Suzuki stood in a training area as he began practising Kung Fu with a rotating metal dummy stand, attacking the metal dummy protrusions as they spun, and he blocked. He continued like this with little to no use of Cursed Energy as Maru walked up with a smile and asked, "Why are you not using Cursed Energy?"
"The body is important too."
Suzuki answered with this as he struck the metal protrusion, as it dented, and he stepped back with a smile, saying, "And if I use too much, I'll break it. Control is also important. It's necessary to know how to put in enough that you get the job done, but not enough to break something."
Suzuki looked to Maru and asked, "How about a sparring match?"
Maru looked to him and said, "Sure."
Suzuki sighed and said, "No Cursed Energy, though. It's important to build up our bodies as much as our Jujutsu."
Maru nodded, saying, "Alright."
The two got into their stances as they began exchanging blows, as Suzuki caught the side of Maru's face, and he was sent flying back.
Maru got up thinking, 'He has that much power even without Cursed Energy?!'
Maru rushed forward as the two began another exchange, only for Suzuki to knock his hand out of the way and land a blow to Maru's stomach.
Suzuki looked down at him and said, "It's good to meet you. You're Maru's brother, aren't you?"
[Maru]'s eyes widened as he asked, "How did you know?"
"Sorry, but I'm trained to be able to detect hostility. That's what I'm feeling from you."
Suzuki said this as [Maru] furrowed his brows and said, "We were sparring so..."
"A competitive look and a hostile one are different. There is a difference between determination and rage."
Suzuki said this as he leaned against a wall.
[Maru] got up and said, "My name is Cross."
"Cross huh? I'm sure I know why Maru is here, but what about you?"
Suzuki said this as Cross looked to him and asked, "Did you really think our two people could ever become neighbours?"
"Yes."
Suzuki answered this without hesitation.
Cross looked to him and asked, "Just how naive do you think we are? We're not all like Maru! I know your nation's history! You, who secured peace by obeying the path laid out by the great powers in the aftermath of your Second World War, are meant to understand us? Being born into a world where you don't have to worry about your own survival. The only condition for you to be born was the blessing of your parents. The rest were already taken care of by the planet you were born on."
Suzuki stood there, not interrupting. Just listening.
Cross continued saying, "You must've deemed us dangerous, filthy, and weak refugees! Being neighbours with your kind?! Fat fucking chance!"
Suzuki looked to him and asked, "Are you done?"
"Wha-?"
Cross started, and Suzuki then said, "The conditions of this world were made from the suffering of our people. You can separate people by blood or race as much as you want, but on this planet, all of us are humans. The ancestors of earthlings have killed each other, broken bread with each other, loved each other and betrayed each other."
"But you never experienced any of..."
Cross started saying this, but then Suzuki gave him a serious look and said, "My blood is tainted as some would call it."
Cross's eyes widened, and he asked, "What?"
Suzuki looked to him and said, "I'm a descendant of people who studied in the White Room. A place designed to create [Perfect] people. Their childhoods were stolen from them. In the end, when the news was revealed, everyone just ended up seeing them as monsters instead. They definitely were more efficient as people, but they showed a lack of empathy during many moments that not even years of therapy could erase. They were hated. Seen as people who could only steal from others, even though they had been stolen from the most."
Cross looked to him, shocked as Suzuki said, "I'm lucky to have Tsurugi and Yuka, but anyone who would know about my lineage would probably at least feel uneasy around me."
Cross looked to him and said, "Just because you were stolen from doesn't mean you have the right to steal from others. But I can see what you mean. Those who are stolen from are more likely to steal as well. That's the same with our people."
Suzuki sighed and said, "You don't get it, do you? People don't know of my lineage anymore. It's because my grandfather endured it for a little bit and made sure I wasn't exposed to the same things as me that I'm here now, able to make friends with people properly. People don't even notice that I'm..."
"That's because you act like an idiot. It's a facade."
Cross said this as Suzuki shook his head, saying, "That's not right. I really do get excited and impulsive at times."
Cross looked to Suzuki and said, "Again, you were given things too."
"My grandfather, who was a White Room student, died at the age of 60, you know. It wasn't caused by something terrifying, killing him or some disease. His body just... gave out. Those years he spent in that White Room caught up to him. His friend died even earlier than him at 55. Humans usually live for about 80 years at that point, you know. That place shaved off two decades from his life. My dad was so distraught that he buried himself in work. He's still overseas right now. I don't think he's able to look me in the eyes. Mom followed after him to keep an eye on him."
Suzuki said this as Cross started saying, "Why are you..."
Suzuki looked to him and said, "I'm telling you this cause I don't want you to go and say that I haven't had things stolen from me."
Cross sighed and said, "I'll acknowledge you then, but... aren't you a special case. What with your lineage?"
"Aren't you also a special case due to your lineage?"
Suzuki countered with this as Cross opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Suzuki looked to him and said, "Tsurugi and Yuka aren't that different from me, you know. They lost their grandparents, whom they loved so much. Even if it was to old age, those two people were still stolen from them by time. And if Hiyori-Sensei hadn't been studying for so long, then Yuka would likely have died from Brain Cancer any time soon."
Cross looked to him and said, "But those are a result of bad luck. The things we went through are man-made!"
"Isn't bad luck worse? If it's man-made, you can fix it with time. You can avoid it next time, and at the very least, you'll have someone that you can blame."
Suzuki said this as Cross thought, 'He's... right.'
Suzuki then said, "No matter how much you think you or your people are a special case, everyone is stolen from. As you said, that doesn't give people the right to steal from others."
Suzuki looked to him and said, "You don't have to steal from others. You can learn to live with them."
Cross then shouted, "Those words are cheap! You keep clamouring about co-existence. But what you really mean is live here without causing any trouble to earthlings. Right?"
"Isn't it natural not to cause trouble for other people? Conflict isn't ideal for either side of any conflict. The only reason people engage in it is what comes after the conflict. When both sides let those things fade away into the background, it becomes obvious not to fight."
Suzuki said this as Cross thought, 'He's coming up with sound and logical counters for everything I say. Why... why is it so frustrating?'
Cross then shouted, "How long do you expect our people to be treated as criminals until humans decide they are trustworthy? How long would we have to live under the fear of your people's whims? I refuse to be bound by such a poor, pathetic existence! So I'll steal!"
"Who will you steal from, and what will happen when they steal from someone else?"
Suzuki asked this as he said, "Continuing on like that. Submitting to something like that. In my mind, that's the truly pathetic existence. So Cross... shall we shatter that pathetic existence?"
Cross looked down as Suzuki sat down and asked, "Why don't you tell me all about how your people experienced being stolen from?"
Cross sat down and explained.
Suzuki looked to him and said, "I see. So that's how things turned out this way for you guys."
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Suzuki sat across from Usami and said, "That's their situation. At least from what Cross told me. Nothing is certain."
Usami nodded and said, "You did well. Thank you for your report."
Suzuki then asked, "So what's your stance on them? The Aliens, I mean."
Usami sighed and said, "I'd prefer peace."
Suzuki nodded, saying, "I agree with that."
Usami looked to him and said, "Things like that aren't easy, though. I'll have to rely on you, Yuka and Tsurugi some more."
Suzuki nodded and said, "That's fine. We have already decided to try to solve things. Let's arrange a meeting."
Usami nodded, saying, "Agreed."
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Jabaloma, Maru and Cross arrived as Usami sat in a seat, thinking, 'They were defeated in a duel and exiled. But their king. He isn't one of the defeated but the man who defeated them.'
Yuka stood there and asked, "But like, don't Kaliyans have a natural lifespan of their own? When a Kaliyan dies, Lumelian-"
Jabaloma cut her off, saying, "Kaliyans are immortal. They won't ever die unless they are murdered."
Suzuki looked to Jabaloma, thinking, 'Are Kaliyans recipients for their version of Cursed Energy? It could explain why they then don't attack them due to a mutualistic relationship between their species. Is that why Cursed Spirits aren't born on their planet?'
Yuka looked surprised, saying, "Ah."
Tsurugi sweated, saying, "I see why they were regarded as a divine creature."
Usami then said, "I believe a proper diner could not be more suited for a cultural exchange event, wouldn't you agree?"
Jabaloma nodded, saying, "I couldn't agree more. I'll let Maru and Cross deal with our side of preparations."
Usami turned to Yuka and Suzuki and asked, "Then... can I leave this to you two?"
Suzuki nodded and turned to Cross, asking, "Is Maru particularly picky? Does he have strange tastes?"
"No. Not at all."
Cross said this as Suzuki smiled and said, "Then I'll give you guys a meal you won't forget. Flour -based foods like the Takoyaki, Maru liked."
Maru looked ecstatic, shouting, "Like Takoyaki?! Cross, you're going to love this!"
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Suzuki, Maru, Tsurugi and Yuka stood in a hut as a man sat in front of them and asked, "How many tentacles does an octopus have?"
Tsurugi spoke up, saying, "It's eight, isn't it?"
Suzuki held his chin thinking, 'Wasn't there also some other weird kind of one?'
The man laughed and said, "This Octo-boy here only has one!"
He explained, saying, "They're called the [Sole-Tacle Gigatopus]! It's a mutated version of the local giant Pacific Octopus. While it does have eight tentacles at birth, seven of them degenerate with time. You know what that means, kiddo?"
Suzuki beamed, saying, "Oh, I've heard of those things! Never seen one, though."
Tsurugi looked annoyed, saying, "Could you cut to the chase, geezer?"
He answered himself, saying, "All the umami flavour that would normally be spread across eight tentacles combines into this one tentacle! The gourmetpus personified!"
He then said, "You'll see why these don't take it to public markets! But you guys are Sorcerers. Usami's Team, no less. You'll be fine."
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They all got near the water as Suzuki asked, "You can swim, right, Maru?"
Maru nodded, saying, "Yeah. I'll be fine."
Tsurugi dived under the water, but by the time he got back up with an Octopus, his face was swelling as Suzuki held in a laugh, thinking, 'Are there jellyfish down there?'
Maru then asked, "Tsurugi, is that you?"
Tsurugi confirmed, saying, "O'couwse!"
He sat down saying, "Pwise of cake."
Maru looked concerned, asking, "You sure about that?"
Tsurugi looked to Maru and said, "Alright, put your rashguard on and dive. The waters are pretty dangerous."
Maru smiled confidently, saying, "No need! A warrior like myself needs no armour!"
Tsurugi then asked, "Are you sure? There are Jellyfish down there."
Maru looked confused, asking, "Jellyfish?"
Maru got ready, saying, "Watch me catch a bigger octopus now!"
He jumped in, but when he came back up with an Octopus, he looked the same as Tsurugi.
Suzuki couldn't hold it in as he laughed out loud. Tsurugi grabbed his arms, and Maru grabbed his legs as Suzuki looked nervous, asking, "You guys? What are you doing?"
They lifted him up, swinging him and saying, "Heave ho!" and threw him into the water.
Suzuki dived into the water as his eyes gleamed and he swam down. When he came back out, the Octopus he was holding was clearly the largest as he smirked, saying, "While you two had to worry about getting stung, I reinforced myself with Cursed Energy and was able to focus on getting the biggest one."
They kicked him back into the water, saying, "Then go get another one."
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They all stood in the kitchen as Maru then asked, "Is Suzuki good at cooking? Usually, Lumelian women handle it. I'm not sure about here though..."
Yuka said, "If it's Suzuki handling it, everything will be delicious. Don't worry."
Suzuki brandished his knives and said, "Let's get started, Tomoe-San."
The lady sighed and said, "Takopa, right? Let's do it."
Suzuki began cutting the ingredients with speed that not even the most seasoned chefs could accomplish. The quality of the sliced pieces was high-quality as well. He paid close attention to the heat and prepared properly.
As Tsurugi reached out to touch something, he slapped his hand, saying, "Wash your hands."
Tsurugi grumbled as he washed his hands, and Suzuki used his other hand to stir the pot.
Yuka stared and said, "Suzuki really is too good at this."
Tomoe sighed and thought, 'He really is. He'll leave me in the dust at this point.'
Tomoe looked to him, and her eyes widened at what she saw.
She looked to him and said, "Wait... you're... not following the recipe."
Suzuki deadpanned and said, "Mine is better", as he finished and left it to heat.
When it was cooked, Yuka started bringing it out, saying, "Here you go! Sorry for the wait, everyone! About time our grand takoyaki party started."
Tomoe followed behind, saying, "Wait a moment, Yuka! You can't put Mochi there! I won't allow it! At least swap it with cheese!
Yuka then saw someone standing in front of them and said, "Oh. Dabura-san."
Tomoe and Dabura's eyes locked as she blushed and pulled Yuka back into the kitchen, asking, "Yuka! Is there something wrong with me?"
Yuka looked confused, asking, "What do you mean?"
"I'm wearing no makeup!"
She shouted this as Yuka said, "Your face makes it quite obvious."
Tomoe covered her face, shouting, "Gosh darn it! This ain't good!
Suzuki stood off to the side, chuckling mischievously, thinking, 'Well, isn't that an interesting development?'
Usami sat there and said, "Be careful as you eat. It's very hot."
They ate as Jabaloma looked so happy, saying, "This is delicious. Never in my life have i tasted something this delicious."
Suzuki looked smug, saying, "Well, it's all thanks to my culinary talents."
Yuka deadpanned, saying, "Tsurugi. This idiot is getting a big head. Smack some sense into him already."
"Do it yourself."
Tsurugi said this as they smiled, watching Dabura and the Lumelians enjoying the Takoyaki.
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The Lumelians stood there as an old man was crying from his third eye.
Oski then asked, "What happened to Old Man Boro?"
Boro looked up, saying, "Oski..."
Oski looked to him, thinking, 'His third eye is tearing up?' as he asked, "What's wrong?"
Boro then said, "We can't! They're too dangerous!"
Oski looked confused, saying, "Wha-?!"
Boro then said, "I saw it. Earthlings. The Japanese... I saw them brutally murder Kaliyans!"
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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