When YF arrived at the station, Maeda was the one to pick him up as he had expected. YF always felt that the man did not like him, and the total silence of their ride to wherever they were going did not do much to help that assumption.

YF stared out the window to pass the time; he always liked to watch the transition from Itsugo’s squalor to Nishida City’s luxury condominiums, the dead pedestrian-less streets contrasted with the bustle of citizens at all hours of the day in the city. About an hour later they arrived at a massive mansion, of the type YF did not think was possible to build in the heart of Nishida City. He stepped out of the vehicle and immediately locked eyes on a woman in a form-fitting red dress donning a dog half-mask walking toward where he and Maeda stood. As the woman grew closer, YF stole a glance at Maeda, who maintained his expressionless face. He then turned toward the woman once more and figured from the stride and her body shape that it was Reina. YF glanced toward the ground.

“You’re late,” he could hear Reina say in a stern voice.

It was enough for YF to snap out of his trance. “I’m not your call boy,” he replied, looking up at her.

Reina deftly reached her hand in the space between YF’s arm and his body and pulled gently. She then pressed a white and red plastic fox mask against his chest. “Put this on.”

YF stumbled a few steps but eventually allowed her to lead him toward the house, putting the mask on as they walked. About ten strides later, she brought her mouth close to his ear, the familiar smell of a fresh lake causing him to feel a warmth in his cheeks.

“Now listen to me carefully,” said Reina. With her other arm she placed something large in his pocket. “If you judge something is up, use this.”

YF used his free hand to reach awkwardly to his back pocket, realizing it was a pistol. When he grabbed the handle, he could hear a soft voice respond: “Law Enforcement Personnel detected. Access granted.”

He turned to her, the nose of his mask brushing her lips. “W-what the hell is this? I’m not allowed to use this.”

Reina brought her head back down, then shook it, smirking. “Somebody doesn’t watch the news.”

YF took a few seconds to remember the newscast he had seen on the bus, something about Nishida Ward annexing Itsugo. Did that mean that the Sentinels were now an official police force?

“You’ll know what I’m talking about soon enough. Sect intelligence informed me Naka Ai will be here. That means I’m going to have to step a bit further than I was expecting. But trust me, it’s for the nation.”

“Sectarians care about the nation?” asked YF.

Reina ignored it, pulling YF closer to herself. Despite the warm weather, YF could see goosebumps form along Reina’s skin. YF looked back toward Maeda.

“He’s not coming,” said Reina. “Man’s got more arrest warrants on him than there are office desks in the Ward Office. That’s why I need you. Clean record. Trustworthy enough.”

“Enough?”

Reina smirked again but didn’t elaborate.

When they reached the front door, one of the large men standing at the side pressed a button to open it. The door swung open to reveal a woman with an owl mask wearing a tight silver halter with equally matching silver hair. She had just finished puffing a cloud of smoke, bringing her long wooden cigarette holder to her side, tapping it twice. YF could see through the mask’s eye-holes that her eyes were horribly dilated, to the point that it made him glance once inside the club to make sure it was dim enough for her to function. The woman’s skin was also more peach colored than the typical Reo, almost to the tone of a human’s. Silver hair would have suggested that she was a Pale Kinsman, but her facial features betrayed the fact that she was not. Her hair was dyed.

The woman raised an eyebrow. “Thought you were Hiro-kun for a hot second. You two look alot alike.”

YF bowed instinctively. “Ueno-to-moushimasu. Yoroshiku-onegaishimasu.”

“So you aren’t related,” she said, raising the holder to her blood red lips and inhaling. Her fangs appeared longer than even Reina’s. She smiled widely, pointing a white-polished fingernail toward his chest. “You’re lying. You’re definitely a Sakai. Are you YF? Hiro-kun talks about you a lot!”

Reina let go of YF and grabbed onto the woman’s free arm. “Ai-chan!” Reina whispered harshly. “We have a lot to talk about. Let him go get a drink or something.”

Naka Ai turned as Reina pulled her in the direction of the club’s far end. “Are you crazy? His brother—”

Reina waved her hand in front of her nose. “It’s not like that. Just a plus one. And you know I don’t want to talk about all that—”

Their voices trailed off as they disappeared into the murmuring crowd. YF noticed two large numbers “0”, “6” marked on Naka Ai’s back in a sort of digital font as she turned, causing him to frown. His eyes continued to follow them as they walked further and further into the building — an almost laserlike focus that drowned out other sounds and stimulations. But the moment he lost sight of them, the music and the colors of the club flooded back to him. YF broke his gaze to look from the chandeliers to the butlers carrying trays of raw meat, the blood flowing from the slices and collecting on the edge of the trays. Unlike the clubs YF was used to, this club played some sort of ancient jazz music, with the din of conversation pervasive throughout the venue. It was a far cry from the ear shattering, headache-inducing atmosphere of The Black Hat.

YF walked toward the bar, avoiding as many of the people in the way as he could before sitting down at the counter. He tried to avoid looking for Reina every second he could, and finally decided at some point that this was not the stage at which she would need him — if she ever even did.

“Hey there!”

YF turned to see a skinny man with brown, slicked back hair to his side. The man was wearing a very expensive black suit with a matching eagle mask; his long fangs betrayed his status.

“Misaki twenty-three, neat for my friend here,” said the man.

YF waved his hand and bowed slightly to decline. “I prefer cheap beer but I’m not in much of a mood to drink tonight. Thanks.”

“Oh but I think you are,” said the man raising a finger.

YF tried hard to be patient, clenching his fists. “Sir?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“My name’s Kentaro,” said the man extending a hand. “I always liked the handshake. Makes Ard a looser society than this stiff place.”

YF looked down at the hand. “You been to Ard?”

“Often enough,” said the man, maintaining his smile. He would not retract his hand, and so YF reached out and shook.

“Ueno Shojiro,” said YF.

Kentaro held his hand firmly and shook once, then released it. “Figures.”

YF frowned.

“You’re looking for a story,” said Kentaro, pointing toward YF.

“A story?”

Kentaro sipped his whiskey, then winked at the bartender, motioning toward YF. “I think the gentleman is going to want his drink soon enough, go for it.”

“Yes sir,” said the bartender.

“As I was saying,” Kentaro started before YF could speak. “I see you’ve got the ring. That certainly doesn't stop people from finding a bit of warm company out here, but you don’t look the type.” Kentaro leaned in toward YF. “You came with Hayashi Reina.”

YF started to rise, but Kentaro held his hand up. “Whoa whoa, relax. We’re childhood friends. She hasn’t shown her face in our circles for quite a while so she figures most of us won’t recognize her. Wears a red dress — everyone knows she hates red — and uses an inugami mask. She hates dogs. I’m pretty sure Ai-chan will give her a proper black dress in the bathroom, and maybe a few…well let’s not get into that.”

The bartender placed the glass on a black fabric coaster and pushed it slightly forward so that it stopped near YF’s hands. YF touched two fingers to the side of the glass. “If I drink this will you tell me your story?”

“Oh ho!” Kentaro exclaimed. “Mr. Ueno gets it.”

YF raised the glass and took a long sip of the whiskey, then placed it back on the coaster while making a breathing sound through his teeth. He turned to Kentaro, already feeling the warmth rising to his cheeks. “Well?”

Kentaro nodded. “You’ve read the stories about kai and such.”

“Uh huh.”

“Well in ancient times there was a sect called the Black Diamond Sect. They had a secret forbidden technique, the name of which was lost to the ages. The technique involved striking a man in the Breast Center Point or somesuch. Man would leak blood through the eyes.”

YF nodded slowly.

“Well they had a major rival called the Blue Rose Sect.”

At the mention of Blue Rose, YF’s chest grew tight.

Kentaro continued. “The Blue Rose Sect was opposed to forbidden techniques at first, but eventually they took on the daughter of Silver Fox Sect leader’s daughter as a ward, using her to eventually obtain their secret technique: the Divine Transformation.”

“And what’s the Divine Transformation?” asked YF with a hint of derision.

“It’s nothing so flashy as whatever Black Diamond used. But it involves very basic conditioning in a way that makes a man deliver a powerful punch or kick. In other words: the conventional way.”

“This was a secret forbidden technique?”

Kentaro nodded. “Yes, in a way. When standard, legal things are used to the benefit of too many people, eventually they become legal.”

YF chuckled. “Okay?”

“The end of the story is that the champions of the two sects fought each until both died, and try as they might, nobody from their respective sects could ever reproduce the techniques.” Kentaro held up a finger. “First problem: to defeat a sect with a powerful forbidden technique, you need one of your own.”

“What’s your point?”

Kentaro held up a second finger. “The second thing is how due to the nature of these techniques they’re inevitably lost by the end of the tale that mentions them. Did you ever think about that?”

“No,” YF replied.

“What makes the use of one particular forbidden technique more ethical than the other? Wouldn’t every sect be forced to compromise to avoid elimination?”

“I’m sure in a similar vein, that’s why we got rid of the Triarchy,” said YF. “You know, with their legendary kai techniques and such. Whatever they were capable of, it was probably dangerous.” He grimaced. “And I’ll say that the Xian Inquisition might’ve had a point. You don’t want a world dictated by unpredictable magic techniques. There’d be a never ending cycle of whose threat is stronger than the other.” YF shook his head and took a sip of whiskey. “Stressful way to live.”

“First, wasn’t the Xian Inquisition just a way for the emperor to purge factions he didn’t agree with?” asked Kentaro.

“That’s certainly one interpretation,” YF replied.

“And second, did we really get rid of the Triarchy?” asked Kentaro.

YF scoffed. “Name the Triarchs then.”

Kentaro extended one finger. “Aritomo.” Then another. “Sumida.” Then another. “Takei.”

“One could argue a hundred thousand triarchs is better than three,” YF countered.

“Is that though?”

YF frowned. Something in the way this conversation was going bothered him. “I don’t really appreciate the questions. Just get to the point.”

“I think you’ll see soon enough.” Kentaro motioned with his head to the front door.

At that moment four heavily armored men donning the colors of Blue Rose burst through the sliding front door. “Everyone on the ground! Now!”

YF could hear the screams and crashing stools as people started to push and shove each other in a bid to reach the back entrance. The armored men started pinning down individuals unfortunate enough to have their marks showing through their clothes, grabbing their shirts and dresses and ripping them to ascertain their sectarian affiliations. YF immediately stood up and grabbed the pistol in his back pocket, shoving it up his sleeve. He then pushed forward through the fleeing crowd as he walked in the opposite direction. He made his way to a Blue Rose mercenary who was still sitting on top of a woman. She was covering her exposed torso with one arm, screaming and shouting at the man while shoving her free hand into his helmet visor. YF gripped the mercenary by the shoulder pad and hauled him off. The man pointed his rifle at YF’s face.

“You’re pointing your weapon at a Sentinel,” said YF firmly. “You’d better lower that if you know what’s best for you.”

The man lowered his gun and lifted his left arm, exposing the terminal and swiping once toward YF. “We have permits to be on the premises with weapons. There are reports of sectarian activity.” He nodded to the woman, who was now staring daggers at both of them. “She is obviously a member of Double Phoenix Sect. The group that had abducted Ms. Reina Hayashi.”

YF ducked as the sound of machine gun fire could be heard outside. He pushed past the mercenary and ran outside, only to see to his surprise that all the Viper Sect members that had arrived with Reina were handcuffed and crowded behind any cover they could find. Nearby, Blue Rose mercenaries and Double Phoenix sectarians were shooting streams of bolts in each others’ direction. YF looked at a few Viper Sect members crouched behind a tall brick flowerbed. One of the men there was Maeda. The realization that Reina had sold out her right hand man by allowing her father’s men to detain them made YF’s blood boil. He turned back into the club and ran toward the bathroom, most of the path along the way now clear as those who could have escaped already did. He looked left and right for any woman in a red or silver dress, but could not find any sign of Reina or Ai.

It was then that YF felt an arm wrap around his, pulling him hard to one side. The woman was wearing a cat mask and a strapless black dress; she had freshly dyed silver hair, but YF knew from her touch that she was unmistakably Reina.

“Shhhh,” she said, raising a finger.

“You—”

“Not right now. I will explain everything soon.”

“You betrayed—”

YF could feel her sharp nails digging into his arm. Below his jacket, a trickle of what he assumed was his own blood flowed down toward his fingers and made the feeling between the fabric and his arm sticky and uncomfortable.

“I told you to shut the fuck up,” Reina snapped in a whisper. She pulled him through a door and down a dim hallway to a fire exit. Pushing the door caused the alarm to trip, but she continued down the steps outside as if nothing had happened, arriving at the road platform. A plain looking taxi pulled up to where they were moments later. Reina pulled open the door forcefully and pressed on YF’s back so that he would go inside. She climbed inside with him.

“Drive. Now!” Reina barked.

The driver took off into the night, heading out west toward Itsugo. YF wanted nothing more than to yell at Reina for what she had done, but every time he started to say something he could feel her squeezing his arm. The pain of where she had hurt him earlier still stung; it was enough to keep his mouth shut. What seemed like an eternity later, they pulled up to a hotel in Icchome and got out of the car. YF did not wait for the driver to leave to voice his concerns. “You—”

“In a minute. I promise.” She grabbed his hand and led him past the reception desk to the elevator. Pressing the button for the twentieth floor, she continued to hold his hand until the elevator opened. She then pulled him down the hall to a hotel room, using her wrist ID to scan inside. When she closed the door, YF raised his arms.

“You betrayed your own!” he screamed at her. “You—”

“I thought you hate sectarians,” she interrupted nonchalantly.

YF clenched his fists and shook uncontrollably, using every bit of his willpower not to lay hands on her. “I am going to the Ward Police. I am telling them that you are the leader of Viper Sect and that your dad’s goons have made a mistake. You’re using them. You’re just a dirty crook and a spoiled little princess.” YF turned to reach for the door, only to feel an extremely strong grip on his wrist pull him back. When he turned, Reina struck him so hard in the chest that he fell backward. Before he could rise, she was on top of him, her hands clamping over both his wrists. YF could see the tears streaming down her eyes.

“I’ve been called a lot of things…” said Reina slowly. “But you’re not the one who gets to tell me what I am. You don’t know me, so don’t act like you do.” Her mouth opened slightly, her long sharp fangs dripping with her own blood from where she had bit her lip in anger.

YF flicked his wrist and popped out the pistol, shooting once at the bed. Reina jumped up in surprise, allowing YF to rise and swing his arm out. Reina dodged but not in time, allowing YF to catch her neck and pivot with his body so that he pinned her against the wall. YF shoved the gun up to her temple.

“You’re not a teenager Hayashi-san,” he said, moving his face closer to hers. “Words like ‘you don’t know me’ are no longer effective. Nobody gives a shit who you are. What matters is what you do. And what you’ve done is act like a scumbag. Now you’re going to go to daddy and fix your mistake, or I’m going to get nervous when you move, and shoot you dead where you stand.”

Reina smiled bitterly, the tears still flowing from her eyes. “You—kkah—” she choked. “—him—”

YF dropped her to the ground, where she reached up with one hand to caress her neck. “Haha…just like him…haha…”

YF lowered his gun, staring at the top of her head. The smell emanating from her hair was no longer the smell of a fresh lake, but that of a strong chemical dye, the kind that would make even the strongest man nauseous from over inhalation.

“Just like him…just like him…” Reina’s laughing and choking grew louder, until the laughter turned into screams. Reina doubled over, her arms extended out, screaming and screaming as if a person possessed.

YF turned the safety of the gun on and shoved it into his back pocket, opening the sliding door and walking out into the hall. But even after he set foot into the elevator and the door had completely closed, YF could still hear Reina’s haunting screams piercing through the metal.