"Come on, they got us outnumbered." A cop yelled as he turned the corner, appearing to be running for his life. " Let's go! Hurry!" Another shout came from him as two other cops followed behind him, trying their best to escape the situation they were in.
"Did you try radioing for help?" One of the cops asked; sweat dripping from his face along with the look of fearful expression. "Are they going to help us out?" He rambled out another question.
"I didn't get a response." The lead cop spoke back, still running for his life. "Nobody answered; it's as if they were ignoring us or something." He told them.
"But…But, they're the ones that sent us out." The third cop spoke. "They're the ones that dispatched us to this location. Why wouldn't they send us back up?" The lead cop could see the worried look on his face.
"I…I don't know. I can try again." The lead cop spoke as he lifted his radio to his mouth as they continued to run for it. "Come in, Come in, this is an emergency! We need backup! I repeat! We need back up!" The three waited for an answer, but none came. It was as if he was talking into a broken radio.
"Wha…What is going on over there?" He growled.
The three cops rounded the corner only to come to a screeching halt. His eyes widen as they took in their surroundings. "Oh…No…" The cop gasped as his eyes landed on several thugs that sat in the area, circling them and closing them off from the exit with more closing in from behind them.
"Well, well, Well, look at what we caught guys." One of the members stated. "Three lost strays, and no shelter to put them in." He bashed his hand into his fist. "Guess we're just going to have to put them down." He stated as the gang members behind him began to laugh and snicker as they all closed in on the cops, who wore worried expressions on their faces as they were completely engulfed a loud scream was released but was quickly silenced but a herd of punches and stomps.
-Meanwhile at the police department-
The light dimmed in a regular-sized office. Papers were slammed onto the desk as a cream-colored hand lies flat on top of the stack of papers that were forced on the desk.
"What the hell Eve!" A balled middle age yelled at her. He appeared generic; with Gray hair on the sides of his head while he was balled in the middle of it. He wore a brown suit with a white collared shirt and Black dress shoes, His light brown eyes showed frustration as he glared at the purple-haired police officer. "What is the meaning of all these reports?" He questioned her, his frustration clearly visible but Eve wasn't fazed by his outburst, instead she appeared a bit annoyed herself.
"Hospital reports, excessive brutality; what the hell is wrong with you? You can't just…"
"With all due respect sir." Eve cut him off. "They resisted arrest and I had to use necessary force to detain them." She spoke clearly, but her words cut through his rants like a knife; stopping him in his tracks, and making it hard for him to counter with a good comeback. "I was protecting myself, as my life was threatened and placed in immediate danger. I believe I am within my rights to defend myself." She told him as she crossed her arms in front of him.
She sat in a chair in front of his desk alongside Ikari, who was sitting beside her as the old man struggled with his next set of words. "But you put an innocent bystander in harm's[G3] way, that's not how…."
"That was his fault." Eve cut him off again. "He took it upon himself to interfere with our business and put himself in danger, we have nothing to do with that. Also, it is not our job to ensure the safety of civilians, it's our job to uphold the law and punish those who break them. Nothing more, nothing less," She kept her golden eyes locked on the old man as she stood up from her seat.
"I don't have time to watch over people who can't mind their own business." She excused herself as she left the room, slamming the door behind her; leaving both Ikari and the old man looking stunned and confused.
A sigh escaped the old man as he sat back in his chair, rubbing his temple with his right hand. Ikari couldn't help but let loose a nervous laugh as she turned back towards him sweating a bit, due to Eve's presence.
"Well, that was tense," Ikari stated.
"That woman is going to give me a heart attack one of these days." He adjusted himself a bit, still rubbing his temple a bit more. "Now what am I going to do with all this paperwork, she really left me a lot to clean up. Ugh, why can't she ever be a bit considerate of others?" He groaned at the amount of work he had to do.
"Well, that's Eve for you." She continued to laugh a bit as the old man slowly raised his head up, giving Ikari a tired look.
"Ikari, please tell me we're close to solving this case." He told her. "Because if Eve keeps going at the rate she is, I'll never get home to see my wife and kids." His exhausted voice was noticeable as Ikari couldn't do anything but release an audible sigh.
"I'm sorry, but it still seems like we're not getting any solid leads." She began, her voice full of disappointment at the progress that they were making. "All the arrests are full of nothing but grunts that won't spill a word about what's really going on, all we know is that police are the targets of their attacks, but we can't pinpoint who is exactly responsible for this." She explained as she brought her eyes up to meet his.
"For all we know, it could just be people attacking us as a sign of them fighting against the system." She ended.
"Or an all-out war against the police force." The old man rubbed his chin a bit as he thought about this situation as well.
"You don't think people would be that reckless do you?" She questioned his thoughts. "I mean, we are physically and mentally trained for this kind of stuff, what do people hope to accomplish by…."
"The police force has been a subject of a lot of scrutiny since the force was created. " The old man told her. "Sure we try to keep as many people as we can safe and protected, but there are those who feel that they are being wronged or have their rights violated by us." He interrupted her.
"But Chief Namaki, surely…."
"That's just how it is Ikari. Some people hate the fact that the police force was even established." The seriousness in his voice didn't fail the expression on his face as the young girl met his eyes,
"But how can that be?" Ikari spoke up again. "We are here to help people, not treat them like common criminals, why fight the people that are sworn to protect you?" She threw out a question that wasn't meant to be answered. "That's just dumb, we can't protect people if they're too busy trying to fight us, that's just stupid," Ikari spoke her mind.
Namaki sighed a bit. "Ikari…" He spoke her name with softness in his voice.
"Don't worry Chief Namaki." Ikari stood up from her seat. " I'm going to find out what's going on and we're going to get to the bottom of this, I'm going to find out what's going on if it's the last thing I do." She declared with a smile as Namaki couldn't help but shake his head at the girl that stood in front of him.
"No, you won't." He told her, throwing her off guard as she countered with a confused look on her face.
"Huh? I won't" She replied, still confused at Chief Namaki's sudden words.
"No…" He leaned back in his chair as he placed both his hands together in his lap. "What you're going to do is go out and enjoy yourself.
Ikari couldn't help but just stare at him with a blank expression on her face. "You and Eve have been working non-stop trying to solve this case, I can't have you burned out on the job, now can I? Go out and have some fun like a normal kid, go enjoy yourself." He told her.
"Enjoy myself?" She repeated questionably. "How can I enjoy myself when our members are being attacked by thugs?" Her outburst was noted as Namaki just sat there eying her for a bit. "I'm sorry Chief Namaki…" She caught herself as she stepped back a bit. "It's just…Frustrating that's all." She told him as Namaki could only nod in agreement as he turned his chair a bit to look out the large-scale window.
"I agree Ikari." He rubbed his chin a bit. " I agree." He finished as the night sky remained to dominate as the moon shined onto the city streets.
Next day
The sun beamed down on the occupants of the city. Everyday life routine returns to the population as the civilians made their way towards their individual destinations. The streets were crowded as it was on any given normal day as the roads were covered with cars and buses taking their occupants to their respective places.
In the midst of the normality, Rakaia walked the sidewalk, his hands jammed into his pockets with a less than happy expression on his face. The remnants of the previous night were still fresh in his head as he blocked out the sound of his surroundings as he made his way to school.
Using his memory to remember exactly where he was, he didn't necessarily need to look at where he stepped as far as his location was concerned. "Miss out on an opportunity." He repeated his mother's words. His eyes narrowed a bit. " Does she really think that I can learn from someone like her?" He questioned her words of wisdom as he crossed the street, moving along with the civilians they crossed the street,
"What could she possibly teach me?" His mind was wrapped up in last night's conversation as he continued to make his way to school." Ugh," He let out an irritable groan. "I don't need her." He gritted his teeth slightly. " I can take care of Saitou myself, I'll just beat him down and call it a day, I don't get why so many people are worked up about it." Rakaia finished as he entered the school grounds.
The bell sounded as students from all over campus began to make their way to their classes. Rakaia, on the other hand, took a second to look around as if he was looking for something or someone; but his eyes fell a bit at the realization of the object in question not being spotted. "I guess I really did piss Cana off last night." He spoke a bit, disappointed in realizing that Cana didn't show up before he made his way to class. "Oh well, she shouldn't have brought her over anyway." He mumbled as he made his way towards the building, along with the rest of the students. [G23]
It didn't take long for Rakaia to find his class he walked through the door to see Cana and Luna already in their seats, while other students talked amongst themselves, not really paying Rakaia any attention.
The three locked eyes for a moment, but Luna just sent a glare his way and Cana turned her nose up at him while crossing her arms. Rakaia replied by sucking his teeth a bit as he made his way to his desk, sitting in front of Cana and beside Luna; but ignoring the both of them. "Hmph, whatever," Was his only spoken response as he took his seat.
The professor appeared and the day went by relatively slow with both Rakaia and Luna sending each other a glare every so often in class. Cana, who was sitting behind Rakaia could see the tension between the two as they both unknowingly remained focused on each other, but for obvious reasons.
Before they knew it was time to take a lunch break, the students piled together, while some exited the class to go eat lunch outside or to take part in another activity for a bit to free their minds from the exhausting teachings of class.
Rakaia stood up, looking down at Luna who just returned it with a look of her own. "Is there something you want?" Her glare deepened a bit.
"Trust me," Rakaia told her. "You don't have anything that I need." He replied as he walked passed her without so much of a second look. Cana saw the exchange between the two and glared at Rakaia's back as her cheeks puffed up a bit, Luna gave him a slight huff and turned her head away from him.
Cana turned her look back to Luna who focused on her desk. She looked down at the empty surface with her stomach growling immensely. "Hey Luna," Cana called out to her. "Uh, Luna?" A confused look appeared on Cana's face. "Where's you're lunch?" She asked her, her green eyes locked on the empty surface, which was the top of her desk.
Luna didn't even look at Cana as she was trying to silence the growls in her stomach as she watched as other students pulled out their lunches and began to stuff their faces. "I…I…I'm not hungry, I normally eat at home and…." Luna's half-baked excuse was cut off by the sound of her stomach growling, which caught the attention of everyone in the class. Her cheeks flushed a deep red as she slumped down on her desk in shame.
An evil sly smirk appeared on Cana's face. "You were saying." She told her, taking in Luna's embarrassment as her stomach continued to assault her with growls and groans.
"I'm not hungry…" Luna uttered under her breath.
"Come again." Cana leaned in a bit closer.
Luna gulped as her stomach continued to growl. "I'm not hungry…" She repeated as Cana smiled brightly as she pulled up a chair and sat in front of Luna's desk, placing two lunches on top of it.
"Well, that's good then. I did bring two lunches because that idiot Kaia, always forgets his. "She opened up both boxes to reveal an assortment of food.
"Luna's eyes nearly shot out of her head as the smell hit her; no, not only just the smell but the display of the assortment itself. Her mouth watered at the sight of Bento boxes that Cana had sat on her desk. White rice took up half of the bento box, but the other half held a large hamburger steak with a few bell peppers and vegetables on the side to make it a balanced lunch. Luna's mouth was drooling at this point as Cana continued to talk to her.
"Well, I guess since you're not hungry, it's more for me." She told her as she heard Luna's stomach roar again.
Luna really wanted to dive into the box of food, but tried to keep her composure, but was failing miserably. "Oh well, here's to a full stomach." Cana was about to dig in, making sure to take her time to tease Luna, who fell for the bait.
"Wait…" Luna stopped her, trying to avoid eye contact with her. "I…I…. Would you mind if…" Luna was shuffling in her desk as if she didn't know how to ask Cana if she could have a bite.
"Hmm." Cana teased as she took a bite of the hamburger steak out of her box. "Mmm this is so good, Rakaia's mom makes the best lunches!" She exclaimed as Luna gulped a bit as her tongue slowly slipped out of her mouth she began to lick her lips.
Cana was about to take another bite as she saw Luna literally staring at the other bento box with a carnivorous expression on her face. She could tell that Luna was trying to hold back from asking and that her stomach was getting louder by the second.
She put her sticks down and gently slid the other bento box towards her. "Go on, you can have it." She told her as Luna looked up at her with the most surprised look that she conjures up at the moment. "I'm serious, you look like you're starving something, go ahead and eat up." She stated as Luna looked up at her and then back at the food that was placed in front of her.
She gave one more look at Cana, who only nodded her head as Luna took that as a sign and picked up her set of utensils and began to eat as well. Once she took her first bite, Luna's eyes lit up as she continues to shove food down her throat. "So, how is it?" Cana asked, leaning forward again.
Luna looked at her. "This food is amazing, did his mom really make this?" She asked.
"Not convinced?" Cana replied.
"No…It's not that?' Luna picked up another piece of steak burger." It's just…"
"So good, that you can't fathom it being made by human hands." Cana interrupted her. "Yea, I said the same thing myself when Rakaia first brought me a box." She told her as Luna continued eating, ceasing her stomach's rebellious groans.
"I see," Luna responded. "His mother is a pretty good cook," Luna added on as she took another bite.
'The best!" Cana shouted out. "She puts my mom's cooking to shame anyway, believe me." Cana made a blah expression at the thought of her mother cooking.
Luna responded with a small giggle as she ate, but Cana's playful antics dissipated for a bit. "Hey Luna, how come you didn't bring your lunch?" Cana asked her, stopping Luna in her tracks. "Don't you have food at your place?" She asked out of curiosity.
Luna didn't bother to answer, she gave a short pause and continued to eat, ignoring Cana's question. "So how does it feel to be a celebrity?" Cana tossed a question at her as they both ate lunch together. "To have people go crazy over you constantly, must get on your nerves huh?" She followed up with another one.
Luna glanced up at Cana for a bit as she swallowed a bit of her food. "It's…Well, it's not the best thing ever, if that's what you're thinking." Luna replied casually.
"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you don't enjoy it." Cana shot back.
Luna calmly shook her head in response to the hyperactive girl sitting in front of her. "I rather not have everyone fond of me, or fighting to get an autograph from me. It's not…Well…It's…." Luna stumbled over her words as she tried to finish her sentence.
"But people adore you, Luna," Cana interjected. "Even when you came here you…Wait…Why did you come here?" She asked her as Luna froze quickly, stopping her arm from lifting up to her mouth. Her eyes were wide open to the question as Cana stared at her for a brief moment.
"What happened that made you leave XMA?" Cana hit her with another question. "And why did you come to South High Academy out of all places?" Cana was relentlessly unaware of how she was bombarding Luna with personal questions, questions Luna didn't want to answer.
"I mean, you could have chosen any other school, but you chose the poorest and low standing of them all, South high…You could have gone to North High, the school where the advanced prestigious students go…Or East where the hardcore sports students attend, or…"
Luna's hand was beginning to tremble as Cana continued to ask her a dozen questions at a time. Her body was tense as she gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing momentarily as she tried not to jam her utensil into her food, but Cana wasn't catching the hint.
"I mean don't get me wrong, I'm glad you came to South High, we could really use someone like you here to help out, especially with Kaia." Rakaia's name being mentioned brought Luna out of her tensed moment as she slowly looked up at Cana, seeing a chance to divert the conversation to something else, she acted on it.
"Why do you say that?" Luna asked her, detouring the conversation.
Cana stopped eating for a moment as her emerald eyes fell onto her food. "Well, things have been getting a bit rough around here lately." Cana started. "The crime rate is up and people are slowly losing their minds. Gangs are acting out worst than what they already were and…and seeing a face like yours, I just think it would help out, you know?" Luna met Cana's gaze as Cana gave her a small but calm smile before she went back to eating.
"Kaia's got this big matchup coming up and he's going to get pummeled." Cana started to play with her food a bit. "The guy he's up against is going to make sure that every hit that he gives him is solid and…and…I just don't think Kaia can match him." Cana continued on as Luna listened intently.
"He refuses to see that he might be outmatched this time around and well, I just figured that maybe since you're here and you were like his idol, maybe he would listen to you and learn a couple of things." Cana admitted." But who was I kidding?" A bit of frustration hit her voice. "He's hard-headed, he doesn't listen and when his back is up against the wall he wants to throw all caution to the wind." Cana sighed as she slowly twirled her sticks around in her food, a sad look of depression on her face. "…Stupid Idiot." Luna could clearly see that the upcoming battle Rakaia was in was upsetting her, especially since the encounters they had with his opponent.
"I just…I just thought that maybe you training him would give him a chance, but now…."
"You want me to train him?" Luna cut her off, catching her by surprise.
"Well, um…If you…If you don't mind…I mean…I know he's been a real jerk to you lately and…"
Luna took a deep breath and thought about Cana's request. She saw the hopeful expression on Cana's face as she looked at her and sighed once again. "Cana, from the time that I've got here you've been a great person to me." Luna began. "And also a great friend to that stubborn idiot of yours." She told her as she stood up out of her chair, causing Cana's eyes to follow her movements. "But, I can't make him do what he doesn't want to do. If he wants me to train him, then he's going to have to come to me. Right now, the choice is his to make." Luna ended as she gently bowed a bit. "Thanks for the food Cana, it was delicious." She told her as she walked away from her, leaving Cana to her own thoughts.
-Meanwhile in the workout room on the school grounds-
"Do you really think you have a chance against Saitou?" Noah asked him as he sat on a workout bench, watching Rakaia work out against a punching bag, delivering a variety of punches and kicks to the sand-filled object. "I mean, you know he's more skilled than you're giving him credit for right?" Noah added.
"I don't care Noah; I'm taking him down; simple as that," Rakaia responded as he delivered a two-punch combo to the punching bag. "Besides," Rakaia added as he faked like he was ducking an attacked and responded with a high roundhouse kick. "What are you so worried about anyway? Don't you have any faith in me?" Rakaia questioned his friend as he delivered a few more combos to the punching bag in front of him.
"It's not that I don't have faith in you," Noah spoke back. "It's just…Well, Saitou is…Oh, I don't know…Apart from being the leader of the Viper Brothers, he's also known for putting people in the hospital!" Noah yelled at him for a bit. "Are you even taking this matter seriously? I mean come on Rakaia; Saitou probably hasn't even given you his best yet." Noah tried to stress the fact to Rakaia, but he just kept hammering away on the object in front of him.
"I don't care about that Noah." Rakaia threw another punch. "All I care about is finally getting him one on one and knocking him out, it's as simple as that." Rakaia not really listening to what Noah had to say.
Noah sighed a bit as he reached for his phone and started to press the screen a few times. "Look, I did a bit more research on Saitou and It says he's won a few fighting events of his own." He pointed the screen to Rakaia so he could have a look. "It's nothing famous or special, just some local fighting events that happen every so often, but he's pretty much pounded his way through the competition." Rakaia stopped what he was doing and brought himself over to Noah to have a look at the phone. "Some say that his fighting style is a bit weird like he's moving like a snake or something. It really throws off his opponents." Rakaia was looking at the screen for a bit, reading the comments that were left in the article that was pulled up by Noah.
"They call him the Brawling Viper, A street fighter that incorporates the Snake style in his street fights," Noah told him.
"The what with the what now?" Rakaia gave him a confused look causing Noah to fall face first on the ground.
"I swear, do you ever pay attention to anything!" Noah yelled at him. "How do you not know about the Viper Technique, It's the snake style of the Chinese martial arts! How do you not know that?" Noah was steaming as Rakaia just simply shrugged his shoulders, rubbing the back of his head nervously as Noah was schooling him a bit.
"Don't worry about teaching it to his kid…" Both Rakaia and Noah's eyes lit up as their head spun towards the doorway of the gym room to see The Viper brothers standing there with their arms crossed. "Because he's about to learn about it firsthand," Saitou smirked as he crossed his arms as Kaitou locked the doors and Maitou stood beside Saitou, carrying the same evil smirk with their leader after they locked the gym completely with just them, along with Rakaia and Noah.