Erina had heard of Makoto Nishikado before. Hard not to, when the man had made national news twice.
But watching him punch the Prime Minister's head into a pretzel on live global television was something else entirely.
Then again, he'd gone toe-to-toe with the American President not ten minutes earlier. What was one Japanese Prime Minister compared to that?
"Sis, come on! Let's go get him!"
Not far from Erina, Airi Akizuki was flushed crimson with excitement, already tugging at her sister's sleeve and pulling toward the exit.
Every head in the vicinity snapped toward them.
Marina Akizuki nodded hard, her own eyes bright with barely contained urgency.
The next second, both sisters launched forward with speed that no ordinary person could match, vanishing past the far edge of Totsuki Academy's grounds in the blink of an eye.
Utaha Kasumigaoka, Megumi Kato, and the others didn't hesitate. They took off after them without a word.
This time, Ran Mouri didn't hold back either. She was about to follow when a voice caught her from behind.
"Ran, where are you going?"
She stopped mid-step and turned. Shinichi Kudo was awake, one hand clutching his neck, his expression dark as a stormcloud. She had no idea when he'd come to.
"I... I..."
She faltered, caught between two pulls.
"You're not seriously going after that murderer, are you?"
His voice climbed several notches, barely controlled fury bleeding through every word.
Ran's head dropped. She stammered, unable to form a single coherent sentence.
"Do you have any idea how many people he's killed? How many died because of him in this disaster? Wake up!"
He kept going, each sentence delivered from some invisible moral high ground, as if she were committing an unforgivable sin.
A leg whipped in from the side and slammed into his kidney. Shinichi tumbled across the ground, rolling half a turn before skidding to a stop.
Everyone's expressions shifted. All eyes turned as one.
Most of them recognized her immediately.
Sonoko Suzuki.
"Who do you think you are, Kudo? What gives you the right to talk to Ran like that?"
One hand on her hip, she stood over him, looking down. Several of her acquaintances in the crowd stared.
None of them had ever heard her use that tone before. "Do you have the faintest idea what Ran went through?"
Sonoko had long since gotten used to Shinichi's emotional tone-deafness and his insufferable detective complex. But this time, she couldn't hold back.
While Ran had been fighting for her life in another world, clawing her way through monsters, this guy had been off playing his little detective games somewhere without a care in the world.
She stepped closer, crowding him. "And this morning, if Ran hadn't stepped in to save you, Makoto would've killed you on the spot. How exactly do you think you're still breathing right now?"
She drew a deep breath. Each word fell like a hammer. "What right do you have to say any of that to her?"
Shinichi rubbed his aching side, wincing through gritted teeth.
Normally, he'd have fired back with something about her being a loudmouth. Not this time. He didn't dare.
Because he'd noticed something. Sonoko had called him "Kudo." Not "Shinichi," the name she'd used since they were children.
That hadn't happened in years.
He could only imagine how furious she was.
"Ran, go." Sonoko turned to her best friend, her voice softening instantly. "Hurry."
They'd been best friends long before the Reincarnation Game had ever chosen its players. And across those four years in the Naruto world, Ran had protected Sonoko like an older sister.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that if Ran asked, Sonoko would hand over half her family's inheritance without a second thought.
"But... but..."
Ran was still torn, her gaze drifting toward Shinichi. He'd gone quiet, but his face had grown even darker.
Sonoko's patience ran out. She walked over and, before he could react, brought the edge of her hand down on the back of his neck in a clean chop.
A dull thud. Shinichi crumpled to the ground again.
"There. Problem solved."
She dusted off her hands like nothing had happened.
Every student from Shuchiin Academy and Totsuki stared in slack-jawed disbelief.
The Suzuki family's second daughter is this fierce?
Among those students, a tanned, athletic-looking boy found his gaze lingering on Sonoko with something new flickering behind his eyes.
With her friend practically shoving her out the door, Ran gritted her teeth and took off toward Haneda Airport at full speed.
But neither the Akizuki sisters at the front of the pack nor Ran trailing behind them knew that Makoto Nishikado had already been picked up the moment he left the airport.
A stretched Toyota Century, the car sometimes called Japan's Rolls-Royce, had pulled away from the terminal exit. The very same model that had hit Hachiman Hikigaya in the Oregairu novels.
Inside, besides the driver, sat only two people: Makoto and Mrs. Yukinoshita.
"Didn't expect you to come pick me up personally."
He leaned back against the leather seat, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
Of all the people who might have come for him, she was the last he'd have guessed.
"Why wouldn't I? We're friends, aren't we?"
Mrs. Yukinoshita offered a small smile, her tone carrying a warmth that was hard to define.
Friends?
The word tugged the corner of his mouth upward.
"You should stay at my place again, Makoto. I've kept your room ready this whole time."
She paused, watching him with something hopeful in her eyes, a careful tentativeness threading through her voice.
He blinked.
Living in their marital home indefinitely seems a bit much, doesn't it?
Even if the room's original male occupant was no longer around.
"Your husband's death must have hit the Yukinoshita family hard."
At the mention of this, a flicker of undisguised exhaustion crossed her features.
Back in the Naruto world, she'd already been deeply disappointed in her husband's spinelessness and her daughter's lack of ability.
But twenty years of marriage was twenty years. Having someone vanish from your life like that... it was impossible not to feel the absence.
"I've decided to have Haruno take over her father's position early," she said, mustering a thin smile. "Hopefully she's up to it."
"She'll be more than up to it."
His voice held no doubt. Haruno Yukinoshita was a ninja who specialized in Genjutsu. Turning her loose on the business world to handle a bunch of old foxes? Child's play.
The only wildcard would be if any of those corporate sharks turned out to be Reincarnation Game players themselves. None now, perhaps, but who knew about the future?
In truth, the Yukinoshita family's standing probably wouldn't decline with the patriarch gone. If anything, it would rise. But losing the household's pillar, even one who'd been a figurehead, left Mrs. Yukinoshita unmoored.
Before all this, her husband had been little more than a puppet she controlled. A mascot, if she was being generous.
But having a man in the house provided a certain stability. A sense that someone was there.
It was like young people working far from home. Most of them didn't live with their parents, barely saw them once or twice a year.
But knowing your parents were alive and knowing they weren't were two entirely different psychological states. Parents alive meant a safety net existed somewhere, no matter what.
Parents gone, and that rootless, drifting feeling hit all at once. Enough to crack anyone's composure.
The same reason so many people swore in their twenties that they'd never marry, only to change their minds the moment that particular species of fear crept in with age.
That was exactly where Mrs. Yukinoshita's head was now.
Makoto considered it and figured there was no real issue. But just as he was about to agree, the driver slammed the brakes.
The screech of tires cut through the cabin.
The car lurched. Mrs. Yukinoshita gasped, thrown forward straight into his arms.
His body heat, the distinctly male scent so close to her. A violent tremor ran through her and heat flooded her cheeks.
It lasted exactly one second before he set her upright with both hands, then turned a sharp look toward the driver. "What the hell?"
"S-sorry, sir!" the driver stammered. "There's... there are people blocking the road."
Makoto and the still-flushed Mrs. Yukinoshita looked ahead through the windshield.
Outside, a wall of broad-shouldered men in identical black suits and dark sunglasses stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the road completely. Professional bodyguards, every last one of them.
Before Makoto could react, the guards parted in unison, splitting down the middle to create a corridor.
Through it walked a heavyset middle-aged man in round spectacles and a thin mustache, his face arranged into an obsequious grin.
"Shiro Suzuki?!"
Mrs. Yukinoshita sucked in a sharp breath, the name escaping before she could stop it.
Head of the Suzuki family. One of Japan's four great financial dynasties. A man who stood at the very apex of the nation's business world.
Makoto's eyebrow twitched. Isn't that Sonoko's father?
Suzuki trotted to the rear door with a smile so wide it practically split his face, bowing low. "You must be exhausted, Nishikado-sama!"
Makoto blinked and rolled the window down halfway. "Do I know you?"
"No, no, I wouldn't presume!" Suzuki waved both hands, bowing even deeper. "It's only that my daughter Sonoko tells me you've been looking after her, and I wanted to express my gratitude in person. Please, allow me to invite you to the Suzuki estate for dinner. Everything is already prepared!"
The previous day, while Ran had been busy tracking down Shinichi, Sonoko hadn't been idle.
She'd rushed home and, without revealing the secrets of the Reincarnation Game, told her parents in the most serious tone they'd ever heard from her: find a way to build a relationship with Makoto Nishikado. Immediately. By any means necessary.
Shiro and his wife Tomoko had been baffled. Their youngest daughter, coming home like this? Had something happened to her out there? They were the Suzuki family, for God's sake. Why would they need to grovel before some "criminal"?
But her expression had been unlike anything they'd ever seen. So the couple filed it away and took it seriously.
Starting yesterday, they'd pulled every string at their disposal, quietly monitoring Makoto's movements for an opening. The police had been watching him too, which made finding the right moment difficult.
And then they'd watched him carve a path of destruction from one hemisphere to the other.
After that, Shiro understood perfectly why his daughter had said what she said.
Mrs. Yukinoshita had beaten them to the airport by less than thirty seconds. But once the Suzuki team identified the car as belonging to the Yukinoshita family, Shiro didn't waste a breath. He ordered his people to block the road.
The Yukinoshitas? A third-rate family at best. And they think they can compete with us for the privilege of serving him?
Tomoko approached now with a warm smile of her own, bowing alongside her husband. "Sir, our Sonoko mentioned you're fond of desserts. We've specially arranged for top pastry chefs from France and Italy. Would you... honor us with your presence?"
The couple kept their smiles aimed squarely at Makoto, all charm and deference. But when their eyes slid toward Mrs. Yukinoshita inside the car, the brief flash of contempt was impossible to miss.
Impossible to miss for someone like Mrs. Yukinoshita, anyway. Reading people was the baseline skill in her world.
Her face went white. Even with the insult stinging clear as day, she didn't dare say a word.
She was already bracing for the inevitable. Of course he'd accept. Why wouldn't he? The Suzukis were offering everything on a silver platter.
Instead, he leaned back lazily against the seat. "Maybe next time. I'm a little tired."
Mrs. Yukinoshita's eyes went wide. She stared at him in disbelief.
The Suzuki couple froze, their smiles locked in place for one awkward beat.
But people didn't reach their position without being quick on their feet. They recovered almost instantly.
Tomoko jumped in. "If you need rest, the Suzuki estate is perfect for that! Hot springs, sauna, personal massage attendants, helicopter transport if you prefer. Complete privacy, I assure..."
"I said no."
Two degrees colder than before.
Both of them flinched, then bowed deeply again. "O-of course. Our deepest apologies for overstepping."
Watching the most powerful couple in Japan's business world grovel in front of Makoto like scolded children, Mrs. Yukinoshita felt a wave of awe crash through her. She'd witnessed his terrifying power more than once, but this still shook her.
Yet beneath the awe, something else surged. Something warmer. A satisfaction she'd never known before.
The satisfaction of being chosen.
Did he... refuse them for me?
"Then... sir... might there be an opportunity next time?"
As the car prepared to pull away, Shiro gathered every scrap of courage he had and asked, voice small and careful.
"...Have Sonoko talk to me about it."
Makoto tossed the words out casually and rolled the window back up.
The Suzuki couple exchanged a glance, then finally exhaled. Relief washed over their faces.
"Of course! We won't keep you any longer, sir!"
The entire Suzuki entourage bowed in unison, watching the Yukinoshita family's Toyota Century pull away and disappear down the street.
Only after it vanished completely did Tomoko drop her smile and rub her aching cheeks. "The Yukinoshitas sure stepped in shit and came out smelling like roses," she muttered under her breath.
Inside the departing car, Mrs. Yukinoshita had stopped being subtle about it. Every few seconds, her gaze drifted to Makoto beside her, eyes closed, resting.
She looked exactly like a high school girl stealing glances at the boy she liked but never dared confess to.
"Ma'am, sir. We've arrived."
The car rolled to a smooth stop in front of the Yukinoshita residence. Makoto opened his eyes, reaching for the door handle, ready to head inside and collapse for a while.
That was when Mrs. Yukinoshita finally broke, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Um... Makoto..."
He turned to look at her.
"Why... why didn't you accept the Suzukis' invitation?"
She'd finally mustered the courage to ask the question burning inside her.
His expression said the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "You invited me first, didn't you?"
The words struck her like an arrow through the heart.
Her face turned scarlet. Her mind went blank.
Meanwhile, at Haneda International Airport.
The Prime Minister's sudden "accident" had thrown the scene into chaos. And the arrival of a large group of high school girls drew immediate attention from both police and press.
Most of them were recognized on sight. These were the same girls with supernatural abilities who'd fought alongside Makoto Nishikado on live television earlier that day.
Compared to him, their powers were modest. But for ordinary people, what they could do was beyond anything imaginable.
Mixed in with the crowd were faces the cameras hadn't caught, like Ichinose Chizuru and Yui Yuigahama.
Chizuru had been a step too slow when the fighting broke out and missed her chance to join in. She'd been kicking herself ever since.
This time, she was determined to stick close. She wanted to grow stronger.
But after the girls combed through every corner of the airport, checking every exit twice over, there was no sign of Makoto anywhere.
"Where's my husband?!"
Airi Akizuki grabbed the Metropolitan Police Commissioner by the collar and shook.