Kotori was at the entrance of a clothing store in the shopping mall. She was deployed here as Zi Yang told her Jeff was last seen here by some bystanders.
Her main objective was to find the man today, but so far only one thing was on her mind. Her fight with Umi the previous night. To be fair, she knew Umi was always dissatisfied with the way the police force handled the cases. However, she didn't expect her crush to act rashly.
Even though it was Kotori's mistake to remove the bracelet from the crime scene, she did it so that the police wouldn't know it was Umi for the time being. She couldn't imagine if the woman she loved went to jail, especially if she was the one apprehending Umi. She would have a severe mental breakdown.
She did regret what she had said to Umi, but now, it was too late. She could not swallow or take back her words. To her, what Umi did was wrong as it was against the law. It could get Umi arrested, and that hurt Kotori emotionally. Besides, she said those words because she was worried for Umi. She didn't want Umi to go down the wrong path. Nevertheless, she tried not to think too much about it and focused on finding the man.
She went into the store and looked around if there were any suspicious figures around. She darted her eyes left and right, up and down. Nothing seemed off though. Everyone in the shop was normal, buying clothes and paying for them. No one was acting shady or dubious. Most of all, no one shared the same hairstyle as the man.
She dragged herself out of the store and sat in a café to take a rest. She ordered a slice of cheesecake and hot chocolate to go with it. She was stressed out, and hopefully her favorite food could make her feel at least a bit relieved.
She took one bite of the cake and was expecting herself to squirm in joy and excitement over how delicious it was. She however didn't feel anything. Even though the cake was usually delectable to her, her mind was only filled with thoughts of Umi. She took a part of the cake again and placed it in her mouth. She chewed it slowly and delicately, trying to make out the taste of it. Yet, the results produced were the same. No taste.
She couldn't even enjoy the cake without constantly thinking of Umi. She really wanted to make up with Umi and apologize for being too harsh, but then Umi did make her really angry and upset. She pulled her hair in frustration and whined.
"Kotori-chan!" She heard someone call her out. She turned around and saw Honoka, who was waving her hands at her, and two other women. They went to her and sat at her table.
"What are you doing here, Kotori-chan?" The first woman, who had golden brown hair, questioned, "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I'm tasked to find a criminal here." Kotori said, "You women here to do your shopping?"
"Yeah, nya~" The second woman, who had orange hair, held up her bags of clothes, "See how much clothing we have bought, nya~! You should've joined us, Kotori-chan! The clothes are on a thirty percent sale today, and there are so many pretty dresses you will surely love, nya~!"
"You seemed very disturbed by something." Honoka said worriedly, "Is something the matter?"
"N...nothing big, Honoka-chan." Kotori faked a smile, "I just had a tiff with Umi-chan."
"I'm sure it's just a very small thing." Honoka patted her shoulder, "Umi-chan's usually strict in everything. Give her some time, and she'll cool down. You guys are best friends, surely she won't want to lose this friendship with you."
"Enough talking about me." Kotori uttered, "Where's Maki-chan? I thought she was supposed to come with you here today."
"Oh, she couldn't be here today. She had uhh..." Honoka then thought for a while before she continued speaking, "...last minute plans."
Meanwhile, Eli, Maki, and Umi were waiting for Jeff in the basement of his house. They still wore the same black shirts, jeans, ski masks, and beanies as they have nothing else to wear. A few minutes later, Jeff walked into the room and passed them a water bottle each.
"This robbery you're going to stop later is not that hard." Jeff explained, "It's at the Norichurin Bank. Just do what you did last time, and it should be alright. Also, if you find Ruby there, please subdue her and then inform me. I'll be right over in a flash."
"Like you need to tell us that." Maki commented, "In fact, we'll do the interrogation ourselves. I think by the time you arrive, she would've run away."
"Do you even know what questions to ask?" He catechized, "I'm the expert here, so let me do the talking instead."
"Isn't it just 'who's your boss' and 'where is your headquarters'?" Eli questioned.
"There's more to it than that, young lady." Jeff responded, "It isn't as simple as you think it is. This crime syndicate's way bigger than any gangs you've seen on television dramas. Anyways, I'm not joining you this time because I need to settle something else, so just heed my instructions for once. Oh yeah, one more thing. Don't kill the robbers. We're not murderers."
Eli and Maki reluctantly nodded their heads. Umi, though, was just stoning. She was buried deep in her thoughts. She, like Kotori, was thinking about the fight they had. She really felt regretful for what she had done, and she wanted to say sorry to Kotori, but she didn't know how to. Now that the two were in an awkward position, that made the situation even worse.
"Are you okay, Umi?" Eli asked worriedly, "You've been quiet this whole time."
"Me?" Umi nervously laughed, "I'm fine. I'm just thinking about how we could bring the robbers down later."
"Are you sure?" Eli gave a concerned look.
"A hundred and one person sure." What Eli got in response was Umi smiling, but it was so fake Eli could see right through it. Eli knew from a young age that Umi was really bad at lying, but she didn't want to probe the ocean-haired woman any further, so she just let it be.
Jeff looked at the three of them and realized they were still donning the same outfits as the previous day. He stared at them with disdain and disbelief.
"Are you actually gonna wear these again?" He asked, pointing at their clothing, "Are there no other outfits that you girls can wear? You still look like the robbers going to rob the bank instead of saving it."
"We...don't have anything else." Eli replied, "Unless you want us to wear our normal clothes." He facepalmed himself as he let out a loud sigh.
"You women are so comedic." He remarked, "Did you people even think about anything before doing this justice thing? Was there any thought put into this, or did you just do it on a whim?"
"A whim it might be, but we are serious and true in helping the city." Eli stated sternly. Maki and Umi nodded their heads in agreement. Jeff was speechless. He didn't know what to say or how to respond. He could only raise his hands in defeat and shook his head in disappointment before he walked away.
In the evening, the three women reached the bank. They saw vans already parked outside, which meant that the robbers were in. Even though they might be late, at least they weren't too late to stop the robbery. However, they didn't see any car. Ruby might not be here.
They crept to the vans and Umi counted how many there were. Six. Eli whispered to her other two comrades that she and Maki could take three vans each while Umi check if there were any more cars around the bank. With that plan in mind, the three of them separated to do their jobs.
A few minutes later, after taking out some drivers and scanning the surroundings, they gathered back at the entrance of the bank. There were no signs of cars or Ruby anywhere around the bank or in the vans. Perhaps she might be inside the bank instead.
In the bank, some of the robbers pointed guns at the bank tellers, took out bags, and demanded for their money. The bank tellers have no choice but to obey their orders and give the robbers the money. The robbers placed it in the bags, and once it was full of cash, they tied it up and placed it on wheelbarrows. They also stole anything that looked valuable, such as the vases and computers.
Two others were standing at the door, guarding the bank, and the rest of them were in the vans. Because one of the wheelbarrows was filled with money bags, one of the robbers decided to push it out of the bank to put the bags in the van.
However, as soon as he opened the door, Eli booted him on the stomach, making him fly towards the back and hit the wall. Maki and Umi appeared behind her. The other robbers turned to them and charged towards them.
Eli kicked the head of a robber before pushing him away, making him and the other robbers behind him stumble down onto the floor. Another one tried to punch her on the face, but she swiftly dodged it and twisted his arm. Seeing that the guy was in pain, she pulled him towards her and kneed his groin. He fell down onto the floor.
Two robbers wielding knives went for her next. She moved backwards and swerved her body left, right, and down as the men tried to stab her. She then hit her back on the wall. Seeing she couldn't move backwards anymore, she observed the robbers' moves.
As they aimed for her face, she ducked down and one of the knives got stuck on the wall. She used this opportunity to push the weaponless man away and gave him a strong slap on the face. Just when the other robber was about to thrust the blade on Eli's chest, she quickly pulled the first man up and used him as a shield. The second robber thrusted the knife into the back of the first one.
Eli pushed the stabbed robber away and uppercut the other man. When he tried to get up, she struck him on the face with her boots, essentially knocking him out. At this point, Eli was already feeling worn out. She cracked her knuckles. If she had to continue fighting like these, she might collapse onto the floor and die. She couldn't go on like this. She had to think of another way to fight.
Maki dodged a punch dealt by one of the robbers. Using her fingers, she poked his eyes with force. While he was groaning in agony, he shoved him to one side. Two robbers charged towards her; one from her left, and one from her right. One with a knife, one without anything. She had to think fast. She had to deal with either one, or she could deal with both.
She swiftly ducked down as the robber with the knife stabbed the unarmed robber on the arm. She then got back up and did a roundhouse kick on the armed robber. She did the same to the other one.
As a robber was about to kick her in the face, she jumped to the left and stomped the back of his kneecaps, making him fall. In the midst of dropping, she kneed his nose, which caused him to have a nosebleed. She was satisfied with her fighting skills. All that training since she was young didn't go to waste. She did feel a bit worn out though, but the adrenaline she was feeling kinda canceled that off.
Umi took out a gun and started shooting the robbers' legs. She didn't go for the head because she didn't want to kill anyone unless necessary. At first, she was doing quite well. She took down quite a number of robbers just by firing bullets. Suddenly, she remembered what Kotori had said to her the previous night.
"Maybe you shouldn't come back anyways. Do not ever look me up again."
That scene kept replaying in her mind like a broken record. She was clearly affected by it because it broke her heart for her crush to say that to her. It was like her brain was torturing her mentally.
"Umi!" Maki's scream snapped Umi back to reality, as the latter realized she was pulling the trigger but no bullets were coming out. Just as she was about to get shot by a robber, Maki pulled her away and the both of them hid behind a pillar.
"Umi! What the hell are you thinking?" Maki whispered angrily at her, "You could've gotten yourself killed there! Stop being so distracted!"
"I'm sorry." Umi hung her head, "I will be more attentive next time." Maki peeked out of the pillar and quickly pulled herself back when she saw the robbers aiming their guns at the pillar. They then started shooting as the both of them ducked.
"Fuck." Maki cursed, "We don't even have any guns to shoot them back. We're gonna be stuck here for a very long time." She turned to look at Eli, who was still fighting them. She looked a bit exhausted, but nonetheless she was still able to take it. However, as soon as she saw guns being taken out, she quickly hid under a table. With no delay, they started shooting.
"Damn, why do both of the robberies turn out like these?" Eli sighed, "We're always outnumbered. I have to find a way." She looked around for anything she could use. Suddenly, she got reminded of the guy whom she used as a shield.
She peeked out, only to see him just a few centimetres away. She ran to the body at full speed and pulled him up. She then pushed him forward, yet again using him as a bulwark against the robbers. They tried shooting her, but they were only able to hit the wounded man.
Once she was confident she could get close to a robber, she shoved her shield to the pack of robbers, making some of them fall and drop their guns. She took two guns for herself, and took two other guns before she threw it to Maki and Umi.
Using this chance to bring the robbers down, the trio took the guns, reloaded them, and shot the robbers' legs. Soon, more of them fell down to the ground. With just a few of them remaining, the trio could finally lay hands on them. After a few minutes, they took down every single baddie in the bank.
They high-fived each other and patted themselves on the back. This was the very first time they managed to stop a crime from happening, and they did it without help from others. They were proud of themselves. They finally found back the joy in saving a city and preventing unsolved murders.
Eli went to who she thought was the leader of the robbers, and held him up by the collar, "Where's Ruby Kurosawa?" She asked with a menacing voice.
"Ha...ha...ha..." He laughed, "She knew...you guys would come here...she decided to not appear today...You people think you can save this country from a big ass syndicate...you're going to be proven so wrong...hehehe..."
"You..." Eli was about to interrogate him more when she heard police sirens. That was the trio's signal to get the hell out of the bank. They sprinted out of it and ran down the streets. A few moments later, they managed to hide behind a building that was quite some distance away from the bank. They heaved a collective sigh of relief.
A car then stopped beside them. A man in sunglasses got out of the car and went to them, "You must be the trio who stopped the robbery yesterday, right?" The three of them got into a fighting stance, prepared to take the man on.
"Who the hell are you?" Eli asked.
"Relax. I am not a police officer." The man replied, "I am here because I wanna talk with you. My name is Regis. I am a CEO of a company. I've seen you women in the news for trying to stop a robbery yesterday. Even though you're wanted by the police now, I still think you girls did a great job. That's why I'd like to help you and give you some advice."
"We're wanted by the police?" Maki was confused.
"Yes, for disrupting police investigations and causing public nuisance, along with a public property being destroyed." He explained, "They didn't see your faces, so they don't know exactly who you are. Anyways, it seemed like you stopped another robbery earlier on. That's a good job. You do know the robberies were caused by the crime syndicate, yes?"
"Yeah, so what's that gotta do with you?" Umi questioned.
"Well, you see, I wanted to tell you more about the crime syndicate, and my experience with the members." Regis responded, "I'm sure you guys want to bring the syndicate down, so your first step is to stop all of these robberies and find Ruby Kurosawa because she's involved in the syndicate. And then slowly, you guys can work your way up. Am I right?"
"You do seem to know stuff, eh." Eli crossed her arms.
"We'll get on that later." He said, "First, let's get into my car, shall we? I'll bring you to my office and we can go into detail about it. We don't want to get noticed by the police, do we?" The trio looked at each other before deciding to go with him.