Micchi Versus the New World - Chapter 83 (Patreon)

Alt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J9lrK0E-n7vopmgnFmknns1saFHXNtB2erT6eJSNy6g/edit?usp=sharing

Chapter 83

This morning, while Loraine and I were outside playing with Kawa in the courtyard, Kain came riding in on a horse and was out of breath.

"Lady Micchi, Lady Loraine. Sorry to bother you two so early in the morning, but… we appear to have sudden guests and request your presence at the gate," the prince explained with a troubled expression.

We hopped onto Kawa and rode with him to the front gate of Cynderace. There, surrounded by heavily armed escorts of Jinwan guards and sitting on top of a luxury carriage furnished with velvet cushions, was Anya and Bishamonten. They were sharing a bottle of wine and chatting it up.

Well, Anya was chatting it up, and Bishamonten sat quietly with her eyes shut and occasionally nodded in response. Their presence drew a massive crowd of onlookers from the windows and streets.

While the citizens of Cynderace regarded them with awe as leaders of their respective kingdoms, I couldn't help but feel my hair stand on end.

The last time I fought Bishamonten, she literally mopped the floor with me after all.

"What the fuck do you guys think you're doing in my city? If this was back in Japan, we'd be throwing down right now!" I yelled up at them.

"Your city?" Kain squinted at me.

"Oh! Hey, Micchi! Loraine and Kawa, what's up! We're here like ya asked!" Anya waved from above, slightly red in the face from drinking.

"You asked?" Kain and I faced each other, not a damn clue what the hell she meant.

"It seems there has been a misunderstanding," Bishamonten said, finally opening her eyes to regard us. "Perhaps we may speak in a more private setting?"

We led the Jinwan-Ash'tar caravan to the Cynderace Branch and occupied one of the conference rooms to talk in. Apparently both kingdoms received an emergency summons request from Mou'nan to meet in Scoth, but neither Kain nor the king were aware about any such thing.

"What? You telling me someone purposefully brought you all here on purpose like a trap? Cause I didn't hear anything about it. If I did, I woulda set up a nice trap for you guys!" Yui laid herself on the table, seemingly disappointed that she couldn't play a silly prank.

Kain fell into thought and furrowed his brows. "The only ones not in attendance are representatives from Mou'nan. Maybe they had something to do with this."

Someone tricked Anya and Bishamonten to come to Cynderace for a reason. It was clear that their intention was to get us all together. For what? To go to Mou'nan. The timing was too much of a coincidence when I'd already been planning to go there.

Bishamonten sat at the other end of the table, with the young emperor Yonnu sitting on her lap. The door to the conference room opened and Theo peeked in.

"Theo!" Yonnu waved to his friend.

"Hi, Yonnu! Hi, Kaoru!" Theo skipped up to them and received a pat on the head from Bishamonten.

"Why don't you two go play outside together? Stay within the guild," she said.

"I'll supervise them." Frey grabbed each of their hands to go outside.

Kain gritted his teeth and clenched both fists. "I… I find it hard to believe that my adorable baby brother is a consort to the Empress of Jinwa. He grows up so fast. I still remember holding him as an infant in my arms— No! As Theo's elder brother, I cannot keep sheltering him."

"What are you, a brocon?" I brushed him aside and got up to address the others. "Let's quit beating around the bush. There's two people who got the balls to fuck with us like this— Chika or the fourth queen."

"The Blizzard of Hokkaido," Anya said, slamming the empty bottle on the table and raising her head.

"Ririko Minami. If we're here, it would make sense that she is also in this world." Bishamonten scowled.

The way they regarded the Ririko Minami, the Blizzard of Hokkaido, was filled with such scorn and unease that it got me shaking in my boots for once. I'd never seen her before. Stories were all I've heard.

Hokkaido was one of the harshest places in all of Japan to live in. They produced some of the toughest delinquents and gangsters ever known.

"What's Ririko like?" Yui gulped.

"That bitch is 1000% more brash than you two, that's for sure." Anya sneered. "We were lucky Ririko and Chika were on opposite sides of the country. It would have been a bloodbath if they were next to each other."

"Doesn't matter. We're going to Mou'nan to have a chat with her. None of us are any closer to finding Chika, and Ririko's the last one who might have any clue," I said.

"I can already see this turning into another diplomatic upheaval. As prince of Scoth, I shall be accompanying you this time. Securing political relations with other nations is my duty after all." Kain sighed.

The meeting ended with Bishamonten, Anya, and I agreeing to leave for Mou'nan tomorrow morning.

Outside the guild hall, I found Kain speaking with Bishamonten. An odd pair at first glance, then I was reminded that they were allies under the UKD anyway.

"Taiq'ae is not exactly the safest place to keep Yonnu while I'm gone. Bringing him with me to Mou'nan is also not an option," Bishamonten said.

"W-Worry not, Empress! Yonnu will be guarded by Scoth's best. He will also have Theo to play with while we're gone." Kain was sweating bullets under her glare.

When the prince rode off back to the royal manor, Bishamonten turned her attention to me.

"Kaminari."

"Shotacon."

"Circumstances have led to us fighting on the same side." Kaoru Makinohara walked up to my side, but didn't offer the respect of looking me in the eyes. "I owe you a great deal of gratitude for saving my Yonnu. However, that does not make us allies."

"Heh. I was thinking the same. As far as either of us are concerned, we haven't finished our fight yet." I sneered.

For the first time, Bishamonten flashed a small yet genuine smile at me.

"I would appreciate it if you called me Kaoru from now on, Micchi." Without another word, the former queen of Kyushu, now Empress of Jinwa, returned to the guild hall.

As soon as she was gone, I was able to breathe again and gasped for air. Just being near that bitch took everything I got to stay calm and collected.

I was about to go back in, too, when Anya kicked the door open and sent me flying. She was carrying Kawa on her shoulder and holding Yui under her other arm.

"Anego, let's play!" Yui exclaimed.

"Yo, Micchi! Let's go fuck some shit up before tomorrow morning!" Anya grinned like a kid at an amusement park.

Lying in a demolished pile of crates, I stared blankly at them.

"The hell are you saying? I ain't got time to play around. There's so much shit to I gotta get in order before we leave. And Yui— don't you have guild work?"

"Why are you always telling me to do things for the guild?" Yui wrenched away from Anya and pouted. "It's always work, work, work, work! I can't take it anymore. I wanna go with you guys to Mou'nan tomorrow!"

"No, definitely not. You won't be coming with us tomorrow. You're staying here where it's safe. Protect Kawa and Loraine while you're at it," I said.

The atmosphere between us suddenly grew ten times thicker. Even Anya and Kawa fell silent.

"You're making me stay because you think I'm weak, huh?" Yui asked.

"What? It's got nothing to do with—"

"Ever since you fought Anya and Kaoru, it's like you think you're better than me. Now you're telling me what to do and how to act? I was there for you at every fight! Even I… I want to find Chika. I'm going with you guys tomorrow and that's that!" she cried, then disappeared like a bolt of lightning faster than I could give chase.

"Yui! Shit…"

"How come you don't want the little lion coming along?" Anya asked, putting Kawa down so the wolf could lick my hand.

Harsh memories of when Yui took a punch from Anya at the Lannarkis Ring and when Kaoru threw Kamigoroshi hit me all at once like a smackdown. I wouldn't say it to her face, but Yui was my best friend— my childhood friend. I didn't like seeing her get hurt. I saw enough of that when we were kids.

If Ririko was as strong as Anya and Kaoru implied, there was a good chance Yui would get caught up in it.

When did I start getting so worried about her? We used to beat each other up so much. We did back in Japan, and we did again when we got sent here.

"Yui was never meant to be caught up in this. It's only because of me that she got dragged into it," I said, recalling the day we met Chika.

"If you put it that way, neither of you rugrats were meant for this kind of life. Too cute and emotional for it." Anya messed up my hair until I pushed her hand away.

"Kawa, be a good girl and stick with Yui until she gets back," I ordered.

The elemental wolf took off running after her. If anyone could catch up to Yui, it was Kawa.

"Since it looks like you have things to deal with, I guess I'll go bother Kaokao instead." Anya headed back inside the guild hall.

I walked back home with Loraine to get things in order before tomorrow. No surprise that she was just as peeved that I wanted her and Kawa to stay in Cynderace.

"I'm beginning to understand why Yui is feeling the way she does," Loraine said.

"And why's that?" I asked, fully expecting to be scolded by her.

"You told me about your circumstances before about how Chika left you two. Don't you think it's unfair to Yui to leave her behind, too? I'm angry that you want me and Kawa to stay behind, too! We're supposed to be in this together, but it's like you're doing everything you can to keep us at arm's length. I'm not trying to say you're wrong, just to think about it from our perspective." She pouted.

Was I wrong to leave the people I care about behind so they wouldn't be in harm's way? Kaoru did the same with Yonnu, Kain with Theo, parents when it comes to their children, collectors about their precious relics… Chika with…

"Micchi?" Loraine walked in front of me to hold my face. "Why are you crying?"

Wiping the tears from my eyes I said, "That's what I wanna know."