Chapter 3: Unsafe Protection【P2】
Renji
“I’m fine,” he grunts, keeping his hand pressed against his ribs. “But you are on wrestling duty next time.”
“You flew in like an airplane—” I extend my arms wide. “—no, an airplane riding an airplane! I didn’t know you could run like that. Are you training to become a debt collector or something?”
He stares back in silence.
The girl skates through the thinning crowd, steering her captive forward to join our huddle.
Limping worse than I did, the victim who triggered this whole chase stumbles up to us “You guys...” he pants, dropping his hands to his knees. “Holy crap.”
“Heads up.” The girl tosses the recovered bag, which he catches automatically.
“Thank you so much!” He kisses the fabric, side-eyeing the thieves. “These hooligans should be—”
“Is your friend over there hurt?” She looks past him. “Should I call medical for her? How about you?”
“We’ll be fine! Thank you all so much for helping—seriously.” He bows to each of us in turn.
“Just doing our daily rounds.” The tracksuit boy smirks, subtly extending a cupped hand at his side while tilting his chin toward the sky.
Smack.
His head rocks violently like a speed bag from the impact of the girl’s palm.
“Hey! I don’t take that currency!” he grumbles, rubbing the back of his neck.
The boy with the bag gives a departing nod, hoisting it in victory toward a girl further down the path. She stands clutching her shoulder, weakly waving a fist in return.
The tracksuit girl grips the cuffs of both captives, anchoring them with a firm tug. “You people couldn’t even wait past the first day of the term, huh? You triads keep getting bolder by the day. Sickening.”
Zzzt-clik.
The mechanism in her footwear rings. With the ease of stepping off a stair, her feet drop flat to the pavement. The wheels seamlessly retract against her calves as she walks away.
She looks over her shoulder at the boy next to me. “I will take these two to the holding station. Can you manage here for a bit?”
“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.” He waves a dismissive hand. “Without you, I function even better. At least, that’s what the back of my neck is telling me.”
She fades out of view behind the shifting crowd. The fading heat of adrenaline inside me gives way to a bubbling excitement.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! That is absolutely amazing!” I blurt out.
He spins around with a grin, running a hand through his hair as he leans back. “Oh, please. No need to get emotional. It’s just the natural aura of an elite upperclassman doing what he does best—”
“No, not you!” I point straight down at him. “Those skates! What are those things on your feet?”
His smirk deflates. Blinking, he stares down at his footwear. “Oh. These?”
Zzzt-clik.
He shifts his weight. The wheel chassis hinges backward, tilting up around the heel until it locks flat along his lower legs.
He clicks his tongue, looking us up and down with a lazy grin. “First-years, huh?”
“Sure am!” I pump my fist and throw an arm over Jiro’s shoulder. “The dream team is here!”
“We are not—” Jiro starts, but a wince cuts him off. He clutches his side, glaring at me before letting out a sigh.
“Dream team, huh?” The boy chuckles. “Well, I’m Shun. Nice work out there.”
“I’m Renji!” I grab Jiro by the neck, giving him a light shake. “And this train wreck is Jiro.”
My eyes drop back to his feet. “But seriously, what are those? Do they have rocket boosters built into them?”
“Heh.” Shun taps the side of his ankle casing with his opposite skate. “Power-assisted frames. Standard issue for patrol units.”
“Wow... where can I get a pair?”
“In your dreams, kid. Restricted to officers of the force only.”
I lean in closer, cupping a hand over my mouth. “Officers? So what are you guys? Like the secret police? Campus military?”
He leans back, fixing me with a deadpan look. “No. Just the OPB.” I blink. Jiro blinks.
“The what?” we say in unison.
Shun pauses, his eyes lingering on our blank expressions. “Right…”
He waves a casual hand. “The Order Preservation Bureau. Basically, we just chase down bag thieves and so on.”
My jaw drops. “An entire department just for catching bag thieves, huh?”
“I don’t think he meant that literally,” Jiro deadpans.
“Yeah, listen to your buddy there,” Shun flashes a wry smirk. “Clearly he got custody of the brain cell today.”
“I know, I know.” I wave a dismissive hand, turning to poke Jiro in the side before freezing mid-motion. “Just ribbing ya. Er—metaphorically speaking, I mean. Please don’t punch me.”
Shun turns his attention to Jiro. “But seriously. You’ve got a killer sprint, not to mention a tight grip. You should consider stopping by the bureau once you get settled into campus life. We could use people like you.”
“Nah, I’ll pass,” Jiro shrugs subtly as his eyes drift past Shun’s shoulder. “You don’t get to deal out judgment without catching the recoil. I’m just here to focus on my studies.”
“Hey, I’m completely free!” I chime in, tapping my chest. “I can join right now!”
Shun blinks at me in mild surprise before turning right back to Jiro. “Well, if you ever change your mind, the offer stands.”
He turns his shoulders back to me. “And as for you—”
“Hey, Shun! Standing around chit-chatting on the job again, are we?” A mocking voice comes from behind him as a boy in casual clothes strolls toward us.
Shun turns and sets off to meet him. “Please, at least my job requires a pulse. I’m pulling way more weight for this school than a low-class bartender ever could.”
“Ouch!” The boy halts with a grin, clutching his chest. “Right in the professional pride.”
Shun chuckles, throwing us a lazy, two-finger salute. “Hey, I’ve gotta run. See you guys around, okay? Try to stay out of trouble.”
We wave a quick goodbye and continue along our path, finally leaving the central plaza behind. The roar of the festival crowd softens as we transition into the smaller side streets.
“...the guard turns the corner, I slide under the desk, and grab the master key,” I clutch the air in the quiet avenue. “I swap my slippers for their skates, and boom! The dream team goes high-tech.”
Jiro walks beside me, hands tucked in his pockets. “At the volume you’re talking, the whole campus already knows the plan before it started.”
“It’s called strategizing! We have to think ahead—”
A girl steps into our path, blocking the walkway. Hands tucked behind her back, she offers a soft smile. A small orange ribbon in her hair catches my eye.
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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 3: Unsafe Protection【P3】
Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”
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