Celty rode her motorcycle, carrying Hojou Kyousuke as they sped down the road. They quickly reached the Ikebukuro Line.
Although the black rope that had bound them was undone by Celty once it touched the ground, Kyousuke's grip around her waist didn't loosen.
Despite Celty's slim waist, he could distinctly feel the muscle beneath.
It wasn't the sharp definition of abs, but the smooth curve of her side, even making it so that his pinky finger brushed against her "mermaid line" further down.
"That's the group up ahead. Slow down a bit," Kyousuke said.
As they made the turn onto the highway, he noticed Satoshi Katagiri and his crew.
All their motorcycles had their lights on, and people were gathered in small groups chatting.
If Celty continued at this speed, the gang might think she was provoking them.
"Katagiri!" Kyousuke shouted loudly.
With his powerful voice, the noise of the gang was immediately silenced.
"Is that the boss's voice?" Satoshi Katagiri jumped off his bike and walked toward the direction of the voice.
"That's...?"
The familiar all-black motorcycle, the cute yellow cat helmet... "Dullahan!"
The people from the Kaikyuu branch recognized her and were immediately surprised.
"No way, the boss actually took down the urban legend!"
"Are you serious? Did the boss actually catch Dullahan?"
"Damn it, I told you to wear your glasses. That's Dullahan riding the bike, and the boss is sitting behind her!"
The gang members started discussing amongst themselves, remembering the tasks their boss had assigned them earlier.
"Let's go, Celty. We'll head over together." Kyousuke said as he saw his gang recognize him.
He wasn't worried about his subordinates harming Celty, but he was afraid they might act unfriendly and spoil her impression of them.
"Are you sure? Won't they be scared when they see me?" Celty asked, looking nervous as they approached.
Though she had been living among humans for a long time, she mostly interacted with a select few, most of whom were also outliers, like her friend, Heiwajima Shizuo.
Celty was extremely anxious; she was about to meet so many fellow motorcycle enthusiasts!
"Ha ha, relax, Celty."
"Those guys, all you have to do is ride a lap with them, and you'll get to know them quickly."
"Don't be fooled by their tough appearance, they're surprisingly easy to get along with."
Listening to Kyousuke's words and feeling his strong hands on her waist, Celty gathered her courage and twisted the throttle to ride toward the group.
"Whoa, here they come! The boss really made Dullahan his exclusive ride!"
"So strong!"
As Celty got closer, the gang members got an even better view and were excited.
"Good evening, Boss!" they all greeted as soon as Celty stopped her bike.
Kyousuke jumped off the bike, barely steadying himself, and his gang immediately bowed and greeted him.
"Wow, this is what the leader of the delinquents looks like?" Celty was struck by how different the atmosphere here was from the Ikebukuro gang she knew.
She was amazed by this entirely different delinquent culture.
"Well, good evening, everyone." Kyousuke casually responded, noticing the way the gang members kept staring at Celty.
He quickly introduced her. "This is Celty, the strongest rider in Ikebukuro!"
"I'm not! I didn't— don't say that!" Celty quickly typed out a response.
"Hahaha, tonight the Ikebukuro bikers are all here. We'll find out who's the fastest soon enough!"
Kyousuke intentionally said that, knowing that his gang had a strong sense of competition and cared a lot about face.
A little bit of teasing would help them accept Celty as just a fellow rider, rather than the urban legend, Dullahan.
"Miss Celty, welcome to the Rampaging Angels meeting!"
"I'm Satoshi Katagiri from the Kaikyuu branch of the Rampaging Angels," said Satoshi Katagiri, a tall, broad-shouldered young man with a confident smile.
"Welcome to the Rampaging Angels meeting!" the Kaikyuu members yelled in unison.
"Thank you, everyone." Celty felt happy as she realized, just like Kyousuke said, that they had easily accepted her.
She quickly typed her thanks on her phone.
"Let's go. Makki told me they're waiting for us at the usual spot." Kyousuke checked his phone.
Because of the orders he gave earlier, his crew was waiting for updates.
Just a moment ago, one of the Kaikyuu members had posted a photo of Celty riding her motorcycle, which set off a wave of excitement among Kyousuke's subordinates, who were all eager to meet him.
These guys... he would have to make sure they never took photos of him again.
The idea of a picture of him with a girl being leaked, especially if one of those photos ended up in the hands of another girl, was something he didn't even want to imagine.
"Celty, let's go. Just follow behind them. We've got other friends waiting for us." Kyousuke put his arm back around her waist again.
He couldn't help but appreciate how good it felt to hold her.
"There are more people?" Celty asked, surprised.
There were already more than fifty people in the Kaikyuu branch, and she hadn't expected that to be just a fraction of the whole group.
"Haha, there are about three times as many waiting ahead."
"Celty is so cute!' Kyousuke leaned his face against Celty's neck, thinking about how he hadn't felt any trace of a bra there.
Could it be that her clothes were made from the black mist emanating from her body? If that's true, Celty would be…
He paused and then asked, "Celty, without a head, how do you sense the outside world?"
Though her bike, Shirata, could run by itself, Celty still held the handlebars with both hands, afraid of traffic cops, and used the black mist to type a response on the pad.
"The black mist from my body lets me sense the outside world. It can also change shape to do anything I need, just like you saw before."
"I've got a question. Since that's the case, why not let the black mist help you talk?"
"Talk!? But I don't have a head!"
"You know that sound comes from the vibration of objects, right?"
"…If I say I don't know, will you think I'm an idiot?"
"Hahaha!" Kyousuke couldn't help but laugh.
"You really think I'm an idiot!"
"No, no. It's fine. You never had compulsory education, so it's understandable," Kyousuke quickly reassured her.
"But have you ever thought about why phones and computers can make sounds?"
"They don't have heads either. If you used the black mist to create a phone, you could speak with it just like you wanted!"
Celty clearly wasn't well-versed in physics, so Kyousuke didn't continue explaining the science behind sound but used a simple example.
As for whether the black mist could mimic something so precise, well, couldn't she just create a simple sound device?
The black mist was completely under Celty's control, and she could easily manipulate the amplitude and frequency to produce any sound.
She could even become a voice actress, capable of making any voice she wanted, and even surround sound—360-degree audio was no problem. Imagine that…
Kyousuke couldn't help but feel a little excited at the thought.
"Wow, there's actually a way to do that? Why didn't Shinra ever…?"
Right. He liked non-human beings. Just like he had said earlier, he thought that the way she was now was perfect.
For him, Celty, who couldn't talk and had to rely on a pad to communicate, fit the kind of non-human he loved.
"Alright, we'll figure that out later. For now, let's enjoy the ride!" Kyousuke said as he noticed Celty's sudden change in mood.
Without saying anything, Celty accelerated, and Kyousuke immediately leaned closer to her.
The Kaikyuu members saw only a blur of black mist as they zoomed past.
"Speed up, guys! Otherwise, Ikebukuro's fastest name will be stolen!"
Hearing the roar of engines from behind, Kyousuke knew that Celty was excited too, as the black mist around her neck swirled even faster.