Reunion and Revelations

After their encounter with the unknown person, Ryo and Kenji sat at their wooden coffee table inside their apartment, the words of the mysterious person still echoing in their heads.

Ryo, sipping his cup of coffee, broke the silence, "I can't shake off what that creepy guy told us." He turned to Kenji and continued, "Do you think it's related to what happened that night?"

Kenji, tapping away at his laptop keyboard, replied, "I don't know, but no matter what I do, I can't access this flash drive."

Ryo let out a frustrated sigh. "Do you think it's time to seek help?" Kenji turned to Ryo and asked, "Who do you have in mind?" Ryo grinned slightly and said, "You know exactly who."

On that same evening, amidst the bustling streets of Shibuya, a tall figure in a black suit stood beside his office window, holding a glass of whiskey. Takeshi gazed out at the city lights, lost in thought, reminiscing about a particular mission from their childhood.

Back in 2009, on a stormy night, a high-end hotel stood in the red-light district of Kabukicho. Three children in protective armor, armed to the teeth, stormed the establishment. The floor was littered with lifeless bodies, and the room was painted crimson. Takeshi's voice crackled through their earpieces, "Ready, Daichi?" Daichi nodded, gripping his suppressed pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. Yuji positioned himself in front of a hotel room door. "Alright, 3…2…1…GO!" he shouted, kicking the door open.

As the door swung open, Daichi lunged and captured their target. The room was spacious, littered with bottles of various liquors and an overflowing ashtray. While Takeshi scanned the room, Yuji shut the door and locked it. Daichi secured the target to a chair.

Their target was a wealthy businessman, and their orders were clear: eliminate him once identified. Standing before the target, Takeshi leaned in and inquired, "I'm curious, why does someone want you dead? What have you done wrong?" Yuji interjected, "Hey, we're told not to ask questions."

Takeshi, wearing a sly smile, backed away from the target. "I know," he said, pointing his gun at the target. "Anyway…"

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted their thoughts. Takeshi asked, "Who is it?" "Boss, it's me, Rei," replied Rei, Takeshi's subordinate.

"Ah, Rei, come in," Takeshi said as he placed his glass on the table. "What do you have for me?" Takeshi inquired. "We received word from our contacts in Chiba. They've completed their task and are en route back here," Rei reported. Takeshi smiled and replied, "Excellent work. Thank you, Rei. You can go now." "Yes, Boss," Rei acknowledged.

Takeshi led an organization that protected the vulnerable, with a network of informants across Japan. Currently, they were keeping a close watch on a drug-dealing gang causing havoc in the area. Twelve years had passed since the facility incident, and Takeshi had become the keeper of valuable information, which he could leverage with the authorities.

As the evening continues, Takeshi receives a phone call from one of his informants, the informant, his voice shaking said, "Boss, I'm sorry.", with a confused look, Takeshi asked, "Is something wrong?". There was a brief silence throughout the phone call and suddenly a gunshot was heard then a voice came through, "Your boys are dead, Chiba is ours! We're the Ginrui-kai and you can't stop us!", the phone call ended with laughter from the gang's leader.

Because of this, Takeshi, with a grin on his face said to himself, "I see, I guess it's time." Takeshi called his trusted subordinate, Rei, to his office. He gave her a note and said, "I need you to give this to someone, his name is inside." Rei replied, with the note in her hands, "Yes Boss, I will."

After Rei left Takeshi's office, she arrived at an army base. At the front gate, the guards stopped her and asked, "What business do you have?", Rei replied, "I need to see Captain Yuji." with a calm and composed voice, she continued, "Tell him, I have a message from his brother." The guards stared at her with suspicious looks on their faces but eventually radioed Captain Yuji to come to the front gate.

Captain Yuji, a tall and stoic man with a strong sense of duty, arrived at the front gate. He looked at Rei and asked, "You have a message from my brother?" His voice trembled with a mix of anticipation and worry.

Rei nodded respectfully and handed him the note Takeshi had given her. Yuji quickly opened it and scanned the contents. His expression shifted from curiosity to shock as he read the message Takeshi sent him.

"It's really from him," Yuji murmured to himself. He then looked at Rei and asked, "Where is my brother?" Rei replied, "I cannot tell you his location but I can let him know if you want to meet him."

"I see. Ginrui-kai, huh?" Yuji clenched his jaw, his duty as a military officer now clear. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Tell Takeshi I'll head to Chiba immediately. Thank you for delivering this message." Rei nodded and left the army base.

The next day, Ryo and Kenji sat in their apartment, staring at the mysterious flash drive with furrowed brows. They knew they needed Hana's help to unlock its secrets, but there was one small problem – they had no idea how to contact her.

Kenji sighed, "We're stuck, Ryo. We don't have Hana's phone number or her address. How are we going to find her?"

Ryo scratched his head, deep in thought. Then, a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Remember when we were kids, and Hana used to tell us she wanted to be a writer someday?"

Kenji's eyes lit up with realization. "Yeah, she always said she'd write the most amazing stories."

Ryo nodded enthusiastically. "What if we try to find her on TV? Maybe she's become a famous writer, and we can catch her in an interview or something."

Kenji chuckled, "That's a long shot, but it's worth a try."

The twins quickly put on their jackets and headed to a nearby television studio, determined to find Hana on national television. As they arrived, they were greeted by the bustling activity of a TV production set.

Ryo scanned the area, his eyes darting from one TV screen to another. "We need to find the writers' section. Hana should be there!"

Kenji followed Ryo, his gaze fixed on the various studios and stages. "Do you think we'll spot her among all these people?"

Ryo shrugged, "We have to try. Let's ask someone if they've seen a famous writer named Hana."

As they approached a group of people, Ryo tapped a crew member on the shoulder. "Excuse me, have you seen a writer named Hana around here?"

The crew member gave them a puzzled look and replied, "Hana who?"

Kenji chimed in, "Hana, the famous writer!"

The crew member burst into laughter. "You guys have a great sense of humor. There's no famous writer named Hana here."

Ryo and Kenji exchanged disappointed glances. Maybe their plan wasn't as foolproof as they'd thought. The twins continue their quest to find Hana and ask for help to access the mysterious flash drive.

Meanwhile in Chiba, the squad of the Japanese Self-Defense Force that Yuji is leading has been investigating the crimes that the Ginrui-kai has been doing in the city. They stumbled across a vegetable store, as they approached the inside of the store, they saw two lifeless bodies of an old couple.

"They might've been the owners." Yuji crouched near the bodies as he told one of his subordinates. "Where's the forensics?" Yuji asked, "They're on their way, sir." The subordinate answered. "Good," Yuji said while he stood up, he walked out of the store to have a smoke and turned to give orders to his soldiers. Suddenly, a car arrived in front of him. Two people stepped out of the vehicle, they introduced themselves as detectives. As Yuji stared at them, he noticed one of the detectives, a woman with long, silver hair, seemed familiar to him. "Yumi?", Yuji asked, the female detective stopped and looked where the voice came from, she saw Yuji with his brows furrowed, "Yuji? Is that you?" she also asked.

After twelve years, Yumi and Yuji have again crossed each other's paths. The tension hung in the air as their eyes locked, memories of the past and secrets long buried resurfacing. What had brought Yumi to this scene, and what did she know about Yuji's hidden agenda? The reunion of these old acquaintances promised to reveal long-buried truths and set in motion events that neither of them could have anticipated.