The fog dissipates
"YAY- YAY- I'm so happy I could finally meet you again. It's been such a long time!" Aladdin yelled while waving his arms as tears appeared at the corner of his eyes, as his face turned slightly pink."I missed you and wanted to see you again for such a long time!"
"... Aladdin...?" Morgiana continued to cough harshly as the fog kept getting bigger as it scattered all over the place.'Who is he speaking to?'
"There is no one at all..." Morgiana thought in shock seeing Aladdin talking to thin air.
'There's something weird... with this mist!' Morgiana jumped as she landed on top of the roof while looking at the people who kept shouting or talking to thin air."What exactly happened?"
"U...WAA-! DON'T COME OVER. DON'T COME NEAR ME!"
"IT'S THE BANDIT OF THIEVES!"
'What is everyone fighting against!?'
"They seem to be Hallucinating." Atsukei mumbled near her as Ja'afar looked at Morgiana in worry."Are you alright, Morgiana? " Finalists" are sensitive to smell, so you were able to notice it earlier."
Atsukei sniffed the air a little and began to frown, seeing the mist turned red."This mist slightly scarlet in color... Its smell is also similar to that of poisonous plants which can cause paralysis."
"This is not humanly possible. It was likely done by using one of the "Mysterious Powers" they possess." Ja'afar explained as he pointed towards the sudden explosion far from them."As you can see, our target, the "For Troupe", is at the source of this mist."
"Don't breathe in this mist. Put on your veil if you are afraid of breathing in it." A tall woman with dreadlocks, with piercings on her ears, and on her bottom lip. While wearing a dirty, tattered dress said as she waved her weapon.
"He he, your scarlet mist is terrifying as always, Zainab." A tall, dark skinned man, with dreadlocks and an eye patch. That has thick lips, a goatee, and has piercings in his ears and on his nose. He wears a sash over his right shoulder, pants, black shoes and bandages around his ankles.
"My magical weapon is called the sekigenmutou." Zainab continued to explain about her weapon,"It gives off a red mist that, when people breath in it, magnifies a person's uneasiness and hopes, causing hallucinations..." she looked down seeing a bunch of soldier passing out from the red mist."Hmph... However, my miss will not work on people with a firm will. The military soldiers are just a bunch of wimps who always fall for it."
"We have reached the wealthy merchant's house. Hassan, it's your turn. Do your job!"
"Ok, here i go." Said the man named Hassan. He slashed the wall as his weapon oozed with a yellow acidic mist."My magical weapon is called Oushoumutou." He continued to explain,"It's yellow, acidic mist will eat through any area that i will scratch with it in the blink of an eye!"
The walls began to crack, it suddenly crashed down as huge hole formed. The fog group began to go inside taking every valuable things."No matter how strong the wall is, making a hole is easy! Brothers, plunder away! Take back what they took from us!"
Red strong strings suddenly appeared as it wrapped around some of the fog trousers members"What?! it's the military?!"
"No, i'm not this country..." Ja'afar said while glaring coldly at them "But but i have reasons to capture all of you."
"UWAA!?"
"Let go of me!"
"Who... Who is this guy..." Hassan said out loud, he glared at Ja'afar as he clenched his weapon."Hindrance, I will kill you without mercy!" Zainab stretched her arm to stop Hassan to continue what he was doing and said,"Wait... This guy is no ordinary human. Let's wait for Kashim's reinforcements."
'What? It's a black found this time...?' Ja'afar thought as black mist surrounded him.
"The magical weapon Kokubakumutou." A new voice said he black dreadlocks styled in a half-ponytail, and golden eyes. Has rags for clothes from the slums that they occasionally wear. And wears the same small hoop earrings."You don't look like you're from the military..." he glared at Ja'afar coldy as he held his weapon close to him."Let go of my comrades!"
"It's Kashim!! Kashim's reinforcements have arrived!!" Zainab shouted along with Hassan who said,"Serves you right!! Kashim's black mist is heavier than lead no one can move a single step in it!"
"UWAA!!" One of the them shouted in shock as the female Fanalist kicked the unexpected enemy.
"Those tools are getting in way..." Atsukei glared still waiting for the right time to pounce. People began to panic seeing Morgiana's strength. "I can't help Morgiana I'll just get trap in there....fuck"
She feels useless right now.
"Kashim, danger!!"
"Another one!!" Kashim shouted as he activated his weapon making the black mist envelop around Morgiana's body. "A girl...?"
"It doesn't matter who it is. Anybody who harms our comrades is an enemy!" Zainab shouted while holding the injured soldier. The soldier wheezed in pain and said,"That girl... Has enormous strength don't be careless..."
"...This fog..." Morgiana mumbled as she struggle to stand properly, feeling her being dragged down."Although I can move...it feels too heavy... I can't lift my feet!"
"Hang in there Morgiana....I'll think of something , just to help you." Atsukei whispered as she clenched her fist tightly as her metal vessel made a sound.
She can't think of anything.
"Wah, that girl... can still move!"
"Hmmph.... you're the first one who can withstand a wave of fog to this degree!" Kashim said while letting out more black mist at the suffering Fanalis, he turned around and shouted."Leave this to to me escape once you get what we want!"
"Ok!!"
"What's wrong, mate?" Asked Kashin seeing the tense male beside him."No... It's nothing."
'What is going on? Why is she here!?'
"Aladdin!!" Ja'afar shouted as Aladdin snapped his eyes open from his slumber."Aladdin!!You can let them get away capture them!!"
"It's the Fog Troupe!!" Aladdin shouted in alarm, he took his flute and shouted,"Ugo-kun!!"
Everyone stopped seeing a giant blue body appeared out from Aladdin's flute."A monster...!!"
"That's right, Ugo-kun. Thank you." Aladdin mumbled at the blue giant in gratitude."I won't let you pass." He said out loud while staring back at the fog group.
"What is that blue giant...?!"
"It's a monster created by the military to wipe us out!!'
'That's right. The reason I came here for is to look for Alibaba.As soon as I capture this group of thieves, I'll be able to find Alibaba I'll be able to meet my friend!'
"What's wrong, mate?" Kashim asked seeing his male companion raise his hands as his golden eyes stared at Aladdin's."Leave this to me."
"Ah, it's him again..." Atsukei let out a big grin as her hand twitch a little. "Something interesting will happen..."
Kashim's companion began to remove the cloth that covers from his face making Aladdin let out a small "...Huh?"
"Alibaba...?" Muttered Aladdin as he stared at Alibaba's cold eyes.
"Alibaba, do you know him!?" Kashim questioned as he grabbed Alibaba's shoulder. "Yeah."
"Aladdin, it's been a long time. Can you keep Ugo-kun back?" Alibaba called out while waving arm at him."You are scaring my comrades."
"NO!! Don't listen to what the thief says!" Ja'afar shouted, he looked at his peripheral vision to see Atsukei walking silently towards them. Ja'afar could only deadpan at her knowing of her weak presence.
Aladdin put Ugo back to his flute, he walked towards Alibaba with a tight mouth."Erm, actually, I came here looking for you, Alibaba! I have so many things I want to tell you!Do you still remember that time?"
'Lets explore the world together'
"We made a promise!" Aladdin said with a big smile on his face as Alibaba's face didn't change a bit.
"Aladdin... Sorry...I..." he raised his hand making Aladdin thought he wanted to shake hands, as Alibaba slapped it away and continued to walk away along with Kashim and the others."Can't keep that promise."
Aladdin almost felt his heart stop from that statement.
"Aladdin...." Atsukei mumbled while putting her hand on Aladdin's shoulder. "I'm sorry for being useless..."
"Atsu..."
"It's the thieves!!! Take them down!!"
"Reinforcements from the military have arrived!" Ja'afar shouted as a group of soldiers marched towards the fog troup.
"Hey, Alibaba, time to escape!" Kashim shouted as Alibaba took his metal vessel."All right."
"Stern and dignified spirits of etiquette, in the name of my magic, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members."
"Come fort, Amon!"
"Fire..." mumbled Atsukei as her eyes glinted in pure fascination seeing a giant fire appear behind Alibaba's figure.
"U- UWAA!"
"It's a... Fire Devil..."
"DON'T COWER! TAKE DOWN WONDER MAN ALIBABA."
"Idiots..!" Atsukei hissed while glaring at the soldiers who ran towards Alibaba.
"Let's go, Amon!" Alibaba shouted as his metal vessel glowed, raising his sword he plunged it towards the ground as a giant wall of flame appeared out of it."Scorching wall of flames"!
"WAHHHHHH!!"
"Hey! The thieves are going to escape again!"
"Quick! Send people after them!"
"This is chaos..." Atsukei whispered seeing people having multiple burns on their body as they scream in pain. She grimaced at the sight, still holding on Aladdin's shoulder.
●●●●●●●●●
Next day:morning
"How unexpected..." Sinbad said while staring at Ja'afar."That there would be a Dungeon Capturer in the Fog Troupe.Yes, I've also confirmed that their side has several magical items, and among them is a metal vessel." Ja'afar continued to explain,
"Fortunately, There were no deaths." Said Ja'afar, "It's said that "wonder man Alibaba" always uses this tactics to get away. The military is also at its wit's end."
"What's more expected though.." Sinbad said as he looked at Ja'afar and continued to speak, "is that he is the friend Aladdin was looking for."
"Yes. I can't imagine a "magi" 's friend being reduced to a thief."
"In the end, though, what kind of person is "wonder man Alibaba" anyway?"
"According to the residents...he became active in the Fog Troupe around half a year ago.Everytime the Fog Troupe distributes the stolen goods to residents, they are bound to call out his name, thus he is name is being seen as a hero by the residents."
"Hmph... Calling a thief a hero... How absurd." Pouted Atsukei as she heard every word from their conversation, as she stared at Morgiana. Who began sniffing onto the air while looking at the silent blue haired magi, who was sitting all alone.
Poor Aladdin.
"But this also reflects how chaotic this country is..." Sinbad ended with a frown as his eyes showed an emotion that no one can decipher.
●●●●●●●
Atsukei stared at Aladdin who continued to talk to himself, she leaned onto the wall beside him while staring outside of the window seeing the eyes twinkle. She let out a sigh while trying her hair into a neat ponytail again.
"Ugo- kun, it has taken a long time...to reach Balbadd." Aladdin said while grabbing his flute as he smiled softly to it."But, it's just like you said....just like how I have experienced many things this past half year...Alibaba must gone through a lot as well..." Aladdin began to remember his adventures while the female beside him could only look at him while listening to his rants.
She could only frown seeing him try to look at the bright side.
"Alright! What should I do from now on?" his blue eyes clashed with Atsukei's mismatched eyes." I have to set a new goal for myself!That's right. I should continue fulfilling my promise to Ugo-kun, to find the rest of the Djinn's metal vessels.And I should speak with Uncle Sinbad...And ask him about things like being a magi and about the dungeons..."
"That's a lot of thinking Aladdin..." Atsukei mumbled while scratching her head a little.
"Ah! Why don't I just follow Mor and Head over to the Dark Continent, too!I wonder what the dark continent is like? Do you know about it, Atsu?"
She shook her head a little with a frown as her metal vessel glowed slightly. "Sadly I don't know, I was always in my room when I was a child."
"Ehhhh" Aladdin look at her in shock, and chuckled a little, ". Hehe, to think that there were so many things that I can do!" his stomach growled slightly making Atsukei look inside her small bag to see a sandwich inside."I'm starting to feel hungry again! Come to think of it, I haven't eaten since yesterday..." he stared at Atsukei with a big smile while as he nodded at her direction,"Let's find something to eat then Atsu!"
He was about to leave when his body collapsed making him seat on his knees.
"Huh?...I can't seem to... Use any energy..."
"Here," Atsukei stood beside Aladdin while giving him her sandwich, the moonlight made her hair stood out. "You can have this, I was saving it for later but... i know you needed it much more than i do."
"Atsu.." Aladdin looked at her with crocodile tears streaming onto his cheeks. "You're so nice!"
She deadpanned at him as Aladdin began to eat from the sandwich, she sat on the windowsill while hearing someone shout 'look out!' at her. Wait...
Oh god.
She felt her body flung harshly as her face smacked towards the hard wall making tears pricked towards the corner of her eyes. She let out a painful whimper as blood trickled a little from her nose.
"H-Hey..." Aladdin said while waving towards the looking blue haired magi at him. As he forgot the female he crashed."Sorry for disturbing you..Aladdin.."
"Please..." a small muffled voice behind him said. Making him pale as his body stiffened, "get off of me..."
"AH!"
"H-Hey! It seems like you're doing well." Aladdin stiffly said as he began to sweat profusely seeing Atsukei stopping her nose from bleeding. Noticing the tensed atmosphere, smiled at him a little and said, "Mm! Alibaba, too!
"It's... Been half a year, hasn't it? You look like you've changed quite a lot since then, no?" Alibaba said forcing himself to look cheerful."Mm! Alibaba, too."
"Ow..." whimpered Atsukei as Morgiana handed her more tissues, she said her thanks. She looked towards Alibaba who began to panic at her bleeding nose, she waved her hand while forcing a smile despite her inner self screaming in pain."It's fine."
"Please get to the point." Morgiana impatiently said while looking down at Alibaba who looked away from her gaze.
"Yesterday, You even pointed your sword at Aladdin...so, Please hurry up and explain why you are with the Fog Troupe."
"You're annoying... I was actually getting to the point..." Alibaba spat out not noticing Morgiana's pissed face she's making."But, since you said it like that, I don't feel like saying it anymore."
"Please hurry up and and explain it. This isn't the time to joke around.Do you even know situation this country is facing because of what your Fog Troupe did?Trading stopped because of this internal conflict..The government doesn't even care about the citizens' well-being... Those innocent people that ran away because of this..." Morgiana's voice began to rise and trembled as she clenched her fist tightly.
"Found themselves being caught by slaves traders!"
"Morg...." Atsukei stood up from while rubbing the female Fanalis's back, trying to sooth her anger. She flinched a little seeing tears falling down from Morgiana.
"I could never imagine that you would be carrying out misdeeds like these..." Morgiana continued as Alibaba looked down shamefully at his lap,"When you were in Qishan..you were a kind person who was even willing to donate his entire fortune, just to free slaves like me!To think I was so Grateful to you for that."
"I seriously..." she looked up making her face be more visible as her tears seemed to stop a little from falling down,"Cannot Imagine you're that kind of person who doesn't even care about someone's well-being."
Morgiana pouted as Alibaba began to have an irk mark on his forehead .
"Calm down for now, Mor..." Alibaba said trying to remove the heavy atmosphere.
"I can understand that you are angry because you have experienced a lot of problems.But the three of us finally got the chance to gather like this."
"Speaking of which, the moon today is very pretty..." Atsukei mumbled, staring outside the window seeing the moon shining brightly.
"So, let's talk about some happy things instead!" Aladdin said while looking at Alibaba who gave him a look of disbelief."Right, Alibaba?"
"Y-Yeah!"
"Speaking of which..." Alibaba pointed at Aladdin."Where have you been all this time?Ever since we conquered the 7th Dungeon...I only got to see this girl...when you didn't come over to find me at all, I almost died worrying about you!Where have you been exactly?"
"Hehehe." Aladin tried to muffle his childish giggle as Atsukei sat back down again, satisfied to see the blood stopped dripping on her nose. Aladdin continued and said,
"Don't be surprised, alright? I was at a place called Kouga Village all this time, this is where I found Atsukei."
Alibaba's eyes clashed with Atsukei as he recognized her familiar face, he was about to open his mouth when the female made a shush motion at him while winking at him.
Aladdin began to tell his adventure back to where he met Atsukei and the Kouga clan, along with meeting Hakuie while accidentally discovering Golta's birthplace.
"Woah...To think that so many things happened! It was a really exciting adventure!'
"Yeah!"
"Also, to be able to find you in this country...I ended up needing to help out in arresting the members of the Fog Troupe.Although I didn't think that you were one of them...I believe that you must have your own reasons for being with them.So, Please tell me..." Aladdin stared at Alibaba, his smile not disappearing, Alibaba could only stare down as his bangs covered his eyes."The reason for why you join the Fog Troupe."
"Aladdin... Do you still remember what I told you in the 7th Dungeon?" Alibaba asked while looking up as his eyes clashed with Aladdin's."Do you think you can introduce me to your friend, Ugo?But before that... Could you listen to me about a friend of mine?"
"Sure! Of course!" Aladdin piped in as he nodded.
"His name is...Kashim."
"Kashim?" Atsukei asked put lout remembering the guy who used a metal vessel to trap Ja'afar and Morgiana.
"Yeah." Alibaba nodded while looking at Atsukei then back at Aladdin and said," He's the real leader of the Fog Troupe.He's the one who created the Fog Troupe.But, it seems like he has always wanted me to be the leader, though."
Atsukei scratched her cheek a little still having her nose throb in pain from time to time. She opened her mouth and asked,"What sort of relationship does he have with you?"
"It's very similar to the relationship between Aladdin and Ugo." Alibaba looked up with a smile.
"Yes, Kashim and I have been friends since long ago."