Enjoy.
Nausti could tell that Shin felt like crawling into a hole and disappearing. He looked pale, and was sweating more than usual. There were a few times he mumbled that he needed to throw up too. The NATO members were just beating him mentally. Some were accusing him and the other four warriors of murder and being power hungry. When he was asked to defend himself, he just gave Nasuti a blank stare. Standing up, Nasuti asked for a break.
"Okay, so maybe that wasn't as easy as swimming with sharks." Nasuti said after getting Shin out of the room and outside near a fountain.
"No." Shin said, splashing his face with the water, "Sharks will just eat their prey, and not play with it. I felt like I was tossed into a cage with the Masho and mentally beaten with a wooden stick that was on fire."
"There's a sink inside. The water is probably cleaner." They both heard. It was Michelle.
"You knew what they were going to do." Shin spoke harshly.
"Yes, but if you truly think that people are just going to let five men run around with some magic armor that can't be destroyed by our weapons, then you are naïve and mistaken. People, even now, are looking at you wondering if you'll start destroying the place or if you're some kind of actor they don't know."
Shin did notice he was receiving looks or that people would avoid where he was.
"Okay," Shin relaxed his tone of voice, "What would you do?"
"First, I'd call your friends and tell them to not run around in the armor. It is not a game to us who don't know a whole lot about them. Second, you should tell them the same thing you told Weathers and Renault yesterday. Whatever you say is going to reflect on you. But, I'm just the person who spent a few years stalking you." Before walking away, Michelle sighed, "Your footballer friend said it correctly when he was over here. He said something about the armors are starting to gain popularity in Japan and that the rest of the world is taking notice that it's not just a fairy tale. That's at least what the translation came to."
Shin and Nasuti watched her leave before following.
"Do you know what you're going to do?" Nasuti asked.
"I do."
Taking her seat, Nasuti rearranged her notebook. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shin put his hand into his pocket. When the meeting started again and Shin was asked to explain, she saw him pull his hand out.
"Shin." She said softly.
"Busso! Suiko!" he called out. Everyone in the room dropped to the floor as he called the armor on.
Giving Nasuti a smile, he turned to the American general sitting next to him and held his hand out.
"Hello," he said in English with a smile, "I'm Shin Mori. I work at a café here in Paris. I spent the last four years here in Paris to become certified as a chef."
"Uh, hi." The general said looking at the weapon.
"Mr. Mori, what's your point on wearing that in here?" a member from England asked.
"Good question." Shin smiled. He handed Nasuti his weapon.
"I believe everyone wants pictures. Here you go. Take them. I'll simply stand here and let you, and while that's going on, I believe I need a cup of tea because you know, I'm half English, and ooh maybe a crepe to satisfy my French side. Did you know that demons don't care for those things? They'd rather just use the armor to destroy."
"Mr. Mori, this is a meeting."
"I know." Shin smiled, "And I'm proving my point."
"By asking for tea and crepes?"
"Yes."
Nasuti held her hand in front of her to hide her smile. She began to laugh when Shin told stories about him trying to teach Shu how to surf or when he Ryo, and Touma accidently set off the fire alarm in a library.
"Mr. Mori, we get it. You're not some fairy tale, but how are we to believe that you and your friends won't decide to take over the world?"
Shin straightened himself up, "Because if we wanted to, we would have done it already, knowing that your weapons can't stop us."
"And yet you stand here, scaring everyone in the room with it." He heard a familiar voice.
"Weathers." Shin muttered.
"Mr. Mori may seem a like a man who can comfort us with his words, but did you know he has quite the temperament?" the man smiled, "Just yesterday he shot and killed two of Director Renault's men, and left one in pain. Some reports about you in Somalia say you killed a boy who was defending his family."
Nasuti sighed. She could see that Michelle wasn't happy about him showing up either.
"Director Renault, is it true?" one of the members asked.
"It is."
"We don't have records of Japanese soldiers in Somalia." The American general said.
"That's because Mr. Mori is a coward who abandoned his country at one time. He was sent there with the Pakistani army as punishment instead of going to jail. He is not listed anywhere. If he was killed, then it was a simple John Doe who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Shin stood there, not knowing how to defend himself on this one. Telling them that he was busy keeping the Lord of the Dead from coming would make him look foolish.
"Last night he almost flooded Paris. He is incapable of keeping this armor." Weathers smiled, "Just hand it over mate, and we'll let you go free."
"You want it?" Shin asked, "I think I should give it to Mr. Renault, since he did put a knife into my hand yesterday. He made you look like a fool. I haven't been that terrified since 1991."
"Mr. Mori, are you accusing Mr. Renault of torture?"
"Maybe, do you all want to see my hand? Or maybe my apartment where more of his men broke into. Or maybe I should ask my friend to talk about also being kidnapped."
"You're a bloody liar." Weathers said.
"You were there!" Shin pointed a finger at him.
"You're a cook, how do we know you didn't cut your hand."
Dismissing his armor, Shin undid the wrapping of his hand to reveal the stitching, "No cook is going to cut his hand like this."
"Ms. Reichart, you work with Mr. Renault and followed Mr. Mori around." The French member started, "What do you think?"
"Mr. Mori is telling the truth." She stopped after hearing a few groans, "And while he did kill two of Mr. Renault's men, they were also looking to shoot him. And the incident on the bridge, Mr. Weathers made it worse by involving a civilian close to Mr. Mori."
The head of the meeting stood up, "Mr. Mori; Mrs. Date, could you both step out of the room. We have to discuss what to do next. When all is done, we'll call you both back in."
Sitting outside, Shin was people watching. It was taking his mind off of the meeting and how messed up everything was. If things didn't go his way, then making a permanent trip to the Demon World sounded like the only way out.
"Seiji's angry." Nasuti said walking out to him.
"He's always angry."
"He called you and Touma the biggest fools on the planet."
"Was that all?"
"No, he said some other things that I won't repeat." Nasuti sat down, "He says that they saw what happened here on the news. It was front page in Japan."
"I have a feeling that I'm making a run back to Japan soon."
"Touma said the same, Seiji told me."
"Did he say anything about what Ryo or Shu thought?"
"He did. Shu in fact, said that you were pretty awesome for someone who didn't really fight, and Ryo said that he would have done the same thing if he were you." Nasuti sighed, "Putting on your armor was your plan?"
"Yeah, it was kinda dumb wasn't it?"
"I guess we'll find out." She said, leaning back on the stairs, "I thought it was good at first."
Shin snorted, "Did you really?"
"No." Nasuti laughed, "But I think you had everyone question themselves on whether bringing you into the room was a smart idea."
"I don't want them to fear me." Nasuti watched his frustrated look turn into a smile, "Maybe I should become Superman."
"Like fighting crime and aliens?"
"Why not? I already fight demons and spirits."
Nasuti laughed, "As long as you don't wear tights, I suppose you could."
"No, I won't wear tights."
They sat in silence until Nasuti suddenly laughed, "You'd be a better Aquaman."
"I was just thinking that."
Shin spent the next few minutes whistling a tune while tapping the stairs with his fingers. The waiting was starting to get to him. It wasn't so much the waiting, but what the decision would be. He really hoped that they would just decide that the armors were going to be safe and that no one has to worry about them falling into a rival's hand. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a rumbling stomach. He turned to Nasuti, who had an uncomfortable look.
"It's past lunch." She said.
Shin nodded after looking at his watch. Now that she said something, he was getting hungry too. He really hoped that NATO would decide quickly. Shortly after, they were greeted by an escort and led back into the building.
"Mr. Mori," the head member spoke, "We have decided that the armors' affairs are to not be interrupted unless it directly affects NATO or that one of them were to fall into the hands of an enemy nation. You are free to leave, but before you do, we must know if all nine armors are accounted for."
Turning to Nasuti, Shin gave her a look.
"One of them is not accounted for." Nasuti spoke, "The last I knew, it was still in the Demon World I wrote of in my book. No one has been able to find it since the Samurais' last encounter almost five years ago."
"And which one is this, Mrs. Date?"
"The armor of venom."
"Alright," the head member sighed, "You both may leave."
Waiting outside the doors was Michelle. The brunette stood with her arms crossed with a folder in one hand.
"My government still thinks that you could help us since you're here. The offer to become a citizen is also still open if you decide to help us. From what they told me, it's not a bad deal." She said.
"What kind of work?" Shin mused.
"Water purification, ocean clean up; those kinds of things." She paused to look through the folder, "They are offering a better place to stay, offering to pay off your school debt and better pay than a café shop."
"Money's not everything to me."
"I know. I followed you around for a few years."
Shin gave her an awkward smile, "You did. Can I have some time to think about it?"
"Yes, although they want an answer by next week. As soon as the UN hears about our meeting, don't be surprised if you encounter more ambassadors from other countries, or even companies, offering the same kinds of things."
"Speaking of UN meetings," Nasuti interrupted, "I have to catch a plane that I am late for."
"Then I can give you a ride." Michelle said.
Turning to Shin, Nasuti whispered in Japanese, "Good luck with this."
Shin smiled, "I'm going to try to."