Chapter Twenty Five
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? - Psalm 22:1
* * * *
Things couldn’t get any worse for Hati.
And as Yuri had predicted, Raven’s Gate wasn’t even halfway done with them yet.
It was barely two weeks after that accursed video had found its way into the hands of the media, when Venar Enterprises or Raven’s Gate, started spreading rumours in Japan about Hati killing politicians under the orders of the government.
Yuri had feared initially the backlash that would happen should the civilian populace find out about Hati’s existence. It caused an all-out riot in the streets of Japan, and even within the government themselves, it became a free-for-all for everyone.
The high ranking government officials were finding it difficult to curb the riots breaking out all over the place. And even then, they were losing support even from within the government.
Murders were occurring all over the country. And even the National Diet Building of Japan was almost destroyed because of all the riots. It would not be long before neighbouring countries would hear of the trouble that had befallen Japan, and would seize the opportunity to declare war on them.
And in the midst of all the chaos, Venar Enterprises or Raven’s Gate had been seizing power, and they even seemed to have the support of the civilian populace.
There had already been a major hunt conducted all over the country for the members of Hati. And already, several innocent people had been killed in the riots that have broken out just because they were mistaken as members of Hati.
And naturally, once again, it was Raven’s Gate behind it.
That accursed organisation had been playing on the fears of the people by spreading rumours that the government officials that were the ‘leaders’ of Hati wanted absolute obedience from their people with the motto of ‘one world, one country’.
When Yuri had heard this, she snorted, as it was more like Raven’s Gate’s motto rather than Hati’s.
So far, Raven’s Gate hadn’t found the exact location of Hati’s base. They only knew that it’s somewhere within the Shinjuku area of Japan. And that’s the reason why most of the riots were mainly focused in the Shinjuku area. Raven’s Gate might not know the exact location of Hati’s base, but it is only a matter of time before they found out.
All missions for Hati have been put on hold because of the riots, and the Elder hadn’t been seen since the riots had first begun. He was trying to help hold the fort at the government, as well as to try to calm things down.
Thus, for an entire month, it was the captain of the Phantoms who had been overseeing operations at Hati. And even for Riou Takeshi, it was not an easy task, as tempers were running high and wild within Hati.
The members of Hati – both the Drifters and the Phantoms were never political. The Phantoms might take on missions that had a tendency to affect politics greatly, but they never involved themselves directly in politics.
The Hati organisation is an organisation of ‘lone wolves’. They usually served as the blades of the darkness – the underworld itself, and had protected Japan and the world ever since their inception. And this current disgrace forced upon them by Venar Enterprises, and by default, Raven’s Gate, was firmly ingrained in their minds.
As a rule, the members of the Hati organisation prided themselves on being stronger than the average person because of the nature of their job. And this disgrace forced upon them by the Raven’s Gate organisation is a direct insult to them.
And if there is one thing that the Hati organisation is famous for ever since it’s inception, it is that their members may forget, but they do not forgive. They nurse their grudges.
For eternity.
And it isn’t so far-fetched as to say that the Hati organisation is by far, the best in combat, even far exceeding the prowess of the best military men in Japan.
Each and every member of Hati is an expert in just about every form of combat that has ever existed. And they were trained in demolition, sabotage, mental and physical interrogation, arson, and most importantly, assassination.
This is the reason why the high ranking government officials of Japan tend to keep Hati on such a tight leash.
The government and Hati have sealed an unspoken agreement between them.
The Elder and the captain of the Phantoms are the actual leaders of the Hati organisation. As long as the government doesn’t try to dictate to Hati, and use them for their own means, Hati will leave them alone.
If the government leaves Hati alone, Hati will leave them alone.
Thus, Riou Takeshi was having a pretty hard time trying to keep the entire Hati organisation from going after Raven’s Gate themselves. And even Riou himself saw red because of everything that Raven’s Gate had been putting them through.
All of Hati were thirsting for some form of revenge. Even the usually calm and tactical Phantoms were angry and thirsting for some form of vengeance, and for some Raven’s Gate blood to be spilt.
Nearly an entire month after the fiasco with Raven’s Gate, Yuri, Tohya and Ren gathered in Ren Kamizuki’s bedroom in the dormitory complex of Hati on one Friday afternoon.
The curtains were drawn across the windows. Tohya was leaning against the window with his arms crossed over his chest. Ren himself was lying on his bed, with his arms folded behind his head, staring up at his ceiling as if seeing something fascinating there. And Yuri was sitting in the swivel chair in a corner of Ren’s room, her arms crossed over her chest with her right leg thrown over the left.
All three had contemplative looks on their faces.
The only sound that could be heard in the room was the slow and steady ticking of the clock on Ren’s bedside table in rhythm with the trio’s breathing.
Yuri was the first one to break the silence by sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose to lessen her headache. “It’s no good. I can’t think of any way out of this entire mess,” she said and both Tohya and Ren looked towards her, with the latter sitting up on his bed with a resigned look. “Things seriously can’t get any worse for us.”
Ren agreed with Yuri. “You’ve said it,” he agreed. “Maybe it’s about time to disband Hati.”
Tohya and Yuri both said nothing to that.
All three of them knew that disbanding Hati would be virtually impossible. Hati has no choice but to continue existing in this world. It is simply a matter of duty. They are a necessary evil that is needed in this world.
“Selina has been beating herself up over this.” Tohya sighed. “She thinks that it is her fault that things have come to this. Everyone knew that it wasn’t her fault, but she thinks otherwise.”
Yuri said nothing to that. If Raven’s Gate had truly wanted to force Hati into ruin, and to force them into a corner, they would have found another way even if Selina had never been on that disastrous mission.
Muffled shouts and yells reached Tohya’s ears just then as he was the one standing closest to the window, and he pushed away a part of the curtains. His eyebrows nearly shot into his hairline when he saw the scene outside.
“Yuri. Ren.” Tohya muttered whilst looking out of the window before he turned back towards his friends, both have turned towards him with an anxious look. All of Hati were aware that it was only a matter of time before Raven’s Gate found their base.
Ren sighed as he swung his legs over the side of his bed, glancing from Tohya to Yuri and back again. “They’re here at last,” he muttered grimly. He then pulled out his Elvigar from his pouch and strapped it onto his right hand, flexing his fingers. “It was only a matter of time.”
Right on cue, all three could hear the sounds of someone banging on the front doors of the dormitory complex of Hati, threatening to break down the doors.
Yuri sighed as she got up from the swivel chair, withdrawing Odium from her holster. Tohya followed her example by withdrawing Zeus. Ren sighed as he got up from his bed. All three Phantoms exchanged looks and nodded as one.
“Let’s go.”
* * * *
The hallway of the dormitory level of the Phantoms was extremely silent.
Riou had given the order three days ago.
He had stated that once Raven’s Gate came knocking on their door, not a single one of them are to engage them in battle. They are to evacuate immediately to a safe place until he could get word to them. The Phantoms especially are to obey this order.
Therefore, Yuri wasn’t too surprised that the hallway was so quiet. The other Phantoms must have already evacuated. Sunny had spoken to Yuri, Tohya and Ren three days ago when Riou had sent out that order to all of Hati. They have arranged to meet up at a safe place together once the time comes for them to evacuate, as there is safety in numbers after all.
A sudden movement out of the corner of Yuri’s eye caught her attention, and she turned. And what she saw had her growling low in her throat.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Behind her, both Tohya and Ren turned to see what Yuri was so pissed about only to see Mizuki Itou standing in the hallway, and both boys growled. Ren had to restrain himself from pouncing onto the bartender of Starlight’s Hall.
Especially since it is because of him that they are in this entire mess now!
Tohya, on the other hand, had no qualms about pouncing on Mizuki had Yuri and Ren not restrained him.
“Kisama!” Tohya roared, fighting to get out of the dead arm-lock that Ren had put him in. “It’s your fucking fault that we’re in this mess now! Who do you fucking think has landed Japan in this state now, huh? It won’t be too long before one of our rival countries declares war, if this situation is allowed to continue!”
Mizuki winced. “Look, I’m sorry, alright?” he apologised fervently. “I wouldn’t have said a single word about Selina and Hati had they not threatened the lives of my employees! I can risk my own life, but I can’t risk theirs! Let me help you to atone for that mistake.”
Yuri glared at Mizuki, and if looks could kill, he would be dead a hundred times over.
“Why should we trust you?” Yuri growled, restraining the urge to use her gun on Mizuki. “You sold us out to Raven’s Gate! How do I know that you wouldn’t do it again?”
“Like I said, I’m sorry about it!” Mizuki apologised again. “I didn’t expect for things to turn out like this! And besides—”
Mizuki never managed to finish what he was saying as Riou arrived on the scene just then, looking quite ruffled. The captain of the Phantoms paused in his step as he caught sight of the four of them, with Tohya, Yuri and Ren looking as if they would like nothing better than to murder Mizuki on the spot, and Mizuki looking as if he would rather be anywhere but here.
“What are the three of you doing?” Riou demanded with exasperation in his voice, not seeing Mizuki yet. “The doors won’t hold those guys for long—” He paused in mid-sentence when he caught sight of Mizuki, and the expression on his face darkened.
Mizuki gave a small tentative smile. “Captain…” he muttered, inclining his head to Riou.
Yuri, Ren and Tohya exchanged curious looks.
Riou gave a small smile. “It’s been a long time,” he said. “Former Phantom VI, Mizuki Itou.”
* * * *
With an ear splitting crash, the front doors of the dormitory complex of Hati flew open as the locks and bolts preventing the doors from opening split apart. And a group of people all dressed alike in black coats and pants, armed with weapons of all kinds, stepped through the opened doorway of the building.
But the group all stopped in their tracks as a single man otherwise known as Mizuki Itou stood blocking their way, armed with a pair of silver hand daggers, a nonchalant look on his face.
“My apologies,” said Mizuki, not really sounding sorry at all. “But the members of Hati aren’t here today. And neither are the Phantoms. If you people are still looking for a fight, then I’ll be your opponent.” Mizuki smirked as the group before him tensed, and he spun the daggers in between his fingers. “I might be a little rusty in combat because I’m kind of out of practice, but you’ll still do well to not underestimate a former member of the Phantoms!” He pointed one of his daggers at the group, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “En garde!”
* * * *
“Of all the damn times when the three of you refuse to listen to me, it just has to be now, doesn’t it?” Riou Takeshi was grumbling as the four of them made their way down the emergency stairs in the dormitory complex of Hati. “You should have evacuated when I told you to!”
Riou then muttered something incoherent beneath his breath, and Yuri, Ren and Tohya exchanged embarrassed looks.
“Cease all contact with Hati and lay low! I’ll contact you instead! The Elder is currently trying to get things back to normal with the government officials. He will be alright by himself. He isn’t the former captain of the Phantoms for nothing!”
Tohya then frowned as he stared at the back of Riou’s head as they moved down the emergency staircase as quickly as they could, whilst Mizuki was buying some time for them to escape from the building.
“What about Mizuki-san?” Tohya wanted to know. “Will he be able to handle himself? The opponents are Raven’s Gate after all.”
“Itou should be alright,” said Riou, with a hint of confidence in his tone. “He hasn’t been in a situation like this since his high school days, but in the past, he was one of our best. He should be alright.”
Yuri frowned. “He really is a former member of Hati then?” she stated more than questioned. “I thought that it was strange in the beginning when I told you that Mizuki Itou, the bartender of the Starlight’s Hall bar, was well aware of the existence of Hati, and neither you nor the Elder did anything.”
“As perceptive and sharp as ever, Yagami,” said Riou. He then nodded. “Yes, he was indeed a former member of Hati and one of the Phantoms. Phantom VI. But after a mission that had ended in disaster when his best friend and partner died, he left Hati. It was only when you told us about the bartender of Starlight’s Hall that we actually knew where he was.”
“Then he should be alright,” said Ren with a nod, knowing better than anyone else that a member of the elites of Hati, the Phantoms, wouldn’t just lose to anyone like that.
“Yeah, he should be alright,” said Riou with a nod. “I’ll go back for him once the three of you get away from here, so don’t worry about him. The three of you need to stick together!” He gave a backward glance towards Yuri, Ren and Tohya. “The last thing that we need is to lose one of you! Don’t do anything reckless!”
* * * *
Yuri, Tohya and Ren have all decided to take Ren’s dark blue sports convertible as opposed to Tohya’s red sports convertible. For one thing, Ren’s car is faster, and it is also less conspicuous, compared to Tohya’s red sports convertible.
But still, all three of them were only relaxed enough to stop themselves from looking over their shoulder every five seconds once the sun had set in the horizon, and Ren had stopped the car near the border of Tokyo Bay, hidden behind some trees.
Ren stared out of the windshield of the car, tapping the dashboard with his index finger. It had started to pour about an hour ago, and it was also almost impossible to see anything in this insane weather.
But even a half-blind man would have seen the number of people in black roaming the streets, which any idiot with even half a brain could tell are the minions of Raven’s Gate.
“We sure got lucky back there.” Tohya muttered in the back seat, pinching the bridge of his nose to lessen his headache. “Can things get any worse for us?”
It had taken them all afternoon to be sure that no one was following them, waiting to ambush them. They were actually chased by some cars with the passengers in said cars firing at them, but Ren had managed to shake their pursuers off by sending those cars straight into the sea in Tokyo Bay.
The fate of their pursuers were furthest from their mind as they tried to get away. They were more concerned with their own lives, and much more concerned with keeping their heads intact on their shoulders.
“Now what?” asked Tohya.
“Well, Selina and Sunny are sure to have gotten out anyway, I suppose.” Ren muttered, backing the car down the hill that they were on. “We knew where they were going – maybe we can meet them there.”
“That is assuming they weren’t followed or even attacked by those shits-for-brains like we were.” Yuri snorted, leaning back into her seat. “And I’m not about to risk calling their cellphones in the event if our calls are being intercepted, especially if we can assume that Raven’s Gate had control of the telephone company as well.”
Ren shook his head. “No. I don’t think that Shizuoka is overrun by Raven’s Gate…yet,” he said. “We should be safe there for the time being. Right now, that’s the safest place to be.”
Yuri leaned back into her seat and slumped, closing her eyes. “This is getting complicated…” she muttered.
Ren snorted, stepping onto the gas pedal once he was back on the main road. “It is Raven’s Gate that we are talking about here. Wasn’t it supposed to be complicated right from the beginning?”
Neither one of the three noticed the black car that had started following them.
* * * *
“—Venar Enterprises assured the members of the public that they are certain to capture the members of the terrorist organisation otherwise known as Hati to prevent them from wrecking havoc upon our beautiful homeland. The president of Venar Enterprises, who preferred to remain unnamed, had made it clear that the idea of the Japan government keeping monsters like a terrorist organisation is no different from being murderers themselves. He would also like to remind all members of the public to be wary of any strangers and suspicious individuals, and to—”
Zap.
Selina sighed as her brother who was in the driver seat beside her in his midnight blue Volvo turned off the portable television that he had installed in his car. The girl slumped into her seat, rubbing at her eyes before glancing at Sunny.
“Now what?” asked Selina. “We are practically forced to be on the run now. We are lucky that Raven’s Gate hasn’t yet issued pictures of the Phantoms to the media. We can at least still blend in with the public as long we take care not to invite attention and suspicion to ourselves.”
Sunny frowned, his index finger tapping on the dashboard of his car. “Well, they probably thought that it wouldn’t do any good even if they do,” he said sensibly. “The Phantoms wouldn’t allow themselves to be caught that easily. Several of us have no qualms about actually attacking and possibly killing innocents. They are already pissed off enough with Raven’s Gate.”
Selina chuckled darkly to herself. “Yeah, I guess so,” she said. She then glanced at her brother. “So what should we do now?”
Sunny frowned. “Well, we should get to Shizuoka,” he said slowly. “We did arrange to meet Yagami and the other two there. And I trust that they’re each skilled enough to get out of Shinjuku even if they should have the unfortunate luck to land themselves in a mess.”
Selina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let’s go then.”
Sunny nodded before stepping on the gas pedal of his car and sped away.
* * * *
“Ren, pull over.”
The teen furrowed his brow and shot a glance at Yuri. Tohya was snoring away gently in the back seat behind them, having taken over the night drive from Ren the previous night. The three of them have decided to take the long route to get to Shizuoka, especially since it decreased the chances of them being discovered by Raven’s Gate.
Yuri was looking out of the window of the car, her eyes trained on the side view mirror, her mouth twisted in a frown, her eyes narrowing itself as she did so.
Ren frowned and looked back at the road.
“What?”
“There’s been a car following us. I don’t know for how long – but I noticed that it’s taken every turn and exit that we have, and its windows are tinted.” Yuri took her eyes off the mirror and looked at Ren. His eyes darkened considerably.
“What do you suggest we do?” he muttered.
Tohya chose that moment to wake up, and he rubbed his eyes sleepily before noticing the tense atmosphere in the car, and blinked. “What’s wrong?” he asked in bewilderment, but he received no answer in return.
Yuri looked back at the side view mirror of the car, and frowned.
“They usually send two people, unless it’s one of the Apostles which I highly doubt,” said Yuri slowly, and Ren nodded. “We’ll stop on the side of the road, and you’ll get out and go into the woods. Elvigar is suitable for long ranged combat.” Ren nodded slowly. “I’ll get them to stand still long enough for you to work your magic.” Yuri frowned. “These guys aren’t usually very smart, so we’ll have to try our best.”
Ren nodded slowly. Yuri must have been thinking about that as he was driving. In the back seat, Tohya seemed to have realised what was going on as he narrowed his eyes in anger and annoyance. They hadn’t stopped at all since this morning, and now, Ren was glad that they hadn’t.
It could have cost them their lives.
After driving for a few moments, Ren steered the car off the road, and he set the car in park. As he got out, he noticed that Yuri had her right hand in the pocket of her coat. The slight bulge within the pocket told Ren that Yuri had her hand on her gun, and he felt a little better, knowing that Yuri was protected as well.
Yuri and Tohya both watched the black car behind them carefully as it slowed to a stop beside their car. Tohya made a move to get out of the car, but a look from Yuri stopped him as she gestured for him to slip into the driver’s seat without getting out which he did. Yuri then opened the door and stepped out, eyeing the car warily.
The driver’s door opened, and a man stepped out. He was dressed in casual clothes; a T-shirt and some jeans. The man came around to the front of the car and slipped his hand against his right thigh, where a gun holster rested.
“Yuri Yagami.” The man smirked. Yuri watched him carefully, cool eyes telling her nothing. The passenger door opened, and another man stepped out. Yuri made sure that there was no one else in the car.
Both men were just standing there, watching her. And apparently, they hadn’t noticed that Tohya was in the car, both were so focused on Yuri, which was a good thing in itself this time.
“When your little friend gets back, you’re going to wish that you’d never been born.” The second guy hissed. Neither man had pulled their guns out.
Good. They are idiots…
With reflexes and speed gained through several years of training, Yuri suddenly took off to the right. Both men started and took a few steps after her, seemingly forgetting that they had guns with them.
Shink! Shink!
And the bodies of both men crashed to the ground, dead, both missing their heads, with blood spurting out of the stumps where their heads would have been a few moments ago.
‘Ren went overboard as usual. But still, maybe it is a good thing this time, especially since we can’t afford to draw any attention to ourselves.’ Yuri thought, turning and looking down at the headless bodies of the two men, their heads not too far away from their bodies.
She then frowned thoughtfully to herself. These guys are amateurs, however that you try to look at it. They weren’t competent enough to be sent after people like Yuri, Ren and Tohya.
What the hell was Raven’s Gate actually thinking in the first place?
Unless…
Yuri’s eyes widened as a sudden realisation struck her, and the sound of a loud click reached her ears.
“Shit!” she snarled, rushing back to the car. She dove into the front passenger seat, startling Tohya who stared at her in shock.
“Yuri, what—”
“Shut up and just drive!” Yuri shouted at him, and it is the tone of her voice that made Tohya obey Yuri without any form of hesitation. The car immediately roared into existence, and sped away from the spot where they had just been parked.
Not even five seconds after they veered off, a loud explosion occurred at the very spot where they were at moments ago, incinerating everything within a fifty feet radius. The force of the explosion nearly caused Tohya to lose control of the car when they were knocked slightly off-course, but Tohya managed to gain control of the car almost immediately.
Yuri gave a few short coughs as she tried to catch her breath, and tried to ignore the pain in her temple which she had struck on the window of the car due to the force of the explosion. Tohya was rubbing his forehead which had impacted with the steering wheel.
Yuri immediately threw open the car door, and the heat of the fire caused her to feel like she was in a sauna of some sort. “Ren!” she called out, worried.
What if he hadn’t noticed the bomb and had stayed behind?
When Yuri looked up, she relaxed. Ren was already running towards her direction. The teen quickly ran a quick check on both Yuri and Tohya, making sure that they didn’t suffer from any grievous injuries.
“Superficial injuries.” Ren stated with a measure of relief, referring to both their injuries.
The three Phantoms then exchanged looks and nodded slowly as one. Tohya slipped into the back passenger seat without getting out of the car as Ren got into the driver seat, and Yuri slipped back into the front passenger seat.
Taking a deep breath, Ren stepped down onto the gas pedal of the car and sped off like a criminal racing away from the scene of the crime.
All three of them were thinking the exact same thing.
Apparently, Raven’s Gate didn’t care if they were captured, dead or alive.