*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"We're closed." A gruff voice called from behind the steel roller doors.
"I'm here to see Toshiyaki Kojima. I heard... you've got the goods." Jun called through those protective doors. Dressed in a black hoodie and baggy pants, attempting to look like some street punk. Trying to fit in with the usual 'clients' of King's removal services.
The door slid up, revealing a short and stocky man, a dishevelled white singlet stained with sweat and whatever else was on the wooden floors behind him. The man looked to Jun, then pasted.
"Who name dropped me?" His words carried the sound of someone who smokes two packs of cigarettes a day. Masked by a strong scent of gum and cheap mouthwash.
"Ryu." Jun replied instantly.
The man gave the nod of confirmation. Allowing Jun to enter the hideout. It stunk of dust and something else that Jun could not place.
A small dark and dingy warehouse; where boxes of spice were stacked to the ceiling in the far most corner.
A not very well operated moving business in the slightest. A wonder it was yet to be caught out.
*Chick-chik*
"Ryu, yeah? What did that bastard tell ya?" A Gun pressed against Jun's chest.
"He said that Toshiyaki is the man to see… If you want the better stuff." Jun remained calm; not even flinching at the sight of a gun to the chest. The man's eyes narrowed to a glare.
The boon of being a ranker. He had seen worse monsters prowling through those gates; ones that will do far worse to you if you were to break under pressure.
"You seem well adjusted for a junky... You a cop?" He asked again, this time with the gun pressed harder up against Jun's centre.
"Not a cop... Heard about the money you can make moving spice around. I'm looking to join in on the action." Jun replied, not skipping a single beat, like the gun wasn't even there.
Eyes locked onto the thug with a determination. It paid off. With a click of the hammer, the gun went back into its host's holster.
"Good choice. You're lucky that I'm hiring. I'll get you started on- Oooff." Toshiyak was right in his initial assessment of the well-adjusted young man. As Jun's knee slammed into the man's heavy gut.
Double over, then a knee once again slammed into the man's nose.
"ARGHH! My nose! My fuckin' nose!" The man fell onto the filthy floor, with large droplets of blood beginning to pool.
The door was left open, allowing Eren to slink in. Who stood over the despicable man with nothing for the man below.
"I knew you were cops, I ain't telling you shit-"
*Slam*
Eren tossed the man with a simple flick of his forearms against the stack of spice boxes, crashing one the many spice towers on top of him.
"ARGH... Fuck!" The thug spat out a bloodied tooth, eyes filled with more anger than ever before.
His hand reached for the gun at his side. But a flash of bone and sinew, a whip lashed out and coiled around the man's neck and arm.
"We don't expect much from you... Who do you work for? Then you can go." Eren's words were simple, like asking the weather. He didn't pull the whip taught, not wanting to kill him... Yet.
Toshiyaki was almost ready to spill the beans. Eyes switching between the pair sporadically.
"I get my stuff from... N-No, fuck you. I ain't telling you shit!" The thug was defiant; but it was obvious that it was a facade. A final stand for the sake of his pride. Whatever pride meant to a lowlife.
*Thump*
Another box fell on the man's head, splitting powder all along the floor.
Crimson spice was a flavourful drug; some packages gave off sweet smells of strawberries and watermelons, tasty fruits of all kinds. An inviting way to get people hooked on spice was to breach their nasal cavities first.
Eren held Toshiyaki over the powder, nose an inch away from the dust.
"Wait, wait, wait... I don't touch the stuff please." The thug's eyes were wide with fear. Spice addiction was horrific; he would know having supplied many an addict.
"From who then? A guild?!" Eren continued. His eyes never wavering from the man below.
"The 'Fifth Dawn.' That's the guild I get the spice supply from." He explained quickly, tripping over his own words.
"Good... What do you know about El Rey Sol? La sombra? The viper queen? Do they mean anything to you?"
Eren deduced the further up the chain he went, the better chance at getting a lead. He was trying to find the largest link in the chain; someone who could take Eren to the top in one quick swoop.
"Who? I don't fucking know any of those people. Please I just supply the stuff to the low levels…" Toshiyaki replied, confusion in the eyes.
'Too low on the totem pole...'
"Fifth dawn... Thank you. However, we did lie about letting you go." Eren pulled his head higher.
"You son of a bitch!" The man yelled out; flailing like a wild animal.
Whether it was built up anger from the spice dealing scum; the threat against Emi, or just the plain old loathing for the world. Whatever the reason.
Eren slammed the man hard into the powder.
"Mmmph—MMnooooo" Toshiyaki thrashed as much as possible; trying to lift his head, trying to close his nose, mouth, eyes, ears. But to no avail.
Taking a large inhale. Eyes rolled into the back of his head, veins popped and pulsed, muscles twitched and convulsed. Until Jun yanked the poor man out of that pit.
"EREN!" Jun shouted. His voice was a mixture of disbelief and rage.
He had gotten what he wanted. A name; a location, a good deed done. So why did Eren squander it?
"Huuhhh... Why? Why, why, WHY?!" He began to tear up at the betrayal of trust. Trust that he had not earned in the slightest.
Dropping the man, turning to his student.
"He'll live. A bit of detox and a criminal conviction. Shared pain for what he supplied."
"But... you didn't need to do that. You gave your word..." Jun was hurt almost as much as Toshiyaki.
Eren kept quite; turning down to his phone, photographing and texting Mai about the sorry lowlife.
~
Another one caught. I'm going to the fifth dawn guild now.
You work faster than I thought you would... I'll send a car for him. And, I'll meet you just out the front of Fifth Dawn.
We need to chat.
~
Eren looked at the time. 6:00 on the dot. 'Yeah, I've got time.'
Eren left Toshiyaki to wallow in the spice powder.
Jun looked on, disappointed in the actions of Eren. A little faith lost in the man that night...
But Jun felt it was his duty to help him any way he could. After everything Eren did for him. Jun had to ensure his friend and mentor was helping himself.
Too many times, he had seen others walk this path that Eren seemingly put himself on.
***
'The Fifth Dawn' was a guild operated out of ward 6. A relatively small guild consisting of 20 people max. A small office building that blended into the surrounding area. An unassuming location fit for any front of a larger operation.
Mai waited by a garage door opposite the building. Leaning on a white car with her arms crossed and a glare locked onto Eren. Dressed in her white shirt and black suit, looking like just pulled a 12-hour shift and was about done with him before a word or action had taken.
"Why have you decided to show up for this one?" Eren asked suspiciously.
"Because, this is the first connection between your little vigilante hunt and our investigation. So, I've come to ensure you don't derail everything we have worked for." She explained. Still harbouring her disdain for Eren; not even Jun could escape her judgmental gaze.
"What do you know?" Jun asked the woman, who moved her eyes away from the two men's ignorance.
"The fifth Dawn is a small-time guild not even in the GRS 500; probably not even in the top 1000. They don't hold any gate licenses and barley clear the ones they do own. No principal company they work for, no high-ranking members, they are just… stock standard."
"GSR 500?" Eren had never heard of this term before. She had said like it was common knowledge.
"The 500 is the top 500 ranked guilds in Japan. The higher your ranked, the stronger you are, the power, wealth, status and a whole load of other things… How do you not know this?"
Those detective instincts of hers; she already knew who this man was. But she had to wonder if he was not from here.
No way would a man be capable of some such simultaneous destruction and aloofness.
"How do we want to play this?" Mai pushed through that horrible thought of the man before her being not even that horror.
"Leave it with me. I'll deal with it quicker." Eren vanished into the shadows of the garage. Leaving the detective alone with Jun.
"Is he always such an ass?" She complained to Jun.
"Heh. Yeah, yeah, I've gotten used to it. Although, recently he's been getting a bit worse." He admitted with a downcast of those bright eyes.
Normally, Eren kept a certain air of respect to those who are on the same side. This job had brought out the worst in Eren. Even the guild began to hear rumblings of demur from the top brass.
Rumours were certainly a terrible and ugly creation of humans. Worse when they are founded.
"Can I ask why you follow that guy?" Mai looked up to Jun, a curiosity that was a little too prying for Jun's liking.
He didn't want to share details, especially with a detective, but also someone with an agenda against Eren. He needed to be careful with what to say, or not to say.
Although, to get the truth off his chest felt would liberate him.
"Well... He's been the only one that's really given me a chance. I've been bounced off the ground and back more times than I can count. He helped show me that I'm worth something. Helped me fight for something, helped me stand up when the whole world wants me dead." Jun explained with a returned smile.
"And those boys at Kaname high... What he did for you; he does for them?" Trying to understand the motivations behind the mask.
"More than anyone ever cared to give them." Jun's words were soft as the wind, yet filled with heavy emotion and sincerity.
He saw Eren as a hero of sorts; doing what others would simply turn a blind eye too. Mai had gotten a new perspective of Eren; like two sides of the same coin.
There was much more to Eren Heart, than the man who she thought prowled the streets at night; and a prick to cops during the day.
'A killer with a heart.'
A monster with a heart was unheard of in this world. It nearly made her think positively of the Reaper.
Until they heard the crash.
Glass rained down from a broken window. A body flew from the second story. With a thump they hit the red van parked below.
A woman, a ranker, and unconscious. Blood flowed a head wound where a shard of glass had cut into.
"The hell?" Mai said under her breath. Eyes wide as she rushed aid the woman.
*Smash* *Crash*
A second body flew out. Landing on the bonnet; this one was screaming from the bone that jutted out from her forearm.
" Aghh! Fuck! My arm! Aghhhh!" Her cries of pain were soon quietened as Eren jumped down, muffling her mouth.
"What did you do?!" Gun pulled and promptly pointed at Eren.
"Two rankers... Who front for the blood tooth cartel. This is the CEO, 'Yumi' and her administrator 'Takehisa.'" Eren explained, continuing to hold Takehisa's mouth closed.
"How do you know?" Jun questioned. A little more understanding of the situation than the detective.
"They told me... They just needed a little motivation. Right?" He added simply. Takehisa nodded frantically in confirmation.
"What about their other guild members-"
"Gone. All gone for the night. Only these two are left." Eren explained, releasing the injured ranker from her grasp.
The woman held her arm. Determined to keep those howls inward. Pain and anguish in her eyes. Tears flowing as she gritted her teeth.
"They'll make you pay for interfering with them... They'll kill you!"
She would've continued her triad against her attacker. Until his arm slid down to hover above the blackened arm.
"La Sombra, El Rey Sol? The viper queen?" Takehisa shook her head; although she held some reaction to the viper queen name.
No more than just a passing familiarity. Nothing that Eren didn't already have.
"All yours detective..." Eren got off the woman, leaving her to the detective. He had integrated what he needed from the unconscious one, the next link up the chain. A gate which they frequented was the next target.
"Wait... We've still got-" Mai called out for the reaper, to find no one around. Like a ghost in the night that had long encroached.
"Damn it..." She sighed as she was left with two injured and unconscious bodies.
"I'm really sorry detective. He's not normally this bad. If there is anything I can do to make it easier for you…"
Jun gave a bow to the very frustrated detective. He too was left out of the loop of what the next link in the chain was.
But that offer of aid; whilst genuine was waved off.
"It's alright. You should focus on making sure he doesn't continue to spiral anymore. I'll clean this up."
Another full bow to the lady before he rushed to at least try and find out where his mentor scurried off to.
"A killer with a heart..."
The idea of that... A sick thought, a killer is a killer. Monster or human, there was already enough of them in this gods forsaken place.