Phase-Out (Volume #1) \

Rowtsuke pushed up the flaps of the collar on his black trench coat as he took a long drag off of the cigarette in his gloved right hand. He held the warm smoke in for a moment, then slowly began to let it out in a succession of dark grey rings, which drifted for a moment each, and then faded off into the night sky. His left hand slid down into the deep pocket of the heavy, black coat, then emerged, clasping a small, ornate, silver locket with a D engraved upon the front. He removed the circular black shades from atop the slope of his nose, so as to get a better look at the picturesque object held in front of his face.1

Rowtsuke stood atop the Kyoto bridge, looking out over the bay. It was one of those foggy, mysterious nights, where anything could come up out of the mist, and shatter the deafening silence. He took the final drag off of the square, and flicked the butt down into the murky waters of the bay. Into the night, a wraith, Rowtsuke Dagashi disappeared to find an old friend.2

The almost invisible blur that was hidden by the alias of Dagashi sped   forward atop the thick support cables of the bridge, clutching the locket in one hand, and his .45 silver outlaw in the other. As he came to the end of the bridge, he slid to a halt, sparks shooting out from under the metal heels of his boots and showering down onto the traffic below. He jumped, landing on the sidewalk, just across from his destination. He brushed the grey film of shattered concrete from his shoulders, and headed towards a shady looking tavern.3

As he entered the Turquoise Senka, a seedy looking pub on the west side of town, he looked to a man behind the bar. "Back there," the man said, flicking his head in the direction of a door about ten feet to the right of the bar."Thank you." Rowtsuke mumbled tiredly, walking through the door into a dimly lit room. There were three other men there. Rowtsuke sat down, and stared hard at the man directly across from him, waiting for him to speak. 4

"Might I offer you a drink, Mr. Dagashi?" the slightly bulbous but extremely serious looking man asked. His tone was harsh, yet had an undertone of humor in it. "No thank you, I tend to shy away from taking people up on that offer, after the first few times they try to poison me", Rowtsuke rasped through his teeth, terse. He then tossed the locket onto the table, watching it bounce into the hand of the thug on the right. "Any information on where the owner of that is?" 5

The man practically shouted as he stood, furious. "Leioki is dead, Agent R. I suggest you accept it, or you might bring about consequences you aren't prepared to handle!" 6

"I refuse to stop looking until I am sure of it. I won't let anyone get in my way, Kyushi.Now give me the information i want." Dagashi murmured almost inaudibly. With that, Kyushi, as well as the two thugs on either side of him, drew their guns.7

"I don't think so, Dagashi. You're meddling where you don't belong. Now, I suggest you leave, and say nothing more of this to anyone", Kyushi said curtly,as the lackey tossed the locket back at Rowtsuke.8

"I'll not leave until I have the information I came for.We can do this the easy way, or the hard way", He rasped, once again through his teeth,becoming infuriated"9

"My thoughts exactly,Agent R. Boys,show him out",and with that the thugs aimed,and fired at Dagashi.10

Rowtsuke dove to the side, scrambling under the table, and flipping it up as a shield. Two bullets zinged past his head as he ducked. He jumped up, kicking both of his legs outward, and landed on the legs of the table. With a ruthless grin, he shot both hands to his sides, causing two silver .45 semi-automatic outlaws to materialize from his sleeves. He flicked his left wrist up, and fired two shots, each hitting one of Kyushi's lackeys. Down they went as Dagashi lunged out over the table, and brought his metal heeled boot to the face of Kyushi.11

"Now, tell me where Leioki is, or I'll blow your damn brains out!" he shouted straight into Kyushi's face. 12

"I don't know! Please don't hurt me! I Don't know anything!" he cried out in horror.13

"Tell me what you know, or so help me God, I'll..." he began to say, shoving the .4514

into Kyushi's mouth.15

"Uhnn uhnnn!", Kyushi cried as Dagashi pulled the gun away.16

"You have something to say, betrayer?" Dagashi said scornfully.17

"Go to this address, and you'll find an informant there. It'll cost you but its the only way to get the information you want."18

"Hmhmhmhm..thank you Kyushi, thank you very much. Now, you die," Dagashi said, forcing the gun back into the small man's mouth, and squeezing the trigger.19