Once Aoba had moved on to Mikado’s hospital room, Masaomi spat, “Be careful, Anri. You go to school with him, right?”
“Yes, but…I was mostly surprised that he seemed different from usual…”
She’d heard about the younger boy’s true nature, but actually seeing it in person for the first time had left Anri a bit shaken.
Masaomi decided to get back to the topic at hand. “Hey…what’ll you say to Mikado when he wakes up?”
“Well…”
There was no sign of that actually happening yet, but they had faith. They knew he would regain consciousness. And that was why it would be important for them to know what to say when he did.
After a bit of thinking, both Masaomi and Anri arrived at the same answer.
✦ ✦ ✦
When they walked out of the hospital entrance, Saki was waiting.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“Yep. I didn’t want to intrude on the three of you and your private time,” she said with a gentle smile.
Masaomi rolled his eyes. “Don’t get all weird on me. You’re going to make it hard for me to introduce him to you once he does wake up.”
Anri listened to Saki and Masaomi talk with a grin on her face but paused when she realized that someone she recognized was approaching from the front gate of the hospital. In fact, though she had no idea, it was the same “very scary man” whom Aoba had just been talking about.
“Yo, Anri.”
“Mr. Akabayashi? Why are you here?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Masaomi was wary of Akabayashi, perhaps sensing that he was no ordinary civilian—but after a brief introduction from Anri, he and Saki left, looking rather relieved to be going. Once they were gone, Akabayashi said, “I just wanted to give my thanks to the kid who risked his life to save yours. Is he still under?”
“Yes…”
“Ah. That’s too bad,” he said, shrugging. In his head, he replayed the negotiations he’d had with Aozaki a few nights earlier.
✦ ✦ ✦
Aozaki didn’t want to give up on his plans for Mikado and the Dollars, so Akabayashi had made a suggestion:
“I know what kind of business we’re in. I’m not asking for mercy or obligation in lettin’ the kids go.”
In fact, it was less of a suggestion that he had for Aozaki than a simple deal.
“I’ll give you a part of what I’m dealing in now… Nothin’ fancy, merely a chunk. Would you consider withdrawing from this matter in exchange for that?”
Aozaki glared at him with surprise and suspicion, but once he understood that Akabayashi was serious, he thought it over and eventually accepted.
“You really have gone soft. A part of me was actually hopin’ we might finally settle this score, once and for all.”
But Akabayashi snorted and grinned in his self-deprecating way.
“Just the opposite. I ain’t senile enough that I’d put the burden of us killin’ each other on some kid’s back. It’s a grown-up’s duty to see that a child gets back to safety when he’s in danger of losing his way, that’s all.”
Then he shrugged and added one last wry sentiment.
“Except I don’t pull him back with me—I just push him to where he ought to be.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“By the way, I was hopin’ to ask you something again, Anri.”
“What is it?” she replied.
Akabayashi paused a moment. “Do you love this Mikado Ryuugamine kid?”
“…!”
Her eyes went round, but after a moment, she nodded firmly. “I’m not entirely certain myself…but I think maybe I do.”
“And that’s…your opinion? Not influenced by anything else?”
“Huh…?”
She wasn’t sure what he meant at first, but then she gasped.
Akabayashi knew her mother. Maybe he knew about Saika, too.
But rather than follow up on that suspicion, Anri firmly told him, “Yes, mine… That’s my feeling.”
“All right, then. I’ve got nothing more to worry about.” Akabayashi said not another word hinting at the presence of Saika. He rapped his walking stick with a satisfied smile. “Enjoy your youth while you’ve got it.”
And reflecting on his past, he spoke his own unvarnished truth.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I never had the chance myself.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Several weeks later
✦ ✦ ✦
“Goodness, look how deep into autumn we are,” murmured Karisawa as sunlight streamed into the van.
“…It’s the middle of goddamn summer,” Kadota snapped, now healed up and out of the hospital for good.
Karisawa and Yumasaki protested against this. “What do you mean, Dotachin? Hot and cold weather mean nothing to the indoor types!”
“That’s right! Obviously, the only real indicator of autumn is when that season of anime begins!”
Togusa was finally in a better mood these days, now that the windshield and everything else in the van had been repaired. “You guys are indoor types? The ones who hitch rides in my car to get to Animate all the time?”
“Oh, by the way,” Karisawa said, completely ignoring that comment, “I heard that Ruri Hijiribe’s stalker finally got arrested.”
“Yep. The bastard’s name is Kisuke Adabashi. I can hardly even believe that he was trying to run her over with a truck! Apparently, a passing fan dragged him out of the vehicle, beat the shit out of him, and left him half-dead in front of the station.”
“Left him?”
“I mean, what they did is still assault. No point in getting yourself arrested for it,” Togusa said. His smooth manner suddenly turned feral as his eyes gleamed with murder. “But if it was me, I wouldn’t have turned the guy in at all. I’d grind him into meat.”
Kadota sighed. “And here we are, back to the usual.”
He watched the scenery of the city trickle by through the windshield and found a smile naturally coming to his lips.
“But I guess I kinda like this vibe.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Outside of Rakuei Gym
✦ ✦ ✦
As the van carrying Kadota and his friends passed by the gym, a few girls and one adult woman popped out of the door.
“You did great today, Akane! You beat a boy two years older than you! It’s the arrival of a promising future star! There’s a new heroine in the world of wooden-staff combat!” chattered Mairu Orihara.
“N-no, I just got lucky,” stammered Akane Awakusu, her face flushed.
Kururi softly rubbed the girl’s head. “…Fortune… Momentum…” [Luck is also a part of skill.]
“Y-you’re embarrassing me,” Akane insisted, shaking her head.
Then the assistant instructor who attended to the three of them approached. “I wouldn’t say lucky; that was the kid’s fault,” said Mikage Sharaku. “He got lazy against a female opponent and earned what was coming to him. But…you get passing marks for taking advantage of the opportunity he presented.”
Then she addressed her newest apprentice directly. “Now, Akane, you’ve joined the gym at a young age, and you take your practice very seriously…but what is it you intend to do with this skill?”
“…There’s a man I have to beat…”
“Ooh. A bully in your class, I’m guessing?”
Akane shook her head and said, in a tiny voice, “Sh…Shizuo Heiwajima.”
Mikage’s face went slack for a moment, and then she burst into laughter.
“Ha-ha-ha! That’s perfect! You couldn’t ask for a bigger goal!”
When Akane’s face went even redder and she stared at the ground, Mairu and Kururi stood up for her.
“Hey, you shouldn’t laugh at her, Mikage!”
“…Awful…” [The poor thing.]
“Oh! Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”
The grown woman thought about the man who had challenged that monster single-handedly and then vanished from the city. She murmured wistfully, “I can make you stronger. Strong enough to defeat that monster? I don’t know…but I’d sure love to see that for myself.”