The lights blinding rays peered through the cramped office windows as Regis sat at the head of the seat. He looked outside the glass window as Venus reported to him about Jeff and the trio, as well as how a mage had saved Umi. Upon hearing the news he slumped back down in his chair. His hand went to his brow in an attempt to massage his building headache that failed to calm itself. It didn't take long before his free hand clenched into a fist as he slammed onto the table, shaking his surroundings.
"What the fuck is this bullshit?" Regis cursed, "I came up with such an intricate plan. I had lots of men ready to gun Umi Sonoda down. I made damn sure she wouldn't be able to get out of that place alive."
He lifted his hand up and used it to pull his lower left eyelid down, "To think all of that came to nought because of a motherfucking mage who managed to resurrect her from the dead! Why wouldn't any of these pests die like I want them to?"
"老板, 接下来, 我该怎么做 (What do I do next, Boss)?" Venus asked. Regis sighed and leaned against his chair. This trio sure gave him a very hard time. They have been ruining his plans ever since they appeared. The robberies were stopped by them, his gambling den was taken down thanks to them, and now they somehow managed to escape death because a mage out of nowhere saved them.
He had never met any enemy like those three women. They were not just annoying and irritating, they were pretty smart too. He was still surprised by the fact that Eli Ayase could figure out he was the boss of the crime syndicate. As much as he hated to admit it, if this continues on, there would be a risk the organization his father had spent years painstakingly building up would just crumble and fall to the ground.
Regis Yazuka, being the son of Yazuka-san, could not let that happen, ever. He wouldn't be able to take it lying down. He had to come up with a new plan so that he could still save the crime syndicate.
Since Venus was pretty good at tracking people down and silencing them swiftly, he told her to change her target from Esther to the trio. He decided that he would bring Esther down himself. After all, he knew Esther the best since they've worked together for fifteen years. As the saying goes, to know one's enemy, you must become your own enemy. He could probably predict some of Esther's moves.
Regis couldn't wait to take that traitor down.
Back in her own house, Grace sat down on the sofa in the living room. She just wanted to escape from Jordan. She was just ticked off by him whenever they talked about her mage powers. She knew he was concerned about her overworking, but it was his thinking and his nagging that vexed her. It was her business on who she wanted to heal and whatnot. Besides, Jeff was the son of Mr. Brocker. She felt obligated to help him out, if not she would've felt guilty.
As she was in her train of thoughts, her phone started ringing beside her. She picked it up and saw a familiar name of 'Emily' calling her. She smiled and answered the call, "Hello, Emily."
"Oh my god, is that you, Grace?" The caller squealed, "Chloe, Grace is on the line! I repeat, Grace is on the line!"
"Really?" A second woman could be heard running as the sound of the footsteps grew louder, "I miss you so much, Grace! You have no idea how lonely and bored we are without you! I'm so happy I get to talk to you and hear your voice again!"
"Do you have to be so excited over me calling you girls?" Grace giggled, "I know I haven't texted you two in a while, but you're making it sound like I've been gone for ten years. You're exaggerating it."
"We're definitely not." Emily replied, "It may have only been a month since we last texted, but this month was painfully torturous and long without you telling us jokes or making us laugh with your stupidity."
"I don't know whether I should take that as a compliment or not. Anyways, how are you girls doing? Still studying for the final year exam?"
"You don't say!" Chloe whined, "We've been suffering. There's so many things that we need to memorize. I don't even know how you managed to memorize everything and pass the exam with flying colors."
"That's because I studied hard for it while you girls were just fooling around, playing video games all day, and even attending Jacob's party the night before the exam." Grace retorted, "Now you two have to retake the exam."
"Okay, nerd, we get it." Emily replied in a jokingly manner, "You worked hard and studied a lot. You don't have to rub the truth in our faces like that. How's post-graduation going for you? Did you actually start using your powers already?"
"Well...yeah, just earlier today, I did."
"Who is it?" Chloe screamed, "Is it a man?! Is it the Jordan guy you were talking about to us?"
"Is Grace finally gonna get the happy ending she deserves?" Emily added on, "Tell us, what happened to him? What did he look like? Was he dashing?"
"I healed a woman today." Grace answered, to which the both girls replied with a sigh.
"Why do you two sound so disappointed?" She questioned, "Shouldn't you be happy for me? I saved a person from dying!" Grace let out in exasperation as the two girls laughed at how serious she sounded.
Their laughter was enough for Grace to join along and just like old times their conversation fell into place. Jokes were exchanged as well as the latest dramas, that was at least before Grace was cut off mid-story to hear a panicked Chloe reminding Emily they were going to be late for class if they kept chatting.
As Grace wished her friends luck and said her goodbyes, Jeff arrived in perfect timing. He had finally come back from the supermarket with cups of instant noodles in his hands as he wore a long and thick coat, sunglasses, and a straw hat. He gave the three things back to Grace, who had lent it to him so that he could buy dinner for himself, Eli, Maki, and Umi.
"Thanks for allowing me to use your stuff." Jeff uttered.
"Why do you need all of these?" She spoke out, "Are you going undercover or something?"
"You could say that." He sat down beside her as he let out a sigh, "Me and my friends are wanted by the police now, that's why I turned to you for help. I couldn't bring Umi to the hospital as the police would've been alerted of our presence. Thank you for helping us, Grace."
"Actually, I should thank Mr. Brocker for everything." She said, "Without his help, I wouldn't be able to live today. A few years ago, he saved me and a few other student offense mages from the henchmen of my father's enemy. I still remember they launched an all-rounded attack and many of us mages were left severely injured or on the brink of death.
"Mr. Brocker came down to help us and gave us potions to drink. Even though one or two of us died due to the serious wounds, most of us were cured." She stopped for a while and looked down at her hands before continuing, "The happy, crying, relieved looks on the parents' faces when they saw their children were saved and alive, I thought I would have never been more overjoyed to see the smiles. I never knew healing people would make me so delighted. Thus, I was inspired to become a healing mage because of him."
"That's really touching. How did Mr. Brocker end up there though?"
"He told me that he used to work for the academy as a janitor for years, which made him feel a sense of belonging to that place, and that he would help them any time. If not for Mr. Brocker, I might have been dead."
She turned to him and locked eyes with him, "That's why I wanted to help you when I heard you are Mr. Brocker's son. I owe him a big favor, and I want to pass the kindness down. It genuinely makes me happy knowing I can save someone."
"Thank you once again, Grace." Jeff bowed, "Without you, Umi would've not survived at all."
"Don't sweat it." She grinned, "Besides, I'm sure you too have a heart of gold like Mr. Brocker. You wanted to save your friend, and it's the thought that counts."
"You know, I initially didn't see them as my friends." He leaned against the sofa, "I saw them as women who were just being reckless in seeking justice, and thought they wanted to do it only because of the glory it'd bring them. However, as I got to know them better and bonded closer with them, I realized even though they have pretty different personalities, they all were serious about fighting for justice. We all have the same aim." He proceeded to stand up from the sofa and walked over towards the windows. He pushed aside the blinds and looked off into the distance,
"They helped me a lot too. WIthout them, I wouldn't have gotten this far, and I might have probably lost my sanity." Jeff then turned around and looked at Grace, "For the first time in a few years, I felt fortunate to have friends like them. I'll do whatever I can in my power to protect them from any danger. I will even sacrifice my life if I need to." Grace nodded satisfyingly at that speech. She was pretty impressed by his words and mindset.
Elsewhere laid a different scene though. The blinding white walls and smell of sterile alcohol filled Kanan's lungs as she sat beside Zi Yang's bed in his ward. She expressed her worry to him about Kotori, who went missing after the officer went to save Umi Sonoda. Kanan heard that there was a shootout, which made her more anxious as Kotori could have been shot dead for all she knew.
"You can put those thoughts to rest, Matsuura-san." Zi Yang told her, "You don't need to worry so much about her. Right now, we should be concentrating on catching those baboons. We can't let them roam the streets freely doing whatever the heck they want to do."
"Huang Zi Yang!" Kanan screamed at him, unable to hold her anger in, "Why are you caring about catching the wanted criminals when one of our officers is in danger?! Kotori's your junior, for fuck's sake! Show some concern!"
"Relax, Kanan." He retorted, "She'll be fine. She was trained by us. I'm sure she'll be able to defend herself pretty well. On the other hand, I'll lose this damn job if I don't manage to catch those wanted criminals! We need to get working on it immediately."
"You…" She growled, "Why must you say stuff that angers me every time? What is wrong with you? Are you that inhumane to not even care about your own colleague? Do you care more for your work than a human's safety?"
"I need this goddamn job, or I'll have nothing to my goddamn name!" He exclaimed, "Have some trust in your juniors! We didn't train them to be weaklings anyways. They'll be able to survive a shootout."
"Do you even know what you're talking about, Inspector Huang?" She glared at him, "I…" As she was about to continue her speech, her phone rang. She whipped it out of her pocket and saw that it was Kotori calling her. Without looking back at Zi Yang, she walked out of the room to answer the call.
"Kotori! Are you alright? Did you get injured or anything? Do you need any help? I'll rush to wherever you are right now!"
"I am well and fine, Madam." Kotori responded, "Thank you for asking."
"I heard you were involved in a shootout in the Narita warehouse, and Umi was there too." Kanan said, "What exactly happened? And where are you girls now?"
"I'm sorry, Madam. I can't tell you where I currently am. However, I am safe and sound, so you don't need to worry. I won't be reporting to work for a few days because...umm...I have to settle a few things first."
"It's because of Umi, right?" Kanan questioned.
"It seems like you know what I'm like, Madam."
"After you cried about Umi to me at the supermarket, how can I not know?" Kanan sighed, "No worries, I won't tell Zi Yang about it. I know you're trying to help Umi and her friends. Just...be safe. I still want to see you alive. Umi too."
"Yes, Madam. You too. Also, tell Sir that I hope he gets well. I heard he got shot by Umi-chan, and I do feel a bit bad about it."
"I'll convey the message." Kanan replied, "Stay safe, Kotori." She then ended the call and leaned against the wall. She wondered up till this day how things got so complicated. It was already messy with the police force not being able to find the murderers from the previous six cases, but the crime syndicate and Umi, who was on the run, made it even more chaotic.
Kanan was still worried for Kotori and Umi, even though the latter of them broke the law. Ultimately, they were both Kanan's juniors. Kanan had thought of finding the two of them and bringing them to safety, but she didn't do so in the end as she was reminded of what had happened a few years ago. She was afraid that she might put them in harm or danger like what she had done to her ex-gang mate.
All she could do was hope and pray for the safety of Kotori and Umi.