Dwayne's wife and daughters slept in their hotel room with no recollection of what transpired last night. Shiori made sure they'd be unconscious so they didn't cause a commotion, so while they were sleeping she made them fall even more unconscious with chops to the neck. They woke up and turned to the man who should be dead.
Dwayne: "Good morning guys, sleep well?"
"No, I had a nightmare!"
"Me too!"
Dwayne: "Haha. Well that's no good. Sounds like a couple of people need ice cream for breakfast."
"Yippee!"
Claire: "Honey…"
Dwayne: "It's okay, just this once." As the others got ready, the Special-Rank Hunter was lost in his own thoughts, 'Looks like I finally lost a life. I wish I could've seen who was behind that mask. It is what it is, I need to call Shoyo and have him report this asap.'
Golden Festival Day 26
Going back to the first day Caesar was away.
Shinatsu stood in the kitchen holding a carton: "Hey, we just got this half-and-half milk. So why is it already past the expiration date?"
Kagura: "Not again."
Nicholas: "Ah man. I wanted to put some in my oatmeal."
Chifuyu: "Who picked up this half-and-half?"
A long silence.
Diego froze in the doorway like a criminal caught in a spotlight. His eyes darted left, then right, like he was calculating whether escaping through the window was feasible: "…Crap. It was me."
Chifuyu stared at him with disappointment.
Kagura waved a hand: "It's fine, Diego. Half-and-half is still good like… a couple weeks past its expiration date."
Shinatsu: "Says who?"
Kagura: "The internet."
Yuji: "I don't trust that."
Diego leaned over the carton and sniffed like he was inspecting a corpse: "Well… it doesn't smell yet."
Chifuyu: "Unfortunately I agree with Yuji. I don't trust anything that's passed its expiration date, even if it's just by one day."
Kagura slammed an unopened egg carton on the counter like it was a case file: "Let's take a vote, those in favor of still using this half-and-half, raise your hand."
The vote was a landslide. The only ones who didn't want to use it were Chifuyu and Yuji. Nicholas would've been on their side if he wasn't craving oatmeal so much.
Ariel: "Can I have a boiled egg?"
Chifuyu turned. Ariel had her elbows on the table, chin propped on her hands like an innocent bystander. Her expression was serene. Unbothered.
Chifuyu: "No. Ariel. You voted to keep the half-and-half so you HAVE to use it."
Ariel: "Why did you say my name like I'm some sort of villain?"
Chifuyu: "Because you are."
Ariel: "Your words cut deep, Chifuyu. Deeper than any blade."
Nicholas: "One boiled egg should be fine."
Kagura grinned: "Nah. We're going with scrambled eggs."
Ariel's shoulders slumped dramatically: "I am being oppressed."
Chifuyu: "If I die from Diego's expired half-and-half, I'm haunting all of you."
Yuji stood. "I'm leaving. I'll just get some takeout."
Chifuyu: "You're not leaving until you eat."
Yuji glared: "Is that an order?"
Kagura smiled politely: "Yes."
Breakfast passed, and nobody died. Yet. The half-and-half didn't taste like poison. Kagura called that a victory. By the time they were cleaning up, Chifuyu was already staring at his phone. His face ID still wasn't working. He held the phone up. No unlock. He angled it. No unlock. He leaned in. No unlock. He frowned harder. No unlock.
Ariel wandered behind him, peeking over his shoulder: "Maybe it doesn't recognize you because you look like a goblin in the morning."
Chifuyu: "Is this revenge for not letting you have a boiled egg?"
Ariel: "Call it divine retribution."
Kagura leaned on the counter, grinning: "Lock in, Chifuyu. Give it your serious protagonist face."
Chifuyu tried. For a second, it looked like all of his facial features sharpened and as if he became a true chad.
The phone unlocked instantly.
Chifuyu looked at Ariel with a smug face: "Hmph." She rolled her eyes.
Shoyo called Chifuyu.
Chifuyu: "Yo. What's up?"
Shoyo: "Hello?"
Chifuyu: "Yeah, what's up? Are you on your way?"
Shoyo: "Huh?"
Chifuyu blinked: "What do you mean huh?"
Shoyo: "Huh?" He repeated, louder this time.
Chifuyu pulled the phone away and checked it like it was broken: "Can you hear me?"
Shoyo: "Huh?"
Chifuyu: "Shoyo. Are you messing with me?"
Shoyo: "Huh? Oh, wait. Sorry. I was eating. What'd you say?"
Chifuyu stared into the distance with a calm rage: "You called me!"
Shoyo: "Yeah, I'll be over soon to give you guys driving lessons."
Chifuyu: "Okay. Good to hear."
Shoyo: "Also, I'm teaching manual."
Chifuyu: "Why manual?"
Shoyo: "Because if you can drive manual, automatic is kid's play."
Chifuyu sighed: "Alright. See you soon."
Shoyo: "Bet."
Shoyo hung up.
Chifuyu stared at his phone with slight annoyance.
Ariel smiled innocently: "So… we're learning how to drive."
Chifuyu: "Yeah, please try not to hit a parked car this time."
Ariel: "Only a fool makes the same mistakes twice."
Kagura: "This should be fun."
***
Shoyo arrived like he owned the neighborhood. There was a low purr of an engine outside, smooth and confident. When they stepped out front, the car sat there gleaming like a black predator: a BMW M5, perfectly clean, perfectly polished. Shoyo leaned casually against it like it was an extension of his personality. Which it probably was.
Chifuyu walked outside wearing a cape. He strutted nonchalantly to Shoyo as his cape flowed due to the sudden gusts of wind. Shoyo and Chifuyu then had an aura completion for some reason. Everyone stared.
Shoyo: "Not bad."
Chifuyu lifted his chin: "Piccolo taught me well."
Kagura doubled over laughing: "You're so dumb."
Diego observed with a finger on his chin: "Someone cooked here."
Nicholas: "Where did he even get that cape from?"
Iris: "He ordered it a couple days ago on Shiozam."
Shoyo clapped his hands: "Alright. Since Chifuyu's obviously so eager to go, he'll be first."
Chifuyu: "This'll be a piece of cake."
Shoyo: "We'll see about that."
Chifuyu slid into the seat.
Shoyo got into the passenger seat: "Clutch. Brake. Gas. Learn to feel the car. Don't force it."
Chifuyu nodded seriously. He started the engine. The car purred. He eased the clutch and rolled forward smoothly.
Diego whistled: "Okay, he's actually clean with it."
Chifuyu drove calmly, handling the turns with surprising control.
Shoyo nodded approvingly: "Good sense. Your shifting is actually impressive, you haven't stalled once. But I thought you would be excited to do this?"
Chifuyu shrugged: "I just don't really like driving."
Shoyo: "Oh, why is that?"
Chifuyu: "I'd rather get my motorcycle license, those are more my style."
Kagura's eyes sparkled from the backseat: "Motorcycle Chifuyu would be awesome."
Ariel: "Chifuyu, you're taking a class for it tomorrow, so is there any point in learning how to drive?@
Chifuyu: "I mean, driving is fine. But motorcycles—"
Shoyo smiled: "You'll grow to love cars too."
Chifuyu: "Even in traffic."
Shoyo: "No. Traffic is hell."
Chifuyu: "That's when you'd just leave your car and teleport away."
Shoyo: "Haha. I wish. But hey, being able to drive a car extremely well and ride a motorcycle? I'd say that's better than just being skilled at one."
Chifuyu nodded: "You have a point."
He drove another loop, cape still draped around his shoulders. He returned to the house after about 45 minutes.
Shoyo tapped the roof of his car once: "Alright, who's next."
Shoyo turned his gaze toward Ariel whose eyes were gleaming with confidence.
Shoyo: "Oh no."
Ariel: "Don't worry, I've watched many videos on driving. I'm basically a pro racer."
Shoyo: "If you say so."
She sat down. Shoyo got in the passenger seat. Chifuyu and Kagura sat in the back seats. Shoyo calmly explained the basics again. Ariel nodded along like she understood. But she wasn't listening, her mind was just excited to start controlling this beast of a machine. She turned the key. The engine started. She slowly pulled out and surprisingly didn't stall yet. However, the sun was bright.
Ariel squinted: "I can't see."
Shoyo blinked: "What?"
Ariel leaned forward, squinting harder: "It's too bright."
Kagura: "Put the visor down!"
Ariel: "The what?"
Chifuyu: "The thing right there above the windshield!"
Ariel slapped the visor down so aggressively that it broke off: "Oops."
Shoyo put his hands over his face as he looked at the ceiling of the car: "Oh my god."
Then she gripped the wheel. Way too tightly. She stomped on the gas and the car lurched violently.
Everybody's head snapped back: "Whoa!"
Chifuyu: "Take your foot off the gas, Ariel!"
Ariel: "I can't see!"
Shoyo: "That has nothing to do with you trying to send us crashing through a house!" He grabbed the wheel with one hand and hit the brake with the other.
The car slammed to a halt right before it went flying into someone's house. There was a long silence.
Shoyo slowly looked at her: "Ariel."
Ariel looked back: "…Yes."
Shoyo: "What was that?!"
Ariel: "My finger slipped."
Kagura covered her mouth, wheezing.
Chifuyu: "You might be biologically incapable of driving."
Ariel: "I got this, give me some time."
Shoyo exhaled slowly: "Okay. Try again. Gently."
Ariel nodded. She eased the clutch. The car started rolling again. Then she panicked and jerked the wheel. Shoyo corrected it immediately.
Ariel shouted: "IT'S SLIDING!"
Shoyo: "It's not sliding. You're turning."
Ariel's foot hit the gas too hard.
The engine roared.
Shoyo's eyes widened: "Okay, brake—brake—!"
Ariel slammed the brake. The car jolted to a stop: "Why is it so sensitive?!"
Shoyo: "Because it's a good car. Stop being so aggressive with it."
Chifuyu: "Ariel, the key is being delicate while still having finesse. A beginner can't be thus aggressive."
Ariel scowled: "Okay."
Shoyo: "Keep it steady."
Ariel nodded.
Ariel stalled the car for the fourth time in under two minutes. The engine coughed, shuddered, then died with a sad little clunk that echoed down the quiet neighborhood street. Shoyo stared straight ahead from the passenger seat, one hand resting on the dashboard, the other gripping the handle above the door a little tighter than he'd like to admit.
Shoyo: "…Okay," he said calmly. "That one was closer."
Chifuyu: "Was it?"
Kagura snorted from the other side of the backseat: "Progress!"
Ariel sat stiffly behind the wheel, both hands locked on the wheel: "I am doing exactly what you said…"
Shoyo held up a finger: "You are. Mostly. You'll get the hang of it."
Ariel: "Thanks." She took a breath, adjusted her seat for the fifth time, and pressed the clutch down again.
Shoyo smiled despite himself: "You're doing it. Keep steady."
She focused back on the road. Her movements were rigid, but each shift came a little smoother than the last. Second gear clicked into place without protest.
The car hummed.
Ariel's shoulders loosened a fraction: "…Oh. That felt… nice."
Kagura leaned forward: "See? You're getting the hang of it!"
Ariel: lDo not jinx me."
Too late. A stop sign appeared. Ariel panicked.
Shoyo: "Brake first, clutch in, slow!"
She slammed the brake, stomped the clutch, and the car screeched to a stop so hard Kagura nearly headbutted the seat in front of her.
Kagura: "Ow!"
Chifuyu burst out laughing: "Full stop achieved!"
Ariel exhaled slowly, then tried again.
And again.
By the time they looped back toward Odd Jobs, Ariel was still stiff, still tense, but she hadn't stalled in ten whole minutes.
She parked the car with exaggerated care, turned off the engine, and slumped forward: "I survived."
Kagura clapped: "You did more than survive! You drove!"
Chifuyu smiled at her: "Proud of you."
Ariel huffed, then very quietly, smiled too.
Shoyo opened the door and stepped out: "That was definitely exhausting."
She followed, stretching her arms: "Next time… I will be better."
Shoyo: "Glad to hear it. You'll be paying for the visor you broke off though."
***
Shoyo: "Alright. Next up."
Diego cracked his knuckles: "My turn."
If Chifuyu and Ariel'd driving lesson had been the calm before the storm, then Diego was the storm itself. The moment Shoyo tossed him the keys, Diego caught them midair with a smirk.
Diego: "Finally," he started rolling his shoulders. "I've been waiting for this."
Chifuyu crossed his arms: "Don't crash."
Diego scoffed: "Please. I've known how to drive and ride since before you even touched a steering wheel."
Chifuyu: "Hmph."
Beatrice stood nearby, hands folded, expression neutral as ever. Diego glanced at her and smirked: "Nova, when I get my license, I'll take you on all kinds of rides. Road trips. Night drives. Your hair will blow in the wind, it'll be cinematic."
Beatrice: "I'll hold you to that."
Shoyo raised an eyebrow, clearly entertained: "Big talk. Let's see if you can back it up."
Diego: "Oh?" He said, opening the driver's door. "You sure you're ready for this?"
Shoyo leaned against the hood of his M5, unfazed: "Show me what you got."
Diego slid into the seat and the engine roared to life. The second they pulled onto the street, it became very clear that Diego wasn't bluffing. He moved like he was reading the road three seconds ahead of everyone else, smooth lane changes, controlled acceleration, precise braking. When traffic thickened, he didn't panic. He flowed. Slipping through openings like water finding cracks in stone, cutting up through traffic like he was in a movie.
Chifuyu: "You're enjoying this too much."
Diego laughed: "That's how you know I'm doing it right."
They hit an intersection. The left arrow turned green. Diego didn't hesitate to drift. He had perfect control. Tires screamed briefly, the car arcing cleanly around the corner before straightening out like nothing had happened.
Kagura: "Not too bad."
Shoyo: "Woooo! That's what I'm talking about."
Chifuyu: "Tch. I could do that, easy."
Diego flashed a grin: "In your dreams."
They returned ten minutes later. That was less of a test and more of Diego showcasing his driving skills.
Shoyo: "…Alright. You've got skill."
Diego hopped out, stretching: "Told you."
Kagura bounced on her heels, eyes shining: "My turn, my turn!"
Shoyo glanced at her: "Don't you already have your license?"
Kagura pointed at the car: "Yeah, but I wanna drive your whip."
Shoyo: "Careful. Don't underestimate the M5."
Kagura: "I'll be getting a supercar, but this'll have to do for now."
That struck a nerve. Shoyo opened his mouth to retort: "If you can't handle my M5, then you have no business touching a supercar."
Kagura slid into the driver's seat with a confidence that made Chifuyu uneasy: "Just sit back and watch."
The engine started and she took off. Every shift was crisp. Every turn exact. She handled traffic like it was a dance, accelerating and braking with flawless rhythm. When she took a corner fast, the car purred as it drifted.
Diego leaned forward, stunned: "Wait—what?"
Chifuyu: "She's better than you."
Diego: "That means she's better than you too!"
Kagura pushed the car harder, but never lost control. The M5 responded like it was alive, like it had finally found someone who spoke its language. When she pulled back in and shut off the engine, silence followed.
Shoyo laughed.
Kagura hopped out, hands behind her head: "What? Was I good?"
Shoyo stepped forward and dapped her up: "You've got natural talent."
Kagura: "Appreciate it."
Chifuyu and Diego groaned with envy.
Iris sat nearby on a chair, her cast resting on her leg. She watched everything with quiet fascination.
Shoyo walked over: "How long until you're healed?"
Iris thought for a moment: "Hopefully… just a few more weeks."
Shoyo: "Let me know, then you can practice driving too."
Iris smiled softly: "Thank you."
Lastly came Shinatsu. She stepped forward with her arms crossed: "Alright. How hard can it be?"
Chifuyu and Iris exchanged a look.
Shoyo: "Ever driven before?"
Shinatsu: "No, but I learn fast."
She slid into the driver's seat.
As soon as she tried to go, the car stalled.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Shinatsu's hands trembled on the wheel: "Why does it keep dying?"
Shoyo: "You're letting go of the clutch too fast."
Shinatsu: "I am not!"
The engine died again. She was in the street for several minutes, impeding other cars. She threw the hazard lights on. Cars began passing them. Slowly and Judgingly. One driver who's a regular at the cafe waved.
Shinatsu wanted to vanish: "This might be the most embarrassing moment of my life."
Chifuyu tried not to laugh: "You've gone… what, ten feet?"
Kagura: "You can do it, Shinatsu!" She said in a low voice.
Thirty minutes passed. She had gone about a hundred feet. Neighborhood traffic now had to keep going around them.
Shoyo: "'How hard can it be?' Huh?"
Shinatsu: "Can it. I'm gonna get the hang of this."
She tried again.
Stall.
Again.
Stall.
An hour passed. Chifuyu and Kagura were nodding off in the backseat. But she didn't quit. And eventually, the car started rolling.
Shinatsu: "…I'm doing it."
Chifuyu snapped awake, trying to pretend he wasn't half-asleep: "Yep, knew you had it in you."
Kagura: "Now, let's shift into 2nd gear."
Shinatsu: "How do I do that?"
Shoyo: "Oh boy."
By the end of the afternoon, everyone involved was exhausted, but they somehow made it through. As did Shoyo's car, it miraculously got through the day without getting any scratches, on the outside at least.
Shinatsu parked the car and slumped forward: "Never speak of this."
Kagura smiled gently: "You didn't give up."
Shinatsu: "…Thank you."
Later, as the sun dipped low, Shoyo stood beside Chifuyu: "…I'm sorry," he said quietly. "We still haven't found Dakota."
Chifuyu's expression softened: "It's okay. I'm sure he'll turn up."
Shoyo: "I hope so. You've grown a lot since you've seen each other, I know he has too."
***
The next day, Chifuyu obliterated his motorcycle safety course. He placed first in his class with perfect scores. The instructor praised him, saying he had a good sense for being on a bike. Kagura drove him straight to the dealership afterwards. He stood in front of a 300cc sportbike, eyes shining.
Chifuyu: "This is it."
Kagura: "Ohh. Is that the fastest?"
Chifuyu shook his head: "It's a beginner bike."
Kagura: "Really? It looks fast."
Chifuyu: "I mean, it's definitely fast. But the best start at the bottom."
Kagura: "You're cool, you know that?"
Chifuyu swung a leg over his new bike: "He who climbs the ladder must begin at the bottom."
Kagura: "Wise words, who'd you hear that from?"
Chifuyu: "Takeda sensei."
Kagura: "He must be a wise man."
Chifuyu: "Indeed he is."