Intermission: Hitoshi's Peculiar Life 1

Hitoshi slowly walked down a desolate street on the outskirts of the city.

It was three in the morning in a dangerous area, the emptiness was to be expected. The light wind blew against his loose hair as he soaked in the spring breeze.

But he knew he wasn’t alone.

He stopped in his tracks.

“Stop sneaking around Junri, I know you’re there.”

A bespectacled woman suddenly appeared like a glitch ripping mid-air. She wore a suit but had the jacket, that reached to her thighs, open, revealing the white shirt and black tie. Her blond hair was tied up in a ponytail.

She pushed her glasses into her face and snorted.

“I know you know.”

“Then stop sneaking!”

“Screw you!”

An electric tension shot between them.

“So, what brings you ‘round here?” Hitoshi smiled.

Junri crossed her arms and walked towards him. She stopped centimeters away from Hitoshi, her nose scrunched up.

“You got some nerve.” She pulled out a pistol and put it against his forehead.

“Certainly you didn’t expect less.” Hitoshi laughed.

“Is everything a joke to you?”

“No, but your actions are.” He moved the barrel of the gun away from his forehead. “Your empty threats mean nothing to me.”

Junri dropped the gun and grabbed Hitoshi by the neckline of his suit. She slammed him onto the glass of one of the small establishments next to them.

The hand she held him with was heavily armored. It was like a glove made of metal.

“Where is it?”

“Oh what in the heavens would you be speaking about?” He dramatically put a hand on his head like a damsel in distress.

She slammed him harder against the glass, cracking the entire thing. “Stop shitting me. Are you and that boy still working together?”

“That boy?…Oh, him!” he slammed his fist into his hand. “Nope. We have nothing to do with each other anymore.”

Junri glared at him. Then, a red laser shot out of her eye, scanning his entire face and neck. After three scans, it turned off.

“Hm, you don’t seem to be lying.”

“Heh-heh, have you ever known me as a liar?”

“Never known you to be anything else.” She scowled.

Suddenly, as if on cue, they both snapped their eyes open and looked up. At the top of the building they were under, there was a figure looking down at them.

Junri let go of Hitoshi then—

They ran for their lives.

“Ah, this reminds me of the good old days,” Hitoshi said as he ran side by side with Junri. They traversed the rooftops of the building with relative ease.

Hitoshi quickly ducked, narrowly dodging a bullet shot from behind.

After the bullet traveled a few meters in front of him, it slowed down and flew back from where it came.

It was like a boomerang if the boomerang was fast enough to go right through you.

Hitoshi jerked his head to the side, dodging the bullet once more.

“You’re a god damn idiot.”

“What did I do this time? You’re the one making all that noise slamming me on the glass.”

“Shouldn’t have made me do that then.”

Another bullet shot from behind, aimed at Junri.

The moment it was about to impact her head, she moved to the side, letting the bullet pass. As soon as it began flying back, she raised her hand and stopped it in her palm.

The echo of the bullet rung across the open air.

Neither of them stopped for a second.

Junri opened her palm and looked at the bullet.

It was a small pellet-like object. It was unlike any bullets traditionally used and resembled a pellet used in BB guns more than anything else. A blue glowing strip ran around the smooth surface of the bullet.

“These things are so inefficient.”

“What, you want them to make em better so they can kill us?”

“No, dumbass. I just would’ve expected them to upgrade their bullets by now.”

Not only was the bullet dangerous for the person firing it, but if the bullet were to be stopped for any reason, the gun would no longer work. Not until the bullet came back to the gun.

Whatever the reason was for that, no one had ever figured it out.

However, almost as if it’d heard all the criticism, the bullet began to beep. Junri widened her eyes for a moment but immediately gripped the bullet tightly. After two more beeps, an explosion shook her entire arm.

“Careful what you wish for,” Hitoshi laughed.

“Screw you.”

Although they kept running, the figure behind them, for whatever reason, decided to stop. It was letting them escape.

“That metal hand really comes in handy, huh.”

Junri looked at her palm. Although it had black stains from the explosion, there wasn’t much visible damage.

“I can get you one too. As long as you let me cut off your current hand personally.” A blade extended from the back of her hand to make a blade.

“I’m good.”

A long silence came between them.

They were now sitting in the dark sewers. The stench of the filthy water running in front of them pierced their nose.

Eventually, Junri cut through that silence.

“Still don’t see why we should use it?”

“Stop referring to her as it.”

Ignoring his comment, she continued, “You know what they are doing. It’s far worse than anything we did.” She inspected her metal hand. She opened and closed it before retracting the blade back inside. “That group’s judgment is clouded. We’re the only ones who can stop it.”

Hitoshi glanced at her hand.

He knew what she was saying had some truth to it, but he still wasn’t willing to continue the work he promised not to return to. Not just for himself, but for the girl in the center of all of this.

“Nisa is doing fine now. I won’t let that change.” He declared with a glare towards Junri.