Hatsume Mei POV
Watching the boy who had suddenly slumped, clutching the broken headphones tightly, Mei realized that testing her baby at her relatives' house hadn't been a good idea. But she wanted to test it so much. I had only just created it, and I had to go to my relatives in Musutafu. And my mother threatened to cut off my funding for creating my babies for three months if I ignored their invitation this time as well. It's fine; once I enter the Support Course at U.A., I'll be able to use resources and workshops for students. And then I won't have to beg my parents for money. For now, I need to figure out the reason for the loss of control over the baby. The launch and the first minute of flight went without problems, but then one of the rotors started slowing down and the baby began to tilt to the side. The attempt to land it without consequences failed. Well, one of the reasons could be problems in the electrical wiring. After all, I didn't buy some of the conductors from my usual supplier because he didn't have the right item at the time. Although the reason could also be desynchronization of the motors. Maybe use turbines instead of rotors next time? Create two parallel systems to support the baby in the air in case one system fails? I quickly take out a notebook and start writing down ideas.
"You will buy new headphones of the same brand and model."
The dark-haired boy said something.
"Eh? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about modernizing my baby. Did you say something?"
I made a guilty expression, thinking how to smooth over the situation so I wouldn't get in trouble with my parents for this incident later.
"You will buy new headphones of the same brand and model."
He said, not taking his eyes off the headphones in his hands, but for some reason, I began to feel a strange pressure. But since he's not calling the police and only asking to buy headphones, then that's just great. I just need to clarify.
"So you won't report this incident to the police? If so, I'll buy them. How much do they cost?"
The dark-haired boy with an oppressive, almost visible aura, opens his mouth and states the price.
How much? Why, that's the price of a car, and not even the worst one. Why, I've spent less money on all the spare parts for my babies over several years than these headphones cost! I involuntarily scream:
"Just what kind of headphones are these?!!!"
The boy mechanically takes out a smartphone and quickly types something while holding the headphones in his other hand. Then he shows the website of some company where there was an image of the same headphones and scrolls to the text with the price. Sweat begins to run down my neck.
"Wellll, you seeee. I don't have that kind of mo..."
Suddenly his face is just inches from mine. A shadow fell over the upper part of his face, but his rather eerie and uniquely beautiful red eyes stared into mine.
"You will pay for them, one way or another."
The boy said it as if sealing a fate. His eyes, unblinking, continued to stare into mine. I swallow hard. I quickly turn my head looking for a way out of this situation, and also to avoid meeting his gaze, which had become quite heavy.
"How can they even demand so much money for these headphones anyway? Why, for that amount, I could make so many of my babies. Or headphones. I know, let me fix these."
He slowly turns his head toward where my baby exploded, and then looks at me with a skeptical gaze.
"Don't think anything of it. This is just a prototype. Well, and failure is a common occurrence among beginning inventors, and it also stimulates us to develop. So don't worry, I'll make sure they can work again. And I might even improve them."
I speak quickly and gesture with my hands, trying to smile like that PR manager who wants to push a new product to a viewer. With already less oppressive pressure, he asks:
"When can you fix them?"
I say before he can change his mind.
"I first need to study the device of these headphones. That is, take them apart. Do you still have the documents and instructions for them? Then I need to order materials from suppliers. Then the actual repair itself will begin. Besides, I'm visiting relatives right now, and my main tools are at home in Kyoto. So you'll have to wait from two weeks to a month before I can fix them. Though, if I'm lucky, I might manage faster. Also..."
At the list of conditions, his right eye starts to twitch. He raises a hand, interrupting me, and says with a sigh:
"I have tools and materials. I've been experimenting with devices containing speakers for some time. So I can provide them for your use, but you will have to work in my apartment, in a designated room. And if you cannot fix them, you will deeply regret it."
He spoke threateningly. But I was no longer paying attention to that; curiosity was burning in my eyes.
End Hatsume Mei POV
I didn't know what to do. Laugh or cry. The amount for the headphones isn't large for me, after my adventures in the criminal world. I wouldn't even know where to spend it, since I have more than enough money for my needs, and I stole further more for the sake of "art" and honing my infiltration and disguise skills. But Giran happily "helped" me with the excess money (that damn penny-pincher). And I had bought a few (dozen, paranoia is real) spare headphones in case the old ones broke. It was fun to see her face when we came to my apartment and I took out one pair, inadvertently showing the others. The tools really were in my workshop, into which I had converted one of my rooms, and there lay legal and non-lethal equipment. Many might be interested in the question: why am I bothering with this Mei then? I could have called the police, then Hatsume and her family are obliged to pay me money for the damage caused to my property and even the involuntary attempt on my health. I could have done that. But I felt sorry for this unusual and smiling girl. It was clear that the sum was quite large for her family, and this incident could have been entered into her personal file by the police, which could automatically close her path to many higher educational institutions. I just couldn't bring myself to break her life like that. My hand wouldn't tremble when killing heroes, villains, or police, because they knew what they were getting into. Perhaps if my life were threatened, I could kill a bystander. But I try not to do that. Even when killing Omnipresent, taking his family captive was postponed by me as a very last resort. One might think I'm all noble and decent. Complete nonsense. I just don't want to be like those scumbags from Haijima, who also don't care about broken and taken lives. And I'm also afraid that I'll become a total psycho, a rabid beast that has lost all principles and limits. Perhaps that could have made me strong, but it wouldn't be me anymore. I would be just an unprincipled sadist-bastard wallowing in my ego, or the Man with the Cold Gaze, looking indifferently and rationally at the torment of children.
Then could I just let the girl go, if I felt sorry for her?
Let a person go without punishment who broke MY FIRST HEADPHONES? Never in this life. I wanted moral compensation in the form of her torment and anxieties as she tried to fix the situation. When she started stalling, talking about materials and tools, I suggested using mine. Since before that, I had been thinking about creating a device for intercepting police frequencies, and just working with devices of that type. As I walked home with her, I thought about how I would put moral pressure on her as she tried to fix the headphones, and then graciously forgive her in the end.
But answering dozens of questions from the girl with pink hair that slightly resembled dreadlocks, as well as preventing ideas leading to the creation of something explosive, one thought pounded persistently in my head. Is this punishment for her or for me?