Gunpla in Fukuoka

[FrostyFoster 495]

The Hakata Gunpla Shop wasn’t the most luxurious place to purchase Gunpla in the Fukuoka area, not by a long shot. While it was near a tourist town, more big chain stores took up a majority of Gunpla’s interest in the region. However, that didn't mean nobody would decide to visit. A tall gentleman by the name of Tendou slowly peeked through one of the few spots not covered with sun-bleached Zeta and ZZ adverts. He had come at the right time, pushing the squeaky door open.

“How are you supposed to get more customers if you don’t keep up with maintenance?” Tendou asked the older owner at the front desk.

Gunpla boxes were haphazardly stacked in rows against the walls, just waiting to topple over. Tendou assumed that some of those No Grades near the bottom hadn’t been touched since the Middle Ages. What room wasn’t taken up by kits was a single Gunpla Battle Hexagon. It was used recently, but he wondered by whom.

“Genji, do you just battle Hi-Mocks all day, or have you actually had someone show up this century?”

Genji had a blank expression that remained unchanged. The old soul got out from behind the counter, making sure to snag his GP base as he strolled up to Tendou. His free hand shook slightly when he opened a nearby cabinet containing around a dozen Gunpla of various types. He settled on one, The O. Zero modifications were made to the kit, but its beauty was proven by high-quality craftsmanship. 

“I know why you are here.” Genji uttered softly. “Let's just get this over with.”

PLEASE SET YOUR GP BASE

The two slid their bases into the machine.

PLAVSKY PARTICLE DISPERSAL 

The hexagon produced a lifelike depiction of the stars across the universe.

FIELD 1, SPACE

Genji placed his O gently onto the GP Base, scanning the Gunpla and bringing it “to life”. Tendou, on the other hand, procured a Mobile Suit of similar size, albeit with a wider range of weaponry. “Xeku Eins.” Kenji thought as the Sentinel MS was placed onto Tendou’s own Base. “Model damage set to A, eh? Are you THAT confident in your skills?” Kenji knew the risks behind this decision. Neither of these kits will make it out unscathed…

The Field was mostly barren, save for a few asteroids scattered across the arena. Tendou wastes no time in sending a few missiles at The O, mostly as a way to get some of the asteroids between them destroyed. Genji easily dodges as a few hit the space rocks, sending back a couple of beams from his rifle. “Watch it, old man! I clearly have the advantage here!” Once in range, Tendou let loose his machine gun as he maneuvered between beam shots.

While The O’s exterior could take some hits, the bullets did some minor damage to its right leg. Genji pulled back on the controls, hoping to hide behind an asteroid, but the onslaught of missiles and machine gun fire was eventually gonna take its toll. “Just give up already. This is OBJECTIVELY the better Gunpla here!” As Tendou pulled up next to the asteroid, Genji’s MS was gone. “Where-”

Sneaking up from behind, The O held four beam sabers, swinging violently at the Xeku, but Tendou pulled out his own Sub-Arms to defend, blocking the attack with his own sabers. “Grrrrr. Filth.” The Xeku unloaded every single bullet from his Vulcans into the asteroid, creating an array of dust and smoke. “What?” Genji couldn't see a thing, only for the Xeku to appear in front of him with a Sturm Furst in each hand.

BATTLE ENDED

It has a massacre. Nothing from The O remained as the Xeku stood tall in the middle of the hexagon. For the first time, the old man’s face changed, not to sadness but to fear. He knew it was a long shot beating Tendou, but the consequences scared him as his tall opponent pulled out a pistol. “Enough of the children’s game, Genji.” Tendou smirked. “You know what I want.”

Edited May 6, 2024 by FrostyFoster

[FrostyFoster 495]

It took weeks before the smell of burnt plastic from the Hakata Gunpla shop finally went away. While the fire only did minor damage to the stores adjacent, there was practically nothing that remained of the humble mart. The area was cordoned off by caution tape, and two men in shabby suits were seen pushing it aside. The detectives appeared identical, with the same hairstyle. However, one of them was slightly taller than the other and had to bend over to avoid hitting the remnants of the doorway.

“It's over, Masaru.” The shorter of the two stated while staring at a faded PG Wing Zero box. “Place is scheduled for clean-up for a reason. There's nothing here.”

Masaru rummaged through some debris, shaking his head. “A rice cooker wouldn't start a fire as quickly as it did, Kouji.” He tossed a melted figure of Quess aside. “Even if that's what caused it, the old man wouldn't have just let it happen.”

The owner, Genji Sato, was charred beyond recognition when the police found him in the middle of the store. When he was first assigned to the case, Masaru assumed Genji had a heart attack, unable to unplug his overheating appliance. The autopsy said otherwise, though. There were no symptoms of a heart attack or any sort of medical emergency. Gripping a few paper scraps, he noticed that rent was overdue on multiple occasions. “Didn’t the report say he owned the place? How'd we miss this?”

Kouji was standing behind Masaru, and he was twisting something shiny between his fingers. Suddenly, Kouji exclaimed, "How’d we miss THIS?" Masaru turned back to see a bullet casing, which was clearly from a smaller weapon. "Gloves, Kouji! Come on!" Masaru scolded the shorter detective. Kouji panicked and placed the casing on the mangled counter as he reached into his pocket. "There were no bullet wounds on the body. What's going on here?" Masaru stared intently at the golden metal. "Get this to Forensics. I gotta make a stop somewhere..."

—

The stairs creaked as Masaru walked down into a pub only a few miles from the crime scene. Only a few patrons sat near the bar, with a large cloth covering a hexagonal table. “What can I get you?” the bartender asked while pouring another customer’s brandy. “I don't know, maybe a 1v1?” Masaru stated while unclasping his waist pouch. “Or do I need to take all of you on? After all, it's not like I can play at the Hakata shop anymore.”

One of the patrons, the gruffest-looking one of them all, stood up and knocked his beer over. “Look, pal, we know you're a cop. If you want to know something, just ask.” Masaru thought for a second and played along. “Alright, what do you know about the Hakata fire?” He glanced around in silence, only to eventually hear a few chuckles. “What? I didn't say we were gonna tell you! Ha ha, ha…” The gruff man’s words began to slur, toppling out of his chair and crashing onto the floor.

“Ok, he's not battling.” Another patron uttered while pulling off the dusty cloth from the Gunpla Hexagon. “He’s pretty damn good with his Zock, too.” Two others waltzed up to the battling area, placing their GP bases into it. Masaru smirked as he pulled out his Gunpla. “Alright Victory ZO, don't let me down.”