Chapter Text
Zaban city was bustling with an abundance of people, tourists, and merchants selling different kinds of items and weird peculiar food here and there. Scam artists hollered for any unsuspecting victims, selling elaborate and shady items that people would fancy.
A young adolescent child in particular kept looking discretely around their surroundings, fascinated at everything that caught their interest. Black round shades covered their eyes hiding any discernable emotion.
They wore an oversized blue and black high collared jacket, dark blue pants that was wrapped in bandages on the lower half of their calves and tucked in an open-toed sandals. On their right thigh was a small black pouch. And on their left biceps is a hitai-ate, engraved at the center is what appears to be a swirly leaf.
They were carrying a large scroll behind their back, both ends were slightly sticking out to the sides of their waist.
All in all, the child looked quite foreign but not enough to look out of place with the plethora of tourists visiting the city. They continued their subtle but fascinated glances as they followed a local and ordinary looking middle-aged man.
The two entered a small and unassuming restaurant. The aroma of cooked meat wafted over, almost making the younger one salivate while the other asked for the back room. The man exchanged words with the chef before the two individuals went deeper in the establishment.
They passed by another man on their way. The two men briefly made eye contact. Their subtle glance wasn't missed by the other man's younger companion as they were already busy staring at the startling bright red eyes of the passerby. The child took a slow deep breathe, calming themselves and continued to follow their guide. Their steps barely slowed down.
When they came in front a small room with a round table and a few chairs inside, the child turned to their escort and bowed.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Their speech was muffled by their high-collared jacket, making it hard to discern the gender of the child, but was still understandable.
"Are you really gonna be okay by yourself? You're a good kid, so try not to die in there, a'right? I'd even be your Navigator next year... They seem to get younger every year." The stoic man offered, his eyes showing a tinge of concern.
The child nodded.
"Don't worry and thank you for the offer. I'll try my best, I'm strong even with my age and 'condition' as you have attested." The child politely answered with detachment.
The man stared for a few seconds and relented with a shrug. "'Strong' ain't enough to cut it, kid, you gotta need to be a monster to survive in there. But who am I to stop you." He turned back and waved.
"Till we cross paths again."
The door closed, the child flinched when the whole room whirred. They concluded that the room was most likely taking them somewhere judging by the movement they can feel through their feet. They moved to one of the corners in the elevator, not liking to be a potential target at the center. Their body stilled and ready for attack.
The lighted numbers above continued to count upwards indicating that they were still moving. The movement indicated that they were going downwards.
Their blank face started recalling the events that lead to their 'misplacement'. Only their clasped hands, clenching and unclenching, showed their anxiety rolling in waves inside them.