Trees flickered past as Kaito raced down the forest path as fast as he dared go; the sooner he was out of the forest and into Rovetelle, the sooner he could begin piecing together current events and finding out the lay of the land.
(And the sooner he could return to Ishida’s side.)
(He hoped he hadn’t made a mistake…)
Kaito grimaced and gave himself a mental shake; he’d asked if Ishida would be fine with only Euden and the others for company and the teen had told him to do what he promised to do, but Kaito still worried. Euden and the others seemed good-kind-caring, but they were still strangers even if Ishida had begun to — as Shiro insisted — imprint upon them.
(He’d had enough problems even though he’d been thrown back into familiar surroundings.)
(He couldn’t imagine the issues that would arise from being thrown into an entirely unfamiliar world!)
(*We’ll be quick,*) Ichigo said firmly, his steady confidence bolstering Kaito’s resolve. (*We know the way there and we can travel faster than anyone else here, so it won’t take long to reach the Capital.*)
(*We still need to stop at places along the way,*) Kaito pointed out as the forest began to open up and he slowed his pace a bit, not wanting to appear in the middle of Rovetelle without warning. (*Not everywhere, of course, but we both know the value of gossip.*)
Ichigo hummed in agreement, then gave him a mental nudge as the first buildings came into view. (*You know, I’m not sure what I expected, but this is…*)
(*Given everything else we’ve seen so far, this is exactly what I expected,*) Kaito replied in amusement as he darted off the path and then up into a tree in order to take in as much of Rovetelle as possible.
Rovetelle was an interesting town, larger than he’d expected but certainly a town and not a proper city. He couldn’t see much from his perch, but he could see the church near the center of the town, and it wasn’t difficult to spot buildings that probably housed shops of some kind, which indicated where the main street probably was.
(*Looks like you’ll need to aim for the church in order to find the main street, because I don’t see an obvious way there from here,*) Ichigo commented as they took it all in.
Kaito jumped down from the tree and dusted off his hands. (*No, the path into the forest is clearly not much used,*) he said in agreement as he strode from the trees and into the town proper. (*I bet that fog that was over the castle when we arrived has something to do with that.*)
(*Yeah, probably,*) Ichigo said, then fell silent as they strode past a couple of townsfolk.
The surprise-curiosity-interest aimed at them was better than expected, but certainly not good for their ability to remain unnoticed; Ishida was right that their attire stood out here — dramatically so, in fact — and that they’d be best to get something a little less conspicuous if they wanted to actually scout around.
(*We’re looking for Lark’s shop,*) Ichigo mused as they made their way through the streets. (*Not that he told us what exactly to look for, just that it’s off the main thoroughfare and that we ‘can’t miss it’.*)
Zangetsu chuckled a bit as he suggested, (*Perhaps you could simply ask someone?*)
Kaito rolled his eyes, hopped to the side as a gaggle of children barreled past, and then cast a considering look at the buildings all around them. (*I suppose,*) he said with a touch of playful exasperation. (*But lets get to the main thoroughfare first and look around a bit.*)
It wasn’t hard to follow the streets towards the center of town — he just needed to occasionally check for glimpses of the church was all — and as soon as he reached the center it was easy to spot the area of the main thoroughfare that Ranzal had probably meant. From there, well… wandering and seeing the sights was an obvious next step for someone who looked so out of place as he did.
Not that it seemed to bother people all that much, despite all the looks he was getting; he didn’t sense anything hostile about the attention, just hints of curiosity and interest, along with some light commentary about his attire. It was a promising start to their stay in this world and boded well for the future, especially if they stayed longer than a week or two.
He glanced down every side-street as he walked by them, trying to build a mental map of the place as he went; there was such a variety of stores and taverns that it was almost mind-boggling, and not a one had anything resembling a normal sign out front. Some places had something akin to a sign — in-as-much as a piece of wood with an image burned or painted into it counted as a sign — but none of the signs had lettering that he could spot.
(Unless this world’s form of writing was entirely unfamiliar to him.)
(Which… what were the chances of that?)
(He could understand them just fine, so surely he’d be able to read their language just fine as well.)
There were several clothing stores that he could see, not including the handful that were on the main street itself, but none of them really seemed like the place Ranzal had indicated; if Lark was accustomed to working for mercenaries, then surely her shop would reflect that? Or was that putting to much logic into things?
“Can I help you find something?”
Kaito stopped in surprise and cast a glance at the stranger who’d approached him. “Lark’s shop?” he asked a touch warily. “I was directed that way by a friend, but he didn’t tell me where it was.”
The woman chuckled softly and nodded down the street in the direct he’d been moving. “People always seem to forget that nothing is obvious when you’re new to an area,” she said in amusement. “Lark’s shop is just a bit further, I’ll show you.”
“Thanks,” Kaito said as he followed her down the street and then down a little side-street lined with yet more shops; there were two that seemed to be clothing shops of some sort, though the one the woman led him to was the larger of the two. Still, neither had any real indication of who owned them, leaving the shops as just two more entirely anonymous buildings amongst the rest.
“Lark! I brought you another customer!” the woman announced as she pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Kaito stepped into the shop and glanced around, taking in the simple layout and the bolts of fabric stacked here and there. Though Lark supposedly sold clothing, he didn’t see much in the way of clothing laid out; instead, the shop almost looked more akin to a fabric shop, and while there was very little that could beat the variety of fabrics available in the modern Living World… well, Lark’s shop was certainly nothing to sneeze at either.
“Have you, now?” came the answer, as a door in the back swung open and Lark stepped through, her upper body obscured by a stack of fabric that towered over their head. “Was this one actually looking for me, or were they just looking for a clothing shop?” she asked as she kicked the door closed behind her and dropped the fabric on a nearby table.
“Ranzal recommended your shop,” Kaito spoke up before the woman who led him there could say anything.
“Ranzal, hmm?” Lark turned towards him and arched an eyebrow as she took in his attire. “If you want something like that, it’s going to cost you. I don’t have any patterns for garments like yours—”
“No, I’d like something a bit less… conspicuous,” Kaito interrupted with a wry smile. “It’s why he suggested you, since he said you were accustomed to supplying mercenaries.”
Lark pursed her lips and gave him another once over. “I am,” she said thoughtfully, “I don’t do armor, of course, but I suspect you aren’t well acquainted with armor in any case. You look like the reckless sort that won’t even wear a gambeson.”
Kaito twitched at the accusation of recklessness and bit back the urge to say that he didn’t need armor; regular humans didn’t have the option to use their powers as defense like he did, so claiming that he was better off without it would simply come across as recklessness and hubris.
Lark snorted at his silence and shook her head, then gestured for him to follow as she turned back to the room she’d exited. “Come on, let’s get you measured so I can get you sorted out. Were you thinking any style or colors in particular?”
“Ah, not particularly…?” Kaito responded as he walked towards her. “Maybe a similar blue, if you have something…? And, ah, some sort of clothing that I can fight in but won’t stand out like my normal attire will.”
She hummed as she dug through her kit. “Close the door behind you,” she said absently as she pulled out a knotted cord and set it aside. “The blue I can do. The style… well, let’s get you measured first. I’ll have a better idea after that.”
Kaito nodded as he pulled the door closed and stepped into the center of the room, where she no doubt wanted him to be. “Thank you,” he said as turned towards her and bowed slightly. “I appreciate it.”
“Tch, thank me when I’m done and you’ve paid,” Lark responded as she straightened up and turned away from her kit. “Right then, let’s get you measured so I can get started on making it. Arms up and hold still.”
Kaito did as ordered even as he tried to mentally calculate how long he would need to wait to get a set of clothing.
Well… he supposed there was no helping it.
He’d just have to wait.