Chapter 166: Hi Ma. [1/2]
Aki Miroku, she was a shinobi clad in violet robes. One of the Formless I met in the Enlistment and an extremely powerful combatant. Has an extremely sexy onee-san type voice from hentai. And loyal to her master like a stereotypical ninja in anime.
"Ah, so it's Aki. Yes, I know her. Is she with you right now? I'll come over right away."
All my worries disappeared when I knew the identity of the unknown person. Aki was upright and had a sense of justice. Even though she was not related, she treated Robyn like a sibling, even going so far as to risk dying for her.
'Why was she here though? Maybe Bella put her up to this? When I asked the other girls, they didn't give me a straight answer. The girls were very secretive when I asked them why they were in Japan at all. I should ask them later.'
[Well, look at that, your voice perked up after hearing her name. Well, she is fine as hell, but dipshit, you will tell me everything later when you get home, are we clear?]
"Yes, Mrs. Simmons."
[What? No Ma? This little dipshit needs a beating.]
In contrast to the calm peace I got from Earl, Noelle was like a hurricane, but such a force was comforting when it was on your side. Since she had always wanted sons, she adopted me by force when I continued to hang out at her house.
She tried to teach me kickboxing, but I didn't have any talent for it. Though most of the time she just beat my ass under the guise of sparring. If my dad was the reason I needed to grow up tough, Noelle was the reason I could do it.
"Got it. See you later, Ma."
[Hmph. Don't be late! Oy, here is your phone back! Madam! Please stop throwing things! ]
Then I heard the clerk checking to see if I was still on the line.
[Mr. Limitless, about this woman...]
"Thank you for indulging her, I will send you a gift later. And tell your boss about your excellent service."
[Oh! You don't have to, but if you insist! It was an honor, Mr. Limitless, I am Nathan]
"Okay, thank you Nathan."
Now that I knew it was Aki, I wasn't worried about the safety of my second family. But I still wanted to see how she was, so I was about to book an Uber when I remembered something.
"Aren't I faster than a car now? And people can't even see me. Why do I even need an Uber?"
[Limitless, I would advise against running with your {Fates}. While you will not show up on any electronic surveillance, the death resonance would not be able to prevent people outside of its range from seeing you].
"Eh?"
[Also, please note that while it is impossible to record you in particular, the consequences of your actions are not. For example, the gust of wind you would create, or the sonic booms that would follow if you ran at top speed].
"But there's no reason to be quiet, is there?"
[No, the Reapers do not explicitly forbid the use of {Fates} for such matters. However, this assumes that you do not mind notifying every Reaper in the area of your presence. Most Reapers wouldn't care, but spies for Trinity or assassins would].
"I see."
It seemed that my thoughts were too basic. It was true that following the rules of humans was annoying, but it allowed us to blend in and remain undetected. The {Fates} were so vast, it would be foolish to say that there wasn't a {Fate} that could learn my identity.
"Thank you, Exa. You prevented me from doing something foolish."
[It is my honor to be of assistance, Limitless].
Following Exa's advice, I simply chose to take a taxi and traveled to the Simmons residence. When I arrived, I saw Noelle standing in their driveway, watching the cars go by. She was quite tall, but not as tall as Earl, with dark skin a shade lighter and a lot of muscle.
At almost six feet, she was usually mistaken for an Amazon. Her active lifestyle kept her extremely fit with hardly any body fat. Well, except for her bosom, ass, and thighs. My second ma was extremely curvy in the places that mattered.
Noelle Simmons had her arms crossed and had an imposing figure as she observed me. She usually worked as a part-time elementary school teacher in the neighborhood.
As a result, she knew almost everyone and had a circle of housewives that operated almost like a spy network. Said surveillance network was probably how she found out I was back in Phoenix.
When I got out of the cab, I tried to keep my nervousness in check as I made my way up to her. Normally, she would hit me for being too fat, or whatever reason she had for that day.
But when it came down to it, I knew this woman was in my corner. That was the one thing I never doubted.
I was wearing my black suit, so I should have been at least presentable. Noelle eyed me sharply as I stood in front of her.
"Hi Ma."
A greeting like that was awkward as hell. I hoped she would just slap me to get over it. But instead, Noelle hugged me tightly.
"Welcome home, dipshit. I was so worried when you didn't even call after all this time. I'm glad you're okay."
A little emotional, her voice sounded like it was tearing up. I silently returned her hug without saying a word. Then Noelle gently pushed me away and began to study my face.
"Time has not been kind to you, has it? And you look so thin! Why are they starving you? I ought to give Aki a talking to."
Hearing Noelle's words, I choked up a little. In the time we spent apart, I led a fruitless life and died a miserable death. Then I became a Reaper and have been fighting tooth and nail ever since.
I fought so much that people thought I was a demon. If Noelle knew about the things I did, would she be angry? Would she still accept me as her son? If I told her it was to survive, would that make things acceptable?