---April 30, 2016
---At Shibuya Tokyo, Japan
The car came to an abrupt halt at the mouth of a shadowy alleyway, right at the spot Sato had marked. Ryujin and Kenji exited the vehicle swiftly, Ryujin pausing to glare through the window at the driver with a dangerous edge to his voice.
"Stay put, or you'll be an dead corpse. Understand?" he threatened, his tone brooking no argument.
They moved deeper into the alley, Kenji grumbling under his breath, "Where has that idiot wandered off to this time?."
His frustration was directed at Sato's absence.
Just then, a voice echoed from deeper within the darkness, clear and unexpectedly calm.
"Ryujin." it called out simply.
Stepping forward from a concealed spot into the faint light, Takashi revealed himself, his presence unshielded by his usual hoodie. His expression was resolute, his stance firm.
Ryujin sneered upon seeing him, his voice dripping with derision. "Ah, the little pianist decides to show up. What's the matter... Lost your way to the concert hall?"
Takashi remained silent, his eyes fixed intently on Ryujin, ignoring the mockery as he prepared for what was to come. But Takashi just suddenly kept smirking?
---Until...
Takashi's smirk faded into cold determination as he watched Ryujin and Kenji. The tension was suffocating, and it was clear this wasn't just about confrontation.
Without a word, Takashi swiftly pulled out Sato's revolver from beneath his hoodie. Kenji, unaware of Takashi's intentions, raised a bottle, ready to throw. But before he could, a sharp crack echoed through the room. Takashi's shot hit Kenji squarely in the stomach, dropping him to the floor with a groan of pain.
The bottle shattered on the concrete, mingling with Kenji's gasps. Ryujin's eyes widened in shock and anger. He quickly rushed to Kenji's side, grabbing him under the arms and dragging him toward the exit.
Outside, Ryujin struggled to reach the car door handle while holding Kenji. The getaway driver looked on, shocked and panicked. Just as Ryujin's hand was about to close around the handle, another gunshot rang out. The door handle exploded in a shower of metal and sparks.
"You're not getting away that easily!" Takashi shouted, his voice filled with fury and determination.
Ryujin turned, eyes wide with a mixture of rage and fear. He was trapped, Kenji slumped against him and the driver uselessly staring at the scene. Takashi's grip on the revolver tightened as he advanced, every step deliberate and resolute.
"You think you can just run?" Takashi yelled, his voice echoing off the walls.
"Face me, Ryujin!"
The confrontation was far from over, and the stakes had just been raised. Ryujin, caught between a bleeding Kenji and an enraged Takashi, knew there was no easy escape now.
"I said Look at me... look at me, you scumbag!" Takashi suddenly shouted while pointing the revolver, his voice raw with anger.
Ryujin had just stood up from holding Kenji when he rushed at Takashi, tackling him to the ground. The revolver clattered across the floor, landing near Kenji, who was writhing in pain. Ryujin threw punch after punch, his fists pounding against Takashi's face and body.
Takashi grunted with each hit, but his mind was clear, driven by a surge of adrenaline and rage. Summoning his strength, he headbutted Ryujin, the impact stunning him for a moment. Taking advantage of Ryujin's disorientation, Takashi rolled them over, pinning Ryujin to the ground.
Fists flew as Takashi punched Ryujin repeatedly, each strike fueled by the suffering and loss he had endured. Blood spattered from Ryujin's nose and mouth, but Takashi didn't stop.
"You think you can just run away from everything you've done?" Takashi yelled, his voice shaking with emotion.
"You destroyed my life! You took so many innocent lives! How could you?!"
Ryujin struggled beneath him, but Takashi's grip was relentless.
"Answer me!" Takashi demanded, landing another punch.
"Do you even care about the people you've hurt, you bastard?!"
Ryujin spat blood, his eyes filled with a mix of defiance and fear.
"You don't understand," he muttered through his split bleeding lips.
"You never will."
Takashi's rage boiled over.
"Damn you, Ryujin! You deserve every bit of pain you're feeling right now!" He landed another blow, his knuckles bruising and bleeding from the repeated impact.
The getaway driver, still frozen in shock, finally sprang into action, but his hesitation cost him. Kenji, despite his injuries, managed to grab the revolver with a trembling hand.
"Stop... both of you," Kenji croaked, his voice weak but determined. The gun wavered as he aimed it at Takashi and Ryujin.
"Or I'll shoot."
Takashi, panting heavily, paused his assault. His eyes darted to the gun, then back to Ryujin, who was barely conscious beneath him. The room fell into a tense silence, broken only by their ragged breathing and Kenji's strained gasps.
"Get off him," Kenji demanded, his finger tightening on the trigger.
"Now."
Takashi slowly released Ryujin, his chest heaving. He stood up, blood and sweat mingling on his face, and stepped back, never taking his eyes off the two gang members.
"You'll pay for this," Takashi said, his voice low and filled with a deadly promise.
"Every last one of you."
Kenji nodded weakly, his grip on the revolver faltering as his strength waned.
The standoff continued, the tension thick in the air, as all three men tried to gather their wits and prepare for what would come next.
---But...
Dozens of police sirens echoed in the air, their flashing lights piercing the night. Sato arrived on the scene, holding his head in pain from an earlier injury caused by Takashi, with a squad of officers behind him. Takashi, sensing the commotion, quickly slipped into the shadows, his heart pounding as he made his escape.
Sato, squinting through the pain, scanned the chaotic scene. His eyes locked onto Ryujin, bloodied but conscious on the ground, with Kenji beside him, clutching the revolver with trembling hands.
"Ryujin," Sato growled, his voice dripping with contempt.
"I Finally caught up with you."
The officers quickly moved in, surrounding Ryujin and Kenji.
"Drop the weapon!" one of them shouted, his gun trained on Kenji.
Kenji's grip on the revolver faltered. He glanced at Ryujin, who gave a weak nod. With a resigned sigh, Kenji let the gun slip from his fingers, collapsing back onto the ground from the effort.
As the officers cuffed Ryujin and Kenji, Sato stepped closer, his gaze hard and unforgiving.
"You two have a lot to answer for."
Ryujin managed a defiant look, despite his injuries.
"This isn't over, Sato," he spat, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth.
"Not by a long shot."
Sato ignored him, turning to the officers.
"Get them out of here. Make sure they get proper medical attention, but keep them under heavy guard."
However, before the officers could comply, Sato made a subtle signal after Ryujin whispered something on his ear. The officers exchanged confused glances but reluctantly began to withdraw. Sato had his orders, and he wasn't planning on arresting Ryujin or Kenji. There were higher powers at play, and Sato was being manipulated by Ryujin's connections.
As the officers retreated, leaving Ryujin and Kenji on the ground, Sato knelt down beside them.
"You think you can keep this up forever?" he whispered fiercely,
"Your lives is limited."
Ryujin smirked weakly. "We'll see about that."
As the officers dispersed, Sato stood up and watched the scene with a conflicted expression. He hated being a pawn in Ryujin's game, but for now, he had no choice.
Meanwhile, Takashi moved swiftly through the dark alleyways, his mind racing. He needed to process everything that had happened, to make sense of the violence and chaos that had upended his life. But for now, he needed to get somewhere safe, to figure out his next steps.
As he slipped further into the city's underbelly, Takashi couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning. The events at Café Harmonia, Ryujin's escape, and the mystery surrounding the media blackout weighed heavily on his mind. There were still so many unanswered questions, and he was determined to find the truth, no matter where it led him.
---Some time later...
---April 30, 2016
---At Minato Tokyo, Japan
Hours later, Ryujin grunted in pain as the getaway driver, a scruffy man with a permanent scowl, stitched up the wound on his face.
"Damn it, watch it!" Ryujin swore, wincing as the needle pierced his skin.
"Hold still," the driver muttered, not looking up from his work. The room they were in was dimly lit, the peeling wallpaper and broken furniture indicating it had been abandoned for years. Kenji lay on a couch nearby, his stomach wrapped in bandages, staring at the ceiling.
Kenji broke the silence, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Ryujin... who was that kid? How do you know him?"
Ryujin's eyes flickered with a mix of anger and contemplation. He hadn't talked about Takashi or the massacre at Café Harmonia, especially since he had ordered Detective Sato to dismiss the case. He remained silent for a moment, trying to decide how much to reveal.
"He's just some kid who got in the way," Ryujin finally said, his voice gruff.
"But he's got more fight in him than I expected."
Kenji turned his head slightly, wincing from the pain.
"But why was he after you? It seemed... personal."
Ryujin let out a bitter laugh.
"Personal? Yeah, you could say that. I caused some trouble at a café he happened to be at. Kid took it upon himself to make it his mission to come after me."
Kenji frowned, trying to piece it together.
"What kind of trouble?"
Ryujin's expression darkened.
"You remember that café I told Sato to bury...Café Harmonia? That was the place. Things got messy, people got hurt."
Kenji's eyes widened. "That was you? But Sato said no one died."
Ryujin's jaw tightened.
"Sato's covering my tracks. Keeps the heat off me. But that kid, Little pianist, he saw everything. He's a loose end."
Kenji looked away, processing this new information. "So, what now? You think he'll come after you again?"
Ryujin sighed, the pain in his face throbbing.
"He will. He's got nothing left to lose. But I'll be ready for him. Next time, I won't let him walk away."
Kenji nodded slowly, the gravity of their situation sinking in. "We need to be more careful. He's not the only one we have to worry about. If word gets out about what really happened-..."
Ryujin cut him off. "I know. We keep moving, stay low. And if anyone gets too close, we take them out. No more mistakes."
The driver finished the stitches and stepped back. "You're patched up, for now. But you need rest."
Ryujin nodded, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to gather his strength. "Thanks. We'll figure out our next move tomorrow."
As the room fell into a tense silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts, the reality of their precarious situation hung heavy in the air. Ryujin knew the road ahead was fraught with danger, but he was determined to survive, no matter the cost.
Ryujin closed his eyes and sighed, trying to shut out the pain and chaos of the day. His thoughts, however, wouldn't let him rest.
(How did that little pianist get so violent?.) he wondered, the image of Takashi shooting Kenji flashing through his mind.
(He understood my body language,) Ryujin realized.
(He knew exactly what he was doing when he shot Kenji. It wasn't just a wild shot; it was deliberate.)
The events of the confrontation replayed in his mind. The cold determination in Takashi's eyes, the way he handled the gun with precision—it wasn't something he had seen in the boy before. There was a ruthlessness there that spoke of someone who had been pushed too far.
Kenji's voice broke through his thoughts, weak but insistent. "Ryujin... what are you thinking?"
Ryujin opened his eyes and looked at Kenji, who was watching him with a mix of curiosity and concern.
"I'm thinking we underestimated that kid," Ryujin admitted.
"He's not the little pianist that I expected to be anymore. He's gone-insane,"
Kenji nodded slowly. "What do we do about him?"
Ryujin clenched his jaw. "We stay ahead of him. We can't let our guard down. And if he comes after us again... we finish it."
Kenji swallowed hard immediately asking again, since clearly uneasy with the idea. "Do you think he'll find us?"
Ryujin sighed. "He's resourceful. He's angry. He's got nothing to lose. Yeah, he'll find us. And when he does, we need to be ready."
The driver, who had been silently watching, chimed in. "We should leave town. Go somewhere he can't track us."
Ryujin shook his head. "No. Running won't solve anything. We stay here, we face him head-on. It's the only way to end this."
Kenji shifted on the couch, wincing from the pain. "You really think we can beat him?"
Ryujin's eyes hardened. "We don't have a choice. It's him or us."
The room fell silent again, the weight of Ryujin's words settling over them. They were in a fight for their lives, and there was no turning back.
As Ryujin closed his eyes once more, trying to rest, his thoughts continued to churn. Takashi was out there, fueled by a desire for revenge. Ryujin knew they had to be ready for whatever came next, because the battle was far from over.
Suddenly, a thought struck Ryujin.
(Aiko...)
Takashi's friend had been with him during the attack. Ryujin realized that Aiko could be the key.
(If I can manipulate or even use Aiko, I can get the crazy little pianist. I can end this.)
Ryujin's eyes snapped open as the plan began to form in his mind. He needed to find a way to use Aiko against Takashi. It was a ruthless move, but he was willing to do whatever it took to survive.
Kenji noticed the change in Ryujin's expression. "What is it...What are you planning?"
Ryujin gave a cold smile. "I know how we're going to end this. We just need to get to Aiko."
Kenji looked confused. "Aiko...Who's that?"
Ryujin's smile grew colder.
"She's a friend of the boy who attacked us. She and little pianist are the only survivors from the Café Harmonia incident. Sato has been keeping her quiet, making sure she doesn't say a word about what happened."
Kenji frowned. "Why hasn't she talked?"
"Sato is making sure she stays silent," Ryujin explained.
"He's under my control. He dismissed the case, buried the evidence. Aiko knows the truth, but she's too scared to speak out."
Kenji nodded slowly, understanding dawning in his eyes. "So, we use her to get to the little pianist?"
"Exactly," Ryujin said.
"We make sure that kid knows we have her. That'll bring him to us, and then we finish it."
Kenji looked uncertain. "Do you think it'll work?"
Ryujin's eyes were steely with determination.
"It has to. It's the only way we're going to survive this."
The room fell silent once more, the weight of Ryujin's plan hanging heavily in the air. They were ready to do whatever it took to end this, and Ryujin knew that the battle with Takashi was far from over. But now, he had a plan, and he was willing to use every advantage he could find to ensure his survival.