Mash-Up: Anything for Money

"Hakuto!"

Hakuto walked up, approaching Nino, and took off his black jacket, draping it over her shoulders. 

He then asked, "Didn't you go shopping, Nino?"

Nino shook her head. "I just wanted to spend some time alone with you."

Hakuto nodded slightly and picked up the helmet hanging on his motorcycle, turning it in his hands.

"I've already said everything I can say in the past few days..."

"For this last stretch, on the way to the airport, can you take me with you?"

"As my girlfriend, you're wearing pajamas..." Hakuto smiled helplessly. 

"And it's so late. You're a girl, traveling alone back from the airport. It's not safe."

Hakuto's refusal was clear, and having Nino follow him wasn't ideal and would be troublesome.

"As your girlfriend, aren't you going to agree to my last request before we part?"

"You're really pushing it now..." Hakuto said with a hint of a smile. 

"After I get back, there will be plenty of time to spend with you doing whatever you want."

"Just say whether you'll agree or not?"

"Actually, I could let you change clothes and then drive you straight there, but I can't bring myself to do that... So, I'm sorry, Nino, but you should go back. It's getting pretty cold."

Hakuto said this calmly, and in the next moment, he put on his helmet.

"You jerk!" Nino grabbed Hakuto's clothes, intending to scold him for not agreeing to such a small request, but when the words were on the tip of her tongue, they got stuck.

"Why... Why must it be this way? Why must it be you..."

"Sorry... I'll keep in touch with you often, Nino."

"Liar! Liar! If you really would keep in touch, you wouldn't have said that thing about going to China and telling Yotsuba to find you after two years!!"

To outsiders, this kind of behavior was just a trip abroad, and staying in touch was something that could certainly be done.

Since Hakuto said it like that, Nino could probably guess what would happen next.

Who would have thought that in today's advanced age of internet technology, someone would still feel so sad over a farewell?

"Nino, you're staying outside listening, aren't you?"

"Liar! Liar..." Nino clung tightly to Hakuto's hand. 

"You don't even have confidence that you'll come back safely, but you still tell me it's nothing. Liar! Liar..."

"I will come back, really..."

"Can't you say something else? You're leaving already..."

"Well... Nino, don't let some other guy fool you away?"

Hearing this, Nino suddenly stopped crying and laughed through her tears, her face still wet but bearing a strange smile.

"Are you trying to comfort me? The one who fooled me the most is definitely you..." Nino slowly released Hakuto.

"Nino, go back now."

Seeing this, Hakuto lowered the visor on his helmet, said nothing, and gently poked Nino on the forehead before taking back his jacket.

The sound of the motorcycle's engine echoed again, widening the distance between them.

Left behind, Nino's shadow stretched long under the streetlight, just like Hakuto's earlier.

"What do you mean by 'don't let some other guy fool you away'? Jerk, haven't I already been fooled by you, left with nothing..."

"Liar..."

...

The next day at noon, Finland Airport

Hakuto's figure appeared here, still wearing his black uniform and carrying a brown backpack.

"I wonder if Shunsuke has sent someone to deliver my motorcycle..."

Hakuto shook his head, then took out his phone and snapped a photo to send to his girlfriends, along with a message.

However, for some unknown reason, the message remained in a "sending" state, the spinning circle on the screen making Hakuto feel frustrated.

"Tsk, the signal in Finland is this bad? Or is it due to the international connection..."

The distance between Japan and Finland's border is over 7,500 kilometers. What does that mean?

Let's put it this way: even the northernmost and southernmost parts of China are only about 5,000 kilometers apart.

"It shouldn't be this bad with the signal..." Hakuto shook his head, but for now, finding Otosaka Yuu was more important, so he just put his phone back in his bag.

It was September, and the temperature in Finland was quite low, with an average temperature of around 10 degrees Celsius.

Looking at the people around him wearing down jackets and coats, Hakuto's thin jacket seemed out of place.

But it didn't matter; at least he wouldn't catch a cold or get sick. Although, he could still feel the cold...

Hakuto instinctively wrapped his jacket tighter, opened his backpack, took a pill he had with him, and activated his ability.

"It really has a suppressive effect..."

Hakuto was a bit amazed. 

Originally, he just wanted to use the medication to hide his ability, but he didn't expect the researchers to actually create a drug that could hide his power and suppress side effects.

However, as with any drug, there is always the issue of drug resistance, except for ammunition...

The medication Hakuto carried with him definitely wouldn't last long, but it didn't matter. 

He estimated that it wouldn't take too long, and even without the medication, he could still hide his ability.

To put it simply, ability users were a result of a meteorite factor, and under the scrutiny of specialized instruments or special people, there was definitely a difference between an ability user and an ordinary person.

Hakuto still had confidence in hiding his small ability from a low-level investigator, so he didn't deactivate his ability, though he wasn't using it at full power.

Although his movements showed no change, his body had been enhanced to a terrifying extent.

"Let me see..." Hakuto bought a map from the unmanned store at the airport. He wasn't sure if the store accepted Sakura-koku currency.

But Hakuto didn't bother to exchange currency, since he wouldn't be staying in Finland for long. Anything he needed could be bought with his silver card.

Holding the map, Hakuto looked up at the overcast sky. 

The next moment, his figure appeared out of nowhere in front of a tall building—this was the tallest structure he could find.

Hakuto expressionlessly looked down at the crowd below. His black hair billowed in the howling wind.

Fortunately, his hairpin was secure, or his hairstyle would have been a mess.

"As expected..." Hakuto observed. In the city he was in, there were no ability users.

What could he say? Standing on the highest building, while not in the city center, the crowds he could see were still counted in the tens of thousands.

With hundreds of thousands of people, not a single ability user... It was obvious that Otosaka Yuu had been here.

But he didn't know if Otosaka Yuu was still in Finland...