Sugar

Hey, you're here.

Sugar walks in, casually tossing her two shotguns onto the couch.

Yeah, just now.

I get up and make two fresh cups of coffee.

How'd the job go?

Sugar is covered in dust.

Looks like it was a rough one.

Sugar takes a sip of coffee, and the tension leaves her body.

Sorry, I've just been really busy.

Yeah. Got another job?

Then let's go together. Where are we going?

Been getting lots of requests from there lately.

Before long, Sugar finishes her coffee and gets up.

Sugar grabs a helmet and tosses it to me.

I catch it, tuck it under my arm, and pull my gloves out of a drawer.

It's been a while since we went for a night ride.

You call those complaints...? Those were basically letters full of curses.

If this were a fantasy world, I'd probably be dead from all the curses by now.

And your weapon?

Sugar thinks it over for a moment before speaking seriously.

It kind of fits...

but also kind of doesn't...

Speaking of battle axes, that reminds me of something.

You still have that keychain?

Sugar pulls out her keys.

Hanging from the key ring are the key to the Black Typhoon, a remote starter,

and a small axe-shaped keychain.

Hold on, is that...?

The axe-shaped keychain is stained with reddish marks...

That's not real blood... right?

...

Sugar looks down at her keychain.

You mean Tall Uncle?

If I remember right, you were taken hostage back then. That must've been rough, huh?

The problem was that you were the only one who knew about the plan.

Sugar stares at her keychain for a moment.

I catch the keys Sugar tosses over.

We're riding together?

Sugar glances to the side and slowly blinks twice.

She sounds as cool as ever, but now I can tell.

... All right.

That's a habit Sugar has whenever she plays dumb. She probably doesn't even realize she does it.

MK3?

Huh? Why?

Well, that explains it.

I press the remote starter attached to the keychain.

The familiar sound of an engine rumbles from somewhere in the distance.

It's an MK1.

After getting ready, I meet up with Sugar in the Ark.

You didn't load incendiary rounds instead of suppression rounds again like last time, did you?

Yeah, sucks for the guy whose hair and eyebrows got burned clean off.

I unzip the duffel bag loaded onto Black Typhoon and give the guns and ammo packed inside a quick check.

Again?

But why me of all people? Why not you?

Was that when you beat everyone with your bare hands?

Really? We've done so many jobs together, it's hard to keep track.

I slip my handgun into the duffel bag and zip it shut.

As Sugar starts up Black Typhoon, the keychain dangling from the key jingles softly.

I lower my helmet visor.

Yeah.

A short while later, somewhere in the Outer Rim...

In an empty lot between rundown buildings, tension hangs heavy between us and a group of rough-looking thugs.

...

I look away from the thug. We were never going to accept his terms anyway.

Sugar looks at me.

She doesn't so much as give me a sign or move her lips.

But...

...

That's all I needed.

In a flash, Sugar whips out her shotgun and fires at the thug she'd been talking to.

At the same time, I dive behind the nearest cover.

A firefight breaks out in an instant.

Since I came unarmed, I don't even have a pistol on me.

From behind cover, I call out to Sugar over the gunfire.

Sugar!

Throw me a gun!

The cover in front of me shudders under a barrage of gunfire.

They're using live ammo!

Of course I'll di...

Well, maybe not die, but it's gonna hurt!

Sugar keeps firing and reloading as she walks toward the parked Black Typhoon.

I catch the gun that comes flying at me. Wait, no...

... This is Super Sweetie!

I can't shoot this thing. The recoil's way too strong!

This isn't about being weak. My arm's going to break!

Sugar tosses me the shotgun she'd been firing, Cold Zeal.

Cold Zeal and Super Sweetie cross paths in midair.

Phew...

I grab Cold Zeal, rack the pump, and eject a spent shell.

Let's do this.

I lean slightly out from cover and pull the trigger.

While the enemies are still reeling, I dash for cover and drop into a slide.

As I skid across the ground, I level the shotgun.

I've used Sugar's shotgun plenty of times before.

The recoil is heavy, but nothing I can't handle.

And then there's Super Sweetie in Sugar's hands...

Even Sugar doesn't point Super Sweetie directly at the thugs.

Instead, their cover vanishes under a hail of gunfire, and the shabby back alley is gradually stripped bare.

With the thugs left exposed, Sugar's other beloved weapon, a double-barreled shotgun, spits fire.

Catching the shotgun Sugar tosses me, I ram in two shotgun shells and finish reloading in an instant.

... I load another shell and toss it back to Sugar.

While Sugar lays down cover fire, I feed shells into Cold Zeal and scan the area.

Looks like this'll be over soon.

We've been through this too many times to count.

Out of sheer habit, Sugar and I cut down the enemies closing in on us.

A short while later...

The fight is over in no time, and we tie up the groaning thugs.

Sugar pulls out a couple of snack sticks, slips one between her lips, and offers me the other.

What's with the snack stick?

Fair enough.

I take the snack stick and hold it between my teeth, then dust off my hair and clothes.

Then, a figure emerges.

The man collapses before he can even scream.

You should've at least let him say, "Well, if it isn't Sugar from Cafe Sweety."

I sort through the duffel bag while munching on my snack stick.

Yeah, one more time would've made it ten.

Just don't forget next time...

At that moment...

!!

As I turn, I see the man who'd gone down propping himself up and pointing a handgun our way. Smoke curls from the barrel.

I quickly check myself over. No gunshot wounds.

Instead...

Sugar!

Sugar, who's standing beside me, collapses to the ground.

The moment the man gets back up,

more thugs emerge from seemingly nowhere, surrounding us and training their guns on us.

You were shot... so how are you still alive?

The man proudly puffs out his chest.

The man holds up the gun he just used to shoot Sugar.

Uh... Right, thanks for explaining that.

All the while, the thugs surrounding us keep their guns trained on us in silence.

They're clearly different from the ones we took down earlier.

... You're not going to kill me?

The boss advances at a slow, steady pace.

I raise my hands and slowly back away.

So you're letting me go for now?

...

You do realize I'm going to come back with my friends and wipe you all out, right?

The man prods Sugar's face with his foot as she lies unconscious.

...!

The man smiles in satisfaction.

... What do you want?

If it's money you want, name your price... Huh?

Okay, but...

Why supplies?

...

... I'm sorry, what?

As the man launches into a passionate speech, the surrounding thugs nod along in agreement.

...

Watching the man bellow with laughter, I briefly wonder if we should just leave him alone and let the whole thing sort itself out.

Then Sugar comes to and opens her eyes.

Sugar starts to sit up, then gives up and slumps back down.

The man tosses a USB drive my way.

Once the thugs are gone and their booming laughter finally fades away, I turn my attention to the list.

It's meticulously organized, with all the required supplies neatly cataloged and even arranged by priority...

For a bunch of thugs, they're surprisingly diligent... Hm?

I spot something where Sugar had collapsed.

What's this...?

I pick up the key to Black Typhoon.

...

... The same one hanging from the keychain I gave her.

Yeah, I need your help.

Both Milk and Frima react just as I expected.

...

I'm serious. She really got taken hostage.

Well...

I start explaining the situation to Milk and Frima... Only to realize Frima's already drifted back to sleep.

Anyway, I fill them in on what's going on.

Yeah, he said he's gonna go up to the surface and become the god of a new world.

Yeah, but I can't just leave her out there.

She's my partner.

After a long silence, Milk suddenly kicks Frima.

Milk squeezes her eyes shut.

But I know where they are.

I pull out the USB drive the man gave me.

These coordinates point to the surface.

It's near the elevator connected to the Outer Rim.

Milk gives me a sidelong look.

When we make our move, Sugar will be ready and waiting to back us up.

I just do.

When they took her, she dropped this.

I bought it for her after that job where she deliberately let herself be taken hostage.

Anyway, you'll help, right?

Milk forcibly drags Frima away.

Yeah, let's take the elevator instead of going through the Outer Rim.

I'll lead the way.

And when we get there...

...

The area is strewn with the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Frima points to a spot on the floor from where she's lying.

Hang on...

We crouch down and scan what's ahead.

So that's what they call themselves.

Milk approaches one of the tied-up men.

Milk prods the man with her foot.

...

The other men aren't faring any better.

...

The man who spoke to us sits amid the rubble.

With his hands still bound, he lifts a stone to his lips as if taking a sip of coffee.

...

Without waiting for a response, the man starts talking on his own.

The man points beyond the building.

I listen closely and catch the faint sound of gunfire in the distance.

... Let's go.

Milk, Frima, and I quickly head toward it.

From the cover of the ruins,

we watch the battle unfold...

Without a word, Sugar takes down the thugs with one of their own guns, deliberately targeting their arms and legs.

... I've got something for this.

I pull a key from my pocket.

Yeah, it's the key to Black Typhoon.

MK1 is, yeah.

I press a button on the remote starter and slip on a pair of sunglasses.

An engine roars to life from the elevator we came up in...

Soon, a bike rockets into the air.

Without a doubt, every thug's gaze snaps toward it.

After all, no one can look away from the dazzling white motorcycle as it leaps high into the sky with a thunderous roar.

And then...

A burst of light as brilliant as the sun erupts from Black Typhoon... No,

Black Typhoon MK8,

also known as White Typhoon.

I take off the sunglasses and draw Sugar's shotgun, Cold Zeal.

The thugs are exactly as expected, writhing on the floor with their hands over their eyes.

All right, let's go save our partner.

The fight ended almost anticlimactically.

The thugs had already lost the will to fight... Actually, that's not quite right. They were simply blinded.

They couldn't put up any resistance as we tied them up.

Milk and Frima headed back first, dragging the captured thugs behind them.

Watching them go, I found myself thinking, "Spend enough time around Sugar, and you really do turn into her."

... A thought that left me feeling oddly uneasy.

I plop down beside Sugar, who's sitting on the rubble.

For someone saying that, you look like you've had a pretty rough time.

Sugar is battered, covered in scrapes and dust.

Seriously? Just how hardworking are these guys...?

Here, you dropped this.

I toss her keys to Sugar.

If you lose it again, it's on you.

Sugar catches it and chuckles softly.

You mean the second time you got kidnapped and rescued?

This time, I crack a smile.

Sugar looks at her keys.

Alongside the axe-shaped charm hangs a handgun round with a red-painted bullet tip.

I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to give you a little gift every now and then.

It's the custom stun round that knocked you out. I took it from the boss.

If you get taken hostage one more time, this whole area's going to be leveled.

Sugar tightens her grip on her keys.

With a slight grin, I gather Sugar into my arms.

You're talking like it's a given that I'd turn into some kind of beast...

Yeah, I can't argue with that.

We slowly make our way toward the elevator.

Yeah?

I'd love to, but we're not in the right position.

Still in my arms, Sugar lifts herself slightly and presses her lips to mine.

The scent of coffee lingers on her breath.

Yeah, never thought I'd be a problem-solver for this long.

All right, all right.

Next time you go on another secret mission, I'll come save you sooner.

That's right.

...

I look down at Sugar,

and she looks back at me.

She doesn't so much as give me a sign or move her lips.

But...

... Sugar.

Wanna kiss?

Sugar's gaze shifts slightly to the side.

Then she slowly blinks twice.

Really? Then what if I lean in?

The sweet taste of Sugar Coffee lingers on my tongue.

... This isn't really the kind of kiss you'd want to share in public, is it?

Instead of answering, Sugar presses a button on her remote starter.

Looks like Black Typhoon got pretty badly damaged.