I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

April 22 (Sat) [AM 9:40]
From the morning, I headed to Shibuya Station Square with Kishimoto, whom I met on the subway.
It was the place with the Hachiko statue, where Tojo said she’d arranged to meet Sakamoto.

“Wow! It’s the Hachiko statue! I was disappointed I couldn’t see it yesterday!”
Despite claiming she was here to tail someone, Kishimoto shouted excitedly in a bright voice.
People passing by turned to look at her, who appeared to be a foreign tourist visiting for sightseeing.

Her outfit, considering it was spring, looked quite warm.
A stylishly worn beige trench coat, bright blonde hair cascading beneath a white floppy hat, leopard print sunglasses, and a mask.
It was a cliché disguise, but why did it suit her so well?

Honestly, if you took off just the mask, her outfit wouldn’t look out of place even in a fashion magazine.
Is this why people say the face completes fashion?
While I was silently evaluating the outfit of a former reader model, Kishimoto tilted her head and said:

“But Ryu-chan, are you sure that’s enough? If it were me, I think I’d recognize you even from a distance.”
“I’m not small like you, so this is enough for me.”
Saying that, I pulled the hood of my hoodie further down over my head.

With my size, just wearing different clothes wouldn’t be enough to avoid suspicion anyway.
So I planned to keep the disguise minimal and rely on my physique to carry me through.
Since we arrived a little earlier than the scheduled meeting time that Tojo mentioned, we sat under a tree and chatted while sharing coffee and a box of donuts as a late breakfast—until we spotted a familiar face walking toward us in the distance.

‘Hide!’
Kishimoto ducked her head in panic, and I used my large frame to conceal myself behind the tree.
Fortunately, Tojo didn’t seem to notice us and passed through the crowd toward the Hachiko statue.
“Mom, what’s that guy doing?”

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I’m sorry! My child doesn’t know any better!”
When the kid pointed at me hiding behind the tree, the startled mother apologized repeatedly and hurried away with the child.
Whether others saw it or not, the people walking past suddenly quickened their pace.

“……”
I didn’t even do anything, but I felt somehow emotionally wounded.
***

Following Tojo, who had arrived slightly earlier than the agreed time, Sakamoto came running from the direction of the subway station.
I checked the time on my phone. 9:55 AM.
Thankfully, the protagonist wasn’t clueless enough to arrive late for a date.

“Sorry! Tojo! Did you wait long?!”
“No, I just got here myself. Don’t worry about it.”
Finally, the first meeting.

Tojo had already given him a taste yesterday by showing up with makeup and declaring her challenge, but since this was the first time seeing her in casual clothes, Sakamoto, panting for breath, momentarily lost his mind at her noticeably prettier appearance.
“…You’re pretty.”
It must have slipped out unconsciously, but because they were standing face-to-face, Tojo heard it.

“…Th-thanks.”
Maybe because it was the first time being told she was pretty by someone she wanted to look good for, her face turned bright red like a ripe apple.

At the very least, the atmosphere at the start seemed very good.
To an onlooker, they looked just like a fresh high school couple.
“W-well then, should we have some tea first? We need to talk a bit to decide on the date spots.”

“Sure, let’s do that.”
Perhaps thanks to the advice Kishimoto enthusiastically gave while eating a burger yesterday, Tojo led naturally and headed toward a nearby café with Sakamoto.
“Ryu-chan! Let’s follow them!”

“Yeah.”
I threw the empty donut box and coffee cup into the trash and entered the café with Kishimoto.
***

April 22 (Sat) [AM 9:55]
“That bastard! How dare he make my daughter wait five minutes?!”
“Please calm down, Chairman!”

Tojo Naoto looked as though he might draw a sashimi knife and charge in at any moment, and the executives of the Toseikai were frantically trying to hold him back.
Tojo Naoto, 6th «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Chairman of the Toseikai, and eight core executives had followed Tojo Karen from their mansion early in the morning to Shibuya Station Square.
All of them were currently in disguise to avoid being recognized by her, and Naoto had even gone so far as to wear a long wig to cover his signature short-cropped hair.

But there was something they hadn’t realized—no matter how well disguised, when nine burly middle-aged men move together, they’re bound to draw attention.
Especially when they all look like they’d show you the “bitter taste” of the underworld at any moment.
When Tojo Karen and Sakamoto Ryuji entered a café for a cup of tea, Naoto and the eight executives simultaneously folded their newspapers and stood up from the bench.

To anyone watching, they looked exactly like yakuza heading out to battle another gang, causing the surrounding crowd to scatter in a hurry.
Even the police officers patrolling near the station were exchanging radio reports while keeping a close eye on them.
Sento Osamu, the organization’s brain and elite yakuza, noticed this before anyone else and reported to Tojo Naoto.

“Chairman, the cops are here.”
“What?! Already?!”
“I think it’s because all nine of us are moving together—it’s way too conspicuous…”

“Then what do you suggest we do?”
“Since there are eight people besides the Chairman, I suggest we split into pairs and follow them.”
“As expected of Sento! The brain of our organization!”

“Heh, you flatter me. This is nothing.”
As Sento pushed up his glasses with his middle finger, Naoto nodded and shouted to the other executives:
“From now on, we’ll follow Sento’s plan and split into pairs!”

“Yes, sir!”
As soon as Naoto’s command was given, the executives immediately paired off and dispersed.
Once they were all gone, only Sento and Naoto’s right-hand man, ‘Shizan’ Takeyama, remained.

Sento nodded and held out his fist to Takeyama.
“You ready, Shizan?”
“Of course, Blood Sea.”

The number one and number two of the organization—tied as sworn brothers over shared drinks—hurriedly moved to follow Tojo Karen into the café.
***
April 22 (Sat) [AM 10:15]

Tojo and Sakamoto entered the café to have some tea and decide on the rest of the day’s date. Following them, Kishimoto and I sat in the most inconspicuous corner we could find.
Contrary to her usual easygoing self, Tojo was acting quite shy today, while Sakamoto chatted with her in a surprisingly normal way. As I observed them from afar, a waitress approached me very cautiously.
“Um… sir? What would you like to order?”

At that moment, Kishimoto, who had been locked in a staring contest with the menu, raised her hand high.
“I’ll have the special jumbo strawberry parfait!”
“Wait, can you even finish that on your own?”

We didn’t know when the two of them would leave the café—she went for something huge.
Kishimoto tilted her head and asked curiously:
“Ryu-chan, you can’t finish one parfait at a café?”

She asked so confidently that I had nothing to say.
“…I’ll have a tapioca milk tea, please.”
“Okay. One special jumbo strawberry parfait and one tapioca milk tea.”

The waitress left with our order.
Finally able to relax a bit, I continued spying on the two sitting by the window—but suddenly, two middle-aged men walked into the café.
They looked around and spotted the waitress, who had just taken our order and was heading back to the counter. One of them waved her over.

“Miss, give me whatever’s most popular here.”
“I’ll have an iced Americano.”
…What is this? Were they playing early morning soccer or something?

The two men, who clearly didn’t belong in a café like this, went and sat in the corner.
I thought that would be the end of it—but then, more men with scary faces came in, two at a time, one pair after another.
…What is going on?

While I stared toward the counter with a horrified expression, Kishimoto, who had been searching something on her phone, said with wonder as the bell kept ringing:
“This place is super popular, huh? Right?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah.”

My instincts were screaming.
Those men were definitely related to Tojo Karen.
And for good reason—among the last group of three to come in, one of them had bright red hair, like blood.

“Wow! The Sunshine City Aquarium even has dolphins! We’ve gotta see them today!”
Looking ahead at the stormy road Tojo’s date was heading down, I silently offered my deepest sympathies.