Unchained

Chapter 23 - Becoming Friends With A Sketchy Russian Scientist

Tomura lifted the cage again, stumbling a little as he followed the other quietly. "So, is there anything I can call you by...?" He resisted the urge to scratch at his neck. It was getting increasingly difficult not to as the mission went on. "Just figured, since you already know my name n all."

"Oh, you're that new here?" He looked at him, rather surprised "Doctor Maxim Kontsevich, Head of biological research within the Mustufu facilities." he stated matter-of-factly "We're going to the twelfth floor, you are in good enough shape, I hope?" he joked.

Feeling a bit intimidated that this was the head researcher , Tomura took a second to think before nodding 'Better than trying to run out of a burning building' he thought.

"I can handle that, Dr. Maxim." Tomura reassured, continuing his somewhat steady pace.

The doctor gave a chuckle "I like your attitude, Takashi-san... Say, you're not planning to stay a janitor here, are you?"

Tomura shrugged a little with a bit of strain, muttering as he glanced towards the doctor "I mean, I don't have any sort of license, degree, or experience that could get me any higher here; this is the best job I could get" Tomura climbed up the stairs diligently. The urge to scratch at himself started to fade away, leaving him with a bout of relief.

"Bah, these newly licensed practitioners that think they know everything without having done a single experiment that wasn't forced on them annoy me anyways... I can do all the thinking I need myself" he said, dismissively "Had my last assistant removed three days ago, couldn't stand him. And the pig of a replacement they're trying to give me isn't any better"

He tilted his head a little to look at him "What did the last assistant do...?" Tomu seemed a little hesitant to ask the question, but better to know if he was doing something that could get him in danger than not to know.

"Busy work really, no clue how That got to his head... Move around equipment, subjects, maybe mix together a substance or two. And keep the lab clean. Nothing difficult, I tell you! Still managed to fail, and had the gall to blame me for it!" Maxim huffed

"Just need to convince the old Takeda to take that stick..."

He stopped, hearing footsteps from above. Two people. "speak of the devil..."

Tomura looked up to where the footsteps were coming from, Lumen following his gaze as Tomura's arms started to get just the tiniest bit shaky from having to carry the moderately heavy cage.

A woman - the same that Tomura had encountered earlier, in the corridor - walked down the stairs, the military man she had conversed with in tow. The latter was now silent, staring blankly into the distance. They stopped in front of the scientist.

"Doctor... What exactly do you think you are doing with the janitor...? And why, is he handling a specimen?" she called out, coldly

The scientist huffed "Handling... he's carrying a box, barely needs university education for that. And are you making that your standard way of dealing with criticism, now?" He motioned towards the other man, with a scowl

"I'm keeping this place running, Maxim. You of all people should be able to value that..."

Tomura avoided eye contact from either of the professionals. If he actually had a job here, he would've offered to let someone else handle Lumen and just let him get back to his previous activities. However, he doesn't actually work here and needs to keep Lumen safe. So, he just stood aside as the urge to scratch at himself started to grow again.

The woman walked past them, glancing derisively at Tomura as she passed. Her companion followed, somewhat robotically, without making a sound

"Don't worry, I will sort that... We have experiments to do!" Maxim continued up the stairs, some excitement showing in his surprisingly fast pace.