[June 24th, evening, Tokai University Tokyo Hospital]
"The concession wasn't too severe, and now she is awake. We just need a few days for observation," Taking off his glasses, the doctor turned and saw the relief on the Akashis' faces. "So thankfully, your daughter should be able to be discharged in a couple of days."
"That's… great news," Nodding, Ryota glanced over to his wife, who started losing control of her emotions. "Thank you, doctor."
"There's no need to thank me, Akashi-chan was lucky enough to be brought here quickly," The doctor said. "The visiting hour is ending in fifteen minutes, you two should go home and rest."
Seeing a nod from the couple, the doctor took his leave. Leaving the two alone, as they sat down on the benches on the side. Amidst the wave of emotion they felt, relief was certainly on the very top. However, sadness and anger soon followed like a harsh wave.
"We can't let this keep going on," Ryota said, feeling his fist clutched. "First it's Shinji-kun, then Naoko…"
"...then… what about the check-"
"We're not using that check, never," Cutting Ritsumi off, the husband turned to look at her in the eyes. "That money is something that should be returned to, not to be used on… this."
"Ryota, but how are we… It's Naoko we're talking about here!"
"But we're just getting from one debt to another, it's just a downward spiral!"
Opening her mouth, Ritsumi found herself having nothing to retort with. As much as she wanted to say otherwise, she knew that his husband was telling the truth. They knew that HInaki wasn't someone who would take advantage of them, but they just couldn't let this pass their conscience.
However, Ise returned with concern on her face, clearly overheard what the two had said.
"Hey uh… something's wrong with Naoko?"
"No, it's not that," Choosing to keep the elephant in the room aside for now, Ritsumi shook her head. "The doctor said she's fine, and she's woken up now. But… Ise, how did Shinji-kun react?"
"He said that he's coming with Mako-chan right now," Ise sighed. "I tried to tell him that she'd be fine, but Shin-chan being Shin-chan…"
"Just as stubborn as ever," Ryota said, echoing the sigh Ise made moments earlier. "He's not getting himself into more trouble, right?"
"Yeah, he's been trying to make up for what happened too," She nodded, choosing to turn the topic back to the elephant in the room. "But still, if Naoko's fine, then… Is it about those people?"
"What people?"
"You know what I'm talking about," Letting out another sigh at Ryota's non-answer, Ise sat on the seat next to Ritsumi. "Just… Ritsu, you can tell me, okay?"
"Tell you what?" She replied, looking directly into Ise's eyes with tears in her own. "That we just keep being bashed in the head by god?"
"We already lost Kimiko because of that scum, and now we're threatened to lose Naoko too," Feeling the choked breath as she tried to continue on, Ritsumi took a long breath. Trying her best to keep her emotions from bursting. "It's just… had we done something wrong? Why are things like this happening to us?"
"Because there's another fucking scum of the earth who thinks he's untouchable."
Surprised by the intrusion of a different voice, the three turned and saw Aoi with two cups of water in her hands. However, Aoi ignored the gazes for now and handed the waters to the Akashis.
"Here, it should help."
"Th-thank you…" Taking the water with hesitance, Ritsumi paused for a few moments. "Actually, we never got your name, miss…"
"Aobara Aoi, just "Aoi" is fine," She said, switching her gaze toward Ise. "And um… you're their friend? Miss?"
"Y-yeah," Ise answered, surprised by the sudden turn of subject. "It's because of our kids, but we're friends. But about you…"
"I came across the scene earlier today, and just chose to help…"
[1-2 hours ago, Shibuya central street]
Tugging her shoulder bag as she walked out of the cinema, Aoi looked up at the orange-tilted sky. To be honest, she was only interested in that movie because it seemed pretty interesting with the action, and the fact it's about teenage assassins and stuff. It turned out to be a pretty good film though.
"It's a nice change of pace," She said to herself. "When was the last time I-"
"Get your fucking hands off of me!'
Her pace halted, Aoi immediately turned toward where that voice came from. That voice was… there was no mistaking it. Without another word, she picked up her pace toward the source of that voice again.
"You bitch! You just think you got a little fight in you, huh?"
"Well damn fucking right I am! I'm sick of piece of shit like you! I-"
"NAOKO! NO!"
Eyes widened, she broke into a full-blown dash toward the source. Toward Akashi Bakery. However, once she made it there, all she could see was a man standing before a fallen girl. And the girl's parent in distraught by her side.
"Huh, serves you right, bitch," That man said.
And it was all she needed.
Taking the element of surprise she had, Aoi rushed forward and pulled him into a chokehold. With her grip tightened as the man tried to struggle, she pulled him away from the girl (who she assumed was called "Naoko").
"Call the ambulance!" She yelled, pulling the man out of the bakery before he broke off from the chokehold.
However, before the man could even register the situation, she knocked him out with a right hook at his jaw. Blame her instinct to not leave any chance for him to retaliate, but that wasn't the focus right now.
With the adrenaline dissipating in each heavy breath, Aoi took a closer look at his face. And her gaze widened, in recognition.
"...It's Kaneshiro's men…" She murmured, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. And more importantly, his ID. "And… Okata Taiga…"
Hastily putting the wallet back in his pocket, Aoi turned her focus back to the bakery. That guy wasn't the concern right now, the girl and family mattered more here.
"...I just got the guy off of them, knocked him out, and helped that girl to get here. That's it."
"That's… okay," Even though she had a feeling that Aoi wasn't telling the whole truth, Ise chose to ignore it for now. "Still, thank you for helping my friends, Aobara-san."
"As I said, just 'Aoi' is fine," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "You want water too, miss…"
"Izumo Ise, or just call me 'Ise'," She replied. "And sure, water is fine."
"Okay, Ise-san. I'll be right back."
With that said, Aoi walked off. Leaving the trio of parents alone. For some reason, maybe it's because of her intuition, Ise couldn't help but feel like there's more to the story she's telling her. However, it didn't look like she was hiding something for any malicious reason. Instead, she looked pretty genuine.
Turning her sight back to the Akashis, Ise opened her mouth. But she couldn't say anything. Both of them knew what it really was, and the mere fact that they couldn't really do much about it…
Thankfully, the silence between them didn't last long. As Aoi returned with another cup of water in her hand, giving it to her. "Here, Ise-san."
"Thank you," Taking the cup of water with a nod, Ise stared at the reflection of herself in the water for a few moments. Drinking it after a small sigh, she turned to see Aoi kneeling down and trying her best to help.
"Naoko-chan would be safe here, I'm sure," Aoi said, trying her best to give both Akashis any reassurances.
She knew that it wouldn't do much, that what they were dreading was what after she left the hospital. The single fact was that they were still in the darkness, without any hint of a light at the end. And she couldn't just leave them in nothing but despair and anger, she just… couldn't do it.
However, the look on their face said enough. After all, how could Aoi give them any reassurances when she couldn't be sure of it herself?
"Aobara-san, maybe… it's better to give them some space," Ise said, getting up from her seat.
"...You're right."
Choosing to leave the Akashis alone for now, Ise and Aoi stayed around the corner from Naoko's room. It's just some way to keep their eyes on them, but still…
"I hate seeing them like this," Ise said, letting out a long sigh. "They already lost Kimiko a year ago, now with Naoko on top…"
"Kimiko… you mean they lost another daughter before?" Even though Aoi tried her best to keep her voice calm, her widened gaze said otherwise. "No wonder why they felt familiar…"
"Familiar?"
"It's nothing," Shaking her head, Aoi shut down the question before it could settle. "But is it about the Yakuza too?"
"No, it's something else. The man responsible is behind bars now too," With her grip on her other arm tightened at the memories, Ise immediately changed the subject matter to something else. "Actually, you don't really have to stay with them. You've done enough to help them, so… why?"
"I… maybe it's what remains of my conscience, I just can't leave them alone," Aoi answered hesitantly, leaning against the wall behind her. "Not when it involves the Hangure, and seeing them like this."
"I see…" Ise nodded. "It's always with them, huh?"
"...Yeah."
Suddenly, they could hear two sets of frantic footsteps rushing toward them, grabbing their attention. And around the corner, Shinji and Makoto rushed toward them. Still in their school uniform as well.
"Mom!" Halting his steps, Shinji said between panted breaths. "H-how's Naoko?"
"...She's alright, just need to stay in the hospital for a few days for check-ups," Ise answered, noticing the fact that they were still in their uniforms. "But… it's past eight, why are you and Mako-chan still in your uniform?"
"We just didn't want to grab another set of clothes," Makoto said, also panting.
"...Oh, so that's why," Letting out another sigh, Ise was about to move on when she noticed Aoi's look.
She was staring at Shinji, her gaze widened in shock and… recognition.
"Yeah, Mako-chan is right-" Noticing the gaze Aoi had on him, Shinji raised an eye at her before turning back at his mom. "Uh… who is she, mom?"
"She's the one who saved Naoko," Ise said, noting the strange look Aoi's currently holding. "U-uh… maybe you should introduce yourself instead, Aobara-san?"
"I… small world, huh?" Murmuring under her breath, Aoi hastily cleared her throat. "I'm Aobara Aoi, nice to meet you."
"...Nice to meet you too," Shaking her hands, Shinji couldn't help but feel the awkwardness in the air right now.
"Well, I guess it's my time to leave then," Choosing to step away from the awkwardness, Aoi hastily waved to them "I… have work to do."
With that said, Aoi took her leave and left. And as they watched her disappear around a different corner, Ise couldn't help but feel something was off. Mostly from her reaction to Shinji, as if she had met her before.
But right now, that wasn't important.
"Well, the visiting hour has passed, but maybe you can help Ritsumi and Ryota," To be honest, Ise didn't know how much they could help. But that's still better than nothing.
[Meanwhile, outside of the hospital]
Glancing up at the night sky above, Aoi finally let out a long frustrated groan. One that she didn't know how much she's been holding in. Maybe it was when she noticed that man, or seeing the Akashis being in that state.
One thing she's sure though, and it's not because it cost her an entire night.
"Besides…" Muttering under her breath, Aoi took out a small notebook from her bag and opened it. And her gaze turned cold as she looked at the notebook's contents. "I was going to go after you anyway, Kaneshiro."
Inside the notebook was a list of names, addresses, and more personal information. Part of the names were crossed out, but part of it wasn't. And among the ones that wasn't crossed out was…
"Kaneshiro Junya".
"I guess I'm moving you move the list then," She said, her voice as cold as ice. Pulling out a pen, she added another name to the notebook. Next to Kaneshiro's own name. "And you too, Okata Taiga."
Closing the notebook, Aoi walked off into the night.
[Meanwhile, Untouchable]
Pulling back the pistol's slide, Ren aimed at the wall and pulled the trigger. Just as he hoped, the gun's hammer struck with a satisfying 'click'. And with a nod, he put back down the pistol on the counter in front of Iwai.
"So, I take it that you like it, kid?" He said, raising an eye at Ren. "I do have some new arrivals if you want to check them out."
"Yeah. I like this one, Iwai-san," Nodding, the leader of Phantom Thieves glanced at the other guns on the counter. And alongside them, some new melee weapons for the team.
Well, everyone other than The Fools. Ren didn't really have the funds to also buy weapons for them, on top of the embarrassing fact that… They haven't talked about how would their weapon situation go. For them, The Phantoms, it was decided very early on that Ren would handle most of it. But for The Fools…
"...I guess I'll ask Akira about this later," Shrugging, Ren adjusted his glasses as he turned back to Iwai. "Anyway, I'll take all of them."
"For your cosplaying group again?"
"Yeah, we're pretty… enthusiastic about it," Well, it wasn't exactly a lie. However, it still felt a bit weird to describe it like this, considering what they saw in the palace. "Either way, how much is them all?"
"Well, it's around ten thousand yen for each of them…"
Taking out a calculator from aside, Iwai started calculating the total price. And from the small frown from each number added, Ren also swallowed a lump in his throat. It was pretty clear that it'd be quite a lot, but he should be able to handle them from their "Thief Fund". By the way, Ryuji made that name, not Ren.
"It's more than I thought it'd cost," His gaze shifted from the calculator to Ren, Iwai turned the calculator and showed it to him. And on the calculator's screen, the number "152, 400" was as clear as day. "Cash as usual, right?"
"Y-yeah," Wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead, Ren took out his wallet and checked. Thankfully, he had enough money inside his wallet. It was still a huge blow to their fund, after all. "Here."
Taking the exact amount of money on the counter, Iwai took out a giant briefcase from the modding station behind the counter. And he started putting the weapons into the suitcase itself, neatly separating them with layer after layer of foam.
However just in the middle of them packing the weapons into the suitcase, the shop's door opened once again. Followed by a young, but familiar voice to the two.
"Hey um… dad? You're still here?" Surprised by the sudden intrusion, Ren and Iwai turned toward the store's front door.
Standing before the front door was a boy around the age of Ren (actually, probably a bit younger). With a plain-looking thin-rimmed glasses, and black hair that was parted in the seven-to-three ways toward the right. On top of that, with the black button vest over a light blue shirt, the same exact outfit when Ren first saw him.
In other words, he's Iwai Karou, the son of Untouchable's owner.
"Karou- I told you to not come here!"
"Well uh… it's past 8 in the night, and you're still not back…" Rubbing the back of his neck, Karou took out a plastic bag with bento. Clearly bought from the convenience store nearby. "I guess you'd still be hungry."
Eyes widened, Iwai found himself speechless. "...Just, go back home and wait. I'll be back after this one," He finally said, gesturing at Ren and the suitcase on the counter. "It's dangerous out here at night, y'know?"
"I know, our teachers at school also talked about those scams too," The younger Iwai said, adjusting his glasses with his thumb. "I'll be going then. Just don't be late, dad."
"Yeah… just go."
With a nod and a curious glance at Ren and the weapons on the counter, Karou swiftly left the shop and left them alone. And once he's gone, Ren turned toward Iwai with a small smirk.
"Huh, you're nicer to Karou-kun this time-"
"One more word and I'll double the price."
"...Okay, got it."
[Meanwhile, Ore No Beko]
There was a saying that "A good meal after a long exercise is the most delicious thing in the world." Akira wasn't really sure whether he just made it up on the spot or he heard it from somewhere else, but it seemed pretty reasonable.
Right now, with him and Shiho sitting side-by-side and enjoying their now-familiar beef bowls, it felt like this saying was pretty true.
"...Huh, it's even better than last time," He said, widening his gaze at the beef bowl before him. "Or maybe it's just because I'm too hungry."
"It's probably the latter," Shiho chuckled, putting some of her beef into Akira's bowl. "Here, some more beef for you."
"You don't have to do that, Shi-chan."
"I want to," Flashing a smile, the volleyball player proceeds to put more beef into Akira's bowl. "I already got a lot of beef on my bowl, it wouldn't hurt to give you some."
"But…"
"No 'but' here, you've already made my lunch, and paid for this," Shiho said, leaning closer toward her boyfriend. "Just let me do something in return?"
"I… You have a point," Letting out a sigh of acceptance, Akira nodded. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to make up for this though."
"You just not gonna stop doing this, isn't it?" Pouting at his stubbornness, Shiho shook her head before giving him a peck on the lips. "I guess I have to up my game then."
With a faint blush surfaced on his cheeks, Akira opened his mouth but said nothing. If she wanted it to be a competition, then he had to bring his A-game. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't think of a way to one-up her without being too public.
"I'll remember this, Shi-chan," He said, narrowing his gaze in a mock-serious manner. "One day I will one-up you in a way you wouldn't expect."
In response, Shiho just blinked in nothing but confusion, followed by a sense of awkward silence. However, Akira could see her lips quivering, as if it was trying to hold something in. Actually, it was pretty clear what she was trying to hold in.
"Bwah- Hahaha!" Covering her mouth to try and keep her laughter down, Shiho had to look away and tried to keep it down. "Where did that come from?"
"...I'm being serious here!"
"But it's just… you're so bad at this, hahahahaha!"
Feeling the hot sensation creeping up to his cheeks, Akira buried his head in his own arms. Out of sheer embarrassment, which only intensified when Shiho just couldn't stop her laughing.
However, before the circumstance got them side-eyes from other customers, their phone rang in unison and snapped them back into reality. The two exchanged a confused look at each other, and pulled out their phone.
And their confusion was immediately turned into shock as they read what was sent.
Shinji: I don't know if it's right to break the news here or not. But Naoko is in the hospital right now.
Shinji: She's fine, but it's because of Kaneshiro's men.
"...What?" Akira muttered, just loud enough for Shiho to hear him.
Hifumi: HUH?!
Yusuke: What a sudden turn of events.
Ryuji: Bro you can't just drop a bomb like this from effin' nowhere!
Makoto: Me and Shinji were surprised too. Ise-san just suddenly called us and told us about it.
Akira: Shinji, you said she's fine, but what exactly happened?
Shinji: It was one of Kaneshiro's men going to the bakery and wanting to 'collect the debt' earlier. Naoko resisted and hit her head on the counter.
Ann: Oh god…
Keigo: I guess you told us this because you wanted to decide on sending the calling card early?
Shinji: Yeah.
Shinji: I know that we're supposed to talk about it tomorrow instead, but with this...
Shiho: What about you, Makoto? Are you alright?
Makoto: Naoko-chan is more important here.
Makoto: Besides, Shin-chan will keep me in check if I going too close to crossing that line.
Shinji: Ren, Akira. So what do you say?
Surprised by the sudden toss of the 'ball' to his end, Akira turned to Shiho. Considering that Kaneshiro could very well not follow the deadline on his debt, the best way to deal with it was to send the calling card ASAP. But to just decide on something this important right now.
Thankfully, Ren replied first.
Ren: …We're still gonna talk about it tomorrow. It's too rash to just decide on it over text.
Akira: Yeah, Naoko should be fine in the hospital for now, but let's talk about it tomorrow instead.
Shinji: …Okay.
Seeing Shinji's response, Akira lowered his phone and glanced over at Shiho again. There wasn't a word said between them, it wasn't needed either.
[June 25th, Afterschool]
And just as what both leaders had said in the group chat, the thieves had gathered in the familiar crossway again. To be honest, it always amazed them that they still weren't caught by anyone, even with the size of their group now.
Either way, it wasn't the main point of their meeting today.
"So now we've secured the route, the only thing before us is the calling card," Ren said, turning his gaze toward Makoto. "And Makoto, you're…"
"I can't be sure if I'll keep my composure or not," Makoto said, with her back leaning against the railing next to the glass wall. "But… Shin-chan's here to keep me in check if I do. Just like what I said in the group chat last night."
In response, Shinji nodded in agreement.
"Well, that's good to know, at the very least…" Trailing off, Ren adjusted glasses as his gaze turned to the others. "Then for the calling card, everyone's agreed on sending it instead of waiting on it?"
To no one's surprise here, everyone nodded in unison. There was no reason to wait on it, after all. Especially after Naoko was hospitalized because of his threat to them…
"Well, 'waiting on it' is already not much of an option in the first place," Akira said, air-quoting the 'waiting on it' with his fingers. "And definitely not after what happened with Naoko."
"Yeah, the earlier we send the calling card, the fewer people he can pray on too," Ann added, crossing her arms. "And he had made enough people suffer already."
"It's a unanimous decision, but still not an easy task." Seeing another nod from everyone, Yusuke furrowed his brow instead. "We're not dealing with someone we can easily deliver our calling card to."
"Right, even the police can't catch anything about him," Keigo said. "Let alone a bunch of high-schoolers like us."
"I got a lot of things to write on that calling card too," Ryuji said, glancing over toward Makoto. "But uh… Prez, maybe you should take the writing job this time? I mean, you got a good reason to do it instead of me."
"I'll save those words when I see him," Makoto shook her head in response, her gaze lowered in thought. "Still, how should we send the calling card…"
"I can ask Mom for another TV appearance," Hifumi suggested. "And maybe like using that TV appearance to basically send the calling card? Like we just hijack the broadcast and send it this way?"
"That's certainly an idea, but we need a hacker or someone inside the TV station to do that," Shiho said. "And it's definitely not achievable in our deadline either."
"..You have a point," With a small sigh, Hifumi furrowed her brow in frustration.
However, as if her suggestions gave some inspiration to her, Makoto suddenly clapped her hands together. Catching everyone by surprise.
"That's right, Kaneshiro's greatest defense is his anonymity," She said, with the 'light' in her eyes turned brighter with each word. "Then the best way to get the calling card out is to make it as public as possible. Making it impossible for him to ignore or hide."
"I have a plan," Ignoring the confused gazes from everyone else, Makoto turned to Yusuke. "Yusuke, how many calling cards can you make in one day?"
Yusuke blinked, but not before he glanced away in deep thought. "I'd say around fifty of them."
"Fifty…" Trailing off, the student council president turned to the view outside. To be specific, the central street below. "It might not be enough."
"I can help out if you need more," Keigo added, pushing his glasses. "I have a printer in my apartment, and I think I can even make a hundred of them in one night too."
"That's good to know," Makoto nodded, shifting her gaze to Ryuji. "Then Ryuji, I'm gonna need your help. Same with Shin-chan too."
"Huh? Why's that?" Ryuji asked, raising an eye in confusion.
"Because the best way to do it is just like how you guys did it last time," Makoto said, pointing at the central street below. "In this way, Kaneshiro would definitely see it."
"...Oh, I see," Akira said, rubbing his chin as a small smirk crept up. "That's a good one."
"Yeah!" Morgana nodded in agreement.
"Well, I guess we both need to run a lot then, Ryuji" Shinji sighed, stretching his arms and legs.
"It's settled then," Ren said, pushing the suitcase and showing it to the thieves. "Also, I got us new weapons."
"Oooh, new stuff to beat Shadow's ass with, huh?" Ryuji said, rubbing his hands in slight excitement.
"We need an equipment refresh, after all," The not-delinquent said, but not before giving Akira an apologetic bow. "But uh, Akira, I didn't know whether we're still the same team or not. So I only bought weapons for my team."
"So you mean there's nothing for us then?" Shiho asked, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, unfortunately."
"...Uh… it's the first time I see you acting like this, Ren," Rubbing the back of his neck, Akira let out a small sigh. "But well, we have time. So… I guess we'll go weapon shopping after this then."
"Yeah, actually, here," Ren pulled out his wallet, handing him a couple of ten thousand yen. "I never got to mention it, but it's half of the equipment fund we have. Those weapons are pretty expensive, I'd say."
Eyes widened, Akira took it with a hint of hesitation. However, a question surfaced in his mind. "...Wait, where did you guys get that?"
"...Killing shadows and selling the treasure they dropped?" Seeing the (further) widened gazes of The Fools, Ren found himself… at a bit of a loss. "Wait, how did you handle the weapon situation before?"
"...Akira's wallet?" Shiho said, glancing away.
"What?!" Ryuji yelled, staring at Akira with a sense of sympathy. "Dude, those things are pretty expensive…"
"You're doing fine with money, right?" Makoto asked, sharing the same sympathy as Ryuji.
"I am, it definitely made a dent though."
"Well, we're definitely sharing the weapons fund then," Ren pinched his nose bridge. For once, he regretted not just calling Akira about their weapon funds. To think it's literally being relied on someone's own saving... "Still, now that's settled. We're moving forward with Makoto's plan then."
With a nod from everyone, the thieves split up and went on their way. Preparing for the heist to come.
[Untouchable]
Pushing through the decal-filled door of the (fake) weapon shop, The Fools were greeted by the familiar sight again. And of course, Iwai was sitting behind the counter, with his face hidden behind the newspaper.
"It's been a while since we're here," Akira said, turning back to everyone else. "But, uh, maybe we can split up and look around first."
With a nod, the group split up to look for any new weapons. However, for some reason, Akira noticed how… awkward Shinji was acting here. Fidgeting and just glancing away, as if he had a bit of bad history with this place, or something along those lines.
"Shinji?" He asked, raising an eye in slight concern. "What's wrong?"
"Well, uh…" Trailing off, Shinji glanced over at Iwai, but quickly looked away once again. "It's-"
"Oh, it's you."
Surprised by the intrusion of the shop owner's voice, the two turned toward the counter. Only to see Iwai had lowered the newspaper he's been reading, sending a deadpan gaze at them. To be specific, at Shinji himself.
"...Hello there, Iwai-san," With a dry gulp in his throat, Shinji waved with a wry smile. "It's been a while…"
"It's only been around two weeks, kid," The airsoft shop's owner said, his brow furrowed as his gaze shifted at Akira. "You two are friends?"
"Yeah, we've known each other for a while," Akira said, confusion clear on his face. "But Shinji, about you and Iwai-san, you two know each other?"
"I uh… it's just a…"
"I got to save his ass a while ago, that's what happened," Answering for him, Iwai sighed once again and returned to reading his newspaper. "Just don't make me to use my first aid again."
"...Okay?" Still confused at what he just said, Akira turned to his friend for another search for an answer. Shinji just nodded in return.
"...Just don't tell Mako-chan about it," Rubbing the back of his neck, Shinji immediately walked off to aside and continued to search for a new weapon. At this point, it was pretty clear what Iwai meant by "got to save his ass", thanks to Shinji's own reaction.
Well, at the very least, it's probably about his physical fights with Kaneshiro's goons.
Pinching his nose bridge and shaking his head, Akira chose to put this in the back for now. He and the team came here to Untouchable to do an arsenal refresh, not to have a confrontation or anything like that.
Walking toward the wall of hand cannons, Akira saw Shiho with a new bolt-action rifle in her hand. It looked like a gun from a similar era to her last sniper rifle, which was an SMLE MKIII. With a handle that was bent forward toward the trigger, it seems like the MAS 36. A bolt-action rifle originated from France.
"Don't be this hard on yourself, Akira," She said, giving him a small smile. "Shinji needs to have some talk with Makoto though."
"Well, knowing them, it probably would be fine," Akira sighed, glancing over at Shinji. He just stared at the wall of model guns. "But Shinji is uh… he's overreacting quite a bit."
"That's what we call a henpecked husband," Keigo chimed in, with a new cane sword in his hand.
"I… you're pretty right on the money there, Keigo."
"Are they always like this?" Hifumi joined, trying to not hit anything with her new naginata. "Akira, you had seen them together, right?"
"Well, it's mostly just him bragging about their relationship-"
"Okay, that's enough about me and Makoto!" Cutting Akira off, Shinji stepped between Akira and Shiho and put down his crossbow pistol and billy clubs.
"Hey, keep it down, kid!" Hearing Iwai's voice from behind, The Fools winced in unison. Especially Shinji.
"...Look, Makoto and I are not like… me being scared of her or anything," Shaking himself off from the embarrassment, Shinji retorted in a much lower volume. "If so, I wouldn't want to marry her, okay?"
For a few long, long moments, the group was filled with nothing but silence. Well, silence, and widened eyes from everyone, staring at him with open mouth.
As for the man himself, his cheeks just slowly covered by a deep shade of crimson, as his eyes widened in realization. Did he just tell them his small plan, out of a pure accident? No, they definitely just had a group auditory hallucination, it must be that. He didn't just say that, right?
"I guess I'm right on the 'husband' part then…" Keigo said, pushing his glasses. "Save it for later, okay?"
"You don't really need a ring, but that'd be for the best," Hifumi said with an awkward laugh, looking away with a wry smile. "Maybe you should start saving for a ring?"
"You two just got back together a few days ago, and now it's in the marriage phase?" Shiho asked. "Would your mom even accept that? Or Makoto's sister?"
"Well, either way…" Trailing off, Akira put both of his hands on Shinji's shoulder, looking directly into his eyes. "Good luck, man."
"I…" Finding his ability to talk just gave up on him, Shinji just crouched and buried his face in his palms. "...I wanna go home…"
"Aren't you gonna meet Makoto after this?"
"...Don't remind me of that, please?"
A few minutes later, after Shinji finally calmed down, the group returned to their original purpose. Weapon shopping, of course.
With his eyes on the wall of revolvers and hand cannons, Akira found himself weirdly drawn to a specific one. Taking it from the wall, he took a closer look at the hand cannon itself. It looked like a Chiappa Rhino revolver, with a hexagonal chamber, and a thicker barrel.
However, the most prominent thing out of them all, was the 'zero' decal over the barrel.
"Huh, it looks cool, Akira," Shiho said, peeking over his shoulder to take a closer look.
"Yeah, it just… kinda spoke to me or something," Nodding, he stared at the hand cannon in silence. "...Null?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, it just came to me, I guess it'd be a good name for it."
"Hmm… yeah, it sounds pretty cool."
"Thank-" Halting in mid-sentence, Akira's gaze widened again at the voice.
It wasn't Shiho's voice. It was… weirdly, Naoko's voice.
Turning to where her voice came from, he saw two people standing at the other end of the weapon shop. Even though he could only see their back, he could recognize Naoko there.
However, he couldn't recognize the other girl by Naoko's side. All he could see was the back of her head, which she had neck-length black hair. She's also wearing a Shujin uniform too.
"Yeah, it just spoke to me, I guess," As the other girl by Naoko's side chuckled, recognition filled Akira's gaze. It was the same voice as that weird girl he had seen in the palace before. "Besides, "Daybreak" does sound pretty cool for a hand cannon's name."
"Yeah, maybe you can name my weapons too, Re-"
"Akira?"
Snapped back to reality by Shiho's voice, Akira turned and saw her worried look at him. Wait a second, she didn't see that too?
"Akira, you're alright?" She asked again. "You just spaced out for a second here."
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Internally wincing at his stutter, Akira tried his best to give her a smile of reassurance. "Just, something in my mind, that's it."
Even though the suspicion was still clear within her gaze, Shiho still accepted his explanation for now. However, what just happened still occupied his mind, especially when he looked at where Naoko and that girl were and saw no one.
Did he just have some kind of hallucination, or… was it something else?
Shaking his head, Akira tried to put this in the back of his mind again. Just like what happened back in the palace.
Even if it kept coming back to the top of his mind.
(To be continued)
Preview:
As red and blue filled the street of Shibuya, a spotlight was forced onto a certain mafia boss.
And it's ripples reached far.
Meanwhile, inside the distorted world of desire.
The thieves moved out, to put an end to a bank's reign.
Next Chapter:
"The Bank of Gloutty - End"
Stay Turned!
So, exactly a month after the last chapter, Chapter 50 is here! Yay!
Well, this chapter is a bit of a breather chapter, mostly to prepare for the calling card. And of course, the boss fight with Kaneshiro.
So first, thank god Naoko's alright after her head injury, even though it did somewhat toss her into a different... place and time, so to speak. However, even though Aoi seems pretty friendly in this place, there seems to be something more about her.
Also, we got some more appearances of Iwai, our favorite not-real gun shop owner. And the first appearance of Karou too! Sidenote, his little quirk of adjusting his glasses with his thumb is actually from the character Ishido Shu from Ultraman Arc. Maybe he'd have some importance down the line, even if it might not in this place and time. (By the way, shameless plug for the show. It's airing every Saturday morning (or Friday night, depending on the timezone), officially free on YouTube with sub and dub too!)
Still, the biggest thing here (aside from Shinji's slip-up XD.) is Akira's vision of... Naoko with that girl. Not going to spoil anything here, but it's gonna be important down the line. Also, the Kanji for Akira is "曉", which means "Dawn" and "Daybreak". So... take that as you will ;)
Anyway, the next chapter is probably gonna be a long one, it's a boss fight, after all.
Still, I hope you all enjoy the story so far, Reviews and Favourites are welcomed!