I sat in the gym on the bleachers, scrolling on my phone with Benji, the two of us sharing random reels and shorts to each other and sharing laughs with one another. The day was coming to an end and conveniently I shared a class with Rebecca, so I could keep watch with her while she played with the other girls.
To the left of the gym, the boys were running a game of basketball with one another while the girls were using the other half of the court to play dodgeball. The gym was divided by a large net, but still required Mr. Hoshido's supervision while Tsubami was gone.
'I wonder what type of shenanigans we're going to be on today...' I said mentally as I stretched, keeping an eagle eye upon the girl's side for Rebecca.
"Yo dude, look at what happened in Fujitori earlier today..! Some old abandoned building just exploded..!" Benji exclaimed under his breath, not trying to draw too much attention to us.
I rose an eyebrow and leaned over to see what Benji was looking at on his phone, noticing he was reading an article about a failed St. Fraskia Mission due to a guy named Sankaku destroying the building. I hummed lightly and crossed my arms, exhaling softly and sat back in my seat.
"Who was on this mission...aside from Heido? Seriously, bro has to come back to school if he's gonna just throw his life away," I questioned, stretching my arms with a soft exhale.
"A Captain named Rein Damo and his partner, Kyoto Nagagami. Do you know either of them?" Benji asked, looking over at me then gasped, leaning over to me. "Is she...that Vanishing Nagagami?"
"Banished," I corrected then looked over at Rebecce once again with a soft chuckle. "And yeah, I've been doing research on my free time and I'm not too sure on how to approach her, but right now I have to focus on my task."
Benji looked over at who I was staring at then noticed it was Rebecca and turned his phone off. "How are you doing this? Juggling five different personalities around like this? Oh, you should be a bit careful with Rebecca though. She has this ex boyfriend and—"
"Mmm, an ex huh? You don't mean that guy aura farming over there?" I asked, pointing over at the boys side of the gym.
Benji looked over at who I was pointing at and noticed a guy in school uniform leaned against the bleachers, his cool blue-gray eyes lingering upon Rebecca's figure in her gym uniform. He looked over at me with impress, wondering how I figured out the person so quickly.
I leaned back against the bleachers coolly, resting one arm along the bleacher behind me and let out a thoughtful hum. "Her having this ex is going to be a problem...not for me in a love triangle sense, but for me because I can tell he's not over her."
"Like he's obsessed with her?" Benji asked, looking at Rebecca's ex once again.
I watched as he pulled out a wishing bone from his pocket then glanced back over at Rebecca, noticing her taking a glance over at me with a shy smile as she spoke with her friends. 'I wonder...has Dad ever had to go through this situation with Mom? How do I even approach his..?'
Even if I had Perfect Insight on the guy, I would still have to figure out his motive with a wishing bone. I only used wishing bones for fun with my parents as a child, and never really believed it had power... However, this guy is putting his faith into this one bone.
I rolled my head slowly in a circle and let out a soft breath, clearing my mind as I began focusing on my next personal target. "Alright, let's just do this..."
The guy standing against the bleachers looked over at me as I stood up, watching as I threw my blazer over my shoulder with confidence and stepped down onto the girl's side of the gym. Mr. Hoshido looked over at me, noticing my gaze land upon him and he gave me a subtle nod before going back to what he was doing.
{Chapter 23: Obsession}
Rebecca watched me walk over to her, her friends also turning around to look at me as I approached the group. She immediately began to grow shy, her cheeks flushing softly as I stood next to her with a warm smile. "H-Hi, Motosaki..~"
"Really? We're allowing a boy on this side? You know, you're lucky you're on the Council," Mai said, pointing her finger at me with a dry stare, yet I could tell it was her usual playful sarcasm.
"Cut Motosaki some slack, Mai~ Obviously, he's here to check on his girlfriend. I guess he got tired of his boyfriend over there," Pon teased, gently pushing Mai's hand down with a giggle.
I rolled my eyes at Pon's comment then glanced back at where Rebecca's ex once stood, noticing he was gone then exhaled softly. 'Where did he go?'
Rebecca noticed I was looking over at the boy's side of the gym and tilted her head then gently grabbed my hand. "Motosaki...focus on me...don't look for him. He's old news."
I looked down at my hand, feeling a cold sensation around my hand yet stayed calm and looked over at Rebecca with a smile then held her hand as well. "Ah, so I guess you figured out why I came over here?"
As I chuckled with the group, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I heard a dual tone in Rebecca's voice as if Nanako had greatly influenced her. Putting the feeling passed me, I took Rebecca and her friends outside to the soccer field to get some fresh air.
"M-Motosaki? Where are you pushing us to?" Rebecca squeaked, looking back at me as I gently led her onto the soccer field with her friends.
"Hey, you don't need to push!" Mai scoffed, grunting as she stumbled forward and looked up to see Reiko, Ara, and Hanna kicking a ball into the goal by themselves.
"Ugh, I'm so bored! When does this dumb class end so the day can?" Reiko groaned, looking over at Satoshi, Kenji, and Kaido sitting on the outside bleachers. "Did you not hear me? I said I'm bored!"
Kaido used an ear cleaning tool to clear his ear from wax, one of his eyes closed while with other was looking elsewhere. "Yeah, yeah, we heard you woman! You think we wanna be here either?"
"You all are free to go whenever you please, but good luck getting passed Otsuki and Lotus. Ichiban might even catch you and he's not even top five, you slackers..." I said, walking onto the field with my hands behind my back.
Kaido looked over at the sound of my voice, a grin stretching across his lips with excitement as he bounced up from his seat. "Izuna! Finally, you show your face to me again!"
Rebecca grunted softly and wrapped her arms around mine, sticking closely to me in a docile manner as she tried to hide away from Kaido. "What's that guy's deal with you? Why is he so obsessed with you..?"
"Right, this type of rivalry is so one-sided, but hey...if a man loves trash as treasure..." Pon began, leaving her quote open ended and crossed her arms.
"What...could that even mean?" Ara asked, raising her eyebrow with confusion.
I chuckled softly and gently pat Rebecca's head, before slipping out of her hold and stepping forward. "Yo!"
Kaido let out a scoffing laugh and stomped his foot down against the bleachers. "Yo! This is recognized Hound Territory! Go over to the kiddie section with the First Year and the Pups! You have no business here."
"Oh, I got business here with you, Yamamoto! I need you to tell me about your spiritual friend keeping a bone in his pocket like a lucky charm," I said, slipping my hand into my pocket.
Kaido sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes at me as I spoke, crossing his arms and sitting back down on the bleachers. "Amon Mato? Yeah, that guy gives me the creeps and I don't even remember why we accepted him."
"It was the pills," Kenji said, his eyes never leaving his screen as he swiped right on every profile on a dating app.
"Drugs!?" Pon blurted out then grunted as Hanna kicked a soccer ball into her stomach. "Nnnghh...! You...bi—"
"Shush your mouth, simpeton! You would never understand the art of pushing P, like that one guy said, 'I'm pushing P cuz imma body a perso!'" Hanna exclaimed, doing her best gangster pose but failing at it.
I gave Hanna a slight face of disgust and judgement, looking her up and down and sucked my teeth. "Dababy? Girl, no one had heard of him in over four centuries. No way you're admitting to a crime with ancient music tastes..."
"Why are you even wondering about him? Worried you'll have a bit of competition for your girlfriends?" Reiko asked, looking at me with a judgemental gaze and crossed her arms.
I looked at Reiko then over at Kaido, who was staring at me and waiting for my answer. I looked over at Rebecca and thought about how to answer them. "I am just curious about him is all. After all, if they do have some unresolved issues, it's best if they hash it out right?"
Kaido chuckled at my comment and stood up, placing his hands in his blazer pockets as he walked to me. "You are way too idealistic. Who's to say he won't try to steal her from you? I mean, I almost did with Naomi."
"Yeah, no you weren't," I replied with a chuckle then looked over in the distance of the soccer field, noticing Amon watching from a distance. "Besides, even if you did beat me, Naomi wouldn't have chosen you. Let's be real."
Kaido looked over to where I was looking at and noticed Amon walking off when he noticed I had spotted him again. He grinned at Amon and looked over at me, humming softly. "I can see you have him in your sights now, but as a Yakuza Leader, I can't just hand over one of my own to you."
"I know you won't, and I won't need you to. He'll come over to me when the time is right. I am not worried in the slightest," I said, looking back at Kaido with a confident smile then turned away to walk off. "I'll catch you barking pups later."
Ara scoffed at my comment and crossed her arms, watching me and my group walk off. "Barking pups...I can not stand that guy, honestly."
"Me neither, but he did vouche for us to even have official Hound Territories in Matsugaya. Tch! I hate having to owe someone else something," Reiko scoffed, walking off to get the soccer ball to continue kicking the ball.
The day continued to pass by, the final bell ringing to signal the end of the school day. Swarms of students began exiting the building while teachers waved them goodbye at the entrances. Though the number of bodies in the building was low, the energy within the building remained high.
I stood at the window of the Student Council Room, my arms crossed as I watched the last few remaining normal students and faculties leave the campus. Soon, the only people remaining were those with tutoring, extracurriculars, or people like me, Tsubami, and Mr. Hoshido.
"So what now? School is finished, can we go home now?" Emma asked with a light groan, leaning forward against the meeting table with her head resting upon her arms.
"Emma's right, the bell has rung and we don't have any Seminars right now. Are we free to leave?" Naomi asked, looking at me with a pleading expression.
I looked over at the girls, each of them looking exhausted with the Monday-itus, except Rebecca as she still seemed like she had a bunch of energy left. Without Tsubami and Lotus on the scene, my role as Vice Student Council President was more apparent and clear.
"Alright, you all can go home. Rebecca, you can stay with me. I still have some things to do around the school," I said, giving them a smile once each girl's eyes lit up with happiness.
"Okay~! I'll see you at home, Saki-kun~!" Aisha giggled, standing up quickly in her seat with her belongings gathered.
"We'll see you tomorrow, Motosaki and Rebecca. I hope you two have a wonderful afternoon," Otsuki said with her usual graceful smile, giving us a bow before leaving the room.
I watched each one leave one by one, leaving only me and Rebecca behind. The room began to drop in temperature slightly, Rebecca's gaze upon me growing stronger. I glanced over at Rebecca, seeing her shy, bashful eyes meeting mine with soft Rosy cheeks.
I walked over to Rebecca and smiled at her, gently brushing a strand of her hair from her face. "As promised, we'll go visit the cat alley on campus. But first, I'll have to handle some of my tasks..."
"I know cats are more of Emma's thing...but I just wanna know what makes them so special. Oh, what about the bunny garden? I really like bunnies, they're my aunt's favorite animal too," Rebecca spoke in a soft breath, enjoying my thumb gently stroking her cheek.
Before I could reply to her, the door swung open with the handle slamming into the wall. Rebecca and I looked over at the front of the room, noticing Kaido with a wide grin on his face and a soft chuckle.
"Oh sorry, are we interrupting something romantic here?" Hanna asked sarcastically with a giggle, peeking over Kaido's shoulder with a finger wave.
Rebecca suddenly shot up from her seat, her pupils flashing a magenta color as her blood pressure began to rise, the room dropping from a comforting cool to a harsher cold. "Actually, you are. If you two could kindly leave."
"Ahh, but we have business with The Last Izuna over there. You want Amon right? Well, he wants Rebecca so why not kill two birds with one stone?" Kaido chuckled softly, crossing his arms.
I stood up straight from the meeting table then walked over to the window, pulling down the blinds lightly and scouted the campus. My eyes began to gravitate toward the cat alley with a soft suspicious hum, my gaze locking onto the alleyway Nanako was last seen.
"The cat alley is a general favorite to call someone too, I'm guessing he's calling her there? Or maybe the bunny garden on the other side? After all, I do find it suspicious that he shows up now when Rebecca is choosing me," I said calmly, turning around to face Kaido and smirked at him with a chuckle.
"You know, granted, he had all this time to get back with her before the Lord drew me into the picture. Humor me, big dawg, what does he want?" I asked with high curiosity.
"Whoa, you weren't lying...this guy's intuition is off the chain. Is that like his clan's special gift?" Hanna asked, looking at Kaido with genuine impress.
Kaido chuckled at Hanna's comment and exhaled softly. "It might be, honestly. Nothing can really get passed this guy, so I'll humor him. Amon wants Rebecca back and by extension, Rebecca joins the Hounds. In return, he'll give you whatever money or power you want."
"Ahh. I see. So he wants a bribery. I'm guessing he doesn't know I'm SPA?" I asked, raising an eyebrow with a chuckle. "Even if I wasn't, I don't need money nor power. He must not know that my god family are literally the Fugigami and Nagagami Clans."
"Trust me, I tried to tell him that something like that won't work, but he's headstrong. It's not that I care about this shit or anything, Rebecca ain't my ex. It's just..." Kaido began then rubbed the back of his head with a soft exhale. "None of us really like the guy."
"Yeah, he's like super weird, but we tolerate him because he gives us the best fixes and brings us the most cash! You know, regular salons can't do this style!" Hanna said, gently patting her cute loop braids on the sides of her head.
Rebecca scoffed at them and averted her eyes from them. "That's the reason I even broke up with him. All he would do is get high out of his mind and be a douchebag to me. I won't go meet him."
"Let's just give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he does want to talk. Go talk to him," I said, looking at Rebecca.
"What!?" Rebecca exclaimed loudly, the room temperature dropping even lower from my suggestion. "Didn't you just hear what I said?"
"Damn, is it getting cold in here or something? Ms. Okabe gotta turn off the AC in this building," Kaido said, blowing into his hands and rubbing his arms.
I looked over at Kaido and Hanna, knowing they wouldn't dare do Rebecca harm while escorting her to Amon. I smiled at them and looked at Rebecca. "Yeah, I heard you clearly and that's why I want you to talk to him. Can you do this for me? I'll do whatever you want for the rest of the week."
Rebecca gave me a reluctant expression and held her arms, the thoughts of her being separated from me and having to face Amon alone filling her mind. She quickly shook her head and hurried toward me, wrapping her arms around mine in a clingy manner.
"No! I won't do it! You can't make me!" Rebecca said timidly, latching onto me with unnatural strength.
I grunted softly as I felt increased pressure on my arm, the curtains flowing aggressively behind me from Nanako's increased panic. I took my arm from her with a bit of struggle then lifted Rebecca's head by her chin to make her look at me.
"Trust me on this. You and I will never know what he wants if we don't go. You won't be alone in this, but if we want him to talk, you have to go alone. You won't be separated from me, you'll know when I'm near. You'll feel it," I said with soft reassurance, speaking to Nanako directly to calm her down.
"I know I will, but I don't want to meet a Mato!" Rebecca cried out, thumping her foot down on the ground like an angry hare.
"Can you two hurry your couple argument up? It's getting a bit too cold and I think Hanna here has frozen up," Kaido said, looking back at Hanna, who had comical icicles hanging from her nose and frost covering her eyebrows.
"I-I-I'm...f-f-fine..." Hanna shivered, slowly holding up a thumbs up with a shaky arm.
I looked back at Kaido and Hanna then curled my lips, noticing ice slowly covering their feet like a cartoon from the dropping temperature. I looked back at Rebecca and noticed hints of magenta in her eyes then held her cheeks in my hands, her cold body immediately freezing my hand.
"You won't end up the same way twice...It won't happen, and I can promise that. I will be close," I said in a soft tone, brushing her cheeks with my thumbs.
Rebecca stared at me silently, her gaze softening as if her spirit knew exactly what I was mentioning even though her mind didn't. A blurry memory that wasn't her own of Nanako and Jeht flashed in her head, the memory too fuzzy for her to perfectly picture but enough for her to understand my words.
Nanako, on the other hand, calmed down immediately at my reassurance as if that's all she wanted before deciding to meet with another Mato Clansman. The room began to warm up immediately, Nanako's presence lessening gradually.
-------------------------
The school bell chimed across the campus as the clock struck 4 PM, most extracurriculars coming to an end and the remaining students getting ready to leave the campus. Kaido and Hanna led Rebecca through the courtyard of the campus, taking a trail that led them toward the cat alley.
Hanna squealed happily as she picked up a cat and held it out to Kaido, who dismissed her with an eye roll due to him not liking cats. Rebecca watched their interactions, more blurry memories flashing in her mind as she continued to follow the two.
The alley was filled with different cats, some orange, some black, some calico, every path and corner was filled with cat beds, bowls, and of course cats. As they reached the end of the path, the alley opened up to a wire fenced animal sanctuary.
Amon stood at the fence, holding a cat and staring out into the open fields behind the school. He heard footsteps approaching then looked back, seeing Kaido and Hanna bringing Rebecca with them. "You two actually brought her and he allowed it?"
"Well, you know. This is what you wanted, so where's the money? Motosaki said we could have the cash," Kaido said, walking over to Amon and held his hand out for the cash.
Amon looked down at Kaido's hand then brought his gaze back up to his face, exhaling softly and reaching into his pocket to take out a wad of cash. He placed it in Kaido's hand. "Can you leave me and Rebecca alone for a bit?"
Kaido looked down at the cash, counting it to make sure it was all there then smirked. He looked up at Amon then turned around and walked away. "Let's go, Hanna. We got what we needed."
Hanna nodded and hopped behind Kaido with a hum, looking back at Rebecca and waved at her. "Bye, Becca~! Have a nice chat!"
Rebecca watched as Kaido and Hanna left, her heart dropping as her two life lines had left her without looking back. She looked ahead at Amon once again, feeling her body growing colder once again.
Amon leaned down to put down the cat he held in his arms. "Rebecca, it's been a while since we last spoke. It's nice to see you again."
Rebecca stayed silent for the most part, her lips pressed tightly together to not let out even a breath from her mouth. She watched as Amon stood back up and held her arms, her body not even budging an inch as her eyes darted around for any sight of me.
"I know you're nervous, but you don't have to be. I just wanted to speak to you alone. We ended on bad terms and I want to fix the wrongs we had," Amon said, noticing Rebecca was still silent then reached in his pocket to pull out stacks of yen. "Look, I have enough money to give us a good life after we graduate. We can have a good life, I can leave this behind."
"I..." Rebecca began, holding her head from her gradually freezing body. Her breathing began to grow heavier, cold puffs of frost leaving her mouth with reach breath. She placed her hand over her heart, feeling it beating faster and faster.
Amon noticed Rebecca's growing excitement, thinking that it was for him and smiled at her. "See? I knew this would be a good thing for us. I have everything planned out for the two of us.."
Rebecca continued to glance around the sanctuary, seemingly searching for something as if Nanako were also searching. Seeing nothing worth noting, she looked back at Amon, her pupils shining a venomous magenta color.
"We could also find your aunt, Ms. Nousagi Akechi. After all, the Mato Clan loves to help out everyone we trust," Amon said with a smile, unaware of Rebecca's magenta pupils.
"Is that so..? How would you help me and my family in a way that Motosaki can't? After all..." Rebecca began, her gaze growing more serious with wider eyes, her tone becoming more cold and harsh. "Your clan is known for deceitfulness..."
Amon rose an eyebrow at Rebecca's tone, noticing it sounded unnaturally heartless and unloving. A few goosebumps began to grow on his arms, an unnerving feeling bubbling up within him.
I finally made it to the animal sanctuary of the campus, feeling the air in the area was cold. I slipped behind a corner, peeking my head around to see the scene and noticed Rebecca and Amon still talking.
"Deceitfulness? What are you talking about, Rebecca? Sure, I've made a few mistakes in the past but now I've changed. I'm a better man now," Amon said, taking a step forward with his eyes locked onto Rebecca.
Rebecca stared at Amon with wide eyes, the corner of her lips cracking into a smirk. "A better man? From what I'm hearing from your supposed friends, you're still the same unevolved tadpole in a still pond."
"Still with these damn metaphors since I met you in middle school... What do you take me for? Sure, I still am in my family's business, but I'm not like that upperman, Jeht," Amon protested then sped in front of Rebecca before bowing down to her on his knees. "Rebecca, please just accept my apology!"
I watched as Rebecca looked down at Amon, feeling goosebumps crawling on my arms as a dreading feeling began to fill the air. The atmosphere was thick, almost making it impossible to even breathe.
My gaze shifted over to Amon, my eyes focusing mostly upon his face that his short hair couldn't cover. As Amon looked down at the ground, his eyes moved up from Rebecca's silence, his eyes unremorseful yet wanting Rebecca for himself.
Suddenly, a white rabbit began to hop down from the long alleyway, immediately catching my attention with the same golden sigil on his back. As I watched the bunny hop into the sanctuary, the golden sigil began to subtly shift into a camera symbol as he shook his body.
My phone buzzed nearly immediately after noticing the symbol then I took it out of my pocket, noticing my WRLDChat app sending a junk notification.
[Notification: Seeing scenery you really like and captures your eye? Take a picture now before you miss your chance to $4V3 the memory.]
I noticed the word "save" was glitched out and warped, but due to taking computer classes in New America, I was able to quickly decode it. I looked back up at the white rabbit, noticing he was still there then quickly rushed from around the corner and took a picture of Rebecca, Amon, and the White Rabbit.
Rebecca took a step away from Amon with her answer finally in mind, holding her hand up to her chest in a docile manner. "No, I will not take you back. It's over already Amon, and knowing you're still the same...only validates my choice."
Amon sighed softly at Rebecca's rejection, standing up on his feet and dusting off his pants. "Ugh, and I could've chosen the broke girl, Emma, instead of you. I guess Motosaki does make you happier..."
Rebecca gulped lightly as she watched Amon reach behind him, her eyes widening with shock as Amon pulled out a nail gun and took aim at Rebecca. "What the heck!? Amon, what are you doing?!"
"I am too madly in love with you, Rebecca! Why can't you see that?! I'm willing to do anything to get you back, and have everything go back to the way it was!" Amon proclaimed, reaching in his pocket and breaking his wishing bone.
I grunted softly as my goosebumps only grew more on my body, a pressure of energy raising within the sanctuary. The animals in the sanctuary cried out in distress, each one hurrying out of the sanctuary as Amon's energy grew more oppressive.
Amon took his broken wishing bone out of his pocket then placed it on his tongue, the bone dissolving into satura dust. "And I will do anything to make you mine again!"
Without a moment's thought, I rushed forward into the sanctuary just as Amon pulled the trigger. Pushing Rebecca out of the way, I groaned as the nail ripped through the air and impaled my chest, causing me to fall to the ground. I grunted loudly in pain, my entire body tensing up from the nail two inches deep into my heart.
"M-Motosaki!!" Rebecca screamed in terror, crawling over to me quickly and clutched my shirt with a panicked expression. "Motosaki! W-What do I do? Are you okay?"
Amon immediately lowered his weapon as he stared at me on the ground, his body freezing up from the realization of what he had done. However, the satura in his system whispered louder than his guilt, causing him to crack a smile and open up what was in his heart.
"He's done... The last Izuna is... finally dead! Now, no one can stand in my way between me and my girlfriend," Amon sneered and laughed, aiming his nail gun at me again in a deranged manner.
Rebecca looked over at Amon, gasping as Amon pulled the trigger, the nail flying through the air and striking me upon my—
...
...
...
"Wake up..."
...
...
...
"Open your eyes..."
Hearing a strange voice, I began to slowly open my eyes then my eyes shot open as I noticed I was standing in a moment in time before Amon pulled the trigger. My hand instantly rose up to my chest and head, panting heavily in terror as if everything was just a terrible nightmare.
"What the hell..? That felt so real...was that just a vision..?" I asked myself, looking back up at Rebecca and Amon then shook my head to clear my mind. "Focus, Izuna. Let's do this... differently."
I only had a few seconds before Amon pulled the trigger, and instead of waiting for the moment I ran forward now and pushed Rebecca to the side to get Amon to immediately focus on me. "Amon!"
Amon stared at me with a bit of surprise, not expecting me to be here in this moment. "What? I thought we had an agreement! You give Rebecca to me and I give you money...or did you forget that you gave your spoils to Kaido?"
I stared at Amon with a serious expression, balling my hands into fists with a mix of uncertainty and conviction. "I was never going to just hand Rebecca off to you, nor did I tell you the whole truth. I was always going to be here...so not only did you lose Rebecca but you lost money as well."
Amon laughed and lowered his nail gun, covering his face as he began laughing harder. "Oh God...how did I fall for something like this? I should've known your intelligence when I heard those dumb dogs barking about you."
Amon rose his nail gun again, looking back at me with a serious expression. "Nonetheless, it's already too late for you. You've already housed me officially here...I'm here to stay and with that I'm taking what's mine."
I stayed silent as Amon spoke, scanning his body language then scoffed lightly and glanced over at Rebecca. I noticed her staring at me with worry, her body language more nervous than ever with the air only growing colder with tension and Nanako's protective presence.
I looked back at Amon and rolled my sleeves up. 'I still don't know what happened earlier...but if I think it is what it is, this is both a blessing and a curse. However, I was blessed with this in this moment for a reason... saving Rebecca.'
"I hope you're ready to die over a girl!" Amon yelled out, pulling the trigger to fire a nail toward me.
I immediately dodged then dashed to the left, grabbing Rebecca's hand then darted down the cat alley. Amon charged right after us, knowing what I was doing as he's seen it once before. He put away his nail gun and began speeding up, a smirk forming on his face.
Amon rushed forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back from Rebecca then launched a swift punch which landed on my cheek. I grunted as a staggered but recovered my footing, countering immediately with a stiff uppercut to his chin.
'I can't let this guy get all my attention...' I thought to myself as I dodged his next few strings of punches then parried his arm to the side.
After parrying him, I grabbed hold of his wrist then began controlling his movements with a pressure point, soon flipping him over onto his back. I sprinted backwards then ran down the alleyway, using my hands to cup my mouth and let out loud howls in the air.
The bowls echoed down the alleyway, soon reaching the ears of Kaido, who was listening for the signal. He opened his eyes and looked over at Satoshi and Kenji, signalling for them to come along into the cat alley.
"Get back here with my girl, Izuna!" Amon yelled, running down the alley with a wicked agenda.
Rebecca heard Amon's familiar roar then turned around, noticing I was nowhere to be found, only hearing my howls and Amon's laughter through the alleyway. "Motosaki? Where are you?"
I continued to run down the alleyway then noticed a light blue butterfly zipping past me then fluttered in front of my face. I grunted as I swatted at the butterfly, but it just evaded my hand and fluttered in front of me as if to warn me.
I looked behind me, noticing Amon with his nail gun in hand then grunted with slight terror. Looking ahead, I noticed the butterfly in front of me warping left then right then back to the middle, wanting me to follow its movements.
"Screw it..." I said to myself, sidestepping to the left just as Amon shot a nail at me then I grunted in shock before diving to the right to avoid another nail.
I scrambled into my feet and without enough time to get back to the middle normally, I drifted around a corner and swung back around with a leaping roundhouse kick, my foot crashing against Amon's head. Amon groaned as he slammed into the wall, dropping his nail gun in the process.
"I wanted to end this diplomatically as I'm supposed to do, but I guess you need a personal lesson!" I exclaimed, swinging my fist into Amon's side then followed with a knee to his stomach. "Not so tough without your weapon!?"
Amon groaned heavily as I struck his stomach with a vengeful knee strike, my knee being driven into his midsection. Amon coughed as he backed into a wall with his hand on his stomach, his eyes moving over to the wooden plank next to him.
I walked forward and cracked my knuckles, my mother's righteous anger filling my eyes as I approached Amon. "Is this what you used to do with Rebecca? You Matos must be spiritually weak..."
"Shut up!" Amon exploded, taking hold of the wooden plank and swung it at my head.
I ducked under the emotional swing then went in for a disorienting uppercut, my fist landing flush onto his chin. I took a step back to avoid his telegraphed kick then studied him militantly, catching his punch and holding his fist in my hand, my gaze growing more calculated and focused.
"Even when boosted up on drugs, you couldn't beat me on my worst day. You're too easy to analyze, someone not worth my time if you didn't have the Mato Clan name..." I said coldly, gripping Amon's fist tighter and not letting go no matter how much he pulled away.
What do you think about this next scene:
"You don't know anything about me!" Amon yelled, finally pulling his hand away and holding up the wooden plank.
"Ah. You'd be right about that, and after analyzing you a bit more...I want to know everything about you before I deliver justice," I said, opening my blazer and showing my SBI Badge to Amon. "I know your clan is one of the largest Yakuza Syndicates in New Japan."
"I know you are related to Jeht Mato, and I know you are closely related as your personality matches to his...you might just be his son," I continued, placing my badge back into the inside pocket of my blazer. "Because of that, I know you know something about Nanako taken you know Nousagi."
Amon paused for a moment, staring at me with cold sweats as if I had seen right into his mind. "What..? You heard that?"
"Nousagi Akechi, The Bright Hare... something about that name rings a bell. Maybe because she's one of the prime suspects in the MHI-30, but I digress. You know information...and I will get it," I said, staring at Amon with a focused gaze.
"Then I will have you and your entire clan behind bars where you belong. Nanako will have justice...even if it has to take 30 more years! Amon, we are going to become very acquainted," I said, chuckling softly at Amon with a passionate glint in my eyes.
"What..? So what? You're not going to call the police on me? You're just gonna let me go? You know I will be after Rebecca again! You will not have her!" Amon yelled out, charging forward then groaned as Kaido charged by me to spear him to the ground.
Kaido pinned Amon to the ground by his shirt and held his fist up, looking down at Amon with a glare. "Yeah nah bro, screw the drugs and money! After what Rebecca told us, you've gone too far! Yeah, we rough people up but only within reason! We are Hounds, not Wild Beasts!"
Amon gripped Kaido's hand with a grin, chuckling softly at him as his eyes began to become red from the satura. "It doesn't matter, you all are now associates of my empire now! If you think about exposing me, your clans will suffer! The Yamamoto Clan, the Toki Clan, and the Fushin Clans will fall with ours!"
Kaido growled lowly at Amon, clenching his fist tighter while Amon threatened to tear down his father's image. "You bastard...leave my father out of the underground! This is between us!"
Kenji grabbed Kaido's fist and began pulling him back. "Hold on, dawg...just chill out real quick because as much as I want to stomp his face in as well, he makes a good point. We did sell to others which would be a scandal for all our clans."
Satoshi groaned lightly then looked at me, shoving me lightly. "Yo, Einstein! You got any ideas on how to get our names off the hit list?"
I looked at Satoshi then looked back over at Amon, crossing my arms and closed my eyes. "What do you want me to do? Beg on my knees to a Mato? If I say anything, Matsugaya becomes a primary target for St. Fraskia."
"What? You're just gonna let him have control over us like this?!" Satoshi erupted, pressing his finger against my arm.
I opened my eyes and exhaled softly. "You all got yourself in this and I'm already dealing with enough issues as is. While the Fugigami and Nagagami Clans tolerate yours, they would never take you all under their wings. If my mother was still alive, she might've..."
Amon sneered at me then stood up, laughing softly. "Oh right, I remember hearing about that. You all were investigating your parents death at New America? Well, let me tell you a little clue...that wasted Banished enemies are the same enemies your father and mother faced!"
I stared at Amon and processed his words and began deciphering it mentally. My parents enemies were the same as the Banished. My parents enemies were the same as Kyoto's. My parents enemies were the Mato Clan.
"Telling you any more than that would be considered snitching, but I just wanted to tell you that before you go on another chase. Let me tell you something else, Nousagi was a Mato before becoming an Akechi," Amon said, walking off with an arrogant laugh.
I watched as Amon walked off, the ring camera footage playing in my mind once again. I stared at the back of Amon's jacket, noticing his Clan Symbol on the back of it. My heart thumped against my chest as his symbol was an 80% match with the cloaked figure that murdered my parents.
Kaido looked at Amon with a glare then turned back toward me, his heart stopping as he noticed my blank stare and felt an immense pressure in the cat alley. As quickly as the wave of wrath washed into the alley, it washed away just as quickly yet left everyone around me speechless.
"A Mato did it...and they are still alive because why would Amon know about it too and say it like that..?" I said quietly, the memory of the ring camera footage starting to become static the angrier and grief filled I became inside.
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What do you think about this final scene of Chapter 23:
I sat on Rebecca's couch, watching as she gently pat an ice pack upon my wounds from my fight with Amon earlier in the evening. The coolness of the bag caused me to hiss lightly in pain which in turn caused Rebecca to jolt back. Rebecca lowered the ice pack and stared at me, guilt filling her soft eyes.
I looked up at Rebecca, a soft smile curling on my lips and I gently pat her leg in a reassuring manner. "You don't have to look so guilty. It isn't your fault. I didn't know he would go so crazy like that, so I should be the guilty one."
"I...N-No, it's not your fault either, Motosaki. I should've broken things off with him for good a while ago, but I just wanted to make sure he was okay. But why? Why did you make me go talk to him alone?" Rebecca asked, her guilty voice begging for my answer.
I exhaled softly and closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the back of the couch and let out another sigh. "Because it was the only way he would truly expose himself. If he had known I was there from the start, he would've strengthened his mask."
Rebecca watched me take my phone out of my pocket and unlock it, the screen displaying a picture I had took earlier moment before Amon took the shot. She gasped lightly and quickly looked up at me. "You were there the entire time..?"
I looked at Rebecca with a smile, brushing her hair behind her ear and hummed softly. "I promised you didn't I? Plus, with this picture, I can start an investigation upon Amon. It's not much, but it brings us closer to finally getting justice. Just be patient with me for a bit longer..."
Rebecca gave me a smile then cuddled up beside me, resting her head upon my shoulder with a nod. I wrapped my arm around her, my hold upon her causing her to giggle softly and her heart to flutter as if butterflies were inside her.
We stayed like this for a while, the intimate comfort broken by the sound of the front door opening. The two of us looked back at the front door, watching it open and noticing an older woman walking inside, kicking off her shoes immediately, and taking the pins out of her bun to let her hair down.
"Mei-chan! I'm home!" The woman announced as she stepped inside the living room, taking a look over at the couch to see Rebecca cuddled up with me and rose an eyebrow. "Hm? Mei, who's your friend here?"
Rebecca began to stammer over her words, looking between the older woman and me then quickly leaped backwards with embarrassment and a red face. "I— He's— Uhhh..."
I chuckled softly at Rebecca's reaction then stood up from the couch to look at the woman, realizing she had called Rebecca, 'Mei'. "You must be Rebecca's aunt, Nousagi Akechi?"
"I am, and who might you be? Her new lover? A plaything?" Nousagi interrogated immediately, looking me up and down to study my appearance.
Something within me immediately took a liking to Nousagi and I chuckled softly then crossed my arms. I glanced over at Rebecca once again, noticing Nanako was surprisingly calm around Nousagi. "I am Rebecca's close friend, Motosaki Izuna."
"Izuna?" Nousagi repeated immediately, looking at me with a bit of shock then covered her mouth. "You are Mr. Erik's son...are you here to investigate me and Rebecca?"
I looked at Nousagi once again, noticing her genuine surprise then smiled at her and shook my head. "I don't have to. I know you didn't do it, but I do want to ask you about something."