Fifteenth Jump (Blazblue) Part 2

Seriously, Something is Going on Here

            Arriving at a restaurant, I slipped off my hat and put it away in my inventory, my glasses retracting back as I did. To top off my attempt at being polite, I reached up to take a hold of my cigarette and, after putting it out on the heel of my shoe, tossed it into the nearest trash can. “Right. Here were are… Find yourselves a table and order what you want. I have something I need to take care of.” I knew that was a bad idea, but the two of them went off for the moment.

            The black-white one… I think her name was Yankaka… had been staring at me the entire way here. I still had no idea what exactly lay underneath the Kaka’s hoods… Simply a black abyss with a silhouette of a head in the right light. A pair of beady, glowing red eyes and a large, toothy smile was the only way that they all showed their expressions. Honestly, they showed plenty of emotion that way, but when the grin was also filled with only pointed teeth, it was a little… unnerving… to see in person.

            As I stepped back out for a moment, I reached into my inventory and pulled out my gloves, taking just a moment to slip them on as I had forgotten to for two days now. “Hmm… Blazblue. What did this world have again…” I muttered to myself, trying to think back as to what this universe actually included. Before I could draw up any information, Yan appeared and grabbed my arm, giving it a sharp tug as she spoke. “Good Guy! Come eat, you need food, too. Nya!” Well, at least she seemed to speak better than Tao did… If only by a little.

            Instead of arguing, I followed/got dragged back into the restaurant and joined them. My poor wallet… My poor, poor wallet. I knew what I was getting into, but I did not realize that they both ate such excessive amounts of food. It was impressive to watch, but… Still was quite a shocking amount of food.

            At least I could afford to pay for the both of them and I personally did not eat. “Any ways. Why don’t you two go take a nap, hmm? I have to return home soon.” I mentioned before taking my one chance at leaving while they were both well-fed. I made my way back home from the restaurant… or at least what classified as my home here. For a fighting game universe, there seemed to be very little in the way of combat. Whether that is a blessing or a curse is another matter and one I was not yet willing to consider.

            After that night, it seemed to be a very peaceful existence. That was up until about a month later that I felt something shift. I was unchanged, but everything around me seemed to have reversed back to a previous point. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw Bang and went through a very similar discussion as when I first met him and, the very next day, I ran into Tao and Yan in the same exact alleyway.

            This repeated again… and again… and again… and again… Over 700 times. I made it a habit of finding ways to change what was occurring with each loop… Going to different cities, interacting with various characters, and other simple things that may or may not change the direction. It became exhausting and, without fail, Yankaka would appear one way or another. Every. Single. Time… Without fail. It was as if I physically couldn’t avoid her through an entire, month long loop.

            There was one specific time, however… Something changed. I was going about my business, chatting with Bang back in the village, allowing him to tell me a story I had heard a hundred times over, mostly because it kept me from losing my mind at this point… but, there was no loop. Instead the ground shook and time continued. Hmm… Odd, especially considering the fact that I was even able to go to sleep that night and wake up the next morning right where I was.

            To simply go with the flow, not that there was one, I headed off further into the city with Bang the next day and stayed with him for the first half, but pulled away for the second, allowing him to go off and do as he wished for a while. To say the least… I was both relieved and bored once again… but, that complaint was answered when I felt a sudden pair of arms wrap around my waist. “Who the hell- ah!” I was lifted up high and started to go back in a half-circle. This could mean only one thing…

            “Yankaka Suplex!” I heard from my would-be attacker, my hands quickly coming down to catch myself before she could complete the attack, but my elbows were bending at first from the sheer strength that was pushing down on my body. “Yay! Yankaka got nyou!” She sounded out before letting out a small whine of disappointment once she realized that I was keeping myself up. “Only in your dreams, Yan. Now… Put me down!”

            Instead of doing the sensible thing and putting me down properly… She simply dropped me, took me by the arm, and started dragging me off across the ground. “Yan take Sweet Guy to food. Yan hungry, nya.” I couldn’t see her expression from my current view point, but I didn’t argue the point. The last time I did, I ended up being chased half-across the city. At least she seemed harmless… Still had to wonder why something really just didn’t feel right about her. Granted, the fact that she literally hunted me down most days was a red flag, if there ever was one.

            “Yankaka… Is there any reason you come and find me every day?” That question managed to stop her for a moment, one of her paws… sleeves… paw-sleeves… paw-sleeves reaching up to rub her chin in thought. Taking the chance, I climbed up to my feet, dust and dirt falling off in equal measure. I don’t know how, but some managed to get in my hat. “Yankaka like Sweet Guy! You're fun, nya.” She finally answered as I turned to face her. “While I will accept your compliment, I am not that sweet… I may feed you, I may occasionally give you something to play with, but I am not exactly a kind individual, nor am I a good guy.”

            I took the opportunity to explain my position and end this now that things apparently weren’t going to loop. Her usual smile turned upside down, her teeth still quite visible as she spoke. “Sweet Guy nice. You helped Yan with her troubles, remember? Tao was sick and you made her better when Litchi wasn’t around instead of keeping Yan from playing with her, nya. Sweet Guy saved Yankaka from those who hate Yan for being Kaka.” I let out a small huff, the feline woman playing with her braid a little. A nervous habit from what I had picked up. “Oh! You gave Yan flowers when Yan was sad! Come here, Sweet Guy!”

            Before I had a chance to provide my side of the argument, the Kaka leaped forward and tackled me to the ground with enough force to make an elephant think they were weak, sending me straight to the ground as, while I had a few strength perks up, I rarely had anything above average possibilities active. “Nyou stay with Yan! Yan find your home and stay- nyack!” That little meow-squeak came when I forced myself up to my feet and pried her off by the back of her jacket. Her joyous, creepy, smile turned into a cute, if sad, upside down 3 for the moment. “Sweet Guy no like Yan?”

            “Look, I am currently staying with someone else. So… you can’t stay with me. Second, we can go eat… but, while you are my friend and you’re quite adorable when you aren’t tossing me around, I am just not looking for someone to live with me. I already have four other ladies who live with me-“

            I paused for a moment, the Kaka apparently crying by the anime-esque water lines going down her void-of-a-face. “You no like Yankaka, nya?” She asked with a quiet, pitiable voice, which forced me to change my tone. While she was occasionally annoying and overly touchy, she didn’t seem to mean me any harm. That and people were starting to stare. Sucking up my own mental holdbacks, I let out a sigh and set the Kaka down onto the ground. “Yan, stop crying. You know I like you… As a friend. Come on, let’s go get you something to eat, hmm? We can go get those noodles you like so much. My treat.”

            The Kaka sniffled and glanced up to me for a moment as she climbed back up onto her feet. “The ones with the slices of beef and fish, nya? With the curly noodles?” She asked as I offered her a little bit of cloth to wipe her eyes… or what appeared to be them… with. “Aye. Those ones.” With that, we headed off toward the restaurant, the Kaka trying her damnedest to lean against me or even hop onto me whenever she got the chance. I had this gnawing feeling in my gut, though… Just this bad feeling that I messed up somewhere.

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(This part is not seen by Tadek or anyone else. It is simply what the audience saw. As a note… any first/third person errors by Yan when referencing herself and others is on purpose.)

            

            Later that night, back at the Kaka Village, Yankaka was sitting over a circular piece of wood that was about the size of a grown man’s palm, carving into it with one of her large, sickle-shaped, metal claws that sprung from one of the very, very tiny slits in her jacket. “Sweet Guy make Yan happy, make Yan safe, nya. Only he feeds Yan and takes care of me.” She seemed happy… maybe a little unhinged, but nothing that wouldn’t draw any real attention considering the fact that she was a Kaka.

            “Yan have competition, though. Those other four want to take Sweet Guy from Yan. Yan knows it... They want his kindness for themselves. Yan find those four… Yan kill the competition and take Sweet Guy for myself, nya.” Her facial expression had turned to one of anger or annoyance, more akin to an emote than a true face, but it did not make it any less creepy.

            Holding the wooden carving up close, her smile returned on the spot with a hint of pink appearing within the void where her cheeks would be. “Sweet Guy is Yan’s. Only Yan’s. Yan hunt tomorrow… She’ll find those harlots and make Sweet Guy mine. He’ll like that, nya.” She spoke those last words with a calm, pleasant exhalation, her sickle claw carefully, lovingly carving a small circle around what looked to be a surprisingly well made, stylized picture of Tadek, almost as if she was stroking his very cheek.