Work Text:
The new banner is coming out today.
Finally. After days of waiting and farming in pure agony, and considering hacking the game to get the new version ahead of time, that current goddamn banner is going away. She even went through the trouble of setting an alarm and getting out of her room at the ungodly hour of 8AM to update the game right when the new version comes out.
These were pretty much the only thoughts going through Silver Wolf’s mind as she did her best not to do a ridiculous little gleeful jog on her way to Blade’s room, with the objective to get her- or, technically speaking, his mobile phone. She’s not sure why it’s even still considered Blade’s property, since she has completely taken over it with all sorts of games and apps, all with names and concepts he couldn’t even bother to try to comprehend.
She mentally thanked the Aeons for the man’s non-existent sleep schedule, for she could be sure she didn’t have to bother waking him up to get to the phone. As for how he went centuries without even a meager hour of sleep, that wasn't something she was exactly concerned with at the moment.
Anyway, she totally wouldn't just steal the phone if he was asleep. She would never.
Quickly passing through the doors to the Stellaron Hunters’ rooms, she finally finds herself standing in front of the one she was desperately seeking. She knocks twice loudly.
“Hey old man, open up.”
…
…
He must be dissociating again or something. After two seconds with no response, she knocks again.
“Hey, no time for lazing around today, I need your phone!”
…once again, she is met only with silence.
“Blade, I know you’re awake! I’m coming in, hurry and cover up if you’re naked or something.”
Finally, a short grunt of acknowledgement sounds from the other side of the door.
“Jeez…”
Silver Wolf blatantly opens the door, only to be faced with possibly the last sight she expected to be faced with.
To be honest, she wouldn’t be surprised if Blade had just been lying in his bed, eyes open eerily staring at the ceiling; it has happened before. Blade randomly sharpening his sword at 8AM? Very expected. Blade bleeding in the middle of the floor? It could happen. Blade staring at that brace of his, eyes full of anger and melancholy? Gross, but more likely than you’d think.
That said, she takes a few seconds to process the fascinating sight of Blade, her stoic and usually austere (except when stricken by Mara) companion, curled up on his bed (which he rarely uses) staring at his phone like a teenager.
He doesn’t even look up at her immediately as she enters the room. She just stands there and stares, waiting for some sort of reaction, when he finally lifts his eyes from the device to look up at her.
“…Ok, I’m not even going to comment.“ She walks over to him and holds her hand out. “Screen time is over for you, hand it over now.”
Silence reigns once again as Blade stares at her with wary orange red eyes. The room is fairly dark, so Silver Wolf can see in the light’s reflection on his face the moment something changes on the screen; his eyes immediately lower back down to the phone and scan its contents. He looks back up.
“…No.”
Her short supply of patience runs out.
“What do you mean, no?!” She walks closer until she is less than a meter away from the bed. “I told you days ago that there was gonna be a new banner coming out today! I need the phone, like, right now!”
“You seem to forget that this is my smartphone,” There he goes with the boomer names for things, “…Now go and install your game on your personal computer, if you so desperately wish to play it.”
She brings her hands up to her face in exasperation.
“Oh. My Aeons. Please just say PC. And maybe age is finally catching up to you, or your brain is fried from all the Mara or something, but already told you, I ran out of storage. ”
But damn it, he doesn't seem to budge in the slightest. She mentally takes a step back and tries to get the full picture.
“… You never even use that thing. You said it yourself, you only use it for work. Too late to go back on your word now!” She gives it a shot and quickly tries to snatch the object out of his hand, but she can't beat the reflexes that centuries of living awards you with. “Whatever you’re doing really can't be that important…” His grip remains tight despite his hand shaking slightly.
“… or could it be, you're just doing something mega embarrassing?”
Right on the money, she thinks, when Blade shoots a quick glance at his phone, then back at her, his facade cracking for a millisecond. She leans over his bed with a smirk to try and take a peek at the phone, but he turns the screen away from her face. Woefully, though, she knows teasing is never effective in getting a reaction out of him, which becomes clear when he waves her off again.
“What I do or don't do isn’t any of your concern. I suggest you go looking for another game to entertain yourself with.“ His tone is final, and seems to leave no room for tomfoolery. He shifts his attention conclusively back to the phone tightly held in his bandaged hand.
She hates it when he uses that tone. It’s like he’s just begging for a challenge.
“…Yeah, we'll see about that.”
***
Silver Wolf carries her PC in her hand as she enters the common room, to find Kafka sitting on the sofa tuning her violin. She groans, making her presence known.
“ Please get that thing away from me, I can’t even look at it anymore.” Memories of several nights of being forced to listen to classical tunes coming from the room next to hers come to mind.
Kafka turns around to greet her with those typical dead eyes and smile. “Aw, are you getting tired of it already? I personally think it has a lovely sound… But then what should I try next? The cello?”
The younger girl shakes her head, not in the mood for Kafka’s antics this early in the morning, especially considering that day’s circumstances. She walks to a sofa and drops her weight on it heavily.
“Well, someone’s in a mood today… is it because of whatever got you out of your room so early?”
“You don't even wanna know.” Silver Wolf groans, grabs a pillow from her side and dramatically buries her face in it, her voice coming out muffled. “Or I just really don't feel like telling you. Anyway, this might be the worst day of my life.”
“Well then, better not to pry.” The violin in Kafka’s lap gains her attention again. “Anyway, have you seen Bladie? He didn't come to breakfast as usual.”
“UGHH” She groans louder into the pillow this time. “You just HAD to bring him up.”
Kafka’s stupidly irritating smile only grows. “…Did Bladie do something to bother you?”
“Yeah. Baldie decided that today was the perfect day to acknowledge his phone’s existence.” The silver haired girl opens her PC and starts hurriedly typing away. “Seriously, I have no idea what he’s doing. He doesn't even know how to install apps. He doesn't know what the AppStore is. And why today of all days?”
Kafka makes a face, her eyes squinting for a few moments. For a second Silver Wolf thought the woman was going to take her side, but her eyes soon return to their natural position, as she seemingly figures out what's going on.
“Don’t be like that, Wolfie. You should be happy Bladie’s finally making new friends.”
Silver Wolf sighs loudly and rolls her ey-
…es.
Wait, what?
Silver Wolf throws the poor pillow to the other side of the room and turns to face the woman sitting next to her, sporting a disbelieving expression. “…Are you implying he’s texting someone??”
Kafka lets out one of her fake chuckles. “I mean, you don't expect him to be locked up in his room playing Candy Crush, right?”
I wouldn't be that surprised, she thinks.
Anyway, Blade has a friend (supposedly) (unlikely). Silver Wolf considers the horrifying possibility.
Then immediately discards it.
“That’s crazy. You’re out of your mind.” She crosses her arms behind her head, leaning back into the sofa. “I’ve been through his contact list, it's literally just us on there. And a random number named ‘DO NOT CALL (MARA EMERGENCY)’. I got no idea what that's about, actually.” She turns back to her PC and begins typing again.
“Bladie’s met new people on the recent mission to the Xianzhou, you know.”
“If Blade made new friends you would’ve known about it, and you have no reason for not telling me, so, no. Either way… whatever he's been doing, we’re about to find out.”
Kafka leaned over the sofa to look at the screen of her computer, glazed over eyes carrying a glint or curiosity. “What do you have there, Wolfie? Peeking into Blade’s personal business?”
“It became my business when it stopped me from pulling on the new banner.” She mutters and clicks on some stuff, types away some more. “Just gotta do this… and this… And there we go. Now we can access his phone through here.” She points to the screen, showing a lockscreen with a picture of her and Blade sporting sunglasses and a beanie at the arcade.
4 new notifications, a pop up message read.
“…Strange. He never has notifications. Anyway…” She makes a swiping motion with her mouse, unlocking the 'phone'. “He doesn’t even have a pin or anything. I don’t know why he thought he could hide whatever it was from…”
4 new messages from Jing Yuan
They stare at the notification on screen for a couple seconds as Silver Wolf processes. The notification stares back like it's purposefully mocking her.
“…What the… Isn’t Jing Yuan that general guy from the Xianzhou script??” She immediately clicks on the notification and begins scrolling to the beginning of the chat.
Jing Yuan sent a photo
mimi.jpeg
This is Mimi I told you about.
It looks
Corpulent.
Do you spoil it like you spoil your kid?
“This guy has a kid??” Silver Wolf’s eyes widen as she scrolls down the chat. “Ugh, I bet it’s an annoying one too.” She keeps reading.
😂😂
Firstly, Mimi is a she.
Secondly, I guarantee Yanqing goes through a rigorous sword training regime. I don’t go easy on him.
“…He used laughing emojis. Laughing. Emojis. They text like old men. I don’t think I can keep reading this anymore.”
“ Well, they are old men,” she heard Kafka saying in the background, but Silver Wolf was more interested in scrolling through the several messages, weird stickers and emojis used in wrong contexts, despite her previous words. She gets to the bottom of the chat and reads the four new messages Blade’s phone had recently received.
When Yanqing asked me who I was texting yesterday, I freely told him it was you.
He didn’t seem very content at first, but ever since he got over the fact that you are a criminal, he’s been begging me to try and teach him some of the sword techniques you demonstrated when you two dueled.
But how do I tell him I’m not at your level when it comes to swords? Ha ha.
That is to say, no one can explain or teach a technique better than the one who created it.
“Oh, so now he wants Blade to go and teach his kid how to fight? What a shame, not gonna happen.” She closes the PC with more force than necessary. “I don’t even think he should be texting this Jing Yuan, I mean, this wasn’t in Elio’s script or anything.”
“Well, we do have an alliance with the Xianzhou now… and, since our last mission, Bladie’s had a lot on his mind, so it might be a good thing he’s talking to other people. I don’t see a big issue.” Kafka’s eyes stare deep into her soul. “But… do you see a problem?”
The younger one scoffs. “A problem? Of course there’s a problem.” She quickly shoots up from her place on the couch. “Because if Blade is texting someone, he has to care enough to text them, which means they’re friends. And this friend has a kid who wants Blade to teach him sword stuff, and Blade cares a lot more about swords than he does about gaming, then Blade is gonna spend all his free time he used to spend with me with this kid, and his friend, and I’ll have no one to game and to go to the arcade with!”
She inhales deeply after her short venting session.
Kafka looks more amused than anything. “You did some… interesting logical jumps. But you know, you’re cute when you’re jealous, Wolfie.” She too gets up from the couch, violin in hand, and begins walking towards the door. “I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you. I’m deeply sure that Bladie has a very special place in his Mara-contaminated heart saved just for you.”
Silver Wolf imitates a retching noise. “Never say anything even remotely close to what you just said ever again to me.” She follows behind Kafka, exiting the room.
She might be right, she thought silently. Maybe I was thinking hastily. Blade’s not the type to make time to hang out with random people anyway.
***
Well, she was wrong.
***
Each month, each member of the Stellaron Hunters is allowed exactly one request of a stop of their journey on a destination of their choice, for purely leisurely reasons. That is, if it doesn’t interfere with the current script, of course. Each member makes the most out of this rule; sometimes, they stop at scenic and pleasant inhabited planets, just to get their minds off whatever mission they had just completed, to relish in a spontaneous moment, a contrast to the usual scrip-following. Other times, they stop at specific areas to get a specific item that one member desires.
Or at least that’s the case for most of the members. Blade’s requests almost entirely consist of stops to help in his chase of the dark haired man with a mysterious connection to his past.
Until today.
(Silver Wolf stood silently outside of Elio’s cabin on their ship, ear pressed against the cold metal door.
“You want to go to the Xianzhou.”
“Yes.” A deep, hoarse voice answered simply.
Silence takes over for a few moments, the atmosphere feels tense and the Silver haired girl feels out of place.
"I'll inform your crewmates when possible." She hears a sound of metal armor clanking, as if Elio is turning around. "Don't forget what I told you all those years ago."
She runs away as she hears steps coming closer to the door. Just as she's about to turn the closest corner, she feels red eyes digging into her back.)
***
A light, almost unnoticeable breeze brushing against the leaves of the trees surrounding the sparring field makes a relaxing sound, a stark contrast to the clanging of swords colliding.
A thud reverberates through the area.
"Ugh! Can you not throw me on the floor every time we finish??"
"Just making sure you know you lost."
The evening sun on the Xianzhou burning into both the males' skin combined with the exhaustion of countless hours of sword fighting didn't make for the most pleasurable sensation; however, it was one the dark haired man wouldn't trade for anything. Blade twirls the hilt of his sword in his hand, feeling it almost slip out of his grip due to the sweat present there.
"So, are we done here?"
"Nu-huh!!" Yanqing quickly scrambles up from where he was lying on the ground, raising his sword up to the other man's face. "I'll never relent to you, criminal! I'll never lower my sword!"
Blade stays silent, tightens his grip and gets into position, ready to obliterate the boy for what seemed to be the thousandth time.
"Uh… anyway… before we continue." Yanqing's demeanor suddenly turns from bashful to one of shyness and hesitation. He looks down and starts making patterns on the sand beneath him with his feet. "The general usually gives me tips after our training sessions. So… Do you have some feedback for me?"
Blade stops and seems to seriously consider the Lieutenant's words. He thinks back to their fights, analyzing the other's movements in his mind before speaking. Yanqing waits for his answer nervously.
"Your form is sloppy." Yanqing's head shoots up, eyes widening at the other's words. "Your posture starts off well, but it breaks during the course of the fight. But most of all, you let your ego get to you too much."
General Jing Yuan has the habit of praising him for his growth and evolution before offering his criticism. Now, being faced with such blunt words causes in Yanqing an urge to complain and protest; however, he thinks back to the general's words he heard a couple of months ago.
Remember, Yanqing. As long as you're open to constructive criticism, you're open to personal growth. This applies not only to swordfighting, but to life as well.
With the general's voice resonating in his mind, and reminding himself of the experience of the man standing in front of him, he swallows his pride and lowers his head in gratitude.
"...Thank you for the feedback, Mr. Blade. I'll work on it."
Suddenly, he lifts his head again, eyes regaining their typical fire.
"But don't think this means I’ve forgotten your past acts! The general might have let you get off easy, but as soon as he realizes the seriousness of your crimes, he'll bring you to justice! And then we'll claim your bounty…" Under his breath, Blade can hear Yanqing mutter something about '8 million' and 'buying many swords'.
Blade can only attempt to conceal his smirk. "Brr..., I'm trembling in fear."
"Play nice, you two."
The deep, carefree voice comes from the man standing a couple of feet away from them, hands behind his back, observing their exchange. The blonde boy's deep frown quickly morphs into a wide smile as he notices the general's arrival; he 'carefully' throws his sword to the ground and runs to greet his guardian.
He does a little jump and throws his short arms around Jing Yuan's neck, who puts his hands on Yanqing's back to support him as he basically hangs on him. "General, you're finally here!"
Jing Yuan chuckles fondly and places Yanqing on the floor.
"How long were you standing there? Still a big fan of doing absolutely nothing, I see." Blade half jokes as he takes a couple slow steps towards the duo, dematerializing his sword.
"And you're still a fan of judging my every action. I only just arrived." Jing Yuan says, the persistent smile still on his face. He turns to the young man, placing a comforting hand on his hair. "I hope you've had your share of training today, Yanqing. You can go home now if you wish."
He turns back to Blade. "And to you, old friend, I must thank you for taking over my training duties for the day. I know this boy here can be… a lot to handle." He ruffles Yanqing's hair, who makes a noise of indignation.
"Ah, speaking of that, I may ask… How was his behavior today? I hope he didn't give you too much trouble."
Blade's answer is simple and quick. "He was a brat."
"WHAT." Yanqing turns to the man, outraged, before immediately turning to Jing Yuan, with wide eyes and the corners of his mouth turned downwards. "General, you're not going to listen to the criminal, right?! I promise I behaved really well! I didn't even break any swords, I expressed my frustrations through words like you said I should!" He almost stomps his foot on the ground as he speaks.
"You tried to bite me after the first time we sparred."
"You threw me on the ground after every time we sparred."
"I said play nice." Jing Yuan intercepts, in a more firm but still carefree tone. "Now, Yanqing. How do you respectfully conclude a fight?"
Yanqing grumbles, but turns around to face Blade and bends his upper body, bowing stiffly. Blade reciprocates the act.
"Don't break your back, old man."
Silver Wolf chimes in from where she was sitting silently in a corner with her knees bent to her chest, attention almost entirely on the console in her hand.
Yanqing doesn't even attempt to stifle his laughter.
"Hahahahaha! Old man! Old man!" He parrots while pointing his index finger at Blade like a preschooler.
"Yanqing."
"...I'm sorry, General."
"It's not me you should be apologizing to." Jing Yuan crosses his arms, voice more rigid than before. Yanqing regretfully begins turning to the dark haired man.
"There's no need for that." Blade interrupts. He glances to the side at Silver Wolf who is still curled up a few meters away, quickly pressing the buttons on her console, carrying a bored expression. Then turns back to the two males. "It's time to go. My task here is complete."
Jing Yuan closes his eyes and lowers his head slightly, movements that are all too familiar to the Stellaron Hunter.
"Mh… So early? I'm sure you don't have any duties to attend to at least today." He uncrosses his arms. "...but I won't be forcing you to stay, of course."
Blade looks back to Silver Wolf. If Kafka were here, right now she would for sure be commenting on how he's making puppy eyes, even though to her his expression seems the exact same as it usually is. She rolls her eyes, shrugs, and looks back to her screen.
"...Alright." Blade says, facing Jing Yuan. "But we won't stay past tonight."
"Fantastic!" Jing Yuan places his hands on his hips in contentment, and it was almost like he wasn't ecstatic that two wanted criminals had accepted his proposal to stay in his homeland a little longer. "Now…" His gaze jumps from Yanqing to Silver Wolf and back to Yanqing again. "Yanqing, why don’t you invite Silver Wolf over to see our house? Or you could take a walk around the Exalting Sanctum, and show her the sights of the Luofu?"
Yanqing stares at him for a while before loudly whispering. "Why does she have to come to our house..?"
Jing Yuan fixes him with a stare that screams be quiet, be respectful and do as I say.
"...Uhh… I mean, yes... general…" He turns around to look at Silver Wolf, who's looking at him with something akin to disgust.
The air feels so awkward and it looks like each of them just wants to exit the situation, except for Jing Yuan, who's having none of it. In fact, he insists on making it worse.
"Come on, Yanqing, don't be shy. Go talk to her." He pats Yanqing's back twice in encouragement.
Yanqing stiffly turns around to Silver Wolf who's sitting about forty feet away, listening to the whole interaction. Yanqing awkwardly waves at her from where she's standing.
Oh Aeons, this is going to be torture.
In the least cringy way she can manage, she gets up from the floor, wipes the dust and sand from her clothes and starts walking towards the three males. When she passes by Blade (at first she doesn't spare him a look, seeing as this whole situation is his fault) the man stops her in her tracks. They're still a couple of feet away from the duo, and he speaks quietly so they can't make out what he's saying.
"Silver Wolf."
He gives the console in her hand a pointed look. When she gets the message, she looks at him in disbelief.
"You always say I should 'touch grass'..." He looks back up to her eyes. "Maybe you should… try that today."
She purses her lips. It's only by a smidgen of self control that she doesn't stick her tongue out at him right there.
She walks past him, getting close to Yanqing, not looking him in the eye.
"Let's do this, I guess."
She walks past the younger boy as well. He stares at her for a few moments before jogging a little to catch up with her.
Jing Yuan and Blade stare at the kids as they walk away in silence. The General turns to look at the Stellaron Hunter, taking notice of the strange look on his face.
"No need to worry." He states confidently. "I'm sure they'll get along well."
"She's going to destroy him"
Jing Yuan chuckles heartily. "You underestimate that boy. I would argue with you and say that sometimes he even destroys me." He looks up at the orange darkening sky, watching as the clouds quickly move from east to west, carried by the wind.
"Come." He says once he looks back down, beginning to walk away as well. "There's many places I'd like to show you."
***
The journey to Yanqing's room was definitely and absolutely the most awkward thirty minutes of her life.
Firstly, the entire walk to the front door was completely silent, save for the sounds of Yanqing unsheathing his sword whenever she made a movement he didn't predict (yeah, his hand was on his sword the whole time. These unpredicted movements included her checking the time, scratching her nose and zipping up her jacket, amongst others).
When they finally arrived at the front door, they both suffered through two more whole minutes of silence as Yanqing struggled to find his keys and took them out of his pocket. Upon stepping into the grandiose front lawn, the silence is finally broken as he quietly announces.
"This is my house."
What did I do to deserve this.
As they step into the house, Yanqing seems to become even more suspicious and on edge. He asks her to take off her shoes, doing the same. While walking through the halls, he walks slowly, almost as if trying to stay behind her.
"This is the General's room." Silver Wolf looks to the side and is faced with a big door with a metal carving of the face of a lion on it. When the Lieutenant speaks up again his voice is louder and clearer. "Don't even think about walking in there! I don't want you extracting any information!"
Silver Wolf scoffs. "You better watch out for me. If you don't, tomorrow everyone in the Xianzhou will know what kind of bed your General sleeps in."
Yanqing growls like a cat and keeps walking through the dark hall. As they get closer to the end of it, he turns left and opens the door in front of him.
"...And this is my room."
He hesitantly steps aside to let the girl in.
Silver Wolf walks in the room. The walls, from bottom to top, are covered in glass display cases that contain a seemingly endless amount of swords; looking up, she notices that some smaller swords are even hanging from the ceiling, held by metal bars. In one specific corner of the room, what seem like older weapons, chipped and covered in rust and scratches, are laying carelessly on the floor.
"Oh, umm, those are swords I have to take to the blacksmith to get repaired."
She looks around the room a bit more.
And more.
After a few seconds, she speaks.
"This room is so lame."
Yanqing stares in shock.
"What do you mean, lame?? Do you realize the value of this swords combined is higher than your bounty?!"
"Um, ok?" She shrugs. The console in her pocket feels heavier than ever, like it's begging to be picked up… "So what? What are we supposed to do now? If I wanted to play sword fighting with you we could've picked up sticks from the street outside."
"Ugh! You criminals have no sense of importance whatsoever." He paces around the room for a while, trying to figure out an answer for Silver Wolf's question. "Anyway… as for what we can do, uh… I can explain the story behind each sword, if you're interested."
She stares at him, not realizing he actually wants her to answer.
"...or, maybe not."
She walks up to a chair nearby and sits on it, sighing.
"Whatever. Honestly, I don't know what else I was expecting from this." She says loudly to herself. "But you know what, fuck what that boomer says about touching grass. The real world isn't doing it for me anymore. Do you have any games on your phone?"
"H-hey, don't curse inside of my room!" He looks around, exasperated. "I have a game called Pou on my phone, but I don't think you'd like it, really. It’s a game where you can take care of a mysterious creature-"
"I know what Pou is. And you're right, not interested. Anything else?"
"...Fruit Ninja?"
She stands up from her chair. "Yeah, that's not gonna cut it. …Pun not intended."
Yanqing panics as he watches Silver Wolf walking towards the door without looking back. If the general finds out I've let a criminal run into the wild, he'll be so disappointed… and even worse, just because she didn't want to hang out with me! That's just embarrassing!
"Wait, wait!" He runs past Silver Wolf, blocking the door with his body and impeding her from leaving. "I… I have something cool to show you. A secret."
Silver Wolf stops in her tracks, crossing her arms, all hope of this going well already out the window.
"But, before I show you, you have to promise not to tell the General. Like, really promise. If he finds out I've used our household items on this…"
Silver Wolf sighs again.
"How naughty of you, keeping secrets. But ok, I promise, I guess. Just show me."
Yanqing nods and takes a few steps towards a small cupboard next to his bed. He opens the bottom drawer slowly, looking at the contents inside, like he's still considering if he wants to expose them or not.
Then, finally, he pulls out a small, blue cylindrical plastic box.
"Come here!" He places the box on his desk and opens it. Silver Wolf steps closer, and senses a pleasant smell of soap coming from the mysterious contents.
Then, Yanqing takes the contents of the container and drops it onto his hand.
The stretchy, liquidy mass spills into the desk below and Silver Wolf considers getting the trash can from wherever it is and puking into it.
"What the hell IS THAT."
"It’s… slime!"
Yanqing places the slime on the desk completely, and when he pulls his hand away it partially sticks to him. He tries poking it like those satisfying videos with millions of views, but it just keeps sticking to his finger more and more.
"It's a little old, so I guess it got a little sticky…"
"...You're a slime kid." Silver Wolf says, ignoring Yanqing and taking a step back. "What sin did I commit to be placed in here right now?" Yanqing keeps playing with that thing, the sticky slimy noises burning into her brain. "Ugh, please get that out of my sight. And hearing range."
Yanqing finally understands the negative connotation of her words, and that his slime isn't being perceived as cool. He starts desperately trying to wipe the slime off the desk, but at this point it's just become a puddle of soap and flour and whichever other ingredient was on there.
"Uh, I'm not a slime kid! This was just uh… an experiment I made. You know, a one time thing!"
The hacker glances at the open drawer on the bedside table, which contains several boxes identical to the one on his desk, each one a different color. Yanqing lowers his head in shame.
"Look." She starts, slowly. "We both know we both don't want to be here, with each other. So why don't we just join forces or something, to do something we both want to do?"
Yanqing stares dumbly at her. "Um, that's what I've been trying to do. If you had an idea, you should've just said so…"
"...Right. Well, yeah, I have an idea."
Yanqing mentally hopes she's not trying to rope him into some sort of criminal activity. She speaks up again.
"Aren't you wondering what your daddy is doing right now?"
The young knight actually stops and thinks about the question, you can see it on his face. His mouth moves as if he's going to answer, but he finally seems to understand the implication of her question.
"Hu- Wait… you're not suggesting we go after them. Please tell me you're not…"
She walks to the door and opens it, gesturing for him to walk out. "Not like we have anything better to do."
Yanqing opens and closes his mouth like a fish she once saw in a movie. "Y- Not having anything to do isn't an excuse to do something bad! Besides, if the General told us to spend time by ourselves, he obviously meant he wanted to spend adult time with Blade!"
Silver Wolf cringes physically and mentally.
"...'adult time'? What are you, five? What do you think they're doing, talking about government secrets and politics together?"
"They may be…"
"Shut it. If they're together in public, where anyone can see, then we have the right to see them too. And listen."
Yanqing doesn't seem entirely convinced, but they're getting somewhere, judging by the pondering look on his face.
"Stop trying to be a good boy." She speaks firmly. "Listen, I know you don't like that Jing Yuan is friends with Blade. Or that they're friends again, I guess. I don't like it either. So… why don't we make an agreement? One that'll benefit the both of us."
"I'm not making a deal with a criminal!"
"No one said anything about a deal. It's an agreement."
"It's the same-"
"Just hear me out! If you do this favor for me today, I'll agree to try and make Jing Yuan hate me as much as possible so you won't have to see me or Blade so often."
Yanqing looks at her with wary eyes. "Seems like you're getting more out of this than me…"
"Just say you agree!"
But he won't be so easily manipulated. He stops and thinks about Silver Wolf’s proposal for a second.
She was half right about one thing; he doesn't like Blade. He's an arrogant and shameless criminal who very often gets on his nerves. Most of all, he's extremely confused about why his general doesn't seem to care about this fact at all, despite them being supposed 'old friends' (Yanqing attempted to get some information about their past off the General after the incident with the Stellaron Hunters, but to no avail. "It's for your own good," he had said.)
But… is having Blade around really that bad? As long as he visits the Xianzhou to see the general once in a while, Yanqing will keep being fed with new sword techniques, infinite sparring/training sessions and an experienced swordsman to fight with. Besides, Yanqing heard certain stories relating to Blade's past that mention something about a craftsman who made swords… If he managed to understand the full story there, that might be another pro of Blade’s presence.
As much as he hates to admit it, having Blade around doesn't seem like such a bad thing. So-
"So, I won't agree with your agreement!"
Silver Wolf groans.
"Five minutes of thinking for that. Whatever. Look, I'm going out and seeing what those two are up to. Just saying, you're general would be pretty disappointed if you let me run wild, wouldn't he?
Crap, it's like she read his thoughts earlier!
"It's not like it's a crime to eavesdrop."
"Just standing here with you is a crime."
The Stellaron Hunter turns around, clearly done with the conversation and walks decisively towards the door. "Ok, sure. See you later, loser."
She knows neither Jing Yuan nor Blade would be super pleased with her for leaving Yanqing. But she also knows Yanqing is coming right after her.
Forty five minutes later, the teenagers find themselves in a reserved and quiet corner of the Exalting Sanctum.
With Yanqing feeling slightly less suspicious of her, they were actually able to traverse the various ships that the Xianzhou consisted of fairly quickly (despite neither being technically allowed to drive a starskiff). After thoroughly searching through the entirety of the Luofu, Alchemy commission and Artisanship commotion, and coming out of their search empty handed, Yanqing pipes up, panting slightly from all the walking and running around they had been doing.
"If they're not here, I think there's only one more place the General could've taken them to."
Silver Wolf, on the other hand, breathes heavily. "Please tell me we won't have to search an entire ship again." She shakes her legs in an attempt to alleviate the cramping.
"No, it's a specific place. Let's get going, it's getting dark already."
That's how the two find themselves in their current predicament.
In a dimly lit pavilion in a corner of the Exalting Sanctum, the two men they sought sit in a secluded table surrounded by a circle of water.
In an open area.
Silver Wolf and Yanqing peek from behind a building a couple dozens of feet away as people around them give them strange looks.
"I can't hear anything from here. We have to get closer somehow."
Yanqing retreats back to behind the large building, out of the sight of Blade and Jing Yuan. He's sweating despite not moving anymore, and his entire body is shaking. He slides his backs down the wall until he's sitting on the floor.
"Uh… I think I'm feeling sick, Silver Wolf. Can you come with me back to my house-"
"Don't even think about backing out now." She grabs him by his collar and pulls him up, ignoring his yelp. "Today of all days I forgot to bring my mic… I could've thrown it there and we could listen from here."
She looks around some more, trying to come up with some sort of plan. Then, pulling Yanqing by his collar suddenly, she runs from behind the building to a tree nearby, kneeling down quickly, hiding behind the large concrete block supporting the plant.
"Hey!" Yanqing whisper-shouts. "You could've told me what we were gonna do."
"You would've bitched out." She says quietly.
"Don't-"
"Shut up! Listen."
A deep but soft voice comes from the pavilion a few meters away from them.
"Y… … torturing yourself. …must try …. … move on … the past.
"...I can barely make anything out! Let's get-"
Yanqing covers Silver Wolf’s mouth with his hand, which earns him a glare. "Stop talking! I wanna listen to what they're saying…"
Didn't sound like you were that interested 30 seconds ago, she thinks, but doesn't say anything else.
A low, hoarse voice reaches their ears.
".... can't. …. refuse…."
The other voice speaks up again. "You should … … a fresh start. … … accept he's gone, … not coming back."
Yanqing and Silver Wolf quickly realize by the tone of their voices that this is a conversation they should not be listening to, but they're in too deep. She grabs Yanqing by the hand and recklessly pulls him closer to the table where the two men sit, crawling through the floor, until they're crouching right at the edge of the ship, the endless sky right by their side.
They heard no response from the other voice. Someone lets out a long, tired sight. The same voice from before speaks up, much more clear to them now.
"You can't keep tormenting that boy."
Then, someone slams a fist on the table.
Yanqing flinches and his foot slips.
He falls right off the ship.
In that moment, Silver Wolf thanked herself a million times for playing so much Project Sekai, for her heightened reflexes absolutely saved her ass that day.
Imagine how fun it would be if I just let the General's golden child die. Seriously, they should add some safety railings to this ship.
She swings her arm down and grabs Yanqing's hand with her own before he falls too far. By some miraculous happenstance, Yanqing has the decency to cover his mouth with his hand before he screams.
Very slowly and as silently as possible, the hacker pulls the blonde knight up by his arm so he can get back on the ship. As he does, she makes a shushing motion with her index finger, instructing him to be quiet.
Yanqing looks past her, then back at her with sad and shameful eyes.
Silver Wolf turns around and finds Blade and Jing Yuan looking at them with funny expressions plastered on their faces.
"I must say… I'm a little disappointed in your behavior, Yanqing."
Jing Yuan says, scratching his white hair. Behind him, three Stellaron Hunters stand watching the interaction, waiting for their turn to speak.
Yanqing, head hanging low, stares past the general into the short girl's eyes with rage. She blows a bubble with her gum and holds up her middle finger, and feels Kafka tugging on her hair. Yanqing does his best not to gasp.
"But… at the end of the day, I understand. You're still just a curious child, after all." Jing Yuan chuckles at his own words. "I won't give you any serious punishment, but you must understand your actions were not correct, so… you will spend a week without playing Fruit Ninja."
Yanqing finally looks up at Jing Yuan with shiny eyes. "...No, please..!"
"Oh yes, and it's final." Finally, he turns around and faces the three criminals. "As for you… I can only hope you enjoyed your visit. I can only hope this wasn’t the last. You’re absolutely welcome to come back, and you'll be received with open arms." He offers a gentle smile.
Kafka nods. "I'm sure it won't be. Right, Bladie?" Blade grumbles. Silver Wolf feels her eyes roll automatically.
Kafka places her hands on both their heads. "I hope their behavior was appropriate."
Jing Yuan laughs. "No need to worry. Their 'behavior' was top notch." He doesn't seem to understand she wasn't joking. "But now, I must bid you farewell, friends. It's way past Yanqing's bedtime."
Yanqing makes a sound of complaint and embarrassment that sounds like a whine from a small cat.
Kafka turns around.
"Very well, General. May we meet again. Bladie, Wolfie, let's go."
She snaps her fingers on both hands, and they follow after her.
Two nights after the Stellaron Hunters' visit to the Xianzhou, Silver Wolf hears a knock on her door.
She doesn't bother to turn her chair around.
"What?"
The door opens and she hears heavy steps approaching her.
She hits pause on her game, and when she does turn around, she sees Blade standing in the middle of her room. He looks funny when lit by the colorful led lights.
The gamer takes a sip of her energy drink before speaking. "What do you want?"
"...got you something."
He throws something on her bed. She slides her chair closer to it, and upon closer inspection, realizes it's a small cardboard box.
iPone 14 Pro max, the box read.
"...Idiot. Could've just gotten me a new PC…"
The following night, two women sit in the dimly lit common room, a phone with a simple dark blue and red phone case sitting unlocked on the table in front of them.
"So… why can't you just do some research on the number, and figure out who it is?"
"I can, but the number has some sort of encryption. It must be associated with an organization with high security."
"And you can't hack it, why..?"
"Because I'd be too much work! I'd take like, two minutes. Too much effort for this. Better just wait for an answer."
It was like the person on the other side was listening to the conversation, because as soon as she finishes her sentence, a ping is heard coming from the phone.
The two women look at each other. Then both scramble to grab the phone on the table. Silver Wolf gets to it first.
chat with DO NOT CALL (MARA EMERGENCY)
hey
who dis
two (2) new messages
Please. I asked you various times not to contact me again.
If you don't reveal your identity or intentions, I will report this number.
Kafka and Silver Wolf glance at each other, concealing their shock.
Kafka takes the phone from Silver Wolf’s hand, with a look that says trust me.
Sorry, I found this number on my bf's phone :0
I saw on his call history he called you a couple times… just wondering what that's about.
And it was true. By checking the phone's call history, they found out Blade had called this number various times at ungodly hours, each call lasting about 30 seconds.
A few minutes passed before they received a reply.
…
Oh.
Please, please delete this number from your boyfriend's phone.
He's been calling me late at night, breathing into the microphone and saying strange things.
Silver Wolf cringes at the mental image. Kafka squints.
"Blade might be creepy but this person's dumb. Give the phone to me."
why didn't u just block this number
I tried.
Various times actually.
But it's like it didn't work.
"What the… How's that possible?" Silver Wolf frowns. "I've never heard… …"
Oh.
Oh my Aeons.
Suddenly, various flashbacks attack her brain.
Five months ago, Blade suddenly bursts into her room. She rips her headset off her head.
"What the hell! Don't know how to knock anymore, do you??"
"Silver Wolf" He ignores her completely. "...Kafka blocked my number after our last mission. She was mad at me. …Do you think you can unblock it?"
"...What the hell did you do to get her to be so mad at you..? But sure, just spell her number out for me and I'll do it."
Four months ago, Blade knocks and walks into her room at night again.
"Silver Wolf." He starts seriously. "...Kafka blocked me again. Do you think you can unblock it?"
"Jeez. OK, but this is the last time. Ask her to unblock you next time."
"...She won't." He spells out a familiar number for her
Two months ago, the same scene. Blade in her room, phone in hand.
"Silver Wolf. Ka-"
"Kafka blocked you again. Maybe you should learn to behave during missions, and I wouldn't have to do this every time."
"...Just don't mention this to her. She might get mad and block me again."
"...What the FUCK."
Kafka stares into her soul as usual. "...Something came to mind?"
So Blade was a mastermind using her to keep harassing this random person. She can't believe she's never even questioned anything all those times.
"Hey…" She starts hesitantly. "Do you remember all those times you blocked Blade’s number?"
Kafka’s confused stare confirms her suspicions.
"...Yeah, I thought so."
Kafka grabs the phone from her hand and types something out.
That's so strange :^
Sorry about that, he's a bit of a weirdo.
Anywayy, who are you? My bf's not super sociable, so it's strange that he'd just harass some random girl…
I hope this isn't too invasive :°
I'm not a girl
And it's alright, it's not your fault.
I'm a passenger of the Astral Express.
Silver Wolf pieces things together. Kafka sighs like she already knew.
Silver Wolf takes the phone from her.
never heard of it
gtg break up w him now.
Silver Wolf blocks and deletes the contact.
***
Two weeks later Blade shows up in Silver Wolf’s room in the middle of the night, and she gets a deep feeling of déjà vu.
"...Silver Wolf." Blade starts speaking carefully. "...a contact seems to have disappeared from my smartphone. Would you happen to know something about that?"
She doesn't look away from her computer screen. "Oh, umm. That can happen if someone reports your number as spam."
Her screen turns dark for a second, and in the reflection she sees a strange expression on his face.
"Is it possible to… 'unspam' the number from their phone?"
Silver Wolf sighs. "Tell me the number."
Blade spells out a familiar number. From memory.
Creepy.
Silver Wolf pretends to write something on her keyboard.
"Aw, shucks. Looks like the number's encrypted or something. Impossible to get this done without the authorities being informed."
Blade stands there silently for a while. Then he walks away, and doesn't leave his room the following day.