Chapter 113 - Talks on life and death

To her surprise, Victor did not mock her. Instead, he took out the gun from his pocket and held it up. He fired three consecutive shots so quickly, and easily too.

Setsura looked at him with wide eyes. He's so good at it. She wouldn't have thought that with his image. Sure she saw him use it on the first night they met, but there is something different here. Whenever Victor holds a gun, the calm and friendly aura from him vanishes. Then again, she doesn't know much about this person.

"Victor, can you tell me about yourself?"

His lips curve to a smile, "There isn't much to say. Up until a while back, I was the vice commander of the Long organization."

Wait; what?!! Setsura's eyes widened at his words.

"V—vice command?"

"Yes, even when I was abroad. I did some work for them."

But then, how does Akito fit into all of this?

"Of course, I quit once I heard what Chauncey, and the organization did."

Oh, that frightened her for a moment. "Wasn't it difficult to choose between your friends like that?"

"I can't deny that. It was difficult, Chauncey is my cousin too. You'd think I'd pick my relative no matter what the circ.u.mstances were."

"Re—relative?"

Victor laughed, "Your surprised reaction is something."

Damn, she is letting her guard down too much. But then again, can anybody blame her? She saw no signs of the two speaking much. Sure, she did see some friendly bantering. But other than that, there was nothing else.

"You can't blame me."

"Indeed, up till now, I've shown such favoritism towards Akito. Of course, you wouldn't think I'm related to Chauncey."

It's unbelievable ... somebody as cheerful as Victor is related to that blank-faced Sir long? Still, she supposes that would explain things. From time to time, Victor would get this cold look on his face. It's not the same as Akito's, his gaze isn't as dark. But nonetheless, it is still cold.

The men living in this era all carry such heavy burdens on their shoulders. Is this because of the way they were raised? The rich here are more despicable than the ones back in the future. The way they treat their children as tools to gain more power. It's not just the rich, too, but members of the middle class and the poor.

Whenever she recalled that conversation she overheard, it made her sick. The parents of the deceased thought such ill thinks. She only spent a day in that house of horror. Yet it was enough to scare her for a lifetime. What about those poor girls? Amongst those captured, what if there were people there exactly like her? With the same emotional state? Setsura couldn't imagine how they ended up feeling.

Her gaze fell on Victor, who was firing more shots, "This weapon doesn't suit you."

Victor nodded, "I have to agree. Were supposed to be in a process of change, but I don't think anything has changed. Rather than use swords, we are now using guns. We still have to carry a weapon everywhere. There have been talks about a weapon ban. But, therefore are those who are not used to walking freely without weapons. Even if the laws are stricter now. People doubt the military police. With the recent case, things have gotten worse too."

"How about Akito? What do people think when it comes to him?"

"You'll be surprised, Setsura. He's somebody with a good reputation even now. In fact, the main reason the town folk doubted the police is because of what happened with Akito's wife. From what Chauncey told me in the letters, the townsfolk really liked the wife. Akito and her would bring joy to everyone. So, when they found the police were involved in her case. It was natural for people to riot."

So that's how things are. The townspeople loved Akito's wife. But what about her? Whenever she walks around with Akito, people give her strange looks. She doesn't have to be smart to know that they think badly of her. Then again, the way she appeared was strange. According to Katakura, the wife appeared in a secluded place, not a busy street.

If she appeared in the same way, then maybe things wouldn't be so harsh for her. However, it is too late to think about what-ifs. She ought to focus on the present, right now the present her doesn't belong in this place.

"So, Setsura-chan, let me ask you a question."

She glanced over at Victor, who wore a somewhat serious expression on him. "When there is a criminal right there in front of you, will you shoot to protect?"

"Just as you said earlier, normal civilians are carrying weapons still. You claim that person is a criminal, but what if it's their first offense? Even if it is a repeated offense, those people do not deserve to die on the spot. No matter how harsh the state of the crime is, one must go through a trial first."

"Then, what if somebody important to you is killed before your very eyes?"

Somebody important, a flash of red appeared in her head. A young child covered in blood and a person's body laid right by her feet, in a dark and cold house.

"Then, I will end my own life right before the criminal. It is better to die at my own hands than another person. If the one who was killed before me were as important as you say, then there would be no need for me to live either."

.....

At Akito's mansion

Setsura immediately rushed up the stairs when she realized that Akito was back. But, as she expected. Setsura found him fast asleep on the couch. Like usual, he only makes it this far. The bedroom is not too far from this place, though. However, he must be too exhausted to walk another step. Just making it upstairs for him must take a great deal of effort. For him to pass out downstairs, though, would immediately translate to her wasting a few extra minutes to find him. This person does far too much for her sake. He treats her with so much kindness. Kindness only one person has shown her before. Setsura crouched down and stared at him for a few minutes.

She wonders why this person sacrifices so much for her sake. She is not used to such kindness, not used to another person trying to understand her. How is she supposed to react to his acts of kindness? It was the same in the future, too, with that person, each action of his left her dumbfounded.

Normally they all leave when they find out how problematic she is. When they discover how fragile she is, all of them leave. Nobody wants to deal with a messed up and emotional person. Akito should not be an exception, but strangely enough, he is. Victor's reaction to her words caught her off guard too. Most people would look at her like she was crazy, but even Victor showed her that same expression.

'an expression where they are trying to understand her..'

That understanding look ...it makes her feel so strange. What is she meant to do when they look at her that way?