Erika remained silent.
“Shutting up isn’t going to help you much,” said the man as he stepped out of the shadows. From where they were, YF could see him wearing a silk night shirt with loose pants. In his hand he held a telescoping shock baton.
“The Blue Rose did something rather unexpected, stealing Ikeda’s identity,” said the man.
Erika looked confused. “I’m not Blue Rose. And I am Ikeda Kanoe.”
The man scoffed. “I already told you, I knew what she looked like.” He pointed the baton at Erika. “And while you two do bear an uncanny resemblance. You are most certainly not Ikeda Kanoe.”
Erika formed two fists and pushed her right leg forward with the foot pointed to the wall instead of the man. She then planted her left foot behind and leaned forward onto the right, raising her left hand to protect her neck and lowering her right to protect her body.
The man stood up straight, the baton falling to his side. “That…”
“Commander,” said Erika. “Our past together might be unpleasant. But that’s no excuse to deny the truth.”
Erika turned into a full-on charge toward him, at the last minute twisting back into her side stance and bringing her left heel to her right in a hop skip before side-kicking the man in the stomach. As he drove by them, YF could see Erika take a hit to the shoulder from the baton. The man staggered back, breathing hard as he recovered from having the wind knocked out of him. He waved the baton back and forth as Erika advanced. Suddenly, he lunged toward Erika, grabbing the baton handle with both hands.
At that moment, YF lifted the drone from the ground with the scissors in its claw, flying it straight into the man’s back. The man shouted and reeled, taking a step back. Erika leapt forward and raised her arms to block a second downward strike from the baton. She then raised her right arm high to push the baton out of the way, twisted her torso to the left, and then pivoted with her left foot while connecting her elbow with the man’s chin, instantly knocking him down. The man fell backward, slamming YF’s drone, which was still holding the scissors, into the ground. From the audio feed, YF could hear his drone impacting the floor a few more times before a continuous stream of gurgling sounds filled his ears. Shortly after, blood splattered onto the drone’s cameras, killing what little visibility he had left. YF ripped the earpiece out of his ear and threw the controller into the grass. His breathing grew heavier and heavier until he retched onto the concrete next to him.
***
Erika ran into the room with the blue light to see Reina suspended in a large tank filled with some sort of viscous blue fluid. An intimidating looking black mask with multiple slots was fitted to her lower face, with a thin tube attached to the center of the mask and connecting to the side of the tank. Erika went to the control panel and noted the palm scanner. She then about faced and approached the Sect Vanguard now laying on the ground, his life force flowing into the drain. Erika noticed that the drone was still stuck underneath him, cursed, and grabbed the drone claw, pulling the scissors from the Vanguard’s back.
“Yasu!” she whisper-shouted into the camera. “Yasu!”
Erika used the section of sleeve covering her wrist to wipe the camera. “Yasu!”
When there was no response from the other side, she pulled the scissors from the claw and set the drone down. She then grabbed the arm of the Vanguard, dragging him along the ground over to the room. When she arrived, she strained to lift his torso higher while pulling on his hand with both her arms, slapping the palm onto the panel.
“Scan failed. Warning, only two more attempts before system self-destruct,” said a computerized female voice.
“Shit!” Erika held his wrist against the side of the scanner with one hand while fumbling with the bottom of her shirt with the other. She then wiped the man’s palm with her shirt to remove as much of the blood as possible, slapping it onto the panel after.
“Scan complete. Haga Shojiro detected.”
“Great great,” Erika muttered under her breath. She dropped the man’s wrist, causing his torso to hit the floor as well. She then hovered her fingers over the screen, fluttering them as if typing on a keyboard in the air to calm her nerves. Dizziness overtook her again, causing her to grab the top of a chair to stabilize herself. Erika breathed in deeply a few times to help focus her vision. She then brought herself slowly back upright to stand in front of the panel, looking for the right controls. Fortunately, the options were self explanatory, and with a few presses and swipes, she found what she was looking for.
“Draining sequence initialized,” said the computer.
While the computer was working through the process, Erika took a second to look around. A two-piece mechanical claw with what looked like a cushion hung overhead; to the left of Reina’s tank was a liftable platform. The tank liquid soon started to empty out through a large tube behind it. It snaked its way through the tube until it reached the far wall, where some of it leaked through the sealant in a bubbling gop. As it did, a putrid smell filled the room, causing Erika to cough and gag. Tears filled her eyes, making it difficult for her to see the controls on the panel. She tried to look for the claw controls between wiping her eyes and swiping on the screen. When she found them, she lowered the claw arms into the tank, gripping the two pieces together around Reina’s waist and inflating the cushions between them until she was confident Reina would not slip. Erika then raised the maintenance lift to the left of the tank. Afterward, she used the arms to lift Reina out and onto the lift.
“Hana!” Erika shouted, already making her way to the lift before it had completely lowered. “Hana!”
She held the mask over Reina’s face in both hands and moved it around to check the locking mechanism. Seeing that it was riveted on, Erika used the blade of the scissors to pry the mandrel head off of the rivet head, pulling them out with her fingers afterward. Erika used her open hand to tap Reina on the cheek several times to try to wake her up. When she would not stir, Erika gripped one of the scissor blades with one hand and the handle with the other, pulling down on the handle. She then held her fist over Reina’s mouth, drops of blood falling onto her lips.
Reina jolted up into a seated position and raised her arms high, digging her nails into Erika’s shoulders and piercing through the jacket fabric through to her skin. Erika, unable to move her shoulders, grabbed onto the side of the platform to prevent herself from falling over. She closed her eyes and bit her lip until it drew blood to brace herself for what was to come. But after feeling a sharp graze against her neck, the plunge that she expected never came. She could feel the pressure easing from her shoulders. Erika opened her eyes to see Reina in a drowsy looking state, her expression much more dull than just seconds ago.
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“You’re...an idiot,” said Reina.
“You’re welcome.” Erika raised her hand toward Reina only to have it slapped away. She flinched both from the slap and the pain of Reina extracting her nails from her shoulder.
“Hey!” Erika called.
Reina lifted her eyes sleepily.
“I don’t have time for this. We are leaving now. Right. Now.”
Erika held her hand up again. “You feed or I drag you across Yonchome.”
***
YF drove the drone into the room. At the far end, a naked woman was sitting in front of Erika, clasping onto her hand with her head lowered. It took a second for YF to realize the woman was Reina, and that she was feeding on Erika in a manner in which the latter seemed willing. YF pulled the drone back. The image of the two burned through his mind, filling him with a sense of betrayal. The events leading to that moment were already bad enough, but what he had just seen made him finally realize he did not know who his own wife was — and that somebody else did. YF replayed the moments he had shared with Erika in the past, wondering if any of those feelings were genuine or if it was all a lie from the beginning. Before he could finish his thoughts, the two of them emerged from the room with Reina wearing the Sect Vanguard’s clothes.
“Which way?” asked Erika.
Her tone, one that glossed over everything YF had seen made him angry beyond description. Not even an “Are you okay?” or “I’m sorry.” In that moment, YF wanted to leave the two of them there to find the path on their own — but he could not bring himself to do it. Whatever happened to him and Erika afterward, he would not be blamed for leaving them to die.
At the same time, he was in no mood to speak to her. “Follow,” he texted to her receiver. Without waiting for her response, he drove off down the path and used his scanner to check their route. YF stared at the screen intensely the whole time he drove in order to block what he had seen from his memory. But every few seconds it seemed as if the image of Reina feeding on Erika flashed onto the display, insinuating that he would never forget. He backtracked to the end of the set of halls that led to where the working girls stayed, past the door where he crushed the second alarm. He then followed where the foot traffic was heaviest, eventually leading them beyond the perimeter of Yonchome. YF stood up and typed a quick message, and sent it. Turning to the rooftop door, he opened it and headed down the stairs.
***
“Should be here by any minute now…”
Erika held the hatch open just barely, looking out into the street to check for YF. When she saw the bike approaching them, Erika pushed it upward completely and helped Reina to the surface. YF stopped abruptly and got off the bike, staring at her through his fully tinted helmet. Erika knew in her heart what he was thinking even though she could not see his eyes. But the time for that conversation would come later.
“Thanks. Let’s go,” she said.
She then guided Reina to the front of the bike. YF turned his helmet toward her without saying a word and without showing his face.
“She can’t stand very well,” said Erika. “Also, no helmet.”
YF turned to the bike and climbed on behind Reina. “Hold the inside of the handlebars Hayashi-san,” he said.
Erika went back to the hatch to retrieve YF’s drone. She stored it in a saddlebag and then activated her helmet. Erika climbed into the pillion seat. She started to reach instinctively for his waist, but then stopped. “Can I?” she asked through the helmet radio.
YF only nodded once.
Before she could secure her grip, YF engaged the leg bracers for the pillion seat and sped off through the alley.
***
“Newsfeed,” said YF.
“What topic?” asked his helmet.
“Local traffic.”
“All entryways from Nojuku to Itsugo have been blocked by authorities searching for fugitives from the incident in Yonchome…”
YF stomped on the brake and brought the bike to a halt.
“What?” asked Erika.
He grunted and turned the bike around, heading in the direction of Nishida.
“Where are you going?” Erika demanded.
YF didn’t respond.
“Yasu!”
“Shut up.”
Erika remained silent as he continued to ride through the ground level of Nojuku-sanchome, dodging people, carts, buildings and all other obstacles at frightening speed. Even from in front of her YF could tell Erika wanted to say something, but he had little concern for that now. YF pressed harder on the accelerator, the noise of the wind coming through the hearing protection in his helmet.
Before long, the first loud beep announced their arrival in Nishida, Toa’s scramble reflector on the bike having sent its first signal. YF gritted his teeth, knowing that after three or four scans the cops would descend onto Nishida’s ground level.
A second traffic scanner beep.
“Phone on.”
“Phone on,” the helmet repeated.
“Contact Fujii Kaori.”
“Contacting Fujii Kaori, please wait…”
The phone made a ringing sound a few seconds before a click indicated someone had picked up.
“Mister...Sakai?”
“Fujii,” said YF.
“Yes?”
“You owe me a debt right?”
There was a pause. “Yes Mr. Sakai.”
“Meet me at the Black Hat Bar in Nishida. Bring something strong to drink. Really strong.”
More silence.
“When?” asked Fujii.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“See you soon,” she said before hanging up.
Third overhead scan beep. YF had to slow down as the amount of people and cars on even the ground level in Nishida was much greater than the districts. Still, he was going faster than all the other vehicles, overtaking them from above wherever he could find an opening. Multiple honking vehicles and shouted curses could not slow him down as he made his way to the expressway, rising up to the sixth level in one upward thrust at the first ascending ramp. As the two merge lanes turned into one, all the vehicles on the right got out of the way for him to pass when they realized he would not avoid them.
The fourth beep came as he entered the expressway. The bike’s Sentinel Network Receiver blared through their helmets. “Unauthorized Vehicle Detected on National Road 5 East Bound toward Nishida. Vehicle is a Tanaka R1 Cycle. Please be advised that unauthorized vehicles are frequently used by criminals and sectarians. Occupants may be armed and dangerous…”