“Isn’t there anyone around here who could lend us a ship?” Sophitia then spoke. “We have asked around, yet no one will help,” she added.
“Stop whining,” Ivy snapped back, getting irritated.
“There is no need to be that way,” Sophitia pleaded.
Taki ignored their bickering as her eyes searched through the town before resting on a local bar. “There,” Taki pointed, “sailors are usually attracted to bars. I’m sure we can find someone who could help us.” Link looked up at Taki, then back at the bar she pointed at.
“Would someone really help us?” Link thought.
They then walked into the bar eyeing the customers, many of them drunk, as they walked up to the bartender. As they walked by, many of the men there whistled at them.
“Hey, baby, come sit here,” one of them smirked, motioning to his lap.
“Hmph,” Sophitia let out, sticking up her nose, trying to ignore them. Ivy just kept quiet as she looked at them all with disgust. Link looked down, feeling somewhat nervous and intimidated by the men there.
“We are looking for a ship. You wouldn’t happen to know if there are any sailors willing to take us, do you?” Taki asked.
“I’m afraid I cannot help you there, sorry,” the man simply said, as he was cleaning the glass in his hand with a towel, turning his back to them.
“Great,” Sophitia sighed, frustrated, as she turned around and leaned back against the table.
“And what would three beautiful and voluptuous ladies, such as yourselves, want a ship for?” A man grinned, looking down at his drink as he swirled it around.
“What’s it to you?” Ivy let out while brushing back her faded purplish-white hair.
“My, my, a feisty one,” he smirked, turning his head to them.
Link had a puzzled look to him, as his eyes investigated this stranger. He had on a small, sleeveless jacket that had some white to it and yellow trims, with a coat-tail at the back. He could see some blue on the inside of it, and the upper half had some intricate looking designs. He wore white pants and some odd looking boots. Though, what really caught Link’s eye was the man’s weapon. He had a nunchaku strapped to his belt, something the boy had never seen before.
“Let me guess, you are after the Soul Edge,” he said quietly enough so no one else heard him except for them. Their eyes widened as they were surprised that he knew about it. “You aren’t the only one,” he added.
“How did you know? Who are you?” Sophitia asked. “Call me Maxi,” he simply said.
“Do you know anyone who could take us on their ship, then?” Taki questioned.
“You are looking at him,” Maxi replied, turning to face them fully. As he turned, he caught Link staring down at his weapon. He was also surprised by his appearance. “Nice ears sprout,” He chuckled at Link.
“Don’t make fun of him,” Sophitia frowned.
“Hey, I am only kidding,” Maxi grinned. He then stood up, “you fair ladies can hop aboard my ship. I am looking for a particular monster, myself, and I have a feeling we both might find what we are looking for at the same time.”
They were surprised to see Maxi becoming serious all of a sudden.
“I have a score to settle,” he added as he started to walk out of the bar, motioning them to follow.
“That is your ship!” Sophitia said in surprise, as she did not expect something large.
“Hope you don’t mind, but you guys won’t be the only ones traveling with me,” He mentioned as he led them onto his ship.
“You,” Taki let out sternly as she caught a familiar sight.
“Maxi, you did not mention you’d be bringing some new recruits,” a man let out in an angry tone after he spotted Taki.
“Ahh, calm yourself Mitsurugi,” Maxi pleaded with the samurai warrior.
Mitsurugi’s frown grew as he then saw Ivy as well, “So, I see you two have formed an alliance.”
Ivy just looked over to him and smirked, “Heh, hardly...”
“Sophitia!” A woman called out as she walked above deck. Sophitia’s eyes widened as the person who called to her was her little sister.
“Cassandra,” Sophitia let out, rushing over to her. “Why did you leave home? You had everyone worried about you,” Sophitia questioned.
“I wasn’t about to let you get hurt again, sister. You have been through so much in the past with the Soul Edge. It is time that I step up for our family and destroy the wicked blade,” Cassandra explained, crossing her arms.
“Who’s the runt,” Mitsurugi asked as he walked up to Link. He looked up at Mitsurugi, who was hovering over him.
“His name is Link,” Taki answered for him.
“I did not ask you,” He snapped back. Link let out a small gasp as he took a step back. “What, can’t you speak?” Mitsurugi let out. Link felt very intimidated by Mitsurugi, who gave a piercing stare at the boy.
“Hey, ease up a little,” A voice said as a woman placed a hand on Mitsurugi’s armoured shoulder. Mitsurugi moved his shoulder away, grunting as he walked off in a bitter mood. “Don’t mind him, kid. I’m Seung Mina,” She said, as she bent over, extending a hand to Link. He reached for her hand and shook it as she smiled at him.
“I guess it is a small world after all,” Seung Mina mumbled as she straightened herself up, looking over at Taki.
“I am rather surprised to see you here,” Taki responded.
“We’ve all sensed the evil blade, Taki. I’ve joined up with Maxi and the rest to help destroy it. We could use all the help we can get,” Seung Mina explained.
Link walked away, leaving the two to talk. He ended up walking over to the wheel of the ship, where Maxi now was.
“Hey there,” Maxi let out, looking into the distance. Link looked at him, telling something was amiss with the man. He could tell that other things were invading his mind other than Soul Edge. Maxi then looked down at him. He looked at Link’s eyes, which seemed filled with worries and curiosity.
“I’m just thinking about stuff,” Maxi responded, even though Link hadn’t said a word to him yet. “Have you ever had a feeling there was something you should remember, but couldn’t?” Maxi asked out of nowhere. Link looked at him strangely, and then shrugged, not completely understanding him.
“That’s alright, shrimp. I guess it doesn’t matter, anyways,” he murmured.
Day had finally turned to night, and everyone on the ship sat around, doing their own thing as the ship sailed calmly on the sea. Mitsurugi sat against the railings, hugging his sword towards him. He looked to be sleeping, but he was really in deep thought. “What,” he let out, startling Link a little as he approached the samurai. Mitsurugi opened his eyes to inspect the child, which made Link rather nervous. Link then bowed his head, trying to be respectful, as he rushed off to leave Mitsurugi be. He looked at Link oddly before lowering his head and closing his eyes once more.
Link sighed as he turned his head to look back at him. Not seeing where he was going, he accidentally bumped into Cassandra.
“Oh, sorry about that,” she said with a smile. She then kneeled down so she could be at eye level with him. “My sister has said quite a bit about you. She was quite impressed with your abilities in battle, little one,” Cassandra said, as she extended a hand to him. “I believe I haven’t properly introduced myself to you yet. My name’s Cassandra,” she finished. Link then smiled at her and shook her hand.
“Mitsurugi always seems to be on edge, so don’t take what he says personally, alright?” With that, she got up and walked below deck where her sister was.
Link was somewhat uncomfortable with this whole situation. He was used to doing things alone. Suddenly, he was now a part of a team, still unsure of what to make of the situation.
“You should get some sleep, Link,” Taki said, coming up behind him. He did feel a bit tired, but he pretended he wasn't and waived to Taki trying to let her know he was fine. “Alright,” Taki said, letting out a little laughter as she also went below deck to retire for the night.
Link slowly walked to the back of the ship, wanting to be alone for the night. There were some crates and barrels were piled away at the back, which he thought was perfect since he could hide from sight behind them for the night.
As he walked behind them, he was rather surprised to see Ivy sitting there with the same idea. She was obviously in her head as she placed her gaze on her blade. Ivy then caught Link in the corner of her eye, but she did not turn her head to face him. Feeling a little embarrassed, Link decided he should look someplace else for a spot of his own.
“You don’t have to go,” Ivy then said, stopping Link before he could take his first step. Link scratched his head, as it seemed she was implying that he could take a seat by her. He decided to oblige her and walked over, sitting beside her.
Ivy still did not look up, as her eyes seemed to be glued to her blade. Link did not want to be rude, so he took his gaze away from her and placed it up in the sky at the full moon.
“I see we both had the same idea,” Ivy let out, finally breaking the silence between them. “It seems we both take comfort in being by ourselves,” Link’s head still was turned up to the sky, but his eyes moved to peer at Ivy.
“To think, I ended up partnering with Taki, my enemy,” Ivy smirked. Link was confused, as he did not know any of their pasts. Though, considering that they didn’t know much about him made Link think it was pretty fair. Link looked back at the moon, as his eyelids were starting to become heavy.
“My desire is to wipe out Soul Edge from existence. If it means I have to partner with my enemies, then so be it,” Ivy explained, mainly talking to herself. Link then leaned back against the crate and hugged his knees towards him. It was starting to become impossible for him to keep his eyes open now.
Ivy felt something nudge her, which broke her burning stare on her blade. Ivy turned her head to see what it was. Link had fallen asleep and accidentally brushed up against her. Not sure what to do, Ivy tried to come up with a strategy to get him off without waking him. Unable to think of something, she let out a heavy sigh and gave up. She then just looked at him while he slept. Ivy could barely recall seeing a peaceful moment such as this before. With all her years fighting, she almost forgot how to appreciate something as simple as this. Hesitantly, she slowly moved her hand up and wrapped it around his shoulder, pulling him a little closer to her.
“Good night,” Ivy whispered as she leaned her head against the crate, looking up at the sky, wanting to enjoy this brief moment of peace with him.
To be continued...