The girls were back together at another cafe, thankful to not have been noticed by the public. It was surprising that that was the case even with everything happening to them. All of µ's were sitting together like they promised they would when they broke up, but they never believed the reason why they would be congregating on such short notice. This time, Honoka brought with her two unfamiliar schoolgirls claiming to have come from a three hour train ride just to meet them, and confirmed that the cafe was clear of spies. "Everyone," Honoka calls the attention of her companions, all sitting gloomily without a word. They all look up uncomfortably with their eyes, rather than turning their heads. "I'd like you all to meet the leader of the school idol group Aqours, Ms. Chika Takami." Her voice was neither enthusiastic nor bored, more of a mix of professionalism and remaining quiet.
A redhead with a similar energy to Honoka stands up and faces the group. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." After pausing for a response she didn't receive, Chika continues. "I seldom come up to the city to meet new partnerships, but I do believe that we might have a special connection, yes?" µ's exchange glances, giving each other discreet shrugging motions to indicate they had no idea who she was or why she was here. "Both of our schools are closing down because of UTX, yes?" Some of the girls responded with a quiet yes, others with just a meek nod.
"Look, we're not here to recruit anybody. You guys have your own thing, we have ours. We're just suggestin' if our groups combine forces, we having the guns, and you guys having the eyes on UTX, we might be able to do something," You, who was sitting down, cuts in. Chika sits down after realizing You had the group's attention by now. Everyone remained silent. "Alright, here's the deal. We'll do a poll. Who here doesn't want anything to do with the whole mafia thing in the first place?" You raises her hand to signal a vote.
The only ones who didn't raise their hand were Kotori, Honoka, Nozomi and Eli. Some, like Maki and Rin, raised their hands reluctantly as not to offend the ones who voted against. On the other hand, Umi and Nico raised their hands confidently. "I don't want anything to do with this mess. Or criminals," Umi restates.
"Yeah, alright, we get it Umi," Eli replies, speaking for everyone else tired of hearing Umi's complaints. "We said we'd meet up one final time. If you don't wanna join, then you can leave-" Umi hastily grabs her things and storms off without looking back. Eli mumbles something to herself while she used a hand to rub her temples. "That goes to all of you," the blonde says with her eyes closed. "If you don't want anything to do with this, fine. You can leave. We won't force you." A pause ensued before Nico stood up, curtly apologizing to Honoka before leaving. Soon after, Maki, Rin and Hanayo left as well without saying anything. Everyone had their own reasons, but they didn't feel the need to explain themselves. Now, only the two Aqours members and those who didn't vote on leaving remained.
Another silence beset the group of six. Chika clears her throat to fill it in. "W-Well, now that we...got that out of the way..."
"We can get down to business." You takes out a briefcase and turns it around on the table so the front side faced the four. Unlatching it, she opens it to reveal eight bags inside. Four were inside the case, and another four were strapped onto the inside of the lid. The bags were tightly packed, leaving little room for air at the top, and were filled with what looked like a white powder. Her face got serious, making sure that the case was pointed away from where people could see. "Cocaine. You've heard of it, now you've seen it. Eight 3.8 liter containers in one briefcase. We've got an order close by for four briefcases worth of it delivered. Here's what we'll do."
You leans in to signal the other four to do the same. Chika stays leaned back, already knowing what You is going to say. "We'll bring four cases over to this alley. You show 'em the cases to confirm that they're there, they give you a case of cash. Easy work. Get back in the car, deposit the cash at your safe house, drive home, have dinner, go to bed. You're not...I guess full-blown drug dealers. Only intermediaries..." By now, You's short fragments of speech were being tuned out by them all. It didn't matter what You told them, they are dealing drugs. Their entire life had only one message, and that was to not associate with drugs. It almost felt insulting to be hit with such a task from the start of their apparent mafia career. "Guys?"
They simultaneously look up at You. "Yeah?" You sighs in pity.
"Come on, were you even listening?"
"O-Of course we were," Honoka steps in. "W-We bring the...briefcases to the...to an alley, then, we get...we get the cases of cash and..." Her voice slowly diminished to a silence as she received a hot glare from You.
"This isn't a game. Don't treat it like one. We're not playing with fireworks, we're playing with bombs." They nod obediently.
"It's just that...we've never..." Nozomi tried to say something but only received the same reaction from You.
"I get it, you guys are new, this is your first op, you're nervous, blah blah blah. I get that. But you have to get over that fear quick," You explains in a hushed tone, snapping her fingers at her last word. "You can't get hung up on this. I know, Aqours got stuck in it too. Crying over spilled blood, drugs, death, you name it. It's just a part of the whole business." You looks at Honoka, Eli, Nozomi and Kotori individually. "Got it?" The four nod again.
"So, you guys up for this or what?" Chika says with her eyes closed with an almost impatient look on her face. Honoka, being the natural leader, spoke up,
"Y-Yes. We are." Chika opens an eye in incredulity. Now Chika was leaning in forward at the group.
"We get plenty of schools comin' to us every week asking to join our little gang to take down UTX. From what I can tell you're all new to the game. I understand that, but you have to see that this isn't going to be easy. Consider this field training. A tutorial. Everything's thrown at you here at the first run. You'll get the danger of dealing with the black market. But in my opinion, this job's a walk in the park. We got everything set up for you; a safe house, even guns for all nine if they all stayed. All we need is your approval," Chika finishes with her hand outstretched. Eli thought back a few nights ago when she was beaten by the delinquents, when the girl put her hand out for a handshake. This time, Chika's eyes were honest and open, and at the same time still looked cold and down-to-business.
Honoka's hand slowly reached toward Chika's, hesitating for only a second, before taking her hand and shaking it eagerly. Honoka didn't give herself time to think. She was under too much pressure, not that it mattered anyways. The handshake was done, and the plans were set. "Great. Follow us and we'll take you to your safe house."
You leads the way down familiar streets to a small, dilapidated brick building most likely used before as an office for attorneys or some other white collar job. The safe house itself only consisted of two rooms, with a backroom taking up a third of the building. The backroom was only separated from the rest of the building by cheap drywall and a door. Their footsteps echoed as they entered through the glass entrance, emphasizing the place's emptiness. The walls and floor were just bare cement, and they had a generally thin film of dust.
A large window in which people could look in from the outside was completely blocked off with heavy drapes. The safe house from the outside was totally inconspicuous, granted the girls kept it that way. "This place is at an interesting area," You commented, pacing forward into the room and glancing at the cobwebs collecting in the corners. "The backroom exit is only an alley and a block away from a train station, and the entrance we just came through is in an empty part of town. Very empty. This is where most of the action happens, really, it's so barren." Honoka thinks back to how the crowd on the sidewalk dissipated into a steady stream of people, only to almost completely vanish by the time they arrived at this spot.
"Exits are at the windows over there," Chika points at a dusty window pane facing the narrow alleyway and the brick wall of the building adjacent to them. "A fire exit in the backroom, and obviously here." She looks at You, motioning for the latter to get something from the back. "To the right of us is a pretty convenient alleyway to park most cars. Bit of a tight fit so, careful with the doors." Chika turns around on her toes and faces the four girls, who looked unimpressed given why they're here.
"What do you think? Not too nosy of a neighborhood down here. Might get lively from time to time during rush hour. Other than that, not too shabby." You comes out from the other room holding a suitcase similar to the one she showed earlier. Honoka's eyes went wide. "And, as a complimentary service, we got you..." Chika undoes the latches and turns the case around to show its contents. Inside were four pistols of the same variation, scattered about as if they were just thrown together. "Four five-sevens, fresh from Seiran High School."
You takes out an assault rifle. Out of instinct, Nozomi, Honoka and Kotori took a few paces backwards. In all of their lives, they had only seen firearms in television and movies, but here they were, right in front of their eyes. The rifle was rugged, with visible scratches etching its sides. "Type 56. Chinese AK-47 variant. Not even sure how Seiran gets their hands on this but, it's clearly seen some action." Eli, contrary to her friends, had taken a step forward. Since You handed her the weapon, she caressed it like a pet, stroking its features and imperfections affectionately. She had some experience with guns at a firing range, but something authentic like this wasn't something she saw everyday. "Perfectly functional. That's got about a four kilogram trigger weight so, keep that in mind..."
You reenters and exits the backroom with a sports bag. It felt cinematic with her heaving it onto a table and zipping it open to reveal more guns inside. "Here's some spare Berettas we found..." You laid out the weapons without showing much concern. It baffled the girls how cold she was about handling firearms nonchalantly like that. They wondered if they would end up being as cold as her. "...and, obviously, some boxes of ammo." When they were all on the table, they added up to nine. "Four five-sevens, four Beretta 92s and an AK"
Chika and You stood with their arms akimbo, admiring the layout as if it were a piece of artwork. "So, that's our present to you. Don't worry about repaying us. You got a big job soon," Chika says to the girls, her eyes trained on the leftovers of their haul. CYaRon had just got Aqours more loot from Seiran the other day and left a bit of it for μ's, but Chika doubted μ's would notice. The four µ's members, even Eli, were taken aback. It was all so foreign to them, so unfamiliar. "We'll stick around a bit to teach you how to use these. Would it be fair to say you're all new?" Eli rose her hand. "Some experience?"
"At a range, yes," the Russian replies, looking back down at the Type 56. "But...obviously not for..."
"Killing people." The two words hit the girls with shock, as if You purposefully hit a nerve. "Not self-defense. Sure, that'll happen, but, chances are, you'll be on the offense." Any thought of the girls giving guns a try immediately drained away. "Oh come on, don't get turned off now. We haven't even started!"
The four girls arrived at the same time of the afternoon the next day in winter clothing, despite being spring. They used the extra layers as a disguise, but even then they knew that it was a little overboard. They were not excited to be here. "Good afternoon," You greets them. Nozomi and Eli were the first to step in, with their underclassmen shuffling nervously after. "Chika's out today with some business of her own. Probably getting a car for us all to use. Now, let's skip the chit-chat. I'm only here to teach you all how to use a gun." The girls shivered internally, looking at each other for comfort.
You almost sounded unsympathetic when she told the girls to "stop being scared". "Let's go over the basic safety rules. Repeat after me. Ground rule number one, a gun is always loaded."
"A gun is always loaded," the girls reply with little synchronization. Slightly displeased, You continued.
"Ground rule number two, never point a gun to anything you're not willing to destroy." A pause ensued. "It'll make sense later."
"Never...point a gun...to anything you're not willing to destroy." The reply was shaky, with each girl trying to remember the remaining few words.
"Good. Ground rule number three, never put your finger on the trigger until your target's in your sights." By now, they were all echoing what she said as if they were in their idol days, lined up in front of a single leader feeding them lines that they had to respond with.
"Never put your finger on the trigger until your target's in your sights."
"And finally, ground rule number four, know your target and what's behind them."
"Know your target and what's behind them." You puts her hands together.
"Great! Now, each of you take your pick." The guns were laid out in an organized fashion, taking up the whole table while also being neatly categorized. Eli took the AK without hesitation, but the other girls settled for the five-sevens, judging by the pistols' sizes. "Now I could go on about how a gun works or the different types of guns and bullets and all that, but, we have to make this quick. Chika's planning on getting you guys on the road in three days."
"Three days?" Kotori timidly whispers, her already quiet voice becoming virtually inaudible as she stared at the gun she held in her hands. It was similar to that of the gun that Kira had pointed to her head. Thinking back on it, Kotori didn't feel any fear at first. It was the initial shock that hit her, bringing her to a blind, hypnotized state of obedience. By now, she was well aware that she had always been a very submissive type. Whether it was because she was trying to please others, or if she was just incapable of leading herself, she didn't know.
"Three days. Hey, what the boss says goes. Anyways..." You proceeded to pluck a Beretta off the table, cocked and pointed at a paper target in the distance. "We shouldn't be here long today either, so I'll teach you three things: How to aim, how to shoot and how to reload. That's all you'll need to know for something as simple as this." You closes an eye and sticks a tongue, firing three rounds into the poster, undoubtedly making holes on the other side. Each muzzle flash caused her spectators to blink, but afterwards, they all heard silence.
The girls looked at each other, expecting loud gunshots to ring every time You fired, but heard nothing. All four of them turn to You in unison. Her mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. Her expression turned from worry to relief. Honoka's hand instinctively went to one of her ears. Tinnitus was more evident each second it continued, and hands went up to ears soon after.
You sighs, glancing at a pack of earplugs she put directly on the table. "Should probably put those on..."
Yay, now the fan art of μ's holding guns now makes sense!
(Also thanks to OuMiyuki for pointing out a mistake in Chapter 8 it's fixed now kthxbye)
Thanks anyways,
-DWalkthroughGuy