In Jeff's basement, he printed out the pictures of two men and a woman holding a katana. He took them out of the printer and gave it to the trio. They passed it among themselves so that they could take a closer look at the photos.
"Jimmy Natas and Anthony Garcia." Jeff told them, "Both working under Regis Yazuka. One owns gambling houses, one oversees the trafficking and sexual activities. As for that Venus woman, Esther told me she is Regis's personal assistant. He also provided me with this photo he had taken of her."
"She is wearing a scabbard in this picture." Eli noticed, "Does that mean…"
"Yup." Jeff nodded his head, "She's most likely behind the deaths of Menemis and Yosuke Lee under Regis's command."
"Well, at least we know that bastard is the mastermind behind all of this." Maki groaned, "We need to do something about it."
"We have to take him down before it's too late." Umi voiced out, "If we let him continue doing what he's doing right now, many more lives will be taken away, and Japan will be in grave danger!"
"Do you have any plans, Jeff?" Eli questioned.
"The Princess Pegasus Ballroom, tomorrow, seven in the night." Jeff replied, "A party will be held there. I think it is about some company named DeGeneda celebrating their million dollar deal or something."
"DeGeneda?" Eli asked with a surprised look, "I think I've seen that before. Let me think about it." She kept quiet for a while as she tried to remember where she had taken a glance of it.
"I got it." She snapped her fingers, "When we went to Regis's office that day, I saw the desk wedge. It had...Sylvester Willis and the title of CEO of DeGeneda. But he clearly said he is Regis. Jeff, could you search up who Sylvester is?"
"On it." Jeff went to his keyboard and typed in the name before hitting the 'Enter' key. Photos and videos of him appeared, and he looked very different from Regis. Jeff played a clip of him in an interview in a cafe three months ago with a spectacled female reporter.
"Hello, this is the Japan News." She spoke on a microphone, "My name is Setsuna Yuki, a senior reporter. Today, I will be interviewing the CEO and co-founder of DeGeneda, a renowned clothing company known for its smooth and premium quality suits and dresses. Hello and good afternoon, Mr Sylvester Willis."
"Good afternoon to you too, Ms Yuki." Sylvester greeted, "Thank you for inviting me out today."
"It's my pleasure." She responded, "I would like to ask you a few questions about DeGeneda, and how you feel about it. First of all, how does it feel opening your twenty-first store in Ginza Mitsukoshi, one of the most popular and biggest shopping malls in Tokyo?"
"It felt so surreal." He answered, "It felt like all our efforts were worth it. It isn't easy being one of the best clothing companies in Japan, so seeing how far we've achieved today made me really happy." Jeff then paused the clip.
"Sylvester's voice definitely sounded different from Regis's." Maki commented, "That's identity theft."
"That's not all." Jeff said, "There is a news article. It says that Sylvester was reported missing for a week before he returned with a different hairstyle and a change of voice. He had assured the public that he did went through some changes and that it was normal for him to sound and look different."
"Then there's no doubt that the real Sylvester is dead, and Regis has been posing as Sylvester ever since after he murdered the CEO." Eli stated, "It links up with what Dia Kurosawa told us. Jeff, we're going to the party. We're gonna take this motherfucker down."
"Hold up." Maki retorted, "Wouldn't it be easier for you to catch those under him first, like Jimmy Natas and Anthony Garcia? That way, he would have less resources and men left, and we could defeat him."
"We could also attack him straight away, don't you think?" Eli reasoned, "If we bring him down immediately, the rest of his people will surrender to us, and the crime syndicate will be stopped. End of story."
"And you think he's that easy to bring down, Eli? He's a goddamn boss, not a side man. He definitely will outsmart us with his manpower and resources."
"Maki's right. It is a bit risky, Eli." Umi added, "We might get killed. I'd say let's not take this risk and let's just go on..."
"We won't know until we try." Eli uttered, "I'm determined to put an end to everyone's suffering once and for all. I want no more innocent lives to be lost. I want to keep this city safe and sound. I want to destroy this crime syndicate so bad. If I say we're going, that means we are going." She then stormed out of the room.
"That's my friend for you." Umi turned to Jeff, "She's a stubborn mule. As long as she has an aim, she'll set her mind to it and do anything to complete it."
"Although I admire her bravery and her determination, I just feel it is safer to start from the bottom." Maki shook her head, "We all want to bring the crime syndicate down too, but that's just a very rash action that might bring us nowhere."
"You know what? I kinda like the idea." Jeff remarked, "It sounds pretty exciting. Don't you guys wanna beat the boss up too? Besides, Eli's your leader. Are you not gonna listen to her for once?" Maki and Umi looked at each other and sighed.
A few minutes later, the trio and Jeff gathered in the same room. He placed a map depicting the interior of the ballroom on the table and circled the exits with a marker.
Jeff used a pen and drew lines on it, explaining his plans as he spoke. He suggested that the four of them should each guard one exit since there were four exits. That way, even if Regis tries to run away, he wouldn't be able to because all his escape paths would be blocked. However, Umi rejected his idea, thinking that it might be a bit useless if the crime syndicate boss decided to bring his men over.
Umi took the marker and overwrote the lines that Jeff drew with even thicker ones. She proposed another plan: Eli will confront Regis, while she and Maki would be staying together at the second level to observe the encounter and if there might be Regis's men around. Jeff could be at the entrance of the hall, preparing to shoot Regis if he was to escape.
When asked why Jeff was placed at the entrance, Umi replied that the ballroom building is surrounded with metal fence gates, which prevents people from running too far away from the premises. The other three felt that Umi's game plan was great and more sensible, and agreed to follow it. Jeff called a tailor and requested for three different-looking dresses to be made for the occasion by the next afternoon. He did not allow them to wear what they had previously worn for the robberies. Not only did it make them look like the bad guys, it was a formal event which required formal wear.
Once all was settled, the four of them decided to go their separate ways and meet up here at two in the afternoon. As Umi was walking back home, she thought about Kotori and how she might be doing. She was concerned about her crush, and yet there was nothing much she could do about it. Kotori was angry with her since that night and even refused to see or talk to her.
Umi stood on the spot, opened her messaging app, and clicked on Kotori's contact. She wanted to type out a long paragraph of how she really felt about Kotori, the reasons she decided to do this justice-seeking thing in the first place, and how she was very sorry for lying to Kotori. However, after typing for a while, she deleted everything. She felt ashamed and scared to ask for Kotori's forgiveness. She was the one who did Kotori wrong after all. She did not deserve to gain any empathy from her crush just because she had written a long text.
She proceeded to type, 'How are you doing, Kotori?' She was about to hit the send button when her finger stopped just meters shy of the send button. She knew that Kotori would just read the message and not respond to it at all due to the tension they were having currently. With that, she deleted her words and switched off her phone. She sighed and continued walking.
Eli stopped into her home, and saw Alisa sitting on the couch, waiting for her older sister. Alisa went up to Eli and held her hands, looking at her with a worried expression on her face.
"Onee-chan, are you okay?" A frowning Alisa questioned.
"Yes." Eli patted her head, "Yes, I am. Look at me. I'm back here in one piece, ain't I?"
"I have been so damn anxious." Alisa said, "You've always been back late these days, not responding to either my calls or my texts. I thought you were in grave danger! I was so afraid that I thought you were kidnapped or even worse, killed!"
"Aww, it's so cute seeing you worry about me." Eli grinned, "I'll tell you about everything over dinner, yeah?" Over the dining table, Alisa brought out the food that she had prepared. She had learnt some cooking skills from Eli and the internet. Eli tasted each of the dishes and took some time to think of some feedback for her sibling.
"Some of these aren't that good." She remarked, "They kinda seem to lack the taste of what they originally are. I got to say though that the presentation of these foods really look tasty and aesthetically pleasing."
"Thank you, Onee-chan." Alisa smiled, "So, about what's been happening lately, could you tell me anything about it? I don't want to be kept in the dark again. It is not a nice feeling to have to constantly worry for you, you know."
Eli slowly caressed her head, "Alright, I'll tell you. Don't get too worked up when you hear this."
Maki and Honoka went to a restaurant for dinner. The former ordered bolognese spaghetti and iced lemon tea and while the latter asked for a plate of aglio olio and strawberry juice. A few minutes later, their food arrived. Both of them said 'itadakimasu' before they dug into their dinner.
As they were eating, Honoka noticed that Maki was acting a bit strange. She looked pretty distracted, at some point even dropping her own fork into the noodles. Perhaps something bad might have happened to her, Honoka thought. It was as if Maki's body was in the restaurant, but her soul wasn't.
"Maki-chan, are you okay?" Honoka asked with concern, "You seemed to be acting weird today. Is there something on your mind? You could tell me if you want, and maybe I could help you."
Maki stopped eating and placed her fork down, "Honoka, I'm going to tell you something that might be...terrible. I hope you will understand why I'm doing this."
"It's about the crime syndicate again, isn't it?"
Maki held Honoka's hands and looked at her, "You're right. It is about the crime syndicate. Me and my two friends have found the mastermind behind all these incidents, and we're gonna confront him tomorrow at a party. Now, it might sound good, but we're no longer wearing clothes that are covering our face. It is a formal party, thus…"
"Formal dresses, huh?" Honoka finished her sentence, "That means your faces won't be hidden anymore."
Maki nodded her head, "We definitely will make a scene trying to catch him tomorrow, and the police will surely hunt us down. They might recognize us from the robberies that have taken place. In the case that we become wanted, I won't be able to see you...for an unspecified amount of time…" She then looked away, causing silence between the two to settle for a while.
Maki looked at her girlfriend and gulped in fear, "I'm...sorry, Honoka…I…"
"It's okay, Maki-chan." Honoka smiled, "This is a very important task for you, and I'm very proud of you that you're taking this step forward to stop the crimes in this city."
"Honoka…"
"You don't have to worry about me, Maki-chan." She continued, "I'll be fine. After all, you're doing something that is so heroic. You're seeking redress for the victims' families, and I couldn't be prouder of you. We could still message and call each other. Even if I miss you much, I could just look back at our photos and hear your voicemails. That'll make me feel at ease. I won't be lonely because I got Kotori-chan, Hanayo-chan, and Rin-chan! I'm sure you could protect yourself and come back to me safely after this all ends, right?"
"R...right." Maki was a bit hesitant and unsure when she answered that.
"I believe in you, Maki-chan." Honoka kissed her forehead, "Do what you need to do. I'll be at home waiting for you."
Maki gave a faint smile, "I know I've said this a million times, but thank you for accepting me for who I am and understanding my flaws. I do appreciate it. I love you a lot."
"I love you too, Maki-chan." Honoka replied with an elated face. With that, Maki finally felt relieved and went back to eating her spaghetti. Meanwhile, a frowning Honoka went to the toilet and looked at herself in the mirror. She washed her face and slapped her cheeks lightly before putting on an elated face.
After dinner, Maki brought Honoka back to the latter's home. As Honoka was about to step into her house, she turned back and hugged Maki. Maki slowly caressed her hair in return as the orange-haired woman wrapped her hands tightly around her girlfriend. They both stared at each other for a while before sharing a kiss under the blue night sky. After they let go of each other a few seconds later, Honoka waved goodbye to Maki. Maki waved back as she got into her car. Once Honoka entered her house, Maki stared at the house for a few seconds and sighed. She then drove off.
Honoka shut the door close and leaned against it. She was devastated. She knew Maki wanted to make Tokyo a better place, and she had been Maki's number one supporter because Maki had good intentions. However, she couldn't help feeling upset and sorrowful. After all, she wanted to be with Maki for life, not leaving her for once. She wanted to show her true feelings to Maki in the restaurant earlier on, but she held back as she didn't want Maki to worry, which might in turn affect Maki in her job. She didn't have the courage to tell Maki to stay. She always gave in to Maki's requests.
Honoka wished to be by Maki's side forever, but now she can't. Maki was already being pursued by the police in the first place and the event in the ballroom would make her wanted. That meant Maki would need to hide away, and they won't be able to see each other for god knows how long. Even though they could message and call each other, that didn't give Honoka much comfort. She feared that Maki would get arrested by the police, taken away by the baddies, or even worse, get murdered in cold blood. She couldn't bear to lose Maki, a person who she loves so deeply.
Unable to hide her feelings anymore, she started crying uncontrollably.