Chapter 27: Oka’s Secret
After running for a while, Kuwabara reached Milotic, who seemed a bit troubled by the gathered crowd.
"Hey now, no photos please."
"What's going on, suddenly?"
"It's my pet. I know it's cute, but it's time for us to go home."
"You keep some rare ones, huh?"
After driving the surrounding people away, he looked at Milotic floating in the river. Milotic had narrowed her eyes before turning her face away, indicating she wasn't going to show him any courtesy. However, Kuwabara didn't care about that at all. After all, he had already done her a considerable favor.
"Did being a spectacle awaken something in you? Then I have a partner to recommend."
"Foooh..."
"I'll give you 100,000 yen. In addition to the favor of saving your life. Well? How about it? Your master must be struggling financially, right? Here's your chance to contribute."
Kuwabara had already leapt to the side. He wasn't wearing a suit now, so he needed to read ahead and evade her attacks. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to avoid her Ice Beam. However, the Ice Beam he had expected never came. As a result, he ended up just doing an unnecessary roll, revealing his foolish posture.
Brushing off the dirt that had gotten on his bag, he stood up. The moment he faced Milotic, his thinking stopped for an instant. Milotic had her eyes closed. Large tears were spilling from the corners of her eyes. The translucent droplets streamed down her cheeks, creating ripples on the water's surface. For a while, Kuwabara forgot to speak as he gazed at her sorrow.
Then, his instincts as a man kicked in. If he could comfort her skillfully here, he might earn some points. He undid the buttons on his shirt and approached her while slightly exposing his undershirt.
"What's wrong? Did something happen? Tell me. We're close, you and I."
Milotic trembled and let out a few cries. While pretending to listen, he ogled her figure. He could more or less guess what had happened.
Nodding solemnly, he stated clearly, "Did you and Shirona have some unpleasant incident?"
"Fuuu."
"I see. You must feel a sense of indebtedness. You might have caused a burden for her by dying once. That's why she's come to dislike you. I understand. It's a harsh reality."
Opening her beautiful eyes, she raised her face clearly. Perhaps it was only then that she properly looked at Kuwabara.
"Fooooh!"
"I can understand both of your feelings. You want to protect Shirona, and Shirona doesn't want to hurt you. It's enviable. You can only think that way about each other if you have a deep relationship of trust."
"Fooh!"
"That's right. You don't need to worry. Shirona truly loves you. Even an outsider like me can see that. It was probably just a misunderstanding, and you both lost your cool for a bit. If you talk it out properly again, it'll be fine."
For Kuwabara, it was just guesswork, but miraculously, it seemed to match Milotic's feelings. She drew closer to the shore and nodded firmly at Kuwabara. With that motion, he leaned forward, hoping she would lick him. Somehow maintaining his composure, he pointed further down the river.
"So you understand now, don't you? Moping around here won't solve anything. Take action."
After lowering her head toward Kuwabara once, Milotic turned to face forward. The sorrow had already been lifted from her expression. She seemed to be trying to retrace the path she had taken. Kuwabara somehow managed to walk alongside her.
"Wait!"
"Fuu?"
"I think a third party is needed. I may be an outsider, but I can be useful. Besides, you have an obligation to accept my request. I'll let this slide, then. Alright?"
Milotic didn't hesitate much. After a small sigh, she drew her body close to the shore. Moving her tentacles, she indicated her abdomen, showing that he wouldn't sink if he got on. It seemed this creature was able to truly demonstrate her capabilities while in the water. At a speed on a different dimension from what was possible on land, they began to move.
Fully receiving the wind, Kuwabara grinned. Human desire is endless. In other words, he had realized there were other targets to conquer besides Milotic. By elegantly helping her pet and then gracefully comforting Shirona herself in the end, she and Milotic would undoubtedly become conscious of him. He had thought Shirona was quite the partner too. While some of the beings she kept as pets were troublesome, she herself was the magnificent owner of a superb chest. Kuwabara imagined being sandwiched between Milotic and Shirona. As the scenery changed around him, he thought happiness overflowed in his future prospects.
***
Shirona couldn't afford to remain in a place surrounded by prying eyes. Transported at high speed by Garchomp, they arrived on the rooftop of a building. Oka didn't seem particularly shaken even by that speed. Looking closely, he appeared to be wearing the Gantz suit underneath. If she had perhaps aimed a Water Gun at him while they were midair, he might have panicked a little, he thought dismissively.
"I'm sorry." After stroking Garchomp's belly, Shirona gently embraced her. Garchomp also tenderly touched her back.
"Hey, did you get permission?" Oka pointed at her while smoking a cigarette.
"What?"
"For that. It's mine. You're touching it without even asking me for permission. Didn't the concept of rights exist in your original world? How primitive."
"Don't joke around."
Due to her own mental state, Shirona couldn't just brush off Oka's joke. She glared sharply at him. He calmly discarded his cigarette and crushed the butt under his foot.
"Do you even realize how dangerous an act you committed?"
"Huh?"
"At worst, not only you but that thing could have died too."
It seems getting involved with Gantz meant having to keep it an absolute secret. There had apparently been a member in the past who got carried away and started indiscriminately using their weapons on civilians. As soon as they caused even a minor casualty, their head exploded, and they died. That same rule might also apply to Shirona's Pokémon. She re-realized just how foolish she had been. Not just herself, but perhaps the revived Garchomp and others also had the potential to die. The same bomb that was placed on Shirona might have been set on them too, resurrected by Gantz. Feeling even more dejected, Shirona leaned her back against the railing. Oka seemed to have said something to Garchomp, but it ended in vain. Clicking his tongue, he approached Shirona.
"Don't tell me you let the others out too. Why would you do such a thing?"
Shirona silently gazed at Oka's profile. To be honest, she was reluctant. But she couldn't think of anything else. If she told Anzu, she would likely worry excessively. She only wanted Anzu to focus on surviving. So Shirona began to speak haltingly. She told Oka everything about the facts she had encountered. Without interrupting her, he listened to her story with a disinterested expression. And immediately after she finished, in a complete change from before, he started laughing.
"Wha..."
Feeling like her anguish was being mocked, Shirona almost instructed Garchomp to use Giga Impact on the hateful man for a moment.
Oka took out another cigarette but then stopped. Yawning, he turned an insolent smile toward Shirona. "What's that about? Even for fiction, it's ridiculously stupid."
"You should choose your words more carefully."
"How can you convince yourself that a half-baked jumble of assumptions piled on assumptions is the truth? If you think a little, you'll understand."
"You wouldn't understand. It's not your problem."
"No." Oka had already lost his smile. With a sincerity she had never seen before, he met Shirona's gaze. "But that's not the case."
"...?"
Receiving her puzzled look, Oka spoke. "The truth is, a giant robot was supposed to come. If you blindly believe foreign information."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's true that you didn't actually die. And it's true that you were summoned by Gantz. But your position is different from ours."
He put away the cigarette box he had been gripping in his pocket. The crushed butt on the ground still seemed to retain a small flame.
"You and the Pokémon are my clear reward. For the seventh time." Oka didn't seem to be joking at all.
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