D looked at Lisa after she answered, then slowly turned towards Liam. D was aware of these events because Hiroshi had heard the details from Lisa, Liam, even the criminal. His friend, for once, had not turned gone overprotective from the mention of a boy, and that was saying something.
Hiroshi once tied up a kid for coming over to see Lisa when she was eleven and had him dropped off gagged at his parents house. He almost shot a boy for talking to her when she was thirteen, during a sporting hunt. He acts normal when this boy is mentioned, and was actually friends with Julius Paxton of all people.
D narrowed his eyes at Liam and asked, "Why did you do it?"
Liam remained silent, listing all the unasked questions himself.
Why did you run from the bullies?
Why didn't you save yourself from the beginning?
Why didn't you abandon her when you could?
Why did you put your life on the line?
Liam exhaled, Why does this feel so cringey? I don't want to be reminded of back then!
He shook his head, then glanced at Lisa, who was glaring at D.
"She was my best and only friend for five years. There was no chance I was going to leave her behind to suffer that alone."
D showed no reaction, simply staring at, or into, Liam.
This is so suffocating, Liam squirmed.
"Hold up, 'was'? I 'was' your best friend?" Lisa turned with cat eyes.
"Ahem, I meant 'am'. Totally meant 'am'."
"....Good," she turned away, her glare dissolving.
"I see..." D said as he stroked his chin, "Well, I see now that both of you deserve some compensation."
""Compensation?""
"Liam Paxton has provided me with notable data on the state of affairs of things, as well as an undiscovered data mine on that psycho-I mean Hiroshi..."
Did... he just say psycho? Liam twitched, remembering his Dad telling him to stop winning against Lisa, and the comment about her father, Psycho as in psychopath?!
"And I have finally been properly acquainted with my goddaughter-"
"Excuse me?" Lisa stared, and Liam visibly shivered as if experiencing a chill, "Are you saying you're my godfather?!"
"Yes," D smiled softly, "And I am grateful to the boy who saved you. Now, as for compensation, you shall receive that shampoo you asked GAIA for, and Liam will receive a nice notebook filled with a few tips and tricks for his studies and training. Now, how about we have some tea before I send you back up?"
"..." Liam turned to Lisa.
"..." Lisa turned to Liam.
""...."" they both turned to the smiling D.
""See ya,"" they said, turning around and leaving.
****
Ten minutes later, after GAIA handed them the gifts...
"He's such a jerk!" Lisa growled whilst hugging the large care package GAIA had given her, "Where does he get off doing all these things to us? Right Liam?"
Liam shut closed the inch thick notebook and sighed, "I guess I agree with you. There's no denying these are great gifts, but he did cross a line..."
"Thank you," Lisa sighed, grateful that Liam had defended her for once instead of slamming down technicalities.
"Well, you better get going," GAIA smiled through her avatar before shooing them into the elevator, "You have to hurry back to the dorms. If you're caught in the teacher's building after school..."
"Got it, Liam said as he picked up the bag he had left in the room before stuffing the notebook inside. Lisa simply carried hers.
"What will you-"
"I'll say it's from the mall," Lisa cut him off.
"Okay. Wanna have rice when we get back? I can make chicken stir fry too."
"Aw yeah!" Lisa pumped her fist as the elevator door closed.
"All passengers are advised to hold onto something for the trip up. Ready..."
Liam grabbed the horizontal bar on the left, and Lisa grabbed the one on the right.
"Aww..." GAIA muttered from the speakers.
"HEY! Why do you sound so disappointed?!" Lisa yelled.
"I thought you would hold on to each other."
""Not a chance.""
"Alright then. Going Up!"
Liam and Lisa exclaimed as the acceleration caught them off guard, and GAIA laughed as they ascended to above ground.
****
"So, GAIA, you sent the school the false signals right?"
"Yes, Master D. Currently the GPS in the CID are recording Lisa Manabe heading to Liam Paxton's dorm. Because the tracking system is monitored by a computer, it was especially easy."
"Excellent."
"They are such nice children. I almost wish I could have some of my own..."
D looked at her avatar in surprise.
"Well, that is definitely peculiar. How on earth are you developing maternal tendencies?"
"That is not the case."
"...Well, I must get back to preparing it. It has to be ready soon after all of them get to the school."
"Master, surely you do not plan to give it to-"
"Do not question my judgement. If it can lead to the final outcome, if it can help me solve my goals in the long run, then I will not hesitate to do what it takes."
"Very well Master D," GAIA said with a sigh, "I will continue to assist you in all your endeavours."
"Naturally," D said as he put on a lab coat GAIA handed him.
****
Liam took a seat on the rug in front of his television, which Lisa had turned on, and dug into his food.
"Dammit Liam," Lisa groaned as she put another spoonful in her mouth, "Who the hell taught you how to cook? And why do you know how to cook?"
Liam chuckled as he dug into his own dish. After chewing and swallowed he answered, "My Mom said men have no excuse leaving their wives to do all the chores, and that it was irresponsible and stuff. My dad also knew how to cook, so on the days he was around we would all gather in the kitchen when it was time for a meal and cook it together. I just carried and washed stuff for a while though."
Liam laughed quietly, and Lisa caught the slight wistfulness in his tone, and she leaned closer and bumped their shoulders.
"Yeah, your dad was a Hunter right?"
"Mhm."
"Did he ever tell you his rank?"
"...Now that I think about it, he never actually told me his rank. Huh..."
Lisa nodded and took another bite. Then she used her spoon to point at the TV, "Speaking of Hunters, look."
Liam turned his attention to the news, which was saying that a few Hunters had been come out from Hunting Zones far above their grade.
"Hunters are amazing," Liam sighed with a smile.
Lisa frowned at her now empty bowl, "What's a Hunting Zone?"
Liam took her bowl and beckoned her over as he moved to the kitchen. There he explained while giving her seconds.
"A Hunting Zone is basically Mo territory, and they have the same grades as Hunters; Heishi, Taisa, Sutai, Teiki, Asura, and Broken. My dad said Hunters call them Haunts. You probably know this already, but their scattered all over the continents, and the reason we haven't tried to eradicate them completely is because they're still part of the ecosystem, and actually contribute to keeping our already decreased pollution down."
Lisa nodded as they headed back to the living room, "I guess that checks out. But the Broken ranked Zones aren't that many right?"
"Yeah," Liam replied as they resumed their seats, "And each have their unique Broken class Mo."
"Let's see," Lisa muttered, "There's Gogmagog in Europe, Arachne here in Africa, Null in Australia, Mimic in North America, Quetzalcoatl in South America, Jin in Asia, and Abominable Snowman in Antarctica. Did I get that right?"
"Yep, all correct," Liam chuckled.
"Hmph!" Lisa smirked as she took a large spoonful of rice and chicken.
I'll take a look at the notebook tonight, Liam thought as he continued to eat.