Honoka takes a deep breath. A wave of nausea momentarily passed her, realizing how close she was to death. Realizing that the leader of µ's was ghastly pale, You smiles with pity. "Alright, come on. Don't get caught up over that," You says compassionately, somehow unable to empathize how she was a few months ago. "It'll happen from time to time."
"I...I think I'm gonna..." Honoka covers her mouth, her face still colorless. She leans against the door for support, breaking into a cold sweat.
"Come on, don't be like that," You looks at Ruby for comfort, but neither provide any. "You're the one who wanted be in the mafia game, right?" Honoka's eyes remained at the floor. "Honoka, look at me for a minute." Reluctantly, Honoka's blue eyes land on You. "Look. They wouldn't have killed us. I know because we were in public." Honoka looked at Ruby, who nods in return.
"Sh-She's right, I suppose," Ruby adds with her eyes closed.
"If we got shot in the streets, that'd cause an unnecessary headache for UTX." Honoka uncovers her mouth, swallowing hard and slowly beginning to regain her composure. "There'd be blood on the streets, and you're the center of µ's, and all this controversy, it goes on and on." An epiphany occurred to Honoka, or rather, a reminder that there can always be another reason why something happened. "Even if they planned to cover this from from the start, that's not how UTX plays. They get money from covering us, you know?" Honoka's expression suggested that this was news to her, to which You sighs. "I thought you were serious about this."
"I...I am! I am serious in saving the...school..." Honoka cuts off her own sentence, realizing the contradiction behind it.
"Are you now?" You says in an affectionately patronizing way. "Alright, alright. I get it. You're...a beginner, in this field."
'That's one way to put it' Honoka thinks to herself, new thoughts arising in her head. How far are all of them willing to go? Will they have to steal? How will they deal with the police? Will they harm anyone in the process? Honoka sits down at a small table with two other chairs, presumably for both Ruby and You. A small hanging lamp was the sole source of light in the room. Since the light came from above, shadows were generated downward. The empty, dilapidated, cement room combined with minimal furniture and lighting made the atmosphere cinematic.
"I'm willing for me and my group to show you the ropes." Ruby glares at You. "A-As long as, Don's okay with it...for sure..."
"Who's Don?" Honoka asks, having seemingly recovered from her escape of death.
"The Don. The boss. We call her that. In ordinary circumstances, I wouldn't be so quick to trust you, but, I think I know you enough to skip the formalities." You gets out her phone and starts searching for someone to call. "I'll just ask her in case." Thinking back to what Eli was talking about earlier, Honoka speaks up.
"Uh...You?" You looks up from her phone.
"Yeah?"
"I..." Honoka thinks of how to word it without sounding too rude or informal. Even though they just met, Honoka found it to be strange how amiably You was treating her. "I don't think it's a good idea to use the phone." You was about to hit call when she stops herself, looks at her phone, then back up to Honoka.
"Why not?"
"It's...possible that they...listen in on your calls." You's brow furrowed.
"Who does?"
"Well, I mean, would it be a stretch to say that...maybe...UTX is tapping your calls?" You thought about it, looking down on her phone and the contact that was on the screen. Honoka awaited to be talked down for being ignorant for suggesting such a thing, but she decided it was worth mentioning anyways.
"I mean, we didn't think it was a big deal. We discussed this. Our group, I mean. Someone brought up wiretapping," You looks down on her phone and wonders back to the conversation. It was a physical meeting, with all nine of her group gathered around a small table. "That was...a while ago." She thought back, wondering how much information her group alone had given away for free. "I don't think they are. They would've acted upon it."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we've shown our plans, and..." You still couldn't shake away the doubt on her mind. "Wouldn't they have destroyed us by now?" Honoka leans forward, putting her head on both of her hands.
"You did say they made money off of us, right? Off of messing with us somehow? What if they're keeping you alive just to monopolize on it?" Ruby looks at You, awaiting an explosive response. She knew that You in particular didn't like being questioned when it came to business. Instead, You only leans back on her chair, folding her arms. It came as a surprise to Honoka how You could change her own mood, always with an edge of suspicion. She had only just met the girl, but it was an interesting dynamic to observe.
"I...can't argue with that." You looks to her side. Her eyes land on a hole in the wall close to the floor. It wasn't too sizable, just the perfect size for a rat to fit through. "But, don't you think if we've been trying to mess with their industry this whole time, which we have, we'd be on their radar?" You looks back to Honoka across the table, who had a confused look on her face. The lighting made it look menacing, as if You put Honoka in a fit of pique for daring to disagree, but You knew better.
"Of course you'd be on the radar."
"And I'm trying to say, if we're that dangerous, their industry would have taken care of us by now?"
"Industry? You mean A-RISE?" You shakes her head.
"Their underground industry. Their ties to the black market. You know, the other schools?" Unfortunately for You, it wasn't getting through to Honoka. "I knew you were new, but I didn't think you were this new." You puts a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes as to say that she were frustrated with having to constantly explain herself. There wasn't a window, but the light coming from underneath the door suggested that it was still day outside; time of the day that You and Ruby could be using to get back to their home base. "Look, I'd love to get you in contact with Ms. Takami, but it seems like phones might be a bad decision." Honoka looks down apologetically. Sensing her guilt, You's expression and tone softens. "I didn't mean to come off as accusatory. I just...don't know what else to tell you. I don't know how else to contact my boss." As uncomfortable as they were calling their fellow classmate "their boss", they forced themselves to do so in front of strangers. "I'll find a way somehow."
"I...think my friends might be worried," Honoka says to break the tension.
"Call them," You spits, immediately regretting her hostility. Surprisingly however, Honoka reaches into her pocket and produces a cell phone. "Wait..." Honoka looks up from her phone, where she already dialed Nozomi, and looks back up to You.
"I thought you didn't believe that they tapped your lines," Honoka replies, a slight smugness present in her voice.
"Y-Yeah, but, you just said..."
"As long as the message is vague. It doesn't matter. The cell tower radius is pretty large in this part of the city too," Honoka stands up and opens the door. "I'll tell them what's going on." As the phone rang awaiting to be picked up, she continues. "And if you've called in your safehouse before and they haven't pinpointed its location, then there's no worry of them finding us now, right?" You hesitated before reluctantly nodding. Ruby only looked down at the five-seven sitting on her lap. Ruby refused to hold a gun bigger than her arm, and affectionately calls the pistol "Onii-chan", stating that it's her little and big brother at the same time. Some thought Ruby personified the firearm so she could make its presence more palatable; others thought Ruby was just being a kid.
After a while, a worried Nozomi picked up. While their conversation was short, Honoka only explained that she was at a safehouse with another schoolgirl, much to everyone's dismay. Umi grabs the phone out of Nozomi's hand and screams, her volume forcing Honoka to hold her phone at arm's length. "You're alone in a room with two strangers?! Honoka, get the hell out of there! What if they-"
"Umi, calm down. If they wanted to kill me, they-"
"Honoka. I am telling you right now. This is for your own good. For the love of all that is holy, PLEASE-"
"It doesn't sound very safe, I know, but I trust these people-"
"There's no question! Get out of that place or they'll kill you. I'LL kill you-" Honoka realizes the same conversational loop will keep going, and that their stubbornness will bring them nowhere new in the end.
"Alright, alright. I'm gonna hang up now."
"Honoka? Honoka, don't even-" Umi's voice rang loudly enough for the three of them to hear even though the phone wasn't on speaker. Honoka hangs up the call and sighs.
You sighs with her. "I need to get going soon, but I feel like µ's needs to know this. You need to know this." You explains what else happens to schools "consolidated" by UTX. "They pick the idol group out of there and try their best to get them into the mafia business." Honoka would've laughed if she weren't in such a similar position. "It sounds like a very roundabout way of doing this, but, I heard a lot about you in the news. All around my area, schools are starting to stand up against you guys. I...I can tell you that's not how UTX treated us, and I suppose it isn't how they treated the other schools they took as well.
"I know you guys aren't what the newspapers say you are, and I know those are all somehow influenced by UTX. Maybe they just wanna mess with you, I don't know. But what I do know, is how they rope 'em in. The idol groups join willingly at first, but, if they don't comply, they use underhanded tactics. Not usually threatening their life per se, but, something around where the win conditions are giving in to UTX's scheme, to put it simply." You gave Honoka some time to absorb the information. The exposition was rather sudden, after all. It explained most of the events that occurred this week. Everything from the slandering of Nozomi to the presence of Kira Tsubasa. "Then, they have proxies under their command. They can get schools to trade in the black market, deal drugs, traffic people, all sorts of messed up business, and they have layers of schools and underlings. It's...actually impressive, how everything's set up."
Honoka thought about it, and asked, "What about the police? How do...how do they get away with so much?" You chuckles.
"Well, it's certainly not easy for UTX, but they promise protection from the police. I'm sure it's something as simple as corrupting the chief, I don't know how they do it. They told us, and I think they tell everyone, including their enemies, that everything's covered. Everyone plays on a fair field," You responds. She closes her eyes and remembers when an intermediary for UTX had told Chika those exact words. "Everyone plays on a fair field." The whole thing was ominous to Honoka, and she was beginning to sweat out of anxiety. What had she gotten herself into? "They follow their word, too. But let me warn you, they only cover you when UTX is involved." Honoka returns an expression of curiosity, as if to ask for an explanation without having to say anything. "Our private drug deals? Our exchanges with schools? That's our problem. If we deal with UTX directly, then they cover for any car chases, or murders, or whatever hell goes on." You sighs in relief internally, glad she elucidated when she did.
"Alright, I don't...frankly understand...most of what you said, but...why do they pick idols?" Honoka asks, looking at both Ruby and You. You looks up at the lamp thoughtfully, watching the inner workings of the weak bulb intently without damaging her eyes. A lot of what had happened to You and her own "mafia" had revolved around the word "why", and she imagined it would be the same for µ's when their time comes. Why did they choose to be just as bad as UTX? Why did they keep doing it? Why couldn't they stop? She and a lot of her friends found themselves asking that question, only to have some distraction or new dilemma to resolve come up before they could answer it.
"You know, I'm not exactly sure. I guess they're physically fit, and I guess they have some influence over their audience and surroundings. It doesn't make sense to me either why they would target idols. In any case, that's who they're targeting, and we better do something about it." Delinquents would want to do things their own way, chuunbiyous would wake up to reality eventually, ordinary people would seem to difficult to convince—perhaps idols really were the only option left. Honoka asked herself "Why?" as well. Why did her mind gravitate towards crime so easily? She had laid in bed for what seemed like entire nights, trying to find an answer she knows she won't find until later down the path. She wasn't one to believe in the stars and spirits as much as Nozomi did, but Honoka almost felt like she was being told what to do by something beyond herself.
"So...what do we do from here?" Honoka asks innocently, bringing everyone's attention away from their thoughts. You leaned forward again, clasping her hands together and looking at the table, trying to come up with something to say.
"What're you planning on doing with this information, Honoka?" Honoka reciprocated You's tense demeanor. It wasn't the same tensity as the silence that hung over everyone when they learned about what was happening. It felt like a pivotal tension hidden inside trivialities and what seemed like the monotony of everyday exploits, but Honoka wasn't sure. Maybe she was blowing everything out of proportion.
"I..." Ruby now looked up from her gun to Honoka, awaiting an answer. Honoka admitted to herself. Her team didn't have guns, or safehouses, or anything to defend themselves from UTX and their power. She realized long ago that this might be the point of no return, the point in which she may never live a normal life that she thought she would. What did a normal life even mean anymore? Honoka resolved to think of only what she can do. Everything will be lengthy and tedious, everythingw will cost an arm and a leg, everything might be the last thing you do. She sighs before looking up at both You and Ruby, who were still sitting with bated breath.
"I think I'll try my best."
Well, there's the "end" of the exposition. It took almost a third of the whole story to get it started, but I hope it's enough and at the same time not boringly slow.
Thanks anyways,
-DWalkthroughGuy
