18. Changes
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Nina laughed as we walked through the ship’s interior. “Somebody’s in a good mood,” she teased. We were heading towards the upper decks to check in with Robin. I needed to convince them to give me an assignment too. I had promised to do some work during the ride, and I didn’t want to take advantage of them.

“That’s your fault,” I responded in a singsong tone. I mean, who wouldn’t feel better after a personal pampering session? My tail was soft and silky again, and I never realized how nice it felt until now. After that, she’d tamed my wild strands of hair, pulling them back into the long pink twintails I had been getting used to. 

“My bad, sis.” she grinned. “In my defense, you did growl at me.” 

Ok, so I may have growled at my sister once the brushing stopped, and I may have grabbed at her arm in an effort to return the pleasant sensations in my head. I knew I was acting like a spoiled brat, but I didn’t care enough to be a ‘mature adult.’

Nina sighed theatrically. “Aww, too bad… and I was really looking forward to brushing your hair again…”

My ears perked up, and I felt my tail begin to move on its own. Again. Well, at least I was aware of it this time. That didn’t mean it wasn’t embarrassing though. There must have been a full blush on my face as I fidgeted, trying to hide the emotions my new anatomy was eager to display. That must have been the reaction Nina was looking for, because she doubled over in laughter. “Goddess, you’re such a kid!” she said in between breaths.

“That’s because everyone has been treating me like one,” I grumbled, covering my ears with my hands. I pushed past her, heading up the stairway leading to the ship’s deck as fast as I could. Which wasn’t all that fast, given that I was still recovering from my impromptu blood magic stunt.

“Heh, you’re even cuter when you’re embarrassed!” Nina giggled, running after me.

I made a vague noise of disagreement as I stepped onto the deck, squinting as my eyes adjusted to the influx of light from the sun.

To say the ship was impressive would be an understatement. It seemed to be about medium-sized, relying on a singular large sail rigged on its central mast. A crow’s nest sat at the tip, where a crewmate was scanning the ocean on the opposite side of the ship to me. I spotted Kei laying on the rigging nearer to us, arms behind her head, watching the ocean as the ship cut through it. She looked down at us, giving a smile and a wave, but nothing more.

The deck was made from the same lighter-colored wood as the hull, divided into two platforms, the one at the back having a set of stairs leading up to it. Robin stood atop it at helm’s wheel, making small adjustments every now and again to keep the ship on course.

The lower deck was the busiest. Various crates and barrels had been piled into neat stacks and were secured by a thick netting. The remainder were in use, either by storing various seafaring equipment, or set up as makeshift tables and stools for the sailors taking a break. Most of them, however, were currently washing down the deck, sloshing seemingly never-ending buckets of water onto the floor that others were diligently mopping up. Alec was among them, awkwardly dragging around a mop that was taller than he was.

While seeing a full-scale ship in motion was interesting, the view from the lower deck was stunning. The water was a deep, shimmering blue that put the slightly murky waters of Utau Kyookoku to shame. It stretched infinitely outwards, and my imagination began to run wild at what else could be out there. And that salty ocean breeze, and the gentle crashing of waves against the ship? It was sensory overload.

“This is… amazing,” I gasped.

“Yeah, the oceans of your world have nothing on this,” Nina beamed. “Come on, let’s not keep the captain waiting.”

I reluctantly pulled myself away from the view, heading up the stairs to the helm.

“There ya’ are, kid,” Robin greeted. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better,” I answered. “I’m sorry for worrying you! Thank you for taking care of me. What happened after I passed out?”

“Well, Jasper finally got what was coming for him, for one,” they said. “Town guard took him in, but they had a hell of a time thawing your ice magic. Me and the crew figured it was best to get you out of town as soon as we could, so we shipped out that night.”

My stunt had cost the crew a night of sleep? That only made me feel extra guilty. “Oh, you really didn't have to do that," I apologized. "But, thanks for looking out for me." 

“Don’t mention it, kid. But I’ve gotta ask, what’d a cute thing like you do to piss off Jasper?”

“I… uh…” Wait, what did I do? It was something to do with the anti-cheat guards, right? Why couldn’t I remember?

Thankfully, Nina rescued me from my sudden lapse in memory, though it seemed like she was struggling with the details as well. “She’s actually from- er, not from this world. Those dumb guards treat her like a virus, and they’ve been chasing us ever since. I’m hoping Amateratsu can help with her situation, which is why we needed passage on your ship to Kin no Kaigan.”

The captain looked at me thoughtfully, as if gauging the validity of my sister’s claim. “That dumb program has been chasing you the whole time?” They said with a tone of disbelief. “Ugh, as if there weren’t enough reasons to hate those machines.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in. “You believe us?” I asked.

“Crazier things have happened, kid. Plus, it’d explain the ships tailing us.”

“Huh?” 

“They’ve been staying just out of sight for most of the trip. Don’t worry, I have a plan to lose them once we get closer to shore.”

“We really should have explained all this to you the first time we met,” Nina told them. “Sorry for dragging you into this.”

“Nah, it’s alright. If anything, I owe you for getting Jasper kicked out of the merchant fleet.” A sly smile emerged on the cat enby’s face. “Plus, I’ll take any chance I can get to mess with those anti-cheat guards.”

“However,” they continued, “that doesn’t mean you get a free ride. A bit of light work should help get your blood moving again. What kinda skills ya got, kid?”

“I can, uh… ” huh. What can I do? Nina usually took care of the housework, so I actually haven’t picked up on too much yet.

Nina answered for me, saving me from my inability to speak yet again. “She’s a natural cook. When we were travelling with Kriffin, she made a meal out of ember powder and vegetables.”

“I just copied what you do at home,” I countered. “And it didn’t even turn out right! You make curry for me all the time, remember?” It was my favorite dish, especially when we got fresh meat from the marketplace. I begged her to make it for me practically every week. In fact, she made it so much that Kriffin always started saving a bottle of ember powder for us each time he was in town.

Nina tilted her head in confusion. “What are you talking about? I haven’t cooked at all this week.”

“No, not this week! Like every week before-” Wait.

That was strange. It's only been four days, right? I’d tried to make curry since the ember powder reminded me of it, but the whole thing ended up as a soup. Or at least, that’s how one version of it went in my head. Yet, there was an equally detailed set of memories that begged to differ.

“Yeah, you’re right, I think.” I said. “I don’t know why I remember that,”

Nina shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. “For some reason, I remember cooking for you too. We’ve never lived together though, right?”

The whole thing was giving me a headache. The events of this week were all jumbled in my head, being a mishmash of two realities. In one, I was apparently a shut-in college student brought here because of an unfinished spell Nina cast. She took it upon herself to get me to Amateratsu so I could get back to my world. I’d lost most of my memories, save what I knew about this game and my best friend. 

Another group of memories told a different story. I was an alt character for Nina’s player, which made us sisters as far as either of us were concerned. Nina fawned over me like a protective mother, as did many of her guildmates. Kei had happened upon Alec while selling the guild’s loot to Kriffin, and had asked us to help get him to Kin no Kaigan. 

Nina sent a worried look in my direction. “You don’t sound too confident. What’s on your mind, sis?”

“It’s nothing,” I blurted out.

A look of doubt briefly flashed across my sister’s face, which immediately made me feel a little guilty for lying.  “If you say so…” she mumbled. She stared at me for a bit, which seemed to frustrate her even more. Then she sighed, turning back to the captain. “I’m going to take inventory of the supplies,” she said, before turning to go back beneath the deck.

“I, uh...” I stammered. I wanted to stop her, but the words caught in my throat. 

“Let her go, kid.” Robin said. “She’s probably just confused with all those new memories of you. Honestly, you don’t look too confident either.”

“But…”

  “You two will work it out, just give it some time.”

“I guess…” I replied. I still felt guilty, like I said something I shouldn’t have.

“Don’t overthink it, Sylvia. Why don’t ya go help out in the kitchen? If you’re still up for it, that is. Maybe it’ll take your mind off all the weird things going on in that head of yours.”

“Ok.” Robin was probably right. I really needed a distraction right now.

Sylvie's back! Sorry for the sudden drop-off. Got hit pretty hard with writer's block, and then school started back up, so I've been losing a lot of my writing time to my classes (and video games, oops). Updates are gonna be pretty sporadic for now, but I'm gonna try to be better about updating more. Thank you for your understanding!

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