'I'll be the last person who hears it,' I responded leaning against the window sill next to him.
'This information is not secret, and you won't punished for possessing it. However, spreading it is never encouraged. I just don't want to start rumors that I'm talking about this at every chance I get.'
'I hear ya, Rydon. I'm not that talkative.'
'In addition to improving the breed as such, there is one more nuance. If one of the parents can't control Bahir, there is a high probability that the couple’s descendants won't wake up ‘kamontoku’' said the guy and continued a little quieter, '‘Kamontoku' is a generic capability. In Europe, it is known as a ‘lasso’, in India—‘rakta gahari’, here, ‘the blood of the depths’.' It's also called the trump card of the family line. The ability does not depend on skills, strength, or control. In general, it doesn't depend on anything, besides belonging to the right family line. It takes about seven hundred years to manifest ‘kamonteku’, or it can take longer. The more ancient the family line, the stronger their ability is. For example, the ability can start out as a ‘fireball', but become 'a fiery storm’ in a couple of thousand years.'
'So, given the antiquity of your family line, you might be able to kill a Virtuoso?'
'Much depends on the type of ‘kamonteku’. For example, ‘Dubina’. You must know how to use it. If it's some kind of rad technique, its strength depends on the age of the family line. It can also be an auxiliary skill that has nothing to do with combat.'
'Entertaining. Okay. And what about the school choice? Did your parents make you?'
'Yes.' That was it. No further comment. The topic was clearly not for discussion. Hmm, okay, let's change the subject.
'Konoe Miyu's parents might also have sent her here. I still think that she goes to school here.'
'We could find out, but so what? I'm not a fan of hers, and, generally speaking, I'm not big on different sorts of tournaments. I don't even know what she looks like.'
'Why were you so surprised then that I don’t know anything about her?'
'Well if I'm aware of her achievements, then, be sure that she's a Japanese celebrity. That's why I was surprised that you hadn’t heard of her.'
'Who cares. Let's go back to the class.'
The next day, there was yet another incident in the dining room. I was sitting at Shina and Mineh's table, and Rydon had left to get his food.
'Why aren't you eating, Shinji?' Shina asked surprised.
'I'm waiting for Rydon. If I start eating before him, I’ll be done before him too. I don't want to sit here watching you pick pieces off your plate.'
'Why don't you buy yourself lunch?' Mineh started. 'Oh, yeah, the poor plebeians can’t afford local food.'
'Kino,' my neighbor said accusingly and shaking her head.
'Look, Shina, at the kind of dirty tricks people will play just to get your mom's food.'
'What do you mean?'
'What are you talking about, sicko?'
'Well, I don't get provoked and start buying school lunches but she'll start begging you for food with a clear conscience.' In response, Shina skeptically raised an eyebrow.
'I haven’t fallen so low as to deprive you of your handouts.' This time, I lifted an eyebrow. I put my hand on the bento box and replied, 'Then don't look at my dinner with such hungry eyes.'
'Enough!' Shina shook her head. 'You fight like husband and wife.'
'Do not be silly! I'd rather jump off a cliff than marry someone like him.'
'Phew,' I couldn't resist, 'Now I can stop worrying about my future.'
Rydon finally got back, and I opened the bento. However, I had the feeling that someone was staring at me from behind, which was kind of bothersome. They weren't the usual brushstrokes of attention; it was a purposeful glare. I swallowed a piece of fish in some sauce and caught Mineh's glance directed at something behind me. I saw another a couple of seconds later. So, things are getting interesting. It looks like they're going to try and provoke me. Depending on their mental abilities, they'll start with either hints or direct insults. I was not expecting what happened next. Someone poured soup over me.
'Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so clumsy. I just tripped. Are you okay? Oh, what a mess! Here.' I noticed a few money bills in front of my face that were then shoved in the pocket of my sports coat. 'Please buy yourself a new uniform. Look for something that's more suitable for a school like this. Oh, sorry, I dirtied my hands.' And with that, he wiped his fingers on my head.
I don't know what really made me mad: his tone, the soup or what he said about my clothes, the cost of which was worth a middle class car. He shouldn't have wiped his hands on my head either. Pushing deeper the Yaki that was bursting out of me, I turned towards the self-composed Rydon.
'What do you think? If I pierce his leg with a knife, will I get in trouble?' The slightly contemptuous grin on Mineh's face became quite frank after hearing my comment.
'A lazybones like you, who constantly weasels out of training, shouldn't say that,' Shina said calmly. 'I know him. He has the rank of Warrior, and you'd not do well even with an Apprentice.'
'R-r-rydon!'
'After that, you can cut both his legs off. It’s your right, and there are more than enough witnesses.'
'O-ha-ya-si-kun!'
'Hmm, yeah, ok, so I overreacted a bit. Do what you want, just don't kill me or cripple me.'
'That'd be entertaining to watch,' Mineh said grinning.
'Shinji, go get him. Let's see what you can do with a Warrior,' Shina added.
'Flower.' I rose from the chair and asked, 'What's his name?'
'Sugovara Kuro, class 2B. Pamew clan.'
I heard quiet giggles and unsuppressed laughter. I caught contemptuous and indifferent looks. Mineh Kino had clearly overdone it. Perhaps, I was wrong, but if not, this was war. How could I know for sure?
Approaching the queue, at the end of which stood a grinning Sugovara, I forced a friendly smile, and coming close to him, I stretched out my hand for a handshake. I needed to distract him, to surprise, confuse, anything so that he didn't put on the ‘armor’, which can't be worn at all times even by Virtuosos. A teenage Warrior with such a self-confident personality wouldn't have it on at all times.
'Sugovara-san, please ...'
One—a chopstick that I grabbed off the table is stuck in his shoulder and breaks off. Two—my arm that was stretched out for a handshake clenches into a fist and beats him in the groin. Three—my right foot sweeps his leg off the floor, and my left arm pushes him onto the ground. Everything happened in less than a second. Now for the control hit. I put my foot on his chest and take out his money.
'This is to cover your doctor's visit.' With these words, I shoved the money into the pocket of his jacket and tousled his hair like he was a naughty, little boy.
If my trick with the chopstick hadn't worked, I'd have had to prove to him that my aikido skills were better than his, and then I'd have washed the floors with his body. That would have meant disgrace, given the difference in our ranks, and taken much longer.
'Let this be a lesson for you, kids,' I said, returning to our table. 'If you do something naughty, always be ready to answer for it.'
I missed the next class because I had to go home and change. At home, I felt the sudden desire to skip the rest of classes for the day, and I quickly gave into it. I called Rydon to let him know that I wasn't coming back to school that day.
* * *
Shina was annoyed. 'What was all that about?' Shina was angry.
'What are you talking about, Shina-chan?' She wasn’t expecting this from her best friend.
'That crap that happened in the dining room! Finding a basic excuse to start a fight and showing how weak he is, isn't the same as embarrassing him in front of everyone and beating him up.
'I don’t understand you, girlfriend. If you're talking about that jerk and Togetsu...'
'Yes! Darn it! It's about Shinji and that jerk!'
'That was my fau
lt?'
'Don't make me mad, Kino.'
'I really don't know why I should be to blame.'
'Shall I tell you the name of your conspiracy friend?'
'Uh... Okay, okay,' Mineh waved her hands a couple of times. 'I wanted to teach him a lesson, that's all.'
'A lesson? For what?' Anyone from the Koyama family who heard Shina's tone, would immediately think of Kagami.
'To be polite... and know his place!' Shina closed her eyes really tight, trying to hold back.
'Be polite,' the brunette said through her teeth, looking up. 'After he was mocked by the entire school? After he was dipped in s*** and laughed at?!' Shina was almost hissing by now. 'Did it not occur to you that if Shinji wasn't as witty and a little less arrogant, you would be the one being taught a lesson in politeness? My grandfather would have taught you, my mother would have taught you, and my father would have gone out and cut out your whole family!' Shina growled. It was a good thing that the backyard, where the girl had angrily dragged her friend, was completely empty and nobody could hear them.
'Wait, Shi-chan, wait ... Why would they ... why me ...'
'Oh, you don’t know? So what do you know about him? What do you know about his relationship with my family? Do you by any chance know anything about his relatives? Or about his father? What? Absolutely nothing?
'Shi...'
'Have you lived with him side by side all your life? No?'
'Shina...'
'Oh, You must have...
'Hold on, Shina ...'
'... or sat by his bed when he had a fever for two days? No?'
'Stop!'
'Or perhaps it was you he defended from a pack of freaking dogs?' The girl, red with anger, stared into the eyes of her friend, at least a friend for now.
'Shina...' Kino muttered without confidence.
'You don't know anything about him. And you don't know me either. Why should you think that he should be more polite?'
'But remember, you said...' Kino whispered.
'I have a right to, but only me. No one else.' She wiped her face with her hand and added, 'And my sister. My parents and grandfather... They're adults, so they can't do this. Even I cross the line sometimes, and I shouldn't have done. Fool.'
'You can't explain that to the entire school though.'
'That's why you're a fool.'
'I know. No, I don't know. Anyway, forgive me. I didn't want to offend you.'
'Don't apologize to me, fool.'
'You want me to... to him?'
'Don't be stupid, Kino. I insist you make friends with him. You must apologize to him. And one more time... the slightest thing... and at the very least our friendship is over. That's all you need to know for now.'
'I've heard enough. Don’t touch, don’t notice. Nothing difficult.'
'Good enough.'
'Deal. Shall we go?'
'Let's go.' As they were walking, curiosity returned to Kino. After a while, on her floor, she decided to speak.
'Shina, so what's with his relatives?'
'It'd be better if you don't know.'
'Oh, come on!' Frowning at the simple-minded tactlessness with which her girlfriend stuck her nose into the affairs of the family, Shina thought that she still had to work to pull the friend to her own level.
'You don't need to know.'
* * *
It would have been nice to finish the day playing video games, but that night, I had a meeting with Akemi at The Swallow. I could play games there. I could stop at Somatsu. The day was free now, so why not?
Somatsu didn't like the name. Mangaka managed to come up with a dozen names for the main character, the way the Japanese like it, with a double or even triple interpretation. But in my plot, these names did not fit in very well. I had to explain to him that the name of Naruto was not dreamed up. He was impressed. Why? Was he impressed that I'd written the whole plot? I guess it's time to get used to it. He didn't give up and threw in a few more alternatives for the name, which he thought might fit into the plot of the manga. Anyway, after an hour of wrangling, I pressed my case. I told him that if he didn't destroy everything that he had drawn so far, I would sue him, and find someone more agreeable to illustrate my manga. His earlier accomplishments weren’t enough to make up for it.
I walked outside, pondering how effective my threats might be. I figured about a couple months. Well, Tarot, I did what I could which was pretty significant. Now take advantage of it.
I made The Swallow by 5 P.M. The club was supposed to open in an hour, and in another hour, Akemi was supposed to show up. I'd already lost the desire to play video games, but I had the urge to tease someone and I had the right person for the job now. I don't think a couple hours of studying with me will make Kazuki run away. He needed to improve his physical fitness anyway. I decided to send him to Vas-Vas once I was satisfied with his skills he had obtained from me. They could have as much fun with him as they wanted trying to explain the basics of Bahir control. Then we'd see.
At 7:30 P.M. Shotgun texted me: 'VIP-6,' and I gathered that it was time to go meet Akemi. All the VIP-rooms were similar only varying in color. Number six, the beloved room of the lady boss, was red and white.
'Here you go.' She dropped two folders, blue and green, into my lap. 'The green one is basically the perfect job for you. The house is outside the city, away from the people, so you can smoke them off, and nobody will hear a sound except for the Master, who is also the owner of the mansion. There are guards though, but they are there just for crowd extras and authority. The target is a keychain. At night, he always puts the keys in the safe. This Master is an Adept of Fire, and you already have a lot of information about them. I can give you a couple tips as well.'
Judging by the photos, it was a typical Japanese-style mansion. It had a park, pond, and garden stones. The Master himself was trying to pull off a cowboy which looked kind of weird.
'What a creep,' I noted, looking at the photograph.
'He also likes little boys. Considering that you can’t stand those types, this is the perfect target for you. Killing will be easier.'
'Killing is always difficult, I said thoughtfully, scanning the rest of the information. 'The death momentum is the same for sinners and the righteous.'
'Excuse me? The death momentum?' I guess that was uncalled for. Oh well.
'I feel the moment of death. It's very unpleasant, believe me. Bearable but unpleasant.'
There was this guy, Zombie. He became a mentor for warlocks in my former world. One day, he just couldn't kill anymore. It's rare for people like me. We all feel death, but that does not stop us from making people experience it. However, Zombie and a few others like him, literally writhe in pain when someone is killed within their range of sensitivity. It doesn't depend on the warlock's strength and experience. It can happen at the beginning of a career or at the end, like with Zombie. He was a Master. In fact, it's happened to Absolutes as well.
'Screw the Master! Let's think of something else.'
'It's alright. He is not the first, nor the last.' I'm sure not gonna tell her that I already have a thousand corpses to account for. Nothing's happened yet.
'Well, you know better.' She slightly shook her head and proceeded, 'The blue folder contains information on another target, which is less... convenient. Frankly, everything is much worse, except, perhaps, the distance from civilization. You can fully express yourself there too. I warn you though, it'll be an advantage if you take down everyone there except the owner of the mansion. The boss, must survive. The boss is always surrounded by a Master and a couple of Veterans, plus some extras. The Master is Adept of Ice, the Veterans are Adepts of Sand and Wind—a very nasty couple, to put it frankly. The best strategy is to take them down one by one as they work great in a team. The extras might have two or three Warriors. The target is a very expensive figurine. It's not for a sale though (not that expensive), but it'd make a nice gift for some aristocrat.'
I looked at the pho
to of the figurine. It was some kind of animal. A raccoon? It looked like it was made out of clay. I've never really understood Japanese art.
'What's so expensive about it?'
'It's the work of Minamoto Rama, a famous sculptor of the Meiji era.'
'I've never heard of him.'
'Shame on you! Modern youth.'
'What did you say?' Did I hear that right? Did she just assign herself to the older category?
'I'm saying that I am unique these days. You won't meet many young, educated people anymore.'
'Oh, right. I take it that after the Minamoto family destruction, such things increased in value?'
'Such items always increase in value. Be careful in the main building. The figurine is very fragile.'
'I see. The mansion looks pretty rad actually. European style.'
'It's American actually.' Once again, she made me look ignorant.
'This option is more complex, but there are more bonuses if I understand the situation correctly?'
'Yes. In the event of the death of at least one Master, I can claim his territory.'
'Huh?' I waved the green folder.
'Too far from me.' Interesting. I had difficulty convincing her that I could cope with the Master, and now she's offering me an option with two more Veterans. What could this mean?
'Tell me, Akemi, why do you think I'll undertake this one?' I tapped my finger on the blue folder. 'I don't mind helping, but two additional Veterans complicates the task.'
'You instill confidence,' she smiled in response, blushing slightly. 'There is always the green folder.'
'Well, I'm set on the blue one.'
I'll send the order to the mediators.'
'Go ahead. I'll take him today or tomorrow. You can take the money back. Just in case.'
'How so? Why such generosity?'
'I'm going on a kill. The rest is just... a cover-up.'
'So...?' Akemi asked carefully.
'If you ever suggest anything like it, we'll break up. I kill for myself and for my own purposes. This time, you just happened to get in on the act.'
Changing Masks Page 20