The day appeared to be quite nice, as the sun shone down, and the gentle breeze provided a bit of coolness. The city was clearly barely awakening, as there weren't that many people on the streets. The few who could be spotted bowed both to Ren and Kazuki, but the pride and respect for the fellow clan member was definitely higher which showed in how they looked especially at him.

Without issues, Riku led them all toward the sushi place called Hana-Sakana. It was quite a big restaurant, although it appeared to be on the cheaper side, as the old sign and the neglected walls of the building suggested. Surprisingly, it was open even so early in the morning, and there were a few patrons lurking around. A couple of people entered, and a few left, showing that the business was booming. However, as the group closed the distance and it became evident that they were headed for the establishment, those nearby started to slowly but surely retreat, trying to act as if it wasn't a reaction to the presence of the guards.

"Keep your eyes open," Jiro instructed.

"Yes, sir!" Riku hissed back with the monocle still in his eye. Kazuki clearly found him funny, as he smiled, while Ren completely ignored both, already keeping an eye on the surroundings, since he felt that something was off.

In his past life as a homeless man, "off" often meant dangerous, so his first reaction was to grab the handle of his sword. Then he realized that he didn’t bring the glove. Cursing in his mind, he kept walking.

They entered the restaurant. It was spacious inside. There were many tables spread across the main room, but the most occupied place remained the long counter where most customers sat enjoying their raw fish and rice. Several cooks worked in the kitchen connected to the space via a door and a large opening in the wall, so they could easily give the finished food to the service staff.

The scent of food with a slight hint of alcohol lingered in the air.

With just a glance, Ren noticed at least two dozen men inside. Some completely ignored the newcomers, while others glared at them without hiding it at all.

"Kazuki, could you block the entrance for us? We don’t want anybody running away," Jiro whispered.

"Yes," the candidate responded, stopping immediately. Due to his hump and hunched posture, he was occupying quite some space, enough to prevent anybody from slipping by him.

The remaining three went a few steps further before Jiro cleared his throat loudly.

"Attention, citizens!" He began with a loud, beaming voice, so everybody would hear him clearly. "I’m Captain Jiro Kōri of the twelfth investigation unit of the city guards. Please listen to me carefully… We are looking for several men, each wearing a black kimono with red edges. They were wearing bamboo hats. They are suspects of committing a serious crime within the city. I urge you to cooperate with us. Does anyone know anything about those men or their whereabouts?"

The reaction of the customers was to look around at their fellow patrons, but apart from exchanged looks and hushed questions, nobody appeared to know anything.

Jiro waited patiently for a moment. "Then we will have to go through them one by one," he mumbled under his nose after giving everybody enough time for a reaction. "I know this will be inconvenient, but the matter is serious, so I will need to question all of you. Please all move here, and clear the kitchen. I will speak one-on-one with all of you." He announced. "You two... Keep an eye on the hall while I interrogate them," he said to Ren and Riku.

"Yes, sir!" the youngster, still with the monocle in his eyes, saluted, stretching like a tight string.

Jiro rolled his eyes, then went to grab two chairs and headed to the kitchen, where the staff needed slightly more encouragement to leave their work. The owner of the place even argued for a moment with the guard but was quickly put in his place.

Like that, they all gathered in the main room, while the captain began his questioning in the kitchen. While that was transpiring, Ren and Riku walked among the tables, keeping an eye on the customers and the workers. Some became slightly sketchy, but that could also be attributed to the anxiety created by the situation they found themselves in.

Time slowed down as Jiro kept interrogating people. It soon began feeling slightly irritating, so Ren gradually switched his focus from the men he was supposed to observe to what was transpiring in the kitchen. He tried to listen to the conversations happening there, but he soon discovered that it was quite hard, to stay so far away from those who were talking. Thus, he also moved closer, eventually even sitting by the counter, and from that position, he watched the patrons.

Meanwhile, Riku stayed obedient to the orders and kept walking between the tables, making sure everybody would stay in their spots. A few times he even answered some questions asked by the patrons who already had enough of waiting.

Ren didn't really hear anything, too focused on eavesdropping on Jiro.

"Have you ever seen anybody in dark kimono with red edges, wearing a bamboo hat? Or a man in similar attire, but having a mask resembling a crow’s beak on his face? Or a man of similar description carrying a large rucksack possibly filled with weapons?" The same questions were repeated over and over by the investigator, but nobody yet gave any satisfactory answers. "Have you ever seen this?" was usually the last question, and Ren even spotted Jiro showing the card, but so far it also didn't yield any results.

Everything changed when the first of the cooks was summoned to the kitchen. The man was visibly nervous, but at that point, it was not that much out of the ordinary, considering that all of the people trapped in Hana-Sakana clearly felt nervous. He passed by the man who preceded him and was on his way back to the table, then stopped briefly, looking at Kazuki by the door, only to continue his walk.

The same questions were repeated to him, and the worker gave similar answers, denying everything. At that moment, Riku spotted a different cook who had been shaking his leg for a while, moving on his chair, trying to spot what was going on in the kitchen by stretching his neck.

The failure to do so prompted a reaction, as the anxiety took over. The man suddenly jumped to his feet, then flipped the table before bolting straight at Kazuki.

The member of the Isogai clan reacted quite calmly, pulling something from under his cloak, and then tossing it at the charging man.

Ren, alerted by the ruckus, glanced at the scene but failed to react in time. He saw the familiar grenade he had already seen in action back in the arena. It exploded with an entangled mass that wrapped itself around the charging individual, causing him to fall over his own feet and land face-first on the floor.

"Ugh!" he groaned.

Riku rushed to grab him, and at the same moment, all the other cooks, including the owner, and some of the waiters, jumped to rush in different directions. Some, surprisingly, ran for the kitchen, while others tried to storm their way past Kazuki, who clearly was about to get overwhelmed by the numbers.

Riku got punched in the face trying to stop one of the men. Ren jumped to grab one, easily throwing him on the ground, and then knocking him unconscious with a punch to the face. As he rose, he saw his friend about to be swarmed by several men, but despite that, Kazuki didn't seem to be scared at all.

He simply threw the cloak off his back, finally revealing his full form. The hump was clearly not a hump, but a strange device, which shot six arm-like mechanical devices. Two slammed into the ground, raising him in the air, while the remaining four grabbed an escapee each. The strings appeared in Kazuki's hands, which he used to confine the remaining few shocked by the sudden display.

At the same moment, they heard a noise from the kitchen. It prompted Ren to look that way, just in time to see Jiren beating the shit out of those few who tried to run there. He was tossing them like ragdols, before he beat them senseless, soon emerging into the main hall, making the patrons uninvolved in the attempt to flee tremble in fear as he was partially covered in the blood of those whom he had demolished.

"We found our culprits. Riku, get your shit together and get more guards in here. The two of you... I would appreciate it if you helped me tie those assholes up," he said, then he noticed that Kazuki already had a few wrapped nicely in his strings.

"I'm on it," the member of the Isogai clan said, with a slight smile on his lips.

For Ren, it made him look a bit crazy, combined with the device on his back, and the deeply sunken eyes. In the end, he only looked at his friend briefly, quickly focusing on dragging the guy who he had knocked out to the captain.

Meanwhile, in the blink of an eye, Kazuki immobilized all of the nearby guys, and then headed, using his device, to the kitchen to do the same. His head was almost touching the ceiling as he moved.

When he returned to the main space, he recalled the hands back into the device, landing on his legs, then threw the cloak back on, only to take a seat by one of the unoccupied tables.

When the guards rushed in, a few moments later, rallied by Riku, they saw a nice bundle of men wrapped in strings, ready to be taken.

"Grab them and take them to the guard station," Jiren gave the orders, before turning his attention to Ren and Kazuki. "Thank you for your help. Your contribution was essential for the success of this investigation. The whole city is grateful to you," he said, before bowing slightly. "But from this point, I think the guards can deal with the rest."

"W-we were happy to assist," Ren quickly squeezed out. His voice betrayed how eager he was to be done with this situation.

After all, he had a wedding to plan and a whole new life to start. Still, there was a bit of lingering curiosity in his mind. He wished to know what was happening, but he also knew – as they say – that curiosity killed a cat.

"Yeah, it was fun!" Kazuki added, grinning.

Meanwhile, Riku was already helping the other guards take the first men out. The monocle was still present in his eye, making him look weird, but he clearly didn't care. If anything, he seemed to feel proud.

Seizing the opportunity, Ren left as soon as possible. Kazuki walked with him for a moment before they parted ways and headed to their homes.

Mirai greeted her soon-to-be husband with a proper meal as he returned. There was a moment of awkwardness between them as they sat down in the dining room to eat.

"I-I don't want to be nosy, but… What was it all about?" she asked moments later, unable to withstand it anymore.

Ren sighed, then while eating, told her everything that happened, including how he felt about the situation, up to the point of catching the possible suspect involved in the situation. It was a long tale, so they both were able to finish the food before he ended.

"I-I didn't know… I'm sorry. I feel bad now," she said, immediately lowering her gaze. "You didn't want to have anything to do with this, and I feel like I've pushed you…"

"No!" He interrupted her, feeling bad about how he made her feel. "It's fine. Not only did you not know, but it was actually me who made this whole mess happen. I should have told Satoru before… But hopefully, it's all behind us, and we can focus on the wedding." He forced himself to smile.

To contrast with him, Mirai responded with a genuine smile. "Yes… We should focus on the wedding. I… I don't have much family, so if you don't mind, I would want to have a small ceremony in the temple."

"Me too… I only have Satoru, Ayako, and Hiroshi… Maybe Kazuki… I feel like I owe him. After all, if he didn't help with Ryoma… I don't know if we would be here right now."

"Yes. He seems like a good guy. Let's go tomorrow and make the arrangements. And I would like to show you something as well… It'll be a little surprise."

Ren nodded, accepting her idea.

After that, their day continued with awkwardness. Both tried to focus on unpacking everything they bought for the house and arranging the new items. There were plenty of things to do, and they allowed them to get slightly closer.