BXBX NOVEL Chapter 58: I will lick even your toes.
Feeling my very being free of burden for the very first time, I enjoyed the sights as I walked. Despite being reborn as a reaper who associated with death I now walked among the living. Mingling with them it was kind of frightening if you thought about it.
The reaper phone in my pocket suddenly started ringing, I checked, and the caller Id said Isthar. I picked up the call and found a wall to lean against.
"Good morning Lilly, how are you?"
[Oh my. Who are you and what have you done to my dear lover?]
"I am not your lover Lilly. Anyway, what can I do for you? I am in a pretty good mood so take advantage of it."
[I have noticed. How splendid. Dear, if you don't mind me asking may I ask what placed you in such a pleasant mood?]
"I don't mind. And we are no strangers. I just came from my office and handed in my resignation. I am now officially unemployed. I just felt light. Never noticed how much miserable I made myself by working there."
[Should I burn them to the ground? Just say the world and I will hunt even everything from the people, dogs to even the cockroaches.]
In her own twisted way, the Phantom of North America showed how much she valued me. I found myself chucking and gave her my heartfelt thanks.
"Thank you dear, but that won't be necessary. I already made a mess and exposed a corruption scandal, so I am good. Speaking of which, me going in there and dislocating a man's arm shouldn't be an issue right?"
[…]
"Lilly?"
[I am fine, I just find this side of you … Disarming. I noticed your harem called you terms of endearment, so I joined in to tease you. I never expected being on the receiving end to be so — embarrassing.]
"Haha, I now have another one more of your weaknesses my dear. I can stop if you want me to."
[Please don't. I am already intoxicated from hearing it. Regarding the incident at your office, I will handle it. All records of you there will be erased. You no longer need to worry about it.]
"Thank you, Lilly. I will try to be careful when addressing you. Anyway, what did you have to talk about dear?"
[Ah, I wanted to give you an update. Forgive me but I won't be able to come back until Wednesday. A large number of reapers are trying to get into the battlefront and a lot of them have shady backgrounds. I am being asked to fill in due to the field agents helping out with the paperwork.]
"Hmm, is that so. The girls told me that as well, it appears that at least three continents are looking for me."
[Where did you hear such information? Do you have a handler I don't know about?]
"I don't, the sources are the girls. According to them South America, Australia and Europe are digging up information about John Smith the Formless."
[How amazing, even without any support you already have allies from multiple continents. You don't have to worry about North America. My father is treating everything about you as top secret.]
Well, that was something I didn't expect. David Thomas, the lunatic that could punch nukes into existence was helping me. I should tell him my thanks.
"Please tell him that I appreciate it. Oh! I wanted to ask what are sponsors and handlers? People keep telling me or asking about them. Could you please teach me dear. You are the only one I can ask."
[… that is unfair. If you keep being like this, I will race there just to step on you.]
Originally, I thought she was a masochist, then a pervert. It turned out she was just a confused sadist. Unfortunate for her I have been playing such games with Bella already so I could tease circles around her.
"If you give me what I want, I will even lick your toes and call you my queen."
[… do not temp me further John Smith. Even since I got involved with you my head has been a mess. I am extremely close to being unable to resist.]
"Haha, I am kidding, anyway can you please answer me dear?"
[Good grief you are a horrible incubus do you know that? Sigh… A sponsor is anyone who will fund your equipment or intercede on your behalf in negotiations. This is in exchange for protection and favors in the future. A handler is a guardian of sorts.]
[Fledgling reapers who stand out too much tend to attract the wrong crowd. A handler is the wall that blocks such things as they would respond with force if their charges were harmed.]
I see, so being sponsored was like a business transaction. On the other hand, the handlers would be like guardians who protect those under them. Both may seem the same, but they had different implications.
"I see, thank you for the info, dear. It is shame you aren't here but know that I miss having you by my side. Won't you try to come back earlier? I will let do what you want with me if you do," I teased.
[Wait for me.] came her emotionless reply.
A loud crash echoed in the phone's speaker, along with voices from multiple people all taking over each other. It sounded like absolute chaos.
[MISS BROWNING WAIT!! WAIT FOR US!! Shit! Why the hell is the princess going wild? I don't know! She was just on the phone, maybe she got critical intel?
AFTER HER! Where is she going? Someone, reign her in! Then you do it if you are so smart asshole!]
It seemed my joke went overboard. How interesting. Similar to Bella and Jasmine, Lilly seemed to be also adorable to tease. To prevent her from being seen in a bad light I dropped the call.
"Hmm. So, what do I do now? I have trained as much as I could and quit my job. My days from here on out would be used for matters concerning Hellsgate. According to the FAQ Reapers will be summoned at 8 PM. I still have over 9 hours to spare."
I decided to use the time to sight see. There was something in wandering without a destination and goal in mind. For the first time in a long while I felt free. Couples, families and busy looking professionals walked and dashed through the intersections.
From an outsiders point of view the area seemed serene without any worries in the world. Yet behind each life were doubts, sadness and regret as well the potential to become a reaper. How odd. The longer I looked the more I lost the values as I had as a human.
"Death is not the end but just the beginning. For a reaper there would be no better saying."
As I walked something fell on my shoulder with a soft plat. The foul stench of bird shit together with the disgusting splatter told me all I needed to know. I scanned the sky and saw a flock of birds flying low overhead.
"This birdbrained fucker. {Draw} MK II. {Aim}"
I summoned the Ruger assassin gun and took aim of the bird with the wet anus. I think you called that a pigeon or something. The silent .22 Long Rifle would be enough to murder the little shit from distance. I raised the gun for everyone to see then squeezed the trigger.
A soft pluck resounded while the fat fuck fell from the sky. The rest of its friends didn't even notice its death. As the MK II hardly made a sound, the people would just think it was a toy. While some glared at me, I just smiled, and they left me alone.
"Shame, no one would even notice you are gone you piece of shit. {Sheathe}."
With my vengeance completed I then tried to wipe the bird shit off my shoulder. I took a good look at the clothes I wore. It was a worn-out brown suit with a white shirt and a striped tie.
Standard office worker clothes. I then tried to remember when was the last time I bought new clothes for anything outside of work?
"Probably before Caroline and I got together?"
Right now, my suit was just the uniform I bought to at least look decent. As it was made from cheap materials it didn't look very good, nor did it fit me perfectly, but it got the job done.
Currently even my pants were kind of loose, as I lost a lot of the weight. I was wearing pants from college. Naturally, fashion wise they looked like shit.
A uniform became the identity of the occupation. And since I now became a reaper, I should have a new one as well. My mind drifted back to the black trench coat of Roland Winchester and the white military uniforms of Lilly's unit. If I wanted to get respected, I needed to look the part at least.
I searched for men's suits on my cheap ass phone and got directed to Men's Apparel Club. Upon entering I got greeted by two male tailors and one of them said something I didn't expect.
"May your fate end the darkness esteemed one. Welcome to our humble shop, how may we serve?"
Well. This shopping trip suddenly got way more interesting.