CHAPTER 331: STILL AWAKE.

Finn’s eyes fluttered open, and the scenery in front of him slowly came into focus. The confusion clouding his mind soon cleared and he groggily picked himself up.

Beep boobeep.

He heard the beeping, the sound made faint due to his drowsiness, but he could barely read the message that appeared on his OAM.

[Jake: Hey, what’s up? It’s still the middle of the night.]

"Just... toilet..."

The surroundings told him he wasn’t in his room at Boris’s place, which reminded him that he was staying at Tomato Head’s apartment for the second night in a row. They had spent several hours studying the documents they looted and watching how the Daggers handled the murder of three of their members, but soon after it hit midnight, he found himself unable to continue.

"Anything new?"

Beep beebeep boobeebeep.

[Jake: Two of the guards who stayed outside were executed for failing to stop the thief. They haven’t realized he never went through the lower floors.]

"Damn..."

Such brutal behavior wasn’t out of the ordinary for gangs. In fact, the cleaner one seemed, the more messed up things they do in the shadows. Finn knew that all too well.

"So they haven’t realized yet..."

Beebeep boobeep

[Jake: They have discussed the security footage, and they seemed convinced that Black Skull is behind the robbery.]

"So the plan worked, huh?"

Despite the darkness enveloping the apartment, Finn had no trouble finding his way to the bathroom. Relieving himself, he made sure to wash his hands before going to bed.

"By the way..." he said, suddenly remembering an important detail. "Did Jaguar get involved?"

"Nope." A reply came, but not in the way he had expected it.

Finn froze in his spot, then his head slowly turned toward the kitchen. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness so he was able to make out some silhouettes, but it was only once he heard the sound of papers being flipped that he understood what was happening.

"You really should stop talking to yourself."

"O-oh, you’re still awake..."

It was Tomato Head, still sitting at the kitchen table. Though he had a moment of relief, fear suddenly sprang up in Finn’s heart as he took in the scene once more.

"I have night vision." Said Tomato Head, as if he had just read his mind. "My OAM is a bit special."

Staring at him for a few moments, the boy finally relaxed.

"Just like everything else, I guess."

Finn no longer had any doubts about Tomato Head being an Enhanced Individual, though the abilities he showed so far made it difficult to figure out what kind of powers he had, or even whether he was a Genome or a Cyborg.

"Says the guy building robots and AIs." He replied. "Anyway, you really should stop talking to yourself like that. Almost gave me a heart attack."

"Look who’s talking," Finn replied.

The mood eased up a bit, and he started to hear the pillow calling for him. Yawning, Finn was about to turn back to his bed when he suddenly remembered.

"... aren’t you going to sleep?" He asked.

He didn’t know when, but he was sure Tomato Head had left the apartment at some point last night. Since it was already 03:00 AM, that would make it almost twenty-four hours since he last had some rest, if the few hours he had slept the previous night could even be counted.

The announcement from last night flashed in Finn’s mind, followed by a wave of horror much worse than what he felt when he heard the voice in the darkness. He was worried about Tomato Head all day yesterday, but things seemed to be fine after they met Boris for lunch. His murdering three people was a little shocking, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary for most mercs.

Just as he began to worry again, Tomato head replied to his question.

"Yeah, I’ll hit the sack soon." He said. "Will probably sleep till the afternoon."

"Right..." Finn wasn’t too convinced, but he didn’t think he should argue the matter any further.

"If you wake up early, give Suzuka a call."

"Suzuka?"

Finn frowned. One, because Tomato Head expected him to have her contact, and two, because he expected him to call her out of the blue.

"You need to start your lessons." Tomato Head replied. "Just because we’re working on the Daggers doesn’t mean you can slack off."

"... what?" The realization set in right away. "No way..."

"She goes to Novagrad, remember? And from the looks of it, she’s a genius even among the loaded bastards studying there."

Though he knew the blue-haired beauty attended Novagrad, her name never popped into his mind when Tomato Head mentioned finding a master for him.

Novagrad was one of the most prestigious institutions in the entire world. Though he was never interested in a normal school, he still thought it would be nice if he got into that university. Getting to study under a top student from there was a tempting deal, and with that person being Nobara’s granddaughter, Kurosaki Suzuka, Finn felt like he was living in a dream.

"Ah," He suddenly remembered something. "I don’t have her contacts!"

They had talked a few times before, and he could confidently say they were acquainted, but he never had the courage to ask for her contacts. After all, he was nothing more than a regular customer, even if he got along with her green-haired friend.

"Already forwarded her yours." Tomato Head said. "Now, go catch some Zs. We’re going to be busy from now on."

"Alright!

Not paying any mind to how loud his reply was, Finn skipped back to his bed. With how hype up he was all of a sudden, it didn’t seem like he was going to fall asleep any time soon. That’s what he thought, at least.

Beep bobeeboobeep.

[Jake: What? You’re already out of it?

....

Well, I will continue to keep an eye on things.

Good night.

]