/N: The good news is that I am now done with updating/replacing my previous chapters. The bad news is that nettaigyo has resigned from her position as my beta reader as of yesterday. As a result, I will need to find another beta reader before this story can continue. More details are available on my profile page.
Anyway, please enjoy this chapter for now! (It might be the last one for a while)
"A Digimon?!" Masaru, Touma, and Yoshino exclaimed at once.
Professor Klein nodded. "Do you recall the police officers that were with me at the mall on Saturday? They were actually undercover DATS agents who work in the Vancouver Police Department, and they provide critical intelligence to DATS about any incidents that may or may not be caused by Digimon. This morning, I received a message from one of those officers, informing me about a Digimon who may possibly be aiding some criminals."
"Criminals?" Touma repeated as the professor opened a file full of papers that was on the coffee table between them.
"The VPD suspects that a criminal gang known as the White Dragon has been smuggling illegal drugs into the country through the port of Vancouver for a few years now," Klein explained. "For the past month or so, there have been reports of people seeing a giant praying mantis near the port every Tuesday night. Two weeks ago, immediately after one of these sightings, the Drug Unit at the VPD discovered traces of cocaine near a seized warehouse at the port that had not been there before."
Masaru looked up from the translated version of the report that the professor was giving. "Connection, no? Yes? Maybe someone else?" the brunette asked in broken English. When the professor only gave him a quizzical look, Masaru turned to Agumon for help.
"Aniki's right!" Agumon replied. "Just because the police found some coco near the scene of the crime…"
"Cocaine…" Touma corrected.
"Right, cocaine," Agumon repeated. "Just because they were found nearby doesn't mean that a Digimon had something to do with it! Right, aniki?"
Masaru nodded, but his face was stern. It was missing its usual excitement and passion.
Lalamon stared at the orange Digimon, and then at his human partner. Were Masaru and Agumon, the most rash and hot-headed partnership in DATS, suggesting that they were not willing to get into a fight until they had more information? The Plant Digimon was in disbelief.
At that moment, Masaru looked in Lalamon's direction. "It's not that I care that much about what's going on," the brunette casually said, as if he had heard the Digimon thoughts. "I'll fight those creeps and the Digimon head-on either way. I just want to make sure I punch the right person, that's all."
Now, it was Touma and Gaomon's turns to be surprised. Masaru was actually being cautious? What was going on?!
"Anyway, maybe the coco was from another party," Agumon was still talking to Professor Klein. "Maybe a…a…a…" Agumon struggled to find the correct term. "…Some youngsters having fun?"
"That's one way to put it," Professor Klein replied with a sigh. "At first, I thought the same thing as well. However, another incident the following week changed that. Just last week, the body of a wealthy local businessman was found near the port. The autopsy revealed that he died from a drug overdose, and this was the version that the press gave out to the public. However, DATS agents in the VPD tell me that they found several cuts on his body, suggesting that he was attacked by a Digimon before he died. Thus, DATS suspects that the White Dragon is using a Digimon in their smuggling… and murder operations."
"So you want us to go undercover as well in order to lure out the Digimon?" Lalamon asked. "This is a very dangerous mission you're giving us, Professor. Yoshino and the others will be dealing with humans who will be armed and will not hesitate to kill us."
"I realize that, and that is why Miss Fujieda will be in charge of this undercover mission," Klein replied to everybody else's surprises.
"Why me?!" Yoshino exclaimed in English.
Klein sighed again and leaned back in his seat. "Miss Fujieda, you are the only one among your teammates who attended the Police Academy at DATS. You received high marks on your investigative skills and your superiors praised you for your ability to follow instructions and to complete your missions in a quick and neat manner. Considering that this mission will be very similar to the work that you did during your time at the Academy, both your commanding officer and I believe that you are the best one to lead this operation."
Yoshino blushed.
Masaru's jaws dropped as he turned to stare at his teammate. "You're a police officer?!" he exclaimed.
"Captain Satsuma agreed to this?" Touma and Lalamon both asked at the same time.
Professor Klein nodded. "The senior officials of DATS held an informal meeting over the phone this morning to discuss DATS's next moves," he explained. "I explained the situation to him then. Now that everyone knows what's going on, I will issue the orders for the mission."
"But we didn't say-" Agumon began.
Klein interrupted the Digimon. "Masaru Daimon and Yoshino Fujieda: you two will go undercover as customers at the Crescent Moon, a restaurant and bar located downtown in order to gather information on the White Dragon," he explained. "The Crescent Moon is a popular spot for wealthy young people after work hours. In the past, many overdosed bodies have been found in the vicinity. In addition, the restaurant has been the site of at least half a dozen homicides in the past two years. Thus, the police have reasons to believe that members of the White Dragon frequently visit that restaurant while carrying out their illegal activities. I want Masaru and Yoshino to investigate this place tonight, and to see if you can identify the person suspected of using a Digimon for the distasteful activity of smuggling drugs and murdering people. Meanwhile, Touma will remain here; your expertise is needed for another related mission."
For the second time that night, the young people and Digimon in the room were shocked at the professor's words.
"You're splitting us up?!" Lalamon exclaimed. "But both Yoshino and Masaru's English aren't very good! How are they going to find information on the White Dragon if they can't communicate with people?!"
"I agree," Touma added. "I suggest that I take Yoshino's place on this undercover mission while she-"
"Shut up, Touma."
The room went deadly silent. The blond turned and stared at Masaru. "What did you say?" he asked quietly.
Masaru glared at his teammate. "Don't think that you're the best one to lead this mission, or any mission for that matter!" the brunette snapped. "Both Yoshino and I will complete this mission by ourselves, just you wait! Right?"
Yoshino looked straight at Touma, and the latter saw the hidden anger in her reddish-brown eyes. "Yes, Touma, just leave everything to the two of us, alright?" she said sweetly, but her smile was definitely forced.
Professor Klein coughed to get everyone's attention. "Thank you for your suggestion, Touma," he began, "But I stand by my decision that Miss Fujieda is still the best person to lead this mission. You understand that this is an order, right?"
Light flashed off the professor's glasses as he looked at Touma expectantly.
"Yes, professor," Touma said quietly as he sat down without another word.
"That's more like it!" Masaru whistled. "I know how a bar operates inside and out; we'll finish this mission in no time!" The brunette jumped up from his seat. "Let's do this, Agumon!"
"Hai, aniki!" Agumon agreed as the two of them appeared to return to their usual selves.
Touma glared at his teammates. "At least for this mission we won't be needing their help," he declared, crossing his arms.
"Their help?" Gaomon repeated. "Do you mean those Canadian students?"
"It's probably for the best," Lalamon sighed. "They shouldn't get involved in more manners concerning DATS until they decide if they want to help us or not."
Professor Klein sighed. "Perhaps, but that doesn't mean they're not involved in this one way or another," he said quietly. Klein picked up the last piece of paper on the pile and handed it to Touma. "There is a reason why I am having you part in another mission: this is it."
A van stopped in front of a building with several neon-coloured lights. Masaru had to squint as he stared at the bright building through the passenger window.
"Is this the place?" the brunette asked. Yoshino nodded as she parked the car.
"Watch it!" Masaru shouted as Yoshino almost hit a car that was in her blind spot. The car honked loudly, startling the driver even more.
Masaru shook his fist at the car as it sped away. "You didn't have to honk!" Turning back to his teammate, he asked, "Are you okay?"
Yoshino finished parking the car. "It was the rain," she muttered in a hard tone.
"Stupid rain..." Masaru muttered in agreement as the two stepped out into it. "Let's hurry and get inside!"
"A table for two? This way please," a waiter in a shirt that was obviously too tight for him led Masaru and Yoshino towards a corner booth.
"Thank you," Yoshino said quietly as the waiter handed she and Masaru a menu each before departing. Yoshino took a deep breath before she opened it.
She almost squealed with happiness.
"Nani?! This place serves Chinese food!" Masaru realized. "Heck, even I can read some of this stuff! How about you?" he asked with a grin.
Yoshino smiled. "Just so you know; I was at the top of my class when it came to reading and writing kanji in senior high," she bragged. "The meanings are not always the same, but I know for sure that this is the character for 'chicken.' Come on, let's order: this meal's on the professor anyway."
Masaru laughed. "See! I told you we didn't need that snobby Touma's help after all!"
Yoshino laughed back in agreement.
Elsewhere in the city, a certain blond sneezed.
"Bless you, Master," his faithful companion said.
Masaru was on his third bowl of rice when the door to the door opened once more.
A slice of sesame chicken that was already halfway to Yoshino's mouth dropped back into the bowl. Her table companion looked up at her.
"Bhwa siiisit?" he asked with a mouth full of rice, chicken, and other food servings.
"Our target has arrived," the pink-haired young woman replied quietly. "He's right behind you."
Masaru swallowed and sneaked a peak at the man Yoshino was talking about, and recognized the man. "Oi, isn't that…?" he began.
Yoshino nodded her head slightly. "This is the worst," she muttered as Masaru frowned in reply.
The customers at the table behind Masaru began talking among themselves in low voices. Masaru returned to eating his meal but struck up a conversation with his teammate. "What are we going to do now?" he asked as he popped a dumpling into his mouth.
Yoshino picked at the unfinished slice of sesame chicken in her bowl. "Let's just observe him for a while," she suggested. "Also, try to act normal; if they get suspicious, it's all over."
Fifteen minutes later, the people at the next table still had not order any food. However, a dozen empty glasses that had once held beer and other liquor littered the table.
As the waiter came over again to give both tables their bills, Yoshino finally spoke up.
"Alright, I've figured out why our target is doing here," she announced.
"Good, I was getting kind of bored waiting for it," Masaru replied. "It had better be a good one."
Yoshino ignored the brunette's comment. "I've noticed that our target is very intimate with our waiter. I noticed that our target slipped a wad of twenty-dollar bills underneath the table to the waiter just now. I think that our waiter is in on our target's plan. What do you think?"
Masaru stared at Yoshino blankly. "You're asking me?!" he exclaimed.
His teammate sighed. "Masaru, what did you see when you followed the target to the restroom earlier?"
Realization dawned on Masaru's face. "That locker…" the brunette muttered. "He said something to the waiter as they were passing each other in the corridor, and the waiter said something back before continuing on his way. The target did go to the toilets, but he didn't come back to his table right away. He went back near the back door and checked out the row of lockers next to it."
"Those lockers must be for the employees of this restaurant," Yoshino realized. "Our target was probably checking out the locker that belonged to our waiter. I believe that locker is not what it appears to be. Masaru, can you tell me what it looked like?"
"Yup. Made of metal…a number lock…The width was about right…but it was very tall…taller than me. Do you think?"
Yoshino nodded. "When I went to the restroom after you came back, I went out to the back to see what was on the other side of that wall with the lockers. This restaurant has two garbage dumpsters, and one of them was directly behind our row of lockers. I couldn't move or open the dumpster, but there was a small gap underneath it. So I put my ear close to the gap and rolled a metal marble underneath the gap. And…"
"And…?" Masaru prodded.
At that very moment, the people at the next table got up.
Yoshino cleared her throat as the customers walked past them. "I heard the marble bounce," she replied quietly, "Not once, not twice, but five times. And then I heard it roll and hit something. Masaru, there is a secret passageway behind that locker and in the garbage dumpster, I'm sure of it."
Masaru nodded as he and Yoshino watched their target and companions head towards the back of the restaurant out of the corners of their eyes.
The brunette spoke first. "Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
After they had paid for the bill, Masaru and Yoshino exited the restaurant the way they had came in and then promptly proceeded to the back.
"We're lucky, there's no one here at the moment," Yoshino said as they re-entered the building. "Stay away from the lockers, Masaru. Get near the door that's connected to the hallway and make sure no one bother us; I'll lock the back door so no one else comes in."
"Got it," Masaru replied as the two of them worked on their tasks.
"As I thought, the target and his two companions did not leave this building through the back door," Yoshino announced.
"How do you know that?"
"Look," Yoshino pointed at the floor in front of the row of lockers. "There are footprints leading to them."
"They might belong to the other waiters," Masaru suggested.
Yoshino shook her head. "That's impossible," she said firmly. Masaru stared at her with a blank expression on his face. She sighed. "They're fresh. The footprints are fresh," she explained softly.
"The rain," the brunette realized.
His teammate nodded. "But it only began to rain hard less than an hour ago. We arrived at the Crescent Moon just as it was opening; the employees have been inside this building the entire evening."
"So, you think that that man and his friends left this building through that passageway behind this locker," Masaru muttered. "Where do you think they went?"
"There's only one way to find out," Yoshino replied as she took out a black case from her bag.
"What's that?"
"A fingerprint dusting kit," was the reply. "These lockers use a 4-numeral password lock. I can use this kit to find out the password."
Masaru whistled softly. "They taught you all this stuff at DATS?" he asked. "How long did it take?"
Before Yoshino could reply, the door that Masaru was leaning against shook violently.
"Shimatta!" the brunette swore. "Someone's trying to get in here! I can't hold them back much longer! Agumon!"
"Hai!" The orange Digimon promptly appeared in the small room.
"What are you doing?!" Yoshino hissed. "Do you know what will happen if people see you?!"
"I'll knock them out before they do. Don't worry; I won't hit them too hard."
Yoshino shook her head. "I have a better idea. Lalamon, Realize!"
As the Plant Digimon appeared, Masaru jumped back from the door just as it swung open, revealing a crowded hallway.
"Sing a Song!" the Digimon sang. In a matter of moments, everyone in the restaurant except the four of them were asleep.
Yoshino immediately began issuing more orders. "Lalamon, call Professor Klein and tell him what's going on here. Also, tell him to contact his police friends. Masaru and Agumon, go and lock up the restaurant at the front. Make sure that no one else enters the restaurant tonight except the police. I'll open up this locker in the meantime. Then, we'll go after the target and the others together, understand?"
"Hai!" Lalamon, Masaru, and Agumon all replied.
"Yoshino, there's an entire stairway behind here!" Lalamon shouted from inside the dark locker.
"Aniki, I'm stuck!" Agumon cried.
"Of course! You've eaten more here than in Japan!" Masaru gasped as he pushed his Digimon from behind. "Come on, just a little bit more… there!"
"Where's Yoshino?" Lalamon asked as Masaru joined the two Digimon atop the stairs.
"I'm here," the woman in question replied as she appeared. She took out two portable flashlights, handing over one to Masaru. "Let's go! I'll lead."
"Where were you?" Masaru asked as they descended the stairs.
Yoshino showed her teammate a black card from over her shoulder. "I found this in our waiter's pocket. I think it's an access card for something important, so I borrow it from him just in case. Remind me to give it to the police later so that they can use it as evidence."
"Right," Masaru replied. "But you didn't my question from earlier: how long did you train to be a police officer?"
"The same amount of time it took Kurosaki-san and Shirakawa-san: four years," Yoshino answered. "But I'm the only one who's not a police officer yet…" she added under her breath, but only Lalamon heard her.
Meanwhile, Masaru was counting on his fingers. "So…you were training to be a police officer when you were only fourteen?!"
"Twelve actually; I started working under Satsuma-taichou's command just under two years ago."
"That's even worse! Isn't a twelve year old a bit too young to be helping the police, let alone the Japanese government?"
"Tousan…" Yoshino said softly. "My father was a police officer. He was killed in the line of duty many years ago. Maybe the reason I want to be a police officer is…"
"A yume, huh?" Masaru responded. He touched the dog tag that was hanging around his neck. "I think…I think I can kind of understand what you're feeling …"
Masaru's voice faded away into silence. The four of them had reached the bottom of the stairs a long time ago and were now walking down a musty corridor. Every once in a while, different kinds of lights from the city above them streamed into the otherwise dark place through the cracks in the ceiling. Their footsteps and water dripping into puddles on the ground were the only sounds they heard for a while.
"Yoshino, we're heading in the direction of the port, aren't we?" Lalamon finally broke the silence. Yoshino nodded as confirmation.
"Can I ask you a question?" Masaru spoke up. "Why didn't you stay on and become a full-time police officer?" Masaru asked. Yoshino stopped walking. "If you ask me, the Digimon battlefield isn't really the best place for you."
Agumon nodded in agreement. "No offense, Lalamon, but Sunflowmon couldn't even defeat Flymon without my help-oww!" he yelped as Masaru quickly punched him in the head to silence him.
"Agumon...why you..." Lalamon's usually blank face turned into an angry one.
"I failed it." Everyone turned to Yoshino. "The test to become one," she explained quietly. She quickly changed the subject. "This hallway probably leads somewhere, right? Then, let's go."
"Yoshino!" Lalamon cried as she flew after her partner, who had quickly gone on ahead, alone.
Masaru sighed and was just about to yell at Agumon for being so insensitive when he saw something bright out of the corner of his eye.
It was artificial light reflecting off a piece of metal, and this piece of metal was in someone's large and hairy hand.
"Abunai! Yoshino!" Masaru yelled as a loud bang went off in the darkness.
Glossary:
Abunai: 'Watch out/Look out!'
Yume: 'Dream'
A/N: And the adventure continues! In this chapter, Yoshino finally gets some action. In the canon, the DATS core team consisted of the Genius (Touma), the Fighter (Masaru), and the Extra "Third-Wheel" (Yoshino). However, in this story, Yoshino will show that she can use both her knowledge and experiences to contribute to the fight indirectly. In other words, her role combines both the traits of a Genius and the Fighter, making her a character that is more relatable to the casual viewer.
The next chapter will concentrate on Touma, along with his interactions with one of my OCs. Are there any guesses to who I'm talking about? :D
(But before all of this can happen, I will need a beta. Please check out my profile page if you're interested.)