Following the promise he made at the start of the day, Endo met with Izuru when classes ended, and after picking up Minami in their way, the three headed off to Ikebukuro, where they'd meet Risei at Cafe Holmes. Another reason Endo had to accomplish his side of the bargain was that the new Nijimura scared him and he would rather spend his time not be roundhouse kicked.

But then he went to the establishment owned by the guy who'd do that to any costumer if they said a swear word.

Endo is winning at life.

Now, the three stood in front of Cafe Holmes, looking at the beautifully hand carved oak sign that was above the door. Once again, the sign stealing phantom thief of Tokyo had yet to mark this place on his map.

"Now that I put some more thought into it... This can be done another day." Endo said. "Why don't we stop by one of those cafe places at the mall? I'm sure they have really good parfaits."

"Stop being a bitch and grow a pair, Endo." Minami deadpanned.

"I'm on her side here. Head inside or else I'll start yelling at how you're outside." Izuru threatened.

"You would not-"

"Yo, is this Heiwa's-!"

"Alright, be quiet!" Endo exclaimed, slapping Izuru's mouth shut. "Fine, I'll... I'll go inside."

"Great, you grew a pair! Too bad you'll never get to use it." Minami chuckled, looking at her father with a smug. That's a low blow.

"I assume that means you don't want me to remarry a second time, and if that is what you want, I won't do it. A good father must always strive for his daughter's happiness, so is said in 'How to Parent', chapter six."

"Wha- That's not what I- Dammit, you and you big mouth, Endo!"

Blushing, Minami barged into the cafe, followed by Izuru and Endo, the latter being slighty hidden behind Izuru by accident, because of their almost equal height.

Risei looked at the incoming group from behind the counter and scoffed, looking away from them with his arms crossed.

"So you almost get expelled and you think that is reason enough to not show up for work for almost an entire month! I'd have fired you if you weren't my only employee! I should demote you to underpaid employee for this!"

"I brought a- Wait demote me to underpaid?! You mean that the change you pay me can go even lower?! That's bull, I'd rather work for Ryuzaki and be paid in his version of change, I can at least put that into gacha and even enough for my needs!"

"Hearing you say that made me lose hope in humanity." Minami deadpanned, looking at Izuru with a flat stare. "But that's besides the point, we brought Endo here!"

"Oh please, as if I would believe such a basic-"

"Huh, hello there, Enomoto-san." Endo stuck his head out from behind Izuru and greeted his old friend with a small wave.

"...the heck...?"

The manager jumped over the counter and rapidly pushed Izuru out of the way. He looked closely at the man in front of him while rubbing his chin.

"Terrible hair taste as seen by curtains, check... Really awful fashion sense only rivaled by that idiot's, check..." Risei murmured.

"I can hear you!" Izuru deadpanned.

"And a head big enough to kept a giant airbag instead of a working brain... Check! This is really Maki-chan!"

"Ah? Who are you calling brainless, you runaway zoo ape?!" Endo asked.

"Maki-chan, my brother, at last your years of pretentious edge you disguised as wanting to change our old school have ended!" Risei exclaimed, tears flushing down his eyes. He pulled Endo into his arms and hugged him tightly. Maybe a bit too tight. "Rejoice... REJOOOOOOOOICE!"

"Let... G-go... Oxy... Low...!!!" Endo coughed, struggling to save his dear life.

"You know, he talked alot about how he regrets not coming to you sooner." Izuru said, a malicious grin spreading on his face.

"Yeah, isn't Endo such a good friend? You should hug him closer." Minami added on, also grinning.

"You're so right!!"

"No... You are... Not...!" The headmaster wheezed.

But because that moment couldn't last forever, no matter how much Izuru and Mimami wished for it, Risei let go of his precious best friend, who prepared to leave right away without saying anything.

"Where do you think you're going? We're not done yet." Izuru sighed.

"W-what? But we came in, we said hi, we can leave!"

"Without first buying and enjoying something? It's rude to come into an estabalishent just for that, you know? Not something a headmaster should do." Minami explained, glaring at her father. "Besides, me and Izu-kun have midterms coming up, so we'll be staying here to study. And now that Risei-san mentions it, Izu-kun had to skip work because of you, right? Then how about you repay the lost work and do a shift for him to apologize for all the horrible stuff you did to him?"

'Truly, your mind is that of an ephemeral genius, Minami.' Izuru thought, nodding. 'Or maybe not, I don't know what ephemeral means.'

"W-what?! That's absurd! It's absolute-!"

"Well then, guess you'll just have to go against what the wise book 'How to Parent' taught you. A father should aways fight for his daughter's happiness, right? I'd be really happy if you did this favour for Izu-kun." Grinning, Minami hugged Izuru's left arm. "Or are you admitting that Izu-kun is a much more dependable man than you? That's almost like just giving him my hand in marriage for buck free."

"Huh?!"

Endo's eyes widenned.

In the bottom of his dellusional mind, he started hearing wedding balls and saw the image of the future he least desired, one where his precious daughter married that good for nothing the world called Sawada Izuru.

"Give me an apron!"

"Huh, what?" Risei asked.

"GIVE ME A GODDAMN APRON, REIREI!"

Out of his blazer and into a black apron, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and with a white headband around his forehead to show his dedication to the task at hand, Endo stood behind the counter, staring at the wall behind the booth where Izuru and Minami sat by side while reviewing some crappy math.

"What's the job, Reirei?" Endo asked.

"We make coffee."

"What are the essentials?"

"Know how to make coffee."

"What are the requirements for the job?"

"Not break the coffee machine upon using for the first time- Like a certain someone!"

"I said I was sorry!" Izuru exclaimed.

"Sorry my ass! But anyway, let's head into the kitchen. You too, Izuru. I think I finally found a way to enhance that curry recipe you and your sensei gave me."

Izuru shivered. Taira's curry recipe was famous for destroying those who stood as kings in the world of spice tolerance. Among his victims were Ryuuga and Kaido, who let go of the world of spice after the horror Taira fed them.

"R-right..." Looking at Minami with a sleazy and unsure smile, Izuru began whispering. "Call the cops... And the paramedics... I leave all my cards to whoever wins in a cage match between Ban and a blonde gorilla."

Accepting his fate, Izuru bravely got up and followed the two men into the small kitchen behind the counter.

"Get some plates from that cupboard, Maki-chan. And get some rice out of the cooker, Izuru." Risei ordered, opening the tall pot where the death curry was.

"Y-yes sir..." Izuru weakly nodded and opened the rice cooker.

"Are you feeling well, Sawada-kun?" Endo asked.

"Y-yeah, for sure...!"

"Stop being a wuss, you brought this open yourself." The manager scoffed. "Oh by the way, I picked up the new sequel to that yakuza game you talked about. Really solid, but doesn't live up to the older ones."

"That's why reboots are a bad idea, no matter the game." Endo sighed. "Sometimes, I miss having skills on my starters."

"I'm with Endo on this one, just drawing one is boring and more flavourless than any rice I ever made. But still, glad you liked the game, games about the yakuza somehow beat the entire market, but for good reason."

"Agreed. I was a fan of them when I was younger, but I haven't acquired a new console for years." The headmaster explained.

And that's when those three, fans of games about the yakuza, reached the same terrible conclusion.

"Are you do- Eh?!" Minami asked, stepping into the kitchen.

The scene that stood before her was simple.

Izuru was holding down a cutting board.

Risei was holding Endo's arms to block him from escaping.

And Endo, with his hand on the cutting board, held a large knife above his pinky.

The three looked back at Minami, all carrying the same dark glares.

"This is the way." The three said.

"Wha-wha- To hell with this! Stop being freaks, you damn weirdos! And get back to the table, I need help with that stupid math!" Minami exclaimed, dragging Izuru back with her.

"That bastard..." Endo muttered, right before slamming the knife down on the board. "He's touching her more than he should...!"

"Man, I remember when all I had to worry was about one dude going after my one daughter. And then suddenly I had another seven, that's seven types the dudes I have to fight." Risei mused with a chuckle.

About ten minutes passed, and while Risei was cleaning the kitchen floor after accidently knocking down the curry pot, Endo was checking the shelf with the different containers of coffee beans that was behind the counter, with his back turned to the student duo.

Everything was going well, until the worst day in Endo's life got worse by what his brain registered to be a small moan.

"I-izu-kun...!!" Minami whimpered.

'What the hell are they doing...? No, focus Endo, you must not give that good for nothing the satisfication of making you angry!' Endo thought, clenching his fist.

"Minami-chan, you moan in such lewd ways when I headpat you... It makes me want to hear you do it more." Izuru chuckled with a deep voice.

'I'm going to end that bastards life...!'

"Izu-kun, I love it when you do your funny little requests..." Minami giggled softly.

"Touch me..."

"And you cute little reprimands..."

"Touch me harder...!"

'Damn you, Sawada Trashzuru...!'

"I miss sleeping with my head deep in those watermelon crushing machines you call thighs... Or those beautiful watermelons you have in your chest..."

"And I miss that time I slept with my hands on your warm chest... Let's do it again...! But this time, my hands will be in the bedframe while you rock my-"

"DAMMIT, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!"

Endo looked back, but instead of seeing some romantic scene head down the mature rating route, he saw Izuru and Minami looking back at him with smugs in their faces and giving him the good old middle finger.

"Just how far will you go just to spite me...?!" Endo growled, one of his eyes twitching.

"This is just the tip, pun fully intended." Izuru replied, grinning while chuckling like a damn gremlin again.

"THAT'S IT!"

A vein popped up in Endo's forehead as he jumped over the counter and headed for his mortal enemy, and on the other side, Izuru left the booth and headed towards the headmaster. The two rammed their foreheads against each other like rams ramming their horns and growled.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"COME AT ME, DIPSHIT! I'M GONNA FLEX MY RIDE DECK AND GET OUT DOUBLE THE RIPTIDE ON TURN THREE, FUCKER!"

"Do you idiots have a death wish?" Minami asked, staring blankly at the two.

"What?"

The two looked at her and then at what was rushing at them like a train, but their brains were only able to perceive the slight image of Risei charging at them like a train and tackling them to the ground.

In an Enomoto-managed establishment, the Enomotos are the pain trains.

Risei dragged Izuru and Endo's body outside, holding each of them by the back of their head, and then threw the two into the open trash can on the other side of the road. Since Holmes was located on one of those small streets where cars barily passed by because of how tiny the roads were, the throw wasn't that big, but still impressive.

"And don't come back until you fixed you vocabulary, you problematic man children!"

But the moment Risei turned around to return to the cafe, his heart skipped a beat when he looked at what was stolen from him.

"N-no..."

"My body is pain..." Izuru muttered, falling out of the trash can. "Why do I keep thinking getting into fights today is a good- HOLY SHIT THE SIGN GOT STOLEN!"

"What do you mean with- REIREI, YOUR SIGN IS A GONE!" Endo yelled, jumping out of the trash can.

"What's with all the commotion out here?!" Minami asked, stepping out of the cafe. "HOLY- THE SIGN IS GONE!"

"My beautifully hand carved oak sign... That damn bastard... I'LL HAVE HIS HEAD FOR THIS!" Risei roared.

The attention of the four was caught by some guy at the end of the street accidently dropped a hammer. Oh yeah, he had the sign too.

"GET THAT USELESS MOTHERFUCKER'S ASS!" Risei roared.

It wasn't even a chase, the poor guy got tackled at the speed of light by the pain train that called itself Risei. The sheer size of Risei's hand was enough to grab all of the poor guy's whole neck.

"Finally... I'M GOING TO UNMASK YOU, YOU FILTH! CEASE TO EXIST!"

Risei ripped the mask of the thief.

But it was just some normal dude with black hair, the dictionary definition of a background character. Replace him by a cardboard cutout and no one will tell the difference.

"L-L-L-L-LOOK MAN, SOME GUY WITH THAT DUDE'S UNIFORM PAID ME TO DO THIS AND GIVE HIM THIS LETTER!!!" The thief cried, handing a letter to Endo.

"My uniform?" Izuru asked.

"Endo Mitsuaki, until you give me Heiwa, I will hurt all you love. First was the club budget, then your best friend's sign..." Endo read. "Wait, club budget...?"

"What?" Minami asked. "Club bud- IT'S THE SAME GUY WHO'S BEEN STEALING SHIT FROM THE COOKING CLUB!"

"THEN WHY IS HE GOING AFTER MY SHIT INSTEAD OF SHIT MAKI-CHAN OWNS?!" Risei asked.

"Ahah, I don't own that many things, actually." The headmaster chuckled.

"... MAKI-CHAN, MY SIGN WILL SUFFER BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO FOLLOW CAPITALISM AND BUY A SHIT TON OF THINGS YOU DON'T NEED! GO BUY SOME STUFF FOR THE SAKE OF MY SIGN!"

"NO WAY, I'M FINE WITH WHAT I HAVE, REIREI!"

'I'm going to lose brain cells if these two keep arguing like this...' Izuru and Minami thought.

"Drop the matter, you deadbeat father. It's getting late and I need a ride home!" Minami exclaimed. "Izu-kun, do you want a ride too?"

"I'm good, I'll just take a train back to Minato." Izuru waved his hand.

And that was the end of that.

But on the train ride back to Minato, Izuru began thinking back to how Sumireko described Endo and Minami's bonding moment when did it without sounding like a yelling Taira.

His mind told him to not do it, my his guts said something else, so instead of heading home when he left the train, he stopped at a nearby supermarket to get some cheap sushi and headed down to a police precinct near the train station, where he waited until night arrived.

Then, two men walked out of the building, a smaller one with yellowish hair and amuch bulkier one with dark red hair.

"Great work as always, Kaminari."

"Thank you, Sawada-san. See you on wednesday."

"You too. Enjoy your day-off. Give Hisano-san my regard- Huh?"

"Likewise and will do. Oh, hey Izuru, how's school been treating you?"

"Like dogshit, what did you expect?" Izuru laughed. Looking at his father, he raised the plastic bag where he had the cheap sushi. "Yo, deadbeat. I hope whatever junk they feed you cops in there to stay alive didn't give you some allergy to the store bought cheap sushi."

"I don't think so." Shouto answered, showing a small smile. For the first time in years, Izuru wasn't at his throat.

The two headed into a park near the train station, and sat down on a bench to eat their dinner. Fun fact, that bench was where-

"Hey, I think this is where Homura rejected Ryuuga that one time!" Izuru laughed.

Exactly.

"I think you can still feel his broken heart when you sit down." Shouto chuckled.

And that's where their conversation ended. They were just two guys, eating their dinner in awkward silence because it'd be even more awkward to speak up first.

But then Shouto thought about a fun fact he saw while working on a report.

"Did you know that most chefs that do sushi for supermarket are actually people who didn't make it in the cooking world? Some say you can taste their depression in each of the pieces they prepared."

Ok, maybe not that fun.

"That so?"

Izuru grabbed a piece and looked at it closely. Then, he ate it, and his eyes widenned.

"Holy crap! I can taste their tears!"

Then Shouto ate one.

"I can feel the disappointment of the chef's parents in every bite!"

And then Izuru ate another one.

"Oh man, this one tastes like 'I dropped out of law school to make food.'!"

And then back to Shouto.

"Mhm, the taste of living in your parents' house until you turn fourty."

They shared a laugh at their cruel jokes and then returned to the silence. When they finished that horrible store bought crap, Shouto spoke up.

"So... What made you come visit me?" He asked. "If you don't mine me asking."

"Beats me..." Izuru sighed. "I guess hearing about Endo and Minami just made me look at things differently. Maybe I've acted like a rabbid dog for too long. Some things I said were better left unsaid, y'know? It's not like I'm ready to outright forgive you from running away from your family and call it returning to your old job, but things have to start somewhere."

"Yeah..." Shouto shifted his gaze from the dirt ground to a nearby swing. "I raised you for most of your life by myself. In my eyes, I always saw you as that precious young boy who went to locals with me almost every weekend... I was heartbroken when I heard about what happened, everyone kept saying my son was some kind of berserker... It made me feel like I had failed as a father, and that I failed our family... So I... Just took refuge in what I could to not confront the fact that you had grown and to run away from my weaknesses."

"How do you think that made me feel, dumbass..." Izuru muttered, clicking his tongue. "You were my only friend for ages, you know? You helped me with school, with Vanguard, with the flower crowns we made for mom, you kept me company when all Ryuuga could think about was travelling the world...! Seeing you abandon us over what I did just made me feel like I failed like a person and a son..." He admitted, gritting his teeth.

"..." Shouto frowned, and then got up. "No matter how much time you take to forgive me, or even if you choose to not do it at all, I'll understand... But I swear it on my heart and body that will become someone you can one day be proud off...!" He declared, clenching his fist.

"...tch, stop sounding so lame." Izuru chuckled and got up too. He took out a card from his jacket and handed it to Shouto. "Don't think I didn't notice that poor sleeve holding two cards. I dislike Overlords but even would hate to ruin a SP The X this good looking."

"Then you keep it. I'll clearly find a way to ruin it by accident, right?" Shouto joked. 

"A SP is a SP I guess..." Izuru shrugged and returned the card to his pocket.

"Give it back to me when I make my promise come true, alright?"

"...geez, stop with that lame 'I'll become someone you can be proud off.'!"

"I can't. The Father Book obligates me to embarass my kids whenever the chance is present."

"Ah?!"

"I'll tell you more about it later, whenever you decide to give me grandkids. Now how about we go have some real dinner? No offense to the chefs but not even a homeless person would eat that crap."

"As if they can get offend, they probably all look like those dudes with a bang over an eye and with headphones around their necks that never shut up about wanting to go home. But aslong as you're paying, free ramen is free ramen."

"Me paying? You already have a job, don't you?" Shouto asked as the two start leaving the park.

"You think that cheap excuse of a salary can afford food? I have Vanguard cards I need to buy with money."

"Oh please, you got your entire deck handed for free."

"At base rarity, I'll have you know. Aqua Force may be cheap but blinging it out still costs money. And how much do you think I need to pay Ryuzaki to shit out some SP Riptides?"

Walking side by side, the father and son kept talking about cards and laughing as they made their way to a ramen place Shouto and Kaminari visited late after work.

And then...

The Tiny Whisk Thief Arc began.