1853 words
29 December 1349
Sitting on the head and foot of the ancient and mottled bronze table, Klein and Kiyotaka stared at the absolute haul of spoils of war which they had obtained from the piñata named Mr. A
After Mr. A died under the mysterious circumstances following the emergence of two Angel level beings, Kiyotaka and Klein had waited for the Beyonder Characteristics to emerge. However, much to both of their surprise, Mr. A not only left behind a Sequence 5 Beyonder Characteristic but rather seven more as well, each corresponding to the souls he had grazed.
These hauled Beyonder Characteristics include Sequence 5: Shepherd, Sequence 5: Desire Apostle, Sequence 5: Demoness of Affliction, Sequence 6: Baron of Corruption, Sequence 6: Scribe, Sequence 6: Wind-blessed, Sequence 6: Soul Assurer and Sequence 8: Doctor.
"So, uh, how do you want to split it? Since there are eight, we can take turns selecting them." Klein suggested but then fell into thought. "But who goes first? Hmm... Wanna play a game?"
Kiyotaka shrugged. "As long as I know about it."
"Hmm..." Klein hummed in thought. "What about rock-paper-scissors? It's nothing serious and we can play best of three, yeah? You know how to play it, right?"
"Fine by me. And yes, I know about it."
"Alright then."
*****
The "game," in fact, did not end at a best of three and rather a best of seven.
Kiyotaka won six out of those seven and was given the right to select the first characteristic.
"I'll take the Shepherd one." Kiyotaka announced as Klein sighed.
"Of course you do. Well, anyways..." He willed the powers of the grey fog to separate the Shepherd characteristic that looked like a translucent gray-white hand from the rest of the pile. "Okayy... Now... I'll take..."
Before Klein could say anything, Kiyotaka cleared his throat. "I do not need Baron of Corruption's Beyonder Characteristics."
Klein's face, which was hidden beneath the fog, beamed. "Alright then! I'll take the Baron of Corruption then!"
He exclaimed and moved the black, swollen human surface organ that emitted a rotten smell towards himself.
Kiyotaka deliberated over his future plans and began to narrow down on what he'd actually need. Once he was done thinking, his eyes landed on a surreal, shimmering eye embedded with intricate gray-white patterns and flecks of starlight.
"I'll take Scribe."
Klein almost banged his hand on the table but used his Clown powers to suppress himself. Shepherd, Scribe and Baron of Corruption were his top picks and now two out of the three were already gone.
Klein sighed and looked ahead at the remaining ones. He already had slumber charms so he had no intention of picking the Soul Assurer Beyonder Characteristic. Hence, instead of thinking of selecting something for his personal use, he decided to take the one which he could actually gain some monetary benefit from.
"I'll take the Wind-Blessed then." Klein said and a huge feather formed from pale blue and cyan wind, bearing patterns resembling eyes on its surface flew towards him.
Now it was Kiyotaka's turn again. Initially he had decided to select Demoness of Affliction, however, seeing as how bad his condition had gotten a few weeks ago, he was not going to take the risk.
"Soul Assurer for me."
Klein was a little surprised but he did not complain and instead let the deep black object with a core of shimmering light, reminiscent of a starry night sky fly towards Kiyotaka's pile.
Then, he proceeded to take the Demoness of Affliction which looked like a beautiful eye.
They were now down to only two Beyonder Characteristics.
Klein was quite sure what he was going to get, but much to his surprise, Kiyotaka said a totally opposite thing.
"I'll take Doctor."
"Hm? Why?" Klein was quite surprised.
"I've had my share of trouble with these so-called 'evil Pathways.'"
"Ah... That makes sense now." Klein rubbed his forehead.
"Don't worry, I am sure you will do much better with it than I ever did."
"Oh please." Klein rolled his eyes.
With that said, the Beyonder Characteristic that looked like a branch-like object with a bluish-green hue and glistening water droplets flew towards Kiyotaka while the one that looked like a black-fog-like characteristic moved towards Klein.
With that said and done, Klein pulled his pile towards himself and sighed. "How are you holding up? Your arm looked quite bad the last time I visited. And how's your rib?"
"The mutation has subsided. As for my rib, it will take some time to heal."
"Right... Great. Uhh..." Klein lolled the words around in his mouth before continuing. "I will be leaving Backlund for a while. For a long while, I think. I am going to the sea, so you know, take care of yourself and don't get in too much trouble. You know how to contact me though, so if there's anything, you can let me know."
"Alright."
"Yeah... What about you? I am confident in the Card of Blasphemy's anti-Divination abilities, but don't you think going away from Backlund for a while would be better for you? You were planning on taking a vacation to Desi Bay, right?"
Kiyotaka's mind wandered to what Pembroke and others had said about Desi Bay. Even if he didn't want to, he had to make a visit there. "I am. But the forty days of grieving for Liv are still not over, and it's not possible for me to leave the sisters alone. So that will have to wait."
Klein remembered how after deaths of Evernight Goddess believers, there was a brief period of forty days during which the closest relatives of the deceased would wear all black and mourn for them, praying to the Goddess that their loved one gets the final rest.
"I see... Ten days left, right? Can't believe it's been a month since then." Klein looked up at the erected dome over his head.
Kiyotaka thought about something and then tapped the table. "When are you leaving for the sea?"
"Tomorrow. Evening time, most likely. Why?"
"Well, I have a small event at the company. If you have the time, feel free to stop by."
"I will be using my other identity, are you sure?"
"All members of Parliament more or less know you by now. I am quite sure it doesn't matter."
Klein raised a brow and nodded. "True, true. Well, I will be there. What is the event about?"
Kiyotaka shrugged. "The company is expanding. There will be some rich fellows coming over. And we are opening various positions for Accountants and Engineers, given our ever increasing manufacturing demands."
"I see— So you want me as your bodyguard or...?"
"Not really. You can come and just be there."
"Alright then. I will be there."
Kiyotaka's mind went back to a certain something and he cleared his throat. "Your cycle is ready as well. Leppard told me about it a few days ago. It can be made public in the coming months. I have invested a little as well, to push the project forward."
"Oh? Right, I almost forgot about that. Thanks though... You want some shares in my company now?"
"Not really. It's better if we keep our assets separate."
"Right..." Klein snickered sheepishly. "Ah, I have to leave now. Take care of yourself. I will come visit you tomorrow. Prometheus or Janus?"
"Prometheus."
"You bet. See ya' tomorrow."
Kiyotaka waved his hand and a column of crimson light enveloped him, returning him to his bedchambers, back to his estate at Sørlund Street.
For a moment, the room was silent and Kiyotaka almost felt himself adrift in sleep when a familiar voice brought him back. "Good evening, dear husband of mine."
Kiyotaka's eyes closed briefly and he sighed before turning his head.
Astrid was lying beneath the sheets with a huge grin over face that had a small scar, her auburn hair scattered across his pillow and her big, red eyes staring directly at him. There was something particularly odd about how comfortable she looked.
"Get cleaned up," Kiyotaka said. "And get out of my room."
Astrid merely yawned and then stood up. She stretched her hands over her head and the blanket slipped from her chest before pooling around her waist, revealing her bare body.
She saw Kiyotaka staring at her from the corner of her eyes and grinned. "What?"
"Nothing."
Grinning to herself, Astrid removed the blanket entirely from herself and jumped down the bed. Her assets jiggled as she made absolutely no attempt to cover herself and began walking across the room, entirely naked.
Walking over to the bathroom, she went inside and turned the knob as the sound of water gushing into the bathtub filled the air while the bathroom door remained half-open behind her.
Kiyotaka sighed and rubbed his forehead before looking at his forearm. The black veins had receded back and his arm did not smell of pus or rotten flesh anymore. Despite that, his left arm was still not as reactive as his right one.
As he was flexing his fingers, he heard Astrid speak in a hushed manner. "Mr. Holmes~"
She was peeking through the narrow opening of the door with one hand resting against its frame. Most of her body was hidden behind it, though there was no mistaking the fact that she still hadn't bothered putting anything on. "I'm feeling lonely in here."
Kiyotaka stared at her with a deadpan look. Astrid's big red eyes narrowed slightly with amusement. "The bath is rather large, you know."
"I am aware."
"Then you understand the problem."
"I do not."
"Come on, after everything we've been doing for the past few days, bathing together is where you draw the line?"
"That is not the point."
"Then what is?" Astrid asked and raised a brow.
"You are supposed to be getting cleaned and leaving my room. As soon as possible."
"I can do two things at once." Astrid leaned slightly farther out from behind the door, letting them hang out for him to see. She grinned and pushed the door open a little farther. "Come on. If you're going to pretend you have no interest, at least do it after you get in here."
Before Kiyotaka could answer, Astrid disappeared back inside but left the door open. "Close the door when you come in."
The sound of water filled the room again. Kiyotaka remained seated for several moments before looking down at his injured arm. He gently poked the section of his ribcage that had fractured and almost winced.
Sighing, he stood up. There was a lot to do today and tomorrow.
He was already missing the past month where he did nothing but lay in his bed and recover.
Since he was already standing, equally as naked as Astrid, he walked ahead. A moment later, the bathroom door clicked shut. For a few moments, only the sound of running water could be heard in the bath.
Then Astrid laughed softly. "See? Much better."
Kiyotaka did not answer and a second later, her laughter was caught in her throat.