♫ Not stopping even if you hit a wall and struggle
Going ahead recklessly ♫
-- Konomi Suzuki, Bursty Greedy Spider

Peach knew if she didn't take this opportunity to run, she wouldn't be able to escape. Rui, who was still preoccupied with Michael, didn't bother to glance down at Peach. She had opened her mouth and bit down hard on his arm holding the knife to her neck.

Rui's face twisted in pain, and his expression contorted into one of anger. He dropped the knife involuntarily, and Peach didn't hesitate to bite down harder.

"贱女人! (Bitch!)" Rui spat out in Mandarin, using the butt of his gun to deliver a blow to her head.

The pain was immediate and Peach let go of his arm, all she saw was black spots for a second or two.

Rui cursed to himself, allowing his anger get better of him. He had hit her a little too hard with the pistol in his hands.

Mistress is going to kill me.

He huffed, proceeding to direct his anger at the detective that interfered with his plans. It was supposed to be a simple fetching mission, and he was sure there wasn't anyone around in the area when he went into the shop.

The two of them neared one another, both of them aiming guns at each other. Rui almost pressed down on his trigger, until he heard a gunshot and a strong force struck his pistol, causing it to fly right out of his hands.

Michael had already taken a proper aim on him, due to the distraction Peach caused.

Peach, on the other hand, felt even more disorientated and there was slight ringing in her ears. She couldn't process her surroundings properly anymore, her world spinning out of control.

"Blooooody hellll," her speech was slurred and she lost control of her balance, landing ungracefully on the ground. "Shitttttt."

Michael and Rui were engaged in a fist fight, and Rui had disarmed Michael adeptly. Michael was definitely not experienced in fighting against a mafia right-hand man.

Or any mafia in general.

I only started my post here at Neo a year ago, for fuck's sake!

Michael was relieved he had taken his training for hand-to-hand combat seriously. Unfortunately, he couldn't get any good punches in, and Rui had the upper-hand eventually.

Michael blocked Rui's fist with his arm, feeling a throbbing pain and Rui proceeded to strike him with a high kick. Michael stumbled back, and Rui rushed forward, grabbing him by his throat.

Michael immediately felt his airway being constricted, and he gasped and coughed.

A happy grin was plastered across Rui's dashing, youthful face. Michael struggled against him, but it was futile.

"You lost, detective."

"You...sure about--killing...a detective?" Michael choked those words out.

Something glinted in Rui's eyes, and Michael only felt dread at the pit of his stomach.

"The mistress ordered me to kill anyone who interfered with my missions," Rui stated and his eyes widened slightly, sparkling with glee. "If I cut your head off and gouged your eyes out, and send it to your other detectives. How would they react?"

Michael widened his eyes in horror, and Rui only tightened his grip.

This guy is truly demented! I've heard about him, but this is fucking terrifying!

Michael could only cringe back and flail helplessly as Rui continued smiling. Michael's face was growing pale by the second, and his throat was burning, aching, yearning for a single gulp of air. He clawed at Rui's hand desperately, who didn't even flinch at all, even when one of the scratches was deep enough to cause bleeding.

He only seem more pleased by Michael's struggles.

All of a sudden, Rui's entire face was covered by a brown object. Peach peeked out behind Rui, a glazed look in her eyes, but she seemed conscious of her actions.

"Mmmph! Mmhpf!"

Peach tightened the object around Rui's face, grimacing as she still felt like her world was tilting.

Rui released Michael instantly, trying to get the object of his face. Michael gasped and coughed harshly, gulping in the fresh air like it was the remaining air he'll ever taste or breathe in his life.

He glanced up, frowning as he saw that the object was actually a wig.

Rui was speaking incoherently in Mandarin and prying the wig off his face. His glare was murderous as he had accidentally swallowed some hair, and it disgusted him, making him spit on the floor.

He already knew who the culprit was as he whipped around, coming face to face with a gorgeous woman, her milky peach eyes holding a hint of irritation. She held a small spray bottle in front of his face, and Rui opened his mouth to spout an offensive remark about her. However, she sprayed right in his face without hesitation.

He inhaled a little before holding his breath, covering his nose. He pulled his hand away a second later, extremely furious, snarling.

"你-- (You--)" 

Another spray.

"肏你妈-- (Motherfucker--)"

Yet another spray.

Even inhaling a little was enough to make Rui drowsy, and he inhaled yet another small amount. Eventually, he grew drowsy and he couldn't even utter another word. Peach just sprayed another time, her expression dark.

Finally, Rui collapsed to the ground and the drowsiness overcame him, knocking him out.

"Fuck off." Peach whispered out, kicking him lightly.

She would have kicked him harder, if it weren't for her disorientated state. Rui clearly whacked her without hesitation with the gun. She emitted a small moan, clutching her head and she felt the world spin once again.

Michael finally recovered, he had been watching the entire situation in disbelief.

Peach had actually saved his life.

He saw Peach wavering steadily, almost tipping over and falling.

"Watch out!" Michael croaked out, his voice hoarse, dashing up to her to support her.

"He'll wake up, we have to get away." Peach managed out, her head aching and spinning.

"Yeah, yeah! Okay, come on!" Michael helped Peach up, putting her arm over him.

Michael glanced back, seeing Rui on the ground. He would arrest him, for assaulting a police officer but Rui would no doubt be bailed out of prison in a heartbeat. Michael made a face, using his other free hand to tug at the collar of his shirt, knowing that bruises were going to form on his neck. 

Peach dropped the spray bottle from her hands, and Michael paused, bending down to pick it up.

He read the brief description of it, laughing lightly.

INSTANT KNOCK-OUT SPRAY
WARNING: IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE!

"I can't believe something like this actually saved our bloody lives."

His throat burned as he laughed, and he winced. The bruises were going to be a pain in the ass for the next few days, or maybe even weeks.

"Well, saved our lives, barely." he muttered out, looking at Peach who seemed to be floating into space.

***

Celeste finished his interrogation with Gerald. Since Gerald wasn't willing to go prison for multiple crimes, including the framing job and being the acquaintance of a murderer, Gerald willingly spilled the information like a river.

He'll rather die than be imprisoned for life, moreover, he wasn't sure if he will ever be safe in prison.

No doubt someone would put a hit on him while he was in there.

Gerald also assumed that he had covered up his tracks pretty well. However, Celeste proceeded to expose his crimes one after another, like he was sipping on coffee and talking about his daily routine.

Gerald had never felt so terrified of a detective in his entire life.

Celeste wasn't surprised to know that the people behind this murder case were Haeres, Hebi and most of the personnel in the Crimson host club. The arrest warrant has been issued swiftly, and all-points bulletin for the suspects has been put out to every civilian in Neo.

The other detectives from the other teams quickly moved out to apprehend the suspects too.

Unfortunately, when they stormed into the host club area, everything had been vacated.

The host club was no more.

Celeste pinched the space between his eyebrows, elbows resting on the desk. Even if Haeres knew he was going to get caught, he couldn't have possibly cleared out the space so quickly.

It seemed like a vacant area right now, waiting for another owner to buy over this club.

Celeste couldn't understand, since Peach had said that Haeres treated his host club like a valuable commodity.

Peach wouldn't lie, would she? No...there's not point in lying about this.

Could something have happened to Haeres earlier? Something serious enough for him to abandon his host club?

Celeste went back to his usual contemplative state, mumbling to himself. He arrived to different conclusions in his mind, immersed in own thoughts, not realising that his phone had been vibrating in his pocket.

It was only when Löne pinged him about a missed call, did he realise the situation.

Michael
(1) Missed Call(s)

He frowned, taking his phone out and a notification popped out, indicating a missed call.

He stared at his phone for a moment, wondering what Michael could be calling him for. His mind was still preoccupied by the possible whereabouts of Haeres and the assumptions of what led to him vacating his treasured host club.

A moment passed, and Celeste observed the live wallpaper on his smart phone, a group of jellyfish swimming upwards slowly, with sunlight shining down on them softly.

...Peach.

Suddenly that one thought struck him, and before he knew, he was calling Michael.

***

Author's Note: I know next to nothing about concussions, because I am not a medical genius and neither am I certified. I did have a slight concussion when I was young, but in Peach's case, it is an exaggerated version.

Albeit, everyone does experience concussions differently, since the human body is so complex. From light to severe effects, concussions can range from mild to extremely bad. Hence, what Peach is experiencing here and the next few chapters will be the symptoms of suffering from a (serious?) concussion.

Again, I'm not medical genius. Thus, do not take my interpretation of concussions in this book seriously. Thank you for attending my TED talk.