Mash-Up: Anything for Money

"Asleep?" Hakuto looked at Otosaka Yuu, who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Finally! Finally!" Hakuto couldn't hide the smile on his face. "Damn, it's been months!"

This felt like the best news Hakuto had received in months.

Over the past few months, Otosaka Yuu had been running around like a madman—robbed one place, then another, back and forth nonstop!

From Finland to Turkey, passing through several countries in between, Hakuto and Otosaka Yuu had practically crossed borders on foot!

Sometimes, if they were lucky, they'd hitch a ride on a train or a freight truck, and only then could they really get some rest.

Hakuto had used his ability more in these past few months than he ever had in his entire life.

There was no choice. To keep up with Otosaka Yuu, who could move at high speed and teleport, he had to use his ability constantly.

Luckily, Hakuto had gained better control over his powers—he could regulate their output, which helped reduce the side effects.

Still, constantly keeping up with Otosaka Yuu while relying on meds was truly exhausting.

However, Hakuto had started adapting to his ability. His body was getting stronger, and the side effects were slowly decreasing thanks to that.

If this strengthening continued, wouldn't that make Hakuto invincible?

Leaning against a large tree, Hakuto waited until he was sure Otosaka Yuu was asleep before he finally relaxed and jumped down.

The moment he landed, he shut off his power.

But in the very next second, without the power sustaining him, it felt like a taut string in his brain was about to snap!

Hakuto's legs buckled, and he instinctively collapsed to the ground. The people around him were startled by his sudden movement and backed away.

Panting heavily, Hakuto shook his head, forcing himself to pull the string tight again.

At this moment, even his vision had started to blur.

"Am I just too tired… or did I get nearsighted?" Hakuto muttered to himself.

But there was no time to think. Otosaka Yuu could wake up at any moment.

It was currently 2 PM. At most, Otosaka Yuu would wake up by the next morning.

Hakuto didn't have much time—but he had a lot to do.

"Let's find a place to charge my phone..."

Originally, Hakuto had planned to carry a power bank just in case.

And he had done so. But for some unknown reason, on their way here, the power bank in his bag had suddenly exploded.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and threw it out in time, preventing it from damaging the rest of his stuff.

Since then, he'd stopped carrying any portable chargers. After all, carrying a ticking time bomb around was a bit unsettling.

The downside, though, was that whenever his phone ran out of battery, he had to find a power source somewhere.

...

Hakuto staggered down the street, covering his left eye with one hand. His bangs were plastered against his hand, looking every bit the part of a sickly, weak young man.

He had originally planned to rent a room to rest and charge his phone.

Right now, Hakuto was so exhausted that he didn't even want to talk to anyone, let alone go through the hassle of registration or small talk.

He sighed and noticed a house with a mailbox overflowing with uncollected mail.

"Sorry..."

Without hesitation, and ignoring the stares from passersby, Hakuto circled to the side of the house and jumped up onto the balcony.

Just as he expected, there was no one inside the house—at least not right now. Though there were signs of life, the owner clearly wasn't home.

Hakuto pushed on the balcony window, but the owner wasn't stupid—of course it was locked.

Hakuto didn't realize it—he applied too much force and directly tore the entire window off.

"Sorry."

He apologized again, tossed the window frame onto the floor, then immediately pulled out a 100-euro note from his bag and threw it on the table inside the room.

Though he didn't really know how much compensation was appropriate in this situation… 100 euros should be about right, right?

Hakuto sat down on the edge of the bed, plugged in his phone to charge, and as the screen lit up, a wave of reassurance washed over him.

"This place is close to where Yuu is. If anything happens, I can get there right away…"

Convincing himself of that, Hakuto laid fully down on the bed, though he was filthy from head to toe.

But since he was wearing black clothes, you couldn't really see the dust…

He glanced at his phone resting nearby. The glow of the charging screen caught his attention.

"I wonder if the call will go through…"

He picked up the phone—this would be his first time calling home in several months.

International calls were expensive and required a special service request. Hakuto had no idea how much balance was left on his card, but hopefully it'd be enough…

With that thought, he picked up the charging phone and scrolled through his contacts, landing on Nino and Nao.

"Nino and the president are probably still in class…"

What day of the week was it again? Hakuto frowned. His concept of time had grown a little hazy.

He sat up, slapped his cheeks, cleared his throat, and took two deep breaths of fresh air.

Just like a student who'd slept until noon on a weekend, only to be woken up by a call from their parents.

He instinctively did all of this—anything to keep his family from realizing he'd just woken up.

Hakuto was no different.

"Hello. As you are making an international call, we are now connecting you. Please hold for a moment…"

"So troublesome…"

Meanwhile, back in Sakurazaka, inside the apartment of the Nakano quintuplets—

Nino was sitting on the sofa. Contrary to what Hakuto had assumed, she wasn't in school—it was Saturday, after all.

"No reply, huh…"

She stared at the phone screen. Over the past several months, she had sent Hakuto one or two messages every day. 

But he would only occasionally reply—and when he did, the responses never made any sense.

"Is the international signal really that bad…?"

That was the explanation she'd settled on—because it was the easiest and safest to believe.

Just as Nino sat there feeling lost, her phone suddenly rang.

When she saw the caller ID that read "Lying Bastard," her eyes widened in an instant.

She rubbed her eyes furiously. If she weren't the type who avoided swearing, her mouth would've been filled with curses by now.

Nino immediately shook awake the sleeping Yotsuba beside her.

"Yotsuba! Yotsuba!"

"Mm… What's wrong…"

"This number—isn't it his?"

Yotsuba groggily glanced at Nino's phone.

"Lying Bastard?" Yotsuba frowned. "I remember that's what you saved Hakuto-sensei as…"

(ﾉ ○ Д ○)ﾉ!

Before she even finished speaking, something clicked in Yotsuba's head. She instantly snapped to full alert.

"Hakuto-sensei's calling?! Hakuto-sensei's calling back!!"

With a swoosh, she leapt up from the sofa, and her feet pounded up the stairs as she raced to bring the others down.

Nino stayed where she was, staring at her phone. She swallowed nervously, then tapped the answer button.