Materiarth Genesis: Blue Moon

Chapter 17: To Wilt and Die

"This is one of the Firstborn's Twelve Blessings. A gift that was given to him by the Spirits when he first descended upon this world. One of the twelve artifacts that help him vanquish the Demon Overlord and cast the rest of his kin into the void," Valeria kept her voice down, not wanting to attract the attention of those sitting around them. Her eyes switching focus between Tokine and the ring which was now in between their food trays.

Tokine stopped slurping on her bowl of ramen and pointed her chopsticks at Valeria. "You know, if I hadn't been tossed into another dimension and nearly got killed by giant robot guarding this piece of jewelry, I'd called that story bullshit. But here I am," she swallowed her food. "So basically, this can let me kill demons easier?"

"I can't say, but the records did mention that the Blessings grant mortals abilities that surpass the most incredible of arcane arts. Explore unseen memories, bringing the dead back to life, limitless teleportation, protection against any physical harm, and as shown by this one here, clairvoyance."

After what almost felt like an eternity Valeria telling the story about the Twelve Blessings and the circumstances she and Elwyn were in, Tokine decided to summarize it. "Let me get this straight. You were asked by this Navira guy to retrieve these magical thingamajigs from the Spirit World before other people can get their hands on them?" she picked the ring up from the table and flipped it like a coin. "Quite a bang-up job on your first day, I must say."

"Technically, we were successful in obtaining the Blessing first. You, Miss Aguri, were something that we didn't expect," Valeria politely retorted.

"Oh, you making it sound like I'm the bad guy here," Tokine hissed threateningly with her native tongue.

"I understand your reasons for taking it," Valeria replied in Ryukyuean, which surprised Tokine, but it also annoyed her by how crude her attempt at speaking it sounds. Valeria then continued, this time in Materian Standard, "You were hoping that Elwyn, or should I say, Joker, to come after you so that you can ask him more about your father."

Tokine clenched her teeth and fingers, feeling like she was being read by the blonde girl like a book. "What questions I'm about to ask him is none of your business."

"Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened to your father. I may not know him personally, but I've heard the stories about him. They say he was one of the most benevolent rulers of Ryukyu and was loved by his people, and no doubt by his family too. I can understand why you've traveled so far off from your home just to learn more about the tragedy that befell him ..."

Tokine slammed her fist onto the table, startling most of the crowds in the food court and creating a brief aura of silence. They received many quick glances from the tables around them, but no one dared to look any longer and they just resumed their lunch not long after.

"Just shut the hell up! I don't need some false pity, certainly not by some stupid gaijin who lets her pet wolf do all her dirty work," Tokine growled, slowly getting up from her seat. Her voice was a mix of her own and Vandal's. Her aggression made Valeria pushed her seat away from their table. All this time the girl had been acting polite and smiling at Tokine. Now, all of that had disappeared, and she genuinely looked terrified of the larger girl.

Realizing that her skin was starting to burn up, Tokine stopped her ragged, angry breathing and gave a relaxed inhale and exhale. She closed her eyes and waited for Vandal's influence on her mind to fade off before she addressed Valeria again. "Just....stay out of my business. I'm better off finding the truth myself," Tokine opened her left hand and looked at the ring in her palm. She had clenched her fist so tight that the piece of metal left a deep marking on her skin. "I'm going to keep this for a little while longer. If you want it, tell your friend to come to find me later tonight."