Chp5: Market Avenue Mayhem
The following is a summary of what happened in the last chapter (i.e. I only shortened the description of the cat pursuit. Everything else is the same). For those of you who have read chapter 4, go ahead and skip it. For those of you who haven't read chapter 4, it is highly recommended to read through the summarized prologue.
As usual, please review! all reviews are highly appreciated. Also, if you have the time, please take the time to read New Mobile Suit: Project Gundam Hina Eternity and take a peek at the all new Soul Requiem: Return to Hinata Sou. Right, thanks again for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina or Mahou Sensei Negima. The story's mine! MINE!
Totemo totemo, taisetsuna hibi hagarimashta, Shinobu raire, Keitarou rairu, sannin no hibi….
Don't ask me why, that phrase has become so natural to us, and I can't imagine life any other way…
It was around 2 years ago…
I can still remember that day clearly…it was the day we got our first case. It was quite late in the morning. The three of us where eating one of Shinobu-chan's occasional cakes. Whenever there was cake, all three of us would be eating it together. Whenever there was music, all three of us would be listening together. That day, there were both. Shinobu-chan was strumming away on her guitar…she had been playing since we were kids. I personally never had the patience for learning. It was moments like this that were most memorable to me.
Then someone knocked on the door. Keitarou-kun got up and answered it. A young woman greeted the three of us cheerfully. It was Narusegawa-san, at the time 17 year old owner of the small grocery store in front of our agency. She had come asking for help. Apparently her cat (You can't imagine how many times we run into cat-related cases as detectives) had run off with her cell and now she couldn't find it. She offered us 20.000 yen and wouldn't hear of the service being free of charge. She insisted on paying.
So we searched for it. While Keitarou-kun tried to call the cell repeatedly off his own cell while going around the area trying to listen for the ring, we tried one of Shinobu-chan's ingenious ideas…we gave the cat an empty cell and followed it wherever it went.
We went far and wide that day… through Lee's garage and carpentry store (Lee was quite amazed to see us, actually, following a cat), through the Chao Bao Zi restaurant (the owner, Chao Rin Yen, seemed really happy to see the cat for some reason), through the Happy Dragon Pub (Konno-san was drunk as usual), through Satomi Hakase's junk yard, through the Tatsumiya temple (Priestess Mana greeted us as always), over Hinata Sou's rooftops (the orphans joined our search while we were there), through the local church (Sister Misora's quire got seriously interrupted), around Konoka and Kanako's house (Kanako had to make an extra effort to prevent Konoka from hugging the cat and holding up our search), through the yakuza HQ (We weren't so much their enemies then as we are now, Kotarou even offered his help) until finally we got to…our agency!
Well…not exactly our agency. It slipped into the old abandoned restaurant underneath the agency…which was once the Hinata Western…our home. We swept aside a lot of cobwebs until we finally found a small stash of items under a counter, presumably what the cat had nicked over the past few months. The cell was there, ringing off the hook. I picked it up and answered it, boy was Keitarou-kun surprised when he heard me on the other side.
As I flipped off the cell, I noticed that Shinobu-chan had gone missing. I searched around and found a trail of footsteps in the dust…it led to one of the rooms in the back where we once lived.
There…in what was once our living room and bedroom…was Shinobu-chan…kneeling on the dusty floor…crying…
I immediately went to her side and looked up at her face. I asked her what was wrong. She silently pointed at a Christmas card. In one corner was a small forlorn Christmas tree, now all laden with cobwebs. Under it, half hidden by the shroud of webs were a few Christmas presents…all forgotten in the rush when we left the house. All the old furniture and things were still left where they were…covered heavily in dreary dust and cobwebs, marking abandonment. On the wall opposite us hung a family photo, the last one we took together before the unfortunate event…
I never really understood why…why we left…and why we never ventured back in here after we returned…we were probably afraid…afraid of coming back and seeing remnants of the life that was now gone…
I read through the Christmas card and tears welled up in my eyes too, but I had made a promise…I will not cry…I will not shed tears that might blind my eyes and prevent me from protecting Shinobu-chan…
I wiped them off quickly and looked down at Shinobu-chan. I embraced her and held her close as she cried into my shoulder…I had made a promise…I will do anything to protect Shinobu-chan…from any dangers…any sorrows…I will do anything to make her happy, even if it meant…my life…
Welcome to Market Avenue. Hope you have a pleasant (and generally insane) stay here. Please mind the cats, dogs, turtles, and general mayhem that goes about here. And try not to infuriate any of the locals…it's not suggested by the Surgeon General. If you get lost, feel free to ask the nearest local. They'd be happy to point you in the wrong direction.
Here is a basic map of what market avenue and the surrounding areas looks like, more or less, from Keitarou's point of view when he soars over Market avenue (occasionally). It's basically one long street going steadily up the hill towards Hinata Sou. All the store owners normally live in their own stores. A community gathering is held once a week, either at Hinata Sou or the local theatre. If you have the chance, why don't you attend one of the meetings? It's quite an experience, especially when the green grocer Narusegawa Naru cooks.
Hinata Sou
-------------------------(MO)--------- --------------------------(Tatsumiya Temple)-----(CN)----
Kira No Sora Lane Kira no Hoshi Lane
---------------------------------------------- -------------------------(NM)------------(Junkyard)----------
(Market Avenue Tsuki-West Side)
EV!II!PP
BH!II!MC
HS!II!KF
AI!II!AY
----------------------------(SY)-----------YA!II!SB--------------------------------------------
Mahoko StreetSouth (Square) Mahoko Street North
(To Mahora Academy)
--------------------------------------(Yakuza HQ)-(K&K)-----SN!II!AK-(KS)(GC)---------------------(Yakusoku Bridge)-------------
KA!II!CH
SK!II!SS
MT!II!n/a
SC!II!Mt
ZR!II!Ch
n/a!II!Le
NN!II!DA
(Market Avenue Amaterasu-East Side
Note: Map not to scale. Some things shown may be bigger or smaller than they really are. For example, Hinata Sou's way bigger than that.
Legend:
(o): You are here
CN: Chizuru Nawa's house (and mini observatory)
NM: Natsume Murakami's house
GC: Yuna Akashi's minimart (You name it, we have it. If we don't, then go elsewhere)
Ks: Kaolla Suu and Sarah McDouggal's flat. Kaolla Suu is the local IT expert.
PP: Shirai and Haitani's police post(to serve and protect, 24/7, all for one and all for donuts)
MC: Misora's church (service at 9 every Sunday, confession secrecy guaranteed -o)
KF: Ku Fei's Dojo (Not liable for any broken bones, concussions, or deaths)
AY: Ayaka Yukihiro's flower store (Beauty and passion, flowers say it all)
SB: Shana's Bakery, also serves donuts. Definitely serves melon bread.
AK: Asuna Kagurazaka's stationery store and newsstand
CH: Chao Bao Zi Chinese Restaurant, owned by Chao Rin Yen. Yotsuba works here.
SS: Sakurano Shiina's Crepe stall
Mt: Mitsune's Happy Dragon Pub (24 hours Happy hour)
Ch: Chiisame Hasegawa's Internet Café
Le: Lee's Carpentry and Repair Store (You break it, we repair it. You break it again…)
DA: Detective Agency, also Hinata Western (now closed)
MO: Mutsumi Otohime's Hinata tea house and fruits stall(Watermelons always in stock!)
Ev: Evangeline's Charms and Curios Store (witch's hideout?)
BH: Market Avenue's Public Bathhouse and Hot Springs, run by Akira Ookouchi
HS:Haruna Saotome's library.(Overdue books will be tracked down,those guilty will die!)
AI: Ako Izumi's Clinic and Pharmacy (no guarantees as yet)
YA: Yue Ayase's secondhand bookstore (cheap books for sale…what more can I say?)
SN: Seta Noriyasu's Antiques store (we've got even cheaper old books here)
KA: Kasumi Asakura's Office (Be the first to know!)
SK: Sakata Kentarou's electronics store(Kentarou, the most honest dealer on MA)
MT: Market Avenue's Movie/Drama Theatre, run by Kaede Nagase
Sc: Sasaki Makie's Café (General gathering spot for townspeople)
ZR: Zazie Rainyday's toy store (will open soon)
NN: Narusegawa Naru's green grocers (Fresh 'n' cheap, Always!)
K&K: Konoka and Kanako's house
SY: Satsuki Yotsuba's house (was once a pizza parlour, but now closed)
n/a: not yet decided. Will inform.
Present day…no time like the present, eh?
"It's…always like this…Why? Why is it always like this…!" A bespectacled, long haired girl in a blouse and mini skirt moaned, as she hid behind an upturned café table. She was rapidly typing on her notebook that was open on her lap. Bullets and the occasional missile flew past the table and smashed the café in front of her.
"Hmm…maybe because it's always like this, Chiisame-chan. We do live in Market Avenue after all…" A candy-pink haired girl in a maid uniform said cheerfully. One could almost picture the heart flying out along with her words. She was also hiding behind the upturned table. "More tea, Chiisame-chan?"
"No thanks, Makie, I've got to get this done…why can't they fight elsewhere! I hate this flipin' insane street! I flipin' hate this frikin' neighbourhood! I frikin' hate this bloody town!" Chiisame shouted, as more bullets and missiles flew over the table.
"Oh, I'm out of tea anyway…" Makie said, looking into the pot in her hand. "I'll be back in a second." She smiled. She got up and walked calmly into the totaled café as bullets sprinkled everything around her. She came back with a steaming pot of tea and promptly got back behind the table. She poured herself a cup of tea, drank it, and sighed. "ahhh…nothing like a cup of tea in the afternoon…"
Chiisame regarded her with an incredulous expression. "AAAAAAGHHHH! That's why I hate this frikin' street! It's full of freaks!"
"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 reinforcements or should I?" Haitani asked, pulling out his gun.
"Call for reinforcements?" Shirai asked, getting into the driver's seat. "Yeah, sure." He stepped on the gas pedal and threw the car into gear, spinning a 180 on the spot and revving up in the opposite direction. "I'll go call'em right now, personally!"
"H…Hey! You're running away! You're supposed to be my backup!" Haitani shouted, leaping onto the top of the car. He looked down at Shirai through the windscreen. "Hey! Stop, at least let me in first!"
"Man, the last thing I want is to be a hero, ok!" Shirai shouted. "Hero's die in the line of duty!"
"Coward…" Haitani muttered, before looking back. The rising cloud of smoke at the end of the street was growing bigger, along with the sound of the thunderous footfalls of numerous armed gangsters. "Then again…you've got a point there…"
"All right…so what's our situation…" Nodoka asked.
"We're being pursued by a horde of yakuzas…who're blowing up everything in their path…though I don't think there would be any civilian casualties, cause this IS market avenue." Shinobu said.
"Good reasoning…cause nobody in market avenue qualifies as civilians. Nobody's normal enough." Nodoka said. "And to make things worse…we've got a cow riding on our backs…would you mind running? I don't really mind carrying you but at times I get this freaky tendency to crave for beef…" The twins were running down Market Avenue with what looked like a ton of misshapen beef on their backs.
"All right, all right, Suu-chan will run." The cow said, shedding its costume and leaping off. "WHEEEEEEEE!"
"Ok, I'll cover you, Shinobu-chan. Run!" Nodoka shouted, turning around and taking out her uzi. Bullets, missiles, and watermelons (?) were flying everywhere. She got behind a car and crouched down. They were right beside the Detective Agency. "Damn, the agency's right here…Lee's not gonna like this…"
"No way I'll leave you behind!" Shinobu shouted, taking out her own uzi. She got behind a crate on the other side of the street and got ready.
"Ok, you know what we want!" Kotarou shouted from somewhere up the street. The shots suddenly subsided and died down. "Hand it over and we'll let you twins go!"
"So, shall we give them what they want?" Shinobu asked, sliding and locking a magazine into her uzi.
"Yeah, let's give'em what they want…let's give'em HELL!" Nodoka shouted, "Over our dead bodies, you filthy yakuza scum!"
The Yakuzas immediately opened fire. Everything from bullets and missiles to RPGs and beam shots flew over the twins as they crouched down behind their cover. Suu meanwhile was hiding in a nearby alleyway. Nodoka noticed that she seemed to be toying with something, but she couldn't care less. She had more pressing matters…such as the grenade that just landed in front of her. She grabbed it and tossed it back over the car.
"Hey, isn't that Lee's garage down there?" Shinobu pointed at the garage up the road from where they were. A stray missile flew in and exploded inside the garage.
"Not anymore…" Nodoka said. "Now it's a crater" A few nuts and bolts, as well as the general tire, flew out and either bounced or rolled across the street, due to certain comedy conventions.
"Oh, I do hope Lee-kun is ok…" Shinobu said, looking worried.
"Don't worry, knowing Lee, he'd be out in 3…2…1…there he is." Nodoka said, looking over the car.
As smoke slowly rose from within the garage, a dark silhouette formed amidst the rolling cloud of smoke and dust, growing more and more distinct. Then Lee appeared, slightly singed, a gigantic monkey wrench in one hand, a sledgehammer in another. "Which one of you people blew up my garage?" He asked, calmly. The yakuzas stopped firing for a moment as they regarded Lee (terminator mode) standing calmly amidst the rolling smoke. "I asked…which one of you blew up my garage?"
All the yakuzas immediately pointed at one another.
"Good…" Lee said. "THEN YOU'LL ALL DIE!" he leaped forwards, swinging his sledgehammer and monkey wrench.
"Snooze…" Mitsune was sleeping, her head in her arms, as usual, on the bar countertop. Bullets smashed through the front windows and doors, ripping apart the heavy curtains and shredding through the woodwork (done by Lee, off course). She stirred, woken up by the noise and the sunlight filtering in through the holes in the curtains. "Huh…oh Urusai…" She took out a 12 gauge pump action shotgun and fired out through the window. Everything went quite for a moment as she settled back to sleep. "That's better…" Then the shooting and explosions started again, this time noisier than before. A vein throbbed on Mitsune's head…then it popped…
"Hey…how many yakuzas do you count?" Nodoka shouted over at Shinobu. She looked over the car and fired a burst with her uzi.
"Well…" Shinobu looked over her crate. "I don't know, but it's definitely decreasing…Konno-san just burst out of her pub and had just started firing her shotgun at everything she sees…she must be having quite a hangover…and Lee-kun is about to show them the intricacies of repairing people's personalities." (please remember, this being a Love Hina fanfic, bullets, missiles, heavy blunt objects, etc. only cause people to fly off with misshapen faces or get knocked out with swirly eye expressions-Surgeon General).
"Eh, what's that?" Nodoka pointed up the road at a large lumbering object rolling towards them.
"It's a…really big gattling cannon…" Shinobu said. "And it's aiming right at us…"
"Ok, Shinobu-chan, plan G, let's move!" Nodoka shouted.
"Anou…which one was plan G again?" Shinobu asked, putting one hand behind her head, smiling.
"The one where you heave me up and I take care of the rest!" Nodoka shouted, running towards Shinobu.
"Eh?" Shinobu lowered both hands and cupped them by her stomach. She crouched down slightly as Nodoka ran straight towards her. Nodoka leaped onto her hands as Shinobu heaved her upwards. Nodoka pushed down with her other foot on Shinobu's shoulder and with that split-second movement, Nodoka was hurled into the air. She leaped off an AC unit on the second floor of the Agency building and grasped the ledge of the roof and flipped up onto the roof.
"I'm on, Shinobu-chan! Hold on for a moment, ok!" Nodoka shouted down at Shinobu as she started running over the rooftops towards the gattling cannon. The gattling cannon operators noticed her and aimed it straight at her. The cannon started spinning, slowly at first, but as it sped up it started spewing red hot lead at an insane rate, smashing the concrete ledges of the roofs and even blasting whole walls and roofs off as it tried to aim for Nodoka, leaving a trail of flying dust and debris in Nodoka's wake.
"Lee-kun!" Shinobu cried as a yakuza tried to sneak up on him from behind, baseball bat raised. She raised her Nighthawk and fired, sending the yakuza spinning into the dust.
"Thanks, Shinobu-chan!" Lee shouted, flinging a barrage of screwdrivers at an incoming horde of yakuzas.
"Aghhhhhhhh! Take this, Yakuza bakas!" Nodoka screamed as she fired at the gattling cannon operators from atop the rooftops. The shots hit their mark with exact precision, sending the operators off into lala land. Nodoka looked down at the street below her and started picking off targets as she ran back towards Shinobu's end of the road.
Some distance up the road…
"Six sandwiches and a bottle of lemonade to go, please." A young man ordered, standing behind the counter. "And add two melon breads, I hear the melon breads here are one of the hallmarks of the town."
"The melon breads are on the house. What is the world without melon breads, anyway?" The girl on the other side of the counter said, quickly placing the orders in a brown paper bag. She was dressed in a standard white baker's outfit with a frilly apron and baker's hat. She took the money and opened up the old fashioned cash register.
"I think there's some sort of commotion going on down the road…any idea?" the man asked, picking up his bottle of lemonade, opening it, and taking a sip.
"Nope, but I'm pretty sure it's the yakuza again…It's always something or other around here. They're a pretty sad bunch, always going around asking for protection money. We usually give them something out of pity." The girl sighed, shaking her head. A bullet came through the window and struck a pan on the wall. It ricocheted around the room, bouncing off every metal surface, before smashing the man's bottle of lemonade.
"Hmmm…yet another sleepy little town…" the man said, flicking the bottle neck into a nearby dustbin. "Another lemonade please. Do you have one in a bullet-proof bottle, by any chance?" His cell rang. "Oh, excuse me," He answered it. "Hello?"
"Have you found the program, Rayce?" A voice asked over the phone.
"Not yet sir, I'm about to go contact a local hacker I know in this area. I'll let you know when I've got something." Rayce said, swinging around the lemonade bottle.
"Please hurry, Rayce. That program must not fall into the wrong hands."
"Don't worry sir, agent Rayce Farelle's on the job. The program's as good as ours." He laughed. "Do you know someone by the name of Chiisame Hasegawa around here?" He asked the girl as he turned to leave.
"She runs the internet café down the street…though it's right down there where the commotion's happening. Or perhaps you should wait until it dies down somewhat." The girl suggested.
"Oh well…it's not as if I'm in a hurry or anything." Rayce said. A bullet came through the window and whipped his hat off. "Your name's Shana, right? What's the secret behind these melon breads?"
Keitarou was walking sedately along an empty street, thinking. "So…let's put everything together…the Alpha-1 was stolen by a hacker, and now someone's watching the home of the program's developer…But that means they need him to actually operate the program…or…what is it they really need…this is really confusing…" He had told Mr. Tamada to go and seek refuge in the Hinata Sou where he would be safest. Grandma Hina was always known to grant protection and sanctuary for those in need. All sorts of things happen in this town, so anyone's best bet is to rely on the Hinata Sou's protection, which in turn was enforced by every single townspeople.
"Heya!" A voice called out after him.
"Huh? Oh, it's you, Asuna, how's everything?" Keitarou greeted the young brunette as she ran up to him.
"I'm fine, thanks. Seems like you're busy with another case, brooding all over like that. Better not let your mind wander off too far…it's too small to be let out alone." She sniggered. She was in her usual bright red jacket and white track pants with her newspaper and magazine bag slung over one shoulder.
"I'll let that slide today. You've just gone on another delivery run?" Keitarou asked.
"Yeah. Some folks down in Mahora wanted a few magazines and newspapers, urgent, and they even offered to pay extra for the delivery. It wasn't too bad." Asuna said. "So what's the case?"
"I don't know really…it seems like a some sort of hacker crime…though it seems like there's something bigger than that behind it. But I've got no leads whatso…huh?" Keitarou stopped abruptly as they turned into Market Avenue.
"What is it? Oh man…" Asuna whistled as she looked around Market Avenue. "Is it just me, or has this become a very common thing here in Market Avenue…"
"It's just you." Keitarou sighed. "I'm pretty sure the twins are somehow involved. I'll go check." Keitarou said, taking out his SOCOM.
"Good luck! I'd join you, but I've got more magazines and papers to deliver!" Asuna hollered after him, as if what was happening was nothing more than a minor community disagreement. "Don't forget, community meeting at 6 on Saturday at the Hinata Sou!"
"Thanks, I'll be there!" Keitarou hollered back, as he walked down the street towards the source of the mayhem. Seeing all the yakuzas blocking the road, he ducked into an alleyway and went around, coming out by the Agency. "So…uh…what's happening?"
"Oh, anou…hi, Keitarou-kun." Shinobu greeted him with a smile. She was still behind her crate, a few metres away from the alley opening where Keitarou was standing. "Nothing much, really. The yakuzas just decided to do a little community service." There was a sudden explosion and Lee flew over the crate and landed a few metres down the road.
"AAAAAAAGHHHHHH!" Lee shouted, picking up his sledgehammer and monkey wrench and running back towards the fray.
"Oh…I see…" Keitarou said, walking over and crouching behind the crate beside Shinobu. "So what was it the yakuzas wanted to clean up this time?"
"Oh, it's that girl over there. I think her name's Suu-chan…she lives up in a flat down by the square, I think." Shinobu replied, gesturing at Suu who was still tinkering with something behind the alleyway. "She's the local IT expert, I see her hanging around Chiisame's internet café a lot."
Meanwhile, in the background, up on the roof above them, Nodoka was firing another barrage of bullets at an incoming wave of yakuzas carrying pipes, katanas, and baseball bats. The first shot hit the first yakuza who flew back and knocked over a whole line of other yakuzas.
"Local IT expert huh? Somehow…that's too much of a coincidence…" Keitarou murmured.
"Shinobu! Magazine!" Nodoka shouted "And call Ako-chan, get her to prepare a few beds down at the clinic, she's going to have a busy evening!" . Shinobu tossed over one of her spare uzi magazines and started firing over the crate.
"I think Ako-chan's got her work cut out for her…" Shinobu said. Keitarou leaned over the crate and fired a few shots with his SOCOM.
"No kidding." Keitarou said.
"HOW DARE YOU DISTURB THE PEACE OF MARKET AVENUE!" A voice shouted.
"WE, THE DEFENDERS OF JUSTICE, THE GOTHILOLI KAMEN, SHALL RID THE WORLD OF EVILDOERS!" Another voice shouted.
"Oh man…not them again…" Keitarou muttered.
"Oh, looky! Looky! Keitarou-kun, the Gothiloli kamens are here!" Shinobu shouted with delight, pulling Keitarou's shoulder. Keitarou looked over the crate to regard the scene. Up on the roof, Nodoka had put up a hand to her face and was slowly shaking her head.
Up on top of the theatre, two girls in identical yet different coloured gothic maid costumes with masquerade masks were standing in a would-be-cool Japanese superhero pose (if only it wasn't so stereotypical and pathetic). Both boasted UMPN-90 submachine guns and a load of C4 and frag grenades. One wore a black apron over a white suit with a black mask while the other wore the exact opposite.
"To protect the world from devastation!" One shouted, as she changed her pose, raising both arms up and pointing the tips of her fingers downwards while standing on one leg.
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" The other shouted, as she also changed her pose, feet widely spaced, one arm pointing diagonally upwards, the other balled into a fist by her side.
"To proclaim the beauty of truth and love!" another pose change. This time it was a muscle flex.
"To extend our reach to the stars above!" yet another pose change. It's basically getting more and more depressing with each pose change.
"Gothiloli Kamens! Blast off at the speed of light! Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" They shouted together, in a combo pose. They stood back to back, one leg extended, guns held over their shoulders, hands saluting. A black flying cat with big wide ears floated across them and meowed happily. Everyone could've sworn the cat actually said "that's right!", but cats can't talk…so everyone just shook their heads in unison.
Everyone stared…some with disbelief, some with incredulity, some with mere fascination.
"I think…they pulled that off an anime I've seen before…" Shinobu whispered.
"You know…I think we shouldn't have used that motto…it was kinda cheesy, especially cause it's from that popular hit children's anime…" one of the gothiloli kamens, the one with the white apron, whispered to her comrade while still holding their finishing pose.
"It was a pretty good motto…and I couldn't think of anything myself." The other one whispered back, also holding her pose. "I mean, who watches that anime anyway?"
"Everyone…apparently…"
The silence was suddenly broken by another yell. "NYAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Take this, yakuza losers!" Suu leaped out of her alleyway carrying a huge beam cannon ("where'd she get that!"-Nodoka) and pulled the trigger. All of the yakuzas (and even the gothiloli kamens) who were in the line of fire flinched.
"Thank you for pulling the trigger…the X-9999 positron cannon with optional sun umbrella will now charge the energy required for the shot. Please wait while the energy loads. Thank you, and we hope you enjoy this product, courtesy of Hakase laboratories" a cool female voice coming from the cannon said. Everyone face-faulted.
"Ah…Hakase huh? That explains it…" Keitarou muttered.
The yakuza opened fire again, forcing Suu to duck back into the alleyway. "2 and loading. While you wait, why don't you go through our user friendly product catalogue, with compliments from Hakase laboratories." The female voice from the cannon added.
"URUSAI you stupid cannon!" Nodoka shouted, firing down from the rooftop. "Kid! Make sure you sue Hakase to hell if we survive this!" She shouted at Suu.
"Gothiloli Shiro, let us show them what happens to those who stand in the way of justice." The first gothiloli kamen with the black apron said calmly, priming her UMPN and aiming.
"Right behind you, Gothiloli Kuro! Let us show them the light of peace!" She took out a grenade and pulled out the pin.
"LET'S GO!" They both shouted, leaping off the roof and charging forwards. The cat meowed and flew after them.
"I live in a blessed age…." Keitarou sighed, as he got up and shot a number of yakuzas.
"I think it's just that you live in Market Avenue…" Shinobu said, snapping another magazine into her uzi. Nodoka had going berserk with her guns again. Lee was throwing nails ninja style while Mitsune was blowing the living crap out of anyone who stood in her way. The Gothiloli Kamens, meanwhile, were knocking down yakuzas left right and centre.
A squad car screeched to a stop by the agency. Keitarou, Nodoka, and Shinobu looked around and stared. "Only a single squad car?" Keitarou asked.
The door opened and a large army boot got out. It was followed by a bullet proof padding covered leg and a bullet proof vest covered body. Then a riot helmet (plus gasmask) covered head emerged from behind the door. It ducked back into the car and brought out a riot shield and an M-60 heavy machine gun. Another figure, similarly dressed, emerged from the other door and brought out yet another riot shield followed by a gattling gun.
"Uhhh, guys?" Keitarou asked, wearing an exasperated look.
"Don't worry, civilians, we, Kanagawa's finest, shall take care of these miscreants!" A voice said from behind the gasmask.
"Yes, stand back, while we apply brute force upon these law ignorant… err… bozos…yes." The other figure said, advancing towards the yakuzas.
"Freeze! In the name of the law!" The first figure shouted. Everyone did freeze…but mostly in awe that someone would actually come down into a street fight dressed like that. People who do things like that would normally find themselves sinking to the bottom of Tokyo harbour, with optional standard concrete boots or tin can treatment, 5 minutes into the encounter.
"You have the right to remain silent! Everything you say can and will be used against…h…hey, we told you to freeze…" The second figure stammered, as the yakuza advanced.
"I think officer Shirai and officer Haitani will be needing some help…" Keitarou said.
"STUPID COPPERS!" Nodoka shouted, leaping up off the roof into the air and landing on one of the cops, bringing him down. He fell on the other cop, bringing him down as well. Nodoka immediately began firing at all the yakuzas in the immediate vicinity. "NEXT TIME, TRY SOMETHING LESS SUICIDAL. THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW COULD GET ITSELF TRAPPED IN MOUSE TRAPS IF IT REACHES INTO PLACES IT DOESN'T BELONG!"
"I think we were just brought down by a little girl, officer Shirai." Haitani whispered to his comrade.
"Shhh…stay quiet, they might think we're dead." Shirai whispered back.
"Sigh…so the yakuzas are stirring up trouble again…" A dark skinned woman wearing a gunner's outfit sighed. She and three other females were standing some distance up the street, regarding the pandemonium.
"Well then, it's time for a bit of divine punishment. Come, my peaceful brethren, err…sisthren, let's give them an ass whoopin' of biblical proportions!" A nun holding a book said.
"Oro…it's always so lively here on this street." A young woman in a hakama and gi smiled.
"HOW DARE THEY DISRUPT THE PEACE! I, DAUGHTER OF THE SHINMEI TEMPLE, SHALL SHOW THOSE DEMONS WHAT HELL TRULY LOOKS LIKE!" A raven haired swordswoman, also in a hakama and gi, shouted. She unsheathed her katana and charged into the fray. "SHINMEI-RYU OUGI, HI-KEN, ZAN GAN KEN!" A ki blast erupted along the ground, sending a whole regiment of unfortunate yakuzas to fly up into the sky.
"Well, if we don't hurry, there might not be much left to clean up…" The dark skinned woman said.
"Well…it seems like Motoko's doing fine on her own, Mana…I don't think I'd like to interrupt her…" The sister said, standing back slightly as she watched the trail of carnage Motoko left behind.
"Oro…Misora-chan, go on, don't worry about interrupting Motoko. There's plenty to go around." The young woman in the hakama and gi said, smiling.
"Ok then, Aoyama-san, allow me to show you the arts of our church! Let's make'em HOLY!" Misora shouted, charging into the chaos. A few moments later a few bright flashes lit up here and there, sending yakuzas flying into stores, over rooftops, or deep underground.
"What about you, Mana-chan?" The young woman asked the dark skinned woman.
"No thanks, Tsuroko-san…I think having Misora, Motoko, Lee, Mitsune, the cops, the gothiloli kamens, and even the detective trio is already overkill…"
"I feel sorry for those yakuzas…oh my, there goes another one." Tsuroko said, pointing at a yakuza who was soaring over the battlefield.
"I feel more sorry for Ako-chan…she's gonna have to treat all the wounded…and there might not even be much left to treat…" Mana sighed.
A few minutes later…
"Ok…I'll ask you again…why do you yakuza folks want that girl?" Nodoka had taken hold of a random yakuza by the collar and was roughly interrogating him. "Tell me!"
"Ako-chan, you're here!" Shinobu cried out with relief. "We gotta help these people!" She gestured at all the yakuza gang members strewn across the street.
"…" Ako's jaw dropped. She was rendered speechless as her small medikit fell to the ground with a clatter. Lee was assessing the damage done to the neighbourhood and calculating how much they would have to take out of the community budget to repair all the damaged shops. There was no way they could repair this by themselves so they were going to have to rely on the budget gathered by the entire community in anticipation of such situations. Mitsune, meanwhile, had gone back to her pub and fallen asleep again. The Gothiloli kamens, after finishing their closing pose and chant, had disappeared. Motoko was trying to argue with Keitarou over the right to punish Kotarou, while Misora was gathering all the fallen weapons. Shirai was again reading out the yakuza's rights while Haitani was asking a fallen yakuza who his daddy was.
"Is that part of the interrogation process?" Shinobu asked Nodoka, who was choosing another random yakuza to interrogate.
"I don't know…I guess it's part of the inter-ego-ation process." Nodoka said, picking up another yakuza by the collar. "Yo!"
"I'm telling you to move aside, I want to finish off that minister of darkness!" Motoko shouted, pointing the tip of her katana at Keitarou who was standing in front of a tied up Kotarou.
"And I'm telling you, I want to interrogate him first." Keitarou shouted. "Then you can go ahead and do whatever you like!"
"…very well, you have 5 minutes." Motoko said, sheathing her sword and walking away.
"Ok, Kotarou, here's the deal. You tell me what I wanna know, and I'll let you go, deal?" Keitarou asked.
"Go off and bite the dust will ya!" Kotarou said.
"Okay, if you wanna be a sore loser, fine. Be that way. But I hear Shinmei swordswomen could be pretty nasty…especially with people like you…" Keitarou said, in an offhand voice, walking away. "suit yourself…"
As he walked away, Keitarou counted down, "3…2…1…"
"Okay, I'll talk!" Kotarou shouted after him.
"Good, I knew we'd see eye to eye. Now, why are you people after Suu-chan?" Keitarou asked.
"We got a hacker to track down the whereabouts of the Alpha-1, you know, that program that was stolen recently…and apparently she had it…" Kotarou said. "All we wanted was to recover the program, that's all." He said, innocently.
"Wait, there's more to that…" Nodoka shouted, striding over to them. "Tell me, or I'll drag you over to Aoyama-san NOW!"
"There's nothing else to say. We only want the prize money. I mean, we gotta eat too, after all." Kotarou said.
"Tell me…the…truth!" Nodoka held him up by the collar and looked him close in the eye.
"There's nothing more to it." Kotarou said, defiantly.
"Ok, then you've served your purpose." Nodoka said in an offhand manner, dragging Kotarou towards Motoko. "AOYAMA-SAN!"
"Oy! Oy! All right, I get it, I get it! Someone in our organization stole the damn thing, but it disappeared. It jumped onto the internet somehow! I don't know anything else, I swear!" Kotarou shouted. There was pure fear in his eyes. The idea of being handed over to an Aoyama was enough to inspire pure fear in anyone's mind, even in the hardiest of people.
"Great, nice doing business with you, Kotarou-kun" Nodoka said, leaving him behind.
"Oy! Oy!" Kotarou shouted after her. But then she saw her hand over a knife to Shinobu who was approaching.
"We're not taking prisoners, off course, Kotarou-kun." Shinobu came up and cut the knots binding Kotarou with the knife Nodoka gave her.
"You'll all pay for this, I swear!" Kotarou shouted as he got loose. "Hey, thanks, I'll repay the favour someday, both of you." He whispered to Shinobu. "I'll get back at all of you!" He shouted at the general audience. "Mark my words!"
Motoko unsheathed her sword by an inch.
"EEEEP!" Kotarou winced. "I'll be back! Retreat for today boys!" The yakuzas, including the wounded ones who had just been treated by Ako, all got up and ran down Mahoko street towards their HQ.
"Sigh…those troublesome pests…" Motoko sighed.
"You'll get used to it after living here long enough, sister." Tsuroko said, patting her on the shoulder. "You did great today. I can see you didn't kill anyone."
"Thank you, sister." Motoko bowed her head.
"We might as well get started on cleaning up, eh?" Mana said. "Don't run, Misora." She grabbed Misora by the back of her hood.
"I…I have duties to attend to…" She laughed uneasily, looking back at Mana. In her hands was an entire armory of firearms, all definitely worth something on the black market.
"You caused more destruction than was necessary…therefore you shall take part in cleaning up after yourself." Mana said sternly, looking down at Misora. Her eyes flashed menacingly.
"Uh…yes, Mana!" She saluted, and ran off to help the others cleaning up.
"Shall we, Mana-chan?" Tsuroko pulled back the sleeves of her gi.
"Very well, Tsuroko-san." Mana said, taking off her jacket and tying it around her waist.
"Hey, what exactly is this?" Misora asked, picking up a huge cylindrical object. Everyone sweat-dropped big time.
"…100...Weapon charged, thank you for waiting. Please do not aim this gun at your eye. We are not liable for any loss of limbs, heads, or any other body part, or any material property that may be lost due to the use of this cannon. Thank you again for choosing Hakase laboratories. We hope you enjoy the effects of this cannon." The cool female voice from the large cylindrical object said.
"You gotta be kidding me…" Keitarou muttered.
"Perfect way to end the day…" Nodoka muttered.
"Oh, fireworks!" Shinobu clapped her hands together cheerfully.
"hmmm…calculating all that…I can see we're going to need about 5 million yen all together…" Lee murmured, looking down at his notepad. Then he looked up and noticed the cannon. "Oh…make that 50…"
"Nyahahahaha…" Suu laughed.
"So, Tamada-san, you create programs, do you not?" A small, reasonably aged old woman asked, leaning on her cane as she turned around to face the man. A few minutes ago she was watching the smoke rising from the other end of Market Avenue.
"Yes. I currently make children's programs for a local software business." Tamada answered, nodding. "Though I sort of stopped a few weeks ago after noticing I was being watched."
"That is unfortunate." The old woman said.
"What do you do, Hina-san?" Tamada asked, out of curiosity.
"Well, as you can see, I'm the caretaker of this orphanage, me and the Aoyamas. Please call me Grandma Hina, by the way. That's what everyone in town calls me." Grandma Hina said, sitting down opposite Tamada, facing away from the windows.
"I can see everyone in the neighbourhood looks up to you, Grandma Hina." Tamada said, sipping his tea.
"Oh my, yes, even if I do say so myself…well, almost everyone in town are practically my children, you see. Being the orphanage caretaker in this town is a very serious matter."
"I see…but I wonder why there are so many orphans here in this town?" Tamada asked.
"Well, a lot of reasons. But mainly because there are good people and bad people." Grandma Hina looked down. Tamada could sense that the subject was one that she didn't like talking about.
"Grandma Hina…I…" Tamada started, before a rather rude explosion interrupted him mid-sentence. Beyond the windows, down the street, a huge flash of light burst out and engulfed most of Market Avenue. A large pillar of light extended into the sky as the ground shook.
"Go on…" Grandma Hina said, sipping her tea.
"Ummm…Grandma Hina, excuse me, but did you hear that?"
"Why, yes, I did. I'm not that deaf yet, young man, there's still a lot of life left in this old body." Grandma Hina said, raising her cane in a playful manner.
"Wasn't that an explosion?" Tamada asked, worried that this old woman might be senile enough to not understand the significance of such an explosion The light and smoke was slowly dissipating, revealing the general chaos the explosion had left behind.
"My, yes it was, wasn't it?" Grandma Hina nodded. "But it's nothing to get upset about…I'm sure it was just another one of Satomi-chan's inventions going haywire in the middle of Market Avenue. The kids will clear it all up by tomorrow, as usual. It's a common thing here in this town, Tamada-san, you'll get used to it. Nothing to get worried about." Grandma Hina dismissed the matter with a quick flick of her bony hand.
"The norms here are quite warped…." Tamada sighed. "How am I supposed to get used to this?" He got up and went to the window. "Market Avenue…what a strange place…"
"Wow…the special effects is a little overdone, but I liked the ending…" Rayce said, sipping his bottle of lemonade. A positron particle zipped through the window and smashed through the lemonade bottle.
"sigh…not another one…" Shana sighed, closing the windows and doors as the shockwave drew near.
"This is…one sleepy little town…" Rayce said, flicking the bottle neck into a nearby dustbin. It was smashed in mid-air by another stray positron particle.
"Melon bread?" Shana offered Rayce a melon bread. The ground was shaking, the doors and windows rattled. She herself took one and started munching.
"Thanks…" Rayce took it and took a bite as the lights went out.
"Oneechan…"
"Don't…say…a…word…Fumika…"
"D…Demou…how are we supposed to explain this to Noriyasu-san when he gets back?"
"I…don't…know…Fumika…you tell me…"
The 'Corner Antiques' store lay in ruins before the two. A piece of wood was swinging off what was once a window sill. It cracked and fell, raising a cloud of dust and plaster that engulfed the two.
"Oneechan…"
"Yes, Fumika-chan?"
"I can't see anything…"
"Neither can I, Fumika-chan…neither can I…"
To be continued….
Credits:
Written by:Beyond the Bounds
Inspiration: Futakoi Alternative
Cast: (Cast will be added later)