"Hey, Boss!"
Coming out of the door, Dante was t with a young man saluting for so reason.
"Oliver?" He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
"Everyone is busy, so Carlos assigned to be your driver today." Oliver replied with his usual enthusiasm. A look of confusion overtook him just then, and he leaned to the side, looking behind Dante. "Boss, who’s the little miss?"
Turning around, Dante noticed that Marie had retreated behind him for so reason. When he looked back at his overly energetic subordinate, Dante was t with a blue face and an expression of shock.
"It can’t be..." Oliver said. "Is she... is she your daughter, boss?"
Dante almost face-pald himself, but rembered the pain that would bring and stopped. In hindsight, his subordinate made the better guess, or the one Dante preferred, at least.
"How old do you think I am?" He sighed. "Marie, say hello."
"Hello..." Saying the word, the little one retreated once more.
’And here I thought she was getting used to strangers,’ Dante gave a ntal sigh. ’Not that this is the wrong reaction.’
"Marie is... my friend. If she ever asks you for sothing, then you’d better do it."
"Your friend?" Giving him a dubious look, Oliver then saluted once more. "Understood!"
"I told you to stop saluting," Dante grimaced. "I’m starting to think that you’re so military or governnt agent."
"A secret agent? That would be so cool!"
Dante decided to cut the conversation there, not wanting to see how absurd it could get. They got in the car and drove off to Blue Moon. On the way, Dante kept thinking about Oliver’s guess of what his relationship with the little blonde was.
Most sane people would have gone for the obvious choice, which told Dante that his subordinate wasn’t very sane, but that wasn’t what mattered now. Glancing at the little girl, Dante thought so more.
"Say, Marie, did I ever tell you that I have a little sister?"
The little one whipped her head in his direction, looking quite surprised.
"Really!?"
"Yeah," Dante said. "We played a lot when we were little. She... she used to be my best friend."
Despite having replaced his vocal cords, he still felt a slight itch at the back of his throat. He had never talked about the matter with anyone before, and now that he said it out loud, the pain seed to rush forward all at once. Struggling to contain it, Dante took a deep breath.
"I have been looking for her all this ti, that’s why I have been so busy," He said, doing his best to smile as he turned to the young girl. "When I find her, would you mind becoming her friend, too?"
Marie was a child who went through a lot, so even if it didn’t appear like it, she was a lot more perceptive than people give her credit for. Maybe that was the reason why she lingered with her reply, and why she appeared a lot more determined when the ti ca for her to voice it.
"Yes. I don’t mind."
"Good," Reaching out, Dante patted her head. "I bet she’s going to be really happy."
~[ ]~
Water flowed into the sink, whirling at its bottom before pouring through the drain. As she listened to its sound, Rose stared at the mirror in front of her, and her reflection stared back.
Her hair was no longer blonde, having regained its natural color. As the purple strands fell on her left eye, she rembered the first ti she had gotten rid of it.
Natural purple hair was a rarity in this part of the world, so it had been the source of many problems for her. She intended to throw it away, but the surgeon who had done her operation thought it would be a waste, and so he turned it into another implant—a wig that can be swapped in at any ti.
As ti passed, Rose found herself going back to it more and more, and before she realized it, she was wearing it more than any other wig in her collection. In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of it for good. It was a part of her, and he had often ntioned how much he liked it. That was mostly the reason why she couldn’t part with it.
Splashing so water on her face, she put on so of her casual clothes and headed out. A short bike ride later, and she arrived at Blue Moon. She had sent a ssage beforehand, but her arrival was a surprise nonetheless.
"It’s Rose!"
"Ms. Rose is here!"
"Ms. Rose!?"
No sooner had she walked past the gate than a bunch of children ca running toward her, their faces beaming with smiles. That only caused the guilt tornting her to get stronger, and though she tried to act normally, there was no hiding her stiffness.
Los Aros had helped secure a residential complex, which was then used to house the children rescued from Black Skull’s gasp. The complex surrounded a large parking lot, which was turned into a playground for the kids. Only a month has passed since their rescue, so the road toward healing was still a long one. Despite that, it was nice to see that so of the younger kids gained the courage to play outside.
Rose greeted the children who kept asking where she had been. So of the girls from Heavenly Bliss were there, too, though they seed to be a little awkward around the other kids. Noticing a particular girl wearing an oversized jacket, Rose realized that Dante was already there.
Inside, they were discussing the establishnt of a school for the kids, as well as how to handle their therapy. Los Aros had already contacted trusted professionals, and Viktor was handling the legal side of things. The aim was to create a proper institution with legal standing so there wouldn’t be problems going forward.
Once they got the technical side of things out of the way, they moved on to discussing a more serious topic. Black Skull has sohow discovered where the rescued children were and has started causing problems, trying to get them back. Right now, all they did could be counted as harassnt, like informing the police and having them investigate. Things were bound to escalate quickly, however.
It was then that Dante stepped in and assured everyone. Rose watched as he gave them the sa promise he had given to her. His voice never faltered, and his conviction was felt by everyone around them. In that mont, there was no doubt that they would co out as the victors. Rose felt at ease, and so of the burden on her was lifted.
~[ ]~
Saturday, March 20, 2099
The sun had already sunk beyond the horizon, and the shadows shrouding Hollowgrid grew deeper. One corner of the oppressive concrete jungle was much livelier than usual. Several cars were parked along the street, and people were flocking into the newest attraction of the district.
Previously known as the Red Fist bar, it had been a place where mbers of the infamous Red Rag gang gathered. People had kept their distance for that reason, but things have changed as of late. With the defeat of Riot, the gang’s boss, the establishnt changed hands and entered a new beginning.
The biggest change was that it had been opened to the public, and since the new owner had placed a great emphasis on advertising it, words about the grand opening spread through the district. The result was a long line bathed in the red glow of a large sign, the words Red Oni Club written on it.
It took so ti to enter, but once inside, people were t with a wondrous sight. The front entrance opened up to a large dance floor that spread wider than anyone had anticipated, showing that the walls of the surrounding shops had been knocked down for more space. Those living in the gacomplexes imdiately noticed the height of the ceiling, making them realize that the ceiling had been removed as well, joining the first and second floors.
Artificial mist filled the interior, giving form to the beams of colorful light dancing along with the energetic beat.
Several circular counters had been set around, each handled by a different bartender. Their shelves were loaded with a variety of alcoholic drinks, none of which were put up as a decoration. People flocked to each bar, while others went to the raised platforms where stunning dancers showed their moves.
Tables were spread near the edge of the open floor, while sections and VIP areas were left for the balcony, with the stairs connected to them heavily guarded.
The music, atmosphere, and drinks. Everything was great. The event was just getting started, so people were holding back their opinions, but it looked like the night was going to be fun.
As one would expect from a nightclub, most of the patrons were young n and won from the area. So were mbers of the new gang that took over Red Rage, others ca to check it out and decide how to behave toward them. Among them were spies sent by other gangs to gather info on their newest rival.
News about the new gang being led by the Red Demon had long since spread. Everyone knew how he looked thanks to the videos that went viral a while back, but few knew about the kind of person he was, disregarding the rumors about him being a cold-blooded killer. Many had dismissed him at first, thinking he was nothing but a young upstart who had a lucky break by kicking a Riot after the heroes were done with him.
The incident with Bone Crown only helped cent that idea. Many claid that the heroes were the ones who took down the Pope, and that he just happened to be there, but those with keen eyes knew that lightning doesn’t strike the sa tree twice, let alone a third ti.
Sothing was going on with the new gang, and everyone wanted to figure out why, and it didn’t take them long to co across so clues. The problem was that they didn’t have very high expectations, and because of that, the shock they ended up suffering was far too strong.
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