As he headed down the pathway facing the cliff, a boy suddenly appeared before him. "So this is where you were," the boy said. "I was looking all over for you, Chuuya." "Shirase..." It was the silver-haired Sheep who'd been searching for Chuuya at the arcade the other day with two friends. "Did you need me for something?" Chuuya asked. "I just wanted to apologize. That's all," Shirase answered with a shrug. "We got into a little fight the other day, right? Y'know, at the arcade. I felt really bad after that. I realized that we shouldn't get in the way of your freedom all because it's inconvenient for us. You really wanted to catch that criminal, yeah? But here I was tellin' you to put us Sheep and our rules first... Anyway, I was wrong. It was our fault for not coming up with another way to protect ourselves. We relied on you way too much." Chuuya appeared surprised as he listened to his friend. "I've got a good grasp of where the Sheep's problems lie," Shirase mentioned with a faint smile. "So we all got together and came up with a solution. Want to hear it?" "You did, huh?" Chuuya said, a note of bewilderment in his voice. He then started walking off. "Sure, tell me about it." He passed his friend, sighed slightly, and continued, "I'm still kinda exhausted from everything that happened, so I'm all for havin' a few extra days off to rest... Let's chat while we walk. What kind of solution is it?" Chuuya started sauntering down the cliffside path. The sea breeze blew a touch stronger, rustling the weeds in the graveyard. All of a sudden, something slammed into Chuuya's back with a thud. He stumbled forward. "This kind of solution." Chuuya slowly turned to face the silver-haired teenager pressed against his back. "...Shirase, you..." The teen retreated; Chuuya lost his balance and fell to the ground. Sticking out of his back was a brand-new dagger. Fresh blood slowly trickled out of the wound around the handle. "The solution is to attack from outside your periphery the moment you let your guard down. That way you won't have time to manipulate gravity,” Shirase said with a smile plastered on his face. "Right, Chuuya? I would know. We've been comrades for a long time, after all.” "The hell...was that for...?" Chuuya groaned painfully. He tried to get up, but his arms and legs were trembling and weak. "I wouldn't squirm so much if I were you. The blade was tipped with rat poison." Shirase's lips curled into an even wider smirk. "Your arms and legs are gonna be numb for a while, so you won't be able to move like normal. I feel bad for you. It wouldn't have had to be like this if you weren't so strong." "What are you...talking about...?" Chuuya covered the wound on his back while managing to look back and glare at the silver-haired Sheep. "This." With a wag of the Sheep's finger, a group of soldiers instantly appeared on the other side of the graveyard with their rifles aimed at Chuuya. "Those are...GSS soldiers..." The highly armed soldiers formed a semicircle around Chuuya where he lay on the cliffside. "This is what we decided on. The Sheep and GSS have joined forces," Shirase revealed. Several boys and girls with guns weaved between the soldiers before aiming their weapons at Chuuya. Their expressions were grim. "This is your fault, Chuuya." He glared at Chuuya with a smile still on his face. "Everyone came to the same conclusion: What if you really did join the Mafia? What would the Sheep do? It was easy for all of us to imagine. We'd be helpless. Everyone would get killed. And that's because we were weak. We'd always relied on those incredible powers of yours. We couldn't just let dozens of lives depend on the whims of one person. They call that a 'vulnerability.' An organizational vulnerability-like how a flood can sneak through a small crack in the foundation of a fortress and destroy it. You get what I'm trying to say?" "You dumbass... Do you really think...I'd betray my friends...?" Chuuya growled. Cold sweat dripped down his pale face. The poison seemed to be working "See, GSS doesn't switch loyalties on a whim. We can trust 'em so long as there's something in it for them. This is the smarter way to take on a powerful organization like the Port Mafia." Chuuya, his breath ragged, looked around-first at the teens pointing their guns at him and then at the GSS soldiers. The people he'd thought were his friends up until a few moments ago were now staring him down like terrifying beasts. "So that's it...," Chuuya managed between gasps. "Everything I did...was just an annoyance...to you all...” "We're really grateful to you, Chuuya.” Shirase took the gun out of the holster at his waist and aimed it at his former leader. "We Sheep took you in when you had no family and nowhere to go, but you already gave us more than enough in return. That's why...it's time to rest...after dying and contributing to the Sheep one last time." He signaled to the soldiers with his chin. "Kill him." A barrage of gunfire followed. Chuuya blocked each bullet with his skill at first, but there were too many. The Sheep knew what kind of ammo it would take to kill him. A heavy downpour of bullets rained on Chuuya. He used his nearly lifeless limbs to roll away as the ceaseless gunfire pelted the weed-covered dirt where he'd just been. The next moment, he increased the gravity on the soles of his feet, sinking his body into the ground. A fissure opened up in the earth and immediately spread until the bullet-ridden soil could no longer hold. The ground crumbled beneath him as if it had been shaved off the cliffside. Chuuya fell along with the crumbling earth, sending clouds of dust into the air. The ocean's raging waves waited for him below. "He threw himself off the cliff!" Shirase shouted. "The poison might've weakened his powers, but he ain't gonna die from a fall like that! Hurry-after him! Don't let him live!"
The sheep's betrayal (CW: injury, poisoning, children involved in organized crime)
"So this is where you were," the boy said. "I was looking all over for you, Chuuya."
"Shirase..."
It was the silver-haired Sheep who'd been searching for Chuuya at the arcade the other day with two friends. "Did you need me for something?" Chuuya asked.
"I just wanted to apologize. That's all," Shirase answered with a shrug. "We got into a little fight the other day, right? Y'know, at the arcade. I felt really bad after that. I realized that we shouldn't get in the way of your freedom all because it's inconvenient for us. You really wanted to catch that criminal, yeah? But here I was tellin' you to put us Sheep and our rules first... Anyway, I was wrong. It was our fault for not coming up with another way to protect ourselves. We relied on you way too much."
Chuuya appeared surprised as he listened to his friend.
"I've got a good grasp of where the Sheep's problems lie," Shirase mentioned with a faint smile. "So we all got together and came up with a solution. Want to hear it?"
"You did, huh?" Chuuya said, a note of bewilderment in his voice. He then started walking off. "Sure, tell me about it." He passed his friend, sighed slightly, and continued, "I'm still kinda exhausted from everything that happened, so I'm all for havin' a few extra days off to rest... Let's chat while we walk. What kind of solution is it?"
Chuuya started sauntering down the cliffside path. The sea breeze blew a touch stronger, rustling the weeds in the graveyard.
All of a sudden, something slammed into Chuuya's back with a thud. He stumbled forward.
"This kind of solution."
Chuuya slowly turned to face the silver-haired teenager pressed against his back.
"...Shirase, you..."
The teen retreated; Chuuya lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Sticking out of his back was a brand-new dagger. Fresh blood slowly trickled out of the wound around the handle.
"The solution is to attack from outside your periphery the moment you let your guard down. That way you won't have time to manipulate gravity,” Shirase said with a smile plastered on his face. "Right, Chuuya? I would know. We've been comrades for a long time, after all.”
"The hell...was that for...?" Chuuya groaned painfully. He tried to get up, but his arms and legs were trembling and weak.
"I wouldn't squirm so much if I were you. The blade was tipped with rat poison." Shirase's lips curled into an even wider smirk. "Your arms and legs are gonna be numb for a while, so you won't be able to move like normal. I feel bad for you. It wouldn't have had to be like this if you weren't so strong." "What are you...talking about...?"
Chuuya covered the wound on his back while managing to look back and glare at the silver-haired Sheep.
"This."
With a wag of the Sheep's finger, a group of soldiers instantly appeared on the other side of the graveyard with their rifles aimed at Chuuya. "Those are...GSS soldiers..."
The highly armed soldiers formed a semicircle around Chuuya where he lay on the cliffside.
"This is what we decided on. The Sheep and GSS have joined forces," Shirase revealed. Several boys and girls with guns weaved between the soldiers before aiming their weapons at Chuuya. Their expressions were grim.
"This is your fault, Chuuya." He glared at Chuuya with a smile still on his face. "Everyone came to the same conclusion: What if you really did join the Mafia? What would the Sheep do? It was easy for all of us to imagine. We'd be helpless. Everyone would get killed. And that's because we were weak. We'd always relied on those incredible powers of yours. We couldn't just let dozens of lives depend on the whims of one person. They call that a 'vulnerability.' An organizational vulnerability-like how a flood can sneak through a small crack in the foundation of a fortress and destroy it. You get what I'm trying to say?"
"You dumbass... Do you really think...I'd betray my friends...?" Chuuya growled. Cold sweat dripped down his pale face. The poison seemed to be working
"See, GSS doesn't switch loyalties on a whim. We can trust 'em so long as there's something in it for them. This is the smarter way to take on a powerful organization like the Port Mafia."
Chuuya, his breath ragged, looked around-first at the teens pointing their guns at him and then at the GSS soldiers. The people he'd thought were his friends up until a few moments ago were now staring him down like terrifying beasts.
"So that's it...," Chuuya managed between gasps. "Everything I did...was just an annoyance...to you all...”
"We're really grateful to you, Chuuya.” Shirase took the gun out of the holster at his waist and aimed it at his former leader. "We Sheep took you in when you had no family and nowhere to go, but you already gave us more than enough in return. That's why...it's time to rest...after dying and contributing to the Sheep one last time."
He signaled to the soldiers with his chin. "Kill him."
A barrage of gunfire followed. Chuuya blocked each bullet with his skill at first, but there were too many. The Sheep knew what kind of ammo it would take to kill him. A heavy downpour of bullets rained on Chuuya.
He used his nearly lifeless limbs to roll away as the ceaseless gunfire pelted the weed-covered dirt where he'd just been.
The next moment, he increased the gravity on the soles of his feet, sinking his body into the ground. A fissure opened up in the earth and immediately spread until the bullet-ridden soil could no longer hold.
The ground crumbled beneath him as if it had been shaved off the cliffside. Chuuya fell along with the crumbling earth, sending clouds of dust into the air. The ocean's raging waves waited for him below.
"He threw himself off the cliff!" Shirase shouted. "The poison might've weakened his powers, but he ain't gonna die from a fall like that! Hurry-after him! Don't let him live!"