"Ugh, that store didn't have a single piece of clothing that would be good for my brother," Allya grumbled, her mouth forming a pout.
"Don't get all worked up, we still have plenty of time," Asuna said, trying to cool her down.
From his surveillance position, Kinito's voice crackled in Sam's ear. "Sam, that frog mascot behind them has been following them for the last ten minutes. Take care of him"
"Roger," Sam replied, moving toward the mascot. "Hey, froggy! Want to play?"
"Don't mess with me, I have work to do," the mascot's voice snapped back.
"Aah, give me that stick!" Sam demanded. The mascot tried to keep Sam away.
"Hmm," Sam said, a cold look crossing his face. "Then get out of my vision".
"What?" the Mascot asked.
Sam quickly grabbed the mascot's hand. Leaning in, he whispered into the costume's ear, "De-materialized". In the blink of an eye, the mascot's body turned completely to dust.
"May his soul find hell," Sam muttered, moving onward
A short time later, Kinito was parking the car. He'd just been fined by traffic police for parking in a no-parking zone.
"How much did they charge?" Sam asked, stepping into the driver's seat.
"Around 10,000 Yen," Kinito replied.
"What the hell? That's ten times the usual amount!" Sam exclaimed
"They both just entered the clothing store about 100 meters ahead, on your left," Kinito informed him. "Two men are following them".
"Time for some sales," Sam said with a predatory smile. "Enter the store from the backside".
Inside, a saleswoman approached Allys and Asuna. "Hello, ma'am, how can I help you?"
"We want to check out some men's clothing," Asuna answered
"Sure, please come with me," the saleswoman said.
Just as they walked off, the bounty hunters also entered the shop. They were immediately greeted by Sam, who was now expertly disguised as a sales man. "Good evening, sir, how can I help you?" Sam greeted them.
"Hey, we want to check some clothes," the bounty hunters demanded rudely
"Of course, sir, please come with me," Sam said, gesturing for them to follow.
Meanwhile, Allya and Asuna were being helped. "So, ma'am, for whom do you want to choose clothes?" the saleswoman asked Asuna.
"We want a long coat for my brother," Allya answered.
"Do you want to gift it to him, young ma'am?" the saleswoman inquired.
"Yes, I want to give him the best birthday gift ever," Allya said.
"Oh, then we have a perfect outfit to gift," the saleswoman replied, showing them a green-colored long coat.
"Wow, this is so cute," Asuna commented.
"This will perfectly match with my brother," Allya confirmed
Sam led the bounty hunters toward a secluded area. "Hey you, where are you taking us?" one of them challenged.
"Just come with me," Sam assured them. "Here we have our most exclusive and expensive clothing". Sam opened a gate. When they entered the room, it wasn't a clothing showroom at all—it was a typical locker room.
"Hey, what is this?" the bounty hunters yelled, turning around. Sam slammed the gate shut, cracked his knuckles, loosened his tie, and took off his coat. "Let's finish this quick; the girls are at the cash counter". He moved toward them.
"Hey, are you planning to defeat all of us? Never! First, we kill you and then take the girl with us. Shadow Movement!" one of them shouted. Four more bounty hunters emerged from the shadows of the first two.
"This will take a little bit of time," Sam observed, taking a pen out of his pocket. "8 more were remaining".
One of them charged at Sam. Sam, not taking him seriously, smashed his head with the pen, breaking his skull. Blood gushed out with a splash. His life ended instantly. Sam's white shirt was now covered in blood. He took the pen out of the thread. In a blink of an eye, he was at the back of two other men. Their breath was strangled at their throats.
The remaining three were too afraid to move. One of them took out his dagger and threw it toward Sam. Sam threw the pen back at him. The pen breached his heart, and the man fell to the floor in a second.
"Feeling afraid? This is the feeling that girl had when you tried to kill her," Sam whispered into the ear of one of the men. Sam's eyes were cold as ice. When the man looked down, he saw his partners were dead. Then he noticed Sam's hand had breached his chest and was holding his heart. Sam closed his fist, and the heart burst. Blood splattered all over the room. Another man instantly drew his dagger and cut his own neck.
"Now, only two of you are left. Take this," Sam said, moving backward and giving one of the remaining men a gun. "You have two choices: shoot me or shoot your buddy. Either way, you can save your life". Sam began taking off his blood-soaked shirt and pulled fresh clothes from the locker.
"I don't know who you are, but as a bounty hunter, it doesn't matter if I live or die. There is no point to my existence if I don't fight till the end," the man said. He pointed the gun at Sam and pressed the trigger, but the gun did not fire.
"It won't fire," Sam said. The man's face was full of fear, terrified of dying. "It won't. It was empty". Sam's invisible threads cut the man into small pieces. Sam turned back. "Very thin threads made up of carbon atoms, Kirito was Right. It can cut anything," Sam affirmed
Sam walked toward the last hunter, who was sitting in the corner, trembling with fear. He had already soiled his pants. Sam bent down and gave him a last chance. He ordered him to call the rest of the hunters and tell him the location of the person who put the bounty on Allya.
"See, I have done as you say, please let me live," the Bounty Hunter begged.
"You know I don't like people who betray others for their own benefit," Sam hissed, cheating the bounty hunter. "Hey Kirito, I got the location. Come outside the store". Sam left the room.
"And what about them? Don't need to spy on them," Sam instructed Kirito, who was driving the car. "Give them privacy. The bounty is over. They are safe now.
"Okay, get inside," Kirito said, stopping the car in front of Sam.
"Where we're going is NINCH-42, a private harbor. Let's give him a surprise," Sam said, and they drove off
Allya turned to Asuna. "Asuna-chan, let's go home. It's getting late"
"Yes, let's go," Asuna agreed
Night: 11:30 PM NCH 48 [New Cargo Harbor, Tokyo] Parking Lot
"Kirito, stay in the car, and don't come until I order you," Sam commanded
"But..." Kirito began
"Just follow the order. If I need you, I will call," Sam finished. Sam left the car and moved inside the empty warehouse.
The moon emerged from the clouds, filling the warehouse with pale light. A man holding a wine glass turned toward Sam.
"So it's you doing this, Akira Kenji," Sam growled, his eyes full of anger and his voice cold. Sam stood at the gate of the warehouse, looking into the eyes of Akira Kenji, who stood a distance in front of him
"Want to join me?" Akira Kenji asked offring him wine.