Session 12. (3/10/01)
Episode 4 contd.
A necessarily short write-up this week because, basically, just you had to see this episode. It began as Chief of Police Sugiyama is walking away from meeting the head of the Bear yakuza with a box of money. Suddenly three yakuza jump out and attack him. Sugiyama draws his sword and hits the leader, but one of the others, a girl, hits Sugiyama and dazes him. While he is dazed, the third yakuza hits him with a kiseru. Sugiyama recovers and chops off the leader's leg, then turns on the other male yakuza. Four successive blows finishes him, with minimal damage returned, but as the dust settles he notices that the girl has slipped away. However, his highly trained policeman's senses spy a bare* foot sticking out from a doorway in a dark alley. Sugiyama takes no chances, and, moving silently through shadows, chops the foot off. The poor yakuza girl writhes in agony and gives herself up**.
Back at the doshin house, the girl spills the beans, especially when Kimori realises it is her name (Terazawa) in the shoe he found in the wreckage at the School of the Blade. She admits to being on that hit, and implicates several of the top Bears in murders, extortion and drug smuggling. Sugiyama decides it is time to hit the Bears and starts gathering men. He also declares 10 of the 23 GP found in the box and offers it as reward for help in finishing the Bears. So, with 9 doshin and 9 teachers from the School of the Blade, the four troubleshooters set off for the Bears' headquarters.
Arriving there, they use Terazawa's information to identify known yakuza buildings, and Emiko uses prana-yoga to spot a lookout building, which has a hidden escape hatch over the wall to the next ward. Then they split into four teams and attack from different directions. Komako, Emiko and 5 others hit a lookout post in the NW corner. 4 Yakuza inside were waiting for them, but, apart from Emiko and Komako's opponent, they make short work of them. One tries to escape through a window, but is cut down. Meanwhile, Tsunatane and 2 others hit the lookout post in the SE. Two yakuza posing as a couple are inside. They make short work of one, but the other escapes through the escape hatch into the waiting weapons of the 2 others Tsunatane left outside. Sugiyama goes up the main street and hits one of the central houses. He "slice 'n dices" one yakuza (to the applause of the teachers in his group) then chases another through the building. He catches him near the stairs, and another yakuza comes down the stairs and tries to escape, but is intercepted by a teacher. Both fights are short. Finally, Kimori's group divides in two, hitting both a lookout post and another of the main buildings. In the lookout post, the three doshin quickly deal with a yakuza, but go upstairs to find the others have escaped. In the main house, Kimori quickly slices up one yakuza, but another escapes through a back door. Kimori goes upstairs and fights yet another yakuza, one of the senior ones, who swings around his bo staff and breaks Kimori's leg***. Fortunately, Kimori's companion kills the yakuza. Outside, the doshin, emerging from the lookout post, are ambushed by two yakuza who escaped out of the window. One doshin is KO'd, but the other two manage to subdue the yakuza.
In the next round of action, Komako and Emiko's group charges through a shop (apologising to the terrified shopkeeper) and into Terazawa's house. Here they quickly deal with one yakuza. Tsunatane's group splits up: one pair enters a house ("Freeze! Doshin raid!") but find only innocent civilians; the others enter another house, kill a yakuza and chase another through a secret door into the next house. Sugiyama's group enter another central house, kill a yakuza and go upstairs to find three yakuza, one of whom has just emerged from a secret door, arguing about which way to run. In the event they run no further. Meanwhile, Kimori, immobilised by his broken leg, instructs the rest of his group to go out of the back door and up the alleyway, where one yakuza ran a few minutes earlier. What will they find?