Miyata Juan shrank into the corner, tears streaking down her face. She couldn't believe it—she'd been touched by a man. A man! And in a place he absolutely shouldn't have touched!!!
She desperately wanted to kill Hayashi, but she knew it was impossible right now. Whether it was Hayashi or Todo Aoi, she couldn't take on either of them.
If only she'd leaked some info and let someone else deal with Hayashi. Clinging to this herself had backfired—now she was the one paying the price.
Hayashi quickly collected himself, stepping forward. He started with a quick "Sorry" before pressing her hard: "Spill it. Why were you following us?"
Miyata curled tighter into the corner, tear tracks still visible on her face. She tried to play the fragile card, hoping to lower Hayashi and Todo's guard. Then, in a flash, she sprang up and launched herself toward the distance.
"Trying to run?" Todo Aoi raised a massive hand and slammed it down on Miyata's head mid-leap, smashing her straight into the ground. The impact cracked the pavement beneath her.
"Todo… aren't you supposed to be all about protecting the ladies? She's a girl, you know," Hayashi said, stunned, still standing there. He hadn't even made a move yet, and Todo had reacted faster than him. Unreal.
"Only Takada-chan deserves that kind of care. Her? She doesn't qualify!" Todo grabbed Miyata by the throat, lifting her off the ground with ease. "This one's definitely shady. Why else would she run? Plus, that burst of speed just now—she's a jujutsu sorcerer."
Hayashi barely registered Todo's reasoning. Instead, his mind flashed to something else: Todo's type was tall girls with big chests and curves. Miyata, on the surface, looked like a guy. Sure, her chest was real, but she wasn't even 1.6 meters tall—completely against Todo's aesthetic standards.
No wonder. No wonder Todo had smashed her down without a second thought. The guy was ruthless.
Miyata struggled fiercely, but in Todo's iron grip, her flailing was nothing more than self-soothing.
"I'll give you one last chance to talk. Don't think being a woman means I won't get rough. And don't think I'm kidding," Todo growled, his overwhelming pressure on full display. Miyata's face flushed red, looking like her neck might snap any second.
"Todo, if you're gonna question her, at least give her a chance to breathe. She can barely talk like that," Hayashi said, wincing at the sight of her throttled neck. Surviving that kind of force was a miracle already.
"Hm, fair point." Todo abruptly let go.
Hayashi: "???"
"Urgh—cough, cough, cough!" Miyata clutched her throat with both hands, collapsing to the ground. The choking hit her hard. After a fit of coughing, she gasped for air, her chest—and those "pecs"—heaving dramatically.
Once she'd recovered, Miyata glared at Hayashi and Todo with wary eyes. These two brutes—how could they be so harsh to a kid like her? Sure, she was a bad guy, but did they have to be this merciless? Was her disguise so good that she'd lost all charm?
Well, yeah, probably. Otherwise, someone would've clocked her as a girl from the start. Her disguise was a success—which explained Todo's lack of mercy.
"No point planning another escape. If you tell us everything you know, I'll let you go. I won't even turn you over to the authorities. How's that?" Hayashi didn't enjoy picking on women, even enemies. It wasn't satisfying—mostly because the gap in strength was too wide. Bullying the weak didn't feel like a win.
A true strong one should have the grace of the strong. He wasn't like Ryomen Sukuna, slaughtering men and women alike without a care. This blue-curled girl in front of him was human, not a curse.
"R-really?" It took Miyata a while to catch her breath. She asked hesitantly, half-doubting him. But then it hit her—she'd only been following Hayashi, not attacking him. Were these guys seriously this paranoid? And so rough about it?
"I never lie," Hayashi said, though he didn't even believe himself.
Todo stayed silent, hands still. He wasn't sure if this gender-ambiguous creep was tailing his best bud or him, so he waited for her to talk.
"Fine." Miyata propped herself up, scooting back until her back hit the wall for some comfort. "Because of some special reasons, you've got a bounty on your head. I was the first to track you down. But I swear, I wasn't planning to make a move! Don't get me wrong—I was just tailing you to see what you look like, what's so special about you, and why you're wanted."
"Be specific. Who put the bounty on me? Why? How much is it? How many people are after me?" Hayashi wasn't about to let her dodge the details. She was being vague, avoiding the real meat of it.
What he knew now, though, was that he'd landed in some trouble. Someone wanted him gone.
Mahito's crew?
Not likely.
"Alright, alright." Miyata was as obedient as could be now, her eyes flickering to Todo nervously. That guy was way too intense. After a pause, she continued, "I don't know who put the bounty on you, but it's definitely a curse user's doing. I'm just a sorcerer drifting between jujutsu sorcerers and curse users—here for the chaos, you know? Oh, and… the bounty's 200 million yen. As for how many people are after you, I don't know. But it's definitely not a small number."
"200 million?" Hayashi and Todo both froze for a second.
Their thoughts diverged. In Japan, funds were tight—most of it went to facilities, equipment, and jujutsu sorcerers, all tightly controlled by the higher-ups. You could tell from mission payouts that money was an issue.
So, 200 million yen was a lot, especially for a bounty on one person.
But Hayashi saw it differently. He did the mental exchange rate—200 million yen was only about 11 million yuan in Chinese currency. That's all his head was worth?
They were seriously underestimating him.
He felt downright insulted!
Miyata shivered under the glares of the two menacing figures in front of her.
After a few more minutes of questioning, Hayashi let her go, warning her not to follow him again—or he'd slit her throat.
Miyata stumbled away on shaky legs, vanishing into the crowd.
"So, brother, we still heading to China?" Todo didn't mind Hayashi letting her go. His best bud's call was his call. A small fry like her wouldn't tip the scales anyway—a warning was enough. If they needed to track her down later, they could easily dig up her info and pin her location.
"Plan's unchanged, Todo. But be careful lately. I'm a target for some unknown enemy now. Could get hit any time. I don't want you caught up in my mess," Hayashi said, clapping Todo on the shoulder. He glanced at his phone—their flight was about to take off.
Todo's expression softened, a complicated look in his eyes as he turned to Hayashi. "Hayashi… are you worried about me?"
Hayashi's stride faltered, goosebumps prickling his skin. "No way!!!"
"The plane's about to leave—quit yapping!"
With that, Hayashi took off with big strides, disappearing into the crowd toward the airport.