A/N: This chapter was supposed to come out earlier, but I got sick(Who would've thought that staying late studying for days in a row wasn't healthy...). And then the characters started talking by themselves. So I'm sorry for the delay.
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"Your turn now"
"That wasn't really a question, I could've told you that normally"
"It's fine, just ask yours"
"Fine then, what were those sparks flying around you and that sword you materialized"
She could see and feel the sword because the battle was a mix of our instincts, so mine influenced hers.
She couldn't see the color though, since we were shadows.
At most, she ¨felt¨ the heat coming from some of my moves and determined that it was bright, as most hot things are.
"It was a martial art, really ancient and lost so you probably won't be able to find it around"
"Hmmm..."
She gave it some thought.
Is she thinking about trying to steal the manual or something?
She doesn't strike me as the type to do anything for power, she seems diligent.
Don't listen to me too much though, I just met her today.
"...Well, it's your turn right now"
My question...
'What were you doing in our fight?'
No, her answer would be almost the same as mine.
'Should I say a dismissive question?'
Seems dumb, no reason to do that.
'Why did you attack me?'
She probably did it on instinct. I wasn't registered as a threat or anything she just went attacking everyone she saw. If they react, then good, she can fight them and try to improve or see new things. If they don't react, then she doesn't lose anything.
And this time she won the bet.
That aside, my question should be...
"Why are you here? If you can't answer that, then answer what are your intentions making me come here?"
It's the middle of the night, everyone is asleep, there are no witnesses and I don't doubt that no one has seen her face.
I said she was diligent, but that and dangerous don't exclude each other.
"Suspicious? Don't worry, I won't do anything to a kid"
How old is she to be saying this? She looks young, then again, there's a martial art that makes you look younger as you practice it. I shouldn't disregard the possibility of the fact that there may be other arts that have similar effects to the Hamon.
Her spins may be some sort of watered-down version of part seven's spin.
If I remember correctly, it works using the golden rotation as some sort of guide. Spinning an object in the golden pattern, going infinitely while charging it with energy.
"That doesn't answer my question, neither of them"
"Alright, alright... Well, I'm here because I was bored, there isn't any higher purpose. I just wanted to travel through the world and search my path and all of that stuff. While the answer to your second question would be... simpler than you thought, I was just curious about you"
"..."
"Really, stop staring at me like that"
She isn't taking the conversation too seriously.
Which means that she might want to make me lower my guard.
Or maybe...
Perhaps she's just not that serious and thoughtful of her words...
Why am I doubting her so much?
Is it because she's stronger?
Actually, I was like this with Apolonia... and her parents... and the princess...
They weren't ¨stronger¨ than me in a direct way, but I have no chance of winning if I antagonize them.
Sure, I could defeat them, even kill them, but that would warrant problems in the future. In the reeeeeeeally near future.
Well, the point I want to make is that I shouldn't be so distrustful of people I can't kill with a thought.
God, when did I become so controlling?
"Alright, my turn!" She claps her hands in front of us "Can you teach me that martial art you use?"
"..."
She's way too easygoing.
Now I feel dumb for trying to look for hidden meanings in her words.
"I don't think so, for many reasons"
"Such assssss?"
"Well, I don't know if you have the talent, I don't know how you could use this, and my power is way more versatile than you can think of"
"I'm pretty sure I have the talent, my teacher told me my talent was the biggest she had ever seen in ages; If you are worried that I might use this to steal or kill, you shouldn't be, since I could do that right now; And the fact that is versatile makes it even better"
I don't doubt the talent part, since those spins don't look easy to do, and I'm really good at imitating the moves that I see.
She's also right with the thought that I shouldn't be worried by her intentions with Hamon, she can do anything she wants with her strength now.
But she's underestimating how versatile Hamon is.
Too much.
Hamon is like a mixture of ki and chakra, but way less powerful.
I can make swords out of Hamon, I can give elemental nature to the Hamon, I can condense it upon itself to make even more powerful attacks.
Hell, maybe I could even make some constructs out of Hamon since I could make that sword.
And this is just in the combat skill tree.
Poison immunity, water walk, body control, and so much more.
I remember saying it before, but Hamon is almost high-fantasy magic at this point.
And I will exploit it even more with my ¨Ultimate Body¨.
It shows that I haven't put too much thought into my training, seeing what I could do, and that I'm just messing around with punches and slashes.
Damn, now I feel like Okuyasu, erasing space to punch someone.
"Still, there isn't any reason for me to teach you, and even if I were to say yes, I can't, as I'm leaving for Egypt tomorrow"
"If I agree to teach you how I do my spins and help you get proficient with it... Then it's a deal?"
"...Sure, but that doesn't erase the other problem."
"No worries! I can just go with you."
"..."
"I said I was traveling through the world right? I had finished in this country, so it was actually for the better that both of us were leaving for the same country"
"I have responsibilities, that are way more important than teaching someone my martial art"
"More important than growing stronger?"
"..."
I'm running out of words too much today.
What are the chances that we are both going to the same country?
"I can get stronger with time and practice of my art"
"I don't doubt so, but how quickly"
"..."
She puts a confident and know-it-all smile on her face.
"How quickly can you master all of your powers? All the potential you might have is just that, potential"
She continues, "A year? Two years maybe? Well, it's not happening before you have your growth spurt, so let's go for the safe choice and say it's one and a half years"
"I'm sure that you didn't train your powers for nothing, you have obstacles and you will keep on facing more obstacles"
"Can you do the things that you need to do? Win when you need to? Keep the people that you love safe?"
She stands up.
Her smile isn't sassy this time.
"Maybe I'm just talking too much, but sometimes training in the same way and the same thing over and over doesn't work"
I'm not too fond of it, but she is right.
I lost against her, I let Jack ¨Die¨ against Straizo, I'm powerless against a stand, and so many other things.
I don't even have a fighting style, maybe that's why she just dodged everything I threw at her during our fight.
"..."
But still, teaching her Hamon?
It's my biggest weapon, and I'm unsure I can teach her appropriately.
Not to mention that I have a mission to do in Egypt.
"..."
I don't even know to what level she might ascend when she finishes training.
Maybe she's the type to be limited by the power level of her world.
She might be a prodigy in Hamon, gets everything she needs with a few lessons, then dips and doesn't teach me anything.
"Hey"
I blink, "Huh?"
She's close now.
Less than 10 cm from my face.
"Why are you thinking about it so much?"
"Why? Well..."
"It's not that complicated right? Or are you just taking it too seriously?"
"..."
Am I?
Maybe...
Oh, wait.
I'm being distrustful.
She hasn't done anything against me and I'm here doubting her.
Sure, she attacked me and we fought.
But I got a hint of how she does her spins, so I won something from there.
And I'm thinking too deeply about it.
It's not like she will master Hamon from day one to day two and be able to walk on water and destroy mountains with a kick.
And about the last part...
Where I said that she won't fulfill her part of the deal.
I think I know why she will.
"Hey, look at me."
"Yeah?"
I look into her green eyes.
Have you ever heard about eyes being the window to the soul?
Yeah, I don't think that her soul would betray me or anything like that.
How do I explain this...?
She seems innocent.
Or pure, to be more precise.
"Alright"
I stand up, not from my chair, but in my chair.
Her face now is at the level of my chest.
"I teach you my Hamon and you teach me your spins and all that"
I'm putting on the most confident face I have right now.
She smiles.
"Alright!"
...
..
...
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
We're in the boat now.
By ¨We¨ I'm not referring to Atelia and I only.
I'm referring to Aethel, Apolonia, Atelia, and Aroa.
Full A's now that I think about it...
"...So, uh, who's your friend?". Aethel asks
"She's... Her name is Atelia, and she will teach me to fight, while I teach her to fight"
"..."
He's deadpanning right now. Basically screaming ¨Are you serious?¨
...
"How would that work?". Apolonia questions me with something in her voice I couldn't quite recognize.
"She will teach me her techniques, and I will teach her my techniques."
"How are you going to teach her your stand power?". Aethel interrupts.
"What are you talking about? Stand powers can't be reached"
"Then what are you going to teach her?"
"Didn't you see me create a sword out of energy back at the mansion? That's what I'm going to teach her"
"But you just said... Wait, that wasn't your stand?"
"No? I don't even have a stand."
""You don't have a stand?/!?""
Apolonia asks curiously, while Aethel almost screams.
"No? What made you guys think I have one?"
""You can see them.../!""
Both retort, but one more calmly than the other.
"I can't ¨See¨ them, but I can sense them, as an example, I know that the stands of you two have a humanoid shape, but that's it. I can only sense the energy gathering in a humanoid shape"
"I see..."
Apolonia answers, but Aethel seems flabbergasted.
"What are you guys talking about?"
"Stands, a spiritual power"
"I see... Is it like magic and that? Because in my natal country, there was a shaman and he could do his magic to solve some problems."
"Oh yeah? What kind of problems?"
"Usual ones, most related to healing some injuries"
A healing stand? Seems possible to have one, there was gold experience in part five so a healing stand doesn't seem out of the ordinary.
"Yeah, we're talking about something like that"
"Ohhhhhh. You three are shamans?"
"Nop, only those two, I'm developing my stand and it's not too necessary for me, I'm strong without a stand"
"Oh well, I'm interested in that but let's talk about what are the three of you going to do in Egypt"
"..."
They don't talk, naturally, as they don't...-we don't know her origins.
Maybe I skipped too many steps.
I'm a very polar(If that is the correct word) person now that I notice. It's either I trust them or I'm in complete distrust of them.
"We're going to do a mission..."
"..."
They are both staring at me.
Apolonia is serious, she's telling me to measure my words properly.
While Aethel seems more determined, he's almost ordering me to measure my words, and his gaze promises pain in the case that I don't.
Obviously, I know what I need to say and what I can't say.
"...what kind?"
Atelia says, surprised a bit by the sudden shift in the mood.
"The secret kind..."
"..."
All three stare at me, their gazes betraying nothing.
"Can I heeeeeeeeeeeelp?"
Once again, she extends the word, putting her finger in her mouth and giving this weird airhead aura to herself.
It lowers Apolonia's guard, but it doesn't do too much work in the mood of the princess's guard.
Or retainer? Whatever, the point is that he's still suspicious of her.
"...Why would you want to? There is nothing for you to win or get"
"There are! First, the more time you have, the more I can learn from you. Second, those two have magic powers, right? I was never able to beat the shaman in my land, so those two must have some power to back it up"
She follows, "And most importantly, where there are strong people together, even stronger people will appear, so I will get more chances of improving myself and becoming the strongest"
That's what she wants? To be the strongest? Is that simple?
"...Aethel, I will vouch for her actions"
"You think you can have that responsibility? Let me remind you that you are a newbie in this"
"I have the ability to back up my words, by that, I have the responsibility"
"The ability? That's funny, you don't even have a ¨Stand¨ or whatever you might call it"
I was beginning to wonder when are they going to react to the name ¨stand¨.
"You have it because you need it to be strong, I don't have it because I'm already strong enough"
"..."
"..."
None of us backed off.
Until he suddenly stood up.
We're in my room, for context.
There's a bed and 4 chairs that we brought because we couldn't have this discussion in the open air.
It was originally only Atelia and me though, they both joined after.
"We shall talk about this later, but keep in mind your actions of today, Aroa"
"Sure"
He then left, after leaving his cryptid message.
"..."
None of us wanted to talk after that.
Well, we still did.
"What does that even mean?" Said the unsuspecting Atelia.
"Alright, let me give you a quick rundown of our situation." I told her.
And so I did. While Apolonia also corrected me on some things.
"A mission for the princess? Whoa, I always wanted to do something like this"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, I bet you read those stories about the knight saving the princess and marrying her"
"Yes, but... you're not a knight, and you won't marry the princess." Apolonia strikes down the dreams of Atelia.
"Yes, I know, but still. Saving a princess sounds pretty neat"
"I can't argue with that..."
Apolonia seems a little relaxed with Atelia now, it looks like she has that effect on people...
I don't want to sound contradictive or anything, but it's worrying me a bit.
Why would that be contradictive? Well, it worries me that she's too good at lowering the guard of other people. She might be sent by the prince to check in on us...
Aethel was suspicious of her for a reason I guess...
Argh...
This is a bother.
Whatever, It's not like our mission is any big thing, we're just going to do some stealing there and there.
Now that I think about it, I haven't talked about the mission yet.
Hmmm...
I don't think I will either.
It's not too important either, it's mostly something to initiate the two newbies into the princess's ranks.
Still, Aethel said ¨Any mission is a mission that we need to do our best to complete¨ or something like that.
And with Atelia here, I'm not sure that this will go as easy as I thought it could...
...
..
...
*Knock Knock*
I hear some soft knocks at my door.
It's late, the moon isn't appearing through the window, so it should be later than midnight.
I wasn't fully awake when the person knocking got closer to my door, so I couldn't decipher who was by their steps.
Still, it's not too hard for me to decipher who is there.
"What a surprise..." I say with obvious sarcasm in my voice.
"..." Aethelbert doesn't answer me, just silently stares at me with his neutral gaze.
"Fine, fine..." I open the door enough for him to get inside.
He enters quickly, his steps not making any noise.
He grabs a chair and sits on it like the godfather, no doubt that's something he learned to intimidate. Maybe from the princess, maybe from his father or teacher...
But I'm not that dumb to fall for that.
"Aroa..."
"There isn't no one in the room, no need to repeat my name"
"Your actions have been... inconvenient to say the least"
It seems like he has practiced this, he even has the small silences perfected.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes, Aroa, Let me remind you that your position isn't established yet"
He continues.
"Involving a normal person with our mission isn't something that we can overlook normally"
"She isn't normal, she's strong"
"I don't doubt that, but for all intents and purposes, she's a normal person until I perceive her another way"
"That means you will have to wait to see her in action"
"Yes, I suppose I do"
He stood up.
"But let me remind you one thing, Aroa..."
He said this as he got closer to the door.
"You are on thin ice now"
"We have high hopes for you, don't let them be destroyed"
He opened the door and left without waiting for an answer.
"¨We¨..." I muttered softly.
So the princess is behind this?
Not surprising, but it's two things that happened.
Either he has a way of communicating fast with the princess, or she instructed him to do this independently of my actions.
It doesn't matter at this point.
But it shows how much trust they have in me.
Whatever, I don't trust them that much either.
But I'm not that blatant about it.
...
..
...
The ship arrived in Egypt quickly and we disembarked in the port of Alexandria.
From there we will take a Railway to our main destination.
¨Where?¨ You ask?
Well, that's obvious, isn't it?
We're going to the most important city in Egypt, by my meta knowledge and by the business George and all of us are here for.
We're going to El Cairo