Chaos Breaks
Shi no Sukeban
Airi groaned, feeling the pounding of a massive headache. She reached up to press her palm against the side of her head. It sounded like someone was arguing, but she couldn’t make out the words.
“…dama… -nough of… innocent… good-girl nonsense! You’re confidants, aren’t you?” A man’s voice, and he was angry. Her head throbbed. She was seated. Her back was laying against a smooth surface. But she was seated? A wall; she was seated against a wall, for some reason. Why was she sitting against a wall? Her head was still hurting. Airi struggled to find her feet and open her eyes.
“Airi!” That was Akane’s voice. “How are you feeling?”
“Ow…” Airi managed, reaching up to feel her head. “I… feel like my head hurts.”
“Hai… there’s a reason for that.”
“What?”
“For the last time,” Takara’s agitated voice reverberated in Airi’s ears, “we only came here to look for a friend. There is no reason for you to attack us and hold us here.” Airi looked up. The three of them were in a small office with a table and some file cabinets, and Takara was standing before three men in pants and casual business shirts. The seemingly oldest of the three men had a pudgy face and wore a light gray shirt. The second guy wore a light blue shirt. And the third man had his hair in a ponytail and wore a maroon shirt. The third man also had something clipped to his belt; something small and cylindrical in a plastic holder. The first man was clearly cross.
“Enough with the lies,” he said in a harsh, gravely tone, “you’re not fooling anyone! The three of you are clearly Fukushin.” Wait, what does that mean?
“What do you mean by that?” Takara snapped back. “The three of us are friends, all friends are confidants to each other.”
“Don’t play dumb!” the man retorted as Akane helped Airi to her feet. “You know exactly what we’re talking about! Now what are you scheming?!”
“That’s our line! Forcing students to make cheat-sheets for exams?”
“That’s none of your business and you know it! Now, for the last time, what are you doing here?!”
“We already told you!”
The man raised a hand. “If I hear another lie, I swear—”
“We’re looking for our friend! If Naoko-san isn’t here—”
“Wait! Wait Murakami-san!” the man with the ponytail interjected. “Naoko-san? You mean Hasegawa-san?”
“Yes!”
“Wait, her?” the first man asked, surprised. “Where is she?”
“Downstairs, transcribing.”
“Bring her up here! She has some explaining to do.” The third man left through the only door.
“See,” said Takara, “we told you. Now give us back our cell phones.”
“Why?” asked the second guy. “Expecting a call from your boyfriend?” His voice had a certain softness to it, despite the strong tone.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Sure you don’t.”
“Doesn’t matter,” said the first man, Murakami. “You’re not getting your phones back until we get this sorted.”
“Haven’t you done enough?” Akane interjected. “We shouldn’t have snuck in, we apologize. But you took our phones and locked us in this room for who-knows-how-long. Nevermind that other guy attacked Airi-chan with that metal baton.”
Airi reached up and felt her head again, suddenly realizing that the cylindrical thing on the third guy’s belt was probably an extendable baton.
“You can ask Iwasaki-san for an apology later,” Murakami said. “After you fully explain yourselves.”
“We have been nothing but upfront with you! There’s nothing left to explain!”
“So you say.”
Airi winced from the headache that began to lightly throb above her right ear. Hopefully she doesn’t have a concussion.
In a room on the top floor of Chiteki Printing, a pair of men sat over-looking an array of twenty security cameras.
“We should have more.”
“More? We have twenty cameras. That’s more than enough to cover the whole building.”
“Then how come we haven’t found Katou-san?”
“Maybe everyone else is just looking in the wrong place.”
“Maybe if we had more cameras, we can actually cover the whole building instead of just the hallways and stairs.”
“Isn’t it time for your shift to end?” the second, more portly, security guard asked while checking his watch. The first guard grumbled to himself before getting up from his chair and leaving the room. As the door to the security office closed, the other guard settled into his chair, turning back to the various monitors.
Behind him, the air vent in the ceiling quietly opened. A young figure, scrawny with a midnight blue hooded sweatshirt and track pants, slipped through the vent and alighted upon the floor without a sound. Stepping across the floor with Mizuno Wave Rider sneakers, the intruder approached the guard from behind. The guard finally heard him and attempted to turn around-
DANK!
The intruder whacked him over the head with the air vent cover, causing him to fall onto the floor. As the guard began to recover, the scrawny guy stepped up, grabbed the guard, then effortlessly lifted him up before slamming his head into one of the camera monitors. Sparks flew as the guard crumpled to the floor, twitching somewhat. After checking his watch, the intruder looked over the computer screens, tapped a few keys on a keyboard, then grimaced. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and hit one of his speed dial numbers.
“Nez, I’m in the security room.”
“And?”
“The security footage is being sent to a different location.”
“Offsite storage, hai… on moment… what’s the IP and network ID?” The intruder moved the mouse and clicked a few times, bringing up the necessary information.
“IP is… 212.555.4220. And the network ID: zero-underscore-kakkoi.” This made the guy on the phone laugh.
“They wish! Nevermind their pitiful skills. They’re too old to even qualify for that alias.”
“Um… what?”
“It’s an American movie reference. I’ll tell you later.”
The guy with the ponytail returned, bringing in Naoko by the elbow.
“Naoko!” Naoko, still wearing her usual school shirt and skirt, jumped at the sound of her name.
“T-Takara! What are you-?”
“So, you are friends,” Murakami realized.
“We told you—”
“Quiet!” He shushed Takara. “That’s no longer the problem. You!” He suddenly reached out and grabbed Naoko by the hair. “What are you up to?”
“Ow! Wh-what? Nothing!”
“If I may,” said the guy with the red shirt and ponytail, “I was the one who screened Hasegawa-san. Her family resides in Nishihara. That’s far from Fukushin territory.”
“That may be so. But these three still snuck in, and we still haven’t found Katou-san yet.” Who?
“Did anyone check the roof?”
“That was the first place we checked. All we found were the cigarettes he smoked.” Oh, they must mean the guy they snuck past on the roof.
“Okay, their security feed on a loop from yesterday. The way is open.”
“Thank you Nez,” said a teenage boy in a green shirt, “talk to you later.” He hung up and noted the time as 6:58 before putting his phone away. He nodded to his confidants. “The cameras are down. Let’s go before another search party comes by.”
“After you Hanzo.”
These three teenagers stood on the roof of a building occupied by a beauty shop, an acupuncture clinic, and a small clothing store. Unable to stealthily access the outside staircase due to a camera, they had instead entered the adjacent Happy Science building and accessed the roof from there. From there, they made a running leap to the roof of Chiteki Printing. They easily made their way to the fifth floor. The one named Hanzo tapped another on the shoulder.
“Go! Hurry!” This teenager, wearing a Mastermind varsity jacket, dark cargo pants from BAPE, and Onitsuka sneakers, quickly made his way downstairs. Third floor, second, first, and down to the basement where he was obstructed by a locked door marked “Utility Area.” After giving the door handle a shake, the teenager took some steps back. He listened for a few moments. Then he made a running leap at the door, kicking the spot next to the doorknob. The door didn’t open, but it gave a little; cracking around the knob. He threw his shoulder into the door, successfully forcing it open. Down a dingy corridor, lit by dim greenish lights, he found the switch breaker room.
“Does it matter if they are Fukushin or not?” asks the man in the light blue shirt.
“Of course it matters Ando-san!” Murakami answered back. “Despite them being a band of aspiring bancho, they still respect boundaries. If they are making moves in outside of Ebisu, then they are doing so for a reason.” Just who are these confidants they keep talking about?
“No, no, I understand that. That’s not what I mean.”
“Explain.” Ando then turned toward Airi and her friends, save for Naoko.
“You three, you’re all students, yes? There are things young ladies need; skin care products, make-up, maybe clothes?”
“What is it to you?” Takara asked, keeping a wary eye on the guy with the ponytail and the baton.
“Well, you can only afford as much as your allowances allow, correct? But the better-quality items are usually more expensive. And I know that schools don’t want you working part-time jobs and risking lower grades.” for some reason.
“Where are you going with this?” Airi asked cautiously. For some reason, Ando-san’s voice was conjuring the image of a bakeneko in her mind’s eye.
“The volunteers who are transcribing Exam Guides downstairs are students too. Some are also using this workshop to study. But most are here for extra yen.” So, he was offering them the same so-called job they gave Naoko, Airi figured. Also, this guy, Ando, was getting a bit close.
“Uh… that…” Airi took a short step back, forcing herself to keep a neutral but friendly smile, “is actually quite the generous offer; much too good of an offer for us.”
“Actually, it’s more of an equal trade if you think about it.”
“Ando-san…” the guy with the ponytail warned with a low growl. Ando ignored him, stepping closer to Airi.
“In fact,” Ando continued, his voice sounding more and more like a purr, “you can actually work less than your friends here, and still receive the same salary. You can’t deny that you have the assets for it.” As Ando purred, he abruptly reached out and his fingers latched onto the front of Airi’s shirt.
She felt a shock akin to fire and ice running through her veins. She cried out and leapt back, crossing her arms over her chest as both her friends and the other two guys erupted at Ando. Akane and Takara shouted, calling the guy a creep and a pervert. Murakami, still holding Naoko by the arm, chided Ando. And the guy with the ponytail seemed just as disgusted as the girls, yelling at Ando about him already spending money on “enko” after work.
“What?” the bakeneko asked with a bemused expression. “I know you two were thinking of it too.”
“Is it your ikigai to be insufferable!?” the guy with the ponytail angrily demanded.
“How should I know? Her ikigai is apparent at least.”
“Shut your mouth!”
“Enough of this!” Takara said loudly, turning to the older man. “Give us back our phones and the four of us will leave.”
“You wait!” Murakami snapped back, his grip visibly tightening on Naoko’s arm, causing her to cry out in pain. “We still haven’t figured out what happened to Katou-san!”
“We don’t even know who he is! Just let us go!”
“Shut up and listen wakamono!”
The teenager in the basement pulled on a lever connected to the main circuit breaker.
The lights went out.
Airi couldn’t see anything, but she heard the three guys reacting with surprise and increasing anger. Then someone right in front of her yelped and fell over.
“Iwasaki!” the older man barked. “Don’t let them out of this room!”
“How? I can’t even find the door!”
Murakami suddenly cried out and Airi heard Takara’s voice over the sound of someone whimpering and moaning.
“Airi! The door is right in front of you! Run!”
“You’re not going any—" A loud THWAP! interrupted the old man. Airi, awkwardly stepped forward with one of her arms outstretched, the other still shielding her chest from that creep who grabbed her breast. The sound of a door opened somewhere in front of her and to the left.
“Over here!” Akane called out.
“Everyone stay where you are!” Iwasaki ordered before- “Ah! Woah!” The sound of another person falling over and another yelp. “Baka! Get up! This wouldn’t have happened if you just kept your slimy hands to yourself!”
“Airi! Airi!”
“I’m here!” Airi responded, reaching out. She felt Akane’s hand and grabbed on.
“Are you okay, Naoko?” Takara asked ahead of them as they shuffled down the hallway.
“I’m s-sorry,” Naoko stammered. “I-I know I sh-shouldn’t have…”
“Did they hurt you?” Takara asked.
“No. Murakami-san grabbing me was the first time they hurt me.”
“What do you mean ‘you shouldn’t have’?” Airi inquired.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Stop apologizing and tell us what you did,” Takara urged.
“I-I had some d-difficulties… I was afraid I wouldn’t pass!”
“You actually bought one of these cheating guides?”
“I’m sorry!”
“Nevermind that!” Airi said. “Let’s just get out of here!”
“It would be easier if it wasn’t so dark!” Akane noted; only for the lights to flicker back on. Wincing as their eyes adjusted, they found themselves in the third-floor hallway they passed through earlier.
“Run!” Takara said, and the four of them proceeded toward the staircase. Through the door, they attempted to climb up again, only to stop short when they heard someone on the stairs above them.
“Down, down,” Airi said urgently. They quickly scrambled down two flights of stairs. At the ground floor, they rushed into the hallway and toward what they hoped to be the front door when two men suddenly came out and blocked their path.
“They’re here!” one of them announced as the four friends stopped in their tracks. Airi and Akane instantly spun around, only to see Iwasaki and two more guys coming down the stairs.
“Stay where you are!” Iwasaki ordered, still holding that metal baton.
“Let us go!” Takara demanded, attempting to shield a shaking Naoko from Iwasaki’s glare.
“Not while we have no idea what is going on! Everyone stays until then.”
“They’ll stay regardless,” said a tall and muscular man in a tracksuit who strode up behind the two guys blocking their path. “Ando-san just told us over the radio to get that Fukushin girl and make her tell us everything she knows.”
“Confidants” again?
“What are you talking about? What Fukushin-girl?”
“This Hasegawa-brat of course,” the muscular thug said, stepping toward Naoko. Takara immediately dragged Naoko away from the thug, stepping between them.
“Don’t touch her!” Takara threatened.
“Hold it!” Iwasaki shouted. “She’s not one of the Fukushin! Ando-san knows this!”
“But she’s the cause of today’s problems,” the thug replied, sounding confused.
“No she isn’t!” Iwasaki retorted, shaking his baton at the thug. “I know that she’s been at her workstation all day! This is Shibuya, why would the Fukushin be doing anything—”
The sound of something crashing down echoed down the hall. Everyone turned around to looked at the door at the other end of the hallway. Then a bang! The sound of someone or something impacting a heavy wooden door.
“Now what!?” Iwasaki demanded, moving past the friends to stand next to the guard. The door at the end of the hall opened, and a slight figure in a blue hooded sweatshirt and trackpants.
“Hey! Who are you?” Iwasaki loudly inquired.
The young man, rubbing his hands, kept his hood up, lowered in front of his eyes.
“Hey! Little punk!” The thug stomped toward the blue-hooded figure. “You were asked a question. Who are you?”
The slight figure smirked, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an iPod. Airi’s eyes were drawn to a glint of silver on one of the figure’s fingers. A silver ring with a small ruby crest on the third finger of his right hand. His thumb jabbed the “play” button.
“No Plan B” – Manafest
“Hey!” The thug hounded the blue-hooded figure. “You answer us, or I make you hurt!” The thug reached out. The figure quickly grabbed the thug’s arm with one hand. The thug was suddenly lifted off the ground before the blue-hooded figure threw him headfirst into the floor.
“What the hell!” Everyone took a step back in astonishment; as anyone would when seeing a scrawny young man threw a muscular thug to the floor with only one hand. The figure looked up, the hood raising just enough to reveal a pair of electrifying azure eyes.
“Who- no. What are you?!” Iwasaki asked.
“What’s the matter?” the slight figure inquired in a mocking tone and a dialect Airi couldn’t place. “I heard you guys talking about the Fukushin, so here we are!” What?
The other guys looked at each other and to Iwasaki.
“What are you looking to me for?” Iwasaki asked. “Get him!” After a few seconds of hesitation, two of the guys ran forward, followed by the other two guys. The guy in the blue hoodie, hopping on the balls of his sneakers, moved swiftly. He dodged a pair of punches from the first attacker, kicked him in the belly, parried an attempted grab by the second attacker, then threw the first attacker against the second; both attackers flew into the wall with a heavy wha-ump! The next two attackers faltered at this, prompting Iwasaki to growl and charge forward himself.
“Come on,” Akane urged, grabbing Airi and Takara by the arms. “Let’s go!”
“Ah, right,” Airi agreed. The four friends turned and ran back upstairs. Rushing onto the second floor, they were about to pass an office with an inside window when said window shattered. Another man in a business shirt and trousers fell through and crumpled onto the floor. Inside the room, amidst tables where young adults were transcribing the test answers, two teenagers in t-shirts and cargo pants were fighting more of those salarymen.
One of the teenagers was grabbed and forced against one of the tables. Struggling against the larger man, the kid with smooth, neck-length black hair, a purple graphic tee and black cargos kicked the man in the knee. And as the man winced in pain, the kid reached back, grabbed one of the heavy textbooks on the table, and swung it against the man’s head. The man fell backward into another table and crumpled to the floor. The kid looked at the textbook and especially the title: Newtonian Physics.
“What do you know, these actually do have weight.”
“Nobu!” the other guy called out, fending off two attackers after slamming the head of a third into a table.
“Heads up!” Nobu threw the book at one of the two attackers before vaulting over another table and kicking the attacker in the head.
“What is going on?” Airi observed as the chaos continued, a door opening and a couple of those test transcribers quickly leaving.
“I don’t know,” Takara admitted. “Let’s just find a way out.”
“Which way?” Akane asked. “The stairs are occupied.”
“Th-the elevator,” Naoko suggested, pointing from behind Takara’s back. “That way.” They hurried up the hall and came across a small crowd of student transcribers, standing in front of a set of elevator doors.
“What’s going on?” Airi asked as they approached the crowd.
“We’re waiting for the elevator to come back up,” a college guy explained. “Hopefully we can all squeeze in this time.”
“Wait, how many guys are fighting in here?” Akane wondered aloud.
“What do you mean?” inquired another transcriber.
“Well, there were all those guys in that room back there, plus those people fighting on the first floor.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. Downstairs too! How many?”
“Uh… six, including that guy with the stick.”
“No, no. How many are not part of Katayaburi Solutions?”
“Hey!” Behind Airi and her friends, three more thugs with metal batons were fast approaching. “Where’s Hasegawa? Where is that traitorous brat?!”
Akane and Takara instinctively pushed Naoko into the crowd, who stepped away from the elevator at the thug’s outburst.
“What’s going on?” Airi asked, standing between her friends and the approaching thugs. “What has Hasegawa-chan done?”
“Is it not obvious…? Hold on, I don’t recognize you. You’re one of the Fukushin aren’t you?” Before Airi could object, the lead thug grabbed her by the front of her shirt and awkwardly punched her in the head, despite the baton he was holding. “Admit it!” the thug demanded as her friends and the college kids cried out. “You and that little brat are planning something! What is the Fukushin planning?”
The elevator dinged and slid open. A teenage boy with untidy black hair wearing a black varsity jacket with a skull and crossbones on the back stepped out and locked eyes with the thug holding Airi.
“Who are you?” the thug demanded.
“That’s my line, animal,” the boy retorted with obvious disgust. “What are you doing with that girl?”
“None of your business! What are you doing here?”
“Hostile takeover, meinu!” The boy whipped out a gun from a pocket of his jacket and pulled the trigger. A sharp “pubht!” sound preceded a puff of red mist around the thug’s head.
“Argh!” The thug reeled back, letting go of Airi, dropping his baton and grabbing his face. The thug’s face was now covered, not with blood, but a red-colored powder. The other two thugs charged forward, only to also be shot in the face with pepperballs. The college kids immediately ran off as the kid put away his gun and proceeded to attack the blinded thugs. Airi scrambled back to her feet with Akane’s help, looking on as the guy with the black jacket proceeded to beat up the second and third thugs. As the third thug was kicked into a wall, the first thug came up and punched the guy in the face.
The guy, calmly, rubbed his jaw before looking at the thug with a bemused expression.
“Was that a punch?” the guy asked, his voice now tinged with a hint of Kaga-ben. “You only hit women, don’t you, meinu?”
“Wha-?”
The guy suddenly lurched forward, head first, impacting the thug in the face. As the thug reeled back, blood dripping from his nose, the guy kicked him against the wall and, when the thug bounced off the wall, he grabbed the thug by the head and pulled him over one of his legs, throwing him into the carpeted floor. As the other two thugs lay groaning, the guy looked at Airi with russet brown eyes.
“You okay?”
Oh, he’s talking to me. “Umm… hai,” Airi answered nervously. “I’m okay. Umm… thank you,” she said hesitantly with a bow.
“Wait,” Akane interjected, “where’s Takara and Naoko?”
Somewhere else in the building, Takara and Naoko were finally able to break away from the crowd of panicking college kids. When that kid in the crossbones jersey pulled his gun, everyone just ran and Naoko was haphazardly swept along, despite Takara having a protective hand on her.
“How did you even get in?” Naoko asked as she tried to catch her breath.
“We actually climbed the stairs to the roof and came down.”
“The roof! Why didn’t you try the front door and ask for me?”
“You weren’t answering your phone. We thought you were in trouble!”
“Oh… hai… they take our phones away whenever we start working. They say it’s a security measure.”
“And you believed them?”
“They’re just making cheat guides.”
“And you didn’t think it was unusual that they walk around carrying extendable clubs?”
“There you are!” snarled Ando as he appeared around the corner, causing them both to jump. He was clearly angry and now had an ugly bruise across his cheek. “Damn Fukushin spy!” he shouted as he charged forward. “I’ll make you pay for this!”
Ando was aiming at Naoko, but Takara immediately stepped between them. Intercepting one of Ando’s outstretched hands, she stepped through, pulling his hand down and around in a circle. Ando weakly yelped as he was yanked around and flopped onto the floor.
“You think I’m going to let you touch her again, you pervert!” Takara menaced, keeping Ando’s wrist trapped in a Nikyo-lock she learned from Aikido. As Ando squirmed on the ground like a fish, the sound of glass smashing came from somewhere above or behind them. Ando suddenly threw his arm behind him, smacking Takara above her left eye with a light but sharp BAP! before twisting around and pulling his arm free. Takara got back up and into a ready stance as Ando scrambled back to his feet.
“Stay behind me Naoko!” she called out as the seething Ando charged at her again. She batted aside a flurry of punches, each time stepping off to the side. He’s fast, she thought, I need to slow him down enough so I can take him down! With the next flurry of blows, she kicked out at one of Ando’s shins. That caused him to stagger for a moment. And a moment was all she needed as she trapped one his arms in an arm-bar and attempted to bring him down again; only to see an oncoming fist. She let go and jumped back, dodging the punch. But then Ando lunged again, pushing her against the wall with his hands around her throat.
“Feisty aren’t you?” he seethed with a look in his eyes that made Takara sick. “If you weren’t so much trouble, the Kigyo would make you rich. But you just have to—” Takara wasn’t listening. She kicked the inside of his knee. Ando buckled, and she pulled back a hand punched him right in the face.
“Ow!” Takara had to shake her hand. She got Ando to let go, but punching him actually hurt her hand. Were faces always that hard? Ando swore and lunged again. No! Just hit him! She punched him again. He staggered back. And again! Her right hand was really hurting. She switched to her left as Ando fell against the opposite wall. Again! And again! And again!
Elsewhere, Akane was running through the halls.
“Takara! Naoko! We need to get out of here!” She remembered the guy with the Mastermind jacket saying there were two exits on the ground floor, not counting the roof. So maybe they can leave out the back way.
Rounding a corner, she spied three more thugs in business shirts, slacks and raincoats. One of them reached inside the pocket of his coat and pulled out something small, metallic and- Akane balked, tried to turn around mid-stride, tripped and skidded across the carpet as a thunderous shockwave shook the air. Her eardrums almost burst as she hit the floor.
Did… did some just fire a gun at her?!
“Taichi! What are you doing?!” one of the thugs yelled. Her ears ringing, Akane looked up from the floor.
“What?” asked a guy holding a small revolver. “We were told the Fukushin are raiding and to get weapons.”
“Why are you shooting at the first person you see!” one of the thugs chided the gunman. “What if you hit one of the volunteers? Check who they are, kuso!”
“Easy for you to say! The Fukushin are furyo, remember?”
Almost on cue, another man suddenly flew into a wall behind Akane. She looked and that guy in the blue hoodie skidded into view.
“Is he?” the gunman asked as the figure tugged at his hood, keeping the brim low.
“He is! Shoot him! Shoot him!”
The guy in the blue hoodie ran forward. The thug with the gun aimed the revolver, holding the grip with both his hands. Akane, realizing what was about to happen, rolled onto her side, turning away, shut her eyes and covered her ears.
BANG!
BANG!-BANG!
Akane felt something behind her and turned her head to look. The guy in blue was kneeling on both knees next to her, leaning back somewhat. His hood was still up. His left arm was out, hand open. And in his right hand, the guy in blue held his own gun; a sleek, sharp, smooth, and pitch black. The thug crumpled, chest-up over his knees, and dropped the revolver. The guy in blue caught the revolver with his free hand. The two other thugs now drew their own guns. As Akane watched; the guy in blue ran forward, the thugs aimed their guns with both hands on the handles, the guy jumped, the revolvers leveled with the guy’s head, and the guy stood on the ceiling.
Akane blinked. So did the thugs, looking up with their guns still aiming forward.
“What the-?”
The guy in the blue hoodie was running, upside-down, along the ceiling with both arms outstretched. He fired three shots; one with his gun, a much louder shot with the revolver, and again with his own gun. One thug was hit twice in the torso and crumpled. The other was thrown onto his back after being hit squarely in the chest. Still running, the guy in blue leapt from the ceiling, twisted around, landed in a roll on the floor, then kept running.
Akane blinked again. Did she just see someone run on the ceiling?
“Hey. Hey wait!” She got back to her feet, stumbled for a moment, all her nerves buzzing, and ran after him.
Airi was panting now, barely keeping up with the guy in the varsity jacket.
“Can your friend fight?” he asked.
“Wh-what? Akane? I don’t know.” She had to pause for breath. “Takara does Akido.”
“That’s not as useful as you think it is.” A series of sharp bangs echoed from somewhere.
“What is-?!” Airi started. “Is the building breaking? Is there an earthquake?”
The guy gave her an odd look. “You don’t know what a gunshot sounds like?” Three more bangs.
“Those are gunshots?”
“Ya. You and your friends need to hurry. Gunfire always guarantees a police response.” He pushed open a door marked: Printing Room. Inside, Airi found themselves in the massive room with the overhead hallway she saw earlier, with all the shelves and printing machines. Amidst all that and scattered sheets of paper, were three men in office shirts and pants getting beat by a boy with an orange shirt and green camo cargo pants. And as the boy kicked one guy in the groin, spun around a kicked another in a head, and threw the third into one of the machines, Airi recognized him.
“Uesugi-san?!” Uesugi Daisuke slammed the head of the first guy, face first, onto a paper conveyor belt between printers before looking up.
“What? Hisakawa-san? What are you doing here?”
“Look out!” the guy in the varsity jacket pointed his pepperball gun off to another door that just opened. A thug in office clothes wasn’t hit. The ball hit the edge of the door and shattered in a puff of red smoke; but the smoke drifted into the man’s face, causing him to curse and cover his eyes with one hand, holding out the other while holding something small and black. Airi was shoved onto the solid white floor behind one of the machines as two loud explosions hit her ears.
“Agh!” She screamed as she covered her ears and shut her eyes. It was so loud! Those gunshots were so loud! She felt someone move next to her and opened her eyes. The guy in the jacket was next to her, kneeling beside the printing machine.
“Daisuke! Got a gun?” he yelled as more gunshots made Airi shudder.
“Not this time, Iga! You?”
The guy, Iga, raised his pepperball gun in answer. More gunshots, throwing bullets in the direction of him and Airi. At the other side of the room, another door opened and a blue figure appeared.
“Wila!” Iga called out. “Two guys over there!”
“Anyone on the catwalk?!”
Iga risked a quick glance at the overhead hallway with a glass window. “Hai! It’s the manager!”
The guy with the blue hoodie and jeans ran into the room. Fast-approaching the side with the machines and the teenagers hiding from bullets, the guy in blue leapt up and started running along the wall at an upward angle. As he ran, he aimed a gun toward the two thugs with revolvers and fired multiple shots across the room. Some shots hit the stacks of paper on the shelves, but six shots found their marks, causing the two thugs to keel over. Still running across the wall, he looked at the indoor hallway. Inside was Murakami, running across and carrying a briefcase. The guy then flew across, from the wall toward the hallway. Murakami stopped, noticing the bizarre sight. The guy swung his other arm around, aiming the revolver he picked up. Murakami saw and raised the briefcase in front of his face. The guy fired the revolver. The shot pierced the indoor window and punched through the briefcase. The guy flew feet-first into the window. As the glass shattered, he flew in and pinned Murakami against the wall.
“Wh-what?” Murakami sputtered as the guy pulled the hammer back on the revolver. “WHAT ARE YOU?!”
“Eien ni Fukushin.” He pulled the trigger.
That last resounding bang seemed to be the last of it. Nervously, Airi uncovered her ears. The guy in the jacket, Iga, looked down at her and held out a hand.
“It’s alright, I think that’s all of them.”
Airi hesitated before accepting his hand. “Th-thank you.” In the middle of the printing room, amidst three unconscious thugs, two dead bodies and papers scattered everywhere, Daisuke stepped out and looked up.
“You got him Wila?”
“Yeah,” said a voice above their heads. “They’ll need to find a replacement if they want to keep this workshop running.” The young man in the blue hoodie and blue jeans, now with dark red spots along the lower pantleg, floated down and landed on the floor. Airi had to rub her eyes. Was she imagining things? “And who’s this?”
“She’s from Heikin High,” Daisuke explained. “She’s friends with, ah… what’s her name? That really tall girl on the student council.”
“Kaneko-san,” Airi said.
“Hai, that’s her.” There was a noise by the far door. They all turned to see Akane, panting heavily.
“You… you can fly?”
So, she saw him fly too, Airi realized. The boys all spontaneously looked at each other and shrugged.
“What fly? What are you talking about?”
“You, okay? It isn’t unusual to imagine things out of stress.”
“Did one of those punks hit you in the head?”
“Hey!” Airi interrupted the boys. “I saw him fly too! Don’t say she’s crazy!”
There was a yelp and everyone turned to look the other way. The two boys they saw earlier, the ones wearing the green and purple shirts, came in; one of them holding Naoko by the arm.
“Good evening!” the guy in purple greeted joyfully. “Look who we found!”
“Naoko-san!” Airi exclaimed. Naoko started and pulled away from the two boys, running into Airi’s welcoming embrace. “You’re okay!”
“I-I’m okay, but we n-need t-to…”
“I know, I know,” Airi assured, patting Naoko on the back. “We’re leaving now.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Airi and Akane perked up.
“What?”
“Hasegawa-san, right?” inquired Iga, the guy wearing the varsity jacket with the skull and crossbones on it. “She isn’t one of those Kigyo punks, but we still have business with her.”
“What? Why?” Airi asked.
“Iie!” Akane stepped between the boys and her friends. “We came all this way to help her out of whatever these guys were doing! We’re not letting you take her anywhere!”
“Seriously?” asked Wila, the guy in the blue hoodie, who still wore his hood up. “She’s the reason we’re all here in the first place. Why are you still trying to help her?”
“Because she’s our friend!” Airi answered back.
“Really?”
“Hai! Why wouldn’t we? Friends always help each other!”
“For goodness sake!” exclaimed Iga. “Come on then, let’s all get out of here. The cops are bound to be on their way after all that gunfire. Let's go back to Ebisu and figure out the rest from there. Agreed.” The boys all said: hai. Airi looked at Naoko’s scared face and tried to give a reassuring smile.
“Okay, hai.”
“No, not okay!” Akane interjected. “Where’s Takara-san!”
“Wait, Kaneko-san’s here too?” Daisuke asked aloud. “How many of you are there?”
“Just the four of us,” Akane answered. The guy in the green shirt laughed.
“Four of you? Maybe you should’ve brought one more friend.”
“Not funny Hanzo,” said Iga. “Come on, let’s find her and get out of here.”
“How tall is she?” Wila asked.
“Like, very tall.” Daisuke answered. “Keiko and the other girls call her Takai-ki.”
“Found her.”
“What?” Wila pointed toward the far door. There, leaning against the doorjamb, was Takara, breathing slowly and looking down at her hands.
“Takara!” Takara jumped as Akane ran toward her. Suddenly she raised her hands in front of her.
“No Akane! Stay back!” Akane stopped in her tracks.
“What?”
“Stay…” Takara’s eyes dropped down to her hands again. Her face was pale, her hands began to shake, and Airi saw that the knuckles of her fingers were covered with something red. Blood. Was she bleeding?
“Move!” Iga announced, pushing past Akane. “Takara-san, ya?” Iga took off his jacket, revealing a blue t-shirt. He took his jacket and wrapped it around Takara’s hands.
“What are you doing?” Akane asked.
“She’s freaked,” Iga explained. “Damn Aikido practitioners. You never actually punched someone before, have you?”
“Come on! Let’s go!”
And so it begins.
