Chapter 116 - Meeting Of Four Parties

Hinohara, some random tea house.

"Jotaro."

Haneda Jotaro receives a casual greeting from his friend who is just joining him at his table.

"Masuo." Jotaro is pleased with his friend's arrival.

"So… Just us?" Masuo asks.

"Yeah. Others are too busy." Jotaro shrugs.

"Oh… Well. I shouldn't have showed too." Masuo chuckles.

"Hah." Jotaro simply smirks at the jab.

"What are we doing here in these backwoods anyway? I've never even heard of this place until today. And hiking? Really?" Masuo asks.

"Ugh. We haven't even started yet… you haven't even heard me out yet, and you're already complaining. Just go home if you want. I'll just do this alone." Jotaro scoffs.

"Hey. I'm already here… I was just saying." Masuo does not want to waste dressing up like a hiker.

"Anyway. I hate being cooped up in the airport. Your job isn't any better. What would we rather do?" Jotaro asks.

"True." Masuo shrugs.

"So. What are we doing here, really? I know you won't leave Ota just to hike."

"Okay… It started last week…" Jotaro starts recounting his week.

A minute later.

"So… Three six foreigners in a week, and you're saying they all somehow ended up here? In this village?" Masuo's skin tingles at the mystery.

"Who are they exactly?" He cannot wait to find out more.

"The first duo is actually over there. Just in time…" Jotaro points outside the tea house's window to two tall bearded gentlemen in their 40s, wearing casual suits, and are making their way to a dining establishment across the street.

"Huh… Southern Europeans?" Masuo asks.

"Nah. Northern Middle-easterners… maybe? Anyways. The one with the thick beard is Jamshid Shojaii and that one with the huge glasses is Heydar Yesil. They are from the Brotherhood of Adam Headquarters. I really can't find any information on them, or if those are even their real names, but they are special enough to have their travel request to the country approved in a single day while they were in Shanghai." Jotaro introduces.

"Headquarters huh… one day approval." Even though the information is incomplete, it contains enough to impress Masuo.

"Yeah." Jotaro nods and pulls out his phone, opens something in it, and passes it to Masuo.

"The next duo, is Samuel Little and Eliza Fowler - Little from Australia. Both B-Class superiori with Samuel being a high-tier one, and Eliza being low-tier."

"Don't tell me…" Masuo's eyes widen.

"Are they from THE Little and Fowler families?" He asks.

"They are." Jotaro confirms.

"Damn." Masuo is intimidated by the couple's status.

"And the last group. If I didn't know any better, I would have been fooled by their 'we are tourist' act. The siblings Reynante and Marites Tabal from the Philippines. Both were peak B-Class in their prime, but are now only at peak C-Class in strength. While they are not threats as superiori, they are wealthy and thanks to their father's connections, they have been seen with two S-Class Superiori." Jotaro introduces the final group.

"Okay… So… Possible High-ranking members of Brotherhood of Adam, a power couple, and power siblings… I don't think us two should be messing with them." Masuo says nervously.

"Did I say that we'll be messing with them? We'll just watch what they're up to. Even if we get caught, what will they do? They're not in their turf." Jotaro explains.

"Makes sense…" Masuo finds it logical.

"And in case we see something… lucrative, we'll report it to our clans immediately and claim credit." Jotaro says.

Masuo's eyes glisten at this.

"We'll just watch?" He asks to be certain.

"Yes! What are you so scared of? I should be the one being scared because I'm not as strong as you." Jotaro assures.

"Whatever. At first sight of trouble, I'm out." Masuo is not falling for Jotaro's words, but he is already invested in the matter.

"Of course. And don't leave me. Without your powers man, I can't run away." Jotaro scoffs.

"Alright." Masuo is assured.

"Jotaro-san… Chibana-san." The two are suddenly interrupted.

"Daigo?" Masuo is surprised to see a familiar face.

"You're working for Jotaro?" He asks, immediately finding the connection.

"Yes, Chibana-san." Daigo confirms.

"I need a pair of good ears… literally." Jotaro chuckles.

"Hey. What are you doing here? Did they suspect you?" he asks Daigo.

"They didn't. They simply sent me away." Daigo reports.

"Who sent you away?" Masuo asks.

"I had him replace the Mr. and Mrs. Little's tour guide and interpreter." Jotaro explains.

"Ah…" Masuo is enlightened.

"But why'd they send you away? Did they catch you?" Jotaro asks.

"I don't think so. What was weird though was, although they tried to hide it, they seemed very interested hearing some of the local rumors that I collected for them. After that, they thanked me and sent me away." Daigo reports.

"Huh…" Masuo ponders. "What rumors exactly?" He asks.

"There is this mysterious uhhh… massage master who recently retired and moved here six months ago. Him and his students would give the elders free massages around once or twice a month. I heard that the elders now have their backs straight thanks to that." Daigo starts.

"Do the Tabal siblings also know of this rumor?" Jotaro asks, hoping to find a connection.

"Yes. I actually found out about this while following the steps of their interpreters." Daigo nods.

"And here's the interesting part. Where the Littles and the Tabals have in common. The general direction of what or who the Littles are looking for? The general direction of the Filipino interpreters was asking about from the locals? That's where that massage master lives." He reveals.

"Which direction is that?" Jotaro asks.

"About southwest from here. On large hill around six kilometers away at a linear distance." Daigo reports.

"Huh…" Jotaro nods.

"It's safe to assume that the Jamshid and Heydar are heading the same direction." He figures, after observing the two the whole afternoon the previous day.

"Why haven't they made their move yet?" Masuo asks.

"Probably gathering intelligence. The Littles asked me earlier if there was someone they should watch out for. Probably the same with others." Daigo figures.

"Probably." Jotaro nods.

"But now that they know that there's no one, they're about to make a move. That's why they sent you away." He guesses.

"So… Let's go check the place out?" Masuo asks.

"Let's have bre-..." Jotaro is about to order when he spots something.

"It looks like The Brotherhood members are on the move." He points at Jamshid and Heydar who are leaving the restaurant across the street in a hurry.

Daigo, Jotaro, and Masuo then see the two foreigners take off the ground and fly towards somewhere.

<>

"Oh… Damn it." Reynante cannot help but grumble as he sees two figures fly past him in the air.

"Yeah…" Marites, being carried by Reynante frowns in agreement.

Before the two can register who the figures are, *whoosh* *whoosh* two more figures fly past them.

Reynante and Marites, agreeing not to get in conflict with anyone, simply watch as the figures ahead of them draw farther and farther away.

A few minutes later however, they spot the four figures that flew past them, have landed at the bottom of a hill.

"Are they… waiting for us?" Reynante utters in realization as he sees the four figures are looking at him and his sister.

"Looks like it. I fear we're all here for the same reason." Marites nods.

Reynante then stops flying forward.

"What do we do?" He asks.

"Let's go back?" Marites chuckles.

"Come on." Reynante scoffs.

"Let's go see. They wouldn't hurt old people like us, would they?" He asks.

"I hope not." Reynante can only sigh.

Soon, they are now with Jamshid, Heydar, Samuel, and Eliza.

"…" The six stare at each other, not knowing who should speak first. Although there is no hostility present, the tension out of apprehension is palpable.

"We're leaving first, kids. As you were." Marites breaks the silence and gestures to Reynante.

As the two are about to leave, "Wait a minute." Heydar calls out to them.

"Yes?" Reynante asks.

"Do you even know what it is that is in your possession?" Heydar asks.

"Will you tell us?" Reynante asks. 

"…" Heydar answers with silence.

"If you're not going to tell us, then we'll just go back to where we came from. We can always come here again." Reynante shrugs.

"If we tell you, will you hand it to us?" Samuel asks.

"No. We know where to get answers anyway. I won't be giving away an heirloom that was passed down hundreds of years that easily." Reynante overstates the amount of time his family had the wood chip.

"Well. Sir. How about we purchase it from you for a high price? Our… group has been collecting these for thousands of years now." Heydar cuts in.

"Hah!" Eliza snorts aloud.

"Is there something funny, miss?" Heydar asks.

Eliza is taken aback that Heydar is serious.

"Thousands of years? Excuse me?" She then scoffs.

"Our order has thousands of years of history." Heydar reveals his background.

"If you folks are powerful enough to keep what are in your hands, then you will recognize this." He then pulls out a small bronze token from his pocket and shows it to the group.

Jamshid, who has been quiet, also pulls out his.

"…" The Australians and the Filipinos instantly recognize the tokens.

"Brotherhood of Adam." Samuel grumbles.

"But how do we know if your tokens are real? How do we know if you're telling the truth?" He asks.

"You cannot with a hundred percent certainty, of course." Heydar says as him and Jamshid put their tokens back in their pockets.

"All I ask is that we don't get in each other's ways. In fact, it's best that we seek answers together peacefully." He proposes.

This tempts Reynante and Marites in staying.

"Alright." Samuel voices agreement.

"We're strangers in a foreign land, with a common mission. Might as well." He shrugs.

"Let's just leave. We'll come back someday." Reynante says to Marites in their native language.

"Are you sure, brother?" Marites asks.

"We don't know what they talked about before we got here. They might gang up on us." Reynante says.

"You're right." Marites nods, finding Reynante's worry valid. "Well then, gentlemen. Lady. We all wish you luck." She bids farewell to the others.

"Are you really leaving? You're so close." Eliza asks, confused by the two elderlies' behavior.

"Yes. Who knows what is hiding in that hill? We are not fighters." Reynante shrugs.

Suddenly, Jamshid leans towards Heydar and whispers something to his partner's ear. This immediately attracts attention from the others. As soon as Heydar nods, the four others get apprehensive. To their surprise however, Jamshid rushed out not to them, but to some bushes nearby.

A few moments later, "AHH!" "WAIT!" they hear three male voices scream from where Jamshid rushed to.

"What's happening?" Eliza asks in worry.

"We have some eavesdroppers." Heydar says, shocking the group.

Soon, the group see three figures walk out from the bushes and behind them is Jamshid forcing them to walk forward with his sharp blade.

"Don't you dare hurt us! Our clans know we're here!" Masuo threatens.

But because he cannot speak English, the Australians and the Filipinos do not understand him.

The man beside him however, surprises the group.

"Is that…" The group, except for Jamshid, is surprised to see Jotaro, the airport security officer who welcomed them to the country.

"Hello folks.. If you can all really tell me what you're doing in Japanese land?" He asks them, as if Jamshid's blade on his back is not a threat.