Creatures Lurking in the Dark

*Crack* *Crack*

 

"Nnnghhh~~~ Puhaah..."  Finally done. What a pain in the ass. This amount of paperwork is nothing short of torture.

 

In the underground base, Rika, who was the only one around, stretched and mumbled to herself. The sounds of her joints cracking brought both satisfaction and fear to her. At this rate, it wouldn't be strange to pass out from office work. If possible, she preferred to work on the field rather than sitting in one place like this. However, the protocols of the unit forbade its agents to take jobs consecutively to make sure they were safe, and the job did not become jeopardized due to mistakes caused by exhaustion and stress.

 

So she had no choice but to grudgingly deal with this type of work.

 

And now, with everything written up and signed, it was time for her to head off to the nest.

 

"Okay, I'm heading off. See you guys later."  Rika picked up her stuff and left.

 

Her first stop was her favorite food stall, which was located in the night market.

 

It was already past midnight, but she always treated herself to some midnight snack. She bought a little more than usual, thinking about Yuri, who must have already gone to bed for now since she had already told her she would be late. And if there was any leftover, they could have it for tomorrow/today's breakfast.

 

Returning to the apartment complex, Rika retrieved the key from the front desk and headed to her room.

 

*Click*

 

"I'm home."  Rika whispered so as not to wake Yuri up.

 

 When she turned around to close the door, a voice whispered back to her.

 

"Welcome home, Rika"  (???)

 

"Nyyoowwahh!!!"  A strange scream left Rika's mouth, and she almost dropped her grocery bags.

 

It was Yuri.

 

At some point, she had already stood behind Rika to greet her back.

 

"Hahaha, what's with that scream?"  (Yuri)

 

"Yuri! You scared the cat out of me!"  Rika complained as she put her bags down.

 

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you would react like that, hahaha."

(Yuri)

 

"Seriously... By the way, why are you still up at this time? It's like, way past midnight already."  (Rika)

 

"Oh, that. We were actually waiting for you."  (Yuri)

 

"Oh Yuri, you shouldn't... wait, did you say 'we' just now?" (Rika)

 

"Yeah. We have guests. Two of them, the cute type."  (Yuri)

 

"Huh? What do you mean? Wait, don't tell me..."  Hearing Yuri say she had two people waiting for her, Rika had a guess who they might be, so she made her way to the living room.

 

And as expected, two redheads looked up when they heard her footsteps.

 

They were the twins, Mina and Mino.

 

"Girls! What are you doing here?"  Rika asked in surprise.

 

"Miss Rika, we are actually waiting to tell you about our answer. About the resolve to stay in this line of job that you asked us."  (Mina)

 

"I told you girls to think about it and answer tomorrow, right? Well, technically, it is already tomorrow. But are you sure? There's still time, so you girls can talk with each other to decide what's really best for the two of you."  (Rika)

 

"Yes, Miss Rika, and we have decided. Please hear our answer."

(Mino)

 

"Okay, then. Let's hear it."  Sensing the seriousness in their tone, Rika heaved a sigh and decided to listen to what they chose.

 

The twins took each other's hand and nodded.

 

"Me and sis would like to be a part of your team."  Mino said, her eyes full of determination.

 

"We know the dangers that could come with it, and we are willing to do it despite that."  (Mina)

 

"Can I hear the reason?"  (Rika)

 

"To tell you the truth, me and sis have been orphans for as long as we could remember. When we were young, sis was diagnosed with a type of rare, life-threatening disease that cost a fortune to cure. A fortune that a pair of orphans like us didn't possess. But we have a sister who, despite not being blood-related to us, sacrificed everything for us. It was thanks to her that sis is here with me, and we were able to grow into who we are right now. We want to be like her. We want to be that person who helps others who need our help. We want to repay her kindness with kindness."  (Mino)

 

"I see."  (Rika)

 

Looking at the fiery fire in the twins' eyes, she was reminded of her young self. She would have sat them out had they said they would do it for justice.

 

Justice is blind.

 

That was the conclusion she arrived at after being in this kind of work for years. After all, if justice was really a thing, then people like her would have lost their jobs already. If there was no evidence, a killer would look as innocent as a newborn child next to him. And even if the killer was executed, it wouldn't bring back the lives that had been lost and the grieves their families had to suffer.

 

Of course, Rika understood that not everyone was bad apples. There were people like the twins who wanted to help the helpless ones. Someone like that sister the twins looked up to.

 

For some reason, Rika felt a sense of gratitude for the person she didn't even know of. Without her help, the twins could have lost their way.

 

"Is this sister or yours still around? I'd like to meet with her at least once if possible. I wonder what kind of woman she is to raise two such strong girls in front of me, haha."  Rika laughed to mask off the true feeling she conveyed.

 

"Yes, we'll definitely introduce you to her if the chance ever comes. She's actually working as a maid in this really important noble household. Eh... What was the name again?"  (Mino)

 

"Seriously... You can't even remember that? It's the Gremhandlr. She's working as a personal maid for Sir Bano Gremhandlr."  (Mina)

 

"Wait, what? Then, by any chance, the sister you girls were talking about named Luna?"  Rika's smile cracked.

 

"That's right! You know her, Miss Rika?"  (Mino)

 

"Eh... no, not on the personal level. I only knew about her because I knew about Bano Gremhandlr."  Rika said, her face twitched.

 

It was a small world for Rika, after all. She was asked to investigate Bano before, and that was when she knew about Luna. Bano Gremhandlr was rumored and suspected of laying his hand on women and tossing them away after he was done with them.

 

But, what Rika found out about the rumor was only half of the truth.

 

He did lay his hand on various women and tossed them away. However, they were all women aiming for his family's assets, and some even used drugs against him. They all got the table flipped against them, though, and Bano walked away scot-free and the criminals-turned-victim also received the money to settle it behind the scene, so Rika couldn't gather any concrete proof of Bano's misdeeds.

 

Personally, Rika herself also thought that Bano was a scumbag. Sure, he was a victim, but he could have done with his problem differently instead of laying hands on those girls. Moreover, the fact that she caught him red-handed when he was having a fling with Jenna in the store where she worked as a cover.

 

Looking at the two excited twins in front of Rika gave her a headache.

 

'They probably don't know what Luna actually does in her job. Should I tell them? But then they would no longer be able to look at Luna the same way again.'

 

Rika thought, after all, she saw a lot when she was spying on Bano.

 

For a period, she thoroughly learned his schedule, what he does during the day, and especially, what he does at night...

 

She secretly saw everything whenever Bano and Luna were alone at night and what activities they did together.

 

'It was wild.'  Rika spoke in her heart.

 

In the end, she decided to keep the twins in the dark. If they find out, they find out.

 

After all, it didn't look like Luna was forced to serve Bano against her will. In fact, it looked the opposite because Rika had always been wondering about Bano's sour face whenever they finished their tryst, while Luna's face was still the same aloof look.

 

"I also would like you to meet with her at least once. She's the best!"  (Mina)

 

"It looks like you girls' talk has reached a conclusion. How about some late-night snack? It's Rika's treat."  Yuri put the bag of food on the table and joined them.

 

It was a subtle hint that Yuri was giving them space to talk about their work, and Rika was secretly grateful for it. She knew

 

Rika was affiliated with the army, but she also suspected that it wasn't the simple type of position her girlfriend was working in. With various hints that Rika subtly dropped, from the weapon box under the bed to the method she used to contact her workplace, Yuri could pick them up and arrive at her answer. After all, Yuri was a clever girl that Rika chose to be her lover.

 

The four had small talks over their meal. Rika wanted to have some alcohol, but she was reprimanded by Yuri for drinking at this late hour.

 

"Yuri, can I talk to you for a minute? Girls, excuse us for a minute."

After the meal, Rika called out Yuri to talk in private.

 

"Yeah?"  (Yuri)

 

"It's something related to my job."  (Rika)

 

"Are you sure you want to discuss with me instead of the girls? I mean, I get it; there are secrets that you keep away, and I know you are just doing it to protect me."  (Yuri)

 

"No, I want to let you know something. You know that my job is very dangerous, right?"  (Rika)

 

"Yeah."  Yuri nodded.

 

"The fact that me and the twins are women makes it harder on us, especially the possibility of bad things that could happen to us, right?"

(Rika)

 

"Yeah, I know. It pains me that you are heading to danger while I can only stay home and pray, but I won't stop you. I know there are others like me who need help, and I know you can help them."  (Yuri)

 

"Thank you, Yuri. You are the best. But that's not what I meant."

Rika hugged Yuri and continued. "I need to prepare the girls for the worst case. I need to let them learn about what might happen if a woman like them is caught. I want to teach them about sex. I at least want them to lose their first time on their own terms rather than being forcefully taken. Yuri, since we are in a relationship now, I feel like I need to tell you about it first."

 

"You silly girl. This is why I love you, Rika."  Yuri kissed her lips. "I know you only want the best for them, so you don't have to worry about it. But I'm curious. How do you intend to teach them?"

 

"Honestly, I don't know. I'm not sure. Back in my days, I read about it in books and used toys to practice. You have any ideas?"  (Rika)

 

"The heck? That's so sad! At least let them have real experience! And what's with using toys? Are you that much of a loner, Rika?"  (Yuri)

 

"Urghh... L-Let's not talk about it, alright? It's about the girls."  (Rika)

 

"The best way I can think of is using that medicine and give them the practice. But I can already see how bad it'll spiral out of control..."

(Yuri)

 

"Me too... instead of giving them experience, I feel like we will give them trauma instead. We need a pro for this..."  (Rika)

 

"Yeah..."  (Yuri)

 

They were thinking about the best course of action when the light bulb in Yuri's head went off.

 

"Oh, I got it! If we are talking about giving inexperienced people the experience, then all we have to do is ask someone with the experience. I know exactly that one person. In fact, you know, too, Rika."  (Yuri)

 

"Wait! Don't tell me..."  (Rika)

 

"Let's strike the iron while it's still hot. Girls!"  Yuri took off before Rika could say anything.

 

"What's wrong, Miss Yuri? You look excited."  (Mina)

 

"I heard about your circumstances from Rika, and I'll help with that. Me and Rika will show you this nice place that can help you girls with your problem."  (Yuri)

 

The twins were dragged away by Yuri, along with Rika, who was smiling wryly as she followed them from behind.

 

It was so late past midnight, the time that almost every store had already closed.

 

'Just where are we going?'  The twins asked in their hearts.

 

......

 

...

 

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