Ch.91Double Dragon of Emoshita (4)

“URAAAAAH!!!”

Taiga swung her bat upward.

Crack-!!

One of the gang members collapsed with his jaw shattered by the baseball bat.

This reduced the Dead Angels’ numbers considerably.

Thud-! Thud-!!

Sachith seemed to have noticed his peculiar constitution. He moved forward casually, as if taking a leisurely stroll.

With that alone, all the gang members around Sachith began to retire due to unexpected accidents.

Eventually, the Dead Angels’ formation was torn apart.

Only Taka remained.

“F-fuck…”

Taka seemed to grasp the situation.

“Give up, Taka.”

Taiga held up her baseball bat, glistening with blood. This really is scary.

“Surrender.”

Sachith added his two cents. A guy who can’t give up his swagger even if he dies… that’s what makes him cool…

“Hahahahaha!!! You’ve got quite strong companions, Taiga!! But!!! I’m satisfied that you haven’t changed!!”

Taka burst into maniacal laughter.

“This is your true nature after all!! Your destiny is to be steeped in blood, only knowing how to fight!! You don’t belong with those friends of yours in the light!! The one who belongs by your side is me!!!! Together!!! Let’s rule all of Japan!!!! With you by my side, we won’t have to worry about the yakuza!!! We can really take over Japan!!!”

Taka shouted.

“…That’s.”

Taiga seemed caught in complex thoughts. Taka’s garbage words had struck right at Taiga’s inner conflict.

It was true. Taiga fundamentally loved fighting. That’s how she grew up. Treating Taiga as just a captured heroine would be tantamount to neutering her true nature.

I hated that. I sensed it would be a decision we’d regret. I had resolved to fight alongside Taiga and clean up the aftermath.

I needed to step up here. That was the only way to avoid regret.

“You’re beautiful because you’re being yourself, Taiga. Isn’t that enough? I love everything about you—the Taiga who fights fiercely, and the Taiga who pesters me every night.”

I said to Taiga.

“Sh-Shota…”

Taiga looked at me with a flushed face.

“So, let’s live happily from now on, okay? If there’s someone you don’t like, beat them up moderately, then we’ll share our love at home—enjoying both a life in the light and in the shadows.”

“Shota…”

“It’s okay to be a little greedy.”

I said with a smile.

“Yeah.”

With that, Taiga’s inner conflict disappeared.

“Give up. You’re not that strong. Do you think you can face all of us and come out unscathed?”

I said.

“Hahahahaha… You don’t… understand life in the shadows. When you’ve been in this world long enough… you can get your hands on some nice things.”

Taka laughed like a madman and pulled out a gun.

It wasn’t a toy. It was a short-barreled revolver like those used by Japanese police. Not an official one. An illegally manufactured firearm.

Did he get it from yakuza types… This was a development I hadn’t expected since it wasn’t in the game.

Click-!!

Taka cocked the hammer of the gun.

“Everyone dies when they get shot anyway!!!!! Six bullets in the chamber!!!! I’ll send all six of you to your graves!!”

Taka said with a snicker.

Shit… a gun is too much.

Bullets? Honestly, I might be able to deflect them with my sword if I do it right. But that would only protect myself. What if there’s a ricochet, or if Taka aims at someone else? Then we’d be in serious trouble.

In terms of lethality, guns were the ultimate weapon. Even though I was a swordsman to the bone, I knew well that swords were inferior to guns.

“Taka!!! If you fire that gun… it’s life imprisonment!! Do you understand that weight?!”

Taiga shouted. Even thugs can’t defy the law. Taka was about to cross a river of no return.

“I don’t care!!!! I’ve already lost all my men!!! To some countryside biker gang!! I’m finished with headquarters anyway!! And Taiga… you didn’t choose me either!! Prison? I’ll go as many times as it takes!!! But I’m taking you all to hell with me!!!!”

Taka shouted, tears streaming down his face.

Shit… I shouldn’t have triggered his inferiority complex by taking Taiga. That’s what made him go dark. This is how harmful NTR is, everyone.

Everyone was at a stalemate because of the gun variable.

At that moment, Sachith stepped forward.

After taking a deep breath, Sachith said one thing.

“Bet your life. Do you have that resolve?”

Sachith made his statement. He was Sachith until the end, unable to give up his swagger. Really… that idiot…

“Life? Resolve?!! Hahaha!! Sure!! I’ll kill you first!!!”

Taka immediately aimed the gun at Sachith’s forehead.

But… I saw it. Sachith wearing a confident smile.

Sachith had begun to vaguely believe in his protagonist correction. That was the source of his confidence.

“Die!!!!!!”

Taka pulled the trigger.

“Kyaaaah!!!!”

“No!!!”

Eri and Umi closed their eyes tightly.

There was no gunshot.

Click-!!

Only the dry sound of a bullet jamming was heard.

BANG-!!

With a small explosion, the gun in Taka’s hand blew up.

Partly due to the unreliability of illegal firearms, but mainly because he tried to attack Sachith, the protagonist. That was his fatal mistake.

“AAAAARGH?!!!”

As the gun disintegrated in mid-air, scattering fragments, Taka collapsed holding his bloody hand. The bullet had exploded in his hand, severely injuring him.

“What… happened…!! AAAAGH!!”

Taka said, rolling on the ground.

“I told you. It’s your defeat.”

I lifted Taka up.

Click-!

Right after, I sheathed my sword while looking at Taiga.

Taiga, seeming to understand my intention, threw away her baseball bat.

Taiga and I clenched our fists.

“Let’s go, Taiga. Couple punch.”

I said with a smile.

“That’s so like Naked Man!! You understand romance?!”

Taiga raised her fist energetically.

“W-wait!!! Stop!!!!!”

Taka shouted desperately.

“Couple couple……..!!!”

Taiga and I swung our fists in circles, measuring the angle.

“Stooooop!!!!!”

“PISTOL!!!!!!!”

Taiga and I swung our fists.

WHAM-!!!!!!!

Our fists cleanly hit Taka between the eyes.

“UUUARGH?!!!”

Taka was knocked out. Corn kernels scattered in all directions from Taka’s mouth. The slightly yellowish kernels glistened in the sunlight. It was a magnificent sight.

Thud-!!!

Taka rolled grandly on the ground and collapsed. He didn’t get up again.

And so, we defeated the Dead Angels.

“Let’s… get out of here, guys.”

Even in an abandoned factory district, we’d caused quite a commotion. If caught by the police, we wouldn’t get off with just a warning.

“Wait. Before that.”

Taiga approached Taka.

Pop-!

Taiga pulled out a red marker from between her breasts. Wait. She keeps things in her cleavage? Is this… the advantage of having large breasts? Gaining an extra inventory slot.

Taiga wrote neat letters on Taka’s forehead.

‘Retired. Don’t mess with me.’

She wrote that message clearly. Well, that was so like Taiga.

“Now let’s run!!”

Taiga shouted in a relieved tone.

“Let’s go!!!”

All of us immediately fled.

And so, one major incident was resolved.

I had made the best choice for Taiga’s happiness. I could feel it for certain.

———-

After all this was over.

Shota’s group wasn’t caught by the police.

When the police finally arrived, they only arrested the Dead Angels.

And… they discovered fragments of the broken gun. Possession of an illegal firearm was a serious crime, so Taka was immediately detained. There was a behind-the-scenes story that Taka exercised his right to remain silent for all charges, which inevitably increased his sentence.

Anyway, the Kanto branch of the Dead Angels suffered devastating damage. They had ambitiously sent a large force to crush Emoshita’s small biker gang, only to be utterly defeated.

In this world, once you’re looked down upon, it’s over. The Dead Angels’ reputation hit rock bottom. As a result, small gangs that started to defy the Dead Angels began popping up everywhere.

“Crazy Taka… was defeated?”

At the Dead Angels headquarters, a man exclaimed in astonishment.

It was Tanaka, Taka’s predecessor as leader and now an advisor, a legend in the biker gang world.

“Yes!!! By the Red Demon Taiga!! And… her boyfriend, some madman!!”

A survivor of the incident shouted.

“I can understand Taiga being a match for Taka, but… this boyfriend, is he strong?”

Tanaka asked.

“He’s strong…!!! Incredibly so!! He’s a monster!! On par with Natsukawa Taiga, or perhaps even stronger!!!”

The gang member said with a tearful expression.

“Damn it… Natsukawa Taiga… I didn’t think she’d have an ordinary boyfriend… She certainly has an eye for men.”

Tanaka muttered.

“What should we do?”

Another executive asked.

“There was a message… left by Natsukawa Taiga on Taka’s forehead. She said she’s retired so don’t mess with her…”

The gang member said.

“………..”

Normally, revenge would be appropriate. But practically speaking, it wasn’t.

It didn’t seem likely that sending members against Taiga and the unidentified monster would result in successful revenge. They had defeated Taka, the gang’s muscle.

“If she says she’s retired… let’s not create unnecessary problems.”

Tanaka finally said. It was a bit cowardly, but unavoidable. The Dead Angels’ reputation had hit rock bottom, and other enemies rising up against them were abundant. They had no room to deal with other matters.

“Stay away from Emoshita City from now on. Focus on building our base in other areas.”

Tanaka ultimately concluded.

And so, peace in Emoshita was preserved thanks to Shota’s group. Unintentionally, it became a clean zone free of delinquents.

Being known as “The Twin Dragons of Emoshita” in the underworld was just a bonus. The Double Dragon of Emoshita was born. Though they themselves didn’t think much of it.