Katya Edition: Second Edition

Nineteenth Corpse: The Unwilling Withdrawal

❝This isn't goodbye forever, ya know.❞

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Nineteenth Corpse | The Unwilling Withdrawal

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[Z-day +4 | Apr. 18 | 10:21hrs]

"I don't know who gave you that joke," I said with a fake smile, "But it's not funny."

I shrugged Thomson's arm off of my shoulder and stepped toward the buggy.

"It's not a joke, it's what I was ordered to do," Thomson stated, voice devoid of all previous humour and mischief. His tone gave me pause and I turned to face him.

His face said it all. He wasn't lying.

"The Don already tasked me with protecting Katya," Shiki said tightly, stepping in front of me.

"I never said he was the one who ordered me, now did I?" Thomson said plainly, arching an eyebrow at Shiki before his eyes flickered to me, "Give the princess some credit, she got over herself and talked her mother into sending me with you."

My eyes widened. Saya was the one responsible for it? I didn't know whether to feel touched or irritated. Why Thomson of all people?

"Now if you really want to avoid your merry band of weirdos, then we should get a move on," Thomson said, getting into the driver's seat of the buggy. "Come on."

The moment he finished speaking, there was a shout of my name and I looked heavenward with a groan of exasperation.

Several moments later my 'band of weirdos' were all there, staring at me with a mixture of betrayal and disappointment.

"Hi," I said, giving a lame little wave. "Fancy seeing all of you here," I narrowed my eyes at Saya accusingly.

She held up her hands in surrender before discreetly pointing behind them.

Her parents were bringing up the rear, with Yoshioka--one of the Don's retainers--and Tate--the guy with the wildly colored hair who hung around Thomson, trailing after them.

"Miss Rivera," the Don called out to me, "I wasn't aware you hadn't told your comrades of your plans to leave."

So that's what happened.

Yuriko gave me an apologetic glance, "I tried to warn him not to mention anything but my husband was never one for subtlety. My warning flew right over his head."

The Don actually looked embarrassed for a split second but then the moment passed and I was left to wonder if I'd just imagined it after all.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Quinton growled, stomping up to me angrily. "Going out into this shithole of a world on your own? Really?!"

"I wasn't going out on my own," I defended, feeling like a child being scolded by their parent for misbehaving, "Shiki and Thomson were going with me." I threw in Thomson hoping it would help my case if I showed that I had enough backings.

If anything, I think Quinton looked twice as pissed off as before. He let out a short angry laugh, turning away from me and running his hand through his already messy brown hair. When those furious hazel eyes swung back my way, I was hard pressed to keep from flinching. "So, let me get this straight," he bit out, "Rather than trust in us, your friends and the people who've had your back since this thing started, you choose to rely on an arrogant fückboy and some random creep with stalker tendencies--neither of whom you know jackshit about!"