Cherry Blossoms and Fireworks
“Was that too long?”
“I suppose so.”
We had been gone for an hour and a half just to “grab some luggage,” so suspicion was inevitable. But Shinone Misano had already prepared more than enough excuses. No wonder she was the team leader—her foresight was impeccable.
She retrieved an icebox packed with various fruits and snacks from the trunk of her car, carried it to the cherry blossom viewing area, and then turned to the team with an apologetic, “Sorry about that!”
“I prepared all these snacks and fruits yesterday, but I accidentally left them at home. I had to run back and get them.”
“Ah, that makes sense. We were starting to worry when you didn’t come back.”
Before Shinone Misano had left, she’d told everyone to go ahead and drink, so the team was already enjoying beer, highballs, and chūhai while savoring the sight of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind.
I sat down on the picnic mat and took in the scenery. The ground was crowded with people, but lifting my gaze even a little filled my entire view with soft pink petals. The occasional breeze made them rustle and sway, and I felt the accumulated fatigue of the past days melting away.
“Ah! The food stalls are finally open! If there’s anything you want, go buy it,” Shinone Misano announced.
Since this was a Japanese company outing where everyone paid for themselves, there was no expectation of anyone treating the group. The alcohol was provided by the company, so the team members seemed perfectly content. As people began rising from their spots, I stood up as well.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, heading toward the stalls. That was when Mimata Chieri came jogging up beside me.
“Let’s go together~! Junior!”
“Sure. Did anything interesting happen while I was gone with the team leader?”
Mimata Chieri thought for a moment, then clapped her hands together. “Ah!”
“They were already setting up for the fireworks even though it’s still morning. Is there really that much preparation?”
“Oh, really? I’m not too familiar with fireworks myself…”
Fireworks usually started around eight or nine at night, so beginning preparations this early did seem a bit premature. Still, I wasn’t an expert, so I simply let the topic drop.
“The stalls start over here.”
“Were there this many food stalls last year too?”
I asked out of curiosity, but then realized Mimata Chieri had only recently transferred from the Taira Foundation. She probably wouldn’t know about last year’s event.
“I’m not sure, but the other team members said there were quite a lot last year as well.”
“I see. So, senior, what’s your favorite?”
We moved on from topics we both knew little about and I asked about her stall preferences instead.
“Me… Hmm. Dango and takoyaki, I think? Oh! Chocolate bananas too! What about you, Junior?”
“I like ikayaki and chicken skewers.”
“I’m not a big fan of ikayaki. But chicken skewers are great.”
Chatting comfortably, we first stopped at a yakisoba stall and ordered one. After the massive calorie burn earlier, I was determined to sample everything. While I waited for the yakisoba, Mimata Chieri darted to the neighboring chocolate banana stand, bought one, and returned.
“Want a bite, Junior?”
“Is that really okay?”
“Of course! Aaaahn~”
She held the chocolate banana she’d already taken a bite of close to my mouth, making an exaggerated “Aaaahn~” sound. I accepted the offering. The outer chocolate shell shattered with a satisfying crunch, giving way to the soft, sweet banana inside. Delicious. It was a combination that simply couldn’t taste bad.
“Shall we move to the next stall?”
“Yes~!”
We took the yakisoba in a disposable plastic container and continued on. Our next stop was the chicken skewer stand.
“Five negima with salt, ten momo with soy sauce, five kawa with soy sauce, and five tsukune with salt, please.”
“There are so many other stalls. Are you sure it’s okay to order that much?”
Mimata Chieri knew my appetite well, but her question carried the clear subtext of I know you eat a lot, but if you buy this much here, what will you do at the other stalls?
“These are one of each type for you, senior.”
“Oh, really? Then I’ll buy something for you at the next stall.”
We received the chicken skewers in plastic containers, then Mimata Chieri bought a portion of takoyaki at the next stall.
“Our hands are full. Should we eat some of this now and come back later?”
“Sounds good.”
We returned to the picnic mat carrying our haul. Some team members still hadn’t returned from the stalls, while others who had were already drinking with simple snacks.
Shinone Misano was eating her yakisoba. After burning that many calories, carbs were definitely necessary.
I sat down, passed one skewer of each type to Mimata Chieri, and began enjoying the food. Mmm~ Chicken skewers really were reliably delicious. Maybe I should take some home for Taira Yukiko.
As time passed, the team grew increasingly tipsy. Around noon, the number of visitors coming to see the cherry blossoms swelled. Mimata Chieri, now full, sat patting her belly with a languid expression. I decided to head out alone to check the stalls I hadn’t visited yet.
This was already my third trip, so this time I aimed for something sweet. I’d already had the chocolate banana, so I passed on that… Oh, they had tanghulu?
I bought three strawberry tanghulu and three grape tanghulu, had them packaged, and was walking back when—
BANG!
The sudden gunshot silenced the bustling park in an instant. What the hell? A group of about a dozen people stood holding guns.
A one-eyed man with a mohawk hairstyle had shouted the declaration. Fuck. They’d said they wouldn’t attack the Taira Group. At the name Jinildang, screams erupted and people tried to flee, only for more gunshots to ring out and several to collapse.
“Anyone who runs will die!”
The one-eyed mohawk man pulled out a sheet of paper and began reading from it. All the talk of the Emperor and imperial restoration made it clear what kind of extremist nonsense this was.
“Miss, take these.”
In case things turned violent, I handed my tanghulu to the most eye-catching beauty nearby—a woman with a striking hime cut.
“Huh? Oh, thank you…”
I rolled my neck from side to side, stretching, then rotated my wrists to make sure nothing would cramp.
“…eternal glory… Long live the Emperor!”
So that was the grand conclusion? The man then pulled something from his coat and hurled it. Wait, that was in the game too. It was the K1M bomb—commonly used by terrorist groups. Players simply read the “1” as “I” and called it the “Kim” bomb. Its blast radius was only about ten meters, but in a crowded place like this, it could easily produce dozens of casualties.
Whether from body-enhancement procedures or not, the bomb the one-eyed mohawk threw flew an absurd distance. Unfortunately, its trajectory was heading straight toward our team’s location. I urgently thrust my hand toward the airborne explosive. The bomb froze in mid-air, then shot skyward at tremendous speed. A moment later—
KWAAAAAANG!
It detonated with a deafening roar. Yeah, fuck. Now that’s what I call fireworks.
It was a good thing I had kept practicing psychokinesis. Or perhaps it was fortunate that I had chosen psychokinesis as my level-up trait after all that sex. Either way, I’d pushed myself a little too hard; my temples were now throbbing.
“Tsk! Since it’s come to this, kill them all with gunfire!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
Civilians began to flee in panic as bullets flew everywhere. Complete chaos. I charged at the nearest Jinildang underling who was firing his weapon. Switching both arms to block the bullets aimed at my head, I closed the distance and slammed my fist into his side with everything I had. A sickening crunch sounded as his flank caved inward. Shattered ribs tore through his organs; he collapsed, vomiting blood. One down.
Seeing their comrade fall, the enemy concentrated fire on me. If I kept taking hits like this, even with the Yeouiju halving the damage, death was inevitable. I changed tactics mid-charge, rolled across the ground, and took cover behind a cherry tree. Then I scaled the trunk, leaped from the branches, and pounced on another terrorist. As we crashed to the ground, I drove my index and middle fingers into his eyes and used shadow to scramble his brain.
“GRAAAAH!”
The Jinildang underling died with a final agonized scream. I grabbed the back of his neck, using the corpse as a meat shield to block incoming bullets while advancing on the next target. I hurled the body aside, dropped low, slipped under his gun, and delivered a devastating uppercut to his jaw. The force of the blow—every ounce of strength in my body concentrated into that single strike—shattered his cervical vertebrae. He died instantly.
I was about to use this fresh corpse as a shield and charge again when someone delivered a powerful push-kick that sent me flying.
I spun once in the air and landed cleanly. The one who had kicked me was the one-eyed mohawk. Veins bulged prominently at his temple; he looked absolutely furious.