Normally, the black ninja-superhero hybrid suit that Mike made would be good enough for stealth and disguises outside the school border, since he couldn’t just use his AISLE to turn off the surveillance as easily. However, such was only the truth if the boy went outside late at night, when the black suit would be able to blend in with the dark sky. Yusei, on the other hand, left Aoba at dusk, and the setting sun would only serve to make the black suit stand out even more.

And so, Mike had another idea.

The boy had been wearing the suit underneath his school uniform from the start, and all he needed to do was to take off the blazer with Aoba’s badge to blend in with everyone else. Though it did pose another problem as he started tailing the Student Council President.

“This heat is killing me!” Mike, wearing a cap and a pair of glasses to hide his face, complained with his tongue out. Even if he was feeling the wind on his face with how fast the suit was making him go, the combination of the late summer’s heat, his own body heat from running, and his shirt and trouser on top of the suit was just too much.

“Serves you right for wearing a suit underneath your shirt,” from the earpiece he was wearing, 24’s voice sounded. “And I told you to just paint it another color yesterday.”

“It would ruin the suit, okay? Black is always the strongest ranger!”

“I’m not gonna argue about that,” 24 uttered in a disappointed tone. “And it’s probably not true anyway.”

“Oh shut up! You haven’t even watched any Sentai or Tokusatsu shows!”

“Of course, I haven’t; I’m an AI,” the mechanical voice retorted. “But I can pull a few pieces of information from the web with ease, look…”

“All right all right I get it! Just guide me where to go next!” Mike’s complaint once again brought the two back to the mission at hand. And gone were 24’s quippy comebacks as the AI finally did what it does best:

“Target at 300 meters ahead. But you better speed up.”

“How come?”

“There’s a junction up ahead, our target’s gaining speed, and for some reason, I keep getting this buggy signal…” 24 answered, but for the first time, Mike could feel the uneasiness in its voice.

“Buggy signal? But I just made that tracker; how can it already be…”

“I don’t know. The fact still remains, however, that I’ve been having a hard time reading our target’s location.”

“Okay,” nodded Mike. “I’ll kick it up a notch then.”

The boy pressed the large button on his belt again. Another flash of green lights appeared beneath his uniform, but the setting sunlight was too much for it to be clearly shown outside. With the boost, however, Mike sprinted faster than ever before, easily surpassing the speed of a human and entering that of a motorbike.

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However, his acceleration had somehow caused his presence to be felt, and his opponent had mysteriously picked up the pace in response.

This change did not escape 24’s sensors, as the AI quickly informed his partner. “The target is gaining speed.”

“What?” Exclaimed Mike. “How did he know about me? I’m still far away from his detection range!”

The boy sped up once again, so much so that his legs were feeling the heat from the asphalt under him. With the extra speed he had under his belt, Mike slowly but surely shortened his distance from the target until Yusei’s fluttering red hair could be seen from afar.

What Mike saw was truly out of his mind.

He thought that Yusei was traveling in a car, judging by the way he sped up during the chase. However, the truth couldn’t be further than that.

Yusei was running. Exactly like how Mike was doing, but with even more poise and grace. Each dash made the red-haired man look like he was skating on the road, and the traffic signs, crossing people, and various objects served as a perfect obstacle course for him to show his skills. Not a single movement wasted, Yusei slipped through the cracks of the natural course with ease. Meanwhile, Mike had to slow down as soon as he saw the first sign of a hazard, and so, the distance that he so desperately tried to close once again widened from his grasp.

“H… How…” The boy started panting for air, both due to his lungs being worn out by the running and his mind being filled with anxiety. “How could he move like that…”

“Well, there goes tailing him directly,” 24’s deadpan expression only served as rubbing salt to the wound. “Now will you follow the plan I suggested?”

“Fine, fine, you’re right,” Mike stopped completely in his tracks and took out his pair of glasses. Tapping the rim on his right side, the corresponding eye turned black, and with it revealed a scanning map of the area.

“It’s a good thing I had a plan B.”

“You mean after I pestered you into sticking a bug on his chair?”

“… All that matters is we’re going, right?”

“Of course… should you choose to.”

Without another word, Mike continued on his chase, now at his normal running speed.

In the end, his trip took him to the exact location that Zain once found, the shady-looking house in the series of alleyways with the name “Demon Wind”.

“T-This is…” Mike’s face was as red as a tomato. Unlike Zain, the boy had had much experience in the real world, so, he knew exactly what kind of place this was.

“It seems like so,” 24 confirmed. “It is in fact a strip club.”

“But… why? This is Aoba’s Student Council President we’re talking about! Surely if he’s in the mood, he has to pick some place at least better than this, right?”

“Who said he was ‘in the mood’?” 24 retorted. “He could be the owner of the place. It’s not strange for students to have businesses nowadays, especially those in Aoba.”

“… Well, yeah, but… this is basically prostitution we’re talking about! And isn’t it banned by the world law?”

“Not right now, actually. I’ve just looked over the law database again, this is not categorized as a crime.”

“I… what?” Mike could only utter before the sudden news. But he didn’t get the chance to react further, as another voice came from inside the building – the same kind of dialogue that Zain heard in his search:

“Welcome back, Young Lord!”

“Young Lord?” Exclaimed the boy. “What an odd way to address someone…”

“What’s wrong?” 24, seeing the boy suddenly going quiet as if being deep in thought, asked.

“No, it’s just… I believe I’ve heard that before somewhere. I just can’t remember where exactly…”

“Well, what now? Are you planning to go inside?”

“I’m going,” answered Mike. However, before he could take another step, the boy felt like his shirt was stuck somewhere, even though there was nothing behind him.

Mike took another step, and this time he was sure. Something was grabbing him by the neck.

From an outside perspective, Mike would just disappear from the scene. But for the boy himself, he was astonished to see exactly who was behind him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Zain? What are you doing here?”