When the two came out of the hot spring, a blush still lingered on Rize's face, her eyes moist and dreamy, making her look especially languid and alluring.
Night had deepened and the city lights were on. They had originally planned to stroll around the 14th Ward, but by chance ended up in the 6th Ward instead.
But for them it made no difference where they went. Besides, this was the place where Rize had lived in childhood.
Back when it was under Shachi's rule, the 6th Ward had been orderly and well regulated.
Although the leader was gone now, after the CCG's large-scale purges it instead appeared especially peaceful and stable.
It was said that Akihiro Kanou had purchased a large amount of property in the 6th Ward under other people's names, but that had nothing to do with their wandering tonight.
They walked side by side along the bustling street. As they passed a nightclub, a curvy woman suddenly stepped out of the entrance.
Despite wearing a mask, her outstanding looks were still obvious.
Amano Hiro's gaze was immediately drawn to her, and the woman also noticed his undisguised stare.
Unexpectedly, instead of being annoyed, she even gave him a playful wink.
Only after that striking figure disappeared into the distance did Amano Hiro come back to himself.
He turned his head and met Rize's eyes, curved in a dangerous smile.
"Was she pretty?" Rize's voice was gentle enough to drip. "Want me to grab her and give her to you as a present?"
The softness in that tone made Amano Hiro shiver involuntarily.
"Not at all," he said quickly, performing emergency damage control. "How could she compare to my Rize."
He then added seriously, "I wouldn't dare accept that gift anyway. Do you know who she is?"
Rize raised a brow. "Does she have some impressive identity?"
"This is the famous 'Bakugan Kid,'" Amano Hiro said in a lowered voice.
"Bakugan Kid?" Rize looked puzzled.
Amano Hiro leaned close to her ear and explained softly, "Alias Mayu . Rated A-level dangerous ghoul by the CCG. She has both a koukaku and a bikaku, and often frequents nightlife spots."
He paused, his tone turning subtle. "She especially likes crushing bakugan."
Rize: "..."
After a moment of silence, she shot Amano Hiro a half-smiling glance. "Hiro really knows a lot of detail."
"Does Hiro like it too? You should've said so earlier. I can do it too."
She deliberately drew out her tone, violet eyes gleaming with mischief, her voice full of teasing.
Amano Hiro's mouth twitched slightly. Right now, Rize looked quite a bit like when they first met, sharp-tongued and playfully malicious.
He suddenly recalled something a wise person once said: never try to reason with a woman.
So he decisively abandoned any thought of arguing, reached out to gently pinch Rize's chin, and planted a firm kiss on her soft lips.
"Let's go. Keep strolling," he said as if nothing had happened, taking her hand.
They continued along the brightly lit street. But Amano Hiro could not help muttering inwardly: tonight's chance encounters were a bit too many.
First the pervert taxi driver, now the "Bakugan Kid." Who knew whether they would run into some other "old acquaintance" later.
Rize let him lead her forward, yet her gaze stayed thoughtfully on him.
Seeing that he had not refuted her teasing just now, she could not help wondering: does Hiro actually like that? Just too embarrassed to say it?
She lightly bit her lower lip, a glint of eagerness flashing in her eyes.
Mm... next time I should find a chance to try. But I need to control my strength. Wouldn't want to actually crush him.
It turned out the old saying "things don't happen more than three times" did have some truth.
After the consecutive encounters with the pervert driver and the "Bakugan Kid," they did not meet any other "old acquaintances" that night.
The neon-lit streets here felt different, permeated with a distinct atmosphere.
All kinds of signs competed in the night, including many suggestive "specialty shops."
Walking along the brilliant street, Amano Hiro fell into thought.
The surface of this world always maintained prosperity and calm. But peel away that glossy exterior and inside lay a truth woven from blood and fear.
The ghoul attack incidents reported in the news every day, in the end, the victims were mostly ordinary lower-class civilians.
Those lofty politicians and tycoons, had their lives ever truly been threatened?
If someday a ghoul actually dared attack those big figures, by the next day every ghoul in Tokyo would likely face annihilation.
At that point, whether the One-Eyed Owl or some SSS-rated monster, they could be blown to nothing in minutes.
Looking across the whole course of events, humanity had never used true large-scale destructive weapons.
No matter how strong ghouls were, they were still carbon-based organisms. How could they withstand saturation strikes from heavy firepower?
Only later, when "Dragon" appeared, were fighter jets and a small number of missiles deployed symbolically.
That might also have been due to some deal between the Washuu Clan and the higher authorities.
Seeing it was getting late, Amano Hiro said to Rize, "Let's go home. We'll go somewhere else tomorrow."
Rize clung to his arm, almost hanging off him. "Mm, home. Should we call a taxi?"
"Taxi for what," Amano Hiro raised a brow and pulled her into an unoccupied alley. "We'll fly back."
Before the words finished, dark-red wings burst open. He wrapped an arm around Rize's waist, pushed off with both feet, and the two shot into the sky toward the 20th Ward.
The night wind roared past their ears. Rize narrowed her eyes in contentment, her hair whipping behind. "Flying through the sky like this feels great."
It was indeed much faster than a taxi. Before long, their familiar apartment building appeared below.
Amano Hiro beat his wings, slowed precisely, and landed lightly at the door.
He had just taken out his key when Rize pressed close, breathing warm air at his ear, her tone carrying a sly smile.
"Later... want to try it, Hiro?"
Amano Hiro's hand inserting the key paused. His mouth twitched.
He drew a breath, as if making some decision, his gaze flicking over Rize's legs. "...Don't take them off."
Rize's eyes lit up, her smile deepening. "Okay."
Just as the key was about to turn in the lock-
Beep, beep, beep...
A rapid, faint electronic sound suddenly came from inside the door.
Amano Hiro froze. "Huh?"
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion erupted. A violent shockwave mixed with flame instantly swallowed the doorway. The entire wall and door were blown to pieces, smoke and dust blasting skyward.
Yet at the center of the raging fire and flying debris, a huge dark-red sphere stood unmoving.
Its surface was smooth as a mirror, gleaming with metallic hardness, isolating all impact and heat outside.
From inside the sphere came Amano Hiro's voice, edged with fury and absurd complaint. "Damn it. Are they treating me like Suguru Geto?!"
On the ground around the sphere lay dozens of short arrows blasted away.
Their structure was special, hollow inside, clearly originally filled with potent RC-cell suppressants targeting ghouls.
They had not even had time to trigger before this instantly hardened absolute defense blocked them all.
The sphere's surface flowed like liquid and slowly opened a slit.
Amano Hiro's cold gaze swept through the gap across the ruined doorway and the distant shifting figures.
"Looks like," Rize laughed softly in his arms, though her voice carried chill, "some guests don't want us to rest well."