[FFML] [fanfic][lime][dark][Yotsuba&!] Pretty Neighbor 2nd Visit, Chapter 24: Koiwai & Police

[Mythril Moth]

Brief notes:

- A significant chunk of this story (through chapter 16 as of this posting) 
is now available in revised and web-enhanced format at 
http://www.mythrilmoth.net/pn2v/pn2v.html.

- Even if you've already read it here on the FFML, you may want to read over 
the web version, because I've made some fairly significant changes to some 
chapters. (Also, it just looks cooler on the web).

- Beginning with this chapter, some characters from Azumanga Daioh will 
appear. I don't intend to transform this into a full-blown crossover, and at 
present only Nyamo is intended to be a regular character in this story, with 
possible cameos by Kagura, Sakaki, and Chiyo. Hence, I will not be adding 
crossover tags to this.

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KOIWAI & POLICE

by Mythril Moth

based on Yotsuba&! by Azuma Kiyohiko

subsequently based on the "Pretty Neighbor" Yotsuba& doujinshi series

with special guest stars from Azumanga Daioh

no permission asked or given

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Kurosawa Minamo towelled down in the locker room at the school pool. It was 
already after dark, but the swim club had needed an extra practice session 
to make up for time lost to a typhoon.

She had just started to dress when her phone rang. She reached into her bag 
and pulled it out; the number was one she did not recognize. "Moshi-moshi?" 
she asked, juggling the phone in one hand while slipping into her panties.

//Kurosawa Minamo-san?// an unfamiliar, somewhat unsteady voice asked.

"Yes? Who is this?"

A pause. //I'm...calling about your sister. About Nanami-san.//

The phys-ed teacher froze. "Who is this?" she repeated.

//A friend...Minamo-san, your sister has been badly hurt. She's...she wants 
you here. Please.//

The color drained from Minamo's face. "Alright. Tell me where she is, I'll 
be there as soon as possible..."

Five minutes later, Minamo was dressed and had packed away her things; she 
had just shouldered her handbag when one of her favorite students, the 
perpetually tanned athlete Kagura, strode out of the showers, naked and 
still damp. "Ahh, that felt good...Sensei? You okay?"

"I'm...it's nothing," Minamo said, shaking her head.

"Sensei," Kagura repeated, "something's bothering you. What is it?"

"I...have to leave town for a while. I..." Minamo paused. "My sister. She's 
been hurt. I have to...I have to go."

"Your sister?" Kagura asked, eyes wide and face pale. "I didn't know you 
even had..." She trailed off. "How bad is it?"

"I don't know. The person who called me didn't say..." She shook her head. 
"I'm sorry, Kagura. I've got to go. I don't know how long I'll be gone."


Kagura nodded. "I'll let everyone know," she said. "I...good luck, Sensei. I 
hope...I hope everything's okay."

"Thank you, Kagura," Minamo replied. She quickly left.

Kagura stared at the locker room door for a long time. "Sensei..."

--------------------------------------

"Jesus CHRIST I wish these people would go away," Koiwai snarled.

Despite the best efforts of the police, a massive throng of onlookers was 
piling in around the property wall. Investigators were going over every inch 
of the crime scene; Koiwai was relieved that Miura had had the presence of 
mind to remove certain objects Torako had been stripped of by Asagi's goons. 
While most of Torako's personal gear was still around when the police began 
their investigation, Miura had removed her phone and, more importantly, her 
gun from the crime scene.

Of course, depending on what kind of security the hospital had, that latter 
decision might not have been especially great.

As soon as the ambulance had arrived and the paramedics had freed Torako and 
loaded her for transport, Miura and Ena had climbed in to go with her. The 
paramedics had protested, but Miura had insisted, citing she was the closest 
one present to the victim and the only one who knew how to contact her 
family. Ena had simply flatly refused to stay behind, and ultimately the 
paramedics had given up arguing.

Fuuka had started to take Yotsuba inside the house, then had stopped; she 
decided it wasn't a good idea to be inside with the audio devices Asagi had 
planted. Koiwai could not argue that point, and so he had to deal with the 
fact that his daughter, who was screaming and wailing and sobbing, was the 
subject of public scrutiny as neighbors and assorted rubberneckers tried to 
evade the police to have a better look.

He walked up to a uniformed officer, an angry scowl on his face. "Would you 
PLEASE get these people the FUCK OUT OF HERE?!" he demanded.

"We're trying, sir! We're trying! Please calm down..."

--------------------------------------

As the ambulance screamed through the streets, Ena had latched onto Miura's 
arm, crying silently. Miura, for her part, wore a dark, angry scowl on her 
face, which periodically did battle with a frightened, hurt expression.

Days earlier, during a training break, Torako had shared certain concerns 
with Miura...

"I'm a little worried that Asagi hasn't tried to order me around in a while, 
and that nothing other than the Yotsublog thing has happened to Yotsuba," 
Torako said, lighting a cigarette.

"Those are good things, as far as I'm concerned," Miura said.

"Yeah, that's what you'd think, but..." Torako had sighed, exhaling smoke. 
"Asagi doesn't make idle threats or back down from promises, especially when 
those promises involve death or humiliation. And there's no way in hell 
she's just ignoring my blatant defection." She looked at Miura with a tired, 
sad gaze. "Sooner or later, the other shoe's gonna drop. When it does, I 
might be..." She shrugged.

"Sensei," Miura said quietly.

"Anyway, if something happens to me, there's something important you need to 
do." Torako pulled out her phone and called up the directory, then showed 
Miura a number. "I'll need you to call my sister and let her know what's 
happened."

"Okay," Miura agreed. "But what if I don't have access to your phone? Also, 
I'm sure telling her Torako is hurt won't mean anything--"

"Adachi City directory listing for Kurosawa Minamo," Torako explained. 
"You'll only get her home line there, and she's rarely actually at home. If 
you can use my phone to call her, it's better, because I have her cell 
number too." She paused. "As for what to tell her...tell her Nanami needs 
her."

"Got it," Miura nodded. "Nanami-sensei."

"And I'll shit on you if you call me that again," Torako said with a smirk. 
"Kurosawa Nanami died a LONG time ago, as far as I'm concerned. Stick with 
Torako."

"Yes, Sensei!" Miura said, saluting.

At the time, Miura had felt the whole thing was a little overly pessimistic, 
but only now did she realize she herself had been far too naive. Of COURSE 
Asagi was going to punish Torako for defying her...

"I wonder what kind of person her sister is," Ena said quietly.

"I don't know, but she might be the only person outside of our family who 
even cares what happens to Sensei," Miura sighed. "So I hope she does."

--------------------------------------

A somewhat dented old compact car pulled up in front of the Koiwai 
residence; it was forced to park across the street because patrol cars were 
parked up and down the block.

Inspector Ishiyama emerged, and was greeted immediately by one of the crime 
scene investigators. "What do we have here?" he asked.

The investigator frowned. "One assault victim, female, age approximately 
twenty, unidentified, victim of an apparent yakuza attack."

"A yakuza attack," Ishiyama repeated in a dead tone. "And in front of THIS 
house in particular."

"Yes, Inspector." The slightly older man coughed, adjusting his glasses. 
"Witnesses say a black van full of gangsters pulled up and dragged everyone 
out of the house, then they stripped down the victim and staked her to the 
ground. Then they took a flamethrower to her."

"A *WHAT*?!"

"First response says she appears to have sustained second and third degree 
burns to her entire back and buttocks, but nothing else, and she is alive 
and in stable condition."

"A warning...?" Ishiyama wondered. He sighed. "I hate yakuza cases..."

-----------------------------------

Ishiyama found the Koiwai family standing in the corner of the front yard.

"Inspector Ishiyama," Koiwai greeted. His wife Fuuka was attempting to 
console a wailing, screaming Yotsuba; Fuuka herself looked miserable and 
lost.

"Koiwai-san. Somehow, I find myself unsurprised to be here again, although I 
wasn't expecting to run into something like *this* here..."

"If you were expecting to come here again, then you must have begun 
investigating Asagi," Koiwai replied tiredly. "I knew this whole mess would 
draw police attention sooner or later."

"Then I take it you have reason to believe your wife's older sister--"

"FORMER older sister--"


"--former older sister is a person of interest in the case against 
Yasuda-san."

"Yotsublog doesn't even scratch the SURFACE of what Asagi's done," Fuuka 
spat, still cradling her child.

Ishiyama raised an eyebrow and glanced at Koiwai. "That requires 
elaboration," he said.

Koiwai looked up thoughtfully. "Let's see...in the past six weeks or so? 
Kidnapping, assault, extortion, sexual assault of a minor, conspiracy to 
harass a minor, falsification of government records, defamation of 
character, child pornography, invasion of privacy, illegal surveillance of a 
private residence...those are just the highlights."

Ishiyama stared at Koiwai, slack-jawed. "WHAT?!"

"My ex-sister is a disease," Fuuka said grimly. "She is the personification 
of filth. Everything she touches, she perverts and profanes."

"Yeah, she's been working us over pretty good," Koiwai said, scowling. 
"Though this latest stunt was a little more theatrical than most."

"You've been..." Ishiyama stared. "This woman has done that much to you and 
your family..." He trembled in fury. "And you haven't reported any of this 
to the police *WHY*?!"

"Because we didn't want to add murder to all of the above," Koiwai said 
flatly. "And if we'd come to the police, she'd have killed most if not all 
of us."

"We'd have taken you into custody--"

"You'd never have gotten the chance. If we had called the police, we'd all 
be dead before anyone got here. If we'd gone directly to the police, we'd 
have been killed right in front of police headquarters."

"Alright, I understand that this woman has aggrieved you considerably," 
Ishiyama said, stroking his chin and frowning, "but certainly you realize 
that the police exist specifically to protect innocent citizens from such 
threats, and that not reporting her--"

"You know what she did for a warm-up act, seven years ago?" Koiwai 
interrupted. "She was annoyed that a boy she wanted to go out with had a 
crush on a pretty teacher, so she rounded up a bunch of boys to gang-rape 
that teacher while she filmed the whole thing and sold it to a porn company. 
The teacher killed herself. Asagi was never connected to it."

Ishiyama paled. "I...I remember that, I think. The teacher's name was 
Naka...something. I'd just transferred to major crimes..." He looked up, 
eyes wide. "But that was...Asagi-shi would have only been thirteen years old 
when that happened..."

"That's right," Fuuka said. "And that was her FIRST major crime."

"We don't have a full listing of everything she's done in the last seven 
years, but...based on what she's done to us in just the last few weeks, I 
don't think I *want* to know," Koiwai said with a grimace. "You see why we 
didn't call the police, Inspector? We couldn't risk making things even 
*worse*."

Ishiyama sighed. "Dammit...I *really* hate working yakuza incidents..." He 
frowned. "I assume she *is* connected in some way to the yakuza? Because 
this is entirely too much for--"

"As far as we know? No," Koiwai said. "All her money and power come from her 
lieutenant's inheritance."

"She has a lieutenant who was doing enjokosai with a wealthy elderly man," 
Fuuka said. "Or at least, that's what we've been told by a former member of 
her gang. When he croaked, she got everything that didn't go to inheritance 
tax, and now they're set. They can do whatever they want, the law be 
damned."

"And who is this former member?" Ishiyama asked.

"We only know her as 'Torako-san,'" Koiwai said. "A nickname Asagi gave her. 
And she's..." He grimaced, glancing at Fuuka and Yotsuba. "The one who was 
taken away in an ambulance today."

"Torako-san's been helping us," Fuuka said. "We were afraid there would be 
reprisals."

Ishiyama suddenly became aware of the many curious neighbors and onlookers 
who were trying to listen in on their conversation. "Koiwai-san, 
okusama...perhaps we should move this discussion into the house?"

Koiwai shook his head. "Bugged."

The inspector stared at him. "She's bugged your house? And you're aware of 
it?"

"Yeah."

"And you haven't removed them?!"

"Like we said," Fuuka replied miserably, "Reprisals."

"...*shit*," Ishiyama hissed.

---------------------------------

"Excuse me," Minamo said to the receptionist. "I'm here to see Kurosawa 
Nanami. I'm her sister."

The receptionist checked her computer. "She's been admitted to the burn 
ward. She's still undergoing treatment at this time, but you may proceed to 
the waiting area."

"Thank you," Minamo bowed. She followed the receptionist's directions and 
found herself in a clean, sparse waiting room where two young girls sat 
huddled together on a bench.

She approached the girls, and hesistantly asked. "Excuse me...are either of 
you the one who called me about my sister?"

The short-haired one looked up at her. "Kurosawa Minamo-san?" she asked.

Minamo nodded. "Yes."

The short-haired girl stood and bowed. "Hayasaka Miura," she introduced 
herself. "And Koiwai Ena," she added, indicating the other girl, who nodded.

Minamo sat down next to the girls. "What happened to Nanami?" she asked. 
"How is she--?"

"She's alive," Miura said. "She's not in any danger of dying. But...it's 
still pretty bad." Next to her, Ena stifled a sob.

"So...what happened?" Minamo repeated.

"It's best if I just show you," Miura said, digging a phone out of her 
pocket.

"Oh god, Miura-chan, *don't*--" Ena moaned.

"If she sees how bad it was before Sensei got here, it won't be nearly as 
bad a shock when she sees her after the doctors finish up," Miura reasoned.

Minamo steeled herself. "I'll look," she said.

Miura opened the phone and called up an image, then handed it to the older 
woman. Minamo took it, looked, and promptly dropped the phone, fingers 
nerveless. "Oh my god..." She covered her face with her hands, tears 
beginning to spill from her eyes. "How...how did that happen?"

"It wasn't an accident," Miura said sourly. "Her former boss took a 
flamethrower to her."

"Her former boss...?" Minamo asked. "Don't tell me she was in...some kind of 
gang?"

"It's a little more complicsted than that, but yeah," Miura nodded. "And 
before you think your sister is a bad person, Minamo-san...she never had a 
choice. They took her baby away from her. They've used the threat of killing 
her little girl against her for years."

Minamo paled.

"But now that threat doesn't work anymore, and the sick bitch who had 
control over her got bored and decided to cut her loose. In full view of the 
public. With a flamethrower."

"Miura-chan..." Ena said warningly. "You need to tone it down a little. 
She's not used to hearing stuff like this, you're gonna freak her out."

Miura bowed her head. "Sorry, Kurosawa-san," she muttered. "After what we've 
all been through this summer...it's just..."

"Is Nanami's child still alive?" Minamo asked abruptly.

"Yeah. Alive and well...well, physically well. Emotionally, she's a wreck," 
Miura said, eyes tight and angry. "They specifically and deliberately did 
this to your sister in front of her. In front of a five-year-old child."

"They did that...to her own mother...right in front of her?"

"Yotsuba-chan doesn't know your sister is her mother, Kurosawa-san," Ena 
said gently. "She was taken from your sister the night she was born, and 
only met your sister for the first time last year. To Yotsuba-chan, your 
sister is a just a nice lady named Torako."

"Ena-chan's sister is Yotsuba's mommy now," Miura said. "And Tora--I mean, 
Nanami-san completely approves of her."

"I...I see..." Minamo said, trembling slightly. "So...my niece is named 
Yotsuba?"

Ena pulled a pink photo wallet from her skirt pocket and opened it up, 
showing the older woman a photograph of several smiling people, one of which 
was an adorable little green-haired girl. "Your niece," she said. "Koiwai 
Yotsuba."

Minamo accepted the photo wallet from Ena and stared at the photo, rubbing 
her thumb over the tiny picture of her niece. Then she bowed her head and 
began to weep.

The girls let her cry herself out for a few minutes, then Miura gently 
embraced her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry this is the first time 
you've ever seen your niece. I'm sorry you have to find out all this under 
these circumstances. I just...I'm sorry."

Minamo returned the photo wallet to Ena, who flipped through it and pulled 
out a print of just Yotsuba by herself, handing it to the older woman. 
"Here, you should keep this," she said. "We've got plenty."

"Thank you," Minamo smiled.

"So, do you dye your hair like Tora--er, Nanami-san?" Ena asked.

Minamo blinked at the odd question.

"I mean, is your hair green?" Ena asked, blushing.

"Oh! No, it's not," Minamo replied. She smiled and shook her head. "The 
green hair thing...it's a very unique and rare birth defect." She paused. 
"Well, no, 'defect' is a little harsh." At the girls' questioning glances, 
she explained, "Mom went on this weird special vegetable diet when she was 
pregnant with Nanami. There was this one thing she was eating, I forget what 
it's called, but she ate a lot of it. Nobody else could stand it. It was 
apparently very healthy, and she was totally into all that health stuff back 
then.

"Well, it turns out that there's an enzyme in this plant that can mess with 
your glands and stuff. If you're just eating it, it builds up and after a 
few months, your skin or hair or nails may look a little green, or you might 
start having green show up when you...you know.

"But if you're gorging on this stuff when you're pregnant, it screws around 
with your baby's DNA, and the gene for hair color winds up green. It's rare 
because almost nobody actually eats the vegetable that causes it, and 
certainly not as much of it as Mom was eating." She smiled. "I remember Mom 
and Dad completely freaking out when Nanami's hair turned green. I thought 
it was kinda funny, myself." She looked down at the photo of her young 
niece. "Apparently, it can be inherited..."

"Yeah, up until lately, Sensei's been dying her hair to cover up her 
relationship to Yotsuba-chan," Miura said. "But Yotsuba-chan saw the roots a 
while back, so she's not doin' that anymore. Yotsuba-chan still doesn't know 
who her real mother is, though."

"Yeah..." Ena said. "I wonder how it's gonna play out when Oniichan and 
Oneechan decide to tell her..."

"You keep calling Nanami 'Sensei'," Minamo pointed out, addressing Miura. 
"Don't tell me my habitual delinquent dropout sister got her act together 
enough to go into education..."

Miura shook her head, frowning slightly at Minamo's derisive description. 
"No, she's not a school teacher," she clarified. "She's been teaching me 
martial arts and stealth and weapons."

"EH?!" Minamo exclaimed, staring.

"Yeah, your sister's been teaching Miura-chan to be a ninja," Ena said, 
frowning prettily.


"What the hell...WHY?" Minamo asked, eyes wide.

"Because I got someone I gotta kill," Miura said, eyes hard. "An' it just so 
happens, it's the same bitch that set fire to your sister."

"Someone you have to..." Minamo sat back from the intense girl, eyes wide. 
"What...what kind of..."

With a deep sigh, Miura launched into the story of the evil known as Takeda 
Asagi.

----------------------------------

Ishiyama spent some time grilling the Koiwai family about the assorted 
criminal activities they had been victim of.

When they finally wound down, he frowned, stroking his chin thoughtfully. 
"You people really, seriously should have come to the police the very first 
day she started troubling you," he said.

"We know, but we had reasons. That may sound stupid, but at the time, we had 
reasons."

Ishiyama sighed. "I've heard that one before, and unfortunately, I can 
understand where you're coming from. From a pure law enforcement standpoint, 
I can't condone your silence, but...as a man with a family, I can 
understand."

"Our foremost concern was having our little family completely dismantled," 
Fuuka said. "From a legal standpoint, this house was kind of a mess when all 
this started, and we just...didn't want to be split apart."

The detective nodded. "I won't ask for details or specifics, but based on 
what I've seen around here, and what you've told me, I think I get the 
picture." He frowned. "So that's also why your attorney cockblocked me when 
I tried to get in touch with you last week?"

Koiwai blinked. "He never mentioned you trying to contact us."

"Mm," Ishiyama nodded. "I wanted to ask you some questions about Asagi-shi, 
because we had reason to connect her to the Yotsublog incident. Your 
attorney found out, and informed me in strict and severe terms that I was 
not to bother you without a court order."

"Wow, that's going a little far," Fuuka said, eyes wide. "We sure never told 
him to do that."

"I suspect your parents probably had a hand in that," Ishiyama said. 
"Anyway, since I'm here, I'll ask you what I wanted to ask before that 
lawyer got in my way, and you can complain to my superiors about it later."

"All things considered, we'll be as cooperative as possible."

"Good," Ishiyama nodded. "Actually, the thing is, I was asked by Yasuda-san 
to appeal to you on his behalf."

Koiwai scowled. "Yanda. He's got a lot of nerve."

"What the HELL does he want?" Fuuka asked.

"Yasuda-san actually made an offer to help, in any way he can, with our 
investigation. His motives appear to be entirely self-serving, but...he did 
say that you and Takeda-san are the closest thing to friends he has, and 
that he genuinely wants to help. He's looking for..." He shrugged. 
"Absolution, perhaps. At the very least, he's desperate to prove that you're 
wrong about him, that he can be an actual human being."

Fuuka and Koiwai looked at one another. Fuuka shrugged; Koiwai sighed.

"Exactly what does he think he can do to help?" Koiwai asked.

"Honestly, I don't even think he has a plan, and I certainly don't see 
anything he could possibly do to help this situation," Ishiyama said. "But I 
did promise to at least speak to you on his behalf, and I only agreed to do 
so because I saw something honest and remorseful in his eyes. He's pissed 
that he got used, and I think he genuinely wants to do something to help his 
friends. At any rate, he at least wants a chance to talk to you."

Koiwai sighed. "The timing really sucks, but...I'll talk to him, as soon as 
I have a chance."

Ishiyama nodded. "Alright. I'm going to arrange for police protection for 
your family, and I'm having the listening devices removed from your house. 
Don't argue about it, it's going to happen."


"We appreciate it, Inspector."

"There's just one more thing I want to know," Ishiyama asked. "Since you 
didn't want to involve the police at all, were you planning to just let this 
woman continue to torment you from now on?"

"Of course not," Koiwai replied. "We've been biding our time."

"Until you could bring us something she absolutely couldn't avoid 
prosecution for?" Ishiyama guessed.

The Koiwais were silent.

"...until you got a chance to kill her?"

More silence.

"I see." Ishiyama grunted. "I'm going to pretend I never asked the last few 
questions. Just remember, the law is the law. Alright?"

"Of course, Inspector."

Bowing and taking his leave, Ishiyama placed a call to headquarters to have 
police protection arranged for the Koiwai family, and to have their house 
swept for surveillance devices. As he drove back to the office, he sighed.

*They're gonna go after her,* he told himself. *They're gonna go after her 
and either kill her or get themselves killed. I don't think I can stop 
them.*

A moment later, he darkly and guiltily admitted, *I don't think I want to, 
either...*

-----------------------------------

Minamo was white as a sheet, numb, and trembling by the time Miura and Ena 
finished their tale.

"So you see?" Miura asked softly. "This whole thing has gone way past 
justice. There isn't enough justice in the world to cover everything Asagi 
has done. The only thing left for us is revenge."

Minamo looked down, shaking her head. "I can't believe..."

A doctor suddenly walked into the waiting area. "Pardon my intrusion," he 
said.

"Not at all," Minamo replied, standing and bowing. "Kurosawa Minamo. Is...is 
my sister...?"

"Nanami-san is in serious but stable condition. The burns are not 
life-threatening, but there was considerable damage to the muscle tissue of 
her back. Two discs in her spine also ruptured. There will be massive 
scarring, and she will lose a significant amount of muscle function. She may 
have difficulty walking; we won't know for some time yet. But for now, the 
important thing is, she's alive and will heal, if not completely."

Minamo let out a shaky breath. "Can...can I see her?"

The doctor nodded. "Briefly," he said. "She's coming around from anaesthesia 
now, and it will be about fifteen minutes before we can sedate her again. We 
WILL be keeping her sedated as much as possible, though. Even with 
painkillers, it's best she remains asleep for now."

"I underatand. Thank you."

The doctor led Minamo and the two girls into the recovery room. Nanami lay 
on her stomach; a very thin, light sheet had been draped over her back, 
through which they could see thick plasters of bandages. Tubes dripped 
antibiotics and painkillers into her veins from IVs. Her gaze was bleary and 
unfocused.

"Nanami?" Minamo asked, crouching down in front of her sister. "It's 
Minamo."

"Anesan..." Nanami rasped thickly. "You came..."

"Of course I came," Minamo replied, fresh tears in her eyes. "Oh god...I'm 
so sorry..."

"Did Miura tell you?" Nanami asked.

"Yes, Miura-chan told me everything," Minamo said.

Nanami smiled. "Good. Anesan...take my place."

"What?"

"Help them. Help Miura. Help Yotsuba. I can't...anymore. But they still need 
help..."

Minamo shook her head. "I'm not...I don't know anything about the kind of 
stuff you've been doing..."

"Doesn't matter...just help, however you can. Promise."

Minamo looked into her sister's pleading, pained eyes, and sighed. "I 
promise. I'll do what I can."

"Thanks." Nanami paused. "Miura? How's Yotsuba?"

"Screaming her head off last time I saw her, but I came straight here with 
you," Miura replied. "Neesan and Niichan will take care of her, and I'm sure 
she'll more or less be okay in time, but..." Miura sighed. "She just saw 
something nobody should have to see. She..." The short-haired girl clenched 
her fists. "Dammit."

"Wish I could...fight with you," Nanami said. "After...after today...I think 
I'd be able to kill her now. I think...yeah, I think I could do it."

"You won't have to," Miura said. "I'm putting a stop to this. Next time I 
lay eyes on Asagi, she dies."

"Good," Nanami said, closing her eyes. "Be careful. Let Anesan help you..."

"Don't worry about it anymore now, Nanami-san," Ena said. "Just rest. Don't 
worry. We'll take it from here."

"Thanks," Nanami said tiredly. "Anesan...this isn't the reunion I wanted, 
but...I'm glad to see you again."

"I'm glad to know you're even still alive," Minamo said, smiling through 
tears. "And I look forward to meeting my niece."

"She's precious," Nanami said, smiling.

"Sensei," Miura said, "Before they put you back under, I need that address."

"Address..." Nanami trailed off. "Asagi's..." She gave a grunt and heaved a 
tired sigh, and her eyes closed.

"Sensei?" Miura asked.

"Nanami?" Minamo pleaded.

The nurse rushed in, and began checking displays and instruments. "She's 
just passed out," she said. "She wasn't really up to talking much in the 
first place," she admonished sternly.

"Sorry," the three ladies chorused.

"Please go home and rest," the nurse urged gently. "She'll be out of it 
until tomorrow, possibly even the day after. There's nothing more you can do 
here."

------------------------------------

"Dammit," Miura grumbled. "I should've gotten that address from her first 
thing."

"What address?" Minamo asked.

"Asagi's home base," Ena explained. "We know where she is, but we don't have 
the address, and none of us are familiar with the a..." Ena trailed off, 
stopping abruptly.

"Ena-chan?" Miura asked.

"Of course," Ena said suddenly. "Miura-chan, remember what Nanami-san told 
us, when she was telling us where Asagi might be?"

Miura thought about it for a minute. Her eyes widened. "Oh yeah," she 
whispered. A slow grin spread across her face. "Yeah, this couldn't be 
better!"

Minamo looked at the two girls, blinking. "Eh? What is it?"

Miura looked up at her, grinning like a shark. "The only thing we know about 
Asagi's home base is its general location. Adachi City."

Minamo gaped. "The bitch that did this lives right under my nose?"

"Yep."

Minamo's face hardened. "Not for long," she declared.


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