All in this Together

Nightfall on an unknown island in paradise — April 8, 1585

The airship had landed on the cracked dry floor, crushing it beneath the weight of the ship. Nigel and Aceiro, stood by the ship exit, ready to touch soil again. They had been flying for a few days at this time, Vernon took up an elevated position on top of the ship, with his rifle with a long barrel and dead eye scope pointed at the man in the cave ahead of them, ready to fire at any moment. Magnus had manned the gunner seat built into the ship which was closer to the front of the ship, and just below pilot seat, he also aimed the gunner toward the cave. Elyisa had walked out from the balcony, smoking a cigarette. Her long curly hair flew left and right as the wind gently pushed against it.

The airship doors slid open making a mechanical locking sound when shutting fast behind them. Aceiro who was in a white hoodie and black track pants with runners was startled a bit. Slightly flinching his hand quickly went into one of the 3 fanny packs he kept on him at all times. Nigel would shake his head in disappointment and kiss his teeth, "What you scared for man, let's go." Nigel would then push Aceiro with his right arm down the small step ladder.

After making a quick tumble Aceiro managed to pick himself back up, "Uh? What are we supposed to do now?!" Nigel would press his fingers holding the top bridge of his nose, "Can you be useful? You've never interrogated anyone before?"

"Be nice Nigel!" Elyisa would shout from the balcony.

Nigel rolled his eyes and started to walk up to Aceiro, "Don't worry about it kid, I got this...For the future, you should be more assertive." Nigel would say, turning his focus toward the man in the cave. Nigel would spread his arms out to the side and yell out to the man.

"Hello friend we come in peace, no need to fret. Since our arrival on this island, you happened to be the first person we came across, you wouldn't happen to see any ruins or ancient stuff around would yah?"

Suddenly a thick dark fog covered the entire area, only for a moment and then vanished into thin air, only to reveal a sleepy Hitoku standing next to Vernon. "UAAAA and you show up with such a big rifle usually kai? If you come in peace you must know the rules, you are definitely lucky that there is only one, don't wake me up while I'm sleeping yoookai." Hitoku said observing everyone and puffing some mint-flavored smoke from his excellent cigarettes.

Vernon jumped at the sudden appearance of the stranger among them. Everyone who was able to draw fire pointed their pistols and weapons at the stranger. "Hey want to get your dirty boots off my ship!" Nigel yelled up to him, "We didn't mean to wake you, we are just lost."

Hitoku without listening to their proposal to leave the ship, sat down, looked at the starry sky and then looked at the vast desert with all its old ruins, assessing from the distance if there was any point of interest. Years and years of experience in archaeological research of any kind and in any place had enabled him to develop an excellent ability to analyze and observe details.

"Since you are very friendly, know that you all have a sword pointed on you and I am the only one who can see it yo." Hitoku said, knowing that his trusty katana would emerge from their shadows if it was necessary. "How about you gently put your guns down and and we would go merrily to eat something? I'm really really hungry kai." Hitoku continued.

"Anyway nice to meet you, I am Kamata D. Hitoku, and like you, I just got here. A fucking leaker not too long ago promised treasures and adventures but here there is just a fucking infinite desert and big piles of ferrous debris, if you want to look for something, in particular, you will have to go deeper towards the center of the island, there you will better understand what this desert can offer yokai." Hitoku concluded, gauging the reactions of the people around him while finishing his cigarette.

"What's wrong with this cat? He didn't get off my ship?" Nigel said to Elyisa.

"Well, technically he did take his feet off the ship," she replied.

"She has a point!" Aceiro mentioned.

"I second that statement." Yelled through the glass gun cockpit, muffling his voice.

Nigel would squint his eyes and scrunch his face at his group, "You all make me sick," he muttered as he walked closer to his ship staring up toward the Hitoku. "Well I'm not about to fight a completely random for no reason, would you get down from there, the both of you? Come inside and talk, mist boy."

Nigel would signal his team to enter the ship as he waited for Hitoku to get down.

POOF "Yeah sure, but why are you looking up there if I'm behind you kai??" Hitoku whispered after disappearing from above the ship and appearing behind Nigel thanks to his dark mist ability. "YOYOYOYOYOYO that was a joke don't worry man, do you happen to have spicy food in the ship, I love spicy food yo? Let's go eat, yoookai!!!" Hitoku shouted, giving everyone a big smile to brighten things up as the moonlight and starlight brought out his joyful emerald eyes.

As the group walked into the ship they all sat down in their respective spots and had a discussion, Nigel would explain all the events leading up to encountering Hitoku. He would then would ask him about his reasoning for coming and what more information he knew about the island. As they exchanged information, the wind could be heard from the outside as it pushed against the ship and slightly rocked it back and forth.

"That must be a sand storm, we should probably call it a day for exploring, I'm sure all of us are very tired from travel," Elyisa said leaning over the kitchen counter. She then proposed to make dinner for everyone, which they agreed to. Nigel mentioned to making something spicy, as he gave a wink to his guest. He then would draw a rolled cigarette and begin to smoke it in the living room.

"Ew, smoking is bad for you," Aceiro snickered as he slipped his hoodie collar above his nose covering the aroma of the joint.

"Shut up kid, this is for grown folk bud, plus it calms me down."

"Ew, sub-adequate quality I must say, throw that stuff that stinks to high heaven yo." Hitoku suggested with an air of disgust not liking the smell coming from Nigel's cigarette.

Placing a hand in his shirt pocket, Hitoku pulled out a pack of his "Monarch" cigarettes, immediately offering one to Nigel and taking one to his mouth for himself as well. "This is what we can call quality my friend, try it and you'll see yoyoyo, ah, can I smoke in here too? If it is not a problem, I'd say to hurry up too, we will perfume the room with fresh mint and musk but I smell a very good spicy scent from the kitchen, yoyoyokai!!" Hitoku advised smilingly and hungrily concluding with a final warning: "Taking a quick look at the conformation of the desert I think I can guide you without any problems, but we'll do it tomorrow, are we agreed?"

Nigel would accept his offer and take a cigarette from him, brushing it against his top lip he could smell the flavour of mint.

Slipping it into a pocket of his jacket. "I will use this tomorrow, and yeah there is no problem with smoking in here. We do it all the time" he said.

soon enough the food was ready and everyone would get to try some of Elysia's cooking, she made a chicken curry rice bowl, with spiced cabbage.

They all sat together around the kitchen eating together, exchanging jokes. As they all finished their dinner, one by one everyone would start to get ready for bed.

A few hours had passed in the night and Nigel remained awake still trying to recover from the spice of the chicken, "Elyisa needs to chill on the spices! The porcelain throne is not a fan of me." He would take a water bottle with him and walk out onto the terrace balcony of the ship and sit down. He wore his signature pj outfit, a white wife beater, a pair of mesh red shirt shorts that went up just above his knees, tall white socks, and some house slippers.

This was a common thing for Nigel, in fact, this was an everyday routine, It had seemed like the only way he could reach true peace and quiet was during his nightly smoking sessions. As he sat he gazed up into the stars in the sky. As he sat a small gentle breeze passed by him, the warmth of it sent shivers down his spine, as the small back hairs stood tall at attention. Then a small deep whisper came through the wind... "Come to me" and the breeze ceased, not to be felt again.

Nigel was in a slight state of shock as he analyzed the voice for the brief but memorable moment. The voice was that of a man, whose voice had rasp and depth. It was soft and gentle yet bold and proud to the ears. Nigel would stand up and look out for anyone who might've been there in the desert. No one was found, only the cave and the scattered dead trees that littered the area.

"I got to stop smoking," he said, glancing at his cigarette. He then took one last puff and flicked it off the balcony, with his left hand. Walking back inside he got ready for bed.

The Next Day

The weather outside offered a sunny day, very few clouds could be glimpsed, which meant only one thing "For the fucking holy queen of the seas, we are going to die of heat dear gentlemen, I am already sweating kai!!!" Hitoku welcomed the crew with whom he would travel for at least the entire day, highlighting how hot it was that morning as he wiped the sweat on his forehead.

"While you were hibernating I thought it would be a good idea to study the geological composition of the surroundings, think about it, there is nothing special within a five-kilometer radius, at least under the eyes of someone who is not an expert yoyoyoyoyo!!!" Hitoku smiled as he waved papers with drafts he had prepared.

During the night, with the help of his powers and his trusty katana, Hitoku was able to take notes on the most interesting places to visit, pointing out a particular route that would lead them to the center of something amazing in his opinion. "Gentlemen, this large ferrous debris you see here is not garbage, the direction of the sand is not homogeneous, as you can see it is almost as if it is spinning in a spiral. There is something perfectly in the center of the island, I assume a big hole or a big plateau, but in the second case we would have seen it, so yes, I say there is a very ferrous village in a hole in the center of the island. WE GO ON AN ADVENTURE YOOOOKAI!!!" Hitoku said turning in the direction of the destination as he waited for the others to start following him.

As Aceiro and Nigel followed Hitoku, the trio grew a little closer, talking sharing jokes and banter.

"So why do you guys do what you do?" Nigel said to them.

Aceiro responded to him, still munching on some soft bread, "I just like to collect things, I've been doing it since I was young. It started with cards and small figures but then it turned into finding treasure and artifacts."

"I come from a lineage of archaeologists, as you may know in the new world there is the island of Wano, the current seat of an emperor. Under Wano there is a whole old nation submerged, it was the ancient Wano and my family was part of it, so yes, I have long generations of archaeologists behind me yoyoyo, and also swordsmen I must say yo, I've been training with the sword since I was able to understand kai." Hitoku recounted cheerfully, thinking back to his family and all the experiences he had as a child.

"So, as you can imagine, for today you are in good hands with me. If it comes to exploration, you cannot find anyone better than me in the four seas, yookai!!!" Hitoku concluded by boasting of his skills, pounding a fist on his chest to emphasize the concept.

Nigel would laugh in joy at the statements made by his peers, "HAHA! That's really something, Harvard would probably like to hire a guy like you." he said with his hand tucked behind the back of his head as they walked through the hot barren wasteland.

"Mh, I don't know who you're talking about but I don't work under anyone's name yo, Kamata D. Hitoku only works for himself kai!" Hitoku smiled giving the answer in a haughty but cheerful tone.

"Well dear ones, stop. From now on get in line behind me and follow my steps precisely, don't do that and I'll probably see you in some village underground, yoyoyo." Hitoku advised the others, adding other details as well: "As you can see there are small spots where the sand gets sucked in, I have already counted, we have to avoid thirty-seven of them, after that we have about twenty kilometers ahead of us with no obstacles, at least not environmental ones, probably some huge clawed desert worm or some flaming scorpion, nothing new yokai!"

"Harvard he is the guy who runs expeditions for dig sites and whatnot, you should consider it though, the networking might come in handy," Nigel said. They followed closely behind Hitoku as they trotted through the desert, they had come across small lizards and insects but nothing too crazy or out of the ordinary. Walking Nigel would suggest they take a rest to eat and replenish themselves, after all walking in the intense heat was tiring. Aceiro would suggest they keep going in the eagerness of finding whatever could be located on the island.

"Freeze!!! Mhhh the sand in that spot is a little bit suspicious, let's check what's hiding yo." Hitoku watched with curiosity as he unsheathed the katana he kept strapped to his shoulders.

SLASH With a single, violent slash, Hitoku struck the observed area, blowing up an indecent amount of sand and along with it a clawed desert worm. "Sorry if you ate a little bit of sand, but I think I found something better than a place in the shade yoookai." Hitoku warned the people traveling with him as he produced a huge amount of dark fog, "Give me a minute, I'll be right there kai POOF" Hitoku concluded by disappearing from everyone's sight.

After exactly one minute, Hitoku reappears, happy as a child who had seen games and saying: " Gentlemen, it may not be the main city but we can reach it in the shade yo. Follow me, there is a system of villages and tunnels under the desert kai."

As they all approached the spot where Hitoku had thrown the slash, they could see a rocky conformation going down deep, "Mhh strange that these rocks were under the sand, at this point I'm sure, we have an entrance under our feet, yokai! We don't have shovels, everyone close to me quick, I'll clean it up fast!"

As they all approached Hitoku, he generated his dark fog with increased density and began to swirl it around, creating a tornado that scattered all the sand under their feet outward. When this process was finished, the mystery was solved, revealing as true Hitoku's expectations, there was an entrance to a stone structure embedded in the rocky confirmation that descended into the depths. "Gentlemen, you have the honor of entering first, I'll have a cigarette yoyoyoyo."

"This guy sure is impressive," Aceiro thought to himself as he watched him excavate the site all on his own. Aceiro would lean over the entrance of the rock formation and shout "Is anyone there?!"

Aceiro would laugh as his childish remarks would only cause Nigel to roll his eyes, "Stop goofing around, we got work to do, Let's prepare to head down there, we may have just hit a jackpot." Just as Nigel finished his sentence a huge gust of wind came forth from cave, it was the same feeling he felt last night, that warm wind.

"Come to me!" A loud-voiced echoed causing all three of them to hear it. A look of shock and panic fell over the group, as they prepared to enter the mysterious structure.

"OHHH-HO, the situation is interesting, did you also hear voices coming from inside? Make way for me, time to study yoookai!!!" Hitoku said as gassed as ever, there was no sword fight or treasure that could top the excitement of researching newly discovered ruins for him.

Crossing a long corridor inside the structure, Hitoku began to feel the walls, then the floor by banging the wooden scabbard of one of his two katanas, and finally felt the dust that was everywhere by looking at it closely. "Mhhh, do any of you have a cloth? I left the tools on my little boat since you showed up at night out of nowhere, delicacy is needed but I'll surprise you immediately yo."

Nigel and Aceiro both looked at each other startled by the voice, it sounded like it was right next to them, but then gone in the same moment.

"I've heard this before...That voice, last night I was having a smoke and I heard it then too." "Nigel would then walk toward the front entrance with his arms crossed around his torso. He stared deep into the darkness ahead of them, he was entranced by something. Hitoku had walked straight in the cave entrance without hesitation, this snapped Nigel back into reality which he then followed shortly after.

Aceiro still stood just outside the entrance timid to enter the darkness, it wasn't like Aceiro to be frightened by anything realiting to exploreing and archeology, but something was off. He bit his nails and Nigel called him to follow along.

"I got a bad feeling about this, I have to be on guard who knows what could be lurking in here." He thought, trotting his way into the entrance. Upon entering they were greeted by a large hallway that stretched deep into the darkness ahead.

"We need some sort of light. Did anyone bring a flashlight?" Nigel said looking at his peers.

"I think I have something for us," Aceiro said reaching into one of his fanny packs. He slipped out a red playing card and tossed it into the air, "Night Shade: Activate"

The card began to glow a bright red and transform into a large Night Post Lampshade. The area around them immediately lit up allowing full vision of their surroundings. Night Shade just floated above them as Aceiro would pull out another bag of chips from his carry-on bag. The light allowed them to see drawings and hieroglyphs on the wall, they depicted to be an ancient race of people who lived on the island.

Aceiro would run his hands along the wall with Hitoku. "These markings are very strange, how old do you think they could be.?" Aceiro asked the group handing them a small cloth he had in his pocket to Hitoku.

"I don't know what they could be, but Harvard would probably like to see this." Nigel would then reach into his bag that he had, and pulled out a camera to snap a shot of the walls. He took several photos from the outside and the inside.

"Oh, thank you for the cloth, now back away for a moment and FIUUUUU" Hitoku filled his lungs with as much air as possible, then blew as hard as he could toward the wall, pushing away a generous amount of dust. "And now, cleaning kai." Hitoku continued with a concentrated look.

With the cloth Hitoku began rubbing a wall particularly covered in dust, and when he finished the job, an ancient painting completed the story depicted in the hallway. "Three hundred years ago or so, at least according to the level of decomposition of the wall and the poor hold of the paint in these environmental conditions, that is the age of this story depicted before us." Hitoku declared after a detailed study of the wall.

"So, out of the box I would say to tell only the visual part, for the hieroglyphs let's forget it, it takes time that I don't want to steal from you. So let's start, as you can see it's not a beginning, you can understand it from the vast details of the painting, it's probably an event that took place just before making the city disappear under the desert, it speaks of a king and a battle, it also speaks of a good skill in the use of ferrous mechanism on a large scale, but I would say that there was no doubt about this looking at the stay on the surface yoyoyoyo" Hitoku said analyzing the various figures of people and objects drawn on the wall.

"And last but not least, Magic Magic, here you are CLANG, the entrance to the lower level of the place Yoooookai, let's begin the round two of this adventure kai, beware of traps yoyoyo." Hitoku suggested having concluded the story by turning a key cog found by following some clues in the drawings on the wall, and mimicking a gentleman's bow, he led the others forward.

"Good shit kid, you're a natural" Nigel would say patting Hitoku's shoulder as he passed him into the lower level.

Seeing the wall slowly split apart was astonishing, to say the least. The passage led down a large flight of spiraling stairs. The further the group descended into the passage the colder it got. The thick mud and sand walls kept any type of warmth from entering, even some small shards of ice could be seen on the walls, glistening from Aceiro's Nightshade.

Nigel would continue to take pictures of everything they passed by, being sure to document everything. Some time passed as they finally reached the bottom of the stairs. At the base of the steps was a stone wall, it was destroyed still allowing anyone to peer past it. Aceiro would walk up to the wall and look through a huge hole, "I don't see anything," he said swiveling his head back and forth.

"There's got to be something down here, nobody would seal off a secret entrance for no reason," Nigel said. He walked over to the wall and told Aceiro to step back. Taking a few steps back Nigel would run at the wall and kick it, causing the large stone wall to fall apart and break. He then smiled at the others, "Problem solved." He dusted himself off from the dust that stained his clothes from the crashing rocks.

Then the same warm breeze was felt as it howled throughout the stair case, this time the wind was stronger, strong enough to apply enough force to push back against them. The wind would then retract flowing back deeper into the cave.

Watching the boy break through the wall, Hitoku's face darkened, he unsheathed his katana and threw himself at Nigel aiming the blade at his throat.

"I already told you yesterday, in my presence there are rules yo, rule number two: FOR NO FUCKING REASON IN THE WORLD YOU SHOULD DAMAGE RUINS, EVEN A SMALL ROCK CAN HIDE INFORMATION, KAI!!!" Hitoku admonished Nigel putting the katana back. "Thank you I'm in a good mood to have discovered such a wonder, be respectful of the place from now on!" Hitoku concluded.

Nigel would look Hitoku up and down before scrunching his face up in an irritated manner. Suddenly 4 splits of Nigel appeared in the room Vernon, Magnus, and Elisya. They looked like different souls pulling out of his body.

Each one of them grabbed ahold of Hitoku Vernon grabbed Hitoku's right arm, Magnus grabbed his left arm, and Elyisa pointed a gun at him loaded with seastone bullets. Nigel would then draw his scimitar from his black and silver sheath, now pointing the tip at Hitoku's Adams apple.

"I make my own rules bud. Remember you're always surrounded by me."

Aceiro had butted his way in between everyone, "Guys Please, let's not do this right now! I found something." Nigel scoffed as he put his blade back into its sheath.

"Look come, Hitoku!" Aceiro would run through the wall and use his Nightshade. As they followed Aceiro past the wall, it lead to a small floor platform.

"Yoyoyoyo of course, surrounded by you, not even a thousand pirates could hold me in such a place, it's my fog that surrounds you, remember that yo! And all this darkness is bread for my dark friend kai!" Hitoku said smiling as he rubbed his katana from the wooden sheath.

Approaching the platform that seemed to be useful for descending into the depths, Hitoku was amazed at the spectacle before his eyes, a large abandoned city stood imposingly, small torches illuminated some areas of that place, enough to get a general idea about how to get around. "Get off with this platform, I'll advance you WOOOOO" Hitoku suggested to the others what to do and then launched himself into the void, landing gracefully on the roof of a building, starting to dart between the houses with very precise agility obtained from his night workouts doing parkour in areas full of obstacles or during explorations to reduce search times.