Chapter 44: Preparation
He arrived at Unit 3B, the Kuroda family’s cramped little apartment, and immediately knew the universe was finally cutting him a break for once.
No mom in the kitchen, no dad crashing on the couch after another graveyard shift, no sister lurking around to roast him for breathing wrong, and no brother— wait, he’s brother’s chill, so yeah.
It was just him, and the silence was perfect.
He made a beeline for his room, not bothering to drop his shoes by the door, and went straight to the closet.
Down at the bottom, under the pile of clothes he kept telling himself he’d fold someday, sat the prize: the helmet box.
The lid wasn’t even fully closed, just enough to let the matte black shell peek out, and it was lowkey tempting him to commit crimes.
Beside it was a neat little stack — black gloves, black fitted clothes, brand-new black boots, and the pièce de résistance, the all-black boxers. Because if you were going to vanish for a few days to do something questionable, you might as well look good while doing it.
His gaze flicked to the far side of the room where his backpack sat, and a grin spread across his face.
In the next blink, he was already in front of it, crouched, looking like a criminal that was about to commit backpack-related violence. And honestly, he probably would.
He unzipped it and started pulling out school supplies one by one with the delicate care of a museum curator handling ancient artifacts.
He wasn’t about to destroy his textbooks — not because of any academic pride, but because his broke ass couldn’t afford to replace them.
Once the bag was empty, he loaded it up with the gear, sliding the helmet in first, then layering the gloves, clothes, boxers, and boots on top.