Welcome to America (4/4)

At this point Noro didn't even try to mask her actions, lifting a surprisingly dainty arm to her ear, pressing into a device I could vaguely make as a transmitter. Then she rubs her face before finally deigning to look back at me again.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I believe you."

I simply nod in response, at least they got this part cleared out, finally, we can move into matters that are actually important.

"By the way, what's your actual name?" Noro who had calmed down from whatever attack of anger had struck the both of us before, was back to acting laid back just like when she entered the room.

No, that was a lie. There was still anger in her posture, but this time it was different, like a sizzling coal compared to the burning pyre she looked like before.

"Storm." Was my quick reply.

"Kid I already saw your face, you ain't gonna need to hide behind an alias. What's your real name?" Noro let out a snort, crossing her arms below her - admittedly impressive - bust, and tipping her head my way.

At my confused glance, she just sighed.

"Ugh, guess I'll go first, my name is Maki Zenin." Ah so Noro wasn't her real name, smart, with her ability to change superficial features it would be quite difficult to connect Noro to Maki, specially the way her hair elongated.

Wonder what her real appearance was, the burned one, or the immaculate in front of him?

While I would love to reciprocate the trust she was willing to show me, I don't have one. Or better yet, I've been called Storm for so long that it had become my name.

She was looking expectantly at me, but the words were stuck in my throat.

There was no hesitation, after all, I already thought about this.

The same eyes, the same voice, and the very same way as when I told her on our first meeting, simply moments after being dropped into another world.

I couldn't hide from this, I accepted this mission for a new chapter in my live, not wash my hands of what I had done on the previous one. After all I had been the one who massacred the army of the Egyptian Tyrant, the one who terrorized the Soviet Army to be regarded as a legend, a Merc with such incredible feats that the people compared you to a living catastrophe.

The Black Storm.

"Hasifa,"

Once again, Maki scrunched her face as she listened to whatever came from the communicator, probably people informing her what the word meant.

She burst out laughing soon after, "Hahahahaha! Naming your cape self after your real one? Maybe we have more in common than I thought, brat."

Oh? I didn't really see how Noro had any connection with Maki Zenin, but no one ever accused me of being multilingual.

Inclining my head towards her, face impasse "Questions?"

Well, the whole interview had been derailed but fortunately after calming down things seemed to go back on track.

Picking up some paper from the files thrown around the table, she finally found one that apparently contained the questions needed for the interview.

Noro asked me basic questions, most of which I had no fucking idea how to answer to.

"Family?" "Dead." "Ah, sorry." Her face immediately grimaced, what a great way to start this interview.

"Living relatives?" "Don't know."

"Previous residence?" "Always moving."

"Where have you procured your arms?" "Bodies." There had been a slight pause before she continued.

"How did you travel?" "Satan, sent me." Another pause, this time she took her eyes off the paper and shot me a doubtful frown, before thinking some more and nodding to herself.

"Level of education?" "…know guns?" At my answer she didn't even seem surprised, simply looking up at the ceiling and counting to ten under her breath.

"What do you plan to do now?"

That question caught me off guard. What was the plan now, after all? My mission has been given by Not Satan to live my life how I want.

"Warmth."

"…what?"

"Saving, warm. Save more, and more. It's warm." There was conviction in my tone, not only telling Maki, but also myself. This was the choice made by the Black Storm. I couldn't wash my hands of the blood of the people I killed, but I could use these bloody hands to save as many people as I could.

And then perhaps I could continue to feel that same warmth again.

And Maki gives me a gentle smile. Her face was beautiful, but I still believed she looked better without taking away the burns and scars.

"Thank you for cooperating Hasifa, even if the start went a bit shaky," That was putting it mildly, "However because of some, uhm, underlying issues of your stay here, I believe that you don't have a place to stay." Huh, she wasn't looking at me anymore, going back to reading the paper with my face on it, it seemed like she was trying to make an excuse not to look at me.

"Yes, no place." The unfortunate side effect of arriving in a completely new world, all my safehouses, all my temporary holds, were now completely lost.

Shit, my fucking food supply, dammit completely forgot about my previous resources. This is gonna be such a pain, hopefully food isn't as scarce here as it was in my last world, all these advanced buildings and how well people are dressed are giving me some hope.

You can normally find how well the livings standards of a place is by analyzing the citizens living in said place. Up until now I hadn't seen anyone with ragged clothes, which was incredible to be honest, but also gave me the hope that I would be able to find some preserved food for the next few days.

Hmmm, wonder if they had fresh bread? Its been a few months since you had clean ones.

As if to make a point, my stomach decided that now it was the right moment to groan, the pain stabbed through me but nothing showed in my face, even if I felt slightly embarrassed as Maki raised an eyebrow at me.

She hummed for a few moments before speaking again, "What do you think about bunking with me until the eggheads know what to do with you?"

There was a lot of shouting behind the glass, and the earpiece she was wearing came to life to the point that even I could hear the words they were speaking.

"Noro what do you think you're doing?!" Did she go against protocol for some reason? I was familiar with the fact that unknown variables were normally held in cells that aren't currently being used, it was a practice and law in various countries I've been in. 

She ignored them, looking at me, "So? You decide, stay in a mingy cell here, or crash at my place."

It wouldn't be my first time in a cell, nor the first time I would willingly place myself inside a prison, though this time it wasn't because my target had been inside of it. This time it was mostly because I didn't want my first meeting with the authorities of this world to be a bad occasion.

It didn't matter, because looking into the unflinching eyes of the woman before me, I felt my heart quicken.

I simply point at Maki.

She nods and stands up, reaching towards me she grabs the metal handcuffs, curling her fingers into the ridges and pointing away from my hands.

With a slight flex, the metal snaps like it was made out of plastic, and I'm are free to go.

How incredibly frightening, the sheer effortless on her person as she bended metal drove a vital point. And also another thing that I couldn't quite place, but it was a weird sensation, made my body feel strange.

The shouts seemed to grow even louder, but I ignored them since Maki wasn't doing anything.

She turns around and beckoned me to follow her, which you do without a word falling into step right behind her. Simply giving me a glance over the shoulder as I stepped a bit behind her to the side but nothing else.

Then Maki opens the door out of the room which kept me for the last two hours, and the shouts become clearer.

Opening to a corridor with what I assumed to be more interrogation rooms, we walked a bit more into a open area with various people panickily moving about. They seemed to freeze as I stepped outside the hall.

"What do you think you are doing Noro?! This goes-" A large man, dressed in a white coat that opened in the middle, black shirt with black pants, came striding forward with two armed men at his side. A single badge in his chest showed that he was a member of this organization, so I stopped myself from lashing out in any malicious way.

"Move Steward, the kids' been held in that room for two hours, we're going to grab something to eat." She continued to walk undeterred, however, the thin man didn't move and the act made the men at his side tense.

Their eyes met each other, and Maki spoke again "He's just a kid,"

Conflict clearly appeared on his eyes, the man clenching his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. Then the eyes opened, and directed them right to me.

As if timing it perfectly, my stomach growled for sustenance once again. And that seemed to do it, his shoulders slouched as he breathed out deeply.

They held on to their positions for a bit before the thin man groaned, throwing his hands up and turning away from her "Welp, nothing to fucking see here apparently, c'mon, gotta clean up this mess before it gets out of hand. I better not see a single mandate on my desk by nightfall!"

Huh, he seemed like a person who wasn't sincere about what he wanted to say. What a weird guy.

It became imidiatelly obvious why he said that phrase out loud, because soon everyone in the building relaxed. Did he say that on purpose to calm all employees?

Taking my mind of that train of thoughts, I simply decide to follow Maki, since apparently no one could stand before her. Was she a higher in the chain of command? She did say something about Protectorate, so maybe it was a higher title.

Opening the door to the outside of the building, my eyes almost go blind by the lights all around the city. Even with the sun already down, it was as if it never went away from the sheer amount of lights illuminating the city.

Something in my heart thumps in sadness, as if it was an old friend visiting the graveyard of their comrade.

Deeply within my heart, I know the name of this place, that somehow brought this sadness.

New York, the city that never sleeps.