When you forget what you were going to say...
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        He stood behind the counter rather boredly but grateful that there hadn't been any customers so far that day. It was well into the afternoon, so his job would be ending soon. (Y/n) was doing pretty well in Sander. He'd successfully gone a week and a half without any incidents and only Vapor and Vegar had seen Zhu. The fox had become a part of him now and they were pretty good friends if he were to consider Zhu, a symbiotic protector of his family's bloodline, to be a suitable friend.

        "Don't you think we can just ditch the place for a bit. I'm sure Vapor won't mind. It's so boring here," Zhu complained.

        "Vapor would kill us if we left the shop unattended. You know that. I'm trying to stay out of as much trouble as possible so I'm going to wait until she says I can leave," (y/n) said. He leaned against the counter but immediately straitened up when Vapor suddenly walked in.

        "Well you managed to keep the place in decent order," she muttered as she walked by. (Y/n) said nothing and only waited for Vapor to release him from his temporary job. Before that could happen, someone else walked into Vapor's shop and completely ignored his existence.

        "Oh please Vapor, I'm begging you! What is it? There has to be something that you put into your potion of youth. I swear I won't tell anyone!" the woman begged.

        "I already told you, there's no youth potion, and I have no secret. This appearance of mine is merely a side effect. Now I'd appreciate it if you left my shop if you have no intention to buy anything," Vapor said without even turning to look at the woman.

        (Y/n) had seen her around Sander a few times while running some errands for Vapor or simply exploring but he'd never gotten a name to go with the face. It wasn't like he cared. She was an obvious nuisance to Vapor which made her a nuisance to him as well. As luck would have it, the woman finally noticed (y/n) casually standing behind the counter and he just happened to meet her gaze on accident. "Oh great. She noticed us," (y/n) thought to which Zhu laughed.

        "You...surely you know. You're her apprentice aren't you. Or maybe you're just someone who works here. Either way, she's told you her secret or you found the potion yourself! You seem youthful to me. I bet you've taken that potion right?" the woman said. Even if (y/n) had been given time to answer, what could he have possibly said? It was true that Vapor had told him the secret to her eternal youth, but it had only been because she knew about his own secret.

        "Rosean, you should go," Vapor sighed before (y/n) could make any sort of statement.

        "Please, I need to know. It's a scientifical um...whatever you call those things. If I have it, my shop will flourish not only because of my valuable merchandize but also because of my looks. I could offer it to others at a fair enough price!" Rosean continued making sure to ignore Vapor as she spoke to (y/n).

        "She's rather annoying. Can't we leave already?" Zhu huffed.

        "I know she is but Vapor hasn't said anything about shop closing hours, so we're stuck in this mess until she does," (y/n) thought while doing his best to keep his eye from twitching in annoyance.

        "Ignore her. She'll leave," Vapor muttered before returning to her lab upstairs. (Y/n) did just that and ignored Rosean's useless pleading until the purple haired woman simply glared at him.

        "You are a detestable heinous wrongdoer! Don't worry. I'll make sure I find out what that secret is," Rosean finally spat before storming out of the shop. (Y/n) just blinked a couple of times before going back to boredly leaning against the counter.

        "Can I leave now?" he asked sensing that Vapor had walked back downstairs.

        "After dealing with her, sure but I don't suggest you go anywhere near her shop for the time being. This isn't the first time she's gone too far when asking for a secret I'm never sharing," Vapor said.

        "Finally! That took forever!" Zhu said. If (y/n) could hit him for being so impatient, he would.

        "Oh and here. It's for your friend," Vapor said holding out a silver chain to him.

        "My friend?" he questioned. He stared at the object that Vapor held out to him.

        "The other presence. I assumed you two were friends. As you explained, you share the same soul," Vapor reasoned.

        "Right," (y/n) confirmed while scratching his head at the awkwardness of the situation. He took the chain and gave Vapor his thanks on Zhu's behalf. "Do you even care about such accessories?" he asked the fox.

        "It's a gift. I don't turn down gifts," Zhu answered. (Y/n) held back a slight laugh before heading upstairs to the storage space that he called his room. It was still pretty cluttered and cramped, but it was better than it was when he first arrived. At least he could safely release Zhu without the fox being visible through the window that was now covered by several layers of satin.

        "Well, you've got to let me try it on, right? If it doesn't fit, we'll have to get it adjusted," Zhu said having just taken his physical form.

        "You shouldn't just materialize like that. I didn't even check to see if it was safe yet," (y/n) said glancing at Zhu who was staring at him or rather the chain expectantly. "This could be rigged for all you know," (y/n) warned as he unhooked the chain and held it out for Zhu. The fox paid no heed to his words and allowed the chain to be hooked around his neck. It hung there a bit loosely but otherwise did nothing and fit perfectly. "Now the real issue. Will it leave with you if you disappear? I bet that's why Vapor gave it to you. Last time it was food and that didn't end too well since you don't really eat." A slight smile began to form on (y/n)'s face as Zhu realized this.

        "Hey, you can't enter here! He isn't a threat! Leave him be!" Vapor could be heard shouting. Zhu disappear in an instant, dissipating into black smoke. The chain didn't go with him which was sort of disappointing, but there were more important things to worry about. (Y/n) exited the room just in time to see two of Sander's enforcement officers appearing upstairs. Behind them was the annoying purple haired woman from earlier whose name had already been forgotten.

        "That's him. He's got to be hiding something. Vapor hasn't always had him around, so there must be something wrong with him for her to be harboring him here. I bet he's a criminal or worse!" Rosean accused.

        In all honesty, (y/n) couldn't really react. He was surprised that such a thing was happening so suddenly for such a stupid reason. No doubt this unwarranted arrest had something to do with that woman not getting her way. "Look, I litteraly just walked up here. I swear I didn't do anything," (y/n) deadpanned. Even so, the officers ignored his words and took hold of him. He didn't even try resisting. What good would that do him? They'd clearly made up their minds already.

        "Let him go. He's just someone who needed my help is all," Vapor spoke.

        "So you admit that he's an outsider with the potential to harm us!" Rosean further accused.

        "I didn't say that!" Vapor snapped. She was highly frustrated by the situation, and that was very understandable.

        "It's okay Vapor. Doesn't seem like they're going to listen," (y/n) said before he was dragged out of the shop and pushed into the road. He stumbled but didn't fall.

        "Well it seems Vegar wasn't wrong about the bad luck thing," Zhu commented.

        "Now isn't the time Zhu, and I don't have bad luck. These people just have bad attitudes." Two more officers who were outside waiting took hold of him and began escorting him towards what seemed to be a containment cage. (Y/n) had seen some of the people that were put in them. He'd also seen what happened to them afterwards whether they'd been a petty theif of a good for nothing murderer. The treatment was always the same and he would not be allowing himself to experience such things.

        Immediately, (y/n) planted his feet in the sand stopping the guards in their tracks. "Sorry, but I'm not going in that thing," he said hoping they'd listen before he had to do anything more.

        "You have no choice," one of them spoke and forced (y/n) forward but he stopped again and pulled out of their holds.

        "Don't make me fight you. I will do it," (y/n) warned although he stood idly to show he didn't want to start anything. There was already a small crowd gathering nearby, and he wasn't liking the attention.

        "Listen, all we need to do is question you and maybe run a few tests to see if the lady is right. If you're as innocent as you claim then you'll be free to go," the officer said. (Y/n) knew better than to trust Sander's officers. Vapor was the only one he could trust in the entire city unless Vegar happened to visit. No one else knew about Zhu or (y/n)'s connection to him. If he went with them, there was a chance Zhu would lash out or (y/n) could accidentally use Zhu's power since he didn't have full control over it yet. He didn't want to risk that, but he didn't have much of a choice.

        "(Y/n), go back to where you came. He'll be there waiting for you," Vapor suddenly said. The message was clear and he had a way out, but giving up his relatively chill life in Sander just so he didn't have to go through some tests sounded like a bad trade off.

        "He's going to try escaping!" Rosean said even though (y/n) was still simply standing there.

        "Well I guess I have no choice now. Don't you dare make an appearance either. I can handle this," (y/n) thought as he side stepped the officer that had reached for him. In an instant, he'd climbed up the nearest building since he often did so for fun. He looked down and met Vapor's gaze and saw her nod in approval. That was all he needed before making his escape although he wished his departure was under better circumstances.

        "Well it seems we've started yet another journey," Zhu commented. (Y/n) didn't say anything in response. He didn't want to hear it. Besides, he still had an entire city to escape.
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I think that's enough introductory chapters. A decent backstory has been set up so I think it's time to start the real adventure. Until next time you epic readers!