==The aftermath==
Raiden calms down and immediately rushes over to the pile of metal pieces Shurui has become. He looks through the damage, bending some of the parts, picking up other parts which lie around.
“God this is bad. He’s done so much damage… but I should be able to fix this.”, Raiden says.
“Erika, hand me my wrench, my screwdriver and my welding machine! I’ll fix this!”,
“Fix what? Are you okay?”, Erika asks as she rushes out of the blown open part of the factory.
“What is that? Those metal pieces…”
Raiden looks at her: “This is Shurui-chan… we gotta bring her to the ship asap!”
Erika replies: “OH NO! What happened to her?! Shit-”
She notices the burns on Raiden’s skin: “Holy shit! What the hell happened to you as well?! Are you okay?!”
Raiden replies in a weak tone: “I’m fine. Help me pick up Shurui-chan and then we need to go to the ship!”
The masked sniper finally shows himself and just walks into the action.
Raiden notices him: “Wha… it’s… you. That masked sniper that helped us here.”
Erika asks: "The one that shot the bird woman?"
He replies: “Never do this again. It’s reckless and stupid.”
“Thanks for helping us!”, Raiden shouts, luring the others his way.
Shitsuke, Sting Lady and Ketsuki with Enzou on his back come out of the factory like Erika did.
Raiden gathers the courage to ask: “You look like you know much more than the average person, so I’ll also ask you: Do you know anything about ‘The man from Nowhere’?”
The sniper answers after a few seconds of silence: “I do.”
“What?! Really?! That’s great! Can I ask you more questi-”, Raiden slowly faints and Erika instantly catches him and asks, “Are you okay?! Hey!”
The sniper leaves around a corner. Erika runs after him but when she looks around the corner, the sniper is already gone. Shitsuke and Sting Lady see Ketsuki and Enzou and are surprised.
Sting Lady shouts: “What?! Enzou is on your team? Embara told us he was on the enemy’s side!”
Ketsuki answers: “He is.”, “But why are you carrying him on your back then?”, “To hand him to the police.”
Shitsuke clenches his fist: “Enzou you bastard! Is this really how I become number one?! You little shit!”
He tries to punch Enzou in the face but Ketsuki stops him: “You’re not gonna wake him up like that. This guy’ll sleep for days.”
Shitsuke looks very angry and Lady tries to calm him down: “Let’s not focus on that asshole. Come on, we’ll just leave.”
She continues, getting nervous again: “Maybe we can still eat something.”
Shitsuke responds: “Nah, sorry. I’m so tired. I’ll go sleep in my ship… but I wouldn’t mind if you came with me.”
Lady asks herself quietly: “Could this be my chance?”, while following him.
Erika turns around: “Hey Ketsuki! I know you’re probably also super exhausted but could we please bring Raiden, Atsume, Yurei, Semmb and Embara into the hospital?”
Ketsuki replies: “No problem. Still got enough power. You’ll call an ambulance while I get Atsume and Yurei.”
He goes inside the building again and Erika asks herself: “Was he being smart right now?”
Somewhere else, Shitsuke and Sting Lady enter his ship and Shitsuke declares: “Hey Warumi, I’ll let you stay here and travel with me, if you want. I’d like your company.”
He then proceeds to fall into his bed and Lady thinks: “Finally, this is what I wanted.”
She adorably begins to blush: “Maybe I could crawl into his bed with him?”
An hour later, Raiden, Atsume, Yurei, Semmb and Embara are lying in the hospital while Erika and Ketsuki are in the room. Erika has Shurui in her lap and inspects the damage thoroughly. Ketsuki stares outside the window and has problems staying awake.
Suddenly, Baramina bursts the door open and loudly asks: “Where is Embara?! Is he okay?!”
Erika points at the bed and Baramina rushes over and bursts into tears.
Police officers now step into the room as well and Erika asks: “Hey! Who are you? This isn’t open-door day!”
“We are from the KCPD. We’d like to apologize for the wrongdoing of our coworkers.”, one of the officers answers.
Erika asks back: “And what happens to the people you’ve taken into custody today?”
The officer replies: “We’ve secured the marble from Ne’neki-san in a high security cell for slime creatures, the Tesura robot will be properly scrutinized to gather information, Enzou Shiawase will be going to prison for 3 years because of his excessive drug selling, Sergeant Dawn will be going to prison for 9 years and we’ll initiate a mole investigation.”
The police officers leave and Erika says: “Hey Ketsuki, after your first fight with Enzou in the tournament, as you lied in your sickbed, Raiden said that this is what happens to you when you overwork yourself. And now see what he has done. … He’ll never listen to his own advice.”
Ketsuki turns around, facing Erika.
She continues: “We gotta protect him. If he continues like this, he’ll die right before our eyes.”
Ketsuki answers: “I can understand him. He lost it because someone near him, at least probably, died. Also happened to me. That is when hatred takes over and you can’t control yourself anymore. Don't worry. I'll protect him. You can count on me.”
They become silent again.
Raiden smiles and Ketsuki turns to the window again, thinking: “Could that sniper be Fukami?”
===========================
We can finally breathe easy again! All of our people are safe and Shurui is in good hands! How will the story of the Kaishi City Arc end? Find out with the next two chapters!
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Bounty Hunters - Shokin Kasegi
AdventureThis is the story of Raiden Adoratore, a young man, living on a seemingly endless journey throughout the galaxy. A galaxy, filled with life, civilisations and fantastic worlds. Can he find the man he's looking for? Can you share his excitement for e...
