Still in the harbor, the group had done their preparations to finally leave for Transylvania.
The sun had long gone down, but just as the harbor was still full of life and light, so was the ship.
Ichiro: "So you know Tadashi Taketa?"
He says with a smile on his face, talking to Manu.
Manu: "Know? He trained me for a short time."
Ichiro: "So we both are apprentices to THE Tadashi Taketa. If I had known earlier, I would have voted for you to stay."
Manu: "And if I had known that they had the son of Takeshi Taketa, I wouldn't have attacked in the first place."
Henry: "And you are telling me you have an Awakening?"
Manu: "Yes, the speed awakening."
Henry: "That's cool, even though I don't know what mine is."
Manu: "Yeah, I've never seen or heard about your Awakening before; it seems like some type of energy Awakening."
Henry puts his arm around Manu's shoulders, laughing and enjoying his time with him and Ichiro.
Henry: "Oh man, I'm glad we took you in; you are great."
Manu can only laugh about it.
Manu: "I'm glad I'm here; you have to tell me why you are being hunted by the Border Baron, though."
Henry: "Funny story, Lenny stole a stone, something named Tears of the Forgotten or something, and yeah, that's pretty much it."
Manu spits out his drink in shock.
Manu: "WAIT WHAT?"
Henry becomes confused by Manu's reaction.
Manu: "The tear of the forgotten is on this ship?"
Henry: "Yup."
Manu looks at Henry in disbelief.
Manu: "Do you even know what it is?"
Ichiro: "I don't."
Manu chuckles in disbelief; he just realized the situation he put himself in.
Ichiro: "Is something wrong?"
Manu: "No, nothing's wrong; this is great. The Border-baron must be shitting in his vampire pants right now. "Him still breathing means that Dracula still doesn't know that it had appeared and that he lost it."
Henry: "Those vampires back in Eryndor said something about him desperately wanting it."
Manu: "Rumors say that his wife is sick and that the tear is the only thing that could save her; he even became the Count of Transylvania for her and killed the previous count."
Ichiro: "So Dracula really loves his wife, huh?"
Manu: "Those are just rumors; no one knows the true reason, but the Draculas and also Transylvania are all shady people, so nobody knows, and since their borders are closed, it's not easy to talk to them."
Emilia approaches the three of them from behind.
Emilia: "We are ready to set sail, everyone."
Henry: "Then let's get going and beat this guy up."
Jack and Lenny also appear from downstairs.
Jack: "Let's get going."
Ichiro nods.
…
While the group, now with the addition of Manu, is leaving the harbor to confront the Border-baron of Transylvania, someone else has finished the rebuilding of her residencies.
After the explosion and the fight between the group and Arashi, Mrs. Mitsunaga had instantly ordered the repairs of her property.
Sasha: "Repairs are as good as done, Mrs. Mitsunaga-sama."
Mrs. Mitsunaga: "Perfect, Sasha, thank you."
After Soshi's death, Mrs. Mitsunaga has personally selected Sasha as the new chief servant.
Sasha leaves Mrs. Mitsunaga's bureau while at the same time Hinata enters it.
Mrs. Mitsunaga: "Hinata, glad to see you."
Hinata: "You wanted to see me, Mrs. Mitsunaga-sama?"
Mrs. Mitsunaga: "I wanted to know how you and Arashi are doing."
Hinata: "Oh, he is doing great, still trying to find his place, you know."
Mrs. Mitsunaga: "And you?"
Hinata: "I am doing alright; it has been weird since those visitors came. First Arashi changed, then the explosion."
Mrs. Mitsunaga: "I saw something in the boy, the one that beat Arashi. I knew it would be interesting to have him here and meet Arashi. Who would have guessed that he would beat some sense into him?"
Hinata: "I am kind of grateful for that; it was hard for Arashi, fighting all that pain alone for years."
She says gratefully. After the fight between Arashi and Henry, M became worried about him, about what would become of him. But as the head of the Mitsunagas, she isn't able to check on him all the time.
That's why she gave this task to Arashi's sister, Hinata.
Hinata: "Thank you, Mrs. Mitsunaga-sama, for giving me and Arashi this new opportunity, another chance to redeem ourselves and bring pride upon the Mitsunaga's name."
Mrs. Mitsunaga stands up from her chair, walking to Hinata and hugging her.
She knew how hard it must have been for her, losing her mother and her brother, being alone for years, and still being forced to stay emotionally strong.
Mrs. Mitsunaga: "I am proud that you are part of this family, Hinata."
Hinata doesn't respond; all she does is let all her pain that she had stored for years in the form of tears out on Mrs. Mitsunaga's shoulders.
No words could have expressed how thankful Hinata is, and Mrs. Mitsunaga, being the smart woman she is, knew that.
That is why she pressed Hinata even tighter onto her, not letting go of her anytime soon.
Mrs. Mitsunaga: "You should be proud of yourself, Meyio, raising such strong children."
She says in her mind.
…
Behind the residencies of the Mitsunaga lies a large forest, full of green and wild animals.
There, Arashi Mitsunaga decided to spend some of his time as part of his rehabilitation program.
Part of that program was a new look, cutting his hair shorter and also wearing a shirt. Sitting on a large stone, he meditates to find his inner peace, or so he tries.
Being known as a monster for many years, Arashi never bothered trying to meditate before, but his lack of concentration is something he had way before being known as a monster.
He notices a sound coming from the bushes. Trying to see what it might be, he opens one of his eyes. A big, hairy, bear-like animal with sharp teeth and long arms then emerges from the bushes. Its red eyes locked on Arashi's scarred face.
But Arashi wouldn't even bother giving that wild animal any attention. He releases a small amount of his aura out of his body, which scares the wild animal and makes it retreat back into the forest.
Arashi: "Old me would have probably run after it, trying to fight it with bare hands. Who am I kidding? I want to do that too."
He says to himself after closing his eyes, trying to continue his meditation.
But no chance, he lost all concentration.
Arashi: "Shit, I can't leave that shitty forest, or else Hinata would be mad that I am not doing it correctly."
He gets off of the stone, trying to think of something to do so that time could pass by faster.