Arc 3 - Chapter 47: A Bet To Set Things Right

(Reverence 5, 59 / 9:42AM)

Sitting on a chair nearest the staircase, Luke had his hands clasped together. To his right, was Pacifica and Christian, who sat together without looking at anyone. To his left, was David and Iris, their backs postured in confidence. And on the opposite end of the table, was an old man with white spiky hair.

Whilst the basement walls trapped them like pets.

His cheeks sagged with wrinkles, Kenji looked cold.

“Tell me Fenix, what do you want to discuss?”

“I-I want to save my friends sir, but I need help. I need soldiers to lend me aid. Y-Your soldiers to be precise.”

Luke’s eyes were on the verge of shutting off, while his forearms slept against the wood..

Kenji scratched his cheek, but no dirt had scraped off. Looking like he kept himself clean, the more he looked into Luke’s eyes, the more he saw how exhausted he was. Tilting his head to the right, he cocked his eyebrow.

“What kind of soldiers do you need?”

“All I’m asking is to lend me David and Ms. Sumiko. If you can, Pacifica and Christian. I’m willing to offer you something in return.”

“And what would that be?”

“Riches.”

Kenji pushed his body back, and heard a small creak glitter his ears.

Christian and Pacifica raised their heads, and stared at Luke with shaking eyes. Mixed with emotion, it was clear Luke was giving them a shot, a chance to return what was given to them.

“On that Zirardgre train, there is a stack of cash that the family has. If I’m able to get on that train, and rescue everybody, then our combined firepower will be doubled. Tripled even.”

“You’re suggesting that your men and women could take down the Zirardgres?”

“More or less. We want to pay them back for what they did. Not a complete takedown, but a noticeable punch.”

Kenji raised one of his hands up to his chin, and began rubbing it with dull nails. Feeling his wrinkles, he was already too old to fight, but he still housed some of that fighting strength. Letting out a hum, everyone’s eyes were turned on them, including the desperate Hernando siblings.

But he stopped rubbing his chin.

“You think I’m doing this for mere money?”

Luke felt his lips go down.

Frowning at Kenji's question, Luke pulled both his hands from the table, and sealed his breath. Feeling the surprisement, Christian tapped his fingers silently, while gulping saliva down his throat.

“Permission to speak sir.”

Standing up from his seat, David had both of his hands clenched together. Having them hover his crotch, he cleared his throat, and stared at Kenji with serious eyes. Seeing him furrow his brow, David felt a bead of sweat grow on his nose.

“Although you have raised me from an early age, Luke’s group is my second family. If they were sent to the deepest pits of hell, I would not hesitate to save them.”

“Perhaps you have misunderstood me.”

Rising from his seat, his sandals stabilized his footing. Having his palms firm on the stone table, his cold frown only grew under the single lightbulb that hung above. Nobody dared speak, not even Iris, who kept herself silent with quivering hands.

“I do wish to get them back. I’m a father, so rescuing my daughter is my only option, no?”

“Then please sir, explain your dissatisfaction.”

“He thought I could be bargained with, but I was always open to raiding that devil train.”

Folding his arms beneath his chest, Kenji furrowed his brow. The more he looked at Luke, the more it looked like he might pass out.

“Jenny’s my daughter, and Jumbo is part of my syndicate. Whoever is a friend of David, is a friend to me, but hear this Fenix.”

Pushing in his chair, Kenji laid his eyes on the direction of Pacifica and Christian. Seeing them stare at the table, he moved his eyes on Luke. With a simple push of air, he marinated his lungs that crackled with dust.

“The three of you younglings aren’t ready yet.”

“Huh?”

Luke’s right eyebrow twitched, but his face took the expression of shock.

Rubbing his hands together, he tried to control himself with mellow breaths. Feeling his palms tremble with sweat, feeling his knuckles itch, he kept it all in his stomach.

“What do you mean I’m not ready yet?”

“I mean that you should rest. I mean, look at you. Swollen eyes, darkened cheeks, you also reek of mud as well as body odor. You have done more than enough fighting.”

Christian felt his fingers grow cold, as static grew inside his bones. But Pacifica dug her nails back into her palms, her anger resuming once again. Glaring inward, both of her boots creaked and reverbed the wood.

“Boss… I want to fight too.”

“Pacifica.”

“Join me in. That witch is on that train, and she is—”

“Silence.”

But he put an end to her shaking fists.

He didn’t need to put his foot down, nor slap his hand against the table. Using only his voice, its decibels were faint, but the emotion was there.

“You’ll only endanger yourself and others. Revenge being driven by anger, or by frustration, is not a path suited for youth such as you.”

His eyes began to soften, but the intention still reigned on her. Relaxing his shoulders, down to his wrists, he breathed in and out through slow takes. Feeling his cheeks begin to shroud in darkness, he quickly arched his head straight.

While Christian grabbed her hand.

“As your boss, I only want what is best for all of you. Unless if you can prove me wrong, then—”

“Then can I?”

Luke stood still, and felt every pair of eyes be daggered on him. Iris glared, but she was the only one doing it. Everyone had faces full of shock, as Kenji himself furrowed his brow.

“What is it Fenix?”

“I know I need rest, and I know that I’m at my wits end… but… how about a bet?”

Kenji hummed, as his throat rang only on the inside.

Christian let go of Pacifica’s hand, and she began rubbing hers together. Back and forth, it was a slow and gentle caress, one that soothed the nerves that blared in flames. Because right now, she saw a man that made her own Boss think.

“If I win, I get to go with David and Iris. Not only that, but I intend to give both Chrstian and Pacifica a choice. I know they aren’t in their right mind, but all three of us aren’t kids.”

“And if you lose?”

Luke balled both of his hands, and he had them right against his sides. Staring into the eyes of an old man, one that housed no emotion, he felt his world grow dark. But once he relaxed his arms, he allowed his fingers to rest on his pants.

“The three of us will stay behind, just like you asked.”

Kenji kept his cold eyes on him.

Placing his right hand into his pocket, he kept his eyes hyper-focused. His other hand rested on the fabric, as the cloth gave comfort to his palm and fingers. Without smirking, without smiling, he nodded.

“Then I’ll place my hopes on this bet. But since you proposed the stakes, I think it’d be fair for me to propose the concept.”

Walking toward the staircase, his sandals made no sound against the stone. Making Luke and everyone else look at him, he swayed back and forth in a casual manner. Replacing his strictness, it wasn’t until he reached the first step of the stairs; and turned around.

—“You and I shall spar against each other; with our fists.”—

Iris, Christian, and Pacifica all widened their eyes.

David’s whole face grew pale, as he quickly bottled his cowboy boots to the ground. Luke scratched the back of his neck, and he took notice of everyone’s fearful faces. Especially David. In fact, the cowboy felt the ends of his fingers grow in static.

“With all due respect sir, but this is ludicrous.”

“What is ludicrous?”

“Luke has no chance against you. This isn’t even a fight, let alone a spar.”

“We’ll then find out.”

Going up the stairs, he didn’t need to turn back to David or the others. Having his left hand hover the cobble, his right was to his side, he walked toward the door. Opening it, it wasn’t long before he closed it loudly.

Luke looked at the cobblestone ground, his eyes perceiving the many cracks. But the more he stared, the more his eyes narrowed, even when his sleep deprivation was at its peak.

—Guess I won’t be sleeping… not yet at least…

Feeling his shoulder be dug upon, he turned around, and noticed David’s still fearful expression. Gulping down saliva, he shyly looked into David’s quivering eyes.

“Just what did you sign up for son?”

“Sorry David, but I have to save my friends.”

“And by pursuing it, you’ll have to spar with the same man who taught me everything I know in fighting. If you think I’m fast… I’m like a snail to that man.”

Luke’s fingers began to shroud in a thick layer of cold.

During the attack on Lagefor, David displayed so much strength in his fights. Sending a lich fifty feet in the air, and going toe to toe with Kenichi himself, he was a hydrogen bomb compared to him.

“He could beat me senseless, and I’d probably won’t know what hit me. I’m smart enough to know that he’s probably housing immense power, but even so…”

His shy demeanor began to crack. Using his left hand, he grabbed the side of his jacket, and wrinkled the leather with his nails. Clicking his tongue, he slanted his eyes inward.

“Why must I pass down my failure onto an old man like him? I have to clean up the mess I did.”

Turning around, he walked toward the staircase where Kenji walked. Hearing his boots click the stone, the air immediately began to thicken, as the scent of pain already emerged. But even so, he took that first step, a step closer to the Rex den.

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(Reverence 5, 59 / 7:32AM)

Out the door came out a trembling man.

Having a ponytail jump against his back, darkness enveloped his eyes. Almost lifeless, he walked toward the old teenage girl that sat on a bed, a bunk bed that was surrounded by others.

“Johnny!”

Limping his way to reach her, the tip of his boot dragged against the metallic floor. Swollen bruises tarnished his cheeks, up to his forehead. Along with dried up blood underneath his nose, he looked like he went through the ringer.

“W-What happened!?”

“I had to take two punishments… believe me, I’ve been through worse.”

“Those… that’s it! I’ll—”

“No Ellie… it’s okay, cough cough…”

He placed his hand on her head.

Settling himself down on the same bed she sat on, her body softened under his touch. His breathing coarse and hard, his eyes flickered repeatedly the more he kept them open. Adjusting his body, he laid the back of his head onto her lap.

“Just need to nap… try to keep it down alright?”

Snuggling his cheek on her thigh, he stared at the wall with sluggish eyes. Breathing in and out through a dry blooded nose, his mouth reeked of iron. Using her hand, she trailed his hair with her furry fingers.

And she looked down, with the chiffon rays of the desert sun gleaming on them.

“Hey Johnny, before you rest… I want to hear something out of you.”

Ceasing her trailing, she laid her hand on his forehead. Resting it there, he began to close his eyes, his breaths slowing down the more he succumbed to exhaustion.

“That day when your father called, it was right before the attack on Lagefor. Remember our vow, that promise that kept us moving forward?”

He remembered. Making a vow, making a promise that both of them yearned, he could hear her voice break. She knew that she held everything in, everything within her trembling throat, but it was so close… yet so far.

“Are you still keeping it?”

His right hand shook, while his left hand rested on the mattress of the bed. Feeling her fingers sink in his hair, he kept his lips from churning to a frown, but he nonetheless gulped saliva down his throat.

One that was corroded in dry blood.

“I’ll keep it. I’ll try to. But if anything happens to me… I like to promise you this…”

Those desert rays continued to glimmer his face, but it wasn’t enough for him to open his eyes. Elizabeth stared in the same direction, her eyes sparkling and glittering with the water she held. She couldn’t look down at his face, and if she did, those dams would break.

“No matter where you are, I’ll do my best to watch over you. Does that sound okay?”

Feeling her throat throttle repeatedly, she breathed in through flared nostrils. Patting his forehead, she nodded, her voice as quail and meek as a mouse’s whisper.

“Yeah… that sounds fine.”