The sound of something clicking behind me definitely caught me off guard but this wasn't going to scare me. This person might have the advantage right now but I'm not scared of death.
"What the hell do you want?" I asked with a curious tone.
"Are you the one who killed all the Vantablade back there?" They responded with a question of their own.
Answering a question with another question, how great. I should've expected one of those guys to find me but I thought there was a good chance of getting away.
It might've been a little optimistic of me, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to think like that.
"I am." I answered with a calm and collected tone.
"You did us a favor, so thank you. There won't be a need for me to do anything to you." They said calmly.
I could hear the footsteps starting to get further and further away, I didn't even get to ask who they are. Guess it is time for me to give Reika a heads up that everything is clear now.
That's precisely what I did before waiting for her to arrive. It didn't take her very long since she was waiting for me to send her a message after the last time we spoke.
"You can't just give me a heart attack like that." Reika said with frustration in her voice.
"Fresh meat. That's what I am, so there's no need to worry." I assured her while closing the car door behind me.
"Ughhhh. You piss me off. The job is done though, so let's head back." Reika responded before starting to drive.
I personally wouldn't care if I was in her shoes about fresh members in the gang, not when I already have strong people. She's got a lot of guys that have been around for a good while.
There's no reason to be worrying about new guys when they can easily be replaced. I guess I can appreciate her concern for me, wouldn't be right if I didn't.
"Did you...manage to use the arm?" Reika asked with a bit of a nervous tone.
The sudden shift in her tonality caught me by surprise but I guess it doesn't hurt to chat a bit.
"It worked. Definitely surprised me quite a bit too." I answered with a genuine tone.
"So both prototypes were successful, that's great news. Doc will be thrilled to hear about the news." Reika said with some excitement in her voice.
"I'm sure it would be smart to try out a few more jobs before telling him anything else about it." I replied with a calm tone.
There's no guarantee that this arm will be successful every single time I use it. Back there I noticed that the light died down a bit after using it.
Meaning that there is a limit to how much you can use in one go. I'm guessing after a little while it will come back, so it is about using it wisely.
"I guess that's true. You haven't really used it much until today. I'll get you a few more jobs to try out the arm and the LZR-01 a bit more." Reika said with relief in her voice.
It kind of felt like she wanted me to give her a reason to hold off on telling him about the results. Everyone has their own shit going on so it feels pretty normal to me.
I'll be happy to deal with more scum in the meantime, at least until I can figure out how to get things going.
A name for my own gang, strong people, and resources is going to take some time to acquire. Karma.exe will be a good stepping stone for me to head down that path.
It'll be a good idea to keep my distance from people since getting attached is the biggest downfall you could ever deal with. Emotions are what make you weak, I learned that after the events with Renji.
I still care about him but I basically died in the process of saving him. He doesn't know that I'm still alive or where I am.
I'm sure he is doing alright at the very least.
The rest of the car ride after that last bit of conversation was kind of quiet since we didn't have much to talk about. It wasn't normal for Reika to be the one giving me a ride to a job.
Pinky was the main guy who usually gave me a ride or the old guy I worked with before him.
I couldn't complain about the ride though, it was nice to observe the city streets from a car. I never really had the luxury of riding around in a car, my dad didn't want us being seeing in one.
The streets were no place for kids like us to grow up on, but we never got a choice. Mom wasn't around and Dad died a bit later down the road.
Leaving me to do everything for Renji. He didn't really leave us a whole lot of money because he didn't want anyone coming after us.
The gang he led was definitely one I wouldn't mess with, I don't know how they are now. We didn't even get the name of the gang back then since we weren't allowed to be involved with anything.
A Memory came back to me in the last few minutes of the car ride.
I could see his bright red suit with all of his tattoos showing on his chest, he was a buff guy who refused to use metal.
He started the sentence off with that name, the one I don't use anymore. "§§§§§ You have to look after Renji. That will always be your job, since you are the oldest. I won't be here forever you know." Dad said with a big smile on his face as he gave me a pat on my head.
"I know dad. I'll protect the crybaby, even if something bad happens." Past Zero replied with a big smile.
I protected him, but I don't know where he is or if he still is alive. Times have really changed a lot since then dad.