Let the hunt begin.
= = =
Disclaimer: Can I go three for three? Probably not!
“Is everyone all right?†a visibly and audibly worried Kitsune asked via cell phone as she exited the elevator to the lobby of the lavish hotel room the JSDF put her and Shinobu up in after their mission in Tokyo the night before.
“Everyone’s fine, the house is good as new… lotta blood everywhere but Keitaro’s been on that since before dawn. Did you know Molmol’s using cyborgs, now?†Haruka asked.
“Those lunatics,†Kitsune hissed.
“Granny’s looking into who may have tipped them off to Su being here, but they’re not going to come back. The JSDF’s going to get upgrades to spot them sneaking in again, and Su’s going to coordinate setting up defenses throughout Hinata City. By Christmas the whole town’s gonna be a fortress. Some real Geo-Front shit if Su can get a big enough excavator.â€
Kitsune relaxed some, and opened her eyes. “I’m glad everyone’s safe and sound.â€
“Well, thank Keitaro for that when you get back.â€
“I’ll bring him back something nice,†Kitsune said. “Maybe something sexy for Naru to wear for him. He’d definitely appreciate that.â€
“Don’t be too enthusiastic in your gratitude,†Haruka teased.
“Enthusiastic would be me wearing something sexy for him.â€
Haruka chuckled. “I don’t know what any of us would do without you, Konno. Which reminds me, your old man brought me some trash to burn earlier today.â€
Kitsune blinked. “My Dad?â€
“Yeah, he wanted to check up on you and see what you were up to, but you’d left.â€
Kitsune looked a little crestfallen at that. “Aw… I should’ve stuck around.â€
“Give him a call. He’ll probably be in town a few more days before he heads back.â€
Kitsune brightened at the suggestion. “Yeah, thanks Haruka. I’ll give him a call after we check outâ€
“All right, see you when you get home.†The call ended, and Kitsune smiled.
“Dad’s in town, huh? I wonder if Mom threw him out again,†she said with a chuckle as she stepped up to the front counter. She flashed a smile to the lovely dark-skinned, blonde-haired young woman behind it. “Hey, Konno checking out of the Penthouse.â€
“Oh! Hello Konno-san!†the young woman, whose nametag read Mihoshi, replied. “Did you enjoy your stay?â€
“Loved it! Me and my little sister slept like royalty, ne Shinobu-chan?†Kitsune looked to Shinobu, who nodded assent. She looked back to Mihoshi. “I’m recommending it to all my friends.â€
“Well I’m very glad.†Mihoshi’s bright blue eyes then widened as she recalled something. “Oh! I just remembered, an acquaintance of yours stopped in earlier and left your phone for you.â€
Kitsune’s eyes cracked open slightly. “My phone?â€
“Yes.†She reached under the counter and pulled out what was clearly a prepaid phone. “He said you left it with him last night.â€
“Is that so? Well, thank you,†Kitsune said as she took the phone carefully between two fingers while handing Shinobu some money. “Pay the clerk would you?â€.
As Shinobu complied, Kitsune stepped aside and set the phone down on a table in the lobby, before slipping on a pair of nylon gloves and picking the phone up properly. She turned the phone over in her hands, examining it carefully, before safely asserting that it hadn’t been tampered with.
“Not a bomb…†she whispered. She pressed the power button and the face lit up, revealing a single contact. Calling the number she held it to her ear just as someone picked up. “Hello?â€
A man’s icy and stern voice answered. “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you, Mitsune Konno. Your father is in our custody and in thirty-six hours he will die.â€
Love Hina: The Merry Killers
Chapter 9: FOXHOUND
“Whew, finally done,†Keitaro said as he finished tossed the last blood soaked cleaning implements in a barrel destined for the Hinata-sou’s incinerator. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he surveyed the now spotless hot springs–all sign of the attack from the night before completely gone. Even the water looked pristine, like it had not been a blood and viscera stew that cooked throughout the night.
He looked over to Naru, who was just as relieved.
“Finally!†she said as she unzipped the white coveralls she and Keitaro both wore for the detail, revealing that she had neglected to wear anything underneath it. She then tossed them into the barrel. “That took way too long.â€
As Naru lathered up and began scrubbing herself, Keitaro disrobed of his own coveralls and discarded them, revealing himself similarly nude. “It would’ve taken longer if you didn’t help out, so thanks.â€
“You’re welcome,†Naru replied before Keitaro sat down behind her, and began scrubbing her back. “Mmm…â€
For the first time since he’d arrived at the Hinata-sou, Keitaro and Naru finally had the entire house to themselves–Haruka had taken Su off to meet with the JSDF first thing in the morning–and they’d been spending the entirety of this alone time cleaning up what Su’s self-repair system couldn’t.
He kneaded her shoulders, eliciting a very pleased sound from her. “It’s really amazing how strong you are. Those guys were everywhere.â€
“I know you’re just saying it for hot spring sex, but I’mma let you,†Naru replied.
“I really mean it, though.†He hugged her soapy body to his and rested his chin on her shoulder. “How strong are you?â€
Naru hummed. “I don’t really want to know.â€
“Why?â€
“Because as long as I don’t know my limits, there’s nothing I can’t attempt.â€
How poetic of her. “I like that.â€
“It’s something you can live by, you know,†she noted.
Keitaro’s face, already blushed from the heat off the hot spring and Naru’s closeness, darkened a little more in color as the comment struck home. “Live like there’s nothing I can’t do?â€
“Yeah, stop doubting yourself so you can get into Toudai, dummy.â€
She turned around, began lathering him up as well, starting at his chest, before working down his his right arm. She looked from his face to his right hand, and watched it intently, as he turned his palm down away from her gaze. Feigning curiosity, Naru turned his hand over, and gave a start when she saw it again, the scar that crossed his palm.
She stared at it. “What’s this?â€
“What’s what?†Keitaro asked, even as his hand tensed in her grip.
Her gaze darted upwards. “Keitaro… this is a scar.â€
Keitaro fell silent, and avoided her eyes.
“Keitaro, when… how did you get this?â€
Keitaro pulled his hand away from hers. “I don’t want to talk about it.â€
Naru paused, and then smiled. “What, are you worried about Motoko finding out? Don’t worry, I won’t tell her, why would I tell her?â€
“It’s not that,†Keitaro, distressed, quickly said. “I really don’t want to talk about it...â€
Whatever it was it somehow got under Keitaro’s thick defense. She immediately pulled back, surprised by this heretofore unknown trauma. “Oh… I’m sorry…â€
“It’s all right,†he said with a wan smile, before he picked up a bucket and dumped the water over himself to rinse to soap off.
The mood gone, Naru sighed and picked up her own bucket and rinsed off. Opening her eyes after the cascade, she looked in surprise to see Haruka standing by the door. “Haruka?â€
Keitaro looked over to her, surprised she’d be back so soon. “Auntie?â€
Haruka gave Keitaro a brief, annoyed look. “Get dressed and come to the living room. We’ve got an emergency.â€
- - -
“As you all know, Kitsune likes to take up jobs on the side,†Haruka said in the living room of the Hinata-sou where everyone was gathered–even Motoko was home early from her trip and none too pleased about it.
“This is fine,†Haruka continued, “we even do a little extra to make sure Kitsune doesn’t get tracked down. However, it looks like we all got careless and someone wants some payback.â€
“What happened?†Naru asked.
“These particular pigs figured out who Kitsune was and kidnapped her Dad. Now they’re holding him hostage,†Haruka replied.
“That’s awful!†Shinobu cried.
Keitaro looked over to Kitsune, who was sitting on the couch with her arms folded and her expression the very picture of amused nonchalance, all things considered. He was pretty sure, however, that there was something going on underneath it that she didn’t want anyone to see.
“Those bastards!†Motoko snapped. “Who are they?!â€
Haruka hummed. “Haven’t found that out yet, whoever these guys are they’ve taken a lot of steps to remain hidden.â€
That said, it wouldn’t take long given that Su was sitting next to Kitsune, hunting them down via the internet.
“So what do they want?â€
“They want Kitsune, of course, and all of her employers in her history of wet work.†Haruka wished she had a cigarette to smoke for dramatic effect. “But the Urashima clan does not negotiate with terrorists, we exterminate them.â€
All of the girls nodded in agreement with that.
“Su is finished!†Su declared before handing the laptop to Haruka.
Haruka read the information.. “The phone was purchased from a convenience store in Minato City. It was paid for by credit card, too and not a prepaid one. The card belongs to Minase Takada, an AV Actress who works with the Brilliant Glow Talent Agency.†She handed the laptop to Su. “Which is a business run by the Takimaru Group…â€
Kitsune sighed. “Man, I was hoping I got some real fans, like the Yamaguchi, or Hotel Moscow.â€
Keitaro became uneasy, while not the largest syndicate in Japan, the Takimaru Group was known for its vast wealth and technological sophistication, and it still had thousands of men to fight for it. “What’s going to happen?â€
“Standard Yakuza procedure, kill the leaders and their families and install people who won’t fuck up so hard,†Haruka replied plainly as she returned Su her computer.
Keitaro cringed. “Harsh.â€
Haruka shrugged her shoulders. “When establishing dominance, killing the strongest in the herd encourages the rest to follow you without question,†she replied.
“Where do they want you to meet with them, Konno?†Motoko demanded.
“I’m supposed to go to Shimbashi Station and call the number on the burner from a pay phone. Further instructions would follow.â€
Haruka took a drag of a cigarette. “The sooner we act, the better. Got a plan?â€
“I’ve got one but it’s risky.†She turned towards Keitaro. “It will rely on an untested variable.â€
Keitaro gave a start, as everyone else looked at him. “… M-me? What do you need me for?â€
- - -
Shimbashi Station, in the city of Minato. Kitsune, dressed in a black hooded jacket, blue pants, and sunglasses, carefully walked down the stairs and made her way over to a payphone. It was early evening, and people heading home for work provided plenty of concealment for her movements as she reached the booth.
Picking up the receiver and pulling out a piece of paper, she quickly dialed the number listed on it and waited for an answer.
It rang twice, before a voice answered. “Konno. There is a blue delivery van parked down the street to your right, go to it and get inside.â€
“U-understood,†she replied softly.
“See you soon,†the speaker answered smugly before the call ended.
Kitsune let the phone dangle off the receiver for a moment and made her way through the crowds of people coming up and down the street. Sure enough, a blue delivery van was parked with its side door slightly ajar. Taking a deep breath, Kitsune walked up to it and opened it.
Instantly, she was grabbed by the front of her coat and yanked in, the van peeling off even before the door slammed shut.
Thrown to empty rear compartment floor, Kitsune yelped as several men in suits set upon her, one pinning her down and lashing her hands behind her back with zipties while another placed a gag in her mouth. None let their hands off her, one man even firmly placing his knee on the small of her back to keep her from moving.
As Kitsune squirmed feebly, the Yakuza who had zip-tied her hands stood up. He pulled out a cell phone and quickly made a call. “Izu here, we got her in the van. We’re taking her to the rendezvous now.â€
“Good. What’s your time of arrival?†she heard the voice from before answer on his phone.
“We will be there in ten minutes,†Izu replied smoothly.
“Good. Have fun,†the speaker over the phone said.
Izu grinned sickly, and looked down at Kitsune as he ended the call. “Hear that? We’re gonna be having a good ol time in the old town tonight. You, me, and a few friends.â€
He leaned down close to her and lewdly licked her cheek. Her face turned to a disgusted grimace.
“Mmm… you taste good, I can’t wait to help myself to some more,†Izu whispered quietly to her as the other Yakuza either rolled their eyes or laughed darkly with him.
- - -
Close to Tokyo Bay a closed high school sat nearby an under construction apartment complex. The school, Jindai High, had been closed for several years now–its demolition long lost in Tokyo’s bureaucratic mess. The school building and its parking lot was entirely fenced off, while what was once an athletics field was now occupied by the skeleton of a high rise.
In the building’s gymnasium, a number of Yakuza were hard at work, setting up cameras and lights for what would be quite a show, the broadcast execution of one of the Takimaru Group’s greatest enemies.
“So big bro, have you seen the pic of her? She’s freakin’ hot for days,†a fresh-faced, spiky-haired young man checking the viewfinder of their main camera asked his partner and senior, a buzz-cut sporting older man who insisted on wearing his sunglasses even at night.
“Big Bro†let out a snort. “I’ve seen her, Seki, she’s just a freakin’ kid.â€
The younger Yakuza eyed the viewfinder again. “There’s no way a body like that is a kid’s. She’s gotta be like nineteen, twenty tops.â€
Big Bro had no interest at all in how attractive she was, and he let it be known by his sneer. “Stop thinking with your dick, you piece of shit. You don’t know what that thing is.â€
Reassured that the viewfinder was in place, Seki stood upright and looked back at his partner. “She’s knocked off a few of our guys in Hinata City, yeah-â€
Big Bro grabbed Seki by the collar of his suit and lifted him off his feet. “A few of our guys?! Remember you piece of shit, each and every one of those ‘guys’ was a brother! She didn’t just kill them, she turned them on each other, tricked them into killing each other and then finished off anyone who was still alive after!â€
He dropped his “little brother†and glanced towards the gymnasium’s exit, where a man in a trench coat, hidden in shadows created by malfunctioning lights, silently oversaw the construction of the set. “That thing, it ain’t human. That’s why the old man went all out, six hundred million yen to hire the best there ever will be to make sure it’s dead.â€
Seki’s eyebrows lifted up in surprise. “Really? Damn.â€
“So get focused and keep your hand close to your piece. Until that thing is dead, we’re all corpses who don’t realize it yet, got it?†Big Bro said before he noticed flashing headlights outside. “Damn, they’re here…â€
The sunglasses-wearing yakuza looked back towards the man in the trench coat, he was stomping out his discarded cigarette and leaving.
Outside, the delivery van pulled up to the back parking lot, and flashed its lights twice. The gate to the parking lot opened, and the van pulled in before backing up to the school’s receiving dock. Sitting on her knees near the back of the van, Kitsune jostled around as the van bumped against the loading dock.
Izu grabbed her by her coat, and hauled her to her feet. “On your feet.â€
As the Yakuza in the back of the van moved towards the rear doors, the driver and passenger climbed from their seats. On stepping out, Kitsune saw the driver look at the receiving dock, and quickly reach into his jacket with a surprised look on his face.
A burst of bullets impacting his from his forehead to his throat stopped him. The passenger was similarly dispatched, and before Izu and the others still inside the van could react, the rear doors were swung open and the entire interior of the van was hosed with a fully automatic burst of fire from a suppressed Personal Defense Weapon.
Lowering the PDW, Kitsune smiled at Kitsune. She was in full combat gear, a low-visibility tactical uniform, a ballistics vest and helmet. She wore several more weapons, a holstered pistol, grenades, and a high powered rifle slung over her back. “They didn’t rough you up too much, did they?â€
“N-no,†the Kitsune-disguised Keitaro replied, having freed himself of the gag.
“Good, I couldn’t imagine anything happening to my delicate flower,†she said as she pinched Keitaro’s cheek.
Blushing, Keitaro looked over to where Izu lay. “He was on his phone with his boss.â€
Kitsune smiled. “Perfect.â€
“He also licked me, it was gross,†Keitaro said with a shudder.
Kitsune smiled a little less. “Is that so?â€
Lying at his feet, the grievously wounded Izu looked up in disbelief at the real Kitsune. “W-what in the…?†Even with his injuries, he was more shocked that the girl they captured was still alive, unharmed even! “How is that…?â€
He would die not knowing. Kitsune reached down and relieved him of his phone. “Aw, are you hungry?â€.â€
Smiling, she pressed the barrel of the PDW into his mouth. “It’s time to eat~â€!
She emptied the last of the magazine into his mouth with a long, satisfying squeeze of the trigger.
Keitaro managed to hop out of the van, and looked back at Kitsune and the grisly remains left inside.
Reloading her weapon Kitsune stepped out of the van and cut the zip-tie cuffs.
“Are you okay?â€
Opening up Izu’s phone, Kitsune grinned. “Doing great so far, but the night’s still young.†She sidled up to Keitaro. “Wanna be my ballistics buddy?â€
Keitaro gave her an uneasy smile. “Naru would find a way to kill me if anything happened to you so... sure?â€
“Great!†She said cheerily before opening her eyes, their light color replaced by a pitch black. “Let’s go make more ballistics buddies.â€
- - -
Tied to a chair, Itachi Konno looked like he had seen better days. The robust man’s face was bruised, and blood stains littered the collar and front of his shirt. Blindfolded, his head hung listlessly, as blood seeped from a bloodied nose and cuts on his forehead and cheek from the rings of his Yakuza hosts.
“… Good, have fun,†he heard a younger man say into a cell phone, capping off an ominous conversation pertaining his littlest girl, before he heard him approach.
The blindfold came off, and he found himself staring at the polished wood floor of a lavish office, and the feet of a man who was bold enough to wear a white suit and shoes, and skilled enough keep his ensemble stain free.
The man in white was Yuji Kitagami, Senior Advisor of the Takimaru group despite his age of twenty-five years. Intimidating by anyone’s standard, he was a lion-faced man whose ferocity and brutality matched his looks. He was not so high in the organization for nothing.
“I dislike being indirect so you’re going to tell me what I need to here with no fucking around,†he said. “Now tell me, who does your family work for?â€
Itachi didn’t look up, keeping his gaze locked firmly on Kitagami’s shoes. “Boy I can tell we’re not going to get along; I dislike being direct.â€
Kitagami let out a short, snorting laugh. “You have a good sense of humor for how bad your situation is; I can respect that. How about we put that humor to the test, huh? In ten minutes, my men are going to put on a show starring your daughter. I told them they could do whatever they wanted with her–torture her, beat her, rape her, just as long as there was something left for you to collect when we’re done here.†He grabbed the elder Konno by his short gray hair and tilted his head up. “So what are you going to tell me to make them stop?â€
Itachi looked at Kitagami’s face, gazed down at his shoes, and then looked back up. “That is a nice suit, kiddo. Did you get it with your own money or did your old man buy it for you?â€
The Yakuza’s expression darkened and he tightened his grip on Itachi’s hair. “You’re a heartless man, Konno-san.â€
“And you’re a presumptuous one,†Itachi replied. He looked past Kitagami, and towards the large wooden desk situated at the back of the office.
Sitting behind it in a very large chair, was a man far older than him. Like Kitagami he wore a nice suit, but he sported an eyepatch over his left eye, adding a hint of menace to his aged, jowled face.
“Kids these days. Can barely dress themselves but think they’ve got the world figured out,†Itachi said to the seated old man.
Kitagami, baring his teeth, let go of the elder Konno’s hair and punched him viciously across the face. “Tell me who your connections are, where you get your intel and support from. You guys have the power to reach into China and America to take care of any ‘loose ends’ you have, so I’m really curious to know who gives you this power to act.â€
Itachi his head turned to the right by the blow, closed his eyes and let out a low sigh. “There really is no hope for you, huh kid? Ask yourself this: if a bastard is willing to take his littlest girl and turn her into a killing machine, how much do you think that little girl really matters to him?â€
Kitagami stopped and stared at Itachi, who smiled a little. “Daunting implications, huh? Let’s take it a step further: If a bastard is willing to take his littlest girl and turn her into a killing machine, how much do you think that bastard really matters to her?â€
Realization struck the young Mafioso, and Itachi savored the shocked look upon his face with a grin.
“That’s right, you’ve only offered more meat for the beast to feed.â€
- - -
Holding onto his back and staying slightly crouched behind him, Kitsune marched Keitaro down the hallway of the U-shaped school building like an impromptu riot shield. The interior of the school was dark and quiet, showing the building’s years of disuse in the thick dust, cracked walls, and dislodged ceiling tiles. The eeriness was unshakable for both Keitaro and Kitsune, who’d only ever known such buildings as full of life and light.
“I really do appreciate you doing this,†Kitsune reassured him, taking his mind off the creep factor.
Keitaro shrugged his shoulders as they reached the end of the hall and turned left at the stairwell, entering the south wing of the building. “It’s all right, it really is. Long as you’re safe I’m fine with this, I really am.â€
“You really are the sweetest, I might convince Naru to give you something really nice for this,†Kitsune cooed back before they reached the walkway that connected the school’s main building to its gymnasium.
Keitaro glanced back. “Kitsune?â€
Kitsune was looking up the stairwell of the school. She turned her attention back to their path down the windowed walkway ahead that connected the school’s south wing to the gymnasium. “I’ve just had the eeriest feeling that I’ve been here before.â€
Keitaro looked back, and for the first time since he’d gotten to know the girl, she wasn’t smiling.
He then heard a shout from down the corridor. “Hey, who’s there?!â€
He snapped forward and saw two men had emerged from the gymnasium. In one hand they wielded cheap pistols and in the other flashlights.
“Is that you, Izu?†one of the Yakuza asked before the beam of his flashlight created a green shine off Kitsune’s retinas, startling him. “What the-?!â€
Kitsune unceremoniously gunned both down with quick bursts from the PDW. Though suppressed, the weapon was loud enough in the empty corridor to catch the attention of the Yakuza inside.
Another saw his brothers lying dead and quickly peeked out of the hallway–ducking back when he saw Kitsune aiming the gun at him. He narrowly avoided a burst of 9mm rounds that tore up the doorway.
“What the fuck?!†he shouted as he scrambled back from the door. “Hey Bro!â€
Big Bro was already drawing a pair of revolvers from inside his sight as Seki pulled out a machine pistol. “Izu fucked up, didn’t he?â€
“Shit, what do we do, Big Bro?†Seki asked nervously.
Seeing the machine pistol shaking in his hands, he gestured towards the door the trenchcoat man had gone out before. “Get the fuck out of here if you don’t want to die.â€
Three more Yakuza joined the one still at the door, one pointing his gun around the corner and opened fire. The bullets impacted against Keitaro’s body, and when the shooter peered around the corner to confirm a kill, Kitsune ventilated his skull with three rounds.
“Hold this,†she said as she gave Keitaro the PDW. Taking a fragmentation grenade, she twisted and pulled the pin and tossed the explosive to the doorway.
“GRENA-!†the other Yakuza was cut off by the grenade’s explosion shredding him and the remaining two.
Inside the gym, Big Bro managed to shield his face from the debris and bits of human remains that rained on him from the explosion. He looked to Seki, wild-eyed. “Get the fuck out of here, you piece of shit! Go call for backup!â€
The young Yakuza, feeling about as in over his head as a corpse on the Titanic looked towards the door where his late comrades now lay, and then back to him. “B-Big Bro…†he wept, before turning for the exit. “Don’t die!â€
Big Bro grimaced and looked towards the door. “I told you… until it’s dead… we’re corpses who don’t know it yet!â€
The moment it came around the corner, Big Bro didn’t hesitate, lifting both revolvers. “That’s why I’ll fight until we can all live again!â€
He fired both guns so fast and wildly that the large-caliber weapons seemed to roar. Each round slamming into his target and knocking it backward. He roared with his weapons and kept roaring even after he expended both cylinders, finally tapering off into silence as he stopped uselessly squeezing the triggers.
But when the smoke from his weapons cleared from in front of him, he found Keitaro standing there, looking at his now bullet hole-riddled coatand brushing out the flattened rounds from under it.
He stared at the girl-dressed boy, numb with disbelief. “W-what?â€
Kitsune stepped in behind him, and smiled to the last-standing Yakuza. “Man you’re dumb. Haven’t you watched Fullmetal? You can’t bring back the dead.†She pointed the PDW at him. “But you can join them.â€
She squeezed the trigger, and a trail of red quarter-sized bullet holes appeared on Big Bro starting from his chest to his forehead.
Lowering the PDW, she patted Keitaro on the back as she looked to the gym’s exit. Narrowing her eyes to scrutinize it, she shrugged her shoulders and pulled out Izu’s phone. “Well, that takes care of them.â€
She dialed the last number called and held the phone to her ear.
- - -
In the Boss’s Office of the Takimaru Group’s HQ, Kitagami’s phone rang, a boring ringtone that brought Itachi eyes to roll in amusement. Taking it from his pocket, Kitagami answered it. “Izu, is everything all right? What’s the situation down there?â€
“All of your men here are dead,†Kitsune immediately answered.
Kitagami’s normally fierce eyes widened, as Itachi began to laugh.
Kitsune let her PDW hang off her shoulder as she began to pace in the gymnasium. “It didn’t take much, really. They were so excited that they had me, that they didn’t think for a second that I’d use a decoy and follow them to the little party you had planned for me.†She stopped and looked at the bodies of the Yakuza. “To be honest, I’m confused that guys as careful as you have been didn’t consider that.â€
Kitagami growled softly. “So you’re cleverer than I thought.â€
“Daddy calls me Kitsune for a reason. Speaking of, he’s still alive right? Not that it’s particularly pressing, I just want to make sure I didn’t come all this way for nothin’.â€
“Your Daddy’s fine, sweetie!†Itachi called loud enough for Kitagami’s phone to catch.
“Super! I wouldn’t be too broken up about it if he was dead, but Mom would kick my ass if he died and it was my fault. You understand, right?†Kitsune stopped pacing and licked her lips. “I mean, that’s why you Chivalrous Men cut ties with your families when you enter The Life, right? So you don’t have to face your fam when you fuck up?â€
Kitagami narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his phone. “Interesting how that works out for those who don’t.â€
Kitsune resumed pacing, moving erratically back and forth across the gymnasium floor. Keitaro tilted his head, wondering why she was walking around with such randomness. “It works out great, really… guys at your level can’t hardly appreciate what family means.†She smiled and began walking back to Keitaro. “But don’t worry, we’re gonna learn ya some.â€
Silent, Kitagami suffered Itachi’s snickering, and asked. “How many of my men did you kill?â€
Kitsune stopped in front of Keitaro, and looked up past him at the windows of the gymnasium. “Fourteen out of fifteen. I let one get away, he left a trail of piss all the way to the door. Or should I say…â€
Keitaro was hit square in the back by a sniper’s bullet. Were it not for his inability to be harmed, the trajectory of the bullet would’ve carried on into Kitsune’s heart, killing her instantly.
“Sixteen.†Kitsune looked past Keitaro’s shoulder, and her eyes widened in surprise before she turned and ran for the hallway door. Keitaro looked back at what had gotten her so frightened, right as a grenade launcher round smashed through the window and crashed into his face, exploding on impact.
Pulling his ear away from the phone from the explosion, Kitagami grinned and began to laugh. “Looks like she’s met our ace in the hole.â€
Itachi lifted his eyebrows. “Ace in the hole, huh?â€
“Mitsune Konno,†the old man at the table the eponymous man of the group known as Takimaru, suddenly spoke, “Nineteen years old, height is 164 centimeters, blood type is O, measurements are…†he stopped to grin perversely. “… 87-58-83…â€
Kitagami let out a wolfish whistle. “Impressive…â€
“… And her color is Green,†Old Man Takimaru finished.
Mirth vanished from Itachi’s face, replaced with a cold curiosity. “… Color?â€
Kitagami looked back at the old man, who was still grinning as he picked up from atop his desk a cane and used it to stand up. In defiance of his advanced age, the Yakuza head made his way around the desk and walked to Kitagami, who placed the phone on speaker and handed it to him.
“Ordinarily with her speed she would just be a blue, am I using the terminology right?†Takimaru asked. “But she has an ability that makes her untouchable: Over Sight.â€
Still holding the phone in her hand in the darkness of the hallway, Kitsune sat up with wide-eyes. “Well, that’s a twist.â€
She got up and broke into a run, full-on sprinting down the woefully exposed walkway, as a full burst of automatic gunfire tore through the windows from her right, chasing her all the way to main building’s south wing.
Despite having the wall and the classrooms beyond it between her and her shooter she didn’t stop, charging faster as bullets continued to tear through the wall, until she reached the stairwell at the corner and rushed up them for the second floor.
“How many of them are there?†she asked before she saw something gleam at the top of the stairs. “Is that a-?†Her eyes widened. “Shit!â€
At the top of the stairs, she jumped up past the top step and over the trip-wires of a claymore mine set up on the landing. Kicking off the wall, she landed on the adjoining stairs and dashed to the second floor of the school, narrowly avoiding another claymore mine with a jump to the top floor.
Her eyes scanning the hallway in front of her and to her left, Kitsune searched for any signs of traps. There didn’t seem to be any more on this floor.
“Are you still with us, Miss Konno?†Takimaru asked.
Kitsune brought the phone to her ear. “Don’t worry, I’m all ears now.â€
“We’ve been waiting a long time to make this move,†Takimaru said, “Let me assure you, we took every possible contingency into consideration, and went over every piece of intelligence we could get on you and your family. It was a very hefty investment, but revenge is costly.â€
Kitsune looked around and quietly got her bearings. She was in the south wing of the school, whoever had shot at her had done it from the north wing, the other side of the school. She looked down the hall of the school, and quickly darted to the corner going into the second floor’s south wing.
Coming around the corner from the north wing hall was an electric whine, like a very large remote controlled car. The source of the whine revealed itself sure enough, a tracked remote controlled vehicle that rolled into the open and turned towards Kitsune. It looked like one of the EOD Bots used by the Defense Forces and Police Bomb Disposal units… but was armed with a light machine gun instead of the manipulator arm.
Kitsune turned and dove as the robot opened fire, its rounds tearing apart the corner and punching through the corner. In a full sprint, she tossed back several disc-shaped charges onto the floor and dove into a classroom on her right, sliding the door shut behind her.
Pressing her back against the wall, Kitsune let out a sigh and slid down to the floor to finally catch her breath. Cocking an ear towards the door, she kept it on the approaching robot and raised the phone to her ear.
“I hope you got it insured,†she replied.
The classroom shook as the approaching armed robot met the devices Kitsune left behind, Su-made charges that exploded and took the robot with it.
Dust drifted down from the ceiling, and Kitsune stood up. As she looked around the classroom, that suffocating feeling of familiarity returned.
“Insured and ensured, rest assured,†Takimura said.
Kitsune walked towards the front of the classroom, scanning the room before she stopped at a display set up in front of the blackboard. Kitsune stared at the display and her eyes opened wide.
It was a shrine, a memorial for eight students a teacher.
Kitsune blinked, and slowly looked towards the back of the classroom. There by the doorway, were numerous bullet holes. She stared at the holes, and then over by the window at the front of the class.
“M-Mitsune…â€
Her pupils dilated, and she looked at the shrine as she took a step away from it.
“I-I didn’t mean to!â€
Kitsune took another step back. “No.â€
The sight of Naru, her hair cut barely above her neck and her entire body splattered in blood, flashed in her mind.
“They were laughing… I! I couldn’t stop…!â€
Kitsune shook her head slowly. “No…â€
“Mitsune, where did you get that?!â€
“Mitsune, please I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!â€
“Mitsune! Put that down, don’t!â€
“I DIDN’T MEAN TO!â€
“MITSUNE-!â€
Gunshots echoed like thunder, and Kitsune fell to her knees, the phone clattering to the floor in front of her as she grabbed the sides of her head and began screaming at the top of her lungs, trying to drown out the deafening roar of gunfire.
On the other end of the line, both Kitagami and Takimaru grinned as they heard her horrified screaming. Staring at the phone, his own eyes opened wide, Itachi lowered his gaze and grimaced.
“Mitsune…“ He looked up at the two yakuza, narrowing hisgaze. “I’ll admit, now I’m impressed. We’ve kept this dark secret very close to our chests.â€
As Kitsune sat on her knees, rocking back and forth, the classroom door slowly slid open and a man stepped in.
“You know our history, you know our code,†Itachi said solemnly. “How?â€
Takimaru looked down at Itachi, savoring the stony expression that concealed the anguish that the elderly man was certain was there.
“Six hundred million yen purchased all we needed to defeat you.â€
The man leveled the barrel of a gun on the back of Kitsune’s head.
“Six hundred…†Itach froze.
A single gunshot sounded from the phone.
The last light from beyond the horizon faded, night had fully fallen on Tokyo. On the cold, windswept rooftop of a skyscraper adjacent to the Takimaru HQ, Naru and Motoko stood in their full combat attire. In her hand. In addition to her sword, Motoko held a suppressed carbine, which Naru was similarly equipped with.
Motoko keyed the headset she wore. “Haruka, we are in position.â€
“Right on schedule,†Haruka replied, “Everyone else has been waiting for you to get this thing started.â€
In the Roppongi District of Minato, the several Tokyo Metro Police SAT vans made their way around barricades and drove down the narrow footpaths of Yakuza-controlled pachinko parlours, bars, and soaplands.
A truck bearing “Urashima Confectionary Shop†quietly backs up to the loading dock of a large five-star hotel in nearby Ginza.
Out over Tokyo Bay, its rotors whisper quiet, a JMSDF helicopter carrying a cage underneath it flew out towards a cruise ship sailing towards Tokyo Harbor.
Back in the city, the clouds parted, and the pale moonlight shone down upon Haruka and Su standing atop the Tokyo Tower.
“When the dogs corner the fox, the wolves will come running. Takimaru Group Extermination Operation… start.â€
= = =
They are the Food, we are the Hunters.