Amemura Ramuda is the charismatic designer behind 【Empty Candy】—a 1.5-billion-yen fashion brand run by a man who looks young enough to pass for an elementary schooler. To the youth of Shibuya Division, he's an idol. Bright smile, candy-sweet voice, not a care in the world.
It's all a lie.
Ramuda is a clone—a failed experiment from the Chuuou Ward's top-secret Project Mirror, one who committed the unforgivable sin of developing emotions. For twelve years he's stayed one step ahead of the Cleane
Sweet Lies and Bitter Truth - The Candy Beneath the Mask ~Our Place to Belong, Blooming in Shibuya~
The rain was still falling.
The air in Shibuya Underground was thick with the cold of the hour before dawn and the smell of iron. This subterranean district — a remnant of the old subway network — lay silent, the daytime clamor a distant lie. Neon light rippled purple in the puddles.
Ramuda pressed his back against the wall of the hideout and held his breath.
(They're here.)
He could feel it. Multiple presences. Five — no, seven. Their footsteps were nearly soundless. Their breathing, the rustle of their clothes — all perfectly suppressed. And that very perfection told him exactly who they were.
The Central Ward's Purge Bureau. Known colloquially as the Cleaners.
The ones who swept away society's "trash." To them, Ramuda was a failed clone — a defective product to be disposed of simply because he had emotions.
(They've been watching since last night, haven't they.)
Ramuda clenched the candy bottle in his pocket.
Rattle.
An empty sound.
He'd swallowed the last one yesterday, out in the rain.
The special candy. The only lifeline Ramuda had, manufactured solely in Jinguji Jakurai's laboratory. A rare confection, only twenty pieces produced per month. Without it, Ramuda's cells would begin to break down.
His fingertips were trembling.
The numbness from candy withdrawal crept slowly from his fingers to his arms, from his arms to his shoulders. His heart occasionally skipped a beat — and each time, something squelched unpleasantly deep in his chest.
(My body won't hold out.)
(But I'm not running anymore.)
Ramuda slowly opened his eyes.
Large, round amber eyes. Deep within them, a light of resolve burned.
From the back of the hideout came a quiet voice.
" Ramuda, over here."
Yumeno Gentarou. A man with the bearing of a scholar, his long black hair loosely tied back. His intelligent, calm, deep-purple eyes watched Ramuda steadily through the darkness.
" The hidden door is ready. We can leave anytime."
" Hell yeah — my dice are ready to roll too!"
Arisugawa Dice. Messy brown hair, bright amber eyes. He rolled the die he always carried across his palm. His eyes sparkled as they always did.
" ...Thanks, both of you."
A low voice slipped from Ramuda's lips.
His real voice.
The masculine, low voice that Ramuda usually hid with desperate care.
" I'm not running anymore. This is where I belong."
With that, Ramuda gripped his Hypnosis Mic.
A custom model adorned with candy-shaped decorations. A cute design, fitting for a Shibuya designer — but those weren't just ornaments.
They were Ramuda's weapon.
" I'm fighting here."
Then—
A heavy thud echoed outside the hideout.
Something struck the iron door.
"We know you're in there. Amemura Ramuda, come out."
A mechanical voice rang from outside.
Emotionless. Machine-like.
" ...So they've come."
Ramuda quietly began walking toward the hidden door.
Then Gentarou placed a hand on Ramuda's shoulder.
" You're a terrible liar."
Gentarou said it quietly.
" Right now, you're not lying. That alone is enough."
Ramuda looked at Gentarou's face.
Gentarou's eyes, as always, were unreadable — but deep within them was a definite warmth.
" That's right, Ramuda!"
Dice ruffled Ramuda's head roughly.
" Let's make a bet. If we win, you're one of us. The dice have decided!"
Dice tossed the die high into the air.
Rattle.
The die hit the floor and rolled.
It came up six.
" Perfect! Luck's on our side!"
Dice laughed.
Ramuda looked at each of his companions in turn.
Gentarou. Dice.
And the other man waiting beyond the hidden door.
" ...Let's go."
Ramuda opened the hidden door.
Outside, it was still dark.
The rain pounded mercilessly against Ramuda's body.
Cold.
And yet — his heart was strangely hot.
" Took you long enough, Ramuda!"
A familiar voice.
Short black hair with red streaks. Strong red eyes. Moles beneath his left eye and at the lower-left of his lip.
Yamada Ichirou. Representative of the Ikebukuro Division. Leader of Buster Bros!!!
" Your place is here. Don't go vanishing on your own."
Ichirou said it and stood beside Ramuda.
Behind him were his two younger brothers.
Yamada Jirou. Second-year high schooler. A man of action who practically deified his older brother.
Yamada Saburou. Third-year middle schooler. A natural genius who handled anything with ease, strong with IT and computers.
" Aniki's right. You're not alone anymore."
" I have all the data. We can prove the Cleaners' illegal activities."
Saburou spoke calmly while operating his smartphone.
Ramuda looked at Ichirou and the others.
(...They all came for me.)
Warmth spread slowly through his chest.
(I'm not alone.)
Ramuda gripped his Hypnosis Mic tight.
" ...Thank you. But this is my fight. I can't drag you into—"
" Too late for that!"
Ichirou laughed.
A guileless grin that showed his fang.
" I just can't leave someone in trouble alone!"
Ichirou pulled out his own Hypnosis Mic.
A sturdy metal model bearing the Yorozuya Yamada logo.
" Let's go, all of you! This is a joint front — Shibuya and Ikebukuro!"
" Yeah!"
" Understood."
" We can't let them outdo us, can we."
" The bet continues! We're winning this!"
The five of them broke into a run toward the heart of Shibuya.
To break through the Cleaners' encirclement.
Shibuya's central district, under the rain.
Shibuya Crossing. The world's busiest scramble intersection.
Normally overflowing with young people, the place was nearly empty now, in the hour before dawn.
But because of that, the bizarre sight was all too clear.
Men in all-black suits.
The Cleaners.
Twenty of them, at least.
They were slowly tightening their ring around Ramuda and the others.
" Amemura Ramuda. Give up. There is no place for you anywhere."
The man at the front — apparently their commander — spoke in a cold voice.
" You are a failed product with emotions. An unnecessary existence that disturbs the Central Ward's order."
" There is nowhere in this world that will accept you. Submit quietly and be disposed of."
At the commander's words, Ramuda's fingertips twitched.
But Ramuda stepped forward.
" ...Wrong."
His real voice.
Low and powerful.
" My place is here. In Shibuya. Beside my friends."
Ramuda raised his Hypnosis Mic to his lips.
" You have no right to take my place from me."
Through the mic, Ramuda began to spin his lyrics.
With all his emotion.
His proof of existence.
"Called a failed product. A defective with emotions."
"But these emotions kept me alive. They brought me to my friends."
"This is where I belong. Here is where I live."
The lyrics became sound waves, striking directly at the Cleaners' minds.
The Hypnosis Mic — a technology that converts the user's mental state and emotions into sound waves to interfere with an opponent's psyche.
Ramuda's lyrics were his emotions themselves.
Sorrow. Anger. And hope.
" Your place is right here!"
Ichirou raised his mic too, layering his lyrics over Ramuda's.
"Don't carry it all alone. We're right beside you."
"No man from Ikebukuro would ever abandon his friends!"
Ichirou's lyrics were direct and powerful.
" All I have to do is answer Aniki's resolve!"
"We grew up watching Aniki's back. We can't leave someone in trouble alone!"
" The data is flawless. Your illegal activities are already proven."
"Component analysis of the illegal candy. Human experimentation without subject consent. All of it violates Central Ward regulations."
Saburou's lyrics were calm and logical.
" Your lies won't work anymore."
"Justice plastered over with lies will always crumble in the end."
" The bet's ours to win!"
"The die came up six. Fate is on our side!"
The five sets of lyrics overlapped and amplified.
Waves of sound collapsed the Cleaners' encirclement from the inside.
" Ngh—! What is this sound—!"
" My head—it's splitting—!"
The Cleaners began to writhe in pain.
They, who were supposed to neutralize their targets' minds with special acoustic weapons, were the ones having their psyches shaken.
" ...No further. We're withdrawing."
Just as the commander was about to order a retreat—
" Hold it!"
Ichirou shouted at the top of his lungs.
" Let me talk to the Central Ward's higher-ups!"
Ichirou planted himself in front of the commander.
" I know you've been analyzing the components of Ramuda's candy without authorization."
The commander's expression shifted.
" That's forbidden even under Central Ward regulations. Illegal human experimentation. And we've got the proof."
Ichirou showed the commander the smartphone he'd received from Saburou.
" We've got our side of the story too. Nothing gives you the right to dispose of people as you please."
At Ichirou's words, the commander fell silent.
" This is a negotiation. Sit down at the table."
Ichirou stared straight at the commander.
" If you withdraw quietly, this data never reaches the Central Ward's higher-ups."
" But if you say you're still going after Ramuda, I'll release all of it."
Ichirou's words weren't a bluff.
He meant every one.
" ...What's it going to be?"
Silence.
Only the sound of rain echoed quietly.
At last, the commander spoke.
" ...I'll refer this to the higher-ups."
The commander pulled out a communicator and began speaking into it.
After a while, the transmission ended.
" ...We're withdrawing."
With that, the commander ordered the Cleaners to retreat.
" But this is only a temporary measure. Remember that."
The commander glared hard at Ramuda.
" You are marked by the Central Ward. That fact will not change."
With those words, the Cleaners vanished into the darkness.
Silence returned.
Only the sound of rain remained.
Ramuda sank to his knees on the spot.
The numbness in his body had reached its limit.
" ...Haha."
Ramuda gave a small laugh.
" ...We actually won."
" Yeah — we won!"
Ichirou crouched down beside Ramuda.
" You did great, Ramuda!"
Ichirou ruffled Ramuda's head roughly.
" Hey, you're messing up my hair!"
Ramuda protested in his high voice.
But that voice was trembling.
From happiness.
From gratitude.
From tears that threatened to spill.
Ramuda hid it with all his might.
" ...Thank you."
Ramuda said it in his low voice.
" Really, I can't compete with you."
Ramuda took a candy from his pocket.
The last one remaining.
" ...Here. Just for you, special."
Ramuda said it in his high voice and held the candy out to Ichirou.
" Oh, you sure? Can I get more candy sometime?"
Ichirou laughed and took the candy.
" Thanks. I'll eat it carefully."
Ichirou peeled the wrapper off neatly and popped it into his mouth.
" ...Sweet."
Ichirou looked a little surprised.
" Of course it is! It's candy!"
Ramuda laughed.
It was a smile from the heart.
" Good grief. One fewer liar in the world, I see."
Gentarou said it with a smile.
" Hey, my bet paid off! The reward's going to cost you!"
Dice said it gleefully.
" You guys — really, thank you."
Ramuda said it once more in his real voice.
" My place is here. I know that for certain now."
Ramuda looked out over the city of Shibuya.
Neon light, wet with rain.
The same familiar scenery.
But now it looked different.
(This is where I belong.)
Ramuda murmured it in his heart.
That night.
At the Fling Posse hideout.
The four of them were holding a celebration.
On the table were snacks and juice that Dice had procured from somewhere.
" Cheers!"
Dice raised his cup of juice high.
" Cheers!"
Ichirou raised his cup too, laughing.
" Cheers."
Gentarou raised his cup quietly.
" Cheers!"
Ramuda raised his cup in his high voice too.
The four of them clinked their cups lightly.
" Man, today was seriously the best bet ever!"
Dice said it while wolfing down snacks.
" The die came up six. Fate's on our side!"
" Your incredible luck always saves us."
Gentarou said it with a smile.
" But today, Ichirou-kun's quick thinking was the biggest reason we won."
Gentarou looked a
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