YOSUKE SHIN
"Welcome to our building," she said and bowed to us. I could understand the whole respect thing, but it was almost annoying.
"Hey, it's fine. We're here just to talk with the head of the village," I said calmly, with a friendly tone.
She straightened up, her crimson eyes locking on mine. "Let me get you to him," she said.
I broke eye contact almost immediately. She had blonde hair and crimson-red eyes. The uniform she wore—a black-and-white shirt with black pants—gave her a composed but striking look. She was… handsome, but I could tell she was blushing.
After walking up the stairs and down a couple of pathways, we finally arrived. We had reached the room of the head of Yoshi village.
"I will leave you here," she said.
"Thank you for your time," I replied with a smile. She glanced back, smiled softly, and turned away. Her hair waved gently as she left us.
I knocked on the door. A voice from inside answered, and I opened it.
We entered. A man sat in a chair, sunlight streaming through the window behind him, lighting his curly black hair and dark eyes.
Jiro closed the door. The man gestured. "Please, sirs, sit down."
We both sat in the only two chairs available. After introducing ourselves, he said, "My name is Atsushi Tsukasa."
"So, young fellas. What's the reason this conversation's happening?" he asked.
I explained the situation with Taro's village.
"No," he said flatly.
"Why?" I asked.
"I don't have anything to gain from that," he replied.
At first I thought he was right, but then something clicked in my head.
"You have, actually," I said confidently.
"And what is that exactly?" he asked.
I leaned forward. "I told you what happened in the Yasu village. What if he suddenly decided to raid your home? If you had another village as an ally, you could turn the tables and beat the Sora village."
"I have to admit, that's a good reason, but it's still not enough," he said.
"If you accept my suggestion, you also get us," I replied.
"And what will I gain from you?" he asked.
"You have an army, right? Bring them all. We could beat them," I said.
"I like your confidence, kid, but you stand no chance in hell," he said.
I stared directly into his eyes. "You think I'm joking?"
He smirked. "Okay. I will accept under one condition."
My smile widened immediately.
"Like Sora village, I have a personal army. It's not comparable to their level, but it's still very strong. If the two of you can beat two of mine, then I will accept your offer," he said.
"Okay. Where are they?" I asked.
He looked regretful. "Yesterday they left for a mission, but in around a week—or a bit more—they will return here."
"Okay then. Please give us a room to stay," I said calmly.
"Okay, kid. When you leave the office, ask the lady out front for two rooms. She will guide you to them," he said.
"Okay. Thank you, sir," I said proudly.
We left the office and walked back through the pathways to the entrance hall. She was there, standing on top of the stairs.
I approached her and told her the orders Atsushi gave us.
After that, she guided us to our rooms. Mine was opposite Jiro's.
Finally, we both sat in our rooms to relax.
After some minutes, I began to hear faint sounds. A voice, but I couldn't tell who it belonged to or what it was saying.
I ignored it and tried to relax.
Some minutes later, there was a knock on my door.
I stood up, walked to the door—but I didn't know who it was.