Dynamite And A Laserbeam - Redux

Vol 4 - 3: Party Like It's 1999 - Part 2

[Party Like It's 1999 – Part 2]

"YOU WHAT?!" A booming, pissed-off-sounding voice echoed throughout a small office as a set of violet eyes drilled into the terrified expression of one Nicholas Asahina, The man's hand balled up into a fist as he slammed it down on his wooden desk. There was an overwhelming fury lying behind his eyes, whilst Asashina felt as if he was staring into the eyes of The Devil himself.

There was a powerful, almost suffocating aura surrounding The Boss. It was the kind of aura that a God had. The kind of aura that, whoever the poor bastard was on the receiving end of feeling, would end up dead if one didn't tread carefully.

"You better give me one good reason as to why I don't kill you right now, Asahina. I thought you would be good enough to deal with some Standless brat! How the HELL did he beat you!?" The Boss spat, his lips curled back in a snarl and his face leaning in close, closing the distance between the two as Asahina shook in pure terror.

"I-I... look, I had him on the ropes, he was going to lose! Literally, if what happened hadn't happened, I would've dealt with them! But then.... I don't know how to explain it. It was like one of those Deus ex machina tropes that you see in movies. The moment I had the brat on the ropes, six other souls popped out of him and suppressed Brittle Bones Nicky!

"They weren't Stands, either. They were actual souls, like, other people. None of them that I recognized. I was overwhelmed and defeated. I ran away because I was terrified of what would happen when Inko got out of that Suitcase! You know how my Stand works, Boss. Once someone escapes its ability, I can't use it again!" Nicholas explained, earning a raised eyebrow from The Boss, who completely ignored his last point. He was far more curious as to what those other souls were, and how they came to become part of his former employee's son.

"Hmm... tell me more about these, other souls. What did they look like?" The Boss questioned, leaning back into his chair as he crossed his arms, a scowl taking over his expression. Nicholas let out a shaky sigh, closing his eyes as he thought back to what he saw that day. It had been two weeks ago. His memory of that day had been shaky, and he had been trying to purposely forget it.

He really, really didn't want to face the wrath of his boss, but he knew it was going to come sooner or later, which only seemed to make it worse. However, now that he was in front of his boss, he wasn't about to bitch out just because he had been yelled at and threatened.

So, with that in mind, he took in a deep breath and forced himself to remember the eyes of that boy's multiple souls.

"They were shapeless. They looked like nothing but black globs with vague humanoid shapes. They were all physically more powerful than any Stand I have had the misfortune to go against. They had different coloured eyes. Green, blue, yellow, red, orange, etcetera. I don't think that matters. But one thing is for certain, they weren't Stands! As I said, they were souls," Nicholas explained as The Boss frowned.

"I see.... So, in other words. You lost to some bullshit powerup that you couldn't have foreseen?" The Boss spat, earning a meek nod from Nicholas. There was a brief silence between The Boss and Nicholas. For a split second, Nicholas believed that The Boss had forgiven him for his failure. But that had been a mistake.

His acceptance of the fact that he lost to a last-minute power-up only seemed to piss The Boss off more. At that moment, The Boss lunged forward and grabbed Nicholas by the neck, a deep, violent glare in his eyes. Nicholas began to choke, trying desperately to get some air into his lungs, clawing at The Boss's hands. Alas, it was for naught, as the more he struggled, the harder The Bosses grip became.

"You listen to me, and you listen to me well, Asahina! I do not give two Iotas of a FUCK what you lost to. You FAILED your mission. Instead of playing stupid games, you should've shot the kid in the head and been done with it. Instead, you fucked around and let him get the chance to beat you! I should KILL you for your incompetence!" The Boss growled as Nicholas's face turned purple, his eyes looking about ready to burst out of their sockets.