As I gazed at the candle, slowly melting away underneath its small flame, I kept an ear out of Fuji. There were muffled discussion, the click of 3DMG being put on before another pause. Was the Fuji? I glanced at the candle again and noticed that it was about time for me to crash the party. Fingers crossed that he was ready to go because if he wasn't, there was no way I'd be able to pursue a target and protect him from getting his ass kicked. Then Levi would have to-
No! I shook my head vigorously. I can't let Levi do that.
Fuji better be ready or he can kiss his own ass good-bye.
Standing up abruptly before I could change my mind, I steeled my thoughts and leapt off the nearby roof. Easily enough, no one was around in this dark part of the Underground City and I strolled up to the front door. I politely knocked on it and waited for an answer. The point was to scatter everyone so I had to go out with a bang. The door handle squeaked as it was slowly unlocked and taking a chance, I pivoted and kicked it open. The wood flew off its hinges, knocking the person behind it out. I luckily spied Fuji's surprised face and thanked the stars that it wasn't him behind the door. I grinned widely and dramatically pulled my cloak off. My dark green Wings of Freedom practically lit up the room in this brown and grey City.
"You're all under arrest under authority of Humanity's Survey Corps!" I declared loudly. The room was in silent shock for two seconds before it exploded.
And when I mean exploded, it actually exploded. Two small bangs pierced through the air, immediately followed by bright flashes of light and a torrent of smoke. One had happened to my right side and another just behind me. The right one went off first and instinctively, I dived towards Fuji, just as the second one went off. Small lumps of debris flew through the air as I hit the ground, right by Fuji's side. The sound of footsteps, shattering glass and the whirl of 3DMG wires then had me leaping right back onto my feet. The blasts had been distractions.
"Fuji, let's move!" I coughed as I waved my way through the smoke and to a broken window.
"Right behind you." He spluttered and staggered to the door. I leapt onto the edge of the hole, the remaining glass crushed underneath my thick boots. I squinted into the dim City and managed to spot three figures flying through the air. I grinned and joined the chase as the predator, reeling straight into the air. They may have an advantage of home ground but I was born of Survey Corps.
They remained in front of me for some time, or rather, I remained behind them. It seemed that instead of trying to lose me in the confines of the Underground City, they had to try their luck of losing me in the larger playing ground of above. Despite the three of them splitting up several times, if I managed to keep an eye on one of them, they would all be heading in the general direction of the Underground maze. Either that, or they were willing to lose themselves in the maze, along with me.
Once again, they split off from each other and I continued to advance on the leader of that small group. He was fast, I'd give him that but he obviously lacked the skill of rounding sharp corners. Deciding to try out my luck, I veered into a different direction, shooting myself into a different road. The path that the leader was currently on was as straight as an arrow through with levels buildings. They was uneven enough for 3DMG movement but provided no cover for stealth. So I changed direction.
If my hunch was correct, the leader would soon have to cross onto a certain street to head to the Underground maze. Blocking the entrance would be useless and they could remain hiding in the City but if we let them think that they had a way out, we could trap them before they could leave the maze. I soared between the brown buildings, my gas propelling me faster through the gaps. As I bobbed up and down from momentum, I could just see the leader changing his direction to the maze. I mentally cheered for my prediction and sharply took a corner, crashing in through a window. Ignoring the glass, I shook my hair free of the glass and moved onto my feet, racing through the building and out the other side. I exploded from the other side in a shower of broken glass again and smashed into the leader as he moved through the road. We tumbled onto the ground, his 3DMG wires snapping from the collision.
I instantly jumped onto my feet as the guy flicked out a blade and swiped out at me. I ducked, planted my hands on the ground and shoved my boot into his stomach. He flew up and onto his back, the breath rushing out of him in one go. Needing to end it quickly, I somersaulted back onto my feet and gave his head a hard kick, just strong enough to knock him out for a good while. More sounds of wiring headed towards me and I whirled around, eager for another round. Fuji landed next to me and took one look at the guy. I relaxed.
"And how were you planning to get him out of here?"
I opened my mouth but nothing came out as I gathered my thoughts. Fuji rolled his eyes.
"That's what I thought."
"In my defense, he started it." I mumbled, closing my mouth again. My partner knelt down and began to bind the leader's hands together. However, he stopped halfway, staring at a mark on the back of the guy's hand.
"Hey Rina, any idea what this is? Looks like one of those gang symbols."
I moved around and crouched beside the MP he turned the hand and showed it up to me. It was the picture of a black spider on the background of a red web. I frowned at the symbol and resignedly straightened up. Fuji gazed at me face and he finished off the knot.
"I take it that you know this design?"
My mouth mashed into an unpleasant line. "Unfortunately. Looks like Mizuka was right. The Toria gang seems to be the Underground City distributors."
Fuji gritted his teeth at the news. "In any case, let's get moving back up. I wont be able to protect myself if his hoons start coming at me." Fuji hefted the guy onto his back and we began the slow walk back to the stairs.