Gaea's Locket Ch. 21

~World Cuisines (evening)~

“So... still nothing?” Ryosuke asked as Yui shook her head, “All week, and no one sign... if the final power is around here, they apparently never come to world cuisines.” They were all gather for another meeting, that late evening, but they were still awaiting Keito, Daiki, Yuki, Yuto, Kaori, and Rena.

“Unless they aren’t around here... the world is huge. That power could be anywhere...” Hakufu sighed pessimistically. Shirika answered, “No. They have to be close. We powers are all meant to meet. So we have whoever this last power is, we will find them.”

“But how... moving the locket around isn’t working.” Yuri stated as Mai said, “It’s only been in world cuisine. We still have plenty of places to try it out at. We can’t give up yet... we’re so close. I can feel it.”

“Sorry we’re late.” Keito said as he, Yuki, and Daiki came in. Yuki questioned, “Did we miss anything?” Rini shook her head, “Not much...we didn’t want to start without you guys.”

“Ok... where’s Yuto, Kaori, and Rena?” Daiki looked around as Shirika said, “Yuto’s on his way. He had to make a stop somewhere...”

“I haven’t seen my sister lately...” Rini stated as she turned to Shirika, “Do you know if she’s been staying over night at the studio?” She shook her head, “I haven’t seen her... unless she’s just there when I’m not.”

“Same thing with my sister.” Ryosuke added. “Last I heard from her, she was with Kaori a few days ago.”

“Well, someone tell them that they need to get over here.” Keito said. “We’re taking a new approach to all this.” Everyone gave him a look as Yuya asked, “What do you mean we’re taking a new approach?”

“He means, we’re not gonna be looking for the final power...” Daiki said. “Whoever it is, is bound to find us eventually. Our priority right now... is Hades.” Kota asked, “Are you serious? We’re actually gonna try to find him?”

“It’s a long shot, but he might have the answer.” Yuki explained. “The entire we’ve been together, most of what we’ve been doing is theorizing. There’s a fifty-fifty chance that Hades’s power could know about it because his power was supposedly given directly from Hades.”

“That doesn’t sound like a very safe...” Kei pointed out as Keito answered, “Well, it’s lot better than having him after us. There’s a very high chance he knows about the other powers because he could’ve seen Hakufu and Yuto using them during the fight.”

“... the gang could know too, couldn’t they?” Satomi pondered the thought. “... and if you think about it, the shadow had to be there for a reason... what if he’s apart of that gang?” Everyone looked at each other, trying to figure it out as Ryutaro said, “But if he was... wouldn’t he have been helping them fight Yuto and Hakufu?”

“Well... he could have been surprised by their abilities?”

“... it’s a good place to start.” Keito said. “I’ll try to look into the gang. Hakufu, do you know what their gang was called? or anything you can remember about them?” She thought, “Just one thing. The leader. His name was Watanabe Akiyama.”

“Watanabe Akiyama...” Daiki thought. “Why does that sound so familiar?”

“I’ll look into him, maybe try to talk to him when I get the chance...” Keito said. “But I want focus on Hades’ power. The sooner we get rid of him, the better.”

“Quick question: How do we get rid of him?” Hikaru pointed out, leaving the entire restaurant silent. 

“... we don’t know still do we?” Yuki nodded, “And that’s why Hades is our main focus--” A cell phone went off as Shirika apologized, “Whoops... my bad.” She moved away, answering it as Yuki continued, “We need to make sure Hades isn’t going to be a threat... he moves through the shadows so what if we were to put him in utter darkness? There would be no way for him to get out.”

“So... what? We’re gonna lock him in a closet?” Ryosuke gave her a look.

“A room. No windows, just one door. Sealed shut, though. The only way to get light through is by unlocking the door.” Keito said. Yuri asked, “And how do you suppose we get Hades in there?”

“That’s the tricky part--” Daiki began as Shirika interrupted, “Hey. That was Yuto...”

“Good, where is he?” Chiharu questioned. “He’s missing out. I swear if he’s out with Kaori again-”

“He wishes.” Shirika stopped her. “He said that he called Kaori earlier today. I guess she was out with Rena in the afternoon, but she hasn’t called back all day... He said that it sounded like they were running from something.”

“From what?” Kei questioned.

“Not sure. She hung up before he could ask.” She sighed continuing, “Something’s wrong... Yuto tried to call back, but her phone was suddenly disconnected.” Rini immediately pulled out her phone, dialing the number as she panicked, “It is disconnected... do you think... she’s ok?”

“I’ll give Rena a call.” Ryosuke said quickly moving to a quieter space. Yuki said optimistically, “Rena and Kaori are both strong girls... they’ll be fine and if I know Yuto. He’s probably off trying to find them as we speak. As long as those three are together they should be--”

“Yuto isn’t with them.” Shirika stopped her, while putting on her coat. “But he is trying to find them, but he wants me to help. I’ll keep you all updated-”

“Well, we should all help.” Satomi suggested. “What if its Hades’ power at work?” Shirika rushed out, “Doesn’t matter if it is... Yuto needs my help.” The door closed behind her as Kota said, “Well, should we head out too?”

“That’s just the worst possible scenario.” Ryutaro tried to be optimistic. “Maybe Kaori just dropped her phone and it broke.” Rini gave him a look, “My sister isn’t that clumsy...” He shrugged, “It happens, Rini. We can’t believe that Hades is behind every bad thing that happens to us. Just because we can’t reach them, doesn’t mean its because of him--”

“I talked to Rena.” Ryosuke said quickly grabbing his coat. “I gotta go.”

“Well?!” Yuki questioned. “What happened?!” He quickly said, “Nothing I can’t handle--OW!” Chiharu pulled him back by his ear, “Then you got the time to explain before you leave.”

“Ow! Ok!” he whacked her arm off him. “Kaori got them in a little jam and they need me. That’s all she said. I’ll be back with them in a few.” He gave Chiharu a small smile, “Just wait here, ok?” She hesitated but he soon turned to Kota, “Hey, can I borrow your car? Mine got towed this morning.”

“I’ll come with. Just in case you need an extra hand.” he said as the two left and Daiki said, “Well, you heard him. It’s all ok...”

“...” Chiharu sighed. “Something still doesn’t feel right...”

“It’s fine.” Yui stated. “Ryosuke and Kota are off to get them. I’ll call Shirika and let her and Yuto know that they got in contact with Rena and Kaori.” Hikaru sighed, “So... this meeting has once again ended badly...”

“It’s not done yet. We’ll just update the others. Right now let’s finish what we were talking about.” Keito said. “Catching Hades.”

“Obviously its gonna be hard.” Kei pointed out. Yuri then remembered, “But he could’ve seen the powers.... meaning he would want to go after them... right?” Yuki nodded, “Right. So we could use that to our advantage.”

“The key word there is ‘could’ve’.” Satomi pointed out. “What if he didn’t see them using their powers?” Keito asked, “You’re the psychologist here... what do you think he would do?”

“Hard to say... we don’t even know if it is a he.” she pointed out. “But I think a good place to start is the scene of the crime.” Rini answered, “Which we did-”

“But there was more than one scene.” she said. “And there has to be some kind of clue at one of the places at least.” Hakufu got up, “Well, I’ll give it a quick...”

“At this hour? On the troublesome side of town?” Yuya gave her a look.

“Clues could have been cleaned up. I should check it out while I can.” she pointed out. “And Yuto and I were the only ones there and seeing as Yuto isn’t here, I should be the one to check on it.” Yuya got up, “Not alone you’re not.” She sighed as they two began heading out as Daiki soon called, “Wait!” Everyone looked at him as he had been quiet since first hearing about Kaori and Rena’s unavailability to show up. “Don’t go just yet...”

“It’s better if I go now--” Hakufu began as he said, “Did you guys notice it?”

“Notice what?” Keito gave him a look. He answered, “Look around! What’s missing?” The looked around at each other as Yuki groaned, “Daiki, get to the point.”

“Everyone who just left... what do they all have in common?” he stated, putting on his coat. They all looked at each other as Chiharu thought, “Kaori... Rena...Yuto”

“Then Shirika and Ryosuke and Kota.” Rini added as Kei lit up, “Oh, crap. The powers.” Daiki nodded, “And Hakufu was just about to leave too. Something’s going on. Why are all our powers being called out now of all times?”

“... it’s happening, isn’t it?” Yuri realized. Daiki soon reached out to Yui who handed him Gaea’s locket. He stared at it as he nodded, “... they’re all coming together tonight...”

“Now the big question...” Mai thought about it. Satomi nodded, “Is it with Hades... or the final power?” Keito quickly got up, “We’re gonna find out. Some try to get ahold of one of them. We need to get to them ASAP.”

“I have to double check something at home...” Daiki said. “Mai, come with me. We’ll meet you guys outside the alley in an hour.” They all nodded and split up.

~Bling Animation Studio~

“Yuto?” He heard as he sat at Kaori's desk. Shirika came in, "Any luck?" He stated at her drawings of their mystery. He asked, "The last thing she drew... Was the last meeting, the one I wasn't at. She hasn't drawn anything since then... Do you know why?"

"We'll she has been out and about since then. I haven't really seen her since honestly." She thought about it looking at the drawings as Yuto groaned, "She must have left some kind of clue as to what she's doing..."

"That girl really knows how to cover her tracks." She sighed.

"We'll she can have as many tracks as she wants with that ability of hers." He stated skimming through the comic. She asked, "What makes you think she would leave one in there?"

"She has everything down to the last detail... So something here has to tell us where she is or what she's doing." He stated as Shirika repeated, "Everything to the last detail... Well at least Hades shadow... Since she didn't see it-"

"That's it!" He suddenly lit up flipping back to the shadow. "That's the clue! Great work, Shirika!" He got up as she stopped him, "whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. I missed something big didn't I?" He grabbed the sketch and pointed to one scene, "look at this."

"When Hakufu saw the shadow, what's your point?" She said still confused. He pointed, "Look at the ground..." She squinted and read what was carved on the ground, "Watanabe Akiyama... So? Hakufu told her about that?"

"But in the exact spot he carved it in? She couldn't have known that." He explained. "Hakufu and I were the only ones there. How could she know that the wall Hakufu was pinned up against had graffiti like that or the garbage piled up on the other side, unless she's been there too..."

"Maybe she's passed by there before all this... You never know.."

"Except Akiyama carved his name right in front of us..." He stated. "Kaori's been investigating without us..." Shirika wondered, "But why?"

"Because she's getting too close to finding Hades." They heard as Rini stood there with Hikaru and Ryutaro. She said, "if shes really there... She was so many steps ahead of us, and knowing my sister, she wouldn't want to get others involved."

"But Rena's with her..." Ryutaro said.

"Obviously meaning she needed some help, but they kept it a secret from the rest of us... Probably because it would be dangerous." She answered.

"It more dangerous with just the two of them." Yuto rushed. Hikaru nodded, "There's more... All you powers are mysteriously heading there."

"It's not mysterious if I know why I'm heading there." He said confidently. "Let's go Shirika."

"That's where Kaori and Rena are." Ryutaro moved in front of him to stop him. "Ryosuke and Kota are meeting up with them as we speak. Hakufu was gonna go to check it out before we stopped her and now you guys are heading over there. You can't tell me that all just a coincidence."

"... All I can tell you right now is Kaori could be in danger." He said giving in. "Rena could be too so we should get over there as soon as possible."

"I get that. But I'm not gonna jump right into a trap. We gotta be ready." He said strongly as Rini pulled him, "We'll fill them in on the way. We should head over now... The others will be there soon.”

~Ryosuke and Kota~

“Are you gonna fill me in anytime soon?” Kota asked as he drove into the bad side of town. “Why are we here?” He answered, “Kaori dragged Rena into something. She asked me to pick her up here...”

“What the hell are they doing here of all places?” he questioned, parking the car. He shrugged, “Beats me... but my sister made it sound urgent. And in a worse case scenario...”

“Don’t be so pessimistic.” Kota told him as they got out of the car. “Your sister and Kaori are strong girls. They know how to take care of themselves...” Ryosuke sighed, “I hope they do...” He took a glance around and called, “Rena?! Hey! Where are you?!” Silence filled the dark night as Kota suggested, “Call her phone again.” He did, but it went straight to voicemail. “Shit... what the hell is going on....” They slowly and cautiously looked around as Kota asked, “What exactly did she tell you?”

“Not much. Just she needed me to get down here as soon as possible.” he said. “... what do you think they were doing here?” He thought, “If I know Kaori... she’d probably want to be investigating about the powers.... and I don’t think it was a coincidence this is where they were.” Ryosuke soon realized, “This is it, isn’t it? Where Hakufu and Yuto saw it.”

“Hakufu said they were in an alley.” Kota looked around. “We find that alley, we should find Kaori and Rena.” Ryosuke nodded, “Then let’s go--” His phone went off as he answered, “Rena-”

“No. Chiharu.” she answered. “We all on our way.” They began searching around as he asked, “All of you? Here? Wait... how do you know where we were heading?”

“Because Daiki noticed all of the powers were slowly left the meeting. He thinks that you’re all being pulled to meet each other... either to meet Hades’ power or the final one.” she said in a rush. “Don’t go any further. Just wait for us at least. I’m with Hakufu, Yuya, and Satomi. Hakufu could at least help you guys out.”

“Well if what you’re saying is true, Rena could already be with Hades power.” he said speeding up. “I can’t slow down if my sister is in danger.” She responded, “And you won’t be able to help her if you run right into a trap. We’ll be there in ten minutes, just please wait for us.” He stopped, giving in, “Fine. But hurry...”

“We will.” she answered as she hung up. He quickly filled Kota in as they awaited their arrival.

~Elsewhere~

“MOVE! Fast!” Kaori shouted as she ran, pulling someone behind her. He gritted, “Stop telling me what to do!” She glared at him, “Do you wanna live?! Then do as I say!” They quickly turned the corner as they continued running. She groaned, “What the hell does it want from you?!”

“Me?!” he glared. “He’s after you!” She gave him a look, “Well how about we put it to a test...” As they reached a fork in the road, he gave her a questioning look, “Wha--” She suddenly screeched to a stop as she turned left as he continued going straight, “Hey!”

“I’ll find you later!” she shouted. “Just keep going!”

“Forget it! You’re on your own!” he said, sprinting off, soon noticing... the shadow.... had followed him.

~Keito’s car~

“Rena’s still not picking up her phone...” Yuki sighed worried as Keito sped through the streets, trying to meet up with the others. “And Kaori’s phone is still disconnected. Anyone know if Chiharu was able to get in touch with Ryosuke and Kota?”

“Yeah, she just texted me.” Yui said. “They’re waiting for them, but Ryosuke really worried about his sister... he’s not gonna wait for long.” Yuri then added, “And I just got a text from Shirika. Rini and the others found her and Yuto and they just got there. I told them to look for Ryosuke and Kota.”

“... do you think... it’s Hades?” Yuki asked softly to Keito. He hesitated, “... I honestly don’t know...” Kei questioned, “So... I hate to ask... but do we have some sort of plan or are we just running straight into a loaded gun right now?” Keito responded, “I’m working on it alright.... just let me think...” He groaned, scratching his head in thought, “And please, by all means, if you have any brilliant idea on how to take down a shadow, do tell...”

“Right... so we’re screwed...” Kei sighed as Yui nudged him, “Stop being so pessimistic. We’ll figure something out.” Yuki nodded, “We have to figure it out... there’s a lot at stake here...” She eyed Kei, “Your best friend is a power... Worse case scenario... If we don’t figure something out, there’s a chance she won’t make it outta this tonight.”

“I know the risk.” he said strongly. “I know what’s at stake and that’s why I want to know if we even have a plan on getting her and the others to safety.” Before she could respond he said, “We don’t know who this Hades’ power is, but we do know the police are after him or her. Whoever it is is a criminal, therefore placing our friends in danger. I am not gonna let anything happen to Kaori or the others, but I don’t want to rush right into my death either. So we had better pull together a plan now.” Silence filled the car as Yuri thought, “What you were saying... about a room completely dark. Any way you could make that mobile?”

“No time for it now...” Keito said. “I didn’t think it would happen so soon...”

“Well, let’s not forget....” Yui pointed out. “We got seven powers. Might as well put them to use....” And for the rest of the way, the five began to brainstorm ideas.

~Daiki and Keito’s apartment~

“Where is it...where is it....” Daiki rummaged through piles and piles of newspaper articles. Mai gave him a look, “We came all the way back here for you to look at the newspaper?” He continued searching as he answered, “No, it’s more than that. It could be the answer we’ve been waiting for.” She questioned, “We’ve had so many questions, which one are you talking about?”

“The big one... I might know who Hades is...” he said as he threw papers everywhere. “Damn... where the hell is it...”

“What makes you so sure?” she wondered, trying to look through some papers too. He responded, “That guy... the gang leader. His name really rung a bell. Watanabe Akiyama. I know I read something that might be connected to him.”

“You think... he might be Hades?”

“No... its not that...” he said scurrying around. “It’s just--- HERE!” He quickly grabbed and article as she came over, but he began pulling her out, “Come on! We gotta head over there to meet with the others!” They quickly rushed into his car as she buckled up and ask, “So who is it?”

“Here.” he handed her the article as he began driving. She skimmed through it, “... The Watanabe family... they’re all being killed off. What makes you think Hades’ power is behind it?” He explained, “Their unexplainable deaths... every single Watanabe... they didn’t see it coming, because he was hiding in the shadows. If this Akiyama is from that same family, it would explain why the shadow was there that day.”

“... and that also means... Hades’ power is more likely to be watching that guy.” she pointed out as he nodded, “Meaning... When we all meet there, if Akiyama comes, we’re in deep trouble. If even one of our powers uses their abilities around him, Hades’ power has a high chance of knowing about them.” She sighed, “... we could all be heading into a trap...”

“...He’s one guy... i doubt he could take on all twenty of us at once.” he tried to be optimistic. “And the good thing is he’s only knows of two of our powers, if anything. We have the advantage of knowing his ability whereas he barely knows all of ours.” Mai thought about it, “There has to be someway of stopping him...”

“Knocking him out is an option. If he’s unconscious, he can’t uses his powers.” he thought about it. She questioned, “But is it possible to even get close enough to knock him out....”

“Maybe we won’t have to...” he lit up. “Kota’s abililties over plants, maybe knock him in the head with some roots... or Ryosuke can hold him in water until he knocks out...” He babbled on as Mai said, “He’s still a shadow... he could slip right through our fingers in all of those plans.”

“Not if the seven powers are all working on it together.” he smiled. “As a team, they’re invincible. There’s a reason the God who powers those are derived from are known as the Olympians. If they could just render him unconscious, this could all be over.”

“Will it?” she realized. “Hades’ power will still have the ability. Unless we find a way to get rid of it, this won’t end.” He pondered the thought, “... I dunno... that’s the hardest question to answer.... unless...” He reached for his neck as he held the locket in his fingers. “... it could be a cycle...”

“A cycle?”

“Yeah, what gave them the power could also take it away...”

“The question is how.” Mai replied. “They’ve all been in contact with the locket, yet they all still have their powers.” He was quiet, focusing on quickly getting to the others as he said, “... the eight powers were placed into the locket together... and even released together...” He lit up, “For the cycle to finish, all eight powers need to return to the locket... together. It’s just a theory, but it’s at least something.”

“And the only theory we’ve heard at all about getting rid of the powers... but will it do the same thing for Hades’ power?” Mai wonder as he sighed, “That’s something we’re gonna have to test out.” She sighed, “I don’t know how you’ve figured out all this, Daiki... you are really clever--” The locket suddenly lit up, brightly filling the whole car as Daiki turned to side, screeching to a stop. Mai panicked, “What the hell--”

“Mai!” Daiki called to her, appalled. “Its... the eight power!”

~W/ the others~

“There they are!” Satomi soon spotted them as they parked nearby. She approached Kota and Ryosuke as Ryosuke said, “Good, now come on. Rena and Kaori need our help-”

“The others are coming.” Chiharu stopped him. “We should-”

“We should help them while we can.” they heard as Yuto’s group came by. “We don’t know how long these two have been looking around here. But as long as they were, they were in danger and risk of bumping into Hades. We can’t keep them in that danger zone any longer.”

“But Keito--” Hakufu began as he continued, “If Keito didn’t want us to do this, he’d be here sooner to stop us.” He began heading off with Ryosuke, “It’s up to you guys if you want to back us up, but we’re going through with this.” They all looked at each other as Kota soon followed with Shirika.

“Kota! Come on. We need to plan something.” Satomi tried to stop him, but he called back, “Then plan something. I gotta make sure these idiots don’t do anything stupid.” Shirika nodded, “And im coming just in case. Just make sure you all catch up fast when Keito and the others get here!” Satomi groaned as they were soon outta sight and began following after, but Hakufu grabbed her hand, “Satomi, you really can’t go. You don’t have-”

“I don’t care if I don’t.” she pulled free. “I almost lost Kota once and I am not gonna let that happen again.” She headed off as Yuya sighed, “Rini, Ryutaro, Hikaru. Be on the lookout for Keito. We’re gonna keep an eye on the powers.” They nodded as Yuya, Hakufu, and Chiharu went after them.

~Elsewhere~

“Shit...” the guy ran into a dead end as he looked back. He went to run it, only to see the shadow soon form in front of him. “Whoa!” He quickly backed up as the shadow slowly moved towards him. He glared, “What the hell is your problem?! What do you want from me--” Luckily for him, he saw the gleam of the knife hiding in his cloak just as he went to strike. He managed to back away in time as it went for him again.

“Hey! Back off already-- ah!” It managed to stab his shoulder as the shadow pulled the knife out. He grasped his shoulder, “What the hell do you want?!”

“Akiyama!” he heard as he saw his gang appear. They threw a metal pipe at the shadow as it faded to the ground. Still grasping his shoulder, he rushed over to them, warning, “Get outta here! We don’t have a chance--”

“AH!” one screamed as they all turned to see one of their members, a knife right through his stomach as with swiftness, the knife was pulled straight up, right through his head. The other members stared in fear as Akiyama quickly said, “Run! Now!” He quickly ran, but all he could hear behind him were screams.

“Shit...” he gritted, not wanting to look back. He sprinted off at top speed as something seemed to grab onto his foot. He fell to the ground as he looked back to see the shadow had grabbed onto his shadow. He kicked, as the shadow released him and he quickly got up, soon noticing none of his gang was around.

“What kinda sick person--” It went strike right as something swooped in grabbing onto Akiyama. “AH!!” He stared as he was lifted higher and higher off the ground. He groaned a bit as his shoulder was in pain and he saw a large hawk had him within its talons. “What the hell is going on?!”

“With how often you were questioning it, I’m’ surprised you’re still alive...” he heard as he looked at the hawk. He panicked, “Wha-- You talk!?”

“No duh idiot. I told you I’d find you!”

“... that pest!” he realize as she glared, “Don’t tempt me to drop you.”

“What the hell took you so long?! He murdered my entire gang!” he scolded as she responded, “I was hoping to find out why he wants to kill you. Unfortunately, you only seemed to piss him off more.”

“...why the hell did you save me?” he asked as she said, “I didn’t do it for you. Right now... you’re something it wants... and I want to get rid of it. You’re basically gonna be my bait.” He stared up at her, “So I’m assuming you know what it is?”

“Not exactly...” she said as he looked around, “... you know its still on your trail?” She nodded as he warned, “Go faster... if it grabs your shadow you’re caught.” She nodded again, “Thanks for the warning.”

“I may be trouble... but even i know when I’m in debt...” he said softly as she flew off as fast as she could.

~Yuto and Ryosuke~

“Kaori!” Yuto ran around screaming as Ryosuke called, “Rena! Where are you?!” They heard footsteps behind them as they quickly turned, their guard up. Kota quickly said, “It’s just us... don’t attack.”

“We came to help.” Shirika said. “And honestly, screaming around is just making you open to a Hades attack.” Ryosuke questioned, “How else are we suppose to find them?” Kota looked around as he walked over to a small flowerbed, softly touching the bud. He said, “They’ve been here... they ran by a few hours ago. That gang you fought the other day Yuto.. they were chasing them.”

“.. Since when do you talk to plants?” Ryosuke questioned as he smiled, walking back to them. “Honestly... I dunno. I guess I sorta felt more power within me the closer I got to all of you.” Yuto gave him a look, “You felt that too...” Shirika nodded, “Its because we’ve been improving each others abilities. The Olympians were a great, powerful team... I guess their powers are the exact way.”

“Then... we could have a chance against Hades--” Rysouke began as they soon heard a loud ringing. He grabbed his phone and answered it surprised, “Rena! Hey! Where are you?!”

“Sh! I could hear you a mile away...” she whispered. He looked around as he asked, “Where are you?”

“Kaori ditched me an hour ago.... unfortunately she decided to be decoy for Akiyama and his gang while I went to send a distress signal.” she groaned as he shouted, “Where are you?!”

“Just keep yelling like that and I’ll find you.... the gang probably will too.” she answered. “I’m coming ok? Just stay still.” He sighed, “Just hurry-” Screams emerged throughout the night as the four quickly got their guard up. It soon got quiet as Shirika stuttered, “...w-what was that...”

“.... Too deep to be a female scream--” Kota stated as a high pitch scream soon echoed.

“That one is...” Shirika jumped at it as Kota took off in a sprint, “That’s Satomi!” Shirika quickly followed as Yuto began but Ryosuke called, “Yuto!”

“Come Rysouke--”

“I can’t! I’m stuck!” he said. Yuto tried to pull him but he wouldn’t budge. “What the hell...”

“Rena. She can use her powers on us now...” he said. “She told me to stay still.” Yuto groaned as they soon heard, “Really? Awesome.” He growled, “Rena, let me move now.” He then began to move as he sighed, “Thank you...”

“Don’t thank me. I didn’t stop it.” she pouted. “So... can I use my powers on the other God powers or not?”

“Well test it out later. Let’s just go!” Yuto said running after Shirika and Kota.

“Satomi!” Yuto called as they soon saw Kota, hugging a crying Satomi as Shirika looked away unable to look.

“Holy shit...” Ryosuke stared at all the blood in the nearby alley. A bunch of bodies laid around, completely motionless. Some piled on each other as others seemed to have been slashed right open with their own weapons. “What the hell happened?!”

“... the shadow.” Kota said. “She saw it run by.” Satomi pulled away, wiping her tears as she stuttered, “... i-it ran after someone... There was a guy. He ran by when the screams began... and when it stopped the shadow followed after him.”

“Who was it?” Shirika questioned as Yuto answered, “... that Watanabe kid...” He looked at the bodies and sighed, “This was the gang I fought with... and their leader.” He moved away from them, back to the others, “Doesn’t seem to be in the massacre. He must be the one running.”

“Watanabe Akiyama.” they soon heard as Keito appeared with the others. “So Hades’ power is interested in him...for some reason.”

“And unless we find that kid now, we won’t know what that reason is.” Yuki said. “Satomi which way did they go?” She pointed in the direction as Yuto stopped them, “Wait! What about Kaori?!”

“She had to be on Akiyama’s trail... we find him, we find Kaori.” Keito said. Yuto nodded, “Then let’s go.” They quickly rushed off as Chiharu noticed, “Wait... where’s Daiki and Mai?!” Yuki answered, “They said they’d catch up... our priority right now is Hades’ power, Akiyama, and Kaori.” They screeched to a stop as they stood at a fork in the road.

“Now which way?” Kei questioned as they looked around. Soon Rini lit up, “Over there! Look!” She pointed off to the side where they saw a large bird, flying away... but what really caught their attention was that the bird had someone hanging in its talons. She ran in the direction, “That has to be Kaori!”

“Then that guy must be Akiyama!” Yuki stated as Satomi flinched, “Meaning, the shadow... Hades’ power is nearby...”

“Everyone be on your guard!” Yuto ordered as they kept on Kaori’s trail. But soon, something strange occurred. They screeched to a stop as Kaori began to somehow descend, but strangely, backwards... as if being pulled back. “What the hell...”

“Guys...” they soon heard as Hakufu pointed worried. A couple hundred feet away stood a dark figure, hovering over the bird’s shadow, given off by the moonlight, as if grasping it in its hands. Yuki said, “That’s... Hades’ power... isn’t it?” They all nodded slowly as they saw it pulling on the shadow as Kaori tried to fight it, trying her best to fly away.

“Watch out for your shadows, guys...” Yuto said moving towards him, very slowly. “This is about to get crazy...” He held out his hands as lightning wrapped around his hands. He focused and aimed at the shadow as he said, “You guys might want to find a safety zone.” They all quickly moved to the sides as he then released two powerful rays of lightning as it hit the shadow. In surprise, it lost its grip on Kaori’s shadow and she managed to fly free. The shadow let out a ear-piercing scream as Yuto held the lightning going, trying to keep him down. He shouted, “Kota! Make some roots to hold him down-”

“No!” they heard as Daiki sped over with Mai. “You gotta knock him out! He can’t use his powers unconsciously!” Yui questioned, “Yuto, do you have enough power to knock him out?” He hesitated, but answered, “I’m gonna try--” But at that moment, the shadow seemed to vanish, or more of, flattened itself on the ground, avoiding Yuto’s rays. It sped off once again grabbing the bird’s shadow and with all its strength, pulled down as the bird quickly descended along with Akiyama.

“Kaori!” Yuto yelled as she and Akiyama were harshly thrown into the wall. They fell, soon hitting the ground as Kaori's bird form faded as she laid there knocked out with Akiyama landing not too far from her. Yuto rushed over only to have the shadow block them from her. He backed up, ready to defend himself as Daiki said, "And there he is.... The Watanabe killer." Everyone, but Mai gave him a look as a chuckle came from the shadow, "Someone did his homework..."

"... Sure did." He stated moving forward. "I figured... You were going after Watanabe Akiyama. He might be from the same family. And if he was, we’d know who you were...” The shadow seemed to wait for an answer as Daiki said, “Watanabe Ryuichi.” He went quiet as Daiki smiled, “I’ll take you silence as a yes.”

“...n-no way...” they heard Akiyama groan as he slowly got up. “Uncle Ryu... but... you were in prison...”

“Obviously, not anymore.” he spoke. “Thanks... to this little ability I have. I can finally have my revenge.”