Chapter 78
[107]
Ren sighed as he looked up at Naoto’s apartment complex. He hadn’t visited since moving out back in September and it could be said that they weren’t on the best of terms right now. The reason he came to see Naoto rather than going to school that morning was because he knew that after working the night shift, he could find her here this morning and he needed information if he was going to take on Scorpion and Prowler again.
“Mind sharing what you’re doing here?” A voice came from behind Ren.
He jumped in surprise at the voice, spinning around and assuming a fighting stance. His act of self defense surprised the voice’s owner who flinched and curled herself into a ball. Her dark green jacket made her look like a scared turtle.
“Futaba!? What are you doing here?” Ren lowered his fists and stepped towards the girl. “Wha- Did you follow me?”
“I saw that the GPS on your phone wasn’t going to your school, so I followed you since you could’ve been kidnapped or something!” She replied, still crouched and hiding.
“So let me get this straight. You thought I was being kidnapped, and thought the best course of action was to follow me. By yourself.” Ren stared at the girl skeptically with his arms crossed.
“Everyone else was at school.” Futaba stood up. “I’m not just some kid y’know! I can stand up for myself. I’m 16 years old, I’m practically an adult! I have a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Tokyo.”
“Does the University of Tokyo know this?”
“I’m sure they’ll find out I hacked their servers eventually, besides if they did find out, they’d probably give me the degree anyway. Also, I brought a taser.” She pulled out a small black item and pushed a button, causing it to spark.
“Fine, it’s not like I’m expecting trouble anyways. Just...it might be a little awkward.” Ren rubbed the back of his neck.
“Why would it be awkward?” Futaba questioned. “Who are we here for anyway?”
“I am here to see a contact of mine who works for the police. You’ve met her before actually, she was the officer you spoke to when you guys stayed at the police station.”
Futaba’s eyes turned downward. “Oh. I...I try not to think about that night.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” He reached out to console her, turning to the apartment, then back to her. “Why don’t you wait out here. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“No.” Futaba’s hands grasped his wrist. “I’m a part of the team too. I can do more than just sit behind a computer.” She looked up to meet his gaze, showing the determination in her eyes.
Ren finally relented and the two of them entered the building, taking the elevator to Naoto’s floor.
“So why do you think this is going to be awkward?” Futaba asked, turning to Ren, her hands still on his arm.
“Naoto and I…” He struggled with how to phrase it. “We um…”
“Y-You had sex with her!?” Futaba yelled, her face red.
“I didn’t say that!” Ren yelled back before turning back sheepishly. “But...yeah.”
“OH MY GOD!” She punched his side. “REN!”
“Ow! Hey, not on the staples!” He clutched his side where he’d had surgery the night prior.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened revealing a startled couple watching a small girl pummel a taller boy. When they looked up from what they were doing, Ren and Futaba awkwardly stepped aside and onto the floor. Naoto’s door wasn’t far from the elevator, so Futaba didn’t have the chance to continue her assault.
Ren knocked on the door with one hand, making sure to do it loud enough that it would wake her up. He felt bad for interrupting her sleep, but this was urgent and he may not have the chance to speak to her otherwise. After several moments of waiting in silence, Futaba pouting at him the entire time, the sound of footsteps from inside of the apartment could be heard.
The door cracked open to reveal part of Naoto’s face, her eyes had bags beneath them. “What is it?” Whether or not she could see Ren, he couldn’t tell.
“Sorry to wake you, but this is important. It’s about the fire last night. Two villains tried to kill me, I think someone hired them. I need any info on them you can give. Think we can come in?”
“We?” She asked tiredly. Naoto’s tired gaze shifted over to Futaba. “Oh, I know you. Sakura, right?”
“Y-Yes ma’am.” The girl in question answered nervously.
“Alright come in.” She shut the door and the sound of locks turning could be heard from the other side.
When they stepped inside, Naoto shut the door behind them and walked into the kitchen to make herself some coffee. As she walked away, Ren couldn’t help but notice her pajamas. A pair of boxers with hearts on them and an ‘I heart Tokyo’ t-shirt that was two sizes too large for her.
‘A-Are those...mine?’ Ren thought, sweating profusely. ‘I must have left them here after the move.’ When he glanced over at Futaba, and could see the gears turning in her brain. She must have realized it too, because a few moments later he mouth became agape before turning back to Ren and pouting.
Seemingly unaware of the situation, Naoto poured herself a cup of black coffee and took a seat across from the two of them on the couch. After taking a drink from her mug, she seemed to become more alert.
“So,” She set down her mug. “What is it you need from me exactly?”
“What can you tell me about Scorpion and Prowler? Who employs them? Do they work together often? Did Yu find any weaknesses that I can exploit? What about-”
“Whoa, slow down.” Naoto interrupted. “I’ve pulled three nightshifts back to back, I’m sorry but, I’m a little out of it right now.” She took another sip from her mug. “Let’s start with Scorpion. His real name is Sho Minazuki, he’s a serial killer who got his hands on an advanced battle suit. If he’s working for someone, there’s really no telling who. He’ll work for whoever pays, but mostly he just focused on trying to kill Yu.”
“Any weaknesses?”
“Well, he’s not too bright. He isn’t the type to put a master plan in place. So if you laid out a trap, he’d probably fall for it. Other than that, watch out for the tail, it can react to things even if he doesn’t see them.”
“What about Prowler? Any advice for him?”
Naoto paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “He’s a lot more elusive from what I know, not to mention a lot more dangerous. He works exclusively as a contract killer, so someone definitely hired him to kill you, someone with deep pockets.” She took another sip. “From what I know, he was in prison up until recently. Whoever broke him out must’ve hired him and Scorpion, that narrows down the list quite a bit. Very few people have that much influence.”
The more Naoto spoke about these two, the worse a feeling Ren got in his stomach. He let out a gulp before continuing. “Any weaknesses?”
“None that I know of. Yu struggled to handle him by himself, the guy was able to hold his own against him despite not having any powers. His tech, skills, and planning are all incredibly dangerous. However, he doesn’t seem willing to take civilian lives, none he wasn’t hired to kill anyways.”
“What about his name? Do you know it?”
“Yeah. Minato Arisato. The media kept quiet about his identity for the sake of his family, he pissed off a lot of powerful people.” Naoto continued to speak, but Ren wasn’t listening.
‘Uncle Minato? No. No! He wasn’t a murderer! He went to prison for embezzlement...right? Or was it tax fraud? Oh no. Minato had just been released from prison. And he said he was working a new job, one that paid very well.’ Ren grasped his head in his hands, his fingers brushing against the new scar on his eyebrow. ‘Oh god. My uncle tried to kill me!’
“Ren? Ren, are you alright?” Naoto asked.
When he looked up, the room’s two other occupants were staring at him, concerned.
“What is it?” Futaba asked.
“I-It’s nothing. We should go.” He stood up from his seat. “Thank you for the help Naoto, please go get some rest.”
“Wait, what’s going on?” Naoto stood up as well, noticeably more lucid.
Without responding, he exited through the front door. Futaba looked frantically between Naoto and the door before chasing after Ren.
“I’ll look after him and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. Thank you for the help!” She called on the way out, shutting the door behind her.
When she got out into the hall, Futaba saw Ren a few feet away, leaning with his arm against the wall. His expression was unreadable, but definitely wasn’t good.
“What’s wrong Ren? You freaked out when-” She stopped for a moment. “The Prowler, do you know him?”
Ren whispered something under his breath, not looking up from the wall.
“What? I didn’t hear you.” She asked, leaning in. When Ren didn’t respond, she pushed further. “C’mon Ren, we’re a team. We can’t have secrets between us, so if you know something, you need to tell m-”
“CAN YOU JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE!?” Ren shouted angrily, turning towards a now scared Futaba.
“R-Ren…” She squeaked out, now realizing that the subject was sensitive.
Regretting his outburst, Ren turned back towards the wall. “I’m sorry. I’m just...still processing what I just heard.” He put his back to the wall and slid down to the floor.
After a moment of hesitation, Futaba decided to join him, squatting next to him on the floor.
“Why don’t we just take it slow then? You can talk to me when you feel comfortable.”
A memory flashed through Ren’s mind, one of his and Futaba’s first meeting. When Sojiro decided to introduce the two of them, Futaba had panicked and hid in her room. But instead of giving up on her, Ren took a seat, leaning up against her door.
“Why don’t we just take it slow then? You can talk to me when you feel comfortable.” Ren’s own words back then echoed in his mind as Futaba said them back to him now.
Without thinking, he pulled her to his side, unknowingly causing the girl to blush.
“Thank you.”
[Bonus]
As Naoto walked back to her bedroom, rubbing her tired eyes, she pondered what had made Ren so upset. She’d have to look into it later, but for now she needed sleep. She checked the clock and saw that it was getting close to noon. Thankfully, the chief had given her the day off so that she could rest and replenish.
‘I really need to work on my work-life schedule. Maybe when all of this is over.’ She thought to herself. ‘Like that will ever happen.’
She entered her bathroom, the taste of coffee lingered in her mouth so she decided to brush her teeth. As she began to brush, she looked at herself in the mirror.
‘Not exactly a professional look to have for guests, but then again Ren has seen me naked.’ She joked mentally before pausing at the thought. Taking in her appearance in the mirror, she realized what she was wearing.
They were Ren’s clothes. The clothes Ren had accidentally left in the laundry when he moved out. The clothes that she wore to bed whenever she worried about whether or not she’d find him dead in the streets tomorrow. The clothes she hadn’t brought herself to wash yet because they still smelled like him. The clothes Ren had just seen her casually wearing around the house.
As she came to this realization, only two words escaped her lips.
“Oh no.”