-Same day/Training Gym-
Rakaia was tired and his fatigue showed, Luna, on the other hand, didn't appear to have broken a sweat. "You want to take a break?" Luna asked him, slightly tilting her head, arms crossed with a bit of a concerned look on her face. "I don't want you to overdo it on the first day, Rakaia," Luna added as she watched her new pupil breathe heavily in front of her. "It's ok to calm down for a bit and catch your breath." She assured him as Rakaia continued to try and control his breathing.
"N...N... No…" Rakaia heaved. "I... I can't afford to take a break." Rakaia replied, slowly lifting his gaze up to meet Luna's. "I'm sure Saitou is out there training right now, and me taking a break isn't going to do anything but slow me down. I got to make sure I'm able to beat him," Rakaia told her as Luna continued to stare at him.
"I like your conviction, but Rome wasn't built in a day you know, take it slow for a bit, you'll get the hang of it." She reassured him again as Rakaia finally stood back up putting up his guard, locking eye contact with Luna once again." Besides, if you push yourself too hard during training, then you won't have anything left when it's time to fight him." She pointed out as Rakaia looked at her for a bit.
"I understand you want to get better, but you still must pay attention to your body and if it's calling for a break, then you need to take a break; no point in running yourself into the ground on day one. It won't prove anything." She explained as kept her eyes focused on him. "Let's take a break Rakaia," Luna sighed as she moved her arm to the left, her finger pointing at a zoned-out Cana, sleeping on the floor. " Even Cana is taking it easy, what do you say we call it a day?" She brought her gaze back to him as Rakaia lifted his body up, taking a few more seconds before he got back into his fighting stance, eying Luna intently.
"Let's go…" He breathed.
"You can't be serious. Did you not hear what I just said?" Luna eyed him as she saw how his body shook a bit, more than likely from Rakaia forcing himself to stand up for another training round. "Rakaia, this is only day one, you don't have to…."
"You said it yourself," Rakaia cut her off. "We don't have a lot of time." He repeated her words from earlier. "I only have a few days left to get ready and if I go into the match like this, then I'm bound to get beat," Rakaia stated. "So come on Luna, come at me." He told her as Luna just stared at him for a moment before coming back to her senses.
Luna sighed as she shook her head in disbelief. "You're going to get yourself hurt, you know that right?" She asked him. "There's no point in rushing things, just take a breather and…."
"Screw that!" Rakaia cut her off again. "I was relaxed when Saitou came and ambushed me and Noah, Noah got hurt because of me and I'm not going to let that bastard think he's going to get away with it," Rakaia told her, his fists clenching as Luna noticed the determination in his eyes. "If you aren't going to make a move, then I'll come to you!" Rakaia shouted as he quickly launched himself towards Luna.
Luna had no choice but to let a smile cross her lips as she watched Rakaia made his way toward her. "Alright then, if you're sure about this." She prepared herself as well. "Here I come!" She charged toward Rakaia, closing in the gap between them.
The two contacted each other as they both began their assault. Punches and kicks were exchanged between the two, with Luna's landing every other blow and Rakaia, wearing out by the second. He pushed, but Luna pushed harder as she landed a few more jabs on Rakaia, countering his punches and kicks, with a few combos of her own, ending with a solid kick to the chest, sending Rakaia sliding back across the floor, but he remained on his feet.
Rakaia gritted his teeth as he got ready for a second rush, but Luna caught him off guard as she charged in towards him. "Keep your guard up!" Luna shouted as she made her way to him. "Nobody is going to let you catch your breath in a fight!" She got within range and used her left arm to feint, Rakaia saw it coming and was about to dodge it, but Luna quickly switched and caught Rakaia with a right pressing it hard against his jaw, knocking him off his feet and into the ground.
"You could have stopped that, you know?" Luna looked down at him as Rakaia coughed a bit, slowly getting back up to his feet again. "You didn't notice the distance between us, you could have stopped me before I attacked you." She pointed out.
Rakaia's body ached all over as Luna looked down at him. "You're thinking too much about what I'm going to do and not how you're going to react, you have to keep in mind, that as your opponent I'm going to try and throw you off just so I can have the advantage." She told him as Rakaia turned to face her, standing back up on his two feet again. "Remember, be aware of the distance you have with your opponent, no matter how close or far they may be, always know; that way you can get a pretty good idea on how you're going to strike." She explained to him as she saw him nod his head, indicating that he understood. "Alright then, here I come!" Luna began to sprint towards Rakaia as he studied her movements for a moment.
"Alright, distance…" Rakaia thought mentally as he watched Luna approach him. "Be able to measure the distance by looking at your opponent," HIs mind tried to conjure up the meaning of those words as Luna got within range of Rakaia and began the process by throwing a few punches in which Rakaia dodged and countered with his own. "Stay calm, watch her movements and measure the distance between us," Rakaia spoke mentally to himself as Luna, jumped back landing on her feet as she lunged forward towards Rakaia again, who charged at her as well.
"What do you plan to do when you're that close!" She yelled at him as Rakaia kept his eyes focused as both he and Luna drew closer and closer together. "You're too close Rakaia, you won't be able to fight back like that!"
"No, not yet, just a little more." He thought as he ducked a roundhouse kick from Luna, who quickly turned it into a leg sweep, but Rakaia got out of her range of attack before she had the chance to hit him. "Not yet…." His mind repeated as Luna wasn't about to slack on the pressure, she was putting on Rakaia.
"Come on Rakaia! You're going to have to hit back at some point!" Luna shouted as she continued through a flurry of punches, trying to stay close as possible so Rakaia would be trapped in her onslaught, cornering him as she used her feint technique again, using her left arm she was about to swing, Rakaia quickly falling for the same move once again as she switched to her right hand. "I got you!" Luna screamed as her right hand was about to land another punch on Rakaia's face.
"Now!" His mind kicked in as Rakaia quickly stopped his progression and struck with a fierce forearm, catching Luna completely by surprise, stopping her movements at the last second, Rakaia's elbow nearly missing her face as she quickly jumped back away from him.
She had a shocked expression on her face as she watched Rakaia slowly go back into his fighting stance. "Wow, that...that was close...You did it." Luna smiled as she placed one hand on her hip. "You were able to make a move based on the distance that you had, you were close up and you went with the best option you had." Her brown eyes didn't betray her words as she was genuinely happy that Rakaia was slowly beginning to get the hang of it.
"Yea, I just figured that you would probably hit me first if I tried to outpunch you," Rakaia responded with honesty.
"So, you took my speed into account as well." Luna nodded, her smile remaining on her face. "You are learning a bit faster than I thought you would,"
"Thanks," Rakaia smiled back at her. "I didn't think I would ever get a compliment coming from you." He replied to her as Luna slowly got back into her fighting stance.
"Don't get big-headed yet," she told him with a smirk. "We have to make sure this becomes second nature for you, so...Let's see you do it again," Luna told him as Rakaia retained his position, and Luna and he both stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move.
Rakaia could only look at Luna as she inched forward a bit before she launched herself towards him, catching Rakaia by surprise by increasing her speed a bit, attempting a roundhouse kick to the head that Rakaia barely ducked.
Trying to retaliate, Rakaia went for an uppercut, but Luna took a step back, "You're wide open!" She yelled at him as she caught Rakaia with a few jabs to the chest, causing him to take a few steps back. Luna didn't give Rakaia time to recover as she charged toward him again, but this time Rakaia was a bit more prepared.
He saw Luna approach him, leaping in the air to perform a hi jump kick, but Rakaia was able to move out of the way and return with a few punches of his own. Luna saw Rakaia's attack coming and quickly blocked them with no effort and returned the gesture with a few punches and kicks of her own.
The two danced in unison for a bit, blocking and countering one another, slowly but surely preparing Rakaia and allowing him to get used to the first lesson that Luna was teaching him. Rakaia made sure he used the distance, whether near or far to the best of his abilities, even if it meant giving Luna an opening to where she quickly exploited. "You can't just attack, you got to know how to defend!" Luna pressed him as she advanced on him with a flurry of punches and kicks, stopping Rakaia from attacking, connecting with each blow before the final kick to the chest knocked him to the ground.
Rakaia hit the ground with a hard thud, his eyes slightly swirling around his head as his vision came to with him looking up at the ceiling. "You're slowly beginning to understand how distancing yourself works, but you're having a hard time adding that to your overall fighting style, which is why you're leaving yourself open." Luna's face appeared in his vision as she extended a hand out to him. "Your defense needs work." She stated as Rakaia took her hand, allowing her to pull him up to his feet. "But don't worry, that's the next lesson we're going to work on, but for now we can call it a day." She smiled at him as Rakaia looked at her for a second and slowly collapsed back down on his butt, sighing in relief.
"You actually started to get the hang of it." Luna told him, "I'm actually impressed." Her smile radiated on him as Rakaia looked up at her, breathing hard trying to catch his breath again.
"Yea, if you get hit enough by a pro fighter, you'll force yourself to get better." Rakaia laughed a bit.
"Oh, come on, I didn't hit you that hard." She giggled a bit.
"It sure felt like it." Rakaia used his right hand to rub his jaw a bit. "Especially right here." He felt a hand on his head as he looked up at Luna's smiling face.
"I can hit you harder if you like." She gave him a sweet smile, but for some reason, Rakaia felt a disturbance in the air as he replied with a nervous laugh. Luna removed her hand and placed it back on her hip. "Don't worry; I'm pretty sure you'll be able to take it." She told him as she extended her hand towards him again. "Come on, let's go; it's a free day tomorrow, we can just take a day off, and train the day before your fight." She stated as Rakaia took her hand again, being pulled up to his feet once more as he looked over at Cana who was snoring with a bag of popcorn on her face. "Looks like Cana already called it a day." Rakaia smiled lightly at her.
Rakaia and Luna couldn't help but give a light laugh as they heard her snoring on the sideline, watching the bag deflate and then inflate again. "We should take her home," Luna stated.
"What? You mean we can't leave her here?" Rakaia joked as Luna playfully punched him in the arm." "What? I was joking?" Rakaia stated as he walked over to Cana, carefully scooping her up and maneuvering her so he could carry her on his back.
Luna watched the entire scene take place as she saw how gentle Rakaia was with her. "Come on Cana, let's get you out of here," Rakaia whispered quietly, trying not to wake up the smaller teen.
Cana's body instantly moved on its own as she slowly wrapped her arms around Rakaia's neck, muttering "Mommy, why can't you cook food like Rakaia's mom?" She muttered in her sleep, which caused both Rakaia and Luna to look at her questionably before giggling a bit more.
"It seems like she really likes your mom's cooking," Luna spoke as Rakaia adjusted Cana on his back. " Can't say that I blame her, your mom really can cook," Luna told him as Rakaia walked over towards her with Cana sleeping on his back.
"Yea, that's why we can't stop people from coming over," Rakaia replied jokingly. "I told her to stop feeding the animals, but she never listens to me." Rakaia smiled at her, unknowingly to him, Cana's hand moved and bopped Rakaia on the head before resting around his shoulders again.
"Ow, Hey," He whispered as Luna giggled once again at the display.
"Seems like she didn't like that comment," Luna stated as she grabbed her things.
"I'm sure she'll get over it," Rakaia replied as they both left the training facility and began their walk home.
Silence had fallen between the two as the three of them made their way down the sidewalk, neither party saying anything as the gentle breeze blew past them, giving them a comforting night stroll through the city and the attractions that it housed.
Luna didn't know what to say as she slightly turned her head and took in the view of Rakaia carrying Cana on his back, her sleeping form appeared to be comfortable; relaxed with no ounce of worry to be seen on her.
Luna marveled at her for a bit before turning her head back to the direction in front of her. "Cana was really worried about you, you know." Luna sparked a conversation, catching Rakaia's attention as he looked over at her. "When she found out what happened to you when Saitou told the school that he tossed you in the dumpster," she told him.
"She was, huh?" Rakaia answered her, "Yea, that sounds like her, she's always been that way." Rakaia stated. "Ever since we were kids." He turned his head to look over at Luna, who walked side by side, next to him.
"Since kids?" Luna repeated. "I can tell, you two did look pretty close," Luna told him as Rakaia gave her a small smile as he lifted his head up a bit, his eyes looking at the evening sky.
"Hey, Luna…," Rakaia called her name, causing her to glance over in his direction. "Thanks for going with her," Rakaia told her as Luna's eyes slightly widened for a moment. "There's no telling how things would have turned out if she ran out there on her own, so…. Thanks, Thanks for looking after her." Rakaia told her as Luna gave a slight blush, but it quickly faded away.
Luna nodded her head. "You don't really need to thank me really, to be honest; at the time I... I wasn't doing it...for you." Luna slowly admitted. "I just didn't want to see Cana hurt." She told him the truth, but Rakaia didn't seem fazed by it.
"Yea, I know…" Rakaia stated. "Still thanks for looking after her, she can really be a handful sometimes." Rakaia gave her another laugh as Luna looked over at him, slightly narrowing her eyes at him.
"And what about you?" Luna asked him. "Trying to go off and fight three guys on your own, is that not being a handful." She looked at him, while Rakaia turned his head away from her. "You basically went off, throwing yourself to the wolves." She added on.
"Snakes…" Rakaia corrected as Luna rolled her eyes.
"The correlation doesn't matter." Luna countered. "If you think she's a handful, how much of a headache do you think you are?" She asked him as Rakaia couldn't help but smile at her comment.
"Yea, I'm a big headache alright," Rakaia told her as Luna couldn't help but give Rakaia a perplexed look. "I know I've been making things hard for everybody, I even went and got Noah involved, and look what happened." Rakaia's eyes were slightly saddened at the thought of Saitou attacking Noah when they were trapped in the training room. "I didn't know what to do when Saitou and his brother's trapped us like that. " Rakaia continued to speak as Luna continued to listen to him.
"The only thing I could think about was trying to protect Noah, but…." Rakaia lightly gritted his teeth. "I couldn't do it…It was the same thing with Cana…" Rakaia's eyes narrowed as Luna just stared at him. "I wanted to take Saitou down so bad, but I never realized how so far apart we are. It's like our fighting skills are on two completely different planes." He took a deep breath as he thought about how Saitou got the best of him. "In that room, Saitou showed me moves that I have never seen before, moves that only someone who has trained enough could learn." Rakaia turned his head towards Luna again, catching her staring at him.
"Sorry, I didn't accept your help before and for…. everything I said," Rakaia told her as Luna looked at him, slightly blushing at his apology. "Now that you're training me, maybe I'll stand a chance and won't get completely annihilated." Rakaia laughed as Luna couldn't help but smile at him.
"Well, that's only if you're a quick learner," Luna replied. "Your face still might end up eating the ground if you're not careful." She added, her smile remaining as Rakaia and her continued to walk with a sleeping Cana, still counting sheep.
"Hey Luna, mind if I ask you something?" Rakaia asked her as Luna shook her head.
"What is it?" Her eyes glanced over at him as he turned his head away from her.
Rakaia took a deep breath before he spoke. ".... Why did you quit?" He asked her as Luna stopped in her tracks instantly as she quickly hid her expression from Rakaia, who took a couple of steps ahead of her before he realized that she had stopped walking completely. "...Luna...You ok, Luna"
Luna didn't answer immediately. It was as if her mind had transferred to somewhere else as Rakaia's question continued to loom in her head. "Luna…." Rakaia was about to turn back around to check on her, but Luna quickly snapped out of it, giving Rakaia a forced smile.
"This is my way home." She simply told him as she slowly lifted her eyes up, her friendly expression counterfeited. "I'll see you tomorrow if you want to pick up where we left off," she told him as Rakaia gave her a bewildered look as Luna turned her back towards him and walked off in the direction of her home.
Rakaia could only stand there with confusion written on his face as Luna quickly disappeared out of sight. "Luna…" He uttered her name concern still controlling his expression as he continued to look in the direction that she walked off in.
-Meanwhile-
At the police station, police officers and staff roamed the halls. Some staff members sat at their desks trying to get their work completed before the day was over as phones all over the office were ringing off the hook. In the far back of the police station sat Mr. Namaki's office, which housed Ikari, Eve, and Tsu, who remained standing; while Eve and Ikari sat in chairs that were carefully placed in front of Namaki's brown desk,
"I'm glad that I was able to get ahold of you three." The old man stated as leaned back in his chair.
"You sounded urgent," Tsu spoke. "Is something wrong?" He asked as Namaki, rubbed his chin a bit before leaning forward.
"Our intel just leaked some information to us about something big going down tomorrow night." He stated as he clasped his hands together and looked at the three officers in his office.
"Something big?" Tsu repeated. "You don't mean…."
"It's possible." Mr. Namaki replied. "We've got word that a large shipment is coming in tomorrow tonight, we just haven't confirmed the location of the drop-off point." He added as he placed his right hand on his chin, rubbing it a bit as he thought about the situation.
"A shipment?" Ikari spoke up in confusion. "A shipment of what? What are you talking about Mr. Namaki." She asked him as Eve slightly narrowed her eyes at her, sitting crossed-legged as she sucked her teeth a bit, earning an annoyed glare from her partner Eve.
"Rookies," She muttered under her breath. "He means a shipment of a new drug that's been going around," Eve told her as Ikari looked over at her. "It's safe to say that whoever has been dealing it was laying low since the last time we caught wind of it." She added as she turned her head back towards Namaki. "So, what is it? Is it the same drug or are we dealing with something else?" She asked him.
"It's hard to tell, our intel wasn't exactly precise about what the drug actually was, but we know for sure that it's being sold between gangs here in Japan," he told them,
"So, all we need to do is find out where the shipment is coming from and where the drop-off point is and we be there when the deal is in motion." Tsu stepped in, thinking for a bit."
"Whoever is delivering this, probably wouldn't do it in large amounts, it could be a small exchange." Eve brought up. "That or they wouldn't be alone." She added.
"It doesn't matter," Namaki exclaimed. "Our priority is stopping the deal from happening at all costs, we need to figure out where it's coming from and where the drop-off point is so we can be there before it happens, we don't have long; I need you all to work diligently." Mr. Namaki said as he eyed the three cops that sat in his office. "We need to stop things like this as soon as possible We already have enough problems on our hands.
"Don't worry Mr. Namaki, you can count on us to take care of it." Ikari stood with a burst of energy, causing Eve to side glare her once again. "We'll find out where the deal is going to happen and then bust them up," She pressed her fist into her hand. "We'll hit them so hard, they won't even remember what year it is," Ikari stated as Namaki looked up at her and nodded his head.
"You're not going without backup though," He stated. "This is a very dangerous case Ikari; I don't want you doing anything reckless." He added as he turned his gaze to Eve. "That goes for you as well Eve." Namaki included her as Eve crossed her arms, turning her head with a light suck on her teeth as she did. Ignoring her, Namaki turned his attention toward Tsu.
"Tsu, you're in charge of this operation." Tsu's eyes didn't change as he quickly nodded his head in agreement. "Find out what's going on and what we're dealing with, I don't want things getting out of hand," Namaki instructed him. "Find who is dealing and who is doing the pickup," Namaki finished as Tsu nodded his head once again, understanding his role in his mission.
"Understood sir, I'll see to it that nothing happens, and we come back safely while bringing back a few arrests as well," Tsu assured as Ikari sighed and crossed her arms, slightly pouting.
"Really, Tsu is going to lead the operation again?" Ikari whined. "How come Tsu always gets to lead?" She asked, not really expecting an answer until Tsu jokingly wrapped his around her.
"Well, that's because I'm a veteran, and I'm older than you." He said with a light-hearted laugh as Ikari quickly turned her head towards him.
"Age is nothing but a number." She shot back.
"You mean like your rank?" Eve stepped in coldly, shutting down Ikari instantly. "You have the lowest rank of us all, why are you even a part of this, you're just going to get yourself hurt out there," Eve told her as Ikari gritted her teeth as her Emerald eyes narrowed into a glare.
"What was that?" Ikari continued to pierce a hole through Eve with her glare.
"I don't think I need to repeat myself." Eve glanced back at Ikari as Tsu quickly intervened.
"Well now, come on you two," Tsu stated as he wrapped his arms around the two of them. "We have to get ready; we have a big day tomorrow night." He stated as he pulled them both out of Namaki's office, leaving the old man sitting there with his elbows on the table.
"Hmmm," He thought to himself as he watched Tsu close the door, leaving Namaki sitting in silence. "I got a very bad feeling about this." His voice was dark, his expression full of thoughts as he pondered on the current situation. "Be Careful Tsu...Be careful."