School later ended and Delsin soon walked out of the entrance along with Ryuuko and Mako.
Mako stretched her arms."Ahhh, school was a bit tiring today!"
"I mean we did went through an obstacle course of death."Ryuuko said.
"Not to mention a bunch of residents shot a bunch of bullets and rockets at us too."Delsin added.
"True. It's too bad, Maiko turned out to be bad but other than that, we all managed to get to class safely, right?"Mako said.
"Yeah."Ryuuko said."Hey, Mako? Can you..give me and Delsin some space for a while?"
"Oh, okay!"Mako said before walking a few feet away from the two.
Delsin was a bit surprised."Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Just a few things, actually. First off...how long have you been a Conduit?"she asked him.
"Only a few days."Delsin replied.
"What do you mean?"
Delsin told her about the events that happened a few days back. He told her about the crash, the inmate and how he got his powers.
"You caught it from him?"Ryuuko asked.
"Yeah. When I tried to stop him, the next thing I knew I got these powers. I don't why but..I feel like some sort of power sponge or something."Delsin said.
"Huh. I see..."
Senketsu looks at her."You should tell him how you feel about him."
Ryuuko blushed upon hearing that but knowing that Delsin can't hear Senketsu, she chose not to reply.
Delsin notices her cheeks going red."You okay? Are you sick or something?"
"N-No! Of course, I'm not sick, I'm just...thinking of something, that's all!"Ryuuko said, crossing her arms.
"Okay."Delsin shrugged.
She looked at him and debated about something in her mind.*Should I really do it? Blast it! Why do I feel this way? This is so weird!*
Ryuuko bit her lip and clenches her fist."Delsin?"
"What's up?"Delsin said.
A little bit of courage slowly built up inside Ryuuko as she looks at him with her cheeks still blushing light red.
"Do you want to-"
Unfortunately, she was cut off mid sentence when the sound of a phone ringing is heard. Delsin takes his phone out of his pocket and answers the call.
"Hello? Hey, Reggie. Yeah, just got out from school."Delsin said."
"Oh, okay. Sure thing. I'll meet you there. Um..can you not use the "B-word", please? Yeah, you know that's just a slur invented by the D.U.P. to make people scared of Conduits, man. No, no, it's fine. None taken. I'll be there. See ya, Reg."he said before hanging up.
"Who's that?"Ryuuko asked.
"That's my brother, Reggie. Anyways, I need to go somewhere. See you tomorrow, Ryuuko."Delsin said.
"See ya."Ryuuko said
Delsin nodded and later walked away as Ryuuko watched him leave.
Mako called for her from afar."Ryuuko, c'mon! We'll be late for dinner!"
"I'll be right there!"Ryuuko called back.
She takes a brief glance at the direction Delsin had went off before following Mako on their way back to Mako's home.
KILL LA KILL
EPISODE 6: CHASING THE LIGHT
Dusk was nearly falling and elsewhere, Delsin lands on a rooftop and looks around the view of Honno City.
Delsin picks his phone up and began calling someone."Yo, Reg. So where did you say the body was at?"
"Somewhere downtown. But promise me that you'll be inconspicuous, alright?"Reggie told him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know."Delsin said.
"And if it's possible, maybe he can tell us more about those powers of yours. Maybe he can tell us a way on how to get rid of it."Reggie said.
"Maybe."
"One more thing, Delsin. It's gonna be police officers at this crime scene, okay? Not D.U.P.'s. Now I'm here to support you, but don't-"
"Don't use my powers on them, I get it."
"Good. Call me when you get there."
"Got it."
Delsin hung up and puts his phone in his pocket before dashing forward. He reaches the edge of the rooftop and jumps to another rooftop.
He lands on it and continues dashing his way again. Delsin went from rooftop to rooftop until he eventually comes across a few cops lined up on a scene.
Delsin takes a quick look around the area and sees a trail of neon light on one of the walls. He walks to the scene but a policeman stops him.
"Sir, this area is temporarily off limits. We can't let you pass through."The policeman said.
"Right, sorry about that. I'll just go somewhere else."Delsin said.
The policeman walked away and Delsin did the same. He looks for another path and notices that the trail leads to the rooftop. Delsin climbs up the building, following the trail until he manages to reach the top.
As he reached the top, he sees a few trails of neon light up ahead. Delsin continued his way forward and brings his phone out to call his brother.
"Did you get there yet?"Reggie asked.
"Not yet but I did it your way. I'm past your boys-in-blue."Delsin said.
"Thank you."
"Although what's the use of having some powers if you're not gonna use 'em?"
"Ah. there's my baby brother."
He sighed."Anyways, I'll call you back once I get there."
Delsin hung up and continued following the trail which lead down. He drops down the building and lands on the ground, following the trail until it leads him to the alley.
He kept walking and as he went deeper into the alley, he sees another dead body which was hung upside down on a wall with lines of neon lights restrained on its body.
Delsin looked around the area and sees a sign saying "PROMISE KEPT" in neon light.
Huh. Just like the one that Reggie sent me.*Delsin thought.
Seeing this, Delsin immediately takes out his phone and calls his brother."Reggie, I'm here. Well, found the victim. Definitely the work of a Conduit. It's very...showy"
"Okay, I need you to take a couple pictures of the crime scene and send them to me. Anything that might give us a lead."Reggie told him.
"Copy that."Delsin said before hanging up.
Delsin looks around the crime scene and takes a picture of the dead body hanging on the wall.
He sends the picture and calls Reggie."There's your wounds. Wonder what kind of power did this? Fire blast, or lasers? Ooh, what about flesh-eating death gaze? Ha, I wouldn't mind absorbing a little flesh-eating death gaze, right?"
"What gives you that idea?"Reggie asked.
"Think about this: Remember, back in the accident where I just absorbed that guy's smoke powers?"Delsin asked.
"I do. Why?"
"Well, what if...I could do the same thing with the guy we're chasing down? You know, drain his powers and boom, I get a new one! How does that sound?"
"That sounds...utterly ridiculous and no, I'm not letting you do that, Delsin."
"Why not? I'm gonna get new and improved abilities, don't you like that?"
"Delsin, first of all, we aren't doing this just to get yourself a new power, okay? Second, it's NOT new and improved. We're trying to fix the problems you already have, not add new ones!"
"Look, just trust me on this one, okay? As long as I keep myself low and use my powers for good, then we won't have any more problems."
"Delsin, I...ugh, fine. Sorry about that. Anyways, let's just get back to what we were doing, yeah?"
"Yeah. I'll send another in a sec."Delsin said.
He lifts his phone up and takes a close-up picture of the dead body before sending it to Reggie."Okay, sending you the picture, but I think he blinked."
"Yeah, lemme check real quick. And another thing, there's body around the area I'm in. I'm sending you the location."Reggie said.
"Sweet. I'll meet you there."Delsin said.
The two of them hung up and Delsin sprints his way to Reggie's location without using his powers. After a while, he finds Reggie walking around the crime scene and drops down next to him.
"Took you long enough."Reggie said.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."Delsin said.
He looked at the scene, seeing a body hanging upside down on top of a fountain, entrapped in a spiral of neon lights.
"Well, this Conduit's sure got a certain style. Kind of nouveau...sick."Delsin said.
"Looking at the face, the guy's a drug dealer, rap sheet's a mile long. There must be a stash around here but I can't seem to find it. It might give us a clue why the sniper chose him."
Delsin nodded and the two of them looked around the area for the drug dealer's stash. A few minutes went by and they haven't found anything. Delsin sighed as he kept looking until he hears his brother calling for him.
"Hey, Delsin! I think I found it!"Reggie called.
He went to where his brother is and sees a duffle bag laying on the ground."That must be it."
"Yep. Just gotta open and it then..."
As Reggie was about to open the duffle bag, Delsin looks up and sees something coming straight at them."Reggie, look out!"
He pushes him out of the way and Delsin gets hit by a blast of neon light, sending him back.
"Delsin!"Reggie cried.
Reggie gets up and rushes to his brother."Delsin, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."Delsin panted.
The two of them look up to see a ball of neon light at a billboard's walkway. Another blast is then fired but the two manages to dodge it.
"I'll go get him!"Delsin said.
He turns into a trail of smoke and rushes his way to the billboard. The sniper continued blasting at him but Delsin manages to dodge the blasts. He goes through a vent and launches upwards before landing on a rooftop.
Delsin ran to the billboard while dodging the sniper's blasts."It's okay, it's okay. I'm one of you..I mean, one of us."
He arrived at the billboard but as soon as he got there, the sniper was already gone and all that's left was a small trail of neon light, much to Delsin's disappointment.
Delsin looked around and sees the sniper on one of the rooftops, running away. He turns into a trail of smoke and chases the sniper down as fast as he can.
"Would you slow down? I'm not gonna hurt you!"Delsin called as he chased after the sniper.
However, the sniper was too fast for Delsin and soon enough, he was already out of sight.
"Stop, come ba...ah, great."Delsin sighed."Nice meeting you."
His phone rang and he picked it up.
"Did you get him?"Reggie asked.
"No he...ran. Fast. Like...like...really, really fast. "Conduit" fast, man. Ditch the flesh-eating death gaze, I want that."Delsin said.
"Well, don't be greedy."
"Funny thing, man. Just before every shot, you could see the neon sign behind him dim a little."
"Must be his power source. Head back to the sign, see what you can find."
Delsin nods and hung up as he heads his way back to the billboard. He climbs up the billboard and soon reached the top.
"Alright, I'm here. Any idea what I should be looking for?"Delsin asked as he called Reggie.
"Just anything that might help with who our sniper is."Reggie told him.
"Got it."
He hung up and began to look around the billboard. There were clothes, some were bras, and hangers hanging on a line, a sign saying "BRENT" in neon writing along with other scribbles saying "BRENT" all over the wall, a chair, a book, some grooming equipment and a bunch of other junk around the billboard.
Seeing this, Delsin calls Reggie."Reg, I wish you were up here to see this but let me tell you one thing: Our sniper is a sniper-ette."
"Wait, what?"Reggie asked, confused.
"You should see this, Reg, it's like the girliest sniper's nest you've ever seen."
"What? What does that even mean?"
"I don't know, it's just..."girled up." Girl stuff, like the name "Brent" burned up into the wall in girly handy writing, and it is definitely the best-smelling assassin's den you could ever be in."
"Okay, look...just send me photos of anything you think might help."
"I'm on it."
Delsin hung up and uses his phone to take a few pictures. He points his camera at the clothes line and takes a picture of it before sending it to Reggie.
"Okay, those definitely...very likely belong to a woman."Reggie said.
"Pssh...Like you'd know."Delsin said.
Delsin pointed his camera at the sign saying "BRENT" on the wall and takes a picture of it then sends it to Reggie.
"I wonder who "Brent" is."Reggie said.
"Can't help you there."Delsin said.
He went back to looking around to see if there's anything he can take pictures of. Delsin looked at some boots leaned on one of the sniper's other pile of junk and takes a picture of it before sending it to Reggie as usual.
"Okay, I can see how you might think those are women's shoes."Reggie said.
"Yeah, they're like, size "negative".Delsin said.
Delsin looked around more and takes a picture of one of the books laying on the floor then sends it to Reggie.
"Seriously? A serial killer who reads "Jane Eyre"?"Reggie commented.
"Oh totally, "Jane Eyre" is like the female "Catcher in the Rye"."Delsin said.
"So, anything else interesting?"
"Relax, I'm looking."
He kept looking around until something manages to catch his eye. Delsin walks further into the billboard and catches a few drawings on a some rooftops and the wall from the billboard he's in.
Delsin connects all the three drawings together which forms a face. Thinking this could be leading to something, he takes a picture of it and sends it to Reggie.
"I guess this counts as "interesting"."Delsin said.
"That's "interesting", all right. You know it's a long shot but maybe if I run this through the database cross-referencing the name "Brent", we'll get lucky."Reggie said.
"You know, if I had smoke AND lasers, I could, like, put on light shows in our living room."
"Ah, that'd be putting your powers to good use. Anyways, wanna grab some lunch while I search on some stuff on this "Brent" guy?"
"I'm down. What're we eating?"
"There's a ramen shop nearby. We can head there."
"Sweet. Alright, Imma head down for second, then we'll get lunch."
"Okay. I'll wait for you down here."
After a while, the brothers went to a ramen shop and later ate their foods. Delsin gulped down the soup from his bowl before putting it on the table and lets out a burp.
"Excuse me. So, what'd you find out about this "Brent" guy?"Delsin asked.
"Right."Reggie takes his phone out."So his name is Brent Walker. One arrest two years ago for minor drug possession. Get this, found dead two months later in an alley. Cause of death: a single puncture wound of unknown origin through the chest."
"Yeah, our girl's definitely got a thing against drug dealers.
"Seems like it."
"Any idea where he got killed?"
"Mhm. Here, the address."
Reggie gives his phone to Delsin for him to read the address. Once he read it, Delsin gives the phone back to his brother and stood up.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go."Delsin said.
Later, they got inside Reggie's police truck and drove around the city.
"Hey, you know, now that I think about it, it's weird, don't you think? If she's just killing drug dealers, then why do the news reports make it sound like she's picking off random victims, like it could be anybody?"Delsin asked.
"Yeah?"Reggie said.
"Well, you'd think the D.U.P. would WANT people to know the killings weren't random. That if you're not a drug dealer, you're not in danger. That'd sure bring the panic level down."
"So, you're saying, what, the D.U.P. is trying to scare people? Their job is to CONTROL the panic."
"Maybe."
Soon after, they stopped at at an area near to where the address is. The two of them stopped but backed away a little bit as they noticed a few armed men guarding around the area.
"Looks like a drug deal's going down."Delsin said.
"Now I hate to go all cop on you, but it is the duty of every citizen to step up when they witness a crime in progress."Reggie told him.
"Got a plan?"
"Definitely. Just rough 'em up, scare 'em a little and destroy their stash. And don't kill them."
"Never planned to."
"Good."
Reggie puts his gun on his side and the two of them slowly approached the armed drug dealers.
"Hey!"Delsin yelled, catching the drug dealers' attentions.
AS they did, Delsin quickly throws a condensed ball of smoke which explodes, and clouds of smoke blinds all of the armed drug dealers. He takes out his whip and he and Reggie fights them off.
Delsin swung his whip, knocking a few dealers back while Reggie uses brute force to subdue them. A dealer tries to shoot at one of them but Delsin uses his whip to disarm him before using it again to knock him out.
Another dealer was about to shoot at Delsin but Reggie rushes towards him and punches the dealer in the face, knocking him out.
"Thanks."Delsin said.
"You're welcome."Reggie said.
"Is that all of them?"
"Yup. I'm gonna call one of my buddies. They'll take care of the rest while we head on to our investigation."
"Sure that's a good idea?"
"Well, as long as you don't leave traces of smoke around, you're fine."
Delsin looked around in case if he left any traces of smoke. Fortunately enough, he didn't.
"Nope. Let's keep going."Delsin said.
Reggie nodded."Oh, wait. The stash."
"Right."
Delsin equips his whip and easily destroys the stash."All done."
The two of them then unlocks a gate which leads them into a building.
They walked inside and went through the hallway before stopping into where the crime scene takes place.
In the scene, there were writings saying "BRENT" scribbled all over the floors and walls. They looked around more to see a drawing of Brent on the walls and few other things as well.
"This is the place where he reportedly died. Man, just look at this."Reggie said.
"Looks like Speedy-Gone-Crazy is a tagger. She's pretty good too."
"Yeah, well, don't forget she's a murderer, alright? Pretty good one too. Let's take a look around, shall we?"
"Yup."
The two of them began looking around the crime scene. Delsin looked around and was rather impressed by the murderer's talent and spots a bunch of writings of "BRENT" forming a vortex on a wall.
"You gotta admit, the girl makes a mean vortex."Delsin commented.
"Forget that. Check this out. This looks like the highlight of the tour."Reggie said, motioning to come over.
Delsin heads to where he sees and sees a bunch of empty food containers and a plastic bag near the neon drawing of Brent.
"Full-bore crazy, don't you think?'Reggie said.
"Okay, so, the girl stops off for take-out, comes here to sit with neon-Brent to tell him about her day, while she chowders down."Delsin said.
"Looking at the take-out box, I think we're one step ahead on finding her."
"Maybe. Hey, if I had neon powers and a chowder jones, that's where'd I'd hang."
"Alright. Let's get out of here now and find that rogue Conduit."
"That I can agree on, bro."
Reggie nodded at him and the two of them head out of the building.
TO BE CONTINUED...
