Hailstorm Part 1

Harumi scoffed and ordered her servant to bring a copy of the contract Fujiko signed. “Read it and weep. She signed this gleefully.”

Zerin and Yumeko read through the document carefully. Once they were finished, Yumeko burst into laughter and ripped the document to shreds.

“You snake, you tricked her! Oh, what a dumbass, but now my cute little sister is dead, so I don’t care how legal this damn thing is. Mako-chan, take her ass in!” Yumeko ordered.

"You sure don't sound too disappointed that that psycho is "dead". Hell, is she truly dead? Pretty sure she was alive when Madoka left," Harumi glared.

"But she was dead when I found her. So I say Madoka killed her and she's going to jail."

“If you’re gonna disregard the law, then you’re not gonna leave here alive. The mansion is technically considered a city state, so I can do what I want here."

Clack!

Harumi turned to see the twins pointing guns at her.

“We do not approve of you!"

“Thou art tainted- “

“-And unfit to lead.”

“We are the head of the family now!”

Harumi glared at the two. “You usurping little shits! You have no right! I announced Madoka as my successor, and should she be denied, Emeri is next in line. You two are officially disowned! Get out now!”

“I recognize them as official heads of the Ginkawa family, therefore YOU are the one that will leave!” Zerin sneered.

Just then, Emeri and Madoka emerged at the top of the stairs with guns in both hands a rocket launcher, respectively. The officers became jittered, but Zerin ordered them to stand their ground.

“Now get out or we’ll blast you to bits!” Harumi threatened as she retreated to the top of the stairs and grabbed the rocket launcher from Madoka.

The twins clicked their tongues in disgust as they sheathed their guns and began to exit. After this stunt, they would become disowned and unable to return to the family. The twins knew this, but shed no tears, for now they were free from the Ginkawa sphere of influence, both publicly and in the eyes of Illumous.

The officers wished to leave too, but Zerin refused to let them do so. She didn't want to leave empty handed, but things were at a standstill and slowly creeping towards being in the Ginkawa's favor. Despite being a senior commissioner, Zerin was disliked by a vast majority of officers, mainly for her bossy attitude and constant worship of Okuma and her beliefs.

Harumi making a point that the Ginkawa mansion was technically a city state also stuck in the minds of the officers. If they abandoned Zerin here, who would punish them? Sure Purin was present, but she wasn't exactly Zerin's biggest fan, viewing her as more of a useful idiot. Besides, the officers outnumbered her and Zerin, so if she refused to let the officers leave, she'd be left to fend for herself as well.

Things were looking good for the Ginkawas until Mochi stepped forth. “Madoka Ginkawa, if at the very least do not come with us, your friend Yuni will be deemed a collaborator and sentenced to death for your crimes. She is currently detained in an electric chair per my request."

"I don't believe you!" Emeri yelled.

Mochi then produced her phone and walked up the stairs. On the screen was Yuni, bloodied, blindfolded, gagged, and restrained in an electric chair. Her tearful moans could be heard.

Madoka’s jaw dropped as she began to shake. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YUNI!?”

“We just roughed her up a bit. We’ll release her from HQ if you come with us. A prisoner exchange shall we say," Mochi stated.

"And how do we know that's real?" Emeri glared.

"Oh right! It could be-" 

"Then would this serve as proof?" Mochi scoffed as she held out a clump of Yuni's hair. 

Madoka went pale. 

Sensing something was amiss, Emeri attempted to make a call, but Mochi stopped her. “If you make a call, we hit the switch and Yuni will be executed for your crimes.”

Emeri gritted her teeth. There was no way to tell if she was bluffing or not. “Damn that loli bitch! I think she’s bluffing and the Yuni on screen is a fake, but there’s a chance they really snagged Yuni. I can’t risk it," she thought.

“If I turn myself in, will you really let her go?” Madoka asked as she glared at Mochi.

“Yes, as soon as you are secured in the van, we will release her.”

Madoka begrudgingly descended and held out her hands. Zerin gave the signal and Yumeko cuffed Madoka before violently slamming her to the ground and breaking her arms and legs.

"THIS IS FOR FUJIKO YOU BITCH!" Yumeko cackled as she began punching her face.

"STOP, YOU PSYCHO!" Emeri yelled.

"Want Yuni to die?" Mochi threatened.

Emeri and Harumi watched in anger as a gag was stuffed into Madoka's now broken jaw before she was dragged away by her hair to a police van.

“Next time we’re coming for you, Harumi Ginkawa. A case will also be formed against Emeri Kuramori as well,” Zerin sneered as she entered a squad car.

“Next time you wanna try messing with me, bring a warship!” Harumi yelled as she flipped off everyone as they left. Once they were gone, Harumi turned to Emeri. “Emeri, we’re going to move. I’m sure you know what that means. If you want to save your friends, grab their passports along with yours and Madoka’s. I have faith that you can escape.”

Emeri nodded and dialed Serika as she bolted into the mansion.

...

“Yeah, I really just hate your mother. She’s a bitch that always pissed me off when we were in school together,” Sayuri sneered.

Yuni was getting ready to slug Sayuri. She had asked her what she knew about her mother only to get some tangent about a high school grudge. Just as Mutsumi had warned, she was proving to be tough to crack.

“You’re way too young to have gone to school with her!” Yuni glared.

“Ever hear of plastic surgery, sweetie?” Sayuri sneered.

The tension was interrupted by Serika’s phone ringing. Serika stepped outside to answer it.

“Emeri? What’s wrong?”

“Serika! Is Yuni safe!?”

“Huh!? Yeah she’s fine. We're interrogating Benise, why do you sound so-“

“Dammit! That loli was bluffing!”

“What?”

Emeri quickly explained everything that happened to Serika.

“That fucking bitch! I guess she really is corrupt now. So, what the hell do we do?”

“We escape. I’ll tell you more if we meet in person. It's too risky to divulge our plans over the phone.”

Serika clenched her fist and began to tear up as she ended the call. “Dammit! This is all my fault. I guess there’s only one way to get out of this mess. This is probably going to be the end for me though, but it’s the only way I can think of to get us out of this mess. Well, not like I even have the right to exist anyway,” she thought as she took a deep breath before entering the cell again. “Hey Nakajima, are there any audio recording devices installed in here?” she asked.

Mutsumi looked at Serika in confusion. “No, the cameras only record video, so I need to record with a phone or recorder. Why do you ask?”

“Good! Could you leave the room? I want to try saying something I don’t want others to hear.”

Yuni’s eyes widened as she guessed what she was going to say. “You’re not seriously going to-”

“Twintails, get out too. Go twiddle on your phone and text your girlfriend or something. I don’t want you screwing up MY case anymore!”

“Serika! What are you-"

“Whatever! Come on Chief, let’s head back up. If anything goes wrong just blame it on the celery gorilla," Yuni scoffed.

“HEY!”

Yuni shoved Mutsumi out before Serika could throw a punch.

“Ugh, Yuni what’s going on? I thought you told me Serika was a reliable ally in our fight against Illumous. That rashness isn’t going to do any good. Maybe this is why Reika decided not to let her in on the action,” Mutsumi grumbled as she and Yuni walked toward the elevator.

Yuni then received a text notification from Emeri and checked her phone. “We all need to escape" was the message.

“What the hell happened!?” Yuni thought as she ran outside the station to call Emeri.

Back in the cell, Serika and Sayuri stared at each other.

“So gorilla, what do you wanna talk about?” Sayuri sneered.

“Ever hear of a politician known as Ruchi Ookuma?”

Sayuri’s eyes narrowed, she was very familiar with Ruchi Ookuma. In the past, she was a member of Ookuma's party and one of her biggest supporters. However, Ookuma's disappearance led to her party suffering a complete and utter electoral defeat when they were on the verge of completely controlling the government. Many of Ookuma's allies and party mates also had their dark secrets, which Ookuma's right hand woman had secretly compiled, exposed due to Serika taking the SD cards they were on when she escaped. Sayuri's human trafficking ring was exposed and she was branded a criminal, and naturally stripped of the house of councilor's seat she held. This vacancy caused Ookuma's party to lose control of the House of Councilors, and subsequently lose all the seats they had there in the subsequent election.

Even though she was publicly declared a criminal, Sayuri managed to get back into Illumous' good graces by pinning the whole mess on Ookuma's right hand woman. It was enough to get her full membership to Illumous, though arguments were still being held amongst Illumous' top brass on what truly happened to Ruchi and her daughter Mao to this day.

“Ah, I've heard of her. I actually worked on her campaign and was a former councilor from her party believe it or not," Sayuri boasted.

“Hoh, that explains how you got so close to her. Now could you tell me who all the Illumous members are in this station?”

“What a stretch, though I guess politicians- “

“If you don’t tell me who I can’t talk to I’ll just put it out on blast that you murdered Ruchi Ookuma.”

Sayuri burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s rich and why- “

“I’m Mao Ookuma, the daughter of Ruchi Ookuma.”

Sayuri froze in shock and carefully looked at Serika. “I- Impossible! Even- “

“I just got all my memories back a little while ago. What a pain, I’ve been living a despicable lifestyle ever since that night. Now then care to answer my question?” Serika maliciously smiled.