At the same time, down a quiet alley…
Three men sat cramped in a minivan. They wore knitted hats, scarves, and sunglasses—not exactly subtle. One of them peered through binoculars at the Beika Building.
The leader spotted his target and pointed. "There he is. That guy from TWO·MIX. You, loop around and approach from behind. Sugita, back him up."
With that, Satoru Miyahara opened the door and got out, strolling casually toward the other side of the street under the guise of "keeping watch."
Though the Beika Comprehensive Building's north gate was quieter than the bustling south, there were still enough passersby to make a street kidnapping risky. Naturally, Miyahara opted to delegate the danger to his underlings while staying in the clear.
Satoru Miyahara wasn't some rookie—he was a seasoned robber. But this time, it wasn't just about money.
See, last New Year's Eve, while eliminating an accomplice at Sanyuan Temple, TWO·MIX just happened to walk by and hear something suspicious. Later, this oblivious duo even worked some of those "clues" into the lyrics of a new song.
Weeks later, while loafing around, Miyahara caught that demo tape playing on the radio. The lyrics were a little too close for comfort. Realizing both the song and the singers knew too much, he decided to clean up the mess—erase the evidence, literally and figuratively.
And so, today's kidnapping.
…
Back in the van, the robber left behind picked up the binoculars and scanned the area.
His field of vision shifted a bit, so he tried to recall where his boss had been pointing. His gaze swept past a mask-wearing pedestrian and landed on someone standing near a tree—bundled up, decent build, deliberately trying to blend in behind the trunk.
Aha. That had to be the male singer.
Why else stand by a tree unless you're trying not to get mobbed by fans?
Feeling confident, the robber passed the binoculars to the next guy, pointed him in the right direction, then hopped out and disappeared into the alley.
…
Jiangxia Tongzhi was absorbed in his phone when he suddenly felt a faint killing intent creeping toward him.
It wasn't exactly impressive, more like amateur-hour murder vibes, but it was enough for him to glance up.
He spotted a minivan crawling along the leaf-strewn road, rear door slightly ajar like it was ready to pounce.
Another pulse of killing intent. From behind, closing in.
Jiangxia blinked.
…What a stroke of luck.
He didn't turn around. Just casually rested his eyes on a nearby streetlamp like he was zoning out, then went right back to scrolling.
…
11:28 AM. Vodka pulled up at the meeting spot Gin and Jiangxia had agreed on.
He was scanning the street when a loud engine roar interrupted the peace.
A minivan suddenly swerved onto the curb, hurtling toward a tree. Two people stood under it—one shoved the other into the van and hopped in after him. The door slammed shut, and the vehicle, windows blacked out, sped off.
Vodka rolled down his window, elbow resting on the sill, and leaned out, intrigued.
"Haha, a kidnapping! Thought it was a hit-and-run at first."
He expected Gin to chime in with a jab about the useless police. But instead, Gin gave him a sharp look and said, flatly:
"Are you happy?"
"!" Vodka instantly sobered up, snapping back into yes-man mode. "No, no, just joking…"
Gin turned his gaze to where the van had vanished and scoffed. "Follow them."
Then, without a care in the world, he pulled out his gun and cocked it.
Vodka blinked. "Wait—shouldn't we wait for Ouzo?"
Someone shifted in the backseat.
Vermouth leaned forward, resting an elbow on the seat, her sea-green eyes lazily scanning the scene—first the tree, then the road.
"Ouzo's in that van," she said cheerfully. "I've seen his interviews. That face is hard to forget."
Her tone was positively gleeful, like a cat watching a goldfish bowl tip over.
Vodka paused.
"That van?"
He had a split-second theory: Ouzo had finally quit murder-planning and switched to good old-fashioned kidnapping. Logical progression, right?
Then his second thought kicked in: This kid never listens. He'd told him to stop breaking the law, to act like a normal detective and work his way into the high society like a proper undercover.
But no—out here getting snatched off the street.
...Unless…
Half a block later, it clicked.
Wait. Ouzo was the one being kidnapped?
"…"
A wild hope bloomed in Vodka's chest: Maybe the kidnappers would do society a favor and silence him permanently.
But reason returned quickly. This was Ouzo.
No way some random crooks could kidnap him by accident.
…
At the next intersection, the minivan slowed just enough for Satoru Miyahara to hop in.
He took the passenger seat, peeled off his sunglasses, and peeked into the dim back.
Inside, an unfamiliar guy lay on the floor while Subordinate #2 rifled through his stuff.
Miyahara nodded, satisfied. "Give me his bag," he said. Gotta check for that incriminating tape. If it wasn't there, he'd just go after the girl next.
The subordinate handed over a shoulder bag.
Miyahara unzipped it and started digging.
...Huh. No tape.
Also, this bag felt off. Not quite like the one he saw earlier on the male singer...
He frowned. A bad feeling rose in his chest.
Flicking on the overhead light, he turned to get a better look at the back compartment—tinted windows making it hard to see.
Just as his eyes were adjusting, a dull thunk echoed.
Subordinate #2 collapsed onto the floor, eyes rolled back.
And the "hostage," who should've been tied up and whimpering, was now calmly holding a pistol—examining it like a kid testing out a new toy.
A moment later, the barrel pointed at them in the front seats.
"Head to Yamahira Town," the hostage said coolly. "Or I'll kill you."
Satoru Miyahara: "...?"
He froze.
The kid didn't look that old. Probably had a bit of training, got lucky overpowering the idiot in back, and now thought he could win just because he had a gun.
Classic chuunibyou. Absolutely no understanding of how society works.
Hmph.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 60/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*