•San Francisco•
Alex walked down the sidewalk, the street lamps glowing and buzzing above him as his shoes tapped against the cement he was walking on.
'Let's hope this place is still here..'
Even though it has been a good few years since he had last been here, he could still remember how to get to it, even if it was off of the beaten path.
He took a left, going across the street and down a few more blocks, stopping when he saw a set of stairs going down under the sidewalk.
The man smiled softly as he stepped down the staircase, which ended at a door that had panes of glass set in the middle of it, through them the warm glow of lights could be seen, and he grabbed the knob and twisted, pushing open the door and entering.
•Down the Rabbit Hole•
The smell of old furniture filled his nostrils as he shut the door behind him, glancing around the large space in front of him, lit by some lights that hung on the wall, the booth's lining the far wall, most having occupants in them, talking idly amongst themselves and drinking whatever boozy concoction was poured into their glasses.
The bar against the farthest wall looked about the same as Alex remembered it, only updated to fit the times, he supposed, with a few patrons sitting on the stools and sipping from their own drinks.
The man made his way over to the bar, sitting down in the only empty seat, seeing the bartender with their back turned to him.
Now that he was closer, Alex could see the bartender was a woman of african descent, her black hair gracefully falling down to past her shoulders, though he could see she was wearing an army green button up long sleeve shirt , the sleeves rolled up to past her elbows.
Along with a pair of skinny jeans and a black belt, and what were likely either heels or leather shoes, but he couldn't tell since he couldn't see too much over the bar top.
"..may i have a whiskey sour, please?" Alex asked, resting his arms on the counter.
"..of course. Like i would forget your favorite drink.." She said, as she reached for the necessary ingredients, a few being on the higher shelves, before she began to make it.
Their voice was..familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it.
"..i'm sorry, but do I know you? You seem really familiar to me." The man said.
"..that's exactly what you said to me after you got blackout drunk celebrating finals, wallflower." She answered, chuckling quietly.
'Wallflower..? Wait a second, there was only one person who called me that..'
"Caleb? Is that you?" Alex asked, his eye's widening in surprise, but he inwardly felt guilty for not remembering one of his best friends.
The woman smirked softly as she turned to face him, setting his drink on the counter as she did so, her hair moving to the side as well.
"Actually, i go by Katie now, but yes, it is still me, underneath all this." she answered, giving him a smile, which made Alex smile too.
"You know, I will end my shift here in a bit, would you mind sticking around till then, so we can talk and catch up?" Katie asked.
Alex smiled, taking a drink of his drink. "Of course." He answered.
Katie smiled and went back to her work, stopping between a few customers to talk to the man again, and refreshing his drink.
Once her shift was over, the pair went over to one of the booths and sat down, ordering a couple of drinks for them.
"So, how have things been for you?" Alex asked, his foot idly tapping under the table.
"Been pretty ok, mostly." Katie answered, using a hand to move a few stray strands of hair out of her face.
"..you look good, by the way. Glad to see you were able to go through with it." The man said, giving her a soft smile.
"I do have a question though, how did you figure out you wanted to be called Katie?" Alex asked.
The woman returned it, fixing her shirt as she did so.
"I chose it because it was my grandmother's name, she was..really the only one in the family who supported me." She answered.
Alex felt a pang of guilt hit him. "Oh..i had no idea..i'm so sorry." He said.
She simply shrugged. "I never talk to them anymore, so don't beat yourself up over it." She said.
"But anyway, you look good too, Alex..but enough about me, what brings you back into town?" Katie asked, tapping her finger against the table.
At that moment, their drinks were brought to them, a mojito for Katie and a simple beer for Alex.
"I actually got a job, do you remember our archaeology professor?" Alex asked.
"Mr. chan? Oh yea, I remember him, he was one of the few professor's who could actually keep an entire class's attention for an entire lesson." Katie answered, sipping on her drink.
"Well, i'm his assistant now, i help him with things and get to go to archaeological digs." The man said, giving a nervous smile to her.
The woman giggled, taking another sip of her drink. "I figured you would get a job like that, given you were one of the only people in the class who took everything to heart." Katie said.
Alex smiled, his face flushing lightly from embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.
Though, technically he had two jobs, it's not like he could talk about working at a secret government facility, unless he wanted to be arrested for high treason.
Before their conversation could continue, Alex's phone began to ring, the instrumental to 'Diamond's by Morgan Evans' coming from it.
"Oh, sorry Katie, I gotta take this." He said.
The woman nodded, taking another drink as the man got up and went to a quiet corner, pressing the answering button.
"Hello?" Alex asked.
"It took you long enough to answer, greyson." The voice on the other end answered, the man recognizing who it was immediately.
"Y-yuzuki?! How in the hell did you get my number?!"
"I believe i mentioned it before, before you broke my nose, that i have connections." He said.
Alex wanted to stop the call, just hit the end call button and go back to what he was doing, but it was the next sentence that peaked his interest.
"I need your help." The older man said, which made the younger man take a second to realize what was just said.
"Say what again? You need..my help?" Alex asked, shock evident in his voice, even as he was talking quietly.
"Do not make me ask again, it was already hard enough the first time, greyson." Yuzuki said.
"..What exactly happened that has forced your hand into calling me?" The young man asked, idly tapping his foot.
The man heard Yuzuki let out a grunt of pain, and couldn't help but wonder exactly who had managed to hurt him.
Not exactly to say he hadn't tried, the closest thing he ever did was breaking his nose back in australia.
"Well, do you remember the talisman I got off of you back in India?" The older man asked
"Yes, why do you..oh don't tell me you lost it.." The younger man said under his breath.
"Oh like your one to talk, you lost it first." Yuzuki said, annoyance evident in his tone.
"Because you beat the shit out of me and took it off my defenseless body!" Alex said.
There was clearly some tension between them, which caused a few patrons that managed to hear his outburst to turn towards him for a few moments, before they went back to what they were doing.
"..Anyway, let's move past the childishness and get to business, shall we?" Yuzuki said, moving a few strands of hair out of his face as he spoke.
"..so, what exactly happened?" The younger man asked.
Yuzuki took a few breaths, trying to center his thoughts as he let out another groan, sounding even more in pain. "I found the next talisman, and was attempting to take it..-" he started to say before Alex cut him off.
"Wait, wait..you found the next talisman? When the hell did you do that and where the hell was it?" The younger man asked, feeling absolutely bewildered, as it had again been two weeks since their adventure in India, and yet the talisman tracker hadn't even activated ONCE.
"..can you not interrupt me, greyson?" Yuzuki asked.
"..good. And to answer your question, it was in a shrine in the Aomori Prefecture." The older man said.
"..then what happened to it? Cause i'm sure you would've used it by now." Alex said, letting out a quiet huff.
"I'm getting to that. Anyway, I had planned to get both talisman's to the dark hand headquarters, but my boss caught me in the middle of doing so.." Yuzuki said.
"I thought you worked for the dark hand?" The younger man asked.
"It's more like i'm on loan for them..but anyway, my boss took the talisman's and then had my compatriots beat the shit out of me for insubordination.." the older man answered.
"And why couldn't you have contacted the dark hand instead of me or even before calling me?" Alex asked.
Then again, even if he agreed to help him, how the hell was gonna explain this to everyone, especially Jackie?
"They aren't exactly the most equipped to go against the Yakuza.." Yuzuki answered.
"And i am?" The younger man said, hiss in his voice as he spoke.
A silence seemed to fall over Yuzuki that lasted a few minutes before he spoke again.
"..If you do decide to help, meet me at the Aman Tokyo Hotel."
Before Alex could get another word in, he hung up on him, leaving the man quite bewildered and honestly unsure on what to do.
He put his phone back into his pocket and went back over to Katie, sitting down once again.
"..so, who was that, a friend?" Katie asked, her drink half full.
"..He's not exactly a friend.." the man answered, pushing his beer to the side, really not feeling in the mood for it anymore.
"Then what is he?" She asked.
Alex just shook his head, his mind still attempting to process everything that had just occured.
After a few moments of silence, the man got up, grabbing his jacket that he laid beside him and slipped it onto him.
"You're leaving?" She asked.
"I've got something i have to deal with, but it was nice seeing you again, Katie." Alex said, before he could leave, Katie grabbed his wrist stopping him.
"Before you go, here." She said, writing something on a slip of paper before she placed it into his hand, the man smelling the scent of sharpie as she did so.
"I'll be back, you know, i'm not leaving forever again-" He said.
"I know, but..just in case you need me, for anything." Katie said.
Alex smiled, pulling her into a hug, which she gladly returned, before the man left, beginning to walk back to Section 13, and as he walked, he opened his hand to see what was on the paper.
'For whenever you need a friend'
After which was her phone number, which Alex quickly added as a contact into his phone.
•Section 13•
"Captain Black, we need to talk." Alex said, entering into his office.
The man in question was reading through some documents, likely something that was classified and for those who had the proper clearance, but he looked up from the papers once the younger man spoke.
"Oh hello Alex, what do you need to speak with me about?" He asked.
The younger man peeked his head out of the door, looking both ways before he moved back in and shut the door.
Once that was done, Alex explained to him what happened with Yuzuki, not leaving a single detail out.
"..what did you tell him?" The older man asked.
"I didn't mention section 13, if thats what your worried about..but i didn't even get to tell him whether or not i would help him cause he hung up on me." The younger man answered.
"..well, what do you want to do?" Captain black asked.
Alex leaned against the wall of the office, idly tapping his foot as he went into his thoughts, crossing his arms as well.
After a few minutes, he took a small breath, letting his arms fall to his sides.
"I'm going to help, but i'm doing it to help the people that would get hurt were i just to sit idly by." The younger man answered.
The older man nodded, knowing that the younger man had made up his mind, also knowing that he wouldn't be able to make him change it.
"If that's what you've decided, i won't stop you.." He said, opening the drawers on his desk and rooting through them, and he seemingly pulled out what he was looking for, setting it on the desk.
"..but i'm not going to send you off unprepared." He finished, revealing what he had set down to be a pistol, more specifically an AMT Hardballer which was in itself was a clone of the .45 ACP Colt M1911.
It was the same model as the one Alex's older brother damien carried with him when he was overseas in the military, which he carefully let him see when he returned home a couple years ago.
"...Your expecting me to use it?" Alex asked, crossing his arms once again.
The man didn't exactly have an..adversion to guns, but he tended to stay away from them whenever he was given the chance.
If he didn't have a choice, of course he would use one, but deep down the man secretly prayed that that wouldn't happen.
"No, but you're going up against the Yakuza, and they, unlike the Dark Hand, don't play games, so I am not letting you go unprepared." Captain Black said, loading it with a full clip, along with a few extra, making sure the safety was on before he handed them to him.
The younger man felt a pang of nerves hit him, but he quickly dismissed them as he grabbed the firearm and the extra ammo.
"Go home and get packed, i'll have the jet ready for you when you return." The older man said.
The younger man nodded, placing the firearm and ammo clips into his pants pockets, before he was about to leave, Captain Black put a hand on his shoulder.
"Alex, you'll have backup at the ready, should you need it, all you have to do is let me know." He said.
"And please be careful." Black said, and the younger man felt the older man's hand squeeze tightly.
"I will, captain, I promise." Alex answered, walking out and heading back to the shop.
Once the younger man was gone, Black picked up his phone, dialing a number into it and waited, thankfully only for a few seconds before they picked up.
"I need to call in some favors..it's very important." He said.
He entered the shop, heading upstairs and went into his room, grabbing the backpack he had brought with him and began to pack, really only bringing what he knew he would need, such as a few changes of clothes, a few books for the flight over, and a fully packed first aid kit, as you could never be too careful.
He clicked open his suitcase and pulled out a holster, one of damiens that he didn't need anymore, and he slipped his belt through it so it was at his side, putting the firearm into it, followed by putting the extra ammo clips into the front pouch of the bookbag and zipping it closed.
"..Alex, where are you going?" A voice asked from behind him.
The man turned around, seeing Jade standing in the doorway.
"..Oh, Jade i've just got something i need to do, that's all." The older man answered.
"Did you find another talisman?" The young girl asked, the man kneeling down so he was eye level with her.
"..Something like that. Look just, stay here with Uncle, ok?" Alex answered, which she nodded to, before hugging him, which he gladly returned.
The man then picked up the bag, putting it onto his back and making sure it wouldn't fall off, heading back downstairs and outside, seeing that section 13 had sent a ride to come get him, an agent standing in front of it, their facial expression neutral though they seemed alert.
The man took out his phone, and dialed a number, which rang for a few moments before the person on the other end picked up.
"Hey Jackie." The man said.
"Oh, hello Alex! How is everything?" Jackie asked.
"Pretty well..but um i need to tell you something.." Alex answered, nervousness overtaking him for a moment, which he quickly shook off.
"Oh, what is it? Did something happen to Jade or Uncle?" The older man asked, worry filling his tone.
"No, but.." the younger man answered.
"But what?" Jackie asked.
Alex took a breath and explained the secret mission to him, at least what he could anyway, and after he finished, he waited for the older man to respond.
"..If you're sure you want to do this, i'll support you." He said.
"I am..but if anything happens to me..just.." Alex started to say.
"Don't say that. You'll be ok, I just know it." Jackie said.
"Thanks, Jackie, i'll call once this is over." The younger man said, hanging up.
The younger man got into the backseat, the door shutting behind him as the agent got into the passenger's seat, after doing so the vehicle sped off, arriving at the airport within a few minutes, parking with a lurching stop.
"..leave your weapons and ammo here, we'll have it sent to your destination for you to collect." One of the agents said, reaching an open hand back, which the young man put the designated items into.
•Tokyo, Japan•
The airport was as crowded, loud and busy as he thought it would be, thankfully though he wasn't caught up in it long as a security guard came to collect him, leading him into the employee's only part of the gigantic building, which honestly felt like a maze in of itself, before they both arrived at the security area, the smell of coffee as well as shoe polish filled the air.
The guard handed him a small key, the metal shining in the fluorescent lighting that buzzed loudly above them, as he went over to the lockers that lined a far wall.
Engraved onto the key were the words 'Locker #3', so he went to that exact locker, putting the key into the lock, which clicked when he turned it, and the door unlocked.
He opened it, seeing on the shelf were his pistol and the clips of ammo, which he reached it and grabbed, setting the ammo into a small pocket of his bag, as he held the pistol in his left hand, his fingers wrapped around the grip.
As he held it, he couldn't help but feel a weight to it, as the man wondered if this was how Section 13 agents felt, if they felt this sort of weight on their shoulders as they went to carry out whatever mission they were sent on.
He shook his head. He needed to focus.
He put the gun into its hip holster, putting the extra ammo in his bag, zipping it back up before heading out of the airport.
"..i can't believe i'm actually here..though i do wish it was under better circumstances."
Alex, as he exited the airport, took out the notepad and opened it, using a pen to cross out one of the locations he wrote down the page, only a couple of them being crossed out so far, before he put the notepad away again.
'Yuzuki said to meet at the Aman Tokyo Hotel..i better ask for directions before i end up getting lost..'
Thankfully, a passerby was glad to help him, pointing him in the right direction, which took some weight off of his shoulders as he hailed a cab and took it to the hotel, arriving not too long after.
•Inside the Hotel•
The lobby was huge, built in the shape of a rectangle, with chairs and tables set along the center of it along the length of the room, several guests sitting amongst them, though he paid them no mind as he walked across the floor to the front desk.
The front concierge saw him approach, and seemed to perk up immediately, as if they had just drank a coffee.
"Hello sir, welcome to the Aman Tokyo, how may i be of service today?" They asked, their tone sounding abit forced.
"I'm meeting someone here, do you have anyone under the name of Yuzuki?" The man asked.
The concierge turned towards the computer sitting on the desk, their fingers tapping on keys for a minute or so.
"Ah yes, he's staying in room 205." They said.
"Thank you." Alex said as he then went over to the elevator, pressing the call button and waited a few moments, after which a ding sound rang out and the doors opened, the man stepping inside and pressing the second floor button, the elevator lurching upwards to the floor after a few moments.
The man exited the elevator once he was able to do so, thankfully seeing a plaque on the wall in front of him with two arrows that pointed towards the different ends of the long hallway, text above the arrows showed which rooms were in which direction, Alex seeing that room 205 was on the left side of the hallway.
He headed that way, knocking on the door a few times, after a few moments the door swung open and he was yanked inside by the back of his collar and the door slammed shut behind him.
The man swiftly grabbed and took the pistol out of his holster, spinning around and pointing it straight at him, as he saw the older man having done the same.
The first thing the man noticed once he laid his eyes upon the older man was how beat up he looked, seeing they had a black eye, making him inwardly wince as he saw it was a very deep purple color, a broken nose complete with a small trail of blood leading down his face, as well as several cuts and bruises, none of which were as bad as his eye.
Yuzuki likely had injuries all over his body, but due to the clothing that covered him, no surprise that it was a business suit and which was cut and slashed in several places, he wasn't able to see them, at least those that weren't beneath where it was slashed, which seemed to have been sutured closed.
"..Yuzuki?" Alex asked, their eye's widening.
"..Greyson?" Yuzuki asked, his eye's widening as well.
After a very tense minute or so, they both lowered their weapons slowly, putting them back where they were.
But they made sure to keep them at hand, should they be needed.
"Fuckin hell, give me a heart attack why don't you." Alex said.
"..can't be too careful, greyson." Yuzuki answered.
"..What, were you afraid i was leading them to you?" Alex asked.
The older man didn't answer, though the younger man guessed it was likely a yes.
"..Anyway, what exactly are we going to do to get the talisman's back?" The younger man asked.
"I don't exactly have a plan yet, or at least one that won't end with both of us dead." Yuzuki answered.
"..Wonderful, and here i thought you were the smart one." Alex said, folding his arms across his chest.
"This isn't the time for humor, greyson, these people are no joke and will kill you if they get the opening to do so." The older man said as he sat down on the only bed in the room.
"I wasn't meaning to be funny, besides, looking at what they did to you, i'd say killing people doesn't really give them guilty consciences." The younger man said, sitting on the nearby couch.
Yuzuki sighed, taking out a hip flask from his pocket, unscrewing the cap and taking a swig from it.
"I didn't peg you as a drinker." Alex said.
The older man screwed the cap back on, setting the flask back into his pocket.
"In my line of work, liquor helps to dull the pain." Yuzuki said, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his suit jacket.
Alex knew that was true, at least the liquor part anyway. Hell, he could remember the many bar fights he got into back home, face bruised and bloody with his knuckles just as bruised, as he sat on his parents couch drinking from a bottle of whiskey as his mother stitched him up, of course while fretting (read: scolding) him all the while.
Though he never started the fights, it was always some drunken fool, usually out of towners, that decided to try their luck.
"But we're getting off track, aren't we? We are of course here to get the talisman's out of the hands of evil." The older man said, slipping off the suit jacket and tossing it on the bed, followed by his shirt, which gave the younger man a full view of the stitches as well as the dried blood and bruises that covered his chest, sides, stomach and back.
"Jesus, those guys really did a number on you." Alex said, though he found what Yuzuki said ironic, since he himself was also trying to keep them out of the older man's hands too.
"I'll live. Besides, the Yakuza can do a whole lot worse when they want to." The man said, grabbing a clean shirt and slipping it on, buttoning it up as well.
"So, who exactly is this boss of yours?" The younger man asked.
"I do not know his full name, we are told to only call him Mister Hayashida." Yuzuki answered.
"At least that's something.." Alex said.
Yuzuki nodded, taking a seat again, the man letting out a quiet hiss as he did so.
"Anything else?" The younger man asked.
"..Nothing at the moment." The older man answered.
Alex didn't believe that, but perhaps Yuzuki didn't wish to speak about it further, so he just gave a nod to him as he didnt want to push his luck.
The younger man took his bag off, setting it down next to the couch, inwardly glad to have it off his back.
"Mind if i take a shower? I haven't had one in a couple of days." Alex asked.
Yuzuki simply nudged his head towards a door located near the bed.
"It's right through there." He answered.
The younger man picked up his bag, unzipping it and pulling out a fresh change of clothes, as well as his pistol, setting it back down and heading into the bathroom.
He turned the knobs, letting the water warm up as he slipped his clothes off, letting them fall onto the smooth tiled floor, as he reached to behind his neck, unhooking a clasp as a cross necklace fell into his open hand, which was a brilliant silver with engravings in latin etched into it, and he set it on the counter next to the clothes he brought with him, doing the same with the pistol.
The man then reached his arm into the shower, feeling the water was where he wanted it and got in, shutting the door behind him.
After a few minutes and efficiently cleaning his body and hair, he turned the knobs, turning the shower off and he stepped out, grabbing a towel, drying himself off and slipping on the pair of grey pants followed by a plain black t-shirt.
Alex then grabbed the cross necklace off of the marble counter, reaching his hands back to behind his neck and clasping the chain together so it wouldn't fall off of his neck, and then he left the bathroom, but not before grabbing his pistol off the counter.
Upon doing so, he saw Yuzuki talking on the hotel's phone, speaking japanese as he did so, before hanging up.
And it was then that he noticed the younger man's presence.
"Oh I didn't hear you come out of the bathroom." He said.
"Well, given you were talking on the phone, kinda makes sense that you wouldn't." Alex said, crossing the room, and Yuzuki caught a glimpse of the necklace around his neck.
"I didn't know you were a man of the faith." He said.
The younger man seemed to take a moment to analyze in his head what Yuzuki said, and to think of a response.
"Oh. Yea, i was raised Catholic, most of my family on my father's side was, given they were originally from Ireland." Alex said.
"..Though i'm not the most devout of my family, i still like to pray every once in a while, cause i like to think that maybe he's listening..you know?" The young man said.
"Nothing wrong with that." The older man said.
Alex nodded softly, zipping his bag back up after he took out a light brown leather jacket, slipping it onto himself, but not zipping it up.
"Anyway, who were you talking to?" The younger man asked.
"One of my contacts, she's been keeping tabs on what my boss and his underlings have been doing." Yuzuki answered.
Alex was surprised that the older man had any, well he wouldn't call them friends, left after what their boss did to him, but given what line of work Yuzuki was in, it didn't surprise him much.
"And what exactly have they learned?" Alex asked.
"Quite a few things, but she wants to meet in person rather than talk over the phone." Yuzuki answered.
"Ok..and where does she want to meet?" The younger man asked
"Hama Rikyu Park, come on." The older man answered as he got up, slipping on another suit jacket, buttoning it up as he left, Alex following behind him.
•Hama Rikyu Park•
It was early evening by the time they got to the park, which was for the most part deserted, the paths lit by small lanterns on each side.
It was quite serene and beautiful, though they were soon stopped as someone approached them, actually, make that two people!
The first one was a woman of asian descent, wearing one of those old style trench coats, like those you would find in an old detective program, with a pair of black tinted sunglasses on her face, she seemed to radiate an aura of seriousness about her, and even behind the sunglasses, Alex could tell she was looking him over, silently judging him.
Behind her, was a tall and very big man, reminding Alex of a sumo wrestler, who seemed to have a look of seriousness on his face, he was of japanese descent, like Yuzuki, and seemed to be wearing a simple white shirt with black suspenders and shoes.
"Yuzuki. Good to see your still in good spirits." She said, which the older man nodded to.
"And its good to see you again, Ada, and you as well, Tohru." He said.
"And who is..This?" Ada asked, nodding towards Alex.
"Oh this is.." he answered.
"Alex Greyson, nice to meet you both." The younger man said.
Ada nodded silently. "My name is Ada Wong, agent for the Japanese Government, and this is Tohru, my bodyguard." She said.
'Ada Wong..where the hell have i heard that name before..?'
Alex shook his head, as Ada led them down the path, Tohru in front with Ada behind him, Alex behind her and then Yuzuki behind him.
"..So, what have you learned?" The youngest man asked.
"It seems like Yuzuki's boss has gone into hiding since he got ahold of what he found, though i've managed to pinpoint where his croney who has the Rat Talisman is." She answered as they kept walking.
"And where are they?" Yuzuki asked.
"The Kagurazaka hanamachi." Ada answered.
Upon hearing that, Yuzuki's face flushed red, while Alex was visibly confused.
"..what is that?" Alex asked.
"Think of it like an..entertainment district, so to speak." She answered.
As they kept walking, they soon came upon an old shrine, vines and other plant life covered it, making it difficult to see the architecture underneath.
"Whoa, what's a shrine doing here?" The youngest man asked.
"These parks were where feudal lords once lived, they kept shrines within their land so they did not have to travel far to pray and to pay respects." Yuzuki answered.
Alex approached the shrine, noting that even though the plant life had taken over most of the structure, with little specs of the different colors used being visible through it, it seemed to be in pretty good shape, and nothing seemed molded nor rotten.
As he got closer, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end and his eyes widened as he swore he could sense something was here with him, though he could not see it with his eyes, but the man could certainly feel its presence.
Was this shrine haunted? It was an honest possibility and one he considered as likely servants prayed here as well, even as they were on their deathbeds and were likely attached to it as a result.
Whether or not they were good or evil did not matter, as Alex did not want to stick around to find out, backing away slowly and bumping into Yuzuki as a result.
"Hey! Watch where you're..Greyson, you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost." Yuzuki said.
The younger man shook his head as he attempted to calm himself down.
"Y-yeah..let's get out of here.." he said.
Without another word, the four of them continued down the path, ending up at Ada's car, which was a suv, Yuzuki and Ada getting in front with Alex and Tohru getting in back.
"..so what exactly is the plan?" Alex asked.
"Intel gathered from other agents has discovered he's throwing a dinner of sorts at one of the geisha houses, apparently, along with acquiring the Rat Talisman, he was promoted to being the bosses main bodyguard." Ada explained.
"Let me guess, it's invite only?" Yuzuki asked as the bright neon lights that covered the city streaked past them.
"Bingo, but thankfully we've managed to snag some invites from guests that unfortunately won't be able to come." The woman answered as they took a left at an intersection.
"And since this guy is now the bosses main bodyguard, won't he know where the boss is hiding out?" Alex asked.
"Not necessarily but we'll keep that in mind." Ada answered.
•Kagurazaka Hanamachi•
"Woah..this place is beautiful.." Alex said.
The district looked as though it was plucked out of the edo period, the architecture of the building reflecting that style of building, cobbled streets and beautiful looking lanterns lining the streets.
Amongst it all, women dressed in geisha makeup and kimonos of all designs and colors walked the street, some holding oil paper parasol's, some decorated with beautiful designs and others just plain colors.
"It is, but we've got a job to do." Ada said as they walked down the street, soon coming across what seemed like an old house placed amongst the buildings that surrounded it, the four of them walking inside after seeing the front doors were open.
As they entered, they say it was not a living space, but rather a tailor's shop, run by a kindly old woman and her sister, who greeted them from behind a counter against the far wall, swatches and large bolts of fabric in every conceivable color and shade behind them.
"I suppose we can't go to the party wearing what we are now.." Alex said as Ada began to look through the clothes on display.
Alex and Yuzuki followed her lead, looking through the suits the kind old lady had, both soon deciding on an olive green with black dress pants and brown leather shoes and a midnight blue outfit respectively.
Once that was done, the four of them headed to a nearby safehouse, Ada having procured it a while back but had no reason to use it until now.
"Nice place, a lot better than my campus dorm room back in university." Alex said.
"Glad to see you approve." Ada said, though the younger man could tell she had a joking tone to her voice.
The safehouse was small, but then again it couldn't really be big as it wasn't meant to draw attention, but the interior was nicely decorated, a large couch against the far left wall with a glass coffee table in front of it, in front of both of them was a large flat screen television, and to the left on the wall in front of them was a window, the curtains drawn closed.
"Take a moment to drop your things off, but don't get comfy, since we have to get going." The woman said as she went down a small hallway, entering into what was likely a bedroom and shutting the door.
"I'll take the hall bathroom, so you can have privacy." Yuzuki said, heading there and leaving Alex by himself, at least until he noticed Tohru, who was quietly standing nearby.
"Oh, um Tohru..would you mind turning around..?" Alex asked, which the giant man nodded to, turning so he was facing the door, and the smaller man changed into his outfit for the party in only a few minutes.
"Ok, you can turn back around, big guy." The man said, fixing the cufflink on the left sleeve, as tohru did so.
At that moment, Yuzuki came out of the hall bathroom, running a hand through his hair as he shut the door using the other, stepping out into the living room.
"And here I thought you were going with something more simple." Alex said.
The older man scoffed, though it seemed to be more jokingly than out of actual offense.
"If there is anything that I am not, it is simple." Yuzuki said.
"Anyway, I guess we're waiting on Ada, unless you wanna go knock on the door." The younger man said, pointing his thumb in the direction of it.
"I would rather not, thank you very much." The older man said.
"Good, cause neither would i." Alex said.
It was at that moment that the bedroom door opened and Ada stepped out, wearing a dark red ankle length dress, a pair of black high heels and a thin gold necklace around her neck with earrings to match in both ears.
Her heels clicked as she walked into the living room, a pair of thin glasses, the frames a light rose pink color, on her face.
"Everyone ready?" She asked, after which the three nodded, and headed out to the suv again and drove to where the party was being held.
•At The Party•
"Whoa, talk about pulling out all the stops." Alex said as they stepped out of the vehicle, immediately being bathed in the glow of lights, almost making them wince at how bright they were.
"How exactly do you plan on getting the talisman off of him?" Yuzuki asked.
"Let me handle that, you two just enjoy the party and I'll let you know when to step in." Ada answered.
The three of them stepped up to the front door, showing their invites to the doorman, who, with some odd reluctance, allowed them inside.
Even before they entered the main room, the voices of other guests filled their ears as they walked down the hallway, Alex wishing he could block them out, but shook it away as they entered the actual main room.
"Where is he?" Alex asked, his eyes scanning the room as he pushed his glasses back up, the low light coming from the chandeliers above them reflecting off of them.
Yuzuki scanned the room as well, ignoring most of the guests around him, until his eyes rested on who he was looking for.
"He's in the corner, speaking to some people. No idea who they are, though." The older man answered.
"Well, i better make a good first impression, then." Ada said, walking over to them, leaving the two men alone.
"I get the feeling that we just got dumped." Alex said.
"Unfortunately, the feeling is shared in that statement." Yuzuki said.
"Wanna get a drink?" The younger man asked, glancing over at the open bar off to the side, seeing a few guests sitting at it already.
"Might as well, but you're paying." The older man answered, as the two of them walked over to it.
"I think the drinks are free, Yuzuki." Alex said, taking a seat.
"Then you're paying for my company." Yuzuki said, taking the seat next to him, though again there was a joking tone to his voice that the younger man picked up on.
"So, what exactly got you into the mob business?" The younger man asked after they ordered their drinks.
"Curious tonight, aren't we?" The older man asked.
"Your drinks sirs." The bartender said, giving them their drinks.
"Well, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to." Alex said, taking a drink.
"You mentioned your family earlier, at the hotel." Yuzuki said.
"Yea, what about them?" The younger man answered.
"..Would you do anything for them, even if it wasn't the most..moral decision?" The older man asked, doing the same.
Alex went into thought, the sounds around him becoming nothing but white noise, as memories of his family entered his mind.
"Well, yes, i would..especially if it meant protecting them." Alex answered, the ice clinking lightly in his glass as he lifted it to his lips and taking another drink.
"..wait..that's why you joined the yakuza, isn't it?" The younger man asked, the realization hitting him.
Yuzuki let out a quiet sigh, swirling his drink lightly as the ice clinked against the sides of the glass as he took a drink from it, setting it on the counter.
He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his wallet, opening it and holding it out to him.
Alex took the wallet gently, his eyes immediately catching onto a photo that was in the front pocket and seeable through the clear plastic stitched into it.
The photo was of two people, a man and a woman, the younger man instantly recognizing the man as Yuzuki himself, though he looked a couple of years younger than he did now.
His hair was done up into a ponytail, a fact that had him biting back a chuckle, while the woman looked to be a few years younger than himself, her hair seemingly hidden under a beanie.
The two of them seemed pretty happy, though something didn't sit right with him about her, like she seemed to be hiding something, as if the happiness on her face was a mask of sorts.
"That's me with my younger sister, Yuki. She actually was heading out to her dorm room when we took that photo." The older man said.
"Oh, she's in college?" Alex asked, handing him back his wallet.
"She was. She graduated about a year ago." Yuzuki answered.
"What did she major in?" The younger man asked, taking a drink.
"Environmental Sciences, funnily enough." The older man answered.
•Meanwhile•
'Come on Ada, you can do this! Just..take a deep breath and introduce yourself!'
Ada took a breath, her hand clenching as she tried to gather her nerves, the very idea of herself being overcome with nervousness was infuriating.
She had done this plenty of times, so to her this was nothing but child's play, and yet this nervous feeling was blanketing her, making her more likely to make mistakes.
Ada shook her head. No. She wasn't going to let this get to her, she was better than this.
She shook the nervous feeling off of her and walked across the room towards the man they were after, her eyes scanning him behind her glasses as she slowly got closer.
The woman could see past the facade the man was putting on, beneath the grey suit and pants, rings on his fingers, and gold chain around his neck that he was a killer, someone who was willing to do whatever was asked of him, no questions asked.
It was a good thing she was the same way.
"Enjoying the party so far, miss..?" The man asked.
"Call me Ada, and yes I am." She answered.
"Ada..it's such a beautiful name, and how it fits for such a beautiful woman such as yourself." The man said.
"Oh i'm sure you say that to every woman you talk to." Ada said, giving him a soft smile, but inwardly she was frowning.
"Only to those who have caught my eye, and that, you certainly have done." He said.
'God i wanna vomit..' She thought.
The man led her away from the crowded main room, heading down an adjoining hallway into what seemed like a small den, the smell of cigarette smoke thick in the air, but she didn't let it get to her as she took a seat on the couch.
"So, what's the occasion for a party such as this?" Ada asked.
"Well the more..public reason was because i had been promoted to the bosses main bodyguard, but the actual reason is because of what i got recently." The man explained.
"And what exactly was it you acquired?" She asked.
The man smirked softly, reaching a hand up to his ear, a single finger going up to what ada realized was a bluetooth earpiece, which she hadn't noticed earlier, followed by him speaking in japanese for a few moments before letting the button go.
"They will be here with it in a few minutes, but for now, may i offer a drink or two?" The man asked.
Ada's eyes scanned the room, spying a small bar at the back of the room like those you would find in old smoking rooms, inwardly smirking.
"Let me, it'd be bad manners for the man of the hour to do all the work." She said as she stood up, walking over to the small bar and pouring four glasses, giving a glance back for a moment before she set the bottle of liquor on the table.
She reached into a hip pouch hidden beneath her dress, pulling out a small vial of some kind of white powder, unscrewing the top and giving three of the glasses a dose of it, rescrewing it closed and putting it back, then taking the glasses and bringing them over just in time for the man's goons to come in, one of whom was carrying something.
"Thank you my dear, but may i ask why you have brought four drinks?" The man asked.
"I figured your helpers could use a drink, given that they've likely been helping put this party together and all." She answered.
The man handed the two goons two of the glasses of liquor, as Ada and him grabbed their own.
With a snap of his fingers, the goon carrying the cases opened it, revealing that inside of it was the Rat Talisman.
'So, that's the Rat Talisman..' she thought.
The man grabbed it from the case, holding it between two fingers, as if he was showboating it.
"What does it do?" Ada asked.
"I'm glad you asked. Observe." The man said, pointing the talisman at a nearby taxidermied animal, a blast of bright light shooting from it and after a few moments it made contact, before fading away.
After a few seconds, the animal let out a cry, jumping from its place and running from the room, apparently smashing a few things as it did so.
"Holy shit.." She said in utter shock.
"I know, it is a wonder, isn't it?" The man asked, a soft smirk on his face.
"..And as luck would have it, I have found a buyer, who is willing to pay top dollar for such a powerful artifact." The man continued.
"Well, shall we drink to celebrate?" Ada asked.
"Yes, I believe we shall." The man answered as they all raised their glasses and drank, setting the empty glasses down on the table.
"Ow.." the man said, putting a hand on his head.
"Something wrong sir?" One of the goons asked.
"Odd..i suddenly have this headache..-" the man answered, before his eyes widened.
He looked at Ada, who was smirking softly at the three of them.
"What did you do?" He asked.
"I just added a little special something to your drinks..which, right now is metabolizing in your bodies, shutting off the oxygen to your brains and in a couple more minutes will cause you to fall unconscious and kill you." Ada answered, taking advantage of the moment and snatching the rat talisman out of his hand
"Cyanide.." the man answered, shock clear in his voice.
"Nasty stuff, though very useful, especially if you want answers." She said, as one of the goons fell to the floor, soon after followed by the second.
"Now, where is your boss?" Ada asked him.
"H-he's in Sapporo, H-hokkaido P-prefecture.." the man answered, but before he could speak anymore he fell to the floor like his two goons had.
Ada smirked as she began to search through his pockets, finding a small red notebook in one of them, and with the talisman and this notebook, she began to walk out of the room, her heels clicking against the floor beneath her.
•A Few Minutes Earlier•
"What did your family say when they learned you wanted to be an archeologist?" Yuzuki asked, finishing his third drink.
Alex, at the same time, finished his fourth, his mind starting to become clouded, the younger man guessing Yuzuki was likely feeling the same way, but he shook his head in an attempt to fight it off.
"They weren't surprised, really. I'd always loved history growing up, so they would be more surprised if I hadn't." Alex answered.
"What about your parents? What did they think when Yuki wanted to become a scientist?" The younger man asked.
Yuzuki's hand clenched around the glass it held, the man shakily lifting it and taking a drink from it.
"Our parents..they aren't around anymore, they died in a car crash when i was 19. Yuki was only 15 at the time." The older man answered.
Alex's eyes widened, a guilty feeling rising in his gut, burning his throat as he tried to swallow it back down.
"Oh geez, i'm so sorry.." the man said, glancing at him.
The older man shook his head, downing his drink and then setting the glass on the table.
"Don't kick yourself. You had no idea, but to answer your question i'd say they would be very proud of her." Yuzuki answered.
"I see you two are enjoying the party." Ada said, having walked up behind them.
Both men turned to face her, a sense of relief washing over them upon seeing she was ok.
"Ada, I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long." Yuzuki said.
"Sorry, had to charm him before he would give me what we wanted. Speaking of, i believe this belongs to you, Alex." She said, setting the Rat Talisman into his hand.
'One down..' Alex thought, putting the talisman into his pocket.
"So, did you find out where Yuzuki's boss is?" The young man asked.
"..Former boss, Greyson." The older man said.
"He's in Sapporo, but we can't chase after him tonight, we need to go back to the safehouse and rest, tomorrow we'll prepare." Ada answered.
"Sounds like a plan." Yuzuki said, as both he and Alex got up from their chairs, and all three of them left the party, rejoining Tohru at the suv and driving back to the safehouse.
•At The Safehouse•
Once they arrived, they changed out of their party attire and into more casual clothing, Ada heading to the bedroom, Tohru following behind her, leaving Alex and Yuzuki in the living room, Alex sitting down on the couch, letting out a sigh.
"So, out of curiosity, what's it like..being you?" Yuzuki asked, sitting down on the couch as well, an empty spot separating the two men.
"It feels good, first and foremost. I mean, I'm no different than you, really.." Alex answered, shrugging.
"Didn't say you were." The older man said.
"Says the guy who taunted me by asking if i was really a man." The younger man retorted.
Yuzuki sighed, the memory of Alex punching him square in the nose, which resulted in it being broken, entered his mind, and he swore a slight tingling sensation began on the appendage, though it faded quickly.
"That wasn't my brightest moment I will admit." The older man said.
"No, it wasn't, and I say that me punching you in and breaking your nose was justified." Alex said.
"Yea, i can't deny that.." the older man said, rubbing the back of his head.
The younger man yawned, covering his mouth as he did so, not fully realizing how tired he actually was until now.
"Come on, let's get some sleep." Yuzuki said.
"Yea..we're definitely going to need it.." Alex said, laying back onto the couch, Yuzuki doing the same.
Meanwhile, Ada was sitting up in bed, reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing her phone, dialing a number into it and waiting.
"Ah, Agent Wong. We were beginning to wonder when you would call."
Ada twirled her hair with a single finger before she spoke.
"It's done. Now all that's left is to take care of the boss, and our long standing assignment will be done." She said.
"Glad to hear it, and command wants this archeological object he has acquired, so make sure you grab it off of him, whether he's dead or alive is irrelevant."
The woman nodded. "Of course."
Ada then hung up, setting her phone back into place and laying down, falling asleep a few minutes later.
•In The Morning•
"Rise and shine, greyson." A voice said, which roused the young man from sleep, and he noticed Yuzuki standing next to him, a plastic bag with the logo of 7/11 emblazoned on it hanging from his closed hand.
"Mmm..what do you have there?" Alex asked, letting out a yawn as he spoke.
"Breakfast." Yuzuki answered, tossing a wrapped egg sandwich and an onigiri onto the younger man's lap, setting a cup of coffee on the table in front of him.
"Where's yours?" The younger man asked, unwrapping the sandwich and taking a bite out of it.
"I ate my breakfast on the way back." The older man answered, sitting down on the couch next to him.
"Well, thanks for getting this for me." Alex said, finishing the sandwich, grabbing and unwrapping the onigiri as it was shown on the packaging.
"Don't mention it, greyson." Yuzuki said.
"You can just call me Alex, ya know." The younger man said.
The older man gave a silent nod, and Alex soon finished eating, drinking the last bit of coffee in the styrofoam cup before tossing it into the nearby trash can.
"I'm guessing Ada's still asleep?" The younger man asked.
"Yep, but i got her some food anyhow for when she does finally wake up." The older man answered.
"She really must not be a morning person." Alex said.
"Not everyone gets up at the crack of dawn, Grey..Alex." Yuzuki said, hesitating as he attempted to correct himself.
The younger man yawned again, covering his mouth as he did so. "I know, I guess living on a farm has engraved that into my head, is all." He said.
"You lived on a farm?" Yuzuki asked.
"Born and raised on one, helped my grandparents and parents maintain it, before I moved." Alex answered.
Before their conversation could continue, Ada entered into the living room, followed by Tohru, Yuzuki giving her the food he bought, which she immediately began to open and eat, sharing it with tohru.
"So, what exactly is the plan for going after this guy?" The youngest man asked.
"He's likely got his most trusted men and their underlings keeping watch over him, however, we could reduce those numbers by causing a distraction." Ada said.
"But what exactly? It's not like we have the police on our side." The older man said, which caused a lightbulb to light in Alex's head.
"Actually..let me go make a call real quick." Alex said, getting up and heading out the door.
"Shall we get ready, then?" Yuzuki asked.
"Gladly." The woman said, as they both got up and went to separate rooms to change, leaving Tohru in the living room.
Meanwhile, Alex stepped outside onto the sidewalk, pulling out his phone and dialing a number into it and waiting for the person on the other end to pick up, which, after a couple of minutes, they did.
"Oh, Alex, glad to hear from you, I thought maybe something happened.." the voice of captain black said on the other end.
"Trust me, if anything did, you would hear about it..anyway, i want to call in that backup you mentioned earlier, and see what you can dig up on Mr. Hayashida." The young man said
"..Say that name again, Alex.." Black said after he had dropped the phone but quickly picked it back up.
"Mr. Hayashida?" Alex asked, feeling very confused.
Shuffling noises could be heard, followed by Captain Black sounding as though someone was after him, which made the younger man worried.
"Alex, I'll get that backup to you asap, but I have to make some calls first. And please, be careful around this guy." He said before hanging up.
It most certainly left him confused, but before he could process any of it, Ada and Yuzuki, trailed by Tohru, came out the front door, and walked up to him.
"So, how did your call go?" Ada asked, Alex noticing she was wearing a purple shirt with a grey jacket and blue jeans with tennis shoes to complete the look.
"Well good news is, we'll have back up when we go after this guy." The younger man answered.
"Is there bad news?" Yuzuki asked, as the four of them walked to their car and got in, buckled up and began to drive.
"I'm..honestly not sure. My boss seemed surprised when I told him the name of your boss, Yuzuki, maybe they know each other?" Alex answered, the older man having handed him a clean t-shirt and a grey jacket, which he quickly changed into.
"We won't be arriving in Sapporo till nighttime, we'll take shift's driving, agreed?" Ada interrupted.
"Works for me." The older man said.
"Alright." The younger man said.
Alex laid back in the seat, closing his eyes and immediately falling back asleep for what feels like hours until he's gently shaken awake by Yuzuki, trading places with him in the driver's seat, as Ada was sleeping in the passenger's seat beside him.
Once they got back on the road, it seemed like a straight shot to Sapporo, at least, until Alex noticed that someone was following them rather closely in the driver's side mirror.
"What the..Hey!" The young man said as the vehicle following them suddenly rammed into them, which woke up everyone else.
"Huh? What the hell, Alex, can't you drive-" Yuzuki said before he got cut off.
"We got company! It seems like your former associates want to give us a warm welcome!" Alex said as the car got rammed again, but he rammed them right back.
"Alex, keep driving and keep your head down! Yuzuki, throw me your pistol!" Ada said, as Yuzuki gave her said item and she busted the window and began to shoot at the other car.
"Ada, please be careful.." Tohru said.
"I will, Tohru." She said as she put in a new clip of ammo before beginning to fire again, the car again getting rammed, causing it to swerve until Alex got it back on the road.
"Aim for their tires!" Yuzuki said, getting tossed against the inside of the door as their car was once again rammed, however, a second car joined the first, boxing them in on both sides.
"Alex, DUCK!" The woman said as the younger man did as she said, Ada firing a few shots at their car, which popped holes in their front passengers side tire, the friction causing it to become shredded as the rim began to scrape against the asphalt, producing sparks.
The car currently missing one of its tires was struggling to keep itself straight, the front bumper smashing into their car once again, which caused the car to smash into the side of the other car, causing it to scrape against the guardrail, until Alex managed to get back on the road again.
"How do we lose these guys?!" The younger man said.
"Ada, you have to take out the drivers!" Yuzuki yelled as he was tossed into tohru's side, though it didn't phase him, Yuzuki however..it was like running into a wall.
Before anyone could react, Alex yelled in pain as a bullet was fired into his left shoulder, making his right hand shoot up and grab it out of instinct.
"Alex!" All three of them said in panic.
"F-fuck, don't worry about me, w-worry about these guys before we get run off the road!" The younger man said through gritted teeth.
"Here, let me drive, you're in no condition." Ada said as she and Alex changed seats quickly, though it was a little awkward as they did, especially given the younger man was holding his shoulder as it bled through his fingers and stained his clothes.
"Ada, you have to-" Yuzuki tried to say but she cut him off.
"Take out the drivers, way ahead of you!" She said as she quickly raised her pistol, not even taking a moment to aim before she fired, taking out the driver of the car on their left, which caused it to veer off the road and smash into the guardrail as they drove on past.
"We need to get this other car off of us so we can get him to a hospital, Ada!" The older man said as the younger man gripped his shoulder even tighter in an attempt to stop the bleeding, though it also caused him to let out another noise of pain.
"I think he got hit in the brachial plexus.." tohru said quietly.
"No shit, sherlock, just give me a second!" Ada said as she kept one hand on the wheel, using the other to focus the pistol before she fired, taking out the second driver and causing the car to crash off to the side of the road.
Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Yuzuki press something against his shoulder and hold it there after moving his right hand out of the way, which made him hiss in pain as Ada set the pistol in the middle console.
"How far are we from Sapporo?" Tohru asked, a look of worry decorating his face as he watched Alex.
"About 45 minutes, thank goodness me and yuzuki drove for 6 hours apiece..thank god for coffee.." she answered.
"And then I drove for three and a half, till those guys showed up." The younger man said as a woozy feeling started to overtake him.
"What's the closest hospital, exactly?" Ada asked.
"Hokkaido University, i'll lead you down the quickest route once we get into city limits, and Alex, just keep your eyes open, ok?" The older man answered as Alex gave a small nod to him.
Ada nodded too, pushing the gas pedal to the floor, managing somehow to weave through cars as they continued down the road.
•Hokkaido University Hospital•
Once they arrived, again pretty quickly due to Ada's driving, though she was likely going to get a few tickets after all this was said and done, the nurses rushed Alex back and left Yuzuki, Ada and Tohru in the waiting room.
"We should get going." Ada said, standing up from her seat.
"And leave Alex here?" Yuzuki asked, his foot tapping against the floor in impatience.
"He's in good hands, Yuzuki, besides, I figured that out of all of us you would want to get your boss behind bars." The woman answered.
"I do, trust me, but I'd rather not take a chance on them coming back to finish the job." Yuzuki said.
"I will stay with him, you two go do what you need to." Tohru said, getting up off his chair and going between the two.
Both adults looked up to the larger man, wanting to say something to him, but neither were able to find the words to say.
"Alright, big guy." The older man said, before both of them left, just as a doctor stepped through the doors leading to the ER.
•With Ada & Yuzuki•
"Think he'll be ok?" Yuzuki asked as they walked across the parking lot, getting into her car.
"As i said, he's in good hands, we're just lucky i can drive at such high speeds." Ada answered.
"Don't even think of asking me to pay your parking tickets for you." The man said, buckling up.
"You still owe me for that bar tab." She said as she began to drive, though Yuzuki had nothing to say to that.
A few minutes later, the man's cell phone went off, which he then dug out of his suit pocket and saw it was a text message, though who it was from made his eyes go wide.
"Yuzuki, you alright?" Ada asked.
"My boss..just messaged me.." He answered.
Ada hit the brakes suddenly, making yuzuki's forehead hit the dashboard.
"Ow! What the hell, Ada?!" He yelled in pain.
"Hand me your phone." She said, holding her hand out to him.
•Back at the Hospital•
"Is he ok, doctor?" Tohru asked, walking over to the doctor as both of them left behind him
The doctor slipped the mask off of his face, taking a breath of air before he spoke.
"I am not exaggerating when I say he was very lucky. A few minutes more and we wouldn't have been able to do anything to save him." They said, the two of them walking back through the doors.
"Is he out of the operating room?" The larger man asked, doctors and nurses scooching to the sides of the halls to let him through.
"Yes, he's in a recovery room at the moment, the anesthesiologist has already been by to reverse the anesthesia and Alex will be conscious soon." The doctor said, the duo passing through another set of doors.
"What exactly did you have to do during his operation?" Tohru asked as they stopped for a moment, the doctor pulled out a card from inside their scrubs and set it to a nearby sensor, the doors in front of them slowly sliding open, and the two of them once again stepped through them before they shut.
"The bullet that pierced his shoulder was a lower caliber, meaning that while it did do damage to his brachial plexus, it was not as severe as a higher caliber round would have done." They explained.
'Thank goodness..' Tohru thought
"..However, the round did hit his thoracoacromial artery, which is why he was bleeding like he was, and why I said that he was very, very lucky. If it wasn't for your friend applying constant and steady pressure to the wound, they would not have made it here." They finished.
"So, you have likely put him on transfusion, then?" The larger man asked, before they stopped in front of a final set of double doors, the doctor repeating what they had done previously.
"Yes, though we are speaking with his doctors in America to see what they wish to do regarding his recovery and treatment, so he will likely be transferred into their care." They said, finally arriving at Alex's room.
Upon entering, the first thing that tohru noticed was the monotonous beeping of the intravenous pump machine, hooked up into it was a bag of what the man knew had to be blood, which looked to be around half empty.
His eyes followed the tube downwards, which seamlessly disappeared into the intravenous machine itself, before coming out the bottom and leading down to an arm that laid unmoving on the blankets that covered the bed, the spot where it went into the arm was expertly wrapped up with medical tape.
If there was one word the larger man could think of to describe the young man he watched as he laid in the hospital bed, sticky pads decorating his chest, at least, he knew they were from the wires that came up through the collar of his gown, it would be peaceful, which felt like an odd word given what they had just been through.
"When he does wake up, let the nurse know so she can look over what she needs to." The doctor said as they left, Tohru sitting down in a nearby recliner.
•Back with Ada and Yuzuki•
"Fine." The man said, setting his phone into the woman's hand, rubbing his forehead with his other.
Ada began to work quickly, taking out a small device and plugging it into where the charger plugged into.
"What the hell are you doing?" Yuzuki asked.
"Tracing the call." Ada answered.
The man stayed silent and let her work, knowing any distractions would only make her make a mistake.
"Got it. He's in a penthouse in the inner city." Ada said, unplugging the device and handing his phone back to him.
"Shouldn't we wait for Alex's backup?" The man asked.
"He's out of commision, besides, I'm not the only agent after this guy." The woman answered, pulling back onto the road.
"That's..comforting.." Yuzuki said.
"Don't worry, they aren't going to shoot you." She said.
"Not exactly what i'm worried about." The man said.
"You can sit out here in the car if you're too scared, ya know." Ada said, a small smirk on her face as she pulled in front of the penthouse where the call came from.
"And let you have all the fun? Hah, yea right." Yuzuki said as he got out of the car, his pistol at the ready as Ada followed behind him.
•Meanwhile•
"Mmm..Tohru..I-is that's..youz..?" Alex said, at the moment feeling as though he was just coming out of a coma, his voice hoarse and sore.
"Alex, you're awake..how do you feel?" The larger man asked.
"Pretty loopy..if i'm being honest..where am i?" The younger man asked, realizing he couldn't use his left hand or arm, so he used his right to lift himself up from the bed he was laying in.
"You're in the hospital, don't you remember getting shot before?" Tohru asked.
"Oh yea..that would explain why my left arm is like a limp noodle." Alex answered, as Tohru got up from his seat and went out into the hall, coming back a few moments later with a nurse in tow.
"Just have to check your vitals and such, mister greyson." The nurse said as he went over to the machine, jotting down the readings on the screen, before wrapping a blood pressure cuff onto his right arm and taking readings from it as well.
"Your blood pressure is slowly returning to normal, which is good, we'll take you off transfusion once this bag is empty, give we've already had you on one full bag and a half full one already, and once you're fully aware and have full control of your motor skills, we'll get the iv out of your arm and into a sling and you'll be free to go." The nurse said.
"Just like that?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Normally, we would keep you here for observation and such, but we have been speaking to your doctors over conference calls and they've insisted we release you into their care, your endocrinologist was especially adamant on this." The nurse answered.
"Of course she would be." the man said quietly.
"Anyhow, for the time being, just relax." The nurse said, leaving the room.
"..So, Tohru..how did you and ada meet?" The man asked him.
•Meanwhile, with Ada and Yuzuki•
Yuzuki ducked as Ada jumped off his back, kicking a large bodyguard into the door behind him, causing him to crash through it and land on the floor, groaning.
"See? That's why I always go high." She said.
"I could've taken him out." The man said as he stood up, rubbing his back where Ada jumped off of.
They both carefully stepped through the door and into the room, standing at the far end and turned away from them was Yuzuki's former boss, hands behind his back as he stared out of the window in front of him.
"You could have just knocked, rather than kicking the door down." He said.
"Says the guy who sent his men to run us off the road." Yuzuki said.
"True, but that was..payback, for what miss wong did to my newest bodyguard." The old man said.
"I was given a job to do, plain and simple." Ada said, pulling her pistol out, pointing it at him.
"Ada-" the younger man said, but before he could finish his sentence, a fireball was launched at them, both of them managing to dodge it, however Ada's gun was rendered to molten goo on the floor.
"What the hell-?!" Ada said.
The old man smirked, holding the smoking dragon talisman in his open palm.
"It is quite the curious artifact..such power hidden within..i really haven't had a good chance to see what it can really do..i suppose you two will have to do." He said, the smirk still on his face.
•Back in the Hospital•
"..So, Tohru..how did you and ada meet?" The man asked him.
"Well, we met when we were both in kindergarten. She was the only one who would talk to me when I first came into the classroom.." the larger man answered, a soft smile forming on his face.
"She was your first friend, yea?" Alex asked, which Tohru nodded to.
"Ada also kept the bullies away from me, I know it sounds silly but.." Tohru said.
"I know what it's like to deal with mean people tohru, so it doesn't sound silly. My older sister, Claire, was the same way." The younger man said.
Tohru smiled softly. "We made a promise to always be friends and have each other's backs, which is why i'm her bodyguard, but.." he said.
Alex raised an eyebrow. "But..?" Alex asked.
"I am uncertain about this, but i believe she wants me to retire." Tohru answered.
"Have you asked her about this?" The younger man asked.
"I'm a little scared to, if i'm being entirely honest." The larger man answered.
"Tohru, she's your friend. She'll understand if you want to talk about it." Alex said.
Tohru nodded, feeling a little better about it. "Speaking of, I wonder how they are doing?" The larger man asked.
"I'm sure they're doing ok." The younger man answered as a nurse came in holding a cup of ice water with a straw in it, handing it to him, which he gave a thank you to them for.
•Meanwhile•
Ada ducked quickly to avoid the old man's fiery fist that was aimed at her face, sweeping her leg in an attempt to knock him off his feet, though he jumped up to dodge it before he backflipped away and out of her range.
"Ok, fireballs i can understand, but that thing gives you flaming fists and kicks too?!" Ada said, dodging a few fireballs thrown her way.
"..Gives new meaning to flaming fists of fury." Yuzuki said, trying to pick himself up off the floor with groans of pain, and the quiet chuckle he utters certainly doesn't help.
Getting no reaction from her made him sigh quietly. "Greyson..Alex would've probably laughed at that.." he said to himself.
he lifted his head a little and spied his pistol laying across the ruined room next to the now destroyed couch, scorch marks covering its surface, a soft smirk crossing his lips as he began to crawl over to it.
"I must admit, miss wong, your skills are impressive." The man said as he blocked her punches and kicks, intermittently launching fire at her in an attempt to throw her off.
"I learned and trained with the best." She said, though like yuzuki she was a little worse for wear, small burns covering her skin and clothes from several near misses, some tiny spots of blood in places as well.
"Lets see if they taught you how to never let your guard down-" he said, but before he could finish his sentence, a gunshot cut through the room, the man's eyes travelling downwards as he saw a bullet wound through his chest, the blood starting to pool through his shirt.
Before the man could fully process what just happened, a second gunshot rang out and a few moments later he fell to the floor, the dragon talisman falling out of his hand and across the floor.
"..perhaps you should've learned that." Yuzuki said, his pistol in his hand, though it was shaking before he dropped it onto the floor, as Ada ran over to him and helped him up.
"What took you so long?" The man asked.
"Shouldn't i be the one asking you that?" She answered.
"I wanted to see how things played out." Yuzuki said, groaning as they began to walk out of the room, stopping to pick the dragon talisman off of the floor.
"Can't believe such a small object can cause so much damage..are you sure it's such a good idea we give it to him?" Ada asked as she looked it over.
"..He'll make sure it's in good hands, trust me." The man answered, though he silently added 'it's better in a statue's hands than a humans. At least a statue can't move.'
"Well..we better not keep him waiting then, if he made it that is." The woman said as they both walked out of the building.
•Back at the Hospital•
Both Ada and Yuzuki were relieved to hear Alex had made it, both of them given a look over themselves for their burns and injuries, and were told to head to the recovery room by the nurse afterwards.
When they got there, they saw that Alex was already up and out of the bed, looking to have changed into clean clothes before they arrived, as the nurse came in the room holding a medical sling.
"Glad to see you're ok, Alex." The older man said.
"I mean, the doctor said i won't be able to use my arm for about a week, but yea i'm ok." Alex said.
"I doubt that would stop you." He said, which made the younger man chuckle as the nurse finished getting his arm into the sling.
"I mean, you're not wrong.." Alex said, as the nurse left the room.
Yuzuki walked over to him and held out the dragon talisman to him, which the younger man took and set it into his pocket.
"Well, this makes six..six more to go." The young man said.
"Don't think i'm just gonna let you and chan take them without a fight." Yuzuki said, the four of them leaving the room after Alex gathered up his things and signed some papers.
"Same to you." Alex said.
Once they left the hospital it was a straight shot to New Chitose Airport, and while the young man knew Shendu would likely be pleased that he got not only the Rat Talisman back, but also the Dragon Talisman, he also knew that the demon was only getting one of them, and it certainly wasn't going to be the rat.
On top of that, he also knew he was going to have to talk to Captain Black once he got back, and not just about what happened over the past couple of days.
Alex and Yuzuki went their separate ways, happy that this was all over, though they knew this wasn't the end, not by a long shot, and as their planes took off into the skies heading for san francisco, Ada stepped into her car with Tohru in the passenger's seat.
"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" Tohru asked.
"I believe we will, Tohru, I believe we will." The woman answered.
The larger man smiled softly as they pulled out of the parking lot, heading back to headquarters to take to their supervisors about the mission, as he remembered the younger man's words spoken to him earlier.
"Tohru, she's your friend. She'll understand if you want to talk about it."
"Ada, can we talk about something..?" Tohru asked, which made her raise her eyebrow.
•San Francisco•
Alex and Yuzuki were happy to be back in San Francisco, the afternoon sun in the sky as they both exited the airport, Alex taking a taxi to Chinatown, and Yuzuki hopping into a limo that was waiting for him, heading back to the Dark Hand HQ.
When the younger man arrived at the shop and went inside, he was immediately tackled by Jade, who jumped off of the desk and ran over to him.
"Alex, you're ok!" She said as she hugged his leg, moving her face up so she was looking up at him, though her smile faded when the girl saw the sling.
"You're hurt.." Jade said.
"Don't worry, I'm ok Jade." Alex said, as the girl let go of his leg.
"You sure?" She asked, which the man nodded to.
"Where's Uncle?" The older man asked, in which Jade pointed to the backroom, which didn't surprise him in the slightest as he set his bag down and went back there.
"Uncle, i'm back!" The young man said as he stepped into the room.
"Aiya! Alex, it is good to see you, what do you have for Uncle?" The older man asked as he reached into his pocket and pulled both talisman's out and showed them to him.
"The rat and that dragon.." he said.
"The rat can animate inanimate objects, and the dragon grants pyrokinesis. I need you to do something with the rat, cause Shendu is not getting it." Alex explained, though he left out yet.
Uncle nodded, taking the rat from him and putting it into a small, ornate looking box and shutting it, grabbing a small vial of some kind of light greenish powder and pouring it onto the box itself, the powder dissipating instantly.
"Um..what did..?" The younger man asked.
"Uncle has put a good chi spell on the box containing the talisman, so dark chi forces cannot touch it." The older man explained.
Alex nodded, heading to Section 13 to both talk to Captain Black and get the dragon talisman to Shendu before anything else happened.
Meanwhile, Yuzuki entered Valmont's office, seeing the man in question standing at his desk, though he didn't see the enforcers anywhere, making him almost think that the man fired them.
"Ah, Yuzuki, i am glad to see you've returned." Valmont said.
"I am glad to be back, Valmont." The man said, walking up and standing next to him.
"So, did you find the talismans?" He asked, which Yuzuki shook his head to.
"Unfortunately Chan swiped them from me." The man said.
Valmont seemed to get angry for a moment, but immediately calmed to his normal demeanor.
"No matter, I have good news." He said.
"What? You fired those three buffoons?" Yuzuki asked.
"Unfortunately it is not that good of news..but, may i introduce our newest associate-" Valmont said before he got cut off by the doors to his office slamming open across the room.
Which revealed a withered looking old man dressed in robes standing behind them, holding an odd looking staff in his hand, who walked over to them.
Upon getting closer, Yuzuki noticed how haggard the man actually looked, their hair greyish white like snow, pale, almost corpse like skin that was wrinkled like a raisin, and long chipped fingernails at the ends of their fingers.
The young man did not trust this guy, and not just because of how he looked like some kind of voldemort rip off, but because of as he caught a glimpse of the old man's eyes, one a teal blue and the other a dark yellow, it was as if his soul left his body, causing a deep shiver to go down his spine.
'W-what the..w-why did it just feel like my soul just lept out of my chest?! W-was it because of this old man..?' Yuzuki thought.
"It is good to finally meet you..um, you never told me your name, mister..?" Valmont said looking over the desk at him.
The older man smirked for a moment before he spoke, his voice giving off an evil tone to it, though it seemed Yuzuki was the only one to pick up on it.
"You may simply call me..Daolon Wong." He said.