The hospital was always a bustling place. Every day, numerous patients come in because of reasons such as sickness, accidents, and checkups. The doctors and nurses were constantly busy, checking in on patients and writing medical reports.
In the food court of the hospital, two nurses were sitting at a table, having their lunch. Both of them have their name tags. One of them was named Nico Yazawa, and she had her twintails tied with ribbons. The other nurse was Nozomi Tojo, who also had her twintails tied with scrunchies. The difference was that Nozomi had purple hair while Nico's was black, Nozomi's twintails were lower than Nico's, and Nozomi was taller than Nico.
"I heard your patient got another seizure again, Nico." Nozomi uttered, "Is she feeling okay now?"
"Yeah, I gave her some meds." Nico replied, "It's so sad to see it happening to an elderly woman. She has a son and daughter too, but they left her when they found out about her seizures. It's really sad to see a mother raising her children with love and care, to be there for them be it rain or shine, only for her to be dumped when she gets a sickness."
"I agree." Nozomi added on, "Children should learn to appreciate the efforts of their parents. They've spent so much time, money, and effort bringing up their sons and daughters. People should be more appreciative of their parents."
"How's your patient though?" Nico questioned, "He isn't taking it well, right?"
"It's a cruel world." Nozomi responded as she chewed on a hot dog, "All because a driver was drunk, he caused harm to an innocent person, making him lose his ability to walk. If I were him, I would've lost my shit too. I know how he feels inside. It's really devastating."
Out of the blue, someone sat down at their table. Nico was about to complain when she realized that person was Maki. The two nurses were confused to find a distraught look on Maki's face. They were sure she was like that because her boss had scolded her again. After all, only that could faze the air stewardess.
"What's wrong, Maki-chan?" Nozomi queried, "You look kinda upset. Is it because of your boss again?"
"Damn right." Maki sighed, "Someone filmed an upskirt video of a woman on the plane and tried to run away. I can't just do nothing about it and let that woman suffer! But my boss keeps reprimanding me about it, telling me to not do anything! It's so frustrating and annoying!"
"I know that you're angry, but Maki-chan, your boss does have a point." Nico looked at her, "It might tarnish the company's reputation, the people you've attacked could have sued you for inflicting injuries, and I'm sure some of the passengers are afraid of you now too. I really think you should just leave it to the police."
"Like I can." Maki rolled her eyes, "The police can't do shit now. They can't even solve the recent case. How am I supposed to trust them to catch someone? By the time they arrive, the pervert would've ran miles away and disappeared into thin air! Besides, I just can't bear to go against my morals and watch the vulnerable get bullied. There needs to be justice for them."
"Like I said, it is indeed a cruel world." Nozomi then drank her cup of tea, "We just gotta accept reality. There's nothing we can do, and there's always a few things we have no control over. Take it easy, Maki-chan."
Maki clearly knew she could never take it lying down. However, she also thought that it might perhaps be the best for her to leave it alone and only do what she was tasked with from now onwards.
Back in the police station, the police officers and inspectors came back with the list of names whom the dealers sold the cars to. The four policemen planned to go and visit the people who have the cars, and decided to go in pairs. Kanan with Kotori, and Zi Yang with Umi.
The two duos then went to interview the Corolla owners for the other half of the day. Each one of them said that they were called by the same mysterious someone to buy the car for his uses. He only called them once before he disappeared and never called back. However, when the number was dialed, it was unavailable, stating that the number has been terminated.
In the evening, Zi Yang dragged his feet towards the police station as Kotori walked behind him. He was so tired from going house to house, getting the same answer every time. He just wished some clue, or even anything, to appear in front of their faces to help them in the cases.
He went to the lift lobby, where Kanan and Umi were waiting for the lift as they were discussing something among themselves. Kanan then saw him and waved at him.
"How did the talks go?" She asked him.
"Man is unknown, phone number is unavailable." He sighed, "It looks like we're going nowhere with this shit. I heard you two talking between yourselves. Did you find anything?"
"Funny enough, it's the exact same thing as what you found." She replied. Zi Yang proceeded to face a wall and banged his head against it. Kotori asked her if he was always this grumpy. Kanan just laughed at it and told her that there's nothing to worry.
Umi's phone then buzzed. She took it out and checked who sent the message. It was Eli, asking her if she was free to meet up for lunch for a causal talk the next day. She replied with a yes.
Kanan announced that the police officers could go home if they have already cleaned up their desks beforehand, and told them to rest well for the weekend. After Kotori and Umi left, Kanan placed her hand on Zi Yang's shoulder.
"Don't lose hope, man." She told him, "I know you're having a hard time. We all are, solving these cases. However, we should always be positive and not show our downcast looks to our juniors. We should be good examples for them to follow."
"I'm sorry, Kanan." He sat down on the floor, looking down onto the floor, "Give me more time."
"I understand." She nodded her head. Before she entered the lift, she turned around and looked at him once more.
"I'll be staying in my office to try and look for more clues in the cases." She grinned at him, "I've ordered some donuts for supper too. You can come and join me if you want." She then walked into the lift and the doors closed. After the lift went up, Zi Yang let out a little smirk as he leaned his back against the wall.
At nine in the night, Eli settled down on the sofa in the living room. Alisa had went out with her friends, and it's just Eli alone in her home. She found it good though. There would be no one to disturb her while she is watching her favorite superhero movies. Tonight was a relief for her.
However, she decided to watch a new one today instead of the usual ones. Named 'Birds Of Prey', it was about Harleen Quinn joining forces with the Huntress, the Black Canary, and a police officer to save a kid named Cassandra Cain from a crime lord. Eli was intrigued by the trailer and soundtrack, so she picked this film.
It ran for almost two hours. She sure found the film to be a bit boring. The story wasn't as interesting as she thought it would be. The fighting scenes were okay. Not too shabby. The way the actors and actresses act in this movie were great to her. However, what caught her attention was how a team was formed to beat the bad guys.
She loved how Harley teamed up with others to form a group and bring the villain down. They each did what they were good at. They also had the same goal, and they have the perfect teamwork. They showed that nothing was impossible.
That struck Eli in the head as she thought of an idea. Maybe, instead of depending on the police, she could find people who have the same goal as her. Together, they might be able to find the people who were responsible for the murders, shootings, and robberies, and bring them to justice. They could also seek redress for the innocents and restore peace in the city.
And Eli knew who she could approach first.
The next afternoon, Umi sat down at a café, waiting for Eli. The two of them have not met or talked to each other for four years. They used to be very close friends until Eli went overseas. Since then, they lost contact for a very long time until yesterday evening. The police officer feared that it might be awkward between the two of them later, so she had already thought of some topics to start the conversation.
As she was thinking which one she should choose, Eli went up to her and sat at her table. She called for the waiter and ordered a strawberry cake and a cup of hot chocolate.
"Hey, Umi, long time no see!" She hugged Umi, "I'm sorry I've been so busy during these few years that I didn't even have the time to call you. My bad."
"Oh, it's okay! It's really nothing." Umi replied, "I understand. I'm sure you needed to do something important, that's why you were busy and uncontactable."
"Yeah." Eli sheepishly smiled. It looked like Umi didn't know the real reason why she left Tokyo for Russia.
"How's life for you?" Umi queried, "I heard you went overseas."
"Yeah, I went to Russia to visit my grandmother." The blonde responded, "To be honest, I wasn't really considered busy. I was sick of life in Tokyo, so I decided to go to Russia. I also took a military course there to train myself. It was pretty refreshing."
"That...certainly sounds interesting." Umi wasn't really anticipating any answer, but she certainly wasn't expecting to hear it from Eli. It sounded very unbelievable.
Eli was the very same girl who became a student council president when she was in high school, stating that she would be very serious in her studies and duties. She was the very same person who ate a plastic chocolate once because she thought it was a real one. She was the very same woman who was so afraid of the dark.
"What's with that look of disbelief?" Eli asked curiously, to which Umi silently giggled. The former was confused, but just decided to let it slide.
"How's your life?" Now it was her turn to ask Umi.
"Umm...well...it was...pretty shitty." Umi said, "The murder cases...they're not easy to solve, and there is like no trace of evidence to work on. We police officers are stressin' the hell out. I just feel that we're also letting the families of the affected ones down. We can't find anything to help them, and they won't ever get an answer and a relieved heart."
Eli heard what she had said and decided to take this as an opportunity to strike her own plan out.
"Me too, Umi." Eli uttered, "When I look at the news, I always feel bad for those people whose family members were victims of the heinous crimes committed. It's like they got no justice at all."
"It's the same for me." Umi nodded her head in agreement.
"I want to help these poor people out." Eli continued sternly, "I want to make sure they know who the evil murderers of their loved ones are. I want to protect the city and stop the evil doers. I want the citizens to be safe and sound. I've watched a handful of superhero movies, and..."
"No." Umi looked at her, "You're thinking of that, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I want to form a group!" Eli announced. Umi immediately shook her head and rejected the idea, saying that it would not be feasible to do so. The blonde woman looked at her with surprise.
"We have the police to do their job and solve the case." Umi reasoned, "We should let them handle it and not disturb them in the process. The police are trying their best to find the bad guys. I'm trying my very best too."
"You're telling me to leave it to the police? No way." Eli retorted, "Look at the police force, Umi! You and I know very well for a fact that they didn't solve any of the six cases that happened this week!"
"They will find it soon. Just give them time."
"They couldn't even find any clues for days!" Eli talked back, "If me and you combine forces, we might be able to take down the baddies on our own, and the cases would be solved! That's hitting two birds with a stone! My plan is to go to the places of the crimes, and then we can try to find anyone who might be a witness or an alibi. I'm sure there has to be someone either hearing it or seeing it live since it happened at times when people were active. The accounts of these people would allow us to start somewhere."
"Eli, I am a police officer. I know what's going on in the police station." Umi explained, "Do you really think it's that easy? You think the police didn't try it before? We officers worked our asses off day and night for each and every case, sacrificing our sleep to try and search for something. We interviewed witnesses, alibis, car owners. Still, we aren't able to find anything that could lead us to the robbers or the murderers yet. What makes you think that you could do anything about it?"
Eli couldn't talk back. She had absolutely nothing to say about that. She didn't have any evidence to begin with. However, she didn't want to give up just like that. She thought of the victims whose lives were taken away, and it did not feel right for her to sit down and do nothing.
"If there's a will, there's a way." She told Umi, "I sincerely want to seek justice for the innocents. I will do anything to protect these people from any more harm. Just because the police can't do it, that doesn't mean I can't." With that, Eli stormed off, even before her food had arrived.
Umi leaned against her seat. She thought Eli was stubborn. Really stubborn. She then chuckled. She realized Eli was still her same old self, like she used to be. The obstinate woman. The determined person.
The justice seeker.