Disclaimer: And again I shall keep doing this in order to maintain my free and wonderful life. I can't say Digimon and its characters are mine. Thank you very much!
Author's Note: Wow! A lot of reviews! That's awesome, I have to say. All right keep 'em coming! Now, kick back, relax and enjoy chapter 5!
Trapped in the Core
By: Lady Lara Croft
- 5 - Step One
- - - - -
'Months ago I walked as a normal person who had a decent job, much like everyone else. Now, however, here I am someone who accepted a new task in order to walk free once again in the face of the earth. I ask myself, 'Exactly what have I gotten myself into?' I don't even know if what I'm doing is the best possible solution to get my life back. I don't think anyone could persuade me out of this. I've agreed to something completely foreign to me. Yeah, that's right. I've never done anything like this before. But let's face it; I lost mostly everything – my life, best friend, work, boss, and even my very own identity. Should anyone come to my rescue, I doubt the fact that they could fathom the situation I am in. It's time someone cleans up this mess and well, who else should do it but me, right? I can't even tell myself where this path of deceit and disguise will guide me. But one thing I do know is that I'll be doing this for a cause.'
Kouji's thoughts ended abruptly while he stood in line waiting for the train that would direct him to his 'new life'. He felt no fear anymore. His determination to retrieve his life was at stake and he couldn't stop now that he accepted this new job offer.
He surveyed his surrounding extensively, examining people here and there. That lady over there who kept shifting her weight was a nurse, given the evidence that underneath the black coat she donned were scrubs. And over in that corner stood a man with crossed-arms, not minding that he had wrinkled his pressed navy blue business suit. Just behind him, a little girl in pink dress licked her chocolate-covered ice cream bar who had accidentally brushed some dripping on the man who wore the business suit, and was now being scolded by his unsightly voice. But oh, the mother had finally rescued her daughter, humbly apologized to the man, and walked away from the scene in order to discipline her child.
Kouji believed the little incident should not have given such big fuss over it. Kids will be kids, mindless of their behaviors. The best possible disciplinary actions should be talking to them privately with a nice tone of voice and not initially yelling at them in public. That kind of conduct insults them giving humiliation the chance to conquer children which leads to embarrassment then to regret and possibly rebellion.
The train headed for the Shibuya Station would not arrive for another twenty minutes which gave him quite some time to relish the last moments of his stay at Sendai before his departure. He reviewed the station for final thoughts as he approached an abandoned bench that cradled a day-old newspaper. Sitting down, he paged through each section hoping to find anything that would appeal to his blue eyes. He found nothing, tossed it to the nearby garbage can – cautious not to hit the passersby.
Leaning back on the bench, he stretched to his utmost flexibility – hands up and feet shooting downward – then swiftly retrieved his right foot over his left knee. He sat for a while just simply waiting for the train as people of different shape and color weaved through each other.
The moment he looked at his watch which glared 10:17 am, the train to Shibuya Station raucously rolled in. Kouji stepped forward as the door opened exactly in front of him, then strode inside without hesitation and sat down. He knew this ride could take a while; therefore, the best remedy for boredom was sleep. His destination from Sendai to Shibuya would take him approximately six hours giving him the chance to stay put and avoid any trouble that may come his way. The doors closed, he shut his eyes, and drifted to sleep. In six hours he would be introduced to Chief DeLantai and Detective Dewey of his assignment. Then, the real challenge would begin.
- - - - -
2:59 PM
With brute force accompanied with great motivation, he floored the gas pedal with a booted foot. The speedometer showed verification the vehicle raced ever so quickly. He maneuvered the vehicle fiercely – right, left, half circle, a full 360 degrees – as sirens blared atop their roof. Dusts clinched on the windshield with pieces of rocks flying, leaving small dents on the body of the vehicle. The surrounding area of the chase suggested it as desert-like scenery, tossed in a few uncommon materials.
As the driver swerved beyond several gallons of water-drums, his companion careened backwards on the left passenger seat protecting his head from any objects capable of puncturing his skull or knocking him down to unconsciousness.
He scolded the driver. "Hey! Watch it okay? Either I cannon ball out of the window or paint the inside of your police car red."
The other man laughed. "It wouldn't surprise me if one second I look over to where you are and the only thing left is your shadow. Don't tell me you're not having fun."
"Ha, ha. Very funny. Look out! You almost hit a cow!"
"Relax, relax. With much of my driving experience you're safer with me than my grandmother driving," the driver remarked.
The vehicle's speed crept higher with each passing second. The passenger beside the driver held on for his dear life.
"Takuya! You're going to kill me before we finish this assignment!"
The handsome-looking driver flashed him a casual smile as if the passenger accepted it as a sign of comfort, which he did not, unfortunately.
Senior Policeman (Junsacho) Takuya Kanbara, at the age of twenty-four, is Shibuya Head Quarter's leading expert in high-speed police chase. Having been on so many missions since he started several years ago, his great confidence helps his partner succeed in handling the dangerous situations, and his management of his own vehicle at such heart-pumping action strikes him as courageous and fierce.
His dark-brown hair whipping wildly in the wind along with his enthusiastic light-brown eyes are some appearances women in the force notice about him. Takuya, on the other hand, disregards such rendering which makes the women heave a sigh, and his medium-built appearance, nonetheless, still attracts other women but to their dismay, Takuya presents the same attitude.
Takuya patted his friend's shoulder. "Tommy, my buddy ol' pal, you trust me don't you? And I say – I'm going to run this baby down like nothing you've seen before and – oh! There they go!"
The vehicle swiftly and haphazardly pursued two brown, rusted, pick-up trucks, each cradled three men armed with numerous weapons. They veiled themselves with black and grey masks or pantyhose over their bulging head, bullet proof vests also visible to the eyes. The men fired a few rounds as Takuya negotiated with the road ahead trying to evade the raining bullets as successfully as he could, but to no avail it couldn't be avoided several bullets slapped itself on the hood with a thunk and tink.
"Now I'm mad!" Takuya gritted through his teeth. "Tommy, what are you waiting for? Stick out your head and put a bullet or two on those tires!"
Tommy, at a young age of twenty-two gazed at his partner with gleaming green eyes and shifting dark-brown hair, provided a questioning expression. He was a bit shorter than Takuya, but his big heart made up for everything else.
He pulled out his gun, stuck his head out and aimed only to withdraw his head back inside and asked: "Do I really have to do this?"
Takuya nodded. "You want to pass, don't you? Don't be scared Tommy. Aim, shoot, and shoot some more! I haven't got all day."
After he gathered enough strength to pursue his duty, Tommy deliberately closed his eyes and hoped luck would do him a favor of eliminating one or two of the shooters. The hammer hit the chamber; as he had hoped, luck favored him. Two men, one from each pick-up, somersaulted off the rusted transportation they once held onto and laid steadily on the ground as Takuya zipped passed the bodies.
Tommy retreated, gun rested at the chest, sighing heavily. "I did it," he started off as a whisper which then grew to a loud triumphant and confident "I did it!" phrase.
Takuya simply smiled. "Looks like they want to play with us," he uttered proudly.
The two pick-ups drove side by side for a quick second as if the drivers conversed for a new tactic, then separated in each direction just as Takuya had guessed.
"I think they're going to pin us from each side," Tommy commented. Takuya shrugged and scoffed.
"We'll see about that" was his answer. Tommy's theory was more than correct. Each pick-up paralleled on the black and white vehicle on either side. Takuya glanced left and right as each truck drew closer, speed still sky-rocketing. With each passing seconds, the two trucks came closer to scraping the side of the black and white. "It's a good idea to shoot Tommy," Takuya urged.
Tommy fired a quick shot but missed as he ducked along with Takuya, as two bullets whizzed passed them from either side of the windows. It finally came when the trucks slammed harshly against the police car with an ear-splitting scraping sound of metal against metal.
Takuya grunted. "It's payback time." As the three vehicles simultaneously and crushingly continued rolling on its axles, a brilliant idea emerged from Takuya's imaginative brain. "Tommy, learn from the pro and brace yourself," he said smugly with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lip.
Now what sort of great idea did he come up with this time? I had better do what he says, Tommy thought to himself.
The force he exerted on the break constructed a sudden, yet dangerous method of deceleration. The tires left long marks behind them, screeching, and hauling a large tail of dusts. As he had suspected, the drivers of the pick-ups were too slow to react to his strategic idea that they slammed on each other's side. He mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done.
Now, to catch the crooks and cuff them would be the finale. He reaccelerated once more. Not far from where they were, what looked like a building stood in the distance. Takuya kept going straight, making some turns catching up with the villains. A few minutes or so, the two pick-ups halted in front of the broken down building, Tommy suggested it was an old warehouse identified by rows of broken windows on the second level, torn down doors on several sides, and several versions of eighteen-wheelers.
The remaining four men abandoned the pick-up trucks and hastily dispersed inside the warehouse. Takuya and Tommy followed the men, weapons drawn. Takuya leaned against the side of the door, Tommy opposite him. Takuya peeked inside, checked for any sudden burst of ammunition but met with none. He signaled to Tommy the coast was clear and entered the warehouse cautiously.
Inside - storage crates, boxes, tow tractors, and other warehouse equipments - decorated the dilapidated and darkened area along with a few rays of light that seeped in through the cracks of the old windows. The twosome separated in search of the lawbreakers.
Tommy had found his way up to the second floor of the warehouse but swiftly came across a swinging chain. He moved a bit slow ducking and thus the swinging chain struck his shoulder which led him to drop his gun. An armed offender charged at him, this time he prevented to make the same mistake.
Aware he only had his arms and legs to fight the man he pivoted at the very moment the offender was sure to make contact with Tommy. The offender stopped on his tracks, realized he had missed, quickly turned around but regrettably encountered Tommy's powerful roundhouse kick which sent him careening towards the railing. The kick hurt like hell. He dropped to the ground, groaned and went for his gun except Tommy had the upper-hand and kicked it out of his reach.
The disposal of man number one had proven quite effortless and proceeded to hunt for man number two.
- - - - -
Takuya on the other hand exchanged several rounds of bullets with another bandit, seeking shield from a storage crate. He comprehended that until one of them made a mistake, this match would be a stalemate; however, the idea of him making a mistake didn't strike him as the wiser adversary. Instead, he needed a new strategy.
"Ok, let's see what I can do," he muttered. He looked over to where a tow tractor slumbered peacefully, not a few feet from him over to the right. Then he saw that just behind him, one large storage crate horizontally blocked the other side, a route for Takuya to make his way on the other side.
He did so, quietly as he could and rested at his new position behind the tow tractor. He watched his opponent and sure enough he could see him, anticipating his next appearance and shooting at the precise second his head came into view. Unlucky for him, but lucky for Takuya, he pulled out an extra clip – as soon as he saw his opponent's head retreated he tossed the extra clip in the open area. As he expected, the masked man open-fired revealing himself widely-open and helpless. Takuya took the pleasure of putting a bullet on his left leg. He heard the man howled in crucial pain and realized he had won that round.
He trained his gun to his fallen foe as he cautiously approached. The victim clutched his injured leg cursing at Takuya. He picked up the gun and motioned for the removal of the remaining weapons. One by one a sub-machine gun and a couple of different handguns fell near Takuya's feet, even several kinds of knife were tossed aside.
Takuya's attention reverted to Tommy's echoing footsteps and gunfire on the second floor, running and evading bullets hot on his trail. Tommy signaled for help. Takuya aimed at one moving target, released a few, occasionally hitting the railing the bullet bouncing off.
Back on the ground floor, he ran equivalent to the men upstairs making contact with a staircase. He couldn't let his partner get hurt or he'd never forgive himself. He hoped to cut them off before his buddy was shot. He drew his gun running head-on, yet suddenly, very unexpectedly the broken lights of the warehouse illuminated the once darkened vicinity. Everyone stopped, Takuya shielded his eyes.
"Kanbara and all other units, report out front," the radio patched on Takuya's shoulder blasted.
"Out front?" the two offenders questioned, walking near Takuya.
"Ah, I guess training's over," one of the men said.
"That's too bad. I was just beginning to enjoy kicking Tommy's -"
Takuya interrupted. "Give it a rest Hotaru. Let's see why the Chief stopped us."
That being said, Takuya holstered his gun. All four men made their way downstairs. Takuya and Tommy went ahead of Hotaru and Ito, the supposedly bad guys - who had to pick up their two partners, Ryosho and Omie, the two men Tommy and Takuya eliminated.
The duo ventured outside in the dusty environment where they were greeted by Chief DeLantai and Detective Dewey.
Chief DeLantai was a man a bit on the heavy side. With white hair, narrow eyebrows and tight brown almond-shape eyes, he stood five-foot five. He looked like a jolly man but really, his actions preferred the complete opposite.
While the Chief was stout and irritable, Detective Dewey on the other hand was calm and cheerful. He stood five-foot six, dark hair and dark eyes. The officers on the force respected him more than the Chief probably because of his optimistic view and positive attitude.
"Sorry to cut your training fellas," Detective Dewey said, "but we've got you a bit of homework."
The twosome exchanged glances.
"Is it really that important to have interrupted us? We had four men down! You should have seen the awesome work Tommy and I did, we -"
The Chief nodded. "Kanbara! I know what you are capable of and that is why I had Tommy train under your supervision. I do know where you stand in the force."
"A job well done, boys," Detective Dewey commented, giving a thumb up.
Takuya and Tommy felt proud and maybe their hard work had finally paid off. They wondered what kind of "homework" they would be given. Maybe an undercover job? Or what about an escort to some wealthy politician who needed protection? Ah, perhaps collaboration works with the CIA or someone from Interpol.
"I have a special assignment just for the two of you. Today at exactly 4:45, former police officer Kouiji Minamoto will be arriving. Pick him up and bring him to the Shibuya Ward's Office," Chief DeLantai instructed. "When you get back I will further educate you of your new responsibilities which I think you will find suitable to your performance."
"Did you say Minamoto?" Tommy interrogated. "Hmm, I wonder if he's related to Kouichi. I heard him say he has a brother."
"I'd bet all the money in my wallet that Kouji is the brother Kouchi talked about," Detective Dewey declared.
"And how much would that be?" Tommy questioned.
"Tommy!" Takuya growled.
"Sorry," Tommy answered back.
Takuya felt frustrated with the news and announced a litany of reasons why he didn't feel obliged to the situation. His special assignment was to pick up Kouichi's brother? Why couldn't he just take a cab over the Ward Office? Maybe he even has to drop off this ex-cop to his humble abode. That definitely ticked him off.
"Calm down Takuya, I'm sure there's an explanation to all of this. Let's just obey the orders," Tommy urged his partner on.
Takuya sighed and accepted that Tommy was right, he was just overreacting. Lately he hadn't been assigned any special-class assignment that upon hearing Chief DeLantai say they were to deliver someone they don't even know was their special work made him flip out. He apologized for his unacceptable outburst and accepted the assignment as a way to redeem himself.
"I'm very impressed with your effort today Tommy. With two shots and BAM! Two crooks fall out of the pick-up trucks. And that roundhouse kick proved to be very powerful. Don't think the supervisors and I weren't watching your every move. Those surveillance cameras have proven useful as well."
"Well D. Dewey, luck was with me today," Tommy said honestly. "By the way, why was there a cow in the middle of nowhere?"
Detective Dewey shrugged. "Unit one didn't know where to put the props. Must've dropped them off wherever they found space and they've made Aoyama Police Training Limits (APTL) seemed real enough they forgot cows didn't exist in a desert! I told them to instead make a city-style ground rather than the desert, but no one listened."
Chief DeLantai placed his hands on his hips. "All right boys, time to get going. Hurry up, you're wasting time!"
Meanwhile, Hotaru and Ito emerged from the warehouse with Ryosho and Omie, their arms draped on the two stable men. Ryosho – the person Takuya shot on the leg - limped.
"Next time we get on training, you'll be the bad cop and I'll be the pursuer. Let's see how well you enjoy it when I put a real bullet on your leg," Ryosho mocked grimacing in pain.
"At least I didn't fire off a real one. It was blank!" Takuya defended himself.
"I have on a bullet proof vest, not on the leg. It hurts and burns like hell!"
"Whoa! Take it easy!" Takuya announced. Ryosho limped over near Takuya and gave him a quick blow to the stomach.
"Ugh!" he leaned over. "That makes it fair right?" Takuya barely got it out of his mouth as he slumped over holding his stomach.
"Heh, for now," he answered contently and they were gone.
Tommy assisted Takuya as he gained balanced and hopped inside the damaged police car. Within a minute or so they sped off APTL, soon to meet the infamous former police officer Kouji Minamoto.
- - - - -
4:40 PM
"Man! Is the train ever going to come?" Takuya impatiently asked as he tapped his foot lightly.
Tommy looked over. "Relax would you? Only five more minutes and he'll be here."
Takuya and Tommy stood beside a public map, waiting for the arrival of Kouji Minamoto. Junsacho Kanbara looked at a picture of the man they waited for, glancing up once in a while. Takuya felt tired and very hungry after a good day's training. He pocketed the picture and leaned on the white wall behind him. Finally, Tommy nudged him.
"The train's here. Get ready to spot him."
"Finally!" Takuya exclaimed in joy.
The Sendai train noisily screeched to a stop at exactly 4:45 PM, as Takuya looked on his watch. They approached the doors of the train hoping to greet Kouji; however, the man they looked forward to meeting dashed beyond their reach, toppling them over, before they even had the chance to lay eyes on him.
"What was that?" Tommy cried out straightening his police suit.
"No time for questions Tommy, we gotta run!" Takuya shouted grabbing his arms, rushing through the flood of people.
Apparently, Kouji witnessed the two officers from the inside the train and his wits alerted him to run rather than the wait-and-see cycle. He became nervous at the sight of them that the initial reaction that came over him was those two police men were after him.
Kouji weaved in and out of people trying to avoid collision or knocking someone out of consciousness. "Just run and try," he muttered under his breath.
Takuya and Tommy sprinted after Kouji, mentally hitting themselves for letting him escape before they even introduced their names. They ran for what seemed like eternity brushing shoulders with city dwellers or the city dwellers screaming and clearing the way for two upset police officers. They pursued Kouji's every move – jumping over chairs and tables outside cafés, crossing the streets at a green light and even going through a restaurant's kitchen – in hopes of catching him.
Kouji, nonetheless, led them to a public parking lot of a mall. He managed to avoid the cops which bought him time to hide behind cars and prayed he'd make it safely to the other side of the parking lot without having to deal with the law, though he wasn't going to give himself up that easily either.
Takuya and Tommy separated in hopes of a better chance of trapping Kouji. Kouji saw through their plan. He crouched and crawled between the spaces of the cars. As he silently crawled towards the back of the brand new BMW, he caught sight of Takuya's feet on the other side. Probably some rich snob was shopping here along with his other rich friends but felt no sympathy if the rich man's car would be a contributor in stopping his adversary, as he had concluded. He waited for Takuya at the end of the car and most surprisingly executed a sweep kick which tripped Junsacho Kanbara.
"Ugh! What the heck did you do that for!" he yelled from the ground.
"Stay away from me," Kouji replied coldly and ran as he noticed Tommy's presence getting closer.
"Get him Tommy!" he commanded and he too ran after the culprit with swift speed. "Stop running from us! We've got business with you!"
Kouji took a quick look and pondered, Business with me you say? What's that? Lock me up somewhere I can't complete my own business? No thanks. I've got places to go and people to meet. See you around slow pokes.
Tommy ran as fast as he could but the route Kouji desired placed obstacles for him. He came from the left with a bit of distance between him and Kouji. With that problem installed, Kouji put an even greater distance by taking a right turn and jumped over cars. With Tommy behind, it was up to Takuya to end the ridiculous and tiring chase. Takuya also jumped over cars with regret that the owners would blame him for the damage. No matter, he'd have perfectly reasonable explanation for the incident, he hoped.
After five minutes of jumping and hoping they finally returned to the ground. The people on the parking lot gave shocked expressions as police officers zipped passed them. Kouji took another right turn, this time the format of the parking lot changed. Cars no longer parked in their respective spaces, but rather lined up on the right side as one would park a car on a street in a right-handed driven country. The strip of pavement led to the exit.
As Kouji ran, an old man slowly and tediously walked toward his car, taking forever however, pressing a little device which made the car accessible. He saw this as an opportunity to stop Takuya. He came up with a plan that he had to play and make it look real. As he ran he created the impression that he had tripped and had lost momentum and balance, giving Takuya time to catch up. He rolled to the ground, he didn't know how realistic it looked but it worked nonetheless. Takuya gained full speed, as Kouji expected.
The old man's car was two car lengths away. He brought himself back up and gradually took little steps forward as he looked back. He kept watch of Takuya on the side mirror for precise timing. He looked back one more time and flashed Takuya a smile which aggravated him.
So long, he told himself. Then he heard Takuya's scream very confident that his tracker would grab him any second, but his planned proved Junsacho Kanbara wrong. Kouji swiftly opened the car door giving Takuya the satisfaction of crashing onto the inanimate extremity of the car with such force the glass window completely shattered.
"Ow! I'm starting to dislike him!" Takuya grunted as he lay on his back. "We're not done!"
Tommy came to Takuya's aid a minute too late. He wanted to follow Kouji but saw Takuya needed more attention.
Kouji turned to his fallen pursuer and without delay did a two finger salute before disappearing out of sight.
- - - - -
He walked out of the Ward's clinic with a bandaged head, arm, and fists. He sat down on a table where he waited for Tommy to bring him a warm cup of tea as he read the Times magazine in Japanese print. He thought escorting Kouji would be no problem at all. He wondered why he acted the way he did and why everything went haywire. Perhaps upon his arrival to Shibuya Ward Office would clear things up, especially after dealing business with Chief DeLantai and Detective Dewey.
Normally he would converse with other police officers but today he felt that his energy had gone dry and rest was what he needed most. Tommy came in with a warm tea on his hand which he set on the table.
"Drink it while it's hot," he urged.
"Thanks for the tea. I didn't even ask you for one," he answered.
"I felt terrible about earlier. I was nowhere in my league today. I guess I need more training in order to keep up with you. I apologize," said Tommy.
He took a sip of his tea, set it down and spoke. "I don't want you to think about that anymore. You're a great partner and everyone makes mistake. It was my own fault I fell victim to him. I let my guard down because I thought for certain I would've had him. Nevertheless, he was very smart."
The two men continued talking about the day's work - the good points and the bad points, the most exciting activity and the least exciting activity. As they conversed, some of the women police officers arrived in the "coffee room" – but no one really drank coffee - and questioned if he was all right. They wanted to make sure he didn't suffer any headaches or other injuries that the nurse inside the clinic might have overlooked. He assured them he was all right and told them he would call them if he needed anything. Agreed to the deal they made, the ladies went away.
"I swear, sometimes I think those women chose the wrong career. They shouldn't be here!"
"I couldn't have agreed more. So how are you feeling?"
"Other than my head throbbing, my left arm sore, my right arm badly injured, bandage sticking to my cuts, I feel fine," answered.
Tommy raised a brow and chuckled. "Is that sarcasm I hear?"
"What? I didn't hear it in my voice so I suppose not."
"Right. You're not feeling well at the moment. You're getting weird," Tommy mocked, shaking his head.
Meanwhile, outside the coffee room, Chief DeLantai and Detective Dewey had finally introduced themselves to Kouji.
"Please, take a seat," Chief DeLantai gestured to the chair in front of him.
Kouji stared at him before he took his seat across the Chief. "Let's get on with it shall we?"
Detective Dewey sat on the empty seat beside Kouji. The Chief's office presented itself quite neatly. On the walls hung several photographs of Chief DeLantai – back in the days when he won outstanding awards – and several photos of him and other important commissioners of the city. Two black filing cabinets towered the chief's mahogany desk. Japan's flag mounted on a pole behind the desk, and stacks of paper settled on a corner of the room, neglected.
"Welcome to Shibuya!" greeted the Chief warmly, "it's where your dangerous work begins. Detective Warren sent me documentations and other important details in order to grant you a new identity. Shall we begin?"
"I'm as ready as you are," replied Kouji.
"Good then. I will need your finger prints, profile picture, and DNA sample. All are needed to authenticate this process and especially your new identity," the Chief explained demandingly. "Your brother will be here shortly to obtain your DNA. As you can see, he has made this profile-demands very hi-tech. Without him collecting DNA samples and storing it in our files, criminals would be hard to find."
"I'm proud of his work," Kouji answered.
Detective Dewey shifted his weight on the chair from side to side trying to get comfortable.
"I have a question for you," he said.
Kouji turned his undivided attention to the detective and gave a single nod.
"Why did you run away from our officers? We gave them specific orders to take you here," he said with concern.
Kouji fell silent for a minute before he answered. "You know, I just wasn't aware of anyone picking me up. I could've at least been informed of the situation. I suppose all those times I've been running from the cops back in Sendai made me nervous to face them and knew I had a job to do and couldn't risk being captured. I do, however, apologize for whatever trouble I caused you and them."
"I told you Dan, we should've been the one to pick him up," the Chief commented.
"Sir, you said no such thing. Might you forget you were the one who intentionally planned the pick up. I'm just reminding you."
Kouji glanced at Detective Dewey then over to Chief DeLantai who by now looked down on his desk, scribbling some notes. The Chief cleared his throat and pretended he didn't hear anything.
"Are you hungry?" he asked Kouji.
Kouji nodded. "I'm famished."
Just then, the door burst open and in popped Kouichi Minamoto with an IV-tube, needle, and other medical equipment needed to extract Kouji's blood.
"Brother!" Kouichi cried. As Kouji stood up, both brothers welcomed each other with a warm embrace. "Good to see you here."
"Likewise," was his answer.
It took no more than ten minutes to gather Kouji's blood. He was never much for needles but his brother handled him fairly well which made the process faster. Before anyone said any word, the door swung open and in came Takuya and Tommy.
Takuya blinked his eyes several times. "Wow," he said in awe, "you two really looked very much alike. I thought for sure when Kouichi passed by the coffee room it was Kouji. But then I figured it couldn't be right."
Tommy reacted similarly to Takuya.
"I do believe you've all met," Chief DeLantai assumed. Everyone nodded.
"In an unusual situation," Kouji commented. "I don't suppose you would count that as a formal introduction."
Takuya scoffed. "I certainly don't." Immediately, quick as lightning, Kouji's attention reverted towards Takuya. Their eyes clashed with each other, none of them blinking, each expressing a serious look.
Tommy, the observant audience, realized that tension between these two young men slowly and dangerously built up. They've crossed each other's path and introductory formalities were out of the question. None of the two cared if they had to learn each other's name the correct way. The first impressions they had earlier was enough to bring these two on opposite ends.
"I'm quite pleased with the gentlemen I have here," Chief DeLantai commented as he put one hand on each of Takuya and Kouji's shoulder. "Believe it or not, both of you will be working together."
And so they will work together, however, grudgingly.
They shook hands, their grip a bit too tight for a proper handshake. Each second the clock ticked, their grip grew tighter, crushing each other's fingers on the spot.
"I look forward working with you, Takuya." His piercing blue eyes seemed to swallow Takuya as a whole. Next time you try and run after me, make sure I don't ruin a perfectly nice car. I don't mind leaving dents on a rich man's car, but that poor old man must still be cursing up to now, he thought.
"So do I. I can't wait to start, Kouji." His light-brown eyes shot flaming daggers at Kouji. Well, just be yourself why dontcha? I was doing you a favor and what did you give me back in return? An injured body, thanks a lot. Remind me to give you a present like mine in the near future all right? he pondered.
Detective Dewey finally broke their grip. Denying the pain, the duo pocketed their hands to shield the redness of their hands.
"Now that introductions are over, it's time to get to work. I just have a wonderful feeling that you two will become the best of friends," the detective praised as laughed, patting both men's shoulder, Takuya still grimacing from the pain.
TBC…
A/N: Yes, I know, Zoe and JP are still missing in the picture. Relax, all right? While you wait please take your time to review this. Thank you.