28: All Assembled
The six or so uniformed soldiers that Aira had brought with her watched the situation in silence, however with expressions of bewilderment.
They’re well-trained.
Or perhaps, they’re simply at a loss for words in the face of such a strange scene and a dead body.
“…Are you serious?”
Makoto was the one who hesitantly spoke up from among them. He still had bandages on his hand, but was it really okay for him to have left the hospital?
“I… Haruyoshi? Is he, like, dead…?”
“Who cares?”
Aira brushed off Makoto’s unease with ease, her irritation evident.
It was terrifying how she could look at a dead body and say something like “who cares.”
I always thought she was a bit strange, but maybe Aira’s mental structure is just fundamentally different.
“Tanuki, is what you said true? That the guy who injured Aira is here…?”
“Enka is the culprit.”
I don’t know the truth, but I intend to make the most of this situation.
Here’s how I got them here.
When I arrived at the shopping mall, I had already gotten in touch with Aira.
I sent her a message saying, “I might meet the guy who seriously injured you today,” and she immediately took the bait.
I had her gather her soldiers, gradually sent her my location, and had them wait nearby.
Then, as soon as I confirmed Haruyoshi’s death, I sent her my final location.
And just like that, Aira and her crew showed up at the perfect time.
If nothing had happened, I would have let them go.
In that case, I don’t really want to think about what they would have done to me. Although, I had plenty of ways to avoid that.
“Enka, the hypnosis you put on Aira was ‘attitude: friend,’ right? If you wanted to keep it at a level that wouldn’t affect her actions, that was the safest option.”
「……………………」
“But that backfired. Aira won’t show any mercy to someone she only sees as a ‘friend.’ It’s too late to lift the hypnosis now. There’s an interval.”
“That’s a problem…”
“Brace yourself. Now, Aira! Order your men to capture Enka!”
“Why would I do that?”
“Oh, right! …Hm?”
I almost let the denial I heard from behind me pass me by, but then I turned around.
“…What?”
“Why do I have to take orders from Tanuki?”
Aira folded her arms and pouted.
She doesn’t like it. She doesn’t like taking orders.
I looked up at the ceiling and exhaled deeply.
What should I do…?
Everyone present remained in an awkward silence as time passed by.
It was obvious that the silence wasn’t going to solve anything.
Ryugo faced Aira and bowed deeply, touching his forehead to the ground.
“Please. Lend me your strength.”
“Whoa there.” “Tanuki…”
Koki and Misato tapped his shoulder as if to say, “Don’t do it,” but if throwing away his petty pride could change the situation, then it was a small price to pay.
He couldn’t let a murderer run free.
Aira bent down and looked down at him.
“If you do as I say, I’ll help you.”
“Yes! I’ll do anything!”
“You promise? If you break your promise, I’ll kill you.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Good. Then let’s do this. Everyone, will you catch that woman for me?”
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The private soldiers who had received their orders replied in unison, “Yes, ma’am!”
Then, with synchronized movements, they turned their shoulders and yelled, “We’re gonna kick your ass!
What a terrifying sight.
It was the intimidation display of a savage Japanese delinquent.
Male Japanese delinquents would hurl insults at their enemies to show off their strength.
Japanese delinquents were a rare sight these days, but they still stubbornly clung to existence in the countryside.
“Do your best!”
The delinquents, who had received Aira’s cute, bird-like voice of encouragement, fearlessly charged at the men who had surrounded Ryugo and the others.
Their weapons were nothing more than flimsy scraps of metal, like iron pipes that they had probably found lying around the abandoned factory. But it was better than nothing.
The surroundings were filled with shouts and the dull sounds of blows.
It was deafening. It was unbearable.
“Get up, Tanuki.”
Koki grabbed Ryugo’s arm and pulled him to his feet.
“We can’t leave it all to them. We have to catch Enka while we have the chance.”
“R-right…”
Enka had already escaped from the battle zone and was running away.
He must have known the back way out of the factory. He was running towards the back without hesitation.
They tried to follow him, but Enka’s hypnotized soldiers blocked their way. Their large builds, which suggested that they were used to manual labor, were quite intimidating.
There were six of Aira’s private soldiers, and eight of the others.
Even if Seiji, who was injured, joined the fight, they would still be outnumbered.
“Leave this to me.”
Koki stepped forward and got into a fighting stance.
“Misato, you go with Tanuki.”
Misato hesitated when she received the order, but she quickly nodded.
“Got it.”
“Go!”
As Koki charged at the hypnotized soldiers, Ryugo and the others slipped past him.
Barely dodging the hand that was trying to grab me, I chased after Enka, who had already disappeared through the back door.
As I ran through the space where the containers were placed, I asked Misato.
“Hey, why are you here? I didn’t call you.”
“I have my own circumstances.”
“From the way you’re talking, you didn’t come with Aira, did you?”
I stopped speculating, ignoring her expression that seemed to say, “Oops.” I was already running at full speed after someone in the middle of summer. There was no way I could think straight.
I went outside and felt dizzy from the scorching sunlight and heat. The concrete, heated like an iron plate, was creating a faint mirage.
I wiped away the sweat pouring down my face and looked around.
“Where did she go!?”
“Over there!”
In the direction Misato pointed, I saw a girl with long black hair running.
She wasn’t that far away.
I lowered my hips and slightly ran with a slight forward lean. The heat rising from my legs spread throughout my body, causing me to sweat.
I cut through the wind, but it was lukewarm and not enough to cool my skin.
Enka noticed me and increased her speed.
I had seen her before during physical education class, and she had pretty good athletic ability, even among the girls. Her speed and endurance were probably above average.
She was about the same as me, or maybe even――no, it was pointless to think about it. I just had to run without thinking.
We should be leaving the factory area and arriving in the residential area soon.
There were more houses now.
“Wait!!”
There was no way she would wait just because I felt.
But if she continued into an area with people, it would be convenient. If I “ordered” someone with the hypnosis app, I might be able to stop Enka.
Online, Enka could use the same trick. Moreover, the one being chased, who was ahead, had the advantage.
But it was much better than just continuing to chase each other.
There was a change in Enka’s movement.
She took out the smartphone she had in her pocket and started operating it without looking at it much. From experience, she knew where everything was.
She was probably releasing someone’s hypnosis in order to cast a new one. The target was probably Aira or Makoto, so it wouldn’t be easy for the one who left them behind.
“This is bad…”
The traffic was becoming less unusual. We were about to reach a place with a lot of people.
Thick roads also became more noticeable, and cars and motorcycles were driving all over the place. It seemed that we had already reached a place with people.
Ryugo’s legs had long since turned to sticks, and his muscles were screaming. I can’t count how many times I thought about stopping.
I should settle here.
“Someone, please catch that girl!!”
Ryugo inspired and aimed at a college-aged man in front of her.
He was well-built, so he should be able to hold Enka down.
Ryugo also considered the possibility that the man would be arrested for molestation, but it didn’t matter. He could make excuses all he wanted.
Hypnosis ‘Order’――Restrain Enka.
At the same time as he tried to execute it, Enka seemed to have decided on her target.
She jumped out into the road while looking at the parent and child on the sidewalk diagonally behind her――Ryugo’s lower left――.
The mother was holding a crying baby and trying to comfort it.
There was a baby carriage nearby.
She wasn’t wearing a baby carrier.
The worst possible scenario immediately came to mind.
If that mother ‘ordered’ her to let go, the baby would fall and die.
I couldn’t possibly ignore that, and I would definitely go to help.
And the timing of that would be when Ryugo noticed the mother and child.
In other words, now.
Damn it.
I won’t make it in time.
Enka’s eyes caught sight of me and then shifted back to the mother and child.
…I’m done for!
“Stop it!!”
I responded,
BAM――
Suddenly, there was a deafening crash.
A motorcycle came out of nowhere and ran Enka over.
“……………………Huh?!”
Without a scream, her slender body rolled dramatically across the gray concrete road.
Her smooth black hair spread out like wings, fanning out radially from her head.
Her limbs were thrown out, and she didn’t convulse once.
Ryugo observed the scene calmly.
Oddly enough, perhaps because I had just recently witnessed an accident, I was surprisingly calm. I could clearly grasp what was happening.
People stood there in a daze.
The baby, who had stopped crying, looked curiously at Enka lying on the ground.
The mother stood frozen, clutching her child.
Misato, who was next to me, had her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide open.
The motorcycle stopped immediately. The driver, wearing a leather suit and a helmet, got off and ran to Enka.
Anyway, I need to call an ambulance.
Ryugo looked at the accident scene while operating his smartphone.
The driver was patting Enka on the shoulder, trying to get a response. That was the right thing to do.
Next, he turned her on her back and checked her breathing.
He checked her pulse.
Then he slung her over his shoulder and put her in the sidecar attached to the motorcycle.
“…Huh?”
The driver, who looked completely unfazed, gripped the handlebars and sped off with a roar, disappearing in an instant.
It had all happened in a flash.
The black motorcycle with no license plate vanished from the scene, leaving behind only the spectators who had witnessed the incomprehensible events.
We stood there in stunned silence under the summer sun.
Next to the speechless Ryugo, Misato muttered.
“Enka was…kidnapped…?”