"Ugh, what is that brat up to?" Nana annoyingly asks herself.

Dango arrives shortly thereafter, tired and out of stamina.

"Sorry... got chased... by a... love interest." She stutters as she presents her sketch to Nana.

"...And when did you meet this guy, exactly?"

"Four... minutes... ago..."

"...Degenerates." Nana says as she returns the drawing to her. "Take care of the stall. I'm not doing special treatment just because you're the daughter of some cartel." She adds as she walks away.

...

"So, a cartel, right?"

Such words startle Dango. From the stall's counter is The Director, smirking at her with contempt.

"...What can I do for a red-haired sellout like you?" Dango asks her.

"If I was your mom, I would've slapped you already." The Director replies with a smile.

Silence from Dango. The Director offers her a hundred-dollar bill.

"Three servings, and tip to where your dad is, Dango."

Dango can't help but feel a bit anxious and numb...

"She's our Director. I think you should listen!" A chewing Pickle casually interrupts from behind him, eating dango. Behind him is Iggy, who became a low-poly 3D model of himself as he clips through the sidewalk.

"...Just who the hell are you guys?" Dango wonders to herself.

A few writings later, Dango gives The Director a tip about her father's probable locations.

As she takes the paper away, she winks at Dango.

"Be humble, kid." She says such words and walks away.

Dango crosses her arms. "You two have a very sultry mom."

"Uh~ excuse me?" Pickle interrupts as Iggy's model rotates everywhere. "You can't get to say those words, you're a kid!"

"~That learned anatomy. I can sense just by stature that men LOVE her."

"Your words are near dangerous. God." Pickle banters out.

"My words are just as merciless as my drawings." She replies as she introduces herself.

"Dango. The name's Dango."

"I'm Pickle, and the rotating 3D model here is Iggy."

Iggy snaps back to form. "Oh~ uh, hi." He says, offering to shake hands.

As she reaches for Iggy's hands, however... Iggy enters his personal God mode and sends Dango crashing to the ground: A handshake takedown.

"Shit, I deserve that..." Dango replies, twitching.

Iggy and Pickle make their way to the seats of Dango's stall.

"Two more servings for the both of us, please!" Iggy orders.

Dango stands up and prepares the duo's orders.

"So, why is your mom looking for my dad?" Dango says as she drops a few rice balls onto the boiling water.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"She's not our mom. She's one of The Industry's Directors, and we're on a mission!" Iggy explains.

"Bigshots... Hah! You're bigshots, and you approved my work!" Dango laughs.

"No, we didn't!" Pickle replies.

"Why?" She curiously smirks.

"We didn't because you're an insulting bitch!"

"Really? Then how did you get in?" Dango fliptops.

Iggy looks at Pickle's annoyed face. "Burn."

He looks back at Dango.

"Anyway, we're actually here for a quick vacation." Iggy adds.

"You sure? Then why is your mom looking for my dad?"

"You're right. Why IS mom looking for our dad?" Pickle reiterates the question curiously.

"Hmm..." Iggy and Pickle think to themselves...

Dango picks up another paper and begins sketching Iggy.

"The black dude looks pretty attractive when thinking... The oriental one? Tryhard. Breaks all the stereotypes."

"MERCILESS!" Iggy and Pickle infuriatingly reply.

"What? If you're an illustrator, you should figure out what's photogenic or not." Dango justifies.

She finishes her drawing and gives Iggy her final sketch: A cartoon of Iggy thinking. A little difference to point out, however; he now has a dango in his mouth.

"Another $4.95." Dango says, straining the balls from the pot.

"Wow, it looks pretty good!" Iggy compliments her.

"My dad doesn't appreciate it, he wants me to take and inherit his cartel. The cartel rules the cooking industry around here."

"Well, it has to hurt if your dad is an art hater, huh?" Pickle reacts.

"No, he's a culinary artist, he loves art, he just~ doesn't appreciate this form of art The Industry does. He thinks of art as something people consume."

She pierces three rice balls into a stick.

"I can consume this with my eyes." Iggy explains.

"I mean, consumable by mouth." Dango counters.

She serves the dango sticks to Iggy and Pickle.

"You can visit my house and see my other artworks if you want."

"Pickle! A house tour!" Iggy says, hyping Pickle up.

"No thanks, go on your own. I'm not entering a verbally abusive household." Pickle shoos away.

"Well I'm not asking out the creepy offender, anyway." She says, smug.

A blast of infuriating anger storms Pickle's face.

"Argh! Get that kid out of my sight, I'm looking for The Director." Pickle says, walking out.

Silence.

"...So, uh, Iggy ~"

"Nope!"

"Oh..."

Meanwhile, Pickle has been ranting the entire afternoon as he wanders everywhere to look for The Director.

"I swear, that stupid girl's words has to be part of the most unhinged set of vocabulary I've ever seen!"

"So, you left Iggy behind?" A curious Director asks him from behind, eating dango.

"He has a date. I can't get over his verbally abusive girlfriend." Pickle grumpily complains.

"Is that so? Oh, then I should've told him to not go over the fence..."

"Knowing he asked me more about the down bad guy with the AI last week, I'm sure they already did." Pickle replies with angst.

"Well, if you want, you can join me in my mission." The Director says, beaming.

Pickle stops and looks at her for a while.

"That seems like a great idea! Brief me about it!"

"Well..."

Back at the stall, Dango is cleaning up the place as they close it down.

"Early closure!" Dango says as she shuts the blinds.

"Isn't that... Gonna hurt the earnings or something?" Iggy asks Dango.

"Nah, it can be made up for!"

She raises her $100.

"Besides, slut gave me a hundred-dollar bill."

"Your words, Dango."

"Sorry! Can't help it."

ONE WALK LATER...

A dim room surrounds both Iggy and Dango.

She opens the light to her room, revealing her artworks.

"So, what do you think of my room?"

Iggy drops his bag and looks at the drawings around him in awe.

Dango takes the opportunity to scour his bag and smells Iggy's clothes.

"It's beautiful~ wait, are you smelling my clothes?"

...

"Uh~ I was wondering what detergent you use..." Dango replies.

She looks back at his bag and sees a book in it... It's Iggy's rabbit script.

She takes it, reading the pages carefully as she lies down on her bed.

Iggy sits down on the floor and waits for her to finish.

...Without a word, she finishes reading.

She silently makes her way to her table. Her pencil in hand and her markers ready, she begins drawing a rabbit.

Iggy takes a peek~ only for him to get punched in the face without Dango looking.

"It's a surprise, dumbass." She says.

Dango keeps drawing.

At a cafe down the road, Pickle and The Director are sitting down on a chair.

"So that's why you're here..." Pickle realizes.

"Hopefully negotiations don't break down. I know the festivities prove otherwise but it's different behind the scenes. For example..."

A waiter arrives at their table with food in the plate. "Black Truffle Pasta, ma'am, sir."

He serves the pasta and takes a bow.

"The pasta looks bland and the black stuff isn't even truffle..." Pickle complains. "This is 40 bucks???"

"The Cartel has been hoarding the ingredients, that's all."

"And that means there's no more of the good stuff left for them..." Pickle thinks to himself.

The Director looks at Pickle intently. "...All all of this is caused by whom?"

Pickle thinks and realizes the butterfly effect behind all of it.

> "No, he's a culinary artist, he loves art, he just~ doesn't appreciate this form of art The Industry does."

"Massacre."