Republic of Heroes by Moony1 | World Anvil Manuscripts | World Anvil

Chapter 16

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After changing her maid uniform to be less noticeable, Yumi creepily followed Master Carter from a distance as he exited out through the front door. She didn't want to leave him alone, nor did she ever dream of getting him hurt as she watched him from afar.

Peeking out of a brick wall, she silently watched him casually move through the empty streets of their neighborhood with his own hands shoved into his coat's pockets. He looked so handsome in that long trench coat of his, making her blush slightly at the thought of him wearing something other than that suit he wears every day.

"Carter..." she whispered under her breath with a loving smile, "Carter," quietly repeating his name before giggling cutely like a high school girl who just received a present from her crush. Her eyes gleamed brightly at the sight of him walking mindlessly, unaware of her presence following closely behind. "Yumi is here, master," she said happily. "I will never let anything bad happen to you." A promise she would make sure to keep at the end.

Meanwhile, from his own point of view, with his focus on finding that freak while on the other hand, he is stupid enough to not ask which specific place Officer Koyoshi is talking about. He sighed tiredly, wishing he could've asked for more information before leaving.

But then again, he is the commissioner, and it's his job to do this. In addition to that, he cannot rely on his men to solve every problem for him as they are busy with other things. However, the truth is far more complex than that, as Carter cares deeply for the officers.

Having already mentioned that before, he doesn't want them to get seriously hurt or die, even though they are supposed to know what they are signing up for.

They are like family to him, and he is trying his very best to prevent the boys from getting killed in action. Although he knows how hard it will be for him since it's part of their duty as police officers to risk their lives to protect others from harm,

Carter sighed again, shaking his head, before continuing onward through the streets of his neighborhood. "Where could she be?" Asking the important question, glancing around the area with his hands still shoved into his pockets while walking down the sidewalk in front of houses and apartments, he then said, "I don't see her anywhere."

These serial killers should never be underestimated, especially this one that has been causing havoc throughout Tokyo for days now. He doesn't know what type of psycho this killer is, but judging from the news reports and witness testimonies, he can tell that she is a dangerous individual who needs to be stopped at all costs.

"I hope I'm not too late," he mumbled under his breath on this cold night, stopping momentarily as he looked around his peaceful neighborhood. The street lamps illuminated the roads while casting shadows upon him; vehicles did not appear on the road, which is strangely suspicious for him.

Regardless of the time, there should have been at least a vehicle or another person, but instead there wasn't anyone around besides himself. "What the hell?" He questioned himself, beginning to feel uneasy about this whole situation he found himself in.

He felt like he was being watched by someone or something, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "This is probably nothing," he said, reassuring himself to calm down. "I'm just overreacting," he told himself before continuing on his way, "she's probably hiding somewhere nearby..."

While walking through the empty streets of his own neighborhood with hands shoved into his coat's pockets, he suddenly stopped when a strong gust of wind blew past him, causing him to immediately turn around only to see nothing.

"Did I seriously get jump-scared by a gust of wind?" Asking himself in disbelief, shaking his head as he continued onward, "What am I? A little kid?" He questioned, chuckling at his own stupidity for getting scared by such things for second, "I'm just tired, that's probably why," Carter reasoned.

It's normal behavior when someone is stressed over something, and he felt like he hadn't had any sleep for days. Although he couldn't help but still feel like someone or something was watching him from behind, making his skin crawl at the thought of being stalked by an unknown entity lurking within the shadows,

Continuing his walk while searching for the killer, he heard faint footsteps coming from behind him, causing him to stop immediately before turning around only to see nothing but an empty road with buildings surrounding him. "Okay, this is definitely not normal," he commented, feeling uneasy about this whole situation.

Maybe he'll make a run for it? If he hadn't gotten his gift from that old geezer, he wouldn't have been able to detect the person's hiding spot. Sadly, it is a price to pay for having such power, and he doesn't know how to properly control it just yet.

"I should just keep walking," he said, trying to convince himself that everything would be okay as he continued onward. "It's probably nothing." And if it wasn't nothing, then it is better to be the killer bunny trailing his ass. Carter would love to have a nice talk with her when she is apprehended, of course.

Knowing his luck, she might kill him on sight or something like that. He doesn't know what kind of freak she is, but judging from her past victims, she seems to be a sadistic woman who enjoys torturing defenseless individuals before killing them slowly and painfully.

Sighing tiredly as he moved his two legs, hoping to find a wooden bench somewhere to sit on, he said, "I should probably take a breather." Muttering softly, "I need to rest my body for a bit," he added after that in order not to sound lazy. But then again, he isn't slouch, and he doesn't want to seem weak in front of others.

He is the commissioner, and it's his duty to make sure everyone is safe and secure from harm. He's going to keep mentioning this to himself as much as he wants just to get his own lazy asses motivated. "I'm so tired," he complained quietly, walking past another building before noticing a bench nearby. "There it is," he said, smiling brightly at the sight.

"Finally," Carter said with relief, approaching the bench from a hundred meters away ahead of him and sitting down in the middle while letting out a sigh of relief. "This feels good," he commented happily, leaning against the back rest with hands behind his head as he stared up into the night sky.

Sparkling stars illuminated above him, shining brightly like diamonds on display for all to see, making him smile softly at such a beautiful sight before closing his eyes momentarily as he relaxed himself. "I wonder what Yumi's doing?"

She is perhaps still sleeping like any ordinary person should. It's a good thing the pinkette maid is at home instead of being with him. He is rather getting tired of having her constantly around. While on the flip side, he enjoyed her company.

But since he has a job to do, he cannot afford to have her follow him everywhere he goes. If anything happens to her or those he cares about, he will never forgive himself for it.

"I'm so pathetic," Carter mumbled under his breath, shaking his head in disappointment at his own weakness and cowardliness; genuinely speaking, he was hypocritical for not only what he had said previously but also for preaching others to be brave, yet he cannot even muster up courage himself when it comes down to facing dangerous threats.

"Sucks that my brain is always damn pessimistic or something along those lines," he said, closing his eyes momentarily while leaning against the back rest with hands behind his head. "I guess this is just how I am," he added after that before opening them again.

His vision focused on the night sky above him, seeing how the stars were gleaming in the dark void. He smiled softly at this breathtaking sight. "It's amazing how the night is able to change perspective in regards to the universe," he said to no one in particular.

With these thoughts lingering in his mind, he can feel his drowsiness slowly draining him, causing him to yawn loudly as he closed his eyes while trying desperately not to fall asleep. If there is one thing he hates, then it would have to be how this stupid brain of his makes him not only see the worst possible outcomes for everything in this world but also makes him feel useless all the time.

Just as he was prepared to fall asleep due to the overwhelming fatigue, faint but reverberating screams and gunshots came from a distance in one of the apartment complexes nearby. Immediately snapping him awake, immediately removing himself from the bench before rushing towards the direction where those noises came from.

Suddenly, a loud scream echoed from a nearby alley, forcing him to stop moving for a moment, freezing in place as he turned around slowly with fear written all over his face. "What the..." Carter muttered nervously, glancing around his surroundings cautiously before continuing onward towards the alleyway.

A strong sense of overwhelming dread hit him like a truck when he reached the source, as he found the dark passageway filled with the dead bodies of HPD police officers scattered around with their eyes closed while gruesomely having parts of their bodies cut off or bleeding sliced marks visible across them. He couldn't believe what he was seeing as his mouth was agape at the sight of this carnage.

"God, this can't be happening." They are his men, dead beyond repair. He fucking told them to return their posts, but some of them didn't. Tightening his fists, he can feel his own guilt and anger boiling inside of him. "I'm sorry," he apologized quietly with tears streaming down his cheek while gritting his teeth tightly together.

"C...commissioner?" A familiar voice spoke in the darkness as he crawled out of the massacre, revealing one of his officers in the meeting who had worn a pair of glasses: "Is that you?" The man asked weakly with blood dripping from his mouth as many machetes were implanted on the poor man's back.

Running to his side, Carter knelt and gently removed the blade piece by piece, unable to bear the thought of losing another comrade again. "Don't worry," he said softly while trying to hold his tears whatsoever, despite how hard it was for him to do so. "You're going to be okay," he lied through his teeth as he knew that this officer wouldn't survive after all this.

But he can still try; it's the least he can do to make up for being such a coward. He is a hypocrite and a liar, but he doesn't care about that anymore; all he cares about right now is saving this man's life. "I'm sorry commissioner but I have request," the officer apologized with a weak smile, coughing out blood from his mouth.

"What is it?" Carter asked, placing his hand over his shoulder while trying desperately not to cry in front of him. "Anything," he responded immediately without hesitation. "Just tell me what you want," he pleaded quietly.

The officer chuckled softly at this before taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Turn me around; I want to look you in the eyes," he requested weakly as Carter complied without question, gently grabbing hold of his shoulders before turning him around slowly until they were facing each other face-to-face.

"Commissioner," the dying officer said in a pause as tears began to form in his own eyes, "please...tell me I'm not going to die here," his voice shaking uncontrollably while reaching out a hand towards him, causing Carter to grab it firmly, "I want to see my family again."

From this state,he knew it would seem impossible to even bring him in time to the hospital, despite having a little bit of hope for it, but even then, this man is going to die either way, and there is nothing he can do about it as the silence between them grows longer. Carter couldn't bring himself to say anything else except stare at him with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I don't want to die, Commissioner!" The officer screamed like a terrified child, crying loudly as his whole body began shaking violently while tightly grasping onto his arm with both hands, "I don't want to die here alone!" He shouted hysterically before coughing out more blood from his mouth before looking up at Carter with pleading eyes and saying, "Please don't—"

Another machete suddenly fell from the sky, landing on the dying officer's skull and deeply impaling itself through his head, killing him instantly as blood splattered all over the ground.

"No..." Carter muttered under his breath in disbelief of what had just happened, staring at the corpse of his comrade lying motionlessly on the ground with blood pooling underneath it.

Parts of blood were all over his body as he froze in his spot, unable to move or do anything else except stare at the scene before him. He couldn't believe it; he just witnessed a man who was willing to serve and die for him face sudden death right in front of him, and there wasn't anything he could've done to save him.

Slowly standing up, he moved his bloodsoaked hands in front; looking down at his own shaking palms from the shock of seeing someone dying like that right in front of him, "Oh god," repeating the same sentence as his breathing became heavy while the same tears still continued to stream down his cheeks.

Then he heard an individual fall from a distance away of him, softly landing on the concrete floor with a loud thud, revealing herself to be woman wearing the red blanket with a hood over her head and a bunny mask covering her entire face as an animated and honeyed voice spoke from the far side of this alleyway.

"Well, well. How lucky am I to have met such a fine and deliciously handsome young man? I can't wait to have the pleasure of slicing you to bits, Randolph Carter."

My novels will always be accessible for everyone to read, no paywall or hiding behind locked content and any of that sorts. All of them are accessible to read.
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