A/N: It feels like I only updated this story 2 months ago... Unfortunately, it's been much longer than that.

Here is my first and only update for 2019.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tecmo and Team Ninja. Please don't sue me.

BREAKING CHAINS

Chapter 20

A few days had passed since Hitomi, Eliot, and Bayman had combined their cases at the police station. Since then, the karateka had gone to Gen Fu and Bass' combined funeral in order to pay her respects. She noticed that over half the town had attended the ceremony. She felt terrible since both men were well known throughout the quiet town, and she truly did feel sad for both of their deaths. Goosebumps slowly formed on her arms as she remembered the horrific experience of finding the two bodies. The murderer was right behind her that night and she thought nothing of it at the time.

'How could I be so stupid?...'

The police station opened again the next day and the three officers were back to their usual work. Hitomi, Eliot, and Bayman constantly compared their cases and were able to piece even more clues together. Whenever she wasn't at work, the karateka made sure to visit Hayate at the hospital. She was hoping that Hayate would regain his memories sometime soon. During her latest visit, she sat down on the visitor's chair as usual. The amnesiac karate master was asleep, so Hitomi decided to read a romance novel until he woke up.

"T… Tina…"

Hitomi lowered her novel and stared at Hayate with wide eyes. He was mumbling in his sleep once again. The fact that Hayate had mentioned Tina was possibly a sign that he was slowly regaining his memories. In an instant, the German girl leaned over the bed and shook Hayate by his arms. The young man immediately woke up with a grunt.

"Ngh… What is it?..."

"Hayate… You just mumbled Tina's name," Hitomi responded. She shook his arms once more. "What else do you know?!"

"I… I..."

Lisa then entered the room and paused once when she saw Hitomi shaking the young man. She crossed her arms and glared at the karateka.

"Hitomi, you can't just shake him," she lectured. "Doing so could cause even more strain on his shoulder."

"I'm sorry, Lisa. I was surprised because Hayate mentioned Tina's name while he was asleep."

"What?!" Lisa asked, clearly in shock. With a smile, she headed over to Hayate's bed. "Is there anything else you remember? The murderer, perhaps?"

Hayate grunted and clutched his head in pain. "I can't remember… I think I'm having a headache…"

Hitomi looked at Lisa. Even though Hayate still appeared to have amnesia, the doctor had a bright smile on her face. Hitomi, however, had a more negative outlook to the situation.

"Lisa, there's no point…" Hitomi frowned. "He still has amnesia."

"Maybe so, but it's a good sign that he can remember Tina's name. It means we're making progress."

"Now that you put it that way, I guess you're right," Hitomi admitted with a smile.

Lisa then turned her attention to Hayate once more. "I'll go and get you some aspirin for your headache… I'll be right back."

When Lisa left the room, all Hitomi could do was stare at Hayate as she delved into her thoughts. It was definitely a good sign that he was beginning to remember who Tina was. The karateka couldn't recall ever mentioning Tina's name to him. Eventually, she felt her face heat up as she witnessed Hayate looking at her like he did a few weeks ago. She warmly smiled back at him until she realised something…

This wasn't the real Hayate. The man laying in front of her had no memories, so there was no use trying to achieve 'something more' with him. The old Hayate was possibly gone forever. All she could do was live with her regret of not admitting her true feelings to him sooner. Sure, everyone around her was positive that Hayate would regain his memories, but was it really true?

"I… I need to go…"

Hayate could see that something was bothering the karateka. "Hitomi, wait…"

"I-I'm sorry…"

Hitomi never thought she could escape an awkward situation so fast. As she shut the door behind her, she was met with the warm amber eyes belonging to Kasumi. Hitomi forced a smile as she saw the young woman. It had been ages since they had last seen each other.

"I just saw Lisa. She said that Hayate mentioned Tina's name in his sleep."

"He did!" Hitomi cheered. "Unfortunately, he forgot all about it when he woke up…"

"Oh, well, don't feel bad about it," Kasumi responded. "Maybe this means he will remember more details in the future. Stay positive, Hitomi!"

"I will!"

"It's so sad that Bass and Gen Fu are dead," she said, sadly. "But you have to admit that it's odd that Bass was murdered. A lot of people admired him, and he was a strong man."

"You're right," Hitomi agreed. "Gen Fu told me that a lot of people disagreed with the way he ran the town as well."

Kasumi nodded as she crossed her arms. "That's true. A lot of people were violent towards him, but he was such a nice man."

Hitomi frowned. She knew Kasumi was right, but she still couldn't believe that the senior officer was dead. It felt completely surreal to her.

"Anyway, I'd better get going. It was nice to see you again, Kasumi."

"It was nice to see you, too," Kasumi smiled. "We should meet up again sometime. Maybe we can finally bake together like we said ages ago."

Hitomi chuckled in response. "Okay, sure. I would love that. I'll call you when I can so we can organise something."

"Okay. Bye!"

When the next morning arrived, Hitomi headed over to the police station for her eight hour shift. Luckily for the three officers, everything had been more quiet lately. With the news of Bass and Gen Fu's death slowly subsiding, Hitomi was thankful that there were no other dangerous cases to take on. She, Eliot, and Bayman really needed to concentrate on the current chain of murders - along with the linked robbery case.

"Okay, so we have two main suspects now since everyone else has had an alibi before," Eliot began.

"That's right," Hitomi nodded. "Those two people are Rig Donovan and Lisa Hamilton."

"I know for a fact that Lisa disagreed with how Gen Fu controlled the town," Bayman added. "And Rig is linked because of the dragon pattern that we've seen before…"

"They both also have poor alibis," Eliot added.

"If we're solely relying on the dragon pattern, then Jann Lee and Ryu would be added to the suspect list as well," Hitomi said. "However, they both have alibis."

"I think you should ask the purple haired girl about her whereabouts," Bayman replied. "She was a smartass when I interviewed her. And I'm sure her family would do anything to cover up her lies…"

Hitomi sighed. "I guess you're right, but I can't see Kasumi lying… But I will interview Ayane, if you'd like."

"That's all I ask."

Something then clicked to Hitomi. "You know, Rig and Brad were nearby when Gen Fu showed me the secret entrance… And the secret entrance is how the murderer entered the police station."

"Rig is definitely a suspect, then," Eliot sighed. "For his sake, I hope he has a good alibi."

After when her shift had finished, Hitomi ended up meeting with Leifang. She thought it would be the perfect time to hang out and forget about her troubles. They were currently near the Seaside Market as they shared an ice cream cone together. Hitomi noted how the market was noticeably more empty than usual. This was because of Bankotsubo's brutal murder. She remembered the squashed appearance of the Pomeranian's face, as though it happened only yesterday.

"So, are you feeling better about your case?" Leifang asked.

"I'm feeling more confident about it now," Hitomi smiled. "I guess I'm just getting impatient. I want to solve this case so bad!"

Leifang licked the ice cream before responding. "You'll find out the truth soon."

"Oh, I really hope I do. I just hope half the town isn't dead by the time we figure it out."

"Don't talk like that," Leifang grumbled. She then decided to change the subject. "So, how has Rig been lately?"

"He's actually been very… Odd," Hitomi admitted. "Don't say anything, but he's the main suspect so far."

"I'm not even surprised at this point," Leifang shrugged. "He still scares me and he looks creepy, too."

"I thought you liked him. You practically swooned over him when we first met him," Hitomi replied.

"I know, but I started thinking about it some more. Think about it, Hitomi… All these murders started on the same week he arrived in town."

Now that Leifang mentioned it, Hitomi thought back to two specific moments that supported her argument.

[ FLASHBACK ]

"I've never seen you around here before… I'm Hitomi," she smiled, turning the key through the lock. The door swung open and the newly announced detective was amazed with her new apartment. The interior consisted of red, brown, and white. Hitomi was thankful to see that the moving company had successfully attached the fridge, as well as her couch, in the right places.

"My name is Rig. I've never seen you around here, either," he said, placing the box on the couch. "I live right next door to you. I only moved in here two weeks ago, so I'm still new around here."

Hitomi was in shock from what Kasumi had just said. She had bought several plants from Leon and Rolande's market stall before. She had heard some rumours stating that their business included selling drugs, but Hitomi refused to believe that was the case. Even so, it was hard for her to believe that someone so kind and welcoming could die so young.

"Wait, Rolande is dead?"

"Yes," Kasumi confirmed. "She was murdered behind the gym two weeks ago. It's so sad, and Leon hasn't been the same ever since."

[ END FLASHBACK ]

"Oh, my gosh, you're right!" Hitomi frowned. She placed her hands on her cheeks due to the shock. Unfortunately, she dropped the ice cream cone while doing so.

"Hey! We paid $6 for that!"

"I'm sorry, Leifang…"

"It's okay," she chuckled, picking up the dirty cone and placing it in the nearest trash can. "But yeah, I'll definitely keep an eye out for any other suspicious people."

Hitomi smiled at her best friend with gratitude. "Thank you. I really do appreciate it."

As they continued walking along the sidewalk, Hitomi couldn't help but feel much more positive about her current situation. Just as Gen Fu had told her before he died, she was much closer to solving these crimes than she initially thought. Unfortunately, it was possible that Rig was the murderer, but it was her job to put him away and find out the truth.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I'll see you all in 2020 with many more updates. :D

...

Where you can find the other investigation files:

Rolande: Chapter 6

Kokoro: Chapter 10

Tina: Chapter 15

Bankotsubo: Chapter 17

Bass and Gen Fu: Chapter 19

- For those who are curious, the two flashbacks scenes appear in chapter 1.