A/N: I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I thought 'why not start 2017 off with a new chapter for everyone to read?'... So here it is!
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tecmo and Team Ninja. Please don't sue me.
BREAKING CHAINS
Chapter 2
"Leifang?"
The Chinese woman smiled at Hitomi and nodded in response. She hadn't changed much since they had last seen each other. The only noticeable changes were that she was slightly taller, and her usually untouched hair was styled into a pair of looped braids.
"Here you go," she said, passing the cabbage over to Hitomi. "It's my shout."
The two girls couldn't help but laugh at their situation as they left Muramasa's market stall. Leifang then offered to help Hitomi with the rest of her shopping so they could talk some more. Due to the Chinese woman talking a lot about random things that made no sense, it took a lot longer than expected for Hitomi to purchase everything on her list. Once when everything was bought, Leifang helped put the groceries into Hitomi's car and they drove over to her new apartment.
"You're going to love the apartment, Leifang," Hitomi squealed as she ran up the stairs. Leifang was huffing behind her as she wasn't used to running up so many stairs. Once they made it to the front door, Hitomi opened it so Leifang could step through. The karateka was pleased to see that Leifang was impressed.
"Oh wow…" she said in awe. She then placed the grocery bags on the dining table. "This place is amazing for the price."
"I know, and there's so much space! I can practice my karate moves without breaking anything."
Leifang headed over to the fridge and placed the cabbage head inside. "So, tell me what happened during your course. I want to know everything!"
"Okay, sit down," Hitomi said, ushering her over to the couch. Once Leifang was seated, Hitomi proceeded to speak. "The course was amazing! We did something new everyday and I learned how to investigate dead bodies. I even made a new friend. Her name is Momiji and we get along so we-"
"Wait. Excuse me?" Leifang interrupted. "This stranger better not replace me as your best friend."
Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. You will always be my best friend."
Leifang smiled in response. "Okay, go on."
"Actually… that's it, really. How is your university degree going?"
"It's going great and all, but I hate all the hard work," she sighed. "You know, Hitomi, I might as well be an actress instead. I'm good at acting and I'm a good liar."
"That's not something to be proud of," Hitomi told her friend. She had always been against lying. "But other than that, how are other things… such as your… oh, I don't know… love life?"
Out of all things that could have happened, Hitomi certainly did not expect to be hit on the face with a pillow.
"You are so nosey, Hitomi!"
"Ow," Hitomi mumbled as she rubbed her nose. "Can you blame me? It has been two years!"
"Okay, fine," Leifang rolled her eyes. "I'm still in the stalking stage when it comes to that tall, handsome weirdo… But I can finally admit that I may like him… Just a little."
"I'm just glad you've finally admitted it," Hitomi teased. She then went quiet just before asking about someone else. "So… What about Hayate?"
Leifang glared at Hitomi. "I knew there was a reason why you were randomly asking about my love life. Anyway, about Hayate… He did briefly date someone, but they broke up."
Hitomi felt a huge weight land at the pit of her stomach. She didn't like the fact that Hayate had dated anyone, but at least they had broken up.
"So… Who is the girl he dated?"
"Her name is Lisa," Leifang confirmed. "I've met her before; she's really nice! What's really cool about her is that she's the only female doctor at the hospital. The other female employees are nurses. I think that's what Hayate really liked about her…." Leifang trailed off as she saw the frown on Hitomi's face. "I mean… I don't really like her... At all... She's so-"
"It's okay, Leifang," Hitomi reassured her friend. "Plus, you said they've broken up. How long ago was that?"
"Um… Around three weeks ago."
Hitomi felt as though her mouth dropped to the floor. "Three weeks ago?! He's practically still in the heartbroken stage!"
"I don't know what to say…" Leifang admitted, fumbling with the couch pillow. She didn't want to say anything else that would make Hitomi feel even worse.
Hitomi sighed. She didn't really want to think about Hayate in the arms of this mysterious Lisa woman. The thought of Hayate made Hitomi think about how they were talking at the Seaside Market earlier and how Kasumi mentioned the death of Rolande.
"Oh yeah, did you know that Leon's wife died? I was so sho- Leifang?... Are you okay?"
The German girl stared at her friend as she began to cry uncontrollably. "Leifang, what's wrong?"
"Oh, it's just terrible, Hitomi," Leifang choked through her tears. "I was near the scene when she died!"
Hitomi froze. She was also confused. "Wait, what? How could you be near the scene?"
Leifang wiped away her tears before explaining the situation. "I was closing the diner for Johnny that night. It was around 11pm and while I was locking the front door, I heard a loud bang. I didn't think much of it... I just assumed it was the raccoons rummaging for food near the bins again..."
Leifang began to cry once more and all Hitomi could do was rub her shoulder as a source of support. The diner is only just across the road from the gym, so it made sense for Leifang to hear the noise.
"You are very lucky that it wasn't you who died," Hitomi told her. "You were alone in the diner. What if the murderer went there instead?"
"Don't even think about that, Hitomi. It's scary enough as it is."
"You're right," Hitomi said, hugging her traumatised friend. "I'm sorry."
The next few hours resulted in the two girls calming down about the murder by distracting themselves with cooking lunch. They then watched some television and avoided talking about Rolande's murder. It wasn't long after that when Hitomi decided to visit the police station in order to confirm her position as the newest detective. Leifang offered to leave the apartment with her so she could head home.
Once they entered the hallway, Hitomi could see Rig heading up the stairs. She revealed a polite smile as he got closer.
"How are you settling into the new place?" he asked.
"Everything is going well, thank you," Hitomi answered. She then looked over at Leifang who was staring at Rig with wide eyes. "Oh… Rig, this is my best friend, Leifang. And Leifang, this is Rig. He's new in town."
Rig gave an acknowledging nod at Leifang. She couldn't help but smile admirably at him.
"So you're new, huh… Do you have a job?"
"Yeah. I'm currently a bartender at Taylor's Bar. It's all the way across town," Rig answered.
"Interesting… And I like your tattoos. Especially that one," she said, pointing at the dragon tattoo on the side of his right ribcage.
"Uh… I'd personally prefer to forget about that tattoo, but thanks."
"Bad memories?" Leifang guessed.
Rig gave her an odd smirk. "I guess you could say that... Anyway, I better go back to my room and catch some z's. I have some important stuff to do later."
"Okay, bye," Hitomi smiled. Both girls headed silently down the hall until Leifang couldn't hold her thoughts in any longer.
"He's so creepy and suspicious, but so cute. I really like that in a guy."
"Why, thank you," Rig's laid-back voice traveled down the hall. Apparently he had heard her remark. Leifang covered her mouth in embarrassment and headed out of the building without another peep.
When they finally said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, Hitomi made her way to the police station by walking there. The sky was now turning orange due to the sunset and she couldn't help but miss the tranquility of DOATEC City. When Hitomi was at her detective course, there was always a constant chatter wherever she went. She was glad to be back home.
Once she made it to the police station, she entered the building and was surprised to see that the front desk was currently empty. Hitomi frowned. She really wanted Niki to see her on her first day back in town. It wasn't long until she was met with a familiar deep voice.
"Oh, hello, miss. I'm not sure if you remember me, but-"
"I remember you," Hitomi laughed. "You're Eliot; the guy who fell over with the boxes."
Eliot coughed as an attempt to hide his embarrassment. "Oh, right. Well… There's no need to remember me that well."
Hitomi smiled at the young man. "Sorry. Also… I'm assuming that Niki finished her shift for the day?"
"Actually, she left town," Eliot told her. "She ended up winning some money at the casino a few months back and decided to start a new life."
Hitomi frowned. She really liked Niki. They always got along so well and liked to talk about Zack's usual misadventures. As she thought of that, Hitomi gulped. If Niki had left DOATEC City, then that means…
"Oh no, so that means Zack went with her, too… I really missed him when I was away, but I guess I'll never see him again…"
Hitomi looked up at Eliot, only to see that he looked uncomfortable. "Uh, well, you see… About Zack-"
"Niki dumped that poor sucker and left him behind once she won all that money," a thick Russian voice interrupted. Bayman made his entrance into the room and placed a gigantic pile of files onto his desk.
"Oh no, that's terrible…" Hitomi frowned. She felt bad especially since Zack had confided in her a number of times about his love for Niki.
"They were even planning to get married in a few months. I guess not anymore…" Eliot added.
Bayman rolled his eyes. "Enough about that idiot. You… uh… girl… You need to speak to Gen Fu. I'll take you over to him."
Hitomi gave a quick glance at Eliot just before following Bayman across the building. Gen Fu's office was at the very end of the building. Bayman knocked on the door just before entering.
"The girl is here," he said. Hitomi looked at him weirdly. He must have forgotten her name.
"Ah, detective Buchfink," Gen Fu nodded warmly. "Welcome to the team."
"Thank you very much!" Hitomi bowed in response. "And you can call me Hitomi if you'd like."
"Hitomi… I need to write that down," Bayman muttered to himself, leaving the room in order to possibly search for a pen and paper.
"Alright, Hitomi," Gen Fu noted. "I must warn you that there are only four of us who actually work here, so you may be asked to come in at unusual hours. Are you fine with that?"
"Of course," Hitomi responded. "When do you think my first case will be?"
Gen Fu looked at her grimly. "Sooner than you think. The crime rate of DOATEC City has skyrocketed recently…" He quickly looked through a pile of disheveled papers and files until he came across the report he needed. He passed it over to Hitomi. "This is the case report of Rolande. She died exactly two weeks ago. Eliot has already recorded the information."
Hitomi looked at the case report and read it carefully:
INVESTIGATION REPORT: "The victim is Rolande. Age: 38. Her body was discovered around 8:30am in the alleyway behind Maxwell's Gymnasium. The cause of death was numerous blows to the head and face."
After scanning through the file, Hitomi looked up at Gen Fu so he could continue talking. "It is possible that the victim died the night before around 11pm. We had a statement from a university student who claims she heard a large banging noise while closing the diner across the street."
Hitomi recalled back to what Leifang had told her before. She knew that the statement came from her. The female detective then decided to look further into the file. She turned to the next page and tried not to gag at the photos of the crime scene. There were several photographs of Rolande's body. Her face was unrecognisable. Blood was covering the majority of her face and there were large amounts of skin that were teared due to the murder weapon. It was clear that the murderer had something against her.
As Hitomi closed the file, she heard the phone ring. It was quickly answered with Bayman's voice in the background. Gen Fu quickly called Eliot over since he had a special announcement to make.
"What is it, Sir?" Eliot asked politely.
"Eliot, my youngest employee…" Gen Fu began with a wise tone. "At this very moment, Hitomi is officially your partner. You two will solve each case together from now on. As I always say, two heads are better than one."
"... Since when do you say that?" Eliot asked.
Gen Fu looked at the young boy with a blank expression. "Since I said so. Now now, you two should get to know each other more and get familiar with your skills."
Eliot nodded and looked over at Hitomi. "It is a pleasure to be working with you, Miss Hitomi. I have always wanted a partner to work with, so I think we will do just fine."
"I'm glad to hear that," Hitomi smiled. She then turned to Gen Fu once more. "Does that mean you and Bayman are partners?"
"Oh, no. We usually work on our own since we have more experience in the force," he explained. "Plus, there are so many crimes nowadays that it is best if we work on our own."
Hitomi looked at Eliot once more and smiled. She felt as though it was best that she started her investigations off with a partner since Eliot had more experience in the detective field. After all, Gen Fu even stated to her before that he was the brightest person in his school. Her thoughts were soon interrupted as Bayman appeared in the room.
"Boss, we've just received a call from the Douglas residence. The caller mentioned something about an attack."
"Did they say anything else?" Gen Fu questioned.
"Nope. The moron hung up right away."
"Very well…" Gen Fu said with a grim expression. He then turned to Hitomi. "I hope you don't mind, but it looks like you will be starting your first case right now. Don't be too terrified."
"I'll be fine," Hitomi reassured the old man.
Gen Fu slowly headed over to his desk and sat down. He clasped his ageing hands together and took a glimpse at his three employees.
"You three go. I'll stay here and look through the rest of these records."
A/N: I'm not sure if you can tell, but I'm going to try and add as many canon hints as possible (the cabbage incident, some of their personal quotes, etc.) so the story can have more of a lively feel to it. Think of it as a few hidden easter eggs.
Also, about Rig's tattoos... I have no idea what the heck half of them are, so I added a dragon for the lolz... I think one of them might be a dragon, anyway. Or maybe I'm just blind.
Two new characters are going to be introduced in the next chapter. It's probably obvious who they are, but feel free to guess anyway.