THE VROL TRILOGY (129 page)

Jennie forgot all about her DNA scan of Donus
and handed the device to Jessica, who then used it to scan the
gorgeous dega.

On the other side of the castle, it didn't
take much time for Max to convince Ohiro to go with him to the
former Japanese Islands. In fact, as soon as Max mentioned the name
of the land of Ohiro's ancestors the weapons trainer was packing
his travel bag.

###

Once they had both properly suited up for a
worst-case scenario, they found themselves at the edge of the
Chikugo River, in the southern city of Fukuoka. Looking out at the
distant town, Max used his HUD to scan the local area.

"Ohirio-san, there is little life here. Shall
we try the Tokyo area?"

Ohiro nodded silently as Max slipped them to
the edge of Tokyo Bay, next to a nearly intact Rainbow Bridge.
Again using his HUD, Max got a surprised expression on his face as
he looked at Ohiro and smiled.

"Ohiro-san. There are lycans here. About ten
clicks inland, as the crow flies."

"That makes me very happy, Captain. I shall
enjoy practicing the tongue of my ancestors with these individuals.
That is, if they do not attempt to first kill us," said Ohiro,
finishing with a wry grin.

"Shall we go on foot, or would you prefer I
slip us over?"

"On foot would be better. We do not wish to
alarm them with our sudden presence. The gradual arrival of our
scent would be much more polite."

Max agreed, so the two navigated their way,
quickly, with huge leaps over rubble and disintegrated buildings.
It had been many centuries since anyone had maintained the city, so
nature had taken its logical course and consumed many man-made
structures.

Sticking to the streets, they ended up on
Omotesandō Blvd (as denoted by a still-standing sign in Latin
characters), in the area once known as Harajuku. It was there that
they saw their first signs of life, and if they were expecting to
be attacked they were surprised, as no one even acknowledged their
arrival. People, maintaining what appeared to be a restored town,
were sweeping the streets. The smell of delicious Japanese cuisine
filled the air, reminding both men that they had neglected to eat
lunch before departing.

"I smell… what is it I smell? It's a soup,
right?" asked Max.

"Yes, that is correct, Captain. I believe it
is udon noodle soup. I should like to sample some."

"Same here," said Max, "but we'll need
whatever currency they're using. Hang on a second."

Ohiro watched as Max appeared to concentrate,
one eye closed slightly.

"Captain, what is it that you are doing?"

"I'm… zooming in and watching somebody make a
purchase. Ah, they have a local currency and… yes, here we go!" Max
held out his hand and displayed a number of silver coins with
Katakana characters, as well as Roman numerals. Dropping a few in
Ohiro's hand he started off after the amazing scent, with the
weapons trainer following close behind.

"Ohiro-san, please take the lead in
case anyone addresses us. I only know a few words in
Nihongo
."

"Ah, the Captain knows the name of the
Japanese language. I am impressed… and honored. Now I only hope
that I can sufficiently communicate with these people."

Entering into an extremely small, narrow
restaurant, Ohiro and Max squeezed onto chairs at the counter,
which was the only thing separating the cooking and seating areas.
There was a solitary male normal preparing food. He bowed slightly
as soon as the two foreigners were seated.

"[Good morning. We could smell your soup from
quite a distance. May we purchase two bowls?]"

"[But of course. You accent is not familiar
to me. May I ask from which region you hail?]"

"[We are from another continent - the one of
Europe - to the west. We have traveled a long distance in order to
meet and ally ourselves with those of our kind.]"

The cook gave Ohiro an inquisitive stare, and
then politely set two large bowls of steaming udon noodle soup onto
the counter.

"[Here you go, honored ones. I am to assume
you are of the lycan bloodline.]"

"[That is correct. May I be so forward as to
ask your name?]"

"[My name is Koji.]"

"[Ah, very good. It is an honor to make your
acquaintance, Koji-san. My name is Ohiro, and my companion is
called Captain Gunnarsson.]"

Koji looked at Max and nodded his head in a
slight bow, to which Max reciprocated.

"
His name's
Koji? That's a cool sounding name
," thought Max, over
the comm.

"
Yes, and he
knows we are lycans, which are called Ookami. Otoko for male and
onna for female
."

"
So then I am
Ookami otoko?"

"
That is
correct, Captain. Now, shall we eat?
"

The two noisily slurped their soups, being
the traditional way to eat in the Japanese culture, and not rude in
the least. Max comically imagined Jennie being quite at home in
Tokyo, where she could unleash her mad and beastly eating skills.
She had, however, acquired quite a substantial amount of table
etiquette since having adopted Liliana, but when she was hungry
things still got messy.

Once they had finished their soups and were
enjoying a cup of green tea, Ohiro again struck up conversation
with Koji.

"[Koji-san - please, do you have any
knowledge of a local lycan clan to whom we may speak?]"

Koji nodded his head and placed orange slices
on a plate, for the two to cleanse their palates. Oranges were
extremely rare, and his offering was a display of respect to the
newcomers.

"[Yes, Ohiro-san. They are a Samurai family
and provide us protection. They also offer fair trade, and
occasionally adopt the lucky person into their ranks. I can point
you to the direction of their compound if you like.]"

"
Captain, the
lycans here are Samurai, and operate much in the same manner as we
of the Rhönen Dominion - protecting, offering trade,
etc
."

Max smiled and nodded his head, waving his
hand over his bowl of noodles, giving them a bit of added heat,
when Koji gave the captain an odd, knowing glance.

"You… mage-man,
hai
?" asked Koji.

"Wow! You know English?" stammered Max.

"
Hai
- yes. Little. Not Ookami otoko?"

Max nodded his head, unsure how to
respond, but said, "I am mage-man
and
Ookami otoko."

Koji got a look of wonderment on his face and
broke out into a smile.

"[One such as you has been expected for many
moons, honored one. Please. I shall close my shop and personally
escort you to the compound of your brethren.]"

"Huh?" said Max, not understanding anything
that Koji had excitedly said.

"Captain. He said that you have been…
expected here. He is going to personally take us to the
lycans."

After Koji had closed his shop with a
pull-down metal gate, the three started up Omotesandō Boulevard in
a northerly direction. Traversing a few other large (and some
small) streets, they came up to a large, palatial-looking compound.
Palaces in Japan were quite different from those in Europe and
elsewhere, as real estate was historically hard to come by. For
this reason, the rich would build expansive, single-story
constructs, encompassing many square kilometers of space. To have a
lot of space was a status symbol, and to waste that space was a
sign of immense wealth and power.

Approaching the tall, wooden palace gate,
Koji lightly rapped his knuckles upon the rough-hewn portal,
performing a particular cadence that was obviously meant as a code.
The gate slowly opened as Max and Ohiro followed Koji inside.

A large lycan stood in a center square, next
to a lovely babbling brook that ran into a large koi pond. He was
dressed down in full ancient Samurai armor that appeared to also
have quadrinium embedded into it.

"[Greetings, Koji. I see you have guided two
of my brothers to us. You shall be awarded for your allegiance, yet
again.]"

"[I thank you, my lord. It is my honor to
present Ohiro and Max Gunnarsson. They have come from the other
continent to find those of their kind. I believe Max Gunnarsson is
the one you have been waiting for.]" Koji then looked at Ohiro and
Max, and as he backed away said, "I leave now. Thank you."

"Okay, Koji, and thanks again! Oh hey! Wait!
You forgot your… I didn't pay for the soup… oh crap." Max looked a
bit disappointed, no longer able to see Koji, who had left the
compound in a flash.

"Ah, you speak the language of the west. I
shall enjoy my practice of it. I am Isamu, leader of the clan
Tsuki."

Both Max and Ohiro bowed, also quite pleased
that Isamu spoke a bit of English.

"Isamu-sama, it is our great pleasure to meet
you," said Max, as he again bowed.

"
You bow too
much, Captain, but I congratulate you on the use of a proper
honorific
," commed Ohiro, who then introduced himself
to Isamu.

"I am Ohiro, of the Rhönen Dominion, weapons
trainer to King Krynos. It is an honor."

"Please, join me for a drink and tell me of
your journey."

Max sat quietly as Ohiro and Isamu chatted
away in Japanese, which made it much easier to detail their story,
as Isamu's English, though substantially better than Koji's, was
still fairly weak. As he sat watching, an idea came to him, and he
asked Ohiro via their comm if he thought it could be a good
one.

"
Ohiro, did
you already tell Isamu that I am a mage
?"

"
Yes I did,
Captain. Why do you ask
?"

"
Good. So he
won't freak out when I conjure an
infoscreen
."

"
Are you going
to show him something
?"

"
More than
that. I'm going to give him a gift. If he becomes startled please
tell him that I only seek to give him
knowledge
."

Ohiro nodded as Max conjured an infoscreen,
which cast an immense glow and illuminated Isamu's smiling face. He
obviously thought it looked incredible, and didn't even flinch when
Max set a hand upon his shoulder.

"
I am going to
give you mastery over my language, so that we may communicate more
effectively, Isamu-sama
."

Isamu's face lit up, not only from the news,
but also from the fact that Max was talking directly to his mind.
Within moments Isamu stood up, put a hand on his chest, and then
proclaimed in a typical British accent, "My good sirs, it is with
the utmost gratitude that I welcome you to our humble compound.

Ohiro looked at Max and smiled, saying, "Not
bad, Captain. Lord Draagh would be quite pleased."

"I do believe so, Ohiro-san. Now that we have
the capability to speak to each other in a common tongue,
Isamu-sama, I would-"

"Please, dear Captain, please. You
do
not
need to use that
antiquated honorific. Isamu-san shall suffice. That being said, may
I address you as Captain-san?"

"You can call me Max. Just Max, if you
like."

"Excellent! Then please, by all means,
address me as Isamu."

Both Ohiro and Isamu smiled, and the three
then went about trading information on their lands, and Max went
even further, detailing whom he was and where he was from. At first
Isamu found it incredible, but once Max displayed his wings and
took Isamu for a small flight over the compound, accompanied by a
couple of slips, the Samurai was quite convinced and willing to
cooperate in any fashion.

"So if I understand correctly, Max, the
creatures that murdered this world are on their way to your…
worlds, and you seek assistance in their defeat?"

"Yup, that's about it."

"And, may I ask, is there a reward for this
work? We are not mercenaries, per se, but we do operate in a free
market and seek to earn gold for our efforts."

"Oh yes,
absolutely
. Pay shall be in gold. Plus, you
shall see and experience things never before possible." Max got a
grin and conjured a holographic display in the midst of the room
where they were seated; causing a woman to gasp and almost drop the
large sake bottle she was using to fill their cups.

"Isamu, what we have here is a view of this
world, Earth, from outer space. Now watch as we travel across space
to where my worlds are located."

Max caused the view to shoot through space,
passing other stars and systems, until it stopped at Azul System,
showing the home world and its two moons. He then zoomed down into
New Sydney, its gleaming skyscrapers shining in the afternoon sun.
Isamu gazed with a look of amazement, never having seen something
so impressive before.

"Brilliant! I would like very much to visit
this world, Max. I can dedicate an entire regiment to your
efforts."

"Many thanks, sir. Oh, may I ask, do you have
a problem with ghouls here?"

"Oh, not this far south, my good man. They
occasionally make forays down into the city, but mostly stay
further north. We do, however, have quite a problem with Zombie
infestations."

Max looked curiously at Isamu, and then got a
sudden look of realization. Looking over at Ohiro, who had a
similar expression, he explained the usage of the word, but over
the comm.