Vast anthology 1: Tengu's Flight

Chapter 7 : Gentle Rumblings

Chapter 7: Gentle Rumblings

A lone highway extends to the above, slanted diagonally. In the complete darkness of the horizon. The only visible sights are the grey roads illuminated solely by the slender lamp posts lining along the suspended highway. Right now, the car is driven in isolation, in this dark blind spot of the city, shrouded in the shadows of the skyscrapers above. This is Yomotsu Hirasaka highway, the liminal boundary between the above and the below.

The gentle rumblings of the Brood Crow glows in the silence. Akihiro sits in the car seat driving the car as always, his blank stare behind his rose-tinted glasses, his red tokin steadily puckered on his head. Kano is beside him, leaning back in the front seat, her posture exuded a casual disregard, her legs crossed. She rests on her crossed arms, the bulky prosthetic gauntlet acting as a headrest, the window to her side empty with shattered glass. In the second row of the car, Tetsuya is by the window, comfortably nestled, staring out the window. Beside him, the huge frame of Yoshinori is stiffly seated on the car cushions, his arms crossed, and his short stubby beak steadily facing forward. On the other side of the car window, Michi is resting, his tall stature hunched as he embraces his sniper rifle. His raincoat is bunched up, his slender beak rested against the window. Toyo sits between Yoshinori and Michi, her petite body shifting in her seat, she fiddles with her thumbs, not knowing what to do.

Akihiro tries to break the silent atmosphere "Kano, about just now, you feeling any better?"

Kano shifts her eyes out the car window with a sense of reluctance "I'd rather not talk about it, please" Kano then shifts the topic "Toyo, I need to ask, is there anyone out there who might come looking for you?"

"Oh, it's alright, I live alone, no one would come desperately seeking for me" she says as she fiddles her black hair and combs it across her squarish ears. "Well, except the Ito clan, I guess"

Michi laughs, his elongated beak opening up. "Well, you don't have to worry about that, we'll kick their asses if they come messing with you!"

Toyo smiles in appreciation, she says in a playful tone "You promised, ok?"

The whole car erupts in laughter, except for Tetsuya who seems to be uncomfortably restled on the car window. He seems unusually quiet, his solemn gaze fixed on Toyo that goes unnoticed by the others.

Yoshinori asks Toyo "Though, I'm still quite curious, why do the Ito clan want you"

Michi interrupts with a brazen theory "To be honest, I still think you're related to their family"

Toyo face looks at Michi in contempt, and mutters "I don't think so, I surely hope not"

Kano proposes a different idea "Maybe you know something they don't want you to know? Think about it, does it ring any bells?"

Toyo falls deep into thought, trying to recall her memory. She suddenly flinches, a lightbulb moment. She starts to explain

"Last month, when I was going through some of my father's paperwork, I found a sealed clipping of a police report."

The tengus are startled, the atmosphere in the car shifts to a curious one.

"It was a case my dad investigated in 2004, it's a rejected report, where a teenage oni boy barged into a house and murdered a family." Toyo elucidates.

Akihiro interrupts as his eyes tensed up "Your dad, he investigated this?"

Toyo states "My dad used to work in the police force, this was just one of his reports that got rejected"

"BINGO, that's why the Ito clan are hunting you, it makes sense now" Michi startles the tense ambiance. "I reckon that the teenage boy in that report could very well be one of the leading yakuza heads of the Ito clan,"