Takumi had never been the fastest, strongest, or smartest member of any given group. But it was his one skill, his ease with picking locks that had cemented him with a small sense of usefulness to Daichi's scheme.
Takumi was also proud of his ability to be honest about his skills. When the cry of Shitenno had gone up, he'd hurried to remove himself from the action. The man knew he didn't have a chance of taking the demons hand-to-hand, but expected that they might let him live if they found him as a prisoner.
That was how he came to be restrained in the storage closet by his own hand. With his hidden key strategically placed, all he had to do was open his manacles after they were gone, and he could make his escape. He hadn't counted on the demons throwing a stunned Daichi into the closet with him, or the menacing look the red-masked turtle fixed him with as he shut the door.
They are angry, and they are not going to write me off just because I could be another captive. It seems they might not be satisfied to simply leave us behind this time.
With that reasoning already in mind, he'd suggested the plan of overtaking the human guards to Daichi, and attempting to escape while they still had the chance.
"Takumi, hurry," Daichi urged him.
He surveyed Daichi's bonds silently, running his fingers over the plastic-coated restraints that felt strangely sturdy. No matter. I've got just the thing to deal with them.
Takumi felt around for the drain cover in the darkness, and removed the small grate so that he could retrieve the tanto he'd planted before binding himself. With careful strokes he used the blade to cut through Daichi's restraints.
"Are they watching us?" Takumi asked Daichi, who was facing the door.
"I cannot tell – but we shouldn't wait to try this."
"We will have to be swift in any case, Daichi-san. These two are armed with guns."
"The weapon of a coward," Daichi scoffed. "I don't care if Yukiko-san believes they are a necessity. Let us show them how to fight properly. Take the woman, and show her no mercy. I will kill the other."
Once he had Daichi free, the larger man inched closer to the door. Takumi followed Daichi's lead, staying near to the ground to make it more difficult for anyone outside to tell what they were doing.
Before Daichi could get his fingers around the handle, however, the door swung open hard. Takumi blinked in surprise, but Daichi didn't hesitate from launching toward the man in his path, despite the outstretched handgun.
Takumi found his courage in a flash as Daichi cleared the path for him to escape the closet by tackling one of their guards to the floor. The smaller man darted in the direction of the woman, fully intending to knock her out quickly. He wasn't prepared for the sweeping blow from her left leg that crashed into his jaw, with as smooth a motion as he'd ever witnessed.
Colored dots flashed before his eyes as he lay flat on his back on the concrete, stunned by the power behind the woman's kick. Takumi lingered on the edge of reality and a dream, uncertain if anything happening around him was real. The sound of a gunshot registered strongly above him, and rang in his ears for several seconds.
The next thing of which Takumi was aware was someone dragging him upright on unwilling legs. Two sharp slaps across his face brought objects back into focus, and he found himself staring at one of the demons. It took him a moment to realize that another one of them was responsible for holding him on his feet.
"No, I still don't think we should risk it."
Takumi heard a snippet of English coming from behind the red-masked demon facing him.
"We need to leave," someone else said insistently.
The Shitenno before him broke eye contact with Takumi as he spun around. "Leave? But we still don't know anything, Leo! We can't walk away from these idiots without getting some information!" The demon turned a blazing glare back on Takumi. "They're not getting away with this, Fearless."
Over the demon's shoulder, Takumi suddenly caught a glimpse of Daichi motionless on the floor, with the broken posture of a dead man. He swallowed fearfully, and called upon his last resort.
"Swear to kill me quickly, and I will tell you what I know," Takumi volunteered in English.
The blue-masked demon pushed past the other. "Why should we show you mercy when you showed none to our brother or our friend?"
"Because I could have killed you brother, and I chose not to. I let him go. I was there in the apartment, after Daichi-san made his foolish move."
"You were there," the leader said suspiciously. "Why would you let him go?"
"I was afraid," he said honestly, expecting that the demon would see through a lie. "Daichi was injured, and then there was an alarm. My companion and I only took the time to save Daichi-san, and fled."
"What kind of alarm?" the Shitenno pressed.
"I don't know…it was strange. It came from out of nowhere, but it sounded as if it were close by, in one of the other rooms."
"I believe I can accept your proposal," the blue one stated formally. "Mike, will you handle him please?"
Takumi swore he heard the creature behind him chuckle.
"I thought you'd never ask, Leo. See ya in a little while, dude."
Takumi took a deep breath right before a sharp blow connected with his head.
A cool breeze was the next thing that registered in the warrior's consciousness. He opened his eyes to find himself already propped up against a solid surface. He looked around in confusion, instantly realizing that he was outside. Takumi stared at the open sky above him for a moment, before focusing on where he was sitting.
Takumi took in the sight of the roof-top first and the dark shadows of the Shitenno afterward. As he tried to shift positions, he found that his hands were lashed tightly behind his back, although his legs remained free.
He cleared his throat nervously. "Where are we?" Takumi cringed as one of the demons approached him.
"I thought we could do a little reconstruction."
Takumi recognized the even tone of the blue-masked demon. "What do you mean?"
The man held his breath as the Shitenno pulled him to his feet, and pointed at a building adjacent to the one upon which they were perched.
"I want you to run through the other night with me. Give me the whole sequence of events, from start to finish."
"We…we watched the apartment for weeks," Takumi said slowly. "We even went inside a couple of times. The other man, the Agent, we were after him. But Daichi-san was satisfied with James. We saw the itinerary on one of the break-ins, and we knew James was leaving. Daichi-san chose to act when it seemed his presence would go unnoticed."
"You broke in more than once without either Greg or Brandon noticing? I don't know if I can believe that," the demon replied sharply.
"I am good with locks," Takumi said defensively, before realizing that announcing his own involvement was not wise.
"Are you?" The creature's tone was flat and dangerous. "I guess we have you to thank for turning Daichi loose, don't we?"
Takumi said nothing, deciding to let the demon think whatever he wanted to believe.
"So you planned in advance to take Brandon," the Shitenno continued.
"Yes."
"Why? What did Daichi want with him?"
"I am not sure, that is, Daichi-san was not….forthright. He wanted information from James, something that would make him look good to Takashi."
"In other words, all of this was only some misguided attempt to prove himself," the demon said bitterly. "How did my brother come into play?"
"We were not expecting him, but one of our watchmen saw him coming across the rooftops. We were in a position to catch him off guard, which is what we attempted to do. It was more difficult than we were prepared for.
"Daichi-san used a taser to disable him but the effects didn't last. We were still in the process of fleeing when the…your brother came back to life, quite suddenly. He made another attempt to escape using a cable wire." Takumi turned to face the ledge, nodding his head to indicate the direction since he couldn't use his hands.
"Daichi-san followed him, and caused the wire to snap. They ended up both crashing down there, into one of the apartments—"
"We were there," the Shitenno snapped. "What happened next?"
"My remaining companion and I found another way over, and discovered that they were both hurt. I considered taking your brother's life, but I spared him. If that does not earn me the right to a quick death, nothing will."
"Slow down, we're not there yet," the demon said crisply. "I have a number of other questions for you."
"I have told you all that I know of that evening."
"That doesn't mean I'm finished with you. I want to know who sent Daichi. Why did he come here?"
"Who sent him?" Takumi repeated dumbly.
"Yes, someone directed his actions, and I want to know who it is."
"You don't understand. Daichi-san acted alone with James, and your brother. No one ordered him to do those things."
"But someone did send him back to US soil! I want to know who gave him the marching orders, and I will not ask you nicely again."
The creature's increasingly hostile posture was making Takumi's heart beat faster.
"The only one he ever talked with was Yukiko-san," he answered.
The speaker jolted as if he'd been shot. "What?"
Behind him, another of the Shitenno strode forward. "You lie!" he said accusingly. "I saw that woman die right in front of me. Yukiko didn't send anyone."
Takumi wilted further under the angry amber eyes of the red-masked demon. "It's the truth," he wavered. "Daichi-san said he was talking to her. He told us of no others."
"You're a rotten liar!" The second demon had him by the shirt and slammed him against the ledge before he could utter another word.
"There is no one else!" Takumi insisted.
"You're absolutely sure about that?" the creature seethed.
All at once, Takumi had nothing but open air at his back, as the demon dangled him slightly over the edge of the building. The natural instinct to survive activated every ounce of desperation inside him.
"No! No, it's true! He told us it was Yukiko! Why would I lie about that? Why?"
A sob tore through his throat before the creature yanked him back over the ledge, and deposited him roughly on the rooftop with obvious contempt.
"Raph, step off," the first one told the other.
Takumi breathed in relief, but his relaxation didn't have time to settle before the blue-masked demon bent down to his level. He couldn't help noticing the way the creature's hand brushed the hilt of one of his katana.
"Did you ever speak to Yukiko?" the Shitenno asked.
"Me? No, I'm no one!" Takumi insisted. "I am what you call…expendable? Unnecessary. Only Daichi-san conversed with Yukiko."
"Did you ever even hear her voice?"
Takumi considered the question, trying hard to remember. "No. I cannot say that I did."
"Then he may or may not have actually been talking to her." The demon's statement was directed toward one of his brothers.
"Leo, the chick is dead! I saw it with my own eyes!" the red one said fiercely.
"She thought she watched you die too, Raph," the leader clipped, before focusing on Takumi again. "What about Takashi?"
"What about him? If you think I can give you some idea of the plan, you are mistaken."
"What plan?"
"I told you I don't know what it is!"
"But you know there is one."
"All I know is that Daichi-san said Takashi-sama would return to New York City."
"Takashi's in prison. You know that, don't you?"
"I have heard as much."
"Then how could he be planning a trip to New York?"
"I said it already – I don't know! These are not the kinds of things Daichi-san shared with us. I don't think he even knew how it would be accomplished!"
"Well then you're really not much help to us, are you?" the red one spoke up.
Takumi rolled sideways against the ledge as he heard the demon coming toward him again. "I said I would tell you what I knew. I ask only for a quick death. You said you would grant me that."
"Okay, big man, but I've got another question," the second demon challenged. "That waterboarding thing? How long did you do that to Brandon?"
"It wasn't me, I didn't—"
"I'm talking about your people in general. How long?"
Takumi hesitated until the demon had his hands on him again, dragging him upright against the ledge. "I don't know! Hours! He would not talk, so Daichi-san ordered for it to continue!"
"That's a pretty vague answer." The orange-masked demon came up behind the other two. "I mean, there's a big difference between two hours and ten."
"It was on and off for a few minutes at a time…" Takumi was unwilling to guess how many times the man had actually been tortured.
The fury of all three of the demons facing him had never been more acute than it felt now. I think my chance for mercy is far removed. Better to finish now, finish quickly. Takumi could feel the ledge behind him, and the answer in his own mind was clear.
Without another thought or spoken word, he jerked backwards against the edge of the roof as hard as he could and went airborne. The last thing he knew was the wind rushing against his back as the ground sprang up to meet him.