Shin woke up to the familiar smell of his favourite four-egg omelette sizzling in the pan.
"Awww, Taiga, you shouldn't have," he said, before being cut off by the acute pain in his back.
After mustering up enough strength, Shin raised himself up before immediately falling back down at the sight of Silver cooking in his favourite maid-themed apron.
"Toooo cuuuuute!" he proclaimed, his face turning red.
"Shut it, freak! This was the only cooking garment you had, you bum," responded Silver in kind.
"Hurry up and eat your breakfast so we can get those supplies you were supposed to buy yesterday—you know, before you got distracted," chimed in Taiga before leaving for his room.
"Oi, wait a second, lads," Shin said in a forced British accent.
"What was all that about last night?" he asked in his normal voice.
Silver filled him in as he filled himself with her delicious cooking.
"I guess that Don guy wasn't talking out of his ass after all. Who would have thought?"
"What do you mean, 'that Don guy'?" asked a confused Silver.
Shin filled her in as she filled herself with her own delicious cooking.
"So you guys just happened to get in a car crash with the most famous man alive? And you didn't try to extort him for all he's worth? Nice one."
"Sorry, we were a bit too knocked out to start extorting the man. I'll try my hardest to rinse the next person I see for all they're worth!"
Shin, noticing Taiga's entrance, started grabbing at his back while wincing and groaning.
"Listen, bro, I would absolutely love to go shopping with you, but my back is totally killing me—you know, because of that stunt Silver pulled last night. How about I just give you the shopping list, and you and Silver can go out and get 'em?" Shin said as he began writing down the necessities.
"Why does she have to come with? You don't think I can run to the store by myself?" retorted Taiga.
"No, it's not that. Silver's the only one who can read my handwriting," Shin replied with a giant grin.
With that, the two left the house and made their way to the local supermarket.
It was an awkward drive.
"Message me the first half of the list, and you get the bottom half," Taiga said, devoid of emotion.
"Yeah, sure."
*bzzrp*
*Back at the Kurosawa residence*
"Tee-hee, Taiga. Looks like somebody forgot their phone at home," Shin said joyfully, rolling around in his bed with Taiga's phone.
Back at the store
"Great, I forgot my phone at home. Lead the way," Taiga said.
The two had gathered most of the items required for the break-in, such as rope, allergen-free food for Taiga, a notebook, exchanged currency for Aria, a couple of Street Fighter shirts and, of course, snacks specifically chosen to not comply with Taiga's many allergies. There was only one more thing left on the list: a limited-edition insight into the Parliamentary building in Aria. It was specially commissioned by the Aria government as a propaganda piece, allowing the everyday person to glimpse the daily life of the ruling class.
They arrived at the regional section of the store, a vast block riddled with pallets and barrels containing miscellaneous items. Before Taiga could grab the magazine, the two were met with a loud blast of hot air, followed by the collapse of the many aisles behind them, knocking them both to the floor.
"Listen, I have nothing against you guys personally. I just really need that map of the Parliament building. My wife and son have been kidnapped and taken there, so I really need this," explained an unfamiliar face.
The man was shirtless, with scars decorating his torso. A buzz cut added to his delinquent look, and he wore denim jeans littered with holes and tears. His vision still hazy, Taiga looked up and could barely make out a blurry image of the man; however, he would soon be able to clearly see what happened next.
"HELP! SECURITY! POLICE! ANYONE!"
The loud screaming of a shopper could not only be heard by Taiga, but also by the man standing in front of him.
The man began slapping his head violently before progressing to vicious punches, which only halted when blood began escaping his nostrils.
"SHIT! IT'S THEM AGAIN!" the man screamed. "I AIN'T GOING BACK THERE TILL MY FAMILY'S SAFE, GODDAMMIT!"
With their vision now restored, Silver and Taiga witnessed the man extend his arm and make a slicing motion towards the still-screaming lady. Silver grabbed tightly on to Taiga's arm, holding him tighter and tighter, as the man's arm raised higher and higher. Despite being metres away, the lady was sliced in half, as if the man's hand had seamlessly passed through her. Her body fell to the floor in two violent thuds.
While the man's back was turned, the two terrified witnesses ran and hid behind one of the nearby pallets, panting like dogs.
"Where'd those two go? Wait, I told them they were safe, so why did they run? I'm only trying to help my family here. Why are they afraid of me? They must be with them. They must be one of the agents after me," the man said aloud.
Looking around, the man saw three pallets still intact. He threw a fist at the boxes furthest to the right, causing them to explode, debris scattering across the glossy floor. No blood—he had guessed wrong. Before the man could destroy the next crate, supermarket security arrived with pale faces. A guard could be seen in the back vomiting over the sight of the woman's body while the other, more experienced guards still hesitated to grab their guns. Eventually, the men were able to gather up the courage to riddle the man with bullets—or at least attempt to. These bullets were effortlessly swatted away by the man, ricocheting around the area before landing in Taiga's thigh.
*Ting.*
"Shit!" cried Taiga.
Not only had Taiga revealed his location, but he had also lost his ability to run and escape while the security distracted the man. Aware of the boy's location, the man began making his way towards the pallet, reflecting the bullets shot at him back into the throats of the security guards. Arriving at Taiga's crate, he kicked it to the side, revealing a prone Taiga pressing the wound on his thigh with his left hand while resting his back on top of an uncomfortable dish-like object.
"To think the feds would hire someone so young. How low will they go?" the man spoke empathetically, as if he truly wished better for Taiga.
The man took a step back and threw out a punch aimed directly at Taiga's chest.