4/13/26
"...Looks like you decided to take your eyepatch off. Good for you!"
"Robin, do you want her to slap you again?"
The group, sans Zuan, stood outside the gate waiting for Kanna to arrive. When she did, they noticed that she was acting odd. While Eiji didn't fully understand what was going on, Yosei and Robin did.
"U-Um, K-K-Kanna? Is something wrong?"
"..."
"Long story short, she becomes a different person with her eyepatch off. Did you lose it again?"
"Yes..."
"Do you think it was Yamato? You two are living together, after all."
"No... I checked his room... it's... not there..."
Yosei felt a buzzing in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and saw a message from Robin.
Robin: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
"...You've got issues, Rob."
"Heh, sorry. I couldn't resist."
"...Hey, Kanna. You'll be able to make it through the day without your eyepatch, right?"
"Um... I think so..."
"...Call us if you start to freak out, okay? I'll get Rob to order you a new eyepatch."
"..."
"AHEM."
"See you girls later. Oh, by the way, I wired some money to your account. No need to thank me."
Robin walked off before Kanna could respond. Before he even got in the doors, a girl started clinging onto his shoulder, one completely different than the one he was with the week prior. Yosei walked next to them.
"Why would he do that... I don't deserve it..."
"H-Hey, don't be like t-that."
"...Hey, Kanna. Is something wrong? You seem off."
The two turned toward the voice and saw Frederick standing there with his sister by his side.
"She doesn't normally act like this?"
"Not when I first met her, no. Is something the matter?"
"...U-Um, K-Kanna, who is th-this guy?"
"...Frederick and Gabrielle Dhorian... American immigrants..."
"Uh... Hey, you're Kanna's friend, right? Is something wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, y-yeah, she just g-g-gets... odd... without her eyep-patch."
"...Now that I think about it, yeah, it's gone. ... Well, I hope you find it soon. I can't say I like seeing you like this."
"...How come you're here...?
"I was just walking Gabby here. She's young, kind, beautiful- I'm not blind to the type of people that would target her. She's had a pretty rough past with those type of people, and I don't want to inflict that on her again. So until she knows the area and a few regulars around, I'm walking her to college."
"I personally think it's a bit much, but I don't want him worrying if something happened to me if I can't answer my phone."
"... Oh, and by the way, you three as a whole. There's someone I know I think you should stay away from."
"Hm?"
"Sean Blake. He's one of the reasons my sisters and I moved in the first place. He's a horrible person, and I want him nowhere near my sisters. I don't know exactly where he is, but I know he's within 50 kilometers. He might be searching for Gabby. If he asks you anything about Gabrielle, DO. NOT. SAY. A. WORD. Understand?"
"Y-Y-yes!"
"...Yeah..."
"...Thank you. Gabby, stay safe. I'll see you at home."
"...So that's his weakness."
"...Hmph."
"I thought he didn't value anybody. Talk about twisted love... It really pisses me off!"
"P-Please! I told you everything I know! Please let me live!"
The blue-skinned dancer squirmed with the Striker's boot on its neck.
"How about I give you eternal life in hell?"
The Striker stepped off of the humanoid monster as it was shocked with the force of 800 volts delivered by the Horseman's sickle. The creature swiftly dispersed into black debris.
"...Them."
"'Them?' ... Wait, the Riders are back? ...Then let's make this straightforward for them."
"Riders."
The group looked up to the roof and saw the Striker standing with his hands free.
"...Striker..."
"Fatale isn't here today, she's busy. So at least for today, we've got the exact same goal. Luckily for you, I just finished getting information out of a particularly weak pawn. I've got everything about this place figured out."
"...Do tell..."
"...Is something wrong with her?"
"Not your beeswax, buddy."
"Fair point. I've scoped out the Treasure room. It's at the far south end of the castle, and it's guarded by a door that requires two keys to open. The keys are only given to the two people he trusts; his daughter, and his wife."
"So we need to defeat the cognitions of his daughter and wife?"
"Yes. Given common sense, I'd say that the cognition of the wife is stronger than the one of his daughter."
"Then we should get her out of the way first. What do you say, leader?"
"..."
"...Seriously, is she okay?"
The executioner sighed. "She can't fight like this... Do you mind helping her out of here? She'll get slaughtered with this personality in charge."
"Sure, give me a minute."
Yosei took a silent Kanna's hand and lead her out of the palace. Zuan turned back to the Striker.
"...We should get this done and over with. Us three can likely take her."
"Let me help."
"...What?"
"We have the same goal, remember? If you're planning on taking out the wife, then I'll take out the kid. I'm powerful enough to do it alone. I'll get it done now. Meet back here when you're done."
"Wait."
Zuan pulled some medicine out of his bag and tossed it toward the Striker. The striker caught it and stared at it.
"...Painkiller?"
"If you've ever played a videogame with medicine, palaces makes real-life medicine act in much the same way."
"Instant healing. Got it. If I don't come back, don't bother looking for my body."
The Striker climbed onto the highest nearby rooftop and ran toward his target.
"Why can't we get on top of there?"
"He has quite the impressive leap... with a running start, his jump has around two meters two its name. And for the most part, we appear to be stuck on the first floor. There does appear to be a stairwell, but it's in the extreme south of the area. Right by the door to the treasure."
"That sucks..."
"Hey, guys, I'm back."
Yosei ran back to the group.
"We got a plan?"
"We'll explain as we go. Follow me."
Zuan motioned for the others to follow him and the group started searching for the cognition of Akira's wife.
"...Why is this curse mine to bear...?"
Kanna sat in her house, repeatedly tapping her foot, anxious and worried. She felt like without her eyepatch, she was helpless. That she had nothing to offer. That she couldn't help anybody. She sat there for a few minutes before she heard a loud knocking on her door. She slowly got up and opened it to see Akira.
"I've received a complaint that you've been seen hanging out with a group of people the other tenants find suspicious. Do you have anything to say?"
"...They're my friends... They didn't do anything wrong..."
"I don't care. Don't freak out my tenants, or you're out of here. You have two strikes left, but you're testing my patience. Don't defy me again, or you might be out on the streets early. Understand?"
"...Yes, sir..."
"Good."
The landlord slammed the door shut and walked away. Kanna sat back down and continued to worry, until she heard knocking at her door again. She got up and slowly opened the door, expecting to see Akira again, but instead saw a girl about her age, with dark brown hair and high-end clothing.
"...Who are you...?"
"Hey, sorry about my father. He's like this with all of his tenants."
"...You're Kawaguchiya's daughter...?"
"Yeah. Kazuko Kawaguchiya, nice to meet you."
"..."
"Is something wrong?"
"...Sorry, um... I lost my eyepatch... it's pretty important to me..."
"Eyepatch? You mean this is yours?"
The brunette pulled a black eyepatch from her pocket.
"...Yes, I think that's mine..."
"Inzan-san, right? I found this in my back yard."
"...Please give it to me..."
"Of course."
Kazuko held the eyepatch out. Kanna took it and put it on.
"...Thanks. I feel naked without it. Kanna Inzan, nice to meet you as well."
"Wow, you switched faces fast. Still, I've seen something strange as of late."
"What's that?"
"Every now and again, when I go out the back door, I find something there. One time, I found this eyepatch. Then, a few weeks later, I found a beautiful diamond brooch. And then, another more ornate eyepatch."
"Wait, was it gold with diamond in the middle?"
"Yes, it was. I take it those are yours, as well?"
"Yeah... that's so odd. Is someone breaking into my house just to take those things?"
"I couldn't tell you. I'll come bring those over tonight, I have the in my room. Still, I just came to let you know that dad's been very stressed and intolerant as of late. It would probably be a good idea to do as he says for the time being. Nice meeting you, and stay safe."
Kazuko shook Kanna's hand and left.
"...She has no idea."
"No, she doesn't. I'm ready to head back. I only hope her father's change of heart won't affect her too deeply."
"...Vigilante."
"What is it?"
"No, the lady vigilante, dummkopf."
"Her? ...She came back? She didn't hear the plan, so she'll have no idea what's going on... Dammit, I was just about to fight the cognition, too."
"Heulsuse."
"Did you just call me a crybaby? I really hate you sometimes."
The Striker rushed over back to the entrance, muttering to himself.
"So fricking sick of running back and forth... It's good exercise and all, but damn!"
"Hey, Lady Vigilante. Ready to fight now?"
"Hm? Striker. Where are the others?"
"They're off to fight the cognition of Kawaguchiya's wife. I was about to fight the cognition of the daughter when Horseman here sensed you coming back here. Did you have to do it the moment I was about to start fighting?"
"...Sorry. But I'm back and ready to fight now."
"Then make yourself useful and help them. They're exploring over on the West side."
"...I think they can handle themselves. None of them went to help you, did they?"
"...Do you even need to ask?"
"Then I'll go with you."
"...You're insane, lady. I tried to kill you a week ago, remember? What kind of idiot would trust me?"
"You don't know if you'll need help. And I can heal your wounds."
"Ugh, you're an idiot and a pest... fine. Grab on."
The Striker leapt down and motioned for Kanna to grab on to him. He picked her up and tossed her up to the roof before jumping up there himself.
"Ow... How do you jump that high?"
"I'm athletic, but that's besides the point. Follow me, I'll get you to the cognition as fast as I can. The guards are retards, they don't bother looking up even when a horse is loudly running across."
"So eloquent..."
"Why are there so many ice monsters in this damn palace?!"
The Irishman kept aggressing toward the gnome-like monster, trying to shatter it with a single strike from his sledgehammer, but kept missing. Yosei kept backing off whilst swinging his knife to block the attacks of a fairy-like creature with red skin and butterfly wings. Zuan was occupied with the cognition of Kawaguchiya's wife, who was far more adept with a blade than he had anticipated. Eiji stood in the background, unable to get a lock on the mobile targets.
"Alright, that's enough, midget!
Robin dove out of the way of another ice blast and pulled out his gun. He fired everything he had at the creature, but only his a few shots against his target.
"Those first person shooters make it look so easy... Screw it!"
Zuan struggled to block all of the attacks sent by the queenly cognition. He had already been wounded rather severely in his leg and arm, and being put on the defensive didn't help. The queen had started to mock him.
"Aw, now this is cute. I thought you would be a challenge."
"... Tch. I might not be, but he is."
"What? ...What is that-
"ROBAAAAAAAAR!"
Robin ran up to the cognition at top speed from the side and clotheslined her with his sledgehammer. Zuan took the opportunity to heal himself and land multiple strikes on the cognition, courtesy of his shotgun, whilst Robin rolled away to dodge more icy blasts. Yosei took his attention away from the butterfly-like monster as it flew over in an attempt to help the queen.
"Robin! The hell was that battle cry?!"
"Later."
"...I've got it! The red-skinned fairy is called Hua Po. It's a fire elemental weak to ice and gunfire."
Yosei pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the fairy. He shot it through the head and immediately killed it.
"The cognition has no weakness. However, it also has no resistances."
No longer occupied, Yosei ran over to help Zuan with the cognition. Robin, still unable to land a hit on the old man plaguing him, shouted and summoned Lancelot. He had meant to conserve his stamina to boost the defense of his allies, but his patience had been pushed past its limits.
"Incinerate the old fart!"
A pillar of fire rose from the ground When it disappeared, nothing remained of the creature.
"...Finally, holy shit."
"That was Koropguru. An ice elemental that is weak to fire."
"Persephone, stop trolling me, you twit!"
"...Are we almost there?"
"Yeah. Now do you see why I got pissy about having to run back?"
"Yes. Apologies."
"You can apologize by making yourself useful. ... The roof is open over here, and it's where the princess lies. That should be the cognition. Too high for me to jump up, though.
"There has to be a way up there. Alright, let's-WAH!"
Before she could finish her sentence, the Horseman had grabbed Kanna and tossed her up to the roof. He followed suit with the Striker before returning to his mask.
"...I never said that it was too high to be thrown up."
"Rgh... ...Yes, that's definetly the cognition of his daughter."
The two stared down toward the cognition. It looked exactly like Kazuko, but was wearing very ornate clothing, and was followed by two powerful-looking guards. Kanna began thinking of ways to get down without being detected, but was distracted by the sound of a gun being loaded. She looked to her left, and saw the Horseman aiming a musket toward the cognition.
"...Just going straight for the kill?"
"She's got two guards, lady vigilante... that does NOT roll off the tongue. I'll just call you Ace, kay, lady?"
"...I guess that works."
"The guards are too powerful to instantly kill. And if the guards occupy us, the cognition will run off. The only thing I can think of is to kill the cognition before she even realizes what's going on and then knocking out the guards so there are no witnesses."
"Kill."
"Whatever. Are you prepared?"
"About as ready as I'll ever be."
"Indeed."
"Horseman, fire!"
"What should we do now? We have the key. Do you think the Striker's done yet?"
"Mmmph!"
"If I may offer my opinion, I do not trust the Horseman. We cannot see his face, so we cannot know what he's planning. Even Vendetta, whom has his whole face covered by a mask, still has slight tells."
"Mmmmph!"
"I dislike him. He very well could have killed us when we fought, and he did so without valid reason."
"MPH!"
"...Fujiyama. Your choice?"
"Let me think..."
"Mmmph! Mphphph! MMMMPH!"
"...Robin, please shut her up."
BAM
"Shame. She looked good."
"Robin, that's someone's wife, not cool. ...Whatever. What's the call, professor?"
"Ignoring Robin's comment, it appears our best course of action would be to wait by where we found the Striker again. He said he would meet us there when he was done. Let us see if he upholds his end of the bargain."
The two lefts the tied up and gagged cognition in the nearest closet they could find and ran off back to the entrance.
"HAH!"
Kanna watched in awe as the striker grabbed the soldier-like monster charging at him, put it into a chokehold, threw it onto the ground, and delivered a brutal elbow drop to the humanoid's neck.
"Whoever this man is, he's dangerous... given where that move comes from, he probably participates in wrestling of some sort."
"...Die, human."
Kanna leapt to the right to dodge the attack the paper-like monster launched. Despite being made of such flimsy material, it was very strong; immune to Kanna's arrows.
"This creature is a pain."
"Yeah, I know!"
Kanna heard a bottle hit the ground. She looked toward the Striker again, and he had just chugged a bottle of medicine. She recognized it as the same kind she bought earlier in the year for Takeshita's palace. He got up from his knee and tackled the guard.
"So somebody gave him some medicine."
"He fights like a brute..."
"Later. We can talk about this later."
The monster kept up the assault. As she dealt with the creature, the Striker delivered a complete beatdown on the guard, finishing the brutality by stomping on the soldier's hand, head, and neck as hard as he could, breaking the creature's hand and breaking its neck, killing it. He turned his head up and shouted before turning around to see how Kanna was holding up. As he turned, he saw the creature catch up to Kanna and deliver a heavy blow to her chest, causing her to cough blood. As the creature moved to finish her off, the Striker tore at his mask.
"Mudo!"
The creature, distracted, turned around as the aura of the place darkened and a neon-purple sigil appeared beneath the monster. It stared around, confused, as pink flames appeared, and turned back, preparing to finish Kanna off again. However, as it moved its arm back, black hands grabbed onto the monster and began dragging it into the ground. As the monster faded from sight and the sigil faded, the Striker walked over to Kanna.
"...Where did you send it?"
"Hell, probably. Ace, can you stand?"
"Yes, just give me a minute... Did something come over you? You sounded genuinely concerned for me."
"We share a goal. So for now, we're allies. I simply didn't want to lose an ally. That's all."
The Striker grabbed on to Kanna's armed and pulled her up.
"...I wonder. Who is it, behind the mask?"
"...Ha!"
"...You're Ace's persona, right? If I wanted people to know who I am, I wouldn't be wearing this mask. Common fricking sense. Come on, get moving. Your posse must be waiting for us by now."
"This is getting ridiculous. How long is he going to make us wait? We should do it ourselves."
"Patience, Vendetta. With any luck, the Striker and the Horseman simply ran into some obstacles. All of us must wait for things in life"
"I say both of you need to silence yourselves before you cause a rift between Lewellyn and Fujiyama."
"Arngrim is correct. We must be patient, on that we agree, Lancelot, but your patronizing demeanor does not help matters."
"We have no time to idle around!"
"...Geez, and I thought the professor and I butted heads that one time during the party. ... Sorry 'bout that, by the way."
"I myself am not without fault. I allowed myself to indulge in the bottle so much after the fact, I passed out in front of three of my students. That was unbecoming of me."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. If it weren't for my comment, you probably wouldn't have drank as much as you did. That was actually pretty sweet of you to give that to her, and not just in the romantic sense I joked about."
"... I can sense the Horseman. He's on his way. ...Wait. Eleanor? Eleanor's here as well."
"Eleanor's here? That means Kanna's here, as well... Dammit, I sent her home! Where is she?"
"They appear to be with the Striker. Both of them are moving in this direction. ...Kanna appears to be wounded. She's not dying, but I sense blood."
"Can you tell if they're coming from the roof or the ground?"
"...They're coming from ground level. They should be here in only a few moments."
...
...
...
"Hey, jackasses. I'm back."
The striker rounded the corner, lending a wounded Kanna his shoulder. The entire group immediately stared at Robin, who looked stressed.
"I've gotta stay quiet... no matter HOW... PAINFUL... IT IS..."
"Do all of us a favor and remain quiet, please."
"What are you people talking about?"
"It's a private story. Did you fulfill your end of the bargain?"
"Yeah. You finish off that broad?"
"Left her tied up and gagged in a closet. Nobody'll find her for a while."
"NO MATTER HOW... PAINFUL... IT IS...!"
Robin looked like he was about to have an aneurysm.
"We have our key. Could you give the other one to us?"
"Sure, why not."
The Striker gave the key to Kanna and leapt up to the roof again.
"...You guys seem tired."
"It's been a long day of fighting. I'm just glad you didn't take the opportunity to kill her without witnesses."
"I don't fancy myself a killer. ...Before you go, I have something for you. I found it while searching the place for riches with Fatale."
The Striker dug into his belt and pulled out a blue will seed.
"This thing was being guarded by some monkey-tiger-snake hybrid. We made mincemeat out of it and grabbed this. I don't know what it is, and I don't think it'll sell well either. But I get the feeling you five will find a use for it. Not like I really want it anyways."
He tossed it toward Kanna, who grabbed it and handed it toward Zuan.
"...Thank you."
"Hmph."
The White Striker ran off. However, as he did so, something fell out of his pocket.
"Eleanor," Kanna whispered, "grab it."
Eleanor took hold of the object and handed it to Kanna.
"Well? What did he drop?"
"... It appears to be a calling card. It bears a striking resemblance to the Striker's shirt. Three black lines. Two straight ones in the bottom left corner, one that makes a turn in the top right, and the black shape on his mask is put between the two lines and singular angle-changing line."
"There's English text on here. Let me see. ... '4/17/26. This calling card is a sign that, on this date, I have kicked your security's ass and saved your kid, Hinoka Tatsuno, from your abuse. I have sent the evidence I found to the police. Your ass is about to be eaten by vigilante justice! White Striker.' ..."
"...Hey, Robbie, are you-"
"That's what she said! Bwahahahaha!"
"Oh, very mature, Robin. Ugh... You four are probably wondering why I'm here."
"Yeah. We sent you... out... You have your eyepatch."
"The landlord's daughter found it in the yard. She has no idea how it got there. The eyepatch Robin gave me and the diamond brooch were also found in the same place."
"Hahahahaheheheh... Sorry, sorry, it's been multiple weeks and I just had to let loose..."
"Vent it on someone else."
"Okay, okay, sorry."
"We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay? See you all at lunch."
4/14/26.
"...And that's why we came here. Whaddaya think, eh, Freddles?"
"Man, your brother sounds edgy as hell. What's his name again?"
"Padhra Ó Llewellyn. Well... that's what his name used to be. Now it's Fortchern Mac hEireamhóin. When he left to join the army, he called us a bunch of cowards and basically disowned us for not following him. Thomas took it really hard... They spent pretty much every moment together, but now, he's off somewhere in the middle east, fighting against a group the American army refuses to disclose."
"...So, why DID he join the American army, not the Irish one? He is Irish, right?"
"Yeah. But he wanted to fight in the war down in the Middle East, and since Ireland wasn't involved, he moved to the U.S. And enrolled almost immediately. He refuses to even contact the family."
"...Guess both of us have family problems, huh?"
"Yeah. You disowned your family too, right? What for?"
"GRRRGH! It's... a bit of... a sore... subject... just know... HHHHRRRGH! That I'll... never... forgive... my... family...! GRAGH! Bastards... hurt... the girls... in ways... I refuse... to... disclose...! GAGH!"
"WOAH!"
As Frederick crouched down again, he lost his grip on the weightlifting bar and it touched his neck. He immediately fell forward and let go of the bar, and it rolled toward the mirrors. Robin grabbed and stopped it before it could hit said mirrors, and turned around to help Frederick up.
"...And THIS is why you always have someone spot you. You okay, bro?"
"Yeah, yeah... That did not feel good. How heavy was that?"
"Let me see... 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 170, 180. 180 kilograms. It's pretty impressive that you lifted that much more than once. How much do you weigh?"
"Well, last time I weighed myself, I was about 240 pounds. In kilograms, that would put me at around 105, 110."
"That's pretty good. You're pretty strong. How long have you been working out?"
"I've been working out since I was 13. You gonna work out too, or are you just going to spot me the entire time?"
"...Well, I do need to get some muscle mass... oh, by the way, I found something. I think you'll find it interesting."
Robin pulled out the calling card the Striker dropped and handed it to Frederick. As he took a look at the insignia, he tensed up.
"...Where did you find this?"
"I just found it lying around last night. It's not everyday I find something belonging to a vigilante. ...And my friends kinda sorta blew up at me for making a joke about the wording."
"I... See..."
"Something wrong?"
"...I really, really don't like the Striker. He was around back in America, before I left. I don't know what the odds are of him moving to Japan at around the same time as my sisters and I are, but it happened. Back in America, he was an infamous part of a vigilante gang. He'd kidnap children, and nobody would ever see them again. And now he's here in Japan. If he goes after my sisters or nephew, I don't know what I'll do."
"Ah... I guess it would be pretty stressful. You have my sympathies."
"Thanks, man... you're the first person to really understand me that way. Everyone else just calls me paranoid."
"I have some younger sisters myself. Natalie, Miriam, and Rosa. Great kids."
"Those names... sound nothing like yours or your brothers."
"Yeah. I'm the last person in the family to have a Gaelic-Irish name. My mother's Spanish. And as you can guess, those names are much easier to pronounce and spell. My mother's planned name for me was actually Robin, so 'Robartach' worked fine."
"You don't live with them, right? How come?"
"Well, Tommy and I are old enough to head out on our own. Natalie will be here in late May, but she won't start college until next year."
"Yeah, I feel you. The Japanese school year is pretty odd compared to ours."
Robin grabbed on to a bar hanging from the ceiling and began pullups.
"Yeah... It's really... odd... that's why... I prefer... just going... with... the flow... to having... a set... in stone... schedule...!"
"We have a lot in common. I feel the same. ... Come on, Rob, up!"
"Ragh!"
Robin: Hey. Could we not go into the palace today or tomorrow?
Yosei: Why?
Robin: Just worked out with Freddy for two hours. I'm too exhausted today, and I'll be too sore tomorrow.
Robin: Lancelot just sat there confused the entire time. It took all I had to not answer and look like a crazy person in front of Freddy.
Robin: I guess exercise wasn't exactly like that back in the middle ages.
Zuan: Robin, you're rambling again.
Robin: Sorry.
Robin: But seriously. If you want an intense-but-useful workout, Freddy's your guy. Here, I'll send you his number.
Yosei put the number Robin gave him into his phone to see what Robin was like.
"Hey, who is this?"
"Are you Frederick Dhorian?"
"Yeah. Who are you?"
"My name's Yosei Orochi. You know Robin, right?"
"The Irishman? Yeah, I just worked out with him earlier today. What happened?"
"Nothing happened. I was just wondering who you are. Robin speaks pretty highly of you."
"Trust me, I'm nothing special. I'm pretty fit, but I'm not frickin' Paul Anderson."
"Who's Paul Anderson?"
"He's in the Guinness book of world records for lifting the most weight in the world. 512.3 kilograms."
"Wow. Kanna probably would just blow it off, but-"
"Wait. Kanna? Kanna Inzan?"
"Yes. Do you know her?"
"I met her a few weeks ago. I don't know her all that well, but we have met. It's a real shame, what's going on with the whole thing with Kawaguchiya."
"Yeah... I can't believe he's doing something like that. Excuse my language, but that's real fucking scummy. ...By the way, your Japanese is pretty good. How long have you been living here?"
"Three years. One of my college friends wanted to become a professional Japanese translator, so I got most of what I understand from him. The rest I just picked up over time. My sisters didn't know him, but they caught on quick. It's like we grew up in Canada, except it's Japanese instead of French. ... not my best analogy, but I'm sure you get my point."
"Ah. ...Your sister goes to Higashi University, right?"
"Hey! How the hell do you know that?!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, I saw Robin walking someone around, that's all. Robin said you were a blonde, and also pretty tall. The girl he was showing around was pretty similar, so I just thought you two might be related."
"...Sorry about blowing up like that. My sister was hurt pretty badly in the past. I don't want her to have to go through that again, no matter what it costs me."
"Hm... Well, I'm sorry to bring that back up. Nice talking to you."
"Nice talking to you."
Yosei hung up and put his phone down. He walked to his next class, but on his way, he saw Kanna and ran up to her.
"Hey, Kanna."
"Yosei."
"Did you get Robin's text?"
"Yeah. Lucky jerk's got every last one of his Tuesdays off. I kind of wish I was that lucky."
"...Are you doing alright? The situation must be pretty stressful."
"To be honest, it is. I mean, I owe the womanizer three favors now. And I really don't like him."
"Probably four, since you slapped him that one time."
"He deserved it, that doesn't count. Anyways, I just hate being in people's debt. I don't like owing people, and I don't like being owed. It just doesn't sit right with me."
"I suppose I can see where you're coming from with that. Where I'm from, it's a better thing to be owed. Just ask my father."
"...That was quite the bit of venom you used to say his name. Bad blood?"
"You could say that. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have this brand in the first place."
"What brand? ... Oh, the one on your hand. Sorry, I forgot."
"...Wait, is my brand that unnoticeable?"
"I suppose it is. I wouldn't exactly go around flaunting it, but... what do you mean, your father's responsible for that?"
"...He put me in the situation. He may say he's ashamed of me and that I'm nothing but a relentless delinquent and assailant, but in reality, it's the other way around. I am completely and utterly ashamed to call him my father, because he emotionally manipulated me and controlled me, causing me to turn to crime. And as for my mother? If someone calls me a son of a bitch, I'll agree with them, because that's what my mother was."
"...Hm."
"Thank you again, professor. I'm sorry for bothering you."
"Anytime, Dhorian-san. It's not a bother for me to help aspiring educators."
"Professor!"
Kanna threw the door open and ran in, Eiji tailing her.
"Inzan-chan? Etsuko-san? What's wrong?"
"The womanizer's disappeared off the face of the earth."
"What? ...Please, elaborate."
"I-It's R-Robin. H-H-He's r-r-refusing to answer his ph-phone!"
"...That is uncharacteristic. ...Did you track his position?"
"No, we didn't. ... Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me!"
"Inzan-chan, language. But what's the problem?"
"His last recorded position was right by Kawaguchiya's house!"
"...Tch! That's bad... Dhorian-san, it's been nice talking to you. I'll see you later."
"What's wrong?"
"It's something dangerous. That's all I'll disclose. May we speak in privacy?"
"Of course, sir. Thank you again."
As Gabrielle left the room, Zuan pulled out his schedule. He sighed and turned back to them.
"...Whatever stupid thing he's doing, help and stop him. I'll get the other teachers to excuse your absence."
"You're not coming?"
"I wish I could come with. I really do. However, the dean has decided that all teachers cannot leave without an express reason such as a family emergency. For any other situation, he'll have us call the police. Where's Yosei?"
"The new coach is helping him out with physical conditioning. If we drag him out, the new coach might get suspicious."
"...Then I suppose it'll just be you two helping him. Please, be quick about it."
"Got it. Thank you, Professor. ...Dammit, he specifically asked us not to go in today!"
Yosei. Emperor.
Empress has reached level 2. Kanna.
Kanna. Empress
Emperor has reached level 2. Yosei.