The Dormouse • ALICE IN BORDERLAND

xiii

NAKAJIMA

♤♡◇♧

Ichida thought it was going to be another monotonous day.

He would go to work, patrol the streets, allow his partner to rattle off tales of his budding family as he tuned out the enthusiastic words. He would write up reports, maybe arrest a few drunk and disorderlies. Then he would go home to a hollow, empty house and drown himself in beer and whiskey, before passing out. Waking up the next day to a pounding headache and doing it all again. Rinse and repeat.

But that day, things turned out to be different.

The police station was a hive of activity. Uniformed officers marching down the halls. Papers rustling on the desks of detectives. A drunkard was being hauled out of the cell he spent the night in for the previous evening's antics. Ichida sighed, allowing the noise to flow through him as he stared at the young girl in front of him.

He and his current partner had been called in to deal with a nearby store robbery incident, and upon arriving at the location, he had been met with a sullen girl with a sour look on her face being held in the back room. She had been caught red-handed on camera, and the store owner was working up a storm as her statement was taken, ensuring Ichida would punish the girl. He had assured the owner that justice would be served, the usual spiel he had memorised when dealing with civilians flowing out of him automatically.

Then the girl was piled back into the police car and driven down to the station. And it was there that Ichida had found himself hit with a brick wall.

The girl sat still, slouched in the chair across his desk as he wrote up his report, arms crossed with one foot kicking against the ground. She had remained silent the entire time.

"So kid, are you going to tell me your name?"

♤♡◇♧

After the heart wrenching reveal of Ichida being on the opposing team, Michiko had gone numb, sound escaping her, leaving only a faint buzzing ringing through her head.

She didn't notice the older man fixing a stern expression on his face, leaping into action.

He strode over to the tables of weapons, to the one labeled 'CATS', as everyone else was still processing the team assignments, some despairing wails being heard around as groups were torn apart. He had no time to despair. His mind was already working a mile a minute, hatching up a plan that would ensure his girls would make it out alive. Chishiya as well, if he could help it. But from what he'd learned of the calculating man over the past week, he imagined the blonde had already planned several steps ahead for every possible situation the moment he'd entered the building.

Looking down at the assorted weapons, he picked up the handgun, claiming it as his own. He unclipped the magazine, checking if it was full. It was. That gave him roughly eighteen rounds. He mentally counted how many opponents he'd have, figuring he'd have to be careful with them, having just enough to take out everyone he'd need to with maybe a couple to spare. He clipped it back in. A tall, imposing figure sidled up casually beside him, stopping in front of the 'MICE' table.

An amused huff of laughter sounded from the figure next to him, "Do you even know how to use that old man?" It was the man from earlier, who'd eyed the girls with a dark glint in his eye that Ichida did not like. His vest was adorned in the same bright blue as the girls. His companion stood silent and resolute beside him, also bedecked in bright blue, as the longer haired man picked up the gun from his own designated table, holding it up with a smirk in an attempt at intimidation. The rest of the flock following them had not been so lucky, all wearing the same blood red shade that surrounded him. The older man said nothing, pocketing his gun in the back of his trousers where he'd be able to grab it easily, before reaching over and grabbing a couple of weapons from the 'MICE' table.