Akira ran with full speed to the dormitory, ignoring the bad feeling he had in his gut that something had gone wrong.
Jin, Ken, Akito, and Akio were together at that time in the convening room, right at the center of the large hall. It was where the operatives were given the freedom to relax and hang out right before getting dispatched on missions or to kill time if there was nothing to do at the moment.
"Have any of you guys seen Mia since the Remission Ceremony?" asked Jin, unable to tame his jealousy. He just hoped she was not still with that mysterious person she was with earlier today.
"No, I haven't, but I do not think it's something you have to worry about, Jin," answered Ken, "and Mia can take care of herself."
"I know that, but did any of you take note of the person she was with?" he asked.
"No, I never bothered to take note," replied Akito, drinking from the skin of the wine.
"Did it occur to any of you that the person she was with could have been a dangerous spy?" he asked rudely.
"Whoa! - Take it easy, Jealous!... We just assumed that even if he might not be who he seemed to be, Mia should at least be able to take care of whatever comes out of it. "She decided to go out with that stranger, and she must have had a good reason for it—I mean, she's not a child, you know?" said Akio as he took the wineskin from his brother and started drinking from it as well.
"Sorry, Akio—I'm just worried about her," he said, "and I'm not jealous!" He clarified with a reddened face.
"Sure, Jin. "We believe you," responded Akito dramatically with a mischievous grin that made Ken and Akio laugh.
Soon enough, their attention would be taken by the aggressive shouts of a man coming from the dispatcher's office.
...
Akira got into the hall, heading straight for the office of the dispatcher, Mikan Katsura.
His frequent visits to see Rangiku several months ago at the dormitory had given him a sense of familiarity with the place, so he was quite easily able to get to the dispatcher's office without help from anybody.
He got into the office and was greeted by Mikan.
"Hey, I'm looking for a girl," he said.
"I assume she has a name?" she asked.
"Rangiku Tachibana," he stated.
"Are you serious?" she asked, knowing that everyone who knew Rangiku had heard the news that she had been executed as a traitor. Though for some reason this person didn't know her, he seemed quite familiar, so she had to ask,
"Oh, you look familiar, but I don't think you are an operative." "Just who are you exactly?" she asked.
"Look, ma'am, I'm afraid I do not have time for this; I need to see her right now!" he said, being as polite as he could.
Normally he would resort to violence to get the information he needed as soon as possible, but Rangiku wouldn't approve of that, as she loved and respected everyone associated with the Sukunaku. So for her sake, he had to play the gentleman.
But his patience was running out, as Mikan simply kept silent, looking at him with a sceptical gaze.
"So... where is she?" he asked sharply.
Mikan took a deep breath and finally let it out.
"You haven't heard, have you, young man?" "Rangiku Tachibana is dead, and so is her sister!"
Akira frowned in terror and disbelief.
"What?" he asked. "What did you say?"
"She is dead," she said.
"Why?" he asked, as nothing made sense to him.
"She was executed for treason against the code of the league," she clarified.
"When?" he asked, as his rage was starting to kindle.
"Barely a few days ago. "She and her sister were executed by fellow operatives in the forests just outside the city walls," she answered, and then asked,
"How come you do not know about this?" "Who were you to her?"
"Who were the operatives responsible for this?" he asked, as thoughts of vengeance fueled his anger.
"What?" she asked, as she never anticipated such questions.
"WHO KILLED RANGIKU?!" he yelled out in anger.
Mia slowly reached behind her discreetly to draw her hidden dagger should things get out of hand.
"That is classified," she answered calmly, unfazed by his rage,...
"What do you mean, 'it's classified'?" he asked in response, slowly losing his temper.
"You have to calm down, young man, or I would have to ask you to leave at once," she said sternly.
"Leave? "Are you messing with me?" He said this, drawing out his sword very quickly before Mikan could even completely unsheathe her dagger to defend herself, and setting it right at her throat.
Now her life was completely at his mercy, as she could do nothing to defend herself—one slight move against him and her head would fall and roll.
"I'm going to ask you one last time, Woman - "WHO KILLED RANGIKU?" he asked, with undiluted rage seething through his voice.
Mikan was unfazed by his gesture and simply answered,
"To save time, you might as well skip to the part where you cut my head off for not saying anything—because I am not saying anything." "My loyalty to the Sukunaku exceeds my fear of death."
"Your mistake, woman," he said as he brought down his blade to take her head off.
At the right moment, the door behind him swung open, causing him to hesitate for a second—enough time to save Mikan's life as she was able to get out of harm's way and unsheathe her dagger.
"Mikan!" cried out Ken as he swung his fist at Akira's face. But he swiftly dodged Ken's attack and countered with a barrage of punches followed by a heavy kick that sent him flying off the window of the office, shattering the heavy glass as his body flew off.
Mikan swung her dagger at him multiple times, which he dodged quite easily before hitting her out of consciousness with his fist.
Jin and the twins came in as well to fight, but Akira swiftly took them down, overwhelming all of them simultaneously without breaking a sweat.
Then he grabbed Akio by the shirt,
"I guess you know Rangiku Tachibana. I hear she was killed by someone in the league. So tell me, "Who was it?" he asked.
Akio remained silent, not saying a word.
"WHO WAS IT!?!" he yelled out, frustrated and angry.
Akito stood up, wanting to attack, but Jin held him back by the arm.
"We are too far away to do anything, Akito; he will kill your brother before you even get close enough to save him."
"You still won't give me an answer?" Akira asked, right before holding him up by the throat and choking him sadistically.
When Akito saw this, he could no longer hold himself back, so without hesitation, he ran at full speed, lunging at the enemy to save his beloved brother.
But before he could get close enough, Akira ran his sword through Akio's chest, impaling him before Akito could stop him.
When Akira saw Akito approaching, he threw Akio's body at his brother, stopping him from coming any closer.
Akito caught Akio's body and kneeled with it, calling his name repeatedly to no response.
Akio was stabbed right through the chest and was completely done for, unable to reply to his brother, who kept calling his name without relenting.
Akio looked at his brother, sobbing bitterly as he was holding him in his arms. He was neither able to say nor do anything—not even be able to comfort his crying brother as he felt the cold arms of death wrap around him.
Within seconds, everything faded to black, as death had snatched him from everything he had come to know and love, and the only thing that left with him was the regretful burden of not being able to say goodbye to his brother and his close comrades before leaving them.