Chapter 12: Part 12
"He ran somewhere this way." - said the first voice.
"I think he ran that way!" - it was another man's voice.
"Are you stupid? He ran that way!" - and that was the third man's voice.
"I don't think he ran that way, but the other way." - said the second man's incredibly clever thought.
"Then let's go back and check again!" - said an even more wonderful thought by the third.
"Okay, let's go, but let someone look around here," the first started saying the dumb idea again.
"Okay. I'll stay." - said the horrible idea of the third.
I listened to this whole little conversation while I tried to catch my breath from the long run. More out of habit than necessity. It was certainly not the most pleasant situation, especially at that moment, when I wandered into the wrong territory and was chased by men in suits, who well did not look like the guards, but rather members of some mafia.
When I was exploring an open area to find Mukuro, I came across some factory or building that was surrounded by a fence, and going around I could find a little hole in the fence that a little and athletic girl could fit through, so I thought for better security she could have snuck somewhere in that area, and when I was walking around for a couple minutes and got away from that hole, I got spotted by this group of people who chased me.
A normal kid, of course, would not be able to run away from adults, but I was not a normal kid, so my dexterity and childish body were able to get through places where the gang could not run fast. And of course, the most logical thought for me was to hide, because sooner or later they would be able to catch up with me or God forbid, they would start shooting. I'm not sure I could survive a single shot.
So I hid in the very first and in my opinion safest place, namely, in the ventilation shaft. And how fortunate it was that the lid that normally covered them was held on by snot and with my little strength I was able to pull it out easily, and was also able to put it back on easily when I was inside the shaft. It was also incredibly fortunate that it was slightly bigger than me and with my childish body I was able to fit through it and those morons couldn't even think of that.
I already knew that it was more likely to have something to do with my luck and the whole situation was most likely to help me somehow with my "non-existent" problems and the only way out that I liked, and was the most correct among the others was to climb forward. Since I doubt that I could once again run away from the guy who was guarding outside, and staying put would also be a bad decision.
Crawling forward and sometimes up and sideways down the ventilation shaft for the first time I was glad that I didn't have to breathe, or else I was afraid I would suffocate in here because of all the dust that was in here, and the rats that sometimes ran in and out of here didn't embarrass me much. So, the only problem was that sometimes there were nails that scratched me in places or something like that, and in the dark you couldn't tell exactly, despite my non-humanity I still couldn't see in the dark, at least not yet.
"CRACKLE" "CRACKLE" "CRACKLE."
"Fuck." - was the only word that could be said in this situation.
After I heard the crackle, the only thing left for me to do was to swear in profanity, as I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything, I didn't have enough speed or space to get away in any direction, and my characteristics didn't allow me to do anything beyond human actions. So, I put my arms out in front of me to protect my head. My first thought was of course to put my arms out in front of me to absorb the damage, but underneath me was probably a few meters down, so that wouldn't help me.
The floor beneath me just broke, if you can call it that. After flying a few meters down, I finally felt the impact and the ground, and if it hadn't been for the system, I have no doubt it would have hurt. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that I had fallen on a table with a pile of incomprehensible papers on it, and I also saw some shards from a bottle that I had most likely broken in my fall.
When I looked up a little higher, I met my eyes with a man who was looking at me with shock. He looked like a typical mob boss. He had his dark hair combed and slicked back, a manicured mustache, dark eyes, and a pinstripe suit that was tailored with a rose on the left side at pocket level, but unlike those Mafiosi in the movies he was fairly young and did not wear Mafia hats, though he might have taken them off indoors.
When I tore my gaze away from him, I looked around. There were several other respectable people sitting around the table where I had fallen, and they looked about the same as the first man. The next thing that caught my eye was the room itself, which was incredibly lavishly furnished, and it was obvious that this was not a one-time place, but a frequently visited one. But there was a problem looming, as my gaze wandered around the room, I saw six, men standing there with guns, and the muzzle of those guns was pointed in my direction altogether. I hope they won't be too harsh.
I don't think I'll be able to walk away from this situation calmly, but I think I need to make at least some effort to do so and at least I won't think I didn't do anything in a bad way. So, slowly standing up as if everything was as it should be and looking around for the first time, I turned my attention to the first man and only now I noticed that he was sitting in the very center of the table and his chair was richer than the others, so most likely he wasn't the last big shot here. After playing peek-a-boo with him, I made a dazed face with special attention to his eyes and decided to start the conversation first.
"The teleportation machine I created! It works! I must report it to the president immediately!!!" - There was shock in my voice with obvious elements of joy.
As I finished, I nodded to my boss and slowly walked to the edge of the large table, then slowly climbed down and headed for the intended benefit, but... But behind me there was the sound of a trigger pull.
Immediately standing in place I raised my hands above my head and then slowly turned around, not waiting to be told. As I turned around, I saw the boss holding a revolver in his hands that was pointed precisely at my head.
"You think we're completely stupid and will believe this nonsense!" - shouted one of the six men at me in an angry voice.
"I can explain everything!" - I shouted back.
"We don't need to explain anything, we'll just shoot you in the head!" - he said again and at the same time pulled out his gun.
"Stop! Stop! Stop! It's a really funny story!" - I don't feel like yelling, but I guess if I'm calm, it's not okay.
"Yes! Of course! I don't doubt it! We'll listen after your brains decorate the wall!" - This guy is either scared or has a temper problem since he can't calm down.
"My brains are a disgusting color and they won't match the decor of this room! I answer!" - The only thing I could hope for was my luck.
"Well, we'll see about that! So..." - he fell silent.
When this guy's patience point reached a certain point, and he was clearly about to shoot me in the head and really paint the wall with my brains. The boss raised his hand, stopping this guy from acting rashly. The boss was still looking at me, and unlike the others his eyes were full of seriousness and a strange calmness, as if he was confident that he could handle any situation, and also, oddly enough, there was wisdom floating in those eyes.
As I looked at the rest of the people, I saw that the rest of the people in the room were beginning to come around as well. Respect. With one simple movement, he was able to calm down some pretty tough guys. That said he clearly didn't take his place by inheritance. But in spite of all that, he was still pointing a revolver in my direction. And it looked as cool as possible to be honest; he was completely relaxed, but he reeked of danger, telling me it was better not to make any unnecessary moves.
"I'd be interested to hear your story." - the man smiled weakly and very attractively, even making me want to smile back.
His voice was calm, which made it even more pleasant, rough and elegant at the same time, as strange as it sounded, and as if it penetrated my head under the very crust, which made it listen and trust on an intuitive level.
"As strange as it sounds, my teacher told me today, or rather already yesterday, to take the materials to the girls who hadn't been to school for a few days and it just so happened to be me. When I went to the address, I realized that they were not there, and there were only a few tramps. So, I had to look for them." - I paused to regain my breath while looking at the suspicious eyes of the gang staring at me. "When I found one of them, she told me that those tramps kicked them out. So, the only thing left for me to do was to shelter her, and then I went looking for another girl. And as it happens, one of the unexplored areas was this place, finding a hole in the fence, I thought that she could get through there. Well, I got through too, but I found your guys upstairs and chased me, well, to hide, I climbed into the ventilation shaft and crawled through it, and then you know yourself. You can even ask the guys outside."
It was the Ultimate truth, and I hoped that they would believe it, or at least question it, rather than just shoot me in the head. If I survived that, I promised myself that I would upgrade my conversational skills, or at least improve my "charisma" to the point where I could persuade people in a few words.
"That certainly sounds all very noble, but do you think we were born yesterday?" - said another guy. And I liked him a lot better than the first one.
"I'm eight! Do you seriously think I have nothing better to do than follow mobsters?" - What were they so stubborn about.
"In our world even a child of eight can be dangerous." - аgain, the boss caught on to my words. "And how did you know we were mobsters?"
"You can't argue with that. About the mobsters. You look like the mafia from the movies... What more do you want?" - Those were logical words if you look at what they all look like. But I've never seen a movie in this world, so I hope there are mafia movies here.
"There might be logic in what you're saying." - The boss confirmed my thoughts. And immediately said something I didn't want to hear. "But you know very well yourself that I can't let you go after you found out about this place."
He finally stopped pointing the gun at me and gave a couple of non-verbal orders, with a wave of his hand to the men who were standing at the door. They then walked quickly toward me and put their hands on my shoulders in a surprisingly affectionate manner, and then tried to lead me in the opposite direction from the exit to the door, which I had not noticed before because of the barriers.
Right now, there were two possibilities for how things would unfold. The first and most unpleasant option would be that I would be put in a cage, where I would spend the rest of my life, short or long, depending on how people were in the mood. The second option and already more pleasant is to try to somehow get out of this situation and I had no chance of success with my abilities. So, the only way out was to rely on my talent, which I had practically forgotten about, namely my "Ultimate Favorite of Fate and Fortune. I don't really know how, but it had to be decided quickly.
And then, as if by chance, my gaze caught hold of a shiny object that glinted hauntingly in my eyes. It was the revolver the boss was holding, which he had placed on the table. I remembered the description of my luck [You can play Russian Roulette with a full reel and not only survive, but win.] Yes. It was the only way I could see right now.
"How about playing for my freedom!" - I shouted and felt the grip on my shoulders tighten.
Turning my head, I saw the boss's eyebrow go up and he starts looking at me with a question and then nods lightly as if giving permission to speak. Likewise, these guys standing on my shoulders stopped pushing me, but still held my shoulders pretty tightly.
"Well look. The game will be for life, but I'm well aware that you have no reason to play me on this so I'll settle for just a wish if I survive." - I returned to my calm tone, and my voice, as always, was full of confidence in my words.
"What's the game?" - The boss said simply.
"Russian roulette. And not just Russian roulette, but with a full reel." - I said, watching as the eyes of all the people in the room began to widen because they thought I was crazy and only the boss's eyes grew colder. "Why? It'll be easier for you, too. If you're not lucky, I'll paint your walls, and if you're lucky, you'll see a miracle."
"You don't know what you're playing at." - I could hear the rage in the boss's voice.
Despite all this, I felt only more respect for this man because of the fact that he didn't want to gamble on a child's life, and even tried to talk me out of it and teach me a lesson.
"I understand perfectly. Perhaps even more than you do." - After these words, my icy blue eyes with a pattern of lines met my boss's black eyes, like a pair of tunnels. We looked into each other's eyes and no one was going to take them away from each other. "If you give me your word you won't kill me, unless, by some miracle, I survive, because I've got two girls to take care of. Well, I don't have enough bullets for all of you anyway, so I don't even think about it."
"All right. If you survive, I promise you that nothing will happen to you. You won't be harmed in any way by me or my men, and my promise can't be undone, not in a year or a hundred years." - said the boss in the same serious voice.
His promise gave more than I wanted, or I already had the urge to flee the country.
There was complete silence in the room, and it seemed that even the people around us stopped breathing. We were still looking into each other's eyes as he tried to see something in them that was important only to him, as I tried to convince him and show him that something. Here at last he decided on something and looked at the revolver that lay on the table, then nodded briefly at it, giving me permission.
Despite my confidence, I was not at all sure about it. Maybe, of course, the system was writing that I was a god in luck, but I hadn't experienced it myself yet. So deep in my heart I had my doubts. But in spite of all this, with slow and steady steps, I approached the table. As I took it in my hands, I realized how big it was compared to my baby hands. Of course, I had only seen it in games and television, but this revolver looked somehow cooler and special, it was immediately obvious that it was not meant for extras.
Opening the drum, I showed it to the boss and rolled it a few times showing that the drum contained all six bullets. Then, logically, I put the drum back into the gun. After which I cranked it for the sake of the moment and the fact that it looked pretty cool. After which I cocked the trigger and put it to my head. Not about to wait or hesitate another second, I pulled the trigger, still looking straight into the boss's eyes.
"Shot."
My knees trembled a little after that shot sounded, but I was fine and there wasn't even any notice of damage. Which made me relax and all the tension in my body that I hadn't noticed before was gone. It also finally confirmed the fact that my luck could save my life, which was likely to make me lose my mind and do all sorts of nonsense, knowing that I was in no danger.
For the first time the boss's face changed. His eyes widened to an unbelievable size and even his mouth dropped open a little in shock, but when I looked at the others, I realized that he was still holding up okay, while the others almost sat up in shock, looking at the way they looked it was as if they had just been hit by lightning and had survived the shock.
After looking around, I finally decided to look at why I survived and what the shot was. The first place, oddly enough, was the hole in the wall that was to my right, the side where I was holding the revolver, and as if giving more confirmation it was about as high as my height was. So, I decided to look at the revolver, which was still in my hand.
I also decided to look, not just me, but also the boss, who took a few steps forward toward me and stood practically right up close and watched my actions carefully. Looking at him you could tell he had already calmed down, but I'm sure he got his pants dirty and in pure experience just doesn't show it.
Looking at the revolver more closely, I saw that the back of it at trigger level had a hole the size of a bullet. So it's safe to say that the shot went backwards and it was a trick gun if you can call it that and that it should have killed the shooter, or rather the Boss. And couldn't my luck come up with anything better, it was at least strange that my luck had saved the life of a mob boss... or else it was just an incredibly fortunate course of circumstances for me and I would most likely not be left in the lurch.
"Izamu!" - yelled the boss at one of the men.
"Got it!" - shouted the so-called Izamu and immediately ran for the exit, and you could see the rage in his eyes.
Most likely they realized that someone wanted to kill the boss and Isamu was sent to catch that person. Which once again made me look at the revolver. I had no idea how it backfired, and I wasn't even sure if such a thing existed, or if it was even possible in real life, but I guess in a world where Ultimate Talents exist in people, you can do things like that.
After this little conversation, all the people in the room began to realize what had happened, too, and there was a look of seriousness on their faces. They started to take out their phones and call some people while walking from one end of the room to the other making people flicker in front of my eyes all the time, and the boss was still standing in front of me, but only now he turned his back to me and started making some calls too. It certainly wasn't the best moment to talk, but...
"Can I go now? Because I need to find another friend of mine." - I decided to raise my voice.
After my words, everyone in the room froze in place and as if they had just remembered of my existence and the only thing, I had to do was look at the boss, who also froze and slowly started to turn to me. As he turned toward me, he looked me in the eyes and then slowly walked all over my body with his gaze, which made me feel uncomfortable, but I was able to stand it all calmly.
"What's your name?" - said the boss calmly.
"Yasuke Matsuda." - I don't think giving me a false name or not saying it would do me any good.
"Yes, you can go. I'll come see you tomorrow to hear your wish." - That wasn't the nicest thing he said, but I don't think anything serious will happen.
"Goodbye." - I said and turned around.
I still couldn't believe it all worked, but after turning around I walked on solid legs toward the exit, trying not to think about getting shot, but it can't be that easy, so...
"Matsuda." - The boss's voice rang out again when I was practically at the exit and my hand was reaching for the handle.
"Yeah..." - I said and began to turn around quietly to see the boss holding a gun pointed at my head.
Before I could do anything, much less say anything, the boss pulled the trigger, but instead of the expected shot there was the sound of a misfire. Which is logical, the bullet did not fire. And a smug expression began to appear on the boss's face at the realization of what had just happened.
"What was that?" - I said in a still calm voice.
"Well, I had to see if you were 'Ultimate Lucky' or if that whole scene was staged to rub off on me." - The boss said with a strange warmth.
Shit. That "Ultimate Lucky" of his was clearly hinting at something specific. He made it pretty easy to see that my luck was at an all-time high. I don't think Nagito was the one and only first. Also, the system notification sounded in my head, which meant only one thing, I had a level of relationship with him.
"Okay." - was the only thing left for me to say.
"Akayo walk him to the exit. Don't forget he's, our guest." - The boss turned to the tall guy who was one of the guards, to which he only nodded.
"Let's go." - Akayo said as he walked over to me and opened the door in front of me.
"And remember Yasuke." - This time there was confidence and pride in the boss's voice. "My name is Yuuei Kuzuryuu and I am the boss of the yakuza, not the mafia."
"Isn't that the same thing?" - came my voice with notes of suspicion.
"No." - was the only thing he replied and went back to his phone.
Walking down the bright and clean hallways of the building. I was immersed in my own thoughts. Here I had practically touched one of the canonical characters of the story, namely Father Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, who was an "Ultimate Yakuza" and was one of the survivors of the second game if I can say so, of course. But I might not meet them, so you can't be sure of anything. Not that I'm against it, but I'm afraid that my intervention will somehow affect the plot given that I'm already interacting with the main villain of the world and it's possible that the plot has already changed.
As I stepped out of the double large doors, I was finally out in the fresh air, a fresh breeze hitting me right in the face, and the light from the sunrise began to shine in my face. Yeah. It had been a pretty rough night. So, I guess there's no harm in going home and getting a good night's sleep, after I've done what I came here to do, of course.
Walking out through the gate, which had been closed before, I said goodbye to Akayo in return and waved goodbye to the guys who were chasing me, laughing to myself at their twisted faces. When I was finally out of the area, I felt completely free, and opening the map again, I went to explore the few percent that remained.
I found her, strangely enough, almost immediately after I began my search. Strangely enough, but after finding it, the circle on the map disappeared, so it was a quest, for which I did not give anything, and I really do not need it, so I was not to upset. She slept in an abandoned building that I climbed through a hole in the corner, leaning against the wall like some badass soldier in the movies, though she is the badass soldier.
She didn't have any breakdowns or tears. She was completely calm and ready for the unexpected. She wasn't even sleeping, she was just looking at me, her hateful look. And the only thing I said to convince her was, "------ told me to find you." After that, she jumped up in place with dazed eyes and just said "let's go" while pushing me in the shoulder.
To get to my apartment, or should I say ours already? It was pretty easy, finally at least something simple for today. I even waved at the guys guarding the gate for fun as we passed by them. The only thing that bothered me was Mukuro, who was running ahead of me all the time while pushing me to go faster. Does she really like ------ that much? Would she change her mind knowing that she killed her? Although for -------, with her twisted logic, it was more of a thank you than a punishment.
Opening the door in front of Mukuro and letting her go ahead of me. I saw an unbelievable sight, namely that for the first time she was hesitant and didn't know what to do, and there was uncertainty written all over her face. Taking off my shoes, I walked forward a little while waving my hand at Mukuro together to follow me. Then I heard her quickly start to take off her shoes, and I could hear the stomping of children's feet behind me.
When I got to my room, I opened the door a little more, and I got the sweetest picture. How ------ was lying on my bed while wrapped up in a blanket to an unbelievable degree, and on her face, I could see a happy pure smile. While her clothes were neatly folded on the floor next to the bed. For the first time I could definitely tell it was a real smile, not like always when I couldn't exactly tell if she was pretending or not.
I heard a shocked sigh behind me and immediately blocked Mukuro with my hand so that she wouldn't tear into the room screaming and crying to wake her up ------.
"Let her sleep, no need to wake her. Talk to her tomorrow. You should get some sleep, too, by the way." - I said looking at the black spots that were under Mukuro eyes.
She tried to say something and object, but under my testing gaze she gave up. I was right after all, and she couldn't argue with that. So, with a doomed nod she accepted my point of view. After closing the door completely behind me, I turned around. Moving a little further away again, I walked to the next room that used to be my mother's and opened the door. Once inside, I waited for Mukuro to walk behind me.
"You sleep here tonight. I wasn't prepared for so many visitors, so the bed isn't ready. But I guess that's not critical?" - After waiting for a slight nod, I continued. - "I'll get a pillow and a blanket, so try to sleep for a few hours, and we'll start sorting things out tomorrow."
Quickly leaving the room, I walked over to the closet that held all the unnecessary things and after searching through the pile for about a minute, I was finally able to find the blanket and pillow I needed I steamed back into the room to see Mukuro lying on her right side on the bed and already sniffling quietly. So, quietly I walked over to her, gently lifting her head and placing a pillow under it, I also quietly unwrapped the blanket and threw it over her while trying to wrap her as tightly as possible so as not to wake her up. Having done another good deed for the day, I began to leave the room.
"Thank you." - came a quiet voice from the side of the bed.
"Good night." - I said, seeing the girl on the bed begin to wrap herself tighter in the blanket. A notification sounded in my head.
Unknowingly, a smile broke out on my face. Which almost immediately disappeared after I realized that I was the only adult, they were both supposed to be super cool and in addition also "Ultimate Desperation," but now they were both two scared little girls who had been rejected by the world. So, I would have to do my best to take care of them. The first and most important issue of course was money, but I think that after talking to my boss I could solve this problem, and if I put some more brains, I could solve even more problems. At the same time, I had to make sure that I did not remain in debt to him and do not feel that I owed him anything. That is, of course, if he came, but I think he asked my name for a reason, and he would be able to find me by it.
As I walked around the apartment, I saw that some objects had been moved and they had obviously been touched by someone, I don't think it took much intelligence to figure out who it was. Well, I don't think there was anything strange about it, I think she just got curious and just looked around. It was even kind of cute. Imagining the way, she was running around with her little feet, touching almost all the things and trying to put them up the same way they were standing.
And the first thing that had to be addressed was the food issue, walking over to the refrigerator and looking in, I saw the refrigerator was practically empty and some of the food was in other places. I think if it had been an anime, there would have been drool marks on them, but surprisingly she was able to restrain herself and didn't touch anything. I should have told her that she could have eaten in peace.
Though maybe she was just embarrassed when she thought I might not have enough to eat? After all, there was one bento left in the fridge for ------, since I hadn't eaten in years myself because I didn't need it. So now it was advisable to go to the store for food, which I did, however.
Once outside, I went to the convenience store. My list was not very long, of course, and it was mostly limited by the prices, and the not-so-large amount I had. If I hadn't been in the store and looked at the prices of groceries, I'd definitely be in trouble now, why did I buy that manga volume. Maybe I wasn't torn on the choice now. The only thing I had left was to buy a couple of packets of instant food and rice with a few pieces of fish and vegetables. With that, I think I could get by for a few days, and then hopefully my plan with the boss would come to fruition.
After paying all my remaining money for the groceries, I went home with the bag, where I had already put all the groceries in the refrigerator and sat down on the couch, not knowing what to do. Usually this is the time when I either train my skills or improve my performance, but now that I'm not living alone again, it would be weird if someone woke up and I was doing push-ups in the middle of the room, and okay if it was during the day, but if it was at five at night, it would be weird.
I didn't really feel like going to bed either, since I had to be ready for the wake-up call, and also the boss hadn't said when he was coming and it could have been any time and it wouldn't have been very pleasant if he came in and I was asleep. That could have led to some not-so-nice consequences if he thought the wrong thing. So the only thing I could do to pass the time was to dig through the system and I think I got two relationship messages today and I also think I should have checked ------ as well.
[------ -------] [Alive]
[Status: Happy/Happy]
[Attitude: 9%3?4*3"9???....]
[Description: You are the most important person to her that she will never leave.]
[Mukuro Ikusaba] [Alive]
[Status: Relaxed/Resting]
[Attitude: 65]
[Description: She thinks you're nice, but that doesn't stop her from being jealous.]
[Yuuei Kuzuryuu] [Alive]
[Status: Annoyed/Full of Health]
[Attitude: 132]
[Description: He respects you and sees you as someone who can lead humanity to a brighter future.]
Okay. ------ is still the same, the "relationship" is still broken in which has clearly added a few characters, I hope that each character is not a hidden number, otherwise it's scary to even imagine how she feels about me, and also that dotted line is starting to get confusing, but at least the "Descriptions" tab has been restored.
Mukuro had a pretty nice description, too, and finally her attitude toward me went over the plus side, no longer in the minus side. But seriously? Jealousy? Is she jealous of me at ------? Because of what, is it because I spend a lot of time with her or is it because she's been hugging me? Or is it somehow not related feelings, but so to speak forbidden fruit... I hope I don't have to deal with it and it goes away on its own, at least somehow.
The thing that surprised me the most was the boss with his "132" in Relationship. I mean, we hadn't talked to him much, and he was already treating me at a high level, and the "description" was incredibly embarrassing. What had occurred to him since he had begun to think so, because of my "Ultimate Luck", it seems to me to be of little use, but... Before I could finish my thought, I saw the "Attitude" change to "133" and understood everything. He was sniffing around for information about me and was probably able to find out quite a lot with his connections, which he must have had anyway, so that could explain everything.
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