บท 48: Plans and Skills
Lillian nodded. She addressed the whole room again.
(Lillian) "I am intending to do what they want. If they've so kindly sent an invitation, it'd be rude to reject it."
Everyone's eyes widened as their bodies tensed.
(Jasmine) "Boss…"
She trailed off, an uneasy look on her face, causing Lillian to blink and realise why everyone was so tense. The ghost of a smile teased her lips as she restrained her killing intent, letting everyone in the room catch their breaths.
(Lillian's thoughts) 'Looks like I need to control myself better while I'm doing this.'
She knew why she was so angry but was surprised that she lost control so easily.
(Lillian's thoughts) 'I guess I really did change.'
She wasn't sure if it was entirely good or bad, but she knew she was still happy about it.
(Lillian) "Does anyone have any objections?"
Although her release of killing intent wasn't intentional, it did help in that no one objected to her plan.
(Jasmine) "If there are no objections and nothing else, we can move on to the rest of the meeting."
*
About half an hour later, Lillian dismissed everyone but Jasmine, Erin and the guy on her right, along with the two who had followed her in before the meeting.
(Lillian) "January, July, take a seat."
The two girls raised their eyebrows, surprised by their boss's strange orders, but followed her instructions, taking the two seats on Jasmine's left.
(Lillian) "I'm going to send a message to the Boss of the Azure Blood Squad, Steven Conley. Now my question is, what do you all think we should do with the Gang?"
Jasmine raised her hand slightly, and Lillian nodded.
(Jasmine) "It's the largest and most influential gang, so if we just wipe out all of them it might take a while. On top of that, it'll completely flip the order of the underworld, especially the gangs. It'll even affect the Mafias at that point."
Lillian raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to continue.
(Jasmine) "We can offer them a chance to turn over and work for us instead, effectively absorbing the gang. It'll still create a stir in the underworld, but it won't be as large scaled."
(Erin) "They have multiple branches, worldwide. If we wanted to get to each and every one of them, it'd take possibly up to a year to finish. Unless Boss stepped in herself, it would take too long to settle down for that plan to work efficiently."
(Jasmine) "What do you suggest then?"
There was no unkindness in Jasmine's voice, she was simply asking. Erin thought for a moment and asked,
(Erin) "What if Boss defeats Conley, but doesn't kill him, instead taking him under his command, which means that he'd be the one responsible for his gang still, though this time he'll report to boss?"
Jasmine considered it but replied quickly,
(Jasmine) "There will still be those who refuse to follow the new leadership and orders."
The auburn-haired archer raised her hand tentatively, and Lillian noticed it and gestured for her to speak.
(Archer) "We could do Erin's idea, but in addition to that send notices to all our branches as well to watch the men. Those that refuse the change in leadership could either be put in detention or, depending on what they do, a suitable punishment could be found. While they have branches worldwide, we do too, and while Jasmine's idea could be doable due to that. If their boss was still the one in command, there would be a lower chance of mutiny."
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head, avoiding eye contact with everyone else at the table. The blonde-haired dual sword user reached under the table and squeezed the girls' hand tightly, letting her know that she was there for her no matter what happens.
Lillian had a slight smile on her face as she said,
(Lillian) "Very good, July. Anyone else have any ideas before I give the conclusion?"
The others all shook their heads.
(Lillian) "We will use Erin's plan with July's addition. For those countries and Kingdoms that we do not have branches in, we will either send in men or contact our allies to assist us in this."
She glanced over at those sitting at the table before asking,
(Lillian) "Any objections or questions?"
The blonde dual sword wielder next to July raised her hand slightly and asked softly,
(Dual-sword wielder) "Could we go?"
(Lillian) "What do you mean, January?"
(January) "Uhm…"
July placed her hand on January's leg and squeezed lightly.
(July) "What January means is that if you send any soldiers out, we'd like to volunteer, if that's okay."
Lillian nodded slowly.
(Lillian) "Alright. You two will be the first choice should we need to send anyone out."
July grinned as January hid a smile.
(Lillian) "You may all go, but Erin, Stella and Jasmine stay."
The guy on Erin's right finally spoke up as January and July exited the room.
(Guy) "Boss, welcome back. Anything I can do to help?"
Lillian's expression softened as she looked at the guy who had been by her side in the Mafia since day one. In fact, he was the one who brought her there in the first place.
(Lillian) "You can help me contact Conley, Lucas."
Lucas nodded and stood up before bowing to Lillian and exiting the room without saying a word.
*
(Erin) "Lucas is so strange."
Jasmine chuckled and said,
(Jasmine) "I've seen the way you look at him, are you sure the word you want to use is strange?"
Erin's feelings for Lillian were mostly admiration, something very common among the people of the Mafia, and even her clan. It was no deeper than that and everyone knew it. However, in certain circumstances as demonstrated by the situation with Stella, these feelings could become something more.
Erin blushed lightly, her lips twitching slightly. Stella grinned as she put in her two cents,
(Stella) "You two do work together a lot."
She didn't mention her skill, as it didn't activate in this case, so she couldn't be sure.
(Stella's thoughts) 'It usually works immediately, though.'
While Stella was mulling over her thoughts, Jasmine's eyes widened. She smirked as she said,
(Jasmine) "Don't worry Erin, your secret's safe with me."
Erin's eyes widened as the blush spread throughout her face. She knew Jasmine's skill allowed her to tell exactly what was going on and hoped she would keep her word.
Lillian had a small smile on her face as she watched the girls' antics. She was already aware of Erin's admiration for her, and although it did run deeper than usual, she was also aware of her feelings for another certain someone.
*
They continued joking around for a while before Jasmine turned to Lillian and asked,
(Jasmine) "Boss, do you want us to follow you or handle things here?"
Lillian thought for a moment before replying,
(Lillian) "January and July will follow me; you and Erin need to be prepared to handle some extra logistics."
Jasmine raised an eyebrow as she asked,
(Jasmine) "Why didn't you just ask them to stay if you were going to ask them to follow you in the first place?"
Lillian blinked, a slightly confused look on her face. She scratched her cheek as she smiled innocently.
(Lillian) "I didn't think of it until now."
Everyone at the table was mentally face-palming at their boss's innocent act.
(Jasmine) "Boss, could you maybe not do that?"
Lillian raised an eyebrow.
(Lillian) "Do what?"
Unsure whether to cry or laugh, they all came to a silent mutual agreement and just ignored their Boss's antics. Although Lillian was only fifteen, her usual demeanour made it easy for people to forget that. It was at times like these that Lillian's teenage side surfaced, and due to it being extremely uncommon, they had no idea how to deal with it.
*
Meanwhile…
Liana was doing an exercise Rose set for her when Rose came up behind her and asked,
(Rose) "Why didn't you tell me about your skill?"
Liana raised an eyebrow, unsure as to what Rose was referring to. Rose chuckled slightly as she said,
(Rose) "You took an exercise that I gave you, and I don't think you noticed, but you even refined it after perfecting it."
Liana gave her a confused look, clearly showing that she didn't know what Rose was talking about. Rose laughed and said,
(Rose) "You should really ask Lillian to give you a list of your skills. It'll help you master them and have better control over them."
Liana's expression looked even more confused now.
(Liana) "List of my skills…?"
She had heard of skills and even knew some of her own, but this was a new concept. Rose resisted the urge to face-palm as she said slowly,
(Rose) "Lillian has a skill that allows her to see other people's skills, even if they don't know it themselves. It will be useful if you know all your skills, as you'll be able to master and utilise them better."
Liana understood what Rose was saying, but she was more intrigued by the fact that Rose had called Lillian, well, Lillian. So far, out of all of Lillian's subordinates, Liana had only heard Elena call Lillian something other than Chief.
(Rose) "..ana. Liana."
Liana blinked, realising she had blanked out while Rose was talking. Pink tinged her cheeks as she asked,
(Liana) "Sorry, what were you saying?"
Rose shook her head, a small smile on her lips.
(Rose) "What were you thinking about?"
Her eyebrows lifted slightly, showing that she was simply teasing Liana, although Liana could already tell due to her skill.
(Liana) "You called Lillian, well, Lillian."
Rose laughed softly as she said,
(Rose) "Lillian actually asks all of us to call her by her name, but what she doesn't realise is that she releases a natural aura that makes it hard for anyone to refer to her as anything but Chief. You have no idea how long it took for Jasmine and I to call her Lillian. She had to issue it as an order before we did it."
(Liana) "She does?"
Rose's eyes widened.
(Rose) "You can't feel her aura?"
Liana thought for a moment before replying,
(Liana) "If anything, it's comforting."
Rose's expression darkened.
(Rose) "Of course you'd find what others find suffocating comforting."
Liana raised an eyebrow, her confusion clearly shown on her face. Liz, who had been watching by the side this whole time, spoke up,
(Liz) "It may be due to the bond. Or… something else."
With that, she glanced at Ruby who gave her the barest of nods. Liana noticed it and wondered what was going on, but from their emotions, she knew it wasn't anything bad. In fact, it seemed like it was good, from the positive jump in Liz's emotions from Ruby's reaction.
(Rose) "Anyway, we're off topic. When Lillian comes back you should ask her to give you a list of your skills, then if you like you can ask any of us to help you practise them, so you're able to use them consciously. How you're reading our emotions now is unconscious, but if you actively practise it, it can become more powerful than you'd think. I'm sure Liz would be able to testify to that, though her skill is different from yours."
Liz nodded, a grin on her face.
(Liz) "You'd really be surprised with what you'd be able to do. I know I was, and you're more powerful than me. By a lot."
She then added with a grin on her face,
(Liz) "Though if you prefer it, Lillian would be glad to assist you in training your skills."
Rose cut in with a smirk,
(Rose) "Who are you kidding, Liz? It's so clear it's not even a question."
Liana lightly blushed but didn't say anything. However, a short while later, her face turns beet red and she lowers her head, a smile on her face. Liz and Rose raise their eyebrows at this, unsure what provoked this reaction. On the side, Ruby is chuckling to herself as she spars with one of the soldiers who came to watch. By sparring I mean completely thrashing, taking out her boredom on the poor guy.
(Liz) "What is… Oh."
In the middle of her question, she turns to Ruby who glances at her, a twinkle in her eyes, the whole while easily overpowering the unfortunate soldier she was sparring. One thing you should be aware of was that Ruby was someone who enjoyed observing other's relationships, along with teasing certain people, namely, her sister and Liz.
Rose followed Liz's gaze and noticed the way Ruby was fighting, which made the corners of her lips go up. She has a skill that allows her to read someone's body movements, allowing her to infer their mood, among other things, depending on how much time she has spent with the person in question.
(Rose) "I've always wondered how Ruby's personality fits the battle-freak side of it. She rarely talks, barely shows any emotion on her face, but she's an expert fighter and can't seem to stop looking for a fight, whether friend or foe."
Liz grins as she watches her closest friends' movements.
(Liz) "She's perfect the way she is."
Just that one sentence showed so brightly how much Liz cared for her that Liana simply ignored it and said,
(Liana) "She looks happy."
Liz looks at Liana with a slightly surprised expression.
(Liz) "She's absolutely delighted. You can't tell?"
Liana blinks as she realises, she can't actually tell what Ruby's emotions are. She frowns slightly, as this had never happened before. Realisation comes over Liz's face.
(Liz) "She must have blocked you out. She does that sometimes."
(Liana) "She can do that?"
Liz nods lightly.
(Liz) "She has a skill that allows her to block others from reading her mind or her emotions. She can also tell when someone is intentionally trying to read her. Her default is she doesn't let anyone, although she's never blocked me before."
Again, Liana simply ignored Liz's emotions.
(Liz) "Although, it works on anyone but my sister."
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Phoenix169
Phoenix169 Hey guys! I finally managed to get a chapter out that I was relatively happy with
I'm also happy to say that my writer's block is mostly gone, but I probably still won't be able to get a chapter a week out.
If you're confused as to what's going on, a hint is to read the chapter Ruby and Elizabeth (First Meeting).
Hopefully, the next chapter will involve some fighting, which honestly I'm terrible at writing, but we shall see how it goes.
There was a point while I was writing that I wondered why I was still working on this book, but I continued doing it anyway, so I hope you enjoy it. You're going to see my writing style constantly changing, so if it's annoying... well too bad I can't do anything about it.
Thanks for reading!
WC: 2372
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