MC jerked awake in an unfamiliar place. He realized that he’d attempted to scream but his throat was so dry that nothing more than a whimper came out. Sweat dripped down his face and if there had been a mirror in front of him, he would have thought that he looked as pale as a ghost.

He scanned the environment and realized that he was in a hospital room. Clean white walls matched the sheets on top of him. He weakly felt around with his hand and discovered tightly wrapped bandages covering the wound on his chest and a respirator that was strapped to his face.

“MC you're awake!” said Aiko, as she sat up in her chair next to the bed. Dark bags under her eyes told stories of sleep deprivation.

“Water,” croaked MC, taking off his face respirator.

Aiko handed him a glass of water from the bedside table. He drank a small sip and licked his dry lips.

“How long was I out for?” he asked.

“About four days. They performed a procedure on you and then kept you pretty sedated. They said you’re going to be ok, but you’re going to need to take it easy for a while.”

“What happened to everyone?”

“We’re all ok. There were no injuries or casualties on our side… besides you.”

“Where’s Jin? Did you guys catch him?”

“It’s ok MC. Just calm down. You should take it easy.”

“Just tell me, Aiko.”

Aiko could see the genuine concern and panic on his face. “Jin got away. When we called in the backup, it left gaps in the roads we had blocked off.”

“So he’s still out there,” he said quietly.

“The mission was considered to be almost a complete failure. The only good we can say we did was to stop some of the killings governed by Moses. We took out the security guards too, but that should have been avoided. They didn’t have to die, but in the moment our forces had no choice but to retaliate with deadly force.”

“What about Moses, he died right? I remember seeing him covered in blood.”

“Yeah, we weren’t exactly sure who killed him in the commotion, but in the end, I suppose it didn’t matter.” Aiko leaned back in her chair and took a breath as if she was bringing her mind back into the room. MC realized that she was still sorting things out in her head from four days ago. “That’s enough about all that for now. You really do need to rest. I’m going to call GM and Sora to let them know you’re ok. They asked me to let them know as soon as you woke up. I’ll grab you something from the vending machine while I’m up. You want anything?”

“No thanks.”

Aiko strolled out and left him alone in the room. He noticed the beeps of machines next to his bed at regular intervals and voices down the hallway. As he adjusted in the bed a sharp pain stung his chest and he coughed. The machine’s beeping intensified, signaling the nurses to attend.

When Aiko returned, two nurses were adjusting the straps of the respirator mask and tending to the machines. “You ought to lay still. You’re in no shape to be moving about,” said one of the nurses before turning to Aiko. “Ok, missy, I think it’d be best if he didn’t have any more visitors for the day. He needs more rest. In fact, you look like you could use a proper rest yourself.”

Aiko’s face shone with embarrassment. “I’d like to stay, but if that’s the case I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

“Bye, MC. I’ll see you soon, she said with a smile and a wave.”

That night, MC lay in his hospital bed and reflected on the events that had unfolded the last few days. Jin is still out there somewhere. I lost my chance to kill him… again! How could this happen? I’ve become too weak. My attachments are what led to this. I’ve wasted too much time with Aiko. All that time I could have spent training and hunting Jin. And then there’s Emi. I jumped in to save her, someone I hardly know, but if I hadn’t, Aiko would have never recovered from her loss. I had to step in. Then there’s GM. Always trying to convince me to just give up. He stopped me from going after Jin. He doesn’t understand. Sure he’s trained me, but he never really supported me. He just does whatever Gil and The Organization want him to do like a little puppet. At this point, I don’t need him or The Organization. I’m more powerful than GM anyway. There’s nothing left for him to even teach me.

MC’s thoughts spiraled in a half-awake half-sedated stupor all through the night. While he wasn’t awake and upset, he was asleep fighting nightmares.

MC spent the next week recovering in the hospital. Every morning the nurse would come in and turn the TV on with the news blasting. It always talked about The Organization and The Black Diamond. They described a horrific scene at the auditorium and showed blurred pictures on the screen. This only stoked a fire inside MC, but he knew he had to do things differently next time. He was going to make changes and the only way to get there was to remain calm and recover as fast as he could. He’d waited years already, what was a few more weeks of recovering and resting. He was at least smart enough to know that he needed to get his body back to one hundred percent before making any big moves.

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Aiko visited him every day, although sometimes not for too long, due to her busy work schedule and follow up on the failed mission. GM and Sora had been in a few times. Despite Sora’s hate for leaving the house, she felt that she needed to be there. GM was his usual self, shaming MC for trying to do things on his own, while commemorating him on his empathetic deeds of saving Emi.

GM, despite taking the lives of so many, valued the lives he deemed important. He was surprisingly caring.

Once he was able to walk and breathe normally again he was sent home. When MC arrived back at the clubhouse he noticed that nothing had really changed. It was no different than being away for a day. Sora and GM had their same old habits and quirks. The only thing that really had changed was the size of the dishes pile and the amount of garbage overflowing from the trash bin. Disgusting. Just another example of how I‘ve waste time. Cleaning up after those two slobs when I could be training or getting information.

MC still wasn’t quite back to normal. He was going to continue taking it easy for a good while before getting back to missions. For the time being, MC, Sora, and GM all sat on the couch. GM read the newspaper while Sora played a game on her phone. She pounded her hand on the couch cushion as her phone flashed a game over screen.

“I’m glad to have you back, MC,” said Sora, changing her focus.

“Oh, yeah.”

“I bet you didn’t sleep well in the hospital. Sure, will be nice to be back in your own bed won't it?”

“I guess,” he said, as he stood up slowly.

“Want to play some video games later?”

“No thanks. I’m just gonna go lie down for a bit,” he said as he headed into his room, and closed the door behind him.

Sora turned to GM. “He’s been even quieter than usual,” she said.

“That’s how he is. I’m sure he’s sorting out a lot of things in his head. If you haven’t noticed by now, he’s kind of fucked up.”

“Even I know that. I just hope he doesn’t end up doing something stupid after letting you know who get away again.”

“I think he’s smarter than that. Just give him time. He’ll come back around.”

For the next several weeks, MC focused on resting and completing small exercises and physical therapy. During this time he remained more quiet and focused than ever. He started ignoring Aiko’s calls. He stopped going out into the living room to hang out with Sora and GM. He’d changed.

Eventually came a day where MC left the house. He was gone almost all day. Finally, in the evening, he called GM and asked if him and Sora wanted to meet at Big Ramen to go over his new plan. They gladly agreed. It had been so long since he’d wanted to hang out with them, it was a nice change of pace being invited to eat some food together.

Sora and GM sat in a booth at Big Ramen. Servers buzzed around. Customers came and went. “He sure didn’t say much on the phone did he?” asked Sora.

“Well if he said he’d be here, he’ll be here.” They ordered drinks and waited until MC finally showed up. He walked in and sat down at the table across from GM Sora and GM.

“Finally,” complained Sora. “I was about to order without you. I’m starving.”

“Hey MC, nice of you to join us,” said GM with a teasing tone. “This is just what we’ve been needing. A team get together over some good food. I hope you’re not still sour about that mission.”

MC sighed and forced a smile. “There’s some thing’s I’ve been needing to say to both of you.”

“Sure what is it?” asked GM.

“GM, thank you for saving me. Without you there that day, I could have died. That was thoughtful of you. It shows that you truly care about me.”

“I knew you’d come around, kid,” he said with a smirk. “I’m going to ask the boss to put you on some light duty missions. Deliveries and that sort of thing for a while. It will give you some time to clear your head. Besides, we don't even know where or when Jin will pop up again. I talked to Carlos and even he didn't know anything.”

“Sora, thanks for helping me out and giving me some laughs,” said MC.

“Yeah, no problem, That's what I’m here for.”

“Both of you, thanks for everything you’ve done.”

“You’re welcome. You know after working together all this time I think we’re finally becoming a good team,” said Sora.

“That brings me to my next point, as of today I will no longer be part of this team.”

“What?” asked Sora. “What are you talking about? Gil hasn't said anything to me about you changing teams.”

GM calmly waited for a response.

MC sat quietly for a minute as if collecting his thoughts. “I’ve realized that these connections we’ve shared have been holding me back. I need to do something different. I need to get stronger if I’m going to eliminate Jin. I’ve decided to leave the team.” GM and Sora could tell he was serious by the look in his eyes.

“You can't leave us! You can't turn your back on the team,” said Sora.

“My mind’s made up. This is something I’ve got to do,” he said with a stern voice.

Sora looked over at GM for support. “Are you sure about this?” GM asked calmly.

“I’m sure. Being part of this team was not something I ever intended to do anyway, it just helped me get closer to my goal. Now that I’ve seen how the bonds between us have become a weakness I have to leave this behind.”

“You can't do this, MC,” said Sora, slamming her fists down on the table.

“That’s all I have to say for now.” MC stood up and faced away from Sora and GM. “See you around,” he said over his shoulder before leaving.

Sora put her head down on the table. Tears dripped down onto her lap. GM patted her gently on the back. “It’ll be ok,” he said. “He’s just in his rebellious phase… I hope.”