamaru was back at Cryptic Sanctuary, Yushiro could become a target for him. Douma felt better knowing that wasn't the case but he still had to take precaution nevertheless. If only Yushiro could understand that.
"Yushiro, you must know that Chachamaru was on the enermy's side at that time. He tried to stop me from getting to Mr Moikawa's lair. We don't know what his intentions are, he could be plotting something."
The feline crossed his arms. "Yeah yeah, the good guy's always right."
"He had no choice," Yushiro replied. "It was the only way for him to survive through all the pain and suffering he endured for years. Chachamaru didn't mean to start a fight with you, please don't accuse him of that anymore. If he wanted to hurt me, he would've done that a longtime ago."
Douma continued keeping an eye on Chachamaru in case he attacked Yushiro. He wasn't entirely convinced by Yushiro's pleas to spare the feline, but if it's true that Chachamaru had no intentions of harming anyone, then the only way for him to prove that would be to admit himself to Atlas, which will also guarantee his safety. That way, Yushiro won't have to worry about him or feel guilty.
"If it's a better life you want, than you'll have to agree to staying with Atlas. They'll keep you safe and cared for."
The feline looked up at Douma warily. He reflected on his actions. Staying with Atlas meant turning over a new leaf. Pushing aside his past and embracing a fulfilling life that he was always searching for but never got because of his life in captivity.
"Fine I accept, just don't blame Yushiro for anything it's not his fault." Chachamaru responded reluctantly.
"What's going on here?" The familiar voice of Shinobu could be heard approaching them.
Shinobu stopped in her tracks when she saw the large cat with Douma and Yushiro.
"Oh my that's a huge cat..." This was strange, and for some reason, her friends weren't afraid of the large feline.
Douma was already tall, this feline was a giant compared to him.
"There you are Shinobu, meet Chachamaru!" Yushiro said cheerfully which convinced Shinobu that she wasn't seeing things at all, the large feline was really there, standing before them.
"That's cool..." Hearing Shinobu's response made Yushiro feel relieved knowing that she wasn't afraid of his new friend.
"Wait so how are we taking Chachamaru to Atlas?" Yushiro asked concerned.
"I've got just the idea." Douma said confidently.
~~~
Yushiro held the large box closely to him on the train. His two friends sat still in their seat, especially Shinobu who glimpsed at the large box every time it started shaking.
At times, Chachamaru's tail would pop out of the box from underneath so Yushiro had to stuff it back in before anyone noticed.
"Don't move around too much you might fall!" Holding the large box in place, Yushiro demanded Chachamaru stop moving before anyone gets suspicious. Moreover the feline didn't have a ticket.
While Douma was sitting there finding the situation amusing, he heard a commotion happening down the isle. It sounded like the captain was involved. As time passed more passengers started panicking and screaming it was getting chaotic.
"The train has come to a stop! I repeat, the train has come to a stop!"
Everyone including the four of them looked outside to see the train frozen in its tracks. This was frustrating especially for Yushiro who still held onto the large box, Chachamaru was also becoming curious about the situation that the feline forgot to take precaution of his movements.
It just so happens that the train ahead of them had been on the tracks for a few hours now. There was some quick maintenance they had to do but it was taking longer than expected. Every other train was going to be held up for a while. Douma found this rather unfortunate, the journey was going to be a long one.
At the same time, Douma noticed people walking out of the train. The crew allowed passengers to get down and stand outside while waiting.
The four of them decided to see what was going on outside so they got down with Yushiro still dragging the large box around. There were still quite a number of people on the train, unbothered by the fact that they can actually enjoy the view, reading their newspapers and taking naps.
"This forest is huge." Shinobu said looking at the surroundings.
"So is that mountain over there." Yushiro pointed at one of the large mountains ahead.
While Douma and Shinobu were standing there waiting for updates regarding the train service, Chachamaru got out of his box and began sniffing the air which startled Yushiro. The giant cat was supposed to stay hidden, what does he think he's doing!
"Chachamaru you're supposed to stay in the box!" Yushiro shouted at him.
"Wait I smell something."
Yushiro was confused, he was aware that cats have a good sense of smell but there was nothing fishy about this place. If Chachamaru keeps this up they're screwed.
"Over there." Chachamaru ran in the direction he was facing and disappeared in the trees.
"Hey wait get back here!" Yushiro followed after him.
Both Douma and Shinobu noticed their two friends running into the forest. Something was definitely up and it had to do with Chachamaru since his box was lying on the ground now.
"We have to go after them." Douma said while Shinobu followed suite.
Chachamaru arrived at his destination which was a cliff facing the sea. He stood there looking ahead which made Yushiro even more confused. There was nothing there, what was Chachamaru looking for?
"It's here."
"Um I don't see anything."
Yushiro stood beside the towering Chachamaru waiting for the grand reveal the feline was certain about. Both Douma and Shinobu caught up with them, questioning Chachamaru's decision to run all the way here.
Suddenly a large monstrous figure rose from the water. Douma was the only one who noticed its shadow approaching so he wasn't entirely shocked by its appearance.
The crustacean kaiju that was now towering over them, blinked a few times. It peered at them and spoke.
"This is interesting, a few humans and a cat." The kaiju said in a subtle voice. "The water is calm today which makes it perfect for a walk along these parts."
Shinobu and Yushiro were speechless. They already made friends with a talking cat, now they were face-to-face with a giant talking crab. This keeps getting interesting. Just like Chachamaru this crab wasn't so dangerous either, it was calm and friendly.
Douma knew the crab had completely overlooked on something.
"Wait..." The crab took a closer look at Douma. "You're not a human are you?" He could sense something but the kaiju wasn't so sure if he should jump into conclusions right away.
The angel didn't say anything, the crab kaiju had already figured it out.
"So an angel is blending in with humans. Who would've thought that'd be the case."
"Douma's our friend." Yushiro said as the crab kaiju took note of that and continued observing them.
"What brings you here." Shinobu asked the four of them were wondering what this giant crustacean was doing all the way at a place close to humans.
"After my battle with that vicious monster, I decided to take a break from it all. He'd meet his demise soon enough." The four of them knew who the crab kaiju was talking about.
"Man that guy is hotheaded. With an attitude like that it's no surprise he turned into a monolith of utter embarrassment." Chachamaru said, crossing his arms.
Douma was glad that at least Earth didn't have to deal with such a creature anymore.
"Anyways crab, who are you?" The feline asked, a little skeptical about the kaiju's appearance.
"I'm Carium, the ocean's noble guardian. If you had been paying attention to recent events at sea, you might have heard about me." The giant crustacean responded.
"So you protect the ocean and lifeforms within it? That's fascinating." Shinobu said, it sounded like she was getting to know the creature.
"That's right and as its guardian I'll do anything to keep it safe. The ocean is a crucial part of every living creature's survival, without it we wouldn't be able to flourish."
"Wow I get to meet the guardian of the ocean during this trip! This trip is so cool!" Yushiro cheered and than he thought of something important that would really mean a lot to them.
On the other hand, Douma seemed relaxed about their meeting with the crab kaiju. There were all kinds of creatures out there, at least Carium was one of the nicer ones.
"How long have you been on the surface Carium?" Douma was certain that Carium had risen to the surface for other reasons. Kaiju wouldn't be wandering around unless something was going on that humans weren't aware of and even if they were, the emergence of these creatures was the last thing they expected.
"The kaiju started emerging again due to the frequent irregular weather conditions. We had to deal with humans too. Our whereabouts aren't as safe as before and these disasters aren't helping either. It appears we have to get used to it, not just us kaiju but other living creatures as well." The crab kaiju responded, the other three found the information to be very significant in the scientific category.
"That's not surprising, Earth's climate changes every year. It's something everyone has to keep track of even for their safety, it can be disastrous." Douma replied, the large feline agreed with him too.
"Hey can you take us back to Tokyo?" Yushiro asked.
Douma and the others thought that was a great idea. Instead of waiting for the train they might as well hop aboard on the giant crustacean. The management of the train service was practically a mess now.
"Oh why not, I'm always glad to help."
"Awesome!" Yushiro and Chachamaru began jumping with joy while they got ready for their departure.
The four of them got on Carium's back as the crab kaiju swam into the sea towards Tokyo, allowing them to embrace the waves and cool breeze.
The further they traveled, the more memorable the experience became, for the trip had given them the time to not only appreciate each other's company, but what life had to offer as well.