Kazuma hits the wall ambulance twice and both Tifan and Cloud feel it slow down before it completely stops, they watch as everyone except for them and the two kids exit the ambulance.
"Choose, follow us, or leave." Jack says to them
Reluctantly they all step out of the ambulance and begin to follow their captors.
Tifa holds onto the kid's hands as they walk to make sure that they aren't separated by the crowds of people, that are going about their lives.
"There are three rules that everyone follows."
"Everyone no matter who it is has to have a partner when they're fifteen you can get one when you are twelve and not have one until you're fifteen, but once you are fifteen that's it you have no choice but to get one or one will be given to you by someone else." Kazuma says o to them.
"Why ?" Cloud asks him.
"Because of all of the problems people cause." Jack answers him.
"Listen the world is a mess right now and partners are considered Husbands and Wives and while there are teams made of one man and a group of women."
"Or in Jack's case nothing but men they aren't recommended or encouraged." Kazuma says to Cloud as Jack taps Cloud on the shoulder.
"Look people target groups that are made of women, or men, we have strong bodies and powerful abilities, which means we can father or give birth to strong children."
"Not to mention that if a guy or girl gets everyone from the opposite gender then they invite jealousy from everyone else, and you can imagine how that ends.' Jack explains to Cloud and Tifa.
"Okay, so what's the second rule?" Cloud asks Kazuma.
"Choose where you live, there's a reason why we brought you here, and I made you citizens of Ruins," Aqua answers Cloud.
'Look, because of the infected and because of the way the world is right now everyone needs to choose a side."
"You don't have to stay here but from now on, whenever anyone checks your information you and whatever other versions of yourselves show up will be recognized as citizens of Ruins." Kazuma adds.
'Why?" Tifa asks them as they arrive at a family restaurant that for some reason has a man that looks like a green fish, except he has the body of a man and the hands of a person.
Yet his face looks like a strange combination of fish and man, not to mention that he smells like a fish.
'Yo." Kazuma greets the fish man who waves at him.
"So who are the new faces?" the fish man asks Kazuma but when he sees the cat woman who smiles at him, he begins to back away.
"Recent's." Aqua says to the Fishman who nods.
"Protection," Jack says to them.
"From now on, anyone that tries to do anything to you will know that if they touch you they risk starting a war with us, Ruins is as much a city, as it is a kingdom."
"Name whatever you call a position of power and that is what Ruins is, except no one leads it."
"The last and most important rule is that you don't betray your city, you can leave and live in one of the other cities but you will always be a citizen of Ruins."
"Hold on let me tell them why." the Fishman says to Jack as he puts several plates of sushi in front of everyone.
"They're on the house, this is your welcome party." he says to them before he stands up straight and looks at the buildings that threaten to cover the sky and leave the people below without any natural daylight.
"I'm not going to lie to you, the cities fight each other for technology, magic name it and they will fight for it, but no one wants to fight another war."
"The nomads, those are people that rejected entering a city and paid the price for it."
"Sure they have their giant cities that move from one place to another, but most if not all of their people are infected, and as a result, they're a dying group."
"Not even the slavers are willing to trade with them."
Tifa and Cloud look at one another before Cloud shows the fish man his mark but the mark on his arm has somehow gotten smaller.
"A soldier, Shinra was destroyed during the war, it was Aqua who found the vaccine and made the cure, I'm sure one of them injected you with." the fish man says to Cloud as the sound of rain reaches their ears.
An uneasy silence sets in and it's only after Tifa says that it's a lot to take in that the fish man puts a piece of paper on the counter.
"What the helldid you do?" he akss Kazuma.
"What you said it was free." Kazuma says to the fish man as he chews on a piece of fish.
"Not that this." the fish man says to Kazuma as he pushes the paper toward Kazuma.
"You sent one of our own to the slavers, not only that he's with not one but two women and carrying two gold cards."
Kazuma and Aqua look at one another before nodding to each other, they both try to escape but before they can even give three steps a group of beast men surrounds them.
"Explain." the Fishman demands, as the beast men show their fangs and claws.
The kids run to Tifa who stands protectively between them and the animal people while Clloud prepares himself to interfere, even though none of the animal people are even looking at him.
Tifa can see aqua's eyes begin to glow blue with power, but before anything can happen Kazuma exhales and places his hand on her shoulder.
Aqua immediately calms down and her eyes lose their glow.
"There's going to be a tournament between the cities, something to distract us from everything and e need strong people." Kazuma says to the Fishman who grows.
'Two cards Kazuma, that means that the slavers can ask for two cards worth of slaves!"
"What drove you to do this!?" the Fishman demands.
'We told him." Akuma says to the Fishman as he walks past the crowd and toward the group.
"The slavers won't have those cards for long and they were the ones that said that they would give two cards worth to the winners." the knight says to the Fishman.
"That could mean anything." the Fishman says to the knight, but his eyes widen with fear as the knight's presence grows, despite the man standing perfectly still.
"Are you in control of this city?" the knight asks the Fishman.
"No.' the Fishman answers him with a trembling voice.
"We offered you a place amongst us elders, Kazuma is the Champion of not one but four Goddesses, he doesn't need to explain anything to any of you."
"And it's only his kind yet foolish heart that keeps him grounded, don't give him a reason to leave the ground floor behind." the Knight says to the beast-men before he walks towards Kazuma and looks at him in the eyes.
"Kazuma, if you were going to run away why didn't you just teleport?"
And if you were going to kill them why did you have to make a show of it?" the knight asks Kazuma.
"Man your no fun." the catgirl says as she reveals several wires that are aimed at the animal people's hearts, necks, and temples.
The woman's playful tone of voice turns cold and with a predatory voice, the kind neither Cloud nor Tifa could have ever imagined a living thing could make she says to the fish man.
"I want some of your most poisonous fish, oh if I or anyone gets poisoned."
She opens her mouth wide as she shows him her fangs, it was an impossible request and so she had just told the Fishman that she was going to kill him.
"Forget it we won't be coming back here, I'll buy some pizza." Kazuma says to the cat girl and breaks the tension that had taken over.
'Recents go with your team, we need to talk with this one and his friends." Akuma orders Tifa, Cloud, and the kids as he forces the beast men back by just looking at them.