Dragon's Progeny [Worm/ABB OC]

[Sadguychet]

I gently pulled Tammi behind me as I walked into Nana's tattoo parlor. The woman had asked me to meet her for some reason that she refused to explain over the phone and I was taking the opportunity to spend time with my girlfriend while also getting some work done.

Only… the parlor was seemingly empty. Nana was nowhere to be seen or at least, not up here. The smell of cigarette smoke wasn't nearly strong enough, for one.

Even so, my sensitive nose wrinkled at the smell, and I sighed in exasperation as I realized that the shop was completely empty, bereft of even the soft music that Nana liked to listen to as she worked her day job.

Behind me, Tammi seemed to realize the same, looking around at the empty shop in confusion, "I thought she asked you to meet her here. Where is she?"

I pointed towards the back of the shop where a curtain was hung, "She's probably downstairs in the basement. I wish she would have told me that though, I would have put on some less expensive clothes."

"...Why would that be a problem?" Tammi looked worried.

"It might not. But it never hurts to be prepared with Nana." I loved the woman to death, but her 'workstation' was rarely kept clean. Calling it a biohazard would be underselling it quite a bit.

As the two of us made our way towards the back of the parlor Tammi looked around at the walls, taking in the stencils and other art hanging around that displayed Nana's work, "So this is the place where you got your tattoo?"

I gave her an amused look at her disbelieving tone, "It is. What, did you expect me to have Nana come all the way to my home and tattoo me there?"

Tammi grinned, "Well, it wouldn't surprise me. I've been living at your place for long enough to know that you have the money for it."

I sighed "Tammi, the reason I even have that much money is because I don't spend it on things like that."

"Fair enough." Tammi nodded, "Still, I was expecting something more high-class or like, traditional." She scrunched her face, "Or at least cleaner. I've been in smoke shops that smelled nicer.'

I raised an eyebrow at one part of her sentence, "Traditional how, exactly?"

"Y'know, like… with a needle and a pot of ink or something. The ones where you dip it in and then stick it in their skin. That's how I've always heard you guys do it." She said, seemingly suddenly unsure of herself.

I stopped walking, prompting her to do the same. I stared at her for a long moment, utterly baffled by what I just heard, "Tammi… that method is antiquated and takes hours of excruciating pain to do the simplest of designs. Practically nobody uses it anymore and especially not here."

Tammi looked surprised, "Wait really? But everyone in the Empire said-" She paused as I gave her a look, and her face twisted guiltily as she realized what had happened, "Right. Of course they would. Anything to make you guys look bad."

I squeezed her hand, showing her that I wasn't offended as we started walking again, "Tebori, the method you described, is still used by some, but as I said, it is an extremely painful and difficult method of tattooing so it's only really worth doing for ceremonial purposes. "I explained as I opened the curtain at the back of the parlor, "I know of only one parlor in our territory that offers the service and it isn't Nana. She thinks the practice is too archaic and 'boring'."

Despite my soft tone, Tammi's face looked guilty, "Oh. Shit dude, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I always thought-I mean, I was always told-"

"It's okay, Tammi. I interrupted her, squeezing her hand again, "You were misled and were never told otherwise. I'm not going to hold that against you."

"I guess. Still feel shitty about it, though." Tammi said, her frown staying on her face.

"That just means you're serious about changing. If making such an assumption fills you with regret, even subconsciously, then you're on the right path to getting rid of those thoughts altogether." I reassured her softly, "Don't be discouraged. It's not something that's going to happen in a few weeks, Tammi. It'll take time, and I'll be here to help you as much as I possibly can."

My words succeeded in cheering her up, and Tammi smiled gently as she squeezed my hand back, "...Thank you. Like I said, I'm trying, but it's hard."

"You're trying. That's all that matters." I leaned up and gave her a quick peck on the lips, before grabbing the knob of the door to the basement, "Now come on. Let's see what Nana wants."

Opening the door to the basement, the two of us were immediately hit with an almost overwhelming scent. A mix of iron, cigarette smoke and oddly enough, salt wafted up the stairwell and smacked us in the face, making us both cringe.

"What the hell is she doing down here?" Tammi struggled to ask, reeling from the unexpected smell.

I shook my head, "You probably don't want to know. Nana's taste in entertainment are… peculiar. Just be glad it's likely over for now."

"Wait, you're telling me she finds torturing people fun?" Tammi's voice was incredulous as she stared at me in shock.

"Fun is an understatement. I believe she gets off on it."

Tammi gave me a horrified look, "Seriously?"

I nodded seriously. I wasn't one hundred percent sure, nor was I exactly in a hurry to prove it, but if it was true, a lot more things would make sense. Nana always seemed to enjoy her work a bit too much.

At my nod, Tammi shuddered, "Well that's the worst thing ever. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at her the same way."

I gave her an amused look as we began to descend, "You're telling me you looked at her normally before?"

"I never said that."

As we drew closer to the basement, the smell only grew stronger, and I began to make out a soft voice seemingly speaking to nobody,

"Can't believe you went and croaked like that. Just when we were starting to have fun too…" The voice belonged to Nana, of course, though the person she was speaking to didn't respond. Or more likely couldn't..

The reason for the foul smell that we had been hit with was quickly made apparent as we did so. The door to Nana's playroom was wide open, allowing all of the horrible smells inside to slip out into the open air.

The woman herself was standing just outside the doorway bent over as she finished zipping up a black body bag, thankfully obscuring the person inside and sparing them the no doubt grisly view.

Though the view of the woman herself was hardly better. It was clear that Nana had been having quite a bit of fun with her latest victim as she was absolutely drenched in blood. It caked her hands, from her fingertips to her forearms and even from behind I could easily see the splatters of red on her coat. She had been indulging more than usual, it seemed. I suppose it was my fault for giving her so much leeway this time.

As she finished closing the bag and stood back up to her full height, the woman placed her hands on her hips with an airy sigh, "Oh, Takao. You were a fun one, that's for sure. I just wish we could have spent more time together…"

The way she spoke about him was eerily reminiscent of someone speaking of a recently lost lover, and I shared an uncomfortable look with Tammi before clearing my throat, wishing to get this over with as quickly as possible.

At the noise, the woman whipped her head towards us, revealing that her face has splatters of blood all over as well. "Ah, Hime! You're finally here!" Nana gave me a wide smile, "Sorry about the mess. I was expecting you here a bit sooner and you caught me in the middle of cleaning up, I'm afraid."

"I understand, Nana." I gave her the best smile I could muster under the circumstances, "I went to collect Tammi beforehand so it took a bit longer to get here. …How did things go?"

"Weeell…" Nana cast a sidelong glance down at the body bag, "As I'm sure you can see, Takao couldn't quite stand up to my more thorough methods of information collecting. I'm afraid his already frail body just couldn't cut it. And just when we were getting to the really good part, too."

"I did say you could do what was necessary." I commented, though I couldn't keep the slight disgust out of my voice as I gazed at the blood soaked woman. "Still, you were able to get him to tell you what he knew before you did the deed, yes?"

Nana makes a mock offended face, "Of course I did, Hime. You know I wouldn't let him die until he figuratively spilled his guts. Well… sometimes figuratively."

I ignored the woman's remark and Tammi's gag, instead focusing my attention on the body bag that I assumed held the former Face. "So what information did you manage to glean from your… session?"

Nana shook her head, "Not down here. Let me wash up really quick." She said, flicking her fingers and causing blood to fly onto the floor, "I'm quite sticky at the moment, and while I might enjoy the smell, I know you don't. There's a shower upstairs in my room, let's meet there."

I nodded, somewhat glad that we wouldn't have to spend any more time down here, "Lead the way."

As Nana passed us by and made her way up the stairs, Tammi turned to look at me, silent horror in her eyes, "She lives here?"

~~~

Despite being a floor above the parlor and two floors above the basement, Nana's home was much cleaner than either of them. It looked like something one would expect from a modern apartment, with dark wooden floors and tasteful wallpaper. Normal, in other words, and not at all a representation of the woman herself.

Said woman gave us a smile as she sat a bowl of fresh fruit on the coffee table in front of us. Her hair was still wet from her shower and she had yet to replace the prosthetic fingers that she had taken off during it, "Here, enjoy. I always make sure to keep fresh fruit in case I get some visitors."

"Does that happen often?" I asked as I reached forward to grab a grape out of the bowl. Tammi followed suit, grabbing what looked like a chunk of melon or maybe pear and biting into it.

"No, but it's also nice to have something to snack on if it's not time for dinner." Nana shrugged as she sat down across from us, "Anyway, I assume you want to know what Takao told me before he kicked the bucket?"

I nodded, "Indeed. I assume it was revealing."

Nana nodded, grinning from ear-to-ear, "Oh yeah it was. Turns out our little buddy there was employed by someone we didn't expect. Hell, even I didn't have him on my list. Coil."

"Do you think he was telling the truth?"

"I don't see why he wouldn't have been, unless he just wanted to spite us with his dying breath or something." As she spoke, Nana reached into her pocket, pulling out her prosthetic fingers and beginning to screw it on, "It honestly might have just been a guess on his end, but Takao wasn't stupid and it makes sense at least. If it was the Empire or a new player, we probably would have learned about it before we did."

Nodding slowly, I leaned back in my chair, a contemplative expression coming to my face, "Coil… I've heard the name before but everything else escapes me. Who is he?"

"He's a small-time villain." Tammi answered before Nana had the chance to. There was an odd expression on her face, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Barely a player in the city, or he's supposed to be. He hires mercenaries to do his dirty work and I don't think anyone's actually seen him himself. He had moles in the ABB?"

"Apparently so." Nana nodded, "You know about him, Tammi?"

"Not much. I don't think anyone does, really. He's not really made any plays as far as anyone can tell. He's just there." Tammi shrugged, popping a strawberry into her mouth, "Before I left the Empire, we were pretty sure he was operating somewhere downtown but couldn't find out exactly where."

"That's oddly close to the Empire's own territory, is it not?" I asked.

Tammi grinned, "Yeah. Kaiser was always keeping lines out to try to figure out where he was hiding but the bastard's too sneaky. Drove him up the wall knowing that a hostile cape was working practically under his nose but he couldn't find him."

"And now he's targeting us for some reason." Nana commented, "Do we have any idea what he'd want with us? We don't have any issues with him, do we?"

I shook my head, "We didn't, no. But if Coil is competent enough to operate so close to the Empire and not be detected, then his information network must be extensive. He likely had moles in the ABB long before I took command."

But did he now, was the question. During my overhaul of the ABB, I had rooted out several individuals that might have been moles and some that definitely were,but there was a possibility I had missed some.

And given these new circumstances that wasn't a possibility I was willing to accept.

"We'll need to do another sweep of our ranks just in case Takao wasn't the only one reporting to him." I said aloud, "When I get back home, I'll call a meeting with the Faces to discuss the matter. I'll also speak to Kon to see if he has noticed anything unusual and perhaps set a date to interrogate some of the more suspicious Officers just in case."

I wasn't looking forward to having to do all of that again, but at the very least it would be much easier than last time now that things had calmed down just a bit.

To my confusion, Tammi and Nana shared a silent look with one another, before Tammi turned towards me with an oddly stern expression on her face.

"Yeah, no. That can wait for a little bit. You need a day off. You've been spending way too much time working here recently and I'm starting to get worried about you."

I raised an eyebrow. Someone had clearly been talking to Hiashi, "Tammi, I'm fine. I don't need a day off right now, what I need is to make sure the ABB is safe."

Tammi sighed, "It's as safe as it's gonna get, right now, Yuko. None of the Faces are having any issues, the heroes aren't knocking on our door and hell, even the Empire is quiet. You can take one day off to rest."

"She's right, Hime." Nana chimed in before I could respond, "And I know Hiashi's been telling you the exact same thing. It doesn't matter if your power lets you fire on all cylinders twenty-four seven, if you don't give your brain time to rest, it's going to make time. Believe me, I'd know."

I sighed, rubbing my face, "You two… I can't just leave the ABB without a leader, even for just a bit. Things are in such a place that a single action could cause disastrous and unexpected change. What if there's an emergency?"

"Then I assume we'll be able to reach you via your phone." Nana answered dryly, "You're one of the fastest capes in the city, Hime. You could be on the other side of downtown and be here in less than five minutes if we have an issue. Nothing's gonna happen that you couldn't react to like you were already here."

That… was a good point. One I was having trouble finding any flaw in.

"And besides, you still owe me a date, remember?" Tammi chimed in as I mulled over the woman's words, "I might enjoy just hanging out with you while we work, but a girl had needs you know? Even one like me."

That was also true, I had promised her that I'd try to find some time for her sometime soon. I looked over at her, finding her staring at me with a soft expression, and looked away as I thought about their words.

Though the worry tingled in the back of my mind, I had to admit that things were at least relatively stable at the moment.

Spook's warehouse was well on the way to being properly furnished and he had already been introduced to the Faces as was proper. It was decided that he would remain in that edge of our territory as a deterrent to anyone who might try anything over there alongside a contingent of loyal soldiers just in case my trust in him turned out to be misled

On top of that, all of the Faces had managed to get a handle on their operations. I was getting fewer reports on things that required my direct interference and I hadn't had to actually visit one of them in at least a few days…

Perhaps Hiashi and these two were right. Perhaps I could spare just a bit of time to myself. To unwind from all this stress and deal with the emotions of been bottling up.

"...Very well." I said finally, sighing in silent defeat, "I'll take a day off. Just one, though. No more."

"That's all we want." Tammi gave me a bright grin, one that I hesitantly returned, before leaning over to peck me on the cheek.

"I'm sure things will run just fine without you, Hime." Nana reassured, as Tammi settled back into her chair, "You've got some pretty competent people holding the reins in your absence. Everything will be fine."

I gave her a nod, feeling a bit better about the situation, "You're right, I was being paranoid. I suppose all the stress made me forget that I'm not the only one capable of keeping things together around here. I'll contact Hiashi and request that he takes care of things while I am away."

Nana grinned, "'Atta girl, Hime. You're learning one of the best parts of being a leader. Delegating your problems to someone else is always better than dealing with them yourself."

I snorted lightly, leaning forward to grab another piece of fruit, "Well I wouldn't go that far. I still fully expect you to contact me if an issue comes up."

She was right about one thing though, it's just a day. What was the worst that could happen?

---

Next eight chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

My hands were steady and my breathing was slow as I slid the brush along the outer edge of the canvas in front of me with the utmost care, making sure not to smudge of mark anything that wasn't completely necessary lest I have to start all over again.

It has been quite a long time since I had gotten the chance to indulge in one of my favorite hobbies like this and I had forgotten how soothing such an action could be. There was something calming about the way my paintbrush glided along the canvas, each stroke working towards the finished product I had imagined in my mind. It was… satisfying.

Unfortunately, I wasn't doing this out of enjoyment. No, there was another motive behind my current task, one that most people wouldn't understand even if I explained it to them. This work, by his piece of art that I was carefully crafting, was my way of coming to terms with what had been lost to me forever.

A small sigh escaped my lips as I let out the breath that I was holding, and I leaned back slightly to observe what I had done, before moving to re-coat my brush in paint once more.

My morning so far had been a somber one as I allowed the emotions that I had been keeping under wraps to flow freely. Without the mountain of work to distract me from things, my mind was able to finally deal with what had happened and my heart was heavy with sorrow as a result. My entire mood had been completely skewed, sadness and loss the predominant emotions within me, and nothing seemed to be able to change that.

Still, I stayed as strong as I possibly could, knowing that if my father were here, he wouldn't tolerate me breaking down like a child. He would tell me that I had a duty to uphold the image of strength and power that he had once held in my position, to be the pillar of strength that the ABB had always needed. And like always, I would obey.

Which was why I pushed down the tears that wished to come to the surface as I once again dipped my brush back into the paint. My father was gone and there was nothing that I could do about it, but as long as I remained to carry on his legacy then he would never truly disappear.

Still, it would be nice to have more to remember him by than just his belongings and the empty house he had left to me, which was the true reason behind my current task. Was why, despite my current mood, I was holed up inside of my studio, working diligently to create a monument to everything that Lung, that Kenta Araki, had been to me.

He had been fearsome and powerful, the kind of man that you wouldn't want as your enemy or even sometimes as your ally and yet to me, he had been so much more. He had been a guiding presence, a force that shaped my life and kept me safe in the darkest times of both of our lives, and I wanted to put that onto the page as best as I possibly could.

After some deliberation, I had decided on a portrait piece, or at least that was the closest thing that I was able to equate it to. Using a small photo of my father on a nearby stool as reference, I began putting my vision onto canvas.

Half of the canvas would be the visage of my father as he had been to me, the human underneath the mask, with black hair and a steely gaze set into a stony expression. If one were to look at this side alone, they probably wouldn't even recognize him and that had been my desire, to separate the man from the beast he had come to be known as.

The other half of the portrait on the other hand, was to be the exact opposite. It would be my father as the Bay had known him, the monster leading the ABB, with his silver mask glinting in the light of the fires he had created, making the snarling visage of the Dragon of Kyushu even more intimidating than before. All of his primal power and instinct made manifest.

That was my vision for the piece at least. Work like this took time, weeks of diligent work even with my skill and I had only been at it for around six hours. When everything was said and done though, I would hopefully have something that I would be proud to hang on the wall right behind my desk.

Stepping back, I took in the work I had managed so far. It was extremely rough, with the details that I wished to put into it only just now coming together, but for the time that I had put into it, it was more than enough. I then looked towards the small containers of paint sitting on the stool nearby and frowned as I took in the small amount that was left.

"I suppose this is a good place to stop for now…" I said as I placed my brush into the container of water sitting by the easel, swirling it around. The foundation of what I wanted was there and I only needed to fill it in, which I could do later once I could find the time.

And I would find the time. This small break away from my duties had shown me that I had been working far too hard the past few weeks. Taking a step back, even for a little while, had given me a new perspective on things that I hadn't even noticed before.

Nana and Hiashi were right, I had been slipping and I hadn't even known it. The days of work without break had caused me to miss things that I definitely would have noticed before and I had made decisions that I would have never made if not for the constant flow of responsibilities coming my way. It was slightly disheartening to know that I had made several mistakes in the moment that I would certainly have to fix, but that was for later. For now, it was my day off, and I had several things I still needed to do.

I looked down at myself, taking in the paint staining my fingers and clothes, "I think the first thing I need to worry about is a shower. I doubt Tammi would appreciate me showing up to our date looking like this. After that, hmm… the mall?" I looked at the clock on the wall, taking note of the time, "...Yes, I should get more paint while I have the chance. Our date isn't for another few hours so I have the time."

I put my things away and washed my brushes in the nearby sink, making sure that no dried paint remained hidden within the bristles before putting my apron away. The painting itself remained on the easel though I made sure to put it against the wall and out of the way of the sun drifting in from the nearby window just in case.

I then grabbed the picture I had been using for reference off of the nearby stand and just… stared at it for a moment, taking it in.

This was the only way I would be able to see my father's face now and likely for the rest of my life, on a tiny sheet of laminated paper held behind a glass frame. How depressing.

I ran my fingers over the glass, emotions welling up from deep within me as I did so. I took a shuddering breath, staring at the stoic visage of the man who raised me.

"...I'll miss you, father, but I promise to be everything you raised me to be and more." I promised the photo quietly.

"The ABB will flourish under my rule. I swear it."

~~~

The art supply store in the mall was surprisingly well-stocked, especially for Brockton Bay of all places. Every time I came here, I half expected it to have a sign announcing its imminent closure due to bad business, and every time I was surprised..

I walked through the aisles, one hand hooked into a handheld basket that already contained several things I needed as I looked through the various colors and brands of paint lining the shelves. I stopped as I spotted one that was an intense shade of red, studying it for a moment before shrugging and tossing it into my basket with the rest of the things I had picked up and moving on to another aisle.

Perhaps it was the general vibe of the store or something else entirely, but as I shopped I had felt my mood lifting slightly. The proverbial raincloud of bad emotions that had been hanging over me had just a bit earlier had abated, and I actually found a small smile coming to my face as I came upon an aisle full of beginner level drawing supplies. Good quality colored pencils, stencil sheets, exactly what I had been searching for.

Tammi hadn't quite gotten the hang of my, or I suppose it would now be our, hobby by the end of our last session together, but her interest in art was just as keen as it had been before, if not more given that she seemed to enjoy learning what I had to teach. Unfortunately, the few supplies that she had gotten on our trip to boston had dwindled down to almost nothing by now and she had an odd issue with using what she perceived as my own personal set.

Which brought me to my current idea. If she didn't want to use my supplies, then why not buy her some of her own. It wasn't exactly the kind of gift one would ordinarily expect to see on a second date but our relationship wasn't exactly ordinary. She'd prefer something practical over vanity.

"Getting into drawing, huh?" A voice came from behind me as I looked for a set of colored pencils that Tammi might like.

Without turning, I shook my head, grabbing one of the sets from the rack. It was the same one that I used so Tammi should be fine with it as well, "No, I've been doing this for a while now. These are just gifts for my…girlfriend."
My voice trailed off slightly as I turned to look at who had spoken and was met with a freckled blonde teen giving me a vulpine grin. Almost automatically, my eyes went down to her clothing, searching for anything that might identify her allegiances, but she seemed to notice this and put her hands up in surrender.

Still grinning as I eyed her warily, she gave me a wink, "Don't worry, despite my looks, I don't have an issue with who gets your motor running. I won't tell a soul."

I eyed her, not responding to her words as I searched for the truth in her expression and she rolled her eyes, "No, seriously. You don't have to worry, I'm just here to grab some stuff, same as you. Promise."

She stared at me sincerely and as far as I could tell, she was telling the truth. That, or she was a phenomenal liar. I nodded slowly, a small amount of relief filling me at the knowledge that she wasn't the Empire member who might cause a scene or something similar. As if she had noticed the tension leaving me, Lisa's grin was back on her face almost immediately.

"Now that my status as a racist has been hopefully debunked…" She held a hand out asher cheer returned, "I'm Lisa. Nice to meet you."

Slightly amused by her demeanor now that the suspicions had been laid to rest, I grasped it gently, giving it a light shake, "I'm Yuko. A pleasure to meet you as well, Lisa."

She raised an eyebrow, "Ooh, you sure talk fancy, don't you?" She said, though her grin let me know that she was just teasing. She looked me up and down, confusing me slightly, "Talk fancy, dress fancy, what's someone like you doing in a place like this? You strike me as the type to shop in the ritsier part of the boardwalk instead of this dingy old mall."

I blinked, looking down at my clothes. Did I really give off that sort of vibe? Or was this girl just oddly observant? Either way, I just shrugged at her question, "I've been coming here for longer than I can remember. It has a surprisingly wide selection as well so there's never been a reason to go anywhere else.."
Lisa nodded, "That's true. I don't know anywhere else that sells this many different shades of red yarn." She said, holding up her own basket. A glance down into it revealed that indeed, it was full of several rolls of yarns, all a different shade of bright red. Alongside the yarn were two packs of pins, like the type you'd put in a wall to hang up a poster or something similar.

I raised an eyebrow at the odd selection, "You're into knitting?" For some reason I couldn't imagine a girl like this having such a mundane hobby. She seemed too… lively.

Lisa laughed, seeming startled at the question. She shook her head, "No, it's just for a hobby."

"Like knitting?" I asked, slightly bemused.

"More like… conspiracy theories." Lisa said in an odd tone, looking down into her basket, "Red string, cork boards, tiny black and white pictures framed by newspaper clippings you can barely read, all that jazz. It's sort of my thing"

"People actually do that?" I asked in surprise. I thought that was just a movie thing.

"You'd be surprised at just how many." She said as she turned to make her way out of the aisle. Finished with my shopping, I trailed after her, "Most of the people online couldn't figure their way out of a wet paper bag with instructions, but I've been to a few forums where people actually have their shit together."

"And they all use the cork boards with string?" I asked, thoroughly intrigued by the topic.

She shrugged, "Eh, some of them do. For me it's more of a visual thing. A way to mal out all of the pieces in a physical space and make it easier to connect them all in a way that works. It's actually amazing the amount of connections that exist between seemingly unconnected things."

"That makes sense." I nodded, "Have you made any big connections yet? Cracked any big cases?"

"No. Like I said, it's more of a hobby, really." Lisa shook her head, "That said, I'd like to think I've been right more often than not. I've got an eye for people with big secrets and there's nothing more satisfying than figuring out a good mystery." She finished, smiling secretly.

I chuckled as we reached the checkout, "Well it certainly sounds like an interesting hobby. If I had the time for it I might take it up."

"But you don't." Lisa said in that knowing tone once again. At my questioning glance, she just gave me a smile and a shrug, "Anyway, I'd love to keep chatting but I'm not done shopping and you probably have a certain someone waiting for you. I'll stop yapping your ear off now. Stay safe Yuko."

She went to walk back into the depths of the store, but stopped just before she turned and gave me a serious look that gave me pause, "No seriously, be careful out there."

"I'll… make sure to?" I gave her a confused look, wondering what the cause for the sudden shift might be. Lisa didn't bother elaborating, instead giving me one last smile and disappearing down the aisles once again.

"Well that was weird." I couldn't help but comment as I turned to the cashier, placing my basket on the counter for him to ring up.

He shook his head as he began pulling things out, "She's not wrong though, is she? I mean, she's probably paranoid because she's a conspiracy theorist, but not wrong."

I raised an eyebrow at his words, "Were you eavesdropping on our conversation."

He shrugged unrepentantly, "I get bored and I can hear pretty much everything in this store. It'd be harder not to overhear you guys talking."

True enough, I supposed. I glanced back to where Lisa had disappeared to, a small frown coming to my face as I recalled the girl's words. They had seemed innocuous enough, the gentle concern of one friendly stranger to another.

Even so, I couldn't quite shake the feeling she knew more than she was letting on.

~~~

Clutching the bag full of my purchases in one hand, I made my way through the enclosed parking garage on the outer edge of the mall at a leisurely pace. The dim lights flickered overhead, making an annoying buzzing noise that had somehow persisted for months since it had begun. The longevity of fluorescents, I supposed.

This route was faster than walking through the entire mall to the front, though not by much. It was a minor shortcut, but it was one I had taken so many times that it was pretty much second nature to me by this point.

Only… this time something was different. I noticed it the moment I left the mall, an odd
feeling in the air, a tension that sent my hairs standing on end and raised my proverbial hackles.

Slowing my stride, I looked around into the empty parking spaces around me. It was getting late and the flickering lights in the garage did little to illuminate the darkness, and as I gazed into said darkness, my mind went back to what Lisa had said to me in the mall.

No seriously, be careful out there.

Had she actually known something like I had suspected? This feeling I was getting wasn't just the normal unease that anyone gets when faced with place like this. It was deeper, more primal.

My unease peaked as a male voice suddenly emerged from the darkness, "Excuse me?"

I whipped my head towards the noise, unable to see anything in the thick darkness. I flinched as there was an ear-grating sound, like the scraping of glass on concrete, only this time coming from behind me. Whirling around, I was once again met with nothing but darkness.

The buzzing and flickering of the lights above me were the only thing I could hear as I strained my ears, hoping to identify whatever I couldn't see. I clenched my bag tighter, my power building inside me at this unseen threat.

"Hello? Are you there?" The voice came again, this time to my right. Looking in that direction once again yielded nothing, and I was starting to get more freaked out than I would like to admit.

My power bubbled underneath my skin but I held it back as I slowly backed away from where the noise had last come from. I wasn't Yosei right now, I was Yuko. I wasn't going to risk outing myself by transforming right now, not unless I had no choice, at least.

With that in mind I turned on my heel, beginning to face back towards the mall exit as fast as I could. Even if whoever was behind me was determined enough to actually follow me I might be able to slip into the crowd that was waiting on the other side of those doors and disappear.

Unfortunately, my plan fell completely apart less than three feet from where I started as a dense cloud of white suddenly surged out of the darkness at me. I just barely managed to stop my sprint before I ran into it, my sneakers skidding on the concrete underneath me as I scrambled backwards to get away from the fog that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

As I did so, the mist coalesced in front of me, bunching together to form a pair of legs, then a torso, then arms and finally, a head, until there was a complete person standing in front of me.

One I didn't recognize. The man was clearly Empire affiliated given the symbols on his white spandex costume and his bright blonde hair, but apart from that I was completely in the dark about this man's identity as well as the danger he might pose.

"Leaving so soon?" He asked, gazing down at me with a slightly too-wide smile. His eyes sent my heart racing and my power churning harder than ever before. They looked wrong, almost dead, as if there wasn't even a person behind them and the man in front of me was just the husk of a person.

As if sensing my fear, his smile widened even more, before he turned his head to the right as the skittering in the darkness grew closer. My pulse quickened and I stepped back, my eyes darting towards the noise in preparation to see what horror was making it, only for it to suddenly stop just before exiting the darkness and into the light.

Instead, what appeared was a woman dressed in an all-black costume, the polar opposite of her partner. It was baggy instead of skintight, with a black cloak draped over her shoulders and sliding along the ground behind her. Several grenades were attached to her belt, and I had enough cognizance to recognize the lack of actual explosives. They were simply smoke grenades and flashbangs.

As she approached gave me a smile that was just as wrong as her partner's, locking eyes with me as she began to speak in a sugary-sweet tone, like a mother offering her children an extra slice of cake at dinnertime, "Hello, dear. Would you be so kind as to answer some questions for us?"

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