"Oof!" Yasei awoke with a start as he felt the weight on his stomach. He looked down to see a young girl lying across his large, now slightly aching belly and laughing. Yasei didn't care about the pain at all and started laughing as well before it was cut off by a loud yawn. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Ae you awake now, Otosan?" The little girl asked cheerfully, looking at Yasei's face with bright eyes and a wide smile. She looked nothing like the colorful Lion-Dog. She was human with black hair and black eyes, about ten years old. Still, Yasei looked at his adoptive daughter cheerfully, if not still a bit sleepily.

"I'm awake, I'm awake. Did you have to jump on my belly to wake me up?" Yasei asked before yawning again.

"You never wake up until I do! Okasan says you could sleep all day if no one woke you up." She answered as she slid off Yasei's stomach back onto the floor beside him.

Yasei sat up quickly and scooped her into his arms. He held her close to his face and laughed as he rubbed his fuzzy face against hers as she grumbled, squirming and trying in vain to push him away with her tiny arms.

"Maybe I just don't want to wake up without seeing my adorable Shuki-chan in the morning!"

"Otosan! Stop, you're gonna make me smell bad!" Shuki complained, though her voice didn't actually sound upset. Smothered in the soft pink fur, she was also smiling.

"Eh!? I smell bad!?" Yasei asked, shocked. He pulled Shuki away from his face and held her in his arms. He looked down at her with a distraught look on his face.

"Mhm, you smell like sake."

"Geh!" Yasei flinched.

"The sake Okasan said she was saving for guests."

Yasei looked away. Damn, how did this child always catch him? It was like she saw everything. She must be really sneaky. Maybe she'd grow up to be a ninja. Ah, he really wanted to see that, but he could wait. He wanted to spend as much time with her still his little girl as possible.

He looked back down at her with a nervous smile. "Y-you didn't tell Okasan, did you...?"

"Mhm." Shuki replied and Yasei's heart dropped and he felt a shiver down his spine. Then he heard a voice that was almost a growl from the doorway.

"Yasei...."

"H- Hana! My beautiful wife! It was an accident! I forgot that bottle was special, I'll buy a new one! It- I- Shuki, save m-!"

Yasei was cut off as a sandal flew directly into his face with a deep thunk. Wait, that wasn't right.

Yasei awoke with a start, his face hurting and a ball rolling to a stop on the sandy beach. He rubbed his face and looked around. The beach party was going on around him. It must have been a lot later in the day. A lot more people had arrived while he'd been taking his nap and now the party was in full swing.

Ah, that's right. He'd laid down under this umbrella for a nap. He'd just been dreaming. Or was it more accurate to say he'd been having a nightmare toward the end there? No, even if Hana was mad at him, seeing his family again was still a nice dream. But now he was awake.

Yasei stood up and stretched before reaching down and picking up the ball that had woken him up by hitting him in the face. Now, he wondered, just who had thrown it at him?

If they were being honest, Rhi’as Myrril and Eleanor Leistat - or, as they were colloquially known, Oriole and Andromeda - found it particularly funny that their teacher, Master Specter, the living shadow, bane of the crown and the unseen knife in the dark, was invited to some hoity-toity beach party being held by the queen.

They didn’t know much about their teacher’s personal life, so they had no idea why why he might get such an invitation. He didn’t tell them much about his past and they didn’t ask. Ever since Del had come along, he’d been a lot softer; more open with them. But there were still many mysteries the students weren’t privy to, and recent events had only made Cyran clam up on sharing anything with them. He was paranoid, guarded. He’d still not told them the details about Miss Del’s kidnapping attempt. But they’d pushed themselves harder than ever before, training well into the hours of the night until Oriole’s hands were covered in bruises and splinters from his quarterstaff and Andromeda had ripped every dummy to shreds with her blades.

They needed a break.

So both students were really damn happy when Master Cyran asked if they wanted to come with him to this event in the Crescent Isles.

Right now, the assassin in question was somewhere nearby, investigating tidepools with his now-fiancé. The two elves were still within sight of the students, where they could intervene if there was any trouble - but as of right now, Oriole and Andromeda had been left to their own devices, just left to relax. But relaxation was a foreign concept to the two students, who were used to constantly learning and training and working. So after a little while lingering around the snack table, they made their way to the sand, where a makeshift fishing net had been secured to poles to create some sort of divide for people to volley a ball back and forth.

It seemed as good a way to pass the time as any.

They tossed the ball back and forth for a bit, just keeping things casual (aside from the occasional hard spike from Andromeda right to Oriole’s face), almost having… fun.

At least, until Oriole accidentally hit the ball a little too hard and smashed it right into some poor partygoer’s face.

The ball hit him with an audible SMACK before it fell to the ground and rolled before either Oriole or Andromeda could stop it from happening. The man immediately startled awake, stretching to his fullest height to pick the ball up - and Oriole and Andromeda realized that if this guy was spiteful, then they were well and truly fucked.

As the brightly colored yokai scanned the beach, looking for the culprit, Andromeda let out a casual whistle before shoving Oriole in front of him. Oriole let out a startled yelp, catching himself before he could ram straight into the big fuzzy guy and make things even worse. Straightening, he whirled around and shot Andromeda a dirty look. Traitor! She’d just thrown him under the wagon!

Oh, well. He was already here, no taking back damage that had already been done. Oriole cleared his throat, nervous as he turned his attention to the big guy.

“Um, we’re sorry, sir. That’s our ball… we didn’t mean to hit you.” He mumbled, sheepish.

"Hm?" Yasei turned to the kid and looked down at him with an intimidating gaze, the giant Komainu towering over him. He looked him up and down, noticing the girl who was standing behind him as well. He reached a hand down toward the boy.

"Ah, that's okay! It's fine, it's fine! You actually helped me out. I probably would have slept through the whole party if you didn't wake me up!" Yasei laughed as he patted the kid on the head, a little harder than was comfortable, but not hard enough to cause any injury. The pads on his palms and fingertips softened the blows somewhat and he held back his strength as much as he could.

He wasn't entirely exaggerating. He really might have slept through the whole party despite all the sound of beachgoers enjoying themselves. It was a good thing he'd been woken up, though a ball to the face wasn't how he'd expected it.

He looked at the ball in his hand and glanced at the nets thrown over the poles before looking back to the pair of children curiously.

"What game are you playing? I've never seen it before." He asked and then remembered he should probably introduce himself. "Oh, right, my name is Yasei. Nice to meet you." 

Oriole swallowed as the Komainu stared down at him. Was this to be his end? Do be devoured by a beast of the Crescent Isles for disturbing his slumber, or slow cooked over a fire? He didn’t flinch as the furry, large man reached a hand out to him, but he did squeeze his eyes shut in anticipation.

Only to receive… a head pat?

Oh, wait a minute. This guy was actually really nice!

Oriole’s lips broke into a shy smile, the realization dawning on him that he’d actually run into what he could only describe as a big, pink, fuzzy friend! “Well… I guess I’m glad to have helped… it would be sad if you missed the party. It’s been really fun so far. Have you tried any of the food? It’s super nice, far nicer than anything I’ve gotten to eat before. Nobles may be stuffy, but they sure know how to eat-! I mean, oh, sorry for rambling.” He blushed, sheepish that he’d accidentally gone on for far too long.

But the big man didn’t seem to mind; in fact, he seemed pretty interested in what the other two were up to. Oriole brightened when he asked what they were up to.

“Oh, it’s a pretty traditional game where I’m from. We used to play it back in Zeinav. The idea is that you play on either side of the net and volley the ball back and forth, doing your best to keep it from hitting the ground while trying to get it to land on the other side of the net.“ the idea was that playing in the sand was meant to improve their balance in unstable ground; it was part of the reason he was so light on his feet.

“Nice to meet you, Yasei… I’m Oriole.” He said, remembering Master Cyran’s warning about giving his real name to strangers while amongst the royals.

“Andromeda.” The marksman grunted from the back.

“Do you… want to play with us?” Oriole asked nervously - Yasei seemed interested in the game, and it might be fun training to get to play with someone who looked so strong! “It’s usually played solo or in teams of two, but Andromeda and I could probably tag-team you if you wanted.”

Yasei chuckled at Oriole calling nobles stuffy. They sure did know how to eat though. Yasei lifted his nose up and sniffed the air, smelling all sorts of tasty foods. Meats cooking on grills, fruits being smashed down into smoothies, and fish being filleted and wrapped up with rice into perfect rolls of sushi. His mouth was already watering and his stomach growled after not eating anything all day while he'd been busy taking a nap.

"You got that right. It's fine, I haven't had any yet, but I'd better get some before all the good stuff is gone! Did you eat yet? Let's grab some food together and then we can play some of that game. It sounds like fun."

He kicked his wooden sandals off, into the sand beneath the umbrella he'd claimed, and ran over to the nearest buffet table where he loaded a plate with practically everything he could get his hands on. The food on his plate was piled pracariously high before he headed back over to his umbrella and sat down to eat.

"So, you're from Zeinav? That's real far." He asked between bites of spare ribs that were glazed with some sticky sauce with a hint of spice and sweetness. "I've never been there before. I heard it's real sandy." He slurped the meat out of a crab claw. "And hot."

Yasei ate a bit sloppily, almost shoveling food into his huge mouth, but that also meant he finished his meal quickly despite it being so large. When he finished, he thumped a fist on his chest and let out a loud burp that caused the seagulls eyeing his leftover scraps to fly off in fear and a few other partygoers turn their heads.

He stood up and stretched a little before smiling wide, a little bit of rib meat stuck in his teeth.

"Okay! I'm ready. I'm fine with me versus you two. Bring it on!"

Oriole had greatly underestimated how friendly Mister Yasei was. Rather than just being kind, he treated everyone he met like they were already old friends. It made the young thief feel a little more at ease; though it would take more than a friendly face to cure his stammer. “Um, I’ve already eaten, but I wouldn’t say no to more… oh, he’s already gone.”

Oriole turned to look at Andromeda, who only shrugged. The two waited for the man to return, plate laden with far more food than any one person should be able to eat by themselves.

Dear gods… he’s not going to eat all that by himself, is he?

The answer was, yes. He absolutely was.

“Erm, yeah, I’m from Zeinav.” Oriole replied, trying not to be too horrified by the gruesome display, but it was hard not to pay attention to the crab-massacre that was occurring. “And it’s not any more sandy than this, really.”

Andromeda, who’d mostly been watching silently this entire time, was promptly dissuaded from any notion she might’ve had to return to the buffet table for seconds.

It only took minutes for Yasei to finish what he’d started. Minutes for that plate to be reduced to nothing but crumbs, leaving Oriole and Andromeda wild-eyed, still somehow in disbelief. And then Yasei stood, as bright as ever, proclaiming that he was ready to start the game.

Did he seriously want to play… after all that?

Oriole opened his mouth, probably to insist that Yasei sit down after what he’d eaten, but Andromeda put her arm out to stop him. She raised her eyebrows, as if to convey, if he gets a stitch in his side, we can use that to win.

Oriole rolled his eyes but relented. Gods, she was incorrigibly competitive.

Andromeda grabbed the ball from the ground, holding it in both hands with cold fury blazing in her eyes and a smile growing on her lips. The most expressive she’d looked all day. “Alright. There’s no backing out of this now, old man. First team to fifteen points wins, got it?”

As they took their places on either side of the net, Andromeda scanned Yasei’s side, setting up for the first spike. He seemed pretty big, right? If that was the case, he probably wouldn’t be able to make it to the other side of the makeshift court in time to rescue the ball from the ground. She’d aim there.

With that in mind, Andromeda took a running sprint and leap into the air, before spiking with all her strength.

Yasei's friendly smile turned to a look of shock. Old man!? He's not that old! Andromeda didn't know it, but she'd unintentionally made Yasei decide to take this game much more seriously to teach this punk kid a lesson. His smile returned even wider, a new fire behind his eyes.

"Fifteen points. Got it." He said, his voice tinged with an ominous growl.

He took his position on his side of the net and waited for Andromeda to serve the ball. He'd gotten a quick summary of the rules from Oriole before, though his Common wasn't perfect. He didn't know what "volley" meant until he watched Andromeda throw the ball in the air and hit it with her palm. So that was volleying? Well, catching it would probably make the game too easy. Then they'd pretty much be playing a game of catch with a net between them, huh?

With surprising speed for his size, Yasei leapt from the other side of the court to intercept the spiked ball, smacking it high into the air. He then leapt up to hit the ball again, sending it down toward the sand like a tiny meteor. With a boom, it caused an explosion of sand that left a small crater with the ball in the center.

Yasei landed and laughed victoriously. "Haha, who's old now!?" He laughed, his arms folded in front of him.

He didn't realize at all that he'd accidentally smacked the ball right down onto his own side of the field, just in front of the net.

Andromeda’s eyes widened at the sudden shift in the tone of his voice, and the dangerous light in his eyes. Nevertheless, she served, ever-determined to win. She fought with the ferocity of someone who had something to prove, and that extended to casual games. She didn’t just want to win. She needed to win.

Unfortunately, she’d underestimated just who she’d challenged with those provoking words.

It wasn’t entirely inaccurate, in that moment, to say that Yasei hadn’t woken up when they hit him with the volleyball. No; as the komainu dashed after the volleyball, the two apprentices were hit with the sudden realization that he’d almost been slumbering the entire time. And in this moment, he’d truly come alive.

And they were both fucked.

What the hell kind of beast had they just challenged? Who exactly was Yasei? And had he pulverized that sand with enough heat and force to create glass in that crater?

Oriole could have fainted in that moment.

“Time out.” Andromeda called, holding her hands in the shape of a T before running over to grab Oriole and pulling him just out of earshot of the ferocious man. Speaking in a harsh whisper, she uttered, “Oriole. We have to destroy this man.”

“What? You saw what he can do, are you seriously stupid enough to provoke him?” Oriole hissed.

“Listen. Yasei is strong, so isn’t that all the more reason to beat him and prove to Master Specter that we’re stronger?”

“It’s just a game of volleyball!”

“Yeah.” Andromeda cackled, a smile that could only be described as menacing growing on her face. “A game we’re going to win.”

“How?” Oriole demanded, incredulous, but Andromeda had already started jogging away, making her way back to the court. “Andromeda, how?”

“Just follow my lead!”

Yeah, Oriole was pretty sure that Andromeda was going to get them killed. He decided to stick to the back while Andromeda cracked her knuckles, calling out to Yasei, “It landed on your side of the net, so that’s a point for us. Come on, your turn to serve.”

Yasei stood and waited for Andromeda and Oriole to finish their sudden time out talk. He crossed his arms and looked around as he waited. The conversation wasn't long, but by the time it was over, Yasei had already lost his patience and was now holding another plate of food, though this one was far less full of food than his last one. Man, these nobles really did know how to eat. He couldn't get enough of this stuff, but he made sure not to eat too much since he was playing a game. He tossed the plate to the side like a frisbee when Andromeda and Oriole finally finished their conversation and came back over.

"Eh?"

Yasei looked over to the crater he'd made and... Ah. Yeah, that was on his side of the net, wasn't it?

"Haha, oops! Okay. That'll be your last point though!" He shouted, pointing to Andromeda with a determined smile. He may have messed up his first volley, but he wouldn't do it again! Now the game was on! He picked up the ball from its crater and moved to the side before kicking some sand into the hole to fill it back in a little.

"Get ready now! I won't hold back this time!"

With that warning given, he tossed the ball into the air and hit it for an absolutely devastating spike aimed for the ground right in the center of the two kids' side of the court. Given his height, he didn't even have to jump into the air to send the ball over the net.

Oriole resisted the urge to smack his head when Andromeda corrected Yasei on how to play. What the hell was she doing, provoking him? He’d just wanted a nice, fun, casual game, and some time to unwind and have fun with friends, not to get the snot kicked out of them by a lion-dog and a monster at volleyball! Supposedly a bunch of heroes had been invited to this event - had they accidentally challenged one of those beasts? Oriole didn’t want to die at the ripe young age of twenty-seven because Andromeda’s dumb ass provoked someone stronger than them!

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it - Oriole didn’t have time to lament his poor fortune, because Yasei had finally figured out how the game worked, and he was determined to win.

Andromeda’s grin was almost feral when Yasei picked the ball up again. The assassin in training truly did have her eyes on the prize; beating the biggest and strongest here so she could prove herself to teacher. For her, right now, ball was life, and she was determined to be the one to live, somehow.

And then her entire world tilted on its axis as the volleyball hit her straight in the face with enough force to break her nose.

The sheer force of the blow sent her careening to the ground, hitting the sand with an audible SMACK, a light trickle of blood streaming down the side of her face. She stared at the clouds, dizzy, her brains spinning in her skull like they were being twirled in a vortex. She’d been effectively knocked down, but the ball was still in the air.

“Andromeda!” Oriole cried, glancing between his near-concussed friend and the ball hurtling downwards. She flashed him a weak thumbs up and a harsh glower, pointing towards the ball, as if to say, hit that thing or I’ll kill you. Oriole immediately dove for the ball, leaping into the air to try and smack it over to Yasei’s side of the net. It wasn’t the strongest hit, but he’d done his best to try and get them a point!

Even Yasei winced as Andromeda took the ball he'd served straight to the face and was left half buried in the sand. He might have hit the ball a little too hard, but still! How could he have expected her to actually block it, especially with her face! He had to applaud her dedication to winning, even if he considered her sacrifice to be in vain.

He'd said he wouldn't hold back anymore, but he decided maybe he should hold back just a little this time. Oriole sent the ball back over the net, but Yasei easily sent it right back with a (relatively) gentle smack. He also aimed for the ball to hit the sand on the opposite side of the court from Oriole, hoping the young boy wouldn't even try to take this one to the face like Andromeda had.

"Oy, is your sister alright?" Yasei shouted to Oriole as the ball arced through the air.

Oriole was nowhere as reckless as Andromeda; he knew when he was staring down an enemy he had no hope of beating. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to take a volleyball straight to the face! He jogged over to where Yasei had spiked the ball, mercifully softer than he had towards Oriole’s fellow student, but with enough force that it hit the sand before he could reach it.

… Yeah, that’s fine. I’m not killing myself over a silly game.

“Point to you.” Oriole huffed, bending over to pick up the ball. “You’re really talented, Mister Yasei. Are you a hero?”

He blinked at the sudden question.

“Oh, uh, Andromeda’s not my sister.” He said, turning to look at her. Andromeda was already pulling herself up to her feet, wiping the blood off her nose. “And she’s fine... I think.”

Andromeda spat a wad of blood on the sand.

“Our serve.” Her voice, a menacing growl.

Oriole grimaced. Oh, she was really going to get herself killed playing this stupid game. But the look on her face said she wasn’t about to be fucked with, so Oriole handed her the ball and let her serve. This time, Andromeda aimed it straight for Yasei’s face.

A little unsportsmanlike, but she’d been raised by the school of hard knocks. She wasn’t afraid of playing dirty to win.

Yasei laughed, a hearty, belly-shaking laugh.

"A hero!? Haha, no, I wouldn't call myself a hero. That's not something anyone should call themself anyways. Only other people should call you a hero! Gotta be real full of yourself to go around calling yourself a hero." Yasei chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes.

What a silly thing to ask. A hero. How could he ever think of himself as a hero? The only child who could call him a hero was already long gone.

"Oh, my bad! So your girlfriend then!" Yasei corrected himself.

He was a little surprised just how ready to continue the girl was. She was bleeding and might have a concussion judging from how hard that hit was, but here she was already starting to serve the ball again as if nothing happened. He could respect her spirit, but he was actually a little worried she might be pushing herself too much.

"Are you sure you're ok-" He started to say, but she'd already served the ball, directly at his face.

Fair enough. Yasei thought to himself as he stood still, not even attempting to move out of the way or block the ball. It hit him right in the face and bounced up into the air. Yasei didn't show any sign that it even hurt as he gave the ball a tap and sent it arcing back over the net toward Oriole.

Oh, no. Somehow, Oriole had made Mister Yasei sad. Though his tone was lighthearted, he was rubbing at his face like he didn’t want Oriole to see the misery the young thief had brought on with his question. But Oriole was no fool; he was all too aware of the cruelty that could be caused by words, intentional or not. Oriole didn’t know the man well enough to say whether or not he was actually a ‘hero’, though he knew the signs of someone noble when he saw them. The pure joviality and the goodness in his voice, and even though he possessed far more strength than the both of them, he was still holding back despite his competitive spirit.

“That sounds like something a hero would say.” Oriole pointed with a shrug. “But if you can’t say it about yourself, that’s fine. I’ll still call you one, Mister Yasei! You definitely look like one.”

… Was that the right thing to say? Oriole knew Jack all about comforting others. He didn’t have the same kindness or desire to help people that Master Cyran did, and he didn’t have the same drive and protectiveness as Miss Del. He wasn’t really sure he was even helping much, but poor Mister Yasei seemed so upset.

… Though anything else he might’ve said died in his throat as Yasei called Andromeda his girlfriend. His face immediately turned the shade of a fine cherry tomato, frantically shaking his head while waving his arms in the air to clear up this misconception.

“Oh, we’re not dating-“

“Pfft, are you kidding me? Him?” Andromeda scoffed as she picked herself up, barely clinging to consciousness - merely running on spite at this point.

“Ouch.” Oriole mumbled. “Um, no. We’re not dating. We’re just students together under the same teacher.”

“Ha! Like I’d ever date him.”

The insult was so devastating that Oriole whipped around to stare at her, missing the ball hurtling at him entirely. It smacked him straight in the back and fell to the sand.

“… Shit.”

Ugh, he was not doing well this game. Oriole shook his hand and picked up the ball, flipping Andromeda a rather unkind finger as he went to spike -

And hit the net.

Oriole resisted the urge to bury himself and let the tides carry him away.

Instead, he moved to the side as Andromeda, still bleeding from her nose, grabbed the ball and sent another volley over the net, and the game began again.

"Hah!?"

Yasei was dumbfounded. What did he mean he looked like a hero? What about him looked heroic? He's fat and old with pink hair and a mouth full of fangs. Who would think of that as a hero? What about him was heroic right now?

"What are you talking about? Are you just calling me that because I'm strong?" He asked, his smile gone again and his eyebrows furrowed. "That has nothing to do with being a hero!"

Yasei's mood didn't even improve as he listened to Oriole and Andromeda deny being a couple. It would have been a funny display if he wasn't so upset right now. He didn't even care enough now to ask if Oriole spiking the ball onto his own side of the net counted as a point for him. As Andromeda volleyed the ball over to him again, he looked at Oriole.

"Listen. The moment I save your life, then you can call me whatever you want. But until then-" He spoke in a voice that almost a growl before hitting the ball up higher into the air and jumping behind it. "Cut it out!" He yelled as he spiked the ball straight at the ground in front of Oriole with the force of a cannonball.