Chapter 2: Shadow Dance
The night air was crisp against Akari's face as she stood on the rooftop of her cafe, looking out over Sakurami District. From up here, the neighborhood spread below like a living map—the shopping street with its colorful awnings, the residential blocks with their warm window lights, the darker corners where trouble liked to breed.
She adjusted her mask, black with silver accents that caught the moonlight. Her grandmother's design. The fitted dark suit allowed for freedom of movement, reinforced at the joints, with hidden pockets for tools and defensive weapons. Nothing lethal—that was her rule. But effective.
Her earpiece crackled. "Shadow, you there?"
"I'm here, Kenji." Her voice came out slightly distorted through the mask's modulator.
Kenji Watanabe ran the electronics shop two blocks over and served as her eyes and ears when she needed them. He was one of the few people who knew her secret—a former victim she'd saved who'd insisted on helping however he could.
"Got reports of Red Dragon activity near the old warehouse district. Sounds like they're moving product tonight."
Akari's jaw tightened. The Red Dragon Syndicate had been expanding their territory for months, pushing drugs, running protection rackets, making life miserable for honest people trying to make a living. The police were either overwhelmed or compromised—she'd never been quite sure which.
That's why she did this. Why she'd taken up her grandmother's mantle.
"I'm on my way."
She ran across the rooftop and leaped to the next building, landing in a roll. The city blurred around her as she navigated the familiar paths—across roofs, down fire escapes, through the shadows that gave her her name. Three years of this had honed her body into a weapon, her instincts razor-sharp.
The warehouse district was quiet, which meant nothing. Akari perched on a water tower, surveying the scene below. Two black vans. Six men visible, probably more inside. They were loading crates with that particular nervous efficiency that screamed "illegal operation."
She was about to move when something else caught her attention.
Another figure, on a rooftop across from her. Dressed in white and silver, moving with fluid grace. Also watching the warehouse.
Akari's heart rate picked up. She'd worked alone for three years. Sakurami's protector was a solo operation. Who was this?
The figure in white moved, dropping from the rooftop with startling speed. Before Akari could react, the newcomer was among the Red Dragon members, a blur of motion. Akari heard shouts, the sound of impact, and within seconds three men were on the ground.
Impressive. But also problematic.
Akari launched herself from the water tower, grappling line singing as she descended. She landed beside the figure in white just as they took down another gang member with a precise strike to the solar plexus.
"Who are you?" Akari demanded, falling into a defensive stance.
The figure in white turned, and even through their silver mask, Akari could sense surprise. "Shadow? I could ask you the same question."
A woman's voice, slightly distorted. Familiar in a way Akari couldn't place.
"This is my district," Akari said.
"Since when do districts have ownership?" The white-clad figure blocked a pipe swung by one of the gang members without even looking, then swept his legs out from under him. "I'm here to help."
"I didn't ask for help."
"The people being victimized by these criminals did."
They fought back-to-back without planning it, a strange synchronicity developing as more Red Dragon members poured from the warehouse. The figure in white fought with professional precision—law enforcement training, Akari realized. But fluid, creative, not bound by standard procedure.
When the last gang member hit the ground, sirens wailed in the distance.
"Time to go," Akari said.
"Agreed."
They ran in opposite directions, and Akari couldn't help glancing back once. The figure in white had already vanished into the shadows.
Back at the cafe, Akari showered and changed, her mind racing. A new player in Sakurami. Someone skilled, possibly with official backing. Ally or threat?
She'd have to be more careful.