Diversity:

Chapter 88

“I see. Just one question – ” Conmer tried his best not to do anything that would raise the ninja’s low opinion of his intelligence. After all, it rarely hurt to have an enemy underestimate you. “You say Tenra tried to kill you, but was this before or after you invaded my ship and attacked my crew?”
“Yes, yes… very funny.” Rouge rolled their eyes. “Look, some resistance was to be expected, but this Tenra has been… how can I put this… very insistent on resolving this lethally?” They sighed. “Seriously. We can’t knock her out because we can’t find her, and we can’t talk her down because of the language barrier.”
“Really? Blaming the language barrier?” A smirk crossed Conmer’s face. It was a poor gambler that blamed her cards… but he doubted these ninja were truly bad gamblers. They were hiding something. Or maybe this whole conversation was just a feint, aimed to get a read on Conmer’s personality and abilities. “I got her to stop trying to stab me in seconds, without either of us understanding a lick of what the other was saying.”
“Ugh, typical man. Ego leaves little space for intelligence, as the saying goes.” Rouge turned to Meadow, seemingly unaware that their slip up hinted to their group’s gender. Seemingly. The best place to hide a lie was a mistake, after all… “Do we really have to make a deal with this mark?”
“Yes, Rouge, now if you don’t mind -” Meadow froze, putting a hand up to their ear. “Snowflake and Sunshine’s signals have stopped, go check it out, Rouge.” They waited silently as Rouge left the room, then strolled confidently up to Conmer. “Sorry about putting you through that unpleasant conversation. I know how frustrating talking to a moron can be, but the best lie is molded from truth, so having an idiot with an inflated ego in the group is the perfect way to get others to let their guard down.” The green pixel eyes on Meadow’s visor narrowed, hinting at a smirk beneath their mask. “Except, you didn’t let your guard down. Normally, I’d think you’d seen through the ruse, but your attention was focused on Rouge the whole time – you really thought her stupidity was just an act. An admirable level of paranoia, but also an abnormal one – too high for even a Rosearn to achieve through personality and upbringing alone. Too high unless something happened in your past…” Meadow leaned in uncomfortably close. “…some kind of mistake – one deeply regretted. You took something at face value when you really shouldn’t have. Something simple, too simple for any normal Rosearn to miss…”
Stiffness overcame Conmer’s face, draining it of visible emotion. This seemed to amuse Meadow.
“Allow me to reintroduce myself. I’m Meadow, the leader of this little band of five.”

 

A note from the author ninja:

Don’t mess with Meadow.

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