The fireworks show began promptly, creating a spectacle that would never leave the minds of the Yeupisians. A brilliant explosion of green and gold bloomed against the sky, the sparks cascading like shimmering rain. Much of the Yeupisian crowd shielded their eyes, but most gasped or clapped their hands to mouths in awe.

  “These sure ain’t like the flares we use at the ports back home.” Rohan said, standing next to Manisha. They stood close but not flush against one another to minimize the chances of rumours of their relationship spreading across the crew of the Serenity’s Song. Unbeknownst to them, the train ride to Iwasoto had already outed their secret.

  “They really ain’t. They’re more like… stars that dance and sing.” Manisha mused aloud.

  “And I thought I was the orator.” Rohan chuckled loudly.

  “No, Ma,” Ilias said, twirling towards the veteran sailors with his arms outstretched. “It’s more like the sky burst into flowers. Real pretty ones!”

  “Flowers, eh? How about you get a closer look so we can see what them things really are!” Rohan said, grabbing the boy from under his arms and hoisting him onto his shoulders.

  “Hey, be careful with him!” Manisha cried, pushing a hand against Rohan’s back.

  “I am! I said I’d look out for him, didn’t I?” Rohan laughed with his chest. “See? I’m helping him get a view no one else can!”

  “If he falls, I’m digging your grave, Rohan!” Manisha said, her tone much less serious, as if Rohan’s mood was contagious.

  “I won’t fall, Ma! Trust him!” Ilias laughed, his energy matching that of the man carrying him.

  “Only since you’re saying it, I will.” Manisha’s voice had become a full-on giggle.

  More fireworks followed—reds, blues, and silvers streaking upwards in dazzling patterns. Spirals, fountains, and comet-like trails illuminated the bewildered faces of the Yeupisians. The air vibrated with thunderous booms and crackling whispers.

  “Oh, there you are, Ivan.” Stefan said as the older man’s arms were wrapped around his lover’s shoulders, staring with full concentration at the glaring display.

  “Oh, hey there,” Ivan said, turning only his head to glance at the boy. “Heard you made friends with some smart birds. Or, that’s what Vanny here tells me.”

  “He really did,” Bhavana said, keeping her eyes on the fireworks, which changed form constantly. “I would’ve killed to go there with ya, Stefan. Hearing a bunch of strangers speak in a whole ‘nother language for hours was stressful. There any reason why it was only you and a few nobodies who got to go?”

  “Um, I’m not sure. Ivan, do you have a minute? There’s something really important I need to talk to you and Anwen about.”

  “Ah, shit, looks like I’m needed again,” Ivan groaned, but did not fight the boy’s request. “Hold on tight, Vanny. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Don’t be too long, Van-Van.” Bhavana sighed.

  “Vanny and Van-Van?” Stefan wondered as the two Reserve Users strolled to where Anwen was waving at them from, somewhere far from the crowds gazing at the sky.

  “Say our names a couple times and you’ll see where they come from,” Ivan offered a rapid-fire explanation of his and his girlfriend’s nicknames for one another. “What’s this all about? You sound tense, buddy.”

  “I’ll tell both you and her at the same time.” Stefan said. Once they got to their secretive meeting spot, Anwen posed the question.

  “You couldn’t have waited until after the show for this little assembly?” Anwen said, pulling her lips in a frown.

  “No, because I didn’t know when else I’d be able to ask. Listen carefully, both of you. I told you about those birds and how insanely smart they are. Those birds… they are Initiated. I felt one of them using my Detection. That’s the only thing that can explain how smart they are—

  Ivan and Anwen tried their hardest not to laugh, but it was to no avail. Both cackled with such intensity that their ribs began to hurt, even when Stefan’s face bore no sign that he had said a joke.

  “Oh, what’s next? Esperance knows his way between Janine and Liam’s house and Marius because Gareth secretly Initiated him?” Anwen slapped a hand on Stefan’s shoulder, catching her breath.

  “Tell us another joke, Stefan,” Ivan said, his face as red as a beet under the pyrotechnically lit sky. “Wow, did I not know you were this funny! Sure suits the mood.”

  Stefan’s hands curled into fists at his sides. His two companions that he had traveled all the way from north Yeupis with to the remote islands they were standing on were refusing to believe him.

  You see, Grandson? Even your own friends take your words for a joke. It’s useless getting anything through to them. Destroy the enemy, take what you need—no, what you desire, and protect your homeland. That’s what us Titanians do. Maybe it can also apply to the insects you grew up among too.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “You aren’t listening to me, damn it!” Stefan cried, slamming the side of his fist against the stone wall next to him, the purple aura of Reserve floating around it. It fell on almost all deaf ears, too immersed in the fireworks show to listen or care. Anwen and Ivan, however, flinched as their eyes found a deep dent in the wall after Stefan’s fist left it. “I’m being serious! The Shogun or someone Initiated the goshawks they trained for their takagari and they’re super smart because of it. It's the fucking truth!”

  “Al-alright, man. Take a breather,” Ivan nervously raised his hands, encouraging the teenager to calm down. “So these birds can use Reserve. But you seem more worried than fascinated by it. What’s going on?”

  Yes, Stefan, Henrik Karesti’s voice spoke in his grandson’s head. Use fear. Make them cower and listen to you.

  “Stefan, did something scary happen when you were doing takagari?” Anwen asked, doubling down on Ivan’s now genuine inquiry.

  “One of the birds specifically looked at me and made me chase it deep into the palace grounds,” Stefan explained. “It landed near a white thing sticking out of the ground. I took it as it wanting me to dig it out of the dirt, so that’s what I did. I thought it was some rock or something, but I dug more, and I realized that they were bones.”

  “Bones?” Anwen asked.

  “Bones. And they were in a really shallow grave, like they were buried pretty recently. The bird wouldn’t leave until I dug even deeper, and I found out that they were... they were people’s bones. Not animal bones. Human bones.”

  The lines on the boy’s face were signs that his revelation was true, something that Anwen and Ivan could see.

  “How do you think they ended up there?” Ivan asked, even though the boy knew just as much as him. “Victims of a famine, a plague?”

  “Even worse,” Stefan said. “I Detected tiny amounts of Utrium around the area. Too small for those people to be dead Initiated, but enough that something made of Utrium definitely touched them before they died.”

  “S-So… what you’re saying is—

  Before Anwen could propose the only possible truth, a figure approached them. Now with reason to be on guard, the trio whipped their heads in the direction of the person.

  “M-My apologies,” the servant said with humility, bowing his head. “I did not mean to scare you.”

  Anwen put a hand up upon hearing the servants’ innocence, signaling for the boys to relax.

  “You are excused,” Anwen said with politeness. “What have you brought us?”

  Three pairs of eyes were on the platter in the servant’s hands, topped completely with identical confections that were a brown-red in colour.

  “This is botamochi, milady,” the servant explained. “It’s a sweet we eat on sacred occasions, but my master thought that you may be hungry while you view the show. Please, take one each.”

  “Thank you very much.” Anwen said with a bow, being the first to pick a botamochi off the platter.

  “Don’t mind if I do. Thanks.” Ivan said, performing the same act of respect.

  “Guys, I… I’m not sure we should be eating any of their food right now…” Stefan said with apprehension. He was sure something was wrong. No—he knew. His Detection caught miniscule traces of Utrium all over the platter and the confections. His Detection had become that strong, but he was still surprised that Ivan had not noticed anything. He had definitely surpassed the older man, but this was not a good sign in such a situation. His young mind was unequipped with the wits about how to handle the situation.

  “Just take it, Stefan. Try to be respectful,” Anwen scolded. “Our deal will go through by building a relationship, and we can show we’re serious about it by taking what they offer. Come on.”

  “F-Fine,” Stefan said begrudgingly, taking a sweet off the platter. “Thank you.”

  The servant left with a deep bow, by which time Anwen and Ivan had finished devouring their botamochi.

  “Oh wow, this tastes like nothing I’ve ever had before!” Ivan said with joy after a burp. “I got to get Vanny to make these when we go home.”

  “It’s delicious,” Anwen commented. “The fact that they’re made for sacred occasions, and we got to eat them… that’s gotta mean something. Stefan?”

  “Uh, yeah?” the boy asked.

  “Why are you still holding yours?” Anwen crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.

  “S-Sorry. I’m not really hungry.”

  Why would I wanna eat after seeing something like... that, just a few minutes ago? Especially at a time like this.

  “Okay, so then don’t eat it for the deal. But could you eat it because I ask you to?”

  Stefan couldn’t resist the look Anwen made, making a puppy face and clasping her hands together. Even though it was lighthearted, he found her to be adorable. So, reluctantly, he ate the sweet in two quick bites.

  “Enough about the food for now, you two,” Ivan said, quickly dropping what he just revealed to be a fa?ade. “Those bones. If they’re just like you said they were, then that means—

  “Ladies and gentleman, prithee behold this way!” Daisuke of Iwasoto cried over a microphone, emanating from several loudspeakers spread out along the wall, interrupting Ivan. “Prithee f'rgive me f'r disrupting the fair sight above thy heads, but this proclamation can't waiteth!”

  “An announcement?” Anwen wondered. “About what? We haven’t even sat down with him yet.”

  “I has't decided yond the dealeth between mine own nation and yours shall beest effective forthwith! In exchange f'r the 35,000 men thee solicitation f'r the conflict toil in Yeupis, as well as additional Shinpitekenaishi armaments and stocks, yond is what I need!”

  Every eye followed the Shogun’s moving finger. They were confused, as all the Yeupisians had brought to the Islands was either locked inside the Royal Palace or stored securely aboard the Serenity’s Song, still anchored off the coast of Yakuramoto. Widespread confusion took hold when the finger stopped moving, pointing at a person.

  “M-Me, Your Excellency?” Stefan wondered, his heartbeat gaining speed in moments.

  “I shall provideth mine own endeth of our dealeth if I receiveth to square the strongest of thy humans in a one-on-one combat ere the eyes of a Shimajimese crowd. So ay, Mr Laine. Thee.”

  “Your Excellency… you’re joking, right? This is a peace mission,” Ivan spoke up, stepping before his young friends. “We never intended to fight anyone. We want to be your allies. The deal can’t work like this!”

  “Silence! Thee art not the strongest so thee has't nay voice h're. Stefan, we shalt square in the Iwasoto Grand Arena, which houses up to 50,000 humans. Isn't such a most wondrous numb'r? It's coequal m're than the numb'r of men I shall provideth thee. Prepareth yourself--I won't beest carrying backeth.”

  “I-I don’t accept this!” Stefan cried, as every Yeupisian voice expressed either shock or opposition to the Shogun’s absurd demand. “A fight? This isn’t what we came here for. We told you we’d give you anything—but a fight isn’t something that you can put a value on! I’m not going to hurt you or anyone else!”

  The Shogun smirked a smile that made Ivan feel uneasy.

  “Thee shall anon.” Shogun said, before snapping his fingers.

  “Stefan…” a soft voice said beside him. With a look of horror on his face, he turned to see Anwen stumbling towards him, before collapsing against his chest. “My eyes feel so heavy. I can’t…”

  She was unable to finish her sentence as insensibility took hold of her rapidly, her last action being the clutching of Stefan’s kimono in both hands.