Naoki ran toward the chicken suit, excitement written all over his face, like he'd just hit the jackpot.
And as if lady luck really was on his side, he found there wasn't just one, but two. Another suit stood just behind the first one, almost hidden in plain sight.
The first was bright yellow. The second was white.
Naoki didn't hesitate. He grabbed both of them and hurried off, heading straight down with the elevator before slipping into a random dressing room.
Up close, the suits were surprisingly well made. They were worn like oversized, padded jackets, with a zipper running down the front, covering everything up to the neck. And the hood acted as the chicken's head with the beak and eyes.
Squeak, Squeak, Squeak.
Naoki ran around the dress room, making the shoes that came with the suit squeak with every step, giggling like a child who'd found a new toy.
However, it seemed he was having a little too much fun. In the middle of his running, his foot suddenly slipped, sending him crashing straight into the mirror on the wall. It tipped over and came down with a sharp crack.
Maybe it was the slippery floor, or the smooth soles of the shoes. Maybe it was just his clumsiness.
Either way, he slipped and took the mirror down with him.
Naoki clutched his head, the impact from the fall sent a wave of pain to his bottom as well. Looking up, he saw the cracked mirror lean to the side, and a... silver box with lots of wires? Where the mirror used to be.
A soft red pulse flickered at it's edge, and a red timer in the center counted down twenty eight minutes and four seconds.
"Oh, it's a bomb... WAIT IT'S A BOMB!"
"S-sir, are you okay? I-is there actually a bomb there? I'll call the police."
"W–wait, don't!" Naoki panicked. This store had at least... this store had a lot of floors; if everyone started running, they wouldn't be able to evacuate in less than thirty minutes.
Wait, why was he assuming that the whole building will collapse from a single bomb? Well he was panicking so his mind over exaggerated a bit, and there might be more bombs as well.
In his mind, Naoki had to think of an excuse, and he had to think of it fast.
"I said it's the bomb," he said, calm and confident. Not a trace of guilt in his voice, none of that nervous edge you'd expect from someone lying.
"What?" The sales lady asked reflexively, confusion can be heard from her voice, she even completely forgot to be polite.
"This outfit is the bomb." Naoki repeated with the same confidence in his voice.
"It's... slang. Yeah... you wouldn't get it."
After a moment of awkward silence, the sales lady finally replied.
"O-oh, sorry sir, I seem to have misunderstood. If you'll excuse me, I'll get going."
After the sales lady left, Naoki slumped down to the floor, resting for a bit.
'Wait this is no time to rest, the bomb is still here.'
First, he should call Alfred, despite his looks, Mr. Watanabe said that he's a soldier as well, even having a squad of his own.
They can diffuse the bomb and evacuate the citizens without having them panic. So, Naoki got to work. The work being, calling Alfred and passing the responsibility over to him, should be simple enough.
***
Calling Alfred went without a hitch. Although Alfred told him he needed to check if there's any other bombs in the building. But that's easy enough, he just needs to check... everywhere... on each floor.
"This is the worst." Naoki muttered to himself.
He hanged the cracked mirror on the wall, hoping nobody would enter, at least for thirty minutes, and peeked out of the dressing room. He only peeked his head out, looking left and right for absolutely no reason but to look even more suspicious.
Of course Naoki didn't know this, so he went on with his shenanigans.
In the room just beside him, someone else peeked their head out. A bald middle-aged man, even more cautious than him.
They locked eyes.
For a moment, they just stared at each other.
Then the man bolted out of the room in full panic, as if he'd just seen a ghost.
'Rude.'
Bad news for Naoki. Clutched in his hand was the same metal bomb, its timer still counting down from thirty minutes.
But there was some good news. In his rush, the man had dropped a suitcase on his way out.
'Oh, rude and stupid.'
Naoki snatched the suitcase on the floor, eager to look inside. Luckily, it was already opened. Inside was two more of the same bombs, seemingly inactivated as there were no flickering red lights or timers.
He ignored it and quickly stuffed the clothes he had brought before snapping it shut. Then immediately chased after the man. He was pretty big, and wore a black jacket, so he was easy to spot.
Also way easier with his shining bald head, but Naoki thought it was rude to think of it that way.
For his size, the man was abnormally fast, weaving through the crowd with practiced ease. Still, it wasn't enough.
With every step the bomber took, Naoki closed the distance just a little more. The head start helped, but not by much.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Naoki caught up.
But he didn't have time.
He dashed toward the exit while Naoki was still a fair distance behind. The doorman stepped in to stop him, but he was shoved aside without much effort.
By the time Naoki reached the cashier near the front entrance, he remembered to toss his card onto the counter as he passed, then rushed outside after him.
The bomber finally spilled out onto the street, looking left and right as if deciding where to go. Naoki stumbled out seconds later, clutching the suitcase, with his heart beating fast.
But the bomber was already off to the distance, and the doorman, out of breath, gave up the pursuit.
Naoki prepared to chase after him once again. He couldn't stop, after all the man still had a bomb.
Catching his breath one last time, Naoki ran towards the man, this time he's not stopping until he catches him.
***
It was supposed to be a simple mission, at least that's how Naoki liked to imagine it. The man was meant to plant the bombs, slip out unnoticed, and head home if he even had one. Maybe grab some ice cream along the way. All before anything went off.
So, in a strange way, Naoki felt a little proud.
Because right now, that same man was running for his life from what could only be described as a small kid in a chicken suit.
The man sprinted down the narrow alley, screaming from the long chase. behind him echoed the unmistakable war cry of his pursuer.
"BWAAAAK!"
He looked back.
There he was.
A tiny teenager, maybe fifteen at most, completely swallowed by an enormous, bright white, chicken suit covering his entire body, only a part of his face can be seen under the hood. And running with that on in this heat was impossible.
Yet the kid kept up with him. Running all over the city, and while screaming chicken noises as well.
"W-why are you so fast?!"
"BUK BUK BAWK!" He shrieked back.
Right now, Naoki was acting completely unhinged. But to him, it was all part of the plan.
What plan?
It was simple.
In Naoki's mind, crazy people always had insane stamina. They screamed, ran around nonstop, and somehow never got tired.
So if he acted crazy...
Then he'd get that stamina too.
It was a perfectly logical plan.
At least, that's what he told himself.
Though, judging by how his heart were starting to feel, like it's pumping blood enough for the next day. He wasn't entirely sure it was working.
Yet he didn't stop.
The bomber burst onto the street, narrowly avoiding a car. The driver slamming their brakes, and shouting curses at him as he ran away.
The chicken teenager, Naoki, vaulted over the car.
He didn't go around the stopped car, he didn't even leap gracefully, no. He grabbed the top of the car and swung his whole body upwards like a rabid dog.
*Squeak
He landed with a squeaky thud.
"BAWK BAWK BAWK!"
People stopped and stared.
Some laughed and even recorded the spectacle.
A fully grown adult in panic.
Being hunted by a small teenager.
Inside a chicken suit.
"BUKAAAAAAAAWK!"
"Is this karma?!" Naoki heard the man scream.
***
"Maybe I'm having too much fun," he thought to himself while chasing the man into yet another alley.
'This dude sure loves tight alleys.'
It translated immediately into chicken when he yelled.
"BAWK BAWK BAWK tight BAWK!"
They had been running for a while now. At first, Naoki's heart had been racing, not from the sprint, but from the fear that someone might notice the bomb the man was carrying.
If that happened, authorities would be called. Mr. Watanabe would find out. And Naoki would be facing another scolding.
Just the thought made him shiver.
But none of that happened.
He had no idea if people simply assumed it was some kind of performance, especially with the ridiculous chicken suit drawing attention away from everything else. Or if the bomb just looked like some strange measuring device instead of a threat.
Either way, no one called the authorities.
Still, they were being recorded an awful lot.
The man turned another corner, and Naoki followed. He expected another narrow alley, but this time it was different. The man was climbing scaffolding on what looked like an abandoned construction site. No workers were in sight. Or maybe they were just taking a break somewhere out of view.
Naoki pushed the thought aside and focused on the climb.
His arms, or wings technically, wrapped around the wooden poles as he began scaling the scaffolding after the man. It annoyed him a little. Now they weren't just running with their feet, they were using their hands too.
It didn't matter much physically. He was a trained mercenary. Not as good as Saitou but still trained.
Finally reaching the top, he pulled himself up and looked around.
The man was there.
Slumped on the other side of the platform, breathing heavily, barely holding himself up.
Naoki paused.
That was a problem.
Now he actually needed to convince the man to hand over the bomb.
And how exactly was he supposed to do that using only chicken noises?