It was supposed to be a simple mission, plant bombs in each of the dressrooms, get out, and go home, maybe eat ice cream on the way, before the bombs explode.
So how did my day spiral into this? fleeing for my life from what I could only describe as a small kid in a chicken suit.
My legs sprinted down the narrow alley, screaming from the long chase. My lungs burned, and behind me echoed the unmistakable war cry of my pursuer.
"BWAAAAK!"
I risked a look back.
There he was.
A tiny teenager, maybe fifteen at most, completely swallowed by an enormous, bright white, chicken suit, only a part of his face can be seen under the hood. It covered his entire body, and running with that on in this heat is impossible.
Yet the kid kept up with him. Running all over the city, and while screaming chicken noises as well.
"W-why are you so fast?!" My voice exhausted and breathless.
"BUK BUK BAWK!" He shrieked back.
I burst onto the street, narrowly avoiding a car. The driver slamming their brakes, and shouting curses at me.
The chicken teenager vaulted over the car.
He didn't leap gracefully, no. He grabbed the top of the car and swung his whole body upwards like a rabid dog.
He landed with a squeaky thud.
"BAWK BAWK BAWK!"
People stopped and stared.
A fully grown adult in panic.
Being hunted by a small teenager.
Inside a chicken suit.
"I can't believe this," I muttered, pushing my aching legs towards yet another alley, trying to avoid as much attention as possible.
"BUKAAAAAAAAWK!"
"Is this karma?"
***
'Maybe I'm having too much fun.' Naoki thought to himself while chasing the man to yet another alley.
'This dude sure loves thight alleys.' Translated to chicken is: "BAWK BAWK BAWK THIGHT BAWK!!"
They'd been running for a while now. At first, Naoki's heart raced, not from the sprint, but from the fear that someone might spot the bomb the man was carrying ahead. If that happened, the authorities would be called, Mr. Watanabe would find out that he let a man with a bomb escape, and Naoki would face another scolding. Just the thought made him shiver.
But none of that happened. Naoki had no idea if people simply assumed it was part of some act, after all, the chicken suit was ridiculously magnificent, or if the bomb looked more like some bizarre measuring plate than an actual threat. Either way, no one had called the authorities.
The man turned another corner, and Naoki followed. He expected another alley, but this time it was different. The man was climbing scaffolding on what appeared to be an abandoned construction site as no workers were in sight. Or are they just taking a quick break?
He pushed his thoughts aside and focused on climbing. His arms... well, wings, technically, gripped the wooden poles as he began scaling the scaffolding after the man. It annoyed him a little; now they weren't just running with their feet, they were using their hands as well.
It didn't matter much physically as he was a trained mercenary, not as great as Saitou but still trained.
Finally reaching the top, he looked around for the man and found him slumped on the other side, breathing heavily.
This was a problem, now he actually needed to convince the man into giving him the bomb, and how exactly is he going to do that with only chicken noises?
'Hmmmmmm?' He could stop, sure... but did he really want to?'
"Brrrrrrrring… Brrrrrrrrrring." The sound cut through Naoki's thoughts. He fumbled inside the chicken suit, grabbed his phone, and quickly answered.
"Bawk?"
"Sir, it's Alfred," an old voice came through the phone. "We found multiple bombs in the dressing rooms thanks to the information you provided, we've also found three others responsible for the attack. All of them have been dealt with, but we still evacuated the civilians and conducted a thorough search for any additional explosives."
"Bawk, bawk."
"Thank you, sir. But I need to inform you, all the explosives have a thirty minute timer. I suggest releasing any that you might still have safely and immediately."
'Right... I have two in my suitcase.'
"AAAHHHHHHH!!" Panicking, Naoki threw his suitcase on the other side of the building.
The man watched this scene dumbfounded. "What are you doing?" He couldn't help but ask.
"THERE'S TWO BOMBS IN THERE SO YOU BETTER RUN!!"
The man released a really long sigh, "I can't believe I was just running away from you" he mumbled.
Kicking the suitcase back to Naoki, he continued. "Don't worry, I haven't activated those yet."
Naoki also released a sigh, this time a relieved one. "Fuuu, that was a close one." He said while picking the suitcase back up.
"Okay, man, you're coming with me now. Terrorizing people? Super uncool." Naoki started walking towards the man.
"And by the way, my… acquaintance already defused all your bombs and captured your companions, so how about we just skip the whole?"
"And by the way, my… acquaintance already defused all your bombs and captured your companions, so how about we just skip the whole fighting part, yeah?"
Only a few meters away, Naoki finally noticed what he should've seen sooner. The man's defiant, almost fatal resolve, like he'd rather die than submit to authorities, and the last bomb clenched tightly against his arm.
Naoki shoved the suitcase between his face and the explosion just in time. The device detonated, and the world erupted into blinding light and deafening noise. The shockwave slammed into him, hurling him backwards. Dust, smoke, and debris filled the air, reducing visibility to nearly zero.
By the time the ringing in his ears faded, Naoki was coughing violently, trying to push himself upright through the haze, heart hammering as he took in the sight around him.
His body stiffened and the world spun as he tried not to retch at the sight. He wanted to look away, needed to tear his eyes away, but he couldn't. Something held him there, frozen, staring at the aftermath he wished he hadn't witnessed.
In front of him, the man was gone or at least what remained was unrecognizable. His whole upper body ripped apart from the explosion and now missing. His lower half in a tangled bloody mess as his stomach and intestines slowly crawled out.
Naoki was in a terrible state as well. His suit covered in blood, he wasn't sure was his own, his arm broken from the explosion, and his whole body ached from the fall. The only part of him that remained relatively unscathed was his face, which he covered with the suitcase for some semblance of protection.
But that wasn't what hurt most, no. Instead a sharp sting was piercing his chest, a bitter mix of fear, guilt, and helplessness settling over him.
After all he'd just killed someone... or is it really his fault?
The man chose to die himself, plus he was a terrorist who killed many already. He deserved to die, really.
So how is it his fault?
Why did the guilt burn so deep in him?