It was under his superiors’ orders that he’s now here in this place most people call campus grounds. Shintaro never went to a real university himself except for undercover missions, he never intended to apply to one either. This time too, was another undercover mission for him, but instead of just infiltrating, he’s now disguising himself as a proper student.
He didn’t know what that leader saw in him that he got chosen for this mission, instead of that one chatty senpai from the Kansai branch who’s clearly more experienced in doing these kinds of undercover jobs; or that one kouhai who actually did an undercover mission as a student few times already, therefore having the upper hand in terms of eligibility and ‘scholarly’ looks. It’s not like he’s bad at disguises. Well, he admits he’s bad at pretending to be who he isn’t, undercover wasn’t his field of expertise anyway. He just does it when he needs to. It’s not like he’s antisocial either. Actually the opposite, Shintaro is an extrovert, according to that MBTI test he took as a joke a few years back. Even though the MBTI test did say something along the lines of ‘surprisingly antisocial for an extrovert’ about his own type, ENFP. Whatever, he just felt like they surely have a better candidate than him for this mission that requires talking and socializing with the educated people. It’s not like he never experienced normal life either; he did go to normal school and did normal part time jobs before settling into this job. He gets along with everyone, but is not the type to deepen the bonds. Hence why he’s still doing this job which requires ‘no hard feelings for your target’.
He checked the paper that was given to him and let out a deep sigh right after.
Room 606, Japanese Literature Major.
Shintaro knew very well he was never the type to sit still and read books all day long, he always preferred to spend his time outside. With his rowdy appearance and rather toned build, who on earth would actually believe he’s a literature student? Yet here he is, walking towards his assigned major’s class, the same one with his target’s. This target is surely an introverted person or just a complete nerd for choosing a boring and very impractical major for surviving in today’s society. The complete opposite of him, he thinks. But people have different reasons for choosing the way of life they want to go, right? Literature might not be his cup of tea, but who is he to judge on his target’s preferences?
Speaking of the target, that leader didn’t specify anything on his or her name, age or outer looks, let alone personality. Shintaro would usually receive a brief of information from the agency’s informant, but even the informant didn’t have any clue this time.
“It will be an easy win for you if we just disclose their information. Your performance has been stagnant recently. By stagnant I mean your work has been going too smooth and too good. Give me something entertaining to watch.”
That was the leader of his agency, Mr. Joshima Shigeru’s words.
“If you want the dramatic comedy kind of entertainment, Sir, Jo-kun is already a whole circus for you.” Shintaro said that during their meeting to discuss this mission, knowing very well that chatty senpai from the Kansai branch was listening on the other end of their in-ears.
“Hahahaha! I do like that kind of entertainment. But imagine if it’s a movie, I will get bored if the producers always casted Jo-kun as the male lead for the comedy genre. I want to see someone from a different genre giving me a whole new entertainment. Like you, for example, who always star in action-packed movies with predictable endings. I want to see you try tackling the dramatic comedy genre too, or even maybe the romance or angst genre. Oh, and don’t worry, you just need to be yourself, as natural as possible.”
Shintaro was too lazy to argue further with the middle-aged man and decided to just do his mission like usual and grab the reward money quickly. The old man did say something about the main reward from the client this time not being in the form of cash, but instead Shintaro can request for ‘anything his heart desires’.
“Can I request for the client to kill you and write my name as your inheritor on your dying will?”
“Hahahaha! I like your humor, kid. Sure, do as you wish. But remember, it’s a race against time, and you’re not the only one aiming for the target’s head. The class you’ll enter will be filled by your fellow kins. First come, first served. That is, if you didn’t fail. But I believe in your abilities. Good luck!”
That dying will thing was certainly just something Shintaro came up with on a whim. But considering it’s Mr. Joshima, the old man must have something up his sleeve. Shintaro himself didn’t really wish for anything at the moment. All of his life, he just went with the flow. Do what others ask and get something in return. He didn’t really care if he were to die in his mission—well, after all these years of becoming an assassin, at least he wanted a cool graceful death not just a useless death like those a sidekick usually went through on action movies—but other than that, his life just went as it is without any unfulfilled wishes.
Thoughts of his conversation with Mr. Joshima had occupied his head long enough that for a moment he didn’t realize he had already arrived at his designated classroom. The medium-sized lecture room was empty when he arrived, and Shintaro immediately took the middle back seat. It’s probably the most advantageous seat where he can pay attention to all his surroundings, the room itself and its soon-to-be occupants. He checked again the paper from before that contained his timetable, making sure he didn’t enter the wrong room. Today was supposed to be orientation day, no lectures, just long explanations about upcoming university life, according to what his senior Fujiwara Joichiro or Jo-kun said. Unlike him, Jo did experience university first hand and graduated properly with a degree (Shintaro doubted this when he first heard of it), and he’s been spamming Shintaro messages like make sure you make good connections with lecturers and seniors, or you should join a club so you won’t feel lonely ever since he knew Shintaro would take on this mission.
He played with his smartphone for a while, his fingers itching to delete those messages from Jo. A few minutes later, he could see a lanky guy around his height entering the room. The guy looks flashy with his baseball cap worn backwards, sunglasses covering his eyes and gold accessories dangling on his neck and wrists.
He’s unlikely to be the target, Shintaro told himself.
“Oh, are we too early? I didn’t notice you there, almost went back home when I saw no one’s inside,” the guy said. “Can I sit here?” he pointed to two seats from Shintaro’s right side, which the latter replied with a simple nod.
“I’m Tanaka Juri, by the way. But you can just call me Juri instead of Tanaka-san or Tanaka-kun, I don’t like that kind of formality. Guess we’re gonna be stuck in the same class together until at least next year before we choose different courses?” he said again.
“Morimoto Shintaro, call me Shintaro or Shin, I don’t mind either,” Shintaro replied. “Well, yeah, I guess so, we’ll meet often, until next year. That is if you don’t repeat any subjects.”
Juri laughed at his words. “Say that to yourself, you don’t look bookworm enough to me to be a literature student. I almost thought this room was the wilderness explorer club’s room or something when I saw you.”
“Oh? Mr. Juri-not-Tanaka-san-or-Tanaka-kun seems to have forgotten his mirror at home. Have you replaced all your mirrors with gold?”
Both of them laughed at their lame remarks on each other and continued to chat for a while. Shintaro’s guts earlier told him Juri wasn’t the target he’s looking for, and with his conversation with Juri, he was almost sure his guts were right. Something about him just feels off. Since he didn’t want to jump into conclusions right away, he decided to wait until everyone came.
Another person came into the room not long after, this time it’s a tall guy with a loud fashion style not too different from Juri’s, maybe even more than him. He was wearing a bright green jumpsuit that almost blinded Shintaro’s eyes for a moment, complete with mix-matched accessories hanging on his neck and waist. Judging from his face, he looks half-American.
“Yo, Jesse!” Juri waved his hands at the tall guy, and the latter quickly ran towards their direction.
“This is Jesse, we met at the lobby earlier. Jesse, this is Shintaro,” Juri explained. At this point Shintaro somehow wasn’t even surprised at this guy with gold accessories all over his body being too friendly with people he just met.
“Jesse Lewis,” the half-American guy introduced himself after taking the seat in front of Juri. “I know you’re thinking a white guy like me must’ve taken Japanese Literature so I can watch animes without subtitles. The answer to that is no. I’m really here to learn literature.”
Jesse easily said that sentence with a flat face and Shintaro couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “You sure you’re not here because of Bungou Stray Dogs?” he replied to Jesse’s jokes.
“Do I look like I fanboy-ed over Dazai enough to make me enter this major?” Jesse blurted out that infamous character’s name from said anime series.
“For me, yes. Even though I think you’re more of a Chuuya simp rather than Dazai,” Juri said, and Jesse let out a loud laughter enough to fill the whole room right after.
“Did someone say Bungou Stray Dogs!?”
From behind Jesse, another two young men appeared. The shorter one who just shouted in Jesse's ear has his pink hair tied into a half ponytail, while the taller one has a calmer demeanor that made Shintaro think he’s a real literature student for a moment.
“I’m Sakuma, Sakuma Daisuke! And this is Abe Ryohei, but you can call him Abe-chan!” the pink-haired guy said, while his friend smiled at them without saying anything.
Sakuma and Abe took the two seats beside Jesse, and they continued talking about that hit anime based on literary figures. Well, Sakuma only, actually. The pink-haired guy mentioned his favorite character from the series he lovingly called Kyoka-chan and hasn't stopped talking since he arrived. Abe didn’t really join the talk and decided to prepare his notes and stationary instead, making Shintaro wonder whether he was the real target or not.
“Something wrong?” Abe asked suddenly, it seemed like he noticed Shintaro had been looking in his direction.
“No, don’t worry. I was just wondering, you’re the only one here who looks like you belong to this major,” Shintaro answered, trying to sound natural.
“Thanks, I guess? I feel honored,” Abe giggled a little.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Abe-chan has his hidden wild side too, you know!” Sakuma paused his talk with Jesse and Juri for a while and added some comments on his friend.
“Unlike you who’s an open book, oversharing your anime waifus on day one,” Juri said, followed by laughter from the rest of them.
Not them too, Shintaro thought in the midst of their battering, looking at Jesse, Sakuma and Abe one by one. Jesse was the most obvious one to him, not even trying to lay low and decided to appear as flashy as possible, like a tiger showing itself in front of its prey. Sakuma looks barely passable as an assassin at first, but Shintaro noticed once he opened his mouth he didn’t even try to hide his intentions, he laid everything bare just like Jesse. And referring to what Sakuma said earlier, never judge a book by its cover. Even though Abe looks the most normal and student-like among them, Shintaro can smell something familiar about him.
The smell of dirty hands.
When you’re already long enough in this field, you just know who’s smelly and who’s clean. And this room stinks, Shintaro thought.
He waited for a little longer, and the classroom soon got filled with more people. Two seats on the front were filled with two guys who looked like they just came out from a fashion magazine. One of them has a slender build, wearing all-black from head to toe, for a moment Shintaro thought he was an idol. He introduced himself as Watanabe Shota. The other one has his hair perfectly permed and his strong perfume smells like fresh roses, his name is Miyadate Ryota. He sat quite far away but Shintaro could smell his perfume, just how much did this guy spray on himself? And before Shintaro realizes, Juri was already gone from his seat and went over to chat with the two model-like guys.
Another tall muscular guy who looked like he’s about to join the TV program Sasuke came over to them and sat in front of Jesse. The half-American introduced the muscular guy as Iwamoto Hikaru, an acquaintance who went to the same gym as him. They were also joined by a guy who wears a bucket hat, his eyes barely visible. Juri calls the bucket hat guy with the nickname ‘Master’, and he explains how he and bucket hat guy are gaming buddies, with his name being Fukazawa Tatsuya. Just how many people does the gold accessories guy actually know? This Fukazawa or Fukka—a nickname given to him five minutes after his arrival to the classroom because Sakuma complained “Fukazawa is too long”—was as chatty as Juri, for a moment he reminded Shintaro of Jo. Even though he did talk long enough with Fukka about the games they often play, Shintaro can imagine if that senior from the Kansai branch was here instead of him, maybe he’ll get along with Fukka better.
Miyadate Ryota… No matter how much perfume he sprayed onto himself, Shintaro still can smell his dirty hands. Same goes to Watanabe Shota, his all-black outfit is probably to disguise questionable stains or hide weapons. Iwamoto Hikaru is somehow as obvious as Jesse, but Shintaro can’t exactly pinpoint which part of him was suspicious. It’s sometimes just the vibes, even though Shintaro hates to label someone just based on vibes alone. He took a mental note to dig deeper into this Iwamoto later. Him, and probably Abe also needs a further background check. Like how he thought earlier, Fukka reminded him of Jo, and as someone who has worked with Jo for quite some time already Shintaro is at least 50% sure he knew what Fukka might be thinking of.
With this many smelly people in one room, Shintaro felt like he was about to puke. He was used to disgusting spots in camping grounds or the woods, but an assassin’s smell was just built differently. The last time he was with this many assassins in one room was probably years ago when he was still in the agency’s training facility, but the air from that time was nowhere as intense as this.
That was, until one more guy joined them.
“... excuse me, is this seat taken..?”
Shintaro turned around to the person who just tapped him on the shoulder. It was another guy, he looks a bit taller than Shintaro himself but at the same time also looked small—it’s either his baggy outfit’s fault, or maybe his kind of introverted gestures. One of his hands was pointing at two seats beside Shintaro’ left, his other hand fidgeting on the sling of his bag.
“No, feel free to sit here,” Shintaro answered, the guy replied with a shy nod and almost inaudible ‘thanks’. He then put his bag down and took a seat without saying any other words.
There’s still around 10 minutes before the supposed lecturer or whoever’s going to give the orientation comes. He saw the people he met before are currently enjoying their time with new and old acquaintances; Miyadate and Watanabe are still busy with their own world but this time they’re joined by Fukka, Juri had teleported again and is now standing next to Abe while chatting with the latter and also Sakuma. Shintaro himself was talking with Jesse and Iwamoto, until a few minutes ago when the two tall guys switched topics and Shintaro lost track of what they were talking about.
Shintaro can’t deny that his attention was kind of stolen by the guy who came last to the classroom and now sat on his left. Something about him just felt different. Now that Jesse and Iwamoto were busy with themselves, he took his time to observe the guy who hadn’t said anything since he arrived. He wore a mismatched fashion Shintaro himself couldn’t really understand (so as Jesse’s or Juri’s actually, but it’s a bit different with this guy). Navy blue sweater with some uneven holes on top of a bright yellow shirt, combined with wide-legged purple pants in the color almost similar to a sweet potato’s skin. His outfit was more down-to-earth than Jesse’s, still peculiar but somehow nowhere near Jesse’s level of show-off. Strands of wavy hair covered some parts of his face, making him look more like a lost puppy. Not to mention he has these droopy eyes that seem to radiate some feeling of loneliness. He was reading a book with the author’s name—Izumi Kyoka—written on the cover page, and aside from Abe, this guy was probably the closest to the image of a literature student Shintaro had in mind.
No one tried to talk to him, not even Juri. And Shintaro thinks it’s not because this guy’s presence was as thin as air. It’s as if they deliberately avoided him. Or they’re waiting for someone else to make a move on him. But at this point Shintaro was sure that even though they were busy with themselves and weren’t averting their gaze, he could still see some of them squint over to the poor guy. Not because he looks too nerdy to join the popular clique (they’re only on day one but Shintaro can already guess some who’ll probably be strong candidates for the clique). Not because he’s the only odd one amongst all of them (well, technically everyone other than him and Abe were the odd ones for not looking like a literature student).
Maybe it’s because he smells different from the rest of them.
In this room filled with dirty-handed people, he was the only one who smelled good.
And there’s only one way to find out.
“Hi,” Shintaro moved one seat closer to the guy and is now side by side with him. He could see the latter winced a little from the sudden movement, the book he was reading almost fell from his slender hands.
“Morimoto Shintaro, you can call me Shintaro or Shin. I guess we are classmates now?”
“A-ah…” the guy seemed like he wasn’t prepared to be greeted. He was fidgeting with his sleeves before finally answering.
“...Hokuto… Matsumura Hokuto… nice to meet you…”
Was his voice always this small? Maybe it’s just his enclosed nature. Whatever that is, he feels the need to get this guy to open up.
“Nice to meet you too! No need to be so formal to me,” Shintaro smiled at him. “Can I also call you Hokuto?”
“Yes, it’s fine with me… uh… Shintaro..?” This Hokuto guy hesitated whether or not to call him by his first name, even though Shintaro already gave him the green light to do so. Well, it can’t be helped, it seems. He’s just naturally not the outgoing type.
Shintaro gave him a reassuring nod. “Hokuto it is then! By the way, you came at the right time. I was afraid I’d be stuck with these crazy guys who don’t even look like literature students,” he joked a little to loosen the tension. “You see that pink guy in front of you? The biggest Izumi Kyoka simp. I mean the Bungou Stray Dogs character, not the author whose book you just read. He probably doesn’t know a thing about the real Izumi Kyoka-sensei.”
“I heard that you know!” Sakuma turned around to face Shintaro and Hokuto who sat behind him. “I might not be well-versed in literature but I am well-versed in everything about my wife and her origins!”
“See? A simp,” Shintaro whispered after Sakuma turned back to continue his talk with Abe and Juri.
Thankfully, he could hear Hokuto let out a small laugh right after. If he had to be honest, the sight of the quiet guy laughing did change his first impression Shintaro had in mind some minutes ago.
He actually looks kind of cute. Shintaro didn’t consider himself as a good stylist, but he knows that some proper styling on Hokuto’s hair maybe can take the introvert to Miyadate or Watanabe’s levels of stylishness. They might also need to work on his bizarre outfit choices, but personally Shintaro thinks while other people might not suit that kind of clothing, Hokuto can somehow make it look like it was tailored for him.
And he also looks so pure.
Too pure, even.
They fell into silence mere seconds after, and Shintaro had questioned where did his communication skills go since it’s unusual for him to be lost at words. Was it his fault for not being a better engager? Was he too pushy? Or was it Hokuto that sucked at small talks? Fortunately, Juri (who’s already back to his seat in a blink of an eye) called him, and for a while the gold accessories guy took his attention away from Hokuto, saving him a few awkward moments with the latter. The lecturer in charge of giving orientation also came not long after, and Shintaro decided it’s probably best to retreat first and plan his next move before approaching Hokuto further.
They went through the boring long explanations about university rules, their major’s curriculum and such, just like what Jo said in his messages. Shintaro himself didn’t really listen to the lecturer—well, he wasn’t going to stay in this university for a whole 4 years anyway. He instead took time to study his surroundings and the people supposedly to be his target and competitors. Even though he didn’t aim for the ultimate reward, somehow it was already implanted in his head that he needs to get his job done.
On his front, he saw Jesse was already sleeping. Juri looks like he’s taking notes on his iPad, but he was clearly opening another tab resembling a chatting application. Shintaro was amazed by this guy’s talkative level, even when they’re in the middle of a quiet session like orientation he still couldn’t shut his mouth (or maybe hands now). Sakuma and Fukka’s almost the same as Juri, except they’re watching anime and playing games respectively. He wasn’t really sure what the guys on the front were doing; Miyadate, Watanabe and Iwamoto weren’t particularly doing anything and seemed like they were just boredly listening to the explanation like it’s some sort of lullaby. Abe was juggling between listening and taking notes, as expected of someone like him.
He looked to his left and saw Hokuto also doing the same like Abe, but for a split second Shintaro was sure he saw some sparkles in Hokuto’s eyes when the lecturer explained about their upcoming classes. Even though he and Abe were practically doing the same thing, Shintaro could certainly tell who’s just doing it for the sake of good image and the one who’s doing it because he wanted to. And that was enough to confirm almost 70% of Shintaro’s hypothesis about Hokuto as the real student, supposedly clueless to his surroundings.
They soon finished the explanation part of the orientation and were now brought to tour the campus grounds. They left the classroom in order of sitting position, and so here’s Shintaro, walking at the back with Juri on his side. He had let Hokuto go out first and walk in front of him, same goes with Juri, who seemed like he had something to talk about.
“So, how’s the view from your seat?” the gold accessories guy asked when they were both quite behind from the others.
“The view?” Shintaro acted oblivious, though he kind of figured out what Juri meant.
“You’re the first person to arrive in the class, was it nice enough for you to get a general grasp of everyone?”
“Well, sort of, I guess.”
“Good for you, then. Maybe it’s now time for you to study the area you’ll use in action. This campus, for example.”
“Thanks for the warning, Mr. Juri-not-Tanaka-san-or-Tanaka-kun. You seem to know more about this than me. Care to elaborate?”
“If you insist, then I shall speak my truth,” Juri smirked. “Well, actually I’ve been a student here for some time before you all came.”
“So you really repeat a year, huh. Sorry, I was insensitive,” Shintaro replied.
Juri just laughed out loud. “Not that, but you get the gist. Now, ask away.”
“Speaking of the number of people in that room, it was much less than what I had in mind when imagining university classes. Was this a set up?”
“Perhaps so? Do you want me to invite some of my friends from different majors over here to make it merrier?”
This Juri guy keeps talking in riddles, he surely won’t make it easy for Shintaro.
“‘Invite some of your friends’? Adding random NPCs in, you mean? Are you some kind of DnD dungeon master or what?”
“Nah, I don’t have that kind of authority. I’m in the same position as you. But don’t underestimate me, I have connections too, you know. Wanna team up?”
“Sounds good. I’ll consider your offer for now. But who knows what will happen later,” Shintaro told him. “Have you confirmed who’s the target?”
“At least I know it was neither you nor Jesse.”
“Hah, same thoughts here. So it really wasn’t you either. You stink.”
“Wow, thanks for the compliment,” Juri replied sarcastically.
“Wanna bet?” Shintaro smirked back at him.
“10,000 yen. Abe Ryohei,” Juri playfully replied, earning him an eyebrow raise from Shintaro.
“Kidding,” the gold accessories guy added.
“My turn then. 20,000 yen. Matsumura Hokuto,” Shintaro blurted the quiet guy’s name.
“I see, an interesting choice you have there.”
“No need to hide it anymore. You, me, and that guy over there who’s been eavesdropping on us,” Shintaro said while pointing to the person walking down the corridor towards their direction, “are probably thinking about the same person.”
“You guys aren’t fun at all. At least act a bit surprised,” the person who just joined them pretended to pout.
“Nice try, Jesse. Next time try wearing more subtle clothing instead so we won’t notice,” Shintaro chaffed at him.
“Nah, I’m not intending to hide myself anyway. I’ll go all out,” Jesse replied with a grin. “Also, about what you said about the target. If you don’t hurry, Mr. Pink Hair Anime Lover will probably snatch the poor bookworm from you. I saw them talk in the library when you’re gone earlier.”
“Don’t worry, the party hasn’t started yet. We’ll start once everyone comes,” Juri said. “Unfortunately, there are still two guys who couldn’t make it to orientation today. We, or maybe almost everyone in that class, probably already knew the target at this point, but it won’t be fun if I spill everything right now.”
“Was that the reason why you didn’t make a move on him?” Shintaro interrogated him with one question that’s been bugging his mind.
“Oh? And what do you mean by that?”
“Your loose lip talked to everyone except him. As if you’re deliberately letting someone else talk to him first.”
“Who knows? Maybe that’s my plan, might also be because you went ahead of me? The chances are never zero,” the gold accessories guy continued.
“And what will you do after those two come?” Jesse asked.
Juri smiled in an unsettling way Shintaro didn’t quite understand.
“By the time they come, we’ll hold a welcoming party.”
The orientation went faster than what Shintaro had expected. To be fair, probably because he didn’t really pay attention to it from the start. After bidding his new friends goodbye (he doubted whether they could be called friends, rivals sounds like a better word) he headed back to the campus’ dorm.
Speaking of dorms, Shintaro felt like he really might consider filling in “Mr. Joshima’s inheritance” as his wish for this mission. His agency’s leader usually provides him with accommodations if required during his mission, and oftentimes those accommodations came in the form of a huge villa or the top floor of a 5-star hotel. Even though he was used to camping or any other outdoor activities with minimum quality of accommodations, considering the high-end places Mr. Joshima often rented for him, a campus dorm surely felt like a huge downgrade.
“Well, of course it’s to make your job easier! Your target is living in the dorm, isn’t it more practical this way? And so is everyone else involved because we agreed on the client’s terms and conditions that required you folks to stay in the same dorm! Make sure you don’t cause ruckus in the dorm with your loud voice, hahaha!”
Said the leader who also laughed with a voice as loud as him. At least rent a single no-sharing room for me, he thought. He usually doesn’t really mind roommates, but it’s a different story if you’re an assassin and your roommate discovers you doing something fishy. Thankfully the dorm was quite new, not some kind of rundown shack. To be honest, it wasn’t bad at all, and it surely can be considered luxurious for a university student’s level since it even has a small living space and kitchen in every room aside from the usual bedrooms, desks and a bathroom.
He opened the door to his dorm room and discovered two big suitcases laying down near the bed beside his one, one of them opened. Ah, that must be his new roommate’s. He did hear about his roommate coming a bit late due to their house being quite far from Tokyo. Even though Shintaro arrived yesterday, he’s been out since morning, around two hours before orientation started. No, not for something fishy, just a morning walk in the park before starting his day. After the orientation too, he didn’t actually go straight back to the dorm, he decided it might be best to do what Juri said earlier—to study the area you’ll use in action—just in case, so he took a detour for a bit and went around to areas the lecturer didn’t show them in the orientation. His roommate must’ve arrived between that plenty of time when he wasn’t around.
He was about to take off his clothes when he heard sounds of the door opening again.
“Oh my God, I-I’m sorry!”
The guy who just opened the room’s door immediately closed it again. Shintaro paused his clothes-changing ritual for a moment and headed to the door to approach said person, since he was curious about who just entered the room without knocking. And because he was sure he heard that voice somewhere before.
“...Hokuto?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to peek or anything… I should’ve knocked first…”
Shintaro was stunned at the quiet guy’s presence in front of him. Rather than Hokuto not knocking first before entering, he was more surprised with the fact that the name he just placed his bets on as their supposed target, has just entered the room easily, which only meant—
“So… you must be my roommate?”
“I-I guess so… I just arrived this morning from Shizuoka, had a quick shower and went straight to the campus for orientation. I haven’t had the chance to properly greet my roommate. After the orientation too, I still needed to fill in some documents in the student support center, so I went ahead from that classroom without saying anything. I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you here…”
Did he just win the jackpot? Or was this another set up? He’ll probably need to question Mr. Joshima after this. The mission surely won’t be this easy.
“It’s okay, you’re not in the wrong here. I was also out all day long,” Shintaro smiled at him. “Anyways, since you’re my roommate now, I hope we’ll get along! Probably need to discuss our habits so you won’t be surprised again with me taking off my clothes, hahaha! My bad, I used to live in a dorm full of boys, some of my old habits still remained, it seems.”
“You… lived in a dorm before?” For whatever reason, the latter’s eyes suddenly brightened up with the mention of dorms.
“During my high school years, yes. I went to a boarding school,” that wasn’t completely a lie, though. Shintaro did live in some kind of dorm during his training years as an assassin, where he met Jo and the others of his kin. “Why’s that?”
“Ah… I just think it’s cool. I never lived in a dorm before… let alone live far away from my hometown,” Hokuto sheepishly answered.
“Is that so? Well then, welcome to dorm life, I guess?” Shintaro grinned. “God, I was dreading if I had to room with that weeb Sakuma or Mr. Talkative Tanaka Juri! Glad it was you instead!” He felt a bit sorry for poor Sakuma for badmouthing him two times in front of Hokuto today alone, but thinking about it again, he won’t be surprised if Sakuma, Juri or the others were also talking about him behind his back.
“My pleasure too,” Hokuto returned his smile. “I’ll probably be clueless about things here and there since it’s my first time living alone… I’m sorry if I cause inconvenience to you later on…”
Wasn’t this guy’s self-esteem a bit too low? Shintaro has only known him for less than a day, but he’s already a bit bothered by Hokuto’s constant apologizing.
“I-is there something wrong..?”
“Nothing, relax,” Shintaro told him. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
An awkward silence fell before they decided to end the conversation right there and do their own things. He saw Hokuto went to his side of the bed, about to unpack the large suitcases, so he excused himself outside to give some space for the latter.
Shintaro then went to their room’s living space which consists of two sofas and a coffee table. He was doubting if he’ll ever spend his time here often, since he’s mostly outside anyways; but now that his supposed target was this close to him, he might try spending more time inside to learn about Hokuto and his habits more, and maybe use it to his advantage.
He sat on one of the sofas and opened his phone. There were tons of messages from Jo he’s been ignoring since morning, and even now that half day has passed he still hasn't found the will to reply to those messages. One of those messages did catch his attention, though.
[Jo(e)]
How lucky you are, roommates with your target
He’s quite cute btw
He needed to squint three times at that message. Suddenly the will to reply to those messages came to him.
[Shin]
How tf do you know about my roommate
Did you intercept my in-ears or my phone or the CCTVs
Jo’s reply came not long after, making Shintaro wonder whether that senpai actually has work to do or he’s just at home all day long cuddling with his new boyfriend.
[Jo(e)]
Count it as my revenge for the number of times you shit talk about me
And for taking away this mission from me since apparently Leader prefers you over me
Rip my money 💔💔
I got curious when you accepted this mission as my substitute so I asked for the tea from Leader and that Matsushima
It’s not like you to accept these kind of missions
And don’t worry I just peek over the campus cameras a bit ♥️
Aaaaaa I wanna meet cutie Hokuto too 💔
[Shin]
GET THE F OUT OF MY LANE U ONE HELL OF A PERVERT
Why are u curious about MY mission
It’s no longer YOUR mission
[Jo(e)]
As your nicest Senpai, I’m here to be your informant since me and Sou were halfway collecting info about the target before you took over
And because Leader keeps pestering me to help you
[Shin]
How much did he pay you to help me
[Jo(e)]
5 million yen
[Shin]
I knew it
[Jo(e)]
Don’t you wanna know tho
The tea’s piping hot here 👀
[Shin]
I’m not even sure whether he’s my real target or not
[Jo(e)]
Oh come on, you know it’s certainly him
Even me, who’s not there physically, knew it
Here’s the tea then
[Jo(e) sent you a link. Tap to view]
Shintaro, already curious, decided to open the shady link he just received. He was greeted with a news portal’s website with a very long text right underneath the headline. He felt that his brain was already on the verge of rotting with the amount of short videos recommended on his social media timeline these days, but he tried forcing himself to stay focused and read through the whole article.
He did catch some interesting sentences there.
[A family of two children murdered in a house robbery in Shizuoka]
[Father, mother and eldest son died, only youngest son survived.]
[Some traces of forced break-in spotted in the house’s porch and front door. The crime scene was filled with traces of blood, though there were no valuables missing on the spot.]
[Father, mother and eldest son were already found dead when police and ambulance arrived, each body having around 2 to 3 gunshot wounds and an extra 10 stab wounds.]
[Youngest son was found hiding in the closet with cuts and bruises all over his body, presumably tortured for a brief moment before going into hiding.]
[Youngest son was seen bringing the same gun used to murder his family to his hiding place. He claimed that he managed to snatch the gun from the robbers with the little power he had before hiding.]
[But was this true? Or the robbery was just a set up to murder his own family? The police are now conducting further investigation on him.]
Attached below the article was a photo of said ‘youngest son’, who was seen wearing a mask with his face dropping down while being escorted by the police. His wavy bangs also covered some of his face, and it took Shintaro a five-time zooming on the photo to make sure his eyes weren’t lying to him.
The memory was still relatively new and forgettable, but Shintaro had made sure to engrave the view in his head as clearly as possible.
He was sure he saw those eyes.
Those droopy eyes hidden beneath the wavy bangs that radiated some feeling of loneliness.
He immediately texted Jo back, but knowing this was Jo who’s giving him information, Shintaro can’t help but feel a bit sceptical of him.
[Shin]
Was this legit
Damn, quite a serious accusation on the youngest son right there
[Jo(e)]
Why would I bother myself to search for fake news?
The article’s a bit buried tho, I think it’s around 2 years ago
And you for sure can guess who’s that guy
Mr Cute Bookworm do have a bizarre adventure as bizarre as his choice of clothing
His name’s doesn’t contain the syllables Jo-Jo tho
[Shin]
F you and your dad jokes
I’ve had enough of weebs today
Your name sounds closer to that JoJo tho
[Jo(e)]
It’s Sou’s words not mine 🏃➡️🏃➡️🏃➡️
Not a single “thanks” for me?
DON’T LEAVE ME ON READ I CAN SEE YOU FROM THE CCTV
Shintaro decided to put away his phone, lean on the sofa’s fluffy cushion and let out a deep sigh. The article Jo had sent was like an overload of information to his brain since he wasn’t even briefed about his target in the beginning. Not to mention his conversation with Juri earlier had also taken a huge chunk of space in his mind. Why the hell does Mr. Joshima purposely hide everything from him? Does it hurt for him to make it a bit easier for his subordinates?
Whatever that is, he thinks it's best for him to rest his brain and body for now and call it a day.
.
.
.
Shintaro had invited Hokuto to walk to the campus together the next day, on the first day of lecture. While 50% of it was really out of his own kindness and sincerity, he won’t deny that the invitation was also a guise to dig more information on the quieter guy. Hokuto did look a bit delighted with the invite, and for a glance Shintaro saw sparkles in his eyes again.
Hokuto’s morning habits weren't that special or such. He went to sleep quite early yesterday, probably tired from traveling from his hometown to Tokyo and went straight to orientation. He woke up without any noise, went to the bathroom to do whatever business he needs to do, and got out of the bathroom already looking tidy with his campus outfit. Today too, his outfit was something Shintaro couldn’t really understand. He seems to like outers with holes, this time he wore a loose white hoodie with a lot of rips and holes, but still properly wearing a long-sleeved shirt underneath, paired with a brown cargo pants.
Shintaro noticed the quiet guy always gets out of the bathroom already fully clothed. He himself felt bad for Hokuto having to witness him getting out of the bath with only a towel hanging on his waist, can’t get rid of his old habits yet. In Shintaro’s defense, isn’t it pretty normal to be topless in front of fellow men? Well, maybe the norms in the Matsumura household were different and Hokuto isn’t used to being seen naked.
Nothing remarkable happened on their walk to the campus, only some small talks. Hokuto told him some stories about himself (after Shintaro asked him first), he mentioned that he had an older brother who was some kind of model student based on his story, and he himself was quite insecure that he cannot follow his brother’s footsteps to be one too. Shintaro had to reassure him (he actually didn’t have too but he can’t help but doing it to cheer up the poor guy) that he just needs to be himself without any pressure from other people.
Hokuto was actually quite the yapper, he noticed. Maybe he’s the type to open up with people once he’s comfortable with them. Shintaro didn’t expect himself to get along with his supposed target this fast, but he’s glad that he’s now probably one step closer to his goal. He did return to his sheepish self once they entered the classroom and saw some people already inside.
Shintaro spotted Abe and Sakuma sitting by the window, with the two model-like guys Miyadate and Watanabe in front of them. Across Sakuma were Fukka and Iwamoto, the two of which Shintaro wondered when exactly did they get along since he didn’t have any memory of the two talking to each other before. Juri and Jesse were in the same spot as yesterday, and he saw Juri waving his hands to them. Shintaro waved his hands back, although he’s holding back the urge to take out Hokuto’s thick-ass novel and throw it to the gold accessories guy’s head.
He also noticed an unfamiliar guy sitting next to Jesse. Was he one of the two guys Juri mentioned didn’t attend the orientation?
“Oh? Is that you, Hokuto?” the guy called out to Hokuto who’s been tailing Shintaro on his back.
“K-Kochi?” Hokuto called him back. Looks like they knew each other before?
“It’s really you! Damn, I never thought we’d meet again!”
Shintaro’s eyes met with Juri’s, and the latter just raised his shoulders, as if saying “how am I supposed to know?” in a nonchalant way. From the tip of his eye he could see the others in that room were subtly also eyeing on the new guy and Hokuto. As if getting ready to crush this Kochi if he ever stole an early start on them.
Kochi talked a bit with Hokuto for a while. Shintaro saw Hokuto’s eyes light up again after, as if relieved that there’s someone else he knew in this pool of unfamiliar people. Being an introvert thrown into a new place must be hard for him. He and Kochi seem to have known each other for quite some time, judging from their conversation.
“Sorry, I couldn’t make it to the orientation on time! You must be lonely,” Kochi said in a worried tone.
“It’s okay, I’m an adult you know?” Hokuto replied. “Besides, my roommate’s here has been kind to me,” he smiled at Shintaro shyly.
Shintaro could feel those folks eyeing Kochi earlier had shifted their gaze onto him, and he had no choice but to return the smile to the poor, innocent Hokuto who just blurted that fact without any slight remorse. Who is he to blame the clueless guy?
“Oh, you’re his roommate? Be careful, Shintaro’s a bit wild, he may start taking off his clothes at random times!” For the first time, Shintaro finally witnessed Juri making a move on the only guy he had never talked to before.
“Yeah, he’s wild. If he ever does something suspicious late at night, just kick his ass,” Jesse jumped into the bandwagon too.
“Nice try in making made-up stories about me, you two. But it seems Hokuto here trusted me more, right?” Shintaro winked at Hokuto, successfully making the latter and Kochi laugh.
Juri and Jesse had made their way to Hokuto’s side, and they began chatting with the quiet guy. Hokuto seemed to be a bit bothered with their sudden presence at first, but soon got into the mood and started responding to them happily, even though one could tell the difference of energy between him and Jesse or Juri. Nevertheless, Hokuto seemed to be genuinely excited.
And that left Shintaro with Kochi. The other guy looks like he realized it as well.
“So… you must be Shintaro, right? I heard from Juri and Jesse. I’m Kochi Yugo, by the way! Guess we’ll be classmates until God-knows-when? Hahaha! Hope we can get along,” he introduced himself. Shintaro can’t help but think this guy has that dad-like vibes on him.
“Yeah, I hope those two didn’t spread weird stories about me to you, even though we just met yesterday,” Shintaro huffed, making Kochi laugh again. “Kochi, right? You've been friends with Hokuto before?”
“Yeah, I moved to his neighborhood around the first year of high school. We went to different schools but I often visit his place,” Kochi answered. “But we haven’t seen each other since he moved from his old house around 2 years ago. That’s why I’m surprised to see him here.”
“So you’re from Shizuoka as well?”
“Nah, I only lived there for a while. Moved back to Kanagawa last year.”
“I see. I didn’t see you in the orientation yesterday, why’s it?”
“Ah, about that,” Kochi paused before continuing, “the registration staff kinda messed up my documents and I need to sort it out in the administration office. The process itself took a whole day, can’t you imagine that? I didn’t even have the time to join orientation! They’re the worst!”
They continued talking while Hokuto was still occupied with J2 (a nickname Shintaro created in his head to refer to Juri and Jesse, since they somehow always appeared together at the same time, like birds of the same flock). He learned Kochi enjoyed camping like he does, and soon their topic shifted to camping and outdoor activities. The latter is as talkative as J2, but in a nicer way that he feels like an older brother giving advice to his younger siblings. Kochi looks kind and normal, the only one other than Hokuto and Abe who looked grounded enough to be a literature student. But if the target was really Hokuto all along, then Kochi’s presence here only meant one thing.
He is also one of them.
No matter what kind of relationship or how close he is with Hokuto, he is here for the same reason like Shintaro and the others.
Speaking of which, even though the smell was subtle, Kochi stinks too.
The lecturer soon came and they paused their talk there, and Shintaro made a mental note to keep an eye on this Kochi Yugo and his relationship with Hokuto. He himself then went back to his seat and prepared his notebook. Not for taking real notes, of course, but to use it to hide his phone from the lecturer’s sight, a technique he had mastered since his school days.
He checked his phone and noticed there were some messages he hadn't read. There were some messages from Jo, but none were as important as the mindblowing article he shared yesterday. Mr. Joshima also messaged him, spamming ‘good luck’ stickers he probably just learned how to use from either Jo or his kouhai Matsushima Sou.
What caught his attention was the one sent by Juri. He did exchange social media IDs with Juri and some others yesterday—a fake one for sure, he created it just for the sake of this mission with the help of Sou. He just didn’t expect Juri to contact him this fast. He wondered what kind of urgency Juri had to contact him in the middle of a lecture, but then he noticed everyone was also opening their phones at the same time, as if an earthquake notice had arrived. Secretly without the lecturer noticing of course.
Everyone, except Hokuto.
He was still busy listening to the lecture, probably the only one taking the classes seriously among these people who do not look like literature students.
Shintaro then proceeded to open the message from Juri.
[Ore wa Juri]
[This is a broadcast message.]
To all my beloved friends of the same batch.
With the arrival of Kochi, everyone now has officially gathered.
Oh, there’s also one more guy, but he’ll be coming a bit later than I had predicted.
Don’t worry, he’ll join us during our ‘official orientation’ tonight.
What ‘official orientation’, you might ask?
You probably already know the answer.
Tonight, at 11 p.m.
Please come to this campus building’s South Tower, Floor 16, Room 1609.
We will explain to you the rules about your mission.
Oh, and maybe some more important info on your target.
So don’t miss it! I’ll see you there 💙
Shintaro almost puked when imagining the gold accessories guy’s face when he typed the heart emoji at the end of his message. He was also sure he saw Juri who sat beside him smirked at him, the same expression he had yesterday when talking to Shintaro in the corridors.
Shintaro didn’t really get what’s the point of holding this whole ‘official orientation’ if they can just send the brief to each representative of the assassins participating in this mission. Seems like the client was as eccentric as Mr. Joshima. No wonder they agreed to work together on this mission and make Shintaro have a headache.
Nevertheless, he’ll probably have to see it for himself tonight just what this ‘official orientation’ thing is really about.
[Hokuto]
Jesse invited me for a movie night, perhaps you want to join?
Juri said he needs to do something so he can’t join
Jesse said he wanted to do it in our room, he’ll bring snacks and drinks
Sorry I said yes to him without asking your permission first…
Shintaro almost got choked by the juice he’s drinking when he received Hokuto’s message.
The whole class decided to sit together in the campus’ cafeteria during the break between classes (as expected, Juri initiated it), and so far nothing unusual has happened. Shintaro remembered he sat beside Hokuto during that time, but they got separated after everyone finished their meals. He’s now stranded with Kochi to the newly opened outdoor goods shop downtown while poor Hokuto got dragged by the J2 pair somewhere.
There shouldn’t be any problems… right?
Their target wasn’t even confirmed yet, and from Juri’s words, they need to wait for one more person to arrive first and do the ‘official orientation’ or whatever that is before officially starting their mission. Was he afraid of Jesse stealing the start? What would happen if the half-American guy did? Shintaro was also quite wary about Juri’s message, for a moment he thought the ‘official orientation’ was just one of the latter’s deceptions to steal the start too.
Was Shintaro worried that other people would complete the mission first before him? Was he worried that the J2 pair would bully poor Hokuto since the latter’s such an easy bullying target? Besides, why was he even worried about his supposed target to begin with? They are all grown up men, who is he to dictate Hokuto on who the latter should hang out with?
His window shopping with Kochi (for him, at least Kochi did buy some stuff) took a bit longer than expected, and Kochi still wants to check that motorcycle shop they passed on the way before. That guy who came late to the orientation unexpectedly went quite wild when searching for the stuff he likes and won’t stop until he gets it. Even though Kochi might be his rival in this mission, Shintaro with his common sense still knows that it’s impolite to leave suddenly, especially after the former specifically invited him to this shopping trip. With this in mind, he replied back to his roommate.
[Shin]
It’s okay, it’s your room too, right? Feel free to invite anyone you like
As long as he doesn’t make a mess, it’s fine with me lol
Sorry, I probably won’t make it on time, still got something to do outside
Will catch up to you later
He took a deep sigh after replying. Did he really make the right choice? Regardless, this is probably the best he can do right now.
“Something wrong?” Kochi asked when he saw Shintaro stopped looking at the camping goods and focused on his phone.
“Nope, it’s nothing. Hokuto messaged me, just returning the reply.”
“Oh, you’re already on a messaging basis with him?” Kochi looked a bit surprised.
“Why’s that? Isn’t it normal for roommates to exchange contacts?” Shintaro asked him back.
“Ah, my bad. Hokuto used to be so shy and quiet around strangers. I’ve known him for some time now, even though this was our first meeting in a while, he’s still a dear friend to me. I’m just glad he seems to be happier than before,” Kochi answered.
“Glad to know that too,” Shintaro grinned. “He seems to be a good kid, though.”
“He is, I can guarantee that,” Kochi continued. “It’s just that… he’s been through a lot.”
Shintaro took a deep sigh again. “Well, I kinda see that. He’s been constantly apologizing to me even though he’s not in the wrong. I told him he’s not at fault, but he himself doesn’t seem to loosen up any time soon.”
“You’re doing great, I thought. He was gloomier during his highschool days when I first met him. Just give him some time,” Kochi smiled.
“I will. Just worried he might be overwhelmed with that J2 pair. Juri and Jesse, I mean. Though so far I saw Hokuto was happy with them,” Shintaro let out a laugh, which successfully made Kochi let out one too.
Maybe there’s really nothing to worry about now.
.
.
.
Shintaro waved goodbye to Kochi right after they returned to the dorms. He had offered to help the latter bring the stuff he just bought out of kindness (and of course, trying to steal the chance to spy on Kochi’s room) but Kochi himself proudly said he’s used to carrying those kinds of heavy stuff, kindly refusing his help. Since there’s nothing more he can do outside, he decided maybe he’ll buy some food in that convenience store beside the campus to buy some snacks before going back. That movie night Jesse hosted probably already started, since it’s past 7 p.m. when he reached the campus grounds.
“Oh, Shintaro?”
The person calling him suddenly was Iwamoto, standing in front of the campus’ entrance with some cigarettes in hand.
“Yes. Iwamoto-kun, right?”
“Hikaru is fine,” the tall guy said. “I thought you’re joining Jesse’s movie night.”
“I am about to. They invited me, but since I was outside, I told them I’m gonna be late,” Shintaro replied. “How do you know he’s holding a movie night?”
“I see. Well, he also invited me. But I thought having a lot of people gathering in your room might bother you, so I refused. I’ve met Jesse often in the gym, I’m bored with his face already. But that Matsumura, poor guy getting dragged into Jesse’s antics. He seems quite bothered with it, I thought maybe having another stranger in his room might make his introvert self scream internally so I excused myself.”
“That’s very considerate of you,” Shintaro laughed at Hikaru’s long explanation, unexpectedly coming from someone like him who doesn’t seem to be a chatterbox like J2.
“Well, it’s Jesse that we’re talking about here. Maybe you’d want to raise your guards.”
“Oh, why’s that?” Shintaro curiously asked, even though he might know what Hikaru meant by saying that.
“Didn’t Juri tell you? About the official orientation or such.”
“He did send a message, though I don’t really believe it ‘till I see it myself.”
“By the way, I just happened to overhear Juri saying something along the lines of ‘this class will officially function tonight’. I don’t know whether he means right now, or waiting for the last guy to come. If so, then Jesse might be ahead of us already. You might want to check on them.”
“Why are you telling me this?” again, Shintaro got curious. “You might as well want to prevent Jesse from stealing the start, no?”
“Personally, I was about to. But I figured out that I don’t want to do useless things before I get a full grasp of the situation, so might as well inform you if you wanna do it instead.”
“Gee, thanks. Say my thanks to Juri too for accidentally leaking that info to you,” Shintaro replied. He was about to walk past Hikaru and go to the convenience store like he originally planned, but his thoughts conflicted for a moment, hesitating to just let it slow or rush to his room to check on the situation there.
That was until a message popped up in his phone’s notification bar. It was from Jo.
[Jo(e)]
Hey, you might wanna check this out
[Jo(e) sent you a video.]
It’s from 10 minutes ago
Your dear roommate might be in trouble if you don’t hurry
I mean, if you care enough about him
Or if you want that prize so bad that you don’t want to lose to Mr American Guy
Thank me later for checking the CCTV for you 💙
What the fuck does Jo mean by that? For a moment he thought maybe Jo would lose the money Mr. Joshima had promised him if he failed to make Shintaro succeed, hence the message. But from the way he messaged, it seems like something did happen in the time span he’s absent from his room. He took a deep breath before checking the CCTV footage, preparing himself for the worst.
Nothing happened in the first 5 minutes, just Hokuto and Jesse sitting and talking on the sofa.
The next minute, he saw Jesse handing a can of juice to Hokuto, and Hokuto drank a few gulps before putting the can on the coffee table.
Another minute passed, the two guys were still talking with each other. Hokuto went to the kitchen for a while, a few seconds later he’s back in the living room with a carton of green tea. But before the bookworm could put the green tea on the table, Shintaro could see him limping, struggling hard to stand straight before finally falling down to the floor, the juice carton dropping together with his seemingly unconscious body.
Shintaro immediately closed his phone, not even bothering to say goodbye to Hikaru who’s still occupied with his cigarettes.
It’s been a while since his feet dashed away this fast.
.
.
.
Black. Every corner he sees, it’s pitch black.
It was bloody red before, but it turned to black once he shut his eyes.
Those perpetrators managed to land some slash cuts on his arms, legs and torso, his body hurt like hell. He managed to defend himself from those perpetrators, stole one of their guns and hid in the small hidden compartment in his parents’ room’s closet, at least for now. Thank God he learned some martial arts before, but now that he had used up all his powers, he didn’t know how much longer he could survive with the very little consciousness he had left in him.
He wanted to shout, he wanted to cry. But if he makes a sound now, they’ll certainly find him. For a sheer second, he hesitated whether he should just shoot himself with the gun, or let those perpetrators find him, and with it he can peacefully join his family up there who passed before him.
It’s his mom’s words that stopped him from doing so.
“No matter what happens… you must live. Find your own happiness, free from all this burden.”
His surroundings turned from bloody red to pitch black once his consciousness started to fade. He tried his best to hang on the power he had left and the invisible string of hope too thin to hold himself up.
He has to live, no matter what it takes. For the sake of those who died before him. For the sake of himself and his own happiness.
For the sake of his future, free from all the burden.
.
.
.
Shintaro never felt his heart beat this fast. In the end he didn’t go to the convenience store. The only thing he could think of right now is to reach his room before that half-American guy does something. He dashed through the corridors, past some students who looked at him in confusion as to why he’s such in a hurry. To be very honest, even Shintaro himself didn’t exactly know what raised his adrenaline like this.
Why was he so sure Jesse’s going to do something to Hokuto? Was it because of the half-American’s claims that he’ll go all out, or was it because of Hikaru and Jo’s warnings earlier? Why was he even concerned with what Jesse’s going to do with Hokuto in the first place? Maybe Hokuto was just too tired that he collapsed, right? Was it normal to be concerned for a sick roommate? Why the hell did he—
—right, why was he even bothered by his supposed target to begin with? He just met Hokuto literally yesterday. There were his past targets that he became acquainted with for more than a month and yet, he was still able to kill them without feeling any remorse. What makes that bookworm so special? Was it his questionable past from that article? Shintaro’s guts tells him something bad would happen if Hokuto gets harmed, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it is exactly.
And there’s only one way to find out if his guts were right or not.
He finally arrived in front of the door to his room. Silence was the only thing he could hear, but he was sure he also heard the sound of an object being dragged. He tried opening the door with his keys, to no avail. It seems the door was locked from the inside. He hesitated whether he should open the door discreetly by picking the lock or not, but again, his guts told him to just break in or else everything would be too late. Shintaro knew that breaking in forcefully was usually the last option an assassin would do, but sometimes emergency calls do need emergency handling.
And so he did. The break-in successfully made a loud banging noise, thankfully no one was around their room’s corridor.
“Oh, you are earlier than what I predicted.”
His guts turned out to be right.
“Yeah, I know something was off when you suddenly hung out with him,” Shintaro replied to the guy kneeling near the sofa.
“I'm just befriending everyone, what’s wrong with that?”
“You do love being a show-off, huh, Mr. Jesse Lewis? As if deliberately inviting your enemies to come and foil your plan.”
“I like it this way, though,” the guy, Jesse, smirked. “Now, if you’d excuse me, I’m going to have some fun with Hoku-chan.”
Shintaro saw what looked like Hokuto’s feet poking out from behind the sofa, the poor guy was still laying down on the floor and hadn't seemed to regain his consciousness. He moved closer towards the other side of the sofa, and he got a clearer view of what he somehow had expected to see, with some extra surprises he didn’t expect at all. He saw Hokuto on the floor, his upper clothes already removed, leaving only a piece of black tank top. That must be Jesse’s doing. Whatever, Shintaro’s not interested in the half-American’s fetish.
What caught his attention was the red lines on Hokuto’s skin. Small and long lines, a combination of both decorating his arms.
”Beautiful, isn’t he?” Jesse commented. “He has a lot more of these decorations, you wanna see?” The half-American grabbed the tip of Hokuto’s tank top and lifted it up, only for Shintaro to see a lot more of those red lines on his torso. He noticed most of those lines were cuts from a knife, as if someone had tortured him with it. So this was the reason he always gets out of the bathroom fully clothed after a shower. Understandable, Shintaro thought. He would probably do the same if he was in the same position.
“He’s too kind for his own good. He probably won’t mind if I add some more.” Jesse took a folding knife from his pockets and pointed it to Hokuto’s neck. As if acting on instinct, Shintaro also pulled out his own folding knife he kept inside his sleeves before the half-American guy could slit the bookworm’s throat.
“You better drop that thing before I insert this in your ear.”
“What are you, John Wick?” Jesse laughed at him. He instantly aimed for a jab on Shintaro’s ribs after failing to land a slash on Hokuto. Shintaro dodged the incoming knife, grabbed Jesse’s arm and slammed the latter’s body to the ground.
“Ouch,” Jesse grinned, pretending to be hurt. He didn’t take long to rise up and return the attack with a kick to Shintaro’s ankles. Damn, this guy’s got the strength. The kick had made him lose his momentum and fell down, almost bumping his head to the coffee table if not for his quick reflexes.
Jesse didn’t miss the chance when he saw Shintaro’s fall, he immediately went over on top of the latter, about to lock him underneath. But Shintaro was faster, he turned his body over to the side before Jesse could stab him. He threw another knife he had hidden under the coffee table (just in case, of course without Hokuto knowing about it) to Jesse, but the latter quickly took one of the sofa’s cushions to flick the knife. When Shintaro got his momentum back, after a few struggles he swiftly turned things around, and is now on top of the taller guy. He pulled out his knife again and pointed it to Jesse, just like how the latter pointed his knife on Hokuto earlier.
Shintaro didn’t think he would bump into his first obstacle this soon. Lately his previous missions didn’t require him to fight one-on-one with his enemy like this, so right now the adrenaline is flowing rapidly inside him.
But this somehow felt a bit too easy.
What would happen if he finishes Jesse right here and now? Truth to be told, he hasn’t even heard anything from the organizers of this event about the terms and conditions of this so-called mission, killing match sounds better to describe it. Will Mr. Joshima get mad at him for being too rash and failing to give the old man his ‘entertainment’? Actually, fuck that old man, he better be prepared to give his inheritance to Shintaro. What would happen if Hokuto suddenly woke up from his slumber and witnessed this mess? Will he report them to the police? Should they—either him or Jesse—silence the poor guy and finish him right there? But then what’s the point of him going to this extent just to… protect Hokuto, out of all people, in the first place?
Before Shintaro could do what he planned to do earlier, he felt a hard kick on his stomach and his body flying almost a meter away from his previous position. It was done by Jesse, who seemed to notice his doubt and took the chance to break free.
“Why hesitate now?” the taller guy tried to provoke him. “Aren’t you a member of the infamous Morimoto clan?”
Fuck that half-American Guy, his kicks were no joke, it still stings even after a few seconds. But his ears stinged more when Jesse mentioned his family’s name.
“Or are you perhaps a retiree? A veteran who repented?” he said again. “Damn, I never thought someone from that Morimoto clan would actually repent for his sins!”
“You sure do talk big for some good-for-nothing guy,” Shintaro sarcastically replied, finally back on his feet after that one blow.
“Said the one who just fell down from a simple kick.”
“I appreciate it, it’s enough to give me the urge to punch your face more.”
“Okay, but I need you two to hold that urge down and pull back your knives.”
Both him and Jesse simultaneously turned their heads to the voice coming from the door. It was the gold accessories guy Tanaka Juri, leaning on the side of the already opened door.
“And who the fuck lets you in?”
“You didn’t lock the door,” Juri nonchalantly answered. “I was just checking on my neighbor—not exactly since you’re a few rooms away from me—and I heard a loud noise so I got curious.”
“State your business, Mr-Juri-not-Tanaka-san-or-Tanaka-kun,” Shintaro folded his knife back. “Before Hokuto gets up and notices everything.”
“Oh, never thought you’d care for him,” Juri replied.
“I’m just making things easier for us here. As our target, won’t it be more convenient for us if he stayed oblivious to all this?”
“Right, right,” Juri took out his iPad and showed them the broadcast message he sent earlier. “And I’m pretty sure I asked all of you to wait until midnight. You haven’t even got any confirmation whether he’s the target or not. It’d be more convenient if you guys didn’t start this whole ruckus in the first place.”
“He started it though. I believe I also had the right to complain as my room’s getting trashed too,” Shintaro huffed.
“Tsk. Relax, I didn’t put anything deadly inside that juice can,” Jesse clicked his tongue. “He’ll be awake within the next 15 minutes or so. I’m just testing the waters, you know? And who are you to command me?”
“Whatever. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything,” Juri said. “You’ll soon know more about my position in the official orientation anyways. Well then, see you later.”
Juri and Jesse then took their exit from his room, leaving Shintaro alone with Hokuto who’s still laying unconscious on the floor. He looked at the poor guy again, this time he took a better view on his body again. He was quite skinny for his height, but just as one thought, it was the red lines on his skin that caught his attention more. Now that he remembered it, Kochi did say Hokuto went through a lot in the past. Just what the heck is this bookworm hiding?
Shintaro thought about carrying him to his bed, but the thoughts soon disappeared when he saw Hokuto’s body whimpering and his mouth looked like he’s mumbling something.
“... don’t leave me, please…”
Shintaro wasn’t sure if it was curiosity hitting him like a truck, or his protective instinct coming at not-so-right timing, but he ended up lifting Hokuto’s body to the sofa (at least it was better than the cold floor), and tried tapping the latter’s shoulder.
“Hokuto..?” Shintaro tried calling him. No response. But Hokuto kept blabbering some almost inaudible sentences.
“It hurts... I’m scared…”
“No… I didn’t do it…”
“I didn’t want this…”
Looks like he’s having a bad dream. His choice of words and the tears swelling up around his eyes was what triggered Shintaro’s curiosity even more.
Hokuto did wake up a few minutes later. He seems to be confused as to why he ended up on the sofa with Shintaro kneeling on his side. It didn’t take long before he kind of grasped the situation and realized he was in such a horrible state. He sat up, looked at Shintaro in horror, panicked while his eyes grew bigger. Shintaro sensed Hokuto must be searching for his clothes (probably Jesse had thrown it somewhere), trying to cover his skin. And he somehow couldn’t bear seeing the poor guy like that, so he took off his jacket, draped it around the bookworm’s shoulders and handed over the tissue on the table for him to wipe his tears.
“You… saw it.”
Shintaro took a deep breath. “Yeah… I did.”
“I’m sorry you have to witness this… disgusting body of mine.”
Shintaro gave him an assuring look. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
“Jesse… he… he’s trying to kill me.” Hokuto mumbled again, almost inaudible but Shintaro still could hear him.
“You know?” Shintaro instantly raised his head to look at Hokuto’s face. He moved to sit beside Hokuto on the sofa, intending to interrogate the latter more.
He nodded. “I was being drugged, but I realized it too late… before I could do anything, my body’s already numb. But I think the drug was not that strong. My body might be numb… but I could still hear everything.”
Oh, what a great job you have done, Jesse, Shintaro thought. Please remind him to punch that half-American’s face when he has the time.
“Not only Jesse, right..?” Hokuto continued. “Maybe everyone’s after me now…”
Shintaro saw him lower his head and gripped the tip of the jacket tighter. Silence fell between them, not knowing what to say to each other. Shintaro didn’t know what made him always lost at words when talking to Hokuto and Hokuto only, this was the second time if he recounted well, with the first one during their first meeting in the classroom.
Surprisingly, it was Hokuto who broke the silence.
“But Shintaro, you protected me.”
Ah, yes. Hokuto finally touched on the topic he’s been debating with his inner self. Also the only subject he himself doesn’t know the answer to. If Jo and his kouhai Sou were here, they'd probably laugh at him.
“Yeah, apparently I did.”
“Thank you,” Hokuto tried to give him a smile, despite not yet fully recovering from the traumatic experience half an hour ago. “And sorry for getting you into the hassle of saving me. You didn’t have to, really…”
It was probably the first time Shintaro went completely silent in the middle of a conversation. He took a glance at Hokuto, trying to find the perfect words to reply to the latter. But the words just seem to stuck at the back of his mind. He tried piecing all those words into a proper sentence, but eventually only one question could come out of his mouth.
“Are you not afraid? Afraid of Jesse, afraid of Juri, or even afraid of… me?”
That was kind of a stupid question, if he should say.
Hokuto lowered his head, fidgeting the tips of his jacket again. Seems like he’s also lost at words.
“I am,” he bit his beauty mark-decorated lips. “I would be lying if I said I’m not afraid.” Shintaro saw tears forming in his eyes for the second time, but he let the latter continue his speech without interrupting him.
“I keep asking myself, why does it have to be me, when I just wanted to live a normal life… They keep targeting me wherever I go. I thought they had enough when they killed my parents and my brother. But they still want me gone… I sometimes think maybe it’s better for me to just… you know, disappear.”
“They?”
Hokuto paused before continuing again. “My family had some connections to a conglomerate… used to, at least, from what I heard. I don’t really know the details… But they said my father betrayed them, so they want him and his entire family gone.”
“So this was really you, then,” Shintaro replied, showing Hokuto the photo from the article he received from Jo. The bookworm looked at the photo in shock, but he eventually let out a deep sigh before nodding weakly.
“You fought them back,” Shintaro said to him. “Those who killed your family. You managed to defend yourself when your other family members couldn’t.”
Hokuto nodded again. “I used to practice karate, it came in handy during that time. But in the end… I could only defend myself, not my family… My brother even died protecting me… I’m such a coward, am I?”
Shintaro took a deep breath after listening to Hokuto’s confession. At this point, he had assumed this ‘client’ he’s providing his service to was probably those conglomerates Hokuto was talking about. He finally mustered up the courage to bombard the bookworm with questions that had been stuck in his head.
“Why did they want your family dead? There must be something aside from your father betraying them, right? Why did they let you live? Even after… giving you those scars, I assume? Why did the police put their suspicion on you? Why, and how did you end up here? Why are they still aiming for you now? Damn, I actually have a lot of questions for you, but first things first… Just who are you exactly?”
“I wish I knew the answers to that too,” Hokuto sadly replied. “I’m just a nobody, Shintaro. I’m not as special nor important as you think.”
Right. Seems like this guy really was just that unfortunate being stuck in this situation. Just like hundreds of his other targets.
But why..?
… why does it have to be him?
“The police decided to release me due to lack of evidence. And how I ended up here… simply because my relatives, those I’ve been living with since that incident, thought it was best for me to move away from Shizuoka for the time being. I’m sorry, I can only answer these questions.”
“I see,” Shintaro sighed. They fell into silence again, but since Hokuto seemed like he still had something to say, Shintaro gave him the gesture to continue talking.
“If you don’t mind… May I ask something?”
“Go ahead,” Shintaro nodded at him. Hokuto was fidgeting with the jacket tips, again, before opening his mouth. Maybe that’s really just one of his habits when nervous.
“Why… did you protect me?”
Shintaro gulped.
Honestly, he still doesn’t know. He himself has been debating this ever since he found out they were roommates. Even after a few rounds of questioning Hokuto and knowing more about him, he still couldn’t find a reason on why the bookworm’s worth the saving.
“... Even if I give you an answer, shouldn’t you be suspicious of me? After all, I…”
Fuck, he couldn’t even bear to see Hokuto’s eyes directly.
“... I’m also one of them. I’m also after your life. You heard me talking with Juri and Jesse. Aren’t you scared of me?”
Hokuto bit his lips again, before letting out a soft smile, probably the purest smile Shintaro had ever seen.
“My family’s gone. I’m all by myself now. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure how to continue my life like this. Pathetic, I know… I thought about disappearing from this world more than once,” he paused for a while, taking a deep breath before continuing.
“My mom told me to live on. Live, find my own freedom and happiness. I wasn’t sure how to do that, surviving alone always felt so suffocating to me. But you... you protected me. Somehow that was more than enough to assure myself that I got people who wanted me to continue living, as much as my mom, dad and brother who sacrificed themselves protecting me.”
Shintaro almost looked at him in disbelief. He felt like his heart was squeezed tight, something an assassin almost never experienced. They were always trained to numb their emotions, to be able to kill without any remorse.
This feeling, it felt so foreign to him.
“Shintaro, I… I want to live.”