Episode 2: "Buy One, Break One"
[Scene: Late afternoon. Inside the bookstore. Toma is nervously stacking manga. Yui reads a light novel upside down. Rei restocks shelves with military precision.]
Yui(without looking up):You're alphabetizing My Hero Academia by quirks again.
Toma(panicking):I-I thought that's what the customers wanted!
Rei(flatly):Customers want peace. And spines facing the right direction.
[Door opens. A tall woman steps in. Cool gaze. High heels. Black trench coat. Case in hand. Her eyes lock onto Rei.]
Woman(smiling faintly):This place has a strange aura. Smells like ink and regret.
Yui(eyebrow raised):Welcome. You here for books or blood?
Woman(chuckles):Both.
[She steps forward. Drops the case. Snaps it open—inside, a sleek sniper rifle and a faded photo of Rei.]
Toma(freezes):Wait—what is that?!
Yui(sips tea calmly):Oh. We're doing this today?
Rei(quietly to Toma):You break it, you clean it.
Toma:I-I'm not built for this—
[The woman lunges—kicking a bookshelf toward Rei. It crashes down. Rei ducks, slides forward, and palms a thick hardcover — slams it into her shin mid-spin.]
[She grunts, rolls back, snaps the rifle together in a blink.]
Woman(focused):Still fast. That's good. I hate boring targets.
[She fires. The bullet misses Rei by inches, splintering a "Staff Picks" sign. Toma screams. Yui doesn't blink.]
Yui(mildly):That was laminated, you psycho.
[Rei vanishes for a second — then reappears behind her, holding the barrel of the rifle. Calm.]
Rei(quietly):No guns in the store.
[He disassembles the rifle in three swift moves. Drops the pieces into the donation box.]
Woman(panting):You're out of the game, Specter. But your bounty's still in play.
Rei(deadpan):Then aim better.
[Woman is seated in a chair. Hands tied with book tape. Toma applies ice to her leg.]
Toma(whispers):You tried to kill him. Why are you still breathing?
Yui(leaning on counter):Rei's got a thing now. No killing, just character development.
Rei(shelving calmly):She broke two shelves and a staff pick sign.
[He points to a sign on the wall: "Break it = Buy it."]
Rei:She'll be working the weekend shift.
Woman(growls):This is humiliating.
Yui(grins):Nah. You should've seen the last guy. He cried while mopping.
[Outside the shop. A sleek black car idles. Inside, a figure in a white suit watches the shop through binoculars. His phone buzzes.]
"Second attempt failed. Specter still active."
Figure(smiling coldly):Then it's my turn.
Next Episode: "The Man in White"