A/N: I wanted to update this story one more time before before the New Year, so here it is! Hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tecmo and Team Ninja. Please don't sue me.

WARNING: If you are easily disturbed, then it is best that you skip this chapter. Read at your own risk.

BREAKING CHAINS

Chapter 16

Hitomi was surprised when Eliot called her on the phone. She had accepted his invitation to visit his home. The reason he wanted to meet with her was so they could continue their investigation together. So far, they had three main suspects. All they had to do was figure out which one of them was the murderer.

When Hitomi arrived at Eliot's home, she observed the area. She was currently standing in the middle of a cobblestone courtyard. Apartments made of wood and stone surrounded the circular area. Some of the rooms appeared to be deserted. Overall, the area seemed to be a Chinese themed housing complex.

After being greeted by Eliot, he led her over to the dining table. As she took a seat, Hitomi observed the room around her. The interior, just like the outside, consisted of wood and stone. The counters in the kitchen had a green and pink checkered theme to it, and there was a small, brown carpet in the middle of the room.

Eliot made his way over to the kitchen in order to help Brad, who was attempting to cook something. Due to the living room and kitchen being a shared room, Hitomi was able to hear their conversation. After instructing Brad to be careful with the cooking, Eliot took a seat across from the karateka.

"Sorry about that," he chuckled. "Brad wanted to cook for you today and needed my assistance with the recipe."

"That's so sweet of him," Hitomi smiled. She then turned around to face the Chinese man. "Thank you, Brad!"

Brad, who was now chopping some carrots, looked over his shoulder and wriggled his eyebrows at Hitomi. Her smile immediately disappeared as he made his way over to her. He placed an arm over the back of her chair and leaned in front of her so their faces were only inches apart.

"What do you say we get rid of the kid and eat this food together?... Just the two of us."

Hitomi could smell the alcohol on his breath and it overwhelmed her. "Uh… erm… I, uh-"

"Brad…" Eliot warned.

"Sorry, sorry!" Brad chuckled, putting his arms up in defense. "I was only kidding… mostly."

"Brad, you should go away and let us ta... BRAD!" Eliot screamed. His eyes widened as he pointed at something behind the drunk man.

Brad and Hitomi turned around and their mouths opened in shock. There, right in front of their eyes, was a small fire spreading on top of the stove. In an instant, Eliot ran over to the fire and threw some dirty rags on top of the fire. Luckily, the flames were gone, but the food was severely burned.

"You are never cooking ever again!" The British man yelled at Brad. He then looked inside the fridge for more food. All he found was a bottle of milk. "Seriously?!"

Hitomi frowned at the fact that there was no food inside the fridge. This reminded her of her first day back in town when she, too, had an empty fridge.

"We should go to the Seaside Market and do some shopping. You two can't go without food. That's absolutely insane!"

"I'm not sure, Hitomi..." Eliot began. "We have to investigate this case some more."

"Yes, but we also need to refresh our minds," she replied. "You're clearly angry and won't be able to pay attention until you're calm again."

Eliot had a thought about it. "You're right… Okay, let's go!"

"I'm coming, too!" Brad cheered. He placed the frying pan inside the sink and made his way over to the duo.

"I think you should stay here, Brad," Eliot replied. "We don't want you causing more trouble."

Brad sighed in response. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted… I'll just take a nap instead."

Eliot smiled in appreciation as Brad headed over to his room. He was glad that the drunk man was obedient for once. The detective then grabbed his keys from the coffee table and ushered Hitomi over to his car.

After a good hour of shopping, Eliot stumbled along the sidewalk as he was now carrying a large variety of bags. During their spree, Hitomi ended up recommending a lot of products to Eliot, which he greatly appreciated. However, just when the British man thought they were finally done, the karateka led him over to Muramasa's store.

"Look at those cabbages, Eliot!" she gasped. "You need to buy a cabbage!"

"O-Okay… Sure..." he struggled.

Following the events of purchasing the cabbage, Hitomi offered to hold the paper bag since Eliot's hands were full. Then they made their way towards the entrance of the Seaside Market so they could go home. Rig and Bass were nearby. However, Hitomi stopped in her tracks as she remembered something.

"I forgot! We should buy a plant for you and Brad."

"Why?" Eliot asked her. He was utterly confused.

"To give more life to your house, of course," she cheered, turning around and dragging him with her once more.

The duo eventually made their way over to Leon's stall. It wasn't busy, compared to the other stalls around him. He was currently serving Lisa.

"Hey, Lisa. What are you buying?" Hitomi asked her.

"Just a normal potted plant," the doctor answered. "I've been interested in the studies of photosynthesis lately and would like to research it some more."

"That's a great idea," Hitomi replied. "We're just here to buy a flower for Eliot."

"Flowers are a lovely adaption to any environment," Lisa said. She then paid Leon her fee and turned her attention back to Hitomi. "Well, I'd better get going… I need to do a lot of tasks today."

Hitomi watched Lisa with curiosity as she hurriedly made her way through the growing crowd. The karateka then turned her attention to Leon. He stared at her with a cold expression.

"What do you want to buy?"

"J-Just a plant, please..." Hitomi answered. She was startled by his cold attitude, but had a feeling he was angry for a reason. "What's the matter?"

Leon crossed his arms in an intimidating fashion and huffed. "Some smartass thought it would be a good idea to steal one of my crates."

Hitomi looked at the crates next to Leon's stall. There were only two.

"Were there supposed to be three crates?..." Hitomi wondered.

"What the hell do you think?!" he snapped. He then calmed down when he saw how scared Hitomi had become. "Sorry, sorry… They were just really expensive crates."

"What were inside the crates?" Eliot asked.

"A bunch of ceramic pots that I ordered."

Hitomi decided to observe the area in order to see if the missing crate was hidden somewhere. There was no way that a person would be able to steal a heavy crate with all these people around… So far, there were a lot of people. They were all carrying at least one brown paper bag due to buying some goods. Hitomi was able to recognise a few people since she knew them personally.

She saw Lisa making her way through the crowd once more and scanning the area around her for some reason. Bass was near the entrance, trying his best to make the chickens scurry away from his feet. Rig was also nearby. Hitomi's attention was then caught by Jann Lee who stormed past her. Leifang quickly chased after him. The karateka could only hear a fair bit of their conversation.

"Jann Lee!" The Chinese woman called. "Why won't you just let me tell you how I fee-"

"Don't finish that sentence. Stop being weak."

"Weak?! You're the one who is weak because you can't even admi-"

"I said stop!"

Hitomi frowned as their conversation faded away. It was obvious what they were talking about. On the plus side, Leifang had finally decided to listen to her after all this time and reveal her feelings for Jann Lee. But unfortunately for her, he refused to hear it. Hitomi had no idea how men could deny their feelings so easily. She would be happy if someone confessed their love to her.

Hitomi shook her head in frustration. Now was not the time to think of her failed romances. She then turned to Eliot who was huffing and puffing. The karateka finally realised that he was carrying all the bags. All she had in her hands were the cabbage, as well as the potted plant that they had purchased from Leon. She quickly took some more bags from Eliot so he could regain some stamina.

"Th-thanks…" he huffed. "I feel like I've just competed on the Biggest Loser."

Hitomi giggled at Eliot's remark. He surely said the strangest things whenever he was struggling.

After when she successfully juggled the pot plant, as well as the grocery bags in her arms, Hitomi's eyes fell upon Honoka. She was currently at one of the stalls which sold sweets and other confectionery. Instead of her wearing her usual nurse's uniform, Honoka was wearing a jean skirt, but what really caught Hitomi's attention was the young girl's shirt. A picture of a cow's head was on her chest, with the word 'MILK' printed underneath. Hitomi thought this was either a joke regarding her breast size, or she was just oblivious to it and liked the design.

Hitomi dragged Eliot along once more so she could ask the nurse how Hayate was doing. She hadn't visited the hospital in a few days and wanted to know if there were any signs of progress. As they got closer, they noticed that Honoka was holding a red leash. On the other end of the leash was Bankotsubo. He tried his best to escape so he could run around and enjoy the beachy environment.

"Oh, hello!" Honoka bowed as they approached her. A part of Hitomi felt sad since the nurse's actions reminded her a lot of Kokoro.

"Hi. Eliot and I just wanted to know if there were any improvements on Hayate's amnesia?"

"Unfortunately, no," she replied, sadly. Her face then brightened. "But what's great is that he's slowly warming up to everyone. Lisa has been doing a lot of tests on him as well, so hopefully she will be able to determine some things soon."

The three of them continued to converse about Hayate's condition until Marie Rose approached them. She was wearing a black cloak over her lolita attire, and carried a woven basket with some sewing materials inside. She first acknowledged Honoka with a friendly hug before turning to Hitomi and Eliot.

"Lady Helena has been wondering whether you two have figured out who stole her belongings, as well as who murdered her sister."

"Helena had a sister?" Honoka wondered. "I never knew that."

Marie Rose instantly covered her mouth. She had said too much.

"Who was it, Marie?" Honoka asked her friend. "You can tell me!"

"…"

"..."

"... Marie?"

"Oh, I might as well tell you… But you can't tell anyone," she warned. Honoka nodded in silence, which caused the servant to sigh. "... It was Kokoro."

Honoka gasped. "Kokoro?... Oh, that's so sad."

"Where is Helena, anyway?" Hitomi intervened. She hoped to get the conversation back on track.

"She is practicing her singing back at the estate," Marie Rose answered. "She wanted to sing alone, so she ordered me to do her grocery shopping - which is why I am here."

Everyone nodded at the young blonde in response. Honoka was about to say something, but she stopped as she was being pulled away by Bankotsubo. It seemed like he really wanted to run around, so she let him free from his leash.

"You better behave, Mr. Bankotsubo," she cooed, petting the puppy. "Stay as close as you can!"

As soon as Honoka turned away, Bankotsubo wagged his tail and ran around the area with joy. Hitomi smiled at the Pomeranian. She really wished she could have a dog, but she didn't think her tenant would allow an animal inside the apartment.

"So, is Helena preparing to sing for another televised performance again?" Hitomi asked.

"No," Marie Rose answered. "I mean, she has been thinking about it, but she just wants to sing where no one can hear her right now. She has been sad about Tina's death lately."

Hitomi understood completely. She knew that Tina and Helena were good friends due to their successful careers.

"So, Eliot…" Marie Rose uttered, fluttering her eyelids. "How have you been since we last saw each other? I miss you."

Eliot choked in response. "Y-You do?"

"Don't act so surprised!" Marie giggled. A fake look of surprise then appeared on her youthful face. "Wait… Do you not miss me, too?"

"Wh… N-No! I mean... Of course I-"

The rest of Eliot's response was interrupted by a loud thumping sound. It sounded as though something heavy had been dropped onto the ground. A loud, unusual cry then followed from afar.

Honoka frowned as she furrowed her brows in fear. She recognised the cry and knew something was wrong, so she decided to follow where the strange sounds had come from. Hitomi was thinking along the the same lines as the pink haired girl and ran after her.

Honoka was a slow runner, so it was easy for Hitomi to follow her without losing any distance. They soon came to a stop near the entrance of the Seaside Market. The female detective gasped in horror at the grotesque sight in front of her. There was a large crate on the ground, and underneath that crate was the bottom half of Bankotsubo's body. A pool of blood was slowly forming around the unmoving body. Someone had squashed the Pomeranian.

The karateka's eyes averted over to Rig and Bass. They were the closest people at the scene, just like how they were for Tina's murder. Once again, they both knew how bad the situation looked. Hitomi frowned at them as she went into deep thought. Was it possible they were working together to murder all these people? And why would they murder a dog?

Her eyes then fell over to Honoka who was trying her best to take the crate off her dog. Hitomi, being alarmed by the girl's sudden actions, rushed over to Honoka in order to stop her from intervening with the crime scene. It took a few attempts, but when the nurse gave up, she buried her face into Hitomi's shoulder and began to sob. The best thing the detective could do was pat her shoulder in support.

"Who… Who could do this to Bankotsubo?!" she cried.

Hitomi internally sighed. She honestly had no idea, but she definitely had two suspects on her mind.

A/N: I know what you're all thinking... I'm pure evil for killing an innocent dog in my story. I'm sorry, but it had to be done. There are no exceptions in this story.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review if you want. I'm always happy to read your thoughts. :)

See you all in 2018!

...

INVESTIGATION PROCESS #4

Suspects of Bankotsubo's murder: ?

Time of murder: 3:38pm

Place of murder: The Seaside Market

Murder Weapon: Wooden crate

Who found the body: Honoka

...

Death count: Maria Douglas, Rolande, Kokoro, Tina Armstrong, Bankotsubo.