Chapter 9: Personal Resolutions
"How did he escape?!" - The voice of an elderly man is heard in a room with a giant table. Some people were seated at it, watching Makima in the center of everything.
Unlike usual, the woman didn't show any smile, and was biting her lower lip while her expression was furrowed.
"It's the second time! First, the experimental squadron fails miserably, and now you're telling me he escaped from the most secure demon prison in Asia?! How is that even possible?!" - Another person in the room said, clearly uneasy.
"He used a spatial power not seen in any report." - The answer was short and sharp, she perfectly remembered that annoying playful smile, as if mocking her, making her think she was in control at some point.
He manipulated her, dared to do that with the Control Devil, and unlike other fools who tried in the past, he succeeded.
"How many contracts does this... Denji, have?" - The man in the middle, the most serious and the one who hadn't lost his composure, asked.
"As far as it was determined, none. To be precise, he's not human, a hybrid, or even a demon."
"How is that possible...?" - The same man asked, with furrowed brows.
"I have no answer for that, the only certainty I can give is that he is an anomaly that rejects the natural rules of the world." - She said, with a hint of anger.
Everyone fell silent for a while, and the man in the middle, the most lucid one, then spoke again.
"It's not your fault. It couldn't be imagined... something like this." - He closes his eyes - "I, Takahashi Nagomikawa, request that we declare it as the top priority target of our operations. All squads must eliminate this reckless teenager as soon as they see him."
"I, Renji Okamiya, vote for the same." - The one who lost control the most previously is the second to speak, now calmer, but with a malicious grin.
"I, Hayato Uzura, vote in favor and blah blah blah. Let's get on with this before I get more restless!"
Makima then smiles wickedly and raises her left arm.
"I, Makima, vote in favor of the death of the anomaly known as Denji" - After that... the screen goes dark.
With Denji
The young blonde was sitting with Kobeni on the floor of the Kamui, with Shizune lying unconscious beside them.
"So... they can kill us... to get to you?" - Kobeni asks, with a frightened look.
"Yes." - His head was bowed, and his heartbeat quickened.
"Look, I know it wasn't your intention. But from now on, I need, and I deserve to know more. And yes, I've already noticed that you're hiding some specific things from me."
"What? You're not going to blam-"
"No! I'm not. And now that you've dragged me into this mess, you must tell me the important things you've been hiding."
Denji falls silent for a few moments, but then lifts his head and wipes away some tears.
"First off: I don't know how, I don't know why... But I took control of this body. And the owner of this body, the real Denji, the one you NEVER met... is dead." - Obviously, this was shocking news for Kobeni, but she remained silent and nodded for him to continue. - "When I... entered this body, he was buried under rubble and it was quite a hassle to get out."
"Secondly: There's something very important that I can't tell you right now because it would probably cause you to have an existential crisis. But trust me when I say that I will tell you in the future."
"Just let me guess at least a part, it has something to do with where you came from?" - The black-haired woman asks a great question, and Denji nods. - "Alright, I'll ask you that question in the future, heheh."
"Hahah, fair enough. And I think one of the most important things that comes to mind is that my life kinda has a purpose. And that goal is to make humanity as a whole stronger, to balance the game with the demons."
"So you 'were born' with a purpose, literally or metaphorically speaking?"
"Literally. Remember the System I mentioned? My main mission is marked there."
With that, silence fell for a while, with Kobeni trying to assimilate everything she was told. Despite starting abruptly, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, just something neutral.
They glanced at each other occasionally, not wanting to look into each other's eyes, they were thinking too much for something like that.
Until the silence was finally broken by Denji.
"I'm sorry... for hiding this from you." - He says, with a strong sense of guilt - "You... are my only friend. I... didn't want to betray your trust."
"You don't need to apologize, this is a lot and everything is very important, I understand you didn't tell me when you could. If you did, you might win the trophy for the dumbest man in the world, hahahah."
Denji just laughs along with Kobeni, the atmosphere starts to get a little lighter.
"Hah, well. Time to think of a way to solve the problems, because as much as having..." - She looks around - "Almost infinite space just for me sounds like a cool idea, in practice it would be horrible not to have a chance of contact with the outside. The problem is precisely that outside would also be terrible because we're being hunted..."
"I'm sorry for that..."
"Look, let's focus on what matters, please? At this point, you're just tormenting yourself for nothing."
"Alright. Look, do you think you could manage in another country? Because apart from isolating ourselves in the mountains or in very remote rural areas, that would be the second best option."
"The hard part is the language... And besides, there's Shizune who would lose all her friends. It might sound silly, but at her age, that would be a big blow..."
"Hmm... there's that, but... what other option do we have? It's that or almost nothing until we sort things out in Japan. Honestly, a country where I would have an easier time teaching you two how things work is Brazil."
"Do we really need to be so radical as to change countries? Isn't there some way to solve it on Japanese soil?"
"You have no idea what Makima is capable of. This woman... is literally able to move at the, almost, speed of light. So I ask you, should we stay in the country she knows best?"
"Alright, you have a point. Thank you for caring, I say this because I don't think you, selfish as you are, would help anyone that much. But now, you've made me curious, when you refer to Makima, are you talking about one of the bosses there in Tokyo? What's up with her?"
"You got it. And basically, from what I know, she's the Control Devil, a primordial being, and she possibly has the entire Japan in the palm of her hand just because of her connections within the public security. One of her pacts is the ability to transfer the damage she suffers to any person in the Japanese population, thank the Prime Minister."
"What!? Besides being a demon, she even forced the head of State to sell the entire population!? I knew she was kind of weird, but I didn't expect that..."
"There's a lot of things I know, Kobeni... and at the same time, I know very little. That scares me a lot."
"Hah, if that's knowing little, then we're screwed." - She says, lying on her back on the floor with her arms spread.
"Ah, you must be wondering why I took you out of there, since practically no one knows that we're close. And the answer is kind of strange, but it's because of the smell." - He gestures to his nose. - "One of Makima's characteristics, which I'll explain how I know in the future, is that she memorizes people by their smell and not by their faces."
"Heheh, that's really weird." - At this point, it would take a lot to surprise the woman, who looks up and sees Shizune already awake and sitting. - "Shizu, how much of this conversation did you hear?"
"From 'I don't know how, but I took control of this body' to 'how much of this conversation did you hear'... And don't worry big sis, I won't throw a tantrum if we need to go to another country." - She says seriously and with a sad expression, contrasting greatly with her usual personality.
"Speaking like that makes me proud to see that the bratty little sister I've been taking care of for 7 years is becoming a responsible young lady. Hahahah!"
"Hey!" - She blushes and becomes embarrassed immediately.
Denji has a small smile watching the scene, just enjoying the moment. Internally, he admitted that he envied sibling relationships like this, but no one besides him needed to know that.
To be continued...
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