Zenless Zone Zero: The Front Line
Chapter 13: Reputations
"Hey, Shion. I need you to take care of something for me today when you're done eating breakfast." Vinny said as he came into the kitchen.
"Mm yeah? What's up?" Shion looked up from his plate.
"I ordered a videotape from that young manager's store and he just let me know it's available. I need you to go by Sixth Street and pick it up for me." Vinny requested.
"Oh ok. Yeah I can do that in a little bit." He agreed with a nod.
"Good. It's a little store on the right side called Random Play – can't miss it. You should say hello to Belle if you see her there; she's the other manager that came to pick up the flower from us. She's cute." Vinny suggested. Shion smiled and rolled his eyes.
"I guess if I see her around I can thank her for the order...even though it was the guy that actually got it. It's her sister, right?" Shion asked.
"I dunno, you'll have to find out when you get there." Vinny replied with a chuckle.
"Alright alright I'm heading out." Shion said as he finished up the last of his food...
From the flower shop, he made the 20 minute walk down to Sixth Street. As he made his way down the busy road, he almost immediately caught sight of the Random Play store that Vinny was talking about. It had a surprisingly retro vibe.
He went inside the little store and was immediately greeted by a number of long shelves to his left lined with VHS covers; a wide array of colorful artwork and images of actors. To his right, there was the girl that Vinny was talking about standing behind the checkout counter.
"Hi!" She greeted him with a cheerful smile and a wave, "Welcome to Random Play. I'm Belle! Can I help you find anything?" She offered.
"Uh yeah," Shion nodded and walked up to the counter with both of his hands in his pockets. "I'm here to pick up a tape for Vinny. It should be under the name Vinny or Vincent."
"Oh ok! Let me take a quick look here..." Belle paused for a moment to look underneath the counter. "Ah! Here we go! Vinny. Here you go!" She handed him a plastic bag with a tape box inside.
Shion curiously peeked inside and slide the cover out. It was some old war movie that he didn't really recognize.
"I like Last Flight. The action's good and the character writing is, mwah, chef's kiss." Belle said, kissing the tips of her fingers in an exaggerated fashion.
"Sounds cool. I guess I'll give it a shot whenever he decides to watch it." Shion thought aloud with a quick nod. His eyes drifted sideways where he noticed one of Vinny's flowers sitting on the edge of the counter.
"Oh, do you work at his flower shop too?"
"Yeah, I rent out one of the upstairs rooms. I think I met your brother actually...light blue hair, looks tired all the time?" Shion brought up.
"Oh yeah, that's Wise," Belle confirmed with a laugh. "Well when you get back to the shop, please tell Vinny that he did an absolutely incredible job with this flower. I can't help but stare at it when things get quiet during the day." She smiled.
"I'll pass it along. Vinny always loves hearing positive feedback. And of course, if you ever want some more for like your room or whatever, just slide on over." He offered.
"I'll consider it if you consider getting a membership to the store." Belle offered playfully.
"Heh, I will consider your offer." Shion chuckled in reply.
"What name do you want me to put down on the card when you come back?" Belle asked with a smile, pulling out a pen and a clipboard.
"Haha...Shion. Shion Uone." He asnwered.
"Got it. Shion...spell the last name?"
"Uone? U-O-N-E."
"U...O...N...E...perfect. Well it was nice to meet you, Shion. Enjoy the movie, alright? Let me know what you thought of it!" Belle smiled once more.
"Haha, sounds good. Have a good one." Shion said, giving her a quick wave as he took the VHS tape in his hands and started walking towards the door.
"You too!" Belle replied.
As he reached out to open the door, it suddenly swung open in front of him, nearly hitting him right in the chest. Shion stepped back just in time to avoid it. Two familiar faces entered the store with haste and walked right up to the counter.
"Manager, there's an emergency! We need your help!" Billy exclaimed.
"Huh? An emergency? What happened?" Belle asked worriedly.
"It's not that big of a deal; Nicole just noticed that we're still getting charged overdue fees for a movie we already returned. I brought the receipts!" Nekomata clarified, setting a few pieces of paper down on the counter in front of Belle.
"Wow, you guys actually kept track? Not bad...ohh ok I see...lemme take a look...we'll get the money back to you. Nicole comes by here all the time anyways so I'll just get it to her when I see her again." Belle decided.
"You're a lifesaver, manager! Thanks!" Billy exclaimed in relief.
This was about as long as Shion was able to stay by the door and listen in before it became noticeable, so he quietly slipped outside while the conversation drifted off into other topics. He made his way down the street just a little bit towards some vending machines.
There was no mistaking it; those two were the same people that he had encountered in that Hollow a couple weeks ago. They were stealing money from the Verdict gang at the time. It sounded like Belle knew them pretty well but with what context...?
Shion waited for a little while until Nekomata and Billy finally left the store again. Upon stepping out, they immediately left Sixth Street on foot. Shion decided to follow behind them loosely to see where they went. Perhaps he had another lead on his hands.
After getting a few blocks down, Billy and Nekomata suddenly split up. Billy continued walking down the sidewalk while Nekomata went into an alleyway to her right. Immediately, Shion went on guard. Had they noticed him somehow?
Only one way to find out.
Shion hung back a little longer before following Nekomata into the alleyway. Inside, it was dark and fairly empty. He could already see where she had turned the corner to continue on her way. If they had noticed him following behind, this is where she would most likely be waiting for him.
Shion took in a breath and kept his hands at the ready, staying on guard as he turned the corner and entered the darker part of the alleyway.
"Oh nyoo...looks like someone isn't as smart as he thinks he is." Nekomata taunted him from above, coming down from the fire escape to pounce on him.
Shion quickly stepped to the side and avoided her ambush from above. However, he did not anticipate her having a knife in each hand. With a hearty 'HA!', she lunged at him and tried to pin him against the wall.
Shion slid one foot back and deflected her knives by pushing her wrists away. After a few quick blocked slashes, Nekomata spun around and tried to kick him in the face. He ducked underneath it and pushed her back. She stumbled but caught herself before falling over.
"Yaa-aaa! What gives?! Why're you following us, you creep?!" She demanded.
"If this is a robbery then you're out of luck," Billy said, sneaking up behind Shion and pressing the barrel of his gun into his back. "We don't have any money." He said in a dark, threatening tone.
"Relax, I'm not looking for trouble," Shion held his hands up. "I recognized you two from the Hollows. You were trying to steal money from the Verdict gang, right?" He brought up.
"Urk...how did you...wait a minute, you were that guy with the helmet that helped us out, weren't you?!" Nekomata questioned.
"Huh? Wait, I thought the guy that helped us out that day was supposed to be Tremor." Billy brought up. Shion sighed and shook his head.
"Ugh...yeah that was me. I'm Tremor." Shion confirmed.
"What?! No way!" Billy exclaimed in surprise as he put his guns away, "Tremor's like a super tough and crazy and dangerous agent! You're like...soft and squishy looking." He described slowly.
"Excuse me?" Shion raised an eyebrow back at him.
"You being Tremor doesn't explain why you were following us, nyah!" Nekomata pointed out.
"Right...in the Hollow, you were trying to steal some stuff from the Verdict gang. I've been looking into them lately; what's your relationship with them?"
"Relationship? They don't like us at all." Billy answered.
"A negative relationship is still a relationship. So you don't know them like that?" Shion inquired.
"Eh, not really. The Cunning Hares don't do business with gangs like that, not officially anyways." Nekomata answered.
"The Cunning Hares?"
"Yeah, we're part of the Cunning Hares, the best odd job agency in New Eridu!" Billy answered proudly.
"A business, huh...? Can I speak with your boss?" Shion requested.
"Huh? You wanna speak with Nicole? I mean...I guess...?" Nekomata scratched her cheek as she pondered this. Meanwhile, Billy pulled his phone out.
"Well, you did help us out so I don't see why not. I'll give her a call and put you on with her!" Billy decided as he rang Nicole up. Nekomata groaned and shook her head but didn't protest.
"Hello...? Hey, Nicole! Yeah we took care of the videotape thing. Oh hold on though, I have someone here with me that wants to speak with you. Can you talk right now? Great! Here you go, Tremor!" Billy said before handing the phone to him.
"Huh? Wait, Billy, did you say Tremor? Are you talking to a customer?!" Nicole asked worriedly.
"You must be the boss. Miss Nicole, I have an important question to ask you about the Cunning Hares." Shion spoke seriously, his tone dropping down into something more serious.
"Uh ok...? Well it depends on the question." She said in response.
"What do you know about Bloodhound and the Verdict gang?"
"Not much. We stay away from those crowds. We run a legitimate business here!" Nicole declared.
"We'll just ignore that I saw your employees here try to skim off stuff in the Hollows from the Verdict gang...let's just call that a 'recovery op'. I know you've got some dirt on them. I just wanna know what it is." Shion clarified.
"That's it? You're just asking just to ask...?" Nicole asked in disbelief.
"That's it. And then I'll go on with my day and you go on with yours." Shion said.
"Hmm...now that you mention it, I do remember Billy telling me about what you did for him and Nekomata that day in the Hollows, so I'll answer your questions and we can call it even. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect." Shion replied.
"Alright. Well I can start by saying that the Verdict gang really takes the term 'organized crime' to heart. You asked about Bloodhound right? He's in charge of one of the hideouts that the Verdict gang has all around the outskirts of the city." Nicole reported.
"Do you know which one?" Shion asked.
"Nope. We have a map, but we specifically procured it for the purpose of not running into the Verdict gang unless we absolutely have to." She explained.
"Yeah I've seen the same map myself. So you're saying that you've never had any run-ins with him?" Shion asked hopefully.
"We're not exactly an investigative team. We try to avoid gangs altogether, let alone a bigger shark like Bloodhound." Nicole clarified once more.
"Got it...well let me ask you this: do you know what club the Verdict gang lieutenants like to hang out at?" Shion asked next.
"A club?" Nicole repeated with a confused tone.
"Yeah, I heard that specifically Bloodhound and all the other guys in charge of the Hollow hideouts always meet up at a specific club when they need to talk business." Shion explained.
"Ha! I don't think Bloodhound would ever be caught dead in a club. He's such a stickler for keeping his men in line and in tip-top shape. Even just being seen in one would probably be a hit to his reputation that he wouldn't accept." Nicole answered.
"I thought you said you always try to avoid the gang. How would you know something like that?" Shion questioned.
"I keep my ear to the ground. It's something rival gangs have taken advantage of, believe me. If you wanna find Bloodhound, I'd suggest going to the Hollow hideouts on the map – process of elimination." Nicole recommended.
"That's how it started but it's been taking a little too long." Shion admitted.
"Well best of luck in your search. Now if that's all..." She hinted.
"That's all. Thanks for your time, Nicole." Shion said before handing the phone back to Billy.
"Hey, Nicole! It's me again!" Billy said when he took the phone back.
"You idiot! You should know better than to be giving out our names and handing our information out to just anyone on the street! Haven't I told you a million times about discretion and the rules of the streets?!" Nicole started to berate him over the phone.
"Ugh...next time you want to reach us, we do have a business number." Nekomata sighed.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Cunning Hares." Shion said before making his way out of the alleyway and hurrying home. He made sure that they didn't try to follow him, but it seemed like they weren't interesting in returning the favor.
Either way, he was starting to feel like he was back to square one again in his search for Bloodhound...