Grandville: Le Dragon Rouge

Chapter 7: Kyoufu ('Terror')

After some time to explain the situation to LeBrock and his partner. While Roderick seemed convinced, it was going to take more time to convinced the badger seeing that we are who we are. Roderick looked very interested, "By Jingo, you ladies are real ninja? This is quite fascinating," He said enthusiastically though I do not understand him.

"Yes, a fascinating pain-in-the-arse," LeBrock groaned, we were disarmed and our weapons were laid out on a table. He was still covered in egg from the chase in the market. Billie-san has told me about this tall badger. In a way, he is no different from us. He knows about the pain of losing a loved one. I see a lot of my husband in him as well.

"LeBrock, that is enough out of you," Rocher-san snapped as he entered the room, "they are the newly formed Special Operations and Infiltration Unit, they are assigned the most dangerous assignments that we have on record," explained Chief-Inspector Rocher whom I have grown fond of after that evening only two days prior to this meeting.

"If you don't mind me asking, Old Girl, can you tell me more about your husband?" Roderick-san asked, with translation from Rocher-san. I nodded, and opened up the box of memories to a time not so long ago. My husband Ujio was a well-respected man on the battlefield, and outspoken when it came to tactics. He was a loving man as well.

"-My husband was a samurai of the Anaguma Clan, like us he was one of the last of his kind, fighting to keep the way of the warrior alive, as I am a shinobi, it was forbidden to love a samurai, but there are no boundaries in love. We married in secret, and on that day he was called to fight, that was the last time I ever saw him alive-" I explained.

"Her husband died at the Battle of Shiroyama, the man who killed him is setting up a Yakuza branch here in Grandville, which means Tiberius Koenig has a rival for control of the city's vast underworld," I overheard Rocher-san say to the rat and the badger in his own language explaining the situation at hand. Roderick-san pulled a small red book.

"A brave man he was," said Roderick, "my condolences to you, my dear," he was looking at a small book like he saw a clue in my story, "my sainted aunt no! That means your husband was a badger!" with translation from Rocher-san, I nodded 'yes' to him to say that was correct. I had children with Ujio-sama, but Matsumoto murdered them.

"Jules, I must insist that we solve this case ourselves, you're working with convicted murderers," The badger protested in his own language. Rocher-san shook his head, I take it that he is insisting that we work together. If Matsumoto is not stopped soon, he will take over the entire city like a Honshu forest fire and he already has a foothold.

"As I recall, you have quite a body count yourself, LeBrock, this is my city and you will abide by my orders," Rocher-san snapped, "now can you work with these ladies or not?" We finally reached an accord and put our differences aside to face a common threat. This badger is smart. He can sense the deep connection I have with Rocher-san.

They were taken too early in their lives, too early for me to nurse them as their mother. Rocher-san put a hand on my shoulder, and I placed my hand on top of his, "-Now, Kinu-san, I have been doing some work for the past few days, and it seems one of the witnesses is here in Grandville, goes by the name of Sakamoto-" He explained to me.

It was good to see that we finally had some leads to this investigation, -Do what you ladies have to do, but keep Sakamoto alive, we will need him for questioning-" Rocher-san ordered to us, we bowed to his orders and rearmed ourselves for the mission, "-He is a brown and black Akita Inu that frequently comes around Madame Riverhorse's-"

That evening, we went to work. The man called Sakamoto was walking with a soldier escort. There were guards in front, soldiers armed with shin gunto. I signaled Toki to go first. She ran across the street without the soldiers compromising her, and stabbed one of the guards in the back and out the chest in a cut, splashing blood on the walls.

The second tried to unsheathe his sword from his side, and attack from behind. She sensed him, and weaved to dodge the blade and turned around to cleanly chop off his head. Toki signaled that the coast was clear for the others to cross the street. Using one of LeBrock's business cards, I opened the door and went in with the utmost silence.

Okoi and I were ready for anything Sakamoto might have in store for us. Suddenly, there were guards, tens of them. I threw a smoke bomb to distract them and threw kunai out of my gauntlets, killing two of them. LeBrock and Roderick started shooting leaving many dead in their wake. Blood was sprayed all over the halls from blade and bullet.

Okoi and I fought back to back while Toki my little sister was fighting side by side with Rocher-san. I can feel my blade slice cleanly through the enemy's flesh and bones. Okoi spun around and slashed one across the chest, and turned to cut one soldier completely in half from the skull to the groin. It goes to show the power of Japanese steel.

When we found Sakamoto, we were too late, "-Kinu-san, I told you not to kill him-" Rocher-san scolded me, I held up my second finger to tell him that he was wrong. This Akita was already dead when we entered the building. It is as I expected. Sakamoto committed seppuku judging my the position of the body, and tanto cut across the belly.

There must have been something important that he knew that he did not want us to know, "Okoi, Toki, search the area for clues," I instructed to the others, they nodded a single nod, and searched the room amidst the forty or so dead bodies of the guards assigned to watch over him. He must have committed seppuku while the fight was going.

"Dead, damnation," said the badger. I looked around the room for anything that could help. Toki was searching around the desk, and found a folded up piece of paper with a chrysanthemum and a seven-pointed star. She showed it to me. I nodded, and gave it to Rocher-san and LeBrock, "I suppose this is not a complete dead end," He remarked.

Upon further examination of the paper, it was found that this new Kodama High Speed Steam Leviathan system is going to go much further than just to Grandville, "I say D.I., This Matsumoto fellow is rather ambitious," said Roderick-san, "yet this symbol here really grinds my gears, this certainly does not look like the Imperial Japanese seal,"

"Yes, it seems he plans to make a rail line that goes through the entire Asian continent, but you have a point there, Rodders, I have never seen that seal before," commented LeBrock. I peered under his arm at the symbol on the piece of paper, "do you mind? This is police work we are dealing with," I responded with a swift back-fist to his nose.

"LeBrock that was uncalled for, she and her friends are here to help us, now then...," Rocher-san turned to me and cleared his throat, "-Kinu-san can you tell me about this symbol?-" he asked me in Japanese. I nodded yes to him. It is a good thing I am working with him. If my friends and I were working with LeBrock this would be a dead end.

"-This is not the Emperor's Imperial Seal, this is the symbol of the old Republic of Ezo, a state fomed in Japan that was formed by members of the Tokugawa shogunate, it dissolved after only one year,-" I explained to the policemen, and Rocher-san translated it to LeBrock-san and Roderick-san so they can know what Matsumoto is planning.