[August 31, 2418 - Friday, 3:28 PM]
Kyoto stood outside her truck, her back leaning against the door while a cigarette burned between her lips. Her eyes were glued on her phone screen while she texted Rein to give him updates about her time in Matsugaya. She began to hear fussing inside her car and looked back, noticing Yufumi and Saito bickering over who cheated in their game.
Kyoto groaned softly as she lowered her phone and rose her head up to the sky with exasperation. She put her phone away then turned around to open the truck door. "Hey! Uber Brat and Hatsune Faku, what the hell is this commotion about?"
"I tried to tell them to calm down..." Kikyo sighed, looking down with disappointment at Yufumi and Saito.
"It's not my fault that Saito is a literal cheater! She hacked into the game and messed me up!" Yufumi whined, holding her phone up to Kyoto.
"Correction: Yuffie is just so bad at the game she thinks Saito would lower herself to cheat on a game Saito made," Saito refuted, looking at Kyoto with a blank stare.
Hisumi sat in the passenger seat and sighed softly, staring out the window and lowered her head. "When is Motosaki getting here..? He should be on early release. Golden said that they had Senior Half Day today."
Kyoto looked down at her watch to check the time then looked up through her windshield. "He should be here at any second. He did say he was having some trouble with The Tomodachi."
Hisumi looked at Kyoto with light confusion. "Trouble? Like what?"
Kyoto exhaled and shook her head, taking a seat in her truck with one leg dangling out. "The Tomodachi seemed to believe Motosaki is giving up on the MHI-30 when he broke the news to her. Now, she has reached Level 3 Obession, Stalking."
Yufumi, Saito, and Kikyo overheard the conversation between the two and began to wonder about the context of the relationship between me and Nanako. The three began to whisper between themselves, growing more curious about me and what I was like in person.
"From the reports Lady Hisu received from Motosaki about The Tomodachi, she seems to shift hosts every Friday. Do we know who she begins to influence next? Like a pattern?" Hisumi asked.
Kyoto shrugged her shoulders with honesty. "We don't know who she begins to influence next, not even Motosaki. However, he is able to sense her before anyone else does. I have noticed a pattern though."
"What is it? We wanna know too!" Yufumi interjected, leaning forward between Hisumi and Kyoto.
Kyoto looked at Yufumi then brought her attention back to the view in front of her. "I've begun to notice that each girl The Tomodachi influences seems to bring Motosaki to more leads...but with these leads, we're only closer to stopping a drug operation. Not finding the murderer of Nanako and the investigators."
"Inquiry: How will you find the murderer if we have no evidence or leads of the murder? Saito thinks it would be better to pursue the drug operation and Judgement. We still have Headmistress Yuta's request," Saito suggested.
Kyoto licked the inside of her jaw and began to think back on the moment she saw Senkaku. She stared out into the distance for a moment, her mind now deep in thought. 'He's randomly stopping his investigation...to pursue this line of business. Does he know something that I'm missing?'
"What about the Twin Bunnies, Miss Nousagi and Usagi? Did they find Miss Hanabi, Kenji's mother?" Hisumi asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Nope...she's still AWOL. We've sent an entire search part for her. I'm starting to grow concerned for her...I feel like she's our final piece in figuring this out. Why isn't she answering our calls..?" Kyoto asked, sighing softly and closing her truck door and started the engine.
{Chapter 27: Stalker}
"Do you honestly believe you're going on this dangerous mission without me?" Aisha asked, rushing out the door with me then quickly turned around to lock the door.
I sighed as I adjusted my scarf around my neck and looked at Aisha, stopping so she could catch up with me. I watched as she ran toward me, waving her arms in the air and not caring about the attention she was drawing toward us.
Aisha tackled me and hugged my arm, clinging tightly to me. "We are one unit! Where you go, I go~!"
I noticed a pink heart puff above Aisha's head then exhaled, looking at her with a light smile. "You do know I'm just going out to solve a case right? You don't have to come with me."
Aisha shook her head quickly and held my arm tighter, her influenced strength causing her to add more pressure on my arm. "No! I'm staying with you! I'm already dressed and we're going to meet up with Inspector Kyoto! Let's go!"
Aisha began dragging me toward the train station while I trailed behind, shaking my head yet just allowed her to take me to the station. It was Aisha's turn to be influenced again, and after the week with Rebecca, I began to understand Nanako a bit better.
After breaking the news, she immediately had began to grow more clingy through Aisha, using Aisha's antics to stalk me throughout the entire day. It didn't bother me, but Aisha's stalking was vastly more different from Rebecca's usual stalking methods as Aisha is more direct.
Reaching the station, we took a train to Hojin to meet up with Kyoto and the Valkyrias. The case we were tackling was distribution of a controlled substance. The suspect that the JHS had been investigating was known as Hideyoshi Fuga, an OG of the Burning Bulls.
"Whoa, this guy looks scary. Are we gonna arrest him?" Aisha asked, pointing at the picture of a gruff Yakuza male on the screen of my tablet.
I nodded and swiped to the next image on the 22 page document on my tablet. "It's gonna be my first actual arrest, and don't worry...this will all come together with the MHI-30. We need to take this detour."
"Why? We were doing good enough investigating clans," Aisha asked, Nanako's curious tone reaching through Aisha's voice.
I looked at Aisha then smiled at her and leaned back in my seat. "That method got us a good distance, but I'm a race like this we need to change paths to win. Jeht can't be caught using Witness Statements and investigations. He's too smart for that...after all, he escaped my parents as well."
"So...we just go around busting people for drug abuse? This doesn't seem like it will get us closer to the end goal, but I suppose I'll tag along for this," Aisha said and sat back in her seat, humming a 30 year old tune with a smile.
I could tell Nanako was a bit upset, but tried to hide it behind a smile and tune. I chuckled softly at her and wrapped my arm around Aisha, and pulled her closer to me. "Don't be like that...You aren't gonna just give me the silent treatment because of a detour."
"Mmm, you're right. I won't, but I will annoy you a lot more," Aisha hummed, leaning against me with her head against my shoulder.
The train continued to race along the tracks before finally coming to a stop at the Hojin Station, everyone gathering their things and leaving the train station. Aisha and I followed everyone else out of the train, the two of us walking up the steps to see the rural, heavy car inspired city before us.
I looked around and noticed Kyoto waiting for me at a rest area with the Valkyrias at her side. Aisha noticed them as well and grabbed my arm, showing possessiveness over me as we made our way to Kyoto and the others.
"Inspector Nagagami," I greeted, stopping in front of Kyoto with Aisha latched onto my arm.
Kyoto looked up from her phone and blew a bubble with her gum then glanced over at Aisha, seeing her possessive gaze directed at Hisumi and her friends. She met my eyes again then stood up with her hands in her trench coat pockets.
"Detective Izuna, I see you've brought a plus one. Are you sure you're not going to get in the way? I'll have you sitting in the back with the police if you interfere," Kyoto said, her gaze returning to Aisha.
Aisha scoffed at Kyoto and placed her hands upon her hips, giving her a look of pure determination. "Hmph! I dunno who you're talking to, lady, but I'll have you know that I've defended my boyfriend from a crazy male investigator named Inuoe Nakamura!"
Kyoto heard a hint of Nanako's sass in Aisha's voice and rose an eyebrow, crossing her arms and glanced at me with pure confusion. 'It's like that..?'
I nodded at Kyoto. 'Yeah, it's that deep. Nanako and her chosen host are practically one...'
Kyoto inhaled and exhaled softly, rubbing the back of her neck and moved her eyebrow up and down. "Alright, I suppose. Just don't come crying when bullets begin flying."
"Ahh, Obassan, they don't need to worry too much about that. Their big bro is gonna protect them," Heido said from behind us, his hand playfully palming both my and Aisha's heads.
Kyoto looked at Heido and noticed Otsuki with him then hummed with confusion. "What? Onee-chan let you join Heido? Why?"
Otsuki bowed at her aunt with a respectful greeting. "Okaasan wanted me to keep tabs on Heido and also reconnect with you. Hopefully, I am not a bother."
"Geewizz! That chick's spiritual energy is kinda crazy and she's not a Valkyria..." Yufumi pointed out, her ahoge standing up straight on her head.
"Hypothesis: Saito thinks she may be a Shrine Maiden based off the observations of her current outfit. This mission must be a serious one," Saito explained, her gaze studying Otsuki's appearance.
Hisumi walked over to me and grabbed my hand, but Aisha possessively took my hand away from her. Hisumi took my hand back then placed an earpiece in my hand. "I don't want your boyfriend. You can calm down, it's an earpiece."
'That jealous intention...it's just like Nanako. She is still alive somewhat...' Kyoto said mentally, watching Aisha with high interest.
"Ouuuu, seems like Hisumi-chan is gonna be stuck in another love triangle~! Oh, what's Orika gonna think when she find out you're turning on her for an Izuna?" Yufumi teased, giggling softly then hurried over to me to inspect me with a hum.
I watched at Yufumi inspected me, her hand grasping my SPA Badge to see I was still a rookie rank despite my mystique. "Curious about something?"
"Hmm...it's just I'm not feeling any spiritual energy from you and you're just a rookie rank. That's like D Rank where I'm from. How are you on missions? Are you an Honorary B Rank like Hisumi?" Yufumi asked curiously.
"B Rank? D Rank? Do you mean rankings similar to the Military like Private, Cadet, and Sargeant?" I asked, looking at Kyoto for confirmation.
"Something like that. We are a militarized group. We even attend a private academy that trains mainly Valkyrias but we get Strijders sometimes," Hisumi answered, shrugging her shoulders with crossed arms.
Kyoto looked at the clock tower in the distance then exhaled, spitting her gum out and took her phone out of her pocket. "Alright, the distribution case. Hideyoshi Fuga is currently on the road to meet with some Yakuza to distribute several kilos of satura at a warehouse on the countryside."
"Who are they meeting up with?" Heido asked, his curiosity growing at the chance to stop two Yakuza groups.
"They are meeting with the Womato-gumi or more commonly known as Amnesia. They are one of the largest Yakuza families in the Tokyo and Shikoku areas of New Japan. They are one of the main sources of the satura drug," Kyoto explained, checking Hideyoshi's route on her phone.
"These guys sound dangerous. I don't think we've worked in this field, mainly since we are after scientists in Judgement. We should get those guys before it's too late!" Yufumi declared, placing her hands upon her hips.
I hummed softly and began looking around then noticed the white rabbit perched upon a bench, looking directly at me. I decided to take my phone and take a picture of the rabbit, saving the moment into my phone.
"I think if we want to catch Hideyoshi, we should intercept him. Preventing him from reaching the destination is key," I said, walking toward the rabbit and stood in front of him.
Kyoto looked at me, noticing the white rabbit and grew curious about what I was doing. "You believe a rabbit will help?"
"Rabbit? Where?" Aisha asked excitedly, turning toward me and hurried to my spot and peeked over my shoulder with a gasp.
I picked up the rabbit, being closer to him than ever before now then stared him in his scarlet eyes. "I believe this rabbit will be the key...but not with us."
Hisumi watched as I set the bunny on the ground then watched it blink away with a pulse of light, a thin stream of golden light stretching out into a guiding path. "What..? I've seen many spirit animals, but this one is different."
"I've been thinking of a name for him because so far, he's been guiding me. I think I'll name him Nachah for now," I said, looking over at the group with a determined expression. "Let's follow Nachah and see where he takes us."
Otsuki looked at the golden stream of energy and hummed curiously, nodding to herself then looked up at Heido. "Let's get on the motorcycle."
Heido nodded and walked off to his motorcycle. "Oh yeah, and the first one to catch the target will be getting a bonus by Granny Hisu! Better move your feet!"
Hisumi watched as the Nagagami Siblings rode off together then glanced over at me, noticing me looking up at the sky. "What are you going to do? Are you coming with us?"
I continued to look up at the sky, my hands calm in my pockets as I continued to watch the clouds and wait until Nachah's path was gone. "Otsuki and Heido are following the white rabbit, but I will be following a different route."
Kikyo rose an eyebrow at my statement and tilted her head slightly. "You're not gonna follow the white rabbit? So you're gonna follow your gut?"
The clouds finally began clearing and a light blue star began to miraculously glow in the sky before twinkling in the shape of a butterfly. The star began fluttering through the skies, the tail of the star creating a new path for me.
Saito and Yufumi looked at the sky to see what I was looking at, but saw clear skies since they missed the moving star in the sky. They looked back down at me and watched me walk off and hail a taxi to the rest area.
"Better get moving! Your best bet is to discern what path to take to find Hideyoshi!" I called out, waving at the women before pulling Aisha into the taxi with me.
Kyoto crossed her arms while watching the taxi speed off then looked back up at the sky, humming softly as she wondered what I had saw. "Why follow his intuition instead of the white rabbit before him..? His methods are very similar to Mr. Erik's but his thought process is as wild as...Lady Mikoto.."
Otsuki held onto Heido as he raced down the streets on his motorcycle, his engine roaring through the bustling town before entering onto the highway. Heido glanced at his mounted phone to see the model and license plate number of the vehicle he was tracking.
"Alright, sis! Keep your eyes peeled for a dark blue van with a covered up plate! I don't have Obaasan's tracking app on my phone, so we're going old school!" Heido explained, quickly glancing back at Otsuki then looked ahead at the road.
Otsuki nodded and looked ahead, her arms wrapping around Heido even tighter to keep balance as he drifted and swerved around the traffic. She scouted each vehicle, but none of them matched the basic description Heido gave.
I sat in the back seat of my taxi while looking down at my phone, keeping track of Heido's location while following behind him. Aisha leaned out the lowered window, letting the wind whip across her face with excited laughter and squeals.
"Hanma, can you still see them?" I asked, leaning forward against the central console of the car.
Hanma nodded his head as he glanced at each car on the road, keeping a lookout for the dark blue van. "Yeah, I have a good eye on them still. What's with this arrest though? I haven't seen you in a month and now you're catching crooks?"
"It's a pretty long story I have to catch you up on, but once we're done with this, I'll spot you. I'm still underaged, so no drinks," I said, patting Hanma's shoulder with a chuckle.
Hanma chuckled and sighed softly, shaking his head at my comment. "You kids today... alright, let's go catch these crooks!"
Aisha gasped as Hanma began speeding up and she let out a laugh as her hair waved behind her. "Wooooo!!! Let's go!"
Heido noticed my taxi speeding ahead then noticed me and Aisha on the backseat then grinned, revving his motorcycle's engine then began speeding up as well. Otsuki gasped once she felt the shift in acceleration and began gripping her brother's kimono tightly and pressed the side of her face against his back.
Sirens blared behind us, signalling for the driving civilians to clear the rode, Kyoto and her squad racing up behind us second later. Drivers on each lane began to clear way for us, each car stopping on the shoulders of the road while squad cars sped past them.
"Hm..?" Zack asked, looking up from his phone and out the back window of the van. His eyes widened and he grabbed Koshin by his collar. "Yo! The SPA is behind us!"
Koshin grunted as Zack pulled him forward then he looked out the window as well, fixing the turban on the top of his head. "Oh? So, that Detective Binah guy must've been serious about this arrest. Yo, Captain Hide! We got some business!"
Hideyoshi sighed loudly and took a sip of his drink from his bottle. He sat up and took out his knife, bringing it to the driver's neck. "Don't you stop this vehicle, if you value your life that is. We're making this deal.."
"I'm not stopping, Jesus...Calm down," The driver said, his voice shaky yet staying firm. He began speeding up into the incoming traffic, driving between cars and bumping into a few to push them aside.
"Looks like we found our target," Hanma said, looking back at me.
I nodded and felt my heart racing against my chest with adrenaline, excitement, and nervousness. I exhaled softly through my nose to calm my nerves then sat back to look at the sky through my window, noticing the butterfly shaped star still shooting through the air.
'Not yet...I can't intervene just yet...' I thought to myself, my gaze focused on the shooting star above.
The chase continued from Hojin to the outskirts of the Raiga Division, every vehicle racing against the asphalt roads. The dark blue van took a sharp right to avoid a SPA Squad ahead of them then began driving through the fields to reach the opposite road.
"We won't reach them like this. My car won't make that long drive with the potholes. I don't know this area," Hanma said, stopping his car on the side of the road.
"That's alright, don't worry! You did good enough!" I said, leaving money on the center console before rushing out of the car.
Aisha waved goodbye to Hanma before rushing after me, leaving the car door open in the midst of her dash. "Motosaki! Hold on!"
I raced through the fields while glancing at the potholes on the ground then took out my phone to call Kyoto. "Inspector Nagagami! Intercept them from the right! Make them go left!"
"What? We want to catch them, not get them back onto the road! Plus, you're chasing them on foot, you won't catch them!" Kyoto replied, continuing to drive after the blue van.
Heido joined the team call with a laugh and howled on the microphone. "Yo! I can intercept them! I'm close enough to them!"
"You can't do it, Heido! You'll get thrown off and get yourself and Otsuki hurt!" I responded then looked up at the sky, seeing the star had stopped in the sky then came to a skidding halt. "Kyoto, intercept them now! You need to trust me!"
Kyoto sucked her teeth then set her phone down, shifting gears on her squad car then boosted ahead. She rammed her car against the van from the right, forcing Hideyoshi's van to veer left toward the road.
Koshin grunted and laughed as he was thrown to the side then sat up, noticing they were headed for the road ahead. "These dumbasses are desperate! Let's go!"
"What now, Motosaki? They're getting back on the road!" Kyoto exclaimed, holding her phone to her ear and gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Aisha and I watched as the van sped along the field, their vehicle clear toward the road ahead. As I began to think my plan had failed, Nachah emerged from the ground below then spun around in a drilling manner to burrow underground once more.
The driver of the van grunted heavily as he hit a pothole, the van now becoming unsteady and tipping over. Everyone in the van groaning as the van tumbled back down the hill with Nachah dashing ahead of it toward me.
"Nachah?" I asked then glanced back up at the sky, noticing the star had banished from the sky.
"Motosaki! Everyone else is here now! Now's our chance to get them before they recover!" Aisha pointed out, looking over at me with excitement.
I looked at Aisha then looked down at Nachah and picked him up, holding him in my arms. "Alright...let's go."
Koshin kicked the back door of the van open and grunted as he crawled out of the van, a long pile of green and pink dust spreading out behind him. Zack exited the van after him and coughed lightly, waving the dust from his face and looked up to see Heido riding up on his motorcycle.
Heido kicked the kickstand down on his motorcycle and chuckled at the two. He stopped the engine and got off his bike with Otsuki, his hand placed upon the pummel of his bokuto. "Man, you all weren't that easy to catch. We probably would've been hunting if your driver hadn't panicked.."
Koshin looked back at the van, watching the driver get out of the van from the passenger end. "Well, he's still a newcomer, so he's learning the ropes. But, that isn't the issue now...is it?"
Otsuki stayed close to Heido and held her hands near her heart. "You've been caught..! Just turn yourselves in and make this easy!"
Zack laughed at Otsuki then began coughing, pointing at her and looked at Koshin. "You hear her? She thinks this is some fairytale or something. These White Wolves and their noble code."
Heido smirked at Zack and Koshin, chuckling lightly at the two and rolled his neck. "I couldn't care less about your little drug ring if it didn't happen to involve multiple deaths. I'm mainly here to collect what I loaned to your Yakuza."
Zack rose an eyebrow at Heido's statement and looked at him with confusion. "Collect? What you loaned? You didn't give us anything and we for damn sure don't accept sticks from dogs."
Heido laughed at Zack's disrespectful comment and sighed. "Dogs, huh? Well, looks like this dog is coming to round up the cattle because you owe us over six million yen!"
Hideyoshi chuckled softly at Heido's statement and walked forward while dusting himself off. "Seems like everything in the dark does come to light. Sorry to break it to you, kid...but you're not getting even a coin from the Bulls."
"Onii, you can settle your financial disputes on the streets away from the presence of law enforcement later! Right now, we focus on the arrest of Hideyoshi Fuga for distribution!" I called out, walking forward with my handcuffs ready.
Koshin looked ahead and scoffed with a smirk then began laughing, pointing at me with genuine disbelief. "No way, you're here again?! Oh man, you must be the Bull's stalker, wanting to arrest us this badly? Over a chick?"
"A chick who's my best friend's little sister! Yeah, Emma and Natsuki told us everything and you're gonna pay!" Aisha called out, stomping her foot down on the ground.
Hideyoshi chuckled at us and shook his head then looked beyond us to see Kyoto and the Valkyrias stepping out. "Oh? You've brought the St. Fraskia Squad with you as well? I'm glad to see you find us this important."
"Yeah, yeah! Let's skip to our rematch! Y'all ain't throwing cuffs on no one here!" Koshin roared, his dark red aura streaming around his body before rushing ahead toward me.
I immediately braced myself and dodged Koshin's attack then went to grab his wrist, but he evaded my grapple attempt before kicking me back. I stumbled backwards and put the cuffs back into my holster then got into my stance, remembering Koshin had immunity.
"Ha, I guess you remembered huh? Good luck trying to get any points for your organization! I'm gonna show you why your beloved investigators failed, including your mother and father!" Koshin laughed, rushing toward me at blazing speeds with a fiery tornado kick.
Heido rushed in front of me and grabbed Koshin's leg, using his momentum to spin him around and slam his back against the tipped over van. "Oto! Focus on your mission! I have my own to deal with!"
I looked at Heido with uncertainty, but decided to run after Hideyoshi, who stood in place with his arms crossed. I grabbed my handcuffs to attempt an arrest, but Hideyoshi palmed my chest to stop me. I groaned softly as I felt my heart skip a beat, my body crumbling for a moment onto its knees.
Aisha gasped and called out my name, rushing toward me but was stopped by Zack, who stood in her way with a grin. "Get out of my way! You're not a target!"
"Nah, I think this show is starting to get good...plus, our back up has arrived at the rendezvous point to get the undamaged product," Zack chuckled, pointing at the multiple Burning Bulls cars that were arriving on the scene.
Hideyoshi looked over at his backup then looked down at me with a chuckle, crouching down to my level. "Hey, rookie. There's genuinely levels to this and I've been through this chapter more than once. Jobs like this ain't like your little school factions, kid."
I panted softly with my hand upon my heart, looking up at Hideyoshi and realizing the strength difference between us. I rose to my feet and took a few steps back then got into my mother's stance. "I know that...and the path I was on only let to my generation that had nothing to do with the MHI-30."
"You and the Fuga Clan has some answering to do as I know you are in close relation with the Mato Clan," I added, steadying my breath with a calm exhale.
Hideyoshi chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Burning Bulls wouldn't be in business if it weren't for the Matos, so of course we'd pay our debts to them. This is business, kid...not some run of the mill job."
"Yeah..? Well, seems like you have business to attend with the Nagai Clan first dealing with money you borrowed from Ojisan Nagai of the White Wolves. I suppose lost, dirty cattle does eat up any green they can find on the ground...even from dogs," I replied then began studying Hideyoshi.
Hideyoshi laughed softly at my comeback then looked behind me, watching as my allies were dealing with his faction of the Burning Bulls. "Hm...seems the audience is occupied, so let's be the same."
Without hesitation, Hideyoshi unholstered his handgun and aimed it at me, momentarily stopping my Insight. My eyes lightly shone light brown as soon as the sound of the gunfire hit my ears, my body moving to the side to dodge the bullet instantly.
I rushed forward, my feet beating against the ground swiftly to reach Hideyoshi then I launched a swift round kick to his side. He elbowed my leg back to the ground and answered back with a straight punch, his fist connecting to my face and allowing him to follow with a cross with the same hand.
"You starting to see the difference in our experience? You might have speed, young bones, but this is the real world!" Hideyoshi laughed, striking my chin with an uppercut then struck my stomach with a crushing knee.
I grunted as I hit the ground then got back onto my feet, gripping some dirt in my hand then slipped it into my pocket. I stood back up and immediately launched an elbow behind me to Hideyoshi's face which he blocked and countered with the butt of his gun against her my side.
I staggered to the side and held my side then threw a jab at his face, but my fist was caught with little effort. Hideyoshi began taunting me as he overpowered me and pressed the barrel of his gun against my forehead, looking into my calculating eyes with a smirk.
"Your eyes...they truly remind me of those two Izunas who nearly stopped our entire operation. You truly have no fear huh..?" Hideyoshi smirked, holding his handgun against my skull.
I stared back into Hideyoshi's eyes, memories of my mother and father playing in my head as he spoke. "So, you knew my parents huh? I bet they had you terrified...and to know the Ghost of the Izunas has come back to bring you down."
Hideyoshi noticed the conviction in my eyes, seeing a fiery passion awakening within me and began feeling a shift in spiritual energy in the fields. He lifted up his gun and smirked, his interest growing from knowing I was Erik and Mikoto's son.
"So the rumors are true...one last Izuna lives on. You think that Insight of yours will save you? That's all you Izuna's truly had, Discernment and Faith! Nothing else, and I will be getting a handsome reward when I split your skull open!" Hideyoshi said with glee, aiming his gun at me once again.
"Motosaki!!" Aisha's voice yelled out, a rush of cold air following behind her as a sharp ice blade rushed toward Hideyoshi.
Hideyoshi grunted as he dodged the ice blade and looked to the right, noticing a heavily breathing Aisha running forward with magenta eyes and heart pupils replacing her normal ones. "Huh, must be your desperate girlfriend...well, she can die alongside you!"
Aisha began laughing maniacally, holding her cheeks on her hand and looked at Hideyoshi with hard breaths, her body shaking from a mix of excitement and a lovesickness she couldn't explain. "Die..?~ You hurt my Motosaki...the only one dying here is you..."
I heard Nanako's voice speaking through Aisha and knew the situation had become dire then looked ahead to see Nachah standing in front of me with a golden camera symbol on his fur. I looked up, seeing Hideyoshi standing in front of the evidence then immediately took my phone out to take a picture.
"Do not let Hideyoshi die..."
I heard a strange voice speaking to me and looked back down at Nachah, but realized the voice didn't come from the white rabbit. I shook my head and stood up on my feet, hearing the one simple command of preserving Hideyoshi's life while I also had to bring him for justice.
'Don't let Nanako kill Hideyoshi...as much as I don't like this, alright. We'll keep him alive...' I said mentally, replying to the mysterious voice that spoke to me.
Hideyoshi grinned at me and Aisha with his gun aimed at us then began letting off shots at us, each bullet flying past us while Aisha and I took cover. I darted over to Hideyoshi, reaching my hand out to grab his gun, but he struck my jaw with a back hand then kicked me away.
Aisha ran toward Hideyoshi with a wicked grin, her heart pumping with adrenaline as the air began to grow colder by the second. Frost began forming in front of Aisha and took shape in the form of a dagger then she took it in her hand, each slice having malicious intent behind it.
"Oh? Looks like we have a Valkyria in training with us," Hideyoshi taunted, laughing as he dodged Aisha's slashes before countering with a heavy gut blow.
Aisha grunted and clenched her teeth from the strength of Hideyoshi's attack, but her endurance was being influenced by Nanako. She began to giggle as she staggered backwards, holding her head with labored breathing as Nanako's memories of my mother entered her head.
"These visions...this moment gives me strange vibes," Aisha said quietly, looking up at Hideyoshi with a wider grin as her eyes flashed a brighter hue of magenta. "You're going this far...to protect Jeht Mato?"
"Jeht? Ha! As if we'd work with that high brow noble! That self righteous Mato thinks he's better than his people, playing hero trying to take us down! If anything, the Bulls and the other Yakuza want him dead," Hideyoshi retorted, waving his gun dismissively at Aisha.
I hummed softly at Hideyoshi's response and kept it in the back of my mind, my theory of Jeht playing hero on the outside becoming 10% more sound. "Well, if you don't work for Jeht Mato...then you must work for a man named Senkaku.."
Hideyoshi shrugged his shoulders and looked at me with a smirk. "I may or I may not, you'll just have to arrest me...if you even can! I'm having too much fun to go down right now, so let's turn up the heat!"
Aisha grunted softly as she began to feel the humidity rising rapidly, the sun beginning to shine brighter in the sky. She glanced over at me, noticing white lightning crackling around my body. "Motosaki! What's going on? What is he about to do?"
I stared at Hideyoshi and began to fully study him, playing numerous scenarios in my head then reached behind me in my jacket to pull out my mask. "He's going to do whatever it takes to make this deal...so I will do whatever it takes to make this arrest."
Aisha looked back at Hideyoshi, watching him take out his normal magazine from his gun to replace it with a burning red magazine. She noticed his gun had began to shine with red energy, small embers flaring around his body.
"Warning: It's getting dangerous over there. We need to make this arrest right now!" Saito warned, pushing a Burning Bulls member off her then began dashing toward Hideyoshi.
"Not so fast!" Eiko called out, intercepting Saito at blazing speeds and launched a fiery straight punch toward her face.
Saito immediately noticed the attack and dodged her attack with a gliding backstep, a small time dilation field forming to slow down Eiko. Yufumi let out a laugh as she leaped over Saito and knocked Eiko away with a spinning roundhouse kick then landed on the ground, her cat tail swaying with energy.
Koshin watched as his friends were being overpowered by the Valkyrias, Heido, and Otsuki then looked back to see me and Aisha dodging Hideyoshi's blast bullets. He turned back to the Valkyrias and noticed Kyoto lingering in the back, watching over me and Aisha.
"She's their captain... without her, they will retreat," Koshin said to himself, licking his lips and dashed toward Kyoto with excitement.
Kyoto asked out her cigarette and looked to her right, noticing Koshin approaching her with a charging tackle. She scoffed at him then placed her cigarette between her lips and countered Koshin with a palm strike to his face, stopping his charge then threw him along the ground with an arm toss.
"You're too slow, chump. I heard you from a mile away," Kyoto said, leaning back on her squad car and looked over at my fight again.
Koshin spit out a bit of grass from his mouth and looked up at Kyoto again with a grin and charged at her. "Let's see you try that shit again!"
Kyoto put out her cigarette then flicked it away and dodged Koshin's attack then grabbed his arm, pinning him against the car and smushing his head against the hood. "That's strike two, kid. You must not know who I am, and I'm pretty lenient right now because you aren't the target."
"You couldn't arrest me even if you wanted to...the Sugaru Clan is protected, so not even the judge would dare to overstep national ruling," Koshin chuckled, elbowing Kyoto to get her off him then launched an elbow to her face.
Kyoto scoffed and dodged his attack for the third time then began channeling her energy within her fists, countering with a body shot, uppercut, and overhead combo. Koshin grunted as staggered backwards onto one knee, unable to register Kyoto's quick movements.
Koshin looked up at Kyoto, noticing her cold stare directed down at him as if he were nothing to her. He could feel her staring into his soul in a judgemental manner, seeing a bit of my father's critical stare in her eyes.
What do you think about this next scene:
Another explosion sounded in the distance, Aisha diving behind the truck to avoid another round of Hideyoshi's blast bullet. The explosion caused the truck to shake and tilt with Aisha taking refuge behind it. She peeked back and watched as I rushed forward to Hideyoshi once again.
"You think putting on a mask is going to increase your chances of winning? You have much to learn, kid!" Hideyoshi laughed while launching a head kick.
I swiftly dodged his kick then countered with a shoulder check to create light distance then a light blue silhouette began flickering in front of me. I noticed it was in a kicking motion and noticed a Sovereign Butterfly fluttering past me.
Not letting this moment pass, I rushed forward in the same kicking motion and struck Hideyoshi before he could register. Astonished by the split second movement, I kept my focus and continued to dish out strikes while he was stunned, each attack wearing down his endurance.
Hideyoshi grunted as he tried to lift his guard and once he did, I slipped under his arm with an uppercut then adjusted my mask, my light brown eyes glowing with Insight. He blocked my next two strikes with a grin then ducked under my rushing roundhouse.
"Now this wasn't something I was expecting, but you still have much to learn!" Hideyoshi called out, dodging my punches then aimed his gun at me and pulled the trigger at point blank range.
"Motosaki!" Aisha cried out, hearing the explosion from the barrier, her eyes widening with shock.
Everyone else turned around from the sound of the explosion and Aisha's scream, noticing a smoke cloud covering where I stood with Hideyoshi standing in front of the cloud. Heido and Otsuki rushed to Aisha, pulling her away from the truck.
Hideyoshi cocked the hammer of his gun back and chuckled, turning away from the smoke cloud toward everyone else watching. "Bulls! The Izuna is dead now so we can continue the push! Let's get this money!"
Koshin laughed at Hideyoshi's announcement and stood up, looking at Kyoto with a sneer on his face. "Well, Detective...looks like you lost this battle. Good luck getting another rookie."
The Burning Bulls began cheering and celebrating, chanting Hideyoshi's name as if he had scored the winning goal in the World Olympics. Some of the foot soldiers of the Burning Bulls had began cleaning up and gathering the undamaged products, each of them fleeing in their cars to the Womato-gumi.
Hideyoshi remained with his group to deal with the SPA, but they had began to feel a surge of spiritual energy in the area. Hideyoshi looked over at Aisha, but saw her hugging Otsuki with grief then looked over at the clearing smoke cloud, noticing a dissolving light blue silhouette in my place.
"What the—" Hideyoshi began then began to feel an overwhelming presence behind him.
Once he turned around, Nachah struck his stomach like a speeding bullet and rebounded off him with multiple backflips. I rushed forward and catch him before twirling around for momentum then launched Nachah at Hideyoshi again.
Hideyoshi dodged the white rabbit then grunted in shock as I appeared in front of him with white lightning crackling around my hand. I let out a loud kiai as I struck him upon his stomach, a bolt of lightning flashing upon impact and launching him against the truck.
Heido looked up at me with unbelief, staring at me as if he saw a ghost. "Motosaki..?"
I adjusted my mask against my face with my light blue butterfly resting on the top of my head. "It's time for justice to catch up with you all, Hideyoshi Fuga."
"There's no way you're alive...I shot you at point blank," Hideyoshi said in disbelief, his usual smirk shifting into a frown.
I stared at Hideyoshi and shrugged my shoulders. "Our Lord works in ways no man can truly explain. With that said...it's time for you to go down. The cattle can afford losing one Bull for the butcher to cut down."
Aisha looked over at the sound of my sound, her tearful eyes lighting up as she noticed me then ran out of Otsuki's eyes to me. As she ran toward me, Hideyoshi looked over at her then ran to her then snatched her by her hair then held her hostage in his arms.
"It's already over for you all! The undamaged satura is already back in motion, so this game you're playing doesn't matter! If you care about this girl's life, you wouldn't dare make a move. Not even your stupid pet!" Hideyoshi threatened, holding his gun at Aisha's head.
"What's the next plan, Detective?" Hisumi called out, looking at me with a hint of stress in her eyes.
"There's nothing left for him to do! Yo, just kill that chick and let's get moving!" Koshin called out to his captain, backing away toward Ichi's car.
I let out a nose chuckle and slipped my hands into my pockets and took a step forward, calling Hideyoshi's bluff. "How hard a titan falls...you're desperate. If you wanted my girlfriend dead...you would have pulled the trigger already. Your gun is an enhanced Beretta APX Z2 Tactical 9mm Striker."
"Are you insane? Do you want your girlfriend to die?!" Hideyoshi yelled, backing away with a struggling Aisha in his arm. "Get back!"
"Each magazine holds 21 bullets plus one in the chamber. However, with your explosive rounds...the gun overheats and jams after the 15th bullet which causes your gun to jam. Your barrel is still red..." I said, glancing at Hideyoshi's overheating gun.
"I will blow this bitch's head off, don't you screw with me! Do you know who the hell I am?!" Hideyoshi roared, holding his gun out toward me.
I stomped my foot down with white lightning crackling around my legs then I bolted forward, calling his bluff once again. A light blue silhouette formed behind him then I appeared behind him as soon as he blinked then struck the back of his neck with a shocking karate chop.
Hideyoshi grunted and dropped Aisha, a shocking tingle striking him upon the pressure point on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, his body falling on the ground with Koshin, Zack, Eiko, and Ichi watching with disbelief.
"There was nothing you could do anyway...you wasted your last bullet on me," I said calmly, taking out my handcuffs to make the arrest.
Aisha tackled me into a hug as soon as I stood back up with tears in her eyes, her heart racing a million miles per second. She looked up at my mask, her eyes wanting me to take it off. My spirit energy began to slowly fade away as I took my mask off, my glowing eyes finally dimming away.
"Mission...complete," I said with an exhausted breath and a light smile.