The elegant female officer dropped Morimura Ayane and Seito Shouichi in front of the hospital before proceeding to escort Aoyama Shinji home. The whole process from checking in to receiving the medication was relatively fast and smooth. Oddly enough, there were so few patients in the hospital during this time.
The boy in a white school shirt and black trousers was waiting anxiously, sitting on one of the seats in a row. He couldn't stop tapping his feet on the floor. His brown eyes appeared to be staring blankly into nothing.
Ayane's voice came beside him, "Missing me much?" The jet-black-haired girl sat down.
"Huh? Nothing like that." He replied.
"Come on! Why don't you indulge an injured girl a bit more?" Ayane started to rant.
"You seem fine, though." Shouichi neglected her petulant request. The elegant tall and slender girl was layered a uniform jacket on top.
"Shou~!" Shouichi interrupted before she could say, "I'm glad you are okay… Let's not do anything rash like that again."
"I know…" Ayane extended her delicate hand and placed it on his trembling legs.
"Huh?" The trembling stopped as it felt her warmth.
"It's over, now." Ayane smiled brightly at the boy as smiling became contagious, it reached his face too.
"So what did the doctor say?" He turned to ask. The duo exchanged a quick glance, her violet-purple eyes were charming like the midnight sky.
"Nothing, much. I'm fine, really." Ayane replied nonchalantly.
"The prez had one of those weak punches. Hahaha," The girl had a peculiar sense of humour.
"Hahaha, that's lucky." Shouichi chuckled softly at her odd joke.
"I hope that lil' brat gets caught soon," Ayane swore. It seemed like she had a special hatred toward that guy.
That's quite understandable considering how he tried to sexually assault and stream it in one of those dark webs.
"I'm grateful for you and Shinji. It would've turned into a complete mess." She confided with him, hugging herself.
"Yeah… Good thing, you realise that Miku-chan could be the bail." Shouichi commented.
"I know, still that's why I hate people. They are disgusting! They are ready to exploit you any chance they get."
"Come on, there are both good people and bad people." He tried to cheer her up.
"I would never believe any of them…" Ayane swore with a slight anger in her voice. "Except for you" Her voice softened almost like a whisper.
"I'd say for Miku's case, she was beyond desperate. Like drowning people, they are willing to pull everyone down along with them." Shouichi said, lifting up his finger nerdily.
"Hmpt! Don't make me laugh." Ayane held back her laughter with both hands.
"Buddy, you are not him." She sneered, playful in her tone.
"Ay! At least it's not corny like Shinji." Shouichi defended, yet he was ashamed.
"But yours is super edgy. Yet, I still like it." Ayane replied, tapping on his shoulder lightly. As the conversation went on, the mood began to lighten up. It wouldn't be long before Yoko picked them up from the hospital.
***
Once they got home, Shouichi could hardly believe his mother had been complaining for a solid hour about his reckless crusade.
"What would I do if anything happened to you?!" The long-haired lady scolded him loudly as he sat down timidly on the sofa, facing her judgement.
"Umm.."
"And don't get me started on using Ayane as bait!" She continued, pausing to catch her breath, "This is outrageous!"
"It's…" Shouichi couldn't seem to open his mouth fast enough to answer.
"It's Ayane who volunteered to be a bait, and it wouldn't work otherwise," He answered in his mind.
"She is hurt, right?" Yoko asked. He noticed the furious stare from his angry mother.
Keeping his face downcast, "Yes…" He humiliatedly accepted the truth.
"You were supposed to protect her! Ain't you a man?" Yoko screamed at him. Her cinnamon-brown eyes glistened in fiery anger.
Shouichi stood up and bowed as low as possible, "I apologised deeply, Yoko-san."
Suddenly, Yoko muttered, "Silly kid." Unexpectedly, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Despite her fury, there was warmth in her gesture, indicating how much she cared for him and his friends.
"Don't ever do this stupid thing again, you hear me?" Yoko spoke, her voice softened.
The boy returned to embrace her gently. "Understood, Mom. I promise…" He replied.
"W~what would I do without you?" Her voice quivered with sobs, hinting at her deep concern and despair. "You're the only one I have left."
"I know..." Shouichi was able to comprehend the gravity of his recent actions. The image of Yoko's tearful face would emblem into his skull for eternity. It would act as a reminder for Shouichi to think twice before doing something radical or stupid.
***
The troubled boy had been running non-stop since he left Jinzo's abandoned building. Sakurai Hiroshi, stopped briefly to catch his breath in a dark alleyway.
The anxiety and fear prevented him from idling for long, "I have to flee, but where do I go?"
After the ambush by the stupid trio, everything he worked hard for, had been crashing down. "My lust empire is in shambles!" He thought in melancholy.
"Shit! I need to do something." The sudden revelation struck him. Sakurai remembered Jinzo's words about the procedure for the worst-case scenarios. "Keep your mouth shut and destroy all evidence, the syndicate will take care of the rest."
In the late evening, Sakurai Hiroshi reached the school by foot. There was not a single soul to be seen causing the atmosphere to be eerie and quiet. A stark contrast from the cheerful air during the daytime, brimming with cheerful students.
Fortunately, as the president of the student council, he had copied all the keys to access the main buildings.
He slowly walked through a long and dark corridor, beelining toward his room, his step softened to minimise the noises, and soon he reached the door of the president's office.
"I'll have to make sure, nothing led to me. The trio's words might carry some weight but they can't catch me without concrete evidence. After all, I'm still a teenager, laws can't be too harsh on me. I'm sure that the syndicate will be able to take care of me." The brown-haired boy thought while letting out a malicious smile.
Sakurai Hiroshi decided to hide in the room overnight to gather his thoughts and plan for his next move. It was not as if he could go anywhere else, he was too exhausted to walk.
In the dimly lit president's office, the boy searched urgently for a hidden burner phone — a direct line to the syndicate for emergency instructions. It was clear that Jinzo's group was merely a small branch of a far larger organisation. The roots of their operation ran deep, with key figures, lobbyists, and politicians among their backers.
"Found it!" The small-eyed boy grinned as he began to tap the message into a burner phone.
***
The rainy period before the summer was in full swing, and the next morning arrived with a steady downpour. Despite the rain, the school opened to business as usual, and by 8 o'clock, the excited students had already filled the school buildings, their chatters and laughers chirping in the background.
"Ayane and Momo's missing today?" The silver wolf, Shinji, asked, tapping on his seat neighbour for attention.
"Yeah, Ayane said she needa rest a bit, but Momo-chan, I have no idea," Shouichi replied, her message from this morning floating up in his mind. "Sorry, Shouichi-kun. My stomach isn't feeling very well."
"Woah, is Ayane okay?"
"Yeah, I think I'll pay her a visit after class."
"Right, I wanna go too." Shinji agreed with a nod.
"That's settled then," Shouichi concluded with a smile.
"I guess, I'll message my business partner for a bit," Shinji turned to attentively tap his phone to send a message to Momo and a few minutes later her reply arrived with a ping.
"Huh?" Shouichi glanced at his tall friend from the sound of his buzzing phone.
"It's Momo. She said she's caught the flu today~ apparently not, she's actually too busy with her shops..." Shinji replied, prideful in his tone.
Playing along with a joke, Shouji asked, closing one eye, "Oh, that's the common flu, right? Pretty normal during the season change."
"Yeah, she seems to be doing okay," Shinji nodded, shoving his phone back into his trouser pocket.
"That's a relief, then," Shouichi commented.
"Ding!" Shouichi's phone began to buzz. And naturally, he took it out of his pocket and checked.
"Eh?" Shouichi almost choked at his own saliva, looking at the content on his screen.
Ayane had sent him a photo of her tummy. A deep purple bruise, about the size of a fist, marred her smooth skin. Unintentionally, Shouichi also noticed that she was wearing black, lacy lingerie. Her pristine waistline and the teasing hint of her cleavage were undeniably tempting.
"What'chu looking at?" Shinji pried curiously, pointing at Shouichi's phone.
"Nothing!" Shouichi shut off his screen as fast as lightning. Shinji can't see this! he thought frantically.
The silver-haired boy grabbed his shoulder playfully. "I thought you were watching porn or something," He murmured, glancing at him with knowing eyes.
"I'm not!"
"By the way… do you have porn in Australia?" Shinji asked, rubbing his chin. It was his strange way of starting a new topic.
"What are you even talking about? Of course, they do. It's all over the internet," Shouichi replied, his face heating up in embarrassment.
"Ho ho ho…" His friend stared at him mischievously.
"What?" Shouichi blurted out, frowning.
"I know a place... A physical store. Fufufu." Shinji raised his index finger dramatically.
"...G~Good?" Shouichi stammered, glancing around nervously.
"The best! Way better than the online stuff," Shinji exaggerated, making a chef's-kiss gesture.
Despite himself, Shouichi studied Shinji's face, trying to gauge if he was serious. When Shinji remained deadpan, he grinned wickedly.
"Let's go right now!" Shouichi declared with mock seriousness.
"Hahahahahaha, slow down, cowboy." Shinji burst out laughing, and Shouichi quickly joined in.