It seemed this girl was... not the easy-going type. To say the least.
The distrust nesting on her face deepened. It would take another push for her to drop her hostility, though I could not blame her.
So I kept my hands in the air.
"After that lapse, you should know." - I pointed - "I can't do you harm from this distance, can I?" - A wry smile on my face.
It was kind of complicated.
The minute-long lapse she had just experienced. It always happens the first couple of times anyone sees a mark.
Since mine were especially... deep. She experienced what most would consider a longer one.
Actually, it was not just 'seeing' a mark that triggered the lapse. Rather, it was when one 'grasped' the truths behind a mark.
That is to say, this girl was now aware of the 'rules' my power followed. Or at least she should have a vague notion of them.
This was the reason most experienced marksmen went to extremes to hide theirs from plain sight.
Anyways, that was not the point.
Of course, it was not ideal to reveal your hand to such an openly hostile woman. Knowledge, however, could work both ways.
Both as an exploit and as a deterrent. Mine was the latter.
Furthermore, concessions were necessary to build trust.
A subtle frown on my face.
"Hey, aren't you going to speak?" - I asked.
...
She didn't respond.
Instead, one of her arms shrank back, covering her chest, the other one covering her nether parts.
'Huh.'
When we arrived, I had one of the avatars dress her in a loose white tunic we had lying somewhere in the storage room... So her assets were not exposed.
It was actually an improvement from the rags she was wearing before.
...
I squinted my eyes.
Though I guess if you did try squinting your eyes. You could kind of see the contour of her...
'Ahh.'
My gaze slid up from her cleavage.
To my demise, her expression had morphed back to one of sheer repugnance mixed with stubborn defiance.
A thin amount of blood flowed out of her lips.
"Then why are you naked? What are you going to do to me?" - She let out a barely audible whisper.
...
'Right. I'm naked, damn.' - I stood unfazed.
Just slightly annoyed that she would frame it like that.
"Wait, wait. Let me recall, it was you who savagely turned my suit to ashes, just now wasn't it?" - I retorted, ricocheting her unjust accusations.
...
For whatever reason, that particular argument seemed to startle her.
Her face blank.
"The audacity! You are actually a pervert, are you not? Exposing a man's jewels like that, then framing him. Shame on you." - I continued, my arms crossed, my voice incriminating and firm.
...
"What- what are you saying?! I was not trying to see you naked!"
She broke the weird silence. Her tone was angry and, dare I say, seemingly very very offended.
I clicked my tongue.
"Well, that's exactly what a pervert would say." - I said back.
A sly smile on my face.
...
She scoffed.
"You are mentally ill." - Her tone not as tense anymore."
I shrugged at the comment.
"I bet."
No offense taken. The atmosphere between us had visibly eased, which was the whole point.
...
None of us talked for a couple of minutes.
After that exchange, her attention fluttered somewhere around the broad cavern. As if trying to piece together the puzzle of questions in her head.
"As proof of my goodwill." - I interrupted.
"Feel free to ask anything, pervert." - I said jokingly, receiving yet another death stare.
...
Another few seconds of hesitation, her brown eyes blazed with uncertainty before looking resolute.
"Where are we..? This looks like somewhere underground." - She pointed.
Well. It was clear she would be asking that.
Alas, the answer was complicated.
"Where are we..?" - I muttered, grabbing my chin as I thought of an answer.
"Nowhere in particular." - I replied.
...
The expression of sheer disbelief plastered on her face right now was worth its weight in gold. Needless to say, that was not a great answer.
After a long sigh, I continued.
"Somewhere below District 23, I can not give you any details, but that is where we are." - I lied.
Then our eyes met.
Her gaze aimed to decipher the truth from my expression, still I remained unreadable.
Ultimately, she accepted my answer.
"That is good."
She let out a calm exhale.
...
Another minute passed in silence.
There was a lot to take in, so I didn't press further.
"You did save me, didn't you?"
We stared at each other again.
"I remember seeing you before fainting... So it was you that got me out of there, didn't you?"
I could tell that she was at least grateful for that.
"Yeah."
I nodded.
...
"Thank you for that."
There was no need to thank me, though.
I did not do it out of goodwill.
"Sorry for burning you."
...
"Yeah. Sorry for knocking you unconscious back then." - I replied nonchalantly.
I could feel her frown.
"Wait, YOU knocked me unconscious back then?!"
I shrugged.
"Yeah."
It had to be done. If I had not knocked her out cold back then, there was a real chance my avatars would have been harmed.
Furthermore, we could not afford to reveal ways of accessing this place to just some... random girl.
If things went well, though, that should change.
...
"Then, why am I here?" - She muttered.
I averted my eyes, searching for an answer.
How should I best put it?
"Because you are the only living witness of something... That is extremely valuable to some people." - My tone serious.
She stayed silent, but I was confident she understood her situation. At least roughly.
"Are those 'people' you speak of... Gangsters?" - Referring to the people who held her captive.
"Yeah." - I answered.
We had taken out Gerth Carbone, the blood brother of the most dangerous man in the sector. We had also framed Night Hand for the murder.
All in one night.
It was by far the boldest move we had made.
We were kindling the flames of discord between two powerhouses, we had made the gang war inevitable by this point.
We were wanted men.
At least our fake identities were.
So if by any chance she made it out to the outside like this...
Not only would our real identities be compromised, but it was also possible that our long-term plans would be hindered as well.
As for her? A witness to such a high-profile operation, she would surely be squeezed out of any information she had.
We all knew exactly what that meant.
She knew too.
It seemed this girl was smart.
Speaking of her, she did look a little livelier.
Even if just a tiny bit.
She let out a long sigh, standing up.
"If I am that valuable to that human filth, then I guess I'm better off here."
A glint of sorrow in her gaze.
"It's not like they can harm anyone... Everyone that mattered is dead."
I didn't comment, my expression numb.
Silas had taken his sweet time.
...
POV: Girl.
Terrifying, dominating, ominous or not, the reality of the fact that I had been close to murdering an innocent kid for my own selfish sake, hit hard.
I felt ashamed of my reckless behaviour.
I really did.
"I'm so sorry." - I muttered, bowing lightly before standing up.
No, not just a kid.
But actually... kind of my savior.
Thinking back about that cell. How many months would Emma and I have been held captive if he had not shown up? I wondered.
What would have been of us?
Would we have been trafficked and sold to some wealthy crime lord? Maybe sold for a life of slave-labour? Such things were common.
If they couldn't make a quick profit, they would have surely harvested our organs.
So even if his rescue had resulted in the early death of my last friend...
Could I argue the alternative was any better?
No.
Even death would be better than what awaited us in that cell.
So even if I was scared of him.
I should be at least grateful.
I let out a long exhale, trying to clear my mind.
As for my future.
It pained me... I did not have a future anymore. After all that had happened, I had nothing to live for.
My mom was long gone, my father was a debt slave who sold her own daughter for profit. I did not have friends; the only one I did have was dead.
No amount of reflection could change those facts.
Still, there was a fire within me that refused to give up and die. It was a powerful and alien desire, but it was starting to fit into place.
So whatever happened, I would keep living.
At the very least, I could hold onto that.
...
I felt a subtle pulse behind me.
It was faint, but certain. The sound of light steps echoed next.
My gaze shifted to the... kid.
I had not asked for his name. How could I be this dense?
His expression was aloof, he looked happy even a smile plastered on his face. Still, his abysmal, lifeless eyes betrayed that notion.
"Took you long enough, what were you doing?" - He said.
"Ahh, my bad, my bad. I got kind of distracted along the way."
A smooth, inexplicably charming voice replied. It looked like we were not alone after all, which was... reassuring.
For whatever reason, I hesitated to turn around.
"Whatever." - The black haired powerhouse replied after a long sigh. His bottomless gaze drifted towards a tall man dressed in a dark-purple suit, whom I had failed to notice approaching. His steps unnaturally silent.
The man in purple bowed giving him much-needed underwear and a tidied full-black smoking, which he hastily dressed on.
Noticing I was staring too much, I looked away.
"Elias, why- Wait, why were you naked?" The soothing voice asked, seemingly puzzled, but unmistakably amused.
"Hahaha, no way, did something happen between you two?"
He laughed.
Also somehow charmingly.
'Something happened between us?' - I frowned.
One idiot was bearable, but two were way too much to handle.
Elias, looking as aloof as ever, shrugged it off.
I frowned.
"What kind of idiot would suggest that? Really, are you out of your mind? We just met each other-"
I turned around.
A tall young man, also roughly my age, his hair a pristine shade of white, his skin pale and smooth, much like his voice, his eyes an hypnotic mix between green and blue.
His muscles thick and well proportionally aesthetic. His smile genuinely mesmerizing.
I blinked a couple of times.
I could feel my face burn.
My gaze slid down his wide neck, over his sternum, a pulsing mark, depicting a bottomless pit of truths.
I froze.
...
A long silence ensued.
"Did you seriously just walk in front of her bare-chested?"
Elias asked, seemingly dumbfounded.
"Yeah... You interrupted my training." - He replied, apparently also at a loss for words. - "I couldn't help it."
The girl remained motionless, her glassy eyes lost somewhere in oblivion. A thick blush plastered all over her face.
Lapses took milliseconds, seconds in extreme cases. However, Silas was... Well, he was an exception to that rule.
...
"It will take her a couple of hours." - Elias sighed, a little disappointed.
...
"Yeah. My bad." - Silas bowed in apology.
It looked like their esteemed guest would be... gone for a while.
POV: ELIAS.
Jane was the girl's name.
She was nineteen years old. Her father had sold her for a couple of thousand, her mother was dead.
She had dropped out of high school at seventeen and worked as a menial worker at the harbor ever since.
All before vanishing a few months ago.
It was a sad story.
Not an uncommon one.
"She has potential." - I muttered, glancing at Jane, who was lying on a bed a couple of feet away, still entranced.
I closed the wooden door, trying not to make a noise.
"She does. Her skills are powerful."
Silas was leaning on the wall next to the door frame.
"You did well rescuing her, Elias." - We locked eyes - "This is the first real life we get to save."
That brotherly smile of his irked me sometimes.
"I guess." - We looked eyes. - "Do you think she could make it?" - I asked.
He shook his head.
"It's too early to tell."
After a pause, he continued.
"You know better than anybody. Power means very little without a will to wield it for the right reasons." - His gaze settled on the door.
"Whether she will join us or not, her actions, convictions, and values will decide. Not us. We can't push her."
That made sense.
"It will take time either way. Let's be patient."
I agreed with him.
We could not force things, it wouldn't have worked on us, it wouldn't work on her. Still, Silas was too soft on this issue.
Silas walked away.
"What will we do with her if she refuses?" - The weight of the question lingered.
...
"We'll let her go." - He halted.
"We aim to save people with good hearts. So if that's the case, then I trust you'll help her find a new life outside."
...
"Right." - I lit a cigar, letting out a cloud of smoke.
...
"Feel proud of yourself, Elias."
After that, Silas disappeared down the corridor.
...
'Proud, huh?' - I thought.
I looked at my calloused hands.
Everything felt numb.