Voltiana

Inside the S-1 Mansion…

The day of the Batango party, Dachii checked his phone, noticing it was 11:00 am. As soon as he saw it, he immediately got up.

"Crap, don't tell me I'm late!" Dachii exclaimed.

He moved to get out of bed, but he found Aoki standing right next to him, dressed in casual attire.

"You're not," Aoki remarked. "It's still an hour before it starts."

Dachii jumped back, hitting his head on the way. "Where did you come from? How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," Aoki replied. "We should head over there now, shouldn't we?"

Dachii took in her outfit. "You were SERIOUS about coming?"

"Of course I was. Gather up the rabble and let's go."

She turned on her heel and left the room, leaving Dachii to get ready. "Ugh, I need to start locking this door, if there's even a way how."

In ten minutes, Dachii headed downstairs, where he found Marachii on the couch, playing with Fido.

"Who's a good boy?" Marachii said, scratching the dog's belly. "You've missed me, haven't you?"

"You don't plan on taking that dog with us, do you?" Dachii asked.

"Why not? I've got a leash for him." Marachii held up a black leash, and Fido sniffed it, curious.

"WOOF!"

Dachii just slapped his forehead. "We've already got an Aoki with us. Are you sure you'll be able to handle both her AND the dog?"

Marachii tapped his chin. "Good point, good point. Fido, I'll have to walk you later, okay?"

The dog whimpered before rubbing against Marachii's leg. "Yeah, I know, you love me."

Dachii checked the time on his phone. "Well, looks like it's about time to head out. Hey, you think if we leave now, we can ditch Aoki before she notices?"

"Is she really as bad as you make her out to be?" Marachii asked. "You guys speak of her like she's the devil, or something."

Dachii just sighed. "This is a girl who stabs herself for FUN."

"Well, okay then! No time like the present!"

Marachii got up, heading for the door, and Dachii followed him. Once the door opened, Dachii felt a tug on his pants, and he looked down to find Saori, dressed in royal clothing and staring up at him with an innocent look.

"Dachii? Marachii? Can I come? Please can I come?"

They both shared a look. "Well…"

As she continued looking at them, Marachii leaned to whisper to Dachii. "Is it a good idea to let her tag along? I didn't exactly sign up to babysit."

Saori continued to tug on Dachii's pants. "Well, heh, uh, you know…?"

"Pretty please?"

"Alright, fine," Dachii relented. "Maybe we'll get lucky and she can distract Aoki the entire time."

Saori jumped up and down. "Yay! I'm so excited! What kind of party is it? A pool party? A food party? A DANCE party?"

Dachii scratched his head. "A human party."

"Sounds fun!"

Just then, Akari, Hikari, and Luca came out of their rooms, heading to the kitchen to get food.

"Oh," Akari noticed. "You're all leaving now."

"Yep!" Saori stated. "Do you guys wanna come?"

They all shook their heads.

"I've had enough parties and games for a while," Hikari commented.

"I don't want to be around that sword-swinging witch," Akari remarked. "I hate her."

"I just want to bathe in the mud outside," Luca admitted, which caused Hikari and Akari to look at him. "What? It's fresh mud outside, since it just rained."

Akari shook her head. "Have fun, you guys."

And then she grabbed some water and disappeared into her room.

"Well," Marachii said. "I guess we should hit the road now."

The three opened the door and left, and as soon as they stepped foot outside the mansion, they saw Aoki, who was humming as she cleaned off her katana.

"Good, you're all ready," she said.

"The hell? Is there any way to get rid of you?" Dachii asked.

"You poor, poor, child," she laughed. "You'll understand, one day. It might take a few thousand years, in your case."

Dachii groaned. "Do you at least have any transportation? There's no way we're walking all the way from HERE to BATANGO."

Aoki began walking. "We're only in the outskirts of Asuka. Come, if we move at a rapid pace, we can get there within the hour—-"

She turned around, but Dachii already had Marachii and Saori on his back. "Screw that! Time to fly!"

He launched himself into the air, but he quickly lost control and crashed into a nearby building below. Aoki grabbed her face, shaking her head.

"The boy I've spent over a thousand years searching for…he's an idiot."

Dachii, Marachii, and Saori crawled out of the building, and Aoki stood in front of them. "So?"

"Walking it is," Dachii moaned.

And an hour and a half later, they finally made it to the gates of Batango, and Saori nearly fell over.

"Can we take a break?" she asked. "My legs hurt from all that walking!"

Aoki jabbed at Dachii. "Blame Dachii. He's the one who stopped to buy ice cream."

Dachii held two cones of chocolate ice cream in his hands. "Sorry about that. Here, Saori! Want one?"

"Yes, please!"

They approached the gate, and as soon as they did, they could hear loud music playing from beyond it.

"That's definitely a party," Marachii noted.

Once they got close, two guards stopped them. "Squad S-1? What business do you have here?"

"Step aside," Aoki demanded. "We're going in."

To Dachii's surprise, they did so immediately, shrugging. "What kind of security is this?"

Aoki rolled her eyes. "Did you think there would be tight security at a human event?"

She walked inside, and the others walked in as well. Once they did, they noticed the entire district was remodeled, well decorated, and had tons of stands, booths, and speakers set up everywhere. Humans dressed in fancy clothes were all over the place.

"Hold on," Aoki said, surprised. "Is this the right district? Are we lost?"

Marachii pointed to the sign, which read "Now entering Batango District."

"We aren't in Asuka or Shonora anymore, so," he remarked.

Aoki continued to look around, still in awe. Dachii came up to her and patted her on the shoulder. "So, are we still going to check out the place, or?"

She recomposed herself. "Obviously. Let's head further inside."

As she and Saori walked alongside Dachii and Marachii, a couple humans turned and gave them dirty looks, gossiping under their breath.

"What are THEY doing here?"

"Here to cause nothing but trouble, I'm sure."

"Look, they're with those two boys!"

They continued to get dirty looks as they kept walking the streets. Once they got a little further ahead, they found a group of humans crowding around, cheering.

"What's going on?" Marachii asked. "Is someone fighting?"

Dachii could hear a familiar voice in the center, and he began pushing through the crowd, only to find Morino standing on top of a building, holding up his axes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow humans, let's make this a party to remember! It's not often we get the chance to do special events like this, so go out there, eat tons of food, and have tons of fun!"

The crowd began to chant. "MORINO! MORINO! MORINO!"

Dachii sighed, laughing. "Oh, it's just Grandfather."

"Yep," a voice next to him said. "Back to his usual grandiose shenanigans."

Dachii turned and found his mother standing next to him, her arms folded. "Mom? When did you get here? I didn't know you'd attend!"

"Dear, I live here," Kia pointed out.

"That's…true..."

Marachii came through the crowd, noticing Kia and Morino. "Mom? Why is Grandfather on top of that roof?"

Kia turned and examined Marachii. "Son! You're back on your feet!"

She began to check his temperature, his skin, and his eyes. "Are you sure you're well enough to party? Do you have any fever? Any pain in your joints?"

"Mom," Marachii stated, embarrassed. "I'm fine."

Morino finished his speech and dropped down, landing next to his family. "Well, hello there! Seems to me we've got a family reunion here!"

Kia groaned.

Morino coughed, continuing. "You kids ready to live it up? There's a ton of stuff set up!"

"Hold on!" Kia interrupted. "Father, please do not take my children anywhere with any violence, drunk people, or any kind of illegal activity! And boys, make sure you both be responsible while you're out here."

"Okay, mom," they both replied.

"Good, now go have fun—-!"

She immediately stopped and tensed up once she saw Aoki and Saori move to the front of the crowd.

"Are we interrupting something?" Aoki asked.

"I see you've brought friends!" Morino remarked. "Nice to see you again, little Saori!"

She waved at him. "Hi, sir!"

Then he turned his attention to Aoki. "Ms. Amasani! You've been getting taller by the day, haven't you? First time I've seen you in such clothing, is your teenage mind finally getting to you?"

Aoki cringed at him and stared before stammering a reply. "No, uh…great to see you too, General."

Dachii looked between the two. "You guys KNOW each other?"

"Yes," Aoki muttered. "But he still doesn't seem to comprehend the fact that I'm over 22 times his age!"

Dachii patted her on the back. "It's probably because you don't look so old. If one ignores the attitude, you could very well pass for sixteen—-"

Aoki glared at him, and he shrugged.

Kia nearly passed out, and Morino had to keep her from erupting. "Kia, are you okay?"

"Dachii…no…you didn't…son…don't tell me…did you bring…this girl…as a DATE?"

"What?" Dachii blurted out. "Me? Come on, ME? Would I really be the type to do something like that, Mom?"

Kia folded her arms, giving Dachii a stern look. Aoki looked between them, trying to contain her laughter.

"Okay, okay! She's not, mom! She insisted on coming!" Dachii answered.

"And you LET her? And why did you bring the little girl with you? This party is for HUMANS only, right, Father?"

Morino gulped. "Well, yes, I did bring my Squad, however."

"YOU WHAT?"

Morino tossed up his hands. "I thought it'd be a good idea for them to experience the human culture, you know? Get them out of their shells!"

"We can get them out of their shells, alright," Kia growled. "Skin them alive, one by one!"

"Kia!"

Morino had to hold her back from approaching Aoki and Saori, but Aoki continued to chuckle, covering her mouth.

"Ha, she's funny. I like her."

Dachii grabbed her arm and dragged her away, with Marachii and Saori following. "Time to go!"

"Hey! You get away from my children, you crazy ass little—-!" Kia yelled.

The entire crowd was watching the scene now, and Saori waved back. "Bye, Sir Morino! Bye, Sir Morino's daughter!"

"I'll meet up with you kids later!" Morino called out. "Just let me calm your mother down first!"

"Let me GO!"

Once they were far enough away, Dachii looked back. "Okay, that should be enough distance between us for now. Hopefully Mom isn't too mad."

"Father, GET OFF ME! If she lays a finger on either one of my children, I swear she won't be able to pull that blade out of her—-!"

"KIA!"

"Nevermind," Dachii corrected. "She's going to be mad for a while."

Aoki wiped her face, still red from laughing. "What an interesting woman. I wonder if she can swing a blade?"

"No, no, no," Dachii interrupted. "You are not fighting our mother!"

"Hmph."

Saori pointed to a nearby line of food booths. "Woah, what's going on over there? Something smells amazing!"

"Food…" Aoki remarked. "Let's see what's cooking."

Once they got close, Dachii smelt the food, and his mouth immediately began to water. "Woah, what could THAT be?"

Each booth had a group of humans in it, each cooking items on a stove. One by one, Dachii went down the booth, sniffing, until he finally reached the last one, which had a familiar face.

"Tomoko?"

Once he heard his name called, Tomoko lifted his head, a spoon in hand.

"Dachii! Look what I'm cooking in the kitchen!"

—-