Blood sprayed. Cici's body swayed and she started to fall to the ground.

I couldn't believe it.

I wouldn't believe it.

She had just been there, standing and joking, and now-

"Phew!"

...She was perfectly fine?

Wait, what?

Cici straightened and then clutched her side, wincing. "That's pretty painful... Mean-"

More gunshots.

Blood sprayed again and Cici's body staggered. But... She was fine.

I blinked and then took a better look at Cici's body.

Her clothes were shredded, showing that she definitely got shot. And there were bloodstains, so she definitely got injured. But there wasn't a wound on her body, leaving just pure white skin. Well, pure white skin that was covered in blood.

But...

Before I could think about why Cici seemed to be defying common sense, the men started filtering out of the elevator, reloading their weapons.

Six of them, all dressed in dark clothes and wearing masks.

And one of them was pulling out what looked like a grenade.

...Alright. Common sense left the window a long time ago, and it looked like I didn't have to worry about Cici.

In that case...

I quickly grabbed the joycon lying on the ground and then whipped it at the man holding a grenade.

*CRACK*

A sickening sound, followed by an explosion of plastic parts as the man suddenly crumpled to the ground.

I winced at seeing Yui's ruined controller and made a mental note to pay her back for it. But there were other things to focus on, so I left it at that.

"Ooh, so we're going on the offe-"

Flashes of black steel in the night. More guns aimed at us.

I chucked the cushions from the couch towards the men and then grabbed Cici's arm, pulling her to the ground.

Gunshot filled the air, along with the sound of shattering glass as the men blew out the windows.

"Gah!" Cici winced as she hit the ground and then glared at me. "What was that for?"

"Talk less, fight more!"

I rolled on the ground and grabbed whatever I could, chucking them towards the men while I ran towards the slide door leading outside.

It was too dangerous to fight here, so if we changed the battlefield to outside-

Wait. They have guns and there's nowhere to hide outside. What the hell am I thinking?

Cici got up again and then immediately got lit up with gunfire. "God freaking dammit!"

Blood sprayed through the air and completely covered Cici's body.

If it wasn't for the fact that this was real life and that was real blood, it would have been funny.

...Actually, it still was kind of funny. Especially since those men were staring at her in disbelief. One guy even turned his gun around and stared down the barrel.

Only to accidentally pull the trigger and blast his brains out, pasting it all over the wall.

...Okay. So maybe this wasn't all fun and games, haha...

Cici stuck out her tongue and said, "Baka~ You shouldn't be playing with guns, you know? People could get hurt."

A perfect taunt.

The assassins shifted their focus on Cici, completely forgetting about me.

I still didn't know what the hell was going on, but it looked like Cici was playing the part of an invulnerable NPC character right now.

I was the party leader, so it was over if I got taken out. It would also be over if Yui got taken out, but she was being kept safe with Celes right now.

Couldn't see where they were, but I trusted Celes.

Alright. So I just had to think about this like a game. Stay calm, me.

You're fine. You'll be fine. I mean, you already died once, right? What's the chances you die of a freak accident twice, eh? Hahaha...

@$#@. That's a flag.

Whatever!

Anyway, we had to hold out until 3 AM. But at this rate, I didn't think we could. Especially if those guys wizened up and decided to try and take me hostage or something.

So...

I snuck over to the grenade that the man dropped earlier and examined it.

It wasn't a frag grenade... I think. At least, it wasn't round and bumpy like one should be. Instead, it was a cylinder... meaning it was probably a flashbang or a smoke grenade.

Either way...

"...Well. I was thinking about streaming APEX and Valorant, so..."

I swallowed the nerves starting to well up and then pulled out the pin, chucking the grenade over towards the group of men.

Cici noticed me and then gasped. "Oh my god, Sennie! You're so- GAH! MY EYES!"

TAKE A HINT, DAMMIT! WE'RE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES HERE CICI!

-VI|IV-

Akane clicked her tongue as she finished a phone call from one of her watchers. "What the hell are people thinking these days?"

She stepped off her motorcycle and then stared up at an apartment building in the distance.

"Just because Uncle Hajime stepped out for a bit, all sorts of idiots are coming out of the woodwork. Tch." Akane spat on the ground and then pulled out a pair of leather gloves from her pocket.

As she did, a few people started walking out of nearby alleyways. Men wearing suits and carrying bats. A few holding short blades and machetes. One or two holding a gun...

Akane sighed and then adjusted her leather jacket. "I'll need to complain to Uncle Hajime a bit. At this rate, Sennie is going to get dragged into this side before the year is up."

Footsteps echoed in the surroundings. The streets of Shinjuku suddenly blocked off, filled by a crowd of rough looking yakuza type people.

Akane cracked her neck and said, "Well. I guess it'd be bad if Lappi's niece got hurt, so." She took a step back, shifting into a combat stance.

The crowd of yakuza raised their weapons.

And then a phone rang.

Akane blinked and then relaxed, pulling out her phone. "The hell? Who the fu- Huh?"

-VI|IV-

*Please* pick up.

A flash of cold steel.

I quickly jerked to the side. Almost immediately after, a gunshot rang out, punching a hole in the wall behind me.

At the same time, I kicked a pan off the floor, sending it flying towards the guy shooting at me.

There was a comical *clang* and the guy flopped backwards, landing on the floor. His gun clattered, sliding over towards Cici.

Seeing that, she immediately picked it up and shot the guy in the head before returning fire to the remaining people in the penthouse.

...I was definitely going to need therapy after this. And I was definitely never going to stick my neck out again for a girl like that after this. Nope.

Ducking behind an overturned cabinet for cover, I held my phone to my ear and waited.

One ring. Two... And on the third, it connected.

*Sennie? What are you calling me this late-*

"Akane nee-chan! I'm at the penthouse suite in the tower at Shinjuku! Weird guys with guns are here and-"

"Sennie, duck!"

Cici's panicked voice.

I flinched and instinctively did as she said. The moment I did that, a spray of gunfire carved through the wall above me, courtesy of a guy wielding a machine gun.

He clicked his tongue when he saw me dodge, pointing his gun at me again.

And then he suddenly slumped, knocked out by an invisible force.

Thanks, Celes. Love you *so* much right now.

*Sennie. Where are you exactly? I'm in Shinjuku right now.*

Akane's voice echoed from my phone, uncharacteristically serious.

...Why was she in Shinjuku- No, that didn't matter

Out of everyone I knew... minus my dad who didn't pick up even after I called him ten times, Akane was the only one who could help us get out of this mess.

But where I was...

Crap. What was the address of this place again...? I didn't remember-

Wait.

"You're in Shinjuku?"

The sound of gunfire and screaming echoed on the other line of the phone.

...Was Akane running around collecting protection money?

I didn't know, but I wasn't about to question it.

*Yeah- One second.*

An engine revved in the background, followed by the sound of an explosion. After that, Akane started talking again.

*Anyway, I'm here. Tell me where you are so I can pick you up.*

I scanned the surroundings for anything that could help.

For the most part, Cici and Celes had taken care of the first wave of guys, but I could see some people crawling up the sides of the building.

Seriously, who *were* these people...?

Gah, getting distracted!

Let's see...

Guns, gun, bodies, blood...

Try not to dwell too much on that, and...

Ah! Another flashbang!

I ran over and grabbed it before moving to the edge of the building.

"Sennie?" Cici turned to look at me and said, "I know it looks tough, but it's a bit too early to restart the level, you know?"

"Time and place, Cici!"

*Sissy?*

"No, it's... I'll explain later!" I pulled out the pin of the flashbang and then said, "Head towards the flashbang! We're on the roof!"

After quickly saying that, I chucked the flashbang off the side.

It exploded, lighting up the night sky with a bright flash.

It also sent a few guys climbing up the side crashing back down.

But I didn't care about that.

Instead, I held my phone close to my ear and said, "Did you-"

*I'll be there in five minutes.*

The call ended.

I blinked and then lowered my phone. "Five minutes...?"

Just like an old PS2 video game, more enemies started appearing on the edge of the roof, armed and ready.

"@#$@." I cursed and then grabbed a gun from nearby. "I am *never* complaining about being isekai'd *ever* again."

Now, here's hoping that MIRAIZ had stellar therapy services in addition to their legal services...

-VI|IV-

A white light from the same building that Akane was headed too.

Seeing that, Akane clicked her tongue again. "It's always trouble with you, Sennie. But that's what Onee-chan trained to-"

*THWACK*

A metal bat smacked the back of Akane's head.

She paused and then slowly turned around to look at the man who swung the bat.

His eyes widened and he took a step back. "M-M-Mons-"

"Rude."

Akane's fist whipped out, punching a hole in the man's chest.

He slumped to the ground, eyes still wide in shock.

But even so, the remaining people surrounding Akane didn't back down.

Akane let out a deep sigh and then muttered, "Sorry, Uncle Hajime. But it's your fault for not leaving anybody to protect this place, so... you deal with the fallout."

After saying that, Akane took a step back.

The yakuza took that as hesitation and charged.

But then Akane stepped forward, stomping on the ground.

An explosion erupted, shockwaves sending everything around flying. People, cars, concrete slabs... As if someone dropped a bomb in the middle of the city, a giant crater formed as debris flew through the air.

And mixed in among that debris... No, flying higher than that debris was Akane.

"...Alright. So the light body technique from that buddhist ruin isn't half bad. Shunpo is probably better though. But for now..." Akane hovered in the air above the city for a bit and then pinpointed the skyscraper where Sennie was waiting.

She could see him standing there, fearfully clutching a gun and swinging it towards the men climbing up the building.

"...Onee-chan will have to apologize in advance, Sennie."

-VI|IV-

The next wave of enemies arrived.

I moved to Cici's side and mentally prepared myself to fight for my life.

Cici glanced at me and said, "Sorry, Sennie. I didn't think the rating on this mission would be M instead of T..."

"You think?"

Cici laughed.

It was annoying, but I knew it was because she was trying to cheer me up, so I didn't say anything. Instead, I focused.

It was a dangerous situation, but we could clear it. And Akane would be hear, probably with some underworld connections to help out with this mess, so-

Eh?

I blinked and looked up at the sky.

There, suspended in front of the moon... Yep. There definitely was a woman there. And that woman looked an awful lot like Akane.

But how and why-

---

[Urgent Mission <Fake Love> complete!]
A free 10x gacha roll has been credited to your account. Your other rewards are pending the required cutscene.

---

"Cutscene?" I looked away from the woman and to the sudden floating window. "What cut-"

A black blur, suddenly appearing on the roof. Bodies flying through the sky and an explosion erupting as the elevator collapsed.

And then a familiar woman was standing in front of me.

My eyes widened, taking in Akane's apologetic face.

"Sorry, Sennie. We'll talk when you wake up, okay?"

"Wait, hold-"

*thunk*

God...dammit...