Chapter 6: Benedict Alessio Part 2

The clouds touch past the wings as the plane slightly lowers in altitude, as the golden sunlight of the afternoon passes through the windows illuminating the insides of the plane in the warm glow. Benedict Alessio stood unfazed in the aisle of empty VIP seats and couches, taking in the scene. His attention turned to the man seated directly in front of him. "Haven't they been there before?" Alessio murmured to the manager of the mangaka Nagai. "I didn't see them there before... They're not even reacting." The stranger only put his foot on his lap staring at his face with an impassive expression that Alessio could read, and he felt unsettled by an inscrutable quality he couldn't quite read beneath the surface. Something about the man's stillness gave him pause, though he couldn't say why. Tatsu's hands grabbed him by the ends of his sleeves. Whether it was distrust of what Alessio was about to do or whether it was the sudden concern Alessio felt, Tatsu suddenly felt responsible. "Calm down, Alessio. Benedict, calm down." Tatsu shook his head. Alessio's eyes, already dull from carbon monoxide exposure, now teared up and flickered again like the light of a flickering. Alessio's headache was worsening by the minute. Through blurred vision, he saw one of the strange passengers idly playing with the intricately designed cane. Their blue eyes met his again briefly, as if studying him but he broke them as soon as his head ached. His stare shifted from them to the manager, who was now giving orders to the attendants. Alessio glanced at his feet, unable to formulate a response.

"Sir, are you all right?" asked the flight attendant, leaning down with concern. "You've gone so pale - your lips and cheeks have lost all color. Can I get you some water and painkillers?"

"Sir, are you all right?" asked the flight attendant with concern. "You've gone so pale - your lips and cheeks have lost all color. Can I get you some water or painkillers?" Alessio nodded weakly. As the attendant hurried off, the manager leaned in. "See here, those aren't normal travelers. Better not draw their attention any more than you have." Tatsu muttered under his breath. 

When the attendant returned with medicine, Alessio downed it gratefully. After a few minutes, the pain began to subside. He looked again at the peculiar passengers, but they seemed lost in quiet conversation. Alessio's sight became clear as Tatsu placed his hand on his eyes and removed it. Two presences settled on the back of the plane, their eyes in the sharpest royal blue color as their peacock-like stature emphasized more of their presence. A jolt of pain suddenly ran through his body which made his breath hitch yet he ignored it. He thought it must be his bodily reaction to planes—airplane sickness despite having already taken some medicine this happened again. Alessio leaned against the wall, trying to grab onto anything to keep himself steadfast, but the extra passengers looked at him as his respective hands clutched his head, trying to ease the pain.

"Haven't they been there before?" He chuckled, ignoring his confusion.

"You attacked abruptly towards me without any question, and now you're just standing?" The manager disapprovingly shook his head at Alessio's interpretation as he slumped back on the couch. He let go of his hand and sighed. "And what's with you repeating those questions?" The two presences shifted forward, moving their eyes away from Alessio as if he wasn't worth their attention. One of them gripped onto a long wooden cane with a man carrying a world on his end at the end. The other one had a plain white long-sleeved blouse and a deep hue of black slacks with little to no embellishment.

"If I were you, you should ask who they are," Tatsu replied coldly, back to being emotionless as soon as the two presences stared at him. Was it out of fear? "And please refrain from talking out loud, Alessio." 

"They aren't even involved in this situation." Alessio laughed as he approached the mangaka who was slumped on the ground. Despite seeing them suddenly appear right at the back, he blocked his thoughts with reality in front of his face. "They have nothing to do with this. My head is just feeling all dizzy." Tatsu tilted his head slightly, biting his lip. 

"You've already seen them appear out of nowhere, and you're still blaming it on this mangaka?" The manager sighed exasperatedly. 

"Listen to yourself talking like this. Stop denying their existence, Alessio."

Tatsu had learned about Benedict Alessio's past during the meetings at the table — Alessio, aged 19 did impressive things in his childhood despite him having been born with a golden spoon on his tongue. Raised by the nuns of a convent dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and with that, Alessio had almost all the free things going on around him, such as his tuition being deducted, and the allowance they gave him when he studied at their catholic private school. He excelled at various skills and talents, in all subjects aside from physical education which he notoriously hates along with the rumors of him shutting down his teacher's opinionated guesses. That's why he took dance classes and to everyone's surprise, he was also excellent at that. Tatsu thought about how he was described in their yearbook as multitalented despite him being gone from the lineup of the honor roll. Although people have said that it was because he was raised by the nuns, a malicious gossip about it the truth is Alessio never seemed to mind it, at least that's what they had gathered. Despite being raised with self-control as he aged he seemed to choose impulsivity over control. 

Tatsu mentally noted these facts when he read his background, that he could be the at least seventy percent perfect person he had ever come across. 

The table had already set eyes on him too to give him an opportunity to this kid. Tatsu thought about it too but with the people with him at the table, his concern was Alessio's sanity, what action this 'kid' could take, and what the table asked him to do.

Tatsu had already decided to take fate into his hands and expose Alessio to this. 

"You have nothing to do with this right?" Alessio tried to regain his balance and stood to look at them. His hands felt numb and his head pulsed with a pain he hadn't known until now. He looked at them and tried to move but he couldn't. Something fell out of his mouth — blood. 

"Don't blame other people for your faults. We're just passengers here. We are not accountable for anything that is your fault." The two people shook their heads in unison.

Alessio couldn't help but chuckle. "Right. I'm going insane." 

"Think logically and critically."

"Any of you two are doctors?" 

"No." 

"Then what are you two doing here?" 

"We're just investors that decided to join this flight."

Fuck. I think I'm going insane. 

"Manager, are you sure they have something to do with Nagai?" The manager only sat on the couch and chewed on some nicotine gum. 

"If I were you, let's focus on the mangaka's condition. We have to do an emergency landing." The nurse said as she stood and approached the pilot before Alessio could say anything to her. 

Alessio? What are you going to do?

"Hey! Are you sure you have nothing to do with the mangaka's condition?" He walked towards them ready to grab any of them and throw their hands. 

"We're innocent! We're just investors here!" Alessio's mind was consumed with confusion, fear, and an overwhelming desire. He couldn't help but notice the raw power emanating from the two enigmatic passengers. The pain in his head intensified, driving him to the brink of madness.

"Investors? Investor mo mukha mo." [Investors? Investors in your face] With a sudden burst of fuming anger, Alessio lunged towards the investors, his body fueled by a primal instinct he couldn't explain. His hands reached out, ready to grab them and unleash his pent-up frustration with a punch on the man with the cane's face. 

"You say you're innocent investors, but I can sense there's something more to you," he said, his voice laced with a hint of annoyance. The man with a cane faces with force Alessio's fist to be pressed down on his arm, as he looks at him in annoyance. He heard his bones crack right in front of him, as his bones broke. The man with a cane grunted in annoyance as he faced him cracking even more of Alessio's bones, twisting his arm with just moving his face. 

"We're just investors here," he emphasized each of his words. "We didn't do anything against you. Why are you pulling my patience?" He is calmly added. "We're just investors," replied the other man as he lifted his left hand as though he was going to touch Alessio, but when his hand was Alessio swiftly pulled his hand away from his face. Despite having pain, Alessio never screamed about it. Whether it was the instinct to hide his feelings or just his reaction, his mouth didn't speak any groans or words about the pain of his broken bones, nor he didn't move. He just looked shocked at them, still standing unfazed. The man rubbed the globe of what Atlas was holding, "Benedict Alessio, right? Your behavior isn't something that should be tolerated like that. Especially if they signed you in. Haven't you read your contract clearly, Mr. Alessio? You're a signed author that allowed the face appearance." 

"I'm an independent artist. I have no contract holding my thoughts back." 

"That's good for you," Tatsu whispered under his breath, relieved. He wasn't that much of a landmine. This could be good. 

"Then how did you get a seat here?" Tatsu gulped while listening to the confrontation between those two and Alessio. Benedict Alessio didn't pay anyone.

"I got here with a ticket," he answered calmly. The stranger tapped the globe of Atlas as if he were contemplating his words. "You! How did the investors get on the same plane as the mangakas? That's kinda very intrusive huh" Alessio waved his finger as if he was saying"no "."How did you get your tickets then?" Again he waved his hand waving the finger. Tatsu watched the exchange in silence and wondered whether Alessio was even sane enough to know what he was doing. 

"The CEO allowed us to join here since we have a great share in their company."

"Ah."

"KGHk" a loud choking noise came from behind Alessio. "Ale-ss-io." Nagai. It was Nagai. His eyes are slightly open as he looks at the back. "Why are you noisy? Why are you talking to space?" He turns his head to look back. 

"Alessio." fingers sunk on his shoulder from his front and a lull of voice, "Benedict Alessio. Do not prod to other businesses. We're just investors here." Alessio chuckled. Was it because of surprise? Was it because of fear? Or does he still feel it? Tatsu doesn't have any idea. He was just a person who was just part of the round table and happened to know some people who brought him in. What does he know about Alessio and these men? Alessio is the one he barely knows but there are many about these men. He knows enough that makes the hairs on his arms stand a little. The stranger with the cane, Tatsu recognized, was none other than the one he saw at the airport earlier today. What does he want? Tatsu knew better than to ask him. There'll surely be a price attached to his question.

"How much did you invest in this publishing company?" Alessio asked in all seriousness with a serious facial expression.

"Enough to keep our stockholders happy. They are quite generous." 

"That's not answering the question." 

"80 percent of shares are ours, Benedict."

"80?" Nagai's eyes widened. "You own 80 percent? It's like you already owned the company!" 

"Hah! What a nice way to earn money." the young artist, Alessio's lips smiled. "It's like you already owned the company. 80? Big shares." he then directed his words to Nagai. "Nagai, the company you are working for looks like it's in debt." He chuckles and turns back his attention to the one who grabbed him by the shoulder. 

"Benedict Alessio...independent artist with no contracts or strings attached." his hand once more grabbed him on his shoulders. "I can't help but wonder what game you're playing by approaching me and asking about my status in the company." 

"You see I am a newbie artist. I need a company that would push me through the limelight along with the authors that are known. I wouldn't mind making a deal."

"An impulsive artist making a deal? Too interesting." 

"Hey! Hey! What the hell?! What are you talking about Alessio?" the mangaka complained as he scrambled on and pulled the hems of Alessio's pants crawling to pull his leg. "Don't make a deal with him. Don't make a deal with the company." 

Author's note (01/04/2024)

I am terrified of my 1st-year college self. That person has all that rage within them and is just boiling within and not scared of pointing out people's wrongdoings even if they're in a much higher position than them. I'm terrified of them as if they are all those pent-up anger in their silence. I wouldn't like to meet them. I've watched thus spoke Rohan Kishibe's live-action drama recently and around the time Rohan was contemplating "Curiosity Kills the Cat" I thought about the guy I worked with in college and was reminded of how Rohan's hairstyle is similar to his. 

*strange itch*