The night sky shrouded the area, completely hovering over the city; Trapped in an alleyway surrounded by thugs that came equipped with a variety of weapons. In the mixture of their choices, you can see Baseball bats, long chains, and crowbars in their hands. Smug expressions decorated their faces as their eyes narrowed at the two female cops that could only grit their teeth as they watched as Rakaia struggled against the chokehold that the massive sized man held him in.
The large massive tan-skinned man laughed as he kept a tight grip on Rakaia, who tried his best to fight the large arm wrapped around his neck. "Now you see what happens when you stick your nose somewhere it doesn't belong." He taunted.
"Why you…Let…Me…Go." Rakaia managed to get out, but his struggles were proven pointless.
"Not on your life runt." The bulky man replied. "You're going to be our little insurance policy." He stated as he brought his gaze upward towards the two female cops that returned the gaze with their own glares.
"How distasteful." The long purple haired cop spoke. "Just like animals." She took a step forward, her cold demeanor unwavering as she eyed the situation. "You can't take down your prey by yourself, so you surround your prey like a pack of wild wolves. "Her golden eyes never leaving the large man that stood in front of them with their hostage. "You don't deserve a cage." She spoke coldly. "You deserve to be put down." She ended.
"What do you know?" The large man shot back, keeping his grip on Rakaia. "You blue dogs just don't know when to mind your own business." He lightly growled. "But that's ok, you think you're going to take us down, but you won't do a thing." He gestured to the boy trapped in his arms. "Unless you want a casualty on your hands." A slight snicker escaped his lips.[G3]
"Put him down!" The light brown ponytail cop spoke, earning everyone's attention. "You don't need to involve an innocent bystander into this." She tried to reason with him. "Just let him go and turn yourself in." She ended earning an irritated sigh from her partner.
"You must be joking." The man replied. "You really think that I'm going to just drop him and let you book us; are you stupid or something?' A light growl escaped his lips as he kept his eyes locked on the ponytailed girl.
"You don't have to make this more than what it is?" She responded. "We just want to ask you a couple of a…"
"Drop it Ikari." The long-haired cop spoke.[G4]
"…Eve." Ikari looked back at her in disbelief.
"You're naïve traits are annoying." She told her as she kept her eyes glued on to the large man that stood in front of her. "You can't reason with wild animals like this, scurrying around the jungle looking for food and shelter." Her words were filled with hatred, but her composure never drifted. "There is no need to waste your words on such barbarians; they aren't smart enough to understand them." She added.
"Why you little…Do you realize the situation you're in right now." The man spoke back to her. "And you think that you can just…"
"It doesn't the matter how the situation looks." Eve cut him off. "The only thing that matters is that you're wiped off the streets." She shot back at him. Her voice calm, but the malice could be heard spewing out with every word.
"Eve…" Ikari looked at her and then turned her head back to the thugs in question. "Look, we don't have to do this." She began. "Just let him go and we can handle this as peaceful as possible." Ikari tried her best to reason again.
"I don't think you understand the position you're in." The man stated as he clutched his arm a bit tighter around Rakaia's neck, causing him to struggle a bit more. The two female cops watched as Rakaia flailed. Ikari's eyes widen while Eve just remained calm and uncaring. "You're going to do what we say, or I'll snap this little punk's neck!" He shouted as a wide smirk appeared on his face.
A small gasp escaped Ikari's mouth as a bit of a sweat dripped down her forehead. "You…You wouldn't." She stammered a bit. "What is this guy's deal?" She thought mentally as she glanced over at Eve, who still appeared on unmoved by the man's threats. "And what is Eve thinking? Doesn't she know she's putting him in danger?" Her mind raced.
"Just try me." He replied quickly. "Just make one wrong move and I promise you'll have a casualty on your hands." He continued on. "If I was you, I'll shut that pretty little face-up and listen to my demands, don't worry; they'll be pretty simple." He stated as a lustful expression crossed his face. "I'm sure the two of you ladies could help us work something out if you know what I mean."He began to laugh again as the thugs surrounding them began to join as well.
Ikari could only look around knowing that both she and Eve had their backs against the wall. "This isn't good…" She thought to herself. "There is too many for both of us to take on and at the same time, there's no telling if he's going to hurt the kid or not." Ikari's mind raced as she could only grit her teeth at the situation that was laid out before her. "What are we supposed to do?" She questioned herself mentally as the gang of thugs continued to laugh at their dilemma, but unknown to them Eve just stood there, unfazed by their threats.
Her face remained calm and cold as she continued to shoot her eyes through the large man keeping Rakaia in a headlock. "I honestly don't care what you do to the boy." She suddenly spoke, bringing everyone's laughter to a screeching halt. "It really doesn't matter to me who walks away from this situation, the only thing I care about is putting you animals down and making sure you never walked the streets again." She had said it. Her views of them kept them silent as she took a step forward towards the large man. "So go ahead…Break his neck." Eve taunted him.
"Wait…What?" Rakaia eyes widened as Eve took another step forward.
"What the hell!" Rakaia's brain shouted. "Is this woman crazy? She's really going to let him kill me! What the hell!" Rakaia's mind went rampant.
"Go ahead," Eve stated. "I actually recommend you do it." She took another step forward. "The quicker you break his neck, the quicker I get to put a bullet through your skull." She explained to him, causing everyone around her to sweat a bit from nervousness and the tension that picked up in the area.
"Eve…." Ikari called her name.
"You…You …You're joking." The man replied. "You wouldn't endanger an innocent life, so you could take another." His words stuttered a bit as Eve took another step towards him.
"What's one life?" Eve responded casually. "If he dies then you give me all rights to take you all out." She explained. "Then I won't have to hear from my higher ups on how unethical it was to produce a massacre of filthy animals such as yourselves." She finished as the man took a step back, no longer choking Rakaia as hard as he was.
The man eyes remained wide open as well as Rakaia's. "This woman is crazy!" Rakaia's thoughts formulated as he looked at her with fear in his eyes. "She's really going to get me killed! And she's the police!" His mind couldn't fathom how screwed up the situation is. Here he was, his feet dangling inches off of the ground with a large oversized arm wrapped around his neck, facing two female cops that he had never seen before with one telling his captor to kill him, she can kill the aggressor.
"Hey Eve, wait a minute…." Ikari spoke up.
"I don't have time for your naïve dribble Ikari." She kept her eyes glued to her target. "The city is just another jungle for these wild animals to run around in." She took another step forward. "Stealing…" She took another step. "Ambushing…"Another step was taken." Murdering their victims and laughing about it like a pack of Hyenas." Eve stopped just a few feet before the man and Rakaia. "Why should I care about the lives of worthless men and women who decide to make a mockery out of the very system that we put in place to keep everyone safe?" She ended as her eyes locked on to the fear that replaced the large man's bravado.
Both Rakaia and the man that held him in a light choke hold could only stare in horror as Eve stood in close range of both of them, Rakaia being in the middle of both combatants. "So go ahead, kill him." Eve bluntly told him.
"Wait a minute…" Rakaia stuttered. "You're not just going to let him…"
"Don't speak another word." Eve interrupted him. She brought her gold piercing eyes up to meet his. "You followed, deciding to stick your nose where it doesn't belong and now you're in a situation that you didn't prepare for." She explained to him. "If you die, it will be your fault and nobody else's." She ended as she brought her eyes up to meet the guy that was choking him.
Rakaia's eyes widen at the cruelty of the policewoman in front of him. His body trembled as he saw her look up at the massive man again. "So what are you waiting for? Kill him." She spoke, her face never changing as she held her serious, deadly expression.
The man gritted his teeth as he looked down at the unfazed expression of the female cop that tested him. His grip suddenly tightened as Rakaia's eyes nearly shot up out of his eyes. "You want me to kill him! Fine, but remember you asked for it!" He shouted as he hoisted Rakaia up in his arms. "One broken kid coming up!" He made sure his words were heard.
Rakaia could feel the grip around his neck tighten as he was trying to struggle free, but the strength that wrapped around him was draining him completely. He tried to fight against the devastating choke hold, but his efforts proved useless.
The muscle-bound man's arms tighten a bit more, choking Rakaia a bit more. "Oh no, you don't!" Ikari quickly charged passed Eve, catching the large man off guard quickly flipping behind him, kicking him in the spine causing him to let out a loud grunt, in turn making him release Rakaia.
Dropping to his knees, Rakaia quickly grasped his neck with his hands, trying to catch his breath as he fell directly in front of Eve, who glared down at him; but returned her gaze back to Ikari who quickly bent her opponent backward flipping him on top of his head with a loud crash.
She quickly flipped him over, latching a pair of handcuffs around his wrist. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you." Ikari gritted her teeth as the rest of the thugs only watched in fear as Eve turned her attention towards them.
Her eyes scanned the area as she eyed the opposition. Shaking with fear the thugs refused to make a move against her, so instead, they quickly dispersed at first glance, leaving their big man behind. "Hmph, cowards," Eve stated as she turned her head back towards Rakaia, who had finally managed to catch his breath.
"Hmph," She took a step past him and made her way towards Ikari, who had finished her job in detaining the criminal.
"Hey!" Rakaia shouted from behind her, causing Eve to turn her head and face him. "What was that for? You were just going to let him kill me?" Rakaia questioned her as Eve just stared at Rakaia with a deadpanned gaze. "Aren't you supposed to serve and protect?" Rakaia tossed another question at her, but Eve remained unmoved. "You know, isn't it your job to make sure that you keep civilians safe!" Rakaia shouted at her.
"I seem to remember that you had nothing to do with this situation," Eve spoke coldly. "Yet instead, you chose to follow us into an unpredictable dilemma." She continued.
"Yea well, I…" Rakaia stuttered.
"You had no business stepping in with our affairs." Eve cut him off. "You put yourself in harm's way making our jobs harder than what it needs to be. Not only that, you put yourself at risk; putting yourself in a position to become another casualty at the hands of rotten animals like him." She glanced over at the handcuffed man and Ikari who just looked up at the two. "If he would have killed you, then the blame would fall on you and you alone," Eve stated as Rakaia gritted his teeth as he glared at Eve.
"You don't have to be so harsh Eve," Ikari spoke as she walked up to them. "I'm sure he was just trying to help." She offered Rakaia a friendly smile, but Eve wasn't so forgiving.
"We never asked for help." Eve returned. "Especially, not from some extremely nosey brat whose curiosity got the best of him." Her eyes never left him as they stayed with their cold demeanor. "Do us a favor, don't try to be a hero and stay in a civilians place." She ended as she turned her back towards the two and walked off, leaving Ikari alone with Rakaia and the massive man on the ground in handcuffs.
Ikari just shook her head; bring her eyes back onto Rakaia. "Don't worry about her," Ikari spoke to him. "Eve just has her own way of getting things done." She finished.
"Yea, so I've noticed," Rakaia grumbled. "She was literally going to get me killed so she could take him out." Rakaia's mind added his thoughts unheard by the police officer in front of him.
"She really did have your safety in her best interest." Ikari tried to stick up for her partner.
"By letting the guy snap my neck, yea that's reassuring," Rakaia replied, crossing his arms looking at her. "What's the deal with her anyway?" He asked. "Don't you guys have some sort of plan for situations like these?" He handed her another question.
"Normally we do, but Eve…Well…" Ikari looked back in the direction Eve had walked off to and shook her head to clear her thoughts, before returning her sights to Rakaia. "Well, that doesn't matter; the real question is what were you thinking, jumping into a situation like that!" Ikari exclaimed. "Do you realize how much danger you put your life in back there?" It was her turn to question him now.
"Hey, it was you guys that ran into me!" Rakaia shot back.
"That doesn't give you a reason to pursue a situation that you have no business being in!" Ikari retorted. "You are a civilian; you aren't trained for these types of things." She added. "Eve was right on one thing, you can't go around putting yourself in harm's way like that, it makes our job even harder if we have to worry about civilians purposely getting involved with police work." She knelt down grabbing the small chain that held the large man by his wrist and pulled him up.
"This is not a game, people get hurt out here and you were almost one of them." She ended as she turned to walk away with the criminal beside her. Rakaia couldn't help but understand what she meant, but that doesn't mean he accepted it. He slightly glared at her back as she stopped for a moment, glancing at her; her Emerald eyes locking on to his. "You should go on home; it's not safe out here." She finished before she walked away with her captive, leaving Rakaia standing in the alleyway by himself.
-30 mins later/Rakaia house-
Rakaia's mom stood in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes after she completed dinner for the night. She set the food on the table, cooking up a large bowl of assortments that sat at the center of the table. It appeared to be a large pot filled with a number of vegetables and meat, searing in a pool of broth. His mother wasn't done as she set aside a plate of rice balls that sat beside the dish along with a few other small dishes, should Rakaia be extra hungry when he came home.
She turned her head towards the clock as she hummed, putting the last plate on the table as it read 8:30. "He's late again huh?" She sighed as she wiped her hand with a nearby towel before she gently laid it back on the counter. "I wonder if he got into something else." She spoke to herself as she walked towards the table, pulling out a chair, taking a seat as she waited for him.
Another small sigh escaped her lips as she rested her head on her hand as her Cocoa Brown eyes slowly moved towards a picture frame that was sitting on a nearby bookcase. The light shining from the lamp hanging above the kitchen table caused a glare to reflect off of most of the picture, but you could see Rakaia's mother, a tall man standing beside her and two kids, a boy and a girl, the girl being the taller of the two holding hands with their parents. The picture allowed her mother to see two smiling faces in the photo, which belonged to both her and her son.
A small smile appeared on her face. "You were happier back then too." She mentally spoke as she gave a glazed look as it appeared as if she was thinking about the past. "I guess we all were huh?" The words came out of her mouth as the knob on the door began to turn. She wasn't alarmed as she knew who it was so she remained and her dreamed state for a bit longer, staring at the picture as her son opened the door, closing it as he entered.
"You're late again?" She said without looking at him. "I hope you were doing something productive this time around." She spoke again as Rakaia did his usual thing, drop his things and fall face first on the couch.
"The usual…" He responded. His words muffled by the couch cushion he pressed his face into.
She finally turned her head towards him. "Not hungry again?" She asked him as she used both of her hands this time to support her head as her elbows rested on the table.
Rakaia just waved his hand uncaringly as his mother understood his answer. "It's shame…" She leaned back in her chair. "And here I went out my way to cook this delicious meal for you." She added, almost playfully pouting. "You know, you used to eat like a garbage disposal back then." She stated as she brought her attention back to the picture that sat in the room.
Rakaia grunted at his mother's words. "I guess I can you were a bit happier back then too." Her words were soft as so as her approach. "I guess I can't blame you, a lot of things did happen; I'm sure that changed your outlook on a lot." She added as she turned her head back towards her son, who continued to lay down face first on the couch. "Hey Rakaia," His mother called him, knowing that he probably wouldn't answer her.
"When are you going to bring home a girlfriend?" She asked as Rakaia's body quickly shot up from the couch, looking at his mother in pure shock as she placed a finger on her chin and thought about her son's options. "You and Cana hang out a lot, so I guess that makes her a potential candidate." She added.
"Wha…What! Mom!" Rakaia shouted, his eyes shooting out of his head in shocked ridiculous anime expression.
"She's always coming over, so I guess you could make her your girlfriend." His mom continued to ponder on his relationship life.
Rakaia's face completely turned red from embarrassment as his mother continued to bring up his best friend. "Mom it's not even like that…We're just…"Rakaia stopped when he heard giggle escape his mother's mouth. He sat there, on his knees on the sofa as he watched his mother give him a siren laugh. A small smile crept up on his face as he corrected his posture. "I hate it when you do that." He said.
"I know, but I can't help it." She replied to him, a radiant smile on her face as well. "You just get so bothered when the thought of making someone yours comes to mind." She stated, her giggling subsiding as Rakaia let loose a slight laugh his self.
"Alexia used to do the same thing." His eyes saddened a bit.
His mother's eyes followed the same pattern as she got up from the table and walked towards the couch, where her son sat. "I know you miss her a lot." She said as she took a seat next to him. "She placed a hand on his back and rubbed it gently for a bit. "I miss her too, believe me." She added. "But we'll find her, trust your mother's words." She finished as Rakaia slightly glanced up at her for a second.
"Did dad say anything about her?" His question caused his mother to narrow her eyes for a split second.
She shook her head, but Rakaia noticed for a split second his mother's angry expression. "It's the same thing every time I call him. "He's working on it." She quoted Rakaia's father as a slight huff escaped her mouth
"Yea, whatever…" Rakaia replied as well.
"Well, I'm sure it's not an easy job, especially with everything going on." She smiled down in front of him. "But I…" She was interrupted as both of their heads turned to the front door as a few knocks were made.
They both blinked in unison before they looked at each other. "Now who could that be?" She asked as Rakaia got up to go answer the door.
As soon Rakaia opened the door Cana barraged him with a huge and began to playfully beat him as she tackled him down. "Rakaia! Why do you have to be such a jerk?" She screamed as she continued to him. "Why! Why! Why!" She bellowed.
"Cana what the hell! Get off me!" Rakaia shot back as he pressed his palm into her face trying to push her off him, but she resisted as she kept beating him. "Why the hell are you even here?" He questioned as he managed to push her off with his hand, but she tried to jump back on him, but luckily he was able to use his right foot to hold her back as she tried to beat on him.
"No! You need to explain yourself!" Cana pressed on as her and Rakaia wrestled on the floor of his living room, leaving the door wide open and him not noticing the other figure that stood in the doorway.
"Ahem…" She interrupted as both Rakaia and Cana stopped their senseless squabble and turned their attention to Luna standing in the doorway. Her eyes fixated on Rakaia as he locked onto hers as well. They both narrowed their gazes as the tension between them picked up quickly.
Rakaia was the first to speak as he continued to keep his eyes locked on Luna. "What are you doing here?" He asked her as Luna stood there with her arms crossed, giving Rakaia the same look that he wore on his expression.
"We need to talk." She answered him, leaving both Rakaia's mother and Cana stunned for a minute as both Rakaia and Luna glare intensified.