The Second Act

"Yeah, I'm staying over at a classmate's house tonight."

"Yu, Akihi is here too, along with a few other girls."

At Nagisa Kazuha's insistence, they decided to spend the night in the old-fashioned manor. The Akiyu siblings had no objections, but Class Monitor Nao needed to call home and let her family know.

"Yu."

Class Monitor handed him her phone, and Akihi Yu took it and held it to his ear.

"It's me, Aunt Iai."

"Yes, because of the earthquake in Arakawa Ward."

"Don't worry, it's safe here. I'll take good care of Nao."

He handed the phone back to Nao. After listening for a few moments, her face suddenly flushed bright red, and she hurriedly hung up.

"Let's go inside, Yu."

Nervously adjusting her round-framed glasses, the usually gentle and outgoing Class Monitor lowered her head.

"Okay."

Akihi Yu knew exactly why she was acting this way. During the call, Nao's mother, Aunt Iai, had reminded her to be careful about contraception.

Should he call her mother open-minded? Or just say she had nerves of steel?

"So, what should we do now~~"

Back in the piano room, Amame Ei had returned to her usual lively self and was thinking it over.

Come to think of it, this was her first time having a sleepover with other people. Before, it had only been her and her grandfather at the shrine. Later, she'd been all alone.

"At a time like this, obviously, we should have a pajama party~"

Akihi Yu raised an index finger and made his suggestion.

"Then a pillow fight."

Stares, x4

Under the gazes of four beautiful girls, each with her own style, Akihi Yu raised both hands.

"I surrender. I'm out."

"No. Big brother has to stay."

Akiyu Sora was the first to object. If her brother hadn't dragged her along, she wouldn't have gone out at all.

A textbook shut-in, she constantly swiped her slender fingers across her phone screen—a sure sign of her internet addiction.

"Hehehe~~ Yu, just accept your fate!"

Amame Ei rubbed her hands together, looking eager to get started.

"My family has plenty of men's pajamas. If Akihi doesn't mind, you can borrow some."

The girls all chimed in to try to persuade him to stay, their excitement impossible to hide. Akihi Yu stroked his chin.

"Fine."

Gah, it's okay. Even if it's four of them, I can still

take them all on!

I, Akihi Yu, won't be outdone by anyone

in a pillow fight!

As the young men and women began their "pillow fight," a certain young man climbed out of a storm drain, ready to start another day of "work."

"Target spotted!"

"Target spotted. Repeat, target spotted."

Inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's "special operations room," an officer keeping his eyes fixed on the surveillance footage shouted.

Thousands of cameras, hastily installed in Adachi Ward and aimed at manhole covers across the district, had caught sight of a hooded figure with his face obscured.

"The target is heading toward Nishiarai Town, 2-chome."

"Based on the target's behavioral patterns, he's most likely heading out to hunt a member of the Broken Tooth Gang in 2-chome."

Tanimura Wataru thought he was moving in secret, but dozens of eyes far away were watching him closely. The second "act" targeting him was also being prepared with great urgency—no, it had already been fully prepared. All that remained was for the "leading man" to make his entrance.

"When will our 'Collars' be in place?"

"The staff are taking the 'Collars' to the target locations. They're expected to arrive in ten minutes."

To "leash" Tanimura Wataru, the Metropolitan Police Department had prepared dozens of plans, covering every street and alley in Adachi Ward.

"What about the 'Dog Food'?"

"It's ready to go and can be activated at any time."

"Based on the target's speed, we'll need to slow him down a little along the way."

"Move out!"

At Director Takeshima's order,

several police officers quietly appeared near Nishiarai-cho 3-chome and began patrolling as if it were an ordinary day, checking license plates and handing out parking tickets.

?

Seeing the police from a distance, Tanimura Wataru

tugged his hood down and, just as expected, took a detour.

At the intersection ahead of him, the traffic lights quietly changed as well.

The red light's wait time had increased from seventy seconds to eighty-five, while the green light had grown shorter.

But to the pedestrians standing on either side of the crosswalk, their heads bowed over their phones, the tiny change went unnoticed. As long as the light didn't change, they just kept scrolling.

These subtle alterations were easy to miss, yet they significantly slowed Tanimura Wataru's progress.

Meanwhile:

"Hey, Kengo."

"Come down here quick. I spotted a real prize in 3-chome."

A call came in to an agency in 3-chome with a sign reading KEN ON. At first glance, it looked like one of the island nation's long-established talent agencies. But a closer look revealed a tiny "e" after the big KEN ON.

In short, it was a knockoff, like "Kang Shuai Fu," "Seven Wolves," or "Lao Yu Ma."

"Seriously?"

A man with his phone tucked between his shoulder and ear came out of the agency, putting on a pink suit.

"She just walked past me. You should be able to see her if you look up."

The voice over the phone made the man look up—and his eyes lit up.

A girl was walking toward him. She wore a traditional hime cut, with striking features and a petite, shapely figure. Most importantly, the unfeigned innocence about her struck a chord deep within the pink-suited man.

Ever since he'd discovered that the first "older woman" he'd known had five other "boyfriends" besides him, he'd made it his mission to drag innocent girls into the same pit!

"Miss,"

?

Startled by the voice that suddenly blocked her path, the girl stopped.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a talent scout. Here's my card."

The stylishly dressed man in the flashy pink suit took a gold-embossed business card from his pocket and handed it to the girl, gesturing toward the building beside them.

"Take a look. This is our agency."

"KEN ON?"

The girl saw the sign beside her and raised the back of her hand to her mouth in surprise.

It was one of the island nation's long-established talent agencies. It had been around for fifty years, launched countless stars, and was known as "the home of handsome men and beautiful women."

And thanks to its backing from the wealthy Sasagawa family, it was famously flush with cash and generous to its talent.

It was an agency that countless aspiring performers fought tooth and nail to join.

"Hahaha, it's just a branch office."

The pink-suited man laughed, unable to hide his pride. Conning "amateurs" who didn't know the details was easy. No girl could resist standing at center stage and basking in the glory of being an idol adored by the masses.

"I think you have real potential. You'd shine on stage!"

"If you pass our 'audition' and make it into the main office, it's not impossible for you to become a star known around the world. Just don't forget me when you do~~"

After a string of promises, the girl seemed tempted.

The man in the pink suit pressed his advantage.

"Miss, would you like to come upstairs and have a cup of coffee?"

"I'm sure you'll change your mind once you've seen our agency."

And so, the girl was coaxed upstairs by the man. Passersby glanced over, then turned away.

People who lived on this street knew what the business at KEN ONe really was.

Making adult videos!

AV, for short.

In the island nation's permissive sexual culture, plenty of people started dating while still in middle school.

Making AVs was also a perfectly normal "job." At most, people could only regret that yet another beauty was about to be devoured by pigs.

That was Akemi.

No, it was her?

From the other end of the street, Tanimura Wataru watched it all, his brow furrowing.

He looked up at the sign. Having spent countless nights investigating organized crime, he immediately understood what was going on.

The AV industry preyed on young girls.

Forget it. Don't get involved.

"W-wait."

"This isn't a talent agency?"

In a room on the fifth floor, the girl backed away, trembling as she demanded an explanation.

"Hahaha!"

"Who said this isn't a talent agency?"

The men in the room burst into raucous laughter. As they began stripping, they answered with leering grins.

"AV performers are performers too."

?!

The girl turned to run, but stopped in her tracks.

The man in the pink suit was leaning against the door, toying with a gleaming dagger.

"You—you can't do this. I-I'm going to call the police—"

"Go ahead!"

"After we've had our fun, we'll send the recording to your parents, teachers, and classmates. Then you can go ahead and call the police."

A man wearing only his underwear sneered as he held up a video camera.

Whether or not the police could catch them,

the girl's future was already ruined.

???

The threat in his words was unmistakable!

The men closing in from all sides made the girl go pale. She backed away again and again until pain shot through her back as she hit the wall.

It's over. It's over. It's over!

Faced with this scene,

any girl could feel nothing but despair.

"H-help!"

"Hehehe, I like it when they don't cooperate~~"

"The more you struggle, the more excited we get!"

Just as the half-naked, tattooed men reached for the girl, a gust of cold air swept in from behind them.

"What the hell?"

The cold wind made the tattooed man at the edge shiver. He turned around, grumbling.

?!

A man in a hoodie had jumped in through the window. The open window was where the cold breeze had come from.

"Who are you—"

This was the fifth floor.

That thought had barely crossed his mind when the hooded man turned and shut the window.

Then—

Whoosh.

He blurred into motion and appeared right in front of the tattooed man.

Shing.

Claws that could tear flesh sprang out, but after glancing at the girl surrounded by the men, Tanimura Wataru curled his hand into a fist instead.

Thud!

His fist slammed into the tattooed man's chest. The force caused a bulge to rise abruptly from his back.

"Who are you?!"

"You're dead—"

The commotion made the other tattooed men surrounding the girl turn around.

Familiar gangster threats spilled from their mouths, but what awaited them was:

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

In the space of a second, several punches flew.

The howling fists struck their necks with pinpoint accuracy.

Several yakuza members crumpled to the floor without making a sound, their necks twisted at horrifying angles.

"M-Monster?!"

The man holding the camera gaped, yellow liquid streaming down his underwear.

Before he could do anything else, his vision suddenly tilted, and then he plunged into eternal darkness.

"Don't come any closer—"

The killing spree was swift and efficient!

The man in the pink suit leaning against the doorway first stared blankly, then his expression changed dramatically.

He raised his hand and threw his dagger at the hooded figure, who was like a "Ghost God," while his other hand grabbed the doorknob behind him, ready to flee.

Whoosh.

A figure flashed by. The other man had already rushed up to him at high speed.

He even had time to snatch the dagger out of the air halfway there, then thrust it forward.

Squish.

The dagger plunged violently into the pink-suited man's mouth, the entire handle disappearing inside.

He raised a hand and shut the other man's mouth, which had been gaping in terror. As the corpse slowly slid to the floor, Tanimura Wataru turned around.

It sounded like a lot, but from the moment he climbed in through the window to the massacre and the death of the man in the pink suit, only a few seconds had passed. The entire room was filled with corpses, except for one person:

"Th-this is..."

A girl crouched in the corner, covering her head, tears in her eyes.

As Tanimura Wataru strode toward her, a look of joy appeared on the terrified girl's face.

"It's you—"

Bang!!

A fist whistled through the air.

It cut her off in an instant.

Her trembling eyes turned toward the wall beside her. Amid a burst of dust, the punch had blasted a huge hole through it!

If his aim had been just a little off, it would have been the girl's—

head that burst apart!

"Do you have any idea what kind of place this is?"

His furious reprimand hit her like a wall, laced with bloodlust and the stench of blood!

"I told you to study hard, but you wouldn't listen!"

"Chasing your dream of becoming a star, looking for thrills—weren't you the one who got hurt in the end?"

"Are you stupid? Did you think the world was all sunshine and light? That everyone would treat you gently?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Facing his roar, as if he might tear her to pieces the very next second,

the girl crouched on the floor went blank. All she could do was apologize on instinct. Or rather, beg for mercy.

Watching the girl tremble like a lamb, Tanimura Wataru's anger came as quickly as it went.

What was wrong with him?

She wasn't Akemi. And besides, she wasn't the one at fault. Those animals were!

His gaze swept across the corpses in the hall. If he hadn't been afraid of frightening the girl, Tanimura Wataru would have already torn the yakuza apart with his bare hands and turned the place into a bloodbath.

"Get up."

He held out a hand and helped the girl to her feet.

Seeing her sway, barely able to stand, Tanimura Wataru had no choice but to scoop her up in both arms.

"I'll take you home."

"Don't come to a place like this again, understand?"

"Mm,"

the girl replied softly, curled up in Tanimura Wataru's arms.