Chapter 47: Suspicious Characters
The next day, the Nogi Group still hadn't made contact.
Kei got up early as usual for his training, running a long lap around the city. He went home, washed up, made breakfast for himself and Arisa, and then continued practicing on the punching bag.
He had already looked up the training equipment he needed online, but he didn't have anywhere to put it yet. He decided to wait a few days until the dilapidated dojo was somewhat rebuilt.
After lunch, during his break, Kei began to research the details of the reconstruction.
A "Fighting Center" involved a lot of mixed business aspects, and there were many things to consider.
Maybe he should make a questionnaire and ask Kure Fusu, Maruko, and Yuzuha? That seemed like a good idea.
...
...
In the afternoon, around the time school let out.
Tenma Nozomi and the others arrived as promised. Ichika had gotten a van and brought Nozomi and Hana, stopping in front of the Shiraki house.
Yuzuha had no interest in recruiting people, so she didn't come.
"Hey, Shiraki-bro! Get in!"
Ichika rolled down the window, slapping the door hard to show off. "Check this out! I sto... borrowed this from the station. It's a specialized surveillance van!"
"The plates are officially masked, and the windows have one-way tint. You can't see inside from the outside at all!"
"The soundproofing is amazing, too. Even if we do karaoke in here, no one outside will hear a thing. We can discuss whatever we want!"
Ichika rattled off a list of features.
Hana clapped her hands, impressed. "Wow, what a great car! I wish I could get one for the Jinguji-gumi~!"
"Idiot!"
Ichika stuck her nose in the air. "If this kind of police tech fell into yakuza hands, it'd be a disaster!"
"..."
Listening to their chatter, Kei felt the conversation was getting weird. He hesitated slightly before getting into the back seat.
Sitting next to him was Tenma Nozomi, who was resting her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
"...Something is definitely wrong, isn't it?"
Nozomi looked exasperated. Seeing Kei get in, she finally had someone to complain to.
"According to Ichika, the person we're looking for is named 'Hongo Hina,' a second-year student at Ouzakura Girls' Academy."
"So right now, we're sitting in a police van, going to find a high school girl, to drag her into participating in illegal underground activities?"
Shiraki Kei: "..."
Shiraki Kei: "Hsss..."
Put that way, it did sound wrong!
...
...
Wrong or not, he was already on the pirate ship.
Look on the bright side. Maybe it was the Straw Hat Pirates' ship?
About half an hour later—
The van arrived at Ouzakura Girls' Academy, parking on the side of the street with a clear view of the school gate.
While waiting for school to let out, Nozomi couldn't help but ask Ichika, "So, is this 'Hongo Hina' girl really a 'former terrorist'?"
"That's right. Her nickname is 'The Most Dangerous High School Girl'."
Ichika narrowed her eyes, explaining further. "Regarding her background—have you heard of the 'Army of God'?"
Nozomi paused. "That fanatical religious cult?"
Ichika nodded. "Three years ago, the Army of God planned a terrorist attack, aiming to launch a coup under the banner of 'saving humanity'."
"However, before the attack could be carried out, the cult leader, 'Takahashi Chogen,' died mysteriously, and the Army of God fell apart."
"And Hongo Hina—formerly Takahashi Hina—was 14 at the time. She was Takahashi Chogen's adopted daughter."
"Back then, to expand its military power, the Army of God trained a large number of elite operatives. Their combat skills were professional level, and they were highly proficient with firearms."
"It's said that to temper Hina's skills, her adopted father Takahashi threw her directly into the training camp. I don't know how she survived..."
Ichika spread her hands.
"Anyway, after the Army of God was destroyed, Hina was adopted by wealthy parents. She's a proper ojousama (rich young lady) now."
"Although there are a ton of unsolved mysteries about her, the higher-ups won't allow surveillance on her anymore, so no one bothers with her."
"..."
Ichika continued to list details about "Hongo Hina."
Kei listened for a bit, realized it matched his memories, and tuned out, focusing his attention outside the van.
The school bell rang.
Students of Ouzakura Girls' Academy walked out in groups of two or three, chatting and laughing, their topics full of youth.
"Hibiki! Let's go to the gym tonight!"
"No way... I did legs yesterday, my muscles still hurt..."
"In that case, how about my family's boxing gym?"
"That's even more tiring!"
"..."
Kei listened for a while, suddenly realizing the voices outside were crystal clear.
Ichika looked proud. "High-tech police gear! It uses some kind of directional mic to pipe the sound directly inside. Great for eavesdropping!"
Shiraki Kei: "..."
He was feeling less and less like the "good guys" here.
As Kei sighed, Nozomi suddenly frowned, spotting something. She pointed. "That guy... is clearly not normal..."
?!
Everyone in the van perked up.
Looking closely, the person Nozomi pointed to wasn't a girl—wasn't even a student. It was a fit, agile adult male, following behind a high school girl.
Both Ichika and Hana were experts at reading people. They reached a conclusion instantly.
That man was no ordinary fitness enthusiast. He was definitely the "can fight" type, and he even carried a faint scent of blood!
"That guy has definitely killed people!"
Ichika saw more, surprised. "Is he some rich girl's bodyguard? Or a suspicious character?"
"..."
Kei looked up. One glance, and his face changed drastically. Slap! He facepalmed.
"?!"
The others in the van tensed up.
Then, they heard Kei mutter, "That's my sister..."
Everyone was confused. "Huh??"
"It's my little sister and Maruko."
Kei rubbed his temples, getting a headache. "My sister goes to Ouzakura too. The guy next to her is... her new friend. He probably came to pick her up."
"..."
The others in the van stared at each other, speechless.
Hana broke the silence, smoothing things over. "That's fine then. Let's not complicate things. Find Hongo Hina first..."
But she spoke too soon.
Before she finished, Maruko suddenly looked at the van. In three strides, he rushed over and yanked the door open.
"Ah! It is Big Brother!"
Maruko waved energetically, an ice cream cone bought by Arisa in his other hand.
Ichika froze. "This van has one-way glass! How did you see him?!"
Maruko looked innocent. "With my eyes!"
Kei explained from the side, "He's an enhanced soldier—his eyes are probably special too."
"..."
Clearly, this explanation didn't help. It only confused the three women more.
At the same time, Arisa came over.
Eating her ice cream, she greeted Kei. "Yo, Bro. Playing with your new friends? What are you doing at Ouzakura's gate?"
"..."
Nozomi and the others thought Kei would brush her off. After all, what they were doing wasn't exactly wholesome.
But Kei was frank. "We're looking for a student named 'Hongo Hina.' She's in your grade. Do you know her?"
Too direct!
—The three women in the van felt their scalps tingle, unable to comprehend the situation.
But Kei had his own logic.
"I didn't want to trouble Arisa, but since she knows we're here, why lie?"
Everyone: "..."
That makes sense! But can a high school sister really understand that?
Surprisingly, she could!
Arisa nodded. "I know her. Hongo-san has good grades and is popular..."
She looked around and pointed across the street. "There. She's by the gate, just saying goodbye to her friends."
Kei gave a thumbs up. "Great. Bring her over!"
Arisa nodded. "Okay!"
With that, she jogged over to find "Hongo Hina."
"..."
This sequence of events left the three women gaping. The siblings' acceptance levels and thought processes were ridiculous.
And that guy named "Maruko"... was the ice cream really that good???
"—Phew!"
Seeing the situation turn chaotic, Ichika exhaled, deciding to cut the knot and force things back on track.
"Anyway, with Shiraki-bro's sister helping, Hongo Hina should agree to talk to us. The next step is convincing her to fight."
Nozomi reminded her, "Don't forget to test her strength. Leave that to me."
Ichika frowned. "Be careful. Don't treat her like a normal high school girl—she really is dangerous."
"..."
As they waited, Hana noticed something in the distance—near Kei's sister and Hongo Hina, other people were gathering.
Three adult men. Clearly prepared. Clear targets.
"Hey! Look! Are those two being hassled by someone?"
...
...
Street corner, near the alley.
Three foreigners in suits stepped forward, blocking Hongo Hina and Sakurai Arisa.
"Pleasure to meet you. We work for IDEAL."
The scar-faced leader revealed a glimpse of the dagger at his waist.
"Hongo Hina... right? If you don't want to get hurt... tell us where the Army of God's 'chemical weapon' is."