Bruno took us through the city on a long winding road close to the shore. Other than the smuggling den known as the Rust Docks—Seaside formed the long strip of southern New Valentine coast. It ran all the way down the city, stuffed with luxury housing and dockyards with yachts. Even with it adjacent to Southside, it was like stepping into a whole new world. One filled with picturesque beaches and ever-present tourists and patrolling sects.

Normally being this close to a place with actual law enforcement would make me nervous since we tended to gather looks in spots like this. But since neither Bruno nor I were wearing Brass Kings Colors, I chose to let that instinct go. The gangs were New Valentine's dirty little secret, and if we kept to our corner, the Sects didn't care much. I let myself enjoy the time in the sun and the feel of the bike running over damn near the smoothest roads in the city.

Soon the wealthy tourist hot spot morphed into commercial docks and shipping—before giving ground to the familiar run-down sight of the Rust Docks. Dilapidated buildings and skeevy businesses felt like fresh air from the stuffy rich people district. It might be strange to say that the smell of burnt coal and grease was comforting, but it was.

Bruno stopped the bike next to a series of storage units. He got off his ride and led me to an alternating series of orange and gray sliding doors. The big guy counted off the numbers until we reached one with '76' on it, completed with a half-faded white script. As soon as he was sure we were at the right one, he turned and gave me a goofy grin. I looked left and right, wondering what this was all about.

“Uh? So what? Are ya—is this a joke? Mean this to be my new house or something? Listen, things with me and my family are pretty fucked, sure, but it aint bad enough to live out of a storage unit yet—“

That smile sank from his face completely, turning to horror. “No, Luca! If things were that bad—I’d rather you live with me. I didn’t mean to—“

“Ha—just messing with ya, big guy. Take it down a notch.”

“Oh—No, no. It’s not like that. Haha. As if I’d suggest my glorious best friend were to live out of such a horrible place! Why there's not even a bathroom—” Best friend? I gave him a funny look, but he plowed ahead. “Go, open it! Here.” He pressed the key into my hand, and I walked over to the padlock. I glanced at him, feeling a bit of worry in my chest. If I were Bruno, and I wanted to celebrate my friend getting stronger...

“Am I about to be jumped by some Crimson Eagles so ya can test out what I can do?”

“I would never do that! As if I’d rely on anyone else to provoke you! No! I’d just punch you until you showed me!”

“Right, right. And this aint the lead up to that, then, right?”

“I assure you, I have no plans for that right now.” He began to hop foot to foot. I gave him one more suspicious glance and then grimaced.

I wasn’t like Eve. Hadn’t I resolved to change my life around? Work more with my friends? I needed to chill. The big guy just said we were best friends. I didn’t know how to feel about that yet, but this wasn’t some kind of elaborate trap. Even if I didn’t know what it was. I shook my head and shoved the key into the padlock.

With a shove, I forced the orange steel door to roll open.

Inside of the dingy barren storage unit was a beautiful white street bike with slick black chrome rims. Long luxurious drag bars compelted with a windscreen, its form damn near perfection. What especially made it beautiful was the way the front wheel’s fender wrapped around in the shape of a crescent moon. Completed with a pair of black dice decaled on the back of its body.

Just its silhouette sent shivers down my spine. This wasn’t a bike. It was a piece of art. “Damn. New bike, Bruno? Really fucking cool. You’ll look badass riding this thing.” I meant every word; there wasn’t a world where I could’ve kept awe from bleeding into my voice.

It was clean, not done up with all the sots of goofy designs and ornate fancy shit I’ve seen some people put on it. No, it was more of classy elegance; even if white wasn’t my go-to color for a bike, this one used it uniquely, making it work, almost like a lady in a wedding dress.

“Think so?” Bruno asked, moving over to me and slinging his arm over my shoulder. Damn near made me buckle at the knees to suddenly support that extra weight, even with my enhanced strength.

“Well fuck yea, I do. I’d be blind if I thought anything else, right? Hell, I liked your chrome chopper, but this thing stuns the eye.”

“Glad you like it!” Bruno dug in his pocket. In my admiration of the artwork, I hardly noticed when he grabbed my wrist and shoved keys into my hand. With casual grace ill-befitting such a large man, the big guy stretched his arms above his head and sauntered back over to his trusty chrome chopper. I looked at him with a dumb expression on my face as he got on his bike. Bruno crossed his arms.

Then I opened my hand, staring at the set of keys, before returning my eyes to him. This didn’t make sense; didn’t he want to take his new bike out for a ride? I could drive his back to where he needed to stash it or—

“C’mon, Luca! Hop on your bike! I don’t got all day, and the squad’s waiting to see you roll-up. It’d be rude to leave’em waiting.”

A hot tear ran down my eye—damn sand, I hated driving by that awful Seaside beach. Always got stuck in your eyes. Crap. More tears. I wiped them away, ignoring the good-natured laughter of my best friend. Fucking sand.

After an agonizing five minutes of trying to stop the tears, I was able to see fine again. I gave about a thousand thanks before Bruno shut me up with one firm command to get on the bike.

I complied, feeling like a shell from all the expended emotions from that damn sand. I slipped onto the bike, and it was like finding a part of myself I didn’t realize was missing. It completed me, from how the key felt going into the ignition to how the switch to flick the engine shut-off clicked—the beautiful purr of the engine as it came to life. Before I could process what was happening and that this was real, Bruno and me were racing through New Valentine. Me on my motorcycle, laughing like a madman.

It was utterly freeing. I didn’t care that the wind messed up my hair or that the sun kept catching my eyes in the wrong way. I’d been tied down to this city and my situation for so long, and now I felt like I was flying like a beast high in the sky with these wheels under me. This bike was my wings.

The trip didn’t last nearly long enough before we found our journey’s end at Kayson’s apartment. Everybody in the squad loitered in the front.

Kayson leaped to his feet first, nodding as he looked at the bike. “Well? Does he like her?” He walked closer, taking in the bike. “Bruno insisted on this one. Saw a blue naked that I thought fit. But judging by your face right now, guess he made the right call. Perfect bike for someone as flashy and hotheaded as you.”

“Of course, I know my best friend better than anyone! There was no contest for which was the best bike for him!”

“Still think we should’ve gotten his dumbass a scooter.” Eve gave me an evil smirk.

“S-suits you, Luca” Suzaki added.

“I’m blown away… Really, ya’ll are outta your minds. When I first joined this division, I thought it was a punishment. I was wrong. More wrong than I’d ever been. I wanna apologize right now and say that ya guys mean more to me than the world. I’m sorry I’ve been difficult, and I aint gonna be all the way better by tomorrow—even a month, for now, I'm sure I'll still have my flaws. But I promise to do right by ya. Thanks, seriously, from the very bottom of my heart.”

“Quit the mushy shit!” Eve shook her head. “Watch our back, and we watch yours. It’s simple.”

“Now!” Bruno yelled out, nearly throwing me off the bike with surprise at the sudden tone shift. “Luca broke through to the next stage! We need a proper trial to test him out! Does any here know of a worthy challenger? A glorious and bloody duel for him to display his new powers?” Bruno clapped his hands together, and Kayson gave him a weary look.

“Or, he could tell us. Manifest it right here.” Kayson said.

“There is no honor in such a method! The only way to showcase newfound might is on a battlefield.”

It’d been a long two weeks, and I’d be lying if I didn’t wanna test myself a bit. What could I do now that I’d broken through?

“Bruno’s got a point. Point us to someone that needs some hitting, and I’ll take a few swings. Let me show ya what I got.” Bruno barked out a laugh, clapping me on the back.

Eve shrugged, and Suzaki fidgeted nervously. Go figure the healer didn’t like the idea of people getting hurt.

“N-no Lantern District.” Suzaki said.

“But the young masters are the best opponents to face! Their pompous air—the lack of restraint, make them an ideal target to—“ Bruno began to say.

“We will not be causing more trouble with sects. If you two want to fight that bad, there are plenty of other targets. We’re still in a war. And Eve’s been doing some scouting for me and said that she’d got something. I intended to wait a couple more days for Luca to get back on his feet. You three may not be aware, but it’s a rather traumatic experience when you have a breakthrough. Which only gets more difficult the higher you get. If he’s ready then…” Kayson sighed and shook his head. “Luca, are you really up for this?”

“Ya fucking bet,” I said. I wanted to know what I could do. Was there a point in power if you couldn’t let loose and go wild once in a while?

“Fine, fine. Listen closely.”