"Money?" Neon began drifting through his memories with a mix of tension and urgency. It didn't take him long to recall the words of the mysterious man—the very culprit who had dragged him into all this mess.
The guy had wagered all the money on him and then disappeared as if nothing had happened; everything had been planned from the start.
Neon had never seen that person before in his life, and he wasn't well known within his family—so much so that others wouldn't even know about him. His family even made sure to hide all his documents to cover up the shame of having a defective member among them.
However, the woman before him had complete access to his full records, everything—absolutely everything about him.
"I swear, I'm telling the truth. That guy I told you about? He got me into this mess. He said he was going to bet all his money on me—that's it, I have nothing more to say," Neon said, then continued speaking.
"Anyway, they should have captured everyone there. What if they question the real criminals?" After all, it wasn't as if they only had Neon available to gather information.
"They're dead. All the detainees were dead—especially a silver werewolf. His corpse was rotting, and a toxic substance was coursing through his body."
"After a quick analysis, the substance matched the fluids from your body. Don't get me wrong—we're talking about your saliva." Those were the words spoken by the doctor—or rather, the agent of a certain organization.
"Your arguments simply don't align with what the witnesses say. They won't be exempt from conviction either. We severely punish this kind of activity. I have nothing else to discuss with you," she stated as she got up to make what appeared to be a phone call.
Perhaps Neon was a werewolf—at least, that's what the situation had been so far—but he couldn't catch what that woman and someone else were saying.
"I'm going to let you go. My boss wants to talk to you. However, I don't trust you, so don't make any strange moves."
"Oh, what such a serious attitude. I wouldn't do anything of the sort; it's not as if that would help much in this situation," Neon replied. The ropes—unexpectedly hard and heavy—came off one by one, and he began to place his feet on the cold, immaculate floor.
(What was that?) For a moment, Neon thought he saw the doctor being ripped apart by him, then he stumbled and fell.
"Arg!?" What was that? I… who knows what kind of substances they've given me while I was asleep.
The doctor— or agent—simply continued walking, ignoring Neon's embarrassing fall. She didn't blame him; the floor was very slippery. Neon wasn't even wearing shoes; he only had a one-piece white gown covering him completely.
"I'm about to open the door; you'd better not do anything weird," she said as she pressed another button. This time a panel unfolded, asking for a password.
"Don't look."
Neon quickly obeyed—it wasn't as if knowing the password for this heavy door would help him escape or anything like that; this wasn't a science fiction movie.
An immense light blinded his eyes. After all, the corridor they were in now was much more illuminated than the dark room he had just left.
"Hahaha!"
"Catch me if you can!"
"Are you sure about this? Are you really going to help us settle the debts!?"
"I already spoke with Nana. She says she's on her way here with lunch—she's so kind."
A multitude of people, of various sizes and personalities—some more human and others being Anima—walked along the corridor, discussing many things. However, they all had one thing in common: they were covered in bandages and were very kind to each other.
"Where are we?" Neon asked.
"Rehabilitation center for victims… victims of illegal duels," she replied, her expression cold and anguished.
"Big brother, could you buy me these balloons? They're only 2 credits each!" A little girl with fox-like skin approached Neon with a wide smile, tenderly offering him some balloons to buy—who knows how many hardships she had been through, or if her family could properly make ends meet...
"I—I'm sorry, I don't have any money... but thank you!" Neon couldn't help but give her the best smile he had; he felt anguished for not being able to help the girl in some way.
"Don't worry, Kiki, here you go—10 credits, 5 balloons, please." For the first time, Neon saw this usually cold woman smile; it seemed she knew everyone here.
The girl, named Kiki, looked beyond Neon and met the gaze of this not-so-cold woman.
"Is that you? Miss Nadia? Thank you so much!" Kiki said, as she handed five balloons to Nadia, and…
"An extra balloon for you, big brother!" Neon couldn't help but feel happy for sweet Kiki as she walked away, continuing her little task.
"So her name is Nadia? My name is—"
"I already know your name, or you just have a poor memory," Nadia said with a serious, calculating expression as she addressed Neon. She slowly began to walk, and Neon had no choice but to follow her.
(You're right, I'm distracted and I can't concentrate. What's happening to me?)
As he kept thinking, he couldn't block out the noise in his ears. He could hear multiple conversations at once and smell things he'd never imagined—and they didn't smell good...
He continued watching the people as the two of them walked; it wasn't as if he had anything better to do. Many people began giving him rather unfriendly looks.
It reminded him of the atmosphere in his own family—a not-so-pleasant experience for him.
"And to think that all these innocent people ended up here because of negligent people like you," Nadia said without even looking at Neon.
It was obvious that her impression of Neon was that of a liar and a swindler. He had no proof of his innocence, and his situation had been completely misunderstood and twisted beyond measure.
(Did I really kill Silver Fang?) Everything had happened so quickly; he hardly remembered anything after he died. However, he was alive—and that was what mattered...
(Ironic.)
"I..."
"Wow! That was faster than I thought... Normally, Nadia takes longer with her interrogations. Are you still wearing that nurse outfit?"
They had reached an office, and before Neon could say anything important, the door had simply opened and a tall, slender guy with jet-black hair suddenly began to speak.
"B-boss!" Nadia's face turned red within seconds, and using her hands to cover it, she began to stutter…
"It's just that… the original uniform is too, um, creepy! The kids end up getting scared!" She couldn't finish speaking—and she even started to resemble Rouge, Neon thought.
"Is this the same cold woman who interrogated me?" Neon was confused, and it didn't take him long to burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! She's such a complete tsundere—blerg!" Just before he could finish his sentence, Nadia struck him in the stomach, and her face returned to its serious tone.
"Nadia, don't be so hard on our guests," said the boss with a slight laugh.
Patt-patt.
He gave Nadia a couple of pats on the head, and she began to blush again. The guy was so tall that Nadia was much shorter than Neon, and he had more than enough height to do that.
(This is so cheesy. I wouldn't be surprised if they were lovers—a boss and his assistant? It almost sounds like a soap opera.)
"Well, if you don't mind, you can come inside. It's not as if I've spent all this time waiting for you by peeking through the door's crack," he said ironically.
Neon was struck by how politely Nadia's boss addressed him. No older person, not even his younger siblings in the family, had ever spoken to him that way; he only got along with his younger sister, Rouge—and even she held a much higher position in the family hierarchy.
"Why would the boss of this place want me here? What is his objective? Aren't they going to charge me with all the CRIMES I've committed?"
Neon started complaining to Nadia's boss. It was obvious that they were only postponing the inevitable.
"More importantly, where is my sister?" Neon's tone changed 360° when he mentioned his sister. He wasn't normally like this; he even wondered what was happening to him—it was as if all his feelings were affecting him more strongly than usual today...
"Calm down, your sister is fine," said Nadia's boss.
"My name is Armstrong—Jake K. Armstrong. I'm the head of the detective bureau. We track down lawbreakers, and the special forces are responsible for apprehending and punishing them," he said.
"Your name is Neon, right? We simply couldn't leave you in those people's hands, so I pulled some strings and got you," Armstrong said as he got closer and closer to Neon.
"What do you want from me? I have nothing to offer. I'm just a 16-year-old teenager who wants to study and maybe… be someone useful in my family..." Neon's voice quickly shifted from anger to anguish.
"You did have an encounter with that guy in bandages with the strange smile, didn't you? I have a deal you won't be able to refuse."
Neon really had no other intention besides the resentment he felt toward that mysterious man; however, it wasn't as if he was seeking some kind of revenge or anything like that.
"A deal...?"