Chapter 4: The Hunt Begins
"Kaneda? Kaneda?! Are you even listening to me?" Kaneda snapped back into focus, realizing he had been daydreaming while Kei was lecturing him. "Oh, umm, sure I was listening. You were talking about how irresponsible I was, I could have been hurt or even killed, blah blah blah. Don't worry, I get it. Jeez, I thought you said you'd given up on me, and I could go get myself killed if I wanted." Kei reddened with anger, and Kaneda realized he should have just shut up and nodded like a good boy. Dang, what is it with women and lectures? He wondered. "You know what Kaneda? You have a point! Maybe I really should just give up, because you never listen to me anyway! There's no point in me even staying here! In fact, I'm sure I could find much better company than... you." Well, now that we've gotten into it... Thought Kaneda. "Maybe we WOULD be better off without our mom following us around! In fact, you not only act like a mother, you look like one too! You should cut down on the snacks, chubby!" Koji and Sosuke, from their seats on the other side of the table, cringed. Covering his mouth with one hand, Koji whispered to Sosuke, "Here we go again..." Turning to the squabbling duo, Sosuke nervously stammered, "Uh.... hey guys...? This is r-really fun, but me an' Koji're gonna go back to the place a-and get some rest. This arm of mine is r-really k-killing me, and Koji's... umm.... got a really bad headache, right?" Koji nodded dumbly, hoping for an escape. Instead of replying to either of them, Kei just screamed "Chubby?! How dare you, you- you- you street rat!" Koji and Sosuke, deciding this was as good a time as any other to make an exit, did just that. As they walked through the door to head home, Kaneda and Kei were still screaming at each other. "Man," mused Koji. "It's a surprise they aren't already married..."
About an hour later, Kaneda and Kei were still in the bar. They sat on opposite sides of the table, both panting and drenched in sweat. "Yeah- well," pant pant, "you-you're... umm... you're fat...!" said Kaneda breathlessly. "You-you... you already said... that... you immature... punk..." gasped Kei. The pair now sat watching each other in silence, except for the sounds of their heavy breathing. "Wanna go... home now...?" Kaneda asked. "Sure," Kei said. "Hey... hey bartender! One more... for the road!" she called. The bartender, a fat man with a face like a bulldog, was happy to oblige. Anything to get these crazy kids out of my place. Before long, Kaneda and Kei exited the bar and walked into the parking lot. "Aw crap, I forgot. I don't have a bike anymore," said Kaneda. "What happened to the one you were using before? You know, the one you were just keeping 'till you got your good one back?" Kei asked. "Ahh, you don't want to know," was all Kaneda said, and Kei had the good sense to leave it at that. "Well, I guess we'll have to get home the old-fashioned way then," Kaneda sighed. Slowly, the two turned and walked down the sidewalk side by side. "You know," Kaneda said, "I really didn't mean what I said in there." Kei looked up in surprise. This was completely unlike him. "You know, what I said about you being like my mom and all." A grin slowly spread across his face. "My mom was always skinny, 'cuz I'm the only kid she ever had." Kaneda's laughing was cut off bye a playful slap from Kei, as she chuckled too. "Yeah, but I meant every word of what I said in there," Kei joked. Slowly the two of them stopped laughing, and casually Kaneda slipped his arm around Kei. "Ya know," he said. "Maybe it's not such a bad thing that I don't have my bike with me." Finally, about twenty minutes later, the two reached the apartment they were all staying in. Luckily, they knew the owner, and he had given them a deal that allowed them to afford three rooms. Kaneda, being the leader, got one of his own, Kei, being a woman, got her own room, and Koji and Sosuke shared a room, not that they minded. As Kaneda and Kei walked up to the entrance of their apartment, they noticed that the gate that normally had to be unlocked was swinging open. "Stupid old people. Never remember to close the gate," mumbled Kaneda. Slipping his arm from around Kei, he walked over to the gate as they passed through it and pushed on it. Rather than swinging closed, however, the gate rocked precariously then fell over with a loud, metallic clang, causing Kei to jump. "What the...?" Kaneda wondered aloud. Walking back to Kei, the two slowly stepped into the lobby of the apartment. It was completely silent except for the hissing static coming from a TV, and Kaneda couldn't see Oraku, the man normally behind the desk. What he did notice was the splintered remains of the wooden door that had lead upstairs. That and the strange color of the wallpaper behind the lobby desk. Cautiously walking forward to examine it, Kaneda realized that the wall behind the desk was sprayed with blood, as if a red paint can had exploded. The chair behind the desk was knocked over, and lying on the ground near the chair was what remained of Oraku. It looked like he had been pulled from all different directions until... "What... is going on...?" Kaneda stammered. Kei simply stood wide-eyed, watching the scene. "Whatever this is, I don't like it." Kaneda concluded. Kei nodded, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a large pistol. Kaneda looked surprised. "What, just because I don't go busting heads for fun doesn't mean I don't pack some heat," grinned Kei. Kaneda, shrugging, headed cautiously for the destroyed door.
The two slowly made their way up the stairs, the steps creaking ominously beneath their feet, breaking the silence that threatened to smother them. As he turned a corner, Kaneda suddenly stopped walking, causing Kei to bump into him and, in surprise, fire a gunshot at the roof. "Jeez, what are you trying to do, kill me?!" Kaneda said in a harsh whisper. "I'm sorry, but maybe if you hadn't stopped so suddenly I might not have bumped into you!" Kei replied. "Well I did have a good reason for stopping. See for yourself." Kei moved past Kaneda to look, and saw that the stairwell was a mess. It looked like a tornado had torn everything in it apart, including what looked like an overweight man with a shotgun. Once again, blood spattered the area, and the body was beyond identification. "What are we dealing with here...? Some psycho with a rocket launcher or something?" Kei muttered. "Well either way, I'm going first now. I'm the only one here with a weapon." In reply, Kanedas' arm suddenly reached past her and grabbed the gun from her hand. "No way I'm trusting you with this thing," he said. Taking the lead, Kaneda cautiously stepped around the carnage and headed up the stairs, holding the gun in both hands. The two passed the entrance to the second story and the door was intact. Suddenly, Kaneda had a revelation. "Kei... what if whoever did this was coming after us?" Immediately Kei understood. "Koji and Sosuke!" The two took off at a run, no longer worrying about keeping quiet. They ran up the stairs to the third floor, their floor, passing another corpse along the way, then stopped. This door looked just like the one in the lobby. A small chunk of wood was swinging in the doorframe, and large splinters of wood lay all around. In the space that would have been directly behind the door lay what must have been one of Kaneda and Keis' neighbors, apparently killed by the hail of wood pieces that had flown from the doorway. Jumping past the woman, who was obviously already gone, Kaneda and Kei dashed for their own rooms. They reached Kanedas' first and, looking inside, saw that it had been completely destroyed. There were pieces of the door everywhere, and everything Kaneda owned that had been in the room was destroyed. "Aww craaaaaap..." Kaneda moaned. Grabbing him, Kei ran to her room and saw it was just the same. Neither of the two allowed themselves to be distracted, however, and ran toward Sosuke and Kojis' room. Pausing at the doorframe, Kaneda quietly raised his pistol into a ready position, then rushed around the side and ran into... the door. Bouncing off like a super ball, Kaneda fell onto his back in the hallway and lay there holding a hand to his nose. "Uuuuugggghhhhh...." Kaneda complained. At just that moment, Koji and Sosuke came rushing into the hall, the former holding a pipe in his good arm and the latter clutching what looked like the arm of some sort of antique statue. The two stopped when they saw Kaneda, slowly rising to his feet, and Kei. "You guys are alive!" Koji yelled. "Thank God!" Running forward, Koji grabbed Kaneda and embraced him. "If you do not get your arms off of me this second I will break them myself," said Kaneda in a low voice. "Oh, heheh. Sorry, Kaneda." Koji said, quickly letting go. "Anyway, what the heck happened here? Me an' Sosuke just got back, cuz we decided to stop and have a doctor friend of his check out his arm. Did you guys see what happened to Oraku? What's going on around here?!" "We don't know," Kei said. "Or maybe we do..." Kaneda said, suddenly very serious. "And in that case, we need to get out of here. Now."
"Kaneda? Kaneda?! Are you even listening to me?" Kaneda snapped back into focus, realizing he had been daydreaming while Kei was lecturing him. "Oh, umm, sure I was listening. You were talking about how irresponsible I was, I could have been hurt or even killed, blah blah blah. Don't worry, I get it. Jeez, I thought you said you'd given up on me, and I could go get myself killed if I wanted." Kei reddened with anger, and Kaneda realized he should have just shut up and nodded like a good boy. Dang, what is it with women and lectures? He wondered. "You know what Kaneda? You have a point! Maybe I really should just give up, because you never listen to me anyway! There's no point in me even staying here! In fact, I'm sure I could find much better company than... you." Well, now that we've gotten into it... Thought Kaneda. "Maybe we WOULD be better off without our mom following us around! In fact, you not only act like a mother, you look like one too! You should cut down on the snacks, chubby!" Koji and Sosuke, from their seats on the other side of the table, cringed. Covering his mouth with one hand, Koji whispered to Sosuke, "Here we go again..." Turning to the squabbling duo, Sosuke nervously stammered, "Uh.... hey guys...? This is r-really fun, but me an' Koji're gonna go back to the place a-and get some rest. This arm of mine is r-really k-killing me, and Koji's... umm.... got a really bad headache, right?" Koji nodded dumbly, hoping for an escape. Instead of replying to either of them, Kei just screamed "Chubby?! How dare you, you- you- you street rat!" Koji and Sosuke, deciding this was as good a time as any other to make an exit, did just that. As they walked through the door to head home, Kaneda and Kei were still screaming at each other. "Man," mused Koji. "It's a surprise they aren't already married..."
About an hour later, Kaneda and Kei were still in the bar. They sat on opposite sides of the table, both panting and drenched in sweat. "Yeah- well," pant pant, "you-you're... umm... you're fat...!" said Kaneda breathlessly. "You-you... you already said... that... you immature... punk..." gasped Kei. The pair now sat watching each other in silence, except for the sounds of their heavy breathing. "Wanna go... home now...?" Kaneda asked. "Sure," Kei said. "Hey... hey bartender! One more... for the road!" she called. The bartender, a fat man with a face like a bulldog, was happy to oblige. Anything to get these crazy kids out of my place. Before long, Kaneda and Kei exited the bar and walked into the parking lot. "Aw crap, I forgot. I don't have a bike anymore," said Kaneda. "What happened to the one you were using before? You know, the one you were just keeping 'till you got your good one back?" Kei asked. "Ahh, you don't want to know," was all Kaneda said, and Kei had the good sense to leave it at that. "Well, I guess we'll have to get home the old-fashioned way then," Kaneda sighed. Slowly, the two turned and walked down the sidewalk side by side. "You know," Kaneda said, "I really didn't mean what I said in there." Kei looked up in surprise. This was completely unlike him. "You know, what I said about you being like my mom and all." A grin slowly spread across his face. "My mom was always skinny, 'cuz I'm the only kid she ever had." Kaneda's laughing was cut off bye a playful slap from Kei, as she chuckled too. "Yeah, but I meant every word of what I said in there," Kei joked. Slowly the two of them stopped laughing, and casually Kaneda slipped his arm around Kei. "Ya know," he said. "Maybe it's not such a bad thing that I don't have my bike with me." Finally, about twenty minutes later, the two reached the apartment they were all staying in. Luckily, they knew the owner, and he had given them a deal that allowed them to afford three rooms. Kaneda, being the leader, got one of his own, Kei, being a woman, got her own room, and Koji and Sosuke shared a room, not that they minded. As Kaneda and Kei walked up to the entrance of their apartment, they noticed that the gate that normally had to be unlocked was swinging open. "Stupid old people. Never remember to close the gate," mumbled Kaneda. Slipping his arm from around Kei, he walked over to the gate as they passed through it and pushed on it. Rather than swinging closed, however, the gate rocked precariously then fell over with a loud, metallic clang, causing Kei to jump. "What the...?" Kaneda wondered aloud. Walking back to Kei, the two slowly stepped into the lobby of the apartment. It was completely silent except for the hissing static coming from a TV, and Kaneda couldn't see Oraku, the man normally behind the desk. What he did notice was the splintered remains of the wooden door that had lead upstairs. That and the strange color of the wallpaper behind the lobby desk. Cautiously walking forward to examine it, Kaneda realized that the wall behind the desk was sprayed with blood, as if a red paint can had exploded. The chair behind the desk was knocked over, and lying on the ground near the chair was what remained of Oraku. It looked like he had been pulled from all different directions until... "What... is going on...?" Kaneda stammered. Kei simply stood wide-eyed, watching the scene. "Whatever this is, I don't like it." Kaneda concluded. Kei nodded, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a large pistol. Kaneda looked surprised. "What, just because I don't go busting heads for fun doesn't mean I don't pack some heat," grinned Kei. Kaneda, shrugging, headed cautiously for the destroyed door.
The two slowly made their way up the stairs, the steps creaking ominously beneath their feet, breaking the silence that threatened to smother them. As he turned a corner, Kaneda suddenly stopped walking, causing Kei to bump into him and, in surprise, fire a gunshot at the roof. "Jeez, what are you trying to do, kill me?!" Kaneda said in a harsh whisper. "I'm sorry, but maybe if you hadn't stopped so suddenly I might not have bumped into you!" Kei replied. "Well I did have a good reason for stopping. See for yourself." Kei moved past Kaneda to look, and saw that the stairwell was a mess. It looked like a tornado had torn everything in it apart, including what looked like an overweight man with a shotgun. Once again, blood spattered the area, and the body was beyond identification. "What are we dealing with here...? Some psycho with a rocket launcher or something?" Kei muttered. "Well either way, I'm going first now. I'm the only one here with a weapon." In reply, Kanedas' arm suddenly reached past her and grabbed the gun from her hand. "No way I'm trusting you with this thing," he said. Taking the lead, Kaneda cautiously stepped around the carnage and headed up the stairs, holding the gun in both hands. The two passed the entrance to the second story and the door was intact. Suddenly, Kaneda had a revelation. "Kei... what if whoever did this was coming after us?" Immediately Kei understood. "Koji and Sosuke!" The two took off at a run, no longer worrying about keeping quiet. They ran up the stairs to the third floor, their floor, passing another corpse along the way, then stopped. This door looked just like the one in the lobby. A small chunk of wood was swinging in the doorframe, and large splinters of wood lay all around. In the space that would have been directly behind the door lay what must have been one of Kaneda and Keis' neighbors, apparently killed by the hail of wood pieces that had flown from the doorway. Jumping past the woman, who was obviously already gone, Kaneda and Kei dashed for their own rooms. They reached Kanedas' first and, looking inside, saw that it had been completely destroyed. There were pieces of the door everywhere, and everything Kaneda owned that had been in the room was destroyed. "Aww craaaaaap..." Kaneda moaned. Grabbing him, Kei ran to her room and saw it was just the same. Neither of the two allowed themselves to be distracted, however, and ran toward Sosuke and Kojis' room. Pausing at the doorframe, Kaneda quietly raised his pistol into a ready position, then rushed around the side and ran into... the door. Bouncing off like a super ball, Kaneda fell onto his back in the hallway and lay there holding a hand to his nose. "Uuuuugggghhhhh...." Kaneda complained. At just that moment, Koji and Sosuke came rushing into the hall, the former holding a pipe in his good arm and the latter clutching what looked like the arm of some sort of antique statue. The two stopped when they saw Kaneda, slowly rising to his feet, and Kei. "You guys are alive!" Koji yelled. "Thank God!" Running forward, Koji grabbed Kaneda and embraced him. "If you do not get your arms off of me this second I will break them myself," said Kaneda in a low voice. "Oh, heheh. Sorry, Kaneda." Koji said, quickly letting go. "Anyway, what the heck happened here? Me an' Sosuke just got back, cuz we decided to stop and have a doctor friend of his check out his arm. Did you guys see what happened to Oraku? What's going on around here?!" "We don't know," Kei said. "Or maybe we do..." Kaneda said, suddenly very serious. "And in that case, we need to get out of here. Now."