"Aiyaya, what gay bar? I was just passing by~ I don't know anything at all." Sensing things were going south, Gojo Satoru cupped his face and started playing dumb.
"Tell me the truth."
Gin was all too familiar with the tone Satoru used when lying. "Vodka, get out. I need to talk to Kaiser alone."
"Ah, yes!"
I bet Big Brother is definitely jealous over Mr. Kaiser.
Vodka, convinced he had uncovered the truth, sighed deeply. He should have seen it coming... since Kaiser was gay and had such a good relationship with Big Brother, how could the two of them possibly be "clean"?
Sigh, even with Big Brother around, he still goes out in the middle of the night to flirt with others. Mr. Kaiser is really too much... Still, he had to admit, the guy was incredibly brave.
Consequently, Satoru inexplicably received 500 impression points from Vodka.
Unaware that his own reputation was also taking a hit, Gin listened to the explanation. "...So you're saying you went to the bar to find an ability user? And you saved someone named Kuruko from his hands?"
Gin looked at him skeptically.
"It's the absolute truth, Gin-chan!" Satoru cried innocently.
In reality, Gin didn't necessarily disbelieve him—it's just that none of this explained why he stayed out all night and didn't return until nine in the morning. The true reason was, of course, the impression points, but Satoru couldn't say that.
Therefore, Gin simply couldn't make sense of the logic.
It was no secret to him that Satoru was a one-in-a-billion ability user. Based on his knowledge of this guy, even a so-called S-rank ability user shouldn't last more than a few moves against him. Why did it take so long?
...He didn't fight his way onto a bed, did he?
A name like "Kuruko" sounded like the stage name of a hostess. Combined with the fact that he entered that specific type of bar... all deductions pointed toward the one conclusion Gin didn't want to believe.
His only best friend had, at some point, turned as "curved" as a mosquito coil.
Gin had woken up once around 3:00 AM and noticed Satoru was gone. He thought Satoru had gone to sleep in his own room, but to think... he had run off to a place like that. While such things weren't rare, he never thought it would happen to Satoru. Life was truly unpredictable.
Gin pulled his fedora down, a flash of complexity crossing his dark green eyes. Even though they had slept so close last night, the "lonely and unbearable" Satoru still cherished their friendship and chose not to make a move on him... He truly did view him as a best friend.
"Gin-chan, what are you thinking?" Satoru felt Gin was looking at him strangely. The Six Eyes even captured an aura of... "tolerance"?
"Nothing." Gin sighed silently. "Listen, I won't interfere with your private life. I don't care if you like men or women. As long as you're still the Satoru I know... that's enough."
"But playing around too much isn't a good thing."
"Ha?" Satoru finally realized his brainwaves were on a completely different frequency from his best friend's.
"Jin!! What the hell are you thinking?! I am NOT GAY, dammit—!!"
(ノ=Д=)ノ┻━┻
Gojo-cat was truly fuming. Dammit, who's "playing around"?! Stop spreading rumors!
Satoru was so agitated that his throat felt parched from shouting. In his state of emergency, he didn't pay attention to his surroundings. He grabbed a cup of "juice" from the table and gulped down half of it.
"Haaa— I said I'm really not..."
Wait. Something felt... wrong.
His mind went blank for a split second as he stared at the remaining "beverage" in his hand. The analysis of the Six Eyes sluggishly entered his brain.
...Vodka with an alcohol content exceeding 40%.
One second later, with a soft "thud," he collapsed limply.
"Satoru!!"
Gin's pupils shrank. He rushed over to catch the falling body. After checking, he realized the boy had just drunk a bit of alcohol and finally relaxed. He called Vodka in and asked where the liquor came from.
"That... when I went to the bar downstairs to scout for info, I bought some on the way..." The hulking man admitted sheepishly. He really liked the drink that shared his codename, so he bought some in a moment of greed.
"..." If Gin remembered correctly, during their three years in the training camp, Satoru had kept his distance every time he saw alcohol.
It was obvious he hated alcohol, and his tolerance was likely poor. But Gin soon realized that "poor" was a gross understatement.
"Haha, heh... hehehe... I feel so happy—"
A tipsy Satoru opened his eyes and let out a manic laugh. His cheeks were flushed deep crimson, and his usually clear blue eyes had become incredibly glazed.
"...hic~ Gin-chan? You've turned into three... no, five of you..."
Gin looked at his obviously abnormal state and hesitantly waved a hand in front of his face. He wanted to call him "Satoru," but considering Vodka was present, he quickly corrected himself.
"Kaiser... how are you feeling?"
"I'm great! I feel like I've never been better..." Satoru's long, fair hands suddenly grabbed Gin's collar. "Model Worker, when did you learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
Gin: "?" What kind of nickname is that? Is he talking to me?
"Hehe~ so what if it's a clone? I'm the... hic... strongest in the world... Witness my Sharingan—no, Sexy Jutsu!!"
"Wait, what are you doing?! Let go of me, AHHHH!!"
"A sorcerer who doesn't want to be the Pirate King isn't a good Hokage!! Hahaha Hahaha—!!"
Several hours later, Satoru slowly woke up. He shook his head violently to stop the room from spinning.
As he gradually recovered from his drunken stupor, he found himself still in the safe house, fully clothed. He breathed a sigh of relief. Good, it seems I stayed in the house and didn't run outside to go crazy. He knew his limits—one cup and he was down, let alone a high-proof spirit like Vodka.
After accidentally drinking that much, his consciousness had basically blacked out. He couldn't remember anything.
No... he seemed to remember a tiny bit.
Satoru stood up and took a deep breath, first checking the impression point logs in the system panel. The system indicated that in the past few hours, he had received 2,000 points from Vodka and 1,000 points from Gin.
That's a lot. But for the first time, he felt heavy because of the point increase.
He looked at the empty living room and slowly moved his feet. He first walked to the kitchen and found Vodka lying on the floor with shattered sunglasses, looking as if he had passed away.
...Fortunately, he was still breathing; he was just unconscious. Finding no obvious wounds and confirming the man would eventually wake up, Satoru dragged him to the sofa and covered him with a blanket.
Well, hopefully this makes up for my drunken transgressions.
Next, he walked toward the bedroom and, unsurprisingly, found Gin tied up securely in the corner.
"Mmph! Mmph!!"
Upon seeing Satoru, Gin instinctively backed further into the corner.
...Fortunately, he was still wearing pants. Can that even be said? Those eight-pack abs were exposed to the air, and a piece of tape was stuck over his mouth.
Satoru hurriedly peeled it off and untied the ropes. Seeing that the boy had finally regained his senses, Gin spoke with a tone of ultimate resignation: "Don't ask what happened, okay?"
"Uh... I only want to ask one question."
"..."
"If I say I'm really not gay, do you still believe me?" Satoru prayed with his hands clasped piteously.
"...I believe you. I'll believe whatever you say," Gin said, sounding world-weary. "Just promise me one thing: never drink again—no, don't drink for the rest of your life."