The Scent of Chaos

Both Tomo and Akemi froze, their brains buffering so hard you could hear the Windows error sound in the distance.

Was this dude serious?

A fight was breaking out, fists were about to fly, and this guy thought now was the perfect time to pull out a damn perfume?

But they didn't lower their guard. Not yet.

Especially when the guy gave the atomizer a dramatic shake like he was about to unleash some forbidden technique passed down by his great-grandpa, the founder of questionable life choices.

Then, with the smuggest grin in existence, he pressed down on the nozzle.

A fine mist of cologne sprayed out…

And would've hit Tomo dead in the face…

If Akemi hadn't shoved her aside like a dramatic action hero taking a bullet.

Instead, the mist hit her directly.

Her eyes widened.

Then she gagged.

"What the hell?!" She hacked, flapping a hand in front of her face like she was trying to physically fight the smell.

Tomo turned, horrified. "Mom?"

"What the hell is in that?!" Akemi screeched, her voice cracking so hard it could shatter glass.

She spun to glare at the two thugs, who were grinning like off-brand Joker cosplayers.

Oh. Oh, hell no.

"What the hell did you spray?!" Her voice was low and sharp. And why was it suddenly so hot?

The taller thug spun the atomizer between his fingers like he was trying to be cool. "Ah, we call this…" He trailed off, frowning slightly. "Wait, what was it called again?"

The shorter thug, still holding onto Misuzu, who was blinking through teary eyes, very confused by whatever the hell was happening, perked up. "Driver."

"Right!" The taller one snapped his fingers. "Yeah, yeah. We call it Driver."

Tomo squinted. "Driver?"

The taller thug stood like he was about to drop some deep, life-changing knowledge. "Yeah, like when you get in a car, the driver decides where you go. Same with this—once you breathe it in, it takes you for a ride. A slow, intense, no-brakes kind of ride."

Silence.

Tomo's brain full-on crashed. "Excuse me?"

But she still turned to her mom, who was definitely looking a little red in the face.

Just to confirm, she hesitantly asked, "Mom… are you—"

"No!" Akemi immediately denied. But her voice? Way too fast. Way too loud. 110% suspicious.

The taller thug grinned like a kid who just won an argument on the internet. "Don't lie, you horny bitch. We've seen the effects and experienced them firsthand."

Tomo, Akemi, and Misuzu all stared at him.

Like. Just stared.

It was the kind of silence that made you physically uncomfortable.

Then, before the taller guy could fix his mistake, his idiot partner piped up like it was open mic night.

"Yeah, he used it on me once."

The entire room collectively leaned back.

"It was the worst day of my life," the shorter thug continued, completely oblivious. "First time I had to do it with someone who only had one hole."

The room collectively recoiled.

The taller thug looked like he just got hit with an existential crisis at full speed. "Dude. What the actual fuck?"

But the shorter thug wasn't done. No, he was on a roll now.

"It was literally the tightest hole," he added, voice low and haunted, as if recalling a war story. "So tight, I thought he was gonna die from pain."

Mac slapped a hand over his face, groaning in pure agony. "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP TALKING."

The shorter thug ignored him. "But I still continued. Non-stop. Push and pull."

Mac was vibrating with rage now. "I SWEAR TO EVERYTHING HOLY, I WILL END YOU."

The shorter thug turned to him, completely serious. "Mac, you good now, right?"

Mac, who was absolutely not good, snapped his head around so fast his spine probably filed a complaint. "Shut up!" he shrieked, voice full of pure desperation. "He means we saw how it works!"

But it was too late.

The damage was done.

Misuzu just whispered to herself, "What the actual f—"

The taller thug, desperate to steer this trainwreck of a conversation anywhere else, immediately swung the atomizer toward Tomo.

But she dodged.

Fast.

Grabbing the nearest thing she could, some random glass off the table, she whipped it straight at his hand.

Crack.

The atomizer went flying, clattering to the floor.

"Ha!" Tomo barked triumphantly.

But she barely had a second to enjoy her victory before the thug lunged at her.

"Oi—?!"

She barely managed to brace herself before she was tackled, hitting the ground hard.

And then—

Oh, hell no.

The bastard had the nerve to sit on her.

Like full-body weight.

Like she was a goddamn chair.

Tomo wheezed, legs kicking. "Get off me, you fatass!"

She tried to shove him off, but it was like trying to bench-press a refrigerator.

The bastard had the weight advantage, and he knew it.

Before she could wiggle free, he grabbed both her wrists in one hand and slammed them to the floor, pinning her down.

Then—oh, hell no—he pressed his knee against her neck, just enough to make breathing a struggle.

Like he was trying to make her—

Tomo's eyes burned with a mix of fury and creeping panic as she saw his free hand reach into his pocket.

Another atomizer.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

The thug grinned seeing her expression. "Always good to have a backup, right?"

Tomo thrashed, trying to twist free, but he had her locked down tight.

He gave the atomizer a little shake, because of course he did, then brought it closer to her face.

"Now, now," he cooed. "Let's see how you handle this—"

********

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