Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 51: He's Dark, He's Black...

Suzuki winced at the piercing gazes. He knew there was no way he could escape from this, and he wasn't really a big fan of lying to allies. He closed his eyes and sighed. "My name is Mato Suzuki. I'm 17, and a retired professional gamer. My Line avatar's Kashi. Currently level 82 and a painter. I have no special skills except for gaming."

Dun!

The room went deathly silent.

"Did you say Kashi?" Saeko asked in a strained whisper. "The infamous hidden leader of the Hopeful Maggots?"

Suzuki frowned. "I guess he's not that hidden if you know about that."

Saeko waved her hand, shaking her head. "No, no, it's a very closely guarded rumor. I only found out when I paid for information from the assassin's guild."

"Is that so? That's good then." To divert attention from himself, Suzuki turned to the new guy. "Your name's Usmanu Taki-san, I believe?"

Usman chuckled. "You japs and your intonation. Just call me Taki. I can't bear you murdering the pronunciation every time."

"You're not Japanese?" Taiga asked, puzzled. Save for the blond hair (which could have easily been dyed) the young man looked every bit Japanese.

"On my father's side," Usman clarified. "He's half Jap, half Lebanese. Mother's Canadian. Well, strictly speaking, she's half-German," he elaborated with a short laugh. "I've got a nice continental blend, though the Japanese genes are much more dominant."

"Heh? How long you lived here? Your accent's near perfect."

"About three years?" Usman answered, then suddenly switched to an Osakan accent. "Ain' da hard pickin' up an accen' ya know?"

Taken aback by the sudden change, Taiga couldn't help but be impressed, which he punctuated with whistles and short claps. "Well then, I guess we know what your talent is."

Usman shook his head. "Nah, this isn't what I'd call a talent. It's something I picked up from moving a lot. My real talent's reading people."

"What do you mean, read people?" Jade piped in, as she dragged Suzuki down before he could carry out his trademark sneak escape.

Usman shrugged, a bit embarrassed by the general interest. "I've liked observing people since I was a kid. I wasn't the outgoing guy I eventually grew up to be. Instead, I'd sit back in class and soak in the conversations of my classmates. I'd watch their body language, my teachers', people on the streets,' and even animals. Then I'd try to make up stories of their lives based only on their dressing, demeanor, manner of speech, choice of words... heck even hairstyles. Anything to spice up the story. I practiced getting them as close to the real story as possible, and before I knew it, I was getting eight out of ten reads right. I became more outgoing, used my skills in games, and that somehow got me here."

"Uwah~ that's amazing."

"How about you do a read on us?" Taiga beckoned, intrigued. "Let's judge for ourselves how good you are."

Usman looked at the group. "Sure, if that's okay with the rest of you."

Saeko and Jade nodded their approval, while Suzuki sighed in resignation.

"Ladies first then," Usman said. He studied Jade with an intense glare. "Driven, loud, but only to those you trust. Terribly impatient, but loyal to a fault. You're a rebel. You choose to go against the norm but stay away from real trouble. Also impulsive. You do and say things before you have a chance to second guess them. Coupled with an insatiable curiosity, you're almost lucky to avoid any real disasters."