Chapter 46: Playing Cards
Outside the cabin door, Menchi's voice was a mix of annoyance and genuine disbelief. "Seriously? You're not even going to relax for one day?"
Kai didn't answer. He sat in the small, spartan cabin, listening as her frustrated footsteps finally faded away down the corridor. He felt the low, steady thrum of the ship's engines beneath his feet, a constant vibration that traveled up his legs and into his chest. He turned and stared out the small, circular porthole, watching the endless, churning expanse of the dark blue sea.
"Death Aura..."
He let out a long, slow breath, a cold knot of anxiety in his stomach. That was careless. So, so careless.
Just a moment ago, it had happened. That familiar, invasive wisp of energy—both ice-cold and burning hot—had drilled its way into his heart.
His first, panicked thought was that a murder had just occurred somewhere on the ship.
But as he sat there, his Nen senses on high alert, he carefully analyzed the sensation. He replayed the "feeling" in his mind. The wisp hadn't come from the corridor, or from the deck above. It had come from... below. And, factoring in the ship's forward momentum, it felt like it had originated from behind and below.
It had come from the ocean.
An absurd, vivid image flashed in Kai's mind: a thousand meters down in the crushing, black depths, a massive shark, its maw filled with rows of serrated teeth, was tearing a giant squid apart. As the creature died in a cloud of ink, a single, pure wisp of "Death Aura" was released. It had arrowed up through a kilometer of water, impervious to the pressure, breaking the surface and chasing the ship's wake... all to find him, sitting in his cabin, trying to practice his Ten.
"My absorption range is about one kilometer," he muttered to himself, frowning. "Is this part of the ocean even that deep?"
He continued to analyze the problem. "At the speed this ship is moving, what are the odds? Even if there's a whole feeding frenzy happening down there, the ship would have to be directly over the exact spot, at the exact second of death, for the Aura to fall within my absorption range. The timing... it's just too unlikely..."
He sat perfectly still on the edge of his bed, his senses expanded, and just... waited.
One minute passed. Then five.
No more wisps. The cold, prickling sensation in his chest began to fade.
He finally allowed himself to relax, just a little.
He stood, gathered his new phone and the wad of Zeni he had left, and pushed the door open.
The two "Kai-Crows" he had assigned to Shizuku were perched on the outer deck railing, enjoying the sea breeze. His own bird, Rock Sparrow, was still locked in his room. The moment he opened the door, he could hear it, chirping in a fit of pure, unadulterated rage, its tiny beak hammering against the inside of the door.
He was in what passed for the "first-class" corridor. Sloe, the Ochima official, had apparently booked out the entire section. The room to his right, he knew, was shared by Shizuku and Menchi. To his left was Dako's team of freelance Hunters. Furthest down the hall was Sloe's own cabin.
Dako's door was closed. The room was silent. Probably out on the deck, Kai thought.
He glanced at the girls' door, considered knocking, and then decided against it. Instead, he walked down the corridor toward the center of the ship, toward the large, open-plan cabin that served as the ferry's combination lounge, bar, and general store.
...
"Hahaha! I'm telling you, I was luckier than all of you!"
"Oh yeah? How?"
"I saw a live Pale Moon Tiger! It was glowing! Absolutely beautiful. Made the whole trip worth it, right there!"
"A tiger is nothing! Look at this! A genuine 'Blue Moon Jewel'! The vendor said it's the real treasure! Only one per tiger, for its entire life!"
It was, as Kai had suspected, the "Bragging Plaza." The moment he entered, he was hit by a wall of sensory overload: the stuffy heat of too many bodies, the stale smell of spilled beer, the aroma of fried food from the snack bar, and a cacophony of voices and accents. This was the main artery for the tourists and businessmen leaving Ghost Soul Island, and they were all wide open, loudly sharing their adventures.
"I'm telling you, that Ojiesky guy is the murderer! I don't care what the jury said! Damn judges, and damn his lawyers!"
"His wife was so beautiful... how could that fat pig Ojiesky do it... just horrible..."
"And that lawyer who got him off! He's just as bad! When I read the final verdict, I swear, my fists just started itching!"
Amidst this bizarre and chaotic background noise, Kai walked up to the small shop counter. He pulled a Zeni bill from his pocket and stood on his tiptoes to see over the top. "Hey. Do you have a world map? And two new decks of playing cards."
"Cards?" The old shopkeeper, who had been reading a newspaper, pushed his glasses down his nose. He stood up, looked over the counter, and saw Kai. He chuckled, looking around the lounge. "A kid like you, buying playing cards? Where are your parents, son?"
Kai clicked his tongue. This was the problem. The lounge was packed. He couldn't just flash his Hunter License here. It would cause a scene, and he'd be stuck on this ship for hours with the consequences. He couldn't just... you know... flex on everyone, or toss the old man overboard.
He was actively trying to avoid absorbing any more Death Aura, not create it.
"Kai? Having some trouble?"
A voice came from his side. It was Dako.
Kai glanced at the freelance Hunter. "Yeah. Help me out. Two decks of cards and a world map." He held out the money.
Dako looked like he wanted to refuse the money, but the memory of Kai's Divine Flick was still fresh. He smiled nervously, took the bill, and quickly made the purchase.
"We're having some tea over there," Dako said, gesturing to a large, central table where his team was holding court, surrounded by a group of impressed-looking tourists. "Want to join us?"
In this world, Pro Hunters were a privileged, elite class. This was true officially—they were backed by the V5 and held immense political power—and unofficially, because they were all, to a man, Nen-using superhumans.
By extension, even "freelance" Hunters like Dako and his crew held a certain prestige. To the Muggles on this ship, these men were living legends, unfathomably powerful masters of the unknown.
Even their bragging just sounded more interesting. Dako's team was, by default, the center of attention.
Kai took the map and the cards. "It's fine. I won't interrupt your flexing." He tucked the map under his arm. "But hey, if you feel like it, you can flex a little for me, too. See ya."
He gave a small wave and, with the ease of a fish in water, slipped back into the noisy crowd and disappeared. On the outer deck, he saw a few tourists trying to feed his two crows, who were happily accepting the snacks. At least I don't have to feed them.
Dako watched him go, a complex look on his face. He just shook his head and returned to his table.
"Who was that kid, Dako?" one of the tourists asked. "Your son?"
Dako's smile vanished. His face darkened instantly, and a chill dropped over the table. The tourist froze, terrified by the sudden, murderous shift in the atmosphere.
"There are some jokes you don't make," Dako said, his voice low and serious. "Jokes that can get you killed."
The entire table went silent. The tourist who had spoken looked like he was about to be sick. The other freelancers on Dako's team just nodded, their expressions grim.
The world of Hunters... the tourists all thought, ...is full of monsters.
They quickly, and nervously, changed the subject.
...
Knock, knock, knock.
Hearing the knock, Menchi, who was cross-legged on one of the beds, didn't even open her eyes. "It's unlocked! Come in!"
The door opened. "You're in here, too?" Kai's voice said.
Menchi, who had been maintaining her Ten, cracked one eye open. "Am I not allowed to be?"
"I just meant, 'what a coincidence.' Saves me a trip to the next room." Kai, with the rolled-up map under his arm, juggled the two new decks of cards in his hand. "I was coming to ask you both to play."
Shizuku, who was sitting at the room's tiny desk, was engrossed in the same old book she'd been reading in the reserve. She looked up, her expression as placid as ever.
"Weren't you just 'training'?" Menchi huffed, mimicking his earlier, muffled shout.
"You gotta have a work-life balance," Kai said, letting the door click shut behind him. He peered over Shizuku's shoulder. "What's the book? Never mind. Stop reading. We're playing cards."
"She's been reading that entire time," Menchi complained. "And we are training! We don't have time to play!"
Kai was completely unbothered. He found a small, folded card table tucked beside the dresser, snapped it open, and unrolled his new world map on it. "Fine. I'll just play by myself, then."
"I'm not training," Shizuku said. She immediately closed her book, stood up, and walked over. She leaned over the small table, her full attention now on the map. "What are we playing?"
"Shizuku!" Menchi protested, betrayed.
"Just planning our next move," Kai said, smiling. He looked up, and his face was suddenly just inches from Shizuku's, who was leaning over the map from the other side.
Her expression was the same as always—calm, detached, curious. Because she was leaning so far forward, her large, round glasses had slid almost completely off her nose. Her pale, violet eyes, now unobscured, were startlingly clear.
She just stared at him, waiting.
Kai, with a grin, reached up, plucked the glasses from her face, and put them on himself. They were, of course, ridiculously large on him. He looked down at the map, his voice taking on a professorial tone. "Basically, just looking for famous tourist traps to visit..."
His real reason was darker. He was still worried. He didn't know when or if he would suddenly absorb too much Death Aura. He didn't know what would happen when he "transformed." He might pass out. He might be vulnerable. He needed them nearby. He needed "guardians." If he changed in front of them, at least they'd know it was him. It would prevent a... misunderstanding.
"Ugh, fine! We'll play!" Menchi groaned from the bed, finally giving in. She patted the mattress. "But that tiny table is useless. Bring it up here. We can all sit on the bed."
...
And so, the three of them spent the next several hours in the small cabin, playing cards. Shizuku, as it turned out, was a terrible card player. Her infamous memory meant she had absolutely no idea which cards had been played, or even what suit was trump. Her face was quickly covered in a forest of sticky notes—the penalty for losing a hand. Menchi, on the other hand, was having the time of her life, cackling with laughter at Shizuku's paper-covered, deadpan face.
When they got tired of cards, they huddled over the world map, planning their next adventure. The long, boring, and otherwise tense hours of the sea voyage... simply melted away.
It was only as Kai felt the ship's engines change pitch, signaling their approach to the port, that he belatedly realized... he had felt several more wisps of Death Aura. He'd just been so caught up in the simple, normal act of having fun that he hadn't even noticed.
The ship's horn blew, a deep, resonant sound. The three of them went out onto the deck.
The sun was a fiery, beautiful orange, sinking into the horizon. Ahead of them lay the port city of Gerebo. It wasn't a glittering metropolis, but its skyline was filled with modern buildings, bright lights, and the promise of civilization.
A collective sigh of relief went up from the other passengers on the deck. They had arrived.
(End of Chapter)