Stranger From a Strange Land (canceled)

Chapter IX: Imagine Dragons

"So, you must be the kid I've been hearing so much about" Runa says. Scary! "Yeah, and you must be the famed Runa" I say. "Indeed" she says. "It's an honour to meet you, miss Runa" I say. "Let's get this straight. We are world's apart. If I ever find out you aren't what you say you are, I'm going to kill you, understand?" She says. I think for a second. She could become a serious issue in the future, it's best to make an ally of her now than an enemy of her later. "Alright, then how about I prove it" I say. "Don't be ridiculous, kid, you're only S2, I just graduated to X, I'd crush you" she says. "Actually, I'm not an S2. Anymore, that is. I also just recently graduated to X class" I say. "Bullshit" she says. "That's why I want to prove it. Let's have a spar" I say. "Fine," she sighs, "but don't complain if you end up half-dead" she says. "Sure" I say.

We're standing just outside the city, with everyone's eyes on us. I may have acted on a whim again, but at least I can prove that I'm x class. We're going to fight with weapons, magic is considered cheating. It's going to be a fair fight. At least, that's what they think. I have parkour on my side, and even if there's nothing to use it on, I can still pull it off using her. "Ready?" Yells Sammy. "Fight!" She yells, and Runa and I lunge toward each other, blades poised. But instead of attacking, Like she assumes I will, I side-step her, Grabbing her sword arm and bending it behind her back, reeling her in and putting my knife to her throat. "I win" I whisper in her ear. "Deisuke wins!" Says Sammy, both ecstatic and shocked. Daniella stands there, with her arms folded and an  'I thought so' look on her face
Both Aries and Carne are at a loss for words. I know this must be shocking to them, but I can't afford to lose to her and make her think I was lying. I had to make her realise just how much stronger I am, as much as I hate crushing dreams. It was over in the blink of an eye. "How...?" She whispers. "It's simple. You just aren't the strongest anymore" I say. "Really?" She says, looking at me with a year in her eye. "Unfortunately so" I say, letting her go. She hangs her head in despair, clearly disheartened. I feel Luna's arms wrap around my waist. Her head is at the same level as my chest. Before, it would've barely made it to my stomach. A lot can change in a week. "Anyway, we've got a quest for you, Deisuke" says Daniella. "What for?" I query. "To investigate something big" she says. Big? "How big are we talking?" I query. "They said they suspect it could be a dragon" she says. Dragon? A dragon? Oh, hell yes. But who is the 'they' she mentioned? "They? Who's they?" I ask. "The people of the Beastkin town" she says. Oh! That must mean people with animal ears, like Luna. So I'll get to see more of them? I have no idea why I'm so excited, but I think it's because I can't wait to witness all the adorableness of Luna even more. "I accept" I say. "Hey! Why don't I get a say in it?" Yells Aries. "Nope." I say. Seriously, after that last investigation quest ice been yearning for something bigger, and at least a little more exciting than a Golem, and go be quite honest, I really wanna see a dragon. I wonder if it'll spit flames. Then again, there's no guarantee that it's a dragon, but even then, I'll still be meeting an entire Beastkin village. "So, when do we leave?" Asks aqua. "The sooner the better. I'd suggest tomorrow afternoon at the soonest, that'll give us a whole day to get ready" I say. Runa has gone off back to the city, so I've no idea how she feels, but I hope she'll feel better about it soon. "The journey to the village town will take a Total of eight days, so you guys should make sure you've got everything ready before you leave, you might only get back next month" says Sammy. "Alright, I'll have Carne make the arrangements for transport while Aries and I gather resources for the journey" I say. "Deisuke... Me?" Queries Luna. I suppose it could be good to take her with. After all, the best learning situation is real experience, especially with speaking. You'll never learn to speak properly if you do t speak to someone while you learn. Your brain picks up their speech patterns, learns how they work and what they mean, and then uses them to build a catalogue of the language. "Yeah, sure, you can come with" I say. I just hope to god cats have good memory, or this will be a horrible choice. Oh well, I've made my peace, since we're going for so long, after you first leave there's no turning back. "Alright then, it's settled!" Says Aries.