Now, I was thinking of the little guy in front of me. Why not? He had the willpower and the desire to rise higher; we could always teach him fidelity, and it seemed like he already had a good idea about that anyway. Smarts... I think he has those too. That's not essential, yet desirable. Now the main thing is not to make a kindergarten out of the club. I also have to remember to check what's going on with his family. Who knows.
While I was contemplating, Vas-Vas walked into the hall. Waving my hand toward the exit, I turned to the boy.
'I'm gonna leave you for a little while. A woman will be here shortly, and she'll take care of your bruises. Don't go anywhere after that. I want to talk to you.'
'Got it, Sakurai-san, I'll wait for you.' I nodded and headed to the exit where I gestured the guards to follow me outside.
'Grab them and go back inside.'
'Are they alive, boss?' Goro asked. That's how he addressed me most of the time. In rare cases, he used my last name with the suffix 'san.'
'Alive, but what's funny, is that the one to the left is playing dead.' Casting a look at me, both Vasyas approached the bodies.
'Hey, freak, are you gonna walk yourself or shall we break your leg, too?' Rymov kicked the pretender, then turned to me and sniffed.
'He's silent.'
'Do you want to drag a body that can walk on its own?'
'True. If I have to drag him, there should be a reason. Which of his legs should I break, boss?' His 'boss' was clearly for the public.
'Break both, so be it.'
'Wait, don't. Let's talk. We've done nothing to you and have no complaints. We didn't even see you, just got lost and fainted.'
'Then get up and we'll take you to the hospital,' the Russian Vasya responded.
'No, please, don't...' Vasya kicked him once more. 'We have money, ouch!'
'I really want to break your legs, but I'm too lazy to drag you. The choice is yours. You have three seconds to think about it.' Goro sighed because he still had to drag the other one.
'I'm gonna break his legs myself.'
'Break the other one's, this one is going to walk. Correct?'
'Yes! Yes. I'm getting up.'
'Don't even think about running away. I like running even less than dragging jerks,' he said, although actually, he ran every morning. The jerk rose up but plopped back down again. I had clearly overdone it with him.
'You can always try though. It might be fun to watch.'
'Maybe...'
'It's my body, Vasya-chan. I break it if I want to.'
'Ahh,' Goro sighed again, throwing 'his body' over his shoulder. That was how they entertained each other.
We decided not to take them through the main entrance because we didn't want Natasha to see.
'Is there anyone else in the kitchen?'
'No, no one's there right now.'
'Drag them to where you usually take them then.'
'Mister, can we talk? We don't even know you and just happened to be here.' I waved my hand signaling the guys to speed up. 'Mister! Why? Please, let me go, mister!' he said starting to struggle.
'These highly noble men will explain to you and your friend, what's up. If you shut up and stop resisting, you will be more likely not to become a cripple. Take them.'
'Misterrr!' What a fool. Life obviously hasn't been nice to him if he thought I wanted bodies in here.
In the hall, Auntie Natasha was taking care of Kazuki's bruises. He hissed and grimaced, but didn't try to escape. The sharp question came the moment I approached.
'Who did this?' the woman asked. Kazuki shot me a look.
'He fell.'
'I'm serious, Shinji. You have to contact the police. First you should call the hospital, and then the police. This boy is like a partisan and isn't saying a word. He fell over, he said.'
'Well, don’t you understand, Auntie Natasha?' I asked. 'A man cannot show weakness and complain even to a woman as beautiful as you,' I said, trying to make her lose the look of concern on her face.
'He's just a child!' Nope, that didn't work.
'I hope you won't ignore the fact that there are some scumbags in the neighborhood?' She asked me grumpily, turning back to the boy.
'He fell, Auntie Natasha.'
'Shinji!' Why does no one take me for an adult outside the school and Koyama neighborhood. I thought melancholically.
'Together with two men passing by.'
'Two men? We just have to...'
'Natasha,' I interrupted her, 'I'll deal with the problem of his imbalance on my own.'
'Pfft.' There we go. This one is snorting at me too. 'That's it then. Take him to the hospital. Then tell his parents.' Hearing this, the guy started to fidget.
'I ...' He began.
'I''ll deal with it. You gave me the phone, so it's okay. Auntie Natasha, his parents are at work, can you go to the hospital with him? The girls can cope without you for a little while, right?'
'I...'
'Fine, we can't let him go by himself, can we? He'll just run home, or rather crawl home, or something else.'
'Thank you, Auntie Natasha,' I smiled. 'What would we have done without you?'
'...died of gastritis! Can you wait five minutes, Kazu-chan? I need to change.'
'I...'
'What's wrong, Kazu-chan, are you afraid of going to the doctor?'
'Of course, I'm not afraid! What's there to be afraid of?'
'So you're not gonna run away anywhere?' He cast a look at me.
'I wasn't going to.'
'Well, that's great. I'll be back soon,' Natasha said and quickly disappeared behind the door leading to the kitchen. Kazuki was the first to speak.
'You saved my life, Sakurai-san, I owe you now.'
'Owe me? Perhaps, you're right. Overall. Not your life, of course, but you owe me. How old are you? Are you enrolled in a school club?'
'Thirteen.' High school, then.'I don't belong to a club.'
'Great. Right now, I'm looking for a courier. The pay will not be much at first.'
'I can do it for free, Sakurai-san!' By the way, I hadn't told him my name, not before, not now. How had he found it out?
'The only free cheese is the cheese in the mousetrap.' Now there’s a statement. What am I going to do with him for now? I don't have that many tasks for him, but I need to start training him straight away. Who could watch him for now? Funtik? 'What do you do? What are you into? Do you have any hobbies? Technologies? Cooking? Sports?'
'I want to become a combat drone pilot!' How blunt! He acts like a child and talks like a child. Hmmm, why not though? Of course, I can't afford 6 machines like clans have. What would I need so many for? Two or three won't hurt the future family. Moreover, a family has the right to acquire more than one drone. I found that out accidentally.
'So, that's it. I can't give you permanent employment, and as you understand, you haven't gained enough trust for serious tasks. On the other hand, I might need you at any moment. So open your ears and listen. When do you get out of school?'
'I can actually...'
'Actually what? Are you actually listening to me?'
'At three o’clock.' Six classes, that means. My school has seven. Plus, the commute.
'What time can you make it here?'
'Four at the latest.'
'Well then, at four you start assisting someone. I'll introduce you later. This person works with various technologies, electronic stuffing, and so on. Your job is to listen to him carefully and do whatever he says. In his absence,' He shouldn't be out and about with Funtik yet,' you are at the disposal of the owner of the club. When do you usually get home?'
'Umm... 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning.'
'So when do you sleep?' Oh, I guess I know when.
'During classes...' he answered surly.
'Well-well, let's go have a cigarette then.'
'Shinji, what are you teaching the child?!'
'Umm, yeah. Listen up, Kazuki: smoking is dangerous.'
'A
h...'
'I'll explain that to you later. Auntie Natasha, one more request. Bring him back here afterwards, okay? I gotta talk to him. I'll deal with his parents.'
'What's he gonna do here? Get in the clients' way?'
'Okay, take him with you to the kitchen. Let him help you with something.' She gave me a doubtful look and rolled her eyes.
'Fine,' she finally agreed. 'But if this man,' she continued with a smirk, 'is going to pester my girls, he’ll get a taste of my belt.'
'Did you hear that, Kazuki? There is a lot at stake. Don't let me down. And if you do decide to pester the girls, do it discreetly.'
After Natasha left with the boy, who was by then red as a tomato, I went down to the basement to see our guests. I had another hour and a half before I had to leave, so I decided to have some fun with the unexpected visitors especially when bearing in mind that it tended to help the 'conversation' go smoother than any kind of beating.
* * *
I went through the emergency exit to Akemi's hotel. I took the stairs to get to her. The twenty-third floor is, of course, a lot for climbing, but for us, the rabid warlocks, ambition can move mountains, especially when we don’t want to be noticed. On the twenty-second floor, I was met by Ishiyatam, who took me to Akemi. Dzuno was waiting at the elevator, and there were no more exits on the floor. I wondered why they were meeting me: for my convenience or for her peace of mind?
Entering the luxurious hotel room, I immediately fell into the nearest chair, from which I could see the whole room, and took off my mask. I could have kept it on, but it would look somewhat rude. Considering that I was on good terms with the local lady-boss, I didn't want to offend her.
'I see you're wearing a white mask today?' Akemi said, sitting in a chair opposite me.
'It looks cooler. You don't wear your work clothes when you visit a friend, do you?'
'I don't own work clothes at all.'
'You're lucky,' I sighed. 'Well okay then. Let's talk about business.'
'I can't wait to hear what you've got. I’ve been curbing my anticipation for half the day,' she said, rubbing her hands together.
'Okay, let me start with a question.' I made myself comfortable in the chair. 'Will I be able to stop rumors about Patriarch if I publicly demonstrate that I can outdo a Teacher? I remember you said that the rank of Veteran was the highest known rank for a Patriarch.'
Akemi seemed shocked. She couldn't respond—after making a few attempts to no avail, she just stared at me with surprise. Finally, after reclaiming her senses, she spoke.
'What are you up to?'
'Well, in a nutshell, I'm going to take an order for something, which is guarded by a Teacher. Even if the Teacher is in close proximity. I'd 'accidentally' show myself, raise some dust, and kill that same Teacher.' After studying my face carefully, Akemi just sighed.
'You're a sicko! But you refuse to understand this. It seems that the Suchiru Sagi has misled you.' Suchiru Sagi was a military unit located in the province of Kazusa and it was the patrimony of Prince Fumie. Perhaps, the biggest failure of my entire career as a thief. Don't get me wrong, I stole the right object, but I did not leave without a fight. In the end, I had to run away from the Master. Later, I estimated how much damage my visit had done and figured that they'd have been better off just letting me go. It was about eighty million, and the cost of the container was ten million. It's funny and tragic at the same time, my personal shame. Now Akemi was evidently hinting that my escape was nothing out of the ordinary. I know better.
'You think that being able to escape from a Master, means you can kill a Teacher?' Well, just as I said. 'I hate to disappoint you but anyone—even me (actually not because I'm a Shooter)—any Veteran has a chance when it comes to escaping from a Master. Running is even easier. Fighting a Teacher in front of the others—and you do want observers—is not the same. Also, you want to win; in my opinion, this is a hopeless idea. You're only sixteen, and you're very inexperienced, even with the Veteran's strength in you. As soon as the fight begins, you won't even be able to escape because the Teacher will immediately see through you.'
'Do you take me for a total fool? I can imagine the force of a fighter of that level.'
'Ah, I get it. You're no fool, just an arrogant bastard!' She leaned back in the chair showing satisfaction at the conclusion she had reached.
'Why are you calling me names?'
'It's true. I noticed your attitude to the ranks a while ago. Today you just proved my point.' I don't get it.
'Can you explain?'
'You see, Shinji, your problem is that you're surrounded by fighters of Veteran rank and above, at home, school and work, while you rarely see how they work, what they're capable of, and the difference between them. You must believe deep inside that Veterans are plentiful in the world. There are many Teachers and Masters as well. All you understand is that there aren't many Virtuosos because it's obvious. How can I say it? Oh well. You are surrounded by too many fighters. And I seriously doubt that you have ever seen what a Teacher is capable of. Don't even mention Shina. Have you ever been to the Koyama range?' I shook my head. 'That's what I'm talking about. Where else could you see their full power? In your yard? In videos on the Internet? Remember, Shinji, no one ever is going to show you their full power. Even if you came across a video, you still wouldn't get it. A simple example based on the elements of fire used by the Koyama. What is the most powerful fire technique you have seen used by a Teacher?'
'Pillar of fire,' I said, continuing to listen carefully.
'There! Perfect! Did you find it on the Internet?'
'Yes.'
'Tell me what you know about it.'
'Hmm. It looks like a spectacular fiery geyser. It can be created at a distance of up to 65 feet in three seconds. It has a radius of up to 16 feet, and Teachers create a radius of up to 10 feet. It doesn't require strong concentration, but you still need it. What else? I think that's it.'
'Well then, listen to what this beautiful young girl has to say, because I've seen that same horror show in real life. You don't need the details; let me just say that the Pillar of Fire doesn't hurt its creator.'
Oops, that was a trap! And I almost fell into it. For a couple of seconds, we sat there staring at each other. Goodbye, Maxim. I'll have to keep that in mind. What I saw in the video was nice and clear. It turns out that I had gotten lucky twice in the past. No one wanted to kill me, and I killed them quickly. So they couldn't feel the danger. Even three times. Previous Teachers, who Akemi doesn't know about kept silent during the battles, at least two of them. If they had talked, I'd have melted like a candle. One phrase would have been enough.
'Cool. Thank you, girl, noted for the future.'
'A young and beautiful girl!'
'Smart and strong.'
'That's right. I haven't finished yet, by the way.' Am I really that big a fool? 'The problem is not that you don't know much, but that for you, all these Teachers are mundane. As I said, too many high ranking fighters surround you. And all of them are friendly to you.' Oh no, accusing me of underestimating my enemies is equal to underestimating me. 'So that's the train of your thoughts, Shinji: 'Regular Teacher. I've seen it all. Nothing special. I can do it.' Of course, you realize that they're not weaklings, but on a subconscious level, you relax. You're too young and inexperienced,' she paused for just a moment, 'No, I'm the young one! But you are even younger!'
'Yes, of course, no one is arguing with that.' I raised both hands, soothing her.
'Jokes aside, Shinji. You must realize that even being a Warrior is cool. There are only a couple of thousand Teachers across all of Tokyo. Garagarahjebi only has five, not more. My guys, all four of them, are Veterans, and that's a real strength. Do you think it's easy for a woman to be a boss? If it weren’t for my boys, I'd have got in trouble for trying to be on an equal level with men in my field a long time ago. Serge...' I knew you loved him, girl. 'Serge took three Veterans with him, which weakened the opponen
t by half. Four Veterans working side-by-side with me and three in the city, not counting myself. These seven men make me one of the strongest bosses in Garagarahjebi. A more accurate statement would be that they are my core strength, and I wouldn't stand a chance without them. Get it, Shinji? Only seven people! And now you're coming to me with stories about how you're going to kill a Teacher! In fact, Teacher status is top level for the vast majority involved in martial arts. What I am supposed to think of you now? You're a psycho, little guy.'
After this kind of lecture, I began to understand why Shina was a genius. Although Akemi was wrong about the fact that I underestimated my enemy, in theory, even an average person could kill me with a firearm, only in theory though. I had long forgotten how to underestimate anyone. As far as the rest... I didn't understand the role of Bahir in this world. I just saw the world in different colors. I was used to, you know, strength being manifested through several thousand militants plus heavy equipment. Consequently, when I was told that a couple of dozen people was also strength, I subconsciously increased their number. At the same time, I didn't detract from the abilities of each individual soldier. When I was faced with an opponent, I was ready to fight ten more afterwards. Not surprisingly, it seemed that I had a dismissive attitude to this one person, but that's because I was looking for others at the same time. I couldn't explain that to Akemi though. However, her confidence that I was going to lose told me that I was on the right track. If I succeed, not one bastard will ever think of me as a Patriarch ever again.
Changing Masks Page 17