The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san

Chapter 65: Hero of The Night

Still, he peeked from Osomatsu's shoulder and smiled brightly in return, trying to make his voice cheery so he didn't upset either Totoko or Osomatsu. "Hi hi! My name is Suuji Jyushi, nineteen years old! I like sweets.. and cats! I like cats a ton! Um, nice to meet you, Totoko-san!"

"Heehee! It's nice to meet you too, Jyushi-kun!" Totoko extended her hand towards him, and the yellow-eyed male shook it with his long sleeve. She looked at his sleeve-covered hand for awhile before chuckling, and Jyushi suddenly pulled away and hid behind Osomatsu again. "You're an interesting one, Jyushi-kun. Hiding your hands?"

"Hey, Totoko-chan.." Osomatsu noticed Jyushi didn't seem like he wanted to talk to her, and Osomatsu didn't like seeing Jyushi so uncomfortable. She wasn't that scary, so why was he scared of her? Nonetheless, Osomatsu needed to talk to him about this issue. Ichi might see Totoko as a threat if he sees how scared Jyushi is around her. And he certainly did not want to see Ichi stab Totoko with a katana, Totoko was a precious friend, his dimension's or not. "Er, did you see Iyami? I think he's over there looking for something interesting to happen, so why don't you talk to him too? I think he'll be glad to see you."

Totoko blinked, before scowling. "Oh. So he's here as well. Ugh, did you know that Iyami-san owes me, like, a lot of money? He's lucky that he became my temporary manager, so I gave him a bit of a discount. But still, he owes me money-"

"Kara, I think we should see how the others are doing outside." Osomatsu gave Totoko an apologetic look. "Uh, I'll talk to you later, Totoko-chan. Jyushi's brother must be looking for him now, and Kara's friend is outside. So, uh.. have fun."

"Wait-"

Totoko watched as Osomatsu suddenly carried Jyushi with one arm, and grabbed Kara's wrist with the other. Totoko was impressed by how strong Osomatsu was, especially since he didn't seem to be doing much the past few years, with the exception of pachinko and betting on horses! Without anything else to say to his childhood friend, Osomatsu left the lobby in a rush, dragging a stumbling Kara with him.

...

When Lonely finally regained his composure, he pulled the sword out of the ground in an instant. Ichi was now talking to the phone and demanding Tougou's file to be delivered, while Todo was watching him, Lonely, with what seemed to be worry in his eyes. Even as Ichi yelled into the phone as if he had authority (which he did), Todo didn't spare him a glance and just focused on Lonely as he breathed heavily and tried to collect his thoughts all together. It wasn't safe for anyone to be holding a sword, especially if their mental state was a train wreck.

Still. Todo tried to talk to him, Lonely's discarded mask on his hand. He wans't the best when it came to things like these, but.. he at least had to try. "Lonely-"

"That man has hurt so many people, Katsuna Todo." Lonely didn't want to hear any false assurances. He wanted to stay true to himself. No more sugar-coating. "I could not even remember how many! I don't even know if he started out with my parents.. but I'll tell you one thing I am sure about him." He turned to Todo, trying his best to prevent any more tears from falling. He wasn't weak. He was strong, and that's why he would never, ever shed a tear. Never again. "He taunts me. More than once."

Ichi was still busy yelling into his phone, so Todo was the only one that was taken aback by Lonely's statement. "Why the fuck would he taunt you?" Wasn't killing Lonely's parents enough? Did Tougou have to rub it in his face? "..How do you even taunt a kid whose parents you killed?! That's fucked up.. does he know you, then?"

"Of course he does. Hell, he had been looking for me when he killed my parents. But he left my house as soon as he finished them off.. and that was his mistake, not getting rid of me." He clicked his tongue, pacing around. It was his way of calming himself. "But if you' are asking if he knew me as a child.. no. He only met me when I tried to confront it." At Todo's expression, he huffed. "He's a criminal. He'd be all over the news, would he not? And I don't know if it was only me who ever felt as if.. it was unfair, to strike fear into the hearts of people." Great. He was tearing up again, wasn't he? "Especially since it was a dream of mine to spread happiness.. but I guess it wouldn't be too bad mixing both of those.. right?"

"But why did you decide to take matters into your own hands?" Lonely was surprised that Todo wasn't as stupid as he thought he was, since he finally caught on. Todo's arms were crossed, and he wasn't looking at Lonely directly. But he was scowling. "You.. how old were you when you decided to just up and be Batman or some shit? You just took matters into your own hands.. facing off some psycho all on your own.. tell me, did you at least have a bit of your sanity when you decided to do this?"

"..I was only fifteen at that time." Lonely muttered. He was absolutely sorry if he was going to give Todo a heart attack from the truth. "It was when I already had the skills necessary. I was smart. I could do tricks. And I was taught how to build simple gadgets.. my hang glider, for example. And.. well, managing to destroy dummies with a sword was my specialty. And.. it payed off. It really did. Think of it as.."

"A superhero? Isn't that what your job basically is?"

"...Maybe."

"It is. No use covering it up, Lonely." Todo had seen weird shit and had heard all sorts of bullshit ever since he met Osomatsu. From the amount of times Jyushi and Ichi got assassinated, to Lonely being what seemed to be a real-life superhero. "..How many times have you guys faced off?"

"..The first time I actually managed to catch up to him was when he murdered an accountant and was cleaning up the crime scene. I declared war onto him, and he laughed at me.. I'm pretty sure it was because I was wearing this outfit and was holding a sword. I probably looked"

Okay, let's be honest. With a stupid outfit and mask, as well as a fucking sword and hang glider, who wouldn't laugh at you? I'd be impressed if you weren't such an idiot. Who the fuck decides to be a fucking creature of the damn night?!

"So I tried attacking him with a sword.. and he blocked it.. with a knife." Lonely took a good look at his rapier. "..I think it would be pretty safe to say that I nearly died that night. But we managed to wake up the people nearby with the noises our weapons were making.. and I fled the scene first. Because if I let him go first, people would assume it was I who had caused the murder, correct? And.. he was fast to escape as well. People saw the dead body and started freaking out, naturally." He looked up at the sky again. "..This kept on for years. Up until now. And I'm pretty sure he started considering me as his rival."

"Dude." Todo looked at him seriously. "Don't you just realized what you've just done?"

Lonely blinked. "Come again?"

"He murders people for his own sick hobby, that's the only thing we know about him. But the fact that you face him off countless times, and I'm pretty sure both of those times ended up in ties.." He blinked. "You.. if he's a fucking maniac, who's to say that he doesn't just kill for his hobbies?! What if.. what if he's killing people just to get your attention so he can fight you?!"

Lonely's eyes suddenly widened. Todo.. he was just thinking about this too much, wasn't he?

"Think about it.. he's a maniac. He'd kill people for his own hobbies, and judging by the fact you were the only one to have the courage to face him.. there is a pretty fucking high chance that he not only just killed for his own sick hobby.." He took a deep breath, pacing around in a manner similar to Lonely's. "Lonely.. what if.. he continued to kill.. because you were the only one able to match him? You were his only equal? Oh my fuck, if he did that, then that means.."

I.. had fallen right into his trap..? Then that means.. the death of some of the individuals.. and Jyushi's planned assassination.. is all.. my fault?