"..."
"..."
"Are we… going?"
V was currently clinging to Riley's arm.; her face, still filled with the smile that she had since moments ago even though they have been standing in front of their house for… almost an entire hour now.
As always, there were completely no other people besides them outside. For some reason, however, some of the houses that were near their house had cracks in them– could it be that a fight went on here without them knowing? V thought.
"Yes. I am just waiting for warden Yakovich, Victoria," Riley muttered as he remained still on his spot, not even moving a single inch.
"Waiting?" V slightly squinted her eyes, "Shouldn't we just go to him? How would he know you're looking for him if we don't find him first?"
"I believe he knows we are waiting for him, Victoria," Riley then turned his head towards one of the surveillance cameras that still had a red beeping light on it,
"He is just… scared," a smile then slowly formed on Riley's face; his eyes not leaving the camera until the edges of his mouth was near his ears.
"Kuu!"
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times; slightly leaning his head back as he heard a slight… purr coming from V's mouth.
"You're so cool and creepy when you do that," V then said; her words slightly muffled as she buried and rubbed her face on Riley's arm.
"...What are you doing?" Riley muttered; his voice, slightly having hints of confusion in them, "Why are you cleaning your face with my arm, Victoria?"
"I'm not," V giggled as she rubbed her face even faster, "I'm marking you."
"..." Riley was still obviously confused. But he no longer asked about the matter as he turned his face in front of him, once again waiting in silence for warden Yakovich. He tried to pull his arm away from V, but she seemed to insist on not letting go.
But finally, after a few more minutes of waiting, a wide hole opened up at the very center of the prison neighborhood, with warden Yakovich emerging along with almost half a hundred super soldiers.
The soldiers and guards, however, did not follow Yakovich as he approached Riley; and judging by Yakovich's calm steps, he ordered them not to do so.
"Prisoner 666," warden Yakovich said as he stopped 2 meters away from Riley, "Are you ready to leave the prison?"
"Yes, the TV is broken so I can't watch Italian Mafia Reborn anymore, warden Yakovich."
"..." Just because the TV was broken? If Yakovich knew that it was that simple to get rid of Riley, then he would have ordered someone to sneak into the house and break the TV…
…or at least cancel his Weblix subscription.
Yakovich has actually been observing and spying on what Riley was watching since he shared the same account. Yakovich doesn't even watch cartoons, but since Riley was so invested in Italian Mafia Reborn, he could not help but be curious.
And true enough, there was a reason why Riley seemed to be obsessing over it. It started off as something for kids, but then by the second season, they were fighting–
Yakovich then shook his head as he lost track of his thoughts.
"Then let's go, Prisoner 666," warden Yakovich then gestured to Riley to follow him, "You don't need to worry about all the paperwork. But I do need to personally oversee your transfer to the Hope Guild."
Yakovich's eyes slightly strayed towards V, but he quickly moved his head away as he remembered the feed from the camera inside Riley's house before it died; the only thing he could do was hide his discomfort with a small cough.
"Not yet, warden Yakovich."
Yakovich's steps, however, stopped as he heard Riley's words, "What do you mean?" He asked.
"I wish to visit the area where the top 3 are residing," Riley said; his feet, still not moving from where he stood, "I have some things I wish to ask them. And whether or not their answers are sufficient or not, I will leave once I hear from them."
"...What?" Yakovich's right eye started to twitch as he heard Riley's words, "You… are not in a position to give demands."
"You and I both know that I am, warden Yakovich," Riley then said as he turned around… and started walking back to his house. V was slightly confused as to what Riley was doing, but still, she remained clinging to his arm.
V then blinked her eyes a couple of times as Riley's hand started to reach toward the doorknob. Throughout her living with Riley, never once did he touch a door– only using his telekinetic abilities to open them.
After a few more moments, however, just a few inches of Riley's hand touching the knob, Yakovich raised his voice.
"Wait!" His word was almost a roar, causing even his men that were behind him to raise their rifles even though they knew it would have no effect on Riley. Their sighs of relief, however, almost became an orchestra as Yakovich asked them to stand down and lower their weapons.
"Fine," Yakovich then said as he lit up a cigarette, "But whatever happens inside, we will not be responsible. There are no more cameras passed where the top 3 reside, so you will be on your own."
"That…" Riley then turned around to face warden Yakovich; the smile on his face, once again reaching from ear to ear, "That is perfectly fine, warden Yakovich."
"Only you are allowed, however," warden Yakovich then took a heavy puff as his eyes turned to the girl tightly clinging to Riley's arm, "Empress has already warned us that if anything were to happen to their fellow member, then there would be hell to pay."
"What? No!" V tightened her grip on Riley's arm even further, "No one can hurt me as long as Riley is with me!"
"We really can't allow you to come with Prisoner 666, Miss V," Yakovich insisted as he shook his head, "I am already getting enough flak with the common people as it is. If they knew one of their precious heroes got hurt inside the prison, I would probably lose my job."
"No, I will–"
"Very well," Riley lightly flicked his hand, causing V's hands to gently unwrap themselves from his arm.
"W… wait!" V tried to resist, but it almost felt like her hands were stuck inside a pool of dried cement, "Why!? I… I thought we would always be together!?"
"It seems you are misunderstanding something, Victoria," Riley then let out a sigh as he gently dropped V beside warden Yakovich,
"I am not a replacement for your mecha suit."
"What, you're not–"
"You have always been dependent on something, Victoria," Riley said as he approached, "That's the only reason you have been clinging to me for more than an hour now."
"What, no!" V wanted to run towards Riley, but she could not do so as something was blocking her path, "I want to be with you because… because I like you!"
"Maybe," Riley said, "But I do not want support from someone that can't move on its own."
"You… you fuck!" V then let out a small roar as she slammed her fists on the invisible barrier in front of her; the electricity trickling from her back, causing Yakovich to cover his entire body in smoke,
"Did… you just use my body because–"
"You are free, Victoria."
"...What?"
"You don't need a mecha suit," Riley let out a small sigh as he approached V, "You don't need anything or anyone to rely on. You are strong, Victoria– as soon as you realize that, then I will allow you to walk beside me. I…
…can't have a weak subordinate."
"Riley…"
Yakovich took a few steps back as he heard Riley's words. Why is he provoking V right now? Was he planning on causing V to lose control of her powers again… Wait, was this his plan all along!? To destroy his prison!?
Yakovich was about to order his men to retreat, but before he could do so, a small sniffle whispered from V's direction. He turned to look at what she was doing, only to see her suddenly burst into tears.
"Thank you…" V breathed out a deep gasp as she wiped the tears that were falling like a dam from her eyes, "...Thank you for being concerned and taking care of me."
…What? Yakovich then blinked a couple of times as he looked back and forth between Riley and V. What is happening right now?
"I… I promise you," V then nodded; her eyes that were filled with tears, now also filled with a certain resolution in them, "I… I will learn how to stand on my own. But please… please help me while we're in the Hope Guild."
"Hm."
And with a nod from Riley, V turned around and walked away– moving towards where the super soldiers are and asking them to escort her away.
"..." What just happened? Yakovich wondered. The scenario that just happened felt like it came straight from an anime.
And this Riley Ross– it wasn't written in his profile that he was a master manipulator. Yakovich has been with enough criminals to know exactly what just happened. And from what he had just witnessed, each of Riley's actions just now was to get everything in his favor.
At least with Alice, everything was straightforward. Riley… Riley was like a dagger floating behind your back that you won't be able to see no matter how many times you turn your head.
"..." But he is someone else's dagger now– Yakovich thought as he escorted Riley in front of the door that led to where the top 3 were.
It was a huge metal door– almost as large as Mega Academy's gates and probably just as thick.
"Remember, Riley Ross," Yakovich let out a cloud of smoke from his mouth as his figure slowly faded, "These 3 people are all Grade-S supers, probably as strong as the members of the Hope Guild. Do not– What are you doing!?"
And before Yakovich's silhouette could completely fade away, a loud thumping of thunder entered his ears as Riley placed his palm on the gigantic door. And without even a second after that, the metal door almost instantly crumpled– compressing into a ball that was almost as large as Riley's house in the prison neighborhood.
A strong gust of wind then blew Yakovich's cloud body away as the air from the inside started violently seeping from the large hole that Riley just created.
"If they are as strong as you claim, warden Yakovich…" Riley then muttered as the giant ball floating in front of him disappeared, followed by another drum of thunder as a halo of wind erupted from where the giant ball previously was.
"...Then I need to knock on their doors hard."
