At the entrance of the mall, Mukuro stood alone. He and Suguru had already parted ways. After such a dangerous ordeal, the other boy had eagerly hopped into a taxi and rushed home, leaving him behind.
"Beep... beep..."
By the roadside, Mukuro listened to the unanswered ringing on the other end of the phone. Veins popped across his forehead as frustration grew.
"It's him! He's a murderer too!"
Just as he was about to head out and find the man himself, an annoying voice rang out behind him.
Turning, he found a young woman dressed stylishly, tugging a policeman's sleeve while sobbing and pointing at him.
"If he hadn't hidden the money, my boyfriend wouldn't have died! He killed my boyfriend!"
Her hysterical accusations made it clear she was talking about the bespectacled man who had earlier tried to use Mukuro as a scapegoat.
"Miss, we understand your feelings, but if you keep making a scene like this, we'll have no choice but to detain you for obstructing our work."
One of the officers had just come back from the scene of the stolen goods and knew well enough that Mukuro was not someone they should provoke. He quickly stepped forward to hold her back.
"You sure didn't seem so devoted to your boyfriend back inside," Mukuro muttered, uninterested in wasting time on a drama queen trying to draw attention. He waved dismissively, turned his back on her, and climbed into a waiting taxi. The woman flushed crimson with humiliation.
"Where to, kid?" The driver started the car and asked, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.
"The most famous casino nearby."
The phone still gave a busy signal. Mukuro's face darkened, but his tone stayed calm as he told the destination.
"Eh? A casino? Kids like you shouldn't be going to a place like that…" The driver was about to refuse, but two crisp 1000-yen bills landed on the seat beside him.
"Well now, customers are always right. How could I possibly question what the customer wants?"
The sudden shift in tone couldn't have been more obvious.
* * *
Half an hour later, Mukuro arrived at the grand entrance of the most well-known casino around.
The gilded doors glimmered under the lights, dazzling to the eye, luring countless greedy souls who dreamed of getting rich overnight.
Inside, after asking a few simple questions, Mukuro spotted the man he had been looking for among the crowd. Despite the weather, Toji wore only a tight black T-shirt that showed off his solid frame, making him impossible to miss.
"How did you know I was here?"
Mukuro had barely stepped behind him when Toji turned, already aware of his presence.
"To find a rotten gambler like you, of course I'd come to a casino. I just asked the waitresses if there was some jerk in a T-shirt who at least looked human hanging around."
With a face like his, Toji drew stares wherever he went, whether from young girls or older women. Mukuro's sarcastic jab carried no mercy.
"So, how much have you lost?"
"Tch. Quit yapping, brat."
Toji chuckled before grabbing him by the collar and dragging him toward the exit.
"This place may be paradise for gamblers, but the control is too obvious. Takes all the fun out of it. Best to just watch." Once they left the noisy floor behind, he finally spoke again. Everyone knew the truth: nine out of ten games were rigged.
That was why, compared to traditional table games, he preferred horse racing and boat races. Even if those events were manipulated behind the scenes, at least he didn't know it. If he won, it meant his instincts and luck had been good. If he lost, so be it.
But at these tables, every trick the cheaters used was clear to his eyes and ears. Money won this way had no thrill.
He had only come to see if Tokyo's casinos were any different from Kyoto's. As expected, they weren't.
"Why didn't you answer your phone?"
Mukuro let out a breath of relief. At least the money hadn't been lost. He tapped the phone bulging in Toji's pocket with an annoyed look.
"Huh? Oh, I silenced it since we're about to start a job. Forgot about that." He pulled the phone out and scratched his head.
"Let's go. It's late. We'll eat first, then get back to business." Mukuro shook his head with a helpless sigh.
* * *
Together, the brothers flagged another taxi and rode to a tall luxury hotel not far from their target's residence.
With their thick wallets, getting a private room was effortless.
When they drew back the curtains, the full night view of Tokyo stretched before them. For once, even the two brothers, who rarely cared about such things, were caught staring in silence.
"Gentlemen, your meal is ready."
A waitress wheeled in dish after steaming dish, filling the room with rich aromas.
They sat back at the table and began eating without the drawn-out process of fine dining, where dishes came one at a time with long-winded explanations. They had been hungry and asked to skip all the pretentious steps. Soon, the table was packed with food.
"If you need anything else, just press this button, and I'll come right away." The pretty woman with heavy make-up placed a small device with a single button on the table, giving what she thought was a seductive glance before leaving.
"Disgusting."
She could never have imagined Toji would crush the device in one hand and toss it in the trash like garbage.
"The food's average. Just a bit of novelty."
Mukuro looked at the carefully plated dishes. To him, they weren't much different from the meals sold by food stalls on the street.
"By the way, tonight's their family's weekly dinner. I plan to move then." Toji stuffed a chunk of meat into his mouth, then pointed his chopsticks toward the window as if he were already stabbing into their target's chest.
"This is the best chance. Saves us the trouble of hunting them down one by one." Mukuro agreed. Striking at night had been their plan from the start. "But we can't let anyone learn who we are. Don't use names during the job."
As he said it, both of them reached for the last piece of beef at the same time.
"Speaking of which, wasn't disguise supposed to be your responsibility? Where's the gear? Not even a mask?" Toji raised an eyebrow, tightening his grip on the chopsticks and flicking the meat into the air.
"Don't underestimate me. I don't need props to pull it off."
Mukuro leapt up, jaws snapping toward the meat.
"Then stop wasting time."
But Toji's hand was faster. He caught the beef midair and popped it into his mouth, leaving Mukuro biting down on nothing. The impact rattled his teeth so hard his whole body shook.
Wiping his lips with a towel, Toji couldn't resist taunting him. "Careful, brat. Too much meat and you'll end up with indigestion."
"Tch."
Mukuro waved him off. Their stomachs full, they left the hotel.
* * *
"First Path: Mirror Flower, Water Moon."
As the brothers made their way toward the target's house under the night sky, Mukuro's right eye turned blood-red. The number "1" glowed within it.
A surge of overwhelming mental energy erupted from him, spreading hundreds of meters around.
"One, huh… what's different this time?" Toji lowered his head and saw that Mukuro's face had already changed completely.
Looking again at the reflections in the glass along the street, he realized neither of them looked like themselves anymore.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!