Once everyone met up at their table, they all had a talk and discussed what had just happened as well as made sure everyone was in good condition.
“Who were those guys?” Flash commented as he dusted himself off, “Why bring an entire set of gangsters to a petty little confrontation in a mall?”
“...If he is who I think he is…” Keiji replied, “Then he’s probably used to having a lot of backup surrounding him at all times.”
Coral, being the little tech genius that she was, had flipped up her cellphone and converted it into a small laptop with a keyboard. “Let’s see…Hishima, Hishima…ah, got it. They own and manage imports from the East into Canterlot City and other places like Las Pegasus and New Yorkshire. Shinjiro is one of their sons and he goes to Crystal Prep. They’re also funding the Summer Festival and have a large stake in the production of alcoholic beverages. Hm--got their priorities straight I guess.”
“...What does all that mean, sis?” Sandbar leaned over her shoulder as she typed, “Did we just anger a whole dynasty or somethin’?”
“For some reason, he booked it when he noticed Keiji…” Coral muttered, “Since he’s from Equestria, I wonder if he knows anyone with a name similar to his.”
“Hmph. Guess it’s plausible,” Keiji replied, “Now I suppose we have to attend that festival or else we’ll potentially miss something.”
“Best if you guys don’t draw attention to yourselves,” Coral replied as she pocketed her phone. “We’ll need to be discreet to avoid any drama and keep each other safe--” That’s when it hit her; something she had been forgetting this whole time. “Skeedaddle! I need to go see if he’s okay.”
Yona would offer her help and ask, “Want Yona to follow?”
“No…he’s…” Coral rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to explain. “When he gets nervous, it’s best if he’s not surrounded with too many people, ya kno? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him. I know him well.”
As Coral left, Keiji turned to acknowledge Sandbar. “...I don’t think I’ve ever seen you angry before, bud. That was…an experience to say the least.”
Sandbar frowned and started running his fingers through his hair as he leaned against the table. “...Yeah, I don’t like it. Anger makes me feel…shitty, ya know?”
“...Yikes,” Flash added while gritting his teeth, “I don’t think I’ve even heard you swear before. Is there something you wanna talk about?”
“Uh…” For the first time in what seemed like forever, Sandbar appeared to be visually uncomfortable as his eyes darted around the room.
That is, until Yona put a hand on his shoulder. “...Sandbar doesn’t like to talk about the last time he got angry,” she spoke up for him, “Maybe he’ll tell you later.”
He turned to her and smiled. “...Thanks, Yona. But I think I should at least give them the gist of it so they’ll understand.” He turned back to the boys and continued. “...To make a long story short, the last time I really got angry, I ended up hurting way too many people trying to defend someone else.”
“Was it her?” Keiji asked.
Sandbar shook his head. “No actually. Another friend of mine. Gallus. He’s from Griffinstone down South.”
Flash’s eyes bulged open when he realized what Sandbar had just said. “Is that the place with the…no…oh no…”
Meanwhile, Keiji knew of Equestria’s Griffonstone, and if this Griffinstone was anything like that place… “...I think I can see where this is going.”
“I’m not gonna get into details, but yeah it’s…it wasn’t my best moment. After what happened on that day, I vowed to never let anger overtake me and to be as chill as possible so I don’t get mad.”
As much as Keiji wanted to pry for specifics, he didn’t want to hurt the poor guy with a bombardment of questions. Instead, he accepted his words at face value with a nod. “...I understand. I can relate. Only recently have I been able to cool off from my overly-bitter phase. So don’t worry, I get you.”
“Same here,” Flash added, “If you ever wanna talk about it more, know that we’re here for ya.”
Sandbar gave a brief exhale, and got up from the table. “Thanks, guys. Think I’mma head on home now though. Today’s been…rough.”
Yona got up and started to follow him while carrying their bags full of the Eastern robes they had purchased. “Let’s go get Coral--she’s at store with Skeedaddle.”
Flash took a look at his phone and realized that he only had five minutes before his shift resumed. “Oh damn--I gotta get going too. Take care, alright?”
Keiji regarded them all with a nod. “See ya.” Then he turned to look at the bag that contained the yukata that Coral had bought for him. “...If I don’t go, everyone will be at risk. I gotta make sure they’ll be safe.”
Meanwhile, at the store…
“...Hey, Daddle-Paddle?” Coral had hopped over the counter to find the boy sipping on some water. “...How you holding up?”
“I’m alright now, thanks…” he replied with a sigh, “Def gonna file a complaint against that stupid chick…”
Then, Coral’s eyes flashed a devious shade of electric yellow as she pulled out her phone. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. I don’t think she’ll be able to hack her way through what she just did to you.”
The security camera footage of what she did to Skeedaddle had been hacked into Fricket’s social media page. Her social status was already plummeting with loads of scathing comments from her friends and parents!
“Woah…” Skeedaddle muttered as he looked at the mountain of angry comments on Fricket’s page. “You hacked into her PonyGram?!”
“Yuh-huh,” Coral replied with a snort, “I won’t do it willy-nilly though, don’t worry--oof!”
Skeedaddle cut her off with a tight hug. “...Thanks.”
Coral paused for a moment and put an arm around him in return. “...No problem. You don’t deserve what happened to you.”