Masaomi Kida
The next day, a young man with short dark blonde hair, gold-brown eyes, and dressed in a white long-sleeved hoodie jacket, black pants, brown leather shoes and a yellow scarf around his neck silently stood behind the metal fencing at the center of the upper section of Ikebukuro Bridge. One would think he is simply standing there and staring into space without a care in the world. But the man soon takes out his smartphone and uses its camera to zoom in on a young woman with a pink headband and shoulder-length black hair looking down at her own phone and standing at the bottom of the bridge and the left side of the railway tracks below him. As the man solely focuses on the young woman, it would seem nothing can get his attention as the sounds of cars driving by behind him, the chatter of pedestrians walking past him, and the occasional rumbling of the trains below him all completely fall on deaf ears.
All except a doughnut that is suddenly lowered in front of his phone.
"Masaomi-kun." Kasumi greeted playfully. The young man yelps and lowers his phone as he whirls about to see the red-haired woman grinning at him while holding a bag of plain doughnuts in her other arm.
"Oh, hello there Kasumi darlin'!" Masaomi greeted cheerfully, waving back at her before placing both his hands on his chest with a wide and blissful smile. "I am so touched that you kept your promise and came to see me after all."
Kasumi simply nodded with a lopsided smirk before handing the doughnut to Masaomi. "So, what are you up to? Creepily spying on hot chicks again?" She asked as her friend takes the snack off her hand.
"Oh, Kasumi-chan." Masaomi said melodramatically as he holds his arm in front of his eyes. "You should know full well by now that I am a lonesome young man who is only trying to find true love before his hormones turn as dry as a bone." He lowers his arm and places his hand on his chest again as he smiles skyward. "But I know if I never lose faith, my time in becoming a fully-developed man will finally come someday." Kasumi gave a slow clap in response.
"I sure it will, Shakespeare. Now come on. Let's head back to reality." Kasumi said, gesturing him to follow her. Masaomi lets out a heavy sigh as Kasumi turns and walks away.
As she leaves, Masaomi turns back to the pink headband-wearing woman and sees her lifting her head up and smiling at the man walking up to her. Masaomi's lips curve downwards as he watches them hug each other, exchange a few words, and walk off together to their next destination.
As soon as they were out of his sight, Masaomi sadly turns and follows his friend from behind.
Upon arriving back in Ikebukuro, Kasumi and Masaomi begin their day together by heading to the district's most well-known cinema, the Grand Sunshine Cinema. After several minutes of debating which film they should watch, Masaomi manages to coax Kasumi into watching the newest live action mecha film that he has been excited to see for the last six months by getting down on his knees and clasping his hands in front of his chest. Kasumi, despite not being a mecha fan, reluctantly agrees to watch it along with him as she does not want her friend to embarrass himself in public. Masaomi perks up and cheers as he pumps his fists into the air.
When the movie ended two hours later, Kasumi and Masaomi walk out of the cinema together. The red-haired woman smiles and chuckles with joy and excitement as she discusses the scenes that she enjoyed seeing with Masaomi. Her dark blonde-haired friend however kept a frown on his face as he felt regret and disappointment over the film they just watched.
Wanting to cheer her friend up, Kasumi brings him to a nearby maid café to have their lunch. After ordering their food and returning the menus to a maid, Kasumi proceeds to put on a pair of rabbit ears over her head while Masaomi wears a pair of cat ears. The two enjoy chatting and imitating the animals they are supposedly dressed up as until the maid brought the omelette rice that they both ordered to their table fifteen minutes later. Kasumi and Masaomi watch the maid use a bottle of ketchup to create pictures and words of encouragement onto their omelettes. Masaomi later thanks the maid by purring and wriggling his fists in front of her, causing her to laugh and bow to him before she turns around and leaves. Kasumi couldn't help but smile as she watched the display and they both dig into their food.
After paying for their lunch and leaving the café, Kasumi and Masaomi head over to Ikebukuro's Gigo arcade. While playing a few friendly matches of Tekken 7 together, Kasumi and Masaomi gaze closely at the screen and occasionally shout some remarks as they move their joysticks around and rapidly tap the buttons. In the end however, it was Kasumi who emerged as a victor after winning four out of seven matches, and the red-haired woman cries triumphantly and pumps her fists into the air while Masaomi groans and plants his face onto his hands.
The two friends spent another hour playing a few more games before heading to the district's largest and most famous shopping mall, Sunshine City. They first visit a clothing store where Kasumi and Masaomi look through all sorts of shirts, jackets, and other types of clothes. Kasumi holds up a black t-shirt that caught her attention to Masaomi, which has a picture of a tiger climbing to the top of a rocky cliff with some clouds and a red circular disc like the one seen on the Japanese flag in the background. She asks her friend if the shirt would look good on her, but Masaomi shakes his head, saying that the shirt will cover up her beautiful midriff. Kasumi pouts at him in annoyance for having perverted thoughts while Masaomi smiles and shrugs his shoulders. The red-haired woman turns her head back to the clothing rack beside them and now grabs a grey scarf with black horizontal stripes. She holds it up in front of Masaomi and suggests that it will look good on him. Masaomi only stares at the scarf for a second before he smiles again and waves his hand disapprovingly at Kasumi. The red-haired woman sighs and puts the scarf back on the rack above the shirts, not noticing Masaomi frowning down at his yellow scarf and caressing his fingers on it.
After Kasumi paid for the black shirt, she and Masaomi head over to the toys store, much to the dark blonde-haired man's delight. As he stands at one end of an aisle, Masaomi smiles with his eyes wide as he gawks and looks around all the action figures being neatly displayed in cardboard boxes at both sides. Kasumi stood at the other end of the aisle where all the plush toys are displayed, and she smiles tenderly at a teddy bear she is currently holding in her hands. As he sees her staring at it, Masaomi grins as he decides to sneak up on her from behind. He slowly tiptoes his way over to her and grabs a plush lion on a shelf beside him as he walks by. When he is about a meter away from her back, Masaomi quickly runs over and tries to snuggle the plush lion against the back of Kasumi's head. However, as he nears her, Kasumi swiftly makes a 90-degree turn to dodge him. Masaomi widens his eyes and gapes his mouth open for a brief moment as Kasumi now goes behind him and gently places her teddy bear on top of his head. Masaomi groans and hangs his head in defeat while Kasumi laughs gleefully at him.
After spending two hours inside Sunshine City, and realizing that night has fallen over Tokyo, Kasumi and Masaomi leaves the mall while carrying the bags of items they have bought today and walk through the streets of Sunshine-dori as they look for a restaurant to have their dinner. By this hour, the whole district of Ikebukuro is more crowded and livelier than ever, with its streetlights illuminating the roads and pavements, and people of all ages and professions are bustling around the area trying to do whatever activities they planned to do before it is time for them to return home to reunite with their families. While walking through Sunshine-dori, Kasumi and Masaomi notice a duo of street performers playing a saxophone and a metal drum in front of the streets' music note statue. They see only a few coins and yen notes inside the hat placed on the ground in front of them, knowing that the musical duo is having a tough time trying to earn some change. The two friends turn their heads and smile at each other as they decide to help them out.
They walk over to the musical duo, place their shopping bags aside and start dancing in front of them and to the rhythm of their performance. This causes several nearby strollers to stop at their tracks and watch them in curiosity and amusement. As the onlookers now come over and form a semicircle around them and the musicians, Kasumi and Masaomi continue dancing to the music which consists of them twirling around, lift their lower legs up in the air, swinging their arms and swaying their heads and hips side to side. As the duo's musical performance comes to an end a few minutes later, Kasumi and Masaomi finish their dance as well by grabbing each other's hands in the air. Kasumi twirls Masaomi around for a moment before the dark blonde-haired man falls himself over, and the red-haired woman quickly catches him on his back. The two friends smile and stare at each other as the onlookers applaud. Kasumi and Masaomi both stand up and bow to the musicians and onlookers before they move aside and allow them to throw their spare change into the hat, much to the delight of the musical duo. As the crowd disperse and return to their activities, Kasumi, Masaomi and the musical duo bow to each other one last time before the two friends grab their shopping bags and leave while the musicians start playing another song.
As they continue walking through the streets, Kasumi lets out a groan as she stretches out her arms.
"That sure was a good workout before dinnertime." Kasumi said with a smirk.
"Indeed, because I sure don't want to see your stomach enlarged after dinner, thus ruining your gorgeous belly button." Masaomi said with a wink of an eye. Kasumi groans and frowns at Masaomi in annoyance.
"Seriously? That's the second time you have mentioned my midriff." Kasumi said.
"What did I tell ya? I'm a man desperate for love while I'm still young." Masaomi chuckled as he rubs his chin. "Such a shame you are one of those girls who keeps evading my charms."
"What you really should be worrying while you're still young is making sure you have enough money and a shelter over your head for at least the next ten years." Kasumi chided before eyeing at the large shopping bag of items her friend bought from the toy store earlier. "Not wasting your hard-earned cash on unnecessary things on a daily basis. I hope your mechanical job is paying you well."
"Yeah, it is." Masaomi smiles nervously as he shifts his eyes to the side.
"What are you hiding?" Kasumi narrows her eyes as she leans her head closer to him.
"W-Why do you think I am?" Masaomi asked, trying to look innocent.
"Your face…and that tone of your voice…tell me what happened." Kasumi said flatly.
Masaomi sighs heavily before he shrugs his shoulders with a lopsided smirk. "I quit."
"Huh?! Seriously?! That's the third job you have quit already!" Kasumi yelled at him.
"Forth to be precise if you count my only day as a cinema attendant." Masaomi said uncaringly. Kasumi sighs and frowns worriedly at her friend.
"Masaomi, you can't keep doing this. You need to settle down on a job and learn to feel comfortable with it." Kasumi said sternly to him.
"But that's the problem." Masaomi scratches the back of his head. "I just can't find the right one for me."
"But how long will your search last?" Kasumi asked concernedly. Masaomi stayed silent as he lowers his arm and stares blankly at whatever is front of them. "Masaomi, you graduated from university with flying colors, yet you are squandering your future by not taking your adulthood seriously. I nearly destroyed my own future when I joined a gang and inhaled drugs with them. I don't want you to make the same mistake as I did."
Masaomi frowns as he still did not say a word. He knows what his friend said to him is true, but he just cannot bring himself to do it. Not after what happened to him years ago. Kasumi places her hand on his shoulder for only a second before they both heard her phone ringing.
"Excuse me for a moment." Kasumi said as she and Masaomi stop at their tracks. The red-haired woman quickly gets her phone out of her pocket, glances at the name on the screen and greets cheerfully as she answers the call, "Moshi moshi, Anri!"
But Kasumi's grin vanishes a few seconds later when she heard the unexpected news from her friend.
"What?"
After finishing their breakfast in the following morning, Kasumi, Anri and Shirley quietly put on their black clothes, leave their apartment, and take a ride in a taxi to Kita ward. The three friends did not say a single word throughout the journey as they are still in shock over what had happened to their former schoolmate, Suzu Tsukiyama. Till now, they could not comprehend how sudden it was for them to learn that two nights ago, an armed burglar had broken into her home, stealing multiple valuable items, and killing her and her father in the process.
It took about seven minutes for the taxi to arrive at the funeral parlor where the memorial service of Suzu and her father is being held. As they approach the building, they see a white signboard displayed at the side of the gateway that says, 'Memorial service for Suzu Tsukiyama and Kyouta Tsukiyama'. Kasumi could only lower her head in sadness as she and her friends walk through the gateway. After signing the guestbook at the counter outside, Kasumi, Anri and Shirley enter the building where over sixty people are sitting on the benches in horizontal rows. The three women notice some of them were their former teachers and schoolmates who shared the same school and classes as them and Suzu, and they too are all equally shocked and saddened over the loss of someone they knew. Sitting at the left front bench is a middle-aged woman sobbing and wailing Suzu and Kyouta's names as her face is planted in her hands. No doubt the woman is Suzu's mother, and the young man sitting beside her did little to comfort her from her inconsolable grief as he too is weeping in front of the two white caskets and the two black and white portraits of Suzu and her father being displayed at the end of the large room.
Kasumi frowns as she felt her heart torn apart by the grim scenery before her. For a long time, Kasumi never wanted to remember her relationship with Suzu Tsukiyama. It was her and her gang that got her into trouble with the law after all, nearly destroying her future and further straining her relationships with her mother, classmates, and teachers. She could still vividly remember the anger and hatred towards Suzu and her gang the day after they were caught by the police, and she never forgot the insults and mockery they hurled at her which led them into a violent brawl that further damaged her image in school. Some people would think that the death of someone who has brought great pain and misery towards others is a blessing and a huge sigh of relief. But Kasumi never thought that way. Despite the traumatic experience she had with Suzu and her gang, she could only feel a huge sense of shock and sorrow over the death of her former enemy. And seeing so many people here sharing the same emotions she is having right now only made her wish that things between them had gone on a much different and peaceful path.
Upon feeling her hand being gently wrapped around, Kasumi snaps out of her thoughts and sees Shirley quietly standing beside her and gesturing her to take a seat. They and Anri see an empty space at the right side of the second front bench and they quietly walk over to it. Only after taking their seats did Kasumi realize that they are now sitting beside the three women who were once part of Suzu's gang. They stare wordlessly at each other for a few seconds.
"Hello Ueno…Nishihara…Miura." Kasumi greeted the three women, deciding to break the awkward silence.
While the other two women beside her turn back to the front and lower their heads in sorrow, Ueno, a woman with wavy medium length light brown hair, takes a gulp and replied, "Hello Kinomoto."
As everyone in the large room continue waiting in silence, Kasumi and Ueno look back at the portraits of Suzu and Kyouta above their caskets. The red-haired woman lets out a sigh and said softly, "I can't believe she's gone."
"Me too." Ueno said, curling her fingers on her lap. "We wish we could have parted ways as friends."
Kasumi turns her head to her, and Ueno continued, "After graduation, me and the others had a falling out with Tsukiyama. She was afraid of going to university without us. She pleaded us to go to the same school with her." She paused as she takes another gulp. "But we can't. Our parents have already planned for us the next school to attend after senior high. How can we argue with them? So, she ended up lashing out at us…and the rest of us got mad at her too." Ueno sniffled as tears began to slowly flow down her cheeks. "And just like that…the gang was disbanded…and we never seen or spoke to each other again." She wipes away her tears, but they are quickly replaced by new ones. "And now…after learning she and her father are gone…we just…can't believe it…we wish…we could have made up with her…before she leaves…"
As Ueno now buries her face in her hands and weeps, Nishihara, a woman with long black hair and red glasses, places her hand on her back to try to comfort her. Nishihara looked back at Kasumi and said grimly, "Kinomoto…we know we all treated you badly back then…and we don't expect you to forgive us…because we don't deserve it…but regardless how you still think of us…we are all truly sorry for what we did…" Nishihara momentarily bites down on her lower lip as she tries to fight back her own tears. "I wish we could have said the same thing to Tsukiyama."
Kasumi stared silently at them for a few moments. "Although I will never forget that day…what you all did to me…I still believe everyone deserves to be happy and forgiven…and live their lives to the fullest." Ueno turns her head back to Kasumi with tearstained eyes as the red-haired woman paused for a moment. "We all made mistakes and conflicts throughout our lives. I am no different. All of us wish we can be forgiven by the people we hurt before our time is up. And sometimes, it doesn't happen at all. And that is why I am here. To give Tsukiyama what she would have wanted during the final moments of her life. Not only will it bring peace to her…but to me as well…" Kasumi sniffled as tears now brim in her eyes. "And it is never right…" She breathed heavily. "It is never right…for someone to break into their home…and take away their life as if it meant nothing to them. It was a human life…that had experienced pain…sadness…hardships…and tragedy…but it had also experienced joy…delight…friendship…excitement…and love. That was a life worth living for…and who are they to steal that?"
Kasumi looks back at the caskets containing her former enemy and her father, lowers her head, and begins sobbing and weeping uncontrollably in front of them. Anri and Shirley gaze sadly at her as the orange-haired woman gently rubs her hand on her friend's back. Ueno, Nishihara, and Miura stare at their former fellow gang member for a few moments before they too look back at the caskets and cry as well as Kasumi's words had emotionally tore their hearts out. As grief and regret consume them, all four former members of Suzu's gang mourn over the loss of their former leader.
When their crying subsided a few minutes later, everyone in the room sees the monk walking over to the back of the altar and prepare to deliver the eulogies. Kasumi, Anri, Shirley, Ueno, Nishihara, Miura, and everyone else stand up, hang their heads, and quietly listen to the eulogies from the monk and Suzu's surviving relatives for the next fifteen minutes.
When they are done, Suzu's mother and brother face the caskets of their deceased relatives and give their final bows and prayers to them. Afterwards, Kasumi, Anri, Shirley and the other attendees quietly line up to grab some joss sticks and burn them with a flame from a candle at the altar. They take turns to stand in front of the caskets, give their final respects to Suzu and her father, and place their burning joss sticks into the pot of ashes at the center of the altar.
After the memorial service came to an end, everyone steps out of the funeral parlor and converse with each other. Kasumi, Anri and Shirley manage to talk to Suzu's mother and brother and express their condolences to them. The two surviving Tsukiyamas thank the three women for attending the memorial service despite the troubled relationship between Kasumi and Suzu, and both the red-haired woman and Suzu's mother end their conversation with a warm embrace.
Kasumi, Anri and Shirley also later had warm conversations with their former schoolmates and teachers. They all spend time catching up and learning what they have been doing since their graduation from their former senior high school, and they give each other best wishes for their futures. It was a great moment for Kasumi as it helped her bring closure with many of the people she used to hurt with her troubled behavior during her youth.
After Kasumi got hold of Ueno, Nishihara, and Miura's contact information, she, Anri and Shirley decide it is time for them to leave the grounds of the funeral parlor. Kasumi and the three former members of Suzu's gang bid farewell and express hope to see and speak to each other again in the future. With that, Kasumi and her friends turn around and make their departure.
As soon as the three women walk through the gateway and make a 90 degree turn, Kasumi holds her head up high with a wide smile as she looks forward to the future with renewed happiness and utmost confidence.
Upon returning to Toshima ward, Kasumi, Anri and Shirley had their lunch at a café about a few blocks away from Grand Sunshine Cinema. Because the three women had taken the day off from work to attend Suzu's memorial service, all of them decide to spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out together in Ikebukuro before heading to the karaoke bar later this evening. They each ordered themselves a sandwich and a cup of coffee and converse with each other as they eat and drink.
"Anri and I are very proud of you, Kasumi." Shirley said after taking a sip of her coffee. "You were finally able to let go of the past and made peace with your former enemies."
Anri nodded her head and added, "You truly have come a long way."
"Arigatou." Kasumi smiled weakly at her friends before looking down at her own cup of coffee in her hand with a solemn frown. "To be honest, I wonder if I hadn't bump into Miyamizu-sama and learn so much from her, I don't think I would have done and said the same things back there."
"It's best not to dwell so much about it." Shirley said reassuringly to her as she places her hand on her shoulder. "What matters is that you have brought closure to a painful chapter of your life."
"And you also have us now." Anri said as Kasumi looks up at her. "No matter what happens next, and if you have anything that is troubling your mind, always know that we are here for you, and that we will listen to what you have to say."
Feeling overwhelmed with gratefulness from her friends, Kasumi smiles at them again and nods her head.
"That's right." Kasumi replied as she now raises her cup of coffee in the air. "Let us toast to a new chapter in our lives."
Shirley and Anri raise their own cups as well, and the three friends cheered as they clink them, "CHEERS!"
The three friends step out of the café after finishing their lunch and making their payment. Kasumi stretches out her arms and groans blissfully before turning around to face her friends.
"Now then, we still have about six and a half hours before karaoke night. Where do you think we should head off to next? The mall? The arcade?" Kasumi suggested.
"How about going home to get some rest? I'm pretty sure you already spend a lot of time and money at those places with your mystery friend yesterday." Anri chided as she frowns at her.
Kasumi sighs and droops her arms. "Yeah, you're right. Come on. Let's take a cab home."
"So, when are you going to introduce this friend of yours to us?" Shirley asked Kasumi with a playful smirk as Anri gets out her phone to contact a taxi to pick her and her friends up from their current location.
"Eventually." Kasumi smiled back at her as she slides her hands into her pockets. She soon widens her eyes in shock however when she discovers something is missing from her pants.
"Oh no." Kasumi uttered, causing Anri and Shirley to look at her in concern.
"What is it?" Anri asked.
"I can't feel my earphones! They are not in my pocket! They must have slip out of it!" Kasumi cried before running back inside the café. Shirley and Anri turn to each other and sigh heavily. They waited for several minutes until Kasumi steps out of the café once more with a look of distraught. "They're not at the table where we ate."
"Then that would mean they are probably at the last place we visited." Shirley said.
Kasumi sighed and said, "The funeral parlor back at Kita."
"Don't worry. We can get the cab to take us there." Anri said.
"No, don't." Kasumi holds up her hand to them. "I don't want you guys to waste more of your hard-earned money on taxi rides because of me. I'll get my friend to take me there instead." She turns away from her friends and takes out her own phone to search through her list of contacts while Shirley and Anri stare suspiciously at each other. "You guys can go home first. I'll tell him to pick me up at the side of Grand Sunshine Cinema."
"Will you be okay?" Anri asked as she and Shirley look back at Kasumi as she presses Masaomi's number.
"Of course I will." Kasumi smiles at them and begins walking the opposite direction. "See you later!"
"See you!" Anri and Shirley both replied as the three friends wave goodbye to each other.
As Kasumi turns away from them and departs, Shirley sighs heavily and said flatly to Anri, "She and this friend are definitely hiding something from us."
Anri cannot help but nod her head in agreement as she adjusts her glasses.
Kasumi waited at the side of the road for about twenty minutes until she finally notices Masaomi driving over to her in his red motorcycle. Masaomi gets out a second black helmet from the metal box at the back of his motorcycle and hands it to Kasumi. She proceeds to put it over her head and hop onto the backseat. She gives her friend the exact address of the funeral parlor and Masaomi types it down on the map app on his phone. After the map shows them the directions on how to get there, Kasumi securely wraps her arms around his torso and Masaomi begins driving his bike to their destination.
Ten minutes later, when they are about to reach their destination, Kasumi advises Masaomi to stop his motorcycle about a few blocks away from it to show their respect for the dead. They both drive into a small public carpark within the residential area and after Masaomi parked his bike, both he and Kasumi casually get off and remove their helmets.
"Okay. You wait right here while I go get my earphones from the funeral parlor." Kasumi said as she and Masaomi place their helmets down on the seat of his motorcycle.
"Sure thing." Masaomi said as he removes his phone from the mount between the motorcycle handles and plans to surf the internet as he waits. "You didn't tell your friends about me, did you?"
"Of course I didn't. I know you are not ready to make another friend just yet." Kasumi said.
"That's a relief." Masaomi murmured before looking down at his phone.
"Well, it is a shame for me because you would have love talking with Shirley and Anri." Kasumi said with her arms folded. "I can't keep hiding you from them forever, you know? You need to learn to get out of your comfort zone and expand your social circle."
"What if I don't want to make more than one friend in my life?" Masaomi muttered with his eyes fixated on whatever he is looking at on his phone. Kasumi sighs inwardly before gently placing her hand on his shoulder.
"If you don't, you will never have someone else to rely on if I'm not around." Kasumi said concernedly to him before she walks over to the sidewalk and makes her way to the funeral parlor. Masaomi soon lowers his phone and sadly watches her leave as her words ring inside his head.
Kasumi solemnly bows down to the funeral parlor upon arriving outside the building. She quietly walks through the gateway and over to the funeral parlor where the caskets containing the bodies of Suzu and Kyouta Tsukiyama still lie inside.
However, Kasumi widens her eyes as she soon realizes that one side of the large pair of wooden doors that serve as the entrance to the building is left open. Furrowing her brows, she cautiously walks over to the open door.
Upon stepping into the funeral parlor, the red-haired woman widens her eyes again when she sees a mysterious figure standing beside Kyouta's casket. The casket is wide open, revealing the still and lifeless corpse of Kyouta Tsukiyama. As she stands at the doorway, Kasumi idly watches the figure looking down and examining the body. She cannot see its face as its entire head is concealed by a yellow helmet with cat-like ears and a black visor. But judging by its slim and curved body physique through its black long-sleeved motorcycle suit, tight black pants, and black leather boots, she can tell the mysterious figure is most definitely a woman.
The woman now carefully removes both her gloves and holds her right hand up and above Kyouta's neck. What the woman did next caused Kasumi to drop her jaw in utter shock. A black line suddenly forms around Kyouta's neck. The woman lowers her head and slightly curls her fingers as she concentrates harder. Soon after, several droplets of red liquid start flowing out from the thin line around the corpse's neck and the woman slowly turns her right hand around to join them into a larger blob. She now holds up her left hand above the blob and forms it into a spherical red ball.
Kasumi continues watching in awe and bewilderment as she tries to figure out what exactly is the mysterious woman doing. However, her phone suddenly chimed when it received a message, causing Kasumi to gasp and the mysterious woman to turn her head to the doorway.
The mysterious woman suddenly thrusts her left hand at Kasumi, launching huge amounts of black smoke from underneath the left sleeve of her suit and sending it over to the intruder. Kasumi quickly dodges it by rolling over the ground and running over to the back of the nearest bench. Knowing that the intruder has taken cover behind a barricade, the woman now forms a large ball of black smoke above her left palm and tosses it over to Kasumi's hiding spot.
Kasumi manages to briefly poke her head out from the back of the bench in time to see the ball flying over to her. She quickly gets up and runs out from the right side of the bench right before the ball of smoke lands on where she originally sat. Kasumi makes a mad dash towards the mysterious woman, who quickly turns to her while still holding the red ball above her right palm and thrusts her left hand to unleash another line of black smoke at the red-haired woman. Kasumi dodges it by simply moving to her right and turning her body to the left and soon reaches the mysterious woman.
When Kasumi is near her, the mysterious woman swings her left fist horizontally at her, but the red-haired woman swiftly ducks down to dodge the attack and goes around her. As she now stands behind her, Kasumi quickly wraps her arms underneath the mysterious woman's shoulders to restrain her, causing her to lower her arms and accidentally drop the red ball onto the floor, sending it rolling over underneath the benches. The mysterious woman suddenly retaliates by throwing her elbows back and hitting them against Kasumi's lower body, causing her to yelp as she releases her. The mysterious woman quickly steps away from her and turns around. As both women get into their fighting stances and stare boldly at each other, Kasumi narrows her eyes and inquired,
"Who are you?! And why are you disturbing the dead?!"
Sovereign: I would like to thank LayLay lives and Darth Necron for reviewing this story. Thank you!