Chapter 26
41]
Officer Akihiko Nijima sat in his car alongside his partner, Junpei Iori. The two of them were enjoying a fast food dinner as they staked out the site of an upcoming high tech weapons deal.
“Aaaand that basically sums up my past 5 relationships.” Junpei finished his story while simultaneously eating his burger.
“That’s great Junpei, but I didn’t really ask.” Akihiko responded.
His partner ignored the response, “What about you? How are the women in your life?”
“You know no girl could ever replace Minako. As for my girls, I couldn’t be prouder of them. Makoto’s student council president and scoring perfect grades, and Sae was recently promoted to head of security at Shido Sciences.”
“That’s great! Feels like forever since I last saw them. How about them? Any plans for future grandchildren?” Junpei elbowed his partner playfully.
“Ha! Not a chance. They’re both way too focused on their futures to be concerned with that.”
“Gee, where have I heard that before.”
“What? It’s not a bad attitude to have! It’s important for them to be well-rounded people with goals!”
“I know, it’s just...You were the same before you met Minako. All you could ever talk about was your boxing career and protein.”
“Yeah,” Akihiko looked back on memories of his late wife nostalgically. “She really was something. Look, if they find someone who means to them what she meant to me, they’ll have my full support.” The two of them sat in silence for a moment. “Doesn’t mean I won’t threaten the shit out of them though.”
“Naturally.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Akihiko spotted a large shadowy figure carrying a briefcase approaching the site. He nudged his partner to get his attention and the two of them watched silently as the exchange began to go down.
The headlights on a mint green van nearby lit up as the engine came to life. It slowly approached the figure before the back doors opened up and several more shady figures hopped out. Each of the shady figures carried a large case meant for a musical instrument.
With the buyers and sellers at the scene, it was time to act. Akihiko and Junpei nodded to one another before preparing their sidearms. The two got out of their vehicle and approached the figures.
“Tokyo Police Department! Everybody put your hands up!” A spotlight lit up the area as a police helicopter flew above the criminals. Several more officers appeared from all sides, their weapons each trained on a target.
“Shit!” The crooks popped open their cases to reveal glowing purple lights inside.
“Put those down!” Junpei shouted from beside his partner.
The crooks didn’t oblige and instead pulled free their weapons. Large silver machines with neon lights in roughly the shape of rifles. The police responded by opening fire on the criminals to little effect as they took cover behind their vehicles.
“Put down your weapons and surrender! This is your final warning!” A voice sounded from a megaphone in the helicopter above. Silence then sounded throughout the area and the police slowly took careful steps towards the van.
Suddenly, a loud whirring noise came to life and a beam of bright purple light shot into the sky. The helicopter was struck by the beam and exploded into a purple cloud. The other criminals then popped out from their cover and began firing smaller beams at the police on the ground.
“Holy shit!” Junpei cried out as he and Akihiko dove behind cover. The cries of their fellow officers sounded out over the chaos as they were completely outgunned.
“What the hell are we gonna do!?” Junpei turned to Akihiko, desperate for a solution.
Akihiko didn’t respond and instead stood up from their cover. He took aim at one of the gunmen and fired several shots from his pistol. The shots didn’t hit the gunman but rather one hit his rifle's neon lights.
Whatever part he hit, he damaged the rifle badly, the whirring noise sounded loudly again and the rifle exploded in the man’s hands. The resulting shockwave sent the rest of the gunmen and the van flying from their original spot.
“Move in!” Akihiko called out to his fellow officers as he led the charge to arrest the downed criminals. His pistol was still raised in preparation for anyone still standing. He saw the exploded remains of the rifle he shot along with a pile of ash that he assumed was originally it’s owner.
The rest of the shooters were spread out across the ground seemingly disoriented. Akihiko signalled to his fellow officers to quickly cuff them. By his count, there was still one criminal unaccounted for, the large man with the briefcase.
Suddenly, as if on cue, the body of an officer in full riot gear flew past Akihiko and hit a nearby wall with a sickening crack. He turned to where the body came in from and from the shadows emerged a large imposing figure. “
The man had to be nearly 8 feet tall, he wore a large purple button-up shirt with a black coat and slacks. His skin was a pale grey color and his hair was a ghostly white. He stared down at Akihiko and he got a good look at his eyes, bloodshot with yellow sclera and red irises. His rotting teeth were sharpened to a point as he smiled down on his prey. This was a notorious criminal of Tokyo’s underground, Junya Kaneshiro, Tombstone.
“Hey there lil’ policeman.” His voice was low and gravelly, further adding to his intimidation.
Akihiko fired the remaining rounds in his pistol into the behemoth’s gut. The grey man didn’t even flinch as the bullets fell harmlessly to the ground.
“Now you jus’ went and ruined one of my good shirts. You’re gonna pay for that.”
Akihiko backed away and loaded another clip, only for his foe to quickly move forward and grab the barrel of his gun. Akihiko fired off several more rounds into his hand to no effect and the gun’s barrel creaked and bent between the man’s fingers. Akihiko released his now unusable weapon and backed away from his foe once more.
While most officers would back down at this point, Akihiko was not most officers. He readied his fists and took up a fighting stance.
Tombstone saw this and let out a chuckle. “For real? I’m gonna enjoy this!” He lunged forward with his fist raised.
Akihiko weaved to the side and got in two quick jabs and a punch to the jaw before moving away again. His fists felt like he’d just punched a cinder block barehanded and his opponent seemed surprised, but not hurt in any way.
“The fuck?” The large man looked at the officer incredulously. The surprise in his eyes turned to anger as he moved in again, this time trying to grab his opponent.
Akihiko ducked under him and this time delivered a kick to the jaw, he heard a loud clack as the man’s sharp teeth were forced together. Taking advantage of his surprise this time, the officer delivered another gut jab, grabbed the man’s massive arm, and, using his immense wait against him, flipped him over his shoulder.
The young officer once again resumed his fighting stance as he intently watched his opponent on the ground. The large man’s eyes were wide with shock and he seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened. His senses returned to him after a few moments and he got up from the concrete.
“What the hell!?” The man rubbed his jaw. “The fuck are you? Supercop?”
“I’m just a guy who doesn’t know when to give up.” Akihiko attempted to control his breathing, this fight was taking a lot out of him.
Tombstone charged forward for a tackle and this time, Akihiko was unable to avoid it. He was slammed hard against a wall, knocking the wind from his lungs. Looking up, Kaneshiro was already winding up for a punch while pinning him to the wall.
Thinking quickly, the martial artist hit a pressure point on Tombstone’s wrist and, fortunately for Akihiko, his attacler’s grip loosened enough for him to free himself. He then delivered a kick that would shatter a normal person’s kneecap, but Tombstone was no normal person.
More irritated than anything, Kaneshiro wrapped his hand around the officer’s throat and lifted him off of his feet. He then used his other massive fist to punch him in the gut, Akihiko felt his intestines shift and several ribs break. Before he could even think about the damage that had done, another blow struck him directly in the face.
Akihiko's face was bloody, one of his eyes was swollen shut, several teeth had been knocked loose and his nose was broken. Despite all of that, he clung to consciousness and attempted to pry the large fat fingers around his throat.
Tombstone chuckled at the sight, “Goddamn! You really are a fighter! I’ll be sure to remember you officerrrr...Niijima. Huh, sounds familiar.” He read Akihiko’s nametag aloud.
As Akihiko struggled against the large fist, the corners of his vision were going dark. His life began to flash before his eyes and his mind drifted to his family. Mako and Sae, still so young. They had already lost their mother, and now, they’d lose their father too. He’d never get to watch Makoto go to the prom, or graduate. He’d never get to make the girls’ favorite blueberry waffles for breakfast again. He’d never get to walk them down the aisle, or play with his grandchildren.
A light shined out of the corner of his eye. This was it. At the very least, he’d finally get to see Minako again. The light was coming closer now, it was the only thing visible anymore. He finally decided to let go and drift off. It was time to be with the woman he loved again.
As he closed his eyes, a feeling of calm came over him.
That calm was then interrupted by the sound of a car horn blaring loudly followed by the sound of metal crunching and glass shattering.
Akihiko hit the ground hard but was finally able to draw breath. He gasped for air and opened his one good eye to see the blurry image of a figure in front of him.
“-EY! HEY! You still with me!?” It was Junpei. “Oh thank god! We gotta get you outta here, you’re in bad shape.”
Akihiko turned his head and saw what’d happened. Junpei had rammed the squad car directly into Kaneshiro who was now pinned against the side of a building slumped over the hood.
“That won’t *huff* hold him.” Akihiko managed between breaths.
“I know. But it’ll buy us time. C’mon.” Junpei slumped his partner over his shoulder and the two hobbled towards the other officers as quickly as they could manage. The others were finishing capturing the criminals who’d violently resisted arrest.
“We need to get out of here! NOW!” Junpei called out to them. As soon as he said that, they heard the squad car being moved followed by a violent yell from behind them.
“Shit he’s awake! Hurry! C’mon!” Junpei continued to drag his partner alongside him.
“Junpei.” Akihiko said quietly through his sore throat. “Go. I’ll just slow you down.”
“No way man! I’m not gonna leave you.”
“Jus-*cough* *cough* Just go!”
Before Junpei could respond, the sound of yelling became louder and he turned around to see Tombstone charging straight for them.