Tokyo Battalions
By: Outlaw-2 Extreme

Life; blood that runs through a living body,
The heart; the muscle that drives them,
The mind; initiates the chaos,
The insanity; the mindless obsession of murder.

… … …

13th May 2006, 3.30pm

A search was conducted for the two missing officers after not reporting back to the police box for the on 11th May. They were found deceased in a derelict building around Shinagawa, after witnesses spotted an empty Daihatsu Storia police car with its engine still running. It is believed that they were murdered by the same madman that had struck Tokyo recently for the past week. The Police Force could have done the operations themselves, but due to the lack of personnel, they were only restricted to investigation while other operations have been passed to The Academy for further assistance.

… … …

1st Chapter
Lunacy

"And there the suspect strikes again," said a blonde before adding her remarks. "We'll be sitting ducks for the time being unless we get the order from Chief."

"We wouldn't want to simply accuse a random person for being the murderer, right? Time would get the answer for us. It's a pity that the National Police Agency is having a hard time recruiting capable officers at the moment, so we're quite strained," the European responded calmly before resuming with her paperwork.

"So long The Academy is not deferred to the prefecture headquarters, I'm all right with it," sputtered the blonde before tossing her pen onto the sheets of written work in a form of frustration. "It's been two hours of paperwork, Raquel. Think it's time for a break."

"Give me a minute Claire; I'm almost done."

The lass, Claire Everon, stood up the moment she was done stretching. At a height of 1.82 metres, she was the tallest female officer in The Academy. Blue were her eyes while long blonde of mid-back length was her hair that was tied to a simple ponytail while sideburns ends at her shoulders with centre parted fringe that ends above her eyebrows. Hailing from Zurich, Switzerland, the 26 year old sports an attire consisting of a white long sleeved shirt and black straight cut trousers with matching black leather shoes. The Swiss preferred simple clothing; she would have better flexibility. But of course, there was one thing she hated about herself. Even though she had gone past puberty, her bosoms still looked… petite. Several people had even mistaken her for a feminine man, in fact one too many.

Blue eyes glanced at her partner, who had just finished her paperwork, now compiling it into a file. Raquel Schmidt was the said woman's name, who had been suffering from a minor amnesia. The 27 year old knew her birth date, but could not recall her origin. She stands at a height of 1.72 metres while grey were her eyes. Her hair was of long wavy silver tied to twin-tails, and side parted fringe that end above her eyes. However, her attire was somewhat different from other officers. Raquel wears a long black dress that ends right at her ankles with five to six brown leather belts fastened rather firmly around her midriff. Brown were her leather boots and her leather overcoat. Though, even with an appearance, she does possess rather broad shoulders for a woman. But that was not the issue. She had a reason why she was allowed to wear as such. Raquel has an old wound that seemed not to be healing properly; it was a scar that runs across her midriff.

"Well, we better do our patrol duty," insisted the wavy haired lady before Swiss sputtered.

"What? You said we're going for a break earlier on?"

"Our patrol duty is our break," Raquel implied.

"Why am I paired up with a workaholic?" thought the blonde before letting out a heavy sigh.

Fortunately for Claire, a clerk had dropped by, notifying the duo that they were summoned by Chief Craken, the head of The Academy. It was a sign for them; an assignment. Without a word, they headed towards the Chief's office.

It had only been three minutes' worth of walking, but it felt ages for the blonde. She preferred doing something different instead of the boring patrol runs. Barging into the Chief's office without knocking, a sudden sputter was heard before Claire and Raquel took notice at what had occurred. The middle aged man had choked on his cup of coffee when he was surprised by the sudden presence of the duo. It had him coughing to clear his throat for a moment before remarking.

"You two ought to know that you should knock first before entering my office."

The 53 year old, Chief Craken Robinson, sported black hair that was of pompadour hairstyle while eyes were of brown. At a height of 1.85 metres, he was the only person in The Academy to tower over Claire. His attire consisted of crisp white long sleeved shirt, black straight cut trousers, and matching black loafers. Even though he hailed from Virginia, America, very much he hated the country he was born on. It was not the people he loathed, it was the government. Craken used to be a sergeant in the Vietnam War, and he did not like how they were handling the issue. Soldiers as young as eighteen years old participated the war; he knew they might have just registered into the army, hence inadequate training. It drove him to the point he deliberately went MIA during the war, and fled to Japan as a permanent resident. The only items that were the memories of the war itself were the two M1911 handguns he used in the conflict.

Claire could only laugh her way out of the matter while Raquel let out a sigh, knowing her partner's nature. But even so, they were not here to chit-chat; the middle aged man, without wasting time, went straight to the point.

"All right, it seems that the investigators might have a gist to the madperson's whereabouts. Traces now lead towards Minato, where a possibility the suspect could have sought refuge at a warehouse near Chuo. However, this is not verified by them, hence the two of you are to head there to confirm their assumption."

"So, now the police are using the 'trial and error' method instead of the usual 'bust-in and search'. Maybe the lack of personnel is getting a bit grievous," commented the Swiss before Raquel's voice came into the conversation.

"But even so, we have to treat it as a serious matter. There might be a chance that the madman might have sought refuge at the warehouse. As the saying goes, we won't know until we head there."

"Right this sums up the short briefing. Your objectives are to search the warehouse. If the suspect is there, subdue him immediately. If he retaliates, do not kill the suspect; aim for his/her legs to stop him as a last resort," Chief Craken ordered his two officers before the duo left for their assignment.

… … …

13th May 2006; 6.30pm
Location: Minato, Storage Warehouse near Chuo – Tokyo Prefecture

"I'm starting to realize that the suspect could have used abandoned buildings to commit the murders, considering the pattern. Last week, a woman in her mid-twenties was found impaled in a run-down factory in Nakano while three days after that, an elderly man was spotted decapitated at the outskirts of Shibuya in a derelict detached house," implied Raquel before getting out of Claire's white BMW M3 E46 the moment the duo reached the site.

"However, there is one odd out; the salary-man who was killed by the suspect, did not occur at any such place; he was found in a dead end alley in Shinagawa. This also points out a possibility that the lunatic might have also done the killings in obscure places as well. But whatever it is, we better get our butts ready to sneak in that warehouse. We wouldn't want to end up dead like the two police officers," Claire replied before grasping her Glock 17 handgun. "Best we get going now before the sun sets."

"It's already setting for your information, blonde," the fair haired woman stated while narrowing her eyelids as a response before producing an old Mauser C96 handgun from under her overcoat. "Let's head in."

Damp and fetid were the words the Swiss could describe the moment they entered the warehouse. Crates that originally contained preserved food were poorly maintained, hence the decomposition. Wood palettes and other similar woodwork looked aged and on the brink of giving way; a sign that the duo had to be careful when they are undergoing the search. However, the main problem was, lighting was lacking. The windows on the roof seemed to have been boarded up poorly, limiting the amount of illumination to the warehouse. That had Raquel grabbing her torchlight prematurely before the door behind them slammed shut. Claire swore under her breath before aiming a left index finger at her partner simultaneously.

"You had to let the door slam, idiot," whispered the Swiss woman, though the twin-tailed counterpart had not been listening. "Hey, Raquel."

Instead, the woman with the overcoat was fumbling with her torchlight in the near pitch black warehouse, literally trying to find the switch. However, even though it was unintentional, the way she was doing so felt as if she was molesting the torchlight. Claire planted her face into her right palm before she snatched the device from her partner.

She squinted her eyes, so she could find the damned switch in the midst of darkness. Claire found it; located at the base of the device. As soon she pressed it with the seemingly a bulb pointing towards her, the Swiss lass found herself blinded by bright light. She cursed under her breath, shutting her eyes tight. Raquel raised her eyebrows as she saw what had happened. The Swiss blinked her eyes repeatedly till it no longer hurt while passing the torchlight back to the shorter woman. But that did not prevent Raquel from controlling her laughter, now in short sputters and an unsteady smile.

"Serves you right," she responded before waving her Mauser handgun to calm herself down, aiming the torchlight ahead of them.

… … …

Not a word left their mouths soon after as they weaved through the sprawling mess of broken crates and splintered timber. The cold concrete floor was littered with wood chips and dust while moisture in a form of used grease and water smeared on the surface. Silence was what both of them could only hear- an audible squelch ensued under the soles of Raquel's boots. Claire's head lifted upwards after taking note of possible 'sound-making' environments before aiming a finger at her partner, unintentionally poking Raquel's right cheek rather hard while doing so. Twin-tails responded by sending a left back hand into Claire's scalp before placing a finger on the blonde's lips. The fuming Swiss held her breath just before she could swear at the silver haired woman- both of them paused.

They swore a foreign sound was heard. Raquel took the lead while her right hand that held her Mauser C96 gripped tighter than usual. Lighting the route ahead with the torchlight in a sweeping motion, she took notice of fresh footsteps that may have come from the suspect. But the question was, is it really the suspect? It could have been a worker dropping by into the factory. But that theory itself was doubtful; who would be crazy enough to get supplies of decomposed preserved food? A hard crunch from a distance alerted the twin-tailed lass. She spun to the left, looking in between two crates that was stacked in a pyramid fashion before Claire came up to Raquel to cover her back. Blue eyes from the blonde scanned the area around them, but could not help but notice the increase in humidity in the warehouse. Her forehead had broken out in sweat, but had not had the time to wipe them off. Claire knew her flaw when it came to situations like this; lacking attentiveness with the surroundings. That problem had been the plague for her, but she did try to improve… with little effect. A snap of fingers from Raquel caught her attention; most probably signaling her to take a look in between the two crates.

"Do you see something suspicious over the other side?" whispered the Mauser wielding woman while Claire took a peek.

Blue eyes strained while trying to figure out what Raquel had spotted. Using the torchlight at that moment would only alert the suspect is he/she was to see it. Fortunately though, she did caught attention of a certain something; a pair of legs seemed to be dangling or hovering in the air.

"Is it the hanging legs?" replied the blonde, though Raquel was already sensing something out of the picture at that moment.

Grey eyes spun to the right while shining the torchlight at that direction. Movements were seen just right beside her, dashing past the stacked crates. However, instead of chasing that 'someone', she literally pounced towards Claire, bowling her over. The stacked wooden boxes rocked just before Raquel had done the action. A hard thud ensued before a several cracks and crunches overwhelmed it. The said sounds reverberated for a few moments before faint drips of moisture dripping onto the surface of several puddles were heard. Twin-tails got to a sitting position after managing to get Claire out of danger before turning to look at the wreckage behind her. Yet again, it seemed to be even more puzzling. Rusty nails were seen spilling out from the broken crates instead of the expected preserved food.

The blonde, though stunned at the moment, took notice at what her partner had seen before sputtering, "Dang it. That damned suspect might have rigged the place beforehand."

Everyone is in the wrong! They are flawed, I'm perfect! Even the police are corrupted!

The duo paused when they heard it. Raquel switched off the torchlight, knowing that the suspect might be nearby. Keeping their firearms close, Claire made her way deeper into the warehouse before signaling Raquel to head for the other direction in attempt to surround the felon. Blue eyes strained to navigate through the near pitch black darkness, though trying to take notice of her surroundings. A clang to the right- with her firearm, she spun to that direction, literally aiming towards the source. Only a spanner hanging with raffia string hitting a metal support pillar, she thought. But even so, she noted the poor, rusty condition of the structure; the storehouse could cave in should it give way. A glimmer caught her eye soon after that, spotted behind another form of stacked crates. However, judging from the event that happened earlier on, the blonde paced her way around it, with her right index finger literally touching the trigger of the Glock 17.

"A reflection from a broken mirror," thought the Swiss before glancing at her colleague who was on the opposite of where she was.

Raquel had examined what were the hanging legs were, and it seemed that the suspect had struck once again. A middle-aged man, possibly a resident in the area, was found hung by several rusty chains that wrapped around his neck while his torso had been stabbed by what it seemed to be metal rods.

"The suspect seemed to have a penchant in using anything metal to kill," she murmured before resuming with surrounding the criminal.

But it seemed hard for her to do so. Her boots squelched constantly whenever she stepped on one of the many puddles in the warehouse. She remarked with a faint 'tch', knowing that if the maneuver were to fail, it was her fault. Grey eyes spotted movements again at the far left. She intended to signal Claire to come over, but she could barely make out where her partner was. Frustration kicked in for a moment before she took the risk of going in by herself. Quickly, she paced her way behind a set of racks filled with crates, her back leaning against it. Edging her head towards a corner of the said items, she managed to catch a glimpse of the probable suspect, who had the back facing her. Raquel paused at that moment before spotting a metal rod in the felon's hands, the ones similar that was used on the victim she saw earlier on.

Huh! The world is in the apocalypse! Everything that's going on now is wrong! They have no idea what the true meaning of life is! Sevres them right to be killed by a righteous person!

Raquel backed off, just to prevent the suspect from noticing her presence- an audible crack echoed. She swore under her breath; she had stepped on chipped wood, which responded as such when her boots stepped on it by accident. Instantly, she knelt-.

Who's there, another corrupted person waiting in line to be taught a lesson about the real freedom?

Silence was what twin-tails could hear. Cold sweat ran down her face. She inched forwards before wiping them off with the left sleeve of her overcoat- a hard crack rang into her ears, just missing her scalp. Raquel jerked forward before lunging away from her cover. She spun towards where the suspect was before raising her voice.

"Claire, over here!"

A hard right fist met Raquel's torso the moment she finished her sentence. A gasp left her mouth before she went ahead with a rash swing with the torchlight, literally hitting the felon's right temple. The said woman gagged at that moment, she knew what would happen if her midriff were to inflict more damage; her old wound might open up again. She aimed her Mauser C96 at the suspect and triggered it hastily. Bullets splintered off the ground as they missed the target, who had dived behind a metal desk before kicking it towards Raquel. Grey eyes widened when she saw it, and attempted to sidestep away from the moving object. She did so with a quick leap, but was seconds too late to clear it. Her left leg got caught by the desk, and soon found herself slamming onto the cold, moist concrete flooring front first. That sudden impact left her very much in a daze, allowing the offender to strike with a quick kill. A metal rod was seen raised from a distance, planning to hurl towards Raquel the moment she stands up. A wide leer was seen on the suspect's face before a throw was executed.

Die, tainted officer!

A harsh right fist into the face overcame that, sending the felon several steps back. Blue eyes took notice of the said person's gender and some facial looks while initiating another quick blow to the chin; a man, sporting a mullet and moustache, and of moderate build, she thought. Claire's right fist met at the exact spot she wanted to hit, literally had the man stumbling to the ground with the metal displaced some distance away.

The hell I would lose to such atrocity!

The Swiss soon found herself caught off guard when the suspect head-butted her straight for her navel before a violent shove to the left ensued. The sudden movements did managed to relocate her position, but was not enough to make her fall. Claire winced at the impact for a short while- a faint yelp from Raquel overwhelmed it. Blue eyes spun to look. She thought her twin-tailed partner had been assaulted, but it was not. Instead, the woman with the overcoat had taken measures to restrain the suspect after getting up to her feet; behind the felon, she used her two arms to restrain him by the shoulders. Raquel knew if she were not to hold it before Claire could dash and subdue him, it would be for nothing- a hard left boot met her knee at high impact. A gasp was what she had sputtered before falling into a kneeling position, while both hands grasped at the affected ligament.

Claire dashed towards where her partner was before her eyes caught attention of the fleeing man. Dissatisfaction kicked in for the blonde, knowing that she had two choices to make at one spot; check on Raquel, or chase the suspect-.

"Don't mind me, just get him before he escapes!" twin-tails yelled at the Swiss, getting up to her feet ever so slowly. "I'm fine here!"

That response was enough to trigger the tall lass into dashing towards the said felon. Unfortunately, as much as she could run, the moment she found herself out of the warehouse, he was no where to be found, except for fresh rubber marks just a few metres from where she stood.

"He escaped via vehicle, dang it!" thought the blonde before swearing in German. "Blutiger Verdächtiger!"

Raquel, who finally caught up after limping for quite a distance, seemed not amused by what had occurred, "He escaped, didn't he?"

"Very much so; look at these tyre marks. The suspect might have a car with him all along," replied Claire rubbing her scalp with her left hand, a little disappointed by tonight's performance. "We might as well return back to The Academy and report about it. At least we now know how he kills."

"Constant usage of metal rods," said Raquel in a rather tired tone. "God my left knee hurts. This is going to affect my agility."

… … …

The suspect; he might have escaped,
But tracking down; it has just begun,
Tyres squealing; it echoes through the night,
Waiting for one day; the suspect will be chased again.

… … …

13th May 2006; 9.30pm

Two officers from The Academy have returned from the search, and have reported that the suspect was there, and had murdered yet another victim. A middle-aged man who lives in the vicinity of Minato has been found hanged and stabbed in an abandoned storehouse where it was once used by a fishing company. The Police Force has been deployed to settle the matter while investigators are now working closely with The Academy in order to quicken the pace.