《Transient Fire Works》Prologue to Chapter 16: An unexpectedly cold person

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The familiar person stopped right in front of me holding her hands to her mouth in shock. In front of me was an old acquaintance that I've known for quite some time since my middle school years. Though we only spoke once or twice every week, we still remembered each other faces. But I am not sure if she could still remember me as for who I am now. I mean, the angel of light said that my face gotten better after three months worth of rest. I also have blue hair now as well and not to mention the change in my eyes. If she does come to me and ask if I was Jin, then I would have to act as a different person. If she recognized me, then I would have no need to ask.

"Eh? Is that you Jin?" the girl asks me.

I was quite shocked to see that she could still recognize me! I kept a calm face and said nothing to her.

"Ah ha! No way Jin could be as handsome as you! I'm sorry. I must've gotten the wrong guy" She laughed. "Jin's face looked much more haggard than yours and has darker circles around his eyes.

........ Acting time....

"Whoa wait a minute. You know Jin?" I said.

"I-is there a problem sir?" The girl was shaking once she heard my voice.

"Of course. I'm one of his friends" I told her.

"He had a friend!?" She voiced out her surprised in an exaggerated way.

The corner of my mouth twitched when I heard her surprised voice. "Now, what are you trying to say?" I raise my eyebrow to show that I felt disdained against her recent words.

"Oh its nothing. It's just that Jin never really calls anyone his friend. Most people faked and tired being his friends out of pity in middle school you see." She quickly answers back in all honesty. I could tell that she tried to be my friend as well but it too was out of pity.

I closed my eyes, turns back towards the house, looked upward to my old room and sighed. "*Sigh* He has friends. Just a few."

"I see. Well that's good. But how come I haven't seen you at his graduation ceremony or his funeral? Weren't you his friend?" She asks me. As I've remembered, I saw that there were a few people I could not recognize visiting me along with my family. She was not one of those people.

For some strange reasons, I was angry and the air around me fluctuated violently temperature-wise. "You should not have a right to ask me that because I did not see you there." the words coldly came out of my mouth.

I reopen my eyes and turn back to the girl. She was shaking significantly the moment her eyes met mines. Fear captured her body and she looked like she wanted to cry.

"Sorry. As his friend, I was angry that I could not get to his funeral on time. I had things to do and I came a much later compared to many other people. But I've seen those who've walked out of the funeral. You've must been one of those people who left early. Forgive my sudden out burst." I apologized to her for scaring her.

This calmed her down a bit and she was able to speak again but still stuttering. "I-It's nothing. As I've said, Jin rarely has friends and I really don't know what type of person he had as a friend. I was a little curious and so I went a little out of line."

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"It's fine. I just more of a friend than most people are. You can say that we were closer than family." I said to her.

"W-wait... A-are you guys... y-you know?" she stutters.

"We are not gay... We were blood brothers by promise. But... The story behind us being blood brothers is a little long" I lied.

"Oh... Blood brothers? Now that is a nice surprise. But what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that little lady. What business do you have here?"

"Me? I live here!" She answers.

"Are you lying to me?" I frowned in a friendly way.

"... I don't like being called a liar" She said flatly. She walks up to the house, pulls out a key and opens the door. She turns back to me whirling the key around like a toy.

"*Hmph...* Alright then." I smirk at her funny attitude. "But can I ask you about Jin's family? Whatever happened to them? Do you know where they are?"

"Well, they sold me the house and moved far. I believe they live another state in the country side. They are about a ten hour drive from here if you were wondering. Here, I'll give you the directions and location to their house" She said to me. She pulls out a piece of paper and doodled all over it. She then hands it to me once she was done.

'How do people know so much about me?.... Never mind. I should go when I have some real free time to confirm things' I thought to myself.

"Is there anything else you need sir?" she said.

"Ah nothing. Thanks for everything." I smiled warmly and was about to leave.

"Wait! I didn't get your name. Do you mind telling me before you leave?" she shyly said.

"Me? Uhh... Can I not tell my name? I'm afraid that it sounds uncool" I pretended to be embarrassed and scratches the back of my head.

"Oh.... Well thats fine then. Here is my number and tell whenever you feel like you want to tell me your name" She quickly said. She pulls out a slip of paper with her name and number on it which made my insides twitch. On it, the name Diamond Leitner.

I didn't want her name or number. But I was not going to reject her like an ice man. So I took the paper with a smile and bowed. As I rose back up from the bow, I felt a shadow behind me on my back.

I turn to see who it was behind me and it was a few people in suits. Five to be exact. But the funniest thing was that every single person who wore suits wore a different color suit with a lot of .... derogatory words written all over them. Mostly towards themselves saying, 'I'm the b*tch' which was kind of hilarious.

They ignored me and glared at the woman next to me. She ran right behind me in fright of the five. She held onto my clothes tightly gripping it with sweaty palms. I do not know what was going on between her and the five men, but it was none of my business. I shrugged off her grip and coldly said, "Don't touch me." I was still acting after all. I didn't want the slightest chance of being exposed. But my recent actions caused the five men to grin.

"Sorry little man. We have some business with that lady. If you could kindly move, we won't cause you trouble." One of the five men warned. He was tall man, about seven foot tall with mow-hawk hairstyle in colors of flames. Actually, all the men were around the same height of 6'8" to 7 feet at max. To others, it may look cool. But to me, it looks like a walking rooster.

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"Alright." I coolly said. and got out of their way. This shocked both sides. They expected for me to be more of a gentleman. "Heh... smart move. Glad to see that there are still some smart and spineless people in the world" the mow-hawk man snorted. The five men inches closer to the woman and pressured her with their number of people. Her desperate eyes turned to me but I looked away acting as if it was nothing.

"I knew it! All men like you are good for nothing!" She screams.

"Alright lady. Time to pay up. It's past the deadline." Another man said. This man had blue hair just like me but... his hairstyle was combed back looking like a duck's butt.

She bit her lower lips not knowing what to say.

"Do you have the money?" the blue haired man ask once more.

"I... Don't have it..." She finally says.

"Don't have it? Lady! You do know that you still owe us twenty grand right?" The blue haired man got into her face to say these words.

'Twenty grand? Where can she get that money from? I hope that she did not borrow money from these guys.' I pitied her.

"I'll give you a deal. Since it was your boyfriend that got you into this mess, I'll help you out. You can work for us for a year. Then all your debts will be paid" the blue haired man said nodding his head. The other three nodded as well.

"W-what kind of work?" she meekly ask.

"Prostitution. Maid. But mostly maid" another man plainly said from the group of five. He had blonde hair styled to look like a TV model. But his face didn't quite match his hairstyle. I'll say that his face is not up to par to normal peoples' standards.

"You could also sell this house and everything inside. I'm pretty sure the things inside could go for twenty grand pretty well" a fourth man said. This man was just simply bald and his face was just plain.

"But we do like having a maid. Why don't you consider it?" The last of the five man said. He too had a plain face but

seemed more calm than the others. His hair was only an inch high and shaped up looking like a professional.

'Jin. Why don't you let us handle things. It seems like you are not feeling well' Ren said from inside my head. 'It's alright. The moment they mentioned her house being sold, it was already done.' I answered back to him.

I walked up to the five and said one word in a low voice, "Hey".

My one word got all of their attention.

"Oh? Standing in for this girl? Or did you grow a spine?" One of the men sneered.

"Lady. Sell me this house for however much you owe them." My voice went cold and almost demanded her to sell it.

It wasn't like I gave her much of a choice. If she sells me the house, she could buy it back later on in the future or buy a better one. The only flaw was that I had no money as of now. But it wasn't going to matter much in the next few minutes.

She gritted her teeth and shouted, "Fine! I'll sell it to you for thirty grand! Do you accept?" She intended for me to pay for my little stunt! How could she be such a cold woman to me when I am helping her? But I could not show that I was scared.

"I accept" I regretfully agreed. "You guys have no problem with this right?" I coldly voiced out.

"F*CK OFF!" Two of them roared and the two came at with with fist of angers. I've never fought in public and I won't start now. But strangely, the two moved very fast but I could still react in time. I easily dodged their fist with no efforts.

"Why don't we be civil for a bit and talk things through" I suggested to them. But all five had no intentions of being civil. I could only sigh at their maliciousness.

"I'll ask again. Why don't we... Negotiate? I'll pay all of you now and you won't come back to bother again right?" I suggested to them.

When they heard that I could pay right now, Their eyes gleamed. All five of them stopped breathing because they were excited to get the money.

"I'll do something better as well. I'll pay double if you wait for two days. Do you all agree?" I raised the bargain for the five.

"Wait. How do we know if you are not lying to us? How could we trust you to pay up fairly when you have yet to show proof?" The red haired man asks.

"Simple. It is because we are alike. Aside from doing dirty business, we have a bottom line when doing business. That bottom line is profit. Especially when it comes to two people's personalities becoming honest when it comes to money. You win some and I win some no?" I coldly smiled.

The five men felt shivers going up their backs. Indeed what I said was correct. When it comes to profit, they were willing to agree right away.

The only thing that made them hesitate on the deal was me. They did not know me and thus they could not trust me right away. I am a mysterious person to them and thus I could not be trusted.

"I'll make things even better. I will give you a total of sixty grand if you are willing to agree right now, not going back on your words, helping me out for a bit, leaving this girl alone without harming her or her properties, and giving me a total of seven days starting today and ending at nine pm on the last day." I moved forward the deal with one last bargain. "I am a person who keeps my words when it comes to business. So, what will it be?"

"S-s-s-sixty grand!" the red haired man moaned. This was a deal that surpassed the original amount by three times. All but the blue haired man was enticed by the deal. "Wait!" the blue haired man called out. "How about we sweeten the deal even further? Why don't you-"

But I did not let him speak.

"DON'T TEST MY PATIENCE! THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME DEAL! DON'T YOU DARE MAKE DEMANDS!" I roared. My voice was much stronger than I'd anticipated. It was as if it was being amplified by a megaphone. But the worst of it was the coldness of each word that came out. I didn't expect for my words to sound so bloody and savage. Even the hair on my body was standing up from my own voice.

"H-He was just kidding sir. O-of course we will comply! Right brother?" the blonde haired man nudges at the red haired man. "Hey man. This guy is giving me shivers. Almost as bad as our boss. I'm not joking either."

But the red haired man said nothing. A cold drop of sweat rolled down his back and his cells were screaming run.

"What if we don't comply?" The blue haired man coolly asks.

'Still trying to be the calm hard ass eh? Let's see if you could still be one after today' I inwardly planned out how each and every one will end if they did not accept the bargain that I gave.

"We'll comply sir. You have nothing to worry about. Seven days and last chance at nine pm right? We'll see you then." The bald faced and the one inch haired man said together. They all pushed the blue haired man along with them and drove off in their small black car. I made sure that they drove off far as well.

When they got far enough, I turned back to the lady to see how she was doing. I saw her eyes filled with awe and locked onto me completely.

"Miss Diamond. Are you there?" I questioned whether or not if she was still in her right mind. I walk slowly towards her and lightly flicked her forehead.

"Y-yes?" she snaps back to reality when my finger hit her forehead.

"I'll come back every day to check up on you. Should they come back within any of the seven days, don't hesitate to tell me. Here is my phone number. Also, if this transaction goes well, the house will belong to you and you should have a few extra thousands" I said flatly.

"Eh? What was that selling house to you thing?" She was confused.

"Oh. That? It was mostly for Jin's sake. He is too nice. But you'll see the real reason within seven days. Until then, I better not see any damage on my friend's house. Don't think of running away either. Okay?" I warmly smiled.

But the smile looked like a devil smiling at her. She was completely caught in the devil's trap and could not get out. I could see that she regretted making a deal with me but had no choice but to go along. So she nodded in approval.

"My name is Belphegor. Don't forget, don't go out too much as well. Or else you'll make my efforts into nothing." I turn to leave the woman by herself and headed home to rest. Although I didn't bluff, I just didn't have the assets to continue my plan as of now. I knew it was despair that I sought once I decided to protect that lady and my old home, but I really liked that old house.

"Now I have to restart my old job..." I whimpered. A job that I'd once walked away because I disliked it, but I still had to do it.

....

...

..

.

The woman named Diamond Leitner watches the back of the blue haired devil walking away. At first, she thought that he was a kind and good person based on looks. But when she saw him taking no actions to help her, it quickly changed to low life trash.

He wasn’t even willing to help her! She thought her life was over until he finally stepped in. But when he stepped in, she finds out that he was aiming for her home! That made her judgment on him worse. She thought that he was the lowest of garbage and that Jin might’ve been the same since she knew that he was a coward since middle school. So it was reasonable for people with the personalities to be attracted.

Just when she finally thought that he was truly garbage, he did the unexpected. He anted up the money. When she heard that a total of forty grand was offered, her eyes popped. She thought that the blue haired daredevil was only bluffing. But the cold energy around him made things more convincing.

When he raised it up to sixty grand, she was frightened. She heard the icy tipped words roaring out of the demon’s mouth and was scared stiff. He made things convincing even if he was bluffing. Was this guy really Jin’s friend? If so, then why didn’t he protected Jin? Surely, not a single person would not lay a hand on Jin if such a daredevil was protecting him.

This led her to one conclusion. That Jin was just as evil as this daredevil in front of her. If not, how could the two become friends? For the people who’ve faked and betrayed Jin, she felt sorry for them until she remembered that she too was one of them. She only talked with him every now and then because she felt sorry for him.

Seeing that all of the men agreed to the sixty grand bargain, she felt relieved and scared at the same time. She didn’t doubt the blue haired daredevil in getting the money. She was admiring his dominance over others with just words which made her feel relieved. She was scared because he had the abilities to negotiate with just words even though the blue haired man of the five wanted to make things to be disadvantage for the daredevil.

When he came over to her, she felt an unbearable twist in her stomach along with the feeling of awe. Only when he flicked her forehead that she was able to feel normal again. She was still more scared of him than feeling awe towards him.

She talked a bit with the blue haired daredevil to find out that he was more concerned about his friend than he was concerned about her. This made her feel disheartened because he did not put her in his eyes. She also thought that he threatened her but in truth, the blue haired daredevil said those words to protect her. Should she go out and get hurt by those five, then his actions would lose meaning because they can just claim the home because of her death. It can be done illegally and legally too!

The real reason why Jin upped the money being given to them was to ensure that they would not lay a hand on her. But if she lost her life within seven days, it would also all be for nothing! His efforts would go down the drain as well. But now Jin used the recent situation to his advantage. Now, those debt collectors would also help him out for a bit with a small problem he wanted to deal with for a long time now.

Without knowing all of the circumstances, the woman’s feeling toward Jin, the blue haired daredevil was slightly twisted. She saw him as a person who values friends more than life itself. But the thought of the Jin and the blue haired daredevil as friends who values each other more than life itself made her misunderstand one thing. She was convinced that Jin and the blue haired daredevil was gay together. Little did she know, the two were one in the same. Just that Jin was acting too well for her to notice.

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