"Your head?"
I mumbled repeated Atsushi words, dumbfounded by the whole escalation. Meanwhile, Kyouka just ghlinted her eyes, but still expressed no further emotion.
But still, to force Atsushi to go to the office while someone wanted his head at this time… it's probably Atsushi's idea to go there though.
"Yeah… someone wanted to buy the whole Agency, and Dazai wanted us to stay here."
"Hm…?"
Dazai warned him…? That's odd, but it isn't that big of a deal for now. Besides, if someone indeed wanted the kittyboy head, then staying in this apartment is a good idea.
"Wait, if he wanted you to stay here, then why do you still insist on going there?"
I asked Atsushi with a fake curious look, and his expression then dimmed down.
"It just… I can't let them be in danger because of me… And I also wanted to know who wanted me that much…"
"That much? How much did they offer?"
Even though I already know the price, I still decided to ask him. Whether he knows the answer or not is not important, but asking him this question won't hurt anyone.
"It's 14 billion yen."
Kyouka's eyes slightly twitch at Atsushi's revelation, while I just squinted my eyes. Apparently, the Guild bounty on our kittyboy have skyrocketed by double from the manga, which honestly was a big deal to him.
Can't believe that Fitzgerald is that eager to have an appointment with our kittyboy, I truly impressed at his effort at that. He even arrives here faster than I imagine, since in the manga he only arrives here tomorrow.
Now, I gotta de-escalate our kittyboy from being out of line first.
"No, we will stay here at his demand."
"But…!"
"No but, if you went there, who can be certain that they won't just cast everything aside and get you immediately? They can even have their sniper on the adjacent rooftop, ready to snipe you when your figure just barely shows up at the corner of the road!"
I angrily scold him of his potential risk at the moment, which shuts Atsushi from making more stupid statements and instead just holds his hand real tight.
"Besides, didn't you already get the first glimpse at their power? They won't be taken down that easily, trust them a little kittyboy."
"…."
With my finishing words, he finally kept his calm and looked down at the rice bowl with an unsatisfied look, which I didn't care about a bit.
Kyouka didn't even act at all during my scolding, instead just looked between Atsushi and me with an undistinguished look, probably considering which side had better judgment.
Smart girl, I thought to myself. Despite her look, she's still an elite assassin working for the mafia, which required her to always maintain a cold head. In this stressing matter (?), I could put some faith that she won't do any stupid action like our dear kittyboy.
"But… will they actually be fine…?"
"Atsushi-san… like Jouno-san says, let's just hide in here for now…"
"Yep, listen to your girlfriend, mate."
Just as I was talking to Atsushi with a mocking voice, he looked back at me with a disbelief and confused looks.
"Eh?! Girl…friend?"
"Yep…"
I stared at his confused face with a disdainful look, totally losing my patience in his romance mindset.
After all, as the anga depicted, he never established any favor toward Kyouka or Montgomery at all, and frankly based on his horrible past at that orphanage, I doubt he can actually understand what it's like to be loved at all…
It's not like I hated him or anything, it's just that the environment never encouraged him to understand his feelings at all. I mean, the boy goes through a freaking war in less than 6 months, how can he have such spare time for those matters when he gotta worry about saving the world?!
After this Guild thingy is over, I gotta teach him about this matter… or else no one will be happy in the end.
"I think this will get over quickly, so just stay tuned and wait."
With that, I finished my bowl and started to get up from the table, only to suddenly feel a bit out of line.
This is… something bad gonna happen?
I immediately jumped over the table and kicked it to stand up, while pulling Kyouka and Atsushi to hide behind it. Right after that, the sound of something suddenly blew through our ears, as that thing drilled through the wooden surface right beside my note and resided on the floor behind us.
"What the?!"
Atsushi gasping in disbelief, still not digested the whole situation, while Kyouka seems oddly calm under the whole thing, even more so as her eyes immediately fall into darkness and take a stance.
As for me? I already understand what just happened in a note and now silently grunning inside. Seems like the Guild doesn't want any smoke at the Agency at all, and instead aiming straight at the prize.
Can't exactly say that they're cheating. Heck, even I would do the same as he did.
Another sound came through, this time piercing closer to Atsushi position, which had been shifted by me earlier. This shot is so accurate that if I didn't move him just in case, it would surely make a hole on Atsushi's head right now.
"Tch, this is… hm?"
Looking back at the hole the bullet made, I suddenly realized something. Although hard to see due to the smoke, I can indeed see a figure lurking in it, with a faint red spectrum on top of it…
"… Tom Sawyer."
Just as I slipped my mouth, the thing in the hole suddenly froze mid-movement, and it immediately disappeared right after. But still, I get to know its identity, and it turns out a lot worse than I thought…
"Tom has located the target."
"Fufufu, good job my man~!"
On top of a building relatively close to the apartment, is the figure of a teenager holding a sniper gun, along with the sight of a puppet floating around him.
Just then, another doll suddenly appeared mid-air right next to the teenager, as the previous doll snuck into the gun as the man reloaded.
"Hey Twain…"
The red hair doll quietly speaks up to Twain, who still adjusts his gun to the position his companion told him to and take the shot.
"Hm ~ ? What's wrong Tom ~ ?"
"Do we have… something about the new guy there?"
"Hm?"
The doll asked him with a hint of concern, which attracted Twain attention immediately. Frankly, throughout the years at the elite sniper, this may be the first time he heard Tom, his ability, to express concern.
"The new guy? Oh right, there's 3 signatures in there…"
Remember the heat signature, combined with earlier observation that he took right before taking the shot, he mutters with a question tone.
Although there's another new guy that they hadn't anticipated joining them right before he arrived, he didn't think that this guy would be more than a civilian or something. That's why he didn't bother to check him before firing his first shot, 'cause he underestimated him.
"That guy… mumbling my name."
"… Eh?"
The red hair doll words then immediately got his full attention, as his face widened in shock. Outside of him, he never reveals his companion's names to everyone, not even the boss himself.
If Tom is telling the truth, that the guy is actually saying his companion namesake, then how can that guy know about that?!
"Change of plan, guys."
With a bright smile, he looked back into his scope again, aiming for the target. Although this plan would seem to be just like another boring one, he's now beginning to feel excited.
"We'll take that guy with us also."
But before he could pull the trigger, the side of the apartment suddenly blew away, revealing the silhouette of the tigerman, his target, now carrying the girl and the mysterious one.
And immediately after that, the silhouette suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving Twain in awe. He then started to feel some doubt before these unforeseen events, which become more concrete as his other companion, Huck Finn, returns by his side.
"Bad news, they ran away. Based on their position, I think that they already know how we work."
" … I see ~ "
His face becomes more and more excited, he can't wait for the new fun that supposed new guy will bring forth. Despite knowing that this is the most important secret from his boss, it wouldn't be bad to enjoy himself a bit more…