Hunting Akuma (Book Two of The Yakuza Series) (✔️)

二十三 (Twenty-Three)

(Surprise and You're Welcome) (Vince's POV)

I sat in the car across the street from Genkei's hideout.

When Yori called me and told me what happened I was stunned. I was completely stunned and confused. I told Juliet and she started crying. She said we had to drop everything and come help. I agreed.

When we saw Aria in the police station, she wasn't the same as the last time we'd seen her. She had dark circles under her eyes and she looked like she'd lost a few pounds. Her eyes were also puffy and red from crying so much.

My heart ached for her. It ached because I put myself in her shoes for a second. I put Juliet in her shoes. The thought of one of us actually dying tore me up inside.

I applauded Aria to though. I applauded her for not giving up and for still living. I would've followed Juliet and I know she would've done the same.

Ryu was so young. Aria is too. They had so much life to live. So much to do.

I promised Aria that I'd find Genkei. I'm thankful that Aimoto showed up to help cause I will admit, my guys aren't as good as he is.

As I sat in the car, he sat beside me typing away on his computer.

"Anything?" I asked.

"Only two cameras. One at the front and one at the back. They point outward. Can't see anything inside. You'll have to go in blind." He said showing me his screen.

"Can you turn them off or something? Give us some time to get in before they see us?"

He scoffed. "I'm not amateur. I can get you five minutes starting.....now."

"Thanks for the warning." I said, getting out of the car.

The few men I had with me, Jun, and some of Yori's men followed behind. We approached the house and I kept my eyes peeled.

I wasted no time kicking in the door. We all filed in and started searching the house. We didn't hear any noises at all. Is was very...odd.

We had just finished searching every room when Aimoto called me.

"What?"

"I'm looking at the floor plans for the house and there is a basement. I think the door is hidden."

"I'm standing in the master bedroom now."

"The entrance should be in the office. It's two rooms down on the left."

"Alright."

I motioned for my men to follow me as I went to the office. It took a minute or two before we found the door. It was hidden behind a bookcase. Classic right?

"Aimoto, you still there?" I asked.

"I'm here." He said. "Find anything?"

"We are about to go down." I whispered.

"Okay. Remember this guy is an explosive expert. Don't let your guard down. Don't touch anything or step anywhere unnecessarily."

We got halfway down the steps when I spoke. "Aimoto, I don't think that's going to be a problem..."

~~~~~~~~~
(Aria's POV)

I accidentally passed out on the loveseat in the storage unit after talking to Aimoto. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, yawning as I did so. I went to check the time, but my phone was dead.

I cleaned up everything I'd been looking through before leaving. I knew I must've been asleep for a while because when I got outside it was fairly dark.

I made it to the safe house to find everyone there waiting for me.

"I fell asleep and my phone died." I explained quickly.

Then I read the expressions on their faces.

"What is it?" I asked.

Vince was the one that stepped forward.

"Aria," he started and it sounded like he was going to deliver bad news.

"Just tell me."

"We found Genkei in the basement. Gunshot wound to the head."

I shook my head. "No."

"He killed himself, Aria."

"No. No. No. No."

"His friends were nowhere to be seen. We don't know who they are or anything, so we can't track them. He left no traces of them."

"No. No."

"I'm sorry. We-"

"Leave." I said sharply.

"What?"

"I want all of you out. Now."

"Aria..."

"Out. Now."

Vince laid something down on the table as he headed for the door. The others quickly followed him. No one said anything as they left.

I grabbed the pictures he'd left and scanned through them. They were pictures of the scene. Genkei sat in a chair with a gun his hand.

I shook my head and threw the pictures down. It didn't make sense. Why would he kill himself?

After spending a month of looking for him, we'd learned a lot about him. We learned that he had a wife and a son in his early twenties. He often frequented host clubs and other bars. He had a couple guys that sometimes helped him with jobs.

I went insane. I swiped everything off the table into the floor. I threw the small bowl of fruit. I picked up glasses and bowls and threw them across the room. Then I ended up cutting myself on a piece off glass. Right across my palm.

I collapsed in the middle of the floor amongst the glass and cried as my hand bled. I buried my face in my hands and ran my hand through my hair. The blood didn't bother me. I was becoming numb to everything.

Genkei was dead. There would be no real justice for Ryu or myself.

I curled up in the floor as I cried and that's how I fell asleep. Bleeding, crying, and completely destroyed.