Chapter 24: Offer at the Bar
The bar is pretty nice, though there's only two people inside it. The first is the bartender, who's head and hands are made out of some kind of dark purple mist. Since he's wearing a suit, I can't tell if the mutation extends to the rest of his body. I wonder what his quirk does, exactly?
The other guy looks like he's a few years older than Himiko and I. He has shaggy pale blue hair which honestly looks kind of fluffy. Which is a sharp contrast to his skin. He looks like he's never heard of moisturizer!
Well, I can't see his face since he's focused on the game in his hands, but I can say that his hands definitely need moisturizer! Seriously, how can his hair look so soft while his hands look so dry?
But I guess it's rude to judge the other customers, even if it's also rude to play games by yourself when you go out to eat. Would that be rude? Since he's by himself maybe it wouldn't be…? I've only occasionally gone out with Shoko before so I'm not too sure.
Whatever.
The bartender looks at us with what I'm going to assume is interest? Or maybe surprise? I don't know… his lack of a face makes it hard to tell.
"Welcome. May I inquire as to your purpose in coming here?" Well, at least he's polite.
"It would be strange if you couldn't, but as for the reason, we were told that this place has some good food so we decided to come for dinner."
He blinks at me and stays silent for a moment. Wow, you really don't realize how much attention you pay to someone's face when you talk to them until you talk to someone who doesn't have one. Eventually though, he speaks.
"If it's not a bother, I'd appreciate it if you could tell me the name of the person who recommended this… establishment."
I look at Himiko since she's the one who knows the guy. She taps her chin as if to remember his name. "He's an information broker. So I don't think that he'd appreciate it if we went about telling people that he's the one who gave us information. Ooh~, how about I give you a hint, and you try to figure it out!"
She nods her head with a satisfied look. "Yeah, that sounds fun. He's always smoking a cigarette, but avoids putting it in the spot where he's missing a tooth."
The bartender is silent for a moment before the smoke making up his head slightly flares up before returning to normal. Was…was that a nod?
"Very well. Though I should warn you that I have no intention of selling minors alcohol of any kind, despite being villains."
"How did you know we're villains?" I can't help but be surprised at how quickly he came to that conclusion. This guy must be some kind of pro information broker, or his quirk helps him analyze data!
He blinks at me. "...I was referring to ourselves."
"O-oh. Right…" Himiko snickers at my blunder, so I turn my red face away and look at the floor, just letting her pull me right up to the bar and plop me in a seat. Hearing the bartender ask what we'd like to eat, I respond with Katsudon and whichever tea he recommends. I mean, he didn't give us menus or anything, so I'm assuming that he's just taking any requests we have.
Himiko says that she'll have the same, but instead of getting a drink just asks for an empty cup. I sigh, knowing what's going to be filling it up soon. Hopefully it isn't too big…
While he's busy making the food, I turn my attention to the guy on his game. He hasn't looked up from it a single time, so it must be good! "Whatcha playing?"
He doesn't even deign to respond, though I notice that his head shifts a bit, so I can assume that he's at least looked at me. I'll take that as a win!
"You've been focused on it since we came in, so it must be good. I mean, I'm not much of a gamer, though I have occasionally managed to scrounge up enough money to afford a day pass at a couple of arcades, so I'm not completely useless at them. Oh! Have you ever played…"
I start rambling about one of the most famous fighting games, oblivious to the fact that I've started rambling. Unfortunately, me being aware of my rambling does not affect whether or not the people around me find it annoying to listen to. By the time I realize it and apologize, his hands are twitching.
"Sorry about the rambling, I've been trying to break that habit." I rub my head sheepishly. His twitching hands draw my attention, which leads to me noticing how he's holding his game. "Why aren't you holding it with all your fingers? Oh! Is it because of your quirk? Do you have to touch something with all of your fingers to activate it? That would make sense judging by how natural yet stiff they seem. Maybe try alternating which fingers you don't touch something with? Ooh! Or maybe…"
And I'm delving into yet another rant. Thankfully he at least seems mildly interested in it. Though given how he still hasn't put down the game, I have to question how much attention he's really paying it. Still though, his hands aren't twitching anymore so I consider that a good sign.
But there's one thing that's been bugging me ever since we got here. Something that's been poking at my brain the moment Himiko and I walked through the door. It's even enough to cut my current rant short. "Sorry, but this has been bothering me since we got here: why is the tv set to a blank channel?"
A shudder runs down my spine as the guy finally puts down his game and raises his head. Finally able to see his face, I see that it's just as dry as the rest of his skin, and he has a small vertical scar crossing his lips. And his eyes are a bright red. Just like Kachan's.
What makes them different from Kachan though, is that they aren't filled with pride and arrogance. Instead, what I see is a deep-rooted pain and fear. They're like my eyes. But the fear isn't directed outwards. Instead, it's focused on himself.
Of course, all of that is currently overshadowed by his clear irritation. "I like the tv being on this 'channel'." He starts scratching at his neck.
I frown at his sudden aggressiveness. "Sure, I guess. But wouldn't it be better to have it on, y'know, an actual channel? Don't bars usually have their TVs set to sports or something?"
He scowls as his fingers dig deeper into the skin of his neck. "You can't believe everything you see on tv, kid."
I huff at him, and out of the corner of my eye notice that Himiko has her phone out and pointed at the two of us. I dismiss it easily, given how I fully support her oddities. If she wants to record the two of us having a conversation, then that's fine with me.
"Even if it's not set to a sports channel, we could at least have it on something. This is just drab and boring. I mean, even if it's just an aesthetic choice, you have to take into account your customer base. Here, if you let me have the remote I could-"
"You're annoying."
As I reach out for him to hand me the tv remote, he mutters and reaches out his own hand. But it bypasses my own, instead grabbing onto my face with all five fingers. Then it's dark, and I'm back in the afterlife space with a woman who's eyebrow is twitching across from me.
`~`
When I wake up, I'm still in the bar, laying on the floor. After standing up and looking around, I find Himiko digging into what looks like a fresh bowl of Katsudon, with another warm bowl in front of my seat. Sitting down and giving my thanks for the meal, I notice some extra eyes studying me.
Both the bartender and the crusty guy are both staring at me like I've just grown a new head. Which I guess isn't really wrong. Depending on what the guy's quirk is, of course. "Hey Himiko."
She makes a noise of acknowledgement through her mouthful of food so I continue. "Did you get what happened on your phone?" She nods, not stopping her eating. Is the food really that good? She didn't even draw- oh wait, she did. I notice that she has a cup of what's probably my blood next to her food.
Shrugging off both Himiko's addiction to my blood and the two guys' staring, I dig into my food. And boy do I see why Himiko is eating so voraciously. It's really good. It really makes up for the fact that the guy - who at this point I'm guessing is related to the owner - killed me. Especially since they listened to Himiko and waited to make it until I was close to coming back to life. All of those experiments are proving useful already!
I join Himiko in eating in silence, nobody saying anything, each for their own reasons. Himiko and I because the food is so good, and the bartender and crusty guy… they're probably shocked at actually seeing me come back to life. Even if Himiko told them I would, it would still be a shock to see it happen.
After we finish eating - Himiko before me of course - the crusty guy finally speaks. "Hey, Kurogiri. We should take this kid to Master."
The bartender - Kurogiri, apparently- hesitates for a moment before doing his odd maybe-nodding thing. "I agree. Though perhaps we should speak to the two of them before confirming any decisions?"
Though he scowls, the crusty guy nods at Kurogiri's words before turning to me. "How would you like to meet Master, the one who saved me when the heroes abandoned me?"
I stare at him for a moment, his words resonating with me. 'The heroes abandoned me.' I'm probably one of the best people in the world who understands that feeling. The two who 'raised' me. One of whom is the number one hero.
I want to live freely. But that doesn't mean I don't want connections. And someone like this, who knows what it's like to be overlooked by the heroes… I feel like we'd get along great. And since Himiko didn't attack them after Crusty killed me…
I nod. "I'd love to meet them."
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