Kuki Shinobu: "Well, this is the place."
Y/N: "Huh? Here? But this is barely a stone's throw away from the camp, how did we not find this before during rounds?"
Kuki Shinobu: "Hmm... I guess it's because nobody's known what they were looking for? And Kaji keeps his distance from soldiers, so it's not like there's anyone who could tell your soldiers what's up with this place, or it's true importance to the island."
Y/N: "I guess... but that giant bubble–looking thing stands out quite a lot. I'm surprised this is the first I've seen of it! So then, Kuki Shinobu, what is it we've got to do to cure this weather? Just burst this bubble open or something?"
Kuki Shinobu: "Heh, you can just call me Shinobu. There is no need to be so formal with me after all. Regardless, hmmm, maybe... Kaji isn't here anymore, but he told me that we'd have to have a look at the old Shrine. He said something about it 'rejecting him' when he tried to interact with it. I wasn't sure what he meant by that though, I thought I'd wait until you were with me before I went too far. After all, you're the only of us two that still have a Vision."
Y/N: "So I guess I'm just being used as a bodyguard then, am I?"
Shinobu: "Who said anything about me being defenceless? Heh, and aren't you the one suffering from Vision strain anyways? I can handle myself fine, so you don't need to go worrying about me."
Y/N: "Well, if that's how it is, then I suppose I'll be able to leave any fights that get picked for you to handle whilst I watch then!"
Shinobu: "I suppose you can, yeah, you can leave it to me if you don't feel confident in your skills without relying on your Vision. Just make sure to watch me, closely... Heh. Maybe you'll learn a couple things that'll have you less reliant on your Vision... among other things~"
Y/N: "Perhaps I will. As I understand it, you are quite skilled with Naku Weed in both offensive and defensive stances. I will look forward to learning from you, Sensei!"
Shinobu: "Don't uh— Don't call me that. It feels weird... Let's just have a look at that Shrine now, shall we...?"
It seems that my playful prodding back to my aggressor had proved quite effective, and Shinobu was quick to change the subject and lead us back on track. She walked on over to the Shrine, leaving me in her wake to keep up. This place... it was only on the other side of the gorge from the Resistance Camp? I mean, sure, the gorge is really quite large and difficult to traverse across, but surely I should have seen it by now? Just how little of this island have I actually seen, despite spending months on it at this point? I suppose the unending storms definitely didn't help with exploration, but even still I would have thought it would at least have been mentioned, no?
The Shrine was just like any other Shrine that you'd find out here in the wilderness, with it being just a simple wooden construction, built into the terrain with a stone platform. Shinobu was the first to the Shrine, with her taking the initiative to walk over there, and even though she was facing away from me, I think I could make out her face being a little flushed from the comment I made to her.
Shinobu: "Kaji said that putting his hand on it felt weird. Sort of like it was pushing him away... hmm..."
As she was explaining this to me again, Shinobu's arm was now making its way over towards the very same Shrine that she was explaining to have had a negative impact on the Kaji guy that she had spoken to earlier. Her hand growing ever closer to the old and weathered wood. Well, up until I grabbed her wrist and stopped her from making contact with the Shrine.
Y/N: "Hang on a second, Shinobu. Are you sure you should be touching this? You don't have a Vision anymore, after all."
Shinobu: "Hm? Why wouldn't I? It's not like Kaji mentioned any lasting side-effects at all."
Y/N: "Regardless, I don't think you should take that chance. Not with all the Tatarigami on this island. Who knows what long-term problems it could have!"
Shinobu: "Oh? Why're you so worried about my future, hm? Heh~"
Y/N: "I... I don't really get what you're insinuating there, but why wouldn't I worry? You're a friend of Yanfei's, and you're a pretty cool person in general. I'd heard that Vision Wielders have an innate resistance to Tatarigami, and I'd rather not use your case as an experiment to see if that resistance still remains even after losing your Vision. So why not just let me do it?"
Shinobu: "Hmm... Well, whatever you say, I suppose~"
Y/N: "I feel like you're reading into this too much! I'm just trying to be responsible here!"
Shinobu: "Heh, of course, of course. I'll just be glad that you're looking out for me then, hm?"
Y/N: "Well, that's why I'm here, isn't it? Well, I guess I'll see what happens if I put my hand on the Shrine..."
Shinobu seemed content with letting me be the one to experiment with the Shrine, and so I felt like I could relinquish the hold I had on her wrist— with myself instead being the one to place my hand against the Shrine...
And when my skin did make contact with the Shrine, as I reached out to the ancient wooden structure... It felt like something ethereal was reaching out to me in return. Something desperate, something pleading. Something unfulfilled...
Y/N: "It feels... like it's missing something?"
Shinobu: "Oh? Well that makes sense, look here, there's a spot here that looks like it should have something here, maybe even a couple of things. So that must be what's causing the issue. Those saboteurs must have taken away whatever it is that's missing, so returning it all should fix this weather."
Y/N: "Sounds good! But how will we know what's missing? Or where it is?"
Shinobu: "And that's why I waited for the Vision Wielder to be here with me! Hmm... Why don't you try using your Elemental Sight? See if there's any hint as to where these missing things are."
Y/N: "Oh! Now that's a good idea! Well, let's see..."
Activating my Elemental Sight, I looked within the Shrine, looking for something amiss that I might be able to track... and after a moment of looking did I find some odd Electro energies that were leaking away, leaving a trail that led away from the Shrine for us to follow.
Maintaining my Elemental Sight, I began to walk away from the Shrine, following the trail of Electro traces whilst Shinobu followed in my wake. And, in what really shouldn't have been of any real surprise, the trail pointed directly into the center of that giant bubble of water not too far away from the Shrine. The bubble of water that was completely opaque so as to prevent us from looking inside, and was currently surrounded by Nobushi Ronin.
Y/N: "Looks like we're probably going to have to scare them off before we can look into getting past that barrier... You know, I could probably use my Vision to—"
Shinobu: "Absolutely not. I promised your General that I'd avoid you using your Vision as much as I could. We can easily deal with the likes of them without either of us having Visions, and, as for the barrier..."
Shinobu had gone quiet for a moment, clearly pondering something as she looked amongst the nearby terrain. The only thing I could imagine she was looking at were these weird looking towers that were scattered around the bubble barrier, clearly placed there for some reason...
Shinobu: "It looks like those structures are the key to the barrier. So let's open it up the proper way, instead of having you force your way inside. It might not work in quelling the curse of the Shrine otherwise."
Y/N: "I guess you've got a point there... So, should we get rid of the Nobushi before we look into those towers?"
Shinobu: "Yeah, it's probably for the best. We don't need any distractions getting in the way, and I'm quite interested to see how you do in action, especially as you are now. So, you can take the lead this time, they're only small fry after all. I'll be more than happy to follow from behind~ Just remember, no using your Vision."
* LATER *
After a short bout with the Nobushi we were able to clear out the area of any human threats. It wasn't entirely safe to be here though, as the lightning storm above us still continued to pound against the earth, but by remaining wary and on guard we were able to avoid any strikes that landed too close to comfort.
And now, having cleared out the riffraff around the shrine, we started to experiment with the odd tower-like structures in the area. Noting the top of the structure which seemed to exude an aura of outputting something, we figured that perhaps we needed to point all of these structures at one another to unlock that which is hidden within the bubble. And then, after having done this, Shinobu made her way up to the highest of the structures, the one that we assumed to be the beginning of the chain, and she gave it a strike with her weapon.
After Shinobu struck that initial structure a weird beam was shot out of the top, and then just like we thought was the beam of energy passed from one structure to the next, in the exact same order that we had perceived them to be. The beam of energy was passed all the way onto the final structure before it was then shot out one last time. Neither of us two were entirely sure of where to send this energy at the time, but we had taken a guess that it should be directed at the bubble that we wanted to pop— and that proved to be exactly right, as the beam of energy had done exactly as we had hoped it would.
And now, with the bubble no longer blocking access, Shinobu made her way back down to me from the ledge whilst pointing out a strange looking orb that seemed to hover right in the middle of where the bubble once was.
Shinobu: "That looks like it's made of Electro energies, just like the one that you said you were tracking down with your Elemental Sight. Right?"
Y/N: "Yeah. It looks pretty much identical to it. That must be what we needed to get, but... what about that Kairagi down there? That Pyro one, you see? It looks like he's guarding something else..."
Shinobu: "Huh. It could be a second thing that was taken, maybe? Well, we're going to have to go down there anyways to get that first thing, so we might as well see if that guy is going to let us just take it or not."
Y/N: "I have my suspicions as to what the result of such a request is going to be..."
Shinobu: "Oh, I'm sure we're going to have to fight him for it too, but I know we can handle him. Come on, let's head down, shall we? You've got your own glider, right? Else you'll have to hold on tight to me as I—"
Y/N: "I have my own glider, yes."
Shinobu: "Oh. Well in that case... Let's go."
It really wasn't that far of a drop. Being somewhere between a distance that would really quite hurt to jump down without support, but also just enough that you could even deploy our gliders for more than a couple seconds before we made contact with the floor.
And, as we expected, the moment that the Kairagi set his sights on us had he stood up and charged at us with his Pyro-infused weapon in hand. And yet, despite that, both myself and Shinobu of whom were not using any elemental powers were able to deal with him easily... albeit my weapon feeling like a bit of a cheat in this case.
After having collected the two items of interest, both Shinobu and I made our way back out of the odd crater that the bubble had once concealed, and we made our way back to the Shrine. Still being a potential danger to touch for those without a Vision, I was the one that held the two strange materials and also was the one to reintroduce them to the Shrine. Of which, not even a couple of moments later...
Y/N: "The thunderstorm... it's gone? Just like that?"
Shinobu: "Just like that. Kaji said he had hoped this to be the case, but even still, seeing the weather clear up so suddenly and for glimpses of the sun to be able to part through the dense clouds... it's quite intriguing."
Y/N: "Hmm... By the looks of it, it looks like the storm has stopped for the area around the camp too. So we could stop now, and it would give us a huge defensive advantage on this island. But... the rest of the island is still being berated by the storm. This island was people's home... We should keep going."
Shinobu: "Hmm. Right answer. Kaji went on ahead to check out some of the other Shrines. So let's head on out and reconvene, I'm sure he'd like to hear that his plan is working so far."
Y/N: "Sure. Sounds like a plan! Well, you know the way right? Lead on."
* * *
As planned, Shinobu then led the way off towards the next Shrine that had been tampered with. The two of us talking all the while as we made our way over there, covering all manners of subjects from military happenings and gang–mate nonsense to completely unrelated subjects like our favourite foods and hobbies.
Kaji: "Oh, it's you again Kuki Shinobu. I saw the rebel first and thought that—"
Shinobu: "They're a friend. And the one who I've enlisted to help with fixing these Shrines."
Y/N: "...Wasn't it me who enlisted your help with this...?"
Shinobu: "Heh. I suppose so, technically. But you were too busy with military affairs to find the time, hence your asking me to go and find Kaji in your stead, no?"
Kaji: "Huh?! The rebels were looking for me? Why?!"
Y/N: "Not the Resistance, just me. I was alerted by a... Shrine Maiden that I encountered on Narukami Island that you might know a thing or two about the strange and unnatural storms this island is being affected by."
Shinobu: "And you were right, Kaji. We repaired the Shrine back there and the storms stopped almost immediately."
Kaji: "I thought I saw a bit of a change off in the distance. So it really works... Hmm, well then I guess I'll leave you to do similarly with this Shrine too. I don't have a Vision and I'm not really all that good in combat, so I'd only get in the way."
Shinobu: "Don't worry about it. I'm in good company as it is. We'll handle this."
And handle it we did. As well as all the other Shrines on the island. That being three of them in total. And each time we repaired one of the Shrines did the immediate area cease to be storm-ridden, with the sun threatening to pierce through the dense layer of clouds that still hovered on high above the island.
One thing did come to my attention though, from a waterlogged note that I found nearby one of the Shrines that we had to fix. Unfortunately not all of it was legible due to the waterlogged nature of the document, but what I could make out was rather troubling indeed...
╔═════════════════════╗
...If anyone leaks the team's secrets,
they shall be held accountable...
Phase 1: Ambush the Shogunate soldiers
on a rainy night using our long–studied
tactics, switch outfits with them,
and obtain their ship's supplies.
Phase 2: Attack and break Shogunate's
wards according to the methods
Mr. Nathan explained, and restore
the dignity of our great Omikami.
Stage 3: Of the plan does not go well,
sacrifice yourselves for our mighty
Omikami. If things go well. you may
retreat safely. But in neither case can
you reveal your identity, thus
implicating our Divine Priestess...
...The above information is to be kept
strictly confidential. Not a word to anyone,
whether it be Her Excellency
the Divine Priestess or our lowest-ranking
comrades. Those with loose lips will
face the consequences...
╚═════════════════════╝
I didn't yet bring this to Shinobu's attention yet. As she seemed quite keen to talk about much more jovial things than war and subterfuge. And... this is quite the serious thing that I might need to bring up to General Gorou or Kokomi's attention, so it might be best that less people see this until it has been looked into...
And so, we did the first three Shrines together with smiles on our faces and Shinobu none the wiser to the machinations that lay in the shadows of such an incident that brought us together to play the role of Shrine repairers . And we made our way to a fourth place that Kaji knew a Shrine could be found: the ruins of Fort Mumei.
Kaji: "Thanks to your efforts, the rain has stopped, the clouds have cleared, and the air is freshening up. It will take time for the Tatarigami in the atmosphere to dissipate, though. *sigh* Still, my investigation here remains inconclusive. It's possible I'm overthinking it, but maybe the ruins on Fort Mumei aren't connected to the wards on the island after all— hmm?"
Y/N: "What's going on? What was that sound?!"
Kaji: "It's Fort Mumei! Fort Mumei has risen out of the sea! Let's investigate — we can't miss this opportunity!"
Exactly as Kaji had said, the ruins of Fort Mumei had risen out of the sea. Or, well... one central platform of it did at the very least. But on that platform rose a now familiar bubble of water, and with accompanying statues for us to burst open the bubble and reveal what was inside it.
However, this time was going to be a little bit more difficult. As the statues that we would need to adjust the orientation and elevation for were not above land, but rather out in the deep sea. And without my using my Vision I wasn't too sure how we were going to go about doing this...
Shinobu: "Heh. Why do you look so worried? Afraid of getting a bit wet?"
Y/N: "We've been out in this lightning storm for the past couple of hours. Our clothes have been soaked through the entire time. It's drowning I'm worried about. And being struck by lightning whilst we're swimming."
Shinobu: "Who said anything about swimming? This is where I dock my rowboat so it stays out of sight of both soldiers and the idiots in the gang. We can use that to reposition the statues ready to break the seal. There's room for three, if you want to join Kaji?"
Kaji: "Hm? Oh, sure. And I suppose then I could tell you a bit about this place too."
And so, that's what happened. Kaji and I followed Shinobu until she led us to the hidden rowboat nearby the shore, with a cover of leaves attached to a net that hid the rowboat from any people that may be passing by. And once dislodged and pushed back out into the open sea, the three of us boarded it. To which I took the duty of rowing the boat whilst Shinobu would be the one that actually repositioned the statues ready for the beam of energy, all the while Kaji was telling us about this old fort.
Kaji: "This ancient city was destroyed when the mighty Ogosho fought against an evil god. Once majestic, it was razed to the ground. Only a few ruins remain..."
Shinobu: "An evil god? Do you know which one?"
Kaji: "The serpent god. Hmph. And these wards you've been repairing are of the might Ogosho's design, to seal the evil that exudes from that evil god's remains."
Y/N: ". . ."
Shinobu: "Hmm... Well, that's what the victors have written at the very least."
It seemed like Shinobu had read the discomfort I was in at this current point of discussion. But I wasn't even really sure why I was getting so upset by what Kaji was saying here. I don't have any real knowledge of the Inazuman Gods, other than the one that was currently acting as a dictator over her people. I know that Liyue had many a God that called the nation home. And I know that many of those Gods met their end by my hand... And yet, if what Xiao had said back then was true... Rex Lapis knew who I really was from my first appearance in modern Liyue, and yet he spared me? He gave me a chance at a new life? Why...?
Kaji: "Hmph. Either way, we're better off without any pretenders around. The sooner those Sangonomiya freaks realise it and fall in line under the Electro Archon instead of their dead God the better."
Shinobu: "From what I heard, Mondstadt is a nation with an absent Archon. And Liyue has recently lost their Archon. Perhaps the Archons aren't as important as we all once thought?"
Kaji: "You're only thinking like that because you were a Vision Wielder. For us common folks, the Archons are important. They bring us stability and security with their powers. Not everyone can best a Hilichurl with God-given powers like you lot with your Visions. Best you remember that I reckon."
Shinobu: "I don't have my Vision anymore. It was requested back from me by the very same Archon that gave it out to me once before. And Y/N has not used their Vision at all during our work on the Shrines because of an injury it inflicted. The only difference between you and us is practise and experience."
Kaji: "Sure, sure. Whatever, I guess. Let's just focus on fixing this last Shrine."
Shinobu: "Agreed. There's only a couple more of these things to realign anyways."
Shinobu sounded pretty disgruntled with the guy now, and whilst I had elected to make myself seem as small as possible whilst I kept my eyes down at the base of the boat and quietly rowed the boat as needed, I could feel her sympathetic gaze on me as we found ourselves in-between statues.
We then ended up doing the rest of the loop entirely in silence, until we got to the end of the road and all of the statues had been repositioned correctly. We then all silently disembarked back onto the ruins and Shinobu made her way over to the initial statue so as to start the shooting of energy, leaving me alone with Kaji... who seemed to be incredibly guarded against me still, most likely due to my being a part of the Resistance. Or because I have a Vision on my person, and he seems really quite indoctrinated by the Electro Archon's demands.
* KPEW! *
Shinobu had triggered the firing mechanism, and had started making her way back to us as the structures were shooting the energy one by one until it eventually reached the large bubble, popping it just the same as any other. But unlike before... the bubble popping revealed an imposing enemy hidden within, one that seemed to be a mechanical puppet of some design.
Y/N: "It looks like... some kind of sentinel?"
Shinobu: "Hmm, could this perhaps be...? A Maguu Kenki? It's a type of automaton I had learnt about before, back during the studies for one of my exams. There were stories of their strength in defending the people from threats. This could be pretty problematic."
Y/N: "That's if it even wants to fight us. Maybe it just wants to preserve this Shrine?"
Shinobu: "Either way, it's probably for the best that you stay away Kaji. In case this ends up getting ugly."
Kaji: "Good idea. Best leave the wanton violence to the professionals. Just try not to let too much damage come to these ruins."
As instructed, Kaji made his way back to the safety of a distant wall just outside of the area that the Shrine and this automaton could be found. And once we were sure he was out of the way we made our way towards the old relic that guarded this Shrine.
And almost immediately did the thing spring to life, moving as if it was strung up by many strings, it was almost as if it were a puppet? However, one thing that it made very clear from the get go was that this would not be a peaceful engagement. As the Maguu Kenki had almost immediately reached for its sword and had fallen into a battle position, and it didn't seem to be changing its mind upon seeing us walk up to it with empty hands...
Shinobu: "Looks like we're going to have to defeat it. These things can be pretty difficult from what I understand. And remember, no Vision."
Y/N: "I know, I know. You really know how to nag huh, I guess that comes from dealing with your gang members all the time!"
Shinobu: "HEY!? Heh. That's it! I'll show you! Whoever deals the final blow gets treated to a meal by the loser!"
Y/N: "Aren't you already planning to treat me to a meal as it is? Maybe you should see the first one through before promising me another! Ahaha! "
Shinobu: "Oh, you are a cocky one, aren't you! You might be my senior in age, but I'll show you that's not all that counts!"
The fight with this 'Maguu Kenki' was quite fierce. With it being quite the formidable foe indeed. At times it seemed to project itself in two places at once, with one remaining physically there whilst the other was simply a projection of elemental energies. And whilst only the physically present of the two could be damaged by us, both versions were able to launch attacks at us in return.
Despite this, I kept to my word and refused to utilise my Vision at all in response to this threat. Although my... rather overpowered weapon of mine was not mentioned to be off the table, and so I continued to wield it against this foe alongside my competitive partner, Shinobu. And very quickly did the two of us fall into quite the team, albeit a competitive one, with us quickly dealing with threats and dodging any attacks that were unpreventable, keeping each other aware of what the other couldn't see at the time.
After a rather lengthy battle, the Maguu Kenki was showing signs of wear and tear, and it seemed only so much longer before we would emerge victorious. It seemed that Shinobu had realised this as well, as she had clearly upped her game and become more offensive, perhaps so as to get the best chance of winning that treated meal she had us wager for.
But of course, I wasn't going to just let her have that!
And thus began the true competitive actions of us both, to which we were clearly both trying our hardest to get the killing blow upon this powerful automaton. Of course, the Maguu Kenki didn't make it too easy on us, with it's attacks growing more ferocious as it grew more and more desperate. But there was only so much left that the automaton could give before it crumpled.
As for who it was that landed the final blow...
Shinobu: "Drat! I can't deny it... You got that final blow."
Y/N: "As if there was any doubt! Better luck next time, my puny human. Ahaha!"
Shinobu: "Heh. So this is what it takes then?"
Y/N: "Hmm? That's what it takes...?"
Shinobu: "Your confidence. Not that you've been all that shy or anything, mind you, you're exactly as Yanfei told me you were: courteous and considerate of others whilst remaining more than capable of defending yourself and those you favour. It's just... I'd heard you're not one to let yourself go. But I guess all it takes is invoking you into a little competition and this side of you comes out."
Y/N: "... was this all just some sort of experiment?"
Shinobu: "Oh? I think you're misreading the situation. I didn't intend for this to be anything like that. This really was just meant to be a friendly little competition is all. One that you unfortunately won... So then, does that mean you're going to want me to treat you to two separate meals? Or can I get away with just one particularly pleasant one?"
Y/N: "Well... Why don't we discuss that some other time, so we can ponder my winnings without a third party. That guy's heading on over here now, so we might as well get to repairing this Shrine."
And that was what we did. The two missing components were not at all far away from the Shrine and took nary but a minute to collect and reinstall the components into the Shrine. And in doing so...
Kaji: "Great. the final ward is repaired. The Tatarigami should be gone soon..."
Shinobu: "So that's it then? Everything's all sorted?"
Kaji: "That's right. Thanks for your efforts. Although the island is still full of dangers, this will give a little hope to all the people who have left their hometown and long to return. The fact that the rain has stopped may actually make the warring parties more aggressive in fighting for the island... But they were never going to help resolve the situation on the island anyway. What we have done is at least better than leaving the problem to fester. Now, the gift I promised you."
Kaji had then approached Shinobu and handed her a rather ancient–looking piece of paper, populated with what looked to be quite detailed drawings, all the while he continued to ignore my presence standing directly beside Shinobu...
Kaji: "This is the famed spear once used by the Prefects of Yashiori. Now, I'm not sure how much use this drawing will be to you... But if you give it to a sufficiently skilled blacksmith, they should be able to recreate the glory it once had in Lord Kitain's hands. *sigh* Alas, the age of heroes has come and gone, and the Kitain, who once destroyed so many evils, will never return again. Still, we seem to have gotten a step closer to matching Lord Kitain's deeds in the present, thanks to your help. Next, I will go to my friends in the Shogunate army to see if there's anything I can help with. I hope to see you again in the future, miss Kuki Shinobu."
And with those parting words, Kaji turned around and walked off and away from us both. Heading back inland and towards the direction of the Kujou Encampment most likely. He didn't say much specifically about me, so I hope that he will do the slightest kindness in not mentioning my involvement with Shinobu to the Shogunate forces, although I'm not holding my breath. But I suppose that even if he does tattle on us... Kujou Sara will be the one who ends up getting the report, right? With her being the top of the pecking order when it comes to these forward operating bases that is.
Kujou Sara already knows mine and Shinobu's particular positions in this war, and I don't think she would have much in the way of disappointment in the state of this island being repaired, right? Huh, and speaking of the state of this island...
Shinobu: "That layer of storm clouds is just completely gone... I haven't seen the sun shine on this island in months..."
Y/N: "A job well done then, it would seem. I guess that means it's probably about time that I head back to camp... Are you coming with? I presume you're going to get some payment for your services after all?"
Shinobu: "Oh, I didn't do it for the Mora. I'm happy enough with what I got out of it already, to be honest. Although... I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this blueprint he gave me. I don't really use spears, and neither do any of the guys in the gang... I guess I'll just hold onto it for now? Maybe I'll get somebody to craft it if not for anything else but to restore that Lord Kitain's legacy? Maybe some historian would appreciate it...?"
Y/N: "You... You're a good person, Shinobu."
Shinobu: "H–Huh?! Where'd that come from, all of a sudden?"
Y/N: "Nothing really. Just a thought that came to mind. So, are you coming with me back to camp?"
Shinobu: "Y–You really say the weirdest stuff out loud like it's nothing, huh..."
Shinobu: "I, uh... Sure. Why not. I've got some time left to kill before the guys are expecting me back anyways. Now then, let's talk about that first meal I owe you..."
<5500 words>