After that night, Fable and Predictor boarded a flight to Shibuya, Japan.
Finding Soul Goodman or Shiro Oni wasn't as hard as it might sound. Shiro Oni wasn't just an ordinary hitman—he was the leader of a massive underworld empire with different gang names in different cities. In tokyo, they were called the Crocodile Gang. In Shibuya, the Biker Gang. In Nagasaki, they went by Universal. In Hiroshima, they were known as the Tora Oni Gang. Altogether, his followers numbered in the hundreds, maybe even thousands.
Some people even called him "The King of Japan." He wasn't just a criminal—he had powerful political ties and even connections inside the police department.
But running such a huge empire also had its weaknesses. The bigger the gang, the easier it was to find someone who knew something. Instead of wasting time roaming around shibuya aimlessly, Fable and Predictor quickly tracked down one of the mid-ranking members of Shiro Oni's organization.
It was now late at night. They stood in the outskirts of Shibuya—a rough neighborhood, but still a step above the slums.
In front of them was a squat, narrow house, shorter than most of the buildings nearby.
"Be ready. There might be several people inside," Fable warned, pulling out his guns.
Predictor gave a silent nod and drew his weapon as well.
Fable circled the house, moving with careful steps. When he found a window, he quickly tossed a smoke bomb inside.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gunshots rang out almost instantly. Both Fable and Predictor fired into the window and towards the door—just in case someone was lurking behind it.
BAM!
Fable charged forward and kicked the door. It gave way with a loud crack—the hinges were already half-broken from the earlier shots.
But the moment he stepped inside, something came flying at him—a wooden stick swung with lightning speed. His instincts kicked in, and he crouched low, stumbling back just in time to avoid the blow.
From the dimly lit interior, a man stepped forward. He had a small, scruffy beard and sharp, alert eyes. His features hinted that he might be from Myanmar or Thailand. He was a little shorter than average, but the way he moved told Fable he was dangerous.
The man twirled the wooden stick in circles, his movements fast and controlled, showing off his skill. His lips curled into a smirk.
"Didn't see that coming, did you?" he said in a confident tone. "I'm impressed—you at least dodged it."
Predictor's eyes lit up as he watched the man spinning the stick with fast, smooth movements.
"What kind of technique is that? Whatever it is, countering it will be fun!" he said with childlike excitement.
The man smirked with pride.
"It's called Silambam. It's an ancient martial art from Tamil Nadu, India. You aren't—"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Before he could even finish, Fable fired three shots—one at the man's feet, one above his knees, and one at his hand.
Predictor froze, his face a mix of confusion and disbelief.
"Why? Why did you do that? We were about to have a nice clash!" he protested like a kid whose candy had been stolen.
Fable looked at him with a blank expression.
"What? I had a gun and he didn't. What were you expecting?" he said casually.
Predictor sighed, shaking his head.
"It's not about having a gun or not—it's about honor! HONOR!" he said, but Fable ignored him.
Instead, Fable walked over to the man who was now lying on the floor, bleeding heavily. He crouched, grabbed the man by his hair, and yanked his head back until the man was staring into his grin.
"Now, are you going to answer my question, or do I have to make you?" Fable asked coldly.
———
The man eventually coughed up the truth. The rumors about Shiro Oni and Soul Goodman working together in Shibuya were false. In reality, Soul had only come to Japan to make a deal with Shiro Oni to go against the Council, but they hadn't reached an agreement yet. They weren't in Shibuya at all—they were in Tokyo. The Shibuya story was just a distraction.
By the next evening, Fable and Predictor had arrived in Tokyo, right at the main base of the Crocodile Gang. The place was swarming with members—hundreds of them—and security was tight.
But because of the strict rules in Tokyo, guns were risky to use. Most of the gang members were only carrying melee weapons or small pistols. That gave Fable and Predictor confidence. Both were skilled in close combat—especially Predictor, who now carried a katana he had bought after arriving in Japan.
Predictor stepped into the gang's territory and shouted, "Hello, mic testing, one-two-three! All idiots gather around!"
"Shut up," Fable muttered.
"Gather around! Gather around!" Predictor ignored him and kept yelling.
"Shut up, or I'll be the first one to beat you," Fable hissed, clearly irritated.
But then, shadows began moving all around them. One man appeared, then ten, then twenty-five, then fifty… and within seconds, more than a hundred men surrounded them. Some were older, some were just boys—but all looked ready to fight.
"Oops… they actually came," Predictor said, taking a step back with a sheepish grin.
Then, a familiar voice came from behind the crowd.
"You thought you had Soul's location, but you didn't even stop to think that you were walking into a trap?"
Two women stepped forward. They were Sophie and Diana—older now, more mature, but still recognizable from ten years ago.
"It seems you're not as smart as you used to be, Fable. Your reputation is overrated," Diana said with a scoff.
"Whoa… they're actually with Soul Goodman?" Predictor's jaw dropped.
Fable, however, remained calm.
"What did you expect? Remember, it was Soul Goodman who recommended them. Of course they'd be on his side."
Then he smirked.
"You think I didn't know it was a trap? You're forgetting something. Every group in the underworld that's after Soul… right now, they all have a common ally."
Diana's eyes suddenly widened. She glanced around—and realized something terrifying. There were no police, no pedestrians, no cars, no bikes—nothing but silence.
Her voice came out in a sharp gasp.
"The Council is here!"
The air got filled with the deafening roar of helicopters, their spinning blades beating against the night sky like war drums.
Bright searchlights swept across the rooftops, piercing the darkness. Then came the crack of automatic gunfire—
BANG! BANG! BANG!—ripping through the streets below.
The soldiers above wore full-body armor, their visors glowing faintly. They held their rifles steady, firing down into the crowd with ruthless precision. Bullets tore through gang members like paper.
Fable and Predictor didn't wait to see more. They dashed for cover, weaving through the chaos as gunfire tore chunks out of walls and shattered windows around them. Diana and Sophie bolted into a nearby building, slipping through a side door to escape the deadly rain of bullets.
"I'm going for Diana, you go for Sophie!" Fable barked without looking back.
Predictor wanted to argue, but there was no time. He grit his teeth and sprinted after Sophie. Both pairs disappeared into the maze of rooms and hallways inside the building.
The interior was dim, only thin shafts of moonlight breaking through cracked windows. The air smelled of dust and damp wood, and the faint sound of shouting from outside echoed through the walls. Somewhere above, the muffled thump of helicopter blades reminded them that the danger outside wasn't over.
---
Predictor caught sight of Sophie's silhouette darting through the corridor ahead. She moved fast—her long coat flowing behind her as her boots tapped sharply on the creaky floorboards.
Predictor's grip tightened around his katana. He closed the distance quickly, his feet barely making a sound.
Sophie suddenly spun around the corner, raising her pistol. She fired—
BANG!
Predictor tilted his head just enough for the bullet to slice past his cheek. The wall behind him splintered.
Before she could fire again, he lunged forward, the katana flashing in the moonlight. Sophie twisted aside, the blade cutting clean through the wooden doorframe she had just been leaning against.
She kicked out sharply, her boot catching Predictor in the ribs. He stumbled a step but kept his balance.
Predictor's movements grew sharper now. He didn't rush recklessly—each swing of the katana was measured, his eyes reading her every movement.
Sophie ducked behind a table and fired two quick shots, the muzzle flashes lighting up her face in the dark. Predictor's sword flicked up, deflecting one bullet while he sidestepped the other.
Then he grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it over toward her. The heavy wooden surface slammed into Sophie's arms, forcing her back.
Predictor closed in—one hand on the katana, the other grabbing her wrist. He twisted sharply, disarming her. The pistol clattered to the ground.
But Sophie wasn't done. She spun and slammed her elbow into his jaw, then hooked her leg behind his knee and tried to take him down.
Predictor caught himself mid-fall, planting the katana into the floor to stop his momentum. With a grunt, he used the blade as a pivot, swinging his body and kicking her square in the chest.
The force sent Sophie crashing into the wall, the plaster cracking from the impact.
Breathing heavily, Sophie tried to get up—but Predictor was already there. His katana tip pressed lightly against her throat, his other hand gripping her shoulder.
"You're done," he said simply.
Her breathing slowed, and her eyes narrowed, but she didn't fight back this time.
"It seems my end, But before that I wanted to tell you something!",
"No need, I already know what it is!, As an old friend I'll give you a easy death!", he said as he smoothly slice his katana near her neck, Smoothly slicing her vital part, She twitched few times and then all the movements stopped.
----------
On the other side of the building, the fight between Fable and Diana was a storm.
They met in a wide hallway, the flicker of a faulty light bulb above casting their shadows on the cracked walls.
Diana moved first, darting in with a spinning kick aimed at Fable's head. He ducked low, sweeping his leg out to trip her—but she hopped over it, twisting midair, and came down with a heel aimed at his shoulder.
Fable caught her ankle and shoved her back. She landed lightly, barely losing her footing.
They circled each other, both breathing steadily.
Then the clash began in earnest.
Fable lunged forward with a sharp jab—Diana deflected it with her forearm, snapping a quick elbow toward his chin. He blocked, countering with a knee strike to her stomach. She twisted aside, grabbing his arm and trying to flip him.
But Fable planted his feet and twisted with her movement, reversing it—throwing her toward the wall. She caught herself with one hand on the peeling wallpaper and kicked off, launching back toward him with a flurry of punches.
Fable blocked most but took a glancing hit to the jaw. He stepped back, wiping the blood from his lip, a grin forming.
They clashed again—this time faster. Diana switched styles fluidly—boxing jabs into Muay Thai elbows, then low sweeps from capoeira-like spins. Fable countered with equally mixed techniques—grapples from judo, sharp knee strikes, and sudden bursts of Wing Chun handwork.
The hallway echoed with the sounds of fists meeting flesh, feet striking floors, and the occasional crash as they slammed into the walls.
Diana tried to catch him with a spinning hook kick, but Fable caught her leg midair, twisted it sharply, and swept her other foot from under her. She crashed to the ground, but rolled back instantly, grabbing a metal rod from a broken railing nearby.
She swung it at his head. Fable ducked, the rod whistling through the air where his skull had been a second before. He grabbed her wrist, twisted hard, and the rod clanged to the floor.
Diana threw a desperate punch with her free hand, but Fable caught it too. With both her arms trapped, he slammed his forehead into hers. She staggered back, dazed.
Fable didn't give her a chance to recover. He stepped in, drove a knee into her ribs, then swept her legs again—this time slamming her to the floor and pinning her down with his weight.
Diana lay on the dusty floor, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Sweat glistened on her forehead under the dim flickering light. She let out a long, tired sigh, her voice soft but trembling.
"You know what? Actually… I always liked you," she said, her eyes fixed on Fable. "When Soul talked about fighting the Council… and especially about fighting you two…"
Fable's brow furrowed slightly. "Us?"
"Yes," she said with a faint, sad smile. "You are one of the main targets. We were given the role to kill you two. Of course I never wanted it… but as our recommender, Soul used his influence to give a command we couldn't refuse. We had no choice."
She sighed again, the weight in her voice heavier than before. Her eyes shimmered, tears threatening to fall.
"How about it?" she asked quietly. "I already tried my best… and I lost. With this, we can just disappear. Go somewhere far away. Live a good life. I've always wanted that. Ever since ten years ago… I had a crush on you."
Her words hung in the air, fragile and vulnerable, the only sound between them being the faint hum of the light above and the distant thump of helicopter blades outside.
Fable stared at her, his face unreadable. For a long moment, he didn't move—just watching her, like he was weighing her words in silence.
Then, slowly, a smirk began to spread across his face.
He reached behind his back, pulling out his pistol. The cold metal glinted faintly under the light as he leveled it at her forehead.
"Fuck you."
BANG!
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[author]
Hmm...I know this flashback was quite rushed and boring, and I am actually not fully completing it, Actually I thought of this flashback to be 45-80 long with a lot of things, Even the fight between Fabel and predictor vs Sophie and diana was supposed to be four chapters long and fable vs soul around six chapters, Not to forget a lot of slice of life things.
But here I only wrote the key points as if going for final boss just after trial.
Of course didn't include fight of soul and fable, Neither I mentioned why fable who liked killing decided to retire.
Well whatever the case, We are back to present from next chapter and maybe in future if I get to end the story, I'll rewrite the Flashback in detail and much better than what we have right now.
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[/author]