*Nighttime in Brister. Outside of Sweet Heaven*
(Chief): Hey, I know I said this before but thanks so much for saving me and the others. I really owe you guys.
(Amarti): Don’t mention it chief.
(Ryuuji): We’re just sorry about your friend. How’re you holding up?
(Chief): I’m fine. I dealt with the pain of losing him in the past but it was still hard to watch him die in front of us. The years apart may have changed us but I hope he can find peace in the next life. Well, moving on to the other matters. Has the place been kept in order?
(Zia): Oh yes. Lilith managed everyone’s schedules, everyone pitched in to help out where needed, and they fed the alley cats.
(Chief): What! Why would they do that?
(Dust): Don’t play dumb, chief. We all know you’ve been secretly feeding them scraps from the pub.
(Chief): Huh! I have no idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, you have my thanks. Now shoo, you’re obstructing business.
*Chief walks back into Sweet Heaven leaving the members of Shadow Eye outside and they begin to walk away*
(Alita): The chief has a tough time being honest with his feelings.
(Amarti): He believes he has an image to maintain. Now that that mission is over we can move on to the next one. So Jin, I hear you and the others got invited to a party.
(Jin): Uh, yeah. Hua’s throwing a party for all the rookie knights.
(Amarti): Nice. Have you decided what you’re going to wear?
(Jin): Not yet. I figured I keep it casual and just wear a sweater with some jeans.
(Amarti): While I agree with the casual look I think we can do better. After all, you’ll be representing our order so you’ve got to add what we elves like to call rizz to your attire.
***
*A few days later it’s the night of the party which is taking place inside the Wall. Jin had just arrived on his white scooter where he was wearing a dark chocolate jacket over a black long-sleeved shirt, green pants, and brown shoes. At first, Jin felt the attire wasn’t for him, but after looking at himself in the mirror he had to admit he liked what he saw. Jin didn’t think much about his personal attire before, but after today he would consider investing in clothing for outside of work*
(Gael): Yo.
*Hearing Gael’s voice, Jin turned around to see Gael walking toward him. Much like Jin, Gael received a new outfit from Amarti for the party. He wore a tan coat over a dark blue sweater, blue jeans, and dark blue shoes. He also wore a pendant with a green gemstone around his neck*
(Gael): I was wondering when you would get here. You look good.
(Jin): Yeah, you too.
(Alita): Indeed. You both clean up very nicely.
*The two young knights heard Alita’s voice and looked to the side to see the android girl wearing a Lolita dress that was plaided red and black with a white long-sleeved shirt as her top. Long black stockings covered her legs and black shoes were on her feet. She also had a bow in her hair that matched her dress. While the young knights saw how cute she looked, what caught them off guard was that her hair was longer. Normally, Alita had short hair, but now her hair was longer and straighter*
(Alita): I have arrived. With 8.4 seconds to spare.
(Gael): Impeccable timing as always, Alita.
(Jin): Are those extensions in your hair?
(Alita): Negative. This is my actual hair. I can change it to whatever length I want it to be.
(Jin): Sympathic hair that you can control at will. Fascinating.
(Gael): Save your questions for later. It’s time to party.
*The three enter the doors of the Wall*
***
*Outside of Jade’s temple, Mumen reached the lock gate and took out a key to unlock it. He ascended the stairs and reached the top to see the temple still standing gloriously. While the place was in need of repairs, he had never been happier to see the temple*
(Mumen): *Deep breath* I’m home.
*Mumen walked over to the temple and knocked on the door only for no one to answer. He then slid open the door and walked in*
(Mumen): Pardon me. Hello? Is anyone here?
*Sensing a presence. Mumen turned around to see Jade about to pounce on him. He quickly got his shakujō up to block Jade’s attack. Once Jade landed on the ground, she attempted to sweep Mumen’s legs, only for him to jump and avoid the attack. Jade then did a handstand and began to spin around, where all of her kicks got deflected by Mumen’s staff. One of Jade’s kicks finally managed to kick Mumen’s staff out of his hands. With no staff, Mumen grabbed Jade’s ankles, but she used her strength to push Mumen away and return to her feet. Now on her feet, Jade attempted to punch and kick Mumen, but he blocked all of her attacks until he managed to grab her right wrist and attempted to grab her by the neck with his right hand. Jade managed to stop his attack by grabbing his wrist, and now the two were in a standstill*
(Mumen): Impressive work, Jade. You haven’t lost your touch.
*Recognizing the voice, Jade smiled*
(Jade): Mumen!
*Jade released his wrist, and he in turn released her wrist*
(Jade): I thought I recognized your smell. It’s been a while.
(Mumen): Indeed. It’s good to see you as well.
(Jade): Sorry about the rough homecoming. I’m not used to people dropping by.
(Mumen): Yes. I do apologize for not letting you know I was coming. The situation is dire, and I could use your help.
***
*Back at The Wall, the elevator carrying Jin, Gael, and Alita had arrived at the floor of the party. As soon as they exited the elevator, they heard the sound of music and could see various knights dancing and talking with each other while enjoying some punch and food. The place was decorated festively with streamers, balloons, and a tree with multi-colored lights on it in honor of Faven’s Birthday. The three walked into the party, catching the eye of a few people. Particularly, Alita, as the boys thought she was cute. They eventually got seen by Hua, who was wearing brown pants and a long-sleeved yellow shirt with a white top underneath*
(Hua): Hey guys! Glad you could make it.
*As soon as Hua saw Alita, her eyes lit up and she hugged her*
(Hua): Ahh~! So cute! She’s like a doll brought to life.
(Alita): Thank you, Hua. I like your outfit as well.
*Hua stops hugging and takes a good look at Jin and Gael*
(Hua): Ohh~ momma like. You boys look dashing. I can’t step on another girl’s game. This doggy on the other hand. Grr.
(Gael): *Smiles* Woof woof.
*Hua and Gael laugh*
(Gael): So, got any good food around here?
(Hua): The buffet’s off that way. Enjoy yourselves, and if anyone gives you trouble, let me know. I’ll handle it.
*Hua cracks her knuckles as Jin and Gael go to grab some food. Alita stays behind with Hua to talk with her some more. The two knights made it over to the buffet, where they were serving corn, bread with sauce, fruit salad, chicken wings, and mashed potatoes with peas. As Gael was filling up his plate, he made it to the chicken wings and spotted a big one. Grabbing some tongs, he goes to grab it only to have his pushed away by other tongs. Gael looked to his right, where he saw a tan-skinned cat demihuman with golden eyes. Her hair was greyish-white and tied in twin pig-tails. She wore a green Cheongasm dress with golden floral designs all over it. Her white tail could be seen out the back of her dress, and she wore black closed-toed slippers. Despite being slightly shorter than Gael, the cat demihuman stared up at him with no fear in her eyes*
(Cat demihuman): Hey, I saw that piece first. Back off.
(Gael): Well, that’s an issue. Because I saw it first. I suggest finding another piece.
*Gael goes to reach for the chicken wing again, only for the cat demihuman to bat his tongs away with her tongs*
(Cat demihuman): Surely you’ve heard of ladies first.
(Gael): Of course. But I’m a believer in gender equality when it comes to food.
*With one final glance at each other, the two begin to swordfight with tongs as they battle over the chicken wing. The two demihumans keep batting their tongs away from the chicken wing until they both manage to grab it with their tongs on opposite sides. The two find themselves in a tug-of-war over the chicken wing, pulling it back and forth until the wing eventually slips through the cat demihuman’s tongs*
(Gael): Yes! Victory!
(Cat demihuman): Damn it! Fine, I accept my defeat. Do what you will with it.
(Gael): Fine.
*Gael places the wing on the plate of the cat demihuman, shocking her while she was secretly happy*
(Cat demihuman): I do not need your pity.
(Gael): It’s not pity. It’s respect for another wing lover. Gotta respect a lady who fights that hard for a piece of wing. My bro and sis always taught me to show respect to others.
(Cat demihuman): *Chuckles* You’re alright. I’m Fei. I’m with the White Tiger Order.
(Gael): Gael Tristian. I’m with the Black Tortoise Order. The guy behind me is Jin.
(Jin): Jin Hephaestus. I’m also with the Black Tortoise Order. Nice to meet you.
(Fei): Likewise. Care to join me at a table?
(Gael): Sure.
(Scarlet): Mind if we join in too?
*Jin, Gael, and Fei turned around to see Scarlet, Sera, Robbie, and Keanu. Jin stared in awe at Scarlet, who had her hair up and was wearing a red sweater with black jeans and black shoes. She looked beautiful in his eyes. Sera was wearing a magenta asymmetric off-the-shoulder ruched long-sleeve top with blue jeans and brown shoes. Keanu was wearing a white winter kimono with white sandals. Robbie was wearing a dark blue winter vest over a long-sleeved white-collared shirt, dark blue jeans, and brown boots*
(Jin): I. . .uh. . .not. . .please. . .great. . .and uh. . .
(Alita): I do believe he is saying please, and you look very pretty, Scarlet.
*Scarlet blushed and turned away, along with Jin whose face had turned completely red from embarrassment, while everyone chuckled*
(Fei): Sure, the more the merrier.
*All of the young knights go to an empty table and sit down, where they begin to eat, talk, and laugh with each other. They talk about the year they’ve had with Jin, Gael, and Alita being sure to omit their activities with Shadow Eye in order to keep the secret safe*
(Gael): You know, I’m kind of surprised, Fei. We’ve done a few missions with the White Knights, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you.
(Fei): I mostly work on the streets as a beat cop. What I really want to do is work with Caspian.
(Robbie): Caspian!
(Keanu): Jamazio (Amazing)!
(Gael): Are they really that big a deal?
(Robbie): Working within Caspian is a big deal. It’s close to being selected as a Ranger for the Blue Knights. Their investigations are some of the best around.
(Jin): And with Constantine as their leader, they’ve solved some of the hardest cases around.
(Gael): Really. Who knew Constantine was such a big deal.
(Sera): You guys met Constantine!?
(Jin): Once. We were working on an investigation to bust a crime boss and he helped out.
(Keanu): Man, you guys have met a lot of big names within the kingdom.
(Fei): Yeah, who knew the Black Knights lived such an exciting life? No offence.
(Jin): Non-taken. Even I had some reservations when I joined the order. But after spending so much time with them I can’t imagine any other order that would be a good fit for me.
(???): And I say you wouldn’t be a good fit for the other orders.
*Getting the attention of everyone at the table, everyone looked in the direction where the voice was coming from and saw three men and one mechanical droid. The first one had red eyes with glasses and short silver hair. He wore a long-sleeved black buttoned shirt untucked, blue jeans, and black shoes. The second man also had red eyes with medium length frilly silver hair. He wore a blue and white robe with white gloves and blue shoes. The final man was in a wheelchair being pushed around by a mechanical droid. He wore a long-sleeved pink shirt and blue pants with brown boots. His hair was short and colored dark blue while his eyes were brown. He seemed to focus his attention on Alita that went unnoticed by her*
(Keanu): Oh great. Evan and Malakai Farguson.
(Jin): The Bolt Soldier and The Silver Mage.
(Malakai): Oh good. You’ve heard of us.
(Evan): Obviously. You have to be living under a rock not to know who we are.
(Alita): That’s odd. I have not heard of them, and yet I don’t live under a rock.
(Gael): Same. And I really don’t want to know about them.
(Evan): Hmph. You’re just as tactful as the reports said you were, Gael Tristian.
(Gael): Thanks. I do my best to leave a lasting impression.
(Robbie): What are you guys doing here? Last I checked, you two weren’t the most social butterflies and said you couldn’t make it to the party.
(Evan): Oh don’t worry. We won’t be staying long.
(Malakai): We were finishing up some training and about to head out to a party hosted by the family when we heard all the ruckus. Then we spotted three knights that everyone seems to be talking about.
(Evan): Yeah. Three Black Tortoise Knights who have been the talk of the kingdom as of late for all the legwork they’ve been doing. Gotta say, I’m not impressed.
(Malakai): We expected to find respectable knights, yet all we see is embarrassment. Seriously, a dog who looked like he came from the junkyard, a walking robot that’s about as sharp as a bowling ball, and a guy who could never live up to his family name, playing knight.
*Jin and Gael took offense to the comments made. Alita sat there unfazed, not because she didn’t understand what they were saying, but didn’t really care*
(Scarlet): Hey! That was uncalled for. Take it back. These three are great knights.
(Evan): Oh please. They’re Black Knights. Guys who can’t cut it in the field and are just pencil pushers who are there to handle paperwork.
(Sera): And yet they are good people who would gladly put their lives on the line to help others and keep this kingdom safe. Why not too long ago-
*Jin raised his arm to stop Sera from talking and exposing their secret*
(Jin): Thanks guys. We appreciate you sticking up for us. But it’s okay. Honestly, it’s ironic. A few months ago, I would have agreed with him and considered myself a failure. Now, I can’t help but laugh at how shallow and shortsighted he is. I know who I am, and I’m not ashamed of the work I’ve done as a Black Knight. I’ve developed a bond with the people of the kingdom. I’ve gotten to know who they are, what they do, where they’re from, and put a smile on their face. It’s because of their smiles I’ve found a reason to keep fighting and training to protect this kingdom. Unlike you guys who seem to keep hiding behind your family name. Say, since you’re so proud of your family, perhaps you could offer us insight into how they failed to send support or aid to the families affected by the Eclipse attacks out west?
*Evan and Malakai gained a nervous look on their faces*
(Jin): Or how about the claims that say your family helped finance the human supremacists’ activities here in the kingdom? I’m sure such upstanding nobles as yourselves can explain the situation for us. We’re all ears.
*Everyone at the table looked at Jin proudly, standing up to the party crashers before them and infuriating them with these accusations*
(Malakai): Where the hell do you get off talking like that to us? I don’t know what kind of manners they teach you out in the country, but you need to learn your place, you third-rate blacksmith. You’re nothing more than a stupid son of bit-
*Before Malakai could say anything else, Gael spat water into his face and smiled*
(Gael): Sorry. I had a sneeze there. I’m allergic to bullshit.
*Fei turned away to hide her laughter*
(Malakai): You stupid son of a bitch!
*Overcome with anger, Malakai lunges at Gael and tackles him to the ground, trying to beat him up. In doing so, he knocked over Jin, Gael, and Scarlet’s food and drinks. Scarlet was quick to evade the food, but Jin was not so lucky and got food on his pants and shirt. Some of the food also landed on Gael and Malakai. Robbie and Keano were quick to get and pull Malakai off of Gael. While Malakai was still furious and trying pointlessly to escape Robbie’s hold, Gael was laughing and standing still, watching him struggle. This short scuffle caught the attention of Hua, who came running over*
(Hua): What the hell is going on over here?
(Knight in the wheelchair): Nothing too serious. Just some words being thrown around.
(Hua): Well whatever it is I think it’d be best if you and your friends left. Before my fists start getting thrown around.
(Evan): Fine. Whatever. Let’s go, Malakai. He ain’t worth it.
(Malakai): Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Let’s get out of here.
*Robbie releases Malakai, and he leaves with Evan and the knight in the wheelchair. As they were leaving, the knight in the wheelchair glanced back at Alita, who noticed him this time*
(Hua): *Sigh* You guys alright?
(Sera): We’re fine. Nothing too serious.
(Hua): Look, I don’t know what happened, but I’m warning you, don’t get involved with the Fargusons. They’ve got deep ties to the Blue Dragon Order, and they’re not afraid to flex that power to send a message.
(Gael): I’ll keep that in mind.
(Jin): If you’ll excuse us. We need to clean up. Sorry for all the commotion.
*Jin and Gael head to the restroom to clean up*
(Alita): By the way, who was that man in the wheelchair?
(Keanu): Oh yeah, that’s Bastion Taylor.
(Alita): Is he one of you?
(Robbie): Yeah, he’s a squire. Works primarily in telecommunications as well as fieldwork.
(Alita): In his condition?
(Keanu): Well, not physically. He studies golem magic. He can control the golems he creates with his mind and uses them as his limbs to conduct fieldwork. The Fargusons seem to be the ones who supply him with the materials he needs to create his golems so he’s pretty close to them.
(Robbie): Putting him in a pretty elite group of people if you ask me.
***
*At the restroom, Jin and Gael were wiping the food off their clothes*
(Jin): Hey, thanks for the save back there.
(Gael): No, I didn’t save you, I saved him. You would have knocked his ass out.
*Jin smiles and laugh*
(Gael): Plus, I didn’t like the way he was talking to you. I don’t care what anybody says. I know how hard you work day in and day out. You’re a great knight in my book.
(Jin): Thanks. That really means a lot. I’d say the same thing about you, but your paperwork is a nightmare.
*Jin and Gael share a good laugh as they exit the restroom. Once outside, they spot Scarlet leaning up against a wall waiting for them*
(Scarlet): Hey, I was just coming to check on you guys. Looks like you got it all out.
(Jin): Yep, no problems here. Right Gael? Gael?
*Jin and Scarlet look around to see that Gael is nowhere to be seen. In truth, he used this opportunity to quickly sneak away and was now hiding behind a wall*
(Gael): Don’t let this opportunity go to waste.
(Jin): He must have headed on back without us. We should probably head back-
(Scarlet): Oh my. It’s snowing.
*Scarlet walks over to the window to get a better look at the snow falling. Jin soon joins her*
(Scarlet): Wow, it’s so beautiful.
(Jin): Yeah, it really is. I remember as a kid I used to just pull up a chair and watch the snow fall from the window. I always found it so relaxing.
(Scarlet): *Chuckles* That sounds adorable. Where I’m from, we don’t get that many snowfalls, so I’m always excited whenever I see one. There was this one snow day where me and my brother went outside and made tiny snowmen all day. My hands were so numb that I couldn’t do any training the next day.
(Jin): *Chuckles* This one time me and my sisters had a big snowball fight and the next day we all had to stay home from school because we caught colds. Mom made each of us chicken soups and dad squeezed us some freshly made orange juice.
(Scarlet): It sounds like you and your family get along quite well. Do you miss them?
(Jin): Every day. How about you?
(Scarlet): A little. I have Leon here so that makes things a little easier on me. He’s always been supportive of me ever since we were little and when we have a free day we hang out.
(Jin): That’s nice. I’ll be heading home soon so it’ll be great to see them. And when I do I’ll have a lot of stories to tell them about my time in the capital.
(Scarlet): Maybe next time they could come to the capital, I’d love to introduce myself to them. Just like I would love to introduce my family to you. Because you’ve helped me so much with weapon maintenance and you’ve helped me adjust so well here.
(Jin): I have? I never imagined you having trouble fitting in here. With your amazing skills and talents I thought you’d be pretty popular with both guys and girls wanting to get close to you.
(Scarlet): Well somewhat. This might shock you but a lot of people tend to avoid me.
(Jin): Why?
(Scarlet): I’m a member of the Helios family. One of the greatest families in the kingdom and a descendant of the great Ingrid Argo. My family name and legacy tend to intimidate people and they believe we live in separate worlds. So they try to avoid me. Which is why I’m so grateful for you and the others. You guys didn’t care about any of that and accepted me for who I am. I am truly happy to call you all my friends.
(Jin): And I’m honored that you consider me a friend.
*Jin and Scarlet smile at each other and watch the snow fall*
(Scarlet): We should start heading back before the others worry.
(Jin): Yeah. Also, I don’t think anyone avoided you because of your name and legacy. I think they didn’t want to compare themselves to you because they knew they couldn’t match your passion and drive. When someone fails to meet their goal it’s easy for them to make excuses. Saying that I failed because of this and that, when in truth they’re the ones to blame for falling short. Whenever I did maintenance on your lance I could always tell how hard you were training and fighting. I always kept thinking, this person. . .is so cool. Personally, I view your passion and drive as an inspiration to keep getting better and someday I’m gonna catch up to you. So don’t ever feel like you’re isolated from us. If you do, I’ll be sure to build a bridge that connects us.
*Jin begins to walk back to the party area as Scarlet stood awestruck by what she just heard. Smiling Scarlet walked quickly up to Jin, grabbed his arm, and pulled him down where she pecked him on the cheek with a kiss catching him completely off guard. Jin stood there not believing what just happened. This was the first kiss he received from a non-family member. Scarlet walked in front of him and turned around to look up at him*
(Scarlet): Consider that an early Faven’s Day gift.
*Scarlet began to walk back toward the party leaving Jin standing still grabbing his cheek and blushing*
***
*At Le Garden the place was packed with guests having a good time and enjoying the girls in their holiday outfits. At one table sat three White Knights. One of them was Leon and the other two were a white-haired elf with red eyes and a panda demihuman with black eyes and short hair that was a mixture of black and white. The three were all sharing a drink together with Leon not downing his with much gusto like the others*
(Elf knight): What’s the matter commander?
(Panda knight): Yeah, something on your mind?
(Leon): Sorry, guys. It’s my sister.
(Panda knight): Scarlet? Everything alright? She’s not hurt is she?
(Leon): No, she’s fine.
(Elf knight): Having trouble finding her a gift?
(Leon): No, she’s been acting weird as of lately. I stopped by the blacksmiths at the Wall, and they told me that they haven’t performed maintenance on her spear in months. But I’ve seen her spear and the thing looks amazing. Well-maintained and repaired, you’d swear it was brand new.
*Leon takes out his phone and shows everyone a picture of the spear he took a few days ago*
(Elf knight): Oh wow, that is good work.
(Panda knight): Impressive. Not to be rude but there’s no way the knights at the Wall did this work. She must have found another blacksmith within the kingdom.
(Leon): I came to the same conclusion. But the question is who? I checked the other blacksmiths and craftsmen in the area. None of them performed maintenance on the spear. So who did it and why is she keeping it a secret from me?
(Elf knight): Maybe it’s a guy she’s interested in.
(Leon): A guy?
(Elf knight): Well she is at that age. It’s only natural that she’d be interested in a guy or two. Maybe even vice versa.
(Leon): Hmm~, I don’t know. Scarlet’s never really shown any interest in the whole dating scene and whenever we hung out she never dropped any hints about a guy she was interested in. Still, a guy falling for her wouldn’t be out of the question. She’s cute, nice, smart, charming, strong, and independent. Any guy would be stupid not to fall for her.
(Elf knight): Exactly. So who’s to say this blacksmith isn’t interested in her and is keeping his business a secret in order to get close to her?
(Leon): Good thinking.
(Panda knight): And better yet, who’s to say this blacksmith isn’t another knight?
(Leon): Another knight? I never considered that. If that’s the case, then this changes everything.
(Elf knight): Looks like the investigation is going in a whole new direction. Mind if we help you in this investigation, commander? Sounds like fun.
(Leon): I suppose more help would be beneficial in finding out this secret. But let’s keep it between us and do it in our free time.
*Both of the knights nod*
(Leon): I don’t think she’s in any trouble, and I respect her privacy, but asserting my authority as a nosy older brother, I’m going to find out what she’s hiding.
(Elf knight): Well said, commander.
(Panda knight): Well one thing’s for sure, she’s found herself a great blacksmith. As a guy who grew up on a farm I can tell you that these skills aren’t something you find every day. It takes time, discipline, and years of training. Whoever did this has been working with their hands their whole life.
Author’s Note: Another chapter down as we close in on 100. This was another fun chapter enjoyed writing as we got to focus on more of the younger knights and their interactions off we other. We see how they each come from different orders but have respect for one another. I love writing personalities for these characters and having them interact off each other is always fun and interesting to see. One of my favorite interactions this chapter is between Gael and Fei. A classic dog and cat interaction but with a unique twist. Their fight over food just seemed like a funny introduction in my book and matched their personalities. Originally, Fei was going to be introduced as a member of Blood Moon, but I felt her story was too similar to Gael’s story. So I retweaked the character and turned her into a rookie knight for the White Tiger Order. Give Gael another knight to interact outside of Shadow Eye. Similar to Jin and Scarlet. Speaking of Jin and Scarlet, I was actually impressed with the tender moment I wrote for them. I’m curious to hear what you guys thought about it? I want their feelings for each other to come across naturally and not be filled to the brim with tropes. It’s not forced, it looks and feels like a romance you could see in real life. We also get to meet the Farguson Brothers. Our first look at the preppy knights who think they’re better than everyone but have the skills to back it up. Been waiting to introduce these guys since the volume started. Growing up, I never really came across any bullies during my time in school. I came across a few people who had attitudes and personalities that clashed with mine, but I would usually just ignore those people and they’d stay away from me. However, this didn’t stop me from playing scenarios in my head on how I would handle situations that involved bullies. In this case, Jin represents my realistic take, while Gael represents my idealistic take. I’m looking forward to using these two in future chapters as well as building up the rivalry between Bastion and Alita. Lastly, we see Mumen and Jade reunite with each other. What’s their history and what trouble does he need her help with? Find out in the coming chapters. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.