The next morning, Maki got prepared for her job. Today, she decided that she wouldn't fight anyone anymore no matter what. She was only going there to do her job as an air stewardess, not a justice warrior. As much as she doesn't want to follow the rules, she has to, or else she loses her job.
She took a taxi to the café first so that she could order her favorite coffee to drink before her flight. She went to the counter and ordered a cup of coffee.
At the same time, Eli walked to the counter to order a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of strawberry cake. She hadn't had the chance to try the desert and the beverage since she walked off last time. As she was waiting, she heard a familiar voice. She turned to her right and saw Maki paying for her drink.
"Hello, Ms. Attendant." Eli went to her. She saw Eli and smiled. The blonde woman invited Maki to sit at her table, to which she agreed. After both of them got their food and drinks, they sat at the table.
"I've never expected to see you here." Eli commented.
"Me too." Maki replied, "I especially like the coffee here. Very aromatic, and the milk is very rich. I've eaten that strawberry cake before. That was delicious."
"Oh, really?" Eli took a fork and gently cut a part of the cake before eating it. She chewed on it for a while before nodding her head satisfyingly, agreeing with the flight attendant.
"I've forgotten to ask for your name." Maki initiated a handshake, "Maki Nishikino. Air stewardess."
"Eli Ayase, unemployed." Eli shook her hand, "So, how's the talk with your boss? I heard that he wanted to meet you for the pervert case."
"He's a bastard." Maki grumbled, "He told me off for trying to catch a pervert who was sexually harassing an innocent lady, and also said that I will lose my job if something like this happens again. That asshole made me go against my morals to keep a damn job."
Eli looked at her with surprise when she said that. She seemed very angry about the incident. The fact that she wanted to protect vulnerable people from harm made Eli look at her in awe.
"You wanted to protect the innocents too?" Eli asked.
Maki nodded her head, "It's been in me since young, I guess. When I see someone in danger, especially women, I can't bear to sit back and do nothing. When I heard about the murder cases, I really felt bad for the victims and their families. I really wish I could help them or something, but I know I can't do anything. I'm just an air stewardess."
After hearing that, Eli knew she had to tell Maki her plan. It might be a work in progress, and Umi might have rejected her brutally, but that doesn't mean she was going to give up finding help.
"You know, I also want to help people." Eli started explaining, "My wish is for the city to be safe and sound, stop the criminals from doing any evil crimes, and protect the people. I felt bad when I knew about the murder cases, because I knew I couldn't do anything in my power. I want to seek justice for those who have lost their loved ones through all these killings. That's why I will not let this happen ever again."
Maki stopped drinking her coffee and placed her cup down on the coaster. She stared at Eli with curious eyes, as if she was interested to know what the blonde woman was about to say.
"I have a plan." Eli continued, "We can join forces to find the dipshits responsible for these crimes and take them down. I feel that working as a team gets the job done faster, and we have the same aim too. We can start from the places of the crimes, where I'm sure there will be someone who might know something about the incidents."
"Hmm, it does sound quite nice, but I do have two questions for you." Maki voiced out, "One, are you sure there would be anyone out there who knows anything about the incidents? If there were, the police wouldn't be suffering so badly. Two, do you think we could really pull this off? The bad guys didn't leave any trace for us, which is why the police couldn't solve any of them."
Eli sighed, "You know, I've heard this from a police officer too. But I'm done thinking of the negative sides. Those baddies surely must've left some sort of clues around. If they're that smart, they wouldn't have left the restaurant in a mess. As long as there's a will, there's a way. I will do it no matter what, because this is my life goal."
"Your life goal, eh?" Maki gave a questionable look, "So this is what you plan to do for the rest of your life? You're not going to get a job, or start a family, but instead dedicating your life to...saving people?"
"Maki, I'd rather have no job than to see people die again and again." Eli retorted, "Like I've said before, innocent people were killed out of nowhere. I'm a justice-driven person, and I hate to see the families of the deceased suffer in pain because no justice was served. I will stand by my principles and help them."
"You really need a reality check." Maki shook her head, "This is not Smallville, or Metropolis, or Gotham. This is Tokyo. This is real life, not fiction. As humans, we need a job so that we can get our salary and live a normal life. We ain't no Clark Kent."
"No matter what, I will still stand my ground." Eli replied, "In fact, I am willing to sacrifice myself so that this city doesn't suffer any longer." Maki was astonished by what she had just said. She couldn't believe what the blonde woman had said. It was the first time someone said something like this to her.
Eli then passed the flight attendant her name card, "If you've made up your mind, you can call me. I'll be leaving first." She stood up and walked away from the table. As she was about to exit the café, Maki called out to her.
Eli turned around and was shocked to see Maki tearing her name card apart before throwing the pieces on the plate. Eli thought that it was over. That she had to do this by herself. Maki then strolled to her.
"You sure seem serious about this." Maki told her with a serious look, "Worth to give it a try. When are we going to start operation?" Eli looked at her with surprise, like she wasn't expecting that answer at all. Nonetheless, Eli was elated, knowing that someone had finally decided to join her in the road to justice.
In the afternoon, Kotori invited Umi out for a friends' outing. They went to the flower garden to admire the different species of flowers and tried some of the special mocktails there. Then, they proceeded to the amusement park to get onto some rides and enjoy themselves until the evening.
Both of them sat down on a bench and looked at the sky as the sun set. It was such a beautiful sight to the both of them, and they would always see it when they were stressed out.
"It's really refreshing to get a good break like this." Umi commented, "I was feeling really down after the recent events."
"I know how you feel, Umi-chan." Kotori patted her shoulder, "I'm sure things will get better. Even if it doesn't, just know that I'll always be by your side. We're best friends. If you're facing any difficulties, I will definitely lend you an ear."
"Thank you, Kotori." Umi smiled at her. The two of them have been friends since childhood, and they were very, very close with each other. They'd tell their personal problems to each other, and comfort each other too. It was a natural instinct. They even went to junior high, high school, college and even university together. They also have their cute and quirky sides that no one else besides them has seen before.
Naturally, like a cliché in romance movies, Kotori has fallen for Umi. She didn't know when it happened, but it did. How could she not fall for such a gorgeous, caring, and cute woman? Especially when Umi was embarrassed, the way she blushed was so adorable to Kotori.
Kotori had planned to ask her out for a date sometime soon, and perhaps confess to her, but her police work had been holding her back for a very long time. Nonetheless, she still wanted to find a time for the date. She racked her brains to think of how she should ask Umi out. Finally, she thought of something.
"Umi-chan, do you mind if I...I go out with you, after all this is done?" Kotori asked shyly, "On a date with you?"
"A DATE?!" Umi's face immediately flushed beet red as she looked away.
"A friendly date!" Kotori quickly cleared the air, "A friendly one, Umi-chan. I just do wish to spend more time with you. We could have dinner at a restaurant, and then we can go to the cinema to watch a movie. How's that?"
"As long as you're happy, I'm fine with anything." Umi grinned at her best friend.
"That settles it then!" Kotori stood up, "I really hope we can solve the cases as soon as possible so that we can spend time with each other again, like the old times."
"Me too, Kotori." Umi replied. The ashen-haired woman then happily skipped away towards the carpark. As Umi was walking to catch up with her friend, she thought about Eli's proposal. It had been on her mind from the start of the day. She was contemplating if she should join Eli in her mission to seek justice.
At first, it was hard for her to choose because she only had one reason. Now she has another.
At night, Eli and Maki were browsing through the news websites, searching for the articles of the killings. They were trying to find the eyewitnesses and the family members of the victims, in hopes of gaining some information from them so that they could try and track the culprits. They have been doing this since the afternoon.
Once they have gotten some names, they did some research about the people, and have found some addresses and emails. With that, the two women started emailing them.
"How's it at your side, Maki?" Eli asked.
Maki shook her head, "I didn't receive any emails back. What about you?"
"Me neither." Eli replied.
"I completely understand them." Maki sighed, "They don't want to be reminded of the horrendous times. They just want to let it go and forget about it."
"If this doesn't work, we'll have to figure another way out." Eli uttered, "We cannot give up on this." At this moment, Maki's phone rang. She took her phone out of her pocket and answered the call.
"Maki Nishikino!" It was her boss, screaming at her ear, "Where the hell have you been?! Why have you not reported for work today?! Do you know how hard it is for me to find a replacement for you at such a short notice?!"
"Boss, today..."
"Here you are, giving me excuses again!" He shouted at her as she clenched her fist, "As an air stewardess, you are supposed to do your damn job and come to work! Stop giving me trouble or else I'm going to fire you!"
"Well, you know what? Fuck you, bitch." Maki snapped back, "You've been picking on me ever since I started work. You didn't even give me a chance to explain anything. You don't care whether people are getting injured or harassed. You only care about getting money and the company's reputation, while you treat your workers like they're your slaves. Fire me all you want, I won't go back to your fucking useless shitty company, and that's that!"
"You..."
"Goodbye, and good riddance." She then ended the call. Eli stared at her with astonishment. She looked back at Eli and was confused.
"What? Why are you looking at me like this?" She asked, "In order for me to help you, I had to get rid of my stewardess job. Besides, that boss made me go against my morals. He can go and fuck himself."
Eli was so speechless that she could only nod her head and smiled sheepishly at Maki. The blonde woman was so taken aback. She didn't know Maki was this vulgar.
The next morning, Zi Yang was drinking coffee in his office room. He was reading a magazine about fashion when Kanan knocked on his door. He looked up and saw her. He allowed her to come in and sit on the sofa.
"So, I've heard from the guards that Alex has been released on bail." She told him, "Apparently, someone named Bernard Allen paid the bail fee. They were last seen leaving the station in a car at 2.54 PM yesterday. The same car brought him back home at around 3:26 PM. Then, he was spotted at a restaurant for dinner at 7:30 PM. He went to the bar at 9 PM, where a woman brought him home."
"Okay, nice information, but why are you telling me the exact details of where he had been?" He questioned, "You stalkin' him or something? We already got information from Alex."
"Good question." Kanan stood up, "This morning, Alex and that woman were found dead in his bedroom." He looked at her with surprise. He gave her the 'you got to be kidding' look, but she nodded her head, implying that she was telling the truth.
"We'll go to all the different places he had been before his death to ask the owners about what Alex had done in their premises." He said, "Kanan, arrange a meeting with the Bernard guy. He might know something about Alex too." She nodded her head. Just then, Umi and Kotori appeared outside of his room. The two inspectors saw them and went to them.
"Welcome back to work, officers." Zi Yang greeted them, "Tonight is a very big event. Someone related to the murder cases had told us that there would be something happening in the Tusas Bank at seven tonight, and it involves a person who most likely knows all of the other cases too. We'll try to take her down and get some information from her. Get yourselves prepared."
"But, Sir, I can't make it tonight." Umi voiced out. The other three looked at her with confusion.
"I need to take care of my grandmother." Umi explained, "She had gotten very sick recently. My parents went overseas for a holiday trip, and my grandfather was gone three years ago. Only I am left to look after her. I'm sorry, Sir and Madam."
"Are you for real?" Zi Yang groaned, "At this time, when we need you the most? This could actually lead us to some clues for the cases, and you're bailing out already?"
"Zi Yang." Kanan slapped his shoulders, "Be nice to Umi. She needs to take care of her own sick grandmother. It's not like she wanted this. Besides, will you be responsible if anything happens to her grandmother?"
Zi Yang kept quiet for a while before sighing, "Fine. For tonight only. Now, me and Kanan will be finding someone else. Do your own work." He and Kanan then went out of the station. With that, Umi returned to her table.
Kotori found it strange. She had never heard Umi say about her grandmother being sick before. If she was really having some sickness, Umi would've stayed at home to take care of her the previous day and not go out with Kotori. It was also too much of a coincidence that Umi needed to take the night off today, out of all days.
Kotori didn't believe Umi one bit, but she was planning to confront Umi when she knocked off.