Chapter Two
The next few weeks proved to be even more disastrous than the previous. The Honky Tonk's clientèle had all been scared off and any new customers were turned away by the ever present thugs. The jukebox was a lost cause, now completely beyond repair, it sat forlornly in the corner. Paul kept it only so the hooligans had something to destroy. He no longer bothered to buy new cushions for the booths or stools, he simply re-stuffed them and tapped the vinyl together, they were now so tape covered, almost no vinyl was left intact. Paul had run out of dishes the week before and the delivery to replace them was nowhere to be found. The thugs had even tried to set fire to the café. Luckily Paul had found it before it got out of hand.
But even more dangerous than the fire were the sudden attacks against the former Volt's members. There was no rhyme or reason behind the attacks. Whether the members were alone or together, whether it was night or day, individual attackers of skill or an inexperienced mob, in a deserted alley or the middle of the market, long drawn out brawls or hit and run tactics, the attacks persisted with no way to predict them. The three had to stay on constant alert, never knowing when something might happen. It was too reminiscent of the old days.
x-X-x
The tall, strong figure of the crime lord stood by the window and though his gaze was fixated through the glass he saw not what was on the other side. He was thinking about his newest venture into Shinjuku. His plans were moving along fluidly. All the businesses on the south side now paid him insurance to keep them safe from his minions. The cities bookies paid him a percentage of all profits and any sporting event betting was in his favor. The red light districts were firmly under his control. He had loyal spies in every office of government and quite a few cops were on his payroll. All that was business though and vaguely bored him now that the ball had been put into motion.
He needed something to amuse him.
He stepped over to his desk and pressed a button on his intercom, "Kagami."
A minute later there was a knock at the door. "Enter."
A blond man in a white suit opened the door and crossed the threshold. After bowing to the man seated behind the desk he stood waiting for a command.
"Tell me of your progress." The man behind the desk steepled his hands in front of his face.
"The restaurant they practically live at has, inexplicably it seems, lost it's customer base. Even if there were still customers, there would be nothing to serve. All deliveries have stopped as of last week. One of the boys got a little creative and set fire to the kitchen, unfortunately the owner caught it before it could do any significant damage."
The crime lord smirked at this and brushed a lock of dark hair from his face, "Have our little arsonist moved to where his talents will be appreciated." Kagami nodded.
"As for the men, themselves, for the last two weeks they have been plagued by random act of violence," Kagami continued. "The three are extremely superb fighters. Each with their own unique fighting styles and techniques—"
The man behind the desk cut him off with an impatient gesture. "I know all that, how do you suppose I orchestrated the fall of the Volts otherwise?"
The blond man shrank back at the coldly asked question and at his own error, fearing punishment. "Forgive me, I had forgotten."
"Anything else of note?" he asked almost dismissively.
Kagami regained his composer and said, "It would appear that the Lightening Emperor and King Shido have both found love." All but sneering the last word.
"Love. How…entertaining."
A slow, malicious smile crept across his face as he turned once more towards the window.
x-X-x
"Tell Kazuki, as always, it's been a pleasure," the yellow-eyed blond commented before turning her chair and wheeling away from the pair.
Shido and Ginji watched the woman maneuver the wheelchair around people and obstacles with long-practiced ease and competence. Her handicap did nothing to take away from her attractiveness, but enhanced it.
"She is a strange one," Shido reflected. Ginji nodded his agreement with a peculiar smile and a speculative look in her direction.
They had arrived at the agreed upon time and location to meet one of Kazuki's contacts who had information on the encroaching criminals, only to be surprised to find an angel waiting for them. No one would ever suspect this sweet and innocent looking woman to be involved in the dark underground of the criminal element in the city, especially considering in the fact that she was a cripple and bound to a wheelchair. But she was and had valuable information to impart. For a price, of course.
"I wonder how she came into this business?" he mused aloud. Ginji shrugged and lifted a hand in her direction.
"I'm not stupid enough to ask her. Curiosity is not going to kill this cat."
Ginji chuckled and started walking in the opposite direction from the informant, back towards the Honky Tonk.
It was good to hear the man appreciate humor, Shido thought. He was slowly making his way back to them. He had to credit much of Ginji's progress to the dark-haired beauty who had captured his emperor's heart.
Not long after leaving the Limitless Fortress the three had stopped a couple of hooligans from harassing the girl at the train station. As way of thanks she told them the next time they were in the area to stop by a café called the Honky Tonk and they would have their next meal on her. A week later they took her offer. Not only did they get a free meal but also a job offer. The owner of the café, Paul, was also something of an information czar and needed people to not only gather said information but also to distribute it. To say the least, they had agreed.
It took Natsumi two years but Ginji finally allowed her to hold him. In the following two years Ginji was smiling more, chuckling more, and had spoken more times than the previous two. He still kept himself guarded but not as rigidly. Shido hoped within the next two that Natsumi would be able to coax the man into actually speaking instead of using gestures and facial expressions to communicate the majority of the time.
Shido felt a hand on his arm and looked up to find Ginji looking at him inquisitively.
"Just thinking," he hedged hoping Ginji wouldn't push the subject, he hated when his friends worried about him. Luck was with him today and Ginji let the matter drop.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence with each of them mulling over their own thoughts.
When they turned onto the street housing the Honky Tonk the first thing they noticed was the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. They broke out into a run. They reached the café just as the two ambulances sped off down the road. Pushing through the crowd, they were stopped by the police when they tried to enter the store.
"What happened?" Shido asked.
"I'm sorry but I can't let you pass. If you will please wait behind the barricade," he said ignoring the question while trying to usher the men away.
Shido held his ground, "What happened here?"
Seeing that they couldn't be swayed, the officer answered, "The store owner and a customer were injured when a gang of youths decided to vandalize the store."
Shido and Ginji both paled.
A gang of youths, my ass! Shido thought angrily. Wait…
"Customer?" Shido asked. For almost three weeks now there had been none.
"A young man with long hair."
The words were barely out of his mouth before the two turned and ran towards the nearest hospital.
