Scar on the Praeter (プレイタの傷)

Tokyo's Akatsuki Special Ward.

A community forsaken by its country.

Here, beyond the reach of law, the town saw

a steady influx of arms and contraband.

Caught up in the conflict between corporations

seeking to monopolize this trade,

many residents sought refuge outside Akatsuki's borders.

Even so, the orphans of war,

and those unable to survive on the outside

continue to scrape by in this lawless district.

But Akatsuki had its hero.

Despite being abandoned by the state,

Akatsuki Ward manages itself, just like any other town.

The seediest part is called B1.

A dangerous place where outcasts, criminals,

and those too poor to live anywhere else end up.

And that's where we live.

Huh?

Hey, I'm home.

Welcome back, big bro.

Guess what? They ended up giving me

a big discount on the groceries.

Every bit helps.

That's no surprise.

It's their way of thanking you

for all the help you've given them.

Protecting people is what I do.

Plus, they already paid me for my services.

But it's still nice of them to help us out like this.

I appreciate it.

Things are tough here.

Scraping by in B1 is pretty hard to say the least.

Everyone needs food, a roof over their heads.

Other essentials, too.

I just feel like I'm always depending on you

for all of that.

So if there's anything I can do...

Minato.

I'm counting on you.

Why don't you start by making us dinner?

We can't eat out of the can. That'd be real boring.

Are you going out on a job?

Yeah.

Be careful, then!

Help me!

Nobody's gonna come help you, runt.

Everyone in B1 are squatters from the outside.

They're hiding out here cause they got nowhere else to go.

Um. Who are you?

I'm Yamato Kai.

You're okay. Can I give you a hand there?

Those guys, they weren't from around here.

It's all right.

Once you hide out here in B-1,

they'll never be able to find you again, I promise.

Is that...?

Two revolvers.

A Cerberus tattoo.

The Hero of Akatsuki, Eiji Arashiba.

What's wrong?

You a fan?

All right, then.

I never really wanted to become famous, but here we are.

No choice, I guess.

Why don't we make a trade.

My autograph... in exchange for the kid.

No can do.

Huh?

Ugh.

Tat was close!

I didn't see that coming.

You're good.

Nice shot.

Got me again.

That's all you got?

Now that's more like it!

This's been fun!

Playtime's over.

He really is the Hero of Akatsuki.

Well, well. Looks like you win this one.

Did you come at me just so the kid could make a break for it?

You were the smokescreen that gave the little guy his chance.

That was the plan, I've always wanted to see

how we'd stack up. It wasn't even close.

Lucky you then.

But looks like we both wanted the same thing.

Were you also trying to save that kid?

Hm?

Yeah.

This guy asked me to rescue his son.

Said he'd been kidnapped.

Turns out the kid's pretty clever.

When I found him, he saw his chance and ran. Smart.

I'm really glad that we we're both on the same side.

You said you wanted to fight me, didn't you?

Even if we're not enemies, we can still fight.

You got an interesting point there.

So, uh, what's your name, fanboy?

It's Yamato Kai.

I really look up to Akatsuki's hero.

No, more like to you. I just wanted to say that.

Take care, fanboy!

Wow! You fought Eiji Arashiba!

Yeah. He was tough.

Of course he was tough.

You can't just fight anyone and everyone, you know.

He's got a divine tattoo, right?

The kind that only the Scard have?

Guns are useless against them.

Even the mafia stays out of their way.

I'm sorry that I'm always making you worry.

If you really mean that,

then just try to be more careful next time.

Eiji Arashiba.

Huh?

You got to talk to him. What is he like in person?

He's the Hero of the Akatsuki Conflict.

And the protector of this town.

That's what I used to think.

But now? Meeting him was

even more amazing than I even imagined.

Don't forget he also leads Helios,

the team that helps him protect the people of this town.

They also saved us back then.

What's that?

It's his cafe's card.

He runs it with the other two members of Helios, apparently.

When I told him about you, he said we should stop by sometime.

Hi, guys.

Welcome back.

Hey.

Sure took your sweet time, Big Bro.

You made a detour, didn't you?

I did, and now I'm hungry.

Make me something good, Kazuma.

Make it yourself!

I'm busy covering your shift.

And what's so wrong with that? No customers.

But see, that's the problem.

Plus Kagami's no help, either.

Ugh. Tsk, just don't expect me to make you anything fancy.

I'm looking forward to my coffee later, too.

Don't get ahead of yourself.

Seems as though someone had a good day.

Huh?

Oh, I just met this really strange guy.

That child, when his family asked for help,

did they mention they were hiding out here?

An organization on the outside was putting the squeeze on them.

And even threatened their lives.

So, they had no choice but to brave the journey

and seek shelter here in Akatsuki.

No low-lifes in the outside can try anything funny

in the special ward with teams like ours protecting it.

But wait wasn't the boy abducted before they got to Akatsuki?

Yeah, he was.

But I still took the job, went to get the kid.

And that's where you ran into the really strange guy

you mentioned, isn't it?

Yeah.

Funny enough, he was there trying to save the kid like me.

Even though no one asked him for his help.

'Cause of that, we ended up fighting each other.

He challenged you to a fight?

He knew that you had the tattoo

and still fought you anyway?

Well, well, was he a Scard?

Nope, the guy did not have a tattoo.

What? Is he stupid?

Mmm. Looks delish.

He was fighting you of all people.

Eiji Arashiba.

The most powerful Scard there is.

Don't tell me that he didn't even know that much.

He might be stupid.

He knew me and didn't hesitate at all.

What?

I'm gonna dig in.

Anyway, 's pretty interesting, right?

Also, he fought to win.

Even acted as a shield so the kid could

have a chance to get away.

Actually, since the kiddo managed to escape,

I guess he won that round.