Chapter Eight
“They went out to die for liberty and decency and glory, they went out to die for the speeches and the parades and the monuments. But only the dead know if those things are worth dying for.” - Johnny Got His Gun
* * * *
The ‘clean up’ of the mission was the longest that Yuri had ever remembered doing throughout all of her missions during her time in Hati.
It involved some of the hackers in Hati having to hack through the computer systems in the abandoned hospital. Yoshiyuki had used them to trace the parents of those kidnapped children that they have found, and also any valuable information that Hati could use. Add to the fact that they have to keep Hati’s involvement strictly secret.
Yeah. They were all extremely busy indeed.
And thus, Yuri Yagami, Ren Kamizuki and Tohya Tanigawa all found themselves in the Phantoms’ meeting room of Hati headquarters at three o’clock in the morning.
Riou Takeshi smiled sympathetically as he looked at his three subordinates, all whom looked seriously irritated and exhausted, and he couldn’t blame them. “So this Yoshiyuki guy seemed to know who we are?” he asked for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.
Yuri groaned, Tohya grunted, and Ren’s eye twitched dangerously. “For the thousandth time, Takeshi, yes!” Ren growled in his throat, resisting the urge to practice his target training on the captain of the Phantoms.
The Elder who was also present in the same room noticed Ren’s current dark mood, seeing how the normally polite teen actually addresses the captain of the Phantoms by his last name, and not addressing him as ‘Captain’ like he usually does. In the best interests of everyone, the Elder then made the decision to dismiss them to their quarters till further notice.
“Go and get some rest, the three of you.” He directed this to Yuri, Tohya and Ren who all looked extremely relieved at this. “Take a few days off to rest. I don’t want to see your faces in headquarters unless I or Takeshi calls for you.”
“Yes sir.”
Tohya and Ren saluted them before exiting from the room whilst Yuri stayed behind. She turned towards the Elder and Riou with a worried look on her face. “Elder. Captain. About what Yoshiyuki had said…” She trailed off.
“I know,” said Riou, exchanging looks with the Elder before turning his attention back towards Yuri. “We’ll look into it. Don’t worry about it. Go and get some rest before you collapse.”
“Yes sir.”
* * * *
Dawn was slowly breaking when Yuri returned to her room in the dormitory building of Hati, rubbing her hair dry with a towel. Like most of the Phantoms, her room was pretty empty save for a bed, a wardrobe, a bookcase, and a dresser. A desk with a study light, which was filled with paper clutter, books and files, stood before a window. A compact disc player that was the only luxury in her room, was currently playing some soothing classical music. A bedside table beside her bed with a silver photo frame, a calendar, and a lamp. The curtains of her room were drawn to prevent the sunlight from streaming in fully.
Yuri closed the door of her room before locking it.
Tohya and Ren were both in dreamland back in their own rooms, and she couldn’t blame them. She was pretty exhausted herself. And right after the doctor of Hati had tended to their injuries, with Tohya screaming bloody murder because the doctor wasn’t exactly gentle when removing the bullet from his arm, and not to mention the fact that he didn’t even use anaesthetic, all three have looked forward to a nice warm bath before falling into bed.
Yuri frowned as she turned on the switch of her hair dryer before blowing her hair dry.
Yoshiyuki’s last words… What did he mean by that?
The wolf of the night will never prevail over the raven of thought!
And just how did he even know about Hati’s existence?
Yuri turned off the switch of her hair dryer before setting it back in its usual place on her table, and walked towards her bed, but not before tossing her slightly damp towel over the back of her chair. By then, she was ready to fall into bed.
But the silver photo frame sitting innocently on her bedside table caught Yuri’s attention. Her lips tilted upwards slightly as she picked it up, studying the photo of herself, her mother and her uncle taken several years back before she had even taken the path that she was on now.
She traced the picture of her uncle who was carrying her in his arms, with her mother smiling at her. The background of the photo seemed to be that of some park, and Yuri smiled to herself. Those were good times back then…
A time when she has no idea of the horrors and true terrors of the world…
Yuri sighed before placing the photo frame back onto her bedside table. Then she crawled into bed and shut her eyes, pulling the covers over her head.
How long had it been? How long has it been since then?
Nearly nine years since her mother had died, and three years since her uncle had died mysteriously on a mission. It was so long ago, but she will never forget why she had to flee Singapore when she was accused of murder. She will never forget who had murdered her mother.
It had always been on her mind…
Vengeance.
* * * *
Two days later, Ren Kamizuki and Yuri Yagami were back in the Shibuya district, in their street clothes. And if anyone had seen them, they would have just assumed these two were high school students enjoying a day in Shibuya, doing what teenagers these days do.
“I’ve heard from Tohya when he went to the doctor yesterday that you’ve asked for sleeping pills,” remarked Ren calmly as they stood in front of a clothing boutique, ignoring the silly giggles of two high school girls not far from them.
“I’ve been having bad dreams lately,” said Yuri curtly.
Ren blinked as he turned towards Yuri. “Bad dreams?” he echoed, and Yuri nodded.
“Dreams that I hadn’t been having for years now,” said Yuri. “When I take sleeping pills…” She chewed nervously on her bottom lip. “…the dreams don’t come.”
“Sleeping pills are addictive,” said Ren, understanding what Yuri is trying to say, but not willing to press the issue further. Like nearly everyone in the Phantoms, Yuri had her own story, and it is one that she isn’t quite ready to tell yet.
“I know,” said Yuri with a sigh. “I just…don’t want to remember that night. The night when everything went spiralling down to Hell for me.”
Ren paused and turned towards Yuri, studying her carefully.
Between Tohya and himself, he was the one who understood Yuri best, knowing when to leave her alone if necessary. It’s not that Tohya doesn’t understand Yuri. But there are times when his female best friend and teammate had to fight the urge to strangle Tohya on the spot. For lack of a better word, his best friend and teammate could be quite…annoying at times.
Ren never knew what had happened to Yuri in the past that had forced her to join Hati as an assassin prior to becoming a Phantom, and neither did Tohya, and the guy had only joined the Phantoms a year ago. But Ren could guess that it must have been traumatic for her, as she has been withdrawn and quiet whenever anyone mentioned family.
In fact, as far as Ren knew, judging by the stories going around Hati, the only ones that knew the full story were the Elder and the captain of the Phantoms, as well as the former Phantom II, Yuri’s late uncle, and the one who had trained her to be a Hati assassin.
“It may not be my place to say, Yuri, but I know what it means to be tormented by memories, and bottling it all up only makes it worse,” he stated. “Sooner or later, you’ll snap or explode. No one will think any less of you if you just let it all out. Not me. Not Tohya. Not the Elder. Not the captain. No one.”
Yuri was silent for a few moments, looking at their reflections in the glass window of the clothing boutique that they were standing in front of.
“In the past, when my uncle was still alive, he told me this,” she said, not looking at Ren, and the teen was silent. “‘Everyone has a side to them that no one knows about. Deceit. Betrayal. Anger. Hypocrisy. Jealously. It’s Hati’s job to destroy that side. That disease.’” Yuri turned towards Ren, a sad smile at the ends of her lips. “But most people tend to forget that Hati’s members are human too.”
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“Our job is just to nip that ‘disease’ in the bud,” said Ren solemnly. “We are assassins. We fight and kill in the shadows. With whatever means necessary. People may call us cruel, but even they can’t deny the fact that the world needs Hati.” He paused before continuing, “But it’s true that most people seemed to forget that even we are human too. They seem to think that we’re indestructible and immortal.”
There was silence for several moments before Yuri broke it. She turned towards Ren, an inexplicable expression in her eyes. “Ren. Have…you ever regretted your decision to join Hati?” she asked hesitantly.
Ren was silent for a long time before turning towards Yuri, and a rare smile lit up his face. “Not once,” he said. “This path has been my life for as long as I’ve remembered. Besides, if I had gone with my first plan back then…I would never have met you.”
Yuri smiled. “That’s true.”
“There you are!”
Yuri and Ren blinked before turning as one towards the direction of the voice, only to see Tohya walking towards them with his head held high, determinedly ignoring any glances and smiles that some high school girl was giving him.
Tohya winced when a high school girl gave him a ‘come hither’ look. Good Heavens! And when Tohya saw the guy standing next to her glare at him, then at the girl, he hoped that the guy was this girl’s boyfriend, and that she would get the hint.
“What’s up?” asked Ren, blinking as Tohya walked up to them. “Today’s our day off.”
“I’m very well aware of that, thank you very much. And for your information, it’s my day off too.” Tohya huffed. Ren stared at Tohya with a blank look that said ‘does it look like I care?’ Tohya then turned serious. “It’s the Elder and the captain. They’re both calling.”
* * * *
Nearly an hour later, the three appeared in the Phantoms’ meeting room of Hati headquarters, where a troubled looking Riou Takeshi was present, along with an equally troubled looking Elder. And those two looking troubled usually spelt trouble.
“A mysterious organisation?” asked Ren with a frown, and the Elder sighed and nodded.
“We didn’t want to let you know if at all possible,” said Riou, exchanging glances with the Elder before turning his attention back towards the three Phantoms standing in front of him. “But after seeing your latest report after the Yoshiyuki mission, we no longer have a choice in this matter. Have the three of you heard of an organisation that called themselves ‘Raven’s Gate’?”
The blank looks that the three gave was their answer. Riou sighed.
“I’ve been studying all the mission reports submitted by the other Phantoms,” he said. “And nearly all of the missions that the Phantoms were sent on recently seemed to be directly or indirectly connected with Raven’s Gate. Take that Schwandretz mission of yours, Yagami.” Yuri frowned a little at this. “Those weapons that Schwandretz’s bodyguards have… Those weapons were too advanced for a mere mafia syndicate to get their hands on.”
“Now that you’ve mentioned it…” Tohya muttered. “I did think that their weapons were a little too advanced for a mafia syndicate to get their hands on. Those weapons are something that only a government or the military can get their hands on.”
The Elder nodded. “Those weapons…they’re most probably supplied by Raven’s Gate. And with your report of the Yoshiyuki case, we’ve confirmed their involvement. And seeing as how you have no idea who or what Raven’s Gate is, I shall tell you. Time for a history lesson.”
The three Phantoms listened attentively.
“Around thirty years ago, give or take a few years, there was an internal conflict in Japan. A terrorist organisation was killing several famous politicians in Japan, and causing a wide-scale panic. Back then, the government was negotiating a peace treaty with America, Korea, and several other countries. And because of that, the government was unable to handle this organisation on their own, and thus, Hati was called in.”
“All the Phantoms were dispatched to hunt down this organisation which we later found out was called Raven’s Gate, otherwise translated as ‘the gate to Hell’. It took most of us nearly ten years to track down the exact location of their headquarters. About twenty years ago, the Phantoms managed to take down this organisation…or so we thought. But it came at the cost of the lives of more than half of the Phantoms. The only ones who survived back then are me and the former Phantom II, Kenji Yagami.”
“But…they were disbanded, right?” asked Tohya at last.
“Or so we thought,” said Riou with a sigh. “Most of the missions that the majority of the Phantoms have been taking on recently were connected with Raven’s Gate, whether directly or indirectly. As such, we can say for certainty that they’re not as far gone as we’d like to think. And now, the only survivor from that last battle with Raven’s Gate is the Elder. The majority of the Phantoms are new members. Most of them are young people like you. As such, you don’t know the horrors that they can inflict.”
Tohya snorted and muttered, “Talking about yourselves?”
“No one knew much about Raven’s Gate until today. Not even me,” said the Elder calmly. “The former Phantom II did all that he could to turn up anything about that organisation after the last battle that we had with them, but he found out very little. What we do know from back then is that they seemed to have some major connections with weapon dealers, and that’s how they could get their hands on weapons like missiles and bombs.”
“And if they managed to get their hands on more advanced weapons like nuclear bombs, then the government isn’t going to last very long,” added Riou. “And even Japan as a whole.” He sighed. “And we still have no idea how they even managed to get their hands on weapons like that.”
“A spy within the military or the government who had access to weapons, perhaps?” suggested Yuri.
“Possible,” said Riou, nodding.
“They have a new leader now,” said the Elder, “especially because the former leader of Raven’s Gate was killed by the former Phantom II and myself. I saw his body. He’s very much dead. As such, there is a new leader this time.”
“Also, from what we’ve found out, the new Raven’s Gate had been around for quite some time now,” said Riou seriously. “Probably even as far back as ten years ago. Maybe even longer. I really have no idea. And no one knows the name of the current leader of Raven’s Gate. All that we know is that he is called ‘Kami’, or ‘God’.”
Yuri froze, and her eyes widened a slight fraction. ‘Kami?!’
Listen, Yuri. Do not trust Kami.
Yuri’s eyes narrowed and her hands clenched into fists by her sides. ‘Could it be…?’
Riou and the Elder didn’t notice that Yuri had paled considerably. But this subtle action didn’t escape Ren and Tohya’s notice, and they were both casting curious looks at Yuri before turning their attention back towards the Elder and the captain of the Phantoms.
“We have no way of knowing if Raven’s Gate had sent an agent of theirs to infiltrate Hati,” said the Elder. “They did that once thirty years ago within the Japanese government, and because of that, one of the most powerful politicians was assassinated. And judging by the fact that Raven’s Gate seemed to know which mission our Phantoms will be sent on, I can only assume that one of our co-workers is a spy for them. Either that, or it’s just a series of coincidences, or somehow, one of the government officials is an agent of theirs.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” said Ren immediately, and Yuri nodded, agreeing with him.
“I don’t like suspecting our co-workers either,” said Tohya uncomfortably. “True, we’re not exactly friends, but we aren’t enemies either.”
“I agree with you there, Phantom V,” said the Elder. “But still, we can’t rule out this possibility. As such, I’ll only be sending out our most trusted Phantoms to investigate Raven’s Gate. The three of you are among our most trusted, and not to mention the fact that your teamwork is flawless.”
“But the three of you also have to bear this in mind,” said Riou seriously. “This isn’t just any ordinary organisation that we’re talking about. More than half of the Phantoms died twenty years ago when taking them down. We can only assume that the same thing might happen this time even if we know more about them than last time. No matter how prepared we are this time.” He paused. “Raven’s Gate is not at all like all the previous organisations that we’ve taken down in the past. And neither are they at all like the organisation that we’ve taken down three years ago as well.”
Ren fidgeted uncomfortably at this.
“Raven’s Gate is really dangerous. I can safely say that they’re probably the most dangerous threat to Japan and Hati at this point in time, and probably the world as well,” said Riou. “And as you’ve just heard from the Elder, this isn’t the first time that they’re appeared. The last time that they appeared is more than twenty years ago. I wasn’t even a Phantom back then, but I know for a fact that Hati lost more than half of their manpower. Thus, I wouldn’t blame any of you if you choose to back out of this particular mission.”
There was silence for several moments before Ren, Yuri and Tohya exchanged glances and nodded, a silent message passing between them, before turning back towards Riou and the Elder, and speaking simultaneously: “We’ll take the mission.”
The Elder smiled and nodded. “Very well,” he said, a slight sad tone in his voice that Yuri and Ren noted. “You’re dismissed. Take the rest of the day off.”
“Yes sir.”
The three Phantoms bowed before exiting from the room, and closing the doors to the meeting room behind them, yet not exactly closing it shut. The Elder and Riou exchanged glances before the Elder sighed, walking towards one of the ebony tables set against the wall in the room, and picking up a photo frame, the photo within it was starting to turn yellow with age.
“You’re worried.” Riou stated.
The Elder nodded. “If you had been present back then when we took down Raven’s Gate as well, Takeshi, you would be too,” he said wearily. “I am a war veteran. I was a soldier before I actually became an assassin in Hati. I’ve fought on the frontlines during the World War II as a young man. I’ve seen horrors that could give anyone nightmares for months, Hati assassin or not. Back then, when we took down Raven’s Gate, I saw with my own eyes how every single one of our comrades…one by one, they were slaughtered by the members of Raven’s Gate. The Phantoms faced the Apostles which is what Raven’s Gate called their top members, like how we call Hati elites our Phantoms. In the end, only Kenji Yagami and I were left standing.”
“Kenji Yagami…” Riou muttered. “That’s Yuri Yagami’s uncle, isn’t it?”
“That’s right,” said the Elder. “The former Phantom II before Sunny Chin. They’re all still so young. They’ve barely lived their lives. I…don’t want to see them die this young. It might sound a bit strange to you, but Kenji Yagami was like a son to me, given our age differences. He was only in his teens, probably only a little older than Yagami, Kamizuki and Tanigawa are now when he took down Raven’s Gate alongside the rest of us. That battle changed him. He was barely an adult when he was actually involved in that battle. And it’s probably also the reason why his sister left home as well.”
Riou didn’t say anything.
He was the only one apart from the Elder in Hati who knew of Yuri’s past when she had joined Hati. And even then, he only knew the most important parts, and not the whole story.
“I promised Kenji,” said the Elder, looking at the photo in his hands sadly. The photo was that of the Phantoms in Hati twenty years ago. “I promised him that I will look after his niece on his behalf if he should ever leave this world before me.” He chuckled bitterly. “It’s funny. Young people like Kenji and the others left the world even before they have a chance to experience life, whilst old fools like me still remain. Is this Fate?”
“I don’t believe in Fate,” said Riou solemnly. “If I did, I wouldn’t even be in Hati. I believe that with a strong will, one can overcome even death.” He then sighed. “Yagami, Kamizuki and Tanigawa are some of our best. Believe in their abilities.”
The Elder chuckled bitterly before setting down the photo frame. “It’s all that I can do now, Takeshi,” he said sadly. “It’s all that I can currently do now.” He sighed. “I was careless back then. Their deaths were my fault.” Riou’s eyes widened. He was about to protest this before the Elder cut him off before he could even speak. “I was the leader of the mission to take down Raven’s Gate. I was the captain of the Phantoms back then. I got arrogant and careless. I under-estimated Raven’s Gate. That mistake cost the lives of my comrades. Their blood is on my hands. I, as good as, killed them.”
“It wasn’t your fault, sir,” said Riou weakly, not knowing just what to say to comfort the obviously distraught Elder. This was a rare sight, as the Elder rarely shows such emotions before him or anyone else. As the Elder of Hati, he had to remain strong, or Hati would crumble. “You didn’t know what was going to happen. Besides, things like that happen during missions. All of us run a risk of death during missions. If we wanted a job where we could live without a risk of dying, we wouldn’t even be in Hati. Death is all but part and parcel of our lives as assassins in Hati. You knew that.”
“I do. And Kenji said the same thing as well,” said the Elder with a weak smile. “But I know…deep down in his heart, that he blamed me for their deaths. One of the Phantoms who had perished in that battle against Raven’s Gate was his girlfriend. And another Phantom was his best friend. Yagami, Kamizuki and Tanigawa are a lot like Kenji and those two back then. That’s why…I don’t want to see history repeat itself.”
Riou’s eyes widened a slight fraction. While relationships among the Phantoms and the members of Hati aren’t exactly forbidden, they were discouraged from having one in the first place, as their lives tended to be quite short because of the nature of their work.
“Kenji barely spoke two words to me after that,” said the Elder, his voice breaking. This was probably the most that the Elder had ever spoken about his past. “I hardly saw him after that as he took on mission after mission, and I got busy trying to fill in the Phantoms’ ranks. The only time when he actually spoke to me after that was nearly nine years ago when Yagami first came to us. And he practically pleaded with me that if anything ever happens to him, he wants me to protect his niece. But if she actually dies here…how am I going to answer to Kenji in the next life?”
“She won’t die that easily,” said Riou patiently. “You know this. Yagami is one of our best. And she’s been trained by her uncle after all.”
And little did the two know that Yuri Yagami was just listening outside the door.
* * * *
Nearly two hours after that meeting with the Elder and the captain of the Phantoms, Yuri Yagami was lying on her bed in her room in the dormitory building. The girl had one arm tucked beneath her head as she stared up at the ceiling which had several glow-in-the-dark stars stuck on it, her mind in a whirl about what she’d just heard.
She knew that eavesdropping was wrong, but she couldn’t help it, especially after she’d overheard the Elder mentioning her uncle. She knew the dangers of hunting down Raven’s Gate which they actually knew very little about, and that she has a chance of actually dying in this mission.
But like what Riou had said, everyone in Hati runs a risk of dying during missions. It makes no difference whatsoever. Besides, if Raven’s Gate actually has a connection with her mother’s death, she wanted to know why and how.
Yuri sighed before sitting up on her bed and glancing out of the window where the sun was slowly setting, painting the sky in colours of orange and red. She then glanced towards the photo frame on her bedside table before picking it up, studying her uncle’s image, remembering what he’d said at one time when she’d just became a Phantom.
Everyone has a story to tell, Yuri. And it’s that story which is the evidence that they’ve actually existed. This is especially true in Hati and the Phantoms. Do you have a story to tell?
Yuri stared at the image of her uncle for several moments. ‘A story, huh?’ she mused then placed the photo frame back on her bedside table, and pulled out the drawer of her bedside table, taking out a black leather book from it. Her uncle had bought it for her even before she’d came to Japan, and she’d never used it once.
‘My story…’
Yuri took out a pen from within the drawer and begun to write.