Chapter 12: Home
The beast stalked the rooftops of the urban jungle, confidently striding through its marked territory. It leapt between gaps of great distances with ease, gracefully landing on its feet on the concrete surfaces. All the time it spied down below; searching the ground beneath for suitable prey. It felt the need for raw flesh; a deeply held hunger which dictated its every move. It spotted movement down below. Engaging fully its acute senses, it identified the being below as a human girl, breathing heavy and fast. The unwitting mark made her way through the alleyways quickly, not ignorant of the potential dangers they presented. But she was certainly unaware of the beast that had spotted her, and was right now fast closing in. Feeling completely unopposed, the beast was happy to play a game with its target. It simply descended down using its wings and landed directly in front of the girl, cutting her off with minimum effort. The girl screamed, and turned to run, only for the hunter to effortlessly leap into the air and land in front of her again, cutting off her escape. So tiny and helpless, its prey was, and without any chance of salvation. She could not fight the beast; she could not elude it. Her only option, her only fate; was to be its victim. The hunter lashed out with wickedly sharp claws, tearing through the throat and chest of the human girl as it laughed mercilessly.
"Jun... Why did you do this to me, Jun?" As the words were uttered by the blood leaking corpse, the beast stopped laughing. The beast suddenly knew the voice, racked with the pain of betrayal. It suddenly knew the girl's face, twisted in agony. Jun Fudo felt her knees buckle, as she stared down horrified at the ruined remnants of Kazumi Takiura.
"Why did you do this to me, Jun?" She heard again, this time not emanating from the corpse on the ground, but from the distant shadows ahead. Jun watched in horror as a ragged shape appeared within the darkness. It was another corpse, only this one was split in two from crown to groin. It made horrible squelching noises as it dragged itself along the ground. Only loose tethers of tissue connected the mismatched pieces of a human and feline body. When it reached close enough for her vision to be able to make out its features, she almost vomited in horror.
"I'm this way because of you," the ruined corpse accused, "I'm dead because of you." Jun backed away, terrified by the accusing, jagged stare of the hybrid corpse of Hitomi Konno and the Tigress demon Felice, and she started to run. She ran into the unending darkness. Unable to see the ground beneath her, she tripped and fell, landing in wetness. Quickly she realised the ground was slick with blood. Again she recoiled in horror, only to see what she had tripped over.
"You let her do this to me," spoke another accusing voice that emanated from the disembodied head of Genichi Tachibana; a head that laid on top of a pile of its own former body parts. Jun screamed in horror, and with some difficulty managed to stand up and back away, only to feel more presences behind her. She immediately turned around to find the naked child Sakura Imai with her throat torn out dripping blood, and the broken, unrecognisable visage of the photographer she had murdered that was her last waking memory.
"Look at what you did, Fudo," the voices chanted in unison as they pointed accusingly, Tanaka's broken bones causing his movements to distort in a mockery of the human form
"I did... I didn't mean to... I didn't want to," Jun stammered in shock, barely able to cobble the sentence together as she continued to try and back away.
"Oh you wanted to... You meant to." Sakura Imai gargled blood. "Here; I think this belongs to you." The corpse suddenly held up an object, and tossed it at Jun. Jun reacted and caught it, only to realise what she held.
"Jun, why did you do this to me?" Once again the accusing gaze of Kazumi looked up at her, her face wearing an expression of hurt betrayal. Jun screamed.
"Jun! Jun, it's all right, it's okay, I'm here. Hold on to me." Her screaming carried on for a few seconds, before awareness entered and allowed it to fade into cries. It was her mother who had reached forward and held her.
"Shh, baby, shh. I'm here. You're all right. Nothing here can hurt you," her mother's melodious voice attempted to comfort. Through her tears stricken eyes, Jun realised she was in unfamiliar surroundings. It was in a bedroom, and there were furnishings and light green wallpaper. It looked like somebody's home, just nobody she knew.
"We're in an HA safe house, Jun; on the south side of Sunigami," Mariko explained, as she held her daughter and caressed her forehead with a hand.
"I killed him. I killed Tanaka, didn't I?" She asked, cold and quivering.
"So... so I've been told," her mother admitted, "Asuka said there were extenuating circumstances."
"Indeed," Lan Asuka said. Jun's mother let her go, allowing Jun to see Asuka sitting at a small round table in the corner of the room. There was a leather bag and a folder on the table.
"Asuka..." Jun began, but Asuka picked up the folder on the table and waved it in her hand.
"A full forensic report of Tanaka's home; as much as could be gathered overnight anyway. I decided to have it done on a hunch. We found unusual traces in your apartment as well, after all."
"So what did you find out," Mariko asked. Asuka stood up and paced, as she began her summary.
"We found very similar traces in Tanaka's residence," Asuka clarified, "Since you weren't in any state to tell me what happened last night Jun, I need to hear it from you now." Jun sat forward and attempted to reorganise her thoughts and remember what had happened the night before.
"I went to Tanaka's house with him. We had sex. When he went to wash up, I explored the house and found some of my clothes, clothes that had gone missing."
"This then led to you finding the photo album, the one I found on the floor," Asuka cut in. Jun nodded.
"That's when I murdered..."
"That triggered your attack," Asuka interrupted again, "That much was obvious; but something else happened, didn't it? Think back Jun, I need to know everything." Jun felt her skull tense up, as she pulled harder at her memories. For some reason they were so hazy... but eventually the horrible, mocking visage appeared in her mind and it all came flooding back.
A Devil Beast came out of the painting," Jun began, looking at both her mother and Asuka as if she expected them to disbelieve her.
"Did it say anything to you?" Asuka asked softly. Jun found it difficult to meet her eyes, even though both of her listeners seemed sympathetic.
"It said its name, Psycho Jenny. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen. It admitted to marking that photograph... the one that made me attack Tanaka."
"That does tie everything up," Asuka said as she folded her arms, "We've interred Tanaka's body; he's no devil beast. Some of your own clothing was there, with those same strange traces; and absolutely no indication that Tanaka had ever touched them. In his albums we found plenty of evidence about his 'hobbies'" Asuka said disdainfully, "But in the end, that simply presented the perfect opportunity for the beast. Clearly it'd been watching you for some time. You were set up, Jun."
"What does that matter?" Jun replied grimly. "I became the beast I've been terrified of this whole time." She looked up at her mother, and started crying again. Mariko placed her arms around her.
"You made a mistake, Jun, under duress," Asuka spoke harshly, unflinchingly rational. "I have enough now to satisfy General Seta that you can't be held responsible for the incident last night. And this is as far as it will go."
"So you'll just sweep what I did under the rug?" Jun snapped, pushing her mother away. Asuka rolled her eyes.
"Yes, because we have far more important things to worry about. Gardez la Reine; you're too important a piece to lose right now."
"Is this all just a game of chess to you, Asuka?" Mariko scolded. Asuka shrugged and ignored her.
"I'm certain they're planning something. This attack on Jun was an overt attempt to crush her mentally. An astute tactic, giving you are indeed far weaker in mind than body, Jun." Jun winced, knowing how right Asuka was. Asuka sighed. "The timing of all this bothers me," she said, sounding unusually exposed, and she sat back down.
"Yes, Jun, the reason I was able to get here so fast, was I arrived in Tokyo last night," Mariko explained, "I was accompanying the new recruit beast hunters, mainly to make a final assessment of their mental and physical conditions."
"Indeed," Asuka added, "They'll be arriving later today for their induction briefing. And you were to be their leader Jun," Asuka stood up again, showing for the first time Jun had ever seen, some genuine anxiety, "And yet, you aren't even in a fit state to face them."
"What's going to happen?" Jun asked Asuka
"We can't wait for you. For now, Kurosaki will have to deputise." Asuka sighed, her formidable front resurrected. "I want you both to stay here for now. I feel more comfortable knowing exactly where you both are. Do what you can; whatever it takes to pull yourself back together. I... we all need you ready, Jun." The distraught mother and child watched as she got up to leave the room.
"Wait, Asuka?" Jun called. Asuka turned to hear her out.
"Is Kazumi safe?" She asked with grave concern. Asuka nodded, causing Jun to sigh with relief.
"Last I heard she'd been seen arriving back at your apartment, about an hour ago. Don't worry, we're keeping tabs on her."
"Can I call her?" Jun requested.
"You may; your phone is in the bag I brought along with some clothes. Anything else?" Asuka asked sincerely. Jun shook her head, and Asuka left the room.
"Do you want to call Kazumi now?" Mariko asked. Jun thought for a moment.
"Yeah. I just need to hear her voice."
"Hello, this is Kazumi Takiura?" Kazumi said into the mouthpiece of Jun's house phone.
"Kazumi, are you okay? " the voice of Jun Fudo came through the earpiece.
"Jun, where are you? When you weren't here when I got back I was worried," Kazumi said glumly. "I tried your phone multiple times."
"I'm sorry Kazumi; I must have been sleeping. I'm not long up."
"There isn't anything wrong, is there Jun?" Kazumi asked. There was a pause before Jun replied.
"No, no. I decided to visit a friend in Sendai. They ran into some trouble. It was, well, there wasn't much warning and I felt I had to get here right away. I travelled overnight, which is why I've slept so late," she said, hoping she sounded convincing.
"Do you need help? I could come join you if you want, there isn't anything keeping me here," Kazumi suggested.
"No," Jun snapped, then collected herself. "Ah, no, that won't be necessary. I'll be back in a few days, I don't want you worried about anything."
"I'll see you when you come back, but don't hesitate to call me if you need to talk, okay?" Kazumi finally said after a few moments.
"Sure, I will. Bye, Kazumi."
"Bye." Kazumi placed down the phone handset and turned to her visitor.
"She just told me she's in Sendai, Mr. Yuasa." Jun's agent sat on the couch, wearing a dark grey suit and a scarf.
"Really?" he replied, "Well, maybe that was where she decided to go after she left the Blue Lotus."
"You sound surprised," Kazumi observed, "What did you expect?" Yuasa shrugged.
"I'm not sure really. She was acting a bit strangely then, but I'm glad to hear that she's okay. I was worried." He stood up. "Thanks for the tea, Miss Takiura, I'll get out of your hair."
"Mr Yuasa," Kazumi grabbed his arm.
"Yes, Kazumi?" Kazumi let go and thought about what she wanted to say.
"You didn't happen to notice if Jun was with anyone last night?" Yuasa looked at her in puzzlement.
"Why do you ask?" Kazumi shrugged.
"I don't know, she just sounded a little strange to me on the phone." Yuasa shook his head.
"No, we met in the Blue Lotus, talked for a while and she left."
"Do you happen to know a Shoji Tanaka?" Yuasa tilted his head, clearly wondering where Kazumi had heard his name.
"I do, the photographer. Jun and I have worked with him a few times. Did she mention him to you?"
"Well, yes, girl talk really. She said she might accept his invitation for a date." Yuasa took his coat from the rack.
"I see. I had thought of that but I haven't been able to reach Tanaka either; Sounds like she simply took the night train to Sendai though."
"I guess, yeah," Kazumi acknowledged. Yuasa gave her a friendly smile.
"Feel free to call me if you have any trouble whilst Jun is out of town; I'd be happy to help."
Kazumi thanked him as he left. Once he was gone, she went to each window in the apartment and pulled the blinds down. Then she picked up her bag and took out the envelope she had stuffed inside it when Yuasa had knocked on the door. It had already been open; she'd had a few minutes to look at the contents before Yuasa arrived. It had been on the ground at the door when she'd arrived. The contents of the envelope consisted of several photographs and a note. The note said;
Miss Takiura; I know I didn't make a good first impression; I want to apologise for that. I did not work at your father's company; I did not know your parents. I am deeply sorry for using a false pretense to approach you. I did so out of concern for your safety. I am actually an investigative journalist; I have been watching Jun Fudo over the last few months. Last night I obtained hard evidence of my suspicions about her. They say a picture is worth a thousand words; well, I took many last night.
I would like to explain everything to you that I know; but I have reason to suspect you are being watched. If you wish to meet, then walk along Nakanodori Avenue at 9pm tonight; I will pull up in a red honda. If you don't want to meet; that is completely understandable. But I urge you to get away from Jun Fudo in any case, what happened to Shoji Tanaka might happen to you.
Shiro Sakazawa
The letter was startling. But that was nothing compared to the included photographs. The first batch showed Jun arriving with the man she presumed to be Tanaka, to what must've been his home. The photographs were time stamped from last night. It seemed incontrovertible proof that Jun had lied about her whereabouts. The second batch Kazumi had no idea how to handle. They were taken through a window but showed quite a clear view of the interior; of the living room. And the occupants. She recognised the new subject within; a monstrous humanoid with a shapely feminine physique but also sculpted muscle. Distinctive bat wing shaped horns grew from her scalp. And the horrible fanged grin on her face that was captured with exacting clarity. As she flicked through successive photographs, they animated the moment of vicious bloodletting. Claws swept left and right; tearing through the man's body. Blood spattered on the demoness' face as she smiled.
"Jun... this isn't... you. It... can't be you." Tears filled her eyes; she didn't know what was happening any more. In her darkest memories, she saw the silhouette of this very monstress; and it implicated a horror which she couldn't comprehend. She felt faint, as she sat down looking again at the letter. She scrunched it in her hand. She didn't want to; but she felt she had to. She was going for a late evening walk.
Kazumi had wrapped up well for a cold, late night walk along Nakano-Dori Avenue. Despite the time it was still a very busy roadway, with cars constantly passing by her going both ways. She passed various businesses and convenience stores that still had bright lights shining through their windows. Before long, however, a conspicuous red honda pulled by the kerb next to her. Shiro Sakazawa reached over and opened the passenger seat door.
"Quick, get in." Kazumi looked at him not knowing exactly what to feel or what to do.
"Kazumi, now is not the time for second thoughts. Come on." Kazumi finally entered the car and Sakazawa put his foot on the accelerator.
"Seatbelt," he grunted.
"Oh, right," Kazumi replied, doing as asked. They drove through the streets of Nakano heading south in the direction of Meguro City.
"Just what is going on?" Kazumi finally said, "Where are we going?"
"My home residence in Meguro to answer your second question. The first one is a bit complicated, too much to go into right now." Kazumi sighed, wanting to hear better than that.
"How did you get these photographs?" She asked, deciding to narrow the scope of her questions. Sakazawa answered without taking his eyes off the road.
"I took them, last night," he answered deadpan. When he turned and looked at her, he relented.
"Fine, I guess you want a bit more than that. Look, I've been watching Fudo for a while. But she's not been an easy lady to shadow. When I got too close, I was rebuffed very physically by a third party."
"A third party? What do you mean by that?" Kazumi asked.
"All these incidents are being covered up; most likely by the Government. They definitely keep a watch on her home. And there's a black sedan behind us right now tailing you."
"What, really," Kazumi was about to turn and look but Sakazawa snapped,
"Keep looking forward." It was sharp enough that Kazumi did exactly as instructed.
"I've got a plan to deal with them, but long story short, I decided to keep tabs on her agent. I've also tried to warn him away."
"Mr. Yuasa?" Kazumi asked for clarification.
"Yes, they weren't paying attention to him. It didn't get me anywhere for a while, but Fudo met him last night at a place called the Blue Lotus. I tailed her from there, it seemed like a good chance."
"Jun told me on the phone she's in Sendai and travelled there overnight," Kazumi claimed, wanting to defend her friend, to try and deny she had anything to do with the incident in the photographs, however futile it felt.
"You already saw the photos that prove otherwise, Kazumi," Sakazawa said harshly, "She was being followed then too, but since they were so focused on her; it was easy for me to stay out of their way. Not sure what happened to them, they didn't actually arrive at the photographer's place. Certainly made my job easier."
"What happened then?" Kazumi asked, resigned to her need for information. She wanted to know everything. What was Jun hiding from her? Who were the people following her now and shadowing Jun as Sakazawa claimed? What had really happened to her parents?
"I got some shots of them entering the front door. They headed upstairs; so I staked out patiently in the back garden, " Sakazawa explained. Kazumi looked at him suspiciously, which caused him to blush a little. "I'm not a peeping tom, I'd figured I'd know just exactly when something happens that would be of interest to me. Tanaka's scream certainly seemed very relevant. The attack was
fast though; over in a few seconds. I took as many shots as I could and then made myself scarce," Tanaka continued as he maintained awareness of the road. "That monster was entirely in some kind of blood trance, I don't think she ever knew I was there. And I... I knew better than to hang around."
"Maybe it wasn't Jun," Kazumi grasped at straws "Maybe... maybe this monster was someone else." Sakazawa tilted his head towards her apologetically.
"I don't have the shots linking this monster and her together that would beyond a shadow of a doubt clinch it; but what I have and what I saw makes me about ninety nine percent sure. Fudo entered the building, and from what you say, she's still among the living right now. I'd say your friend murdered that man." Kazumi fell speechless; still not wanting to accept it as fact. "We'll go into more of it later, right now I've arranged for a way to shake our tail." Kazumi sat tight as Sakazawa drove them underneath the railway tracks and around a corner, where there was a taxi rank.
"Get out of the car," Sakazawa instructed. Out of one of the taxis stepped out man and a woman; the man was rough looking, having a scarred face and a shaven scalp; maybe a gangmember. The woman with him looked like the perfect companion piece; but she was short and had a noticeably similar profile to herself. Kazumi got the gist of what was happening. Sakazawa tossed the man a wad of yen and proceeded into the taxi. She followed Sakazawa as he took off his jacket and put on a hat.
"You stay ducked," he said to Kazumi as he pulled her down to make sure her head was obscured from view. They sat tight and Kazumi held her breath. Sakazawa watched and the smile that broadened on his face told Kazumi that their stalkers had taken the bait.
"That was Shinji Nakamura. I did a piece on him once about being a junior member with the Yakuza a few years back. Good drinking buddy. He'll have a merry old time leading those guys on a tour of the countryside, all the way to Osaka." Kazumi laughed. Sakazawa looked at her sternly, but then smiled. "I've learned a lot about the seedy side of life in Tokyo these past few months. Valuable life skills, you might say."
"My friend Takae would probably have a lot of fun being in this situation," Kazumi said morosely after her excitement drained. Sakazawa patted her on the shoulder.
"I know, this is a lot for an eighteen year old girl to go through."
"Nineteen," Kazumi corrected him; her birthday passed three weeks prior. Sakazawa gave her a wry look.
"Ninteen." He sighed, "A fine age." His tone changed from wistful to sorrowful. Kazumi decided it was best to leave any more conversation till they arrived at his home.
Sakazawa's home had an air of sadness around it; it's size and picturesque appearance suggested it should contain a family. Kazumi felt a degree of trepidation as she followed Sakazawa to the front gate. Even though she was invited, her presence here still felt like a transgression; that it was only happening because of something that occurred here in the past. Despite being in the residential heartland, it was noticeable that many of the houses in the area were unoccupied. To let signs marked their front gates. Sakazawa turned to Kazumi as they reach the front porch.
"I take it you notice the lack of occupancy around here; I think there's probably been a large spike of people moving out of Tokyo in general lately," he mused. "As hard as the government suppresses the presence of wolves around the sheep, they still can smell the approach of death." Kazumi frowned.
"Something happened here," She said, "Something awful." Sakazawa nodded.
"Come inside; I'll make us some tea, and I can tell you everything." The interior of the house was spacious; a stairway in the hall lead up to the first floor. Kazumi entered the kitchen after Sakazawa, there was a dining table laid out in the centre of the room though it was covered in what looked to be printouts of newspaper articles.
"Take a seat; excuse the mess. I was doing some historical research." Sakazawa said; Kazumi did so. He filled the kettle at the sink and switched it on. As they waited for the kettle to boil, Kazumi couldn't help but look at some of the newspaper articles that Sakazawa had left on the table. Most of them were dated up to ten years prior, involving disappearances, unexplained murders, and also some famous cases that she had actually heard of. The one that caught her eye though was the dramatic headline 'Massacre in Ryusen' which was further elaborated by a subheader; 'Kogare couple's bodies stolen from crematorium, found at scene.' The article was dated roughly seventeen years ago.
"Now that one is a famous urban legend," Sakazawa as he noticed Kazumi pouring over the article. As Kazumi absorbed the details, she found them quite disturbing. The bodies of seven people were found at the house in Ryusen, and the majority of them were found dead at the scene of wounds that were difficult to explain. But they matched up disturbingly well with her memories of what she saw that night her parents died based on the description. All of the victims were locals, but two of those bodies were Soji and Hitomi Kogare; a couple that had died in a car crash over a week prior. Their bodies had been stolen from the crematorium, and the presence of their bodies at the scene was never explained.
"I've never heard of this one before," she said when she finished reading. Sakazawa shrugged.
"No real reason a schoolgirl now should know about it. I did some digging, interviewed some of the people that knew the family. I found some interesting things that weren't reported in that article.
"Really?" Kazumi asked, genuinely interested.
"Yeah, it wasn't easy to get anybody to talk about it at length. One older gentleman who worked at that crematorium claims he thought he saw the Kogare's leave the building on foot, walking with a little girl beside them. He didn't say anything at the time because he was worried it would get him committed."
"That sounds too creepy to be true." Sakazawa nodded.
"Yeah maybe. I think more interesting was the fact that the news reports made no mention whatsoever that the Kogare's had children; two girls. It seemed to me more of an oversight; it wasn't really hard to find that out. One of the schoolteachers in the area I managed to find and interview even told me their names; Izumi and Hatsuko. There was a bit of an age gap, Izumi was five and Hatsuko was fifteen and in her class at the time."
"So where are they now?" Kazumi enquired curiously. Sakazawa turned to fill the cups when the kettle finished boiling.
"That's the strange thing; I couldn't find them. They seem to have vanished completely. Nobody knows what happened to them." Kazumi shuddered.
"It feels to me like these strange things that have been happening, that I've even seen; they go back further than we think," she suggested.
"Recent events might shed light on some of these old, forgotten stories." Sakazawa said as he placed both cups down on the table. The herbal scent of the tea was cozy. Kazumi sipped gratefully.
"I guess you live here alone now, but that couldn't have always been the case," she said, changing the subject. She knew the answers weren't going to be pleasant, but she wanted to know why Sakazawa had approached her.
"It's an idyllic family home. Anybody's conclusion from coming in here would be to expect a wife and husband, children; and the family dog for good measure," Sakazawa agreed as he sipped from his own cup.
"So what happened?" Kazumi pressed. Sakazawa looked out towards the window, out into the darkness with a sad, longing face.
"It happened a year ago now," he began, "I arrived home one night. I'd been working late again. I don't sleep anymore without seeing them," Sakazawa's voice was steady, but the pain of remembrance in his face was obvious to Kazumi. "There is not a day that goes by, where I ask the question; what if I came home earlier; for once. That one night." Kazumi felt her own emotions consume her.
"You couldn't have done anything," she whispered meekly. Sakazawa winced.
"I'll never know. They just laid there; on the living room floor," Sakazawa stood up and leaned on the kitchen counter, away from Kasumi. "The garden door swung on its hinges. My Yurika... Emiko. Blood everywhere."
"I'm truly sorry," Kazumi mumbled. Sakazawa approached her and laid a comforting hand on her back.
"I know. You went through the same thing," he said, maintaining composure. "I saw a flash of a silhouette outside when lightning struck. A monster. I saw it spread its wings; and fly into the night."
"What happened then?" Kazumi asked nervously. Sakazawa walked around the table and sat down again.
"I was arrested and held; in the end they didn't charge me due to a lack of evidence; you know how the courts work here," he sighed, "If it hadn't looked so much like an animal attack they would have hung it on me somehow. But they just couldn't explain the wounds, so they didn't have a case." Sakazawa drained the rest of his cup.
"Of course, that wasn't all. It was clear to me, if they couldn't justify it as a straightforward domestic murder case, that they would still try to sweep the whole incident into the cracks. I lost my job, I had to fight for months against a forced eviction, and I found my name was suddenly mud with everyone I knew. Unexplained circumstances or not, most people had already convicted me."
"How awful," Kazumi said limply, "How have you managed to cope?"
"I found a way to support myself and my efforts financially; my skills at photography and dogged personality had other, less reputable uses. But I suspect you mean my mental state. It's very simple really, let me show you." Sakazawa led Kazumi upstairs. Kazumi noticed one of the doors had a pretty wooden sign hanging on it. In between painted lily flowers, the name Yurika was engraved. She couldn't stop herself, and caressed her hand over it.
"Tell me about her," she asked sorrowfully. Sakazawa breathed deeply, fighting back tears.
"She was beautiful, she was everything to me," Sakazawa spoke calmly. "I remember her making flower chains in the park, building sand castles at the beach. She was also precocious with music. My wife was a professional piano player; and I could dabble. We often sat in the living room, teaching her to play." He sighed sadly. "But I was a workaholic. I was the prototypical hard-nosed journalist with a chip on his shoulder and the self-righteous desire to take on the machine. What I had wasn't good enough; I was too immersed in how shitty this world is and trying to futilely change it. I guess that hasn't changed." Kazumi followed Sakazawa into what must have been his study. There was a whiteboard stand, a desk and a large pin board on one of the walls. A bookshelf occupied the opposite side. Kazumi's eyes couldn't help but immediately be drawn to the pin board; various sheets of paper, newspaper articles and photographs adorned it. The majority of the newspaper articles were dated in the past year, but some stood out as happening further back; Sakazawa's research had clearly been exhaustive. Still, her eyes were mainly drawn towards photographs and notes relating to her friend on the right side of the board.
"Fudo hasn't been my only point of interest, but she definitely had the most going on recently," Sakazawa said. Indeed, the photographs ranged from Jun getting into a car outside an army base, accompanied by a man Kazumi didn't recognise in a park, having dinner with a woman Kazumi thought might be the model Hitomi Konno based on things she'd heard, and outside of a fitness centre leaving with a woman.
"That fitness centre was the central point for a series of disappearances of young women and the eventual discovery of the bodies," Sakazawa explained, "This woman here is Hitomi Konno and she vanished not long after this meeting with Fudo. The man here, Genichi Tachibana, worked for a PR firm which Fudo did some modelling work for. She met with the Tachibana family later, along with this mysterious blonde, and only a few days afterwards there was a fire in which Tachibana was the sole casualty. A lot of strange coincidences don't you think ?"
"This is all really circumstantial though, it's not proof of anything," Kazumi pointed out. Sakazawa shrugged.
"Do you recognise that woman?" Sakazawa indicated other photos all of a mixed-race blonde woman in different contexts; in some being in Jun's presence such as the Tachibana meeting, in others being trailed by a black haired woman wearing glasses. It took Kazumi a few moments but then she realised.
"Yes, I have seen her before," Kazumi confirmed. "Before what happened with my parents, I remember Jun was acting really strangely one day. When I met her for dinner that evening, this blonde woman approached our table. I think I was in the ladies room, but I found her standing there when I returned. That woman didn't say very much, but Jun broke our friendship and told me to go." Sakazawa looked as if he was mulling over what he was being told.
"Interesting. I haven't been able to find out who this woman is; her identity seems to be highly classified within the government and military. I couldn't get anything, even through my contacts. In fact most of them cut off contact entirely when I made the inquiry."
"This sounds like it's getting really dangerous," Kazumi breathed nervously.
"That's everything I can tell you. I believe Jun Fudo is one of these monsters, and has some tie to this mysterious blonde woman. I don't know if she had anything to do with the murders of my family; but I am positive she killed your parents, Kazumi." Kazumi shook her head.
"She wouldn't... Jun would never do something like that. I mean, why, why would she do it?"
"Territorial ownership. She decided she wanted you, so she made sure you had nowhere else to go. She keeps you like a pet, Kazumi," Sakazawa explained. Kazumi found it difficult to hear.
"No... No I can't believe that. I just can't." Kazumi just couldn't accept this was the truth about her close friend and confidant. The woman who had took her in.
"Be that as it may, would you agree that she is hiding something big from you." To that, Kazumi had to nod. Sakazawa came close to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Do you want to know what that is? Do you want to find out the truth, even if it's the worst thing possible?" He gazed intently into her eyes. He wanted to know how sure Kazumi was.
"I... Yeah, I do. I want to know," she said resolutely. Sakazawa nodded grimly.
"I have a plan, and I need your cooperation. Will you help me?" Kazumi rubbed her eyes to dry her tears, and nodded.
Aoi Kurosaki stood alongside Lan Asuka and Major Yamazaki as they oversaw the landing of an airbus helicopter; the arrival vessel for the new beast hunter recruits. The past few days had been quiet; she had kept her usual routine which at this point was almost all physical training. She didn't feel it was right to involve any civilians in her current life and felt no desire to socialise with anybody at the JSDF base. She hadn't even seen Fudo since that incident underground; and that was a good thing for the most part. The visitation she had received that night, also dwelled on her mind. "Miss Asuka, why is Fudo not here?" She finally asked; the bitch was rather conspicuous by her absence.
"There was an incident last night, she is indisposed for the moment. For now, you will have seniority with the new recruits," Asuka answered impatiently, over the sound of the helicopter's blades.
"Yes, Ma'am." Aoi wondered what had happened, but knew from Asuka's tone that she wouldn't say anything about it if pressed for more information. In fact, she had never seen Asuka be quite this agitated. Was something more going on right now? The helicopter came to a complete stop on the landing pad, and the trio walked forward to receive the new arrivals. Aoi was very curious, and watched as three individuals disembarked, accompanied by two JSDF soldiers. Aoi assessed each one in detail. On the left was a young, handsome Japanese man, in his early twenties. He was likely inexperienced, and seemed a little unsure of himself judging by his reflexive twitches. Next to him stood an imposing balding African-American male. Now he was more like it, he seemed calm and measured, prescient to his surroundings. He looked over at Aoi, aware of her gaze. Finally, on the right, was a swarthy caucasian female. Her small frame suggested that she wasn't a ground soldier, but she smelt confident and was clearly interested in the helicopter itself, with errant glances towards it chassis and armaments. Pilot, most likely. Aoi wondered if like Jun, this particular Devilman could fly as well. It was difficult not to be envious of that particular ability.
Private Rodger Beaumont, reporting for duty, Ma'am, Sir," the goliath stepped forward and saluted with a deep but quite natural timbre; in flawless Japanese. The other two followed, Private's Ken Sakurai and Amy Hemmings, the latter of which introduced herself in English. Aoi knew enough that it shouldn't be too much of a language barrier, but Hemmings would likely get more linguistic training. Asuka introduced herself, and looked to Aoi and Yamazaki to follow suit. After doing so, Aoi expected there would be some kind of formal orientation briefing. What Asuka said next was unexpected.
"Major Yamazaki, send someone to find my secretary. She hasn't reported for duty today, but she is almost always in the specimen lab when not with me. Have her brought to General Seta's office." Asuka commanded authoritatively. Yamazaki saluted, and called over to one of his men to do as asked. That's what's off, Kogare should be the one here, not Asuka, Aoi realised."Alright, everyone, with me." Everybody fell in line and followed Asuka to the administration building. Aoi felt a rising force in the pit of her stomach.
Private Daichi Hase disembarked from the lift that had carried him to the second basement of the HA's research facility; often called the Abattoir, disgruntled that a man of his rank was being used as an errand boy. Even so, he was also rather morbidly curious to get a glimpse into its inner workings. He was a member of the cleanup crew and the bodies he helped retrieve ended up in here; to be poked and prodded no doubt. He had been provided with a key card to allow him entry in order to enable him to carry out his task. He nodded to the two guards at the entry door and produced the key card; the one on the left stood aside to allow him to swipe it.
"I've been sent down here to collect someone, who should I report to?" He asked the guard.
"Professor Shigura. You should find him in Lab One," the guard answered stoicly.
"Thanks," Hase nodded again.
"Any time, just don't wander around; make your pickup and head back upstairs." Hase didn't take the stern words personally; this was probably the most secure place in Japan right now. As he passed through the sliding doors he entered the quarantine chamber; basically an airlock only with lockers containing biohazard suits. Even though he was acting little more than a chaperone per his orders, he would still need to go through the full procedure to enter and leave. It didn't take long however, he was used to wearing sealed biohazard suits in the field. The inner door would open only when a supervisor on the other end of the camera was satisfied that the entrant was suited and booted. He gestured at the camera, indicating his request for clearance; the red light on the door turn to green and the door slid open. He walked forward along the metallic corridor until he reached a junction; the layout was very simple, with signs on the wall indicating the position of each lab. He made his way to the doorway of Lab One and took a quick glance through the circular door window. The room inside was tiled in white all over; various desks with computers and complex looking machines were dotted around, and three enclosed workers were peering over the work of a fourth, as they dissected what looked to be the scalp of a particularly nasty looking beast specimen.
"I am now cutting through the outer cortex; in comparison to a human brain there is a thicker layer of outer tissue. The purpose of this tissue at least in this specimen appears to be added layers of protection. In general I've observed a great deal of variation of how DBT affects mutation of the brain; but a commonality so far has been in the quite massively engorged hypothalamus and parietal glands." Hase coughed subtly to attract the attention of the entranced group. The would-be surgeon turned to him.
"I don't appreciate being interrupted in the middle of an examination; what do you want?" The guttural, irritated voice came through the biohazard mask. Hase ignored his tone.
"I take it you're Professor Shigura?"
"I am," Shigura replied.
"I'm here to collect Colonel Kogare, she's wanted upstairs."
"They couldn't get her by phone?" Shigura snapped.
"Apparently not," Hase replied dryly. A smartass tone like that wouldn't fly at all with his own superiors, but Hase had no problem doing it with these labcoats. Shigura sighed.
"That woman is incorrigible. She came in last night, with a newly interred specimen and absolutely refusing to show it to anybody. She took it straight into the storage facility, and I haven't heard a word from her since. She's probably still in there, too engrossed in whatever she's doing to notice something as banal as a call on the internal network, and you know, orders."
"Is that normal behaviour for the Colonel?" Hase inquired. Shigura nodded, chagrin on his face.
"She basically has the run of the place. She is out a lot on PA duties to the COO, but when she is in here, she almost always works alone and by extremely intensive hours. The storage facility is basically her claimed territory where she takes her specimens. She treats them like trophies. I've complained; it's a ridiculous way to run a high level biological research facility. It always falls on deaf ears."
"Not my problem, Doc. Can you get ahold of her?" Shigura threw up his hands in frustration.
"Fine, follow me." Hase couldn't help himself but take one last glance at the bestial visage on the table with its ghastly u-shaped maw and rows of sharp teeth, and bloodshot eyes; hardly made more enticing by the sliced off cranium.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Shigura commented as if he was talking about his prized thoroughbred.
"Probably not as much as when its head was attached to its body," Hase remarked ghoulishly. Shigura laughed.
"You make a good point. Still, I would rather see these creatures after their life has ebbed away; much safer. " Hase hadn't had the pleasure of being active in the field to fight one of these monsters; he'd only ever really seen the aftermath. He did see Fudo once; caked in blood after making a kill. There was something animalistically alluring about her; didn't really hurt that she still had quite a feminine body shape. The scuttlebutt was she was actually some kind of model. You couldn't tell that though when he saw her.
"I have to agree with that," he told Shigura.
"Higawa, Takashima, Murai, back to your posts; get some more cataloguing done. I'll be back shortly." The pair left the room and proceeded up the corridor towards the storage facility. They passed several guards, cameras and key card locked doors on the way. There was security though, and then there was Security. Their destination was that of a huge vault door. It even had a large red valve on it. Hase whistled; showing his trepidation. On the wall to the side of the door, there was a keypad and a speaker. Shigura press the call button on the speaker and they waited for a few moments. There was no response. Hase turned to the guards behind them at the outer perimeter door.
"Has Kogare come out already?" He asked.
"Negative, sir." Shigura grunted in irritation. He pressed the call button again, then once more getting no response.
"This is rather... ominous, " Hase observed. Shigura shook his head in exasperation.
"Maybe; the temperature is kept pretty low to aid preservation of specimens; there are temperature regulated environment suits that we would be required to wear if we planned to spend any amount of time in there; Kogare has been in there since last night."
"Maybe her suit malfunctioned?" Hase suggested.
"If that were the case, she would know. The suits have indicators. If not that, you would notice. You wouldn't stay in there until you died of hypothermia," Shigura pointed out angrily.
"So why won't she answer?"
"She's ignoring us, probably hip deep in whatever specimen she's taking apart. I don't like being ignored. I'll let us in, and you can drag her out." Shigura seemed quite certain of his conclusion; Hase felt a little bit uneasy about it but couldn't find a good reason to disagree with the assessment.
"Stand back, the door opens outwards," Shigura instructed Hase as he swiped his key card and put in the combination on the keypad. The giant, thick vault door breathed out cold air as it opened.
"That's strange; the lights are off," Shigura noticed. "Give me a moment." Hase found his misgivings increasing in number. Shigura tried what must have been the switch for the lights by the side of the entryway. They didn't turn on.
"She must have disabled them at the junction box. It's possible Kogare found a specimen that was sensitive to light, maybe," Shigura conjectured, "I can't really think of any other reason she would go as far as to disable the lights."
"I don't care at this point if that's the case; I'm not going forward any more without this." Hase put on his flashlight.
"If you must. There are actually several rooms in this facility. They're soundproofed so we're going to have to find her. She's probably in one of the back rooms."
"Great, I'm liking this more and more," Hase sighed.
"Are all you soldier types always so jumpy? We're just entering a glorified morgue." Shigura strode forward, heading past an operating table. Hase followed, shining his flashlight around. The walls of the chamber were adorned with various glass coffins. Most of them were empty, one or two weren't, and he caught a glimpse of the sihouettes of the wrecked but preserved bodies contained therein. He decided he didn't need to take a closer look to make out any details. He could do without that. It was one thing to see such things just after death, bloodied and broken; but he had even less enthusiasm for seeing the mummified, freeze dried versions. He heard a metallic door slide open.
"Are you coming or what?" Shigura pontificated impatiently at the open portal.
"I'm with you, go on," Hase replied indignantly. He followed behind the Professor along a short corridor into a second room very similar in layout to the first. At the central podium, someone in an environment suit was working on a beast corpse under a discrete spotlight.
"Kogare, there you are," Shigura said in a tone of exasperation.
"Oh, Professor Shigura. Why are you interrupting me?" Kogare asked through her mask. Hase stepped forward.
"I've been sent from upstairs to collect you," he began, "Orders from the General and COO." Kogare lowered her hands away from the corpse.
"I hate interruptions, but I do have some rather menial work to do in which an extra pair of bodies could be useful."
"What the hell do you mean by that!?" Professor Shigura demanded. Kogare went back to her work without a response. Hase was about to walk forward to make his orders more clear to Kogare when he felt a presence behind him and heard animalistic snarling. He only had enough time to turn his head before a great clawed hand shot out of the darkness and throttled him. Shigura realised what was happening and turned to run for the door; however he was cut off by another presence; the last things he saw were the salivating jaws and glowing eyes of a giant tigress; metallic staples running down the middle of its visage glinting in the darkness.
Mariko focused on preparing dinner for herself and her daughter. Jun had been so despondent most of the day and had even been reticent to get out of bed, but after some motherly persuasion she sat at the dining table, inside of the kitchen, that was next door to Jun's room. The fridge had been stocked with all the ingredients to make a quality sushi plate. After preparing two plates she laid them out on the table, and sat down.
"Jun, Asuka is basically right," Mariko began, "You can't let this destroy you." Jun picked at her plate sullenly.
"Mother, you don't understand. You don't understand what it's like," Jun spelt out slowly. Mariko sighed sadly, and started eating from her own plate with chopsticks.
"No. I can't truly know what it's like," she agreed, "but I'm your mother. I do understand you, Jun." Jun picked up a piece of raw fish from her plate and dangled it.
"I don't think you do any more. Deep down, when I'm transformed, I hunger. I want to eat raw, human flesh; the desire has just kept getting stronger." She placed the raw fish in her mouth and chewed deliberately.
"All devil beasts have that urge, but it's been shown that it's possible to resist. Not just you, Jun. There's others like you; disciplined, trained back in Washington, and ready to help you now." Jun chewed passively, looking unimpressed.
"There's things I haven't told you. Things that would make you think twice about me." Mariko looked straight into her daughters twitching eyes. It was clear something horrible was going on underneath them.
"Tell me. Tell me everything," Mariko said, "These things will keep eating you up inside; sharing them might help. You're my daughter Jun, if you can't confide in me; then who else?" Jun gazed at her mother, assessing how prepared she might be.
"You read about the incident at the Tachibana PR firm?" Mariko nodded.
"I could have saved Genichi Tachibana. Because I wasn't willing to talk about it, it was written in the report as I simply did not make it there in time. But that's not true. After what Natsuki Sato told me, I let her murder him." Mariko absorbed what Jun said. The matter was a tragic, sordid affair from what she knew.
"A harsh decision; you liked him, before all that, didn't you?" Mariko said after consideration. Jun nodded.
"You felt betrayed and you felt he committed a grave crime, as would anyone. You felt he deserved it. I think a lot of people would agree with that, whether it was truly right or wrong." Jun shrugged.
"I don't really know how I feel about it," she picked up a piece of rolled up sushi and squashed it with her hand. "Then there was that child, Sakura... what happened to her makes me doubt that I'm not heading to the same place. She lost everything in one horrific night and lashed out. I saw the aftermath of her rage; all the blood and pain." Jun started to weep uncontrollably. "I'm most terrified of myself when I become a giant. I feel barely present in my own skin then," she stammered, "I could have so easily done anything to Aoi when I confronted her. I wanted her fear; I wanted her completely cowed and submissive before me. I was also very tempted just to eat her."
"I know the thing between you and Aoi hurts deep, Jun." Mariko breathed deeply. "You both have to operate to a degree by your animal instincts in the field. You did what came most natural to you to establish a necessary hierarchy. You resisted the temptation to do anything more than that," Mariko argued, "You're in a highly pressured position. Asuka told me earlier about what happened near Omoi. You handled that situation like any decent person would. You're being overly harsh on yourself, only considering the things that confirm that bias and not the things that can show otherwise. You saved four lives, that could have been lost." Jun sighed and shook her head.
"Yesterday I fantasised about... raping Kazumi. And it aroused me," Jun admitted, almost breaking down in shame. Mariko judged that they were getting closer to the root of Jun's angst.
"An errant sexual thought; we all have them," Mariko began, "As humans we're already enslaved to powerful drives. And yours will be elevated further. It doesn't shock me that you had a fantasy of forcing your will on a person you have feelings for. It's simply the expression of those animal instincts that are a part of you. Look into my eyes Jun, please." Jun hesitated for a few moments, but met her mother's gaze. "This part is important. You must try and take a detached, scientific point of view. Your biology lends itself to heightened instincts, but all living things have them. You're still capable of controlling yourself as a human being; that's all that really matters, Jun." Jun looked down at the table again after Mariko finished.
"But then it finally comes down to Tanaka. I did lose control."
"You did it to protect Kazumi," Mariko pointed out.
"That's not the point; I didn't even think for a moment to consider what to do. In a second I made a decision and killed an innocent man," Jun said through tears. "It was so, so easy. There was just bloodlust, just death."
"You did make a mistake. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel guilt over it," Mariko said, standing up in order to hold her daughter, "But you need to continue on. Learn from it, reflect on it. And taking this all into account, I do not see a monster Jun. I see a wounded soul; I see someone paralysed by remorse and guilt. I see my daughter." Jun brought herself to return her mother's embrace. Just after they let go, Jun's phone on the table started ringing. Mariko offered to pick it up, but Jun indicated she was fine to take it herself.
"Hello, Jun Fudo speaking," she said with some trepidation.
"Fudo, I know what you are. I was there last night. I know you killed Shoji Tanaka," spoke a male voice that Jun didn't recognise. Jun's mouth went dry.
"Who are you?"
"That's not important. What is, is that you'll do what I say." Jun's grip tightened on the phone.
"If your threatening to expose me; just do it. I don't care," she said dismissively.
"I thought you might say that; thinking your allies will take care of me before I become a problem no doubt. So I have something here that will make you more cooperative. Listen."
"Jun!?" Spoke the voice of Kazumi over the phone, sounding scared.
"Kazumi!?" Jun exclaimed in shock.
"Help me, Jun! I'm trapped in some kind of ba..." Kazumi's voice faded away.
"If you follow my instructions, I guarantee her safety, and release," the original caller's voice returned.
"If you know what I am, then you must realise what a dangerous game you're playing," Jun growled. The mysterious caller's voice didn't lose a beat.
"After I end this call, you'll receive a text with an address. I want you here as soon as possible; alone. Otherwise I can't guarantee your friends good health." He hung up, and Jun almost crushed her phone.
"Jun, what was that about?" Mariko asked. Jun's phone beeped to signal the arrival of the text, and Jun examined the aforementioned address. Then she rang Kazumi's phone number, and then her house phone; the first was dead, and the second rang out. Mariko watched as Jun paced up and down, clearly worried.
"Kazumi is in danger. I have to go here," Jun finally said, passing her phone over to her mother, "I have to go alone."
"Jun, this is a mistake. I don't know what's going on, but I don't think you should go," Mariko mumbled, "What if something happens, what if Asuka needs you?"
"Then try and buy me thirty minutes; after that, tell Asuka if you feel you must, but please mother; give me some time."
"After last night, I don't think you're in any state Jun." Jun breathed heavily in and out, calming herself. She thought about the situation; she didn't know what was going on, and in that state last night, she murdered a man in cold blood. In this situation she had heard Kazumi's voice; she appeared to be a real danger. She wanted to rip the kidnappers throat out, but she couldn't afford to descend back down into that place again. She might never be able to come back. She also considered the possibility that the voice was faked. She could very well be walking straight into another trap.
"I'll do my best to maintain my composure, mother. This won't be a repeat of last night; if this is some kind of plan by the enemy, I'll be ready for it. If Kazumi is really in danger, I must save her." She said with determination. Mariko sighed.
"All right." Jun knew the best method for arriving at the instructed destination. She pulled her clothes off and then stuffed them into the leather bag Asuka had originally brought them in. She then walked towards the outer balcony that was in the safety house's bedroom. Mariko followed.
"Come back safe, Jun. With Kazumi." Jun turned her mother and nodded, before transforming and spreading her wings. She watched Jun fly from the balcony carrying the bag, and after considering there was likely to be a knock on the door shortly; she memorised the address in the text, and then deleted it. "I hope this is the right thing to do," she whispered to herself.
Aoi entered the General's office, trailing Asuka and being followed by the beast hunter recruits and Yamazaki. Seta was at his desk.
"Miss Asuka, I would be grateful for an explanation for all of this," Seta began, "The members of the new unit should be undergoing orientation right now. Why have you called this impromptu meeting? And where is your PA. Shouldn't she be with you?" Asuka stepped forward, to address the General's questions.
"The orientation was set to go forward inside the HA's Genetics lab; in the presentation room specifically, but I decided to call it off." Seta looked at her quizzically.
"Why so?" Asuka looked back at those who accompanied her, seemingly uncertain of whether she felt they should hear what she was about to say.
"Everything to do with the arrival of our new recruits was handled by Kogare. And she hasn't been anywhere she was supposed to be today, she is AWOL. Also, given what happened to Fudo last night, it is my belief that we may very well be in the midst of enemy action." Her proclamation caused gasps to come from the General, Yamazaki and the three recruits. Because of her own encounter with that voice, however Aoi did not find the idea particularly shocking. Seta gestured to a paper document on his desk.
"I was just informed of a suspicious departure by a heavy duty vehicle twenty five minutes ago. The driver had the necessary paperwork and identification to leave the base; but it was brought to my attention due to the abberant, sudden nature of it. Colonel Kogare put her name to that authorisation, and she followed the proper channels. So though it was unusual, I didn't have cause to think much of it. It looked like HA business. Do you suspect her of acting against us?" Seta asked. Asuka hesitated, then nodded.
"Either that, or something has happened to her. She's never failed to report to her post for any reason. I don't trust it happening after last night. Just in case, I wanted our new recruits away from that building, not where she had planned them to be. We can worry about orientation later; right now, I simply ask permission to post them next door for the night," Asuka explained rapidy, "If nothing happens, that's the best case scenario, but if something does; I believe they would be the targets. Or even potentially, the senior staff. If the enemy expects the beast hunters to be in that presentation room on the ground floor of the lab, then this way we have a better chance of reacting to either scenario. I would also ask for Yamazaki's unit to be mobilised, and the rest of the base put on alert," she finished. Seta saw no reason to further drag things out.
"Permission is granted," he said firmly. He had barely finished speaking before sirens erupted throughout the building. Asuka turned as Yamazaki recieved a call on his radio
"Major, we're under attack," a gasping voice heaved through the static.
"Where from!?" Yamazaki thundered.
"The Abbatoir! Somehow, somehow beasts are coming out of there. Most of the research team have already been slaughtered. We rescued who we could and fell back, and we're trying to seal the basement level off. I don't know how long this will hold..." The voice stopped, and a cacophony of animalistic roars and gunshots erupted through the radio.
"We're coming to back you up!" Yamazaki yelled into his set. He looked over at General Seta.
"Do everything you need to do," Seta nodded. " Kurosaki?"
"Yes sir?" Aoi acknowledged, standing to attention.
"In this desperate situation, you're our most valuable asset. I'm entrusting you to lead the squad. Contain this breach, however you can." Aoi saluted, as did the rest of the new hunters. Asuka stayed, as everyone else departed.
"It seems you were right to be worried, Miss Asuka. We were fortunate that you took such prescient actions." Then, Asuka's phone rang ominously.
"Yes?" She answered. She absorbed the new information she was being fed, and hung up.
"That fool..." she muttered under her breath, "Fudo left the safe house; and Mariko Fudo won't say where she's fled. I have a report that she might have been spotted in the air, about fifteen minutes ago, heading southwest towards Meguro district." Seta's eyes raised in concern.
"Given the situation, I don't know if we can risk sending any of our assets after her." Asuka gritted her teeth.
"I believe we cannot afford to lose her, General, and that I maybe mistaken in my assessment. She might be their real target, and all of this is intended to isolate her," Asuka reconsidered, "Give me a helicopter, five men, and some heavy armament. Mariko Fudo almost certainly knows where she's gone. I'll get it out of her." Seta cupped his hands, mulling over the request, before finally acquiescing.
"I'll make the call. I'll also have non-essential staff evacuated, but if we abandon the base itself, even temporarily, it will be a show of weakness we can ill afford. And if they breach the perimeter..." he let the words hang, his stone features not betraying his fear, but Asuka knew it was there nonetheless.
"Of course, General, it won't come to that," Asuka nodded her acknowledgement. She was aware of the point of pride, and that with the collaboration between the US Government and the Japanese Parliament, the performance of the HA and the JSDF were being watched closely; she had no desire to face such an embarrassment anymore than the General. He was going to see this through rather than abandon his men; foolish, yet still admirable. This was going to be decisive night, whatever happened.