I kept running.
Reggie and Hazenoki were ahead of me, sprinting through the ruined streets like their lives depended on it.
Which… to be fair… they did.
Behind us—
Takaba.
I reinforced my legs with cursed energy so heavily that cracks spread across the pavement each time my foot touched the ground. My body felt light, almost weightless, like I was barely touching the earth.
To anyone watching, it probably looked like I was flying.
Hazenoki glanced back for a second and saw me gliding past cars.
"Seriously?!" he shouted.
Both he and Reggie immediately sped up, pouring all of their cursed energy into their legs.
I was still faster.
Good.
Because I really needed to run.
"Alright… rocket time," I muttered.
I created small bursts of flame beneath my feet and angled my body forward.
Boom.
The ground shattered as I blasted forward like a human rocket.
For a few glorious seconds, it worked perfectly.
Wind screamed past my ears as the buildings blurred around me. I shot over a taxi, bounced off a bus roof, and launched myself off a traffic light pole.
I was gaining distance.
Finally—
Then the engine sound happened.
Pffffffft.
My flames sputtered like a cheap motorcycle running out of fuel.
"Wait—"
My propulsion died.
And I immediately face-planted into the pavement.
CRASH.
I skidded across the asphalt like a human bowling ball.
"What the fuck—HOW?!" I shouted while scraping along the road.
Behind me, Reggie and Hazenoki shot past while I was still rolling.
They didn't even look back.
Then it hit me.
Takaba.
His cursed technique.
If he thought something was funny… reality would bend to make it happen.
And apparently me crashing like a broken rocket was hilarious to him.
"No way… whoever gets left behind will…"
I slowly turned my head.
"Would Suffer," I murmured.
Takaba was surfing toward us on a massive wave made entirely of colorful girl toys.
Plastic dolls.
Pink toy cars.
Stuffed animals.
A giant inflatable unicorn.
The entire ridiculous pile floated like a surfboard while Takaba balanced on top of it proudly.
"My daughterrr!" he shouted while riding the toy tsunami.
"Don't worry! Daddy is coming!"
"Those bad boys won't steal you away!"
"Also—why did the bicycle fall over?!"
None of us answered.
"Because it was two-tired!"
Silence.
Even while running at 300 km/h, the joke still hurt.
"HELL NAH!" I yelled while sprinting after Reggie and Hazenoki again.
We blasted through traffic like missiles.
Cars were crushed as I landed on them. The moment I landed on a car, it was flattened under my feet.
I vaulted over a delivery truck, bounced off the side of a building, and slid down a glass wall before launching myself onto a rooftop.
Reggie used receipts to summon random objects under his feet like stepping stones.
Hazenoki kicked off a streetlight, flipped over a pedestrian bridge, and blasted a truck that was blocking him. Behind us—
Takaba was still surfing his toy wave.
"My daughter!" he yelled again.
"Do you know what a fish says when it hits a wall?!"
Nobody responded.
"Dam!"
I wanted to die.
We ran toward Ikebukuro without even planning it.
At this point, we were just fleeing in whatever direction didn't contain Takaba.
Our speeds were insane.
Anyone watching would just see blurs jumping between rooftops.
Glass shattered.
Concrete cracked.
Street signs bent as we kicked them off.
After about twenty seconds of full-speed running, I finally overtook Reggie and Hazenoki again.
They were clearly using cursed techniques to keep up.
Probably Reggie's receipts are creating boosts under their feet somehow...
Still—
I was faster.
And more importantly…
I knew where Yuji was.
Safety.
Yuji meant safety. I don't know how I know this, but I would feel a lot safer if I were near Yuji.
As we sprinted across a rooftop, I glanced to the left—
And froze.
Choso was standing on another building.
He looked at me.
Then he looked behind me.
Then he saw Takaba surfing a tidal wave of Barbie dolls.
Our eyes met again.
We shared a silent understanding.
Choso immediately turned around and started running too.
Choso had joined the team of runners.
Good decision.
We kept fleeing across the city.
Takaba kept chasing us while shouting jokes.
None of us answered.
Ahead of us, I spotted a theater building.
Perfect.
Without slowing down, I ran straight toward it.
Instead of using the door—
I smashed through the wall.
BOOM.
Concrete exploded as I burst through like a cannonball.
Inside the theater—
Yuji and Higurama were sitting across from each other, talking calmly.
Higurama was about to add an rule
Then—
The wall exploded.
I flew through it.
Yuji saw me first.
"IKUYO!" Yuji shouted instantly.
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"
He jumped to his feet and caught me mid-air as I was falling.
A second later—
Choso crashed through another wall.
He landed in a couch beside the stage.
Then Reggie and Hazenoki burst through the building behind him, smashing through doors and seats as they landed.
Everyone froze.
Higurama slowly stood up.
His eyes scanned the room.
The strongest fighter in the colony…
Running away?
Something was clearly very wrong.
Yuji seemed to know the girl.
She also knew—
CRASH.
The entire wall exploded again.
Takaba rode into the theater on his wave of toys.
He landed dramatically and crossed his arms.
Then he looked at all of us with a serious expression.
"I see…" he said slowly.
"So this is the part where the friends of a girl face her father."
The room went completely silent.
Takaba wiped a tear from his eye.
"I never thought you would grow up this fast…"
"You're already an adult…"
"My little Ikuyo…"
I blinked.
Hold on.
How does he know my name?
And what the hell is happening?
Takaba sniffed dramatically.
"As a responsible father…"
"I will respect my daughter's wishes."
Everyone in the room slowly looked at each other.
Higurama.
Reggie.
Hazenoki.
Yuji.
Choso.
Takaba.
And me.
The tension was unbearable.
Takaba suddenly struck a heroic pose.
"I WILL PROTECT MY ONE AND ONLY DAUGHTER—IKUYO!"
Yuji walked over and gently put a hand on my shoulder.
He looked at me with sympathy.
"…First time?" he asked.
"Yeah..." I murmured.
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End of Chapter.