CHAPTER SEVEN: Last in My Winds
Youji, Ken, and Aya sat around their tiny kitchen, pondering the whereabouts of Omi.
An entire night had passed and there was no word. Ken spun his coffee cup around in his hands, Youji chain smoked, and Aya warmed up some waffles.
"I can't stand this waiting!" Ken finally spouted. "He could be laying in a hospital somewhere with amnesia!"
Aya sighed and ordered him, "don't be melodramatic."
Youji was about to put in his two cents when the door squeaked open.
"Hello?" came a female voice from the other side.
"Maki!" Ken practically knocked his chair over to get to the door. Once there, he opened it all the way and stood staring at Maki. She was dressed in big gray sweatpants and a pink tanktop, her hair still mussed from it being so early in the morning. Behind her stood the three other members of Katzen and.
"OMI!" Ken called, the relief in his voice apparent. Running out and throwing an arm around his friend (to which they both yelled, "ouch!"), Ken then turned to the Katzen girls and said, "Go on in! Aya is making waffles!"
Yuko suppressed a frown. She was sure Aya didn't want to share his waffles with them.
The four girls, Omi, and Ken entered the kitchen. Aya's usual scowl deepend. Youji walked over to Omi and happily announced, "I knew you'd make it!"
To that, Omi smiled and said, "if it wasn't for these four, I wouldn't have. I owe them a lot."
Maki handed a small bag to Ken and said, "This is everything he needs. It's medication for the wound and the pain, clean bandages and things. The hospital said you make a follow-up appointment for him in two weeks."
Then, they all became painfully aware of the situation they were in. Leela looked at Aya, and wondered if it was possible for his frown to get any deeper.
It was. Aya's expression darkened severely and he stomped past the other joyously reuniting members of Weiss to stare down at the girls. "You know what this means, don't you?"
Yuko rolled her eyes. "A rumble?" Makoto poked her in the ribs and shook her head. If anything could make matters worse, it would be Yuko's smartass remarks.
"Maybe we should go somewhere where we can talk. Explain this all to you," suggested Leela.
"At least let them explain, Aya," pleaded Omi. "They saved our lives last night."
"If they hadn't let us know what was going to happen, none of us would be here right now," added Youji, in between cigarettes.
Giving the girls one last hard glare, Aya stated flatly, "You can explain it to our boss."
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Weiss and Katzen were seated downstairs, waiting for Manx's arrival. Aya stared at them from his usual position by the wall. Still in their pajamas, bruised from last night's battle, squashed together on one tiny couch, Katzen hardly looked like a threat. Youji and Ken were seated opposite them and Omi in a large chair, his injured leg stretched stiffly out in front of him. None of them knew what to think.
They heard the door upstairs open and close, then footsteps on the stairs. Manx had arrived. "So you're Katzen, huh?" she asked them. The girls nodded, solemnly. "We took the liberty of doing some research on you. It's not much. You're Makoto Yoshizawa, age 21. Formerly worked for the police. No criminal record."
"Correct," Makoto replied, listlessly.
Checking her files, Manx went on to the next girl, "You are Yuko Yaguchi. Age 20. Imprisoned for three months, four years ago. Parents deceased. Two sisters, both missing."
Yuko shook her head, "My older sister is dead. My younger sister is in an orphanage."
"Was in an orphanage," Manx told her, matter-of-factly. "She ran away from the orphanage about two years ago."
"That's not possi.," Yuko started.
But Manx had already moved on to the next girl, "Maki Konno. Age 19. Ran away from home at 15. No known family. Imprisoned at the same time as Yaguchi." Maki made no move to agree or disagree.
"Leela Mullen. Age 23. No criminal record. Parents were killed four and a half years ago. No other family," Manx said.
"You're wrong," replied Leela.
"Pardon me?" asked Manx, looking skeptical.
"Makoto, Yuko and Maki are my family," she stated, looking Manx squarely in the eye. "We're doing this because there are people that need to be stopped. We aren't finished until they are."
Manx crossed her arms, "And whom exactly are you trying to stop?"
"Unagi," Leela answered, unfazed by Manx's cold demeanor.
"Unagi?" repeated Manx. "And you knew Weiss went to the festival last night to stop them?"
"No," Makoto chimed in. "That was a coincidence. We'd bugged this place to confirm that they were actually Weiss. We heard about the problem with Unagi but the bug was discovered and destroyed before we heard about last night's mission."
"I see. And how exactly did you know about the bombing before it happened?" She inquired.
"I saw them setting them up," Makoto responded.
"I'm assuming you then warned Weiss and the rest of your group," Manx said. Makoto nodded. "Now tell me. How did Omi get shot?"
"Leela came to warn me about the bombs," Yuko told her. "I saw a member of Unagi behind Omi with a gun. I tried telling him but he was distracted, so Leela and I got to her before she got to Omi. She wasn't dead, though, and when we were running away, she shot at us and Omi got hurt."
"Why?" asked Manx.
Katzen blinked at her. "Why what?" asked Yuko.
Manx looked Yuko straight in the eye and said, "Why did you warn Weiss? Why did you help Omi? Why? What's in it for you?"
Standing up, defensively, Yuko shouted, "What do you mean 'why'? I wasn't going to stand there and let him die! I don't want to see any of my friends get hurt! And I consider Weiss to be friends!" She shot a glance at Aya. "The majority of them, anyway."
Manx said nothing to Yuko's outburst. She stood cold and silent, looking at them. Yuko sat back down, and all four girls waited to hear what Manx would say next.
"You," she said, looking down at Maki. "You haven't said much."
Maki continued to sit, unmoving, looking down at her hands.
"Why?" Manx repeated the offending word. "Why aren't you talking?"
Without looking up, Maki barely whispered, "Because if I open my mouth, I'm afraid I'll cry."
Manx slammed the folder full of Katzen's secrets down on the coffee table. "You really think you can beat a gang of ruthless criminals, when you can't even keep from crying because a stranger is yelling at you?!" screamed Manx. Weiss looked at her, their mouths agape. They had never seen Manx lose her cool like that.
"I'm not crying because you're yelling," came a slightly louder reply from Maki. "I'm crying because we failed. I'm crying because Omi and Ken were both injured, because we were just a bit too late. I'm crying because Unagi is still out there, and so our mission will continue. I'm crying because I'm selfish, and wish things didn't have to be this way. But they are, and nothing you say or do can change that. You are nothing to us. And if worse comes to worse, Weiss will become nothing to us."
Everyone was silent, pondering Maki's words. Finally, Ken spoke, "Maki." he began, reaching out to her.
"Don't," she said. Ken stopped, thought about ignoring her order, but pulled his hand away, anyway.
"I see how it is," Manx said, coldly. "What if they get the order to kill you?"
"Then so be it," Maki replied, just as coldly. "But they'd better be able to stop Unagi as well."
Manx stood quietly looking down at all four members of Katzen for quite some time. Then, turning on her heel, she addressed Weiss.
"I am leaving this up to you," she said to the four young men, "you either accept these girls as just another addition to the scenery, making no moves against them and no moves to help them.or you decide they're a threat that must be destroyed, and do so. I will have Aya report the verdict to me by 14:00."
And then, without another word, Manx was gone.
Katzen stiffened on the sofa and looked warily at Aya, who said, "Get out of my house."
The girls stood and stormed out, apparently trying to show their displeasure by stomping on the stairs as hard as they could.
Ken and Youji took the place on the sofa they had just vacated, while Aya walked over to sit across from them.
"So I guess we'll just be leaving them alone from now on," Ken said a little too quickly.
Youji and Omi nodded their assent. "Yeah," Youji said, "we'll just pretend they're not there. No skin off our noses, right Omi?"
Omi nodded vigorously. "Absolutely."
Aya looked from one of his partners to the others, and back again. "If this was a democracy," he began, "then I would be outvoted. But since Manx assigned me, personally, to deliver the verdict, I think my vote should count for much more."
"That's not fair!" Ken yelled, jumping to his feet. "You only want to kill them because that's the easiest thing to do! Out of sight, out of mind! Well, I'm not willing to do that!" Youji pulled Ken back down onto the sofa, since the poor guy looked to be on the verge of tears.
"I'm with Ken," Youji said. "It seems like you're just being lazy. Or maybe you're scared. Is that it, Aya? Are you afraid the little girls will do a better job than."
"ENOUGH!" Aya yelled, slamming his fists down on the coffee table. "There is more to this than you know. I've been sitting here, quietly, watching the three of you fawn over these girls. You befriended them, invited them into our home, and then looked the other way when you found out they are dangerous creatures! I've had enough of it. If it continues, I'll see you get closer to them, care about them, protect them, and then get yourselves killed or fail the mission in the process!"
Ken, Youji, and Omi were speechless.
"Aya-kun," Omi said, "would it be all right.instead of killing them, could we just promise not to speak to them ever again? If your point is you don't want us to care about their well-being any further, than stopping a friendship with them would work just as well."
Aya considered it for a moment before saying, "fine. I have each of your words that you will not contact those Pet Store girls again. But if Katzen shows up on another one of our missions, then they are to be killed on the spot. And if you three don't do it, I will."
* * *
"That BITCH!" raged Maki to anyone who was listening. "Who the hell does she think she is?!"
"Calm down," Leela ordered. "You know as well as I do that nothing they say matters. Whether they're ordered to kill us, or whether they just tell us to stop.nothing will matter. We'll get away. Our mission will continue."
Ever since their meeting with Manx, the members of Katzen had gone through stages of angry, betrayed, depressed, and ultimately accepting.
Maki was still on angry, Makoto had become depressed, Yuko was feeling betrayed, and Leela, as usual, was accepting.
As the four young women sat thinking about their next course of action, there came a gentle knock on the door. Leela got up to answer it, and it was Omi that walked through.
"I have some bad news," he said without preamble. "Aya says we're not allowed to be friends with you anymore. No more nights of drinking and talking, and not even any phone calls. It's like we're strangers again."
Maki flopped down hard in a kitchen chair, and Makoto looked like she could cry at any moment.
"There's more." Omi continued. "If Katzen ever shows up on another one of our missions.Aya will kill you. And he can do it. I think you all realize that."
Silence followed Omi's announcement. He quietly turned around and began to leave the Pet Store, turning around just once more to say, "Good-bye."
* * *
"How you doin'?" came a suave voice from the darkness. Makoto nearly dropped the trash bags she was carrying out to the dumpster behind the Pet Store.
"Youji!" she hissed, "what the hell are you doing here? I thought you guys weren't supposed."
Youji silenced here with his index finger to her lips. "I just wanted to come and tell you that Ken, Omi, and I don't share Aya's feelings." He removed his finger from her mouth.
Makoto nodded. "I already know that."
"Good," Youji said, lighting up a cigarette.
"You shouldn't smoke," Makoto told him. "It's bad for your health."
At that, Youji chuckled. "Being an assassin is bad for my health, too. Which brings me to my other point. You girls should quit. Stop this before you get sucked in any farther. Before it's too late."
Makoto regarded the man in the shadows thoughtfully before speaking again. "Youji," she said, "I would expect someone like you to respect us. But I guess you don't."
Stepping further into the light, Youji took Makoto by the hand and said, "That's not it at all. I respect you girls very much. And that's why I can't stand the thought of you getting yourselves killed. Weiss exists to do this job for you. Why won't you let us?"
Makoto's bottom lip trembled in an attempt to keep her faculties about her. She finally regarded Youji coolly and said, "Because this job isn't yours to do. Unagi means nothing to you. You never believe me when I say we have our reasons. You just keep pressing the matter. Please.just go."
Stomping his cigarette out on the ground, Youji placed a hand under Makoto's chin and pulled her head towards him. He gave her a feather light kiss on the forehead and said with a sigh, "I guess you're right. I didn't respect you enough. Do what you have to do." And with that, he disappeared back into the shadows.
* * *
"Pssst!" came a sound outside Maki's window.
Ignoring it, she turned over in bed and continued reading her latest murder mystery novel.
"PSSST!" came the sound, much louder this time.
"Oh, for God's sake!" Maki huffed. Putting her book down, she crossed to the window and opened it with every intention of throwing a shoe at whatever was being noisy.
Before she could even stick her head out to see what was up, a face appeared in her way.
"Hi!" said Ken.
Maki yelped and fell on her butt. Ken let himself in through her window.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed. "You shouldn't be here. Aya would kill you if he found out."
Ken seated himself comfortably on the bed, "Well, that's his problem."
Maki tugged at his arm, trying to pull him off her bed, "No! It's your problem and it's my problem! Now get out of here."
"Ouch!" Ken cried.
Maki dropped his arm, feeling guilty, "Shit! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I forgot about that."
Ken winked, "It didn't hurt. I just wanted you to let go."
Maki couldn't help but smile, "You really shouldn't be here, you know," she said, sitting down beside him.
"I know," Ken replied softly. "But I wanted to see you. Aya would flip out. But he doesn't have to know." He gently took her hand. "You know, Maki.Youji, Omi and I...we don't care about what Aya says. We've decided it's best we don't contact you, for your sake. Aya keeps saying things like we have to stop speaking before we start to care about you. But it's really too late for that, you know."
Blushing, Maki turned so she wouldn't have to look into his eyes. His gaze was so direct, his eyes so sincere. How could a man like him be hiding secrets like his when the truth was written all over his face? His pain, his fear, his emotions. Quickly changing the subject, she said, as casually as she could, "Yeah, that Aya is a real droid. How's Omi's le...?" Before she could finish, she was silenced by Ken's lips on her own.
For a few moments, Ken and Maki were locked in a passionate embrace. Breaking their kiss, Ken whispered softly into Maki's ear, "I love you, you know..."
"You can't," she whispered back, fear in her voice.
"I know," he sighed. "When this is all over, maybe..."
"Will it ever be over?" Maki asked.
Ken's answer was cut off by a sharp rap at the door. Then he heard Yuko's voice, "Maki? What's going on in there?"
"N...nothing!" Maki yelled.
They could hear Yuko's foot tapping impatiently, "I know when you're lying, Maki. I'm coming in."
With that, Yuko opened the door and stormed in. Seeing Ken, her eyes flashed with anger, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you trying to get us all killed?"
"Which one of us are you asking?" Maki asked, cynically.
Yuko sighed, "Does it really matter? Either way, Ken, you can't be here. I wasn't planning on dying today."
"I'm not going to kill you or Maki or the others either," Ken told her.
"What, you didn't get the assignment yet?" asked Yuko sarcastically, glaring at him. "You know, if it wasn't for us, ALL of you would be dead! And your stupid friend feels the need to tell us to stay out of your way! You know, you're damn lucky we came along! And you're damn lucky we gave enough of a crap about you to save your lives!"
"Yuko!" cried Maki. "Stop!"
"No! I will not stop!" Yuko yelled right back at her. "You're sitting here, whispering sweet nothings to a boy who would kill you if he was told to!"
"I wouldn't kill her! Or any of you! No matter what the assignment! Aya's the only one of us that would do that," Ken shouted. "I told Maki and Youji told Makoto. That's not going to happen. We're not going to get that assignment."
"How do you know?! Huh?!" screamed Yuko. "You don't know anything! You obviously don't know what Unagi is capable of! And you just disregard us like we're nothing! And then, you risk all our lives and that asshole Aya's wrath by coming over here and trying to hump Maki!"
By the time Yuko had finished that portion of her tirade, Ken was just as angry as she was. He stood up, angrily and was glaring at her across the room, struggling to control his frustration, he said, "I was not trying to hump Maki. But I think she has the right to know how we feel. How I feel! We can handle Aya."
Hearing all the yelling, Makoto and Leela came running and before Yuko could come up with a retort for Ken, they grabbed both her arms and were trying to calm her down. But Yuko was seething. Her frustration, anger and confusion had come pouring out and she didn't know how to control it anymore. Giving up, she sank to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest.
Makoto sat down beside Yuko, attempting to comfort her. Ken looked at Maki and saw the tears running down her face. "I'm sorry," he told her. She just shook her head.
Leela addressed Ken, "Is there anything else you need to say?"
Ken thought for a minute and realized there was only one question that needed to be asked, "Why do you want to stop Unagi so much? All you ever said is that you 'have your reasons.' What are they?"
"My parents are dead because of them," replied Leela, curtly.
Maki quietly gave her reply as well, "They are responsible for the death of someone I loved."
"My reason is similar to theirs. They killed my partner and best friend in the police force," Makoto told him.
Yuko was silent for a while before saying, "They killed my older sister. When I went to look for her, my younger sister was put in an orphanage. I haven't seen her since."
Ken was taken aback, "Wasn't that four years ago? Unagi's been around that long?" The girls nodded.
"Unagi has been selling drugs for years. Four years ago, they started selling tainted drugs to other dealers to put them out of business," Leela told him, frankly. "Since most of their members are teenagers, they've been able to target a younger group to sell drugs to."
"The cartel that you had targeted during the first mission we saw you at was actually an off-shoot of Unagi," Makoto continued. "They were selling the tainted drugs the main unit had given them."
"Unagi is bigger than you know," Maki said, avoiding Ken's eyes. "Years ago, Yuko and I were in it."
"What?" Ken looked at her, surprised. "You were in Unagi?"
"Yes," Maki told him. "I joined for a stupid reason. Just to impress some boy who was in a gang, too. I gave up my family and everything else I had."
"I joined because it was the only way I could find out what happened to Mari. That's my older sister," Yuko answered quietly. "Our parents died when I was thirteen, Mari was sixteen and Satori was ten. Mari joined because she got a share of their money and she didn't want to have to put Satori and I in an orphanage. She couldn't see us often but she would leave money or something for us in the mailbox every day for three years. And then it stopped. So I went to look for her. And I went looking for her in Unagi."
"What.happened?" asked Ken, still shocked.
"I had to leave Satori with an elderly neighbor because we didn't have any family. I had to join to find out what happened to her. She'd tried to leave and they'd killed her," Yuko said, not looking up.
"That's where I met her," Maki said. "And that was around the same time that they killed my boyfriend. We both wanted to leave but we couldn't because they'd kill us, too. It took a month or so but we ran away. The first thing we did was go back for Satori."
As Yuko continued, Ken couldn't help but notice the tears in her eyes, "The neighbor I left her with had died while I was gone and they'd taken Satori to an orphanage because they thought Mari and I abandoned her. I called the social services place and they wouldn't tell me anything else. And we were running from Unagi anyway."
"There was no where we could go," Maki went on. "We weren't safe anywhere. So we thought if we could get arrested, at least being in jail would keep us from being killed."
"That's where I met them," said Makoto. "I had my own personal vendetta against Unagi, so I watched Maki and Yuko for a few weeks before helping them escape. Then I obviously left the force and the three of us decided to start Katzen, for the soul purpose of destroying Unagi."
"But they needed a place to work, because you can't do anything without money," said Leela. "I was living in Ireland and my parents owned a chain of pet stores here. One day I received a call. I was told that two of the stores my parents owned had been bombed by a gang that was soliciting their 'protection' for a large sum of money. My parents had been inside the second store, and were killed."
"We ran into Leela purely by accident, while trying to find work at the third store she took over. But of course she wanted to destroy Unagi, too," said Maki. "So Katzen was formed."
"That explains a lot" came a voice from outside Maki's window. In an instant, Youji and Omi were wrestling around, trying to get through at the same time.
After finally plopping to the ground, and helping Omi through (not an easy task, with his leg and all), Youji brushed himself off and said, "you guys didn't tell me you were having a party."
Omi grinned and added, "or are we not invited?"
Yuko looked warily at them. "You guys are going to be the death of us."
Youji, Ken, and Aya sat around their tiny kitchen, pondering the whereabouts of Omi.
An entire night had passed and there was no word. Ken spun his coffee cup around in his hands, Youji chain smoked, and Aya warmed up some waffles.
"I can't stand this waiting!" Ken finally spouted. "He could be laying in a hospital somewhere with amnesia!"
Aya sighed and ordered him, "don't be melodramatic."
Youji was about to put in his two cents when the door squeaked open.
"Hello?" came a female voice from the other side.
"Maki!" Ken practically knocked his chair over to get to the door. Once there, he opened it all the way and stood staring at Maki. She was dressed in big gray sweatpants and a pink tanktop, her hair still mussed from it being so early in the morning. Behind her stood the three other members of Katzen and.
"OMI!" Ken called, the relief in his voice apparent. Running out and throwing an arm around his friend (to which they both yelled, "ouch!"), Ken then turned to the Katzen girls and said, "Go on in! Aya is making waffles!"
Yuko suppressed a frown. She was sure Aya didn't want to share his waffles with them.
The four girls, Omi, and Ken entered the kitchen. Aya's usual scowl deepend. Youji walked over to Omi and happily announced, "I knew you'd make it!"
To that, Omi smiled and said, "if it wasn't for these four, I wouldn't have. I owe them a lot."
Maki handed a small bag to Ken and said, "This is everything he needs. It's medication for the wound and the pain, clean bandages and things. The hospital said you make a follow-up appointment for him in two weeks."
Then, they all became painfully aware of the situation they were in. Leela looked at Aya, and wondered if it was possible for his frown to get any deeper.
It was. Aya's expression darkened severely and he stomped past the other joyously reuniting members of Weiss to stare down at the girls. "You know what this means, don't you?"
Yuko rolled her eyes. "A rumble?" Makoto poked her in the ribs and shook her head. If anything could make matters worse, it would be Yuko's smartass remarks.
"Maybe we should go somewhere where we can talk. Explain this all to you," suggested Leela.
"At least let them explain, Aya," pleaded Omi. "They saved our lives last night."
"If they hadn't let us know what was going to happen, none of us would be here right now," added Youji, in between cigarettes.
Giving the girls one last hard glare, Aya stated flatly, "You can explain it to our boss."
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Weiss and Katzen were seated downstairs, waiting for Manx's arrival. Aya stared at them from his usual position by the wall. Still in their pajamas, bruised from last night's battle, squashed together on one tiny couch, Katzen hardly looked like a threat. Youji and Ken were seated opposite them and Omi in a large chair, his injured leg stretched stiffly out in front of him. None of them knew what to think.
They heard the door upstairs open and close, then footsteps on the stairs. Manx had arrived. "So you're Katzen, huh?" she asked them. The girls nodded, solemnly. "We took the liberty of doing some research on you. It's not much. You're Makoto Yoshizawa, age 21. Formerly worked for the police. No criminal record."
"Correct," Makoto replied, listlessly.
Checking her files, Manx went on to the next girl, "You are Yuko Yaguchi. Age 20. Imprisoned for three months, four years ago. Parents deceased. Two sisters, both missing."
Yuko shook her head, "My older sister is dead. My younger sister is in an orphanage."
"Was in an orphanage," Manx told her, matter-of-factly. "She ran away from the orphanage about two years ago."
"That's not possi.," Yuko started.
But Manx had already moved on to the next girl, "Maki Konno. Age 19. Ran away from home at 15. No known family. Imprisoned at the same time as Yaguchi." Maki made no move to agree or disagree.
"Leela Mullen. Age 23. No criminal record. Parents were killed four and a half years ago. No other family," Manx said.
"You're wrong," replied Leela.
"Pardon me?" asked Manx, looking skeptical.
"Makoto, Yuko and Maki are my family," she stated, looking Manx squarely in the eye. "We're doing this because there are people that need to be stopped. We aren't finished until they are."
Manx crossed her arms, "And whom exactly are you trying to stop?"
"Unagi," Leela answered, unfazed by Manx's cold demeanor.
"Unagi?" repeated Manx. "And you knew Weiss went to the festival last night to stop them?"
"No," Makoto chimed in. "That was a coincidence. We'd bugged this place to confirm that they were actually Weiss. We heard about the problem with Unagi but the bug was discovered and destroyed before we heard about last night's mission."
"I see. And how exactly did you know about the bombing before it happened?" She inquired.
"I saw them setting them up," Makoto responded.
"I'm assuming you then warned Weiss and the rest of your group," Manx said. Makoto nodded. "Now tell me. How did Omi get shot?"
"Leela came to warn me about the bombs," Yuko told her. "I saw a member of Unagi behind Omi with a gun. I tried telling him but he was distracted, so Leela and I got to her before she got to Omi. She wasn't dead, though, and when we were running away, she shot at us and Omi got hurt."
"Why?" asked Manx.
Katzen blinked at her. "Why what?" asked Yuko.
Manx looked Yuko straight in the eye and said, "Why did you warn Weiss? Why did you help Omi? Why? What's in it for you?"
Standing up, defensively, Yuko shouted, "What do you mean 'why'? I wasn't going to stand there and let him die! I don't want to see any of my friends get hurt! And I consider Weiss to be friends!" She shot a glance at Aya. "The majority of them, anyway."
Manx said nothing to Yuko's outburst. She stood cold and silent, looking at them. Yuko sat back down, and all four girls waited to hear what Manx would say next.
"You," she said, looking down at Maki. "You haven't said much."
Maki continued to sit, unmoving, looking down at her hands.
"Why?" Manx repeated the offending word. "Why aren't you talking?"
Without looking up, Maki barely whispered, "Because if I open my mouth, I'm afraid I'll cry."
Manx slammed the folder full of Katzen's secrets down on the coffee table. "You really think you can beat a gang of ruthless criminals, when you can't even keep from crying because a stranger is yelling at you?!" screamed Manx. Weiss looked at her, their mouths agape. They had never seen Manx lose her cool like that.
"I'm not crying because you're yelling," came a slightly louder reply from Maki. "I'm crying because we failed. I'm crying because Omi and Ken were both injured, because we were just a bit too late. I'm crying because Unagi is still out there, and so our mission will continue. I'm crying because I'm selfish, and wish things didn't have to be this way. But they are, and nothing you say or do can change that. You are nothing to us. And if worse comes to worse, Weiss will become nothing to us."
Everyone was silent, pondering Maki's words. Finally, Ken spoke, "Maki." he began, reaching out to her.
"Don't," she said. Ken stopped, thought about ignoring her order, but pulled his hand away, anyway.
"I see how it is," Manx said, coldly. "What if they get the order to kill you?"
"Then so be it," Maki replied, just as coldly. "But they'd better be able to stop Unagi as well."
Manx stood quietly looking down at all four members of Katzen for quite some time. Then, turning on her heel, she addressed Weiss.
"I am leaving this up to you," she said to the four young men, "you either accept these girls as just another addition to the scenery, making no moves against them and no moves to help them.or you decide they're a threat that must be destroyed, and do so. I will have Aya report the verdict to me by 14:00."
And then, without another word, Manx was gone.
Katzen stiffened on the sofa and looked warily at Aya, who said, "Get out of my house."
The girls stood and stormed out, apparently trying to show their displeasure by stomping on the stairs as hard as they could.
Ken and Youji took the place on the sofa they had just vacated, while Aya walked over to sit across from them.
"So I guess we'll just be leaving them alone from now on," Ken said a little too quickly.
Youji and Omi nodded their assent. "Yeah," Youji said, "we'll just pretend they're not there. No skin off our noses, right Omi?"
Omi nodded vigorously. "Absolutely."
Aya looked from one of his partners to the others, and back again. "If this was a democracy," he began, "then I would be outvoted. But since Manx assigned me, personally, to deliver the verdict, I think my vote should count for much more."
"That's not fair!" Ken yelled, jumping to his feet. "You only want to kill them because that's the easiest thing to do! Out of sight, out of mind! Well, I'm not willing to do that!" Youji pulled Ken back down onto the sofa, since the poor guy looked to be on the verge of tears.
"I'm with Ken," Youji said. "It seems like you're just being lazy. Or maybe you're scared. Is that it, Aya? Are you afraid the little girls will do a better job than."
"ENOUGH!" Aya yelled, slamming his fists down on the coffee table. "There is more to this than you know. I've been sitting here, quietly, watching the three of you fawn over these girls. You befriended them, invited them into our home, and then looked the other way when you found out they are dangerous creatures! I've had enough of it. If it continues, I'll see you get closer to them, care about them, protect them, and then get yourselves killed or fail the mission in the process!"
Ken, Youji, and Omi were speechless.
"Aya-kun," Omi said, "would it be all right.instead of killing them, could we just promise not to speak to them ever again? If your point is you don't want us to care about their well-being any further, than stopping a friendship with them would work just as well."
Aya considered it for a moment before saying, "fine. I have each of your words that you will not contact those Pet Store girls again. But if Katzen shows up on another one of our missions, then they are to be killed on the spot. And if you three don't do it, I will."
* * *
"That BITCH!" raged Maki to anyone who was listening. "Who the hell does she think she is?!"
"Calm down," Leela ordered. "You know as well as I do that nothing they say matters. Whether they're ordered to kill us, or whether they just tell us to stop.nothing will matter. We'll get away. Our mission will continue."
Ever since their meeting with Manx, the members of Katzen had gone through stages of angry, betrayed, depressed, and ultimately accepting.
Maki was still on angry, Makoto had become depressed, Yuko was feeling betrayed, and Leela, as usual, was accepting.
As the four young women sat thinking about their next course of action, there came a gentle knock on the door. Leela got up to answer it, and it was Omi that walked through.
"I have some bad news," he said without preamble. "Aya says we're not allowed to be friends with you anymore. No more nights of drinking and talking, and not even any phone calls. It's like we're strangers again."
Maki flopped down hard in a kitchen chair, and Makoto looked like she could cry at any moment.
"There's more." Omi continued. "If Katzen ever shows up on another one of our missions.Aya will kill you. And he can do it. I think you all realize that."
Silence followed Omi's announcement. He quietly turned around and began to leave the Pet Store, turning around just once more to say, "Good-bye."
* * *
"How you doin'?" came a suave voice from the darkness. Makoto nearly dropped the trash bags she was carrying out to the dumpster behind the Pet Store.
"Youji!" she hissed, "what the hell are you doing here? I thought you guys weren't supposed."
Youji silenced here with his index finger to her lips. "I just wanted to come and tell you that Ken, Omi, and I don't share Aya's feelings." He removed his finger from her mouth.
Makoto nodded. "I already know that."
"Good," Youji said, lighting up a cigarette.
"You shouldn't smoke," Makoto told him. "It's bad for your health."
At that, Youji chuckled. "Being an assassin is bad for my health, too. Which brings me to my other point. You girls should quit. Stop this before you get sucked in any farther. Before it's too late."
Makoto regarded the man in the shadows thoughtfully before speaking again. "Youji," she said, "I would expect someone like you to respect us. But I guess you don't."
Stepping further into the light, Youji took Makoto by the hand and said, "That's not it at all. I respect you girls very much. And that's why I can't stand the thought of you getting yourselves killed. Weiss exists to do this job for you. Why won't you let us?"
Makoto's bottom lip trembled in an attempt to keep her faculties about her. She finally regarded Youji coolly and said, "Because this job isn't yours to do. Unagi means nothing to you. You never believe me when I say we have our reasons. You just keep pressing the matter. Please.just go."
Stomping his cigarette out on the ground, Youji placed a hand under Makoto's chin and pulled her head towards him. He gave her a feather light kiss on the forehead and said with a sigh, "I guess you're right. I didn't respect you enough. Do what you have to do." And with that, he disappeared back into the shadows.
* * *
"Pssst!" came a sound outside Maki's window.
Ignoring it, she turned over in bed and continued reading her latest murder mystery novel.
"PSSST!" came the sound, much louder this time.
"Oh, for God's sake!" Maki huffed. Putting her book down, she crossed to the window and opened it with every intention of throwing a shoe at whatever was being noisy.
Before she could even stick her head out to see what was up, a face appeared in her way.
"Hi!" said Ken.
Maki yelped and fell on her butt. Ken let himself in through her window.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed. "You shouldn't be here. Aya would kill you if he found out."
Ken seated himself comfortably on the bed, "Well, that's his problem."
Maki tugged at his arm, trying to pull him off her bed, "No! It's your problem and it's my problem! Now get out of here."
"Ouch!" Ken cried.
Maki dropped his arm, feeling guilty, "Shit! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I forgot about that."
Ken winked, "It didn't hurt. I just wanted you to let go."
Maki couldn't help but smile, "You really shouldn't be here, you know," she said, sitting down beside him.
"I know," Ken replied softly. "But I wanted to see you. Aya would flip out. But he doesn't have to know." He gently took her hand. "You know, Maki.Youji, Omi and I...we don't care about what Aya says. We've decided it's best we don't contact you, for your sake. Aya keeps saying things like we have to stop speaking before we start to care about you. But it's really too late for that, you know."
Blushing, Maki turned so she wouldn't have to look into his eyes. His gaze was so direct, his eyes so sincere. How could a man like him be hiding secrets like his when the truth was written all over his face? His pain, his fear, his emotions. Quickly changing the subject, she said, as casually as she could, "Yeah, that Aya is a real droid. How's Omi's le...?" Before she could finish, she was silenced by Ken's lips on her own.
For a few moments, Ken and Maki were locked in a passionate embrace. Breaking their kiss, Ken whispered softly into Maki's ear, "I love you, you know..."
"You can't," she whispered back, fear in her voice.
"I know," he sighed. "When this is all over, maybe..."
"Will it ever be over?" Maki asked.
Ken's answer was cut off by a sharp rap at the door. Then he heard Yuko's voice, "Maki? What's going on in there?"
"N...nothing!" Maki yelled.
They could hear Yuko's foot tapping impatiently, "I know when you're lying, Maki. I'm coming in."
With that, Yuko opened the door and stormed in. Seeing Ken, her eyes flashed with anger, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you trying to get us all killed?"
"Which one of us are you asking?" Maki asked, cynically.
Yuko sighed, "Does it really matter? Either way, Ken, you can't be here. I wasn't planning on dying today."
"I'm not going to kill you or Maki or the others either," Ken told her.
"What, you didn't get the assignment yet?" asked Yuko sarcastically, glaring at him. "You know, if it wasn't for us, ALL of you would be dead! And your stupid friend feels the need to tell us to stay out of your way! You know, you're damn lucky we came along! And you're damn lucky we gave enough of a crap about you to save your lives!"
"Yuko!" cried Maki. "Stop!"
"No! I will not stop!" Yuko yelled right back at her. "You're sitting here, whispering sweet nothings to a boy who would kill you if he was told to!"
"I wouldn't kill her! Or any of you! No matter what the assignment! Aya's the only one of us that would do that," Ken shouted. "I told Maki and Youji told Makoto. That's not going to happen. We're not going to get that assignment."
"How do you know?! Huh?!" screamed Yuko. "You don't know anything! You obviously don't know what Unagi is capable of! And you just disregard us like we're nothing! And then, you risk all our lives and that asshole Aya's wrath by coming over here and trying to hump Maki!"
By the time Yuko had finished that portion of her tirade, Ken was just as angry as she was. He stood up, angrily and was glaring at her across the room, struggling to control his frustration, he said, "I was not trying to hump Maki. But I think she has the right to know how we feel. How I feel! We can handle Aya."
Hearing all the yelling, Makoto and Leela came running and before Yuko could come up with a retort for Ken, they grabbed both her arms and were trying to calm her down. But Yuko was seething. Her frustration, anger and confusion had come pouring out and she didn't know how to control it anymore. Giving up, she sank to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest.
Makoto sat down beside Yuko, attempting to comfort her. Ken looked at Maki and saw the tears running down her face. "I'm sorry," he told her. She just shook her head.
Leela addressed Ken, "Is there anything else you need to say?"
Ken thought for a minute and realized there was only one question that needed to be asked, "Why do you want to stop Unagi so much? All you ever said is that you 'have your reasons.' What are they?"
"My parents are dead because of them," replied Leela, curtly.
Maki quietly gave her reply as well, "They are responsible for the death of someone I loved."
"My reason is similar to theirs. They killed my partner and best friend in the police force," Makoto told him.
Yuko was silent for a while before saying, "They killed my older sister. When I went to look for her, my younger sister was put in an orphanage. I haven't seen her since."
Ken was taken aback, "Wasn't that four years ago? Unagi's been around that long?" The girls nodded.
"Unagi has been selling drugs for years. Four years ago, they started selling tainted drugs to other dealers to put them out of business," Leela told him, frankly. "Since most of their members are teenagers, they've been able to target a younger group to sell drugs to."
"The cartel that you had targeted during the first mission we saw you at was actually an off-shoot of Unagi," Makoto continued. "They were selling the tainted drugs the main unit had given them."
"Unagi is bigger than you know," Maki said, avoiding Ken's eyes. "Years ago, Yuko and I were in it."
"What?" Ken looked at her, surprised. "You were in Unagi?"
"Yes," Maki told him. "I joined for a stupid reason. Just to impress some boy who was in a gang, too. I gave up my family and everything else I had."
"I joined because it was the only way I could find out what happened to Mari. That's my older sister," Yuko answered quietly. "Our parents died when I was thirteen, Mari was sixteen and Satori was ten. Mari joined because she got a share of their money and she didn't want to have to put Satori and I in an orphanage. She couldn't see us often but she would leave money or something for us in the mailbox every day for three years. And then it stopped. So I went to look for her. And I went looking for her in Unagi."
"What.happened?" asked Ken, still shocked.
"I had to leave Satori with an elderly neighbor because we didn't have any family. I had to join to find out what happened to her. She'd tried to leave and they'd killed her," Yuko said, not looking up.
"That's where I met her," Maki said. "And that was around the same time that they killed my boyfriend. We both wanted to leave but we couldn't because they'd kill us, too. It took a month or so but we ran away. The first thing we did was go back for Satori."
As Yuko continued, Ken couldn't help but notice the tears in her eyes, "The neighbor I left her with had died while I was gone and they'd taken Satori to an orphanage because they thought Mari and I abandoned her. I called the social services place and they wouldn't tell me anything else. And we were running from Unagi anyway."
"There was no where we could go," Maki went on. "We weren't safe anywhere. So we thought if we could get arrested, at least being in jail would keep us from being killed."
"That's where I met them," said Makoto. "I had my own personal vendetta against Unagi, so I watched Maki and Yuko for a few weeks before helping them escape. Then I obviously left the force and the three of us decided to start Katzen, for the soul purpose of destroying Unagi."
"But they needed a place to work, because you can't do anything without money," said Leela. "I was living in Ireland and my parents owned a chain of pet stores here. One day I received a call. I was told that two of the stores my parents owned had been bombed by a gang that was soliciting their 'protection' for a large sum of money. My parents had been inside the second store, and were killed."
"We ran into Leela purely by accident, while trying to find work at the third store she took over. But of course she wanted to destroy Unagi, too," said Maki. "So Katzen was formed."
"That explains a lot" came a voice from outside Maki's window. In an instant, Youji and Omi were wrestling around, trying to get through at the same time.
After finally plopping to the ground, and helping Omi through (not an easy task, with his leg and all), Youji brushed himself off and said, "you guys didn't tell me you were having a party."
Omi grinned and added, "or are we not invited?"
Yuko looked warily at them. "You guys are going to be the death of us."
