Opening song: E-40 - On One Ft. AD
Time: 10:44PM – Parking Garage
There were numerous reports of stolen IS linked to Phantom Task's robberies. Rin and Liu were on an assignment to extract information from an IS pilot named Kaori Saito. If the evidence was solid enough that Kaori has connections with Phantom Task, she would be the leader of the recent IS robberies. Three Dragons was Kaori's handler that gave her objectives to complete.
They were in their personal IS, walking down the aisle filled with expensive luxury cars. The environment was out of the ordinary because no cheap cars would be allowed to enter. Guards stood at the entrance to lookout for unwanted visitors, but Rin and Liu slip through by posing as maintenance assistants for Kaori.
"155cm, long brown hair, 17 years of age, model size body is what we're looking for," Rin described Kaori's appearance. "No weapons, this should be enough to make her compliant."
Liu said, "If you say so, but can you keep your cool from not getting distracted from her looks?"
"Just keep your eyes forwards, but don't make me catch you eyeing on her bust."
"Whatever since you're hella sensitive about chest size."
They searched every floor littered with cars, but no appearance of Kaori. 6 floors covered the garage big enough to cover the size of a soccer field. Sweat trickled down their temple to avoid being caught by the guards that are now inspecting the garage. Liu thought the mission would be a piece of cake, but he got the memo wrong.
Time was running out, and they walked fast, gripping their weapons. The initial plan was to approach subtle, but it became clear they're going to attack blazing to expose Kaori.
"Well," he said. "Where the hell is she? I'm close to tear this garage apart." Liu readied his Venom Slug.
Rin charged her Ryuhou, itching to destroy the garage. "If she's hiding, then I hope she doesn't…" She fired invisible shockwaves at the row of cars destroyed instantly. "MIND ABOUT HER CAR!" She became enraged when Kaori did not appear, and destroyed the defense systems that made up the garage.
Liu lost his temper and fired his Venom Slug at the cars that didn't stand a chance from the huge calibers. Fragments scattered all over the place as some burst into flames. They inadvertently triggered the car alarms that shriek nonstop. No matter what they did to silence it, the alarms wouldn't die. To add insult to injury, Kaori's car was far from their reach.
"Urg…turn it off!" Liu yelled. Their tempers got the best of them that they create havoc on the garage, ignoring the fact guards heard the commotion.
"What the-?!" the guard loaded his RPD.
"Those better not be the assistants!" They rushed to the wrecked floor and fire at them. Unimpressed with the small resistance, Liu answered back with torrent of firepower that made them scramble. Rin decimated tremendous damage to the garage while Liu kept the guards at bay by covering fire. Guards were pinned down from the overwhelming power that made them difficult to fight back.
"I need help on the fifth floor!" said the guard on his walkie-talkie.
"Liu, there's backup storming in, cut them off." Rin said.
Reinforcements were on the way as he flew outside, and knocked down pillar beams dangling from a crane that stopped them in their tracks. A guard aimed an anti-IS weapon at Rin and fired.
"Watch your back, they got heavy artillery!" Liu warned Rin, and narrowly dodged the projectile. Liu fired near the guards to discourage them from fighting again, and dashed inside to assist Rin.
With their backs turned, the elevator opened, and Kaori was caught by surprise of the brawl. She quickly materialized her IS named Phoenix, and without warning, fired an incendiary missile from her shoulder. The propelling grenade exploded on impact that intensified the fire, nearly killed her guards. The impact left a crater, but Kaori couldn't care less if her guards or "assistants" were caught within the radius of the explosion.
Smoke rose from the smoldering remains of the hole, and fire kindled when Kaori walked through. Her IS suit revealed more skin compared to other IS pilot suits. Orange and yellow color armor glowed from the reactive fire. Talons emerged from her feet as wings sprouted out her back, spitting chunks of fire. No nationality or ID code was shown, clear signs of a Phantom Task agent.
"That's a way to greet us." Liu pointed at Kaori.
"She's not looking to talk either, but we'll make her." Rin withdrew Souten Gagetsu in double-bladed form and charged. Kaori tried to reload, but Rin was too fast for her, and pulled out a flaming chain to fight back. Each stroke left a sizzling burn every time Rin deflected the whip. Rin's Ryuhou fired compressed space bullets as Kaori avoided the first bullet. However, the second bullet scored a direct hit, but not enough to weaken her.
The fiery chain shined intensively like a solar flare that could burn anything without contact. Kaori swung overhead to extended greater lengths, and fire veiled around her like a shield.
"Were you holding back the entire time?"
Rin could not figure out Kaori's ability. She remained silent, and launched another round. Rin sliced the speeding missile, and erupted that could have burned her. However, Kaori was not done, and swung horizontally. Rin blocked the sweep as Liu fired, but the fire veil torched his projectiles as if it had a mind of its own. Kaori's cool irritated Rin and Liu every time she smirked.
"I don't remember seeing fire that moves by itself." Liu pointed out.
"Or a pyromaniac that's hard to extinguish." Rin replied. Kaori swung five-times that swept most of the ruined floor. They dodged her frenzy attack, but their energy shields slowly dropped from the chain's residue flames. Kaori whipped frantically at the cost of leaving her upper body vulnerable from its wide attacks.
Liu's suppressive fire didn't completely break Kaori's firewall, but a lucky shot penetrated her defense, much to her surprise. Rin saw the chance, and slashed Kaori in the chest. Her firewall still grew strong, but her upper body was not fully protected, and Liu fired hail of bullets rained onto Kaori until her fire dissipated.
"Hold your fire!" Rin commanded as they slowly approached Kaori standing with her head down. Kaori's eyes glowed fierce golden filled with rage, and her cool has been dissolved.
In her last ditch attempt to kill Rin and Liu, Kaori fired her remaining missile with greater force. Traveling twice its speed like a comet, it detonated, and showered fireballs. Soon enough, the fire spread out of control, and ignited multiple explosions that turned the upper lot into an inferno pit.
Despite her frantic attacks, Kaori's guards were lucky from not getting scorched, and their emergency exits somehow remained intact.
"Kaori, we're on your side, watch where you're attacking!" a guard pleaded.
"It's no use, Kaori can't recognize us," Fire roused that manifested as an enormous version of a Phoenix, "She can't be stopped until someone is turned into…non existent." Kaori takes pleasure to burn hostiles until they turn into dust, and the hell-like environment suited her cold-blooded personality. Her guards retreat to let her finish the job, knowing well Kaori will kill anything in her path.
Like a real life Phoenix rose from the ashes, she flew up and sprayed large streams of fireballs. Rin and Liu pursue Kaori as they charge. Flying in different directions, Liu fired relentlessly while Rin slice-and-dice her way through the flaming shower. Kaori weaved through Liu's shots and Rin's swings and volleyed endless fire attacks.
"There's no way in hell she can generate that kind of power." Liu gasped, barely dodging a fusillade of fireballs.
"This is happening again, it's just like Silver Gospel." Rin muttered.
"You don't mean..."
"Yeah that one, the fire bird is about to blow!" Kaori extended its wings and fired a barrage of meteors. Rin and rushed aggressively into the burning downpour, and Kaori realized she can't use the same attack because the meteors barely hit Rin and Liu. She resorted to her chain as fire slowly formed.
"No you don't! I'm not going to fall for that again." Liu fired at Kaori before her fire veil reached halfway, and faded away. Kaori's energy shield depleted, but she didn't care and swung at Liu as Rin deflected the attack, stumbling back.
"Your attacks are too wide and predictable." Rin disarmed her to let Liu do the finishing blow. He aimed and fired a single shot that knocked her down to the ground. Kaori tried to spark more fire, but her weapon power was empty.
Rin pointed her scimitars at Kaori's nose to interrogate.
"You made me and Liu mad today, Kaori," Rin told her, "really mad. Were you behind the IS robberies you plan out?"
Kaori did not say a word that ticked off Rin, and charged her Ryuhou.
"Let me rephrase that again, why did you go around to steal IS?"
"Phantom Task." Kaori leaped back and hurled a flashbang. The blinding flash of light disoriented Rin and Liu's senses as Kaori dashed to the lower lot. Kaori knew her IS was out of power as she deactivated Phoenix, and went to her getaway car, a Giallo Maggio Lamborghini Aventador LP720-4 . The lower lot was unusually scatheless from the fire.
By the time Rin and Liu regain their senses when they heard the rambunctious Lamborghini making its way to the exit. They blocked off the path before Kaori could escape. Liu quickly took a picture of Kaori's Aventador to be used as evidence.
"You can't outrun our IS with that supercar," Liu said. "don't make me destroy your precious $548,000 toy."
Kaori revved her V12 engine repeatedly that irritated Rin's eardrums with intentions to kill her.
"That's it, time to say goodbye!"
Before Rin could fire Ryuhou, Kaori had another trick up her sleeves. She revealed a control stick and pressed the button that detonated a building behind them. The building collapsed like a house of cards as the explosion knocked them off balance. Huge debris covered them while Kaori watch them in amuse as they grappled to get up.
"Goddamn it, how many bags of surprise does she have?"
Kaori waved out her FN Five–seveN as she cambered a round, and aimed gangster style. She fired incessant, and Rin and Liu were out of cover. They may have their IS, but its high-velocity cartridge pierced their energy shields and took small damages.
"We're getting hit!" Rin shouted. "Our IS should have protect us from small firearms!"
"No! Kaori must have anti IS rounds. Lay down on the floor!"
Bullets flickered pass their heads until 20 rounds were depleted. When Rin and Liu finally got back up, the yellow blur drove into the distance. "Get back here!" Liu tried to chase Kaori, but seconds later, a fleet of emergency services were on the way.
"We can't let them find out that we're representative contenders."
"Not after what Kaori had tried to kill us repeatedly."
Rin retrieved a small notebook the guard accidentally left after the retreat. Liu attempted to give chase, but she held him back and showed the notes revealed a list of IS robberies planned out.
"We already got the evidence, let's beat it!"
Liu hesitated briefly, but the sirens were closing in that convinced him to follow Rin. Firefighters douse the raging fire, emergency medical teams escort civilians to safety, and police officers investigate the ruined parking garage. They were too late because Kaori's guards took the remaining proof linked to Phantom Task, and Rin and Liu retrieved the last evidence. With no verification Phantom Task blew up half of the garage, they labeled it natural cause.
Time: 11:04AM - Rin's Dorm
After surviving Kaori's wrath, Liu and Rin took a rest before they scrolled through the notebook with criminal activities written all over. He highlight Phantom Task's various missions under the control of Kaori that caught his attention, but it revealed more than just robberies:
- Raid an IS Prototype at Japan: Requirements: 4 people for crowd control, demolition, getaway driver, and IS pilot. Reward: Undisclosed amount of cash.
- Acquire modified IS weapons. Leave no witness that may interfere activity. Reward: Supply of weapons from firearms and IS.
- Steal at least one IS, and kill the pilot as proof. Reward: Acceptance to Phantom Task.
"Kaori is one of a kind, she doesn't just rob IS, in fact, there's illegal arms smuggling, and even murder for IS."
"Well, we kind of stopped her, but one thing for sure is we're alive."
"Chifuyu is going to love this when we have this notebook." Liu heard a knock on the door as Ichika and Charlotte enter. "How did the mission go?"
Rin got out of her bed to chime in.
"How should I put it this way? Oh yeah, me and Liu fought a Phoenix bitch that tried to roast our asses into Peking ducks!"
"We were testing out IS from other countries until it attacked us, but we got away."
"Rin, we have to go." Rin and Liu left the bedroom, but Charlotte want to know where they were going.
"Where are you two going?"
"Found Phantom Task evidence, it's best you bring the others."
Kaori may have gotten away, but a slip up may got them under the microscope. Phantom Task is still a force to be recognized because their agents are highly skilled IS pilots to intentionally wreck havoc. Even non IS pilots are not to underestimate thanks to military training that boost their combat skills. Chifuyu examined the notebook as Liu, Ichika and the gang waited for results. Liu handed the picture of Kaori's personal Lamborghini to Chifuyu, and she didn't appeared surprised.
"My instincts were correct," said Chifuyu, attaching evidence onto her clipboard. "Kaori has ties with Phantom Task, but not an agent. There are three things I want to show you."
Cecilia chimed in. "What is it, Orimura-sensei?"
Chifuyu revealed pictures of Kaori, her Lamborghini and Three Dragons, and Cecilia was dumbfounded seeing them. "How can a 17 year old teenage girl acquire half a million car as her main transportation?"
"I suspect she may have worked with that guy you showed us," Laura pointed out. "Liu, could those two be..."
"Yeah, it's Kaori Saito and Three Dragons," said Liu, subduing his anger. "Cocksucker won't stop to steal Sockdolager just like Phantom Task desired Byakushiki. Three Dragons is Kaori's handler, he must have treated her well like a obedient dog, hence the special edition Italian supercar."
Cecilia didn't understand why Kaori would drive something so flashy at a young age. Even though Cecilia came from a rich family background, she would not flaunt expensive items. Ichika was astonished of Liu's personal problem, which he can slightly relate to. The threat of Phantom Task, Kaori's possible recruit into the dangerous organization will be hard to contain the situation.
"Guo 'Three Dragons' Kwong-yiu has his hands full on IS equipment," said Chifuyu. "Here's a question, do you think he used Kaori to achieve his goals?"
They look at each other if anyone had the right answer, but no one spoke up. Chifuyu looked around like they lost their thoughts. "Kiddies, I have it here."
Chifuyu exposed more pictures of Three Dragons and Kaori's shady business dealings, heists committed, and stolen IS equipment. "As you can see, Kaori's IS, Phoenix has illegally modified weapons made intention to kill people. Phoenix was stolen from Japan three months ago."
Laura nodded at the pictures, pulling out two pictures hanging out the clipboard, and the girls were nauseous at the graphics. Charlotte held her mouth, nearly throwing up. "Is this why you brought us here?"
"Kaori is someone you don't want to cross paths with." Chifuyu pointed the mangled arms of the tortured IS pilot and technician. Bones jutted out distorted, flesh exposed, torn fingernails, and skins ripped apart.
"If you thought that was bad enough, Kaori torched them alive when they did not cooperate to work with them." Chifuyu shook her head. "The results were gruesome; their bodies were charred into overcooked Kobe beef until they were barely recognizable."
They muttered among each other of two dangerous enemies ever next to the Silver Gospel and Phantom Task. Liu stared at the picture Three Dragons that he waited so long to kill him. Chifuyu noticed Liu's behavior, and put her clipboard away.
"That is all, you may leave. Liu, have some fresh air, you don't want to call in sick for catching a flu."
Chifuyu cryptically tell Liu to put aside his vendettas because in IS Academy, he does not belong to an organization or associates. In reality, Liu is still with Righteousness Union. On the other hand, Charlotte kept an eye out on Ichika by herself since his Byakushiki failed to open due to an error. This may prove to be difficult because her panties mysteriously disappeared.