Dantega:Volume 4 Chapter 3

(PART 3)

“What do you mean by that!?” shouts Daey.

Caesar shoots them a cold glare and replies, “I meant what I said, I want him off my ship.”

“That's ridiculous! Where do you expect him to go!?”

“I don't care, I've prepared a life boat with a few days worth of supplies on it.”

The fact that they have already gotten everything ready for him to leave so quickly after he had just woken up has gotten Tsubiri and Daey extremely angry.

Tsubiri is about to speak up when her shoulder is gently grabbed by Ubica.

“It's alright.”

He walks his bandaged body past the two and grabs his shirt that is hanging off the desk by one of the windows, he then grabs a couple of accessories as if packing for a trip.

“You can't be serious...” Tsubiri says in disbelief.

Ubica's facial expression doesn't change when he replies, “I understand why he'd want me out of here, if I was in his position I'd do the same.”

Caesar smiles and says, “I'm glad that you are so reasonable, personally I like you, but I like my men a whole lot more. I can't put them in danger by keeping you around, if you attract another monster like that I doubt we'd survive next time.”

Ubica chuckles and grabs his last accessory, his sword.

He holds it over his shoulder and the reasonable tone he once held turns authoritative.

“I'll leave with no problems, but there will be conditions.”

Caesar’s eyebrow twitches.

“And that is?”

“All of my comrades stay, and you give me a copy of that map leading to the Gate.”

The captain glares at him momentarily before a shrug of his shoulders lightens the mood. “Fine, I don't have any problems with your friends anyway. I'll have one of my men make a copy immediately.”

“Good, thanks.”

Despite the desperate glares of Tsubiri and Daey beating him in the back, he calmly walks out of the room, but not before leaving Caesar and his men with some parting words.

“Listen close, I'll be at the Gate before you guys will, and if I find even a scratch on one of my comrades... I'll kill every last one of you.”

This causes a cold sweat to fall from their temples in fear, after witnessing the power of the enemy's attack on Ubica last night, they can't help but feel that he has an incomprehensible power himself since he was able to survive being slammed into the ocean at such an incredible speed.

The three men stand in silence as he walks out of sight, only to turn and see a sight just as frightening, the hate filled frowns of two teenage girls.

Tsubiri walks out of the room and scoffs at Caesar.

Following behind is Daey, who through gritted teeth says, “You people are cowards.”

Caear and the men simultaneously sigh and with his big black hand he rubs his head in relief.

He looks at his two underlings and says, “I think that went well.”

---

Ubica takes a deep breath while he's walking up the stairs that lead to the deck.

“It's gotten a lot harder to act like a tough guy to people nowadays. At least with my threat I'd doubt that any of these crew members will try anything funny.”

He opens the door and prepares himself for a good scolding by his comrades because of what's about to happen.

---

“What!?!?” Trojia exclaims when Ubica tells her of the situation that has just unfolded.

Ubica smiles and says, “Come on it's not that bad, I'll be seeing you guys soon.”

“That's stupid! How can you just go out on your own like that, what if that guy from the other night comes back and attacks us while you're gone?”

“That won't happen, he only has a track on my location, he'll follow me and abandon you guys.”

“That's even worse! You'll be all alone when he does.”

“It's what I have to do to keep you guys safe, you gotta trust me on this one... I'll be fine.”

Trojia frowns and bites her lip, with her head lowered she says under her breath, “You sound like my father...”

Ubica’s actions harken her back to the long periods of time Zurvick has been out of her life. Every instance when he left to go to battle or some kind of political excursion he'd always pat her on the head and say something to the same effect. Of course he came back each time, but the length between returns was far too long for her liking, and this is the same kind of situation. As much as she believes in him, she struggles to accept his upcoming absence. All she can do is bite her lip and look away.

Messor stands on the deck waiting for her chance to speak.

She walks up to Ubica and looks him square in the eye and declares, “I'm coming with you.”

“No you can't, you have to stay behind and help the Captain's men with their powers. Plus the ship needs someone strong to protect them just in case something happens.”

Her eyebrows steepen and she clicks her tongue.

“Help these pieces of shit? Those pitiful ants are lucky I don't kill the whole lot of them for this.”

Her words are sharp and ruthless, what's most terrifying about it is that she is completely serious.

But Ubica has a feeling that she would do no such thing and he smiles at her reaction.

“I'm counting on you Messor...”

“What makes you so confident that I’ll help them?”

“If you really want to join me on my path, you’ll keep your end of the bargain. You’ve never been one to half ask anything before, I don’t see why you’d start now.”

Messor turns sharply and the breeze of her silky white hair is felt on his face.

“Hmph! How cunning of you to wrap this situation up to me like that, do what you want.”

She walks into the door that leads to the barracks and disappears out of sight.

Ubica takes a sigh of relief and thinks that she must be trying really hard to hold herself back against the crew members of the Dandelion. If she had any ounce of her former self still left, the men would most definitely be dead by now.

He hopped onto the wooden single sail lifeboat and cut the rope to drop him into the water; as soon as he landed in the ocean the current started to drift him away.

Looking back towards the ship, he notices Caesar looking down to him.

He throws something down into the boat and says, “That's the map...”

Ubica gives him a look full of skepticism and he replies to it.

“Don't look at me like that, the thing's legit.”

From behind Caesar come the faces of the others wanting to wish him good luck and say goodbye.

He begins to drift further away from the ship and he shouts out to them,

“The next time we meet, we’ll be one step closer to home! Thank you all, I’ll see you soon!”

“Have a safe trip, Ubica!” Struaphius shouts back while waving.

Napoleon smiles and gives him a friendly salute.

Daey looks worried, but she finds it in her to send him off with a smile.

Tsubiri, confident that they’ll be reunited but saddened by not knowing exactly when, shouts out, “When I see you next I’ll be way stronger! I’ll protect you!”

Trojia’s face is red and she’s shrunken within herself as if she wants to let something out. Her sense of urgency seeing him get farther and farther away fills her with anxiety as her face becomes unnaturally warm.

“Ubica! I---!”

She stops herself mid sentence and again shrinks back, this time hiding her head on the railing of the ship.

“Ughhh.” she groans, letting herself sink into the wood. “I couldn’t do it.”

Daey pats her on the shoulder and says, “I don’t want to step on your feelings while they're at a low, but I commend you for holding yourself back. I don’t think right now would have been the best time for that.”

Trojia didn’t give it much thought before when her emotions were clouding her judgment, but now all of the sudden she remembers that everyone was standing right next to her as she struggled to shout out some very embarrassing words.

“Kkkkaahhh!”

Trojia squirms as the shivering sensation of shame starts from her feet and makes its way up to her head like an electrical current.

“There there.” Daey said with a maternal smile while continuing to pat Trojia’s back, “You’ll have better luck next time.”

---

It has been three full days and now the fourth night has fallen on Ubica who is alone on a boat in the middle of the ocean.

His sail is not set but the small wooden life boat is moving around quickly as if there was some kind of motor on it.

That motor is Ubica's hand, he has it rested in the water and a green light surfaces around it making the sea have an odd colored glow in the propelling boat's wake.

He hasn't just been sitting around in the boat trying to find land, if he really wanted to he'd be there by now, but he has been using every moment possible to train himself under the sea. Various exercises have left him physically exhausted.

“This is a perfect opportunity to train myself in the sea so I can stand a chance against Leviathan. Plus this allows me to protect the rest simultaneously, this actually ended up working out pretty well.”

He sighs at his own optimism and takes his hand out of the water. He has yet to sleep so he decides that this night is as good as any because the temperate weather is perfect for it.

"But still..."

He lays on his back and gazes into the stars and the three moons of the sky.

"I didn't think I'd be this lonely."

With this peaceful image of his friends who are now very far away engraved in his mind, he shuts his eyes and falls asleep.

---

“Hey... are you dead?”

This voice of a girl is ringing through Ubica's dream, he subconsciously feels that there is someone standing over him and slowly opens his eyes.

The heat of the high noon sun beats on his face and blurs his vision, but when the sun is blocked and the shadow of a person is cast on him, he can see the person very clearly.

It is a girl, she looks to be in her late teens and has amber colored hair and azure eyes, she is undeniably pretty and she gives off a sense of freedom by the clothes and the hair style she is wearing. A yet loose black tank top over her body and under that some very small jean shorts, her hair is oddly tied upwards but it fits her face and slim body type perfectly.

After glaring at her for a few short seconds his face turns bright red, not because of the good looks of this stranger who has just appeared before him, but because he just happened to shift his eyes from her face down to her visible chest.

The way she is leaning over atop him has caused her small shirt to hang down so he caught a clear glance.

It would seem that she is so used to dressing so freely that she didn’t even notice that he had seen down her shirt.

“Umm, and you are?” Ubica asks as he backs away from her, causing the boat to rock a little in the shallow water.

The girl tilts her head and replies, “I should be the one asking that, are you a pirate? Ooh lemme guess a shipwreck right! How long have you been out on the ocean in this life boat!?”

Being pummeled by questions, Ubica takes a deep breath and answers them all one by one.

“No. Kind of, and I don't know. It depends on how long I've been asleep for, but if I were to guess it'd be around five days.”

“Five days!?” she shouts in surprise.

She immediately grabs his arms and begins to check him in a few spots as if expecting to see something wrong with him.

“You must be in terrible shape! My brother is a doctor in town so you should come with me, he can make sure you're okay.”

Ubica nervously smiles and says, “No that's not necessary...”

“Nonsense! If what you said is true there is no way that there isn't anything wrong with you.”

He sighs at her persistence and looks around the area to scope where he is; he finds that he’s currently in a lagoon with crystal clear emerald water. His lifeboat has floated all the way to land, a large island to be exact, and this particular one is surrounded by large granite cliffs.

Many differently colored houses and buildings are built on top of these cliffs and stretch into the island. On the shore, in the middle of the lagoon are wooden steps that scale a small cliff leading up into a bustling city.

The girl puts one hand on her thigh and then points at him with the other, with a serious face she declares, “My name is Amber Lockeford, and you're coming with me!”

“As much as I appreciate the offer, I’m going to have to refuse.”

Before he knows it, he finds himself reluctantly following this girl around the city.

There are a lot of people doing daily activities so he comes to the conclusion that this city must stretch a long way into the island. This place has the feeling and look of a coastal city in Italy, all the different colored buildings stand out in contrast to the surroundings, but compliment each other very nicely.

“Hey, Ubica right? Stop zoning out we're here.”

Looking up he sees a two story building that has some weird writing on it, but he assumes that it has something to do with signifying that it is a doctor's residence.

“Is this where you live?” he asks.

"No, my brother lives here by himself, I still live with my parents.”

“Ohh...”

“Come in.”

Ubica stops at the door and glares at her discouragingly.

She raises her index finger to this look and says, “Just go in, you'll never know how it'll end up.”

“How in the world did I end up in this situation!?” Ubica asks with a bitter look on his face when he finds himself sitting on a dinner table with six people he doesn't know.

"Buaahahaha! Because our family never turns down anyone in need!” says the burly amber bearded father named Albert as he slaps Ubica really hard on the back.

Ubica sighs and says under his breath, “But I already told you guys that I'm fine..”

“Although I must say, you are in surprisingly good health after I took a look at you, what did you do to stay in such good shape? Amber said you didn't have much food on board when the two of you docked the boat.” asks the doctor Nicklaus, who is also the brother of Amber.

He is the oldest child but looks like a complete outsider compared to his father and the rest. He seems to be very frail and he wears glasses that add to this meek look of his.

There is one person at the table that obviously has Albert's genes, her name is Allison and she is a woman in her late twenties with two little ten year old twins who sit one a piece at each side of her.

“Now that I think of it... you haven't touched any of the food!!”

Ubica leans back in his chair and raises his hands, “Well you see I'm not hun--”

“Is my cooking not good enough!?” the elder sister exclaims.

“N-No that's not it at all.”

Amber's mother Melissa chimes in with a patronizing smile, “Oh no, that's never good when a mother can't cook.”

Allison takes a deep breath in shock, she looks at her two twins, one a girl and one a boy and asks, “Alice, Jeremy! Is my cooking good!?”

The two twins stare at her dejectedly and without much conviction they uncomfortably answer simultaneously.

“S-Sure...”

“Whaaaaa!? That was a terrible reply!”

She grabs the two kids heads under her each of her large arms and begins to strangle them, it would seem that they are used to it but from an onlookers prospective it really looks like child abuse.

“Waaaah! Your food is great! I swear I swear!!” the little boy named Jeremy yells frantically.

“I don't believe you, you little brat!!!”

Albert just sits back and laughs obnoxiously loud as he watches this scene that would certainly warrant a visit from child protective services.

Amber takes a sigh of exasperation and looks to Ubica, who seems to feel a little guilty because the two kid's torture is a direct result of him not eating.

She senses this and says, “Sorry, my family is a little crazy.”

“No it's nothing, to be honest my group isn't much different.”

Melissa overhears this through the noise and asks, “Now that you mention it, what brings you here anyway?”

With this question, all the noise suddenly halts and the awkward atmosphere hits Ubica really hard.

He tries to scramble and find something to say, “Well due to some circumstances I had to leave the ship that I was on and I just drifted here while I was asleep.”

“No no, that's not what I meant..” she reveals a lecherous smile and finishes, “Could it be my little Amber made a move on you?”

“Haaah?” Ubica groans as he tilts his head in confusion.

Amber's shoulders jump and her face turns red.

“Mom! What are you talking about!?”

“I'm just saying that it's not too often that a boy this cute falls on your lap like that. You never struck me as the type to bring someone to meet the family so soon after you first met. Oh-ho my daughter is finally growing up!”

“D-Don't just jump to conclusions like that! I would never------”

Amber is interrupted by the sharp voice of her elder sister saying, “Yeah that would be ridiculous considering the fact that Amber gets so nervous she can barely talk to the guy she likes, there's no way that she'd hit on a random fellow.”

Ubica has no clue what is going on but he is growing increasingly more awkward with each passing second.

Nicklaus tilts his glasses up and agrees, “True.”

Ubica's uneasiness reaches a level he’s not familiar with, and it’s making him physically ill, his stomach is actually grumbling because of it.

This is certainly not something he should be hearing from people he had just met, and by the look of it, Amber is about to blow steam out of her ears.

Ubica attempts to save her from this cruel and unusual punishment from her family and stands to his feet.

“Thank you very much for the meal, but I really must be goi---”

His speech is halted by the sound of the front door being knocked behind him, the house is fairly big but one could see the entrance from the dining room.

“Oh he's here!” Albert says in excitement, he walks over to the door and opens it.

There in the doorway stands a shining man with blonde hair and light brown eyes. He looks to be in his early twenties and emits a radiance to him that feels more like he belongs to some kind of royal family.

“Tuscany, it's great to see ya! Come on in I'll set up a seat for you.”

The man named Tuscany smiles politely and says, “Thank you.”

The two walk up to the table and both him and Ubica lock eyes for a moment, Tuscany gives him an odd look before turning back to the others.

“Who's this?” he asks.

“He's a drifter that Amber picked up out of the ocean.” Melissa answers in a carefree fashion.

“M-Mom that makes it sound bad...” Amber shyly says.

Tuscany glances at her and reveals an accepting smile, “I'm sure you had your reasons.”

He takes a seat and a heavy feeling reaches Ubica's body which makes him really feel like he needs to leave, but to be polite he decides to stick around until he finds the socially acceptable moment to make a friendly exit.

Things quiet down and the introduction process finally begins.

Ubica looks at the new guest and politely says, “My name's Ubica, nice to meet you.”

“Tuscany Reinhart, it's my pleasure.”

The two force a fake smile at each other and sit in silence for a few moments, when out of the blue Albert looks at Amber and blatantly asks, “So... Have you kissed yet?”

“WHAT!?!?” Amber shouts.

Tuscany puts his hand over his mouth and slightly coughs, obviously flustered.

Albert gets right into their business and yells, “Ahhh! How can I have another grandson if you guys can't even get to first base!!?”

Amber hides her face in embarrassment on the table as Albert waits for an answer that will never come.

Ubica is so embarrassed for her that internally he’s screeching in pain and writhing on the ground.

The awkwardness has hit an all time high.

He has no clue why he'd say something like that to his own daughter, but Niklaus nudges on Ubica’s sleeve and begins to explain.

“In case you're wondering, Tuscany and my sister are engaged. Please excuse my father's rude behavior, he's not used to guests so he treats these kinds of situations like there is nobody there.”

“O-Oh I see..”

Ubica looks to Tuscany and Amber, with a smile he says, “Congratulations on your engagement.”

Tuscany proudly says his thanks while Amber seems shyly nods.

The dinner seemed to last forever but it's finally finished, and along with it the last vestiges of Ubica's patience; he hasn't wanted to leave a room so badly in his entire life. It's not like they are bad people, but meeting people for the first time and spending a good amount of time immersed in their daily lives is usually a little too much to handle for even the most socially adept person.

“Thanks for inviting me to your home, it was a pleasure.” Ubica says kindly, trying to be as gracious as possible.

Tuscany had already left earlier due to some appointment, so the family members all say their goodbyes and Ubica hurriedly walks to the door.

But before he can leave, he is halted by the soft voice of Amber asking, “Wait, where are you going to stay?”

“Hmmm, I haven't thought that far yet, but I'll figure it out.”

They all look at him in concern, which catches him off guard.

Albert takes a step forward and says, “Well if you don't find somewhere to say, feel free to come here, the door will be open for you.”

This makes Ubica somewhat happy, not because he knows he has somewhere to go but rather the fact that there really are kind people who would do such a thing as let a stranger in need into their home.

“I guess what you said was true, the Lockeford family always helps someone in need. Thank you, but I've already imposed enough on you guys.”

“Buaaahahaha of course! Remember, the offer still stands Ubica.”

Ubica walks out the door and onto the road, he turns around and smiles, “I'll keep that in mind. Goodbye everyone!”

---

“Huuaaahhh finally out of there.” Ubica sighs, letting out the built up social anxiety that once seemed to seek his destruction.

He walks down the steps that lead to the lagoon his boat is docked in, once at his boat he finds that nothing has been stolen out of it so he is quite relieved.

This lagoon is fairly secluded compared to others around the island, so one would really have to look hard to spot it and ransack it. But just in case, he had hid it behind some rocks and out of sight from anyone who just so happened to come down for a swim or some sightseeing. So he’s happy nothing went wrong while he was away.

He gets ready to jump in the boat when he happens to look out into the ocean, thinking about it, he finds that this is an ideal place for his training. This lagoon is just enough out of the way from the town where he can get away with whatever he wants without notice, and the numerous islands out in the distance are good spots to swim to for fishing, so food would come easy if he ever got hungry.

The most important part of this is that the crystal clear water of this lagoon seems to be warm even at night, it's something that is desperately needed. If something happened where Ubica was tossed overboard and the water was freezing he would literally die in an instant.

“Alright, I can stay here for a couple days.” he says as he puffs out his chest in determination.

“You can stay at my place you know?” said Amber, who is sitting on the stairs leading up to town.

“Whoah what are you doing here!? Scared the crap out of me.”

“I came to find you before you left, I wanted to give you water.”

“Ooh thanks, I forgot to get some while I was in town.”

Amber walks down the stairs and walks into the water, splashing her legs around she says, “You are a strange guy, why wouldn't you accept help when it's offered to you like that?”

“Some people just don't like to impose, you know.”

“Hmmm, sometimes I think it's more rude to deny help than it is to accept it.”

Ubica never thought of it that way so he puts his hands together and says, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you if that’s the case.”

“It's not offensive, it just gets me fired up.”

“Eh?”

“I'm not gonna leave you alone as long as you stay in this lagoon.”

“Why would you wanna do that?”

“To make sure you're okay you idiot!”

“Hey you didn't have to insult me.”

“Of course I do! You seem like one of those dense guys who have to get insulted before he realizes that he's wrong.”

What she says hits him like an arrow in the chest, he can't think of how many times he's been called dense or an idiot by certain members of his group.

This gets him a little riled up and he forgets that he is talking to someone he had just met when he says, “Well not everyone can be as composed as your fiance after all.”

Amber instantly becomes flushed and frowns at his words, she doesn't speak but gives him a look that shows how much displeasure that caused.

“Uhh, sorry about that, that was uncalled for..”

“It's fine, but you're right... You aren't like him at all, he's well spoken, polite, smart and proper. He's every girl's dream guy.”

Ubica tries not to take offense by that and takes it with a grain of salt, he sighs and pulls his shirt off to get ready to go into the water.

He walks past her and smiles when he says, “Then it looks like you got yourself a keeper.”

“Hey... do you have a girlfriend?”

“I don’t.”

“Then is there anyone you like?”

“I’m not quite sure about that yet actually... Wait, where did these questions come from!?”

“Y-You see, I just wanted to get some advice, I'm too embarrassed to talk about it with my family so I was hoping you'd know something about what I'm going through.”

“Aren't things going well for you right now?”

“I guess you can say that, I mean... I've had a huge crush on him in secret since I was little but I never had the courage to talk to him even once, but around three months ago he came up to me and asked me to marry him.”

“Wow, that's random.”

“I know right!? But I had to say yes, I was so happy that I thought I'd die.”

“Then what's the problem?”

“Since then.. I still don't really have the courage to talk to him, I always get so nervous that everything I say is really short and pointless. I can't even imagine touching him in any way, so I don't get why he'd still want to marry me when I have so little to offer.”

Ubica laughs a little, for one, he has no clue why she is confessing this to him like he is one of her girlfriends, and the other is because of how innocent her problems are. She lives in a world completely different from him, and he even finds himself envying her because of it.

He jumps into the water to get used to the temperature and then back out, with his hair hanging over his eyes he says, “I hate to say it but you are barking up the wrong tree by asking me that, I have no clue what those feelings are like... but.”

He shakes his head to get the water off of his hair and smiles at her.

“You are a beautiful person inside and out. If you can find confidence in knowing that, it might give you the courage to accomplish what you want to do.”

Amber gives him a slight smile and slightly blushes at that statement, she looks away for a moment then looks back, and to her surprise she finds that Ubica is gone.

Out in the distance he pops up and says, “Now go home! It's getting late!”

She huffs air out of her nose and walks away, heading up the stairs she stops and thinks about what he had just said, her body warms up and she says to herself,

“...I'm beautiful huh?”

---

It's been four days since Ubica drifted into this somewhat secluded lagoon, and the training he has put himself through has been vigorous and difficult. Such things like lifting the heaviest of boulders from the ocean floor and staying underwater for hours on end holding his breath are a daily occurrence. The gist of what he is trying to do is become completely adapted to moving and fighting in the water, he knows that the chances of fighting Leviathan under water is very high so he must be as natural as can be when the time comes.

As of now he is laying on the sand under a makeshift umbrella made out of his shirt and a blanket that came with the lifeboat.

But he is not alone.

Every day, a certain girl he met always meets him in the morning, afternoon, and even the evenings.

“So are you ready to stay at our house yet?” Amber asks as she stands over him with her hands on her hips.

“You've been asking me this everyday and my answer never changes, so give it up already.”

“Not a chance, the Lockefords never give up on someone in need!”

“Do I look needy to you!?”

“Yeah you do, where in the world do you shower!? And what do you eat and drink!?”

“There's a big city just on top of that hill. Everything I need is up there, I'm just not sleeping with a roof over my head.”

“You do everything else in town but you can't come stay with us, you make no sense.”

“I'll tell you what Amber, the next time it rains I'll come to your house.”

Looking up, one can see that there isn't a single cloud in sight and it is obvious that unless a freak occurrence happens there is no chance that it'll rain anytime soon.

“Ahh geez you are so stubborn! Fine, I'm coming back tonight to take you back.”

“I’ll be seeing you tonight then.”

Amber tut-tuts and stomps off, this has become a recurring theme so the two have been spending a lot of time together.

For the most part they get along really well, and when he is not getting pestered to go to her house they have very normal conversations that any pair of friends would.

Ubica lays in the sun and decides to shut his eyes and take a nap, he hasn't slept much but this is as good a time as any to do so.

Once he doses off, Amber comes rushing back and says, “I forgot my---eh?”

She hasn't seen him sleeping yet so she starts to tip toe around him to pick up her purse that she placed right beside him earlier. Trying to be extremely quiet she stubs her toe into a rock and loses her balance.

With a rather loud “Kyahh!” she falls straight on top of Ubica.

“Ahh Ubica I'm sorry I...”

To her utter shock she finds that he is still sleeping like a log, she definitely fell straight on him and her full weight is still pressing against him. She has to double take when she finally realizes this, and the feeling in her finger tips that rest on his bare chest reaches her body, the feeling of her legs intertwined with his makes her hips jolt.

She immediately jumps off of him, grabs her purse and stands to her feet, she looks down on him and her face gets really red.

(What in the world was that??) she thinks to herself.

She puts her hand on her chest and feels her heart beating quickly.

(I-I'm sure it's nothing.)

The truth is that it is something, though it is not much, she has finally realized that Ubica is a guy, and an attractive one at that.

Before that moment, she hadn't given him much thought.

She forcefully throws the image of Tuscany into her head and this calms her down, with that she smiles as if nothing happened and heads into the city.

---

Amber is on her way from her house to the lagoon where Ubica is staying, the sun is almost down and because of some sporadic cloud coverage that finally showed up, the sunset is a brilliant display of both warm and cool colors.

She normally comes to visit him after the sun has already set but this time decided to come early since she was already out and about. She gets down to the beach and sees that Ubica is nowhere in sight.

{Huh? Where is he?)

She looks around the area and still has no luck, she assumes he is swimming so she looks out to the ocean to check if she can see his wake. But something catches her eye that makes her heart skip a beat, it is Ubica, but he is not swimming, rather he is standing with his back turned to her on the slightly breaking water.

She can only stand there in disbelief as she watches this scene, and it's only going to get more foreign for her because Ubica gently sinks into the water and disappears.

“Wait wait wait wait, what in the world did I just see?” she asks herself in denial.

She waits for Ubica to come up out of the water but after a few minutes she becomes worried.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, there’s no way he can't hold his breath for that long!”

She unhesitatingly rushes into the water and dives in.

Swimming as fast as possible to the location where she thinks he is, she finds that things under water are getting hard to see now that the sun is going down.

(Damn it where is he!?)

It begins to look hopeless when she runs out of breath and breaks to the surface to breathe, she takes one giant inhale and swims back down, and when she does it's like she has just swam into a different world.

There is a bright green light that shines so bright that it looks like everything under water is actually out in the plain day, the fish that are swimming look like they are floating in the air and all the other sea life seems surreal.

In the middle of this gorgeous scene is a boy with his eyes closed standing impossibly on the ocean floor, and the light seems to emit from him as if he is some kind of deity.

Amber is in awe at this sight, she is experiencing the very definition of an out of body experience. She wants to get close to this light so she moves towards it, this is so entrancing that she forgot she was under water and tries to take a breath. It seems that the gulp of saltwater put her back to her senses however, she realizes that she had just swallowed a mouthful of sea water and immediately is under threat of drowning.

Desperately swimming up to the surface, it becomes obvious that she will not make it to the surface in time, that is until she feels her body become weightless and is sent upwards at a tremendous speed.

This is a similar feeling to what she had earlier under water, but this is on a different level then something that should belong in the realm of reality. Amber opens her eyes and is staring up at Ubica as the setting sun shines over his outstanding figure and the thousands of droplets of water. Under his feet is a stream of water that he is balancing on and the orange tint of the setting sun shines through it making it look like he is standing on a beam of light.

At this very moment she is a part of something right out of a fantasy novel, in the arms of this incredible person suspended in air as everything around them slows down.

After a few moments that felt long and drawn out to her, she unconsciously spoke his name,

“Ubica...”

The water that once surrounded him in mid air falls and splashes back into the ocean.

He falls along with it and looks at her in confusion.

She gives him a shocked frown and musters up the courage to ask,

“...What are you?”

---

“I wonder how he's doing?” Tsubiri asks Daey, who is standing right next to her looking at the sunset.

“Who knows... I hope he’s looking after himself.” Daey replies.

Tsubiri sighs and says, “Nine days... That's a long time for any one of us to be separated, it feels like it's been forever since he left.”

“Yeah, it doesn't help that I feel really uneasy about all this with him not around.”

“Like how?”

Daey is wearing her hair wavy down so she is twirling it with her finger unconsciously in deep thought.

“I just have a feeling that by simply being away from Ubica, it doesn't make us any more safe from those monsters. Every night I feel like something terrible getting closer to us.”

“Uhhh, that's a creepy thought you got going there.”

“I know, I can’t help it.”

Tsubiri again sighs and this time even louder, “It’s a good thing you’re not a psychic."

Something out in the distance catches her eye and she squints to get a better sight of it.

“Hmm? Hey look at that... Is that a boat?”

Daey peers out towards the ocean’s horio and replies,, “Yeah.. I think it is.”

“You don't think it could be...” Tsubiri says as hope fills her eyes.

Daey starts to become excited as well when she tries to clarify, “It’s definitely the same kind of boat.”

“I gotta go tell somebody! I'll be right back.”

Tsubiri runs down into the barracks below the deck to tell Strauphius, Messor, Napoleon and Trojia.

Looking on as the little boat out in the distance gets closer, the figure of a single man can be seen.

It’s a small boat occupied by one person in the middle of the ocean, and she can’t help but feel that it must be Ubica.

By now the ship's men have all caught wind of the boat and Caesar comes to the railing to greet the incoming vessel. He is really hoping that it isn't Ubica, but due to a past experience where his life was saved by a passing fishing vessel after losing his ship in a storm, it’s part of his ship’s moral code to pick up anyone who is stranded in a lifeboat.

So he stands out there waiting to take him in as he orders a few men to bring some food and water for whoever this may be.

Getting closer, they see a man who seems to be bundled up in some sort of red cloak.

Daey narrows her focus on the man’s face as he gets closer, and is suddenly struck with a sickening feeling in her stomach.

She immediately goes pale.

“That's not Ubica...”

She cautiously turns to Caesar and gives him an intense glare when she says, “You absolutely must not let that boat anywhere near this ship.”

“What’re you yapping about? There's no way I'm gonna leave someone stranded in the middle of the ocean by himself.” He then turns and shouts to one of his men, “Throw down the anchor!”

Naturally, the man obliges.

They are now completely stopped here, and they will be taking this drifter onboard no matter how much she protests.

Daey is obviously not thrilled.

In fact, she is devastated.

She turns away from the railing and runs through the door that connects to the stairs leading down to the barracks, she slams the door behind her and sees that the rest of the group are all heading up the stairs courtesy of Tsubiri's high hopes.

“Don't go out there!!” Daey shouts.

The rest all look at her confusedly.

“Why not?” Napoleon asks.

“You just have to believe me, we have to find somewhere to hide!”

Judging by how frantic she is, the rest feel very uneasy about this, and this makes Napoleon want to investigate all the more.

He walks past her and says, “I’ll need a little more of an explanation than that.”

He opens the door and despite Daey's pleas to keep him there, he walks on to the deck.

He gets to the railing and joins a group of about twenty or so men who are greeting this incoming boat; he has to shove a couple of them out of the way to get a good look and as soon as he does, his eyes widen and a cold sweat falls down his temple.

He quickly ducks and literally crawls in an army style back to the barrack door.

He enters the stairway and leans up against the wall, breathing hard and attempting to slow his spiked heart rate.

The rest look at him anxiously.

“This is bad..”

---

“That doesn't answer my question at all, there's no way I'd accept you saying, 'It's better that you don't know’.” Amber says.

Ubica shrugs his shoulders and says, “I know it’s hard to believe me, but it’s definitely for the best.”

“This is stupid, how is it a bad thing that you can do those things? I don't see why you can't explain it to me.”

Ubica stays silent and looks away, he's not good at saying no, but it’s much easier not saying anything at all. No matter how angry she’d be at him, he knows that they’re only a short time away from parting, there is no point in putting her in danger by revealing any more about himself than she already knows.

“So you're just going to stay quiet... I see.” she huffs air out of her nose and walks off.

Halfway up the stairs she turns back to him and says, “I told you everything about me, the least you can do is return the favor.”

Ubica fights back his guilt by rationalizing that she is only reacting as anyone would upon seeing such nonhuman abilities. Of course she’d be interested in how and why after experiencing the supernatural.

Watching her silently head back into town, he comes to realize that this is likely the last time he’ll ever see her, he'd be really surprised if she'd want to see him before tomorrow ends, so he'll probably be long gone before they even get a chance to have a proper goodbye.

But before Amber reaches the top of the hill she turns again and says one last thing.

“Don't forget to come over to my house if it starts to rain.”

This surprises him, she can still invite him over after seeing those freakish abilities of his. It would seem that there really are people who will accept someone like him unconditionally.

Nonetheless, he still has no intention of going over there.

He smiles at her kindness and says under his breath, “You’re a good person, that’s why this will be our goodbye.”

As soon as he says this, he feels a breath over his shoulder into his ear saying,

“Too late, Ubica.”

He quickly turns around and a dreaded sight beholds him, it is the very man that he is training to fight against, the second in command to the Hierarchy.

“Leviathan!?”

“Come now, don't look so surprised. I'd hope you weren't foolish enough to think that I wouldn't find you eventually.”

Ubica dashes for his sword and pulls it out to slash him with it.

Completely unphased by Ubica’s threatening move, Leviathan smiles and says, “Take it easy, just because I came here doesn't mean I want to fight you.”

“Why else would you be here?”

“Oh? I seem to have gotten you quite rattled. This is good, I need you to become that way lest this whole thing be pointless.”

“...?”

“If you truly want to know what I'm doing here, I'll happily tell you if you’d lend me your ear.”

“...Go on then.”

“I’ve done a lot of thinking about you over the years you see, there was a time where I nurtured and loved you, a time where I hated you. But the one constant is that I’ve always been envious of you. It’s because of that, I'm here---- no... because of that I exist to send you into despair.”

Ubica takes a step back and wonders what he meant by that.

But Leviathan takes a step towards him and continues, “Without despair, you can’t be the person that I love and hate and envy all at the same time. All you are now is frustrating to me, and it’s filled me with a desire to have you back to the way I’m most comfortable with.”

Ubica takes another step back and Leviathan in turn takes another step forward.

“But there is something fun about bringing you back, it’s as though my nurturing love for you has returned to how it was while you were growing from within the ocean. It’s an emotional state I had thought I’d never experience again.”

Closing the distance between the two, each step Leviathan takes becomes more imposing.

“Over the last week I’ve contemplated how I can nurture you back into my most hated foe... If there is one thing I've noticed about you, the new you, is that you get along with people quite well.”

“....”

Ubica’s silence conveys how threatened he is by what Leviathan had just said.

“In the time it took you to start caring for people other than yourself, it has since become your greatest weakness.”

Ubica frowns and finally takes a step forward in defiance of his intimidation. “I would argue that those feelings have made me strong.”

“Then will you put it to the test?”

“What..?”

“I'm interested to see if this truly is a strength of yours. I wonder how you will react when you find out that these feelings you cling to amount to nothing when precious lives are on the line.”

Leviathan spreads his arms and declares, “I predict that you will fall into despair, you will become angry, you will become consumed with a hatred for your own weakness. You will naturally return to what instinctually comes easiest to you.”

Ubica grits his teeth and hesitatingly says, “I will not...”

“Then I will give you an ultimatum.” Leviathan says as he walks closer to him and looks him square in the eye. “You cherish the life of that girl and her family right? Well... I'm going to kill them.”

Ubica grips his sword with all of his might and yells, “I won’t let you!!”

"I thought you'd say as much, which is why I must ask... Would you be so committed to protecting that family if it costs your comrade's lives?”

“...?”

Ubica stares at him with so much intensity it's as if the ocean behind Leviathan will boil from his glare.

“Soon enough, there will be someone commencing an attack on that ship carrying your friends, and without you there they have no chance of surviving it.”

“N-No way... How?”

“A mishap on your part Ubica, have you forgotten that I come from the ocean? Anything on or in that water is in my realm, I'll always have a track on them, even if you're not there as my beacon.”

“You bastard!!!” Ubica shouts as he swings his sword into the sand, the result of that frustrated action is an explosion of fine sand particles plumbing into the sky and glistening in the orange twilight of the sunset.

Leviathan smiles at his anger and says, “Calm down, you can still save them, if you left now I won't stop you.”

He shifts his eyes toward the town and sharply says, “But the moment you leave, I will make my way into town and slaughter that family.”

Ubica takes sharp breaths at the conundrum that has been thrust upon him, it's as if he doesn't want to take on the responsibility of choosing a proper solution.

“So now you must pick, this weakness of yours will cost one of these sides their lives. However… there is one way you can save them both..”

Ubica looks at him as if begging for the answer.

“Let your true self consume you, let Dantega take over... If you do that, you could possibly kill me and make it to the ship in time to defeat the man I sent there.”

“I-I can't do that...”

“You have to, you have no other choice, you are fighting a losing battle otherwise.”

“No!”

“I see you do not like to be the one being tempted, perhaps I should tell you who your friends are up against? It may help coerce you into making a hopeless decision one way or the other.”

To add to the tension of the conversation, thick clouds form overhead and the sound of a light thunder can be heard.

Ubica is absolutely dreading finding out who it is, because depending on who, he knows that there will be no mercy shown.

Rain begins to pour onto them, the water seems to fall away from Leviathan but drenches Ubica as if nature is rubbing salt in his wounds. Leviathan laughs a little and says,

“The man is...”

---

“Okay is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” Trojia asked in frustration about being cooped up in the stairwell.

Daey shushes her and gives her a look screaming at her to stay quiet.

She then gestures to the little circle window of the barrack doors and gestures outside, signaling them to take a look for themselves.

Messor has been quiet because she can't sense what they are so afraid of, and personally she is not too worried because if it was Leviathan or any other of the 7 Demons from the Hierarchy, she would have felt it.

She, along with Trojia and Strauphius take a look through the window and simultaneously take deep breaths of shock when they see who the man is.

He is wearing a dark red cloak, he has light brown hair and blue eyes, in his hand he is tossing a little marble while wearing a big smile on his face.

He is none other than the man who split the group up into two by creating a crater that was almost the size of the entire first level of Purgatory itself.

He is the man who destroyed Aria and Strauphius' house and also the man who brutally murdered Daey's bodyguard Rudo.

He is the traitorous Angel who created the eternal abyss for Ubica and Messor to burn in for all eternity.

This man introduces himself to Caesar and the crew by saying,

“Thanks fer havin' me on board. I've been dyin' to find this ship... The name's Abaddon.”

Pursuit on the Water: (END)

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