Breakdown

Shinya stared out into the city night from his office window.

Hyun-Joo walked into the room.

Shinya turned around. A serious look was on his face. Then he frowned.

"How did I not know? How could have I not seen it?" he said.

"Is there a problem?" Hyun-Joo asked.

"It's more than a problem. This is serious. I've been betrayed."

"By who?"

"Your peers, Akane and Fujin. Everything's going wrong. Not to mention Mandarin has been cleaning out my warehouse stock and taking out hundreds of my men. Something must be done."

"Have you seen the news lately? About the battle between the police and Kouta? I was fighting him firsthand. Saki works for him now."

Shinya slammed his hands on the table. "Saki too?!" Shinya balled his fists. "Kouta...!!!" he growled. "Hyun-Joo."

"Yes boss?"

"Change of plans. I'm going to kill Kouta. He's crossed too far over the line."

--

Miyazaki Ima. She was supposed to be a big time woman as the CEO of a publishing company. But these days she never left the house. At the moment she was curled up on the couch in the dark watching TV. She had two or three blankets on top of her and there were dark circles around her eyes.

The front door opened. Taro walked inside. He crossed his arms at the sight of Ima.

"You gonna sit like that forever?"

Ima slowly looked his way. "Why do you still come here...?"

"Believe it or not I'm worried about you. You look horrible."

"Taro. My daughter is missing. She hasn't been home in a long time. She's become a felon like you."

"She'll be fine. She's with that Murakami boy."

Ima jerked up. "That's what I'm worried about! I don't my daughter roaming those dangerous streets with some boy!!"

Taro chuckled. "That's how you and I met though."

Ima grabbed an empty liquor bottle and threw it his way. "Shut up!! I hate you!!"

Taro dodged the projectile. It smashed against the door behind him.

"Ima. Is it really that serious?"

Tears streaked down her face. "Yes it's that serious!! This is my daughter we're talking about here!! How can you be so calm at a time like this?!"

"I'm not really the type of person to get worked up." Taro picked up another bottle of liquor on the table that was still half-full and took a swig. He wiped his mouth. "Blegh. Your taste in alcohol is not good at all. What is this crap?"

"Taro. Bring Yumi back here at any cost. If you don't so help me I will call the police on you right now!!"

"The police? What kind of threat is that? The police can't do anything with me and they know it. If you want me to go stretch my neck out there and snag Yumi then you'll have to pay me."

"Name a price. I'll do anything."

"A hundred million yen and consider it done."

"It's a deal. Just go. Please."

Taro smiled to himself. He turned around and opened the door, taking another swig of liquor. "Agh, why did I do that?! Bad habit." He shut the door.

--

Aragaki Kenzo, the leader and founder of ROOT sat brooding over his desk. His eyes were closed. He sat deep in thought.

Crashing noises and various screams of help were heard from outside his room. He opened his eyes as a figure in a black and red hood kicked down his door. Behind him here several other figures dressed the same way.

Kenzo didn't move a muscle. "You'd better have a good reason for barging into my building like this. I am not in a good mood. Depending on what you say next could mean your life." Kenzo's eyes narrowed. "So answer carefully."

The hooded man seemed to hesitate. He remained poised. "We were sent here to ask for your cooperation with Red Factor. It would be quite the benefit for both of us."

"My only desires in this world are two things; the fall of Abe Shinya, and Murakami Kouta."

The man grinned. "We thought you might say that. With the plans we have in place, the chance of both of those things happening are nearly guaranteed."

"Guaranteed eh? I highly doubt that."

"If you knew who our leader was, then you'd change that statement."

"What do you all want from me?"

"To put it simply, your financial support. We need a good flow of money to achieve our goal."

"And what, pray tell, is this is goal of you all's?"

"The complete obliteration of Tokyo."

--

Akane and Kouta had just came back to the warehouse, what they now called the 'hideout'.

For the past few days, Akane had been accompanying Kouta on his various trips around the city. They'd been attacking various strongholds of Shinya's to gradually reduce his influence. As a consequence Kouta's name had been spreading like wildfire across the entire country.

At first Akane felt like she couldn't trust Kouta. On the outside he seemed really mean and heartless, but he only treated her and the others with kindness, unlike her old bosses, Shinya and Ban. She was starting to get used to her new life with them.

Kouta slid open the door to find Saki struggling to move a crate from one side to the other.

"What are you doing?" Kouta asked her.

"Trying, to, organize..., these, boxes...!!" she said between breaths. Eventually she just gave up and sat on the floor. "We need more manpower. Me and Yumi can't handle all of this."

Kouta walked over to the box and pushed it to the other wall with one arm. "I'll look into it."

Akane's phone started buzzing.

Everyone looked her way. She pulled out the phone and handed it to Kouta. "It's him."

Kouta answered the call.

"This is Hyun-Joo. I'm looking for Murakami Kouta."

"It's me." Kouta said.

There was a small pause. "I'm only here to relay the message. The people you're looking for are at the top of the TPD." Hyun-Joo hung up.

Kouta silently handed Akane her phone back. He took off his coat and laid it down on one of the boxes. "Akane. Let's go. Saki, you stay back and watch the place with Yumi."

"Okayyy~" Saki said.

"Kouta...be careful okay?" Yumi said.

"I'm not making any promises." Kouta and Akane left the hideout.

--

Abe Shinya stood atop a tall office building. He surveyed the city as the rain was pouring nonstop. "It's been raining for days..." His eyes wandered over the streets and alleyways below. "Kouta, for your own sake you'd better hope that I'm not the one to find you first."

"It's such a shame, really. Because I found you first."

Shinya casually looked to his left. "Hasegawa? How many years has it been? I thought you hated the city."

"I do. But the spirits whisper, Shinya. I won't allow you to kill that boy."

Mamoru Hasegawa was a wide man. He was also a samurai. One of the few left. He always wore the same purple kimono as well as the traditional Japanese geta on his feet. He had short scruffy black hair on his head and a short untrimmed beard on his face. He kept both of his eyes closed. He pulled out a sword.

Shinya smirked. "Your future is already set. You won't get away from this unharmed."

The only expression Hasegawa's face showed was one of conviction and discipline. "That's all right. Because today is not the day I die."

--

Akane had trouble keeping up with Kouta. Out of consideration of her, he refrained from using his flight ability, but his speed on foot was still spectacular. He could seamlessly travel from rooftops to the streets and evade obstacles like it was nothing. Even Akane, who had extensive training for becoming a Black Dragon, was having problems keeping track of him.

--

Takeshi was outside sitting in his car writing things down in his notepad. He glanced outside and saw two figures blow past on the rooftops. He immediately put his things down and got out of the car. By the time he got out they were already out of his range. "He's on the move...!"

Takeshi quickly hopped back into his car and peeled off after them, drifting around the corner in pursuit. "He's headed in the direction of the police station! We'll need more backup than ever this time!" He picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Hello, it's Takeshi! I'm currently in pursuit of Murakami Kouta and an unidentified woman! No I'm fine, this is nothing! Just send everyone you've got to the police station near Tokyo Tower!!" Takeshi grunted as he spun the steering wheel, drifting around another corner.

--

Akane took a glance back. "Kouta! We've got someone trailing us!"

Kouta looked behind him. "That's the inspector. He knows where we're going. I bet he has answers." Kouta stopped running and dropped down into the middle of the street. Takeshi slammed on the brakes. He opened the door and stepped out. Akane came down behind Kouta.

Takeshi held his pistol in hand, just in case. "Murakami Kouta!" he called out. "I know what you're looking for, you want answers right?!"

Kouta took some steps closer. "Guns won't work on me."

Takeshi held his pistol up. "Look! I know you want to know who killed your parents, but we don't know either! I was in charge of the case, it ran cold!"

"Well someone is responsible. And I'm gonna find who it was."

"The police doesn't have the means to summon ghosts!"

Kouta stopped. It was true. The police knew nothing about anything when it came to the supernatural. The only person who Kouta knew of that could summon ghosts was Nomura Rin. But he was too young at the time of his parent's assassination, and even if it was him, Rin was killed by Abe Shinya. But this explanation only made Kouta angrier.

A sea of squad cars closed in on them from all directions. There was even a helicopter.

Then Kouta and Akane were frozen solid from the neck down in a large crystal of ice. Hyun-Joo and Takuya walked in from their left.

Takeshi aimed his pistol at the two. "Who are you?! Identify yourselves!!"

Takuya smirked. "Saki isn't here to poison us this time. You slipped up, Murakami." He looked at Takeshi. "Speed." In a second, Takuya was in the air over the detective. Takeshi leapt out of the way as Takuya brung his leg down on the car and crushed it.

"It seems like they aren't with the TPD." Akane said.

Kouta used his explosion vector to break himself and Akane out of the ice. "I'm getting real pissed off right now..."

"Welcome to my stage!!"

Everyone turned their heads to the top of a skyscraper on the right of Kouta.

Kouta scowled. "Ban...!!"

Usako Ban grinned. He put his hand on the floor of the rooftop. Blue cracks went all the way through the building from top to bottom and broke it up into millions of little pieces. The impact of it all falling to the ground made the debris shoot every which way and sent a huge dust cloud into the air. All of the police officers took cover.

Kouta heard the sound of ice coming towards him. He moved out the way and threw a ball of fire in that direction. The explosion moved some of the dust out the way. "So it was another setup." Kouta said.

Hyun-Joo's palms glowed blue. "It's your fault for walking into it."

Takuya appeared behind Kouta, ready to kick him in the head, but Akane countered him with a spinning downward kick.

"Akane...what's gotten into you? Get out of my way!" Takuya yelled.

"I will not. My job is to watch Kouta's back. So that I will do." Akane stated firmly.

Takuya growled. "Then I'll just beat you down first!"

"Go ahead and try!"

"Speed!!" they said at the same time.

-

Hyun-Joo and Kouta stared each other down.

"Who knew that Akane would become so obedient in such a small period of time. It's barely been a week." Hyun-Joo said.

Kouta's palms glowed orange. "We were interrupted last time. Let's finish that."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

boom!!

Kouta and Hyun-Joo's fight began.

--

Takeshi remained crouched behind his totaled car. "What's with them?! They're all monsters! Should I call in the SAT? But they've already lost two whole units..."

Usako Ban walked out of the debris from the destroyed skyscraper. He took a good look at the scene. Akane and Takuya were fighting. Hyun-Joo and Kouta were fighting. He looked at the sea of policemen on standby. "Yeah, let's start with those guys."

The police aimed their guns at Ban. "Fire!!"

Ban held his hand out and dug his fingers into what seemed like the air itself. Blue cracks shot through the air all the way through the horde of police. Their bullets slowed to a stop inside of the affected area. Ban grinned. "Die." He closed his fist.

Steam shot out all over the place along with the splatters of at least a hundred policemen's blood. Ban started chuckling to himself.

Takeshi's eyes widened. "What...he just...that was..."

Someone landed from the sky on top of his flattened car. Takeshi watched him jump off of it and into the battle scene.

Ban put his hand down. "Never gets old."

"I bet it doesn't."

"Hm...?"

A young man with orange hair walked up until he was a few feet away.

"So you actually came... Here to join me?"

"I already gave you my answer. I'm not liking what you've got going on here."

Ban frowned. "You're not trying to get in my way are you?"

The man laughed. "I want you to fight me, Ban."

Ban cracked his knuckles. "You're getting on my nerves...Mandarin!!"