"A girl used a gun to kill people? A yakuza junior member?"
"That's not clear. The police are still searching for the perpetrator. They haven't caught the culprit yet and haven't said much else."
Asuna's expression was serious, her voice filled with concern, "Yusei, Tokyo hasn't been very peaceful lately. You need to be careful when you're going to and from school and home alone."
Kaguya, standing nearby, couldn't help but had her mouth twitched, 'This guy needs to be careful? It's the yakuza who should be careful around him!'
However, she had also heard about yesterday's incident. It involved some inside information.
She personally didn't pay it any mind. Hayasaka had only mentioned it to her in passing as a minor piece of news, something to pique her interest slightly.
"Actually, regarding yesterday's shooting, I have a bit of information here."
Asuna clapped her hands together, laughing as she had a sudden realization, "I almost forgot. Kaguya is the young lady of the Shinomiya Family. Her sources of information definitely go beyond just television."
"It's nothing much. Hayasaka just heard some people chatting and mentioned it to me casually, that's all." Kaguya felt a bit embarrassed.
"So? What's the information? Also, if it wasn't the yakuza, is it really that easy to get a gun in Japan?"
Yusei put down his bag and spoke, then immediately picked up Yui, holding her close and being affectionate.
"Let Papa see if our Yui has gotten even cuter."
"Papa has gotten handsomer too."
"Hah, really? We truly are father and daughter, even our way of complimenting people is the same."
Asuna looked gently at the father and daughter engaging in their mutual admiration and smiled, then turned to Kaguya.
Kaguya watched the playful father and daughter with envy, her heart unconsciously wishing she were also a part of that family of three...
She quickly dismissed the thought, refocused, and looked at Asuna, beginning to recount the information she had received from Hayasaka last night.
To be clear, this matter had nothing to do with the Shinomiya Family. She had just heard about it in passing.
In reality, the perpetrator reported by the police was not that girl. Moreover, the girl wasn't part of a yakuza group, and she was just an ordinary waitress.
She just happened to be there during the yakuza clash. Then, because the heir of a major organization died, his underlings needed a scapegoat and pinned everything on the only surviving waitress.
The higher-ups in the police force were aware, but the world is a dark place. That major organization contributed a significant amount in taxes every year.
Furthermore, there were no other witnesses, only those two gang members.
So, black or white, it was ultimately their word that counted.
After hearing this, Asuna's pretty face showed indignation. She was angry, "How could they? Those people are really too much! Framing someone else. And for a crime like murder."
She had actually killed people before, in SAO, alongside Yusei, so she wasn't fearful of such matters.
Even though she had never handled a gun in real life, she felt no fear either.
Right now, Asuna was just furious at the way the police handled things, 'Just because the other party paid a lot in taxes, they could act so arbitrarily?'
Kaguya sighed, "There's no helping it. That's the dark side of society. Actually, it's quite normal. Remember that SAO's survivors' special school the government established?"
"Yes, I remember they approached me once, inviting me to enroll, but I refused. Yusei-kun told me at the time to ignore them, and if they bothered me, to call him."
Hearing this, Kaguya hummed lightly, glanced at Yusei, who was playing with Yui, and said disdainfully, "What good would his words do? He needed my help with his own situation. The Shinomiya Family contacted people higher up, ensuring we wouldn't have to enter that school."
"What's wrong with that school?" Asuna asked curiously.
Kaguya explained, "SAO's survivors are considered very valuable for scientific research. We underwent complex brain domain development in SAO. The skills we learned in SAO, like swordsmanship abilities... could we use them in reality, and so on..."
"Simply put, it's about whether things learned in a virtual world can manifest in reality. If it's truly possible, then things like intelligent learning, creating war robots, simulating wars in virtual worlds, etc., would be developed one after another."
"So, that school is the first step in this plan. It's to observe whether we SAO's survivors manifest the skills we learned in SAO in our daily lives."
"So that's what it is. It feels a bit like being lab rats," Asuna said with an awkward laugh.
"They are lab rats. That guy did one good thing, though, telling you, Asuna, not to pay attention to those people inviting you."
"I really owe you for that, Kaguya."
Seeing Asuna's grateful face, Kaguya couldn't help but blush slightly, waving her hand embarrassedly.
"It's nothing. We're friends, aren't we? And you saved my life in SAO, remember? Don't worry about such a small favor."
"Mhm, then let's all not worry about these things. We're all friends." Asuna took Kaguya's hand and said.
Kaguya, seeing Asuna being so intimate with her, felt touched but also a pang of guilt. She instinctively glanced at Yusei, her heart wavering.
'Is this feeling... wrong?'
…
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Weekend.
Yusei, holding an umbrella, left the Shinomiya main house, preparing to go home. He had come to here as usual today to practice Jendo, part of his daily training.
He declined the attendant's offer to drive him. Since it was still early, he wanted to walk around Tokyo a bit, trying to find that so-called 'destined person'.
Suddenly, not long after leaving the Shinomiya main house, he froze. The talisman in his pocket suddenly grew warm.
Then, it spontaneously combusted.
Yusei was dumbfounded, 'Wasn't it supposed to guide me to the person? It's gone just like that?'
'That Miko's stuff is just too shoddy.'
'How was I supposed to find the person now?'
Shaking his head, Yusei decided it didn't matter. If he couldn't find them, so be it. It wasn't his headache anyway.
Thinking this, Yusei prepared to continue walking. But just then, he suddenly noticed a figure ahead, at the corner, huddled under a cloak. The person was completely covered by a gray cloak, looking almost like an ancient assassin.