บท 15: Baguette
I went on quite a rant eh?
My bad, me half asleep isn't the best combination with me writing.
I have a promise to make with yall, in the future, maybe in a year or two (if this even gets that far), I'll be rewriting all the chapters after my writing skills get better. ( This is more of a 'clean up' rather than a full rewrite) Not everything is explained and some of the potential slipped past so I'll try to do better next time around!
~~~~
"Hey over here!"
Two cheerful girls met up, clapping each other's hands before going away to a coffee shop.
"No, no… Just listen to me!"
A businessman calling on his phone.
"Waaaa!!"
A baby crying with his mother trying to calm him down.
Ignoring all of these distracting sights and sounds, I focused on the newspaper in my hands. Or rather - the article on the second page.
My legs were crossed, my dangling foot moving up and down in sync with my thought process.
Back in December of 2011, just a year before, the 'Miss France' award was awarded to the Gold Rank Spy stationed in France, Aurore Roux.
As I researched her a week before I came across some small details that confused me.
Confused? No, more like bugged.
The first time around, the clip was fine, the commentators, the judges, everything was in place and everything went well. But the slight inconsistencies bothered me.
At some times the judges seemed spaced out, even the audience seemed like they were lost in their own worlds.
If I can find some dirt on her I can easily get that small EMP made by Virus and somehow track it back to her. She always had a stupid habit of tracking almost anything of worth when giving it to others, some of the missions were actually because of the Nine.
People in the twentieth century might be more civil but in the world of crime and murder I don't think you'd willingly give something that is yours to someone else.
Especially with a reputation as having an 'insatiable greed to hoard'.
I folded the newspaper that was already a few months old at this point.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a final boarding call for flight B-11 to Paris. The aircraft is now fully ready for departure, and all passengers should proceed to Gate Five immediately. We kindly request that all passengers have their boarding passes and passports ready for inspection.
Once again, this is the final boarding call for flight B-11 to Pari-"
The intercom gave out a lengthy call.
I walked over the special gate for Spies and headed to the plane.
'I have a feeling this isn't going to be so simple…'
Contemplating on my upcoming 'adventure' I prepared for the long twelve hour flight to Paris.
*
*
*
Gold, jewels, high class wallpapers and furniture decorated the room.
The word 'luxury' wouldn't even begin to describe just how much money was spent on this room alone.
"Did you get that pink diamond I asked for?"
Elegance, poise and overall at the peak of human beauty, Aurore Roux sat with a sly grin looking at the trembling man beneath her.
"M-Madame Roux, the diamond you are asking for has been missing for s-six years! Let alone find and give it to you, I couldn't even find a lead on it!"
Aurore's impish grin turned sinister.
"So~ From what I'm getting, you couldn't find it?"
"A-Ah… I s-suppose so?"
"Take him away to the feeding chamber!"
The two guards standing behind her grabbed both the struggling man's arms and dragged him away out of the room.
"W-Wait! P-Please I'll get you that dia-"
Bang!
The door loudly shut as the screams slowly bended into the background.
'Everything is so boring…'
Aurore Roux, or rather commonly known as the 'Greedy Witch of France' within the Spy world, controlled anything money related.
Oil, rare metals, currency, even some information (All about her other specialties), she was in essence the queen of money.
Of course just control isn't enough, she needed power and specialized in traps, particularly wire traps, her specially made wires came in all sorts of sizes, tensile strength, length, etc…
Over the past couple of years her influence had grown so much to the point of being a monopoly.
But her excessive greed wanted more.
So last year she rigged the 'Miss France' award and won it without any difficulty.
She was distracting herself from the imposing truth that there was nothing to hoard anymore.
She was at the top of the world, something almost no man or woman would ever do in their entire lives.
Aurore even had a private museum dedicated to some of the rarest things she could find and… 'buy'.
This year she was slowly beginning to accept that there was nothing left to do.
Her monopoly was so horrendously large that even she couldn't keep up with its almost omnipresent state around the world.
'I want a challenge…'
Aurore lost all her elegance and stretched her legs across the table just daydreaming about an impossible item that she could never get.
'I might just collapse the economy of the world…'
Dangerous thoughts brewed in her mind as her inner need for chaos in her life wasn't quenched.
Aurore got up and poured herself a glass of wine walking towards the balcony in perfect strides.
'I hope a challenge comes soon…'
Looking at the moonless and almost pitch black sky due to light pollution she hoped.
*
*
*
Crack!
Crack!
"Ahh… That's nice…"
I was almost too used to the private planes I got back when I was a Termite.
The commercial planes were slow, but it was a nice change of pace.
My revenge was taking a while to complete.
I almost grinned at the sight of Technician's pleading face as I tortured him to death.
I blew away my fantasies and focused on my mission at hand.
Aurore Roux, Greedy Witch of France and a monopoly of money.
Any dirt on her was bound to be somewhat difficult.
I clicked my pen scribbling down some notes on how to get the dirt on Aurore Roux.
Infiltration
Informants
'Which one do I pick…'
Spotting my suitcase containing my clothes I grabbed it and left the airport.
The sun was up and shining brightly.
Another thirty-five minutes went by as I got to my hotel room unpacking for the day.
"Phew… now then… shall we take a tourist day?"
Finding an informant or even the defense systems of Aurore was going to take a while, might as well relax for the day.
I found myself relaxing, taking photos with my high quality camera.
Over these couple of months, I found that painting and taking pictures was quite relaxing.
Sometimes I went a bit too far with my paintings, showing Technician and co. bodies severed with their heads off and crying while I loomed over them stabbing at their already dead bodies.
"Haha!"
I heartily laughed at the moment of my past.
'Those were the times…'
Walking around the streets of Paris, I spotted the Eiffel Tower.
"Hmm~"
Click!
I smiled and took a picture of myself doing a v-sign.
Everything but the noise was fine.
The constant noise of cars everywhere didn't help the atmosphere one bit.
'Beggars can't be choosers after all.'
Circling around Paris, I went from the Eiffel Tower all the way to Saint-Chapelle.
Since I took my time not rushing anything, I watched as the sun went down and the moon rose into the sky.
'Time to get to work…'
"Mm…"
'This is my fifth baguette today, these are pretty good.'
My thoughts shifted sporadically as I held the brown paper bag with baguettes inside.
I walked leisurely enjoying the cool breeze of nighttime walking around Paris trying to find something…
Bang!
'There it is.'
*
*
*
Takahiro walked into an alleyway, where he was met with three mafioso beating up a shopkeep.
"We told you that we need the money today."
"I-I need more time please!"
Bang!
"Each time you say that, another punch is being thrown. Now, where is the money?"
'Yet another big guy…'
Takahiro thought.
The mafioso was an older 'gentleman' who was around in his early to mid fifties.
"Ahem, can't we just be civil here?"
Making his presence known, the three men rapidly took out their guns and shot towards him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Entering [Flow] for a split second, he caught the bullets with his gloves protection with relative ease, his baguettes unhurt.
Crack!
The ground cracked from the redirected energy from the bullets.
Clang!
"Now then… can we talk?"
The two younger men held their guns up but the older one dropped his.
"Put down your guns…"
""Don!?""
Surprised but still following orders, the two men put their guns down but were still vigilant.
"What do you want outsider."
"I want information about the 'Greedy Witch of France.'"
"We can not give that to you."
'...Haha, did he think this was a negotiation?'
"..."
"...Give me all the information you have on her, if not I'll wipe your entire mafia out tonight and wipe your name in the mud, both outside and spy…"
Takahiro's face turned cold, making the already chilling night even more freezing.
The Don saw the spiraling in Takahiro's eyes. The abyss drew him in like a devil's whisper. His mind fogged as mental suggestions flooded his brain.
Snapping out of his trance, the Don replied, "Follow me."
"We're going to get that money tomorrow, is that clear?"
The shopkeeper who was silent until now answered, "Y-Yes thank you, thank you so much!"
He dropped the man and ordered his two other confused men to follow.
'Good, I don't want to cause unnecessary bloodshed if I can.'
As they went deeper into the maze of alleyways, they eventually came across an unsuspecting door.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
"What's the password?"
"The Pasta Family never dies."
Click!
The smell of wood and alcohol drifted into Takahiro's nose.
"A bar?"
"This is just a front." The Don explained before ordering the bartender, "Open up the basement, we have a client, an important one."
"Yes, Don."
Creak…
Takahiro took note of how the basement was larger than the actual bar itself.
Taking a seat, the Don asked, "Now then… You said you wanted the information on 'her'. Is that correct?"
"Yes, everything from her residence, records of you working with her, defense systems, but most importantly, any dirt on her."
Tap.
Tap.
The Don looked at Takahiro.
"Why? Why should we help you? I don't know if you know foreigner, but mafioso aren't backstabbers."
"I said this before, just you not being wiped out should be enough of a payment for you."
Enraged at the clear hostility, the mafioso silently took out their weapons.
"...If you want your hands to be intact and still on your arm, I would put those weapons down if I were you."
Bloodlust. Chills ran down their spines as the bloodlust overwhelmed their minds and put everyone at a panic.
"...I'm not here for some petty gang war that you have so much pride in. Give me the information else I wipe you out. That's final."
"You have a deadline of midnight tomorrow."
"I expect good news… Oh, and if I find out that the Witch's men are after me you'll be wiped out the moment I find out."
Takahiro pushed himself up and walked past the scared mafioso.
"...Don, who was he?"
"I don't know."
Sweat dripped from the Don's forehead.
*
*
*
'Was that enough to scare them?'
Makoto only wants the results so he usually opted for the quickest method, torture, not intimidate.
'I'm glad that I found at least one source of information. Ah but, if they actually tattle tale like kids to Aurore then I'll need to wipe them out. I hope they don't~'
I whistled along my path back to the hotel.
~~~~
Omake 3: Mizuki's Welcoming Party
~~~~
-3 years before Takahiro's escape-
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Mr Mizuki!"
"Yay! Mr Mizuki!
Clap! Clap!
Pop!
Makoto put on a one man welcoming party for Mizuki acting as the Termites.
"...Mind if you tell me who these children are, Mr Kawashita?"
Mizuki pointed to the eleven Termites sitting down with their suits on.
"Ah them? They're our elite task force from a side project I conducted a few years back."
"Are they stronger than me?"
Mizuki asked curiously at the prospect of an elite child squad.
"Hmm… I haven't thought of that before. Shall we test it?"
"One! Please come up and fight Mizuki."
"One is the best fighter and the leader of the Termites."
"...You named them Termites?"
Mizuki's eyebrows creased at the name choice.
"Isn't it fitting?" Makoto chuckled.
"They're the Termites that'll bring down the mighty cherry blossom tree…"
"I see…"
'My first subject to get over a hundred percent efficiency of the Cherry Leaf Hazakura… I wonder how One will do against this monster…'
Once there was enough space to fight, both One and Mizuki got in position.
"Ready… Set… Fight!"
Chopping the air signaling the fight had begun, One used [High-Speed Dash] to instantly appear before Mizuki.
"...[Obliterate]"
One tensed his arms before slashing at speeds at which the human eye could barely see.
Blocking with his arm, Mizuki got slashed but soon there was nothing left to slash him with.
'I almost died there…'
Moving his poison to his arm, he melted One's knives as they slashed him.
"My turn…"
Mizuki quickly elongated his neck to unnatural lengths creating multiple 'bubbles' in his neck holding all of his poison gas.
"[Dead Man's Tongue]"
The acidic gas corroded everything it touched.
One got into a horse position, without his knives he still had his martial arts.
"[Rotation Punch]"
By infusing a bit from the rotation One does before he punches he shifts the energy from his legs to his fist and uses Aiki to blow away the gas from him.
Woosh!
'Interesting…'
Makoto commented on the fight in his head. He ate popcorn and wore 3d paper glasses to get into the mood.
"You want some?"
He nudged the paper basket full of popcorn towards Three.
Three answered by shaking his head and making an X with his arms.
"Suit yourself."
As the fight progressed One slowly gained the upper hand.
"Hah… hah…"
"I lose…"
As Mizuki admitted defeat Makoto threw his glasses and popcorn behind him.
"Nice fight~ That was nice research data, thank you both for fighting."
"One you can go and rest, the rest of you Termites as well."
Wrr!
The mechanical door opened as all eleven left the partially destroyed room.
"How was the fight?"
Makoto elbowed Mizuki's ribs.
"Hah… Are you sure that's a child?"
Mizuki asked, pushing his glasses back to the top of his nose.
"I'm sure."
Once the day came to an end, Mizuki contemplated on One, the child that beat him.
~~~~
Fun Fact (Haven't done one of these in a while): Mutsumi's voice actor Kaede Hondo, most notably voiced these characters:
Elaina from 'Wandering Witch: The Journey Of Elaina'
Maple from 'Bofuri'
Suzuran from 'Arknights'
Echidna from 'I'm Quitting Heroing'
etc…
I noticed a plot hole in the manga of Mission: Yozakura Family.
Back at the beginning of the manga (Chapter 56) White Snake (Yuki Shirai) said quote on quote "The longest the human body can tolerate a 100 percent dose of Cherry Blossom Leaf Hazakura is ten years"
But in Chapter 77 Nanao said quote on quote "Eleven years ago… There was the Zenshoten city pollution case where the company directors all died of unnatural causes…"
That means that Mizuki was actually eleven years on the hundred percent Cherry Blossom Leaf Hazakura.
Lol Mizuki should have been dead a year before the story started, but I don't really care.
Mizuki died basically as soon as his character was fully introduced and I'm making this FF so no need to nitpick about details. But still a cool find if I may say.
Ah yes, once again, sorry for the late release. (procrastination and author block are truly a deadly combo…)
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ObsessedNovelist
ObsessedNovelist Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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