Chapter 3: Sannin De
Ok, first off, reply to reviewers!
Keikun4283: Thanks for the feedback and comments. Yeah, sorry, little typo there. I already fixed it. I guess I had Sarah and Sojyu in my mind at the time.Thanks again for the review.
BigFics2: You're becoming quite a regular reviewer. Thanks for the positive comment. And hurry up andupdate the Hinata Maiden!We're all waiting here!
Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina or Mahou Sensei Negima.So no sues please. All you'll get is a credit card.
As usual, please review! I'll always reply directly to any reviewers, that's a promise.
2 years ago… (Futakoi Original OST 'Sweet Days Together' plays)
Sannin de….It seems like we've got so used to that phrase…sannin de…
It always feels as if life has always been this way…I can't really remember it being any other way, but I guess it all began on that day 2 years ago.
Keitarou-kun had just dropped out of Tokyo-U…financial problems…mostly cause the family hit on hard times…Uncle Keisuke just passed away…
The last time me and Nodoka-chan saw Keitarou-kun…it was at the funeral. They say you can judge a man's worth by how many people turn up for his funeral…in uncle Keisuke's case…he must have been one of the nicest people on earth. Almost the entire city, and even people from places I've never heard of came and offered their respects… I don't think I've ever seen so many people gather in one place. Everyone cried for him…everyone. Me, Nodoka-chan, and Keitarou-kun? You don't even have to ask…
Well, that was the funeral...a story best saved for another time. It was probably a few months after, Keitarou-kun finally returned home. We heard he had dropped out of Tokyo-U and had issued a new detective license. We haven't seen him for some time, and it really cheered us up to see him there, standing in front of his new agency. "Finally…." Keitarou-kun looked up at his new office…well…new as in new to him. It was still his dad's old detective agency, only with a new detective license under his name. "Oto-san…please watch over this new agency…please help me help this city you love and died for…" he closed his eyes for a few moments. We could imagine what he was thinking.
"umm…anou…congratulations…Keitarou-kun." I greeted him as we approached.
"Yeah…congrats…" Nodoka-chan added. "On opening your own detective agency…"
"Hey guys, back from school already?" Keitarou-kun turned around and greeted us. It felt like an eternity since we last saw his smiling face.
We remained quiet for a few moments, figuring out what to say. Then I and Nodoka decided there was no use putting it off, and I decided to speak up, "Um… anou…we have something to ask you…"
"Since you're re-opening your father's old agency and all…" Nodoka-chan said.
"Umm…please…we know we'd be a burden, but we have nowhere else to go…" I added. I and Nodoka-chan had decided we were too much of a burden on uncle Keisuke and now there was no way we would be a burden to Keitarou-kun. After uncle Keisuke's death, we had continued to live at the office while Keitarou-kun stayed in a dorm closer to his university. We knew why he dropped out…he was afraid the family account wouldn't last long enough to support me and Nodoka-chan, which was also why he decided to re-open the agency. He always denied it, saying it was all about continuing the legacy, but we knew it was only because he had such a kind heart. I and Nodoka-chan just couldn't bear the thought of troubling him any further…
"Huh, what? What are you talking about…?" Keitarou-kun suddenly put on a puzzled expression. It's so typical of him, being so tactful…
"Please, allow us to work and live here!" I and Nodoka asked, bowing deeply. Keitarou-kun seemed taken back for a moment.
"Uh...what kind of question is that?" Keitarou-kun asked. He was going to try and turn us down, but we wouldn't let him.
"Onegai-shimasu…" We both begged.
"I meant…off course, you don't even have to ask." Keitarou-kun said, smiling. "It's not something you have to ask, you two…off course you can continue living here. And who says you have to work here?"
"But…you just dropped out of Tokyo U cause…and the family's been without any income since uncle…." I said, still looking down at my shoes. "We can't continue to stay here without helping out."
"Please…allow us to be your assistants and secretaries." Nodoka-chan begged.
"ah…um…" Keitarou-kun scratched his head, then he straightened up and bowed down as well. "Then I will ask the two of you for your help and support, thank you."
We looked up at him. Keitarou looked up at us, and smiled. We ran up to him and hugged him. He held us close and breathed a sigh of satisfaction. Above us, the old detective agency watched, its old windows gleaming in the bright sunlight. A small sunny day prayer doll hung, smiling, always smiling…
And so our sweet days together, just the three of us, began…
Present day…
A small satellite dish on her head, a CPU in her backpack, with a visor over her head and a holographic keyboard floating in front of her, Kaolla Suu traversed the streets as graceful as a hippo trying ballet. "Nyaahahaha…I win again, Alpha-kun!"
"That is rather dangerous…Suu-chan…it may be advisable to remove your visor while you walk." Alpha-kun said.
"You're no fun, Alpha-kun! C'mon, let's play another game…what about warcraft!"
"Detecting anomaly…" Alpha-kun suddenly said.
"Umu?" Suu stopped for a moment, balancing on one foot on top of a fire hydrant. "What is it, Alpha-kun?"
"Something is hacking through every computer in the city…it's looking for something…" Alpha-kun hazarded. "Cutting off all external connections would be advisable…"
"Well…no way they can get through my firewalls…hehehehe…let's challenge'em back, Alpha-kun!" Suu laughed, leaping down the road. "They're no match for the great hacker Kaolla Suu, no way! Nyahahahahahaha!" She twirled and danced, avoiding collision with a 1 ton truck and a tank while she was at it.
"This is Futa-2, we have visual…" Nodoka said into an imaginary walkie talkie. She and Shinobu were sharing a pair of large army binoculars.
"Roger that, Futa-2, this is Futa-1, visual confirmed." Shinobu said, smiling. "Now contacting Kei-1" she took out a cellphone and speed dialed a number. "Keep a visual, Futa-1. Hello, Keitarou-kun? This is Futa-1 and 2, target is hiding in a large tree in front of the Hinata Sou."
"Roger that, Futa-1 and 2, I'm pursuing!" Keitarou replied over the cell.
"Right, I'd better move as well…just keep an eye on the target, Futa-1," Nodoka said, leaping off the roof of the building they were on. She landed on the street two stories below and started running up the sloping street up the hill towards a large, Japanese style building on top of a hill.
"Hey, Futa-1, I've got visual…" Keitarou said over the cell.
"Roger that, Kei-1-kun, canceling observation here, we'll be there in a moment." Shinobu ran over to the metal ladder on the side of the building, slid down in one quick drop, then proceeded to run up the street.
A few minutes later…
"All right…this is how we'll do it…you guys stay down here in case he decides to jump. I'll go up and take him down somehow…" Keitarou said, looking up at the tree.
"That's a pretty good hiding place, isn't it…visible for miles around…" Nodoka shielded her eyes from the sunlight as she looked up.
"Right, I'm going, wait here." Keitarou leaped up and started climbing up the trunk of the great tree. The twins watched as he ascended into the heart of the tree.
"Hey, what are you kids doing here?" a stern voice shouted from the direction of the inn. The twins whirled around to see where the voice was coming from.
The voice came from a young woman in a hakama and gi, carrying a bamboo boken…and she didn't seem very pleased. Her silky raven black hair trailed in waves behind her as she advanced towards them.
"Anou…umm…we're from the Urashima detective agency…" Shinobu started to explain.
"Yeah…uhh…in compliance with a client's wish, we are here in pursuit of a runaway…" Nodoka tried to explain.
"Oh, you're saying there's a runaway fugitive hiding up there?" the raven haired woman asked, raising her boken. "The nerve…hiding out up here in Hinata Sou…I'll show them a thing or two… HI-KEN! SHINMEI-RYU OUGI! ZAN GAN KEN!" she brought the boken down in a wide arc, causing a shockwave to strike the tree.
As the tree shook, a jet black figure fell out, straight at Motoko. It fell on her face and started to raise hell, scratching and hissing all over the place. Motoko screamed as she pried it off her face, causing it to fly towards Nodoka. It landed smack dab on Nodoka's face and started to scratch the living daylights out of her. It leaped off her and landed in Shinobu's arms, before curling up and purring contentedly.
"Ah! Trying to use innocent little kittens as weapons, eh?" The woman lifted her severely scratched face towards the tree…Keitaoru was holding on for dear life onto a small, fragile branch. The woman's eyes flashed.
Keitarou gulped.
"I…Aoyama Motoko…have vowed to eradicate the earth of all evils…prepare…demon!" she shouted, holding her boken at the ready. She charged up the tree and ran vertically up the trunk, screaming an ear-piercing battle cry.
"Kuro-chan…you shouldn't worry people like that…your mommy's very worried about you, you know?" Shinobu cuddled the little black kitten as it purred and snuggled up to Shinobu.
"Is that blazing furball the one we're looking for?" Nodoka was holding both palms up to her face, trying to somehow suppress the stings. "Or else, let me give it a good kick in the…"
"Wait…what about Keitarou-kun?" Shinobu suddenly looked up from the kitten. Something big suddenly slammed into the concrete in front of them. They both looked down and found a large relief in the concrete, currently occupied by a dazed Keitarou.
"Uhh…someone give me the licence plate of that comet…" Keitarou coughed, as he scrambled out of the pit. "Where's that baka ona?" Keitarou looked about.
"WHO YOU CALLIN' BAKA ONA!" Motoko was in mid-air above them, her boken screaming supersonic. "ROCK SPLITTING SWORD!" Keitarou leaped and pushed the twins down out of the way of the assault.
"You guys ok?" he asked, as he got up. There was a big crevasse in the ground behind him where the ki attack had struck the earth. The earth had cracked in two along the axis of the attack.
"Attacking defenseless, innocent girls now, eh?" Motoko bellowed raising her boken once more. "DIE!"
"Please…stop!" Shinobu shouted.
"That's it!" Nodoka shouted, getting up. As Motoko charged, bringing the boken down, Nodoka spun around it so that she was standing on its right, took hold of Motoko's arm with her right arm, advanced her elbow into Motoko's shoulder and used the force of Motoko's charge to give her an overhead slam into the ground.
"Oro…Excuse me…what exactly is going on here? Hmmm…Shinobu-chan? Nodoka-chan? Ah…Keitarou-kun…" A young woman smiled as she approached the trio and the now horizontal Motoko. A number of small children were clustered about her, some holding onto her, some running about in a close orbit around her. "Ohayo…you three are just as lively as always, aren't you? On another case?"
"Tsuroko-san, ohayo." Keitarou and the twins greeted the young woman. The children all ran to greet Keitarou, Shinobu, and Nodoka. Shinobu held them all up one by one (Kuro had decided to sit quietly on her head) while Nodoka kneeled and hugged each one of them in turn. Some of the children clustered around Motoko and asked her if someone finally defeated her.
"I believe you've just met my sister…she just moved here from Kyoto and she'll be staying with us here at Hinata Sou…" Tsuroko smiled as Motoko got up and brushed herself off.
"Sister! This man is…" She pointed at Keitarou, but before she could complete her sentence Tsuroko raised a hand for silence.
"He is the local private detective, Urashima Keitarou-san. These two are his assistants and secretaries, Maehara Shinobu-san and Maehara Nodoka-san. They are on another case, no doubt" She smiled at the trio. "Greet them, Motoko." She commanded, after a few moments of uneasy silence.
"Ah…Yoroshiku…Aoyama Motoko Desu…" Motoko made a stiff bow.
"Yoroshiku…" The trio greeted and introduced themselves individually.
"Well then…what's today's case?" Tsuroko asked, with a pleasant smile.
"Yeah! Yeah! Please tell!" the children all shouted.
"There he is…" Keitarou jabbed a thumb in the direction of the kitten in Shinobu's arms which meowed happily. Shinobu held him out to show him to the Aoyama sisters and the children.
"Not much of a case…" Nodoka said under her breath. One of the children had decided to climb up onto her shoulder.
"Oh…interesting. You three do live the most interesting lives in this small city… I sure do wish our lives were just as exciting…" Tsuroko said with genuine conviction. The children all clustered around Shinobu and the kitten, all trying to get a chance to pet it.
"Is it just me, or is that that new thing called sarcasm?" Nodoka asked Shinobu. Shinobu merely shrugged. You can never tell with Tsuroko.
"Why don't you come inside and meet Grandma Hina, I'm sure she'd be delighted to see you three here." Tsuroko offered.
"Maybe some other time, Tsuroko-san…We're kind of in a hurry to get back to our client." Keitarou scratched the back of his head. "Thanks all the same, though. We really appreciate the offer." Behind him Nodoka was trying to stroke the kitten, but it hissed back at her, before snuggling Shinobu again. Shinobu giggled and cuddled the little kitten. Some of the children also laughed. Nodoka steamed, pulled back her sleeves, and leaped on the kitten. The kitten leaped out of Shinobu's arms and the two started trading blows, raising a small cloud of dust. Shinobu watched with a worried expression as the odd shoe or fishbone flew out of the general carnage. The children took sides and cheered on their champions. Some of the smaller girls retreated a bit.
"Very well then, I'll be looking forward to your next visit, Keitarou-kun, Shinobu-chan, Nodoka-chan. Please do tell us more about the cases the trio have solved." She smiled, before grasping Motoko by the arm and dragging her back inside. "Come this way Motoko…children, come in when you've said goodbye, then we're going to cook lunch, all right?"
Keitarou looked around and found Nodoka flailing around, trying to pry the cat off her head again. "Please stop that, Kuro-chan…you'll pull Nodoka's head off…" Shinobu was trying to coax the kitten into letting go. The children were still cheering.
"Nodoka-chan!" Keitarou rushed to the rescue, only to end up as, again, collateral. The kitten was certainly trying to prove something, and it wasn't going to stop at mere hisses…
"So…have you located the program?" A voice said from behind an office chair that was facing away from its desk, facing a huge glass window overlooking the city. By pure dramatic convention, this is how things are usually laid out for the big boss…who'd usually die by ironically being thrown out of that very glass window, which makes one wonder why big bosses still place big fragile glass windows in their offices. Moving on…
"Not yet, Mr. Neldzen…we're still in the process of tracking it down… apparently someone tried to hack into our mainframe and…" a man in a black suit seemed to be addressing the back of the chair.
"Have you found this hacker?" the curt voice from the chair asked.
"no sir…not yet, at least. He routed through at least a thousand…"
"I do not want detailed excuses, I want results. Find me that A.I. or I'll personally make sure you never make excuses again…"
"Y…yes sir…"
"Right, 10.000 yen, as promised." A black haired girl said, handing Keitarou the money. "That was certainly fast. Well done." The girl added.
Beside her another black haired girl was happily cuddling her lost kitten. "Oh, Kuro-chan…you had us worried sick, you bad kitten…"
"All right, Konoka, you can play mommy later. We've got to get going." The other girl said. "Thanks again, Urashima-san, Maehara-san, Maehara-san. We'll be sure to tell others about your agency. Come along Konoka…" She dragged the girl named Konoka down the street.
"But…Kanako-neechan…Kuro-chan's being too cute…thanks again Urashima-san! Maehara-san and Maehara-san!" The girl named Konoka hollered back at Keitarou and the twins.
"That's another case solved…" Keitarou smiled happily. His face was covered in band-aids and bruises.
"Case…" Nodoka muttered under her breath, her face almost obscured by band-aids and bruises. "Let's change our names to the local pet retrieval squad while we're at it."
"We've got this week's shopping money all covered!" Shinobu danced around. "We might even have extra to save up!" she grabbed Nodoka by the arms and started twirling about, laughing.
"h…hey, Shinobu-chan…" Nodoka tried to protest being twirled round and round, but then she sighed as she regarded her older sister's happy face and decided to join in the dance.
"Well…I'm going to another client." Keitarou announced.
The twins stopped dancing about and looked up at Keitarou. "Who is it?" Shinobu asked.
"Yeah, details!" Nodoka shouted.
"Well, I'm taking care of this one personally, girls. Don't worry, it's not a big case. If I need you I'll call, just chill out for now." He said.
"H…Hey! We haven't had a proper case in ages…and now you're gonna leave us behind!" Nodoka shouted.
"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it by myself. You had better accompany Shinobu-chan shopping…I think she's been waiting for today's paycheck." Keitarou said, gesturing at Shinobu whose eyes where shining.
"G…grocery shopping?" Nodoka half moaned.
"C'mon, Nodoka-chan! I've got our grocery list all laid out!" She pulled Nodoka by the arm and dragged her down the street.
"Why me!" Nodoka cried out. Keitarou merely smiled and shook his head.
"Now to get going…" Keitarou said, heading down the opposite direction.
"Right, we're gonna bake a cake for Keitarou-kun, Nodoka-chan! So let's see… we're going to need flour…some baking powder…" Shinobu looked down her list. They were in a local mini-mart located in a small time commercial district some way away from home. Nodoka was lazily pushing a small cart along the aisles. Beside her was Shinobu, bouncing on the tip of her heels. Nodoka watcher her older sister as she browsed through the items on the shelves, her eyes constantly flicking between the prices, nutrition information, and goodness what other criteria she looks at.
Nodoka admired her older sister, especially the way she's always able to select the best goods for minimum prices, how she always diligently cuts out discount coupons and vouchers from newspapers and magazines, and how she's always handy around the house, from cooking to taking care of Keitarou and her. But what she admires most is her patience and ever cheerful and optimistic personality, and at times her perpetual good nature could get contagious…that's just the way she was. Nodoka's never heard Shinobu elicit a complaint or a mutter of discontent… only encouragements and positive thoughts.
Nodoka sighed inwardly, "Will I ever be as good as her?"
"So, Nodoka-chan…what do you think? Vanilla or chocolate?" Shinobu asked.
"Huh? What?" Nodoka suddenly snapped out of her reverie.
"Silly, I asked whether we should make it a vanilla or a chocolate cake." Shinobu giggled. "So…what'll it be, sweet sister?"
"Uhh…make it vanilla then, I think Keitarou-kun likes vanilla." Nodoka said.
"That's right, perfect." Shinobu said, placing the vanilla flavouring in the cart. "Anou…what else…maybe some sweets for the orphans…I might visit Hinata Sou again later this week…what do you think, Nodoka-chan? What kind of sweets would the Hinata children like?"
Nodoka shifted her gaze lazily to the front of the store…
Two men in black were confronting a brown-skinned girl wearing a school sailor outfit outside the store. One of them grasped her by the arm, but she quickly pulled it back and leaped backwards. Nodoka's eyes widened as she reached out a groping hand and tapped Shinobu on the shoulder. "Shinobu?"
"Sweets…sweets…what is it, Nodoka-chan?" Shinobu looked around. The girl outside the store was executing a mid-air spin kick that knocked out one of the men. "Awawa…" Shinobu's eyes went blank as she flapped her arms about, "What're we gonna do, Nodoka-chan! Nodoka-chan? Eh?"
The other man reached inside his suit and took out a tokalev semi-automatic …which was suddenly shot out his hands…
The man and the girl looked around for the source of the shot. A few metres away stood a girl in a school sailor outfit, holding a smoking desert eagle in one hand…but what was most extraordinary about the girl was the fearsome scowl on her face. "Now…I don't know what's going on here, but I don't approve of guys assaulting little girls like that. People like you won't get away with acts like this…not while I'm around…" Nodoka said, gun extended.
Two other men advanced from an alleyway opposite the store and aimed their handguns at her…both of which were shot clean out of their hands by two more well aimed shots.
All four men (including the one who just recovered from the spin-kick), the assaulted girl, and Nodoka looked around at the source of the shots. A docile looking girl in a similar school sailor suit stood by the store entrance, both hands aiming a smoking nighthawk 50c. "A good detective always brings a gun…and his…or rather her… head, right Nodoka?" Shinobu smiled.
"All right…hands on your heads…" Nodoka said, gesturing with her gun. "and you!" she shouted. Behind her, the brown-skinned girl was trying to sneak away. She froze and looked around slowly. "I've got questions for you, so don't run away. Shinobu, keep an eye on her."
"Yes ma'am!" Shinobu said, moving sideways into the street so as to block any escape routes.
Suddenly two black cars screeched around a bend and sped down the narrow street. Gunners with Uzis leaned out of the windows and sun roof and started pelting them with hot lead. Nodoka grabbed the brown-skinned girl and ducked into an alleyway
While Shinobu leaped behind a crate by the store.
The 4 other thugs picked up their guns and ran for cover. The two cars stopped in front of the store as the gunners swept the entire perimeter with hot lead.
"hmm…seems like their cars are new Solaria M7s…digital controls for all functions including gears and steering with all new internet uplink for GPS systems…" the brown skinned girl murmured, donning her visor and activating her holographic keyboard.
"What on earth are you babbling about? This isn't the time to play games." Nodoka said, checking her ammo. "Darn…only 6 bullets left…no spares…"
The relentless barrage was tearing everything in the vicinity to shreads. Glass windows shattered, flower pots smashed…
"Damn…I can't fire back…and those goons won't stop…why are they after you anyway?"
"okay Alpha-kun! Let's show them what we're made of!" The brown-skinned girl shouted. Suddenly one of the cars reversed abruptly, throwing all the surprised gunners forwards. The other car suddenly revved up and accelerated down the street, throwing all its gunners off balance. Then both cars stopped with a screech, throwing all the passengers in the opposite direction, before accelerating the other way towards each other.
CRAAAASH…. "Oh dear…that's gotta hurt…" Shinobu winced as she heard the sound. She got up and held her gun at the ready. She peaked up from behind her crate and regarded the wreckage with her usual polite interest. "oh…I hope no one got hurt…" she advanced cautiously towards the two crumpled collections of twisted metal.
"Did you do that…?" Nodoka pointed at the carnage while looking down at the brown-skinned girl.
"Me? What makes you think I'd do such a thing?" The girl pouted. "Hey…you still alive?" She leaped to the wreckage and looked up at one of the thugs who was sticking out of a smashed window.
"Auughhh….did you see that… mommy? Fishies…" The thug muttered.
"Right, who are you goons working for?" Nodoka walked up to him and held him by the collar.
"Well well well…if it isn't the Maehara twins…" a voice said behind them.
The twins whirled around…to come face to face with…nothing.
"huh? Where'd that booming voice come from?" Shinobu asked.
"Beats me…it sure was loud though." Nodoka said.
"Down here, baka-neechans."
Nodoka and Shinobu turned their gaze due downwards and found a boy dressed in casual black with messy black hair and matching black eyes…not to mention a black bushy tail and a pair of black canine ears sticking out of his head.
"Ah, Kotarou-kun…what a surprise to see you here. Shopping too?" Nodoka asked, hugging him. "Ah, so kawai…"
"You know this midget?" Nodoka asked.
"Hey, let go of me! Baka-neechan!" Kotarou shouted, flinging Shinobu's arms aside.
"Yes, he's Kotarou-kun…we met him a few times a while back." Shinobu smiled.
"All right…we're here for that girl, so if you two kiddy detectives would go play Sherlock Holmes somewhere else, we adults have real business to take care of." Kotarou said. "Where is she?"
"Gasp…Kotarou, you're with the yakuza!" Shinobu gasped.
"I wouldn't exactly call that news…" Nodoka said.
"Hurry up and tell me, I have no time for games." Kotarou took out his gun and aimed it at the two. "Just tell me where she is and I'll leave you two alone…for today…"
"Where is who?" Shinobu asked innocently.
"I don't see anyone here…no one but us Maeharas…" Nodoka said.
"…There!" Kotarou pointed at a large misshapen cow that was slowly moving away.
"Nice disguise bozo…" Nodoka said, raising her gun again while walking backwards away from Kotarou.
"I'm just borrowing these, ok?" Shinobu grabbed the guns of the unconscious yakuzas and retreated beside Nodoka. Both held their guns out at Kotarou in a defensive manner as they retreated. Shinobu threw a uzi sideways at Nodoka who caught it and primed it.
"GET'EM!" Kotarou shouted, extending a hand in their direction. A large number of men in black suits appeared from the alleyways in the area. Some carried bats (with a good supply of nails), some carried submachine guns…and some took the word 'overkill' to a whole new level…to the extent that even Rambo would be put to shame.
"AWAWAWA! They've got a whole battalion behind us!" Shinobu shouted, her eyes turning blank with panic and excitement.
"Less talk, more run!" Nodoka shouted. They grabbed the bloated cow that was some brown-skinned girl they didn't know and ran for it. As they ran, the bloated cow went "WHEEEEEE!"
"Patrol 10-11, this is dispatch, we've got a 9-11 down on Market avenue, reported a 5-12…please 3-5 immediately, over." A voice said over the radio.
"huh, what was that?" A policeman asked his partner.
"mugh…muumuuuruuu!" his partner said.
"What was that, Shirai? I couldn't hear you."
"I…muff….said, it was a 7-11 down on Market avenue, probably a 4-4, and we've got to 6-5 immediately." The police officer named Shirai said through a mouthful of doughnuts.
"what, you're saying there's a runaway elephant on Market Avenue…and the Nazis are invading….and that we've got to go there and shave a couple of butts?" The other police officer asked incredulously, looking through his officer's guidebook.
"No, Haitani, what I said was…hey, they actually made up a code for Nazi invasions?" Shirai asked, pulling the book towards him.
"Well, either way, we've got to get to Market Avenue. Roger, 10-4." Haitani said into the radio.
"You just said 'twisty gals carrying katanas.'" Shirai said, looking up 10-4 in the book. "Damn…this book is really complete."
"Right, let's get going." Haitani said, getting in the patrol car.
"You're driving? Who decided that?" Shirai asked, looking in through Haitani's window.
"You got a problem bub? Well, suit yourself." Haitani said, rolling up his window and driving off.
"H…Hey!" Shirai shouted, leaping onto the back of the car. "S…Stop, dammit!"
It was a quiet suburban district. The urban concrete was dotted with the greenery of well kept gardens. Keitarou casually ambled up the street, hands in his pockets, a tune on his lips. Two little girls were playing hopscotch in the narrow street. Keitarou guessed they were probably 10 or 11. Both were dressed similarly with yellow skirts and red blouses. Keitarou leapt into a hopscotch jig as he got to the chalk hopscotch grid on the street, at the end of which he continued casually. He stopped for a moment to pick up the chalk the girls used to draw the hopscotch grid and flicked it in the air a few times before tossing it back at the girls. He smiled at the two girls before proceeding on his way.
The client's house was right beside the street the girls were playing hopscotch on, right on the corner. Keitarou walked past the front gate and peered around the corner and saw a number of workmen digging up the road. Apparently the house was surrounded by a high wall all around with the exception of the front, in front of which the girls were playing. All the blinds and curtains were drawn…and it seemed as if the person inside didn't bother turning on the lights. Keitarou took a quick look around and found no high buildings in the area…there were mostly one storied houses surrounded by high walls. He also noticed there was quite a lot of cigarette butts lying around on the other side of the street opposite the house.
Keitarou walked up to the client's front gate and ringed the bell. A voice came out of the speaker a few moments later. "Who is it?"
"Keitarou Urashima, Urashima Insurance Agency." Keitarou replied, looking around. The two girls had paused to watch him for a moment, but seeing he had noticed, they quickly returned to their game.
"Insurance?...oh, very well, come in." The voice said. The lock on the door opened and Keitarou pushed the gate open. He went through a nice looking garden, though it was showing signs of lack of care. He took out a notepad and a pen, scribbled something down, then knocked on the door.
The door opened to reveal a tall, thin, balding middle-aged bespectacled man, who immediately started, "Urashima-san? I…"
"Greetings sir, I'm Keitarou Urashima from the Urashima Insurance Agency, here to offer you our widely known and respected services. Here's my card." Keitarou interrupted him and held out the notepad he was holding.
The man's eyes flicked across the notepad for a moment before he said, "Ah, right. I was wondering about that. So what have you got to offer? Please, come in."
Inside the man picked up a notepad and a pen and started scribbling before handing it to Keitarou. Keitarou read it. "So the house is really being watched? I've always suspected that. That's why I called you here. But how did you know?"
Keitarou looked around the room. It was simply yet cozily furnished. The man seemed to be living alone. There were a few pictures of a woman and children. He wrote down a few words and showed it to the man, "Tamada-san, I'll have to tell you the details later. The thing is your house is being watched, day and night. I don't know who, but I will find out. Now just act as if you're talking to an insurance salesman. I think the house itself is bugged."
"Right, one of the first things we always offer is our satisfaction guaranteed life insurance, cheap premiums, full coverage." Keitarou said, walking over to the phone and methodically taking it apart. He took out a small chip-like object from the receiver and showed it to Tamada. "It's really important to have, especially in this day and age. You never know what might happen."
"Tell me more." Tamada said.
"The details are right here." Keitarou gave him another piece of paper. "follow me."
They both walked down to the basement. It was rather cramped and chilly. Keitarou checked the doors and windows before returning to Tamada. "Right…your house is being watched, apparently day and night. I guessed you suspected as such when I saw the blinds and curtains drawn. There aren't any tall buildings around here and your walls are pretty high except for that part in front which is the only opening through which they could watch your house. Plenty of cigarette butts strewn around the front…means the watchers were rather careless…probably the night watchers. I don't know if those workmen have anything to do with this but seemingly that road they're working on isn't a really good surveillance point." Keitarou said.
"Well, I can see why people recommend you." Tamada nodded. "Well, I've felt like someone's watching me for the past couple of weeks…and sometimes I come back to my house and I find that something's different, though I can't really place it. I sent my wife and kids on holiday for the moment…I thought I was just getting paranoid."
"Who do you work for, Tamada-san?" Keitarou inquired, taking notes down.
"I now work in a local toy company as a children's software developer." He answered, looking around uneasily.
"Have you always worked there?" Keitarou asked.
"No, actually. I used to work in a company called Hikari Tech as a programmer." He answered.
"Hikari-tech…that software company that got taken over by Neldzen corp?" Keitarou asked. "Tell me, Tamada-san…what exactly were you working back then?"
"Actually, this is strictly confidential…it was an off the records project to create an autonomous digital spy A.I. which would be able to infiltrate enemy digital systems by itself and gather information or sabotage enemy computer systems. It's basically a fully detached hacker A.I." He explained.
"Alpha-1, right?" Keitarou asked. "Yeah, it's on the news. Which means whoever stole it wants you as well…" Keitarou reasoned.
"I was taken off the project team shortly after Neldzen corp took over, and before I knew it I was fired." Tamada said. "I wouldn't know anything about the finished article, I only started the project."
"Well, either way, they want you and your knowledge of Alpha-1. Interesting twist of fate…well, have you seen anyone in front of the house lately? Probably someone who sits around regularly?"
"No…not really…"
"Well…this may seem like an odd question but those girls who were playing hopscotch in front, do they usually play there, like…everyday?"
"Uh…yes, actually. From around 2 until 6 usually…they play all sorts of things there….hopscotch, jump rope, dolls, anything little girls would do. Why?" he asked. "You're not suspecting them, are you?"
"Suspect the unexpected." Keitarou said. "The chalk they were playing with had traces of gunpowder on them…only someone who handles guns and bullets a lot would get gunpowder onto things they touch. They were also too rigidly dressed…quite unnatural for girls their age."
"This is bad…" one of the girls whispered.
"We've been found out, oneechan!" The other girl whispered urgently. They were both listening to something that looked like an MP3 player. "What'll we do?"
"Well, they can't get a positive ID on us. Let's just scramble, Fumika-chan. Let's go!" The other girl pocketed the MP3 player and started running.
"H…Hey wait, Fuuka-neechan!" The other girl cried out, running after her sister. "Our mission was to watch the old man…but what now?"
"Well, our cover's blown, so we gotta think of something else. We'll just go back for now."
"I told you it was too obvious…what kind of children play in front of the same house for 6 hours a day!" Fumika cried out.
"Right! Back to Market Avenue!" Fuuka shouted.
"Right…Market avenue…now what exactly…." Haitani looked around.
"Hey man…gasp…what…the…hell…gasp…was that …for?" Shirai shouted, sliding down over the windshield.
"That's for eating that last donut. Now…what exactly are we looking for?" Haitani asked, looking around, while Shirai scrambled down from the roof of the patrol car and got in.
"hey…do you see what I see?" Shirai suddenly asked.
"Yeah…but what on earth is that?" Haitani strained his eyes to get a clearer view.
"It's…a girl…carrying a large bloated cow…" Shirai said slowly, pointing down the street. "And…another one behind her…" The two girls were coming over a crest of the sloping street.
"Is this the case? Cow theft? Hustling? All right…no problem…" Haitani got out of the car and held up one palm towards the two girls who were rapidly approaching. "Stop, in the name of…Almighty God…" Haitani went quiet.
"Haitani, hurry up and…holy…" Shirai had run up beside Haitani. He suddenly took a step back. "You gotta be shitting me…"
"Life ain't shitting you, Shirai. Now should you call for reinforments or should I?" Haitani asked, pulling out his gun.
To be continued…Please continue to support the story.