by The tea was good today. Sitting on top of the cafe and watching the clouds drift and dance lazily was Kameyama, a book in his hand that had been left upside down and drooping at such an angle that it was seemingly a stiff breeze away from falling to the ground below. The past few months had been hectic. He’d seen a rise of power and knowledge of spells that he hadn’t expected he would ever be able to learn. But this was only the tip of a very large iceberg, the depths of which he had glimpsed when fighting alongside Mythal and Serilda.
Now he wanted nothing more than to catch up to them and be able to master the techniques bestowed upon him by the Ramuh, the creature that called itself a god and had labeled Kameyama his patron on earth. Absentmindedly, one of the additional arms that had implanted themselves within him moved slowly, bringing itself up to catch the book which had fallen with another gust of wind. As his eyes focused within the tentacle itself, his perception of reality shifted and alternate visions of his surroundings flooded his mindscape. The tentacles moved at different speeds and with rapidly shifting perception that it was a bit difficult to see where on the limb he was rather than just being “on the limb”. There was a strange bit of confusion since he could still see from his main eyesight as well which caused many instances where he was literally staring at himself through two sets of eyes.
Which set of eyes saw the movement first, he couldn’t clearly state. However, his perception quickly set back to his main eyes, and he watched as a child passed through a crowd, stopping to apologize to every third or so person. Setting his tea to the side, Kameyama leaned forward as the additional legs attached to him held onto the cafe roof for support. There. He saw as the child, who couldn’t have been older than fifteen, grabbed for the pocket of a passerby. A quick apology for bumping into the victim and the child continued onward. To use the term child was all he could do, since he couldn’t make out anything more than a general child shape. The baggy hoodie and pants made it difficult to do otherwise.
With considerable grace and silence, Kameyama’s additional metal arms slid him across the rooftops as he waited for a moment to interject himself. It came within a minute, as he reached an alleyway, dropped down into it and folded the extendable limbs back into their holding place, which is to say they melded back into the liquid metal that was currently acting as a shirt and jacket for him, indistinguishable from what others wore, albeit with a very light glimmer.
Sliding out of the alleyway, adjusting his coat with a slight flourish, he managed to blend into the crowd as he advanced on the would-be thief. He saw the child’s mark almost as quickly as the child themselves saw him. A busy looking businessman with his iLac to his ear, talking entirely too loudly for a public place as he shoved through the crowd. Taking a step forward, he overtook the young one and bumped into the businessman with considerable force. Immediately after, the young thief bumped into him much more softly and stealthily.
The child took off in a flash with inhuman speed, seeming to blur into the crowd like the beam of a flashlight being drowned in sudden floodlights. Kameyama immediately turned around and tapped on the businessman’s shoulder. He turned abruptly, “What?!” Kameyama held out the man’s wallet and he jerked it away as though Kameyama had just stolen it and turned back to his call, “Yeah sorry just some jagoff…”
Kameyama almost wished he’d let that guy be robbed.
An hour later he found himself sitting on the roof of the cafe again, sipping a new cup of tea. He could sense another presence nearing him but didn’t turn to face it. Instead he waited until it was near enough and said, “I caught you on three counts of larceny in the five minutes I watched you, and one count of attempted larceny that I managed to stop. Most Rune Knights would arrest you on the spot. Don’t run. You won’t get anywhere.”
There was a soft clanking sound next to Kameyama. The small metal rectangle imprinted with the Rune Knight's logo which he’d replaced with the wallet. Written on it was the place to meet him. “So I’ll give the money back. What’s it to you? Don’t you have bigger and better things to do anyway?” The child said. Their voice was raspy and quiet, as though talking wasn’t something they did very often. “There’s probably some kind of big… evil menace that you should be killing.”
“You will give the money back. And yes,” Kameyama said. “There is. But instead I have to be here catching you trying to pick the pockets of uppity businessmen and housewives. And I wonder what you want with that money? Is it drugs? Shoes? Are you rolling up raw crickets and snorting them?”
There was a quiet little laugh, somewhat suppressed, before it trailed off and the child said, “Everyone’s gotta eat, you know.”
“Yeah,” Kameyama said, “Yeah, I do know.” One of the extra silver limbs slid out from his back and tapped against the ground next to the mage himself. It was indicating the child to sit relatively next to him.
“How did you do that?” The youngling asked, “That weird arm.” There was a thudding sound of them sitting next to him.
Kameyama could smell cigarettes and alcohol emanating from the child. The child didn’t partake but was clearly surrounded by it enough to stink of it. “Oh they just do what they want. Let’s just say when you grow up you don’t get to make all of your own choices. So you’re stealing money to eat. A thief for survival. Interesting. Where are your caregivers?”
“My parents died when I was four. I was kinda passed around orphanages, foster families, shelters, whatever. As soon as I was old enough to run away, I did. And I’ve been running ever since. We can’t all be Rune Knights, Captain Justice.”
“Kameyama,” The aging mage responded, “I’m certainly no Captain. I’m a beat cop of sorts. Technically I’m not really supposed to tell people that I’m a Rune Knight. I’ve been breaking that rule a lot recently.” He finished his cup of tea and said, “I wasn’t always this either. I ran a shop a few lifetimes ago. I never thought I’d be doing this. If you asked me even three years ago, I wouldn’t have guessed. Life moves in mysterious ways.What would you do if you had another chance to turn it around?”
“I don't know. I always wanted to be a mage I guess. I can use magic a little... but... what? You’re trying to tell me there’s life after prison?” The child huffed, “I’ll take the sentence without the lecture, thanks.”
“Not so fast,” Kameyama stood up, “You’re right. We can’t all be Rune Knights. But maybe you can have the lecture without the sentence. Tell you what: I’ll be here in the morning. I’m leaving at seven, though, after breakfast. If you find me, I’m hiring you as a paid trainee. If not, I’m leaving a BOTL for your description.” Not that I can see you under that hoodie… He thought. “This is your wake up call, son. Fight for the side of good, or start your real life as a criminal.”
"What if I run away?" The child said, "What if I'm not here?"
"You could do that," Kameyama nodded with a bit of an admissive shrug, "Best way to outrun me would be why I was sleeping. But then you'd have to ask yourself why you came to this place, knowing you'd been caught and that there was a Rune Knight waiting for you. Is it because you're the worst criminal ever? Or were you looking for some kind of guidance?"
——
The next morning found Kameyama at the same cafe, things packed at his side and ready to go. As he finished the last bit of sausage on his plate, with Optix reading him the morning news, a young girl stood in front of him. She couldn’t have been older than fourteen years old as he surmised, with short cropped red hair partially hidden under a traveling cloak. Shorts and a tunic completed a very simple look, along with a pair of goggles hidden underneath the hood of the cloak, visible only when she pulled it down. "Heyyyy I'm here for the parole system or whatever."
Kameyama stared in awe for a moment. “Genevieve?” A sight he hadn’t seen in more than ten years, he mentally took stock of his surroundings so as to assure himself he hadn’t traveled back in time to his own salad days.
“Uhhhh no.” The girl said, her voice just as raspy as the evening before, “I’m Mizuki. You blackmailed me into working for you. Are you expecting another girl here? Is this a different kind of job? Should I run?”
Kameyama shook the past from his head and returned to the present standing up, “No, just… you reminded me of my daughter. She’s got the same uppity tone.” He produced a small badge from his pocket, made simply by his metal constructs, and handed it off to her, “Mizuki, you’re officially a junior assistant officer in training. Welcome to the Rune Knights.”
/1530. End.
Now he wanted nothing more than to catch up to them and be able to master the techniques bestowed upon him by the Ramuh, the creature that called itself a god and had labeled Kameyama his patron on earth. Absentmindedly, one of the additional arms that had implanted themselves within him moved slowly, bringing itself up to catch the book which had fallen with another gust of wind. As his eyes focused within the tentacle itself, his perception of reality shifted and alternate visions of his surroundings flooded his mindscape. The tentacles moved at different speeds and with rapidly shifting perception that it was a bit difficult to see where on the limb he was rather than just being “on the limb”. There was a strange bit of confusion since he could still see from his main eyesight as well which caused many instances where he was literally staring at himself through two sets of eyes.
Which set of eyes saw the movement first, he couldn’t clearly state. However, his perception quickly set back to his main eyes, and he watched as a child passed through a crowd, stopping to apologize to every third or so person. Setting his tea to the side, Kameyama leaned forward as the additional legs attached to him held onto the cafe roof for support. There. He saw as the child, who couldn’t have been older than fifteen, grabbed for the pocket of a passerby. A quick apology for bumping into the victim and the child continued onward. To use the term child was all he could do, since he couldn’t make out anything more than a general child shape. The baggy hoodie and pants made it difficult to do otherwise.
With considerable grace and silence, Kameyama’s additional metal arms slid him across the rooftops as he waited for a moment to interject himself. It came within a minute, as he reached an alleyway, dropped down into it and folded the extendable limbs back into their holding place, which is to say they melded back into the liquid metal that was currently acting as a shirt and jacket for him, indistinguishable from what others wore, albeit with a very light glimmer.
Sliding out of the alleyway, adjusting his coat with a slight flourish, he managed to blend into the crowd as he advanced on the would-be thief. He saw the child’s mark almost as quickly as the child themselves saw him. A busy looking businessman with his iLac to his ear, talking entirely too loudly for a public place as he shoved through the crowd. Taking a step forward, he overtook the young one and bumped into the businessman with considerable force. Immediately after, the young thief bumped into him much more softly and stealthily.
The child took off in a flash with inhuman speed, seeming to blur into the crowd like the beam of a flashlight being drowned in sudden floodlights. Kameyama immediately turned around and tapped on the businessman’s shoulder. He turned abruptly, “What?!” Kameyama held out the man’s wallet and he jerked it away as though Kameyama had just stolen it and turned back to his call, “Yeah sorry just some jagoff…”
Kameyama almost wished he’d let that guy be robbed.
An hour later he found himself sitting on the roof of the cafe again, sipping a new cup of tea. He could sense another presence nearing him but didn’t turn to face it. Instead he waited until it was near enough and said, “I caught you on three counts of larceny in the five minutes I watched you, and one count of attempted larceny that I managed to stop. Most Rune Knights would arrest you on the spot. Don’t run. You won’t get anywhere.”
There was a soft clanking sound next to Kameyama. The small metal rectangle imprinted with the Rune Knight's logo which he’d replaced with the wallet. Written on it was the place to meet him. “So I’ll give the money back. What’s it to you? Don’t you have bigger and better things to do anyway?” The child said. Their voice was raspy and quiet, as though talking wasn’t something they did very often. “There’s probably some kind of big… evil menace that you should be killing.”
“You will give the money back. And yes,” Kameyama said. “There is. But instead I have to be here catching you trying to pick the pockets of uppity businessmen and housewives. And I wonder what you want with that money? Is it drugs? Shoes? Are you rolling up raw crickets and snorting them?”
There was a quiet little laugh, somewhat suppressed, before it trailed off and the child said, “Everyone’s gotta eat, you know.”
“Yeah,” Kameyama said, “Yeah, I do know.” One of the extra silver limbs slid out from his back and tapped against the ground next to the mage himself. It was indicating the child to sit relatively next to him.
“How did you do that?” The youngling asked, “That weird arm.” There was a thudding sound of them sitting next to him.
Kameyama could smell cigarettes and alcohol emanating from the child. The child didn’t partake but was clearly surrounded by it enough to stink of it. “Oh they just do what they want. Let’s just say when you grow up you don’t get to make all of your own choices. So you’re stealing money to eat. A thief for survival. Interesting. Where are your caregivers?”
“My parents died when I was four. I was kinda passed around orphanages, foster families, shelters, whatever. As soon as I was old enough to run away, I did. And I’ve been running ever since. We can’t all be Rune Knights, Captain Justice.”
“Kameyama,” The aging mage responded, “I’m certainly no Captain. I’m a beat cop of sorts. Technically I’m not really supposed to tell people that I’m a Rune Knight. I’ve been breaking that rule a lot recently.” He finished his cup of tea and said, “I wasn’t always this either. I ran a shop a few lifetimes ago. I never thought I’d be doing this. If you asked me even three years ago, I wouldn’t have guessed. Life moves in mysterious ways.What would you do if you had another chance to turn it around?”
“I don't know. I always wanted to be a mage I guess. I can use magic a little... but... what? You’re trying to tell me there’s life after prison?” The child huffed, “I’ll take the sentence without the lecture, thanks.”
“Not so fast,” Kameyama stood up, “You’re right. We can’t all be Rune Knights. But maybe you can have the lecture without the sentence. Tell you what: I’ll be here in the morning. I’m leaving at seven, though, after breakfast. If you find me, I’m hiring you as a paid trainee. If not, I’m leaving a BOTL for your description.” Not that I can see you under that hoodie… He thought. “This is your wake up call, son. Fight for the side of good, or start your real life as a criminal.”
"What if I run away?" The child said, "What if I'm not here?"
"You could do that," Kameyama nodded with a bit of an admissive shrug, "Best way to outrun me would be why I was sleeping. But then you'd have to ask yourself why you came to this place, knowing you'd been caught and that there was a Rune Knight waiting for you. Is it because you're the worst criminal ever? Or were you looking for some kind of guidance?"
——
The next morning found Kameyama at the same cafe, things packed at his side and ready to go. As he finished the last bit of sausage on his plate, with Optix reading him the morning news, a young girl stood in front of him. She couldn’t have been older than fourteen years old as he surmised, with short cropped red hair partially hidden under a traveling cloak. Shorts and a tunic completed a very simple look, along with a pair of goggles hidden underneath the hood of the cloak, visible only when she pulled it down. "Heyyyy I'm here for the parole system or whatever."
Kameyama stared in awe for a moment. “Genevieve?” A sight he hadn’t seen in more than ten years, he mentally took stock of his surroundings so as to assure himself he hadn’t traveled back in time to his own salad days.
“Uhhhh no.” The girl said, her voice just as raspy as the evening before, “I’m Mizuki. You blackmailed me into working for you. Are you expecting another girl here? Is this a different kind of job? Should I run?”
Kameyama shook the past from his head and returned to the present standing up, “No, just… you reminded me of my daughter. She’s got the same uppity tone.” He produced a small badge from his pocket, made simply by his metal constructs, and handed it off to her, “Mizuki, you’re officially a junior assistant officer in training. Welcome to the Rune Knights.”
/1530. End.
