Scarlett wasn't sure what to make of this strange, white-haired man who she had appeared before. She didn't know why Kotoba had her sights set on him, but she figured they must've had some kind of bad history together. And seeing his evidently unscrupulous nature, she couldn't really blame her - even if she wasn't one to talk here. So when he knocked out Sir Umbrella, she watched neutrally as he knelt by the man's body and confirmed his unconsciousness before looking up at her.

"Hey. Let's move him to the alley."

"Ah, right..."

The two victors wasted no time in moving Sir Umbrella back into his alleyway, away from the sight of most people so he'd be less likely to come to harm. Once he was lined up snugly against the wall, the white-haired man looked around the place, almost cautiously, before returning to the scene and giving a half-assed wave, Scarlett eyeing him quizzically all the while.

"Thanks for the help, by the way." he said. "You're not half bad."

"Oh, uh, you're welcome!" Scarlett exclaimed, her suspicion almost immediately tucked away as she beamed brightly at him. "I hope they didn't give you too much trouble."

"Nah. I'm safe, more or less." he said, beginning to move closer to the man with a low hum, while she kept her eyes on him, who seemed to be sizing his victim up. Deciding to let him do his business, Scarlett nonetheless moved closer to him.

"So...we meet again, huh?" she said, recalling their brief exchange in the forest and wanting to make a bit of small talk. "Must be fate!"

"Doubt it." the albino shrugged, beginning to pat down the man's pockets. "The gods don't like me very much."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow as she watched him rifling through his pockets, but decided not to question that. "Well, they must've decided to smile upon you today, if they led me to you!" she said, posing ostentatiously with her hand on her chest.

"Doubt it." he monotoned, much to her shock, as he pulled out some shiny loot from his pockets - among other things, a gold chain, a few colourful jewels, some paperclips, a locket that was conspicuously put back and ignored, and a gilded pocket watch, which he held up towards her. "Want anything?"

"Oh, uh, sure." she said, taking the watch and putting it in her pocket, still a little surprised at how casual he was being, both with the insult and the offering. "By the way, I don't think I got your name..."

"My name is Inigo." he replied, putting his findings into his pockets and standing up to face her, noticing her bright smile.

"Inigo? Nice name!" she beamed. "I'm Scarlett. Nice to meet you, Inigo."

"Likewise." he said, looking around the alley, which wasn't too spacious, but apparently good enough to fit all three Caricatures inside. It was somewhat long, though. "So, what's a mobster doing helping little ol' me?"

"I-I'm sorry?" Scarlett stammered, taken by surprise as she stood up straight, smiling awkwardly. "I think you might have the wrong girl..."

"Really? I could've sworn it was you I saw fighting Makoto in the forest the other day." Inigo raised an eyebrow, examining her closely as he noticed her beginning to quiver and dart her eyes around.

"Y-Yeah...don't know what that was all about. He attacked me first..." Scarlett stammered, her hands behind her back. Inigo stepped closer to that, seeing her silently hoping that he believed her. He didn't feel like humouring that, however, so as he began to move away from her, he shook his head.

"Libera, right? You guys were on the news." he continued, never speaking beyond a monotone. "Killed a guy, if I recall. And you stole shit, too."

"Don't you steal things, too?" Scarlett pointed out, crossing her arms with a mildly annoyed look on her face. "I mean, that's why we're here, isn't it?"

"Not the point." Inigo raised a finger, shaking his head. "But even if it was, I didn't kill him, did I?"

Scarlett looked down at Sir Umbrella, frowning as she remembered his attack, which had knocked him out without any outward physical injury. He would probably be mildly concussed at worst, sure, but he'd live. "...guess not..."

"Why didn't you stop me?" he asked, looking out towards the quiet streets. She remained silent, seeing how calm he was being about it - not to mention, he already seemed to have sussed her out. The jig was up, so why not?

"...well, I guess I didn't want to be a hypocrite." she sighed, shaking her head as she approached him. "Yeah, you got me."

"Being honest now? Good, we're making progress." he said, resting his elbow on his arm to play with a lock of his hair. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna rob you. But I do have some questions."

Scarlett stared at him, watching him from behind and trying to figure out what to make of this stranger. To her, he seemed strange, like someone she just couldn't work out. He was a mystery to her, and she wanted to know just who he was, exactly. And since Kotoba didn't tell her, why not humour this a little more? She'd answer his questions, and maybe ask a few of her own.

"Ask away." she said, offering another smile as she continued to step forward, moving so she was next to him. "But first, why don't we walk? Might as well get lost before the Caricature wakes up, right?"

"Right, of course." Inigo nodded, stepping into the streets with Scarlett in tow. He turned in the direction he'd come in, heading towards Arc Town, and Scarlett made sure to remain close to him the whole time.

Together they walked under the subsiding rain, Scarlett staying right next to him as she examined him. The two were roughly the same height, she observed. She still felt a little awkward around him, as she was more studying him, and wasn't sure exactly how to approach the discussion. But he was the one with questions, so she chose to wait for him to start.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"So, Scarlett, right?" he began after a moment's silence, his overly calm voice grabbing her attention in an instant. "Why did you help me back there? Was there some ulterior motive?"

"No, not really...or, well, mostly not, anyway." Scarlett shook her head. "I just saw you had your hands full with the Caricatures. They're kind of a nuisance, so I figured you weren't the aggressor. That's why I chose to help out."

Inigo nodded, deciding not to question the 'mostly' for now. "How interesting. Have you met them before?"

"Oh, yeah. They're just a bunch of bandits, really." Scarlett shrugged, giggling a little. "But they beat someone up one time, and they start thinking they're big shots! It's pathetic, isn't it?"

"Agreed." Inigo placed his hands into his pockets and faced her directly as he walked. "Perhaps if they killed a guy and stole millions of varia, they might make the headlines."

"Just for the record, I wasn't part of that..." Scarlett frowned, looking away. "I'm pretty sure the guy responsible got punished. Dunno what he was thinking."

"Noted." he said, now looking in front of him as he thought about the prospect of criminals being punished for doing crime incorrectly. "So, I'm to understand you guys are in the organised crime business, right?"

"I can't spill too much, but yeah. We're basically a mafia." Scarlett admitted, a strained smile on her face as she spoke. "You know how there's a lot of criminal gangs in Erdeland, right? Well, there's none bigger and badder than Libera!"

"I'd argue Coronus Crystallus is worse."

"Yeah, but corporations technically don't count, you see." Scarlett chuckled, shaking her head. "But, yeah. We do a lot of...unpleasant stuff, but we need the money to fund our goals! I guess that doesn't make it better, but..."

"Your goals, huh? And what are those goals?" Inigo raised an eyebrow, clearly interested in hearing more. Scarlett shrugged, clearing her throat.

"You remember that guy you saw me fighting?" Scarlett asked, figuring she should clear that up first, only to grow surprised when Inigo's composed face cracked slightly and he said;

"...couldn't ever forget him."

"Uh..." Scarlett shook her head quickly, remembering what had happened after Inigo left the first time. Whatever beef these two men had was personal, and she knew not to interfere. "So...I don't know if you know this already, but he's not just some angry civilian."

She looked up at him, only to find he seemed to be spacing out as he walked. Lost in thoughts, almost. She shook her head, grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him vigorously to snap him back to his senses. It worked after a second or two, and he opened his eyes widely, looking at her.

"Hello? Are you listening?" she asked, almost scoldingly as she let go. Inigo nodded, taking a deep breath as he looked right at her.

"Right, I am. Sorry." he said, causing Scarlett to sigh a little.

"It's fine. Just pay attention, okay?" she said. Watching him nod again, she opted to continue. "As I was saying, Makoto isn't just a civilian. He's really a member of a scientist team - Apex."

"He's...a scientist?" Inigo raised an eyebrow, looking back on his memory of the besuited, wrathful young man he had fought just a few days ago. "He...did not strike me as the science-y type."

"Tell me about it. He's so...uptight. And angry. I'm not sure what role he plays, but he's definitely one of those guys." Scarlett explained, crossing her arms. "And Apex? Well, those guys are bad news."

"Worse than a mob?" Inigo asked, half sceptical and half curious. To his surprise, Scarlett nodded without a shred of uncertainty.

"Oh, yeah. If you saw their actions out of context, you'd think they were the mob!" Scarlett frowned a little. "I'm not clear on the details, but they've got all sorts of crimes under their belt! Kidnappings, assassinations, and I'm told they experiment on people."

"So, everything Libera does and more?" Inigo commented, raising an eyebrow at the word 'assassinations' and earning a quick nod from Scarlett.

"Well, not everything..." she admitted, the image of her father flashing in her mind as she said that. "But I'd still say they're the greater evil."

"I take it, then, that your goal is to stop Apex, right?" he questioned, looking straight at her.

"You're catching on." Scarlett grinned. "I guess you could say in the end, we strive to be the lesser of two evils. It's a noble goal, if you look at it from a certain point of view."

"Uh...huh."

Their walk eventually led them back into the town of Arc, through the empty marketplace. The occasional sound of people walking could be heard, and the two were almost certain they heard a brawl in the distance. But that was neither of their business, so they simply let it happen. Besides, Scarlett was much more focused on Inigo right now, staring at him as they entered the town and taking in his delicate features, his apathetic, almost sleepy eyes.

"Hey, Inigo." she said, grabbing his attention as he gave her a curious look. "Doesn't look like you're too big a fan of Apex, huh?"

"I mean, I like them as much as I can like a bunch of evil scientists, I guess." Inigo shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

"This may sound sudden, but..." she began, looking up at him with a slightly shy smile. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in joining Libera, would you?"

"No."

"I figured you'd say that, it's just..." Scarlett continued, grabbing his hand. "I really think we could use someone with your abilities! If I take you to our boss, I'm sure we could take down Apex together!"

At this, she noticed Inigo was visibly uncomfortable, trying to break free from her grasp, so at once she let go, clearing her throat. "Ahem, uh...sorry." she murmured, looking away. "But...what do you say?"

"...no." Inigo replied, narrowing his eyes at her before yawning. "You can stop asking now. I don't think my answer's gonna change."

"...right." Scarlett muttered, seeming a little disheartened, but burying it all the same. "Of course, what was I thinking? Why would you ever agree..."

Inigo stared at her as she mumbled to herself before looking up to the night sky, feeling a little awkward now. "Look, uh...I'm gonna head back to my inn room, okay? Hopefully, we can...talk again sometime?"

"Yeah, sure!" Scarlett exclaimed, seemingly forcing herself to be cheerful. "See you later, Inigo!"

Inigo watched as she walked away seemingly in a hurry, and gave a short wave, similar to before. She didn't look back, and soon her walk grew faster until it was almost a jog. She wanted to be out of there as quickly as she could - that much was clear. He sighed as he crossed his arms, briefly tapping his foot on the ground.

"I wonder what's behind that plastic smile..." he mused, making a mental log of that before he turned back around, not wanting to waste his inn room for the night.

.........

"Well, that was...certainly an experience."

As Inigo returned to his room and changed back into his nightgown, he sat on the bed, gazing into the blank ceiling to collect all his thoughts. He certainly hadn't expected to meet any of the people he did tonight, but he didn't mind too badly. Because there was something to be learned from all this.

"Apex deals in assassinations, you say? Then unless my past self and Ryuto were mistaken..."

"And on top of that, they're bad enough that a mob formed to take them down. How curious..."

"I'm already involved in this whole thing thanks to Makoto. He doesn't know much except for what I already know, and he's shaping up to get in my way...but it looks like I'm pointing in the right direction."

All these thoughts, swimming about in his sea of consciousness. As he laid down, he closed his eyes and smiled, overjoyed at finally having a lead to follow after all this time. His thoughts waded around in his mind, slowly colliding together to form one, glaring meme that he couldn't - and didn't want to - ignore.

"Libera...I need to get more involved with you, don't I? Maybe then, I'll find the answers I seek."

Keeping this in mind, he took in a deep, almost refreshed breath, and allowed himself to doze off.