The first thing Magatsu sees when he wakes up is Sasha's sleepy face. Not wanting to disturb the sight, he just stays there and enjoys himself. Soon after, she wakes up and smiles.

– Morning.

Instead of answering, he kisses her forehead, making her blush as her smile widens.

– Did you like last night? – She asks.

– I didn't like that it ended. We should do that more often.

After staying there for a few more minutes, they finally get out of bed to go on with their mornings.

Once back home, Baxter greets Magatsu before he went back to his city, explaining why he didn't go back home last night. Agatha hears it and bursts in laughter, so the half-siblings leave her alone. Baxter got what he was looking for, so there was no need for him to stay there anymore.

– Well, thanks for everything, Mag. – He says with a fist bump.

– Will I see you again soon? – Magatsu asks. Baxter shrugs.

– I might not look like it, but I have a busy schedule. I'll try to keep contact though.

And with that, he walks away.

That morning, Magatsu accompanied Sasha to her school before going to his, their hands locked together. Sasha felt proud with such an accomplishment as she noticed some of her colleagues staring,

Meanwhile, Shinda's issue wasn't diminishing whatsoever as his obsession with Yinsak only grew, especially after meeting Baxter.

Ever since he started taking his training seriously, he had grown a lot stronger than even his father could expect him to in such a short time. Yet, he never thought of it as enough and kept going, especially because he knew his old time friend wouldn't slack off knowing Yinsak was out there doing whatever.

He wouldn't stop until he could make Yinsak bow in front of him.

It has been a week.

No new traces of the Astarosa's doings were caught by neither of Yinsak's contacts.

And to top all that, Bruno had come back to annoy him with his presence again.

– Don't you have anything better to do? – He asks Bruno with a frown. Said man shrugs while forcing his voice to a mocking one.

– What happened to our friendship?

– You're asking for it. – He takes a deep breath. – But I don't have time to deal with you.

– You mean your "secret project" you can't share with anyone? – Bruno scratches his head. – C'mon, Yin. What happened to ol' ladies man that would have a new girlfriend every three months or so? When was the last time you even slept with someone?

Yinsak looks at him with an annoyed look. Bruno straightens his eyes before sighing, defeated. – You're hopeless.

He then leaves his apartment without saying anything else.

Now alone and at peace, Yinsak goes back to what he was thinking about, verbalizing thoughts.

– Last time, things didn't end well... I don't have enough concrete pieces of evidence to back my claims up, so no one will help me... If only Russ could get something useful...

Almost as if waiting for this moment, Russ knocks his door with force while shouting. Yinsak immediately opens it as Russ blitz past him with his laptop in hands and a proud smile on his face.

– What? – Yinsak asks as Russ taps rapidly a bunch of things in his laptop. After a minute or so, he shows him his laptop's screen.

Yinsak pushes Russ aside to have a closer look at what he was seeing right now. After one long minute of messing around, he looks at Russ with a wide grin.

– You sly bastard! How did you get your hands in this?!

– I have my ways. – He proudly puffs his chest.

– Just in time, too. Now that I have this, those bastards will have to believe me.

– But who will you start with?

Yinsak thinks for a few seconds. – We can think of that when we get to your car. Let's get going.

Once there, Yinsak starts.

– There are five people I want to help me. We'll start with Katrina.

Russ shivers. – Why her first?

– Your reaction just now is all the answer I need to give you. Now get moving.

For the following two hours, they travel to another city to meet up with said woman.

A group of thugs was holding a family hostage inside a house and demanding a large sum of cash for their safety. The cops had the place surrounded, but the door was being guarded by one of the criminals. All five were armed.

From a considerable distance on a rooftop, a woman wearing tight clothes was analyzing the scenario with sharp frowned eyes. She shakes her black hair, tied in a ponytail, before speaking to two men that were standing aside her without looking at them.

– Long time no see, Yinsak.

– Same. – He answers. Russ sees the situation and asks.

– What's going on there?

– Your typical rescue mission. A rich family was kidnapped and the police can't do much without risking their lives.

– Who hired you? – Yinsak asks. She chuckles.

– What if I was just passing by and decided to do something good for society?

– As if. Not you, unless there's cash involved.

She draws the short sword she was wielding from a leather belt before saying again. – Stay here. This shouldn't take long.

Suddenly, she jumps from where she was standing, lands on the roofs of the target house, from there, jumps to the front yard, and blitzes through one of the windows.

In front of her, the family tied in ropes, and five armed thugs watching over them in different spots of the building. Most of them near the windows but one near the door. As soon as they see her, they target her with their guns.

With a quick hand motion, she draws two throwing knives from her belt and throws both at the same time. They land clean on their targets as two bodies fall dead on the floor.

The family starts wiggling and screaming, said screams muffled by pieces of cloth, as the remaining thugs now open fire. Katrina, however, was no longer where she was standing.

Within seconds, another man falls dead on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding his corpse. The remaining two are still trying to land a shot on her but they barely manage to scratch her clothes.

They eventually have to reload, allowing her to grab the knives she tossed and reuse them against the remaining two. The one guarding the door manages to block it with his gun but the other isn't so fortunate.

After reloading and preparing to shoot again, the final thug realizes that Katrina is no longer within eyesight. She then, from behind, sweeps his legs with a kick and forces her blade against his throat. Staring into his soul with a death glare, only now she realizes Yinsak followed her and watched the whole thing from a safe corner with a smirk.

– You sure like to watch, don't you? – She says with annoyance. He laughs before clapping.

– You haven't got rusty in the slightest. I did well in coming here first. But I think you should finish what you started, just to be safe.

Instead of answering, she stabs the fall man's leg, gaining a pained scream from him, and runs for the window, Yinsak following her. As soon as they leave the scene behind, the police show up with a loud kick to the door.

Now back to the rooftop they were, she pats herself and cracks her neck. – That was a good warm-up.

– Warm-up?! – Russ asks in disbelief. – Dodging gunshots is just a "warm-up" now? What is wrong with you freaks?

– They were just random thugs, Russ. – Yinsak explains. – They barely knew what they had in their hands, let alone who they were up against.

– And I still got some scratches in my clothes. – Katrina complains while looking around herself.

She had an attractive and athletic body that was being capitalized on by the tight dark blue clothes she was wearing. She also had minor scars on her face, which only served to give her a more ferocious look than anything else. Now having a closer look at her, Russ kind of got hypnotized by her, something Yinsak noticed. Said man elbows his partner with a grin.

– Don't even think of it.

Breaking free from his trance, Russ blinks once. – What do you mean?

– You're better off by trying your luck with anyone else. This girl is venomous, you see.

Suddenly, Katrina throws a knife against him. He easily catches it with his fingers while grinning. – What did I say?

– Very funny, you. – She cleans her blade before sheathing it back. – So, what did you come here to do?

– A little something that will need your help. – Yinsak says.

– How much for it? – She asks.

– Don't worry about that.

– Last time you said that I almost got pregnant.

Dumbfounded by the news, Russ looks from both people in front of him with wide eyes. – Wait, what?!

– Oh, right. I didn't tell you. – Yinsak starts laughing. – We had our fair share of fun a few years ago when we first met. Someone paid her to hunt me down for some reason but she failed miserably. I was in my right to kill her but I spared her because I found her really gorgeous and she returned the favor with a night on a motel. We weren't thinking straight because of the adrenaline from our battle and things went overboard way too quickly. I had to leave before the owners found out the broken bed. – He then starts laughing again. Katrina tries to stab him this time, something he sees coming and sidesteps.

– I knew I should have killed you while you were asleep.

– As if you could after how great I made you feel.

– Yinsak, the ladies man. – Russ says with a whistle. – Conquering women no man could ever dream of.

Instead of randomly attacking Russ, Katrina death glares him, making him flinch.

– So – She addresses Yinsak, still somewhat upset. – , what's the job?

He asks for Russ' laptop and opens it, showing to her what its owner showed him a few hours ago. She furrows her eyebrows and after a minute, widens her eyes.

– H-How could this be...? I thought...

– Me to. – Yinsak cuts her while closing the laptop's screen. – But this is real and I'm looking for as much help as I can get. You're in?

She sighs. – The paycheck better be good.

– You won't regret it. – He says while grinning.

After that, the duo leaves Katrina behind as she grabs her phone to make a call, likely to whoever hired her.

Once they go back to their car, Russ asks while turning the engine on.

– Who we're visiting now?

– I think I'll keep this one a surprise. Just go to Mountain's Edge and let me handle the rest. Where I'll go to, you can't follow me.

– Mountain's Edge? But that will take five hours!

– So you better start driving. – Yinsak then stretches his limbs before resting his head against the seat. – And don't wake me up until we get there.

– Chief! – A monk wearing a simple grey tunic rushes inside a big dark orange tent while calling for a man. Inside the tent, browny rocks were scattered everywhere to be used as seats.

The man was having a conversation with another man that was wearing a tunic similar to the monk's but it was black and had fancy details around it. Both men look at the monk.

– Yes? – The dark tunic monk, apparently the "Chief", asks.

– An outsider just arrived in front of our village's entrance!

Bewildered, the chief immediately rushes to the tent's exit.

– Won't even finish our conversation, Chief Tom? – The man that stood behind asks. The chief abruptly stops and turns with an apologetic body language.

– I'm very sorry, Mr. Maelstorm, but I can't ignore something of this magnitude. If someone was skilled enough to trespass the forest, I must address the issue myself. I can't risk it, not even for you.

Maelstorm sighs before waving his hand. – I'll wait for you here, so...

– Hello, Edgar. – Yinsak suddenly appears from the tent's entrance, starling both monks. The grey tunic one falls on his butt with a frightened face while the Chief frowns.

– Who are you? How did you manage to get past the forest unscathed?

– Too many wrong questions, Chief. You should ask why it took me so long to do so. – He twists his neck with a hand over it. – Seriously, what's wrong with those bears? They're almost twice the size of normal ones. I almost had to take things seriously.

Shocked, the Chief fails to say something. Edgar sighs again, this time annoyed.

– How did you find me? I double-checked to make sure not to leave tracks this time.

– Not important right now. What is important is why you are here.

Edgar messes with his dark grey hair. – My business, not yours. Now, I'll have to ask you to leave before I lose my cool here.

– Hold up, hot-head. – Yinsak smirks while approaching him, only to be stopped by the Chief. He raises an eyebrow. – Move.

– I won't... – The Chief starts but is interrupted by Edgar.

– Let him be, Chief Tom. We will just talk.

Reluctant, the Chief sidesteps. Now closer, Yinsak grins at Edgar, who sighs.

– What do you want this time?

– What if I just came here to give you a handshake? – He laughs before shaking his head, a smile on his face. – As if. I want your help with something.