Imuhulk: Origins X [Chain/Hohotaro,SolomonxKing]

Quest:

Hohotaro wipes the sweat out of his face as he walks toward the facility to check on the Imuchakks he left there before the fight. They have won but it doesn't feel like a victory at all. He left Solomon standing quietly above the Imuchakk he beheaded. He knows how he feels, probably... well... maybe Hohotaro feels even worse. He now have the burden of so many deaths hanging on his shoulders. And for what? He have nothing to show for it. At the very least they completed the mission they've told the merchants guild; Saving the Imuchakks. But his curse is still nowhere close to being cured. He almost lost himself again earlier, but at least he managed to stop himself that's something new. Hohotaro laughs at himself thinking he only need to stab his leg to regain control.

Hohotaro wanted to honor the dead and bury all of them before going but he decided that the living is more important than the deceased. He reached the passageway down and meet with the Imuchakks waiting there. "It's ok now you're all safe..." Hohotaro leads the group outside and to the small ship the enemies used to reach the island. If Solomon is still standing on the mercenary ship Hohotaro will call out to him. "Hey Mon! Are you coming?"

219/500

Solomon knew that there was still more to do but he could not help but stand there over the corpses of many and think, think of if it was even worth saving the slaves with how many others died. He would notice when Hohotaro left but he would still stay to think as he knew when he saw the faces of the slaves and if there were too few of them he would think the journey a total waste, he did not wish to think that all these men and their leader died for nothing. It was not till Hohotaro would call for him later after grabbing the slaves that Solomon would turn away from the wreckage, he would call for Largo and he would come sprinting out from the darkness where he was left. As he came to Solomon he could feel that Largo’s fur was soaked when he laid a hand upon him to climb up, “Good boy” he would say rubbing him since he remained hidden, they would then head towards Hohotaro. As he came up to Hohotaro he would look at him knowing that neither of them had any clue what was happening to him, and they really had no way of finding out at this point unless they were to question the slaves if they even knew anything. Solomon knew that this trip would mostly likely be very quiet but also someone would have to take command as most of the slaves were not able body and the two of them would not be able to sail this vessel by themselves. “All able men stand up if you wish to get home!” Solomon would shout out looking at the slaves around them, “I’m not sure what skills that you men have but i’m sure you have the skill to make sure you and those you care about will not die...” He would pause to let it sink in; “If you do get this ship moving!!” he would yell at the end. It had seemed to motivate some of them enough to get them going, Solomon would then go to the captains’ quarters it was not till he was in and the door was close that he flipped the desk in anger against the wall as he yelled out. Largo who was almost glued to his side ended up moving to the other side of the room to keep distance when he yelled. If Hohotaro were to enter the room he would find him shortly after resting on Largo staring at the wall, “We will figure out what is going on here, and with you my friend... but we need to get stronger, so when we return I will need some time to train, I do not know what your plans are but I would need two weeks before I go anywhere.” He would say as he continued to stare forward, he would begin to think of what he could possibly to do get even stronger, or what spells he could possibly learn, he was disappointed in himself that he did not know that much which could have saved lives.

Word Count:524/500

After they board the ship Hohotaro hears Solomon barking orders to the Imuchakks they've saved. He felt relieved that Solomon decided to take the captain role, he doesn't have any motivation to do anything right now. He climbed the highest mast of the ship and settles himself inside the crows nest looking towards the horizon. He is trying to think of what to do from here. As much as possible he doesn't want to return to Imuchakk before figuring out his curse. He is like a ticking time bomb ready to explode taking anyone he loves with him.

Suddenly he felt a ringing inside his head and as if he can hear people talking.  Everything is a garbled mess, it was like listening to people whisper during a raging storm.

"....the...bait"

"....plan is....-tion"

"...standby....await fur-... orders"

"...prepare for...step"

The ringing in his head finally stopped, he feels like his head was being split open. He feels blood dripping from his nose and he wipes it off using his alread blood stained fur wristband. Hohotaro tries to make heads or tails to what he heard, but he can't seem to remember any details. At this time the boat is already adrift to the sea. He feels light headed from the rocking of the waves that he decided to go down and look for Solomon. As soon as he got down the mast he heard a loud crashing sound coming from the captain's quarters.

Hohotaro understands Solomon's frustration, he feels the exact same way. He enter the captains cabin and he see Solomon resting on Largo staring at the far wall. He can't read the exact expression on Solomon's face but he think it might be intense focus and determination. He asked Hohotaro what his plans were but he doesn't really have one. He's not the type of guy to make plans. He just do things out of impulse and that comes back and bite him more times than he can remember.

Hohotaro enters the cabin and leans on the wall right next to the door. "Well... we have to return to the Merchant's Guild to take the rewards..." Hohotaro paused a little realizing how insensitive that was talking about rewards in front of all the losses they incur. "Yeah... and then maybe take these guys back to Imuchakk." He points towards the door talking about the captive imuchakks they saved. "I might go back with them, I have nothing left for me out here and I miss my family." Hohotaro sighs, thinking of Kirara brings a smile to his face.

Hohotaro thought about what Solomon says on getting stronger. With his condition he feels that being stronger might not help him at all, in fact it might be detrimental for when he started to rampage again. He looks at Solomon with an encouraging smile. He looks back at Solomon and seeing that he's more tense than usual, and it kinda scares him. He tries to cheer Solomon up.

"Cheer up big guy! My grandpa always say that even in the darkest overcast you can see a silver lining! We saved a lot of people today, and that's good..." Hohotaro looks down and the smile fades from his face. "That's good enough..."

The rest of the journey was filled with deafening silence. Once they arrived at the bazaar they went straight to the Merchant's Guild. They got their rewards and the merchants asked them to take the Imuchakks out of their bazaar as soon as possible and gave them enough money to buy supplies for the trip back to Imuchakk and then some. It would take 2 more weeks to prepare for the voyage. Hohotaro and Solomon would part ways for now and meet up after the weeks are over.

500+/500