Chapter 37: The Hunter’s Gambit

The rain hadn't stopped when they fled the house, but none of them complained. After all, it wasn't even a house anymore — it was wreckage.

Sai led the way, his jaw tight, eyes constantly scanning the alleyways and rooftops like danger could jump out at any second. Hotaru walked beside him, fingers twitching at her side, one hand on her knife, the other clutching the strap of her duffel bag.

Behind them, Mira walked backwards, guns half-drawn, her sharp eyes watching their trail. Tora, lugging his laptop and a backpack of tech gear, grumbled, "You know, this 'moving bases every two days' thing is killing my back."

Ryuuji draped a dramatic arm around Tora's shoulders. "Think of it like a fitness program, my dear hacker. By next week, you'll have abs of steel."

"Or a spinal injury," Tora muttered.

Kuro rode comfortably on Hotaru's shoulder, like the little king he believed himself to be. Occasionally, his tail flicked into Hotaru's face, and each time, she resisted the urge to swat it away.

Their destination was a crumbling parking garage on the edge of the city. Sai had chosen it — quiet, abandoned, and easy to defend. As they reached the entrance, Mira wrinkled her nose.

"It smells like… wet rat."

"Home sweet home," Ryuuji grinned.

They climbed to the third floor, where Sai had already stashed emergency supplies days ago — canned food, sleeping bags, even a half-broken generator Tora could probably fix if given enough caffeine.

Hotaru dumped her bag in the corner. "Alright, team. Let's talk strategy."

She unfolded a map on the oil-stained concrete floor. It was hand-drawn, with Kurogane facilities marked in red, potential allies in blue, and unknown dangers in black.

"We're done hiding," Hotaru said firmly. "They've been playing with us — tracking us, testing us, thinking we're just a bunch of punks with attitude problems."

"Which… we are," Ryuuji pointed out.

Hotaru ignored him. "We need to hit them back. Hard. Show them we're not prey anymore."

Sai crouched beside the map, tracing a red circle with his fingertip. "This facility here. It's their weapons storage — low security, but high value."

Mira raised an eyebrow. "And you know this how?"

Sai's face darkened. "Because I helped design it."

For a moment, silence blanketed the group. Even Ryuuji had no joke for that.

Hotaru broke the quiet. "Perfect. We take it out."

Tora's eyes widened. "Wait, hold on. You're talking about directly attacking one of their main storage hubs? That's suicide."

"No," Sai said quietly. "It's war."

They spent the next hour planning — Mira outlining attack routes, Sai listing internal defenses, Tora hacking into security feeds to give them a live map of guard rotations.

Ryuuji kept interrupting with terrible code names ("Operation Spicy Noodle Strike" was instantly rejected) until Mira threw a can at his head.

By the time dawn broke, the plan was set.

That night, they would attack.

Before they dispersed to rest, Hotaru stood up, looking at each of them. "We're not doing this just for revenge. We're doing this so no one else gets dragged into Kurogane's hell."

They all nodded — even Ryuuji, who for once didn't have a quip.

As they settled down to sleep, Sai stood guard at the edge of the garage, watching the rain slow to a drizzle.

Behind him, Hotaru whispered to Mira, "Do you think he's okay?"

Mira's eyes softened slightly. "He's not. But he's still fighting. That's enough for now."

The storm was over — but the real battle was just beginning.

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End of Chapter 37