At the hospital, Roberto had his right arm amputated. It was crushed to the point of no salvation. Soon after, he was sent to the police station where the other three were.
Bruna was the only one who could speak japanese and was chosen to be interrogated. The others were arrested pre-emptively.
None of the four had family present. The only one responsible for them was a certain Pope. His name was not visible on Bruna's cell phone, but it was the only option the policeman had to contact.
Her cell phone had an automatic translator for calls. Most media at the time were already equipped with this function, in case an international call was needed. The Pope was brazilian, but he could understand the japanese police officer perfectly.
— Hello? Sir... Pope? Are you responsible for these teenagers?
The policeman showed the four of them through the cell phone camera.
— HELLO? OF COURSE I AM! THEY ARE LIKE CHILDREN TO ME!
— Good to know. But, sir, could you speak a little lower?
— THIS IS MY NORMAL VOICE.
— Oh, right…
— WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? WHAT DID MY DEAR FAITHFUL PEOPLE DO?
— They're at the police station for assault and attempted rape.
— WHAT DID YOU SAY?! HAVE THEY BEEN ARRESTED? THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! THERE IS NO INFIDELITY TO THE LORD GREATER THAN THIS!
— Where are you located? Your presence would facilitate the trial in court.
— I AM IN BRAZIL. I WOULD NOT GET THERE IN TIME. I HAVE A PROPOSAL: IF YOU RELEASE THEM, I WILL GIVE YOU 1 MILLION REAIS- DOLLARS- YEN, OR WHATEVER YOUR CURRENCY IS.
— B-But, sir, that would be illegal-
— THINK ABOUT IT, OFFICER: YOU PROTECT JUSTICE, AND YOU DON'T EARN MORE THAN A MINIMUM WAGE. WITH 1 MILLION YEN, YOU COULD TRAVEL AND RELAX, A WORTHY REWARD FOR SOMEONE OF SO MUCH EFFORT.
The policeman reflected for a few seconds, thinking about what he could do with that much money. He knew that his work was essential to society, but he was not adequately rewarded. Convinced, he replied:
— Y-You're right… The holders of justice are the most wronged. I accept your proposal.
With the power of corruption, the four prisoners were released. And the policeman enjoyed his trip to the beaches of Hawaii.
Yuto was determined: he would go back to Tokyo. Not to work for the association he hated so much, but to finalize unresolved issues.
Slade, Kanata and the dark side of the city, many mysteries still unsolved. Yuto felt guilty for everything that happened. He could only redeem himself if he went to Tokyo himself.
The invasion her sister had planned was stopped by the hooded woman. None of that would have happened if she didn't exist. Yuto had that in mind. He had never felt so much resentment and hatred towards anyone in his life.
But he knew he was also partly to blame, and he couldn't forgive himself. The least he could do was "continue" the raid.
His heart had hardened, so he no longer cared about the lives of his enemies. His initial plan was to kill all four who mistreated Haji, but he would be hypocritical if he did.
Yuto would need to take Haji with him to protect her. He couldn't lose anyone else.
On the day of departure, Yuto and Haji said goodbye to their parents.
— Are you sure you'll be fine, Yuto-chan? I couldn't bear to lose two more children.
— Of course I do, mom. This time I'll try to hide in the city, because maybe they still remember my face.
The worried father said:
— Yuto-chan, never give up living like you did that day. When Haji-chan told me that you almost jumped off the bridge, I couldn't believe my ears.
— Of course, dad. I couldn't bear everything that happened that day, so I lost my will to live. But now is different: I have more than enough reasons not to give up.
Yuto's parents smiled, trusting his words.
Yuto and Haji arrived in Tokyo. They returned to live in the house abandoned for years. Without Kanata's presence, the house felt emptier.
They had no reason to stay in the house all day, so they went for a walk. They went downtown to see what had changed in the city. Even during the day, many lights covered the place. It wasn't the most modern city in the world for nothing.
But one thing caught their attention more than anything else. It was something strange that shouldn't be there. The association's main building was in one piece, and in the same place as always, as if it had never moved. And it was much bigger than before. Maybe bigger than a mountain.
Yuto was shocked. How was that building even there, if it should have been dragged across the city? And everything was intact, as if nothing had happened that day, except for his sister's disappearance.
Although the chance was low, Kanata might still be alive. Yuto wanted to believe in this chance, and that was one of the reasons why he returned to the city.
But what he saw in front of him belied all the past. It was beyond his comprehension.
The building's windows doubled as television monitors, on both sides. Outside, they used to project advertisements, as if they were posters.
And an ad was on display. It was a detailed description of the ranked and eliminated in the association's annual tournament.
Several official and unofficial tournaments took place every month, but the annual one was the most recognized. The rewards were too tempting for anyone, even level 6's.
Level 7's were so well paid and famous that they didn't even care about tournaments or competitions. They only participated for pleasure or to restore tarnished reputations.
This time, no level 7 was present. It was the day of the semi-final. There were only four participants left, all level 6. Caliel and Kiseki against Mifuyu and Revon. It was a doubles battle.
The winning duo would move on to the final, which would be a duel between the two remaining participants. It was a way of showing that allies would one day become enemies.
It was an hour before the start of the event. Some people were seeing the ad and getting excited:
— Dude, a fight between level 6 heroes! I hope no one in the stands gets hurt. Caliel doesn't take it easy even with her partners.
— This is going to be a good one! I want to see blood and death! Although Kiseki won't let anyone die. She got the worst possible partner.
Yuto became interested in the match. Before planning a new invasion, he needed to gather information. Learning how strong the new level 6's were was a good start.
Yuto went to the place where the game was to take place, and took Haji with him. It was the size of a football stadium.
Between the arena and the stands there was a barrier that nullified almost any power and impact, to protect the spectators.
Several nanocameras were monitoring the battle. Many of them were easily destroyed, but there were so many that no second or angle would be lost.
Also, Kiseki would be participating. She was known as the main healer of the association. Her healing reached the point where one living cell was enough for the entire body to be reconstituted. She could also repair any object.
Yuto sat on any step of the bleachers, and Haji on his right side. He noticed a strange man on the left.
He was wearing a dark blue suit with glasses and a light blue tie. He was dressed awkwardly, as if he had just woken up. He had dark blue hair and eyes. His beard was also poorly done.
The man was staring blankly at the arena. Yuto called him:
— Hey, man, are you okay?
The man didn't answer, as if distracted. Yuto nudged him. The man finally turned around.
— Oh, yes… I think so. Sorry, I don't know what's going on so I'm at a loss.
— Don't you know what's going on? This is the association's tournament stadium. There will be a match now.
— It's not that… I don't even know who I am… or what I'm doing here.
Yuto didn't know how to respond. That man seemed to have been through a lot, so he decided not to bother him.
The battle began with the introduction of the announcer. The participants were:
Caliel, rank #3 level 6: A tomboy exhibitionist, dark-skinned, half-naked woman. Short black hair and yellow eyes.
Kiseki, rank #4 level 6: Apparently a girl. Maid clothes, dark green hair and purple eyes.
Mifuyu, rank #7 level 6: A middle-aged woman. Scientist coat, glasses, short hair divided into blue and green. Eye colors same as hair on each side.
Revon, rank #8 level 6: A woman wearing ninja clothes and a mask that covered her nose and mouth. Black eyes and ponytail.
After the introductions, the battle began.
Caliel charged at Mifuyu, intending to tear her apart with her sharp nails.
Mifuyu was going to protect herself by freezing Caliel, but Revon appeared in front of her and repelled the attack, throwing Caliel to the other side of the stadium.
— Your opponent is me, Caliel!
After shouting this so that her opponent could hear, she whispered to her ally:
— Go try to convince Kiseki to join us.
Mifuyu nodded and headed towards her target of convincing. Caliel had already recovered and jumped straight at the ninja.
The ninja dodged all attacks quickly, although the exhibitionist was also very fast and strong. Each strike could pierce her stomach if landed.
Revon knew that, and her power was the best defense. In addition to Invisibility, she had Perfect Reflexes.
It was practically impossible to land any attacks on her, as long as she didn't get tired. But she was trained for it and, with 6-Up, she could fight for hours tirelessly.
With each dodged attack, she made her left or right arm invisible, alternating. With that, she slammed into Caliel's head with swift but crushing force.
Mifuyu came close to Kiseki and knelt down. With sweet words, she tried to convince her not to help her partner and just watch, turning the battle into two against one:
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— Kiseki-chan, I know you're not very comfortable with the situation. Caliel is a terrible person, and she will torture us both if you help her. No need to heal us, just don't help your partner.
— B-But, Mifuyu-san, I can't do this. That's cheating, and Caliel won't like it.
— I checked the rules, and there was nothing about cooperation between rivals. And we're going to defeat Caliel, so she doesn't come after you.
— B-But…
Caliel was getting irritated by all that agility. She loved to see her victims suffer because it turned her on. Her power was Pleasure, perfect for a sadomasochist.
Normally, with each damage she took or dealt, her pleasure increased. Like a chain reaction, her strength and speed varied with the pleasure she felt or was felt by others nearby. Although there was a barrier that reduced her power, many spectators were excited about the fight. And that made her stronger.
But Revon was pissing off Caliel, who hadn't felt anger in a long time. Her attacks always landed, so missing them caused frustration.
One factor that strengthened any power and 7-Up was anger. Added to the adrenaline of the battle and Pleasure, Caliel was attacking faster and harder.
Revon still dodged easily. But if she was careless for even a second, she could have her skull fragmented.
Caliel learned her opponents' battle techniques very quickly. But Revon too, besides always inventing new ones.
Overflowing with rage, Caliel jumped towards Mifuyu, who was talking to Kiseki.
It was so fast that Revon didn't have time to think, and threw herself in front of her partner, to serve as a shield. She had her belly ripped through in a single punch.
She couldn't move. She lost all the strength she had until a few seconds ago. Having the stomach pierced wasn't a sign of instant death.
But this time, the impact was so strong that the blow felt like it had landed on the head. The only thing Revon managed to do was bleed.
— I knew you'd do that, mosquito. You deserved it, after pissing me off.
Caliel glared at Mifuyu with murderous intent. Instinctively, the scientist froze all of Caliel's arms and legs. She covered the entire surface of the arena with acid, except where she, her partner and Kiseki were.
But Caliel wasn't angry anymore. She was very excited, about to have an orgasm. She finally got rid of the hindrance that was the ninja. She could go all out.
Mifuyu began melting Caliel's entire body, including her frozen limbs, with acid. But she felt no actual pain. Instead, she felt more and more pleasure, and grew stronger and stronger.
Caliel began to walk slowly towards Mifuyu, who felt more and more afraid and moved backwards, until she touched the wall and slipped until she was sitting down.
Caliel kicked Mifuyu's groin with all her strength, repeatedly. She was in a lot of pain, but couldn't pass out. Each kick was calculated so that she felt as much pain as possible while awake.
From the belly down, except for the legs, her body was disintegrated. Her organs were no longer there. The only thing left was blood.
A pool of blood was forming under her body. The acid and ice had been dissolved, so blood covered the arena the most now.
The 6-Up kept her alive and conscious, even without a body part. But the pain was such that it could not be lessened to the point of being bearable.
Caliel knew this, and used the resistance conferred by the potion to cause as much suffering as possible.
The pleasure Caliel felt reached levels she couldn't control. She leapt towards her own ally, to strangle her.
A deafening shot rang out across the arena. Caliel stopped her advance instantly. The bullet grazed her ear, causing it to bleed slightly.
Two people walked up to where Caliel was:
A girl with short grey hair and eyes. She wore a grey military uniform, hat and white gloves. She carried the revolver she had fired in her right hand, and another in her waistband. On her back, she had a carbine.
A tall, muscular man with red hair and green eyes. He wore a green short-sleeved shirt and black gloves that didn't cover his fingers.
The girl said:
— Caliel, this has gone way too far. In addition to torturing two heroines, you tried to kill your own partner.
— But that's not cheating, no rule says I can't have fun. And viewers are enjoying it a lot too.
The girl let out a sigh of contempt and said:
— It doesn't matter if it's in the rules or not. You are already a level 6 and should know how to control yourself. Or are you so childish that you don't know something as basic as that?
Caliel frowned, irritated to the core.
— Don't talk like you're better than me, bitch. I'm on the same level as you, and I can kill you at any time.
— Really? I want to see you try.
Caliel moved behind the girl at a speed the spectators couldn't keep up with, about to decapitate her. The girl just sighed again and aimed the gun that was in her hand behind her head.
She shot Caliel's ear again, ripping it off. She stopped the attack, on account of the pain. Then the man punched her belly to knock her out and said:
— The rule is not whether or not to have fun. It's not taking the fun away from others. And you clearly did.
Caliel fell to the ground, unconscious. The girl addressed Kiseki and said:
— Kiseki, heal Mifuyu and Revon soon. They can die if no living cells are left. But you don't need to heal Caliel. I warned her several times to change her behavior, but she didn't listen. So that will be her punishment.
— O-Okay, sorry!
— Why are you apologizing?
— It's just… I could have done it sooner, but I thought it would be cheating.
— Kiseki, you have to learn that rules are not that important. Sometimes you need to break them to protect someone. Now go fix them.
— R-Right! Sorry…
— Why are you apologizing again?
— Oh, it's just… sorry!
Kiseki timidly went to the almost dead heroes to heal them. They were left without a scratch, but Kiseki decided to keep them unconscious to rest.
Yuto and Haji watched everything, terrified. They hadn't seen that much violence since the fateful halloween. Some viewers complained:
— What are Ria and Exwind doing here? The battle was so cool, until they stopped it.
Yuto, curious about who the two were, asked:
— Who are those two?
— What? Don't you know them? The girl is Ria, the top 1 level 6, and the man is called Exwind, the top 2. The two are always together. You must be a foreigner if you don't know that.
— Yeah, more or less that. I haven't been to Tokyo for years.
— So you missed a lot, man. Take a look at the association's app later. The heroes' positions have changed quite a bit, so you might not recognize any.
— Thanks for the tip.
Yuto was relieved when he learned that no one recognized his face. The fact that there was so much mobility in the levels made it easy for him to be forgotten.
But one thing bothered him: the man in the blue suit was staring at him.
— Is there a problem, man?
— Tokihito Tatsuya.
— What?
— It's my name. I know you from somewhere. Does my name remind you of anything?
— That name doesn't remind me of anything, and I don't know how you would know me. It must just be a mistake.
— What is your name?
Yuto hesitated. Maybe the mysterious man knew about the invasion. He could be there to eliminate him, which the hooded woman had not been able to do.
But he plucked up courage and said his name:
— Ishikawa Yuto.
— That name certainly brings back memories, but I can't decipher them. You must be important to me. I didn't even remember my name until this morning, but yours is special.
Ria, still in the arena, remembered something:
— Tetsushi, I saw a familiar face in the crowd in the stands.
— What? How did one person catch your attention among all those people?
— It must be a coincidence that I saw him, but that person looked dangerous. He's right there.
Ria pointed her finger at Yuto. The two went to him. Exwind interrogated him:
— Young man, you remind us of someone who shouldn't be here. Could you tell us your name?
Yuto froze. He knew they knew him from the invasion. They were there to arrest him, kill him or even worse.
— Actually, you don't have to say your name. I want to remind it on my own.
Exwind turned to the side to think. Ria had already remembered, but hoped he could too. Impatiently, she revealed:
— He is Ishikawa Yuto, the seventh level 7 who participated in a raid against the association over five years ago.
— Of course it was him! Thanks for reminding me, Ria. And you have a very good memory.
— You are too slow. And we have to arrest him.
— Right! If you don't mind-
When Exwind turned around to see Yuto again, he was already gone. And the two other people who were sitting next to him weren't there either.
— What? But he was here until now...
— He ran off with a girl and a man in a blue suit while you were thinking. You are distracted too easily.
— And why didn't you say anything if you saw all this?
Ria didn't know how to respond, and just repeated:
— You have to start paying more attention.
Yuto, Tatsuya and Haji fled the stadium. They were in a harbor, where there were several coastal stores.
Yuto didn't understand one thing:
— Why are you following us, Tokihito-san?
— I already said: you are important to me. I have to follow you until I understand why.
— And how can I trust you? Wait, I have an idea: if you take this girl to safety and we meet again later, we can have a longer talk to get to know each other better. But if you do anything to her, I'll kill you. Sounds fair, doesn't it?
— Are you sure? Well, that's fine with me...
Haji was surprised by what Yuto proposed, and exclaimed:
— Hey, don't go deciding things for me! I don't want to be with this ruined guy, I want to be with you, Yuto.
Tatsuya felt offended, but ignored it. Yuto tried to convince her:
— If something happens to you, call me as soon as possible. And if you accept this mission, I'll give you any candy you want.
Haji perked up:
— Seriously? It was you who promised, so it's better you keep it.
Tatsuya grabbed Haji's hand and the two ran away. A voice came from behind Yuto:
— Wow, I wish Ria was that easy to convince.
Yuto got scared and turned back. It was Exwind, who had already found him, even after walking kilometers.
— What?! How did you find me in such a short time?
— You could say I'm good with directions. And I asked people on the way if they had seen this peculiar trio, so it was pretty easy to find.
— But you don't seem to be with Ria, so maybe she's looking elsewhere?
— Actually, she's right there.
Exwind pointed to the window of a nearby restaurant.
— Hey, Ria, you can get out of there. Let's talk to Ishikawa-san.
The only answer was a gunshot. Yuto felt a sting on his right foot, which had been shot. Then the left. He felt a lot of pain, but he couldn't move his feet, so he was immobilized.
— Are you sure about this, Ria? You really don't go easy on bad guys. But it's not like I didn't see it coming.
Exwind threw a punch in Yuto's stomach, but the fist didn't touch. He stood still for less than a second, until a wind started to come out of his hand.
A wind strong enough to send Yuto flying a few hundred meters in the sky. Exwind jumped in to start the fight in the air. He threw a kick, which Yuto barely parried.
He was sent a few more tens of meters back. Shots came from the port, aimed at Yuto's arms, but they stopped midair. With the power he had, it was easy to hold them off.
But new shots, much stronger, pierced Yuto's shoulders, who couldn't move his arms anymore. Then Exwind punched him down with both hands.
Yuto was sent down to where the ocean was. The speed was so high that, when he collided with the water, a wave a few dozen meters high formed.
As it was far enough from the harbor, the wave dissipated before arriving. Yuto was struggling to stay conscious. He was able to stand on top of the water, even if his feet hurt.
Exwind also landed in the water. But he got scared when he saw Yuto's gaze. He was about to fight seriously.
Until Exwind tried to calm him down:
— Calm down, man! I know you are stronger than me. If you try to kill me, you will surely succeed.
— You say that after almost killing me?
— It's just that you're a famous wanted in the association. If we captured you without killing, the other bounty hunters wouldn't hurt you. But Ria ended up going a little hard on you.
— Your punches also hurt a lot.
— I just wanted to knock you out!
Yuto calmed down and listened to what Exwind had to say.
— What do you want from me?
— We wanted to talk to you. Well, at least I wanted to. Ria tried to incapacitate you before you could do anything, so I just went along with the plan.
— Are you sure she's not going to kill me while we're talking?
— I'll convince her, I promise. If I offer her candy like you did earlier, it might be easier.
Yuto smiled and gave a small laugh. That man looked too innocent to really want to kill him. Maybe he could be trusted.