Sokudo: Villains Always Win (ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ)

Chapter thirteen | revenge

"Well..." He started, slowly raising a hand to his neck as he avoided her gaze. "Well, I don't, but uhh... he might? He never told me, so I don't know!" Turning around to face her, he threw his hands up in defence as the words blurted out from his mouth. Chieko could only stare at him in pure disbelief, eyes wide and jaw dropped, hunched over.

Straightening her stance, Chieko shook her head and let out a deep disappointed sigh. "We don't have time to waste, hold my hand!" She insisted, reaching out her hand for Taichi to take. To no surprise, he was hesitant to do so, shying back as his gaze shifted back and forth between her hand and her face.

"Wh-what?" He spluttered out, and Chieko just stretched out her hand further, causing him to lean further away. She looked at him with a determined gaze and spoke strongly.

"I'm gonna use my power to find Satou faster!" She stated confidently. "Now hold my hand so we can get going!" Taichi's expression had changed from surprised and flustered to the familiar narrowed eyes and piercing gaze, his voice growing harsh.

"No way! You'll be completely exhausted by the end of it and there's no way I'm letting you use your power in public!" Raising his voice, Taichi seemed just as determined to fight against Chieko's suggestion. Chieko's eyes widened for a brief moment, before narrowing to match his.

"But we have no other choice!" She insisted, to which Taichi rose a brow, giving her a curious look. Which caused her gaze to soften in confusion.

"Wait here," Taichi told her, raising a finger to silence her before she could talk back. Then he ominously walked over to a corner, peeked around the side and then disappeared. Only to reappear seconds later with a motorcycle, Chieko couldn't believe her eyes.

She was left a blabbering mess as Taichi walked towards her with the motorcycle and an overly-confident smirk placed on his lips. "What─how─did you just─is that even yours?!" She looked up at him in pure shock, there's no way he just had a motorcycle conveniently sitting around the corner.

"Nope," he answered delightfully, popping the 'p'. Unable to utter out a single word, Chieko just stared at him shell-shocked, having to wait a few seconds for her mind to progress what was happening before she was able to speak again.

"Wait wait wait, put that back!!" She demanded, sounding more shocked than upset. Taichi thought about it for a moment, before simply shaking his head.

"Hmm... No, I don't think I will." He answered with a small shrug of his shoulders, he was having way too much fun in what's supposed to be a serious situation. Or perhaps, Chieko had just become too tense. "Now hop on or you're getting left behind," he hopped onto the vehicle, and looked at her for an answer.

Chieko, eyes still wide, shook her head and crossing her arms over her shoulders, turned away. "No way am I getting on a stolen motorcycle! Especially with you as the driver," she responded with a huff. Though she had to admit, she did always wanted to ride a motorcycle, stolen or not.

Taichi raised a brow at her, but just shrugged his shoulders and revved up the engine. "Suit yourself," looking ready to go, it almost looked like he was about to drive off before Chieko quickly rethought her decisions and spun around to face him, afraid that he might really zoom off without her.

"W-wait a second!" The second she turned around, she swore the biggest, dorkiest yet somehow at the same time equally as cunning grin spread across his pale face. One which made Chieko almost immediately regret turning around, instead of going her own way using her ability to locate Satou faster.

Almost.

─

Chieko heavily regretted not going on her own. Currently on the motorcycle with Taichi, she was forced to wrap her arms around him and hold onto him tightly in order not to fall off, and with every sudden movement and close call, her grip tightened. "Have you ever even rode one of these things?!" She shouted over the sound of the booming engine, surprised they hadn't been pulled over yet for reckless driving, and they weren't even wearing helmets.