Chapter 56

15 “Well, after all that, not only did we not cure my immortality…” “…But you made me immortal as well.” “You tryin’ to say this is all my fault, huh?!” “Well, whose is it, then?” Bisco and Milo yelled at each other atop Actagawa’s saddle, the giant crab still clad in his glorious golden body paint as he trudged down the long road to Shikoku. The two boys looked so healthy, it was hard to imagine all the struggles they’d been through over the past few days. Pawoo would be glad to know that Milo’s hair change did not appear to have been permanent, and already it was growing back from the roots in his natural sky-blue shade. The one thing Milo did still possess from his adventure, however, was the knowledge and power of Kelshinha’s mantras. And whenever he willed it, the small green cube would appear once more in the palm of his hand. Milo gazed at it now and thought back to Kelshinha’s last words, the ones Bisco had relayed to him. “My mantras are techniques to command the Rust as one wishes. They are limited in power by the words one uses to control them, but they stem from a greater power. Perhaps that power is enough to command the Rust to remake the entire world as one sees fit. “You are Rust-Eaters. The Rust is your prey. And so that god will no doubt turn its boundless power upon you… A power from long ago…before the Tokyo Crater was…!!” “…” Milo clenched his fist and crushed the slowly rotating cube and turned to look at his partner. Bisco was loudly yawning without a single care in the world for the troubles whirling around within his partner’s fragile heart, so Milo reached out and slapped him across the back of the head. “Owww! What the hell was that for?!” “Must be nice, not caring about other people!” “Well, I can’t help it! If Amli hadn’t done what she did, we’d both be lyin’ dead in the Rust Tower right now!” “That’s not what I mean! You remember what Kelshinha said, don’t you? That someone even scarier than him was here in Japan, and he’d be coming after us two next!” “Oh, you’re talking about that…?” Bisco finished his interrupted yawn and, without the slightest sign of concern for his partner’s worries, continued, “There’s always been somethin’ out to kill me, from the moment I was old enough to walk. It ain’t nothin’ new to me… Besides,” he said with his usual devilish grin and flash of his canines, “now we got that weird magic of yours to help us out. If you can do that thing you did to Actagawa’s claw again, I don’t think there’s anything in this world that can stand against us.” “I don’t think you should trust it so much, Bisco. Even I don’t know how it—!” As if to cut Milo off, Actagawa suddenly raised his greatclaw in triumph. Milo swallowed the rest of his objection and gave their trusty steed a grateful pat. Meanwhile, Bisco squinted off into the setting sun and muttered under his breath to nobody in particular, “It’s like Jabi once said. I’m like an arrow…” “…?” “…Once fired, I can never change direction. All I can do is fly straight ahead. If there’s a wall, all I can do is break it down. And if I can’t, then that’s where I die.” “…You’re really not very flexible, are you?” “Oh, I’m sorry, your highness, have I displeased you?? You got somethin’ to say, yeah, say it to my face!” “No, I don’t. You just keep on doing what you’ve always done. I’ll watch over you.” “Don’t say that like you’re my guardian or something!” “I am, aren’t I?” As the two continued to argue, Actagawa came to a sudden stop. The pair peered down at him in confusion as a crowd of people approached from behind. “B-Bisco, look at that…!” The two turned to see a huge flock of survivors from the Gilded Elephants, carrying their treasures of gold and silver on their backs as they ran toward the two Mushroom Keepers. “I see them! I knew they’d gone this way!” “We’ll never follow that little girl! Oh, Mr. Akaboshiii!! Be our leader! Our gold, our prestige, and even our bodies are yours to do with as you desire!!” “Erk!!” Heading the crowd were the drag-queen priests who had handled Bisco’s initiation into the Gilded Elephants, and as the huge cloud of dust that represented his ardent followers closed in, Bisco, along with Milo and Actagawa, fled as fast as the crab possibly could in the opposite direction. “There really never is a quiet moment with him, eh, Actagawa?” “And what’s that supposed to mean, asshole?!” And so the darkened silhouettes of the two Mushroom Keepers and their trusty steelcrab headed off toward the setting sun, putting the land of Shimane behind them and setting their sights on Shikoku, the land of Bisco’s hometown.