Chapter Ten
She guardeth the Abyss. And in her is a perfect purity of that which is above, yet she is sent as the Redeemer to them that are below. For there is no other way into the Supernal mystery but through her and the Beast on which she rideth. - Magick Without Tears
* * * *
“You’ve found Kanzaki’s rat-hole?” Riou asked at the other end of the line, as Yuri informed him of all that they had found out so far. The four teens and one adult were currently at Shibuya, taking a short break.
Tohya and Selina had bought a burger each from a fast food stand earlier, and were taking bites out of it, as they sat on one of the benches in the commercial streets of Shibuya. Ren was leaning against the lamp post next to the bench with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at nothing in particular, a bored expression on his face. Sunny was fiddling about with his cellphone whilst seated on the end of the bench that Selina and Tohya were sitting on, ignoring everything around him. Yuri meanwhile, was sitting on the back of the bench as she reported the recent mission updates to Riou.
It was late afternoon, and the sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, painting a beautiful picture of red and orange. Yuri realised that their group must have created quite a picture to anyone who even bothered to pay the slightest ounce of attention to them, but at this moment, she didn’t seem to care.
Yuri nodded as she listened to the captain of the Phantoms.
“But something isn’t quite right,” she said, a frown on her face. “The others think so as well. It’s too simple. If it is Raven’s Gate, it isn’t like them at all. You’ve said it yourself.” Yuri emphasised. “I think it’s a trap of some sort.”
“Probably,” said Riou, sounding concerned on the other end of the line. “But as things stand, we don’t really have a choice in the matter. I’ll give the approval to go ahead and check the building out. But be careful. And if Kanzaki is indeed in there, if it’s not possible for you to bring him back alive…eliminate him.”
“Yes sir.” Yuri replied. Click.
Shutting her cellphone, Yuri slipped it into her jeans pocket, and turned to face the other four. Ren had turned around the moment that she had ended her phone call, so that he’s leaning with his elbow resting against the lamp post. Sunny didn’t turn around, but his body language told Yuri that he was listening attentively as well. Tohya and Selina both turned their heads slightly so that they were facing her.
Yuri sighed. “Alright, I’ve gotten new orders from the captain,” she said. “He agreed with me that it’s highly possible it might be a trap of some sort. But as it stands, this is the best clue that we’ve gotten about one of Raven’s Gate activities, as well as Kanzaki’s whereabouts. We have no choice in the matter.”
Ren blew a lock of his hair out of his eyes. “So he’s given us the go ahead to check out the place that we have in mind then?” he asked, and Yuri nodded. Ren sighed for what seemed to be the millionth time that day and straightened up, dusting imaginary dust away from his clothes. “Well, we’ve got our orders. Let’s go.”
Tohya sighed. “There goes my peace and quiet,” he muttered.
Getting to their feet, Tohya and Selina neatly tossed the rolled up wrappers of their burgers into the nearby trashcan. Sunny was the last among them to get to his feet, and he slipped his cellphone into his jeans pocket before turning around, a weird look on his face.
“Let’s go.”
The four younger teens nodded before Tohya and Selina took the lead, with Ren following them, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Yuri studied Sunny carefully. She had only known Sunny for a few hours, but she knew and understood the guy enough to know that he’s acting way out of character.
“Is there something wrong?” asked Yuri as they followed the three before them, falling in pace beside Sunny who had his hands stuffed into his pockets. Ren’s sharp ears caught their conversation, and fell back a little so that he’s walking in line with Yuri.
Sunny thought for a while before respondng. “This case regarding Kanzaki’s escape from prison…actually, I’ve requested to take on this assignment from the captain and the Elder,” he said, a sombre tone in his voice. A sad look on his face appeared for a second before disappearing so quickly that Yuri wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light. “One of the bodies that went missing in the morgue of the Tokyo Medical University Hospital…was one of my best friends.”
Sunny turned his face away. “She fought a losing battle with leukaemia for the past six months, and had only passed away recently. She didn’t have any kin, and she stated in her will that if anything should happen to her, she would want me to be informed.” Sunny clenched his hands into fists by his sides. “That’s…how I even knew that her body went missing in the morgue of the hospital, and that Kanzaki was involved with this ‘body theft’ case. Also…it happens to be her birthday today.” Sunny smiled a sad smile.
“Your girlfriend?” asked Yuri softly.
Sunny laughed. “It’s nothing like that,” he said. “She’s just the closest thing that I had to a best friend when I first came to Japan, after joining Hati. That is even before Selina had joined me here about two years ago.”
Yuri nodded absently.
She had heard vague rumours that Selina had joined Hati two years ago when she was eighteen, because unforeseen circumstances had forced her hand – much like herself eight years ago. Yuri sighed. She wondered how Miki and her brothers are doing now…
“And speaking of birthdays,” said Ren, trying to change the subject, as the atmosphere is getting a little too glum for his liking. Furthermore, he knew that no one in the Phantoms liked talking about their past. “Yuri, when is your birthday?”
Yuri tensed up at this, an action which didn’t escape Ren’s notice. “It doesn’t matter,” she muttered, increasing her speed. “Come on, let’s hurry. I want to get this mission done before morning.”
* * * *
Yuri frowned as she stared at the dark building in front of her which looked like the sort of building used as a prison. The paint was slowly peeling off the walls of the building, and it looked to be right out of some ghost movie.
The girl turned towards Tohya. “Are you sure that this is the place?” she asked, and Tohya nodded.
“There is only one building labelled ‘72’ in underground Shinjuku, and this is it,” he said. “And if we’re right about Kanzaki’s association with Raven’s Gate, then there is an extremely high chance that he might be in here.”
“Let’s go in,” said Ren, fumbling about in his pouch for his flashlight as he entered the building, snapping on his flashlight, lighting the place up.
Thick layers of dust covered the ground, and even the paint was peeling off the walls. Paintings of a time long past hung crooked on the walls, and there were even bullet holes and knife holes through some of the paintings, and walls. Broken and dusty utensils were lying all about the place, and there were dried blood in several places on the floor.
“Looks like the left over from the raid twenty years ago.” Selina remarked. “Either that, or the Raven’s Gate of the past simply likes keeping things this way.”
No one said anything to that, and Yuri frowned as she looked left and right, her flashlight in her right hand, as she studied the layout of the building quickly. “This place is too big,” she commented, and the other four nodded, agreeing with her. Yuri turned towards her comrades. “We’re going to have to split up. I’ll go with Ren. Tohya, you go with Sunny and Selina.”
Tohya nodded.
“Keep your communicators on,” said Ren, tapping at the small device currently attached to the collar of his shirt. “Sound the alarm if you’ve found Kanzaki.”
Selina, Sunny and Tohya nodded.
“Roger that.”
* * * *
Three hours later, Yuri felt jumpy.
Tohya, Selina and Sunny had opted to search the top levels of the building, whilst Ren and Yuri searched the first level, as well as the basement. Despite nearly three hours of searching, there wasn’t even so much as a peep to be heard.
Now, Yuri isn’t arrogant by any means. Despite all five of them being some of the best among the Phantoms, she knew that Kanzaki isn’t to be underestimated as well. While the guy isn’t their match in terms of fighting ability, his mind works at extreme levels, and he is a genius with an IQ of over 200. Yuri knew that Kanzaki is bound to know by now that they’re in this building, if he is even here, that is.
There is a reason why Ren and she, nearly died two years ago when they were trying to capture him. What the crazy scientist lacks in fighting ability, he makes up for it in terms of strategies and plans. He could even give Tohya a run for his money. Despite how laid-back the normally lazy teen is, Tohya is quite an excellent strategist, and could think up of several plans and strategies with speeds that would make any normal person’s head spin.
“It’s too quiet,” said Ren suddenly as they walked about in this maze that they called the basement, shining his flashlight around, causing the light to bounce from one end to another. “Something is not right.”
“I think so too,” said Yuri, looking left and right quickly, the unease within her growing steadily with each passing moment. “It isn’t like the last time that we’d gone after him. It’s like Kanzaki wanted himself to be found. It’s not possible that he won’t know that Hati has been sent after him. There’s an extremely high chance that it’s a trap.”
“Trap or not, we still have to move on.” Ren said. “Just be careful.”
Yuri nodded, the two walking down the maze of hallways in the basement level. It sure didn’t seem that large when they saw the building from the outside. As the two Phantoms walked further in, Yuri could have sworn that it was her imagination, as the temperature seemed to drop in intensity the further that they walked. She could almost see cold mist whenever herself or Ren breathed in and out.
Ren suddenly stopped in his tracks, putting out one arm to stop Yuri in hers, a deep frown on his handsome face, his forehead creasing slightly.
Yuri blinked. “Ren?”
“Shh!” Ren placed one finger to his lips, cocking his head to one side with a deep frown on his face. “Did you hear that?”
Yuri blinked. “Hear what? I don’t hear anything.”
“Just listen. There it is again,” said Ren, and Yuri frowned as she strained her ears.
And as she did so, she could faintly hear the sounds of what seemed like running water, and the occasional beeping from some machine. Maybe a computer or two? But how can that be when all electricity and water of this building have been completely cut off?
The abandoned district in this part of Shinjuku where the building was located was unofficially known as underground Shinjuku among the citizens that have lived in this area. And most buildings in the abandoned district of underground Shinjuku rarely have running power and water.
“Is that…the sound of running water?” Yuri mused. “And…maybe computers?”
Ren chewed on his bottom lip nervously, pondering his options before turning towards Yuri. “Maybe we should investigate?” he suggested nervously. “It’s probably Kanzaki, though I don’t like what my gut feeling is currently telling me.”
“We’ll be fine.” Yuri reassured Ren, though she felt uneasy as well.
She had survived this long by relying on her instincts, and right now, her instincts are telling her to get the hell out of this place. But she has a mission to complete, and as a Phantom, she can’t just abandon a mission. It is another thing if the ‘mission failed’. Yuri knew that Riou and the Elder will both have her head for this if she abandoned the mission without a valid reason. She can’t tell them that she had a bad feeling about the mission, and thus abandoned it. She will probably end up getting ‘erased’ by Riou if she said that.
The Elder’s favourite or not, not even Yuri will escape punishment when she breaks the rules of the Phantoms.
Yuri and Ren both followed the faint sounds of running water and the faint beeping of the computers, until they tracked it down to a room behind a pair of double steel doors, with one of the doors left slightly ajar. Light could even be seen streaming through it, confusing the two Phantoms totally.
Power isn’t supposed to be running in this building, is it?
Ren pulled his Elvigar out of his pouch, strapping it onto his right hand, flexing his fingers as he readied his weapon. Yuri followed his example by pulling Odium out of the belt holster around her waist, releasing the safety catch on it.
Ren made a few hand signs by beckoning Yuri towards him, pointing at the metal doors. The girl understood the sign as Ren signaled that he’ll enter the room first, and she was to follow him as backup.
Even though Yuri hated letting her teammate do that, she knew that Ren’s weapon allows him to take on surprise attacks much easier than her Odium could. Unlike her Odium, Ren’s Elvigar is originally designed to take on platoons. Hence the reason why the Elder and Riou usually sent Ren as her backup during her missions, like her mission back in Italy when she was sent to assassinate Hollander Schwandretz.
Ren tugged onto the slightly ajar door, flinging it opened where it created such a screeching sound, grating and causing her to wince. The door then smashed into the wall behind with a resounding crash.
Ren walked into the room with a poker-faced expression, readying his weapon with the fingers of his left hand wrapped around the wrist of his right hand, with Yuri just behind him, her gun trained on Kanzaki who was standing in the middle of the room.
The mad scientist is currently facing some strange machines in front of him whilst scribbling something into the clipboard that he had with him, his back facing the two Phantoms, acting like having two Phantoms barging in on you like this is something that happens on an everyday basis.
Yuri frowned as she eyed Kanzaki. She seriously never wanted to face the guy again. She still had nightmares from that night when a scene that seemed right out of a Resident Evil movie came to life two years ago.
Probably because of his two year stint in prison, Kanzaki’s hair hung down to his shoulders, straggly and dirty, and he seemed to have seen better days. The white doctor’s coat that he had on, which Yuri wondered where he even got it from, had several bloodstains on it. Yuri’s blood ran cold at this, wondering at the type of experiments that he had been running.
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Ren growled low in his throat. “Kanzaki.”
Kanzaki paused before turning around to face the two Phantoms, and Yuri cringed visibly as she saw the clearly insane look in his eyes. In fact, if she hadn’t had as much self-restraint that she had, thanks to the training that Hati had put her through, she would have been out of the door in an instant.
Yuri can see just why Tohya had jokingly once said that small children needn’t fear the Bogeyman any longer if Kanzaki just pays them a visit. Ren didn’t appreciate that comment much, and he didn’t speak to Tohya for nearly two weeks after that.
A faint smirk was visible on Kanzaki’s face as he adjusted the black frame glasses resting on his nose. He was so skinny that Yuri could almost see his cheekbones jutting out. In fact, if she didn’t know any better, she’d have thought that Kanzaki was a skeleton masquerading as a human being.
“It’s been awhile,” said Kanzaki. “Kamizuki. Yagami.”
“You’ve been stealing bodies from Tokyo Medical University Hospital, haven’t you?” questioned Ren, going straight to the point with the mad scientist, his voice extremely cold.
Kanzaki smirked. “I have?”
Yuri narrowed her eyes at the scientist. Any idiot with a brain and eyes to go with it could tell that Kanzaki is admitting that he’s the culprit.
“I was hoping that you will say that,” said Ren, flexing his Elvigar. “I have orders to bring you in alive or dead. Orders from the top. But the top brass didn’t say that it’s a requirement, and neither did they say not to hurt you. And you’ve sure got a lot to answer for, seeing what you’ve put us through.”
Kanzaki smirked. “As expected from a Phantom,” he said. “But you both should know this as well. Just because I’m a scientist doesn’t mean that I’m totally helpless when it comes to defending myself.” He then withdrew a long Japanese katana[1] from his side which both Yuri and Ren hadn’t noticed until now, because of the white doctor’s coat he was wearing. “You learn a lot of things when you are in prison. Especially ways to fight and methods to toughen your own body up…the natural way.”
Ren and Yuri exchanged worried looks before turning their attention back towards Kanzaki. They knew better than anyone else what the maximum security prison that Kanzaki was kept in is like. All Phantoms were required to head down to that prison at least once in their lifetime after their appointments as the elites of Hati.
Both Ren and Yuri sprang apart quickly as Kanzaki headed in their direction with impressive speed which didn’t even seem remotely possible for a man of his stature. The katana that Kanzaki was wielding crashed to the ground in the exact spot where Yuri had been standing moments before.
Yuri was quick to block Kanzaki’s next strike with her Odium, forcing her backwards a little, using her gun to force Kanzaki’s katana away from her body. She then lashed out with her right foot which caught Kanzaki in the lower abdomen.
Yuri breathed heavily. She didn’t expect Kanzaki to be this good, and she wondered for a moment if his body was made out of metal or something as her foot hurt quite badly after having struck Kanzaki in the lower abdomen.
The teen then narrowed her eyes as she studied the way Kanzaki wielded his weapon. There are a number of people in Hati who used swords as their weapons, with Riou Takeshi being one of them. Yuri had also studied the basics of Japanese swordsmanship from her uncle when she was a child, and she knew of several different styles that were still being taught to students in several Japanese dojos[2] today.
The style that Kanzaki uses doesn’t seem like any of the styles that she had seen before in her life, with the scientist focusing more on a ‘twirling’ kind of style. Yuri’s memory kicked in just then as she remembered just what that ‘sword style’ that Kanzaki used was.
Fencing.
A form of European swordsmanship that Yuri had only seen once when she had headed to Europe some years back for a mission. But Japanese katanas aren’t really appropriate for fencing, especially since the length of Japanese swords are much longer than that of a normal fencing sword, and not to mention that it is much heavier. But on the other hand, it could and might cause a lot of damage to her person should any of Kanzaki’s strikes hit her.
“Fencing with a Japanese sword, huh?” said Yuri, narrowing her eyes. “You might just be the first to think about doing something like that. But it won’t work.”
Kanzaki smirked before he froze in his tracks just then, and Yuri narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of several wires around the room, with a couple of the wires wrapped around Kanzaki’s sword and the arm holding the sword.
Ren landed in between Yuri and Kanzaki just then, his right hand clenched into a fist, and several wires from Ren’s Elvigar could be seen stretching out over the entire room like a web of some sort. Yuri walked towards Ren before standing by his side, glancing at Kanzaki warily.
“I hope that you hadn’t forgotten about me, Kanzaki,” said Ren.
Yuri frowned to herself as a smirk appeared on Kanzaki’s face just then. Is that man truly as crazy as they said that he is? Which sane person would grin like that when they’re just an inch away from death?
“Do the both of you know that this place was once Raven’s Gate’s hideout a long time ago?” Kanzaki stated more than asked, and Yuri frowned to herself. “And that the Raven’s Gate of the past used this place to ‘interrogate’ their prisoners and captives more than twenty years ago?”
Yuri frowned to herself. She did have her initial suspicions about that, as they’ve passed quite a number of rooms in the basement earlier which seemed to be jail cells or torture chambers, and she’d rather not find out just what had transpired in those rooms a long time ago.
Ren frowned. Obviously, the teen had arrived at the same thought. “What are you getting at?” he asked, tugging the wires from his Elvigar, causing the wires to tighten around Kanzaki’s arm and sword, yet he didn’t hear a single sound from the scientist which made him wonder if the guy is immune to pain.
The sick grin on Kanzaki’s face widened if it’s even possible. “Look at your feet.”
“Our feet?” Ren blinked in slight confusion, and both he and Yuri looked down simultaneously at their feet, only to have their eyes widening in horror when they saw that they’re both standing on a metal panel which is obviously the covering for something else – a trapdoor of some kind perhaps? “Shit—!”
Whatever curses that Ren was about to utter were cut off as the metal panel opened up all of a sudden, with Ren snapping the wires of his Elvigar by sheer instinct to prevent losing his right hand. This action caused the two to fall straight down into a five feet deep pit with smooth cemented walls, with just enough room for a normal adult to move two steps forwards in any direction.
Yuri placed one hand onto the wall nearest to her only to find that the cemented walls seemed to be extremely smooth. So much so that it isn’t possible for Ren and her to climb out of the pit. And by the looks of things, this trap room was just built.
“Kanzaki, you bastard!” Ren roared in fury as he tilted his head upwards to glare at Kanzaki’s smirking face above them where the surface was now fitted with a metal trapdoor with bars stretched across it.
Yuri winced at Ren’s loud volume, especially since he was standing right next to her. She glanced up skywards just in time to see Kanzaki fit a giant padlock onto the bars of the trapdoor, locking it with a golden key with silver designs on it, hanging from a circular metal key-ring that the scientist had. Kanzaki laughed manically at both Ren and Yuri’s enraged expressions, and dangled the key-ring mockingly above their heads, and slipping it into his pocket.
“What are you planning to do?” Yuri demanded, glaring at Kanzaki with a look that is enough to melt steel.
“Just this,” said Kanzaki with a smirk before there was a faint clicking sound, and both Ren and Yuri turned sharply only to see several small panels on the cemented walls of the chamber sliding away to reveal what seemed like water pipes.
Yuri’s heart turned cold as she realised what Kanzaki intended to do to them, and the sole reason why they were lured here in the first place. This small trap room that they’re both in is a torture chamber of sorts!
Ren had obviously come to the same conclusion that Yuri had as he glared upwards at Kanzaki. “Let us out, you sicko!” He roared with such fury that Yuri was strongly reminded of a dragon breathing fire at everything that dared come near him. The girl groaned inwardly as she rubbed her ears, wishing to herself that Ren wouldn’t shout so loudly.
“I think not,” said Kanzaki with a tone that seemed like he was talking about the weather, before water started flowing out of the pipes of the wall, filling the room up with water slowly. “I’ll be able to know a lot of interesting things from your dead bodies. I have examined plenty of bodies in my time as a doctor, but never one of a Phantom. This will be interesting.”
“Dream on, you sicko!” Ren growled as he looked down at his feet where water was slowly pooling around his sneakers, and gradually filling up the room which soon reached the height of his knees. He pressed his right hand against the wall, testing the texture and smoothness of the wall nearest to him, only to curse beneath his breath.
“Damn it!” Yuri cursed to herself as she studied the nearest water pipe, wondering if she can shoot the pipe off the wall to stop the flow of the water, only to scrap the idea, as there is also a chance that more water will spill out.
Kanzaki chuckled to himself, as by this time, both Ren and Yuri were practically swimming about in the trap room in order to keep their heads above the water. “I never thought that I’ll be able to get two of Hati’s best Phantoms so easily,” he taunted. “Kami will reward me well for this!”
Yuri coughed slightly as she choked on some water whilst trying to keep her head afloat and searching for a possible way out of this mess at the same time.
“Die, Kanzaki!”
Both Ren and Yuri turned their heads skywards just in time only to see a flash of a silver blade imbedded itself into Kanzaki’s head, killing him instantly There was the sound of light running footsteps, and the anxious and worried faces of Tohya, Selina and Sunny appeared above the trapdoor just then.
“Yuri! Ren!” Tohya called out urgently, tugging at the bars of the trapdoor, only to succeed in rattling the bars of the trapdoor a little, the trapdoor simply refusing to budge. “Damn it! The trapdoor won’t budge!”
“How do you turn the water off?” Sunny asked urgently, looking from Tohya and Selina to Yuri and Ren, and back again.
“Only Kanzaki knew how to do that, I’m afraid!” Ren shouted back to his comrades. “Our only choice is to open the trapdoor!”
“How?” asked Selina with pure desperation on her face, tugging at the bars of the trapdoor as well, trying her luck. “This damn thing’s bolted shut! And the lock isn’t something that can be just forced or shot opened! It’s a type of special lock that you can usually only find back at Hati!”
Lock? Yuri blinked as she turned her head skywards only to spy the lock that Kanzaki had used to bolt shut the trapdoor before her memory kicked in just then. “Tohya! Sunny! Selina! Get the key!”
“What key?” Tohya shouted back through the bars.
“The key that Kanzaki used to lock the trapdoor!” Yuri shouted back whilst trying to keep her head above the water to prevent drowning. “It should be somewhere on his person! It’s a golden one with silver designs on it!”
Tohya blinked. “Yuri. You noticed all that?”
Ren growled low in his throat next to Yuri. And the girl herself made a mental note to lock Tohya into the gas chamber of Hati’s headquarters, or better yet, use him as her target practice the moment that they’ve returned to Hati headquarters.
“Tohya, just get the key, and get us the hell out of here!” Ren yelled at his best friend, panic in his tone, as the water was now filling nearly half of the trap room.
Selina’s face disappeared from their view just then, and she was soon back a few seconds later with the circular metal key-ring that Kanzaki had earlier. She quickly fumbled about with the numerous keys on it, when by some sheer miracle, the key-ring slipped from Selina’s fingers. And to the immense shock and horror of everyone present, the key-ring slipped through the gratings of the trapdoor and into the water, sinking down to the bottom.
Selina gulped. “Oh shit.”
Yuri sighed inwardly. ‘“Oh shit” is the correct word to describe the current situation at hand,’ she thought sourly. ‘Let’s see: first, Ren and I are both trapped in this room. Then Selina just has to drop the key-ring holding the key that is essential to our survival in this very place! What will happen next? The leader of Raven’s Gate showing up, and proclaiming that he is my father?’
“Selina…” Sunny growled before turning slowly towards his sister who blushed slightly, scratching her cheek with one finger.
Ren growled before tapping Yuri on the arm and pointing downwards, with the water level of the trap room now filling ¾ of the room. “We have to dive into the water to get the key. From the looks of things, we only have about five minutes before the entire trap room is filled with water.”
Yuri nodded. She isn’t exactly fond of diving deep down into the depths to retrieve a key, but she doesn’t want to die by drowning either. She took in a deep breath before diving into the water, turning herself around within the water so that she is facing the direction of the bottom of the trap room.
The depths were dark, and Yuri could barely see a thing, and she could vaguely sense Ren behind her. Yuri pressed one of the buttons on her wristwatch before a bright beam of light shone from her watch, lighting the place up. Behind her, Ren did the same thing so that they both could see in the dark waters.
The wristwatch that Yuri had on is one that is issued to every single Phantom, which had several devices built into it which includes a laser, a flashlight, a mini voice recorder, a transmitter, as well as several other devices. As Phantoms, all of them get into dangerous scenarios at times, and Yuri had already lost count of the number of times that this wristwatch had saved her life during missions in the past.
Yuri spied the key-ring lying at the bottom of the ground just then, grabbing it at the same time when she choked in the water, gasping for air. Yuri turned a somersault in the water before swimming quickly towards the surface, her head breaking the surface of the water, coughing and gasping for some much needed oxygen.
“Yuri, hurry!” Tohya shouted to Yuri as Ren’s head broke the surface beside her.
Both their heads were nearly touching the top of the trapdoor just then, and Yuri quickly fumbled through the numerous keys on the key-ring, searching for that one key that will unlock the padlock, mentally cursing Kanzaki to oblivion for having this many keys on one key-ring.
Yuri finally found the golden key that she had seen Kanzaki used to lock the padlock earlier, inserting the key into the lock. Her hands were shaking so much from the cold water that she could barely steady it enough to insert the key into the lock, but somehow, still managed.
Tohya, Selina and Sunny assisted Yuri and Ren on the other side of the trapdoor to lift the metal gratings which opened with a creaking and groaning sound, lifting it opened where it landed onto the ground with a gigantic crash.
Sunny reached one hand down to grab Ren’s arm before pulling him out, with Ren using his other hand to grab the edge of the trapdoor to pull himself out of the trap room. Tohya had grabbed one of Yuri’s hands with Selina grabbing onto the other, before the two teens managed to drag Yuri out of the trap room. And just in time too, as the water level had reached the top of the trap room that Yuri and Ren were in seconds ago.
All five Phantoms were breathing and panting heavily on the floor, staring at the trap room from which water had slightly flowed over the top. Then, to their astonished eyes, all five Phantoms saw the water slowly receding into the trap room, and there was even a strange gurgling-like sound that almost sounds like the water was being drained somewhere.
“W-What’s going on down there?” Selina asked as she got onto her hands and knees at the edge of the trapdoor, peering down into the dark abyss, along with the others.
“It’s probably heat censored,” remarked Tohya. Seeing Selina’s slightly confused look, he proceeded to explain. “The room is probably set with sensors to detect the body heat of a human being. Once there is no body heat detected down there, the water will then recede.” He frowned, studying the room. “It almost seems like a torture chamber to me, and it seems like it was likely built some time back. Technology like this can only be found in the past five or so years.”
“Yeah, I think so too,” said Ren with a sigh and a nod, still sitting down on the ground, not willing to move from his place on solid ground. “Thanks for the help.”
“What are comrades for?” asked Tohya with a grin. “We overheard your entire conversation with Kanzaki via your communicators earlier, and rushed over immediately by tracking the transmitters of your watches.”
At the mention of Kanzaki, Yuri turned towards the scientist’s direction only to see a large pool of blood around his body where a long metal blade, which Yuri recognised as one of the blades from Selina’s Vigrid, protruding from his neck.
“He’s dead?” Yuri stated more than asked, and Selina and Sunny both looked over where Yuri had been looking and nodded simultaneously.
“It’s not possible for someone to still be alive after having their wind pipe destroyed,” said Sunny quietly. “With that, mission accomplished.”
* * * *
Three hours later, after Ren and Yuri have both gotten themselves checked over by the physician of Hati, which is standard procedure after every completed mission, the five Phantoms found themselves standing before the Elder and the captain of the Phantoms to give their mission report.
Usually, mission reports are written down before being handed to either Riou or the Elder for one of the two to read over. But this particular mission was sensitive, as it was about an insane scientist captured by Hati, after much trouble.
“I see…” said the Elder, who seemed to have aged ten years after listening to their report. The Elder studied each one of the five before commenting. “Well, the government won’t be very happy to hear about Kanzaki’s death, but it really couldn’t be helped. In any case, good work.”
The five Phantoms nodded.
Yuri privately thought that Japan and the world were better off without Kanzaki, and she knew the Elder and Riou both thought the same as well, judging by the expressions on their faces.
“And you are very sure that Kanzaki is really dead?” Riou questioned with a frown, looking at Yuri.
Yuri had a feeling that Riou was going to ask her that.
“I checked over his body personally,” said Yuri tiredly. “And so did Ren and Tohya. I also sent a bullet into his heart in case he was faking his death.” Yuri added, glancing at Selina. “Not after Selina had sent a blade into his throat, severing his windpipe. You have to be immortal to still be alive after all that. Trust me, Captain, Kanzaki is very much dead. We disposed his body personally, so you can rest assured.”
Riou nodded. “My apologies. But with Raven’s Gate and Kanzaki involved in this particular mission, you can never be too sure.”
The Phantoms nodded, each understanding their captain’s concerns.
“It’s kind of ironic though.” Tohya said. “In the end, Kanzaki is just afraid of death. Like every human before him. He just took it a step too far. He actually tried to cheat Death itself by trying to attain immortality, and lost his mind and senses in the process.” He shook his head. “Someone who can ‘create immortality’ should not be afraid of death.”
Sunny frowned to himself, one hand rubbing his chin as he thought deeply. “But without a doubt, there is Raven’s Gate written all over this mission as well,” he said. “Kanzaki has a connection to them that we aren’t very certain of. And we can safely assume that it is Raven’s Gate that had gotten him out of prison as well.”
Ren and Yuri both nodded slowly, the latter recalling what Kanzaki had said when he had trapped them both in the room that had nearly claimed their lives. “He said it himself as well,” said Yuri slowly, and everyone turned towards her. “‘Kami will reward me well for this’.” She glanced at Ren whom nodded before turning back towards the Elder and Riou. “He said that earlier. Like what we’ve thought, he has a connection with Raven’s Gate.”
Riou nodded slowly, going over several scenarios in his head. Tohya ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair. “Raven’s Gate isn’t joking around,” he stated. “They’re really serious. We have to stop them.”
Yuri sighed. “Yeah.”
The Elder banged his stick twice against the floor to garner everyone’s attention. “Alright, all of you have had an extremely long day,” he said. “Get some rest, and take the day off tomorrow. You’ve deserved it. Dismissed!”
“Sir!”
All five Phantoms then bowed to their superior officers politely before excusing themselves and leaving the room, closing the door behind them with a loud creak.
“What are you guys going to do next?” asked Sunny, looking at the three younger Phantoms. “I know Selina is definitely going to want a bath before going straight to la-la-land.”
“Niisan!” Selina looked embarrassed, and Tohya and Ren chuckle whilst Yuri laughed at this.
“Not much, I guess,” said Ren, glancing at his two teammates and best friends. “We usually get at least eight hours of sleep after a mission like this. It won’t be any different this time.”
“I see,” said Sunny with a nod. “We should try to meet up every now and then. Maybe catch a movie or something in Shibuya during one of our day-off?”
“That sounds great,” said Yuri with a nod. “We’ll see you later then.”
“Sure,” said Sunny, giving a half-wave to the trio before wounding one arm around his sister’s shoulders and leading her away down the hallway. “Come on, Sel. You look ready to fall asleep on your feet.”
The voices of the two siblings then faded away as they walked down the hallway. Tohya, Ren and Yuri exchanged looks before shrugging.
“Must be nice, having a family,” said Tohya wistfully before he looked at his friends. “Well, I’ll catch you guys later. I want a bath before catching up on my sleep too.”
Ren and Yuri both nodded. Tohya waved, disappearing down the hallway, leaving both Ren and Yuri behind. There was silence after that as Yuri walked down the hallway, turning her head slightly to look at Ren.
“You coming?”
“Yeah.”
There was further silence before Yuri stopped in her tracks just then. “July 31.”
Ren looked over at Yuri, a confused expression on his face. “Huh?”
“My birthday,” said Yuri, turning towards Ren, a small smile on her face. “You asked me that before our mission, remember?”
“July 31…?” Ren trailed off slowly, trying to remember the exact significance of the date, and why Yuri never seemed to like to talk about this exact date for as long as he had remembered.
Realisation struck him like a sledgehammer as he recalled that on July 31 a few years ago, Yuri had gone missing for several days. He had later gotten wind from the Elder that Yuri’s uncle had died on that very day.
July 31.
Ren’s eyes widened a slight fraction just then, and he turned towards Yuri who nodded slightly. “That’s the date when…” Ren trailed off, and Yuri nodded, looking out of the window where the first rays of dawn are starting to break out over the world, painting a beautiful picture.
“That’s right. When my uncle died. He was a kind hearted person. One would never even guess that he was a Phantom of Hati. Then on that day… He promised me that we would celebrate my birthday after his mission. But he never returned.” Yuri sighed. “I found out from the Elder that he had died, much later.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” said Yuri with a shake of her head. “It has been years since then. I never liked to talk about it, and neither did I like to think about this day ever since Uncle died. But…” She turned towards Ren and gave a small smile. “After hearing about Sunny’s friend from him, I’ve come to a realisation. Memories aren’t meant to be buried after all. Since for every bad memory, there is always a good memory hidden behind it.”
Ren smiled, glad that Yuri had fully come to terms with her past.
“How about going to Shibuya once we’ve both gotten our well-deserved rest?” he suggested as they walked out of Hati headquarters. “Let’s get some ice-cream. You, me and Tohya. It’ll be my treat.” He winked.
Yuri laughed, and her laughter almost sounded like tinkling bells to Ren.
“Sure. Why not?”
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[1] Katana: A type of Japanese sword commonly referred to as a ‘samurai sword’. The term of ‘katana’ is usually referred to any kind of single edged sword, and this Japanese term doesn’t always necessarily have to be a Japanese sword
[2] Dojo: A dojo is a training school for Japanese students to learn martial arts, usually kendo, which is Japanese swordsmanship