Ch 67 - New Acquaintances, Old Faces Pt. 4

Shiro washed his hands after taking a nice leak from the bathroom. He looked at the mirror and saw if there was something out of place — that, or he wanted to see his face.

"Alright." He wiped his hands on his hoodie and went out of the bathroom.

He should've just kept on walking and made his way towards the escalator, but something told him, almost as if it was instinctual and ingrained in him, that someone was watching. That feeling of being watched was too familiar to him. Shiro looked everywhere, and then behind.

A tall man stood there — by tall, it meant that he was taller than Shiro. His head was shaved, he had gray eyes, his nose was long, and his beard neatly followed his jawline.

He stared at Shiro dead straight. It wasn't a stare that seemed like he was spacing out; it was a stare that was observing Shiro from head to toe, like he was confirming something.

"What's his problem?" Shiro sweat dropped.

He was weirded out, for sure, but he didn't think he was being hostile. That was until the tall man pulled something out from his pocket. The object seemed to be long, black, and had two metal prongs.

"Is that...a fucking stun gun!?"

Time slowed down. Shiro stepped forward and to his right, and as the man was going to stick it on Shiro's neck, he slapped the right hand to make a pass, replaced his left hand on it to keep it at bay, and chopped the back of his head.

He thought it would be enough to knock him down, but the man stumbled and groaned as he turned back to Shiro. What surprised Shiro more was when he pressed his ear and said something in Russian,

"White Bird spotted on second floor bathroom."

He didn't know what the man's business was, but whatever it was, he knew he was dealing with something bigger than he initially thought. This was not a crazy man who wanted to attack a random Japanese; it almost seemed planned.

Shiro didn't want to do violence today, nor was he in the mood for it. However, hearing that was unsettling for him. "White Bird" sounded like a code name.

The man went in for another charge, but Shiro passed him like earlier, and when the man turned around to go back at Shiro again, he found the opportunity to kick the balls. The man instantly went limp and knelt to the ground. To finish it off, Shiro did a spinning back kick.

He picked up the stun gun, put it in his pants' pocket, and ran to the escalator. Although he wanted to get rid of it, he couldn't shake off the possibility of the man's "friends" coming to help.

The people that Shiro passed by were bewildered, but he had no time to worry about public image. He had to get out as soon as possible.

He arrived at the escalator, and thought he was safe, until he caught a glimpse of another Russian man. He ran up the escalator, pushing the Japanese out of his way while maintaining eye contact. Shiro thought now would be a good time to jump down to the first floor.

Rolling to break his fall and keep his momentum, Shiro ran back to Sora and the others, but when he looked back to see the Russian jump over the escalators' railings, he had no choice but to go back and confront him.

"EVERYBODY, RUN!" Shiro shouted at the top of his lungs.

This did confuse everybody, but Shiro needed to say something so everybody could follow what he said if something were to go wrong.

The Russian man pulled out a pen, and held it in an icepick grip. He tried to go for Shiro's head, but Shiro passed him, readied a punch to the liver, and gave a strong hook.

It made the man wince and curl, giving Shiro the opportunity to grab the pen from his right hand, and twist his arm while slapping it upwards to disarm. However, Shiro saw the man pull something out from his behind with his left hand.

"Oh, don't tell me that's a—FUCKING GUN-"

Shiro instantly side kicked the man, sending him flying backwards as he pulled the trigger.

A loud bang echoed throughout the whole mall, and pandemonium ensued. Everybody screamed their lungs out while causing a stampede as they ran outside.

"Shiro-kun!!" Suisei shouted as she tried to run towards him. However, somebody grabbed her by the arm.

"Sui-chan, don't!" Marine screamed.

"B-But-"

Suisei froze once she saw Sora and a few others absolutely frozen. They didn't know what to do; they were split with securing their survival and helping out Shiro.

"We need to run!"

"S-Shiro-kun is going to die!-"

"He won't! I-I-I'm sure he'll survive! But I'll be damned if we don't call the police to help him soon! We need to get out now!" Marine said as she dragged both Suisei and Sora out the mall.

"Kaede-senpai, call 110!" Hoshikawa shouted.

"I-I'm on it!"

While the man was down, Shiro went on top of the man, and held the arm that held the gun. The man desperately used two hands to aim it at Shiro while pulling the trigger multiple times. Shiro was more powerful though, so he was able to manage with one arm, and used his right hand to punch the man's face.

The man, however, let his left hand go from supporting the gun, and stopped Shiro's punch. This made Shiro spin his arm around, making the man lose grip, and went for a slap to the face. After that, he did a hammer fist against the man's nose, spewing out blood. Finally, he got the stun gun from his pocket, held it in a hammer grip, and went for the man's neck.

The man stopped it once more, although the stun gun was barely stopped from reaching his neck. Shiro switched the stun gun to an icepick grip, and shocked the man's arm, making him convulse and shake violently while losing control of his grip. To finish him off, Shiro turned the stun gun off for a moment and shocked him directly at the neck.

The man passed out, and for one more good measure, he punched the man in the face, spewing out blood once more.

Shiro grabbed the gun, stood up, and scanned his surroundings, making sure those two were the only ones after him.

He looked up, seeing people from the higher floors terrified but still recording the incident with their phones.

"Oh, come the fuck on. Have you ever considered how I'll be able to go outside without any trouble? Now I'll be known as the guy who fought against a few Russians in a mall. My privacy is now fucked, ain't it?"

"Man, that was fucking crazy-" Shiro gasped at what he just noticed about the pistol.

It felt like a Colt 1911, and looked similar to one, but examining it closely, he saw something debossed at the grip. A circle with two big lines going across it like a cross. It looked like a modified Russian "F" letter.

"The fuck is this brand doing here?! It can't be...He should've been dead, which would also result to the ceasing of production, but...could he still be alive-"

His train of thought got interrupted as he heard footsteps at the entrance. He saw that a couple more Russians came in with sub-machine guns strapped to their bodies.

"Oh shit!" Shiro blurted as the Russian men loaded their guns and pointed it at Shiro.

He ran like lightning towards a nearby store as bullets sprayed towards him. Shiro rolled, and crouched behind the cashier's counter to recollect himself.

"Press check...Of course there's a bullet. The motherfucker used it." Shiro proceeded to eject the magazine and pulled the slide back to eject the round inside it. He inspected the chamber to make sure it was completely empty.

"Goddamn, that guy was smart. Wasting bullets so that I might not be able to use this. I got three bullets left, and there were eight guys outside. Fuck."

Shiro loaded the bullet back into the magazine, and put the magazine back as he cocked the gun.

"Doesn't help much that the store I'm in is a cosmetics store. If I'm gonna die today, I might as well take some motherfuckers with me. The police ain't gonna help much right now." Shiro said as he took deep and long breaths. "Man, just like riding a bike, ey?"

Shiro peeked his head out with the gun aiming as far to the right as possible, and waited until he saw one of the Russians.

Finally seeing a shiny head, he shot. "Being bald has some negatives, huh?" Shiro chuckled.

Another man came in, and aimed his gun at Shiro, but he was able to shoot the man first, although he only hit the man's chest.

A third came, but Shiro wasn't fast enough to shoot, so he ducked down — just enough to get out of the Russian's line of sight.

"Okay, he knows where I'm at. If only one of them can come to my location, I can kill him, steal his weapon, make him a meatshield, and kill the others. At least, that's my only plan left."

Bullets were sprayed towards Shiro's direction, and it seemed endless. Shiro instantly thought he could wait it out as another option, but he was sure they weren't mindless idiots who would just stand there and keep spraying bullets until the police would come.

Shiro waited for the moment one of them would come to execute his plan. He peeked at the corner, and saw them striding towards his way, with the point man firing a bullet to Shiro. He went back to cover in the nick of time.

"Okay. On three...one, two, three!-"

Gunshots could be heard coming from the entrance, prompting Shiro to peek out from his cover. He saw the Russians also looking back. A few of them were shot down.

"Now!" He went out of cover while sprinting as fast as possible towards the point man. He wasn't too far, so it took two to three steps before Shiro was able to tackle him right when he was about to turn around.

Sticking the gun into the man's chest, Shiro pulled the trigger. He threw away the pistol, grabbed the man's gun, and spun it around so that it aimed to his back and over the shoulder.

Shiro pushed back the man with all his might while also firing the gun to kill the other men. They stood no chance against being outflanked. The tables have turned, and Shiro was at the winning side now.

He finally got out of the store and pushed the Russian man away. Although he got a few bullets to the body from his own men, it seemed he wasn't alive anymore. Just for good measure though, Shiro soccer kicked him in the body.

Shiro panted and scanned everywhere once more. He did one final deep breath to compose himself. It was a wild ride, for sure, but the whole ordeal had finally stopped.

Looking to where the gunners were that shot the Russians, he noticed some familiar faces. So familiar, Shiro was not just acquainted with them, but he knew their faces and silhouettes all too well.

"Oi! What the hell are y'all doing here!?"

Their reply to his question were just smiles and a woman with long pink hair waving.

"Damn, it's nice to see you, Sakura, Ryuu, Kichi, Ryo."

"Still know how to use a gun, huh, kiddo?" Ryo lightly punched Shiro's shoulder.

"Just like the old times." Shiro chuckled. "Though, I expected the NPA (National Police Agency) to come sooner. What brings the military here?"

"Well, I don't wanna fill you in on the details, but recently, there's been some shady business goin' around with firearm distribution. Quite illegal, you see. The police thought it was a bit too out of their scope, so they asked us for assistance, the JSDF."

Ryo looked just like an average adult that, if you took off his uniform and dressed him in regular clothing, he'd look like a civilian. However, he was very smart and competent for his looks. A very trusty companion. He could see how they could help the police. Though, it all didn't add up for Shiro.

"Police? They asked for the JSDF's assistance? Why is it just you four? Even if it was our whole squad, if it was involving the military, I expected two squads at the bare minimum, with one of them taking care of securing the area."

Not to mention, Shiro wasn't always looking at the news, but he was sure it would've caught his attention since he took matters like this seriously. Everything also seemed normal, aside from the surprise party the Russians gave him, so for "suspicious" activity to be around seemed dubious.

"Well, you see, this is 'classified' information. Little info is spread about this entire thing."

Shiro thought it was a bit "lacking" in his opinion, but he had to take it at face value. After all, he was now considered a civilian, so he can't go to the military and ask for the said information out of nowhere, and he knows he shouldn't be poking his nose where it doesn't belong.

However, he was not done with his barrage of questions. "Is that so? Well, I wish you good luck with that. Though, you said something about illegal distribution of firearms, right? Then...what the hell is up with the guns they carried?"

Shiro went from being relaxed to tensing up and glaring — one that signaled the four that he meant business with that look and he was not playing any jokes, nor was he down for some.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you know what a circle with a cross-like pattern on it refers to. I'm talking about why their guns had Adrik's trademark on it. If you guys know about this 'classified' information, that means you know what's the reasoning behind it, right? The main guy behind it is dead, so why's it still in production?"

Ryo didn't show it, but he knew Shiro was just as smart and cunning, if not, smarter and more cunning than he was. After all, he was taught by Kurome, so he was pushed past his limits. One small slip-up, and Shiro would pick up on that instantly. Not to mention, Shiro was one of the good soldiers that fought for his nation, so he'd gladly accept the offer of being called back to active duty if it meant he could prevent something big.

"Oh, it's nothin' special. One of Adrik's subordinates took on the role of overseeing and managing the production of their weapons. Think of it as them separating from Adrik and making their own business."

Shiro looked at Ryo for a few seconds before nodding and looking away. "That seems reasonable enough. I can see how that'd make sense. Though...one last question. If there is an illegal distribution of firearms, does that mean that Adrik's guns are out for mass production instead of being sold in private to certain buyers? If possible too, is it also out for distribution in the black market and dark web?"

Ryo smiled and mentally breathed a sigh of relief as he could be honest with Shiro for this one. "Nope. As far as we're aware, they're only cherry pickin'."

Shiro also felt relieved to hear it and sighed. "I guess that's good."

"Shiro-kun!!" Sora shouted in the distance.

"Everybody! Are you okay!?" Shiro replied back.

"We're fine!!" Marine cupped her hands on her mouth.

They finally arrived at where Shiro and the four stood, and Sora, Marine, and Matsuri pounced on him.

"Woah woah woah. Okay, okay, calm down. I'm alive. I just came back from the dead, but I'm alive." Shiro giggled nervously as he patted their heads.

"W-We were very worried, you know?!" Matsuri screamed as tears started to form in her eyes.

"I know, but I'm not dead, as you can see. The V-Rapper of Holostars is currently patting your heads." Shiro smiled and chuckled.

"D-Don't do that again, okay!? Just take care of the bad guys and run!" Marine shouted.

"I-I thought we'd never be able to see you again!" Sora cried.

Shiro patted them one last time before they let go of him. Looking at the others, he saw Mito, Kaede, Hoshikawa, Fubuki, and Suisei. He went to the white fox first, who hung her head low and held her left shoulder.

"Fubuki."

"Shiro-kun...I-I'm sorry I couldn't do much. Matsuri-chan and Hoshikawa-san ended up dragging me with them because I was too terrified. I-I didn't know what to do-"

"Fubuki, don't worry." Shiro said, patting her head. "You're just a streamer who entertains fans, plays games, and does dancing and singing as an idol. Of course you'd be terrified of guns and blood. You didn't have to play the hero for me."

"Shiro-kun…" Fubuki looked up to Shiro who gave her a big smile. "W-We tried to call 110 when we escaped, so they should arrive any minute now."

"Thanks. And uh...Suisei."

The others had a look of worry on their faces, but Suisei's face, if Shiro had to be honest, intimidated him a bit. She looked angry, but not in a way where she wished he hadn't come back. Suisei was definitely worried though.

"I'm okay, so you don't need to worry...oh?"

Suisei stomped her way towards Shiro, and out of nowhere, she gave him a hard slap to the face. This surprised everybody, even Shiro's past squad.

A red hand mark could be seen on his right cheek. He definitely did not expect her to be that aggressive. He expected a hug or something else, but not that.

"You idiot…"

"H-Huh? Hey, why the hell did you do that-"

"'No need to worry'? Are you fucking kidding me?" Suisei still looked down with her body shaking and her voice sounding like she was on the verge of tears.

"W-What?"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN WE SHOULDN'T 'WORRY'!? YOU ALMOST DIED THERE!"

This was the first time he saw Suisei snap. It gave the same surprise as when he first heard Rushia snap at Marine back at the arcade. He could only stand there and take her hug as she kept crying on his chest.

"You big idiot! What do guns and knives make you think of?! A game?! That's a warzone you're diving into! And you're just gonna come back all relaxed and go 'Oh, I'm alive. Don't worry.'?! There are no rewinds, you know?! What would happen if you got at least one bullet to the body?!" Suisei looked up at Shiro.

"You'd get sent to the hospital, and everybody would be worried, especially the Niji livers who got to know you! Your fans would wonder what happened, and find out that you were the one who took care of them! Imagine getting yourself doxxed! Think about Yagoo, your family, the Hololivers! The whole time, I was worried to death! We were worried to death! I couldn't stand the thought of you...dying." Suisei looked back down and cried the rest of her tears.

"Just stay with us, please...Don't go and be a hero, anymore. You're retired, aren't you? Please just-"

Shiro cut her off with a pat on the head. "I'm sorry. Very sorry. But Suisei, I had to neutralize the guy, you know? I couldn't just punch him and take away the gun. As long as all of you are safe, that's what matters the most."

"Besides...It's hard-wired into my brain to save people, you know? Now, stop crying. It makes you look ugly." Shiro joked and giggled as he wiped her tears.

Suisei gave out a small chuckle from his response. "You can't just joke around all of a sudden, you meathead. That's not fair...Oh? Shiro-kun, there's some...blood...on your hands."

"Blood?" Shiro asked as he raised his hands.

Shiro became scared, but it wasn't because of the blood he had on his hands. It was because he didn't want to traumatize them any further. They may not be used to seeing blood, especially from somebody like Shiro who was a trained killer.

He looked down to see that his hoodie had a hint of blood in it too. It was faint, compared to his hands, but blood on black surfaces are still slightly visible.

"A-Ah, shit. I'm very sorry, Suisei-"

"N-No, no. It's okay. You can wipe the blood off with this. Here." Suisei offered her handkerchief. Shiro hesitantly used it to wipe off the blood.

"So um...Shiro-kun, you did all this, huh?" Hoshikawa asked, trying to break the tension in the atmosphere.

"Oh? Yeah, well, some of it."

"Why are there soldiers here too?"

"Well…" Shiro said as he gave back the handkerchief to Suisei. "They were my squad members back when I was still a soldier."

"S-Squad members? So you're the real deal?"

Hoshikawa and the others dropped their jaws. Although Mito and Kaede were the only ones who legitimately didn't know about it, the others knew, especially the Hololivers, but didn't know anything else aside from the fact that he was a former soldier.

Shiro took off his hoodie, and tied the sleeves together around his hip while avoiding touching his white shirt. Fortunately, it was spotless.

"Well, we're done here. We don't wanna keep the others waiting for too long, so let's go back, ey?"

"Yeah!" The others replied.

"Though, you girls go first. Just wait for a taxi, or something. I gotta give my final words to them." Shiro said. The girls were hesitant, but they finally went outside.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I sounded a bit too nosy earlier. I know it's none of my business, as well as for the fact that I'm now a civilian…" Shiro paused, hinting a continuation to his sentence.

"...However, before those eight dudes came, there were two Russians before that. One of them attacked me while I was exiting the second floor's bathroom, and called me by a codename, 'White Bird'. This might bring political issues between Russia and Japan, so just know that, if this shit is bigger than I think it is, there's always the option of calling me back to active duty." Shiro patted Ryo by the shoulder.

"Welp, you all take care now, aight? Don't die." Shiro chuckled before going to the girls.

"Welp, Ryo, it seems our Shiro has grown up a lot." Sakura chuckled. "At least the police are here now. About damn time."

"Yeah...Remember Kurome's orders. If possible, keep him out of this. Let's go secure the package, huh?"