6 EGG DIGGERS (1/2)
Never did his heart pump in such a feverous manner. (Is... Is she coming for a kiss? T-This is too sudden. I'm not fully prepared yet...) He suddenly startled. (Wait, I haven't brushed either!) His feet instantly stepped back twice and made the distance. ”I'm sorry. I can't do this now!” He quickly walked past her, leaving Sariyu in puzzlement.
He came and stood behind her.
”Why are you hiding behind me?” Sariyu stepped aside, but he did as well.
(Her scent... It's more potent than Primera's. There's something unusual mixed in it. If I go near her again, I might not be able to control myself anymore.) Lirzod firmly stared at the floor.
On the other hand, Burton observed the workers in the vicinity, all of whom had their heads tilted down. (Something's not right.) All of them were wearing white and blue dress code.
Stussy stood where she was. She pulled back her sleeves, just a bit, which slightly exposed the strangely-nice ink patterns on her forearms, though only by a little, and especially the white tattoo on her wrist, made her appear all the more intriguing. Though it was dark, the ornaments that subtly decorated the exquisite cloak she wore made her look like a savage princess of the heaven. ”I'm the navigator of this ship. It will take about four months before we reach the Shambala Sect's headquarters. Till then, you three must do your best to reach as high as you can on these decks.” She pointed her finger towards the workers. ”These Hollows will show you the rooms and will help you answer your questions. Have a happy voyage.” Saying that she went back to her spot, that's above the figurehead.
Sariyu and Burton left with two of the workers, i.e., Hollows. Lirzod, however, stayed there gaping at Stussy.
Nearby Lirzod, a guy was waiting for him. With an average build and 177cm height, that red-haired guy had a face that wouldn't really stand out, but wouldn't go unnoticed either. ”Hey, are you going to move or not?”
His attempt to interact with Lirzod, miserably failed, as he didn't even get a reaction. He walked up to Lirzod and patted his shoulder, but there was no response.
He patted again. ”Hey.”
”Mch,” Lirzod waved his hand and pushed that guy's hand away without even looking.
”Hey, I'm talking to you!” He placed his hand on Lirzod's shoulder.
”What's this nuisance?” Lirzod pushed his hand away without even looking, again. ”I”m busy. Go and beg elsewhere.”
”B-Beg?” That guy frowned. Slowly but surely, his hand formed into a fist. ”Nobody has ever called me a beggar.” He controlled his anger, as best as he could. ”But I guess there's a first time for everything. So I let this mistake of your slide...”
”Just what's your freaking problem, huh?” Lirzod finally turned back and made eye-contact with the guy. ”You've been nagging in my ears nonstop, like my mother! Can't you see I'm busy?”
”Busy? You are..?”
”Yeah. I am. So, go and mind your business,” Lirzod was about to turn back towards the figurehead, but he was held back by the guy, who placed his hand on Lirzod's shoulder, and used a bit of force. ”What are you doing?”
”I'm told to take you to your assigned room. So you should come with me.”
”Yeah, I will,” Lirzod stepped away from him and stared up towards the top of the figurehead. (She must be bored there alone.) He looked back at his luggage and reached there. He pulled out a five-kilo see-through-plastic packet that's full of a mixture of nuts — cashews, almonds, peanuts, groundnuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts — and walked towards the figurehead.
”What's he doing?” The other guy was puzzled.
Lirzod stopped at the base of the figurehead and looked up perpendicularly. ”These nuts... They are grown by a Nut Specialist. Will you take these?”
”Hmph,” The guy shook his head. (Does he really think he can get on her good side with that? Though the nuts do look tasty...” He shook his head again. ”They are not enough.”
Lirzod stood there for almost a minute, but there was no reply.
”You seriously can't expect her to react for offering something so simple,” The guy spoke just loud enough that his voice reached Lirzod's ears.
Lirzod looked at the packet for a few seconds, before placing it down. He looked up again, ”I'm keeping them here. So try them... I hope you got it.” He turned back and came to that guy. ”Let's go.”
”Sure, but there's one thing that needed to be done before.”
”What's that? Do you perhaps know of a way to get her to take those nuts?”
”N-No,” The guy pulled out a sticker from within his pockets. ”I was talking about this one.”
”That... That can make her eat my nuts!”
The guy's enlarged. ”Watch your mouth. If she heard that, she'd slice your head into hundred chunks.”
”My bad,” Lirzod partly shut his mouth. ”So, now tell me, what's that?”
”It's a tattoo of the number 'ten',” The guy placed it on Lirzod's outer palm. ”Since we're on the tenth deck of this ship right now... And since this is the highest deck you've reached... You must wear this tattoo at someplace on your body, to showcase your identity to others.”
”Oh, it serves as identity huh... It's not permanent, right?”
”Of course, not. But let me warn you... If you try to remove it using silly means, it will cause you trouble.”
”Hmm? How can a tattoo cause trouble—” Lirzod was about to say, but stopped himself before finishing his line. ”Never mind its importance, but it sure looks like your face.”
”... Is my face pretty or not?”
”Uh... Your face is pretty, but this thing's not.”
The guy ground his teeth. ”It's just number 10. What's so bad about it?”
”I don't know. It just doesn't invoke any emotions in me. If you know what I mean.”
”That's just a temporary tattoo. You are expecting too much. Let's go. We've already wasted lots of time.”
”Sure.”