He looked at her, "It looks good, but there's something else. " He pulled out a small phaser made from a milky metal engraved with roses; she had only seen them once in the Sapos garden but could recognize them well enough the nozzle surrounded by gold. It more resembled an accessory rather than a weapon.

"Try not to throw this one out," he said, walking over to her and crouching down. Placing the gun against her thigh. A metal strap lashed out and weaved its way around until it sat firmly against her skin; the metal was cold. How had he known she had sold her last phaser? It had sold for a hefty price on the black market, money that still sat in her account untouched.

The ballroom was mesmerizing. It was a grand open space that curved to follow a large window. The view of space served as a background to the bustling of the room. People dressed in all styles, from Noir to Victorian, stood around. Women fanned themselves with feathered fans. Some dressed similarly to her, others in large vintage-esque ballgowns as drawn in paintings of the far ancient times of an old Earth. None physically remained, but they had plenty of photos and scans of them. Paper was easy to destroy in disasters or wars, but the data on the old web was much harder to destroy. During her years at the academy, she had even worked under the guidance of a professor, pulling and searching old data for works of a time long gone. Furniture from dark Mahagony wood decorated the room, and flora from all over the galaxy was masterfully placed to highlight the wooden interior.

Attention quickly turned to them as a rush of somewhat familiar faces attacked them from all around. Before she knew it, she had been dragged away by a group of women.

"Oh my god, Fri, is that you?" a familiar face said. The woman had chocolate brown hair that fell in waves and beautiful bambi eyes.

She stared, unable to put a name to the face. Fri barely remembered anyone from those years. Their faces shadowed over in her memories.

"Wow, it's been so long. We're surprised that you are still hanging around Ryuu," another nameless face said.

She wanted to cringe away. Although she had blocked out the names of those around her, she knew them all too well. Her supposed friends from the academy- they made her feel sick. Even now, her stomach churned.

"We were so worried when you both disappeared."

Both?

"What?" was all she could manage to mutter out. There was too much attention on her. She felt dizzy. They had surrounded her on all sides.

"Yeah, you know, after you- "There was a pause from, what was her name, Julie? She covered the bottom half of her face with her fan. "When you left, Ryuu's was transferred out to another campus. I think it was the one of Earth X12."

"They said his father forced him."

"He only recently came back."

"Did you hear how he took over Sapos?"

Fri looked around desperately, trying to find someone to rescue her from the group of gossipers. "I'm sorry I-"

The man had caught her eyes. It seemed no one else had noticed him, but there was something off about his manner. He traveled at the edge of the room, slumping slightly as he walked. His clothing was out of style. He wore a regular black suit that didn't seem to sit right. The group of women that had surrounded her became part of the background noise as she watched the stranger. An unnerving feeling set into the pit of her stomach. His eyes were trained on someone. It was almost as if he couldn't look away from that person. But who was he so set on? Fri couldn't figure it out. From her vantage point, it was hard to tell. She tried to shift slightly to get a better view. A hand landed on her shoulder, shocking her back to reality.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Fri, you seem distracted," one of the women she vaguely remembered from the academy said. She was stunning. An hourglass figure, deep green eyes, and golden hair.

"There's this," she pointed, turning towards the man. Then she saw it: he had a phaser in his hands, a small black one with a distinct glowing tip. Her eyes followed where it was pointing, and she could make out the blue light thrown off by gems. Ryuu's jacket. It took her a moment to process. She had forgotten who she was dealing with and that about every other person on the planet wanted him dead. Then, on reflex, she reached for her phaser. Someone screamed, and attention was turned in all directions. The man's finger tensed. And she shot, hitting his leg. His shot was sent off balance, hitting the floor. Chaos erupted. She ran towards Ryuu.

"Are you okay?" she frantically searched him up and down for injuries. Behind her, guards ran in, surrounding them and pushing others away. It took a moment for him to register what had happened.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, his eyebrows pressed together. "How did he get through?" he mumbled.

She looked at where the man was but found only a pool of blood. "Shit," she cursed under her breath. Ryuu grabbed her, pulling her closer to him.

"Secure the guests; make sure nothing happens to them," he commanded, pulling out his own gun. The guards wordlessly made their way away from them. His hand on her lower back held her close.

"He's gone. He probably ran off to hide in one of the rooms," she said. Her own pistol was at the ready.

Ryuu took a deep breath. Annoyance broke through his poker face for a moment. "Stay behind me," he instructed and stepped before her.

Slowly, they made their way, and they followed drippings of blood. To her eyes, the blood almost blended in with the carpet. But the electric glow that came from Ryuu's eyes told her that he could see every detail without fail. The man didn't make it far. Somehow, he made his way into one of the first rooms from the hall.

They stood in front of the closed door. He could be waiting to shoot; how would they enter?

"Stay behind me," Ryuu commanded as he touched the scanner. The door opened. It seemed at a much slower pace than usual. The lights turned. Ryuu lowered his gun.

"He's dead."

A limp body lay in the middle of the room. The man looked as if he had been dead for a while. Dull skin revealed hollow cheekbones, and skeletal fingers still held the phaser he had shot only moments earlier. Blood stained the carpet around the man. The crisp smell of iron filled the air. Once, it could have bothered her, but now…She looked at the corpse. How many bodies had she seen in the last few years? Way too many to keep track of. The man's body looked familiar, similar to the Gambie she had seen a few days prior with Xan. How was that possible? Why would a Gambie be here, and why would it have tried to kill Ryuu?

Suddenly, Ryuu obstructed her view. He held her head to his chest. His other arm was ready with the phaser. From her peripheral vision, she could see guards running into the room and toward the corpse on the floor.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"It's not a sight for your eyes."

"Ryuu…" she sighed. Did he really not realize the life she had lived these past years at level one. "let me go, I'm used to this. This isn't even the first body I've seen with you around." He had been the reason she had seen her first killing and her first body. From that time, she learned that people were surprisingly resilient even after being shot multiple times.

However, he did not budge, his hold unwavering. With her head against his chest, she could hear the sound of his heart—such a human sound coming from such a cold man. "That was a mistake on my part. I should never have exposed you to that," he muttered.

"We need to check the body for clues," she tried to convince him.

"I have an investigator on board who can do that," he replied, then sighed, "There is no point in arguing with me. I won't let you near that thing."

He was right. There was no point in arguing with him. Ryuu was an unmovable force. What he wanted was what he got, which was why you had to learn to go around him. Something did not sit right with her, and she would get to figure out what.