Number 7

"Hey... this... this isn't what I signed up for."

"Did any of us sign up for this in the first place?"

Two men entered a room, stunned as they were presented with a scene that was beyond their comprehension.

"You've... got to be kidding me. This... this is just a big joke, right?"

Before these men was a nursery.

Cribs were lined out before them in a grid, and within each of them was a newborn child.

"What... Do we even do here?"

Some children screamed and cried while others slept, although the number of children who did the latter was excessively low.

"What on earth is the boss thinking? Throwing us into here like we're babysitters and telling us to take care of these kids... I mean... I've never taken care of a child on my own! Even my own kid, my wife was always taking care of him! I just went to work and saw him when I got home! How the hell are we supposed to take care of... this many?"

The two men looked around dumbfounded, completely at a loss.

"Ah... hey... do you think... the reason they're crying..."

"It... shit.... that has to be it, doesn't it?"

"You don't happen to know how to change a diaper, do you?"

"Why would I?"

"Hah..."

One by one, the children who were fast asleep woke up, soon adding their voices to the chorus of crying children.

"This... is insane."

----

"What the hell!?!? I just changed that one!! Are you telling me it shit again!?"

"Is that all they know how to do!? How many times are they going to shit before they shut up!?"

"I don't know!! Agh!! Now this one is crying too!!"

"SHH!! Be quiet!! Oh come on... look, look! See! I'm funny, right? Shh!"

Chaos.

The two men frantically worked to quiet the children, resorting to all forms of silly faces and baby talk in order to satisfy them, however this was to no avail.

With every child they quieted, another three arose.

"Agh!!! Two people isn't enough for this!!!"

"Why won't they just sleep!? They don't have to do anything all day long! No work, no school, nothing! They're able to sleep all day but they won't do it!?"

"Maybe you two should stop being so loud and they wouldn't be as scared of you."

The two men looked up to notice that their boss was standing at the door, leaning on the wall behind him with arms crossed and a smug grin across his expression.

"Boss... why do we have to take care of all these children? I know that you've specialized in... these matters... for a long time... but infants!? Newborns!? And you're not even going to put them up for ransom or use them as hostages like you did for our children? What are you trying to do here?"

"I suppose you could say I'm taking a risk."

Stepping into the room, the quiet footsteps of the man resounded through the minds of all - and his very presence was enough to quiet all the crying which had previously shaken the room.

A cold terror swept through the minds of not only the men, but even the very babies that lay in that place - enough to SILENCE them.

"I'm certain that you all have noticed already... but even so I will ask. Have you noticed anything strange from your time in this room? Anything... out of place?"

Approaching the two, the men looked to one another with anxious expressions before turning back to their leader.

"Well... I suppose there was that one child..."

"Yes? Go on."

The man pressed forward, pushing an answer out of the two.

"The girl in the corner there... the one who has blue hair... well... something was off about her."

"Now that you mention it...", the other man added, glancing back towards the girl. "Out of all the children... well, all of them were either crying or sleeping. Out of those children, even the ones that were sleeping woke up and began to cry. However that one... she was awake the entire time... yet she was just sitting there... watching."

"Pavalov’s dog. Have you heard of it?"

Cutting the man off as he made this statement, the one known as their boss stepped forward, slowly walking over to the girl with a grin.

"About a century ago there was a psychologist who performed an experiment on a dog. He would ring a bell before giving the dog its meals, and after doing this for a while eventually he rang the bell without giving the dog a meal. Do you know what happened?"

The two men merely watched as their boss stepped forward, now standing above the crib of the young girl - who gazed back at him without emotion.

She did not move.

She did not cry.

She did not make any motions.

"The dog began to slobber with drool, as if it was expecting a meal to be served. Do you see the lesson here?"

Turning back to the two, the man took off his sunglasses as he pocketed them into his suit jacket.

"If you perform the same action over and over... then no matter how dumb someone or something is... they will learn. However... it is only before a person has finished developing that they can learn the best."

Picking up the girl, the man cradled her in his arms as she gazed at him - with neither love nor hatred in her eyes.

"Instincts are actions which animals will perform independent of their own decision making ability. When someone acts on instinct, this is not something which they have learned, but rather a natural reaction. Something which has been instilled into their minds from the moment they are born. However I have learned one thing from my time with this child."

As the man said this, he grinned deviously as he looked down at the child, viewing her as if she were nothing more than an object.

"If you teach a child something before they are able to develop the capacity for memory... then it will act as an instinct to them later in their lives. They will follow their instincts... no matter what."

Looking up, the man was met with two terrified expressions.

The men before him were terrified at the implications of the things the man said, unable to even respond.

"Go on. Ask me. I know you're thinking it.", the blonde man stated.

"Eh?"

Looking up to his boss with confusion, the henchman was at a loss.

"What would I want to teach them to do instinctively?"

"How... how did you know-"

"It's all over your face. You're disgusted, aren't you? You're horrified that I could manipulate a person's very mindset from before they even enter society. However... this is necessary to create... machines."

Gently, the man placed the girl back in her crib, walking towards the door as he slid his hands into his pockets.

And at that moment, something changed.

The suffocating air lightened, and in that instant all the children began to cry once more.

The man then casually approached one of the cribs, grabbing a baby boy who continued to cry as he was held up.

Then, looking the boy directly into the eyes...

Slap!

And the air once more crushed every person within the room.

On being slapped across the face, the crying boy immediately silenced himself, looking at the man with teary eyes that were filled with horror.

"In order that they will be loyal... obedient... and unable to ever go against me... I must first create an instinct within them."

Placing the baby boy back down on the crib, the man let out a chuckle as he slowly walked out of the room, grabbing a cigarette as he lit it and placed it to his mouth.

With a puff, the man exited the room, swinging open the door as he strolled out with a smile.

"The instinct to never even consider disobeying me."

----

[2 years later]

A man with golden hair that was spiked back in a slightly chaotic manner sat wearing a pristine violet suit which glittered with the allure of wealth.

In the dingy room which resembled a dungeon, the lone chair which he sat in was luxurious, as if it was a single ornament of worth that had accidentally been thrown in the trash.

"Jason."

"Yes, brother?"

"Wine."

"Understood."

Surrounding the man were dozens of children, of which a young boy no more than 3 years old hobbled over to the man, stumbling as he carried a bottle of wine that was almost as tall as himself.

Another boy quickly stepped forward holding a wine glass as the two struggled to pour the drink, spilling the red liquid on their clothing as they struggled to perform such a task.

"William. Did you just allow some of my wine to go to waste?"

"Forgive me, brother! I..."

"Is that an excuse I hear you forming?"

The boy stopped speaking as he looked up to the man, terror in his eyes as his hands quivered, barely even able to hold the heavy glass.

"Give it here.", the man stated coldly as he snatched the glass, taking a sip as he closed his eyes.

Wrinkling his face, the man spat to his side.

"Bitter. This wine hasn't aged at all."

"I..."

"Which one of you picked this?"

The man cut off the boy with this statement, at which the entire room froze.

Not a single person said a word, for all the children became too terrified to speak.

However as the man looked around the room, an immense sense of horror overwhelmed the children as they strained themselves to remain perfectly still.

Standing up, the man let out a disappointed sigh as he rubbed his hand across his face.

"I will ask again."

Throwing the wine glass to the side as it shattered on the concrete wall, the red fluid dripped to the floor as the man beamed upon the children.

"Who picked this wine?"

"It was Lilith."

Speaking up from the crown was a young girl, whose hair was a deep shade of blue.

Her eyes held the expressionlessness of a robot, as if she was completely hollow and devoid of emotions.

She spoke these words without concern or care, fear being a foreign concept to her.

"Y-yeah... it... it was Lilith.", a boy added.

"T-that's right...", a girl chimed in.

"Mhm! It was her!"

"Yep!"

"That's right!"

One by one, the children added their cries to the chorus - terrified at the prospect of hiding anything from their older brother.

Quick to shift the blame onto others in order to free themselves, each and every single child pointed to the young blonde girl, whose expression quickly became filled with an overwhelming dread.

The girl fell to the ground, trembling as tears filled her eyes - bawling yet unable to even speak a word as all ratted her out.

The man strode forth, the crowd parting for him as he approached the girl with a distasteful expression.

"Who here thinks that I should punish her?"

With this question, the man addressed all those around him as he kept his eyes on the girl before him, not looking away for even an instant.

One by one, each of the children raised their trembling hands, advocating for the chastisement of the girl.

All except one.

"Isabella. You didn't raise your hand. Would you like to tell me why?"

"Brother, I simply believe that you had something else in mind. Am I wrong?"

The blue haired girl responded in this way, not moving her gaze an inch as she spoke.

"That is correct."

Turning around, the man walked away with a chuckle.

"When I originally asked who had given me such rotten wine... Isabella immediately spoke the truth. Without thought. Without question. She spoke the cold facts without concern for whatever repercussions they may have. However the rest of you only joined her AFTER the facts had come to light... in order to save yourselves. Now tell me. If you are acting only to save yourself... and not out of loyalty and a desire to inform me of the full truth... then what point is there in keeping you around?"

Motioning for the girl to follow him, the man looked back with disappointment.

"Follow me, Isabella. I have a more important task for you."

As the man said this, the girl stepped forward without a word, taking her place beside him as he turned around to leave.

"And for the rest of you... I suppose going without food or drink for today will suffice."

----

"How old are you now?"

"4 years old, brother."

"Hah... already 4 years old? I see. Time... certainly does fly, doesn't it?"

The blonde haired mafioso reminisced as he walked through the hallways of his underground facility alongside the blue haired girl who wore nothing more than rags.

As if she had been living in filth all her life, nothing about this girl was bright or cheerful in any manner.

"Well, I think it's about time that you started doing missions for me."

"Missions? What kind of missions?"

The girl tilted her head as the man made this statement, however he did not so much as turn behind him as he explained to the girl who followed.

"Don't think that you can get by without doing any work. All the food I give you... everything we provide here for you... it comes at a price. Big brother has to work very hard to obtain those things... therefore you need to help me. Understood?"

"I understand. What needs to be done?"

Without emotion the girl replied thusly, not questioning further as she was given her orders.

For she was obligated to obey.

"You need to learn how to do many things. To begin... Well, I suppose you will come with me in order to perform a certain job. I will be negotiating with a certain man over a financial... disagreement."

Turning around as he stopped in his tracks, the man placed his hand on the head of the girl with a grin.

"And your role... will be to convince that man not to do anything foolish."

"I understand, brother. I will do my best."

Slap!

As the girl made this statement, her cheek reddened as she was met with a hand across her face.

The girl didn't so much as shrink back, however she spoke calmly as she looked at the man who had slapped her.

"Have I said something incorrect?"

"Yes. You will not do your best. You will SUCCEED. Telling me that you will do your best... is that not merely an excuse which leaves room for failure?"

With a brief nod, the girl demonstrated that she understood.

"Very well, brother."

Without smile or frown, the girl responded in the affirmative, never telling the man anything he didn't want to hear.

"I will succeed."

----

"Sir, the preparations have been made. Shall we bring him in?"

"Of course."

Sitting in a fancy meeting room on a couch was a man.

He wore a pristine suit, and sitting at his side wearing an adorable sundress was a young girl - however despite the colorful outfit which she wore, the eyes of this girl were completely void of any brightness.

The room had been prepared with coffee and tea, cookies and all sorts of luxuries. If one were to enter this place, they might have believed that they had entered the palace of a noble during the Victorian era.

"Do not say anything until I give you the signal. Am I understood?"

"Yes, brother."

"I am not your brother right now. I am your father. Is that understood?"

"Yes, father."

"Wonderful."

The man had this short interaction with the girl, at which the two stiffened themselves up before the doors opened.

Inside the room walked a man who wore a grand suit and tie, and he quickly took a seat before the two.

The thin man was not old, but he was not young either. He was likely in his 40s or early 50s at the most, and he looked around him with a nervous expression before focusing on the man sitting before him.

"I... I'd like to start first and foremost by thanking you for this opportunity. It's truly an honor to be here before you... I've only heard things up until this point about the Street Rats... and the fact that I'm meeting with the leader of the 3rd branch... it is truly an honor-"

"Enough."

The man spoke with caution and care, ensuring to be as polite as possible as he addressed the man with formality, yet he was cut off before he could even finish.

"I'm not here to hear whatever lies you can come up with to try and get on my good side, and you aren't here to suck up to me. Money. You're here for the money. Am I wrong?"

With this statement, the jaw of the man almost dropped to the ground as he was thrown on the spot within moments of entering this room, however after a brief moment of shock the man placed his hand behind his head as he chuckled nervously.

"Haha... I suppose you are certainly straight and to the point. Well... my business hasn't been doing well recently. We're on the verge of bankruptcy... but if we were just able to get a loan of 100,000... no, 50,000 Sin.. then I'm sure we would be able to turn a profit and pay you back in full-"

"10%."

Making this single statement was none other than the young girl who sat without expression, merely stating this number without explanation.

"I'm sorry?"

The man looked to the girl with question marks above his head, then to the man who sat beside her.

"Sir, with all the respect... What exactly is a child doing here? It is one thing if they are silent, but to think that the girl would interrupt in the middle of such important business..."

The man's voice trailed off as he noticed the expression of the mafioso quickly change - his eyes becoming icy and filled with a coldness unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"What did you just say about my daughter?", the man asked, standing up as he grabbed the visitor by the collar of his shirt.

"W-wait just a minute-"

"You seem to fail to understand something here. Isabella. What did you just say?"

"I said 10%. That should be the interest rate for the loan. Don't you think it's an agreeable rate for something like this?"

The girl spoke while eyeing the visitor even as he was lifted in the air, to which his eyes widened in surprise.

"Did you hear her clearly? 10%. That's the rate she has determined for you. She's quite a good judge of character... therefore she has the authority to determine such things."

Letting go of the man who fell backwards to once more take a seat, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket as he wiped his sweat.

"Wait just a moment... Are you truly going to allow a child to set such a high interest rate? 10% annually... surely you must be joking. How can a child make such a decision? 5 percent. That's what a typical house loan or student loan would be valued at, no? I'll agree to-"

"Once again, you don't seem to understand how things work here."

Crossing one leg over another, the mafioso looked to the ceiling as he lit a cigar, taking a puff without concern as he gazed above him.

"50,000 Sin. It's quite a large sum of money. Sure, it's nowhere near a house loan... but there's a reason you've come to us, right?"

"Urgh!"

The man seemed to squirm in displeasure as the mafioso said this, threatening to expose something.

"You were likely involved in some sort of illegal activities that would disqualify you from obtaining a legal loan if someone were to try to investigate your credit history. Therefore you've come to us instead. So let me make this very clear to you. One."

Holding up his index finger, the man's expression became crystal clear as he stared down his opponent.

"You can't go to anyone else. If you could have, you would have done so in the first place. The fact that you are here means that you have no other choice. Which means that WE have every right to charge you the interest rates that we want."

Raising another finger, the man grinned as he spoke.

"And two. I think you're misunderstanding something else here. Isabella, would you mind clarifying on the rate?"

"10 percent."

"It's absurd! Absurd! How can I accept such a shady loan! I'll... I'll find someone else! Hah! I'm leaving!"

Stepping up, the man threatened to leave the room - storming out as he made a small scene.

However as he approached the door his loud steps slowed.

Turning his head, the man stopped walking.

"I'll... I'll really leave you know..."

"Go right ahead. I have no time to deal with people who can't accept our conditions. Good luck finding another group. Spoiler. We've already absorbed every other group in the area. You won't find one."

"Hah! As if I care! I'll get a legal loan!! I haven't done anything wrong!"

Storming out, the man exited the room with frustration, slamming the door as he left.

The man in charge was left with the girl and the henchmen, and out of those left in the room only the leader spoke.

"5 minutes. That's all it'll take."

However as the clock ticked, it was not even that long before the door was opening once more.

"Please forgive my outburst... I was wrong.... I should not have said those things, and-"

"15 percent now."

The man had returned, reduced to a disturbing state as a shell of the man who he was just moments before.

'Reality hits hard, old man. If you can't adapt... then you'll never be able to get anywhere. And if you can't realize what you should do and when... then you're never going to make it in the business world. Ah... but isn't that why you've been reduced to this state in the first place?'

With a smug grin, the mafioso took a puff of his cigar as he nodded.

"You heard the girl. 15%."

"Ngh... fine... I'll... I'll accept it. 15% annually. I'll take it."

Bowing with his head lowered in shame, the man grit his teeth as he accepted the harsh terms, at which two of the henchmen stepped forward as they opened a case filled with money.

"There it is. Take this and go. Ah... but once again... you don't seem to listen to other people. Isabella. Could you please clarify on the conditions of the loan once more?"

As the mafioso said this, the man looked up as the money filled his eyes, however his gaze was soon focused on the girl who looked at him with a dead expression.

"The loan is 15%. However I never said that it was annual."

And then, for just a moment, the man could have sworn that he saw the devil's smile flash on the face of the girl.

"15% monthly. Take it or leave it."

----