It didn't take long for us to get back on the road, luckily. Messa could hardly walk. He was so exhausted after the fight, so he had to lean on me while heading back to his place. Unfortunately, I couldn't help Lina as well, so I had no choice but to leave her there. Hopefully she'll be alright...
"I would give you a review of the battle I just had, you know, going over the decisions I made and why and stuff but..."
"Yeah?"
"...Your mental energy used to use your powers and stuff is actually linked to your real mental energy, so I really don't wanna talk right now."
"Don't consider yourself an extrovert?"
"Yep."
It obviously takes much longer than usual to get back to Messa's place. It's dusk by the time we finally get there.
I didn't notice it before, but now that I'm constantly looking at the ground from lugging Messa around, the path leading up to his doorstep is really dusty. I almost feel obligated to close my eyes since I'm dragging my feet around so much. I'm starting to zone out. But one thing I've noticed is that when I zone out, I unconsciously activate Body's Mind.
I barely hear the round of leaves shifting around. There's someone behind us, isn't there?
"Alright Messa, can you get yourself inside?"
"Yeah, I'll be good from here."
It doesn't seem like he's noticed yet. I let him off my shoulder, and he heads inside. I turn around to face the person I noticed.
Wait, he's not in plain sight. Where the hell are they?
Fuck it, I know someone's there, so might as well ask.
"Where are you?"
A moment of silence passes.
"Fuck you, I know you're there."I guess it only makes sense that you wouldn't want to give up your tactical advantage.
Then I hear someone walking across the path, just out of sight. Well, he wasn't out of sight for long. The guy had white, messy hair, and he wore a lot of layers. He has a shirt, a sweater, and a vest with outer pockets. Man, and yet my friends call me the twink. Actually, I haven't properly looked in the mirror since my amnesia, so I have no idea if I look like that now.
"Hello there.
" His extremely classy voice is as smooth as it is loud! It's honestly kinda impressive that he can retain that almost seductive voice at that volume.
"I'm Jehan of the Dirpending police force, and I'm here to investigate the murder of Justin Shalom Williams."
Should I just go on ahead with him? I'm already super tired, and if he finds out what happened with Messa, then they might get mad at me. Messa could also get mad at me for switching sides, and I really don't want to piss him off. Yeah, I think I'm gonna commit to sticking with Messa, and I think I know how to do this.
"Why are you going after me?"
"Normally I wouldn't bother with someone so far away from the murder case, but we already sent someone after you, and typically we send someone to get her halfway when she brings someone back."
Shit. How the hell do I get out of this?
"Suspiciously, I wasn't able to do that, and she's nowhere to be seen. So you can see that I have no choice but to suspect you."
"Alright, that's enough." Says an unknown female voice.
Then, she drops down from the tree she was presumably hiding in, just before giving me and the new guy a thumbs up and a smile so bright she gave herself a tan. The long, thick blonde hair definitely helps with the sun analogy. She's also definitely round in very... convenient places.
No, that's not what you should be focusing on right now! No matter how incredibly self conscious you are that you're standing in front of two incredibly sexy potential enemies! Shit, brain, just ask something, please!
"Who are you?" finally lol
"I'm Aroha! You did a good job noticing me sneaking around. Granted, I've been doing so since you and your buddy Messa left town, so don't get ahead of yourself."
I feel... validated??? Wait...
"You look familiar."
"Ah! That's because I was the girl looking at you from the window when you were fighting Justin!"
"So you were the one who killed Justin! " Are you kidding me?!
"Listen, I didn-"
"He didn't do it, only knocked him unconscious. Saw the whole thing myself."
"And why should I trust either of you?"
"Because I'm the real one who killed Justin." You what!?
At this point, while I'm still trying to process that bomb, Messa opens the door again!
"Hey, aren't you gonna come insi-" His eyes widen in shock. "I see more important things are happening."
"Hey, if I take care of this guy for you two, can I stay at your place for the night?"
"What?! You killed someone! Why should w-"
"Yeah go for it."
"Why?!"
"Thanks man!"
"Just head inside Isaac. I have a feeling she'll stay the night whether we like it or not."
"I can take care of him myself!"
"No, you can't. This guy is supposedly the 2nd strongest person in the hotel's little "Police Force" only under the leader himself. I know you just did this like, 2 hours ago, but just watch and learn."
Messa forcibly grabs my shoulder before I can respond, and yanks me inside.
"In case you didn't catch on to what I said earlier, my implication was that if we refused, she would beat us up if we were lucky."
"What gives you the right to act so cocky?""
"Simple. I'm a member of the Liberators of Society."
"The what?! "
"Yeah, do you know what that is?"
"It's an elite group of... Well, I'm not sure if I can call them terrorists since the political landscape doesn't really exist anymore... But basically, they're a bunch of super dangerous guys who destroy any large settlements they come across."
"...Why?"
"I don't know."
"You say you want to free yourself from the hierarchical nature of society, yet forming a group with so many people will naturally have a hierarchical system."
"You think so? It's pretty even between everyone so far."
"I do not believe it! Having a group of 20-40 people will naturally do that!"
"20-40 people? Where did you get that number?"
"It was an estimate. How many people are a part of your little terrorist group?"
"It's just me and by 3 friends right now. The most number of people we've had is 7, with one or two people helping cooperating for one off objectives."
"Impossible! How can I believe that it was only 4 measly people wiping out entire settlements on their own?! "
Aroha chuckles for a moment, before giving him an unusually bright smile.
"Would you like to see? "