MHA Fantasy Quest for the SOL

Part 19: The Channel and the Tinker

The evening before their expected departure, Shoto, Bakugo, and Deku decided to check to make sure the sailors were not going to back out, happily, they found them still at their seaside shack, having a mug of mead. They were more mellow than before and didn't seem to resent the intrusion too much. But one roundly told them that they were being pestered by another young fool. "One of those cockamamie entrepreneurs always trying to sell you some snake oil contraption of theirs." They complained. "Now she's inspecting our ship for the 4th time trying to convince us to use some of her confounded devices, it's getting really old... say, we'll take 10 coin off your passage if you get rid of her." "Get rid of her?" Shoto aid. "You're knights or warriors or something, ain't you? Just go scare her off." They took a swig. "I guess..." Deku said. "The he-- do I care about 10 coins," Bakugo snapped. "I suppose you would only be in the way, you can go," Shoto said flatly. Bakugo glared. "I could scare them off way faster than you with your girly face." "My what--" Shoto's eyes blazed. "You are very intimidating," Deku said nervously. "Don't forget it, you weakling!" Bakugo raged.

They walked down to the shipyard, and located their vessel. There was someone standing on it with a lantern. Shoto peered at them, they walked over the pier to get close, there was a figure in a hood standing next to the ship, ominously. They looked at them silently. The boy stopped, uncertain. "Do you think that's her?" Deku said nervously. But the silence was broken just then by a high pitched voice hollering ath them--or the figure--from the deck. "Hitoshi! I've got so many ideas from looking at this ship's layout even closer! Did you bring a scroll?" The hooded figure looked up. "Yes." He answered in a dead sounding tone. "Then take this down, for better steering, a---" she began rattling off a list of words no one could understand. In the lantern light, they couldn't see much about her, but Shoto said. 'I don't think it's a question that's who we're looking for. Excuse me me," he said more loudly, but the girl paid him no mind whatsoever, just launched into another description. "Excuse me," Shoto tried again. Still nothing. "Hey, shut the he--up moron!" Bakugo shot off an explosion. The igl broke off aborulp. "Hey, sparky! Watch it! You could set this baby on fire!" "The frick I will if you don't shut up and get down here!" Bakugo held up his hand. "What kind of an ass is this?" The hooded figure turned as if noticing them for the first time. "Uh..." Deku said, uneasily, "sorry about him, he just is...well.. You see. The sailors who own this boat want you to leave it alone, if you wouldn't mind--" "Who are you people?" The figure ignored him, finally putting back his hood, revealing a very tired looking face. His hair didn't look like a normal color. "You're a mage..." Shoto guessed. "As are you, what do you want?" The man replied. "Hitoshi was it? The sailors asked us to come drive you and your loud friend away from the ship... actually they never mention you." Shoto said. "I d ut they remembered me," Hitoshi said carelessly. "I don;t usually leave much of an impression. Mei, they say it's time to leave." "Nonsense! I'm just getting started!" Mei replied. "I don't know who those three are, but they don't look so tough to me, you can take 'em. Meanwhile, I'll just be in the briggs." "Bakugo glared. "You think I'm not tough! I'll light your tail on fire!" But Mei already wasn't listening anymore. She took out a measuring tape. "Mei, I don't think I take all three of them here," Hitoshi said lightly. "Oh, sure you can." Mei said, then she froze and then she came off the ship, jumping to the pier, then she blinked. "Hey! That's not fair! I don't want to leave." "We can always try someone else." Hitoshi said flatly. "I don't want to," Mei said. "If we get arrested for trespassing again, we'll have to sell your bellows to pay the charge." Hitoshi said. Mei flinshce. "All right all right, tomorrow." She frowned at the three of them. "Some people are just too ignorant to understand genius when they see it." "That's... kind of arrogant, isn't it?" Shoto said. "It's pretty arrogant to walk up to random strangers and threaten to set them on fire, when it's not even you ship,'' Hitoshi replied dryly, "I don't know if you should be talking. Mei and put her money where her mouth is, can you?" "Why you--" began Bakugo, but Shoto put an arm out. "I swear I will freeze you in place," he said. "Try it!" Bakugo said angrily. Histohsi and Mei started walking away, but Histoshi glanced back. "You know, you really shouldn't reveal your abilities so easily, mage. Someone might call that reckless." Then he walked away. "He was unsettling," Deku said. "How did he get her to just listen?" Shoto wondered. "I wouldn't want to be in charge of reining that girl in. Let's just go."