"Not only are you resigning, but you're doing it right after collecting the parental leave bonus! Are you kidding me!" shouted a man in his late forties.
Jin remained impassive in the face of his anger, but he knew his action was shameless.
'Sorry, but I had to remake my special grenades and restock the fridge,' he thought while looking at his former boss with a hint of pity.
In Japan, it's normal to receive a bonus for parental leave due to the birth of a child. However, it's customary to negotiate the duration with your employer.
The leave can range from 6 months to 2 years, depending on the agreement between both parties.
Was it great for Jin? Yes.
Under normal circumstances, he could have entrusted Yuji to Wasuke during the first month after his birth and focused on Nayuta's education.
Unfortunately, his boss clearly didn't want to grant him a full year of paid leave.
Because of this situation, he had judged it best to stick with the idea of becoming a full-time curse user and resign after receiving the bonus.
Why not resign earlier? Jin had been afraid of receiving only 67% of the initial government money, so he had gritted his teeth until now.
A sneaky move.
"Sorry if I've been a disappointment, senpai, but I really need a lot of money," he said, bowing toward the overweight man.
"Don't think this is going to end here, Jin.
Do you really think no one noticed your inconsistent hours?
The missing reports?"
The man straightened up in his chair, his gaze cold, fixing Jin who was still politely bowed.
"If I decided to dig… some things could become very problematic for you.
The professional world is small, you know. One bad recommendation is enough to ruin your career in the industry," he declared, sketching a disgusting smile after observing Jin's silence.
He took his former subordinate's attitude for weakness and continued his verbal attack.
"We trained you and were patient with you. Don't force me to reconsider our good relationship—"
Just as he wanted to say more, a threatening aura emanated from Jin.
"Good relationship? Tsk," Jin replied while adjusting his posture, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
60 hours.
That had been the former Jin Itadori's working time before Claud arrived in his body.
By comparison, the norm is 40 hours, without the overtime added by superiors.
So yes, Jin had been working beyond legal hours.
"W-what are you doing?" the man stammered in the face of this unknown threatening aura.
He couldn't see the cursed energy, but he felt oppressed by this gloomy presence.
A passive effect of cursed energy, since it is born from the dark emotions of humans.
"What did I do? Nothing, senpai," Jin declared, sketching a fake smile.
"However, it would be unfortunate if a misunderstanding arose between us, wouldn't it?" he asked the overweight man.
The latter nodded mechanically.
Jin nodded, satisfied.
He immediately left the office after the meeting with his hierarchical superior regarding his resignation letter.
The office staff watched him leave, confused by his good mood, but that didn't concern him.
Even if his action was shameful toward the company that had trained and welcomed him, Jin no longer cared at this stage of his evolution.
He needed money to repay the damage Nayuta had caused, but also to strengthen his equipment.
He could no longer afford to be "honest" in the face of this white-collar capitalist vampire.
"I just hope he doesn't try to carry out his threats to ruin my reputation, or even sue me with fake reports," he muttered while getting into his car.
Jin didn't like it, but he was weak in the civilized world.
He had to fix that quickly to avoid having a criminal record in the government database.
"For now, I need to find a good lawyer to avoid any surprises," he thought while loosening his tie a little inside his vehicle.
Bing
[Hello… Mr. Itadori]
Barely had Jin answered the phone when Nayuta's babysitter spoke in a panicked tone.
At that moment, Jin knew she wouldn't be bringing good news.
…
"It's not my fault! Shoya provoked me!" Nayuta declared after Jin picked her up from the babysitter's house.
Jin let out a tired sigh.
Miyako Ishida.
(Image)
She was Nayuta's babysitter, whom Jin had found online on a specialized site.
She had been taking care of Nayuta for a week already.
Even though her son's name was familiar to Jin, he hadn't really bothered to dig deeper into the single mother's private life.
After all, she didn't possess a high amount of cursed energy nor suspicious control over it.
Jin therefore judged her unimportant beyond her appearance.
"And you thought it was a good idea to manipulate the gravity of the sheet to make it look like a ghost?" Jin replied without taking his eyes off the road.
Nayuta wanted to respond but lacked arguments after realizing she had broken the most important rule in the house: no supernatural powers in the presence of ordinary people, unless necessary.
"Fine… I'll let it slide this time, because the kid Shoya Ishida is quite the little rascal," Jin declared after a long minute of silence in the car.
Nayuta didn't reply to Jin's words, but her upper lip lifted slightly to form a small smirk.
'I hope her vicious nature calms down with age,' he thought while arriving at the usual park where he had a meeting with Gong.
Upon arrival, Nayuta rushed toward the children's playground.
Seeing her so "human," Jin almost forgot she was an artificial creature.
"You're daydreaming, big guy," Gong Shi Woo's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Sorry, this kid wears me out," Jin replied without thinking too much.
Gong looked at him, stunned.
"Problem?" Jin asked after sitting on a bench not far from their spot.
"I'm already aware of your elevated tastes for corpses, but the idea that children are also—" Gong's words stopped in his mouth after seeing Jin frown.
The man coughed awkwardly and decided to keep his suspicions to himself.
'Anyway, I have no proof he's interested in the corpse, so why the hell am I suspecting him with this child?' he thought while lighting a cigarette.
The former private detective decided to calm his doubts before exhaling a puff of smoke.
The smell of the cigarette invaded the fresh park air, much to the displeasure of the nearby mothers, who began staring at Gong with furrowed brows.
"Otherwise, any news?" Jin asked after a short pause.
Gong nodded toward him.
He pulled a document from his jacket before handing it over with a smile.
Usually, Gong smiled like that for a good contract.
Jin glanced at it before almost throwing the document in Gong's face after seeing the photo on it.
"What's wrong? Isn't the money enough for your taste?" he asked, looking confused at Jin's reaction.
"You want me to eliminate the Star Plasma Vessel? You're insane!" Jin replied, trying to keep his voice under control.
In the document, there was an image of a much younger Yuki Tsukumo.
(Image)
…
Author's note: Want a bonus? Then give me your stones!
There should be at least 150.