Micchi Versus the New World - Chapter 85 (Patreon)

Alt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FyA8Izc59uZbQpHKnUVSOOUvgZAfHinr071eN-HuOAo/edit?usp=sharing

Chapter 85

Might have been because we were in a new place that everyone couldn't sleep, but no one went to bed. Instead, they took the chance to explore the beastling village of Yowan.

Yui was about to leave the longhouse, too, until I stopped to try and get a word in.

"Hey, we should talk—"

She slapped my hand away the moment I grabbed her shoulder.

"If you wanna talk, I'm expecting an apology first." Yui folded her arms in front of the door without facing me.

"Apologize? What the fuck for?" I asked.

"Yeah. I figured," she said, then left the longhouse to who knows where.

Seriously? Yui was just going to up and leave just like that?

"Never thought I'd see the day you two would have a lover's quarrel," Anya said from the comforts of her bed, bottle of wine in hand and chowing down on the roasted leg of some animal.

"Fuck off, Anya. No one asked you." I rolled my eyes and decided to head out, too.

Reminiscent of Ash'tar city, the natives of Kazaar filled the streets even at night. Beastlings mostly lived here, though there were few elves, humans, and other races that typically stuck with their own people. Just like everywhere else, the same no matter where you went.

You made your own gang. It was the only way to survive. All Yui and I wanted was somewhere to belong with people that we could see eye to eye with.

"What are you gawking at, soft meat?" a large beastling man snarled.

I didn't even realize I was staring until it was too late. A pack of doggies had me surrounded.

"Don't like yer smell. Got the look like yer better than us, huh?" Another bared his teeth.

"Oh, me? Just wondering who did your braids. Your boyfriend over here? If you guys need someone to take you for a walk, then fair warning: I'm going to break you in like dogs." I cracked my knuckles.

After beating the shit out of them, I sat on top of the pile of unconscious bodies to take a breather. This place was great. I could kick someone's ass and no one batted an eye, unlike in Ash'tar or Cynderace where doing so immediately drew a crowd.

One returned to consciousness groaning, so I pinched his nose and lifted him up to face me.

"What do you guys do for fun around here?" I asked.

"Y-You might… do well in the… fighting pits…" the beastling pointed to a series of enormous towers on fire.

It turned out fighting did draw crowds.

At a wide field surrounded by burning towers at each corner, many round and rectangular rings were dug deep into the ground in which people fought inside of. People stood behind roped barriers of the makeshift arenas to cheer and heckle, throwing money at the fighters.

The smell of sweat and blood, the sound of pained grunts and whimpers… This was my kind of place.

"What kind of place is this, and how do I get in?" I bothered someone who was cursing out a losing fighter.

"Ya new here, soft meat? Bare knuckle brawls, no weapons. Anyone with balls can jump in. Spectators throw whatever the fuck they want inside, money, food, trinkets. Winner takes all," he said.

At the center of the fighting pits was a much larger arena than the rest and more crowded. Gold, jewellry, and other things of value had piled along the sides from how much was tossed in. The one fighting was none other than Kaoru, who was making a fool out of a beastling woman trying to claw her way to the yakuza.

Kaoru met my gaze, then finished off the beastling by driving a knee into her gut.

It didn't take much thinking to realize that it was an invitation. Fine by me. We hadn't settled our fight at Taiq'ae. I jumped right in and put Sacchan off to the side.

"We'd demolish this place by going all out," I warned her.

"We need not fight seriously. A blade left to collect dust is no blade at all, but a meager ornament. Show me how you battle, Kaminari." Kaoru gestured for me to make the first move.

I dove forward and threw out a fist. Kaoru blocked it with her elbow. The impact sent shockwaves that embedded the debris within the arena into the dirt walls, and some spectators above were knocked off their feet.

Every blow I dealt was met with an immovable force. For some reason, Kaoru didn't fight back. All she did was block, block, and block.

"You're… underestimating me… ain't ya?" I panted.

"I know the more injured you are, the harder you hit. Unlike Anya, I do learn. But how ironic. For you, who likes to fight so much, by not playing your game is the only way to defeat you," Kaoru said.

Rugal's words echoed in my head.

Our traits can easily be exploited. A berserker's strength is inversely proportional to how weak they are… the more beaten and battered you are, the stronger your hits become.

The one who had been doing the underestimating was me all along. Evidently, being tired doesn't apply to the weak factor.

"Huh?" I watched as Kaoru leapt out of the arena to the jeers and dismay of onlookers. "Hey! The fuck you going? Fight ain't over yet! Get your bitch ass back here so we can throw down!"

"There are more enjoyable things to do than fighting all night. You're welcome to stay or accompany me," she said on the way out.

I clicked my tongue, grabbed Sacchan, and followed her out. As soon as I left the arena, an all-out brawl broke out as people dove inside to get their hands on the unclaimed loot.

Kaoru led me to a small tent that had an opening at the top where smoke was billowing out of it. An elderly beastling woman wearing a tribal pattern quilt around her shoulders welcomed us in. The smell of fragrant smoke was heavy in the air, especially within the enclosed space.

"What? We hotboxing in here or something?" I asked.

"Please, sit down," the woman insisted.

Between us and her was a small, smoldering fire that was without much flames and mostly spewing out a light gray smoke. My body started to loose tension the longer I was in here.

"Kazaar was among the first places I visited when I landed in this world. We don't get this sort of pleasure anywhere else. The jungles grow varied herbs that won't survive anywhere else. It is nice to bathe in the fumes every once in a while," Kaoru said, taking a seat in front of the fire.

The beastling woman cast a handful of herbs into the burning pile and stoked the fire. As I stared into it, my mind began to wander to Chika. She was still so far away.

"What you told us about Chika back in Taiq'ae," I began, "about her being the demon lord, is all that really true? Anything else you wanna share?"

"I may not be intimately acquainted with Ashura as you, Yui, and Anya are, but I do know that she isn't the same person we knew from Japan. Something about her changed. She has become more vicious, cold. Truly the incarnation of a demon god befitting the title," she explained.

Yui and I were aware. Chika showed a lot of tough love and treated us like punching bags, but she cared about our wellbeing at the end of the day. In the weeks leading up to her sudden departure, she did begin to act more violently. Why?

Did it have something to do with this world we're in? All I got were guesses, none of which would get me any closer to figuring Chika out.

My eyelids were getting heavy. If I shut them for even a second, I might fall asleep.

"I need to step out—"

Kaoru forced me back into my seat, and the beastling woman threw another handful of herbs into the fire.

"Let go!" I growled.

"This lady is a shaman that can help. I'm offering you an opportunity to search your memories, Micchi. Perhaps the secret lies hidden in your past. It is to the benefit of us all if we are to glean anything about Chika," Kaoru said, her voice becoming more and more distorted with each word.

I couldn't fight against Kaoru's strength. Soon my consciousness started slipping.

When I opened my eyes, the water-stained roof of an old apartment and broken ceiling light appeared. I got up and was surprised by how tall everything was. Stumbling to the standing mirror that was partially cracked, a little girl with black hair stared back at me. Her black eyes were filled with sadness and angst.

Behind me, a single room with multiple tattered futons were laid out. Beer cans were strewn all over the place, and the television was left on.

"Wait a minute… This is… my old place?" I turned back to the mirror and gasped. "Then that's… me."