Chapter Thirteen: Walk the Block:
-Noon-
No one was
following them yet. Anna shoved her hands into be looking for something. She
thought about saying something, but nothing came to mind. Instead, she looked at
the crowd. This war was ending? It didn’t feel like it. Anna took a breath.
“What will you
do when it’s over?” Jotaro asked.
“Hm?” Anna
asked. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
“What will you
do after you have your revenge?” he asked. Anna thought about it for a minute.
“Enjoy my
family,” she said. “Fake some normalcy.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. Why?”
Jotaro shrugged
and shook his head. Anna narrowed her eyes.
“Why?” she asked
again.
“Just asking,”
he said.
“And what about
you?” she asked. Jotaro chuckled to himself.
“I have no
future,” he said.
“Excuse me?” she
asked. He finally turned his head. Jotaro had a sad smile on his face.
“These hunters.
They are good at their job,” he said. “I just wonder who’s going to get to me
first.”
“Jotaro-kun…”
Anna said. He shook his head.
“Don’t,” he
said. “I am okay now. But I won’t out go out laying down. This is the least I
can do before they kill me.” Anna opened her mouth to speak. Jotaro held up
hand.
“Don’t,” he said
again. “Just… Don’t.” She closed her mouth.
“Thank you,” he
said. They kept walking.
---------
Another thought
crossed Anna’s mind as they left Shibuya.
“Jotaro-kun,”
she said.
“Hm?” the boy
asked.
“Why are they
targeting you? You have no past connection to Papa’s family.”
“My father.”
“You mean
when…?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. I’m so
sorry for that.”
“Don’t be. It
was his fault in the first place.” Jotaro gritted his teeth. “My old man. He
only cared about reviving our clan. Mom was an afterthought. I get mad thinking
about it.”
“I can
understand.” They stopped at a crosswalk. Anna looked behind them before turning
to Jotaro.
“Where in
Kabukicho are we going?”
“It’s a
bathhouse. They have a locker room in the basement.”
“And you’re sure
this isn’t a trap?”
“Only one way to
see, isn’t there?” The light turned green. Anna followed Jotaro across the
street. He put his arms behind his head. The silence surprisingly relaxed them.
The crowd of people helped too. Still, Anna and Jotaro couldn’t relax. It felt
calm. Too calm, in fact.
“Should we run?”
Anna whispered.
“No, it will
draw too much attention,” he whispered. “Just act natural.”
“Okay,” she
said. They kept walking. They should be passing Yoyogi Park in a few minutes.
Anna glanced up at the sky. On a normal day, it would be a nice day out. A date,
maybe.
Wait…
“I wish it was a
date,” Jotaro said. “But it’s not.”
“Oh,” she
mumbled. Anna’s cheeks turned bright red.
Wait a minute! I’m married! Why am I thinking that way? Anna smacked herself
in the forehead. Jotaro tried not to laugh.
“What?!” she
shouted.
“Nothing,” the
boy said. “Nothing at all.” Anna frowned and puffed up her cheeks.
Idiot.
“Stop hearing my
thoughts,” she complained. The boy only shrugged.
“Sorry,” he
said. “Can’t help it. Maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself.” She
glared at him.
“Shut up,” she
hissed. Jotaro covered mouth to keep from laughing. Anna looked ready to
strangle him. He gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Aw, don’t be
like that,” he said. “Tell you what, I will make it up to you. Let me buy you
lunch.” Anna blinked at first.
“Seriously?” she
asked.
“Yeah,” the boy
said. The woman tried to pretend to be angry. She dropped her arms by her side.
“Fine,” Anna
grumbled. “Thank you.”
“You’re
welcome,” Jotaro said. She gritted her teeth. Why did he have to be an asshole
and charming?
-------
The would be in
Kabukicho in less than half an hour. Step one was down. The mission had only
started. Plus, there was still Tsuzuki and the boys to work with. Should be
fine, right? Anna pushed the thought out of her head and followed Jotaro.
Should be fine for now. Keep calm and walking. Keep calm and walking. This should work out. She hoped.