A wide grin split Boris’s wide, round face. He faced the windshield of a large white van, stared at his reflection, then coughed into his fist, plastering a serious expression. He noticed that his necktie looked a little off and went about fixing it. Soon enough, his calm and serious expression began to change as the corners of his mouth rose to his ears.
"Really, man? A suit?"
The exasperated voice startled him enough that he almost jumped. Whipping his head in its direction, he saw a red-haired youth walking toward him with eyes that spelled "I’m annoyed".
Dante was in a bad mood, as expected, but Boris didn’t let that bother him. He was about to throw in a retort when he noticed someone else approaching. A scrawny kid with brown hair and a pale face, wearing an oversized blue jacket and carrying a yellow gym bag almost as tall as he was.
"... No way?" The big guy said, feeling the corners of his mouth rise. "Is that..."
"Yup." Dante closed his eyes and sighed. "He somehow tracked me all the way here."
"That’s... impressive..." Boris said, his eyes widening a little.
The brat had come up in one of their conversations. Back then, both he and his boss were dismissive of the red haired youth, thinking he was exaggerating after having his ass handed to him by a child. Hearing that the brat was able to track him again shattered that misconception.
"Forget about the little shit." Bringing his brow together in a deep frown, Dante followed. "Just tell me why the heck you are here? I told you we’re going this weekend."
"What’s so different?" Boris huffed. "Whether we go today or three days later, it’s all the same."
"Except I have a job today." Dante shot back. "And, c’mon, man, you aren’t being subtle at all."
Raising his head and grinning, the big guy pulled on the sleeves of his black suit then adjusted his necktie a little.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
The red-haired youth stared at him for a moment, then exhaled.
"Well, good luck, I guess. You’re gonna need it." He shook his head then walked to the van, stopping as he grabbed the handle. Changing his mind, he slid the side door open and turned around, fixing the raven-haired kid with a glare. "Get in. I don’t have the time."
Both Boris and the brat turned to him with shocked looks.
"He’s tagging along?" The big guy asked.
Dante turned to him with another frown.
"You want to impress Ms. Yukimura, right?" His voice was so blunt that it dealt physical damage. "Show up with a homeless brat and say you’re trying to keep him from the streets. That will earn you more points than a suit that’s a size too small."
At first, Boris was stunned by the sheer audacity, but then he saw the genius in the idea.
"I... I’m not homeless..." The brat protested, his gaze cast down.
"Well, you are now." Dante gave the van a light slam. "Now, get your ass inside before I change my mind."
"Alright, let’s go over this one more time. You’re Finn Wade, and your father and I used to be friends. He passed away a while back and-"
Dante listened absentmindedly as Boris explained their plan. The idea came to him soon after the big guy sent him the message. That said, he didn’t expect him to jump on it right away.
"We will talk details later. For now, just call me unc. Or maybe you should use my first name? It would show that we get along so... yeah, do that."
As the big guy rambled, Dante glanced at the boy through the rearview mirror, checking if the ports on his Mind Link Port remained unplugged.
The brat hadn’t said a single word since they got on the van, remaining silent and keeping his head down.
’He isn’t trying anything, is he?’
[No,] Volcan answered right away. [His NIM is inactive.]
Instead of being a reassurance, Dante felt a lot more stressed than before. He couldn’t help but be wary of him, especially whenever he remembered how the boy had blinded him the first time they met.
"We’re almost there." A hint of excitement accompanied Boris’s words, but then his eyes widened a little and he turned to Dante. "Hey, won’t it look weird if we showed up unannounced?"
"No shit?" Dante deadpanned.
Thankfully, he had already sent Jonah a message telling him to inform Yukimura that they were on their way. The van took a right turn and entered a street no different from the others, though, with how the buildings were positioned, sunlight struggled to reach the ground in the early hours of the day, making it feel as if it was still night. The approaching winter only made things worse.
The megacomplexes of Hollowgrid were strange no matter how one looked at them. They stretched for hundreds of meters in every direction. The ground floors were mostly dedicated to shops, storage areas, and other facilities that require cars and vehicles to operate.
The most common among those facilities are schools, kindergartens, and nurseries. Each megacomplex had at least one of those, and thanks to their location, parents were able to drop off their kids before heading to work then pick them up after they returned.
Boris was currently driving toward one of those facilities, and as they approached its entrance, they noticed someone standing on the sidewalk. Recognizing who it was, the big guy swallowed audibly.
"Maybe you should loosen that necktie a bit." Dante said jokingly.
"Never." The big guy replied, his expression hardening.
Dante could tell how nervous his overweight friend was just by looking; that’s why he was the first to descend once the van parked. Walking over to the person waiting by the sidewalk, he wore the best smile he could produce and raised a hand in greeting.
"Ms. Yukimura, it has been a while." He said. "Sorry for coming on such short notice."
"Dante!" A radiant smile banished the shadows cast by the oppressive concrete behemoths. "It’s so nice to see you!"
=================================
For the months of June and July, the first and only Privilege tier will cost only 1 Coin! Please read the latest Chapters as they come out!