Chapter Seven
“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” - 1 Corinthians 11:26
* * * *
The Elder of Hati, as well as the captain and the Number I of the Phantoms, Riou Takeshi, listened carefully to what Yuri had to say after reporting back from her latest mission to Italy.
Unlike some of the members in Hati, the captain of the Phantoms is quite possibly the oldest member among the Phantoms – being in his late twenties, compared to the other Phantoms who were nearly all in their teens or early twenties. He also happened to be the most mysterious, and like the Elder, hardly anyone in Hati ever sees Riou Takeshi, save for perhaps the Phantoms themselves.
He was handsome in a matter of speaking, with his hair falling lightly around his face. And unlike some of the Phantoms, he wore a semi-formal attire which consisted of a white collared shirt with black trousers and a long black coat which reaches down to mid-thigh, and black boots.
Riou frowned slightly to himself as he listened to what Yuri had to say. “Not good news,” he stated, and the Elder nodded. “Definitely not good news.”
The Elder frowned. “If the mafia can manage to get their hands on weapons that usually only the military and the government can get, it doesn’t spell much good news for us, or the government for that matter,” he said solemnly. “And if they manage to get more advanced weapons like nuclear bombs, then the government isn’t going to be around for very long. And we might soon be facing another world war.”
Deadly silence filled the Phantoms’ meeting room in Hati’s headquarters.
“No matter what, someone must be supplying them with these weapons,” said Yuri with a frown. “The question is: who is it?”
“You are not the only one who had faced such resistance after taking out a target,” said Riou seriously, and Yuri raised a brow questioningly.
“A while back, Phantoms II and XI faced some problems whilst taking out a potential political troublemaker, much like your mission with Schwandretz. Those two barely made it out alive. Without a doubt, someone or some organisation must have been supplying these people with advanced weapons.”
The Elder continued, “Anyway, we’ll look into it, so don’t worry your heads about it,” he said, and Yuri nodded. The Elder then noticed the bandage around Yuri’s right hand. “Go and get your injury checked at the doctor’s.” He instructed, gesturing towards Yuri’s injured limb. “Various things happened in this mission, but overall, good work as always, Hekate.”
Yuri nodded before excusing herself and exiting the room.
* * * *
Nearly one month later, all of Hati was on pins and needles.
And the reason is quite simple, for recently, it had been all over the newspapers, television and the radio worldwide.
All over the world, children below the age of ten or so were kidnapped by some mysterious syndicate. And the strange thing is that no ransom whatsoever was ever asked from their parents in exchange for their safe return. But the commonality was that all these kidnapped were children of either famous political figures or famous figures known worldwide.
Hati was called in to help.
Three of Hati’s best were assigned to this particular case: Phantoms V, VIII and XIII, otherwise known as Tohya Tanigawa, Ren Kamizuki and Yuri Yagami.
* * * *
In his room, Ren sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time. He was looking over some reports that some of Hati’s scouts and spies have managed to acquire regarding the mysterious kidnappings of children worldwide.
Yuri and Tohya were in Ren’s room as well, the two seated at the table with Ren by the windowsill, poring over the papers and reports currently spread over the table, and all three were slowly but surely developing migraines the size of Mount Fuji.
Not one of the three had expected the Elder and Riou to put the three of them on the case of the kidnapped children, as many important political figures have their eye on this case. Even the higher-ups of the Japanese government had their eye on this particular case as well.
“I don’t understand why Hati has to take on this case.” Tohya grumbled, rubbing his eyes, as the three of them have been at this ever since early morning. It is now close to midnight, and if anyone is currently looking out of Ren’s window, they would have seen the full moon hanging in the night sky. “We’re assassins, not FBI agents! It’s not our job to get those missing children back.”
“We don’t have a choice,” muttered Ren, not looking up from the report that he was reading through. “It’s an order. Our orders are to take out the culprit behind these kidnappings. Besides, we do have a confirmed lead on the identity of this ‘kidnapper’. Unlike what we had assumed at first, a syndicate isn’t the mastermind behind the kidnappers. This guy…” Ren frowned as he skimmed through the report currently in his hand. “Kurosuke Yoshiyuki is his name. He’s most likely the same person behind the kidnappings.”
“Furthermore, there are records of him being in the same country every single time one of the kidnappings takes place in that particular country.” Yuri piped in, looking up from one of the many reports currently before her. “It’s too much of a coincidence. He’s our man alright.”
Tohya shivered a little. “Yuri, that just…sounds wrong,” he said weakly.
Yuri looked at him with a look of exasperation on her face. “Fine, he’s our target then,” she said, emphasising the ‘target’ word. “Happy?”
Ren shook his head as Tohya wisely decided not to say anything. Up to this day, he still had no idea just how he came from being partners and teammates with Yuri and Tohya to being best friends. In Hati, the word ‘friend’ has no meaning whatsoever. ‘Comrade’ is a better word to describe the relationship between individuals in Hati.
But among the Phantoms, it’s different for them. That’s probably the only reason why the three of them were best friends.
Ren frowned as he straightened up in his chair, reading through the report on which was written the names of countries which were targeted by Yoshiyuki during past kidnappings, as well as the number of children that were taken from each country.
“Tohya, toss me the world atlas there,” said Ren, and Tohya blinked but obliged by tossing to Ren the world atlas before Ren spread the atlas over the papers covering the table, and both Yuri and Tohya looked on curiously. “First, let’s start by tracing the countries that were targeted so far.” Ren said as he took out a black marker and uncapped it.
“First is the case of the disappearances of ten children in Phoenix, Arizona,” said Yuri, looking through one of the reports. “That’s in America.” Ren nodded before drawing a black cross onto the spot that marks the United States of America on the map. “Followed by England.” Ren drew another cross on that country. “Then France.” Another cross. “China.” Ren nodded as he drew another cross. “The latest kidnappings about a week ago occurred in South Korea.”
“All the kidnapped children so far have pretty special traits.” Tohya spoke up, looking through one of the reports. “It’s either they have some special characteristics physically, or their parents are famous figures worldwide.”
“Then judging by this cycle,” said Ren with a frown, surveying the map, “the next country on his hit list is…”
“Japan.” Yuri finished.
* * * *
“Thank you,” said Tohya, speaking quickly into his cellphone as he conversed with one of his informants on the other end of the line. Every Phantom had at least a few informants that they’re familiar with in order to track down one of their targets, though their informants don’t necessarily knew about their true ‘job’. “Thanks for the help.”
Stolen novel; please report.
Ren and Yuri looked on silently as Tohya spoke rapidly and quickly into his cellphone, all three currently standing by the Hachiko statue near the Shibuya station. Finally, Tohya hung up the call and turned towards his friends.
“Your guess is spot on, Yuri,” he said grimly. “He’s indeed here. One of my informants had just seen him leaving Narita Airport.”
Ren frowned. “We have to act fast then,” he said grimly. “It won’t look too good for us if Yoshiyuki carried out one of his kidnappings right under our nose, and in Hati’s turf as well!” He turned towards Tohya. “Tohya, do you have any idea where he is?”
Tohya nodded. “Kind of,” he admitted. “In an abandoned hospital at the Chiba prefecture.”
So he’s set his sights there, huh?” Yuri mused. “Alright, let’s get moving. We have all the evidence that we need. Mission commence.”
Ren and Tohya smirked and nodded.
* * * *
“Say…” Tohya muttered to Yuri and Ren as the three of them entered the abandoned hospital in the Chiba prefecture, all with their weapons in hand…just in case. “What do you think that Yoshiyuki is doing with the kidnapped children if he isn’t holding them for ransom?”
There was silence for a few moments before Yuri spoke. “I’m not sure, but I do have my suspicions,” she said. “The captain suspects the same thing as well.” She paused. “We both think that Yoshiyuki might have kidnapped these children in order to train them as assassins.”
Yuri ignored the looks of shock and horror on the faces of both her teammates. “I mean, who would suspect children as killers? Furthermore, the Elder did mention briefly a similar case nearly fifty years ago in which some syndicate kidnapped children without any family in order to train them as assassins. But that syndicate was never caught.”
“But those were just rumours, right?” Tohya asked hopefully. “Right?”
“Hopefully.” Yuri muttered, and Ren nodded.
As the three were turning around a corner in this abandoned and dark hospital, all of Yuri’s danger senses went on alert just then, and she ducked only to narrowly miss a bullet that just zipped past her head. Ren wasn’t as fast as her, and got grazed on the arm by a bullet as he dodged the incoming projectile. But Tohya wasn’t so lucky, as he received a bullet in the arm.
“Damn it!” Tohya gritted his teeth in pain as the three hid behind the wall as an onslaught of bullets flew past them, his left hand grabbing onto his right arm, willing himself not to cry out.
Yuri waited for that one moment when the onslaught of bullets stopped before she stepped out from around the corner and fired her gun thrice. She heard grunts and thuds of bodies falling to the ground before she ducked back around the corner.
The hallways of the abandoned hospital may be dark, but like all the Phantoms, Yuri was trained to hone her senses, and she can see vaguely even in the dark. And what she had seen during those few seconds had her shocked. Unfortunately though, she didn’t have the time to worry about that now.
Yuri turned towards Tohya, reloading bullets into her gun. “Tohya, are you alright?” she asked urgently, seeing the thick red liquid flowing freely from Tohya’s arm as he slid down the wall into a sitting position, still grabbing onto his arm.
“Kuso[1]…” Tohya muttered, and Ren winced at the amount of blood flowing from Tohya’s body. “That goddamn sniper…” He let loose several curses not meant for children’s ears. “That bullet hit an artery.”
Ren winced as he took out a roll of bandages from within his pack before pushing up the sleeves of Tohya’s jacket and shirt carefully, and binding his injury with the bandages in order to stop the bleeding. “That’s the best that I can do in order to stop the worst of the bleeding,” said Ren grimly. “I’m not good enough with first-aid to remove the bullet on the spot.”
“That’s not the worst of it,” said Yuri grimly as the onslaught of bullets began once again. “I only had seconds to take out a few of the enemy, but it was more than enough time for me to see just who we’re dealing with.”
“And?”
Yuri sighed, suddenly looking and sounding older than she appears. “We’re dealing with children here.” She informed her friends and teammates, much to their horror, and Yuri even sounded disgusted and horrified. “Children! What kind of monster would train a child to be an assassin?!”
“Kami-sama…!” Tohya muttered, paling considerably. “Children? Children as assassins?! You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Mistreatment of children left a bad aftertaste in the mouths of Yuri, Tohya and Ren, especially considering their individual history. They never liked to hurt children, and the only type of mission that they each refuse to take on are missions that require them to kill or hurt children, or individuals who have small children with them.
Some of the more hardened and experienced veterans in Hati call them weak for having thoughts like that, but the Elder and Riou Takeshi gave them allowances for missions like that. Even the two most powerful members of Hati are human after all. They understood the reasoning behind this.
“And to think I thought that those were just mere rumours,” said Ren wryly, as bullets flew past them once more. “Why is it that our guesses are always spot-on every single time? I really hate it sometimes when my intuition is right.”
“What do we do?” asked Tohya reluctantly, grabbing onto the wall with his good hand before pulling himself to his feet. “Don’t ask me to hurt the kids, Yuri. I can’t do it. I fight and kill crime lords and members of criminal syndicates, but not children!”
“You’re not the only one, Tohya,” said Yuri irritably. “If those kids are preventing us from continuing onward, then there must be something else further up. We have no choice but to knock them out.” Yuri turned towards her teammates. “Do either one of you have some nitrous oxide grenades on you?”
“Yeah, I do,” said Ren, pulling out a grenade from within his pack. “It’s a bit of a surprise to hear that from you though, Yuri. You’re the last person that I’ll expect to be under prepared for a mission.”
Yuri pretended that she didn’t hear what Ren had said as she took the grenade from him. “Alright, let’s move,” she said.
The three waited for the onslaught of bullets to stop for that one second before they moved from around the corner, and Tohya and Ren both saw a group of children standing in front of them.
A group of about ten children – all around the age of ten or so, were firing guns at them with seemingly no emotions on their faces, and the two boys felt their blood boil at this. No children should go through what they have gone through in their lives!
Yuri pulled the pin on the grenade before throwing it at the children, and all three ducked around the wall once more, covering their noses and mouths with their hands to prevent themselves from inhaling the gas. A single gunshot sounded before they heard the light hissing sound of the gas, and a few moments later, there was absolute silence.
As they turned around the corner, Yuri snapped on her flashlight. The corridor of the hospital lit up, showing the still forms of the unconscious children.
Yuri sighed to herself as she continued walking on with Ren and Tohya on either side of her. Tohya was growling low in his throat. “I don’t know about you two, but Yoshiyuki is going to be a very dead man once I catch up to him,” he said. “And even the doctor won’t be able to identify his body once I’m done with Yoshiyuki.”
Ren and Yuri both wisely decided not to say anything. They sure don’t envy Kurosuke Yoshiyuki once Tohya actually catches up to him, and they’re not foolish enough to stand in Tohya’s way as well.
* * * *
Kurosuke Yoshiyuki sneered at the enraged expression of the son of one of Japan’s most famous politicians who was bound to a chair with wires taped to his body which were attached to the computer terminal that he was standing in front of.
He was a man in his mid-thirties, with neat, slicked back hair with a pair of glasses perched on his nose, giving him a look of a college professor. Yoshiyuki sneered at the boy, pushing the glasses up his nose.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’ll be seeing your dear father soon…after I have you kill him, that is.” He chuckled at the enraged look on the boy’s face as he turned towards the computer terminal. “Let the ‘brainwashing’ begin then.” He muttered before his finger went towards one of the buttons on the keyboard of the computer terminal.
But his finger never made it there as a silver dagger came flying out of nowhere and crashed into the keyboard of the computer, shattering it. Not long after that, a gunshot rang out which shattered the screen of the computer, rendering it useless.
“What?”
Yoshiyuki spun around only to see three teenagers standing at the doorway of his lab in the abandoned hospital. The only female among the three had a gun in her right hand, pointing it at Yoshiyuki himself.
“Game over, Yoshiyuki,” said the girl coldly. “You’ve sure led us on a real wild goose chase these past few months.”
“The police? No…” muttered Yoshiyuki, narrowing his eyes. He noticed the tattoos on the necks of the three teenagers, and knew immediately who they were.
“I see.” He said. “So you’ve come at last. I was wondering when you will come.” He chuckled at the slightly confused expressions on the faces of the three teenagers. “It’s really too bad, but I can’t be caught here yet.”
And he immediately took off running across the room, and through a door which led to the outside before anyone could do anything.
“Damn!” Yuri cursed to herself. She then turned towards Tohya and Ren. “I’ll go after him! The two of you, untie that boy, and get any of the data in this room that you can find!”
Tohya and Ren both nodded before Yuri left through the door that Yoshiyuki had used to make his escape.
* * * *
For a guy cooped up most days in his lab, he sure can run. Yuri thought in frustration as she chased Yoshiyuki all over the abandoned hospital.
Finally, as Yuri rounded a corner in the basement of the hospital, she caught a flash of a white coat slipping into a room which seems to be the morgue of the hospital. Yuri nearly wrenched the door off its hinges, entering the room.
Yoshiyuki was panting heavily, hunched over on his hands and knees to catch his breath back as Yuri walked into the room, pointing her gun at Yoshiyuki’s head. The man gave a half-smirk half-smile as he saw Yuri, seemingly being resigned to his fate.
“Heh…so Hati has come for me at last,” he said.
Yuri frowned inwardly. As far as she knew, Yoshiyuki shouldn’t know about their existence.
“Who told you about us?” asked Yuri sharply.
Yoshiyuki chuckled bitterly. “Wouldn’t you love to know? Besides, it doesn’t matter even if you kill me.” Tohya and Ren appeared at the doorway of the room which Yuri and Yoshiyuki were both in just then. Yuri gave no indication that she knew of their presence, but kept her eyes and gun trained on Yoshiyuki at all times.
Tohya scowled. “What do you mean?” he asked dangerously, his left hand going towards the pouch around his waist, ready to reach for one of his spinning knives.
“It doesn’t matter any longer. Not even if you’ve killed me,” said Yoshiyuki, laughing manically, and Yuri wondered if he’s snapped at last. “The wolf of the night will never prevail over the raven of thought!”
And he soon started foaming at the mouth, much to Yuri’s surprise and shock, and Ren immediately moved towards Yoshiyuki as the man collapsed. Ren knelt by Yoshiyuki before taking his pulse. He then closed Yoshiyuki’s eyes, turning towards them, and shook his head.
“Poison.” Ren stated. “He bit down on a poison capsule hidden within his mouth. He never planned to be caught alive by us. Either that, or he didn’t want to be killed by us.”
Yuri nodded. “Have you informed headquarters about the recent developments?” she asked, slipping Odium back into her belt holster and turning towards her friends.
“Yeah, we have,” said Tohya with a nod. “The clean-up crew’s coming. And the Elder had sent some people over as well to track the parents of those children that Yoshiyuki had kidnapped. However, I don’t think that the children that we’ve found are all those kidnapped by Yoshiyuki.” He pinched the bridge of his nose to ease his headache. “Our work’s done here. Tracing the rest of the missing children is the work of whoever the Elder and the captain will be sending.”
Yuri nodded, frowning to herself as she recalled Yoshiyuki’s last words. “But there’s one thing that I don’t understand,” she said. “How did Yoshiyuki knew who we are? And how did he know about Hati? Granted, Hati is rather infamous within the underworld in a sense, but most people don’t know who we are unless they’re heavily involved with the underworld which he most definitely isn’t.”
Ren nodded slowly. “And not only that,” he said. “His last words.” Ren pointed that out. “‘The wolf of the night will never prevail over the raven of thought’. What does that mean?”
“It’s a cryptic message,” said Yuri at last after a long silence, and both her friends turned towards her. “In Norse mythology, Hati is the name of the wolf that chases the moon. He’s also commonly known as the devourer of the moon or the wolf of the night. The raven of thought is one of the two ravens that brought back knowledge about the world to Odin, the Almighty God in Norse mythology. The raven’s name is Hugin. And his name literally meant ‘thought’ which is where he gets the name of ‘the raven of thought’.”
All three were silent for a long time after this. Finally Ren spoke up. “I don’t like the feeling of this,” he said uncomfortably. “It seems to me like there’s some organisation out there that had Hati on their blacklist. And without a doubt, someone has been interfering with us.”
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[1] A Japanese expletive