Midnight had long passed as Sophia walked with me to the front door. The wind stirred her lush, milk-chocolate hair before she turned to face me.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay tonight?"
"I have a ride outside. Besides, you're not my type."
She sighed. "You can just drive on your own."
"I hate... traffic signs."
"Understandable."
Pacing outside and gripping the door handle, a voice whispered from my back.
"W-wait."
I turned my head. There, Sophia was fidgeting around as if unsure whether to speak.
"Say... What's your type in girls?"
"..."
"..."
After an awkward silence and taking a moment to absorb what the princess of England had just said.
"Cute, cute girls." I answered.
A small pause occurred. She nods as if nothing just happened, "Good luck on your way home."
"Yeah, bye."
***
My hand opened the door, and I stepped inside before slamming it shut. Kuromaku was there beside me at the driver's seat.
His expression was tight, eyes fixed ahead, like a storm was approaching silently from the horizon.
"Anything happened?"
He said nothing. Shifting into Drive, he lurched the vehicle forward, his expression locked in place for several moments.
Checking the time, it was already quarter to midnight, the road back was smooth with barely any other cars driving.
Feeling bored, I tapped the music player on the infotainment screen, hitting a random song.
🎵Rockin' around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop🎵
Kuro, still mad for some reason, chose a different song.
🎵You just want attention, you don't want my heart!🎵
Thinking he was only joking, I tried selecting another song. But just as I was about to press the infotainment screen, his hand shot out and slapped mine.
He turned the music off and we just sat there in silence.
"..."
"..."
I'm getting a sense of deja vu, only this awkward silence was much heavier than the last.
"So, he's right." He finally spoke, albeit softly.
"Who's right?"
Kuromaku sighed, a really long sigh.
"You're an egoistic piece of shit."
"Hey! Wha-"
"Do you know what you did wrong, Saitou Yamaguchi?"
I pointed my gun at him without hesitation. Holding the grip firmly, with the barrel to his head.
"That's cute." He chuckled.
With a flick of his arm, he disarmed me, pointed the gun back at my face, and all while still looking at the road ahead.
He took the magazine out and air racked the pistol. Firing with the empty chamber at my head, only a sharp click answered.
"Let me ask you again." There was a short pause before he continued.
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
"Tsk, just tell me."
Finally, he dropped the empty gun onto the back seat. Kuromaku looked at me for a brief moment before finally speaking.
"Back at the palace garden, how did you deal with the enemy?"
I was quite shocked by how he knew of this, but one look at his face told me it's better not to ask.
"Like I always do, quick and preci-"
"Saitou! That was neither quick nor precise. You played around with them. Seriously, instead of using your gun, you used throwing knives? Where the hell did you even get those?"
Was that it? Was that his grand reason for being this mad?
"So what? They still died, I got rid of them so what's the problem?"
"That's not the point. You could've endangered the princess or, worse, gotten her killed. And God knows what would've happened after that."
A short pause.
"The point, Saitou, is that playing around will get you and others around you killed, dead and buried."
"..."
"I was once like you, you know? Young and stupid. I thought nothing could kill me, until I took a bomb to the face... almost I mean. So I'm just saying this from my own experience."
The car slowed to a crawl as we reached an intersection. Kuromaku looked at me again.
"Lastly... remember this, Saitou. We don't work with the royal family. We work for them. So don't pull shit like this again, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
The car returned to its usual pace, and an awkward silence followed.
The third time today... unlucky.
Thinking about it, Kuromaku has a point. Recklessness can kill you, and the royal family is our employer, not our friends, even if they do act friendly.
But then again, the same can be said for Mr. Watanabe.
Ah... I want to sleep.
***
My phone vibrated, waking me up from my nap. A message from Naoki lit up the screen as well as the time, a minute past midnight.
"Hey Honey! Can ya grab some meat skewers on the way?
"I is hungry!"
"Thx Honey! ^-^"
Internally thinking to myself, what the fuck is this guy on? I replied to his slightly concerning message.
"please consider going to a mental hospital. I'll get your skewers in the meantime."
"Yay!"
My phone slipped back into my jacket and I looked out the window, searching for anywhere selling meat skewers.
Out of nowhere, smoke drifted from a restaurant. I opened the window, and a pleasant, meaty aroma struck my face.
***
Kuromaku parked nearby.
I opened the restaurant's door and was surprised people were still actually eating this late at night.
A few drunk men in the corner, the chefs behind the counter, still busy making the men's meals. But apart from them, there was no one other than me.
Ignoring the loud talking of the drunkards, I looked up the counter to see the menu. Cheeseburgers, steaks, stews, fried chicken, you name it and they have it.
But one thing stole the spotlight, well at least my spotlight, meat skewers. The drunkards crowding the table at the corner devoured them with mugs of beer.
My gut already told me Naoki will like the food here. No, he won't just like it. He'll love it.
I sat on a stool facing the kitchen. There, a large, muscular man is visible, standing behind the counter.
Dressed in tight clothing, he stared down at the chopping board with a sinister look on his face.
Thud after thud echoed as the massive chunk of cooked pork was carved into perfect slices.
"Excuse me, can I ge-"
My words died by the butcher's chopping. Worse, he kept on going, completely ignoring my presence.
"Can I get four-" *thud.
"Meat ske-" *thud, thud.
"And also some-" *thud, thud.
"Can you, can you stop now?!" Thud, thud
thud, thud, thud.
Finally, he said something.
"Just get what... you... want."
The last thud echoed. He moved the pork slices onto another plate, then neatly arranged them and added a few garnishes for decoration. Finally, he set the plate on the counter.
"Service, please."
Another worker grabbed the plate and hurried away, setting the dish at the table of four in the distance. Meanwhile, the butcher cleaned and sharpened his knife, all while facing me.
"What do you... want?"
His stained apron was now visible up front, with the words "Kiss the Meat" written across the center.
"Four meat skewers, three grilled intestines, and two cheeseburgers."
"With fries?"
"...Yes, to go please."
"Thirty six pounds."
I took out the money from my wallet and paid. As I did, the sous chef had already grabbed two patties and placed them on the grill, then took a bag of fries and dropped them into boiling hot oil.
The head chef grabbed a couple of skewers and grilled them alongside the patties.
As usual, the butcher went back to chopping meat. He wasn't even the one making my order, Why did I even wait for him to finish?
Well, it's fine, I guess.
More importantly, there's finally a chance to sit back and take a quick break.
Today has been very hectic, and it's already past midnight. Waking up can wait until they're done cooking.
***
Two men in black leather jackets walked into the restaurant. Their faces looked like they'd just smoked weed out back, hideous, to be clear.
They scanned the room. One of them suddenly laughed like an idiot, his one eye locking onto something or someone behind the counter.
"Well well well, look who we have here."
"Yeah, something to have our fill." the other said.
"But we're not buying food."
"I know." He licked his lips as they strode toward the counter. Just one look at them tells me they're here looking for trouble.
And also, it hasn't even been 5 minutes since I started my nap! Why is this happening now of all times?
"Long time no see, young man."
Are they talking to me?
No, their eye, eyes? Were still locked behind the counter, staring straight at the butcher. But "young man"?
The one with a long scar running down his left eye started laughing like a maniac. While the other, with a similar scar on his right grinned.
"Been a long time since we've last met, and... since then you still haven't paid your debt."
The two guys sat beside me, their crooked teeth clearly visible in profile. For a moment, I was tempted to smash their faces in, but remembering Kuromaku's advice, I held myself back.
This isn't even my fight so let's just grab my order and get out of here.
Speaking of which, is my food still not done?
"How old were you again? Oh, right... seventeen. Kinda young to die don' cha think?" Lefty said, staring at the butcher's back.
Wait, no way he's younger than me. He's got a full grown, masculine mustache, for crying out loud.
The butcher continued slicing, paying no attention to the two men's rude remarks.
"Still too young." He licked his lips. "So that'll be seventeen million you're paying... right?"
The sous chef handed my order to the butcher, who neatly packed it into a brown plastic bag before handing it to me.
That was my cue to leave. I grabbed the bag and was about to stand when a hand suddenly clamped down on my shoulder.
"And who's this here? One of your friends?"
"Yeah, man, why leave so early? Wearing a nice suit like that and all." They spoke one after the other.
Finally, the butcher spoke. "Don't bother him, he's just a customer."
"Real rich for a customer don't cha' think?"
"Hey hey, you're not planning to snitch on us on those government scumbags right?"
They're like one of those twins you often see on movies. Right and Lefty, has a nice ring to it.
"I said he's just a customer." The butcher spoke in a more threatening manner.
Finally, the two men let me go, and I rushed out of the place immediately. Who cared what would happen to the butcher? He was twice their size, he could handle them easily.
I hopped out the doors and was immediately strucked by a whole crowd of people waiting outside like some kind of ambush.
He'll be fine... right?
Anyway, they're not after me so let's get out of here.
***
Back at the spot where Kuromaku had parked, my eyes were immediately drawn to the dead body sprawled on the floor before him.
"Seriously, dude? After that whole lecture about not being reckless? What did you do?"
"Oh, this is different. It was self-defense."
"Well, you could've just... I don't know... strangled him or something. Not straight up kill him."
He sighed. "Just help me get rid of the body."
Maybe we really were the villains. Did the poor man wander here from the restaurant? Did he get lost? But the restaurant's pretty far away.
Regardless, I did as told and squatted down grabbing hold of the dead man's shoulder.
From this angle, the hole Kuromaku had made in his forehead was large enough to see the ground beneath.
"What the hell did you shoot him with?"
"Gun."
Well, yeah, that was obvious. I was about to retort, but then noticed something glinting in the middle of the hole.
Immediately, my hands let go of the man's shoulder, and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Then, my fingers plunged into the hole in his forehead.
"Is it my turn to ask what the hell you're doing?"
"I saw something."
And if it's really what I think it is... well I hope not.
Finally, my fingers clasped onto something, something with a very familiar shape.
I pulled my hand out.
Within my grip was a black chip with blue stripes, covered in blood and brain matter, yet intact and unharmed.