Ohgi Act 1 Chapter 8 Kotori

"That should do it....." I said to the customer inside the car. Slamming the hood down had echoed through the empty pitstop.

"Thanks for the help my guy! I thought I would have to scrap this sucker."----"Next time use the proper oil and coolant aight? Draining this shit ain't easy....or fun."

The customer was an old friend(?) of mine. He would always get his car into some expensive trouble in which I would repair for half the cost of all the others...

Honestly there was times I thought that was me being too kind these days. Especially in a time where I can't be stingy with my sources of revenue.

"Here's the money man." He handed me a couple hundred bucks from the car cabinet before skerting off the parking lot and off to the highway. Bastard almost ran over my foot if I didn't notice him rev the engine a few moments ago.

"I swear that man going to get him or someone else killed some day....." I scratched my head and sighed.

I counted the cash before heading inside. It was already nighttime and the air was cold and perfectly crisp but working on cars and other mischellenous vechicles can be a sweaty and taxing job...even in the most humid of enviroments.

I hoped our precious AC system would have greeted him inside, but it didn't. I checked the thermostat and it did say it was on so that only meant...

"Damn thing is on the fritz again....." it wasn't just the AC that was broken but some of the lights were malfunctioning. "Guess you can add 'trip the breaker' to the list of things to do." Along with doing some of the car repairs with or without my parents, and some other workers I would also have to manage some other tasks.

To bluntly put it into a summary the auto shop wasn't in the best condition when I did another double take on the interior.

The floors needed a sweeping, some of the window panes was dirtied with handprints, some of the bathrooms could use a second washing, relax it wasn't EXTREMLY nasty, and the paint of the walls was peeling. It wasn't fun being one of the few workers here.....especially being one of the managers.

"All this work just to maintain the family pride huh..... makes no fucking sense."

For the longest while this autoshop company of ours has been around for a couple decades maybe generations according to what my grandfather told me.

Sure it may have been proof of pride and glory for our family to work, improve and/or build vechiles from scratch, but nowadays its serving to be a huge detriment to our funds.

The very place was already falling apart, especially while the household situation was slipping through our fingers....and don't get us started on the insurance company.

"Its all for the sake of our future, Ohgi." Words my dad would tell me whenever I brought up the situation to them.

Just remembering those words wanted to made me wanted to punch a hole through the wall. Make no mistake though. Ever since I was a young toddler I had a driving passion in the world of transportation....though such passion has to be put aside when your food and shelter is being put at risk.

"You gotta keep our heads high and prevail through. Soon its going to be all on you."

To pile on to the mess my parents, mainly my Dad, decided to eventually shift a majority of the problems onto their only child. As if I wasn't already having enough problems at that deliquent school.

I sigh and decided to snap back to reality before checking my phone to read the calender and time.

[ May 7th 2023 | 11:56 ]

Can't believe I had been working here for two hours and hardly any customers came. Atleast I had gotten some peace and quiet to deal with some homework....I wonder how Zeno is doing?

Well nevermind the time, I paid close attention to the date. The seventh of May huh.....Funny how I got two deadlines to deal with in two more days.

I looked outside towards the parking lot. Not a single car passed by, and there wasn't a single soul in sight. The street lamps barely brought any light to the atmosphere, and with one of them flickering at an intersection, the conditions would have been just right for a horror scene.

"Guess its time to close up now...." It wasn't like there was a huge line of customers coming my way. After one last visit to the bathroom I brought everything to a close.

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While there was indeed a ton of tasks that I still needed to attend to, it was getting close to midnight and tommorrow is another school day. I had planned to put it off for tommorrow...or the day after...or the day after, before attending to those problems.

I turned off all the lights and closed the garage doors The sound of the jiggling keychains echoed through the quiet night as I locked the front door.

Since the autoshop was a couple miles out from where I live, I would have to drive my motorcycle home....though I have doubts if that would be a safe trip. After all my eyes would have closed on their own if I didn't put in the extra effort.

Well before all that someone decided to pay me an unfortunate surprise visit before I could even walk into the lot.

A familiar small four seated car drove up into the front street right in front of me. The car itself wasn't anything special as it was designed to blend into traffic...however the person herself was a very big deal.

The backseat window rolled down to reveal a teenage girl giving me a shrewd smile.

She had her long wavy black hair tied into a sexy ponytail with a scarlet hair tie. Her pale skin looked so smooth and luscious as it lightly bathed in the moonlight.

The prim and proper lady, Kotori Murasume Sakuai, arrived to the scene. Her intimidating presence did not match well with the smile she was giving.

I sighed heavily. 'Goddamn it all' I thought loudly to myself. I wasn't expecting HER of all people to arrive out of nowhere. Honestly depending on whatever situation that was at hand, Kotori could be the best or the last person I would ever want to cross paths with.

"Shop's closed. Try again tommorrow."-----"That's disappointing. This hunk of metal could use a tune up or two." Her voice was buttery soft, but it was obvious she was putting up a front while joking.

"Look....I got places to be and a bed to go sleep at. You mind cutting the crap?" I replied, completely ignoring the fact I was talking to someone who was pretty much on the level of royalty.

"..." Kotori fell silent. She leaned forward and took off her shades, before piercing through my profile with her signature crimson eyed gaze.

Even I, a guy who doesn't legitmately get intimidated, stiffened alot. Not going to lie....this gaze she gave me had some, yet striking similarites to whatever harsh presence Shayna was giving off earlier today. Hell I dare say this one was more dangerous because it felt more commanding, like a harsh military officer being preoccupied of tenderizing the 'fresh meat' cadets.

"One of our family treasures has gotten stolen. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it do you?" Her voice quickly changed to match her mature, and refined posture.

"Treasure? Nah. Sure wish I had some though. Was it discreet?"-----"It wouldn't have been if wasn't for you."

I raised an eyebrow at her. Kotori nodded towards the two buff men who sat in the front, and before I knew it the front window was lowered with a phone slipping through the crack. Some sort of video was placed on pause. Judging by the details and film quality this was secruity footage.

The video was slightly blurry but I could make out the scene. Masked men were driving on mutiple motorcycles down a slight incline. They appear to be fleeing the scene from a very important looking building. That building....was the back road of a family safehouse deeply connected with the main house manor.

It wasn't long until the sounds of gunfire echoed behind their trail, but by the time the pursurers entered the frame of view, the motorcyclists was long gone.

"This footage was taken from our estate cameras. Anything look familiar?" I replayed the footage multiple times....but that wouldn't amount to much anyways.

Why? Its because I had already noticed what she meant on the first watch. I merely replayed the footage hoping that by some miracle the replay would show off something different.

After three rewinds or so I fell silent and paid attention to the details....and those of which was missing.

The sleek design of the bikes, the soft echo it barely made as they zoomed at high speeds down the hill....even the specific tires used had all matched to the dreadful thought that crossed my mind.

The motorcycles that these men was driving....was my creations....But it shouldn't have been possible. It was obvious there were slight to minor modifications made, but there was no doubt in either of our minds. Those bikes was for sure something that I whipped up on a whim a few years ago. "These...but its impossible!"

"And yet here they are. Your designs caught in 4K HD...eh maybe 1080p?"-----"I made these things in my grandparent's private owned scrap yard a long time ago...."

"Where or when they was made doesn't matter. The very fact these bikes are here means you have some correlation to this case...a correlation you will kindly explain to us....." Before I could respond two words shattered into my psyche. "IN DETAIL." she stressed the last part of her sentence, switching up her cutesy voice to her mature and more dominating tone. It served as the perfect nail to get her point across.

This was bad....extremely bad...While it was true, I don't know much about Kotori in terms of her family, I do know they possess special 'measures' and 'tools' to remove people they dislike, and by the looks of it right now I was some mighty "fresh meat" begging to be cut.

I had to hurry and do something to protect myself before one of her men just pulls the blick one me and end it all.

"Man, I don't know these people!"----"That so?"-----"I'm serious! These bikes I made.....They must have been stolen from me!!!"

"Stolen....or did you sell them?" Before I could even respond she whipped out her wallet and pulled out a single dollar bill.

"We know about your situation, Ohgi. Your family is hanging on by a thread aren't they? I wouldn't put it past you if you did sell those well made bikes just to make a quick buck to some wealthy enterprise...." She continued to play around with the dollar bill in her hand.

"I mean think about it. I know atleast two organizations who would be aware of our little 'relationship' and the knowledge you and your family possess in this field. Using a version of a silent prototype bike and remolding it to be perfectly designed for silent breakins and raids would practically win you thousands if not millions somewhere at the nearest auctions!"-----"But I didn...."-----"It doesn't matter who you sell or do business with. Its none too much of my concern I suppose.....but some things change when my family is involved!"

"..." It didn't take much for me to admit defeat. It was true I was innocent, but there was no way this pretty princess would listen even listen to me, especially since all the evidence points against me.

What do I do? Think Ohgi, you barely got a second to waste!

Should I fight? No.....they got guns! One shot could leave me crippled and then its game over!

Maybe I could flee? But where to? I can't run forward to the street. They'll just catch me with the car! Plus I'm too exhausted to get anywhere. Even if I get lucky to flee inside the building, there is hardly much to give me cover from gunshot fire.

Hell even if I survive avoiding all the suppresive fire and turn it into a phsyical fight could I still win? The bodyguards in the front seats looked old and experienced enough to give me a run for my money, but I could come out on top if I used a thick mechanic wrench and aim for a quick concussion....

....

Who am I even kidding? I'm overlooking the biggest threat of this picture. Fucking Kotori, man!

The goddamn Sword Grace Princess was an expert at kendo, bokkenjutsu and other complicated sword styles! SHE LITERALLY KEEPS AN IRON SWORD ON HER LIKE ITS A FUCKING GLOCK IN DETROIT

Asking this to turn into a clash of blades would just be asking for death.....

....

...

........

Wait....does this mean....I'm out of options? I literally can't come up with anything logical to escape this.

Even if I could a majority of it would be in the territory of luck, and uncertain factors. Acting on a plan with no absolute strategy is no different then marching to a boss monster with the strategy purely consisting of just "improvise"

"....kill me.....I don't care anymore anyways." I raised my hands in the air and tried to relax as best as I could. Kotori looked closer towards me before giving the signal to the man in the front passenger seat. Guess she too understood the memo.

I tried Dad..... I'm sorry Mom. Zeno? Eh you'll be alright without me. As anticlimatic as it were, I guess it was only a matter of time I got killed. After all it was my fault for gettjng involved in this dangerous line of work.

He unsheated his pistol from its hidden holster and aimed its barrel for my forehead. One pull of the trigger and I would have easily become one of the first few black characters to get isekai'd.

Thinking back on it now...perhaps it was crazy to think that in the midst of the chaos I had tried to prevail through, there was dreams and aspirations I wanted to live up to. But for the last maybe two years now I gotten myself involved in the wrong crowd. Why? Simple. Just to make some quick cash and go about my merry way. Had to keep myself and the family afloat one way or another.....if only that insurance company didn't want to crack us like fucking walnuts.

I gulped hard cringing slightly at the thought that the way my life would end by becoming another nameless victim in an unfortunate drive by accident. I didn't notice it at first but a small tear seem to have trickle down my eyes.

"And just when I was hoping to go play some games...." I was referring to my plans that Zeno had to turn down.

Zeno huh.....He would be one of the few friends I would truly miss when I depart to the next world. Me and him been through some shit or two. We had our fair share of fights with each other, but we had each others back.....or thats what I hope to believe.

I actually don't know what he thinks of me...and I probably never will now.Well at any case it didn't matter I suppose. The only thing that did matter was where would I go after this? Heaven? Hell?

Before I knew it a loud bang erupted into existence, temporarily ending the silence of the night, before a dull thud followed after.