The Gamble

That evening, the Nohara family was gathered around the dinner table watching TV when a news bulletin suddenly interrupted the broadcast.

"At 4:25 this afternoon, the Tokyo police received a report of a major drug deal at an abandoned dock in the north district! According to the police, the report was anonymous. When officers arrived at the scene, they found that the perpetrators had been beaten black and blue and neatly tied together! We now go live to our reporter at the scene!"

A series of beeps sounded from the TV. Soon, the anchor connected with the reporter at the abandoned dock!

"Hello, I'm Kamikawa Sayuri, reporting for the station! Behind me is the scene of the crime. The suspects involved in the drug deal have already been taken away by the police for questioning, and the officers behind me are investigating the scene. Let's interview one of them!"

Kamikawa Sayuri walked over to a stout man in a beige trench coat behind her.

"Hello, Inspector Megure. Is there anything you can tell us about this case?"

Inspector Megure took off his hat. Seeing that the reporter was a pretty young woman, he replied amiably.

"Of course. We rushed over after receiving an anonymous tip. When we arrived, we found these gangsters tied together and beaten black and blue. Most of them were unconscious..."

Inspector Megure's expression grew grave.

"At first, we suspected a gang dispute, but the drugs on the ground had been neatly gathered together, so this wasn't just a simple gang fight! So far, we don't have any leads, but we'll investigate everything thoroughly, including the blood spilled on the ground and the fingerprints on the drug bags..."

Shinnosuke's heart tightened when he heard that. Crap, I forgot about fingerprints and DNA...

Shinnosuke put down his bowl and chopsticks and lowered his head in thought. Just as he had suspected, danger was slowly closing in on him!

Early the next morning, Inoue Ryushi walked onto the school rooftop and found that Shinnosuke wasn't sprawled on the sofa as usual. Instead, he was sitting there with a grave expression!

Inoue Ryushi froze, then hurried over to ask him what was wrong.

"What's with that constipated look so early in the morning..."

The corner of Shinnosuke's mouth twitched. He got up and kicked him.

"Hurry up and go get Go and Horii..."

No sooner had he spoken than Go and Horii came sauntering up.

"Morning, boss Shinnosuke!!"

Shinnosuke beckoned to them, and the two hurried over.

Shinnosuke then spoke, his expression grave.

"I figured you guys wouldn't watch the news. Just as I expected, what happened yesterday was on TV, but I overlooked something... fingerprints and DNA!"

All three of their pupils contracted. Recalling what Shinnosuke had said the day before, they broke out in a cold sweat that soaked the backs of their clothes!

Horii turned pale, his voice trembling.

"We... we all bled a lot back then... S-so what do we do??"

Everyone turned to Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke's lips moved, and the others swallowed involuntarily...

"Gamble!"

They stared at him. Gamble on what?? On whether they and their families would be killed?????

"We wait for the police to contact us! We're powerless right now. There's no way we can stop them from continuing the investigation! So all we can do is gamble! Gamble that those people don't have anyone inside the police department!"

At that moment, Go suddenly spoke up. Though he was pale too, he was fairly calm.

"Boss Shinnosuke, I'm saying what if! What if they do have someone there? What do we do then?"

A fierce look flashed in Shinnosuke's eyes as he spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Then we strike first! We ruined their plans, and no matter how you look at it, they won't let us off. All we can do is strike first!"

The three of them trembled and stared at Shinnosuke in disbelief.

"But... they're gangsters... How could we possibly beat them..."

Shinnosuke didn't answer, instead speaking rapidly.

"No matter how many people you have under you, send them all out to look for clues about those people. Don't overlook a single lead! This is for our families too..."

The three looked dazed. Horii crouched on the ground, clutching his head... He seemed to regret what he had done. If we hadn't gone to get revenge yesterday, none of this would have happened...

As he thought about it, tears rolled down his face and fell to the ground. When all was said and done, they were just a group of sixteen- and seventeen-year-old kids...

Suddenly, an angry roar rang out beside them, making all three of their eardrums sting.

"Can you still call yourselves men when you're acting like this?!!! What's done is done, so stop regretting what you did before!!! If you were wrong, find a way to make up for it. If you weren't, then stick with it! Don't disappoint me..."

With that, Shinnosuke got up and left the rooftop. The three watched him go, feeling an inexplicable ache in their hearts. Inoue Ryushi gritted his teeth, feeling utterly useless and thoroughly ashamed of himself in front of that man!

Their gazes firmed, and all three bowed together toward the rooftop door...

Shinnosuke walked behind the school building and opened the system panel.

Eight days left until the mission deadline, huh...