[Episode] Ancient Blood Arises

For Naoki, the last few days were as uneventful as he hoped they would be. Nobody on board the ship he helped to take over was looking to initiate any new conflict and as such the Oni had nothing to fear. Naturally, the people he managed to free were still grateful for his deeds, whereas the ones he captured showed disdain whenever he passed by. However, throwing looks was all they did: They quickly buckled whenever the blonde returned the gesture. He would not be surprised if some of them would think twice before crossing an Oni again.

Finally, the ragtag crew reached their destination: the Conomi Islands. This archipelago was not what came to the Oni’s mind when he thought of populated islands, but then again, it was still a populated island. And could he reproach the non-humans he freed for choosing this destination? Here, at the very least, they might have to fear less immediate threats than on an island properly associated with the World Government. The mink among them at the very least had to.

[plyr=bhun]”Thanks for the ride. I hope the next time we meet will be under better circumstances!”[/plyr] After a round of farewells, the Oni disembarked and entered the small port. However, as he quickly learned, there was not much to see here other than fishermen focused on their work. As he doubted that he would find any type of work here he would like to do, Naoki quickly decided to take a look around. He was sure the archipelago could offer something more interesting than simple fish.

However, as the blonde should quickly learn, there was indeed something of interest here: for the natives, at least. The citizens Naoki passed found their interest in the Oni and glanced in his general direction, as pretty much everything in his looks should be exotic for the people of the Conomi Islands. Be it his sheer size compared to the humans around here, the green kimono he was wearing, his scythe on his back on full display, and, last but not least, the horns decorating his face. They probably saw their first Oni today and as such, he was just happy that nobody was trying to get on his nerves, or worse.

Unfortunately for the Oni, though, his short trip only managed to show him one thing: unless you were willing to work as a farmer or fisher, there may not be the best job opportunities available here. Both occupations were not exactly high on his preference list if he could avoid it- something he could still afford for now.

Standing in what felt like the middle of nowhere, a sudden inspiration overcame the Oni: a pub. Ideally near a bigger trading port where some merchant might offer the Oni both a ride off the island, as well as pay him for his service as a mercenary. Ideally, though, without trying to capture the Oni again- this was something he had enough of for now.

[plyr=bhun]”Well, this might be harder than I thought it would be.”[/plyr], Naoki said to himself as he arrived at the port he thought would be the biggest trading harbour the archipelago had to offer, just to realize that the merchants were missing. While a few vessels were docked here, the Oni failed to find any meaningful traces of their crews. If he found some people working on their ships, though, those seemed to be fishermen hauling their spoil. [plyr=bhun]”Of to the next step it is.”[/plyr], the blonde maundered as he headed towards the nearest pub. His original plan still had a chance to succeed.

However, as soon as he reached his next destination, there was one hurdle denying the Oni easy entry: the door, made by humans, for the humans. When devising this building, most likely nobody thought that someday somebody of Naoki’s size would wish to enter and so the blonde had to do what he disliked doing: stoop down to squeeze in. Luckily, nobody of the guests seemed to immediately react to what the Oni was doing- or if they did, managed to hide their reactions. At least this spared Naoki from immediately being the subject of ridicule.

For a short while, Naoki looked around, before quickly heading towards the bar. To his relief, many of the tables were occupied, so Naoki was optimistic that he might still pick up a lead or two. On his way, he already overheard the first conversation which piqued his interest. [npc=misc]”Did you pay already?”[/npc] Two men sitting at a table near the bar were talking rather quietly as if they wished to keep their topic somewhat secret. If this was their intention, they should have probably picked another location, but given how barely anybody in this establishment paid them any mind, it still seemed to work out for them. And for Naoki, it might work out as well.

After the blonde reached the counter, he first greeted the people there, before ordering a drink. Afterwards, Naoki was positioning himself near his targets, back turned to them, so that he could still follow their conversation. [plyr=bhun]”Thanks”[/plyr], said Naoki to the bartender as the man filled a glass with whiskey in front of the Oni, while a few berries changed ownership. [npc=misc]”Of course. Remember my neighbours? You don’t want to get on their bad side. Better pay as soon as you can.”[/npc] The second man now answered, while Naoki looked at his drink. While it was still early in the day, for many too early to drink alcohol already, it was precisely what the Oni needed right now- and it was not like this was already enough to make him drunk.

[npc=misc]”Yeah, I will. I just hope somebody would finally deal with them.”[/npc] After repeatedly hearing ‘they’ and ‘them’, Naoki increasingly became aware that something, or rather somebody, seemed to be the source of trouble around here. [npc=misc]”I’d just hope somebody would finally deal with them, given the bounty on their head and whatnot.”[/npc] The puzzle came solely but steadily together: it seemed that ‘they’ were some form of criminals. Something Naoki could handle, he would assume. At the very least, he had still practice in this métier.

The Oni quickly emptied his drink before moving over to the two men whose conversation he followed. [plyr=bhun]”Sorry to intervene, but I couldn’t but follow your conversation.”[/plyr] Naoki hunkered down as best as he could in an attempt to appear less threatening. Until now, he never hunted criminals for their bounty, but in his imagination, it did not differ too much from the work he had already done as a mercenary. [plyr=bhun]”If you tell me more about ‘them’, I might be able to help you all.”[/plyr] Naoki did not wish to go like a bull at a gate talking about money, especially if the bounty would be high enough. Similarly, he did not include his lack of experience as a bounty hunter. But hey, if his alternative to working as a fisherman would be smacking some criminals’ heads in, the Oni knew which job opportunity he would follow!