CH 6

Chapter 6: The White Tiger’s Hunt

“I’m home.”

I called out to Mio as I went through the front door, and soon I heard footsteps approaching.

The door blocking the hallway and the living room was opened with a bang, and Mio, dressed in her apron as she had been in the morning, greeted me.

“Welcome home!　Dinner will be ready soon!”

“Oh!”

“Today we’re having gingerbread, my brother’s favorite!”

That’s great.

Thank God, I have a sister who understands her brother.

I put down my luggage, changed into loungewear, and went to the living room.

The appetizing aroma made my stomach growl, which I couldn’t bear, and Mio laughed when she noticed.

“Are you that hungry?”

“I’m sure you’d be hungry even if you didn’t want to if there were such delicious-looking home-cooked food lined up.”

“I’m so happy.”

I’m the one who’s happy.

I have a home to come back to, a family to love, and a hot meal to fill my stomach.

What more could I ask?

Everyday life is built on a miraculous balance.

We will never know how precious it is until we lose it.

Because, I lost it once.

“……What’s wrong with you?　You look ugly.”

“It’s just normal and hurtful, so you’re just going to wrap it up in an obnoxious way?”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Mio teases, sticking out her red tongue.

I wonder if it was on my face so much that she could sense it.

It’s okay.

I have power now, unlike in the past.

I will protect her.

“Here, let’s eat it before it gets cold, shall we?”

“Okay.”

Today, peace continues.

***

Late at night, when people are asleep.

Tokyo Bay, overlooking the rippling sea, a maze of huge containers lined up on reclaimed land.

The night breeze blows through the cracks, carrying away the hints of blood and violence that mingle in the seemingly peaceful drifting air.

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot fired in a resounding three-point burst.

The sporadic gunshots of the handguns that returned fire in rapid succession played rhythmically.

“Hey, over here!”

“Catch their members! For worse, kill them!”

The men’s angry shouts split the night, and the muzzle flash flashes again in the darkness.

A battle of gun and powder unfolds in Tokyo Bay between two forces: Japanese Special Forces and members of the White Rose.

The two forces are almost evenly matched.

Both sides have casualties and injuries, but that was the reason why none of them couldn’t retreat.

“Damn, no reinforcements yet”

“I heard that the “Special” are on their way now!　Hold out until then!”

A man in command inspires his men, who shout in response.

“–aaaaaaaaahhhh”

“Sakashita?!”

He felt a hand on his head.

A hand grabbed his head, which merged out of the darkness.

Fingers cracked and creaked as they dug into the skull, a small but pleasant sound reaching his ears.

His companions stare at him in stunned disbelief, seemingly refusing to face reality.

He silently pleads for help with bloodshot eyes and a gaping maw, but none of them could possibly reach out to him.

The hand crushed his skull with the ease of crushing a snack food.

Red brain plasma splatters from the crack and drips down to the ground through the tips of his hair.

Then, a large man appears, accompanied by the blowing smoke and stomping on the dead man’s back as if he is cursing death from the darkness.

“……Damn you, you called me to fight against these mooks. This is fucking boring.”

The man swears as he sticks his little finger in his earhole and spits on the head of the man he just killed.

He spits on the head of the man he just killed as casually as if he had kicked a roadside rock.

No sense of guilt or harm could be seen on his face.

“…… You, “White Tiger”…!”

“Oh?　Someone knows who I am?”

Captain Ishigaya muttered the alias of the man who killed his subordinate.

He is a wanted criminal with a special ability who is wanted all over the world, and his own special ability strength is an astonishing level 9.

“High End”… It is an overwhelmingly superior strength for most of the living creatures.

His name is Rindo Taiga – a.k.a. “White Tiger” – It was the identity of the man who had attacked them.

(Damn …… we are absolutely no match for him. And even against a level 9 opponent, it’s like pitting a baby against a dinosaur…….!)

Hopelessness filled everyone’s minds.

Everyone was convinced that they’re going to die here, putting aside their own roles and duties.

Instinctive fear cowered their feet in the face of the known monster, not allowing them to even take a step back.

In the first place, one step or even a hundred steps is not much different for the level 9 “White Tiger” and is within the range of his kill zone.

“What a pain in the ass. I’m talking about just killing everyone, but that doesn’t sound very quaint, does it?”

“…………”

“You’re just going to shut up? Then let’s play a game in honor of those of you who have worked so hard to make this happen. The rules are simple: If I catch you, I’ll kill you. Easy to understand, isn’t it?”

What a joke.

Everyone thinks it, but no one can say it.

There was no time to move their mouths, as their eyes focused on the few glimmers of light that they had to survive.

“I’ll give you 10 seconds. Run around as best you can and entertain me.”

At the signal of Taiga, who laughed with the corners of his mouth turned up to the max, the troops scattered as one.

The strategy was silently exchanged: if we spread out, even if some of us were catched, some of us might be able to escape.

The casualties are unavoidable.

Even if there is a possibility that one person will be the first to be killed, he will give his life for his comrades to see the tomorrow sunlight. 

His heart thumped wildly. 

The sweat on his hands trickled down and there was a burning sensation on his neck.

He drew in a deep breath to chase the fear running down his back away, and smiled to himself.

If he didn’t do this, he would break down.

Ten seconds later.

“Well, let’s do it.”

Take a step forward ferociously.

The tiger’s hunt began.