IdeasGuy
patreon
The Good Life: Paying Up (ch. 73)
🕑 Added 2025-01-10 15:59:17 +0000 UTC“You don't scary easy, huh?” Jinx noted, watching me as I waved at Sukuna, who looked pissed all the way off in the aftermath of the fight. Couldn't blame him there. I'd be pissed too in his shoes -- things had ended right before they started to really ramp up. All because of interference.
“Nope! Danger and risk and losing are fun if you know how to enjoy them,” I replied, idly gauging her reaction to that while also pondering what I saw within my Room. A person had been gliding beneath the solid bedrock like it wasn't there, reached out to grab Oden as she named herself, pulled her under the surface, then got away. I'm not entirely sure where they went, and I couldn't find out without tipping my hand to Jinx and, thus, Silco.
Jinx snorted, “Sounds like you're just a masochist, then.”
I opened my mouth to retort, only to find that I didn't have much of an argument. “More of a switch, I guess, seeing as I'm also a sadist,” I replied instead. Sukuna met my gaze and he was absolutely fuming that his fight was cut short. So, I tossed a wink his way, telling him that he'd be made right one way or the other. His eyes narrowed before he seemed to tsk before turning his attention to the purple looking hulk guy before dicing him to pieces when he tried to pull up on Sukuna.
Didn't seem to kill him, which was interesting, but that was Sukuna's pet project and I didn't want spoilers.
“So, howdya’ get all buddy buddy with four eyes over there?” Jinx questioned as we pulled away, our destination set.
“We got in a fight and ended up becoming friends after I won,” I answered with a chuckle. Oden was interesting, and I could tell why Rumi had been so confident that she'd beat Sukuna. He was the underdog in that fight, if only barely, but she also didn't reveal everything that she could do. She had at least one power that had something to do with ice, or maybe just cold, given how the temperature around her had plummeted a split second before she got whisked away.
“He'd tell the same story?” Jinx asked, cocking an eyebrow in my direction.
“Couldn't deny it even if he wanted to. And he would,” I added, my grin growing. My mind was still on what just happened though.
It made absolutely no sense that Rumi would send Oden after Sukuna, then pull Oden out of the fight before things really got going. My guess was that it wasn't Rumi at all behind the other guys' presence. It reeked of internal conflict. I’d already guessed that Rumi had acted on her own accord, and my guess was that Asami found out. She didn't want to reveal a card she planned to keep up her sleeve, so she pulled the plug on the fight itself while inadvertently revealing a second card.
The guy's power was interesting. Didn't feel like magic either, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. It was some form of intangibility and, interestingly, much like Satoru with his Infinity, physically the guy hadn't been in my Room. Meaning that I couldn't have Shambled him if I tried. However, what I was still able to sense and interact with was his consciousness, emotions, and soul. It was a fascinating experience.
And a telling one.
Jinx accompanied me back up to Vought HQ, and I noticed that we were getting quite a few looks sent our way. People shied away, refusing to make eye contact to the point that they outright crossed the road when they saw us coming. Jinx let out a chuckle when she noticed that I noticed, “I kinda got a reputation around these parts,” she informed, looking unbothered by the glances.
But I could see her pride swell a bit. Alongside a smidge of guilt. Interesting.
“A deserved one, I hope? Nothing’s more disappointing than someone who doesn't live up to their reputation,” I replied teasingly, deciding to push at her emotions a little as I did. Jinx was young. I'd put her somewhere around Taylor's age, maybe a year older or younger. Strange to think about, but I was closing in on my twenty-first birthday and, despite all evidence to the contrary, I had done a bit of maturing in the three or so years since becoming Law.
Jinx didn't have those critical few years of experience. Because of it, and my meddling with her head, the insecurity that radiated from her in that moment was fairly evident. Even as she flashed a cutting smile, “Depends. You going to be disappointed to find out that everyone I get close to dies? Started with my parents, then my adopted family…” she started out cocky and teasing, projecting the insecurity like it didn't hurt at all but she wasn't that convincing. Even without my ability to see what she really felt.
Which was a brief flicker of surprise before guilt tore through her like a bolt of lightning, and no less devastating in effect.
“Hm. That so? Well, that doesn't bother me none. I killed my parents too. Didn't get a chance to kill my foster family, though,” I admitted, making Jinx stumble to a halt for a split second.
“Uh… what?” She echoed, her eyes narrowing as she processed what I said. “I get the impression you and I aren't exactly talking about the same thing here.” oh, absolutely. She was way more devastated by the deaths of her family than I was.
“Probably not, but it's something we have in common,” I said, giving her a grin as we rode the trolly up.
Jinx tilted her head, “Using your dead parents to flirt? How about I let you play this one out. I wanna see where you go with it.” She decided, and with well practiced ease, she swallowed the guilt and buried it deep inside of her.
“My parents taught me how to hate, but it was my foster family that taught me how to be cruel,” I said, glancing out the window to see the city going by. “Ended up getting picked up by them after being homeless for a couple of years. They pretty much wrote me off from the start, and fair enough. I was pretty far gone by that point.”
Jinx, despite herself, was listening closely. Partly to relay everything I said to Silco later, and partly because she was genuinely curious. So, I continued in a casual tone.
“By that point, I was convinced that I could never trust anyone. I could never be close to anyone. All because I got burnt a few times before,” I said, memories flashing by of some pretty painful lessons. Betrayals from those that I was convinced I could trust. Mistakes I made because I was so ready to be betrayed that I burnt a bridge that I could have crossed. “But, it was with that unofficial foster family that I made friends. Had a girl that I was sweet on. And then they all died.”
“What the fuck?” Jinx muttered under her breath, now looking a bit weirded out.
“Eh, it's a long story,” I waved it off. “In the aftermath, I was convinced again that I'd be alone for the rest of my life. That all I had to look forward to was decades of loneliness and mediocrity. And you know what? I was wrong. I found people again. People that I love and I can trust. And, maybe, one day they'll leave me. They might betray me. But, it's worth it despite that risk. People are what make life worth living.”
Jinx kinda just stared at me for a moment, not entirely sure what to say. Seems like the point got a little muddled. So, I clarified, “Even if you do kill everyone that you're close to, it's okay. It'll suck. It'll be sad. But, eventually, you'll find new people to be close to and the memories you make with them will be worth the pain of losing them.”
She was still staring at me, her lips parted as she searched for a response as the trolly arrived. “You're crazy,” Jinx realized, blinking owlishly at me. “And that's comin’ from me!”
“Sanity is overrated,” I agreed easily, getting up. Jinx followed, falling silent as I could sense she was ruminating on what I said. She seemed to flip-flop between consideration and thinking I was full of shit. It was only a quick trip over the bridge before we were back at Vought HQ.
There, I passed over the designs that I had been sitting on for the fusion reactor. “You'll want to be careful with this -- a bad enough fuck up at the wrong stage won't just kill everyone you love. It'll kill everyone in Zaun. And Piltover, probably,” I added, passing Jinx the schematics.
“No biggie,” Jinx decided, unfurling the blueprints and giving them a quick inspection. “I could build something like these blind folded.” She had the confidence down pat. I suppose I would just have to wait and see if she did get everyone killed.
Call it a test to see if she had what it took to replace Asami as my engineer.
With the exchange done, Jinx vanished through the ceiling, heading off to find a place to start construction. However, she lingered at the roof top for just a moment, glancing down at me with a question on her tongue. Only to swallow it down before leaving.
At best, it was going to be a months-long project, over a year at the longest. Plenty of time to build a rapport with Silco and Jinx.
I went about my day as normal after the meeting. I took care of some boring accountant work, then had a handful of meetings with people on a sliding scale of importance to help further Vought's bottom line. Deals to help take advantage of the growing demand for the Hexgate, inroads to be made with the Merchant Guild and various similar associations. Then completing the meetings with securing some funding for the expedition that Robin would be leading.
The day had already been shaping up to be a great one by the time I retired to my dorm back at the university, deciding to get some work on my Mini-Handys before turning in for the night. But, when I opened the door to find Rumi standing on the other side, wearing a pissed off scowl, it looked like my day wasn't over yet.
“Fuck off. Wipe that fucking smirk from your face before I do. Asshole,” Rumi cursed in my direction, letting her inside my bedroom/workshop. “You already know why I'm here. Just… fucking get your dick out already. Shit,” Rumi continued and I couldn't help but laugh at how annoyed she was.
“I wasn't sure if you were going to follow through,” I admitted, taking a seat in my chair and drinking Rumi in. She wore the same outfit as I last saw her, but her arms were crossed and her face was twisted as if she had just bitten into a lemon. “Not going to call foul on interference? Oden had a decent shot of taking Sukuna down from what I saw, and I don't think he'd mind a rematch.” I wordlessly created a Room, examining Rumi's flickers of emotions.
Oh, she was pissed. And annoyed. And frustrated. A whole lot of anger there she needed to sort through, but it wasn't all directed at me. Just… nine tenths of it. Which made me more confident in my theory that the intangible guy had belonged to Asami.
And that Rumi hadn't expected or wanted him there.
“Fuck off,” she snapped in my direction before tsking under her breath when I just raised an eyebrow, not making a move to undress. “A bet is a bet, and I lost. Even if it was through some serious bullshit,” she added, her temper flaring. Yeah, she was pissed at Asami. That was interesting.
For the most part, since even before we left my home universe, Rumi and Asami had been a pretty united front. It was the first time I had seen such an obvious crack in their relationship, and it had me curious on what I could do with it.
Like how I could make it bigger.
I was also a bit suspicious. Asami was showing a lot all of a sudden - going from total radio silence to almost broadcasting the discontent within her ranks, and showing that she had two new people with powers, one of which was strong enough to have good odds against Sukuna… Rumi going rogue could explain it, but it still felt a bit too good to be true.
But at the same time, I could tell that if Asami was trying to trick me somehow, then she had left Rumi out of the loop and to the wolves.
“Another time then,” I decided, making Rumi's eyes flash. She wasn't against the idea, but was still pretty annoyed with her current predicament. She said nothing in response and a loud silence filled the room as I let her think to herself for a long minute.
She bit her bottom lip, glaring in my direction, her annoyance only growing when I just gave her a placating smile. A sigh heaved out of her as she uncrossed her arms. “Let's just get this over with,” she groused, walking over and roughly unbuttoning my pants and yanking down my boxers enough for my cock to spring free. She glared at it like it had personally offended her while I just leaned back, the picture of confidence as she grabbed hold of my cock.
Her hand glided up and down it, roughly jerking me off with an obvious lack of enthusiasm. I was a pretty generous lover and generally preferred my partners to be cumming so hard that their brains leaked out of their ears, but I had to say, seeing Rumi jack me off with such an annoyed expression was really doing something for me.
Her hands were rough, but her actions seemed confident. Her eyes narrowed at my cock, her lips thinning before her blood red eyes flickered to me. Her nose crinkled before she gathered up some spit and let it fall from her tongue, coating my dick to ease the friction. The hand job felt a lot better after that and I let out a pleased hum that made her scowl.
The room was filled with wet sounds as her hand glided over my cock, stroking it rhymically. A minute later, however, the wet sheen started to run thin so she spat on my cock once more, and this time, she used both hands to jack me off.
“You're so goddamn annoying, you know that? What the fuck… just cum already, you absolute fucking…!” Rumi cursed as it settled in that this wouldn't be a quick three minute handjob.
I didn't even need to hold back my orgasm. “Is it really a surprise? Do you think I could keep up with Robin, Yoruichi, or any of the others if I was some five pump chump?” I asked, unbothered by her tone. “You know what we get up to. Don't think I don't know you could hear us back in El Dorado,” I added in a teasing tone. That got Rumi to snort, and I decided to play a little risky.
“Don't put that on me. Everyone in that city could hear your fuck pile,” she said as I emboldened the spike of arousal she felt as her mind went to our first night at El Dorado, and everything that led to her current predicament.
Rumi licked her bottom lip as she cradled my balls with one hand and stroked my cock with the other. It had to be a subtle thing to avoid suspicion, but I kept stoking the arousal that she felt. And, despite herself, there was a sizable ember of arousal that I could turn into a steady flame. A lock of hair fell in front of her face, and I reached to tuck it back behind her ear. Our eyes met and Rumi looked away.
“This is total bullshit,” she continued to complain, shifting from awkwardly half standing over me to kneeling between my legs. “Endurance and a massive cock, and it's attached to the biggest piece of shit I've ever met.” She muttered to herself darkly, working her jaw as she realized that a handjob wasn't going to cut it.
“I'll take the compliment in the spirit it's given,” I replied cheekily. Despite what I said to Jinx, I don't think I was a masochist. Not when I was enjoying the sight of Rumi’s scowl as she glared at my cock before leaning in.
My cock twitched as she dragged her tongue along the underside of it, tracing the large vein from the base of my balls to the crown. Still gripping my cock, she brought the head of it into her mouth, swirling it around the glands while her hands pumped and massaged my balls. All the while she glared up at me, her annoyance increasing proportionally to the arousal that I stoked in her.
I swallowed a groan as Rumi's lips wrapped around my cock, throwing me into a tight world of warmth and wetness. Her slender tongue worked masterfully over the tip of my dick and, almost unconsciously, she took more and more of my length into her mouth. Her head bobbed on my cock, her head tilting back and forth as she assaulted me from all angles, her hand tightening around the part she didn't take in.
Rumi only seemed to snap out of it when my cock hit the back of her throat. Her eyes widened, her actions freezing for just a second, before she continued. She didn't try to deep throat me, though I'm pretty sure she was capable of it. Instead, she focused on taking as much of my cock as she could into her mouth. Drool dripped down my length, coating her chin as her ministrations became a little more desperate as time went on.
It was a few minutes later that she pulled my cock from her mouth entirely and, rather than the anger I knew she was feeling, she gave me a dull, flat glare. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” I agreed. The blowjob felt great, and with enough time, I'm sure she'd make me cum. If I let myself. But, that wasn't really what I wanted at the moment. I wanted to pick at that crack that formed between her and Asami. And I wanted to indulge in Rumi's body. There was no way that I would let things end with a blowjob.
Rumi blew out a sigh, making my cock twitch as it was assaulted with cool air. She had a mental debate with herself for just a moment before she blew out a second larger sigh. “Fine. Fuck it,” she said, and I could approve of that mentality. Especially when it was being guided by arousal as much as it was annoyance.
Unceremoniously, as if to deny me a strip tease, Rumi pulled back and undid the buttons to her shirt and vest. With a flick of her fingers, her bra came undone. She made no attempt to display her body to me, though she didn't quite hide it either. Her breasts were perfect for her size, capped with light brown nipples that had hardened with arousal. Her arms flexed with muscle, her defined abs rippling as she discarded her clothing.
My cock twitched in the open air and Rumi snorted, “Seriously? Guys really are that simple, huh? I figured you couldn't be impressed with tits after experiencing a pair like Robin's or Nora's.”
“Bigger doesn't always mean better, and all tits have their own appeal,” I said, reaching forward, only to have my hands smacked away.
“Don't get any ideas,” Rumi muttered in my direction, her words pretty contradictory to her actions as she wrapped her tits around my glistening cock. Her breasts were marshmallow soft, yet still firm as she ensured her cleavage was lubricated. And, despite herself, her thighs rubbed together as she started getting some ideas herself. I just raised my hands up in a gesture of surrender, savoring the sight of Rumi's tits around my cock before she took the crown into her mouth again. Her tongue swirled before her head began to bob up and down once more.
Drool fell freely from her mouth, and she let it fall down my shaft and coat her cleavage that squelched wetly as she massaged her breasts around my shaft. She knew what she was doing, too -- she was squeezing her breasts rhythmically, raising them up and down, or alternating. Her arousal was getting to her as her fingers tweaked her own hardened nipples as the fact that she hadn't made me cum yet stung her pride and compelled her to take me deeper and deeper into her mouth until my cockhead hit the barrier for her throat.
My cock throbbed as her slick wet tongue never stilled, lapping at my cock and attacking it from a new angle with every bob of her head. My arms twitched to place a hand on her head, to shove her down and enter her throat fully, but that seemed like a fast way to end a good thing. Instead, I savored it as I held Rumi's gaze, watching as the annoyed glare was steadily giving way to a mindless lust. There was a thrill of excitement in her gaze when she felt my cock throb again that wasn't entirely motivated by wanting the whole affair to be over with.
My balls tightened, signaling my incoming orgasm, and I didn't bother holding it back. It was tempting, I had to admit. To hold back and force Rumi to go all the way with this if she wanted to make me cum. But, that was indulgent. As it was, I had a much better plan and I would need something to amuse myself with as Asami continued to disappoint.
Rumi sped up her ministrations, realizing that I was close and determined to push me over the edge. As she did, I spiked her arousal and just as my cock throbbed one final time, Rumi shuddered as she came alongside me. Cum flooded her mouth, her orgasm dulling her reaction and she pulled back a second too late. Cum shot out of the corners of her mouth before erupting on her face in long thick ropes, at least until I aimed a bit down to cover her tits in cum.
Rumi’s lips thinned as she realized she had been outplayed, while I watched how the thick cum slowly ran down her body, dripping from a nipple or gliding down her already slick breasts down to her defined abs. She didn't say anything as she merely glared in my direction with a lone eye, the other sealed shut with a strand of cum. Turning to the side, she spat out the lingering taste of my cum before standing up and turning away from me so she could grab one of my clean shirts to clean herself off.
I watched her back flex as she made a noise of disgust when she realized I got it in her hair. My cock still stood at attention, ready to continue, just a bit cold without her lips now. I waited for her to be done, turning around to grab her clothes with a hand over her breasts. “How about another bet?” I asked her, making Rumi freeze as she reached for her bra.
Her gaze narrowed, her silence loud as she held my gaze, “On what?”
That was the question, wasn't it? “I want to have a little contest with Asami. We each create something wholly original and put it to the market at the end of the month. Whoever sells the most wins.”
The invention wouldn't matter. Not really. It didn't matter how useful or for what price. Marketing was the biggest part of being an entrepreneur, and marketing was nine-tenths who you knew. And I was curious on who Asami knew.
Rumi worked her jaw for a moment, dressing herself as her gaze flickered down to my still erect cock. “What do you want?” She half growled in my direction and she sensed the answer by my smirk.
“I'm thinking… a full length massage, complete with a happy ending,” I decided, making Rumi scowl. “And, should Asami win… I'll tell you exactly how large my Rooms are.” I offered, knowing that I was playing with fire now. But that's what made it so much fun.
Asami had tipped her hand more than she realized, and I was smelling blood in the water.
Rumi didn't respond until she was completely dressed and heading for the door. I half thought she was going to blow me off as she reached for the door handle, only to linger before leaving. I could feel her emotions becoming a jumbled mess -- anger, humiliation, arousal, and annoyance that she was horny. But, all the same, she gave an answer.
“Bet,” she decided, slamming the door shut behind her.
I couldn't stop myself.
I started to cackle.
…
‘Fuck. Fuck. Fucking fuck shit goddamn asshole shit,’ Rumi swore in her mind, leaping from building to building as she headed to Asami's personal hideout. Her blood was singing and her pussy was on fire, an itch deep within that fingers alone wouldn't satisfy. It was so damn desperate and pathetic that she wanted to dunk herself in that cesspool of a river just to cool off.
She’d always had a strong sex drive. It had been irritating as fuck to deal with all the jokes ‘Ha ha -- bunny girl fucks like a rabbit, teehee.’ But they weren't exactly wrong, even if Rumi was pretty sure her sex drive had nothing to do with her quirk and was more because she was an adrenaline junkie.
She was picky, though. She had a type that she liked, and in the past three years since she was dropped into a whole new world, no one had met her standards. The heroes of Law's world were trash. Weak willed losers and the worst examples of celebrity heroes she had ever seen. Did that change in the radioactive hellhole Law called Fallout? Of course not. Fallout was a den of debauchery, but not the kind that she liked. No one there had impressed her enough to let them scratch that itch.
Now, as she sailed through the air, Rumi realized that Law fell into her strike zone. Or her standards had slipped. Rumi preferred the thought of the latter because the thought of being attracted to Law made her physically ill.
She touched down on a rooftop, her heart pounding as she dropped down into a skylight. She took a couple of breaths, gathering herself as she headed down through a secret entrance to a basement that was built beneath the building's original basement -- she still smelt cum on her, and Rumi was painfully aware how her panties clung to her crotch. It was so damn annoying, and it wasn't the only thing.
The door swung open to reveal Asami as she sat at her desk, her expression severe. “What were you thinking?! Sending Yamato after Sukuna wasn't the plan, and you know that!”
“We had an opportunity until you fucked it up!” Rumi snapped right back at her, gritting her teeth. She never had much control over her temper, but Asami screwing things up led to her sucking that bastard's cock and getting a facial. The words pissed off didn't even begin to cover how she felt at the moment. “He's getting antsy, just like you said. Bored out his mind and he pounced on the chance for excitement, exactly as I said he would. I could have learned how large his Rooms are if you didn't fuck up my plan!”
Asami blanched ever so slightly before her expression tightened, “You didn't tell me what your plan was. You ran off half cocked.”
“You weren't here! You haven’t been here for months!” Rumi snapped, her scowl twisting into a snarl. “And I'm getting really sick of this waiting game, Asami.”
“We're not ready,” Asami said, just as she always did. “I've underestimated Law too much already. He's smarter than I thought he was, so I don't want to act until we are one hundred percent prepared. Until now, everything was going exactly as we talked about -- he's starting to squirm. Every time he provokes us, and we do nothing, will just lead to him poking harder and when we're ready to take him down, he won't know what hit him.”
As Asami spoke, she reached down into her drawer and pulled out a pair of goggles. At the sight of them, the anger in Rumi drained away. She looked down at them, picking them up to find that they were a bit clunky. “Do they work?”
“It's a functioning prototype,” Asami confirmed. “It can be improved. And I still need to work out some kinks, but… it works.” She sighed, sitting down, “Time is on our side, Rumi. The longer we wait, the better off we'll be.”
It pissed her off to hear, but Rumi knew that Asami was right. They had a bunch of irons in the fire, and any one of them could be the key to taking Law down for good.
Then Asami leaned forward, “It would help us significantly if we knew the scope of his Rooms. I'm sorry that I messed up that opportunity -- I didn't know. Do you think you could get him to tell you?”
Runi closed her eyes for a moment, clenching her jaw as her pussy clenched at the thought. The information would be a game changer, because they would know exactly what they were dealing with rather than making guesses. But the risks…
Damn it all.
“Yeah. I think I can manage that.”
