[Student Council Room]

"Shinji? Wha- Why are you bringing a laptop to school?!"

With her gaze widened in shock, Makoto stood completely frozen as Shinji took out a small laptop from his school bag. "I-it's against the school's rule! What if a teacher come in and see it-"

"It's fine, how many times had a teacher come here to check on us?" With a smirk, Shinji took out two packs of popcorn and non-carbonated soda. "Anyway, here, I bought popcorn and soda for both of us. I remembered to go for those that aren't carbonated too."

"…O-oh, thanks…" Trailing off, Makoto looked away and sighed, but still sat down next to Shinji and took the snacks. "I'll let it slide, just this time."

"Are you sure? It seems like you're enjoying what I have too," Playfully poking her cheek, Shinji giggled as he took out a headphone and a DVD from his school bag. "So anyway, I finally got the DVD for the Accel spin-off!"

On the box of the DVD, the title "Kamen Rider W Returns: Kamen Rider Accel" was clearly written on it.

Within seconds, the slight frown on Makoto's face disappeared, and a wide smile emerged and replaced it. "W-wait, you got the DVD?!"

"Yeah, I had to go and look for it in the store nearby, but at least now we can watch it together," Plugging the headphone into the laptop, Shinji turned the box to the other side and pointed to a particular name. "Besides, it's directed by Sakamoto Koichi, so you'd definitely love the action scenes."

"It's directed by Sakamoto too?!" With her smile widened further, Makoto shifted her seat a bit closer to Shinji's. "I can't wait!"

"Huh, aren't you just gonna scold me for bringing a laptop here mere moments ago?" Raising his eye, a playful smile emerged as he leaned a bit closer to her. "Besides, aren't you the student council president? Shouldn't you uphold the standard for fellow students?"

"Usually, yes. But right now, I'm just Niijima Makoto," Wrapping her arms around Shinji's, she took one Right ear speaker of the headphone and put it on. "And I want to watch the movie about Terui Ryu, the coolest rider and man alive!"

"What about me then?"

"You're more on the 'Cute' side, Shinji," Makoto giggled, resting her head on his shoulder. "Anyway, let's not wait any longer, shall we?"

"Sure, Makoto," With that said, and with a grin, Shinji opened the laptop's DVD reader and put the said DVD in. And he pressed play.

Without delay, the laptop screen starts to play the movie-

With light shining through the room's window, Makoto slowly opened her eyes. But instead of the warmth and happiness in her dream, she was only faced with the familiar ceiling of her room. It was pale white, and with a simple light in the middle alone.

And the clock sitting on the cabinet next to her bed displayed "06:15, June 12th".

"…I just had to dream about that memory, isn't it?" She asked to no one, as her arm rested against her forehead. "…It just has to be like this, every single time…"

Clutching her eyes shut and trying to keep her mind from indulging in the past, Makoto sat up on her bed and started with her day.

Just like every day before, her older sister Sae had already left for her work as a public prosecutor. And she's all alone, with school being soon, Makoto found herself falling back into her morning routine.

Standing before the bathroom's mirror, Makoto stared at her own reflection. Her neck-length brown hair was straying all around and messed up. And her eyes were reddened from the weeping throughout the entire night before falling asleep last night.

And she stood still, just staring at it.

"I'm the worst, the absolute worst…" Muttering to herself, she rest her hands on the edge of the sink, and gripped them tight. "Even tears can't save myself now…"

"It's just someone leaving me, that should be a normal case," Feeling the effort of trying to rationalize started to fail her, she further tightened her grip. "Dad did that, Shinji did that, and now it's just a matter of time before Sae…"

She released a choked breath and held her breath, clutching her eyes shut, and felt her arms shaking. "Just… dammit…"

"Why can't I just move on like everyone else?"

For Makoto, Shujin was never a place she'd like to stay in. Actually, no, it was too kind of a word to describe her feeling toward this place.

She hated Shujin.

And the only reason she stayed was just not to become a huge dead weight on Sae's shoulder. She used to have a different reason to stay, but… not anymore.

"So Niijima is just gonna keep acting like her dog just died or something, huh?"

"Yeah, she's just playing the teacher's pet anyway. After all, those recommendation letters matter for her."

"She just keeps going by the teacher's side, even back with Kamoshida's stuff, what a coward."

"Wait, isn't she very close with Izumo before he left the school? So she definitely knows!"

Hearing all those murmurs and whispers around her as she walked down the hall, Makoto had to try her best to even try to keep her calm. She wanted nothing but to just retort back. Just something to get them to stop, no matter whether it was here in the hallway, or in the Student Council room, behind her back.

"Shut up…" Trailing off, she felt her eyes widen and contracted into a harsh glare, and she felt her voice raising with each word. "Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!"

"I hate you all! Do you even know what kind of burden I just had to take in and pretend nothing was wrong?" She yelled at the top of her lung. "You all must be so happy to just talk behind my back, and just keep spreading those rumors like there's nothing else worthwhile happens in your life, HUH?"

"Do you think I wanna do the principal's dirty job? NO!" She continued. "I've lost count of how many times I want to lay on that far bastard like what Shinji did, but… I'll just… be more of a burden to sis…"

With her voice slowly dying in her mouth, Makoto felt the sudden rage disappear. And as a replacement, something else crept up and filled her own gaze.

"…I'm such a hypocrite-"

"Niijima-Senpai?" Snapping her out of the fantasy of her mind, Makoto looked up and met with a worried gaze of someone. It was a boy in his second year, with plain-looking neck-length black hair and a pair of also-plain glasses.

Or in another word, the vice president of the student council after Shinji left, Nakamura Sai. "You're alright? I see you just froze here and just glared at the ground."

"…Oh, I'm just…" With her voice slowly dying in her mouth, the student council president realized all those things she did, never happened. "…A lot of things in my mind, that's all."

Noticing the pile of paper in Nakamura's arms, Makoto hastily changed the topic away from herself. "Nakamura, what are those papers…?"

"Student requests, they're growing in numbers," Giving out a sigh, Nakamura glanced at the papers in his arms and gestured to the council's room. "You can probably guess what they're about, but we still have to read them. So… should we get going?"

"…Right."

Even though this did get her mind off the rage within her, it was only replaced by something far worse. Those requests weren't mere requests anymore, they were desperate cries for help. The last resort for them.

But in return, Makoto only felt more and more helpless with the whole situation.

"Dammit, those mafia's just acting like nothing will touch them anymore," Reading the request with a deep scowl on his face, Nakamura put down the request and groaned. "Niijima-Senpai, what did Kobayakawa have to say about this?"

Ignoring the language and how he just called the principal by his name, Makoto just shook her head. "…He said that we couldn't do anything to help with this situation."

"So in other words, we're all alone in this," Internally cursing at the principal for his inaction, Nakamura took off his glasses and leaned against the seat. "Speaking of which, is he still forcing you to… investigate the whole Phantom Thief thingy?"

If he had taken a single look at Makoto, he would notice how stiff she turned at the mention of the Phantom Thieves. "I…" Clutching her phone in her hand, she slowly nodded, filled with hesitation. "…Yes, I still am."

"…With that on top of all this…" Trailing off, the vice president put on his glasses again and leaned forward on the table. "Niijima-senpai, are you sure you're alright? No one really should carry this kind of pressure."

"…I'm fine, no need to worry me."

"We both know this isn't true," With both his hands on the table and held before his face, Nakamura paused for a moment and joylessly chuckled. "…I know I can't replace Izumo as your right-hand man, but you still can trust us. The student council isn't just you-"

"But it sure feels like it," Interrupting his words, Makoto looked back up and directly into his eyes. "Nakamura, you can see how they look, right? They don't want to be here, and they're not really going to come here either."

"But I'm still here, this council still isn't a one-man show," Putting down his hands, he returned the stare with an equally serious gaze. "As much as you wanted to say otherwise, you're still just one person, Niijima-Senpai."

"So what, I'm just going to assign you to investigate the mafia scamming and extorting our students?" Before she could stop herself, Makoto slammed her fist to the table, and startled him. "It's not like I can't trust you, it's… I can't just toss this responsibility on your shoulder!"

"Then it's worse than I thought," Taking in and releasing a deep breath, Nakamura took another look at the request forms. "To be honest, I was hoping you to say that you can't trust me, things would be way easier that way."

"But no matter what, I'll still handle the requests," Hearing the bell ringing from outside, he stood up from the chair and sighed. "The position of vice president exists for a reason, after all. And… I'll see you later, Niijima-Senpai."

With that said, he took a few forms with him and left the room. Meanwhile, now all alone in the room, Makoto felt the strength in her body left entirely. And as she slumped on the table, her hands slowly reached out and took one of the request forms.

"…Maybe… I should ask for Sae's help…"

[Later that night, the Niijima household]

Makoto was somewhat thankful that Sae did return on time for dinner. But at the same time, a sense of nervousness. Would Sae even agree to help her on this matter in the first place? Or would she just scold her for asking about something unrelated to her study?

She didn't know, and she was afraid to find out.

As the silence hung heavily in the entire apartment as the two sisters ate, Makoto found it getting hard to focus on the empty bowl before her. It tasted just like usual, but it felt like anything but 'normal'.

Taking in a deep breath, Makoto put down the chopsticks. "Hey, sis… I have something to ask," She said, as her heart's beating intensified with every single second. "It's about the school, and I thought you might be able to help me with this."

"Go on," Not bothered to stop eating her dinner, the older sister- Niijima Sae gave her a small nod.

"It's… recently, I've been getting more and more requests from fellow students, and they got extorted out of money by the mafia…" Noticing how Sae's entire body froze at the mention of 'mafia', Makoto felt her heart drop and slowly filled with fear. "Sis, I know it's too much for me to handle, but-"

"It's not 'too much burden', it's something that you should've stayed away from," Cutting her off, Sae placed her chopsticks next to the empty bowl f hers. "Just focuses on your study, and get to a good university, don't get yourself involved in something like this."

"I know, that's why I'm asking you to help them," With her grasp on the chopsticks tightened, Makoto could slowly feel her fear was proved to be the truth. "You have friends in the police force, right? Maybe you can ask them."

Weirdly, Sae paused and said nothing in return. But Makoto could clearly see it in her gaze, it was filled with some… rage underneath. "No," Sae finally said, shaking her head. "If I can do just that, this entire incident with the mafia wouldn't even happen in the first place."

"Then… what about those students?"

"Don't focus too much effort on them, focus it on your study instead."

"But…" With her voice dying down, Makoto glared at the food on the table. "Aren't the police's job supposed to be upholding justice? Aren't YOUR job supposed to do that?"

"…I wish things are as simple as that," At first glance, Sae was about to raise her voice, but slowly chose otherwise. "But this is the real world, things don't act that way."

"Then those mafia people should just get away with this?" Gritting her teeth, the younger Niijima sister suddenly slammed the table. "Dad didn't die for a world like this-"

"That's enough, Makoto!" Cutting her off, Sae finally raised her voice, just like how Makoto imagined how this conversation would turn into. "Don't bring dad into this conversation."

"Then what should I say to convince you to even just spread the word about those cases?" Makoto said, her voice now feeling empty. "I'm just like the students who write those requests, I'm crying for help too."

"I'm supposed to be the voice of reason, the person they could fall back on…" Trailing off, guilt slowly filled her once empty voice. "If I can't help them, who will?"

"…There's no use to ask me for help," Just as suddenly as how she raised her voice, Sae let it dial back down at the same rate as well. "They won't take me seriously anyway."

With that said, she stood up and left the table, retreating back to her room.

And left all alone, Makoto slumped on the table and buried her head in her arms. After that, silence hung in the entire living room, just like how it was mere minutes ago.

[June 13th, morning, Student Council Room]

Makoto couldn't believe the footage playing before her eyes, not just the footage, but also how late she found out about this.

"Fighting sighted near the Akashi Bakery in Shibuya Shopping Street."

It didn't take her more than two seconds into the video to recognize what exactly was going on, even with the subpart quality and shaky nature of the video. The red hoodie jacket was recognizable enough for her.

"A gift?" With a raised eye, Makoto held up the red hoodie jacket in her hands. "I like it a lot, thank you Shinji!"

"Yeah, it's technically mom who bought the hoodie, so thank her instead," Rubbing the back of his neck, Shinji looked away with a clear blush on his cheek. "And besides, she bought two of them, one for me and one for you."

"So we can wear like a couple… I like that idea," Putting on the said jacket, Makoto smiled and planted a peck on his lips. "Why red though?"

"Because that's the color of heroes," Feeling the blush deepen and heated up, Shinji smiled. "Like, most of the main Kamen Riders are Red, after all. Same for Accel too!"

"Well, Ise-san sure has a good understanding of… the both of us then," Chuckling, Makoto wrapped her arms around him.

"There's… no way, it's not true," With a nervous laugh coming out of her mouth, Makoto tried her best to come up with whatever explanation she had. "It-it must be someone who happened to wear that same hoodie as him, that must be it…"

However, even if she tried, the truth was right here and staring at her. The red hoodie, the fact it was near the Akashi bakery. And the fact he's fighting…

"Wait, next to the Akashi bakery…" Trailing off, she slowly realized what really happened, and her gaze widened. "T-that means… they also got affected… And Shinji is…"

"No no no no no, he can't do this, that's only gonna…" With her voice fading, Makoto couldn't finish her word, nor that thought of what would happen. "N-no, I-I had to do something, I can't just let it happen like this."

With her gaze turned back to the phone sitting on the table, an idea did pop up. But… calling her conflicted to go with that idea or not, was a giant understatement.

Reaching her phone with a pair of shaking hands, Makoto opened the recording tab and replayed the most recent recording on the list. And without a second later, the voices of Ren, Ryuji, and Ann emerged.

"…So you think it's true? We'll be okay if we keep doing this… right?"

"…We can't let the cops scare us outta bein' phantom thieves…"

"Ann's right, but there's no going back…"

Quickly pausing the recording, the student council president placed both of her arms on the side of said phone. And she clutched her eyes shut, with her hands tightened into a fist. "I'm the student council president of this school, I'm supposed to be the role model for everyone…"

"I-I can't, it's blackmail…" She murmured. "It's not the right thing to do, and… Shinji wouldn't like it if I did this…"

"But you shouldn't care what he'd think about what you're doing," Suddenly, a voice eerily like her own rung from nowhere, and Makoto felt her body freeze. "Sae couldn't help, and that joke of a principal wouldn't help. We're already running out of options anyway."

"Think of it as a last resort. I'm sure Shinji… no, your own morals would understand."

"We would understand…" Murmuring out loud, Makoto stared at the phone, her gaze was empty. "Would he?"

"Your problem is that you're stuck on the good side, Makoto." The voice continued. "Sometimes in order to do the right thing, we need to… bend the rule a bit."

"Besides, what other option do we have? What if Shinji is getting beaten to death right now? What if they're going after Ise-san?"

"That means…" Trailing off, the student council president's gaze slowly left the emptiness. And in return, it was a gaze full of desperation. "…I can't let this happen, I can't."

"That's right. Had anything good ever occurred to us when we played by the rule?" With joy clear within that voice, Makoto felt the sensation of a warm hand placed on her shoulder. "Why are we sacrificing our happiness for nothing?"

"I… no, I've lost enough," Clutching her eyes for a mere moment, Makoto stared at the phone with a gaze full of conviction. "…I'll do it."

"I'll do it. For Shinji's sake."

[Afterschool]

Leaning against the table of the council's room, Makoto could feel how her heart's beating hastened by each second. In sync with the clicking of the wall hanging on the wall.

But unfortunately, nothing ever waited for her to get ready. As the door was pulled open, Makoto hastily put on a strong front and came face to face with the person she called.

Amamiya Ren.

"So, you're earlier than I expected, Amamiya-Kun," Forcing her tone to be as even as possible, Makoto gestured to the seat behind her. "…Have a seat."

"…Sure," Pushing his glasses so the reflection hid his gaze, Ren nodded and took a seat as Makoto took hers. "Anyway, what's all this for?"

"I'll get straight to the point," Ignoring his question, Makoto took in a deep breath and steeled herself. "After what happened with Mr. Kamoshida and Madarame… Won't you tell me the truth behind the Phantom Thieves' incidents?"

Ren didn't answer her question. However, even with the glass obstructing most of his gaze, Makoto could see how his gaze widened in shock. And a part of her breathed out a sigh internally, it's now time for the hard part.

"It makes sense why you can't answer. After all, no one would admit to something like this," Noting that she couldn't control her face from letting sorrow and sadness emerge, Makoto took in another deep breath and took out her phone. "However… this said otherwise."

Placing the phone on the table, she played the recording.

"…So you think it's true? We'll be okay if we keep doing this… right?"

"…We can't let the cops scare us outta bein' phantom thieves…"

"Ann's right, but there's no going back…"

"I would like to see you explain this, Amamiya," Seeing how the shock slowly disappeared in his gaze, and how his entire demeanor just shifted into someone else… Makoto couldn't help but slowly have a sense of regret emerge from within.

And for a moment here, she was sure that she just heard some meowing from Ren's bag.

"How did you and your fellow Phantom Thieves do it?" Feeling the power balance slowly tipped toward him, Makoto immediately followed up, not wanting to let this balance be stripped away from her. "Is it blackmail? Or hypnosis? How did you all corner someone into making a confession like this?"

"Ask the culprit," This was all Ren had replied, crossing his arms.

"But your voice is in the recording, stop trying to deny it."

"What are you going to do then? Expose this recording to the principal? Or even the police?" Narrowing his gaze, the delinquent's gaze flashed in a hint of intrigue. "Actually, I am interested… You're supposed to be the student council president, why are you now trying to eavesdrop on fellow students?"

"I…" Of course, Makoto would be lying if a question similar to this was on her list of 'potential questions from Amamiya'. However, it still hit hard. "Let's just say I am lucky to overhear your conversation-"

"You're avoiding the question, Niijima-san," Resting his elbows on the table, Ren leaned forward. And also let the reflection hide his gaze again. "I'm asking why are you doing this… You can very well just send this to the police or Kobayakawa without calling me here. But you didn't do that..."

"You have something to blackmail me over, isn't it?"

Eyes widened in shock, Makoto hastily tried to think of an answer without spilling the truth. "I- I just want you to prove your justice to me."

However, just like how he was a few moments ago, Ren stayed silent for a moment. "...I can see that in your eyes, Niijima-san. That's not really your true reason, right?"

Fighting the urge to get away from the chair and run away, the student council president tightly gripped the edge of her skirt. "...I don't have to tell you, it's… not none of your business."

"It's none of my business, but it's this bad that you result in mere blackmail…" Trailing off, Ren stroked his chin as he leaned back. "It's out of desperation, isn't it? You have no other options, and time is running out for you. So you chose to do this."

"I…" With the words dying in her mouth, Makoto felt the strong front she put on crumbed into smithereens before her. Even with whatever courage she mustered up, it all disappeared. "...You're right, I am desperate. If I have just a different choice than to use this recording, I'd do that instead."

Surprised by her sudden change of demeanor, a hint of worry emerged inside Ren's eyes. Seeing someone literally have her strength shattered into pieces like this, he could sense there was something wrong with her.

However, before he could mutter a word out, Makoto took the initiative again. "I've been asking for help from the principal, from sis, and from myself. But… Even if there's a solution, it'd be too late," She said, as her gaze wandered tp somewhere, widening in fear. "Doing this is the only way to stop it before it's too late…"

"Before… it's too late?" Exchanged a worried and confused glance with Morgana in his bag, Ren was about to say something when his phone suddenly buzzed. "Huh?"

Picking it up, he grimaced at the name displayed on the phone's screen.

It was Ryuji.

"Just… pick it up," Makoto said, without a single hint of the aggression she had mere moments earlier.

Nodding, Ren picked up the call. And just as he expected, Ryuji's voice blasted through the speaker. And it was audible for Makoto, even without turning on speaker mode.

"Hey, where you're at? Takin' a leak? Let's meet up at our usual spot to hold our Phantom Thieves' meetin'!"

Resisting the sudden urge to just throw the phone out of the window, Ren just internally cursed at Ryuji for spilling it out. However, as sudden as that urge came up, it also was replaced with concern and sympathy toward Makoto.

"I guess that's some… perfect timing here," As the tension that once occupied the entire room disappeared, the student council president stood up from her seat, slinging her shoulder bag over her shoulder. "Then let's meet them then. I do have a request, but it's better to tell everyone about it instead of just you, Amamiya."

"O-okay," Nodding, Ren hastily picked up his bag, and just happened to let Makoto see Morgana's face.

"Wha…" Feeling her voice die out, Makoto just stared at the said cat before giving out a long breath. "I guess that's another break of the school rule then."

"Not that I'm innocent either."

[Shibuya, Teikyu Building Accessway, not long after]

Even though Makoto had expected some downright hateful look from Ann when she arrived, but she didn't expect to see… them. The Phantom Thieves were bigger than she thought, way bigger.

For most of the members, they were just giving her shocked glances, but Ann's was particularly filled with subtle distaste within. But in the meantime, Makoto also had her eyes widened at the appearances of a few more people she didn't expect to see.

Suzui Shiho, Togo Hifumi, Kamisaki Keigo, and… Akira.

"…How did you-"

"Wh-what the hell?!" Cutting off what Makoto was about to say, Ryuji hastily stood up from the ground he had been sitting on for a long time.

"What's the meaning of this?" Narrowing her gaze, Ann added. "Ren?"

"I… let's just say we messed up," Rubbing the back of his neck, the usual 'joker-ness' was nowhere to be seen in Ren. "And now-"

"Now I have something to ask for your specialties," Taking the initiative from Ren, Makoto crossed her arms with a tight grip. And she hoped the pain from squeezing her own arms would keep her calm. "I'll be straight to the point, I know you're the Phantom Thieves."

"And before you ask, it's because of this," Internally berating herself for using that recording again, she pulled out her phone and played the recording.

In response, Ann and Ryuji had their face drained of any sign of life, replaced by a shade of pale white. "D-dude, no effin' way…"

And for Ann, the distaste and rage slowly emerged, the same rage she had on their last meeting. "So you're just gonna blackmail us into your bidding, huh?"

"This is the only way to get my request across before it's too late," Makoto answered, but her gaze quickly lowered and cast to the ground. "If I can find a different way to fix this, I… I wouldn't resolve into something like this."

"Then just say what are you wanting from us," Keigo chimed in, arms crossed and leaning against the railing behind him. "I apologize for being blunt, but you're just dancing around the subject, Niijima-senpai."

"R-right… I…" Trailing off, the student council president took in a deep breath before continuing. "It is about the recent rumors… No, incidents that a mafia is extorting money from teens, even students in Shujin."

"And well, I know next to nothing about the said mafia, but time is running out," Trying her best to keep her emotion in check, Makoto couldn't help but kept her gaze on the ground. "Please, you're the only option I have left now."

This time, even Ren was surprised by the sincerity within Makoto's voice, and to see the student council president asking for their help… Even Ann had her gaze slowly softened and replaced with pity.

And for one of them, Akira's face was clear with sympathy and understanding. As if he knew what exactly was the true reason for her action here.

"That's… certainly a big target you just asked us to deal with, Niijima-senpai," Shiho said, feeling unsure whether to take on this request or not. "Especially when even you know next to nothing about them."

"But if you had to resolve to use that recording to ask for our help, that means you're truly desperate…" Yusuke trailed off, nodding in deep thought.

And Hifumi just felt like she was watching herself, just like how history kept repeating.

"It's fine if you all don't give me a response right away," Makoto said, gripping her arms tightly. "We can talk about it on the school's rooftop tomorrow if you accept this."

As the urge to just run away overwhelmed Makoto, she immediately turned around and walked away. She couldn't handle it anymore, she would definitely just break down like a mess if they refused right then and there. Makoto knew it merely just prolonged the inevitable, a coward's move of just running away. But she couldn't help it.

All she just wanted to do now was just get in her room and scream at the pillow. Just let her emotion leak into the emptiness of her room-

"Hey, wait!" Stopping in her track, Makoto turned around and came face-to-face with Akira. "…Can we just have a one-to-one talk here?"

"…What is it?"

"It's… not mainly about the students, isn't it?" He asked, resting his palms against his waist. "It's about Shinji, right?"

Makoto didn't answer, but still nodded after a long pause. "…You also saw that video?"

"I did," Akira gave out a long breath. "That idiot just had to get himself into some real trouble, isn't it? Getting you worried like death, and this desperate to save him."

"He's not an idiot, just… doesn't value his life as high as people he cared about."

"…Can't say otherwise."

"I just… don't want to make the day he left to be our last day together… I don't want that..." Trailing off, Makoto looked up and away from Akira. But in the busy crowd of Shibuya, her gaze suddenly locked onto a familiar sight of deep crimson-like hair.

And Akira followed where her gaze went, his gaze also widened.

It was Shinji, wearing that same red hoodie, but still in his Kosei uniform. However, what caught their eyes weren't just the hair and hoodie, but the bandages and wrapping visible just from the back.

"Shinji…?!"

Feeling her feet start moving on her own, Makoto immediately moved toward the direction of him, her hand raised and reaching out to him. However, as she moved into the crowd, he was already nowhere to be seen. Just like a ghost, all she got was a mere glimpse and nothing more.

And just like a ghost, she was still holding on to the hope to be with him again. What was she going to say if she did get to him anyway? Nothing.

Was it even worth it to reach out? No. It wasn't, and it never did.

Realizing this truth, she slowly stopped at her feet.

And slowly lowered her hand.

(To be continued)

Preview:

A man who never keeps his promises.

This would be how Izumo Shinji describes himself.

No matter whether it was the promise he made years ago, to cheer up a lonely girl in a hospital.

No matter if it was to be strong enough to be able to protect that girl.

No matter if it's to be that girl's hero.

In the end, he'd only break those promises, leaving a broken heart in the aftermath.

In the back-and-forth of the past and present, he only stepped deeper and deeper into the mafia's mess.

Next Chapter:

"A Failed Hero"

Stay tuned!

Okay, so it's just about 2 weeks since the last chapter. But here it is, chapter 41, and the start of another arc.

Maybe I should've put some warning about how depressing this chapter can be though. Quite ironic that those depressing chapters are easier for me to write than a normal chapter. Maybe it's the mood that helps.

Anyway, you can expect the next few chapters to be on the same note as well.

Now back on the bright side, there's actually one big reference I wanna talk about here.

About the movie Shinji brought to the council room, it's actually a real movie. It is a spin-off movie from the Tokusatsu show "Kamen Rider W". Which is also having its sequel manga "Fuuto PI" adapted into an anime that's airing right now! I'd highly recommend everyone to see the anime at least (it's still newcomer friendly, even if it's a sequel.) And if you're interested in the show, the first episode is actually free on YouTube!

Also, the director 'Sakamoto Koichi' is also a famous director in the Tokusatsu scene. And he was famous for the great fight scenes themselves (No matter if it was a fight in costume, or the actors themselves.) And for action fans like Makoto, the style of Sakamoto's fight scene definitely suits her taste XD.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story so far, Reviews and Favorites are welcomed!