Not-So-Safehouse

Oe squints at Yuki "The Shirayuki Association? What do they have to do with all this?"

"Think about it for a second." Yuki takes out her notebook and begins scribbling in it. "How do you fight a war? You need weapons, right? Lots of weapons. You need supplies. You need Jutsu. And where else are you gonna get it from "

"The black market?"

"The Shirayuki Association is the black market. I don't know how the Shirayuki Association fits into all this, but the fact is that they're making huge bank right now. It's only a hunch, but my guess is that they're at least somewhat involved in all this. If we get lucky, we might be able to get to Kasai before the Kuze Clan."

"Are you really willing to stake so much on something this risky?" Oe wipes her brow.

"It's not just that. I also just… have a feeling we'll get to Kasai this way."

"How so?"

"I don't think Kasai's the type to fight on the front lines. She's always been more reserved than that. The intuitive thing to do is to hide in a Blackadder safehouse, but that's predictable. She might hide in an Awano Family safehouse, but they'll sell out their own for a slice of cheese so I doubt she'll do such a thing. All that remains is the Shirayuki Association."

"Are you sure this will work? This sounds dubious."

"Absolutely not. But it's either this or the Kuze Clan beats us to the punch." Yuki bites her thumbnail. "Kasai's strong… but if it's someone like the current Kuze Clan head… I'm not so sure she can beat her."

"The new Kuze Clan head is kinda scary, huh?"

"You don't know half of it."

Oe nods in silence.

The car pulls up at the bottom of an impressive high-rise. Shirayuki Association headquarters. Its very existence is a testament to what several decades of quality smuggling can buy, as well as what a burgeoning idol company can maintain.

Oe tries to step out of the car but the instant her hand touches the door handle, Yuki stops her. "Wait."

"What is it?" Oe relocks the car door.

"Do you have a plan for getting inside?"

"I have this." Oe holds her hands out. "「Genjutsu - Saw」" Lo and behold, just as she says, a chainsaw appears in her hands.

"..." Yuki stares at the chainsaw for a moment. "Let's try and do this as cleanly as possible."

"Fair enough." Oe throws the chainsaw over her shoulder, where it dissipates into nothingness. "You say jump, I'll say 'how high?'"

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'll follow your lead."

"Hm. Alright."

The two get out of the car and walk towards the front door. They both do their best to not act suspicious. A bead of sweat drips off of Yuki's forehead into her eye. She rubs it off.

"Halt." The guards in front of the building block the front door. "State your name and business."

"Yuki Ryusei. I'm looking to speak with whoever's in charge."

"Hah?" The guards glower menacingly. "You mean Lady Sumire? Do you have an appointment?"

"It's an emergency."

"Lady Sumire is a very busy woman, you'll have to come back another time, unfortunately."

"She'll make time for me."

One of the guards shoves Yuki violently. She falls to the ground. "Get lost."

"Hey now, there's no need to get violent." Oe grabs the other guard's arm as she tries to push her. The smallest spark of anger ignites in Oe's eyes. It's only a tiny ember, but it's enough to get the guard to recoil.

"I'm with the ICMG." Yuki pulls out her badge as she gets back to her feet. The guards flinch at the sight, like they're vampires and Yuki just pulled out a cross. "It's nothing serious, we just want to ask Lady Sumire some questions."

"...Oh, why didn't you just say so!" The guards' moods take a complete 180. "Come in, come in. Lady Momoe is also paying Lady Sumire a visit."

Momoe? As in, Tami Momoe? What's she doing here? Yuki wonders. The guards take the pair through a lobby filled with plush leather sofas, marble flooring, and a modern chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Cool air-conditioning wraps itself around their necks as they enter. The person at the front desk smiles gently at them when they pass by.

"We'll leave you to it. Just take the elevator on the right and head straight for the top floor."

"Right." Yuki bows deeply. "Thank you."

"It was our pleasure. Please forgive our uncouth behavior from earlier." The guards' smiles beam brightly as they return to their posts.

"Well. I guess they were helpful." Oe scratches the back of her head. "What now?"

"Now, we go straight to the top." Yuki calls the elevator. It takes a solid minute just for the elevator to make it all the way down to the ground floor. With a simple chime, the doors slide open to reveal a surprisingly spacious elevator. Yuki's fairly sure she's never even been in an elevator this big before. She does a few stretches just for the heck of it.

"What are you doing?" Ah right, she completely forgot Oe was there.

"N-nothing." Yuki smooths her blazer down and pushes the button for the topmost floor. She had thought that elevator music was a thing that only existed in movies and TV shows but here it is. Smooth bossa nova prompts Yuki to tap her fingers against her leg to the rhythm.

A minute passes before the elevator doors open again. This time, to reveal a humongous office that takes up the entire floor. If the elevator is the 'heart' of the room, then the enormous desk that houses the smuggling mastermind and idol company CEO, Sumire Shirayuki, is the 'head'. Yuki takes bold strides forwards, her dress shoes clacking against the luxurious marble flooring. She's halfway through the office when Sumire lifts her head off her paperwork and greets the pair.

"Ah, if it isn't the former Umi Alliance Lieutenant and her good friend, the former Blackadder Gang Head. How may I assist you today?" Sumire smiles. It's not exactly a genuine smile, but neither is it fake. Rather, it's more like a professional courtesy.

"Shirayuki Sumire, you and the Shirayuki Association are under suspicion of conspiracy against the Kuze Clan and the Blackadder Gang."

"Conspiracy?" Sumire taps her chin. "I wasn't aware that was a crime."

"Regardless, I have the authority to take you into ICMG custody. That is, unless you give me the current location of Kasai Ryusei. Then, and only then, would I consider looking the other way–"

"No need, officer." Sumire smiles. "I confess to everything. I confess that I conspired with the Awano family to arrange the hit on Yuuji Rozhdestvensky."

"...what?"

"I needed one last influx of cash before I could make a clean breakaway from the crime business for good."

"Slow down. Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because it doesn't matter." Sumire grins. "You're already too late. As of right now, the Kuze Clan have begun their assault on Blackadder safehouses. It's only a matter of time before one side has their top brass killed."

"But… the ICMG, what happens if they catch wind of this?"

"What about the ICMG?"

「Tami Momoe」- Ozawa City I-C Captain.

「Asoka Ryukko」- Ozawa City I-C.

「Amanda Kameko」- Ozawa City I-C.

「Amaru Hikome」- Ozawa City I-C.

「Isaka Kaymi」- Ozawa City I-C.

Tami Momoe and the other four I-C's responsible for this city lounge on the office armchairs. Yuki gets the overwhelming sensation that she's stumbled into something much much deeper than she anticipated.

"Captain, what… what's the meaning of all this?"

"Well... This isn't exactly how I was hoping to come clean to you but I suppose I don't have much of a choice at the moment." Tami sighs.

"You're… behind all this?." Yuki grasps her mouth.

"Yes."

"You helped Sumire arrange the hit on Yuuji Rozhdestvensky?"

"Yes."

"And you arranged for Kasai to conduct the hit?"

"Yes."

"Why? But… but why?"Yuki jabs her finger at Tami. "What happened to honor?! What happened to duty?! What happened to doing your job?!"

"I am doing my job."

"In what possible sense of the word is arranging the death of an innocent man doing your job?!"

"Yuki, calm down. We're on the same side here, even if it doesn't look like it."

"I'm giving you one minute." Yuki's eyes are hot and steely. "If I don't like your answer, I won't hesitate to put you down right here, right now."

"Hmm… where do I even begin?" Tami scratches her head. "Well, to make things as simple as possible, I've decided that as the ICMG captain of this city, we're going to eradicate the yakuza."

She says it with such a humongous grin Yuki forgets to speak. "..."

"What do you think?"

"Wh-what? But the yakuza's been cooperating with the ICMG for years! They're the reason the streets are clean of petty crime!"

"Isn't it weird how we rely on criminals to get rid of other criminals when it's literally our job to get rid of criminals?" Tami takes a moment to collect herself. "There are two things wrong with that logic, Yuki. Number one, the yakuza don't actually make the streets safer. They just make them seem safer. And number two, why can't we fight both? It's kinda funny how we just… ignored that for this long, huh?" Tami takes off her sunglasses to reveal a pair of frenzied eyes.

"Captain…" The Tami that Yuki met, the Tami that personally welcomed Yuki into the ICMG, the Tami that she looked up to, there's no longer any sign of that Tami in her eyes. "What happened to you?"

"You know, my little sister was so proud when she told me she joined the Umi Alliance. Now look at her. Look at how she was massacred. Gunned down by the Kuze Clan in cold blood." A moment's regret appears amidst her madness. "She was going to graduate from middle school next year."

"..."

"That's when I realized… We were just playing pretend. We weren't protecting anything at all." Tami crushes the sunglasses in her hands. Her fists tremble in anger " But what's done is done. The blame lies in the system. This… corrupt system that churns out neverending violence. That's why we'll put a stop to it, Yuki. We can do it together. You, me, Amanda, Ryukko, Amaru, Isaka, we'll do it together."

"Captain…"

"What do you say? Are you in? Or are you out?"

"..." Yuki clenches her fist. "Regardless of your reason, I just can't abide by the killing of an innocent man. If you're willing to cross that line, then there's no line you aren't willing to cross. That's an ICMG that I can't abide by."

"...Heh. I figured as much. You're still too young, too naive to understand." Tami snaps her fingers. "You know what to do, Oe."

"I know, I know." Oe's voice has a rigid steeliness about it, not unlike the chainsaw she raises to Yuki's throat. She revs it twice for good measure.

"O-Oe?" Yuki doesn't dare move an inch.

"Sorry, Yuki. But there's no future for Blackadder. Not without me at the top." Oe has something in her eyes that almost resembles regret but it's eclipsed by a steely resolve. "I need to rise above it all. But I need power. More power. I won't rely on other people's strength anymore. From here on out, I'll grasp that strength with my own resolve."

"What… Did they offer you?"

「Oe Tenma」- Renegade.

"A position in the ICMG as an Ozawa city I-C."

"How long have you been working for… them?" Yuki spits out the word 'them.'

"From before we met, but after I was deposed. None of this was supposed to happen. I was just supposed to go along with wherever and whatever you do. But… if you found out the truth, and you didn't like it, I'm supposed to kill you."

"I see. Keeping your hands clean aren't we, Tami?" Yuki's eyes burn with an icy fury. "Too scared that your masters will come cracking down on you if you kill me yourself?"

"No harm in being careful."

"And you!" Yuki looks at Sumire. "You're fine with this?"

"Of course. The Shirayuki Association is pretty much a legitimate business now. There's no reason for us to keep pursuing an outdated business model like the yakuza have been running for decades." Sumire shrugs as she walks over to the elevator. "Good luck to all of you. I have some business to attend to. Try and not damage my office too much." And with that, the elevator doors close, and Sumire disappears.

"What about the Awano Family?"

"They don't know our true intentions. To them, this is just another money-making scheme."

Yuki looks all around her. For the first time, it really dawns on her that she's completely alone.

Yuki hangs her head. "I think I understand what's going on now. And to be honest? I don't care anymore. You can all do whatever you want. Just tell me where my sister is. That's all I'm here for."

"Hmmm…" Tami taps her thumbnail against her chin. "Fine. I can grant you this small mercy at least."

Tami takes out her phone and starts typing on it. There's a moment of silence as the elevator dips down to the floor below before resurfacing. Yuki's breath catches in her throat. Sweat trickles down the side of her face. Her heart rate doubles. The elevator doors open to reveal a tattered black cloak, blank red eyes and unkempt red hair.

"It's been a long time… Yuki." She steps out the elevator. "It's time you received an explanation. For everything."

"Kasai–!"

"I'll reveal it to you. The truth behind my disappearance. But that is all you will receive."