The sharks are coming out

How such a small thing could cause so much trouble. It was almost hard to imagine.

Míngzé sat at his table, his elbows resting on top of it and in his hands the artifact. His fingers traced the uneven surface as he tried to determine what it would look like. He could feel the constant pull, the dark tendrils creeping along him. In a way it was soothing and in a way he did not want it to leave.

But was there another choice?

The still healing scratch marks over his arms gave him the answer. His sleepless nights did not help. There were dark circles under his eyes, telling everyone how he hadn’t slept these last few days.

Míngzé was so fucking tired and he did not know what to do about it. He blamed the artifact, which is why he wanted to get rid of it. Perhaps once he no longer had it, would things turn out for the better once more. Then perhaps he could leave it all behind him.

So the artifact had to go.

The sudden ringing of the bell caused him to jump and the artifact flew right out of his hands. ”Fuck!” Míngzé tried to reach for it, grab it before it would hit the ground, but he only made it worse. It hit the table a few times, before he could hear it hit the ground.

Instantly he rose to his feet, moving towards where it had fallen, before going for the bell, before turning around once more to the artifact. Fast enough that for a moment he felt lightheaded. “Just fucking keep it together,” he muttered to himself before deciding to open the door for Sāng first. It did not even come to mind to ask who was at the door, simply because he assumed it had to be him.

The artifact lay on the ground still, with a curious Dai sniffing it.

It did not take long before Sāng made himself known by talking. Míngzé could not help but roll his eyes at the comment, as he knew well enough that it had been sarcastic. At the same time Dai lost his interest in the artifact because of the presence of the other’s pokémon. A loud wave of barks followed. “Shut it,” Míngzé hissed which luckily did the trick.

From underneath his table you had Jiu eyeing Sāng cautiously. She had not forgotten about last time but was also aware there was a certain trust between both humans.

He closed the door behind Sāng once he was inside his apartment. “Four people, four—” Míngzé even held four fingers up in the air as if Sāng would not understand otherwise. “—came to pay me a visit and not for some friendly chit-chat. Oh no, not at all.” He scoffed as he recalled each and every confrontation. None of them had been out of pleasantries.

Meanwhile Míngzé had made his way to where the piece had landed on the ground and he picked it up. “One way or another, they all involved this stupid thing.” He waved the artifact back and forth, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling that came from the still healing wounds.

“So yeah, everything is going absolutely terrific.”