Tokyo: After years of stagnation, the heiress of the yakuza arrives.

Japanese food store.

Yoshiko Sawamura had completely forgotten her main purpose for coming out.

A table full of food was laid out in front of me. Golden tempura was neatly arranged on absorbent paper, and the fried shrimp had fluffy and crispy shells with their tails slightly curled up. Next to them were pumpkin, perilla leaves, lotus root, and some kind of high-end mushrooms.

Take a small bite.

click-

The thin, crispy outer shell crumbles in your mouth, revealing sweet and bouncy shrimp meat inside, still steaming hot from the pan. Dip it in a tempura sauce made with radish puree, and the rich, oily flavor is balanced by the light, savory taste, making it not greasy at all.

Yoshiko Sawamura's eyes narrowed with happiness.

"tasty……"

My great mother has been walking all day, her legs are almost broken, she has suffered so much, why not eat something good to comfort herself?

no problem.

Very reasonable.

She picked up another piece of grilled silver cod. The snow-white fish was grilled until it turned slightly yellow, and the surface was brushed with a layer of shiny Saikyo miso. It crumbled at the slightest touch of her chopsticks.

(Please remember 1110.com for the fastest chapter updates)

The fish was so tender it seemed to melt in her mouth, and the sweetness and aroma of oil slowly spread. Yoshiko Sawamura's head bobbed up and down, and a blissful expression, typical of a sweet and innocent girl, appeared on her face.

I already said that.

Don't rush when you're out looking for someone.

It doesn't matter if we don't find people, at least we can find some good food.

Looking at it from another perspective, today wasn't a complete loss; it's just that the gains have temporarily gone into our stomachs.

The shop assistant next to her brought over a new wooden tray and gently placed it in front of her.

"This is the bluefin tuna belly nigiri sushi you ordered."

The pink fish fillets are thickly piled on top of the vinegared rice, with fine oil patterns like frost flowers. The surface has been lightly seared by the chef, and the melted fat gives it an enticing sheen. The top is simply garnished with a touch of wasabi and chopped green onions.

Yoshiko Sawamura's eyes lit up instantly.

Ninety-nine percent.

Rare item.

She picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of sushi, and was about to put it in her mouth when she suddenly stopped.

wrong.

calm.

Not long ago, a seemingly ordinary piece of appetizer tofu almost ended her great and glorious life. The culprit was sitting right next to her, holding her phone, making a fuss over nothing, completely disregarding her elderly mother's fragile life.

We can't fall for that again this time.

Yoshiko Sawamura slowly turned her head to look at Ritsuki Sawamura.

Ritsuki Sawamura lowered her head, her long pink hair hanging down her side, staring motionlessly at her phone screen, her eyes wide open, her face expressionless.

It looks safe.

But Yoshiko Sawamura did not immediately let her guard down.

The pink-haired girl is an extremely dangerous creature. She usually looks quiet and peaceful, but if Shido says something strange on her phone, she might suddenly unleash a high-decibel explosion, sending the unsuspecting poor old ladies around her to their deaths.

We must test it.

Yoshiko Sawamura slowly brought the sushi to her mouth.

One centimeter.

Two centimeters.

Just as he was about to eat, he suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed intently on the side.

Ritsuki Sawamura did not react.

Yoshiko Sawamura took the sushi further away.

Then send it back.

Stop again.

Ritsuki Sawamura still did not react.

Yoshiko Sawamura: "..."

Is she overthinking it?

No.

Safety first.

Yoshiko Sawamura launched her third attack, her mouth already open, but at the last moment, Sushi suddenly dodged to the side, completing an extreme feint that even she herself hadn't anticipated.

The air was successfully fooled.

Ritsuki Sawamura still made no move.

The chef in charge of cooking paused for a moment as he watched this scene.

The guests at the opposite table couldn't help but take a second look.

What is this woman doing?

Playing "Red Light, Green Light" with sushi?

Ignoring the stares of those around her, Yoshiko Sawamura tested the little pink-haired dog three more times to make sure it wasn't about to suddenly explode, before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

Safety.

The threat has been eliminated.

My great mother has indeed learned from her mistakes and is no longer the ordinary old lady who would be defeated by a mere piece of tofu.

The current version of her is an evolved one.

Yoshiko Sawamura popped the whole piece of bluefin tuna belly sushi into her mouth. The grilled fat melted quickly on her tongue, the vinegared rice was slightly sweet and sour, and the wasabi tingle was fleeting, bringing out all the freshness and aroma of the fish.

happy.

It is so happy.

Yoshiko Sawamura's cheeks were puffed out, her hands gently cupping her face, her eyes narrowed into crescents, as if she had left Tokyo and entered a paradise without the loser girl, without domestic violence, and with endless high-class sushi.

"Aaaaaah—!!!"

A sharp, explosive sound suddenly erupted from the side.

Yoshiko Sawamura: "Ugh!!!"

The paradise of happiness instantly turned into a revolving lantern.

The tuna belly that had been slowly melting was now stuck in her throat. Yoshiko Sawamura's eyes widened instantly, and she covered her neck with both hands, her whole demeanor shifting from bliss to the impending end of her bliss.

Tragedy has repeated itself once again.

And this time it's even more serious than the last time.

Last time it was just soft little tofu.

This time it's a complete sushi.

Yoshiko Sawamura bent over, frantically pounding her chest, making incoherent sounds: "Water...uh...water..."

The surrounding customers were startled by the loud noise, and the staff rushed over. The chef behind the counter put down his long knife, some people grabbed water, and others prepared to call an ambulance. The quiet and upscale Japanese restaurant instantly turned into chaos.

Ritsuki Sawamura, however, paid no attention to any of this.

The phone fell from my hand and landed on the floor with a thud, but the screen remained lit.

Riyue Sawamura covered her head with both hands, her long pink hair was all messed up, and her face quickly went from shock to a warm red, and then from a warm red to a breakdown that could not accept reality.

"Senior?"

"Why are there senior students here?"

"When did he meet the senior student?"

"Why are you going out with your senior again tomorrow?"

"I just arrived in Tokyo, I asked him if he had time, I told him I missed him, why is he treating me like this!"

Ritsuki Sawamura suddenly turned her head, grabbed Yoshiko Sawamura's shoulder, and began to shake her wildly.

"Auntie, why?!"

Yoshiko Sawamura: "Ughhhhh!!!"

"Didn't you say he just found it troublesome? Didn't you say he didn't hate me? Didn't you say it would only take a little while?"

"Ugh... let... let go..."

"Who exactly is this 'senior'?!"

Ritsuki Sawamura cried until her eyes were red and swollen. She shook herself and muttered in a fit of impotent rage, completely unaware that her mother's tongue was about to stick out.

As Yoshiko Sawamura was violently shaken, her face turned from red to purple, and she frantically waved her hands in the air, trying to tell the little pink-haired girl a very important fact.

Don't worry about who the senior is for now.

My mother is about to forget who she is.

A shop assistant rushed over with water, trying to help, but Ritsuki Sawamura shook the water too fast, making it impossible to find an opportunity to intervene.

"Miss, please stop for a moment!"

"Why did you stop? He's already on a date with his senior!"

"No, your mother seems to be dying!"

"She wasn't very good to begin with!"

Yoshiko Sawamura: "???"

Is this their biological child?

Just as our great mother was about to leave this world with a belly full of grievances and a piece of bluefin tuna sushi, the violent shaking finally had some effect.

"cough--"

The sushi that was stuck in my throat flew out.

It traced a beautiful parabola and landed precisely in the empty plate next to it.

Yoshiko Sawamura lay on the edge of the table, panting heavily, tears and snot streaming down her face. She felt as if she had just seen her great-grandmother waving at her.

Then the great-grandmother glanced at the little pink-haired girl who was going crazy, and kicked her back.

不收。

This old lady can't die yet.

She had to stay and endure her daughter's domestic violence.

Ritsuki Sawamura still clung to Yoshiko Sawamura's shoulders, tears streaming down her face. "Why...?"

Yoshiko Sawamura gasped for breath before struggling to lift her head.

She really wanted to comfort her daughter.

But after glancing at the phone on the floor, his ingrained urge to speak out still woke him up uncontrollably.

"Could it be... a date?"

Ritsuki Sawamura's crying stopped.

Yoshiko Sawamura: "..."

It seems she said something wrong again.

Ritsuki Sawamura slowly raised her head.

Yoshiko Sawamura quickly covered her head, exclaiming, "Wait, little pink-haired girl! Mommy almost died just now, and I'm still injured!"

Screams erupted again from the Japanese restaurant.

The phone lay quietly on the floor.

The message that Shido Kuroba had just sent was still displayed at the bottom of the chat box.

[No time, I have plans with my senior tomorrow.]

……

The core area of ​​Tokyo.

Night falls over the city’s most bustling area, where neon lights and traffic are reflected in the glass curtain walls of skyscrapers. In the distance, Tokyo Tower is lit up with orange-red lights. Passing through wide streets and neatly manicured green belts, a quiet luxury apartment building is hidden in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

It's not far from Kamikawa University, yet it avoids the hustle and bustle of ordinary commercial streets.

The top floor of the apartment building.

Outside the wide French windows, the Tokyo night view unfolds. The main light in the living room is off, only a warm yellow floor lamp in the corner is lit. The wooden floor is spotless, and the quiver is neatly placed on a special shelf, with clothes to wear the next day laid out next to it.

The bathroom was filled with steam.

slam-la-

Warm water flowed down her fair shoulders, blurring her features with steam. Her long black hair, wet with water, clung quietly to her back. Onodera Zannen sat in the bathtub, her arms resting lightly on the edge, her face devoid of its usual gentle and humble smile.

She simply gazed quietly at the water.

A cell phone was placed next to the bathtub.

The screen displayed the chat history with Shido Kuroba.

The time for our meeting tomorrow has been set.

The route has been determined.

The place to eat has been decided.

We have confirmed all the shops, rest stops, weather changes, and traffic conditions that we might pass through along the way.

No accidents.

Even if an accident occurs, it will be within the scope of what can be handled.

This is Onodera Zanne's consistent habit: to have everything under control, to calculate all possible deviations in advance, and then to quietly wait for the target to gradually walk into the planned route.

However, this time the goal is neither business cooperation nor student union work.

It is Kuroba Shido.

The water surface rippled gently.

Onodera Zanne lowered her eyes, looking at her blurry reflection in the water, but images from many years ago surfaced in her mind.

……

A dilapidated orphanage.

The walls were drafty and cold in winter.

Hardened bread...unfinished potatoes.

There was also a black-haired boy whose mouth never stopped, always saying things no one could understand, yet he could find joy in all sorts of bizarre angles.

"By the way, what's your name again?"

Kuroba Shido squatted by the courtyard wall, holding half a loaf of bread that he had hidden somewhere, when he suddenly remembered an extremely serious problem.

The two of them have been in cahoots for so long.

We've hidden food together, kept watch for each other, fought for the spot closest to the heater in winter, and even devised ways to quiet down the creaking door to the dean's office. Yet, to this day, we still don't know each other's names.

What is the relationship between them?

Nameless and faceless criminal gang?

The more Kuroba Shido thought about it, the more outrageous it seemed. He turned to look at the quiet little girl beside him.

The little girl shook her head.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "???"

Damn, I thought he was already in a terrible situation, but I didn't expect him to have such a disastrous start. His close friend, who was in cahoots with him, didn't even have a name!

I love this! All the Japanese officials who are like this should be dragged over and given five minutes of acute iron poisoning!

"Hey, it's okay. It's fine if you don't have a name. There's a saying that goes, 'Do good deeds without leaving a name.' Since you don't have a name, rounding up, all these good deeds are still yours."

"It's a good thing that it doesn't have a name!"

Kuroba Shido is quite optimistic and has already started looking for extremely tricky angles to enjoy a mental victory... still feeling good!

The little girl glanced at him.

His eyes were calm.

It's not that I didn't understand.

It's not that I'm unwilling to answer.

I don't like my name.

The little girl spoke very calmly, explaining why she had just shaken her head.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "???"

Don't like the name?

There's a story behind this.

Kuroba Shido's brain instantly started working at high speed, and a whole bunch of melodramatic scenarios flashed through his mind.

What kind of story involves biological parents who, in order to commemorate their deceased first love, forcibly gave their child the same name as her? As a result, their marital relationship broke down, and the child suffered as a result.

What kind of family favors boys over girls? When a girl is born, they casually name her Zhaodi, Laidi, or Pannan, and then, feeling that the summoning has failed, they throw her out at the gate of an orphanage overnight.

It could also be an internal power struggle within a strange family. The little girl was originally a wealthy young lady who had fallen into poverty and was burdened with a deep-seated hatred. Once her name was mentioned, eight hundred black-clad assassins would immediately appear within a radius of five hundred miles.

Kuroba Shido secretly glanced around.

Calm and calm.

There was no killer.

Exclude the last one.

"Did your parents name you that?"

The little girl nodded gently.

"And then they abandoned you?"

The little girl did not answer.

But for some things, not answering is the answer itself.

The abstract expression on Shido Kuroba's face subsided slightly.

He's not really good at comforting people.

Especially with this kind of question, saying things like "they might have their reasons" or "they still love you" sounds like utter nonsense. Even if they have their reasons, it doesn't stop the person who was abandoned from going hungry and cold, and love can't put food on the table.

After thinking for a while, Shido Kuroba broke off a small piece of bread and handed it to the little girl next to him.

"Then I don't like it."

The little girl took the bread and looked up at him.

"A name is just a label. What they give you isn't some imperial edict. Are you expecting everyone to call you 'Universe's Invincible Idiot' every single day just because they named you that?"

The little girl: "..."

"Besides, they don't even want you anymore, so why should you still accept the name they gave you? Isn't that a loss?"

The more Kuroba Shido spoke, the more sense he found in his words, and he slapped his knee.

"yes!"

"If they lose you, you should also lose the name they gave you. It's a one-for-one exchange, no one owes anyone anything, fair and just, and no deception of the young or old."

The little girl looked down at the bread in her hand and didn't say anything.

Kuroba Shido squatted down beside him, continuing to mutter, "But it's inconvenient that he doesn't have a name. If I need to collaborate with you in the future, am I supposed to stand in the yard and shout, 'Hey, you nameless guy, come here?'"

"What if there's a second nameless person here, and you two come together?"

"Besides, we're now long-term partners, and the team needs an official code name. Otherwise, if we grow bigger and stronger in the future, we won't even be able to list the organization's members."

The little girl looked up.

Kuroba Shido stroked his chin, looked her up and down for a while, and his eyes gradually brightened.

"How about this?"

I'll pick one for you.

The little girl looked at him quietly.

Kuroba Shido beckoned to her, and when the little girl got a little closer, he lowered his voice mysteriously.

"From now on, you'll be called..."

wow-

In the real-life bathroom, Onodera Zanne slowly stood up from the bathtub.

The warm water flowed down his slender figure, dripping and dripping, falling back onto the slightly swaying surface. After the steam subsided, a hint of undisguised obsession and morbidity finally surfaced in those usually calm eyes!

"[Current state: Paranoid, possessive...]"