Zero is standing on the edge of a rooftop staring up at the stars. Scanning each star until stopping on one, watching it flicker out and back into existence. The dome worked well for people who hardly looked up or paid any amount of attention to their surroundings. For Zero though the first half of life consisted of nothing but nature's splendors, endless gut-wrenching survival training is vastly different than Neon City's endless night.
Even the birds above are procedurally generated, being surrounded by all of the artificial set in a feeling of unease in Zero. Dropping attention to the street below, filled with people from a festival going on, joy and excitement flowed through the streets. Women dressed in traditional yukatas complimented by beautifully crafted prostheses fluttered the streets like cherry blossoms.
This city had a staggering three to one-woman-to-men population. So that meant that women made up the majority of the workforce and political participation. One man caught Zero's eye, the catfish on the back of his yukata made him resemble a fish swimming upstream even more as he pushed passers-by aside. He protected two ice cream cones as he pushed harder through the crowd, predicting his path, Zero noticed the goal that kept this man so determined.
a woman standing in the center of three others that stood on the left side of the road was being cleanly skirted around by other passersby. The woman in the center had flawless features that were augmented by porcelain metallic enhancements and finely stenciled with beautiful patterns. Her hair, a bun being held by two metallic sticks, is a cherry blossom pink accented by white highlights.
Zero looked over the three women surrounding her and assumed they were her triplets until further observation. Their features were young and all cosmetic prosthetics were done the same, twins tend to volunteer for cosmetic prosthesis if another has to get one for medical reasons, and more often than not it's matching, but with such heavy prosthesis and differentiating enhancements or replacements means their similarities are due to being custom protection droids.
The man closed the distance to his goal.
"I hope you didn't wait long, the line was enormous." The man approached the woman in the center arm outstretched with cone in hand. At a closer look, the woman loomed over him, she was tall, but her slender frame gave the illusion she would be smaller. Even the triplets who were shorter than her loomed over him. She politely shook her head no.
"It wasn't long at all." She smiles as she takes the cone from him, taking a lick of her ice cream she purrs in enjoyment.
"It's just vanilla, is it really that good?" He chuckles to himself watching her forget her surrounding and blissfully enjoying the cone.
"It's simple, and out of all the endless complicated luxuries of today, vanilla is still vanilla, plain and sweet." His eyes widen at the innocents of the answer, the purity he found in her, which he loved and cherished.
"And that is what makes you special, and me love you." The blush almost beamed through the porcelain metallic of her cheeks.
"I love you too Toshi." A pleasant smile lingers on her face from Toshis' reply.
The Japanese-style roof tiles clattered under shifting weight as Zero Jumped from the roof top landing instantly and silently behind the brightly colored fish yukata-wearing man. The three guardians were stunned by the speed of their aggressor, Zero with no hesitation unsheathes a orange blade from underneath their crimson kimono slicing diagonally across the fish pattern on his back.
Expecting a thump and a pool of blood, but instead getting a swift kick from one of the sisters into a stall, Zero looked up to see Toshi in the porcelain woman's arms. She was quick enough to Pull him forward before the attack could land deep enough. The crowd of people was now alive with panic, everyone scattering away from the middle of the street.
"Mia? What's happening?" Mia looked down at her hands spots of blood traced over her fingers.
"Nothing... Our, guest here made a grieves mistake of bumping you a little too hard." Her face stayed truthful to her words, but her voice betrayed her.
He grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Then as a mistake, it can be forgiven." He smiles meekly laying his head against her chest, eyes shut with labored breathing.
"If he isn't dead he's pretty close." Delta appears standing in front of the collapsed Zero in the vendor's stall.
"gonna just wait it out?" He turned and looked over his shoulder, the three triplets were now disrobing their yukatas to show smooth metallic bodies. One twin a dull red crisscrossed by dull grey veins all over her body that fed away and too a white circular pod on her chest stepped forward. Clenching synthetic muscles a bright amber-colored liquid began filling the white pod, once full the pod ejected the amber liquid throughout the dull grey vascular system. Dull red metallic plates and synthetic muscles bulge as they emit a brilliant vermilion warmth, waves of heat distorting the atmosphere.
The second twin a cerulean color with a slender body equipped with exhaust pipes running the length of her back, arms, and calves. She took the runner pose as a cool teal emanated from the end of the exhaust pipes. The third a absinthe-esque color quickly sprouted emerald insect-like wings and took to the sky.
"Looks like they're ready for a fight." Delta stepped aside as Zero pushed over the wooden planks as if to dodge any kicked-up dirt or scuffing of shoes.
"That red one packs a punch... Definitely an offensive type build." Zero brushed off the rest of the debris, quickly assessing the situation. "Target status?" Delta looked over at the woman holding the now unconscious man in her arms.
"Unconscious?" Delta shrugged his shoulders and turned to catch Zero's head shaking irritatedly.
"I meant how long does he have." Zero growled through the grinding of teeth.
"The cut was shallow, but seeing as he has no enhancements... I'd say another forty minutes tops." The woman flinched at Delta's words clutching her partner closer.
"Did ya hear that? Forty minutes? Now you can hand him over and I end it quick..." Zero picked up the orange blade swinging the leftover blood off of it.
"Or would you rather he slowly bleed out in agon-" Zero's sentence cut short as a devastating blow connected at blinding speed to the chin. Zero's head rocked back as their body departed from the earth careening towards the rooftop of another stall, their lower half catching it sending Zero into a tumble across clattering Japanese tiles. Flipping to re-orientate just in time to catch another blow by the cerulean twin with the side of the blade.
"You're being pushed back." Delta flickers in next to Zero. The twin stood upon the blade, Zero noticed her slender like frame was also almost weightless, Zero swung the blade and caught air. With a quick and fluid spin in the air, the twin dodges the swipe to land a clean blow to Zero's head. Sent back hovering inches above the rooftop, Zero caught the sight of the endless night again before landing roughly into a tumble.
"She's fast ay? But you've noticed, right? extremely light almost like getting hit with a high-speed rolled-up newspaper haha." Delta flickered back in as Zero got to one knee from the tumble, leaning in slightly to rest on Zero's head. The twin reaches the runners starting pose as the blue glow begins again from the spoilers on her body.
"Not helping." Zero bucks delta off as the twin disappears from vision leaving a blueish streak in her wake. The twin propelled herself through the air as if landing on invisible walls, a flurry of blows from every cardinal direction assaulted Zero, every blow being precisely parried, a silent focus fell as the number of blows increased steadily.
"Your reaction time may hold out without enhancement, but this one... She's going to test your endurance." Delta paced around the vicious circle of violence taking place in front of him, closely examining each opponent's movements...
Zero was slipping, tiny slips that cost a half-blow landing or graze ripping at the yukata. "Even if you aren't entirely human Red, you have your limits." Delta looked down his nose at Zero watching the fatigue creep.
"Utilize one of your enhancements" Delta says peering down and leaning in watching intently.
"No."
"Pride and hesitation is death for the death dealer, use your enhancements."
Tiles began to slip underneath Zero, the force of the blows now cracking and destroying the surrounding rooftop as the twin raises their speed.
"So you just plan on letting her kick the shit out of you?"
The barrage has been a series of kicks and punches so far, that have been enhanced by accelerating the limbs quickly enough to produce devastating blows with such a light frame.
"No!" Zero buckled wasting the breath to answer the question.
The twin aimed for the opening kicking the hilt of the blade and sending Zero's arms upward into the air leaving them exposed. The twin's leg caught blue flames as she readied to kick Zero with a final blow.
"Fine die to your limits, nice knowing you Red."
Zero let their body fall forward towards the kick dodging slightly to the left and bringing the blade down on the knee of the leg severing everything from below it.
"Fuck!"
Zero spun around quickly to catch the cyborg's arm cleaving through it before she could recover.
"My."
Another quick sweeping blow and another limb lost. The second leg and final limb jumped to life as the twin quickly tried to end the uninvited pruning she has been receiving. Propelled by the leg into a spinning roundhouse kick that proved futile as it landed in the palm of Zero's hand.
"Enhancements!" A roar from Zero erupted as their other hand gripped the twin's face slamming them firmly into the roof. Stepping on the twin's chest Zero pulls at the remaining limb, the sound of synthetic tissue and muscle snapping was drowned out by screams of agony as Zero threw the remaining limb off the edge of the building.
"A little overkill, don't you think?" Delta stood over the groaning body as Zero drenched in synth blood turned to head back to the street.
"Not dead, not over - please spare Mrs. Mia and Mr. Toshi..." The strong voice from a throttled body, but unbroken soul yanked at Zero's attention. The twin lost consciousness as Zero turns and jumps back to the street, where the red and green twin sat protecting Mia.
The amber liquid had filled the vascular system of the vermilion twin, the heat from the body was accompanied by tiny spurts of steam from her mouth. "So Nia is dead?" The soft voice came from the fairy-like figure above. Zero was shocked twice now the twins had shown concern for others, they looked so heavily worked on that Zero assumed they were androids.
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"So you guys are humans... And I'm assuming Nia was the blue one earlier? Not dead, just heavily damaged." Tense expressions melted slightly at Zero's words, but guards immediately returned when realizing the attacker was the messenger.
"I didn't kill her. Not because I couldn't, but because they're not here marked for death today." Zero readied into a stance with the blade.
"Good bluff!" Delta appeared in front of Zero, but it seemed only they saw him.
" So step aside and let me do my job." The Red twin clenched and ground her teeth at what she heard.
"That job has a name and people who care for him, one of them being me Sia Nakamore, and you won't be touching him." The twin took a low fighting stance and prepared for her aggressor.
Zero sheathes the blade fully and gets into a drawing stance. "Names Zero." A single movement was all that was needed for Zero to reach Mia. "First target Male Toshi Yamada death imminent." Before Sia could react a red blur passed her by "Second target Mia Yashida, pending." A quick unsheathing of the blade into an ascending strike came barreling at Mia who still clung to an incapacitated Toshi. The cut would've been clean if it weren't for an invisible force of resistance around them, the blade seemed to flow differently than intended away from them, before Zero could figure out what was happening killing intent came barreling from behind. A quick swivel showed a crimson fist that was only blockable by mere seconds, the sickening thud against Zero's forearm sent them sliding away from Mia and Toshi.
The blow is devastating, full of hatred and rage that has been finely condensed into power by the pressure to protect her Mistress and Master. Zero felt and heard the crunch, the arm wasn't ruined but was definitely not taking another blow.
"Almost snapped the ulna and a hairline fracture down the radius, impressive." Like a taunting spirit, Delta circled Zero with a grin.
Zero ignores the comment with a clenched fist, the crimson cloak stiffens and tightens around the injured arm forcing it to remain clenched. "So you'll use the cloak, but not any of us? Seems a bit... hypocritical?" Delta blinks out of existence and reappears behind Sia giving her bunny ears.
"I think Mothers Mold would work well with our friend here." Delta suggested as he kept taunting the unsuspecting twin.
"The cloak is basically infused with my skin and muscle, it's as much me as everything und - who are you rambling to." The conversation was cut short by a swift kick from Sia sending Zero barreling through another stall.
"Thanks for not killing my sister, I'll try to end this quick for that kindness." Sia walked over to the rubble believing she caught Zero off guard. Seizing the opportunity Zero leaped from the rubble connecting a punch to Sia's face as she was stepping closer. No give was found in the connecting blow, but Zero didn't waver a flurry of blows followed after the first and all met with the same resistance.
This resistance wasn't from hitting Sia, it felt like every hit was catching slippery air, Sia cut the chorus of blows by grabbing Zero's arms. Sia held Zero's arms out at length lifting them with them, inches off the ground, Zero looked up at the floating sister watching the wings beat at a blinding pace.
"She's protecting you?" Zero looked back at the trapped limbs realizing what was happening. Zero could feel that Sia was vibrating at an alarming rate, every inch of her body was vibrating fiercely.
"Very good. Sister Tia's mods allow her to manipulate pure ether whatever she targets moves how she feels it should." Sia stated proudly looking at her sister.
"That explains how you almost destroyed my arm." The bones were close to healed in Zero's arm but Sia's grip wasn't helping. With a quick toss in the air, Sia prepared an upward kick, and quickly Zero used the blow as a launching pad for Tia. The air-born guardian looked unamused by the efforts to reach her, Zero unsheathes the bright orange blade slicing at Tia as they passed each other.
The momentum from the kick wore off and Zero enjoyed a slow descent back to earth, accompanied by a surprised Tia, her left wing had been cleanly severed in two, and now in a free fall she was too dumbfounded to re-orientate, Zero landed and watched as Sia caught her sister.
"How?!" Tia screamed reaching back at her missing wing.
"This blade is outfitted with a cannibal core her name is Gula, I've never seen a mod attribute used to vibrate someone else using Ether, so I had to give it a try...
Zero's blade started to glow with a sun like hue, heat waves distorting the atmosphere around it.
...but it would seem the conduit goes through hell, and without both wings, your mod can't handle the output."
Sia looks down at her sister, the situation couldn't continue like this or they and their masters would be killed. She moved to the nearest stall and sat her sister down against it, then took position between Zero and their targets.
Tia wanted to argue against Sia's decision to fight alone, but realize how futile it would be, without her other wing she was useless and Nia hadn't returned from the rooftop.
"So you want to perish with your masters? I'll honorably oblige." Zero took a low stance raising the shimmering blade to eye level, Sia stepped forward readying herself, and a lunging swipe at blinding speed crosses Sia's chest. The cut connected, but it wasn't deep enough to end the fight. Crimson molten liquid slowly dripped from Sia's chest, a second blow a horizontal sweep catches Sias's forearms leaving an impression on the metal plates.
Not pausing Zero prepares an ascending blow that is met with Sia's foot, Zero was astonished by the sudden stop, the force used was enough to sever the leg Zero was sure of that. Sia lowered her foot to the ground, Zero's blade easing its way into the soil. Zero looked over their shoulder at Tia one wing flapping as hard as it possibly can. A furious blow to the side of Zero's head loosens the grip on Gula, even though slow many more blows shook Zeros' core.
Dodging heavy hits Zero goes into a counter aiming for the mid-section of Sia's body. It was now a drag-out bare-knuckle brawl, each person exchanging devastating blows. Sia leans in for a heavy swing towards her opponent's head, Zero slips it landing an answering blow to her jaw disorienting Sia and dropping her to one knee. Zero realizing the opening prepared a series of blows that seemed to slightly slip around Sia's head. Again Tia began using her wing to slightly obscure Zeros' movements, making what would be devastating blows to Sia's head just slight grazing.
A furious roar erupted from within Zero, grabbing the still disoriented Sia by the sides of her head.
"Can't stop me from pulling her in." With a swift movement, Zero brought Sia's head down to connect with her knee a crushing sound rings out as she is forced to stand. Continuing the flow of violence Zero grabs Sia's arm and crushed it with their knee and elbow, Sia staggers back cradling one arm with the other.
"So she's stronger than you, just not as skilled..." Delta appeared looking Sia over as if he were a cat watching a wounded bird.
"Gonna end it there?" Delta said sucking his teeth at the wounded twin.
A low guttural growl comes from Zero as they stomp over to Sia, raising a leg to kick in the kneecap of the staggered bodyguard, Zero slips missing it completely losing their balance a reminder that they had two opponents and not one. Zero recovered balanced and charged after Tia who turned to try and climb the debris of the broken stall. A tug of her wing pulled her tumbling to the ground a foot stomped into her back as her wing was pulled taut.
The sound of fabric tearing was drowned out by the screams of Tia, strong arms wrapped around Zeros' midsection, Sia tried gripping Zero to pull them away from Tia but was swiftly met with a bash to her nose by the back of Zeros' head. The ripping continued until the last wing was freed from Tias' back, Zero turned on Sia immediately who put her hand out trying to dissuade her attacker. A swift grab of the wrist and spin snap the metal connections in her elbow leaving her unable to lift herself from the shambles she sat in.
Zero made their way to the sword stuck in the soil pulling it from its earthy sheath, a slight stumble then composure as Zero starts towards the targets. Two hands gripped Zeros' ankle tightly stopping her stride without hesitation a spin of the sword in hand Zero planted the blade firmly through the hands of Tia, trapping her in place.
The march of death continued as Zero closed in and towered over the heap of a couple on the ground.
"I was going to make it quick, but your triplets made it a little hard for me."
"Please, do you know who I am?" Zero cocks their head in confusion.
"Delta target profile."
"Oh so now you need me?" The snide A.I. appeared in front of everyone, Zero rolled their eyes at the comment and waited impatiently.
"Target: Toshi Yamada
Age: 28
Status: immanent
Client: Kai Yamada"
"Second target?"
"Target: Mia Yashida
Age: prolonged
Status: pending
Client: Ryu Yashida"
Mias' eyes widened at the name of her and her lovers' fathers being named as clients. Defeat etched into her face for a moment then was replaced by extreme rage that delighted Zero to their core. "I'll hire you..." The sentence caught in Mias' throat, Zero leaned into Mias' face head cocked to the side like an interested puppy.
"Please, anything you want... If you kill our fathers then-
Then they'll come back you won't have anything to offer and I'll have every assassin possible after my head because I swung for the most influential heads in Neon City?" Zero interrupted with an almost cheerful tone. Mia bit down hard on her lower lip, her mind raced for a single idea that could lead to the self-preservation of herself and her lover.
Zero sighed to signify their boredom as they turned and walked back over to Tia, pulling Gula from its place and slicing Tias' hand off in one clean motion leaving her to writhe on the ground. Returning to Mia she raised Gula to eye level.
"Last words?"
"A Perma Death Compact... For my father and his."
This stopped Zero in their tracks, a Permanent Death Compact is when an assassin is hired to make sure death for an individual is as it was before with certain stipulations. First, the assassin hired is guaranteed to move in rank as killing someone permanently is not only a difficult task but requires an assassin to offer up their life if they fail. Second, the client has to offer their permanent death as compensation and a reward equal to or greater than the targets themselves and their possible counter offer, because of this most of these types of compacts are done by family members or rivals in certain fields of work.
The third and final stipulation there is no backing out of a PDC, refusal of completion of client or assassin will lead to the permanent death of both, and their bodies and minds are broken down for parts and testing by the guild of the hired assassin and the ownership of any kind will be relinquished to the guild as well. With these rules, this makes a PDC a fool's errand and a risk that any average assassin worth their salt would ignore.
"What are you offering?" Zero couldn't hide their excitement, they even sheathed Gula intently waiting on Mias' reply.
"Everything, you kill our fathers we inherit the companies and money, I'll drain all the coffers and every ounce of Bitz we can find as compensation."
"Not enough, your father's can offer me the same."
"We are planning to marry, and unify the Yamada and Yashida companies, the Yashida's keep the upper-class families plump with ether and money circulating between each other and the Yamada family keeps the slums addicted and separated so no thoughts of uprise can occur." Mias' gaze matched Zero's even though the red cloth covering their body hid their face and only showed eyes she could tell was listening.
"So you planned to create a new company to rival your parents and in doing so threatened their power... It's the power I want then, from this point on this new company and all its potential advancements or prospects will be shared with my contracted guild you will work with one hundred percent transparency with said guild-
Deal!" Mia interrupted before hearing the last bit of Zeros conditions.
"And, you will give me your triplets to do as I see fit." Mia's eyes widen not realizing what she just agreed to.
"Do you accept this compact?"
"No... I can't just-
-yes she does." A barely conscious Sia answers in her sted her words dripping with determination and spite.
"Sia... I-i accept this compact." Mia admitted defeatedly. The cloth split open taking on a devilish grin, Zero leaned on their heels as crimson threads started to wiggle and writhe their way from the tips of fingers and the mouth created by the cloth.
"Welcome to the Threads Of Fate." The threads moved with a quick and purposeful motion inserting themselves into Mia and Toshi first, Mia shook at the feeling of the Threads weaving their way into veins.
"What are you doing." Mia choked through the pain of the strand of Crimson that began flooding their bodies with Nanomachines.
"I have to make it look like you guys died and make it pretty convincing at that, so I'm giving you some of my homemade Nanomachines they'll fix you after you've been collected."
"Toshi is a purest he won't want them in him forever."
"Don't worry I'll retrieve them once I come for your bodies, he'll be just as human as he wants to be." The threads done with their job returned to Zero.
"Now do me a favor and play dead." White blood explodes from Mias' mouth, she slumps over Toshi who had stopped breathing moments ago.
"Lady Mia!!!" Sia screamed, without arms or legs she began using her chin to dig into the ground trying to get closer to her mistress.
"You really love her, were you all humans or just very convincing androids." Tia who was keeping quiet let the tears that threatened her eyes flow before answering Zero.
"We were orphans in the lower districts ether poisoning took many things from us, but we were saved by Lady Mia when no one else even acknowledged us, gave us bodies, and in return, we tested new Materia and cores, she trusted us and we trust her."
Zero seemed to mull over what she said, they weren't androids, but enhanced humans who had full loyalty to their master. The potential seen in them excited Zero especially since now a PDC on the Shogun and Samurai of Neon City was on the table.
"Delta hail an instant port for three to my forge and send the triplets to be prepped for the test." Delta flicked into existence looking over the broken Tia.
"You took this one Materia is it any reason to take her?"
"Of course, I have something in mind for all three." Delta shook his head in affirmation and snapped his fingers the three glowed in a blue light before disintegrating into crystallized particles and disappearing.
"They successfully have been sent to the forge." Delta replied with a curt bow.
"Thank you, now connect me to Zeus."
Delta's form began to change into a different person entirely, shorter with glasses, snow White hair, and a white lab coat that drug the ground, all belonging to a child-like frame of a young man staring off into the middle distance. Zero waited for a moment before the man acknowledged them standing there.
"Ah, Zero! How did your job go?"
"Better than expected, I got a PDC for you."
"Yes, yes, great a PDC that's fantastic... A what! Are you insane a PDC?!"
"Relax. If successful you get full rights to the Tech and Materia of the Yamada and Yashida companies." A moment passed as the enticing reward fought with the worried feeling in Zeus's gut.
"But if you fail I lose my best assassin." Zeus whispered through clenched teeth.
"Key word, if." Zeus sighed hard pulling out of nowhere a mug of warm liquid to sip on.
"Fine whose the clients and targets?"
"The targets are Kai Yashida and Ryu Yamada." Zeus spits out the brown drink and tossed the mug out of view with a satisfying smash.
"Are you fucking kidding me, the people who just hired you, you take a fucking PDC on?! Who're the fucking clients?!" Zero side steps reveal the two bodies behind them. Zeus fell to his knees in defeat.
"Your clients are dead?" A sullen look etched its way in Zeus's face.
"Kind of..." Zero shrugged curtly.
"You want to kill the two kings of Neon City, and your clients are the dead targets of your last clients..." Zeus fixed his glasses on his face.
"Yes." Zero shook their head vigorously.
"Are you possibly the craziest person alive." Zero pondered this for a moment.
"Most likely." Zero chuckled to themselves crouching down to match Zeus's eye level.
"Look, I gave them a bit of my Nano machines so they will be more than alive and I know the Yamada and Yashida family has kept our guild out of all the big talks, so we kill them and gain two new faces to vouch for us plus as your best assassin I'll jump at least 10 ranks." Zeus's ears perked at the words.
"Do you think you can do it?"
"Of course." Zeus looked over his Zero and then the corpses nearby shook his head and sighed.
"Fine, PDC accepted by the Threads of Fate, I'll put it through once you retrieve your clients Alive Red, you got me?"
"Sir yessir!" Zero stood and saluted sarcastically, making Zeus roll his eyes.
"Oh also, I have three in my forge who I want to take the aptitude test to join the Threads of Fate."
"I saw you had three transported, we aren't in need of new members at this time." Zeus replied looking over a screen Zero couldn't see.
"I'll be watching over them, they will be directly joining my team." A laugh erupted from Zeus as he held his stomach.
"You? A team? So you going to just toss these poor souls aside then?" Zero didn't answer and blankly stared back.
"Okay... You're serious. They will be under your care and you will administer the aptitude test, may I ask what's the point of this little team you are building?" Zero looked upward at the synthetic sky changing above them.
"Better safe than sorry, ya know?" Zeus watched his assassin for a moment as long as he has known Red, he knew Red did nothing without seeing all the outcomes, he shrugged his shoulders moving on.
"Alright, good luck Red I'll be getting back to my research, oh and congrats on passing your final qualification to reach the top hundreds rank, as of this compact your new rank is two oh one welcome to the big leagues." Zeus smiled before turning back into a Delta sitting on his knees.
Delta looked over himself and over Zero.
"Went well?"
"Yeah..." Zero fell backward lying Sprawled out on the ground.
"Delta how much for another instant transport." Zero asked while enjoying the view.
"The last three were on the house because the forge pays for any incoming products, but personal use will cost you a thousand bitz."
"Pay it and let's go home." Delta shook his head and snapped his fingers. Zero began disappearing just in time for the guards to show up and start their jobs and to report to the Yamada and Yashida family that their children have passed, recovery of Toshi's body is in process and Mia will be salvaged and recovered to be placed in a different and more subservient vessel.
~End of Chapter 1 Better Safe...