Chapter 22 - Still Hiding Huh?

Raito swung a lazy punch at the man lunging toward him, missing by a mile.

"Seriously?" one of the mercs snorted, easily dodging. "This guy's hopeless."

Another attacker came at him, and Raito stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the curb. He flailed, catching his balance just in time, and threw a sloppy jab that barely grazed the man's shoulder.

"Are you even trying?" the merc jeered.

Raito gave him a fake sheepish grin. "Not really my kind of fight."

All the while, Kurai was laughing in his mind.

Oh, this is rich. You're the deadliest man in the room and you're out here throwing punches like you're in a middle school brawl.

Raito didn't respond. He was waiting. Watching. Timing.

A glance to the left—Yumi was locked in with the other two mercs, weaving through their attacks, baton flicking out with swift precision. She was holding her own, but the pressure was mounting. She didn't have time to notice what he was doing.

Perfect.

Raito shifted his weight, dodged a wild punch from the merc in front of him, then—

Crack!

A single, clean strike.

Raito's fist collided with the underside of the man's jaw, angled just right. The merc's eyes rolled back as he dropped like a sack of bricks, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Raito took a casual step back and waved his hand like he'd just gotten lucky.

"Whoa. That… actually worked?" he said aloud, feigning surprise.

The remaining mercs were too focused on Yumi to notice. She had just stunned another, dropping him to the pavement with a short burst of electricity. One more was still circling, hesitant now that two of his teammates were down.

Yumi glanced briefly in Raito's direction, eyes narrowing.

She saw the unconscious man beside him.

"…Did you actually hit him?"

Raito scratched the back of his head. "I guess? Lucky punch."

Yumi blinked but didn't press. She turned her attention back to the last attacker.

Kurai's voice dripped with amusement.

"Lucky punch," he says, after shattering that guy's jaw like glass. You're adorable when you lie.

Raito sighed internally.

This was getting harder to hide.

The last standing mercenary looked around—the unconscious bodies of his teammates littered the street like broken dolls. His confidence shattered, replaced by fear. He backed away slowly, his eyes darting between Yumi and Raito.

"This—this wasn't supposed to happen," he muttered.

Yumi took a slow, deliberate step toward him, breathing a bit heavier now but still composed. "You had your chance to surrender."

He spun on his heel and broke into a sprint, bolting down the alleyway.

"Damn it—!" Yumi lunged after him.

But she was already drawing her stun baton with practiced speed. In one smooth motion, she tossed it like a short spear. The electrified baton flew end over end—click—and hit the runner square in the back with a sharp zap of current.

The man cried out and hit the ground hard, twitching once before going limp.

Raito raised an eyebrow, trying show that he was genuinely impressed. "That was… kinda cool detective."

Yumi jogged past him, grabbing her baton off the unconscious merc and twirling it once in her grip. "I have good aim," she said, smirking slightly as she clipped it back to her belt.

Just then, the distant wail of sirens grew louder.

Red and blue lights flooded the end of the street as police vehicles rolled in. Officers jumped out, weapons drawn, scanning the scene in confusion at first. But the sight of four subdued men—and Detective Aikawa standing tall—was more than enough to tell them what happened.

"Detective!" one of the officers called out. "You alright?"

Yumi gave a curt nod. "Fine. I need these four in cuffs and processed immediately. They might be connected to a larger operation—look into potential contract work. They're amateurs, but not random."

The officers moved swiftly, cuffing the mercs and dragging them into the vans.

Yumi turned to Raito, brushing some hair from her eyes. "Thanks for… well, sticking around. Even if you clearly don't know how to fight."

Raito gave a lazy shrug. "Hey, I landed one punch."

"Right," she said, trying not to smile.

He watched her walk off to coordinate with the other officers. Behind his calm expression, Raito was already deep in thought.

Amateurs or not, he mused, someone hired these men for something. This wasn't a coincidence.

From the back of his mind, Kurai let out a low hum.

You're in it now, Raito. Hope you're ready to juggle babysitting, cops, and mercenaries. Oh, and let's not forget your day job.

Raito sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Yeah.

This was definitely not how he planned to start his morning.