5 - Negotiation Tactic

While the Heisei was preparing for war, in a café back in Krakow...

Yumichi was violently chomping down a burger.

“This is the best thing ever!” Yumichi said, absolutely ravaging the food. On the seat in front of him was Hiroshi, who seemed a little more reserved while eating. In fact, he had difficulty picking at his food.

“Hey, are you gonna eat that? I’m gonna take it if you’re not!” Yumichi said, pointing at Hiroshi’s burger. His mouth was already salivating just imagining shoving not one such food piece into his stomach, but two.

“You can’t do that.” Rin said, passing by them. She sat on a separate two-seat table next to them, enjoying a cup of tea and a few cookies, the same type she always used to get on lunch break during her time as a teacher. “If you eat too much, your stomach will get sick.”

“Awww, but I finally got some good food! The food at the boarding school was total crap!” Yumichi complained.

“It is not...that. The food in schools is made with nutrition in mind, not taste.” Rin explained. “I’d know.”

“And that’s why it tasted like crap!” Yumichi complained again. “If only they had some good food there, ugh...hey, Hiroshi, was the food at your school also crap?”

“It was...alright.” Hiroshi replied.

“Hiroshi, do you want me to order something else?” Rin asked, concerned at the lack of the boy’s appetite. “There’s other options on the menu if you don’t like what’s in front of you...and there’s a kid that’s drooling just looking at your plate.”

“Ah, no, I’m just...taking my time, I guess.” Hiroshi gave a forced smile.

“Right, take all the time you need.” Rin said. “Yumichi, when are your parents coming over to pick you up?”

“Never!” Yumichi proudly exclaimed.

“Pardon?”

“I told them that I’m with my big sis and that I’m not going to leave anywhere.” Yumichi said. “I wanna stay with big sis. I don’t wanna go back to them.”

“But...why?” Rin asked, confused. “You have to go to school, right?”

“I was already smarter than everyone else, besides, school sucked.” Yumichi complained one more time. “Everyone was bored and the teachers valued papers over knowledge. And that’s really bad, because I lost a grade for being too smart!”

“I can see why that’d make you hate school, but your parents are probably very concerned about you...”

“No way. They know I’m fine.” Yumichi said, taking a bite out of the food. “I’m not going back to them, I’m staying with big sis.”

Rin was surprised.

“We are the best siblings ever.” Yumichi said. “Mom unintentionally gave us nice nicknames too, she called big sis a mistake and me an accident. Those words sound pretty nice together too...”

“Ouch...” Rin thought, and her face expressed her anger at Ichika’s parents.

“But yeah, I’m not going back to them. I’m not gonna leave big sis alone.” Yumichi said with a smile. “Plus, this is way more fun. I’m a soulful now, right? Maybe one day I can be as strong as my big sis’ boyfriend!”

“Boy-ohhh...right.” Rin chuckled. “Well, I don’t think you’ll manage to be as strong as him, but hey, don’t compare yourself to him. He’s not the norm for soulfuls, he’s the sole exception.”

“Did you see what he did with his shadows?!” Yumichi asked. “I wanna do that type of stuff too! I wanna ride on a dragon or make hundreds of swords fall out of the sky!”

“Well, maybe one day.” Rin smiled. “I’ll go take care of the bill. Hiroshi, if you want to order something, tell me, okay?”

“Ah, right...thanks.” Hiroshi said. After sharing a smile with the kid, Rin left the table. And the two were left alone.

“Why don’t you eat?” Yumichi asked. “Are you sad?”

“Huh? What does that have to do with anything?” Hiroshi instantly asked. “No, I mean...why do you think I’m sad?”

“Well, when big sis was sad, she didn’t eat much either. I had to convince her to eat breakfast or dinner.” Yumichi said, finishing his plate. “Are you also not eating because you’re sad?”

“No, I just...don’t have an appetite.” Hiroshi said, visibly sad.

“Do you miss your dad?” Yumichi asked. The question was so direct that it felt like Hiroshi got stabbed in the chest. And so, he tried to slowly pry the knife out of there.

“Yeah, I do.” Hiroshi replied. “But that’s not why I’m sad, I mean, not hungry. I just don’t feel like eating that’s all.”

“So you are sad.” Yumichi said. “Big sis used to be sad a lot too. I would play this game with her when I tried to guess the reason why, and she’d tell me about her day and what she felt like, and she’d feel better.”

“You helped your big sis a lot.” Hiroshi smiled a little. “She...went to Warsaw, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, apparently, mister Sakuto’s best friend is in trouble and they have to help him.” Yumichi said.

“Are you worried for her?” Hiroshi asked.

“Nope.” Yumichi quickly answered, sipping some of his lemonade. “She’s strong, and mister Sakuto is even stronger. Can you imagine that? Someone stronger than big sis?”

“I’m...concerned for my dad.” Hiroshi confessed. “I wonder how he’s doing.”

“Isn’t he super duper strong?” Yumichi asked. “He’s the leader of the soulfuls, right?”

“Yes.” Hiroshi replied. “He’s...strong.”

“Then you’re not concerned for him.” Yumichi smiled. “You’re concerned that he’s abandoning you.”

Hiroshi silently gasped. The knife that he managed to remove stabbed him again, piercing right through his heart. His movements slowed down for a few seconds, he got a little hypersensitive and focused, and he tried to quickly recollect himself.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from NovelBin; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I...don’t know if that’s the case.” Hiroshi replied. “He...figured it out? How the hell? How is he so...smart?!”

“Big sis was also scared of those types of things.” Yumichi sighed. ”But, I don’t think your dad wants to leave you!” He exclaimed with a much more energetic tone. “I just think he’s really busy! Like, as busy as the strongest man in the world can get!”

“But in that case, what should I do when he’s busy?” Hiroshi asked, accepting the fact that he was being read like a book, and desiring an answer to one of his many questions regarding his complex relationship with his father. “What do I do?”

“You just know that he’s there!” Yumichi said. “When big sis ran away from home, I knew that she was out there, because she was the strongest person I knew. So you should just trust him!”

“Ah, that...that makes sense.” Hiroshi said. “He did so many nice things for me, he bought me stuff, he took me to school and rented tutors for me...”

“So he loves you!” Yumichi said.

“You’re...right.” Hiroshi said, smiling a little. He even took a bite of his burger, it was cold now, but it still tasted good. “He’s my dad after all...”

“He’s my only family.”

“Aww, I thought you were gonna leave some more for me...”

“Hey, I can order us some desserts if you want to.” Hiroshi said. “I’m feeling a little hungry.”

“Desserts?” Yumichi asked, a little surprised.

“Yeah.”

“But I heard they’re expensive.”

“Don’t worry, I have some...pocket money.” Hiroshi said. Soon, he was bombarded with dozens of questions and requests regarding his financial capabilities. He answered them with joy, and hey, he was happy. That’s all that matters.

Rin saw the two kids get in better moods and celebrated for them. Any caretaker wishes for the kids they look after to smile and laugh. Especially in Rin’s case, she felt bad for Hiroshi and his situation. She looked at them from a distance and smiled.

Her phone rang.

She checked it, and it was an unknown number. She got a little concerned, so she waited outside of the cafe to take the call.

“Hello-”

“We are calling from a secure line. Make sure we are not being recorded.”

“Who is this?” Rin immediately asked as she opened her phone for the very purpose of recording the call.

“This is the ex-captain of the Heisei on the line. Well, he’s right next to me, he can say hi if you want to. We need to talk about a crucial detail regarding the current global situation.”

“I will request your call to be tracked down.” Rin said. “I do not believe you. Goodbye-”

“Wait!” Zervos’ voice was heard from the other end of the phone. That one word convinced Rin to stay in the call. “Please, listen to what we to say.”

“There we go. Do I have your attention now? Need me to send a picture of the captain’s disappointed face for proof? Sheesh, the things you gotta do just to make people believe you...”

“What...why are you calling me?” Rin asked, confused.

“For a pretty neat reason. You are the only remaining member of the Heisei that isn’t known as a combatant. Meaning that whatever the hell is going on with the world, it won’t affect you. But then again, Kaito wouldn’t leave one of his soldiers without a task. But that’s not the point.”

“Then what is? Is this...not a call I should have taken?” Rin asked. “I will not hesitate to report you.”

“Are you aware of Kaito Kamiki’s final intentions of wiping out every soulless being on planet earth?”

“What?” Rin asked, almost raising her voice a little too much due to the shocking nature of the news. “I am aware that he will have tremendous power given enough time. That being his intention sounds like...propaganda, almost.”

“Oh come on, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Why do you think Otto Richter decided to start a global genocide?”

“I do not trust that man.” Rin said. She began carefully looking around her so as to not be intercepted by anyone or anything. She glanced at Yumichi and Hiroshi still having fun in the cafe.

“Trust his actions then. The Adler Group was created as a countermeasure against the GSC and any coalition that gained a little too much power and had unstable soulfuls. And, you know, I think a psychopathic genocidal freak with the powers of God counts as that.”

“Why did you call me?”

“To describe the situation to you. You were a teacher, right? Can you imagine all those precious kids that you taught dying in an instant without the chance to even say goodbye to their parents? Matter of fact, I can hear that you’re outside, so look around you. All of those people, well, the overwhelming majority of people, all of them will disappear. All of them are humans, people. They all had their past, they have their present and they won’t have a future.”

“Who are you allied with?” Rin asked. “Who do you represent?!”

“I represent a group of people that want to stop Kaito Kamiki.” Mukawa said. “Oh and, by the way, you have something to thank me for. I am the person that saved Sakuto Hitori.”

“You...” Rin was overwhelmed. “So that was...?”

“What, you thought he died on the cross and came back three days later? I saved him! I’m responsible for creating the...I don’t know how he is right now, probably a fucking murder machine serving under Kaito, but uhh...yeah...I saved him. So you’ve already technically interacted with me. And also, your little teammate called Dima ran off to me and tried to beg me to bail Hayk Nakama out. See? Another interaction. I’m such a trustworthy person, aren’t I?”

“You...want to stop him?” Rin asked. “How?”

“We have a means of killing him.”

“This is...too much to take in.” Rin said. “Why do you even need me? How do I know you are-”

“We need you because of what I said earlier. Whatever you can do for us, you might save billions of lives with it. Billions. A billion times a person like yourself. And most importantly, you’re in a close relationship with Hayk Nakama’s old group, correct. That includes Sakuto Hitori.”

“You want to recruit him through me?”

“We want to recruit you, and if possible, him-”

“Miss Rin, do you copy? I am connecting to you from an undisclosed location through a private network.” The phone gave off another voice. “I am in communication with the group you were talking to.”

“Who’s this?!”

“My name is Mansa Zuma. I am the leader of the Afra stronghold. I am, very likely, Kaito Kamiki’s next target.”

“What?!”

“Kaito Kamiki abandoned his seat in Tokyo to go on a rampage against the fellow stronghold leaders. He chases an unknown personal motive, most likely connected with his personal goal. I have seen him butcher two of my comrades with my very eyes. Please, I kneel before you. Trust me. Kaito Kamiki is not who he seems to be.”

“I...I understand.” Rin slowly nodded.

“So he is a murderer...and he’s willing to destroy humanity...for what?”

She took a deep breath. She looked over at Hiroshi, and it made her feel a little nauseous after hearing all that information about Kaito.

“Back then, I couldn’t save the children due to my own powerlessness. Now, an opportunity has been presented to protect them. To give them a chance to live instead of having some malevolent demigod take their lives away.”

“Last time, I was given vengeance as a gift from someone else.”

“This time, I will fulfill my duty as an adult myself.”

“I will call you back.” Rin said. “There’s a certain kid that I have to look after right now. Goodbye.”

“I cannot be powerless again.”

[VENICE]

On the other hand of the call, in the south of Europe, the room fell silent. And Mukawa, after almost overdosing on hope, slammed the table on which the phone and laptop were placed.

“What’s up with you?” Kana asked.

“If this works...” Mukawa said, ecstatic. “If she is doing what I think she is doing, fucking hell...everything is working out. Everything is actually working out.”

“So? Did the call make a difference?” Zervos asked as if he knew the answer.

“It didn’t make the difference, it was the difference.” Mukawa said. “The difference between us being slaughtered like lamb and stopping that madman. Oh, and uhh, speaking of lamb...”