---Later that day---
Yuko awoke in an alleyway, several blocks from the JenSys building, to the sound of distant sirens and law enforcement aircraft. She had fainted when Satoru jumped from the building, so she was unconscious for the fifteen story fall and the subsequent trek that had brought her to this spot. She slapped her cheeks to wake herself up and stood up.
“Oh, you’re awake!” a voice called over her shoulder. It was Satoru.
So this wasn’t a dream after all, she thought.
“What’s wrong? You look like you fell from a building!” He started laughing.
Yuko sat speechlessly. Stunned and annoyed that the young man had burst out laughing at his own ill-timed joke. “What...what happened?” She asked still trying to process everything.
“You just blacked out after I leaped out of the building. You must be deathly afraid of heights, eh?” he said.
“Forgive me if I’m a little overwhelmed after I witnessed a MURDER AND AM KIDNAPPED BY A LUNATIC WHO MAKES ME JUMP OUT OF A FUCKING BUILDING!” Yuko screamed.
She was over today. She had not eaten since breakfast, her clothes were torn and dirty, she was nearly raped, and to top it all off she witnessed massacre which included one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. And it was only Monday. Satoru paused at the outburst; eyes fixed on the frustrated girl. He slowly walked over to her, the girl inching back until he had her pinned against the alley wall. He slammed one of his hands against the wall, leaving the brick cracked and imprinted inches from her face. She hitched her breath as he leaned closer to her face.
“You really are a naive one, aren’t you?” He said, a menacing tone in his voice. “Barring those tiny claws of yours, even when you're surrounded by wolves.”
He leaned in a bit closer. “One day one of those wolves may gobble you up, princess.” Yuko averted her eyes from his, trying her best to hide her intimidation until...buzz buzz. Yuko’s phone began to vibrate in her shirt pocket, breaking the atmosphere, much to her relief. Satoru took the phone from her breast pocket.
“Haru? Whose Haru?” he asked.
“It’s none of your business!” Yuko said defensively. He handed her the phone while giving her a knowing look.
“Answer it. Don’t say anything stupid,” he whispered
She gulped as she answered the call.
“Hello? Yuko! Yuko are you there?” Haru sounded panicked on the other end of the phone.
“Yes, Haru. I’m here.” Yuko replied quietly.
“Oh My God! Yuko are you okay? I heard what happened at JenSys, it's all over the news. Where are you? Are you safe?” she said anxiously.
“Yes, Haru I’m….I’m fine. I’m a few blocks from the building..I...I was gone before anything happened.” Yuko said, careful not to say anything incriminating under Satoru’s watchful stare. She could hear Haru take a few deep breaths on the other end of the phone, attempting to calm herself down.
“Oh, thank God!” Haru said between labored breaths. “Everyone's been worried sick about you! Hell, I swear you took thirty years off of my life, and I’m pretty sure you killed Simmonds.” The worried girl quipped. “Well, they are letting me go home early today, so you should head home too. After today, I feel like we both would need an excessive amount of alcohol to cope. Please be safe and see ya soon.” The line went dead as Haru hung up.
Yuko let out a breath she had been keeping, as she put the phone back in her pocket. Satoru had a judgemental look on his face.
“College girls and excessive alcohol, could you be any more of a cliche’? You know alcohol addiction and alcohol-related incidents are the number one killer of people age 18-35,” he remarked.
So this is my life, she said to herself, Almost raped by a greasy business tycoon, and then I get lectured on my life choices by a murderer. Why does this happen to me? Satoru pulled out his own phone to make a call. The same woman from before answered, Maya or something, Yuko remembered.
“Satoru, you are three and a half minutes behind schedule. Shelty has been waiting at the designated extraction area, where are you?” The woman asked, speaking in her usual business-like tone.
“Um..so….don’t freak out Aunt Maya but...I’ve hit a bit of a snag,” Satoru said meekly. The line was silent for a few beats.
“What did you do?” Maya asked exasperatedly. Yuko could practically envision the woman holding her head in frustration.
“Nothing! The job is done...it's just that...there was an unaccounted witness. A girl was in there with him, she was apparently conducting an interview and...was almost a victim. I’m trying to figure out what to do with her.” he said. Another brief pause.
“Is she with you right now?”
Satoru looked to Yuko. “Yes, she is.” He confirmed.
“If she was interviewing him then we cannot kill her, as she is a civilian.” At Maya’s evaluation, Yuko nearly melted in relief. Today may have been….extraordinary but at least she would finally get to go home. Haru’s earlier invitation seemed more and more enticing. “But, that also means we cannot let her go on her way. She witnessed your deed and she may run around trying to report it to the authorities; and since you mentioned her being a victim, she may well have more useful information we could use. We need to question her and alter her memories, so you will need to bring her here.” Yuko’s heart nearly dropped to her feet.
“Aye, aye,” Satoru said before hanging up. “Well, you heard the woman, looks like you’ll be-” His sentence trailed off as he realized the person in question had bolted out of the alleyway into the crowded streets of the city. He made a move to pursue her but stopped just short of the alley exit. He was still armed and dressed conspicuously. His presence would draw too much attention, especially this close to the crime scene. He begrudgingly watched as his new target pushed her way through the crowd to flag down a taxi. She would escape, for now.
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Satoru walked back to his previous spot in the alley and noticed something on the ground. It was an I.D. badge from Oshan University. Yuko’s picture along with her address was listed on the badge.
Satoru grinned at his fortunate discovery. “Luck is on my side yet again,” he said. He whipped out his phone to send a quick text, before removing his weapon and cloak and meandering onto the street to disappear in the rush hour crowd.
Yuko slumped in the back seat of the taxi as it pulled up to her campus apartment complex. Her desperate attempt to bolt had paid off this time, surprisingly, considering her failed attempt earlier due to Satoru’s inhuman speed. However, she was in no mood to question her apparent good fortune as she exited the vehicle and she wearily dragged herself up the three flights of stairs to her door. She reached for her ID badge to open the door but realized it was gone. “Shit! You’ve got to be kidding me! Where is my ID badge?” She said digging into her purse frantically, rifling through the contents in vain. No way! Could I have dropped it? She said to herself. Why does this day keep getting worse!
Yuko heard someone clear their voice with an “ahem” behind her.
“Not looking for this are you?”
She knew that voice. Her face went white as she turned around to see Satoru dangling the badge in front of her like a trinket. He had lost the cloak and glaive and appeared dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. He wore a chain around his neck and his sneakers were crisp and well maintained. He was not alone this time as a beautiful young woman stood next to him. She appeared to be in her late teens, with a slender physique and soft skin. Her blonde hair seemed to be sunkissed and was in a ponytail. She wore a black business suit complete with black gloves that reminded Yuko of a mafia hitman. She scowled as she scrutinized Yuko through deep blue eyes.
“This is the one we have to take back? What do we need with a basic bitch like this?” The woman said. Despite her refined appearance, she spoke harshly and lacked the professional and objective tone of her position.
“Now, now Shelty, she’s terrified as it is. We need to be considerate of our soon-to-be prisoner. Even if she is kind of an alcoholic.” He said to his companion who shook her head in contempt.
“Typical,” she scoffed.
“Alright, princess,” Shelty said moving towards Yuko. “Let’s make this easy for us all, just come quietly.”
“Hey, so she’s probably going to run,” Satoru cautioned. “We should have brought the car around after all.” He said. Shelty’s eye twitched a little bit in annoyance.
“Isn’t that what I said BEFORE we got here? Wasn’t it YOU who insisted on parking a few blocks away and walking here saying we would ‘blend in more,’” She yelled with frustration at her ward’s tactical decisions.
“There's only permitted parking allowed here! Did YOU want to be the one to take on the campus parking enforcement office? I for one do not.” Satoru responded back. As the pair began to argue, Yuko took the moment to make her self-scarce. She tiptoed down the stairs just as Haru was about to walk up the stairs.
“Yuko, you beat me home? Are you-”
“Haru, get to your car now. We need to go!” Yuko said, interrupting her friend. She grabbed Haru’s arm and led her towards the vehicle.
“I told you she was going to run!” She overheard from upstairs. The car was conveniently parked right in its usual spot at the bottom of the stairs and the two girls got in.
“Haru…start the car. NOW please!” Yuko urged.
“Whats going on, Yuko?” her friend asked while buckling up. As Haru started the ignition, Shelty, who had leaped from the third floor of the building, landed in front of the car leaving small cracks in the concrete below.
“HOLY SHIT!” Haru screamed.
“DRIVE NOW!” Yuko shouted. Haru floored it in reverse and sped out of the parking lot.
“Guess the easy way is out,” Shelty said to herself, cracking her knuckles.
“Hey!” Satoru called after her as he made his way downstairs. “Remember we need her alive. Try not to cause a scene!” he said as the young woman dashed off after the car, a moderate crater left behind from her take off.
“So you mind filling me in on who the hell that person was back there? Are they after you?” Haru demanded as she sped through traffic. Yuko was equal parts impressed and terrified. It seemed her friend wasn’t joking when she told her she used to boost cars in high school.
“I don’t know!” Yuko said. “And..kinda..maybe. But I swear I don’t know why!” she said as she clung to her seat for dear life. “I know I told you to drive, but….there's still traffic laws, you know!” Yuko reminded her.
“Tickets be damned!” Haru replied.“I’m not slowing down when we’ve got Terminator on our tail.”
“I think we’re okay. There’s no way we could be caught on-” Yuko stopped talking, as she looked in the rearview mirror to see the blonde woman sprinting after them, gaining on them with unnatural speed.
“HOLY SHIT! Oh my God. Haru go faster!” Yuko panicked.
“We’re coming up on the freeway, I can’t get up to top speed on these surface roads!” Haru said, flying onto the freeway and accelerating. “Hang on!” she said shifting another gear in her car and speeding faster.
“I think we’re in the clear. I don’t see her in the mirror, we may have lost her!” Yuko proclaimed. Just as Haru was about to slow down, Shelty landed on a car next to them startling the driver, who swerved towards the two girls. Haru braked to let the car pass harmlessly in the lane in front of them, which allowed Shelty to leap a few yards in front of them. She brought her gloved fists above her head.
“Yuko, what is she doing?” Haru asked.
“It doesn't matter, just keep driving!” Yuko answered.
The car careened towards Shelty as she brought her fists down in a hammer strike that connected with the speeding car with the force of a runaway semi. The force of the blow crumpled the front of the car and sent it tumbling high over her head. The car landed, crashing to the ground and skidding upside down to a halt at the guardrail on the side of the road.
Shelty casually walked through the speeding and honking traffic to the wreck. She saw the two girls unconscious in the car. The brunt of the impact had been absorbed by the airbags, but they were bruised and cut in a few areas. She wrenched the passenger side door from the frame as if it were cardboard and pulled Yuko free from the wreck, draping the unconscious girl over her shoulder. She looked to see Haru in the driver’s seat, suspended upside down by her seatbelt.
“Nnngh...ohhh….owww,” Haru groaned in pain as she began to regain consciousness. “Wha..where?” She looked around to see Shelty preparing to leave with Yuko.
“No...Stop...I...I won't let you take her!” She said weakly, fumbling for the release on the seatbelt. The blonde pursuer walked over to her and looked down on the dazed girl.
“You have a mild concussion, multiple lacerations, and a cracked rib. You cannot possibly hope to stop me. I suggest you wait here for medical aid.” She said after glancing over the girl.
“I don’t care.. I won’t let you take my friend!” Haru had managed to free herself and sprawled out on the ground. Her knees shook as she struggled to stand, and her steps were wobbly as she fought her own dizziness to attempt to protect her best friend. Shelty sighed and moved to the struggling girl. Haru’s eyes went dark as Shelty delivered a quick strike to the back of her neck, once again rendering the girl unconscious. She caught the girls motionless body before she fell and gently placed her next to the car.
“Honestly, people amaze me sometimes,” she said. She picked up Yuko again and leaped off the side of the freeway; leaving Haru alone in the wake of the wreckage.