Chapter 15: The Girl and the 〔Gun〕

「You fucker!」

Discarding his professional atmosphere in a fit of rage, the bouncer howled, raising the instrument of death towards Yoshino’s face.

「A g-gun!」

The bespectacled mangaka whimpered, her legs collapsing under her weight as the silver barrel was placed between her eyes.

Her once bright complexion instantly paled as sweat dribbled from her pores, drenching the teenager as her breathing grew rough and erratic.

It was clear that the once confident girl was no longer here, the presence of the pistol causing her to tremble in her boots.

Yet, even though her life was in danger, her reaction to the ominous tool seemed a little…extreme.

「Yoshino!」

The student mangaka heard her father’s mature voice shout her name.

However, Yoshino barely even registered his voice.

Hoplophobia. An irrational fear of firearms.

Upon witnessing her mother’s death by gunfire first hand, the girl developed a trauma against guns.

Whenever she saw a firearm, whether it be real or on T.V, her brain would freeze.

Even drawings evoking the mere image of the pistol caused her to break out in a cold sweat.

And this was no exception.

「For assaulting a member of the Zuji-gen. Die!」

As the man’s face twisted with rage, his index finger twitched ever so slightly, preparing to annihilate the girl on the other end of the barrel.

Yet, all Yoshino could do was stare back at the menacing implement that stole her mother’s life, her eyes empty as her limbs dangled by her sides like a lifeless doll.

…and it was in this instant that a ghost shot itself in front of the bouncer.

「Wha-!?」

Someone in the background expressed an utterance of amazement, unable to comprehend the scene which played out before their eyes.

But then again, this was a sentiment shared by everyone.

After all, the last thing that anyone in the immediate vicinity expected was for a spectral life form to spread its ghostly body out and latch itself onto the bouncer’s face.

「The fuck is this?!」

The man in the black suit cursed, dropping his pistol as he tried to pull the phantom white sheet off of his face.

That’s right. A white sheet.

(I recognise that.)

Upon looking closer at the white sheet which assailed the black-suited bouncer, Yoshino’s eyes grew wide as she was struck by an epiphany.

It wasn’t a ghost that assailed the bouncer’s face.

It was a cloth.

A damp, ragged piece of cloth.

And as Yoshino made this realisation, a crimson-black shadow shot itself towards the bouncer, zooming through the atmosphere faster than the drop of a hat.

*slam*

「Uwoh!?」

Within an instant, the obsidian-red shadow grew blurry, accelerating at an impeccable rate before colliding with the bouncer. In doing so, the man with the sunnies unleashed a pitiful groan as his body was sent flying through the coffee-coloured wall and out onto the pavement.

Naturally, the sight of seeing the man who was terrorising the store being immediately thrown out the hard way rendered much of the audience in disbelief.

Yet, Yoshino cared not about the man in the black suit.

No. She cared more about the identity of the shadow that had performed such a daring deed, finally stopping in his tracks as it was revealed that the entity was none but the male student who attended her school

「-tch. Who the hell drops a gun?」

The male student, seemingly pissed by the bouncer’s careless handling of his weapon, placed the bulky suitcase (which he was surprisingly still carrying) on the floor, reaching into his pocket before taking out his wallet and removing a few bills.

「Miki, was it? This is for the damages. Also, call the cops. They’ll put this guy behind bars.」

As the boy turned, his eyes fell upon the green-haired girl’s sister, taking the bills in his hand and nonchalantly placing them in her hand.

And, while the flustered waitress was about to protest, the dark-haired student immediately ended the conversation as his jade eyes shifted their focus.

From the guilty older sister to the confused younger sister.

「Yoshino-san, right?」

「Y-yes.」

As the dark-haired student held his hand out to Yoshino in an offer to help her stand, the bespectacled girl blushed, managing to recover herself as she reached out for the student’s hand.

Yet, as she was brought to her feet by the young man’s strong grip, the boy’s face brushed against her ear as he whispered the following to her.

「Don’t push yourself. The reason it’s called a trauma is because it’s not easy to get over it.」

(-!? He found out!?)

Upon hearing the student’s remark, Yoshino’s contracted pupils trembled in bewilderment, taken aback by the fact that the youth saw through her trauma so easily.

Nevertheless, caring not for the mangaka’s inner turmoil, the student turned his back on Yoshino, drawing closer to the broken wall as he picked up the silver gun which made her shiver.

And then-

「Hey! You listenin’?」

In an obviously foul mood, the student approached the bouncer lying among the debris outside, his arm raised as the dark-haired youth pointed the pistol’s barrel at his head.

Needless to say, the bouncer’s situation had been completely flipped around.

「W-who the hell’re you?」

「…you can’t tell just by looking?」

As the boy with unkempt hair asked thus, the atmosphere surrounding him began to shift.

What was once a calm, pleasant breeze transformed into an intimidating aura which mercilessly strangled the air.

「D-dark hair like iron. Piercing, red eyes like a rifle scope. You couldn’t be, 〔Gu〕-!?」

----before the bouncer could finish speaking, a sharp sound stabbed the air.

Luckily for the man, however, it was not his head but the pavement next to it in which a small hole was born, wispy smoke rising softly in a similar manner to the smoke born from funeral incense.

「…I didn’t think you guys were still alive.」

With narrowed eyes, the dark-haired boy spoke thus with a casual breath.

Yet, in the face of this young man’s comment, the bouncer was rendered speechless.

…no. Not just speechless. His entire frame was visibly trembling.

He was afraid.

With fear as the impetus, the bouncer began to crawl frantically, trying to escape from the entity before him as he headed towards the door of the café.

However, the boy that the bouncer was so afraid of didn’t seem to care about this pathetic attempt to flee at all.

For, upon raising his arm, the boy pointed the miniature canon a few metres above the bouncer’s head before pulling the trigger.

*bang*

「……heh?」

Upon hearing the gunshot, yet not feeling any pain, the cowering man grew a small amount of courage, his face twisting as he began to spout provocations towards the boy with unkempt hair.

Yet, in doing so-

「H-ha! Haha! W-what are you aiming a-!」

*Thud*

-he was completely blindsided as the man in the suit was knocked out by a wooden block falling on his head.

And engraved on the blunt weapon were the words 【Wild Orange Diner】.

「*yawn*」

Unleashing a somewhat unsightly yawn, the dark-haired youth ruffled the back of his head, his figure looking so natural that it seemed as if it were a habitual action.

Yet, faced with such a lackadaisical attitude after the dynamic events which just played out before her eyes-

「Wh-who are-?」

-an astonished Yoshino’s lips instinctively asked thus, curious about the student who saved her life.

But alas, before she could get her answer, a gust of wind blew.

And it was with the passing of this violent gale that the figure of the peculiar student was nowhere to be seen.