"Okay." Shizuku sat down across from him, extending her left arm.
Liam looked at her posed hand, amused. "You're left-handed? Then why did you use your right hand at the amusement park?"
"You extended your right hand," Shizuku said. "So I matched it."
"Left hand, then." Liam glanced around the room. "Do you have lipstick?"
"I don't use lipstick. Lip balm?"
"No, it has to leave a clear mark."
Liam scanned Shizuku's room. He found an oil-based marker pen on the desk. He pulled out the ink cartridge and broke it with a flick of his finger. Black ink pooled in his palm. He used it to draw a five-pointed star on his left hand, careful and precise.
Shizuku watched, curious.
Liam sat back down at the table, extending his left hand. He clasped Shizuku's hand firmly.
"You can try resisting anytime," Liam said, smiling.
Shizuku's glasses slipped halfway down her nose. She stared at her motionless left hand in surprise. She couldn't control her body at all. It was like being a prisoner trapped inside her own flesh, peering out through her eyes at a world she couldn't interact with.
"Lose to me," Liam said.
The moment he spoke, Shizuku felt her body return. Like surfacing from deep water. Air rushed into her lungs. Control came back.
But not completely.
Her left hand moved on its own, falling slowly toward the left side of the table. Pressing down against her will.
Liam won easily.
Once she lost, Shizuku regained full control.
She raised her left hand, examining her palm. The pentagram Liam had drawn was still there, ink smudged from contact. And overlapping it, glowing faintly, was a rose-gold star mark.
"No matter which hand I used that day," Shizuku said, understanding, "I couldn't have beaten you."
Liam tapped the star on her palm. It vanished instantly.
"My ability's not worse than Blinky, right?" Liam said, grinning.
Shizuku still didn't remember seeing the birds. But she nodded.
"I'm a Manipulator," Liam said. He gestured, and the gray bird flew over, landing on Shizuku's shoulder. "The mark you just had is how I achieve control. You felt what it's like. So at certain times, you can think of these birds as me."
"Oh." Shizuku nodded slowly. Then she extended her left hand toward the bird. "Step into my hand."
The gray bird spread its wings, hopped, and landed in her palm.
"Turn around," Shizuku said.
Hey! Liam grimaced internally. He controlled the bird like a game character, making it do a somersault in Shizuku's palm.
"Fly around my hand," Shizuku said.
The bird flapped its wings, circling her hand in a tight loop before landing back in her palm.
"Shizuku, you smiled again," Liam said.
"Did I?" Shizuku touched the corner of her mouth, confused. She looked at the little gray bird. "Maybe I find it interesting."
"Try testing Blinky's limits," Liam said eagerly. "It's convenient for storage, like a four-dimensional pocket. The living-thing restriction is probably core to the ability. Underlying logic. Probably can't be changed. But everything else might be flexible."
"Okay." Shizuku raised her hand. Blinky materialized, grinning wide.
The morning passed quickly between testing and discussion. When Menchi called, they realized it was past noon. They were supposed to be training together in the suburbs.
"Shizuku, I've been waiting forever. Where are you?" Menchi complained over the phone.
Liam weighed his new phone in his hand. I need to get a SIM card.
"Is Liam there with you?" Menchi asked suspiciously. "Shizuku, you space out all day. Don't let Liam trick you. That guy's head is full of bad ideas."
"No," Shizuku said, looking at Liam.
Liam leaned toward the phone. "Talk behind my back, and the food you cook won't taste good. Bye."
He hung up. Shizuku stared at him.
"Let's go," Liam said.
Another afternoon of unpretentious training. They cycled through the basics. Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Gyo. Then alternated Ken, pushing their aura to the limit, draining it, recovering, pushing again. With Menchi's green seasoning restoring stamina and aura, they trained until dusk.
Liam extended his Ken to 105 minutes. Shizuku hit 122 minutes. Menchi managed just over 7 minutes.
Final tallies: Liam, 6,329 aura. Shizuku, 7,349 aura. Menchi, 455 aura.
The satisfaction of visible progress was addictive.
Liam exhaled slowly, lying flat on the grass. With his current strength, someone like Garo would be a joke. He could fight him one-handed.
Beside him, Menchi and Shizuku collapsed, exhausted, silently eating biscuits infused with green seasoning.
Liam stared up at the sky, thinking.
With a Hunter License, even endangered animals like the Misery Moon Tiger might be adoptable. But my license is fake.
Private businesses like internet cafes and small hotels couldn't verify licenses against the Hunter Association's database. But official agencies? They'd check. They'd find out the license didn't match his face, his identity, his anything.
Blanchett Company managed the reserve, but they didn't own the tigers. Adoption would require coordination between Kakin, Ochima, and Blanchett. Three-way bureaucracy.
And sure, he'd had a nice chat with Alain. But asking for special favors? That was pushing it. Menchi had a real license, but she was a rookie with Gourmet Hunter ambitions. Asking her to adopt a tiger for him was weird.
Besides, he was only slightly powerful now. Running around with an endangered tiger? That was flashy. Stupid.
If only Blinky could store living things...
Liam rubbed his hair, frustrated. He'd sleep on it.
The next morning, 6 a.m.
Dawn was just breaking. Liam walked into the forest alone. Under his guidance, Lumos padded through the trees and nuzzled against him affectionately.
Liam suddenly shouted into the empty woods. "Haku! Are you here?"
"Chirp!" The gray bird flew from behind and landed on his head.
"Not you. You're Jaku." Liam caught the bird, turning. Shizuku was behind him. "Did I wake you? I'll be quick. We have to catch the boat at 8."
"What are you doing?" Shizuku asked, curious.
"Haku—" Liam started to call again.
The pale ghost appeared. Smoke-like. Translucent. It stared at Liam, expression blank.
Liam touched Lumos's head. "Haku. Since we get along, I'm leaving the care of the big guy with you for now."
Lumos nuzzled him. Haku's face didn't change. He seemed less animated than when he'd been inhabiting the white fox doll.
Liam smiled, extending his hand. "If you agree, high-five me."
Haku stared for a long moment. Then, under Lumos's watchful gaze, he slowly raised his pale hand and slapped Liam's palm.
7:30 a.m., West Town port.
The ship was ready. Tourists were boarding, standing on the bow deck, laughing and talking in the morning breeze.
"Over here!" Dago waved from beside the gangplank.
Liam, Shizuku, and Menchi boarded. A gust of sea wind hit them. Liam turned back toward Ghost Island, heart heavy with thought.
In just over half a month, I almost died. And now I've gotten somewhere. I'm not strong enough to walk sideways through this world. But at least I can walk standing up.
In the distance, at the edge of the forest, a pale shadow stood beside a massive blue tiger. Watching.
"Chirp!" The gray bird and two crows circled overhead.
"Liam, let's go," Menchi called from behind. "The ship's leaving."
"Coming." Liam waved toward Lumos and Haku. Next time I come back, I'll be strong enough to take you with me.
He turned, smiling, and joined the crowd on deck. He followed Shizuku and the others into the cabin.
The ship pulled away from the dock, riding the waves, leaving Ghost Island behind.
Their destination: the nearest Ochima port city.
Greburg.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~