"So, what are you going to do know?"
The young, black haired man frowned at Hermes' question. He had already explained his next moves but clearly Hermes wasn't paying any attention. Tohru was sure that dealing with Hermes to the end of that competition would be enough to pay amends for all the sins he'd committed in his past lives. Yes, he had started to believe in reincarnation, because only his bad karma could explain his awful luck. And speaking of which. the god of luck was more inattentive than usual; that was something new.
"But Tohru, that's a dangerous plan," Dionysus bemoaned. "Can't you come up with something else?"
'Don't play naïve and caring with me, you devious god. I bet you want me killed.'
"I'm not sure about this plan either," Nobu agreed. "I mean, how can you be sure that it will work?"
"Let him get himself killed. We'll get his money when they finish him off," Nagi commented.
"How naïve," Tohru snorted. "Of course you won't. All the money I'll leave behind will go to my majestic funeral. It's all in the papers!"
'This guy is sick,' everyone thought in unison.
"Anyway. That's my problem, isn't it? Since you are not willing to cooperate, I will not include you in my plans," Tohru said folding his hands. "It seems that I'm the only venturesome person here and I can manage on my own."
"Risky you mean," Nagi corrected. "Why would we want to cooperate under these conditions? You won't even pay enough. It's your problem anyway."
"Hey, Nagi, that's too..." Nobu laughed nervously.
"Of course I won't pay you more! I'm the one risking his life!"
"Go die, stingy bastard," Nagi retorted coldly.
"What? You-"
"Calm down, Tohru," Dionysus held him back. "She is a girl!"
"No, she's a demon!"
"Like you are the one to talk," Nagi said calmly.
"Nagi, don't be so rude," Nοbu scolded her.
It was a fact that the young apprentice didn't get along with others easily, so his reaction was not surprising, but Nagi's remarks were like oil in fire. And as the intense conversation was going on, Dionysus noticed that something was missing. Hermes hadn't spoke even once, missing all the chances to pick on Tohru. The god of wine blinked and looked at his brother. The horror! His brother had a serious face and was checking around the area. Unconsciously, Dionysus let go of Tohru, who was too distracted to notice Dionysus uneasiness, and walked up to his brother.
"Hermes, what's going on?"
"Nothing for you to worry about. Look. I want you to follow Tohru and make sure his plan succeeds."
"What? You want me to play the role of the woman as he asked me to?" Dionysus asked surprised.
"No you fool, don't get caught up in this moron's naivety and way of thinking. His pride will have him killed one day," Hermes replied.
""Hermes..."
"You are going to play the role of the guy who will help him to enter their clique. Make sure they will accept him."
"Hey... Should I get rid of the guy completely?" Dionysus asked scratching his cheek. "I bet he is a scum, so he won't be missed."
"That's fine by me. But I don't think he'll be fine with it if he finds out." Hermes added, nodding curtly to Tohru.
"Hey, little Tohru is funny when he snaps, but I don't want to get on his bad side. I guess threatening the guy will be enough," Dionysus concluded sighing.
"What's with that? Don't be so soft on him..."
"Hmmm?" Dionysus arched an eyebrow.
"I trust you with that, so make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Hermes... are you sure nothing is wrong?"
"No, there is something wrong, but it's nothing for you to worry about. Help him with his plan. I will just cover his back for now."
"So it's about Tohru, isn't it? Who is-?"
"Dionysus, no more questions," Hermes glared at him.
The younger brother backed off. That was scary awfully, Hermes' glare was always hunting his childhood memories and he had a lot of memories with Hermes in them. His favorite older brother was also definitely the scariest of all. Even Apollo could not compare to him, since he was easy to placate.
"Euh? Where is Tohru?" Hermes asked.
"Ah... He walked towards the forest. He was really pissed off," Nobu said blinking.
"Don't worry. I bet he went to pee."
"Nagi!"
"What?" Hermes looked nervous.
"You shouldn't take your eyes away from him even for a second, Hermes. I warned you, didn't I?" a disembodied voice echoed.
Everyone except for Hermes looked around confused. Hermes clapped and let out a snicker. His attitude pissed off the goddess of beauty who appeared in front of him with her hands folded and a stern look on her face. That kind of expression didn't fit Aphrodite at all, but her exceptional beauty was still there for everyone to admire. Both Dionysus and Nobu let out an astonished cry. Nagi's bubblegum popped.
"Aphrodite!" Dionysus literally jumped on her. "It's been so long."
As expected, she wasn't able to withstand his weight and they fell down under Hermes' unimpressed gaze. While Dionysus was still expressing his enthusiasm about their meeting, she stood up tidying up her clothes and brushing of the dust. The hearty god had ruined her dramatic entrance.
"Hoah, it's a beauty! An extreme beauty!" Nobu said thrilled and Nagi simply nodded in agreement.
"Don't dare to interfere," Aphrodite called out to Hermes who had found the chance to walk away.
"Aphrodite! It's Aphrodite!" Dionysus said again brushing his cheek against her.
"You'll never stop this bad habit of yours, will you?" she sighed referring to Dionysus' way to greet people. "There-there, I'm happy to see you too," she sighed patting his head. "Even though you teamed up with this trickster."
"What can I say? I'm much more charming than you," Hermes shrugged with a cocky smile.
"You never change either, do you?" Aphrodite asked. "The point is that my apprentice is after yours right now. I wonder though if yours is clever enough to get away."
"He isn't." Hermes replied coldly. "He is a complete idiot who won't even have the time to panic because he will be too busy mourning over his bad luck."
"Excuse me?" Aphrodite looked confused.
"He does run fast however, since he is a coward."
"Little Tohru is in danger? Why?" Dionysus asked blinking.
"Dionysus, read the situation already," they said simultaneously.
They way Hermes portrayed Tohru wasn't that far from reality. His apprentice was indeed a coward in many cases. Nevertheless, monies, investments and other related with profit could easily make him forget his cowardly side and motivate him enough to become a bit reckless. And the said coward was trying to find his peace of mind resorting to the serenity of the forest. He had to clear his thoughts; the plan he was about to put in action wouldn't be easy.
*"A girl barefooted brings brings, and tumbles..."
"Who is there?" Tohru stood up immediately.
He wasn't able to recognize that voice. That could only mean trouble. The verse echoed through the woods, making his situation have an even creepier feeling. A rustle, a shadow and then nothing again. Tohru looked around him making a few steps backwards. The stranger was definitely a man, he could tell from his figure, but that was the only thing he knew.
"Down the pavement, green-fresh melons, and says there is news to-day-the King was shot at, touched in the liver wing..."
With that, a bullet passed by very closely to his head. He could hear it piercing the air, making a sharp noise. Who said that in times like that the only thing you can see is your whole life passing in front of your eyes? Bullshit. The only thought he had in his mind was that he was too young to die and the only thing he could see was the area around him. He wanted to run but his legs were trembling so much that he ended up kneeling on the ground instead.
"Goes with his Bourbon arm in a sling: She hopes they have not caught the felons. Italy... my... Italy..."
A young man had appeared from within the shadows and was aiming right at his temple. Who cares about his past life at times like these? Tohru just wanted to scream but no sound managed to come out even though his mouth was hanging. It wasn't clear, because the light was very dim and he couldn't see the face of the stranger very well, but the man seemed to be determined. Did they get whiff of him already? No, sure he had many after him, but that wasn't possible.
'Calm down, me...'
"How poetic for a killer," he finally said, forcing a smile.
"Well, I thought that making it dramatic would suit the situation better."
"Heeeh. How merciful. Giving your victim a dramatic scene, you are one hell of a killer."
"Heeh? And you are way too talkative for someone who is about to die. You should have started begging me to spare you by now."
"I rather not," Tohru replied. "Since nothing guarantees me that you will spare me in the end, I rather have a dramatic ending with dignity instead of a pathetic one."
"You are a funny man," he said titling his head. "Dignity? Aren't you just a prideful bastard? Pride is a sin you know."
"What's your problem?" Tohru snapped. "I have to choose the way I die at least! Blabbing about sins and stuff at a moment like this... What are you? A clergyman?"
"Euh?" the man looked a bit surprised.
"If you are going to do it, just do it already. Jeez... Why do I have such a bad luck. Even my killer is a pain in the ass... such a pain in the ass... Every and each one of you is such a pain in the ass. Just get over it already..."
"Are you ser-"
"Ah! Mr. Policeman! How lucky!"
"Euh?"
The man turned himself towards the direction Tohru was looking surprised. That was his chance: Tohru riffled a rock at his gun and it soon fell on the ground; for a potential murderer he sure had a weak grip. Without loosing time, he jumped on him, using his weight to throw him on the ground, snatching the gun.
"Idiot!" he said with a rather sadistic smile. "There is no way I'd be that lucky. A policeman here in the woods? How did you fall for that?"
"Well..."
Tohru let out a scream; no matter how cocky he could get, he was never good in physical fights. A beautifully executed kick had landed between his legs and it was spot-on. The pain he experienced was horrible, it could only compare to Hermes' way of teleportation and made him recoil on the ground.
"That doesn't mean I'll let you have it your way," he said standing up.
They were like wolves fighting for a piece of meat. Their eyes were searching for the gun, which had fell from Tohru's hands when he fell back in pain. The fastest, the strongest wins.
He was tired of the whole situation. He wanted to call for help, but one wrong move and a shiny bullet would probably keep company to his brains. The edgy young man wasn't scared anymore, he was pissed off. Very pissed off. But he wasn't fast enough to reach the gun first.
"Aphrodite was right. Hermes' apprentice ought to be a trickster himself," the man said pointing the gun at him.
"Don't compare me to this guy!" he barked. "Euh? Aphrodite? Then... Could it be. You are Ito Keitaro, right? Right?"
A pause followed...
"It's been a long time since someone called me by that name, but yeah," he said caressing the nape of his neck. "So you already know my real name. You should keep your nose out of my business. Now I have to do this..."
"Hold on. Why would you have to go that far? What about the rules? Shouldn't you try to win the game fair and square?"
"The game? Nah... This is not about the game. You know too much about me, that's the problem. If you slip something to the public media, my new life would be ruined you know," he said sighing. "I'm not-"
"You don't want to go through that for a second time, right?" Tohru asked.
"Pretty much. That's why I have to shut you up one way or another," he simply answered.
"Are you an idiot?" Tohru asked standing up. "I'm not going to do something like that."
The man laughed really hard. Of course his reaction didn't surprise the black-haired young man to the least. Actually he expected a worse one. When the man finally stopped laughing he looked at him straight in his eyes. Convincing him with his words was the only option he had.
"Do you think I'm going to believe what you just said?"
"Don't make me laugh. Why should I expect someone who was betrayed by the girl he loved to believe a stranger?" Tohru asked and silence prevailed for a couple of minutes.
The gun trembled in the man's hands. He could tell that he had enraged him. It was pretty clear that he didn't want to hear anything about his past even without saying it. But he didn't shoot and that was a good sign.
"I know about your circumstance. The one who told me the whole story was the same girl that betrayed you years ago."
"Shut up..." he mumbled.
"She said that she had regretted everything. In my opinion it's too late for that though."
"Shut up..."
"Hey... Let me guess. Next time I talk to you about it, you are going to shoot me telling me that I don't know anything about you so I have no right to talk, miss because you are not focused, make a dramatic speech and then we'll be like we are actors in some teenage drama, right?"
"Huh?" Kei looked confused.
"Look. I won't ask you to believe me, but I have no reason to make anything public. Why, you ask? Because I'll make no profit even if I do make everything public. You are clear and I'm sure Aphrodite would do anything to back you up. So let me offer you a deal instead. I take revenge on your accord from the guy who started everything and messed up your life and you spare my life right now. Sounds fair, right?"
Acting was something very useful to someone who knew that his words were the only strong weapon he had, maybe it was one of the few skills he had which were actually helpful in his work. Even though he was putting on a cool act, Tohru was wishing for all his might Kei would agree. The black shotgun in the young man's hands was scaring him, his eyes were focused on it while he was talking.
"Even I can't touch this man no matter how famous I am right now. There is no way you will be able to," he said calmly.
"You really are a good guy you know. Taking up a signing career in order to face a guy like him is the worse idea you could have," Tohru snorted.
"That what are you going to do ?"
"You just don't get it. Give me 4 days. If the man is not behind bars in 4 days, you can kill me."
"Are you crazy? Four days?" the man laughed. "There is no way-"
"Three days then."
"Three days? That's ridi..." the man stopped his own words and lowered his gun end extended his right hand. "Can you really do that?"
"I can do it," he said confidently and took the hand Kei offered him.
"Three days then. Even though it's impossible. If you fail I'll make sure you'll go through hell. Not only had you dared to snoop into my business but you also dared to mess up her life as well."
"Her? Do you mean Aihara?" Tohru laughed.
"What's so funny?" Kai asked titling his head.
"Don't tell me that you forgave the girl completely. Well, it's not like I care about that," he noted taking a few steps. "She asked if you are ok, you see. I think that you are the only one who can give a certain answer. I'm going back..."
"Don't get me wrong," he said. "I haven't forgiven her completely. But I don't hate her... If it were in her shoes, maybe I'd have done the same. So, I don't hate her."
The tone of his voice was serious and honest. Tohru looked at him over his shoulder; Kei was smiling. For some reason the young man's words made him feel queasy. He had a hard time with lenient people like him. No matter what he said, it was obvious that he had already forgiven her a long time ago. Tohru pointed out his tongue disgusted.
"I'm going back..." he finally announced. "Stay here and play the forgiving victim all by yourself."
"Heeh... Such an annoying person you are. You were supposed to be amazed," the young man said following him.
"Like hell I'd do that. Why are you following me anyway?"
"Well. My master is probably giving a hard time to yours right know. And I was supposed to meet her there anyway..."
That resulted to a long conversation about how Hermes, no, the flying happy-go-lucky idiot was not his master but just an annoying person he had to deal with until he pays his debt. Just for the record, the same happy-go-lucky idiot found Aphrodite's priceless reaction to the view of them returning together very amusing.
The goddess of beauty did not react to her apprentice's words for more that five minutes. She felt humiliated; everything she had said about her apprentice until then and how he was going to teach Hermes' apprentice a lesson proved to be just empty words.
"We just made a deal. It's nothing to worry about, old lady..." Tohru reassured her.
"Oh, no..." Dionysus cried.
Distracted by Dionysus reaction Tohru wasn't able to see what had hit him. The next moment he had hit the ground hard and his whole body was aching. Aphrodite was stepping on his belly with his right leg while Kei was leaning over him. Still confused, he tried to stand up again but Aphrodite pushed him again on the ground.
"That's a forbidden word, man," Kei informed him.
"Such a discourteous person. You are indeed Hermes' apprentice. They say that birds of the same feather flock together... Do you think you will insult the goddess of beauty like that and you will get away unpunished?"
"What goddess of beauty? Don't give me that. With enough money I can get the same face as yours..." Tohru snorted.
"You insolent-"
"It's okay Aphrodite," Dionysus said holding her back. "He is still a brat, he doesn't know the meaning of true beauty yet. An angry woman is never beautiful, right? So, calm down."
"Very well... Just this once, I will overlook it."
Saved by Dionysus interference, Tohru in his most upset mode was free to stand up again. He had come to a very natural conclusion; Greek gods were definitely obnoxious, arrogant and extremely self-conscious. Furthermore they didn't bring luck and happiness to those around them, but exactly the opposite. His life had become a mess since he met Hermes and there were no signs of improvement.
"Well, I guess we'll take our leave now," Kei held out his hand. "We'll meet in three days."
"A deal is a deal, you don't have to remind me," Tohru grumbled standing up on his own.
"Heeh... Just like a kid. Pride is a sin you know."
"Just leave already."
"Until then..." Kei saluted.
"Kei, next time don't make random deals before you inform me about them," Aphrodite complained placing a hand on his shoulder. "I won't allow that again."
"Well, it was an interesting deal." Kei shrugged.
And with that they disappeared leaving the crew behind them.
Dionysus was sniffing, waving a white handkerchief at them while saying to Aphrodite how much he'd miss her; it was questionable if she was able to hear that or not though. Hermes on the other hand had stayed quiet, but the smile on his face was more arrogant than ever before. Nobu and Nagi, who were very confused by the whole situation looked at each other and shrugged.
"Enough fooling around. Let's proceed with the plan," Tohru sighed; he hadn't manage to relax in the end.
"Oh, little Tohru pretends to be the boss now," Hermes commented.
"Look. I was about to get killed back there and I ended up making a deal with a lunatic, so don't go bitching about me now, ok?"
"I was just surprised. You promised to take revenge on his accord. I bet there were others ways too. Aren't you too soft?"
"Idiot..." an evil smile appeared on Tohru's face. "I didn't even mention that I had made the same deal with Aihara to him. So I got away using something I was about to do anyway. Moreover, I bet that he entered the game wishing for revenge, so if I manage to take revenge for him I'm 75% sure that he will loose his motivation to participate. Which means that I won't have to come up with a plan to get rid of him. So naïve, this guy is so naïve. In the end it's all about brains, I win. Kyahahaha..."
"Hermes... Tohru is kind of scary today..." Dionysus said pulling his brothers shirt.
"Really? That's typical of him," Nobu put in.
"Really?"
"Why in Hades name are you so surprised about that Dionysus?"
"Don't mention Hades while he is making this kind of face," Dionysus said pointing at Tohru. "You are making the situation worse."
"You are such a wuss..."
"So, about that plan..." Tohru interrupted them.
Indeed, the plan was not very complicated. Tohru's orders were also clear and easy to accomplice, but if something were to go wrong, things could get very dangerous. The first step was to approach a guy of Shimizu's crew, pay him and make him introduce Tohru to him; that task was up to Nobu. He had to find one, contact him and make the deal. That was easy for him, Nobu managed to ensure the cooperation of one almost immediately. Nagi were to prepare a mega mini spy, wireless camera which would be adjusted on Tohru's scarf. Tohru would pretend to be one of the crew while trying to find the opportunity to film their actions on camera. If they'd be able to succeed, Shimizu would be able to witness a great surprise the young informant had planned for him.
"What about me?" Hermes asked pointing to himself while Tohru was changing his clothes.
"Make me a favor and stay out of this," Tohru replied not even looking at him.
"How cold. The god of trickery won't smile upon you if you keep up with this attitude."
"The god of trickery laughs at me however and it's more than enough."
"Fair enough."
"Where is the other one by the way?"
"The other one? Who?" Hermes asked blinking.
"Dionysus."
"Oh," he vocalized placing a finger on his lips. "I think he said he'd busy today."
"The camera is ready," Nagi announced.
"I'm still not sure about this plan. Maybe we should cancel everything," Nobu insisted.
"You just have to drive me there, so stop complaining."
"That leaves the both of us alone," Hermes smiled to Nagi. "I'll be in your care."
"Die perverted playboy," she smiled back.
"Euh?"
"Serves you right," Tohru mumbled entering Nobu's car.
"That was creepy..." Hermes gulped.
"Don't try anything funny, ok? Nagi, if he makes any suspicious moves text me."
A couple of hours later they were waiting resting their backs on the car in an underground parking lot. Such a typical meeting place for a meeting like that. Both of them had considered that fact strange. The guy had probably watched too many movies. On top of that, he was late. Tohru was checking his watch again and again.
"Sorry I'm late."
He had finally showed up. Dressed in buggy clothes and wearing sunglasses, he was falling right into the stereotypes. Tohru sighed and greeted him trying not to show his impatience and anger.
"This is the guy I talked to you about. His name is Kujo Ryuhei," Nobu introduced him.
"Nice to meet you man, I'm Masao," he greeted. "So, you want to enter master Shimizu's group."
"Huh," Tohru nodded smiling arrogantly. "I trust you will make that easy for me."
"That's why I'm here, man. Naughty guys like you should always be welcomed."
"I'm glad to hear that," Tohru grinned titling his head. "I might get a bit too naughty, but I'll be in your care. I hope you'll live up to my expectations."
"Oh... I see... well, welcome," the guy said nervously. "Follow me."
That was when Tohru parted with Nobu. As for Masao he was very talkative and he was asking way too many questions, so many that Tohru had a hard time to keep up with his act. After taking a stroll around a neighborhood of ill fame, they entered into a worn-down apartment building. The smell there was horrid, Tohru could barely stand it. Trying to ignore the men around them, who were giving them curious looks, he focused his gaze on Masao's back.
"Here we are," said Masao and opened the door of Shimizu's office. "Chief!" he called.
"Hah?" Shimizu responded, not very politely.
Shimizu was sitting on his desk, chatting with a few creeps of his gang. Rough manners, sinister smiles; one could tell from their appearance they were dangerous people. But then again, appearance, behaviors and such could be misleading. But this wasn't the case there.
"What is it now Masao? I'm in the middle of a conversation, can't you see?"
"But, Chief, I brought the newbie I told you about."
"A newbie?" Shimizu asked approaching them. "What's your name?"
"Kujo Ryuhei," Tohru replied as Shimizu was checking him out.
"Ryuhei, euh?" he said grabbing Tohru's chin. "Well, you are an average, I could use you as a bait. These guys are not very useful when it comes to this," he said pointing at them.
"How cruel, Chief," they laughed.
"You do need some polishing though," he continued.
"As long as I get my share, you can do whatever you want with me," Tohru smirked.
"Hooh? Brave and promising words," Shimizu said excited. "Let's see how brave you are then. Koji... bring her."
"Yes, sir."
A man stood up and entered on of the apartment's room, coming back dragging a girl brutally. Tohru didn't flinch at that view, he had expected to see something like that, so he glanced at her with apathy. It was Shimizu's turn to smirk as he grabbed the girl from her hair.
"See this as my welcoming gi-"
"You are such a generous man, Chief!" Tohru interrupted him looking excited to an exaggerated extend.
"Euh?" Shimizu was surprised.
"Where can I do her?" he asked reaching to his pocket. "It's been a while since I had my private fun with a girl," he continued taking out a jackknife.
"Euh? You mean... Well," he said bulging his eyes. "You... You may go there..." he said pointing at a random room.
"Can I have the restroom instead?" Tohru asked licking the girl's left ear. "Such a nice taste..."
"Sure," Shimizu gulped.
"That's Chief for you, you are so kind to me while I'm a new face here."
"No, please," the girl begged Shimizu. "Please, let me go."
"We are going to have so much fun," Tohru said dragging her to the restroom while the poor girl was screaming, trying to free herself.
At least he had avoided the rooms. There was a high probability they had set up hidden cameras there. Shimizu's group was watching shuddering. As expected, they were nothing but a gang of bandits who were acting all high and mighty only when they had someone weaker in front of them. Pushing the girl into the restroom, Tohru slammed the door closed behind him and turned to her. The girl was desperately trying to free herself from his grip, crying and begging.
While checking if someone had followed him, the young apprentice ripped random areas of her clothes apart whispering that he won't hurt her. However that wasn't enough to calm the girl down, the opposite, she screamed even more and scratched his face making him bleed.
"You..." he hissed.
'No, calm down, Tohru,' he tried to cool down his anger. 'It's normal, her reaction is normal. You just have to explain everything with the right words.'
"Look," he whispered again. "I know you are afraid and that's normal, just cooperate with me and you won't get any harm."
Thought those were not exactly the right words... The girl broke into tears and her sobbing became even louder. Confused, Tohru sighed deeply, and hit the wall with his fists three times.
"Yeah, keep screaming like that, I like it," he said with an embarrassed face.
It was the girl's turn to look at him confuse as Tohru was keeping up with his acting. However, she didn't stop crying, she looked at him shocked and moved further back. Probably, unable to understand what the man in front of her was thinking, she concluded that she had to do with a freak who wanted to torment her that way.
"I won't do anything. Keep screaming though," he whispered.
"Are you with the cops?" she gulped.
"No way," Tohru snorted. "Oh, that doesn't mean that I will harm you though. Continue with the act if you want to save your ass. Oh, by the way, please scratch random parts of my body," he said taking of his shirt.
"Freak," she sobbed, rolling her eyes.
"It's part of the act, ok? Just do it. It's not like it's pleasant for me too," he said grabbing her hand. "I need to have pro-"
"Don't touch me!" she said pushing him away.
At least, while she was putting on a fight, she scratched him like she was supposed to. Minutes later, Tohru still hadn't manage to explain the situation ...but he didn't care. The girl was exhausted, he was full of scratches which were hurting as hell and it was about time to stop the act. There was no point to apologize, so he grabbed the girl from her hair again telling her that it was time to go back to the others again. She was too surprised by the sudden declaration to struggle against him.
"I'm back, Chief," he announced throwing the girl on the floor. "I had a great time!"
He was bleeding in random parts, the scratches the girl caused were rather deep. He would scream and complain if he could, yet he managed to force a big, ostensibly excited, smile. The guys surrounding Shimizu responded with nervous smile, the most of them could not take their eyes away from Tohru's blood. The view, to them, was creepy. The girl could not take her eyes away from Tohru, she was in shock and her whole body had gone numb. They didn't want to imagine what she had experienced.
"Ta-Take the girl..." Shimizu said.
"Euh? Are you going to use her a second time?" Tohru asked looking disappointed. "How boring."
"Ah, no..." Shimizu said surprised. "Of course not, we'll just dispose her."
"Oh! I see! I was disappointed for a moment. I shouldn't have doubted you," he said smiling.
"Of-Of course," he gulped. "I'm the Chief here, what do you take me for?"
'That's right, become more and more nervous. Feel the need to brag,' Tohru was trying to hide a smirk.
"Take the girl and leave us!" he ordered nervously.
"But, Chief-"
"Leave us!"
The guys nodded and left the room forcing the girl to stand up and follow them.
"So, Ryuhei was it?" Shimizu asked. "I didn't expect-"
"Oh, are you about to praise me, Chief?" Tohru interrupted him. "There is no need too. I have a long way until I catch up to you."
"Th-That's true."
"Chief, is it true that you are the son of Shimizu the politician? How daring! You set up this kind of business while your father is always under the spotlight."
"Yeah, that's right," Shimizu smirked. "I have nothing to be afraid of as long as my father covers for me."
"Hoh! As expected from Chief. You are not afraid that your father will betray you to the least!"
"He doesn't have any other choice. I'm his only son and he'd be in big trouble if the media were to find anything about this. I'm doing this for years and I have disposed everyone who tried to oppose me ever since my high school days."
"Come on, Chief. I think you are exaggerating. Ever since high school?" Tohru laughed.
"Are you doubting me?" he asked annoyed. "I'm a man who didn't hesitate to charge another man with rape to save his ass. This business brings me a lot of money, there is no way I'd stop for something like that."
"Chief, you definitely think big," Tohru said cupping his chin. "I was only thinking of having fun when I came here."
"That's why guys like you never make it big," Shimizu snorted.
"Well, I'll have my share of fun and you'll make money, so I think we both benefit each other," Tohru scratched the nape of his neck.
"You are a strange man, but I like you," he said filling his glass with wine. "Welcome, pal."
"What about the cops, Chief?"
"The cops?" he laughed. "They have no evidence against me, so they can not approach this place. They won't find any Adult Videos here either, there are in a place they could never imagine."
His laugh became even louder, Shimizu was indeed thirsting for attention, he was a man who could easily brag for himself when he had the chance. Tohru clapped and continued with his flattering and questions, always filling Shimizu's glass with more wine.
"Well, Chief, I have to go now, it's pretty late," he said standing up.
"Come on, Ryuhei,stay a bit more," he whined.
"I'm not as cool as you boss," he replied. "I have to rest, tomorrow will be my first day, right? I have to replenish my energy and I'd make the other guys jealous if I were to spend the night here while I'm only a newbie, right?"
"You have a point. Cheers then!" he said raising his glass.
"Goodnight, Chief," he said exiting the room.
Outside, Shimizu's gang had occupied every sofa and chair in the room. They were everywhere. The floor, the stairs... And every each one of them was glaring at him trying to intimidate him. Tohru simply smirked and continued his way out.
"Hey, newbie," one of them called. "Don't act all high and mighty just because Chief took a liking to you. You are still not accepted the rest of us."
"Well, since Chief seems to like me, you better not talk to me like that," Tohru smiled. "Now, if you excuse me..."
He left the building as quickly as he could and took a big breath; even though he wanted to it wasn't time for him to relax. Nobu was waiting for him in his van around the corner. He ran there making sure that nobody was following him.
"What happened?" Nobu asked.
"Nothing, everything went just as planned," he responded. "I was lucky enough. Let's go."
"Okay. The rests are waiting in my hotel room."
"Just go already!"
"Ok, ok, relax!"
And that's what he did, he fell asleep in the middle of the ride and when he opened his eyes again, he was laying on a soft bed.
"Man, what's with those scratches?" Hermes asked. "And I thought your face could not get any worse."
On second thought, maybe he should sleep a bit more. The next day would be a hard one...
*Is an excerpt of "Pippa Passes" by Robert Browning.
