I've Come For You, An Inevitable Return

Apologies, Recompense and Humility
Night passed over a day of hectic craziness and much jubiliation. The Soul Society's skies were lit by the luminous, majestic moon while a handful of thinly layered clouds drifted by. People returned to their quarters for the night, ready to call it a day after much work or socializing was finished within the slowly rebuilding city. One could find it hard to believe this was the center of battle twice within a week's passing, becoming embroiled in conflict and stained in blood.

But nowhere felt more homely than within the headquarters of the established V-14. With the entitement of being official mercenaries for hire to the citizens of the Soul Society and beyond, they were able to eat, drink, and be merry for quite a handful of hours. Even though some emotions were riled and feathers ruffled, talk between visitors and residents alike went smoothly for the most part. But even then, most eventually parted ways and went on their own to sleep the day away.

One of the only exceptions was Shinshin.

As the dust settled from events past the war, those who remembered their actions more vividly came to terms of what happened. Now, in the dead of the night, he approached in full garbed apparel. Apprehensively the swordsman raised his bandaged hand, still healing from his battle against Daigomi, and rapped it a few times against the door. He had waited until this hour to make up his mind on speaking to this man, after he briefly asked Kaitlyn what he should do. He thanked her for being so understanding and also forgiving for what happened, as it had apparently slipped her mind.

But sometimes, men find it harder to forget a clash of words and fists.

After knocking the door a third time, Shinshin cleared his throat before speaking, "Are you available to speak, Holmes-san? If so, I'd like to discuss something with you in person."

What answered him was a snorting noise, followed by a slurred vocalization of "Wha...?". Silence followed suit for a few seconds before an irate groan and the shuffling of bare feet across the floor. It was obvious that Oliver had been sleeping soundly, having been freshly awakened by Shinshin's knocking. It would be made even more obvious when the door opened, allowing the two to see each other face-to-face. He was unkempt, his blonde hair ruffled and mussed thanks to being on the pillow for so long. His eyes were somewhat red with bags underneath, and it didn't help that they were narrowed when they took in the sight of the samurai. His clothing consisted of a white tank top and striped boxers, with the stripes red and yellow. It was also apparent that he hadn't heard Shinshin's voice in favor of the knock, his inability to immediately recognize pointed out by his chosen words. "Do you know how fucking late it is? Get lo--"

However, he stopped himself when he recognized who it was. For a moment, his eyes widened in surprise. But it lasted only for a second before they were shut tightly. He lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose in a clear demonstration of aggravation. "For the love of g--" He jerked his head up, glaring groggily at the samurai. "Look, Sword Boy. I really don't wanna deal with whatever shit you have to wipe on me, all right? You can wait until I'm in the mood to start something." With that being said, he moved to shut the door.

"Holmes-san," Shinshin said a bit more firmly, using all of his willpower to not speak in a way that'd make him appear hostile. His words that came out next were carefully chosen, as were his following actions. Bowing his head, he raised his voice a bit more so it could be heard plainly, "I came here to apologize."

The door was stopped a fraction of an inch before it could shut completely, swinging back open again.

Now Oliver was regarding Shinshin with surprise again, taken aback by the second statement. He had expected many things after the scuffle they had. But an apology had certainly not been one of them. After all, who would lower themselves to apologize to the likes of him? It was unthinkable. It was insane. One would've had to lower the level of pride and self-respect they had to even drop their nose at him. So for a few seconds, all he did was regard Shinshin with shock. But just like before, it would fade away. This time, it would regress to a face of resignation. He may have considered himself to be a jerk. But he wasn't so much that he would shut the door in the face of a more humble member of the V-14.

He gave a soft sight and let go of the door edge, approaching his bed. "Shut the door behind you. There's only two people I planned on letting see me in my underwear."

Wordlessly, Shinshin nodded with understanding. Shuffling into the room, he quietly closed the door behind him as he entered. He took a few glances at the room, noticing its messy state reflected Oliver's demeanor and personality quite well. Any sign of him criticizing the cleansliness of his host's abode, however, wasn't seen as his eyes retained a typical impassiveness. Approaching the bed of the boxer-clad man, the warrior took a few breaths of preparation before slowly lowering himself to the ground.

With knuckles clenched tightly against the floor, head bowed till it was a handful of inches away from touching it, Shinshin was perfectly prostrate before Oliver's bed. Bowed as low as he could achieve, he wanted to appear as sincere in the apology he wanted to give. After all, it was for Kaitlyn's sake as much as it was for everyone else's.

"Oliver Holmes. Please forgive me for the actions of improper conduct I showed to you and your body. I plead that you hear out my apology and understand that I had only acted accordingly to my pride, however foolishly I had executed it. Should you wish to enact a punishment upon me to satisfy your demand for justice, I shall humbly take whatever lashing you shall see fit," The traditional minded man said in a dramatic if not completely serious manner.

"Lashing, you say?" Oliver repeated, cocking an eyebrow and frowning as he looked down at the bowing man in front of him. He was sitting with his arms resting on the tops of his thighs, looking inquisitively at the bowing Shinshin. Obviously, this was no joke; the boy was simply too serious and too hardened to even understand the definition of humor. He had come for an apology, and if he had to get it through physical punishment, he would gladly take that. It was a rather extreme display of humility, as far as the gunman was concerned. But this presented him with a rather good opportunity. So after frowning for a moment, he gave a smirk. "All right, then. Wait right there."

He pulled himself off of the bed, approaching his closet and opening the doors. He stuck his hands in, rummaging around in his things until he found what he was looking for. He pulled it out, looking over it for a moment. Then, he gave it a few test swings. The sound of whistling air could be heard to Shinshin's ears for at least five times before there was silence again, followed by Oliver's voice. "I'm glad to hear you say that. You see, in all honesty, I think you've been a rather bad kid. A kid who's finally starting to own up to his actions. So, as the responsible adult that I am," He gripped the leather in his free hand, giving a dark smile as he approached Shinshin. "I'll hand out the most appropriate form of discipline that there is. And by appropriate form, I mean I'm gonna beat you like a red-headed stepchild." His grin grew to the point where his canines were showing. "Are you ready?"

"I should have known than to expect unnatural mercy from the likes of this man. Still, it would be a disgrace to refuse him now. I'm sure Kaitlyn will understand. I bear this pain in order to perserve future relations with her family. Aside from that, any pain he places upon me will be dim in comparison to the surgery I had conducted to place swords in my arms," Shinshin rationalized within, steeling himself with a few inhales and exhales. Nodding without responding, he was prepared for a beating from the unforgiving man before him.

That was, until a loud swear was heard on the other side of Oliver's door. Seconds later, for which caused Shinshin's eyes to widen with surprise at hearing the barrier between the room and the hall swing loudly open with a crack. Had he known a particular, easily waking woman, slept in the other room with her lover he would have thought himself less discreet.

This particular woman, however, was looking quite livid.

"You lousy fucker!" Hyōryū snarled, her eyes open and her pupils contracted. Her hair was mussed up, haggardly going down her shoulders to the top of her back, over her exposed collarbones. A simple sports bra was donned in jet black color was placed over her womanly chest, with her shapely hips barely covered by her normal jean shorts. It was partially disheveled at an angled, revealing a black pair of undergarments, showing that she must have hastily put on something.

Shinshin didn't need to make visual contact to guess the waves of agitation and incredulous anger burning within her. Like a barely contained maelstrom of emotions, swimming through a river of volatile pumped energy. If she was a Tamajutsu artist, he swore she would have exploded through sheer will.

Even to a non-Tamajutsu user like Oliver, Hyōryū's fury was evident.

He abruptly stopped his walk, his eyes widening in shock when his door was kicked open. His head was swung, his eyes meeting the enraged orbs of their female owner. He had the affinity for spiritual sense, of course; had it been under normal circumstances, he would've sensed her coming. But his mind was still lingering in the ocean of sleep, and in this particular time and place, he wouldn't have thought that he would have any interference. The rest of the crew was dead asleep, after all... though the status of that would now be uncertain thanks to the female gunman's loud entry. So following his look of shock would be a look of annoyance, as he knew that he would most likely have more of an audience on the way.

"No, no." He deadpanned, slinging the belt over his shoulder and giving the woman an irate glare. "Don't bother knocking. Just kick in my door, it's not like it's there for a reason."

"Is that the excuse for keeping something like this behind your door? If so, then I guess that explains a fuckin' lot!" Hyōryū snarled, gesturing to Shinshin and then punching the frame of the door. Her knuckles struck it hard enough to form a dent, rattling the hinges from whence it was locked upon. Her heavy breaths were now restricted to her nostrils as she kept a much more aware, vivid glare locked upon his face.

"Fūsoku-san-"

"Get. Out!" Hyōryū enunciated in a level, chilling tone.

"You don't understand-!" Shinshin tried to implore, turning his head around to bow in front of Hyōryū, finding that it was a horrible idea. Her glare only seemed to widen and to his eyes, an aura of dark flames expanded around her. Gulping, he nodded quickly and scurried to his feet, shuffling around her with a meek apology to her. It didn't take long for him to walk down the hallway, leaving the two alone, giving reason for Hyōryū to close the door a bit more slowly than she opened it.

Sighing, she ran both hands over her face up to her hair, yanking it up before letting both palms slide down her cheeks. Placing both palms on her hips, she gnashed her teeth and tapped her left foot impatiently, while speaking in a seething tone, "Explain to me the punchline of whatever sick joke you had planned for that poor guy. Make sure it sounds convincing, cause I'd LOVE to share this sense of humor to the rest of the gang. I'm sure they'll think you're a real hoot!"

There was a moment in time where Oliver's heart skipped a beat, and for the briefest of moments, he found himself expressing pensiveness. He wasn't someone who valued the judgmental opinion of others, otherwise he would've shaped up his act a long time ago. But he knew that when she said the "rest of the gang", she meant all of them including Angelika. If he refused to say anything, it would give her the excuse needed to walk over and tell everyone that he was legitimately going to beat Shinshin. The ones he could guarantee to be angered towards him would be Angelika and especially Asuka. While the latter he was wary of mostly due to a semblance of respect - he hadn't forgotten what she had did to BG9 - it was Angelika's cold glare of disapproval that he couldn't get out of his head. If Hyōryū told her, then it would be one of the few times he would truly experience shame.

He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a heavy sigh, dropping the belt to the floor. "A man confined in the ways of tradition, a warrior stuck in the past time..." He said, folding his arms across his chest and beginning to pace around. "Honor and pride are his greatest medals around his neck, and yet he doesn't get that those very same medals can end up choking him to death. With a head and body making out with the ground, he had no idea what I was going to do to him. Could I have pulled out a knife? Some rope? Gasoline and a torch? The possibilities are endless, and he wouldn't have known anything because he was too caught up in his own ways. I had an opportunity to completely take advantage of him and his precious pride, and he wouldn't have had a clue."

He gave a dark chuckle, using one of his hands to start gesturing in emphasis of his words. "He had no idea what was going to happen to him... and he didn't know what he'd be losing by putting himself at my mercy. If it weren't for you, I would've gladly given him that eye-opener and he could've walked out of here with food for thought."

The red-head listened, holding an impassive frown throughout. As he continued speaking it was becoming more and more difficult for her to remain detached. His reasoning was so cruel, vindictive and pure malicious. While one could reason that, from his past, he could be considered a sociopath but this was inexcusable. Especially while being part of an organization such as V-14.

"So you decided to betray a man who came in begging for your forgiveness, something I'd pay to see, and then abuse that trust to teach him a lesson about...what? That the world is more cruel than he knows? That he should be more careful when talking to the likes of you? That apologizing to anyone in what he's been taught and believes is stupid?" Hyōryū asked, most of her queries being rhetorical for she knew he'd not give a proper answer. Instead during the time she spoke her feet tapped against the messy floor, allowing her to reach the mutually heighted, short man.

Reaching up with a hand, she grasped his collar into a vice-like grip and pulled him closer to her face so she could hiss her anger up close and personal. Her eyes practically burning coals compared to the normal hazel gems, boring straight into his sockets. Her breath mingled of smoke, doing nothing to stem the amount of rage built up within her being.

"Are you a fuckin' psycho?! That man came in to apologize to you of all people! It's one thing to get back at a guy revisiting an old grudge, but a rare kind of man like that you want to hurt? What kind of fuckin' baggage do you have with people who are actually polite to you?!" She snarled as she kept him in her grip, teeth bared and venting her hot breath as she finished with a slitted gaze. "it takes a special kind of person to go out of their way to make this kind of thing a joke. That kind of special I usually plug between the cajoles, if you get my drift. I'm sorely tempted to do it barehanded if you even try to make this like it was an innocent prank, Oliver!"

There was a thick silence afterward.

At first, Oliver was shocked when her hand grasped at the front of his tank top, letting out a grunt as he was yanked to her face. But as he registered her words, his expression relaxed. Although he reached up to grasp her wrist, he made no move to pull her off. He listened with the attentiveness and quiet of a mouse, regarding her with a grim stare. Her words were passionate, empathetic even.He could still remember back when she had been willing to shoot down civilians just a clear a path to a target, when she'd gladly level a portion of the Seireitei just for kicks. Back then, she had been just as remorseless a killer as he was. Now, she had grown a conscience. Or did she have that conscience all along, hidden away for no one else to see? He probably would never know.

But either way, it gave him cause for rebuttal. A small smile graced his face, his grip relaxing on Hyōryū's wrist. "Innocent? That's not a word you should be trying to group in my category, Sis." He said casually. "Didn't you see how I was killing those Shinigami during the convoy raid? Did you not see the grin on my face as I reduced each and every one of them into gory, chunky pieces of meat? Did you not see how I was the first one to shoot that oversized demon, as opposed to the rest that chose to stay in line like the good little dogs that they are? That has always been my face. I'm a maniac right down to my rotten core, a psychopath to the end of my days. From Hell I have come, and to Hell I shall return. And if what Yashin said to Nazi is true, then I'll be returning home soon enough. I can freely admit that a monster is my true form. But,"

He moved in closer, to a point where his nose was only an inch or two away from her cheek. "What about you... child?" He asked, his voice deceptively soft and carrying a semblance of endearing quality. His breath would be present on her face and neck. "You killing people with the biggest shit-eating grin on your face, laughing as you tear new holes for the vultures to shit through... I've seen my fair share of that, and I came to the idea that we weren't so different. But now, your heart is bleeding as much as a gutted pig. You've grown weak and frail, allowing yourself to shrink in the face of the idealism that the Gotei 13 holds. How much farther are you going to regress? Will you become like the Nakamura girl, having to hide behind your boyfriend every time a particularly powerful enemy shows up? When the apocalypse comes, will you lay down your guns, huddle up in the fetal position and start bawling your eyes out?" At this point, his smile grew wider to expose his canines.

"When I begin the descent into Hell, I will be laughing and murdering every step of the way. I will step on skulls, break lives and bring the very world to its knees if it means my comrades can live a little longer. If the thought of my insanity ticks you off, go ahead and shoot me."

His words burned into her ears and clawed their way into her mind. She knew that he mistook what she said, perhaps a misuse of words on her part, that she was accusing him of his sanity being in question. Still, this sight of him embracing his monstrous side was...unsettling. Was she ever this bloodthirsty? Perhaps, but that time was over for her she was convinced. Ever since that day happened prior to the moment the war was in the works and everything changed for them.

It was this line of thought that made her tighten her hold on Oliver enough to hold him in place. Just long enough to have her left set of knuckles piston into his jaw's right side. The punch made a sickening clap of skin and bone meeting, a crack heard, indicating that something was close to breaking within that hit. She counted on him falling back onto his bed, with her glaring incredulously at what he said, like he just spouted nonsense.

"You don't get it, do you?" She asked, raising up her bruised knuckles, her fist shaking with emphasis with the fire coursing through her words as much as it shimmered in her eyes. "I wasn't questioning how you do things in a fight. I never thought to nitpick on the ethics of a job or the morals of a fight. There is a time and a place when killing, slaughter, and mayhem is necessary. But this is...there's a fine line between how you treat people who are your sworn enemy with bull's eyes on their heads and the guys who're supposed to be our comrades.

"V-14 is supposed to be our family, blood related or not. I don't care if you were just planning to play a practical joke on him or what, but what you did to him to begin with was just plain wrong. I see you, day in and out, prod people's buttons to get a sick rise out of them. You're a royal jackass and I only tolerate it because you're a damned good shooter and someone I can depend on in the thickest. But...if this is how you treat people who offer you humility in exchange for kindness...just how can you claim anything you do that you consider compassionate more than obligatory? Do you have any heart or feelings that doesn't benefit you in the long run? Or does it always have to involve just you and make sure the outcome always benefits you?"

With a sigh, she let the question hang in the air before the fury died in her heart as well as the words that came next.

"Believe it or not, I wanted to change after that day," Hyōryū lowered her fist, her gaze drifting to the floor as her hands unfurled. Her body shivered, the shuddering memory threatening to claw to her mind's eye. Shaking her head, she concluded aloud, "I was in Hell as far as I was concerned. But I was...given a second chance. We were given a second chance. I was allowed the chance to love and be loved back. To fight for something more than simply money or bloodthirst's sake. It wasn't others who changed me. I changed because I wanted to. I just happened to get help along the way."

Raising her head, she stared at him long and hard as her fists balled up by her hips, "You've got to decide, here and now, what matters more, Ollie. Does the world revolve around you or the people around you? You should make up your mind soon, since you finally got your family back. I'm sure us and them wouldn't want you hanging out in your fuckin' suicidal road of challenging demons and picking fight with noble intentioned samurai. Just sayin'."

He hadn't expected her to punch him.

Nor had he expected the punch to actually break something.

Her fist was like a brick to the face, and his eyes widened in shock as he found himself falling. His body crashed onto his bed, and he reflexively sat himself up to stare at her in disbelief. As a hand reached up to feel the affected area, he felt his jaw partially dislocated. The pain was nothing in comparison to the shock he felt at the idea that she actually hurt him. Out of the majority of the V-14, she was considered at the very least a normal being. Yet a punch had nearly dislocated his jaw. He had been underestimating her strength, and so shocked that he couldn't do anything but sit and listen to what she had to say. He kept that expression of quiet amazement on his face as he looked at her, right up to the point where the question of whether he had a heart came to mind.

That was the moment in where his shock was tinted with anger.

Even as he heard the words spoken concerning the Plinian Movement, he found his nursing hand shaking. His composure was slipping little by little, too quickly for his liking. He could feel a familiar fire burning through his chest, his system setting itself on fire when she found the end of her little speech. He felt his lips pursing, his hidden teeth clenching underneath. His pupils and irises shrank, and his voice was low and quiet when he spoke. "...you think that all that matters to me is me?" He asked rhetorically. "That everything I've done was only to feed my own face? That I was the first one to shoot Mōshin solely because of suicidal tendencies? That I really wanted to pick a fight with Sword Boy for no reason at all?"

There was only a few seconds of silence, before his cradling hand lifted itself off of its face. Its fingers violently clenched into his fists, matching his other hand. In an instant, he had thrown himself off of his bed and stood tall once again. His mouth was now contorted into a snarl, his expression livid as contracted eyes glared daggers at Hyōryū. He didn't even care to monitor his own volume, his voice bellowing and vicious as it spoke.

"IS THAT HOW LITTLE YOU THINK OF ME, YOU UNGRATEFUL BITCH?!!"

He swung a hand out to his side, allowing his fury to sweep the space of the room. "Y'know, I really shouldn't be surprised!!" He seethed. "You haven't been in V-14 as long as me and the Alpha Team have!! But at the very least, I'd figured that you would've still understood!! Ask Anton. Ask Angelika or Shou. Ask all three of them if you have to!! But they'll tell you the exact same thing!! They know that what I do and how I speak with them isn't because of some sadistic drive or anything like that!! It's how I fucking operate!! It's how I speak to my friends!! They've learned to accept that!! It's not my fault Asuka's kid is too far from the social tree!! I came out of my life this way!!"

He returned his arms to his sides, his fists balled so tightly that his nails were digging into his skin. "I take the initiative!! I fire the first shot when we have no choice, when the rest of you are too goddamn scared to even lift a finger!! When Mōshin came along, none of us were willing to challenge him!! Even Mōka, the demi-god of the group, was acting all terrified and shit when she saw him!! She had the power to fight him!! But she was too worried about how everyone would've viewed her if she dared show herself as what she was!! If I hadn't acted, how many of you would've still just sat there and waited until he got bored and decided to waste us?! All this talk about me not having any balls, and yet I was the only fucking one concerned with putting my life down for the sake of the Sect at that moment!! DOES LOSING YOUR LIFE MEAN MORE TO YOU THAN PUTTING IT ON THE LINE WHEN NECESSARY, YOU COWARDLY WHORE?!!"

Unable to stand still anymore, he stormed over to her and once again faced her eye-to-eye. "You may think of me as a selfish, greedy bastard all you want," He growled, his voice coated thickly in its venom. "But the fact of the matter is that things have never gone to my benefit. I have had my face shoved down in shit more times than I can count!! I have had to face insurmountable odds time and time again, and barely any of the outcomes have given me any relief!! But I still fight!! I still raise my middle finger up to everyone and everything!! Because you know why?! Because I don't plan on bowing to anyone else but Angelika!! I don't plan on letting any of you bastards die, as long as I'm breathing and able to hold a sword!! I fight for all of you, and it's not because I'm bound to some fucking contract to do so!! It's out of respect, faith and trust!! This may never reach the ears of the others, but--!!"

This was where his voice started to crack. His angry gaze wavered, and he had to take a few steps back. His head lowered, and he had to take a few breaths in order to keep his voice steady. But when his spoke again, his bitter words were laced with the emotion he never planned on telling anyone else. "I care about you..." He spat. "You fuckers... are the reason I can actually be happy..."

Hyōryū was shocked. It was underwhelming when labeled into a single word, but that's what she was. She was surprised by his vigorous rebuttal, admitting things and confessing things in a violent yet truly sincere fashion. While Hyōryū had always known he had a deep loyalty to the crew, she never knew it was this strong. She always thought it was out of a need of self preservation or that he owed them something so he stayed around. She had pegged his suicidal behavior as something to be ashamed where he called it bravery. Outright stating that he cared for her and the others was the last thing she expected.

These were just words that she didn't expect to come from him.

In the heat of the moment, despite all that happened, Hyōryū felt a wave of emotion that pushed her forward. While he was still off balanced, the red headed woman wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tender hug. Whispering quietly as hint of tears welled up in her eyes, she stroked his head and his back as she tried to console, "I cared about ya too, Ollie. I always have. I just hoped you would say the same someday. Glad I know now..."

Once again, her actions shocked him.

When he felt her touch, it was only by reflex that he flinched. As her arms embraced him, he was left frozen in place. Shocked eyes stared forward at the door, and his arms were held out in a manner that expressed just how unsure they were. He had never expected Hyōryū, of all people, to give him a hug of affection. With all the bickering and arguing they exchanged, he wasn't even expecting a punch to the shoulder or anything. But here she was, holding him in a gesture of comfort and kindness. He closed his eyes, fighting back his tears and allowing a half-hearted chuckle to escape his lips. "Fuck, Sis..." He complained. "Coddling me like this... it doesn't really speak well for a man's pride, you know...?"

Nevertheless, he embraced her back. His arms found their place around her back, and he held her as closely as he could.

Two Halves Rejoin, Will You Listen?
In the middle of the night, save for the prior three whom were wide awake, all slept soundly within V-14's compound. The safety and security allowed to them was only thanks to their newfound legitimacy within the Soul Society. Staked within the Seireitei, any comings and goings of suspicious persons or those who wished to do harm would be kept from their doostep. For this reason, all mercenaries residing within had a passive sense of ease.

But within the quarters of Angelika Hartmann, an unusual event transpired.

Flourishing tongues of purple-blue light sprayed in the middle of the air, spontaneously combusting what seemed to be dozens of sparks of energy. Spraying forth would appear the razor edge of a scythe, pushing out and across the air for someone to appear. Within the severed void came forth a silhouetted being, stepping through the dark empty abyss used for travel. Dark trappings covered the being, whose weapon dissipated into smoke as swiftly as the opening behind him manifested. When the last flecks of fiery light vanished, his hooded visage locked glowing cobalt eyes at her sleeping form.

Walking forward, his steps were quiet and cautious, his right hand outstretched to brush away the bangs across her forehead. A soft smile graced his exposed lower facial features, eyes twinkling with delight. Rubbing his gloved hand around her cheek in a soothing manner, he quietly whispered out to her as he bent close to her dormant form.

"Wake up, my Beautiful Shadow," Yashin murmured as he continued to stroke her hair and face with equal tenderness.

There was the slightest problem.

Ever since several years ago during her days in an Inner Circle, when an assassin had broke into her home to kill her, she had developed a defensive reflex as a result of constant exercise of caution. It had taken several years for her to do so, and it was more than a few times that it nearly failed her. But in time, she was able to act on a dime when it seemed as if her life was threatened. Whenever her sleeping form was encountered by a burglar or murderer, they would find that her waking up would be the last thing they would want. Based from the fact that Yashin was able to touch her without arousing her from slumber was impressive, to say the least.

But the whisper would be the catalyst.

Within an instant, Yashin would not find himself staring at the German's peacefully sleeping face. Instead, he would be looking down the barrel of her trademark pistol.

The trigger was pulled, round after round unleashed into her target's chest. She didn't bother to take the time to identify just who it was that she was shooting. Her body was entirely running on self-defense purposes, and she didn't see it fit to stop herself. She just continued to squeeze the trigger, shooting until the clicking of an dry clip was registered. That was the moment when her senses returned to normal, and she found the ability to discover just what exactly was happening. Her free hand reached over to turn on her lamp, her face expressing restrained confusion as she looked at her would-be "assailant".

With the light exposing Yashin's appearance entirely. The dark long coat, colored a matte grey in hue, lapsed over a black silk robe that lied underneath. His hood, laced within the under-robe, was knocked back during the unloaded clip of Kidō slugs impacting his face. With his visage leaning back along with the rest of his body, it took the gloved man to return to a standing posture to look down at Angelika. An amused expression crossed his face, slight signs of orange indented bullets sliding off his unblemished face without him gesturing to them in the slightest.

"I shall do better on knocking on the door instead of approaching you in person," Yashin spoke lightheartedly, flecking the last of the orange-red hot bullets from his face to the corner of the room. Smiling down at her affectionately, though a good meter away this time, he couldn't help but find her demeanor fetching. Scared, confused, though ready to strike back at any lesser being unfortunate enough to believe her fragile and vulnerable at bedside. With a twinkle in his eyes, he asked in what passed as concern in his voice as he resumed his whispering tone, "I'm sorry I startled you. Were you sleeping alright?"

Yashin...

Once she took him in, all thoughts of an attacker was erased from Angelika's mind. She allowed herself to sit up from her laying position, her legs sliding off of the bed. In contrast to the formal appearance of him, she was a commoner. All that she dawned was a white sleeping gown of silk that reached down below her knees. Her ponytail was undone, allowing her long black hair to flow past the shoulders. Once she felt at ease again, her mouth curled into a smirk. She shifted one leg over the other, setting the pistol beside her and resting her hands on her top knee. "Is that concern I hear in your voice?" She questioned rhetorically, her voice collected and casual. "Funny to hear you being worried about me. But regardless... I was sleeping fine. Better than I was when the creature inside my soul wasn't kept in check." She tilted her head to the side a little, her smirk regressing to a smile. "What? Has the Boogeyman chosen a different career path? To watch over the children instead of spooking them?"

It wasn't how she was expecting to greet him. Not too long ago, she had considered him to be a bitter enemy. But now that the revelation of his true nature was known to her, the idea of him being a target to destroy became too far-fetched for her. Even if that wasn't the case, she had worked out her anger, her desire for revenge abandoned once she remembered their motto: No enemies, only opponents. Still, was a friendly jab too far-fetched in her situation? It might've been, and it might've not been. But she had little reason now to greet him with hostility. They weren't fighting anymore, so at the very least, she could find herself to be polite.

Yashin laughed, genuinely at her play at words. It was understandable, given their initial introductions. He had greeted them through a middle man, a sack of spiritronic flesh to give them a simple task to move an inconsequental thorn from his side. Upon realizing they decided not to complete the contract, he was beside himself in rage and decided to do everything he could to silence them. But, after facing them and new faces alike, he found them too fascinating to simply snuff out in a single encounter. Since then his meetings with Angelika became more dramatic and more enticing with every passing, drawing the two closer and closer.

Their last parting was with a warning and a kiss. While Yashin had plenty of subordinates whom were smitten with him or that he found fetching to a degree, he never found a desire to procreate as some males of physical or spiritual forms would. Not even the desire to find a partner to be romantically involved, as he felt possessing both colleague and enemy alike was more preferable than opening one's self to such a vulnerability. But after being in touch with Angelika for so much time, he found himself experiencing an interesting phenomena beyond his obvious link to his disembodied half.

Still, he couldn't place his finger what it was.

Mere seconds after his laugh, Yashin shook his head and opened his eyes to stare back at her, relaxing in tension immediately, "I'm a new man, so to speak. Ever since the Inner Circle was given its probational pardon our self imposed leader decided to take our organization down a brighter path. I may not be an advocate of her ideals, but I cannot deny the efficiency of her methods and the power to stack."

Leaning back, waving his arms out in presentation, he narrowed his eyes with mischief as he inquired, "Although, I'm surprised you didn't sense it already. Don't you see anything...different about me? Or should I come out and tell you in gory detail as to what's happened to me within recent time?"

Although Angelika's smile faded, her tone was still conversational and amiable. She leaned forward, allowing her forearms to rest on her leg instead of just her hands. "If I had to take an educated guess," She said lightly. "I would say that whatever adventure you've been on rewarded you with a significant amount of power. I didn't need sense to tell that much. After all, what normal being could take such powerful rounds to the face without even a scratch, let alone without moving an inch? I'm looking at the true "you", right?" Her eyebrows briefly furrowed. "No, of course not. Exposing yourself within the bowels of the Soul Society would be the last thing you'd do. You've acquired a new body... one beyond the capabilities of your previous victims. Might I ask just who was the hapless fool you ensnared this time?"

"You're right...and wrong," Yashin said smoothly, walking boldly up to her. Reaching out with his hand be brushed the back of his fingers against her bangs down her left cheek. Letting it slide off, he explained as he laid his palm over her warm shoulder, letting his cool palm gingerly squeeze it. "this is the real me, in all of its glory. What you saw were mere avatars producing a fictitious effigy of myself. My real body lied hidden within another realm none has seen with the naked eye. I am whole in the purest context."

Retracting his hand, he placed it over his chest as his tone grew a bit more somber, his smile retracting into an impassive state, "Nine hundred years ago, a man named Veritas crossed paths with me during the peak of my power. You may know him as the specter of the Black Blood Sect, otherly known as The Keeper for their organization. He performed a powerful spell that created a fission within my being, separating my soul and lessening my strength. Since then, I've had to slowly spread my influence subtly while half of my real body proactively maneuvered himself under another name in the world. You may know him by the alias of Shidai Kagai."

Sliding his palm off his chest, an amused grin worked its way up his face as he concluded, "Recently, the Espada Afilado coordinated an assault on what was left of Aizen's forces. Needless to say, they were all but ultimately victorious. The only catch? Aizen returned in physical form...as I anticipated. Using a shard of his soul in the form of a mock Hogyoku, he ensared one of his followers into a prism of energy used as a catalys to revive him in all of his entirety. At that moment, he let his guard down and I took advantage of the situation. Through the rite of possession I enacted a spell that I studied from a book I stole from Veritas, allowing him to return both halves of my being into a singular cohesive form. Aizen's body, Hogyoku and all, was annihilated. All that is left in the aftermath was myself, stronger and smarter than I ever was nine hundred years ago."

Taking a seat on Angelika's bedside to her left, he smiled simply, his eyes twinkling with bemusement of the weight this knowledge was for her. Even still he nudged her shoulder with his, and asked with a cock of his head, "What do you think of that? Kind of a fascinating tale, isn't it?"

"Fascinating?"

What he would see was Angelika's expression of amusement and contained delight. She lifted a hand up to her cheek, laughing at what she had just heard. "This is rich!" She said, briefly looking away from Yashin. One of her eyes were closed and one of her eyes were open. "Aizen, the immortal and the mastermind of the White War, hung by his own noose! Oh, if only I could have been there to see the look on his face." She chuckled a little more as long as the mirth's lifeline was. When it was pacified again, she returned her arm to her lap and looked forward for a moment. "That must have beenhy he spoke as if he knew you, why Athena knew of you more than we did, why Shinji had first mentioned to us all that his eyes were the same as yours. To think that was just one brick that made up the path to Aizen's ultimate demise..." She turned her head to look at him, the smile on her face growing clearer. "The children were right to run from the likes of you."

She straightened up a little, the smile fading into a somewhat curious look as she eyed the man inquisitively. "What will you do now? Are you still allowing your puppets to freely roam the earth? Do you plan on standing alone, as an individual?"

Thoughtfully, Yashin's smile dimmed and his gaze turned towards the doorway. Ironically it was the direction from where he severed space to enter the room to begin with. Clicking his tongue against his teeth, he leaned forward with his hands placed over his knees, "If you must know, I lost all connection to my Legion the moment I became whole. I am in somewhat contact with them and retain some resonant connection but I no longer possess full disclosed knowledge of their whreabouts. Those who are not indebted or sworn to me are free to do as they please as I have run out of uses for them. Even the Inner Circle is little more than an entertaining distraction. Seihai runs the place with a self imposed leadership that is admirable yet too idealistic for my tastes. Should she call me, I shall aid to the best of my efforts, but I will most likely remain in the dark for some time before that day comes."

Looking over, he cocked his head at a tilting angle before a dawning smile breached his dispassionate expression, "However...I wouldn't mind stretching my legs out for a bit to do some more conventional work. Does your organization possess any openings that I may fill in?"

It was something that Angelika hadn't been expecting - something that was made clear from the expression on her face.

The mastermind behind the late dance of death, her old nemesis of all people, was offering to join her organization and become an ally? She knew that there were still some who still held animosity towards him - particularly Kenja. The immature side of her was flaring, still sore about having to bend backwards on Kenja's insistence to make V-14 the "good guys", saw this as a chance to spite him and earn a bit of payback. But she wasn't going to jump the gun and push him into a spot right away. She didn't have to force it; as far as she was concerned, V-14 was still the fraction of the maximum size. She just wanted to make sure everything was cleared up before she made any sort of decision.

Once again, she flashed him a smile of amusement while raising an eyebrow. "You do realize the ramifications of a request like this, right? You'd be putting yourself in a position under me. Are you sure you would care being one of my subordinates?"

Yashin chuckled at her reaction, as if he had expected it. Leaning forward, he cocked his own left brow up as he whispered. His subtle, sweet enticing breath washed over her face with cool emerald eyes shining towards her dark obs, "I'm quite sure if a proud member of the Sakamoto Clan and The Dominator have no qualms being technical subordinates while still retaining a modicum of authority, I'll be just fine. You don't mind if I have some say in matters, right? After all, I am going to provide this organization privy information for what I find out from my own network of intelligence as well as what happens within the reformed Inner Circle. My validity as a powerful asset should be taken into consideration, no?"

It was here that Angelika raised one of her hands, gently planting the tip of her index and middle finger against his forehead.

"Everyone within the V-14," She said, her smile casually fading away as she looked at him. "Has a voice. What kind of leader would I be if I did not listen to the voices of those who follow me? I am no tyrant." Her fingers applied force, pushing his head back in a minor manner. "Nor am I a woman easily swayed by physical touch." When she pulled her fingertips off of his forehead, she slung them back to mime the shooting of a pistol before returning her hand back to its former position on her lap. One corner of her mouth was pulled upward into a more subtle smirk.

Furrowing his brows slightly at the push via finger tap, Yashin simply chuckled at her lattermost comment. It was almost...enticing to have a new form of challenge he never encountered before. Most things came easily, either through a great amount of patience or through exertion of his own strength. Everything became is within a simple matter of time, with very few possessions out of his reach or incapable of being willed to his side. Here with Angelika with a delicate relationship...it felt like he was treading on thin ice with a blindfold. He knew that one false move could ruin something potentially amazing. If boundaries were in place for a reason, he should respect them dutifully and contentedly.

"Of course not," He responded with a smile, turning away just enough so his right eye gleamed with mischief as it sideglanced her with a smirking grin of his own, "but it's still fun to tease."

She softly huffed, folding her arms across her chest and briefly looking away. "It will take some time, dealing with likes of paperwork and whatnot." She said. "But it shouldn't be too difficult passing you into our fold." A corner of her lip subtly curled upward again. "Most likely, this is going to get me some sort of backlash from the rest of them - particularly from the likes of Kenja. But that is something I can put up with. I would not be where I am if I didn't have at least a little patience. In addition, considering how sudden this is, members to fill in as your respective team won't be that easy to come by. Unless, of course," She glanced over to him. "You know some people that would be interested?"

With a thin, knowing smile Yashin shrugged and evasively answered, "Suppose I do. If things fall through as I expect them to be, you'll be meeting them all quite soon. I can't say how many, but you can expect at least three to be with me when I join this group of yours. Until then, I shall be awaiting your call."

Standing up, Yashin walked a handful of meters towards the doorway, with his back turned towards V-14's leader. Stretching out his right hand out to the adjacent direction, an elegantly shaped scythe manifested within his. With a smooth swiping gesture over the space in front of himself, an azure flaming tear formed within the space inches away from the actual door. Within the opening was a dark chasm, almost as black as an abyss. Resting his scythe over his shoulder, the mastermind tossed over his left shoulder what looked like a earpiece, capable of being adorned just behind the cleft of her outer ear.

"A convienant way of getting in touch with me," Yashin explained without turning his head. But what he did turn his head over was to peer back at her with a dark smile, "and don't worry about that Fullbringer. I have something he wants and I intend to rectify that mistake. As soon as he calms down and we cross paths, our petty feud will be much more defused. At worst, he'll keep resenting me. At best, he'll only be annoyed by my presence."

On reflex, Angelika thrust her hand out and caught the object, opening her palm soon afterward to inspect it. Her eyes directed themselves to Yashin as he spoke, meeting his gaze evenly when he looked over her shoulder. They only idly took note of the portal that he had made for himself, considering the presence of his otherworldly nature was already a strong thing associated with him. "Oh, I don't have any worries about Kenja's vendetta with you." She answered smoothly. "If he wishes not to be hypocritical, he will grow to tolerate your presence. Until then..." The hand that held the earpiece jerked, tossing the object of interest up in the air. When it descended back down to earth, it was caught between two fingers. She lowered those fingers to point at Yashin as a sign of acknowledgement.

"Farewell... servant of darkness."

Laughing quietly, Yashin turned his head and muttered aloud as he stepped into the portal's gateway, "You misconstrued that, my dear Angelika. I do not serve darkness. I am its master."

As suddenly as he appeared, Yashin disappeared into the fade from whence he came. The tear in space soon wrinkled back into normalcy, erasing any trace or sign he had ever been there. The only real visible nuance of his arrival would be the slight dilation in the air from where his scythe had cut through space, leaving a distortion that in time would eventually fade. Other than that, Angelika Hartmann was now, for the moment completely alone.

It was in this moment of silence that she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Her hand set the earpiece on her drawer, and it wasn't long before she found herself sliding back into the comfort of her bed. As she pulled the covers back over herself and lay her head on the pillow, she could hear the whispers of the Shadow. While normally this would have been a cause of alarm in its earlier days, it was now a sign of protection. Now that the thing was pacified, it had taken up the role of her guardian - most prominently concerning her dreams. It made its connection to Yashin all the more humorous, and she couldn't help but give an amused smile with a tint of warmth. "I hope he doesn't make a habit out of babying me too much..." She said to herself. "If I get any more special treatment... I just might get spoiled."

With that being said, she closed her eyes and drifted back to the realm of her dreams.

Your Decision Is What?! An Eerie Newcomer
The next day that followed started nearly at the crack of dawn, for those who were used to sleeping in through the morning. Angelika had gathered practically every present member of V-14. From obscure members such as Shou, Kaitlyn and Genesis to invaluable squad leaders such as Mōka and Asuka all gathered. Some took it in stride while others looked incredibly disgruntled at having their precious bedrest being stolen for the sake of something that could be discussed later in the day.

"The Hell, Angie? For once I was having a good piece of sleep," Yajū groaned, his eyes briefly looking over at Genesis in confirmation that they had shared the bed last night. A tired smile played at his lips before it curdled into a sneer at Angelika. He wanted to sleep all day like that, but there was no going back now, thanks to her.

"For once, I had to side with him," Mōka murmured, a yawn escaping her lips, her hand hurriedly covering it to stifle it. Lowering it down, her eyes blinked haggardly at Angelika, idly scratching at her crimson nightrobe's posterior. Her hair was frayed in all directions, giving her a clear case of bedhair. "what's dish 'bout?"

"A development that occurred as of last night." Angelika answered, her arms behind her and her palms planted on what was a meeting room's table as she leaned against it. Her eyes drifted over to each and every one of her fellow room occupants, from the disgrunted to the more relaxed. "Apologies if I happened to be disturbing anyone else's good slumber..." She rolled her eyes, particularly looking at Yajū when she spoke the next set of words. "Or any unmentioned night escapades."

"Heh." Genesis snorted, ignoring the glare of annoyance from Shou.

"But this bit of news was too important to wait." Angelika continued. "Depending on your attitude, it'll be bad as well as good."

"Bad news?" Oliver groaned, heaving a heavy sigh and briefly slumping over. "Welp, there goes my day of sobriety." Ignoring a few looks of surprise directed his way, he walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door. His hands rummaged around, particularly in the section where the alcoholic beverages were kept. "Gonna start this off with a fresh can of depth charge." He stopped for a moment, looking thoughtful. "That's slang for a 24 ounce, if you didn't catch my drift."

"Dad, could you pass me one?" Kaitlyn was sitting at one of the seats, looking quite worse for wear. Her eyes were baggy, and she had an elbow propped on the table while holding her head as if she had acquired the biggest hangover. "I really could use something to lighten me up right now."

An appalled look crossed Oliver's face, and he swiftly turned his head to look at his daughter. "Kaitlyn Holmes!" He said indignantly, his exclamation causing her to jolt up and look at him with widened eyes. "Shame on you! To think that I would advocate one of my own children taking up a hobby as bad as drinking! I would never--" However, he abruptly cut himself off with a snicker, his "stern" expression regressing to a more jocular one. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Catch!" He promptly tossed her the can he had acquired, reaching in the fridge to pull out another one.

While Kaitlyn sighed in relief as she caught it, Shou regarded his former partner with shock and disbelief. "Oliver!"

"Oh, shut up." Oliver rolled his eyes. "She's grown. If she wants to drink, it's her business."

Genesis cocked an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest as she watched her "elder" sister pop the can open. "You drink?" She asked, almost as if she had seen Kaitlyn discover the lost city of Atlantis. "You, Miss Goody Goody Two Shoes, taking up alcoholism?"

"I only drink on special occasions." Kaitlyn said bluntly, briefly passing a glare over at Genesis. "And this just so happens to be an emergency."

"On second thought," Mōka called out, her voice becoming more audible as her messily red-locked head turned towards those standing or staggering on their feet, "calling it now, who wants shots? I'll get some fer y'all so you can stomach whatever Angie's got in store fer ya."

"I!" Hyōryū called out, elbowing Anton in the chest, further emphasized with a nod at him. Her standard attire from the other night, hadn't changed other than a leather jacket draped over her sports bra clad chest. "get one for Anton. If we're going to be doused with depression this early, might as well not be sober for it."

"Ow." Anton deadpanned.

"I don't understand that kind of reasoning," Shadō said bluntly, merely standing tall while donning his normal trench coat and hat.

"Might as well get stoned while I'm awake," Yajū murmured, raising a hand up with acknowledgement.

"I guess I might as well," Shito raised his own hand, earning a nod of respect from his boss.

"Count me in!" Zaii shouted, almost exuberantly beside Shinshin, waving both arms over his head. "I want in on this mutual drinking of despair we have going!"

"How debased," Shinshin thought with an irritated glare fixed on his tired visage. Looking over at his colleague, he arched a brow slightly with wonderment and subdued annoyance, "I wonder why he's in such high spirits?"

"It seems I'm one of the only ones who got a good night's rest, more or less, so I don't need it," Kenja said with a shake of his head.

After hearing all of their reactions, Omega Squad's leader went back to the fridge of their designated living room and retrieved a number of chilled beers. Tossing them, they flew underhanded or overhanded to the respective people, falling into their possession one way or another. The hisses of lids being uncorked or uncapped was heard as those present who requested to be less sober began to consume the essence of their bottles. It took less than a minute for them all to douse themselves with alcohol of some sort, eventually boiling down to Angelika simply breaking the ice.

"Right, then..." After shaking her head in the most subtle of manners, Angelika decided to speak again. "The good news is that there will be another team addition to V-14. I got a call from the appointed leader last night explaining his desire to be recruited. After going over a brief background check as well as making sure his past performances were up to par with our standards, I found it acceptable to bring him in. I am not sure when he will appoint team members, but we have established that once he does, he'll inform me right away."

"Whoo!" Yusuke, uninhibited by his sudden wake from slumber, demonstrated that he was still energetic as ever by thrusting his fists up to the ceiling in a cheer. "New teammates! New buddies!" It earned a giggle from Rika, who was sitting beside him.

"That sounds like like the good dose of news, Angelika." Asuka said, leaning against a wall with her arms folded across her chest. She looked at Angelika curiously. "Too good to stir up feelings of negativity."

A slow smirk came across Angelika's face. "Oh, it can be interpreted as bad considering that the appointed leader in question is a former enemy." She discreetly took pleasure when see saw multiple faces take on a mannerism of surprise and wariness, keeping her eyes on Asuka. "You should know. You were the first to actually hurt him."

The Sakamoto heiress didn't need another clue. Her eyes widened, and it was one of the few times that she looked genuinely shocked about something. It made Angelika's grin grow, especially when she managed to utter out a response. "...oh, by the Spirit King, you didn't."

"I most certainly did." Angelika answered smoothly. "And despite the opposition I know I'll be facing for it, I can tell you that I knew exactly what I was doing."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Hyōryū asked crassly, scrunching up her flushed nose as her brows furrowed downward. She idly spun her half drank bottle in one hand, placing her free hand on her hip. Cocking her head to the side, she queried again, "whozzat we're gettin'?"

"So? Who cares who he is, right?" Yajū asked incredulously, already looking resigned as he took another long swig. Leaning against an adjacent wall, he swirled his own bottle in hand while he spoke plainly, "I had to deal with the fact Shito was a spy and he's still here, right? I'm sure whoever gets placed in our ranks is good enough for Angie if she has no problem with it."

"Your words are so touching, really," Shito said with a sigh, sipping out of his own nearly empty bottle.

"This doesn't bode well," Shadō murmured, his eyes averting from nearly anyone's gaze that might linger to him. Even without the vocal hint, he realized who could have attracted Angelika Hartmann's attention enough to warrant a new squad. Not to mention she had no problem with it despite the opposition. Looking over at a mildly interested Kenja, he knew better than to blare out what was on his mind.

That was more along the lines of Omega Leader's directive.

"You're sure about this?" Mōka asked with narrowed, red eyes as she looked much more attentive. Staring hard into Angelika's darker orbs, her voice almost sounded like a whisper, unable to be deciphered by the entirety of their group. After all, she knew than to throw tact aside in a situation like this. "this man you're bringing in...why him? What could he possibly offer us that could outweigh the potential danger he poses to us as a whole?"

"Absolutely nothing." Angelika's response was blunt and straight-to-the point, almost to a rather eerie extreme. She lifted herself so that she was sitting on the table, her arms folding across her chest. "But it's not a situation that I haven't come across before. I am a woman who has made a career out of taking risks, necessary or otherwise. This may not be a foolproof choice. But, then again, when has it ever been? Every decision made has its consequences. If anything of unfortunate circumstance comes up, I am quite ready to shoulder that responsibility if need be."

"And who exactly would be this risk, then?" Shinji inquired from his own seated position at the table, his eyes regarding Angelika with a hawk's gaze. His voice caused her to look over her shoulder at him. "More importantly, who would be the additional targets of interest that would be situated alongside this risk?"

"You'll see." Angelika responded, swiftly turning up to him and raising a finger to her ear. On it was the earpiece she had been given, and she clicked it on. "Hello?" She inquired, pausing for a few seconds in silence to register the voice on the other end. "Yes, it's me. I'm going to need you back at the HQ. Whenever you're ready, and if you happen to have any selected team members yet, bring them as well. Thank you."

"Just who the Hell are we talking about he-EEP?!" Hyōryū began to ask, finding herself squeaking out with fright and shock. What she saw was the tip of a scythe's blade appear in the middle of the air, cleaving through space, generating an azure flamed opening right in the middle of their midst. An ominous pressure was felt by all, both memorable and new, as a hooded being treaded through with slow, purposefully slow footsteps. His theatrical entrance gave an audibly silent pause as he continued to march towards Angelika, Mōka, and Asuka.

Behind him, trailed three feminine figures, all donning their own black cloaks that concealed their normal attire clinging to their bodies. Each one had an expression ranging from mild indifference, clear annoyance, and jubilous excitement. Their presences were practically snuffed out in comparison to the ringleader who stood fast in front of V-14's circle of gathered members. But still, he looked genuinely different from how any of them had expected that it took some off guard or even clueless to who his identity is.

"I'm here as you called, Angelika," Yashin said, his voice unmistakable to those within earshot. His bright emerald eyes locked onto hers, briefly acknowledging the shocked look of Mōka to what he could figure as a cautiously staring Asuka. A smile stretched across his face, showing his pearly white teeth as he expressed his pleasure in seeing her again, so soon. "how may I and my subordinates serve you?"

"N-N-No way!" Hyōryū gaped, her body hunched over and her arms limp at Anton's side, "that's...Yashin?!"

"Shady bastard...what the Hell is he doing here?" Yajū snarled, reaching his hand up to grasp his own scythe with readiness as he pushed himself off the wall.

Shadō narrowed his gaze at the man, remembering the last time he personally crossed paths with him. He had taken him apart, Zanpakutō activated and all. His power was a maelstrom of emotions and efficiency that he couldn't grasp what happened before it was over. Now, his mere scent seemed to have changed. Was this the real him or did he undergo a transformation he didn't witness personally?

"So that's Yashin?" Shinshin murmured, his hand reaching for a sword that wasn't in his possession. Balling his fists uselessly, he was left to stare with a grimace on his otherwise stoic expressive face at Yashin and his three colleagues' backs. They didn't seem familiar to him, but he could tell if they were in service to him, they must be quite skilled. Daring to approach his blind spot would be a mistake, especially if he didn't come here in bad tidings. Looking over to Kaitlyn who was near his side, he could only think of a way to shield her from harm, should things turn for the worst.

"Angelika invited him," Shito said matter-of-fact, being surprisingly calm despite the very abrupt entrance. His right hand stuck out to stop Zaii moving forward, his hand already dragging a noticably behemoth bandaged sword in tow. Shaking his head at him, he continued to speak in a logical manner, "if he's under invitation and expected by the boss, we shouldn't jump to any brash conclusions."

"Brash?!" Kenja's voice cried out, his body pivoting around and in front of Rika whom was standing beside Yusuke. His stalwart, towering frame already ebbed with excess Reiatsu. Teeth gnashed, vibrating courtesy of his throat emitting a level-toned growl, his eyes gleaming a dark burgundy akin to darkened embers of dying flames. Glaring at Angelika and then at Yashin, he pointed specifically at the latter as he yelled out in a bellowing voice, "what's brash is the idea of bringing this monster into our home! I want to hear a damned good explanation why he's here and why I shouldn't be wringing his neck with my bare hands?!"

"Didn't she explain or were you too deaf to hear her words?" Yashin asked rhetorically, sideglancing him from the fold of his hood, meeting his glare with his smooth stare back. "I am joining this organization. The three lovely ladies behind me are my current subordinates. They, in turn, will be colleagues of yours. Please be sure to keep your claws tucked and your fangs pulled back, Kenja Kodai, or you'll make yourself more of a fool than you already are."

"BASTARD!" Kenja yelled out, his hand reaching for the hilt of his large claymore affixed to his back. He looked ready to leap into a fight, sword swinging, even among his comrades. He couldn't care as long as his life's ambition stood before him. Nothing, in his mind, could stop him from attaining his vengeance!

"Don't you dare!!"

Angelika's voice suddenly raised from cool and composed to sharp and commanding. After that, a few seconds of silence swept the room. While everyone had looks of shock, surprise and even anger on their faces, Angelika now had a piercing glare as her eyes locked onto Kenja. "If you even let an inch of that metal be released from its scabbard, I will put you down faster than Old Yeller." She said, her tone laced thickly with ice. She switched her gaze over to Yajū, as she had seen him ready to pull out his respective weapon. "That goes for you too, Yajū. I don't care what kind of grudge you're holding. I'm not having a fight start this early in the morning or this place being blown off its foundations."

"This is... a most surprising decision, kachō." Shou said quietly, his gaze looking over with suspicion at Yashin and his colleagues. "To think that you would employ such a person as part of V-14..."

"I'm sure I needn't remind you of our motto, Shou." Angelika said, her voice calming as she spoke to him. "You and Alpha Team remember the motto as clear as day. No enemies..."

"...only opponents." Shou finished, his voice joined in by the resigned voice of Anton and the somewhat amused voice of Oliver. The latter of the two chuckled, almost as if the entire thing was a joke.

"Well, shit. With the way we were going at each other, I would've never seen this coming!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in humor. "This is... I can't even begin to describe this! I'm almost speechless!"

His cheer caused his Russian companion to cock an eyebrow at him. "Why are you so happy? I thought with how you reacted to him when he first spoke your name out loud, you'd be just as pissed off as Kenja."

"I was!" Oliver agreed, motioning to Yashin with a lopsided grin. "But now, we're not the enemy anymore. Now we have a chance to sit in the back seat and watch just how exactly he drives! If we happen to come across another god slash devil slash omnipowered thing and he pulls all that puppetmaster shit he pulled out on us, things might actually go a little bit better than they did during the war! Not to mention it's going to be a hella fun to watch!"

"Did I ever tell you how psycho you were?" Anton questioned, tilting his head to the side and frowning.

Oliver smirked. "Oh, you don't need to tell me. I'm already aware."

One of the hooded figures - specifically, the cheeriest of the trio - let out a chuckle and a snort at that.

Hyōryū sighed with relief, glad that in some sense the situation was defused. She hadn't brought any of her guns on the way to this meet, and from the looks of it, most of the rest didn't either. Only those out of constant habit or paranoia brought their respective articles with them upon being summoned. Noticing that even Yashin, who had cut through space, had come in with no weapon on his person.

She saw Shinshin relax slightly through the dialogue exchange between her boyfriend and Oliver. The nonchalance of Oliver brought a small smile to her face, glad that last night's altercation hadn't dampened or soured his spirits. His confidence even caused the rest of the ruffled members to relax, if only a little at the verbatim of the two. Yajū begrudgingly let loose his grip on his weapon, growling to himself as he crossed arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. He muttered a string of inaudible curses, something along the lines of no fun being involved these kinds of events.

Even Kenja, who was about ready to cut Yashin down where he stood, had slowly loosened his hand from the hilt of his Fullbring weapon. Straightening himself, her lowered his hand to his side as he glowered at his smug face. With a gnashing turn of his head, he turned on his heels, broodingly parting through the crowd of fellow associates. Wordlessly he left, walking down the corridor, soon after was heard smashing his quarters' door behind him.

"Huh," Mōka crossed her arms over her chest, leaning over to speak into Angelika's ear, "here I thought that was going to end a whole lot worse. Nice work, Angie."

"Quite," Yashin concurred with a nod, facing her fully once again as his gaze left the spot where Kenja retreated, "I'm satisfied that this organization's leader doesn't lack the charisma needed to put her followers in their place. Otherwise, well, I'd almost expect his blood on the floor given your reputation as a remarkable fighter."

"Oi," Mōka jabbed a finger at Yashin's shoulder, causing him to look over with an amused expression as she stared hard back at him, "I know what kind of relation you have with our blood and our common ancestor. Don't go riling up people here or you and me will have some words to share outside. Capiche?"

"Of course, Dominator," Yashin said with a crisp nod, "I only compliment dear Angelika's prowess as a Leader, both in tongue and in steel. I meant no disrespect to her or her comrades. Unless you yourself are accusing me as someone who likes to stir up such chaos amongst those he wishes to befriend?"

Growling, Mōka said nothing, only balling her fists underneath her arms.

It was here that another event of surprise occurred.

Rika, who had only paused to spare a worried glance over where Kenja had stormed out, had stood up from her chair and was approaching them with her hands folded behind her back. It caused Yusuke to look up in query at her - something that she only caught in his voice. "Rika?" He inquired, tilting his head to the side a little. But she opted to ignore him in favor of keeping her gaze onto Yashin and the three figures that acted as his "bodyguards". She idly noted the figure that had laughed before looking with curiosity at her, stopping in front of Yashin with her hands folded behind her back. She held a rather nervous and sheepish expression on her face, smiling awkwardly as she met V-14's former nemesis face-to-face. She was certain that the majority of eyes were on her now, thanks to her bold approach.

"H-hi...?" She began softly. "It's... nice to see you as a friend and not an enemy, Yashin." She brought one of her hands to scratch the back of her neck in her nervousness. "I-I'm Rika Nakamura, the translator, recorder and advanced technological expert of Gamma Team. Pleased to meet you, sir..."

"Cute..." The blue-haired hooded woman whispered, only barely being caught by Rika. This caused her cheeks to tint a hint of red, but she chose not to respond to it.

"Wow, didn't know you swung that way," Yūyo murmured with an annoyed roll of her eyes.

"It was just a comment. I don't know why you need to pass along your own two cents," Kōkō replied in a terse manner, causing the prior to lock gazes. The intensity was enough that someone could swear they saw sparks fly between them.

"Well now, aren't you the brave one?" Yashin commented with a delighted tone, turning fully to greet Rika. Reaching out with his right hand, he mussed her head, fondly stroking it before retracting it. Smiling down at her he nodded to her as he said hospitably to her, "it's nice to meet you as well, Rika. Perhaps we can get to know each other better, yes?"

"Keep yer hands off, buddy. That's Kenja's girl yer touchin'," Yajū commented from the far wall, an unamused look crossing his face as he sneered with disapproval through the masses. "unless you're wanting to lose a limb from him, hands off."

"It's just my way of showing affection," Yashin said matter-of-factly. Cocking his head, his grin widened, adding a tint of darkness from his bright emerald eyes as he commented back, "should I kiss her hand instead or would that be going too far for you sensitive types?"

"Down boys," Mōka called out, snapping a glare at her own subordinate who shrunk under her heated gaze before she returned to lock eyes with Yashin once more, "I mean it, don't make trouble here. It's bad enough that your...issues with us were not that long ago but quite recent, but those with personal grudges with you won't have any problem rekindling old flames of hatred. Don't entice them with the opportunity or else I will have to step in. Angelika included."

"Playful banter hardly counts as mischievous. You people really need to loosen up a bit," Yashin said with a guttural chuckle.

"I know, right?" Oliver grunted. "The moment everyone starts becoming good guys, it's like a mandatory thing for sticks to be shoved up their butts. It's becoming like the Sect meetings every second..."

"Be that as it may," Angelika added, directing her gaze over to Yashin. "Mōka does have a point. Not everyone is so keen to let go, as you have clearly seen. Joking around isn't something new around here, but I would advise you to minimize stepping on other people's toes. At the very least, if you really need to pick a fight with anyone, do it outside of this building." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Better yet, do it on the property of the Gotei 13. As far as I'm concerned, they need some forceful renovation."

"Girls!" After she had crouched to avoid getting hit by the proverbial sparks between her two comrades, the jovial hooded girl stood up between them. Her arms wrapped around both of their shoulders, pulling them into a hug that would've been considered too close for comfort. She gave each of them a pouting glare. "This is not the time and place to fight. This is a time to have fun, enjoy ourselves, be happy! So, smile!" She fixed her glare in particular on Yūyo. "Smile, you midget goth!"

Forcing a plastic smile, Yūyo dropped it as quickly as it was demanded, "You happy, princess? I don't feel like obliging you more than once today."

"Can you stop hugging me now?" Kōkō asked as she squirmed in in her grip.

"Of course," Yashin bowed his head to Angelika and smiled apologetically to Mōka, "forgive my improper mannerisms. I normally don't socialize outside of mutual colleagues of common interest. It is rare I ever interacted with people other than through my own avatars. This is...refreshingly new for me."

"Yeah well, I guess you don't have to adapt too quickly. Just don't start anything and I won't have a problem with ya," Mōka said by wiping her finger across her nose. Looking over to the rest of the conglomerate who stood, more or less, silently. Smiling she crossed her arms and called out to them, "even with the beers, most of ya look tired as fuck. You can go back to bed or do whatever you'd like now that we got the cat out of the bag. Nothing really else keeping you here, right Angie?"

"Please say yes!" Hyōryū whined out, pulling on Anton's sleeve as she waved her beer in the air as if it was a flag of surrender, "I so want to go back to bed!"

"You act like a needy person sometimes," Shadō murmured with a sly grin.

"Not everyone can just meditate through the day, Trenchie!" Hyōryū hissed back.

"If they are going," Yashin began, turning to face Angelika with his hood drawn back, revealing his spiky locks of dark blue hair. With his emerald eyes shining in the resonant light of the living room, his smile became more appealing and less of a menacing feature. It was almost comforting to see, "might you guide myself and my subordinates to our quarters? I'd like to familiarize myself with the layout of this headquarters and to navigate to my place properly."

"Of course." Angelika answered, idly noting Manami's pout as she released her compatriots. She folded her hands behind her back, making her approach to the exit. "If you all would follow me, I'll get you situated."

Anton gave a good-natured roll of the eyes. But he wrapped an arm around Hyōryū shoulder's and gave her an assuring grin. "Don't worry, Hyō. I've learned not to be much of a morning person, either. C'mon, we've still got a few hours..."

Oliver gave a scoff, waving a dismissive hand towards those who were favoring a retreat back into slumber. "Eh, you guys are wimps! Once you're up, you're up for the rest of the day." He taunted, emptying his can before proceeding to toss it over his shoulder into a nearby trash can. "But hell. I think I'm gonna go take a shower and get ready. The early day's going to waste the more I stay here."

"A morning walk sounds good for me, too..." Kaitlyn muttered, taking another sip before standing up herself. "I think after I get dressed proper, it'll be time to see the outside."

"If you do not mind the intrusion, may I accompany you?" Shinshin asked lowly, quickly stepping up to her right, ensuring his voice couldn't be heard by Oliver's retreating form. He wished to spend more time alone and without drawing attention to the two of them. A leisurely stroll sounded like the kind of thing he'd enjoy, especially at this time of day.

By this point in time, Kaitlyn was used to his habit of suddenly moving next to her before speaking. She gave him a warm smile as she looked over to him. "Sure thing, Shinshin." She replied. "Just give me a little time, and we'll be out of here before you know it."

Hyōryū nodded sleepily as she leaned into Anton's grasp, allowing him to shepard her away from the living room as the rest of the team divided to other parts of HQ. While some returned to their quarters others went to the gym, outside, or the kitchen. The room soon emptied just around the point Yashin and his triplet of subordinates.

As they walked in step with Angelika, Yashin couldn't help but ask her as he walked to her right, adorned with a smile and a glancing gaze from his left side towards her, "So these quarters...are they large enough to complement my subordinates as well as myself? Or are there multiple rooms adjacent to each other? I have no problem accommodating due to space being an issue as i can make due but I just want to be sure what I'm working with."

"Since this development was so sudden," Angelika explained, her hands folded behind her back as she walked. In only her sleeping attire and walking the floor with bare feet, she was still carrying a semblance of professionalism about her. "Finding rooms for all of you to dwell in separately isn't going to happen. Fortunately, there is a room large enough to accommodate all four of you without much hassle. So I hope you can get used to living co-ed style."

"I don't suppose the big guy knows about any of this, does he?" Manami inquired politely, causing Angelika to look over her shoulder at her.

"Big guy?"

"You know, the one that stormed out of here after trying to attack Yashin-sama." Although she kept her mirthful smile, there was a sudden dim of the light in her eyes. The next words would be muttered under her breath. "The one that called him a "bastard" and lived to tell about it..."

If there was any indication that Angelika had heard it, she showed no sign of it. She turned her head back forward, her face showing mild enlightenment. "Oh, you mean Kenja? By this point, I can presume he knows. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering..." At this point in time, the smile had faded from Manami's face. She put a hand to her chin and cupped it lightly with a finger and thumb. The look in her eyes was a thoughtful one. "He's... an interesting one, I have to say. Can't say I'm surprised to see someone like him under your service."

Angelika was almost tempted to stop at this, taken aback by the idle comment. She cocked an unseen eyebrow and frowned, under the impression that the emotive subordinate had seen something that she herself hadn't. "Oh, really?" She questioned with a bit of a sarcastic drawl.

"He's a man passionate about the ideals of justice and guardianship over those he implies deserve it. However, sometimes that line of justice he preaches blurs into vengeance quite nicely. His zeal sometimes gets the better of him, whether he wants to admit that or not," Yūyo explained in an annoyed, level tone as if she spoke with experience about him. She'd barely even acknowledge Angelika's reactions, as she kept her face pointing forward without ever angling it in a way that dictated she was speaking to her specifically.

Yashin cut with a low chuckle, coming across as chiding, "Now Yūyo, let's leave the past behind us. Whatever history you had with your former mentor will have to be put aside for the greater good of this organization. Otherwise I'll be wondering if I should chain you to the room to keep the two of you from killing each other."

"Yes, Lord Shiyōnin," She replied in an obedient monotone manner.

It caused Angelika's eyes to widen, the surprise becoming even more prominent when she heard the exchange.

There was only one time Kenja had referred to it, and that was way back when Alpha Team had first confronted with him. He had referred to it as "something precious" stolen from him courtesy of the Inner Circle. To be honest, it was just a shot in the dark. But if she was right, what he had been referring to all along was this former "apprentice", of sorts. It would make sense out of Kenja's boiling hatred for Yashin, what with the master of darkness seducing her out of the Burning Knight's tutoring and into his own. She looked over her shoulder at Yūyo. "You had a "past" with him?" She inquired, a curious tint to her voice.

"It's all a front!" Manami whispered - or at least, used a whispering voice, as her volume was still loud enough for all to hear. Momentarily, she abandoned her serious attitude in order for her more silly one. "She may act as if she is dead to the world and all of its people. But inside, all she really wants is for him to notice her. Don't listen to a thing she says! All she really means is "Notice me, senpai! Notice me!""

"Now Manami-"

"He saved me when my entire family was being systematically hunted by Hollows," Yūyo said emotionlessly while interrupting Yashin. Though her words seemed monotone, a hint of bitterness crossed her lips as they curled inward to her barely visible teeth. As they continued walking her gaze grew more distant and less cold. It appeared like she could retell the very scenery of her past before her gaze while still being locked into the present. "I was a child in an orphanage, running and scared, hunted down by a monster who callously tossed aside my friends and the caretakers who blocked its path. It wasn't until I had no way out he appeared. Like a knight in shining armor he stepped in between me and the beast, slaying it where it stood. I don't know if it was guilt, sympathy or genuine adoration for me that led him to raise and care for my well-being. But regardless what happened that day, my whole life changed, for better or worse."

Turning her gaze to pointedly glare at Manami she spoke back icily, "My past is my own business. Bring it up in the company of strangers without my permission and I'll reap that childish face off and replace it with something more befitting. A tapestry of mud would fit your ugly head, now wouldn't it?"

"You guys," Kōkō sighed with annoyance.

"Now girls, please get along," Yashin chided quietly, turning his head around his left shoulder to squint threateningly at all three of them, aiming to put them into a state of submission, "I wouldn't want you to make fools of yourselves to our hostess and benevolent leader, now would you?"

It was a face that Manami hadn't wanted to see.

She almost stopped in her tracks when she saw that glare leveled at her and her colleagues. The cheery look she held constantly instantly withered away, and for a few seconds, she was looking back at him with fear. It wasn't just fear out of being punished. The act of punishment was something she didn't care much for. Instead, it was the very idea that she was being viewed as an unruly element who needed to be discipline by the very one she idolized so much. She didn't want to undermine his generosity, especially after he had went to such lengths to preserve her life. So seeing those eyes and hearing those words caused her heart to beat much faster than she would've liked.

She thought quickly, putting on a smile and reaching to pull Yūyo and Kokō into another abrupt group hug. "O-of course not, my Lord!" She exclaimed. "We're much more mature and responsible people than that. We'd never go out of our way to make you or each other look stupid--"

"Actually," Angelika cut her off, not looking at them as she spoke. Her expression was one of annoyance and her tone was an indication that it wasn't the first time a subordinate did stupid things in front of her. "I don't really care if you feel maintaining a professional attitude or not is key to earning my good graces. I mean, really. For the most part, three-fourths of my underlings are idiots. Sometimes, it feels like I'm even baby-sitting. But at the very least, they're able to work together and effectively when needed. That's all what I really expect... for you to perform whatever assignments you're given to the best of your ability."

"Oh, so that was your reason for tolerating their antics," Yashin said pointedly, a bout of understanding mingling with snark. Smiling with a sense of relief, he turned his head over his shoulder to gaze at the three. Reaching out, he mussed Manami's head affectionately, murmuring to her in particular, "sorry for my sharp tone. I shan't make the same mistake again."

"Now you're just spoiling her," Kōkō mumbled with a roll of the eyes.

"Tch," Yūyo shook free from Manami's hug, casting a scowl at her before looking away. Taking the rim of her hood she pulled it over her beatuiful night hued tresses, saying aloud, "don't touch me, Manami. I'll make you regret it if you do it again."

Sighing, Yashin turned back to Angelika and shrugged sheepishly, "Girls will be girls, heh?"

"Ugh, you're such a butt, Yūyo~"

Angelika smirked. "Careful what you say. Those girls will be staying with you for quite a while, all things considering."

This was where she stopped, reaching a closed door. The V-14 leader stood beside it, gesturing toward it as she explained. "These are your quarters. Feel free to grab your things and unpack at any time you wish in the event that you have anything of value to bring with you. Anything and everything within this room will be your responsibility. The key card to it is underneath the pillow, and it's the only one that'll open this particular room, so take care not to lose it under any circumstance. Are there any questions?"

"I've got one." Manami said immediately, poking a finger up into the air. "Anyone wanna come with me? I think I'm gonna go mingle with some of my new colleagues for a bit. Might as well, considering that we're gonna be with them for who knows how long..."

"If only to keep you out of trouble and that I don't have any plans, sure," Kōkō said nonchalantly with a shrug. Looking over to see Yūyo entering the room with her back to them, it was clear she was in no mood to commute with anybody. Inwardly she thought that was for the best, especially since Manami and her were not getting along at the moment. Nodding to Yashin, she asked in a crisply attentive tone that belied her loyalty to him, "is there anything else you need of us, milord?"

"No, feel free to get to know your fellow squadmates," Yashin said with a wave of his hand, giving free reign to Manami to guide her non-commital partner to go wherever she desired. Turning to the room he inspected it with a few long strides, giving way for his cloak to flourish as his footsteps echoed within the vast space. Based on the flourescent lighting, the mutual cots lined up along a single wall with only two interlocking rooms to the right left (with the latter being the main bedroom and the prior being the restroom) the furnishings appeared spartan at best.

Nodding with staisfaction, Yashin turned around on his heel and smiled gratefully to Angelika, adding a bow of his head to her to emphasize his thankfulness, "I appreciate the accomodations. I can make use of this space. Are there any duties I should perform or errands you need me to run? I'd hate to gather dust and not do anything so if you ever need help, please just ask."

"You can rest easy for a while." Angelika said simply, giving a nod in response. She glanced towards the two base travelers, with Manami giving a happy squeal as she walked away with her partner in two. "It's still rather early on in the day for us to be going anywhere, as you can plainly see by my own attire." Her eyes gestured to her own form. "How you use this free time is entirely up to you. So good luck," She gave a polite wave as well as a small smirk. "And welcome aboard." With that finishing statement, she turned and walked away to her own particular destination.

"Glad to be aboard, my Shadow Queen," Yashin murmured in response, watching her retreating form veer around the corner. With a smile, he closed the door and turned to walk to the center of the room. When he reached its center, his right hand opened up in a splayed manner, creating a series of rivulets within the space around him. As violet hued energy crackled around his fingertips, he exhaled aloud and unleashed a bubble of spacial redefining energy around him.

What was once a spartan furnished and spaced room quickly turned into a lavishly spacious area. The cots aligned in the wall were now part of a series of queen-sized beds with particularly colored and quilted mattresses. The enclosure they were part of had a number of colorful to mesmerizing designs enamored across the wall and ceiling, creating a mesmerizing sea of majestic swirls of light and refractions to those within. Furnishings were lacquered and dyed in a way similar to the richest of woods, each with their own detailed carved quality as they aligned and stacked the various parts of the room itself.

In the center where Yashin stood was a large dull grey tiled floor leading up to an immense raised platform, leading up to a single throne shaped swivel seat by way of granite carved stairs. With the door left untouched and the immense walls of the main room seemingly swallowed by the shadows a dim yet ominous light cast from the ceiling above, the creator was pleased of what he made. Walking up the stairway towards the seat, he eventually took hold of the handrests and leaned back into it. With a simple cock of his head, dozens of transparent screens flickered to life around his head, allowing him full view of the interary and information he wished to see.

Smiling, he leaned back and turned his seat occasionally to see the rotating screens, content to go about his work while Yūyo slept in the other room.

Meeting the Youngest Hitmen; The Hearts of Gamma Team
"...is becoming more of a problem!" Yusuke was saying to Rika, who was sitting on her bed and typing away on her laptop. He himself was playing "cats' cradle" with his unique razor wires, stretching them apart in rather intricate designs before closing his hands together to make another problem.

Unlike the newly established Epsilon Team, who had to deal with sharing a room, the rest of the group had their own sizable rooms to reside in. The one the two younger members of V-14 as well as their quiet teammate were in was Rika's. Yusuke was dropping by as per daily routine, and Shinji was on the occasional period where he would join a group activity. While the boy was sitting on the floor and Rika was sitting on the bed, he was sitting at a small table with yet another companion - Mōka Komori. The two were engaged in a game of cards - a rather humorous situation to note, considering Shinji's stoic attitude to most.

Rika gave a soft sigh, looking over her shoulder at Yusuke. "You can't really blame yourself for it, Yusuke." She insisted. "All throughout the war, we've been confronted by enemies stronger than what we anticipated. Most of them either carried abilities beyond the spectrum or were beings beyond the common boundaries of the Spiritual Realm. We've already seen that much with Daigomi and Yashin."

Yusuke gave a harsh sigh of his own, dispelling his wires and dropping his hands to his sides. "I know, it's just..." He trailed off, looking at his hands. "It's as if... I don't know what to think anymore. The very first one I met up with while using that method of fighting was Zaii, and everything was looking great. Then, it's as if things just started going downhill. In just about every one of the fights I was involved with beforehand, everyone either snapped my wires or used someway of controlling them through connection." His hands slowly balled into fists, and he let out an aggravated groan as he hit the sides of his thighs with it. "How am I supposed to fight if my weapon keeps breaking like that?!"

"The wires are created by your spiritual energy, are they not?" Shinji's inquiry caused the boy to look over his shoulder. Although the bandaged mercenary was still looking at his cards, his voice was directed to its appropriate target. "It's just as I've noted before to you. Using nothing but the energy within your body as a form of combat can be quite the dangerous thing to any enemy. Spiritual energy is harder to ward off than the simple sword or club, and with your wires, even an experienced combatant runs the risk of getting sliced into pieces seconds before a fight. However, that very same energy can be volatile once it is exposed to the elements. Your control over it lessens once it is outside of the body for a certain period of time, hence its vulnerability to breaking and manipulation to outside sources. For it to remain stable, you must maintain a considerable amount of manipulation over your power."

This caused Yusuke to lapse into silence, and he turned his head to look at his hands again in thought. As he did this, Rika gave a small smile of gratitude towards Shinji, receiving a small nod in return.

Looking through her own hand, Mōka bit her lower lip with a pending thought in her head. She clucked her tongue against the inside of her cheek before looking up at the stoic visage of Shinji. If she could, she'd glare at him to get some reaction, but swore inwardly that his bandaged face was cheating in some way. She just couldn't force him to reveal any sign that he was bluffing or lacked the kind of hand to win this round.

Tapping her left foot as she eyed her hand cautiously, she decided to lend her own two cents for the conversation ensuing, "Yusuke, when you funnel your spirit energy into threads, are you envisioning them as string or as swords? The reason I say this is because if you imagine them as threads which belies the ability for them to maneuver across the air in a number of unpredictable means, that can explain your skill with it. However, treating it as such also leaves it open to negation or snapping them, as even the most tensile or sharp string makes it vulnerable to be countered. But treat it as a true extension of yourself like a sword is to a swordsman, then it can be truly an unstoppable force that not even the most grandiose barriers can defend against. I suggest intense meditation to conserve the integrity of your projected spirit energy and try to keep it in a bladed form even as you stretch and dance it in the air."

After she finished speaking, she turned her face up to Shinji, inquiring levelly in her gamely tone, "Jacks?"

"Go Fish." Shinji said readily, almost in a drab tone as he briefly glanced at her from his hand.

As Yusuke continued to ponder her and his comrade's words, Rika gave a more anxious sigh. "I'm worried about Kenja." She said softly, earning Shinji's glance and Yusuke's look of wonder. "He's been so eager to beat Yashin throughout the war. But now that he's on our side as a member of V-14, he probably won't have that chance. I can only imagine his frustration right now, having who he considered a mortal enemy so close to him and not being able to lift a finger..." Her eyes were cast downward. "I can't help but wonder if he's going to just cool off from it or if it's going to develop into a bit of conflict."

"It serves him right." Shinji's tone had a hint of ice in its normally blank nature. His eyebrows furrowed slightly to emphasize just how he felt in the situation. "He has the nerve to force the boss out of the comfort zone for the sake of seeing us as "heroes"." The word "heroes" was spoken with the most subtle hint of disgust. "But when she presents him with a similar situation, he decides to forsake all of his beliefs on a bid to get his revenge. The self-righteous fool deserves to be put in his place."

As Mōka grumbled, fishing for another card from the stack, she placed it within her hand while she listened. She knew Kenja very little, only from his forthright actions during the heat of the war and their greater conflicts. She remembered feeling the waves of Shinsei that maximized his grief and anger when he donned that abominable form. His will to live to see his goal through was imaginable only by the Hankami daughter of the Punisher and the Nihilist, as she herself had faced many trials since birth.

Looking up at Shinji, her red eyes glared at the wrapped head of Asuka's subordinate. Her tone became a tinge threatening at hearing how condescending he spoke about him. The fact he talked in such a judgemental way made her curl her upper lip in disgust at the man who casually said things while playing cards.

"What issues he has with Angie are between him and her. I hardly see why it should bother you when you're not in a position to worry about his affairs, let alone how they affect how you handle your job. Do you really have a problem with the fact he's personally begrudged with a former enemy like Yashin," She began to ask, leaning back in her seat while raising her right arm to rest the upper partition across the headrest's right-hand corner. Lackadaisically lowering her hand of cards till they were unseen under the table, she quipped a dark smile that spread from ear-to-ear, in a semblance to a Cheshire cat. Her next words were so knowing one might think they were unnervingly accurate to the truth, "or have you forgotten how the bastard pried his way into your mind in order to make you squeal? I'm sure that affected you to some level, scar-face."

And just like that, the fingers that held Shinji's own hand in place momentarily gripped them tighter than necessary. A flicker raced across Shinji's eyes, too quick to be read. Although Rika couldn't follow that, she could note the tightening of her teammate's fingers. She flashed over a gaze of worry, fearing that the conversation between him and Mōka was taking a turn for the dark. She wasn't alone, as Yusuke was now regarding them both with surprise. In those few seconds, there was nothing but silence. But after that, Shinji allowed himself to respond. The ice in his tone had vanished, and his voice was dressed in its usual attire of impassiveness.

"He did not, as you so elegantly put it, make me squeal." He answered, meeting her gaze. "The process was a forceful intrusion and extraction of information. I never gave up anything on a voluntary motion. But despite this action of violence and violation, it would be pointless to hold a long-lasting anger to it. Would you blame an enemy soldier if he raised his gun and shot you in the midst of war? Would you curse him to damnation even as he or she served to follow orders? I have no right to judge the way my enemies work. I only have the power to end their lives. That is my purpose. I am nothing but a weapon, a blade to be wielded in the hand of my leaders." He lowered his hand from his bandaged face so that the brunt of it would be seen by the other card player.

"As of here and now, Kenja is a subordinate and someone I will be working alongside. But he is a hypocrite, intoxicated by his own morality and desire to play the hero. He threatened the boss with interference to her plans if she didn't adhere to his desire to see the V-14 become assimilated into the fold of the Gotei 13... as if he suddenly earned entitlement to our fate. He forced her, as well as a good portion of us, to let go of the grudge we learned to embrace. Yet he himself cannot let go of the grudge he holds against Yashin? At the very least, everyone else have the decency to be honest about their own intentions. But he? The thought of working alongside a man who can't even be honest with himself is intolerable." He raised his hand back to his face. "Do you have any nines?"

"Go fish," She said with a sneer, not even bothering to look at her hand as he asked. Rubbing her nonchalantly leaning arm's thumb against the forefinger, she looked over at Rika and then Yusuke. Paying mind they were still in the room, she swallowed, deciding to choose her words carefully. This was, after all, a socially reclusive man in the midst of a number of sociably interactive colleagues. It'd be hard for him to understand what she meant in any stretch of the imagination.

Then, she had it.

Adjusting her seating so that her right foot was propped up on the table, bare toes flicking near Shinji as she leaned further against her chair. Lips drawn into a thin, impassive expression, her words came out as contrastingly vindictive, "I think your looking at this the whole way wrong. You think that Kenja is being hypocritical about his beliefs and desire to imbue justice or goodness to the organization is opposite of his yearning for vengeance. I've lived a long time, enough so that you'd be a child in my eyes. Over the years it's hard for me to properly gauge things in black and white, sometimes only seeing everything in grey. Vengeance is often the self-satisfactory version of Justice, as Justice only is seen fitting if it works out in the eyes of the accursed or afflicted against those who cursed and inflicted harm to them. So in a way, Kenja is being completely honest and true to his whole ideals. To him, Yashin is a force of evil that must be brought to Justice. Just as Daigomi was an embodiment of darkness in his eyes, so is Yashin, especially since their prior history. It isn't dishonesty or hypocritical at all for his very character to demand his blood. But it was in his agreement of working with Angelika that he'd defer to her final decision about who she lets in as members of this organization. Because of this, he didn't raise a finger against the man whom he wished to see his personal justice complete."

Leaning forward, Mōka's burning eyes stared into Shinji's vaguely outlined blood orbs, her words growing more somber as the conversation continued, "Your attitude is what baffles me, Shinji. For someone who rather ostricizes himself from interacting on any level, you give out some pretty helpful advise to your teammate who you should have no profiting interest in helping. For someone who only sees himself as a weapon to be used by Angie or the team, you are very opinionated about a man you haven't exchanged more than a handful of words with. No, the real hypocrite here is you, and I can feel a vague idea why. While my mother can almost be seen as a psychic with her sensory prowess I'm more of an empath. I can feel a deep rooted, malicious force of emotion bottled up behind that rigorous dispassion of yours. You put on this act, pretending you have it all under control. But the real reality is that you want to unleash your emotions just as bluntly as Kenja does, don't you? I'm beginning to believe that Yashin's probing did more than simply annoy. He looked through your soul, your memories. He probably made a jab at your identity and callously tossed you aside as if you were a dusty book with degrading contents. Am I wrong, or is there nothing really behind those scars and that blank, piss-offish face you always make when you want to hide what your feeling behind a damned mask of emotionless hypocricy?!"

The game of cards had suddenly taken a darker turn.

With each and every second that passed, Rika was starting to become more and more scared. She bit her lip, unsure as of what to do. In the same vein, Yusuke was wincing and unconsciously squeezing his fists. Mōka's dialogue seemed to be turning more aggressive and accusatory, and it sounded like she was trying to drive Shinji into a corner. They weren't sure that even their hardened teammate could maintain composure. There was only one time where they had seen Shinji in a state of pure rage. It was a long time ago, long before they had been members of V-14. It was something that neither of them wanted to have to see again, especially when simply dealing with an opposing comrade.

He spoke again.

"That is quite a lot of bitterness I'm hearing in your tone, Komori-dono." He commented, his eyes peering a little at her. "My words of scathing were directed towards Kenja, not you. Yet, you behave as if I have insulted you instead. You claim to see things in grey morality, yet you are all too willing to damn me because of what I have seen out of that man. Are you speaking out of true understanding for both sides?" He tilted his head and lowered it so that one of his eyes was emphasized in its grim stare towards Mōka. "Or perhaps you feel as if you can emphasize with him on some level, that you feel connected in terms of this so-called "vengeance as justice"? When you moved to engage your own mother, you felt as though wrong had been done to you because of your past with her. You wanted to destroy her for all the pain that she caused you, for all the times that she never loved you like you wanted her to." He shut his cards together, holding them in one hand while leaning forward himself. Both of his arms rested on the table.

"You may call me a child because you have lived longer than I have, seen more of the world than I have. But you know what I think? I think that deep down beside all the aesthetics of your flesh, there is little more than a deeply hurt child. A deeply hurt child continuously lashing out at the darkness in an effort to look for something to comfort you and something to hurt in return. That is why you are inclined to believe vengeance is some form of justice. In short term, that may be correct. But when you have been hunting someone down as long as Kenja has been hunting Yashin, it becomes an obsession. In the process of seeking such a twisted form of justice, you end up slowly destroying yourself until there is nothing left but a shell of your former self. Even if you finally get what you wanted, the damage has already been done. Is that really supposed to be a form of "justice" to you? Because to me, it sounds more like a desperate attempt at self-gratification through another's pain or death."

Taking an aggressive standing posture, Mōka's chair fell back onto the floor while a single fist crashed against the top of the table. Her fiery eyes glared at Shinji's composed blood red orbs, her teeth bared as she snarled out her next words, "That's in the past, you mummified bastard! If you haven't noticed, my mother and I finally settled our millenia long difference. Do you expect Kenja, a mortal, to do the same in a short amount of time? Personal wrongs are much harder to forget than ones not committed to you. You saw how that affected Angie, how it affected that Hayate boy. It takes a great power of forgiveness, mercy, and grace to hope to move past personal grievances."

Pointing her hand at him, her hair unintentionally rose up, bleeding a scarlet light of her own Shinsei instinctively leaking into the room. The light changed from a dull yellow luminescent hue to a warping red and white light, dancing around within the air. The very carpet around her bare soles smoldered, burning away into the natural earth beneath it, giving off a foul stench. This was lost to her as she yelled more rebuke at Shinji, "How would you even know what's personal and what's impersonal if you don't even give a damn about what you perceive yourself? I can't stand to look at you sometimes, just a husk of a real being. You don't have the right to judge anyone! Not Me! Not Angie! And not Kenja, least of all who's in the right or wrong you damned-!"

A rapid rapping knock against the door interrupted Mōka's emotionally involved dialogue. Faint mutterings were heard behind it followed by a peppy query behind the simple barrier. As the Hankami calmed herself, she relaxed her aura and returned the interior to normalcy. Even the threads that had been marred by her output of Shinsei began to revert back to ordinary colored threads, returning back to soft fabric for her to rest upon.

"Come in!" Mōka called out as she grabbed the top of the chair, sitting herself back on its seat upon pulling it upright. Scooting herself forward upon the seat, she barely looked at the man across from her in the eye. Raising her hand of cards, she idly asked with a emotionally repressed tone, "Kings?"

By this point, Shinji was ignoring the terrified forms of both Rika and Yusuke as he silently pulled out a king card to place on the desk. Yusuke had climbed onto the bed, and both of them were holding onto one another as if they were about to die any minute. Given the presence of the demigod was extremely volatile a moment ago, that might have been the case.

They only diverted their scared expressions when they heard the door open, revealing the perky Manami. She stepped into the room with her hands folded behind her back, surveying everything with what appeared to be a child's eagerness. Her motions caused their fear to regress into confusion, and they stared at her even as she didn't seem to comprehend them just yet. But that innocent ignorance didn't last long, as she turned her gaze over to the two on the bed. "Hello there!" She chirped, placing a palm on the center of her chest. "I'm Manami Hamasaki. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Mōka was taken aback by the two's entrance. They were the last people on her mind that'd pay them a visit. Looking towards the free spirited Manami introduce herself trail in an indifferent dispositioned girl behind her, she guessed it was just a bout of innocent curiosity. It only baffled her while a subordinate of Yashin would take interest in people so soon. She didn't seem the kind to spy or needlessly harass, she surmised.

"Hello there," Mōka said politely, if not neutrally at the young girl's entrance. If nothing, her bright and cheerful greeting was something that brought a lopsided smile to her face. Leaning back against her chair, she asked with a mirthful tone, "what brings you here?"

"To satiate her need to extrovert," Kōkō said pointedly with a blank look on her face.

"Sorry?" Mōka arched a brow curiously at Kōkō's rude, if not hasty answer.

"Apologies," Kōkō sighed, bowing her head to her and to everyone else, responding with a forced smile that looked almost plastic, "I'm Kōkō Kage Hyōjin. But you can just call me Kōkō for short."

"Right," Mōka looked at her with an annoyed stare. Shaking her head, she turned back her attention to Manami, asking her in a more curious and pleased manner, "I'm Mōka Komori, but you can call me, Mōka. What brings you here?"

"I'm here to extrovert!" Manami answered readily, putting on a smile much more genuine than what Kōkō had given to the group. She folded her hands in front of her, occasionally switching her gaze from Mōka to the rest of the group. "And by "extrovert", I mean get acquainted with the people that we're going to be working with, make friends along the way and have an essentially good time! My friend Kōkō," She nodded her head over to her stoic counterpart. "Has opted to join me on my quest in order to ensure that I don't get into any trouble and on the grounds that she has nothing else to do. Our other friend couldn't participate--" As she was saying this, her expression briefly regressed to annoyance. "Because right now, she's being a butt," She smiled again. "But that doesn't matter, because we're going to have fun times, mess around, maybe even do stuff that would be too dirty for the cameras!"

At this point, even Shinji was regarding her with his own brand of bemusement and slight disgust. Rika and Yusuke were regarding her with unadulterated shock, their mouths agape and their eyes widened. But Manami wasn't paying attention, choosing instead to zip right in front of Rika.

"Agh--!" Rika immediately reeled back as she saw Manami's face, which turned coy and mischievous. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward a little.

"Hm. I don't think I'd mind getting felt up by you, wouldn't you agree?"

"Excuse me?!" Rika squealed, her face quickly gaining a shade of red as she placed her arms defensively in front of her.

However, she was thankfully saved by the intervention of Yusuke, who moved behind Manami to pull her back by the shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey!" He scolded, giving her a chiding look. "Easy does it, lady. She's taken already!"

"By who?" Manami looked over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow and giving a curious frown.

"Why, Kenja, of course!"

His response caused her eyes to widen in surprise. She jerked her head towards Rika, who had her head hung down in an effort to hide her face. "Wait, really?" She questioned incredulously. "No way!" She tossed herself onto the bed, seating herself and crossing one leg over the other. Her head turned itself toward Rika. "You're with him? I was thinking that he was a bit too angry to be with a nice girl like you."

"It is like dealing with another Yusuke..." Shinji thought to himself, his eyes closed and one of his brows twitching.

"Kenja's not angry passively," Mōka said with a sigh, turning her body and the chair around to address the young woman sitting perpindicularly to Rika on her bed. With a weary expression, she gestured with her free hand while keeping her cards hidden with the other from Shinji. "he's just a bit pissed off that the sole objective of the recent years is now setting camp in the very place he now calls home. It'd basically be like if someone you didn't like just moved into your room. He'll get over it...eventually."

"That sounds promising," Kōkō drawled out sarcastically.

"Hey!" Mōka sharply turned to issue out a glare at the less hyper of the two guests, "lay off him, will ya? He's got a big heart and has good intentions. While I don't always agree his methods are tactful or the most sound, he has enough passion to rival that Hayate kid of the Gotei," Turning to face Manami again, she spoke in a more softer tone as she lowered her hand to her lap, "He also really cares about Rika, so don't doubt their relationship."

"Cause doubting anything is a crime to you," Kōkō said with a hint of a smile working up her otherwise stoic face.

"Bitch," Mōka hissed as she glanced back at the quickly reverting expression on Manami's companion's visage.

The rather prodding comment made by Kōkō caused Shinji's mouth to curl upward in a small and unseen smirk. He turned to his hand. "Do you have any Queens?"

"Regardless any negative opinions toward him," Rika said, turning back to her laptop and continuing to type away. "Kenja is a sweet guy once you get to know him. I know you may not like the way he operates sometimes, but he can't help but be imperfect. He's prone to making mistakes in judgement," She spared a glance to Mōka. "Just like the rest of us are."

"Because that clearly excuses his need to force his world view on the rest of us." Shinji said bluntly, not turning to face her. "Did he ever take consideration into the fact that maybe we were just fine as criminals on the run? That we were more comfortable with being brigands of plunder and murder, a mob of killers, rather than being loosely tied servants of the Gotei 13? Of course not. He assumed that we were going down the "bad" path, as his view of morality demanded it. Because he was in the role of a "hero", he declared us "villains" to be inferior to him and saw it fit to strong-arm us on the same path that he walked. Do you really see that as fair or "just", Rika?"

Rika looked somewhat downcast. "No..." She muttered, quickly changing back to her more passive and soft expression. "But... maybe it's because he just doesn't understand that. Maybe he doesn't realize that there are people who enjoy staying in the circle of death, that there are those that don't want to confine to the majority's standards. But I bet he would understand if someone explained it to him." She gave a small yet encouraging smile. "Maybe you should be the one to do it."

"Me?" This caused Shinji to actually look in her direction, cocking an unimpressed eyebrow at her. "You want me to talk to him?"

Her smile grew a little sheepish. "Think of it as a sort of additional exercise. After all, the only people you've opened up to all this time are us. If you allow yourself to open up with the rest of V-14, it could do you some good. You did say to me before that you were looking to change, right?"

Shinji simply closed his eyes to that, his eyebrows furrowed in thought...

"Oh my god, Manami, your butt is like so big!"

"Urgh, I'm trying to look at it, but it's not working!"

...which was somewhat hindered by the banter of the two "children" of the supergroup. His eyebrow twitched again as he heard the snickers and laughter of the blue-haired woman and the black-haired young man.

Discreetly placing two cards onto the table, Mōka cast an arch browed expression at the two kiddish individuals. From what she heard Rika suggest was that Shinji actually confront Kenja. It was an interesting concept to her as her gaze turned back towards the bandaged man, doing a once over him. He was in a way more off-puttish than even Shadō, whom she labeled as just a meek and humble person as far as the rest of V-14 went. The umbrella toting warrior almost felt anti-social, and his mannerism by way of speech proved why he didn't get along with people with idealistic notions of any sort.

Still, she couldn't help but understand what he meant. For thousands of years she enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, the conquest of a lover in bed and the lust for bloodshed in the thick of battle. All of that and many more actions could be condoned in her mind because she felt like she deserved or earned it. Was it immoral what she did? She probably considered it at some point or another but hardly gave another nod to it. It was only when she confronted her mother the day Angelika's sins were laid bare before Hayate that she began to understand what it meant to have personal vendettas mount against the greater good or someone's personal vengeance be outweighed by the need of justice.

"Has the Hayate boy changed me through my own mother?" She wondered as she rubbed her tongue on the inside of her mouth in deep thought.

Kōkō, finding no real joy in watching the two fools make crass jokes when not saying stupid things, looked over at Shinji. If she could gauge someone with a deep understanding of how things worked, she knew he'd be one of the few who rarely spoke unless when compelled to. His stoic attitude and intimidating countenance made him for an interesting entity in her eyes. Walking over with one leg crossing the other, Kōkō did a lacksadaical spin around till the small of her back leaned against the back of his own head. Uncaring if he'd be annoyed or not, she crossed her arms and coyly asked him with a dry tone of mild interest.

"So what's your story? Did your family get caught in a fire? Or are you a rebellious spirit who contradictively wants to attract attention with that silly get-up while saying you don't want it?" She asked with a hint of a smile that wouldn't be seen by the man she was leaning against.

Shinji's eyes opened back up in surprise.

In all the manners that he expected to be approached, he certainly hadn't marked down sudden physical contact as one of them. As much as his instinct had jumped to do it, he didn't turn his head in order to look at her when she did that. But despite his bemusement at her approaching him so casually, it soon regressed back to his more impassive expression. "Isn't it rude to ask for someone's story before you give your own?" He retorted, keeping his eyes on his cards.

"Huh?" Manami took this moment to look over at them, realization dawning over her face. She grinned widely. "Hey, yeah! Actually, why don't we do that? We could share our stories with one another, something to pass the time! I mean, it's not like you seem to be going anywhere, and we don't have much else to do with ourselves outside of waiting, so why not?" There was a devious glint in her eyes. "Bet someone in here's got something juicy to share with the rest of the world!"

"Damn you, Manami!" Kōkō swore inwardly as her brow twitched out of sight. While she herself remained adamantly in place to not give away her discomfort by the current topic, she made no intention of facing her current leaning place. Crossing her arms over her chest, she hoped she could skimp past her own "personal story" by making a base summary of how she met Yashin. Nothing too fancy or involved so people couldn't focus on her.

"Personal stories huh? That sounds interesting," Mōka stroked her chin with a challenging glint opening in her eyes. She had many stories that had transpired in her early life. From the time she could bear thought as an infant, to the days of her learning the arts of Hankami combat to culture and then walking the planes of man and spirit alike she had become quite the enigmatic figure in history. Looking over at Manami, she gestured to her while she thought up a proper story, "why don't you start it off, Manami? After all, this was your idea."

Manami raised both of her eyebrows in bemusement. "Are you sure?" She asked, her top foot shaking in idleness.

"What?" Yusuke grinned, hopping onto the bed and shaking Rika's laptop a little, earning a slight yelp from her. "You're the one that suggested it, and you're already getting cold feet?"

Manami raised her hands up defensively. "Oh, nonononono, nothing like that!" She answered readily. "It's just that... well... mine, if you put it on a rating, would probably be up in the M category. Maybe borderline AO. In other words, it might be a little bit too dark. Sure you can handle it?"

"We are members of a former criminal organization." Shinji said bluntly. "I believe whatever dark tune you'll carry can be listened to with our kind of ears."

Manami gave a casual shrug. "Well, all right. If you insist. Ahem!" She straightened herself up, folding her hands into her lap and beginning with a strong voice. "I was born in the blooming city of Tendan Dākusaido, where the streets were gold and the people were working those pick axes like there was no tomorrow. Sometimes they used those pick axes on that golden road and sometimes they used those axes on each other, despite how impractical it was! But I wasn't raised by people like that. I was raised by a good mother and father, who worked as humble owners of a diner. Because of how Tendan was run and the conflict of morals, Mom and Dad had it bad in terms of money. We weren't able to buy much outside of the necessities, and so I can safely say I wasn't the kid who got showered in toys and gifts and all that."

Yusuke frowned. "Well, that doesn't sound like much of a good childhood."

"It wasn't!" Manami agreed. "And it wouldn't have been, had it not been for what they taught me. Through the mask of "games", they taught me means of self-defense. They taught me how to throw and swing knives using a dartboard and target Tendan Spill bottles. They taught me to fight with my hands and feet with some "pretend" kickboxing matches - mostly from my father's side because he also took up sports fighting. They taught me that and more, because back then, the world was a really harsh place." Her eyes dimmed, and her smile became soft. She looked as if she was going through a bit of nostalgia. "Ah... how I really loved the handling of a knife. It's really the best weapon one could have at their side. I mean, in a world where all people care about is who has the biggest sword, they really forget the classics. It's small, it's barely noticeable even when you use it in a fight, and it's just as good as cutting people down as a sword if you use it in just the right way."

Kōkō was silent in hearing her friend admit her origin story. She didn't imagine that someone so blissfully happy and upbeat could have originated from a place so dark and intoxicating. While the city itself may look like a marvel to some, it was clearly a hellhole beguiling its citizens into believing it was a metropolis with no equal. Being an average resident meant you either served one mobster eager to ascend the ranks or you were someone looking to look to make a name of themselves. Hearing her story unravel, she gauged it was the prior, making her adjust her leaning posture against Shinji, a subtle indication she was uncomfortable of hearing something so personal.

But Mōka was so rapt in attention to Manami's story, she didn't pay mind to the latter's companion and how she vaguely squirmed. Turning herself around to lean on the head of her seat, she leaned forward and smiled at Manami. This girl fascinated her, almost reminding a part of her that lived within the ephermal realms when she wasn't living in the physical plane. Wrapping her arms underneath her chin, she commented, "It sounded that, despite a hard environment, you were pretty happy. Not many people who lived in Tendan can claim as such. I was part of a mercenary band that operated there and it got pretty rough sometimes for the bystanders."

Manami squinted her eyes and smiled back brightly. "It was a nice way to live... that is," The squint and the cheer in her smile faded immediately after she said that. "Until it all came crashing down."

She lifted a hand up, letting her wrist be limp and her finger tips pointing downward. "To this day, I haven't the slightest clue as to what caused it. Maybe an operation went bad. Maybe there was that much hate going on. But one day in the midst of a bustling diner, armed goons came storming through our front door. Turns out that our parents were working under the name of a criminal gang, and the ones that let themselves in happened to be rivals. They opened fire, and it didn't matter who got caught in it. Men, women, children... everyone and everything got shot up into Swiss cheese. My parents were included." She swayed her fingers. "You know the worst part? It wasn't like in the movies, where you got a chance to share a few dying words with the victims. No, they were just working one moment and the next," She turned her hand and gave a snap of the fingers. "Gone. Just like that."

Horror crossed Rika's face, and concern crossed Yusuke's. The former of the two placed her hands on her mouth, tears forming out of the corners of her eyes. "That's..."

"I was only a kid at the time still yet." Manami continued casually. "But at that moment, my life had been put into my own hands. I only had a handful of seconds to decide. To attempt to run, to attempt to fight back, to hide, to sit there and die? So many choices, so little time. They were closing in to clean house, and I was hiding behind the counter scared out of my mind. Do you know what happened next?"

"...were you saved?" Yusuke asked hesitantly, surprised when Manami shook her head.

"As nice as that would've been... no. There wasn't any knight in shining armor to save the likes of me. I had to save myself. And I did just that." One corner of her lip lifted subtly higher than the other in a smirk. "I grabbed hold of a nearby butcher knife and I threw myself at those goons. They had guns. They had blades. I nearly died. But when it was all over, I took them all down. And just to add a little insult to injury, I chopped off their heads and lined them up right in front of the door." Her eyes widened, and she suddenly straightened up as if remembering something. "Oh! If you ever find yourself having to behead someone, word of advice. Do it with something really sharp if they're alive. Trying to do it with something less than that, and you'll be dealing with a really tired wrist and lots of wheezing sounds."

Kōkō grew even more still at hearing this. She was almost caught off guard, repulsed even by the events that transpired to the younger Manami. She couldn't have imagined herself placed in that position, someone who has been deprived of social contact until her Lord had found her and gave her a purpose, to possess it all and then have it violently ripped away. Surprised at how she could respond in such a calm tone, she hesitated at looking at her face, knowing that the pain was pictured over her eyes where her face belied such pain.

Mōka's visage grew more solemn at hearing her tale. It reminded her of the chaotic transition of happiness to damnation that befell her entire race. Despite her mother's birth of her, she remembered a little of the glory days when Hankami were an ocean of people. They lived among mortals and spirits alike, becoming their guardians and seniors in all parts of the cosmos. Their culture was rich, their joys great and their happiness bountiful. Then, in a single act by a madman she wished wasn't related to her, they were all swept away in a current of bloodshed and warfare that left them in a state of near extinction.

Hearing this tale reminded her how fragile peace and coexistence can be. How long could this newfound legitimacy be held by their organization with the Gotei before conflict breaks it apart. Like shards of glass, people will be caught in the crossfire, both involved and uninvolved in the process of settling diffeences. Could she go down quietly, run away or take a stand when or if that day was to come? She didn't know, and willingly banished the thought from her mind.

Looking up, she forced a smile on her face as she inquired, "What happened to you after that? It sounds like you were in bad shape after such an ordeal. Did someone take you in or were you really left to fend for yourself?"

"For a while, I was left on my own." Manami admitted, folding her hands into her lap. "I think it was a month or two that I was on the streets. I was just a blind little girl in a world where criminals dominated just about everything. I had nothing but my butcher knife and what skills my parents handed down to me. I snatched food off of stands when no one was looking. I dug through trash cans to salvage fresh food. And as a result of what happened at the diner, I had thugs hunting me down every step of the way, mad that I had killed their friends like I did. It was the worst thing that could've happened to me..."

She paused for a moment, and after a few seconds, she did something that sent a vicious chill down the spines of Rika and Yusuke's spines.

She giggled. At first, it was soft. But it only needed a few seconds more before it was reminiscent of a dark and malicious chuckle. At the same time, the sound seemed to retain its mirth. "...for the first week or so. Then I realized something. I realized just..." She looked down at her hands, holding them out from her lap for her to see. "Just how much of a joy it was to be in that situation. The constant feeling of danger, the knowledge of being hunted and the threat of being captured... the very fact that my fate rested in my own fragile hands... it was a thrill, a pleasure that those with my kind of eyes could've seen. At that moment, I realized just what kind of message my parents had sent to me. It was all just one big game, with an entire world full of players. It's a game we all play, whether we're all aware of it or not. If you win, you live to see another day. If you lose, you die. It's such a simple yet nasty set of rules. But simple is good. Simple has always been good..."

Her hands slowly closed into fists, and she let out a shuddering breath that hid the most subtle of ecstatic moans. "Day after day, I teetered on the edge of life and death. Day after day, I walked the line between rationality and insanity. Or had I already fallen into that abyss? I'm not sure now. But when those months were over, I found myself at my limit. They had finally found a means to corner me inside the room of an abandoned motel. I can still remember the feeling of bullets in my body, the feeling of my own blood escaping my pores. Never have I been so close to death as I was at that point. When it seemed that I would take that final step, however..." She tilted her head back, emphasizing her smile over anything else. "That was when he came. He had been traversing through town, as he had told me, and happened to hear about me via the streetears. He was intrigued at the fact that someone so young could cause so much chaos, and so he came to find me where I was. He cut those punks down, keeping me from losing the game that I played for so long. That was how I met the one known as Yashin Shiyōnin, the one I would come to recognize as my lord eternal."

A thief. A killer. A psychopath. A carefree individual. She seemed to encompass all of them yet only show off the latter most often in Kōkō's eyes. When she met her, she was that way too, bubbly and cheerful with no visible indication of hinderances to her psychosis. While she may have annoyed the lazy swordswoman at times, she was always there by her side. She'd never admit it out loud but she was the closest she had to a friend and something cherished deeply. Hearing about this moved her in a way that made her chest hurt. Did her heart ache? She couldn't be sure but whatever the reason, something about Manami's story moved her. With bangs covering her eyes, tears crawled down her face while her back faced the rest of the shocked onlookers.

She hoped she could compose herself well enough before she was forced to look them all in the eye.

Mōka herself felt her jaw drop. She had a vague sense of reading people through their emotions, their auras giving her an ability to viewing their hearts like a book. While Shinji's contrasting mask and maelstrom of emotions confounded her, it amazed her that such a bubbly high spirited girl had experienced such a past. Cutting people down, scavenging for herself and dancing away with the mindset that it was a deranged cruel game for her to play in. In a way, she was glad Yashin came when she did, otherwise she may have unintentionally crossed her path during a time she wouldn't have minded cutting down someone like that.

"Yashin," Mōka whispered, looking down as she talked almost to herself as her gaze faltered upon Manami's deceivingly pleasant visage, "I can't peg what you are or your intentions. No one just goes out of their way to take people in like this, damaged or not, just because they're intriguing. Is there something I'm not seeing or...?"

If Manami had heard her, she was clearly choosing not to listen. She switched from nostalgia to her cheery self, clapping her hands together and beaming at the other occupants of the room. "So! There you go, my story. There's more stuff involved with me and Yashin-sama, but that's a bit too much of a tale for me to tell here and now. That being said, who's next up to bat?" She looked around, searching for a face willing enough to do it. "Anyone?"

Mōka was still gathering her thoughts when Manami beckoned the rest to tell their tale. She tossed a gaze to the ever impassive Shinji, realizing he was probably indifferent to the whole matter. Looking at the horrified Rika to the surprised Yusuke, she could easily surmise that they had little self awareness to begin telling their own personal tales. Sighing, she decided to settle for a more tamer tale of her personal life, knowing her long-lived status could keep them in one place for a long timeframe.

Just as she opened her mouth, she heard Kōkō lean off Shinji's head and seat, turning around to face them. Her previously stoic, if not bored features, were looking unusually somber. Hints of red tear streaks were seen across her face, ebbed into her creamy face. As she saw nearly everyone turn their attention to her, Mōka included, Kōkō took in a deep breath and began to speak.

"You could say that I wasn't brought up in a happy setting as Manami was," She started, laughing derisively before reverting back to a thin lipped expression of emotionless, "I was a girl raised in a Clan who only valued the way of the sword. Not in the Bushido as most Gotei soldiers do but more out for the sake of spilling blood. Before I could form words I was being told how to respect a bladed weapon and use it as instrument for taking lives. I was treated soon after no better than the weapons that were given to me to take other lives. A tool with no use beyond the elimination of others.

"It wasn't until that our Clan was hired with the task of assaulting the Royal Castle of Yūrei Ōkoku that they all found out the hard way how woefully underprepared they were. Despite the prowess they held with blades they were cut down, shot up, and torn apart like scraps of meat. In the confusion of gunfire and fleeing of those who wished to preserve their life, I was thrown out one of the windows of the Castle and miraculously landed in the bay surrounding it. I was lost for a long time, disregarded without any sign of weapon or affiliation as part of the raid upon the city.

"Apart from my Clan I was nothing more than a stray dog. I had no home to go to or family to welcome me. I didn't even have a comprehension of my own name aside from it invoking fear in those who knew it. Among strangers in a world that was beyond the advancement of my people, I was dumb, stupid and illegitimately capable of taking on any profession. It was truly looking like I'd die in a street, too prideful to beg for scraps but not smart enough to fend for myself properly.

"But then, as you most likely would have guessed, Lord Shiyōnin happened upon me," Kōkō said, her voice becoming a bit more reverant as she announced the title of her savior rather than his name formally.

They were the words that would cause the majority of people to change their expressions.

Shinji had looked over his shoulder at her, his eyebrows furrowed in a firm look at her that would've been considered his normal look. However, his eyes would again flicker with an emotion too fast to be read properly. He held his stare, almost looking as if he wasn't sure of what to made of the story he had been told. When he turned away, there was something akin to uncertainty written on his face. It would be extremely subtle, and courtesy of her empathetic abilities, only Mōka had a good chance of picking it out. She had seemed too calm and passive to have such a dark past. But it was clear that he had underestimated her.

Meanwhile, Yusuke and Rika would share expressions of sympathy as well as another that could've only been shown by someone who knew the pain: empathy. They briefly looked at each other before turning their gaze to Kōkō, with the latter of the two raising a hand up to her chest. It was a clear indication as to what their respective pasts were, even if they hadn't shared theirs yet. A sharper person would see it as clear as day.

"Kōkō..." Rika whispered. "That's..."

"You were one of the lucky ones, then."

She was cut off by Shinji, turning surprised eyes to the bandaged man. He, in turn, was sitting with his arms folded across his chest and his hardened countenance on display once more. His eyes were closed. "At the point in time, you were closer to your true nature than any human or spirit will ever reach. When you take away the concept of culture, the safety of technology and surround the likes of humanity with the extent of nature, they'll revert back to their base instincts - the way they were meant to live."

Manami diverted a curious gaze from Kōkō to Shinji, tilting her head to the side. "The way we were meant to live?" She inquired. "But wouldn't that make us all stupid? Like, you know, animals?"

"That is exactly the point." Shinji answered readily, opening his eyes to look at her. "This intelligence, this sense of mind... while it gifts us in some ways, it blinds us in the long run. Conflict of interests and beliefs, senses of superiority and inferiority, differences in morality and ethics, and the concept of right and wrong. So many societies cling to these things and much more for a sense of security, for a chance to forget the fact that they are just a meaningless speck in the universe. Animals are not concerned with such things. They are only concerned with the idea of "kill or be killed", allowing nature to run its course the way it was meant to. They do not have to worry about things so trivial as morality, politics, money and whatever other ropes we've created to tie ourselves down."

"You're the one who is blind, Shinji Konno," Kōkō said, her eyes staring mutely at him as she continued speaking without skipping a beat, "the quickest path to annihilation is to surrender one's soul. We were created with flesh so we could emphasize with the animals. We enjoy sunlight and the drops of rain to understand the true essence of nature. We were given hearts and minds so we could learn to create wonderful things and share our feelings with others. Denying one part and saying its weakness is like taking a sword and cutting off a limb, calling it irrelevant. My Clan lived that way and they died that way, unable to grasp what it truly mean to live."

"Forgive me if this sounds a bit rude," Mōka interceded, looking up confused at Kōkō's calm words spoken in a chiding manner to Shinji. Waving her arm, she inquired the younger woman, "but how can you say such things when you were...are underneath that man's thumb?"

"He's the one who taught me how to truly live," Kōkō said with a soft, sad smile. Placing a hand up towards her chest, she continued while holding that smile all the while, "I could barely form words, only vaguely understood my name and how to consume sustenance. All that I had was bloodthirst, muscle reflex and strength that didn't win me anything of value. He was...so...so patient with me you wouldn't believe it, knowing or hearing of his deeds. He was the defined character of what I'd call a kind man as well as an ambitious one. He saved me from a pit I didn't know I fell in. I wouldn't have known how to live or how to form words to speak to you all now if it hadn't been for him.

"If it wasn't for Lord Shiyōnin," Kōkō had to stifle a hiccup as tears renewed within her eyes, falling down her face as a wide-eyed Mōka looked on with incredulity at her, "I wouldn't feel so thankful to be alive!"

You are blind

Shinji's eyes narrowed a considerable degree when he heard those words. To them, they were a sign of optimism and hope. But to him, they were words of condescension and arrogance. When she scolded him, Kōkō spoke as if her way was the right way. It was just like Kenja, the man who believed that the way of the hero was the only true way anyone could live. It made his blood boil just thinking about it. It was one of the first few times that the maelstrom of emotions was making itself stronger than what he could handle, and it was showing from the way he was gripping his hand of cards.

Just a husk of a being

He barely even registered the playful cry of "Here, here!" from Manami, followed by the soft chuckling of Yusuke.

Such an empty life

Underneath pursed lips, his teeth clenched. If a gaze could kill, his would've disintegrated even the likes of the Dominator to nothing but ashes.

Mod Soul 091

When he finally found the nerve to speak, his tone was no longer the passive and stoic one he commonly used. Now it was one of restrained fury, barely holding itself together and the venom back.

"And just what exactly is the way to truly live, Kōkō Kage Hyōjin?"

He slowly brought himself to stand up from his seat, turning himself so that the full force of his glare would be focused on the girl in question. His fists were clenched tightly, and although he maintained a semblance of composure, they were shaking slightly. "From the way you speak, you must be truly sanctified." He said, his voice low and his tone dripping with sarcasm. "And I am obviously the ignorant swine whom you must educate. So tell me, and tell me clearly. Can you define what it means to truly live? Can you define what it means to be a true being? On what grounds are you that you can so casually dispense to me that I know nothing about being alive?"

Then, a few seconds of silence, his low and quiet voice would surge to a vicious roar.

"WHO ARE YOU TO DAMN ME AS BLIND, YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS PIG?!!!"