Moonmages needed all the rest that they could. Weekends were a treat to their battling souls so when Raii Shin's phone rang at 7 am, her mood was destroyed.
Not until she saw the caller's number and the profile picture flashing on her screen. She immediately sat and wrinkled her eyes before swiping towards the answer option.
"Yes?" she asked groggily and yawned.
"Just a friendly reminder that I will be picking you up in fifteen minutes," Minus said. He didn't sound like someone who came from a haggard mission and straight into school. Raii Shin wished she had Minus' stamina.
"Wait. What?" Raii Shin just woke up. She just processed what she had heard. Minus chuckled.
"You promised to treat me to seafood, right?"
Oh shoot was all she could think. The other night when they were driving home, Minus hinted that he wanted to talk about something so Raii Shin immediately offered lunch by the seaside when they had free time. It had been a long time since they ate outside and she wanted to catch things up and ask tips to survive college.
"Yeah, sure. I will be ready in fifteen minutes."
When she ended the call, she stood, stretched and prepared to take a quick bath. For other women, fifteen minutes of preparation was a nightmare. They had their endless routine of makeup, choosing clothes, then taking an aesthetic picture to be posted before heading out. But since she was Raii Shin, she didn't have any such high maintenance.
Until she was about to wear her clothes. She then shook her head. Why was she suddenly conscious of what she was going to wear? She will just go by the usual. Shirt and jeans.
Her phone rang again and she immediately picked it up without looking at the number.
"It has only been ten minutes but I'm ready–"
Sir Tanori cleared his throat at the other end of the line.
Dang, Raii Shin thought.
"Good morning, sir," she said in her most normal voice like she wasn't beet red at the moment.
"I hate to interrupt your date but–"
"It's not a date," she suddenly blurted. There was an awkward silence before Sir Tanori spoke again.
"Anyway, I have a little mission for you guys since you're the only ones who are together as of the moment as I assume you are meeting with Magnus based on your reaction earlier. Our contact in the government is asking for a favor. They are asking us to send two experts who will arrest a criminal on the loose beside Jazel's sea ports. Be sure to check your phones for the full details. And since today is Saturday where a part-timer like you shouldn't be working, I'll just ask the government to pay you double."
"Understood, sir," Raii Shin replied. The call ended and she was never more grateful that she wouldn't be seeing Sir Tanori until next week. This was so embarrassing.
A car honked outside.
As Minus drove, Raii Shin told him what happened earlier and he couldn't stop laughing.
"I'm gonna tell Sir Tanori next week that he is such a date-crasher," he said and Raii Shin pinched his muscles.
"Ow!"
To think that Sir Tanori immediately knew it was Minus whom she was expecting, it was more than embarrassing to her. It was not that she was overreacting. She was just afraid that people around them might get the wrong idea. They were just best friends and nothing more, as it should be. They were moonmages. Both of them had bigger duties than thinking about love which could distract them, or maybe her only since Minus seemed unaffected.
When they reached their location, Raii Shin was glad to see the sea in its blue serene color despite it being beside a large city. Rows of ships docked the harbor and small white boats dotted the sea. Even if there was a market, a factory, and hundreds of people coming up and down the ships, the place was surprisingly clean. Jazel was strict in its cleaning programs. The sun was out and the children happily ran all around the place.
"What a bad day to arrest someone," Minus said.
"Yeah."
Minus found a good spot to park. When they got out of the car, they were in agent mode.
"Should we split? This place is enormous," Raii Shin suggested.
"Yeah, we should." Minus suddenly took off his jacket and wore it over her like a cape. She heard the familiar clink of metal and she realized he was arming her with a gun.
"Raii, I'm giving you my gun. I don't use it anyway. Be careful out there. You read the details. He is not just some criminal. He is a former general from the army who is now a murderer. When the worst comes to worst, you know the drill."
"It's kill or be killed," she finished. Minus nodded and they went in opposite directions while wearing their earphones which were ordinary on the outside but in reality, it was a modern walkie talkie.
After almost three hours of searching, it was Raii Shin who spotted him first.
"Found him. He is at the end of the market wearing a blue cap, a purple polo shirt and khaki shorts. He keeps on checking the streets. He doesn't seem to be armed."
That was what she thought until he scratched his belly and if he had not been under the sun, she wouldn't have been able to see the shine of metal inserted on his belt. The knife was small but it was still a weapon.
"Scratch that. He is armed with a knife. It seems he is not just a general just for show. Guns are detected at the market but not knives," Raii Shin noted.
"I see. If ever he needed a knife, he could just steal from the fish vendors," Minus said.
Their target suddenly went out of the vicinity of the market, out of Raii Shin's vision.
"I lost him. I will give chase." Raii Shin walked briskly as she turned the corner where he disappeared. Their target veered to the left where there was a great crowd of people buying fish.
"But don't engage him immediately," Minus advised. "You have to wait for me. Something's off."
"What do you mean?"
"I reread the details given by Sir Tanori. It said that he is here to get off a ship and escape into the sea. His ship's departure will be in just a few minutes. What is he doing at the far end of the market? He should already be at the docks right now."
Raii Shin walked fast through the crowd and saw him turn a corner.
"I'm losing him. Meet me at the Street 7," she said and ran towards his direction.
That was her mistake. As soon as she turned, she found out she was led to a narrow alley with a dead end. Good thing the alley was a little wet because of the market so she heard the sound of incoming footsteps.
Raii Shin ducked in time but her wired earphones were grabbed and cut off with a slash of the knife.
Their target loomed over her. He brought his knife downward and Raii Shin used her leg and aimed at his hand. His weapon skittered away and she didn't give him time to react as she used her second leg and kicked the side of his face. The man didn't flinch at all even when she felt she really used her brute strength. Baron spit some blood but grabbed hold of her leg.
Raii Shin brought out her gun to which the man immediately let go of her and Raii Shin stood up. They were in a standoff but it was clear Raii Shin had the upper hand. Her target was weaponless and the knife was too far from her. If only Minus was with her, they would have cornered him already thanks to the alley but with her comms broken, she could only hope that Minus would get here in time.
"Surrender," she said.
"All right, all right," the man said as he raised his hands and went down on his knees. "Calm down, young lady. I just want to live. Please, let me go. I know I have done a lot of things but people change. I have a family outside Jazel. I just want to return to them."
His voice broke. He was sincere.
Raii Shin lowered her gun.
That was when Minus appeared at his back and his eyes widened at her relaxed stance.
"Raii, what are you doing? Lift your gun!"
"But–"
The criminal took advantage of her confusion and lunged at her, a second knife in his hand.
"RAII! SHOOT!"
But she didn't because she was still deliberating whether she would pull the trigger or not. Minus moved but their target swiftly grabbed the gun from her hand and locked her in his hands, holding Raii Shin hostage.
"Don't move!" he shouted.
Raii Shin had grunted and squirmed but she was fighting against a former general trained expertly in melee. She couldn't move and her breathing was so loud and she was gasping hard for air. She couldn't breathe well and she couldn't focus on using her moonmage power even if she wanted to.
Minus could summon his own power but he had positioned Raii Shin so well like a shield in front of him so he wasn't really confident that he could hit him without hurting her.
"I don't know who you young guys are but this girl here is a softie." And he laughed.
"You over there! Do not dare move if you don't want her to die." Minus clenched his fists in response. "What? You think I'm joking?"
Minus' eyes widened. "Don't!"
He slashed a part of Raii Shin's shoulder, the spot near to her heart. She screamed, making blood ooze out more.
Minus trembled in fear and anger, seeing how Raii Shin thrashed and grunted in pain.
"HAHAHA! You fools! You think I'll let any of you live?"
But Minus was already at his back.
"You are the fool for letting your guard down," he said in his dead serious tone and chopped his neck with his hand, pouring all his human power in that strike.
"What the…?" were his last words as he crumbled to the floor. Minus grabbed Raii Shin and immediately called for an ambulance.