Ama-Shi, Shimokayazu.
"Suspect? Kidnapping? BULLSHIT! If anything, I may have prevented this from happening." Cursed Kenji, frustration from a series of bad events happening in succession even making him lose composure.
"HA!!"
Kenji, who had just a while ago given a brutal beating to some people, felt like punching someone again but knew anger wouldn't solve anything. Controlling himself by letting out a long breath.
Controlling his anger and suppressing the wronged feeling of being framed for something he didn't do, Kenji tried to analyze everything that happened, going through everything that had occurred step by step.
As he reviewed today's events, Kenji actually began to understand a little why he was a suspect for gassing and even kidnapping.
While fixing the vents he had noticed that there were too many basic and simple mistakes which in principle no one could make unless he was literally blind or being ultra-lazy. He knew Kato, and it was hard for him to believe that he would make so many mistakes.
The second thing Kenji questioned was who was able to put gas in the vents, which was enough to spray the whole building—and the answer came quickly: a week ago, teams from his company had done a complete renovation of the building and someone most likely would have done it then.
If he could think of this, then surely the investigation department of Shinsei would be able to figure it out as well, and they would put those from Mirai Reform on their suspect list. He, who happened to come and fix today—no, he, who was deliberately lured to take the major blame—was surely going to be pursued.
Understanding he was most likely being used as a scapegoat in the schemes of some high-level people, Kenji's eyes turned cold. "You really won't let me move on, huh."
He had vowed to be different in this life, but whether it was fate or anything else, they clearly had other ideas and wanted that scary and lawless man to emerge again.
"I can't stay here; it may be raided any moment." But Kenji knew the most important thing now was not revenge—it was running away.
Kenji was a bit frustrated, but he was not blinded by it. On the contrary, his mind was working sharper than ever.
He knew he was strong, and most likely no one around the world could best him in single combat—but that was it.
He was about to face the pursuit of Japan's biggest and strongest security group, most likely even facing agents wielding guns this time. While gun law in Japan was strict, to people at the very top rules hardly mattered.
He was actually lucky that those he had fought in the building weren't armed with guns; otherwise, he wouldn't have walked out alive from there.
Hurriedly stepping out of the car, Kenji rushed into his apartment and began to pack his backpack with things needed on the run. Changing into an all-black attire—black T-shirt with black trousers, black sneakers, a black backpack on his back and a black baseball cap on his head.
Leaving his apartment, Kenji first turned off his phone, even taking out the SIM in it and throwing it away. Then he began to walk towards a nearby Family Mart, not intending to run away in his car. He knew it would surely be monitored on the run and would only aid in him getting caught.
Grabbing some high-energy food like protein bars and other ready-made solid stuff along with water bottles, he put them in his backpack and began to withdraw money from the ATM in the store.
He knew his bank account would most likely be frozen soon as well, so he had to withdraw as much as he could this time.
His Japan Post Bank had a daily withdrawal limit of 1 million yen, so he was only able to withdraw that much—one-fifth of his savings.
Although he would have loved to withdraw the rest of his savings as well, Kenji knew these were desperate times, so he had no choice, and 1 million yen could last him a while if he was economical.
With everything ready, Kenji hailed a taxi and about half an hour later arrived at the main Nagoya Station. It was almost 10 p.m., and trains in Japan stopped from twelve midnight till 5 a.m. in the morning.
Thankfully, there was a Shinkansen in ten minutes from Nagoya departing towards Awara-Onsen Station, a remote area in Fukui Prefecture. Kenji knew if he wanted to avoid the pursuit of Shinsei Security, then it was necessary for him to avoid crowded cities and areas.
A remote, quiet, and mountainous area with fewer cameras around to capture him was the perfect place to hide, at least for a few days till he completed his task. Then he would consider his next move—after all, he couldn't stay on the run his whole life.
The Shinkansen departed at 10:10 p.m. and arrived at its destination by 11:40 p.m. Kenji wasted no time and hurried out of the station, a black mask covering the lower half of his face and the baseball cap pushed down, making it even harder to see his facial features.
Kenji, stepping out of the station, didn't really have a specific destination in his head, but he knew he had to stay away from main areas, walking in the direction of the brief outline of mountains he could see in the dark.
Kenji walked for nearly an hour and a half, and the closer he got to the mountains, the more remote it got. He walked alone on a slightly rugged road with rice fields all around him, hardly even a single car passing by on this road during this hour.
There weren't even any roadside lamp poles, so it was dark—and a lone, tall figure walked continuously, not a slight sign of tiredness in his steps, solid and steady.
Eventually, around 1:30 a.m., Kenji finally arrived right under the mountain he had chosen to walk towards: a small town with run-down single-storey Japanese traditional houses, izakayas and restaurants with broken signs, cheap motels with rooms way below normal Japanese standards.
But Kenji wasn't really in a position to be picky. Even with his physique, after the long day in which so much happened, he was feeling tired and paid two thousand yen for a room for the next 24 hours.
The room wasn't too big, but it had all the basic things needed to survive. The walls looked older than his age in both lives combined, though fortunately the sheets on the single bed looked clean and tidy.
Thud!In no mood for a shower, Kenji, after brushing his teeth, plopped on the bed and quickly his breathing became smooth—a slight snoring sound in the dark and quiet room.