Volume 13 Chapter 304 Shirogane Aqua, Fall into Hell!!
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Toa! Shintaro! Tenga-senpai!!”
I froze, staring at the three of them.
What… what the hell were they doing here!?
And Suu-chan… even Shams-san was here too…
Toa caught my bewildered face and puffed up with this smug grin.
”Fufun, this is what you always do, isn’t it, Aqua?”
”Yeah. Our junior’s just doing what he always does,” Tenga-senpai said, and the two of them exchanged knowing grins.
What I always do? My brain tossed up a giant question mark, and Shintaro stepped forward with this easy smile.
”Did you forget, Aqua? We’re BERYL.”
Toa and Tenga-senpai nodded hard, their eyes dead serious.
”My friend,” Shintaro said, “we swore we’d change the world. So how can idiots crazy enough to say something like that back down and play it safe when the world’s in crisis?”
They raised their fists to me—scraped raw, all three of them.
Right. It wasn’t just me who had been through hell to get here. They had too.
”There was… kind of an incident when we left Japan,” Shintaro went on.
”Yeah,” Toa added, his voice dimming for a second, “because of that we had to leave Yamada-kun and the others behind…”
”Kujaku, Maruo, Hajime… they and the rest wanted to come too,” Tenga-senpai said, “but they threw themselves at the airport security to get us onto the plane.”
Shintaro…
Toa…
Tenga-senpai…
And Maruo, Kujaku, Hajime… no, from the way Tenga-senpai said it, probably Moja-san, Nobu-san, and Rihito-san helped too.
”Everyone… thank you,” I whispered, and reached my hand forward. They lifted theirs, rough and bandaged, and for a second it felt like we were in the OP of *Driver*, hands stacking together against the whole damn world.
”But… you guys were way too reckless.”
”You’re saying that?” Toa shot back.
”Seriously,” Shintaro snorted, and they both cracked up.
”Fuh,” Tenga-senpai declared, thrusting his fist toward the ceiling, “have you forgotten who we are, junior!? Remember when we came to Stars to stop Kanon-san’s wedding? Just like you now, we wouldn’t leave one of our own behind when they’re in trouble!”
Yeah. Yeah… they were right.
Even back then, it was these three who saved me.
My chest felt hot from their fire—and then Tenga-senpai puffed his chest out.
”By the way, riding this dramatic wave, I’ve decided to join you all on your school trip! I secretly booked tickets to the States and hotels already!!”
I almost fell over.
Seriously… after all that badass build-up, this was your real plan, wasn’t it?
While I stood there with this totally betrayed look, Toa stepped close.
”Aqua…”
He stared right into my eyes, voice quiet but firm.
”We’re not as strong as you, yeah. But… I hate just being protected.”
His small fists curled tight as he glared up at me.
”I know staying in Japan is safer. I know it’d be smarter for us not to come. But… if we stay locked up there, we can’t help you if something happens. I know it’s selfish. But I don’t care. I hate it.”
The Toa I saw overlapped with the one who stepped out of his room that day, when I was drowning.
Yeah. You’ve always been strong.
That’s why I wanted to be idols with you.
Even after everything, you still tried to face forward. That strength burned into me from the start.
”Aqua… even if I die from this, that’s fine. If it means not letting you die alone… I’ll die next to you.”
I shook my head hard.
Like hell I’d let that happen.
”Don’t worry, Toa. I’ll protect you, no matter what. So stay by my side. It’s the safest place in the world.”
”Okay. I will. Honestly, I was scared of dying… so, if it turns into some movie-like gunfight, you better protect me!”
Toa slipped behind my shoulder.
Good. That was the safe zone Kohina-senpai always used.
If anything happened, he could use me as a shield.
I could probably survive getting shot, maybe.
Akio-shishou said getting hit once doesn’t even count as being shot, after all.
”Tashinami’s confirmed dead.”
…Hm? Grandmother Mary, did you just mutter something really dark?
”Oh, it’s nothing, dear. Ohoho.”
Prime Minister Habu and President Maitrix were standing on either side of her, their shoulders twitching as they tried to keep straight faces. Whenever Habu made that stiff face, she was usually just barely holding in laughter. Or maybe that was just me.
”Well then,” Grandmother Mary said sweetly, “now that the cast is all assembled, let’s begin the vote again. Though… our answer hasn’t changed from the start.”
Prime Minister Habu, President Maitrix, Shams-san, and Suu-chan all nodded solemnly.
”…Understood.”
The person seated in the center slowly shut her eyes, like she’d finally made up her mind.
Oh. So she was the chairwoman of this council.
She drew a deep breath, opened her eyes again—and looked at me like she was about to cry.
”Shirogane Aqua… if I asked for your help… would you save me?”
What did she mean?
Didn’t matter.
The look on her face told me my answer.
I stepped forward, and every gaze locked onto me.
”Yeah. Leave it to me.”
No extra words were needed.
Even if it was a trap, I’d crush it underfoot.
”Please… please, save my daughter. I beg you…”
I didn’t even realize I was running until I was already moving.
Maybe it was instinct.
I vaulted the chairwoman’s desk, and as a gunshot cracked through the air, I slammed into her and rolled us behind the dais.
”There!!”
”Secure the presidents!!”
I crouched with her behind the thick wood.
Good. No wounds.
I scanned her quickly—she was okay.
”Aqua, Aqua!!”
Kanon was nearby, looking at me like she might break, tears trembling on her lashes.
My wife was still the most beautiful person in the world.
She ripped part of her dress to press against my shoulder.
Damn. It hurt. Looked like I caught a bullet.
”I’m fine, Kanon. It went clean through.”
”But… but…!”
I stroked her hair gently and gave her my usual smile.
”It’s okay. Shishou said one bullet doesn’t even count as getting shot.”
”Who even is this shishou!? Kohina Yukari-san would never say that!!”
Haha. Right.
Kohina-senpai’s face floated in my mind. She had told me to bring back souvenirs.
I still had shoots left.
I still had plans after this.
”Got the shooter!”
”They’re restrained!!”
Sounded like they caught the shooter.
”Any casualties!?”
”No! Just a few scrapes!”
From the voices around us, it seemed no one was badly hurt. No one dead.
I let out a long breath and looked to the chairwoman.
”Just now… you said your daughter’s being held hostage. Please explain.”
”Uu… they took her—my precious only daughter—as a hostage. They told me to rush the vote… I didn’t want to… I knew it was wrong… but I couldn’t abandon my own child…”
I touched her shoulder softly.
She had been weighing her position against her daughter’s life, and it was tearing her apart.
”Aqua… it’s not just her daughter,” Kanon whispered, voice shaking. “Emily-senpai… she’s been taken too.”
The second I heard that, the pain in my shoulder vanished.
I rose slowly, locking eyes with Kanon.
”Kanon. I’m going.”
”B-but…”
I kissed her lips gently.
”It’s okay. Trust me. I’ll definitely save Emily. So tell me—where is she?”
”…I think she’s nearby. I heard church bells not far from here. But… that’s all I know.”
That was enough.
I looked around at everyone still here.
”Chairwoman, and all national delegates—please continue the vote.”
They blinked at each other, stunned.
”We’re just civilians. We can’t take part in the vote. Unlike us, you carry the right and duty to choose the future of your nations—and all of us who live there. So please… fulfill that duty.”
The chamber was wrecked—bullet holes in the seats, shattered glass across the floor, even a random gaping hole in one wall.
And maybe that was why.
Because of that chaos, I thought they needed to keep going.
”President Maitrix,” Habu said quietly, “let’s sit back down. This is our job.”
”…Yeah. You’re right, Prime Minister Habu. We won’t give in to terror or violence!!”
Japan’s Prime Minister and the States’ President sat first, firm as stone. Their sheer resolve sent ripples through the chamber—because one by one, the other national delegates started scrambling for any intact chairs, brushing off shattered glass and bullet dust as they claimed their places.
I turned to head for the car that had brought me here—but Grandmother Mary suddenly stepped right into my path.
”Aqua-sama…”
”Grandmother Mary, stopping me won’t work.”
She only dipped her head once, that sly smile fading for something steadier.
”I know. Which is why… please take this.”
She pressed something cold and heavy into my palm before I could stop her.
A gun.
I flinched and tried to push it back, but she just curled my fingers around the grip, firm as iron.
”This is the newest model of a taser gun,” she said calmly. “Unlike the old models, it fires like a normal handgun, but it has no killing ability. Please, use this.”
A taser gun… one of those that knocks someone out like a stun gun but from a distance.
Yeah. That, I could use.
I slid the magazine in with practiced ease and racked the slide back, the metallic snap echoing sharp. Akio-shishou had taught me how to handle guns back in my previous life. The man was terrifying with martial arts—but his shooting was just as scary good.
Thinking about it now… why the hell was Akio-san even working as a cook in the training center cafeteria?
Like… okay, martial arts makes sense, but when would an idol ever need gun skills?
Honestly, I was starting to wonder if the agency I worked for back then was even a real idol agency at all.
”Leave things here to us,” Grandmother Mary said gently. “I’m sure the chairwoman’s daughter is being held in the same place as Emily-chan. So please… save her.”
”I will.”
I looked back one more time at Toa, Shintaro, and Tenga-senpai standing together behind me.
”I’m going.”
”Yeah.”
”Mm!”
”We’ll be waiting, junior!”
I grabbed the gullwing door handle and slammed it shut with a heavy thunk.
…Okay. Cool exit nailed. Now the hard part.
If Kanon was right, the culprits were nearby—but after the plan blew up, they’d probably grabbed the hostages and bolted already. There were tons of cars fleeing this area. No way I’d find them just by guessing.
While I was thinking that, AI 3510’s voice buzzed from the console.
[Master. While checking the surroundings with satellite feed, I found armed individuals boarding a vehicle. I’ll project the footage on the central console.]
The main console flickered, showing several armed figures piling into a car.
And there—huddled close to a tiny girl—was Emily.
She didn’t look hurt. Not yet.
”3510, tag that car and guide me to it. …Think we can catch up?”
[HAHAHA, please, listen to the purr of this engine. We’ve got horsepower to spare!]
I shoved the gearshift into reverse, hooked my arm over the passenger seat, and slammed the pedal, the car jerking back in a squeal of rubber.
”Emily… hold on. I’m coming for you…!!”
I jammed it into first and hit the gas, the roar of the engine swallowing the chamber behind me as I tore off into the chaos.
—
The taser gun is basically a Chekhov’s gadget waiting to be used.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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