Chapter 3

...

I wake up. I'm in a cold room, with a single bed.

"Damn... what the hell did she hit me with?" I feel sore all over, especially my neck area.

I look around. This place is all unfamiliar. Inori must've knocked me out. But why did she ditch me here? I check my pockets. I still have my tablet, and phone... Inori had to leave quickly, I guess.

"Shu? Inori? Any of you guys here?" I ask. No answer. I try and open the door. It's not locked, to my surprise. It's a strange house, and no one's home. I make a call to Shu's phone.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello?" It's a girl's voice. Wait- Inori?
"Uh, yeah, Saul here. Are you Inori?"
"Yes." as indifferent as ever.
"Where's Shu?" I ask.

"Don't know." Inori replies.
"Where are you?"
"Can't say." This bitch only answers in short sentences, huh?

"Why do you have Shu's phone?" My last question.

"He dropped it."
I hang up. This is fruitless. Thank god I brought my tablet. And the good one too.

I trace our call. It'll take no more than... ah! Viola!

She's... there?!

Her location on the map is questionable. Or more like, life-threatening.

Where the hell could Shu be? I wonder if he has anything on him... dammit. The only thing he could have on him is his phone, and that's in Inori's hands.

I'm going to the building Inori is in. My only lead.

...

454 N, 124 E. Here it is.

I'm in the ghetto. And not the regular ghetto, with torn down buildings here and there, but the ghetto ghetto. It's so ghetto there are barely any buildings. I would say it's so ghetto I hear a black person rapping, but we're in Japan.

Easy now, Saul, easy. Who knows what'll kill you here. I have absolutely no idea what Inori and Shu are involved in, so I need to take proper- shit! Someone's behind me!
I take a quick pivot turn and duck.

"Impressive. You were caught off-guard, and you managed to avoid my attack." I take a look at my opponent. Long hair, tall, probably older than me. Looks strong, but I can't run here. I'll only lose my stamina.
"Who are you?" I ask, readying my knife. It's still in my pocket.

"Gai. Tsutsugami Gai. Leader of the Undertakers." he says, too confidently.

"The terrorist group? Wait, what do you want from me?" I answer. I'm worried, I'm scared, I'm outmatched.

"You've been tracking us, haven't you?" he glares.

"No! I'm not with GHQ or anything! I just followed Shu- I mean my friend's phone- I think he's in trouble!" I hastily reply.

"Oh really?" Gai lowers his stance. "And what about him do you know?"
"That's he's been doing some shady shit. And I want to help." I respond. Please don't attack, I can only dodge for so long...

He listens to something in his ear. "Yes, Tsugumi? Fine, I'll get rid of him. Prepare the attack."
I immediately start pacing back. Not good.
"Listen, I'll leave now, just-"
Gai leaps towards me, fist in his hand. I recoil back from the pain. My stomach is on fire. I cough, only to see blood. Dammit! He really did catch me off guard this time.

"Calm down!" I hop to the left, narrowly avoiding his kick. I manage to get a light punch to his shoulder. He steps back.

"You're a bit tough, aren't you? Who taught you to fight?" His next attack is aimed at my feet. I try and jump, but his leg grazes mine, nearly taking me out. I'm breathing too heavily, my heart's pounding, I'm not gonna make it. I run at Gai with my knife, shocking him. I cut his midriff. He grunts in slight pain. I smile a little. A small victory. Gai springs back as he goes to disarm me. I move my weapon away and block his arm with my elbow. He catches me off balance as he sweeps my feet, causing me to trip. I let go of my knife, as it falls to the floor. I run for my knife, but Gai gets there faster. Immediately, I grab onto his pants leg and drag him to the floor, causing him to drop the knife as well. I start to run for it, but it's too far away for either of us to go for it. In fact, it's in the gutter. Dammit, my only advantage gone. He gets up just in time to block my punch. He immediately counters with a punch of his own, which half-connects. I feel more blood in my mouth and nose. Not good. There's not much blood on my face, but there's barely any on his. I take a deep breath.

"I didn't imagine you would put up a fight like this, my compliments." he says, still energized.

"Thanks," I take another breath. "but can we please stop?!"
"Sorry." he runs forward to grab onto my collar. I'm done for.
"AH!" he throws me onto the floor. I hear my wrist crack. It's not broken, but I know a couple bones are not where they should be. He puts me in a headlock.

"I guess I win, Saul, is it?" he says, letting me go.

"How do you know my name?" I ask, holding my left wrist. Damn it hurts.
"Inori told me."

"Now, what are you going to make me do? Fuck off, and never speak out you? Kill me? Take me hostage?" I sigh in defeat.

"No, I'm going to invite you." he starts.
"To what? Hell? Sorry, but I'm refusing that offer." I say sarcastically.
"To join the Undertakers." he finishes.

"Excuse me?"
"You're a capable fighter, and you obviously know your way through technology. Hell, you tracked us down using that thing! How'd you do it?"
"Once you get past the first layer of encryption, the protection for your location is pretty crap, you know?" I explain.

"I see. Well, do you accept or not?"
"Do I have much of a choice? Sure, why the hell not. It's not like I have anything else to do in my free time." You know, besides the GHQ cameras.

"Excellent. Follow me." Gai walks to the truck that started to roll in.

"Gai!" a female calls. Red-head in a wheelchair. Rare combination. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. The boy's name is Saul. He's the one who got into our network. Anything you'd like to say, Tsugumi?"
"Hmph." a small girl walks out of the truck pushing the disabled girl. She doesn't look happy.

"These two are Ayase and Tsugumi, respectively." he points. "Ayase is our Endlave specialist, and Tsugumi is the one who controls all of the action behind here. And she hasn't done a good job, it seems." Gai raises an eyebrow.

"I put some pretty hard encryption on it, OK!? I thought it would be enough to ward off the GHQ.!" Tsugumi says, outbursting. It's kinda cute, a small girl throwing a hissy fit.

"So, how old is the kid?" I ask.

"I'm 17!" she yells, angrier.

"So am I." Ayase says. "Don't mind her, she's been cranky ever since you hacked into the database."
"Lucky for you, I didn't do anything to it. I just found the coordinates. No need to be angry." I explain.

"Shut up, you hacker!" she says accusingly.

"Anyway, Saul." Gai interrupts. "Shu's been captured. And we're gonna save him."
"Wait, Shu's involved in all this?"
"Yes." Inori steps out of the truck.

"You too?!"
"He's stuck in GHQ, and we're gonna break him out, along with another guy. Now, follow me to HQ. I'll explain the plan and your job when we get there. For now," Gai looks towards Tsugumi. "don't get yourself killed by her, and try and get to know the girl. You'll be working with her."
"What!" Tsugumi yells. "Why do I have to work with my mortal enemy!?"
"Please don't consign me to a life of hell." I beg.

"Sorry, but that's your role now." Gai smiles. Tsugumi looks at me with contempt while we both walk into the truck.

This is gonna be difficult.