Bab 8: Arrival
Jason and Bane arrived in Japan without much issue. Besides convincing the TSA that Jason's cybernetic enhancements should be allowed on the plane and that it was part of Bane's religion to never remove his mask.
As soon as they got to Japan, Jason realized that he had forgotten something very important.
"You don't speak Japanese?"
"No. I thought you did."
"Oh."
Jason knew that they were pretty much screwed in the situation so he had to convert the last of his cash into eddies before buying a Japanese Language piece of chipware for 1000 eddies. Bane looked on as Jason inserted the chip into his neck. The latter had already informed him about his cybernetics so it was no surprise for Bane.
Once he inserted it, Jason was able to perfectly understand all the conversations going on around him and read the signs.
"Come on. We need to get take a cab to the train station, take a train to the port town, and take a boat to the island where the tournament is hosted on."
The pair walked outside the airport and went to the area where the taxis were picking up passengers. While they were waiting, a father-daughter pair stood next to them. Jason immediately took notice of them both.
They each had white hair and were wearing eye patches, the daughter over her left eye and the father over his right. Jason was instantly able to recognize the pair thanks to their signature markers.
'One of the two people I was hoping to meet.'
Jason walked past Bane before holding out his right hand to greet the man next to them.
"Mr. Wilson. Nice to me, my name is Jason Todd and the person behind me is Bane. We were just hoping that we could see you at the tournament."
Slade and Rose were both surprised that Jason had come up to them. While Slade's face was very public, few people would dare to actually confront him, even politely, when they knew his identity. At least not without carrying several weapons.
Slade shook Jason's right hand and was surprised when he felt how hard it was. He could instantly tell that it was made out of metal.
"Why were you looking for me?"
Rose was also curious about the person that approached her father. She took in his looks and realized that he was around the same age as her.
'And not bad looking either. The stripe matches my hair well.'
"We want to join the League of Assassins," Jason told him plainly. 'No point beating around the bush.'
Slade was surprised. There were few people that would want to join the League. All those that did had something wrong with their heads.
This time, Slade actually looked over Jason like he was evaluating him. His height, weight, muscles, the resolve in his eyes. Slade took it all in.
After assessing Jason, Slade smiled. He liked the kid.
"Fine. I only can bring in two people. My daughter, Rose, here is one of them. You can be the other. But your friend has to work for it. He needs to reach the semi-finals in the tournament."
Jason looked back at Bane to seek the other man's opinion, to which the latter nodded.
"I was planning to compete anyway. Now there is simply more motivation for me to crush all of the other opponents."
And with that, the agreement had been made. The group of 4 boarded a van together to head toward the train station. In the middle seats were Bane and Slade while Jason and Rose sat in the back. The car ride was very quiet so Rose decided to break the silence by talking to Jason.
"How much training do you have? You look tough but not like you're competent in martial arts."
Jason felt a sting in his pride but he couldn't deny her words. His body was pretty much artificial because of the bioware and biotech, it wasn't like he really worked hard for his muscles.
"Decent in a street fight but only have 2 weeks worth of training under Bane. Besides that, I'm a complete noob."
"And you wanna join the League?" Rose asked with her mouth agape. If he was really just as skilled as he claimed and wasn't being humble, he would end up getting killed on his first mission.
"Yep. But I don't plan on getting flatlined."
"Nobody plans on dying. But it happens when someone meets their better."
"Then good thing there is no one better than me 'cause I'm the best at what I do."
Rose felt frustrated talking to Jason. He wasn't speaking while using logic or facts but instead his opinion of himself. It was insulting to both herself that had worked hard to get her father's permission to join and her father's pride itself if Jason joined and died right after.
"Jason Todd. I don't like you."
"What a coincidence," Jason said with a smirk, "cause I happen to like you more and more."
"I don't date people weaker than me."
"Who said anything about dating?" Jason asked truly puzzled. He viewed Rose as an interesting person due to the little information he knew about her conflicting with the person he had met.
Rose was supposed to be someone that was very anti-social but the person in front of him was very lively with a stranger that she just met. Even if she showed her dislike for him, she had every reason to. Jason especially liked that she didn't fake getting along with him just because her father approved of him.
'She has a mind of her own. Always gotta like a person like that.'
Rose looked at Jason's smirk and felt irritated. She turned away and gave up trying to talk to him, instead getting her mind ready for the upcoming tournament.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone