Akira trudged back to the living room, scratching his head. It was smart of her to keep that phone hidden, so he knew she could contact that kid at Nishikawa's to get her out of there. But he offered to create a diversion without considering what he'd do to accomplish that.
"Um… She seemed pretty upset. I don't think she's coming back out tonight…"
But Shishiba didn't seem to care. He was standing up, putting on his suit jacket, while staff cleared the dinner table.
"Kuroiwa, there's been a disturbance reported at the bar."
"Ah, really? Th-that's bad for business, huh?" Akira was beginning to sweat. What did he mean by 'a disturbance'?
"It's bad for all of us," Shishiba said curtly, clearly unamused with Akira's lackadaisical reaction. "But I had a feeling this would happen…"
Akira could read between the lines to figure out what was going on. He swallowed hard, waiting for Shishiba to give him orders.
"You're coming with me." Shishiba motioned for him to follow as he walked briskly to the door. "Let's put your skills to the test and see if you're really worthy of being my son-in-law."
"What about Midoriko?" Akira glanced back toward the direction of the bedrooms.
"It's better if she doesn't see what happens to the man she gave up everything to protect."
"Y-yes, sir," he said with a nod, trailing behind Shishiba. Akira ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. Love has really made those two the biggest idiots on the planet, huh?
***
Furniture scraped across the floor as Goto prepared to throw everything at Ryouma once more. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get close to him to rip out the earbud, nor could he get within a meter of the doors. The constant barrage from Goto kept him from even drawing something on the floor.
The man was a one-trick pony—only good at overwhelming his opponent. It was no wonder he'd bested Xiaoming before. Ryouma was exhausted from just trying to evade everything. If he made it out to the other side, at least the whole thing would be a learning experience for him. It was apparent he'd grown too complacent with his word magic.
This was the exact kind of thing that made neutralizers so desirable in the underworld, and it was what drove him to offer protection to someone innocent like Midoriko in the first place.
Ryouma triggered another lightbulb to burst and ducked into the shadows. There were only a couple of lamps left. If he could take all of them out, then at least taking another one of Goto's senses would give him an advantage.
"You fight like a coward!" shouted Goto, sending the furniture flying in every direction. "If you think the dark will save you, you're dead wrong!"
Ryouma used the corpse of the other sorcerer as a shield while a barrage of broken furniture rained down on him from above. When it stopped, he shoved everything off of himself and quickly moved away from that spot. As he crawled across the floor, his hand brushed against something cold and hard.
The gun!
He'd almost given up on finding it. Ryouma grabbed it, and in one swift motion, cocked the chamber and pointed it towards Goto.
Since sorcerers didn't need guns, most were bad shots. Ryouma was no exception. Still, he had to try. Ryouma pulled the trigger.
BANG—!
Goto shrieked and ducked as the shot completely missed.
The gun flew out of Ryouma's hand before he had a chance to fire again. It landed under a lamp. He dove after it, only for it to skid across the floor out of his reach.
"F-found you!" Goto spat, peering out from behind the bar.
Ryouma slid across the floor and crashed into a wall. He felt himself being pinned down by an unseen force as Goto climbed to his feet, extending both hands towards Ryouma.
Goto moved his head side to side, cracking his neck while furniture pulled back and gathered behind him like an impending tsunami. Ryouma wasn't going to be able to dodge this one.
"R-Ryouma?!" called out Midoriko. Like a near-death vision, she was hovering in the air right above Goto.
Midoriko looked like an angel in the long, flowing dress she was wearing. Ryouma would have liked to be able to see her in a wedding dress, but that was good enough. It was enough for him to be able to see her so clearly when facing death.
Then, she dropped right on top of Goto, knocking him down.
"Oof!" She looked around in a daze for a moment. "Wha– Where am I?!"
"M-Midoriko!" Ryouma scrambled to his feet. "Th-the earbud!" He gestured to his own ear while pointing at Goto. "T-take it out!"
"Huh?!" Midoriko looked down to see that she was sitting on top of someone. "Eek! I'm s-sorry!"
As she tried to scoot off the man's back, Goto pushed her away. But before he could even get back on his feet, Ryouma had him in a chokehold.
While trying to pry Ryouma's forearm off his neck, Goto made a subtle motion with his head, and the cocktail ice pick skidded across the floor towards him.
"M-Midoriko! The earbud!" grunted Ryouma.
"Oh!" She tore her eyes off the ice pick that was headed straight for them to look at the man turning red under Ryouma's hold. Right there in his ear was a bright white earbud. "R-right!" Midoriko swiftly yanked it out of his ear and tossed it aside.
As Goto picked up the ice pick, Ryouma spoke his command.
"Don't move!" he ordered, releasing Goto from his chokehold. Ryouma moved to Midoriko's side as the sorcerer sat there frozen, at his mercy. He gently turned her head away. "Don't look. Close your eyes," he whispered. "Cover your ears, too."
"Huh…?" What was he going to do with that man? When she didn't comply, Ryouma put his own hands over her ears and pulled her face into his chest. Midoriko's heart pounded.
It was all muffled, but she could still hear Ryouma command the man to stab himself as he pleaded for his life. Then after a moment, there was a dull thud as his body hit the floor.
So this is how he does it. It was cruel, yet effective.
Midoriko wrapped her arms around Ryouma's waist and held him close. She couldn't use her power to purify him of his sins, but she could at least accept them.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his breathing haggard.
"I should be the one asking you that," she murmured. Everywhere she touched him, it seemed like her skin made contact with sticky, coagulated blood on his clothes. "You're hurt."
"I'll be fine," Ryouma said, sighing. He held up her face, tilting it slightly from side to side as he looked into her eyes, as if he was inspecting her. "More importantly, how did you get here?"
"I… I'm not really sure myself," she said breathlessly. Midoriko cupped his face in her hands—his skin was so cold and clammy. It was too dark to see properly, but there was something wrong with his skin. "I was just thinking about how much I wanted to see you, picturing you in my mind… And then I was here."
"Unbelievable… You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Ryouma pressed his forehead into the crook of her neck and sighed. He let out a soft chuckle. "And here I thought you wanted me out of your life..."
Midoriko bit her lip. "Ryouma, about that…"
"Shh…" He pressed a finger to her lips and smiled. "I don't care about that. Just remember you can't get rid of me so easily. If you run, I'll drag you right back to my side. If you die, I'll die because I can't live without you anymore."
How could he say something like that? It was so unfair. The floodgates opened, and Midoriko's tears spilled freely.
"Th-they were g-going to k-kill you," she sobbed. Midoriko clutched at his bloody shirt. "I'm s-sorry! I g-gave him your n-name! I d-didn't know what else to do! I'm s-so sorry!"
"You should've just let them try. I won't go down without a fight after all," he joked darkly, stroking her hair.
"N-No! I couldn't possibly!" she said with a horrified look on her face. "Ryouma, I… You–! I…"
Midoriko's pressing words were cut off when the door leading to the stairwell opened up. A beam of light cut by two shadows stretched across the floor.
Shishiba's eyes swept over the former casino, taking in the damage. Piles of broken card tables and chairs, shards of glass everywhere, several corpses, and only two lights remained on.
"Impressive!" He sarcastically clapped his hands as he stepped into the room with Akira, slack-jawed, following at his heels. "You really did a number on this place!"
When Shishiba's gaze settled on Ryouma, spotlighted under a lamp, he froze at the unexpected addition of Midoriko. He turned around and grabbed Akira by the necktie, pulling him forward.
"What the hell is my daughter doing here, Kuroiwa?!" he barked, pointing at Midoriko. "Did you have something to do with this?!"
"N-no, sir!" Akira shook his head frantically. "I swear she was in her room when we left!"
Ryouma pulled Midoriko closer to himself and gave her a comforting squeeze as she trembled in fear of her father. He would protect her no matter what.
"Midoriko can use magic if she really puts her mind to it," Ryouma explained, resting his cheek on Midoriko's head. "She was able to teleport here through the power of love. Isn't that amazing?"
"R-Ryouma!" Midoriko weakly shoved him. Her face was buried in his chest, but he could see her ears turning red.
She was so cute. How could he not want her all to himself?
"What? It's true!" he chided. Like static in the air before a storm, Shishiba's growing anger was palpable. Seeing that man lose his composure was endlessly entertaining to Ryouma. I'm sorry, Midoriko. I'm going to embarrass you a little more.
Making direct eye contact with Shishiba, he continued, "It seems she can only do it when it involves me, though. That's how strong our bond is." Ryouma stuck out his tongue. "Too bad for you, I found her first."
Letting out a beleaguered sigh, Shishiba removed his glasses. Then he dragged a hand across his face and through his hair. "Nishikawa– No, Enishi Ryouma… You are truly an insufferable man."
Ryouma couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd taken his taunts a bit too far as meter-high flames shot upwards from Shishiba's outstretched palm.