Chapter 44: Farewell, and Departure
"Okay."
Shizuku's agreement was immediate and flat. She sat down in the chair opposite Kai, her expression as placid as ever, and decisively placed her left arm on the table, palm up, ready.
A slow grin spread across Kai's face. He looked at her proffered arm, a flicker of genuine surprise in his eyes. "Oh, so you're a lefty? That's interesting. Back at the fountain, you used your right hand against me. Why?"
Shizuku tilted her head slightly, as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because you offered your right hand," she stated simply. "So I used mine."
"Left hand it is, then," Kai said. His eyes scanned the messy motel room. "Hold on. Do you have any lipstick?"
Shizuku's brow furrowed, as if this was a complete non-sequitur. "I don't use lipstick. I have lip balm, maybe?"
"Useless," Kai muttered. "It has to be something that can leave a clear, lasting mark. Something that will transfer."
He hopped off the desk and began to rummage through the few belongings Shizuku had. On a small side table, next to a half-empty glass of water, he found it: a black permanent marker.
He pulled the cap off, yanked out the entire ink-filled cartridge, and held it up. With a sharp Divine Flick of his finger—using just the tiniest, most precise amount of Aura—he snapped the plastic cartridge in half. The rich, black ink welled up, and he used the broken tip as a pen, carefully drawing a perfect, five-pointed star in the center of his own left palm.
Shizuku watched this entire bizarre ritual with her signature, unblinking, curious gaze. Kai, satisfied with his artwork, leisurely walked back to the desk, the wet ink glistening. He sat down and firmly gripped her waiting left hand, his ink-stained palm pressing directly against hers.
"Ready when you are," Kai said with a grin.
Shizuku's glasses, as they always did, slipped down the bridge of her nose. Her eyes widened slightly behind the lenses. She looked down in genuine surprise at her own left arm. It was completely immobile. In that instant, she lost all control, her entire body freezing. It was a terrifying sensation, as if she had suddenly become a ghost, a silent prisoner trapped inside her own flesh, able to do nothing but peer out through her eyes.
Then, Kai's voice cut through her paralysis. "Lose to me."
The moment he spoke the command, the invisible chains on her mind vanished. Sensation flooded back, as if she had been submerged deep underwater and had just broken the surface, gasping for air.
She was back... but she still wasn't in control.
Her left arm, moving with a will of its own, slowly, inexorably, began to lower itself toward the table.
Kai didn't even have to apply pressure. He just sat there, his grin widening, as her own arm defeated her.
The second the back of her hand tapped the wood, the foreign, controlling sensation vanished. She was free.
She raised her left hand in genuine astonishment. There, in the center of her palm, was a perfect, black-ink transfer of the pentagram Kai had drawn. And shimmering on top of that ink, like a magical tattoo, was the now-familiar, unmistakable rose-gold Star Marker.
She looked from her hand to his face, the pieces clicking into place. "I see," she said, her voice filled with a new understanding. "Back at the fountain. It didn't matter which hand I used. I was never going to win, was I?"
Kai just smiled and lightly tapped the marker on her palm. With that simple touch, the rose-gold light burst into a million tiny particles and vanished.
"My Hatsu," Kai said, "it's not half-bad, right? Just as useful as your Blinky."
As if on cue, a flurry of wings burst through the open window. The other scout birds landed on the furniture, but Rock Sparrow zipped directly to Kai, landing on the desk and chirping aggressively, as if demanding to know what it had missed.
Shizuku just stared at them with mild curiosity, her mind a perfect blank. She had no memory of them.
"I'm a Manipulator," Kai explained. "That Star Marker is how I take control. You just felt what it's like." He then focused his Hatsu on Rock Sparrow, ordering it to fly onto Shizuku's shoulder. "From now on, when you see these birds, you can just treat them as if they're me. It's how I'll keep in touch."
"Oh," Shizuku said, nodding as if this was a perfectly normal arrangement. She looked at the bird on her shoulder, then held out her left palm. "Come here."
Kai, piloting the bird, made it hop from her shoulder and land gently in her hand.
"Do a somersault," Shizuku ordered, her expression serious.
Kai, watching from the desk, mentally commanded the bird. It tucked its head and performed a perfect, tiny flip in her palm.
"Now," Shizuku commanded, "fly one circle around my hand."
Flutter... Rock Sparrow took off, circled her outstretched hand in a tight, neat loop, and landed right back where it started.
"You smiled again," Kai said, watching her face.
"I did?" Shizuku looked genuinely confused. She touched the corner of her own mouth, then looked back at the little bird. "Oh. I guess... it's interesting."
"Okay, playtime's over. Let's get back to Blinky," Kai said, suddenly all business. "We need to test its limits. A true 'Hammerspace' ability should let you retrieve any item on command, not just the last one. That 'living things' restriction is probably a core, fundamental Vow, so we can't change that... but the retrieval part? That's just your subconscious holding you back. We can fix it."
"Okay," Shizuku said, and with another pop, the cartoonish vacuum was back.
...
And so, the morning passed. The motel room was filled with the whir of the vacuum and the sounds of Kai giving orders, as they systematically tested, prodded, and pushed the boundaries of Shizuku's Hatsu.
They were so engrossed that they both jumped when Shizuku's new phone rang. It was Menchi. They realized, with a start, that it was long past noon. They were late for training.
"Shizuku! I've been waiting forever! Where are you guys?" Menchi's voice squawked from the phone.
Kai, who was now busy setting up his own new phone, made a mental note. I need to get a SIM card for this.
"Wait, is Kai there with you?" Menchi's voice suddenly became suspicious. "Shizuku, listen to me, you're too naive! Don't let that brat trick you! He's always scheming!"
"He's not," Shizuku said simply, looking at Kai.
Kai snatched the phone. "If you talk bad about the boss, he might not be 'satisfied' with your cooking! And then your Hatsu won't work! We're on our way."
He hung up, and the two of them headed for the forest.
The afternoon was another grueling, yet simple, training session.
They all ran their fundamentals—Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Gyo. Then came the real work. They took turns activating and holding Ken, pushing themselves to the absolute limit in that agonizing, repetitive cycle of total depletion and slow recovery, all to chip away at that next ceiling, to increase their total Total Aura (P.O.P.)...
With Menchi's god-tier Rainbow Seasoning providing a full heal and Aura-refill with every meal, they were able to grind hard. By dusk, the results were tangible. Kai had successfully pushed his Ken time to just over 105 minutes. Shizuku, to his surprise, hit 122 minutes. Menchi, panting and covered in sweat, had managed to break her previous record, hitting just over 7 minutes.
The new totals were in: Kai's P.O.P. was 6,329. Shizuku's was 7,349. Menchi's was 455.
That feeling of progress—of seeing a hard, quantifiable number go up after a day of brutal, soul-crushing work—was a kind of satisfaction that only a grinder could truly understand.
Kai let out a long, slow breath, the last of his Ren dissipating.
With his current strength, he could have beaten Garo with one hand tied behind his back.
On the ground next to him, Menchi and Shizuku were silently munching on the last of the recovery-seasoned biscuits, their bodies trembling with exhaustion.
...
Night fell. Back in his motel room, Kai lay on the bed, staring at the moonlight filtering through the cheap blinds.
With the privileges of a real Hunter License, he knew he could probably adopt Butch. Even as an endangered species, a Hunter's prestige could cut through that red tape.
But his was a "Black License." Stolen.
Internet cafes and motels didn't have the clearance to check the Hunter database. But adopting an A-Class protected species? That would involve official government agencies. They would check. And they would find out he wasn't the license's owner. It was a bureaucratic nightmare. The Blanchett Company managed the reserve, but Kakin and Ochima both claimed the land. It would be a three-way political mess.
His chat with Alan had been nice, but they weren't "please commit an international crime for me" friends. He could ask Menchi... her license was legit. But she was a rookie with her own goals. He couldn't just saddle her with the responsibility of... a tiger.
And besides... was he even strong enough for that? Walking around with a giant, glowing, endangered tiger? That wasn't just 'flashy', that was painting a bullseye on his back.
...If only Shizuku's Blinky could vacuum up living things...
Kai scrubbed his hands through his hair, frustrated. He'd deal with it tomorrow. He went to sleep.
...
The next day, 6:00 AM.
The sky was a pale, pre-dawn gray. Kai stood alone in the silent, dew-covered forest. He had come to say goodbye. Butch padded out from the deep woods, sensing his mood, and nudged him affectionately.
Kai gently pushed the tiger's massive head away and looked past him, into the empty woods. "Bai!" he shouted. "Bai, are you here?"
"Chirp!" Rock Sparrow, who had followed him, swooped down and landed on his head, clearly annoyed at the shouting.
"Not you, Ash," Kai grumbled, plucking the bird from his hair. He turned, surprised. Shizuku was standing right behind him, her presence as silent as the mist. "Did I wake you? Sorry. This will be quick. We still have to catch that 8:00 AM boat in West Town."
"Finish what?" Shizuku asked.
"Bai—" Kai started to yell again, but stopped. He and Shizuku both saw it. The pale-white, spectral boy-ghost, 'Bai', had materialized from the morning mist. It hovered silently, staring at Kai with its empty, hollow eyes.
Kai gave Butch one last, long scratch behind the ears. "Bai," he said to the ghost. "You and I... we have a connection. So I'm trusting you with my Tiger Bro. Look after him for me."
Butch nuzzled his side, a low rumble in his chest. The ghost, in its true form, was far less expressive than its doll vessel. It just... hovered.
Kai smiled and held out his small hand. "If you agree... let's high-five on it."
The ghost-child hovered, seemingly confused by the gesture. Then, slowly, it raised its own pale, spectral hand and, in a completely soundless motion, slapped Kai's palm.
...
At 7:30 AM, the West Town port was already bustling. The large ferry was ready to depart, its horn echoing across the water. Tourists and locals chatted and laughed as they boarded, lining the rails to enjoy the salty morning breeze.
"Over here!" Dako, who was already on board, waved to them from the gangplank.
Kai, Shizuku, and Menchi walked up the gangplank. As they stepped onto the deck, a fresh gust of wind hit them. Kai turned for one last look at Ghost Soul Island. His mind was flooded with memories. In less than a month, he had gone from a terrified, naked child buried under corpses to... this. A real Nen user, with a team, and a P.O.P. of over 6,000. He wasn't strong enough to "walk sideways" through the world yet... but he was damn well strong enough to walk.
Far, far away, at the very edge of the forest line, he could just make out a speck of white. It was Butch, standing with the pale, spectral form of 'Bai' hovering just above his head, both of them watching him go.
"Chirp!" Rock Sparrow, along with the two "Kai-Crows," circled high above the ship's mast, not yet ready to part.
"Kai, come on!" Menchi called from the cabin door. "We're leaving!"
"Coming!" Kai gave one last, long wave to Butch and Bai. Next time I see you, he thought, I'll be strong enough to take you with me.
He smiled, turned, and disappeared into the crowd, joining Shizuku and Menchi in the cabin.
With a deep, resonating blast of its horn, the ferry pulled away from the dock. It rode the waves, catching the wind, and sailed away from the ghost-like island, heading toward the Ochima Federation's port city of Gerebo.
(End of Chapter)