Ryoichi Suzuki—the father of Suzuki, phoned Rikuu.
"Rikuu, are you available right now? Your mother and I are having a strange feeling with our surrounding; we can't fight right if something happens, Akane's sleeping in her room."
"Sorry, dad. Something important came up; we're going to the headquarters to complete a report about Kaosu."
"About Kaosu, huh? Good job. Understood, be careful. But if possible, please return home as soon possible. Akari and you are needed here. Bring some allies as well if possible."
"Sure, keep safe," Rikuu replied.
As he hung up on Ryoichi, he added, "Takeshi, call a clan explorer please."
"Sure."
-KAKUSU'S HEADQUARTERS, SHINAGAWA, TOKYO CITY, JAPAN-
-8:27PM, THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020-
The Kakusu's artificial intelligence system welcomed them.
[Welcome to the Kakusu's headquarters! For security and confirmation that you are one of us, place your finger on the fingerprint scanner.]
Following their verification, they went directly to the conquerors—the higher-ups of the clan.
Four persons were sitting in a cyan throne.
"Takeshi Takahashi, Rikuu Suzuki, Akari Suzuki, and Ichika Katou. Nagisa told us that you guys were for a report, am I right?" Shoto Yamaguchi—the second higher-up asked.
"Yes, Yamaguchi-san," Akari answered.
"Excellent! Please speak up, Suzuki-kun," Asahi Tanaka—the third higher-up asked.
"Sure, Tanaka-san. Earlier today, I was studying about the philosophy of Kaosu. I did learn a great deal about them from my research. However, the leader among them is something that neither I nor anyone else knows."
"The Kaosu's leader is hiding himself from the Kakusu and the local authorities because of his high crime rate and possibly, a bad reputation," said Akihiko Inoue—the fourth higher-up.
"Indeed, Inoue-san. If he revealed himself, he will be hunted at every corner of Tokyo for the rest of his life. However, that's not the subject of my report. After performing a lot of researching, I went out for a walk. To my surprise, I saw a Kaosu's coat hanging from a tree."
"You need to be more careful about that, Suzuki-kun, because an enemy will never drop evidence of himself," said Shoto.
"What did you observe in that coat?" Asahi asked.
"It's loaded with cash and 8 doses of heroin. Most probably, the coat owner's had or will have an illegal transaction with someone else."
"I suppose it must be a trap or their biggest error: to leave their belongings like that in public," said Akihiko.
"It's not just any coat; the Kaosu's logo, which is a skull, is surrounded by five crowns, just like your coat, Akihiko-san. The Kakusu's logo, which is a biosecurity symbol, is also surrounded by five crowns because you're our leader. My observation is that it belongs to their leader as well."
Once Rikuu had finished speaking, three of the Kakusu's members presented the coat sealed in a vacuum bag along with some data written in a paper.
"Here are the results of our investigation, our dear conquerors. We'll take our leave now," said a Kakusu's member as they placed it neatly on the table.
The four higher-ups stood up and looked at the paper. But the data says that the coat has no fingerprint, no DNA, nor any biometrical evidences. In summary, the coat's owner remained unidentified.
Asahi looked puzzled and said "Dismiss!"
"Wait a minute, Tanaka-san, what about the information I've reque-" said Rikuu but he was interrupted as four Kakusu's members dragged him out along with Akari, Ichika, and Takeshi.
They were forced to get out of the headquarters.
Akihiko thought to himself, "Kaosu..."
As they were kicked out, Rikuu was furious.
"Big brother, hurry up and let's head home. The family needs us, don't they?" said Akari as she felt sorry for her brother.
"You're right... I guess."
Ichika, Takeshi, and Akari all had a look of guilt on their faces.
"Please get on the car, our dear combatants," said a Kakusu's explorer.
Once in the car, the Kakusu's explorer asked, "Where shall I take you?"
"To Ichika Katou's apartment, please," Akari replied.
Rikuu and Akari were sitting next to Ichika, which is in the middle. While Takeshi was sitting next to the explorer.
Rikuu tried to relax and sighed.
"It's not like every case is solved, anyways. But I sure hope my observation really helped," he murmured.
Ichika looked at Rikuu and smiled.
"I don't think your observation didn't help, Rikuu! The enemies were doing their best to hide themselves. It's not your fault, okay?" she replied.
"I guess you're right...thanks, Ichika, you really are the best," Rikuu replied as he looked at window.
Ichika blushed.
She murmured as a reply, "T-thanks, I guess..."
"Is something wrong? You're red as a tomato," Akari asked.
As Ichika blushed even more.
She replied to Akari, "D-don't worry about me! I-I'm all good!"
While traveling, Ichika thought to herself, "The best one, huh?" and then blushed even more.
A few moments later, everything seems to be going so well.
In all of a sudden, Takeshi pointed to the window of the car and said "T-that's a smoke, isn't it?" as he was worried and shocked.
All of them were shocked.
Suddenly, Rikuu remembered his dad called earlier.
Ryoichi's line "Your mother and I are having a strange feeling with our surrounding; we can't fight right if something happens," is what's bothering Rikuu's mind.
Akari thought of the same thing.
She shouted to the explorer, "Please change our destination! Take us to the Suzuki's residence, I beg you!"
The explorer was shocked and replied, "Y-yes. I will!"
"I beg you, drive as fast as possible!" Akari shouted.
While on the way to Suzuki's residence, Rikuu and Akari argued.
Akari pointed at Rikuu and yelled, "If you prioritized family first, this wouldn't happen. Thanks a lot, big brother!"
"Oh, so it's my fault now?"
"Of course, who else?" she shouted after she slapped Rikuu.
"Hey, show some respect! I'm your elder brother!"
"Why!? How can I show respect at times like this!? When our family is possibly in danger right now!?"
While arguing, Takeshi said to the explorer "I know they're too noisy right now. Excuse us please. But will you please drive faster? Dive as fast as you can, please!"
"Takahashi-san, right? All of them wearing their seatbelts, except for you."
"Oh, I didn't notice, sorry about that."
"No worries. Please wear it now, I'm about to drive 350 kilometers per hour."
"Y-yes, sure!"
The moment Takeshi wore his seatbelt, he screamed as the car accelerated.
On the other hand, Rikuu and Akari continued arguing.
"Look, the smoke's continuing to thicken. It really is your fault, Rikuu!"
"You really are disrespectful! You didn't even use honorifics!"
"That doesn't matter right now, what if something happened to them? You're always looking at my mistakes!" Akari replied as tears dropped from her eyes.
She then looked away.
Rikuu, as a big brother, felt guilt.
He was taken aback by Akari's tears.
"H-hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, Akari."
He tried to reach Akari with his hands but Ichika stopped him.
Ichika whispered to Rikuu, "Leave her alone for now, Rikuu. Give her space. I think she's trying to process something."
"Is that so? Sure... it's my fault though."
"It's not, both of you were driven away by your emotions. I understand that. Please calm yourself for now. I'll be here for both of you. For now, try to convince yourself that nothing disastrous happened."
"O-okay. Thanks again, you really are the best."
Ichika once again blushed and said "Stop saying that line."
When they arrived near the Suzuki's residence, all of them quickly left the car.
They ran through an alley.
After reaching their destination, they discovered a disaster.
"What the hell is this?" Takeshi, Ichika, and Rikuu at the same time.
As Akari saw the disaster, her eyes turned lifeless and then she screamed out of fear.