[center][i]„Suki 'Valentina' Matisashi and Kanamaru 'Joshua' Matisashi”[/i][/center] --- Kanamaru's bike swiftly came to a stop right before Nara's car shop, but not because he'd parked it there. Some idiot woman ran in front of his hoverbike. [i]„Nandayo! Get out of the wa-.”[/i] he'd yell as he tried to swerve out of the way but it was way too late. He'd quickly get up and run over to the woman who had.. somehow gotten up and appeared to be perfectly fine. [i]„H-how did you..”[/i] he mumbled, his run turning into a stumble as he'd scratch the back of his head. By now, his mates had gotten out of Nara's car shop, inspecting the scene too. Shizui, a man with a dirty oil stained T-Shirt on and some rough jeans, paired with combat boots walked up to Kanamaru. He appeared to be around the same age as Kanamaru. He extended his hand towards Kanamaru, who grabbed it unattentively and shook it, half-assedly fistbumping their hands after that. [b]„Yo, Kanamaru.. is she alright?”[/b] Kanamaru nodded slowly, walking closer to the lady. [i]„Ehh.. you alright miss?”[/i] he'd ask, inspecting her body looking for any traces of damage. If he saw correctly she flew rather high and far.. she'd have some sort of bruising. [b]„Kana! Just get her number and fix that shit later, man. We got a errgggh... mission.”[/b] Kanamaru looked back at Shizui before looking back at the lady. He quickly went through his pockets with a strange look in his eyes -- one that spelled confusion and anger. The crew around Kanamaru and Shizui didn't seem too friendly either, all eyeing the girl and -- rather obviously -- looking at her more feminine shapes. [i]„555-867-5309 is my number. Call me tomorrow. We'll settle.. whatever damage you have. I'll pay somehow.”[/i] he said, mumbling a bit after that.. [i]„.. not sure how I'll pay but somehow...”[/i] He turned around, still rummaging through his pockets. As he turned away from the lady, he'd pull out his [url=http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/068/4/f/Pistol_by_kleinebozebeer.jpg]X24-A model[/url] quickly, check the chamber and in that manner show that he was ready to the squad. They were about to turn around and move out, but Kanamaru turned around again tucking the pistol in his waistline. He walked closer to the lady, walking quite aggressively as young, cocky Asian gangsters did. His blue sports jacket briefly opened due to his quick movements, revealing the tattoo on his lower neck, crossing into the shoulder, that read the kanji for '[url=http://gubaba.org/mi2/wiki/images/d/db/Kami.gif]Kami[/url]' which was Japanese for god. Whether this meant he thought of himself as a god, or whether he revered god wasn't clear from the tattoo. [i]„You know, you're lucky. If you were a guy, I'd have punched your face in.. whatever you are that you can take a hit from a bike like that. Are you sure you're not a man?”[/i] he said, his face turning into an angry and 'disgusted' look, still not quite realizing this was an android. Her android programs would likely be able to decypher his behavior as cockiness or just the attitude of a young, lower class boy. He turned around again as his 'criminal crew' packed into a hover-car, a car of the van models that offered plenty room in the back of the van. Shizui yelled out to Kanamaru, before closing the van door. [b]„Kanamaru, you're on backguard! Ike!”[/b] The van door closed with a smack as the van started hovering slowly before speeding off towards the CorpWest Inc. headquarters. Meanwhile Kanamaru swung his legs over the hoverbike again, grabbing his helmet from the seat and putting it on. He slowly let his bike start hovering again, before slowly hovering past the lady, giving her a stare of confusion all the way until he passed her. After that he accelerated a fair bit, going over the speed limit to catch up with the van. --- The van stopped outside CorpWest Inc. headquarters' doors with the hovering engine still going, slowly hovering in place as the men in the back drank an Asaiki beer. It might've been imported, but it was probably just manufactured by an American beer brand, since nobody really knew what the hell was outside of Providence. They laughed, seemingly careless for the fact that they were about to commit a crime. Meanwhile Kanamaru was stuck outside, exchanging a brief look with the driver of the van through it's mirrors. He simply took off his helmet and hung it from his handlebars, bike still hovering but Kana's feet firmly on the ground. He took the packet of cigarettes he'd bought the day before from his blue sports jackets' pocket, and with a quick movement of the hand flicked his wrist, sending a cigarette up. It was caught at the edge of the cigarette pack after which Kanamaru could simply grab it with his lips. He put the pack away, grabbing a lighter and lighting the cigarette up. His cigarette moment didn't last long as the target already walked out of the large building, headed for a nice looking hovercar. The men inside the van sprung into action and one of them opened the door, before two others jumped out, one of which was armed with the same kind of pistol Kanamaru had. They didn't waste any time being subtle, one of them attempting to grab Misty by the wrist, the other shoving his gun against her head and once she'd pass him into her back, coaxing her into the van. The van door got closed, but before they even left at all the Red-Blue pigs already showed up, two officers on foot running towards the van, one of them already blaring into his radio. And the tricky part was, were they androids or real humans? Nobody knew nowadays, with the lay offs happening daily, a new sector of the economy being replaced by androids every day. Well, atleast Kanamaru thought so as he had no real idea how it worked. He just went by what the rest told him. According to his sister it'd be some time until she got replaced, simply because customers prefer real people to serve them. One of the cops passed Kanamaru's bike, drawing his weapon and attempting to take aim at the hovervan. One drawback to hover vehicles? There's no tires you can shoot out. Kanamaru dropped his cigarette from his mouth before extending one of his feet sideways towards the pavement, tripping the second officer. He'd use the time he got by causing the confusion to put on his helmet quickly before grabbing the handlebars again and setting off after the van. Things seemed to go okay for some time. Inside the van, one of the men already yelled at Misty. Things like [b]„WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR MONEY?”[/b] and [b]„Whoever takes care of you better pay up, yariman!”[/b] Not nice things to yell at all, but then again they were sort of taking her hostage for a ransom. While she'd likely assume it had to do with the 'blackout' of earlier that day, that was not the case. But things weren't okay outside of the van, as a police hovercar had already set in to chase the van. Except Kanamaru was driving in the way and they had no clue Kanamaru was part of the group in the van. [b]„HOVERBIKE, MOVE ASIDE!”[/b] was being blared through the speakers on the hovercar, squaddies thinking that this might actually help. The traffic ahead of them seemed to clear almost automatically as the van rushed past, being controlled either by the owner or a system inside the car which would've been hooked up to the PD control system as well, to allow for better accessibility for squaddie cars, as well as ambulances and firetrucks. Because yes, stuff could still catch fire in Providence, and people still got wounded. And yes, people were still criminal. This was proof of that, a van speeding past with a squad car behind it, the only thing in between a mere hoverbike. [i]„Nani? Get out of the way?”[/i] Kanamaru asked himself, his face once again employing that characteristic angry look he always seemed to have. He let go of the handlebars with one hand, digging into his sports jackets' pocket, past the cigarettes and finding the grip of his pistol. He looked over his shoulders once, pinpointing where the squad car was, before pulling out the gun completely and turning his body slightly, keeping his handlebars straight while he took aim at the coppers. [i]„You get lost, baka.”[/i] he said to nobody in particular. He fired twice, missing both shots, sending them through the copcars' windscreen. He fired once again, and this time hit his mark, a bullet going through the windscreen into the driving officers' shoulder and sending the hovercar to the left due to his injuries shaking him up. Kanamaru faced forwards again and focussed on driving as he put the gun away, the cop car being sent hovering into some cars but nothing too serious. If the speeding cars, flashing copcar lights and shots didn't scare the crowd up, the crashing cars would. TV screens in the area suddenly cut blank before sending out a PD message. [b]Citizens, there is currently a police chase taking place on Avenrose Avenue and Penison Boulevard. Stay clear of the criminals, as they are armed and dangerous. Leave the police and the copdroids to their jobs and do not interfere. If these criminals enter your house, comply with their demands and don't do anything foolish.[/b] The group of Asian criminals was going too fast to notice these messages, but they were surely there. After some creative driving, avoiding most of the cops attention by driving through routes which usually went unchecked, and where no surveillance on license place took place in general, they arrived back at Nara's carshop. All the while some guy held a gun to Misty her head, Shizui grinning at her in a scary manner. Slowly the car hovered into the carshop after which one of the crooks closed the sliding door, a sign saying 'do not enter' plastered over it's grimy white surface. Kanamaru stopped his hoverbike around back of the carshop, in a dusty area with a few bins and trashcans. He stopped it's engine and put the helmet on the seat, being quite sure nobody would be poor enough to steal a helmet. He grabbed another cigarette and lit it up as he walked inside, the guys already stepping out of the van and highfiving and fistbumping eachother, celebrating in Japanese. Meanwhile, Kanamaru went towards the van to see Misty, who was being tied down with tie-rips by Shizui. [i]„Nani, Shizui? This is the catch? Some redhead?”[/i] he said, an unamused look on his face plagueing his looks. Shizui just ignored him, continuing to tie rip her feet together. She'd be quite comfortable in the back of this van for a while. Likely, news messages of the kidnapping of the famous CEO from WestCorp were already plastered over the news. Kanamaru walked a bit towards some barrels of oil, grabbed a somewhat dirty blanket and took it back to the van. By now Misty would be done and Shizui left the van, going to enjoy a cold one with his friends. [i]„Yo, redhead. Want a beer? We have Akaji, if you want some.”[/i] he said as he tossed the blanket over her legs. He seemed to be relatively calm about this all. He took the cigarette from his mouth and tapped the ash onto the floor before continueing to smoke it. [i]„And I'm not rich, but I guess you can borrow a cigarette from me.”[/i] he grinningly said, grabbing two Akaji beer from the 6-pack on the left of the van on some barrels, extending one in his hands towards her. Kanamaru toyed with the cigarette in his mouth using his tongue, making it dance up and down. Somewhere deep inside he felt bad for the cop he shot. He never intended to hit. Kana was quite a bad shot, you see. It was purely luck that made him hit.. or should he say unluckiness. Really, he much preferred to use his fists. Not that he'd let this redheaded corporate asshole know such things about him. --- Meanwhile in the Red Dragon, a place that could not have a more cliché name, Suki was working hard to earn her keep. She had dealt with some extremely annoying customers this night, but they tipped her well so it was all worth it you could say. By now it had turned dark outside, and it was almost closing time for the Red Dragon. The closed sign had already been put up and they were just busy in serving the last few customers, a drunk and his 'date' for the night. While they sat at the bar, Suki and her friend Nayomi were busy cleaning up the rest of the restaurant, putting the chairs on the tables and sweeping underneath the table. It was hard work. But it was honest. Finally, they were done after the owner kicked out the drunk and his who- date. The two would now probably go back to his appartment, where they'd drink more until the man passed out, the lady stole his wallet and he'd be pissed the next morning. Thinking about it, Suki couldn't help but giggle as she put her uniform away in a locker. The uniform was rather simple, just an apron and a nice black dressing shirt that went over your own casual clothes. Suddenly the TV started blaring messages at her and the others in the backroom. [b]'Breaking news, CEO of WestCorp INC. Misty Cravens has just been kidnapped by an Asian street gang, who are considered armed and dangerous. The police have already started an investigation, and Longsword has already been called in by the PD. Camera feeds from the corporate headquarters are being analysed as we speak, but it seems to mostly be inconclusive so far. We will update you as the story progresses. There have been no demands for a ransom yet, so police are assuming it is to do with recent lay offs.'[/b] This grabbed Suki's attention, knowing fully well that Kanamaru was part of less favorable crowds. She was quite sure he wouldn't do a kidnapping with them, as they mostly seemed to do petty theft. Steal a bit of food left and right, some clothes here and there. Mostly they gave it away to the Asiatown community, too. These weren't bad kids, just.. misguided teens who never had any proper education. They took their lack of guidance into their adulthood and were now using childish ways to help themselves. They couldn't help it.. if just the government would care more. Either way, she'd have to talk to Kanamaru about this. Her mother was probably too busy with the elders, as if she wasn't an elder herself, to care for the news. And if she found out what Kanamaru had been doing.. she'd smack him silly. Stealing some food for the neighbours? Unacceptable. She grinned at the thought of her mother being angry. And if dad ever found out that that ugly hoverbike behind their house was actually Kanamaru's.. he'd been yelling, cussing and screaming at that hoverbike through the window for ages now, about how it was parked wrong and illegally, threatening to call the police to have it removed. She had to calm him down everytime because all Kanamaru did was laugh at dads' anger while laying on the couch, watching the TV. He was lucky to have such a sister. She sighed, deep. [i]„See you later, Nayomi-chan! Say hi to your mother for me!”[/i] she said loudly, as she waved at her friend, parting ways on a street corner in Asiatown. It'd be about 4 minutes back home she guessed. Everyday she seemed to try and get home a bit faster. Just because time in Providence was artificial due to UV technology and the big air-screens, didn't mean that her boss would let her leave early. She often left around times like 1 AM, just because some customers had wanted to stay longer and drink some. The race home was mostly for her own safety for that reason.. Once she got home, she didn't even bother to check if Kanamaru was in the living room on the couch. She could hear dad snoring in bed already and mom sighing annoyingly at him for snoring. Same old same old.. She simply dropped her bag in the hallway under the jackets and ran to her her room to get in bed. Kanamaru's talk would come tomorrow. If he was still there by the time she got up.. having a free day tomorrow was a blessing from god himself. She'd planned to meet with a group of friends and go out, having to take a bit of her salary to afford it. But it was alright, she had saved after all. And Asiatown might be poor, the clubbing, bar and karaoke scene was massive, providing a lucrative bussiness that attracted even some of the more shady higherups of the corporate world. Maybe she'd be able to get some free drinks by singing karaoke for some poor sod, she smilingly thought to herself.