Chương 41: Permission

"So, what you're saying is that you wanna go for some martial arts tournament and you want us to cover for you?" Gibli asked Taro.

"Yes, yes!" Taro nodded his head along. He turned off his translator since it might cause more irritation if he kept it on.

"Hmm, why not! It's not like we're doing this work for you or something." Gibli shrugged.

Taro stayed silent for a few seconds, trying to process what he just heard. "Was that sarcasm?" He asked.

"What do you mean? I was serious as hell! If you wanna go to a martial arts tournament, then make sure to go to a martial arts tournament. There's no sarcasm behind it." Gibli replied.

"No, not that. The other thing you said. I feel like you clearly said that in a really sarcastic voice. I can sense sarcasm, you know?" Taro asked, to which Gibli shrugged.

"Well, think what you want to. Oh, Thankappan! Did you hear?" Gibli called out Thankappan, who seemed to be loitering around in the workplace.

"What? Is it something good?" Thankappan asked. He desperately needed something. The work this time was building some poor man's house, so the double standards their boss had still applied in this scenario and hence, Thankappan was left with no choice but to wander around.

"Well, it seems like Sadanandan here wants to participate in a martial arts tournament." Gibli replied, with an incredibly sarcastic voice that seriously irked Taro.

Taro sighed and turned towards Thankappan. "I need a day off for that. So, I wanted you guys to cover for me that one day. However, since you lot want to act like such dicks, I'll manage it some other way!" Taro looked frustrated. He never liked sarcasm directed towards him, even though he liked making sarcastic comments.

"Wait, when did I ever act like a dick?" Thankappan asked.

"Yea, I didn't act like one too!" Yet again, Gibli used an obvious sarcastic tone before breaking down into laughter. "Okay, dude. You gotta chill! I meant it as a joke." Gibli replied.

Taro sighed. "Fine! So, what do you think?" He asked.

Gibli thought for a while. "Well, I feel like we could manage shit here. There's gonna be no apparent change if you left too. Hell, even if the four of us left, there won't be a significant difference. The work's been that slow." The Arkian explained.

Upon hearing the stuff from afar, Kunjan joined in as well. "So, did you manage to control your power yet? Because, you might even break someone's bones with that punch of yours." Kunjan spoke.

"Well, you could say that. I do combine my own technique with what I've learned from this planet and it works pretty well." Taro replied.

"Now, how are you gonna tell this to Lonappan?" Thankappan asked.

"That's kinda my concern too! I don't expect him to just agree if I ask him. Therefore, I want you guys to tag along with me when I meet up with him. Your presence might persuade him, maybe?" Taro hoped that'd be the right approach.

"Well, might as well tag along to see what happens!" Gibli spoke up. The others agreed. They formed a plan to bomb this up on Lonappan just as they enter Holy Land.

"Cool, you can go!" Lonappan replied.

"Huh?" Everyone looked at Lonappan in surprise. They never expected it to be this simple. They didn't even completely explain their part and Lonappan agreed instantaneously. They didn't quite get what's going on.

"So, what just happened?" Thankappan asked, since no one really talked.

"Well, I just said that Taro could take part in the tournament." Lonappan replied.

"Just like that?" Gibli asked, trying to confirm whether what he heard was the truth or not.

"Just like that." Lonappan reiterated Gibli's lines.

"But how? Why?" A confused Gibli asked.

Lonappan sighed. "Well, if taro's confidently asking me to participate in such a tournament, that'd mean that he actually managed to control his power or do something with it, unlike the last time. So, why the hell wouldn't I place my trust on him?" Lonappan shrugged and continued. "Well, Taro could also understand the level of control he has over his strength. Now, that'd be fine, wouldn't it?" He asked.

"Yea?" The squad questioned their ears. What Lonappan said made complete sense, but they couldn't believe that such a laid back Lonappan ever existed.

"Are you sure about it?" Thankappan came close to Lonappan and whispered.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, weren't you the guys who placed him in the list of calamity level threats?" Thankappan asked.

"Yea! Well, I guess we'll know if he's really a calamity level threat or not." Lonappan smiled as he replied.

"Wait, are you sure you want to take such a gamble?" Thankappan asked. He resorted away from whispering this time.

"Well, I've been known as a gambler since the earlier times." Lonappan chuckled.

"Who the hell did even call you a gambler?" Thankappan asked, seriously concerned that something's wrong with Lonappan that day. He sighed. "So, what happens if he's actually a real calamity grade and he ends up losing his control over his strength? You're gonna let people die because of that?" he asked, not caring whether taro or other aliens heard it or not. Taro remained silent, since Thankappan did make a good point.

Lonappan laughed. "Since, when did I start caring about people?" He asked.

"Dude, we are the Men in Black. All we do is caring about people and protecting them. That's our entire job resume! And you're saying that you don't care?" Thankappan asked, shaking his head in dismay. "Well, if you don't care about people, at least you care about your job, right? What do you think will happen to the personal responsible for handling the alien if the said alien screws up under his watch? He gets fired. So, you can handle that too?" He asked yet again.

"Well, I did create a new bank account and moved all my funds there, so I don't really have to worry about them freezing my original account. So, I'm not that worried about the job or money." Lonappan replied.

"Do you think MIB are a bunch of idiots who can't find this 'secret' account to which you directly transferred your funds now, do you?" Thankappan asked, trying to instill some sense into Lonappan.

"How many accounts do you think I have? You think MIB's gonna be after my tail the whole time?" Lonappan asked, giving out a wicked smile.

Thankappan sighed. "I can't win in this argument now, can I?" He asked, admitting his defeat.

"Well, not really. Besides, trust the guy. He's your comrade, isn't he?" Lonappan asked as he got close to Thankappan. "And you know what? Ponnappan's been trying to find a way to prove that Taro isn't actually a calamity grade threat. So, don't you think this would be a fine example if he managed to do it without any huge damage?" He whispered.

"I see." Thankappan turned back and glanced at Taro. "So, you got your answer, right? Let's go back then." He started to walk away from Lonappan and the others followed suit.

"Wait a minute! Care to explain what happened there? We would like to know too." Gibli spoke as he kept his pace even with Thankappan.

"Didn't you just see what happened? Lonappan just gave Taro his permission and he can now fight in the tournament without worry." Thankappan replied.

"I can see that! I'm asking what made him take this decision without outside persuasion." Gibli questioned further.

"Well, it might just be that Lonappan's high on something or he's just in a good mood today. I just can't exactly pinpoint it to something because I have no idea too. Well, it seems like Taro's incredibly lucky since it ended up being quite easy because of whatever Lonappan's going through." Thankappan replied, trying not to expose any information about Taro's placement in the calamity grade or Lonappan's motive behind letting Taro join in the tournament. Even though, he didn't like taking such high risk involving civilians, it seemed like there's no other choice but to observe Taro's performance in this tournament.

Taro nodded his head. He was quite satisfied with this. After heading to #306, he called up his master and told him the good news. He was ecstatic as well. The following three days were such a drag for Taro. He tried concentrating on working, however he couldn't. He then tried deluding himself in the world of television, however that plan ended up as a failure too.

Maybe it was the nervousness or excitement of participating in such a tournament, the three days ended up as a really dragged out, dull days for Taro. He couldn't sleep or focus on something. The entire time he imagined beating up faceless people and winning the entire tournament. This continued until the day of the tournament finally dawned upon Taro. He didn't have to imagine it up anymore. He had the chance to do it now.