The Sanryu: Chance for Redemption!

One more chance. That was the ultimatum offered to them by the higher ups. After being released from custody due to their status as low level members, the Sanryu had found themselves back into the human realm. That very next day, they were approached by a representative from their boss and was notified of their dismissal from the organization. However, they were determined to continue becoming a part of the organization and pleaded for another chance. Two days later, they were notified that the higher ups had agreed to give one chance to redeem themselves. If they succeed, they can continue being active members of Ouroboros. If they don’t, they are dismissed from the organization.

The organization hadn’t given the Sanryu a concrete plan to execute except for the simple order to “find the Dragonborn and report his identity using any means necessary”. This was their one chance at redemption. Of course, the Sanryu hastily accepted it. Because of the carelessness they took at wanting to continue being a part of this organization, they now find themselves in a dilemma—just how are they going to complete this mission?

Right now, the three members of the Sanryu were sitting in a coffee shop in a booth right near the window. Kiryu was casually eating a plate of chocolate-chip cookies and licking the crumbs off his finger after finishing each cookie. Iwaryu had his eyes closed and became totally absorbed in the soft indie pop music playing in the establishment. Miryu had one hand clutching a cup of coffee and his other hand anxiously tapping on the table like an impatient kid. Out of the three members, Miryu was the most anxious about their position. “Augh! How are we going to do this?” he bursted out angrily.

Kiryu looked up from his plate of cookies with dull eyes and simply replied, “Well, you’re the boss.”

“Hey, we’re in this together!” declared the leader. “Now come one, help think up a plan.” He snapped his finger loudly in front of Iwaryu and said, “That means you too.”

Iwaryu ceased his musical immersion journey and quickly nodded at his leader’s orders.

“Now, how are we supposed to find out who the Dragonborn is?” wondered Miryu.

“Isn’t there something about a mark?” offered Kiryu lethargically.

“A mark? You can’t be serious,” scoffed Miryu dismissively. And then it occurred to him, a tiny memory of how to identify the Dragonborn that was taught to him during his initiation into the organization. “That’s it! The Mark of Marduk!” he happily announced. “If we can find the one who possesses the Mark of Marduk, then we have found the Dragonborn!”

“That’s a great idea!” praised Kiryu with a tired smile.

Iwaryu agreed by clapping his hands.

“Now, the only thing we have to do is think up of a plan to do it,” said Miryu.

Kiryu stared up into space and pondered for an idea with a dazed expression on his face. He inhaled sharply and said, “How about we offer a service that deal with hands? It’ll also give us some cover for pursuing our activities in the human realm.”

“Good idea!” praised Miryu with a thumbs up. “So, what service should we provide?” he wondered.

While Miryu and Kiryu were deep in thought for an idea, Iwaryu lightly rapped the table with his knuckles to catch his teammates’ attention.

“Oh, Iwaryu, you got an idea?” asked Miryu with an expectant smile.

Iwaryu answered with a nod. He then talked to them using his hands, signing a series of words to explain his ideas to the others. “What if we do a palm reading booth?” he suggested. “I hear that fortune telling is very popular among the younger population.”

“But how will we get whoever the Dragonborn is to show us their sign so we can identify who it is?” wondered Miryu.

“I got it!” said Kiryu. “Fortune telling also uses a questionnaire system. We can ask the people we meet questions and we’ll be able to identify who the Dragonborn is by the answers we receive!”

“For accurate readings, you need to get to know the person,” agreed Iwaryu with a nod.

“Excellent idea!” announced Miryu proudly. “Alright men, let’s set up a booth!”

Later that day, the Sanryu had prepared a table out on the sidewalk near the town square and had made up signs detailing their fortune telling business. It was decided that Kiryu would be the fortune teller since he had the voice and mannerisms of one. Miryu would stand by as an assistant of sorts and help with the questions and answer gathering. Iwaryu stood two feet away from the table with a giant sign that read: “Get your fortune read today! Only 50 yen (about $0.37 USD) a reading! It’ll BLOW your mind!”—he was their designated advertiser and sign boy. A giant sign on the front of their table read: “Come One, Come All! The Great Golden Palm Guru Knows All! Humans And Dragons Welcome!”

For the first few minutes after setting up, the guys didn’t get a single customer. They were passed by a few couples who didn’t seem particularly interested in any fortune telling mumbo jumbo, a group of unruly high school boys who heckled at them mercilessly, and a few kids who made comments about Kiryu’s getup. (In order to sell their service, Kiryu was instructed by Miryu to wear a shawl that covered most of his face except for his eyes.) Iwaryu made many attempts to draw in people by asking them directly, however, his lack of speech made it hard for other people to understand what he was saying. On the other hand, Miryu directly solicited passing people like a slick con man; this made him a very suspicious character in the eyes of the public and fueled their desire to ignore him even more.

When all seemed lost, the group was approached by their very first customer. A young high school girl walked up to the table and put down a 50 yen coin and sat down in the chair across from Kiryu. Miryu was happy to have secured their first customer and scooted close to her. “Well, well, thank you for your interest, madam,” he told her in a very slick tone. “Would you like to have your fortune told?” he asked her. The girl simply nodded. “Well then, you’ve made the right choice! The Great Golden Palm Guru will read your palms and tell you your future! Now, give him your hands.”

The girl stretched out her hands and placed them in Kiryu’s. Kiryu closed his eyes and entered a trance of sort to sell his character. “I can feel something,” he told her in a very bad attempt at a mysterious voice. “Now, first, I would like to ask you a few questions,” he told her. He opened his eyes and began with question one. “First question: Have you ever discovered and/or possess a strange marking that could be considered out of this world?”

The girl answered with a timid nod. Kiryu and Miryu exchanged triumphant expressions. “Second question,” continued Kiryu, “Is this mark located on your upper body?” Once again, the girl answered with a nod of her head. “Third question—,” he began again.

“Um, excuse me for asking, but, is there a point to these questions?” interjected the girl.

“Yes!” quickly answered Miryu. “You see, questions help the guru to offer accurate predictions. They guide his inner eye to the correct future among a yarn ball of possibilities! Kinda like searching for the hay in a needle-stack!” he told the girl, lying through his teeth.

“Oh, I see,” accepted the girl.

“Please, guru, you were on the third question,” Miryu told Kiryu with a wink.

“Third question,” repeated Kiryu, “Does this mark you possess hold any significance?”

“Yes,” answered the girl.

“Excuse me, miss, but can you tell us more about it?” pressed Miryu.

“Why?” asked the girl.

“The guru needs information in order to calculate your fate!” Miryu told her with a convincing smile.

“Is this really palm reading?” inquired the girl innocently.

“It’s a new style!” quickly lied Miryu. “Now, instead of reading lines on your palm, the guru just needs to feel it to get a general image of your life and its many possibilities. But that will only show a jumbled mess. By asking questions, he will be able to discern which of these strings is the true future that you are destined for. It’s called, er, ‘Holistic Palmistry’!”

“Is it foreign?” asked the girl.

“Yes! Straight from Brazil!” lied Miryu with a grin. Kiryu nodded along with his leader’s words.

The girl became convinced by the Sanryu leader’s lies. “Well, I do possess a mark on my upper body that is of some significance,” she told them.

“Is it alright for you to show us?” asked Miryu.

“Um, I’m kinda embarrassed about it,” said the girl timidly.

Miryu quickly grabbed her shoulders and shook her, exclaiming, “It’s for your future!”

The girl understood and nodded to show her cooperation. After Miryu let her go, she undid the first two buttons on her shirt. She opened it and revealed a mark in the center of her chest just above her cleavage. It was a mark alright: a small scar shaped like a jagged “J”. “I got this scar during my childhood,” she explained to the duo. “In elementary, I confessed to the boy I like and he pushed me to the ground. I was wearing a dress that day and fell down onto a small rock. It cut my skin and left me with this scar.”

“A-Ah,” uttered Miryu with a dumbfounded expression and hanging jaws. “I-Is that all?” he asked her.

The girl nodded and quickly changed the subject. “So, Great Golden Palm Guru, what is my future?” she asked Kiryu.

“Your future?” asked Kiryu, who was still in the midst of recovering from that shocking revelation. “Um, er…,” he glanced over at Miryu, who responded by gesturing for him to make something up. “One day, the love of your life will appear in front of your eyes! And, um, the memory you hold in that scar will slowly heal. Basically, you’re gonna have a great life and stuff.”

“Really?” asked the girl happily. “Oh, thank you, guru! This new form of fortune telling is really something!”

“Yes, yes, it is,” agreed Miryu with a nervous laugh.

The girl had finally left and the duo let out a sigh of relief. Iwaryu, who was still busy with trying to grab more customers while the others dealt with the girl, had returned to the table and was quickly brought up to speed on what happened. The three dragons slumped their shoulders in defeat.

“It’s alright!” declared Miryu with a bright smile, trying to renew the team’s spirit. “That was just our first customer! Let’s drum up business so that we can continue on with the plan!”

“Yay!” agreed Kiryu in a slightly more energetic tone. Iwaryu clapped his hands in agreement.

Minutes passed by without anyone approaching their booth. And then, to their delight, two new people stepped up to their table. They were both high school girls: the first girl had bold navy blue hair styled in cat-ears and opulent green eyes (Toki Nekoyashi), and the second girl had long raven-black hair with orange streaks that ended in two twin-tails and bright and intense orange-amber eyes (Natsume Torahime).

“Look, look, Himeko, it’s a fortune telling booth, nyan!” said Nekoyashi excitedly.

“I don’t believe in mumbo jumbo like that,” responded Torahime bluntly.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” pressed Nekoyashi with confident eyes. “It could tell you about your next victory. Or even how your life is going to be. Or maybe even about meeting the one!” Nekoyashi squealed at the possibilities of what fortune telling could show them.

“The one? You got to be pulling my leg,” said Torahime with a scoff.

“Then let’s try it!” declared Nekoyashi.

Torahime sat in the chair first. Miryu scooted over close to her and said, “Thank you for your interest, ma’am. Would you like your fortune told?”

“Just so you know, I don’t believe in fortune telling one bit,” Torahime told him straightforwardly.

“Don’t you believe in magic?” asked Miryu suggestively. Torahime let out a snort and put her hands into Kiryu’s. “Now, this is an entire new method of palmistry known as ‘Holistic Palmistry!” announced Miryu, going along with the lie he had put in place moments before. “It originated in Brazil and is very accurate—.”

“Just get on with it,” ordered Torahime fiercely.

“O-Of course,” obliged Miryu with a small smile.

“Now, I will ask you a series of questions,” began Kiryu in his bad impression of a mysterious voice.

“Questions? What for?” inquired Torahime suspiciously.

“To get an accurate reading!” quickly answered Miryu.

“What kind of questions?” asked Torahime with a scowl.

“Ooh, ooh! Ask her questions about love!” suggested Nekoyashi like an impertinent child.

“Love?” wondered Miryu and Kiryu in unison.

“Yes, can you do a reading on her love life?” begged Nekoyashi.

“Um, er…,” Kiryu was at a lost for words. He glanced over at his leader and was met with an equally confused expression. The duo then turned to Iwaryu but was met with a shrug that said ‘I don’t know’.

“S-Sure?” said Miryu with a sheepish chuckle. He nodded to Kiryu and the Druk went with it. Miryu scooted close to Kiryu and whispered, “Let’s just get this reading out of the way so we can get back to business.”

“So…love,” began Kiryu with a confused frown. “First question: What is your ideal man?” he asked her.

“A person who is strong and reliable,” answered Torahime. “I prefer men who are not afraid and who is determined to do the right thing. Also, men with beautiful eyes.” The last comment made her blush a little.

Not knowing what else to do, Kiryu automatically said, “Ah! I see it! Just from that one question!” Miryu nodded at him with a smile and Iwaryu flashed him a thumbs up.

“So? What is it?” asked Torahime aggressively.

“You, er, will meet a man with beautiful blue eyes who possesses a strong will!” answered Kiryu, making it all up off the top of his head.

“You hear that, Himeko?!” exclaimed Nekoyashi excitingly. With eyes closed and a delightful smile on her face and her arms wrapped around her body, Nekoyashi proceeded to give the reading her own interpretation. “This is the moment where the ojou-sama receives a sign of what her true love will be like. And then the next day, the ojou-sama meets her true love for real by crashing into him on the streets and finding herself lost in his eyes, nyan; or gets into an accident at school such as falling down the steps, where she will then get saved by her true love and then looks into his eyes and knows that her fortune was true, nyan!” Nekoyashi squealed in delight. “It’s just like those manga, nyan! Who said that things that happen in manga can’t happen in real life?”

Torahime abruptly stood up and said, “This is ridiculous. As if I can fall in love that easily. Let’s go, Koneko.” She promptly left the table and grabbed Nekoyashi’s hand, dragging her friend behind her.

“But, I want to try it too, nyan!” protested Nekoyashi unsuccessfully.

“We can’t miss our first day,” ordered Torahime.

As the girls were walking off, Miryu noticed that they hadn’t paid for their service. He called out to them, “Hey! What about our payment?” The girls ignored his comment and continued on walking. Once they were gone, Miryu grumbled to himself about how they were ungrateful thieves.

Soon, day turned into night and the Sanryu hadn’t had a single customer since. Kiryu was gorging himself on convenience store cup ramen. Miryu had drifted off to sleep while sitting in the customer seat. Iwaryu walked up to his leader and tapped him on the shoulder. The action startled Miryu and the Sanryu leader jumped up from his seat with a yelp.

“The day has already passed,” signed Iwaryu.

“Ugh! I can’t believe we wasted an entire day!” groaned Miryu angrily. He noticed that Kiryu was still eating nonchalantly and said, “Hey, we got to regroup!”

“Wat a’ we gon’ do na?” asked Kiryu with his mouth full. ("What are we going to do now?")

“We gotta think up of another plan,” said Miryu.

“Wat da dedla’ agin?” asked Kiryu after filling his mouth with another spoonful of ramen. ("What's the deadline again?")

Miryu paused and thought for a moment. “Was it one week…or five days?” he asked himself ponderously.

Iwaryu tapped the leader on the shoulders and signed, “I don’t remember there being a deadline.”

“No deadline?!” exclaimed Miryu in disbelief. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Maybe they want it as soon as possible,” suggested Kiryu after gulping down another helping.

“Or maybe they’re doing this on purpose,” posited Miryu. “I see! They want to test us to see whether or not we can prove ourselves and capture the Dragonborn, the legendary messiah who is said to possess powers greater than the most powerful dragons of our time! It is a test of will and endurance! Sasasasasa! I figured it out, men! Let us prove that we can complete this impossible quest and that we deserve to be members of Ouroboros!”

“Yay!” agreed Kiryu in a half-hearted tone.

Iwaryu clapped his hands in agreement.

“Perhaps if we can complete this quest, we can get promoted and become high position members!” announced Miryu haughtily. “Come men, let us think up of another plan to capture the Dragonborn!”

In the following days, the Sanryu had attempted to set up a manicure booth, pretended to be hand model scouts and photographers, and even conducted a fake census. The last activity got them in trouble with the police, which resulted in their operation being quickly shutting down and the group getting detained at the station as well as being fined 500,000 yen (about $4000 USD). To no one’s surprise, the group didn’t have the money to pay it. In a moment of desperation, Miryu used his powers to freeze the officers in place and the group escaped the station like rats from a cage.

They ran down to a nearby crosswalk and stopped to catch their breath. “Can you believe those humans?” said Miryu after he had calmed down. “We can’t fraudulently conduct a census for our own purposes? Seriously?” he said with a shake of his head. “Don’t give us that crap!” Miryu yelled back in the police station’s direction.

“They don’t understand that what we were doing was of the utmost importance,” added Kiryu.

“That’s why we need to put the humans in their place!” declared Miryu. “Sasasasa! Soon, we will rule this world once again and eliminate all of the humans from existence! Starting with those poor excuse of authority officials!”

“What should we do for tomorrow?” asked Kiryu.

“Augh, I’m tired,” groaned Miryu. “Let’s think about it tomorrow.” And so, the three returned to their current dwelling place: an empty building that used to be an office but has since been abandoned. They had made the place their home ever since returning back to the human realm. It wasn’t that big but was relatively spacious on the inside. With nothing else to do until tomorrow, the Sanryu went to sleep.

Next morning, the Sanryu received new information regarding their mission. Apparently, the name of the Dragonborn is Owatatsumi Tatsuya. A messenger had come to deliver the message to them and revealed that the United Front had begun to disseminate this information to the royal families of the thirteen tribes. Now armed with another clue that could help them in their quest for redemption, Miryu came up with a plan to put their new information to use. As of today, the Sanryu will pose as detectives in search of Owatatsumi Tatsuya!

The group bought dark overcoats and hats to play up the part of the stereotypical hard broiled detective. They then went around asking people for their names and whether or not they know of the person whom they are looking for. When asked for why they were looking for that person, Miryu quickly improvised and told the people that the person whom they are searching for is a missing person. People actually believed them, which made Miryu grow more confident about his plan and the stupidity of humans.

However, they didn’t have much luck in their operation to find Owatatsumi Tatsuya. So far, they’ve only found an Ogata Tatsuya, a Tatsumi Tetsuya, a Watabe Tatsuki, two Tamaki Wataru (different spellings), and an Oba Tatsuro. They were off to a very bad start and was getting nowhere quick. Apparently, the surname Owatatsumi is a rarity among the Japanese people.

The Sanryu decided to take a break and was now sitting inside a coffee shop and enjoying a cup of coffee. Miryu took a sip and groaned, not because of the drink but of the impasse they were quickly approaching with their plan. It seems that their reinstatement is still too far away for them to reach with their own hands. “What kind of name is Owatatsumi Tatsuya anyway?” groaned Miryu.

“What should we do now, boss?” asked Kiryu. He hungrily ate the cookies he ordered and quickly moved on to the cake slice and muffins.

“This is getting nowhere quick,” admitted Miryu with a disappointed head shake. “And just when I thought that our redemption is close at hand because of the hint we received.”

The Sanryu left the coffee shop and went back to work. Once again, the names they came across were the ones they didn’t need: Oda Tatsuko, Watanabe Tatsu, Otori Wakana, Hattori Tatsumichi, two Tachibana Tatsuo (different spellings), and Tomori Tatsuhiko. The dead ends crippled the team’s morale. Having had enough of getting nowhere, the Sanryu retired their detective looks and glumly walked the streets with hopeless and exhausted expressions on their faces.

As they ambled aimlessly along the city sidewalks, a voice from ahead of them caused Miryu to perk his ears in interest. “Geez, that Himeko,” said the voice with an exasperated sigh. “She couldn’t just leave that poor guy alone one bit, nyan. I feel sorry for Owatatsumi Tatsuya-kun, nyan.” Miryu noticed the voice’s source, a girl who seemed somewhat familiar to him (Toki Nekoyashi), and quickly approached her.

“Excuse me, but did you say Owatatsumi Tatsuya?” inquired Miryu excitedly.

Nekoyashi was a little taken aback by his sudden question but answered back with a friendly smile, “Yes.” Miryu grinned widely, reminding Nekoyashi a little bit of a snake widening its jaw. “Do you know him, nyan?” she asked him amiably.

“You could say that,” answered Miryu mysteriously. “Sasasasasa!” he laughed triumphantly to himself, “I did it!”

Nekoyashi eyed the stranger in front of her and started to think that he looked familiar somehow. The black reflective sunglasses covering his eyes, the snake-like suspicious voice…it all seemed too familiar to her. “Say, old man, have I met you somewhere before, nyan?”

The words ‘old man’ suddenly shattered Miryu’s sense of self-worth into a million pieces. “O-Old man?” he muttered to himself in a low and dead voice. Nekoyashi nodded with an innocent smile to show that she genuinely meant what she said. “I…I’m an old man now,” said Miryu with a dead chuckle.

By now, Kiryu and Iwaryu had caught up to their leader. “What happened?” asked Kiryu upon noticing how ghost-like their leader had become.

“Looks like he has gone into depression,” signed Iwaryu perceptively.

“How can we knock him out of it?” asked Kiryu.

“Let me try something,” Iwaryu told him. He pulled Miryu by the collar of his shirt and unleashed a wave of slaps across his face. Once Iwaryu thought that he had unleased enough slaps, he let go of his leader. Miryu became a little dazed from the physical assault but quickly recovered.

“W-What happened?” asked the Sanryu leader.

“You’re back!” exclaimed Kiryu as excitedly as he can. Iwaryu clapped his hands in agreement.

Nekoyashi wasn’t sure what just happened. Around her arm was a bag of treats that she had just bought from the bakery a few minutes ago. She took out a cat-shaped melonpan and began eating it. The exquisite flavor entered her system and elicited a stifled squeal of satisfaction.

Meanwhile, the Sanryu huddled together in a close circle as Miryu revealed the lead he had just received. “This girl knows Owatatsumi Tatsuya!” he told them giddily. The other two were happy to hear the news. “Now, we just need her to tell us where he is,” said Miryu confidently. He turned back to Nekoyashi and asked, “Say, you said that you’re friends with Owatatsumi Tatsuya, right?”

“Sure, nyan,” answered Nekoyashi with a nod.

“Then would you tell us where he is?” Miryu asked her expectantly.

Nekoyashi thought for a minute and then asked, “What’s your relationship with Owatatsumi-kun, nyan?”

The question suddenly made the Sanryu freeze up. Now that they ditched their detective costumes, they had no cover story. The group quickly huddled again and began discussing on a good explanation for their reason. A consensus was reached and Miryu quickly turned back to her and began spinning their story. “You see, we are Owatatsumi Tatsuya’s cousins!” he lied. He smiled confidently with no possible suspicious signs that could prove otherwise.

“Cousin?” inquired Nekoyashi with a tilt of her head.

“Yes!” confirmed Miryu. “We’ve come for a visit, but we can’t seem to find his home. It’s been years since we last saw each other.”

“Could you be dragons then?” asked Nekoyashi bluntly.

“Um, excuse me?” asked Miryu with an awkward smile. He wasn’t at all expecting those words to come out of her mouth. It threw him for a loop. “W-What do you mean by that?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Well, as long you guys are good then it shouldn’t be a problem, nyan,” said Nekoyashi with a nod of her head.

“What do you mean by that?” repeated Miryu uneasily.

“Just beware of Himeko, though,” warned Nekoyashi. “She slays dragons without a second thought, nyan.” She then walked off without another word, smiling as she nibbled on the delicious melonpan in her hand.

“What the hell do you mean by that?!” yelled out Miryu in a terrified voice. That’s when a terrifying realization hit him. “S-She’s a dragon slayer,” he said in a ghoulish voice. He can feel his soul leaving his body.

Once again, their mission ended in failure. What’s more, they have also discovered a mighty foe that they hope to never cross paths with ever again. Disillusioned with their loss, the Sanryu decided to call it a day and go back home to their warehouse.

In the days that followed, the Sanryu found themselves in a slump. They desperately came up with plan after plan, but they all ended in failure. This constant string of disappointments ate away at their morale and they found themselves deep in an abyss of negativity. And before they knew it, a week passed. “Argh!” screamed Miryu in frustration one day. “Why can’t they give us an easier mission? I liked it better when we were ordered to dish out the drugs,” he whined.

“Say, boss, can we really get back into the organization?” wondered Kiryu logically.

“Of course we can!” declared Miryu confidently. “But that’s easier said then done,” he added with an exasperated sigh.

“I’m hungry,” announced Kiryu out of the blue. “Can we get something to eat?” he asked his leader.

The question drew out a long sigh from Miryu. “We can’t forget about the budget,” he told his friends.

Besides their lack of motivation to form new plans, the Sanryu were also quickly exhausting their budget. The costumes, materials, and constant coffee breaks had eaten away all of their money. As of now, they only have 7000 yen (about $50 USD) to split between the three of them. The money they received from the organization for living expenses, food, and plan costs only equaled 410,000 yen (about $3000 USD); coupled with the Sanryu’s spending habits, it didn’t take long for that decent budget to quickly diminish into a meager amount.

“We only have 7000 yen left in our budget,” groaned Miryu. “Although we were able to preserve this amount since we were wise in our choice of dwelling, our combined food and material costs has greatly diminished our money supply.”

“I want ramen,” muttered Kiryu hungrily, completely ignoring his leader’s words on their money supply.

“Is food the only thing you ever think about?!” shouted Miryu.

Iwaryu tapped his leader on the shoulder and signed, “I’m getting kinda hungry too and we haven’t had any lunch yet.”

“I know,” groaned Miryu.

The three dragons then settled on getting ramen for lunch. They walked down the streets in search for a cheap shop. The first few shops they entered had prices that made Miryu almost want to cry: Shop #1 = 965 yen a bowl (about $7.00 USD), Shop #2 = 894 yen a bowl (about $6.50 USD), Shop #3 = 1030 yen a bowl (about $7.50 USD), and Shop #4 = 1340 yen a bowl (about $9.75 USD). Along the way, Kiryu’s stomach growled a deep rumbling sound that reverberated like a truck engine. The trio made it to their fifth shop and walked inside. They sat at a table and glossed over the menu. It looks they had found their Holy Grail—a bowl of ramen at this shop is only 620 yen a bowl (about $4.50 USD)!

“Hooray!” cheered Miryu happily. “We did it! We found an affordable place!”

“Yay!” joined in Kiryu. Iwaryu clapped in agreement. The other restaurant patrons were a little surprised by the trio’s sudden celebratory burst.

Each of the Sanryu got only one bowl of ramen, much to Kiryu’s displeasure, and ate their share slowly in order to savor each and every bite. It was a simple bowl, given the cheap price it only made sense, but the flavor was exquisite and satisfying indeed. It warmed their bellies, comforted their tongues, and excited their brains.

“Even though humans are lowly beings, you have to admit that they make some of the best dishes,” praised Miryu with a content smile.

“Mm-hm!” agreed Kiryu with his mouth full.

Iwaryu put down his chopsticks to sign: “Maybe instead of ridding them from existence, we should enslave them instead.”

“Nice idea!” praised Miryu with an agreeing nod.

“Mm-hm!” joined Kiryu.

“Alright! Once we get back in, we’ll do whatever we can to get promoted and become high-ranked members! And when we do, we’ll present them with this nice idea! I have confidence that the leaders will love it!” announced Miryu to the table.

Suddenly, a smell began to penetrate the air. The Sanryu sniffed the air and knew instantly what it was. This was the undeniable scent of a scourge—a rampaging dragon. The trio exchange worried glances. They knew that the area around them is in danger and they need to get the hell out of there if they want to live. They quickly finished their bowls and got up from their table to leave. Kiryu took out a pack of candy from his pants pocket and was about to open them for dessert when Miryu grabbed his arm and said, “Let’s go already!” As his leader dragged him away, the pack of candy fell onto their table unopened.

The Sanryu promptly left the establishment and rushed down the street to escape the coming disaster. Along the way, they hadn’t noticed at all that fate was leading them on. They passed by Owatatsumi Tatsuya, yet they were unaware of it at the time, and made it far enough to where the stench was faint and almost unnoticeable.

The trio stopped to catch their breath. “I think we’re safe,” declared Miryu after his heart returned back to its normal pace.

“My candy,” mourned Kiryu with sad eyes.

“Who cares about your candy?!” shouted Miryu in frustration.

“I’m pretty sure someone else right now is probably eating it and enjoying it for themself,” wailed Kiryu. “I bought it for myself as dessert, too. And now, the money I spent to enjoy it has gone to waste. The world is so cruel sometimes.”

“It’s okay, my friend,” comforted Iwaryu, patting his friend on the shoulders in a sympathetic fashion.

“I can’t deal with this foolishness,” muttered Miryu disappointingly to himself.

Little did they know, that bag of candy that was left on the table in that specific ramen shop would play a major part in that day’s victory for the heroes. The curious hunger of a specific dragon princess put the sweets to use in a way unexpected by those around her. However, that single victory could not have been achieved if that bag of candy wasn’t there at that particular moment. In other words, the Sanryu may not have succeeded in their mission, but they did unintentionally help their enemy achieve victory. So powerful is the concept of coincidence and fate.