July 7th, 2486 - Planet Sanctuary, Sanctuary City - Koltura District - The Ruins of the Teqaku Family Mansion

The room shook. A dozen fiery, bright-red chains erupted from the floorboards, crisscrossing and clanking aggressively. A number of them wrapped around the Boss’s arms, hoisting her into the air, out of reach. The other chains coiled and uncoiled beneath her feet, poising to strike. Ichiro and Angora exchanged a long, worried glance. They had come to the same conclusion.

‘Yeah, we can’t beat that’, Angora confirmed. ‘Let’s grab Abiona and bolt—Ichiro, you get her, I’ll do everything in my power to keep the Boss away from you. Now go!’

Ichiro didn’t need telling twice. He nodded, and paced carefully away from Angora, keeping his eyes on the multitude of chains. Angora broke into a sprint, straight into the enemy’s maw. Ichiro took that action as a sign to make his move; he dashed across the floorboards, which creaked under his weight, making for Abiona. He heard Angora cry out in pain, the chains rattling and whistling through the air, but he did not stop. He came to a sudden halt, almost toppling over the chair, as he reached Abiona.

‘Kept you waiting, huh?’ he grunted, pulling a pocket knife from his shoe and tearing into the ropes that bound Abiona.

‘Hurry!’ Abiona gasped. ‘Angora can’t hold out much longer!’

Angora cried out again, somewhere in the vast expanse of regal wallpaper and flashing monitors. The ropes gave way, tearing apart and falling to the floor. Ichiro felt heat on his back, and spun around, Abiona gripping tightly to his arm. Angora was held, upside down in mid-air, a glowing hot chain wrapped painfully around his left leg. The Boss’s emerald eyes were fixed on Ichiro. Two chains darted across the room, aimed at Ichiro and Abiona. Abiona gripped more tightly to Ichiro’s arm and he tensed up. The chains were everywhere. There was nowhere to run.

What surprised Ichiro most was that he wasn’t all that worried about his own life. It was the pressure on his arm, and back, the breath on his neck and the sensation of a person shivering in fear that spurred him into action. The chains were inches away. He wasn’t going to let them harm Abiona.

It came out in a torrent of blue light, pulsing and filling his being, forcing his hands out in front himself.

‘Ward, Komainu!’

The words felt new, yet familiar. There was a roar, and it might have come from Ichiro himself, he wasn’t sure. A shield of blue light burst forth, out of Ichiro’s left hand, covering Ichiro and Abiona from the front. A face like a lion, with bulging eyes and powerful fangs protruding from its bottom lip, appeared on the outward facing side of the shield, and it flashed with blinding light, the chains bouncing back, repelled by the shield. The Boss dropped Angora, and he hit the ground with an unceremonious thud. Her eyes flashed, widening with surprise, fixing on Ichiro with curiosity … and an emotion that might have been concern—It quickly gave way to genuine fright. Ichiro didn’t think. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. This was the sensation he had felt twice before in the past few days; once, when he’d snuck Abiona onto the B-class delivery vehicle, again, when Abiona had fired the gun atop a statue on Bungirba … and in that moment, as he barrelled headlong towards the Boss, shield raised, yelling like a madman—he felt it again. He was excited, and for a split-second, he had to admit to himself that he was enjoying the ride. He was happy.

Ichiro jumped. For a moment, he was suspended in the air, watching as the Boss’s green eyes widened in horror, feeling the heat around him as the chains drew closer. He swung the shield like a backhand, slamming the luminous, lion-like face into her lower back, causing her to cry out in pain. The chains froze in place; she stiffened up, and slumped forwards slightly. Ichiro fell, rolling as he hit the ground. From where he lay, he caught sight of Angora, who leapt into the air, above the Boss, and brought his leg down hard on her shoulder. Something broke. The chains evaporated, the crimson glow that bathed the room faded within a heartbeat, glimmering, molten dust rising in shimmering clouds from the floorboards, illuminated by moonlight. The Boss hit the ground hard, gasped, and lay there, clutching her arm and groaning in pain. Angora landed on his right foot, his left foot hovered above the ground, a hideous burn mark scaring his pale flesh. He turned, golden locks tossing and a triumphant grin on his lips.

‘You didn’t break your promise, Ichiro’, he said.

The Boss pulled herself up into a seated position, and let out a sigh. Her suit was covered in dust, her green eyes shone beneath dishevelled black hair.

‘Fine’, she said. ‘You survived. Do whatever you want—take her. My life hasn’t amounted to much anyway … it won’t be a great loss.’

‘The way I see it…’ Abiona began, pacing across the room and stretching her stiff arms. ‘I’m safe. You hurt Angora, he hurt you. An eye for an eye makes the whole universe even … just, maybe give up on the life of crime okay? It’s clearly not working out for you.’ She eyed the rose on the floor, and smiled mischievously. ‘Have you ever considered going into flower arranging? There are worst ways to launder dirty cash while you get clean.’

The Boss burst out laughing, then clutched her arm and winced at the pain.

‘There are certainly worst ways’, the Boss chuckled, her green eyes flashing.

*

Chara backed away, slowly. They were running out of floor space.

‘Who are you people? The cops?’ Chara asked, her voice warbling slightly ‘I—I swear, this is a wrong time, wrong place type of situation officer—my grandfather and I just got lost on our way home…’

They came to a stop by the chandelier, Chara’s heart beating quickly, Pazzik seemingly not intimidated, although following his granddaughter nonetheless. The man named Colado was nowhere to be seen.

‘If you are innocent, then there’s nothing to be afraid of … but you must understand how this looks, loitering around here late at night’, the young man said, smiling innocently… a smile that looked all too familiar to Chara. ‘My name is Yared Var Oostabar Gan Kuji, and I believe my sister was to be sold here … anything less than total cooperation would be treason, so I suggest that you start talking.’

Two people in military uniform came out from the shadows of the doorway. One was a blonde woman, who stepped forward, placing her hand on the gun strapped to her hip and pouting seriously. The other was a dark haired man, who scoffed, and ran a hand through his perfectly-sculpted full beard. The woman had eyes like a glacier, the man: eyes like a shark. Yared Var Oostabar Gan Kuji smiled innocently, yet his wide, dark eyes spoke only of malicious intent. Chara shivered, and squeezed her grandfather’s hand.