A and K Chapter 66: Follow the Trail

The gang tries to brainstorm ideas for what Kana could be going after. She playfully teased at the idea of what she was after, but one thing was for certain, she wasn’t after Alexandria. What they did need to know, is what she was after, exactly.
Josh: Hm… perhaps she is out for vengeance… but who is her target? (Sighs) No, that’d be too easy with her connections and skills.
Rin: She’s doesn’t seem to care about family...so what could she be after? A reward?
Kei: Alexandria is safe, she didn’t have to worry about having a roof over her head, could she be after the people who killed her parents?
Josh: It’s a possibility.
Nick: That’s an open case though, we don’t know who did it. Its been a cold case for years.
Josh: Perhaps she’s caught the trail and works on avenging our parents… I don’t know.
Saori: We’re dead in the water then, because we have no leads there either.
Josh: But something serves as a motivation for her. She’s not doing it just for fun.
Kei: So she’s not like Michel, that’s a plus.
Nick: Not like Kon either, or at least we hope.
Josh: Are those two members of the Branch?
Kei: Michel was a man who went insane due to his weapon. He tried to take me with him to hell, but it didn’t work out as he wanted. He was killed when he fell into a vat of molten lead. An end of his own making.
Josh: Ouch.
Rin: Kon was simply an extortionist, kidnapped my mother and forced us to follow under him. He would’ve killed her if not for Kei and HJ.
Nick: I helped too! So did Mai and Yuka!
Rin: You didn’t let me get that far Nick.
Nick: Oh...
Josh: Huh… quite an adventure you had.
Kei: Been quite crazy, yeah. But I can’t say I wasn’t expecting it when Alexandria came into my life.
Josh: Strange things happen in a strange world.
Kei: Indeed. Tell us what you know about your sister Josh, maybe that will tell us something.
Josh: Okay… Kana used to be sweet as a child, but she was also quite… vengeful, I would say. She wasn’t as forgiving as me. The tragedy made her even more ruthless.
Kei: So she’s got an anger issue.
Nick: Isn’t quick to forgive, all the same, don’t think anyone can just forgive the people that killed your parents.
Saori: Point taken.
Kei: So it seems like a pretty driving factor for her, we could conclude?
Nick: Then we should travel back to the precinct. The case files will be there.
Josh: Perhaps.
Kei: Do you have any other ideas?
Josh: Nothing I can think of.
Kei: Then it sounds like our best lead.
Nick: Let’s head out then.
Shigure: It’ll still be a couple of minutes. Let me finish cleaning Kei’s wound.
Nick: Understood, how’s ten minutes?
Shigure: Should be enough.
The gang splits up for a little bit to stretch and relax.
Karin and Rin sit with Kei and Shigure, they watch as she works on healing his wounds.
Karin: Does it hurt?
Kei: Only my pride. (chuckles)
Rin: Takes a strong man to admit he made a mistake.
Kei: I’ll admit I never should’ve gone out alone.
Karin: Still, I’d like to thank you for helping my mother and my sister. If it wasn’t for you…
Kei holds his hand up.
Kei: If you’re going to thank me, thank the others too. HJ, Mai, Yuka, Nick, they all played a part in helping get your mother to safety. If it wasn’t for them, we’d never be able to have freed her.
Karin: I suppose that’s true. I’ll remember to thank Nick and the others when I see them.
Kei looks over to Rin.
Rin: I’m curious.
Kei: Hmm?
Rin: Why did you help us in the first place?
Kei: Don’t you already know the reasons?
Rin: I do, but I’m curious to your motives.
Kei: Kon killed my friend, and he was Shigure’s brother. For me, to see Kon go down. It was a bit of closure for myself. Even if I didn’t land the final punch.
Rin: So this was closure for you too.
Kei: (Nodding) Yeah.
Shigure: It was closure for us.
Rin: And even now, you look happier.
Kei: I guess I lost a lot of weight off of my shoulders.
Rin: Hmm?
Kei: I finally got a chance to talk to someone very important. She gave me a great bit of advice.
Rin: And what would that be?
Kei: I needed to let go. I kept using someone as an excuse for why I couldn’t do something or why I shouldn’t do something. I was holding myself back. She told me to let everything go.
Rin: Hmm…
Karin: And who was this person?
Kei: She was someone very near and dear to me. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without her.
Karin: All the same, please don’t get hurt out there, especially you, Rin.
Rin: (Turns to Karin) Don’t worry, you could say we have an ‘all-star’ cast here.
When the group joins back together, they begin to head off. Karin stays behind once more to protect Rin’s mother.
Nick: Must be tough leaving home again.
Rin: For family, its worth it.
Josh: (Sighs) Yeah… it’s tough.
Rin: We have to look out for our own though,
Josh: You don’t say, huh?
Rin: That’s probably nothing new to you, huh? Sorry.
Josh: It’s okay. I’m just… getting used to my family.
Rin: We’re kind of an eclectic bunch, I know…
Josh: Yeah, I see.
Rin: What were you expecting if I can ask?
Josh: I don’t know… I didn’t expect anything, to be honest.
Rin: I suppose that’s for the best.
Josh: I guess.
Rin: At the very least, you know she’s alive.
Josh: That’s a relief.
Rin: The tough part now is just convincing her to come home.
Josh: We’ll see.
The gang travels back to the police station. A couple of hours on foot in all. They walk back in, and Kei finds a place to sit.
Kei: Why hasn’t someone invented, I don’t know, an easier way to get around?
Nick: They did. But that got blown sky high, or do you not recall your history?
Kei: How hard would it be to create it again then?
Nick sighs and goes to look for the case file on Josh and Kana’s parents.
Josh: Waiting game again.
Saori: Have to find a lot of the information, and its spread out.
Shigure: Well, at least they have a file. Means the police at least looked into it.
Josh: Huh.
Rin: That’s hardly solace, and I imagine that’s what Kana is thinking too. She probably thinks the police don’t give a crap.
The station stops at those words, and shoot a glare in their general direction before returning to work. Rin shrugs it off.
Rin: Whatever, meant what I said.
Josh: There’s a grain of truth in these words.
Nick returns to the group.
Nick: I work with these people, can you try to get along with them?
Rin: I’ll try, sure.
Nick: (Sighing, handing the file to Josh) Here you go, the police’s file on your parents’ murder.
Josh quickly reads through the file, looking for any useful info. He stumbles on a page regarding the investigation.
Josh: Huh… two bodies, a male beastkin… wolf.. and a human… female. The beastkin has several bullet wounds… one of the projectiles went right through the heart… but he managed to survive for a few minutes. The woman was shot in left lung… died from blood loss.
Nick: All the information we gathered from the crime scene is in there.
Josh: The motive of the perpetrator is still unknown… but presumably, it was a mugging.
Nick: Hopefully there’s something in there you can use.
Josh: I guess.
Kei: Can be tough knowing how they died.
Josh: But maybe Kana has found another lead.
Rin: Can’t rule that out.
Josh: There’s gotta be something. I don’t know…
Rin: Think long and hard Josh. If anything she’s going to go after what happened to your parents, my best bet, is that she’s going to return to that crime scene and look for clues she thinks the police must have missed.
Nick: Hey, I resent that.
Rin: I’m glad, but don’t look too much into it.
Nick: (Thinking) Don’t think you understand what the word ‘resent’ means.
Josh: (Closes his eyes) This couldn’t be a simple mugging. It looks like a professional hitman’s job. Everything was performed with such accuracy. A street thug would never achieve such results.
Nick: A professional hit? But who would’ve put out a hit on your parents? And why?
Rin: All good questions, Josh, do you remember what your parents did?
Josh: I remember that my mom was working on some secret project as a scientist. She didn’t tell anyone what exactly was going on there.
Nick: Secret project?
Kei: Josh, if the ‘secret project’ was a success, how much was your family set to gain?
Josh: I don’t know, but I remember Mom said we were going to move to a bigger house.
Rin: Enough to move into a bigger house.
Kei: That’s a lot of money.
Nick: So we have a motive as to why someone might want your parents dead, but whether it was for the project or the money is unclear.
Rin: If it was for the money, they would’ve waited. It has to be about that ‘secret project’.
Kei: Was there any indication as to what it was?
Josh: One word: ‘cloud’.
Nick: ‘cloud’?
Kei: What could that mean?
Rin: It could be talking about Seithr, the clouds in the sky, pollution, who knows?
Nick: But it was enough for someone to put out a hit on his parents to make sure the project was finished.
Kei: I think our next bet is going to that crime scene.
Nick: If you think the phrase, ‘the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime’ is going to work, you’re nuts.
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