The day began the same as most days in the Mikado's office - dressed in her typical black suit, with a cup of hot chocolate and the pages of an engineering encyclopedia. Running a mob was a very taxing job, after all, so she had to cherish what short time she could permit herself to spend on herself. After a while, she put the book away, knowing she couldn't afford to waste a second, and quickly reached into her drawer to replace it with papers detailing plans, projects and general goals.

After a while, she heard a knock on her door, and immediately her eagle eyes turned towards it, looking up from her papers as she gazed into the other side of her large office. "Enter."

The door opened, and in came a young man, a few years younger than her. His skin tone was tanned, obviously not white, but not decisively black, either. He had red hair in a man-bun and his eyes were dark gold, with a friendly glint in them. He wore a black tank top with a white, stylized wolf head symbol on it, while on his legs, he instead wore a pair of black shorts, showing off his toned arms and legs, covered in dark-red tattoos that made him look like he had scars and still-bloody wounds all over. Certainly, he looked quite out of place among Libera, but then again, subtlety wasn't why he was kept around.

"Howdy, Kotoba." he greeted calmly, waving at her as he strode across the office, standing in front of her desk. "Busy at work?"

"Good morning, Creed." Kotoba responded, looking at him from her seat. "Yes, I'm just dealing with some new variables. The Red Joker, as you know, has returned, so we'll have to divide our resources between monitoring him and finding Apex."

"Well, don't think that'll be much of a struggle. We've got plenty to go around." Creed responded, pocketing his hands with a wide grin. "Business is booming, says Galileo! And the heists are going as planned, too!"

"Then I suppose I won't have to change our methods for the time being." Kotoba nodded contently, looking down at her agenda. "At least on that front. The Red Joker is a tricky one, so we may need to deploy more men. Ones who can track him down and defeat him. And if we can capture my brother, too, then all the better."

"Your bro…that's the Dawnspear, right?"

"Correct." Kotoba nodded. "While I don't think he should be prioritised just yet, I do believe he needs to be monitored."

Creed took this all in, nodding as a daring smile crept onto his face. "So what you're saying is, the Joker is the bigger threat, right? The stronger one?"

"'Strong' is debatable." Kotoba clarified, eyeing him closely. "Next, you're going to ask to fight him, correct?"

"Ha, saw right through me!" Creed chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "It'll be a good way to gather intel on our mark, right? Plus, I wanna see what this guy's all about! So, c'mon, can I?"

Kotoba closed her eyes with a slight smile, tenting her fingers together. If nothing else, his bravery was certainly admirable - willingly throwing himself into combat with a foe he knew very little about. Sure, his motives were transparent, but he did raise a valid point. "Do whatever you want. But I expect results, Coyote." she said. "And above all, I expect you to come back alive."

"Alright!" Creed grinned excitedly.

"Start at Arc Town and search the general area. He can't have gone too far." Kotoba advised, returning to her stoicism as she sat up straight. "With this, we'll see how he fares in duels. You're a very well-rounded fighter. Test him in all kinds of scenarios. I'll be asking you to report back when you're done."

"I won't disappoint!" Creed nodded quickly, turning around and heading towards the door. "See ya, Kotoba!"

He offered her a wave and left the room, with Kotoba watching him, silently wishing him luck before picking the papers back up and musing to herself. There were multiple factors to account for, after all. Like the punishments she'd give to those who failed her. The things she'd ask her benefactor in Freesia for. The orders she would need to give her underlings. Just everything she needed to do to make sure the trains ran on time.

………

"Who you are is a murderer! That's all the answers you need!"

At the time, Inigo hadn't thought much of these words - he was a little hurt, but he was more focused on other things, namely the incoming fight. But now, there was no incoming fight, and he was able to really look back on what was said. Somehow, he didn't see this as an advantage.

That morning, he woke up, having been haunted by those words throughout the entire night, and looked around, laying in his bed with a groan. Slowly sitting up, he rubbed his head and got out of bed.

"Maybe if I keep having these nightmares, I can cash them in, and the gods will give me a free movie or something." Inigo snarked, before shaking his head and sighing as Makoto's words echoed in his mind once again. Wordlessly, he headed to the shower, having no further choice but to keep chewing on these words.

A murderer. That's what he was - at least once upon a time. He hadn't killed anyone since he came out of the hospital, as far as he was aware, but that didn't really change a thing, did it? He killed Makoto's father, and no amount of self-pity would change that. And now, for some reason, Libera was after him, too. Suffice to say, his life from here on out would be chaotic.

"Chaos…maybe that's what I deserve…"

As the sands of time fell and Inigo got ready, wearing a dark grey hoodie with an owl feather printed on its chest and a similarly-coloured pair of slacks, though still reluctant to leave his scarf behind, he stepped out, thinking about all this. Maybe this was karma for having done whatever he did pre-amnesia. Maybe he did deserve it. Maybe he deserved to let Makoto…

No. That was a dark thought - and one he promptly shoved into the back of his mind. He was not going there.

As he entered the main body of Viren, he couldn't help but note that it was rather windy today. A stiff breeze filled the area, rustling the trees and bushes. He simply allowed this to happen, not letting it bother him as he slowly strolled into the village. As he stepped into the residential area, however, he noticed a certain dark-skinned man waltzing out of one of the cottages, humming a tune to himself. Indeed, it was the punny cashier himself, Silas.

Inigo walked past, wondering whether or not to engage, but was spared from having to decide when the muscular barista saw him, smiling cheerfully and waving. "Inigo!" he exclaimed, causing the albino to raise an eyebrow and look more directly at him. "Didn't know you were staying here!"

"Oh. Silas." Inigo gave a half-assed wave before looking ahead. "Hey."

"Everything alright?" Silas asked, raising an eyebrow. "You look even more dead than usual…"

Inigo stared at him, unamused, and Silas instantly got the hint and looked away, chuckling awkwardly. “Ah, uh, right. Sorry.” he said, seeing Inigo beginning to leave and walking in the same direction. “But, really. Is something the matter?”

“No.” Inigo lied, which Silas took as his cue to avoid prying. “Don’t you have work?”

“Yeah, but it’s early, so I can take my time getting to Arc.” Silas shrugged. “Can I assume you’re going to get breakfast there?”

"You can." Inigo nodded slowly. "That a problem?"

"No, not at all!" Silas grinned. "Like I said the other day, we do enjoy your patronage."

"Mhm…" Inigo murmured, closing his eyes as the two of them stepped into the forest and began traversing through. Briefly remembering his encounter with the slimes here slightly annoyed him, and he sighed, but as he thought of ways to break the silence and distract himself, this was the only thing on his mind. "...so, you like slimes?"

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

"Slimes? That's a weird question." Silas chuckled, looking around to see some of the green Wood Slimes bouncing among the trees and generally leaving them alone.

"It's one I want answered." Inigo said, as though this were the most normal thing in the universe. Silas simply shrugged, deciding to commit to it.

"Well, what's not to love? They're cute little guys, you know?" he replied. "Tiny blobs of condensed Natura - though King Slimes are pretty vindictive assholes. Makes me wonder if Coronus Crystallus is gonna hunt them down to extinction once they run out of Natura crystals."

It was no secret. There was Natura everywhere in the world. It was part of the backdrop that laid behind the inner workings of just about everything. And some of it crystallised, often appearing randomly - be it in trees, in the ocean, or simply on the ground. But these crystals were few and far between nowadays, and even Inigo knew why - because they were being hoarded and sold back to people at prices way too large for a literal part of nature. Coronus Crystallus was the name of the thieves responsible for that.

"Seems like a logical next step." Inigo commented. "I wouldn't bet on them having morals."

That made Silas frown a bit. "Hey, it's not like they're all bad." he said. "My mom works there, you know…"

"Yikes." Inigo shuddered, mostly performatively as he looked ahead.

"Yeah…from what I hear, they're basically slave drivers. Mom says she's fine, but I kinda doubt it." Silas mused, crossing his arms. "That's why I started working, you know. If I can make enough money, maybe Mom can rest easy…"

"What about your dad?"

"Dad? What's that?"

Inigo looked at Silas with a raised eyebrow, taking note of his strange cheerfulness in his grim words. Staring at him, he remained silent, which Silas took as his cue to continue. "Really wish she could find a better job, but hey! It puts food on the table!"

"You're quite positive." Inigo murmured, putting his hands into his pockets.

"Thanks! I find it helps on the job." Silas replied in return. The two walked under the newly-risen sun, walking through the forest and managing to tolerate one another's company. Eventually, they entered the town, practically autopiloting to the Hole as they continued to chat.

"So, what do you do in your spare time, anyway?" Silas asked. "I mean, I've seen you leave the Hole, so I know you don't just stay there all day."

"Sometimes I play board games." Inigo shrugged. "Sometimes I go on walks. Sometimes, I even try to nap."

"You try, huh? Guess it's difficult with all the monsters and bandits." Silas commented, and Inigo decided to simply go with that, nodding in agreement.

"What about you?"

"I like to put my feet down and relax after a day's work. And when I’m doing that, sometimes I’ll find someone who needs a hand." Silas replied calmly, stretching his arms. "But sometimes, I'll meet someone who decides he wants to steal shit or hurt people. Then I'll send him packing."

“How noble.” Inigo deadpanned. “You don’t just seek people out to help or beat up, do you? That sounds like such a drag.”

“Well, you have to keep yourself busy around these parts.” Silas chuckled, seeing the Hole in the distance. “With all the thieves running around these parts, it’s nice feeling like I’m doing my part to help the problem.”

Inigo shrugged, not sure how to feel about that but not shooting it down, either. He just thought about it, musing silently as he watched the slightly taller man step in front of it. “Alright, we don’t open until 7:30, so you can just wait around, okay? We just need a few minutes to set up shop - and then, you can have your breakfast, as usual.”

Inigo gave a thumbs-up at that, nodding contently as he accepted this response. “I’ll be waiting, then. Later, Silas.”

So he kept his eyes on Silas, and his mind on the young man’s words, as he watched him enter the Hole, humming. That discussion had ended up being a welcome distraction from his previous thoughts, he found. It was almost soothing in a way. Maybe he wouldn’t be dreading his service when it was finally time to enter.

………

Breakfast at the Hole had been nice as usual, and Inigo found himself somewhat less annoyed at Silas' constant quipping. Once he was done, Inigo decided to begin his search for Libera. Remembering his previous encounters both with Scarlett and at the dirt path, he concluded that he couldn't know for sure where they would come from, but if they were seeking him out, then picking one of those two exits was probably a good start. Thus, he walked the pebbled road once again.

His trek across the path was surprisingly peaceful, too. Every now and then, he'd come across someone else walking down, but despite scrutinising them as ruthlessly as he could, they didn't seem to have any association with the syndicate. He could thus make it to the next town over without any trouble or undue combat, something he greatly appreciated.

So, just under half an hour later, he came to the next town over - Furvus, as indicated by the sign. Beyond said sign, he could see two lines of houses faced opposite each other. They were small houses, growing taller as they progressed. The ones next to him as he entered were actually bungalows, and the houses themselves had varying colours - in white, red or grey bricks. The road, on the other hand, blended into black tar, and the pavements, which he walked onto, took on the same colour.

It seemed like a small town, overall - definitely more peaceful than Arc, that was for sure. Smaller towns meant less crime, usually, but also that parkour wouldn't be quite as enjoyable. Inigo couldn't help but suspect that this was one of those places where everyone knew each other. He had been here a couple of times before, and he'd been careful not to make himself an enemy, but it seemed like he wasn't included in that 'everyone', sadly.

He walked through the streets, looking at his surroundings, and every now and then he'd come across someone eyeing him strangely. So he ignored them until he decided he'd probably be better off asking around - maybe one of these guys knew something that he didn't.

"Excuse me, I'd like a bit of your time."

Thus began his mass-interrogation of Furvus. He'd go up to strangers and ask them about Libera, but most people either didn't know, or obviously did, but their shrinking in what seemed to be fear was a clear communication that they wouldn't be coughing up answers anytime soon. He noticed the strange looks he was getting as a result of this, but didn't let that faze him - he was much more annoyed at the lack of answers. After an hour or two passed, without much luck, he took a break, sitting on a roof and closing his eyes. He allowed the wind to blow against him as more thoughts swam through his mind.

"No answers even now…am I going about it the wrong way?"

"No, it's the people. Not everyone knows. And the ones who do are scared."

"What, does Libera have some kind of hold over these guys? I guess they're basically a mafia. No wonder civilians would be either ignorant or fearful…"

There was something to be learned from even this, he found. Conclusions to be drawn. Opening his eyes, he looked around, about to continue until he felt something fast and hard hit his head. Grabbing his head in pain, he looked down beside him to see what had hit him, and raised an eyebrow at what he saw.

A used bullet.

"Ah…fuck this."

Quickly, he scrambled to his feet and looked intensely in the direction the bullet came from to find whoever tried to strike him. And there he found the culprit - kneeling on a roof several blocks over, there was a short young woman with fair skin, neatly bobbed red hair and bright green eyes, alongside a rather disconcertingly unflinching smile on her face. She was dressed rather tomboyishly, with a baggy, sky-blue sweater, dark blue cargo shorts and a green necklace. In her hands was a large, blue-coloured rifle, aimed directly at him.

Inigo didn't know if this strange girl was with Libera or if she had some other reasons for attacking him, but he felt he'd have to find out. Making sure he was in good condition to run, he began to give chase, running to the edge and jumping to the next one to close the gap between the two.

Seeing him in pursuit, the redhead chuckled to herself, pushing a button on the handle before firing another bullet - this one blue and seemingly made from lightning. It soared through the air, striking Inigo's chest mid-jump. He fell backwards as a result, just managing to cling to the edge of the roof while the rifle girl jumped down onto the streets.

Climbing back onto the roof, Inigo began to run again, being careful in his jumps as he looked at his surroundings. He looked at both sides of the street as quickly as he could, but he couldn't see his target very well. Then, he got an idea. He created a wreath of owl feathers, surrounding him, and he progressed through the town as the soles of his feet glowed blue and water droplets began to trail his every step. In the middle of one jump, he saw a triad of lightning bullets rise into the air and arc towards him, so he fired some of his feathers at them, colliding with the bullets in midair.

With that out of the way, he jumped across one gap, but in the middle of the jump, his feathers lowered to surround his feet while a swirling water disc formed beneath them. Forming a geyser with feathers trailing in his wake, Inigo hydro-springed higher than normal, giving him a bird's-eye view of the town. He began to land, looking frantically for her and seeing her running across the streets, currently moving past what seemed to be a low-end restaurant with her gun in hand.

Seeing her in sight, Inigo called his cane to hand and fired a water jet in the opposite direction, strong enough to propel him towards her when he put up no resistance to it. Now on a crash course in her direction, he quickly stumbled onto the ground, landing on his side somewhere behind her with a loud-ish thud.

She turned around, seeing him beginning to get up, and immediately turned back to run away, almost disappearing into an alley before Inigo pointed his finger at her, surrounding her in a pale purple glow. Rising to his feet, he moved his left arm to the side, throwing her out as she could only muster a weak "Ow…" on contact with the ground.

Inigo, unamused, approached her, pointing his cane at her once he was right in front of her, a tired glare on his face.

"I don't know who you are…" he muttered, shaking his head as she looked up at him, her face more neutral than anything. "But I will get answers."