Chapter 20: Star Marker Evolution
The place Kai had landed was Ghost Soul Island's East Town. The north coast was where the ship had wrecked. The vast center of the peninsula was the Pale Moon Tiger reserve, run by the Blanchett Company. And the west coast, known as West Town, was Sloe's team's destination.
Compared to the tourist-filled East Town, West Town was dead quiet as night fell. There were barely any neon lights. It felt like a different era. The two SUVs pulled up to a small hotel.
Sloe got out, rubbing his thinning hair and tightening his trench coat. Kanzai got out of the passenger seat. He was short, with a wild mane of spiky hair dyed a tiger-stripe pattern. Combined with his low-IQ antics, he looked less like a man and more like a wild beast in a human suit.
Shizuku and the others got out of the rear car, and the whole professional-looking, suit-clad group followed them inside.
Just before entering, Kanzai, who was behind Sloe, suddenly looked back at the roof of the rear car, where a bird was flapping its wings to fly away.
Shizuku, naturally curious, looked too. "Something there?"
"A bird," Kanzai said. "It was one of the birds on the reef back at that ship. When we drove off, I think it landed on your roof and rode all the way here."
"Really?" Shizuku asked.
"There were definitely two birds on the rocks," another agent said, sweating a little.
Like Shizuku, they were freelance Hunters hired for this job. They'd only known this black-haired girl with glasses for two days, but her bizarre memory (or lack thereof) was already famous. The most infuriating part was that they remembered her forgetfulness, but she would immediately forget, and then wonder why they were looking at her funny.
"We didn't notice it land on the car, though."
"Probably a coincidence. Don't worry about it."
"The other one is gone, and this one flew off. It's fine."
The group muttered among themselves as they followed Sloe upstairs to his room for a briefing.
Sloe looked at the freelance Hunters. "I'm guessing the Blanchett Company will stonewall us for a few days. They won't let us into the reserve until they're sure Kakin won't protest. Babimaina's team started their investigation the second they arrived. They want to finish their mission fast, probably in less than the 20 days..."
He loosened his tie. "Starting tomorrow, I'll be negotiating with Blanchett. Let them stall. The real investigation... I'll be counting on you pros for that."
Shizuku raised her hand. "What, exactly, are we investigating?"
"The Pale Moon Tigers?" another Hunter guessed. "This island is famous for them. I thought they were only native to Kakin..."
"Are we catching one?" Shizuku asked, her eyes lighting up. "I hear they're beautiful. I'd love to see one."
"It's precisely because we know nothing that we have to investigate," Sloe said. "But if you need a reason... it's this: for 24 years, the Kakin Royal Family has been incredibly secretive about this island. We need to know why."
Kai, of course, had no idea what they discussed. He had ordered the bird to fly away the moment Kanzai spotted it. It circled and landed on the roof of a different building, where it still had a clear view of the hotel entrance.
He, in his bird-body, and his other scout-bird back at the shipwreck, were both facing the same problem.
If he released his first-person control right now, the birds would immediately revert to their last standing order: "If you see humans, peck yourself to activate the Star Marker."
The moment he "logged off," they'd both start self-harming.
Looks like I'm pulling an all-nighter.
Kai kept his consciousness split, one bird watching the hotel in West Town, the other hidden in the woods on the north coast, watching to see what Babimaina's team would find.
Even Neferpitou's monstrous En couldn't see underground. This broccoli-haired soldier's En isn't going to find the bodies I've sunk in the ocean or buried...
Back in the East Town motel, Kai's main body was worried. So, my 'godmother's' death has drawn an official Kakin investigation.
His current, tiny self was in no condition to take on a nation-state. But, there was time. He filed the information away.
Rock Sparrow was already dead to the world, asleep on the bed. Kai himself tried to rest.
Since his main body was asleep while his mind was actively piloting two birds miles away, his sleep quality was, predictably, terrible.
The next morning, he splashed cold water on his face, which also hit Rock Sparrow, who was fighting the toothbrush. The bird chirped angrily.
"Breakfast."
Rock Sparrow immediately shut up and flew to his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek.
After they both ate, Kai bought a huge bag of cooked meat from a vendor, sensed Butch's location via the two white birds, and headed out of town.
"Roooar!"
In the forest outside East Town, the Pale Moon Tiger, who had been dozing, shot to his feet. He saw Kai and pounced, knocking him flat on his back.
"Haha, stop! Get off!"
After a minute, Kai did a kip-up and bounded to his feet. "Butch, my man, do you want this meat or not? At attention!"
Butch sat politely.
Kai spread the food out, and the tiger finally dug in.
As Kai stroked the tiger's fur, he thought about his Hatsu. His current control scheme was too rigid. It was annoying that he couldn't change a command after possessing a target.
He decided, right then, to try.
Song of the Earth had been born from subconscious desperation, a last-ditch effort to survive. Its Restrictions—the pentagram, the skin contact—had all formed on their own to boost its power.
Now, for the first time, he was going to try and consciously evolve it.
"Tiger Bro, it's gotta be you," Kai said, scratching Butch's fur. "The birds are too dumb, and the wolf is... gone. You're the only one who can help me. I'm going to count to two... one... two—"
Butch, who had been chewing, suddenly looked up. As Kai said "two," the tiger's consciousness went black, as if a movie screen had been cut. His own mind was suppressed, shoved into the deepest, darkest part of his brain, a place where time stood still.
He was in the deep end.
An unknown amount of time passed. Then, Butch's "subconscious" perceived something.
A crack of silver light, like the moonlight his kind loved...
The "movie screen" flickered back on. Butch's consciousness surfaced. He could see and hear again, but his body was not his own. It was like he was encased in stone.
Then, the boy's voice echoed in his mind, clear as day:
"Ha! It worked! My Hatsu is still flexible! Butch, can you hear me? Copy that, over..."
(End of Chapter)