Although Kobayashi believed himself to be calm and clear-headed, his heart rate had surged past 180 beats per minute, adrenaline flooding his system. His so-called "calmness" and "rationality" were nothing more than an illusion.
Or perhaps he really was still calm—but twisted by anger and fear, that "rationality" had ultimately warped into obsession and madness.
The drastic change in his environment, the sudden acquisition of overwhelming power, the deadly crisis that had come utterly out of nowhere… and on top of all that, the earth-shattering upheaval of being transported to another world—
All of it finally detonated today, concentrated into this unbroken chain of combat and chaos.
Some nerve in Kobayashi's mind finally snapped.
That was why, when he saw a man in a baseball cap hurrying out of the office building with a large bag in hand, Kobayashi accelerated without a second thought and rammed straight toward him.
He didn't care whether he might have the wrong person.
To him, the man's furtive behavior was more than enough. That big bag was obviously designed to carry a sniper rifle—if this guy wasn't the sniper, then who was?
The wheelchair roared forward like an artillery shell.
The man in the cap went pale, dropping the travel bag and diving desperately to the side.
The black bag was smashed apart midair, bursting open as bullets and firearm components scattered everywhere.
At the same time, as Kobayashi entered "bullet time," he saw the man on the ground already holding a handgun, muzzle flashing as he fired at him.
See? I knew it.
A blazing fire surged up in Kobayashi's chest.
...
"Family Side" Apartments, Building Two.
At the building entrance, a blonde, blue-eyed girl pressed the doorbell over and over again.
With no response forthcoming, her patience quickly ran out. She started pressing harder and harder, until the entire panel began to rattle under her palm.
"Hey, easy there, easy!" someone called from behind her. "Miss, you are…?"
The newcomer was a female security instructor in a dark blue uniform. She sized up the girl—and the large insulated container sitting by her feet.
"Are you delivering food?" she asked, assuming the girl was a student working part-time—a common sight in Academy City. Though… wasn't she a bit young?
Torahachi Toumi glanced down at the container, then shook her head. "No. This is a cake I bought as a gift."
"Oh? Then who are you here to see?" the instructor asked.
"Yomikawa-sensei," TigerPeak replied after taking a steadying breath.
"Ah, her," the instructor said, understanding dawning on her face. "That woman—uh, I mean, Yomikawa-sensei—worked very late last night, so she's probably still asleep. She might not have heard the doorbell."
"Oh… but is Kobayashi not home?" Tiger Peak murmured.
"The boy staying at Yomikawa's place?" the instructor chuckled. "He went out to buy groceries. I saw him leave this morning, so he shouldn't be home either."
Hearing Kobayashi's name, the instructor nodded to herself, her last trace of suspicion disappearing. Someone who didn't know them wouldn't be aware that Kobayashi lived here.
"Still, I'll need to see your student ID," she said, holding out her hand. "I'll register you and take you upstairs."
Nodding, Toumi pulled her student ID from her pocket.
After a cursory glance, the instructor nodded, swiped her access card, and opened the apartment door.
"Do you know Yomikawa-sensei's room number?" she asked.
"Yes. She told me."
The instructor nodded again. "Go on, then. Though I suspect Yomikawa is sleeping like a log and won't hear you knocking. If there's still no response, come find me in Room 502 downstairs."
"I will. Thank you very much, Sensei." Toumi bowed politely, then carried the container out of the elevator.
Standing before the door with Yomikawa Aiho's nameplate, she couldn't help letting out a sigh. She hadn't expected her first visit to be this troublesome.
She set the container down and raised her hand to knock.
Just as the kindly security instructor had said, there was no response at all from inside.
"Tch. I even made a point of coming on Yomikawa-sensei's day off," Toumi muttered. "And Kobayashi, too—of all times to go out… Are his injuries even healed yet?"
Then she recalled his almost supernatural level of psychic control and decided that healed or not, it probably didn't make much difference.
Toumi was never a patient girl. Knocking quickly escalated into pounding.
Still, the apartment remained silent, as if no one were home.
If she kept this up, the noise would probably start drawing complaints from the neighbors. Toumi decisively stopped.
"Tch!" She pulled out her phone and called Yomikawa Aiho.
By etiquette, one should notify the host in advance before a first visit.
Toumi had done so—that was how she knew Yomikawa was on break today.
The problem was that, between work exhaustion and general fatigue, Yomikawa Aiho seemed to have completely forgotten that she was coming, and hadn't mentioned it to Kobayashi either.
After all, in Yomikawa's mind, Kobayashi was the type who rarely left home. She'd subconsciously assumed he wouldn't go anywhere beyond the apartment building, so there was no need to tell him anything special.
And because Kobayashi was dependable, woke up early every day, and kept a healthy routine, Yomikawa felt perfectly safe sleeping in for once.
Right up until her phone's shrill ringtone dragged her awake.
As a security officer, Yomikawa Aiho kept her phone on twenty-four hours a day to handle emergencies. Out of professional habit, she was extremely sensitive to its sound.
The moment it rang, she practically shot upright in bed.
Groping around in the dim room, she found her phone at the edge of the bed. Seeing that the caller wasn't a superior or colleague, she let out a long breath of relief.
Good. Not an emergency call-in.
She focused on the screen. "Eh? Torahachi Toumi? Ah—right, that kid said she was coming to visit Nana-kun today!"
Yomikawa slapped her palm against her forehead.
The instant she answered, a girl's resentful voice came through the line:
"Yomikawa-sensei, I'm already at your door. If it's convenient, could you please open it?"
(End of Chapter)
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