Tendo Feiyuzhen reached out, his hand clamping onto the shoulder of the lead debt collector like a vice. The man was a full head taller, but he found himself unable to move.
"Hello," Tendo said, his expression flat and terrifyingly serious. "I'd like to confirm something. Is the girl you're chasing named Kochou Shinobu?"
The man snarled, slapping Tendo's hand away. "What's it to you, brat? You know her? Good! Then you can pay back every yen she owes plus the interest!" He reached out, grabbing Tendo by the collar and hoisting him up, looking for a target for his mounting frustration.
Tendo didn't even blink. His mind was racing through the timeline. The Butterfly Sisters... Gyomei hasn't found them yet? They're still wandering? meeting Shinobu here wasn't just a coincidence; it felt like the world-line was pulling them together.
"Is she Shinobu?" Tendo repeated, his voice dropping an octave.
"You're a sick little freak, aren't you? I'll beat some sense into you!" The man raised a massive fist, but before he could swing, he let out a guttural shriek. He released Tendo, clutching his own arm as if it had been struck by a hammer. "The hell is this kid made of?! Get him! Break his legs!"
From the mouth of a nearby alley, a small, thin figure watched the scene with wide, intelligent eyes.
The girl was dressed in coarse, oversized clothes, her face smeared with soot to hide her features—a common trick for displaced girls to avoid unwanted attention. She looked like a scruffy calico cat, fierce and fragile all at once. Her brows furrowed. This stranger had given her a chance to run, but now he was about to be ganged up on because of her.
Sister, please wait just a little longer!
Shinobu's gaze hardened. She wouldn't let an innocent person pay for her family's misfortune. She bolted out of the shadows, waving her arms. "You rotten hooligans! Weren't you looking for me? I'm right here! Come and get me, nyah nyah nyah!"
The leader's face turned purple with rage. "You little bitch! Catch her! I'm going to kill her!"
Tendo watched them turn their backs to him, his fists trembling. A deep, volcanic rage began to churn in his gut. They just called her a bitch. They threatened to kill Shinobu.
He didn't greet her. He didn't wave. He simply followed, a dark shadow trailing the three men into the maze of the backstreets.
Shinobu knew these alleys, but her heart nearly stopped when she saw the "idiot" stranger following them instead of running away.
"Ara ara? Why is he following? Is he a complete fool?" she hissed to herself, pressing a hand to her forehead. She ducked behind a crate, reaching out as Tendo ran past. "Hey! Over here!"
She grabbed his sleeve, intending to pull him into a crawlspace, but Tendo's momentum was like a freight train. Instead of her pulling him, she was yanked forward, stumbling straight into his arms.
From Tendo's perspective, the world suddenly turned into slow-motion. The girl he had admired from behind a screen was suddenly a warm, breathing weight against his chest.
Eh? Is this a dream? Please let this be a dream. This is heaven! Hehehe!
Shinobu looked up at the boy who was currently wearing a look of absolute, idiotic bliss. She felt a surge of indignation. "You... you little hooligan! What are you thinking?!"
Slap!
The sting on his cheek snapped Tendo back to reality. Shinobu hit me! She actually touched me! I'm so happy! He covered his face with his hand, looking like a total creep as he gazed at her soot-stained face.
"They're here! Found the rats!"
The shout broke the spell. Shinobu realized she was still being held and her face flushed bright red beneath the soot. She grabbed Tendo's wrist and began to run again, weaving through the labyrinthine passages until they hit a towering brick wall.
A dead end.
Shinobu turned, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She stepped in front of Tendo, shielding him with her small frame as the three debt collectors closed in.
"I'll find the money," she said, her voice small and pleading. "My sister and I already paid the principal. Just give us a few more days for the interest. Please... this has nothing to do with him."
"Hahahaha!" The leader stepped forward, his eyes traveling over her with a sickening hunger. "I liked you better when you were a wild cat. Why aren't you baring your teeth now? Maybe if you give me a real smile, I'll—"
The air in the alley suddenly vanished.
Tendo appeared beside the man like a ghost. There was no "Thunderclap" this time—just a silent, vicious punch to the man's solar plexus. The sound of air being forced out was like a punctured tire. The leader collapsed, vomiting stomach acid onto the cobblestones.
Tendo didn't stop. He raised his foot and slammed the man's head down into the steaming puddle of his own bile.
"Try cursing again," Tendo whispered, his voice devoid of any warmth. "I've been tolerating your filth for too long. You're a loan shark? I wonder if you'll live long enough to collect."
With a metallic shing, Tendo's Nichirin Blade was out, the tip burying itself in the ground an inch from the man's eye. The sheer coldness of the steel made the leader freeze. He had thought the sword was a toy—a prop for a "chuunibyou" kid. He was wrong.
"You... you little brat... I've killed people!" the leader managed to wheeze, his ego struggling against his fear. "You don't have the guts to use that!"
Tendo didn't argue. He shifted the blade.
Thuck.
The steel pierced straight through the man's thigh, pinning him to the earth. Tendo's expression didn't change. If a man says he's a killer, Tendo treats him like a demon.
"AHHHHH! MY LEG!"
The two subordinates didn't wait to see more. They turned and bolted, their footsteps echoing frantically as they abandoned their leader to the "golden-eyed devil" in the alley.