Chapter 4: Punishment

May 6,2016

S.F.I Academy

"To confirm that my father is alive."

There was a slight pause in the room as they all processed the news.

"I thought he died three years ago?" Kanou asked, breaking the silence in the room.

His father has taken some roles selling drugs in his early years and started running his own syndicate when he married his wife and Takumi's mom: Patricia Walker. It was too late when his mother found out what kind of work he was involved in. Patricia couldn't take Takumi with her when she left and Takumi ended up being raised alone by his father. Takumi grew up learning the ropes around the business, he knew what kind of people his dad worked with and what they are capable of.

"But they never found his body," Yukimura recollected.

It was when he turned 16 that he decided to run away. He carefully planned it and Patricia Walker's father took him in. He only met his mother a few times when his father allowed Patricia to see him and she died after giving birth to his stepbrother when he was 10. His grandfather provided for him, he gave him a place to live, sent him to a good school and gave him everything he ever wanted but he never accepted him; after all he was the son of a criminal.

Hinata furrowed his eyebrows, reminiscing the events that took place three years ago, "But it was Tomo's team that raided them during an operation and he said that your father was shot to death," one of the senior team was given a mission to raid an operation led by his father in China and once they caught everybody the building was burnt down to the ground after a mysterious fire.

"He is still alive. Believe me," Even Takumi couldn't wrap his head around the idea that his father is alive.

Tora who stayed silent finally spoke up "How sure are you?"

"I talked to him, " Takumi said recollecting their small encounter during his team's last mission in Thailand where they raided a gun syndicate.

"He ended the call when he realized it wasn't his partner he was talking to. I still wanted to make sure it was him so I went to England to find some answer."

Takumi knew that he needed to handle it on his own, he couldn't put the whole team in danger and he decided to look for him without them knowing.

"I don't know how but he got away and lived in England for a year to recover."

"Did he ever tried to contact your grandfather or any of your relatives?" Yukimura asked.

"No. He knows that once I find out he is alive, I will go after him,"

"Do you think Yu might be back in Japan?" Kuuga inquired.

"During the mission last night, one of Kenji's business partners said that he knew my father," Takumi said

"It is not impossible that they have some people inside our organization," Hinata spoke up, "They probably tipped them off before we even started the mission, "

"I can assure you all that I would never turn sides," Takumi then looked at each one of them "Can I trust all of you?"

"We have been to hell and back, I don't think this is the time to start doubting each other," Yukimura added.

The entire team fell into silence as they recalled all the missions they did together over the years, there have been a lot of instances where they have almost lost their lives and someone from the group sacrificed themselves for their safety. Being on the brink of death is when you will realize who you can trust.

Tora looked at Takumi "No more doubts," and everyone agreed.

Takumi laid down on his bed and stared at the wall of his room as he reminisced all the memories he shared with his father. One of the reasons he probably became what he is now was because he wanted to prove to everyone that he wasn't like his dad. From a perspective of a child, he was a good man, a good husband until they found out his deepest, darkest secret and everything changed. At an early age, his innocent mind got corrupted and tainted with immoral doings and he has one person to blame and despite everything he is still his father.

He closed his eyes and cleared his mind but one thought continued to stick in the back of his mind. How sure was he that he wouldn't turn out the same way? Because after all him and his father are cut from the same cloth.

May 7, 2016

S.F.I Academy

Takumi's team arrived in their meeting room the next day. Three girls were already seated on the other side of the table but only one girl was familiar. Misaki remained aloof while the other girls offered them a small smile. His team took the rest of the available chairs and waited for Jiro's arrival.

Hinata quickly greeted the fresh faces as he took a seat in front of them, "It is nice to meet you guys. I am Hinata, this is my team. Takumi is our leader, this is Kanou, Yukimura, Tora and Kuuga," he pointed at each one of them

Misaki's facial expression softened, "I am Misaki, this is Shizuko and Sakura," they nodded at each other

"It is nice to meet you too, we have heard so much about your team," the perky pink-haired girl said.

"So, you were the other players at Kenji's party?" Kanou asked

Shizuko nodded, "Yeah. We didn't know that they brought in another team as well,"

"One of them is probably a spy," Tora grumbled on the side

Misaki scoffed after hearing his comment, her eyes gleamed with annoyance as she stared him down, before she could reply Jiro entered the room. Takumi couldn't take his eyes off the fiery brunette in front of him. Now that her disguise was gone, she was a complete different person.

Jiro placed his suitcase and folders on the table and took a seat, "I believe that you all know why you are here," he looked over each one of them. They all maintained a blank expression as they readied their selves for their punishment.

"Because of the unfortunate events during your last mission, we have decided to put all of you in probation for three months. You are not allowed to take any big cases and you are expected to stay in the academy under supervision," both groups fell into a shock.

"What?" Tora furrowed his brows, "You can't do that to us"

Everyone began voicing out their objections, "Isn't this too much? We had nothing to do with the failure of the mission, if you are going to punish someone punish the ones responsible for it," Misaki glared at Takumi.

Tora scoffed, "What made you think that we had something to do with last night?"

"Enough," Jiro took a deep breath, the situation was getting out of hand, "Regardless of what happened and whom to blame, you failed the mission and the institution have to clean up your mess. Disciplinary actions must be taken,"

They fell into silence as they all knew the consequences of failing the mission, not only their lives are in danger but also the safety of the whole institute.

"I am giving you a small mission next week. As we have limited cases, we decided to put you in the same case," he paused for a second and waited for any protests.

Misaki furrowed her eyebrows, she already didn't like what she was hearing.

Jiro continued, "There is a drug dealership in a small town in Osaka. They are selling drugs to the locals particularly to the minors. Your mission is to find the source and make an arrest."

"This is a child's play," Kuuga complained, "Even the freshmen can do this by themselves."

"Like I said this is your punishment, you have no say in this. The boards have already decided," Jiro glanced at Misaki, he waited for her to yell or threaten him like she usually does but instead she stood up from her spot and walked out.

"Misaki," Sakura called out, she excused herself and followed Misaki.

The rest of the people remained in their chairs as the door closed harshly on them.

May 16, 2016

Golden View Motel

Osaka, Japan

Misaki paced back and forth as she checked the clock once again.

"Relax, they will be here," Shizuko reassured her.

Sakura peeked from the window of their room. The sun was already rising and they were running behind from their agenda, they arrived earlier than the set time while the other team was supposed to be there twenty minutes ago.

Misaki sat on the chair by the window and closed her eyes in frustration, "We are leaving in 15 minutes, we can't stay in this room the whole day,"

The door rustled open and they instinctively reached for their gun, Takumi's team entered the room casually and gave them a brief acknowledgement.

Misaki concealed her gun and walked up to them, "You are late!" she hissed

"We scouted the town first before coming here," Yukimura explained as he dropped their bags on the bed.

Misaki looked at them in disbelief, "What? We agreed that my team will do that after our meeting."

"Why are you getting mad? We just made your life much easier," Kuuga rolled his eyes and plopped down on the empty bed. Misaki clenched her fists in annoyance but decided to stay quiet.

The rest of the guys started preparing, they took out all of their weapons and organized it on the bed. Kanou loaded the guns and passed it to each one of them while Misaki and her team watched from the corner of the room.

Kanou passed the gun to Kuuga, "I don't need one," he waved his hand.

Kanou looked at Tora "How about you?"

"No, thank you," Tora leaned on the wall near the door and looked away

Shizuko and Sakura glanced at their team leader in concern, Misakis face reddened as she watched the rest of the guys relaxing without any care about their mission.

"Did you guys come here to play?" Misaki asked, the boys stopped what they were doing and sneaked a quick look at her.

"If you are not going to take this seriously then just leave, I don't want to get in trouble because of your stupid asses again,"

Takumi went back on cleaning his gun while the rest of them ignored her except for Yukimura who tried to calm her down

"Misaki, we are taking this seriously," he glanced at his team "I will apologize for my team's behaviour-"

"Yukimura don't apologize, this is an easy job. Tell them to go home we can handle it from here," Kuuga said as he got comfortable on the bed.

"Hey, the reason we are here is because of your team," Shizuko spoke up

Misaki chuckled in disbelief, she couldn't believe she will be risking their reputation again because of a bunch of narcissistic men who think they are more superior because they worked longer in the field, "I think it will be best if we go our separate ways. I don't think I can work with you," Misaki grabbed her bags and the girls followed suit.

"Do you guys want to make a bet?" Kuuga asked as the girls walked past him, "Who do you think will get the bad guy first?" he smirked at their direction

Tora stepped up and blocked their way "I bet we will get them faster," he grinned.

"Get out of my way or I will shoot you on the face," Misaki warned him. Tora remained unfazed and his grin became wider. Takumi stood up from the floor and pulled Tora away.

"Just let them go."

He locked eyes with her for a second before she walked out with her team following behind. A sigh escaped his lips as the door closed before them.

Misaki loaded their bags in the trunk of the car, "So, what do we know so far?" she asked while her team looked over the folder they were given during the briefing. She was confident that her team could handle this case alone.

"The transactions are made in the plaza where most of the locals hang out. We just have to find the right guy," Sakura replied.

"Shizuko and I will ask around, I bet it will be easier to go in a smaller team. Sakura stay in the car and we will make an arrest after we make a deal,"

Sakura dropped them off in front of a shopping mall and Shizuko spotted a couple of students smoking weed outside of a clothing store. She elbowed Misaki and they approached the students

"Hey, are guys selling weed?" Misaki asked up-front.

"No," they disregarded her and returned to their conversation.

Shizuko cut in "Do you know where we can buy?"

The student sighed in annoyance "Go to Caroline's Diner, it is just right over there beside the gasoline store. Look for Mark,"

"Thanks," Misaki looked at Shizuko and shrugged "That was easy,"

The diner was full of college students and other local teens, it was a great location for business and a suitable place to distribute marijuana to unsuspecting teenagers. They asked a waitress for a guy named Mark and she pointed at the booth located at the back near the kitchen.

As they approached the table, they saw a young man in his early twenties talking to two other guys with familiar faces. Takumi and Yukimura looked up from their table.

Takumi had an annoying smirk on his face as he watched them approach Mark.

Mark noticed them and gave them a big smile "Hey ladies, what can I do for you?"

"We are here to buy," Misaki took out a couple of hundreds and laid it on the table

Takumi rolled his eyes at her tactless move, Mark raised his eyebrows in doubt "What are you a cop?"

Misaki froze for a second and he started laughing, "You look so serious, relax for a moment,"

"They are my friends," Takumi said and Mark nodded his head.

"Are you the only seller?" Misaki continued her interrogation, she put her hand in her pockets and reached for her handgun. She thought that it would be an easy arrest since he was alone. Takumi noticed her movement and quickly pulled her towards his seat.

"What are you doing?" she mumbled as she tried to get away from him, Misaki became flushed as Mark furrowed his brows at their dubious actions. Takumi tightly held her hand and she finally stayed still beside him.

Mark leaned forward and scrutinized Misaki "Who are you guys? I have never seen you in town before,"

Before Misaki could answer Takumi cut her off, "We are visiting our Aunt and they will be gone for the weekend. We are throwing a party and our friends are driving here from the other town. We can't have some fun without these," Takumi slightly tossed a small bag he acquired from a couple of teenagers

Marks lips stretched to a smile "That sounds like a lot of fun, do I get an invite?"

"Sure, I will send you the address later,"

"Cool. I don't have any with me right now but I can meet you later at the plaza. Do you know where the fountain is?" they nodded, "I will meet you there at 9 pm,"

They quietly walked five blocks to an abandoned building where Sakura and the rest of Takumi's team parked their cars. As Misaki approached their vehicle, Takumi marched up to her and pushed her against the passenger door, Misaki who was taken a back by his surprise attack was easily restrained as he placed his right arm across her neck and put all his weight against her to prevent her from getting away. The rest of the group watched from the side knowing that they couldn't do anything else but let them talk it out.

"If you don't cooperate, we are going to get busted," he threatened. With her emotions clouding her judgement, she was becoming careless and indiscreet, "We have to work together."

Misaki scowled at him "I don't trust you,"

"Bad news. I don't trust you too," he loosened his hold on her "but we have to set aside our problems. If you want to finish this mission start acting like a player and quit being a brat. We all don't want to be here but we have no choice,"

"Fine," she glared at him "Just get off me," he stepped away from her

"Let's go Sakura, Shizuko," she went inside the car.

"We will meet you guys back here at 21:00," Shizuko said as she closed the passenger door.

"Let's hope that they actually cooperate," Hinata mumbled as they watched their car drive off.