"Are you sure about this, Tetsuo?" Mariko raises a skeptical eyebrow in your direction, forcing you to act as though you're thoroughly interested in the movie times above the ticket window.
In all honesty, you aren't sure in the slightest, yet you put down the money for three tickets anyways. You don't know the first thing about the movie save that it's supposed to be some kind of comedy. You don't really pay attention to what's in theaters. Instead, you prefer to wait until you can watch them on TV for free. However, Hayate is the sort of person who's knowledgeable about stuff like this, and he insisted that it would be "the perfect way to start the day." You glance over at the poster for the film. It looks kind of stupid. Judging by Mariko's expression, she seems to feel the same way.
"Of course he is!" says Hayate, springing up behind you and plucking his ticket out of your hand. "Everyone's gone to see this one, how bad can it be?"
"I guess..." she says. You hand her a ticket, and the three of you head inside.
Since you decided to include Hayate in your plans, you'd called up Nisekao to ask if he was interested in coming along, but he'd said that he wasn't feeling well. You didn't press the matter, but it was worrying all the same. Hopefully this isn't about what happened at school this week. At any rate, it might be a nice gesture to swing by his house later and bring him something.
A wave of sound generated by the babbling of hundreds of voices washes over you as you step inside and into the midst of a horde of people. It's as if every family and couple in Toshima has decided to descend on this particular theater at this particular time, possibly even to see your particular film, if such a line of coincidences were to be followed to their logical conclusion.
"Wow," says Mariko flatly, her voice almost lost in the din.
Hayate gently elbows you. "See? Told ya I wouldn't steer you wrong."
"This place is a zoo," you say, which puts him out somewhat.
"Well, you wanted to know what people do for Golden Week. I'd say my advice was pretty bang-on. Anyhow, we got some time to kill before the movie starts, let's get some popcorn and soda or something."
"I think we passed the end of the concessions line on our way through the door..." says Mariko, but Hayate is oblivious to her tone.
"C'mon, you guys act like you've never been to the movies before. It's always like this. Tell ya what, just tell me what you want and I'll wait in line while you find us a seat. Sound like a plan?"
He flashes you a wink that seems to imply that you should be grateful to him for some alone time with Mariko. You're not eager to encourage that charade, but on the other hand, it would be nice to have a couple minutes (or hours, judging by the swelling of the concessions line) free from his yammering.
"Sure. Just get me a small cola," you say, pressing some money into his hands and turning away. Mariko asks for an extra-large popcorn and quickly follows suit.
Although you're a good fifteen minutes early for the movie, the dimly-lit theater is already packed, forcing you to settle on three seats near the front. The screen looms large above you. You're sure your vantage point will allow you to see every pore on the actors' sweaty faces. For now, it's merely displaying a loop of asinine trivia questions about candy and soda. But within minutes, even the remaining empty seats on either side of you fill up, the room darkens, and the previews for the coming attractions begin to roll.
About twenty minutes into the film (which is proving to be just as stupid as you'd pegged it), the darkened outline of Hayate stumbles towards you with your concessions in tow.
"Um, could you...?" he whispers to an elderly lady on your left who seems thoroughly displeased to be here. He points towards you and Mariko awkwardly, then adds, "I'm with them." Mariko sighs and you roll your eyes.
"I don't think so!" squawks the old lady, causing the other moviegoers to turn and stare. "I was here first! Buzz off!"
If the lighting was more substantial, you're sure Hayate would be flush in the face. He casts a desperate look your way, but you can only muster a shrug in response. Heaving a sigh of resignation and pursing his lips, Hayate hands the two of you your popcorn and soda and trudges off in search of an empty seat elsewhere.
As the movie goes on, you find yourself glancing over at Mariko beside you, partially to gauge her interest, and partially to marvel at the way she's demolishing that huge bucket of popcorn. She'll chuckle every now and then when somebody cracks a joke, but like you, there doesn't seem to be much genuine interest in her expression. Sighing inwardly, you slump down in your seat and hope that it doesn't last much longer so that you can move onto something else.
Out of curiosity, you twist around in your seat to see where Hayate's gone. However, as you scan the rows of seats, your eyes briefly alight on a pair of familiar faces, recognizable only for an instant by the flickering glow of the screen.
Seated near the back are the two Yatabuya gangsters from the other day, Taishi and Chikara, and instead of watching the movie, their eyes are fixed firmly in your direction.
Wordlessly, you whip yourself back around. You're not sure if they noticed you, but if they've already followed you inside the theater, it probably doesn't matter anyways. Whatever the reason they have for tailing you, it can't be pleasant. You tap Mariko on the shoulder and whisper, "C'mon, we're getting out of here."
She stares back at you, confused. "Really? Halfway through?"
You breathe deeply. "Sorry, should've phrased that differently. We have to get out of here. Don't ask why now, let's just move."
Sensing the urgency in your voice, she nods and makes to get up after you, but then quickly jerks you back into your seat by your wrist.
"Wait, what about Hayate?"
Out of the corner of your eye, Taishi's silhouette leans forward in his seat. Suppressing a groan, you yank out your phone.
"I'll shoot him a text and tell him to meet us..." You're not sure where you plan on going, only that you need to go. "...somewhere. He'll be fine, I don't think they're after him."
"They? Who's 'they'...whoa!" Mariko starts, but before she can hold you up again, you take her by the hand and hurry out of the theater.
As the two of you stumble into the lobby, you cast a backwards glance over your shoulder to catch a glimpse of your pursuers emerging from the theater after you, blinking in the brightness. Taishi gets ahold of his senses first and spots you immediately. Placing a hand on Chikara's shoulder, he points at you, and they begin striding purposefully in your direction with measured, tight-lipped grins.
You don't dare break into a run yet, but nevertheless, you pick up your pace, and Mariko practically trips over herself trying to keep up.
"Tetsuo, what's going on? Where are we going?" A tinge of unease is starting to creep into her voice now.
"Wish I knew," you mutter, pushing open the door to the cinema without breaking stride, "but those Yatabuya guys from the other day are following us."
Her eyes go wide. "What? Again? Tetsuo, what did you do?"
"Like I said, I don't know! I don't even know what I did the first time! What I do know is that we need to find somewhere to get lost, quick."
As you approach an intersection, the Air Mall looms large before, its glass faces shimmering in the afternoon sun. It'd be the ideal place to try and lose your pursuers, but a stream of traffic separates you and the safety of its bedlam. The sound of people protesting as someone pushes past them reaches your ears from a not-so-very-long distance behind you, so without hesitating, you pull Mariko left at the corner and down along the sidewalk.
The two of you wander without aim for some time, turning corner after corner until the streets you hustle along no longer look familiar. And although you've been doing your best to put as much distance as you can between you and the Yatabuya, the telltale sounds of their pursuit continue to dog your footsteps. Without hesitation, you and Mariko dart into a nearby restaurant in hopes of throwing them off.
A bell chimes as you enter and take a quick glimpse around. Unfortunately for you, the place is nearly empty, and the poor girl standing behind the register looks genuinely pleased to see you.
"What now?" you mutter, and Mariko grabs your arm, pointing towards the back of the restaurant where a door next to the restrooms leads out back. No sooner do the two of you dash through it does the bell at the front ring again. Chancing a glance back over your shoulder, you see Taishi and Chikara step inside and lock eyes with you.
Practically pushing Mariko the rest of the way through the back door, you stumble into a small space behind the restaurant populated by a remarkably clean dumpster. However, it's walled in on two sides, the remaining one being a large, metal gate. The two of you might able to push it open together, but there's nowhere near enough time for you to try.
Dropping to one knee to boost Mariko onto the dumpster so she can vault over the wall, she's just barely clambered on top of it and extended her hand to you when the back door bursts open and Taishi and Chikara swagger through.
Looking slightly sweaty, but rather pleased with himself, Taishi straightens his tie and shakes his head.
"Goodness. Now, was all that really necessary?"
"Yeah, well, somehow I doubt you're here to tell me if I dropped my wallet."
He allows himself a small chuckle at that. "No, you're right. We're not."
Taishi snaps his fingers, and before you can blink, Chikara's got her fingers around your neck and plows you into the cinderblock wall behind you. There then comes a gasp, a click, and Taishi's expression tenses as Mariko levels her gun at him.
"Let go of him," she says tersely, gesturing towards you. "NOW," she adds when Chikara looks back over her shoulder towards her partner.
"Tch." With visible reluctance, Chikara releases her grip on your windpipe and takes a step back towards Taishi. Mariko doesn't relax her aim, but the tension in the air eases slightly.
"Now, Chikara, don't let yourself be intimidated by this...child. She doesn't have the fortitude to shoot us."
For some reason, Chikara finds this funny and laughs under her breath. "Heh. Maybe, but I ain't the one gettin' that thing pointed at me. You sure?"
"Positive. Proceed," replies Taishi, staring down Mariko as if daring her to pull the trigger. With a noncommittal shrug, Chikara rounds on you once more.
Mariko's trigger finger twitches almost indiscernibly. You close your eyes and brace for something to happen. But as several terse moments pass, nothing does. When you venture to open your eyes again, a tall figure stands between you and Chikara.
Tall and lanky, wearing a pair of tattered jeans and a grey sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, the newcomer takes a step forward and brandishes an aluminum baseball bat towards Chikara.
"C'mon, now. You've got better things to do, right?"
The voice is muffled, but feminine. She glances back at you over her shoulder, revealing a red bandana fixed over her mouth and a strip of black cloth with two holes cut out tied over her eyes. The entire ensemble gives her a more thuglike appearance than the two in front of her - not exactly confidence inspiring.
"You alright?"
The question catches you off guard, so all you can manage is a blank nod before she returns her attention to the Yatabuya.
Chikara snarls and spits. "What are you doing here?"
The stranger shrugs and says, "Take a wild guess."
For reasons that go over your head, they don't react well to that. Taishi, however, regains his composure quickest.
"Hmph. And I suppose you're proud of that, are you?" His eyes flit between you, Mariko, and the stranger, weighing his options. "Normally, I'd relish the opportunity to put one of you in your place, but..." He puts a hand on Chikara's shoulder and draws her back. "...This really isn't the time nor the place for that, I'm afraid. Come, Chikara."
Chikara throws Taishi's hand off of her.
"You gotta be kidding me! They can't keep gettin' away with this!"
This time placing both hands firmly on her shoulders, Taishi stares directly in Chikara's eyes. A funny sensation comes over you as you watch his gaze pierce hers.
"And trust me, they won't. There will come a time when their fortune will run out. But for now, we must. Be. Patient."
As though hypnotized by his words, Chikara's frame relaxes and she takes a deep breath.
"Whatever."
And without another word, the two of them retreat back into the restaurant and out of sight.
Even though her hand left your throat minutes ago, once Chikara leaves, you feel as if you're finally able to get a full breath again. Your head is light as the adrenaline leaves you, and your body collapses against the rough wall.
"Holy...thanks..." you gasp, both to Mariko and the tall stranger. The latter turns around and regards you curiously.
"You're welcome, I guess. But really, you're just fortunate I happened to be around."
Mariko hops down from the dumpster. She's lowered her weapon, but you notice that she hasn't holstered it yet.
"Who are you? How do you know those two?" she asks.
The stranger stands there quietly, as though mulling over how best to respond. Then, she laughs, high and surprisingly cute.
"Well, I suppose you'll find out sooner or later, won't you?"
Then, with surprising agility, she bounds onto the dumpster and vaults over the wall into the alley without another word.
With Mariko's help, the two of you push open the gate at the other end of the tiny courtyard, but by the time you rush into the alley, the stranger has already vanished. Mariko shakes her head.
"What've we gotten ourselves into, Tetsuo?"
