'This is getting annoying.'
Wiping off my knife as I walked past my most recent attacker, I couldn't help but lament the past few days—specifically, how after each full day of wiping out any gang I came across, I was somehow being tracked whenever I rested.
"With today marking the fourth day…"
With a sigh, I looked down at my hands and flexed my fingers, watching the skin and muscles tighten, veins bulging, before relaxing again. I turned away from the building I had just cleared out.
'I've gotten better at controlling my muscles… just need to work on individual control.' If I were smarter—or had any real knowledge of anatomy I was sure I could master what I wanted to do faster. But unfortunately I wasn't, and I had no plans of going out of my way to learn that shit.
I felt a buzz in the pocket of my black pants, snapping my attention back. Pulling out the phone—a cheap model given to me by the one calling and I answered with a curt greeting.
"So cheerful, aren't you, Troublemaker-kun?" I sighed at the casual tone of the man on the other end. "What do you want, Raccoon?"
I heard a bit of rustling before he answered.
"Not much, not much. Just thought I'd let you know there are four men being sent your way... and something else you might find interesting."
I hummed in thought as I moved into an enclosed alleyway. Looking up, I saw the sky beginning to dim—late evening was setting in.
"And what exactly would that be?"
He hummed in response, followed by the sound of keys clacking.
"The four guys on their way are probably under orders to capture you alive rather than kill you. Also... I managed to find where our esteemed lady, Enra Mizuki is staying."
My eyes widened slightly at the name. Mizuki Enra was one of the four Branch Leaders under Elder Fujiwara. And the one who had been sending people after me, courtesy of Raccoon's intel.
"Where is she?"
He laughed softly, which made me frown. After a moment, his tone lightened again.
"Can't tell you that over the phone. There's a ramen shop near Idenokuchi Park—meet me there."
'High chance this could be a trap.' I'd only "known" Raccoon for two days—ever since I'd stolen a phone off one of my attackers. He'd called me directly, revealing he was the one leaking my location to Mizuki... and yet, now he was feeding me information. Free information, at that.
I sighed, already hearing footsteps nearing the alley's entrance.
"All right. When do you want to do this?"
I twitched when he responded almost too cheerfully.
"Tonight! See ya, Troublemaker-kun!"
He hung up. I pocketed the phone just as four men entered the alley, armed with bats and knives. They all reeked of that same sweet floral scent.
-
'This must be the place.' I stared at the Hasegawa Family Ramen restaurant. It wasn't exactly the kind of spot I expected Raccoon to pick for something supposedly important.'Then again… that's probably the point.' Shrugging, I stepped inside and was immediately hit with the comforting, savory smell of ramen.
"Finally showed up, Troublemaker-kun."
My brow rose as I turned toward the voice. Standing near the back wall was a man who looked to be in his thirties. He had long messy brown hair, light blue eyes behind a pair of thin glasses and a faint scruff under his chin.
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'Not what I was expecting.'
"Raccoon?" I asked.
He nodded, then pushed off the wall and gestured with a jerk of his head for me to follow. I did, and as we passed the restaurant workers he casually placed two orders. We headed up a flight of stairs and at the top I saw a small booth waiting for us.
"Thought this might be a trap." I muttered. "Guess you're not so bad after all Raccoon."
He just shrugged. I gave a quick once over of his outfit consisting of brown pants, a grey and blue jumper and worn out shoes. It made me glance down and remember I was still barefoot. I hadn't bothered to grab a pair of shoes.
"Come on, sit. The food will be here shortly."
We both took our seats. He leaned back, relaxed and then reached to his side, pulling out a folder with a name crudely scrawled on the cover.
Enra Mizuki
My eyes lingered on the folder, then shifted to the man now watching me with his head resting on his palm.
"What's stopping me from killing you and taking the file?"
I wasn't actually planning to. Not because he posed a threat—he didn't—but because of my-
"Your morals and principles." he answered, beating me to it.
'Am I that easy to read?'
He snorted lightly, then opened the folder. My eyes widened at the image inside.
'That's… a lot of skin.'
The photo showed a woman with long brown hair and pale blue grey eyes. She wore a fancy dark blue or purple dress paired with elegant gloves. The whole outfit screamed high class to me as well as expensive and seductive.
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"Beautiful, isn't she?"
I looked up to find him sneering at the image. His expression softened into something more casual when he met my gaze again.
"That's the woman you're after. Mizuki—the Incense Serpent."
I blinked at the nickname.
"She's called that for a reason." he continued. "You ever notice anything strange about the people she sends after you? Anything that might seem like a small detail?"
I thought about it before nodding. "They seem… obsessed with her. And they all smell weirdly nice. Some kind of cologne or perfume she gives them?"
He nodded. "She uses oils—stuff she burns. Creates this sweet scent that messes with people's minds."
I frowned. "So she's… conditioning them? That why they act like that?"
"Sort of." he replied with another nod. "She floods a person's senses with her 'gifts.' Stuff she receives from Keiji Fujiwara every month—"
He cut himself off as a waitress arrived and placed our food down. We ate in silence for a bit, while I processed everything.
'Once he gives me the location, I can scope it out… wait until she's alone or the guards are minimal.'
Even if a photo couldn't tell me whether she was trained in martial arts, I doubted she could overpower me.
"Thinking about how to kill her?"
I snapped out of my thoughts and gave a simple nod. He nodded back, then blinked.
"Right... Forgot to tell you my name." He set down his chopsticks, wiped his hands and extended one.
"Tsukino Kaito. But just call me Kaito-san. You?"
I returned the handshake. "Sato Kazuya."
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