Chapter 16:

" Haruno! Haruno! Get up oye!!" Akira whispered loudly.

Haruno had fainted after looking at the 2 men in the capsule. The sight was really gore looking at how they were screaming. And on top of that they had features which humans did not posses.

" Shit, that wolf man is probably heading towards us. It probably howled because it smelled us from far. And what's more terrifying is that the wolf man is heading towards us from where we came. So that removes the option of escaping from the canal. The more I think about escaping, the more it shows how futile my plans are."

Akira thought hard of plans to escape and looked at the map. He ran his finger down the map and got an idea.

" If we could escape from a manhole.... We could probably get out. But the problem is that I'm not sure whether the manhole leads to a highway or a footpath. If I open the hole and it's a high way, then...." Akira imagined his head getting smashed by a car. He shivered and shook his head to concentrate.

"Shit.... I should've brought the city maps too along with me." He searched for the manhole and found the nearest one. He picked up Haruno and lost his balance.

" You've gotta lose some weight you know." He muttered and looked at the men in the capsule. It felt like they were begging him to let them out. Akira gritted his teeth and looked down sadly.

" I'm sorry, I won't be able to save you. But you've gotta wait just for a more days. I swear they'll come looking for you."

He looked at them one more time and started running with Haruno on his shoulder. He held Haruno in such a way that he'd be able to use the weapon Cyclone if he encountered the wolf man.

He picked up some acids which were on the table and didn't stop until he reached the manhole.

The footsteps of the monster became louder and faster. Akira struggled a lot while Haruno was knocked out cold. The sewage water burnt and slowed down his legs.

Finally, the monster caught up, it was now in sight, a tall lean and grey looking man wolf. It stared at Akira with it's green eyes and smirked

"F-Found Y-you!!" The wolf man started running again and was about 100 meters away.

Akira panicked and slipped into the water.

" Shit!!! Not now!!" Haruno jerked up because of the water and started gasping for air. Akira immediately removed Cyclone from her back and wore it.

" HARUNO!! GET UP AND START RUNNING TOWARDS THE MANHOLE." Akira threw a power bank, lighter and a tape.

" You know what to do right?!!" Akira yelled in panic.

Haruno who was still feeling dizzy got up and nodded. She ran towards the manhole without saying anything.

" Now it's time to deal with you." Akira smirked weakly," Heh, well sorry Sugawara. Looks like I'm about to steal you prey here."

The monster appeared right in front of Akira in a flash. Akira grunted and first splashed sewage water onto it's face. It blinded the monster for a second, Akira then threw the acid bottles at the same time.

SSHHHHHH....

The monster's face started steaming and it roared in pain.

" Y-You Bastard!!!" The monster yelled.

He took out knives from his pocket and threw them with full power. The knives got stuck on his chest but the wound was shallow. The wolf man wiped the knives out of his chest and was about to leap once more. But it was too late because Akira aimed Cyclone at the wolf man and the weapon made a charging sound. Akira pulled the trigger and....

WHOOOOOOOSHHHHH....

" KHAAARGGGHHH!!!.." The wolf man flew back at full speed and crashed into the water 10 meters away from Akira.

" Didn't know it would really work." Akira was astonished.

Akira moved back and started running towards the manhole and he heard Haruno drop down from the ladder.

" Get down!!!" She leaped at Akira making both of them fall into the water.

BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM....

" K-KHA!!" Haruno cried out as a piece of debris hit the back of her head. Blood flowed down her head and Akira got up immediately.

" Oye Haruno, you good!!?? You did a good job blasting away the manhole cover. But our job's not done. Don't fall unconscious, if you do. We'll lose." Akira picked her up hastily as the Wolf man wasn't damaged much.

The wolf man picked himself up and roared. He started running while both Akira and Haruno were already climbing the ladder. Akira climbed up and heard some noises from above. But the next thing he found out was, his leg was caught by the monster. The monster tried dragging him down but Akira held on tight.

" AKIRA SAN!!!" Yelled Haruno who was right above him.

" Shit shit shit!!! My arms are gonna tear off!!" He tried flailing his legs but it was of no use. Then he made a gamble. He removed his left hand from the ladder and instantly put it in his pocket. He took out a knife and stabbed the wolf man's cheek.

"AAAAAAGGGHHHHH" Screamed the wolf man as well as Akira.

He climbed up the steps and when he put his right hand on the step, a shock of pain went down his arm. It was like his arm got electrified.

" Damn it, my shoulder's probably dislocated after it got pulled." He shrieked in pain and continued climbing.

Then what Haruno said next brought despair to his ears.

" A-Akira San.... There are cars zooming by.... I don't think we'll be able to get out....."

Slowly Akira lost hope. His left hand on the ladder was getting weaker while his right hand was turning blue from numbness.

" Is this seriously how I'm gonna die? But I had so much left to do...." He shook his head and told himself," At least Haruno needs to get away.... But how?"

Then Haruno took the pipe of Cyclone and aimed it the wolf man. Again it made a charging sound and she pressed the trigger.

WHOOOOOOOSHHH....

The wolf man let go of Akira's leg and got smashed into the ground.

" Akira San!! Don't give up!!" Haruno yelled.

" Then what are we supposed to do?" Akira's had lost all hope.

" I know the algorithm of traffic signals. On my count I'll throw you out." Haruno said.

Akira looked at Haruno and realized he was being a wuss. He grit his teeth and put all his power into his left hand and caught Haruno.

" Three.... Two.... One!!" Haruno threw him out and he landed on his back on the sidewalk.

Akira immediately wriggled and caught Haruno's hand from the outside. But he made a mistake by handing her his injured right hand. Again a strong shock of pain ran down Akira's body and he yelled in distress.

ZOOOOOMMM....

A car was speeding up from 40 meters away.

" Akira san!! Leave my hand!! If you pull me out, both of us would die by that car!!!" Haruno yelled.

" No but the wolf man!!! You'll be stuck with him if I let you go!!!" Akira yelled back.

" Sorry but Akira san.... This is the only way for you to survive." Haruno let go of his hand and Akira saw the wolf man getting up and climbing the ladder. The car didn't seem to notice them and was only 10 meters away.

Akira almost lost hope but remembered what Haruno said few seconds ago. " Don't give up".

He grunted and yelled at the same time and caught Haruno's hand once more with his injured hand. He put all his power into his hand and he heard a crack.

" Like I give a damn about your broken bones!!" Akira yelled at himself and pulled out Haruno like a fish.

She flew out of the manhole and landed on Akira on the footpath.

The furious wolf man climbed the ladder and at last the car reached the manhole. Akira and Haruno moved away and like a whack a mole....

WHAAAAAAMMMM....

The car's bumper crashed into the monster's face and it fell down the ditch.

They both started running away and finally stopped after ten minutes.

" Pant....pant....pant....did it die?" Haruno asked while panting and sweating heavily.

Akira sat down in the middle of a footpath and wheezed. He held his injured arm that still hurt like hell.

"No, probably not *wheeeeeeze* that's not enough to even knock it out *wheeeeze* Dunno how Sugawara's gonna do it."

" Ok ok stop talking and just breathe. This is what happens when you don't exercise daily."

" Rich coming from a girl who weighs over 55 kilos."

Haruno grabbed his neck to prevent him from breathing.

" Oye! Oye! Haruno stop! I just escaped death few minutes ago!!" Akira was getting choked.

She left his neck and then looked depressed

" What do we do about the men who were stuck in the capsule?"

" Hmm....we should report it to the police right away I guess. But knowing your dad, he might've already moved and hid somewhere else."

" Ooohh!! As expected from the boy who used to look up to me." A man in a lab coat sat behind them and smiled.

Akira and Haruno moved away immediately. Akira drew his knives and threw it at him. The man in the lab coat caught it with surprising speed.

" Isn't it a little rude to greet someone with knives after a long time?"

" This is the best way to greet a criminal like you"

The man laughed and looked at Haruno and smiled

" You've grown up so well Haruno! You look just like your mother!" The man was sitting with his legs folded.

" Don't you dare speak about mother! Does mother know what you're doing, father?"

Haruno glared at him. This man here was Haruno's father, Asano Yume.

" Ooh puberty does change people! Before you used to call me papa, now I reverted back to father huh."

" Cut the crap and tell us why you're doing this!!" Haruno yelled at him.

" Sigh.... To think that my daughter would turn out like this." He got up and started laughing

" What's so funny?!!!" Akira gripped the knife harder.

" You kids were gonna report to the police right? Go on! The monster you just fought was just playing around. Hahaha, after all, you're my beloved children. I wouldn't do something to harm you. I told him to play with you while I was watching through the cameras."

" Cameras??"

" Yes....The moment you left the manhole, we were already cleaning up and shifting to another area. There isn't even a single trace if us."

" We?? You mean you had accomplices?"

" Of course! Without them nothing would've started or ended....It's your loss kids.... No one is able to take down my wolf monster. As a token of mercy I'll allow both of you to live while you see others die. Isn't it a good deal?"

He looked at the time and started walking away

" Well then....see you around." He waved his hand and laughed.

" You're mistaken about the fact that no one can beat your monster. Sure the soldiers were pretty useless against it. But a few days later, a man will appear and bring you back to your senses."

Then Asano remembered his monster's broken jaw.

" Hoho.... Well then, let him come and I'll teach him the true meaning of a monster."