Tokyo, Japan
Japan enjoyed an unusual peace in recent days. There were no large-scale international or national conflicts. The court faced no important criminal cases. All police officers operated efficiently as gears in the big, complex machine that was the Japanese government.
One of these gears was the highly esteemed director of the National Ministry of Defense, Anzen Mamoru.
This decorated veteran was returning home to his family from the towering building that served as the National Ministry of Defense's headquarters.
His daughter turned twelve years old today. Such a momentous occasion surely demanded his attendance.
The bright afternoon sun shone through his graying hair, which stuck out under an olive-green military hat. Minister Anzen exchanged salutes with the men standing guard and shook their hands.
He beamed with joy to see the subject of his current train of thought waving to him across the road. Ritsuko's black hair flew in the wind, tied up in a red ribbon.
His daughter was a pretty young girl in a plain red dress with long white sleeves. That dress was a birthday present that carried a year's worth of memories, some happy, some sad.
"Father, father!" she shouted and waved as she ran towards him. Her pearly whites flashed in a big smile.
A car suddenly zoomed between her and the Minister's line of sight. When it was out of sight - Ritsuko had vanished into thin air, her shouts cut short!
The Minister's eyes widened in shock, his body freezing up. But before either he or the men standing guard at the Ministry's gate could react, a black shadow flew by with a ninja's stealth. A piece of paper, folded into an origami bat, fluttered into the Minister's hands. He quickly unfolded it and read the contents. Every muscle on his face contorted with rage as he crumpled up the paper. The fiendish shadow's mocking laughter filled his ears. He desperately shouted his daughter's name.
The letter read as follows:
Minister Anzen of the Ministry of Defense,
We, the Devil Storm Clan, have captured your daughter. If you want to see her alive again, you must follow our demands. Come alone to the abandoned lot near Tokyo Tower at sunset with the key to the National Armory and the National Ministry of Defense arsenal. You have one night to carefully consider our offer.
-Bloody Bat