Chapter 12: Perilous Recruitment? (II)
"Good evening, Yotsubashi-sama. It is an honor to meet you" I respectfully bowed my head as I greeted the man. It irked me in the wrong way to greet him in such a respectful manner, especially when I knew that he was nothing but a supremacist, but sometimes, sacrifices needed to be made.
"Good evening to you too, Reo-kun. Come here, stand with me" The man known as Rikiya Yotsubashi invited me to stand beside him. The man was the President and the CEO of the Detnerat Company, but at the same time, he was most likely the leader of the Meta Liberation Army.
I walked up to the man and stood beside him while staring out the glass pane in front of us… Even though the hotel was only 7 storeys tall, we could see most of Deika City from the top floor… "So, what do you think? Beautiful, isn't it?" Rikiya asked and I had to admit, he was right.
Deika City looked beautiful from here…
"Yes, it is beautiful" I admitted as not answering him would have been rude.
"It has been two years since the Adachi couple adopted you, right?" Rikiya asked, changing the topic, but he didn't wait for an answer. "I do not know about their parenting skills, but they are nice people, I believe" Rikiya continued to speak on his own. "So, they have been treating you nicely?" Rikiya asked as he looked at me.
"Yes. I have no complaints. They are good parents" I answered with a nod of my head. I wasn't sure what he wanted me to say, but I decided to help out Ren and Mai by saying that they were good parents.
"Haha!" Rikiya laughed with an amused look on his face. "There is no reason to lie. I know they are not good parents" Rikiya admitted cheerfully before all of a sudden, the look on his face darkened and a cold glint flashed across his eyes. "Do not lie to me, I do not like liars!" The man snapped at me while glaring at me murderously.
If it was some other kid in my spot then they would have cowered in fear, but not me… He might be a big shot in the Meta Liberation Army and the Detrenat Company, but to me, he was a nobody. However, I knew that he could cause a lot of problems for Mai and Ren. That was not something I wanted for them.
So, I decided to apologize while trying to act as sincere as possible. "I apologize" I apologized, but it seems like he might have read right through my intentions.
"You are not sincere at all" Rikiya pointed out, but then his glare softened and a smile returned to his face. "At least, you were smart enough to apologize for your mistake even though you weren't sincere at all" Rikiya nodded his head in approval. "You will need to work more to hide your intentions in the future" Rikiya added.
I simply stared at him for a moment but I turned around to look at the city again… I think he is a fucking bipolar?… Just what I needed in my life. A bipolar psychopath wanting me to recruit into his merry band of misfits…
"Tell me, Reo-kun? What do you think about our current society?" Rikiya asked after a moment of silence. Once again, I do not know what he is expecting to hear, but I am only 7 years old. I am not supposed to know much. "I have heard that you are quite mature for your age, so I am curious. Humor me" Rikiya insisted.
I wasn't happy that he was basically forcing me to answer, but I did not have any other choice, so I decided to play along. However, I was not going to tell him everything… "Honestly, I do not know much to have an opinion. However, I do know that Quirks are the foundation of this society and Hero is not a title, it is a job" I answered with a thoughtful look on my face.
"You agree that Quirks are the foundation of this world, right?" Rikiya asked only to receive a nod from me. "Then how do you feel about the Government placing a ban on Quirk usage?" Rikiya asked. So, this was what he was after from the beginning. I should have realized it, but I was so worried about other things that I never noticed.
"I feel… frustrated, annoyed, angry?" I answered with an unsure look on my face as I couldn't find the right words to express what I felt about the matter. Maybe, I felt a bit of all I just mentioned? This time, I wasn't trying to please him with my answer, I was being honest.
"Exactly!" Rikiya exclaimed excitedly. "Our Quirks are a part of us. How could they ban the use of Quirks? It's like they are asking us not to use one of our hands!" Rikiya vented, looking angry and frustrated. I realized that he might look nice and easy-going, but in reality, he was quite unstable.
However, thanks to his words, now I knew what the Meta Liberation Army was all about… I could see why they were angry at the system, but at the same time, I could also understand why the Government had to ban the use of Quirks. The Government needed to keep everything stable and for that to achieve that they couldn't have variable elements in the system.
Quirks might be the foundation of this society, but if people were given free reign to use their Quirks, then the society would collapse as it would be simply impossible to control the people…
"So, what do you say? Join our cause since you already agree with us and we will change the world" Rikiya declared passionately as he extended his hand toward me. Jesus Fucking Christ… Is everyone in the Meta Liberation Army a quick shot? I just met you man and you are already inviting me to join your band of naughty children?
How the hell should I deal with this… I want no part in this madness, but at the same time, I was worried about Ren and Mai… Is this what it feels to be like when you are between a rock and a hard place?
Ren and Mai were good people and I was grateful for what they had done for me, but now that I am standing here, I think my adoption was basically a part of their plot to recruit me. Otherwise, what were the chances of a rich couple showing up at the orphanage one day and choosing to adopt an antisocial kid like me right out of the gate?
The gratitude I used to feel toward Ren and Mai started to disappear… I am only a 7 year old kid and I am probably making a foolish choice here, but I did not want to become a part of this and I would be damned if I allowed someone to force me… He is welcome to use force, but if he decides to do that then I will acquaint him with the rage dragon.
"No" I answered with a determined look on my face as I started to feed my anger.
Rikiya looked disappointed at my refusal and lowered his hand at that… "I see… too bad" Rikiya sighed and turned around. Is that it? "Pity… You seemed promising" He added and I felt chills run down my spine. Before I could even blink, Rikiya turned around his feet and punched me in the face and my world blacked out…
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A/N: A lot of you readers have been complaining about his lack of sufficient knowledge regarding the plot, but let me explain my reasons.
1) I wanted him to have some basic knowledge about the world he was in so that he didn't have to learn the basics.
2) I want him to explore the world on his own instead of simply giving him all the knowledge from the get-go. I want him to work for that knowledge since knowledge is power.
3) I want him to go through some character development. He has his first impressions about everyone, but I want him to learn more about those characters and realize that even though they were simply fictional characters from his past life, they are real people and they have their own stories.
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