Zi Yang and Kanan were in the superintendent's office. The superintendent was looking through the files of the robbery that happened just recently.
"So, you said this Jeff man is back again?" She asked, "And now it's with two women?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Zi Yang answered, "The bank tellers told us that one man and two women were present during the robbery, helping to take those robbers down. We also found Bernard Allen's dead body, and the last person he fought was another robber, who is a woman too."
"If you keep seein' this Jeff guy, why didn't you catch him?" She asked angrily as she did hand actions to show she was frustrated, "Why the hell do you let him keep running away?! This guy has been interrupting our damn investigations almost every time, and now he's with three other associates? Are you that dense, Inspector Huang? How can you let this guy get away over and over again?"
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." He bowed down.
"What's the use of sorry?" She screamed, "What is the public going to think of us now? Clowns, I tell you! We still haven't even caught any of those criminals who were involved in the cases and we still have the bloody crime syndicate to deal with! Wake up your minds, inspectors! Catch the criminals, Jeff, and the three women this instant!"
"But Jeff and the three women technically helped us stop the robbery from happening, and we were able to apprehend all the robbers." Kanan voiced out, "Couldn't we just give them a warning?"
"Yeah, after they caused public nuisance, destroyed public property, and disrupted the police's investigations." The superintendent shot back, "Not to mention they killed a man. You think I could afford to let them go? Also, are you trying to be another Inspector Huang, Inspector Matsuura?"
"No, Ma'am." Kanan shook her head, "Just a suggestion, Ma'am."
"When I instruct you to catch the bad guys, you do as I say and catch them." The superintendent commanded, "Do not give me stupid excuses. Do not talk back to me with your lousy logic. Do not be stupid. Do you understand, the both of you?" Kanan and Zi Yang saluted.
Once the two inspectors got out of the office, Zi Yang immediately cursed her under his breath. Kanan patted his shoulder, telling him to calm down and to just follow the instructions given. They then went to Kotori, who was packing up to leave the station.
"Report here early tomorrow." Zi Yang told her, "We're gonna catch some assholes." With that, he stormed off to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee to calm himself down.
"What is Sir talking about, Madam?" Kotori asked.
"Remember the one man and three women we saw today from the surveillance cameras?" Kanan replied, "We're tasked to take them down and apprehend them as soon as possible."
Kotori was in shock. She never expected her best friend and her partner-in-crime to now become a wanted person by the police force. As Kanan walked away, Kotori slumped onto the chair and buried her face in her hands, unsure of what to do.
Umi opened the door to her house. It felt good to finally be back after all the events that happened today. She placed her dinner, which was a bento set, onto the dining table before lying down on the sofa. She was quite tired, even though she didn't do much except tracking a car.
She thought about the crime syndicate, and what Jeff had told her, Eli, and Maki. It seemed so complicated. She had been in the police force for so long and faced so many cases, yet nothing could compare to this convoluted situation. From what she had understood, the crime syndicate was not to be trifled with. It sure had lots of members since the crimes caused by them are around Japan, and they still have little to no clues. However, they could start from confronting Ruby as she might know about the boss.
While she was in her train of thoughts, her phone rang. She got up and fished her phone out of her pocket. It was Kotori. She composed herself and cleared her throat before answering the call.
"Hello, Kotori." She spoke, "How are..."
"Umi-chan, can you meet me at the park downstairs?" Kotori said with a stern tone, "I...want to talk to you about something important." She then ended the call. Umi was taken aback to say the least. Kotori sounded serious, and it wasn't usually her style to end a call just seconds in. This day couldn't get any more confusing, she thought.
She changed into a simple white dress and was about to open the door when she saw her right wrist and realized something was missing. Her bracelet. The bracelet that Kotori had given to her while they were young. It was at this moment that she panicked. She couldn't bear to lose it. It was precious, and it meant a lot to her.
She frantically searched around the whole house but she couldn't find it. She was worried she had lost it. Suddenly, she thought of the robbery. She could've dropped it during her fight with Menemis, and it might still be there. She was thinking of going back there the next day to find it.
A few minutes later, Umi went to the park, where she saw Kotori sitting down on a bench. Umi quickly hid her right hand behind her back and walked to her best friend. Upon seeing Umi, Kotori stood up and looked at her.
"So, Kotori, why did you call me here in the middle of the night?" Umi asked curiously. Kotori breathed in and out before heaving a sigh.
"Is your grandmother okay?" She queried.
"Y...yeah, she's fine. She's all well."
"Perhaps because she is fine from the start, and that your parents never went overseas, am I right?" Kotori asked.
"W...what are you t...talking about?" Umi stuttered. She was stunned that Kotori had said that. Perhaps Kotori knew that she was dishonest all along. Yet again, she was unsure if Kotori knew everything. Nonetheless, she didn't want to take chances, so she continued to lie to Kotori and keep up the blur facade.
"Umi-chan, let me ask you this." Kotori sighed, "Did you lie to me?" Umi was speechless. She didn't know what to answer or how to respond. Her hands were trembling behind her back. Her forehead started to sweat. Her heart started thumping faster and harder
"Also, why are you hiding your hands behind your back?" Kotori asked. Umi tried to think of an answer, but she was totally at a loss for words when Kotori brought out the bracelet.
"You're looking for this, right?" She glared at the ocean-haired woman. Immediately, at this point, Umi knew she was screwed. Kotori had definitely seen through her lies long ago. Kotori even got the bracelet, which meant she was well-aware of what Umi did.
"I...I didn't mean to lie to you, Kotori." Umi frantically explained, "I was scared you would get angry if you were to know what I was doing. I had..."
"I do not know what you're thinking at all." Kotori retorted furiously, "I called your parents. They told me they were in Kyoto all along, and your grandmother is healthy. All along, you lied to me just to try and stop a robbery with your own hands. What you did was against the law! You almost got yourself killed out there! You should've waited for the police in the first place! They'll do it the lawful way, not by fighting and destroying stuff!"
"The police and law doesn't do shit, Kotori!" Umi screamed, "If I had waited for them to come, the bank would have been robbed and the bank tellers might have been murdered! We can't wait for that to happen! That will add onto the seven cases the damn police have yet to solve!"
"And now you're in trouble!" Kotori screamed back, "Everything was captured on camera. The police are coming for you and your other two friends! If I hadn't removed the bracelet from the crime scene, you would've been a wanted criminal now! Imagine if my best friend is a wanted criminal by the authorities. Have you ever considered how I would've felt if that ever happened, Umi-chan?"
Umi looked away in guilt. She knew that Kotori wouldn't even bear to hurt her in any way, much less arrest her. Both of them kept quiet for a while before Kotori spoke up.
"Are you even planning to come back to the station?" She asked. Umi looked at Kotori and slowly shook her head. Kotori opened Umi's palm and placed the bracelet on it.
"Maybe you shouldn't come back anyways." Kotori fought back her tears, "Do not ever look me up ever again." She then ran away crying. Umi called out for her, but she was already gone. With a dejected heart, Umi sat down on the bench and started to sob. She was regretful of what she had done to Kotori, but she had no choice.
The next morning, Maki woke up to the smell of pancakes. She got out of bed and stretched her arms and legs before walking out of the bedroom. She went down the stairs and saw an orange haired woman placing two plates of pancakes on the dining table. She then saw Maki and ran forward to hug her.
"Good morning, Maki-chan!" Honoka greeted with a big accomplished smile on her face. Maki smiled and hugged her back, thanking her for the breakfast. The two of them then went to sit at the table.
"So, how's the robbery thing going?" Honoka asked, "Have you women found the person you were looking for?"
Maki shook her head, "We do know who this person is now though. However, we let her slip off last time, and now we have to wait for the next time she appears to strike again."
"This whole thing...it sounds really hard." Honoka frowned.
"Yeah, it is hard." Maki sighed, "It's so complicated I just get tired thinking of it. If only the police aren't so useless, we'd have an easier job." Upon hearing that, Honoka went to her and kissed her cheeks.
"I believe in you and your friends, Maki-chan." Honoka grinned, "You'll definitely be able to take the baddies down and bring them to justice."
Maki placed her fork down and looked at her girlfriend, "Are you not angry at me? I am doing something that could get me arrested. If I get caught, I might not be able to see you for months, maybe even years. I'd be sacrificing our relationship just because I'm going against the law."
Honoka sat beside her and held her hands, "I would be devastated if you'd get arrested, because then I would have no one to accompany me and entertain me. However, I think I'll feel more proud than sad. At least what you're doing is for a good cause. You're helping the people and the police. I can hold my head up high to tell my friends that my girlfriend is a considerate and heroic woman."
"Thank you for understanding, Honoka." Maki hugged her once more, "I can't express much, but I do love you a lot."
"Me too, Maki-chan!" Honoka voiced out happily. Maki then let her go.
"So, what are you gonna do today?" Maki questioned.
"I'm going out with my friends later." Honoka responded, "You remember those people I told you about? The ones who were idols with me before we stopped because we wanted to pursue different careers."
"Ah, I see." Maki answered, "Have fun. Make sure to take care of yourself outside there."
"I should say it to you instead." Honoka replied with concern, "Be careful of the bad guys out there that are ready to kill you any minute. I know you got some fighting skills, but you still got to take precautions when fighting against them. I want you to come back safe and sound. You hear me?"
"I...I'll definitely be fine! You don't need to worry about me!" Maki pouted and folded her arms and looked somewhere else, but she was really glad Honoka cared for her.
In Eli's room, she took out a photo album from her drawer and sat down on her bed. She wanted to relive old memories as she missed those days. Those simple, enjoyable, carefree days. Back then, she didn't need to care about the future. All she had to do was to have fun. Now, she has to fight against a crime syndicate. How time flies.
She opened the book and flipped through some of the pages. Most of the pictures were with her, her mother, and Alisa in different places. Their trip to Korea, Eli's high school graduation ceremony, Alisa's eighteenth birthday, and more. A photo then caught Eli's eye. It was a picture of her, her sister, her mother, and her father.
The Ayase sisters were fatherless since Alisa was only two years old. They had to travel to Japan so that their mother could provide them a living since she became the new breadwinner of the family. Even though sometimes they were made fun of solely due to that, it wasn't that much, and they didn't take it that seriously.
That made Eli think throughout her life. Her mother had told her that her father left them due to a verbal fight and never came back. Was that really the reason? If it was so, was her father really a petty man? If it wasn't so, then what was the true reason? What kind of man was her father?
All these questions in her head were unanswered ever since she was young. Her mother passed away three years ago due to a heart attack. Eli couldn't possibly pull her out of the grave to ask her these questions. The only thing she knew, however, was that her mother said 'Don't you dare leave this family !' before she passed away. It remained a mystery about who her father was.
With a dejected sigh, she closed the photo album and placed it back into the drawer.