The Arrival of Powerful Foes

February 28, 1976 (Present Day)

The City of Cheshire

(Yamir's POV)

Although there have been some "conspiracies" circling around Kenji's constant contact with demons and that power of his, there was no direct proof indicating that he was an actual Desperado.

That was because it was all erased. And whatever secrets that were left behind were kept under lock and key inside the minds of those who knew.

That means the information that I told Kenji was absolutely classified. And yet, I still knew about it.

For a moment, I thought at that moment, I made myself out to be an enemy of his. After hearing me speak for a second, he did nothing more but stare at me.

His seemingly nonchalant gaze was sharp.

"Well, well, well!~ You certainly did your research!~" Kenji said, complimenting me.

*Sigh*.

That was scary.

"You can blame Loki. Back then, she never kept me out of the loop…." I said while pointing to her.

"Heh, all I was doing was simply doing my job. A person like you can only stay oblivious to the world for so long you know~...."

Back when I was younger, Loki used to care for me like a mother would do for their daughter.

During that timespan, she taught me many, many things. Things both good and bad, I suppose.

She even went as far as forcing me to learn this and that, regardless if I had interest in it or not.

I won't deny. Her teaching methods were efficient...

....but they were far less then ideal.....

"Oh, I should also mention. Kenji is also a high ranking member within the "company", so feel free to speak freely around him."

Because of course he is....

But if that's the case then, there was something I wanted to ask him.

"If you're part of the company, then that means you too must have some "dream" you're trying to fulfill too, right?"

"Oh, but don't we all? You know, the reason for we are all here?"

"Yeah, but I'm curious about yours."

"Hah, fine then. But you'll have to guess~...."

"Well, it's certainly not wealth or power."

"What makes you so sure about that?"

"Your rich and you're a Desperado. And after seeing the things you did, you're most certainly not the type of guy whose shallow enough to be sastified by such lofty and superficial goals." I explained.

"Then tell me, what exactly do you think would satisfy me?" He asked haughtily.

I closed my eyes for a second. But after thinking for a second, the answer was all but obvious.

"To change this world."

The moment I uttered those words, a cloud of silence drifted over us. Everyone even began to look at me with even more stranger expressions.

"Hah~ Haha~...Well, well, Naoto. I suppose the rumors within the workplace were true. Your sure as hell got yourself a very "sharp" weapon."

But Naoto didn't even respond, nor did he smile. All he did was sigh in disappointment.

I think I knew why, but I chose to ignore it.

"So I was right?" I asked.

"The general basis, yes. But my goals run just a little more deeper than that... You see, I want to alter the very course of history."

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"You're free to take it however you will."

After saying something as strange as that, Kenji refused to elaborate further, leaving me confused as to what exactly he was truly after.

However there would soon come a time where a "certain someone" would face that man in a heated battle. That same person would soon become a very close friend of mine.

And when that day comes, we would learn the true meaning of his intentions....

.....And the horrors that accompanied such desires.

"In any case, Naoto, Loki? What exactly are we doing here anyways? Was there some reason as to why you invited us out here?" Via asked.

"Ah, well, while you guys were away, I was pretty much here talking with everyone else here about the next move we're going to make." Naoto explained.

"And that is...?"

"I'll tell you when everyone is all accounted for."

"Speaking of which, here he comes now." Freed shortly told us.

Oh, and here I thought we would have to wait for an hour or so.

As Freed said that, he gestured us to look in a certain direction. There, we saw three more important looking people walking towards us.

Two boys, and one girl. One was an adult while the other two seemed to be about my age.

"You're late."

"Apologies for my late arrival, Lord Freed. Some rather urgent business came up." The adult replied.

"Who's this guy? He seems important." I asked.

But the adult didn't answer. He threw me a sideways glance before looking back to Freed for answers.

"Who is she?"

"She's with Riad. Treat them as one of our own."

"Ah, I see. Forgive me manners then." He apologized.

"I am Sir Raiko Onne. I am the current lord of the Onne Clan, a family branch which serves as one of Maxwell's many retainers."

"And these guys here are my children, Saze and Nejo. You guys also say hello." The man replied, introducing the two children who stood behind him.

"Hello!~" The girl named Nejo happily complied. But the boy named Saze didn't seem to say anything.

*Yawn*.....

I can't really tell whether or not if the boy is exhausted or just utterly bored, but it was clear that this guy wanted to leave this place.

Honestly though, I feel the same way.

"Saze, say something…" Nejo asked him, even nudging his hip with her elbow.

"Ugh, do I have to....?"

Suddenly, Nejo threw him a subtle yet rather foul look.

While it didn't scare him, it was able to rattle him just enough to pressure him into complying.

Hi…." Saze replied halfheartedly.

*Yawn*...

And just like that, he yawned again. His facial expressions was riddled with boredom.

"Hmm?"

Crap, he noticed my glances....

"You're one of father's co-workers right?"

"I guess so."

"What's your name then?"

"Yamir."

"Yamir, huh…"

As he said that though, Saze began to look at me closely with an expression that, yet again, I could not seem to understand.

Suddenly, he glanced back to the rest of our company. Eventually, his eyes lit up as if seeming to have understood something.

"Ah, I think I get it now. Yeah, if we have somebody like you around, I'm sure things will get alot more "lively" again~...."

"What the hell does that supposed to mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"What?"

*Yawn*....

Unfortunately, like Kenji, it was clear that Saze had no intention of delving any further into those words.

Instead, he simply turned around and got ready to leave without saying so much as another word to me….

"Come along, Nejo. Since Dad's going to be here awhile, we might as well get something to eat and dance the night away before we head to bed."

"A chance to dance with big brother? Seriously!? Score!~"

As Nejo jumped a little out of joy, she began walking away in the same direction as Saze. Suddenly though, she stopped halfway and looked at me with another expression that I could not read.

"Oh, and Yamir, was it?" She asked.

"Try not to die."

Wow, isn't that a little too straightforward to demand out of a stranger you just met?

Why does everyone here in this room gotta say something unnerving to me....

As Saze and Nejo walked away, I noticed that Raiko, who stood in the corner of my eye, seemed a little concerned about something.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Nothing."

"Atleast that what I want to say, but it looks like we might have shown them too much." Raiko mysteriously said again, speaking in caution.

"Are you saying you know what exactly those two were talking about?"

"I guess you could say something like that…"

"Huh?"

"You're not stupid. I'm sure you can figure it out."

"I'm sorry, but I just so happen to be an idiot. If you would be so kind, elaborate." I subtly demanded.

Raiko sighed a little before rubbing the back of his neck.

"I have met a lot of perceptive people back in my day, and I'm sure you did too somewhere during your travels."

"I suppose so."

"The thing is, when it comes to discerning a person's background information, these guys are next level."

"What?"

"Don't ask me how. To them, they can almost do it out of instinct. They are so good at it, it's like they can "understand" everything there is to know about a person with just a glance."

"That's absurd."

"You're free to believe me or not. But what I say is true. If you want the advice from their father, then you would be wise to tread lightly around those two."

"For all you know, they may already read you like a book, and you would be none the wiser."

"Wait, are you saying that…."

"Like I said, take it however you will. But if I will say one thing."

"If I was you–…."

"....-I would assume the worst case scenario."