Mr Moikawa stood in front of the various screens on the table in the shadows of his organization. A sinister grin crept on his face at the sound of one of his men approaching him.
"So Nebulas has been defeated?" The man towering Mr Moikawa asked in a strict tone.
"This was inevitable he was up against Douma. What did you expect? The poor thing was torn to shreds."
"It appears that Tanashi has made a mockery of himself too. Who gets themselves stuck to a tree? What an imbecile I'm surprised we're still keeping him around."
Cracking his knuckles, the tall man in the dark coat and shades walked to the corner of the room looking for someone or something.
"Shogo Yasuo, as the head of the assassins, you and the others will be getting ready for Douma's arrival at Cryptic Sanctuary. Akira and Kaito should be heading back now, your responsibility is to ensure that our guest doesn't 'wander around' too much."
Removing his shades that revealed his pale yellow eyes, Shogo turned to Mr Moikawa and grunted in response. Come what may as long as it involved annihilating the threat.
"Don't hesitate to take him down. I know you won't disappoint me, you have extraordinary records. Anyone who dares step on your toes is in their intermission stage, of becoming a corpse that is." Mr Moikawa cracked a laughter after the last sentence. Shogo on the other hand remained silent.
The footage captured on the screens was still playing. Mr Moikawa let out another laugh he was looking forward to Douma's arrival. His reaction to Atashi's alliance with Cryptic Sanctuary was going to be entertaining. The two friends will start fighting to the death again, exactly what Mr Moikawa was waiting for.
Adjusting his blade, Shogo latched it onto his back again and approached Mr Moikawa who was a little surprised with a hint of fear by the sudden approach. Shogo was normally quiet and elusive, he never had much to say. This time, he seemed eager to get this mission started, which made Mr Moikawa even more excited for what's to come.
"Make sure Akira and Kaito are ready, no fooling around." Shogo said with the same demanding tone that could shake the Earth to oblivion. "A mutual understanding will bring us great victory. I hope that's what those two are aiming for. I can always finish the job myself."
Mr Moikawa kept the same sinister smile on his face, fighting the urge to not let that grin stretch too widely and strain his muscles. "I'm certain you will handle this impressively. Who knows, I might discover some new skills that you have acquired which might introduce more cooperations between our closest teams in the future. Let's see where this goes."
Shogo wore his shades again and walked away in silence. Mr Moikawa took that as an agreement and continued watching the footage on the screens. Just you wait leader of Paradise Shrine, we're not done with you yet. Mr Moikawa let out another laugh.
~~~
Sitting against the tree outside the house, Shinobu opened her eyes and glanced at her surroundings that was free of chilling winds and piling snow, a sign that the storm was gone.
But how come? That was when Shinobu remembered something very important.
The violette immediately got up and looked at the sky that was as clear as day. After the surge of frost swept through the mountains she had been struggling to snap out of her drowsy state. Every few seconds she would blackout and then regain consciousness again. She was so tired that she had completely forgotten about Douma who was all alone out there.
From the look of things, time has passed by a margin. The storm was gone which was a good thing but there was no sign of Douma anywhere.
"This is great news we won't have to worry about the cold anymore, Douma saved us from the storm." Shinobu glanced at the corner of the path leading to the other houses and Hayori Town. "But where is he? Surely he'd be back by now right?"
Shinobu looked around feeling a wave of emptiness. Even though the storm was gone, something was amidst. It just felt out of place as though it's supposed to here but it wasn't.
Where are you Douma? I know you wanted to deal with this yourself but don't leave us worried. We're friends aren't we? Shinobu wasn't sure if she should wait for his return or check to see if he's alright. Even if it meant traveling far. This emptiness was gnawing at her by the second.
"Maybe he's at town! Yeah that's where he probably is." Shinobu took off down the path towards Hayori Town, hoping to see the slightest glimpse of that red kimono.
The same phrases rang in her head over and over again as she got closer to one of the first stores that came to view.
No he can't be gone! Maybe that was just him getting rid of the storm! This is Douma we're talking about he can handle things like that. Why would he risk his life just to save us? After all we did to him we don't deserve that kind of noble act, he's still out there somewhere we just have to be patient. Shinobu's chest tightened every time she thought about the possibilities of the aftermath of Douma's battle with Nebulas. Although there wasn't any proof about Douma's current state, Shinobu wanted to believe that he was fine but at the same time his disappearance was slowly getting to her, she was beginning to doubt her own hopes and certainties. Her arrival at Hayori Town was making her more anxious than ever she couldn't put together where she wanted to begin her search.
A few possible places came to mind as Shinobu ran to the significant parts of Hayori Town; the busier stalls, the fountain, and center of town.
The violette ran to the center of town, she was hopeful since that's where people normally settle down to decide what they wanted to do next.
When she got there she glanced around hoping to see the familiar figure of Douma walking towards the direction of the house. But to her dismay, he wasn't there.
Gulping, Shinobu stood there thinking of another possible location that immediately popped up in her mind.
"Maybe he's at the shrine." Shinobu hurriedly took off in the opposite direction leading her out of town and towards the slope.
Running towards the shrine lifted her confidence but not so much. She was the only one searching the entire Hasu Mountains for Douma, there was not a single person that she had encountered yet. Which meant there was no way of knowing if Douma was around or not, she needed to find out herself and it was starting to crush every bit of hope she had.
The violette passed the clearing where Douma and Nebulas fought which was empty. She wanted to believe that Douma might have gone back to the shrine so she continued running up the path with the remaining optimism keeping her from losing motivation.
"He's gotta be at the shrine, where else could he be?" Shinobu's legs were giving out from the exhaustion she felt from her worries. If it weren't for how anxious she was feeling now, she'd have no problem taking the time to run up the slope.
Soon she arrived at Paradise Shrine. Likewise, it was empty. Just the sound of the wind blowing and the rustles of leaves on the ground.
Shinobu didn't know what to do from here. These were the only places where Douma would have taken a break. The violette felt the distance between her and everyone she knew widen. It was as though all hope was lost.
Placing her fist against her chest in remorse, Shinobu recalled all the times she had with Douma; Their investigation, adventures together, and even their arguments.
"Why do things have to come to this? It's only been a week..." Shinobu decided to see if Douma was around the village she wasn't going to give up just yet.
Maybe we should've listened to what he said about stopping the storm. Pressurizing him about it wasn't going to solve anything. Everyone including myself was being so selfish. Why can't we be considerate about others? The violette ran past a few houses. She turned around a few times while searching the place, expecting to see Douma wandering around talking with the villagers perhaps, but it was barren.
Shinobu couldn't bear with the same result she was getting. At this rate she might end up sinking to the ground as an escape from the brutal reality of the situation, not knowing what to do about something she had no control over.
"Talking with Reiji might help. I don't have to stress myself out over this we'll think of a plan..." Regardless, Shinobu had to take a rest. She wasn't sure if this was going to work but she didn't want to deal with the sadness that was filling the brim. The utmost relief everyone felt from the storm was something she wanted to experience too.
Shinobu made a run for it back to Hayori Town. The violette was prepared that Reiji's speculations might be the last thing she wanted to hear. It wasn't anyone's fault for them to think of the unfortunate possibilities. Both she and Reiji could try to find Douma together, but how was she going to assure Reiji that the plans will get them somewhere if she wasn't so sure either. Right now she was literally running back as an escape from these arising problems. The truth of the matter is, she wasn't prepared and neither will Reiji.
The thought of her friendship with Douma being so fragile was making the violette question her own intentions that she was certain meant well for everyone's wellbeing. Did Douma sense something from her that didn't seem right which is why he departed from everyone because of the ongoing distrust he was facing? But his efforts contradicted that, he saved her countless times and even took the extra mile to shield her away from danger with his powers. They worsened the storm at times, but he had to unleash them for her sake.
Thinking about this made Shinobu feel a little bad. Without her even realizing it, she somewhat contributed to this, did she? But the thing is, nobody saw it that way.
While Shinobu was still pondering about underlying causes within their friendship, she ran down the walkway leading to Reiji's before coming to a stop when she noticed something that wasn't there before.
There was a bus parked at the side of the road. The bus captain was distributing tickets to the passengers boarding the bus.
"Douma is still out there. I'll find him and bring him back."
The bus captain waved the tickets in the air catching Shinobu's attention.
"Grab your tickets for two hundred yen!"
Shinobu got some cash ready. She approached the bus captain and made the payment on the spot.
The ticket was handed to her as Shinobu collected it and boarded the bus to Tokyo which was at least a three hour ride from Hasu Mountains.
There was one factor that Shinobu was worried about, the timing. In a few hours it was going to be evening, so she had to hurry. The violette had completely forgotten about that and now Reiji was going to turn the house upside down to look for her. Shinobu felt bad but plans were distorted and there were limited options right now.
While there's a high possibility that Douma will return to Hasu Mountains once Shinobu finds him, she had to be prepared if things don't turn out as expected, she'll have to get Reiji for the next plan. Shinobu wanted to get this done with once because of how complicated the situation was she didn't want to resort to other plans yet but if it comes down to that she'll have to regardless.