Voyage Pt. II

 "Wait a second, I have some more questions for you."

 "Yes?"

 "You say you're sorry for me, but you just lost the orphanage you spent your whole life in, all those kids are most likely dead, yet I don't see you suffer, what is that supposed to tell me about you?"

 "Am I supposed to feel bad? I don't know any of them more than I know you right now… I was basically an outcast, even the people I spoke to, I did so out of convenience, not because I cared for them."

 "But even so…"

 "I didn't particularly know or like any of them, only those who chose to never speak to me maybe, but all the beatings and abuse I endured in my childhood because of them… Only after I started training did they finally stop, only after I fucking chopped on of their legs off!"

 "I… I see…"

 "When they saw that I wanted to protect you they also shut you out, didn't they?"

 "...But then why did you decide to get close to me, I tried to kill you the second we met and all…"

 "You have an aura about you that I just can't shake off, I don't know how to describe it, I planned to not speak with you either after you beat me, but as the days passed I couldn't endure being far from you…"

 "So you are attracted to me!"

 "That's not exactly it… I don't know how to put it into words. It is somewhat similar, but not conscious, If you could feel what I feel it would be much easier to understand."

 "Is everything you are telling me the truth?"

 "Yes, I would never lie to someone I trust, since I believe trust is the deepest form of intimacy there is."

 "That sounded weird, stop saying things like that. Do you really trust me, though? We have only known each other for less than three weeks."

 "I would trust someone I just met if I felt like I could. I am a very good judge of character, no matter the age or maturity of the other person, there are always signs that someone is untrustworthy even if they do tell the truth."

 "Are you really so confident in that ability to put your life in someone else's hands?"

 "Yes, that is one of the reasons I am so impressed with you, even while going through what's probably the worst time in your life you aren't afraid of anything, and the fact you didn't leave me behind while I was sleeping made me so… So attracted to you that I don't even know how to convey it."

 "... Let me think about all this… I don't know what to say, I was never in such a situation."

 "I understand. Now, I will go get my rations, do you want me to bring yours?"

"That would be nice, thanks."

 He bowed with a hand on his chest and the other behind his back and left the room.

 'That went better than I expected, I hope she isn't too angry with me. Oh? What do we have here?'

 In front of him was the man who exposed him earlier, chatting merrily with his friends while chugging a bottle of alcohol.

 'Hehehe… Isn't it about time that I test out my shiny, brand new powers?' With a devious smile, he hid in a doorframe, as he concentrated, from his palm a small spirit came out, the exact same one that he had absorbed back in the forest, only this time it was tethered to him through a tube similar to the monster's neck.

 Avis played around with the monster during his shift, so he already discovered most of its properties, for example, the fact that it can become transparent, almost completely invisible, similar to how it hid its full body.

 And so it did, as the man took a big sip from the bottle, somehow his pants came down, exposing his bare cheeks. The sudden breeze caused the man to choke and spill the drink all over his clothes.

 *COUGH* *COUGH* "Agh… Fuck! Who the hell wants to catch these hands!"

 'This would have been the perfect power to flip skirts, but now all I can use it for is to pull down old men's pants. Not the best use of these powers, but it's still an honest day's work!' Now, Avis' previous statement that he isn't a pervert seems to become less and less true.

 As the man was getting riled up, Avis walked past, covering his mouth but obviously laughing.

 "Did you fucking do this? Ey punk?!"

 "What are you talking about? I was just walking by!" He could barely contain his laugh at this point. "Next time secure your pants better, or at least wear some damn undergarments, I didn't expect to see a full moon without looking out the window!"

 "You fucking!!!"

 "Leave the kid alone, man, we were looking at you while your pants fell on their own, he didn' nuthing."

 "Yeah, I didn't do anything to you, old man!"

 "Who you calling old!? I'm twenty-three!"

 The raspy beard, the scars and wrinkles on his face, the missing eye, and the expanding widow's peak in his already insanely rare hair didn't shower much truth on his words, but it might as well just be that he had a rough life.

 "I… I offer my condolences…" Avis said in an overly apologetic voice.

 "Boahahaha!" The other men started laughing.

 The man, humiliated by the other's laughs, now turned back to his 'friends'.

 "You can all go fuck yourselves!" He left, stomping to another room in the hall and shutting the door.

 Avis, now satisfied and proud of himself, continued his walk.

 'I know what my spirit can do, but I don't know its limits, more exactly, could it hold me if my life depended on it? Can I use it for precise movements? How precise can they be? I might know what it can do, but much of its uses are still hidden from me. Could I use it to hide myself? I wonder if I can use the rest of its body, not just the head, it's good that it can take any shape I want it to at least. But man, having giant claws would be awesome!'

 He wondered as he looked at a spot on his forearm, a small lump of transparent slime was there, as the hand couldn't retract completely, just like his eyes.

 …

 As Avis entered his room, he found Maizy holding scissors, smiling menacingly at him.

 "I-I knew it! You do want to kill me!" He turned to run, but hit his head on the broad side of her sword, falling on his butt. "Please… You don't have to do this!"

 "Oh but I do, the only way I'll forgive you is if you give me something nicer to look at."

 "Huh, what are you talking about?"

 "Let me cut your hair."

 "And couldn't you have said so earlier, I almost wet myself!"

 "Well, what can I say? Will you let me cut it or not?"

 A hesitant agreement left Avis' lips. "Well, if you'll forgive me."

 "I can't say I will forgive you just yet, but I would overlook it."

 "Good enough for me, I guess."

 "You can't regret this."

 "I don't care about my hair, do whatever you'd like."

 "Really? Hohoho… Sit down please." She pulled out a stool for him to sit on. "I'll begin now."

 "..."

 As time passed, less and less hair began to fall, and Maizy frequently stopped to admire her work.

 "Is it done already?" Avis asked.

 "It will be ready when it will be ready…"

 "What's taking so long, did you mess me up?"

 "Not yet."

 "That is oh so reassuring to hear!"

 "Almost ready…" Only a few snips left, and she finally let go of him.

 As he looked in the mirror, the once overgrown hair was now neatly cut, his top hair only reaching his eyebrows, and the sides being almost gone, only the back of his head was spared as his new hairstyle flowed like a wavy mullet.

 "What the hell is this?"

 "Don't you dare say you don't like it! It looks too good on you!"

 "I like it! I like it! It's just that I'll need you to cut my hair for the rest of my life…"

 "Ha, I know, I'm really talented with the blade, I could take over a country or two purely with my immaculate style! Huh? Why are you blushing…" As she thought about his words, she realized what he said. "You… You! And you just said you aren't after my body!" 

 "Ahh! Don't hit me! I was telling the truth, it's just that I forgot to think before I spoke!"

 "Urgh! Now I'm angry with you again! Don't speak to me!"

 "God dammit!" 'And here I thought I was in the clear, at this rate she'll never forgive me…'

 …