Tokyo, Japan - Present time…

A gaunt, middle-aged man gripped tightly at his bag as the penitentiary gates swung open, signalling his freedom. His hair was grey with streaks of black. He had a big scar spanning from his left cheek upwards to his eye. His lean, ripped muscles carried a large bag and a long, wooden cane.

He trudged towards the exit as he crumpled a very old newspaper in his hand. It bore the headlines, "Tokyo police arrest big-time gang leader; prodigy detective leads biggest mass arrest operation in Japanese anti-crime history."

A white limo stopped in front of the gate, followed by two black cars. Several men in suits came out of the cars and took the ex-convict's belongings. In a few seconds, a Chinese man, around forty years old, came out of the limo and embraced him.

"Welcome back, brother," the Chinese man said.

"Is everything in order while I was gone?" the ex-convict asked.

"The company is growing again. The elders respect us once more. We will lead the whole corporation in due time."

"Are my enemies finally out of the way?"

"Everything went as planned, brother. I took care of them myself."

"You lie. The little bride was missing."

"That's unlikely. The reports say she's gone. They could not find her body. I'm sure she and her whole…"

"Her family was missing too."

"That's impossible! I have looked at every record from the incident! They could not survive in that condition!"

"Prove me wrong. But I believe for sure that girl is alive. And I want to make sure she does not come back."

"Very well, I'll have my men go to the embassies and…"

"No. She's in the Philippines. It's the closest she can probably be. I have ordered my associates to find her. They will take care of her just in case."

"By the way, Chau…"

"What about?"

"Disappeared. Gone without a trace. Nobody found him, even his body. Then again, fifteen years of searching is too long. He will never bother us anymore."

The crippled man grumbled as he boarded the limo. The newspaper crumpled more in his hand as the vehicle left the prison grounds and into the city.

"You can't run away," he whispered. "I'll find you. I'll make you pay dearly for ruining me. I'll destroy you… Every last one of you."

"Boss, I looked into the tip," a ginger-haired girl said as she ran up to her older companion. "They're in that clinic. But seriously, for ten months? Didn't they get bored in there? I wonder how they entertained themselves?"

"Never mind that," the companion, a middle-aged man with golden hair groaned. Her rubbed his temples and bit on the last of his sandwich. "What's important is that she's safe, and so is their baby."

"A baby? Wow! Boy or girl?"

"I'll tell you more about that one later," he replied, his eyes twinkling with "secret" written all over it. In a few minutes, they left their office and walked the girl towards an awaiting taxi.

"Contact the number I gave you," he told the girl. "The parents must not freak out or lash out on those two. Don't tell them about her or the baby yet, or else the assignment will be a failure. I'll convince the girl to reveal herself and come home."

"OK. Oh, and sempai? I'll go home ahead after this. I'm trying out this omelet-rice recipe for dinner. This one has Spam and honey-cured bacon bits in it. Be sure to come home early!" the girl replied, and waved to her blonde companion.

"Good luck! See you later!" the blonde man shouted, and turned to walked the other direction.

"See you later, Kero-chan!" she replied, only to be met by the blonde man's cold stare.

"For the gazillionth time, stop calling me Kero-chan!"

Inspector Mills

A fanfic by Tenkouken