Shadow Of Toyama

Kurashi approached the girl slowly, his hands buried in his pockets. The glow of the distant festival lights flickered faintly in the alley, casting long shadows that danced across the walls. The girl sat frozen in fear, her small frame trembling as Kurashi stopped before her.

As he stopped a few feet away, her wide eyes darted to a small rock near her feet. And with a shaky hand, she grabbed it and hurled it towards Kurashi.

"Get away from me!" the little girl shouted, her voice cracking halfway through.

The rock barely grazed Kurashi's leg.

Unfazed by the puny attack, Kurashi stared blankly at the poor girl, his unblinking eyes void of color.

The girl now had no other defense, her breath hitching as she realized her fate.

"Mama..." the little girl cried to herself.

With a step closer.

Then another step closer.

Kurashi was now within arm's reach of the girl.

With a killer right in front of her, she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the worst.

As Kurashi knelt at the girl's level, he tilted his head slightly, studying her reaction as if she were some puzzle to be solved.

"Where are they?" Kurashi asked quietly.

The girl opened her eyes, blinking up at him in confusion.

"The men...where are they?"

"You're not…going to hurt me?" the girl whimpered in confusion, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

Kurashi ignored the little girl's concern.

"Where?"

"I-I don't know..." the girl replied tremblingly.

Kurashi exhaled quietly through his nose, the closest thing to a sigh. With no useful information to gain, he turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!"

The girl's small hand shot out and grabbed his left arm, her grip weak but desperate.

"Please...don't leave me. The bad guys...they'll get me again," she said in a fragile whisper.

He suddenly stopped as if a thought had come to him.

Instead of offering reassurance, he resumed his walk, dragging the girl with him as her tiny hands clung desperately to the back of his hoodie.

Looking around the alley, her eyes landed on the lifeless bodies scattered on the ground. Though she could hear it all along, she had not seen what unfolded around her until now. Five men, or what was left of them, shredded in a way that didn't seem humanly possible.

The girl's stomach churned, placing a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream.

"Did…you do this?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

With no guilt in his doings, Kurashi kept walking quietly.

The girl swallowed hard as she lowered her gaze to the cracked pavement beneath her, trying to get the haunting image out of her head.

Now out of the dark alley, they emerged into the bustling streets of the Holloween festival.

Lanterns swung gently in the nightly breeze, its warm glow casting a dim light over the crowded streets. The aroma of grilled skewers and sweet pastries lingered in the air, mingling with the occasional bursts of laughter and chatter from the crowd of masks and costumes.

Despite the lively atmosphere, the festival felt like another world to the little girl—a cruel dream she couldn't touch.

Her grip on Kurashi's hoodie tightened, as her eyes darted nervously around to the strangers passing by.

"Mister?"

Kurashi glanced over his shoulder, his face half-lit by the glow of a nearby lantern.

"Are you...a good guy?"

Her voice wavered, the question sounding both childish and unbearably heavy.

"I don't know..."

The girl's heart sank.

"But you killed them—the bad guys."

He didn't answer.

"And...you saved me? You have to be a good guy right?"

The girl began to give herself hope. A slight hope that she would be saved from her never-ending nightmare.

"And if I'm not?" Kurashi whispered while looking over his shoulder.

The little girl looked down in disappointment, upset by the response she received.

"Good or bad...Can you promise me one thing?"

The girl stopped speaking for a moment, trying to build the courage to speak up.

"Promise that you will protect me."

"Protect?"

The mission he was given was simple.

Locate the hideout.

Assess their operations.

Nothing more. Nothing Less.

Kurashi then spoke up to the girl, her eyes widening at his soft voice.

"You've been there, have you? Know where they are...Tell me where, and...I will."

"Really?" the girl responded, truly in disbelief by his response.

"O-okay, I'll try my best to remember."

The festival faded behind them as they turned into a secluded part of town. The air grew colder, thick with the acrid smell of cigarette smoke. Cracked pavement and boarded-up windows lined the streets they walked and it was then a vague memory came to the girl.

"This place...I remember."

The girl began to look around, horrifying memories seeming to return to her.

"The scary sounds...the laughing...the darkness...the fear...I remember."

They walked further through the streets, their footsteps merging with the faint night breeze. It was then that Kurashi noticed the sound of a car engine coming to a stop, its tires crunching softly on the pavement below it.

Now hiding along a wall, covered by the depth of the night, Kurashi observed the scene before him. The car then shut off and two men stepped out, closing the car doors behind them. As the two men approached the front door of an abandoned warehouse, three other men stood guard, their posture casual yet alert. With a stern nod from one of the guards, the two men were allowed into the warehouse, the large metal door shutting behind them.

"It's here...This is it." the little girl whispered, her voice a mix of both recognition and fear.

"Walk up there..." Kurashi commanded, his voice devoid of emotion.

"What! Why would I do that?! They would just take me again..."

Kurashi turned around to the girl, his cold stare forcing her to look down at the pavement. She was in no position to deny his words, no matter how scared she was.

"We made a promise, remember that..."

The little girl walked into the open, fidgeting with her hands as she closed in on the guards.

"He promised me...I'm safe...I'm safe...I'm safe...I'm safe..."

Her fidget became more intense. Now picking at the skin around her nails.

"I-I just have to be brave, that's all."

As she came into light, one of the standing guards noticed her.

"Look, if it isn't our little escape artist." the guard mocked at the sight of her.

"Didn't like the outside did ya'?" another guard added in.

The two guards found humor in the mocking of the little girl until the other guard stepped in.

"Cut it out! Stop picking and just get her inside. The boss is already pissed enough." the third guard commanded, finding his coworkers aggravating.

The two guards stopped laughing instantly, turning to him with disdained looks.

"For someone about to get a bonus, you seem kinda' ungrateful. If you don't want the extra cash, I'll be more than happy to take it for ya'."

"And none of us of gonna' get it if you don't bring that damn girl inside. Now hurry up!"

"Fine, fine...", the first guard responded, walking over the the girl.

His arm reached out for her.

"C'mon, it's time to head back inside."

The little girl closed her eyes, afraid of what was to come.

She could only hope.

Hope that a good guy would save her.

"He promised me...I'm safe...I'm safe...I'm safe..."

Before she could be touched, from the top of the warehouse, a phantom had silently descended from the darkness. Falling from above, Kurashi drove his katana down into the collarbone of one of the guards, blood spraying as he pulled the blade out.

With a swift pivot, Kurashi severed the head of the other guard standing at the door. The last guard, who stood near the little girl, fumbled desperately to pull out his gun from his waistband. Finished with the other two, Kurashi's cold eyes turned upon him, slowly lifting his left hand in his direction.

"What the fuck are you-"

The guard's words were cut off as Kurashi closed his fist, an unseen force puncturing the insides of the guard, forcing him to cough up blood as he fell to the ground in agony.

Three lifeless bodies now littered the ground.

With the guards now taken out, the little girl had stepped cautiously around the dead bodies, as she ran to Kurashi's side. As Kurashi opened the warehouse door, he was now about to enter the world of Toyma's biggest crime syndicate.