Scene 1 — The Favor
Rain traced slow lines across the shop window.
Harbor Noodles was quiet — just dishes, the hiss of broth, Kaiya humming to herself.
Kenta wiped the counter, eyes drifting to the van outside.
The Bento Box still sat with its hood open, engine dead.
His phone buzzed.
Message from Ryo: "Need a favor. Pickup for my cousin. Scrap parts. You'll get paid."
He glanced at Teo, who was washing knives.
Kenta: "Mind if I borrow the car?"
Teo: "The coupe?"
Kenta: "Yeah. It's close."
Teo: "Don't get sentimental about errands."
Kaiya looked up from the stove.
Kaiya: "Don't make that car your excuse to feel important."
He smiled weakly.
Kenta: "It's just a pickup."
He left the apron on the chair and stepped into the rain.
Scene 2 — The Pickup
The pier was quiet, just the hum of cranes and the smell of rust.
A man in a grease-stained jumpsuit waved him down.
Man: "You're Ryo's guy?"
Kenta: "Cousin's order. Scrap?"
Man: "Converters. Old ones. Recycling job."
He pointed to a crate under a tarp.
Kenta nodded and helped load it into the GR86.
Metal clanked, dull and heavy.
Man: "Tell Ryo he'll get the rest tomorrow."
Kenta: "Sure."
He closed the trunk.
Didn't notice the camera flash from across the lot.
Scene 3 — The Stop
Halfway home, blue lights cut through the fog.
He slowed, rolled down the window.
An officer stepped up, rain dripping off his hat.
Officer: "Evening. License, please."
Kenta: "Sure. Did I do something wrong?"
Officer: "Routine check. Pop the trunk."
Kenta hesitated.
Kenta: "Everything's legal, I think."
Officer: "Then it won't take long."
The lid lifted.
Metal scent, heavy and sharp.
Rows of catalytic converters gleamed under the flashlight.
Officer: "You want to tell me what this is?"
Kenta: "Parts for a client. Picked up a delivery order."
Officer: "Name?"
Kenta: "…They paid cash. Didn't leave one."
The silence after that was louder than the rain.
The other officer radioed in.
Kenta just stood there, hands still, jaw tight — quiet, polite, but already calculating how bad this would look.
Scene 4 — Holding Cell
Fluorescent light.
Concrete bench.
A man two seats down coughed into his sleeve.
Someone whispered, "That's the kid from the Ghost video."
Kenta didn't answer.
He stared at his hands.
Didn't call home.
Didn't want to see Teo's face in this place.
Hours passed.
The guard changed shifts.
Still no one came.
Scene 5 — The Visitors
Footsteps.
Then a door opened.
Three men in dark suits stepped in — clean, old-fashioned, silent.
They didn't look at Kenta first. They looked at the guard.
Words passed, quiet and sharp.
A signature.
A nod.
The key turned.
Guard: "You're free to go."
Kenta blinked.
Kenta: "There's been a mistake?"
Guard: "Guess someone fixed it."
The men waited by the exit.
Rain still fell outside, thick and cold.
A black car waited with its engine running.
Scene 6 — The Ride
The back seat smelled like cigarettes and rain.
No one talked for the first minute.
The city passed in reflections — sodium lamps, wet glass, empty intersections.
Finally, the man in front spoke.
Leader: "You handled that well."
Kenta: "Didn't have much choice."
Leader: "Most people talk too much when they're afraid."
Kenta: "Guess I ran out of things to say."
The man glanced at him through the mirror.
Something in Kenta's stillness made him pause.
Leader: "You remind me of someone."
Kenta didn't answer.
He looked out the window.
Rain traced the glass.
Leader: "It's a good thing."
The rest of the ride was silent — only the hum of the road and the weight of something unspoken.
End of Episode 8 — "The Night Run."