Chapter 1: The Weekend Distractions
Ren's Personas: Kaguya, Leanan Sidhe, Anzu, Makami, Sui-Ki, Isis, Izanagi and Nue.
Part 1: My Adorable Kouhai and Honorary Little Sis
There was nothing else of significance to talk about regarding last night and I'd decided on the cuisine we'd dine on: some ramen. Waking up a little later than usual, I was happy neither Sakura chose to disturb me for the extra hours. Getting out of bed and neatening the covers, I decided to hit up Sumire. She needed some equipment to use and to get money to cook our meals. Not only that, I could also get rid of this gold medal and sort some upgrades for myself. Why ramen? It would be cheap enough not to hurt the others' pockets and my own plus we'd get that eating contest Ryuji kept asking for out of the way.
You: "Good morning Sumire! If you can have the stuff ready and meet me at Shibuya train station in about an hour?"
Sumire: "You mean…the Palace things?"
You: "That's right. We're gonna make you a little bit richer and have your kit ready."
Sumire: "Okay!"
You: "See you then." Closing the phone, Mona decided to sit on my lap and I'd given him a grooming to which he happily giggled.
"Any plans?" he asked. To really root myself some more in this city, buying fresh clothes was the best option. I'd then be able to use a wider selection of outfits whenever we weren't required to go to school.
"I've got a couple of things on the agenda. We'll head out this time around so Leblanc won't need to close for today."
"We? You're bringing the chief's daughter?"
"Well, I was talking about you and me. But if Futaba wants to come along, sure." I went downstairs to find Sojiro and Futaba behind the counter together. Customers happily dined on their meals and idly conversed with one another as the aroma of top-notch coffee and curry filled the air. Going over to see what they were doing, Futaba was front of house whilst Sojiro was washing and cleaning the dishes. Thankfully, no nasty customers came around to cause trouble so I figured she'd be okay.
"Morning." I waved to the two.
"Morning, Ren. You headed out today?"
"Yeah. I'm going to meet up with my kouhai, do some clothes shopping and spend some time in this city while I still can. I won't be in your hair today."
"Fair enough. You taking Futaba along with you?" Good point. If I took her with me, Sojiro could put his full focus on the restaurant as well as beginning to trust me some more again. Our relationship as it stood wasn't the most pleasant.
"That's if you want to come along with me. We'll be out for the day if you do." Aiming it in her direction, she was happy enough to tag along today.
"Yep!" she answered.
"Where do you have in mind?" Sojiro inquired.
"There's a few places in Shibuya I wanna hit then I'll hit Nerima and try that ramen place Ryuji's a big fan of." I replied.
"Nerima? Do you even know your way?" Futaba asked.
"Eh, I'll ask Ryuji." Going over to my contacts, I dialled Ryuji's number and after a few seconds of dialling, he answered.
"Morning, dude!" he cheered.
"Yo, Ryuji. What you up to?" I joyfully replied back.
"Just chilling…Mom's doing alright today. What's on your mind?"
"I feel like meeting up with everyone today to celebrate."
"Didn't we already do that at Leblanc?"
"That ended on a bittersweet note. I want a change of pace."
"Mm'kay. Where you had in mind?"
"That ramen place you go frequently."
"Really?! You're coming down to Nerima?"
"Yep. I'm as uncultured as they come."
"You really saying stuff like that to your friends?" Sojiro mocked.
"Sweet! What time you want everyone there though?"
"I'll call you and let you know."
"Alright. Looking forward to it!" Putting down the phone, Futaba glared and puffed her cheeks in annoyance at me. I felt as if I forgot something…
"You were meant to ask where it was!"
"Oh…right, yeah. Sorry." I nonchalantly replied. Scratching my forehead, it seemed we would be figuring out how to get there by following station signs…After we had our breakfast and cleaned our dishes, we made our way over to the train station. It was quite busy on our train and Futaba clung to my arm throughout the journey. There were a few glances aimed our way which led to her frail body outputting a strength far higher than I'd expect. My other guest would hopefully show herself and sure enough, she got here pretty soon. She wore a royal blue blouse, white chinos and ankle high black boots. The weather was nice enough that they wouldn't get ruined provided she was careful of her step.
"Hey there."
"Sup!" Futaba greeted.
"Ren. Sakura-san. It's nice to see you both. I see you're as close as ever." Sumire greeted.
"Let's get moving straightaway. Now, when we get there, you're both gun buffs. I can't stress just how important that is to you, Sumire." I reaffirmed.
"Why are you only focusing on me?" she moaned, not realising just how honest her heart was.
"Hehe…" Futaba smiled, adding insult to injury. We made our way over to Untouchable and the girls had their reactions to the place.
"Huh…looks just as sussy as the photos." Futaba observed.
"Is this really where you sell the stuff we earn?" Sumire asked.
"Yep. Iwai's well worth his salt as a shop owner." I mentioned.
"Oh…and he's former Yakuza so don't mess around in there!" Futaba added.
"Couldn't you have said that earlier?!" Sumire exclaimed. Nonetheless, I entered the store with the two girls. There were new models of guns and melee weapons on the shelves and the atmosphere of the store was that same intimidating stench. Iwai sat at the counter and when he saw Futaba holding my hand, he chuckled.
"Hm…rearing your face again, kid. And more girls on your arm this time." Iwai greeted.
"Don't mind these two today." I started.
"Let me guess…they're both gun buffs?"
"Sure am!" Futaba enthusiastically answered.
"Indeed." Sumire answered confidently.
"Sumire. If you would." I ordered.
"Right…okay." She opened up her beige handbag, went over to the counter and took out the materials she earned from the Palace. Iwai began his appraisal of the items, taking his time.
"Hey…what's she so nervous about?" Iwai wondered.
"Excellent question." I replied back. His next words were aimed in my direction. He folded his arms and gave his objective opinion of my kouhai.
"Kid…I suggest you don't bring her back here if she's gonna get all jittery."
"I'll remember that, Iwai." His tone shifted to a fatherly one for Sumire but his words weren't exactly comforting. If anything, he was definitely trying to spook her away.
"Miss, you've no need to worry. All of the stuff here's legit - anything that wasn't legit wouldn't be your fault. It'd be his and I'd deal with him appropriately." That last made her shudder slightly and Futaba grip my hand a little tighter.
"Well, after my commission, this comes up to ¥46,000. Sound right, expert?" He asked.
"Yep. Market valuation puts it at that price. Let's get to the fun part, shall we?" I responded.
"OK." Iwai then proceeded to show us the catalogue of items that Sumire could use in the Palace. She'd taken her time to observe the sword section and saw a lovely looking rapier. Asking for it to be brought out, it really did look wonderful. The intricate pattern that the golden hilt had combined with the shine of the blade captured Sumire's heart.
"It's really pretty…" she uttered.
"That'll set you back ¥13,000." Her eyes widened at the cost as did Futaba's.
"Errr…" As much as she wanted to be cost-effective, she wanted to wield this weapon far more so I pushed her to accept her temptation. Not to mention, when things got really rough, we'd need to make a lot of compromise.
"You know you want to." I encouraged. She succumbed to her desire in the end.
"Okay! I'll happily choose this model."
"And as for your gun, milady?" Futaba teased.
"Hmm…I'd like to see what sort of shot guns you have."
"Shot gun?" I wondered.
"Yeah. Sakamoto-san's model looks really cool." He'd then brought the catalogue of gun models and flicked over to single-barrel/double-barrel shotguns. After some deliberation, she settled on a single-barrel shotgun that cost ¥9,900. All in all, her total came up to a far higher amount than any of our load outs did. I made sure not to forget the other item in my possession and taking it out, Iwai's face slightly widened. He immediately investigated the gold medal that Shadow Kamoshida had and after his verification, broke his unspoken policy.
"Kid…where the hell did you get this?"
"..." My silence all but confirmed some shady dealings went on.
"Better to not say…whatever. I'm giving you ¥80,000 and not a yen more."
"Excellent." I decided to get myself a second pistol capable of firing sharper rounds and two submachine guns for good measure. I hated the fact I had so few bullets in the Palace and figured I could join in on Ann's fun. This came up to that exact amount, conveniently enough.
"You done?"
"Yeah. We'll fuck off now."
"..." Iwai had nothing else to say to the three of us and we left the store. Once we came out, the air around Sumire changed. Iwai's words must've left their mark on her. I doubt she'll want to come here again…
"Yoshizawa-san...you okay?" Futaba asked.
"Eh? Yes. I'm alright, Sakura-san." she answered.
"If you don't want to come back here, you don't have to." I reassured her. She shook her head and had a serious level of conviction in her eyes.
"I don't wish for you to shelter me from this. If we're going to continue our efforts, I need to be sure of what I wield for my own eyes." she stated. I nodded proudly. That's my kouhai alright…
"Where next, Joker?" Mona stated, popping out of my bag. I forgot he was here…
"Oh? Mona-senpai, hi!" Sumire greeted, stroking his fur. He chuckled happily to himself as I answered his question.
"I could do with a couple more outfits and some gym stuff. Any suggestions, you two?"
"Hmm…" Futaba thought to herself for a bit.
"Why not hit Omotesando Hills? It's a shopping complex not far from here that sorts both and we could get a proper lunch." Sumire proposed. I didn't see why I couldn't trust in her judgement so I agreed quickly.
"Lead the way." As I watched my chirpy kouhai go on ahead, Futaba and I kept her pace on our way to the mall. When I arrived, the refreshing air of the mall happened to welcome me in along with the hustle and bustle of the visitors. People of all ages and backgrounds passed me by. It was clearly a popular spot and no doubt, I'd be coming back again in my spare time if I felt the life in Shibuya wasn't for my liking. Futaba wrapped her arm around mine - it was a reasonable reaction due to the huge number of people around. There were bounds of different mens clothing stores I could choose from and with that, several styles I could rock for the right occasion. My wardrobe was somewhat sparse and could do with an upgrade. I had a reasonable amount of money that I could use to put together more outfits but at the same time, I wouldn't be going bonkers. Laundering sure isn't easy…thank goodness my little sis is a damn prodigy with tech.
"You have any sort of ideas in mind?" Sumire asked, now matching our pace.
"Uh…I feel like some casual outfits for when I'm just chilling. A smarter casual outfit when I head out to a meal or fancier place, a business outfit maybe? Oh, and gym stuff - definitely some gym stuff. In case I ever do want to bother."
"I know just the stores!" She proudly puffed her chest, clearly in her element. There were a few stores that would raise alarm bells so we didn't hit them. It was honestly a godsend that Futaba was with us as she provided one-use cards on the fly - we gave her the funds, she generated and sent us virtual cards to scan at the tills. My honorary little sis and technology were one and wouldn't be put asunder. Having to continuously go up and down several sets of stairs just to go from shop to shop was a workout and a half for Futaba and I. Sumire was acutely aware of our limits and apparently used this opportunity to force us to go plus ultra, whatever the hell that meant, and exercise. The girls took their chance to buy some outfits of their own and considering I was the one dragging them with my demands, I had no right to complain. Besides, it was nice seeing the two grow closer and I had fun watching them be happy. By the time we finished, it was the middle of the afternoon and we'd left the mall with quite a few bags of stuff.
"That was satisfying." I started.
"You were really helpful today, Yoshizawa-san! I can't wait to show these outfits off soon."
"You too, Sakura-san! I wouldn't have broken out of my comfort zone without your help. Still, I'm feeling very hungry now…"
"Saaaame. Please tell me we're hitting that ramen joint now!" Futaba moaned.
"Yeah…sorry I forgot to tell you, Sumire. Is ramen okay for you to have? It wouldn't ruin your diet or anything?" I asked.
"It's a good source of carbohydrates for me! I'll just have a protein bar afterwards." she answered positively. Looks like there were no other concerns to consider.
"Of course. Let's get back to the station." As we made our way to the train station, I opened the group chat and dropped a message directed towards Ryuji.
You: "Forgot to ask. Which line do I transfer to get to Nerima?"
Ryuji: "Stay on the Yamanote line until Ikebukuro then switch to the Ikebukuro line. You able to follow that okay?"
You: "Yep! We'll see you in Nerima, everyone."
Shiho: "Hmm…sounds awesome!"
Ann: "Let's get our grub on!"
Ryuji: "I'll get to the station soon!"