Capítulo 166: Truth and Age
__________ POV Narration__________
"Wait, so you're telling me that you were some sort of high ranking member of a criminal syndicate?" Nemuri had listened attentively to Beru's story, but that didn't mean she required no further clarification.
"C'mon now~ I was just a random older member~" Beru tried to somewhat downplay his involvement, like usual.
"Don't try to sell me lies you bullshit peddler! 'Just some old member' the leader clearly held you in high regards." Nemuri was only somewhat frustrated with Beru at this point.
The fact that he used to be a criminal didn't quite surprise her, nor would it surprise anyone that ever talked with him.
Beru was renowned for being a thuggish hero(to his friends), the type of person that didn't quite take anything seriously, especially the law.
"I mean~ He was just doing that for-"
"Oh stop it. As if he needed to buy you over after you left that life behind you." Beru just shut up after Nemuri interrupted his poor excuses.
"Also, why did it even take you this long to start yapping about it? I mean, no one's going to hold something like this against you." Nemuri was also a bit confused, she didn't quite know what she was expecting to hear, but nothing Beru said today managed to shock her speechless.
She was a bit too preoccupied being ecstatic that Beru finally opened up to her.
Beru sweated a bit(internally, no skin=no sweat), it probably helped that he didn't quite go into detail about most of the crimes he had committed.
He did mention that he used to be obsessed with fighting and that most of his crimes had a lot to do with his obsession.
"I mean~ This ain't exactly something I could casually bring up in conversation~ 'Oh, by the way, I was a hardened criminal in my past life'~"
"... Fair point..." Nemuri was caught off guard by his response, although she didn't quite buy it completely.
Beru noticed that she was waiting for a more genuine explanation, so he just sighed and started speaking again.
"I've never been the type to easily trust others~ I can make friends, I can treasure those friendships, but I never quite show all of my cards~" Beru didn't mention some things.
Like the fact that he hadn't always been that distrustful. Back in his criminal years, he had made countless friends, including the cold and calculating Vlad.
But he was used time and time again, made to do things he never quite agreed with. Peer pressure was still a very real thing.
Vlad never outright 'forced' Beru to do something, but that didn't mean that the syndicate leader hadn't manipulated Beru at all.
Beru was actually right in his assumption that a lot of Vlad's actions were to further his own goals.
Vlad was actually the person to transform Beru into this distrustful and wary individual.
Well-intentioned at times, sure, but the old syndicate leader had ended up using something akin to 'the carrot and the stick' on Beru.
Inadvertently used his status as Beru's friend to make use of his uncanny talent to end the lives of others.
Beru had grown to realize that, which had invalidated all of their years of friendship in the insectoid's eyes.
"... You know, most of the people around you are a lot more attentive than you think... The majority of the people that have come to know you already know that you're never quite as easy to read."
Nemuri's words just made Beru sigh. The insectoid was well aware that it was impossible to appear normal to the others.
Especially since most of his uniqueness and habits were garnered from his previous life. They were hard to explain when looking at his publically-known past.
"I guess I've never been all that great a liar~ I was always the more straightforward type~" Nemuri smiled a bit when hearing that.
His statement was true, but it couldn't really apply anymore, as he had taken part in and orchestrated many plots at this point.
He wasn't exactly 'unaccustomed' to lying, still, lying to his friends was different, it wasn't something he liked doing.
"Meh, it's sometimes hard to tell with you since it's hard to read your expression. Still... This is quite a lot to take in..." Nemuri stretched her legs on the bed while also directing her gaze on the ceiling.
"Wait a second..." She said as she seemed to be struck by a sudden realization.
Beru gulped a bit, his thoughts went something like 'Shit, is she going to ask me to go into detail about my crimes? Is she going to try and arrest me or something?' Paranoia wasn't exactly all that uncommon for him though.
"All this time, I've been dating some older dude. Meanwhile, I've been all worried about my age and shit! Couldn't you have said something sooner?!" Beru almost released a sigh of relief when hearing Nemuri's frustrated words.
He stopped himself as to not get on her nerves more. She did make a fine point though.
She was already 34, quite a bit above his physical age. It obviously made her quite a bit anxious, some of her friends even jokingly started calling her a cradle-snatcher.
Well, it was all in good fun, but she was still genuinely insecure about her age. Meanwhile, her 'younger' boyfriend was already having a midlife crisis.
"That's..." Beru was a bit stumped about how to answer that one.
Arguing with a woman had always been a treacherous endeavor for him, he learned with time that the best thing to do when you don't have a good answer is to not answer at all.
Bullshitting only worked on occasion, a highly risky evasive move that could be later called out if he wasn't careful.
"Oh, and don't even let me start with Toga! The girl is like, almost half your age, and she was madly in love with you for the majority of her stay at UA!"
Beru could feel his exoskeleton shrinking by the minute, as all of his nightmares were unravelling in front of his eyes.
"I-I mean~ I made it pretty clear that I only see her as family~ I also never attempted to get close to her in that way, she simply wasn't in the right state of mind to accept that at the time~"
Beru's response this time was rather calculated, this was something he was preparing to explain, just in case...
"...I see. I'll buy it this time, although I'll need some further clarification from her. I'm not going to mention all of the other teenagers at UA that also fell for you during your stay there."
It was almost like she was starting to write down a list of all of Beru's inadequacies. All of the problems were caused by him keeping his real age a secret.
Well, there wasn't all that many of them, but for Nemuri they were important problems.
"Yea~ Let's not do that~ Regardless~ I'm glad that you know more about me~ And that you've accepted me despite all of-"
"Don't give me that shit. We've already been going out for over three years at this point. The only way you're getting rid of me is if you kill me." Nemuri didn't even let Beru finish that statement.
It was done mostly as a reflex on her part, but it greatly reassured Beru. His existential crisis was something that had stuck with him for the longest of times.
Having someone from this world accept him for who he truly is... A feeling that can only be described as 'marvellous'.
Beru didn't say anything after that, only reaching out and putting his hands around Nemuri. The two of them laid down like that for a while, all until that peaceful silence was broken.
~RING~RING~RING~
Beru's watch was the object that ruined their moment, Beru almost crushed it, but Nemuri just put her hand on it and stopped him.
The caller was none other than Yori, and this also reminded Beru that he hadn't even gotten to telling Nemuri about the whole 'end of the world' situation...
'I guess I'll call a meeting and we'll speak more there... I don't know how she'll react to this, at least she took my real identity rather well.'
Beru simply rejected the call and sent a message to both Don and Yori, instantly arranging a meeting.
"Hey~ How's about a field trip?~ You'll learn more about what I've been up to lately~" Beru said as he slowly got up from the bed.
Nemuri also stretched herself as she slowly rose from her comfortable position.
"Guess that can't hurt... Let me just get ready."
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