Chapter 9: A crew? Or...?

The next day at the academy, lunch time.

"Huh? You wanna know about Youka Naze?" Shiranui asked, tilting her head, curious.

Zenkichi nodded with a solemn expression, "Yeah. She and I met yesterday when I was doing some exercise and, well, let's just say it didn't go well."

"I see, I see." Shiranui nodded as she wholeheartedly ate an onigiri, then another, and another. She continued eating for her seventh before she finally stopped and responded, "But, why do you want her information?"

Zenkichi's face darkened and he let out a sigh, "That's because she gives me a bad feeling. If there's one thing I trust in this world, it's my instincts."

"You trust your gut that much?" Shiranui's eyes rose up, surprised.

"I do." Zenkichi firmly nodded.

"Hm." Shiranui hummed, ate another onigiri and then took a sip of cola before pulling a bowl of ramen from the side, and said, "Alright. Since you're asking me this desperately then I have no choice but to find information about this, Youka Naze."

"Shiranui... thank you." Zenkichi smiled, relieved. He looked down on his own meal, a bowl of ramen and rice, and he blinked his eyes. His smile turned awkward and embarrassed as he recalled a certain quest of his, he turned away and muttered, "So uh, Shiranui."

"What is it?"

"If, and I'm asking this in a hypothetical situation," he took a look around, taking a quick breath in, he leaned back a bit and said, "that if I asked you to become my subordinate of a crew I'm making... would you be a part of it?"

Shiranui blinked her eyes.

"...Huh? A crew, as in a ship crew or something?"

"No."

"A song crew?"

"It's a hypothetical question Shiranui, just answer it."

"Well, I'm not gonna answer it if you don't answer my question. What kind of crew are we talking here?"

"..." Zenkichi let out a sigh. "Shiranui...I think you already know what I'm talking about." He pinched the bridge between his eyes, feeling completely mortified as Shiranui's face scrunched up into an incredulous expression.

"I didn't want to assume, and you're really not joking at all? Wow." She snickered before bursting out laughing, exaggeratedly smacked her hands down on the table. "Hitoyoshi-kun, out of all the shenanigans you get into or make, this might take the strawberry on top of a cake! Shishishi!"

"Just," Zenkichi let out a wry sigh, palming his face in embarrassment. "answer the damn question."

"Hm." Shiranui looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "It depends. Are we talking about a gang crew, like Yakuza, or are we talking about a club?"

"A club." Zenkichi unhesitatingly said with a straight face.

"Then no." Shiranui responded, smacking her face into her bowl of ramen and began devouring all its noodly contents. "I wouldn't join anything so boring~"

"You..." Zenkichi's eye twitched and he let out sigh. He knew he wasn't going to easily persuade her into becoming his subordinate, she's free spirited and chaotic. She's like a gluttonous chibi Harley Quinn.

He then silently summoned the system screen before him.

[Quest: The Crew]

Objective: Recruit four subordinates(0/4)

Reward: 4 Free Spins

'Hey, system.'

[Yes, User?]

'This is supposed to be a lottery system, right? My ability to steal/copy someone else's stuff or ability in a certain location?'

[Yes, it is as you described.]

'Then pray tell, why does it have a quest line all of a sudden?'

[That is because the user's destiny has changed.]

Zenkichi blinked, confused. 'My destiny changed? What do you mean by that? And why does it have to do anything with my ability?'

[Let's say every person in the world has a story and their destiny is as there is told. And your story User, no, the original has already been predetermined long ago by a higher power. But you deny that destiny. And every person's ability grows along to the desire of their user or host. Your destiny is important because it's connected very closely with your ability, Lottery. So every time you deviate from your original destiny, the more your ability grows.]

'I see...' Zenkichi was stupefied at what he heard. No wonder there was some system update, it was because he strayed from the path the original would've taken.

[However, take note that Fate isn't going to let you deviate from your path so easily.]

'Huh? What do you mean by that?'

[...You will one day learn about it User, and it's very soon than you might think.]

Listening to the mysterious robotic voice of his system made Zenkichi frown.

'Just what is behind the power of my ability... Moreover, this quest was issued right after I left Naze.' He started to sweat. 'Speaking of her...'

[Quest: Bitches got no hold of me!]

Info: This psychotic scientist of a masochist has interest in you and is planning to do untold tortures to remodel your body into achieving a "perfect super physique" but it comes at the cost of having your mind broken and becoming her eternal simping slave(essentially becoming a useless idiot). But you don't want that now, do ya?!

Objective: [Coerce] or [Convince] Youka Naze(?????) into becoming your sla–subordinate.

Reward: 1 Free Spin

'Okay. This is not a coincidence, at all. These two quests are interrelated. Does this really mean I have to make Naze my subordinate?' Zenkichi's face turned blank from disbelief, as he recalled the interaction he had with her and the description on the quest in front of him.

'A psychotic scientist of a masochist. Why the fuck is this school so fucking weird?!'

"–un. Hey, Hitoyoshi-kun!"

"Hmm? What?" Zenkichi snapped out of his thoughts as Shiranui stared at him with her fingers in front of him.

"Jeez, I've been calling for you for so long. Why were you spacing out for so long? Ah, don't tell me," She gasped. "you were thinking something dirty weren't you~?"

"No, I was not." Zenkichi blankly replied, letting out a sigh he started eating his lunch. "So, are you sure you're not gonna join?"

Shiranui looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head, "Hm. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. But, unless you promise me that your club or crew isn't something like the neo-nazi gang I've heard that's been running amok in the streets or the one you've started back in the middle school, and you've got an endless supply of food, then I'll join."

Zenkichi nodded, understanding her reason, though he chuckled a bit at her last request and said. "Alright. I'll find a couple other members, start it, and show you how my 'club' operates. As for food, eh, I know some guys who can hook us up with some lifetime snacks and beverages."

Shiranui's eyes sparkled.

"Wait, you can do that?! Forget about what I said earlier, if you can actually hook me up with that then I'll do anything for you! Heck, I'll even provide all the information about Youka Naze for you tomorrow."

Zenkichi stared at her for a while, completely flabbergasted.

'S-She quickly changed her mind! What the hell?!' Girls or women, he decided, really couldn't be figured out. Or maybe because it's Shiranui. He really should've known, just bribe her with food at the start...

His attention was quickly taken as a familiar transparent screen appeared once again in front of him.

'Huh? This is...Huh?!'

[Ding! Quest Updated!]

[Ding! Hidden Quest Completed!]

[Quest: The Crew]

Objective: Recruit four subordinates(1/4)

Reward: 4 Free Spins

[Hidden Quest: Like Father...](Completed)

Objective: Get Shiranui as your subordinate! But be careful you don't get caught!

Reward: 1 Skill(Real Eater)(5 min Trial Use)

"..." Zenkichi didn't know what to feel right now, should he laugh or cry about this? Although he was happy to finish a hidden quest and get a reward but that quest title though...

'Screw you system, screw you.'

[I apologize user, but I'm afraid I do not have the necessary facilities to 'screw' myself at the moment.]

"..." He inwardly let out a deep sigh.

"Oh yeah, did you hear about what the princess was up to yesterday?" Shiranui said, snapping Zenkichi out.

Zenkichi shook his head. "No, not really. I was planning on checking on her but I had encountered a nasty person that ruined my mood so I just went home."

"Well, the princess got a request about subjugating the misfit seniors of the Kendo Club because a junior wanted to join said club but he got scared of them and wanted them gone."

"And let me guess, she didn't do that."

"Righto~!" Shiranui shot him a finger gun and chuckled.

Zenkichi let out a sigh. "Well, that's Medaka alright. She's probably rehabilitating them back into good kendo-loving students."

"As expected of Hitoyoshi-kun, you know her too well. The bond of a childhood friend is strong." She sagely nodded.

Zenkichi shook his head in amusement, he looked down on his meal to continue eating when he heard an unfamiliar voice mutter behind him.

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm gonna be pissed if they're still there."

'This feeling... killing intent?' He narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flickered. Did Naze send someone after him already? He turned to the side and looked behind him, only to find no one.

'He's fast...' Zenkichi turned to face Shiranui and asked, "Hey, was someone sitting in the seat behind me just now?"

"Hm?" Shiranui blinked her eyes. "Yeah, Hyuga from our class was eating just behind you."

"Hyuga?" Although it was for a moment, he had still felt that bone chilling feeling coming from the guy behind him. That guy... Zenkichi frowned. He didn't know why, but he felt like something bad was going to happen.

"Why do you want to know?"

"...No reason."

'He spoke those words after we talked about the situation at the Kendo Club. Hyuga, that guy must've been the one who commissioned that request. Well, it's not my problem if he does anything to those seniors at the Kendo Club. Besides,' He wryly smiled. 'he'd soon join the reformation. I have something better to do.'

Suddenly, a system prompt screen appeared before his face.

[Do you want to use your lottery?]

[Location: (Hakoniwa Academy's Main Building)]

[Y/N]

....

AN: Powerstones...Comment...Review.... PA-TREON!

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