I did it! I managed to finally finish this chapter! I try to post a chapter at least every saturday (if possible earlier but I never make it even though I've got a lot of pages written ahead that do only need to be reworked).
This chapter is a tiny little bit weird because it had a completely different storyline in the beginning. I also feel like Atsuko is a little bit out of character but let's just say she's stressed out, okay?
Also I've been wondering if I should post a list of the appearing characters including age and some backgound information because there are a lot of the girls making an appearance at some point. Where should I put it then?
Anyway, I actually just wanted to thank you for your nice comments.
@ arrow27: It needs a little bit more suspense, right? I hope I'll have a few cliffhanger chapters later on as well, so...
@ TakaminaBG: Miichan would! She'll get herself into some trouble at the end of this chaper as well!
@ Pdpond: I need to keep up the suspense! I'll try!
@ Haruko: Yeah... Kojiyuu... I'll deal with them later.
@ ikun1216: I'm really happy if you think so. Mayuyu's story? I'll deal with this somewhere around Chapter 7
I think? And Sayanee beating the Twin Towers: I love her too much to not try to make her superior! And yes, that was Ume in the end. She was after Sasshi (who Miichan ran after).
@ takamae: They only helped her indirectly because they kept Ume from following Sasshi. Miichan started to chase Sasshi and that caused Umechan to lose track.
@ KojiYuu44: Well, judging from your username you may already have an idea who that person could be, right? Also, I'm glad that you started to read my story!
@ cisda83: Yeah, I just had to have a bit drama and longing... They are going to be reunited!
@ kahem: Happy if you think so! A lot of people consider me humorless so I'm glad to hear that.
@ Wmatsui22: I'm glad that you liked it! I'll continue this story for sure until the end because I dislike to stop something I started. When I write a story, normally the beginning is nice, the middle part is not that great and the ending is nice again! So we'll see how this will turn out...
@ miayaka: I'll do my best to keep you interested then.
@ O r i g a m i: Well... Mayu's school story will be linked to the main storyline somewhere in the future.
Chapter 5CoF Headquarters, 08:50 PMAtsuko glanced at the clock when she heard Ayaka calling her from downstairs. Immediately she knew that the other woman had failed. There was no way that she had already stalked out the detective’s position by following that stupid shop lifter. Angrily Atsuko bit her lower lip until she could taste her own blood on her tongue. She wondered if Ayaka knew that she had just destroyed her carefully prepared plan to get her revenge, to finally avenge her love’s death.
“UMEDA!” Atsuko stomped her foot on her carpet as she threw her head back and screamed in anger. She didn’t get a response which allowed her to take a deep breath before her anger was able to take over completely.
She stormed out of her room and down the stairs. Ayaka was kneeling in the hallway in front of a woman who seemed to be unconscious. Atsuko couldn’t get a proper look at her but from what she spotted she knew that it couldn’t be Rino.
Somehow she seems familiar. “What did you do?” hissed Atsuko.
“She was standing on the street and screamed your name” Ayaka looked up and Atsuko noticed the stubborn look in her eyes. “That’s somewhat…suspicious”
Screaming my name? It couldn’t be… no.Atsuko took a step back. The hairstyle, the kind of clothing, it was all too familiar. The small form on the floor could only be one person and she was too lifeless for Atsuko’s liking.
“Did you kill her?” she demanded to know and hated herself for the fact that her voice cracked.
“No” Ayaka slowly got up and for the first time she stood in front of Atsuko with a proud and smug expression. “Who is she?”
“Nobody”
You see it, don’t you? You see that I care for her. But trust me Umeda you better don’t try to use this information for yourself. “That’s a lie” Ayaka’s voice was low but her words were threatening.
“How would you tell?” Atsuko’s answer was as cold and sharp as ice. Her hand was reaching to the knife in her right sleeve. She examined Ayaka’s position carefully. The other killer didn’t seem to realize that she had gotten herself into a dangerous position. It would be easy for Atsuko to slice her throat in one swift move if Ayaka would dare to harm Minami in any kind of way.
If I hurt her I’ll be sure to be killed by Yuko or Mariko-sama. I hope Minami appreciates what I’m willing to do for her.
Ayaka didn’t answer but didn’t seem to be willing to back down either, even though the more experienced killer was already shaking from the rage that was boiling in her.
“Go to your room. You let Sashihara get away. Mariko-sama won’t be pleased” Atsuko growled.
“You let her go”
“I told you to follow her. You were the one who failed. First in interrogating her, then in finding Yamamoto’s hideout. It’s all your fault!” Without even noticing Atsuko raised her voice. Her chest started to heave and she was close to losing her composure.
My revenge! Haruka, Minami! This is all too much, it’s all too much, I cannot stand it anymore!As Ayaka felt Atsuko’s eyes still on her she finally realized that she was in danger. Her senses kicked in and she gave in to the other girl’s request. Atsuko stared after her as she went upstairs.
Then she turned around to look at Minami. She was out cold but didn’t seem to be hurt badly. However, the sight of her on the floor was heart-wrenching. Atsuko sat down next to her and touched her forehead. It was cold but sweaty. She traced Minami’s jaw line deeply in thought.
She’s beautiful, isn’t she? She shouldn’t be here, that’s no place for her. She can’t stay. What will Mariko-sama do to her? She said that it’s dangerous that I’m forbidden to… And Minami, hasn’t she been sad enough when her brother died? Didn’t she lose a lot already? After all… After all… I’m an assassin.
Atsuko closed her eyes when she finished that thought.
And that’s why she HATES me. For seconds she just stared at her ex-fake-girlfriend.
But… I could make her like me, couldn’t I? I get what I want, I always do!She knew that she was only assuring herself but it made her stronger.
Screw you Shinoda! Fuck off Umeda, get lost Yuko. I’ll do what I want to do. For Minami. Quickly Atsuko pulled her hand away from Minami’s face. She got up and lifted the body up with one arm around her hip.
“Kumi! I need help!” she yelled for the secretary who appeared as soon as she was called.
“Yes Maeda-san!”
“Help me get her to my room”
Kumi blinked.
“To your room?” she echoed with a confused expression. “Of course!”
At least someone I can rely on. Although she tends to be useless. Kumi slipped on the stairs and almost caused the three of them to fall down. Only Atsuko’s reflexes prevented the accident.
See? CoF Headquarters, 09:13 PMMinami groaned. For a second everything was dark and numb even when she opened her eyes, but then a throbbing pain appeared in the back of her head.
What happened? Am I blind? Am I kidnapped? Am I dreaming? The thoughts were running wild in her head and her heart beat increased slightly before she realized that she didn’t see anything because she was in a dark room. There was a little bit of light coming from underneath the door and it was just enough to illuminate the furniture close to the entrance. From the shape of it Minami recognized a chair and something dark on the floor, a pillow or maybe clothing. However, this was certainly not her room at home and not Miichan’s place either. It was too quiet and too dark as if there were no windows.
Carefully Minami sat up, every move making her headache worse.
Someone hit me? I was walking and then… someone hit me and knocked me out!“It’s fine Minami, just fine” she assured herself but her voice sounded lost and small. Sighing she set one foot on the floor. The carpet felt soft against her naked feet.
My shoes… my socks… jeans…Minami squealed in shock as she realized that she was only in underwear, jumped back into the bed and got under the covers again. Also, someone seemed to have washed her face to get the mud off as well as her hair. She buried her head in the familiar smell of the pillow.
“Acchan” she whined as realization dawned. To be honest her mind was too clouded for her to be actually surprised because now everything made sense. She was calling Acchan’s name so she probably summoned her like, well, some kind of a ghost. That would also explain how Acchan was able to break into Minami’s house.
Oh Minami, get a grip. There’s no such things as ghosts. But still…Minami took a deep breath to mentally prepare herself, even though she had no idea what she wanted to prepare herself for, and got up again. She stretched her arms out in order to keep her from running into something and made her way to the door taking really tiny steps. However she soon enough stepped into something soft. She bowed to the floor and touched it. It felt like a shirt and she pulled it over her head.
I don’t want walk around in my underwear when I don’t even know where I’m going. The light that had been coming from beneath the door went out all of the sudden and left Minami in complete darkness. For a second she was tempted to make her way back to the bed but she was not sure if she would find it anymore so she continued her journey to where she had seen the door. Her hand made contact with the light switch but she didn’t use it in order to avoid to let anyone know about her presence.
Acchan… where am I? And more important, where are you?The door creaked a little as Minami opened it and for a second she closed her eyes and expected some kind of monster attacking her. When nothing happened she let out a shaky laugh and dared to peer out into the corridor. It was just as dark as the room and for a moment she hesitated. But then one of the doors opened and the lights went on again. Quickly, Minami closed the door just so much that she could still peek out.
A woman walked out of one of the rooms, her brows furrowed and burning fury in her eyes. Minami felt as if her heart was going to stop as she realized that she had been the boss of the kidnappers. Trembling, she wanted to crawl away from the door but it seemed that she was frozen in her place. The woman, Yuko as Minami recalled, stood in the middle of the corridor and took a deep breath as if she was trying to calm herself down. Then she turned around and marched right towards the room that Minami was in.
No, way, no way… hell, no! What do I do? How do I escape? I’m done for.Minami surrendered to the force of destiny as Yuko knocked on the door.
“Acchan? Are you there?” she called out. Minami who was only a few centimeters away struggled to hold her breath because she didn’t dare to make the slightest sound.
“C’mon Acchan! Don’t be a bitch!” Unable to tame her anger, Yuko kicked the door what caused Minami to squeal and fall back.
“Don’t hurt me!” she hid her face behind her arms as Yuko opened the door.
“What the…” Yuko grabbed her wrist tightly and started to pull her arm down. “Let me see your face!” she demanded.
“Please! I’m Minami! Takahashi Minami!” Minami whined with her eyes closed.
“You were… at the restaurant right?” Yuko sounded confused. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
“She’s my guest” another voice interfered that Minami knew really well.
Thank goodness. “Acchan!” Minami opened her eyes and couldn’t help but smile as she saw the other girl standing behind Yuko.
Yuko raised an eyebrow, then looked at Atsuko who stared back with an emotionless expression on her face.
“So…” a smile appeared on Yuko’s face. “That’s your girl then? I’m glad that someone wears the shirt I gave you last Christmas. Wonder what you guys did to her own clothes though…” the expression on her face implied that she had some ideas Minami couldn’t even grasp. She looked down on the shirt she had put on in the dark and immediately blushed as she read what was written on it.
“I give up” she whined.
CoF Headquarters, 09:20 PMAtsuko rubbed her temples. She was trying to figure out just how she was supposed to explain to Minami why she was at this place together with Yuko and why she had left her alone for two weeks. Unsure what to do she glanced at the other girl who was sitting across her. She wore a confused expression on her face that made her look, well, ‘adorable’ was a fitting term.
Here we go.“Minami?”
The girl looked at her with so much trust in her eyes that Atsuko felt a pang in her chest. She knew that Minami hated assassins but she didn’t want to betray her trust, she just couldn’t.
“Do you like the hot chocolate Kumi made for you?” she asked instead. Minami stared at the cup.
“There’s alcohol in there, right?” she furrowed her brows.
“It’s just a little bit of rum, okay? Drink up honey, drink up” Atsuko sighed as she saw her opposite flinch at the word ‘honey’.
She knows…“Why…” Minami blinked as if she held back tears. “You never…” Another attempt to speak failed and she went silent again.
Atsuko couldn’t tell how long she had to endure the silence before she heard someone’s steps in the corridor.
“Maeda-san?” Kumi looked into the room. “Shinoda-sama is on the phone”
Atsuko nodded for her to give it to her.
“Yes?”
“Acchan?” Mariko sounded tired and irritated. It was so much easier to read her when Atsuko could only hear her voice and wasn’t blinded by the confident air she used to give of. But with the sounds of the hospital in the background she sounded just like any other woman who had had a hard day.
“Yes. What is it?” To her own surprise, Atsuko’s tone was calm.
Mariko talked in a hushed and rushed manner as she continued to speak.
“Listen, we are still at the hospital and our usual doctor is not here, which means that they ask a lot of questions. Also, we do not know if Yamamoto talked to the police, so we did not give an explanation yet. In case they show up at the headquarters: Do not let them search my rooms before I’m not home. Tell Yuko to hide upstairs, her prison break did not exactly make her popular with those people. Kumi will inform me about everything that happens, am I clear? Do not allow her to make up any crazy stories or worse to spill the truth to the police as soon as they come knocking. Make sure Tomo~mi keeps her mouth shut and keep Ayaka by your side. If they ask, she’s your cousin”
“Got it” Atsuko hung up and tossed the phone at Kumi, who caught it surprisingly skillful.
“Who was it?” Minami tilted her head.
“My boss. You’ll meet her soon. Kumi?”
“Yes?” Kumi hurried at Atsuko’s side.
“You wouldn’t tell Mariko-sama about Minami, right?”
“I wouldn’t?” the secretary seemed unsure but willing to give in to Atsuko’s intense glare.
“You wouldn’t”
Goddamn, I’m not in the mood to play games tonight anymore. Give in already, just give in!“Acchan?”
“Yes?” Atsuko quickly turned her attention to Minami as she spoke.
“Aren’t you scaring her?”
Atsuko clicked her tongue.
“You know Minami… There are many scary things about me. And I know that you wonder why you’re here and why that little you-know-what of an Umeda kidnapped you. And about Yuko, you know her, right?”
Minami seemed confused. “I don’t really… wait, somebody kidnapped me?”
Atsuko had to resist the urge to hit her head on the table rapidly.
“Well… yeah!”
“That’s… that’s… Oh my god!”
With that being said, Minami jumped up from her chair and ran out of the conference room, knocking Kumi, who was still in the room and seemed to have been talking about something the entire time, over. “Sorry!” She disappeared and all Atsuko could do was stare after her.
“I like her” Kumi announced dreamingly from the floor.
Yeah, me too. But she drives me crazy.
In front of CoF Headquarters, 09:27 PM
Minami felt the chilly air hit her face as she stepped outside. Ahocked by the fact that she got actually kidnapped she had made a run for it and actually managed to find the exit at the first try. Now she should probably hurry and escape but she found herself in an unfamiliar street. The scenery was gloomy and actually creeping Minami out. She stood in front of an old factory building that was surrounded by equally shabby garages and factories. The street was completely empty and half of the streetlights didn’t work at all. However Minami was sure that this was not far from the street were she had been abducted and that was close to Miichan’s restaurant and her house.
She could hear sirens somewhere far away but they seemed to get closer. She stood still and just listened. As she saw the blue light flickering on the walls of the buildings nearby and the first car shot around the corner she straightened herself up and waited for them to arrive. Soon enough a total of 5 cars had arrived and cornered her.
To be honest she had no idea what she was doing but they seemed to be after the kidnappers and she as one of the victims…
I don’t feel like a victim though. I feel stupid for running anyway… they’re not even coming after me. Ah, Acchan must have been trying to make a joke and I just didn’t get it… Who am I kidding?! The police are right here! This is real! “Takamina!” Miichan jumped out of one of the police cars, ignoring the officer who shouted for her to stay back. “Thank god! You okay?” she pulled her friend in a bone-crushing hug and started to touch her all over as if she was looking for injuries.
“Miichan” Takamina chocked, utterly embarrassed by the situation. “Stop feeling me up” she mumbled even though she had to admit that it was nice to know that her friend cared.
“Hell, you had me worrying” Miichan rambled and flared her arms. She didn’t even notice that she almost knocked out the approaching officer. “You know, I was running after that girl but didn’t catch her and then I came back and you were gone! Vanished! Nowhere to be found! Can you imagine how worried I was? How I blamed myself?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine” Minami mumbled while her thoughts were running wild.
It’s surreal. I was just sleeping, for a few minutes at Acchan’s place, who seems to be living with kidnappers, who seem to have kidnapped me, but I was just staying over at a friend’s! Okay, not planned, but not unwillingly.
“Excuse me?” A policewoman addressed Minami. “I am Inspector Takajo Aki and I’d like to ask you a few urgent questions”
“Of course, Inspector” Minami freed herself from Miichan’s embrace to give off a composed impression.
“Judging from the reaction of Minegishi-san you are Takahashi Minami?”
“That’s me, yes”
“Right. Well, Minegishi-san stormed into our station 30 minutes ago and informed us that you had gone missing. She was… persistent” Aki furrowed her brows. “Normally we would not react to this kind of notification in a time frame as short as this but we had just gotten a hint from one of our informants that we should keep a close eye on this area. Takahashi-san, can you tell us what exactly happened to you?”
Minami gulped nervously. The entire situation was too messed up for her to fully grasp it.
“I’m not sure” she began.
I know that Yuko is a kidnapper, but she’s Acchan’s friend. And Acchan, well, I can’t possibly tell them about her although I don’t even know how she relates to this. I don’t even know who kidnapped me!
“I was unconscious”
“Could you be a little bit more specific? Did somebody knock you out? When? How?”
“I…” Minami chew on her bottom lip. She did not want to tell anybody about what happened, she didn’t understand.
Why are there so many policemen? What have Acchan and her friends done? Suddenly a terrible thought struck Minami.
“The murder” she whispered. “Takajo-san, is this related to the recent murder on” she searched her mind for the name and suddenly she remembered Atsuko’s words crystal clear.
“She was shot. In the head. Three times, completely accurate. Her name was Sato Amina and she had the bad luck of serving the wrong person. Isn’t it cruel?”“Is it related to the recent murder on Sato Amina?”
Aki’s brows shot up almost to her hairline.
“Takahashi-san, you seem to know a lot”
“Just answer me” a sudden anger overwhelmed Minami. She was sick and tired of all of this. She was sick and tired of the troubles and mysteries revolving around Acchan and she would just like to go back to bed and sleep through all of this.
I do not want it to be true!“Takahashi-san, let’s keep calm, shall we?” Aki stretched her arms out as if she was trying to calm Minami down like some kind of an animal in a trap and suddenly Minami was aware of the fact that she was surrounded by policemen who seemed not only to aim at the factory but also at her.
“Oh gosh” she laughed bitterly. “That’s fucked up”
“Takamina!” Miichan exclaimed, shocked to hear her friend cursing what was so out of her usual character as one could imagine.
“You know what?” Minami looked at the people who surrounded her. “I’m going back to bed”
She was well aware that she sounded crazy. She was also well aware that she stood between a bunch of policemen and that she was still wearing that infamous t shirt.
“Takahashi-san. Where do you think you’re going?” Aki jogged after her as she turned around to go back to the factory entrance and grabbed her arm. “This is supposedly the hideout of a criminal organization!”
“No it’s not” Minami shook her head. “See, it’s just an abandoned factory. I fainted, low blood pressure, you know? And then my girlfriend who uses this building as rehearsal room with her band found me and took care of me. That’s it. Excuse me”
And with that she yanked her arm out of the inspector’s grip and made her way through the main entrance that opened for her.
On the inside she pressed her back to the cold metal of the door and allowed herself to take a deep breath. She slid down and sat on the floor. Yuko was standing next to her and fiddled with the lock above her head. Minami wondered if she had been right behind the door the entire time.
“Oi!” Minami heard someone bang against the door. “Oi! Takamina, open! What is wrong with you?”
“Minegishi-san...”
“No! I swear inspector, that’s not like her! Takamina, open the door! It’s me!”
“Step back Minegishi-san! Please, do not interfere with the investigation. I’ll take care of this. Takahashi-san, it’s Inspector Takajo talking. Look we can ta- Minegishi-san! Don’t push me, please!”
“You do not understand! Something is wrong! Oi! Takamina! I swear she was lying, I know her! They are holding her hostage!”
Minami whimpered as she thought about Miichan who was probably getting herself into serious trouble with the police.
“Takahashi-san! Before you act rashly, please listen! I want to help you! You are getting yourself involved with one of the country’s main criminal organizations. We have reason to believe that Oshima Yuko is hiding in this building. She has been proven guilty for the murder of at least 13 people! Takahashi-san, please think about it!”
All Minami wanted was to cover her ears and forget everything she just heard. Looking up she saw said killer standing above her with a sympathetic look at her face. She was stretching out her hand and before Minami knew what she was doing she took it and allowed the other woman to lead her through the hall. As they arrived at the secret door, it opened to reveal Acchan who was wearing a blank look on her face.
“I’ll take care of those people until Mariko-sama arrives” she said to no one in particular.
“Don’t hurt them. My friend’s out there” Minami said and to everyone’s surprise it didn’t sound like a request but an order. Atsuko nodded, her dark bangs sweeping over her face.
“Come on” Yuko squeezed Minami’s hand. “Turning around won’t earn you anything anymore”
Minami nodded and followed her. She was too tired and her head hurt too much to think or worry about anything anymore.
CoF Headquarters, 09:47 PMAtsuko heard someone banging at the door furiously.
“Takahashi-san? Anyone? This is the police, I repeat, this is the police! Open the door; otherwise we will have no choice but to storm the house! You have 15 minutes to surrender! I repeat: this is the police; you have 15 minutes to surrender. Ah thank you”
The person stepped away from the door, only to repeat her message over a megaphone.
Damn Yamamoto, what kind of trouble did you get us into? I’ll mess you up, I swear I’ll mess you up!Atsuko turned away from the door, knowing that there was not much she could do. She stormed upstairs.
“Yuko, Kumi, Umeda, Minami!” she yelled.
“Yes?” Kumi appeared as prompt as ever, almost giving Atsuko a heart attack.
“Call Mariko-sama” Atsuko ordered. “The situation is critical”
“Tell her that we’re leaving right now” Yuko, who had just entered the hallway together with Minami, who was properly dressed now, ordered. “She should be able to meet us at the emergency meeting point. Atsuko, get the weapons from the basement. You” she pointed at Minami who looked like she was completely out of this world, “stay right here and don’t move no matter what. I’ll find Ayaka and save some of Mariko-sama’s files”
“Got it” Atsuko replied and turned around to walk downstairs again. However she stopped on the middle of the stairs.
Leaving Minami alone like this... What if something happens to her? No, Atsuko, no. Everybody on their own in case something goes wrong. Do your job and if the others don’t arrive as soon as necessary you got to escape with everything you got.
She shook her head as if to get rid of her unprofessional thoughts.
As she arrived downstairs she could already see the shadows of policemen behind the windows that were not bricked up. Blue light flickered in the room. As fast as she could she made her way to the basement door that was secured with a bunch of extra locks. She knew the combinations by heart but she was still nervous that something could go wrong. It was unusual for her to worry as much as she did now, but something had changed with Haruka’s death. She had realized that she was not invulnerable and that was the scariest thing she had ever felt.
The basement was dark. Atsuko’s hand found the light switch by itself and the lamps illuminated the large hall that stretched underneath the factory. Different kinds of weapons were stored in chests or hung on the walls. Quickly Atsuko got herself the spacious backpack that lay in a corner next to the door and grabbed various things.
“Let’s see, my gun, Yuko’s assault rifle and her knives, Mariko-sama’s grenades and Kumi’s throwing knives, did I forget someone?” Atsuko mumbled to herself. “Well, I might as well get something for Umeda”
Carelessly he grabbed another gun. Then something caught her eyes. She approached the katana that rested on a pillow on a little table.
“Someone will use it” she decided and grabbed it when she heard noises from the door. She spun around and saw Ayaka stumble into the room.
“The police are already inside!”
I knew this wouldn’t end well. Atsuko cursed, tossed Ayaka the backpack and grabbed her gun tightly.
As she arrived upstairs the sight of a total mess greeted her. Glass was shattered all over the floor as all of the windows were smashed by the forces. The police cornered Yuko who was standing in the middle of the room and pressed a knife against Minami’s neck. Kumi was nowhere to be seen but Atsuko was sure that she was around and hid in a dark corner. Miichan was trying to climb in through one of the windows with her mouth wide open and her eyes glued to Minami’s pale face. Miichan’s glance shifted and she noticed Atsuko who stood in the door to the basement.
Quickly Acchan pressed a finger to her lips to signal her that she was supposed to stay quiet and to her surprise it worked. She was not sure if it was out of worry for Minami or if she truly trusted her, but she didn’t care.
Yuko’s voice rang through the room.
“You’re 3 minutes early, motherfuckers! Look, you let me get to the basement and no one gets hurt. I’ll pick up some stuff and in 3 minutes you guys can come after us. Sounds like a deal? Good!”
And with that she dragged Minami towards the door were Atsuko was standing.
Please, Minami, don’t look at me like this. It breaks my heart. She won’t hurt you, trust me, she wouldn’t hurt you, because if she did she’d have to face me.“Do something!” Miichan ordered as she had finally gotten through the window and fell on the floor. She raised something that looked dangerously like a kitchen knife and started to run towards Yuko with a war cry.
She didn’t get far.
Kumi, who had indeed been hiding in the shadows, started to run towards the basement entrance and simply overran the other girl as she passed her by. Miichan fell on the floor and let go of the knife that flew through the room and got almost stuck in Minami’s shoulder, but Yuko pulled her out of the way soon enough.
You better take care of her Yuko.Kumi, Minami and Yuko disappeared downstairs and Atsuko followed them but not before giving a sincere warning to Miichan.
“You shouldn’t come after us. You better get the hell out of here, trust me”
Miichan looked up at her and Atsuko could only hope that she would take her seriously. Then she hurried to follow the others.
Okay Atsuko, you’re getting soft. There was no reason to spill that you’re up to something.
Downstairs, the basement was already deserted. Atsuko saw the hidden entrance to the secret tunnel that led to the neighboring building wide open and the little silver box already placed in the middle of the room. A red light was blinking and Atsuko knew that she was supposed to hurry. As fast as she could, she ran through the room and closed the heavy metal door behind her.
She heard the explosion when she surfaced in the building across the street.
Minami stood at one of the windows and looked at the factory. Black smoke was coming out of the windows, almost invisible in the night. The still blinking blue light on top of the police cars was not bright enough to shine this far and illuminate Minami’s face, so Atsuko could not tell what she was thinking or feeling.
Yuko and Ayaka were leaning against the wall and stared at their feet blankly while Kumi was rummaging through the bags.
“Miichan” Minami’s voice shook and Atsuko wanted nothing more than to comfort her. “She’s… she’s in there”
The room stayed silent and Atsuko knew that she was the one who was supposed to answer.
“I told her to stay away from the basement. If she wasn’t in there but upstairs she should be fine. The bomb was only meant to destroy the interior of the basement”
“And if she ignored you? If she didn’t trust you? She had every reason to, right?”
“I…” Atsuko bit her bottom lip.
All I could say… everything would hurt you, right Minami?“And what about the policemen? They were normal people with families, friends and a right to live”
“I… I guess”
Minami nodded and leant her head against the window.
“Am I stupid because I came here? Could this be my fault? Or are you people the only ones to blame?”
A muffled cry escaped Atsuko’s lips as Minami accused her in a weak voice.
What is this? What is all of this that you make me feel? Is it… regret? Or am I hurt because you are?