Running Away from Home

"The young master's finally taking this seriously," Crow murmured.

They'd rushed over earlier and discovered that the Demon Spirits had planned the attack, so they'd been held up for a while. They hadn't expected the Uesugi Clan Head to disappear during that time.

After taking care of the attackers, Gen Chisaki took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Kaguya-hime, search for the Uesugi Clan Head near Akihabara."

"Order issued by Gen Chisaki. Executed by Kaguya-hime. Order valid. Order approved. Search will begin in thirty seconds."

Erii hadn't brought a phone or anything, otherwise they could have tracked her directly. Once they found Erii this time, he'd get her a phone right away, Gen Chisaki thought to himself.

When they arrived in Akihabara, Gen Chisaki announced that they would split up and search.

After searching for a while, Gen Chisaki spotted a girl with red hair in a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit, holding hands with a man nearby.

Gen Chisaki flew into a rage. Who dared hold Erii's hand?

He rushed over, grabbed the man, and slammed him to the ground.

"Who are you? What are you doing?" the girl in the red-and-white shrine maiden outfit shouted.

Gen Chisaki froze and looked at the red-haired girl beside them. This wasn't Erii!

He let the man go, turned around, and walked away without a word.

The man got up and yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you? How dare you attack someone in broad daylight! Believe me, I'll call the police and have you arrested!"

Gen Chisaki turned around and looked at the man coldly.

A wave of pressure descended. The man seemed to see a savage beast and immediately shut his mouth.

Gen Chisaki ignored him and walked away.

"Crow, what's your situation over there?" Gen Chisaki called.

"Young master, we've seen tons of people in shrine maiden outfits over here. And forget red hair—there are people with blue, green, and purple hair too. They've practically gathered every color of the damn rainbow!"

It looked like a plot targeting the Snake Eight Families. Gen Chisaki's eyes turned icy. Since they dared to provoke them, the provocateurs could wait to feel the Snake Eight Families' wrath.

"Potato chips, potato chips. Mission accomplished. I've arranged for free shrine maiden outfits to be handed out. Pretty soon, all of Akihabara will probably be overrun with them," Jiu De Mai reported.

"Got it. Now we'll just have to see how Little White Rabbit does." Su Enxi sat on the hotel bed, watching her computer as she monitored the Snake Eight Families' movements.

This was the first time Erii had ever gone so far from home. In her mind, the world was full of turmoil.

The Gundams from every generation and Lelouch fought in the same timeline, and Saint Seiya and Ghost in the Shell existed side by side. Still, she also wondered whether certain games and anime made sense, like Gintama.

She'd always wanted to find out whether the world she imagined was real, so she often ran away from home again and again. She yearned for the world outside, but was also afraid of it, so her attempts always failed.

This time, she'd unexpectedly met Sakura. He was strong, and his smile during the competition had been so infectious that she'd come to trust him deeply.

Sakura acted a little strange sometimes, but he really was an interesting person.

"Sakura, I'm hungry." Erii held up the little notebook she'd just bought in front of Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei took out his phone and checked the time. It was already past five in the afternoon.

All right, he'd take her to eat once more. After that, he'd make sure she went straight home.

Lu Mingfei took her to a small restaurant.

"Erii, what would you like to eat?" Lu Mingfei picked up the menu.

"The same as Sakura."

"Boss, two servings of five-ingredient fried rice!"

Before long, two plates of five-ingredient fried rice arrived. Erii poked at hers with a spoon. She'd never eaten anything like it before.

She put a spoonful in her mouth and chewed carefully. Erii's eyes lit up. It was delicious!

Erii ate her fried rice in tiny mouthfuls, but she ate quickly. It was obvious how much she liked it.

Watching her eat, Lu Mingfei hadn't expected her to enjoy a simple plate of fried rice so much. He started eating too. It really did taste good.

"After this meal, you should go home," Lu Mingfei said abruptly.

Erii stopped eating and looked at him.

"Look, we only took part in a competition together, and I even bought you some anime merchandise earlier. You don't have to keep following me around. Go home after we finish eating," Lu Mingfei said, slowly eating his fried rice.

Erii looked disappointed. Her eyes lowered, and a hint of sadness showed on her usually expressionless face.

She slowed down, as if savoring every bite of the fried rice.

After a while, Erii held up her notebook. "There are some things I want to ask you. Can you explain them to me, Sakura?"

"Go ahead."

Lu Mingfei figured she hadn't seen much of the world and would probably only ask him simple questions. He'd answer what he could.

"Why are there so many Sabers outside? Can she use a duplication technique?"

Lu Mingfei was taken aback. What kind of question was that? He answered directly, "Because those people outside are cosplaying."

"Are there sea monsters in the ocean?"

"I'm not sure. Probably not."

"Are A-LAWS and Celestial Being still fighting? When did the Britannia Kingdom's enslavement of Area 11 end? Where is the Hidden Leaf Village? Is Luffy still recruiting crewmates?"

Faced with these questions, Lu Mingfei wondered if she was messing with him. But she looked so serious that she didn't seem to be joking.

Her questions were all over the place, though some were quite logical. For example, why did the ocean have tides? Where did trains come from?

Lu Mingfei answered each question. After explaining for a while, he fell silent.

It was as if the girl knew nothing about the world outside. Her entire impression of it came from games and anime. Her mind held nothing but a distorted version of the world.

"Erii, have you never been outside before?" Lu Mingfei interrupted her questions.

"Because I was sick, my family wouldn't let me go out. I've run away from home many times, but I was too scared to go far and my family always brought me back," Erii wrote in her diary.

She'd never seen the world outside, so her worldview had been pieced together from anime and games. Had her family never taught her even the basics of everyday life?

Erii said she was sick, but she looked rosy-cheeked and seemed perfectly fine. Even if she was sick, why couldn't she go out and see the world in this condition?

Lu Mingfei clenched his fists. For some reason, a surge of anger rose in him.

"Is something wrong, Sakura? Do you think I'm asking too many questions?" Erii carefully placed her diary in front of Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei calmed himself, then looked up at her with a smile. "Not at all. I think your questions are really interesting, Erii. After we eat, I'll take you out for a walk."

Erii's eyes lit up. She quickly wrote, "Are we running away from home?"

"Yeah. We're running away from home."