“You might wanna look out in front of you!” One of the toughs jumped at me from around the side, having closed the gap between us as I was thinking.
I turned my back to him quickly to protect Carol from his strike.
“Your back’s wide open! Now—Hey! I can’t move!”
I spun around to see the tough frozen mid-run from the neck down. Meanwhile, Destiny was clinging on to my front with its head resting on my shoulder. But its petrifying gaze only worked on one person at a time, so while one tough was dealt with, the other two were still threats.
“What the hell? I thought this guy was some good-for-nothing NEET! You lied to us, old man!”
“How the hell is he frozen like that?!”
The two other toughs backed away when they saw their friend go still as a statue. Anyone with any common sense would do the same. Maybe I was the strange one for accepting that Destiny could just do something like this.
Now’s our chance. If I step up the intimidation, they should lose the will to fight.
“Come at me. Your friend seems to be having fun.” I beckoned to them, and they began to back away slowly.
“Forget about the girl! I’ll pay triple to whoever can get that book first!” Habatake cried.
You really didn’t need to do that…
The toughs exchanged a glance and nodded before coming to surround me from either side. They just saw me use a superpower, and they were still willing to risk it for the money.
I guess money really is all-powerful!
“Gack! My eyes! My throat!” The tough to my left choked, taking a face full of Destiny’s poison breath.
That left only one to deal with, but it would take too long to unparalyze the first tough and then freeze this guy. He was right on top of us.
“Take this!”
As I faltered, Carol leapt forward and clung to the man’s leg.
“Get off me, kid! I don’t need you anymore!” The man raised his fist to bring it down on Carol’s head.
“Don’t you dare touch her!” I kicked out at the man’s side as hard as I could.
Carol had his full attention—he didn’t see me coming. My foot collided with him, and he bent over double and went flying. I rushed over to Carol and grabbed her shoulders.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”
“I-I’m okay. Thanks, Yoshio.”
I checked her over and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. Don’t do anything like that again, okay?”
“I’m sorry.”
I gave her a hug. She was trembling. That must have been terrifying—going up against a grown man—but she’d done it. For me.
Thanks, Carol.
“Oh, my! You’ve downed all three of them! I suppose that’s what I get for hiring those sorts. This is troublesome indeed.” Despite his words, Habatake looked perfectly calm.
I just defeated his men, but he didn’t seem bothered at all. Did he have another trick up his sleeve?
“Would you mind helping me out now?”
“Guess I’ve got no choice, huh?”
Someone else stepped out of the minivan. I gasped.
His golden hair was gelled into spikes, and his jeans were full of holes.
“You again?”
“Hey. Nice to see ya.” It was the punk who attacked me in the park near the shrine. “Y’look like you’ve seen a ghost. What, you weren’t expectin’ me to make it out of the mess you put me in?”
Before I could stop myself, I shook my head.
“Okay, well what if I said that phone was my spare and that the screen you saw on it was just an illusion?”
Oh.
I glanced at Habatake, who grinned and gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up. I wasn’t sure I’d ever met anyone more annoying.
“You two were working together even back then?”
“That’s right,” Habatake said. “You can’t make a move without knowing your opponent and how big a threat they pose.”
The punk laughed. “I had you fooled, right?”
His panic in the park was just an act. This guy should quit his band and become an actor.
“What do you mean ‘fooled’?” said Habatake. “You’re the one who went off alone after agreeing we’d work together, and you let a lizard turn the tables on you. You didn’t even know about the illusion I placed on your phone! It was supposed to be a safety measure, just in case.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t tell ’im…”
Apparently, he wasn’t a very good actor after all. If Habatake was with him when he attacked me by the shrine, things could’ve been a lot worse.
Even with all this new information, the situation remained unchanged. This just meant I had another enemy to deal with.
“Enough chitchat for now. Are you ready to help me out?”
“Sure. C’mon, do your thing.” The punk pressed some buttons on his phone. The poisoned tough and the one I kicked stood up straight. “These guys are weak, so I can control them easy. Poisoning this one with your lizard was a waste of time!”
They knew all about Destiny’s powers, which put me in a tough spot. They’d probably already planned this under Habatake’s direction. I could still get Destiny to use its poison breath on the punk, but he was keeping his distance. He knew I’d try it. He did his best to stay upwind.
I could tell Destiny to release its petrification on the tough and use it on the punk instead, but there was no guarantee that would interrupt his miracle. Plus, I’d have a whole other tough to deal with. The only conceivable option was to get out of here. Fast.
“Carol. When I give the signal, we’re gonna run as fast as we can, okay?” I whispered in her ear.
“Okay.” She gave a small nod.
“Oh, I probably should have mentioned that trying to run is a waste of time. Turn around and see for yourself.” Habatake pointed behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder as quickly as I dared, scared it might be an attempt to distract me. There were two men in overalls holding signs that read “Do Not Enter.”
“They were blocking the road to prevent any innocent people from wandering over, but I called them in as backup. I always do try to have all my bases covered. Did you know that phrase comes from baseball?”