Goodbye Friend

---May 2, 2016

---At Shinagawa Tokyo, Japan

Takashi assessed his surroundings with calculating eyes as he was led toward the police vehicle. Noticing a brief lapse in the attentiveness of the surrounding officers, he sensed his opportunity. With a swift, backward motion, he slammed the back of his head into the face of the officer escorting him.

"Ah!" the officer grunted, releasing his grip on Takashi from the sudden pain.

Seizing the moment, Takashi broke into a sprint, his heart pounding as he heard the officers shout in alarm.

"Stop him!" one officer yelled, drawing his weapon.

"Shots fired, watch the crossfire!" another shouted as bullets whistled by, narrowly missing Takashi who zigzagged through the chaos.

"Damn it, he's getting away!" an officer cursed, as they continued to chase after the fleeting figure of Takashi.

Takashi's breath was ragged, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he darted around a corner, the sound of the officers' frustrated shouts and the crack of gunfire fading into the background. As he disappeared into the maze of city streets, an officer reached for his walkie-talkie with a sense of urgency.

"He's on the run! Heading east from the intersection, all units converge!" he broadcasted, signaling the other nearest station, alerting to capture the fleeing suspect.

---Meanwhile...

Under the makeshift cover of a battered table, Ryujin, Kenji, and Sato lay pinned down as bullets continued to rain down around them, the crack of gunfire echoing through the vast emptiness of the warehouse. Amidst the chaos, Fujikawa's voice repeatedly boomed through a megaphone, calling for their surrender.

"Surrender now! This is your last warning!" Fujikawa's voice resonated, a stern command over the cacophony.

Frustration etched across his face, Ryujin shouted back, his voice thick with irritation,

"Tsk, Enough of this!" He rummaged angrily through his pockets, his fingers closing around the cold, metallic form of a grenade. Kenji, who noticed the movement, his eyes widening in alarm, reached out towards Ryujin.

"Ryujin, no! Don't!" Kenji's voice was tense, edged with desperation.

Ignoring Kenji's plea, Ryujin pulled the pin with a defiant snap.

"Cover your ears!" Ryujin shouted, as he lobbed the grenade through a shattered window.

The grenade arced out of the warehouse, landing amidst a group of SWAT members who were using a police vehicle for cover. The explosion was immediate and deafening, sending a concussive wave of heat and shrapnel outward. Screams and shouts filled the air as the officers scrambled, disoriented and wounded by the unexpected assault.

"Sh*t! Man down, man down!" yelled one of the officers outside, trying to regroup and attend to the injured.

Inside, Kenji turned to Ryujin, his face a mixture of anger and disbelief. "What the hell are you doing? We're not murderers!"

Ryujin, panting from the adrenaline, looked back at Kenji, his expression hardened. "It's us or them, Kenji. Remember that."

Sato, still under the table, clenched his fists, his mind racing with thoughts of survival and escape. He glanced at his companions, realizing the stakes had dramatically escalated with Ryujin's reckless decision. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and the lingering fear of what would come next.

---Until...

In the midst of the chaos, the warehouse doors were violently blown off their hinges by the advancing SWAT team. Ryujin, Kenji, and Sato sprang into action, scrambling towards the nearest exit while returning fire at the approaching officers. Each step forward was punctuated by the deafening roar of their pistols.

Ryujin: "Move! We need to get out of here!"

Kenji: "I'm right behind you!"

As they reached the back exit, Sato's hands shook as he fumbled to open the door, his heart pounding with adrenaline-fueled urgency. But as the door swung open, Sato was met with the chilling gaze of a solitary SWAT member, poised and waiting. Their eyes locked in a tense standoff, both figures instinctively raising their weapons.

Sato: "Oh, sh—"

In the split second that followed, the SWAT member's shotgun erupted with a deafening blast, the sound echoing through the warehouse. Sato staggered back, his body recoiling from the impact as the force of the shot tore through his chest. Pain seared through him, and in that moment, everything seemed to slow down.

Ryujin's senses sharpened as he witnessed the scene unfold before him. Without hesitation, he raised his pistol and fired a single shot, the bullet finding its mark with deadly accuracy. The SWAT member fell to the ground, a lifeless heap, as Ryujin's eyes burned with determination.

Ryujin: "damn it!"

Kenji: "We have to keep moving... We can't stay here!"

With heavy hearts, they left Sato's lifeless body behind, knowing they had to press on if they were to have any chance of survival.

As the chaos continued to unfold outside the warehouse, Fujikawa knelt beside Sato's lifeless body, his heart heavy with sorrow. The sight of his old friend lying there, surrounded by the aftermath of violence, filled him with a profound sense of loss.

Fujikawa: "Sato... Damn it..."

Sato's voice, weak and fading, pierced the air as he pleaded with Fujikawa to visit his son. His words carried the weight of a lifetime of regrets and unfulfilled promises.

Sato: "Please... Take care of my son..."

Fujikawa's eyes glistened with unshed tears as he listened to Sato's final request. The gravity of the moment weighed heavily on him, reminding him of the fragility of life and the bonds that tie us together.

Fujikawa: "I will, Sato... I promise..."

As Sato's gaze drifted towards the ceiling, his voice trembled with emotion as he whispered his last words, a heartfelt apology to Yumi. In that moment, the weight of his mistakes and the pain he had caused weighed heavily on his soul.

Sato: "I'm sorry, Yumi..."

With a final exhale, Sato's eyes fluttered closed, his breathing growing shallow as the last remnants of life slipped away. In his mind's eye, he found solace in the imagined embrace of his wife and the joy of a future that would never come to pass.

As Fujikawa watched over his fallen friend, a sense of profound sadness washed over him. In the midst of tragedy and loss, he vowed to honor Sato's memory and carry on his legacy, for the sake of his son and all those who had been left behind.

---Meanwhile...

As Ryujin and Kenji scrambled up a small grassy slope that led to the highway, they spotted a solitary car parked on the other side of the road. Without a second thought, driven by a mix of panic and anger from Sato's death, Ryujin dashed towards the car, with Kenji close on his heels.

The driver was just starting the car when Ryujin, desperate for an escape, fired his pistol. The bullet shattered the window and struck the man. Ryujin yanked the car door open, his actions automatic in the chaos.

Inside, Ryujin's eyes locked onto a text message glowing on the man's phone:

">There's food in the oven, I won't return for a while, and tell your mother that there's canned foods and medicines in the cabinets. so just ready it for her"

This mundane glimpse into the man's life sent a pang of guilt through Ryujin, making him hesitate. His hands shook as he grasped the full impact of his actions.

Meanwhile, SWAT team members, realizing their targets were slipping away, shouted urgently among themselves:

SWAT Captainr: "They're getting away! Move, move!"

SWAT Officer: "Shots fired! They have a car!"

Kenji, seeing Ryujin's momentary freeze, quickly slid into the passenger seat. His voice was sharp, urgent:

Kenji: "Ryujin, get in! We have to go, now!"

Pulling himself back to the moment, Ryujin gently placed the man's body on the ground, his mind swirling with regret. Climbing into the driver's seat, he started the car with trembling hands. As they sped off, leaving behind the echoes of police sirens and shouted commands, Ryujin's mind replayed the simple, haunting text from the man's phone, a stark reminder of the innocent lives entangled in their escape.

---Some time later...

As the vehicle raced down the highway, Ryujin's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. Memories of Sato's lifeless body flooded his mind, clouding his thoughts.

"You think I don't know that?" Ryujin snapped back, his voice laced with frustration.

"You think I wanted this?"

Kenji's anger flared, his voice rising in accusation. "It's always about you, isn't it? You never think about the consequences of your damn actions!"

Ryujin's jaw clenched, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. "I didn't ask for any of this," he retorted sharply.

"But we're in it together now, whether you like it or not."

Kenji's glare bore into Ryujin, his words dripping with disdain.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for you," he said with an irritated tone.

"You're nothing but a selfish narcissist..."

The tension in the car was palpable, each word hanging heavy in the air. Ryujin's grip on the wheel tightened as he wrestled with his emotions, his mind a whirlwind of regret and frustration.