Nen Feaster; Part 2: The Cat's Journey

Chapter 17: Magic Tricks

The two had been travelling for a few days. They weren't far from the town that the Zoldyk manor was located at. There was a small town with a couple of shops and restaurants just up ahead. Nef and Cheetu were both getting hungry, so they decided it was time to get something to eat. "I'll go up ahead and grab some food. I'll be back later." Nef said.

"Do you have any money?" Cheetu asked.

"Reid wired me some money through an account he linked to my phone."

"You can do that?"

"Apparently. I'll be back with some food, then we should head out. We're not far from the manor." Nef said as she walked away.

"Okay. Bring me back a toy!" Cheetu joked. Nef just rolled her eyes and kept moving.

Cheetu settled into the woods to wait for Nef. At first, he tried to let his mind wander to pass the time. He thought about Myriad's many forms. He remembered how different Nef's version of the forms were from Eli's, even though he only saw Eli change once. He thought about what he would be like if he used Myriad. He imagined having Rouge's strength combined with his speed. He felt like that would make him unstoppable. He then thought about Vert. "If Vert gave Eli speed that matched mine, how fast would I be if I turned into Vert?" He thought. The thought brought a smile to his face.

Soon Cheetu got bored of that and thought about his own ability. He summoned it and looked at the barbed bolt he had loaded. The barbed bolts, while being able to poison whoever it hits, are highly inaccurate, and don't go very far. Cheetu decided it would be best to practice with his crossbow. He scrounged around the forest, finding a few stray bottles and cans that had gotten tossed out. He gathered them together and set them up on a log. He stood about four meters back then shot at them. He hit them all, but he was using his normal bolts. He reset the targets then switched to his barbed bolts. This time, when he shot, he missed all but one target. He grunted before stepping over and resetting. He repeated this several times until he was finally able to hit every target with the barbed bolt.

He was happy with himself, but he wasn't done yet. He went over to a tree and stood five meters away. He aimed his crossbow then shot all three of the bolts. He rushed forward and attacked. He stabbed his crossbow's blades into the tree. It was a clumsy dash, and it could be easily dodged by a seasoned opponent. He repeated this sequence dozens of times, until it got to the point to where he was almost hitting the tree at the same exact time as his bolts. He was proud of his progress.

"An interesting technique." Said a voice from behind. Cheetu quickly rushed away from the voice's source. He turned and looked at a man with pale skin. He had red spiky hair, and he had a star tattooed under his right eye, and a tear drop tattooed under his left. He had clothes with symbols like diamonds and clubs, symbols from playing cards.

"Who are you?" Cheetu demanded.

"A man looking for a challenge." He said with a sinister smile.

"I'm not playing around with you, clown! Who are you!?" Cheetu shouted as he got his crossbow ready. The man pulled out several playing cards and held them like a paper fan. Cheetu felt very tense. He knew this man was dangerous. He started approaching slowly, his wicked smile never falling. "Stay back." Cheetu ordered. The man didn't slow down, not in the slightest. He kept his steady pace.

Cheetu decided to strike first. He shot two bolts at the man, then quickly rushed behind him and shot another. He caught the first two then flipped over the last one. His reactions were too quick for the bolts. Cheetu rushed at him and tried to cut him with his crossbow's blades. He managed to hit his attacker's chest, opening three gashes. The man jumped back before Cheetu could get another hit in. He stood up straight, the chilling smile still on his face. "That speed of yours is very troubling, but promising..." The man said, his smile widening. He threw Cheetu's bolts out into the woods. He then brought out his playing cards and tossed them at Cheetu. Cheetu cut them with his blades, but the man was using his cards as a distraction while he charged forward. Cheetu ducked under his attack and slashed his attacker's side. The man grabbed him and elbowed the side of his head before tossing him away.