Although Mei had been a bit displeased at first, resolving the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Youth Training Camp's first mission was still a priority.
After school, Yuna wanted to come along. Shiraha thought for a moment, then tactfully suggested: "Yuna, if you're not comfortable with this kind of situation, you don't have to come."
Yuna really couldn't handle pressure. The only reason Shiraha had even agreed to Mei's proposal was because he had Mei and Uncle Ryoma backing him.
The whole idea of club members fighting bullying and acting as vigilantes was far too naive and idealistic. Only in practice did you realize how ridiculous it was.
Yuna blinked, looked at Shiraha for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright, I'll head home then."
Shiraha: ….
"Uh…" He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and stopped her: "But we're partners, backing out at the last minute isn't really ideal."
Sometimes, Shiraha felt it was exhausting trying to take care of everyone.
After pulling Yuna back, he met Mei's gaze. Mei stood with her arms crossed, chin slightly raised: "It's fine, as the club president, I, Raiden Mei, will take care of my own members."
"If anyone wants revenge, they'd better be prepared to face the Raiden family's retaliation."
If described as a "power base," it might sound too dark, so Mei preferred to call it friendship between girls.
Friends didn't need so many reasons.
"Let's go together then. No more isolation within the club."
Other clubs might not care, but this training camp… Shiraha looked around at the group, none of these people could afford to have problems.
They were all high-risk individuals.
They didn't skip class, not because studying was more important, but simply because Shiraha's favorite Nee-chan form (Intel Elysia) had brought back critical information.
Namely, that those people would try to retaliate off-campus.
Shiraha patted his cheeks: "Mei-nee, be careful too, Elysia-nee told me those guys might steal guns from home."
That made Mei's confident expression freeze.
How could this be? How was this allowed?
Were guns something students should have?
"But it's fine." Shiraha's tone lightened again: "We can strike first!"
Against this kind of evil, there was no need to play fair.
After all, once Elysia had brought back intel on those people, Shiraha was ready to teach them a lesson they'd never forget.
Mei thought about it, though she was tempted, she suddenly became unusually cautious: "Shiraha, you and Kiana shouldn't show yourselves first, they've already seen you."
"Me and Rin-nee will strike first. Yuna can come too, she's gotten stronger after all this training."
She might not be as strong as an adult, but the opponents were also just kids.
Mei gave her instructions, after all, guns were involved.
As they neared the target location, Mei slowed down and pulled Shiraha aside, whispering: "Shiraha, if things go wrong… just call your ghost friend."
Mei's face was tense, with guns involved, even the legitimate heir of Anti-Entropy was on high alert.
When Tokiwadai came into view, Mei stopped Shiraha again: "Tell your ghost friend, if possible, no headshots."
Shiraha: ….
He held back a laugh: "Got it, I'll make sure to tell Nee-chan!"
Shiraha wasn't really worried, the Raiden family wasn't something random thugs could shake. You'd need at least a regional warlord for that.
As for guns; hah, could a gun be faster than his telekinesis?
Maybe in theory, but their reaction time would never beat his.
When they were very close to Tokiwadai, Shiraha and Kiana blended into the crowd, easy to do around school dismissal time.
Yae Sakura glanced at the two little ones beside her, then naturally walked toward the alley entrance where the intel said those people would gather.
Three boys and two girls, no guns in sight, probably hidden in bags. But looking at the bruises on their faces, Yae Sakura's lips twitched. Shi… no, that was Kiana's work.
She really hit hard.
"Hey, you kids, not going to school?"
Yae Sakura spoke softly. Mei was already using the cover of the taller Rin to get closer, taking a deep breath.
"None of your business.... what's a miko doing—"
"Hokushin Ittō-ryū—Thunderbolt Strike!"
An unsharpened katana instantly knocked out one careless delinquent. Hmph she, Mei, was no weakling.
A flash of blade, Yae Sakura slowly sheathed her sword. The others hit the ground, uninjured. Her control was precise.
She sighed. She knew she was doing good, but sometimes it really felt like she was helping evil.
Once, she'd been a shrine maiden who slayed demons, now she was leading a gang of kids in street fights… times really had changed.
One of the delinquents gritted his teeth: "The white-haired brat from the morning and now you."
He clutched his injured shoulder, glaring at Yae Sakura: "That Asakura Miyuki sure has some powerful backing…"
Yae Sakura had been restrained, unlike the heavy-handed Mei. The delinquent reached behind his back: "You bastards, you think you can just walk all over me?!"
Bang!
The gun exploded in his hand, sparks flew, metal shards sliced his palm…
Shiraha let out a quiet hmph. He wasn't scared of blood and gore, but the always-proud Mei was starting to pale again.
Once again, the Far East had extremely strict gun control.
The previously empty alley was suddenly surrounded by onlookers, after all, people here rarely heard gunshots. Shiraha instinctively stepped in front of Mei, shielding her from some of the cameras.
Then he said softly: "Rin-nee, could you block the view for Yuna too? She's like Mei-nee, not suited for the cameras."
As for him and Kiana, it didn't matter. Shiraha was mainly worried about Mei being caught on tape, Uncle Ryoma would probably sweep it all under the rug just to be safe.
Elysia leaned in and reminded him: "There's a second gun."
And then, though no one could see her, she stood in front of Shiraha, looking every bit the guardian.
"Try to pull it out, and it'll explode too."
Then he raised his voice, using a panicked and slightly aggrieved tone to call out.
"Does anyone have a phone? Please call the police… there are people here bullying others and carrying a handgun!"
He paused, making himself sound even more pitiful.
"If it hadn't just happened to misfire, us poor helpless kids, along with the miko sister, would've been completely at their mercy."
His voice was loud. In the chaos, there was no need for perfect logic, just grab attention first. The aggrieved tone was also to shape the first impression.
After all, who told these people to bring a gun?
…
About half an hour later, Shiraha and the others were waiting in the police station. Outside the fully transparent glass, the sharp sound of slaps echoed one after another.
Shiraha stood on tiptoe and whispered to his Nee-chan: "Were these people lectured like this this morning too?"
Elysia shook her head. In the morning, it had still been all indulgence and worry.
Now, though clearly still worried, they'd started to lose it.
Shiraha sat back down obediently. Yuna couldn't bear to watch, she covered her eyes, her figure hidden behind Yae Sakura.
Mei flinched at every slap: "Looks like these people are going to change their ways."
Kiana was about to agree, but then added: "What if they don't?"
Mei shot her a look, why do you always have to contradict me?
But if they didn't… she wasn't sure either. It wasn't like they could just eliminate them.
Rin poked her fox head out, lifting a paw, but Shiraha caught it, lifted her up, and set her on his shoulder.
"It's fine even if they don't change. I won't sign a letter of forgiveness. They might get angrier during recovery, but once they're in juvenile detention, they'll behave."
For the record, juvenile detention wasn't a great place, but without it, there'd be even more problems.
Shiraha's voice was calm as he said this. When he mentioned the letter of forgiveness, Mei felt a little embarrassed, she had been the one to strike first.
But who told these people to actually bring a gun, choose an alley without surveillance, and fire it in the city?
So anyone with common sense would assume Mei was the victim, just one who happened to mess with martial artists.
She glanced sneakily at Shiraha. His expression hadn't changed. Shiraha really has strong nerves, even back when those kidnappers' heads exploded, he only went a little pale.
Now he was doing things like this too… truly worthy of being her little brother!
Before long, the woman who'd been slapping her child came in with a forced smile on her face.
"I'm so sorry, I failed to discipline him properly. That bastard scared you."
Shiraha looked at her expression and suddenly felt bored. He stayed quiet and said nothing.
Mei was about to respond when Shiraha tugged her sleeve. Seeing his expression, she fell silent too, holding his hand.
"You must have been scared." The woman's smile grew more helpless: "When I get home—"
Shiraha glanced at Yae Sakura and spoke up: "Ma'am, could we wait until our parents get here before we talk?"
He'd forgotten to sync up their stories earlier. He'd almost forgotten that Yuna, Yae Sakura, and Kiana, who was most likely to trust others, could all be easily persuaded.
Not that being persuaded was necessarily bad, but if things went wrong later, it'd be Miyuki who suffered. Completely unnecessary.
If you decide to do something, don't hesitate, just like when Shiraha first chose to stand by his Nee-chan.
"Wait for parents… yes, I should apologize to them first. But I still want to say sorry to you, if I'd done a better job raising him, this wouldn't have happened."
No blaming others, no excuses. Because carrying a gun in the Far East was simply too serious.
You couldn't pass the buck, but you could ask for forgiveness, since a victim's letter of forgiveness carried a lot of legal weight.
As for the stolen gun… Shiraha wasn't sure about police procedures, but a kid stealing a parent's gun should come with some shared responsibility.
Shiraha still didn't answer. He even squeezed Mei's hand a little harder, afraid she'd try to act like the big sister and get pulled into the woman's rhythm.
Oh and Yuna too.
It wasn't long before Ryoma Raiden walked into the station with a sigh, followed by Siegfried, who was already lighting a cigarette. Siegfried thought this was still fallout from Kiana's earlier incident.
Such a good girl, how come she's turned into such a troublemaker after just a few years of school? Was this also part of the Kaslana inheritance?
What happened next had nothing to do with Shiraha. The woman, who'd been able to force a smile, froze when she saw who had arrived, her smile turning bitter.
Ryoma Raiden, anyone in Nagazora who paid attention to news and current events would recognize him.
"You kids go wait in the car. Don't walk off on your own."
Ryoma looked at Mei, who was acting timid, and his lips twitched, now you're scared?
He ruffled everyone's heads, except the miko's, including Yuna's. These kids had been acting up lately, and he wasn't sure what had gotten into them.
A few minutes later, in the car outside. It was a stretch limousine, big enough for all of them.
"Phew! As soon as I saw Uncle Ryoma, I knew everything would work out."
"That's my dad."
Mei puffed up with pride too. Though she didn't like pulling rank with friends, if things went wrong, she didn't mind using it to wrap things up.
Yuna asked cautiously: "Will this all be settled amicably?"
She'd heard her Miyuki's family situation was similar to hers. From her own experience with bullying, Yuna felt that no matter how this ended, Miyuki's life wouldn't get easier.
Shiraha chuckled, even Kiana couldn't help laughing.
Mei thought for a moment, then looked at Shiraha. Shiraha gave a helpless smile: "That was a gun, and Mei-nee was that close to it. How could it be settled?"
Ryoma Raiden had only one daughter, and his doting nature was practically written in the lore.
If it weren't for Shiraha, he'd eventually have embezzled billions to forge that legendary weapon meant to slay a Herrscher.
It might have been an old man's fantasy, but that weapon was no joke, it was among the finest creations of this era… not that this era had many famous weapons anyway; most were Divine Keys.
Yuna finally felt relieved.
At that moment, Mei patted her on the shoulder: "Don't worry, Yuna, the great club president would never abandon any of her members."
She paused, glancing at Kiana: "Unless that member was the first to harbor ill intentions."
Kiana didn't seem to understand, or maybe she was just pretending not to.