There we were, trapped in a narrow alley, surrounded by several members of that gang. The man and I didn't know how to react. I, for my part, could draw my weapons and try to fight, but maybe they were much faster than me, and we would end up worse off than we already were. The tension was palpable in the air, like a taut wire about to break.
"Wow, wow, but look who's decided to show up," said one of the band members, pointing a gun at us.
"You'd better not do anything strange, neither of you, if you don't want to end badly," added the other, in a threatening tone.
My body was filled with anger as I realized that I had no choice but to keep my hands up and follow these guys' orders. I could feel the anger and frustration bubbling up inside me, but I knew it wasn't the time to act impulsively.
"What do you want him for?" I asked suddenly, surprising both assailants with the question.
One of them approached slowly, without lowering his weapon or his own guard. I could see that he was trying to intimidate me, but the truth is that he didn't seem so sure of himself.
"And what does it matter to you?" We don't have to tell you the boss's plans," the assailant replied, trying to sound threatening.
Seeing that I couldn't generate the fear I probably expected, I saw my opportunity to make a psychological play. After all, I had seen enough films of this type, so even though I didn't have much experience, I was confident in my abilities... or at least, in what I thought were skills.
"Come on, man, what does it matter what you do?" I'm sure the boss doesn't even care," I said dismissively. "Besides, I'm just doing my duty, I'm not a threat to anyone," I added, as I slowly began to lower my hands toward my waist, where I kept my pistol.
The assailant's face changed instantly. His tone of voice became slightly nervous.
"Come on, we're the most important thing to the boss," he replied, in a voice that sounded less confident now.
Hearing that, I knew I had struck a chord. This was the perfect time to let out the most malevolent and exaggerated laugh I could imagine, like in a Hollywood movie.
"Your boss is only interested in this man next door," I said while pointing to the man. "If something happens to you, I wouldn't do anything about it," I finished, as I continued to lower my hands until I brushed the cold metal of my pistol.
Apparently, the other assailant realized what I was doing and quickly pointed it at me.
"What are you supposed to do?!" he shouted, with a tone of alarm in his voice.
I stopped my hands instantly, frozen in place. I didn't know what to do anymore. I was pointed at by two assailants, and my hands brushed the gun. I needed a distraction, but the question was... what kind of distraction?
Time was against me. He could see the anxiety on the assailants' faces, and the trigger was about to be pulled.
Just when I thought there was no way out, I heard the sound of something falling and rolling down the bottom of the alley. A subject had run past, knocking over a trash can in his path. The two assailants turned instantly, pointing to where the noise was coming from.
"What was that?!" said one of the assailants, clearly nervous.
I took advantage of the distraction to try to reach for my pistol. This time, I succeeded. I quickly pulled out the gun and pointed it at one of the assailants without anyone noticing.
"I don't know, but I don't know you're a waiter," the man said, not looking surprised but with a serious expression.
I looked at the gentleman as if he were turning his head in slow motion. What had happened? Did I really think that I had been caught by so little?
"No, really?" Then I'm going to give you a badge for a tremendous discovery," I replied, with an ironic tone that I could barely contain.
The assailants turned again, looking puzzled. It was at that moment that they noticed that he had a gun pointed directly at them.
"Where did you get that?!" One asked, alarmed.
"Magic," I replied with a wave of my hand, as if it were something trivial. "You'd better put down your arms," I said in a dramatic tone, as if I were in an action movie.
"You've touched our balls enough... SHOOT!" The assailant ordered, his voice full of rage.
I didn't know if it was my nervousness or adrenaline, but my finger remained paralyzed on the trigger. I was completely immobilized, and for a moment, I closed my eyes expecting the worst. I thought my end had come.
But just at that moment, a subject sped past the assailants, shooting at point-blank range. The men fell to the ground, killed by the accurate shots. The silent death had come, and everything happened so quickly that I could hardly believe it.
"Fuck..." I moaned, looking in disbelief. "Thank you for saving my life, girl with a shark's tail."
Who? A voice slowly approaching, replied. I tried to focus my eyes, but the figure was still not entirely clear.
For a few seconds, I concentrated until I could finally see who it was. I couldn't believe it.
"Nekomata...?!" I shouted, completely surprised. What a twist of the script. Sometimes I feel like my life is like a movie, and if that's true, this scene just took an unexpected turn.
"That's right, useless, I always have to be saving your ass," Nekomata said, in his usual annoyed tone.
"yes, well, thank you for that," I replied, feeling a little embarrassed.
"What were you supposed to be doing?" We came to eat, not to work," he said, with a hint of disdain and some hatred in his voice.
"This..." I didn't know what to say. "I found this man cornered by these thugs and I decided to help. That's all," I said, trying to give an explanation, though I wasn't sure it was convincing.
"That's not true," the man murmured, but before he could finish, I quickly covered his mouth.
"You're more handsome, quiet," I whispered in his ear, trying to stop him from talking more.
At that moment, the shark-tailed girl appeared through the back door, walking towards us with her usual expression.
"OH, THANK GOD YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!" he exclaimed, but his muffled tone made it sound less convincing than it should have been. "Thank you for saving my father," he finished, with a slight smile.
I didn't know what to say. I've always had a hard time improvising when theatre comes into play, and at the time, it wasn't the best time to give it a try.
"Eh... yes, of course, YOU'RE WELCOME, CITIZEN! I said, raising my arms akimbo and looking up at the sky, trying to imitate some movie hero.
Unsurprisingly, everyone looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and bewilderment.
Nekomata suspiró, resignada.
"Stop being stupid and let's get out of here." Nicole and the others are waiting for us," he said, in a tone he was used to hearing.
I looked at the shark-tailed girl, hoping for some kind of recognition for my heroic performance. She grabbed the man by the arm and began to walk away from the other side of the alley.
"Well done," he said, without turning, before disappearing into the darkness.
I smiled satisfied, even though I knew that we were almost killed because of me. But at least he had managed to get out of that situation alive.
"Well, we can go," I said, as I took off my suit and dropped it on the floor, next to a trash can.
Nekomata and I walked silently out of the alley. The distance between us was maintained, as always, with an invisible barrier. I decided to try to start a conversation.
"How about the ramen?" I asked with little confidence.
Nekomata glanced at me sideways, his expression cold and distant.
"If you had been there, you would have known," he replied sarcastically.
His comment made me feel as if a sharp sword had been stabbed into me. I didn't want to argue with her, like that