— In an abandoned alleyway in Millennium. —
There stood Yami, disembarking from the train that Goz had summoned.
"Surely she can't chase me anymore...?"
Meow. (I cannot be certain.)
"Right..."
Yami felt fear now. Honestly, just reaching Millennium felt like a victory.
No matter how persistent Shiroko was, she couldn't possibly catch a train moving at high speed on just a bicycle.
"...And yet... she caught up..."
Was she putting all her power into her legs? Shiroko had been chasing him just moments ago at a speed comparable to the train's 100 km/h pace on her bike.
Meow...meow~ (Master, this is advice from a magician, but it would be best to resolve issues with women quickly.)
"...I know. But... it's scary..."
Yami wasn't foolish. At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to think that Shiroko harbored feelings for him.
But as for himself... he didn't particularly want to... have that kind of relationship with a person.
'You can never truly belong with them.'
What Black Suit had said echoed in his mind.
Yes... perhaps just as he said, he might not be able to truly get close to the Abydos students. He was different from them...from birth...
Meowww... (Are you still dwelling on what happened back then?)
"No. I sorted that out a long time ago. It's just that, as you know, I'm not exactly a normal student, am I? Or rather, am I even a student?"
– ...
Goz couldn't refute Yami's words at all. Indeed, it was ambiguous to call him a student.
But there was one thing he could say.
Meow. (What does that matter.)
"Hm?"
Everything Yami was saying felt pointless.
Meow? Meow! (Ambiguous to call yourself a student? Don't even think like that!)
"...But..."
Meow!! Meow!! (But or whatever!! Just live as you are!!)
"...Should I?"
Meow!! (Do that! Then I don't think a show is necessary anymore, so I'll see you next time.)
Having said his piece, Goz transformed back into a figure and dropped into Yami's hand.
"...Right... I guess I'll just live like this, as he says."
While I'm in Millennium, I might as well retrieve Shiro and Kuro too.
"But how do I find them? I didn't put any tracking devices on them..."
As he pondered how to locate them, someone walked past Yami.
"Oh?"
The person who walked by was wearing a maid outfit. At first, he thought he'd seen wrong, but he hadn't.
"Found you!!"
The person who just passed by was that customer from back then.
What kind of coincidence was this? To appear just when he was wondering how to find them!
He had to hurry and catch up. This kind of coincidence probably wouldn't happen again.
"Hey! Customer in the maid outfit!!"
"You?"
"Hello! Do you remember me?"
"Yes."
Okay! He had worried about what he would do if she didn't remember him, so this was fortunate.
"Then this makes things simple! Perhaps the—uh...? Is that a gun you're holdin'?"
"I apologize."
Thwack!
"Huh...?"
A dart-like projectile suddenly flew towards him, and Yami missed the timing to dodge, forced to take the hit.
"What the... Hngh..."
His mind grew hazy, and the strength was draining from his body.
Surely...!
"It's an anesthetic. Please rest for a little while."
"W-why... are you doing this..."
Even in a state where he couldn't think straight, Yami couldn't understand. He hadn't done anything wrong to this maid, had he?
"I apologize."
But the only response he received was an apology.
'D-damn it...'
Overwhelmed by drowsiness, Yami finally couldn't resist and, seeing the maid approaching him, he drifted into sleep.
"Target secured."
Confirming that Yami had fallen asleep, Toki made a phone call to someone.
"Rio-sama."
[Well done, Toki. Now bring him over here. We have countless questions to ask him.]
"Yes."
Click. The call ended.
".....I'm sorry."
Toki felt apologetic towards the collapsed Yami. She had suddenly appeared and shot him without any explanation, but she couldn't help it. She had to follow her employer's orders. Even if she told this student that, it would probably just sound like an excuse.
Just as she was about to approach and take Yami away...
Bang!!
A bullet flew towards Toki.
Despite the sudden bullet, Toki dodged it effortlessly.
"...."
"...."
Looking in the direction the bullet had come from, she saw a figure staring at Toki with a blank expression.
"...Who are you?"
"The wife of the person you were trying to take."
Ending her sentence there, several grenades were thrown towards Toki.
"Haah... looks like this won't end quietly."
That was Toki's one-line assessment upon seeing the incoming grenades.
T/N: KABOOOM!!! HAHAHAHA!