Chapter 2

**Second Bone: "Toykyo Chase: Toykyo Hard-Boiled"** is the second chapter of the manga *B. Ichi*.

## Featured Appearances

### Characters

**Shotaro's Group**

* Shotaro
* Mana Hinoki
* Yohei Nanami (*first appearance*)

**Solence's Gang**

* Commander Solence (*first appearance*)

**Chinjuku Residents**

* Christina S. Imbroglia (*first appearance*)
* "Edo's Ultimate Burger" Vendor (*first appearance*)
* Pedestrians
* Hecklers

### Locations

* Japon
	+ Toykyo
		- Chinjuku
	+ Fear Factory (*mentioned*)

### Techniques

* Bone Powers
	+ Bone of the Bird
	+ Bone of the Monkey

## Plot

### Chinjuku, Toykyo, near 4-Star Intersection

The Dokeshi Commander Solence and his gang are driving motorcycles in pursuit of a Jeep. Solence orders his gang to kill the Jeep's driver, or else "we'll never be able to show our faces to the President. The Jeep driver seems calm: he smokes a cigarette, chuckles, and tells the assassins to "shut the fuck up" before he kills them first. The driver puts out his cigarette on his own ring before his Jeep's laptop says he is about to reach his destination: the 4-star intersection. The driver removes another cigarette and, while still driving, types commands on his laptop to hack into the traffic signals. The confusing traffic signals cause an automobile accident that prevents Solence's gang from reaching their target. Furious, Solence screams, "Damn you, Yohei Nanami!"

### Chinjuku

Elsewhere in Chinjuku, Mana cannot find the fortune teller to whom she is taking Shotaro. Still, Mana is excited to be in Toykyo, known as "the City of Toys and Games" where even the most mundane activities are made into a game. For example, pedestrians are required to play a Whack-a-Mole Game in order to make the traffic signal change before crossing the street.

And the crosswalk Mana and Shotaro approach is a punishment game: if a pedestrian steps off the white lines, then upon arriving on the other side of the street, you have to perform. Shotaro reveals he has faced that punishment game for stepping off the white lines. Mana playfully teases Shotaro as clumsy--until he reveals he has had twelve punishment games. While Mana is shocked, Shotaro explains he had fun because his punishment was to do the Justice Blade twelve times by himself. Shotaro brags that bystanders cheered him by yelling "Stop it!" and "Go away!" As the duo cross, Mana corrects Shotaro that the bystanders were actually heckling him. Distracted, Mana accidentally steps off the white line.

Upon crossing the street, for her punishment game, Mana dons an outfit to impersonate the noises of a fur seal. Hecklers, including Shotaro, mock her performance as inaccurate and annoying. But what truly infuriates Mana is Shotaro's insult of her as a "pipsqueak." Mana proceeds to beat Shotaro, leaving him with a bump atop his head and his face bloody.

### Imbroglia's Fortune Shop

Despite his injuries, Shotaro smiles as Mana leads him to the fortune teller. Mana explains the fortune teller is evidently an attractive Dokeshi. Passing through the curtains into the fortune teller's room, Mana is pleased to see that indeed the fortune teller Christina S. Imbroglia really is "pretty." Shotaro agrees, referring to that fact as "typical," but Mana corrects him that the word he means is "mystical."

Imbroglia welcomes the children to take a seat and make their requests. Shotaro says he is looking for his friend Emine. Imbroglia then leaps up and swirls her arms, causing the sleeves along her arms to encircle the room. Mana and Shotaro follow the movement of the sleeves in surprise. Shotaro then is surprised to see Imbroglia is up to his face, staring into his eyes as she wraps her arms loosely around him. But Imbroglia says, "It's impossible." Shotaro becomes defiant, promising that he will see Emine again. While Mana watches this dispute, Imbroglia stares more intently at Shotaro's eyes, noticing they have "very deep darkness." Imbroglia stands and explains that Shotaro needs "the four powers which can repel the darkness" that she sees in his eyes. Shotaro and Mana do not understand Imbroglia's advice.

Mana approaches Imbroglia to have her fortune told, first asking Shotaro to wait outside. While Mana smiles to Shotaro, once he turns his back, she begins to look worried.

### Outside Imbroglia's Fortune Shop

Shotaro sits on the sidewalk, finding fortune telling confusing and not knowing what are the four powers. Shotaro's thoughts are interrupted by a call from a boy, tending to a burger stand across the street from him. The boy suggests Shotaro stop talking to himself and buy one of his meals. The boy serves Shotaro a burger whose bun is decorated with a smiling face. Shotaro bites into the burger and finds it to be tasty. Shotaro learns that the boy learned how to make these burgers taste so delicious from his father, who ran the burger stand until he was eaten by a Dokeshi. To defend his father's memory, the boy promises to beat anyone who dares insults his burgers.

The boy then extends his hand to Shotaro for payment for the meal. Confused, Shotaro shakes the boy's hand. The boy screams that Shotaro has to pay for his burger, but Shotaro has no money. The boy accuses Shotaro of trying to "eat and run" like the Dokeshi did with his father. Worried, Shotaro wonders whether Mana has money.

    Shotaro’s thoughts are interrupted by Yohei’s Jeep, swinging along the street and still pursued by Solence. While Yohei’s Jeep barely misses the burger stand, Shotaro sees the motorcycle coming at him. He grabs the boy and pulls him out of the way, saving his life. But the burger stand is destroyed, the father’s banner torn from it and now hanging from Solence’s motorcycle. Shotaro, seeing the boy run after the banner, initiates Bone of the Bird and follows.

### Throughout Chinjuku

Yohei puts out another cigarette on his ring, tosses it out the Jeep, and stops his vehicle to speak with Solence, asking why he bothers chasing him when chasing after Nessie would be more fun. Solence is annoyed at how “unscientific” Yohei sounds. Yohei replies that Solence has no grounds to speak when his Dokeshi ability to produce various gasses is too unscientific for a mere human like him to understand. Annoyed at Yohei’s calmness, Solence demands the computer chip he developed and promises to kill him--but has to interrupt himself to perform some deep breathing exercises. Yohei mocks these deep breathing exercises, so Solence simply fire his bullets at the Jeep.

Yohei speeds off then hears a boom. He worries that his Jeep has been hit--only to find that Shotaro is now in his backseat. Shotaro accuses Yohei of causing problems for bystanders and asks for help retrieving the burger stand’s banner. Yohei says to ask Solence to return the banner himself--so Shotaro does so. Solence’s gang is undeterred, firing more bullets at Shotaro as well. Shotaro dodges and hides next to Yohei, confused Solence’s gang is in pursuit.

Yohei finally recognizes Shotaro is the boy who used Justice Blade to rescue the Governor--and decides to ask which form of Justice Blade he used. Shotaro, pleased to find another Charisma Justice fan, answers the Justice Blade Koto-Buki. Shotaro is impressed at Yohei’s knowledge--then sees a “stupid-looking face” on Yohei’s laptop before realizing it is his own reflection.

Yohei proposes a deal: Shotaro can retrieve the banner if he helps stop Solence. Yohei tells Shotaro to take one of the guns in the back of his Jeep and fire at Solence. Shotaro refuses, knowing the bullets would kill Solence’s gang. Yohei assures him that the weapons are only electric air guns, modified to disable without killing targets. Excited, Shotaro aims one gun and fires, knocking down some of Solence’s gang, but his firing is so erratic that Yohei tells him to focus. But it is too late: Shotaro accidentally fires into the front right tire of Yohei’s Jeep, slowing down his vehicle.

    Solence’s gang now surrounds Yohei’s Jeep and fire. Yohei swerves to dodge until he sees a sharp curve ahead up the road. While Solence’s gang brags that their motorcycles can handle sharp curves better than Yohei’s Jeep, Yohei has a trick to get away: he turns on the left electromagnetic on his Jeep, which allows attracts the vehicle to a nearby lightpost and allows him to make the sharp turn--while the gang’s motorcycles crash. Solence’s vehicle remains operational and pursues Yohei.

Yohei explains to Shotaro that he is an inventor, with a hobby for making “robots that can walk on two legs.” He was approached by a dangerous company known as Fear Factory, which develops weapons under the guise of running the Happy Factory electronic company. Yohei accepted work to develop weapons for Dokeshi running the Fear Factory--until he learned they wanted him to develop a computer chip for a potentially dangerous robot. Yohei created the chip but gave the Fear Factory a fake chip and left with his payment. This “madness chip” caused the robot to perform dances as a distraction before crashing into the factory itself, destroying half the building and injuring the boss of the Fear Factory. While Yohei is happy to have escaped with his payment, he still thinks the Fear Factory is over-reacting, prompting Shotaro to agree.

Yohei then sees Solence has caught up with him--which the inventor says is logical, as he did design Solence’s vehicle. Solence asks Yohei what is most important in “the tug-of-war of a business deal.” Yohei, thinking about the economic practice, answers “being hard-boiled.” Solence, being more literal, answers the rope, which is representative of trust, which Yohei has broken. Solence fires again, almost hitting Shotaro. Yohei continues to smoke, calmly telling Solence that his company is evil.

Yohei tells Shotaro to drive. Shotaro insists that he has never driven and lacks a license, but Yohei simply puts a necktie around Shotaro’s head as a substitute license. While Shotaro panics, Yohei calmly tells him to accelerate and turn the wheel. Yohei then takes one of his guns and fires shots at Solence’s gang, knocking many members off their motorcycles. Unfortunately, in Shotaro’s excitement at driving, he presses buttons on the dashboard, causing the Jeep to leap upwards--and causing all but Yohei’s handgun to fall off the back of his Jeep. Yohei also notices the Jeep’s armor is falling apart. Yohei then hears liquid falling out of the Jeep--as Shotaro pushed a button to release his vehicle’s gasoline. Initially annoyed at Shotaro, Yohei then has an idea, one that will depend on the Dokeshi’s flying abilities.

Solence’s gang sees the Jeep is again behaving oddly, its wipers and blinkers going off. Meanwhile, Yohei lights multiple cigarettes in his mouth and tells Shotaro to continue his erratic driving. As gasoline spills from the Jeep, Yohei tosses his cigarettes, igniting the gasoline and destroying the gang’s remaining motorcycles. Solence’s car remains as he prepares to fire his gun at Yohei. But Solence does not notice Shotaro, using Bone of the Bird, to leap and land behind him, then use Bone of the Monkey to unhook his tubes before flying off again. With the flammable gas inside Solence escaping, Yohei stops his Jeep, aims his handgun at Solence, and fires, the bullet producing a large explosion that defeats Solence. Shotaro lands next to Yohei and determines that he has completed his good deed for the day.

### Outside Imbroglia's Fortune Shop

Meanwhile, at the remains of the burger stand, the boy sweeps the debris. He looks up to see Shotaro returns, driven back to the fortune teller’s shop by Yohei. Realizing Shotaro is a Dokeshi, like the one who ate his father, the boy is initially antagonistic towards him--until Shotaro hands over his father’s banner. The boy begins to cry and offers another burger (as the heating plate survived the crash). While Shotaro happily accepts, Yohei has put on glasses and is tapping on his laptop. He puts out his cigarette on his ring, realizing Shotaro is the Kyokotsu. And it seems Mana is worried about what Imbroglia has told her about Shotaro.