Henry Solace looks around distastefully at the art decorating the walls of the penthouse’s living room. It’s only his first day in Shinara, and already he has to deal with such… repugnant surroundings. Honestly, a standard hotel room would be better than this, and he already can’t wait to get back to his.

The owner of the penthouse, Hikaru Kimura, clearly mistook flagrant wealth for substance with the décor of the place. The entire penthouse is decorated with bright whites and deep contrasting blacks. Much like the paintings of black beasts striking out on white canvas on the walls, the couches and other amenities stick out just as much on the white tile floor. To Henry, they are an eyesore. Hikaru clearly has a theme he wants to stick to, and that’s fine. This is just a bit too… on the nose for Henry’s tastes.

Notwithstanding the decoration, even Henry has to admit that the place is nice. The front door Hikaru had guided him through leads into a massive living area with a large kitchen, several expensive-looking couches, and a table that could either be used for dining or meetings, sitting before a window overlooking Shinara.

Despite Henry’s distaste of his surroundings — and Hikaru himself — there’s still work to be done, and Henry is nothing if not persistent. His granddaughter needs him now more than ever, and since her errant father still refuses to answer any of his calls or letters and has even gone as far as restricting Serena from reading the letters he’d sent her, drastic measures are in order.

Henry did not have any other children or grandchildren, a situation he’s too old to rectify himself. As such, he knows that Serena is his only shot at maintaining the Solace name — at continuing their history of greatness and dominance. She is his legacy, the future of their family and Solace Enterprises. And now… she’s a sentinel.

For a long time, his son, Micheal, had shielded the girl from him — had stopped Henry from cultivating her into the proper heir to the Solace name she was meant to be. He had been at a loss at what to do as the years ticked by; however, upon hearing the news that she was now a sentinel, he’d known that the time for measured approaches was over.

Serena is a sentinel, which is more than Henry had ever hoped; yet, her father’s soft upbringing and the gross mishandling of her training had nearly gotten the girl killed. It’s time to rectify that — to get her out of this city and back to America where she belongs. Luckily, he has a plan.

Removing his sleek, black business shoes at the door, as is the Japanese custom, Henry looks at the man beside him with hidden contempt.

Hikaru Kimura had not been Henry’s first choice for an ally in his endeavors, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, Hikaru’s niece had gotten close with Serena recently, and if helping this girl is something Henry could do to get into his granddaughter’s good graces, then he isn’t averse to the idea. Especially because Hikaru wants Akari gone for whatever reason and is willing to work to that end.

To Henry, an adopted member of the Solace name would work well as long as it was paired alongside a full-blooded member of his family, but those plans are still far out. It’s time to focus on the now. Hikaru had reached out to him to set up this meeting, and it’s time to see where this goes.

Hikaru is a short man with close-cropped black hair and features that are still youthful. Wearing a crisp, black, Italian business suit, he’s the picture of a wealthy Japanese patriarch. If your only experience with such men is through TV shows, of course.

The most notable thing about Hikaru are the dozens of strange black tattoos that cover the man up to the neck. They remind Henry of inscription lines, but don’t match any inscribing style he knows of. However, Henry knows better than to assume that the tattoos are simply decorative — he already has his R&D team looking into them back home.

Henry stays silent as Hikaru leads him to a chair beside the oak table overlooking the city below before starting in on the meeting. He’s impatient to see if this meeting turns into something or is just a waste of his time, but he’s a professional and keeps his expression clear.

“So, Mr. Kimura, I must admit that I am still confused as to why you wished to meet with me,” Henry starts, his voice carefully measured.

Hikaru offers an oily smile in return, “As I said in my initial message, Mr. Solace, I believe our interests are aligned. You wish to retrieve your granddaughter, and I wish to handle my niece. I believe that, with cooperation, both goals can be achieved simultaneously.”

“Before we properly begin,” Henry starts, “I’m afraid you must clarify what you mean by handling your niece. I might have few scruples, Mr. Kimura, but murder is one of them,”

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Henry knows full well the kind of man he’s meeting, and while he is self-admittedly not a good person, having one of his granddaughter’s friends murdered is a step too far. Besides, he needs Serena to come to trust him; that would never happen if he took such a step.

Hikaru waves a hand dismissively, although his face shows clear ridicule. “The girl doesn’t need to die if you’re squeamish — just get out of Japan. If you take her back to America with you, as we spoke of before, that works fine for me.”

At this, Henry nods, “That is acceptable to me as well. Moving on then, you believe you can aid in my lawsuit to make sure it goes my way?”

Upon Henry’s question, Hikaru reaches down for his briefcase before producing three large file folders and laying them on the table. “These are files on the families of your granddaughter’s sentinel team.”

Hikaru reaches out and taps two of the folders; one is labeled “Claire Sharp” and the other “Haruto Sato.” With quick flicks of his hand, Hikaru turns both files upside down. “These are the families that I do not think will be receptive to our cause. The Sharp family was almost entirely wiped out in a Volcora attack years ago, so there is no one there to support us, and the Sato family is very reserved. I tried reaching out to them but never received any response.”

Hikaru reaches for the final file and slides it towards Henry. This one is labeled “Baylee Whitlock,” and Henry’s eyes widen at the name. It seems a kind of cruel irony for a Whitlock to be a sentinel, but he can immediately see where Hikaru is going with this.

“The Whitlock’s, however, would be more than interested in supporting a lawsuit.” Hikaru continues, “They only recently learned that their daughter was a sentinel upon the GDF contacting them about her injuries, and they are primed to make a rash decision.”

Henry laughs, “That could work, I suppose, but what is the play? My original plan for the lawsuit won’t work if we are bringing them into this.”

Henry’s original plan had been to sue his son for custody of his daughter, but that’s trickier than it sounds. Even if he provides obvious proof of his son’s negligence towards the girl, she’s a sentinel, and normal laws have an aversion to them.

A sentinel choosing to live somewhere is much like a dragon choosing its lair. Unless you have a stronger sentinel, or overwhelming numbers, to back you, then forcing the sentinel to do anything against their will is next to impossible, law be damned.

“Simple,” Hikaru responds with another oily smile, “we make the lawsuit more widely encompassing. The GDF branch here is desperate, as we can clearly see from their throwing new sentinels to the wolves with hardly a day of proper training. We can use that against them.”

Henry nods thoughtfully, stroking the stubble on his chin. A class-action lawsuit against the GDF paired with an accusation of his son being a negligent father. It would be a difficult play to pull off, but if it worked…

“By winning such a suit and guiding the aftermath, we could get everything at once,” Henry muses, still thinking through the intricacies of the plan.

Hikaru begins collecting the files he’d placed on the table to put them back into his briefcase. “This way,” he says as he works, “we both get exactly what we want. You will gain court-ordered guardianship of Serena and can take her back to the US where you want her, and it would only take a nudge from me to get Akari’s parents to give up guardianship to you as well. The girls could be together — exactly how they want it — and you would have one full-blooded sentinel, and one adopted sentinel to make sure that your family’s legacy stretches far into the future.”

That is indeed true, Henry considers, but there’s one part of this plan that he doesn’t understand just yet. “Why would you give up on a sentinel family member?” Henry asks, meeting Hikaru’s dark eyes. “Sure, your relationship with her is bad, but that can be repaired. The money, power, and prestige a sentinel brings is surely worth it. No?”

Hikaru pauses in collecting the papers, staring back coldly at Henry. “No,” he says definitively. “That girl is cursed, and I will have nothing to do with her. I have put up with her for long enough, and I cannot have her dragging my family name through the mud with her every action any longer.”

At the words, Henry forces himself to keep a neutral expression, even as further disdain for Hikaru flairs. What a fool of a man to throw away the opportunity that Akari presents. He had heard of the girl’s stygis scar, of course, and his company had conducted research into the matter at his behest. They’d found exactly what everyone always finds about the scars; that they are cosmetic and don’t affect a person in any way other than visually. Perhaps they offer an increased resistance to further stygis exposure, but that is negligible. Hikaru is scared of a glorified birthmark.

Still, Henry won’t try to change Hikaru’s mind; it’s a prime opportunity for him, after all. With the support of the Kimura and Whitlock families, his lawsuit could not be easily ignored, and he had brought the best lawyers Solace Enterprises has to offer — better than anyone the GDF could possibly scrounge up in time. He will win this lawsuit and secure his family’s legacy, and now, he holds every advantage. The battle is far from already won, but all he needs to do is play out the script.

To Henry, bringing Akari with him is just the icing on top of the cake. If he plays his cards right, he could make it look like he’d swooped in to save her from her family, which would hopefully gain him at least some of Serena’s favor. The girl won’t turn on her father, of course, but this would plant the seed that maybe Henry isn’t as bad as her father makes out. Serena doesn’t need to like him right now anyway; that could come later.

After a few more moments of further internal deliberation, Henry makes up his mind. This is indeed a better plan than the one he’d come here with. So, standing, he extends a hand to Hikaru. “I believe we have an agreement.”

Hikaru stands as well, shaking Henry’s hand. “May we both find fortune in this arrangement.”