❝ goddamn right, you should be scared of me❞
deception: everybody is selfish

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"Where is he?" jeongguk enquired searching for Victor's presence. The others left a subtle look at him and he quickly understood nodding swiftly. "Got any lead?" Lisa returned him with another question, smacking her tongue. "Something like that," Jeongguk pridefully spoke filled with self-confidence and self-esteem. The rest seated inside the room questionably looked at Jeongguk, wondering what hint he has fished in.

"Care to tell us, the great detective Jeongguk?" Jisoo snorted playfully at him, sulking her head on the desk. A silver chuckle left Jeongguk's lips, "I tracked down a valuable asset. Mrs. Musashi." The aloeswood incense's fragrance occupied the air, breathing an exquisite smell. "Musa- what?" Jimin struggled to spell the name, his face transmitting into a deformed expression. 

"Musashi. The mother of Blaze Scarlett," he blurted out altering the mood. Everybody's pupils swell up when they listened to his words, it was almost unbelievable to trust. It wasn't a child's play to hunt down the wife of the Agni clan's head, even her name was kept uncovered. The identity of the head-honcho is fairly well-secured, it's the same case with Atsuda. Not to mention they don't even know which clan Evette is from, and neither how she looks like.

"Crickey. It must be goddamn awesome to have detective parents," Lisa complimented, deftly crediting Jeongguk's parents for his own effort. Jeongguk impressioning an annoyed look looked away from Lisa rolling his eyes. "yeah yeah, awesome," with sarcasm dipped with salt, he commented. "I should get an A+ for the blood, sweat, and tears I invested in this. I still can't contact her though. It's like climbing on Mount Everest on a very very sunny day, melting ice, avalanche, unrequited hunger, and with Lisa. You calculate the pain."

"Are you sure, it's her?" Lisa crossed her arms, cursing under her breath. Jeongguk's lips taunted a smirk, "the winner is never wrong, honey."

Namjoon stood up from his chair, tidying his blazer. "I have been called to a meeting, I'll see you guys later," typing something in his phone he walked away and the others watched him leave with his hasty steps. "He's been very busy, lately. I wonder if everything is going fine," Yoongi remarked with a tint of concern lashed to his voice.

***

"Who is a villain, Grayson?"

The trees were standing tall rooted to the forest soil, the lenient canopy was breaking down the sun rays like a broken umbrella. Blaze and Grayson had Panasonic cameras in their hands, clicking pictures of unique and poisonous mushrooms for their biology portfolio. Grayson scratched his head, looking at her confused. "A villain?" he repeated the hero in the sentence again, trying to grasp what Blaze is hoping to convey.

"Yes, a villain. What makes a person a villain?" her voice solemn and expression somber. Grayson changed his camera lenses since they were dusted with the damp soil creating muddy pictures. "Why so sudden out of the blue? We are doing a biology project, not a testimonial," he answered dropping the old lens in his bag.

"Is it just me or you have changed? I have never seen you laugh or smile genuinely for a few days, Blaze. Is something wrong?" Grayson noticed she completely radiated a different persona for a few days. He always wanted to ask her, if something is wrong or what, but he hesitated thinking it might make her uncomfortable or suspicious. "Your speculations are wrong yet right, Grayson. But that's not the point here, I asked you a question," Blaze glared at him.

Grayson ran a hand through his hair, straining his brain muscles to conjure up an answer. But, he wasn't sure. He has never thought about the word society hated, there was already a heap of negative voices about them, proving positive points would make one an outcast. Villian, the villain is a bad person. There isn't much to debate about that. It's fixed, and nothing can change it. Not to mention, he wasn't worthy to defend one.

"An evil person with much more evil motives?" he shrugged, making efforts to cut off this topic. "mhm," Blaze hummed kneeling down on the ground, pointing at a colorful mushroom deemed to be poisonous, "So, like this mushroom?" Grayson rubbed his chin, pondering the answer Blaze expected. "No, it looks..beautiful. But, it is can kill you. An evil person looks scary and will kill you," he managed to blurt out some words, he didn't care if they didn't make any sense put up together.

"Then what about this one?" She questioned pointing at the olive-brown mushroom, looking almost like a very dried and color-washed fig. "Ugly milkcap. Yes. It's ugly and poisonous," he said stepping a little back, keeping his distance with the degrading fungus. "Now tell me, Grayson. Did the mushroom ask his creator to make him ugly and poisonous? To be a burden to the land and watch people throw disgusting looks at him? Did he ask to be a villain?"

Grayson licked his lower lip, "This conservation gets stupider and stupider every second. Of course, Blaze, no one would wish themselves a bad life." Blaze exhaled, gazing up at him and smiled, "then tell me, Grayson. Did the villain want to be one? Did he bring all these sufferings upon himself?"

He parted his lips, "no."

"Then, what made him do it? What made him a villain? What made him so weak that he doesn't care what the world thinks of him anymore?"

"I - I don't know," wherever this conversation was headed, Grayson didn't like it. "Was it the apple of Eden? Eve? The snake? Was it the fault of those?"

"This is now going off-topic. Those are just mythical-"

"Yes. Mythical, Grayson. A cover-up the humans created to blame on the monsters they created. So the world would know, no one is at fault for the villains."

"Villians to mushrooms to the apple of the Eden. Wonderful," Grayson sighed. "What are you trying to say, Blaze?" She smiled, "It's the society, Grayson. Society is the villain. Every single bit of a wounded soul makes him a villain."

***

"Great, now we are going to fail biology class," Grayson sulked on his desk. Those two were trying to finish their portfolio during the lunch break, but because of Blaze's off-topic lecture they were distracted and the class bell rang pulling them out of their trance. "The biology teacher hates us anyway," she threw her hands in the air trying to justify her carelessness.

"Blaze, if you don't mind, what was it?" he questioned, nibbling on his lips.

"What was it what?"

"The whole talk about the villains? what were you trying to achieve?" His tone sounded disturbed as if her words attacked him directly, his face seeming obvious. Blaze sat straight, her fingers tapping on the darkest shade of brown desk. "Why, Grayson? Did it sound personal?" Her tone precisely fetching the words out of his heart. "Y- Yes, it did," he returned, his eyes shut tight.

"It did, very much," he said raising his voice a little, crinkles near his eyes were looking like he was about to cry. "You know, don't you?" He opened his eyes, facing away from Blaze to avoid looking at her. Her eyes were still nonchalant, not expressing any emotion. "I Knew it, Grayson."

"I knew you work for the council, from the start."

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❝ who is in control?❞