NN

“B-but sir! There are steps to these types of things! You can’t just run off and accept any contract you please! We are on important business!”

“Boring.”

“Sir, please, be rational. If you run off to do this mission, you might die. What will we do about investigating the shadow beast?”

“I am investigating, but in a not-so-slow way. You’ll see Takeba, now stop calling me with all this boring investigative nonsense.” The strange man hung up the phone and slouched in the backseat of the limousine, his eyes meeting with the capped drivers for just a split second. He propped his leg up on the door and his head with one of his arms.

“Can you believe this? K-Corp International drops me in Japan and expects me to just sit idly by and wait for the Takeba group's orders. How counterintuitive is that?”

“Very counterintuitive, sir.”

“There’s no need to call me sir.” The man huffed and got into a regular seating position.

“There are rumors of a girl by the name of Himeno Takeba being extremely similar to big boss Takeba in terms of appearance. The girl went on record multiple times stating she's not related to him in any way. I wonder about that.” He spoke mostly to himself, “Do you wonder about that, Mr driver?”

“I am not paid to wonder about these things.”

“I should’ve expected a typical boring answer from someone like you.” He allowed his head to slink down, giving the driver a full view of his pink braided hair.

“What makes that situation so interesting is how this Himeno Takeba girl has been rising through K-corps ranks; they say that in no time, she could be placed in an elite position. How interesting.” He slung his head back up, staring through the sunroof with a half-smile.

“I wonder, can she help me achieve my goal?” He placed a finger on his pink lips.

“Himeno Takeba, Himeno Takeba, Himeno Takeba. Yes, she’ll join my temporary squad, I know just the type of girl she is.” He threaded his hands together, his feet tapping on the floor with enthusiasm.

“Hmm. Hmm.” He hummed. “Alright.” He abruptly spoke, “Here's fine.”

“W-what? S-sir, with all due respect, this isn’t the designated drop-off area-”

 "I thought we'd already discussed how my waiting around is counterintuitive. Just let me out right here.” He spoke much more sternly. 

“Yes, right away, sir.”

“And stop with the sir nonsense.”

“R-right.”

The limo came to an abrupt stop, the sound of horns blaring echoing in the streets. The man swung the door open, flopping out of the car and tumbling onto his back before quickly standing back up. He wrapped around toward the driver's side, gesturing for the driver to roll down his window.

“I remember your boss telling you to do whatever is in my best interest, and right now I have a deep desire to meet this Himeno Takeba woman. So, see to it that she calls me within the next twelve hours. Got that?”

“Yes, I will get right on that!”

“Thanks." His hand tapped the top of the limo, “Now, get going.” The car screeched off, leaving the man alone on the street.

“Now then.” He turned to face a narrow alleyway on the other side of the street, sitting between a small grocery store and a bar.

He waltzed into the alley, whistling along the way, when two men in black hoods with long knives jumped out at him.

“Hand over your wallet!” One shouted, his voice muffled by the face covering around his lips.

“Hey, where's a nice and cheap place to eat around here?” He stood before them both with his hands in the pockets of his overcoat.

“What the hell are you blabbering about? We said Hand over your damn wallet!” The other shouted.

"I'd prefer not handing over my wallet and you telling me where a good place to eat is.”

“Do you think this is some type of game?” The first man's hand began to wobble as his grip tightened. He charged forward, knife held at his hip.
The man let out an irritated sigh, taking one powerful step toward the man and slamming his head onto the nose of his attacker, both their visions flashing black and white. His attacker stumbled backward, both his hands clenched around his nose, blood seeping through the cracks in his fingers.

“My freggen nose!” He gargled on his own words, continuously stepping backward.

“I asked you where a nice and cheap place to eat was, now answer my question unless you want me to head-butt you again.” He approached slowly, rubbing his forehead and wincing. “And don’t you even think about it.” He flashed the other man a dead look, his knife clattering onto the floor, and his hands reaching toward the sky.

“Place to eat. Tell me now.”