Hunting Party

Midori pulled into the driveway of her house and opened the door expecting to smell good home cooking and see her daughter, it was still weird to think about her like that, sitting on the sofa watching TV. She would go into the kitchen, give Youko a kiss on the cheek and ask what she was making. It would be something delicious then she would go upstairs to shower and change before eating dinner with her family.

This was not the case tonight as she walked in to an empty house, only one lamp on in the living room to give the impression that someone was home. "Youko, honey. Are you here?" She checked upstairs in their bedroom, in the kitchen, even the bathroom. "Nina? Somebody?" She checked her daughter's room and didn't find anyone. She was starting to get worried so she pulled out her phone and called Youko's cell.

The phone rang, then a second time, then a third time before the voice mail picked up. She shut her phone off and feared the worst had happened. Her phone rang and she quickly unlocked it and put it to her ear. "Youko?"

"Mom." It was Nina and she sounded distraught. "Something bad has happened, mom got attacked. They're taking her to the hospital."
"I'll be right there."

She hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pocket on the run. She took the stairs two at a time and slammed through the front door of her house, not stopping to lock it, then bolted to her car and threw herself behind the wheel. She drove frantically to the hospital, making the normally ten minute drive in under four. She got there and saw that the ambulance had beat her there, a gurney was being wheeled in and she recognized a shock of dark hair and the girl who ran beside it. Nina.

Midori sprinted and caught up with the gurney as it made it's way down the hall surrounded by shouting doctors on the way to the ER. She ran up to Nina who recognized her and threw herself into Midori's waiting arms. "What happened, Nina?"

"It was the werewolf killer." Midori had never heard much emotion from her daughter so hearing all of the desperation in it now was quite unsettling. "He attacked mom and kidnapped Ms. Fujino."

Midori followed the gurney as far as they would let her then took Nina to the waiting room where Nina sat down and Midori paced the floor nervously waiting for a sign that her lover would be alright.

-WWW-

"Run."

Shizuru backed up slowly and Youko turned her head in the direction she was looking. She froze at the sight of the wolf's head and wanted to scream but she felt Shizuru's hand grab her arm and pull her behind her. "Run to the diner and make a lot of noise, get someone to call the police. I'll hold him off."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'll think of something. Hurry."

Everything seemed to run in slow motion for Shizuru. Youko turned and ran towards the diner in the same instant as the wolf man sprinted towards them. Shizuru stood her ground, knowing that she was it's target, and intended to stop it. Rather than charge her, however, the creature leaped onto the car and ran passed her towards Youko who was running full sprint for the diner. Shizuru turned and chased him down, tackling him from behind as he neared Youko, buying her time. The man kicked and hit her in the face. She saw stars and her ears rang but she held on as he struggled. He kicked her again and she felt blood running down her nose and from her mouth but she still held on.

Youko had reached the door and was banging on it as loud as she could, yelling for anyone to call the police. Shizuru couldn't hold on any longer and let him go. He scrambled to his feet and charged straight at Youko with his claws out. Shizuru watched helplessly from the ground as the man ran his claws into her abdomen and back out. Youko fell, blood dripping down her and onto the window and as she fell she noticed that Nina was standing on the other side of the window with her phone out and tears running down her cheeks.

Shizuru didn't know if Youko was alive but she had recognized the man beneath the hood and used this information to her advantage. "Hey Takeda, me and Natsuki had sex the other night." She laughed through the pain, trying to anger him, trying to get him away from Youko. "She was amazing, it's too bad you'll never know, asshole."

He turned to face her with a snarl and ran fast towards her. She saw Natsuki at the door struggling with the lock. Takeda ran up to her and kicked her in the side of the head then scooped her up into his powerful arms and took off running again. She saw the door open and Natsuki run out before she passed out. Please Natsuki, save me.

-WWW-

Natsuki was in the kitchen washing the last plates that needed it when she heard the pounding on the window and Mai yelling her name. She threw the dish in her hand back into the sink and ran to the dining room wiping her hands with a clean towel. She saw Mai shouting for her to help while Nina, Youko's daughter, was facing the window with a phone in her hand and she could hear her sobbing. "Hello, my mom's being attacked at Mai's Diner. We need help, please."

She saw blood as she ran towards the door and saw Youko fall to the floor leaving a streak of blood on the window. Natsuki hit the door full force and nearly took it off of it's hinges. She fumbled with the lock while surveying the scene before her. Shizuru lay on her back ten feet away from Youko who lay on her belly in a growing pool of blood. The creature that stood over Youko reminded her of her father but she quickly recognized the imitation of a werewolf. She saw something beneath the wolf's head and recognized the face underneath. It's Takeda. But why? She saw Takeda turn at something that was said, she couldn't make out what Shizuru had shouted but it had caught his attention. Takeda ran towards her at full speed and kicked her in the head then scooped her up in his arms and took off away from the diner. She hit the lock and it popped open. She threw open the door and burst from it at full sprint, following the faint outline of Takeda who had a good headstart on her.

Takeda rounded a corner and she followed, trying to close the distance. She ran across a parking lot and watched him toss Shizuru haphazardly into the bed of a still running truck then dive through the already open door into the cab and hit the accelerator. The truck lurched forward and she contemplated changing forms and trying to overtake him but reasoned that by the time the change was done the truck would be long gone and she didn't have the speed to keep up with a speeding car. She slowed to a stop at the edge of the parking lot and watched the taillights of the truck disappear into the night. She screamed her anger into the darkness and received no answer.

She jogged back to the diner to see if Youko was okay and found Nina bent over her and holding her hand with an iron grip. "The ambulance will be here soon just stay awake."

Youko's breathing was haggard as she looked her daughter in the eyes for what could be the last time. "I'm sorry, Nina. I'm so sorry for leaving you all those years ago. I've hated myself since."
"No, don't say that." Nina wiped tears from her eyes, from how puffy and red they were one could tell that she was unused to it. "You're not dying, mom, not after I just came back. You're going to be okay."

Natsuki ran up and knelt beside Nina and checked Youko's wounds. The claws had bit into her pretty deep and she was bleeding profusely from eight wounds in her back and sides. There are too many wounds to compress, she's going to bleed out if the ambulance doesn't get here soon. As she thought this she heard sirens over the night air and saw the flashing lights of the ambulance speeding down the road with several police vehicles following it. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into the green eyes of Mai. She stood and Mai stood next to her, putting an arm gently around her. "I couldn't catch him." Her voice was as hollow and empty as she felt, powerless. "He took her and I couldn't do anything about it."

"The police will find him. We'll get her back."

They stood together and watched as the ambulance pulled up nearby and two men and woman ran out of it, one pulling a gurney behind him as he ran. She fell to her knees over Youko and started checking her pulse and vitals. Nina stepped away from her mom and stood next to Natsuki and Mai who all watched everything unfold.

The EMTs rolled her onto her back to stop the bleeding, then stuck an IV into her arm and lifted her onto the gurney. Nina followed them to the ambulance intent on riding with them to the hospital. She had her phone in her hand, calling Midori as she stepped up into the ambulance and they shut the doors behind her.

Two police officers approached after the ambulance took off and cordoned off the area. Another, the senior as indicated by the more colorful tassels on his uniform, approached Mai and Natsuki who still stood near where the body had been. "Did you two see everything?"

Mai and Natsuki both shook their heads but it was Natsuki who spoke first. "No, I was in the back washing dishes when I heard someone yelling and ran to the front of the store. I saw the attacker, it was Masashi Takeda. He was wearing some sort of leather outfit with a wolf's head as the hood, he had it pulled over his head and he was attacking Youko."

"Did he have a gun or use a knife?"

"Neither, he was using claws." Natsuki wondered what the reasoning behind the werewolf outfit was but she didn't have to think too hard about it. It was no secret that he was infatuated with her, and she envisioned this scenario was one big cry for her attention. He had it, but not in the way he expected.

"We have an APB out on Masashi Takeda, we'll find him."

"He kidnapped a woman. Fujino Shizuru."

The officer typed it down quickly onto his tablet. "Like I said, we'll find them. Don't worry."

You have a better chance of finding your ass with both hands. Natsuki didn't believe this cop could find his socks in the morning and she was damn sure he couldn't find Takeda. It was up to her to rescue Shizuru but she wasn't quite sure where to start. She thought of asking Detective Sugiura for help but knew that the older woman wouldn't be receptive to her pleas considering their history.

The officer moved on to Mai and, as was usual with men, he spent most of the interview staring at her chest. Natsuki walked away with her head low and her spirits even lower. She wondered if Nao was still at her house, if anyone could find Takeda it would be the leader of the Stripes gang that used to terrorize some of the local businesses in the area. She pulled out her phone and called Nao's cell, she picked up quickly. "Nao, do you still have your old contacts from the Stripes?"

"Yeah, why do you need something? Did something happen?" Nao had been waiting for this moment ever since she had spoken to Sakomizu and she recognized the anxiety in Natsuki's voice.

"I need to find Masashi Takeda. It's urgent."

"So it's him." Nao seethed with barely contained anger, her grandmother's killer finally had a face and she intended to put a bullet through it. "Meet me at the Stallion, I'll introduce you."

She mounted her motorcycle and headed home to change out of her work clothes and into something more suited to the occasion. She left the house wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black jeans and a pair of black riding boots and headed straight from there to the bar, the neons lights seeming more ominous on this visit than they had before. She parked next to Nao's car and walked into the bar where Nao was taking to the bartender standing next to a woman wearing a baseball cap that she felt like she recognized but couldn't quite place. It was only when she got close and the woman lifted her head up and said her name that she knew who it was. "Detective Sugiura?"

-WWW-

Midori sat in the waiting room with her arm around Nina waiting to hear anything about Youko's condition. She checked her watch and noticed that they had been there for nearly an hour. As every minute ticked by her heart beat faster as her anxiety increased. Finally a man in a white doctor's coat approached them. She stood and Nina stood with her. "Ms. Sugiura, I'm Dr. Omura. It looks like Ms. Sagisawa is going to be fine. Her wounds were quite deep but they managed to hit nothing vital. She will have stitches for a time so she should be careful..."

The doctor's mouth kept moving but Midori didn't hear anything he said, she was full of relief to hear that Youko was going to be okay. Now her mind was turning to the next issue, finding Masashi Takeda and bringing him to justice. "Can we see her?"

"Yes, she's out of ICU now and we have her in her own room. She is sleeping so please don't wake her."

The doctor led Midori and Nina through many white hallways where they could hear screaming from an unknown source further in the building. It reminded Midori of why she disliked hospitals, she didn't trust anyplace that had a morgue attached for convenience. They arrived outside a room with a placard on the wall that read two names, the bottom one being Sagisawa Y.

Midori gingerly opened the door and walked in with Nina right behind her. Two beds occupied the room with a curtain dividing them, the first was occupied by an elderly woman hooked up to a respirator. The second contained Youko who was sleeping peacefully when Midori approached the bed and sat down beside it.

She sighed as she looked at her girlfriend's face, the face she had woken up to for years, now it was deathly pale and she felt like she could cry. "I can't help but feel like this is my fault." She spoke to no one in particular as she ran her hand gently through Youko's hair. "If I had caught this guy he wouldn't have attacked you." She bit her lip to bite back the emotions that were threatening to jump out of her at a moment's notice. "I love you, Youko."

Nina started to tear up herself from the display. Youko chose that moment for her eyes to flutter open and see the red haired woman trying not to cry above her. "Mido-chan? Am I dead?"

"No."

"That's exactly what an angel version of you would say."

A smile spread slowly across Midori's face, a smile of laughter and relief, she was relieved to see Youko alive. She didn't know what she would have done otherwise. Nina also smiled and felt the same relief as Midori did to see her mom alive. Midori found herself laughing wholeheartedly. "I'm no angel, I can tell you that."

Youko's hand reached up and stroked Midori's cheek. "You could have fooled me." She winced at the motion and immediately put her hand back down. "It doesn't hurt too bad."

"You're on a lot of painkillers, honey."

Youko's eyes found Nina and brightened even more. "Hey, girl."
Midori stepped back from the bed and allowed Nina to sit next to her mother. "I was so scared, mom. I'm so glad to see you're okay." Nina took her mother's hand and held it reassuringly, thought whether she was reassuring her mom or herself Midori didn't know. "That man, he took Ms. Fujino."

Youko's face didn't change, she still smiled up at her daughter. "Don't worry, Midori is the best detective in the world. She can find Takeda and save Shizuru."

Right, I should get to that while it's fresh. Midori opened her phone and started to call her partner before she hung up the phone. I won't involve him in this. This is personal. "I will find him and I'll make him pay for what he's done to you, Youko."

"Are you going to arrest him mom?"

Nina's question caught her off-guard, she had no intention of arresting Masashi Takeda. He had attacked her family and that was something that she couldn't forgive. "Something like that." She leaned over the bed and gave Youko a kiss on the lips, a kiss that Youko barely felt through the morphine. "I'll be back soon to see you." She turned to Nina. "Do you want me to take you home?'

"No, I'll take a cab home. Go get him, mom."

Nina didn't know it but what she said energized Midori and she knew that she would do whatever it took to bring Takeda to justice. "Okay. Be safe, sweetheart." She kissed Nina on the forehead and left the room, walking through the hospital with revenge on her mind. And I know someone who could help me. She pulled out her phone and searched through her notes until she found a number she had written down in case she needed to ask more questions of the woman. She dialed the phone and a woman answered. "Yuuki Nao."

"Who is this?"

"This is Detective Sugiura Midori. If you want revenge for your grandmother meet me at the bar in ten."

She hung up the phone and was on her way out the door when she heard a familiar voice call her name. It was Yuuichi. "Midori, hey where are you going?" She turned to face him and he stopped to talk to her. "I heard about Youko, I just came to pay my respects."

"She should be resting, if you do go up there don't stay for too long. Oh, and make sure Nina gets home safe."

"Where are you going, Midori?" The wheels clicked in his head and he recognized the fierce look in her eyes. "You're going to go find him, aren't you." The fiery look in her eyes confirmed his suspicions and he decided to try to talk some sense into her. "Look, I can understand how you're feeling but don't act rashly."

"The longer we wait, the less likely that we're going to find Fujino Shizuru alive." Yuuichi hadn't heard that she had been kidnapped and seemed stunned by the news. "As for arresting him," she slid her hand into her jacket and ran her hand along the .45 she had there, "I have a feeling that he's going to resist. Now go, I don't want you to be a part of this. You could lose your badge."

"What about you?"

Yuuichi seemed genuinely concerned but Midori was behind caring now. Only one thing mattered to her. "I'm willing to take that chance." She walked away from Yuuichi who sighed and headed for the elevator. He considered getting Youko to convince Midori but he wasn't sure even that would work. He had never seen such fire in the woman's eyes and he shivered at the memory. That woman can be scary.

Midori walkout briskly to her car and drove like mad to the bar where she spotted Yuuki Nao standing next to her car with a cigarette in her hand. She got out of the car and approached the woman. "I've gotta say, I was surprised when you called Midori. I sure as hell wasn't expecting this."

Midori grit her teeth. "The bastard attacked my family, he's a dead man, but first we need to find Masashi Takeda."

Nao recognized the name instantly. Having been friends with Natsuki for so long she definitely knew the name of her stalker. "I heard."

"We need to find him, but I ran him through the system before I left work and couldn't find an address for him. No phone number, bank accounts or anything digital. He's a ghost."

"He lives off the grid, but I know someone who might be able to help. Let's go inside," she started walking towards the bar, "I need to set up a meeting."

Midori followed Nao inside and waited by the bar while Nao spoke to the bartender in low tones while they both eyed her warily. She was about to mention how she wasn't here as a cop when a dark haired woman walked through the door and her brow fell an inch. Kuga Natsuki seemed to have the same reaction to her presence as well.

Nao smiled as Natsuki walked up, the bartender smirked. "Two hot women, Nao? You must be popular today."

"Right."

The bartender, whom Nao referred to as Deacon, made a phone call while they stood and waited. Midori looked Natsuki up and down which irritated the woman. "Is this some kind of hunting party, then?"

"Looks like it." Midori hadn't expected to see Natsuki here but considering her proximity to Nao and the fact that Shizuru had been kidnapped she wasn't surprised. Natsuki had as much stake in this as her and Nao. "I'm just here to rescue Shizuru, that's all."

"I respect that." She did. It was no secret that Midori despised Natsuki, she considered her a lowlife drug addict who could never make it in the real world, but seeing her here for the sole purpose of saving Ms. Fujino showed her a virtue of Natsuki's, determination. It was humanizing. "Once we get in there it's going to be tough, are you sure you're up for it."

Natsuki nodded. "I won't hold you back."

Deacon closed his phone and addressed Nao. "It's unusual but he's going to meet you tonight. He should be here in ten minutes."

"Then how about some drinks." Midori spoke up. "I could use one."

"No problem, I'll just put it on Nao's tab." Nao made a show of pouting and Deacon smiled and ruffled her hair a bit. Midori wondered what the relationship was between those two, he was very fatherly towards her. Perhaps he's taking care of her since her father is dead. "Here you are, ladies."

Nao and Midori took their glasses and Midori handed one to Natsuki who started to refuse, due to her dislike for Midori, but she decided to bury the hatchet and took the glass. Nao led them over to a table, Midori deduced that it was her favorite table as her name was carved in it, and they took a drink from their beer. "Takeda, I never thought he'd be capable of this."

Natsuki seemed truly perturbed by it, Midori was curious. "Drugs will make you do crazy things, Natsuki. You should know that."

Natsuki stayed somber, not taking the Detective's bait. "I never knew him that well, other than his crush on me, but I always thought he was harmless."

"I want to know why the werewolf outfit." It was the question that had haunted Midori since she found out about it. It was the only piece to this puzzle that didn't easily fit and she needed it to fit. "Apparently he paid good money for it, I doubt it's random." Natsuki shrugged but something in the way she shrugged or the slight shift in facial expression told her that she knew more than that. Midori decided not to press it, she would have all her answers soon enough.

They sat quietly until a portly man trundled through the door and looked around the bar. Nao waved to him and he walked over to their table and sat down next to Natsuki who, despite the size of the bench she was sitting on, still had to make room for him. She was surprised the table didn't suffocate him. "So, you've found the Werewolf killer. Interesting, interesting."

Midori recognized the man, Sakomizu Ryon, he had come across her desk on a case she was working a while back. Apparently he was on disability for his weight but he found work as a private investigator, using his skill with computers and a few locals he paid to gather information for him, to earn a decent living. She had come across his desk because it was believed he had a connection to the street gang known as the Stripes, a gang that had vanished a few years ago. She had come up empty in her case but still held her suspicions. "We need you to find Masashi Takeda."

"So Takeda was the killer, interesting." He pulled a large tablet from a satchel he wore and started typing in it. No doubt he would sell this information to the media for a high price. So much for discretion. "I can't say I know much about the man. He haunts the back alleys of Main Street at night but as for where he lives..."

"You've got to have something."

"I believe I do." Sakomizu scanned through his tablet until he came upon the information desired. "It seems that the Masashis still own a piece of land north of the city. No one has seen it in years but I hear that there's a cabin out there. It seems like a likely place to hide for a serial killer. That's where I would start, anyway." Sakomizu typed into his tablet and Nao's phone signalled she had a message. "I sent you the directions." Sakomizu looked over the tablet and over at Nao with a gleam in his eyes. "Now for my payment." Midori wondered what this 'payment' was, she wasn't about to let Nao have sex with this man for what little he gave them. "Tomoe Marguerite was seen in town yesterday, then left quite suddenly. Why?"

Who is Tomoe Marguerite and why is Sakomizu interested in her? Natsuki was the one who answered the question. "She was here trying to get Shizuru back. She left because I ran her off." So she's Shizuru's ex-girlfriend. I wonder what her and Natsuki's relationship is?

Sakomizu took down the information and closed his tablet. "Excellent. Thank you and I hope your hunt goes well."

Sakomizu squeezed himself out of the booth and took off. After he left Midori looked at Nao who sat next to her. "Why did he want to know about this Tomoe?"

Nao finished off the beer in her glass. "He's going to write an article about it and sell it to a tabloid. Shizuru is a pretty hot topic right now, he'll likely get a pretty penny. Especially since he's the first one to get the story."

"And you're okay with this?"

Natsuki shrugged. "We know where he is, now. Let's go get him."

Midori nodded and stood, as the de facto leader of their hunting party she felt it was her duty to prep her people. "Come with me." She led them out to her car and opened the trunk. Inside was a plethora of guns and ammunition, from pistols and a shotgun all the way to an assault rifle tucked away in the back. "Pick one, but take care of it. I want it back after this is over."

Nao took out a small 9mm pistol that felt comfortable in her hands and Midori checked her own .45. Natsuki turned away, Midori looked at her inquisitively. "You should take a weapon."

"I have a weapon." The way Natsuki said it sounded off to Midori. "Let's go, the longer we wait the more likely we find Shizuru dead."

Why didn't you mention this weapon earlier? What are you hiding, Natsuki? They got in the car and Midori started it up, making sure she had enough gas for the long drive out to the hidden Masashi land.

-WWW-

The long ride out to the Masashi land was a trying one for Natsuki who was trying to sort out her feelings for the coming fight. She wasn't lying when she told Midori she had a weapon, if push came to shove her wolf form would devour Takeda with a smile on it's face.

Do it, release me.

No, not here.

She sat in the back of Midori's car and struggled with herself, her anger towards Takeda and her anxiety towards Shizuru. Shizuru had become very important to her and she wouldn't lose her. Not to Takeda, not to Tomoe, not to anyone.

Midori's car was the natural choice, as a police vehicle it wouldn't look suspicious at the scene and the car was black making it tough to see at night. Midori drove with the lights off so as not to give away their presence and when the cabin came in sight she let the car glide to a stop so as not to make any sound. It was obvious that she had experience with this sort of thing.

Natsuki was out of the car first. She opened the door quietly and stepped out onto the grass. Through the trees she could make out a faint light coming from the cabin. Midori and Nao stood around her and loaded their weapons. Midori, as the leader, went over the plan with them. "I want Nao to set up outside of the front and Natsuki, I want you in the back in case he tries to run. I'll enter through the front door and try to flush him out. You two need to be ready."

Natsuki and Nao nodded, but Natsuki had no intention of following her orders. Natsuki was going after Shizuru no matter what Midori said. They split up to take their positions, Natsuki snuck carefully through the trees that surrounded the cabin until she could see the back door clearly.

She snuck towards the door and nearly jumped when she heard a loud bellow. "Get back here you bitch." It was Takeda. She heard crashing through the door and then it flew open, a tawny haired woman barreled through and out into the yard. She was looking behind her and when she ran into Natsuki her first reaction was panic. Natsuki put her arms around Shizuru and whispered in her ear, "It's okay, I'm here to save you."

Shizuru immediately relaxed into her grip. "I knew you'd come for me." She had dried blood on her face from her altercation with Takeda earlier and she was out of breath from her exertions. Natsuki held her close and waited.

"I'm going to find you." She heard a bellow come from the open door and straightened when a figure in a full wolf outfit burst through and stopped dead in it's tracks when it spotted Natsuki. Masashi Takeda withered under Natsuki's glare, a glare that promised pain in retribution. Blood ran down his face from his eye which had been stabbed out. His face changed to a more welcoming smile. "Hey, Natsuki. How have you been?"

"Fine." Her look never wavered nor weakened, she was intensely focused. "Why do this?"

"Why do I do anything? Because I love you."

"Stop it. Stop using me to justify your delusional actions."

"I just wanted you to know that it's okay. That I understand what you are and that I love you for it." Natsuki's eyes widened in understanding, Takeda knew about her condition. How he had found out she didn't know, maybe she had gotten high and changed or maybe he had followed her like Shizuru had. She didn't care how he knew now, it was too late to change any of this. "I love you, yet here you are embracing this siren, this harpy, this succubus." His voice became more unstable and dangerous. "Let her go, Natsuki. Let me destroy her."

Natsuki's anger boiled over. It was bad enough that Takeda was using her as an excuse to go on a rampage but to kidnap Shizuru, call her those names and theaten to kill her was crossing the line. She felt the beast rise to the front of her thoughts. Free me, let me destroy him. She didn't fight it.

She pushed Shizuru behind her and stood before Takeda for the showdown. The change started and the voice that erupted from her was only vaguely reminiscent of Natsuki, a deep rolling laughter filled the space between them. Shizuru scampered behind a nearby tree. She knew what was coming.

"So you're the pretender, the lamb in wolf's clothing." The change came over her but even the cracking of bones couldn't drown out the sound of the devilish voice that came from her. "The real wolf has come now, and your time has run out."