Idol Gunner [Yuri Villainess LitRPG]

The sun was rising by the time Yamazaki finally stopped where Kana had asked him to. After driving around Neo-Edo without a destination in mind, they had ended up at a familiar bridge. She wasn’t sure why she had picked this to be the place where she met Masaru Abe, except for it just feeling right.

Months ago, she had pathetically cried in front of Yamazaki and Jina right here, and made some really lofty statements. Today, perhaps she intended to make them come true. For the first time in a long time, with nobody to bother her, she was able to see her future with clarity.

Because this is what it was. Kana Minami had finally understood her purpose in life, and it had just taken a little bit of suffering. It was fine if nobody wanted to love her. She didn’t need them anyway. Thinking about it, dealing with Akiko Hara while worrying about Emi would have been a headache and a half. Now, though? She was free. Kana could do whatever she wanted.

This was freedom. That is what she had been gifted tonight. She had been given her independence. All of that worrying about what people would think of her had been meaningless in the end. Hypocrisy? Lies? Honesty? All of those were just terms people used to give themselves meaning.

But for Kana Minami, her existence itself was meaning. She did not need any justification beyond it.

It did not take long after they stopped for the car to pull up to them. The man inside did not move for some time; probably preparing equipment to record anything she might say. How naïve of him. How innocent, really. She could not believe that he was walking in here with such weak assumptions about them.

Jina, who was standing closest to her, but still at some distance, was the first to get her guard up. Kelsey stayed in the car, her face buried in her legs in an attempt to act like she wasn’t involved. Yamazaki was the only one who had decided to keep up with her. He had a conviction in his eyes that she could only expect from him. Even after everything he had done, he was prepared to go further to set things right.

“Kana, are you sure about this?” Jina foolishly inquired.

“Do you breathe?”

The car door finally opened, and Masaru Abe stepped out. Sure enough, he had a mic and camera on him. It wasn’t professional equipment, but it was more than enough to get clear recordings of them. He had already started, too.

“Kana Minami, a lot of people seem to be looking for you. Burnt down an apartment building, apparently. Your own.” Abe was not messing around anymore. With his signature crooked smile, he had decided to go straight for the throat. “Do you have something to say to the people whose houses you’ve destroyed tonight?”

Kana sighed and scratched her head. Her hair ties had come off in the fire, leaving her face a mess. Every strand on her had been laden with sweat and blood, and then dried in the cold of the car. Now, it was almost sharp enough to scratch her skin every time it moved with her. That was to say – she was plenty annoyed already.

Pushing some of the makeshift deadly weapon that her hair had become, she also decided to get straight to the point. Trying to skirt around and acting innocent for the camera was not her game anymore. It was about time it ended, given how stale it was getting.

“Turn it off if you don’t want me to break it.”

“Are you trying to threaten me, Minami-san?”

“No, I am not trying anything.” She could not help but speak in that exasperated, condescending tone. That only pissed him off more. “This is getting old. Jina, throw it away, please.”

“What?” She looked at her in shock.

“I said snatch it from him and throw it away. Are you fucking deaf?”

Jina trembled in response, which Abe captured with glee. For a moment, he seemed sure that he was going to get some juicy drama to air on today’s morning news. He must have expected her to fight back. Unfortunately, that meant he must have been getting bad at his job. Because Jina Ohara did not react how he wanted her to.

Instead, she hesitantly walked over to him, wrestled the camera and mic out of his hands, and threw them off the bridge. Abe was left both astounded and afraid at the outcome. He had not even had the consciousness to fight back and stand for himself.

“Good.” Kana stepped forward and studied the man. He looked fairly well-dressed. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and yet here he was. Everyone this man had an interest in had played with blood, and he was showing up to interview them while smelling like lavenders.

“I hope you realize you’re not gonna get away with any of this.”

“I hope you realize something too. Do you know what that is?”

“Enlighten me.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” She shrugged, walked right up to his face, and punched him in the gut.

Abe groaned and spat as his knees gave in. Stumbling to the ground, he yelped once more before finding some grip on the sidewalk.

“You…” He grunted, moaning all the while.

Kana grabbed his collar and pulled him up to his feet. Before he had time to do anything, she brushed the dust off his dress and helped him look a little respectable again. It was almost late enough for some early bird cars to start appearing, so being seen on his knees was probably not a good look for the man.

“Now, do you know where Kenji Tanaka is?” She asked.

“Fuck you.” He murmured. “You’re not getting anything out of m-”

Another punch, but localized to his waist this time. Abe shrieked in pain for a second time, but stayed on his feet. This was good. It provided a baseline for where she could hit him without making him keel over like a toddler. So, just to test her theory, she did it again. This time, on the other side. He spat out once more, with some blood added.

Disgusted, she stepped away from the part of the ground where it had landed. Pulling him to be in front of her, she asked.

“Let’s try this again. Do you know where Kenji Tanaka is?”

Abe, like a good mutt who had learnt his lesson, shook his head. “What happened to him?”

“See? Something you don’t know for once. Kenji Tanaka has been missing since yesterday. So has his niece, Sachiyo Tanaka. I’m guessing that a man like you can get some information soon enough. Am I guessing right?”

“N-no.” He raised his hands in defense before she could attack again. “I’m not lying, ok? I will need some time. It’s not that easy to just get information.”

“Oh, no. I know that. I never told you to tell me about them the very next minute, did I? I’m giving you time. Forty-eight hours. What does that sound like?”

“Still difficult, alright? I can’t do it that fast. Do you know how big Neo-E-”

One more punch to the side of his waist helped him realize that his raised hands didn’t help. He sobbed in agony, stumbling back towards their car. Inside, Kelsey looked up due to the sudden impact. She watched in horror for just a moment before going back to her little self-created prison.

“Thirty-six hours, as I said. You’ll do it?”

“You said forty-ei-” Her hand went up, and he coughed before shaking his head. “Thirty-six! Yes, that’s good. I’ll do it. I’ll find them. I promise.”

Abe turned and started to hobble towards his car. Inch by inch, he was slowly making it there. Maybe he intended to get inside and drive away before this got out of hand. He would probably get into the driver’s seat, promise that he was beginning this very moment, and then go straight to the cops. Being beaten up certainly did mess with your intellect.

Kana had more than enough time, so she went up to Yamazaki and took the pistol out of his coat. He was shocked to see her know its exact place, but she did not care to explain. The outline had been more than enough to tell her. With it equipped, she waited for Abe to reach his car before aiming and shooting.

One, two, three, four. Every tire gone in a matter of seconds. Abe stopped in his tracks as they blew out and left him without any way to escape.

“Bring him back, Jina.”

She did not question it this time. Walking up to Abe, she put her hands on his shoulder and pulled him back to where he had been standing before.

“You’re gonna work with Yamazaki here.” She gestured to the man. “Jun Yamazaki. You already know the name, I think. You’ll work with him until I tell him to let you go. Until I give that order, you’re going nowhere. Do you understand that, Abe?”

“You’re…fucking insane.” He whispered. “You’re a psychopa-”

“For now.” She pushed him towards Yamazaki and clicked her tongue. “Keep it up, and you’ll get more adjectives.”

Yamazaki grabbed him and pushed him back, looking at her for orders.

“Huh?” She saw him, wondering what to say. “Yeah. Uh…take him to any one of your hideouts. You can tie him up, lock the door. Whatever you want to do before seeing your family. Just make sure he doesn’t run anywhere.”

“Got it.” He replied.

“And, also…” She gulped, looking him in the eye. For some reason, just seeing his face for an extended period of time had reminded her of that woman. The fact that Naomi Yamazaki had died less than twenty-four hours ago was not something she had accepted yet. It still felt like a joke.

Kana did not want to make this man do something he did not want to. But at the same time, she was seeing no resistance in his eyes. In fact, Yamazaki looked more willing and determined than ever. Killing the man who indirectly caused your sister’s death was not something you did without thinking, after all. He had not even hunted down the exact assassin, probably because he knew there was no point. Yamazaki had just killed Sakai instead.

“Also…” She pursed her lips, but then decided against consoling him. “Once we find them, you can do what you want with Sachiyo.”

Taira had filled her in on the details about the meeting. Yamazaki was probably aware of what Sachiyo had done, too. He probably held the same spark of revenge for her that he did for Sakai. Maybe even more, considering she had been the one to take his name. And by that extended logic, perhaps Kenji Tanaka wasn’t safe either.

The car’s window rolled down a moment later, and Kelsey peeked out of it.

“What did you just say?”

“Interested all of a sudden?” Kana asked, leaning down. “Don’t worry. I’ve got something better for you. Call Yamada and ask him to get over here immediately. I don’t care about what he is doing or who is stopping him.”

Kelsey tried to fight back, but Kana did not wait to listen. She turned to Yamazaki and discussed the last bits of the plan with him before stuffing Masaru Abe into the car. Kelsey got out to give them space, and then stood right beside Jina while dialing their manager.

A minute after that, Yamazaki wished them the best and drove away. He had an underground office that he worked out of in one of the more underprivileged wards. That would be the perfect place to hide him. And if she knew anything about Masaru Abe, that would be the place where he found Kenji Tanaka and his niece.

“He’s coming.” Kelsey put the phone down with a whisper. She looked like she had given up on taking control, too. “Where are you going to take him? Because if it’s something dangerous, the-”

“It’s not. Calm down.” Kana groaned. So many useless questions. “He’ll be fine. More than fine. We’re going to the ruins.”

“The…ruins with the gate?” Jina inquired.

“What other ruins do you know, Jina?”

“Sorry.”

“What do you plan on doing there?” Kelsey asked.

Kana looked at her and smiled. She wasn’t sure if it was authentic. It did not even feel authentic to her. But it got the point across.

“Catch me by surprise once, and it’s acceptable. Twice? It doesn’t happen. I know what I’m expecting now.”

“You…?” Jina wanted to confirm that she wasn’t just imagining what Kana was implying.

And so, Kana cleared it up for her. “We’re going to kill Akiko Hara. Right now.”