In the blink of an eye, the outcome was decided.
Shuichi Akai, who thought he would be waiting outside for his prey to come out, had somehow already sneaked into the hotel.
It was most likely after the fire started.
Gin had nothing to say about his own negligence and the other party's audacity.
He didn't even turn around, waiting for the next bullet to pierce his heart.
But no more shots were fired.
"Big Brother!" Vodka belatedly realized and shielded his back with his body. "Brother Gin, run!"
Gin wanted to turn around and push him away, but his leg wouldn't obey him.
"Surrender." Shuichi Akai's voice rang out coldly from behind.
"Impossible!" Vodka shouted, his voice almost drowning out the flames. "You kill me! Shoot me!"
"Don't even think about catching my brother unless you kill me!"
Gin thought this underling was really stupid; he had completely forgotten that he also had a gun on him, and was just waving his arms wildly, as if trying to distract Shuichi Akai.
Could a top-notch sniper, considered the best within the organization and the FBI, be distracted by such a clumsy act?
It would make it easier for him to shoot two people at once.
The fire burned even brighter.
Shuichi Akai still did not fire the gun.
Gin finally managed to turn around with all his might and saw that the person was standing halfway up the stairs, looking down at him with the gun in his hand as steady as a mountain.
With this posture, he can fire whenever he wants and wherever he wants.
"Surrender, Gin," Shuichi Akai repeated. "I'll spare your life."
Gin gave Vodka a cold laugh and pushed him, but found he couldn't move him anymore, so he had to limp a couple of steps to the side.
These two steps didn't lead them to an escape route; instead, they took them to the seaside side of the corridor.
Below the cliff outside the window, the sea roars.
The sounds of the waves and the flames seemed to be competing to see who could roar more fiercely.
"Shoot if you dare," Gin said calmly. "Don't hold back."
If they killed themselves, they would probably spare Vodka's life.
Probably...
“Okay,” Shuichi Akai said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He's really going to make a move.
very good.
Gin looked at his former colleague, and later his mortal enemy, with satisfaction, waiting to see the bullet fly towards him.
"No!" Vodka suddenly shouted again, squatting down in an unexpected manner and grabbing Gin's legs.
This inexplicable action stunned Shuichi Akai for a fraction of a second.
In those fractions of a second, vodka became the dominant force in the situation.
Gin suddenly felt dizzy and was lifted up by Vodka and thrown out the window.
Shuichi Akai's gun still went off.
Gin's weightless body shuddered in mid-air, and was even propelled outward by the powerful kinetic energy of the bullet.
The ever-present black top hat finally fell off, and her long silver hair was blown about by the sea breeze, like a giant jellyfish leaping out of the sea.
It fell back into the sea.
"...My brother won't die by your gun!"
He heard Vodka scream in despair.
That's really... persistent...
Having a lackey like that, who wouldn't have a headache?
Thanks anyway...
This was Gin's last thought.
...
After throwing the gin into the sea, the vodka did not resist anymore.
He let Shuichi Akai drag him out of the burning hotel.
They came out at just the right moment; they had just collapsed onto the damp soil of the hillside when the beam of the hotel door collapsed, completely blocking the exit.
The opera house next door had long since turned into a towering torch, its shattered skeleton visible in the flames, crumbling away with devastation.
Shuichi Akai took a breath and contacted Camel and Judy on the speedboat, only to learn that Yoruichi Toyama and Boss Kurosawa had not returned.
"What?"
"After seeing Shizuka-sensei onto the ship, Yoruichi went back to pick up Mr. Kurosawa!" Akemi's voice came through the walkie-talkie, urgently saying, "He wouldn't..."
"Mr. Akai!..."
"...It's too late." Shuichi Akai remained silent for a long time before answering in a low voice.
"Whether it's putting out the fire or saving lives, it's already too late."
That's what they said, but not long after, Mingmei and Judy were running up the hillside, panting.
Judy's arm was still wrapped in bandages.
"Shu!" She rushed forward and hugged Shuichi Akai, who was standing in front of the hotel. "Are you alright?"
Even in front of Akemi, Shuichi Akai did not object to this action.
But a rare look of regret appeared on his face.
“Akimi… no, Miss Lin, I’m so sorry.”
"It was my fault..."
Mingmei looked at him and shook her head.
"How can you blame yourself for this?"
"It was Yoruichi herself who wanted to do it."
"That idiot detective, he never even considered asking someone to protect him!"
"He just wanted to protect others."
Then she didn't speak again, just stared blankly at the opera house that had been reduced to rubble in the flames.
In order to clean up the mess, Shuichi Akai had no choice but to contact the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
While revealing their FBI identities would certainly bring legal battles upon their return, they couldn't simply abandon their comrades and hostages to perish in the fire and retreat in disgrace.
The fire was finally extinguished.
The opera house and hotel, both over a century old, were completely destroyed in the fire and are beyond repair.
But the most important thing is people.
After listening to Shuichi Akai's account, the Self-Defense Forces and firefighters began searching through the ruins.
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