CHAPTER 47: SUSPICIOUS INDIVIDUALS
The next day, there was still no word from the Nogi Group.
Ren Shiroki kept his routine: an early morning run through the district, a quick wash, and breakfast with Arisa. Afterward, he returned to the sandbag. He had been researching professional gym equipment online, but with the dojo still a dilapidated wreck, there was no place to put it. He decided to wait until the reconstruction was further along.
During his afternoon break, he began sketching the layout for the "Combat Hub."
The business model was a bit messy. He needed to figure out the logistics of training, medical support, and private sparring matches.
"Maybe I should put together a survey?" Ren wondered. "I could ask Fusui, Marco, and Yuzuha what they'd want in a high-end facility."
As school was letting out, the "Stray Dog" squad arrived.
Ichika Iori had managed to procure a nondescript white panel van. She pulled up in front of the Shiroki property, with Nozomi and Hana in the passenger seats. Yuzuha, apparently uninterested in a "recruitment drive," hadn't joined them.
"Oi, Ren-kun! Get in!"
Ichika rolled down the window and slapped the door panel with a grin. "Check it out! I 'borrowed' this from the station's undercover pool. It's a surveillance unit."
"It's got official-looking plates, one-way tinted glass, and the walls are lead-lined for soundproofing. We could host a full-blown metal concert in here and the people outside wouldn't hear a peep! Perfect for a secret meeting!"
Hana clapped her hands in delight. "Wow, what a wonderful vehicle! I'd love to get one of these for the Jinguji-gumi~!"
"Idiot!" Ichika barked, her nose in the air. "If the Yakuza started rolling around in tactical police surveillance vans, I'd have every SWAT team in Tokyo breathing down my neck!"
Ren climbed into the back, feeling a bit awkward. Nozomi Tenma was sitting on a bench seat, resting her chin on her hand with a look of deep concern.
"...This is definitely wrong, right?" Nozomi muttered.
Ren looked at her. "What is?"
"We are currently sitting in a stolen police surveillance van outside an all-girls academy, stalking a teenager to recruit her into a bloody underground fighting circuit. Ren-kun... are we the villains?"
Ren: "..."
Ren: "Ssss... well, when you put it like that..."
Wrong or not, the "Stray Dog" ship had already sailed.
Half an hour later, the van pulled up across from the main gates of Koyo Female Academy.
While they waited for the bells to ring, Nozomi turned to Ichika. "So, is this girl—Hina Hongo—actually a 'Former Terrorist'? She's a high schooler."
"She's known as the 'Most Dangerous Student' in the city," Ichika said, her eyes narrowing behind a puff of cigarette smoke. "Ever heard of the Army of God?"
Nozomi blinked. "The radical cult from a few years ago?"
Ichika nodded. "Three years ago, they were planning a nationwide coup under the banner of 'Humanity's Salvation.' But before they could act, their leader, Chogen Takahashi, died under mysterious circumstances. The organization dissolved overnight."
"Hina Hongo—formerly Hina Takahashi—was the leader's foster daughter. She was fourteen at the time."
"The Army of God had its own private militia. They trained their orphans in everything from professional-grade martial arts to high-end ballistics. Rumor has it Takahashi threw Hina into a black-ops training camp when she was ten. No one knows how she survived."
Ichika shrugged. "After the cult fell, she was adopted by a wealthy couple. Now she lives the life of a high-society princess. The brass told us to stop monitoring her, so she's officially a 'Normal Citizen.' But a wolf doesn't become a poodle just because it's wearing a collar."
The school bell rang.
The gates of Koyo Academy swung open, and a tide of girls in pleated skirts and blazers flooded onto the street. Their chatter was filled with the typical concerns of youth.
"Hibiki! Are we hitting the gym tonight?"
"No way... I did leg day yesterday. I can't even walk!"
"In that case, how about my family's boxing gym?"
"That's just more work!"
Ren watched the crowd through the tinted glass. To his surprise, the van's audio system was incredibly sharp.
Ichika noticed his look. "High-gain tactical microphones. I can hear a flea fart from fifty yards away."
Ren: "..."
I really need to stop hanging out with this cop.
Suddenly, Nozomi's brow furrowed. She pointed toward a figure near the gate. "That guy... he looks out of place."
The group tensed.
At the edge of the crowd, a massive, muscular man in civilian clothes was trailing behind a high school student. He moved with a heavy, deliberate gait that radiated a sense of danger. Even through the van's monitor, Ichika and Hana could tell he was a "Killer."
"That guy has definitely seen combat," Ichika whispered, her hand moving toward her holster. "Is he a bodyguard for one of the rich girls? Or a stalker?"
Ren looked at the screen and his face instantly turned a pale shade of grey. He slapped a hand over his face.
"Onii-chan?" Hana asked. "What's wrong?"
"That's my sister," Ren groaned, rubbing his temples. "And the 'Stalker' is Marco."
"..."
The table went silent.
"Arisa goes to Koyo Academy," Ren explained, looking like he wanted to crawl into a hole. "Marco is currently unemployed and has the brain of a ten-year-old. I guess he decided to walk her home from school today."
Before anyone could comment, Marco's head snapped toward the white van. He stopped walking, handed his ice cream cone to Arisa, and sprinted toward them.
He yanked the sliding door of the van open before Ichika could lock it.
"Aha! I knew I smelled the Big Brother!" Marco shouted, waving enthusiastically.
Ichika stared at him, stunned. "This glass is one-way, kid! How did you see us?!"
"With my eyes!" Marco said innocently.
Ren sighed. "He's a biological experiment. His sensory perception is tuned to a different frequency."
As they were talking, Arisa strolled up to the van, finishing her ice cream. "Yo, Onii-chan. Hanging out with your new friends again? Why are you parked outside my school in a creepy van?"
Nozomi and the others expected Ren to lie. Instead, he just looked at her with total honesty.
"We're looking for a student named Hina Hongo. She's in your year. Do you know her?"
Ichika and Hana winced. Too blunt!
But Arisa just nodded, licking her spoon. "Sure. Hongo-san is a top student. Good grades, popular with the girls. Kind of a 'Cool Beauty' type."
She pointed across the street toward the school gate. "There she is. The girl in the beret saying goodbye to her friends."
Ren gave a thumbs up. "Great. Go bring her over here."
"Okay!" Arisa chirped. She turned around and jogged back toward Hina Hongo.
The three women in the van were speechless. They couldn't wrap their heads around the Shiroki family's logic. They were literally using a high school girl to lure a "Former Terrorist" into a windowless police van.
"Ren-kun... you're a very scary person," Nozomi whispered.
"I just don't like lying to my sister," Ren replied.
As they watched the monitor, Hana's expression suddenly changed. She leaned closer to the screen.
"Wait... guys. Look. Hina and Arisa just got cornered."
Three men in expensive but ill-fitting suits had stepped out of an alley, blocking the girls' path. They were professionals—composed, cold, and armed.
The Alley Entrance.
The three foreigners blocked Hina Hongo and the approaching Arisa.
The man in the lead had a jagged scar across his cheek. He reached into his jacket, revealing the hilt of a tactical knife.
"A pleasure, Miss Hongo," the man said in accented Japanese. "We work for IDEAL."
"If you don't want to see your friend get hurt... you're going to tell us exactly where the Army of God hid the Chemical Weapons cache."