Sitting silently in her chair, the aged woman paused in her story. "So?" Sitting in the other chair, her intrusive guest leaned forward eagerly. "What happened next?" After the exciting events on the boat and the ill-advised escape from the hospital, she was obviously eager to listen to the next chapter of the story.
"I've thought a lot about it over the years." Ignoring the question, her experienced eyes were looking somewhere far away and long ago. "The boat?" Looking up, the flames of that disaster still seemed to flicker in those eyes. "That was nothing. It could have been done by anyone, happened to anyone. What came after was far worse." It wasn't the disaster on the sunken ship that haunted her voice. There was something else. Memories of an event that came soon afterwards.
"... We do not have to talk about it if you do not want to." Sensing the slight building of an old distress, the guest carefully tilted her head down to look up at the storyteller. Pushing for more of the story would have been insensitive.
"Might as well." Wriggling her stick around a bit, the pensioner watched the shadow dip back and forth on the floor with care. "Not much good that keeping it secret will do. Y'see, that was the day that everything changed."
"Oh?" Now that there had been time to adjust, the story no longer seemed to be a source of fear. "What was so special about it?"
"What's that old saying?" Etching out a whimsical smile, one eye closed in a happy wink. "A butterfly flapped its wings."
It was difficult for Musume to trust anyone. Everybody she had ever known was gone and the only possible constant – the Spirit World – had been blocked off from her. She would usually have gone about things in a more violent fashion but her experiences in (and since) the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament had proven exactly how disastrous such a path could result in. It had taken every shred of decency and humility that she possessed to actually reach out and ask for help. Although 'ask' was stretching the truth. 'Demanded' was more like it.
True to her voicemail message, she had been waiting outside but not in the way normal people would have done. Most people waited 'outside' the property as to inches from the door. Leo had certainly been surprised to see glowing eyes and a devilish outline on the other side of the glass separator to the patio when he went down for an early glass of water. After Luna had managed to clear her head of the echoes of his screams, she had patiently listened to the problem and promised to ask her Spirit friends to look into the matter. In exchange, Musume would promise to start using the front door.
During the first hour with Luna absent in the Spirit World, Musume had moved back outside. Being inside was slightly unnerving for her after the events of the previous night. By the time the sun had properly risen, she had grown to the point where her options were to leave the penthouse or punching Leo in his awestruck face as he kept stealing glances at her constantly displayed wings. Instead of risking his death, she left the Tops and relocated herself to a grimy apartment building rooftop nearer to Poppo Time. She had wanted to be close in the event that anything happened to Akiza while also keeping a good distance from Yusei. Then she had waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. And as if waiting wasn't bad enough already, her stupid pride was preventing her from letting the others in the know before she and Luna had a solution to the problem.
Normally, this would have been called 'common sense'. But common sense was keeping a subtle secret for a few hours. 'Overbearing pride' was resorting to squatting atop chilly rooftops in an effort to avoid anybody finding out. 'Stupidity' was forgetting to bring a thick jacket and letting her body temperature slowly grow colder than her sense of humour as the sun once again dipped below the rim of the horizon. Added to a peculiar feeling of being watched that increased as the light ebbed away, she was becoming increasingly irate.
Three hours of patient waiting – and several impatient ones – later, a flash of light finally announced the return of Luna. "That bad?" Luna would have been back far faster if it had been easily solved.
"That bad." As much as Luna was the good girl of the group, she knew exactly how rough Musume would sometimes slump. With so much going on, she had done the only thing that she knew Musume would want to do. "Here." Reaching out a hand, a shimmering claw wrapped around the glass. Even hours after first loosening her control, she still hadn't regained enough inner balance to shut them away again.
"Vodka?" The writing on the bottle was in a dialect that she couldn't read. Each time she went out into the world, another new language made her regret not learning more.
"Scandinavian 'Balkan'." Barely a bubble had been dented into the bottle. "For the really bad days." Instead of waiting for permission, Musume slugged a generous mouthful. It would be the one time she deferred to Luna in anything socially frowned upon.
"It's roughly ninety-percent." Drawing out two glassed no bigger than thimbles from her pocket, Luna poured two tiny slivers of glistening liquid into them as Musume choked and spluttered from the arrogant draught. "Try not to drink too much of it. People tend to die." Utter numbness growing behind her ears indicated that the alcohol was already far ahead of the warning.
"So then," Trying vainly to ignore the burning in her throat, Musume avoided looking at the pitying eyes of her friend. "What's the verdict?" Even as she spoke, the blazing numbness was burned from her skull and left craving for another drink to replace it.
"It's not you." Draining her own glass, Luna tried her hardest to not hurt her friend as much as the news had hurt her. "Have you ever heard of the Neo-Spacians?" In her third-hand stories growing up, the Neo-Spacians were possibly the dullest anecdote but Musume had heard of them. If they were involved, it was not good. "Ancient Fairy Dragon contacted them after you performed an Accel Synchro. She was concerned that you were growing too powerful. The Neo-Spacians, they don't like people like you." If you listened carefully, you could have heard the sound of Musume's heart breaking as logic crushed it under a stone-cold heel. "After what happened in Paris, they decided to take action. They're blocking you from the Spirit World as long as you still carry Crimson Nova." Risking life and limb, Musume actively chugged from the bottle. She was better prepared this time but not enough that she didn't have an excuse for the pressure starting to build behind each eye.
"Well, that sucks." It was a heavy blow. Her only sanctuary as a child had been the Spirit World. Being cut off from it was like losing an arm and both legs. "Did you mention that I was dying?" Dragging back the bottle, Luna placed it out of reach before the prognosis could become imminent.
"That's one of the reasons they decided to block your crossings. Mortality isn't an issue for you. It makes you even more dangerous in their eyes." Turning around again, Musume finally chalked her unsettling feeling to otherworldly spectators. She might as well get used to the feeling.
"Smart people." A longing look at the bottle was quelled by pressure from that invisible onlooker. "Come on, let's get going." Although deeply angry, Musume wasn't quite ready to throw down the proverbial gauntlet and try to take them on. Instead, she fumbled her way back to her feet.
"Where exactly are we?" It slowly occurred to Luna that she did not quite know where they had ended up.
"Couple of miles from Poppo Time." Reporters still flooded the streets, unaware that their prey had already been released. She had seen a few running about here and there. "Maybe half an hour to walk back." Tightening the front of her ruined outfit, Musume pointedly flared both wings through the tears in the fabric. "Could fly back in two minutes." If the creatures lurking in her belly were going to keep her rooted in one world, she was going to get her worth out of them.
"Walking sounds good." Drunk driving was an illegal act but drunk flying was probably a new one for the New Domino police department. "Balkan vodka is strong stuff. We should probably walk it off slightly." Behind her eyes lay horror at the thought of moving at vast speeds over the city with only a pair of arms between herself and a messy puddle.
"Good idea." Capping off the bottle, Musume resisted the urge to chug extra as she set it aside. "How do you plan to get off the roof?" Having an aerial view to pick her vantage point had stopped her from initially realising that the fire door only opened from the inside. It was a sound security feature that stopped people from entering through the roof but now the pair were locked twenty floors up.
"Fine." Closing her jumper up tight enough to shame a boa constrictor, Luna slowly approached the open arm Musume was holding out. "Just take it slow." Taking her Luna under her wing, Musume gently lifted the pair from the roof in an unsteady hover.
"Remember the last time we did this?" It had been different back then. Musume the villain and Luna the brave little warrior holding her off. "No wings." They had also been considerably higher up and in freefall. Some careful prodding had kept her own abilities secret by forcing Luna to ferry them both to the Spirit World.
"Just get us down safely." Many people had dreamed of flying but Luna had never met anyone who wanted to be the passenger of a drunken flier.
"Don't you trust me?" Glancing at Luna's tightly closed eyes confirmed that trust did not extend as far as their little flying jaunt. "Okay, okay." Dropping down a bit faster than was necessary, Musume pulled to a halt a few feet above the ground. "We're down." It was funny how quickly Luna stepped away from Musume. Jumping between dimensions was no difficulty to Luna but breezing down the short distance of a building was somehow terrifying to her.
Once they had started making progress back to Poppo Time, Luna felt it safe enough to expand a bit more on the touchy subject. "I did manage to get them to agree not to make it permanent. Once everything's over, you'll be allowed to go back." Even getting that much agreed to had taken the majority of her day. It hadn't exactly been a face-to-face meeting. Everything turn in the conversation had been relayed through several Duel Spirits with the Neo-Spacians not even showing themselves directly. If Ancient Fairy Dragon hadn't been personally vouching for them, Luna would have told Musume to force her way over and make them face her directly
"Okay. At least that's something to look forward to." She really didn't have the heart to explain to Luna that there wasn't a 'later' planned. "How is everything over there? Still as dull as ever?" Enjoying the peace and serenity of the Spirit World was a rare gift that she had squandered. Now that she couldn't see it for herself, Musume almost missed it. But such a quiet place had never really been her style.
"Oh, it's wonderful. Their seasons don't change as fast as ours and," For a few minutes, Musume tolerated a gushing explanation about how the shades of the leaves matched with the sparkling of rivers and something about colour schemes. Anyone else would have been given a sharp retort and told to shut up but even she couldn't bring herself to be angry at Luna.
"Hang on a second." With another night closing in and thinning the crowds, they had been alone in the street. But senses were tingling that they weren't alone. Even the voice in her head was agreeing that thing was amiss. "Does something seem off to you?"
Even when she later took into account what he had done next, Musume still found the strangest part of the man's sudden appearance that he had literally jumped out at them. Not rushed out of hiding or run across the street or even lurked up from behind a dumpster. No, he had jumped out of hiding with both feet leaving the ground.
"It was only a matter of time until you showed up. I was told you liked to keep close." Strange men showing up out of nowhere seemed to be a running theme lately. She had half expected it to be Obake out for vengeance over his wounded pride. Her guess couldn't have been further from the truth.
"Hey, arsehole." Maybe the Neo-Spacians had been right. Maybe she was dangerous. But anyone would have assumed that when one hand became a glowing fist and the other was encased in the shining outline of talons. "A fucking bomb didn't work. What genius plan did you have in mind next?" There was no doubt in her mind that this moron belonged to Yliaster.
"Yeah, we figured that you might survive." A mass-produced Duel Disk clattered to the ground in front of her. "Pick it up." The implication was clear. Luckily, Luna was quick to find a way out.
"Are you stupid?" Terrified by the situation, she was still brave enough to speak up. "She hasn't been home since the boat and I don't carry my Deck everywhere. Neither of us can Duel." It was certainly an easy way to avoid the imminent catastrophe.
"Luna." Holding out a warning hand, Musume really wished her family would stop tempting fate. "Now would be a really good time to stop talking." Some of the cards that she owned weren't exactly safe for normal hands and they never strayed far from her own. All the conditions had been met. Two Duellists, two Decks, two sacrifices. One inescapable declaration.
Inside an instant, the circle of cold flames appeared and ringed the pair, cutting off the pair from all avenues of escape. "Let the Shadow Duel," A smiled filled with evil and steeped in darkness set Musume's blood racing and filled Luna's with dread. "Begi," Only a fraction of a syllable from starting the most dangerous Duel in the world, something distracted the Agent. Flying through the air, came a blackness set against the stars. As it hit the invisible dome, it hung for a moment before the barrier relented and let it pass. Had normal physics been involved, the momentary lull would have reduced speed but the outline was catapulted through a series of rolls that ended with two arms spread out in a protective barrier between the two Signers and the Agent.
"Sayay." It was possibly the first time in history that something like this had happened. There was not supposed to be any way to invade a Dark Duel once it had been invoked. Joining, observing up close and even changing participants had happened but never an outright intrusion. "Chaway." A metallic buzz harshed the words as the top of the shadow elongated and then flattened again. It took a moment before they all realised that the figure had turned its head to look at Musume and Luna as it rose to both feet.
"Who's side are they on?" Luna tried desperately to peer into the mass of darkness and identify the figure.
"I don't think they're against us." As their eyes began to adjust to the endless depths of the shadows, Musume could see the sheath of a short sword strapped to the nearest side of the figure. Despite Yusei's clear wishes that she not carry weapons around the city, Musume pulled a serrated knife from down the side of her left boot, briefly testing the weight and balance. "Who are they?" One hand clamped firmly on Luna's shoulder as she was carefully moved to the back of the crowd.
"I thought that you might know." Musume half turned her head to give Luna a rare smile.
"One time. I take over a major criminal faction one time and you assume that I know every creep in the world." What she did know was the sound of somebody drawing a weapon which was coming from the darkness in front of them.
"Who are you?" Nervousness was radiating from the Yliaster agent. Whatever else he had prepared for – Musume interceding or Luna jumping to the Spirit World – the appearance of an unexpected third party was throwing him off his game. "Back off, this doesn't concern you." The figure crouched low in front of the pair, spewing out words in a mechanical tone faster than Luna had ever heard. The Yliaster Agent paused, unsure of the intrusion.
"What's it mean?" Luna shifted slowly backwards as the foreign language continued to flow.
"Er..." Musume was able to understand a few words but couldn't quite understand the whole message at the speed it was being recited. "Something about," She noticed the Agent listening in almost too late. "That is," She leant closer to Luna. "About a challenge but the same stakes. I think." Something in her tone made Luna curious.
"What language are they speaking?" Musume could sense the look penetrating her face as she slowly replied.
"An old Quechua dialect. One used by past Signers." Whoever was speaking had stopped by this point. "I didn't think that it was still spoken by anyone." There was something that Musume had kept to herself. The dialect which this intruder was using had been handed down from one generation to the next until it had been crushed by Spanish invaders. It was should have been a dead language in all sense of the word. Hearing it here and now was a chill to her soul. And not just hers.
The figure was snarling words at this point, sheathing the sword back in place on the small of their back. Musume listened as their saviour rolled out another line in Quechua and withdrew something from up a non-existent sleeve. An item flew across the intervening space and the Agent instinctively caught it in one hand. "Pukllay."
In her head, that screaming voice whispered it in a way that Musume could understand. Game. The ring of shadows darkened around the group, a trio of coins floating before the newcomer and another set in front of the Agent.
"What is this?" The Agent seemed frightened, unsure of what to do. "What's going on?" One dark limb mimed tossing a coin and watching it land.
"Akllay." Once more, the translation just popped into her mind. Choose. Another mimed toss, this time with a stamped foot to indicate a loss. Musume instantly realised what they meant.
"They each call the results of their coins and whoever gets the most wrong loses." There had to be something else though. Something the intruder was keeping quiet on. Anybody wily enough to intrude on a Shadow Game would leave nothing to chance. Outright cheating was impossible but there were any number of ways to have an edge.
"Who goes first?" Musume noticed how the Agent seemed ill at ease when his opponent pointed at him to take the first turn. "Heads." The Agent plucked and tossed the first coin in a single motion, the nervous grin showing his first victory. "Tails." The smile grew. "Tails." Their saviour seemed unconcerned at the Agent's delight. Despite losing on the last coin toss, the Agent held the upper hand. Chance favoured their substitute losing at least one toss and having another round. If they lost two tosses, the Agent would win outright. "Go on, your turn." One coin was carefully picked up and examined it closely. "Yes, that's right. Now toss it!" The other player tilted their head to express apparent confusion as the coin revolved around one hand a few times.
Outlines shifted and flowed as the figure crouched down and looked up at their opponent. Musume watched as a coin was gently on the ground, the Shadows staying at bay. "I thought that they had to toss it?" Luna whispered to her friend.
"No." The meaning of the rules finally became clear to Musume. "They both have to call which side of the coin will show. Throwing the coin was never mentioned." The Agent seemed to realise this when the second coin was pressed to the floor. Inside her head, that screaming voice started to cackle in vengeful glee.
One hand reached up to the last coin and paused in pity for the panicking agent. Reaching down, a tiny whisper of noise sounded as the hand brushed against the thin layer of dirt in the alley. Standing proudly on the endless circumference, that last move added insult to permanent injury as the coin was left standing on the edge.
"No, you cheated." Seeing the boundary of the Shadow Game close in, the Agent screamed in anger and fear. "You cheated!" Shadows were quick to take their toll, leaving behind only the Agent's Deck.
For a moment, Luna thought she noticed sadness in their rescuer's posture. They carefully pried the Agent's Deck from the abandoned Duel Disk and shuffled through until they reached one card in particular. Pulling it out, every detail was committed to memory in the tiny fragment of time available. Almost too soon, a hidden trigger was reached and they watched as it dissolved between their fingers.
"Who are you?" The figure turned slightly to look at the pair and make sure they were still alright. Though her ordinary knife would be far less deadly than the failed Dark Duel, Musume pulled it anyway and fully blocked this unknown from a questioning Luna. "Why are you helping us?" That enquiry seemed enough to pause the figure for a moment. Then they were gone, bounding up the side of a building with clambering grips across the edges of a fire escape.
"Luna, run back to Poppo Time and tell Akiza everything." Musume was speaking almost as quickly as the recently departed had been when they had taken Luna's place. "I'm going after them." Musume channelled a mass of energy to her legs, shattering the stones with her leap as she jumped to the rooftops in time to see an outline slip across to the next building.
Her prey led a merry chase across the skyline, almost managing to her lose her a few times. Whatever was keeping her target dark made it almost impossible to see them whenever they stopped moving across the rooftops. Then something slipped against a rooftop and smashing metal sounded in the narrow gap between two apartment buildings.
Rushing to the edge of the building, it was just about possible to see the lid on an apartment dumpster on the other side of the alley rocked closed by the impact of something heavy. Before it could open again, Musume dropped from the building above and slammed down atop the lid. "Gotcha." She flipped open the lid to the unpleasant surprise of a worn cinder block that had been dropped from high enough to dent the underside of the dumpster. Looking up, she had the faintest notion of a head recede from the side of the building above her. Wasting no time – well, not enough to matter – on picking out a mutter choice of insult, she spread both wings and soared back up above the building again.
It was slightly easier to see the dark outline moving across rooftops beneath the enraged crimson haze that came with being played. They were incredibly fast but not inhumanly so. Few people kept in good enough shape to move like that. But only one of the pair had wings. Instinctively arching them into a tight curl, she shot across the distance between them.
Whatever speed the fleeing figure had was augmented by their incredible reaction speeds. When Musume was ten feet away, they were still running away. When she was eight feet away, the left arm moved just higher than it had before. When the gap had narrowed to four feet, the leading leg suddenly embedded against a layer of brick almost hidden beneath the gravel. Throwing itself to the right, the trailing elbow plummeted down to knock Musume another few inches than she had aimed for. Pebbles scratched at her skin and embedded themselves into folds of her clothes as she was redirected towards the floor at a faster angle than she had intended. Forcing herself upright, she saw her prey was still on the roof with her.
"Who are you?" They hadn't even looked around to check the distance for the strike. Nothing normal could do that. "What are you?" A tiny tilt of that head indicated that she was being examined. "Nobody is meant to be able to break into a Shadow Duel." Whatever she was talking to was listening but there was no telling for how long. "Are you working for Yliaster? Did a faction send you?" It was clearly the wrong answer as the figure turned to leave. "Wait." Reaching a flat sprint in just three steps, it was enough to send the figure sailing across to the next building with ease. "I said, wait!" Flaring her wings once again put Musume hovering just ahead of the figure as it landed on the next building in another difficult – yet not impossible – jump.
It stopped itself just a few feet away, just as helpless to escape as she had been to evade the Shadow Duel. A metallic grinding sounded as it pulled the tiny blade it had kept strapped behind it. Gesturing off to the side, it was evident they didn't want to fight unless Musume refused to move. "No." Setting down to the ground, she kept both wings outstretched in an unmistakable display of dominance. "You helped us once but that doesn't mean you're on our side." That short blade was being held in a backwards grip. No stabbing moves but a professional grip. Defensive but reactive. "It's too dangerous to let you run around until we know more about you." None of the others would have made such a decisive course of action. Maybe they wouldn't have been in that situation if they had.
Chill steam was rising from the darkness, making it at once easier and more difficult to see. Another tiny gesture let her know it was time to move but Musume stayed where she was. Clouds of mist were starting to close off any direct view but she could see no movement inside the fog. It wasn't too late to simply let it go without a fight. But she had already lost too much to risk a new player upsetting the game at this late stage. So she darted forward into the outline as it moved to meet her.
There was no titanic explosion of meeting forces. One had a sword, one hand a glowing fist of shimmering purple. Musume had moved in with a powerful strike only for her foe to roll forwards and duck beneath the blow to strike her in the stomach with the swords handle. Flaring both wings to send her backwards failed as the shadow darted out slightly, circling around at speeds she hadn't expected. It flowed smoothly and feinted with a slash only to open-palm her to the right shoulder. She couldn't risk taking flight and losing sight of her foe so Musume was practically forced to lunge for the retreating wrist only to drop it with a startled curse.
It burned not with heat but with unexpected cold. "What are you?" They paused in their fight, circling each other across the roof. "Why are you involved?" There was no answer, save the calm raising of weapons once again to indicate it was ready for another bout. "Fine." Loosening that tight restraint risked her losing control as the powers of both spirits surge to the surface for a moment. "I'll beat it out of you." With flaring wings, glowing limbs and burning eyes, she had never looked more resplendent. Solemnly raising the sword up to the mask, the shadow waited in anticipation of the next attack. Then it struck an instant faster.
She had only begun to tighten her arms to move forward when the figure started moving. There was enough distance for her to start moving but not enough to gain momentum and push back. Duck, dodge, swipe, deflect. Too fast to accurately take note, each blow one threw was almost perfectly countered by the other. Enough power was running through each of Musume's punches to crush a bus but sheer strength couldn't land a single blow against such speed. The shadow was ducking and weaving with incredible accuracy, dodging away from each strike an instant before it came but not daring to lash out in return. It was hoping to outlast her but those eyes just kept burning brighter as Musume was immersed in energies no human should enjoy. Too much of them could kill her but there was a danger here and that came first. She knew that, as did her target. So it made a reckless choice and lunged forward in the gap between one blow and the next.
Musume was angry. She was over being toyed with and constantly underestimated. It didn't matter that it was the handle hurtling towards her face. It actually just made the matter worse. Flashing up a hand, she caught the wrist by instinct and felt all the anger and helpless rage that had been building since Paris flow through her as the blade was plunged back towards the owner. For just a moment, she thought they would fight back or at least dodge to one side. Nobody else Musume had ever met could move quite like this person and it was impossible not to think that they might be able to slip aside.
There was a momentary twinge of automatic resistance in both arms. A sword coming straight for the chest would do that to anyone. It was possible to change the course of the blade to lessen or even completely avoid the damage. But the person locked inside the armour recognised regret starting to blossom in the shining golden eyes. It was too late for Musume to do anything about the attack she had already committed to. No matter how much she wished she could take it back.
Tightening the grip about the handle, the dark arm pulled the blade out of her grip and all the way down.
Musume backed away in silent terror, horrified at the fatal turn events had taken. The sword just hung where it was as the spare hand fell down to the black waist. Fumbling grips managed to undo the sheath and toss it towards Musume as the figure seemed to shudder with some internal struggle. Then a silent explosion of blue light enveloped the area and blinded her. When the darkness of night crept back in, only the fallen blade on the ground and matching sheath by her feet gave proof of any altercation.
Carefully picking up the sheath in her left hand and the sword in her right, Musume gently reunited the two parts. She knew that the figure had actively pulled the sword closer. Maybe it had been to take any secrets left to the grave, perhaps it was an overly-successful attempt to reclaim the weapon. By giving up the weapon, that silent intruder had managed to indicate that they possibly didn't Musume responsible for the final blow but had definitely charged her with taking care of the sword.
A faded inscription had been imprinted on the handle and she was able to read a name under the scattered light of a thousand bulbs in the city around her. It meant nothing to her right then but the innocuous inscription had the power to crack open a view that could change Musume's world forever. For now, she could only clutch the weapon tightly to her chest as she flew back towards Poppo Time.
New Domino City had long possessed a string of warehouses a short distance from the docks. After Zero Reverse had torn open the land and flooded the city, the stocks inside had been claimed by the city to help with the rebuilding. Companies involved had been given significant tax breaks in the future which had only helped revitalise the economy. These warehouses constantly stood brimming with products and containers, surrounded by security systems and armed guards. It was difficult to get in but not impossible – especially if the chain links could just be torn aside with one hand.
Whatever had happened to that dark figure had severely affected it. Steps had given way to stumbles, the finer points of coordination were completely absent and there was an air of panic about the shadow as it continued to collapse drunkenly down the gap between warehouses D-7 and D-8. One attempt to stand upright resulted in the outline collapsing against an already overflowing waste bin.
Right up until that moment, all security systems had failed to detect any sort of intrusion. No motion sensors had gone off, no cameras had spotted them. Only when the rubbish had spilled from the open-top bin did the rolling barrel sweep through the range of a motion-sensitive light and broke the darkness open.
Guards were meant to patrol in pairs but sometimes the partners didn't always get along and kept a short distance from each other. Not much, maybe a warehouse or two. Close enough to run for help but far away enough to cool off for the evening. It meant that Diego was closer to the scene than his partner.
Diego was an oddity in Japan. One parent had come from Spain, the other from South Africa. Both had settled in Japan shortly before he was born but that didn't stop some people from ostracising him based on his mixed foreign heritage. It would leave most people with a sour disposition yet Diego had somehow managed to keep a positive outlook on life. So when he was first to approach a flailing figure, Diego's first instinct was to see how best he could help.
"Are you okay?" Occasionally, a homeless person would break into the yard. Guards were meant to call the police but often ended up throwing them out personally or inviting them in for a cup of something warm and a solid meal. It was luck of the draw as to who was on duty and would be nice. Diego was always nice to people. "You look like you could do with a hand." When he finally noticed the way the shadows seemed to cling to this person instead of staying on the edges of the buildings, Diego still didn't reach for his baton. Most companies were too cheap to spring for anything close to the police standard Shock Batons and supplied their guards with analogue equivalents. He had never found it necessary to use his.
Each word was like a sledgehammer to the figure but overwhelmed by a calming wave of compassion that practically drowned the narrow gap. It was sensory overload as Diego approached with footsteps of thunder. "Come on, we've got some coffee back at the shed. We can get you back on your feet and,"
It couldn't have taken that long for Diego's partner to arrive. Maybe a minute at most. But when they finally arrived, Diego had been knocked clear of the alley by a blow that had shattered three of his ribs and earned him permanent medical pay. Diego was a fighter though, he managed to stay awake through a blow that would have probably killed weaker people. It was with through a mouthful of blood that he was able to reach his phone and dial the police. "There's an intruder at the docks." That overwhelming compassion of his kept Diego from calling his attacker anything crude. "Send the police and an ambulance." Endearing himself to his attacker with grace under fire – which was a strange way for most assailants to feel about their victims – Diego finally passed out.
Details varied slightly about what happened next. One story involved Diego's partner picking him up, fighting past the dark attacker and performing triage on the man when he began haemorrhaging only to hand him over to the arriving ambulance and leading the fight with the two patrol cars that showed up. Another version had him abandon Diego on the ground and run. Since nobody remembered his name, it was fairly clear which was more likely to be true.
A patrol happened to be in the area. Two officers arrived six minutes after Diego's call. Docks are always a likely target for everything from smuggling to drug trafficking and the police like to keep a car nearby whenever they could. Security wasn't paid enough to actually verify why the police were there and just let them straight in. Luck was with Diego that night. Officer Saito had taken a medical course just a few days before and was able to render aid while her partner went after the figure clutching at their head and writhing through the trash.
One major difference between police officers and security guards is the authority behind them. What had happened to Diego without witnesses had been severe enough to bring in the police. When Saito saw what happened to Officer Hayashi, it gave her enough authority to bring in two extra patrol cars. After that, everything just snowballed.
I would have posted more but the clock says the time is [peers at display] blurry? Look forward to more chapters later/tomorrow and I'll look forward to your reviews.