5. Wild Goose Chase!

The next day, I woke up with stinging back pain and a shirt soaked with dog piss.

Kuribo on the other hand, was up and running like lean, mean, fluffy machine, tearing up the room.

"Ugh!" I groaned, attracting his attention.

He turned to me, glaring at me with eyes that betrayed a surprising amount of intelligence.

Wait, did I fail to wipe out all the quirk memories from the blood? No, that can't be...

I pulled out Rokuro's book and checked again.

Nope. He's dead, one hundred percent.

But then where is that intelligence coming from?

Unless...the blood levelled his intelligence up.

Wait, no, that's it!

The parasite mutation dulls human intelligence but dogs are dumb to begin with so maybe it just increased his intelligence to human levels and halved it, making Kuribo objectively smarter, at the level of a 5 year old kid.

I'd heard of that happening in mice that were injected with human brain cells, so maybe it could happen to dogs too?

I pulled off the piss wet shirt and gesturing Kuribo to follow.

Without explanation, he understood my meaning and followed behind me dutifully. Or maybe it's just a dog thing? Like dog's do follow their owners everywhere anyway.

Eh, I'll check it later.

Right now, I need a bath, and Kuribo needs potty training.

But more than that, I have something very important to do today.

And maybe even someone?

[A/N : *winky face* If you know what I mean!]

After a bath and breakfast, I stuffed the little fluffle in my bag and grabbed the first train to Iwaki.

It's time for a hunt.

Arriving in Iwaki, I opened up a maps app and began to systematically scour the city, lane by lane, alley by alley until Himiko's book popped into my library.

Immediately, I turned around, and pulled out the printout of the victims I had taken off the net.

Within seconds I found her.

A middle aged man in a cheap, worn out suit, skipping across the street not far from me, whistling a merry tune.

Yeah, no way that's not her!

Quietly, I followed her, as she ducked into an alley, emerging into the main street, before slipping into a crowd, but not before flashing me a condescending smirk.

So I've been spotted, huh?

Trying to lose me? No chance baby!

I slipped past the crowd, instead, crossing the park ahead and climbing the nearest tree to get a good view.

There I spotted her ducking behind a DonkiOote store, her skin melting off her body, bloody knife in hand, as a woman in the crowd screamed!

"My wrist!"

The woman cried, bleeding all over the floor. Another man kneeled down in the middle of an intersection as multiple cries rang out across the city square.

This crafty bitch! She could look like anyone now!

Still not gonna escape!

I ignored the mass slashing in the city square and ran after her, pulling out her book.

She's moving into the subways.

Which subway? The one ahead or the one I came from?

Both were equidistant and knowing her, she could very well have taken me on a merry go round and blimped out via the station I came from.

Another line appeared in the book.

She'd boarded a local train to Tokyo.

Oh no!

If she reaches Tokyo she'll be nearly impossible to catch!

I made a mad dash back to the station, boarding the first train to Tokyo.

I continued reading her book, as line after line of perverse, bloodthirsty thought appeared in it.

She didn't even spare children!

Jeez! Fuck!

Himiko, have some decency!

Had she fallen that far this fast?

If so, I certainly can't let her fall any more, or else she'll become a loose cannon beyond reproach, making her useless to me.

At that point I might as well be better off killing her and ridding the league of one of their future executives.

As the train neared Tokyo, Himiko got off, one station before, at Setagaya.

Hrnnngh!

Why does she have to be so damn annoying!?

My train doesn't even stop there!

As the train docked at Naruhata, I got off, hailing a cab.

"Where to?" The guy asked.

"Setagaya, Hotel Avici! And fast!" I answered with urgency as she ordered room service with the intention of imitating the waitstaff.

"Some hurry you're in!" The guy joked.

"I'll pay a 100 yen bonus for every minute ahead of 20 that you get me there so step on the gas, buddy!" I scowled, as Kurobo yipped nervously.

"No, not you puppy." I said, petting him.

"I'm not angry at you. You're such a cutie pie!" I cooed, scratching his ears, as he shook his legs in excitement.

As soon as we reached the Hotel, she sped out of the parking lot in a blue Mitsubishi.

Damnit!

"It's 10400 yen, and please pay the exa-" the driver said, as I interrupted him.

"Fuck the payment, follow that car! The blue one!" I cried, as the driver smiled.

"Ooh! That's one of my dreams. Having someone jump in and say 'follow that car!'. Like a spy thriller!"

"Yeah? Well you can dream on if that bitch escapes me today!" I snarked.

"Heh! Don't worry. Whoever that is, I'll catch up to them in no time!" The driver remarked, stepping on the gas, as we zoomed past the traffic after her.

That is until she ran a red light and left us stumped.

I raised a hand to alert him when the driver turned to me.

"Before you ask, no. I'm not running a red light!" The driver said.

"Tch! Fine. I'll do it myself." I said, handing him two ten thousand yen notes before jumping out and checking the book.

I opened the maps again and checked for a bike rental service. Thankfully there was one just three block away.

Soon, I was back on track with a rented bicycle, pedalling away furiously, across the many alleys and bylanes of the city in a desperate attempt to catch up to her.

She on the other hand, had ditched the car, slashed another guy, and changed forms again, proceeding on foot to the sky egg.

Something I found out a smidge too late, having pedalled halfway across Naruhata, following a very similar looking car.

And now, I'm officially pissed!

I turned around, and zoomed back to the Sky Egg plaza, despite my exhausted and aching muscles, fuelled by pure rage.

I crashed onto the pavement of the plaza, jumping off the bike, and stomping over, with long hate-filled strides.

I opened her book, only to see her panicking at the sight of me.

I looked up and saw a homeless looking guy scrambling into a nearby street.

Oh no you fucking don't, bitch!

I pushed forth, as lines of acid ran the length of my nearly cramped legs, sprinting after her.

Halfway, as I began to lose feeling in my legs, I picked up Kuribo, and hoped against hope he'd actually developed the intelligence I suspected of him.

Sliding into the street, I saw her turning the corner into another alley.

"Kuribo!" I shouted, pointing at Himiko, as I raised him high, and chucked him across the street at her,

Even as I crashed onto the cement floor, I ctied out,

"Sic her Boy!"

"Rawrf!" He barked in acknowledgement, as his neck stetched forth, clamping onto her legs, tripping her.

"Kyaah!" She cried, falling face first into a heap of garbage, Kuribo digging into her heel with all his puppy might.

"Toga Himiko!" I called out, standing back up, limping from leg to leg, elbows bleeding, half bruised and beaten from the crash.

"You stay right there, or I swear I'll gut you like a fucking fish!" I swore with a murderous tone, as she eeped quietly and curled into a ball.

"Yeah, do that!" I taunted, summoning my shelves all around blocking off the exits from the alley.

"....soory!" She bleated, raising her hands to protect her face, as her skin melted off again, revealing a naked Himiko, mooning me, front and center.

"Yeah, say that to the families of those you've killed, you bitch!" I growled, as I came closer.

Slowly, the rage faded, as pain replaced them, my legs killing me like a bitch!

Fuck!

I leaned on the wall beside her, as I pulled out a blanket from my bag, the one I'd packed in case I needed to stakeout her location and draped it onto her, before picking up Kuribo, unclasping his jaw from her leg, generously petting my good boy.

He was already proving his worth a hunter!

A 100% worth it investment!

"huh?!" She blurted out, carefully touching the blanket before looking at me, then back at the blanket, and back at me, dumbstruck.

"You're not going to .... hurt me?" She asked hesitantly.

"That depends on your answers to my questions!" I said, kneeling down, taser in hand, sparking threateningly.

"Shall we begin?" I asked, with a sinister smile.