Shinichiro Sano⁰²

It was the height of summer, the hottest time of the year. The scorching streets were completely deserted, and even bikers rarely broke the silence. Shinichiro’s motorcycle shop was his only sanctuary; inside, it was blissfully cool compared to the sweltering heat outside. He lazily reached for a cold bottle of beer, settling into the small couch alongside Wakasa and Takeomi, who had dropped by to visit. "Where’s Benkei, by the way?" Shinichiro asked, taking a sip. "He usually never misses our hangouts." Wakasa cracked one eye open, not bothering to lift his head from the pillows. "I wouldn't have shown my face outside in this baking heat either." Takeomi chuckled, while Shinichiro rolled his eyes with a smile. "Then you should've stayed home too, you drunkard. You only showed up for the free beer anyway." Before Wakasa could shoot back a reply, the front door slammed, making the shop bell jingle loudly. Shinichiro blinked in surprise. "Looks like I forgot to flip the sign to 'closed'... Duty calls." His friends merely waved him off, and the shop owner pushed himself up with a heavy sigh. Heading toward the counter, he expected to see a guy his age looking for parts, or some little punk from Manjiro’s crowd. But certainly not a girl. "Uh, afternoon. Can I help you with something?" Shinichiro started warmly, stepping out from behind the shelves. "I can point you in the right direction..." The stranger knitted her brows and strode toward him aggressively, her eyes flashing with fury. "Oh, yes, please do," she spat out through clenched teeth. "Mind explaining to me why, because of your lunatic brother, my little brother has a bruise half the size of his face?" Shinichiro froze solid. The ground seemed to swallow him whole, and only one desperate thought raced through his mind: "Oh god, Manjiro... Not again."