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“Let me stop you right there.” Arsene interrupted, and held up three fingers. “One: Arsene the insane, Arsene the crazy, Arsene the fool. At this point, unhinged is an accomplishment.”

…Is that supposed to be reassuring…?

Arsene’s idea of logic was as steady as a canoe in a tsunami, but Alessio just wanted to not die right now.

“Second: I’m the one who slipped our shares into your pocket. I did it all without a warrant, so shame on me.” He continued and Alessio wasn’t sure whether he was more disconcerted by the fact that Arsene thought that was reassuring or that he actually did feel slightly reassured. It was pathetic, but so was Alessio’s existence.

He still didn’t trust Arsene, he still felt it all too vividly to calm down. Maybe Arsene just wanted a pet, that was what the robber wanted from him?

Alessio couldn’t think straight at all. However suspicious he was he was just dizzy with relief that he’d escaped being whipped or beaten or held in isolation for this. Numbly, he fingered the wrinkles of the blanket, grateful for the warmth, trying to will his heartrate to slow.

“Third:” Arsene said, pulling out a curious card with a red A and matching hearts. “I’m going to announce that Arsene Lupin is on this ship and is after the safe.”

“That’s a joke right?” It wasn’t a joke. “Why would you do that?”

“Why not?” Arsene said, scribbling on the card in his hand.

“I don’t know, because it’s stupid.” Alessio answered, not completely grounded in the present yet. He furrowed his brow, trying to process too at once. Then abruptly it registered.

“You can’t seriously think…of course you can…you can’t seriously think at all” he blurted “The devil you’re still after that stupid safe, that’s a joke?”

It had to be a trick right. A distraction.

Arsene spun around in his in chair with a wicked grin

“I’ve already lost the element of surprise.” He said “Besides, where’s the fun in sneaking around?”

“Surviving?”

“I’m going for the safe.” Arsene announced. If Alessio hadn’t been in shock he would’ve tried to stop him, but he was already climbing another vent.

“Hey!” Alessio shouted after him “I’m still going to stop you!”

Arsene was already out of sight and there was nothing capable of getting Alessio to follow. Which didn’t improve his mood. But he still kept social distance from the vent like it had Covid. For a long second he glared at the opening, and sighed.

“I just want to know how you escaped the insane asylum,” He grumbled, loudly at the hole. “that way when we inevitably both land there I can implement that strategy…”

The vent didn’t answer.

Alessio considered hurling the blanket Arsene had more or less given him on the floor in frustration but…it was warm. And he was starved for any gesture of kindness so he neatly folded it with a very miffed expression and dropped it on the foot of the bed.

It’d do no good to try and beat him to the safe since he didn’t know where it was. And Arsene had already alerted everyone besides which he’d very nearly been killed last time he tried to do that. So…he’d need to stop Arsene when he came back. Aaaaand that would mean finding his bow which Arsene conveniently dropped when he dragged him unconscious to wherever he was now!?

His hands were still shaking.

He wondered where Nithel was, if he was safe at least. Part of him was irrationally anxious, like he might completely lose any friendship he might’ve had if Nithel wasn’t near. It was a stupid thought, he knew it was.

Where even were they…?

Suddenly, Alessio’s ears pricked at an imperceptibly noise, or shadow, or something. His sixth sense was telling him someone was there.

“Did you forget something,” Alessio asked over his shoulder “like a brai-?”

Air rushed against him as he reflexively ducked before his mind even caught up to the action. A steel hand grappled his wrist, yanking him backward. Alessio twisted his hand free, using his attacker’s arm to leverage a sharp kick at his face.

The man caught his foot.

Next thing he knew he was hurtling into the floor and he rolled to a crouch, to find the tip of his enemy’s blade between his eyes.

“Meet me on the top deck of the ship.” The man said “Come alone and come armed. If you alert anyone, Arsene Lupin will be dead before morning. Understood?”

Alessio froze, holding his breath. The point of the stranger’s katana was a hairbreadth away from his face touching a curl tossed over his eyebrow. For two seconds everything was still, like time was paralyzed.

Then the man vanished out the window like a lost shadow.

Alessio exhaled, stifling a shuddering sensation through his spine.

“What kind of idiot jumps out a window on a boat?” He called out, almost in a whisper, a lot softer than he meant to. “You know there’s only water outside?”

He didn’t like Arsene at all…mostly…sorta…But he didn’t want to see him die. He didn’t want to be responsible for his death like…Don’t. Images rush like nausea, a bloody red mess, screaming and begging until he was hoarse, but nobody saved them. If he’d been smart, he would’ve found a way to save them, but he wasn’t. He was just a scared kid unable to stop the hell breaking through.

Maybe it was guilt that motivated him to compulsively “save” people. Like that would make up for it all…

Alessio swallowed hard, wanting to kill every thought that brought him back to that day. But it wasn’t doing anything. He wanted to get away from it, he just didn’t want it to ever be possible again. No one should ever get close to him, he couldn’t be responsible for another person’s death.

‘Eaziziun Wahid, even if you had murdered someone, I would not leave you.’

It wasn’t his fault!?

He didn’t know.

Rules to staying alive and playing the game:

Rule 1. Play by the rules and you’re worse than dead.

Alessio slipped through the hull of the ship, mind rerunning every single word the man said. Leverage: Arsene’s life, that meant the villain had been spying them up and had a fair degree of knowledge about their motives. Carrying out a threat like that is a last resort if they don’t have some other leverage to use afterward.

Rule 2. Know what makes them weak, take what makes them strong.

Severe liability that he knew nothing about his attacker.

But not entirely true. He knew the man was unusually tall, had brute strength on his side and used a katana to fight. He also knew the man had been holding back his attacks; he wanted Alessio alive and he wanted to take him out quietly.

His mind was puzzling hard over two things in particular though; he said come armed, and meet him at the top deck of the ship.

Seemed crazy, most villain’s would say unarmed; maybe he was a mad thrillseeking maniac. Can’t be personal vendetta since Alessio’s only been in the world for all of maybe a day. He was great at making enemies but he didn’t think he was that great at it.

Maybe he had a power was the stronger from other people’s attacks…

And top deck of the ship. Seemed incongruous with the sneaking around approach. Top deck would be pretty public unless the stranger found a way to clear the area…which would be something to obverse how if he did.

Rule 3. Know your assets, bluff out of your liabilities.

Arsene was literate, unlike most of the population in Casumbra, and that would make communication easier.

Alessio was quick, he wasn’t incredibly strong but he was skilled. So he wouldn’t need to use a weapon necessarily in a fight. That might come in handy.

It didn’t seem like he had much else on his side, he knew nothing about this world and didn’t have anything or anyone he could turn to. If he could relocate his bow that’d be great. And his knife…Arsene disintegrated it.

My brother gave me that knife…

And his bow. It was custom-designed to look like his hero’s weapon; red-feathered bow of the legendary Thayer the vigilante. When he was nine, and still believed heroes saved people.

Rule 4. Help won’t save you even if it comes.

That was a proven rule for Alessio. Not that help ever came anyway. No matter how much you believed it would.

No one saves you. You have to save yourself.

Alessio relocated the broken vent Arsene dragged him through and, predictably, his bow was still there. Actually he was somewhat surprised no one had nabbed by then but grateful nonetheless.

What else did he have…?

A blanket?

Rule 5. Play by the rules until you don’t, and they’ll never expect it…

 

In an hour Alessio had arranged…something.

He’d recovered the blanket and drenched it in cooking oil, and while he was in the kitchen he stole a bag of flour (apologizing awkwardly under his breath every time he took something. But that didn’t stop him from stealing breakfast…or lunch…or whatever meal it was now…).

The flour wouldn’t be any good unless he managed to reach an abandoned hall.

The blanket was debatable.

The box of matches in his pocket were essential.

Lastly, he wrote a brief note to Arsene, something very passive-aggressive like:

If you happen to have the time to spare from grand larceny, it might benefit you to know that while you were absent an equally demented maniac paid his regards, with an apparent interest in acquainting your vital organs with his exquisite blade if all does fails to meet his pleasure.

Therefore, if I live, I would very much appreciate an explanation.

Signed- Myself

 

Postscript: I will still be returning your stolen goods.

 

After that, there wasn’t much else but to make his appointment with death.

He had questions, a lot of them. But to get them answered he needed to confront his enemy.

He planned to dodge most blows, only attempt attacks at pinpoint areas such as the eyes, cracks or joints in the armor. His best plan if it came to a fight was to lead him down into the ship’s hull. But that was a pretty bad plan.