97. Weapons (6)

"Did you have fun?" Reiji sneered through his blurring eyes. 

"....What about you? Was it fun enough for you to hesitate in that moment? Did you think this was a game? Or maybe you were confident that you wouldn't get hurt. You realize that you're lucky that you're even alive right now?" Daichi replied, his voice containing a slight raspiness that wasn't usually there. 

"Haha, who knows? I don't know if it was weakness or arrogance, but I just couldn't pull the trigger. Not at first anyway. Does that disappoint you?" 

"....A little."

Reiji tilted his head, not breaking eye contact with the cold-hearted man in front of him. He studied his seemingly indifferent expression for a few seconds, where neither party broke the silence hanging in the air. 

"So, were you planning on intervening at any point, or were you just here to watch the show? I mean, you entered the port before us after all," he finally asked. 

Daichi narrowed his eyes. 

"How did you know?" 

"You expect me to believe you conveniently arrived right after everything was over? And Arata's camera feeds were showing very specific routes. I couldn't see that tower in any of the footage," Reiji snorted, pointing at the control tower in the distance. 

When they were being guided into the offloading area, he noticed that the building was not shown by Arata, not from the outside or the inside. 

".... If you're this smart, why didn't you shoot at the first opportunity?"

Daichi's stare drifted towards his son's shoulder, which was now being tended to by one of the men he had brought over. 

His sleeve was torn open, revealing a deep cut on his upper right arm. 

"If you were expecting me to be okay with killing someone, even in self-defence, I'll have to disappoint you again. That's not going to happen. Not now, not ever."

His determined tone, paired with the bandage being wrapped around his cut, seemed to strike a chord with Daichi, who pursed his lips without being able to retort. 

When Reiji saw him opening his mouth, probably to say something annoying again, he quickly changed the subject. 

He pulled out the letter that Hayashi had handed to him, throwing it over with a weary look. 

"Here, someone named Z sends his regards," he muttered. 

Daichi didn't look too surprised, taking the letter from him before reading it with solemnity.

'Was this dude eavesdropping as well?'

It was quite likely, though he wasn't sure how. 

The CCTV cameras weren't picking up audio, but he figured Arata had many ways to get around that. 

"Well? Who is this dude? He sounds like a psycho stalker from the looks of it," he asked. 

Though he knew of Z's existence from the game, he had no idea he had a connection to Daichi until now. He wasn't exactly a major character, but he was someone he now had to be extremely wary of because of his capabilities. 

And, of course, his mentally deranged worldview. 

Daichi didn't even look up when he answered, still going over the creepy words on the piece of paper.

"No one you need to be concerned about. Not yet, at least."

'.....Alright, I'm sick of this.'

He stood up shakily, pulling his arm away from the doctor bandaging his shoulder.

"S-Sir, we haven't finished yet!"

"What the fuck is your problem?" Reiji snapped. 

"....Excuse me?" 

Daichi slowly turned to him, a single eyebrow raised as if mocking his outburst. 

"Every time I ask you about something, it's always 'you don't need to know' or 'it's not the right time'. Can you stop acting like some mysterious sage holding the secrets of the universe and actually explain the shit you're putting me through? You go on and on and on about wanting me to take over, but when it comes to actually getting to it, you worm your way out of explaining like you have a gun pointed at you."

Reiji heaved, his chest rising up and down after expelling the pent-up frustrations that he had been holding back for a while now.

He had tortured a man, threatened others, and shot an arrow through someone after they had pierced his arm with one. 

He felt like he deserved an explanation, or at least a hint of some sort. This big secret his father was carrying was eating away at him.

His eyes started swimming again, his consciousness blurring a little as the pain threatened to consume him again. 

But he held on, wanting to hear a clear answer for once. 

Daichi simply blinked, taking in the fury directed at him with complete calmness. 

"It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you about these things. Everything has the right time and place, and it's just that this isn't that time. Everything you need to know will be revealed when you're ready for it, whether you want to hear it or not. So have some patience."

Reiji sighed. 

'What was I expecting?'

"....Whatever, I'm going home. Since I completed this assignment, I'm not taking anymore new ones until after my midterms are done."

He walked away, heading for the port exhibit while the doctor ran after him in panic. 

"Boss, wait for us!"

Baldy and Beardy also followed him in a hurry, not forgetting to bow to Daichi before doing so. 

Reiji looked back one last time as he turned the corner, focusing on Hayashi and his henchmen, who were also being treated by the other medical staff. 

The splatters of blood, the torn flesh, and the cracks made by the arrows fired throughout the scuffle. 

He took it all in. 

Unlike his reflection after the blackmail incident, he felt no regret.

No remorse. 

'What does this mean for me.....'

***

"Are you fine with how this all turned out?" Satoshi asked, frowning at the chaotic sight after he confirmed Reiji was out of earshot.

Daichi merely smiled.

"It turned out better than I had hoped."

"It's no secret that you're insane, but this is beyond what I had ever expected. Boss, he's your son. Aren't you worried that one day he won't be so lucky? That he won't be surrounded by our medical team to help him out right away? That one of your past enemies will take note of him?"

"....Maybe that might happen, but it's a risk I'm willing to take," Daichi replied after a short pause.

"But is it a risk he's willing to take?" 

"...."

"And what about Z? If he was able to coordinate all of this, is he even in prison anymore? What about him?" Satoshi continued, his tone getting angrier by the second. 

"Z.... Z is a problem. Go find out if he's still locked up. I want every detail regarding him as soon as possible," Daichi ordered with furrowed brows, finally showing a moment of nervousness.

His right-hand man took a deep breath, massaging his temples as he walked off. 

"I just hope you won't regret these choices in the future."

***

"Boss, are you really fine?" Baldy whispered, unable to tear his eyes away from the bandaged shoulder.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be okay."

'Coach will probably throw a fit, and this is gonna be a pain in the ass that'll affect my training, but nothing I can do about it.'

Reiji had taken a couple of painkillers that were given to him, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. 

The combined effect of the pills, exhaustion, mental fatigue, and pain was too much for him, especially since he was already tired after a long day of studying. 

'What a crazy fucked up life.'

Tutor by day, gangster by night.

"Oh my, you look a little worse for wear!"

Reiji's mouth twitched at the nasally voice, not expecting Arata to still be waiting at the initial meeting point. 

He was leaning against his sports car with a relaxed smirk, his arms crossed as he saw the injury. 

"Mhm, it still kinda hurts. If you want to know how it feels, I don't mind giving you an example," Reiji snarled, not in the mood for his petty mind games. 

"Geez, that made you a little cranky, didn't it?" 

"Yeah, no shit. Good job with the task, but please leave now. I don't think Beardy can hold back much longer."

The tall, bulky man behind him was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists, a couple of veins throbbing on both his neck and his forehead. 

'.... I'm not too sure, but that cocky dumbass must've said something after we left.'

Arata turned a little pale when he noticed the red-faced hulk, scrambling for his key in his pockets. He quickly pulled it out and swung open his car door, jumping in without hesitation.

"Haha, get some rest, Little Boss. Maybe we'll work together again!"

The car roared to life, the powerful engine revving as he drove off in a cloud of dust, hobbling along the uneven road. 

"....Ok, no more talking. I want to get home," Reiji groaned, dragging his aching body into the SUV parked nearby.

"Yes, Boss!"

It was already well past midnight, and he had an early day tomorrow.

'An hour and a half, maybe two hours, should be enough for the macarons.... So I'll get up at 6.'

Yui was arriving at 9, and Haruna would join them later for lunch before their tutoring session.

It was going to be another packed day, and he had to get as much sleep as he possibly could because he knew those two would chew his head off with more nonsense.

He leaned back in his car seat, allowing sleep to finally take over his body, drifting off into dreamland with the consistent thrum of the car's movement. 

***

A/N

Back to 'normal' life!

Thoughts on how the day is going to go tomorrow?