However, when he went to ask Sheila, he found that she still maintained an indifferent demeanor—though this sulky attitude actually seemed somewhat cute through the filter of her beauty—and upon hearing his question, a hint of grievance even surfaced in her eyes.
The Beautiful woman, who had just recovered from her illness, sipped on her.. um.. cola leisurely while glancing at her. "You will find out."
As soon as those words were spoken, Sheila seemed to be enraged, sulking as he slumped against the cushions on the Sofa.
“Ahhhhhhh—!” she screamed in frustration, "I'm still so angry!"
Observing the blazing fire burning within his Sister's blue eyes, Heine Akashi felt that he should not provoke her at this moment, so he decided to take a step back and leave Sheila alone.
However, he was still very puzzled.
Why.. why is that?
Sheila looked very strange, everything that had happened these past few days was very strange.. If he didn't uncover the Truth, he would probably become strange himself in a few days.
Of course, the current Heine understands that he really doesn't need to worry about that.
Because soon, someone would tell him the Truth.
..
"By the way.. how exactly did he talk to you?" Heine frowned, considering the current setting, he glanced toward Amuro Tooru with some hesitation.
Gin tapped the table. "Don't worry about bugs; I've already checked them."
What exactly did my father tell you?" After receiving the assurance, Heine asked urgently, "Did he really invite you to join the Mafia?
“Where is your composure?” Gin reminded him in a casual tone, before answering Heine's question, "Yes."
Don't be angry!" After receiving the answer, Heine replied immediately, "Don't let this bother you.
After a pause, he quickly regained his composure and gave a normal response: "We had already agreed on everything when we first collaborated; I wouldn't stoop to taking advantage of someone in their time of need."
At this point, Heine frowned slightly, a hint of complexity flashing through his blue eyes, before he added, "As for my father, I will go and speak with him."
“It wasn't me or your father who made the decision.” Hearing Heine's blatant confession of favoritism, Gin's expression remained calm, though he felt a hint of amusement in his heart: "It was you and I."
Heine: "!!"
His father's position within the Mafia is stable, he is surrounded by the Old man he is used to dealing with," Gin said slowly. "Her recruitment holds no appeal for me; my presence is neither something he can enjoy nor something he can easily discard.
Gin is a confident and proud man, but he is not an arrogant man.
Her current situation appears calm, but in reality, it is far from stable.
Even the slightest disturbance would be enough to destroy this "calm."
She has many enemies. Not to mention his former employer, the Black Organization, which he defected from; nor the various official justice agencies with whom his relationships are ambiguously between friend and foe; even the many enemies he provoked back when he was an Organization's Top Killer—now that he has lost the Black Organization's influence, they are not easy to deal with either.
Gin believed he could handle it, but he was not so arrogant as to think he could deal with them easily.
His current calm and composed demeanor was simply because he was not afraid.
He fears no hardship, no danger, no Death.
All of this had been following him like a shadow since back when he was the Organization's Top Killer, back when he was the Black Organization's Gin.
If Gin were the type to be afraid, he wouldn't have made it this far.
The Black Organization's Gin would not fear these things, the current Kurosawa Zhen does not fear them either.
He could face these things calmly, partly because he believed in his own abilities, partly because he knew that those who kill are eventually killed themselves.
If he survives safely, that would naturally be for the best; but if he fails, he has nothing to complain about.
He knew there were organizations recruiting him: Sheila had shown kindness on behalf of the ICPO many times, Akai Shuichi had also tested him subtly, even Heine had once obliquely asked if he needed his help.
Gin understands their kindness; facing all sorts of dangers alone, his chances of winning are simply too small. Rather than doing that, he might as well find an acceptable organization to settle in, his abilities would also be a great combat power for the organization.
It is a win-win.
Of course, he also understood that for the Mafia, accepting him would inevitably mean bearing the risk of accepting him. Meanwhile, Heine's father's influence within the Mafia was already deeply rooted, his power had already taken shape.
Accepting him impulsively would allow them to gain a capable subordinate, but they would also have to bear the risk of accepting him, as well as the potential instability of the factions following his sudden arrival into the high-level members.
As for Gin, within the Mafia, power was currently being carved up to the point where even if he joined, he might not necessarily secure a position that satisfied him.
Given Gin's personality, he was unwilling to be ordered around by others.
For both sides of the transaction, it was not a good choice.
A man capable of becoming the Mafia Godfather would not be a fool, he was equally aware of this.
Therefore, the two parties in the transaction were not Gin and Heine's father, but Gin and Heine.
As he spoke, the Silver-haired man scrutinized Heine with an almost critical gaze, scanning the person opposite him from head to toe, making Heine feel incredibly uneasy.
Heine subconsciously shuddered, a hint of vigilance appearing in his blue eyes.
He frowned and stared intently at Gin, after a long while, a flicker of clarity surfaced in his mind.
"So—" he asked tentatively.
"It is exactly as you think." Gin nodded, confirming Heine's guess.
..
So, that Mafia Godfather was actually asking whether you were willing to serve under my Son.
It is obvious that this Old man wants to pass his position down to his Son, but he had not expressed this intention until he reconciled with Heine.
Firstly, in the Mafia, the capable rise to the top. Even for a leader, he cannot claim to have her subordinate forces entirely under control. He has no shortage of capable subordinates; if Heine lacks sufficient ability and influence to hold his ground, then even if he were to pass his legacy to Heine, a counterattack would be inevitable the moment he grows old and weak.
The Person [male] will show no mercy.
Secondly, Heine had run away from home when he was young. Even though he had made a name for himself in other places, he did not have any of his own forces in Italy. His Subordinate had not had much contact with Heine and was not familiar with his temperament or abilities; it would be a miracle if they could accept him without hesitation!
No matter the place, the term 'parachuting in' always seems to trigger a massive amount of trouble.
Moreover, Heine had previously held a deep grudge against his father and was completely unwilling to speak with him much, let alone take over his father's business.
And now, Heine has reconciled with his father—although the rift cannot be mended overnight—and has agreed to work on his father's behalf. Now, the plan in the Godfather's heart has become possible to implement.
But as previously mentioned, the Mafia's power has now taken shape, introducing a new 'Heir' is undoubtedly a difficult problem—one that must, of course, be solved.
So, Heine's father came up with an idea.
Since parachuting in an Heir wouldn't win people over, then let his Heir parachute in with his own faction.
While letting Heine build his own faction and allowing him to integrate with those Old men, combined with the people he has gradually transitioned to his Son.. it shouldn't result in failure, should it?
And, if they were Heine's own people, or people Heine knew, or people he had already worked with as a partner.. they would surely be more worthy of Heine's trust, their stance would lean more towards Heine.
If the person in the Black Organization is loyal to you, then of course you can bring him along," Gin explained indifferently. "But that might not be enough. He thinks you need someone who can command the room.
“So he approached you?” Having finally understood the cause and effect of the matter, Heine leaned back in the Chair and let out a deep sigh.
Her eyes held a faint, ambiguous trace of being both amused and exasperated, yet they also carried an undeniable seriousness.
Gin nodded, slightly lowering her eyes. "This is also quite favorable for me."
..
That was true; for Gin, this was also advantageous.
Gin knew, he knew that some official organizations were recruiting him; just as previously mentioned, Sheila had repeatedly shown the goodwill of IC. PO, Akai Shuichi had also tested the waters subtly.
But Gin did not agree to any of them.
The reasons are complex, yet the reasons are simple.
One could list a whole bunch of complex reasons.
First of all, Gin himself is incompatible with these legitimate official organizations.
He grew up in the Black Organization, the only education he received was a twisted ideology of illegal and criminal activities. Even when he later realized this was wrong, he remained dismissive of so-called "justice."
Gin's methods are extreme, when it comes to handling matters, one could say he uses any means necessary; describing him as "cruel and bloody" or "cold and ruthless" would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.
The official organization's rules and regulations were inconsistent with his style and clashed with his values.
When the time comes and both sides are placed in a difficult position, why bother?
Furthermore, he was, after all, a person with a criminal record.
Even if he underwent Reformation, setting aside whether the ICPO or FBI would believe him, the mere prospect of regulations and red tape would be enough to make him lose his nerve.
Not to mention that once he joined, it would be equivalent to handing them leverage over him; if anything went wrong and they decided to dig up his past, even if he didn't die, he would surely end up spending the rest of his life in prison.
Only a fool like Gin would offer himself up to be devoured by a Mermaid.
Even if they didn't dig up his past, with his dark history, his future was far from as smooth as those with clean backgrounds—even if he didn't care about promotions or raises, he didn't like people standing over him, bossing him around.
And there is also the issue of freedom—Gin doesn't believe they would ever feel at ease with a former criminal like him.
Third, even if he joined, what about those who intended to follow him after being transferred by Madra?
Gin did not believe that those official organizations would absorb all of them, nor could they use them to trade for achievements.
Although he had always been cold-hearted, he still possessed this bit of sentiment.
Wait, wait..
And the simple reason could be summarized in a single sentence, or even a single word.
Mistrust.
The mutual distrust between the two sides, the wariness each side felt toward the other's methods.
Therefore, from beginning to end, these official organizations were always the last thing on Gin's mind.
Having gone through half a lifetime of wind and rain, what Gin wants more is a relatively free and stable environment.
Personally, he prefers certain mercenary organizations he has dealt with before.
That was why he tried his best to have the Shiratori sisters deal with IC. PO, attempting to "cleanse" them as much as possible.
They are different from him; they can have a stable life.
They are different from him; they want to live a stable life.
And Gin..
To be honest, even he didn't know if he had loved this kind of dangerous and thrilling challenge in her bones.
It was just that Heine's father's words had given him a new way out.
..