23 - Lights Out

"This has gone on long enough," Yuuto murmured, glancing around the newly unguarded storage room where he and Nazuna had taken refuge.

"What has? I just started stitching you up; hold still for a sec," Nazuna replied casually, perched on his thigh as she focused on stitching his shoulder.

"Not that. I meant this whole charade. That kid's hypnotism," Yuuto replied with a sigh, his gaze drifting to the cluttered shelves around them.

"Hmmm... I suppose. I like a good fight, but it's a whole lot less thrilling when my opponent doesn't even know who's hitting them. Boring~" She muttered, her eyes briefly scanning Yuuto's form.

'He looked smaller in the video... Even his pants seem too tight now.' She noted mentally, observing the changes in his physique.

"What are you looking at?" Yuuto asked sharply, catching her wandering gaze.

"I'm sitting on such a muscular boy; you can't blame a girl for checking out the goods~" She teased, a playful smirk playing on her lips.

'...Well, I don't blame her. It IS me, after all. Come to think of it, I'm starting to feel as strong as I was in my original body... Hm... I thought those black hairs in Hiroki's hair were just his natural color, but could it be this body is transforming into my own over time?' Yuuto pondered, surprisingly unfazed by her comment.

"Hmph, I don't blame you. And since you're stitching me up, I'll give you a pass for checking me out," Yuuto retorted with calm gaze.

"Oh~... A boy this confident, too...? I half-expected you to be cuter, all bashful and embarrassed, like most muscleheads in your age~..." She remarked, her voice laced with curiosity and a tinge of disappointment.

"Is that why you kissed me earlier, too? For some reaction?" Yuuto queried, raising an eyebrow.

"Dunno. But yeah, I suppose~" She shrugged nonchalantly.

"...Right." He finished. A few more seconds of silence go by.

'It's a shame regarding the storehouse, though,' Yuuto thought as he took a moment to look around, 'This place is completely empty. Was it always like this? I hoped there'd be a bat or two, at the very least. Probably one of the main guys ordered the hypnotized students to empty this spot.' Yuuto deducted.

"Say, are you sure this is a gunshot wound?" she inquired, her eyebrow arching in skepticism as she neared finishing stitching him up.

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's just... it seems like you were stabbed with a pencil or something, rather than shot. Bullet wounds are usually nastier than this. Were you shot with rubber bullets from a sniper-rifle or something?" she asked casually.

"You're familiar with those kinds of injuries?" Yuuto asked.

"Oh, yeah. I've stitched up a lot of wounds before. That's why I'm curious... I'm almost sure this wasn't a typical bullet," she replied, glancing briefly at Yuuto's expression.

Yuuto looked down, deep in thought.

"...It was point-blank. I remember the blinding flare from the gun, the smell of gunpowder. That nasty boom nearly burst my eardrums. Then, it felt like someone had thrown a rock at my shoulder really hard. A few seconds later, it started to burn, like my flesh was on fire. Shortly after, it tingled, itched underneath the skin, even after I pulled it out. That was mostly it. I started to lose sensation there after the fight I've had with your psychotic friend," he recalled flatly, his gaze relaxed, almost distant.

"Yes, I'm sure," he affirmed, looking into her eyes.

"It was a live round. No mistaking it."

"Hmmmm...." She hummed, examining his expression for the slightest show of jest.

"Quite the poet. You familiar with situations like this, Yuuto Sakurai?" Nazuna inquired.

"..." Yuuto paused, as if seeking his answer on her forehead as she refocused on stitching.

"I have to be. Is there someone out there to do it for me?" He asked, his tone rhetorical.

"Aight," she replied nonchalantly.

'I remember plucking out the bullet. She says it's a pencil-sized wound, but I recall it being much bigger... Don't tell me it's healed this quickly to this extent... I don't like this at all.' Yuuto thought, feeling a twitch in his hand.

"Are you done? There's someone I need to get to over there," Yuuto pressed, urgency coloring his voice.

"Chillax... I'm almost done with your wound. From what you've told me, that bastard's here for you, right? I don't imagine he'll leave anytime soon, especially after all this," she responded confidently.

"Not that..."

"...?"

"There's... A client of mine up there. Probably getting brainwashed as we speak. I promised I'd save her."

"Ah, don't worry about it. My buddy's got her; he just texted me. He's probably looking for a place to keep her safe until all this blows over," Nazuna reassured him.

"...I don't buy it. Pics, or it didn't happen," Yuuto said flatly.

"Hey. He's my friend. Don't be rude!" she scolded, pulling the needle to the side with a pout.

"Ow..! Like I care! He's a part of why I passed out. You think I can trust him!?"

"YOU. WILL. HAVE. TO!" she insisted more forcefully, punctuating each word with a tug on the needle.

"Ow, ow, OW! Stop it! I'm not going to trust him after he almost got me killed," Yuuto protested.

"He wasn't trying to kill you... Just knock you out after roughing you up a bit. Take a chill pill, dude."

"Knocking me out in a place swarming with hypnotic officers and high schoolers while he's also injured from our fight? How is that NOT practically killing me?" Yuuto countered, skepticism lacing his words.

"...Okay, so he isn't the brightest. But still, he's not a bad guy. Just trust it, alright?" Nazuna pleaded, finishing up the stitch.

'...I doubt she'd be hypnotized, but I must remain vigilant. This is still an NTR world, and the first rule is that it's always gunning for the main character,' Yuuto thought, eyeing her skeptically.

"How were you not hypnotized?" Yuuto inquired.

"Hmm? Oh, I ditched classes with that guy and another friend of mine. Decided to go looking for you, then a bunch of hypnotists jumped us."

"Oh? They didn't catch you?"

"Nah. Just 20 or so students aren't enough to hold someone like me down. Might've been enough for Akito, though..." She mused, her gaze drifting upwards as she pondered.

'...She doesn't have the smell of dust or the residue of a hiding spot on her, so she's probably been moving around freely. She's telling the truth, then. Hah, I suppose Shota isn't bothering with hypnotizing anyone else since the first wave. One less enemy to worry about,' Yuuto reasoned silently.

"Anyway, let's get out of here," she said as she stood from his thigh. "I'll take you to him, and we can figure something out," she declared, heading towards the room exit.

With a resigned sigh, Yuuto rose from his chair and followed her to the door.

"You're gonna like him once you get to know him, he's—" she began, turning back to Yuuto.

"LOOK AWAY!!!!!" Yuuto screamed, lunging at her as she turned her head back towards the doorway.

Satoshi stood just five meters away, a smile playing on his lips as he looked into Nazuna's eyes, with Benson and his butler by his side.

"Hmph, it seems you were correct, you deviant..." the butler remarked to Benson.

"Of course, I was. Hiroki Morii dropped his weapons. Where else would he go...? Although, I didn't expect him to linger there for this long... What luck," Benson mused.

It was at that moment she froze.

"Capture Hiroki Morii, by any means necessary," Satoshi ordered, his hands clasped behind his back.

Suddenly, Nazuna's leg snapped up, kicking Yuuto in the face so swiftly it seemed her foot had always been there—he just hadn't noticed.

'FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!'