Idol Gunner [Yuri Villainess LitRPG]

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Jun Yamazaki

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18:52

Sakai Entertainment HQ

“That’s nice.” Yamazaki leaned out of the window, barely able to manage a whisper. “Tell grandma to take care, alright? And don’t trouble her too much.”

“What!? I never trouble her.” Clara complained. “It’s Fuyuki who always makes her do stuff, and now she’s not even here. I don’t do that…”

“Whatever you say.” He laughed. “I guess if it’s just you, then grandma won’t have any complaints when you come back, right?”

“Y-yeah!”

“That’s what I like to hear. She’s getting old, so you have to make sure you help her out. Now, give the phone back to your mother. There’s something I need to discuss.”

“Mumma is still in the other room. She said not to come in.”

“Hmm. Just open it and leave it inside. No need to stay there, alright? I’ll talk to you when you get back.”

“Uh…okie.”

A couple of sounds followed: Clara walking to the room in which her mother had locked herself, slowly opening the door, and then keeping it on the floor. She then said something that Yamazaki could not hear before closing the door behind. Sometime after that, a different set of footsteps walked up to the device and picked it up.

Rika sniffled, her voice cracking every other word. “What is wrong with all of you?”

“Rika…”

“I want you out of that building. I want my daughter out of that accursed house, and I want both of you right here at my mother’s place.”

“So that I can put your mother in danger as well?”

She held her silence at that. Walking over to the bed, she sat down. Wind whistled through the microphone, suggesting that she had been spacing out while looking through the window. Rika did that a lot when she was in a tough spot.

“What do you want me to do, Jun?” She asked, giving in to her emotions as the first few tears broke. “If I had…If I had just let her stay back then-”

“Don’t say that. It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I got into this field. I did this job even though I knew what was at stake.” He tried his best to convince himself. He tried his best to find a way out of his determination at the very end. “I should have stopped Naomi from getting into this. I…I would have done that if I knew what she was doing beforehand.”

“You would have known if you were ever at home, Jun!”

“I know. I know very well.”

“Just stay safe and come back. Please come back. Stop it, already. We’ll run away as far as you need. We’ll disappear and go to another country. I’ll sell all my father’s old stuff. I’m not putting anyone else in danger anymore, Jun. Not my kids. Not…you. I didn’t know things were this bad. Naomi…”

“Running won’t work, Rika. Trust me, I’ve seen people try. We’re dealing with something bigger than a simple company, alright? It’s impossible to get away when they’ve got eyes everywhere. And I’m done running away. The more you try to leave, the stronger these people get, Rika. The more you try to look away, the more you feed into what they want.”

“So what? You’re gonna stay there, is that it? You’re going to slave away for them until they…they kill you one day, too? I was at my mother’s place. I was having fun with my daughter. And then you tell me that Naomi has been shot. What do you want from me, Jun? You want me to hear that a second time, but for you instead?”

“No! No, that’s not going to happen. They aren’t mindless killers. This was calculated. This was planned. I’ve seen it, you see? I know who did this, and I know why they did this. And I’m…I’m not gonna let them do it to me. I’m not gonna let them do it to anyone else. I promise. I promise, Rika. They’re not gonna get away with it.” He let out a little, unhinged chuckle. Was it honest, or just a result of his overwhelming sadness? He did not know.

“Jun, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that…”

A sound behind him alerted him to Kelsey standing up. She had been resting in the darkness of her green room, watching the video of the meeting that Yamazaki had pulled up. Now, having watched it, she had a quiet, rather mundane expression on her face. She looked at him and whispered, Let’s go.

Fifteen minutes ago, she had tried to corner and stop him from stomping through the office. That had been out of curiosity about why Naomi hadn’t shown up this morning. Now, there was something else on the girl’s mind.

“Jun!” Rika snapped. “What are you saying!?”

“Nothing, Rika.” He shook his head and wiped his tears. “I’m fine. I’ll be alright. You’ve called Fuyuki, right? Send a cab and get her to your place. She should not be in danger, but it’s best for her to be with you right now.”

The poor girl had found out first. She had been informed by the security guard who came to their house to report the incident. She already had a fever, and now this.

“And what about you, Jun?”

“I’ll be fine.” He assured her a second time. “Don’t worry about me. It’s no big deal. Take care of the girls, and I’ll see you soon. I need to go for now. Some important work that I can’t delay anymore.”

“I…” She stopped herself from arguing any further. “You take care of yourself, please. And I want you in front of me in the next twenty-four hours.”

“I will be. Don’t worry. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He cut the call and kept the phone in his pocket. Adjusting his tie, he looked back at Kelsey and nodded. She handed him his second phone, and he put it in his back pocket. Right beside it, he felt the bulge of something else. Something that he did not want to think about too much just yet.

That was for a bit later.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked her.

“Are you really asking me that? Sounds like you’re the one wavering.”

He did not care enough to answer that doubtful question. So, Yamazaki just walked past her and opened the door. She stepped out first, and he followed her. The two of them changed their expressions to be a bit more neutral and started walking.

Despite being so familiar with these hallways, something bugged Yamazaki as he made his way through them. Every time someone looked at the two of them, he wondered if they had already been caught, and if the entire jig was already up. He wondered if his thoughts were being projected to every other person in the building, or if he had messed up somehow and let his intentions slip.

But alas, there was no escaping what he had decided upon.

There would be no grand speeches, no emotional declarations. There would be no time for thematic showdowns and climaxes. That was how this went. That was how this was meant to be. Pulling Kelsey into her dressing room and delivering the news had been the only big moment of the day. Otherwise, it was nothing but utter boredom. The same old day with a little bit of a spike.

That was how things were meant to be.

That was how Naomi would have wanted things to go. She always did hate loud noises and arguments. That day, when she had been asked to leave the house, she had done so without making a big deal out of it. One moment she was there, and the next she wasn’t. Naomi Yamazaki liked to keep people happy.

Was it because of her childhood? Was it because of how horrible it had been? Maybe she had learnt early on that the only way to survive was by giving, and not taking in return. That kept people happy, even if it cost you everything. Then she had given, and given, and given, until it reached a boiling point and she had nothing left to give.

The last thing she had decided to sell had been her own freedom and soul.

Only now had she gotten it back. Only now had he, after so long, seen his sister’s smiling face once more. A few minutes ago, he had been blaming himself for letting Naomi get this job, but he hated that idea now. The two of them stopped in front of Sakai’s office and looked at each other. Naomi had loved working with these girls. Being able to take care of Kelsey had been a gift to her.

Kana, Jina, and Chika had treated her just like she wanted to be treated – as just another person.

Kelsey opened the door, and the two of them stepped in. Sakai, with his feet on the table, had a cigar in his mouth. He looked at the two of them, and dread hijacked his face.

“Look, guys.” He put the cigar down and spread his arms to calm them down. “We all make decisions, and my hand was forced. It was difficult, but I had to do it. I’ll make it up to both of you, I promise. Kelsey, I’ll get you the best possible replacement, alright? And, uh…you. What are y-”

Yamazaki took out his second phone, walked up to the man’s desk, and slammed it on the table. Kelsey followed him, similarly wordless, and watched as he played the video recording of the meeting he had extracted and waited.

Sachiyo Tanaka suggested Naomi’s name to her uncle, and he suggested it to Sakai. In response, the CEO scratched his beard for a few seconds and then shrugged.

“Fine. That makes ten. We’re good, right?” was all he said in his defence.

“Alright…” Sakai sighed, pushing the phone back towards him and tapping the screen. “How about you play the rest of it? The part where they bullied me into saying all that, huh? They drove me into a corner, and I had no choice. Look, I am as angry as you are. I understand your pain. I also lost ten good people who were doing excellent work, didn’t I? If you have to be angry, be angry at the damn Coalition, Yamazaki.”

He sighed.

In the end, that was all he could do. There was no anger in him anymore. There was no fear. There was no anxiety. He looked at the fat bastard in front of him and felt nothing except pity for how pathetic his existence was. He felt sad about how some people were just incapable of being better.

“That’s all they were to you?” Kelsey walked up and pushed the files off his table. Leaning over the table, shaking with anger, she grabbed the man by his collars. Spitting in his face with every word she shouted, she continued. “Ten good people who did excellent fucking work? That’s all they were to you!? Bring them back. Bring them back, you slime.”

Before she knew it, she had already started shaking him. With one strong pull, she slammed the man’s head against the table, and he groaned, trying his best to break free of the hold.

“Bring them all back, Sakai. Go on. Replace the people I actually want.” She frothed. “Bring Naomi-san back. Bring RiRi back. Bring Sanada back. Bring my fucking friends back. Replace them if you can. Can you? Can you, Sakai!?”

“L-look…” The man slurred his words before being slammed into the table once more. Sticky red blood slipped out of his lips, and then his nose. “Look, I am trying my best to ha-”

“I don’t want your apologies!” Kelsey held his head and purposefully pushed it into the table. Her anger slowly morphed into ugly crying. Her words changed into mumbles and incomprehensible ramblings. “I’m tired. I’m so tired. Stop it. Please, stop it. I’m done. Leave me alone. Give me my people, Sakai. Give them back. Let me go. Just fucking stop it!”

Before she could hit him once more, though, Yamazaki put a hand on her wrist and stopped her. She looked at him, face covered in tears, and mouthed something he could not make out. Pulling her back, he shook his head and tried his best to comfort her with a pat on her head. She wasn’t all that old, after all. About ten years older than Fuyuki, sure. But she was still younger than him.

By virtue of being his superior, he had always let her do what she wanted. But the truth was that he never could stop himself from looking at these girls for who they truly were. To him, they would always be like more younger sisters he wanted to look after.

“Make too much noise, and people will show up,” Yamazaki whispered. “We don’t want that.”

“Huh?” Sakai mumbled, looking up through the blood dripping from his face.

Yamazaki quietly let Kelsey walk back as he took out the pistol in his back pocket. It was a standard-issue weapon that Sakai had given to him to protect himself if people came knocking. Not that Jun had ever felt like using it.

Sakai looked at the silenced barrel pointed at him and spat some blood out. “What do you thi-”

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

That was all Yamazaki counted. He shot six times, at least.

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Closing the door behind them, Yamazaki and Kelsey quietly started walking away from the room. The other workers went about their day as if nothing had changed.

There was no doubt that they would be caught. It was just a matter of time. But time was all they needed. Enough time for them to make a plan.

But as they reached the elevator and it opened, both of them found it difficult to think. In front of them, stepping out with a smile, was Masaru Abe.

“Ah, Maeda-san.” He pushed forward his hand for a shake. “How are you?”

She shakily took it and shook. “Y-yeah. I’m fine.”

“Fine. Fine, yeah. That’s good.” He shook it and then pulled back. “Anyway, I’m running late. I’m supposed to be meeting your boss and all that. Hopefully I’m not in too much trouble, right?”

Instead of waiting for an answer, he just laughed and walked away with confidence. Something like this had been planned, hadn’t it? They had decided to call Abe to the building today. It had been to sneakily sign over the ownership of the house to him. That had been the plan.

Yamazaki and Kelsey hurried into the elevator and closed it. The last luxury they had was gone already. He tried his best to calm himself, whispering that it was going to be alright. Kelsey bit her nails, equally stressed and waiting for the doors to open.

Once they did, the two of them quickly got out and made a run for the car outside. On the way, Yamazaki did the only thing he could. He pulled out his phone and called Kana Minami.