A Journey Across Terra

Record Restoration #3

Iberia. Known for its blacksand beaches. Truly a marvel for all to see, the foamy bubbles of the crashing waves contrast perfectly with the matte black sand.

From a half-submerged cave emerged a pythian boy. His hair was damp from the seawater as his arms limply sat on his sides. He let out a tired sigh as he traversed over the rocks, eventually reaching the beach.

"Not here either." He muttered to himself as he ruffled up his hair in frustration. "It would be easy she said. It would be fun she said."

Through the entire walk back to town, the Pythian boy continued to unintelligibly mumble to himself in frustration. And eventually he arrived at a moderately sized town that went by the name of Blackshore Bay.

As he walked through town, he arrived at the inn that he was currently staying in. The first step he took into the tavern his eyes landed upon an Oni that sat in the corner of the inn, quietly eating her food. Her black horns sat upon her brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. But that wasn't the thing that caught his attention. The thing that caught his attention was the presence of a black mask that covered half of her face.

As if it was on cue, the Oni stood up and walked over towards the Pythian boy, stopping right in front of him. they both stood there, staring at each other. Though he couldn't see her eyes, he could tell that she was sizing him up.

Succumbing to her judgeful gaze the Pythian boy began to speak. "Sooo. You just gonna stare at me or..." He took a step back.

"Serpentine Wanderer. Correct?" She said in a stern tone.

"Yes, that's correct." The recently dubbed 'Serpentine Wanderer' had a confused expression on his face.

The Oni gave a nod of acknowledgement before pulling out some sort of employee identification card. "Operator Yato from Rhodes Island." She gave a slight bow. "I have been tasked with acquiring your help in this mission."

"And why does this Rhodes Island want something to do with me?" The Serpentine Wanderer defensively took another step back. "Isn't that just a pharmaceutical company? Why would they have anything to do with Iberia and especially with me?"

"Don't worry, I will explain everything if you help me."

The Serpentine Wanderer blankly stared at her before pinching the bridge of his nose. "I will not help you if you don't tell me what your mission is."

"I'm sorry but that Information is cl-" Yato's words was cut off by Serpentine Wanderer's exasperated voice.

"Look, if you're willing out to go out and ask for my help, then that mean you or Rhodes Island trusts me to some degree. Correct?"

Yato slowly nodded.

"Yes, but that's the thing. If you want trust, you must gain it. If you want me to help with your mission, you better start explaining."

"And yet you are willing to help a complete stranger asking for help." Yato muttered to herself.

"Oi, I'm stupid. Not deaf."

"Right...Come sit." Yato guided the Serpentine Wanderer towards a table. "I will explain everything about this mission to you."

{ - Adventures Across Terra - }

"Not this cave either?" Yato followed behind Yuki as they walked along the side of a beach.

"Nope. I've already checked out most of this peninsula." He pointed towards a strip of land. "There's nothing there."

Yato was in deep in thought as she rubbed her chin.

"Yato, you in there?" The Serpentine Wanderer waved his hand in front of her vision. "We're at a cave I haven't explored yet."

"Oh, right. Yep, let's go."

As they trudged deeper into the cave, the dripping sound of seawater echoed throughout the cave as the crashing of the waves acted as white noise to block out the defeaning silence.

"So, what makes Rhodes Island want tissue samples of the seaborn?" The Serpentine Wanderer enquired as he held out an oil lamp. Its purple flame was contained within a glass container, blocking the constant dripping seawater from the cave's roof.

"I don't know." Yato replied as she looked at the algae covered walls of the cave.

"Is that so?" He replied nonchalantly.

"Yeah. Sorry about that..." The Oni scratched her nape.

"Don't have to apologize. I was just overstepping my boundaries." His slight smile was illuminated by the purple flame of the oil lamp. "You don't have to tell me anything."

They continued to explore the tidal cave as they walked in complete silence. With every twist and turn that the cave made, the more monotonous it came as they algae covered walls numbed their brains with boredom.

"I've been wondering, wouldn't it just be better if we search during the night?"

"Yeah, it would. But they just give me the heebie jeebies at night."

Yato crossed her arms. "Hmm. I never took you for one to be scared of the dark."

The Serpentine Wanderer stopped in his tracks before turning around to look at Yato. "I am not scared of the dark. I just hate dealing with stuff that hide in the dark."

The Oni had an amused smile on her face. "Yeah, you're not fooling anyone with that half assed excuse."

He only rolled his eyes as a reply as they stopped at dead end. "Nothing...Once again."

"Let's get going." Yato had already made a 180 and began walking off into the opposite direction.

The Serpentine Wanderer rushed up towards Yato. "Oi, you're gonna get lost. Let me lead the way." 

"You know you're not the only one who has a good sense of direction."

"Yeah, but you're not the one with the lantern, aren't you?"

"Touche." The Oni slowed down her pace to match with the Serpentine Wanderer.

"So, how'd I catch the eyes of a Pharmaceutical company anyway?"

Yato pondered on the thought for a few seconds before speaking. "I don't know the specifics but as far as I know, you have caught the attention of Dr Kalt'sit. Our leader."

"Hm? And what in the world have I done to get this Kalt'sits' attention?"

"Like I said I don't know." She then turned to look at the Serpentine Wanderer. "Now that you've asked a question, I must ask my own question."

The Serpentine Wanderer squinted his eyes before sighing. "Fine."

"What's your name?"

"It's The Ser-"

"Your real name."

He let out a grumble of acceptance. "It's Yuki. Yuki Korraru."

"Well then Mr Korraru, it'll be a pleasure working with you." Yato smiled as she held out a hand.

{ - Adventures Across Terra - }