Foreigner woke up in a stupor, his body aching with an intense fatigue, mind left hazy and out of sorts. He looked around himself and saw that he was leaning on the wall from the night before. There were faint recollections of his thoughts from last night, a cold revenge he was going to lay out using a stolen weapon and identity but-

His movements froze. The coat he had bundled with, the stolen one with the torn holes in the flaps had disappeared. In his panic, he saw that the cudgel he had taken was gone too. He didn’t remember throwing those items away and he was certain neither Jin nor Itzhak would have taken his belongings without his permission.

Turning over, he saw Itzhak was sound asleep, his massive frame resting on the entrance door like a boulder preventing passage.

“I found him like that in the early morning.” Jin quietly spoke, moving right next to Foreigner, shoulder on shoulder. “The both of you were fast asleep with the sounds of murder and carnage just beyond those doors. It was a peculiar scene but not unlike those other passersby might have experienced in their daily lives. With all the work I do in the workshop, I had forgotten the extent of the horrors outside.”

“I wish it was something I could remember. The first time experiencing night in the Backstreets left a particularly sour impression on me.” Foreigner replied, uneasy with the recollection of his fight with the Sweepers.

“I can understand that,” Jin handed Foreigner a cup of warm something, a bitter fragrance with opaque water that looked to be a dark roast of coffee, “But I am left with a question not pertaining to the regular violence in those streets.” Jin took a sip of their drink and stared blankly at Foreigner. “Where is your coat and cudgel? I recall you bringing something of the sort last night after placing Foxtail on the workshop chair.”

Foreigner took a gulp and shrugged. “I remember bringing it with me too but I don’t remember where it went. I was hoping you or Itzhak might have taken them but it shouldn’t trouble us if they’re gone. I was considering doing something stupid and the lack of those items today suggests that I might have gotten rid of it to avoid following through on a mistake.” The rationalization was sound in his mind, an expectation of what he would do if he was tired and had the time to think, and yet the unease in his mind didn’t go away.

For their part, Jin shrugged. “Just a curiosity of mine. Anyway, we should get on the subject of the final day. Without help from the owner of Blade Garden, our searching ability is greatly limited and the resources we have at our disposal to deal with the Banshee are limited as well. We have the likes of Itzhak to handle direct confrontation with her but assuring the safety of my muse and the Meister are vital.”

Foreigner walked over to the counter and leaned on it, using it as support to stretch out his arms and body and alleviate the intense muscle pain he was experiencing. “You said you were gonna come up with something to help find Peepers. Did you think of anything?” Jin shook their head in defeat.

“Nothing came to mind. The stress of having to find solutions for these problems under such strict time constraints has finally caught up to me, it seems. I didn’t want the night to go to waste, however, so I drafted up a plan with the pieces we have available.

Like pieces on a chessboard.

“What did you have in mind?” Foreigner asked, watching Jin make space on the counter for a large sheet of drafting paper.

“The Banshee wants you to go alone, and we must have you head over before tonight’s Evening Bell. My suggestion is that Foxtail travel alone with my compass device and check the perimeter of the Banshee’s location.”

“She’s already been through enough as it is. The fight in the arena took a lot out of her. You saw how she was when we got here.” Foreigner heard the curtain flap open, seeing a bandaged Foxtail sans hoodie standing underneath the door frame. She was wearing a new outfit, brown shorts with multiple pockets and a short sleeve shirt. He could trace the numerous scars crawling up her arms and to her neck, brown hair tightly cropped in a ponytail.

Stolen story; please report.

“Disregard whatever Foreigner’s saying. I’m in with the plan.” Foxtail stated with nonchalance. Foreigner turned to her and scowled.

“No. You’ve played hero enough in the arena and suffered the consequences for it. I’m not letting you go out there again, especially with the level of damage on your body.”

Foxtail stared at Foreigner and sighed. “Foreigner, I promise I’m not running with my head full of hot air. Jin was talking to me about this plan earlier this morning after dressing my wounds and we both agreed it was the best course of action.” Foreigner opened his mouth for a rebuttal but was waved off by Foxtails hand, her voice pressing on. “Look, you don’t know the paths around here and if you got caught during our scouting mission, that might be the end of Peepers and Jin’s Meister. Itzhak can’t skulk in an alleyway to save his life, and Jin has no skills applicable for the task beyond what they can provide us here. If we had another option, I’d take it, but we’re stuck with this choice.”

“If I may interject,” Jin walked between Foxtail and Foreigner, staring directly at Foreigner once again, “Her reasoning is the most sound. Her skills are most applicable for scouting and she has the added benefit of being able to escape at a moments notice. Even if captured, her ability to tip this kidnapping situation in our favor remains significant.” Foreigner hated that they were both right, hated that he was going to have to send Foxtail out again into the throngs of danger. His ineptitude was grating on his nerves.

“Hey,” Foxtail placed her hand on his arm and smiled with mischief in her eyes, “Lighten up will you? We’re here to save a couple of people and maybe bash some heads in. Nothing crazier than another day on the streets, right, partner?” Foreigner shook his head and chuckled.

“Fine, fine. I’ll ease up. Just promise me you’ll be careful?”

“Nah, I think I want to scratch being a hostage off of my bucket list.”

Jin cleared their throat and gestured to the paper on the counter. “As I was saying, Foxtail will perform some reconnaissance on Banshee. If her current location is where the hostages are also located, then we’ll wait for her to be preoccupied with your engagement and rescue them then. That means you, Foreigner, have to stall her for as long as possible.”

“And what if the hostages aren’t around her when Foxtail conducts her search? What then?” Foreigner asked.

“Our contingency for that is just having you ask for their presence when the time arrives. She’s made it clear that her target is you, so releasing her hostages when she has you in her grasp is the most reasonable thing she could do.”

“Something tells me the woman ain’t reasonable. Shredding a guy to mincemeat in a crowded gambling hall doesn’t sound like an action a sane person would take.” Foxtail chimed in.

“As you’ve stated already Foxtail, we don’t have much of a choice. Although I am made more anxious with the thought, we must play this by ear. It is a dynamic situation that requires dynamic thinking and adaptive solutions. Should an opportunity present itself, we must take advantage.” Jin replied, looking exasperated and beleaguered for the first time Foreigner had spoken to them.

“So while Foxtail is performing her scouting mission, are the rest of us gonna sit here or…” Foreigner allowed his question to hang. He heard shuffling at the entrance and saw Itzhak standing up, rubbing his eyes and letting out a howl of a yawn.

“I believe I caught the tail end of your conversation. From descriptions of this woman in Blade Garden, she is a capable fighter with a deadly tool. If you were a gladiator, you and I might spar and prepare ourselves that way, but you are in need of a weapon. Tempered body is not enough against violent tools.” Itzhak smacked Foreigners back, pain shooting from the impact out to all sections of his body. Itzhak smiled widely as Foreigner gave a weak grin.

“That is correct. Going to a weapons shop would serve you some good. It might even help to ask around for descriptions of the weapon this Banshee is carrying. Any and all information to utilize with our upcoming confrontation is useful.” Jin said, rolling up the paper and motioning back to their drinking cup, embracing the warmth of the ceramic.

They were in agreement then with how they were going to prepare for their fight with the Banshee. Foreigner felt that something was pressing at the back of his mind but the thoughts were ethereal and drifted in and out of his view with every effort he took to recall.

Whatever it was he was trying to recall, it wasn’t important enough if he kept forgetting it.