Detective Yuki

24. Long

1. Long

In the dying phases of the battle, the Forbidden city's grand facades came under attack from a destructive demon on a warpath for blood. Unbeknownst to the combatants inside, an armored car of the Chinese national guard had arrived by the crumbling stone walls on the city's outed perimeter. Upon the sight of small creatures and demons scurrying around in the rubble, the car's rooftop machine gunner opened fire indiscriminately into the complex, sending a barrage of bullets in every direction. 

Senbi, Yuki and Aibo scattered among the racing projectiles, hunkering down for cover behind large chunks of masonry and smouldering woodwork. Yuki crawled along the ground like a soldier at war and saw her trusty sound machine set atop a stone. Crawling along the ground to avoid the Chinese gun, she reached her arm out to grab it, but she yelped in pain as her hand was stomped on by the demented claws of Senbi, looking down on her with a wide jagged smile and luminous yellow eyes. 

"did you think it was going to be that easy?. Wrong!!" Senbi elaborated, taking the machine in his left hand and crushing it, leaving only a heap of junk.

Yuki managed to release her hand from his foot grip, but he immediately got her up by the throat, sweeping her off her feet.

 "a few minor setbacks, but even this will not stop me, not even you" Senbi grinned as he stared directly into Yuki's eyes. 

For a brief second, Senbi seemed to have the upper hand in the battle, but from behind came a spiking pain in his chest. Looking down, he discovered two bronze swords from the palace had penetrated his chest courtesy of Aibo in an act of heroism, causing him to howl out and release Yuki. The groans of the demon drew the attention of the armored car toward Senbi, whereupon it opened fire once more, ripping many holes into the creature's body. The beast lied on the ground, bleeding green blood while he turned himself to face his rivals, who stood close to the body. 

"you think you have won?!!. No, the damage is done, and it always will be. Not even you can stop it!!" Senbi rasped with his dying breath, words that resonated with Yuki as she and Aibo surveyed the damage to the palace.

By the end of the day, Peking, seat of the Chinese republic was in disarray. The sanctum of the Forbidden city had been violated by fire and destruction, columns of smoke rose up across the capital, and the headquarters of the government was also on fire. Police sirens waned across town as a large group of people joined elements of the Chinese military in storming the ruins of the Forbidden city, bearing witness to the horrific destruction that had occurred in the name of salvation. Yuki stood battered and bruised above the corpse of Senbi, his demonic features leaving an impression on her soul. The armored car aimed its machine gun straight at her as the occupants inside shouted out "SABOTEURS!!!, TERRORISTS!!!". Soon Yuki and Aibo were surrounded by angered Chinese civilians and armed soldiers. 

"Yuki, what should we do?!!" Aibo whispered to his counterpart in the heat of the moment.

Saying nothing in return, Yuki simply put her hands up in a display of silent surrender, an act that Aibo initially disagreed with to a look of puzzlement, but for the sake of his friend and their lives, he raised his hands as well, both allowing themselves to be apprehended. Yuki and Aibo would reside for the next several days inside the relative safety of the Japanese embassy, like a castle under siege, with Chinese protestors objecting to their wellbeing despite the destruction of their city. 

"this does not look very good, Yuki. If we were to go out there, we would be crushed" Aibo predicted while Yuki listened to the radio by a double panelled window overlooking the tension building on the congested streets of Peking. Then, a message was sent out over the national radio station:

This is NHK Radio

The date September 1st, 1925

Breaking news is making headlines throughout the empire as the ultimatum proposed to the Chinese government has been revoked by the imperial Diet in light of events in Peking several days ago, when a multi-pronged series of explosions rocked the capital, damaging the Kuomintang headquarters and the ancient Forbidden city. two Japanese civilians were discovered at the Forbidden city amidst the damage, along with a body of a monster that was confirmed to be that of Automobile magnate Senbi post-mortem.

The two Japanese are currently being held under armed guard at the Japanese embassy in Peking, in the light of a wave of protests branding the two of them as spies and terrorists. Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei, two of the most powerful individual in the Chinese regime, were reported wounded in the blast that engulfed their Party's headquarters committed by unknown assailants. In other news, the Chinese President Duan is scheduled to be making a visit to the embassy very soon.

Yuki and Aibo listened carefully to the report, while outside a long blue automobile with the Kuomintang symbol on its door stopped on the steps of the embassy, overseen by stern Japanese soldiers guarding the embassy. Out of the car came the president Duan, a moderate man with a receding hairline, in a blue suit, a presence that silenced the crowd as the president came to the front of the crowd on the final step before the embassy entrance. 

"my countrymen, young and old, I come here today in spite of these events to give you a simmer of hope in these dark times. The two Japanese inside this embassy were according to testimonies and evidence, actually helping to benefit the Chinese people. In light of their deeds in stopping the monsters from terrorizing the city, I would like to offer the Japanese government our sincerest gratitude for the services of these two kind people, and to issue them a presidential pardon on behalf of I as a token of my appreciation for their actions today. The only penalty I have to offer them is deportation back to their homeland almost immediately. Furthermore, these two Japanese were not involved in the explosion that caught me and my comrades at our headquarters, rather malevolent agents within our own society, who seek to destroy our very fragile peace" Duan remarked before he returned to his automobile and left the scene. 

Yuki and Aibo had watched the speech with Japanese ambassadors from the front windows of the embassy, like cowering hatchlings, but soon enough, the pent up tension that had recently grew against Japan had been temporarily smoothed over by the elocution of the Chinese president.