Chapter 74 – The Same Stubborn Streak
Fubuki clearly had no idea what he was talking about.
She didn't care.
"Come out for a ride with me."
The villa's front yard wasn't small, yet Fubuki still shouted at the top of her lungs to make herself heard.
It didn't feel like her—at least, not like the usual Fubuki.
Aokiji rubbed his temples and checked the time.
He'd slept less than five hours.
It was a little past one in the morning.
"Say whatever you need to say tomorrow."
"…" Fubuki said nothing.
She twisted the throttle and swung the bike toward the villa gate.
The engine roared, as if she were about to smash through the door and drag the dragon out of the castle by force… truly sisters to the core.
Remember us: 101 Reading Network.
The same brand of crazy.
"Fine, fine—I'm coming," Aokiji surrendered, curiosity creeping in.
Fubuki showing up in the middle of the night, this aggressive and this odd—what on earth had happened?
He threw on some clothes and walked out.
"This bike—you ordered it through the Research Institute under Cram School?"
Aokiji's gaze was locked on the sleek, high-tech machine.
It looked straight out of a sci-fi game: futuristic lines, glowing strips racing across the body, a frame of some alien alloy.
Barely four days had passed since he'd recommended Cram School, yet here was a finished product already.
Why hadn't his own robot even finished upgrading?
"Get on… let's ride."
Fubuki wore a matching helmet.
Gone was her trademark sundress; instead she'd squeezed into a skin-tight racing-style suit.
She leaned forward, freeing the pillion seat, the curve from her narrow waist down drawing an eye-watering line.
Aokiji stepped over and settled in back.
The last time he'd been spirited off on a bike at night, a buddy had dragged him to an internet café.
He'd never imagined a girl would wake him up at night and haul him onto her motorcycle.
Fubuki wrenched the throttle; the bike, far beyond current-era specs, rocketed past 100 km/h in a heartbeat.
That level of acceleration barely registered to Aokiji.
He lounged behind, watching the streetlights streak past.
They hit the city arterial; neon smeared into rivers of light, and the bike kept surging.
Only the late hour's thin traffic and the machine's powerful assists kept them from becoming a headline.
Cars on the road looked frozen; in the blink of an eye the bike left them tiny in its mirrors.
All a drowsy driver caught was a red tail-light slashing by.
He rubbed his eyes, blaming fatigue and hallucinations.
Aokiji braced against the bike's flanks while Fubuki crouched low ahead, her slim waist even more striking.
"Fighting with Tatsumaki again?"
"…Mm."
"About what?"
She stayed silent, just twisting the throttle harder.
City nightscapes blurred into dots of light.
Aokiji pulled out his phone; sure enough, Tatsumaki had texted.
Tatsumaki: [Hey, pervert!]
Tatsumaki: [Is Fubuki at your place?!]
Sent a few hours earlier.
He'd been asleep.
He typed: [What's it this time?]
She must've been glued to her screen.
Tatsumaki fired back: [None of your business! Is she there or not?!]
Aokiji: [Yes and no—I've been kidnapped, no idea where we're going]
Tatsumaki: [Share your location, I'm coming]
Aokiji: [Pass. You'd only add to the chaos. I don't want to be woken up again]
Since Tatsumaki wouldn't give a straight answer either,
He pocketed the phone.
[What do you mean, "add to the chaos"?!!]
[Hey?]
[Ignoring me again?!!]
[You scale-brained jerk! Rare-animal perv! Ice-block head who got Sealed by a virus…!]
Furious messages flew, all unread; she finally hurled her phone onto the bed.
Meanwhile,
Fubuki roared aimlessly through the city.
Eventually she slowed near the coast.
It wasn't a beach but a stretch of reef, nothing but crashing waves.
She swung a long leg off the bike in silence.
Stepping onto the rocks, she wandered without purpose.
Aokiji followed, eyes on the sky.
Far from the city, the air felt cleaner; the stars blazed with a clarity urban nights never allowed.
They picked their way across the jagged reef, walking beside the surf in quiet.
After a while
Aokiji asked again:
"Ready to talk? What happened?"
Fubuki stopped on a wobbling rock.
Helmet already off, sea wind lifted her hair.
She pressed her lips, then finally spoke:
"I… took a job from the Association a few days ago—helping free a hero from brainwashing."
"It went smoothly; after a few attempts the conditioning broke."
Aokiji knew exactly which hero she meant.
He stayed silent, letting her continue.
"While the Association debriefed him, I listened—and heard something.
"The group that brainwashed him has tech based on Psychic Power research…"
"I know you and my sister wiped that group out. After the mission I went home and asked her about their research."
"But she lost her temper instantly and told me to shut up and never mention it again!"
"I don't get it—she's the one who calls me weak, yet when there's a way to get stronger she won't let me near it!"
Fubuki's voice rose, threaded with hidden hurt.
She turned half-away, facing the glittering water, raking a hand through her hair.
"Then… we had a huge fight."
Her last words were almost a whisper,
But the loneliness in her tone said both had probably hurled ugly things at each other.
Aokiji sighed inwardly.
Any hope of going back to bed was dead.
"Aokiji, you have all that organization's tech, right?" She fixed her gaze on him.
She stepped off the rock, closing the distance until she had to tilt her head to meet his eyes, emotion swirling in hers.
"I want to get stronger."
"Strong enough that my sister… will never look down on me again."
And strong enough that she can lean on me.
That last line echoed only inside Fubuki's heart.