A Perfect Paradise (Chainsaw Man AU)

[usefulfinish421]

Hey everyone! Been posting this in AO3 for a bit and been cross-platform posting to the site, so looking forward to the engagement! I'll be doing daily post up until we're all caught up to the story (27 chapters at 150k words), so enjoy the first three chapters here!

 

[usefulfinish421]

For all intents and purposes, Jin is an incredibly unremarkable young man - the kind of guy you pass on the street without a second thought. Twenty-two, slightly tall, curly dark hair, dark eyes. He exists. School, work, brief friendships, a few short-lived romances - nothing sticks, nothing matters much. Drifting through life, he's comfortable as the side character in others' stories, and honestly? He thrives in that role.

Usually, he walks around the city just to observe - not in a creepy way. People-watch, as he would call it. Sitting down on a bench, he rips open a bag of Skittles and observes. The saying 'there's other fish in the sea' isn't for love for Jin, it's for another passerby's story.

And the fish started biting early today.

One couple passing is in a conversation. The woman is talking pretty loud, all things considered: "So for next time, we start with I'm feeling or I perceive…" The voices trail off. A last glimpse of the man before the changing tide of people swallows them forever. The man's smiling and nodding, but tension radiates from the way his lips purse.

*Poor bastard.*

Leaning back, he eats another snack, eyes searching for more stories.

*Hope they make it work though.*

Another man rushes by on the phone: "…YOU TOUCH THAT TURKEY - IT WON'T BE THE ONLY THING GOING DOWN YOUR THROAT…"

A laugh escapes him. He's gotta remember that threat, just in case.

Another couple sprints by, their voices carrying over the now rushing group of people. "HOLD ON! I THINK I FORGOT MY UMBRELLA!"

Following their figures, confused, he realizes he didn't check the weather today -Like usual. But he stops chewing to look at the sky. Like the heavens opening up, the rain pelts down, drenching his unprepared body.

Standing up, he sighs out heavily. "Come on… man…" The rain wets his hair, drooping over his eyes as he grumbles. His gaze drops down to the street, the bustling crowd popping open their umbrellas. The polyester and nylon bounce the rain, the drops splashing him anyway.

*I just.

Wanted.

To.

Be.

Outside.*

He wanted to get away from his cubicle at work. The fake smiles, the awkward small talk, the endless corporate jokes—he can't stand it. And today, outside feels like a pretty sick joke.

Rushing into the sea, he knocks into the passing fish. A few curse words, a few "watch it's" isn't going to stop him. He's had a long day, and just like the fish in front of him swimming, he's finding his nearest cave to hide in.

*Just like an octopus!* he thinks as he continues to sift through. Too bad Jin isn't an octopus, he's floating around like a pufferfish. A pufferfish that is currently disoriented in that sea of umbrellas and angry fish.

In pure panic, a brown windowed door with a classic "Yes! We're Open!" card catches his eye. Slamming inside, he closes the door behind him and takes in his surroundings: a regular looking cafe stares back at him… it seems empty, not even a worker audible in the back.

Turning to the wall with the coat rack, he begins to hang his soaking jacket up. He can take a booth, maybe get a coffee and sit on his phone while he dries off - perfect. But the moment his jacket hits the rack, his hands tremble, sliding down the material to the wall behind it.

*… why today. Every moment… why am I so…*

A soft whimper escapes his lips as he pounds his head into the wall.

THUD

THUD

THUD

"…so you don't want something?" A soft voice asks.

Eyes widening, he spins around. Behind the counter a woman in an apron appears, around his age with a neck choker and ring on it, looking confused. His mouth opens, but he forgets everything when he meets her eyes. The emerald green shining back at him is fierce. Fiery. And holy shit—beautiful. Something deep inside him shifts looking into those eyes. He might throw up.

She's leaning over the counter as he stands there, staring.

"…you look like you had a long day?" A soft smile builds on her face as she asks.

The smile sends electricity up his spine—not in the 'I'm in danger' way, but the kind he's only ever seen in the movies. Somehow, he calms himself in his mind before turning to her fully.

"Sorry, I didn't realize that anyone was in here."

Peeking over him to the side to see the door, she huffs softly. "Usually the open sign means someone's on the clock." Leaning back over the counter, she waits.

Eyebrows raised, he smiles and glances away from her. "You got a really good point. Guess I was trying to get out of the rain."

The girl's eyes glide across his soaking appearance, giggling. "Rain got ya first then?"

"Yeah well, you can't always be checking the weather app."

"This was supposed to be a historic rainstorm!"

"You think I checked the news?" One eyebrow raising.

"This is literally the first time I met you, so I have no idea."

They both laugh.

"Well, maybe you can at least warm up here for a minute. But…" she sweeps her arms around the vacant booths "It's pretty busy here, so you gotta order quick."

Glancing around, he grins. "Yeah, you might want to get out a wet floor sign. Just in case my wet ass has someone slip, I'm not liable for their injuries."

The girl laughs, brushing her purple hair behind her ear, blushing. "You're funny. Now, really, do you want anything? It's on the house."

"...You can be THAT bored."

"I AM that bored. Please get something, the owner's not here."

Scanning the menu, he sees the usual cafe options, nothing too enticing. His eyes drift around the abandoned room and land on a chalkboard by the door he busted through—a cute chibi drawing of the girl in front of him, smiling and holding a coffee. 'Reze's special!' is written neatly underneath. Next to it: 'Days Remaining' with numbers crossed off, only a 1 left.

"What's Reze's special?"

Glancing at the board, she grins. "Well, first I drew that. My masterpiece, ya like it?"

"I wouldn't quit your day job."

They both snort. He has no idea how he made that joke just now—every nerve in his body is on fire as his brain tries to comprehend the current situation.

"Hey! RUDE! I'm a good artist!" Leaning over the counter, she lightly shoves him. "Fine, no Reze's Special then!"

"Wait hold on, I'd like to try it, if you're offering. Just…" Peering behind the counter past her, he squints. "Which one of you is Reze?"

The girl looks confused and turns around to the empty kitchen, turning back around and blinking at his dark eyes. The cogs in her brain turn, thinking and processing what he just said. Her nose crinkles, and slowly a smile beams onto her face.

Belly laughter erupts from both of them.

Wiping her eyes, she grins. "You're an idiot! I thought you saw a ghost or something!"

Snorting, he spreads his arms around the room. "Well you did say it was busy, so I'm glad you have backup in the kitchen!"

Shaking her head, still smiling, she turns toward the espresso machine. "You're funny, I like you already. One MY special, coming up."

Ringing takes over his ears upon hearing her admit that. His mind swirls in thoughts, mostly thinking there's no way this is happening—it's gotta be a dream. Muffled sounds finally break through the fog in his head.

"…. Or iced?"

The voice cuts through him, shattering his concentration. "Hm?"

He looks up to Reze staring right at him as she tilts her head. "Are your ears broken?"

"Not usually."

She scoffs. "When you get coffee, is it hot or iced?"

*Shit. What DO I like?*

"Hot."

"GOOD. This is an Americano, so it's supposed to be."

His gaze drifts back to the chalkboard. The Reze special. The chibi drawing. Why is he staring at it?

"What's the Reze Special?"

"Hmmm?" She peeks over the espresso machine as it hisses to life.

"What's in the drink? Is it a mystery flavor?" He asks, leaning over the counter with more confidence than he's ever felt.

Reze laughs again. "Oh, a bit of rat poison, ricin, chlorophyll for flavor. The usual." She glances down at the espresso machine as she works. "But really, it's my own thing. We get new beans every few weeks, so I try mixing them when they come in. This one's been my favorite—two parts Ethiopian, one part Colombian dark, and the secret?" She pulls out a small white bottle. "A bit of hazelnut creamer."

She leans on the counter. "Doesn't sound too bad, honestly. And this only happens, what, every month or so?"

*Two parts Ethiopian. One part Colombian dark. Hazelnut. Got it.*

"I wish! The owner finally caved and let me put this on the menu."

"Did it sell?"

"Pshh. Not really." The machine hisses at her, the smell of coffee filling the air.

"Maybe writing what's in it works?"

She glances over, hair half falling over her eyes. "You know, I don't do marketing. Besides, the drawing's cute. I thought it would entice. Hell… it did to you."

She finishes pouring the liquid into a paper cup as she grabs a marker and scribbles something on it.

"720 yen, please." She looks up to meet his eyes.

"I thought you said it was on the house."

"You made fun of my drawing!"

Jin snorts. "I didn't make fun of it! I thought it was cute!"

A migraine is assaulting his head for just saying that.

Her face blushes slightly. Heat rises in his own cheeks.

Reze looks at the drink, then back at him. "Ok, so how about a trade? Or 4.50, I'll just count that as my tip.", winking at Jin.

"I was going to tip you, don't worry. I'm, uh, having fun. Breaks up my day, ya know?" Jin pats his pants down for his wallet. Keys, phone… all in their place…. Wallet…. Where…. Is….

The pit in his stomach changes, a 'whole world is ending' feeling settling in. He always overreacts.

Meeting her gaze. "Hey, uh…"

Reze's eyes lock with his, short circuiting his brain.

"Let me check my jacket - I swear I have money."

The coffee cup gets picked up by her. "Oh, I bet you do. If you don't… well" she teasingly holds the cup close to her mouth "I've kind of had a long shift."

Jin's eyes widen. "No, wait I'm good for it!" He stumbles over to his soaked raincoat, he desperately digs in the pockets and taking out its contents.

He digs through his jacket - finding an old receipt, the Skittles from earlier, a random key that he has no idea what its for, before finally finding his wallet.

"Hey Reze, look what I fou -"

"Give that to me. Right. Now." Her voice turns stern, pointing at his outstretched hands.

He freezes. "…Are you robbing me?"

Her emerald eyes roll. "No, you idiot. THOSE!" She screams, pointing at his other hand.

His eyes dart over to his other hand, filled with the other junk. Not sure why she'd want a ramen receipt, the mystery key…

"…The Skittles? That's what you want? Half the bag's gone."

From behind the counter, Reze reaches out and gestures. "Don't care, trade me. I love Skittles!"

Jin looks down at the bag, and smiles. "...Deal."

Her eyes and grin grow as he puts the bag of skittles into her hand. Giving him the coffee, her finger brushes lightly on his hand. Her eyes glow as she starts looking at her payment.

"You got a favorite?" Sipping the Americano given to him. It's… really good. Strong… but sweet. The hazelnut for him really sells it.

*Wow.*

A handful of the candy is already in her hand. "Guess."

Her body fully turns to him, the sweat on his shirt starting to mix with his rain-soaked clothes.

"Uhh… green."

Her lips curl into a smile. "Wow… I didn't know you'd be… WRONG!"

She instantly picks out a purple one and proudly shows it near her hair. "Isn't it obvious?" She asks, as she playfully tosses her hair. "…but green is my second favorite though." The Skittle pops into her mouth.

Jin sips his coffee.

*Damn, that's good.*

"Green's mine actually. Speaking of favorites, this coffee might be up there."

Laughter breaks out from her, throwing her hands up in celebration. "YES! FINALLY! VINDICATION! I can tell the owner!"

"Yeah! Tell him someone FINALLY ordered it!"

Leaning over the counter again, she allows a smile to form while throwing more Skittles in her mouth. "You haven't read what I put on your coffee cup yet, have ya?"

"You wrote something?"

"That's part of the job, idiot." She puts a final candy into her mouth before shoving the Skittles bag into her pocket mindlessly.

Jin takes a look at the coffee cup. It reads '4 A QT '

His face burns. His ears burn. His heart burns. Everything in his body is telling him to run away and never come back.

But he can't. He oddly wants to be here; he doesn't understand why.

Giggling comes from the counter again. "I never got your name, by the way. So I just…" Reze flicks her hair back behind her ear, eyes glowing towards him. "...Wrote something."

"Uhhh. J- Jin. It's Jin."

"…Like the Tekken character?"

"Exactly like the Tekken character."

Leaning back from the counter, Reze raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms. "Oh yeah? Did your dad get thrown into a volcano?"

He laughs. "No, my dad…."

But that's when he stops himself. Today isn't the day to talk about his family.

"No, he didn't get thrown into a volcano."

"Well, I think it would give you a cool backstory." She turns around to the coffee machine to clean it.

His phone vibrates. Picking it up, noticing a missed call from Joe, his heart dropping. He should probably call him back—Joe usually calls today.

"Hey, uh Reze?" He glances over to her. "I have to run. Are you… working here tomorrow too?"

Reze leans from behind the coffee machine. "I got another double shift, if you want to stop by. Besides… I had fun." Reze looks away from Jin, hands cleaning the coffee machine.

"Well, co- cool! I'll see you tomorrow! Bye Reze!!"

SLAM

Jin leaves through the door and starts walking back to his apartment. Even though the rain continues to pour down, everything in his body is burning. He feels like he's going to throw up, but in an oddly good way?

He shakes his head, taking another sip of that coffee.

*God that's so good.*

——————

Reze watches the door close and looks back at the coat rack, Jin's jacket still hangs in the same spot.

"He's an idiot."

Taking it down to put in the lost and found crosses her mind… but she decides to leave it. He'll be back. They always come back.

Her smile fades, a more serious look now settling on her face. It's tiring putting on a facade, and right now she's on overdrive. It was a long day - a lot of customers, a lot of guys hitting on her, a lot of waiting. And suddenly, Jin pops in.

Good thing she's working at a cafe - free coffee. She should probably make herself a cup.

BZZTBZZT

Her phone vibrates. She knows who it is already.

One new message reads from a blocked number.

'HAVE YOU MADE CONTACT WITH THE TARGET?'

'Y. Back tomorrow.'

She walks back behind the counter, putting her phone back into her pocket, something crinkling when the device shoves in. It catches her off guard, the phone getting pulled out to inspect the obstruction.

Skittles. From that idiot.

Her cold demeanor, for a second, shifts. A small smile forms as another purple Skittle pops into her mouth. The flavor explodes in her mouth as she closes her eyes and enjoys it.

But she knows what she has to do. After all, why wouldn't they send her to collect an HVT?

A soft sigh falls out of her as more candy is tossed into her mouth as a twang vibrates from deep inside her gut.

Reze returns behind the counter to clean up a few more things, but her eyes keep darting back to Jin's soaking jacket.

She smiles at it while it drips.

She didn't mean to do that.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin feels like he's forgetting something as he crawls into the apartment, drenched. The door slams shut behind him, dropping his bag by the entrance.

He really should've brought an umbrella.

The apartment is small, but functional. A kitchen is the first thing he enters, modern appliances and countertops galore. He passes by the entertainment area, an old futon with a coffee table, TV stand with a PlayStation on it and a decently sized TV. Posters and a few collectibles from pop culture sprinkle around the modern architecture.

Jin walks into the bedroom, adjacent to the living area to change into something dry. Re-entering the living area he plops onto the futon and stares up to the ceiling. He smiles and downs the rest of his coffee - the last Reze Special ever made.

He sits up quickly, feeling… confident?

*Who the hell is this guy?*

The quick motion causes his hand to clip the remote, TV turning on to the news flashing onto the screen.

He freezes.

"…15 years since the tragic fire killed 34…"

The display abruptly cuts to black as he lies back down, tossing the remote aside. He doesn't have to be reminded - Jin needs to focus on something. Something that'll shut his head off. Something….

A beep comes from the PlayStation as it comes to life. Jin quickly turns his TV on and switches to the game input. He's about to grab his controller, but…

Her smile and eyes invade his mind.

Jin stops, and blinks. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"God."

The last time he felt like that had been in high school with a girl named Rina. Every time he saw her he couldn't even think straight. But she would just walk by him - way out of his league.

Or maybe not.

*I made that girl laugh today.*

Jin stares ahead at the TV, the system waiting for his input.

The smile hangs in his mind, teasing him. A long sigh escapes his lips.

A minute later, the controller is on the table next to the empty coffee cup. The apartment door slams shut.

___________________

Jin sits on the same bench again and takes in an empty park, taking a bite into his sandwich.

Work today has been hell for him.

Usually this makes him feel better, hoping for at least some good observations. But the fish are few and far between today.

"I GOTTA GO POTTYYYYY"

A young girl screams, sprinting past Jin. An adult is sprinting to catch up to her, the look of worry on their face.

*That kids not gonna make it, is she?*

Jin laughs to himself, his eyes drifting to the cafe. He can feel his heart sink into his stomach, the building taunting him.

What if she isn't working today? There's no way she'll remember Jin. What if it's busy and she can't talk to him?

He breathes in.

*Just… go for it.*

________

The door creaks open to the cafe as Jin peeks his head in. It's busier than last afternoon, a few patrons scattered inside.

Jin walks in, hearing a soft brush against the wall beside him. He looks over to see an older man erasing the chalkboard - The chibi version of Reze is gone, the words vanishing with each stroke of the block.

"You know, you should sell that full time."

The man stops and looks back. "She only sold, like, four of them. So… sorry. Maybe next time she should - "

"Put the ingredients on the board." Jin and the man both say.

"I told her that last night, terrible marketing."

"Exactly! I was nice enough to let her try it, and she messed it up!" The man laughs, putting the eraser down and walking behind the counter.

"Can I get you anything other than that special?"

"Well, actually I was wondering if -"

CRASH

The two of them jump to the sound and look into the kitchen, Reze appearing from behind one of the machines.

"….oops?" She says, smiling.

Jin's brain short-circuits. That damn smile.

Reze opens her mouth to try to begin explaining something… but her eyes light up at the sight of Jin. "Skittles guy! You're back!" She rushes to the counter, nearly pushing the older man over.

The owner looks at Reze and back at Jin. "I'll let you handle this, I'm not cleaning up your mess. Finish wiping that board down - you spent more time drawing yourself than actually making that special!"

The owner walks away to the back. As soon as he turns around Reze mouths, "Ass. Hole."

A laugh falls out of him, mimicking the barista..

"So, Jin… right? What brings you back here?" She cocks her head, a smile growing.

Why is he back here?

"Coffee."

"Wow. What kind…?" Reze's voice drifts.

"Just… just a drip. Thank you."

Jin turns around to find a seat, face on fire.

"Are you going to pay this time?" Reze leans over the counter to him, pulling his shirt back over.

"Only if it's good." Jin says, smiling back at her.

"Then I'm making the best damn coffee of your life -again!" Her eyes narrow and lets go of Jin, turning around to work.

Jin sits down as far away as he can from the other patrons. Steam hisses behind the counter. When he looks up, he catches sight of Reze's hair—pulled into a ponytail, the front still flopping into her eyes while she focuses. He feels himself go red.

The phone is his only distraction, desperately trying to keep himself from breaking. After mindlessly scrolling, he hears a familiar voice break the silence of the cafe "…my break!"

He looks up, concentration shattering as Reze is suddenly in front of his table, coffee in one hand and a brown book in the other.

"Guess what?"

Jin blinks. "You're… a bookie?"

The purple hair falls back, strands swirling as she laughs. "You wish! No, I'm on break. And you're in my spot." She slides next to Jin, giving him his coffee.

The coffee hits his lips as his palms wrap around the familiar paper cup. It's dark, bold, delicious - everything Jin wants to be. "You're very good at this coffee thing."

"Thanks, I like to think I know what I'm doing!" The book opens up, a pencil rolling out of it. She catches it and starts writing something.

Jin watches her focus- eyes locked on the page, her nose crinkling as her pencil dances. He can't help but look at her notebook, with numbers, letters, and symbols he doesn't recognize crowd the page.

"Are you good at math?" She asks, not missing a beat in her writing.

"Math?... not really. I mean, I was… ok?"

"Well, then you're no help. I'm teaching myself some math today." Her eyes dart to Jin quickly, but fall back to the page.

Jin sips his coffee and leans back into the booth. "Why's that? Are you going back to school to teach?"

A demeanor shift comes from the normal confident woman, nervous energy radiating from her. She shifts and tucks another piece of hair behind her ear, blushing. "I, uh, never… really… got to go to school, actually."

"Wait, seriously? Lucky."

The green eyes roll on Reze's face. "No, I'm not. I wanted to be in school, take classes, make some friends, graduate and throw my cap up."

Her eyes light up.

"Did you do all that? How was graduation? Were your parents proud? Aw, you must've had so much fun!"

The cup lightly crinkles in his grip. He should be honest.

*Not like this is going anywhere anyway.*

"Sure, something like that."

He doesn't know why he lied, his knuckles turning white on the cardboard container.

Reze closes her eyes and smiles "That makes me happy. I hope I get to do that one day…"

Silence falls on the table as Reze gets back to working on her notebook. Jin keeps sipping his coffee and checks his phone.

*5 minutes until he has to get back. 5 minutes until absol-*

"Wait, Jin I have a question. Do you know what the Fibonacci sequence is?"

Reality careens back into Jin, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, what?"

"My workbook has a few questions about it and I'm wondering if you could… help me?" Reze says, a smile forcing onto her lips. Below the table, Jin feels her leg lightly brush on his.

"I'm really not the best at math… and to be honest, I have no idea what you just said to me."

Reze sighs. "You ARE an idiot!" The word idiot doesn't have any bite to it, at least not what he's used to hearing. It's… endearing?

A huff of breath comes out from next to him. "What are ya doing later?" Her pencil clatters onto the table.

Coffee goes down the wrong pipe, making him a choking mess.

"Me?" Jin says in between his coughs, trying desperately to regain his composure.

Reze rolls her eyes. "Yes, YOU!"

Another brush hits Jin's leg.

"Let me teach you some math basics - because SOMEONE didn't pay attention!" Reze blushes looking away, but still steals another glance at Jin. "So you can help me work on my other workbooks, I have SO much to do."

"I uh, I mean I have to finish work today, but I'm not doing anything later. That could be fun?" He can't believe he thinks math will be fun. In fact - he hates math, not understanding why letters and numbers have to be mixed in together

Reze smiles and closes her eyes. "Ok! Come by the cafe after work. Once my shift ends, we can go to the school down the street. Deal?"

Her eyes reopen with those emerald iris, Jin freezing at the thought of going back to that place - it's been long enough to forget about some of the pain, but not long enough to completely be ridden from it all.

*God… fucking…*

"Ye-yeah! I'll swing by."

Something vibrates in his pocket. His heart drops as he shoots up from the booth, legs catch the table and knocking it into the air - the book flies up from impact, Reze catching it quickly and placing it back down to the rumbling table.

"I'm sorry - I gotta go!"

Jin hops away, but before exiting through the door he passes the coat rack, the lone jacket still hanging on.

Shit.

"Is this…?" He points to it, hands grasping onto the dry material.

"Yeah. Yours ya idiot." Reze doesn't even look up from her notebook. "Was waiting to see how long it took you to realize."

Jin nervously laughs, grabbing his coat.

And the octopus jets off.

_________

Reze watches him run out the door again, making his way back to the office. He's half walking, half sprinting, body bouncing off of people with a big smile on his face.

He looks like a lost puppy… or lost something.

She doesn't doubt she's on his mind.

The pencil clatters onto the table as Reze leans back, looking at her notebook. She scans the numbers and equations while a wide smile beams onto her face.

-I really hope this is what scho- -

BZZTBZZT

She sighs, her demeanor changing to ice-cold. Another message.

'TARGET WILL BE ALONE TONIGHT?'

'Y'

She puts her phone back into her pocket. This is too easy. But something is tapping in the back of her head.

She feels… bad?

She pushes the thought away, scribbling numbers down harder than before. It's not the first time she's felt bad for a target. It won't be the last either.

- At least this will be quick. He's an idiot. Clumsy. Too easy. -

And yet… she finds that endearing.

_______

The lights are dim in the office. It's quiet - exactly how the figure likes it. A few computer monitors glow in front of it - watching, reading, waiting. A pen dances in his hand, the writing instrument slinking through its fingers.

Behind the figure, the shadows begin to tear and crawl on the ground. They begin to rise, the black mass opening its maw. A man steps out of the void - older, white hair and mustache. Military looking, but still looks classy. Tie, pocket watch in his collared shirt. Pants pressed and clean.

"Sir, the target is being met again tonight. Alone. This is moving faster than anticipated. Good, yes?" The man asks the figure, his Russian accent thick like the void he came from.

The figure in front doesn't move. "I've heard. Get a strike team ready to evacuate. Just soldiers. No need to send another hybrid." Its voice grovels out, the sound melting within itself.

The old man looks puzzled "But sir, having a second hybrid on standby is protocol for these missions, we sho-"

The pen gets tossed at him, transforming into a long blade. The man shifts his head to the side as the object smashes into the wall - the concrete cracking around the impact point.

A timer starts on the figure.

"Fuck protocol right now Chozin. No other hybrids. I'm not risking this."

Chozin steps back confused, but regains his stoic composure as he fixes his tie. "Yes… sir." The black void rises and engulfs him, retreating back into the darkness. The shadows sink down and dissipate, the figure finally alone again.

It clicks on a keyboard, the feed changing to a strike team training. The blade flies back towards the figure, twisting back into a pen.

The clicking of the timer stops.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin hasn't been back to school since he graduated, and hasn't thought about that day since. Immediately following the ceremony he went home and threw on a video game, wanting to push the however many years in the classroom away.

But here he is again. In the same building, looking at the same chalkboard, smelling the same chalk-dusted air, sitting in the same uncomfortable plastic chairs he always hated.

In front of him, Reze is gleaming by the chalkboard.

"Ok! Next! The Fibonacci sequence… what is it?"

Moonlight creeps through the window, catching the emerald in her eyes as she turns to her only student.

She's having… fun.

Leaning back in his chair, a low grunt escapes his throat. He never paid much attention in class, especially math. He probably knows WHAT it is, but the actual name? There's zero chance.

"The triangle thing? A squared plus B squared?"

A snort escapes her mouth. "You're hopeless. No, that's the Pythagorean Theorem. That helps you figure out the hypotenuse of a triangle -" she stops and points with a jokingly stern face. "DON'T QUOTE THE SKIT."

Jin looks down, grumbling about being 'high on potenuse.'

"So, what's Fibonacci?"

"I am so glad you asked." Her voice is light as she spins to the chalkboard, the chalk already dancing against the slate as numbers appear. "It's a series of numbers, like these! You just continue to add the numbers down the line together - so if I have a zero and a one… that equals?"

A confused blink comes from Jin.

*Is this… a test?*

"Eighteen."

"Correct, one!" She doesn't even listen to his answer, chalk already scribbling the number down."Ok, what's one plus one?"

Jin rolls his eyes. "Come on."

Laughter bubbles out of her as she writes a two down. "I'm so glad you know basic math. Now, idiot, what's the next number?"

She leans over the teachers desk, watching. Waiting.

Like a predator.

Sweat pricks at the back of his neck as he tries to avert her gaze, his nerves shot as he tries to come up with any answer.

"Uh, three?"

Her eyes light up. "Very good!" She scratches a big three onto the board. "What's next?"

Another test, waiting to see if he can pick up on the pattern. Luckily, observation is Jin's only real skill - it's how he survives.

Or that's what he thinks.

"Four!" He shouts with a big smile.

Reze's head shoots back in a burst of heavy laughter. "WOW, you're feeling yourself. That's funny… no. It's not four." She leans back to the chalkboard, her body illuminating from the sheen of the moon.

A quick glance at her body precedes a forced look back onto the chalkboard.

"It's actually five. You were close - the Fibonacci sequence is the sum of two preceding numbers, like two plus three." A circle forms around the two numbers as she looks back. "So… what's the next number?"

The lightbulb finally fizzles on.

"Eight."

"Smart boy. Next?"

Leaning up on the desk, Jin smiles.

"Thirteen."

"Wow! You CAN use your brain!" Her hands clap together into the empty room.

They both laugh, the sound echoing into the empty hallway.

"Now, why is this important?" The emerald eyes snap back to him.

"Honestly? I can't come up with something."

A low chuckle leaves her lips. "That's a tougher one - I'll give you that."

Her hips sway intentionally as she walks back to the board while the thud of footsteps on tile matches the glide of chalk on the slate. A spiral begins to bloom from the center of the numbers, looping outward in a perfect curve.

"Because of how the sums are, you could technically draw it out as a spiral - like this."

"It looks like a snail's shell."

"EXACTLY. The sequence is common throughout nature, art, things like that have a spiral. So…" She dabbles a small snail face in front of the spiral. "A snail's shell is a perfect example!"

As the drawing finishes, a strange twang hits deep inside Jin's chest.

Hiding all the time from the bigger fish. Slow. Missing everything. Unnoticed.

The snail on the board seems to understand his plight. Then the realization sets in: Jin isn't an octopus.

*How'd I never notice that?*

"So, it makes snail shells? That's… it?"

A piece of chalk flies through the air, hitting directly on the top of his head before clattering to the tile.

"No. This is linked to the golden ratio, which helps us understand patterns within our universe."

"The snail shell does that?" He leans back into the chair, the plastic creaking from the shift.

Another piece of chalk is tossed from her, hitting the same exact spot on his head.

"How much chalk do you throw at your students?" He asks, rubbing his head from the impact. It doesn't hurt physically, but mentally it's sending him into a tailspin.

She hops onto the teachers desk, legs dangling off the side. "Not enough, apparently."

Silence falls between the two, heavy and warm.

The heat rising in Jin's cheeks is impossible to ignore. It's mirrored on the face across from him unintentionally.

Jin breaks the stillness. "So, uh, Miss Teacher? What's the next lesson?"

A smile curls on her lips as she jumps down from the desk. She saunters out, casting a half-lidded look back over her shoulder. Just before the doorway swallows her, she stops.

"Chemistry."

A few steps later, she disappears into the darkness.

Jin stands up too quickly, the desk screeching off the tile. He grabs his bag and takes off after her as his footsteps echo into the lockers.

"What do you mean, chemistry?"

"You'll see~" Her teasing lightly bounces off of the tile down towards him.

Reze keeps her stride, never looking back. She's measuring the distance by the sound of his steps, far enough to chase but close enough to feel safe.

-Get him in the pool.-

Let the octopus capture its poor, dumb prey.

Jin keeps running, passing an all too familiar staircase. He looks at it for a second, a plan forming in his head.

*Fuck it. Come out of the shell.*

"REZE!"

Her heels click to a halt and turn around, eyes gazing down the hallway. The dim light mostly covers Jin's figure, but she can see him heading up the stairs.

"You said chemistry, but maybe we can learn about anthropology first?"

The perfectly played smile slips from her face. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me - these stairs. They lead to the roof with a really awesome view of the city!" He takes off, footsteps echoing.

Curiosity starts to pull at her, letting the grin stay on as she runs up after him.

She reaches the top as Jin fumbles with the door. The old key in his jacket fits perfectly into the lock, turning the deadbolt."Trust me on this one. Then we can do chemistry. I promise." With a heavy groan, he swings the door open and steps out into the night.

Tokyo sprawls out before them, a sea of dancing lights that reflects in their eyes. The distant hum of the city is the only thing interrupting the silence of the empty building below them.

Her demeanor shifts again, this time to amazement. She's never seen the city like this, especially at night. Her eyes trace along the different buildings and lights, allowing the smile to still sit on her face.

Jin heads to his familiar spot on the edge and plops his bag next to him. Most people wouldn't sit here—the drop is far enough to kill a normal person if they made a mistake. But for him, the void is comforting like an old friend. He settles in and lets his legs dangle, the thought of what the fall and the aftermath would feel like once again. A smile finally beams onto his face as he turns back.

"You coming or what?"

The spell of the city lights breaks for Reze. She stares at him, watching the way he sits so close to the edge without concern. It doesn't make sense.

Following suit, she settles down next to him. Her shoulder rests just inches from his, the two of them finally letting the glow of the city wash over them.

A familiar smile fills her face again, retaking control. "So… anthropology?"

"Yeah, study of people, cultures, and I guess a bit of geography." He nods, taking the skyline in. "The school happens to be one of the best points to look over the city - in my limited opinion of course."

Reze looks back out to take the view in "It's… beautiful. I've never seen Tokyo like this… and at night too? The lights, the sounds, the…"

"Ambience." they say in unison with a shared look.

"You're cheesy, huh?" Reze asks, a soft blush filling her cheeks.

-Why can't I stop?-

"Yeah, I'm a real Munster." Jin laughs, his own cheeks burning.

*Why did I say that??*

The giggles eventually fade into a comfortable silence. Reze's hand creeps just an inch closer to his on the cold concrete.

"So, why'd ya spend time up here? I mean the views' great but…"

Jin lowers his back onto the roof, stretching his arms to the stairwell. "Don't know. School was alright? But down there…" He points toward the darkened rooms below. "No one got me. Like people were nice enough, yeah. But… up here I can think. I just…" His legs kick the building, trying to find a way to open up.

The lock tightens in his mind.

"Yeah. No idea." He sighs out.

The purple hair softly lays onto the concrete as Reze lays down next to Jin, her hand inching closer unknowingly.

"... You didn't have any friends? How?"

He shrugs up to the stars, the twinkles mocking his loneliness. "Don't know. I usually blame the universe."

A laugh cuts through the nights. "You're dramatic, but I feel ya on that."

"What? No way."

"I do, actually."

"BullSHIT. You're super cool." He says, voice changing to a sincere tone. "It's been 2 days and I feel like I FINALLY have a friend. How's that possible?"

Another inch.

"Well idiot - all that glitters isn't gold. Besides, you wouldn't get it."

Jin's gaze softens as he turns his body towards her, voice dropping to a low whisper. "I mean… I'd like to try to understand. Maybe it's ok to be different?"

She nods on the concrete. "So let's be different… together."

Both of their eyes lock. The silence is cut by a distance siren, but they don't care. Her hand creeps close enough to feel his warmth.

-Do I want to do this?-

"OH! Speaking of chemistry!"

Jin shoots back up to a seated position, hand dodging the unseen trap. He rumbles inside this bag before a plastic one crackles out.

The octopus cocks her head in disbelief as she sits up - mind running in overdrive.

"So, uh, it's a little something for you. I really liked your special, and since I was the last customer, I couldn't let it just end there. So… I got you a few things…"

Her hands wrap around the plastic bag, peering in cautiously.

Inside, five bags of Skittles sit. Two regular and three of the "Only Purple" packs. Her face brightens instantly. Beneath the candy sits a small burlap sack, 'Reze's Special Americano!' is scribbled on the front. The handwriting is horrible but somehow legible. On the bag is a drawing of the chibi Reze - it looks like a five year old drew it. She can smell the mixture permeate from inside the bag, her nose crinkling in delight from the familiar scent.

"Two parts Ethiopian, one part Colombian dark. I know you said the secret is hazelnut creamer, but I didn't want that to go bad. Maybe I can drop some off for you tomorrow?"

A stunned face meets Jin, her mouth open in disbelief.

An unfamiliar current flickers in her chest as flutters start deep within her stomach.

-What the hell is this feeling?-

Hair flops down from her ponytail just enough to cover her face as she looks into the cityscape. She's beet red, trying to compose herself.

After what feels like forever, she speaks.

"I… I… love it." Her voice softens as she turns back to him. "You remembered it? My stupid coffee order?"

"Not stupid - it's phenomenal. But I guess that's the lesson in chemistry then - finding the perfect combination, even if they don't make sense. Right?"

The bag rustles as she grips. She takes a second to think as she looks back to the city, before turning her head back to him. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow? I don't have friends so… nothing."

"Can you cook?"

"Uh... I mean… yeah?"

"Steaks? Medium rare?"

-What am I doing?-

"Definitely."

*You haven't cooked a steak in your life, you jackass.*

Reze stands up, the bag in a tight grip. "Cool, your place, 7:00 PM. Make a side, your choice ~"

A quick "THANK YOUUUUU" echoes as she darts toward the roof door, her footsteps fading into the darkness of the school.

The rooftop is left empty - just like Jin used to like it, but right now?

Not as much.

The city lights twinkle in his eyes as a realization hits him.

"Did I just get another date?"

______________________

Reze arrives back at her hotel room. It's empty, save for a bed, nightstand, desk with a chair, and a TV.

The laptop on the desk is already glowing, a cursor blinking in a dark chat window.

She wordlessly tosses the plastic bag onto the bed and collapses into the chair with a heavy sigh.

'STATUS REPORT - IS TARGET READY FOR EXTRACT?'

The text pulses on the screen, demanding an answer. She leans forward, head in her hands as her fingers run through her hair.

-I'm here for a reason. Don't forget that.-

She starts to type.

-He remembered MY special.-

The clicking of the keyboard stops, her mind remembering his dripping jacket.

Another message jumps onto the screen.

'WEAPON, REPORT.'

A sudden thud echoes behind her.

The knife is out and locked in a combat grip before she even completes the turn. Her eyes, cold and lethal, sweep the room for a threat. Nothing - the shadows are still as her gaze falls to the floor.

The plastic bag had slipped off the mattress, Skittle bags and the burlap sack lay scattered on the carpet. The chibi drawing of her face looking back up at her, the poorly drawn smile filling her pupils.

-And he made fun of MY drawing.-

A sigh escapes her lips as the tension fades away, looking at the glowing screen. Her face reflects in the monitor, noticing her cheeks still have a red hue.

'TARGET ESCAPED. PREPARE FOR EXTRACTION TOMORROW.'

She reaches down and picks up one of the Skittles bags, opening it and tosses one into her mouth. For the first time in the hotel room, she smiles.

Her smile.



------------------

Ok! I'll be posting daily to catch up - and maybe a chapter later today, so don't forget to watch the thread!

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin is terrible at planning ahead. That's why he started early this time.

In the morning, he got everything he needed: two nice pieces of steak, potatoes, butter, sour cream, and even a decent bottle of wine.

When he got back to his apartment he tossed everything into the fridge, nerves taking over his thoughts at the moment as he checked the time.

12:00 PM.

A girl he likes is coming over for the first time in… forever?

Deep down, he finds whatever confidence he has - he knows he can cook, just have to follow the recipe is all.

*How the hell do I make a perfect steak?*

The floorboards thud as he paces around the apartment, fixating on the little details in his space. He cleans up a few things scattered on the coffee table and actually dusting his collectables to make them look brand new. He even tunes his guitar - not like he's played for anyone before. As a last ditch effort, he uses an old bottle of air freshener to make it smell inviting at the very least.

A groan escapes his body as it falls onto his futon, taking his phone out to start researching. The digital display reads to him:

2:00 PM.

Plenty of time to learn how to actually pull this off. He starts his dive into cooking videos, one turns into two, two multiplying into more, all promising that 'This is the best steak!'

A mix of celebrity chefs and amateur influencers chip away at his morale, Jin's head sinking onto his futon to take a mental break. He usually gets really bad analysis paralysis, a migraine pulses behind his eyes. Other videos start playing on his phone as he mentally resets, losing track of time.

The fridge hums on, the sound taunting his lie from last night. Jin looks at the appliance, then back at the clock on his device.

6:00 PM.

The futon creaks as he jumps up to the bedroom, figuring out what he's going to wear. He picks out a nice buttoned down shirt, the red checkered pattern pairing perfectly with his light slacks. Boxes get thrown out of the closet to find some decent looking boots - he forgets where or when they were bought.

Another video starts on perfecting the steak's sear as he rushes out to the futon again, snowballing into another panic session as time passes unknowingly.

An alarm on his phone cuts the feed.

6:45 PM.

His eyes almost roll out of their sockets.

"HOLY FUCK."

He bursts into the kitchen, fridge door slamming open as glass bottles rattle from the movement. He heaves the bag onto the granite, potatoes skittering onto the floor. He slashes through the potatoes, shoveling them into a boiling pot of water while he starts a timer.

All focus now turns towards the two steaks.

All the videos he just watched play behind his eyes at once - sweat glistening on his forehead. All things considered, a steak doesn't take that much time to cook - it's relatively easy from what he saw. It's all about timing, taking the steak off at the right moment and letting it rest.

But when a cute barista asks him directly to make it for her? Pressure's on - If it's undercooked she gets salmonella, probably slowly killing her as he takes on her medical bills. If it's overcooked it'll taste like an old boot from an antique store, her face dropping to disappointment while he'd probably jump out the window.

He'd like to have both parties survive tonight.

Another alarm sounds, Jin running the boiling pot of water over to his sink and dumping the hissing liquid down into a strainer. He tosses the cooked potatoes back in and starts violently mashing down while adding sour cream and butter into the madness.

6:55 PM.

"I'm not gonna finish on time."

He moves over to the steaks, nearly tripping over himself as he tosses them onto the searing pan. The meat hisses back as the moisture smokes into his face. The pair of tongs in his hands snap in anticipation while pacing back and forth.

6:59 PM.

He flips the steaks over, a decent sear forming on it. He adds butter and garlic to the pan, the sound almost mocking him. The flame below the hot metal hops towards him, Jin jumping backwards.

A loud sigh overtakes the sizzling.

*Why do I do this to myself?*

7:00 PM.

A final alarm goes off in his phone, the shrill sound only matched by a high pitched scream coming out of the amateur chef. He checks the internal temperature as the meat cooks unbothered.

It's still not done. Jin pokes at the meat with his finger, hoping to encourage it to cook faster. The meat angrily crackles back at him.

A nagging thought breaks into the chaos.

*Did I give her my address?*

_____________

6:55 PM.

Of course Reze knows Jin lives. Why shouldn't she?

Out of all the other assignments, Jin had to be one of the easier to follow. All his day entails is going to work, then a bench to sit and eat his lunch, followed by going back into work and finally back to the apartment complex where he spends the rest of the night.

He didn't lie about not having friends - no one ever comes over.

She was planning to bump into him on the street, maybe join him on that bench to start it all. Be the new friend that he finally shows his place off to.

But he magically appeared in the cafe that day.

How lucky.

Her shoes step in front of his apartment complex, eyes gazing up at the concrete building. She fixes her black blouse while opening the door to the main courtyard. A strand breaks free of her perfectly done up hair, fingers quickly trying to put it back into place.

-I shouldn't have taken this much time to get ready.-

6:58 PM.

As she ascends the stairs she takes a moment to look around the amenities below. A few kids play in a jungle gym below while their parents chat, an ambience that's filling a part of her heart. It's fleeting - her head steadying back to the sound of her footsteps.

She knows she'll never have that.

6:59 PM.

The brown door stands firm in front of her, but behind it the sounds tell a different story. The sounds of sizzling and a faint plastic clattering make her stop in front of the door.

Another jolt shoots through her system. She takes a deep breath as she steps towards the entrance.

-It's just another target.-

7:00 PM.

Right before she knocks an alarm screeches on the inside, followed by a shrill yell. She giggles to herself - he's panicking for her.

It's cute.

The curl comes loose again as she shakes her head, flopping lightly over her eyes. It doesn't help her settle her nerves.

She reaches out, knuckles pounding on the wood.

_____________

The door thuds behind him, the sound spiking Jin's heartrate.

This is a nightmare scenario.

A second passes before he goes over to open the door as he takes a deep breath. Reze stands before him as she plays with the ring on her choker, smiling at him.

"Hi."

"Oh. Hey." He leans onto the doorway, attempting to look casual. The last couple minutes of anxiety shake out into his legs, breaking that facade instantly.

"Hope you make a good steak, I've been waiting all day for it!" Reze pushes past him gently, her hand lightly grazing over Jin's free hand. He watches her enter, one of the few people he's ever let into his space.

*How did I get her to my place man.*

Posters and figures pull at her attention as she takes his place in. It feels like it was just cleaned up from the faint smell of air freshener. Her body shoots around.

"Nerddddd." She teases, her tongue sticking out to his surprised face.

A quick laugh comes out while the door closes shut behind him. "I mean, if ya don't like it you can go."

The laugh is reciprocated as she sits down at the small kitchen table. "Never said I didn't." She places her elbows on the wood, her hands catching her head while she tracks Jin.

A timer buzzes on Jin's phone. He runs over to the sizzling pan, taking the meat off the pan. One of the videos said to let it sit, so he puts them onto their plates.

Whatever stress he had from cooking slides off his shoulders.

"So… how'd you find my place? I don't think I told ya where I lived last night." He leans on his oven, his body catching onto a dial. He moves slightly, the dial spinning while a small hissing comes from a burner. He immediately turns it off and readjusts his legs away from the front of the oven, praying she didn't see that.

Lucky for him, she didn't. The question froze her on the spot, the smile forced into place as her brain shifted into another gear.

-He didn't tell me his address.-

The strand of hair flops back down when she cocks her head to the side, body finally unlocking. "Oh! When you left your jacket at the cafe, it had your name and address written on the inside! Probably from some dry cleaner - I'm nosy; whoops." She shifts her seat towards the kitchen, eyeing a green bottle of wine.

Anything to change the subject.

"Wait, did you get that for tonight?"

Jin turns around, looking at the container and completely forgetting what he asked. "Oh yeah! I thought it might pair nicely with the steaks. Want some?"

"I would love a glass of wine." Her fingers twist into the drooping strands, accepting that it's not going to stay up.

Jin grabs a wine glass and walks over to her, jokingly acting as her sommelier. She laughs and nods, the red liquid pouring into the glass. Her hand grazes over his as she accepts the drink, a bit longer than what's normal.

He turns around and pours into his own glass, heat rising on his cheeks. He can't look at her right now.

*Why did I agree to this?*

Reze sips the wine, the Cabernet hitting her lips. "You picked a good one, you drink a lot of wine?"

"Me? No - if you couldn't tell, I'm not that high class."

Her head leans back to his collectables, eyes moving between them and Jin. "Aw, I thought you were! Why am I here then?"

As she jokes with him, two framed pictures hidden behind his figures catch her eye. It's of a family, a woman with black hair and yellow dress smiling with a man with messy brown hair. Below them is a small child, a younger Jin, with a wide grin as they stand next to a dinosaur fossil. A smile grows wider on her face - he looks just like his dad.

The next picture is of young Jin next to his dad and a tank of a human being, both of the men wearing military fatigues, the beam of smiles radiating from the picture. They're all holding ceremonial rifles on their shoulders, Jin's too big for his small body.

"Hey, are those your parents?" A finger points over to the frames. Before her finger moves, he knows where she's pointing.

The weight crashes back onto his shoulders.

"Uh… yeah, it is. We did one of those fossil exhibits - my dad was super excited to take me. Honestly? It was like one of my favorite days ever."

"That's so cute, oh my god." The pointing digit covers her mouth as she tries to hide her forced blush. "Your parents still live around here?"

The glass trembles down from his lips as a thought passes through him.

"Yeah, they're still in Tokyo."

Technically, he's not lying.

"If tonight goes well, maybe you can bring them over to the cafe - I can make them one of my specials." She winks as she takes another drink.

He shrugs, wordlessly focusing on plating the mashed potatoes. A perfect plop hits the plates, the tongs grabbing the meat and sliding them onto the plastic. He walks over to the table, laying the plate in front of her as he sits across from her and grabbing his wine glass. His leg shakes under the table, staring at her piece of meat.

She smiles and picks up the utensils, poking at the meat. "You weren't lying - ya know what you're doing."

"Yeah, ain't my first rodeo." He lies, sweat starting to build on the back of his neck while she cuts into her meal.

*Should I call the EMTs now?*

The knife severs the crust with a nice little crunch. Her fork lifts the piece, Jin seeing a perfect amount of pink on the inside.

"Looks like it's cooked right, hope ya didn't poison this!" She teases as she puts it into her mouth.

The knuckles on Jin's hands turn white as they grip his silverware.

*I really should call an EMT.*

The fork slides out of her mouth empty, each chew causes her eyes to sparkle more and more.

"Holy shit."

The window's right there - He can crash through at any time.

The knife slices into the meat as she takes another big bite.

"This is genuinely one of the best steaks I've had." She smiles, a genuine heat filling her cheeks.

-He actually remembered how I like it cooked.-

The blood drains from Jin's face. "I told you, ain't my first rodeo." He mumbles as he takes a bite out of the meat. The warmth flows back into his face - she's not lying.

A giggle slips out of her throat. "I could get used to this."

-Get a grip.-

______________

The wine bottle sits empty in front of them along with the empty plates, Reze's laughter almost knocking her off the chair.

"So wait - that guy kept screaming about birds being drones?"

"Swear to God! He literally shook me while yelling 'HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A BABY PIGEON?' That's why I sit there all the time."

"Ya know, he could have come back at any time and killed you right?." Reze finishes her wine, her knee brushing against his again. A lot of that happened tonight - some were calculated, while most came naturally.

Jin leans back into his chair, letting the nerves finally melt out of him. "I thought about that, and you know what? I'd probably deserve it."

A comfortable silence fills the apartment as the two look at each other, sparks illuminate in their eyes.

BZZTBZZT

She ignores it.

Her glass clinks onto the table, breaking the stillness. "Ok, so what's for dessert?"

A chill moves up Jin's back, freezing him in his seat. He thought about it all - the steaks, making the mashed potatoes from scratch, even getting the wine.

*How the hell did I forget about dessert?*

The emerald eyes blink at him "…We could go grab something?"

Jin jolts to life. "Perfect! I know just the spot!" He jumps up and instinctually grabs her hand, pulling her to the door. "I know the BEST ice cream place, it should still be open!"

*Joe's going to kill me.*

Reze looks down at his hand, gently but firmly caressed within hers, squeezing into his grasp as she gets pulled.

-His hands are so soft, maybe… No. Focus.-

The door swings open with gusto, nearly knocking Jin over. He looks back at her, both bursting out into laughter as they exit into the night.

*-Fuck it.-*

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin is holding a girl's hand - A girl he met three days ago.

It doesn't seem real - He should be alone in his apartment, enjoying the alone time after doing nothing for the day. But that's all changed since that cafe - she gotten him to sit back in a classroom to teach him the Fibonacci sequence, she got him to cook something he's never made before.

And now he's part of the nightlife of Tokyo with someone who wants to be with him.

The panic is still there, yeah. But he doesn't mind it.

The streetlights and neon signs bounce off of their giggling faces, passing the crowd of nightlife. It's a busy night - Some wait in line for the nightclubs and karaoke bars, some enjoy pounding bowls of ramen, others stumble home early from the festivities.

But nothing is stopping Jin from getting her some ice cream. And there's really only one place he knows that'll let him in at this hour.

"So, where are you taking me?" Reze asks after they turn their fifth corner. It feels like they're going in circles with the crowded street, her body and mind completely disoriented.

"Well, I'm taking you to the PREMIERE Ice Cream destination in Tokyo! You'll have to trust me on that one." He can feel his hand grip hers a bit more, sweat starting to tingle onto his palms.

*Joe, I need a good batch man.*

"Only if you're paying. Ya still owe me for the coffee yesterday."

Jin stops dead in tracks. He did forget to pay, he shot out of the cafe after she asked him to hang out at the school. He slowly turns around, embarrassed.

"Shit. You're right. I'll come ba-"

His eyes meet hers, a playful smirk is growing as her pupils widen to his embarrassment.

"I'm messing with you, idiot."

Jin smiles back at her, his heart still racing from the eye contact. No words come from his mouth, which is probably for the better.

"Don't forget about the creamer, I wanna make it for you again." Reze's hand tightens around his at the promise.

"Then I'm writing what's in the damn thing so it STAYS on the menu." He takes her around one more corner, a neon sign appears in front of them - cracked pink light barely emitting a glow, but somehow still functional. "Joe's Ice Cream" fizzles and hums into the night, the streetlight passing it without a second thought. The sign on the door reads 'Closed', but Jin goes to it anyway.

"Ok, so you trust me?" Jin says, looking back at her as his grasp leaves her and moves to the handle.

Reze looks at the uninteresting exterior, then back to the crowd. This place is really hidden in plain sight. "Are you sure you're not going to kill me?"

-Honestly, I would love a challenge.-

"What? No…. Maybe? Why are we here?" He jokes, almost actually forgetting why he brought her.

Her eyes roll as Jin opens the door and confidently walks in. Her eyebrows raise watching him walk into an American styled diner on the inside. It's not like it's dirty for a diner… but it's seen way better days; must be the charm of the place. Pictures of famous celebrities hang on the wall, none of them ever coming in here. Flags hang from the ceiling, one of some sports teams, another of the American Marines, and finally, another of the stars and stripes. Under the flags sits booths, but at the counter are barstools to sit right where you order your dessert.

Jin walks up to the counter and rhythmically slams it, a creak of a chair comes from behind a hanging curtain.

"I told you! You ain't allowed to come in when I'm closing, you jackass!" A gruff voice screams from the back.

"Oh come on, you got 30 more minutes there's no way you're closing THAT early." Jin leans over the counter to yell in the back.

The curtain gets pushed to the side, a man walking through with eyes locking immediately to Jin. He's tall - broad-shouldered and thick around the middle, the kind of build that comes from years of muscle with a few good years of eating. He still looks like he could re-enlist if needed.

Reze knows the type. Dangerous if he needs to be.

"It's a slow night and I wanted to get to bed!" His footsteps thud onto the hard surface as he beelines to Jin.

"Well that's too damn bad Joe! Maybe I wanted to say hi!"

Joe reaches over the counter and gives Jin a big hug, his big arms covering up Jin's body.

"Kid, I called you a few days ago, ya know? wanted to check in with-"

He stops when his eyes meet Reze's, his hard demeanor softening.

"Oh, I'm sorry ma'am! Didn't see ya there." Joe pushes Jin out of the way. "Scoot." Joe's arms let go of the smaller body. "He'll be fine, kid's here all the time. What can I get you?"

Reze saunters up to the counter, her gaze going from the countertop and then at Jin.

"I see why you come here all the time."

A soft smile crosses onto Jin's face - one Joe hasn't seen in a very long time. He glances between them.

"I'm sorry, are you on a date with Jin?"

The two freeze, Jin turning to Reze and shrugging.

"Yeah, I think so?" Jin's still looking into Reze's eyes, catching the shimmer when he says it, the blush when she looks away.

Joe slams his hands onto the countertop, the laminate shaking from the force.

"Then I welcome you to Joe's, the PREMIERE Ice Cream destination in Tokyo!"

She blinks, eyes darting between the huge man and her now date.

"I'm pretty sure Jin said that to me word for word, cadence for cadence."

"Because we made it up!" The two men exclaim, Joe launching a loose towel towards Jin's head. It covers his vision, Jin taking it off and throwing it back to him.

Reze looks at both of them and huffs out a small laugh. "You really had to say that at the exact same time?"

A barstool screeches on the tile as Jin sits. "Yeah, we do. It's how we marketed when I worked here as a kid. Now come on, what do you want - I have a tab."

"That tab? It's over 500 bucks, by the way. You're gonna have to pay up sooner or later. Remember, I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE" Joe says, pointing at him with an ice cream scoop. He spins it in his hand and moves its aim towards Reze."Ok, pretty lady, what would you like? You get first pick. And yes, it's on HIS-" Joe shoots a glare at Jin. "-tab. Nothing is bad here, I swear on my mother's grave."

She takes a second and inspects the different colors and flavors behind the glass. She's really not too picky, but one jumps out at her.

"Strawberry, please."

"A girl who likes the classics, I knew I'd like you" Joe says, giving a big wink to her. He then faces Jin, any previous spark of joy disappearing. "Same thing for you?"

"You know it."

A loud sigh comes from the bigger man as he walks over to the containers of ice cream.

He's unaware of Reze sizing him up. She's taken down bigger guys, but something about this man is different - he'd be a problem for the strike team.

Not for her though.

"Wait, I think I saw you in one of the pictures back at his place with his dad!" Reze bursts out as Joe starts scooping. "Have you guys always been close?"

The energy shifts just slightly. Both men's faces drop, Joe leaning back onto the counter to Reze while his eyes gaze at the picture. "Yeah, best of buds growing up. Joined the service and everything together - it's why I'm in Japan even after everything." He turns to Jin, hands picking the scoop back up. "And somehow his kid is WORSE than him. But here we are - by the way we only got cups late at night."

Jin shifts his eyes up to Joe, silently thanking him for changing the subject. "You're an asshole."

The pink ball of strawberry is dropped into a cup and given to Reze with a warm smile. He then starts working on Jin's ice cream, grumbling something about '500 Dollars'.

The spoon slides into her mouth, strawberry flavors immediately explode in her mouth. A dance of sweetness and tartness intertwine perfectly to create the bite.

But her eyes tell more. It's cute, what he's noticing about Reze - the small smile followed by her looking down when she eats something she likes, the small crease in her forehead when he tells a joke, even how her nose crinkles when she's deep in thought. He's just starting, but he likes picking up the little things she does.

A bowl clatters in front of Jin, shattering him back to reality. The ice cream is filled with different colors and flavors, mixing together to an unappetizing brown.

"I swear you do this to keep people out." Joe walks to the back with a few papers from under the counter.

A scoop is pulled out of the monstrosity, disappearing into Jin's mouth. "Yeah well, that's not my fault."

Her dreamlike state fades when Reze's eyes meet the bowl in front of her date.

"Why."

A laugh falls out of Jin. "What, this? I call this the "Everything". Name implies, but the best part is he has to clean the scooper each time. Been doing it for years now." Joe throws his hands up as walks to the back.

"...Everything?" She tries not to think how strawberry would taste with the wasabi flavor.

The spoon exits Jin's mouth, completely clean. "Literally everything." Jin then leans next to Reze's ear, his voice barely audible as his breath tickles her ear. "Don't tell Joe… but it's kinda crappy."

The space between the two felt like it disappeared. They can feel each other's warmth, their scents tickling their noses, eyes darting around the body next to them.

Joe comes back out in a huff, the two shooting back up as Jin shoves more of the slop into his mouth. He smiles as his lips close around the spoon.

*Why do I do this to myself?*

A glare shoots towards Jin as Joe checks for something beneath the counter again.

"So Jin, you used to work here? Like, over the summer?" Her elbow leans onto the counter as she continues to indulge in her dessert.

A scoff comes from under the counter. "Yeah, for years he did. Somehow, it's the best and worst decision I've ever made. Hell, he's caused AND saved us from the greatest disaster this store has ever seen!"

Jin's eyes widen in fear. "NO. NO. WE'RE NOT DOING THIS."

Joe shoots up from underneath, hands resting on the counter and talking over Jin's pleas. The two men's eyes meet - they both know where this is going - before turning to Reze's. "We call it here the Great Disaster of '18. Let me start off: the kid is smart but MAN, he's a dumbass." Joe laughs out, his voice bouncing in the empty parlor, watching Jin sink into his seat.

"He hates this story. ANYWAY, it's the summer of 2018. One night it's insane - Tons of kids screaming with the line out the door? It's a high stress situation." Joe leans down to Reze. "He's terrible in those, by the way."

"I'm literally right here."

Joe flips him off and continues. "Anyway, the kid goes to fill the machine again with the creamer stuff, right? But because of the line, Jin has the bright idea to try to get the machine to spit out the ice cream faster. I took over the front while he was tweaking a few of the nozzles and machine parts to, and I quote, 'get these damn kids out of here'."

Jin is leaning back on the barstools, staring up at the football flag. The animal on the logo stares back at him, offering no solace.

*This can't be happening.*

"So, works for a few right? Everything hunky dory until this poor young boy walks up wanting a soft serve. Jin runs over to make one, and I shit you not, the lever you push down to spin the ice cream out BROKE, and the cream starts SHOOTING OUT like a fire hose." Joe's laugh starts up again.

"It starts COVERING the kid, and he's just STANDING THERE, not moving. So poor Jin had to jump in front of the blast of the machine, the force of it nearly knocking him over. Jin screams, and that might be the highest pitched thing I've ever heard; hell I've been in combat and I think THAT SCREAM did worse for my hearing than any gunshot or explosion did."

Reze is laughing with Joe now.

"So Jin decided to go all hero! 'I'M GOING IN' he's screaming while pushing to the broken thing. He managed to grab a scoop and redirect some of the blast from him, but it's gotta go somewhere right? It covers EVERY kid and parent in the damn place! Eventually, he got to the machine and beat the hell out of it with the scoop until it stopped. Oh man, I was pissed. It was over EVERYTHING - I had to hire someone to deep clean the place! Hell, I almost got SUED."

Reze has tears coming out of her eyes trying to look at Jin, but can't seem to get her eyes around to him. "THE SCREAM! I NEED TO HEAR THE SCREAM!"

Jin's still looking up. His face is getting redder and redder as the laughter rises.

After a few minutes and teasing, the laughter dies down with Joe slapping Jin's back. "Every chance I get kid, I'm telling it."

Her hand catches the last tear from her eyes, placing a gentle touch on his shoulder. "Hey, look at me. Please?"

Jin sighs and looks down at her. Her eyes are glistening - Is it the dim lights of Joe's? A few unwiped tears from her laughing at him? Or is she liking what she sees? He really can't tell, but it's making him feel better.

"I put my body on the line for that poor kid. I should be hailed as a hero!" His hand hits the counter, laughing.

"You caused the Great Disaster! I should've fired you ON THE SPOT."

BZZTBZZT

-You gotta be kidding me.-

"Hey Joe, are your bathrooms at least clean?" Reze stands up, pushing the barstool back.

"Miss, I make sure the bathrooms are immaculate. Behind you and to your left sweetheart."

"It better be, thanks!" Reze disappears down the hallway and closes the girls room door behind her.

The two guys take a second before Joe puts his hand on Jin's shoulder. "You're going to have to tell me how you got a date with her."

"Honestly? Dumb luck."

______________

The door locks shut behind her. She doesn't need anyone coming in.

Her phone is out in her hand, the screen already on a message.

'STATUS. NOW. STRIKE TEAM READY.'

The cursor waits for her. Her thumbs instinctively hover over the letters on her keyboard.

-I can end this right now. Those two wouldn't suspect a thing.-

The strike team would be quick - kill Joe first, extract the confused target, and take him to god knows where to do god knows what. And everything goes back to normal for her.

Normal for her.

Reze closes her eyes, her mouth and throat still sore from laughing. She can't remember the last time she felt like that from a story—or how it felt receiving that burlap sack, imagining Jin's dumb smile as he drew that chibi version of her.

She grunts, hands running up her head and into her hair. She can feel the strands falling over her face. Why is this so hard? The strike team would make it painless and easy - maybe she can escape out the back and not see anything. But Jin would find out, and everything - the cafe, the school, even tonight - is a lie.

The thought of that makes her sick.

-It wasn't a lie.-

For once, doing those things with him - lie or not - made her finally feel normal.

-Why did I get assigned this target? -

She softly yells to herself in the bathroom, the mirror reflecting her face back.

She doesn't know why this target is so difficult.

BZZTBZZT

'WEAPON. REPORT. NOW.'

The cursor still waits for a response. She takes one last look at herself, trying to find any answer. Anything that'll help her make a decision.

The mirror shows her cheeks burning red, not from frustration.

Before her brain can catch up, she feels her fingers slam a message onto the screen.

'I'M NOT YOUR WEAPON.'

With a flick of her wrist, the phone snaps in half and is thrown into the trash can. The device fizzles and sparks for a second before the screen blackens forever.

Her mind catches up to her. She takes a second to look at the broken phone, knowing she made a mistake.

The door unlocks as she steps back into the parlor.

____________

Her footsteps quietly round the corner back to Joe and Jin. A full blown argument has exploded while she was gone.

She laughs to herself as she peeks around the corner - the two are yelling in each other's faces over something. But the feeling doesn't last long - the flutters are mixed with a growing sense of anxiety in her stomach.

She pushes it down as she steps out.

"- YOU DO KNOW THAT I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE RIGHT?"

"COME ON OLD MAN - I'M READY FO- " Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Reze, turning around to meet her gaze. His heart freezes. Her eyes are still like that first day, but there's something else in those eyes - almost like a hunger for what's in her vision.

Jin forgets how to breathe.

A smile forms on her face as she walks over "Hey, Jin? I think we should let Joe finish up closing, don't want ya snapped in half tonight."

Joe laughs from behind the counter. "Yeah, thank you miss! See Jin, someone who respects my time!"

Sure Reze, but you're gonna learn to not feel bad for him." Jin looks back at Joe shaking his head in displeasure.

Joe smiles and watches the two leave, Jin keeping the door open for Reze while she steps out.

After she passes through the door, Jin looks back at Joe and mouths "Thank you".

Joe nods, and whispers "Go get her, tiger."

As Jin passes the mirrored door, he catches his reflection. He's smiling - he doesn't remember the last time he was genuinely smiling leaving here.

*First time for everything, I guess.*

Reze is already down the street a bit, hoping Jin will catch up soon. She can hear his steps on the pavement as they clatter next to her, stopping to match the pace.

"Hey, sorry about that in there." Jin huffs out.

"Why? I had fun, more than I thought we were going to." She blushes again, letting it come naturally to her face. Her fingers casually slip into Jin's hands, squeezing his clammy grasp.

"So, best ice cream you've had?"

Reze laughs. "Actually yeah. I really couldn't believe it. Also, next time we come… I'm trying whatever the hell you got."

Jin's head feels like it's going to explode. On their right they pass by an alley.

"Trust me it's awf-"

She doesn't let him finish.

Her hands push Jin into the alley, his spine hitting onto the brick wall. He looks up at Reze, wondering what happened. Did he say something wrong? It wouldn't be the first time he's said the wrong thing.

But her eyes - her irises sparkling - tell a different story. The hunger's back, and Jin can see it growing with each step she took towards him.

Reze watched Jin's eyes meet hers again. His dark eyes - terrified, sappy, beautiful eyes.

Heat floods both their faces.

She grabs his buttoned shirt, fist grasping at the fabric. Her face pushes onto his, their lips crashing against each other as her eyes close.

For a second, Jin's body fully shuts down as he's pushed more onto the wall. But the light flavor of strawberry from Reze's tongue keeps him in the moment, instincts kicking in. His arms wrap around her waist and pulls her flush to him, his tongue dancing with hers.

She can bite his tongue off right now, immobilize him. Or even blow off his legs and disappear with him into the night.

She doesn't. This feels too good.

*-Holy fuck.-*

The few minutes they kiss seem like hours. The alley disappears from them - the passing vehicle lights, the sounds, everything - All gone. Just the two of them.

They pull away, Reze leaving a small bite to Jin's lower lip. Her head lightly rests on his forehead, both catching their breath.

"So…" Reze whispers out, her voice husky." I guess you're getting free coffee from now on."

A breathless laugh escapes Jin.

"And I think you're part of my tab at Joe's."

A soft smile breaks onto her face as she giggles.

"Deal."

____________

'I'M NOT YOUR WEAPON.'

The response on the green monitor cuts through the darkness like a knife.

The figure sits there looking at the screen. Their hands tap the desk in front of them. The weapon broke free. Their weapon. It was not supposed to break free - it should be returning to base with the target for the second step of the plan.

No matter. The figure has seen this happen before.

Shadows barrel up behind the figure, Chozin sprinting through in a huffed breath.

"Sir, I just got a report - the weapon's tracking device is down. It seems she defected."

The monitor with the text crushes. Sparks fizzle out of it as the figure turns around, unbothered by the sound.

"I'm aware. We're still on mission. Do not deviate."

"Wouldn't Reze be protecting the target? Isn't that too dangerous?"

A sigh comes from the figure's hooded maw. "The weapon always fights back. You should know this." It steps away from its position, pacing around the room while its covered face watches the monitors.

A radio hisses to life somewhere inside its cloak.

"Strike team, you're cleared to bring in the target. The weapon defected. Expect resistance."

The radio goes silent. One of the monitors changes, the feed showing soldiers loading their rifles and exiting an empty building. It's quick and quiet, the civilians around them unnoticing the danger around them. The feed shifts to the strike team's commander, staying behind with the backup team while mapping out a few things on a sprawled out map.

Chozin promised they were the best, especially for this.

"Perfect Paradise will proceed as planned, Chozin. Contact me if anything changes."

"But…Reze, she's da-"

The desk rattles from the figures strike as it turns towards Chozin. The older man can see a hint of red bleeding through the darkness inside the hood, a chill running up his spine at the sight.

"...Yes sir. I'll let you know if anything changes."

The shadows swallow the older man as he steps back and disappears into the darkness. A breath escapes the figure, the red light dissipating as it turns back around. Its focus goes back to the monitors, listening to the strike team commander lead the first team out.

The weapon and target will not escape again.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze knows she made a huge mistake. They're going to send a strike team like they planned. She was told multiple times if she deviated from the plan they're going to apprehend her too.

'It's nothing personal, but a necessary part of the work we do.' She can hear the lie behind Chozin's words rattle in her brain.

But she didn't care - she needed to break away from them. She WANTED to break away from them for a while now.

With Jin's hand wrapped in hers, they move down the busy streets as both their cheeks still burn red from the alley - hoping the crowd don't notice. The moonlight is strong with the city lights dancing across the two's faces, giggles and laughter from them echoing onto the brick and concrete facades. Occasionally as they walk, they quickly look at each other before fading away. Smiles creep up their face with each glance, quickly disappearing in nervousness.

The back of Jin's shirt is covered in a layer of sweat. It's been a while since he's kissed a girl, but it's never felt like this. Especially how she pushed him into the alley, the way she grabbed him.

He liked that.

*Guess I still got it.*

After a few twists and turns, they end up back at Reze's cafe. She forgot her key to her place there - a lie, it's a place to lay low. With limited time, she couldn't think of another safe haven as the strike team prowls the streets for them.

"So, are we already cashing out free coffee?"

Behind the counter, a laugh comes out of Reze while she searches for the non-existent key. She's gonna have to keep him here for the night and off the street. Her head lifts from behind the counter, examining him. The small smile that forms on his face sends flutters in her stomach.

It should be easy enough.

Her head cocks. "Of course silly - I'd rather hang out here anyway. Clean, cozy, and the owner isn't fighting their customers."

"Joe's is usually two of those three things, you know?" The plastic wrap sticks to his back as he plops into the booth. Behind him, the window shows the world outside - still bustling with nightlife.

"I'd say Joe's is zero of those things. But I'll say - Joe seems like a really nice guy." Reze heads to the back to find some of the pre-made food. She keeps glancing past Jin over to the window, keeping tabs on the street.

The fridge hisses open, the premade sandwiches sit neatly in order. She grabs one of them, a ham and cheese and moves over to the counter again.

"Want half of this?"

"Oh, sure yeah. I thought I wasn't hungry, but it's -" He slides his phone out of his pocket and looks at the digital display.

12:00 AM.

"- midnight? Holy shit."

The croissant is cut in half while Reze giggles. "Jeez, but we've been having fun right? Time moves faster when you're having fun or something?" Her gaze shifts between Jin and the outside.

Still busy. A few drunk pedestrians sing some song as they pass by, hugging their friends tight.

-Good.-

Jin just nods, watching Reze work behind the counter. She expertly flips the contents of the premade sandwich into the croissant, removing the bottom piece of bread. She grabs a plate and walks over with their snack, her hair flipping down and partially covering her right eye.

He really can't stop looking at the emerald color glimmering from the outside lights.

"Can I say something? Like real quick?"

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. She looks away - partially from the emotion, yes - but also to check outside. Traffic flows a bit slower, but nothing unusual.

Probably a lull in the nightlife. Still safe.

"....What are you about to say?" She sits down in the booth, the window perfectly framing Jin while letting her elbow lean on the table and resting her head on her hand.

"You've probably heard this a million times - but your eyes are beautiful."

She shifts in her seat as butterflies bounce in her stomach again.

"Yeah, I've heard that." After one last uncomfortable shift, she leans next to his ear.

"Not from you though. I think I…" She pulls away slowly to meet his gaze, giving him a good view of her irises. "...like when you say that"

Her forehead rests on his, their hands intertwining underneath the wooden table.

"I still can't believe you left your jacket here that first day." she laughs.

The giggling from Jin vibrates her head.

"I literally couldn't think when you were looking at me. I think I forgot my name at one point."

Laughter erupts from her. "My eyes are NOT that powerful, you idiot." She changes her expression, half lidded eyes staring back at him.

He looks away, breath catching as he points at her. "See? Like that! I'm literally forgetting where I'm at right now!" He shifts in his seat, looking away to calm himself.

-He's cute when he's flustered.-

While Jin's looking away, she takes a quick peek behind him. The window shows an empty street, the nightlife completely gone. It shouldn't be like that.

Her heart drops, but her face remains stable as her gaze moves back to Jin while her nose crinkles.

"Maybe that's why I do it - I like making you forget things. It's fun."

"I don't think that's really fair." he leans in closer, watching Reze's face smile grow.

He's reading her like a book - a novel he wants to reread over and over.

*My turn.*

Her body leans closer, shrugging as she leans onto his body. "Why not? I'll convince you your name is Larry or something."

"PLEASE don't change my name to Larry." He laughs, shaking his head. "Can we meet halfway at, I don't know, Keith?"

"DISGUSTING. Deal, Keith." She rubs her fingers on his hand at the joke, lightly gripping harder. The act sends Jin into a frenzy in his mind.

A dangerous thought hits him - he has to make this HIS moment.

The grip tightens from him as he leans into her.

She leans in as well, taking one last look out the window. Time begins slowing for her - this always happens when something doesn't go right.

A gray cylinder is careening towards the window, pin spinning off mid-flight.

Flashbang. They found them.

She won't let them take him.

Her arm reaches towards Jin's head - who's leaning in for that kiss - and pulls him down towards her chest.

*Man, we're going to second base already?*

The flashbang connects with the window, shattering glass over both of them. Reze covers Jin's head and turns her face away from the shards.

Time speeds up for her.

BANG

The sound deafens Jin while his vision goes white - he truly forgot where he was. He feels the window glass rain over his back and grabs Reze tight.

Shards fall into her purple hair like a messed up glitter bomb. Reze rolls them off the booth seat and onto the ground, the glass sliding across the ground as footsteps thud outside.

"JIN! ARE YOU OK?" She shakes him.

Jin can barely hear her screams, but he can feel his body vibrating. His vision starts to regain from the white void to see Reze over him. He does one last blink to fully gain the color of the world back.

"Wh…what happened?"

The door blasts open, five soldiers entering with their guns aimed at the two. Their camoed bodies fit for fighting in an urban environment, dark and light greys are stark behind the wooden colors of the cafe. Two flags rest on their arm - one of the Soviet flag, and a second of a red patch with a black X on it. A devil rests between the cross, its wicked grin touching each ear.

Balaclavas rest on all their faces, hiding every detail of their face - any hesitation, fear, joy. Only the eyes peek through and they're deadlier than most conventional weapons on the planet. However, the left eye is gone - the normal blues and browns from the irises replaced by a blackened void.

The knife is already out and in front of her before the soldiers enter the room. She's kneeling in front of Jin, putting her body in between the soldiers.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She grips the knife a bit tighter, her free hand still on Jin's trembling body. The soldiers wordlessly circle them, their rifles staying firm.

With each step they take, she watches them. Looking for any weakness in their ranks, any chance to strike.

A shuddered breath comes from under her. She peeks down - Jin's too confused to even move.

"Reze….?"

"Not now." Her grip tightens on his body.

One of them, the patch on his arm showing he's an officer, moves in front of Reze. Her knife flips in her hand and points it towards him.

"Far enough."

The officer sighs. "We're here to collect the target - Chozin's orders. And we're supposed to bring you back, weapon."

"You didn't hear? We were to keep observing and collect more information on his day to day."

She knew it was an awful lie, but had to try.

The officer laughs, the rest of the soldiers follow suit. She can hear the guns move from her onto Jin.

"You know, we'd believe that if you weren't getting ice cream with the target. I promise we won't tell command about that part. Just give us the target. He's preferred alive, but dead will be an acceptable outcome." His pistol comes out, cocked and aimed at Jin. "You know how the top operates."

A scowl forms on her face "I was supposed to bring him in alive - YOU ruined the plan." She looks over at Jin, hoping he's ok.

His face is drooped, tears threatening to fall as his breath hitches out.

*Plan? She was lying to him?*

"Reze…all this… is fake?" His voice cracks, trying to push himself up and out of her grip.

*The school? Fake?*

Her body freezes at the question, but she's able to get something out.

"No." She half-lies.

The small twitch in her eye tells Jin all he needs to know.

"Then what the HELL IS HAP-" A soldier cuts him off and picks him up from behind Reze. She yelps and tries to grab at Jin.

"Target secured, moving to extract alpha. Hybrid secured as well, asset moving with strike team." The soldier nods at the officer as they move towards the broken doorway. Jin starts to struggle from the man's grip, trying anything to get away..

-He's got some fight in him.-

"What's happening? Where are you taking me? The hell is a hybrid? Wha- " A punch from a soldier connects onto Jin's face, blood flying out his mouth and covering the chalkboard. Jin's head slumps down, a mix of the red liquid with drool drips out of his mouth.

"DON'T YOU DARE." Reze steps up to the soldiers holding Jin, her hand inspecting the injury.

"Weapon, you come with us. You don't?" The soldier plants his gun on Jin's head. "Boom."

"Cute. Do that and I'll show ya a real boom." Her fingers intertwine with the ring on her choker.

Jin can barely look up at her. He's taken punches before, hell during some training sessions with Joe he's gotten a right hook to the face. This was different - these people are strong, ruthless.

*She liked my steaks… did she lie about that too?*

A trail of blood follows Jin as the soldiers pass through the doorway and quickly move towards the alley across the street, Reze close behind.

"Put him down. This wasn't part of the plan."

A huff comes out of the officer, stopping in his tracks. The other soldiers stop as well, confused looks growing between them.

"Hilarious. You keep saying that - yet here you are, begging for him. " He shoots a sharp glance towards her. The knife is still pointing at the officer - her fingers start turning white, the blade shaking.

"Fine. Want to play this game?" The officer turns around and kicks Jin in the stomach. Another spout of blood flies out of his mouth as he keels over.

The two soldiers holding him let go of his arms, his body slamming onto the cold concrete below. Another hitched breath comes out of Jin, hands trying to push himself back up.

*The kiss. She doesn't like me?*

"STOP. NOW." Her knife rises towards the officer's face.

"Or what?" One of the soldiers next to Jin asks, raising his leg back. The kick lands squarely on Jin's back, rolling him over.

A grunt is all Jin can manage.

The soldiers didn't even have a chance to react.

The officer blinked and Reze was gone. Turning around, he sees a bloodied knife leaving the one who kicked Jin's neck while the second one is crumpling to the ground.

Her gaze burns, the emerald green is like hellfire to the officer.

"OPEN FIRE."

That's all the officer could say.

Reze lunged at him, sticking the knife straight into his heart. She grabs his body as his knees buckle, the body jerking from oncoming fire meant for her. Through the cracks of the rifles, she hears from one of the soldiers scream -

"TEAM TWO - NOW."

Reze pushes the corpse forward towards the last two guards and lunges from the right side. In an instant, the knife slashes across their necks. Their blood splattering on her blouse and the brick walls. They grab for their necks to stop the bleeding, falling over and choking. The knife drips blood as it follows her steps over to Jin.

"Hey, you have to get up."

The pain blurs his vision. His body screams at him in pain while his head is in a fog. The worst part of it all is his heart - he can feel the pieces of it shattered and lodged inside his body.

She picks him up. A dumpster sits a few feet away—sturdy enough.

"Jin, I'm serious, look at me. We're getting out of here, ok?" She shakes him a bit, trying to break the fog. "You don't leave my side, got it?"

Her hands lay on his shoulders as Jin's vision clears. She pulls him behind the adjacent dumpster to hide, his back sticking to it. He can hear footsteps from down the alley and shouts in a language he cannot understand.

"Who… who are you?" Jin asks her, fear growing in his voice.

Her demeanor doesn't change. "I promise I'll tell you everything. Right now I'm ke-"

CRACK

The first bullet cuts through the dumpster and slices through Jin's right shoulder. It spins him forward, his body falling out in front of the makeshift cover. He screams out, the pain sharp and burning. He felt like he could see a light from the wound - probably the bullet passing through him.

As he falls over, Jin has time to look back towards the entrance of the alley. Five other soldiers are already running towards the dumpster, their guns aimed at his falling body.

That's when the next shots came in.

The second one hits the upper left part of his chest by his collarbone. His bones splinter inside him, body dropping to his knees from the pain.

*I thought it would hurt more.*

The third bullet hits back on the right side, piercing his skin and exiting behind him. He can feel the exit wound - a hole in his back, air passing through. The blood spurts behind him and stains the alleyway, Jin forcing his knees to stay steady.

*Is this it?*

The final one hits his chest, the burning spreading up and down his body. The only other thing he can feel is the blood pouring out of him. He lets one last hitched breath and turns towards Reze, a scream coming out of her mouth.

*Reze…*

His body falls backwards, head still steady on her face.

The last thing he sees is her turning towards the running soldiers, her hand tightly gripping the ring of her choker while tears drip off her face.

That's when the darkness overtakes him.

________

Reze screams cut through the night. The second team steps forward, guns raised at Jin's body.

"SHIT. Get medevac ready!" One of the soldiers screams out.

"I-I thought it was the weapon!" Another one shouts, lowering his gun as he looks at Jin's bleeding body.

Tears drip from Reze's eyes looking at Jin on the ground. His blood pools around him, the holes from his wounds spilling out more of him onto the alley street.

She watches the light leave his eyes.

Throughout her training, she's been taught that weapons don't cry. They don't feel. They only act at what they're pointing at.

'You should be happy.' She can hear Chozin in the back of her head. It only lets the tears fall harder out of her eyes.

She steps out with her hand around the choker ring.

-Give them what they want.-

The soldiers watch her step from behind the dumpster, trying to bring their weapons up fast enough.

It's too late.

"Boom."

The pin clicks as she pulls it off her choker, an explosion erupting around her. The soldiers stumble to the ground and shield their faces from the radiating heat.

Reze's head is no longer the purple haired and green eyed girl. In place of her head is a black bomb, much like an old fashioned nuke. Sharp teeth protrude under the bomb, almost resembling a shark's smile. An apron appears on her chest, covered with black detonators sitting over her clothes. The detonators also stretch onto her arms, covering them up to just above her elbows.

The division soldiers knew what they were sent to bring back. They read her report and how destructive this weapon was. They saw the pictures of her in action and her aftermath. They knew how to put her down, training for hours on what to do. But the second they see her, their minds blank - primal fear taking over their minds.

In front of them, the Bomb Devil stands.

"Leave."

Her footsteps echo off the brick as she steps forward, testing their resolve. Everyone in this alley knows the soldiers aren't leaving alive.

One of the soldiers reaches for his gun, the shot ringing through the night. It bounces off her metallic head as it turns towards the shot.

That soldier tries to fire off more shots, screaming in fear. Two of the soldiers take off from the alley, also screaming as they try to escape. The final two move towards Jin's body, mind still focused on the mission at hand.

"No more chances."

She snaps her fingers, sending colorful yellow balls of energy down towards them. As soon as one hits a soldier, an explosion tears through the whole alley - their screams are silenced by the incineration of their bodies. All that remains is ash, and under the ash lies Jin.

Metal clatters next to Reze as her devil form melts away, her tears still dropping to the pavement. She runs over to Jin and picks his limp body and sprints out of the alley.

Hours ago, she was eating a really good steak and getting ice cream. She even kissed the guy she liked.

Now - she's praying to whatever god or devil that'll answer her prayers. Her tears mix with his blood as she sprints to the nearest hospital. She'll use fake names, make up a fake story, do anything to get him to a doctor.

As her feet thud on the asphalt, she feels a faint heartbeat pick back up from Jin.

-Don't die on me yet.-

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze usually leaves by now. She's taken people to hospitals before - missions in crowded spaces are common after all. Collateral damage happens, but it doesn't stop her from trying to minimize it. She never wanted to hurt others unless she had to.

For those she's accidentally hurt, Reze wouldn't stay. Better to avoid the aftermath and not get recognized, thanked, or blamed.

This time she doesn't care. It's been days since they've entered the hospital and she refuses to leave. She can't decide why she's adamant about staying.

Guilt? Pity? Something else?

Day and night she sits by Jin's bed, who lies still in a coma. When she stumbled in with his limp body, she gave them a fake name - Leonard Keith - to hide him from the division soldiers hunting them. The doctors were able to take him in quickly and get him into surgery. Luckily no major arteries were hit and he should be ok, the doctors told her.

But he didn't wake up after it. At first the doctors tried to wake him up, but after a few tries they said the shock from the mugging - a story Reze made up - could have been enough to send his brain into overdrive and shut off.

'Moments like these are incredibly traumatizing for the human brain - he must have been terrified.'

Reze knew it was because of her. Everything she did up to that point was a lie to get him isolated.

It wasn't all though. Occasionally she reached over to his bed, grabbing his still fingers to squeeze them.

-You'll wake up. You have to.-

The monitor beeps, numbers and lines reading out Jin's vitals as he's connected to various wires and tubes. He's barely breathing, each rise of his chest shallow, painful, but he is alive.

Usually when someone is hospitalized, people come by to check in. Joe stopped by a few times, but finding the room took a while – he was looking for Jin's room, not Leonard Keith. When he asked about the name, Reze told him the hospital must have mixed up the paperwork. Luckily for her, Joe bought the lie. He brought flowers, a get well soon card, and many 'You stupid idiot' comments with soft pats. He would stay for a bit, silently looking over Jin before abruptly getting up to leave.

But after Joe would leave, it would be silent – no one else showed. No parents, friends, coworkers, nobody. Reze sinks in her chair as she thinks about it.

-You really are alone.-

Only doctors would stop by, checking on his condition. They would ask Reze some questions, most going over her head as she focused on Jin's breathing. Eventually, she'd answer them with an emotionless gaze to get the staff out of the room.

The fourth night is like any other night. Soft chatter from the nurses in their station, the quiet beeps of the monitor, and Reze sitting in the chair - her eyes locked onto his chest.

Up. Down.

-He didn't deserve this.-

Up. Down.

Reze's fingers snake their way through his, the grip tightening onto the lifeless fingers. They feel cold to the touch.

Up. Down.

-I've seen people come back from worse.-

The monitor beeps faster, Reze glancing at it and back down to Jin's body.

Up. Down.

-I need you to come back.-

Up. Down.

After a second, the monitor returns to its normal cadence. She leans back, sighing and gazing at the ceiling. A small tear starts to form in her eyes.

-He just wanted a friend.-

Suddenly Jin's body jolts up, the mattress underneath him shaking. He takes frantic breath in to the sickly clean smell, screaming in pain as the stitches in his upper torso stretch and pull at his wounds. Falling back down, he looks around, frantic and hyperventilating.

Reze is immediately up and next to him.

"JIN! It's ok! You're safe. You're safe. You're ok…" She grabs his hand again, trying to soothe him.

But Jin pushes away from her, nearly falling out of his hospital bed and ripping his wires and tubes off his body. Probably not ideal.

She grabs him before that happens and sets him back up on the bed.

"HEY! It's ok. Look at me."

The look of endearment she'd gotten used to from Jin is gone - replaced now by primal fear.

It's palpable as he screams again, pain shooting up his shoulder as he attempts to push her away again. He steadies himself as he looks away from her, breath still shaky.

"Get away from me."

Reze lets him go. She slumps back onto the chair, feeling like she just got shot.

"I took you here, you know. Waited for 4 days to make sure you were ok." Her tone comes out emotionless.

She gulps.

"I said get away." He shudders out as he looks at the door.

"Not happening."

"Right, waiting for your friends to come and finish the job? Because that's why you're here right?"

"No, it's not like -"

He cuts her off. "Nah, it looks like it. So you wanna tell me what's going on, BECAUSE I -" As Jin tries to sit up, the stitches pull at him again, wincing in pain before he settles himself. He finally looks at her, eyebrows furrowed at her figure.

Reze can't stand to look at him like this, but her demeanor doesn't change.

"Yeah…. I'm not a barista. I was hired to capture you by the Hybrid Division. It's part of the Soviet Union. I'm… I'm part of them."

Jin chuckles to himself as his head slams back into the pillow.

"My life fucking sucks."

"I've been following you for the last week. Watching you and your movements. Honestly, you weren't supposed to come to the cafe… that was just luck on my part." She admits, her gaze slowly rising to his face.

The face staring back at her isn't what she wanted to see. Jin's face is still twisted in confusion and pain, his heartbeat increasing on the monitor.

"…ME? Why the hell would you want to kidnap me? If you ACTUALLY followed me, then you should know I DON'T DO ANYTHING."

The beeps quicken behind him, Reze's demeanor softening as she keeps glancing between him and the monitor. "I… don't know. All I was told was that it was a snatch and grab. Came from the top too - not even the strike team knew what the mission was. The head of the division wants you for… something."

Jin laughs again. He can't believe this: He's a target? Him? The guy with nothing?

"So… you've been lying to me the whole time? The coffee shop, the school, the dinner -" He sits back up, ignoring the pain shooting across his upper chest and shoulder. Reze tries to reach for him again , Jin pushing her hand away. "- I TOOK YOU TO MEET JOE. I DON'T TAKE ANYONE TO HIM. I SWEAR IF HE GETS HUR-"

A couple stitches on his shoulder snaps.

Jin howls as he falls back into the mattress. Blood seeps from the open wound as he begins to feel faint. He takes his other hand and tries to stop the now dripping fluid, but feels gauze get placed onto the wound.

Reze is already dabbing the blood away as she takes another piece of gauze to clean around the broken stitch. She turns around and grabs a bandage off of the nightstand and sticks it over the laceration.

The bleeding stops, Jin's breath slowing as the monitor starts to slow down its beeps.

"…what? Can't let me die? Worth more alive?"

She doesn't flinch. "If I wanted you dead I would have killed you at the school."

A heavy silence between the two as they look away from each other. Jin stares at the screen with his vitals as Reze still watches over him.

She realizes that might have been too harsh, but she isn't wrong. Most missions she can easily get someone isolated, and killing them only took a second.

That didn't matter right now.

Jin feels a soft pat on his leg. He turns around to see Reze still looking him over, her body beginning to tremble.

"But I didn't. I'm done lying. I'm done being an asset. A weapon. I so fucking…"

Tears start dripping on her cheeks as her hands slam the side of Jin's bed. The metal rattles from the impact as she looks up to the stark lighting.

"DONE." Her head falls into her hands as her fingers glide through her hair.

"I was supposed to lie to you Jin. Pretend I liked you, get you alone and take you back to the Division."

She looks up at him, blushing.

"I tried to. In the beginning, I really tried. But you gave me your skittles, that coffee bag, the dinner, it… I felt something."

He doesn't move. He's still watching cautiously. He's been in situations like this before - maybe not life threatening like this moment - but people lie all the same. Sometimes they can't hold their gaze with him, other times they won't even look his way.

But the worst was the fake crying. He's had people lie behind crocodile tears before.

'I swear I wasn't with him!' He can hear from a past girlfriend, a day before finding her and a work friend together on a date. More cries came from the girl, but Jin knew they weren't real tears. It was why he never took any tears at face value.

So he settles back into the uncomfortable mattress, watching Reze continue.

"And you're an idiot! Really! You're terrible at math, you're forgetful, but… but…" Her eyes widen, glassy with new tears. Jin's able to see his reflection in them.

Her breath hitches as she desperately tries to fix the falling strands of purple hair. Jin stays still, mind racing between everything from the past week - The two dates, her smile when she was at Joe's, her face when he got shot.

One thought keeps bouncing in his head.

*She's… not lying.*

"What's a hybrid?"

Outside, a nurse's voice calls on the PA system. Reze ignores it and stares at Jin confused.

"You said you were part of the hybrid division and you're an asset. I think you called yourself a weapon?" Jin leans back up again, staring directly at Reze. "What is it?"

For a second, she peeks back up at the ceiling as her fingers play with her hair again. With a heavy sigh, she looks back down towards Jin.

"It's… like I'm me right now, right? But when I was young, the Soviets took me and took out my heart. They replaced it with another heart - a devil heart. It… gave me powers. That's the best way to describe it."

Another few beeps come from the monitor before Jin speaks again.

"Jesus… they did that to you as a kid?"

"Yeah. It sucks."

*She's alone too.*

"But… what powers does a devil heart give you?"

"It depends on the devil."

"Hold on!" Jin readjusts himself on the mattress. "There's multiple??? Which one are you?"

A second passes before she breathes in.

"…The Bomb Devil." She quickly huffs out, staring at the ground.

"…they put that in you? As a kid? Reze…" Jin looks over at her. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? I made this mess. You got shot because of me." She huffs out, sinking into her chair.

"Sure, but that still sucks. You didn't deserve that."

She nods, letting silence fall between the two again. It hurts her to be honest, but it had to be done.

-Not like I'm sticking around after this. Not like - -

"Hey, can I be honest about something too? Like super honest?"

The sound of his voice breaks her concentration. She looks up to Jin.

"…before that night, I'd never made any type of steak before. It was my first time."

"Shut up." A smile starts to form on her face. "I think I beat you out on 'worst underlying secrets'."

"…yeah you're right on that.. But if we're being FULLY honest… yeah I was really panicking. I think I screamed before you knocked?"

"You did - it was really funny… and you did good for your first try."

"You're not lying?"

"Jin." She sits up more in her chair and leans forward. "I'm not lying to you anymore. I want to be here with you. How do you want me to prove it?"

He blinks, thinking. After another minute he shifts over on the bed, patting the open side of the mattress.

"Stay here with me? I kinda… don't like hospitals. Got a lot of bad memories here."

The bed creaks as Reze gently places herself on top of the mattress. She lays her head down on the pillow, her hair covering part of her face as she looks at Jin.

"Is this ok?"

"For now, yeah." He also lays down, turning his head towards her. "So… what are we gonna do about the Hybrid Division?"

Her nose crinkles as her eyebrows furrow. "Well, right now you're gonna recover. They're not gonna find you here, trust me. But after that? Honestly… I'm not sure. But I won't let them take you."

Another calm set of beeps come from the monitor. "Guess we'll figure that out when we get there, yeah?"

Before his brain can stop him, he feels his fingers slide between hers and squeeze. Reze smiles at it and leans in to kiss him, but Jin pulls away.

"I'm… not ready for that, no. Sorry."

She nods, her hand slipping from Jin's grip to rest on his chest - she wasn't expecting that. "Yeah… right. It's ok. I'm sorry – I mean it."

Just then the door swings open to a doctor walking in, reading over a clipboard and unaware of Jin's current condition.

"Hello miss, any update on -" he looks up to Jin's dumbfounded face. "Oh! Larry! You're up!"

Jin blinks a few times and side looks at Reze, barely catching a soft giggle from her. Jin looks back at the doctor. "…yeah. I'm up. Thank god Meredith was here, I had a few stitches break but she was able to patch it up." Jin pats the bandage - a mistake as pain shoots up his shoulder - while Reze burns her face into the pillow to hide her laughter.

After a few more questions, the doctor runs out to grab some of the other nurses. In the moment the two have together, Jin takes one last look at Reze.

"Seriously, LARRY?"

________________

The lights above the strike team commander fizzle at him while he walks down the hallway. Getting called to meet with the top isn't a good thing. The commander sighs and opens the door to the dimly lit room.

At the end of the room, the figure watches the monitors in front of him displaying different things - camera feeds, messages, bodycam footage.

On the main monitor, a frozen image of the Bomb Devil sits as one of the soldiers faces screams in fear.

"Commander, to my knowledge you're the one who led the strike team to collect the target and weapon, yes?"

The commander stands firm, hands behind his back.

"Yes, Sir. There was unexpected-"

Something creaks behind the commander. He turns around to see a blank wall behind him, the door he entered now gone.

"Nothing is unexpected. We always plan for hybrids to defect." The figure slowly paces around, still fixated onto the monitors.

A chill runs up the commander's spine as his shoulders slink down an inch. "Correct sir, but the sheer might of the Bomb Devil… our team wa-"

The figure punches the main monitor, shattering the feed. Only the image of the warhead still sparkles through the broken glass. Below her image sparks jump out of the broken device, glass falling out of the figure's hand as it drops back down to his side.

"Your team was… what?"

The commander clears his throat. "Our team was eliminated."

"Your team is ash right now commander. Ash. Because of your preparation. And yet, you're still standing in front of me." The hood turns towards the commander, red bleeding out of where his eyes should be.

The commander steps back. He's surprised by the voice - it's like an inhuman growl from under the hood. Hell, he's only taken orders from Chozin and only heard the horror stories of the figure. But now he's directly in this cloaked figure's gaze.

This is REALLY bad for him.

"Sir, I was told by Chozin to return after the second team went in. I was only -"

"You had one directive. What was it?"

The commander's veins ice over. He can't stand to look at this thing anymore. He looks behind the entity at one of the monitors, whatever happening on the screen doesn't matter - he needs to collect himself.

"Capture the target, sir."

The figure's fingers drum on the table impatiently.

"That's not all. What else is part of the directive?"

"Ensure our weapons return to base."

The drumming stops while the air grows heavy in the room.

"So commander, this is why I called you in. I HAD a strike team - 'some of the best' you promised to Chozin - that's now all dead. I had a weapon - one of our strongest I MIGHT ADD - just killed YOUR strike team."

"Sir, I swear we will –"

The figure slams the desk, the metal cracking down the middle as both sides fly into the opposite walls. The commander is now physically shaking, feeling the glare piercing his soul. He can feel sweat forming on the nape of his neck as he takes a step back.

To where? He has no idea.

"I'M NOT DONE." The voice hisses out. "FINALLY. The target IMPERATIVE to Project Paradise is gone. If YOU DIDN'T LEAVE - MAYBE WE'D HAVE A LEAD."

"THOTH, PLEASE!"

Suddenly the commander can no longer move, no longer see, no longer breathe. Panic sets in as his senses, honed through years of service to the USSR do not respond to his brain's commands.

On Thoth's cloak, a small pocketwatch pushes past the fabric to the front. He breathes out and moves as the timer on his chest begins to count down.

=2 minutes=

Thoth passes where the commander once was. In his place is a lava lamp, blue light and wax illuminating the floor and other blank screens.

=1:30=

A radio hisses to life on Thoth, his footsteps echo in the room as he waits for a response.

He knows there will be a response.

=1 minute=

The radio beeps as the radio connects. "Yes Sir?" A voice answers behind some quiet banter behind him.

"Dimitri. Ready your team. And make sure the Ghost hybrid is ready."

"…Sir we lost that hybrid a few years ago."

On the radio, Thoth hears a scream cut through the airwaves followed by a sickening splatter of liquid. The screaming stops while a new hissing sound fills the silent room.

=30 seconds=

"Then find a new one." Thoth's voice cuts into the radio.

A snort comes from the radio. "Understood sir."

The radio cuts off.

Thoth walks back towards sounds of metal scraping on the ground. He picks up the lava lamp as he passes by it.

=10 seconds=

The desk reattaches to itself as Thoth opens up one of its empty drawers. The lava lamp is placed into it as his focus shifts back to the monitors.

=3 seconds=

The commander helplessly watches as the drawer closes into darkness, trying to scream.

The alarm goes off.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin wakes up to his bed on fire. The flames are rising over his room, smoke engulfing his vision and lungs. He coughs and rolls to the left side of the bed, luckily missing a rising wall of flames. He hits the ground and starts crawling out of the room. His toys melt onto the carpet as he passes through the doorway. He coughs and spits up a black liquid onto the ground - a mix of vomit and ash - before he continues down the hallway.

He has to find his parents.

He shouts for them between his tears. As he gets to their bedroom door he puts his ear on it.

Other than the roar of the fire, it's silent.

He reaches for the handle to open the door, screaming in pain when he touches the hot metal. He then starts to kick at the door. It reverberates with a dull thud from each strike over the roaring fire. His small legs aren't able to get through. Suddenly, he keels over from coughing. He tries to suck in more air under the smoke, watching the flames spreading down the walls and eat up their family pictures. He throws one more weak kick at the door, Jin losing his strength as he screams for his mom and dad.

Silence only comes from the room. He only has one choice now.

Jin crawls away, hands scurrying on the hardwood as he gets to the front door. Oddly, it's open - usually his parents would close the door when they would come in.

He jumps up and sprints out of his apartment and into the hallway. The whole place is ablaze with screams echoing down the burnt walls. As his tears nearly blind him, he yells as he finds his way to the emergency exit. With a dive, he crashes through the exit and falls to the ground, never realizing how safe the dirt could feel.

He rolls onto his back and crawls away from the blaze, screams and a sweet sickly smell assaulting his senses. Ash starts to fall onto his face, Jin desperately wiping the wet mixture away. He doesn't know what to do, where to go, how to even find the words.

When he looks around, the only other person he can see is a woman dressed in business attire. Her brunette hair falls perfectly over her suit jacket as she watches the fire from a bench. She turns towards Jin before he can call out, almost expectantly. She grabs a red broach on her suit jacket, smiling.

"You're a lively one, aren't you?"

Jin jolts up on his futon in a cold sweat.

This isn't the first time he's had a dream of that day, but it'll never be the last. Today, it feels more real - the sensation of the fire still tingles on his skin.

*Must be the medicine.*

The orange bottle of painkillers is tossed onto the coffee table. He scans around his apartment, but it stares back empty and still. Better that Reze probably didn't hear him - he's been known to scream from it.

They've been back in his apartment for three weeks now. Luckily, it's been quiet - it's been nice, but the overarching dread of waiting for their next strike hangs heavy in the air.

"Why me, man…" Jin sinks back down onto the futon, grabbing his right shoulder. This wound hurts the most. He doesn't understand how the other three shots - which were all upper torso - don't affect him, but the one shot between his shoulder blade is causing this much pain.

He reaches over to the coffee table to grab the previously thrown pills.

*I really need a drink.*

It's been a while since he's actually thought that. He checks the bottle to read it over. 'DO NOT TAKE WITH ALCOHOL' mockingly reads back at him.

*What do they know anyway?*

The white top clicks off and two giant blue pills rattle down into his hand. Jin shoves them in his mouth and chugs the rest of his water before laying back down. The futon isn't the most comfortable, but he's given Reze his bedroom - where she's been staying to make sure Jin's safe.

Suddenly, the door opens to Reze stepping in. She's wearing an oversized hoodie with the hood up, sunglasses to cover her striking eyes, and Jin's backpack.

"Hey." he says softly, watching her move about the apartment to clean up a few things. The stress of the dream nearly disappears.

She comes around to the futon, swings the backpack down, and pulls out Gatorades and hydration packets for Jin.

"Hey, how'd you sleep? I took off to get some things while you were knocked out." She takes off her sunglasses and lets her purple hair drop down as she looks at him, smiling.

Jin sometimes forgets how truly beautiful she is.

"Yeah, good. How long was I out?" Jin asks, shifting up.

"I've been gone for two hours, so probably that long?" Her attention shifts back into the bag, taking out a radio, laptop, and few other devices that Jin isn't too sure about. She also pulls out a new phone, the device powering on as she begins setting it up.

"I got us a few things - and I needed to replace my phone so…" She shakes her new phone at Jin.

"Does that mean I can get your number?" he asks, a smile tugging at his lips.

It doesn't register to Reze at first. "….Yeah? How are we going…"

The lightbulb goes off in her head.

"Oh! Yeah you can have my number."

She giggles as she grabs Jin's phone off the coffee table, bypassing his lock and putting the number in. She tosses his phone back towards him. "There. Now, a few of the other things I got -" She starts to describe some of the other devices she picked up. Jin only hears a little bit of it - something about a hotel room, something about the Hybrid Division. Jin is focused on his phone at his newest contact.

Reze

He smiles at the newest addition. "….You got into my phone? How'd you -"

She cuts him off. "Usually phone pins are dates that are important to their lives. I guessed twice and got it right." Her eyes shift to his. "By the way, you might want to change that sooner rather than later."

"It… WAS secure. How many people know my birthday?" Jin quickly goes into his settings, trying to figure out a new pin.

"More than you think." She winks, softly nudging him as her laptop turns on. A map of Tokyo appears with a few blue blinking dots scattering the screen. A few messages pop up as well, the Russian script lost to Jin.

Reze's able to read them, the threats not phasing her.

-Better that he can't understand.-

"What… uh… what are you doing?"

Reze looks at him quickly and goes back to the screen, her nose crinkling. "Currently, I'm taking a look at all known safe houses and bases that HD's set up. Places where officers and commanders will be. It'd be good to go hit those places, send a message to leave ya alone."

Jin shoots up on the futon. "Wait, we're gonna assault a base?"

Reze's focus doesn't shift. "No, YOU'RE staying low. You're not getting yourself into any type of trouble. I can take care of them myself."

Jin leans forward. "I'm just saying it's…a base. There's gotta be like a hundred soldiers. You'll get yourself killed."

Reze leans back, contemplating. Most bases do have a lot of soldiers on standby, hidden from the general public. Some are less fortified and staffed, but with everything going on now…

"No, I won't. YOU would though. Which is why you're gonna stay back. This isn't a game."

She slams the laptop shut.

"We're not having this discussion right now. Besides, you wouldn't know what to do."

"No shit it's not a game, but you're not just a killing machine. So maybe, we can work something out here."

After a few blinks, she looks at Jin.

"…Work something out? What, train you to be a little killer? And then what take you with me, just so I can watch you get shot again? " She scoffs.

"You'd be useless."

The words come out cold - not what she wanted.

Jin starts to stand up, walking away to the bedroom.

"Yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying. Because you don't think they're gonna stop looking for us, so I might as well learn something instead of be fucking useless."

Jin pushes the door open and turns around one last time.

"Because honestly? I'm always fucking useless, way before I met you. So please, don't remind me."

SLAM

Reze sighs, sinking back into the futon.

-Why did I say that?-

The apartment lies still again as Reze glances around the room.

-He's an idiot. He's gonna get hurt.-

As she looks around, her focus keeps shifting to the picture of Jin, Joe, and his dad. She sits up to inspect it more.

-The way he's holding it… the angle it's at…-

"Jin. I gotta ask you something."

A muffled grunt comes from the bedroom.

She gets up and goes to the bedroom door. It creaks open to Jin sprawled on the bed. He pushes himself up to look at her and collapses back onto the bed.

"Already taking the bed back, huh?"

Another grunt comes from Jin.

"When you took that picture with Joe and your dad, I didn't know you knew how to hold it at parade rest."

"...What?"

"Parade rest. The way you're holding the rifle."

-I know you know this.-

Jin looks up to his ceiling, thinking about that day. It was a kids' day at the base, where they taught the kids how to do things their parents do every day in the military.

"It's not at parade rest."

Reze smiles and leans onto the doorframe.

"No, I think it is."

"We weren't doing that. I remember it when Joe and my dad taught me. It was… I don't know, I think it was at Order Arms?"

"And when they taught you to shoot, how would you hold it?"

"... C-Clamp? I don't know, it's been a while."

She nods. "Nice. You know your stuff. How often would they teach ya?"

He shrugs. "Honestly, I think like once? Maybe?"

Reze walks over to him and sits down on the bed. "We start training next week, ok?" A few of her fingers run through his hair. "You pick up things fast, don't you?"

The fingers cause Jin to shudder.

"I mean… I don't know, I guess?"

"How long did ya cook the steaks on each side?"

He stops and thinks again. "Like 3 and a half minutes I think?" He rolls over to look at her. "What's this got to do with anything?"

Reze stops and helps pull Jin up with his good shoulder. "See? When you're feeling better, I know a spot where we can do everything - fight, shoot, whatever."

Reze gets him fully up and drags him back into the living area.

"I'm not letting you sulk in there. You're not useless." She takes his hand, giving it a squeeze as they settle onto the futon again.

Jin sighs. "Yeah, I'm not too much of a beacon of confidence to myself so…"

They both sit still for a few minutes as the screen of the laptop is still plinking away, dinging out new locations. Jin looks up at the TV, the black monitor reflecting both their faces.

Another ping comes through.

*Should I apologize?*

The laptop dings again.

*We gotta move on…*

Another ping.

His brain starts to itch. He's gotta do something.

"Hey Reze, what's your favorite movie?"

Reze's head falls to her shoulder in a dream-like state.

"…Legally Blonde…"

The futon creaks as Jin shoots up. He thought it'd be some action or horror movie… not that.

"What."

"…Shut up. Elle Woods is a badass."

"That's NOT what I'm saying I'm just -" He laughs "- A Soviet spy loves the movie about the American legal system?"

She rolls her eyes. "See? Right there is why I love the movie. Because of my background you wouldn't think I'd like it? Because she's a 'dumb blonde' she wouldn't have the intelligence to go to Harvard and be a lawyer?"

It makes him think for a second. He can't come up with anything good.

"Damn Reze, you got me there." He looks at her. "You're really full of surprise, aren't you?"

She smiles back at him, scooting a bit closer. "You don't even know half of it."

Jin hears the beep of the laptop again, and looks at her. "What if, this is crazy I know, but we close the laptop for now. Watch a movie… maybe go to the bar next to the apartment after? Get a drink?"

The TV powers on while it shifts through the streaming apps.

Reze's eyes dart between the laptop and TV. "But… that's not… they're looking for you. And besides -" She grabs the pill bottle and points at it. "YOU CAN'T DRINK."

"Well think about it - Hybrid Division probably thinks that too. So they're gonna check everywhere else. Hell, they probably already did, right?"

Reze nods, continuing to listen.

"Ok, that's creepy. ANYWAY. Any place I wouldn't go to, like a bar, should be somewhat safe, right? They wouldn't expect me to go there, and honestly I've never been. We can hide in plain sight. Besides…"

He places his arm around Reze.

"I wanna show you around more too. Even though I really don't know the best spots, they're my spots. Make them… our spots?"

*Very smooth.*

In his head, he can feel the hi-five with his brain and heart. He snuggles a bit closer to Reze. "We got Elle Woods to watch, right?"

The opening scene begins, as CULA focuses into the frame. Reze leans more into Jin, shutting the laptop with a grin pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah… we do have a movie to watch…"

She looks up at Jin while on his chest.

"Thank you." She whispers as she sinks into him.

Elle Woods shows up on screen. "Of course… maybe we could get used to this."

Reze snorts. "It's been a few weeks. Let's slow down Cupid."

She takes his hand and holds it.

"Love the mixed signals you're giving me." Jin laughs softly.

"I like to keep you guessing, you know?"

_______________

The bar is dimly lit and empty, save for the bartender and a few patrons. Reze and Jin walk in with smiles plastered on their faces.

"All I'm saying, is that the bend and snap works EVERY time." Reze laughs, following Jin into the bar.

He looks back between laughter. "It can't work EVERY time. Besides, I know I'm gonna piss you off eventually - you think the bend and snap is gonna save me from whatever wrath you've got?"

She's laughing with him as they sit down, hands held tightly under the bar. Her thumb runs instinctively up his fingers. The bartender walks over, placing down some coasters and waits for their orders.

Jin gets a simple beer, he doesn't need much more. He shouldn't be drinking with his pain medication anyway… but it's been a rough few days.

Reze orders a water for herself. The bartender walks away to grab the things.

"You're not drinking that."

He looks at her, sighing. "Come on, give me a break. I don't even drink that much."

"Good, you're not starting tonight."

The bartender arrives and places the drinks down in front of the two. Before Jin can protest, the two drinks are swapped. Reze immediately sips the beer as Jin watches his drink longingly.

After a minute, he laughs and raises his water glass.

"Here's to… the wildest couple weeks of my life."

Reze raises hers.

"Yeah, and here's to better ones."

Their glasses clink as they take a sip of their drinks.

"So, how would you watch Legally Blonde when you were part of the division?"

She takes a long sip of the beer before putting it down and turning to him. "We all had a room in the main base. Hybrids had priority for "the good stuff"... so I got a DVD player and would get some movies when I'd be on mission."

"... So basically you got like blood DVD's then?"

She snorts, kicking him from under the bartop.

"Shut up!"

Behind them, the door opens as a group of office workers push in, the quiet bar now filled with laughter and yelling.

Jin quickly peeks at the group, feeling his stomach sink as he tries to slink behind Reze. She looks at Jin, confused, and turns back at the commotion.

The whole group clocks her immediately. She turns away slowly.

"You know them?" She asks, fully facing Jin now. She can still feel their eyes on her back.

His head drops to the bar top, muffling his response. "Yeah. That's my coworkers and my boss… guess this is the happy hour spot they'd always talk about."

The laughter from the group rises as one of the guys, a taller man, stands up and puts his foot on the table.

"Then I guess that I got the commission, I'll get the drinks! First rounds on me!" As he walks away, the group slams their table and begins chanting.

"KAITO! KAITO! KAITO!"

He walks up to the bar, each footstep deepening the pit in Jin's stomach. Kaito pushes himself between the two, leaning onto the bar top and turning towards Reze. "I think I'll put your drink on my tab too."

Reze blinks a few times and smiles at him. "Oh, that's sweet, but I'm kinda here with someone right now." She leans over to look at Jin.

Jin tries to hide his face, but quickly looks at Kaito and waves sheepishly.

Kaito looks over to the man he shoved between, shock forming on his face. "…JIN??? Is that you??"

He slaps Jin's right shoulder, pain radiating up his arm.

"I didn't realize you were right there! I'm so, SO sorry. You're hanging out with her? What, a cousin or something?" Kaito looks back over to Reze with a smile.

She laughs. "Cousin? No. We're grabbing a drink after watching a movie. He's got a really nice place."

Kaito laughs and leans on Jin's right shoulder, pain shooting up to the wound. Jin grunts in pain, but Kaito doesn't care.

"I see, well Jin is a good guy. A bit meek…" He pushes more onto the shoulder. "But he's nice enough I guess. We work together, you know."

Reze watches Kaito crush Jin's shoulder, wordlessly taking in this conversation.

-Not yet.-

Kaito blinks and keeps going. "Anyway, he's a decent salesman, but I just closed one of his big accounts." A whoop comes from the table, Kaito waving them off.

"By the way, total humble brag, I also won salesman of the year! Jin did a decent job getting a ton of those set up and prospected, but…" He leans in closer, cheap cologne stinging Reze's nose. "I'm the finisher. And I always finish what Jin starts." He tries to meet her gaze.

Reze's face doesn't change. "That's… so cool. You know what else is cool?" She leans close to Kaito's face as his smile grows. She travels over to his ear, teasingly.

"You're on my boyfriend's shoulder. He got mugged and shot 4 times, and you're leaning on one of the spots the bullet hit him. So, I suggest getting off him before something happens to you." She leans back, an innocent smile on her face as she plays with the ring on her choker.

Jin feels his ears burn.

*...Boyfriend?*

Kaito's expression changes. He finally lets go of Jin's shoulder as the pain burns away. Kaito's hand shifts down to try to grab Reze's, which she quickly moves to dodge.

"Boyfriend? I don't believe it. What are you covering up for him? Is he paying you? I got money…" A smile forms back onto his face. "And I know I'm fun."

Reze laughs, and blushes. A fake one. She feels his hand brush onto her leg, and she shifts away from his touch.

"Wow. You're so…. Dumb."

Her demeanor changes from tantalizing to cold.

"I'll give you five seconds. Walk away."

Kaito's grin immediately evaporates. He leans back from the bar, intentionally bumping into Jin's shoulder again.

The bartender returns with the beers on a platter and Kaito picks them up, looking at Jin.

"Your whatever over there… is a real bitch." Kaito spins around to head back to the table.

Something inside Jin snaps. He doesn't know what it was, he doesn't know why it happened. People have said worse about him… but this is different.

Jin's leg shoots out as Kaito goes to walk back to the table. Kaito's leg catches Jin's, sending the businessman crashing onto the cold ground. The drinks spill and crash, glass shattering as beer envelopes not only Kaito's suit, but the table of coworkers as well. They yelp and jump up, grabbing whatever napkins they can find.

Jin stands up over Kaito.

"…don't call her that."

Kaito looks up at Jin and sneers, standing up. Jin watches Kaito grow over him, just noticing the height difference between them.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want. You? You don't get to say shit."

He shoves Jin, pushing him back a bit, making sure to hit Jin's shoulder.

"You know why? Because people like you, you're nobodies. You think drifting through life is comfortable."

Another shove. Another wince by Jin.

"That's not life. I show up and I close YOUR deals. I take what I earn. You? You set up MY wins and go hide at home."

There's another whoop from the group of coworkers.

"You think stuff gets handed to you, why, because you're nice? Because you roll over for people? YOU DON'T DESERVE ANYTHING JUST BECAUSE OF THAT."

Another shove.

Jin looks at Kaito.

"You know, you always were an asshole."

Kaito grabs Jin and pulls him close.

"And you will ALWAYS be a fucking nobody."

Jin smiles. He got Kaito right where he wanted him.

Jin's head rears back and swings forward, crashing down onto Kaito's face. His forehead connects with Kaito's mouth - teeth and blood fly from Kaito's face as he lets go of Jin, flailing backwards.

Kaito regains himself, wiping the blood from his mouth while stepping forward to throw a jab. Jin watches the fist ball up and heads his way, shifting his body to block it - should be easy enough.

Kaito's other fist connects to Jin's cheek - a right hook that Jin didn't even see. Jin stumbles back to the bar and crashes into it, glasses falling around him before he sinks down. His mouth feels numb but can taste something on his tongue. He spits it out, the red mixture landing on the wooden floor as he stands up.

Or at least, he tries.

When Jin puts weight onto his legs, they feel like jelly. He begins to tumble down, catching himself on the bar this time. When he turns to face Kaito he catches a glimpse of another fist careening for his stomach. It connects, Jin slinking back onto the ground.

"God, you're pathetic." Kaito huffs out, stepping over him.

After another cough of blood, Jin picks himself back up.

"Fuck you."

Another fist rears back while Jin tries to focus on the real Kaito.

A kick from the side connects with Kaito's head. He flies backwards onto the table with the coworkers, smashing into their glasses and plates. More blood pours from his face, while he tries to bend his nose back into place. He screams and flails, the sound piercing through the bar.

Reze steps towards the bar, the men looking up in fear. She gives them a smile and tilts her head over the bleeding man.

"Oops." She shrugs and slowly steps away towards Jin. She picks him up, his bodyweight leaning onto her as she helps walk him out. He pats her back and points at the table. She nods and walks him over, Jin doing everything to hold his head steady.

"I'm done with you assholes. I quit." Jin slurs out, Reze shaking her head and dragging him out of the bar as Kaito's screams echo out into the night. They turn the corner and start ascending the stairs into Jin's apartment.

"You know you don't have to fight for me." Jin says, his vision slowly regaining. He spits out another mixture of blood and saliva into a potted plant.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be getting into barfights when you've been shot."

"Listen - Elle Woods." Jin jokes, the feeling of his legs coming back. He starts to walk, his hand still holding Reze's as his vision settles.

"That's not how that works - you can't say that when you're a dumbass."

He shrugs, opening the door to his apartment. He goes towards the coffee table, grabbing a napkin and cleaning out whatever blood was left in his mouth. Reze comes over and gives him some water, the liquid cleaning out the rest of whatever was in his mouth.

"You're dumb, but that headbutt?" She grabs the glass and walks back to the kitchen sink. "That was smart. Joe teach ya that too?"

He nods. "Yeah. Told me to fight smart when I could. He said that I'd never win straight up." He spins the orange bottle open and takes one of the white pills. "I guess he was right."

"Which is WHY next week we're gonna teach ya more." The faucet turns on as she quickly washes the cup out.

*…wait.*

"Hey. Down there… you call me your boyfriend?"

She freezes. "I was trying to get him to back off." She fixates on another glass to clean. "Don't think anything of it."

Jin laughs, rubbing his shoulder. "I mean, I didn't hate it." Their eyes meet as they both turn red.

"Don't look at me like that!" She shouts, cutting the water off.

"Whatever you say…" He whispers, looking out the window. Moonlight drips into his apartment while the city lights dance on the surrounding buildings. He yawns, his jaw hurting when his mouth opens.

"Hey, Reze, I'm gonna try to rest. Today was… a lot. I had fun with you though." His head hits the pillow.

"Of course. Night." She says, walking into Jin's bedroom to lay down on the empty bed. It's where she's been sleeping since they came back from the hospital.

She rolls to her side, looking around and taking in her surroundings. It's a still night, and the plain room doesn't offer much to take in. Her gaze fixates on her bag next to his dresser.

When she cleaned out the hotel room, she made sure to get one thing.

And it's looking back at her in the bag.

Chibi Reze stares back from the burlap bag, the terribly written "Reze's Special" facing towards her.

She smiles, breathes in, and calls out.

"Hey, idiot."

A tired grunt comes in from the other room.

"Come in here."

"…why?"

She laughs to herself.

"Because, idiot. Your futon probably sucks to sleep on. And your bed is pretty nice!" She rolls around the bed. She's not lying - it is pretty comfortable.

She hears a laugh from the other room.

"Wanted to give you your own space, besides you're sleeping in basically a stranger's apartment."

She sinks into the pillow, her full face turning red.

"No, I'm in my boyfriend's apartment, and I think he should be in here with me."

Silence comes from the other room. She shifts a bit in the bed, nervous.

Then, she hears the creaking from the futon, followed by short careful footsteps. Jin slips around the doorframe and leans on it on his good shoulder.

"I thought I shouldn't think about it too much?"

She laughs, shifting over to make space for him.

"Maybe I changed my mind."

Jin walks over and lays onto his bed, rolling over to look at Reze.

"You're an enigma."

She reaches out to rub his arm.

"Good, I like keeping you guessing." Her hair lays on her face, her eyes still barely visible from the moonlight. His fingers reach out and caress her face, taking in every curve.

Suddenly, Jin pushes his face forward and gives Reze a soft kiss. She pulls away, surprised, but leans her forehead onto his.

"You're not getting any more tonight, you know that?"

Jin laughs.

"All I want is to lay here with my girlfriend."

She shifts closer to him, grabbing him like he'll disappear at any moment.

"Good."

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin hasn't been in too many fights. Last week wasn't a fight, per se - more of a surprise. Maybe the law considers that assault? He has no idea.

But Joe taught him a bit about self defense. The old drill sergeant always had a few tricks for Jin to learn about - and to make sure no one would bully Jin. But Joe knew that Jin was too soft for it, he never liked to fight, but Joe kept teaching him anyway.

'Better safe than sorry, kid.'

Through all of Joe's training, Jin never thought about fighting something inhuman, let alone hybrids, and he's realizing that now as he gets knocked back to the ground again. He gets back up just for another kick to come flying in. He's able to block this one, but doesn't see the quick jab follow up to his left shoulder. It connects, spinning him backwards.

Reze stops and grabs him gently.

"You're thinking too much. Try to watch what I'm doing."

"I feel like I'm at a disadvantage." Jin grumbles, rolling his shoulders and bringing his fist up.

Reze jumps back at him again, swinging her elbow towards Jin's chest. He blocks it, rotating Reze, and then stops to think about the next strike he wants to do.

*Aiming for the legs would drop her to the ground, a strike to the head sends her in a daze…*

She kicks back, Jin barely dodging it as he jumps backwards.

"You're overthinking - I was open." She turns back to him quickly. "Besides, they don't care about your shoulder or if you're fighting a hybrid or not." She swings a slow kick to Jin, who ducks under it. "Their goal is to kidnap you. What are ya going to do about it?"

Another punch connects with Jin's stomach, pushing him backwards. She stops, waiting while Jin brushes his shirt out.

"I get that…" he puts his fist up. "Try again?"

She smiles, hands behind her back. "Thought you'd never ask."

By the time Jin can think about what's happening, she's behind him aiming for his legs. Jin tries to jump, but her fist connects with his face. He falls hard onto the concrete floor again.

Reze was right about finding a great spot to train. The industrial district is the perfect place to find something abandoned - this one used to make car parts, Jin thinks, and went under years ago. It's big enough to train in different settings - close quarters, wide open spaces, hell Reze even set up an impromptu shooting range.

The only gripe he has is that the floor doesn't have any pads.

Jin pushes himself back up.

"At least you keep getting up." Reze says, pacing around him. "You're still doing it, not letting it come naturally. You're planning out what you think I'm going to do, followed by what you're going to do."

She walks behind him, leaning next to his ear. "You gotta get out of your head and react."

She pushes him to create some space.

"And watch my hips. They don't lie." She winks at him, and goes for a kick to his head.

Jin blocks the strike, but quickly glances down to Reze's hips. They're turning, shifting. Her whole body weight is not going into the kick…

She's going to set up a punch. Right for his head again.

Jin's hand reaches up and catches Reze's strike. She smiles.

"There he is."

She spins and goes for an elbow to his ribs; Jin pushes her to the side. Her grin stays on her face.

"Told ya you learn quick."

Jin smiles. "What can I say, I-"

He can't finish his sentence because Reze swept his leg, knocking him back to the cold ground.

She stands over him smiling, hair slightly drooping over her one eye. "You stopped watching me."

Jin grunts, staring up to the ceiling. "…not fair."

She reaches down to pull him up. "They're not gonna be fair, you need to understand anything can happen at any moment."

Jin takes her hand and pulls himself up.

As he's coming up, Jin strikes. A quick leg sweep to Reze sends her tumbling to the ground. Jin, still gripping onto her hand, follows her down and straddles her. He raises his fist for a strike.

A smirk falls on Reze's face as her eyebrows raise. "Not bad."

Her legs twist around him, squeezing him and rolling him back down to the ground. Her legs release from his torso and trap Jin's legs while her hands pin him to the concrete. She leans her head over to his ear, the purple strands falling onto his forehead as her breath tickles his skin.

"Don't get cocky though."

_____________

The rifle scope clicks as it zooms into the window. The room is still, save for the ceiling fan spinning and lightly ruffling a blanket.

"Still got nothing."

The soldier, a giant of a man, readjusts his arms and peeks through the scope. They've been searching for the target for the past three days, following a report about someone matching his description at a bar next door.

The weapon? There's been sightings, but command told them to not even attempt to capture her without the help of a hybrid - and that'll be pushing it. If they find the target, the weapon will surely be with them.

The soldier leans back from his rifle after another unsuccessful scan.

"I think we call it. There's nothing."

His spotter, scrawnier but deadly in his own right, disengages from his rangefinder. His one blue iris looks over at his partner.

"You sure? They could pull up any minute."

The soldier shakes his head.

"Remember Singapore? Operation Imperial?"

The spotter nods. "Yeah, you got hit right in the chest. The bullet passed right through, right? You were out for a month." He looks off the rooftop to scan the city life. "…boring ass month."

"Exactly. I was on my ass in the hospital for a week and then watching movies at the barracks during that time."

The soldier joins his spotter on the edge.

"This guy's got no military background or anything and got shot 4 times. He should be here for at LEAST 3 months."

The spotter, not seeing anything interesting, steps back. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

The soldier clicks the safety on his rifle and laughs. "I usually am."

A radio turns on, the spotter grabbing it and pressing a button. "Base, this is Scout Team One. The target and weapon are not at the apartment. No further reconnaissance needed at this location."

The radio fizzles off.

______________

Bullets cut through the air, slamming into the glass bottles. They shatter and spray their shards across the factory floor, where an hour ago Jin was getting his ass kicked.

The pistol clicks empty as the final shot reverberates from the concrete walls.

He puts the gun down to look at his work. Ten bottles originally stood around the factory, nine of them now shattered. The sun reflects a green tint onto the ground from the last standing bottle.

"Ain't bad, right?"

Reze shakes her head, giggling as she walks to set up more bottles.

"Not bad, no. Could be better."

"But…. But I just got most of the bottles."

Reze picks up a magazine and takes the gun from the table.

"True, but not all of them. Besides, you were slow. Watch."

Reze loads the magazine and racks in a round. She turns to fire, the sound of the rapid shots bouncing off of the concrete. The ten bottles shatter in succession as the gun gets placed back onto the table.

Jin's jaw drops. "I…uh… I can't do that!"

"Yeah maybe not THAT fast, but you can get close! Maybe hit at least all the bottles." She walks back to the range and sets up a few more bottles.

Jin looks down at the smoking gun on the table. "I don't know, you're a hybrid and have years of training, me I -"

"You're making excuses. Just do it." She's already back, inspecting the gun and handing it to him. "Try again."

He takes it from her hands and loads it again. The bottles reflect the sunlight again, taunting Jin to hit them. He aims, thinking on how he's going to aim faster and accurate, how to compensate for the speed, how to -

"Go." Reze says.

He fires, the first bullet whizzing by the bottle. He moves his sights to the next, aim drifting past its target. The second shot hits the tip of the bottle, spinning it around. The third shot completely whiffs its target as he overcompensates for the recoil. He takes aim at the fourth bottle, sweat forming on his forehead.

Reze puts her hand on the gun, lowering it.

"Stop."

The magazine falls out of the gun and clatters onto the ground. Jin places the gun back onto the table and walks away, leaning on the fallen concrete pillar in front of him.

"Jin, you're getting in your head, overcomplicating it. I can see the gears in your head spinning even before you shot there. Moments like this, you can't panic - you do or you die." Her voice goes cold. "And I don't think you want that to happen."

Jin shakes his head. "…I'm not a hybrid."

She can feel a scowl coming, but stops herself. "Stop making the same excuse. You're right - you're not a hybrid."

Jin looks down.

"But earlier you knocked me to the ground. I'm asking you to fight smart, and maybe a bit faster." She teases, before shifting back to a serious tone. "But Jin, you have to fight smart in these situations. You haven't been trained like me. You're not invincible."

Jin looks at her. "Does that mean you are?"

She shakes her head. "No one's invincible." Her eyes lower. "I think we should call it for today."

"Yeah. Probably for the best." He kicks a rock down towards the bottles. It misses to the left, Jin huffing out in frustration.

"Hey, don't get into your head." She comes behind him to put her hands on his shoulders, lighter on the right one. "It's your first day, you'll get the hang of it." She lightly squeezes his shoulders.

"And honestly? I know someone who isn't a hybrid and could take them down easily, so who knows?"

"You're lying."

"Dead serious." A smile starts to form on her face. "Now… where we eating?"

Jin huffs out a laugh, but still has a look on his face. "No idea… whatever you want."

She squeezes him a bit harder. "Stop moping. How about ramen? There was that one spot we passed?" Her hands glide down his arms to take his, dragging him away from the range.

"Yeah, ramen, good." Jin is still lost in his own thoughts, his mind sounding louder and louder with each step.

*How am I going to protect myself from the hybrids if I'm not able to even defend myself?*

He looks off into space as Reze drags him out of the factory. They get to the door, exiting into the empty street.

"You really didn't do so bad today. Like, I'm surprised."

Jin nods as thoughts still bounce around his head.

*If I can't protect myself how will I protect you?*

Reze sighs at him. "Jin, I know what you're thinking. Look at me."

He keeps walking. "It's ok, really, I'm pretty hungry and I wanna get something in me."

"Jin." Reze stops.

He sighs, and turns around to meet her gaze.

"You're probably thinking about how you're not going to be fast or strong enough when the time comes, right?"

He doesn't answer.

"You don't have to protect me - I'll be ok." She grabs his arms, pulling him closer and looking deep into him. "You can't worry about that right now. You have to worry about your next step. And that… is some food. It'll make you feel better, trust me."

She tugs his arms down the street, hearing him laugh behind her.

________________

The two soldiers, now in civilian clothes, turn into the industrial district. They've been scouring the city for what feels like years. This is the last place they could think that the target and weapon would hide out. It's not like it's completely empty and decrepit - some factories and warehouses are still operational and moving goods. But the buildings have seen better days - graffiti and growing vines cover the brick facades.

Some workers sit outside of the factories on their breaks, giving the two a hard glare before turning away when they see the black eyeball stare back.

"I'll give you my whole year's paycheck if you find them here." The spotter turns from the workers and laughs.

'No way they'd be here.' he thinks. 'They're probably already on their way to the States or somewhere in Europe. And then we'd have to redeploy there, recon it out, and by that time… it'd be a waste of time.'

The soldier keeps his eyes forward, emotionless. "Deal. Can't wait to use yours on buying that car."

The smaller man laughs. "When's the last time you won a bet with me?"

In front of them, a laugh echoes off the bricks. The bigger man stops dead in his tracks as his vision locks into where the sound came from.

Purple hair, green eyes, choker with a ring on it. Dark hair, dark eyes, unassuming.

Both of them are two blocks away, completely unaware of what's behind them.

The spotter crashes into him, for a second flaring into a rage until he realizes what's happening.

"Hoooooolly shit… what kind of car are you getting?"

The bigger one smiles. "Whatever your pay covers to drive off the lot."

The soldiers tail the two, wordlessly slinking between the small groups of pedestrians.

From this distance, the target's hair's a mess and he's moving like someone who just lost a fight — but every time the weapon says something, his shoulders rise a little.

Her hand is gripping his, swaying with each step.

"Guess the top was right, she did run away with him." The spotter whispers, checking his back pocket for a knife.

The soldier nods. "How long would it take to get a strike team and a hybrid here?"

The spotter shrugs, eyes still following their prey. "15 minutes? Probably?"

The soldier's pace starts to quicken. "Too long. We have to get them now."

The spotter's eyes bulge, nearly falling out of his head. "...now? That's fucking REZE. You know how dangerous that thing is?"

The big one's footsteps continue, the sidewalk traffic around them starting to thin. "I've captured a hybrid before. All you have to do is surprise them, really not that hard."

The spotter rolls his eyes while keeping pace. "Ok, then I'll radio in fo-"

"No radioing. This is going to be easy. We'll surprise the two, bring them in and we'll be heroes - they'll probably bump our pay up. Hell, maybe even give us one of those Devil hearts too."

The spotter smiles as the last of the sidewalk traffic disappears behind them. "How about half my paycheck then if we're getting a paybump?"

"Deal."

______________

"You're not serious."

"Dead serious." She winks. "We got paid pretty well too… but they probably froze that account the second I defected."

"…So the ramen's on me then?" Jin turns to her, allowing himself to smile.

"Yeah. I know you got that salesman's money now." She squeezes his hand.

"We don't really make that much… besides I wouldn't get the big sales… and I quit… so..."

The crowd of people in front of them pass by, leaving the two alone on the sidewalk. Reze glances back to the group, seeing no movement. She turns back without Jin noticing.

"Trust me - I know a few places where we can get some money. And, after all of this, we'll get ya a REAL nice job so you can buy me ramen all the time!"

"Yeah. I'll put on my resume 'survived Soviet assassins.' I heard that's what the recruiters want."

Loud footsteps stop Reze from laughing. She glances back to see two men, one bigger and the other scrawny, cutting through the crowd and barreling towards them.

"So, after all this you wanna be togeth-"

Her hand detaches from Jin's to shove him to the side. Jin has time to watch as the two attackers careen past them. They roll onto the ground and quickly get back up, the black eyeball of each man locking onto Jin.

"Now what??" The scrawny one says to the bigger man as a knife snaps in front of him.

Her fingers grip the pin on her choker, ready to pull. But she stops and looks over to Jin, crinkles her nose, and drops her hands to her side.

"You." She points to the bigger one. "Fight him. He needs to learn."

"…WHAT??" The soldier and Jin say in unison. The two look at each other, the bigger man chuckling.

"Are… are you serious???" Jin turns to Reze.

She looks at him, emotionless. "You'll be fine, I'll be watching. Good luck!" She plants a kiss on Jin's cheek and steps forward. "Besides, I'm taking this one." She starts walking to the scrawny one, his pupils retracting.

"Miss, you - you don't want to do this!" He points a shaky knife towards her.

She makes an overexaggerated thinking face. "Hmmmm…… no. I do." Instantly, she's behind her attacker, punching him in the ribs sending the scrawny one recoiling.

The big one steps in front of Jin. "Command says to take you alive, but doesn't mean you can't be damaged goods." He plants his foot and swings a quick jab towards his smaller target.

Jin ducks, the punch barely grazing his head. It's enough to send him to the ground and back a few feet. Even though it barely hit him, it felt like two Kaitos punching him.

Jin shakes his head to regain his senses only to see another strike heading his way. Jin dives away again as the kick slams onto the concrete. The rock shatters into dust as Jin crawls to the facade behind him.

*I'M GOING TO FUCKING DIE.*

He coughs and stands back up. The soldier is already on top of him, swinging his arm down. Jin jumps back to set some space between him and the soldier.

He looks around himself quickly, trying to find anything to help him. The only thing in his view is some trash and crushed beer cans. Behind him, the facade of a closed shop sits, glass reflecting from the sunlight above. The light blinds Jin as he tries to track the hulking man's next move.

*Who the hell puts a glass window here?*

He barely sees the kick coming, dropping to the ground for safety. The stitches pull at his shoulder wound.

A few crushed cans scatter around him, one rolling and hitting the storefront.

*The glass…*

Jin picks up some of the crushed cans, jumps up and throws a few at the soldier.

They bounce off of his hulking figure. "Are… are you serious right now?"

"Ye - yeah I am. Had enough?" Jin throws another can that hits the soldier in the head. The metal lightly scratches his face, a light streak of blood forming on the wound.

The soldier touches it and laughs. "You're pathetic. I really don't understand why we need you."

"Guess I'm cute?" He shrugs. "She thinks so."

Jin takes a quick look over to Reze and the scrawny one. It's not even a fair fight as she dances around everything the scrawny one throws at her. Each punch that gets close is blocked and redirected, with the scrawny one's confidence shattering with each miss. Reze, on the other hand, is beaming while having fun playing with her food.

Another punch comes in, nearly landing on Jin's temple. He dodges to his right, the storefront about a good eight feet from his back.

He throws another crushed can at the soldier's head. It bounces off of his forehead as he sends a roundhouse. Jin jumps back, feeling the wind from the kick blow by his face.

Four feet.

The next can hits the soldier's neck, a scowl forming as he throws a wild punch at Jin's chest. He has to drop to the ground and rolls back from another kick down, hitting the storefront. The cool glass reverberates against his back while he stands back up.

*Please work.*

He throws his final can at the soldier, enraging him. The soldier plants his foot and throws out a kick. Jin's eyes drop to the hips - they look unaligned and unbalanced, a weird stance for a kick like that.

Then it hits him - the soldier's feigning an attack. Jin follows the movement of the soldier's upper torso to his right arm, the real strike unloading as the fake kick plants down onto the concrete.

Right before it connects with Jin, he slides to the side and grabs the soldier's arm. With all his might he shoves the moving fist into the glass.

The storefront fractures, blood spills from the soldier's hand as glass gets caught into his outstretched arm. The man screams in pain and rips his arm back out. His skin tears as he wrenches back, glass embedding deeper with each pull. When he finally gets his arm out, skin and muscle drop and stick to the sidewalk.

A shard of glass, still stuck in the storefront, reflects perfectly into Jin's eyes. It's sharp and long, with the bottom long enough to hold. Jin's hand closes around it as it breaks off, moving before his brain tells him what to do. He crosses to the soldier and drives the shard into his chest. It cuts right through, gliding through the ribs and sticking inside of the massive man. He grunts and weakly throws a punch with his other hand, Jin catching it and pushing it away. Jin kicks the shard deeper into his body, disappearing from sight while blood flows out of the wound.

The soldier moans in pain, looking up at Jin as he falls to his knees. He points his flayed arm towards Jin.

"You… pussy."

The man collapses, a pool of blood forming where he lies.

Jin's legs give out from under him, tumbling into the mix of glass and blood. A shiver runs up his spine watching the soldier twitch. A sickening feeling rushes up Jin's chest, spitting up whatever there's left in his stomach to the side. His body still shakes from the excess adrenaline.

Choking sounds pull his attention down the street. He wipes his mouth and looks up.

Reze's on the ground with the scrawny man in a chokehold. He's trying to scream as his body thrashes around trying to break free from her grasp.

As she slowly strangles him, she's looking up into the sky, humming some song. Jin pushes himself to get up and walk over to her. He makes it most of the way before collapsing back to the pavement. He slowly crawls her way as the humming ends, with the scrawny man finally lying still.

She looks over at the soldier as more blood spills out of the mangled arm. She whistles and turns to Jin. "See? I told you you can do it!" She moves over to him and kisses his cheek. "You were amazing, the cans, the glass, all of it! I'm so proud of y-" Her face drops when she sees where he's looking.

"…First one is always the hardest…" Reze says, grabbing Jin's good shoulder.

He nods slowly, lips pursed.

"I… I killed him."

Reze looks down. "Yeah… you did. And honestly… you're probably gonna kill more people like him."

Jin shudders. "I….KILLED him…"

Reze wraps her hands around Jin and buries her head into his chest. Jin squeezes her back, hard.

"I know you did. They were gonna take you, probably hurt you too." Her hand runs small circles on his back. "You won't forget their face, the way you caused them to die, any of it. It gets… easier."

His arms tighten around Reze. "I don't want to think about what you've been through, the amount of people you killed."

-I don't either.-

They sit there for another minute when a fizzle pops on the spotter's body. A Russian voice comes through.

Jin and Reze look at each other. They push the scrawny one's body over to reveal a radio.

"Fuck. They want a report." Reze picks up the radio and hands it to Jin. "You gotta respond."

"I… don't speak Russian."

"Look at me. It's ok. Just say -" Reze says something in Russian to him.

The words barely register to him.

"Vso Ch - Reze, I can't do this!" He hands the radio back.

It gets shoved back to him. "If I answer, they're gonna know!"

Jin panics, accidentally gripping the antenna and bending it. The radio starts to emit loud feedback. Before Jin can apologize, the voice crackles through again, barely audible this time.

"…You think that works both ways?" Jin clears his throat before pressing the button on the device. His voice drops a few octaves as he attempts to respond back in Russian.

It's completely butchered as Jin desperately tries to repeat whatever she told him. Reze grabs her face and drags her fingers down to her cheeks.

-Why am I doing this?-

The radio returns with silence. Jin looks at Reze and shrugs. "Worth a shot."

The Russian voice crackles back with a short response. Reze looks up at Jin in disbelief as the radio silences.

"No. Fucking. Way." She starts laughing.

"…what?"

"They bought it! Said our radio SUCKED. You killed it!"

"Maybe I do have a future in-" Jin's eyes catch the motionless soldier.

Reze's laughter dies down. She grabs Jin's head into her hands, turning it towards her. "Hey. You had to do it. This is going to happen. If you can't do it… that's ok. I don't want you to carry that heavy burden."

"…Reze… you can't be the only one fighting." He watches Reze stand and reach out towards him. He grabs her hand and pulls himself up. "You're not a weapon, ya know?"

She pauses, looking away. "I do… but you don't have to be either. It's not what you are."

Jin squeezes her hand back. "It's not what you are either, alright?"

She looks at him and nods. He takes one last look at the still body, before allowing her to lead him away from the scene.

"Now, honestly… how did you eat after your first kill?"

Reze shrugs. "No idea… I think it was a couple days after. The appetite comes back eventually."

Jin's eyes gaze forward, refusing to look behind him anymore. "Yeah… I might skip the ramen. You can still get some."

They round a corner and the factory district falls away behind them. The new street is alive with conversation and laughter as pedestrians move between shops and restaurants.

"Besides, I got more important things to worry about."

Reze cocks her head to the side. "Like what? Not dying?"

He laughs. "Nah, more important than that."

He squeezes her hand. And that's all she needed.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze usually wakes up early. It's everything she was taught during her time in training - days start early to get the most out of it with little time to hang around or sleep in. But sleeping in a big bed with her boyfriend until whatever time?

She could get used to it.

She rolls over and throws her arm to grab at Jin. It hits the mattress with a soft thud. She sits up, smoothing her purple hair back. The room is still, sunlight streaming through the curtains. Everything is where it's supposed to be, save for the pile of Jin's sleep clothes by the bureau.

A loud metallic clattering interrupts the silence. It comes from the kitchen as whatever it is finally stops rolling around.

"…Oops."

She smiles and stretches, pushing herself off the bed to see what Jin was doing.

-He actually got up earlier than me.-

She walks over to the kitchen to see Jin cooking up an impossible amount of food - pancakes, home fries, eggs, coffee - you name it and it's there. She didn't know when he had time to grab the food, but lets it slide.

-I really did sleep in today, huh?-

He nudges the metal pan behind the counter when he realizes she's in the room. "Hey! Hungry?"

She leans on the doorway, watching him work his magic. "Yeah, especially if you're making it."

He loads a plate for her - more food than any reasonable person would attempt - and carries it to the table. The light from the open window catches his beaming face.

"Good, I made A LOT. I'm super hungry too, so -"

CRACK

The window shatters behind her. She glances back at the broken glass and then back to Jin. He's still standing, but his hand is clamped over his neck, trying - and failing - to choke back a geyser of blood that's spraying onto Reze's breakfast.

"…Reze?" The word is wet, gurgling through the gore. She reaches for him, but a second crack echoes from outside. A streak of light drills into Jin's temple, snapping his head to the side and collapsing him to the floor. His lifeless eyes stay locked on hers as blood pools behind his irises.

She doesn't scream. All the years of training should be kicking in. It doesn't.

She can't stop looking at his body.

More bullets come in, destroying the apartment. She hides behind the doorframe, debris splintering into her arms and legs. The figures and posters are ripped to shreds and destroyed before the shooting stops. The apartment lies still, save for the dust and smoke swirling around the once peaceful domicile.

She runs over to check on Jin, desperately trying to find any sign to show he's still alive. She checks his pulse - nothing beats back at her fingers.

-I can save you.-

His body gets lifted on her back as she rushes to the door. When she exits another hail of bullets cut through the air, slicing through her shirt. She leaps from the stairwell and lands in the common area. Wet dirt sprays from her impact as she continues to the parking garage. While she runs, a mix of Reze's and Jin's blood marks their path in the grass behind her.

A red sedan is the first car she sees - breaking the window immediately and unlocking it. She throws Jin's body into the back, and hotwires the car while more bullets destroy the glass. The car roars to life and speeds off. When she hits the open street, more shots come from impossible places. She swerves to dodge them and cuts into an alley, where the attack seems to die down.

She sighs in relief, her mind already calculating where to take him - even though she knows it won't work.

The back of the sedan creaks. She doesn't want to look.

A familiar voice cuts the silence.

"You… did… this."

She keeps her eyes forward. Her lips start quivering.

"You… killed…me."

She trembles, wiping away the now mounting tears. When she can see again, she glances in the rear view mirror.

Jin's body is sitting up, leaning right next to her ear. His body is half decayed with maggots crawling in and out of the bullet holes. The eyes are gone, replaced by the blackest void she's ever seen.

"This… life… this…. LIE...will…end…like…THIS."

The body lurches forward as the alley opens up into a highway, grabbing the steering wheel. The car lurches to the right as Reze tries to fight off the rotting hands. They swerve into the opposite way and immediately get sideswiped by another passing vehicle, causing the car to flip and spin. Reze's body launches from her seat and violently tumbles with the now rolling vehicle. It rolls a few more times, eventually resting on a grassy plain next to the highway.

When she takes a breath, pain floods to her chest. The body of Jin is on top of her, no longer moving, no longer talking. It's just dead.

Gone.

She whimpers while pushing the body off her and crawls out of the wreckage. The sun nearly blinds her while she shuffles through the metal and glass, now covered by her own dripping blood.

That's when the other cars pull up, all marked with the Hybrid Division logos. What seems like an impossible number of soldiers pour out, immediately aiming their guns at her.

The body in the car lurches and screams, twisting into a hooded figure. It rises up, seamlessly passing through the wreckage before stopping a few feet in front of her.

"Time's up."

She cries out, reaching for her choker ring.

It's not there.

Tears fall down her face as the soldiers fire.

Reze shoots up in a cold sweat, gasping.

She runs her hands over her body, expecting the excruciating pain from the bullets. The more her hands inspect her body, the less she feels. She reaches to her neck, the cold metal ring clinking on her fingernails.

She lets out a shaky breath. Her hands run up her face while she rubs her eyes.

-That won't happen. I can't let it happen.-

A sound in the kitchen breaks her concentration.

"...Oops."

She freezes. She has to act, has to get up.

Has to save him.

The bed creaks when she jumps up, bolting into the kitchen. When she reaches the kitchen, a small breakfast is already on the table. Jin's on the other side of it, bending down to pick up a fork on the ground.

She glances to the windows, the blinds covering the harsh sunlight. Her lips start to quiver as her eyes dart between the window and him. He finally straightens up, notices her, and starts to smile - until he sees her face.

"Hey - did I do something?" The fork in his hand clatters to the table.

She shakes her head and opens her arms to let him in. The chair scratches on the floor as he rushes over to her. Jin steps between her arms, squeezing her tight. She buries her face into his chest and cries.

"Guess you… had a bad dream?" He's never been the best at consoling anyone. "They… suck. I hate them too." His hands run circles on her back. "Good thing is that they can't hurt you."

-I wish that was true.-

For a while, the two of them stay still in each other's arms. Then, she slowly pushes away from him.

"…Sorry."

She drifts over to the table. The apartment lies silent, Jin still standing and watching Reze play with her hair.

Whatever he should say doesn't come to him.

Eventually, she grabs the coffee he made and takes a sip. She looks up at him as she wipes away some of her tears. "This…. is pretty good."

He scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, I hope so. I'm calling it the 'Jin Special'!" Jin's hands come up, fingers splayed, giving them an enthusiastic shake. "It's basically the 'Reze Special' but not an americano because - gonna be honest - don't know how to make that. So it's regular coffee with two parts Ethiopian and one part Colombian dark beans. But I'm glad you like it."

A grin pulls at the ends of Reze's lips while she takes another sip. "You gotta work on the branding; the whole 'Name Special' wording is kinda my thing." She leans across the table, ignoring the fanfare from his hands. "So not only did you take MY recipe, you're guilty of copyright infringement."

Jin sips his coffee and looks at her. "Hope you have a good lawyer because I've seen 'My Cousin Vinny' a few times and I feel like I'd be pretty good in the court of law."

"Yeah alright - I'm going to hire an ACTUAL lawyer and gonna wipe the floor with you." She throws her head back in a laugh.

Jin picks up his coffee and walks over to Reze, hugging her from behind. He plants a kiss on the back of her purple hair, then leans down to her ear. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. I'll be ok. Let's just… have a normal day."

She means it. After a month of running, hiding, and watching Jin bleed, she's starving for normal. But as she watches Jin walk back to the table, her eyes catch a dark bruise on his arm.

-Our normals are different.-

"Yeah… that sounds good." He downs his coffee and takes a small bite of toast. It's been a few days since the industrial district, and Jin's finally able to force some food down his throat.

"By the way… my shoulder's feeling better! So maybe we can ACTUALLY have a normal day."

He walks away to lay on the futon, taking out his phone and scrolling. Reze sips on her coffee and finishes her breakfast.

-Yeah, let's have a normal day.-

She moves to the futon, sitting next to him and instinctively grabbing onto his free hand.

Jin gasps. "Reze." His voice drops an octave.

"Yeah?" She tenses up.

"Bite-Con." He huffs, furiously typing onto the device.

"…What?"

"Bite-Con. Today. We're going to the theater."

Reze's face doesn't change. "…Ok? What's Bite-Con exactly?"

"How do you feel about like… TERRIBLE movies." He doesn't look up, still furiously typing something out.

Reze stares at him. "You're... not serious right?"

"Dead serious."

"You're one of those people? I should have -" She stops and glares at him. There's genuine excitement underneath his focused expression. "Actually, that makes sense."

"What do you mean THOSE people?"

"Not like that, you idiot! I just don't get how you can pay money to go see something that you KNOW it's gonna be garbage."

He shrugs. "I don't know, it's funny? I've been waiting FOREVER for this - and with everything going on I forgot."

"You're lucky I like you…" She sighs and pushes him down into the cushions, crawling on top of him. Jin freezes, his arms hovering as if he can't decide whether to push her off or pull her closer. "And it helps you're cute too."

Jin turns the exact shade of a ripe tomato. His brain stalls out like a flooded engine.

A kiss is planted on his lips. "You're still not getting any… yet…" She winks at him while rubbing her fingers on his cheek.

Jin's eyes feel like they're going to melt and pool onto the futon. His shade of red burns his skin, heart beating like a bongo drum. Words are a foreign concept to him.

Reze laughs softly, looking away for a moment. Usually, if this were a mission, she'd strike right at this moment. But now, watching Jin's body literally shut down in front of her?

This is just fun.

When she gazes back down, for just a second - the bullet holes on Jin's neck and temple reappear, oozing out blood and brain matter. She doesn't flinch and blinks.

Everything's back to normal, Jin still beet red underneath her.

"Come on, let's go see the movie, idiot…"

Jin adjusts himself and gets up, skin still burning. "Yeah… movie… yeah."

She rolls her eyes and smirks at him, pulling him off the futon. "What… don't want to go anymore?"

Jin shakes his head. "N- No! I wanna go!" he says as he takes Reze's hand and runs out the door with her.

___________________

Reze stands under the marquee sign, mouth agape. "Bite-Con" flashes in jagged red neon letters, twinkling at her almost threateningly. The line behind her buzzes with excitement, clutching props and wearing elaborate costumes.

She walks back to Jin and adjusts her jacket.

"… Don't tell me this is all for 'Bite-Con'."

He doesn't say a word. He only raises his eyebrows and purses his lips.

She throws her head back and sighs. She looks over towards the bustling city streets - she can still run.

Before she can decide, Jin takes her hand.

"Hey, how about this. Tomorrow, we can do whatever you want. Like, the whole day is yours. Alright?"

"…The whole day? So, a full day of training?" She nudges his right shoulder, testing it. He doesn't flinch or wince. "Oh we're definitely getting back to training tomorrow."

"I mean if that's what you wanna do. I was hoping for a place you'd wanna see - but that works too?"

They pass a movie poster of 'Bite-Con', Reze's eyes rapidly looking over it. A bunch of people are in cosplay, a chicken mascot made with terrible CGI is jumping at a patron, and in the front is the world's most unthreatening vampire smiling, fake blood dripping off of their sharp teeth.

The reality of her situation sets in. Hard.

"What the hell is this - Jin are you SERIOUS?"

He looks back at her. "A hundred percent. The director said this movie is 'the next evolution of horror'."

The line crawls in front of them.

"So get this - they did test screenings, right? Apparently it was SO BAD, people left halfway through. Then, the director doubled down and said those people were SO SCARED, right? So, the trailer releases and it's all 'Woah look how scary this is!' and has footage of people leaving BECAUSE it's 'THE SCARIEST MOVIE SINCE THE EXORCISM'!"

Reze's gaze doesn't leave the poster. "…Oh my god."

"Yeah, there's already like three lawsuits on false advertising, it's HILARIOUS."

The line steps forward again. Reze watches the customers squeal with delight when they get their ticket. Jin's fingers tangle around hers. "Hey, we really don't have to do this."

She shakes her head. "No… no we're watching this. Came all this way… to see… 'Bite-Con'…" Her eyes glaze over at the announcement.

"You sure?"

Some color regains in her eyes as her gaze meets his. "Yeah… let's do it. Our normal day, right?"

"Thanks Reze. It's dumb but… stupid stuff like this means something to me." Jin squeezes her hand.

She squeezes back as the line moves another few patrons. "I know."

Jin plants a kiss on her cheek and leans to her ear to whisper. "If anything, I'm excited to see what you plan…" He hugs her from behind, resting his arms on her shoulders.

She puts her hands on his, pulling them tighter around her body and leaning back next to his face. Jin feels her lips brush against his ear.

"I'm kicking your ass tomorrow."

Finally, they get to the ticket booth. They're lucky - the two are able to get some of the last tickets for the showing.

As soon as they step in, a group of kids sprint by, nearly taking out Jin. Reze catches his arm to keep him upright, giggling at the mess. Lights and posters assault her eyes while another group of children launch popcorn at each other from behind different cardboard cutouts.

Reze finds the snack corner, popcorn and candy waiting to be bought. Somehow, it's the calmest spot.

"We're getting snacks… right?" She's already tugging him towards the counter.

"Oh, right." He rustles in his jacket pocket, half pulling out a bag of Skittles like it's a black market deal. "I got you 'THE GOODS.'"

"Shut. Up." The bag slides back into the pocket. "Can we get popcorn too?"

"You're not… gonna mix the two things, right?"

"I promise!" She lies.

The popcorn is bought, Jin turning away to another counter to pour butter on it, struggling to get the machine to work. She giggles again, watching frustration take over.

-This is perfect.-

She feels a chill crawl up her spine—the kind she can't ignore.

While Jin fights the machine, she scansaround the theater. There's still a ton of movement from the groups mingling around.

Then, in between a group of kids, she sees it.

A woman stands among the children, unmoving. The children move and shout around her as if she isn't even there. She looks young, with jet-black hair and skin so drained of color it looks like reflective tile. Her body is small, skeletal - like she's been malnourished for years.

What causes Reze to freeze are the woman's eyes. There is a sliver of light brown in her irises, but the pupils are so heavily dilated they've swallowed the rest of the eyeball. Two black pits, staring directly at the couple.

"Hey, you good?" Jin nudges her with his elbow.

The group of kids sprint away. When they pass by the woman, she disappears from sight - like she was never there.

Reze shakes her head and looks back at Jin. "What? Yeah I'm good, just mentally preparing myself." She cocks her head close and kisses him. She peeks around the room again to check for the woman.

Nothing.

Each step they take towards the screening room, she can see Jin's excitement grow. He's seen everything about this movie - nay, this experience - and can't believe that it still got released.

This is gonna suck.

When they settle into their seats, Jin gives Reze the illegal contraband. "So…. Like you know this is a waste of like 30 bucks right?" she says while ripping the Skittles bag open and dumping it into the popcorn. Jin's about to retort, but shuts himself up and puts his hands down.

"No. It's not a waste. An experience like this doesn't get wasted."

Popcorn hits his nose. "Riiiiggggghhhhhht."

The seat creaks when she slumps into it, eyes glazing over again from the previews - a terrible looking rom-com, another franchise reboot no one asked for, the next superhero movie in its own universe - the normal stuff. She hooks her arm into Jin's while using the other to fight off his advances to her popcorn.

A wet, congested cough echoes from somewhere down in front. She flicks her gaze over the darkened theater, annoyed.

-Are they going to do that the whole movie?-

That's when she sees the girl again.

Seven rows down. Staring directly at them.

The strange girl stands right in the aisle, looming directly over the man - who's pounding his chest to clear his throat. No one else seems to notice her.

It's like she's not even there.

She holds the woman's gaze, keeping her own face locked behind a cold, unreadable mask. Being tracked by the enemy was a normal part of life for her. It shouldn't be spiking her adrenaline.

But something about the woman doesn't feel right. They're not here for her. She's just an expendable asset they could easily replace the second they manage to rip out her devil heart. But not him - he's the real prize.

She glances at Jin, casually batting his hand away from the bucket once more while they wait for his stupid movie to start. Her jaw tightens - She isn't going to let them ruin this moment.

It's Jin's day, after all. He deserves a normal day.

The coughing man stands up abruptly, finally hacking whatever was lodged in his throat onto the sticky theater floor. When he falls back into his seat, the strange woman disappears.

She blinks, the sudden absence jarring her. Her eyes sweep the crowded theater, scanning the shadows for any trace of where the woman could have moved.

Nothing. Just the dull glow of exit signs and oblivious faces. But the hairs on the back of her neck are still tingling.

An elbow nudges her ribs as the house lights finally dim. She turns to Jin - his face is already illuminated by the projector's glare, practically glowing in excitement as the intro starts.

"You're really lucky I'm protecting you," she whispers to him. The armrest up between them gets flipped as she melts herself into his side. Jin's arm drapes over her, pulling her closer into him.

Jin makes another attempt at the popcorn bucket.

An attempt.

She takes a deep breath, letting his new - yet familiar - scent ground her. She sinks into the moment, letting Jin have this.

With her.

_____________

To nobody's surprise, the movie was terrible.

Who would have thought a vampire slowly turning a whole convention into his mindless slaves would be a masterpiece? The acting was simultaneously stiff but painfully exaggerated, leaving the whole theater howling with laughter during the 'emotional' scenes.

The 'comedy' parts? The jokes landed so poorly that the audience dropped into a stunned, uncomfortable silence, only bursting into laughter a few seconds later at the sheer audacity of how terrible it was.

And the CGI - especially when the Sailor Moon vampire turned - was rough. Movies from the 60s had more believable effects.

Unsurprisingly, Jin loved every second of it. His seat was vibrating from laughter. Even Reze laughed a few times from the sheer absurdity of what she was experiencing, each time nuzzling a bit more into Jin's body.

As the credits roll and the moviegoers head for the exit, Reze drops her arm onto Jin's chest, patting him.

"I'm choosing the next, like, fifty dates." she says, glaring up at him.

"Oh, shut up. I heard you laughing! And I didn't get ANY popcorn!"

A few popcorn kernels bounce off his face. "Yeah, because they're MY snacks, you idiot!" She smiles, leaning a bit closer to him. His head dips low, lips finding her forehead to plant a soft, lingering kiss.

She pushes him back just enough to look him in the eye. "You missed."

Jin's brow furrows in genuine confusion. "What do you mean I missed? I literally hit your head."

"Oh my god. You're actually an idiot." Her hands drag down her face, staring at him to see if his brain is ever going to catch up.

"So, like, is that what you're gonna call me? Because I w-"

She grabs the front of his jacket, hauling him in, and crashes her lips against his. The sheer, stupid joy radiating off him from that terrible movie stirs something deep inside her chest.

The theater chairs creak as she fully turns towards him. The two of them are swallowed up by the newly empty rows, guests leaving them alone. He reciprocates, their lips and tongues find each others rhythm as the terrible upbeat music erupts.

Their breathing starts to pick up, Jin's hand moves onto Reze's chest and she opens her eyes to a now hungry Jin. He closes his eyes and leans back for more.

-Finally.-

A twitch of motion snaps her head to the aisle. She freezes. The woman stands behind Jin, her hand reaching for his throat, pupils fixed on him. The eyes then twitch unnaturally to Reze, throwing her a look mixed with hate and… confusion?

Reze blinks, her heart hammering into her ribs. When her eyes open again, the woman is gone.

She lightly pushes Jin away. He's a deep crimson in the flickering light of the end of the credits. Her heart calms down, letting herself giggle while rescanning the room.

"Reze… I…wow." he says, feeling steam still flying out his ears.

She leans forward to him, whispering "You're welcome. See what happens when you're not an idiot?" She pulls back with a nip at his lower lip. "We should get out of here, yeah?"

Then, she throws a blush at him. Part of it is real - this moment has been one of her favorites since the first day he stumbled into that coffee shop. The other part is wanting to get him out of this seat and out of this theater.

Somewhere that is safer and away from civilians.

Gears in Jin's head start to sputter. Words today have been at a premium for him. "Mhmm… mhmm."

It's the only sound he can manage.

He's pulled out of the seat by Reze, who's leading him down the aisle. "Let's go. We gotta find somewhere private." She turns back and winks at him. "Work on our chemistry, yeah?"

Something twists in her gut.

Guilt?

Jin is visibly shaking as Reze casually leads him back by the snack counter. Her eyes keep darting around, scanning for the woman while also teasingly winking at Jin. How he's staying together is a miracle.

The worst part is?

She wants it too - that moment with him. Even if it was in the theater, alone and having some poor janitor find them so she can watch Jin panic explain what they were doing.

"Hey, so privacy…" Jin breaks her concentration. He's locked onto a door next to them, the noise of the theater fading around them. It reads 'Employees Only' and from the looks of it, it's a broom closet that hasn't been touched in a few weeks. He shrugs while stepping forward, his clammy hands dragging her towards it.

She peeks back - trying to hide the new redness in her face - and clocks the woman again, who's watching them from behind a cardboard cutout of some animated animal. The woman is snarling at Reze now, completely ignoring Jin.

"Come on, idiot. Not here…" Her fingers dance up his chest, grabbing the zipper of his jacket. "You got any better ideas? Because it's too… visible." She bites her lip and drags him out of the theater.

Another kid bursts through the door and slams into Jin. He barely registers it and steps over the startled child while following Reze out into the midday sun. Every nerve in his system is fried, and his mind is on only one thing.

*Am I dreaming?*

"Now what's… quiet?" She says out loud, looking at the different stores and buildings that pass them.

And there she is - across the street. For the first time she's not locked onto Jin or Reze, rather the woman's head is jerking across the sea of people. Her pupils keep moving and identifying each unknowing face while the scowl grows. Reze swears she can hear an animalistic growl from her.

A reflection catches her eyes. She turns to a glass door with a sign dangling on the inside.

Closed until further notice!

By the look of the storefront, it looks like a closed department store - a perfect place to hide, even perfect for…

She lets the color rise in her face deliberately. "Now this looks… quiet." She pushes on the cool glass, the door sliding open for the two.

-Gotta get off the street. Now.-

When they walk in, the department store definitely has seen some better days. The lightless retail space seems to go pretty far back, still having a few clothes and knick-knacks left on the shelves, waiting to be purchased by non-existent shoppers. She guides Jin deeper into the dark building, as far away from the street and prying eyes as possible.

As they get to the clothing section, with shelves and folded jeans surrounding them, Jin finally gets a spark of confidence.

*My turn.*

He spins a surprised Reze around and kisses her, pushing her back into one of the displays. A few shirts on the top shelf slide off, covering the two in the fabric.

They don't care.

The bubbling fear in Reze gives way to something else entirely as her hands find his.

-We're safe…-

Jin's hands also work up her body, sliding up under her jacket to her back. His fingers trace the outline of her spine and make their way up to her bra strap, fiddling with the mechanism.

For a second, he pulls back and puts his head on her forehead.

"Are we…?"

Reze nods, pulling him to her lips again and closing her eyes. The thought of the woman crosses her mind - the years of training screaming for Reze to go and fully check the building.

But god, her heart wants this. And it's winning the battle.

The zipper gives a slow, metallic whine as he eases her jacket open. His mouth trails down the curve of her neck, tasting the salty skin. She shudders, a soft sound escaping before she can stop it.

With the jacket unzipped, he moves back up to her lips. The tango continues with their mouth, until Jin's tongue stops dead in place. Reze sighs, opening her eyes to find him.

"…Are you ok?"

He's still frozen, seemingly unable to move. Any warmth he had has drained from him.

"Reze, there's a…"

Chills run down her spine. She spins around to the woman, who is in the aisle with them. The black of her pupils has overtaken her irises as she locks her gaze on Jin.

"Target." The woman whispers, her voice low and raspy. It causes Jin to stumble to the ground. Reze immediately steps between them, hands folded across her chest.

"Leave. Now."

The woman doesn't seem to listen to Reze, slowly leaning over to look past her. "You're not what I expected as a priority contract."

The woman takes a few steps forward, stopping when Reze reaches for her pin.

The woman's pupils shift to Reze unnaturally quick, causing her to jam her fingers into the skin of her neck by accident.

Jin starts to scoot back slowly, hands desperately trying to grab something from the shelves.

The pin clinks when Reze's fingers finally stop shaking. "I told you. Back off."

The woman doesn't flinch as she continues down the aisle. "You're an interesting one. The whole time… you could see me." she says while attempting to walk around Reze, who sticks out her arm to stop the woman from moving further. When Reze's arm connects with the woman's body, her skin freezes on contact - the woman is cold, like she was just taken out of the morgue.

"Tell me, girl." Her eyes shift back to Reze's, a slow primordial fear creeping deep below her subconscious. "What are you afraid of?"

A small toy car flies through the air, striking the woman in the head and clatters to the ground. The head slowly turns to Jin - who has a few toy cars ready to launch. "Hey! No idea who you are but I think you're in over your head. My girlfriend is pretty strong." His hand snaps back, ready to throw another one.

"Jin, seriously not the time for that." Her ears turn red.

The woman steps away, creating space. "Chozin and Dimitri told me about you two." A long bony finger points at Reze. "And yet…" The woman's gaze narrows while her dark hair starts to droop over her face.The pupils dart between the two as their breathing starts to quicken.

Suddenly, she starts laughing. It's a choked, painful howl as she turns back to Reze.

"I KNOW WHAT SCARES YOU."

Jin sits up and throws another car. "Hey, Reze, what doe-"

"Shut up, Jin."

The woman shakes her head as the second car hits her in the chest. "Oh, this'll be fun…" She turns around, taking yet another step back. "I'll make sure to eat around your heart." Another bony finger is pointed at Reze "…and when I return with the target, Thoth will FINALLY give me what I want."

Her head twitches, cocking to its side at an unnatural speed. Reze takes a step back as another toy car hits the woman square on the forehead.

Jin stands back up, more cars ready to throw. "What… the hell are you?"

Reze puts her back to Jin's chest. "Jin, whatever happens, listen to me. Ok? Don't do anything stupid." Her hand reaches up to the ring on her choker, fingers wrapping around it.

The woman starts to smile, the edge of her lips growing up her face as her teeth show to be long, sharp daggers.

She vanishes. Reze and Jin both look around, frightened.

That same feeling pops up in their spine as they turn around. The woman's behind them.

"Boo."

Jin yelps and jumps back. It's what the woman needed.

The woman's arms begin to elongate, cracking and breaking as they extend out and knock over some of the shelves. Her legs do the same, twisting and fracturing at the knees and ankles. They crack into impossible angles while her pants start to tear away.

Her body contorts and twists akin to a stretch toy - wavy and fluid but unnaturally rigid at the same time. The skin begins to scab and slice open, revealing her tendons and bones while her hide flaps onto the ground below.

Her neck snaps and turns her head completely upside down, long black hair skimming the tiled floor as her mouth elongates. Her eyeballs liquify and melt away, now empty sockets still holding their gaze.

The worst of it though is the teeth - a sickly sweet smell permeates out the rotting bones. The enamel cracks into a row of decayed needles, viscous saliva oozing between the putrid gums.

Reze pushes Jin back. The toy cars fall from his hand as he watches this thing, now towering over the two, look directly at him.

"Fear… me."

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze's rage is bubbling over. Why did it have to be today? Why couldn't they have just ONE day? No idiots, no soldiers, especially no hybrids. But here they are - she'd rather be experiencing Bite-Con again.

That's how angry she is.

The pin on her neck tightens as she pulls it out, but stops. Where the woman once stood is replaced by the empty clothing aisle, save for the few shirts that dropped from their heated moment earlier. Reze's stomach drops, her eyes darting around looking for the devil. Her fingers release the pin, pushing Jin back. "Do you see her?!"

Behind her, she feels Jin shivering in terror.

He sees the devil right behind Reze - clear as day. Its mouth is agape and slowly - almost teasingly - closing in on Reze's head.

"RUN!!"

Reze turns around to see what's there, but nothing is there for her. "What??"

"REZE, RUN!!" The jaws of the devil are about to close onto her scalp.

SNAP

Saliva drips to the ground from an empty mouth. Reze pushes herself off the ground, turning to see Jin standing over her.

"REZE, YOU DON'T SEE THAT?" The devil starts to crawl over to them, its elongated body shaking and cracking with each step it takes.

In front of her, the empty aisle is still, almost tauntingly. "NO…WHAT? WHERE?"

A rush of air cuts past her as Jin tackles her back to the tile. To him, the clawed hand shatters the ground where they once stood.

When the debris hits Reze's body, it hits her - this is the Ghost Devil.

-That's… impossible.-

She remembers the day it died, the heart eviscerated. Chozin especially was distraught as it was one of his favorites to use - now having to rely on more brash tactics from the other hybrids.

But it's been years. Maybe it regenerated, or maybe the heart never truly was destroyed.

Either way, she can't see it.

"Jin, you're going to have to tell me where she is. Ok?" Reze says calmly, reaching for the pin again.

The Ghost Devil skitters towards him as he sprints away, screaming. He feels its arm knock him forward, sending him flying into a display of sweaters. The whole thing collapses as Jin rolls out of it.

Reze gasps, reaching out to Jin.

That's when the Ghost Devil materializes for her - right behind Jin. It's slowly creeping up on him, the unseen threat reaching its long hands out to him as he looks around, confused.

"Wha-WHERE IS IT?" He shouts out, scanning the area in a panic.

Its hand is about to grab his chest.

That's when she pulls the choker pin.

An explosion envelops Reze, pushing away some of the displays around where she stood. Then, from the smoke a figure shoots out and connects a punch with an invisible mass in front of Jin. Shelves and mannequins get tossed and turned, followed by a terrible screech erupting in the store.

The smell of gunpowder causes Jin to turn around - a fatman head stares directly at him. The Bomb Devil stands before him, placing herself between him and their adversary.

"Jin." The warhead says to him. "This is the Ghost Devil. It should be dead." She raises her fist.

His mind stutters - which has been happening all day to be fair, but this is different. He takes in his savior - this taller, scarier, deadlier version of his girlfriend.

Who is now fighting a literal ghost.

*Why.*

He stands up and brushes off debris.

"What the hell do you want me to do?"

His eyes scan around the empty department store looking for it. They trace back to the warhead next to him accidentally.

Hair stands up on his back.

The Ghost Devil appears to him, pushing off the wooden shelves and staring directly at him.

He stumbles back, pointing at the encroaching threat.

"THERE! RIGHT THERE!" He yells out in a panic, turning to run away.

The Ghost Devil takes off in a sprint after him. Reze can hear the popping of bones in front of her, but doesn't know where to strike. She jumps back and grabs him.

"No! You gotta help!" the warhead pleads to him. Suddenly, her body crashes into the wall, cratering from the impact. Reze turns her head to nothing, but feeling an iron grip around her legs. The Ghost Devil swings her body back toward Jin, smashing them together.

Both tumble into the main aisle - the crossroads of the store. He coughs and stands up, his eyes jumping from the destroyed clothing section to home goods to arts and crafts - anywhere that thing could be. He tries to drag Reze up, but she pushes him off, standing up on her own.

"DON'T. DO. THAT." she shouts, grabbing him. "YOU TELL ME WHERE SHE'S AT!"

Jin's pupils widen. Behind the warhead, the devil stalks in silence. Each footstep is devoid of sound while the mouth dislocates.

"…Behind you…" he's barely able to get the words out.

It's blink and you'll miss it - Reze swings around at an impossible speed, fist connecting with her invisible adversary. A blast sends Jin flying backwards into the home goods section. He arches his back on the ground, staring up at the light fixtures above. Pain shoots over his body, solidifying in his right shoulder.

A shadow rushes over to him, covering the light above. He blinks, only to see the detonator apron cover his vision.

"…Sorry." Reze reaches down, picking him back up. She stiffens her body and takes his hand, calming herself down. Jin can feel wires replacing the digits he loves to hold, squeezing them as he rises up once more. But, something about the head scares him - he can't look at her.

What he can look at is the now leaping Ghost Devil. He screams and points.

Reze turns towards his direction, hands in a rage. She knows Jin can't fight this thing, and she doesn't know how she is either when it changes visibility seemingly randomly. The thought of Jin accidentally dying to this thing makes her hands shake.

The Ghost Devil appears in front of her. Reze throws two punches, one connecting with the devil's chest - the hanging skin rippling from the impact. The second punch strikes the jaw, shattering some of the needle-like teeth. Blood and bone spill onto the floor as it grunts in pain, swinging both arms back in retaliation.

Both strikes are blocked by Reze seamlessly. She plants a foot in the Ghost's chest, exploding it backwards. It tumbles down the aisle, screeching.

Reze's apron unwinds from her body, the black cylinders dropping to the ground one by one. Each detonator blinks to life. She kicks them down the hallway, scattering them across the tile.

BEEP

Jin grabs his shoulder and sprints back.

BEEP

Reze grabs him and jumps away with a blast underneath them, throwing them back towards the home goods section.

BEEPBEEPBEEP

One by one, the detonators explode like a line of firecrackers. It starts uniformly, but after a few seconds the explosions launch the other bombs into the air, exploding wildly around the department store. Reze jumps on top of Jin, covering him from the debris. Some wood and metal scratches her skin, blood dripping out of the wounds.

The Ghost Devil wasn't as lucky. A collection of detonators blast towards it, exploding on impact. The blast rips skin and bone apart, splattering blood onto the walls and floor.

It screams again, rolling over and standing back up. Its skin is now blackened and cracked, a sickly sweet smell now coming from down the hallway.

"YOU… BITCH!" It shouts down the hallway, voice carrying over the destroyed displays.

"Aw. Don't flatter me." Reze walks forward, wires from her body twisting and forming the apron back. "Wanna try again?"

She looks back at Jin. A fire is consuming the store, especially where they started the fight.

For Jin, his ears are ringing, vision only focusing on one thing. The flames start to make their way to material next to him, his heart beating at an impossible speed. He begins hyperventilating, pushing back through the debris as the fire jumps at him. It just misses, but he can still feel the heat of it.

It feels just like that day.

*NOT LIKE THIS*

The collar of his jacket is tugged, pulling him away from the fire. He looks up.

The warhead stares back at him. Hyperventilating, he stands back up, looking down the aisle. The burnt flesh of the devil paces around, the head locked onto him.

"AND YOU - I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SCARED OF. I'LL BURN YOU ALIVE."

"I THOUGHT YOU WANTED ME ALIVE??" He steps back, trying to grab anything behind him.

With a snap of her fingers, colorful yellow balls fly out of Reze's hands. Jin watches them twist in the air, barely missing the Ghost Devil. It leaps forward, its body pushing Reze down the aisle. It lands right in front of Jin and knocks down the first rows of displays. He falls back down, still reaching through the shelves for anything to help. The only thing he finds in this aisle is pillows and blankets.

There's another swipe from her hand, Jin rolling away and barely missing the strike.

Another swipe comes his way, causing him to tumble into the next aisle. He crawls down the displays, but his leg gets caught by something bony. He gets turned, the Ghost Devil facing him and raising its hand. The nails extend out, cracking and sharpening.

Above, as Jin watches in terror, he notices the light fixtures. How they're still fastened is a miracle - the explosions nearly knocked them off their metal hangers. But the one right above them is swaying with metallic screech, barely hanging on.

She flexes her fingers and looks down at Jin. "HE CAN HAVE HALF OF YOU."

A bolt snaps, the light fixture falling before stopping from a taut wire. It dangles over the two, the plug pulling from the ceiling with each swing.

Finally, his hand grips onto a wooden handle.

*Please be a knife*

THUNK

The Ghost devil's face recoils from the strike. Blood splatters onto Jin and his makeshift weapon - a wooden spoon. He looks at it for a second, and then back at the Devil.

Probably not the best idea.

"I'LL KILL YO-"

SNAP

The fixture falls from the ceiling as the Devil raises its hand. The glass of the light shatters onto its head, covering the sockets with glass and metal. The wire wraps around and touches the charred skin, residual electricity shocking it.

The hand slams down in agony, shifting right before it slams into his face. The floorboard shatters next to him as the strike hits next to his right shoulder. Splinters embed into it, the rush of pain solidifying. He crawls out while the Ghost struggles to get the metal capsule off its head.

Reze pushes the broken plastic off her and blasts forward, realizing she's lost sight of Jin. She looks across the smoke and fire, desperately looking for him.

As Jin gets up and raises his spoon up, the Ghost Devil disappears for him as the capsule is tossed aside. He looks over, barely able to see Reze through the smoke. The warhead is rapidly scanning the scene - her panic increasing with each breath.

The Ghost screeches towards Reze. Some of the glass that's embedded in its face sprinkle down with its blood.

Reze launches towards it, landing a punch across the ghost devil as the impact explodes on its chest, sending it careening towards a few mannequins. It gets right back up and howls, grabbing the plastic people and throwing them towards Reze.

She dodges them and moves in, but gets sideswiped by one of the elongated arms and crashes into another display.

"REZE!!" He screams out.

The Ghost reappears for Jin, shifting their focus to him. Its head wrenches to the side while it scuttles to its prey. Jin takes off back down the main aisle.

"Jin! Where?!?" She shoots towards him.

"Behind me!!" He yells as he glances back. As he runs, his skin starts to burn - a display on fire blocks his path ahead.

Reze calculates and swings, completely whiffing in the air, an explosion rocking the wall she hit. She breathes in hard, trapping the air - then lets it hiss out between her teeth instead of the scream she wants.

She jumps towards the running Jin, scooping him up over the flames as the display next to them crumples beside them. She puts him down and jumps back into action.

"Be more specific!"

His eyes dart to the Ghost, crawling over the knocked-over dresses. A brown dress shreds under its foot as it steps closer.

"Clothing aisle! Brown dress!"

The warhead locks onto the shredded material, shooting towards the invisible beast. She lands a kick, an explosion erupting from her foot onto the unseen target. Shelves and displays break as the unseen figure crashes into them, landing somewhere across the store.

The warhead's face looks at Jin.

"Better."

Jin nods. The emotionless face from the warhead holds something he can't name. Endearment, maybe.

He looks at her form, fully taking in what is his girlfriend. The bomb where her face stood - the beautiful green eyes and purple hair, now replaced by the metallic monstrosity - stares ahead emotionless.

The warhead's nose traces the walls, looking for any sign of movement.

"Do you see it?"

Jin's head shifts around. "I… I don't." He raises his spoon again.

From the darkness, the Ghost Devil leaps out. Reze turns around to its mass, fully seeing it. She uppercuts the Devil up to the ceiling, its body smashing into the tile and light fixtures. As it squirms, the wires wrap and trap the devil up.

Reze shoots up, punching the Ghost Devil to the next floor, debris falling around Jin who dives out of the way - covering his face from the rock and metal pelting his body. He gets up and runs, crashing into another shelf, dazed. A box opens on a top shelf, rolling silver cans down towards Jin. He's too deep in his thoughts to hear them clatter past.

*When I saw the fire, the way Reze reacted to me getting hit - it switched who could see it.*

His eyes open up to inspect his surroundings - nothing, save for dust twinkling from the ceiling as the Bomb and Ghost devils fight it out on the floor above.

*How the hell does it keep disappearing?*

THUNK

One of the cans drops, banging onto Jin's head and spins into his lap. He yelps, grabbing the can to throw it, but stops.

Electric Pink reads off of the small paintcan. Jin turns around, noticing more of the same sized cans, along with brushes and sponges. Looking up, a sign is barely hanging onto its chains. In artistic letters and color splotches between the blast marks read:

Arts and Crafts

"…Huh."

———————-

WHOOSH

Reze goes flying back after a swipe from the Ghost Devil. She hits off of a few more clothing displays, wood splintering away from the impact area. As her vision clears, it's just in time to move out of the way of a thrown display pipe. It sticks into the concrete, cracking with a metallic thud.

She gets back up and jumps back into action, sliding across her explosions to quickly get back into the Ghost Devil's face. She kicks, using the momentum of her foot to spin her around to follow up with a punch to its chest, exploding on impact. The Ghost flies into the air, crashing onto the ceiling again, but jumps back down. It winces from the blow.

Reze snaps her fingers with explosive energy flying towards the devil, connecting on its upper torso. The Ghost Devil shakes it off, blood and putrid rot dripping out of its smiling mouth. It backs up into the darkness, disappearing from sight.

All her senses go into hyperdrive - any little movement or little sound and she'll attack it.

Something clinks behind her. Her fist is already crackling with explosive energy as she swings around. Her heart skips a beat when she sees what she's attacking. The strike swings above its intended target, barely missing the form as it drops to the ground.

The paintcan rolls away from Jin. He scurries to it on his hands and knees, grabbing it and turning towards her.

"HEY - WATCH IT!"

"DON'T DO THAT." She screams, quickly regaining her composure. "Do you see it??"

Jin brushes his chest off to clear some debris. "No - but I think I figured it out!" The paintcan lid pops open, Jin dipping the brush into the bright pink color.

"…What the hell are you doing? "

"I'm scared of fire, you know?" He wipes the brush off the lid of the can. "Ever since I was a kid. The heat, the smell, the ash - all of it. It terrifies me."

His gaze goes over to where Reze exploded in from, taking in the blazing rubble. She can see the reflection in his irises and hear his breath quicken. But she can see he's forcing himself to watch it, forcing himself to face it.

Forcing himself to be scared.

That's when the Ghost Devil appears for him - right behind Reze.

"Duck now!"

She does. She feels the air above her whoosh by, and snarl from behind her closing in. She backflips to dodge another whoosh of air, landing behind the invisible enemy.

Jin's too slow though - the Ghost Devil leaps onto him, the paintbrush dropping to the ground as it throws him next to the blaze. The fire crackles next to his face, but as he tries to get up the devil uses its cold hands to grab his head.

It starts sliding him over to the fire.

For Reze, she can't see it, nor communicate with her screaming boyfriend. She watches him squirm and scream at the fire. Her breath hitches.

The bullet holes reappear on Jin. The one on the head is more visceral than she remembered, seeing the inside of his head as maggots crawl in and around the brain matter.

-I hope this works.-

The Ghost Devil reappears for Reze.

Yellow explosive balls of light connect on its side, sending it off Jin. His head snaps to her, giving her a smile.

"Yeah! You got it!" He gets up, rushing over to the discarded paintbrush. He grabs it, pink dripping off the bristles.

The Ghost Devil lurches up, hissing at the two. Reze readies herself again, but the Devil disappears. She glances at Jin, who's staring at the fire in front of them.

Suddenly, he rushes forward. He dives at the ground, the air above him rustling his hair. He swings the paintbrush up at the emptiness.

A floating pink streak appears to Reze. The line moves, almost trying to squish its adversary below. Jin rolls out from underneath it, missing the cracking floorboards next to him.

If Reze could, she'd be smiling.

She launches forward, punch landing on the unseen force. A smear of pink stays on her knuckles as she swings another explosive fist forward. Paint residue sticks to the Ghost Devil's invisible face, the pink stretching with its pained face.

It screeches, backing up. It tries to wipe the paint off its body, only spreading the pink onto its body more and more.

CRACK

The devil recoils forward, turning around. Jin's wooden spoon is covered in blood and paint as he steps forward and takes another swing at it.

The spoon shatters, the front of it lodging into the skull of the devil. It spins around, swinging widely, but its arm disappears in a flash of light. When the devil's eyes readjust, its arm is laying on the ground.

In the empty sockets, Jin and Reze see it - even though there's nothing there, they know what the Ghost Devil is feeling. The way her face is set as they both watch it look at its severed limb. The way its head darts between the two.

It's scared.

And they both can see her.

It finally lets out a scream. The sound echoes through the store, but is cut into a raspy cough. Reze's hand tightens on the devil's neck, her fingernails digging into the charred skin. The warhead turns the Ghost's face to her.

"I'm done with this."

A sickening squish comes from its stomach. Reze reaches her hand up into the devil's body, snaking through its organs. Eventually, her hand finds its heart, wrapping explosive wires around it and squeezing.

The Ghost Devil begins to kick, flailing wildly as it starts to glow in its chest. Reze lifts it higher in the air.

"You ruined our day."

Smoke starts to billow out of the devil's mouth. Jin backs up, taking cover behind one of the last standing displays. He takes one quick peek, then slides back behind the shelves.

He covers his ears. This is going to be loud.

The Ghost Devil's eyesockets start to glow behind the skin. Yellow energy courses over the skin flaps and exposed bone while it screams and claws at the air, trying to grab hold of Reze. The grip tightens on its neck, choking out the last screams of the Ghost Devil.

Finally, almost mercifully, the wires ignite and explode.

Internally, its organs are ripped to shreds from the blast. The heart, however, is completely eviscerated. Externally, the explosives bubble out its flesh. Black smoke pours out of its rotten mouth. It flies backwards, lands on its spine. It lies still, smoking.

Reze walks away into the clothing section next to her. She grabs a men's zip-up hoodie and sweatpants, walking back over by the body. Jin's about to say something - but he stops.

Under her detonator apron, she's naked. Through the fight he didn't notice, but her clothes were torn away from the blast and attacks from the Ghost.

Jin's brain starts to short-circuit again.

"Don't look." The warhead turns towards him.

He nods, hiding back behind the barely standing shelves.

When Reze zips up her new outfit, she falls down to her knees, sighing out as she places her back onto the ground.

Jin, controlling himself, pushes out some debris and crawls over to the Bomb Devil, laying next to her. He takes her hand as they both look up to the ceiling, just breathing.

"So…come here often?" He jokes.

The warhead turns to meet his gaze, blood dripping off of the metal face. The expression doesn't change.

"Not usually."

Her grip tightens on his, almost crushing his hand. He winces in pain, but tries to reciprocate. The metal hisses and drops off her face, transforming her back into her human form. When the warhead fizzles away, she's smiling at him, her caring eyes back and staring into his.

"…I could keep coming back here though."

An alarm blares, followed by the sprinkler system kicking on.

They sit there looking at each other, lost in each other's presence as the water sprinkles onto them. She rolls her head into his chest, laying there and tracing her fingers lazily on his arm. His hand plays with her hair - something he didn't realize he missed.

"So that was you… right? The Bomb Devil?"

Her eyes close in embarrassment. "Yep. That's me."

"That's what you look like in your devil form?"

She nods on his chest, burying deeper into him.

He puts a hand under his head, leaning onto it. "Wow…" he chuckles. "Hot."

She jolts up to look at him, mouth agape.

"You're an asshole."

"No, what? I'm serious!" He tries to block a smack on his arm, fighting off giggles.

"You're the worst!" She crawls up to him, kissing him on the lips.

Something sizzles. They both look over to the devil's body, the legs and arms twitching once more before they freeze.

"I can't believe it found us. Like out of all the times it could have attacked, it had to be here?" Jin huffs out, throwing a rock at the body. It hits on the chest and clatters to the ground.

For a moment, Reze is silent. She crinkles her nose.

Should she tell him?

-This'll be for the best.-

"Yeah, Hybrid Division is usually REALLY good at ruining things. I don't know how we didn't see it sooner." She lies, taking a rock and following Jin's lead. This rock embeds in one of the empty eye sockets.

The lie sinks in her stomach. Better for him to not panic.

Yet.

"Hey. You never told me what you're scared of." Jin shifts his body closer to Reze's.

When she looks at Jin, the dream version of him doesn't appear, no matter how hard she tries.

"It's nothing, really. I'm very good at faking emotions."

"Yeah, but you're not faking this right?" He gestures between them.

"…Shut up."

She shifts, pushing the strands of wet hair away from her face.

"By the way - the paint? Really smart. You know what's not? Running towards any of these things - they're dangerous. Sometimes they lose control, like this one. It could have killed you."

"…I had to help."

"And you did. Just be smart next time, ok? For me?" She slowly gets to her feet, reaching out to him.

"So… remember how we're training tomorrow?"

He smiles, grabs her hands, and pulls himself up. "What about it?"

"That's pushed back. I've got some ideas - hope you're free the rest of the day." She says, taking his hand and leading him away from the smoldering body.

"I got no job, really no friends, my girlfriend can transform into a devil and bend me in half… I think I'm free."

Laughter echoes in the silent store as they make their way to an emergency exit.

When the door closes, the Ghost Devil's body starts to shimmer in colors known and unknown, followed by it contorting into grotesque forms. Static sounds emanate in the store, the colors now bouncing across the displays.

Eventually, the body itself begins fizzling and hissing, followed by it evaporating to wherever it came from.

Like it never existed.

_____________

WHIRRRRRR

A shrill, metallic whine echoes in the observation room. Below, scientists and soldiers are intently looking over computers and placing items into different machines.

The fizzling monitor shows the Ghost Devil's hand slamming down with her dagger-like nails into Jin. The light fixture slams into its head, completely missing its target.

WHIRRRRRR

The same light fixture falling, the same slam, the same miss.

WHIRRRRRR

Light. Slam. Miss.

Thoth crosses his arms. If anyone could see his face, it would be twisted in confusion.

When did it happen? he wonders, taking a second to look past the monitor towards the glass walls. He doesn't care if the hybrid got too aggressive - if this was what he was looking for, Jin would survive.

Shadows scurry from behind, opening to Chozin. When he steps out of his void, he's greeted by the blue glow of a lava lamp and silence from Thoth.

"I see you're reviewing the fight." Chozin steps forward, eyeing the new addition to the room. The wax dances in the water, not offering any advice - or excuse.

"At least our technicians don't let me down."

WHIRRRRRR

"Then why not send the full might of the division? We can capture the target and the weapon together."

"No, too dangerous. The target has to be alive."

Chozin circles behind the desk, watching the monitor fizzle from another rewind.

"As long as we don't damage his devil heart, we can revive him, no?" Chozin watches the teams below work on an apparatus, connecting tubes of liquid nitrogen into the sleek metallic device. "It seems like you've been ramping up production. Confident?" Chozin chuckles.

"He's not a devil." Thoth's focus doesn't change.

"…what?" Chozin steps back, accidentally stepping into the desk. The lava lamp wobbles from the impact. "Then WHY DID WE SEND A HYBRID??" He turns around, hands going behind his head as he groans. "YOU SENT A VALUABLE ASSET TO RETRIEVE A NORMAL TARGET?"

Finally, Thoth's concentration breaks, turning to Chozin. Beside him, the lava lamp's light glows brighter. The wax separates into smaller pieces, swirling behind the glass.

Thoth sighs.

"Just because he's normal doesn't mean we don't need him. Besides, I don't have to explain everything to you."

WHIRRRRRR

"He's valuable." Thoth points at the monitor, the same scene playing again. Chozin leans in, trying to decipher what his superior means from the grainy image. All he can see is the light falling, the missed slam, and static from the recording.

"You saw that, right?" Thoth's finger stays fixed on the screen, tracing the static lines.

Chozin is in disbelief, trying his best to make sense of the video. "Saw what!? The light falling? Or another borrowed asset's downfall?"

The timer starts on Thoth's cloak.

Chozin gasps for air, falling to his knees as he chokes out black smoke.

"Guess you don't see what I see." He looks back up at the lava lamp - realizing he should be thanking it rather than doing what he did.

Changing it back won't solve anything.

"Chozin - the process started already." Thoth moves past Chozin, his footsteps echoing in the room. Thoth takes his place in front of the glass in time for the apparatus to hum online.

The timer stops, Chozin finally able to suck air back in his burning lungs. "What the HELL does that mean?" He coughs out.

"Perfect Paradise is on schedule - that's a good thing. But we still need to make sure." He waits for Chozin to join him.

When the older man does, Thoth turns to him.

"You've got new orders - you're going to the field with Dimitri. Send a strike team and hybrid after them - whatever that mix is I'll leave to your discretion. If we're to capture them, great. If not…" Thoth looks back at the apparatus, lights and sounds humming from the newly created machine. "That's telling."

"You don't make sense. Telling of what?"

"Better if you don't know."

Chozin grunts, stepping away. "How you became the leader of this, I'll never know." As the shadows start to rise and form around him, he shoots a glare back towards Thoth. "As long as Russia ends on top, I'll follow your lead."

The shadows nearly swallow him before one last word.

"Don't make me regret this."

The room lies still. Thoth paces back to the monitors, playing the same scene again.

He doesn't care if the team lives or dies. They're all expendable. And if Chozin knew that? Everything would crumble around him - and then Thoth would have to start over again, searching through the near-infinite iterations for these specific variables for a CHANCE for it to be the right one.

And he REALLY doesn't want to do that - he has to know this is the right one.

WHIRRRRRR

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze climbs up the stairs, practically taking them two at a time. She's been setting up a few things in the early morning today for the date with Jin, who was still sleeping off from yesterday's fight. They did it - they killed a hybrid together.

She did most of the work, but still.

But today that doesn't matter. It's their day. They're going to have fun, hybrids and their division be damned.

She opens the door to his apartment, keys clattering onto the counter. She peeks into the bedroom, Jin still out on the bed.

Good.

She sneaks back into bed with him, the mattress creaking as she scoots towards him. Her arms snake around him as she closes her eyes, breathing in her boyfriend. He did great yesterday, but watching him attack the Ghost Devil head on?

He can't play the hero.

When his breathing gets heavier, she tightens around him. The warmth from him provides a sense of safety she hasn't felt… ever. Her mind starts to drift - another thing the Division outlawed.

'Always keeps your wits about you - the enemy will always strike when you're at your weakest.'

It's just an echo in her mind now, this last month proved that. Hell, for a split second she forgot why she was here in the first place.

Jin stirs, but settles himself from whatever dream he's experiencing from behind his closed eyelids.

-They're not getting him.-

Before she knows it, the sunlight drifts into her eyes. They flutter open as both of them stir awake. Looking over at her phone, it's already noon. Jin's hand grabs her arm, letting his thumb trace her light skin.

"Hey QT." She says smiling, hair drooping over her face.

He rolls over, grabbing her and pulling close. "The classic, huh?" A kiss is placed on her forehead before he gets up, stretching. "Do you, uh, want some breakfast, like yesterday?"

She traces the space Jin was in bed. "Yeah… that sounds great." She stretches too, reaching up to pull the blinds shut. "Are ya ready for today? Got some fun stuff planned."

He turns around. "Of course! I'm excited to see what the mind of Reze has." His voice echoes from the other room. "What's it gonna be - more math questions? Are we going to be doing algebra and talking about triangles?"

Laughter follows her as she appears in the doorframe. "That's trigonometry. Tri… triangle… did you really not pay attention in school?"

He rips open a box of cereal, flakes rattling into the bowl, milk splashing in after. Behind Jin, the coffee machine gurgles, steam rising and the smell of dark beans filling the kitchen.

"Not really. Guess I didn't want to."

"…Why?"

"Because I wasn't good at it?"

"How do you know you weren't good at it?" The chair creaks as she sits down, elbows finding the table.

He shrugs. "I didn't get it. I don't get a lot of things honestly." The bowl gently thuds in front of Reze as he runs back to the coffee machine.

"You know, you don't HAVE to be good at something to start it… or you can learn something with stuff you don't like, helps you keep your brain thinking." She takes the bowl and grabs the spoon next to it.

"I guess." Jin's jaw shifts, pressing his lips tight and pulling them sharply to one side.

"…Jin. I'm just curious. I wanna know all about what ya did in school!"

He pours coffee into a cup and walks it to her.

"I told you on the roof, there's not a lot to say about that place." He finally looks at her.

"I mean, it seems like there's a lot to say." Her gaze looks stern while she takes a sip. Even in his head, he makes a good cup of coffee.

He takes his mug in both hands and stares out the window. "…Maybe we can talk about this later. Besides -" Jin moves over to her and kisses the back of her head. "- I don't want my issues to ruin our day."

She huffs out a quick laugh and looks at him. "I get that. And we will. But I'm not letting this slip through, ok?"

He smiles and kisses her neck this time. "Thanks babe." He goes back to make himself a bowl of cereal.

"Uh-uh. No. I'm not babe."

"Then what can I call ya?" The flakes and milk fill his spoon as he shovels it to his mouth.

"I don't know but not that." She lurches forward, pretending to throw up, but the giggles stop her.

"You're dramatic, my god."

"Oh, I'M dramatic? Ok." She gets up, tracing her finger on the table as she steps over to him. "I'm getting dressed…" Her voice is barely audible.

When her lips press on his cheek, the spoon falls into the bowl, splattering his breakfast onto the wooden furniture.

Jin doesn't know what to do with this information as Reze heads to the bedroom, hips intentionally swaying down the hallway. The last thing Jin sees is her eyes, cheeks burning red, as the door clicks shut.

She laughs to herself in the bedroom as she gets ready. All that training, and she's using it to torture him. But if he opens that door - she wouldn't say no. In fact...

-No. Later.-

He won't open it anyway. Jin's too busy overthinking the possibilities. The milk starts to drip off the table, pooling by the wooden legs.

After what feels like forever, the bedroom door swings open. She's wearing a light leather jacket with a patterned shirt underneath, jeans, and high top sneakers. Her hair pulled into a ponytail, choker and pin on full display.

"Get ready. Got a fun day ahead!" Her hand grazes Jin's hair as she walks by. Jin, who finally regained himself, nearly falls over from his chair when he stands up. He closes the door behind him and opens up the closet.

He never was the most stylish, always comfortably dressed. But this seems like a big day - way more than Bite-Con, that's for sure. His eyes dart between the hanging clothes he has. The hangers slide across the wooden pole with a dry, hollow scrape. When he reaches the end of the line, he starts again, mind racing.

Finally, he decides on an unbuttoned red and brown flannel with a plain grey tee underneath, fit with jeans and regular sneakers.

*Good enough.*

Reze finishes up the last of her coffee as the door swings open.

"You look cute." She smiles, her green eyes looking at him from head to toe.

"Thanks, probably the best I got." He rubs the back of his neck, peeking at himself. He's not lying.

She laughs and puts the empty mug down. "Usually, the division would give me the outfits for my missions, so I'm with ya." She turns the mug, watching her reflection in the porcelain. "So, if you want, maybe we can go shopping together? Give ya an excuse to stare at me in a dressing room!" She pecks his cheek before he can react and leads him out the door.

*…She never went shopping?*

"You think two people who don't shop are gonna magically be good at it?" Their footsteps thud down the concrete staircase. Below, children's laughter rises from the common area.

"You completely missed the bait there, Jin."

"…What?" He's still wondering if he should have opened the bedroom door.

"Wow."

In the playground, parents chase after their squealing kids, one of them breaking from their father's playful grasp. While she's looking back, she accidentally trips over Jin. The kid apologizes, followed by her parents, as they run back towards the playground. Reze covers her mouth and giggles. "You're a magnet for this, I swear."

"I don't know what god I pissed off." He sighs out, watching the parents try to capture their squealing child.

The door to the parking garage squeaks open. The first car Reze notices is a red sedan.

-Not ruining today.-

"So…" Jin's voice bounces between the cars. "Unless you stole a car, why are we here?"

She slaps a hand over her heart, pulling in a sharp, theatrical gasp. "Steal a car? I'd NEVER."

As they pass by the mix of cars and SUV's, they make it to the bottom floor - somewhere Jin's never been before. In the corner sits a collection of motorcycles of all different shapes and sizes next to a row of rusted lockers.

One catches his eye - blacked out, steel exhausts, modern and fast looking. Reze pulls out a set of small keys, fitting perfectly into the ignition port. It roars to life, the engine vibrating through the concrete floor.

"But I WOULD steal a motorcycle." She winks, tossing a black helmet to him. He nearly drops it, looking back in awe at her.

"Elle Woods, bitch." Her helmet slips on, perfectly covering her facial features.

"You know this is my first time on a motorcycle?" Jin's voice is barely audible between the engine and his protection muffling his voice.

"Good, you'll have to hold me tighter then." She sits on the bike, patting the spot behind her.

*Don't have to tell me twice.*

He gets on and grabs her, both of them smiling under their hidden faces. If Jin could, he'd kiss her.

She knocks the kickstand back, the bike rolling off. She breaks into the daylight, revving the engine and taking to the street. The early afternoon sun bounces off of the bike and helmets as the roaring of the bike settles the two into their own world - one with each other. Jin squeezes her as Reze shifts back into him.

The drive is slow, a wandering path through the asphalt. At every red light, they find each other's eyes. They share a quiet laugh at a pedestrian tripping over their dog - a hopeless tangle of limbs and fur that breaks the lunch rush on the sidewalk. Further down, a 'COMING SOON!' sign catches Reze's eye. It's a new place for a date, and they agree to visit it when it opens - as long as the Division doesn't want to ruin it.

*-This is perfect.-*

Eventually, they pull around a corner to a glowing sign. Reze puts the kickstand down as the roar of the engine sputters off.

"So, this is like a full day event here, ok? So first…" she slides her helmet off, her purple hair flopping back down over her face. "Thought we'd stop here."

The violet glow of the sign washes over the pavement along with Jin's visor. Genjitsu-Zero glows back at him. He'd been here before; it is THE local arcade, a relic of the 90s that somehow survived the decades by evolving. It was where the past met the present - original 16 bit cabinets sitting side-by-side with modern games, the lineup rotating every month.

"…No way."

"Yes way." She starts to walk in, tossing her hair teasingly. "I told you - I'm kicking your ass."

He follows her in, the door hissing shut behind him. Immediately, his senses are overloaded - high-pitched sounds pierce through bells and whistles, while flashing lights from the cabinets beg for attention and coins. He looks around in childish excitement.

"…Are you gonna take it off?"

He reaches for his head - the hard plastic stopping Jin from touching the skin on his face. His fingers keep tapping at the helmet, the realization landing slowly. He slips it off, his hair sticking up while giving her a sheepish smile.

She shakes her head, taking the helmet and walking it over to the coat counter. The teenager at the counter barely gets the return ticket out before Reze drags Jin into the arcade.

"I get first pick, we're doing a classic."

She guides him past the sea of people towards a forgotten corner. A skee-ball machine sits in the back, harsh light illuminating it like a side quest waiting to be accepted.

"Damn, you weren't lying." Jin says as he goes to get some coins from the adjacent machine.

"Remember how I'd bring back movies?" Reze starts stretching in front of the game, eyeing up the cups and their associated points. "One of the older guys brought one of these back and kept it in his quarters. So I guess I like the classics - classic movies, classic games… classic nerds." She sticks her tongue out at Jin as he puts coins in.

"I think you more than like classic nerds." His cheeks glow with the blinking lights of the machine. Tan balls clack against each other when they roll down the chute towards Reze.

"You're right. I don't just like it." She takes a ball out and tosses it into the air, letting it fall back down to her hand. "You're not getting any more compliments." She rolls the first ball up the ramp, landing on the small golden hole labeled 500 - the highest possible bucket. Electronic bells ring from behind the machine.

"So, is there something past the like it stage then?" He watches her pick up a ball and roll it with ease. Another 500, another set of bells.

"Hmmmm…." She quickly studies him before turning her attention back to the buckets. "I don't know. You are kinda cute…"

The bells ring again.

"Maybe I could get there." She says teasingly and perfectly rolls another 500. "Oh, by the way - Don't think I forgot about it earlier." She points at him and rolls another ball, hitting the same bucket.

"...Yeah I know… I gotta… yeah." It's all Jin can muster.

DINGDINGDINGDING

Jin peeks at the score. He didn't pay attention to how the scoring works for this machine, so when he watches Reze's score jump to 50,000, his jaw drops.

DINGDINGDINGDING

She holds the last ball. She tosses it in the air and catches it a few times. "By the way, you're not beating me at this." She rolls it, the rhythmic rattle from the ball emanating from the floorboards before launching towards the 500 bucket, swishing perfectly through. Reze tosses her hands up in celebration with her face still laser focused on her final score. 100,000 points flash onto the scoreboard as the machine explodes in lights and electronic sounds. On the screen, it signals for the name of the new high score owner. She inputs her name 'REZ', which flashes along with the other previous high scores - the closest being 'ASS' at 35,000.

Reze smiles and backs off, offering the machine to Jin.

"How…Huh??"

"I told you!"

Jin sighs as he puts some coins into the machine. He knows that he's not going to be able to win, and being the silently competitive person that he is, it's killing him. He doesn't like losing, especially anything in his control - and in a place like this. He can't describe why he's protective about being good at his things - maybe because for all the things he's not good at, the stuff he is ACTUALLY confident in becomes something worth focusing on.

And yet here he is, a location he loves to be in, a game that he's not totally awful at, with a girl that he really likes that just rolled a perfect score. Jin breathes out slowly, glancing confidently back at Reze and flashing a grin at her.

*I'm gonna beat her.*

He rolls the first ball, rimming around and falls into the 500 cup.

"So, you see…" He grabs the other ball, "I've been to a bunch of arcades in my life."

Another ball ramps up, swishing into the 500.

Reze's eyebrows lift up her forehead. "Not bad." She steps closer to the machine, barely in Jin's peripherals.

He's not gonna let her distract him.

"So you did really good."

DINGDINGDINGDING

His score jumps up to 10,000. He grabs the next ball, settling into his rhythm.

"But we're gonna be tying, sorry."

He rolls it, spinning perfectly to the same bucket. It jumps off the ramp, heading perfectly towards its target. It hits the rim, spins around like a toilet bowl, but falls out, rolling down into the 10.

A sad trombone sound blares out of the machine. Reze begins chortling, hard. She almost falls over, catching onto another cabinet as Jin's whole soul shatters looking up at the score.

10,010

Somehow, her composure returns. "Wait… no… wait, YOU WERE SO -" she starts laughing again.

Jin shakes his head and grabs another ball. He's at least going to break the last record - have SOMETHING positive. The ball rattles on the hardwood, shooting off the ramp and towards the 500 bucket. It hits low, bouncing back towards the 50 cup and spinning in.

DING

*ARE YOU SERIOUS?*

He's lost it. The pressure got to him. He just throws the balls now, in disbelief he lost his touch. They hit into buckets - he doesn't care which. He sighs as the last ball rolls in, score flashing 18,300.

Reze can just laugh at him seeing the frustration in his face.

"Aw, you were SO CLOSE!" She sneers next to him, walking behind him and tickling his sides. "Told ya you'd lose to a champ!"

He playfully shoves her off and steps away, smiling through the frustration.

"No, I lost to a literal CHILD SOLDIER who's been playing people for YEARS."

She grabs him, rubbing his back. "Oh hush you love it."

There's a comfortable silence as they stand there hugging between the cabinets.

*Did… did she just—?*

She's thinking it too - a total slip-up. She let her mind drift again. Awake this time.

-That's new.-

Reze blinks, regaining her mental focus as she pushes off of him, walking away. "Alright, pick the next game."

He tries to catch up to her, pushing past a sea of oncoming adults. All the cabinets around him blink and catch his attention, slowing his steps.

If he's gonna beat Reze at any game, he's gotta be smart.

And, in his mind, the perfect game appears to him.

"Found it!" He shouts, stopping Reze in her tracks. She turns around, eyebrows raising at the selection.

He approaches the arcade game, a fake sniper rifle attached to a pillar while the screen in front displays outdated graphics with a similar cabinet next to it. The name Scoped Warfare flashes on the screen as Jin's eyes widen along with his smile.

"Yeah. This one."

"…Jin come on."

He brushes her off. "Yeah I know - trained assassin and everything - BUT I love this game so we're doing it."

"Oooohhhkay…" She rolls her eyes, stepping onto her machine and inspecting the rifle. She doesn't know what she's looking for - it's a fake replica. It doesn't have anything useful, like a charging handle or safety, but it has a scope and trigger.

The important things.

When she looks up, Jin chooses the CO-OP option before Reze can react.

"Hold on, wait, no."

"Yup, we're gonna work together." He leans next to her. "Besides, I need a chance so… please?" His rifle accidentally bangs into his shoulder, beaming a sarcastic smile at her.

Reze shakes her head, scoffs, and turns back to her monitor. "You're lucky I like you." The game starts, with Reze and Jin's characters taking different positions in the level. They start open firing at the targets.

Jin's able to get some good shots off first, taking out the first couple enemies with ease - he's played this game before and wants to use his knowledge to get as many points as possible. Right before he's about to pull the trigger for his next target, it drops dead, followed by the next couple around.

To his dismay, Reze is… well Reze. She started slow, taking everything in, but once she understood how everything worked, it was over. Headshot! keeps illuminating in her monitor with each pull of the trigger, quickly overtaking Jin's score.

"Are you gonna let me help?"

"No."

Their characters reposition to the next area, bullets erupting around them. Jin tries as hard as he can to keep up, but Reze is just better trained for this.

And Jin is in awe of her. How she focuses - the little twitch of her lips when she acquires her target. The eyes narrowing, the smile when she knows she's got the kill.

And how the neon illuminates her hair and her pale skin? The flutters in his stomach grows. If he could, it'd take off and grab Reze, bring them somewhere safe. Probably somewhere in America, or Europe, where they can be normal.

*Anywhere with her.*

He realizes he's staring when the ringing in his ears stops and Reze is looking at him, the sound from her mouth finally registering.

"- you lost in Co-Op."

Everything hits him all at once. His screen is filled with digital blood, while Reze's character stands victorious over a tank. Her monitor is blinking victoriously with YOU WIN! and HIGH SCORE! filling the screen. She aims and inputs her name next to the impossible amount of points.

"Wh- wha??"

He got distracted. He was too busy picturing a life with her, too busy thinking of -

*It can't happen this fast.*

She leans onto the rifle, laughing. "Guess I'm just better. Or better to watch." She winks, saving her impossible score into the game.

"It's both." He turns red.

Reze teasingly arches her back, watching Jin's eyes trace over her body. "I am pretty distracting… come on." She grabs his hand and leads him through the arcade.

"You do know you're down two games right? At this rate, I'm gonna sweep you." Her emerald eyes twinkle in the electronic lights.

"The last one wasn't fair..." Jin says as they both pass a broom closet, accidentally left open from one of the teenage workers.

"Oh, it wasn't fair?"

Suddenly, Jin is shoved into that room. Reze pushes herself into his body, slamming him back on the wall and kissing him. A few brooms clatter onto the shelves and ground, along with whatever cleaning solutions roll off into the arcade.

Reze runs her hands through Jin's hair while he explores around her lower body. She smiles on his lips and pulls away. "Now THAT…isn't fair." She kisses him on his flushed cheeks and leads him out the door. "Come on… idiot…"

He nearly slips on the spilled bottles when they exit. He's right - she's not playing fair at all, and can't get his head back into the game. And when Reze sees his thousand yard stare, she knows it.

"Oh my god you're helpless."

"…SHUT UP!"

He looks through everything, the lights and sounds bouncing off him like rubber. She has him in her grasp, and Reze knows it. She pulls him a little bit tighter around the corner where some old arcade cabinet sits. It's amazing the collection they have, some barely working with adults laughing around them, reliving their glory days.

In the middle of the classics, a single machine is left by two men, arguing with each other. "PROJECTILE SPAMMING IS CHEAP SHIT!" He pushes his friend, walking past Jin and Reze as they continue to argue. She looks back, feeling her heartbeat rise.

The cabinet is old, looking like one of the original ones. The black paint may be chipping, but that doesn't stop it from proudly displaying STREET FIGHTER 2 in its fading yellow text.

"Holy shit…" She lets go of Jin, walking over in amazement.

He turns back around from the arguing friends, regaining as much composure as he can.

"Wait, you know this?"

She nods. "We had someone take back an old game console and they'd always be playing this…but I never thought I'd see the real thing."

He walks past her to the cabinet. "This has always been here, I'd play the tournament mode all the time. Sometimes Joe'd play, but usually it was just me." His hands fit around the red joystick and set comfortably onto the plastic buttons next to it. "But… I'd be happy to play a match with you."

"Yeah?" Her eyes light up. "You know, like the hybrids would hold tournaments and I'd win right?"

Jin chuckles. "Of course you did. Were you like… made in a lab for me?"

"I mean, I kinda was?" She takes her place onto the blue joystick and buttons next to him. "You know, whatever failed experiment you're from, I really like?"

For a moment, Jin thinks about his parents - he wouldn't necessarily call them failed, but it does sting to think about. Maybe, JUST maybe, if that fire never happened, he would be someone else - someone from a successful experiment, someone who was whole. But, he immediately suppresses that thought.

*No reason to ruin today.*

"I'm sorry - FAILED?"

"You heard me." She leans on the cabinet, smirking at him. His body starts shaking.

"Would a failed experiment do this then?"

Jin lets the butterflies loose, leaning in and kissing her, softly pressing his lips onto Reze's. He can feel a smile creep onto her face, causing one to creep up on his. Their lips break when they both start laughing, pulling away to look at each other for a second. Reze places her hand onto his neck and brings him in for another kiss.

"Hmmm… maybe. Guess we gotta keep running tests then…" She pushes him back to his side.

The butterflies are still in full control of Jin's mind. "Reze… I…" He looks at her flushed face and hungry stare. The feelings he has for that face, this body, this person - he can't describe.

Well, he can. But he's too afraid to say it.

She feels the same way. The nervous look from his darting eyes as they race her features, the way his body physically holds her close so she doesn't disappear from whatever dream he's in, how he treats her and remembers what she likes, what she needs, what she is.

"… Can't wait to kick your ass here."

Her eyes go from a softness so tender to the fires of competitiveness. Jin doesn't let it distract him.

The coins fall with a metallic thunk in the machine, the cabinet rumbling to life. Reze, without a beat, moves the joystick over to Chun-Li, the machine acknowledging the selection.

"Are you SURE you wanna do this?" She says watching Jin's pick. He nods as his mind races on his selection - he's not losing this one, he'd never forgive himself. His cursor blinks on Guile, and after thinking for a second, he selects him and the match loads in.

ROUND 1, FIGHT!

Before Jin can react, Reze dashes forward, connecting a few low kicks and knocking him to the ground. He rolls Guile back up to throw a few high punches, stopping Chun-Li's aerial attacks. She recovers, creating space between the two. Jin takes the bait and dashes forward. A spinning bird kick flies towards him, catching him off guard. After that, the round's essentially over as Reze effortlessly juggles him, finally letting his character's knocked out body crash onto the ground.

"I told ya."

Jin's about to retort, but in the reflection of the glass he sees the two friends from before. The one's still pissed from the projectile spam from the sounds of it.

It gives Jin an idea.

ROUND 2, FIGHT!

Jin leans in. He dodges back as Reze tries to close the gap again. Once she dashes and jumps, he throws a sonic boom. The projectile hits, sending Chun-Li to the ground.

*Got you.*

He starts spamming the same attack, the strike careening through the air.

Watching Jin play this way makes Reze's eye start to twitch, and hearing the clicking of the inputs beside her doesn't make it any better. Any movement she tries is immediately countered by the flying golden crescent. It's perfectly timed with each input, clipping her character's body to send Chun-Li careening to the ground.

Guile throws one hand in the air, victoriously.

"You know that's not fair right?" She shoots a heated look over to him.

He leans over and kisses her cheek, her skin flushing from where his lips were placed.

"No, now THAT'S not fair." He whispers in her ear.

FINAL ROUND, FIGHT!

Jin's already back on the joystick before Reze can register what's happening, Guile launching into his combo on her motionless character. Each attack hits, Chun-Li unable to recover. Reze's heart sinks when she watches the yellow health bar drop lower and lower, thinking of any way to get back into the fight.

That's when Jin drops his combo - he can't believe it, nerves causing his hands to shake. With a quick roll of the joystick, Reze moves back onto the offensive, sending low kicks to get him off-guard. He takes the bait, suddenly shifting to a mid and high attack combo, sending Guile into the air. Jin can see the writing on the wall, but it's not gonna make him give up, especially when Reze misses her combo follow up.

"Shit." She huffs out, watching Guile stand back up with minimal health. She thinks for a split second, and jumps to catch Jin off guard.

Get this game over with.

And that's what Jin wanted. He inputs commands, sending Guile up and charges. Once Chun-Li's in range, he releases the flash kick. It connects, juggling Chun-Li in the air before a merciful K.O.! lights up the screen. Guile pulls out a combo over his electronic opponent. Jin follows suit with his hand up, victorious and laughing.

To his side, Reze stares at her victorious adversary. He played her - got in her head with some cheap mental AND physical tactics that she's trained to overcome at all times. All that work, pain, and suffering to watch her boyfriend light up like the games around him.

"That's not fair!" She scoffs, pushing him lightly. "You can't just spam shit and kiss me during the match - that's not…"

"Oh, it's not fair? Guess we gotta go another round, babe." Jin grins and takes her hand, kissing it.

She scowls and takes her hand back. "WHAT DID I SAY?" She slams the joystick back to Chun-Li, locking back in. "Are you gonna cheat this time or not?"

His laugh is almost inaudible from a group of screaming kids celebrating over a ringing JACKPOT! behind them.

"I know - figure something for me to call you."

"How about just Reze for now?" She looks back at him, green eyes still enraged. When her gaze meets Jin's though, it falters - softening for him. She can't stay mad long, and she can feel the smile coming in.

The monitor dings when Jin selects Guile again.

"We'll figure something out. But right now? You gotta lose again."

ROUND 1, FIGHT!

____________

The frog plushie's beady eyes stare forward, watching those before it fail to claim its soft and fuzzy green body. It's huge, the size of a small child, like the ones trying to free it from its hanging captivity. Through the reflection of the black irises, Jin and Reze's faces mirror back to them.

The last few hours were a bloodbath - Reze locked in and wouldn't let Jin get back into her head. Jin tried everything he could, but gave up halfway through.

The next few rounds of Street Fighter weren't fair. Reze won the next bouts, easily catching Jin off guard with every move. Air hockey? It ended 10-2 with Reze hitting the puck at speeds the table hasn't felt before. Time Crisis? Reze wouldn't even let Jin shoot his fake gun, her aim and shots connecting before he can even think.

And now they stand before the bottle toss. The brown milk bottles are stacked up high, taunting passersby with its fake perception of ease. The young attendant walks around watching kids and adults try, and fail, to win a prize.

"You know that if you don't win me a prize I'm dumping you, right?" Reze nudges him teasingly.

His eyes reflect off the frogs. "Guess you're gonna be stuck with me." He moves up to the booth, the attendant greedily taking Jin's money and giving him three orange balls. He grabs one, squares up to his targets, and launches the ball. It's a solid throw, all things considered, hitting into the stacked bottles with a rattling CRASH. The top bottles tumble and fall, the stack disintegrating in front of their eyes. The base collapses, with one bottle spinning through the chaos.

It spins and spins, Jin feeling the plushie's soft fur in his hands already.

The bottle jerks unnaturally back into place, standing defiantly towards Jin.

His shoulders drop in defeat, looking back up to the toy frog. Its disappointed gaze reflects into his pupils as he tosses the second ball, connecting with the final bottle that clatters to the ground. The attendant rings a shrill bell, giving Jin a cheap yo-yo as his prize.

Reze snorts. "Wow… HUGE." She takes it from him. "This… is technically a prize so…" she kisses him on the cheek as he stares at the knocked over bottles.

He looks up at the attendant "I got one more ball. All or nothing." He takes the yo-yo back from Reze and slams it down onto the booth.

Where he got that idea from, he has no idea.

The attendant looks at Jin, shrugging. "If you say so man." He picks up the cheap bottles off the ground, carefully setting them back up into the pyramid.

The one that refused to fall over is placed on the bottom again, slightly jerking into place. Jin catches it almost instantly - that bottle is magnetized, and he can assume there's others. He turns back to Reze, who wordlessly acknowledges what he saw. She leans on the counter, fingers pointing towards bottles, waiting for Jin to throw.

With a hop-step, Jin chucks the ball as hard as he can, aiming directly for the fake bottle. Reze snaps her fingers, sending a microscopic ball of energy behind the airborne projectile - she could do a bigger one, but transforming right now might ruin a few things. Right before it hits its intended target, Reze's energy connects with the ball, a soft POP hidden under the sounds of the arcade. The ball speeds forward, shattering the magnetized bottle. The rest of the tower falls easily, the attendant freezing at the sheer might of the throw.

"Dude…" The attendant sighs out, handing the frog over to the two. Jin immediately turns towards Reze, its giant size slightly annoying to carry but cute nonetheless.

"For you, my dear."

"Pssh. That's way worse." She looks over the plushie, giving it a hearty squeeze. It's probably the softest thing she's ever touched. "Thank you." She leans into him, still tightly squeezing the frog. "I'm happy you saw that by the way. "

Jin nods. "Yeah, and thanks for the help. That's how we should be working together!"

"Hmmm…" She looks at the prize, its black beads staring directly back into her soul. "What do you think, Jin Jr.?"

"That's not hi-"

"It IS his name. I've decided." She blurts out, walking away.

"Isn't parenting about communication and compromises?" He asks while she skips in front of him towards the coat check counter. The teenager, once again, has barely any time to think when he hands over their helmets - Reze instantly snatching them and turning towards the door. When they step outside, it's late afternoon as they make it back to her bike. Jin takes one last look at the violet glow of Genjitsu-Zero, chuckling. Usually, by now he'd be on a path home, alone in his thoughts. Not a bad thing, but he's amazed how much can change in a month when he watches Reze shove the toy into a side pocket.

"Alright, he should be good." She says, slipping her helmet over her face and handing Jin's over to him. He grabs the helmet and shoves it on, sitting onto the bike. "So… we're going home right?"

She looks back at him, the arcade lights flashing off of her visor "Nope." She pats the side pocket. "It's a special night - we just became parents."

"I didn't plan to have that much responsibility immediately." His voice muffles out.

They chuckle, both of them looking at the pocket, letting a comfortable silence fall between the two.

"You know - he's got your eyes." She jokes while the engine howls to life. She revs the engine and blitzes off, Jin holding on for dear life.

They expertly weave through the traffic of Tokyo before exiting the concrete jungle, the greys and browns of urbanization slowly replaced by the greens and browns of nature. The sun's still peeking through the trees, illuminating the ground with a hazy orange hue. After another 20 minutes, Reze pulls into a spot off the side of the road. They both hop off the bike, Reze moving the vehicle behind a tree, and takes Jin's hand.

"You trust me?"

Jin shakes his head. "It feels like you're gonna harvest my organs."

She chuckles, pulling him towards a trail. "Yeah, after all this time it was all for your kidneys, how'd you know?"

They follow the hidden path, talking about kidney prices for a few minutes before coming into a clearing in the forest. Already set up is a blue tent, a red and white picnic blanket and basket, set next to a small pristine lake.

Reze goes in front of Jin, with a small jazz hands. "Ta-da. Happy date day - or one month - or whatever you wanna call it." She blushes, cheeks burning.

Jin walks over and inspects everything. The tent itself is well put together, and when he sees inside the tent he's surprised - a blow up mattress along with comfortable pillows are already set up.

"Reze… when the hell did you have time to do this?"

"Oh, this morning." She smiles as she puts her helmet next to the tent. "You were passed out, so I had some time."

"Guess I needed it…" He sits down on the picnic blanket, stretching out his legs. "I don't think I've ever been camping before."

"Thought so. And thought we should go out, like actually be outside for the night." She lays next to him, resting her head on his legs and looking up at his face.

"So…" Jin says, rubbing the back of his neck. "What… do we do here?"

Reze's head cocks to the side. "We… spend time with each other? Lay down, watch the stars, swim, see where the night takes us." She winks at him.

Jin's mind starts going blank again. "Ye-Yeah. Sure."

"Is it hard for you to talk about sex?" Reze sits up, looking ahead to the lake. Under the falling sun, it turns the body of water into a beautiful portrait of purples and oranges.

Jin's skin goes cold. "NO!" He shouts by accident, his voice reverberating through the trees and over the water. Reze's eyebrows shoot up her face, a small open mouth smile forming. He composes himself. "I've… had girlfriends, some we've done it but…"

She stands up, kicking her shoes off in a single motion. "Well… if ya say that…" She walks towards the lake, her jacket thrown to the side as she takes off her shirt. "Then you shouldn't be bothered by this, right?" Jin watches her pants fall to the ground, heart about to burst out of his chest. He looks away, trying to calm everything in his body.

"You can look, ya know." She teases. "It's not anything you haven't seen before."

His eyes fixate on the tent, desperately trying to not look her way. The blue tent wrinkles in the light breeze distracts him - thinking about how long it took to set up, how the blanket itself hasn't blown away, how -

SPLASH

Jin's head jumps over to where Reze was. The lake ripples by the shore, Reze's wet hair popping out from under the illuminated water.

"Are ya coming in? It's PERFECT!" She laughs, standing up and letting the water drip off her naked body. She reaches her hands out for him.

"Come on, trust me."

The invite echoes in Jin's ears. The anxiety in his stomach is physically hurting him, but he finds the power to stand up. He too kicks his shoes off, unbuttoning his finest shirt and tossing it to the ground below. He steps closer to the lake, but stops. His hands stop at his jeans, nervous.

"Hey. It's ok." Her voice drifts across the lake. "It's just us."

He nods, digging for a reserve of courage he wasn't sure was there. Before his brain can talk him out of it, he shoves his jeans down and lets them drop to the shore.

"There ya go - COME ON!" She giggles, arms still reaching out for him.

*Once in a lifetime.*

He sprints into the lake, water splashing in his footsteps. His foot catches on an unseen branch, tripping him into the lake. The water feels refreshing as it engulfs his body, eyes opening under the surface. It's crystal clear - he can see everything around him, like the ground, the branch that tripped him, and Reze's legs walking towards him.

He can hear laughing from the surface as her hands wrap around his bare chest, fishing him out from his underwater adventure.

He takes a deep breath, looking over at the giggling mess of Reze.

"ARE YOU OK?" She says between her gasping laughter, having her hands trace down his arms and onto his hips.

"I'm feeling a lot of things right now." He jokes, finally able to look at her. Her naked skin glistens from the falling sun, taking her in.

To him, her body is perfect.

Reze watches him, calming down from her laughing fit. "You like what you see?"

"I know you're not asking me that."

She giggles, splashing him. "You're not so bad either. Come on." Her fingers intertwine in his, pulling him deeper into the lake. When the water line gets to chest height, she stops and lets his hand go.

They push through the water together, silently watching the disappearing sun bury itself behind the trees. Golden light splinters through the branches, painting colorful stripes across the water. The only sound left in the world is the wind, rattling the leaves and breathing life into the dense woods.

After a moment, Reze turns to him and wraps her arms around his neck, bringing him close. His naked body sticks onto hers under the surf, their foreheads gently resting onto each other's.

He brushes a wet strand of hair from her eyes, letting his thumb linger on her cheek. "How the hell did I get so lucky?"

"You tell me - you remembered my special."

"That's really all it took?" A small wave splashes onto Jin's face, Reze placing her hand back around him.

"I'm not THAT easy." She pushes her body closer to him. "I don't know, you're the only person who saw me for me. Not as anything else, just… me."

A light breeze chills the two, Jin pulling her closer, their lips nearly touching. "I still don't get it - like you're perfect."

"Shh. If I was, I wouldn't be a hybrid."

"And still lo-" He stops himself, feeling his heart about to burst out of his chest. Jin fakes a cough. "Sorry - It's who you are, and I wouldn't have met you if it was different."

She can feel his heartbeat, the tightness in his voice, all of it. Reze hopes he can feel her too, and how she feels. She presses her lips onto his, giving him a long, soft kiss.

"I don't know what I'd do, honestly." She pushes harder onto his face, their two tongues dancing with each other. Their bodies cause the lake to ripple as it gets more passionate. Jin can feel himself getting heated - and how Reze is hitching her breath, he knows she's feeling the same too. His hands break the surface, falling onto the lower parts of Reze's body. She nods, letting go of his neck and following his arms down.

"You're hot when you're not overthinking everything." She jokes with him, immediately pulling Jin in for more. His lips vibrate from laughter, wrapping his arms around her body. She lifts one of her legs up and wraps it around his lower torso, stopping for a moment to look at him.

"Are we…?" Jin asks, watching her eyes glow from the sun.

She nods.

Behind them, a family of deer walks up to the lake, lapping at the water. The buck raises his head, ears swiveling to listen for predators.

A breathless, echoing moan breaks through the trees. The deer scatter into the brush, leaving the two alone.

————————

The night sky twinkles with stars over the forest. Jin can't believe how many there are - only able to watch from rooftops. But how they twinkle and the sheer amount of them visible out here blows his mind.

"Woah."

Reze's arm wraps over him, rubbing his bare chest.

"Yeah, it's cool when you're away from the city." She scoots closer to him, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and looking up with him. She pushes her drying hair out of the way to take in the view above. Her fingers trace the outlines of his ribs and chest, slowly and deliberately.

It makes those butterflies take over again.

"Hey, Reze…"

The tracing stops when she looks up at him, her eyes visible in the moonlight. They twinkle like the stars above, sending his stomach into a tumbling mess. He wants to tell her - HAS to tell her, but he can't find himself to put those words out, to take that next step.

"…I'm really happy you didn't kidnap me." His hand cups the back of her neck, letting his fingers lightly spin circles on her nape.

"I'm really happy that I didn't kidnap you too." Her hand slides up his chest, grabbing his cheek. "Thanks for giving me a normal day."

"This is NOT normal - like this is the best day ever."

She shoves her face into his side, giggling. "No, I get that. But no fighting, no recovering, no LYING?" She breaks from his skin to look at him. "That's what I wanted. Thank you."

He pinches Reze's cheeks. "Is this real?"

The blush stays on as her grin widens. "Yeah. It's real. And no, I'm not taking your kidneys." She playfully bites at his skin, exactly where those organs are. "I'm here for the long haul, idiot."

"As long as I have my kidneys I guess." His fingers rhythmically run through her hair as he looks back up at the night sky. The breeze quickly turns chilly, the two naked bodies chuckling as they rush to the tent, collecting as much discarded clothes as they can grab. When they lay down, passion builds in the small space.

The tent zips closed as the two finish their normal day.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin doesn't know what he got himself into at this point. Not that long ago, there was nothing spectacular about his life. He hated his job, barely had any friends, and honestly, didn't think he had much to live for. But that day he went to the cafe - that's the day for him everything changed. The barista with the green eyes and purple hair opened his eyes that maybe, JUST MAYBE, this world isn't too bad - even though she was supposed to kidnap him.

Right now, though, they're not spending time in the apartment, naked bodies exploring each other or Jin having a full existential crisis. No, Jin is currently holding a wooden staff and swinging it at the crudely made metallic skeleton in front of him. The strike reverberates with a hollow THUNK in the abandoned factory as Jin steps forward into the next strike.

*Why do I do this to myself?*

THUNK

It's been two weeks since that night in the forest, and he's been in a mental freefall. Sleeping with her hadn't exactly helped suppress his emotions either - it heightened everything. Each time he looks at her, thinks about her, even when he just feels her presence in the room - everything stops. He knows what it is and can't shake it - or find the courage to tell Reze, because he knows that'll ruin everything. They'll have the 'I'm just not there yet' conversation, she disappears overnight, and Jin's alone when the Division bursts in.

THUNK

The metal structure rattles from the follow up strike, but stays firm.

And the worst part for all of it? No matter what she says or promises, everything in his body tells him this is how it'll be.

*It's how it usually goes.*

THUNK

The final strike barely knocks the "head" - a plastic jug with a terribly drawn face with devil horns on it - bouncing onto the concrete floor.

"Good, you're getting better." Reze says without looking up. On the side, she was able to find a desk from some previous floor manager's office and was busy scribbling into her notebook. Throughout all this time - she hasn't missed a day of metaphorical schoolwork. The math section wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, but writing kanji? That was more difficult than she thought - remembering the stroke order for all the different symbols was nearly impossible.

It doesn't stop her from giggling and having her pen trace around the characters. She turns it around to Jin, proudly showing her work.

"How'd I do?" She calls out, voice echoing off the concrete. Jin turns around after setting the jug back onto its body, which slouches forward, ready for its next bout. The notebook, in giant kanji, reads 'HUGE BOOBS'.

"Are you fucking serious?? How old are you?" He screams out, turning back towards his stationary enemy and trying - and failing - to control his laughter.

"I'm gonna keep practicing!" She turns the book around and turns the page, looking up and thinking of the next thing she's gonna weaponize against Jin.

"Also - I was old enough for ya last night!"

Her voice teasingly circles inside his head, causing his next strike to cut directly over the dummy's head with a pathetic WHIFF of air. He stumbles, his heart slamming into his ribs so hard his vision blurs.

"…We're the same age!" He manages to choke out, his face burning as he resets his stance.

*She's gonna kill me.*

THUNK

This time, the strike hits directly into the dummy's midsection. It rattles from the attack, the metal base wobbling on its edge until it slams back onto the hard floor, waiting for the next strike. A whistle comes from behind, followed by a book shutting and soft footsteps approaching.

"Nice, you're a natural against stationary targets." Reze jokes, kicking up her wooden staff from a crumbling pillar. "But… what about something actually moving?" She twirls the staff in her hand as Jin turns to her, trying to mimic her movements.

The staff catches on the back of his right calf, a bruise immediately forming underneath his pants.

"…Jin." She paces around Jin, watching him rub the back of his leg. "Just because something's changed, doesn't mean that you have to think differently." She does another show of dexterity with the staff, twirling it around her body effortlessly. "Like right there? I wasn't thinking - I just DID. Make sense?"

After a huff, Jin stands back up and grabs the staff with both hands. "You gonna talk or actu-"

In a flash, Reze's next to him, sending a quick strike to his leg. He barely has time to block it, the stick's vibration leaving his fingers buzzing. She spins around, grabbing her staff with two hands and swinging higher. Jin's eyes drop down, watching her hips follow through.

*Not a feint.*

He pulls the staff up and steps forward, blocking the strike in the middle of the weapon. It bounces Reze back as she follows the momentum. Her eyebrows raise.

"Watching the hips, stepping into your blocks… really good. Just don't get hit next time." Reze turns around, leaving her back exposed. Jin's eyes travel down to her jeans.

"…I didn't get hi-" Before he can react, she spins, extending her reach, and the wood TWACKS across his hip. It's simultaneously one of the most painful things he's ever experienced, and yet it feels like the strike was held back to not break his bones. He howls in pain, rubbing where the strike hit. "Are you serious?? Why?"

She shrugs. "I told you - they won't fight fair. You got distracted, so I acted." She jumps up in the air, swinging her staff down overhead. Jin pushes his staff up, blocking her with another hollow THUNK. She pushes off of the staff, flipping over Jin, her head and face brushing over his, a soft kiss dragging over his forehead.

She lands and aims for his legs again, which Jin blocks. He pushes her back and swings, getting blocked by Reze. She spins her staff, hitting Jin twice on the legs before the third strike lashes across his face, sending him sprawling across the concrete. He pushes himself up into a seated position, his back perched onto the crumbling pillar. Speckles of debris sprinkle into his hair, Jin cleaning it out with a sweep of his hand.

"You good?" She calls out, but the giggle she tries to force sounds thin. She's looking at the shadows pooling in the corners of the rafters, slowly rising as the sunlight dips below the horizon. It's been too quiet for too long, and Chozin wasn't the type to sit still.

She glances back to him slowly standing back up, using his staff to help him up on his shaky legs. Once up, he regrips his staff and points it at her. Reze tilts her head. A small, sharp tug of a smile pulls at the corner of her lips - a look of genuine pride she doesn't bother to hide.

He wipes the blood off his lip, the cold heat of the strike building in his mouth. "Still up…"

She nods. "You're right. And we're done." She drops her staff, the wooden weapon rolling away from her. "Can't have you getting TOO messed up. Besides… I gotcha a surprise for later. Something you're gonna love."

He breathes out, hands still ready. "Come on, one more?"

"No. You gotta rest up - you did good today."

He spins the staff, jumping forward towards her and raising it above his head. He slams it down, Reze catching it and flipping him in the air. He flies backward, his back slamming into the top of the desk with a crack that makes the wood groan. Her pencil jolts up into the air on impact and bounces off his forehead, clattering into the ground.

"That was awful." She steps towards him, eyes darting between him and her pencil, the lead shattered from the impact to the ground.

"Yeah! Yeah. Sorry." He sits up, sliding off the desk onto the concrete. "Fighting fair, and all."

"Efforts there. Not the execution." She rustles his hair. "You'll get there, trust me."

He huffs, grabbing Reze's outstretched hand and pulling himself up. "Do you really think so?"

"Jin."

"Sorry."

"Stop apologizing."

They begin for the exit as the bleeding sky reflects from the outside windows. The shadows continue to rise in the factory as Reze keeps her eyes active. The darkness doesn't offer an answer.

"So, what's the surprise?" He asks, breaking her focus.

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise, huh?" She turns to him, leaning on the exit door and stopping. "Besides, we should eat. What are you making?"

"…I'm making something?" He tries pushing past her, but she stops him.

"Yeah. Wanna keep those muscles up? You gotta eat." She reaches out, her fingers pinch on his biceps. She feels the month of training underneath the skin - it's harder, leaner, but still has work to do. She lingers there for a second too long, her thumb tracing the line of the muscle.

"Of course." Jin jokes, desperately trying to ignore the spark from her touch. "Bodybuilding is my passion, you know?"

"STOP!"

_________________

click click click

A shadow flutters through the abandoned factory while the binoculars zoom into the movement. It's quick, but there's only a handful of people it could be.

"Got one. Potential ID on target." The soldier taps his battle buddy next to him, signaling to get ready. Through the fading daylight, the strike team is nearly invisible to the naked eye as they prepare gear on the roof of the adjacent building.

The shooter's rifle scrapes on the brick top, following his spotter's lead. Behind them, as the group silently finished their prep, one of them paces around the group like a predator. He's in military fatigues, similar colors and pattern matching the urban environment, but darker - notable enough to the naked eye. A dark red beret sits on his head as his eyes behind a dark balaclava watches the team. Between the different shapes and sizes of the fighters in front of him, he stands out.

A giant among giants.

His attention snaps to the scouts, walking over to them. "Is it them?" He asks under the face covering, reaching his hand out to the spotter.

"You tell me." He places the binoculars into the man's hands and gets up, checking over his rifle. When the device hits his eyes, he sees the shadows stop by an exit door for a moment, then swing open. A woman with purple hair bursts out, laughing about something with a man - unassuming, tall, dark hair and eyes.

The target.

His eyes widen from behind the glass as the two step out from the factory, covered by the encroaching shadows. "Positive identification of the target. TEAM -" He turns around to the soldiers, each soldier's mismatched eyes meeting his darkened pupils. "Time to do what we pay you for. Hybrid support is en route. Strike team commanders - do not fail me."

They nod, readying their rifles and move to the rusted fire exit. Commanders take lead, slapping the shoulders of their passing soldiers as they rapidly climb down the stairs in silence.

"Sniper team, on my go - incapacitate the target."

"Dimitri, what about the hybrid? Wouldn't we want to wait?" The sniper asks, dialing in his distance.

"It's taking too long for my liking. Let's start the bloodshed…"

Dimitri peeks down, the soldiers ready in the alley adjacent to the building, hidden in plain sight as they wait for the signal.

"…mmmmm Now."

______________

Jin lets the factory door slam behind him with a metallic screech. Reze waits ahead, looking at her phone and shoving the glowing screen into his face when he catches up. It's a recipe for some spicy chicken bowl with rice, her eyes lighting up at it.

"PLEASE?" She begs, snaking her hand around his. "This looks so good…"

"Where'd you find that? It looks incredible!!" He flexes teasingly, stopping them both in their tracks as he poses. "High protein for the muscles, ya know?"

"I'm literally never complimenting you again." She takes her hand away from him and shoves him forward. "Stores on the way back, come on."

"Fine - then you're up tomorrow for dinner." He turns the corner to the empty street, spinning around and smiling at her. She nods, giggling and follows behind him.

-Like I'm gonna be co– -

Something twinkles above Reze's eyesight, barely notable. It causes her gaze to look up.

On the adjacent rooftop, an artificial sparkle catches from the waning dusk. Reze's pupils enlarge.

"JIN!-"

She lunges forward, grabbing the collar of his shirt and yanking him back behind cover. A white streak whistles through the air, punching into Jin's right shoulder - directly where the skin was scabbing and finally healing - as the rest of his body is pulled around the corner. The bullet impacts with a wet thunk as white-hot heat overloads his nerves, while the blood spots out of the wound - on the sidewalk, walls, and onto the bridge of Reze's nose. When the bullet exits, a burning sensation slices across Reze's arm, shattering into the dilapidated walkway in a cloud of dust. A violent CRACK echoes throughout the abandoned district, the gunshot catching up to its payload.

Through her ringing ears, Reze doesn't scream or panic - all her training kicked in. She quickly wipes the blood off her face and immediately begins to inspect Jin's wound. His long sleeved shirt is already sagging from the weight of the sodden blood, staining the material into a crimson color and steadily dripping onto the ground below.

In an instant, she rips the shirt's sleeves into shreds and tightly wraps the makeshift bandages around the gaping hole.

"Seriously? The same spot…" he moans, thinking of the impossible odds of that happening. He winces when Reze tightens the fabric harder, stopping the bleeding temporarily. He tries to stand up, vision blurring from the encroaching pain, and stumbles into her.

"We gotta get back to the factory - come on!" She wraps his other arm around her and pulls him back to the factory door, the rusted door screeching behind them. She locks the door, taking in her surroundings. The shadows have fully taken over the interior now, covering the walls and floors in pure darkness.

Perfect for hiding.

Once they're more into the building, Jin pushes off of Reze, trying to take the lead. He stretches his right arm out, spinning it in a few circles. His muscles tighten around the wound, the burning sensation igniting under his skin. Somehow, the pain from the first time was incomparably worse - the way the projectile splintered and how he still feels something lodged in his shoulder.

*Probably fine.*

"I think it went through?" He finishes spinning his arm, grabbing the wet bandage with his other hand. Pain pricks through the burnt flesh, causing him to wince again. "Ow… should be good, right?"

"Usually, yeah - we'll check it when we get out of here. Are you ok? Can you fight?" She rubs his back, eyes still locked onto his wound. The makeshift bandage looks heavy, slumping Jin's body forward.

"Yeah, I think so." He tries to straighten his back up, reaching out for her. She takes his hand, guiding him through the dark.

"Follow me. Everything I say, you have to do, alright?" Her eyes lock forward, her pupils adjusting to the darkness. The stillness and settling groans of the machinery are eerie - especially knowing the oncoming threat outside.

Jin nods, but doesn't look at her - he's more focused on finding a weapon, anything not nailed down will do.

"Say it back. I'm serious."

Behind them, voices echo from outside. The door they entered starts to vibrate from kicks slamming into the metal barrier.

"Anything you say, I do. Got it."

She spins around, grabbing his head with both hands and pulls him close, pressing into his lips.

Another rattling THUD comes from down the hallway. She pulls back, nestling her forehead onto his. "I won't let them take you." She pulls out her knife, flipping it over and pulling him down the hallway. Jin watches behind them, listening to frustrated shouts and more banging on the door.

The two are almost down the hall when the building shakes. The door slams into the wall on the opposite side, followed by soldiers pouring into the hallway. Their rifles jump up, the mounted flashlights catching a fleeting sight of movement - opening fire. Reze pulls Jin behind some of the old machines as lead punctures the hard metal. Through the gunfire, Reze crawls underneath the cover, Jin following close behind. It's small - almost not big enough for the two of them, having to wriggle themselves closer to each other. When they settle, Jin hitches his breath in pain - he's laying on his wound. Reze covers Jin's mouth, rolling him over as quietly as possible, leaving a small splattering of blood on the concrete.

Footsteps and lights hammer around the corner, aiming ahead of the darkened figures. The soldiers stop - Reze counts ten - with one shouting out commands. There's a shout of acknowledgement, and the lights spread out, illuminating the old machinery and the walkways between. The footsteps are slow and methodical, the beams sweeping across the machines and ground. Reze's breathing lightens, still holding Jin's mouth with her hand.

plip

Her head snaps to the concrete - a drip of blood found its way onto the floor. From the spill of the soldier's light, she watches a slow stream of blood run down Jin's arm, the makeshift bandage sopping in the crimson liquid.

plip

She then looks at Jin. Whatever adrenaline he had after the injury quickly wore off - his eyes have glossed over while his eyelids droop, and the breathing into her hand is ragged and uncontrolled. Reze shakes him to keep him awake, causing him to jolt up.

He needs another bandage.

plip

Her hand shifts to the wound, applying as much pressure as she can. Reze looks around, trying to find ANYTHING under the machine she can use to stop the bleeding.

plip

That's when the light next to the two stops, the man calling out to his squadron. He stays still as voices bounce from the other ends of the factory. Reze's eyes lock onto his still legs.

"Shhhh…" her voice is nearly inaudible to Jin. She silently rolls out behind the light, hiding behind the adjacent machine. The soldier in front laughs at a response, calling out again. He checks his rifle, points it forward, and takes a step.

He never stood a chance.

She quietly creeps behind, stabbing her knife into his temple, killing him instantly. In one motion, she catches his crumpling body and the light off the gun, slowly placing them to the ground without a sound. By the time Jin realizes what was happening, Reze's already searching the soldier's harness and bag for any medical equipment. Inside the bag, there's a full wrap of gauze and a couple bandages. She crawls back to Jin, unwrapping the gauze and removing the soaking fabric. While she wraps, the blood flow on his arm begins to slow, leaving behind dark dried marks on his skin. The bandage is stuck on, stopping any remaining liquid from escaping. She gives his good shoulder a squeeze and smiles in the darkness.

"You'll be ok. Follow me - quietly." She whispers, rolling out into the darkness.

Jin follows, sliding his body out as quietly as possible. He stands up and steps, nearly tripping over the body hidden in the night. He catches himself on the machine - how it didn't make any sound is a miracle - and looks down. His eyes have finally adjusted to the darkness, seeing the man's river of blood flowing out of his head, along with the discarded rifle. Jin leans down, taking the rifle in his hands, and searches the man's harness for anything else useful. Two full magazines are taken out and put into his pant pockets, fitting snug. He aims the gun forward, the weapon heavy in his hands, and follows Reze's lead past the machinery.

Each step she takes is calculated, quiet, precise. Sometimes, he forgets where she came from, the things she had to do. When she takes lead and rolls between two lights, giving him the signal when to move, it acts as a grim reminder of what she was here for originally. When he passes the lights, he stumbles, vision going white for a split second. The scuffing of his shoes causes the beam to cut around the corner.

An empty walkway illuminates back to the soldier, who huffs and walks away. Reze already pulled Jin around the corner, barely missing the inspecting soldier. She hugs him, rubbing his back and placing her lips to his ear.

"You're ok… we're almost out. Be strong for just a little longer." She promises him, trying to prop him up on the metallic backing. Jin nods on her cheek, kissing her.

"I know… let's just get out of here." He raises the rifle into his hands again, waiting for her move.

They push on, Reze leading the stumbling Jin towards another hallway. Suddenly, two sets of lights shine through the pipes and wires. They push their backs to the steel siding, watching the white light slowly cross over every inch. As they trace the adjacent wall, the voices behind laugh, moving into the next area to search. Reze takes Jin's shaking hand and leads them to twin doors. She turns the knob slowly then gently pushes the door open, the whining of the hinges near inaudible.

When they pass through, they're back into the main area, the wooden staffs still discarded on the ground by the desk.

She keeps Jin close, moving in the stillness. The soldiers haven't been here - yet.

Suddenly, she hears something - Horns. Flutes. Violins. Drums? It's a cacophony of sounds resembling circus music. The hollow tune echoes from deep within the factory, but it sounds like it's rising - and whatever is making it is coming.

"Hey, Reze - I don't know if it's the blood loss… but do you hear that?" He asks, body swaying while fighting to keep the weapon up.

"Jin, you gotta hide. Now."

"Bullshit." He whispers. "You're not doing this alone!"

She takes him around a corner where a ladder is bolted into the walls. Above, a steel walkway is connected, the grate interconnecting to an entire floor above. At the opposite side sits a red door with a faded 'EXIT' over it.

"Jin, it's going to hurt, but you have to climb up there, ok? Find a way out, and I'll catch up." She drags him towards the rungs, pushing him into it.

He shakes his head, trying to push back. "No fucking way I'm doing that, you're not -"

She pulls him in, kissing him. Then, he's shoved into the ladder again. "You want me to throw you up there? Or are you gonna listen?" Reze turns around, walking away, fingers starting to play with the choker ring. The music starts to rise, along with the rhythmic rolling of something.

Jin wraps the weapons harness around him and starts his ascent. Each pull at the rungs causes him to wince in pain - the wound strangely like he was poked with a red-hot iron rod and medically numbed at the same time. He pushes himself onto the grate above, the exit door right in front of him. He places his hand on the knob, when the factory lights uniformly flood on. Each light emits a loud THIP as it powers to life, followed by a loud drum of electricity running towards the old bulbs.

He drops to the catwalk, flipping the gun from his back to the front, aiming down towards Reze.

*I can't leave.*

Footsteps slam into the concrete, the sound rising as the squadron pulls around the corner, aiming their rifles and shouting at her. Reze doesn't move, taking in her adversaries as her fingers still twiddle with her choker ring. The music thumps into Jin's ears - a mild migraine forming from the sound.

The source of it turns the corner. Jin rubs his eyes - believing it was the blood loss causing a hallucination.

Below, a large circus ball rolls in with a clown expertly commanding it on the top. The clown has green and white face paint, a porcelain reflection coming from the harsh light above. Its green hair is curly, sticking out of the head wildly and flops with each kick of the ball. A red ball sits on his nose, the color so bold it's unsettling. In its hands, a music box is playfully cranking away, filling the whole factory with its terrifying tune.

It glides forward, stopping right in front of Reze. "Oh, now THIS'LL be fun!!" It shouts, laughing while it casually tosses the music box aside, gears and springs blasting out of it when it connects with the concrete. "When I heard it was YOU, oh it was like getting excited for the appetizer! Now - where's the main course?" Its light-colored eyes dart around the factory, inspecting every inch of the floor.

"He's gone." Reze fiddles with the pin. "So let me go. You don't wanna do this."

More footsteps clatter from behind the clown as more soldiers pour in, racking their rifles and aiming at Reze. A cluster of green lasers rise up her body, stopping at her heart and head. Jin shifts quietly to aim at the new cluster of soldiers, fighting off a wave of exhaustion. He wipes his eyes again, vision steadying.

He's lost more blood than he thought, but he can't give up yet.

"AW, WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT?" Its high-pitched voice echoes around the machinery, while it spins the ball around Reze, eyes still twitching around the room. "Can we play a game? Because I feel like you're already playing a game with us!"

She cocks her head to the side and takes a step forward. "I'm not playing -"

schlick

A net appears above Reze, drooping over her and sending her to the ground. She struggles in it, the wiring tangling in her body with each tug. The clown laughs, immediately rolling up to her.

"CAUGHT YOU!" It giggles, bouncing itself on the ball - the sound is a disgusting plastic WHOMP with each jump. "You're already playing hide and seek, and we're just BAD at seeking!" It turns around and rolls over to the soldiers. "THESE ONES! Go check around behind the machines." He kicks away to another group, pointing a porcelain white glove towards one of the bigger men. "YOUR TEAM! Go check on the rafters." It rolls back to Reze, giggling at her. "I'll be watching this one - the game shouldn't last too long."

Her finger grips around the cold pin. Just as she goes to pull, the net erupts. A violent surge of electricity arcs through the wire, paralyzing her instantly. She screams in pain, her hand convulsing and snapping back to her side. She tries to force her body to move, desperate to shake the net off, but her tangled limbs are completely locked, jolting uselessly against the current.

"NOPE - you don't get to do that! You're coming safely with us BACK HOME!" It laughs at Reze while it rolls around.

Jin's eyes narrow, his anger boiling over. She would tell him not to shoot - it's exactly what they'd want. He looks back, the exit sign illuminated in a faint green light and flickering.

But his body won't get up. Watching Reze in pain like that, and imagining what worse things would happen when she gets back, imagine what -

*Stop.*

Metallic clattering shakes the catwalk, Jin snapping his view to it. Soldiers are already up, with some still climbing up the rusted stairway and turning their gaze to around the hanging walkway.

It wouldn't take long for them to find Jin.

He takes another look at the net, how the electricity jumps around and into Reze - and then he sees it. On the black net, a small golden sigil twinkles under the humming lights. On it is a spitting image of the clown - right down to the skin, which was almost too perfect.

The iron sights aim over the symbol, Jin's finger trembling on the trigger as he applies pressure. His mind races over every outcome - missing, the sigil not doing anything, SHOOTING HER.

More clatter on the catwalk. In his peripheral vision, a soldier points out towards him, shouting something in Russian.

He breathes out, calming his mind.

*Stop being a pussy.*

The finger stops trembling.

CRACK

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin's vision, for a split second, goes black from the combination of the recoil slamming into his pulsating wound and the sheer power from the bullet's caliber. The payload connects with the sigil, ricocheting off into the factory and penetrating an old machine. Electricity arcs wildly across the net for a split second before the black wires completely deaden. Reze looks up from the net, seeing Jin shift his rifle towards the group of soldiers descending on his location. He fires off a few rounds - losing his vision again momentarily - hitting the first soldier squarely in the chest. Blood bursts from his back, sending the body over the railing. Jin rolls towards the door, getting up and swinging the red metal open. Before he passes through the frame, he glances at Reze and the clown.

They both look at him, one in shock and the other seething.

Bullets crack into the surrounding concrete, causing Jin to scream and slam the door shut. It rattles from the impacts, bullets punching through and letting in shafts of factory lights.

"Wait, he's TERRIBLE at -" The clown starts, but is interrupted by an explosion behind. It turns around, the net now eviscerated as a black hand reaches from the billowing smoke. With a squeal, the circus ball and the clown launch backwards, skidding onto the ground and slamming into the factory wall.

When the smoke clears, the warhead face steps forward. The remaining soldiers aim, but through their shaking hands they can't seem to fire. She snaps her fingers, explosive energy consuming the trembling men. When the flash subsides, ash crumbles away and flutters into the dark corners.

"I always hated you." The Bomb Devil says, her head turning slowly back toward her adversary. It laughs, clambering back on the ball and spinning around the machines. The clown reaches for its nose as Reze shifts her feet.

"Well, everyone's a critic!"

Honk Honk

The clown's arms shoot out, flesh-like tripwires replacing its sleeves and intertwining to each other. Its skin fractures, the porcelain white cracking with oozing red mist. Its neck juts out, light-colored eyes expanding and glowing with a twisted smile. The mouth grows, the gums melting away as a metal plate takes its place, fusing with the cracking teeth.

Wires start sprouting from where the Trap Devil rolls, snapping into the machinery and concrete walls with a loud click.

"I wouldn't touch those! Only SILLY things can happen from it!" It laughs again, falling onto the ball kicking its feet.

She looks down at the wires. They're made of a near invisible string, easy to trigger with the slightest movement. She glances back up, sighing.

"I'm not falling for your bullshit again."

An explosive dart snaps out of her fingers towards the clown. It bounces up and kicks the ball in front. The explosive energy collides with the rubber, an echoing WUMP radiating out. The shockwave and smoke are sucked in the ball, a yellow light pulses from inside, burning back at Reze. The ball flies back, the clown catching it and jumping back on top.

"Nope- no no! You don't get to do that!" The clown barrels around to Reze, setting opposite of her as more wires snap into place. When the Trap Devil settles, the glowing center of the ball fades away, the bright blue now back to normal.

Shouting from above stops both of them. It's sharp - calling out Jin before gunfire erupts above.

"Looks like they found him!" The Trap Devil mocks, still balancing on its ball and waiting.

Reze shoots forward, dodging the hidden wires gracefully and coming up to the clown's face. She lifts up her fist, ready to strike when her foot catches a wire.

PLING

An explosion erupts from behind, sending Reze off course - her hand swiping past the clown's head. She careens ahead, slamming into an old machine down the factory floor.

The clown is laughing again. "Gotcha!! Why do they always think the clown's a joke??" More wires snake out from the ball, this time heading directly for her chest. She jumps up as the wires smash under where she was standing. Her fingers bend the metallic catwalk above, hanging over the settling wires.

-This is going to be annoying.-

___________

Dust puffs up from Jin's body falling down onto the concrete. His rifle slides away from him, kicking up another cloud of dust. He crawls towards the rifle, pushing himself up once his hands wrap around the stock. His nerves burn, pain still radiating from his shoulder. He sprints through another door, finding himself on the open rooftop, checking for the best place for cover. His head snaps to the near empty roof, save for some air conditioning units and ducts scattered across the tar surface. He jumps behind one of the ducts, peeking over towards where he ran from.

An explosion below rattles the building, Jin nearly toppling over. When he looks back up, soldiers - Jin counts five - stumble through the door, regaining their balance and fanning out. They scream into the night in Russian, their voices cracking with rage. One calls out in Jin's language.

"YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!"

Jin guesses he killed someone important, someone they looked up to, someone who -

*I killed someone else.*

It hits him like a truck, a sickening pit growing inside. Jin didn't even think when he pulled the trigger - he just did. He didn't see the soldier as a human, with maybe a family, friends, a life outside of this - he saw him as a threat. He slinks back behind the duct, mind racing.

PLING

A bullet punches through the metal, nearly drilling into Jin's head. He collapses in shock, realizing his head was still exposed as he was lost in thought. He leans back onto the air duct, steadying himself, then blindly fires toward them. The sounds of metal thumping along with a pained scream bounce back at Jin, who uses the moment to reposition. As he moves, bullet holes break through, hissing out the trapped air.

Jin gets to the other side, swinging the rifle around and aiming. A soldier starts to break for cover, unaware of Jin's angle. He pulls the trigger, but another explosion erupts below, shaking the roof and sending the shot off target. Jin tumbles out of cover, noticing that all the other soldiers too have fallen over. He uses that as his opportunity to move back farther on the roof, turning the corner on a generator for cover. As he pulls around, a hail of bullets slices through the air where he once stood.

A flash of light to his side distracts him - a skylight next to the generator. Below, he's just in time to see Reze jump over towards the clown. Jin's about to shout something, but another hail of bullets embed into the generator, sparks sizzling by his face.

The magazine clicks open, Jin checking the ammo left in it.

Half left inside.

The metal box is shoved back into the gun as Jin leans around the corner and fires.

__________

An explosive blow strikes the clown, both it and the ball tumbling away. Reze launches forward, readying another strike. She's about to slam overhead when her arm clips another wire.

THOOM

The blast sends her to the ground, the clown laughing at her and spinning away. She slams her fist into the ground and pushes herself up - but when she steps back, her foot clicks into the ground.

schlick

A sudden shadow swallows her. Reze rolls violently to the side just as an anvil crushes into the concrete where she stood. The ground craters under the massive iron tool, which is painted with the clown's smiling face and the words '100 TONS' scrawled in colorful dripping letters. She spins back around, but a massive fist bursts from the flesh-wires and cracks into her chest. She grunts, the sheer force launching her backward into a web of tripwires. Red and orange blasts juggle her in the air, bouncing her between each deafening ignition - the Trap Devil conducting each explosion. She slams into a rusted machine, the metal groaning under her weight. Smoke billows out as Reze sits there for a moment.

It's using explosions against her. With invisible wires.

-I'm killing this fucking clown.-

She reaches out, blinking through the smoke to clear her vision as sparks fizzle from her fingertips. Her double vision finally wanes, allowing her to focus on the real form of the Trap Devil. Another explosive ball snaps from her fingers, the energy sailing through the air - missing the mark entirely. It turns back toward Reze, its laugh echoing through the hollow factory. The sound is sucked into the empty ducts and bounces back at her, amplified and distorted by the hundreds of open vents.

"Wow! You're really bad at this!!"

"Not going for you." She pushes herself out of the machine and starts sprinting towards it.

The clown turns around in time to watch the tripwires snap, igniting all at once. A massive fireball materializes, barreling down the hall towards the trap devil. Part of the fire singes some of the curly hair.

WUMPWUMPWUMPWUMP

Smoke and flames suck into the ball, the light nearly blinding as it illuminates the floor.

The Trap Devil shakes its head, its smile turning into a snarl. "Now that isn't fair!!" It jumps up, bear traps and mines spilling out of the ball and onto the factory floor. With each click of the traps, the perimeter closes.

She takes a step back, trying to take in her surroundings.

schlick

She tries to spring away, but her foot catches in a materialized bear trap. The rusted iron jaws snap shut around her calf, the bone splintering with a sickening crunch. She gasps in pain, immediately dropping down to tear at the metal teeth with her hands. The more she pulls, the more it sinks into her exposed skin.

The rubber ball skids on the concrete towards her. She pulls harder, the trap snapping into small pieces as she rolls back. The clown's head bites at the broken trap, missing her body.

Despite the wound dripping down her leg, she explodes forward.

_________

Another shockwave shakes the factory, Jin grabbing the generator to steady himself. When the roof lies still, he peeks out and tries to fire another shot. A disappointing click snaps back at him, throwing himself back into cover. He pulls a magazine out from his pants, nearly fumbling it as it sets into the gun.

He pulls the trigger again, the recoil loosening his bandage with each kick of the gun. The wound hurts - nearly knocking him onto the ground. One of the errant bullets catches a running soldier in his kneecap, dropping him to the ground in a howling yell.

As Jin tries to bring the barrel up, another soldier is already leveled on him. Time slows for Jin, watching the soldier squeeze the trigger.

Another set of explosions violently shake the roof. The soldier's aim swings sideways just as his weapon discharges; the round meant for Jin's chest catches the crawling soldier in the back of the head, silencing his screams instantly. His black iris pops out of the eye socket, jiggling on the moving tar like a discarded marble. Jin grabs onto his cover, keeping himself stable from the shaking building.

More soldiers flood onto the roof, screaming in Russian. Jin's legs start to feel heavy watching the soldiers start to circle his position, rounds bouncing off the metal frame of his cover.

Panic's setting in.

Jin follows a connected steel pipe, his only escape route at the moment. He gets to the end of it, watching the soldiers fire rounds into his previous position. He waits for a second between the gunfire, and then sprints. There's a shout followed by the crack of gunfire behind Jin, who dives into his new spot. The bullets punch through the metal, hissing out a high pitched laugh from the ducts. He crawls under the flashes of tracer rounds, turning on his back and aiming down the steel pipe. A soldier turns the corner, expecting the target to be standing. Jin pulls the trigger, the automatic fire slamming into his shoulder as he tries to control it.

A bullet punctures the man's neck, sending him backwards as he chokes on the waterfall of blood spilling out of his wound.

Jin crawls to the soldier, desperate to find any supplies. He reaches his shaking hand towards the writhing body, but cracks from the opposing rifles send Jin scattering back. Blood spurts from the dying soldier, his body finally laying still. Jin stands up, pulling the trigger.

click

Jin ducks in time, the streaks of light barely missing his torso. The empty magazine falls to the ground, hitting the asphalt with a hollow rattle. Jin reaches into his pocket, pulling out his last magazine and shoves it into the gun.

His hands haven't stopped trembling, and looking at the body of the dead soldier next to him doesn't help. That's when it hits him -

He's scared.

"REZE! HELP!"

___________

Gunfire erupts from above, but Reze can't do anything about it. She's too busy smashing the clown's face into the ground, the uncanny facepaint still pristine. She throws it up and punches it onto its gut, exploding on impact and shooting to the ceiling.

Its body embeds into the ceiling, peeling off the concrete and falling on top of the ball. It shakes its head, clearing its vision and turns back to the bleeding Bomb Devil.

A desperate scream cuts through from above. They both look up, Reze's heart dropping.

"Guess what!!! Sounds like they're getting close!!!" The Trap Devil starts to laugh again, turning back towards her.

She can feel her body starting to tremble - the first time that's ever happened. The wound isn't helping keep her stable either, the skin and muscle flapping from the gust of stale air. Between the expanding tripwires and hanging anvils - like they're appearing out of nowhere - is the concrete outline of the clown. Weak enough to punch through and not collapse the whole roof.

Her fist rise in the air and slam into the concrete. Wires tangle out, covering her position in the black tendrils. When they finish crossing and connecting, a blast envelops Reze. Smoke billows out, covering the entire factory floor. The Trap Devil coughs and rolls behind the ball, expecting an attack from the front.

Above it, chunks of concrete and rebar tumble from the ceiling.

________________

Another round of gunfire startles Jin, his gun falling out of his hands. He drops, reaching for the discarded weapon, but it shatters from a precise shot from behind. He screams out again, crawling back behind the cover fully as springs and bullets roll away from him.

*This is it.*

The bullets rip closer, the once pristine air duct now more akin to a target on the range. The soldiers' shouts get louder, footsteps clattering moving between their covering fire.

Jin closes his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. He can remember the fire in his room, his burnt parents, the smile from that woman.

The fear it gives him.

He remembers Reze in the cafe and the first time she smiled at him. The joy of her teaching him the Fibonacci sequence. Her blush when she got her coffee beans. The first time they kissed in the alley. Her shock from the loss at Street Fighter. The look of her in the tent. He sees her eyes, the love she has for him.

And he won't have it again. At least it was good memories.

His hands raise in the air in surrender, pushing up on his shaking legs.

BROOOOSH

The roof explodes into smoke, sending the combatants back to the ground. A black mass shoots up into the sky, covered by the darkness. He puts his hands over his head, waiting for the following explosion.

Instead, he hears stumbling footsteps. He looks up to The Bomb Devil, her calf hanging onto her bone by a thread. She drops to a knee and picks Jin up.

"…Blood."

"Wh-Wha?" He stammers, eyes still locked onto the wound.

"BLOOD. NOW." She begs, feeling her eyesight fading.

Jin breathlessly laughs out, pointing to the dead soldier down the duct. She walks through the smoke, dragging the body back. The other agents start to get up, yelling commands out to each other.

The body is held above Reze, and with a quick pull the body is ripped in half, guts and blood spilling into her head and mouth. Jin watches in horror as she gulps the blood down, her wounds starting to heal in front of him. The calf muscle pulls back into her leg, the skin reattaching itself to normal.

She throws the body parts aside, wiping her mouth.

"Thanks. How are you doing?" She leans down, inspecting the soaked bandage. "We have to replace it after."

"Ye-yeah. Gotta… yeah." Jin's voice squeaks out, still eyeing the blood on her metallic lips.

"Where's your gun?" Reze looks around, noticing the shattered rifle in the rising smoke. In an instant, she disappears, followed by blood-curdling screams and gunshots before she returns, a new rifle in hand. It falls into Jin's hands before he can question it.

"You've got this. Get out of your head."

Through the smoke, Reze leaps back up and drops through the crater in the roof. Another blast rumbles through the building. This time, it doesn't affect Jin. He stands there, motionless, processing everything.

*I…gave up.*

The charging handle of his gun racks with a metallic clack.

*She didn't.*

A single shout cuts through his thoughts. They sound confused, lost.

Scared.

And that's what he needed.

———————-

The young soldier didn't know why he was chosen for this. When he passed basic training, it was one of the happiest days of his life. His parents and girlfriend all came out and celebrated with him - the next officer in the Russian army, something his family had been doing for generations.

He was deployed once for a peacekeeping operation, and would be hailed as a hero for successfully evacuating hundreds of civilians during an internationalist attack. He was told his actions saved all those lives and was given every medal and accolade imaginable.

Did he feel like he deserved it? Maybe. But he was just doing his job, he would tell everyone - including himself.

And then, during a solo patrol, he met a cloaked man. At first, he was skeptical - the cloak was something out of a comic book, but it still caused an uneasiness in him that never came during combat. That's when Thoth offered him a spot in the Hybrid Division - promising a perfect place for him and his loved ones once their mission was completed.

And as a young man, who says no to that?

When he was whisked away and completed more training - all that was asked was for one of his eyes. Begrudgingly, he accepted, as his new commander would tell him immortality always required a small sacrifice. The process was painful - more than he expected - but when his eye was replaced with the black gunk that solidified in his empty socket, his vision came back. And then his body settled, shifting into something stronger, better, scarier.

Before he could fully understand what happened to him, his strike team was called to capture a target. The picture they were given showed an unremarkable man, and the soldiers laughed at the idea of this target being any problem. The young man joined in too - thinking he was given a softball for his first task.

Now, the young man tries to push through the smoke and the confusion of his team. He had someone next to him, but he was ripped away in a second before anyone could react. The young man tried to fire, but his shots hit nothing.

It's eerily silent, each footstep he takes pounds onto the asphalt. There's a growing sense of fear in his gut, watching out for any movement, especially that black flash that took his squadmate. He screams out for anyone to respond, met with nothing.

After a minute, the young man arrives at the duct where the target was last. The metal is ruined, but it doesn't stop him from leaning over and aiming his gun.

A strong shove sends the rifle up, surprising the young man as his finger pulls the trigger. The rifle rattles into the air, the recoil breaking his finger. The young man screams as the gun slams into the duct and asphalt. When he looks down, his eyes widen.

The target.

He's pulled behind the duct, tripping over a pair of legs. His head cracks on the ground, his strength and vision going. The target straddles the man, sending blows to his head and neck. The young man tries to block them, a few of the strikes connecting and subduing him momentarily. He reaches for his knife on his rig, flapping the leather open and pulling out the blade.

The target stops him, shoving the hilt of the blade up to the young man's chin. They struggle for a moment, the hilt catching on the fabric of his balaclava. The target pulls the blade up, sending the balaclava over the young man's eyes. He tries to pull the mask off, and when the last of his hair dislodges from the mask, his eyes lock with the target.

They stare at each other for a moment, the target holding the knife and breathing heavily.

What scares the young man is the look the target has. The young man starts to open his mouth, wanting to beg.

That's when the knife is driven into his neck. It didn't hurt - it was a sudden pressure like someone grabbed him. It's followed by a warm rush of blood, sending his hand up to cover the wound.

The target doesn't stop, each stab going deeper and deeper into the young man's body - neck, chest, stomach - anywhere his hands weren't blocking.

As the man's vision starts to fade into white, he watches the target drop the knife to the ground, shock and fear replacing the anger on his face.

The young man's last thought was with the target, understanding why.

______________

The smoke clears from the roof, leaving Jin alone. The knife clatters to his side as the soldier's life leaves his brown eye. Jin's rattled breath is the only sound on the roof now, the stench of gunpowder and the sickening metallic blood smell his only solace.

Next to the dead soldier lies his balaclava. Whatever took over Jin at that moment wasn't him. It can't be him. Trapping the man and Jin killing him like that, knowing he was going to surrender didn't sit right. He picks up the balaclava right before the man's blood stains the fabric, looking at it.

The empty mask coldly stares back at him.

Underneath, another explosion shakes the ground. Jin doesn't have time to think about this right now.

The mask is shoved into his pocket, taking the rifle up towards the sunroof. To his side are body parts and dying Division agents, Jin forcing himself to focus on what's ahead. He slides over, watching Reze swing her foot towards the clown's face, striking it.

He sets the rifle on his shoulder, the wound now completely numb on the wooden stock, and fires.

______________

Glass shatters from above, the bullet tipping through its cheek, shouting in pain as blood and skin splatters onto the concrete.

The Bomb Devil follows up, hitting an explosive strike on the clown's leg. The clown goes flying off its ball again, sending both clown and ball opposite directions on the factory floor. The ball hops away with a rubbery bounce, hitting a pillar and settling. The clown smashes into a wall, cheek still dripping with blood.

"THAT'S - THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!" It screams, trying to cover its bleeding wound. "AND I'M DONE PLAYING AROUND!"

The clown launches forward, bending and twisting over their own tripwires. Reze follows, swinging a punch towards the Trap Devil. Her hand swishes past its slithering body, only to connect with a pressure plate on the machine behind.

schlick-BOOM

A colorful explosion sets off and bounces her towards the clown, wrapping her in its tripwire arms. Small explosions ripple up the line as he launches her behind towards more waiting snares. She kicks off the ground, gliding over the web of traps and grabs into the wall, fist cracking into the concrete and holding her off the ground.

She scans the area, looking for anything to catch the clown off guard. The warhead keeps turning until it locks onto a rubbery sphere.

-Perfect.-

Her legs stick into the wall and shoot out, sending her towards the ball. The Trap Devil's eyes follow her, gasping at her. "NO! THAT'S NOT YOURS!"

It grabs adjacent machines, pulling its body back as its wiry arms tighten. It lets go, launching forward to Reze. Its arm reaches out, but gunfire above slices through its elongated body. The impact sends the clown off course, shattering the ground. It uses its momentum to push back in the air, barely missing some of the planted wires. The clown looks up, bright eyes zeroing into the sunroof.

"FOUND YOU!" It screams, the elongated arms implanting themselves onto the ceiling and pulling its body up. The head sticks through the broken glass, shattering the remaining shards as it lifts the rest of its body through. Jin can only take a few steps back as it steps towards him, the clown licking its lips.

"NOW, WHERE ARE YOU GONNA HIDE NOW?"

Tripwires shoot behind Jin, noticing each of the threads in the moonlight. He keeps his footing, blindly firing at the clown while stepping quickly and carefully through the traps.

————————-

The ball rolls into the middle of the floor, Reze stepping back and taking aim. She's looking for the angle that'll have most of the traps nearby - probably explosives - to see what happens. Through a flash of gunfire above, a web of string next to a machine is visible for a mere moment before disappearing.

Reze steps back, breathes out, and sprints at the ball. With all her might, she spins her foot around mid step and hits it with an explosive round house. The sound is deafening, but is immediately sucked into the ball. It careens through the air, snapping invisible strings and sucking in the explosives and other various traps.

WUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMP

The ball doesn't stop rolling - each trap throws it into another set trap, shaking the old structure around it. Inside, the light grows brighter - blinding to anyone looking at it.

schlick

A pressure plate is activated, dropping an anvil to the ground. It crushes into the concrete and holds steady. The ball hits off a machine, activating more explosions, and careens back towards the iron tool. It bounces off it like a bumper from a pinball machine and heads for the center of the room.

That's when it hits a massive web of wires.

WUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMPWUMP

The light in the middle glows like a dying sun, spinning and pulsating inside its captive state. The ball is vibrating at an impossible speed, settling underneath the skylight.

Suddenly, a beam of light shines out - a deafening shkkkk hissing out of the rubber.

Reze's eyes, if they could, widen.

———————

The cacophony of explosions below rumble through the building, dropping Jin to the ground. The Trap Devil's feet twist into bear traps, snapping into the asphalt below to keep it steady. Each new step unlocks the metal teeth, followed by the crunch of stone. It reaches out its wiry arms towards him, desperate to trap its target. Jin rolls to the side, missing the clown's attempt as well as just missing an unseen tripwire.

Behind the clown, a black mass flies up. It lands between the two, pulling up Jin and turning him from the skylight.

SHK-BROOSH

The roof erupts behind, debris and fire escaping out from the ball as it incinerates the surrounding area. Jin's skin singes from the blast as Reze tumbles with him down to the factory floor. They groan when they hit the concrete, Reze letting Jin roll away to stand up. Ash sprinkles into his hair as he looks around - their whole training space has been destroyed. The roof's completely crumbled away, smoke still billowing above. The machines have melted and twisted into unrecognizable husks of metal and heat. The desk and their staffs melted into the concrete, their shadows forever burned into the spot.

Jin looks at the ball, the rubbery material still and pristine. For a moment, his mind fogs and goes static looking at it - like he knows it, understands it. The more he stares at it, the more his hearing goes, a ringing sound bouncing inside his head.

*I'm losing my mind.*

A hand grips his side, turning him around. His hearing comes back as he looks at the warhead.

"I told you to run. And I had to save your dumbass." Reze growls out.

Jin's eyes turn to fire. "Where was I supposed to run? And what - LEAVE you? Because you needed my help!"

"…I had it handled." Her gloved hand reaches for his good arm, but he shoves it away.

"No, you didn't! You're not some invincible weapon, Reze!" He shouts, stepping away from her.

Watching him walk away, after everything, sends her into a rage.

"And you're not a fucking knight in shining armor! I don't need your help!" She huffs out, standing completely still.

Jin's heart drops, his voice cooling off. "I - I'm not trying to be -". He takes another step back.

"NO, you are." She cuts him off. "I TOLD YOU to listen to me, and you promised. Like look at you! You're bleeding and barely standing. Why didn't you RUN??" She shouts.

It's not like she doesn't mean it, but Jin's trembling body makes her realize why she's so mad. And that terrifies her.

Jin takes another step back, flustered. "I…I…"

schlick

He feels his weight shift below as a pressure plate pushes into the ground, a black net appearing above him. He jumps away, just missing the electrified trap fall inches by him.

The warhead spins around to the sound of crumbling rock. A boulder of concrete is thrown to the side as the Trap Devil pulls its broken body out of the rubble. Its skin is badly burnt, the red mist sizzling out from its body. Its curly hair is burning away from a blaze on its head.

"YOU - YOU MONSTERS!!! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!!" It steps forward, smashing the scattered remains of its music box. "MY WHOLE TEAM, DEAD!! MY HAIR… BURNT!" It screams out.

"Wait, that's actually your hair?" Jin asks, genuinely curious.

"ILL KILL YOU!!" It lashes out, tossing all forms of traps from its body, covering the destroyed factory floor. Jin brings his rifle up and fires at the clown as it crashes into Reze. She fights it off and kicks the clown into a web of wires, more explosions setting off as it howls in pain. But the clown gets back up, the bright-colored eyes fading into a black glass.

-There's gotta be something.-

Reze steps back, trying to look for anything.

"WAIT!" Jin's voice cuts through the air. She stops, looking down at the ground. Embedded in it is a pressure plate, a small drawing of an anvil etched into the stone.

It gives her an idea.

She shoots a few explosive balls its way, connecting with the clown. It snarls, jumping at her with its bear trap teeth chomping. She waits until it gets closer, the elongated body closing the gap.

It gets right in front of her.

schlick

She steps on the pressure plate, a giant anvil appearing above the pad. It comes careening down, slamming the head and upper torso of the clown into the concrete. A wet crunch comes from underneath it as the body spasms, its wire arms jiggling from the death throes. Eventually, the body lies still. The rest of the hidden traps light up around the factory, suddenly melting away and fading.

Reze huffs out, stepping off the plate as it disappears. She sits down on the anvil, her warhead clattering to the ground as she turns back to her human form. She looks at Jin, sad, and beckons him over to sit.

Jin grabs his shoulder and walks over to her, sitting on the anvil as well. Reze's head falls on his good shoulder as she wraps her arms around him.

"I'm sorry, but I told you to run. I was ok."

Jin shakes his head. "No, you weren't. You were hurting. What was I supposed to do - let the clown hurt you?"

They sit there for a while, quiet, as the moonlight seeps into the destroyed factory. He rubs her back after a moment, trying to lighten the mood.

"… Why'd it have to be a clown."

She giggles on his shoulder. "I hate clowns."

"Me too sweetheart. Me too." He leans to his left, kissing her head.

She sighs. "Nope, not that one either."

"One's gonna work eventually."

"Mmmm, probably not." She pats his chest and sits back up. "How's your shoulder?"

He stretches his arm out, nerves still burning. "You know, it hurt more the first time. Pretty sure I'm purely running on adrenaline." As he finishes his sentence, his cheeks turn white as he almost falls off the makeshift seat.

Reze catches him and stands up. "Just lay here for a sec, ok?" She lays him onto the anvil - the cold metal not the most comfortable place, but it's at least something. Jin nods, looking up into the night sky.

She takes a few steps away, giving him some time to recover. They wouldn't attack back to back like that, they never have. Besides - the factory exploded. There's gonna be police and other first responders coming soon.

-We should get going in a minute.-

She blinks, and suddenly the world she was in is gone. Instead, a darkness replaces her eyesight, thick and heavy. She turns around to where Jin was, the blackness staring back at her.

"Weapon."

She darts around quickly, hand back on her ring. In front of her stands a cloaked figure, guarded by a single soldier. A shiver climbs up her spine - it's been a while since she's seen him before. Ever since her first successful assassination, Thoth personally congratulated her and never spoke to her again. It wasn't like it was an important target either - but he made sure to meet with Reze for that specific one.

Now he's here. In the thick blackness.

"You're supposed to capture the target." Thoth says in his gravelly voice, slowly pacing around his guard. His footsteps are slow, meticulous, precise - everything under control.

Reze's hands grip the pin harder. "I told you, I'm done."

Thoth shakes his head. "I don't think you are."

He suddenly stops, shooting one hand out and slices it across the guard. His body bisects, blood spewing out as his blood curdling screams are consumed by the void. The blood rises in the air, sparkling from the unseen light and starts to boil. Suddenly, purple and orange hues bubble through, slicing a thread between the liquid. It hisses open, splitting the air around as a rift appears from the dripping blood. More colors start to swirl inside, Thoth walking forward to look in and beckons Reze to join him. She does, stepping cautiously towards Thoth - not letting her hand off her pin. Her footsteps echo into the infinite void, the blackness both soft like putty and hard like steel with each stride.

The colors stop swirling and focus - It's an alley - the same alley behind the cafe. The same where Jin was shot. But it's different. It's daytime, a person sits in the cafe with flowers, and in the alley is Reze - but it's not her, it can't be her. This one's left arm is severed with a rupture in her chest, bleeding to death. She's in the arms of an orange-haired woman, who holds her as she fades into darkness.

"Wh- what is this?" She gasps, stepping back from the scene. She puts her free hand to her chest, feeling a pang of pain in her heart. Everything is still intact, but something's off - it's like she can feel the wounds from that Reze.

"It's you. A lot of versions of you end up like this, you know."

More blood flies up, boiling and opening another rift. She peers into what looks like a 1950s version of a rebuilding Tokyo, with Reze bleeding out on a corner street. She's surrounded by mutilated bodies and blood, but a man - fully intact - is holding her slipping consciousness, crying.

"Not exactly a happy ending here either. You want to see more?"

She shakes her head, hand falling off her pin. "H- how are you -"

"Again, this happens. Every. Single. Time. The only way you BOTH survive is if you give this charade up and come back."

Once again, she defiantly shakes her head. "No, I'm not giving him up."

Thoth sighs. "You don't understand. He's invaluable to us… to me. And he's not worth your life." Thoth turns to her, blood rising behind his cloaked figure. "Or his life."

Another rift appears in front of Reze, this time it's Jin's lifeless and mutilated body underneath the foot of a few soldiers, laughing as they kick it. On his forehead, written in his own blood in Russian: 'USELESS.'

"Is this what you want? Him dead?" Thoth's tone stays flat, calculating her response. All the rifts close with a sucking sound, like the air was taken from space, leaving her in darkness with the figure.

She feels his footsteps grow closer.

"As brash as my tactics may seem, I'm trying to save the target's life. And the only way he lives is if you bring him to me."

"I'm not your weapon." She growls out.

Thoth shakes his head, Reze sensing a rare showing of disappointment. "Then why are you acting like one?"

Reze is about to retort, but Thoth fills the emptiness with a voice.

Jin's voice.

"REZE! HELP!" Thoth mocks, voice growling back to his tone. "You have every chance to not kill for him, every chance to go into hiding, but you always choose violence. The bar, the department store, right now. All of it."

"That's not -"

"I'm not done." Thoth's cloak turns towards her, sending a shiver down her spine. "You're a weapon that's pointed in a different direction. And you only survive when you embrace what you are. So why not?"

"I-I'm no-"

"It's what you are. It's always what you are out there." He walks away from her trembling body. "The universe has patterns, similarities, all between the infinite realities."

More blood pulls from the lifeless body, spinning around in the air. The liquid stops, freezing into a perfectly formed spiral.

"The Golden Ratio. Understanding patterns across the known universe. Sound familiar?" The hood stares up at it, letting the blood flow in its spiral. "As expansive as infinity is, there are similarities between the same beings. For example - when you're not doing what you were made for, whoever you drag into your lie will always have the same fate."

The spiral's flow starts to quicken, droplets falling out into the black ground.

"One of you always dies. That's the pattern."

She tries to reach up to her pin, but her muscles refuse to move as she falls to her knees. Above, the spiral splatters out, falling around the two like a curtain.

"You don't understand infinity. Don't try to fight it, you're not the anomaly "

The darkness begins to collapse around them, Thoth walking away and opening another rift as he steps through.

"I'll see you real soon, weapon."

The darkness recedes as the ruins of the factory reappear around her. She jolts her head around to look for Thoth, not seeing him anywhere. She then looks for Jin, who's motionless on the anvil. She runs to him, grabbing him and hugging him.

He jumps up in pain, his shoulder getting squished by her. "Hey! Ow! You good??"

For a moment, she thinks about telling him. But the images play in her head again, the words USELESS painted on his head with his blood.

She shakes her head. "I- I thought you were gone."

She can't tell him.

"Nah… not dying yet…" He hugs her back with all his fleeting might.

She doesn't say a word. She doesn't know that - how could she from what she saw?

-Was that even real?-

She kisses him and pulls him up. "Come on, I don't know how long we've been here. We have to go."

He nods, following her. He takes a look behind him, the clown's body gone from under the anvil. He then notices the ball, the fizzling invading his mind again. With a head shake, he turns forward with Reze.

"You gotta cook tonight." He jokes, resting his head on her shoulder.

_________

Thoth steps through the rift, shaking his head. She'll understand one day. If this is even the right one. The portal fizzles behind him, a final moment of the soldier's body framed in the rift before it hisses shut.

In front of him, scientists work feverishly on different devices and weapons in front of them. A screaming prisoner is chained to a wall, trying desperately to remove his binds. One of the scientists powers up the test rifle in front of him, the object brimming to life in purple hues as it sucks the air around it.

"Ah, sir! Perfect timing." The head researcher walks over to Thoth. "You're just in time for our anti-matter demonstration. Would you care to see?"

Thoth stops, slowly turning over to the prisoner. The man's screams amplify when he sees the cloaked figure, begging for his life in an unknown language. The head researcher gives a thumbs up to his subordinate.

The rifle shakes, firing a beam of superheated light into the man. It impacts, completely disintegrating his body to nothing - like his atoms were completely erased.

"Promising. Keep trying."

The head researcher's brow furrows. "But - he's gone. Reduced to NOTHING. What else would you want?"

"To make things useful for Perfect Paradise." He keeps walking past the working men. He reaches over and grabs a broken piece of a rifle stock. It molds into a radio in his hands, sticking it up to his face as it scratches to life.

"Dimitri."

"Yes, sir?" The radio instantly responds back.

"Confirm that the clown is gone."

"Correct sir. The whole strike team as well as the hybrid were killed in combat."

"And the ball? Where is it?"

"We left it in the factory. Preparing to extract it at a later date."

Thoth sighs, annoyed but at the same time - satisfied.

"You did good today, meet me back at base. Inform Chozin on the results."

"Yes, si-" The radio changes into a knife in his hand, twirling it around his fingers.

"…We lost another hybrid?" The head researcher questions, an undertone of fear in his voice.

"The clown. Better for everyone."

"B-but why? If we need that target for Perfect Paradise, why would you wa-"

"Stop."

The researcher freezes in his tracks, sweat forming on his brow.

"I'm allowing you to weaponize my blood. You're the only one in this reality to even sniff power like this. And I can easily take that away any moment I please. So - any other questions?"

The man shakes his head and runs back to his workstation across the lab. Thoth walks past the staring scientist, stopping at one of the work stations. In front of him sits a silver bracelet, with the words THE WHISPER scribbled on the blueprints next to it. He picks the jewelry up - a solid band of silver reflecting back at him - and inspects it.

It looks perfect.

"Keep it up."

With a huff, Thoth begins to walk away. Before he leaves the room, he launches the knife towards the head researcher, nicking the tip of his nose. The researcher falls out of his chair in a surprised yelp as the blade wobbles in the concrete.

As annoying as the target is, he keeps showing promise.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Hey everyone! If you've gotten this far, just wanted to give ya some love - thank you so much for the support. Even if you're just reading, it's much appreciated. Just about halfway done the backlog for daily post, so don't forget to watch the thread so you're the first to know when it comes out

And, if you want, a like never hurts! Lets me know that you're enjoying the story!

Thanks again, and see you tomorrow!

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze isn't one to complain. Growing up in the Hybrid Division had a way of violently silencing internal objections before they ever made it past her lips, leaving her with a lot to gripe about and no voice to do it with. But sitting across from Jin, she is finally starting to realize she can speak for her needs, her wants, her disgusts. It was a new, and somewhat strange, freedom.

Especially here, as her face twists in disgust as she puts the paper cup down onto the cracked marble table.

"This might be the worst coffee in the world." She chokes out, opening the plastic lid and wafting the steam towards her nose. The aroma smells like the real thing, but she knows better than that - probably some mix of beans at the end of their expiration date and some instant coffee sprinkled in. She attempts to take another gagged sip, the drink assaulting her tongue. She tries to swallow, coughing as it drips down her throat.

"What do you mean? It's cheap and it's not THAT bad." Jin laughs from across the table as he runs his fingers through his hair.

"I could literally do better with bird shit, sticks, and an open flame."

Jin shrugs, sipping his drink. "Guess old habits die hard."

*God that's awful.*

He would come to this coffee shop a lot - before the day he met her. It was a cozy spot tucked away from a lot of the noise from the main streets, allowing Jin to slip away for a moment. It was a cheap place, a dollar a cup, so he knows what he was getting himself into. It was a nice punch in the face in the morning when he needed to wake his body for work. And, because of the price, there was always someone interesting stopping by.

"I'm killing this habit and making a new one for you. NOT HERE." She puts the paper cup down and pushes it away from her, airing out her tongue.

Behind them, a large TV displays firefighters fighting off a blaze from the factory. The picture moves to the side, showing off a well-dressed newscaster in a blue suit.

"It's been a week since the explosion in the industrial district - firefighters still examining the wreckage for any evidence on what caused the blast-"

They both look at the TV, Reze reaching out and grabbing Jin's hand, rubbing her thumbs in his palms.

"How's your shoulder feeling?" She leans back, her focus shifting to Jin and his shoulder.

He shrugs, eyes still glued to the billowing smoke from the factory on the screen. "Alright, I guess. Thank god for the extra meds, right?" He stretches it - getting shot in the same place twice wasn't on his bingo card of life. Something feels embedded in the wound, sharply poking at his muscles and skin underneath.

Before she can stop herself, she grabs the paper cup and sips the concoction again. "I don't know why I'm still drinking this." She laughs out, putting the drink down and pushing it to the other side of the table. "Can we please get out of here?"

He nods and downs the rest of his drink, grunting out the motor oil-like taste in his mouth. "So, ready to pretend to know how to go clothes shopping?" He reaches over, finishing the rest of Reze's drink as well as she watches with disgust.

"You're gonna poison yourself." She looks away, trying to scrub the flavor out of her mind. The idea of them in a department store - without getting interrupted by a hybrid - and doing something they both haven't done makes her heart… happy - content.

Safe.

"And YES - we're gonna look SO HOT together."

"Maybe I wanna dress hot so girls ask me out." He raises his eyebrows a few times, fixing his hair and flashing her finger guns.

She grips his knee, rubbing it lightly before squeezing it. "Yeah like any girl's gonna hit on you." She jokes, an undertone of jealousy accidentally pouring out her voice.

"What? I fought a guy for you."

She shakes her head. "And ya lost that one - you're welcome by the way."

He puts the empty cup down, the paper crushing onto the table as he stands up in a huff. "I WAS SHOT! AND YOU'RE -" He wildly swings his arms in her direction, accidentally knocking one of the paper cups onto the ground. That's when he notices the other patrons and baristas looking over at him in confusion. Luckily, no blackened eye stares back at him.

She tosses her purple hair, smiling back at his flustered state. "Thanks, I know."

Their eyes meet - the same electric feeling connecting them coming back. Jin stops his motions and lowers his arms, resting them onto the cool surface and leans towards her. Reze shifts back, taking his form in and cocks her head to the side. Her face blushes as she starts to giggle at him.

"You done? You're causing a scene." She pushes up, tracing her fingers onto his frozen skin and pulling him towards the door. The patrons watch, making sure that the two get to the exit. As the door swings open, an older man in sunglasses steps in, leading his small dog in. It's brown, barely at the owner's calf, but what catches Jin's attention is the matching sunglasses meticulously placed on its snout. The dog seems very pleased with its fashion choice.

*We gotta come back here.*

___________

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK

A department store had always been a place Jin avoided. It's true that interesting people and the like would usually be here, but finding a decent vantage point to spend people watching was nearly impossible - especially since benches weren't placed in the right spots. Seating options usually meant you were sharing it with someone, and Jin wanted to be on his own to observe.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK

Most of his clothes were ancient - stuff he's had for years, and for the life of him he can't remember the last time he went out to pick out a new outfit. Yet here he is, pushing the rattling cart in front of him as the front left wheel spins wildly off the tile. Inside the metal grate is a plethora of new shirts, jeans, and new Converse sneakers - all for Reze.

She's been having the time of her life. She has sifted through colors and materials, rapidly matching outfits for different occasions. Some, she's casually announced, are for date nights she had already planned out in advance.

SKIRTTTT

Jin has to pull the cart to a sudden stop before it hits Reze. Her gaze is on a white mannequin, styled to attract men and their girlfriends to say, 'This could be you!' On it is a white shirt with small black dots scattered around, a tan pair of slacks cuffed to show off a pair of stylish brown boots, and the cherry on top - to Reze - is the dark blue jean jacket.

"You'd look kinda hot in this." She walks around the display, her mind placing Jin's face on the mannequin, nodding in approval.

He shrugs, his face scrunching in thought. "Eh, I don't know. I never had a jean jacket. I'm scared of doing the whole denim on denim thing - a Canadian tux, you know?"

She stops, turning her head towards him, blinking in confusion. "You know, like, you don't have to wear jeans with it, right?"

"I do, it's just… I don't know." He's at a loss for words as he stares at the faceless shell.

Reze moves behind the mannequin to a display of the same jackets, snatching one of them and eyeing it over. "That sounds like an excuse. Come on, it'll make us look like we know what we're doing!" She saunters back towards Jin, slowly pushing the jacket to him.

He sighs, nodding and accepting her impending gift.

"You're the BEST!" She shoves it into his hands and practically skips over to the rest of the hanging clothes, scooping up the exact style as the mannequin. She tosses the items behind her, expertly flying into Jin's outstretched hands. She speeds through other displays, finding more and more things to throw to her boyfriend and the cart.

By the time she's back with a fourth pair of muted color pants, shirt sleeves and pant legs are lying over the side of the cart. She places them on top anyway, winking at Jin and pushing the cart past him.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK

"Isn't this…too much?"

"Nope." She says, looking at more mannequins - nothing particularly good for Jin. She turns down another aisle, barreling the rattling cart towards the changing rooms. The cart screeches to another halt in front of one of the open doors.

"Alright, what you're gonna do is try everything on - and REALLY give it a try for me. Then come out with what ya like, Ok?" She kicks the door open, rattling the detached wooden structure.

Jin half nods, mind racing over the metric ton of fabric sitting in front of him. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say."

She jumps up, landing on her feet and falling into Jin, hugging him and pecking his cheek. "I know this is gonna be the hardest thing you've done all month."

"Oh FUCK you!" He flips her off as he pushes the cart into the small room. Between him and the cart, it's barely big enough for the two entities to fit, slamming into the wall and shaking the pavilion. He turns in the compact space to shut the door as he catches the last glimpse of Reze's eyes sparkling at him.

After a breath, he turns and sits on the complimentary metal stool in the corner. For a moment, he takes in the mountain of clothes that rises in front of him, almost taunting him to climb up its elevation of style.

*Alright, let's do this.*

____________

Reze thumbs through her social media feed as she waits outside. Having access to anything like this was strictly forbidden before, but, if anything, her new life is teaching her she's allowed to choose for herself. She scrolls past a swan latte art tutorial, a local news video of the industrial explosion - she quickly passes that - and some squirrel water skiing. She saves that video, excited to show Jin after he survives his wardrobe overhaul.

Something quickly moves in her peripherals. Her head shoots up, ready to engage the threat as she puts her hand close to her pin.

It's a woman, sprinting down an adjacent aisle as she squeals in delight. Behind her is a disgruntled man - probably her boyfriend - carrying a collection of clothes for her, dresses and tops draped over his body. He mumbles something as he passes by Reze, who puts her hand back to her side. Her heart calms itself as she sighs out, still on alert. She knows it's never going to be safe, but that can't stop them from living their life - her life.

That's when she stops - clocking an older man glancing at her from afar between the sweater section. He's big, and the long sleeve he's holding would never fit him. He adjusts his sunglasses, putting it back down and turning away from Reze, running a hand through his short white beard in faux thought. She can practically hear the hmmmm from her seat. If he's trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, he's failing miserably. Reze giggles to herself, standing up and walking over to him.

-He was always awful at hiding in plain sight.-

The sweaters swing as Reze fingers through the materials, eventually bumping shoulders with the old man. They both don't look at each other, focusing on the clothes in front of them.

"You really never got this part down." She says, eyes looking over a green sweater.

-Jin might like this.-

The man puts down the small sweater, picking up another one and inspecting it. "I am playing part. I look like normal shopper, no?"

Her smile holds. "It's so obvious that you're not a normal shopper."

The man's lips perk as he watches another shopper pass by behind them. "Well, then I am in perfect place. I get new clothes, new disguise, and poof - I disappear."

When the other shopper turns down another aisle - away from any prying eyes - Reze turns to him and hugs the older man, who squeezes her back.

"I've missed you, little one." He says, rubbing her back gently.

"I missed you too, Soldat." She breaks away from the hug, settling herself onto the rack to the side.

"I heard you finally broke away from the Division?" He looks over at her behind the giant sunglasses, her reflection visible in the brown glass. "Good. Been waiting for you to."

"Yeah, but it's not like they're leaving me alone." Reze turns back towards the sweaters, grabbing that green one and placing it under her arm as she walks down the aisle.

Soldat follows behind, picking up an even smaller sweater, looking it over carefully and feeling the itchy material. "Yes, lots of radio chatter on you and a 'target'" He peeks over to her and lets a smile form on his face. "Speaking of target… I hear you two are very close." He pushes his glasses down, eyes playfully looking at her.

Reze shoves him, sending him stumbling back. "Shut up. Not now."

"Is he the guy in that changing room?" Soldat laughs, regaining himself and pointing at the wooden doors. "He looks nice, but doesn't look like he can fight."

"Well, first he's an idiot - like a HUGE idiot. Second, we've been working on it. He's actually not that bad. Third, he's been shot like five times now, and he's still standing. He's already tougher than you, ya know?" She elbows him, grinning.

"But, no…" Her voice trails off.

For a second, she's thinking about Jin and the last month - his nervousness in the cafe, the school, even him during the Ghost Devil - and now him fighting off the mountain of clothes. She can feel the blush that's rising on her as she turns back to Soldat.

"…He's nice. I really like him."

Soldat gasps, surprising a passerby. "Wow. A real blush. Not like what I taught you." A big smile forms on his face as he pats her back. "This makes me happy, you know. You deserve someone who loves you for you." He tries to hug her again, but she instantly shakes away from his grab.

"WOAH! We're not there yet." Her face, which is now a glowing red, tells him otherwise.

"I know you too well. You don't blush like that. The color is too perfect." He chuckles silently to himself.

"Shut UP, old man." Her ears start to burn as she moves down the shelves.

He finishes laughing, clearing his throat as his face turns to stone. "This is not why I am here, by the way." He takes his place next to her by a pair of jeans, his gruff Russian voice near inaudible. "I have information."

The redness quickly rushes off her face as she turns back to him. "Really? You're still getting chatter from the Division?"

He nods. "It is crazy they haven't changed any of their encryption since I defected. From what I've gathered - they're hurting. You two have been doing a good job fending them off. But, they're shifting gears now. They've been following your movements, and expect you to show up at… party tonight."

She drops the pair of jeans she was holding onto the ground. "I'm sorry, WHAT?"

He nods. "Ridiculous, I know. There is event - 'The Blender' or something. Apparently, lots of noise and marketing. So they assume you both go to it, get drinks, dance, do all the party stuff. That's when they'd strike."

"Then…we don't…go?" She looks at him, her confused green eyes reflecting back on his shades "Why would we willingly go into a trap like that?"

He chuckles again. "Easy, right?" His head shifts, turning away from the clothes display. "Not that easy, no. They said if you two don't attend, they'll start ramping up searches - led by Dimitri."

She freezes, her heart stopping at the name. "No… they wouldn't - he'd kill too many people."

"Perfect Paradise is important to them. To Thoth. Reports are he's getting restless, and is starting to consider other operating options. But go to party, take out the team there, the hybrid, and disappear - hopefully they won't resort to unneeded violence with Thoth's attack dog."

Reze's hand tightens on the green sweater. "Which hybrid?"

"From what I gathered - the Copycat. Be on your guard - it could be anyone. Do not leave the target out of your sight."

"I've worked with it before, I know what to look for. Are you gonna be there?"

He shakes his head. "No, I'm too old for party, the invite would not come my way. Besides, if they saw us both there, Hybrid Division would know that I am still collecting intel."

"You have to be a ghost, right?" She huffs out, disappointed.

"Unfortunately, yes. But it means I can still surprise you, like now." He puts his big hand on her shoulder, turning her towards him. "When do I meet, ahhhh…" His voice trails off as he looks at the changing room.

Her head shakes as she smiles, the redness seeping up her face again. "Jin? We'll have to figure something out." She looks at Soldat again. "Thanks for the heads up, I owe you."

"Only thing you owe me is a happy life." He brings her in for another hug, his familiar musk nostalgic and comforting Reze.

With that, he eases back, heading for a crowd of shoppers. He scans the floor for a final moment, turning to face Reze one last time. He gives her a small nod as he enters the group of people, disappears behind the bodies.

She sighs, clutching the green sweater. It's been a while since he's made contact with her - the last time was when he was about to defect. He begged her to join him, get away from that terrible place, go somewhere they can live their lives.

But she didn't. She couldn't. It's all she knew.

KRANGGGGG

A sharp metallic clang rings from the changing room. Reze's moving before the sound dies off, her footsteps pounding onto the tiled floor. She's already thinking of the threats - mostly the Copycat hybrid, possibly impersonating a store worker checking in on Jin, luring him out of the room, and then -

She reaches the door, immediately planting one foot on the ground and swinging her leg around to the wooden partition. It slams open, shaking the whole pavilion as it barely hangs onto its hinges.

Inside, the small steel stool lies on its side, and Jin is standing there looking like he just climbed a literal mountain.

But the look? It actually works.

The white-dotted shirt and the slacks are tailored well enough, but the dark blue jean jacket is the standout. It sits heavy but just right on his shoulders, the color making his dark hair pop in a way she wasn't expecting.

The tightness in her chest doesn't go away - how could it - but it's shoved aside by a growing sense of bliss.

"Damn…" She leans against the doorframe, biting her lower lip as her eyes scan him from head to toe. Everything she just talked to Soldat about feels like a lifetime ago.

"I think I look good, right?" He adjusts his collar, checking himself out in the mirror. Jin peeks up and catches her eye in the reflection - that sharp, intense look is back in the emerald. And for once, Jin isn't just observing.

He's meeting it.

The green sweater is tossed into the mountain of discarded clothes as Reze steps into the cramped space. She doesn't give him a chance to speak before she's on him. Jin catches her with a passionate kiss, his hands gripping her waist as he shoves her back against the wall. The flimsy wooden partition rattles, a hollow THUD echoing out into the aisle as the door begins to creak closed.

"You're insane," he rasps. He can feel her hands already working at the waist of the new slacks. Jin reciprocates, fumbling with her belt as she giggles at his attempt.

"What? You look hot." She lets her pants drop to the ground and hooks a leg over his hip, pulling him flush against her as he lifts her up.

The door finally shuts, the lock clicking into place as a muffled cry comes from inside.

____________

The giant plastic department store bags rustle with each step Jin takes. How he's managing to carry six of them - filled to the brim with clothes, shoes, and accessories - is completely beyond him. But if that's how Reze's going to be when he wears that jean jacket around her? He'd carry twenty.

The big dumb smile on his face proves it, too.

In front, Reze leads the way, hiding the same big smile on her face. She's still in spend mode - peeking into the passing stores' glass facades, catching her own rare smile in the reflection.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd really smiled this much.

They turn the corner toward the center of the mall, the rusted fountain coming into view alongside a cheap pop-up booth. A guy in a pink shirt pushes off the table, flashing a bright, plastic smile as he intercepts them with a neon yellow flyer.

"Now YOU TWO seem like a happy couple." The pink fabric of his shirt screams 'The Blender' in blocky black text. A nametag sits crooked on his chest: 'Luki', written in hasty Sharpie.

Reze's smile dies instantly. Soldat's warning slams back into her skull, shattering the domestic bubble they'd just built.

-The fucking party.-

"I'd like to think so!" Jin drops some of the heavy bags, catching Reze's free hand and running his thumb over her knuckles.

"Good, good! I'm actually looking for couples exactly like you." He taps the logo on his chest, the grin never wavering. "My friends at Static Blue are throwing an end of summer bash with 'The Blender.' Drinks, dancing, the works. Singles like me get a green glowband -" He yanks up his sleeve to show off an illuminated plastic ring, his eyes flickering to Reze's deadpan stare. "- and couples, like you two, would get red ones. That way, nobody hits on your girl, and I can ask if she's got friends!" Luki winks and playfully shoves Jin's right shoulder. A spark of white-hot pain flares through Jin's damaged nerves, causing him to bite down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from shouting. Jin forces out a sharp cough, masking the wince.

"Hey, could be fun," Jin manages, forcing a smirk. He squeezes her hand, desperately trying to focus on her grip instead of the throbbing in his shoulder. "Think we'd have to fight anyone?"

Reze doesn't even hear the joke. Her nose crinkles as her mind runs the scenario over - they'd be walking into a trap, plain and simple. The Copycat isn't a brawler - he relies on the ambush, so identifying it in a crowd of dancing people would be difficult. And an ambush usually means backup, so no telling how many of the patrons are agents in disguise, even if their black eye is tough to mask. If they go, they walk right into a kill box. But if they don't go, the Division lets Dimitri loose, probably leveling whatever city block to find and capture their target.

She glances at Jin. He's smiling, happily holding her hand and his new favorite outfit in the other hand. If she tells him they're willingly walking into a trap, he'll panic. Then, he'll try to observe, try to help, but like the last two times - he'll put himself in danger.

-I can't tell him.-

After a moment, she looks up and reaches her hand out. "Yeah, sure. Give us the flyer."

Luki's smile stretches as he slaps the flyer into her palm. "Let's go! See you tonight!" He throws a mock salute to Jin and pivots away, immediately zeroing in on another couple down the concourse.

"I might get hit on tonight, you know," Jin jokes, grabbing the resting bags on the floor and walking away, somehow fitting Reze's hand in his and tugging the quiet girl down the tiled corridor.

She shakes her head, her eyes locked onto the Static Blue logo on the paper.

"Honestly," She murmurs, a dark smirk finally curling onto her lips as she looks up at him. "I'd love to see them try."

_____________

Luki lets the two go, another unsuccessful attempt at convincing a couple to join the party. He shakes the flyers out, fanning them to cause anyone to look his way. It's not like he's done an awful job - a good amount said they'd come, mostly singles, but trying to get couples was proving to be a headache. That last one, though... the girl with the purple hair - she's an absolute head-turner. She's going to get swarmed the second she walks into the club. If she hadn't been clinging to that guy, Luki would have asked her out himself.

"Her poor boyfriend." Luki thinks to himself.

A sharp clatter of heels snaps him out of it. He turns, his eyes locking onto a blonde woman striding down the concourse. Her entire look screams target demographic. Luki takes a breath, slaps that bright, plastic smile back onto his face, and steps into her path.

"Excuse me, miss?"

The woman walks by him, her eyes staring straight forward. Suddenly, she stops, turning around to face him. Her head snaps up, almost unnaturally, to meet Luki's gaze.

"Yes?" Her smile twists, stretching a little too tight at the corners.

"You look like you need a party tonight, and I've got just the place." He holds out the flyer, already doing the math. If he can get her to go - he'll definitely get some praise.

Another head-turner.

She snatches it, her eyes quickly scanning the paper. Her grin widens, and suddenly she's jumping up and down on her heels like an excited toddler. "Oh! How FUN!" She shrieks, the sound echoing sharply off the glass storefronts.

It catches Luki off guard, causing him to stumble back a few steps. He breathes in, forcing his practiced promoter smile to stay put. "Ye - yeah! It'll be fun! If you're single, you get a green wristband, like mine." He flashes her his illuminated green band under his sleeve. "Or if you're bringing a -"

"Oh, no I'm very much single…" She interrupts, her gaze dragging slowly from his shoes up to his face. As she looks him over, Luki completely misses the way her irises fizzle and twitch like static. She shoves the paper into her brown tote bag, rummaging through it for something else. "Can I take your picture?"

"Wha - mine?" Luki blinks. The smile falters as she pulls a bulky, retro Polaroid camera out of the bag."I'm not too sure if my comp-"

"Aw, please??" She sticks out her lower lip in a teasing pout. "I wanna remember this moment."

Luki hesitates, glancing down the mall corridor to make sure his manager isn't lurking around. He sighs and shoots her a thumbs-up.

"YAY." She brings the viewfinder to her eye. Luki flashes the fake smile.

SNAP- WHZZZZZZZZZZZ

The thick square of film slides out from the top slot. The woman squeals in delight, quickly hugs Luki, and sprints off down the hall, leaving him there in utter confusion. It doesn't stay long, as another couple approaches. Luki settles himself, and lets that smile come back to his face.

Behind him the woman rounds a corner, safely out of sight behind a row of closed stores. She peeks at the developing photo - sure enough it's a perfect shot of Luki, frozen smile and all with a sense of bewilderment behind his eyes. She gives it a quick shake, then presses it flat against her chest. The skin parts, a thin slit opening just wide enough for the Polaroid. The photo is slid into the slot, which simultaneously ejects a different picture that flutters to the ground.

Her body violently twitches. Skin and blonde hair bubble and shift, burning away in a sickening hiss as it molds into new flesh.

A few seconds later, it stands before the darkened glass of a closed storefront, checking its reflection. A complete, perfect copy of the man in the picture.

"Perfect." It says in Luki's voice.

It bends down, picks up the ejected photo - a picture of the blonde woman smiling brightly in a yogurt shop - and slides it into a pocket already thick with other Polaroids.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin and Reze hold out the yellow flyer one last time, both their eyes looking up and down to the building in front of them. The paper shows a professionally drawn club scene, where green and red streaks cut through the DJ's setup adorned with 'Static Blue' logos.

"I guess this is it."

In front of them, a large building is adorned with posters and billboards displaying 'The Blender'. Red and green streamers twist around the brick facade, glittering in the streetlights. The door to the building is closed, with a giant line waiting impatiently for the party to start.

"This gotta be it." She mocks, giving him a playful nudge. "I don't think they could have made it any more obvious." She reaches up to straighten her choker, her dark leather jacket creaking as she moves. She looks perfect with her new lace top and dark denim, sharply contrasting the glowing streetlight above. She laces her fingers through his and drags him toward the back of the growing crowd.

"Yeah, well maybe I wanted to see if you paid attention." He adjusts the collar of his new jacket, the dark denim making him feel like a completely different person - someone who radiates confidence.

The doors swing open after a moment, workers dressed in that same pink shirt from earlier signaling to the crowd to enter. The herd shouts in happiness as it pushes inside, swiping up their wristbands and running into the party. Once the two get inside, an attendant holds onto an open box with black bands. They snap them on as another attendant waits with a device in his hands.

"Hey folks - y'all a couple?"

Jin nods, squeezing Reze's hand tight. The attendant looks down at his device, tapping a few buttons before turning to them. "Ok! Just swipe your bands under this…" He holds the device out, waiting for their input. When their arms swipe by, the band glows a bright red - causing Jin to smile.

"Wait… I wanted green…" Reze playfully teases Jin, unable to contain her grin.

"Sorry lady - once you're locked in, only way to change it is -"

"I'm teasing him - he's my boyfriend, don't worry." Reze drags the sweating Jin down the hallway towards the thumping music.

"Come on, that's mean!" He pleads, rubbing his arm as the music grows louder.

"Shut up! It was funny!" Her band grows bright red on her pale skin, smiling at it as she pushes the double doors in front of her open, the bass of the music instantly rattling the two's jackets. Inside, patrons are already crowding the dance floor - mostly green bands starting the night off with any connection. Both sides of the room have their own bars, quickly filling up with a mix of red and green bands demanding their free drinks.

Reze doesn't give him a choice, hooking her arm through his and steering him toward the bar. She moves through the crowd with ease, using the wall of bodies as a makeshift shield while her eyes never stop scanning around the room. Some of the greenbands turn towards Reze as she passes by, feeling their hungry gaze on her. It gives her relief when she hears their sighs of disappointment when they notice the red glow from her wrist, along with Jin and his dumb smile following her. They find a spot at the front of the bar, claiming two run down barstools for themselves.

"Wanna dance after a few drinks?" Jin asks as he spins around, taking in the growing chaos behind them. It's already getting crowded, people bumping shoulder to shoulder as they move across the floor.

"Yeah, I guess." Reze flags down the already stressed bartender to order some of the free beers - a new product by 'Static Blue'. As she waits, she slowly scans the room with a calculated calmness. But deep down, she can feel her nerves bubbling up - anyone they meet tonight could be a division soldier, waiting for their moment to strike and take Jin away. Worse, the copycat is somewhere in here - and they've always gotten their target through manipulation.

Yet, this somehow beats fighting Dimitri.

-Anything is better than that.-

Her vision catches a few green band guys trying their best to grab Reze's attention. She rolls her eyes at them and continues to scan the room. Another couple at the bar catches her eye, the red glowing bright off their arms. By the looks of it, they're pointing directly at Jin and Reze.

Hopefully - for everyone's sake at the party tonight - they're swingers, looking for some couple on couple action and think those two would be the perfect fit. It'll be easy to turn them down, at least.

"You think we're gonna make friends tonight? Maybe meet a few swingers?" She stops Jin from spinning, his face directly in front of hers. "Maybe I can watch ya with another woman…" She teases, rubbing his thigh.

He shoves her away, face turning a bright red. "No! Not happening, I'm not shareable, th-thank you!" The bartender comes back, placing the two drinks - normal looking beers in a glass cup, with the electric blue 'Static Blue' logo plastered on it. Jin hands Reze one of them, clinking their glasses together as they sip on their beverage. Behind Reze, Jin notices a group of men and women - a mix of the red and green light bands - huddling in front of a photographer for a picture.

"SMILE!"

SNAP - WHZZZZZZZZZZZ

"Don't worry, I'm not sharing you." She giggles out, wiping her mouth and leaning closer to Jin, her hand still rubbing his leg. "By the way - that changing room? I had a lot of fun. Private, very spacious… I could do that again." She leans back to her seat, arching her body to tease Jin. She loved playing this game with him - mostly to see him get flustered. But she realized she was also convincing herself that moments like this could become a permanent reality - if they could just survive the Hybrid Division.

The heat in his cheeks boils up. Jin could feel a heavy pulse throbbing in his nose - with a nosebleed threatening to drip onto his new outfit. "Yeah... really fun," He chokes out, voice raising an octave too high.

Reze laughs triumphantly - winning at her own game again - and covers her face. "How am I dating a guy who hates talking about sex??" She peeks through her fingers first, then pushes her drooping strands of hair behind her ear. "It's not like you're bad at it - like I'm having a lot of fun!"

A vein visibly throbbed at Jin's temple. "I - I don't know! I just - it's - awkward?" He barely stammers out. He can't articulate why it is, nor did he want to dig any deeper at this moment.

She shrugs, taking another sip of her beer. "You're ridiculous." She peeks back at him, her eyes softening at the stammering mess in front of her. "You're really lucky I like you."

Reze looks away, her playful smile melting into a calculated stare as she rescans the crowd. A familiar face passes by, completely unaware of the lethal weapon sitting mere feet away.

"Jin, I'll be right back. Watch my drink, yeah?" She slides her glass over to him, giving him a quick peck before slipping into the crowd.

"I'll be here."

It's barely audible to Reze as she shifts her demeanor. She runs her finger on the cold bar top as she passes by the man. It's someone she's familiar with - a sergeant in the Hybrid Division that she was on mission with a year ago in Madrid. He's a good soldier, and fought well when he and his strike team assisted her in securing a Devil Heart. He's in civilian clothes now, with a grey buttoned windbreaker and light slacks. His eyes - his black eye hidden behind a contact feigning his light brown irises - are fixated on the group green bands. He's telling some animated story as the group laughs and hollers at him. She passes by, lightly grabbing his hand and leaning towards his ear.

"Hey cutie, come with me…" Her voice is soft in his ear, tugging the man away. His friends' eyes go wide, followed by more yelling from them.

"Get some!!!!"

-He's getting something.-

Her hips sway with each step as she leads the man past the entering crowds of people, leading them to a side wall. The man leans on it, smiling and taking Reze's hand.

"Now, you're a bold o-" His eyes meet Reze's. She can feel his palm go ice cold when he realizes who he's with, the sweat instantly beading on his skin - the confidence he had earlier telling his story instantly evaporating. He tries to pull away, but her grip tightens like a steel vice as she leans closer to him.

"Where is it?" She asks, her voice still teasing and flirty. A crowd of people, another mix of boys and girls, stops in front of them and takes up space, blocking her view of the bar.

More importantly - it blocks anyone else's view of what's happening.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" The sergeant's voice waivers as he tries to discreetly pull away. He tries to step back, but Reze steps forward, closing the distance and leaning flush on his chest.

"Aw, honey… you don't wanna play?" Her grip tightens, the soldier's face twisting in pain. She can see the contact start to pop, the blackness peeking out from the side.

"Please - I - I don't know!" His voice rises, some of the patrons looking over. Reze turns to them, smiling and placing her cheek on his chest, rubbing her hand on him. The group turns back around to their friends, laughing about something else.

"If ya don't tell me… maybe I pull my trigger and kill everyone here. Except Jin, of course." She doesn't move her body, her ensnared target trying his best to discreetly wiggle out of her hold.

"Dimitri - Thoth said Dimitri would raid Tokyo if an-"

"Nope." She cuts him off, shifting her head towards him. "If H.D. wants to send Dimitri - I'll turn the whole city into a crater."

The sergeant's eyes widen, hitched breaths falling out as fear starts to consume him. "Yo - you wouldn-!"

"Honey…" She rubs her hand up his arm, fingers touching just under his chin. "You don't know what I'd do for Jin."

The sergeant's contact falls out, sticking to his cheek. He swings his free hand up to his face, covering his black eye in the process.

"I - I don't know where the hybrid's at! Just let me go!!"

"When ya see it…" She leans next to his shaking ear. "Let it know that if it tries anything, I'll turn it to ash." She quickly runs her hand down his wrist, her fingers snapping on the green light. It ignites with a sharp CRACK, popping off as electricity arcs into his skin. The sickening smell of singed arm hair and melted plastic hits the air between them. The man yelps, grabbing the wound, but is then shoved into the drywall behind. The wall rattles as the sergeant fidgets with the contact, trying to shove it back in as fast as possible through his panicked breath.

She knows that threatening it is gonna make it angry - make it get aggressive and come for them. It's risky, especially putting Jin in danger, but if she can get it to make a mistake and eliminate it before he knows?

All the better. And then she can actually enjoy her night with Jin.

Which is why her heart drops when she clears through a few green bands to Jin at the bar - and he isn't alone. He's smiling, rubbing his neck nervously while a dark-haired girl leans her elbows on the bar, standing just a little too close to him.

_______________

Jin watches Reze step away, not hearing a response.

*Probably going to the bathroom.*

It's chaotic behind him, the singles trying desperately to meet their next partner while the couples were pushing the boundaries of what was socially acceptable on the dance floor. Jin takes a look at his band, watching the red illuminate the wooden bar in front of him.

*I hope Reze wants to dance.*

It's not like Jin can actually dance, but at least he can maybe have fun. And, deep down, he knows Reze can dance. The way she moves around him when they train, it has to translate, right?

The more he looks at the red glow, the more it calms him, letting a genuine smile grow on his face.

*I'm taken.*

The band glows brighter, but suddenly starts to blink between red and green. His grin disappears as he pulls the broken light up, smacking it a few times. It blinks faster for another few seconds before it completely shuts off. Jin hits the plastic harder, his frustration mounting with each smack. Without that red light, he felt exposed - just another single guy in a sea of people. He sighs, throwing his head back in defeat, only for his hair to brush against an arm behind him. The person's high-pitched yelp startles him, which forces Jin to turn around and apologize.

"I am SO sorry!" When the barstool swings around to face where the scream came from, he feels the years of loneliness rush back into his body.

"…Jin?" The woman looks at him in shock. Her voice cuts into his core, the tone familiar as it bounces in and around his ears.

"Rina?"

She chuckles in surprise, wiping her mouth and putting her drink on the bar top. "Holy shit - what are YOU doing here??" She hugs him tight, Jin staying still as a board. "Out of all the people from school to see here…"

For whatever reason, the words don't come for Jin.

"Ye- yeah. I uh… wanted a drink?" Inside, he curses at himself. Looking at Rina - her light blue eyes and dark hair piercing his soul - brings him back to the classrooms. She was always the popular one, usually laughing with her friends at the back of the room as he would slink by on his way to ditch class - probably to hang out on the roof. But he could always feel her gaze as he would hurry by - a heavy, silent judgment that made him feel like he was constantly out of place. Seeing her now, under the club lights, that old feeling of disdain felt fresh, like he was reopening the door to the roof again.

"Well, let me grab you something. Old times sake, right?"

"…huh?"

Rina takes Reze's empty seat, immediately calling the bartender over to place an order of two shots.

"You know, I always wondered what was going on with you. Skipping class, hiding on the roof, all of it. Some of the guys said you were jacking off up there everyday." She giggles, leaning her elbow on the bar and turns to Jin. She lifts up her half-full drink and takes a big sip.

"NO. I wasn't - I just didn't like class. Like I don't know how you sat through Mrs. Itō's social studies class."

She was mid-sip when the memory hit, her laugh turning into a wet, sputtering pffttt that sent a mist of the mixed drink onto the bar top. She wipes her mouth, still laughing. "I FORGOT ABOUT HER! Oh man - remember her droning about the trade routes for wood?"

"First - timber." He points at her as the two shots are placed in front of them. "And second - no. The minute she actually wrote timber on the board, I got up and left. I wasn't dealing with that."

"How the hell did you manage to do that for years without getting caught?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

They both laugh - a genuine, loud sound that bridged the gap between the kid on the roof and the popular girl. They grab their shot glasses, the glass clinking with a sharp ping.

"Here's to the timber trade routes." Rina winks at Jin over the rim of the glass.

"And here's to us never running said routes."

They down their liquor - a cheap Japanese whiskey that stings Jin's tongue, but he hides his distaste for it as much as he can as his eyes water involuntarily.

"God, I hate the stuff. Why'd you let me buy it?" Rina jokes, shoving Jin's right shoulder. He winces, and her playful expression immediately changes into concern. "Sorry - you ok?"

"Yeah - long story. It's been a rough week."

"Well, I mean…" Rina holds up her arm, the green glow of her bracelet reflecting in her light blue eyes. "Not like I got anyone here to go back to. My friends all got guys they're talking to right now, guess I'm the odd one out. Funny, right?" She tosses her hair back, leaning closer to Jin.

It hits him there, how she shifts her posture towards him, the way she's close enough that he can pick up the floral scent of her perfume.

*Is she-*

Before he can process the situation, his arm is lifted up by Rina, her cool fingers inspecting his own bracelet. The dead piece of plastic sits quietly on his wrist, a dark void where the red light should be glowing confidently.

"What'd you do to yours?" She glances back at him, Jin noticing the growing hunger in her eyes - just like the first time in the alley with Reze.

"I don't know, it flashed for a second and died." He shows it to her, shaking his wrist to the unresponsive device, hoping it would come back to life.

"Maybe you're just unlucky…" She sips her drink, gaze still fixating on him - refusing to let him look away. "Also - that answer for the roof? I think that's bullshit."

"What? No! Really - I didn't like being in class."

"Maybe you were hiding bodies up there." Her voice drops to a low whisper. "Killing off the freshmen to have as a snack up there!" She laughs out, fully turning her body to Jin now, her knee grazing his leg. The action makes Jin realize how close Rina is to him now.

"Especially since the freshmen class of '19 totally went missing." He raises his hands up jokingly. "Ya finally caught me."

"I KNEW it!" She pushes her hair out of her eyes again, her laughter ringing out over the music. "I had a bet that you were a serial killer." She winks at him, taking another sip of the cocktail. "I don't know why, like you wouldn't kill anyone."

Jin stares ahead, laughing at himself as he brings his drink to his mouth to hide the sudden tension in his jaw. "Yeah. Not me."

SNAP - WHZZZZZZZZZZZ

The flash of the camera cuts through the haze of the club. As his eyes adjust from the light, he didn't see the crowd anymore - he swears, for a moment in his peripherals, the illuminated outline of the young man with his stab wounds and the big soldier with the glass in his chest are there, both their bloody faces and eyeless gaze staring back at him. When he blinks, the masses are gone, replaced by the group laughing at their picture.

"Not…me."

He swallows hard. His hand, suddenly shaky and cold, brings the glass back to his lips, but the liquid tastes like gunpowder.

"Thank god. So then when I ask ya to dance, you won't kill me right?" She raises her eyebrows, her smile growing.

"Oh - wha -" He looks down at his band and back up at her. "No I-"

A familiar, possessive feeling sends the hairs on Jin's neck straight up. Pale arms wrap around his chest, gripping him just tightly enough to remind him of her hidden strength, leaning his barstool backward against her body. A soft, lingering kiss is pressed to the nape of his neck before her chin rests casually on the top of his head.

"Him? Dance? Good luck getting him out there." Reze's voice is both a welcomed sense of relief and also the single most terrifying moment Jin's experienced since that night in the cafe.

"Oh - OH." Rina sits up, her blue irises locking onto the glowing red band from Reze's arm. "… Jin I didn't know you had game like that! She is GORGEOUS." She pushes off the bar, her stool scraping on the sticky wooden floor. When she stands, she throws her arms around the two, squeezing the three together in a big hug.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." She squeezes Jin's sides, her fingers digging in with a fraction of her hidden, crushing strength. Caught in the middle of the embrace, Reze's eyes don't blink, staying locked on to Rina's, carefully inspecting her irises intently. "You have beautiful eyes!"

"Oh, girl, YOUR eyes are beautiful!" She jumps back, the colors and shape of her irises remaining the same.

-Safe.-

"I-I'm so sorry! I'm Rina!! Me and Jin went to school together!" She rubs Jin's arm playfully as Reze fights a scowl off her face. "Who are you? Where did you go??"

Reze cocks her head on top of Jin's, his hair tickling her nose when she shifts. "I'm Reze, and I'm not from around here. And your school is beautiful - Jin took me to the roof for one of our first dates actually."

"SHUT UP. He was ALWAYS up there instead of being in class!"

"Well, he's a fucking idiot for not realizing what he had down there…" Reze delivers a sharp, unseen punch to Jin's ribs just as he reaches for his drink. He flinches, nearly swiping the glass over. He catches it in time, his heartbeat hammering violently against his ribs.

"He was smart when he was in class…" Rina's voice trails off as she looks up past their shoulders. She gasps, squeezing Jin's arm one last time. "HOLY SHIT! I HAVE TO GO - IT WAS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!!" She runs off into the chaotic crowd behind them, jumping and tackling another green banded girl from behind, the two of them screaming over the thumping bass.

"So - Rina?" Reze takes the empty seat next to Jin, leaning her elbows casually onto the cool, sticky countertop. "Did ya have a crush on her in school?"

"WH- NO!" He slams his drink down, the liquid spilling over the side. "I- Well, EVERYONE liked her, she was the it-girl, you know?"

"No, actually. I don't." Reze reaches over, takes Jin's half-empty beer, and finishes it in one tilt, waving the bartender over for another round.

"I'm just surprised you got hit on."

Jin raises his arm, showing off his broken bracelet. Reze flicks the plastic material to no avail.

"Wait - you hit on me before!" Jin pulls his arm down quickly.

"Because I had a job to make you feel like you were wanted."

A tiny crack in Jin's heart forms. It's a sickening feeling, anxiety ballooning like a lead weight in his stomach. "…Not like now… right?"

Reze, once again, doesn't hear Jin as she rescans the room. There's too many people - the copycat could be any one of these sweaty bodies, and thank god it wasn't the girl who was just there.

She watches a girl drag her red banded partner to the dance floor, immediately pulling him in as both sway to the heavy club music. She sighs.

-Was I just… jealous?-

A sudden high-pitched giggle slices through her thoughts. Reze whips back around to see Rina back to Jin's side, her hand rubbing slow circles into his back. Jin's red as ever, awkwardly shifting his weight away from her and into Reze.

"-No I'm good Rina. Trust me."

"Aw, baby, can't we dance ONCE for our high school class?" She leans in, whispering into his ear. "I know you wanted me. And I want you too."

Hellfire glows from Reze's eyes as she turns fully to Rina. When they both lock gazes, Reze finally sees it - Rina's iris, at that moment, twitches ever so slightly. The natural blue swaps into a sickly, unnatural green for a fraction of a second before snapping back to normal. A normal person - like Jin - would never have caught it, it happened too quickly.

"Go away." Reze's voice is calm, but dripping with venom. She shoves her stool back to stand up, the seat violently knocking over and slamming into a passing green band.

Rina stares at Reze for a long silent moment, scowling at her competition. She turns around and huffs off, shoving her way forcefully through the dancing crowd and disappearing into the chaotic scene. Reze calms herself, picking up the chair while keeping her sights fixed where Rina went. The seat thuds next to the bar as Reze stands next to Jin, her hand instinctively rubbing his side.

"Thanks for that." Jin grabs the two fresh beers the bartender just dropped off and gives one over. "Don't know why she got so handsy like that."

"People love hiding their true intentions." She raises her glass to Jin, who clinks his glass against hers.

As she takes a sip, the hairs on the back of her neck straighten. She's used to the stares, especially in a place like here, but the chill she feels running up her spine makes it different - it's from a deep hate and disdain for her existence.

And it could be from anyone behind her.

SNAP - WHZZZZZZZZZZZ

-It's too open here.-

"Ironic." Jin says, taking a slow sip of his beer. "Gonna always be guessing what you're using me for."

"Jin." She turns to him, the hellfire in her gaze dimming into something softer when their eyes meet. "I'm not using you, maybe for a bed and sex sometimes. But I told you - long haul." Reze forces an easy smile onto her face, trying to keep Jin calm through her truthful words.

Jin nods, snaking his arm around Reze's waist and pulling her against him. "I'm here for the long haul, too."

She plants another kiss on the top of his head. "I know."

The soft action patches the crack in his heart, the pit dissolving away as he leans back into her. "I lo-" Jin's jaw snaps shut, biting the words off before they could escape. He forces his confession back down into his body, shoving it into any crevasse it could fit. "I'm sorry about Rina."

"Huh? Don't be - I was messing with you. It's the jean jacket bringing the girls over." She grabs one of the hanging sides and turns the barstool towards her, abandoning her half-filled drink on the bar top. With one smooth motion, she hauls Jin off his seat and directly into her outstretched arms, dragging him into the chaos of the dance floor. The beats of the music vibrate through Reze's body as she begins to sway against him. "Right now - I'm proving you're not one of those greenies."

She crashes her lips against his, pulling him into her against the bass-boosted room. Jin presses into her, bending Reze's spine like a bow as onlookers ogle at them. Her hair swipes a dancer's back, the woman yelping in surprise, but she doesn't care. It's what she wanted to do all night after all - and she knows damn well Jin wanted this too.

Her hands trace over the rough denim of his jacket, gripping it tight.

-We gotta go shopp– -

Someone taps her shoulder.

"When's my turn?"

Reze opens her eyes to a massive man staring down at her, his thick hands reaching out to take her in. She immediately pushes off of Jin, who feels a small boost of confidence from that shot earlier.

"Are you serious? Back off." Jin tries to step between them, but Reze shoots an arm out, keeping him behind her.

"Listen. I'm not interested." Her voice drops low, the growl not changing the man's growing smile.

In his right eye, the dull brown iris gave a violent twitch.

"Aw… don't wanna leave him? All three of us could get out of here… it wouldn't be my first time…"

Jin finally gets past Reze's outstretched arm and shoves the man back. "DUDE. WHAT - NO!" His shoulder flares in pain at the shove, but Jin holds his ground in front of her.

"You'd be fun, too." The big man walks two thick fingers up the center of Jin's chest. "I'd have a good time with you..."

Reze aggressively smacks the guy's hand away from Jin. "No. Go away." She reaches for her pin, knuckles turning white as she prepares to pull it.

"Woah - hey now…" The man puts his hands up and shifts behind the shifting waves of people.

Jin loses sight of the man almost immediately, but Reze has him locked in. She watches the man dig through his pocket, taking out a small rectangular item. He places it on his chest, causing a small part of his flesh to rip open a small bloodless slit. The item is inserted into the cut, like cash in a vending machine. A sickening whirl comes from deep inside the man, which spits out another equally sized rectangle that flutters to the sticky floor. Reze can only catch the man's twisted grin filling his face as his skin starts to boil and bubble.

Suddenly, a tidal wave of college-aged green bands rush to the floor - shouting "this is our song!". It completely blocks Reze's vision of the man, and when they finally pass by, the bubbling man is gone - replaced by a half-dozen oblivious green and red bands swinging to the beat without a care in the world.

It makes her veins freeze over. She snaps her head around, her eyes darting frantically across the strobe-lit room, taking in every iris she can lock onto. Every eye she catches is perfectly still, retaining its shape and in blissful ignorance of the monster in the room.

"- you ok?"

The ringing in her ears stops when she turns back to Jin, whose bewilderment is palpable. "Did… he just ask us for a three way? Because I'm NOT -"

Reze slaps a hand over his mouth.

"I told you - no sharing. Let's… go to the other bar, yeah?" She takes his hand and guides him through the dense sea of bodies.

The hairs on the back of her neck shoot back up again. She stops dead in her tracks, causing Jin to bump into her back. She scans the second bar from across the room - shots and liquor sliding across the marble countertop as green and red bands mingle under the flashing lights.

"Actually, let's go back to the first one - probably less crowded." She turns around, walking back the way they came.

"Reze." He stops her, his broken band reflecting the colors from the overhead strobe lights. "Are you ok? Is something up?" He steps closer, his whisper almost lost to the bumping music. "Is the Hybrid Division here?"

She blinks, forcing a mask of confusion onto her face. "Wh- NO!" She fakes a laugh, still pulling him along. "We're safe Jin!"

He nods, but by the way his jaw tenses, he knows something's off. "You wouldn't lie to me, right?"

The words cut like a sharp blade through the music. A cold shiver races down Reze's spine as she tightens her grip on his hand, her fingers digging into his sweaty palm to steady herself.

"Never."

She pushes towards the bar, finding space between a group of flirting green bands. Jin joins her side, tapping on the marble.

"Why didn't you answer my question?"

"Huh? Which one?" She looks past him, cataloging each face in the room.

"About this being a job. And you… faking this?"

"Holy shit - get out of your head." Her head snaps to Jin, losing every ounce of patience. "Do I have to tell you every five seconds that this is real?" She rolls her eyes as she tries to flag down the bartender.

Jin leans back, the pit in his stomach expanding to an endless void. "N-no… sorry."

Reze huffs and fully turns away from him. She closes her eyes and wants to smack herself on her forehead - he's asking stupid questions, especially given the context of what's happening unbeknownst to him.

But he didn't deserve that.

-That was too harsh.-

She wants to turn around, apologize and tell him how she really feels. Maybe it'll fix everything - and get him to stop questioning the truth right in front of him.

Before she can, she notices the sergeant from earlier leaning over to a girl, whispering something into her ear, blocking his lips with his hand. The woman nods as they both turn their heads towards the bar. Reze doesn't flinch, giving them a taunting wiggle of her fingers as she beams a threatening smile at them.

-I'll make it up to Jin later.-

_____________

*Why do I ruin things with stupid questions?*

Jin takes the fresh beers from the bartender, sliding Reze's next to her. She doesn't notice, her silhouette still turned away as she continues to focus on the crowd.

*Something's up with her.*

His mind begins to spiral - maybe she already knows how he feels, and is realizing now that she's not there - or how she'd never get there with a guy like him.

Even though his new outfit gave him more confidence than he's ever had - he feels like he's back at square one, before the day he went into the cafe. He looks back at the back of his now girlfriend, their distance between them feeling like a canyon.

*She already knows how I feel. That's why she's not looking at me right now.*

The barstool next to him creaks, sliding back as a young woman with blonde hair takes the spot. She leans over the bar top and swings her hands wildly, trying to call the bartender over. It's a futile effort - he's already slammed with other screaming patrons for their orders.

"God… fuck this place." She huffs, slamming her hand onto the hard surface. The strike startles Jin, who spins to her and connects with her green eyes immediately.

"I'm so sorry - I just wanted a drink." She plays with a lock of her hair as she examines Jin, from the top of his head to his new boots. "Looks like you got lucky with your drink."

He takes a cautious sip of his beer and nods. "Yup, guess I did. Maybe try again?"

The woman shakes her head, letting a playful smile grow on her lips. "No - he looks busy. Guess I'll wait." She turns the stool towards him, her hair still twirling in her finger. "I'm Yumi, by the way. And you're…" She pretends to look for a name tag, giggling softly.

"Oh, uh Jin. Nice to meet you." He sips his drink again, his peripheral vision catching Reze. She's still turned away, unaware of what's happening to him.

*Please don't hate me.*

"So Jin… What happened to your band?"

"Huh?" He snaps out of his own head. "Oh, right, it broke on me. Just my luck right?" He looks down, the broken band shaking lifelessly on his wrist. "But it was red, trust me."

Yumi rolls her eyes, leaning in close to him. "Ughhh. I don't believe that. If you're a red-band, where's your partner?" She looks over the waves of people behind Jin. "You just don't wanna talk to meeee!" She playfully shakes his left shoulder, her finger lingering on his collarbone.

He shifts himself back, the touch making his skin crawl. "She's actually right next to me." He reaches behind him to tap Reze's hip, breaking her analytical fog.

"What?" She spins over, an edge from her voice dripping out of her fake smile. When Reze sees the blonde girl sitting next to Jin, her heart drops. And when she notices Jin's reaction to her voice, her stomach twists into tight knots.

"She was asking if I picked the wrong band." His voice is quivering and quiet. "Probably should tell her I did, huh?"

Reze clears her mind, pulling Jin nearly off his seat and into her lap. She possessively wraps her arms around him and presses a lingering kiss on his cheek.

"He picked the right band. He's not shareable."

Jin shudders at the sudden warmth. Reze then nuzzles into his ear, her voice whispering: "I'm sorry. It's not you, I promise."

Yumi's face falls into a scowl. "Oh..." She takes one last look at Jin, her eyes pleading to him. "Are you sure? I would never talk to you like that."

Reze squeezes Jin tighter, almost as an apology to him.

"There's WAY better-looking people here, I think you'll find someone awesome." Jin says and flashes a warm smile at Yumi before grabbing his cold drink and sipping it.

Yumi pushes her blonde hair back as her scowl grows. When Yumi's green eyes meet Reze's, the iris spasms and curdles into an unnatural shade of dark brown for a moment.

"Good try, though." Reze winks at Yumi.

The girl slinks away into a group of greenies, cursing at herself as she forces her way through the crowd.

"Thanks. Guess I'm the gem of the party." Jin slides off of Reze's lap and back onto his seat.

"I might have to incinerate a few people tonight." Her eyes meet his as she rubs his arm affectionately. "How's it feel?"

"Terrible, actually. Can you tell me what's up?" Jin grabs her hands, his thumb tracing nervously over her knuckles. "You seem… off."

"What? Me?" She pulls her hands away, forcing her racing heart to steady. "N-no. Sorry, just got a lot on my mind right now."

"Like…?" He gently caresses her cheek, turning her face back towards him.

"I'll tell you later, I promise." She forces another smile, gently lowering his hands from her face.

It's getting exhausting.

"Are… we ok?"

The insecurity in his voice cuts Reze to her core. "YES. WE'RE OK!"

Jin shoots back, nearly tumbling out of the barstool. Luckily, Reze's reflexes kick in; snagging the front of his shirt and holding him upright as the heavy stool slams onto the ground. Her breathing quickens as she pulls Jin close to her body.

"I fucked up… I'm sorry." She squeezes him harder, the pressure bending Jin's ribcage to the point of shattering.

-We shouldn't be here.-

*She's breaking up with me.*

A heavy curtain behind the DJ booth ripples, catching Reze's attention. The dark velvet is cracked open a smidge, just enough to make out what's behind it - Yumi. She's placing a Polaroid picture into that slit in her chest, her skin bubbling and swirling as her hair burns away. Another picture ejects from her slit, fluttering to the ground.

She could go in the back right now, wipe it off the face of this earth and return to Jin, snapping out of the panic she's in. But she can't leave him now - not when there's other division soldiers watching, and certainly not when Jin is actively trembling in her arms.

"Hey, Jin -" She runs her fingers softly through his hair. "I think we should -"

The sharp piercing sound of microphone feedback silences the heavy bass of the music. Reze whips her head to the sound - Luki standing on the main stage, his fake smile illuminated in the swirling colors. Resting beside him on the DJ booth is a Polaroid camera, aiming directly at the dance floor.

"Hello! From the bottom of our hearts here at Static Blue, we want to thank YOU guys for making the end-of-summer bash a massive SUCCESS!"

A deafening roar of applause erupts from the crowd as people throw their hands up. Reze tightens around Jin, watching Luki's iris violently twitch on stage.

"Now, I know we're all living on social media - we'd love to take a picture for the Static Blue page!" The crowd roars, bodies immediately crushing together to fit as many faces into the frame as possible. "I personally love to take things old school, much like tonight is about - connecting with people in real life! And if you like old school, then you'll love this!" He hoists the Polaroid camera off the podium to the screams from the crowd.

"Who's ready for the picture??"

"I'm… I'm not feeling good." Reze immediately stands up, taking Jin by the waist and dragging him to the exit.

She's not lying, ironically. The heavy pit of dread in her stomach coupled with the beating of her heart and pounding migraine were genuinely nauseating.

"Wait, hold on... I kinda wanna be in the picture…" He tries to dig his heels in, smiling towards the stage.

"No, no dumb pictures." She yanks him off his feet, forcing Jin to stumble towards the exit. "We can take one later, ok? I promise!"

"SMILE!!!" Luki's words echo through the speakers.

SNAP - WHZZZZZZZZZZZ

Jin looks over his shoulder to the stage - as does Reze, contorting in pure terror. The flash was blinding - searing their retinas as the Polaroid camera spits out a thick photo. Luki snatches the photo as it falls to the stage, a wide grin grows on his face.

"We'll post this up as soon as it develops!"

The group of reds and greens shout in a happy response, turning back to each other for conversation as the DJ gets back up to his laptop. As he scrolls through his playlist, Luki taps him, whispering something in his ear.

"Jin, let's get out of here."

"Ok…" He sighs out. He feels his confidence slip out from him. Having two girls and even a guy - not Jin's thing - wearing clothes picked out by a girl he lo-

*She'll never feel the same way.*

Sensing his emotional shift, Reze stops in the middle of the floor and grabs both sides of his face. "Hey, I'm sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you, ok? Let's do a movie night at home, I'll let ya choose!" She squeezes his face, forcing a warm, reassuring smile onto her face.

She can't keep this up forever.

They push past the final group of people, arriving at the double doors that let them in. Reze pushes on the bar.

The door hits a deadbolt and violently bounces back, its frame rattling.

Locked.

"What the…"

Suddenly, speakers pop with Luki grabbing the microphone.

"Now all ladies - single or taken - get your butts on the FLOOOORRRR!!"

A bass-boosted anthem explodes into the crowd, with a shrill yell of excitement coming from the girls. A tidal wave of women sprint by them, Reze's mind spinning too fast to even comprehend what's happening. A sudden hand comes out of the sea of passing girls, grabbing Reze's arm and yanking her with the group. She looks up and locks eyes with Rina's warm - and drunk - eyes.

"COME ON HOTTIE - GIVE JIN A SHOW!" Rina shouts as her friends shriek in agreement, dragging Reze deeper into the growing mosh pit. Reze tries to claw back to Jin, who's left standing alone by the locked doors. Before she can shout his name, another group of dancers rushes by, severing her line of sight to her boyfriend.

The club lights brighten as she's pulled into the center of the dance floor, the music hitting her chest in a rhythmic thump. Rina spins Reze around, throwing her arms up and forcefully moving Reze's stunned, rigid body. All around them, a hundred girls scream out the lyrics to the song, jumping to the beat.

All Reze can do is swallow her panic and work a massive, fake smile on her face.

She can't panic, not with all these people around. And if she leaves the floor now - one of the division soldiers will notice and make a move on Jin.

"YOU'RE SO LUCKY - JIN WAS SUCH A CUTIE!!" Rina shouts, spinning under Reze's outstretched arms.

The lyrics grow deafening as Reze starts to move with Rina, throwing her head back in a fake laugh in the process. But beneath the flashing lights, her eyes keep darting through the sea of people, desperate for a peek at Jin.

-I swear to you, I'll make it up somehow.-

________

Jin leans onto the heavy door, watching the horde of girls dance in the mosh pit. Through the shifting gaps between the bodies, he can catch a glimpse of Reze dancing. Her moves are a sight to behold as she lights up the floor with Rina as the chorus of the song is belted out by the women.

Another surge of people - mostly guys with their green-bands - push in front of his view towards Reze. It's obvious who their gaze is set towards.

"Have you seen that purple-haired chick? I gotta talk to her..."

"Green or red I'm dancing with her after this song!"

Jin sighs, sliding to the sticky ground and resting his head between his knees. Once again, in a room full of happy people, he's alone - again.

He blinks hard, a small hot tear forming at the corner of his eye. It's been a while since he wanted to cry, and right now - trapped at a party he didn't belong at while his girlfriend is forgetting about him - felt like the appropriate time to.

Heavy footsteps thunk towards him. He looks up to a set of familiar boots, along with an outstretched hand offering him up. He grabs it, letting Reze haul him to his feet. Her teasing smile is plastered on her face.

"Sorry about that, but I got your drink!" On her other hand is the beer from the bar Jin was unceremoniously dragged away from.

"Thanks…" He takes the glass, immediately bringing it to his lips for a small sip.

"No come on, be a man and DRINK IT UP!"

Reze tips the glass up, forcing the amber liquid down Jin's throat. He chokes in surprise as the beer spills out of his mouth, dripping down his chin and cheeks, as he forcefully swallows it down. When the glass is empty he pushes her hand away, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"The hell was that??" He coughs out, thumping his chest to clear out any liquid that went down his windpipe.

"Aw come on - you'll be fine." She leans in, her lips brushing on his ear. "I wanted ya to get one last drink before we have some fun. Gotta make sure you're hydrated…" She slowly walks her fingers up his chest. "…You know what I mean?"

"H-here? I thought we were leaving?" His face glows red as he takes her hand off his chest, holding it.

"No…no we're not leaving. Just follow me, yeah?" She playfully brushes the loose strand of hair off her eye. The familiar motion calms the ball of anxiety in his chest instantly.

"Sure, babe." He mutters out, having Reze lead him away from the exit.

She blushes, taking a peek back at him as she leads them on the outskirts of the dance floor. As they near a dimly lit side of the bar, his world suddenly begins to tilt. Jin's legs start to buckle and he stumbles into Reze's back - who turns around just in time to catch him.

Through his blurring vision and the overwhelming club music, she smiles down at him.

"You know I love it when you call me babe, right?"

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze's anxiety spikes as she continues the charade on the dance floor. Jin's no longer visible, her sightline completely blocked by a group of green-band men staring directly at her. Her mind runs in frantic circles, mirroring the growing mosh pit of sweaty bodies around her. She knows he's in his head, probably feeling sorry for himself and how he's the one ruining tonight - which couldn't be farther from the truth.

But Reze knows, deep down, she made the right call.

-Right?-

The worst part is the camera - it got everyone in the club. The Copycat could be anyone around her right now - or worse.

Suddenly, the song abruptly ends with the roar of exhausted dancers clapping and hugging each other under the sweeping neon lights.

"REZE!!" Rina shouts over the ringing in their ears. "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU GO TO OUR SCHOOL? WE WOULD'VE BEEN BEST FRIENDS!!"

Reze forces a painfully bright smile on her face. "YEAH! TOTALLY!"

She shoves herself forward through the crowd, pushing green and red bands alike out of her path as she beelines to the exit. A few green-bands try to stop her, grabbing at her hand and begging for a dance, but she flashes her red band and then bulldozes past them. She finally breaks through the never ending wall of bodies, but her stomach instantly drops.

Jin's not by the double doors - or anywhere near them for that matter. She whips her head around, her dark purple hair flopping as she scans around - no sad boyfriend in sight.

Her lip starts to quiver as she walks over to his last known spot, crouching down and letting out a shuddering breath.

-I should have told him.-

She looks back at the glossy floor, past all the happy couples enjoying their night, right towards the DJ booth. The DJ is currently cycling through his laptop for the next song, but a person comes behind him.

The sergeant from earlier.

He whispers something in the DJ's ear, followed by a nod and a quick pat on the back. He then slips behind the heavy velvet curtain as another heavily built man - undoubtedly another Division soldier - follows close behind. The DJ immediately picks a fast, high energy track that shakes Reze to the core as he also vanishes behind the curtain.

-They got him.-

She watches a third man come from behind the curtain, jumping down and casually pushing his way through the dance floor.

-I'm gonna kill them.-

The man looks pleased with himself - the smug aura of a successful mission is stapled on his face. He pushes his way to the bar, ready for a celebratory drink.

Reze's eye twitches.

-I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL THEM-

The music's frantic beat picks up as the dance floor erupts into a chaotic sea of grinding bodies. Reze carefully intersects through the crowd, her eyes locked directly to her target. The man - wearing a light blue windbreaker and slacks - passes some green banded girls, eyeing them up and giving them a quick smirk.

What he doesn't notice is Reze closing the gap. And in the sea of dancing bodies and deafening music, how could he see the predator stalking him?

As she pushes a couple making out in the middle of the floor, she throws her shoulder directly into the soldier's chest, feigning an accidental collision. He stumbles, turning to Reze with a polite smile.

"Oh I'm so sor-" Is all he manages to get out.

Reze's hands are already locked around the back of his head and jaw. With a brutal, sickening crack masked completely by the heavy bass, she snaps his neck. The man's pupils blow out when his fading brain tries to process what's happening. Dark blood starts to drip out of his nose, staining his shirt as Reze shoves him into the dense crowd. She continues, knowing the loud bass will keep any warnings quiet for at least a few more minutes.

With a quick, silent vault, she hoists herself onto the stage. She takes one last look back at the crowd; her lethal presence completely ignored by the partying masses. Before she turns to the curtain, the DJ booth catches her eye - the polaroid camera hidden behind the booth. It's left alone - probably the job of the soldier she just murdered to collect it.

In one fluid motion, she shoves the dark, heavy curtain aside.

The backstage is a drab, grey hallway cluttered with boxes of shirts, extra bands, and tons of Static Blue cans shoved haphazardly against the walls. As she walks, her green irises begin to ignite under the dull lights. She bends her foot back and reaches inside her boot, the cold steel of her knife sliding into her hand as she continues down the hallway.

Down by a red door sits two people on wooden crates - the DJ and the girl talking to the sergeant from earlier. They're laughing about something, the girl flicking away her fake contact as she aggressively rubs her black eyeball.

The thumping music from the club bleeds from the walls, covering her footsteps.

"- and I HATE these fucking things." She groans as the plastic flutters to the ground, the dull ceiling lights illuminating the fake brown iris from the contact.

"Gotta be the last undercover gig for a while, right? I'm not gonna complain - these things mess with my depth perception." The DJ is busy digging into his eye, trying to get the disguise off, his back completely turned away from the hallway.

Reze doesn't slow her pace, walking calmly towards them. She puts her hand behind her back, hiding the blade from the two.

"Hey." She calls out, keeping her voice as calm as she can.

The two spin around, their eyes widening in sudden terror.

"Fuck - GET UP THERE NOW!" The DJ pushes off the crate and swings the red door open, shoving the girl through the threshold. She hits the ground hard, scrambling up down the hallway as the heavy door slams shut behind her.

When the DJ turns back around, Reze's already next to him, her hand up next to him as a dark crimson liquid drips off the edge of her blade. He puts a trembling hand up to his neck, feeling the warm rush of his blood spilling and splashing onto the concrete below. His knees buckle instantly as Reze shoves aside, trying to gurgle out an incomprehensible threat to her.

She pulls the door open just in time to catch the woman finally finding her footing. Reze throws the knife deep into the woman's left thigh, immediately immobilizing her as she screams in pain. Blood starts to seep into the woman's jeans as she claws away from Reze - who continues her threateningly calm pace.

"FUCK YOU!" The woman screams out in Russian, frantically grasping for the sharp piece of metal in her leg.

Reze gets to her first, slamming the heel of her boot onto the handle of the knife. The blade crunches deeper into her muscle and bone, severing the woman's femoral artery in the process.

"Where?" Reze asks, keeping her boot pressed heavy on the hilt.

The woman howls in agony, her screams swallowed by the thumping concrete, as she attempts to push Reze's leg off. In response, Reze leans her weight forward. More blood gushes out, soaking the woman's ruined jeans.

"UPSTAIRS! THEY TOOK HIM UPSTAIRS!"

Reze nods blankly. She leans down and quickly yanks the knife out from the woman. She takes two steps forward, then pauses, turning her head slightly to the dying agent.

"Don't think about coming up." Is all she can think to say as she heads down the hallway. The woman screams something vile back at her, but between the muffled bass and the ringing in Reze's ears, she couldn't hear it. The only thing that mattered was reaching the roof.

She climbs up the stairs, facing a heavy black door with a faded "Roof Access" sticker clinging to the metal. The closer she gets to the door up top, the more voices she can hear. When she reaches the top, she slowly opens the door and peeks out.

There's at least ten soldiers scattered across the rooftop, all still in their civilian clothes. Some she recognizes - like the sergeant, the second bartender, but most look like fresh recruits. Several of them are carrying compact rifles, and judging by the discarded weapon cases stacked on the air conditioning units, they've been preparing for a war. Behind them, idling near the edge of the roof, sits a massive, dark green Chinook transport helicopter, its rear ramp lowered to the asphalt.

Inside the metal cavern of the chopper, Reze's heart plummets.

With his arms bound in nylon rope the tubular frames, Jin sits slumped, taking shallow raspy breaths. It's from a toxin Reze knew all too well - a liquid knockout agent easily concealable in drinks and food. Only a few drops were needed to pacify even the most elusive and daunting enemies of the Hybrid Division. By the looks of it, they made sure Jin wouldn't be up anytime soon.

Her knuckles turn white as she grips her knife harder. The thought of them even touching Jin felt like a slap in the face to her.

She slips through the doorframe, the metal shutting behind her with a soft click. Staying low to the ground, she glides towards a collection of crates, all adorned with the Divisions tell-tale logo. She takes a quick peek inside - the crate is filled with weapons, Kevlar body armor, as well as grenades and other explosives.

-I shouldn't have done this.-

Harsh laughter cuts through her self pity. She leans from behind the crate to the sound - it's a few of the soldiers standing by Jin on the open ramp. They're trading stories of their first purchases when this is all done - one bragging about a new house in some remote island, another is buying a new watch to add to his collection

Her grip on the knife tightened until her hand shook. One of the soldiers - dressed in a pilot suit - brushes past the men and gives a rapid, circular hand motion.

They're taking off in sixty seconds.

Suddenly, a shadow detaches itself from the side of the helicopter.

The Copycat - wearing Reze's face. She's dressed in Reze's exact outfit, hair done up exactly like her.

The fake Reze saunters up to one of the bragging soldiers, walking her fingers playfully up his arm and whispering something in his ear. The soldier grins at her, saying something inaudible back to her, causing her to blush.

Reze's blush.

Pure, blinding rage detonates inside Reze's chest. Her hand is already moving before her mind realizes what's happening - throwing her knife directly at the Copycat. The blade cuts silently through the air, slicing a single strand of the fake Reze's hair before sinking perfectly into the flirting soldier's eye socket. His face twists in utter confusion for a fraction of a second before his knees give out. Crimson liquid sprays from his ruined eye as he topples backwards, landing motionless next to Jin's legs.

The fake Reze whips around, locking eyes with the real Reze crouching behind the crates.

"GET HER!"

Rifles are raised, the charging handles slapping forward like a chorus of metallic CLACKS. Between the footsteps and the music from below - now picking up with a faster beat song - the rooftop rumbles in activity.

A fake patron turns the corner of the crate, raising a compact pistol. Reze kicks him from her crouched position, driving the toe of her boot directly into his face. His skull shatters under the impact, sending him careening backwards into the fuselage of the Chinook. He tumbles violently into the cabin, his head smashing into the front instrument panel, painting the glowing gauges with a smear of blood and brain matter.

The pilot yelps, shoving the body aside and quickly flicking the ignition switches. Above them, the massive rotors start to swirl to life, the downdraft whipping up loose trash rustling the fabric of the combatants' clothes.

Reze reaches for her pin on her neck, about to pull and level the entire roof. But through the roaring engines, she hears the muffled, thumping of the bass from the club below. Hundreds of innocent people are still packed onto the dance floor, completely oblivious to the warzone above them.

Her finger twitches on the cold metal of the ring, Reze's nose crinkling in thought.

"It's what you are." Thoth's words swirl in her subconscious. It'll be so easy - transform and rip them to shreds, saving Jin in less than a minute. But, the blast radius would undoubtedly collapse the building, crushing everyone inside.

After a moment, her finger slips from the ring.

-I'm not like them.-

A bullet splinters the wooden crate inches from her face, showering her jacket in sharp debris. She keeps low, following the perimeter of the box to the opposite side. As a soldier swings aggressively around the corner, Reze lunges, ripping the rifle entirely out of his grasp. In the same motion, she aims down and blows out his kneecap. As he shrieks and collapses in front of her, Reze hooks the top of the rifle around his throat, pulling his thrashing body back behind the crates. He claws frantically at her arms, but the more he fights back, the tighter Reze pulls and crushes his windpipe. The man's skin turns a deep purple and with a final, hitched gasp, he lies still.

She shoves the corpse forward and into the open. She follows behind the body, using the new shield as she rests the barrel of the stolen rifle on his limp shoulder.

She quickly takes aim and squeezes the trigger.

TAKA-TAKA-TAKA-TAKA

Three soldiers drop down instantly, their chest blown open by the burst of the high-velocity rounds. The remaining soldiers dive behind air conditioning units and metal vents, returning a chaotic hail of suppressing fire. Their bullets slam into the dead soldier's body in front of Reze with wet, hollow thuds.

CLICK

Reze rolls back behind the crate, unloading the magazine from the rifle and tossing the empty rifle away. She grips the metal rectangle, waiting for them to push.

Over the roar of the helicopter blades, heavy boots sprint towards her flank. She readies the magazine, and when the soldier swings around the corner, he's struck in the head with deadly precision. His head knocks back, pulling the trigger of his rifle - which sprays bullets past Reze and sends the rifle out of his hands.

She slips her jacket off and kicks the man in the jaw, spinning him forward and facing his strike team. Reze wraps the loose jacket around his neck, yanking it tight and pushing him forward.

"W-WAI-" The man begs, but friendly fire instantly tears through his jaw, severing his tongue. He spits out a chunk of the bloody flesh out as he's shoved forward, his own team's bullets riddling his chest. As his knees give out, Reze shoves his dead weight into an advancing shooter - swinging her jacket back on in one motion - sending the shooter and the body both tumbling into the asphalt.

She turns to her left - the sergeant from earlier frantically slapping at his rifle to clear out a jam. She dashes forward, closing the distance in an instant, ready to bury her fist into his stomach.

But the sergeant was faster. He parries the strike, twisting Reze's arm violently and flipping her hard on her back. A wicked grin splits on his face as he towers over her.

"TOO…SLOW." His iris twitches erratically at her as he raises his boot up, ready to crush her skull.

Reze rolls to the right just as his heel shatters the concrete where she was. A thick cloud of dust plumes into the air. Through the haze, the Copycat steps behind it, reaching into its pocket. It takes out another picture from one pocket, and picks up a smoke grenade from the open crate from its side. It casually pulls the pin and throws it at her feet.

Thick grey smoke immediately encapsulates the rooftop. A squeamish, wet sound of boiling flesh echoes from within the cloud. Reze shoots up, spotting a silhouette lunging at her through the fog.

She throws a furious punch, burying her hand deep into the attacker's chest. She looks up, her fist buried in the chest cavity of the real sergeant. He coughs up a thick mouthful of blood, his unshifting iris glazing over as he fades away. She rips her arm free, letting his heavy corpse slam onto the asphalt.

There's a shout from behind the smokescreen, followed by a hail of gunfire. Reze sprints to the helicopter, diving behind the landing gear as bullets spark off the reinforced hull. She crawls up the ramp and over Jin ripping the knife out of the first soldier's eye.

The gunfire pauses as the shooters reload. Reze sprints out and rushes the remaining four soldiers. Her eyes dart frantically, trying to identify the Copycat among the balaclavas now over their faces.

The bartender from downstairs stands out the most with his pink shirt that has The Blender sprawled on his chest.

He's the odd man out.

Reze reaches him first and slashes his throat open with a flick of her wrist. Blood sprays out the cut as he gurgles out a curse while he collapses to the ground. She turns to the remaining three masked men as they rotate around and fire her way. Each step they take gets them closer to the helicopter, the heavy blades now fully spinning.

"GET IN!" The pilot screams over the deafening roar of the rotors, waving them toward the ramp.

The men scramble into the cabin, their boots clanking against the metal floor. One reaches behind them and tosses out a flashbang towards her. A blinding strobe illuminates the roof, washing out Reze's vision. She blindly dives towards the helicopter, her knife raised, and tackles the first mass she connects with. She drives the blade straight into the man's temple, the terrified glimmer light in his eyes immediately extinguishing. She rips the knife out of the body and stands up as her vision comes back.

Only two left.

In here, Reze knows the Copycat's at a major disadvantage - it's always relied on surprising its victims, but in a straight up fight? It's a brawler like most of the other hybrids, its frail body usually thrown around during training sessions.

Through the thinning smoke, she sees a lone Division soldier, his assault rifle trembling violently in his hands as he aims at her. But he couldn't pull the trigger.

Behind him, a shadow was using him as a shield as the helicopter lurched violently upward, with the immense downdraft finally clearing the smoke from the roof.

The trembling soldier's eyes bulge in horror as a set of elongated, razor sharp claws burst through his sternum from behind. The soldier drops the rifle to his side as the Copycat rips its hand back, tearing the man's lungs out. The body rears back and is thrown Reze's way, forcing her to slam her body to the side of the rising helicopter. The corpse rolls onto the asphalt of the roof, face and arms cutting and slicing open from the force of the throw.

Reze spins around just in time to block an overhead swipe.

That's when she looks at her attacker.

Jin.

The new jean jacket, the soft, anxious eyes, the messy dark hair.

All of him.

"Babe, what's wrong? I'm right here." It says in Jin's comforting cadence. The clawed hand Reze's holding back is soaked in the dead soldier's blood, which begins to drip steadily on her top.

She shoves the arm away and drives a knee to its stomach. The strike connects, causing the fake Jin to double over in a gasp of pain. She winds up with a right hook to its face, but when it looks at her with the soft, familiar eyes, she hesitates. Her fist sails past its ear, denting the metal frame of the helicopter with a loud CRANG.

It scrambles back, cracking its neck with a sickening pop and letting its head droop unnaturally to its right shoulder. It mimics Jin's smile as its elongated fingers droop to its side.

"Aw… baby. What's the matter?" It mocks, Jin's voice distorting into a wet, guttural grow. "Can't hit me?" It steps towards her, flexing its claw with his innocent expression.

She glances sideways at the real Jin, who's still unconscious and tied up on the seats. She knows what's in front of her is not him, but the sheer, uncanny accuracy of her boyfriend made her stomach twist.

In her moment of hesitation, the Copycat lunges and tackles onto the cold metal grating below. The Copycat straddles her waist and pins her arms down, leaning its face close to hers.

"Baby… give me a kiss…" The skin around its jaw suddenly tears open,its mouth contorting into a horrific maw of four long dagger-like teeth dripping with saliva.

Reze frees one of her hands and jams her fingers into the creature's eyeballs. The fake Jin shrieks out in a distorted wail, immediately releasing her as it claws at its own face while thick liquid pours from its sockets. She plants her boots on its chest and kicks upwards, launching the hybrid into the ceiling of the cabin. It crashes back down to the floor in a heap. She scrambles over to it and grabs its head, slamming it repeatedly into the metal floor until it starts to dent.

BANG BANG BANG

Gunshots ring from the cockpit, just missing Reze's head as she locks onto the shooter. The pilot's aiming wildly over his shoulder. He pulls the trigger again, with the slide of the pistol locking back.

Reze stalks towards the cockpit, her eyes glowing in pure hellfire as the pilot's breathing turns frantic. She snatches the pistol out of his trembling grip, and snaps it in half with her bare hands and forcibly slams his hands back on the flight stick.

"Don't stop flying." She commands.

The pilot nods frantically, gripping the controls again and gluing his attention to the instruments.

She rushes back to the real Jin, past the copycat - who's still clawing at its eyes and screeching in agony. She drops to her knees and grabs the nylon restraints, slicing through them as Jin's arms limply drop to his side.

SHREEEEEE

A shower of sparks ignite next to her ear. She tackles Jin to the floor just as the Copycat's claws shear through the metal wall. The chopper whines under the impact as the creature catches its balance near the edge of the open ramp.

"I love it when you play rough…" It snarls at her, the eyes regenerating, the irises twitching wildly as they reform in their sockets. It leans down and pounces at her, its nails outstretched in front of it.

She rolls under its leap, catching its ankles mid-air and slams it face first into the metal ground. As the Copycat bounces back up, she slices the knife up its chest and spins, connecting a heavy kick into the open wound. It careens backwards like a cannonball, smashing through the cockpit doors, and collides with the pilot and center console. Sparks and thick black smoke erupt from the crushed panels as the hybrid moans in pain, grabbing at its wounded chest.

The pilot grabs its head, shoving it off the gauges and switches.

"GET THE FUCK BACK UP THERE!" He screams at the Copycat.

The hybrid shrieks at him, slashing at the pilot in an instant. Its claws bury deep in the pilot's neck. Veins and arteries easily tear as a dark crimson liquid waterfall sprays onto the windshield. His body spasms violently before slumping against the shattered controls.

The Copycat stands back up in the smoke, opening its jagged mouth to catch the spraying blood as its chest cavity audibly snaps and stitches itself back together.

She crawls over to the real Jin, cutting the zip tie loose. His body slumps over as Reze catches him. She lightly touches his hair, his breathing ok. And she hugs him for a second, the screams from the fake Jin coming from behind her.

Reze turns to the real Jin, quickly shaking at his limp shoulders.

"WAKE UP!" She shouts over the blaring cockpit alarms, her fist twisting the denim tighter and tighter.

Suddenly, Jin groans. His eyelids flutter, peeling back to reveal hazy, unfocused pupils as he tries to blink away the chemical fog. When his vision clears and realizes Reze's holding him, his irises immediately blow out in terror as he scrambles backwards to the cockpit.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK!??" He screams out in a cracking voice. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? I THOUGHT -"

"THAT WASN'T ME!!" She roars at him, snatching a discarded rifle on the floor and tosses it on his lap. "TURN AROUND AND SHOOT THAT THING!"

He's about to retort, but the helicopter violently jerks downward. The dead pilot falls out of his seat as the massive machine throws itself into a nauseating tailspin. Gravity disappears to them as all three are thrown into the walls. Jin manages to grab a steel pipe, fighting the intense G-force to look toward the cockpit.

He locks eyes with himself.

"HOW THE-"

The pilot's leg catches the flight stick and pushes it down, sending the chopper plummeting back to the roof. It smashes sideways onto the roof, the massive rotor blades instantly shattering against the asphalt and launching deadly shrapnel off into the night sky. The fuselage groans, tearing itself apart in a cloud of sparking metal and choking dust. Reze is quickly ejected from the open ramp, rolling hard on the asphalt. She catches herself and scrambles to her knees, she watches Jin's gun clatter mere inches from her. She picks it up and aims it at the billowing smoke from the wreckage.

"JIN! ARE YOU OK?" She shouts.

From the swirling gray fog, two figures stumble out. Both are coughing and rubbing their heads. Both are wearing the same denim jacket.

Both are Jin.

They lock eyes with Reze's aimed rifle, and both instantly throw their hands into the air.

"Reze… what the fuck is happening??" The Jin on the right asks, staring at his twin in horror.

"What… the hell??" The other screams out at the other Jin before turning back to her. "You gonna shoot it or what?"

"Why should I trust you?" Her voice cracks from the question. Both look completely identical, whatever wounds the Copycat had are completely healed.

The left one shakes his hands in the air. "So, you wanna tell me why YOU spiked my drink?" He takes a step forward, but Reze immediately turns the gun to him. He lets out a loud, frustrated sigh. "You can't even recognize me?"

The one on the right doesn't move an inch. "Reze, it's me! You wanna like TELL ME WHAT THE FUCKS GOING ON??" His face is beet red and he's visibly shaking as he tries to steady himself.

Her finger starts to twitch on the trigger. Her palms go clammy as she grabs the handle harder, causing the heavy rifle to sway slightly in her grip.

-Where's the twitch?-

She stares deeply into their irises. Both sets remain perfectly still.

-WHERE'S THE TWITCH?-

"What are you doing?? SHOOT IT!" The left one screams and points one on the right.

"Wh-ME? I'M THE REAL ONE?!"

Reze's breath turns ragged as her nose crinkles in panicked thought. Never in her life had she hesitated to shoot an enemy, but the mere thought of being wrong…

-WHERE'S THE TWITCH???-

"Hey, Reze? It's ok… let's put the gun down and talk." The left one says softly, taking a cautious step forward. Her gun raises to him, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Ok… so we're keeping the gun up. Cool."

The right one looks at her, utterly bewildered. "Reze, can you tell me what the fuck you're about to do!?"

"SHUT UP!" She shrieks, dropping her head down as she hyperventilates. She can't think straight - her mind on the verge of snapping. She knows she's lost control of the situation - exactly what the Copycat wants, using the confusion to potentially eliminate her and recapture Jin.

She squeezes her eyes shut, takes a deep breath, and exhales. She lowers the gun an inch and tilts her head.

"What's my favorite color?"

Both Jins freeze, their eyes glazing over in identical confusion.

"…Huh?" The right one stammers out.

"My favorite color. Now. Or I'll shoot both of you." Reze jerks the barrel of the rifle towards them.

The two Jins slowly turn their heads to look at each other.

"…Are you serious?" The left one scoffs.

"Reze, I have absolutely no idea what your favorite color is." The right one's voice exudes genuine panic.

"Now." Her finger tightens on the trigger.

"Fine - SHIT. Uh… PURPLE." The left one looks up at her, his eyes twinkling with hope. "I know it's purple. Everything purple is your favorite!!"

Reze gives a slow nod. She shifts her gaze - and barrel of the rifle - to the right one. He takes a terrified step back.

"I…I can't copy him right?"

Reze shakes her head.

"FUCK ME. It's… uh… I don't know, turquoise?!?" The right one throws his hands up higher with a look of defeat.

"Holy shit." Reze smiles. "Awful answer."

The left one lets out a sigh of relief.

She swings her rifle back to the left one and pulls the trigger.

Five shots tear through the left Jin's chest with a wet thump. He stands completely still for a moment, his face twisting in pure, unadulterated shock.

"Re…ze?" It whispers, but as the words leave its mouth, half of its skin begins to boil over, melting its olive colored skin away to the paler skin and face of Rina.

"I'LL EAT YOUR STOMACH YOU BITCH!" It yells out as it launches itself forward.

The real Jin falls to the ground and puts his hands over his head.

TAKATAKATAKATAKATAKATAKA

Reze unloads the rest of the magazine into the airborne creature, shredding its torso apart as it crashes violently into the asphalt by her feet.

While it bleeds out, its body convulses as it rapidly shifts into its faces - Yumi, then Jin, then the guy on the dance floor, then Reze, then back to Yumi - until the disguises melt away into its true form. Its a faceless, charred monstrosity. Its skin looks like melted tar with two dark feline-like eyes stapled open. Its lipless, gumless maw lies open, trying to screech, but only manages a pathetic sigh as its lungs fill with its own blood. The slit opens vertically on its chest, ejecting the polaroid it took in the club into the night air. It flutters gently to the ground, finally resting face up on the top of the Copycat's lifeless chest.

Reze throws the rifle to the ground and runs to Jin, throwing herself on top of his quivering body. She wraps her arms around his body, giving him a deserved tight squeeze.

"Wh-wh-"

"Jin, you're safe. It's over." She whispers into his shoulder with a quivering voice. "Only you'd say something so dumb." She pulls back, framing his face in her hands, and allowing a real smile to finally fill her face.

She brings him in for a celebratory I'm-sorry-for-the-night kiss.

Before her lips can meet his, she's forcefully shoved back. She blinks, stunned, as Jin scrambles away from her.

"Reze, what the fuck is happening?? Why is the Hybrid Division here? What the fuck is THAT?" He points at the motionless, charred hybrid on the roof.

Behind him, the downed helicopter finally catches fire, spilling the burning fuel across the roof. The heat hits the back of Jin's neck, forcing him to his feet and starts marching toward the exit.

Reze chases after him, trying to grab his arm. "…Tonight was a trap set by them. I should have told you, but it was extremely dangerous, more than I thought it would be. I'm… I'm sorry."

Jin stops right by the sergeant's body, his boots inches away from the encroaching pool of blood "You.. what? Did you just… USE ME? And you didn't TELL ME?? What the FUCK REZE??"

He steps over the corpse and shoves the roof door open, his rage boiling over. Reze follows after him onto the stairwell, her echoing footsteps chasing his as he swats away every attempt she makes to grab at his sleeve.

"No! it's either I did this and stop them here, or they send something worse after us! And you're not ready for that!" The metal door slams shut behind her.

"NO, FUCK YOU! YOU USED ME TONIGHT?? JUST LIKE BEFORE, HUH?!" Jin roars at her. "Lying to me all FUCKING NIGHT because you don't trust me?"

He gets to the bottom of the stairs and yanks the door open, nearly clocking Reze in the face. Behind the metal sits the Division woman from earlier, her body sprawled out onto the hallway. Her hand is stretched forward, as if her last movement was to try to open the door and warn the strike team of what was coming.

"That's not what I'm say -"

"No, that's EXACTLY what you're saying." Jin kicks the other door open, revealing the dead DJ slumped on the supply crates in a pool of his own blood. "OH COOL, HE WAS IN ON IT TOO! LOOKS LIKE EVERYONE WAS IN ON THE 'HEY LETS GET JIN PARTY' EXCEPT ME!" Jin throws his hands up in disbelief.

"WOW. YEAH OK - WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE, HUH?" She shouts back in the echoing hallway.

He shoves the heavy curtain to the side, half expecting to have the group of dancers stop and stare at him.

*Let them look, why do I care?*

Instead, he's greeted by a completely empty club. Hundreds of red and green bands are discarded onto the sticky floor. Everything else is where it's supposed to be - the DJ booth, the barseats, and - not to Jin's surprise - a dead body sprawled in the center of the dance floor.

"WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE IS TOLD YOU WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THEN MAKE A PLAN TOGETHER? I think that sounds pretty FUCKING REASONABLE??" Jin jumps down to the dance floor, kicking a pile of light bands out of his way.

"Are you serious? There was A HYBRID THAT COULD TURN INTO ANYONE AND HIDDEN DIVISION SOLDIERS - HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO?" Reze shouts from the stage. "YOU WERE TOO BUSY TALKING TO RINA -WHY DON'T YOU GET YOUR OLD SCHOOL FLAME?"

"ARE YOU-!" He spins back towards the stage, his face red with anger. "THAT WAS NOTHING. I WAS SURPRISED AS YOU WERE - AND YOU KNOW WHAT? MAYBE SHE WOULD'VE TOLD ME WE WERE WALKING INTO A DEATH TRAP!"

Reze lets out a deep breath out, gripping the side of the DJ booth hard enough to bend the plastic material. "What the hell do you know? That could have been the Copycat. then she would have taken you, THEN WHAT SMARTASS?"

"WE WOULD HAVE AT LEAST FIGURED OUT SOMETHING TOGETHER. UNLIKE YOU - THE 'INVINCIBLE BOMB DEVIL' WHO HAS TO DO EVERYTHING HERSELF!"

She freezes. The look of pure, unbridled rage behind Jin's eyes makes her stomach drop. "...I'm protecting you." Her voice comes out in a defensive whisper.

"NO, WHEN YOU LIE TO ME I'M IN MORE DANGER. AND YOU CAN'T ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU'RE GETTING HURT."

She points at him, trying to stay calm - but her trembling finger tells otherwise. "I didn't get hurt tonight - I had it under control."

Jin's hands glide through his hair as he chuckles quietly to himself. "Yeah, tonight you TOTALLY HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL." He swings his arms to the dead body. "And how about last time? You threw yourself at the Trap Devil and got caught IMMEDIATELY. I stayed and HELPED YOU. AND HOW ABOUT THE GHOST DEVIL? DIDN'T WE TAKE IT DOWN TOGETHER??"

"I TOLD YOU TO RUN BOTH TIMES!"

"FUCK THAT! YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LEAVE YOU BEHIND?? YOU'RE NOT THIS INDESTRUCTIBLE WEAPON!! AND GUESS WHAT?? I HATE WATCHING YOU GET HURT!"

She shakes her head, her own anger rising back up to mask her feelings. "I CAN HANDLE MYSELF!"

He glares up at her, his restraint finally breaking.

"TELL YOURSELF THAT! BECAUSE I CAN'T WATCH YOU GET HURT LIKE THAT. YOU KNOW WHY??"

Jin's whole body is now vibrating. Everything he wanted to say - another argument about how they should be working together, or calling her out for lying to him again - is suddenly overridden by a single, overwhelming truth that explodes from the bottom of his chest.

"BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE YOU, REZE!"

The words bounce around the empty club. Reze takes a step back, stumbling like she got hit with a high caliber bullet.

-He…-

Jin sucks a heavy breath in. He can't believe it - the feeling was buried beneath layers and layers of emotions he's suppressed, something he's learned from years of self deprivation and isolation. He feels the sudden heat of tears stream down his cheeks as he turns away from her, ashamed of himself.

"I love you Reze." He chokes out, any anger in his voice dissipating. "I know it's only been two months. I know it's insane and fast. But every moment I have with you - every second - matters to me. Your smile, the way you look at me, the way you make me want to be better - something Rina could NEVER do. It actually hurts how much you mean to me."

He forces himself to turn around to her and look up. "But, doing this? Shutting me out and lying? I get I'm not you Reze, and I never will be. But I thought we were a fucking team! Hell, two hybrids are dead because of us! It makes me think we can do anything together!"

Reze's mind fizzles in a stunned silence as she watches Jin collapse onto the dance floor, red and green bands sliding away from his body as he hits the sticky ground. Ironically, he looks exactly like the actual corpse lying on the other side of the room.

"Said that way too soon… FUCK!" He slams his fist on the floor. The strike causes some of the nearby lightbands to jump. When they settle, he goes still, letting out a sniffle while staring at the club's frozen lights and lasers above.

Behind him, a hollow thud comes from the stage, followed by soft, hesitant footsteps. Reze stands over his splayed body for a moment before slowly sinking down next to him. She reaches out, gently taking his hand and pulls him into a seated position. Once he was upright, she lays her head on his left shoulder. She, too, can feel warm tears stinging her eyes.

"Seriously?" She whispers.

He nods, the movement tussling her purple hair, and follows with a long, soft kiss on the top of her head. Reze grabs his arm from behind and loops it over her shoulders, forcing him to embrace her.

"...You REALLY love me?"

Jin lets out a hitched breath. "Ever since the day I met you in the cafe, when you wrote that I was a QT. That exact moment… guess I'm a fucking simp." He breathlessly laughs out.

She turns her face to his, both of their eyes red and tear-ridden. She takes him in, the knot of anxiety in her stomach dissolving into a swirling rush of butterflies. Without her consent, they burst up to her brain, hijacking the organ for one singular, terrifying moment.

"I love you too."

Jin stops breathing.

"Wh-"

She shifts her weight, grabbing his face in her trembling grasp. "You're an idiot, you're irresponsible, you're terrible at talking about your feelings - but how you see me, how you show up for me. I just...I…"

BOOM

The concrete ceiling rattles violently as the helicopter's fuel tank finally detonates on the roof, with dust sprinkling down from the lights fastenings.

A secondary blast rattles the structure again, but it doesn't matter to them. Reze pulls Jin by his collar and crashes her lips onto his. They melt into each other, kissing and laughing through their tears amidst the empty club.

"Fuck you for not telling me that sooner. I thought you were gonna dump me tonight." Jin jokes, resting his forehead on hers.

"YOU could have said something, ya know?" She giggles, tightening her hug around him.

They eventually stagger to their feet. Jin takes a look at the stage, and suddenly jogs over to it.

"...What are you doing?" Reze asks, wiping a tear away from her eye.

Jin vaults onto the stage and rushes to the DJ booth, accidentally kicking the polaroid camera in the process.

"We didn't actually get to dance tonight, so…" He hunches over and scrolls through the DJ's setlist. He finally finds a song - some slow sappy R&B track the DJ had planned for the end of the night.

The slow bassline fills the empty room. The club's automatic lights follow suit, slowly moving and flashing purple and blue strobes onto the abandoned dance floor. Jin hops down from the stage, extending his hand out to her.

"...wanna dance with me?"

Reze smiles and nods, feeling the tears come back in her eyes as she steps into his space. He immediately pulls into his chests, wrapping his arms securely around her waist as they sway to the song. Each slow footstep either crushes a lightband under their boots or kicks them along the floor.

"Is this… too quick?" Jin murmurs, pulling her a fraction tighter as he buries his head into her neck.

"Don't know. I've never been in love before." She shrugs, resting her chin on his good shoulder. "Guess we'll find out."

She sucks a deep breath in.

"I'm… I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about tonight. I'm not used to -"

"Just let me be part of your team." He mumbles into her neck. "We can do anything together. Like I don't know what I'm doing - I don't. But I'm here with you."

"…I know." She kisses his cheek, moving her feather light lips to his ear.

He lets out a long exhale. "This is real, right?"

Reze giggles again, tightening her grip around him. "YES!"

A third explosion rocks the roof, knocking one of the massive speakers loose from its fastenings. The romantic music distorts into a low screech. They both stop swaying and look at each other as identical grins grow on their faces.

"We should-"

"Yeah, probably."

With their hands held tight, they bolt across the dance floor. As they hit the double doors to sprint out, Jin rips his broken wristband off and tosses it over his shoulder, letting the heavy doors slam shut behind them.

___________

Dimitri stands quietly on the adjacent rooftop, lowering his binoculars as another explosion rips through the downed Chinook. Fire billows out of the wreckage as the blaze rapidly spreads on the club's roof. He drops the binoculars to his side and adjusts his balaclava. He never liked the Copycat; its tactics far too reserved and relying too much on surprise attacks, rather than raw strength. Now, its corpse is a charred, unrecognizable mess, its heart now a melted pool of whatever tissue and blood.

Shadows begin to swirl behind him. Dimitri doesn't bother to turn around, simply keeping his hands clasped behind his back. Chozin appears from the darkness, straightening his tie.

"How is -" Chozin stops himself the second he reaches the edge of the roof. Billowing columns of thick, black smoke pour out over the city skyline. He pushes past the hulking soldier, shaking his head in disbelief as Chozin inspect the smoldering wreckage.

"Told you this would happen eventually." Dimitri doesn't turn his head to the older man.

"EVENTUALLY?" Chozin turns around, face turning blue from anger. "You would have killed everyone in there! We are under direct orders to stay DISCREET!"

The two of them have played this game before. Dimitri turns his head to Chozin, staring him down with his cold eyes as the helicopter sinks more into the roof.

"Ask Thoth to hand over the reins to me for the next strike."

Chozin scoffs, running a trembling hand through his hair. "Are you serious? Did you just LISTEN to what I said?"

Dimitri's dark gaze hardens. "It seems like your inability to show any type of force has failed again. My strike team and hybrids are ready at a moment's notice to strike and actually secure the target."

Chozin checks the watch on his wrist, then glares back up to the brute. "You're wasting my time. Thoth would never -"

The military radio on Dimitri's chest hisses on with a crackle of static.

"Status." The voice growls from the dark box.

Chozin looks up at Dimitri, who offers a smug shrug at the older man, and leans closer to the radio. "The target and weapon both have escaped again."

A heavy silence drips from the radio as the two men exchange a tense glance.

"And the copycat?" The radio finally asks.

"Burnt to a crisp." Dimitri blurts out over Chozin.

"Hm." The radio goes silent for several seconds second, like Thoth is deep in thought.

"I'm changing directives. Chozin, you'll be leading reconnaissance strike teams only. You are to gather the pair's exact whereabouts and nothing else."

"But si-" Before Chozin can finish his protest, a violent burst of electronic screeching blast from the speaker, silencing him instantly.

"Dimitri. You're in charge of the ground strike teams moving forward."

The big man chuckles to himself, turning away and walking from the humiliated Chozin. "Destruction on mass scale, sir?"

"I'll leave that up to your discretion."

The radio fizzles off as a dark grin grows from under Dimitri's balaclava.

____________

The black radio rattles onto the sticky, alcohol stained floor as it changes back into a glowing red band.

Thoth steps over it, his heavy cloak sweeping the floor as he carefully inspects the abandoned club. The only thing out of place in the artificially lit room - other than the hundreds of green and red light bands - is the corpse of one of his elite soldiers in the center of the dance floor.

Thoth shakes his head at the pathetic sight. With the rigorous training he gave them, the power they possess from their new eye should be more than enough.

The target and the weapon never usually posed this much of a threat.

Which is exactly why, simmering beneath his boiling anger and disdain for this Hybrid Division, Thoth found himself curious.

Unleashing Dimitri now - of all times - could be a catastrophic choice. No matter how many different versions of him Thoth met, his core singularity was always the same: blindly obsessed with completing the mission, with collateral damage entirely an afterthought.

But what was far more dangerous is the possibility that the target and the weapon are actually ready to face a threat like Dimitri. Usually, Thoth reserved Dimitri as one of their final, brutal tests to see if they even stood a modicum of a chance against him.

And they usually didn't.

But when you have all of reality to test out, why not change some of the variables?

He glides silently to the stage, where a set of stairs stitch together as he walks up to the DJ booth. He reaches down and picks up the discarded polaroid camera.

As he holds it, the cheap plastic casing slowly begins to disassemble. It peels back the inside - a complex network of pulsing veins and wet muscle, with the camera's focal lens stretching directly over a still-beating devil heart. With a wet squelch, the organ rips from the camera and floats silently in the air beside Thoth's shoulder. He casually discards the useless plastic shell and descends back to the floor.

He walks over to the corpse, which twitches above the floor. Thick blood is forcefully sucked out of the man's nose and tear ducts, floating in front of him as rift begins to form.

As the dark liquid boils away to the pink hues of the tear in reality, something catches Thoth's eye.

It's a dark lightband, sitting innocuously between the sea of green and red ones. By itself, it's unremarkable - most people thinking the cheap lights broke during the chaotic night.

But to Thoth, it means absolutely everything.

As the tear pulsates, waiting patiently for him to enter, Thoth freezes. He doesn't breathe, and for the first time in a millennia, his mind draws a blank.

All he does is stare at the light band in pure shock.

"No…"

His body mechanically moves towards the band. He drops down on one knee to the sticky floor to retrieve it. He turns it over multiple times, his pulse thumping in his ears as he examines the cheap plastic bracelet.

His hood falls behind his head as he grips the band with both hands, tracing the plastic with his thumbs.

"There's no-"

"- YO! SPIRIT HALLOWEEN!"

Immediately, Thoth's hood snaps back up, completely covering his face as he turns around.

Standing in the doorway was a local firefighter, pushing his way into the abandoned club, completely oblivious to the multiversal rift swirling behind Thoth.

"You gotta get out of here man! Didn't you hear? Helicopter crashed up top - lots of dead bodies! We gotta clear th-"

The timer on Thoth's cloak starts.

=2 minutes=

A single green band falls where the firefighter once stood, dropping between the mess of discarded bands on the sticky floor.

Thoth stands back up and regains himself, still holding the band as he walks towards the rift.

=1 minute=

"Don't disappoint me now…" He slowly pats the plastic as he crosses into the rift, which promptly closes behind him.

A few seconds later, a new set of firefighters rush in, yelling chaotic commands about hose lines and survivor sweeps. Their heavy boots sprint directly past the newest green band, unaware of what it was only minutes ago.

Somewhere far away, a timer goes off.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin peeks out around the corner, surveying the still hallway in front of him. Everything about the seemingly endless void in front of him should make him feel like it's safe, but after everything he's dealt with the last two months, he knows better.

Still, his curiosity always gets the better of him. He takes a single step out, eyes darting between the peeling walls when a voice behind him stops him.

"I literally told you to stay still."

Reze is behind him, typing in symbols into an old fashioned computer, her eyes reflecting the glaring green text of the CRT monitor. As the keyboard clacks away, Jin slinks back behind the corner, leaning against the wall and lets out a half-frustrated sigh.

Today was supposed to be an 'easy day'. The two promised each other that there'd be no training, no activity that could attract Hybrid Division, just the two of them in the apartment. Reze wanted to finish the next math lesson in her book, and Jin's been meaning to learn a chord on his guitar - and work up the courage to actually play for her. Because the latter was more terrifying for Jin, he suggested they go on a grocery run. Which started innocently enough with Reze immediately dragging him out the door and begging him to do a slew of different viral meals from social media chefs. Jin, not wanting to have another fiasco like the first time he cooked, suggested the steaks he made for her two months ago - a recipe he swears he knows like the back of his hand. Which made the walk to the grocery store a mixed bag. Jin genuinely thought he knew what he did, until he realized that all the knowledge of that night was a blur, likely overshadowed by the shock of bleeding out in a dark alleyway hours later.

Then they passed an abandoned building that Reze recognized - one where weapons would be stashed. For her, 'The Blender' night has been on her mind for over a week now. As much as she hates to admit it, Jin is right: she has to trust him to take care of himself. But she'd never admit that, nor does she believe he's truly ready to go head to head with a hybrid. But a relationship is a give and take, which then lead the conversation with him getting his own weapon, something he can use just in case Reze can't get to him.

In a weird way, she feels like they're back in the department store and shopping again, but in a place she despises, owned by people she hates, to steal her slightly injured boyfriend a gun.

-Morbid. But necessary.-

After a minute of convincing herself, Reze entered the abandoned building to do some 'shopping'. As she pulled him into the building and opened some innocuous doors, they stood looking down a dark hallway, guarded only by an old computer that hadn't been accessed in months, according to the logs.

That's why Jin is impatiently tapping his fingers on his arms as Reze types away.

"How's it going?" He asks, looking over his shoulder.

"How many times are you gonna ask that?" She clacks on the old keyboard a few more times, the screen rendering a wireframe map of the building. The only thing in here worth anything to her is at the end of the hallway - the Agent's Armory. She moves the mouse over, opening up the digital inventory of the room - small knives, compact pistols and rifles, all standard issue.

A smirk pulls at her lip as she punches in the final bypass password, which is followed by a low hissing sound from down the hallway. She stands up, tapping Jin's good shoulder to follow her. As they break through the dark hallway, they arrive at a wooden door tagged by layers of graffiti. But beneath the spray paint, the unmistakable, threatening outline of the Hybrid Division sigil bleeds through, sending a sharp chill up Jin's spine.

Reze pushes the door open to another dimly lit room, revealing the hidden armory and its contents. It's stocked with radios they don't need, a collection of colorless drones sitting on a few of the sprawled out tables next to a computer, and rows of heavy wooden crates shoved against the walls.

Jin rubs his hands together, immediately making a beeline for the closest crate. "I'm really hoping for a battle rifle."

It's an absolute fixation for him. In almost every video game he plays, he naturally gravitates toward the sniper class - weapons that allow him to stay safely out of range while providing accurate fire for his teammates. In reality, most of his shots miss, and he usually blames the netcode for his complete inability to understand bullet velocity and drop-off. Joe has lectured him time and time again to consider these mechanics when they went to the range a few times, but usually would lead Jin to overcompensate his shots, causing the payload to miss its targets every time.

Reze sighs loudly as she turns the corner into the room. "You're not getting anything like that. We're getting you something small, and we are getting out of here."

Jin reaches down, hauling the heavy wooden lid up off the crate and letting it smash against the wall. His grin widens as he peers inside for his prize.

Nothing.

No weapons, no tactical gear, not even the packing straws Jin assumed guns were stored in.

"Uh…." He shoves his head deeper into the box, scanning the empty wooden shell. He leans out and lifts the crate up to check underneath it. He doesn't know why he did that, but the bare floor stares back at him.

Reze nose crinkles in surprise. "Really? They're usually good with keeping their safehouses stocked." She turns toward the table of drones, eyeing the archaic CRT monitor wired into the local mainframe. "Let me double check something."

Jin drops the crate with a hollow thump. "But… but my battle rifle…" He whines, moving down the line of boxes.

"Ok. So let's say you get your dream weapon. How are ya going to conceal it?" She calls out as she powers on the computer.

"I mean it's easy, you just…" He looks down at himself, thinking where he'd put the rifle. He wanted to say on his back - like every other game he's played - but the reality of physics and society suddenly dawns on him. "…Guess I can't just walk down the street with a rifle huh?"

"You gotta be subtle. Something that fits on your body that doesn't scream 'I'm carrying a gun!'"

Another crate creaks open, its empty contents teasing Jin. He keeps going down the wall, hoping at this point they left a stray pistol at the bottom of the box.

And the story on his face tells Reze everything she needs to know.

"Hey, killer. Don't look so bummed out. Keep checking around, there's gotta be something useful here." The computer flickers to life, an internal fan clicking furiously somewhere deep in the circuitry. The monitor fizzles on, displaying stark green Russian text. Jin steps over, wrapping his arm around her waist and leaning his weight against her.

"I keep forgetting that… uh…" Jin trails off as he watches her seamlessly type in a string of commands in Cyrillic symbols he doesn't understand. The terminal accepts the bypass with a sharp digital ping.

"What? That I'm bi-lingual?" She jokes, her eyes still on the screen. She leans back into his warmth, scrolling through the countless logs of correspondents and mission manifests, searching for any bit of intel.

"Yeah… yeah that." Jin lets her go, his mind still wanting to find something. He heads to the back of the room, dim lights buzzing overhead while he rips open three more crates. Only emptiness and disappointment are left in them.

"How the hell did they move all the things in these boxes? And why leave it? To mess with us?" He kicks one of the crates, rattling the wood in the empty room.

"Hey! Chill! We can go back to our place and check on my laptop, remember?" She continues to scroll through, looking for anything that could help them out.

An unredacted line makes her stop.

"Or… we do this."

Another small ping comes from the computer. Instantly, one of the colorless drones on the table whirs to life. The rotors spin up, lifting it off the metal surface with a high-pitched hum. Jin swings his head just in time to watch the drone glide out the door. The small blinking red light of its navigation light illuminates the dark hallway.

"Let's go Jin." Reze snatches a small device next to the collection of drones. She flicks a switch, causing the screen to fizzle alive, projecting the drone's camera feed as it hovers patiently by the front door.

Jin hurries to get behind her, immediately lacing his fingers through hers. As much as he wants a rifle that'll give him distance, he doesn't want to be left alone again like last time. They get to the door where the drone waits, and when Reze pushes the door open, it takes off. The drone ascends into the bright Tokyo sky until it is nothing more than a black speck.

"So… what are we doing?" Jin asks as he steps outside with Reze, shielding his vision from the sun to find the drone.

"Well, this safe house was a bust, but there's another one down a few blocks that was just established. And that's where it's leading us." She keeps one eye on the controller screen as she pulls Jin into the oncoming pedestrian traffic, letting the lunch rush swallow them.

"Damn. They have that many safe houses around here?"

"You'd be surprised how many there are around the world." She grumbles out, thinking of all of her past deployments to them.

"I mean if it means giving me something to use, I guess that's our day then." He squeezes her hand and smiles at her. "Love you."

Reze's cheeks burn red. "Love you too, killer." She mutters with a light shoulder shove. They continue through the sidewalk, Reze feeling safe by the passing workers and civilians covering their movement. She looks up at the drone, the black dot still puttering along unseen to the masses below.

-They wouldn't go this loud.-

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask - how'd you know that I was me on that rooftop?" Jin and Reze arrive at a walkway, waiting for the light to flick on to cross.

"Because only you would overthink that." She taps the controller screen. The drone stops and hovers over the intersection, waiting for them to cross.

"Ok, but - wait what is your favorite color?"

She shrugs. "Guess."

The pedestrian walk sign chirps, the waves of people pushing forward onto the street force Jin and Reze onto the asphalt. High above, the drone picks up their movement and continues on.

"…Black?"

As he says it, his nose suddenly tickles. He sniffs sharply, fighting back a sneeze.

"No." She scoffs.

They reach the other side, the building facades shifting from residential brick to the sleek, towering glass of the business district.

"Wait - Blue!"

Reze burst out laughing, colliding with a businessman. "What? Ew!"

"Alright! What is it then?" He asks as they turn down a narrow side street. Above them, the drone begins a slow, steep descent.

She sighs and looks at him. "It's purple."

Jin stops dead in his tracks. A pedestrian crashes into him, cursing loudly as he storms past. "Bu- but the Copycat guessed it? And you still shot it??"

"I told you. I wasn't looking for the right answer - hell I'd be surprised if you got it. I knew you'd get it wrong in the worst way possible. So… thanks for being you." She kisses his cheek as they make a final turn into an abandoned alleyway.

The pavement is covered in grime, with trash and upturned dumpsters making traversal nearly impossible for a normal couple. Reze unhooks her hand from Jin's and steps forward, taking cover behind one of the rusted dumpsters, leaning out just enough to scan the clearing ahead.

Tucked between the towering concrete walls is a silent homeless encampment. Faded blue tarps and dilapidated tents are scattered across the courtyard. The drone softly hovers a few feet off the ground, breaking through one of the main tents in the middle. Behind the flapping tarp, the buzzing of the motors stops as the controller on Reze's hand flicks off.

"Why… here? Did you put the wrong coordinates in?" Jin leans onto the metal cover with her, copying Reze's lead. She puts her hand on the top of his head, pushing it gently below the sight line.

"No. Usually, H.D. likes to hide in plain sight. A bakery, streetwork around open manholes, anything innocuous. It puts them in the heartbeat of any city, exactly where you wouldn't think to look, right?"

Jin shrugs. "I guess? But why here? This isn't anywhere near where they've struck before."

"Don't know. Usually they have bases all around the city to fall back to, hide, restock, anything they need anywhere they are." She reaches out to him, tugging him closer. "Which means MAYBE we can get you something fun in there."

His eyes instantly light up. "YOU MEAN -"

She clamps her hand over his mouth, muffling his shout.

"I need you to be quiet." She whispers, her eyes darting across the flapping tarps. "We don't know how many agents, or hybrids, are sitting in there. The drone coming in might have spooked them, so stay low." She leads him forward, turning around one last time to him.

"And no long rifles for you."

He lets out a defeated sigh, her hand tightening on his to make sure he stays to her side. They slip into the courtyard, the blue tarp rolling in the light breeze. She slips her knife out from behind her, readying it as her eyes scout around for the slightest movement. Jin, meanwhile, raises his free hand, following close behind as his breathing begins to steady, digging deep for any ounce of confidence he has.

As they move deeper into the camp, the illusion begins to fall apart. Hidden behind the tattered blue tarps are Hybrid Division crates, stacks of encrypted CRT monitors pinging off messages, and tactical gear strewn across folding tables.

But no people.

They make it to the tent the drone flew into, Jin letting go of her and moving to the side of the flap. He grabs it, steadying the moving tarp and flashes her a thumbs up. She nods, Jin tearing the flap back aggressively - almost knocking the whole flimsy structure down. Reze jumps in quickly, her knife ready to gut the first thing she sees.

Empty.

The tent houses only a few small boxes, the dormant drone resting on the dirt, and a heavy, silver briefcase wired into a rugged military laptop.

Jin walks over to the locked case, inspecting the wires connecting it. He moves to the laptop and presses a button. The screen flares to life, displaying a login prompt written entirely in Cyrillic.

"Hey, babe, need your help here." His nose tickles again. He sniffs, but the irritation refuses to fade.

She flicks the back of his head as she steps past him. "You gotta stop." She pushes him aside gently, clicking on the keyboard to bypass the login screen.

The computer's screen flickers, the screen rendering a wall of text on the glass. She scrolls past the standard manifest, stopping when the 'Experimental' text illuminates on the cursor. Her curiosity takes over as she mouses over to it and selects the file. The more she reads through the different experimental weapons, the more nervous she gets. This stuff is dangerous - weapons that can instantly atomize their targets, knives that, once embedded into their victims flesh, cause the target to implode. Impossible, horrific tech.

But in the case, according to the files, is none of that.

There's a single executable file back on the desktop, marked with a briefcase icon. When she clicks it, a small program opens up, and a small camera snaps open from the top of the display. Reze's face pops up on the screen, which she uses to quickly fix a stray strand of hair.

"Come over here."

Jin leans in, his face filling the biometric boundaries. And exactly as the sensor focuses, his body finally betrays him, letting out a massive sneeze.

CLICK

The camera captures the exact second of his face mid-sneeze before bold Cyrillic characters pop up. And as quickly as the verification came onto the screen, they're suddenly replaced by a long red loading bar.

"Jin. You gotta be kidding me."

"I've been holding that for a while!" Jin complains, aggressively rubbing his nose. "What was that even picture for?"

"No idea. It said it needed biometric verification for the new user of whatever is locked in that case. And since my picture's all over their database…" Her voice trails off as she pivots to the rest of the accessible files.

A sudden light emanates from under the closed briefcase, like a printer scanning a document. It's followed by mechanical whirling and whining underneath as the exposed wires begin to blink in a rapid, diluted rainbow of colors. The entire folding table vibrates as data is forcefully injected into whatever's inside the case.

Jin can feel the sweat form on his brow as he leans over Reze to stare at the screen.

"Can uh… can you change it to something I can read?"

She shakes her head. "Nope, you gotta learn Russian."

He sighs, checking the loading bar crawl at the top of the monitor.

26%

"Do you think they have anything on me here?" He leans onto the table, still trying to decipher what's on the computer.

"That's what I'm looking for…" The text reflects in her eyes as she keeps on scanning through the directories, until one catches her eye.

"Here we go."

She opens up a file, the document loading quickly as it shows Jin - a side profile shot of him sitting in the park alone on his favorite bench.

In the context of the picture, he's the most unimportant thing about it. Around him frozen in time are kids chasing after a ball, couples laughing under a tree, and what looks like a man hiding his phone during a subtle conversation.

Yet, Jin's in the middle of it all.

The picture disappears as Reze scrolls down, the document a mix of redacted lines and general information of the general layout of the mission - seduce, subdue, and return him to headquarters.

"A lot of it is your daily schedule, where you worked, and the closest coffee shop to your usual spots..." She lightly kicks him.

"...Are you serious? It was THAT planned out?"

"They didn't plan for everything..." She leans closer to the monitor, reading along towards the bottom of the document.

47%

Suddenly, Reze goes completely rigid. "Shit."

"What?" Jin asks, his vision locked onto the now shaking briefcase.

"They're letting Dimitri lead the strike teams now." She tries to point to the monitor, momentarily forgetting he can't read a single word of it.

"...Who?" He asks, leaning over to pretend to know what he's reading. While the Cyrillic means nothing to him, the photograph attached to the file speaks volumes.

It's a picture of Reze standing in front of a blank white wall. Any ounce of her vibrant personality is completely subdued behind her eyes, like she's taking a mugshot for the hundredth time.

Even after everything, it's still chilling to see.

"He's what I was trying to prevent during The Blender."

"I mean, what's the deal? We can take him."

She shakes her head, confused. "You don't understand - Dimitri is one of Thoth's strongest enforcers. If he's running the strikes, there's a good chance their style of engagement is gonna change."

78%

"Change like… going loud?"

She nods, the reflection of her agent picture dropping a pit of anxiety in her. She remembered the day it was taken - after a specifically brutal training regiment before getting shipped away for an assasination in Canada.

"He doesn't care who gets hurt, as long as he gets his job done. He's incredibly smart too, so you're gonna have to be extremely careful."

"We've… we've beaten hybrids before, what's one more?" Jin turns to her, his voice exuding a fake confidence he didn't actually feel.

"I never said he was a hybrid." She mumbles out as she keeps reading, trying to get anything else out of the document.

Jin blinks, the words hanging heavily in the cramped tent.

*There's more than hybrids?*

He tries to open his mouth and ask, but deep down the idea of something worse than what's been sent after them scares him. Instead, he clears his throat and switches gears.

"Is there anything why I'm the target? And why do they want me?" He asks, eyes still darting to the now shaking briefcase.

"I wish it had more, but it's like the dossier they gave me. Everything's just… redacted." She scrolls through, catching the final visible sentence.

'The target is to be brought to Thoth immediately following retrieval.'

90%

"I'm glad I didn't follow through." She says, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him to Jin's surprise.

"What?"

95%

The briefcase glows blindingly bright. The table shakes violently under the metal briefcase with a deafening, high-pitched hum echoing off the canvas walls of the tent.

"Hey… are you sure this isn't some type of bomb?" Jin asks, instinctively positioning his body between her and the case.

"You think that wouldn't know that?"

99%

"That's.. yeah."

BRRRRING

The locks on the briefcase snap open as a rush of white pressurized smoke billows out. The two wave the mist away and lean over to the inside.

A silver bracelet sits in the middle of the foam lined container. It looks like any other bracelet Jin's seen in every glass display that lines the streets of Tokyo. He picks the bracelet up, inspecting it over.

"…That's it?"

"I don't know, maybe?" She turns back around to the laptop, but the screen has already wiped itself and powered down into total blackness.

"All that fanfare for… THIS?" He flips it in the air, catching it with a scoff. He snaps the bracelet open and tries to fit it onto his right wrist. When he latches it shut, the jewelry loosely hangs over his wrist, and when he raises his arm it slides down to his elbow.

"It doesn't even fit!" He chuckles to Reze, shaking it at her. "What the hell's the po-"

The band suddenly vibrates, rolling back up his arm and locking perfectly just beneath his wrist bone. It molds to his skin, shifting its shape until it feels completely weightless.

"What… the…" Jin brings it up to his face in amazement.

A small aperture slides open from the middle of the band, projecting a net of red lasers across Jin's face. He jumps back, trying to unlatch it from his arm. A digital voice in Russian comes out of it, causing Reze's face to shoot back over.

"It just said identification accepted. I don't…"

Immediately, the grid vanishes, along with the aperture sliding shut. The bracelet is right back to its unassuming nature.

"So… they're making form fitting material? Ok…" He says.

He shakes his hand, almost like he's trying to knock it off his wrist again.

The bracelet morphs out, a purple streak of light and a barely audible mechanical swoosh compounding and combining into a sleek battle rifle into his surprised grip.

It doesn't look like any weapon Jin's seen. It's fitted with a black scope at the top of its rail, flowing down to a suppressor twisted onto the silver barrel. Instead of a standard magazine, a red digital number displays 15, right above where the trigger sits. Jin's jaw drops as he pulls the charging handle, loading a round into its chamber. He puts his second hand on the rifle, lifting it up and down - it's not light, but it feels perfectly balanced.

"There's no way…" He whispers, carefully running his fingers over the cold metal chassis. His pupils blow out at the sight of it, aiming it forward and testing out the sights. A complex digital crosshair with different notches fits into the glass.

Before Jin can look at it more, Reze pushes the barrel down.

"It's loaded, you know." She says calmly, keeping her grip firm on the suppressor.

"I…yeah." He peeks down onto the ammo counter, a 14 illuminating back at him.

"I wonder how you -" He stops himself when the gun vibrates lightly in his hands, the number ticking up to 15. He laughs out, showing Reze like a proud child.

"Figured it out!" He nearly starts to jump, but calms himself. After all, this isn't something for fun.

Reze stares at the sleek rifle in his hands, utterly dumbfounded by the convenience of what's sitting in his hands. "...How ya gonna hide it?"

Jin's smile disappears instantly as he looks at Reze. then back down at the experimental weapon in his hands. "…Right."

He rubs his hands frantically over the rifle, feeling for any type of button or switch. Its sleek, seamless design offers no crevices or latches. He pushes on the side of the receiver, then smacks at the scope a few times. Everything is locked securely in place.

"It doesn't -" THWACK "- It doesn't wanna turn back."

"You gotta leave it, I'm sorry." Reze turns back around, looking at the closed boxes on the side of the tent.

Jin grunts and throws his head back dramatically, disappointment filling his body as he takes one last longing look at the gun.

*It was perfect…*

Defeated, he drops it from his hands, waiting for his prize to clatter to the ground and scuff up the silver finish.

Instead, the purple light emanates from it as the rifle shifts and spins, instantly reforming back into the small, unassuming bracelet resting comfortably on his wrist.

He raises the bracelet to his eyesight in amazement. "Rez…"

"Huh?"

He flicks his wrist, the rifle materializing back into the palm of his hand. He looks at her, shakes the rifle once, and drops it. It instantly morphs back into its bracelet form. He tries to hide his smile, but his lips curl uncontrollably. "Neat right?"

Reze shakes her head in amazement. "That's… incredibly convenient." She walks back over, tracing her fingers lightly over the silver band on his wrist. "This looks dangerous as hell. You're gonna have to learn to actually shoot."

Her hands slide down his arm, her fingers lacing gently through his. "…but I'll teach you." She leans up and kisses his cheek.

"There's a lot I gotta learn…" His breath hitches, letting his free hand teasingly resting on her hip.

She flicks the tip of his nose and pushes away from him, walking away towards the boxes. "There's no way you're turned on right now." She stops abruptly, turning her head towards him and stares at him through her flopping hair. "That thing better not come out later."

"What do you-"

"Oh my god." She covers her face with both her hands, muffling her voice. "You're an IDIOT."

His face flushes scarlet as he looks back down at the bracelet, shaking his wrist in a dozen different ways to see what exact motion activates the transformation.

As a flurry of purple lights and curse words come from behind Reze, she gets to the boxes. They look like standard issue transport boxes, the kind usually packed with gear and extra weapons. She pops the heavy metal clips on both sides and lifts the detached lid up.

"UH, JIN??" She screams, carelessly tossing the lid to the side.

"I thought we weren't screaming!" He says walking over, sending the rifle back into its bracelet form. When he gets next to her, his eyes jaw drops again.

Inside the box are seemingly endless bricks of perfectly organized cash.

So. Much. Cash.

"...I can pay off rent for, like, ever??" Jin's mind racing as he reaches in, taking one of the wrapped stacks and playing with it. "Or we could get a house, open a cafe… there's so much…"

"This gotta be payment for like four whole strike teams… probably for capturing us…" She grabs a stack of her own, staring at the paper in total awe.

"Well technically, you DID capture your target, they didn't specify how, right?" He grabs her hand, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand. "We can go anywhere, get out of Tokyo and away from H.D. We can have our own life…"

She tosses the stack in her hand back into the box, grabbing Jin with both of her hands. "There's nothing else I want. But they'll find us, eventually. If we stop them now, they'll never come for us again. And me and you…" Her eyes glance up to his, a tender gaze coming from the emerald eyes, "We'll make the world ours, ok?"

"That sounds like supervillain shit."

"Not like that!" She giggles out,her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. "I'm just saying, after all this is over, I love your ideas."

"I know love…"

Reze rolls her eyes. "I'M SERIOUS ABOUT THE PET NAMES. THEY'RE BAD."

"I JUST WANNA BE CUTE."

Jin pulls away, turning his head around. He goes to the entrance, pushing the tarp to the side and scans the area before leaving. After a moment, he reenters the tent with two giant black backpacks in his hands. He tosses one Reze's way. "We should totally take this all, right?"

She catches the bag, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "Fuck yeah we should."

Their hands glide across the money, raking the bricks into their backpacks as they laugh quietly to each other. The backpacks bulge, stray bills sticking out of the zippers and side pockets.

Eventually, the box sits empty, save for a few loose bills fluttering at the bottom. Jin is desperately trying to shove any floating bills into his pants pockets.

"Jin, we gotta go, like, NOW." She laughs, pulling him away from the box, the loose money flying out of his pockets. They push through the flaps, both running as fast as Jin can back down the alley and streets. It's just after the lunch rush, meaning their dense cover from earlier has dissipated. Reze, instead of going down the main street with their obvious cargo, leads them through a labyrinth of different alleyways and side streets towards their apartment complex.

Jin tries to race Reze up the stairs, and by the time he gets to his floor Reze is already inside the apartment, waiting for him by the bedroom door frame. He slams the door shut behind him as they dump the cash on top of the bedsheets, the pile rising over their heads. They scream and hug together, Jin picking Reze up and spinning her around. She pulls him down onto the bed, slamming her back into the mountain of cash, launching hundreds of loose bills into the air, slowly raining down on the two as they kiss.

"This is insane… holy fuck Reze…" He plucks a stray bill off her shoulder, crinkling the crisp paper in his hand. . "We're set for like… ever."

He scoops up another wad of bills and throws it in the air, letting the money rain down on them as they giggle again.

"Our kids… they'll - " The words slip out of his mouth before his brain can even process them.

Reze shoots up immediately, covering his mouth with her palm. "WOAH - One thing at a time!"

He freezes, realizing what he just blurted out from the deepest depths of his subconscious. He peels her hand off his face gently.

"Sorry, I jumped the gun there, huh?"

She nods, sitting up and draping her arms around his shoulders. "You fully pole vaulted a few important things. Like getting rid of the H.D., maybe travel around a bit? Like…" She trails off, eyes trying to read him. "You get what I mean?"

He looks at the sheer volume of wealth surrounding them, then back to her while rubbing her arms. "I mean… at least it's enough for whatever ring you want."

"You're actually ridiculous. There's so much you don't know about me." She slides out from under him, pushing as much of the money off to the floor. Jin does the same, grabbing the discarded bags and begins to shove the wads in.

"That's fair…" He sighs out. "But that doesn't mean we can get one anyway!" He raises his arms quickly, flicking his wrist accidentally. The rifle materializes in his hands, the silver metal scraping against the wooden bedpost. Jin yelps, quickly dropping it as it returns back to the bracelet form.

"You know I can call that off, right?" She grabs one of Jin's overstuffed bags and starts to kick it underneath the bedframe. "And, by the way, I'd be taking half."

"Don't say that Reze…" He hands her the second bag. She takes it and lets it flop to the ground.

"Why? I'm being honest. Like there's so much we don't know about each other yet, isn't that scary? Like, what if after six months you find out that I'm actually a vampire?

"Come on."

She slaps his good shoulder. "Where am I actually from?"

"You haven't told me, like at all."

"THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!" She zips the bag up and pushes it under the bed. "It's not like it matters anymore, but like where haven't I been that I'd want to visit? What's my biggest pet peeve? Wh- "

"My pet names." Jin blurts out.

"YES." She points at him. "But what about you? Like where are you parents? Wouldn't you want me to meet them?"

Jin's brain stops as he stammers for an answer. "Ye-yeah. We should do that."

He doesn't know why he keeps lying about that. The euphoria of finding the money, along with the experimental weapon, instantly sours. He grabs some loose bills and starts shoving it into his pocket.

A soft hand stops him from pushing the paper deep in.

"I'm not saying we're not going to, I want to. But I want to learn more about you and really fall in love with you." Reze stands up and takes him out of the bedroom. "I want to learn your favorite color, where you wanna travel. As much as H.D.'s on us, we got time Jin." She falls onto the futon, pulling Jin with her and turning him to the TV. "Let's watch something, ok?"

"Weren't we supposed to go grocery shopping?" Jin sits back up, his fingers remain locked tightly with hers.

"We literally just stole like a billion yen. What do you think my answers gonna be?"

"Order out, ramen spot down the street, extra spicy." They say in perfect unison.

Reze smiles warmly and leans back into the cushions. "Maybe you do know me pretty well…" She raises her left hand up, splaying the fingers out and staring thoughtfully at her ring finger. "I wouldn't say no…maybe." She winks at him

"You know you're the most confusing person I've ever met, right?"

Reze playfully tussles his hair. "I gotta keep you guessing." She takes the remote off the table before Jin can process a thought. "I'm picking, alright?"

"Is it gonna be another romcom…" Jin adjusts himself on his seat, sliding closer to her.

"Nope."

She already has The Notebook picked out as Jin sighs out into the apartment.

______________

Thoth burst into the laboratory. The low hum of machinery dies out instantly as scientists and soldiers alike freeze, their eyes tracking the flutter of his heavy black cloak. He strides towards the main monitor, the screen flickering from the results of an experiment to a picture captured earlier in the day. The target's face, scrunched up from a sneeze, plasters itself across every single monitor in the room.

The head researcher scurries up behind Thoth, tripping over his own feet as he tries to steady himself.

"Sir, I ha-"

"Where?" He cuts him off, still staring at the screen.

"Right. Let me check." The researcher snaps his fingers frantically. One of the trembling scientists minimizes the image of the target off his screen. He pulls up a topographical map of Tokyo, and after a few clicks he turns the monitor around to Thoth.

A bright red dot blinks rapidly on the corner of the screen.

"Forward Base Lenin it seems, sir." The head researcher stammers and turns around to walk away.

"Stop." Thoth growls out.

The second the researcher's boot hits the floor, the white tile shifts to liquid, instantly swallowing his feet before solidifying back into hardened material. The researcher screams in sheer panic, tugging at his trapped legs.

=2 minutes.=

"What strike team is deployed on Lenin?"

The researcher claws at the tiled floor. "I- I don't know!" He points at the scientist from before. "Check the logs!! Please!!"

The scientist gulps and nods, frantically spinning the monitor back towards him. Thoth's footsteps echo over to the scientist, looming over the terrified man's shoulder as he sifts through the files.

=1:30=

"Lennin is… commanded by Scout Team Indigo."

"Why is there a picture of the target in our system?"

The scientist pulls up the logs from the devices from the base. He accesses one of the laptops that was recently opened, reading through the files. "That was for…" The scientist's eyes widen in horror. "…Project Whisper."

WHRR-GHK

The timer on Thoth stops and rewinds as the researcher's legs and body are ejected out of the floor. He collapses backward, brushing his uninjured legs and gasping for air like he was drowning.

Without a warning, the scientist's neck slices open as blood spurts out next to Thoth, staining the pristine tile and wall in the crimson liquid. The scientist reaches towards Thoth, who pushes the man away as a purple rift opens on the blood soaked wall. To the sides, the workers have completely stopped their experiments, watching in fear as Thoth reaches through the tear and grabs a soldier from their chair, their body flailing as they're dragged into the lab.

"Scout Team Indigo Commander. I have a very simple question."

The commander stands up, brushing himself off in a panic. His fatigues are zipped half up, stained with the remnants of whatever lunch he was just ripped away from. "...Yes Sir. What can I assist with?"

Thoth slowly points at the still picture of the sneezing target on the main screen. "Where were you exactly 2 hours ago?"

The commander straightens. "Forward Base Lenin, sir."

"Were you… sleeping, commander?" Thoth cocks his head to the side, feigning confusion.

"N-no sir. We… we had a -"

"Stop." Thoth's voice growls out. "Let me start again. What was stored in the base?"

The commander takes a hesitant step backward, his eyes darting to the corpse bleeding out on the terminal. "W-we had weapons, radio equipment, payments…"

"And Project Whisper. Explain it." Thoth's hidden gaze sends shivers down the commander's spine.

"Yes… Project Whisper." He leans away from Thoth, trying to create any sort of space between them. "A new weapon prototype focused on concealment and stealth. Its official name is the Whisper R-3, a sniper system that can generate ammo from the research from your blood. Because of that research, it transforms into a small piece of jewelry, for rapid concealment and extraction." The words tumble out of the commander's mouth as he recites the classified dossier from memory.

The figure looks back at the target's picture. "And it only works for one person, correct?"

"Yes sir. For security reasons, the Whisper R-3 will take a picture of its user and lock to them, so it can't be stolen or taken if its operation was eliminated."

Thoth stands silently as the picture glows brighter for the commander to take the hint.

"…I didn't realize that the target h-"

"How much money was in the base?"

"From the shipment reports… 1 billion yen, sir."

In the dark void of the hood, the eyes begin to brighten in a deep, hellish red. "…Really?"

In the blood of the dead scientist, another rift opens up to the main operating tent in Lenin. The box, which previously stored the payments for the four strike teams, stares empty back at them.

Thoth stands in silence while staring at the empty crate, waiting for the soldier to tell him the money was in the other crate and that this is all a big misunderstanding

But he knows the truth - and it makes his hate for the target grow exponentially.

"1. Billion. Yen. Gone." Thoth slowly turns around. "I cannot simply make 1 billion yen appear like that."

The commander's head shakes. "Sir, pleas-please! We're what's left of the massacre at the factory! You sent some of us to that part-"

Thoth begins shaking with pure rage. The sound of this insignificant man making excuses is nothing but grating white noise at this point.

"Sir… please have mercy."

The commander's mass shoots up into the air, every joint sickeningly disconnecting and detaching from each other. Viscous strings of veins and sinew are the only things tethering his floating, agonizingly separated body together. He screams, with an inhuman wail of unimaginable agony.

The timer starts on Thoth's cloak.

=2 minutes=

The rest of the subordinates cover their mouths and try their best to turn away from the horrific display in front of them.

"Everyone. Look this way." Thoth quietly demands.

Their gaze starts to creep back, catching glimpses of the detached fingers wiggling in pain, trying to reconnect back to the palm of the commander's hand.

"If anyone, and I do mean anyone, allows a catastrophic failure like this to happen again -" He points to the screen. "I'll make it my personal goal to track your family down and cause pain so unimaginable to them - they'll be begging for death."

He starts to walk away from the stunned onlookers.

"I don't care what reality I brought you here from."

=1 minute=

"Am I clear?"

A flurry of frantic nods sweep through the scientists as the head researcher gets back to his computer, furiously typing away.

"Good. Get back to work. And clean up that body."

WHRR-GHK

The commander reattaches as the timer rewinds to its normal state, the distorted sound of the stopwatch piercing the scientist's ears. The commander hits the floor on his hands and knees, sobbing hysterically. His body is whole, but his mind still feels the phantom pain of being ripped apart.

"SIR, PL-"

The timer starts again.

=2 minutes=

A small goldfish drops where the commander stood, flopping onto the bloodsoaked floor. It thrashes wildly, gasping for water that will never come.

Thoth walks away, his heavy cloak billowing behind him as he marches out of the lab. A terrified soldier quickly falls into step behind him as they navigate the stark, pristine hallways.

"Sir… what do we do with the fish?" The soldier asks tentatively.

Thoth stops in his tracks, slowly turning his head back to the soldier, the red light of his eyes bleeding from his hood illuminating the corridor.

His patience is wearing incredibly thin with this Division.

=45 seconds=

"Do you own a fishbowl?" Thoth asks, his voice cutting through the air like a razor.

The soldier stands there, visible sweat forming on his forehead.

"Leave me." Thoth spins back around and paces down the hallway, deep in thought.

Everyday, you impress me, target.

=10 seconds=

The last thing the goldfish sees through its blurred, dying vision as it chokes out is the picture of the target.

The timer rings out from down the hallway.

_____________

Reze is buried in a mountain of blankets, fighting back tears as the nurse discovers the two lovers' bodies holding hands. She doesn't know why she gravitates towards these types of movies, but they always strike a chord. It's something she always wanted: the absolute safety of unconditional love. To be themselves and feel seen by each other.

She grabs Jin's hand that's been twirling in her hair the whole movie. "So good…"

A sharp sniffle comes from behind her, causing Reze to roll her head on his lap to face him - he's cocooned in his own blankets, the fabric pulled over his head like a cowl. Tears are streaming down his face as his red eyes try to blink them away as he refuses to look at her.

"Shut up." He says as he forces himself to look at the screen in front of him.

"YOU. SAP." She screams, squeezing his leg and sitting up to hug him.

He doesn't move. "It's CUTE AND WHAT I WANT!" He points to the screen as the credits roll past the thousands of names of those who worked on the movie.

"…What, to die together?"

His hand wraps around her hips, pulling her closer. "No, you dumbass!"

She sits still as her hand lazily traces circles on his knee. "I'm joking, I know what you mean…"

Jin exhales out loudly, letting an unknown weight off his chest. "When I was five, I, uh, I forced my parents to paint my room blue. My mom was so happy to do it, then my dad spent all week trying to get the right shade of blue that I'd like. It's always been my favorite color."

Reze leans up, kissing his cheek softly before resting her head on his shoulder. "That's really sweet of them. They seem nice."

"Yeah."

She gently tilts his chin to face her. "I don't want to hurt you Jin. I feel like…"

He cuts her off with a kiss. "What, you're gonna lose me? Push me away? Reze, I'm not going anywhere, ok? Don't think you'll get rid of me that easily."

She nods, hot tears forming in her eyes. "Promise me you won't do dumb shit and get hurt." Her pinky extends out, Jin instinctively wrapping his around it and giving her knuckles a quick kiss.

"I promise I'll always come home to you."

She lets out an annoyed sigh and pulls her hand away. "Close enough."

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

They both unwrap from each other and shoot up on the futon, the blankets tumbling onto the coffee table.

"RAMEN!" They scream in unison.

Jin takes out the wad of cash in his pockets, quickly opening the door to take the food from the deliveryman. Jin takes the plastic bags out the man's hands and hands him the money. The deliveryman almost falls over from the amount as the door slams shut.

Jin puts the food on the counter and undoes the tight knot of the bag, pulling the steaming bowl and cheap utensils out. Reze shuffles over to sit down at the table. Her pupils track Jin through the process, her smile refusing to leave her face.

"Jin?"

He looks up as he pushes the hot ramen bowl and utensils to her.

"I love you." She looks at him while popping the container open and inserting the chopsticks into the noodles.

Jin sits down, the weight of pressure he's had for his whole life, the disappointment, the hurt - all of it - feels so foreign when he looks at Reze. There's so much he can say, go on for hours about how she makes him better.

But all he can muster are the only words that matter.

"I love you too."

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin isn't the most creative person. Giving him a coloring book when he was growing up would always have the same outcome - he would stare at it for a while, mind racing on what colors would work with the image. Skies had to be blue - only blue. Trees were only light green and dark brown, and houses were definitely up for interpretation, but never vibrant. He never thought about mixing colors or even knew how to do that, but after overthinking what color yellow the sun would be, he'd want to get it done as soon as possible. Which would inevitably lead to a chaotic, colorful mess on the page.

However, Jin's drawing skills were even worse. His handwriting is more comparable to chicken scratch, but him attempting stick figures is a genuine assault on the eyes. The lines would come out so uneven and faces so warped and twisted he was surprised that he didn't have to retake any art class - especially considering he barely showed up to begin with.

"It's abstract." The art teacher would call Jin's work, trying to find some positivity to uplift an entirely unmotivated student.

*It was just trash.*

As Jin ponders, the black balaclava of the young man stares back at him on the coffee table. The moonlight creeps onto his apartment floorboards, illuminating where he sits hunched forward on the futon. He's holding a paintbrush with a spread paint split in front of him on a paper plate, begging to be dipped.

He hasn't been able to sleep tonight. His insomnia was a usual occurrence for him before the day he stepped foot into the cafe, but a long day of CQC training not only left him battered and bruised, but with a racing mind of what's to come next. He didn't even get to try out his new weapon, but Reze - who's currently sleeping peacefully in their bedroom clutching Jin's pillow - promised him they'll work on that next.

It feels amazing to be loved, amazing to be wanted. It was the missing piece Jin never knew he needed in his life.

But why is he so scared?

The way Reze looks at him, how they're building trust, talking about their future - it's more intoxicating than anything Jin's ever experienced. But cold, heavy fear still ruminated in the pit of his stomach. Any moment he can fuck it up, like he's done before. One wrong word, one stupid thought, and the whole thing could derail. What if he tried to play the hero, and she ended up getting hurt because of it? Or worse?

And he can't lose another person because of his stupidity.

The bright future of them, the one he's been playing in his head for the last couple days, starts to fade away into obscurity. Instead, he's back on that same bench again, people watching as happy couples and families pass by while he stares blankly into the empty cafe.

"No." He says quietly to himself, regaining his focus and looking over the colors. Oranges and reds jump out at him, but he quickly passes over them, already hearing Reze's voice in his head.

Those are way too visible!

His eyes drift over the greens, and as much as he would love to paint an emerald gleam onto the black canvas to match her eyes, it'd be too bright for what he's working on.

But that fear deep spikes in his chest again, forcibly reminding him of its presence. His hand spams, dropping the brush down to the table. It clatters on the wood and rolls near the edge, but stops right before falling off. He exhales a shaky breath, rubbing his eyes to fight off the creeping exhaustion.

If he's gonna get this done, he has to do it tonight. But the different colors jumping at him with hundreds of possibilities of everything that he could make - he SHOULD make - rattled around in his skull.

"One step at a time." He breathes out. The vision of him on that lonely bench dissolved and was replaced by Reze holding his hand, laughing brightly as a child sprinted past them on the sidewalk.

That's when the colorless gleam of white catches his attention. Out of all the colors, white was the one he had instinctively ignored. It never jumped out, it never demanded attention.

It was just there.

Unassuming. Unnoticed.

On the table, the balaclava's empty eyeholes stare up at the ceiling. The dark material sits idle, waiting for the stroke of the bristles. Jin picks the brush and dips it into the white paint. He takes one last look at his fabric canvas and begins tracing a circle on the balaclava, the top of it going right over the eyeholes. The balaclava changes in front of Jin, the liquid staining and setting into the heavy threads. Each stroke pushes the anxiety back, giving him something to be confident about as he daydreams about her.

*Let's take her somewhere nice.*

A set of jagged lines are drawn on the fabric underneath the eyeholes.

*Maybe get her some flowers….*

He adds a squiggly line resembling a burning fuse. In his mind, it's placed perfectly right above the poorly drawn circle.

*And probably figure out her ring size…*

He leans back after striking the final touch on the dark fabric. He took in his masterpiece, a slow, proud smile creeping across his tired face as the paint dried into his balaclava.

"Abstract, my ass."

__________

Reze eyes dart awake to the sounds of a familiar rattling of pans, followed by a smoking sizzle in the other room. She rolls onto her back and lets go of Jin's pillow and stretches her arms wide. The oversized graphic tee she stole last night slumps over her shoulder.

"Jin!" She whines into the empty room. There's another quick metallic clatter, a huffed curse word and heavy footsteps pouring towards the bedroom. Jin suddenly peaks in, already fully dressed, and a thin layer of nervous sweat glistening on his forehead.

"Hey! You finally woke up!" He ducks back behind the wall and sprints back to the kitchen. "Sorry, I'm cooking… uh, something? I don't know if it's working?" He shouts over the sizzling pan.

Reze swings her legs over the bed and stands up, popping her back with a final stretch, and makes for the kitchen.

Another frantic tapping of footsteps cut her off as Jin slides into the hallway, physically blocking the doorframe.

"Nope! Stay RIGHT there. I'm not ready yet." He grabs her by the shoulders, trying to keep her anchored in that spot. After planting a rushed kiss on her cheek, he bolts back to the oven. The smell of something sweet clashes with the telltale odor of burning butter wafts into the hallway.

She leans on the wall, laughing to herself. "...Jin what are you doing?"

"Uh...nothing?" She can hear him scrape something off of a metallic surface followed by a panicked "…shit!"

She rolls her eyes and pushes off the frame. Her bare feet are silent on the hardwood as she creeps down the hall, peeking her head around the corner toward the kitchen table.

The first thing she notices is a massive baguette and a sleeve of colorful pastries propped up precariously against a green glass vase. Inside the vase sits a giant bouquet of white and yellow daisies as the sun warms the petals. Above it all, a terribly cut paper banner is strung from the ceiling with the words 'OO LA LA' scribbled across it in black marker. And resting dead center on the table, right beneath the banner, are two small slips of paper stamped with a tiny airplane logo.

Behind the table, Jin is focusing on sliding the mystery meal out of the charred pan and onto a plate. He sprints to the table to set it down and gently places one of the pasties on the edge of the plate, then spinning around to grab two filled coffee mugs. He opens his mouth to yell out, but catches her emerald eyes from behind the corner.

"Oh, uh… hey!"

Reze slowly walks into the kitchen, plucking one of the white flowers from the display and brings it to her nose. She turns to Jin, her face turning a shade of scarlet. "…What's this?"

"That? Pretty sure that's a daisy." He sets the mugs down on the table, suddenly getting nervous. "Last night, I really couldn't sleep, and I've been thinking… I LOVE getting to know everything about you. And usually, the best time to learn about each other is during a big trip! So, I borrowed a little bit of our fortune - which by the way the travel agent said was MORE THAN ENOUGH - I thought that it'd be cool to go to…"

He grabs the two papers in front of him and proudly flashes them in the air.

"PARIS, BABY!" Jin smiles, though he could feel his stomach twisting up into his throat.

She just blinks, still holding the flower close to her face. Her eyes scan across the text of the tickets - it is indeed a flight, booked for exactly two weeks from now. She looks back at the flower again, its white petals brushing against her cheek.

Jin's back breaks out into a cold sweat.

*Did I do th-*

Suddenly, Reze drops the flower, which flutters softly to the ground as she throws her weight into Jin. Hot tears spill onto her face as she buries her face into his left shoulder.

"I always wanted to go to Paris…" She says between a happy sob. She pulls Jin down by his collar, kissing him hard and longingly. Jin's eyes widen in shock for a fraction of a second before he melts into her, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist.

After a long minute, she pulls back to wipe some tears off her eyes as she takes in the table setting. "You did all this for me??" She picks up the baguette, the hard shell of the bread feeling more akin to a baseball bat. She holds it accordingly, giving a few playful, fake swings at Jin.

"I mean, I know we gotta deal with H.D." Jin says, catching the bread mid swing and plucking it out of her hands so he could spin her around. "But I thought since they haven't found us yet here, why not get out of here and enjoy our lives? Actually start seeing what life could look like without them!"

She laughs as the motion flips her hair up, falling messily back down to her face. "I love that!" She pulls him in for one more quick kiss before finally sitting down at the table. She examines the plate - a croissant and a charred something. "You made all this too?"

"The pastries? No those are store bought, I'm terrible at baking. The eggs? I tried a French style, but I think I burnt them." He places the baguette back onto the table, joining Reze on the adjacent seat.

She grabs the fork next to the plate, driving it into the charred mass and puts it into her mouth.

Jin's been a pretty good cook, all things considered, but this has to be the worst thing he's done. The burnt taste completely covers up any of the savory flavor of the meal.

"No… you did good." She lies, choking down another bite of the burnt food, forcing the hardest, most unconvincing smile she could muster. After a particularly crunchy bite, Reze grabs her coffee and lets the dark liquid wash the chunk down.

Jin bites into his eggs, immediately recoiling in disgust. "This sucks!" He laughs out, immediately grabbing Jin his drink.

She giggles and covers her face. "No!" She whines at him, forcing herself to take another bite. "See? Mmmm…" She barely can get the bite down before coughing. She then takes a massive serving on her fork and shoves it into Jin's mouth.

___________

Reze loves leading Jin on these aimless city walks exploring the mundane, beautiful things they had been missing their whole lives - like the farmers market they're heading to right now. It was advertised on a corkboard inside a breakfast spot they went to after agreeing to throw out the rest of the burnt eggs in the garbage. A farmers market is the perfect place to burn a few hours - loud, crowded, and perfect for hiding in plain sight.

When they arrive, the market's swallowed an entire side street with a sea of bright tents and massive crowds happily buying every run from woven baskets to fresh produce. Jin looks through the offerings, trying to take in everything on sale.

"I gotta get you something." He mutters as his pupils reflect different types of clothing and jewelry placed in front of their vendors. One golden necklace catches the sunlight and glitters at him, which veers him off path towards it.

She slaps her hand flat on his chest, stopping him in place. "Are you serious? You got me enough already." She grabs his arm and firmly yanks him back into the mass of moving people.

Another vendor catches their eye - a clay maker throwing out new cups and bowls on a spinning wheel in front of a growing crowd. Reze leads them by the vendor, picking up one of the bowls and inspects the swirling green green and blue item. She holds it up to Jin, who also has something to show her - a terracotta potter with a painting of some distant tropical beach.

"That's not too bad?" She puts the bowl down to look over Jin's selection. "But I don't think it fits in the apartment."

"Since when did you become an interior decorator?"

"Since I saw what you picked up and know that nothing in the apartment screams tropical vibes." She plucks the potter from his hands and places it back where it belongs, and drags Jin from the tent.

As they pass the vendor spinning the clay, Jin immediately goes into the next display, a vintage clothing setup, and immediately grabs a hanging green dress. From the looks of it, it's from the 90s - thin straps that would barely cling to her shoulders, with a hemline that would cut off just below the knee.

"Hey Reze, what about this dress?" He holds it out in front of her, the light fabric flowing gently from the passerbys.

A heavy sigh comes from her as she pulls him from the rack. "There's like a hundred different stalls we're not gonna find the perfect thing in the first two minutes." She brings Jin closer, using her shoulder to push past a group of teenagers.

"Well I mean maybe we can -"

Whatever Jin's saying doesn't register to her as she stares at a vendor in his own display, commanding a puppet hanging from his hands as he tells some story to a crowd of mesmerized kids. They giggle, running around and sing the song of some hero who slayed the evil dragon, dancing around as the man smiles warmly at them.

When the man looks up and meets Reze's gaze, he flashes a warm smile with the same soft blue eyes that watched over during the darkest years of her life.

-Out of all the places you show up, Soldat.-

"There." She suddenly points over towards the puppet stand with the screaming kids. "Can you get something for me? Pleaseeee?" She teases him, putting her hands lightly on his hips and turning him towards the booth.

Jin does a quick double take, turning around to Reze confused. "A… kids stand? Are you sure? Wait, are you trying to tell me something?" His voice drops to a whisper, his skin suddenly damp with a fresh wave of sweat.

"Wh- NO! NOT THAT!" Her face instantly burns a shade of bright red. "I DON'T… YOU IDIOT! JUST-". She sucks in a breath, calming herself when she notices a passing couple staring at her outburst.

"…There's a lot more stuff that looks cool there."

"Are you sure?" Jin takes one last skeptical look over at the stand. "I don't… ok?" He starts to head over to the stand, but his elbow is yanked back to Reze.

"Haggle with the guy too."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I wanna see this new confident man!" She winks and pokes at his ribs. "You'll do great!"

A kiss hits his cheek as she firmly shoves him towards the booth.

Jin stumbles and nearly crashes headfirst into a woman carrying a crate of oranges. He regains his balance and gives the woman an awkward apology. Behind him is a loud laugh from Reze. Jin turns around to see her, leaning on a wall, pointing towards the booth as she grins.

By the time Jin arrives, the story just wraps up to the kids and their parents applauding. The kids suddenly take off in different directions, giggling and laughing to their parents about what happened during the show. One of the toddlers sprints without looking, crashing into Jin's shins.

"WATCH IT!" The young boy screams at the before brushing himself off and sprinting back to his mother.

*How does this keep happening?*

Behind Jin, there's another giggle. He turns around to the man moving the puppets back behind the makeshift wooden counter.

"Kids are like magnet to you, huh?" The man says, putting his hands counter. When the man leans forward on the thin material, Jin realizes how terrifyingly large the man is. He's built an old bear that hunters would tell stories about.

"I mean, it's been happening a lot lately, so I guess?" He steps up to the counter, trying to look past the body of the giant man. Toys and trinkets sprinkle around the shelves and hang from the top of the tent, but nothing immediately jumps out to him.

"It seems like maybe you're just unlucky." The man extends his massive calloused hand out.

Jin instinctively reached out to shake it. The moment the man's grip closes around his, Jin can feel the small bones in his hand actively begin to splinter under the sheer pressure. He tries to squeeze back as hard as he could, but to no avail. Mercifully, the man releases as Jin hides his throbbing hand under the display and shakes it out.

"It's what I've been told." Jin resumes looking behind the man, still coming up empty. "So, uh my girlfriend over there -" He jerks his thumb behind him, not wanting to look like a lost puppy. "She wanted something from here, and I'm gonna be honest with you man. I need some help."

The man's laugh is booming, glancing over the crowd to meet Reze's gleaming eyes. Unbeknownst to Jin, her smile grows as the idea of the two talking warms something deep in her soul.

"The one with the purple hair, yes? She's a beauty. How'd you land her?" The man jokes, slinking underneath the counter to rummage through a hidden box.

Jin softly chuckles and shakes his head. "Honestly? I ask myself that question every morning." His eyes trace over some of the puppets, the dragon puppet swaying from the breeze, almost like it's staring right at him.

"I promise you you'll find something." The man says, tapping one of his giant hands on the counter. "What does she like?"

"Skittles and explosions." Jin scoffs out by accident.

Soldat laughs at him and shakes his head. "Well, if you believe it, I don't have any candy here, and selling explosions - especially to kids - might be illegal, but…" He reaches under the table and hoists a muted blue case onto the wooden counter.

"Please sir, feel free to open." The man rubs his hands on the top of the case and turns the heavy metal clasp towards Jin. He fumbles with the lock, the metal clinging to the case as he finally unlocks it. Jin lifts the case open and his breath hitches.

Inside sits a dark leather bomber jacket. It looks brand new, like it was just cleaned a day before. Stitched onto the sleeves are a collection of military patches from different countries - insignias from aerial divisions from Japan, the U.S., England, and a few others Jin didn't even recognize.

"Holy shit..." Jin exclaims as pulls the leather up by its shoulders. As he does, a folded note drops from an unzipped pocket, dropping in the middle of the case.

Jin picks it and unfolds it.

'To the love of my life, may our adventures be as explosive as you are.'

The accuracy of it is frightening - it's exactly something Jin would write. But what makes the hair stand on his arms is that the writing looks exactly like Jin's terrible handwriting.

"Wait, how… huh?" Jin keeps frantically darting between the man, the leather jacket, and the piece of paper.

"Farmers markets are a magical place to find hidden treasures." The man winks and smiles.

Jin snaps his jaw shut, forcing himself to steady his gaze. "I think this is it."

"I was hoping you'd say that. That'll be fifteen thousand yen."

There's another spike of anxiety that flares in Jin's chest. "So, next thing, she wants me to haggle for it…" Jin shrugs. "I've never done it before, so if you can play along that-"

The man's booming voice immediately cuts him off. "WELL, a piece like this at LEAST deserves fifteen thousand!"

Jin blinks, completely stunned for a second before he realizes what's happening. "No! The case color sucks! I'll give you twelve thousand!"

Thirty feet away, Reze can't believe what she's witnessing. Watching Jin actually try to haggle with Soldat is really filling whatever emotional cup she never knew existed. What's more baffling is that Soldat usually would never let someone like Jin actually win at this.

-Old man's getting soft…-

"- THIRTEEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED!" The man's roar cuts through the crowd.

"DEAL!" Jin pounds his palm down onto the wooden counter like a judge striking a gavel. They shake hands again - Jin's fingers turning a shade purple - as he slaps a thick wad of cash onto the counter. Jin carefully folds the jacket and note back into its blue case and snaps it shut.

"Hey, really, thank you. She's gonna love this." Jin smiles at the man and drags the case off the table. It's surprisingly dense and nearly tumbles out of Jin's grasp, but he catches it and starts to head back.

The man rolls up the wad of money into neat piles and places it into a metal box. "It's my pleasure. And, sir?"

Jin turns around, swinging the case back to its previous owner. He glances over the crowd toward Reze, his head tilting thoughtfully. "Six and a half." He says quietly, subtly tapping his giant ring finger for Jin.

Jin's face glows red, giving one last frantic nod and turns away from the booth. A group of shoppers pass by, giving him a much needed moment to collect himself.

*Six and a half. Got it.*

The crowd parts and Reze was standing right in front of him. His racing heart instantly calms as he lifts the heavy blue case toward her.

"The hell did you buy?" She pushes off the brick wall, eagerly taking the heavy case from him and snapping the clasps open. When the lid swings open, Reze's eyes gleam in excitement.

"Surprise! Somehow the old guy had that tucked away." Jin watches the folded note float out of the case and drift onto the pavement. He stoops down and picks it up, giving it to her. "Before you ask, no I didn't write that. Whoever did has the same exact handwriting as me though."

She reads over the note and looks back at the jacket. "Holy shit… I love it!!" Reze jumps up in place, then throws her arms excitedly around Jin. "This literally is one of the best days of my life!! You should buy me stuff more often!!" She peppers his cheek with kisses, pulling away just long enough to shoot Soldat a deeply appreciative, knowing wink over the crowd.

Soldat winks back and turns around to his display, setting up some of his puppets for another show.

She turns her head to Jin's ear, her voice coming out as a soft whisper. "I REALLY think we should go back now."

Jin's ears practically start smoking. "Like… you mean…?"

She nods, giving Jin the empty case as she slides her arms into the jacket. The note is tucked safely into the breast pocket, then grabs his hand to pull him away from the main street. The dark leather fits her immaculately, perfectly accenting the striking features. As they navigate through the rush, Reze guides them into a side alleyway halfway through the market.

Jin's heart rate spikes as the shadows of the tall brick buildings grow over them. Usually, the alleys in this district were easy enough to navigate, but the path Reze was dragging him down twisted and turned, the walls feeling narrower with every step. They round one final, sharp corner, and step directly into a trash littered dead end.

"Wanna turn around?" Jin asks, kicking one of the rusted cans into the wall.

She cocks her to the side. "What do you think?" She takes his hand and turns him around. "You know you d-"

"Stop."

The voice echoes from the darkest shadow in the dead end. Any playful energy the two had immediately evaporated. In the brick facade, the shadows begin to physically swirl, growing and engulfing the back wall as it begins to ripple. Through the darkness, a man cuts through the thick void as he adjusts the tie around his neck.

Reze immediately shoves Jin behind her and grabs at her pin instinctively. "Whatever happens, don't move."

The older man holds his hands up, feigning an innocence Reze knows he doesn't possess. "I just want to talk."

With a few flicks of Jin's wrist, the rifle finally materializes as he swings it the barrel towards the man's chest. "I'm kinda tired of you guys ruining our day."

The older man scoffs and watches Jin intently. "Ruining your day?" He takes a slow step closer, the shadows clinging to his heels and drag like a heavy cape behind him. "You two have been a nuisance ever since the weapon defected for you. If anything, you are the issue."

Reze continuously pushes backward, using her body to guide Jin toward the exit. "Jin, just watch the alley. I got him." She feels the rifle swing brush across her new jacket to cover that area.

"Target, I just want to give you an option." The man looks past Reze, unconcerned about her threats.

"Don't care." Jin says as keeps his attention towards the blind spots.

"You should. I don't believe we've met." The man extends a hand out. When Jin tightens his grip on his rifle, the man slowly retracts his offering. "I'm Chozin, second in command of the Hybrid Division. I've been hoping we'd meet - " His eyes dart to Reze's tense stance. "- in more agreeable conditions. But this wouldn't be the first time." His footsteps echo in the alley as he keeps walking forward. "I'd like to offer you a choice: the two of you to come with me right now. Willingly. I can guarantee both of your safety and survival of what's to come."

Jin's body slams into the alley wall. Reze immediately shifts her stance, planting her feet defensively in front of him.

"A lot of good soldiers died, and I don't want to send any more after you."

Reze's teeth grit as her fingers curl on her trigger. "Then take the fucking hint."

Chozin shakes his head and sighs heavily. "Reze, my dear, out of all people you should know better how we operate."

The shadows behind him violently tear open. A massive man in military fatigues steps out of the void, his face entirely obscured by a black balaclava.

Reze immediately pulls her pin at the sight of him, instantly transforming. The blast is directed away from Jin, who immediately swings his rifle back forward through the billowing smoke. When the smoke settles, the Bomb Devil stands rigid, and yet the bomber jacket still clings perfectly to her shoulders.

"BACK OFF DIMITRI." She raises both of her hands, her fingers glowing with the volatile explosive energy.

Dimitri just laughs as he joins Chozin's side."Always so eager to fight, that's why I liked you." He leans over, peering past the warhead to lock his dark eyes to Jin. "And there he is - the target of the hour. Been watching you for a while, friend. I can't wait to rip you apa- "

The shadows behind him suddenly lash out, wrapping tightly around his throat and silencing him.

"He is to be taken alive." Chozin says, keeping his eyes locked towards Jin.

The shadows instantly retreat off Dimitri. He rolls his shoulders, unbothered by what happened. "We'll see if you'll live long enough. My strike teams are ready. Are you two?

The Bomb Devil twists her foot on the asphalt below. "Wanna find out?"

Dimitri lets out a snarl, the sound coming out from under the fabric is an inhuman growl. As he does, the shadows swirl again, as another younger man steps out. He pushes his long hair out of the way to get a better look at Jin.

"This is the target? He looks like a lost dog." The man says, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall. The electric guitar strapped to his back lets out a low, discordant hum as he shifts his focus to Reze. "You though…YOU look like you'll be fun."

"'Hey FUCK you." Jin swings his sights over to the young man. As he does, the young man reaches for his back, the distorted sound from the guitar reverberating louder and louder.

"I'll fucking split you I-"

"Oh, hush."

A voice cuts through the shadows like a scalpel.

"At least try to listen to orders."

The cadence of that voice sends a spike of pure, paralyzing ice into Jin's veins.

His hands begin to tremble as he watches a woman in business attire and long black hair step out, immediately locking eyes with Jin. As soon as she locks eyes with Jin, her face lights up with a warm, terrifyingly familiar smile.

The exact same curl of the lips from all those years ago.

"Aw, honey… It's been too long."

Jin's hands go completely numb as he drops his rifle, which rematerializes back into the bracelet. He presses his back on the brick wall, trying push through the immovable obstacle. Reze can feel him trying to scurry away, but she grabs him to keep him still.

"Do not call him that." Her hands move the explosive energy towards the woman. "Take another step and I'll level the city block."

"You think you're gonna hurt me sweetheart? How cute." The woman laughs and steps forward, casually lifting her hand and snaps her fingers. An orange flame immolates at her fingertips, trailing down her forearm and lightly singeing the sleeve of her suit jacket.

"ALL OF YOU. STOP." Chozin screams out as he throws his hands out. "We're not about to do this HERE."

Dimitri scoffs, trying to step around Chozin's outstretched hand. "Thoth put me in charge. And I'm taking the target back NOW."

The shadows behind Dimitri shoot forward and wrap his upper torso, dragging him back into the dark void. He struggles for a moment, but lets the shadows overtake him as his muffled laughter echoing from the darkness.

Chozin lets out a long exhausted sigh and turns back to the two.

"This is your last chance. Come with us, or Dimitri and these two will come for you."

There's heavy breathing behind Reze as Jin's body violently shakes in fear, his gaze still on the woman. His mind races at the thought of fighting her, and the chance of Reze getting hurt by that thing.

The warhead shakes. "Get the fuck out of here." Her hand can feel Jin physically sink down, any confidence he's gained over the last few days have completely evaporated away.

"Have it your way." Chozin shrugs as the shadows start to swirl around the three of the division weapons.

The woman wiggles her fingers at Jin as the fire dissipates into a white smoke. "See ya real soon, sweetie."

And as fast as they arrived, the void swirls and consumes them, leaving Jin and Reze alone in the alley. The metal on her head starts to clatter to the ground as she turns to Jin. The second she lets go of his arm, Jin immediately collapses to the ground and begins hyperventilating on the pavement.

"N-no. Not her. No. I can't… no…" His skin starts to turn a shade of white as he stares blankly where the woman was standing moments before.

"Hey." She drops down next to him. "Jin, I'm right here. They're gone, we're safe!" She wraps her arms around his trembling shoulders, pulling him tightly against her chest.

Hot tears spill onto the asphalt from Jin's face. "Sh- no." His breath begins to quicken at the thought of her smile, the way it hasn't changed after all this time. He lets out a loud agonizing scream, shivering in her arms.

Reze tightens her grip on him, holding Jin from him potentially flailing around. "Breathe Jin, breathe." She's keeping her voice as calm as she can, running her hand through his hair to try bring him back to reality.

Slowly, his erratic breathing began to match hers. He grips the heavy leather of her new jacket and finally lets the truth out.

"She… she killed my family."

"What?" Reze's heart plummets into her stomach.

-This whole time, they've been dead?-

"I was a kid. One day… the apartment we lived in caught fire. I tried to get my parents, I swear I tried… but there was too much smoke, too much heat…" His voice starts to quiver. "I ran out, and I let them die. I LET THEM DIE. I could have helped out… WHY DIDN'T I HELP???" He slams his fist to the asphalt and scrapes his knuckles.

"Wh- how did you know it was her?"

"She was sitting on a bench outside. When I crawled out she didn't help, she didn't ask what happened…" His eyes begin to water again. "She saw me… and just smiled at me. That fucking smile, watching the building burn."

"I'm… I'm so sorry… holy shit Jin… I didn't know." She spins her head around, making sure no Division soldiers are moving to ambush them. But she doesn't stop rubbing Jin's head. He starts to ball up again, the shirt she's wearing under the jacket starting to become wet from his tears.

"Look at me Jin." She takes his head and pushes it up to hers, but he refuses to meet her gaze. "I'm not letting her hurt us, ok? But I need you to calm down. We cannot stay out here." She hoists him to his feet, wiping off any dirt and pebbles on his clothes. "Can ya look at me?"

He shakes his head and keeps his gaze at the same spot. "…I can't."

She grabs his chin, firmer this time, and forces his head up. Jin's eyes instantly dart to the side, still silently refusing the connection.

"In the eyes, Jin. Please."

He doesn't, instead shoving her aside to walk away. "Leave me alone right now."

She dashes ahead and stands in front of him. "Don't do that." She takes his hands and laces her fingers through his. "I'm right here. Let's get back and throw something on, cuddle for a while, anything you need right now." She lightly squeezes his hands and smiles at him. "Please?"

Jin keeps walking, his hands disconnecting from hers. "Only thing I need is a bullet in my brai-"

A knife whizzes by just above his ear, embedding itself deep into the brick wall right next to his head. He freezes in his tracks and stares at the vibrating hilt and lets out a long, shaky exhale. "Look, I d-"

"Don't. Ever. Say. That. Again." She marches past him and rips the blade out from the stone. "Let's go. Now."

She grabs his hand again, this time keeping her grip firm. He tries to pull away again, but any fight he has is drained out of him. She leads them back the way they came, right back into the chaotic center of the farmers market. They slink back into the massive crowd and navigate to the street as they make their way to the apartment.

"What that woman did is awful. We're going to get her, I promise." She turns back to him as they cross the threshold of the farmers market. "That doesn't mean you get to say shit like that. You wanna die? I'm not letting that happen - I want you here. We have a life to look forward to."

She stops them at a crosswalk, leaning to him and whispering into his ear. "I want that. Do you want that?"

He slowly nods as they wait. "I do more than anything, but -"

He's cut off by Reze's hand covering his mouth. "Don't say but. Redacts everything you said before."

His eyes stay locked on hers as she drops her hand from his face. He purses his lips together tightly and continues walking.

"What, don't got anything to say anymore?" She asks, taking them down another alley to a shortcut they've used before.

He shakes his head, staring blankly ahead.

"You don't have to bottle it up."

His eyebrows furrow as he continues on, still shaking his head.

"Nothing you say is gonna disappoint me."

The only sound he makes is his echoing footsteps in the alley.

"Jin. Come on."

"What do you want me to say?" He finally blurts out.

"Tell me how you're feeling maybe?" She suddenly pushes him onto a concrete wall.

"We're not leaving until you do."

He tries to sidestep her, but she instantly boxes him in, keeping her forearm pressed into his chest.

"So, you'd let H.D. show up?"

"If that's what it takes to get you to open your damn mind to me."

"You wouldn't." His head drops as he gives up trying to escape.

"Wouldn't I? I've done worse to people." She pushes his head up, trying to read into his pupils.

"Tell me."

Jin's head shakes, but after a moment he sighs and sinks his shoulders in defeat. "I… feel terrified."

"That's a start. Can you tell me more?" She moves a stray piece of hair out of her way and rubs his shoulder.

"…I don't think I can fight her. When I saw her, all I thought about was running, just like that day. And if I do that with you-" He stops himself and actually looks at her, his face pale with absolute horror at the thought.

"Jin. I know you won't run from me. I wouldn't let you."

"How do you know that? I already did it to my parents."

"You were a kid in an impossible situation. There's nothing you could have done."

Tears start to drip down to Jin's cheeks again. "I could have opened the door. I could have saved them!"

"It's not your fault. None of that is your fault."

"Rez…" Jin grabs her wrist tightly. "If you're in danger against her, I'm scared I'm gonna run. And I can't be alone. I - I can't go back to that."

She nods, letting him go off the wall and rehugging him. "You won't. We're gonna figure it out together." She kisses the tip of his head and lets the sobbing mess collapse into her. She traces small circles on his back and gives him the quiet space to cry.

After a few minutes, his erratic breathing finally levels out. He leans his head back against the wall, staring blankly up at the afternoon sky.

"…I'm sorry."

"You've got no reason to be." She pulls him off the wall and leads him down the shortcut. "Offer still stands from earlier." She tries to flash a warm smile at him.

"…Sure."

___________

"This is so cool." Reze picks up Jin's acoustic guitar, plucking at the untuned strings as she turns around to him. "You know, you've never played for me."

They've been in the apartment for three hours now, and the second they entered Jin sat himself down onto the futon and disassociated from everything. Reze laid in the bedroom, hoping that he just needed some quiet space to calm his mind. After the first hour, she silently checked on him, but he was staring at the powered off TV. Then, for the second hour, she grabbed her schoolbook and moved the baguette on the kitchen table to do one of her math lessons. Occasionally, she'd turn around to try to crack a joke, only to be met with silence. As the clock ticked away, she stood up to stretch, thinking of a way to break him out of his trance. The first idea was throwing a show on, but she felt like he wouldn't actually pay attention. As she looked around the room, that's when her vision locked into the light brown guitar.

"…Hm?" Jin breaks out of his trance, looking at his instrument and realizing she's right - and it's also been a while since he's played. He truly does love it, but living with someone and having them hear his slip ups and dead notes was a terrifying thought. And he couldn't bring himself to even try for her.

Suddenly, the instrument is gently placed on his lap. "I wanna hear you play." She plops down, leaning back into the futon for his performance.

"…I'm not that good, so you haven't missed much." He plays each string once, the flat notes bouncing off the walls. He starts twisting the metal tuners up top, plucking each string until they pitch levels out.

"I don't care. I wanna hear you!" She leans up and rubs his arm. "Besides, you've had to play for someone before, right?" She laughs, looking at Jin's embarrassed gaze. "…Wait, am I really the first one?" She shifts in her seat and lets go of Jin. He slowly nods, hiding his flushed cheeks by looking down at the guitar.

"…I never played for anyone. I bought it a while ago and started teaching myself. I couldn't tell you why, maybe it felt like it made me interesting?" Jin strums one last time, the tuned notes filling the quiet apartment. "But yeah. Guess I forgot about it since you got here."

"Because I make you interesting?" She giggles at him. Jin does nod, but there's something under his face that feels like pain in his admission.

He plucks a few strings as he sets his hand onto a chord. "Yeah, maybe. Going from someone who people don't think twice about to now worrying about a Russian secret division run by devils." He raises his guitar up. "I think this has some catching up to do."

The chord shifts, letting a flat tone now filling the apartment. Reze leans back, silently watching Jin play. He's definitely not bad, there was an undeniable rust to his playing, but she could clearly see the talent underneath it. The song he was playing was a strange mix of hopeful and deeply sad. She looks into Jin's eyes as he plays - he's completely focused on what he's doing.

Jin can feel her gaze, but he can't look at Reze.

*I have to make it good. I have to impress her. Hell, I gotta look cool for my girlfriend, right? I have to -*

Jin's finger slips off the string, the dead sound reverberating on the walls. He pulls his hand off the bridge and sighs - a common occurrence when he'd practice. "There it is…"

Reze shakes her head and sits up. "What are you talking about? You were awesome!" She kisses his cheek as her body accidentally bumps into the guitar. "You gotta play for me more. Please??" She blinks at him pleadingly.

"I… sure. I can try." He shrugs, fingers resetting back to where he messed up. He takes a deep breath in and starts the song from the beginning, letting the music emanate through the apartment again. Reze leans back into the futon, letting her eyes close as the song swirls into her ears. She smiles - whatever he was trying to do, it was definitely sounding better this time around. She takes a peek at Jin, whose own eyes are closed in an intense focus that she's never seen before from him.

Another dead note bounces out from the neck as Jin's eyes shoot open in disappointment. "FUCK." He aggressively slaps at his guitar, the hollow wood amplifying the loud, angry smack.

"It doesn't have to be perfect!" She squeezes his arm. "You're heavily overthinking it, like your face is doing the thing."

"What then! Because I gotta follow the notes."

"I get that, but why not make it your own? You're trying way too hard to make it perfect. Make it yours."

"Maybe… I don't know." He sighs, placing the instrument to the side. "I think I gotta stop."

Reze sighs, standing up and looks to the kitchen. "I'm gonna grab a snack. You want anything?"

He shakes his head as he goes back to the guitar stand, placing the instrument down. He takes one last disappointed look at it before turning around in shame.

*God damn it, man.*

Reze gets to the kitchen and swings open one of the cupboards and sifts through the mountain of snacks they've bought the previous day. As she pushes away chips and candy, the bagged tortillas stare at her. They're supposed to be for some burrito night that Jin wanted to try to attempt - even though he's never made one before.

A terribly brilliant idea pops into her head. She rips the bag open, pulling two of the massive flatbreads out and slapping them onto the counter.

"Come here."

Jin spins around to her. "…Why?"

"Are you gonna question everything or you gonna come here?" She beckons over, grabbing a loose glass and filling it with water from the sink. The glass hits the countertop as Jin walks over.

"Drink that. But don't swallow it." She points at the glass and turns around.

Jin's about to question her, but stops himself and does as he's told. He picks up the glass and takes a massive gulp, holding the cold water in his cheeks. He looks over Reze's shoulder and raises an eyebrow.

Before he can make an attempt to talk, Reze spins around with one of the tortillas and hits him across the face with a wet THWAP. Jin's head twists as he lets a mist of water out over the sink, covering it with the liquid. He turns around to her and holds his cheek. "The FUCK was that?!"

Reze hands him the other tortilla and grabs the glass, taking a sip and holding the water in her mouth. She looks at him and leans her head forward, puffing her cheeks out and smiling. Jin takes a second to look at her as his fingers curl on the flatbread. He raises his arm and swings the tortilla across her face, which hits right on her cheekbone.

Her head turns as she lets out a small mist of water, giggling as she fills up the glass with water and takes a big sip. She pushes the glass to Jin, who takes it in his hands and glances back up to Reze. She nods, smiling with cheeks filled with water.

Without Jin's brain's consent, a small smile fills his face as he fills his mouth again, leaning slightly forward to give Reze a better target to hit. She swings the tortilla across his face as another fine mist spurts out of Jin, who laughs loudly as her tortilla slides across his face.

*Maybe things will be ok.*

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin really thought today would have been different. Having the night he did with Reze led him to believe he was in a better place than he was earlier. But every time he closes his eyes, he sees her - the woman in the business suit with her smile burning into his dreams as she disappears into those shadows. The nonchalant voice she has, and even the calmness in her threats. Jin doesn't even know her name, and yet she took everything from him - and he's probably not the only one.

*How does she live like that?*

Next to him, Reze fidgets in her dream, her grip on Jin tightening a smidge as she pulls him closer to her side of the bed. Jin gives the back of her hand a quick peck and shifts up slowly, breaking from her grip. She spasms again, causing Jin to freeze in place, but she quickly drifts back down. He's able to quietly untangle himself to creep out of the room and throw himself over to the futon, lying down to stare blankly at the ceiling.

Right now, he needs something he never thought he'd want.

Space.

As much as it's awesome to have someone to love - who's currently fifteen feet from him - he physically cannot bear to be touched right now. And he doesn't know how to tell her that without breaking her heart, which causes his mind to spiral into a tailspin as the moonlight flutters onto his face.

plink

Jin jolts up. Under Reze's schoolbook on the coffee table, her closed laptop's screen flashes quickly before turning off again. He pushes the book to the side and cracks the screen open. Russian symbols immediately fill the small screen, casting a green glow over his face. He sighs and lays back down to stare at the ceiling. Whatever's being said there, like where that woman might be, he can't understand it. He pulls out his phone and starts to scroll through one of his social media apps. As he does, a new app catches his eye - something he downloaded for the upcoming trip to Paris.

Translate Anything!

The app icon illuminates into his pupils as he taps it. It's already set to the French setting - from a test Jin did as he was setting up the display on the table earlier. He quickly changes it to the Russian setting and clicks on the upload option which opens up his phone camera. He rolls over to face the laptop, lines up the screen in the digital frame, and snaps a picture of the cryptic symbols. His finger taps anxiously on the back of his phone casing as the loading circle spins.

Eventually, a block of text pops up from under his photo.

FORWARD BASE PYOTR IS CONSTRUCTED. STRIKE TEAM AND HYBRID DISPATCHED TO DEFEND.

Jin sits up fully, pulling the laptop into his lap to scroll down. Below the text he translated is a small map. A blinking red dot marks the location of the newly constructed base, and Jin instantly recognizes it - a small park bordered by tiny wooden retail structures used for festivals. It's a place Jin would love to sit at during said events, watching people sell their weird wares to match the theme of whatever was being celebrated. And he knew how it was exactly set up, all the way up to the different four to five story buildings surrounding the park.

And if that woman is there, he knows the perfect vantage spot to take her out.

The futon creaks as he stands up and quietly steps back into the bedroom, taking in Reze's sleeping form as he lingers in the threshold of the closet. She looks peaceful as her arms wrap around Jin's pillow, letting a soft huff out along with a tiny smile that forms against the fabric.

*They're not taking that from me.*

Jin silently slides the closet door open and grabs the first clothes his hands touch - a pair of old jeans and a black hoodie. The door slides shut behind him as he heads to the bureau next to the bed. He slides the drawer open, shifting a stack of t-shirts aside to reveal the balaclava he made. He takes it in his hands and shuts the drawer quietly and heads back to the futon. He quickly changes into the grabbed clothes, and shoves the balaclava into his hoodie pocket.

He takes one last look at the map on the laptop screen and exhales heavily. The red light of the dot reflects off his silver bracelet.

*My turn.*

The laptop is pushed shut as Jin moves to the door, turning around to look back at the silent apartment.

"I'll be back, sweetheart." He whispers to the quiet void.

The door softly clicks shut, locking behind him.

In the other room, Reze tightens her grasp on the pillow.

"Love….you..." She sleepily murmurs back.

____________

clickclickclick

Jin's rifle silently slides on the black fence on the rooftop, using one of his hands to adjust the knobs on the side of the scope. He just reached his vantage point and is scanning the booths below intently through the digital display. So far, the market looks barren, especially behind most of the locked booths.

But if Reze taught Jin anything, anything can be hiding a dark secret behind locked doors and grates.

There's a quick blur of movement behind the farthest booths. A set of shadows shuffle something in the stillness of the night. A small green box passes by a grate, barely visible through the scope, but the telltale Hybrid Division logo is stamped on the side.

clickclick

He takes a steading breath as his finger wraps around the trigger, waiting for them to peek their head out.

*Is this stupid?*

He pulls his eye from the scope and drags out a long breath, staring down at the courtyard. He doesn't know how many there are behind the booths, but maximum should be two in each booth - from those festivals he knows any more than two would cause bumping and cursing at their coworkers as they would rush to do whatever job given. And from where he's at, he could take them out.

*Reze's been doing it all. She can have the night off.*

As he tries to rationalize tonight's decision, the doors on the far left booth swing open. Two soldiers in their fatigues are moving a collection of green crates across the tiled walkway. Under the cover of the darkness, they're nearly invisible, save for the sliver of light spilling from the open doorway. Jin's mind clears as he aims down the scope and tracks their movement. The lead soldier's head drifts between the red crosshairs. As the men lug the crates, they're chuckling about something between themselves.

The two arrive at the adjacent booth and start to stack their collection of boxes next to the unlit booth. When they're done, one of the soldiers knocks on the wooden structure a few times, which causes the door to open. The lead soldier takes a collection of the crates and enters inside, leaving the trailing soldier alone in the moonlight. He pulls out a cigarette from a pocket and ignites it with a match. Once the cigarette catches fire, he throws the match to the side and takes a long, relieved, drag of the tobacco.

The pressure on Jin's trigger builds as his mind takes back over as he stares at the still man. In his head, there has to be a maximum of three people in that booth, especially if they're moving those crates into the structure. If he's to take the one outside, it could go many different ways, but he wants to bring the others out one at a time. With the minimal space inside, along with the singular exit, this should be like shooting fish in a barrel for him.

He tucks the stock into his right shoulder. As he leans in more, his healing bullet wound begins to flare. Jin winces, forcing the pain away by hyperfocusing on the glowing embers of the cigarette in his crosshairs.

Jin lets out a shaky breath.

thup

The shot from Jin's rifle is nearly inaudible to him, the sound more akin to a small potato cannon going off in a far away field. Jin watches the bullet slice through the night without the ballistic crack, only a faint ripple in the air as it heads to its destination. The recoil is incredibly smooth and only pushes back an inch, but that inch drives a spike of searing agony directly into Jin's wounded shoulder.

The bullet sails a few inches over the soldier's head and collides into the distant tile. An echoing pshh reverberates from the darkness.

But the soldier doesn't seem to notice. Instead, he swats his free hand over his head casually, like a moth just buzzed past his ear.

*Fucking lucky.*

Jin takes a second to recollect himself, and readjust the knobs on the rifle quickly. He brings the crosshairs back to his target's head and pulls the trigger again.

thup

Pins and needles explode through his shoulder. The bullet sails to its destination and hits the target this time. Instead of his preferred destination, the round cuts right through the man's stomach and embeds deep within his gut. The cigarette drops, scattering sparks across the tile as the man instantly slumps backward against the wooden structure. A guttural, agonizing scream shatters the silence of the night.

Shadows instantly erupt from the bleeding light of the open doors. Three soldiers immediately come out to check on the noise of their squad member, swinging their silenced rifles around as one of them pulls the casualty inside the booth. The other booths also rumble into life, spitting out - by Jin's quick count - thirty soldiers with their weapons raised as they scan the area for where the unknown shot came from.

Jin slinks down behind the fence as his stomach falls into a void. The number of soldiers doesn't match what he knows about the booths. There could be an underground system that connects them, concealing the small army below the streets. Or, Jin thinks to himself, maybe there's some other Devil that can unleash the soldiers at a moment's notice.

*I'd believe anything after these two months.*

He looks down at his rifle, wondering how he also missed those shots. The rifle was perfectly perched over the man's head when he pulled the trigger - did he over adjust the knobs on the scope? Did the pain in his shoulder throw his alignment? He sighs out and stares at the moon above as shouts ring from below.

*Joe and Reze taught me better than that.*

He crawls on the concrete as he repositions to the far side of the building. He pushes himself up, just enough for his eyeline to see past the black bar of the railing. Below, a mass of soldiers already formed a perimeter around the trail of blood, barking demands at each other and pointing in different directions. A few of them have already broken off and have been stalking the wooden structures, checking each crevice and nook they could shove their heads and rifles into.

Jin breathes out deep, settling himself.

*They haven't found me yet.*

Part of him wants to pull away, chalk tonight up as a huge mistake and go back to bed to wrap his arms around Reze. But Joe's voice echoes in his head.

Finish what you start.

As much as Jin doesn't like it, Joe's advice is right - so he slowly pulls the rifle back in front of him, aiming at the back of a lone soldier wandering behind the booths.

thup

The bullet flies true this time, punching into the back of the soldier's head. Pink matter and a red mist of blood spray out from his face, crumpling his body to the ground in a silent thud.

Nausea rolls through Jin's stomach, but he forces himself to scan the area to see if they noticed that. From his assessment, the soldier's patrol patterns haven't changed, still looking around as the central group continues to argue.

He shifts his weight over, aiming at another soldier that's leaning onto a signpost. He's turning his head slowly, almost waiting for the unknown shooter to make the mistake first.

*Your funeral.*

thup

The bullet cuts across the top of the man's head, painting the metal sign with a splash of crimson as he slumps onto the silver pole, lifeless. The crosshairs of Jin's rifle hovers over the body for a moment as Jin aggressively rubs his shoulder, his muscles burning in defiance.

Suddenly, a loud shout cuts through the courtyard. He swings the scope towards it, the crosshairs aiming at a soldier pointing at the bloodied stop sign. He's waving his hands around and jabbing a pointed finger towards Jin's building.

"SHIT." Jin curses out and shoves the butt of the rifle deep into his screaming wound.

thup thup

Both rounds find their mark, the first one hitting into the soldier's outstretched palm, which causes him to stumble backwards. The second bullet cracks through his chest, spraying blood and bone out the wound, and finally quieting his screams. But the mass of soldiers saw everything happen, immediately looking up to Jin's position and raising their rifles up. A deafening volley of suppressed gunfire erupts. Bullets break through the metal fence, sparking and ricocheting off the concrete ledge. Jin tumbles backwards and scrambles away on his hands and knees as his breathing turns into a frantic hyperventilation. He brushes himself off and rolls left, crouching up and keeps low to observe the approaching shouts and footsteps.

Suddenly there's a lull in gunfire. Jin stands back up to his feet and wildly fires three consecutive shots towards the encroaching mass of soldiers. The division jumps for cover as the rounds smash harmlessly into the pavement. The soldiers finish reloading their rifles and fire up towards Jin, their rounds cracking the concrete right by Jin's face, which sends Jin facefirst into the asphalt of the roof. He covers his ears as the sound of the returning fire becomes suffocating - cracks from the bullets whizzing over him, metal pinging from the ricocheting rounds, and he swears that there's laughter coming from below.

Like they're just having fun.

Between the splitting migraine and the ripple of the shots, Jin's mind fractures in absolute panic - should he run the way he came? Wait for the door to open and open fire? Jump off and pray to whatever god's listening for him to only break a leg? Or just shoot himself now?

Jin keeps his head down, moving towards the edge of the fence. He's going to make a stand he halfheartedly decided. At least if they kill him, they can't use him for whatever they want him for.

He looks up at the moon, taking a ragged, shaky breath. .

*I'm sorry, Rez.*

The gunfire stops. Jin shifts up and levels the rifle towards the courtyard. In the middle of the mass of bodies, staring directly where Jin is standing - almost like he was expecting it - is Dimitri. The sheer size of him was memorable from the brief meeting in the alley, but somehow Jin can feel the hatred for him in Dimitri's gaze from below. He's casually walking down the paved walkway with his soldiers, sporting no weapon, rather opting to keep his hands behind his back.

Jin turns the barrel towards the giant and fires three shots into Dimitri. The bullets all slice through his fatigues, but it's like they never existed - no blood, no pained scream, and not only did he keep walking - his pace quickens.

There's another shout from below as the soldiers finish reloading their guns. Jin turns his rifle back down, no time to think about why Dimitri wasn't stopping. He has to engage, has to fire back, he has to find the woman, he-

A massive hand grabs the hood of his jacket and yanks him down to the asphalt. As he falls, a bullet rips through the exact space his head just was, momentarily deafening his right ear. Jin grabs at the side of his head, his rifle accidentally rematerializing back into the bracelet. He looks up to another giant man staring at him.

He's almost as big as Dimitri, and if it wasn't for the different color scheme, Jin would have believed as such. A red and black balaclava stamped with the Hybrid Division insignia covers everything but a pair of piercing, furious blue eyes. His fatigues are a light grey to match the urban environment they're in and sporting a small backpack that matches. The man pulls the charging handle of his rifle and lets out an annoyed sigh.

"Reze is right. YOU ARE IDIOT."

The man pivots around and fires his own volley of rounds into the courtyard. Jin watches a group of them tumble to the ground, letting out a pained yelp before lying still on the concrete. The man crouches back down, taking out the empty magazine and begins to reload, turning his head to Jin.

"You think that full strike team is small? That base is small? NO. Base goes deep to sewers where they infill." He puts the new magazine into the rifle and racks the handle again.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that?!" Jin screams over the ringing in his ears, shaking his wrist to bring the rifle back to his hands. The two pop over the railing and fire over it. Jin's able to take out a soldier running for cover behind a trash can, his body slamming into his cover before slumping still.

Suddenly, Jin's shoved back to the ground as the man fires a burst of rounds over him.

"BECAUSE YOU DO NOT FIGHT!" The man roars over the gunfire, dragging Jin away from the edge of the roof.

Jin scrambles to get up, aiming his rifle at the man with trembling hands.

"I had it HANDLED!" Jin lies to the man as his weapon visibly shakes.

" YOU DID NOT." The man smacks the barrel to the side. "And HOW did you get The Whisper? Do you not UNDERSTAND what that is?"

"The what?" He shouts, stumbling over when another hail of gunfire blows past the two. The man catches him, keeping Jin on his feet. He nods at the man, aiming the rifle towards the soldiers and sends more rounds in their direction. "All I know is that it was a bracelet then it wasn't, and here we are!"

In the booths, more soldiers crawl out and begin sprinting towards the building, suppressing Jin and the man's position. Jin's eyes widen in the scope as he takes cover again. "Hey! We got more coming!"

The man nods. "Then we have to get out of here, now!" He grabs Jin and pulls him back towards the opposite side of the building. An adjacent building looms ten feet below, separated by a gap between the buildings that drops into an empty alley.

The old man breaks out into a full sprint and leaps effortlessly across, landing on the roof and rolling quickly before he stands up and reaches out to Jin.

"JUMP!"

"Holy fuck, holy fuck." Jin mumbles to himself as his feet slap onto the asphalt. Behind him, the roof access door blows off its hinges, followed by a spray of bullets slicing past him as he jumps. His arms flail out, feeling gravity begin to pull him back down to the earth.

He's not going to make it. He swings his hands up, praying for another miracle.

A hand catches his outstretched arms. Jin slams into the brick lip of the building, the wind completely knocked out of his lungs.

"Come. On!" The man grunts, hauling Jin up. When he passes the edge, they both fall onto the roof, catching their breath for a second before pulling each other up to run. Jin looks back to see the soldiers stop and aim towards them. Jin grabs the man's fatigues and pulls him sideways behind a massive ventilation pipe just as a storm of bullets shreds the area. Jin leans out and steadies his aim on one of the soldiers and pulls the trigger.

chick chick

He swings the gun sideways as a bullet shatters the concrete next to him. On the red digital display, a 0 is rapidly blinking at him.

"Hey, uh, I'm out for a sec!"

"Just stay back." The man growls at him and reaches into his bag, pulling out a green cylindrical canister. He rips the pin out and hooks it over their cover. The canister clatters onto the opposite roof and instantly envelops it in a thick green cloud. The Division soldiers stop firing, their gunshots replaced by confused, coughing shouts in Russian.

The man taps Jin's bad shoulder, making him bite back a scream. "We go, now!"

Jin nods, taking one last look at the display as they take off.

3

He follows the man down the roof, heading straight for a fire escape. There's a giant metal lock on the gated door, sealing the stairs down from them. Jin stops and aims at the lock, shattering the metallic block. The man swings the door open and beckons for Jin to come through. They quickly descend the escape and turn into the dark alley as shouting above them echoes into the labyrinth.

Eventually, the shouting lowers as they turn a final corner, both of them shoving their backs against the wall and hunching down. Through their heavy breathing and a quick glance, they do something unexpected.

They start chuckling.

Jin slides down the brick facade as the giggles hurt his lungs.

"What…. What the fuck." Jin gasps out. "There were so many."

"A clown car, no?" The man huffs out, standing up as his breath returns to normal.

"But you -"

The man's demeanor instantly shifts. He slams the wall with his fist, and the reverberation runs up Jin's spine. His body stiffens as his laughter dies in his throat.

"- are IDIOT."

Jin looks away, scoffing quietly. The man grabs him by the shoulders and hauls Jin up to face him.

"Do you understand? That you'd be dead right now if I didn't help? That you are alone? And you left her alone?"

Jin shakes his head, forcing himself to look at the ground. "…I fucked up. And I thou-"

"YOU. ARE. NOT. SPECIAL." The man shouts at Jin, throwing him into the opposite wall. Jin's body bounces on the stone as the man turns to him. "JUST BECAUSE REZE IS STRONG DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE."

Jin's brow furrows as he flicks his wrist and points the barrel directly at the man's chest. "Fuck you! Who the hell are you to tell me that??" The rifle begins to tremble in his hands again as the man steps closer to him. The suppressor presses into the man's chest as he stands there for a moment, taunting Jin to pull the trigger. When Jin doesn't, the man pushes the barrel of the gun away from him.

"Someone who doesn't want her hurt, physically or emotionally. And what you did? Just pure idiocy." The man's eyes stiffen as he tries to rip the gun out of Jin's hands. When the rifle leaves Jin's grasp, it rematerializes back to the bracelet.

"…I thought I had it." Jin mutters, looking away.

The wall rumbles from another strike by the man. "YOU HAVE THICK HEAD."

Suddenly, there's a shout in Russian as footsteps reverberate on the cold walls. Jin and the man both look at each other and ready their weapons. The man takes a peek around the corner and motions for Jin to stack up behind him. Jin does, and following the man's lead, they lean over the corner and fire at the approaching shadows.

Their suppressed shots cut down the unaware soldiers before they can even raise their weapons, painting the alley walls in crimson. The smoke from the barrels hisses out as the man does one last check before pulling Jin down the alley.

"I'm just trying to protect her!" Jin scoffs, trying to push the man's vicegrip off him.

"What - by dying a martyr? Or getting captured? VERY protective." He pushes Jin forward, beckoning him to lead the way.

Jin takes a few steps forward, but stumbles, dropping to one knee. He slams his hands onto the concrete in frustration. Everything the man is saying is hitting him all at once - especially the martyr comment. The illusion he had it under control shatters with each time his fist hits the ground, overloading his nerves in a sharp pang. His mind flashes to Reze waking up to a quiet bed, their promises of a new life together snuffed out by one rash decision.

*I'm a fucking IDIOT.*

He continues to strike the ground as his fists start to scuff and split against the rough surface. He raises his hand higher this time, mentally preparing himself to drive his fist down hard enough to fracture his hand and fully immobilize himself.

As he swings down, a massive palm catches his strike, stopping it in place. The mass behind him gently kneels down next to Jin and slowly lets go of his arm. For a moment, they sit in the silence as Jin's breath steadies.

"...I just wanted to help."

"Would you believe that I understand how you feel?"

Jin's head swings around to the masked man. "You know, I don't know what I believe anymore." He scoffs.

"...If I was younger I would probably do same for woman I love." He hits Jin's back with an open palm, which rattles Jin's skeleton.

"Ow." Jin winces and rolls his shoulders.

"It is deserved. You need to wake up and not put yourself in danger. You will get killed by them, even if they're trying to capture you. It's always how they've been."

"Rez can't just take them on alone… they're after me. Not her."

The man's arm wraps around Jin, tightening on his uninjured shoulder. "I've seen her take on whole armies before, but you can help by staying safe."

"I know, but I gotta do more than that."

The man laughs and shakes his head. "I get it, we all think we can. But sometimes, the best help is to hide and support from behind, not right in line of fire. Besides, with weapon you possess, it is perfect for that."

"I still don-"

A black spike flies through Jin's right shoulder from behind, shooting him off the ground and sending him down the alley and pins him in the air on the brick facade. Instantly, Jin feels his body go into shock that masks the excruciating pain. It doesn't, however, stop him from screaming when he realizes his situation. He moves his feet onto the wall and pushes away, but the spike holds firm.

The masked man turns around to Dimitri lowering his arm as a writhing, black sludge retracts into his massive biceps. In his hand, he's twirling a crystalized version of the liquid and staring directly at the man.

"Ah, Soldat. Perfect - I can capture the target AND put the old dog down." Dimitri's hands go behind his back as the sludge crawls around his midsection like a snake. "It's been a long time."

"Stay away. We are not doing this right now" Soldat growls out from under his balaclava. His eyes point to Jin's location. He's still desperately trying to pull away from the wall as his screaming has turned into desperate grunts.

"No, we're VERY MUCH doing this right now." Two thick black tendrils reach out from Dimitri's back. The viscous sludge twists and folds over itself, writhing as it struggles to maintain a solid shape.

Behind Soldat, Jin's given up on pushing himself out and has been focusing entirely on the spike pinning him. He manages to wedge enough space between his chest and the brick to swing his free fist directly at the crystal, desperately trying to shatter it.

What hurts Jin the most isn't the crystalized spike that's in his body - and the shock is starting to wear off at this point, engulfing his shoulder in agony - but how it's been three times that he's been hit in that exact same spot. It was just about done scabbing up after the second time, and now he has to start the recovery process all over again.

*ARE WE SERIOUS?*

A small crack splinters into the dark crystal as Jin continues to strike it. His whole body ruminates with a pain he's never felt before - but he doesn't stop.

BANGBANG

Jin flinches, catching the exchange out of his periphery. Soldat fired off two rounds at the black hands. They recoil from the impact, but the fluid instantly regenerates and returns back above Dimitri's head.

"You really haven't changed, you know that?" Dimitri laughs as he steps forward.

"Dimitri. Not now. Think about '97."

The black balaclava stares straight ahead. "I'll never forget '97, but it seems like you did though. From what I remember -" The black hands loom larger in the alley as Dimitri's voice drops to a low snarl. "- We killed our target."

"And more. You are not doing that again." Soldat keeps his rifle raised as he steps back down the alley, keeping himself between Dimitri and the struggling Jin.

"Ah, the high and mighty Soldat. Thinking because you defected means your sins get washed away." A tendril whips at Soldat, who rolls away as the swirling sludge shatters the concrete where he stood. "No matter what, we'll always be part of you. Besides - I didn't pull the trigger…"

CRUCK

The spike that was holding Jin finally shatters from his strikes. He crashes hard onto the ground and immediately pushes himself up to quickly inspect the impact point. He expects that a blood would spill out of him like before - but this time it's different. The crystal in his body ripples and turns from its fully solid state to a malleable substance, filling in the wound completely as skin starts to grow over it.

But the searing pain still seeps through, and when Jin turns around he doesn't have time to cry out. He flicks his wrist and aims the materializing rifle directly at Dimitri.

thupthupthupthup

The rounds blur past Soldat's body and drill squarely into Dimitri's chest. He turns his balaclava towards the shots, and Jin swears that under the fabric he can see a wicked grin form across his face.

"And you - I haven't had a good hunt in an eternity. I was starting to get bored." Dimitri shifts his tendrils to Jin. Soldat keeps backing up, pressing his back onto Jin to shield him. Jin swings his rifle around the bigger man's torso, keeping his sights on the swirling tendrils.

"CAN YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE??" Jin fires two more rapid shots that embed into Dmitri, but they don't stop his advances towards them.

Dimitri chuckles as the rounds punch through his fatigues. "No. THIS is what I live for. Hunting my targets, feeling their fear as I snuff out their pathetic life? It makes me feel… alive." More black tendrils swirl out of his back and snap in the air like whips.

As the two back down the alley with their eyes trained on the writhing extremities, Soldat reaches blindly into his backpack. He fumbles around for a moment before sliding out a brown glass jar. The clear liquid sloshes inside as Soldat quickly looks back at Jin.

"Ready?"

"For what?!"

Soldat sighs and launches the glass bottle above Dimitri's head. In that same motion, he swings his rifle up and pulls the trigger, shattering the glass and dropping the liquid onto Dimitri's body.

Instantly, he lets out a deafening howl that rattles the adjacent builds as he drops to both his knees. The tendrils individually scream out and wildly flail, the black sludge fizzling while they slice through the surrounding brick and concrete.

"NOW!" Soldat screams out, turning around and dragging Jin away. They break into the street and keep sprinting into the night until Jin keels over to catch his breath. Soldat throws his rifle into a nearby dumpster and runs over to Jin, picking him up and carrying him into a nearby crowded street.

The nightlife consumes the two as Soldat begins unzipping his fatigues, revealing pristine civilian clothes underneath. He removes his balaclava, stuffs it into his pocket, and turns to Jin.

"Close one, no?" Soldat smiles.

Jin does a double-take, his jaw dropping open as his brain short circuits.

"…You??" Jin gasps out. "You… the market… the jacket… the… huh??"

"Yes. Me."

"But, wha… how??"

"I wanted to meet man that Reze loves." Soldat shrugs. "As she put it - you are kind, but idiot."

Jin's eyes drop to the pavement. "…You don't have to remind me."

Soldat runs a hand through his sweat matted hair, weaving by a group of rowdy night goers. "You are lucky it's me here. If Reze was watching you, I could not promise your safety."

Jin looks up at him. "Are you watching us?"

Soldat keeps his eyes forward, scanning for any undercover agents. "I'm always checking on her, no matter where."

"You don't see everything… right?" A flush of red starts to spread over Jin's ears.

Soldat shakes his head and chuckles. "I know when you two need privacy. Although, movie last night? Terrible choice."

"…Thanks?" Jin mutters, wanting to argue more but too exhausted to. He follows Soldat onto a crosswalk, flinching as another shout from a drunken party echoes behind them. "Does she know you're always watching her?"

Soldat freezes in the middle of the street, which causes Jin to slam into his back. After stumbling away, Jin can see how wide Soldat's concerned eyes are.

"Holy shit." Jin walks around to the front of Soldat's paralyzed expression. "She has absolutely no idea, huh?"

"…I make sure she is safe on missions. Even after I left the division." Soldat swings his head around and continues on, but his voice has gotten noticeably quieter.

"I thought you said she can handle herself?" Jin half jokes at him.

"SHE CAN. I just… I cannot lose her." Soldat sighs, his shoulders slumping. "I have lost much in life. She is all I have left. The last thing to care for."

HONKK

The car waiting at the stoplight slams onto his horn. The two look up to the green light illuminating the driver's way. Soldat throws a hand up in apology to the yelling man and takes Jin to the sidewalk. They walk toward the apartment complex in a contemplative silence.

"…Looks like we got the same problem." Jin finally says softly, staring up at his approaching building.

Soldat nods, silently walking next to Jin as the apartment grows with each footstep they take.

"…We don't tell her anything about tonight, right?" Jin asks.

Soldat shakes his head. "If you tell her, she will explode…" he looks at Jin. "And then you will explode."

Jin weakly laughs, eyes on his apartment complex. He can see his bedroom window, darkness reflecting back to his eyes.

*Thank god.*

"Wouldn't want that, huh?" Jin huffs out, opening the gate that leads into the exterior stairway.

"Probably not, no." Soldat pauses at the base of the stairs. "Jin - stay safe, protect her. And…" He turns around, taking a few steps backward into the shadows to deliver a final warning

"Do not break her heart."

Jin winks at Soldat. "I wouldn't dream of it." He takes a step up, but pauses, leaning back over towards the bigger man. "Hey, what was in that jar?"

Soldat stops. "Water. Dimitri's body cannot touch it. Keep in mind for next time, yes?"

And like that, Soldat steps backward, the darkness of the city completely obscuring his body as he disappears.

Jin stares at the empty street for a moment before ascending the stairs to his apartment. He shoves his hands into his pocket, but something soft brushes on his fingertips. He grabs the obstruction and pulls it out - his painted balaclava coming out and staring blankly at him.

*I… forgot about this.*

He rubs his shoulder, feeling where the spike punctured. The wound is completely sealed, looking near identical to yesterday, but the skin feels fresh, radiating a dull ache.

He reaches his door, silently turning the knob. Jin steps inside, letting the door close with a soft click, and places his forehead onto the wood. He lets out a shaky exhale - THAT was stupid. Soldat was right about that.

He turns around. His heart plummets into his stomach.

The laptop is back open on the coffee table. Reze is on the futon and staring directly at him. Her phone is in her hand, the screen glowing with Jin's face pinging his phone's current location. From the laptop speakers, a Division radio channel crackles with panicked Russian screaming.

Reze's eyes are red and swollen, with fresh tears still falling down her cheeks. She slowly shakes her head when their eyes meet.

Jin feels the tears coming in his own eyes, huffing out a hitched breath.

"I'm sorry." He starts to run over to her, but she throws a hand up, stopping him in his place. Jin raises his arms to the side of his head as his hammering heart pounds on his ribs. "I fucked up tonight. I thought if I could take that woman out, we'd have an easier time with Dimitri."

Reze traces the inside of her cheek with her tongue and slowly shakes her head, her red eyes still staring at Jin.

"I'm not expecting you to forgive me." Jin drops his hands down to his side and goes to pull the hoodie over his head. As the fabric passes over his head, he hears the futon creak.

"Fuck. You." Reze's voice is quiet, but it slices through his soul.

"I know." He says as the hoodie is pulled fully off him. Reze is standing up now, still shaking her head at him as her eyes burn at him.

"I me-"

"FUCK. YOU." She stomps past him, shoving him forcefully out of her way. He falls onto the table, nearly knocking over the vase he set up earlier this morning. He catches it and sets the vase upright, throws his hoodie onto the futon, and sprints after her to the bedroom.

"REZ-" The bedroom door slams right in his face, the speed knocking Jin down to the ground. He scrambles up to the wooden door and tries to push it open, but he hears the bolt on the handle click.

"I fucked up!" He begs through the door. "I couldn't sleep and the laptop and I … I really fucked up." Jin puts his back to the door and slides down to the ground, putting his head into his hands. He slams his head back into the wooden door, the dull thud reverberating through the apartment "I can't get that fucking woman out of my head. I thought I did tonight but - I - I…" He cuts himself off.

*Nothing I say's gonna fix it.*

He keeps tapping his head on the door, the hollow thunk being the only sound in the apartment.

Suddenly, the door swings open behind him. Jin falls backwards, and above him Reze looms over. Her facial expression hasn't changed, but she stopped shaking her head.

"You're a fucking idiot." She reaches a hand down. Jin takes it and pulls himself up, hiding the flare of unbearable pain in his shoulder. When he's up, the two stare at each other for a second, the mere inches between them feeling like a canyon in Jin's mind.

"What happened to being a team?" She crosses her arms and cocks her head to the side.

"...I fucked up." Jin rolls his shoulder again, doing anything to distract from his fried nerves.

Reze finally notices the hole in his shirt and immediately grabs Jin and pulls him closer. The wound looks like the healing process already started, but from the rawness of the skin she can tell something's not right.

"Did you really get hit there again?" She leans in closer to it, inspecting it thoroughly. She crinkles her nose and glares back up to him. "You're the unluckiest person I've ever met, you know that?"

"And the dumbest, huh?" He shrugs.

"Yeah. You are. Do you wanna be a martyr for me? Jin they're not even after me."

He opens his mouth to tell her he's already heard that lecture tonight, but snaps it shut. "Yeah…yeah." He moves past Reze and heads for the bed. Before he can throw his body on it and get the rest he needs, the back of his shirt is pulled away from the mattress.

"OHHHHHH NO. You're on the futon tonight." Reze spins him around and marches him back to the threshold. "You're on there for a while."

"...I deserve it."

"Oh my GOD." She pushes him through the doorframe and leans on it. "You don't get to mope around."

The door is nearly pushed closed, but Reze peeks back out to him. "If you do anything like that again, I'm gone. Got that?"

And with that, the door clicks shut before Jin can answer. He slowly walks over to the futon and throws himself on it, staring at the opened laptop on the coffee table.

"Back again…" He whispers to himself, holding the power button of the laptop. The screen immediately shuts off as Jin rolls back to stare at the ceiling, but something on the futon jams into his back. He shifts up and brings the obstacle - his hoodie - in front of him.

Before he realizes what he's doing, his hand grabs the balaclava from inside the pocket and tosses the hoodie aside. The empty eyes continue to stare at him as he quietly ponders to himself. He squeezes his hands together and crushes his art piece, but can't bring himself to toss it away. Instead, he puts it under his body to hide it and rolls sideways, trying to get to sleep.

bzzt

Jin pats down his pants for his phone, pulling it out to one new message.

'Please don't sleep on your shoulder.'

Jin looks down at the futon, realizing he's lying on his bad shoulder. He spins himself around, feeling immediate relief he didn't know he needed.

He leans up and knocks on the wall twice and falls back down onto the futon. When he shuts his eyes, sleep finally comes from him.

And he swears, right before he drifted off, he heard a single knock from the bedroom.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze probably won't forgive Jin for a while. What he did was stupid, reckless, and worst of all - completely selfish. Only someone with a death wish would try to take on a whole Hybrid Division strike team alone, especially someone that had none of the proper training or reconnaissance on the base they set up.

She rolls around on the bed under the morning glow, still contemplating on what to do.

She's gonna figure out something, just what that is right now is a mystery to her. She rolls over to face the wall connecting the bedroom to the living room. She can imagine Jin curled up on the futon, hopefully not on his shoulder as he dreams about whatever he does. Part of her wants to get up and throw a punch at the wound, jolting him up as a painful reminder that his actions have consequences.

Should she do it twice for good measure, just to make sure the message got across?

-That's probably too abusive.-

She stares at the wall and keeps the gears spinning in her mind, wildly spiking between pure rage, and yet a begrudging understanding of last night. It sucks - she wants to be mad at him, she REALLY does. But something in a corner of her mind won't allow her to fully give into that feeling. Reze knows Jin is going to beat himself up over this for a while - probably for the rest of his foreseeable life if she doesn't strangle him first.

-Is this what love feels like?-

She crinkles her nose.

-It's not fair.-

She sits up, pushing the blanket to the side and heads for the bedroom door. Before she opens the door, she turns back to the empty bed. Even though there's no one there, Jin's presence can still be felt. She can't imagine any time when she didn't have this, like the two months since she met him have completely overwritten everything that's happened to her.

-Don't get soft.-

The door creaks open as she silently steps into the kitchen. She peeks over the hallway to the futon, and sure enough, Jin is asleep. The brown blanket they use for movie nights is ensnared over his limp body as he lightly snores.

The mix of love and hate sways like a pendulum in her chest. She walks over to the table with the Paris display and picks up the baguette. She takes a few swings with it, purposely aiming at her sleeping boyfriend's body, imagining the thick crust cracking across his face. With the sheer force, she'd probably knock a tooth or two loose.

Not ideal for the two of them, especially if the bread-turned-weapon in her hands is an indication where they'll be in two weeks. And she's gonna want pictures, and the thought of Jin smiling in front of the Eiffel Tower with a few missing teeth makes the edge of her lips curl up, completely out of her control. She shakes her head to clear the smile on her face and heads towards the coffee maker.

Even if Jin did something so unbelievably stupid, it's not gonna stop her morning routine.

She swings open one of the cabinets to her personal stash of coffee beans, the canvas bag with the chibi drawing of her still vibrant and smiling. She picks them out and throws them into the grinder, and then heads back to the fridge to grab the hazelnut creamer. She shakes the container and plops it onto the counter, tapping her fingers impatiently as the grinder works its magic.

-…I should be more mad at him…-

She sighs, hands covering her eyes as her mind races back to last night - waking up and pressing her hand on the empty side of the bed, then walking into the living room and not seeing Jin.

That's when the radio she kept on the coffee table went off. The shouts from the soldiers yelling and screaming about a shooter at a base, followed by the confirmation of the shooter being the target. Her heart was already sinking, but when Dimitri's deep growl cut through the airwaves, her legs gave out as she collapsed onto the futon.

Then, there was silence.

The damn silence.

No reports from the Division, no commands from Dimitri, nothing. She thought the worst happened, expecting to hear the cheerful yells of the soldiers capturing the target.

That's when she heard the door unlock, followed by the panic yells of the soldiers.

bing

The grinder stops, breaking her from her memory. She slides the clear compartment out and pours the ground into the coffee machine, and hits the power button to start boiling the water.

Behind her, Jin rustles on the futon, nearly rolling off the edge and onto the floor. He'll be up soon - and she already knows what they're doing today. If you wanna do dumb things, at least know what you're gonna be doing before you do it.

Her elbows rest on the counter as the coffee machine continues to brew out more of the dark liquid. Maybe after this she can open up a cafe, serve her coffee specials forever. Or, maybe be a teacher and help kids who never had a chance to go to school, like her. Both sound good to her as she smiles. But the one thing she wants is to come back to wherever she's living - be it in the city or the country - to Jin's dumb face, asking dumb questions as they spend the rest of their lives together.

And him running out to a kill box like last night doesn't help out with that dream.

DING

The coffee machine rings out, signaling to Reze her drink is done. She grabs the pot and brings out two mugs, pouring the brown liquid into them with a mix of the creamer. She sips on hers as she steps over to Jin's sleeping body.

She places the mug on the table and reaches her hand out to him to shake him awake. For a moment, her hand hovers over his right shoulder, but she stops herself, switching over to his opposite shoulder and grabbing it tight, rocking it slightly. He stirs for a moment, but falls right back into his slumber, snoring a tad louder this time. Reze shakes her head, grips his shoulder tighter, and shakes harder.

Finally, his eyes start to open, blinking rapidly to fight off his foggy mind. Once he fully comes to, his pupils blow out and he defensively throws his hands over his face.

"Hey." Reze says softly, rubbing her thumb on his shoulder.

"…Hey." He quietly replies, looking past her to the steaming coffee cup on the table. Jin sits up, takes a sip, trails his eyes back to her.

"You didn't poison this… right?"

"I thought about it."

They both chuckle in the rising morning sun.

"Well…" Jin takes another sip of his coffee and tries to stand up. "... I can't wait to be foaming at the mouth in three minutes."

"After everything, you'd think I'd use poison? They have other hybrids for that." Reze scoffs, getting up and walking back over to the kitchen table.

Jin waits for a moment, then walks with sunken shoulders over to her. He pulls one of the seats out and sits opposite of her, looking down and nervously bouncing his leg.

"Hey, uh... Sorry about last night, I w-"

"Stop." Reze puts her hand up and leans forward in her chair, her emerald eyes reflecting the sunlight. "Stop apologizing. Just don't do it again." She takes the mug to her mouth and drinks, closing her eyes and enjoying the taste.

"Right, sor-" He cuts himself off when Reze lets out a low growl. "- Won't happen again."

Her mug rattles the table as she finishes her coffee. "Good. Finish your coffee, we got stuff to do today."

Jin chokes on his drink, setting the mug down quickly. "What? We're doing something?"

She smiles and nods, her loose hair covering a part of her eyes. "Yeah. We're training today." She pulls out her phone and types in something. The device rings back to her, and she immediately pockets it.

"…Oh…I thought after last night we-" Jin starts to protest, but Reze's eyes shoot up to him with a fire usually reserved for the Division.

"You're not getting out of this." She moves back to the kitchen and leans onto the countertop, supporting her weight on the granite. "From the radio last night, H.D. said the shooter - and I quote - 'Couldn't hit a freight train.'" She drops her gaze to his silver bracelet. "You're like a kid with a new toy, which that isn't."

He feels the cold metal almost reverberate at her words, like it was taunting him from the missed shots. "…I did kill some of them." He says, trying to salvage any dignity that he might have left.

"I hope you got someone. What happened to the killer during the factory?" She winks at him. "But we're taking that rifle out for a spin. I'll bet my half of the money you have no idea how to zero that thing."

Jin nods and lets out a long sigh. "I know…" He slinks more into the chair, uselessly using the floral display to try and hide from her gaze.

"Come on. It'll be good for you." She leans to the side, Jin's embarrassed face now in full view of her. She looks down at his mug, noticing the empty white mug glistening back. "Did ya like your coffee?"

"Yeah, really good." He glances at her as his eyes soften. "You got 'The Jin Special by Reze' down. I really should get a good coffee machine for us, huh?"

"It's not like we're broke, so I wouldn't say no." She shrugs, moving over to the table and picking up his empty mug. "But we're going together. You're not going alone."

Jin opens his mouth, but Reze immediately muffles it with her free hand. "No."

He pushes the hand on his mouth away and sinks back into his chair. "But -"

She flicks his nose. "But what? You lost the privilege of leaving alone." She walks over to the sink and places the empty mugs into it, and then starts towards the bedroom.

Jin sighs and leans over the chair to watch her go away. "Sounds like I'm under house arrest."

She nods, head turning to Jin, hair still obscuring part of her eyes. "Mhmm. And from the court order -" Reze holds up a fake piece of paper and stares at it intently. "Says that it's gonna last forever. So don't piss off your parole officer." She winks and goes into the bedroom.

The chair creaks when Jin leans back into it, covering his face in his hands and letting out a long sigh. His leg continues to bounce as he stares at the ceiling.

*How the hell am I going to fix this?*

_____________

thup

The bullet clips the crudely drawn target, spinning the cutout around before it clatters to the ground.

"Grazing hit, off by a few inches." Reze reports through her binoculars. She puts them down to look at Jin, whose hands hover over the scope, slightly adjusting the elevation knobs. She leans back in her folding chair, watching a thick vein bulge on his forehead.

Reze can tell he's overthinking it, which means he'll be over adjusting the knobs and over analyze the target.

Which always means a miss.

He readies the gun again, placing the barrel onto a burlap sandbag and brings the scope to his eye. He leans forward into his chair, shifting the digital display over to his next target.

"Firing."

Reze's eyes go back into the binoculars. "Go."

thup

The bullet hits low into another paper cutout - looking suspiciously like the Trap Devil - splintering the wooden stake holding it up. It too clatters to the ground, the pristine paper scuffing on the concrete.

Reze sighs. "You went low." She glances over to Jin. He's shaking his head slowly, and frustration is like a wave in the factory, causing her focus to fracture for a moment.

Jin puts his head on the desk and begins to rhythmically bang it onto the wood.

"FUCK." He mutters.

"Giving yourself a concussion won't help." Reze says, still looking through the glass of the binoculars. "Honestly? That's not even that bad of a shot. Usually, something like that would put a person down." She puts the binoculars down and walks over to him, gently tapping his good shoulder.

"Hey. I can see the gears in your head spinning at three million miles an hour. Take a breath for me."

His head leans up, staring blankly down the ruined firing range. "I know. I… I just feel like I can't miss."

"Why?"

"Because if I do, the one time, my mind's telling me you'll die."

Reze blinks twice. She moves her hand up to the back of his head, flicks him sharply, then rubs her palm on the top of his head.

"How many times do I gotta say this to get through your thick head?" She grabs his chin and turns it to her face. "You gotta stop worrying about me." She lets go of his head and mirrors Jin's hand on the trigger, leaning her head next to his. "You gotta focus on yourself, ok?"

He nods. Her finger slides onto his, applying light pressure to the trigger.

"So, whatever I'm doing…."

Reze lets out an exaggerated exhale, forcing Jin to copy her.

"Let me go."

Jin's muscles completely relax as his eye settles in the digital display.

"Fire." She whispers.

thup

The target spins around, bullet smashing directly into the crudely drawn head as it falls over. A thin wisp of smoke from the passing bullet sizzles directly between the drawn eyes.

She smiles and leans into his cheek, but stops herself before giving him a congratulatory kiss - something she didn't even mean to do.

"Better." She rubs his arm and walks back to her seat, raising the binoculars to look down the range.

"Next one, go."

Jin huffs a breath out, scoping in again to see his next paper victim - this one resembling the Ghost Devil. Any thought of Reze bleeding out on the ground melts away as the crosshairs snap into focus.

All that's left is him and the target.

thup

The target's paper body rips apart, flapping to the hard concrete. A smile starts to form on Jin's lips.

"Perfect, dead center." Reze says, her voice raising an octave from her growing excitement. "Next one!"

He shifts his sights, firing again. This target, a sheet of metal with a drawing of Rina - Reze insisted that it was important - dings loudly as a blackened impact crater on its head proudly reflects back into the scope.

"Two more rounds, center of mass!" Reze screams in excitement.

thupthup

Both shots hit the dead center of the metal, denting the target and knocking back onto the ground with a shrill rattle onto the hard floor. Jin's smile beams as he keeps firing at the other targets sprawled across the factory floor, bullets slicing their targets effortlessly.

Reze's smile grows as she puts a victorious hand in the air. "All threat's down!" She tosses the binoculars onto the table and stands up, crossing her arms. "Finally. Ya feel any better?"

The rifle dissolves back into its bracelet as he turns around to her. "I can't believe it… I did that? I felt like you!" He walks over to her, stretching out his arms, but Reze moves to the other side of the table, letting the steel barrier keep him at arms length. He drops his arms to his sides and sighs.

"I really overthink a lot, huh?"

"YES." She lightly taps the top of her head with a finger. "You're smart, but man, you overwork your poor brain." Reze walks away, heading for the exit. "I really don't know how you do it."

He steps around the table and tries to catch up to her. "Hey, I'm analytical!"

"WAY too analytical." She turns around and winks at him. "Come on, I'm hungry."

They walk out of the ruined factory, adjacent to the original training area before the battle with the Trap Devil. When that ball detonated with the stored energy from Reze, it obliterated several of the adjacent factories. Police and fire have put up tape and concrete barriers to stop urban explorers and thieves from entering, making it an ideal place to slip in and train with each other. Especially this building - deep in the interior of the abandoned building sits an area where nature started taking back its rightful land. Thick vines and leaves grow up on crumbling pillars and rusted machines, rustling lightly in the draft from some of the shattered windows.

As they step out of the overgrown ruins, the brisk afternoon sun shines warmly onto their faces. Reze leads the way down the sidewalk, keeping a brisk pace in front of Jin. He keeps up, swinging his hand forward a few times to try to catch hers and return back to their normal energy. But each time, he can't seem to quite catch her fingers.

He sighs as they travel amongst another crowd, blending back into the city life as the sun dips below the skyscrapers.

*Just wait for me.*

Jin wants to shout those words, let them reverberate off the glass buildings. But, with the multitude of people shoving by with their prying eyes, he knows this isn't the right moment. There's no words at all, rather both opting for silence as they snake their way through the sea of pedestrians. Reze would throw her gaze back every so often, just to make sure Jin was still following. She thought about saying something a dozen times, but every time a word forms in her mind, she immediately turns away.

-It's his fault, anyway.-

They stop at a crosswalk, waiting for the signal to walk as businessmen and women crowd around them, having their own casual conversations about their day. The two share a quick glance, along with a small smile, but turn away and anxiously wait for the signal to turn green. When it does, Reze takes off, with Jin in close tow.

They turn another corner, and they both simultaneously realize where they're at - the same street where Jin used to work, and more importantly a block away from where Reze was a barista.

Their eyes meet again, Jin shrugging and finally breaking their silence.

"There's a decent spot I'd go to after work. Wanna try it?"

"Yeah. Sounds good." She weakly smiles back, motioning for Jin to lead the way.

They walk over to the stand - a skewer place with cheap barstools sitting just off the sidewalk, catering to workers ending their day. Before Jin sits down, he peeks past the moving group of people - and directly back into his old workplace. The windows have always been tinted, but he swears he can feel his old coworkers watching him. It makes the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He can't stop staring behind him, something about the front entrance is mocking him.

"-with me?"

Jin shakes his head, looking towards the sound. Reze is leaning her chin on her hand, watching Jin get lost in his own thoughts.

"Y-yeah. I'm with you."

Ceramic plates clatter down in front of them as Reze turns toward her meal.

"Wait, when did we order?" Jin asks as he looks at the skewers in front of him.

"Like three minutes ago. You've been staring at your old work place." She lightly kicks his shin from under the bartop. "What, missing Kaito?"

Jin laughs - a big, boisterous sound that accidentally burst out of him. He stops himself after a second, breathing in to calm his outburst. He wipes his eyes and drops his forehead onto the counter, fully aware that everyone sitting next to them, along with the passersby on the street, are staring.

"...Reze how do you do it?" Jin mumbles out, refusing to lift his burning face.

She places a clean skewer down onto her plate and turns to him. "Whatdya mean?" She wipes her lips with her wrist.

"How do you keep your mind clear?" He shoots his head up and leans back, staring at the evening sky. "Like… always?"

"...A lot's on my mind usually. I just don't let it bother me." She leans on the counter, staring mindlessly at the chef flipping meat on the grill. "Years of practice, I guess? H.D. never wanted us to think about what we were doing, just act and get the mission done." The dark memories she usually keeps locked away bleed back to the forefront.

Jin scoots his stool closer, placing his hand gently next to hers. "At least you got out, right?"

She blinks, coming back to the moment. "Yeah, for now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe, if an idiot tried to take on a whole strike team by HIMSELF and DIED, I don't know what I'd do after that." She turns to look at him, the familiar green hellfire reigniting in her pupils.

Jin leans back in his chair, trying to shield himself from the heat of her glare. "…I'm not going after any strike teams ever again. Not unless you're with me."

"Good." She reaches over him and grabs his plate, dragging it in front of him. "You gotta eat."

He grabs a skewer and turns the charred meat in his hand. "Yeah… yeah I do." He takes a bite out of the meat, but his head swivels right back to his old office building.

"You're doing it again."

Jin swings his head back to Reze, who isn't even looking at him as she continues to eat.

"It just feels weird to be here. I've spent three years of my life at that place and hated every second I was there. Coming outside, like here, was the only way for me to not lose my mind."

"We got that in common then." Reze turns her head to Jin.

"Shitty coworkers." They say in unison.

Laughter comes from the two.

"Can I be honest about something?" Jin says after wiping away another tear from his eye.

"Shoot."

"When I headbutted Kaito, I thought I gave myself a concussion."

Reze snorts, throwing her head back to the late sky. "You're telling me now?" She looks back to him, her gaze completely softening. "I knew the second you looked at me. You had the look on your face."

"What look?!"

"Your thousand yard stare had a thousand yard stare!"

He laughs. "Hey, he has a thi-"

"JINNNN!"

His heart plummets into his stomach as his skewer clatters onto the counter. "You've gotta be kidding me man…" He sighs, turning his body on the barstool to the voice.

Right behind them, Kaito stands tall, his face bubbling red in rage. He's surrounded by the same entourage of coworkers from that night in the bar, who take a few steps back to give Kaito his space.

"Been a while, huh? Still feeling tough?" Kaito shoves Jin into the counter, the barstool slipping from under him. Jin nearly falls over, but Reze catches him with her open arm and tosses Jin back to his feet. She swivels around to face Kaito.

"Funny, we were just talking about you." She leans her arm onto the counter, casually staring him down.

He looks at Reze, forcing a smug smile. His once perfect teeth are shattered from the headbutt, his enamel cracked and shattered put back together haphazardly, some replaced by golden caps and fillings.

"You're still with this dude? Are you serious?" He shoots Jin a look of disgust.

She shrugs, playfully twirling a loose strand of purple hair around her finger. "Yeah, we're probably gonna get married. You know he's super rich, right?" Her eyes don't waver from Kaito's as a slow fire burns up inside of her. "Damn shame that award didn't give ya a bonus or whatever."

Under the bartop, Jin's legs start to wiggle as his sweaty palms grip the metal edge for support.

*Wha… did… she…*

Kaito's body starts vibrating in anger. "He probably got lucky." He looks at Jin, stepping forward and aiming each word at him. "He's a BITCH and a COWARD. YOU DON'T DESERVE SHIT."

He shoves Jin again. His back slams into the metal side, wincing in pain as he shoves Kaito back.

"Man, I've had a long week." Jin tries to say as calmly as he can as his stomach shrinks. He reaches back for a glass of water and turns his back to Kaito. "Just leave me alone."

Kaito rears a fist back to Jin's head, exploding the strike towards him.

The skewer chef nearly jumps out of the tiny kitchen and onto the sidewalk, swatting Kaito's arm away with a towel as Jin drops the glass onto the bartop.

"NOT HERE! GET THE FUCK OUT BEFORE I CALL THE COPS!" The man points a pair of tongs down the block toward a narrow gap between the buildings.

Jin curses to himself and stands up, tossing a wad of cash onto the counter. Reze takes her last skewer, nodding her thanks at the chef and walks down the street towards the alley. Jin and Kaito, along the entourage, stare at her as she disappears around the corner.

After a moment, she leans out and beckons them with her food. "Y'all doing this or what?" She shrugs and redisappears around the corner.

Kaito immediately pushes Jin out of the way and storms towards the alley, his coworkers immediately trailing behind him. Jin follows behind, trying his best to keep calm and collected. Internally, his alarm bells are ringing again, something he doesn't understand why. Jin's killed people - something he's not proud of, but he has. Soldiers that had years of training to hurt and kill their adversaries, and yet Jin was able to, so far, take out a few of them.

But when Kaito enters his mind, the memories of him taking his customers and using dismissive comments puts Jin's body into a pressure cooker.

And Kaito knows it too.

Jin catches up to the group just as the entourage finish setting up on discarded milk crates and rusted trash cans as Reze leans onto the opposite alley wall. Her eyes don't break from Kaito's stare, who's stretching his arms out and chuckling to himself.

"You REALLY wanna do this Jin?" He starts circling Jin like a faux predator. Jin watches Kaito's eyes dart over the smaller body.. "After last time, you really think you're gonna win this?"

Jin looks at Reze, who nods at him confidently. He steps towards Kaito and lets out a breath. Behind him, Reze drops a sentence that almost knocks Jin flat onto the concrete.

"Whoever wins is my new boyfriend."

Jin's whole body twists around at a speed he didn't know he had to Reze, who playfully shrugs at him with a teasing smile.

"You got this, killer."

Jin shakes his head at her as anxiety erupts in him as Kaito's booming laughter echoes on the brick walls. "Ho-ly SHIT! I'm gonna kick your ASS."

As Reze's calming gaze connects with Jin's terrified eyes, the message finally clicks. She knows he can beat him, knowing that Kaito isn't a good fighter, if the barfight was any indication.

But Jin's gotta worry about himself and disconnect the thought of losing her.

-You got this.-

The pit in his stomach sinks deeper as her words swirl around his mind like a hurricane.

*I can't lose, right? She wouldn't do that unless she was confident in me?*

Between Kaito and the other coworkers shouting bets in the dark alley, Jin closes his eyes and sucks in a deep breath. A vision of Kaito and Reze walking away from his broken, bleeding body slips from the dark corners of his mind to the forefront.

Then, he exhales, letting the vision melt away. Even the words Reze said drip out of his ears, letting her fully go and exist on the alley wall.

Jin's eyes open right as Kaito's fist connects squarely with his cheek, the force staggering Jin back a couple steps.

Jin's tastebuds fill with the metallic taste of blood as his cheek radiates in pain. But he doesn't fall over. Instead he stands firm, blinking away the flashes of light dancing in his vision. From everything that happened, from getting shot to being thwacked by Reze during their training session, Kaito's punch barely registered to his new normal of pain. Jin spits the saliva and blood mixture from his mouth into the asphalt.

"Not fun when it happens to you, huh?" Kaito says, stretching his arms as he gets back into a fighting stance.

Jin smiles back at Kaito, with his own blood staining the enamel. "At least I still got my teeth."

Kaito's body tenses up. "I'm gonna RIP YOUR FUCKING TEETH OUT!" He swings wildly at Jin's chest, who dodges to the side and strikes a blow to Kaito's side. His fist drives into the sculpted figure, Kaito's side scrunching into the hit as he painfully yells.

Jin leaps back to dodge a wild backhand from Kaito, who snarls at him. "Get OVER here." Another flurry of punches come Jin's way, who blocks two of the blows. The third one comes as a surprise, connecting directly into Jin's chest. He stumbles back as Kaito steps forward to follow up, but gets quickly shoved back. Jin breaks out into a sprint towards him, jumping up and winding a punch up. Kaito plucks him out of the air and hurls him backwards. Jin slams hard onto the asphalt and rolls into a stack of stray metal trashcans.

Jin's shoulder is prickling in pain again. He rubs it aggressively to massage the encroaching pain away. When he looks back up, Kaito is stomping over to Jin's prone body, taking a hopping step right before to swing a kick in. Jin grabs the metal trash can behind and rolls it over to the kick, blocking it just in time. The strike crumples the cheap metal around the impact point. It gets thrown towards Kaito, who stumbles back to catch it.

Jin scrambles to his feet and charges, slamming into Kaito with all his might. Jin wraps his hands around him, picking him up an inch and slams the bigger man's back into the wall behind. They both grunt on impact on the brick as Jin swings into Kaito's sides again, breaking his stance with each connected strike.

Kaito pushes Jin off him and grabs at his left side, keeping him in place and goes for another sweeping punch. Jin drops his head as the strike swings just past his face, giving him a moment to catch a fleeting glimpse of Reze. She's still standing there, intently watching the brawl unfold in front of her, nodding in quiet approval.

When Jin turns back to Kaito, a knee crushes into Jin's ribcage. Jin stumbles back, completely losing his breath as Kaito wipes a smear of blood off his own chin.

"You're annoying." Kaito spits as he steps towards Jin and swings his arm back over him. This time, Jin takes a second to peek at Kaito's shifting hips. They're aimed directly towards his chest - right where the knee hit, trying to shatter his ribs into pieces.

*Perfect.*

Jin pushes the incoming punch to the side, spinning his body backwards and extending his leg out. The move takes Kaito by surprise, and the last thing he sees is Jin's heel careening into his chin.

There's a loud crack from the strike.

As Kaito's consciousness instantly fades, his arm flails wildly away from him. His outstretched fist smashes Jin squarely across the jaw, sending them both crumpling to the ground. Jin rolls onto his side on the concrete and moans in pain, while Kaito lies entirely motionless, taking in shallow, raspy breaths. After a moment, Jin pushes his wobbling arms into the ground to stand up. He rocks back and forth, before falling onto the wall to catch himself right next to Reze.

"Are we good?" He asks and wraps his hand around her waist, using her still figure to keep him from tumbling over.

The coworkers shake their heads, slowly backing up to the entrance of the alley. They take off, tripping over each other and shoving themselves out of their ways as they escape. Jin's vision starts to settle as he turns to Reze and lets out an exhausted sigh while he rubs his chin.

"I think I'm the unluckiest person in the world."

"That was wild he got you like that." She looks down at Kaito's body on the ground. "You did knock him out though, so technically you won?"

"Yippee." Jin throws his hands up in the air sarcastically.

"See, you are lucky!" She gently starts to rub his back. "Means you're still stuck with me."

"What would I do without you?" Jin keeps his sarcastic demeanor as he leans onto the wall next to her.

"Honestly? You'd probably be back at H.D.'s base doing whatever they want with you."

"...How assuring."

"It's what I do." She leans her back onto the wall with him, their shoulders just brushing against each other as they listen to Kaito's ragged breathing. She offers a skewer to Jin, shaking it playfully in his face.

"Still hungry?"

Inside Jin's stomach, nausea starts to bubble up. "Nah. Thanks."

"Suit yourself." She shrugs and takes a bite out of the meat as another awkward silence fills the alleyway. Jin rubs the back of his neck and glances over to her after a moment.

"What's with you saying that shit to Kaito?" Jin leans over to her, watching her chomp on her meal.

CLACK CLACK CLACK

"Huh?" She turns her head towards Jin.

"You said that 'we're probably gonna get married'.'"

Her face begins to blush accidentally. She turns her head away from him and stares out to the bustling street and finishes the skewer, tossing the wooden stick onto the ground.

CLACK CLACK CLACK

"I mean, you ARE rich." She laughs out as she pushes a rogue strand of hair out of her way.

CLACK CLACK CLACK

"You're an asshole." He shoves her lightly as they both giggle.

"Yeah, your asshole - when you're not going lone wolf."

CLACK CLACK CLACK

The echoing footsteps finally register to the both of them as they turn to the shadows of the alley. A hulking mass with a specialized fatigue pattern breaks through the darkness.

The black balaclava stares directly into Jin's soul.

"Target." Dimitri snarls as he stops at the edge of the shadows. "We have to stop meeting like this."

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze instinctively reaches for her pin. Seeing Dimitri this close is bringing back too many memories of strikes she was forced to do with him. And he was always in charge, so what he said goes.

"Civilian casualties are acceptable."

Dimitri always said that before he sent Reze to go annihilate their target for whatever reason. She would try to get them to hide in any place they could before she resumed her mission, but every time Dimitri would find them. And when he walked away from the bloody mess, he'd chuckle at her.

"And no witnesses."

When she would get her assignments, she would pray to whoever listened that she wouldn't get paired with him. Pray that someone would finally take out the monster that killed so many.

But most of her prayers wouldn't get answered there.

"Fuck off." She growls out, stepping in front of Jin. Behind her, he instinctively shakes his wrist to construct the weapon into his extended hand. The barrel aims dead on Dimitri's chest as Jin's nerves begin to kick in.

Dimitri chuckles behind his mask as three tendrils swirl out from behind his back. They swing around casually in the alley, occasionally dragging against the brick facade. "You know target, after last night I thought you'd learn." He takes a small step forward as Reze pushes Jin back towards the street. "I will say, you did take out some good soldiers. For that, you have my respect." He takes another step forward, Reze's knuckles turning white from gripping her pin.

"But, I'm growing tired of you and Chozin's rules of engagement."

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

Dozens of Hybrid Division soldiers pour out of the darkness, keeping their eyes forward and guns held ceremoniously to the side. They immediately surround Dimitri, following his steps in with their thunderous stomps in unison.

"I know you weren't there for me last night." Dimitri's tendrils turn towards the two of them. "But had your chance to take me out. Now?"

The walls start the shatter with each swipe of the dark whips. As Jin takes another step back, his foot bumps into Kaito's body, who mumbles something before going back limp again. He stumbles to the ground, but keeps his gun aimed forward.

"I'm done playing. I'm here to collect."

All the rifles suddenly rise up in unison as the soldiers tighten their fingers on the triggers. Jin swings his rifle back and forth between the soldiers, unable to pick out a target.

There's too many.

tink

Jin barely registers the sound of the pin being pulled before Reze's hand grips tight onto his shirt.

BROOOOOOSSSHH

An explosion erupts in front of Jin as his body is yanked backwards at a blinding speed. The alley quickly disappears while the wind whips into his eyes and ears. The dusk sky is all he sees before he lands on a distant roof, rolling onto the concrete before he's set onto an empty lawn chair. He shakes his head and looks up - the roof he's on looks to be a residential roof, with lawn chairs scattered about along with a resident's hanging clothes strung up between two poles to dry. And, in front of him, the Bomb Devil steps toward the edge of the building as she surveys the scene from afar.

"Way too close with him, but he's not gonna stop. We have to take him out now."

Jin nods and pushes himself up from the chair. "This is all my fault." He rubs the back of his neck, trying to remove the chills from him flying across the city. "This shouldn't have happened if I-."

"You're right, it is your fault." She peers down, the soldiers blockading the street as civilians start to turn and run away. But between the Division and the growing chaos below, Dimitri's hulking figure is nowhere to be found. "But we're moving past that." She turns around to him, letting the breeze flap her detonator apron lightly. "I don't see Dimitri. He could be anywhere, so when we go down there together, I need you to be safe."

"I - I'm coming? Isn't that just gonna make things worse?"

She shakes her head. "We're a team, remember? Even though this is your mistake, we're gonna fix it."

She reaches out a wired hand as the warhead aims directly at his face.

"Together."

He stands still for a moment, before nodding slowly and takes a step forward.

"Yeah. Together."

As he walks towards her, a bulge in his back pocket reminds him of his hidden art piece - which he forgot he brought along.

"Wait! Reze!"

She cocks her head to the side as she watches Jin take out a black balaclava and push it onto his face. It's the same type of balaclava the Hybrid Division uses to mask their soldiers. But what's drawn on it sends an indescribable feeling through her.

Crudely drawn onto the balaclava in white paint is a cartoon looking bomb, circled around the long eyehole with a fuse shooting over the top left of the face. Inside the bomb, where Jin's mouth would be, is a sharp smile, the teeth proudly threatening whoever looks at it.

"Ya like? I call it a bombclava." His voice is muffled as he adjusts the fabric onto his face. "I wanted to make it look like you, but I don't know how to draw the depth of your face in your devil form. Whatcha think?"

Reze stares at Jin, completely motionless as she keeps examining the drawing over and over again. Just like the burlap sack, it looks like it was done by a young child picking up a brush for the first time. Everything about it, especially the teeth, are so awfully done that she knows it was his only attempt at doing anything like this.

-This is the dumbest thing he's done.-

But, deep down, her heart tugs in pure delight. And, after everything that's happened over the past twenty four hours, she can't admit that right now. So, to push that feeling away deep into the confines of her mind, she shakes her head at him.

"I actually hate you."

Jin laughs behind the fabric while he walks towards the hanging set of clothes. He yanks down a dark navy jacket that was hanging in the middle of the line and throws it on. The material is still damp, sending a slight chill up his arm when the fabric touches his skin. Once it's on, he heads towards Reze, reaching out to her when he gets close. "Thought you'd like it."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." She clasps her hands around Jin's outstretched fingers. "I'm going to engage them directly. Get yourself into cover as soon as you can and back me up. When Dimitri comes out, hide, ok? "

The detonators and wires that cover Reze's hand feel odd, yet incredibly familiar to him. "Let's kill another one." Jin tightens around her grasp, letting his thumb trace on the strands gently.

The bomb head nods to him, and if her lips could move in her devil form, she'd be smiling.

"Ready?"

Jin nods as he adjusts the balaclava one last time. "On your go, Rez."

___________

A soldier throws a stumbling man forward. He drops to the ground with a thud, and tries to scramble away from the waving gun behind him. He joins the other civilians that are running away from airborne gunfire coming from down the street. A whole strike team was tasked with searching and clearing the surrounding buildings, while Dimitri directly made contact with the weapon and target. But when the Bomb Devil's blast left a thick smoke, her and the target were gone in an instant.

And Dimitri didn't like that one bit.

The commanders shifted their focus to search through the buildings again, but the more of the brick and concrete structures they cleared, the less hope that the two were anywhere near this location. Once the soldiers came out and double checked the street, a hastily set up tent was erected in the middle of the street for the commanders to order their troops directly to keep checking the area.

And inside the new canvas base, the commanders were panicking. Once Dimitri slinked back into the shadows to start his own hunt, none of the Divisional soldiers have seen him since. And they know Dimitri is observing every minute detail of their search, with every few moments of silence causing some of the commanders to keep checking their radios for any semblance of a command from him.

And they don't want to end up like the last two strike team commanders over the past few months.

So, the pressure's on.

One of the commanders, from a newly formed strike team, casually patrols by a skewer shop, right by the alley they ambushed the target in. Plates sit on the counter top, mixed between still steaming meat and empty wooden sticks left over on the plates. He leans over to a full plate, picking up a few of the skewers and inspecting them. Dimitri made sure they haven't eaten in a long time.

'Let the hunger of the hunt fill you!'

The commander scoffs at the words, removing part of his balaclava and takes a bite out of the meat. When he does, a twinkle of light shines on one of the empty plates. He chews and pulls the mask back down to look. A bright yellow light shimmers on the ceramic, causing him to look up at the neon sign above. It's a pink and green display, inviting hungry passerby's in - none of the colors that's reflecting back at him. He starts spinning his head around, trying to make sense of where that yellow is coming from.

That's when he looks up into the early night sky and sees it - a blazing meteor cutting through the star sprinkled sky. The commander grunts at the sight while staring at it.

"Wish that we'd find the stupid target so I can grab actual food." He tosses the skewers away and goes to head back to the tent. But another glimmer from a glass storefront causes him to look back up. The meteor isn't fizzling out, as most do at this point in the atmosphere.

It's growing larger as the yellow light shines brighter back down to the ground.

He picks up the radio on his tactical vest. "Strike leaders? You see that meteor?"

"Yeah, make a wish." One of the commanders jokes through the airwaves. "Focus on searching the rest of your sector."

The connection is suddenly severed. The commander shakes his head and continues down the street, turning his attention away from the now audibly crackling meteor.

Suddenly his radio screeches at him. He picks it back up and holds it close to his mouth. "LISTEN. WE DO-"

The commander stops when a deep growl responds back to him, sending a shiver in his soul.

"All teams. Weapon incoming."

The commander turns to look up as the meteor just as the light smashes into his body. It instantly incinerates him and other soldiers in the vicinity in the explosion. The surviving teams immediately jump into action and sprint over to begin rescue efforts, with black smoke billowing down the street. The closer they get to the impact point, the more uneven the asphalt becomes, with slabs of stone sticking out from the crater.

thup thup

Two silent shots find their targets - one hitting a commander dead in the chest and a lone soldier right in his leg - as they run to check the carnage. Their figures slam into the asphalt as the others cautiously raise their guns towards the smoke. The strike teams surround the crater in a half circle, switching on their lights and fearfully scanning inside.

Yellow explosive balls shoot out from within, jolting out into the soldier's tight formation. Body parts and blood flies haphazardly through the air when the energy detonates, clearing a path directly down the middle of the circle. Another commander runs to fill the missing gap in the ranks, about to yell for his team to fill in the gap, until he sees what's at the bottom of the crater.

And with all years of training and deployments, his life feels like it's going into slow motion.

Through the billowing smoke, the presumed target with one of their balaclavas is standing back to back with the weapon he's always feared - more than Dimitri. He pulls his sidearm from his holster and aims the sights on the target with the stupid drawing on his face, but the cold metal head of the Bomb Devil snaps towards the commander. Before his brain can send the message to pull the trigger, a yellow and orange flash ignites from the weapons impact point. His eyes dart up to the Bomb Devil flying over to him, throwing a fist directly into his chest. The strike immediately liquifies his internal organs as his back explodes into a mess of bone and skin that paint the asphalt and his fellow soldiers. The commander doesn't have time to yell as he topples onto the dark pavement.

"Building. Now." The Bomb Devil commands without looking back. Jin nods, sending a flurry of silent rounds towards the soldiers as he sprints over to the skewer spot from earlier. When he gets to the counter, he dives headfirst into the thin opening, dragging a stack of ceramic plates that shatter from inside the darkened kitchen.

Reze lets out a soft sigh as she watches him get to safety, then turns around to the squadrons of soldiers piling around her. Every rifle from them is raised towards her, but between the bare faces of some of them and their own weapons trembling in their hands, the usual demeanor of the Hybrid Division demanding confidence and order is replaced by pure terror. She taps her foot on the ground, counting the amount of soldiers around her as they start all yelling different commands.

"Put your hands in the air!" is what most of it is. But she swears some of them are pleading with her not to kill them.

It's a shame none of the voices really matter to her.

-Fifty seven.-

"You know you're making this easier, right?" Her head turns to the mass of people, her arms starting to glow with a bright yellow flash. As she looks at the surrounding soldiers, she knows it's like fish in the barrel for her.

Fear is a palpable thing - a thickness in the air swirling and consuming the weaker minded ones, with panic seeping into the forefront of their psyche. It takes over as some of them drop their rifles and start to run, tripping over other fleeing soldiers as they push out of the way while fleeing. Friends leaving each other behind to save themselves. Some try to stay, firing off their guns only to watch their bullets ricochet harmlessly off of her metal head.

For the ones that stayed, that fear begins to creep into the back of their minds. Their eyes widen as her arms glow in a blinding light. With nowhere to run, a few of the soldiers accept what's about to happen to them.

And the Bomb Devil can feel all of it.

Oddly, it's intoxicating to her.

"Boom."

The asphalt and dirt under them erupts as she slams her arms into the ground, a white light scorching the retinas of those outside of the blast radius. The soldiers who weren't instantly vaporized are thrown away like stray toys, their figures dismembered horribly as their gore hits their strike teams and the surrounding residential buildings.

When the surviving soldiers get to their feet, they immediately raise their rifles towards their soon to be killer. Bullets cut through the air and cut through Reze's bare skin, but it doesn't matter.

She explodes forward, a kick connecting with a soldier's chest and shattering his rib cage. She sends his choking body flying into another group, his body glowing like the sun and painfully contorting. He slams into his friend, their bodies detonating in a flash while Reze's feet slide down the asphalt. As she dodges the incoming fire, a trail of blast follows her wake in the street, the debris embedding deep into the skin of the yelling soldiers. Her movements are like a dance - fluid, methodical, tight - as she crashes into another group, ripping them to shreds and ignoring their pleas.

-It's their fault.-

She snaps her fingers out, sending yellow balls careening to the makeshift command tent. It erupts into an explosive blaze, with the commander's final screams heard from behind the flaps. She swings through the tent wreckage, grabbing an airborne torso and launches it into another soldier. The force decapitates her mark, spraying a stream of blood directly onto his fellow teammates. Those soldiers yelp, firing towards the dark figure erupting towards their location. The Bomb Devil stops right before them, slamming onto the ground causing the asphalt to rupture and crack, followed by a geyser-like blast fully encapsulating the soldiers in a mix of colorful lights. Their body parts fly out randomly into the night, with some shattering the glass of the surrounding apartments.

Other Division agents can't bear the sight and try to fall back from the carnage. Some of the surviving commanders are trying to rally what's left of their teams, activating their broken radios to request for even more backup in high pitched demands. Along the street, soldiers kick down locked doors and shatter ground level windows, diving in and taking any cover they find. As they do, they lean back out and wildly fire into the flashing lights and smoke filled street. The oncoming fire strikes some of the division soldiers, who are still unlucky to be out in the crossfire as the Bomb Devil continues her assault. Their cries slice through the night, echoing off of the concrete structures. Reze explodes up and unlatches her apron, letting the line of detonators topple towards the asphalt. As the black cylinders fall, a blinking red light emanates from the top as they whistle to the ground.

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP

Those still outside can only watch as the lights drop closer to their faces. When they pass by their eyes, the red light fills their blown out pupils.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

When they hit the asphalt, they instantly detonate and shake the surrounding buildings like an earthquake, breaking glass and knocking loose bricks and rocks off the facades. The carpet bomb annihilates the wounded and retreating combatants, leaving only ash and shadow stained pathways of the once strong and proud soldiers.

She lands in the silence, letting the break in the fighting speak for itself. She breathes out, letting the small ounce of joy she had out. A mushroom cloud billows up between the buildings as ash whirls around the empty street. Through it all, she expected Dimitri to show up, engaging her and saving some semblance of humility for his highly trained strike teams.

But he's not here.

She looks around the swirling dust and smoke, noticing a concealed figure limp through the carnage. Reze starts to walk towards the figure, which yells out and tries to run on a noticeably broken leg. A gust of wind clears her line of sight to the figure - one of the last surviving commanders.

He tries to flee, but a scorching heat builds up on his legs followed by a deafening blow that knocks him into the mutilated corpses of his strike team. He turns around the warhead making her way to him, but when he tries to move his legs, they don't respond. His brain screams the command to move, but the signal cuts off as he sees his own legs blown to pieces across the street. He flips onto his stomach and begins crawling, screaming into the night as the agony starts to register to his exposed flesh. A bloody streak from his wounds smear the ground with each pull of his arms.

Reze uses the stain as a painted line to follow the dying commander. When she reaches him she picks him up by the top of his head and turns the crippled body towards her.

"Dimitri. Where?"

The man cries out in pain as madness fully consumes his mind. He claws at the wired hands holding him up, only scratching and scuffing his own fingers in the desperate attempt to break free. Then, almost mercifully, a hail of bullets cut through the air, striking the hanging commander in the back of his head. The round punctures through his forehead and ricochets off of Reze's metal face. She lifts the lifeless body up higher, peering right through the man's exit wound to spot a group of soldiers hidden in one of the adjacent buildings.

The body of the commander is tossed casually to the side as she walks towards the gunfire. Voices from the soldiers get louder with each step she takes, their bullets still bouncing off her head. When she gets to the window, they stop firing.

They already know what comes next.

"One of you gotta know where he's at, right?"

_____________

Jin clambers inside of the skewer kitchen, dragging the plates from the counter in with him as they shatter against the floor. He slams his back into the metal wall and takes a moment to himself as he steadies his breath and mind.

He thought Reze was going to jump down from the roof and tactically insert back into that street, or at least do something more straightforward. Jin didn't expect to go that high - to the point where the city seemed like a scale model in a museum. For a second, it was very cool to let the wind whip through his hair and take in the city he's lived in his whole life. But the second that dopamine hit ended - along with realizing how high he is and realizing what Reze was about to do - suddenly it became one of the most terrifying experiences he's ever had.

As he sits, yelling comes from outside, followed by an explosion that rattles the silent kitchen. He peeks out in time to see the Bomb Devil kick a glowing soldier towards their squadmates, the resulting blast scattering scorched body parts across the asphalt. He slides back down as a mangled leg crashes into a pot in the kitchen, knocking the boiling liquid into the floor.

She's got this.

*What can I do to help out?*

He looks around, crouching below the sightline of the counter and makes his way deeper into the building. The skewer kitchen is eerie - fresh vegetables abandoned on the cutting board while pots of meat and broth continue to boil unattended over open flames. The smell is odd, with the delicious scent of the spices overridden by the telltale stench of burnt flesh and gunpowder.

He keeps his rifle raised, scanning the empty room as he arrives at a door. It creaks open slowly, Jin's gun aiming out first as he pushes through. When his body crosses the threshold of the door, more chaos comes from outside. There's pained screams and cries followed by a deafening array of explosions.

It sounds like a massacre.

*It's what they deserve.*

A sudden clattering of metal behind causes Jin to swing his gun around.

"WAIT - WAIT I'M SORRY!"

Behind the refrigerator, a dark figure with their hands raised stumbles out. Another blast from outside illuminates the kitchen for a microsecond, but it's enough time for Jin to make out who it is.

Kaito sways in the dark room, clearly still dazed from the fight earlier. "Do - don't shoot me! I got jumped and then there was a guy with tentacles coming out of his back and-and-."

Jin looks at him and lowers the gun after a moment. He clears his throat and drops his voice down a few octaves. "Uh, n- no worries, civilian? I'm not the bad guy, just… stay where you're at." He turns to move on, but Kaito's footsteps stomp behind him.

"DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID? TENTACLES ARE COMING OUT OF A MAN!" Kaito grabs his own hair and turns away. Another explosion rattles the building as the two look outside. "…I think Devils are coming back…" Kaito's pupils dilate as he begins to curse at himself.

"They've been here the whole time, trust me." Jin taps Kaito's massive shoulders, which turns him around. "If you don't wanna be here…just stay right behind me, ok?"

Kaito frantically nods and reaches onto one of the metallic counters to grab a kitchen knife.

"And please don't stab me." Jin looks at his own reflection in the knife. How Kaito doesn't realize who's currently leading him to safety is bewildering.

"I can't believe they're back…" Kaito says, raising the knife up as the two head through the threshold of the door. "I thought they disappeared in the 90s."

"Huh?" Jin leads on, keeping his voice quiet as they ascend a set of stairs. To him, getting any sort of verticality was the easily take out stragglers and anyone else Reze might have missed.

"...The Devils. The evil things that disappeared in the 90s? Did you ever pay attention in school, watch the news, ANYTHING?" Kaito aggressively whispers to Jin, keeping his hand on Jin's wounded shoulder. It takes everything in Jin to not turn around and shove him back down the stairwell.

"I don't pay attention to stuff like that."

"Great. Public Safety will take anyone these days." Kaito takes another step behind Jin, then suddenly turns him around. "You are a Public Safety Officer, right?"

"A WHAT?"

As their eyes meet, gunfire erupts from the outside. The adjacent windows shatter, spraying a wave of glass shards across the stairwell landing. Jin pulls Kaito up the stairs, dodging the bullets slamming into where they once stood. Jin trips on the final step, dragging Kaito down to the ground with him.

"Yeah, you gotta be Public Safety." Kaito dusts himself off and picks his knife back up. "My dad told me about you guys-" He reaches a hand down to pick Jin up. Jin latches on and pulls himself up, nodding in approval and adjusts his balaclava. "-he actually got saved once back then."

"Oh, really? Glad we could help out…" Jin keeps aiming forward, giving into his new reality.

-Whatever distracts him.-

"Yeah, he'd tell stories about how this guy with a chainsaw head would cut through the Devils. It must have been awesome to see up close." He pats Jin's back, which causes him to stumble forward a few steps. "…Maybe you'll be able to get a few, huh?"

"Civilian." Jin turns around, his voice almost cracking as he tries to keep up the deep growl. "I'm just here to kill the tentacle guy. And besides, I'm not like other Public Safety Officers, I'm more like an annoying gremlin to what's out there." He huffs out, taking the lead again and walking down the darkened hallway.

After a few steps, the building shakes from a blast from the outside. The two tumble into the walls, grabbing onto doorframes to keep themselves upright.

"Well, what do we do about the Bomb one? How we gonna kill th-"

The barrel of the rifle is swung directly onto Kaito's forehead. He throws his hands up, gripping the knife tightly as he starts to tremble.

"You touch the Bomb one and I'll fucking put you down. GOT THAT?" Jin shoves the suppressor deeper into Kaito's skin. "They're not all bad."

Kaito stares for a moment, then starts to chuckle. "Ah… I see." He slowly brings his free hand down and points around Jin's balaclava. "Makes more sense. Then we take the tentacle one out, yeah?" His other hand drops down, keeping the knife far away from Jin.

After a second of deep thought, Jin drops the rifle from Kaito's head. "We? Nah, you're not -"

"No." Kaito pushes past him toward a broken hallway window. "If we got that Bomb girl outside, you, and me? We can take him."

Jin follows him to the window, looking outside. "No, you're gonna get to cover when shit starts happening, alright?" He uses a hand to push Kaito out of the window frame.

"Hey, I'm good in a fight. Ya never know…" Kaito teasingly points the knife at Jin. "…maybe Public Safety needs more officers, right?"

Whatever Kaito is saying goes in one ear and out the other for Jin. He has Reze fully in his display, watching her tear through a strike team with terrifying precision. When the rifle swings down the street, a dark mass of movement catches his eye. When he settles himself, the scope catches another strike team hustling towards the carnage, pointing around and shouting at each other in Russian. Jin takes one side look at Reze, who hasn't turned around yet as she rips another soldier in half. When Jin looks back, one of the soldiers is on his knee, raising his rifle towards her.

Jin lets out a breath.

thup

The silent round sails through the air, striking the potential shooter directly in the chest. He lets out a pained yelp, crumpling over on the ground. The muffled sound echoes off the dark buildings, causing the warhead to snap her attention toward the new threats. The soldiers try to drag their wounded friend to safety, but when the Bomb Devil blasts towards them, they drop him and sprint away. The man begs for his life right up until Reze's passing explosion rips his face apart.

Through the crosshairs, the smoke and intense flashes of orange and yellow completely obscure the bodies as she intercepts the retreating squad. From Jin's current vantage point, watching the vibrant colors overtake Reze's striking, destructive figure… it's oddly beautiful to him.

But Jin knows beauty can be deceiving.

"God…damn…" Kaito leans his head into the window, taking in the destruction. "You sure she's on our side?"

"YOU'RE NOT ON OU-"

A black tentacle crawls out from the darkness, quickly coiling around Kaito. It tightens around him and pulls him down the hallway as another one jumps out from down the hall. It passes right by Jin into the open window as he ducks down.

When he stands back up and aims down the hallway, Jin doesn't have time to register the second black coil crushing into his chest, sending him through the broken window. As he careens down in the open air, he tries to grab on a ledge, but the stone outcrops are just out of reach. Right before he hits the asphalt, black tentacles wrap around his chest and neck, stopping him from being part of the bodies on the street. The dark extremities pull him back up into the building, Reze unaware of what's happening above. Jin tries to bite and claw at the tendrils to catch a panicked breath, but each movement makes the appendages wrap tighter around his windpipe.

When his body is unceremoniously shoved through the window, Dimitri stands tall as Kaito is strung up in the swirling coils.

"No… you don't get that luxury."

Dimitri circles around Jin, chuckling to himself as both the hanging bodies get swung towards the darkened hallway.

"Usually, this goes on for longer, but you really are useless, aren't you?"

As the two struggle, Dimitri presses a button on a radio on his tactical rig. The channel fizzles on and immediately ruminates with the terrified screaming from his dying soldiers. He brings it up to his face, his smile almost twisting the black material covering his jaw.

"Target secured, returning to exfil, over."

Dimitri turns around and starts to walk away from the window. It gives Jin one last second to snap his gaze to the smoke and fire on the street. Reze is currently engaging another rogue strike team, efficiently taking care of the fearful men.

Jin opens his mouth, able to get a raspy "RE-' before Dimitri's appendages cut off Jin's oxygen.

_________________

Through the deafening explosions and terrified screams of her adversaries, Reze hears the choked gasp from inside the building.

She drops the mutilated soldier she was holding, stepping on him as a launch pad and explodes upwards. Reze rears her right fist back, charging her arm with crackling yellow and orange energy. She breaks through the brick wall, sliding right past Dimitri and in front of him, then swings. The strike hits him square in the face, launching him and his two captives across the gap toward the opposite building.

Reze throws herself out of the rubble, slamming her feet into the adjacent building and shoots back at Dimitri, another fist slamming down on the top of his head. Dimitri goes sailing to the ground, releasing the two as his massive body crushes into the concrete. She swiftly jumps down and catches Jin just before he splatters onto the asphalt, and sets him down gently. Jin leans down to cough out and clear his throat, breathing heavily.

"Wh-where's Kaito?" Jin looks around as his choking subsides.

Next to Dimitri's slowly rising body, the form of his former coworker lies still.

*Fuck.*

Jin summons his rifle and immediately puts three shots into the now standing Dimitri. The bullets all cut through the fatigues, but don't faze the commander in the slightest.

"That didn't work the first time… so you keep doing it?" Dimitri jokes as thick, black appendages begin to reform and slither from his back. Jin's eyes track the movement, forcing him to take a step back. "Definition of insanity, right?"

Jin stays still for a second, his finger hovering over the trigger, but he's not going to shoot.

He's just waiting for the right moment.

"Indeed." Dimitri takes another step forward, his gaze fully focused on his target.

"But… isn't that you guys?" Jin drops to the ground and covers the top of his head.

Dimitri watches him go down, confused, and when he looks up the Bomb Devil already has an extended foot out, sailing over Jin and hitting him directly in the stomach. He screams in pain, the blast sliding him back as his boots dig into the asphalt. But, as the smoke clears, he starts laughing again.

"After all these years, you really think you can take me down??" Dimitri yells out into the night as Reze lands next to Jin again, steadying her stance.

"You ready?" She asks, keeping her gaze towards the spinning tendrils.

"Ready as I'll ever be…" Jin swings the barrel of his rifle back towards the commander.

Dimitri's laughter grows, but before he attacks, a figure launches onto his back.

A kitchen knife is stabbed deep into his neck and chest multiple times, sending out blood and viscous black liquid onto the asphalt with each pull. Dimitri lurches down, trying to shake off the assailant. The body - Jin suddenly realizing it's Kaito - rolls over Dimitri's back, but not before he reaches out and grabs the balaclava from the commander's face.

Kaito shoots back up from the ground, holding the black mask in front of him and shaking it triumphantly towards Dimitri.

"YEAH FUCKER! I GOT YOU! I…got…you…"

Kaito's voice trails into a horrified whisper as he looks at Dimitri's face. What was hidden behind the balaclava isn't human. It has two human eyes, but the thick, viscous liquid from the tendrils are fluidly swirling up his body. Every so often, when the sludge parts, patches of decaying skin are exposed. Shards of his own cheekbones and jaw sticking out like sticks in a muddy pond.

Then there's the mouth. In the sludge, Dimitri doesn't have just one mouth, but rather he possesses dozens of them. They line his face and neck in erratic, unnatural orientations. Each maw is unique - some feature cracked, bleeding lips; others proudly show rows of shattered teeth; and a few droop with sliced tongues.

"Do you REALLY want me to go all out?" The main mouth growls, the voice Dimitri used now lowering into a predatory snarl.

A tendril whips out to Kaito. When he swings the knife to cut it, the blade instantly shatters on impact. He throws the broken hilt to the side and scrambles back to Jin and Reze.

"Can you feel it? The hunger that drives the hunt? Does it speak to you like it does to me?" A mouth where his left ear should be howls out into the night.

"Isn't it just… beautiful?" Another maw from the back of his head giggles in a high pitched voice.

Dimitri reaches for his zipper of the fatigues - the only thing holding back the now bubbling and boiling liquid. Reze takes a step forward between Jin and Kaito.

ZIIIIIIIIIP

The metal separates, entirely freeing the liquid body from the confines of the clothing. Immediately, the sludge shoots out into all directions, wrapping around the stray body parts and mangled corpses. The pieces are pulled into Dimitri and consumed, with a sickening crunch of bones and guttural sucking sounds coming from within. The body begins to rapidly grow, ripping apart his military fatigues as more and more tendrils hook around the bloodied parts.

A few wounded soldiers are dragged towards the growing monstrosity, screaming and begging for their lives as their bodies are absorbed into the mass. Their cries are silenced when the goo crushes their skulls, letting the brain matter and blood mix in with the liquid.

"Wh-what the FUCK IS THAT?" Jin screams out as his hands fall to the side.

"The worst case scenario." The warhead follows the growing body as it casts a giant shadow over the three of them. The mouths swim and follow up the black mass, expanding and contorting into sharp, ravenous holes. Mismatched eyes bulge and tear open from the unknown, blinking erratically before all locking simultaneously onto Jin.

Dimitri continues to grow, until it's level with the rooftops of the surrounding buildings.

"TARGET! ACQUIRED!" The mouths all shout in unison, a deafening screech causing Jin and Kaito to cover their ears. Long, disproportionate clawed hands break through the viscous material, grabbing onto the brick and concrete facades. Another inhuman screech comes from the mouths, instantly shattering the remaining glass of the buildings.

The Monster Devil, standing tall above the ruins, is ready to finish its hunt.

_________________________

Somewhere far off, Thoth leans onto his desk. The monitor in front of him is a live feed of one of the dead soldiers from Dimitri's strike team, perfectly framing the massive, towering Devil. Thoth taps his fingers on the desk rhythmically, quietly waiting for the bloodshed to start.

Before the inevitable, Thoth turns to the lava lamp, staring at the bubbling wax for a moment before Chozin appears from the shadows behind him.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Chozin steps next to the desk, standing straight up as he joins Thoth.

After a long moment, Thoth turns his attention back to the screen.

"I always know what I'm doing."

————————-

Quick authors note -

Yeah, AO3 down, huh? That's really unfortunate, hope that it gets back up soon enough!

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze watches Dimitri - or what's left of his barely human side - tower over them in his devil form. This isn't the first time she's seen him transform like this. Whenever their mission was going sideways, Dimitri would call in, never to ask a question.

"Time for the hunt to begin."

It was always met with silence. And then the Monster Devil would arrive, consuming all in his path. Reze would only watch in horror as he would cover the mission area in bloodshed. That's why she would try to hide any civilians. But the Hybrid Division had a strict policy of transforming into their Devil forms -

"No one can know the devils are alive."

Which is why, after time and time again, Reze would be holding the ruined bodies of the young families. And why Dimitri was so happy to follow the rules.

And now, he's in the form he loves to be in, for all civilians to see. And next to her, she knows Jin is trembling at their adversary. Jin frantically looks at Dimitri up and down, a rush of fear settling uncomfortably in his stomach. "How the FUCK are we gonna kill that?"

"We'll figure something out." She shrugs, grabbing onto Jin tightly. "I'm getting you out of here."

"WAIT!" Kaito scrambles on his hands and knees over to the two, grabbing tight onto Reze's leg. "What are we gonna do?"

The warhead shifts between Jin's old coworker and her balaclava wearing boyfriend. Just by the head tilt she does, Jin knows she's baffled at Kaito's question - and probably blaming Jin for it.

"...WE?" She tries to shake kaito off, who stubbornly wraps around her leg harder. "YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

"NO!" Kaito looks up to her, letting go and grabbing onto her shoulders. "We're gonna take this fucking devil down together! LET THEM KNOW PUBLIC SAFETY WON'T BACK DOWN!"

A migraine begins to pound in the back of her head, which then grows and reverberates throughout her whole brain. The pain clouds her visions as she bends down, aggressively rubbing the metal exterior. After a moment, her vision regains its clarity as the torment subsides, like it was never there. Immediately, she shoots her head over to Jin, who shakes his head in confusion and shrugs.

-What the hell did you tell him?-

Another roar shakes the ground beneath them, causing them to stumble back to the ground. Her gaze shoots back to the two, hooking them in her hands and bringing them close to her side.

"I'm getting you two to cover." Her head swings over to Jin. "Watch my back, and DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID."

Jin nods quickly, shifting his body into her hip and hugging her tight. Below him, a small blast launches the three into the air - nowhere near as terrifying as it was five minutes ago to him. Right before he's tossed into an open window in the adjacent building, he feels the tip of her metal head peck his covered cheek.

He's the first to be thrown, fitting perfectly between the shattered window as he crashes onto a giant mattress. He stares at the ceiling for a moment, reaching his hand onto where the faux kiss was planted on him. It's been less than a day since she kissed him, but that moment meant everything.

There's a yelp from outside, and suddenly Kaito is next to Jin on the bed, both of them now looking at the lightly spinning fan on the ceiling. The two sit there for a second - both having wildly different thoughts of what's happened - before Kaito rolls off the bed and heads to the window. He leans outside, staring at their new adversary.

"What's the plan, Officer?" Kaito leans out the window, watching Dimitri rip a brick facade down.Dust and debris cover the street, along with Reze, as the eyes turn their attention elsewhere.

Jin sits up, dropping his hand from his cheek and rushes over to kaito. He pulls the bigger man back just as the Monster Devil's many eyes scan up their building. "GO HOME! WE GOT THIS!"

"BullSHIT. I'm here, you got bad guys and you're outnumbered." He grabs Jin's right shoulder and squeezes it. "You need all the help you can get!" The nerves around the shoulder wound rapidly spark, covering the body part in a rising agony that forces Jin to shove Kaito's hand off.

An explosion from the outside shakes the building, knocking the ceiling fan loose. It careens to the bed, bouncing once and rolling off the side, the blades breaking on the hardwood floor.

"I think we gotta get out of here." Jin grabs his shoulder, rolling it as he signals Kaito to follow. He does, opening the bedroom door to the abandoned apartment's main room. It looks like Jin's own place - an open floor with the living area connecting seamlessly to the kitchen. The apartment itself, other than loose debris sprinkled over the couch, is in pristine condition, like the people just vanished. Fresh food is on the table with a tea kettle boiling out on the electrical stove. Even the microwave's excessive beeping is cutting through the silence, reminding the owners the final part of their dinner was done reheating. To Jin, it's eerie how quick the Hybrid Division was able to upend not only this family, but hundreds of families' lives in a matter of minutes.

Kaito rushes forward, rummaging through the kitchen drawers for a new weapon as Jin summons his rifle again, quickly searching the room for any stray people or Division soldiers. The purple light from the transformation catches the bigger man's eyes.

"What the fuck? Was that blood?"

"Huh?" Jin spins over to kaito.

"When you did that thing - which I got SO MANY questions about what weapons Public Safety gives us - I swear there was blood in the light."

Jin looks down at his rifle, inspecting the sleek design. The pristine silver reflects in his pupils, with no drop of the crimson liquid noticeable on it. Then Jin drops the rifle, and instead of watching the rifle contort back into its bracelet form, he watches the light around his weapon. Under the flash of the purple glow, there is the telltale crimson color of blood that shoots out from the weapon, which then flashes purple around the rifle, and then follows its new form onto Jin's wrist before dissipating completely.

*How'd I never notice THAT?*

"Yeah, Devil hunter weapons, you know?" Jin looks up, thanking whatever higher power is watching over him for the balaclava he's wearing to cover his bewildered face. "When we're done with this, we'll totally get you something, alright?"

Kaito grins excitedly, looking back down into the drawer to find that new knife. Jin flicks his wrist again, watching the blood grow along with the rifle into his hands, then disappearing into the still air. He sighs out, moving towards the entrance door. Kaito is not far behind, sporting a new sharp kitchen knife and holding it to his side.

"Ready?" Jin asks, grabbing the knob of the door.

"Mhmm." Kaito raises the knife up.

Jin nods, and opens the door to the empty hallway.

"We're gonna find a vantage point, take out anything that's not the big one, alright?" Jin whispers almost more to himself than to Kaito, keeping his gaze down the hall as he takes a step out.

*Help her from the back, and let her go.*

_____________

An ignition shatters the asphalt behind Reze's foot as she flies back towards the hulking mass blocking the street, crashing into the black sludge. A line of explosions follow her as she kicks up the body, separating the viscous liquid from itself. The Devil howls in agony as it stumbles back, ruining the concrete below with its weight.

The debris and smoke from the building it ripped down shrouds Reze's assault from the eyes. Its thick goo laps at her rising body, trying desperately to ensnare her. She's too quick, letting her hand glide along his form while a yellow light follows her imprints. The shockwaves erupt, separating the liquid in a line. A mouth is torn in half as the Monster Devil's fibrous body splits into two with a disgusting schhlick.

The figures wave in place, trying to keep its balance, but they crash into the opposite buildings. As Reze flips in the air, thick tendrils shoot out from the detached sides and forcefully pull the body parts back together. The sludge stitches itself into its original state, reforming and resolidifying as a new wave of debris clatter onto the asphalt below. The Monster Devils swings a clawed appendage across, crashing into the brick facades and tossing concrete slabs and rebar into its mass. Reze has no chance as the strike connects, shooting her down to the asphalt. When her body hits the ground, it bounces back up, leaving a crater shaped like her in the bloodsoaked blacktop.

Dimitri then pokes out black spikes from the tendrils, and along with the recent scattered debris caked in the liquid, fires the makeshift projectiles towards her. Reze twists her body in time to dodge the spikes and debris, the edges of them nicking her skin and leaving cut marks up and down her body. She raises her hands and snaps off the yellow energy towards a set of Dimitri's eyes. One of the balls detonates in a large bloodshot pupil, incinerating the gel and leaking the thick vitreous of its eye out below. The other eyes close and sink into the blackness, protecting itself from the oncoming explosions that harmlessly boom across its swirling body.

When the smoke clears from the final blast, Dimitri's eyes reappear higher on his mass, all instantly locking onto the Bomb Devil and opening its main maw. It pounces towards her, crunching the asphalt just below her feet. It reopens its mouth, the hot breath blowing up her body as it starts to drag the sharp teeth towards her. She jumps up and lands on the sliding teeth, slamming an explosive fist down onto the enamel. Jagged cracks split up the teeth as the other mouths howl out in different pitches of pain. The sound is deafening, almost bursting her eardrums as she grabs back at her head. As she falls back to the ground in the earsplitting agony, two twisting appendages come from the Monster Devil's back, swinging up towards her.

One connects with a loud crack, launching Reze skyward, the city shrinking below her as she spins. When she hits the apex of her height, the second tendril wraps around both her legs and slams her onto an adjacent roof. The building collapses around, concrete and wood suffocating her as the debris rains down to the bottom floor. She punches up, her blast cutting through the debris to vaporize it while she gets back to the starlit sky. She stands on top of the crumbling complex, facing the Monster Devil.

Dimitri's maws twist and bend into terrifying smiles, beckoning her to try again.

She curses to herself, wiping off the dirt from her scratched arms. She can feel her mouth, if it could, also form a smile.

-This is gonna be fun.-

____________

Jin watches Reze launch off the destroyed building, crashing into Dimitri with a large explosion that stumbles the mass backwards. He leans out of an adjacent apartment window, keeping his eyes towards the street - looking for any stray strike team that could impede on Reze's assault. However, the angle he's currently at doesn't give him much to work with, or even help kill the kaiju that's currently wrecking the building the Bomb Devil was just standing on.

He's suddenly shoved to the side as Kaito fills the broken window, taking the fight in.

"Woah…" Kaito grabs the frame of the pane and leans out. "This is what you guys do all the time?"

BROOOOOOOOOOSH

A massive blast rattles the complex, with smoke from outside billowing into their apartment. Kaito fans the fog in front of him, clearing his view again to watch the fight. "You think the Bomb girl down there can grab like a metal tower or something and impale the thing?"

"...That's not how it works." Jin shoves Kaito out of the way again, taking one last peek through the window. And much as he hates the idea, Jin was thinking about it at one point too.

"Damn, I think I saw that in a movie once." Kaito turns around and heads back to the kitchen, pointing his knife to the door and waiting for someone to enter.

Jin moves his eye from the scope and grumbles out loudly. "This angle sucks." He says to himself, watching his girlfriend jump back into the Monster Devil with a strike. He knows he has to be careful, but staying here like this isn't helping him or her out. He turns around and nods at Kaito, who stays close to him as Jin reaches for the door again.

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP

Through the creaked door, Hybrid Division soldiers sprint right by. Jin freezes as he's able to catch the strike team pass through, all yelling at each other and carrying different weapons. One of them, a strong looking soldier near the end of the group, is equipped with a sleek looking rocket launcher as well as a backpack, which clinks with what Jin presumes to be extra rockets. From the sounds of their stomps, he knows they're going to the stairway and get on the roof. He knows they're going to try to catch Reze by surprise, waiting for the right moment to put her down.

Jin taps Kaito's side, and with a gentle push, he opens the door and immediately leans out where the passing Division went. He catches the last soldier on the stairway, heading up with his fireteam.

"We gotta stop them." Jin takes off, trying his best to both be as quiet and as fast as his untrained steps would take him. Behind him, he hears Kaito take off too, matching Jin's own stride. When they get to the stairwell, Jin stops and listens. The soldiers, from what it sounds like, are a floor above them and picking up the pace. From their yelling and shaky voices, Jin knows that they're panicking - and he doesn't need to understand them. One of them is especially scared, his speech relegated to cracked, high pitch commands and near wailing as they get closer to the roof.

But is it the thought of being reduced to ash by the Bomb Devil scaring them? Or is it their now transformed commander, who will happily pull them into his growing body to gain more power?

*Probably both.*

While the stairs thud from the squads sprinting up the metal plates, Jin and Kaito follow close behind, measuring their steps as they close the gap between the unaware soldiers.

The building suddenly violently rattles, with a puff of smoke rolling from the top of the stairwell. There's more shouts in Russian as they stop, causing Jin and Kaito to push their backs to the concrete wall. Jin watches them through the smoke as one points towards the hallway off their current floor, then taking off alone. A few of the squad members yell at him, then eventually follow him through the cracked threshold of the corridor. Jin wipes his eyes from the trickling debris, blindly walking up the stairway until his feet even out. He opens his eyes to the smoke now covering the hallway where the strike team went. He turns around to Kaito and beckons him out of the stairwell into the floor. When Jin turns back around, the outlines of the agents are barely visible, but noticeable enough to count seven of them. Jin takes off, still balancing speed and stealth as he tries to get closer.

Another explosion rocks the building, and a backblast of soot throws Jin and Kaito forward to the ground. Jin looks back just in time to watch the railings from the stairwell start to rumble and break. He pulls Kaito away from the edge of the stairwell, and after a moment the floor fissures behind them, separating the hallway from the stairwell they were just in. Then, metal and concrete fall into the stairs, destroying everything below it as that side of the building collapses to the bottom floor.

Jin huffs out and pushes up, looking back at the new view outside. Kaito joins in, patting him on the bad shoulder and smiling. "Close one, huh?" He whispers, grabbing his knife and turning around. Jin nods, still staring at the where the stairwell once stood strong. Then, Jin turns back to Kaito and wants to make a joke how 'This happens more than you think, so get out while you can!' to at least try to save Kaito's life, but freezes.

His unwanted help is staring down the hallway in fear, and when Jin turns to follow his gaze, he summons his rifle and aims, trying to steady his rifle from the adrenaline rush.

Through the screaming of the strike team, they're still pushing on, keeping pace to get to the roof. But one of them let curiosity get the better of them, stopping and turning to the destruction. And between Kaito and the other one with a stupid bomb drawn on his balaclava staring back at him, all he can do is stop, raise his rifle at the two, and freeze. His eyes shift between the two, waiting for the slightest movement to pull the trigger. And Jin can see through his scope that the soldier's finger is squeezing tighter around it. Sweat starts to build inside the fabric of Jin's balaclava, refusing to even blink at the soldier.

*No quick movements. Don't panic. Just. Wait.*

The squad members are now fully concealed by the smoke, but their commands are still echoing down the corridor. Yet the lone soldier stays, still aiming and now focusing solely on Jin, darting his gaze from the rifle to the balaclavas eyes.

Then, Jin shakes his head, slowly. It's a plea - 'Please don't make me do this.' Right now, Jin's willing to walk away and let this man live. Then, Jin and Kaito can figure out something else, figure out a way to take out the rest of the strike team and let this soldier go. Jin puts his hand from the underbarrel of the rifle up and still keeps up his head movement.

The soldier, surprisingly, also does the same. Jin lets out a small sigh of relief, watching the soldier lower his rifle. Kaito taps Jin's back in approval as Jin's rifle lowers to the ground too.

*Maybe they're not all bad. Maybe they don't ha-*

Behind the soldier, one of his squadmates breaks through the smoke. He bumps into his friend, grabbing at him and about to drag him away, but then sees what's down the hall. The new soldier screams out in Russian, which is followed by the thudding of combat boots hurrying back to their previous location.

Jin shoots his gaze back down to the now terrified soldier as he swings his rifle back up.

Jin does the same.

BANG

thup

The bullets careen towards each other's target, the air rippling around the metal casings. Their paths intersect, both bullets connecting with each other and ricocheting off themselves. The round meant for Jin cuts lower than intended, bouncing into the stock of the sleek rifle and connecting right into the same shoulder wound, exiting out from behind and disappearing into the night. The scream he lets out is not in pain - the now exiting bullet making the wound completely numb - but in sheer frustration.

The soldier wasn't as lucky. The bullet meant for him is tipped up from Jin's original mark - an area on his chest that would only incapacitate the soldier, rather than killing him. Instead, the round drills right between the poor man's eyes. His body flops to the ground like a ragdoll, the ear splitting sound of the ricochet is the last thing his mind comprehends as death takes him.

The strike team arrives just as their comrade slumps over, immediately racking their rifles and firing down the hallway. Bullets slice right by Jin as he falls to the ground, using the smoke as his only cover. Behind him, there's a loud tump, followed by his arm getting dragged away. Jin is pulled into an empty apartment, and as he stares to the ceiling above, Kaito looms over him. Between the gunfire and the ringing in Jin's ears, he watches Kaito mouth something but can't hear what it is.

"-OD?"

The ringing starts to subside as kaito shakes Jin. His head hits the floorboard of the apartment, the sound of the gunfire and his old coworkers screams rushing to his eardrums.

"ARE YOU GOOD?"

Jin looks to the side, his shoulder bleeding steadily as a pool of blood stains the hardwood. Jin points towards a hanging jacket on a coatrack, which kaito goes to and starts ripping apart. Then he leans down next to Jin and starts to carefully wrap the new makeshift bandages around the wound. After a tight pull of the fabric, the blood flow stops.

"Thanks…" Jin stands back up, repositioning the stock of his rifle carefully on the wound and heads back to the threshold while another volley of bullets slice in front of him.

"THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING??" Kaito screams, about to pull Jin back deeper into the apartment. But his hands slapped away.

"WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!" Jin shrouds as he leans out of the apartment, returning fire down the hallway.

__________

The Bomb Devil lands back on her feet, snapping off two balls of energy. They fly erratically in the air, heading directly for one of the many open mouths.

Before the teeth can close, the balls snake their way through the gap between the enamel. The ignition in the maw blows a mix of sharp bone and maimed, bloody flesh out into the street. Asphalt and concrete crack as the ground shakes from their heavy impacts. Reze picks up a piece of the shattered bone, launching it back towards the Monster Devil. It pierces into another eye, blood and gel now fluidly streaming down its black body. Dimitri lets out another howl of pain, rumbling the ruined battlefield as another building collapses behind them.

A collection of tendrils form and spread out, sharpening and turning towards their agile target. They launch up into the air, covering the star-filled night with a black cloud of spears that careen back down to the city below. Hundreds of these dark spikes slice through the buildings, causing Reze to stomp quickly onto the ground, the asphalt below detonating and sending a chunk of the blacktop above her. The projectiles crash into the concrete, almost penetrating the makeshift shield as she snaps her fingers towards it. The chunk instantly disintegrates, clearing her path as she blasts towards her adversary.

A rogue spike suddenly clips her arm. She curses as a bloody gash appears, causing her vision to blur as she tumbles to the asphalt. She inspects the wound - a deep cut staining the blacktop with the crimson liquid.

But, instead of taking cover, she continues on, leveraging her momentum to launch higher into the night sky. As she rises, an idea comes to her - cut the Devil in half again, just like before, but drop between the two pieces and let out a detonation that would possibly annihilate the whole block.

Should be enough to kill it.

A tendril appears in front of her, causing her to twist and grab onto it. She uses the appendage as a pole, spinning on the black liquid and launches herself higher into the air. She aims her fingers down, her body flipping and hovering directly overhead of the monster.

Right now, she could split it.

-Shit. Jin.-

Unbeknownst to her, a set of extra black whips swirl from behind her. They wrap around her midsection and constrict, throwing her aim towards one of the buildings. She snaps, launching energy balls out and into the brick facade, detonating and sending a slurry of debris inward. The building creaks in defiance, exposing the twisted metal of the new apartments. Reze only has a moment to glimpse at the ensuing gunfight inside that building. A hail of gunfire from Division soldiers is sent down a hallway, while a man with a knife takes cover behind a tipped fridge, while a man in a bomb balaclava leans out from the doorway and fires back at them.

She screams out, but the tendril constrict tighter to silence her. She knows her ribs are at their breaking point, and unless they're freed soon, will shatter into pieces, puncturing her lungs. She grabs onto the appendage, the wires on her hands snaking into the black sludge immediately. They wrap around and around, a faint yellow color electrifying the cables. Reze rips the loose wires off her hand, snapping out another ball of energy at a rogue eye.

The tendril, along with the wires, are now brightening in a blinding yellow glow. The heat of the coming explosion is scorching, while a tea kettle like sound grows louder and louder as the explosive vigor seeps in.

She lets go and covers her face.

BOOOOOOOOOM

The eruption splatters the tendril's goop across the building facades. She breathes in, her lungs happily filling back with air as she dashes away from the screaming Devil towards the sounds of the gunfire. She shoots off an explosive ball down the hallway while sliding into the open apartment door, grabbing a leaning Jin by his chest and dragging him back into safety.

She looks down at the dripping blood by his feet, her head slowly rising to meet his terrified, yet determined, gaze.

"You should see the other guy." He jokes as another volley of gunfire crashes behind him. He reaches up and rubs her arm, his hand inadvertently gliding over Reze's open wound. He stops, instantly inspecting it.

"Babe… your arm." He reaches for his own bloodied bandage, ripping it off and gives it to her. The blood flow from his wound trickles out of the wound, the red droplets rolling down his arm as he hands her the soddened fabric.

"You need blood, right? Is this enough?" He pushes it closer to her face, but she pushes it away, turning around to the kitchen and grabbing a hanging dish towel.

"I'm fine - YOU look awful." She scoffs at him, wrapping the towel around his wound. She tightens it, which sends a shock of pain up Jin's arm. "And stop with the names."

"Force of habit, I guess…" Jin weakly says, a sudden rush of drowsiness overtaking him. He looks outside to the reforming Dimitri and points a shaky finger towards it. "How's, uh, that going?"

"Could be worse. You?" She shrugs, walking away and taking a peek at the soldiers down the hallway.

He rubs his newly wrapped bandage, which is sodden with blood already. "Eh. Could be worse." He jokes. "After this, I'm gonna buy a lottery ticket."

"Psh. Like you're winning anything." She chuckles. Between her current form - along with the now pulsating pain from the wound - the small laugh is intimidating to Jin. The way her teeth move, the comforting but chilling sound coming out of the mouth… It's weird.

But he knows it's still Reze.

After another volley of gunfire, she turns back around and looks at her masked boyfriend. He's barely standing up, leaning onto the wall. Just then, Kaito comes from behind the fridge, dragging Jin off the wall and shaking him.

"Yo! You gotta stay up! You got the gun!" He screams at Jin, who nods and pushes him off. Jin takes one last look at Reze, giving her a thumbs up.

"I'm good. Are you?"

-God, the balaclava is stupid-

"Yeah. You sure you two don't need help?"

"Nah, we're ok. I got a plan… kinda." He signals for Kaito to stand on the opposite side of the door. The rifle rematerializes in Jin's hand, swinging the newly constructed weapon towards the threshold. "Keep doing what you're doing."

She sighs and shakes her head. "Just… don't do anything stupid. Call out if you need help." She jumps out, leaving a dark smoke in her wake.

The heel of her foot strikes Dimitri's newly reformed body, the liquid rippling away from her impact point. Another blast launches her up, with Reze rushing up the side of the monster as tendrils swirl out around her, attempting to finally crush the nuisance. Each time the appendages pound into its body, sending waves of sludge onto the asphalt below, Reze twists and turns around them to keep up her tango, with each footstep leaving a line of detonations all the way up the Devil.

Her feet slide right up to one of the lips, then jumping over the howling mouth, its maw twisting in pain, before penetrating another eye with an explosive blow. She opens her hand in the gel and pulls up, the wet vitreous soaking her skin and detonator apron. Another deafening scream from the many mouths shake the ground again as more tendrils snake in to grab her. She kicks off the eye, which instantly closes and retreats back within the body. Another snap of energy hits harmlessly on the thick hide where the pupil once was.

Reze lands back on the ground, breathing heavily. As well as she's doing right now, Dimitri is still standing tall, like nothing's happened to him.

-I gotta figure something out soon.-

___________

WOOOSH

Jin's hair blows back from the wind of a passing rocket. The explosive careens down the hallway, detonating a couple doors down. Instead of a fiery explosion, a purple light - Jin realizing it's the exact same shade when his rifle forms - flashes from the rocket as the air around it is sucked inward, pulling the fabric of the carpet, doorknobs, loose room numbers, and the light fixtures into it. They all collide in the middle, all crushing together into one small metal object. The crumpled pieces hit the carpet without a sound, rolling towards a fissure in the building.

Jin shakes his head as he leans back out to return fire.

*I thought they wanted me alive?*

In his sights, the soldier with the launcher is fiddling with the high tech weapon, throwing his backpack to the ground. A compartment opens up, which prompts the man to rummage through his sack to load in another cylinder. He's too busy fumbling with the launcher to realize Jin is leaning out from the doorframe.

thup thup

Both rounds pierce the soldier's chest. He lets out a final yelp and rolls backward, grabbing at his wounds for a moment before succumbing to the damage.

The remaining two soldiers yell at each other, then retreat back into the rubble. Jin quickly rounds out of the apartment and fires wildly down the hallway. His assault caught the soldiers off guard, his rounds slicing through their armor and fatigues. As the two men crumple to the ground, the rest of the strike team's bodies lie still in the swirling smoke.

"Let's go!" Jin calls out, rushing down to the corpses. The dark smoke Reze left has rolled into the hallway, keeping the visibility between crystal clear and impossible to see your own hands. Jin knew the Division was having trouble identifying where he was at.

And that's exactly the advantage he needed.

When he gets to the end of the hallway, he checks through the rocket soldier's tactical rig. Between extra rifle rounds and grenades, he grabs a package of bandages and gauze, shoving it in his pockets. He then rolls the body to the side, now able to grab the discarded backpack. When it's snapped on, he grabs the launcher, checking the same spot the soldier was fumbling with earlier. His finger glides over a small groove, which clicks a compartment open - with one of those rockets loaded and ready to fire. He slams the compartment closed as Kaito joins him.

"Give me that!" Kaito reaches for the launcher, but Jin leans away.

"WH-NO! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THIS!" Jin yells out. It's not like he knows how the launcher works anyway, but giving Kaito something like this is incredibly low on Jin's to-do list.

Kaito grumbles, leaning down to an adjacent body and picking up a discarded rifle. "FINE! BUT I'M KEEPING THIS!"

The building rumbles from another strike, sending Kaito to the ground. He accidentally pulls the trigger as he falls, firing around down the empty hallway. The crack echoes off the walls as the two cover their ears from the surprised gunshot.

Jin crawls over to him and pulls Kaito to his feet. "FINGER! OFF! THE! TRIGGER! UNLESS! YOU'RE! ENGAGING!" He reaches for Kaito's gun, forcefully moving the digit off the metal catch.

*Joe's training does pay off, huh?*

Kaito's pupils blow out, nodding frantically as he steps back. "So-sorry." He keeps the rifle low as he follows Jin to the next stairwell. After stepping over the last of the bodies, the smoke clears - the steps are a crumbling mess, but they're still traversable up and down.

For how long though, that's up for debate.

"Go downstairs and get to another building!" Jin turns around to kaito, readjusting his balaclava as his fake growl cracks. "You're not gonna get another chance!"

"WHAT ABOUT YOU?"

Jin starts to jump up the stairs, taking three at a time as dust sprinkles down from another roar from outside.

"I'll figure something out!" Jin's voice bounces down the concrete walls as he keeps rising up. Each step he takes makes his mind race.

*What's happening outside? Is Reze ok? Did I take too long? Is she -*

He catches himself, stopping on a stair to take a deep breath. His mind settles after a moment, and when he opens his eyes he continues.

The roof access door - a broken red metal barrier - is kicked down as Jin rushes through the threshold. He swings his head towards the street as he sprints, watching Reze leave a trail of orange detonations across Dimitri's body. As he runs, his foot catches on a loose brick, tripping over himself and rolling onto the ground. The launcher falls out of his hands, and when it slams onto the ground, it fires - sending the implosion warhead up into the sky and detonating harmlessly high above the chaos. He scrambles over to it and picks it back up, cursing at himself and looks back at the proverbial main event. Tendrils and teeth dance and crunch at its tiny target, which gracefully dodges each attempt to stop her performance.

Jin crawls towards the edge of the building, placing the launcher to the side and summons his rifle. He scans the beast body, looking for any possible opening to send a payload into Dimitri. The skin - or what's supposed to be the skin - stands firm, swirling with that viscous sludge. He's surprised that Reze hasn't done more to it.

For all she's been doing, that thing should at least have some burn marks.

Suddenly, something in the back of Jin's mind rings out from last night.

*Burn marks. Burning. Fire. How do you stop fire?*

His eyes shift up and frantically scan the bordering rooftops. As his head turns, he finally stops when his gaze hits what he's looking for.

On the adjacent building, a medium sized water tower sits on the roof, the light grey structure with a dome roof connected via pipes and scaffolding, leftover tools scattering on the walkways.

He smiles under the bombclava.

*Thanks, Soldat.*

He aims and fires at the scaffolding, the round bouncing harmlessly off the metal. He turns to another seemingly loose brace and pulls the trigger. It too bounces off, leaving the tower standing strong. Jin groans loudly, then turns back to the fight.

He's gotta get Reze's attention.

He's about to shout, but before the words come out, he stops. Dimitri would probably hear that, and from what he's learning and currently practicing - wouldn't be the best option. He takes a longing look at his rifle, and then back at Reze's airborne figure. Right now, it'll be impossible to get her attention by waving his arms.

*Am I really gonna shoot my girlfriend?*

Luckily for Jin, she lands gracefully back onto the street, staring at Dimitri as another line of blasts blind the Monster Devil for a moment.

Jin's finger moves down to the trigger as the crosshairs aim at the warhead.

*I'm really gonna shoot my girlfriend.*

__________

A small metallic DINK hits off Reze's skull. She sighs, thinking it's another rogue soldier trying to get his licks in.

-I'll deal with it later.-

Her foot slams into the ground, igniting the asphalt again as she's about to blast into Dimitri's twisting form when another shot hits her in the back of her head. Anger rises through her body as she turns to look for the dead man doing it. Her head swings around as another round plinks off her head, trying to identify where the crack of the rifle came from. It should give away their position, but the rifle is inaudible.

And only one rifle is that quiet.

-Jin.-

She pivots her head towards the roofs, finally catching Jin waving his hands at her. He excitedly points down the row of buildings, but from her angle she can't discern what he wants. Reze shrugs at him, confused on what he wants her to do. She watches him throw his head back and dramatically sigh, then aiming his rifle and firing a round. The light of the payload is visible to her as it pierces the drum of a water tower right next to Dimitri, causing a small, steady stream of water to pour out into the night..

-...Oh...-

After realizing Dimitri is still regaining his vision, she smashes her feet into the ground, igniting the blacktop from below. She shoots forward, dodging the now wildly swinging tendrils that destroy the street, rolling underneath the Devil's body before jumping up and exploding towards the water tower. She shoots an energy ball towards the structure's steel frame, the blast causing the tower to groan and tilt towards the edge of the building. The supporting beams start to break free, shaking the tower more and more. Reze gets there in time, placing her hands behind the massive drum as the final brace snaps. It careens down, but she blasts the tank towards Dimitri's side, while snapping off another energy ball to trail. The drum catches in the liquid as tendrils and appendages wrap around it, holding it tight against the body.

Then, the energy ball slams into the drum.

The tower eviscerates, sending the water all over Dimitri's side. The skin and liquid instantly bubble and ooze, followed by ear splitting screams from each mouth. The Monster Devil recklessly thrashes out in agony, the tendrils crushing the adjacent buildings.

WOOOSH

A small payload sails past her body, slamming into the exposed side of Dimitri. A purple implosion sucks the liquid and decaying skin together, with the crumpled remains dropping unceremoniously to the blacktop below. Through the hole made by the rocket, Reze can see the Monster Devils viscera - its lungs rapidly expanding and compressing from the pain, the many stomachs digestive liquid sloshing as they jiggle and move, and the giant, rapidly beating heart in the center of it all.

-There.-

The monster suddenly careens forward as its eyes plop back out and instantly lock onto something behind her. She knows what it wants.

Jin.

The Devil swings all its tendrils high into the nightsky, then crushing the building Jin is standing on, the structure finally giving way to and crumbling. She watches Jin dive to the side, just in time as another appendage strikes his previous location, but the concrete gives under him. It throws him off the roof, sending him down to the street below.

"REZE!!"

A blast from behind her throws her towards him, reaching out towards the falling body. She crashes into his body and immediately entangles herself in him. Right before the imminent collision, Reze wrenches her body around to take the full impact of the asphalt, locking her arms tight against Jin as they crash into the street. The two bounce up from the impact and roll down the street, Jin still firmly clutching the Bomb Devil. When they finally stop, Jin lets go of her and rolls onto his back, moans out in pain. Next to him, the launcher he was carrying is shattered into pieces, with a trickle of blood dripping out from the tube. Reze pushes herself up and pulls Jin to a seated position, then going behind Jin to unzip his backpack. She rustles through the contents, finally finding what she was looking for - a lone rocket that was stuck at the bottom. She takes it out and looks back up, watching Dimitri smash into more buildings, the open wound currently hidden in his orientation.

Her fingers tighten around the rocket, letting wires snake around the cylinder. A faint yellow glow starts to emit from the black lines, growing brighter and brighter as they constrict around it.

"What… are you doing?" Jin breathlessly questions.

She kicks the broken launcher aimlessly to the side, tossing the payload in her hand like a baseball. The rocket is now blinding and visibly vibrating with the imbued energy.

"Killing him."

"…How???"

"Shut up Jin."

She readies herself, pulling her arm back and waiting for Dimitri to expose his open side. Jin shakily stands up and summons his gun, firing his rifle at the Monster Devil until the ammo counter hits '0', the rounds connecting in various parts of the viscous body. As the bullets slam into the sludge, Dimitri turns his gigantic eyes towards Jin, roaring and lurches towards the two.

That's when Dimitri's open wound turns towards Reze. A few black appendages start to stitch the wound together, but still leaving a sizable target for her.

If she could, she'd smile.

"Boom."

With a toss, the wires on the payload ignite, sending the rocket like it was shot out of a railgun. It spins wildly from the extra volatility. A few tendrils try to catch it, completely missing as it enters through the exposed wound. It embeds in an artery, with the black goo reaching to remove it. Each time the tendrils poke at it, it sinks deeper into the organ. The payload keeps shaking and shaking until -

FWOOOMPH

The first detonation implodes inside of the Monster Devil. Light, sound, and organs are sucked into the epicenter as Dimitri stops in the middle of the street, sucking in ragged breaths into his mouths. But after a tiny ball of the debris falls into the body, a yellow light burns brighter at the nucleus of the payload.

rrrrreEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

All the eyes on Dimitri look at Jin one last time.

The blinding flash of the detonation strips the color from the night.

BRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMN

The shockwave from the blast hits them like a freight train, knocking Reze and Jin backwards as the thunderous sound of the explosion ripples through the city. They tumble down the destroyed city block, slamming into each other and eventually stopping on a piece of destroyed blacktop. They're both lying on their backs, staring at the star filled sky as they take their own ragged breaths in. Then, a small black piece of sludge falls between Jin's eyes. When he goes to wipe it off, a rain of the sludge comes down, covering the two in what's left of Dimitri's body. They sit up at the same time - and where the Monster Devil once stood is now empty. The black liquid that churned up his body is splattered on the ruined buildings, the sludge finally still. A small mushroom cloud expands up into the sky - the blast now visible for miles.

Jin stares forward, taking in the destruction for a second before turning to the warhead next to him. The metal exterior swings to him too as they both stare at each other.

They both snort out first, then laughing hysterically as they collapse into each other.

"Holy… shit…" Jin hooks his arms around Reze, hugging her Devil form tight. "You fucking… you killed a kaiju!"

She nods in his grasp. "...How'd you know about the water tower?"

Jin opens his mouth, but luckily the balaclava conceals him closing it before he can belt out Soldat's name.

"Lucky guess?" He shrugs, pulling away from her as he stands up.

"You gotta be the luckiest person I met." She shoves him playfully, accidentally hitting Jin's bad shoulder. The wound burns in pain as he winces.

"Ow…" A laugh slips out despite the pain.

"Shit. Sorry." She turns to the blood soaked bandage, inspecting it. From the looks of it, the bandage needs to be replaced soon as the crimson liquid stains the once black jacket. "We should go, yeah?"

"Mhmm." Jin rolls his arm, and starts to walk forward. "How the hell are we gonna sneak ou-"

"WE DID IT!" A shout comes from the rubble. Jin and Reze turn towards the sound, readying for whatever comes out. A crumbled pillar is pushed to the side as Kaito tumbles out onto the street. His skin is cut and bruised, but still proudly standing and moving with his gleaming smile. "HOLY FUCK WE DID IT!" He throws his hands in the air in victory, still clutching onto the rifle from earlier as the kitchen knife is tucked in the loop of his pants. Kaito rushes to the two, hugging them. Jin nearly topples over, but holds his ground on his trembling legs.

"...We sure did." The Bomb Devil taps Kaito's back, then shoving him off. "You gotta get out of here." She grabs Jin's jacket and turns him around. "Let's go."

Jin nods and takes a step away.

"WAIT!" Kaito yells out, stopping the two. Reze doesn't have eyes in her Devil form, but the exasperated swing of her metal head toward Kaito tells Jin everything he needs to know.

"WITH THE DEVILS BACK, WE HAVE TO LET THE WORLD KNOW PUBLIC SAFETY'S BACK!"

The migraine tugs at Reze's head again. She shakes her head to silence the pain and looks at Jin. His eyes look soft behind the balaclava, like he's almost smiling. He crosses his arms and nods at Kaito.

"Yeah. Sure. Public Safety's back." Jin says in his gruff voice. "Go sign up, I guess."

The smile Kaito has grows, exposing those cracked teeth. "HELL YEAH I WILL." He turns to Reze and bows at her. "Thank you, Bomb Girl!"

Oddly for her, the kudos is flattering. She nods to Kaito, letting the annoyance fade away. Jin straightens his legs and back, keeping the grin hidden under the balaclava.

*I saved someone today. This feels gr-*

"And thank you, Bomb Gremlin!" Kaito bows to Jin, then takes off down the street. The rising dust and smoke eventually cover his body as he disappears into the night.

Jin blinks twice, dropping his arms pathetically to the side as the words bounce in his head.

*...Gremlin????*

Beside him, a short snort comes out. He turns to the Bomb Devil, who quickly covers her exposed teeth to hide her laugher.

"Gre…PSHHH." She snorts again.

"No… no no… that's not what you're calling me."

Reze throws her head back in laughter as the metal of the warhead falls to the ground around her, transforming back to her human form. She hunches over and grabs onto Jin to keep steady. "HOLY FUCK! GREMLIN?? IT'S PERFECT!" She shouts between her giggles, her fingers digging into Jin's skin deeper and deeper.

"FUCK YOU!" Jin screams, now joining in the laughter that echoes in the empty street. He pulls the balaclava off and puts it in his jacket pocket. "I'M NOT A GREMLIN, BOMB GIRL!"

Reze wipes a tear off her face and turns to the unmasked Jin. "Wanna hear the worst part?"

"...Not really, but go ahead."

She leans next to Jin's ear, her lips gently brushing over his skin. "I don't… HATE it when you call me that."

Right away, Jin's face flushes red. "No… seriously??"

"Yeah… so no more babes or honeys." She flicks his nose and lets go of Jin.

plip

They both look down to the ruined asphalt. The gash on Reze's arm drips steadily, dyeing the ground with its red hue. It was unnoticed by the two until now.

"Forgot about that…" She laughs to herself as she taps at the laceration, which stings back at her each time her finger hits it.

"Rez…" Jin pats at his pockets, finding and taking out the bandages from earlier. He rips the packaging open and begins to wrap the bandages and gauze around her arm steadily.

"What about you?" Reze leans her head over to glance at Jin's open wound.

"It stopped bleeding for now, I'll be good. But I gotcha here." He finishes tightening the gauze around the slash, patting her hand when he's done. "You're good."

"Thanks, gremlin." She shoves his chest again, letting her touch linger on Jin for a moment longer before dropping her arm down to her side. They stare at each other for a moment - covered in blood, dirt, and Dimitri. Their eyes glisten in the moonlight as they take each other in, becoming an unintentional standoff of 'who's gonna ask first?'

And Jin always loses.

"Uh…wanna take it easy tonight?"

Reze nods quickly. "Please. Can we watch something?" Her hand snakes into his as she leads him down the street - the once bustling block now in crumbling ruins.

"I mean you DID kill Dimitri, so…" He squeezes her digits, each press like a pulse on her palm. "Your choice."

"Hope you like She's The Man." Reze taps his chest, leaning more on Jin as they continue down the street, their feet crossing over the sizzling black liquid.

"I love that movie."

She squeezes his arm. "Good. And…can we have some of that ice cream in the freezer?"

"...What ice cream?" Jin asks as his face twists in confusion. "We don't have any ice cream."

"…Nevermind." Reze's grin vanishes.

"Reze." Jin stops in the middle of the street, right in front of the ruined skewer place where it all started. "…Are you stashing undocumented ice cream in my apartment?"

"I can do whatever I want in OUR apartment!" She laughs out, pushing him away and picking up the pace. "Let's go!"

The pit in Jin's stomach returns to him, filling with butterflies that twirl around in his stomach. He sprints after her and reaches out, taking her hand again - the electricity between their skin is intoxicating to him.

"Wait." He tugs her back towards him for one last moment in the smoke covered ruins.

"...I love you."

She weakly looks back at him, the smile forming again on her face as she pushes her flopping hair to the side.

"I love you too."

She leans in and kisses him. Their embrace lasts for a minute before she moves her lips to the edge of his ear. "Maybe I'll share some of my ice cream with you."
_______________

"- THE DECISIONS YOU'VE MADE; THIS IS THE WORST ONE YET!" Chozin screams as he follows Thoth down the pristine hallway. His frantic footsteps are offset by Thoth's calm pace as they turn into one of the labs, where shirtless soldiers wait patiently in a line next to a metallic seat.

A scientist calls for one of the names, gesturing to him to sit down in front of a tank filled with a black liquid. Unlike Dimitri's skin - viscous and rough - the smooth liquid laps and waits almost patiently by the scientist. When the soldier lays back on the seat, a device snaps out from behind and locks the man's face into place. The man panics and tries to pull away, but the metal cage around his face refuses to break.

The scientist presses a button as a portion of the liquid shoots out, latching onto the man's left eyeball. He shouts and screams as the liquid rips the eye from his skull and burrows deep into the socket. After a moment, the man's body stops its violent trembling, and he breathes out steadily as the bars on his face retract. Thoth watches the liquid intently as the yells from Chozin turn into white noise.

This War Devil wasn't too hard to track down here. Usually, finding and capturing them is one of the bigger chores Thoth has to do, but luckily they were able to find them within a few weeks of his arrival. They always fight back, but this one was pitiful in his eyes - giving up only after a few minutes of desperate strikes against him. She begged for her life as Thoth stood over her, staring down at the crumpled mess of the young girl's body - almost feeling sorry for her.

But, he needs her blood to help construct the Hybrid Division here.

So mercy comes at a premium.

The moment her body turned into that fine liquid, scientists were on standby to suck up the remains into a bulletproof tub. She tried to escape originally, nearly killing a collection of scientists and soldiers before she was contained again. After the years, she learned to accept its fate - and happily consume the bloodsoaked bodies of soldiers and hybrids.

The discarded eye of the soldier rolls down the machine and is dumped into a container filled with the gelatinous orbs, which all stare aimlessly ahead. Thoth walks over to the container - still ignoring Chozin's disdain - and sticks his gloved hand in. The eyes shake at first, then in unison roll up the hand, disappearing underneath the cloak.

Thoth sighs as the last of the pupils melt into his skin. He always dreaded doing this, and yet the euphoric feeling that surges through him entices him each time to continue on, to see beyond the plane he was in.

The new soldier stands up, smiling out and flexing his new strength to the line of recruits. When he turns to the hooded figure, the gloved hand waves in front of the new Division agent. The soldier's body suddenly bisects, spilling blood across the room and into the tank of the liquid - which happily drinks the free meal.

Multiple rifts open up in the spilled blood as Chozin's words finally silence. Thoth turns around to him and tilts his head.

"Why are you angry? You just got your job back." Thoth passes by Chozin, patting his shoulder as he walks by. "It's not the first time we lost a Dimitri, and it's surely not the last. Now, go find me someone interesting." Thoth commands as he walks away into the hallway, leaving the terrified recruits to clean up the mess.

And under the hood, while he heads back to his office, he does something that hasn't happened in what seems like an eternity.

He smiles.

\I knew you were different.\


——————-

Happy Halloween! Hope you enjoyed the longest chapter (so far)! Let me know what ya think of the fight

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin's shoulder roars in agony as he sits silently on the barstool. Usually the wound pricks at him when he's in some form of training - or when he and Reze are having their own intimate moments. But as his leg anxiously bounces while Joe walks back over to him - a deep scowl etched on the old Marine's face - the pain swirls deep in his muscles. It takes every ounce of discipline he has to not shout in the near empty parlor. The ice cream that plops in front of him breaks him out of the trance. Its unappetizing swirl of every flavor is glaring back at him - almost in a desperate plea to put it out of its own painful existence.

Jin scoops the first bite and hands the spoon to Reze. She looks it over, watching a glob of the mess drip onto the tile. Her eyebrows furrow as the aroma of the flavors assault her nose.

"...Are you sure this isn't gonna kill me?"

"I'm still here." He says, shaking the spoon in front of her face. "So you'll be fine."

She takes the utensil out of his hands. Joe leans next to Jin, the both of them watching her cautiously place the mixture into her mouth. The moment the dessert hits her tongue, an explosion of flavors - strawberry, mint, coffee, and others she can't fully identify - overload her palate.

It's the worst thing she's ever had the displeasure of eating.

She chokes, throwing a grimace at Jin while she forces the mix down her throat. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" She asks coldly, shoving the spoon back at him while digging into her own bowl of strawberry ice cream to scrub the taste from her tongue.

"Honey, I've been asking that to myself since the day I met him." Joe says, his angry eyes still fixated at Jin. "He's just like his dad."

"It's not that bad." Jin eats a scoop from his bowl, slowly pulling the clean spoon out of his mouth and points it at Joe. "And my dad wasn't as funny as me. At least I don't think so."

Joe looks up and shakes his head. "Jin, you're not funny, you're an annoying little brat." He grabs some papers from behind the counter and slaps them on the table. "Your dad could make a good joke. You? I wanna strangle you half the time."

"Reze, I think you gotta call whatever child services exist on this man." Jin narrows his eyes and looks over to Reze. She's currently in a happy bliss in her ice cream, but takes a moment to glance back at the two.

"Nah, he's right - your jokes do suck." She says after finishing a spoonful. "Love you though!" She smiles with the spoon sticking out of her mouth as her free hand begins to rub his leg.

Jin's face twists in confusion. "You said you LIKE my jokes! You laugh at them!" He looks to the back to Joe, who's already stifling a giggle.

"Hmmm… I'd never lie to you… would I?" She teases, the strawberry flavor still wrapping around her tongue.

Jin blinks and slowly turns to her. "Y- Are you serious??"

The TV inside the office flickers to life as Joe powers it on. The news is on, capturing a street in the city in ruins.

"-ter crews have spent the last week digging through the rubble for more survivors, one question remains: Are the Devils back?" The newscaster stares into the camera with a quiver in her voice. "Survivors have described what appeared to be two Devils fighting down the road. And with us is one of those survivors. Sir, I know you were there when the destruction was happening."

The camera turns to Kaito, who's beaming smile still taunts Jin through the screen.

"Kid, ain't that…" Joe turns back to Jin.

"Mhmm."

"I was. And the Devil we fought was as big as the buildings! But we killed it together!"

-I fucking hate this guy.-

"You said we. Who is this 'we'?"

Kaito grabs the microphone from the newscaster and stares into the camera. "PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS. And with the Bomb Girl and Bomb Gremlin on our side, we're putting any Devils out there ON NOTICE!" He drops the microphone back into the woman's hands and stands proud, clutching onto a knife Reze doesn't recognize from that night.

"...There you have it. A first from Channel 6 that Public Safety Officers have been dispatched and that Devils are, indeed, back."

There's a snort from behind Jin. He shoots his head back to the sound - Reze covering her mouth as she turns away from the two watching the TV. The station changes as Joe puts the remote down.

"Man. They hired HIM for Public Safety? They gotta be desperate for new recruits…" Joe turns to Jin's wide eyes. "You'll be fine, kid. Usually they got better people than that jackass. If you two find yourself in the middle of a Devil and Public Safety - get out of there. You get it?" He walks towards his office, shutting the curtain behind him. Jin buries his face on the counter top, hiding his red face from the parlor.

"Th-no… they're not gonna call me that." He pushes up and looks towards Reze. "Right?"

Reze's expression doesn't change as she leans her elbow onto the table, hand propping her head up. "You tell me, Mr. Gremlin."

"UrghHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!." He slaps his cheeks and then covers his eyes.

The curtain slides back as Joe leans out. "She just call ya a gremlin, like on TV?" He looks at the two, and after a moment starts nodding and points at Reze. "I love that. You get free ice cream for life here. And you." He swings his finger towards Jin. "You still owe me, ya gremlin." He laughs and goes back behind the curtain.

"This is the worst day of my life."

Reze rolls her eyes and puts the spoon down onto the countertop. "We both know that it's not at all the worst day of your life."

Before Jin can retort, he stops himself and takes a deep breath. "...Just stop being loud with this stuff."

Reze looks confused, turning her head around to the empty ice cream store. "Yeah, sorry THEY might hear us." She points to an empty table by the darkened windows, imagining two men sitting uncomfortably in the small booth."Those two over there might be KGB. What are we gonna do?" She makes a fake scared face, then quickly devolves into laughter.

"Hey - I dunno what the Hybrid Division or KGB is doing, bugging places…" Jin puts more of the slop into his mouth.

"If the KGB bugged this place, I'd know. They're… interesting." She pushes her empty bowl away. "They got cute guys in it too." She throws Jin a teasing side look.

"Nope. You're not getting a reaction." He looks forward and eats, his senses telling him her green eyes are looking him over, watching for any crack in his unstable armor.

He's gotta stay strong here.

"Ya know, there was one from an assasination…" She looks up at the ceiling in thought. "What was his… OH! Viktor! Man, he was good… the way he handled the hybrid we hunted, how we had to extract, and right after in the cots…" Reze shoves Jin playfully in the sides.

The last of Jin's ice cream enters his mouth as he tosses the spoon behind the counter into the sink. "...Well here ya are." He tries to turn away more from Reze, but a hand grips on his shoulder and spins his body towards her.

"Jin. I'm fucking with you." She rubs his good shoulder gently, a faint blush rising at the contact. "There's no Viktor for me, or any other name that doesn't start and end with Jin."

He finally meets her gaze, with some shreds of confidence returning as he gets lost in her emerald eyes. "…There's like so many Jin's. You sure about that?"

The words hang in her head. Her mind snaps back to the void, where Jin's broken body lies trampled beneath the boots of the soldiers. The lifeless eyes of that Jin only move when the soldiers kick the body.

-No.-

Her eyes dart around the counter to find anything to break the growing trance. In the corner of her vision, a sparkle of a glass jar holding cherries catches her attention. In an instant, Reze reaches over the counter to grab at one of the loose cherries. She launches it at him, drilling him squarely on the nose. The artificial red ball stains the tip and plops onto the countertop with a squelch. "You know I can kill you in like a hundred ways, right?"

"Well, I can kill ya in like… four ways?" He says, keeping his watch on Reze's. As he does, he places his hand over the cherry and tries to discreetly grab it.

"I'm so terrified."

"You should be."

"Oh fuck y-" The cherry hits Reze's left cheek and sticks there for a second, before it unceremoniously rolls off her face and onto the tiled floor below. She slowly wipes the cherry juice off her stunned face, turning to Jin with her mouth agape.

"You. Didn't."

"How's it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?"

Reze feels her heart skip a beat with a mixture of annoyance and infatuation swirling up her body. It's weird to think no one's THROWN something at her.

At least in a teasing way.

"…You know what?" She asks, her face still in a state of shock.

"What?"

"There's suddenly thousands of ways I can kill you." Her eyes ignite in faux anger. The spot the cherry hit left a mix of ice cream and artificial coloring there, steadily rolling down the side of her cheek.

Jin watches a drop splash delicately onto the countertop.

"Hey, ya got som-" Reze's hand immediately covers his mouth, stopping the words from spilling out. The fire behind the emerald irises grows.

"Lick it off."

"What?"

"Lick. It. Off."

"Wa-NO! We're in public and what if so-" She muffs his retort with her palm, blinks at him twice, and spins around to look at the empty parlor.

"You're right - the KGB's gonna see." She grabs his arms and pulls him next to her face. "Now. LICK."

After a long sigh, Jin's tongue comes out of his mouth as he leans next to her cheek. "Like thith?"

"THOUSANDS OF WAYS." Reze points at the splotch on her cheek, a small smile breaking onto her face as she's desperately trying to keep the act up.

He leans forward, his tongue swiping across her cheek to catch the sweet, sticky mess. The combination of the sweetness from the dessert and cherry with the saltiness of her skin covers every inch of his tastebuds. And he's not too sure which flavor he likes more.

Probably Reze's.

Reze, however, has shivers sent up her spine. The cold spot of the speck is replaced by the hot, wet swipe of his tongue, leaving her skin buzzing. She immediately leans away from him. If she didn't, Jin would have been dragged to whatever corner of the parlor that gave the two the privacy she was craving. When she turns back to him, the memory of his lifeless eyes is replaced by Jin's glowing irises and flushed face.

"Good boyyyy." She pats Jin's head.

"NO! NOPE! NOT A DOG!" Jin's face twists in shock and pushes her hand off.

"Who's SUCH A GOOD BOYYYYY?" Her hand fights away his, scratching the top of his head. Jin turns bright red and huffs, still swinging his arms over to stop the assault.

Behind them, the bell dings loudly as the creak of the door echoes in the parlor. Joe's head pops out from the curtain. "Hey! Welcome in, I'll be right there for ya!" And as quick as he appeared, his head slips back to his office.

Reze and Jin don't look at the person walking in, but the thudding of each footstep towards them sends a flash of dread in their nervous systems. Their looks don't change, but both their minds shift into wordless planning. Reze's hand slowly moves up to her neck and fidgets with the pin, while Jin leans himself back and stretches his arm behind.

"I know you're not trying to kill me." A familiar voice says.

Reze's eyes widen and turn to Soldat's familiar blue gaze. "I have a thousand ways to do that, ya know." She shoots up and hugs him, burying her face into his chest.

"Only a thousand? I thought I trained you better." Soldat smiles down at her. Jin stands up and also smiles, reaching out with his hand. Soldat scowls and glances towards Jin. When their eyes meet, Soldat sternly shakes his head at Jin.

*Right.*

Jin's arm falls back to his side, rolling out his shoulder again as the swirling pain comes back.

Reze lets go and pulls back, settling back down on the squeaky stool. "What are ya doing here?"

Soldat leans onto the counter, looking past Reze at Jin. "Well, I've heard about a Devil in city, but most importantly - I would like to introduce myself to your boyfriend." His massive hand reaches past her towards Jin. "I am Soldat. Pleasure to meet you…?" He trails off, like he's expecting Jin to fill in the blanks.

Jin nods, gripping his hand and shaking. The latent strength from Soldat emanates down Jin's arm. "J-Jin. Pleasure to meet you." Their hands shake, giving Jin a precious moment to figure out his next response.

And if they're pretending, might as well go the distance.

"Wait, do I… know you?"

Soldat's face doesn't move an inch. "Yes. Farmers market. I run booth with kids toys." He lets his grip go, resting a hand on Reze's shoulder. "It is fulfilling for me."

"I think you're just going soft." She nudges her elbow into Soldat while giggling.

"I never go soft." He glances at her and winks, then turns up to Jin. "Anyway, it is pleasure to meet you." His blue eyes drill through Jin's skull. His irises trace up Jin's body and shoulder, almost trying to push past the fabric and inspect the hidden wound. When their eyes meet again, he's giving Jin the same stare from that night on the rooftop.

Jin gulps and nods, and before he can register the question in his head, it spills out into the parlor.

"Are you her dad?"

Soldat and Reze both freeze, they look at each other for a second before turning to Jin to say in unison:

"No."

Suddenly, they both burst out into laughter, falling over each other and hugging through their giggling bodies. Reze wipes away a tear from her face. "No, he's not my dad… but when I was brought into the Hybrid Division, he was the only one who took care of me. Didn't want me turning into one of them."

Soldat nods. "Yes. She is sweet girl, but what they did to her is beyond forgiveness. Only reason I stayed so long to ensure she was safe." He taps her shoulder gently. "I am glad you are out now."

She looks down and smiles, a light shade of crimson growing along her cheeks. "Well, I've got some help." Her eyes trace up to Jin's. He reaches out and grabs her hand, holding it tight as he can.

"Wouldn't be here without ya."

Jin and Reze smile at each other, lost in the moment. Then, Soldat coughs loudly, forcing their hands to fall down and turning back to the counter. Jin picks up his bowl and licks a stray drop of his concoction off the side and pushes it in front of him. Any butterflies Reze had are immediately replaced with disgust.

"You see what he's eating there?" She points at the empty bowl. "It just might be the worst thing you'll ever had in your life."

Soldat's eyebrows raise. "No, worst thing I ate was in middle of battle in Afghanistan. We had nothing, only tree bark and desert mice." He grabs at his gut. "I still feel the burnt wood in stomach sometimes."

"Was school also a two mile walk uphill in the snow both ways?" He glances over to the two of them. "Rez is overreacting, it really isn-"

"NO SHE'S NOT!" Joe bursts out, cleaning his hands off on a dirty white towel. His eyes glare down at Jin first, before rising up to Soldat's. Instantly, the air in the shop changes. The air swirls and shifts around the two as their gazes lock directly onto each other. Jin and Reze both pick up on the shift - almost like when the two entered the night Jin got shot. Then, there was a lightness of the air that danced around the cafe - even if Reze was leading him on - but right now, the thickness of the tension between the two former soldiers is palpable.

Soldat shrugs at Joe. "From here, it does not look bad."

Joe laughs, throwing the towel behind him. "Trust me, Jin's a good kid, but man he's dumb AND annoying, like a gremlin." He says while throwing Reze a wink. She giggles to herself at the joke and turns away from the men.

"Is he now?" Soldat's body shifts, eyeing up the room. His gaze falls onto the hanging flags - specifically the American and USMC ones. "American, huh?" He walks closer to a framed picture on one of the walls. It's of a younger Joe, standing with a man in military gear in the desert. They're smiling, both guns resting at their side in the sunlight. The man next to Joe has very distinct soft brown eyes, almost exactly like Jin's - who's currently watching him in terror. "You served?"

"Long time, yeah.' Joe shrugs, intently staring at Soldat. "Ran a squad for a while during the eighties and nineties, then got asked to go stateside as a drill sergeant. Moved out here with a buddy because of the base close by, then my contract ended. Me and that guy decided to stay around and take it easy." He smiles, his eyes locking onto the photo, almost reminiscing. "Best decision I made."

Soldat nods, keeping his gaze directly at the younger Joe. "If you couldn't tell, I served my country too. I was also team leader for a while, around the same time as you." His eyes narrow as he swings his head around. "Maybe we've crossed paths before."

"Maybe." Joe stares at Soldat, keeping his ground. "Like the picture? Place look familiar to ya?" A small smile comes on his face. "Yeah, I bet it does."

Soldat scoffs. "I know Afghanistan better than most." He points at the picture. "And I'm aware of where that was taken."

Joe continues to laugh, looking down to clean Jin's bowl off. "And you're still here?" He looks up, dropping the small amount of kindness from his face to a stern glare.

"I always live." Soldat's face doesn't move as he glowers back.

For a minute, the two stare at each other in a tense silence. Their irises refuse to move the heated glare from each other. Jin and Reze glance between the two, cheering on their own father figures in the recesses of their mind.

-Joe doesn't stand a chance.-

*Soldat, you're not gonna win this*

"Jin, a word with you, please." Soldat grunts out, keeping his attention still on Joe.

"...Me?"

"Yes. You." Soldat walks to the back hallway, and the groan of the bathroom door opening echoes into the store. Jin stands up, first looking at Reze - who gives him a soft smile followed by a wink, then to Joe - his face still stern as he shakes his head at Jin.

"Kid…"

"I'll… be right back?" He says, stumbling off to the bathroom. The door slams shut behind him as he enters the room. Soldat is at the sink, running his hands under the roaring faucet.

"You never told me your friend is ex-military." Soldat's eyes focus on his hands, cleaning them off from the day's activities.

Jin leans onto one of the stalls next to the line of faucets. "I've only talked to you, like, once. Didn't seem important given the circumstances last time."

Soldat grabs a towel and wipes away the excess water on his hands. "That is fair point. I was in area and wanted to give you congratulations."

"Uh… for?"

Soldat blinks slowly at Jin, his piercing eyes drilling deeper into Jin's skull. "...Dimitri? He was animal that had to be put down. I watched you and Reze. Both of you are good team together."

"Oh…" His voice trails off from the glimpses of her fight - the grace and fluidity she had dodging around the attacks dances into his mind - before his eyes refocus onto Soldat. "She did most of the work." Jin rolls his shoulder again, grabbing at it to apply pressure to the burning pain.

"I still don't want her fighting for me."

"You don't have choice." Soldat inspects himself in the mirror. "They're sending two strong hybrids after you next. Rock and Flame Devil have already been dispatched."

Jin scowls at the Flame Devils name, with a fearful shiver rising up his spine. "...Rock? Like music? That sounds stupid."

"Devils are a creation of human fears. And before even my time, the idea of rock music was terrifying to parents. It is reason why they called it the devil's music." Soldat turns to finally look at Jin. "Not my taste."

"We killed a kaiju. What chance do they have?"

"Because, as I said, Dimitri was animal. When he used his Devil form, he became reckless. Was he stronger? Yes. But these two - they're smarter, more cunning."

"You know we saw them right after I bought the jacket?" Jin says, forcing a scoff. "They didn't seem like much." His hands trembling against his sides at the thought of the woman's smile.

"So, then you know this is serious? Are you and Reze ready to take them on?" Soldat steps towards Jin, the soldier's massive body towering over him.

"We'll figure something out."

Soldat's eyebrows shoot up. "And what about the flame one?"

Jin's organs feel like they shut off for a moment. "...What about her?"

"You know what about her."

Jin shakes his head, eyes glued to the tile below. "...So?"

"So?" Soldat nods for a moment, then grabs Jin on his shirt and pulls him up the stall. "SO?"

"WHAT TH-"

The old man places his hand over Jin's mouth, pulling his head down to meet Soldat's icy gaze. "YOU CANNOT LET THE PAST EFFECT YOUR THINKING."

Jin's body goes rigid. He tries again to shove the giant hand off his mouth. "I'M NOT."

Soldat shakes his head and releases Jin, who falls to the tile below. "What she did was evil. I actually remember the day. I was with Thoth, you know?" Soldat slides down the plastic stall door next to Jin. "He said that 'Today is the start of something beautiful.' He was always vague. The Flame Devil is one of his favorites to use. He sends her for things of utmost importance to him, which is why I remember the day."

Jin slams his head onto the stall with a hollow thunk.

"Why… me…"

"I do not know… I wish I did. And yet -" Soldat stands up and reaches down to Jin. "You're still here with Reze and I."

Jin pulls himself up from Soldat's arm. "...And Joe." He says with a weak smirk.

Soldat chuckles to himself, turning around. "That… is up for discussion. I must go - I will say goodbye to Reze and will be watching."

Suddenly, Jin's mind races ahead. The memories of Reze in the short two months of their laughter, intimate moments, fights - all of it - rush into the forefront of his brain. It's something that he realizes that he cannot lose, something that he wants to be his constant.

And he can't let this moment go away.

"Look, I know you both just said you aren't her dad. "Jin stammers out, trying to find the words. "But you're... you're like her guardian, right? Or whatever it's called."

"...What are you doing?" Soldat stops in place and turns around to Jin.

Jin runs his hands through his hair, the jittering of his latent anxiety taking over. He takes a deep breath, trying to push the feelings away. "I don't know! There might not be a next time when I'll see you or if I'm actually going to survive and-and-"

A massive hand lays on Jin's left shoulder. "Breathe. It is ok."

Jin nods, following Soldat's words, and tries to force the words past the lump in his throat. "...If I'm not gonna see you for a while, and we're going to Paris next week and it's a big trip and… I need to ask you something."

Soldat lets go and takes a cautious step back.

"… I love her, Soldat. I want to give her a life she deserves, one where she isn't a weapon - she can be whatever she wants to be like a teacher, a barista, anything. I just want to be with her every step of the way."

He takes another deep shaky breath as Soldat's unchanging, icy gaze sends another rush of fear up Jin's body.

"I want to ask her to marry me. And I want to ask you for your permission."

The blue eyes stare back, inspecting every pore and imperfection in Jin's skin. "You know, I had daughter. When her husband asked for her hand, I told him yes - only if you protect her." Soldat turns his attention to the mirror over the faucets. "...Even though I knew he couldn't."

In the mirror, Jin watches a small tear break under the eyes, but they're quickly sucked back into the soldier's body. "... And you? I see same issues with you. You're reckless. Untrained."

Jin's shoulders slump. "Yeah… I figur-"

Soldat's hand raises up. "I'm not done. Let me finish." He faces Jin and steps into his space. "I also see love, a wanting of happiness, and a safe life with her."

His calloused hand reaches out to Jin.

"I would be honored to give you my blessing."

The words barely register to Jin at first. The feeling is equivalent to when he got shot the first time, but the rush of warmth is a relief he hasn't felt in his life. Jin rushes and hugs Soldat, squeezing the larger man tight. Soldat pats his back and lets out a soft chuckle, and after a moment he pushes Jin off.

"But - you MUST protect her. AND GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD." He flicks the side of Jin's temple so hard it nearly topples the smaller man over.

"...I'm doing everything I can." Jin rubs his stinging temple, suddenly realizing the giant smile that's plastered on his face. He forces the excitement down, but inside his body is vibrating in delight. "We should get back, huh?"

Soldat nods, walking towards the door and opening it. The moment the two cross the threshold, bright laughter is bouncing off the tiled walls as they re-enter the shop. When they turn the corner, Reze and Joe are keeled over in a giggling mess. In between the two is a giant ice cream bowl overfilled with the artificial cherries. Reze turns around and sees Jin, her face blushing bright crimson before her hand darts into the bowl.

"Lick this, asshole!" She squeals, taking a handful of cherries and launching them at Jin. The spread of the fruit pelts him directly in the face. Jin raises his hands in defense to stop the oncoming fire.

"I'M NOT LICKING YOUR ASSHOLE!!" He shouts, followed by a high pitched scream ripping from his throat as another volley of cherries fly towards him.

"THAT'S IT! THAT'S THE PITCH!!!" Joe bellows from behind the counter, taking a handful and joining Reze.

Soldat shakes his head and walks for the exit. "I… must go."

Before he opens the door, he shoots one last look at Reze, letting a warm feeling take over his body. The giant smile she has on her face, the bright blush on her cheeks, the look of pure joy in her eyes - he never taught her any of that.

That's real.

And the man in her sights - the one that's covered in cherries while screaming in the most unthreatening, pathetic tone imaginable - is the one who makes her that happy.

And he just asked for permission to marry her.

The rogue tear finally rolls out of his eye as Soldat leaves Joe's parlor.

___________

The door creaks shut behind them as Jin aggressively wipes away the rest of the cherry juice off him with a damp wad of napkins. Reze is still giggling, holding onto his arm as she leads them down the bustling street.

"It's what ya get." She snuggles closer to him as the warm mid afternoon sun shines down on them. "Don't forget it."

"You… threw… SO MANY." Jin stares ahead, like he just survived a warzone.

"Joe kept giving me them! It's not MY fault."

"YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED!" He drags the napkins through his hair, cursing as the red syrup stains his dark strands.

"It wasn't JUST me!" Reze kisses his cheek, her lips vibrating as she keeps giggling. "Joe threw some too!"

"YEAH! AND HE SAID THAT IT'LL GO ON MY TAB." He tosses the napkins into a passing trashcan and swings his annoyed gaze at her. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I OWE HIM NOW?"

"WE'RE. RICH." Her eyes lock onto Jin's, instantly melting away any anger and embarrassment he has.

"Bu-bu- AH!" He huffs away, turning his head away to hide his own growing smile. The passing crowd gives him a moment to recollect himself, but each time he glances at Reze, that warm feeling comes back over him.

And it's what he wants to feel like every day with her.

Through a break in the crowd, Reze's eyes pick up on a machine and gasp in delight. "JIN!" She takes off, ragging him like a ragdoll down the street. Jin's slow to look up - the rush of wind nearly blinded him - but when his vision fully returns, a faded pink photobooth sits in front of a local pharmacy. It's something Jin's passed for years when he would go towards Joe's, watching the occasional couple slide the dark curtain to the side to capture their memories.

Not once did it cross him that he'd be the one stepping inside.

"Can we please? We don't have any pictures together!!" She begs, but is already pushing Jin behind the curtain. The inside of it is stark white with a blinking screen prompting them to insert cash. Jin takes out some loose bills and inserts them into the slot.

After whirling from behind the display counts the money, the screen unlocks with hundreds of choices of different frames and photo styles. His hand hovers over the options, his mind racing for the best one. Before he can pick, Reze leans over and chooses the normal option.

"What? You wanna look like a dog? Because you're such a good boy." Reze scratches Jin's head again as he fights off the blush. The screen starts to countdown from 5, causing Reze to hook her arm around Jin's neck and pull him close.

'SMILE!' Reads from the monitor. They both grin at the black sensor.

CLICK

The screen flashes the picture - a normal picture of them smiling back at the camera. The light blush on both of them is undeniable.

"We look HOT!" Reze blurts, clicking the monitor to start the next picture.

The screen starts to count down again. Reze shifts her entire body weight onto Jin, who's paralyzed as her teeth dig into his skin. When the timer hits the last second, he throws a middle finger up.

It makes them both burst out into laughter.

CLICK

The picture pops up on the screen, capturing them mid laugh. "You're so cool." She says, shoving him lightly. "I love it."

"I know you do, bomb girl." He presses next, feeling a wave of confidence take over him as he looks at Reze. "...You know it's not a REAL photo booth sesh without making out…right?"

She bites her lip, letting a smirk cut across her face. "FINALLY."

Instantly, Reze latches onto Jin, pulling him closer and kissing him deeply. Their tongues anchor to each other as their bodies crash against the plastic walls of the cramped booth. In the flailing between the two, Jin's elbow accidentally smashes the 'Next Picture' button.

CLICK

Whatever the capture was is not seen as Reze accidentally kicks the 'Next Picture' button.

CLICK

The machine starts to whirl, and after a moment two glossy strips of photos are spit out into a metal tray. Jin pushes past Reze for a second to look at them, but is immediately pulled back.

"Get back here."

As Jin dives back into Reze, only one thought runs through his head.

*Ring size - six and a half.*

___________

Thoth glides down a dimly lit hallway, passing by a group of hurrying soldiers. They stop in place and straighten their posture as he walks by, raising a trembling hand to salute him.

He doesn't care. There's more important things to worry about.

His cloaked body phases through the door into a large room. New recruits and veteran soldiers are currently fighting one another in different combat scenarios. Some spar in single combat, trying their best to topple their opponent, while others are fighting multiple combatants at once. Thoth stares forward and continues on to not distract them, but he knows every eye will inevitably track him. And then the whispers will start.

And he hates the whispers.

"Do not turn to me." Thoth commands as each soldier frantically positions themselves to face away from him. He walks towards the end of the room, where a wayward fireball nearly hits Thoth. The flame extinguishes when it hits the cloak, the steam hissing away as he continues towards the final training ring.

Another fireball launches over the young Rock Devil, who twists his body downwards as he rears in for a kick. The business woman just dodges it and places her hand on the man's chest. Fire engulfs the impact point and slams him into the concrete floor. He winces as the flame spreads over his body, but dissipates when the woman walks over to him, smiling over his beaten body.

"You got a lot to learn, sweetie." She smirks.

"If we could go into our Devil forms, you'd be mincemeat." He snarls as he stands up, pushing the woman out of the way. He glares at the woman, his one black eye reflecting into her brown eyes. "Next time I'-

"You two." Thoth steps in between the two. "It's time."

An exasperated sigh comes from the rocker. "What? Why?" He points at the businesswoman. "I thought the plan was for her to 'scare him straight' into us?"

Thoth shakes its head, turning his cloaked face towards the man. "It was. Dimitri was supposed to follow my orders, but he's been eliminated because he couldn't control himself." The rocker watches the eyes in the darkness glow in deep red, drilling straight into the hybrid's soul. "Can you two control yourself?"

The rocker sneers. "Dumbass deserved it. He went alone, that's not my problem."

"...I can easily make it your problem. He was not alone - he had his own personal strike team with him. And yet the target and weapon escaped because of his recklessness." Thoth's body almost floats to the rocker, the flapping cloak lapping at his jeans. "Will you be as reckless as him?"

"I was told I can handle things the way I see fit. This isn't what I signed up for."

"Too bad." Thoth turns towards his two weapons. "You haven't heard where you're being dispatched to."

The rocker barks out a laugh. "Yeah, that's gonna change everything, right?" He moves to the wall, picking up his guitar that was waiting for him. "You always know what to do, my guy. 'All knowing', my ass. You're a joke o-"

The clock starts ticking on Thoth's cloak.

=2 Minutes.=

He steps away as the rocker crumples onto the floor. The man claws and scratches at the newly formed skin on his face, replacing his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The skin starts to boil and singe as the rocker's muffled screams barely register to the training soldiers.

"I thought he'd never stop complaining." The business woman says, stepping around the suffocating man to follow Thoth. "What's the plan?"

Thoth swipes his finger towards the writhing rocker, nicking off droplets of blood onto the adjacent wall. A crimson dot bubbles and swirls into a small purple rift. An empty, high end hotel room shines back at them.

"You're staying in Tokyo. You have two weeks to get ready and will be dispatched if THIS ONE -" He points at the suffocating body below the two. "- fails his mission."

The businesswoman smiles and crouches through the rift, entering the hotel room with ease. "Easy enough. What about backup?"

=45 seconds=

"You're to engage the target and weapon alone, but Strike Team Epsilon will be sent, should things go sideways. Your job is to lay low for now. I'll contact you personally when you're needed."

The woman jumps onto the bed, her back bouncing on the soft surface as she stares up to the ceiling. "Paid break, a comfy bed AND a solo mission? Thoth… you know how to treat a woman right ~ I'll see ya soon." She teasingly waves at him as the rift closes.

Thoth stands there, staring at the wall where the purple colors once swirled. If everything was to go sideways, the Flame Devil always delivered.

It was exactly why she was his favorite weapon.

WHRR-GHK

The rocker suddenly bolts upright, taking rapid breaths in his newly reformed nose and mouth. He pats his face as he hyperventilates, checking for each part of his face to be back where it's supposed to be.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" He shoots up, the spike bracelet on his arm locking out as he aims it at Thoth.

"You brought that upon yourself." Thoth doesn't turn to the man, instead using another droplet of blood to slice open another rift. An empty alley looks back at them with distant horns and civilian chatter. "This is your infill site. I'm sending your personal strike team as we speak, along with your personal equipment."

The rocker looks between the rift and Thoth."… ALL equipment?" The punk asks, grabbing his guitar again and throwing it over his back and walks towards the temporary opening.

"All equipment."

The rocker accidentally smiles. "Shit, should have opened with that. Tokyo's not gonna know what hit them." There's a silence between the two as the rocker leans into the rift. His first foot hits the alley way and echoes off the brick facades.

"It's not Tokyo. You'll figure that out soon enough." The figure turns around, walking away as the rift starts to close. "Reminder - the target is to be returned alive. I do not want the same outcome as last time."

The man nods as his body crosses the rift into the alleyway. "What about the Bomb Devil? Kill? Hurt…more?" He licks his lips at the thought of her taste.

"She is not the primary goal. Focus on your mission." Thoth says as the rift starts to fizzle shut. "You have one week. Get it done."

When the last of the purple light dissipates, the rocker turns around and walks down the dark alley. "How would you know what I do, anyway?" He rubs the neck of his guitar as he exits into a bustling street. The rocker is surprised how busy the street is, and immediately looks around to get his bearings. The Notre-Dame Cathedral stares back at him, lit up in artificial lights as tourists snap pictures of the landmark.

The rocker smiles.

"You bastard. You REALLY should have opened with this."

 

[usefulfinish421]

Jin looks like a lost puppy again. It's the usual for him - eyes worriedly scanning in front and thinking about every opportunity and consequence with every choice. If he's walking and takes a calculated step here, what happens if someone also steps in my way? Does he move? Do they? And what if they get mad? Is he gonna have to fight them? The scenario plays in his head for a moment before he scoffs to himself.

Something like that isn't as scary as it was two months ago.

What is scary is directly in front of him. The diamonds all sit perfectly placed on their settings. The jeweler has already explained the differences in the choices presented in the glass case - all different cuts, sizes, and even clarity, which Jin still doesn't understand.

*What the hell does that mean? Aren't all diamonds clear?*

The jeweler sits and drums the glass display with his finger, Jin's eyes darting between the overwhelming amount of options.

"So… what's your favorite?" Jin asks the man, trying to get a gauge of what the hell he should be looking for.

The man adjusts his glasses and looks up. "I don't have one. Usually, the 'favorite' depends on the girl and her preferences." He looks up to Jin, whose sweat is forming on the young man's brow from the question. "Did you two try on some rings? Usually, you try on some first before you buy."

"Nope…" Jin drums his hands on the clear display as his anxiety spikes. "What… styles are popular?"

"Again. That depends." The jeweler huffs out. Just by looking at Jin, he knows there's no way the kid has a budget set. What's currently under the nervous man's hands are way out of budget for most window shoppers.

Much less for a man randomly deciding to propose to his girlfriend.

'A shotgun wedding.' The jeweler thinks.

Jin keeps looking down the display, eyes darting off from the rolled felt in front of him. Golds and silver bands sparkle back at him, the diamonds almost blinding to him from the interior lights.

BZZTBZZT

Jin pats at his pockets and pulls out his phone. Aside from a growing list of notifications from other apps, a message from 'Reze ' sits at the top.

< Where the hell is Joe taking u? Why are u at a jewelry store? >

The world around Jin disappears as his focus zeroes in on his phone. He had told Reze Joe wanted to take him out before their trip in two days and do some shopping - mainly for Joe to get new clothes. It took Jin a minute to convince Reze for him to leave the apartment, but eventually she gave in. As he sprinted down the stairwell and let Joe know what he was doing, they came to an agreement - after about fifteen minutes of arguing on the phone.

And now Jin knows he's being tracked. His sweat drips off his brow and onto the glass, which is quickly wiped away by the jeweler. Through trembling hands, Jin types out a message.

> You stalking me? <

< Virtually > >

Jin grumbles loudly to himself as he throws his head back.

"…Sir? Are you ok?"

Jin's face glows bright red as he swings back to the jeweler. "Wh-YEAH! We're good! My girlfriend's just stalking me!" He forces out the hardest laugh he could muster. It's the fakest sounding thing he's ever done. The jeweler steps back as his eyes bulge out in confusion watching Jin break down on the spot.

As Jin tries to mentally collect himself, his fingers hammer into his phone.

> Joe wanted to get you something for Christmas. <

The typing dots from the messenger app dance as Jin waits.

< Ur telling me Joe is buying me a necklace? >

Jin's heart sinks. He didn't think that through at all.

*WHY WOULD JOE BUY HER SOMETHING HERE YOU FUCKING IDIOT??*

He stares at his phone thinking of any way that he can take what he said. But the holes already dug too deep to backtrack.

So might as well keep digging.

< yes >

The dots dance back on the app as Jin's imagining three different scenarios where Reze realizes what's happening, then she rushes over to yell at him, simultaneously leveling the city block.

BZZTBZZT

Jin grabs his proverbial shovel and opens the message, ready to keep digging down.

< I like anything silver >

Jin's eyes widen at the message as a wave of relief rushes up him. He smiles to himself and looks up to the visually annoyed man.

"Silver. Anything like that."

Jin is led to the other side of the case to a collection of silver and platinum rings. Narrowing down the selection did help momentarily, but once again he's in the same spot - he can't decide. They're all equally beautiful, extravagant, and definitely expensive looking. Some of the stones meticulously placed onto their settings aren't diamonds, but emeralds and amethyst as the stones sparkle from the artificial light.

*Would she want something like that?*

He stops, closing his eyes and breathing in.

The attendant slowly blinks at Jin and sighs to himself. "He's gonna be here all day." The man mumbles. Jin misses the comment entirely - he's too busy envisioning Reze sitting on the futon. Her left hand is near her face as she excitedly explains something to him about some class she's wanting to teach and how her classroom would be set up - all with a giant smile plastered on her face. His vision locks to her hand. The ring can't be too extravagant, or it will pull focus from her beautiful eyes. It can't be squared off either, or it would clash with the pin on her choker. Speaking of her trigger, it'll be good to match the ring with that.

Jin's eyes suddenly open as his body glides down the display. The bands all flash before him before he freezes at the opposite end of the glass case.

There it is.

A simple platinum ring with an oval shaped diamond gleams back to his face - almost teasing him with "I've always been here, idiot." Oddly, it sounds like Reze's voice.

That makes it even more perfect.

"This one!" Jin exclaims, nearly yelling it out in the empty store. It cracks through the jeweler's dull trance as he snorts back awake. Jin keeps his eyes locked onto the band.

He's not letting this one out of his sight.

The attendant slides over, pulls out a small key, and unlocks the case. He carefully takes the ring out and places a felt display next to Jin. Jin immediately picks it up, his fingers fumbling around the small yet pricey symbol of a promised future. The ring shines beautifully from the fluorescent light above, which glitters in Jin's gaze. His heart fills with jittering butterflies as the realization of what he has in his hands actually is.

"What size is this?" Jin looks over at the attendant as his hand wraps tightly around the ring.

The attendant reaches an open palm towards Jin. "I'll have to check. Can't tell by looking at it."

Jin looks down at the empty palm and back down to the band, and begrudgingly gives it over. The jeweler reaches below the counter and pulls out a long cream cylindrical piece. He places the ring on the top and drops it down until it catches on a thin black line. "What size do you need for it?"

Soldat's small gesture from the farmers market replays in his head. "Six and a half."

The man jolts back in surprise from out at how quick Jin responded. The trembling guy in front of him actually did his research on her ring size. He glances back down to the sizer, then turns it around to Jin.

"You're in luck. Look."

Jin's eyes fall onto the sizer. The ring is stopped at the thin line that reads 6.5.

"It's… it's perfect." Jin's breath hitches at the words as tears begin to prick his eyes.

*How the hell did I get so lucky?*

The attendant smiles, ready to get Jin out of the store as soon as possible. "Good, I'll get it set up. It costs…" He slides the ring back down and turns the tag towards Jin. Usually, this is where the price is enough where 'they'll think about it' as they rush out of the store, never to be seen again.

Jin barely reads the small writing. He stuffs his hand into his pocket for a loose wad of cash and slams the bills onto the counter as he takes the ring back out of the attendant's hand. His eyes bug out at the sheer sight of the money.

"Is this enough?" Jin shrugs, still fixated on the new band.

The man's mouth opens as he nods. He suddenly snatches the ring out of Jin's hand and takes off to the back. He quickly cleans the ring expertly and searches in the back office for the finest box he can find. The man throws the office door back open and places the perfectly wrapped box back onto the counter. He bows to Jin, then takes the money off the counter. Jin smiles and gently takes the ringcase, thanking the man and leaving through the entrance. The morning sun shines onto the busy streets as Jin makes his way back to the apartment.

> Coming home. See ya soon! <

< Good - I gotta surprise for u >

Jin fights the anxiety in his chest and puts his phone back into his pocket. Whatever that surprise is, he can't think about that now. He's gotta focus on what's in front of him - that small wooden box that's in his other hand. He checks himself over and shoves the small box into his jacket pocket. And when he gets home, he's gonna have to find the perfect place to hide it before Paris.

*City of lights, city of love, whatever they call it.*

That's where he's gonna do it. And he has the perfect spot to ask her. Just how he's gonna get to the top of the Eiffel Tower without making her suspicious - the trained assassin that can sense his own fear before he can even register it - is going to be one of the hardest things he's ever done.

The scenarios start filling his head again as he daydreams while assimilating among the mass of civilians.

*What if she finds out? What if we get up there and it's super crowded? And I have to ask in front of a ton of people? What if the towers closed?*

Through the excitement of him dreaming up the scenarios, a darker thought creeps from his subconscious and firmly plants itself to the forefront.

*What if she says no?*

The thought sends a cold chill up his body. He shakes the feeling away and continues on, trying to keep the positive thoughts flowing. To Jin, it's ironic that fighting a literal kaiju is somehow less terrifying than Reze saying those two letters. If she says those words, he'll be right back at the park bench, watching the crowd go by as he sadly eats his snacks.

Alone.

He sighs and instinctively reaches into his jacket for the box again. His fingers wrap around the wooden case as he turns into an alleyway - a known shortcut that leads back to his apartment from the prying eyes of any Division soldiers. As his fingers rub the box, he prays to whatever higher power exists that she will say yes because she wants to have a life with him after all this.

It doesn't stop that pit from anchoring deep in his stomach.

The alley echoes sounds from the streets as the crowd chatter and horns bouncing up and down the brick facade. He picks up his pace, eager to get back with her and the surprise - whatever the hell that means.

*Probably should tell Joe I'm done and let him in on what's happening.*

He slides his phone back out as a rogue cloud covers the sunlight. The alley fills with shadows as Jin types away.

< Yo. I'm all good. You totally didn't get her a silver necklace for Christmas. >

The sounds of the city suddenly disappear, replaced by a threatening, suffocating deafness. When Jin looks up, the brick facades are gone, replaced by an endless black void. He immediately stops and looks around the oppressive blackness. It's absolutely soul crushing. He continues to spin around, then takes off running back the way he thought he came - only to remain stranded in the dark. He slides to a halt, breathlessly scanning his impossible situation. There's nothing for his eyes to lock onto to even get a gauge of how far he's run in the void. But his head starts to fizzle again, like the TV was turned to a dead channel. He grabs at it and aggressively rubs at his temples.

plip

tickticktick

The sound echoes from somewhere in the dark. Jin spins around, desperately trying to ignore the pain as he wanders to where he thought the noise came from.

plip

tickticktick

Each step Jin takes makes the static in his head grow louder. After a minute he stops, bending over with a groan. It's almost impossible for him to raise his head.

plip

WSHHHHHK

A purple light hisses next to him, illuminating the darkness and forcing him to look up. Jin's hair brushes against a heavy fabric, and when his eyes level out, a black hood is mere inches in front of him.

"JESUS-FUCK!" Jin tumbles backwards and scrambles away. As he tries to put distance between them, the cloaked man comes into full view. His cloak is pitch black - practically invisible in the void - but three things stick out. First, even with the swirling purple light, it's still too dim to see what's under the hood. Second, a clock is shoved through the fabric of the chest, ticking down from ten minutes. Finally, clenched tightly in his gloved hand, is a dead field mouse that's dripping blood into the darkness. Each plip of blood stains the void with the crimson liquid, along with that metallic smell emanating from the scentless place.

The lights split the void as a rift cuts open, the tendrils of darkness holding it together sizzling away. The figure crosses its arms, letting the blood drip deliberately onto the unseen floor.

"You're pathetic." Thoth growls out.

The sheer hate from the statement ripples into Jin's body, shaking his very being to the core. With a trembling hand, Jin's rifle materializes and is aimed directly at Thoth. In the scope, it's almost impossible to make the dark figure out.

"I want to show you the truth." Thoth beckons towards Jin with his free hand.

"Yo - you're Thoth."

Thoth doesn't move and keeps his arms still outstretched. "How perceptive." He grumbles under his breath. "Don't make me ask you again."

Jin doesn't move either, keeping his rifle raised.

"I'm not here to take you. Too much has been put in motion for me to ruin it all now."

"What the fuck do you want with me?"

Thoth's hand falls to the side and begins circling the glowing tear in reality. The way his body seemingly floats as it lightly contorts around the purple light is unsettling to Jin. "I'm about to show you. So please."

= 9 Minutes =

Jin reaches into his pocket and shoves his balaclava on. The second the fabric sticks to Jin's sweating skin, his nerves calm as a clearer sight picture is shown in his scope. "Leave me alone."

"No."

"Fuck you!"

"Feeling confident behind that balaclava?" Thoth tilts his hood to the side.

"I'll feel more confident when you're in the ground!" They say in perfect unison.

Jin's eyes widen as the trembling restarts.

"H-how d-d-did you-?"

"It's not the first time I've had this conversation." Thoth stops by the rift and extends his hand out again. "Nothing you'll say here will surprise me. Now. Come here."

Jin's feet move before he can think. His barrel is still pointed directly at Thoth's chest while he steps closer. But Jin's target barely moves, waiting patiently by the only light source in the darkness. And in that source, with each step Jin takes, he realizes there's a sound coming from inside. It's hard to decipher, and as he gets closer the more confusing it becomes. When finally Jin stands next to Thoth, he carefully peeks into the rift, keeping the rifle still aimed at the hooded man.

Inside the tear, a version of Jin is cradling his Reze in a laboratory. A massive hole in her chest shows that her heart has been blown out. That Jin weeps, begging for her to wake up, but her hollow eyes already show how the story ends. Thoth swipes his hand towards the adjacent droplet of blood, opening a new rift to view into. In this one, instead of Jin holding Reze, it's reversed - she pleads to that obviously dead Jin for him to wake up.

Jin begins to hyperventilate as he steps away, dropping the rifle's barrel to the black void below.

= 8 Minutes =

"Wh-what the fuck are you showing me?"

The hood turns to face Jin. "The truth."

The droplets of blood all sizzle simultaneously and lift up into the air. Tears in reality split open next to Thoth, showcasing different versions of the exact same outcome. "I know you've heard of the Golden Ratio. This is what happens if you continue down this pattern with her." He scoffs towards the trembling man. "You want to be in love with this weapon? Make her promises of a life free from suffering?"

A dead Reze tumbles onto the asphalt in an apocalyptic looking street.

"It."

The Jin in the next rift slumps to the ground as a Division strike team unloads a hail of bullets into him.

"Never."

This Reze is impaled in her Devil form on a spiked fence, her body twitching through its death throes.

"Works."

Jin's head in this rift is bisected by a clawed hand, followed by Reze's shrill yell.

"Not with her."

Thoth opens another cut into the void. When Jin peers inside, he watches an uncharacteristically happy version of himself. He saunters over to some other woman standing next to a bartop as he plants a sloppy kiss on her cheek. The woman laughs and turns to him and hugs him. When he moves his leg into view from behind the counter, a small child holds tightly onto his leg.

"Reality lets this version of you be truly happy. Yet, when you choose the weapon-"

As that rift closes, the blood from the mouse swirls up and opens a new one, where another Jin's body, dressed as a cowboy, sits motionless next to another version of Reze in a desert. An unsurvivable amount of blood pools beneath his body.

"-One of you dies. Seem like a preferable outcome?"

= 7 Minutes =

Jin shakes his head in disbelief as he backs away from the horrific gallery. "That's- that's not us." He stammers out.

"It is. Maybe not the yous in this reality, but they all act like you, THINK like you, and all DIE like you. It happens every single time." Thoth flips his cloak back as he follows Jin. "And yet, you don't know what the funniest part is."

Jin's rifle shifts back into its bracket form, snapping back onto his wrist as he falls to his knees. He doesn't have the willpower to speak while his mind races through the outcomes he just witnessed.

"Would you believe me if I said I'm trying to stop that?"

It takes Jin a second to register Thoth's voice, but he shoots his head up to meet the cloaked face.

"The weapon is someone with extraordinary power. Fears transcend different realities, and bombs are always near the top. And with her as the Bomb Devil, she has been the most capable of everyone who wielded that heart." Thoth pauses, waiting for the words to sink in. "Her only mistake is that every version of her thinks she can find love. And that is her tragedy - every time she finds love, someone dies. The weapon is not meant for anything more than being that."

Thoth starts to circle around Jin, the fabric of his cloak hovering inches above the ground. "I'm here to break that cycle. Where I can have a weapon that has power that transcends realities and create one whole, perfect reality. And… you might be the one missing piece."

Jin doesn't move from his knees, continuing to stare confused at Thoth.

"Which is why I need to test you."

The void tilts under Jin's feet, sending him stumbling forward towards a spray of mouse blood. Before his face splashes into the crimson liquid, a rift tears open to a destroyed warehouse. Jin's body crosses the threshold of reality, his bones and existence fizzling with that same agonizing static in his head. He hits the concrete floor hard as he twists and screams in pain. It's like his very cells are trying to pull away and shoot off into the abandoned space.

= 6 Minutes =

After a moment, his body stops vibrating. He sits up and crawls on his hands away from the rift. Thoth slowly nods, watching Jin intently through the tear. "Good. You can go through." Thoth's voice echoes from where he's standing. "Don't feel like you're special. A quarter of all organic beings can cross over to other realities."

Jin swings his head around, looking for any form of exit away from the hooded figure. He stands up and tries to take off, but an indescribable force grabs his chest, crushing him in place.

"You don't get to run."

Suddenly, Jin's violently pulled backwards, ripped from the warehouse and thrown back into the void. The fizzling pain returns as he rolls into the darkness. He lands back on his right shoulder when he stops, letting out another pained yelp as Thoth glides over to him.

"With the first test done, let's move onto the weapon."

The cells in Jin's body reattach themselves to him, stopping signals of pain that electrify his body. As the last of the agony slips away, Jin's pained screams devolve into a breathless laughter.

"What's so funny?" Thoth stops just in front of Jin.

"You're calling me pathetic?" Jin locks his eyes to the hood. "But you need pathetic me? And Reze?"

"She is a weap-"

"SAY. HER. NAME." Jin's voice bounces across the empty plane.

"…So passionate for something so destructive." Thoth faces away from Jin, only turning to look over his shoulder.

"That's not her. She's not that. She's… she's Reze. Someone who loves flirting and fucking with me, a girl who'd destroy the world for the last bit of Skittles, someone who loves Elle Woods. She's not -"

"If she's not a weapon, why are you letting her fight your battles for you?" Thoth's voice cuts coldly through the still air.

= 5 Minutes =

"I- I'm not having her figh-"

"No, you are. You need her to survive us. You think you would have been able to kill Dimitri without her? How about the Copycat I sent after you?" The world tips again, causing Jin to slide back towards Thoth. "You know she feels every explosion she sets off? Every time she fights for YOU, it puts her in unimaginable pain."

Jin's hoisted off the ground by that unseen force again. He writhes as Thoth's hood nearly encapsulates his face.

"YOU NEED HER AS A WEAPON TO LIVE YOUR FACADE OF A LIFE - ONE THAT I'M ALLOWING YOU TO LIVE IN. SHE IS TEACHING YOU HOW TO FIGHT BECAUSE SHE IS A WEAPON. YOU ARE ALIVE AND FREE BECAUSE SHE IS A WEAPON TO YOU. NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS."

Jin's body is tossed backward, skidding along the void. He stands back up immediately and summons his rifle again, aiming the crosshairs right into the hood.

"Coming from the guy who's seen her across how many realities? You couldn't put it together that SHE'S NOT THAT? SHE'S NOT A FUCKING - THING!"

= 4 Minutes =

Thoth stares back at him. Hidden deep inside the hood, eyes begin to glow a deep, disturbing red. It reflects in Jin's scope, looking like hell itself is glaring back.

Then, the still air shifts behind Thoth. It's like a light breeze that passes by on a normal day, yet it's the most chilling sensation Jin's ever felt. Even in the darkness, other than Thoth, Jin knows something is behind the cloaked man. And it's not like a single mass that Jin can pinpoint - the feeling is everywhere, dripping with a hatred so primal that every single alarm bell in Jin's brain screams that if he stays still, he's going to die.

"Don't get scared now. Your weapon can't protect you." Thoth snarls, walking patiently towards Jin. "We all have a part to play in the universe. And Reality as my witness, I'm moving the pieces in the right spot."

The rifle shakes in Jin's hands as Thoth approaches. For whatever reason, he can't pull the trigger - like whatever he does isn't going to matter anyway.

*Is-is this hopeless?*

The hooded figure passes right through Jin, the coldness of his mass sending chills down Jin's spine. "Do you really think you can defy reality?" Once again, Jin is picked up by the unseen force. This time, he's flipped upside down and dragged along the invisible floor of the void. "Across these realities, there's always a constant with all organic beings - I call it core singularities. And for her, she is a weapon, and cannot find love. The ones who give her that love either DIE or watch HER die."

= 3 Minutes =

Jin's dropped to the ground, landing on his back with a silent thud. The words still sting him to his core, but through the unsettling dread, a sharp flare of anger rises.

"AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN CHANGE REALITY?" Jin shoots up from the ground and charges at Thoth. He leaps towards Thoth with outstretched arms, but sails right through the cloak, landing on the other side of his intended target.

"Your enthusiasm is noted."

Thoth tosses the dead mouse onto the ground. Its body writhes and shakes before exploding, leaving a fresh trail of blood onto the ground. The liquid gathers in one point and follows Thoth's steps before bubbling into another rift. Inside, Jin watches another version of himself working on something on a computer in a cubicle. The location of it, the size, the peeling corkboard that's pinned with family pictures makes Jin's heart race as he recognizes it - his old cubicle. Thoth reaches into the tear and grabs the back of the alternate Jin's chair, yanking his body fully into the void. That Jin lets out a surprised yelp as he crosses the threshold of reality, and the moment he enters the blackness, his body immediately begins vibrating and illuminating with unknown colors. He screams in excruciating pain as he rises in the air, kicking and shaking as the colors burn brighter and brighter. He lets out one last pained scream -

"RINA!"

- and then his body is stretched out into an indescribable shape. The colors overtake his skin as he explodes into pure light, which instantly fizzles away like sparklers into the darkness.

It's like he never existed.

The rift closes as the hood turns around to face Jin again.

"That could have been you a few minutes ago." Thoth steps towards Jin, who crawls back in a panic. "You know, your core singularity is the worst one to deal with across the different realities. And this you has somehow been the MOST ANNOYING version to date. And yet-" Thoth turns away from Jin, looking into the deep void where that oppressive presence watches. "- One of the most interesting I've witnessed."

= 2 Minutes =

Then, Thoth reaches out his hand. "I need you for this, so all the pain and suffering across all realities can finally end. You have two minutes to join me."

The invitation hangs heavily in the air. Jin stands back up, weighing his incredibly limited options. "...What happens in two minutes?"

"You don't want to know." Thoth's voice is surprisingly calm. "Remember, I'm working to save you both."

Jin stares back at him, then starts to nod slowly. "…Ye-yeah. You know what? You're right."

The response makes Thoth's cloak flap as a strong breeze fills the void. "I'm always right."

Jin chuckles to himself as he steps closer, reaching out his left hand. "Bet you are, from what you've seen." He reaches out to Thoth, who follows suit and extends his arm forward.

Skin and glove almost connect.

"Too bad you're wrong about Rez."

Jin flicks his wrist. When the rifle materializes, the barrel twists to completion right into Thoth's hood.

Thupthupthupthupthupthupthupthup

The suppressor smokes from inside the dark hood as the two stand completely still. Thoth's arm is still outstretched and frozen in place as Jin's breathing quickens.

*He should be falling over, he should be dead, he shoul-*

Tink

A small, clear marble rolls next to Jin's foot, tapping lightly against his shoe.

Tinktinktinktinktinktinktinktinktinktink

More marbles fall out from the bottom of the cloak, rolling harmlessly away into the dark. Jin's breathing completely stops as terror keeps him frozen in place.

Thoth's eyes suddenly ignite into a blinding red, illuminating the void around them.

"You. Stupid. Fucking. HUMAN!"

Thoth's cloak shifts into hardened steel, striking Jin in his chest and launching him deep into the darkness. The ominous wind picks back up again, stifling Jin's rolls into a sudden halt on the ground as his rifle forces itself back into the bracelet. The presence is stronger now, drowning Jin in primal fear.

= 1 Minute =

"I am TRYING to SAVE BOTH YOUR LIVES. CAN YOUR FEEBLE MIND COMPREHEND THAT?" Thoth mockingly taps his own head. "I cannot FATHOM what goes in your head in EACH iteration of you. How it's always the WRONG CHOICE!"

Jin pushes himself up and starts to run away, trying to find a way out of the void. Thoth's glide quickens as he closes the gap between the two. "DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU'RE GOING TO ESCAPE?"

Jin's rifle spins back out. He aims and hopelessly fires shots towards Thoth. Right before the rounds connect with the cloak, they disintegrate into dust and whisk harmlessly away into the void.

"WHERE'S YOUR WEAPON NOW?"

= 15 Seconds =

Jin turns to sprint, but his foot swings too quickly around, catching on his own planted leg. He's sent tumbling back to the invisible ground again, the impact knocking the ring box out of his jacket. The wooden box clatters away from him as Jin claws his way to retrieve it. When it's safely in Jin's grasp, he turns around to Thoth, the cloak is mere inches from Jin. A gloved hand comes crashing down towards him.

"I'M DONE PLAYING THIS RI-"

Thoth freezes right before he grabs onto Jin's jacket.

As Jin continues to hyperventilate, he stares directly into the hood. It's not looking at him at all, rather Jin can feel where its gaze is locked onto.

The ring box.

"…Wh-what is that?" Thoth mutters out.

Jin's trembling fingers grasp the wooden box harder as he hides it behind his back.

"WHAT IS THAT???" Thoth's cloak begins to shake - not from anger. As Jin sinks himself as close to the floor as possible, he realizes why.

The entity is scared.

DINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDING

Something in Jin's body vibrates violently. He yells out in agony as the sensation ripples through his body. After a moment, it stops. Jin lets out a hitched breath and stares back at Thoth, who slowly takes a step back.

"…I took too long." He shakes his head and turns around.

"Get up."

Jin's taken aback by the command. He stays on the ground and shoves the ring box safely back into his jacket.

"Fuck you." He growls back at Thoth.

Thoth stomps his foot onto the invisible plane. A section of the void solidifies under Jin that jolts him unwillingly to his feet. The cloaked man watches Jin stumble to catch his balance as Thoth folds his arms.

"Fuck YOU." Thoth lets the curse out accidentally. Under the hood, Jin notices the red lights dim - small enough that the normal person would miss it.

"What? That's it? You wanna take me? FINE! She'll kill every single one of you."

The shadows start to drip and fade away as a final rift opens for Thoth.

"Just like a weapon." Thoth's voice starts to drain away. "A rooftop. A sparrow flying overhead. That's when I'll reveal more."

"…Huh?"

"I'll see you soon, target."

Jin blinks as the void collapses. When his eyes open back up, he's back in the alleyway. His irises singe from the change from the oppressive darkness to the bright morning sun. The fizzling sensation jolts up his body again - but this time it's mild, only lasting for a few noticeable seconds.

He looks wildly around for any sign of Thoth. Instead, a shadow twirls down the alley as Chozin steps towards it.

"I do not agree with Thoth's methods, if you were to believe me." Chozin says, still walking towards his created exit. "If it was up to me, I would be taking you now. But he demanded that I do not touch you." He lifts his hand up, causing the shadows to crawl towards him. "I will never understand why he is adamant on testing you like this. It is a waste of resources."

The shadows start to creep up Chozin's leg as he taps his foot impatiently. "And yet, I follow him until the end. Because I saw what 'Perfect Paradise' is capable of."

Before the shadows overtake him, he turns back to Jin. "I would advise you two give up sooner rather than later."

The shadows collapse on themselves, leaving Jin alone in the alley. He pats himself down, every injury and fizzling sensation from the void is completely gone - like it never happened. He then stands up, dragging his balaclava off and placing it in his pocket and checks for the ring case.

It's still in one piece.

*Wh-wh-what the fuck???*

Jin tries to head down the alleyway, trying to follow the path back to his apartment and back to his new normal. But everything he just saw and heard - Thoth's plan, the different realities, that suffocating presence - is all a moot point at the moment. The words Thoth said ring loudly in his head, causing him to tumble onto the brick wall - an oddly grounding feeling.

'Every time she finds love, someone dies.'

His shaky breath is the only thing he hears. He can't let that happen. Especially not to her - Reze deserves to live a life with happiness, even if it's not with him. Jin's trembling fingers wrap around the ring box as he pushes himself up and continues toward the apartment.

*I'm not letting that happen.*

—————————

Reze turns her head to the side, checking if the frame is level. Her eyes glide over the wooden border, checking for any deviation. The left corner tips up slightly higher than the right. She adjusts the picture, then steps back with a satisfied smile.

In the living room, the picture sits perfectly centered above the futon. It's the printout of the photo booth from the other day, capturing the innocence of the first pictures that quickly devolved into 'don't-show-the-family' poses.

-Not like Soldat or Joe are coming over anytime soon.-

She stretches, happy with her handiwork and lays down on the futon, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. Should she have let Jin go on his own, doing god knows what with Joe? Probably not. But if they're going to grow in their own relationship, she's gotta learn to loosen the straps.

Sometimes.

Reze scrolls through the channels, looking for anything to catch her eye. After a moment, the TV flashes '10 Things I Hate About You' as part of a movie marathon.

"Fuck YES." She exclaims in the empty apartment and snuggles into the futon further, tossing the remote to the side and watches the movie. But she can't stop looking at her phone next to her. Jin hasn't responded for a while, but she knows Joe's with him.

Right?

As if on cue, the front door silently opens as Jin attempts to sneak in. Reze watches him try to quietly put the keys back onto the side table and close the door behind him. He takes a deep breath and turns around, immediately locking eyes with Reze. He shoves his hands deep into his pockets and spins away from her.

"Shi-HEY!" He says, walking backwards towards the bedroom.

"…Are you… good?" Reze asks, leaning onto the futon and watching Jin awkwardly navigate the room. "Did Joe get me something cute?"

"Wh-what are you tal-talking about?" He stammers as his hand taps on the bedroom door, missing the handle multiple times. Reze shakes her head and laughs, getting up and following him.

"…What are you doing?"

"NOTHING!" Jin forces a terrified smile onto his face, finally finding the doorknob and opening the door. He slips behind the barely cracked door and slams it shut behind him.

"…O…k? Did… I do something wrong?" She leans onto the wall, listening to him stumble around and - from the sounds of it - opening drawers and the closet in a panic. After the audio storm from the bedroom subsides, he peeks out of the door and smiles at her.

"N-NO! Oh my god NO!" He slams the door behind him and sprints to her, nearly tackling her as he squeezes tight. "I'm so happy to see you!!"

"You never answered my question." Her fingers trace small circles on his back.

"Hm? Wh- OH! Yeah. He got you something really good. I tried stopping him and he was adamant about getting it for you and I told him not to and then we fought over it and the jeweler had to s-"

"Jin."

"…Sorry. Just had fun I guess."

A sarcastic gasp comes out of Reze. "You had FUN without me?" Her fingers slide to his ribs as she pushes in. Jin yelps and flinches, nearly falling over as he pushes her off.

"FU-FU-FUHUHCKK YOUHUHUH!" He shouts and sprints into the living room. Reze is right behind him, grabbing him by his jacket and throwing him onto the futon. Jin - now in a giggling mess - fights Reze off as she dives on top of him, continuing her tickling assault. Jin kicks and writhes as the two playfully wrestle, finally stopping a few minutes later in breathless laughter. Their gazes meet when Reze brushes her loose strands of hair out of the way.

"Wanna see the surprise?"

"Is it gonna hurt me?"

"Hm…Probably not?" Reze rolls to her right and points up above the futon towards the picture. "I wanted to keep it somewhere we can see it."

Jin's pupils blow out as his eyes travel down the slip.

"What if-"

"Joe and Soldat come over?" They say in unison. Reze laughs to herself and tickles Jin's side quickly. "We take it down, ok? Will that make you feel better?"

He sighs out loudly, then nods. They both sit up and turn towards the TV. Reze leans onto Jin as he settles himself onto the futon.

"Is this 10 Things?"

"YES!" She snakes her arm around Jin's neck and pulls his cheek close for a quick peck. "Ya left me alone for so long, I wanted to watch something."

"Don't have to justify to me." He says as he turns to her.

Suddenly, Jin freezes. The only thing that's visibly moving is his eyes - tracing every part of Reze's face and body. She watches him, first shaking her head in confusion, then tapping at his cheeks to make sure he didn't blow a gasket in his brain.

"Are… ya with me?"

The words break whatever trance he was in as color returns to his irises. That forced smile beams back at her. "Ye-yeah. I'm right here. Just thinking about you, and how much I like you and how much my life's changed because of you." He scoots closer to her, placing his forehead on hers as he takes her hands into his. "I just don't wanna lose ya."

"Hey." She cups her hand on his face. "You're not gonna lose me. As far as I know, I'm staying right here with you. Got it?"

He studies her face again - like he's memorizing every part of it. Then, he nods quickly and leans into her lips. The kiss is fast, but the passion from it lingers in the air. "That's all I wanted to hear."

"Good. Also - you only like me?"

Jin's eyes bulge out of his head. "Wh - n-NO! You know what I meant!"

"I just might be a little too low on your totem pole to stick around…" She teases as she turns away from him and crosses her arms playfully.

"You're literally the highest thing on any pole for me." He grasps at her and turns her around. She playfully pouts at him, but loses her composure instantly and smiles back.

"I think you just wanna see me on a pole." She giggles out, her voice softening to a whisper as she blushes. "By the way, if you actually wanna see that…"

Jin's face burns into a deep red, and Reze swears she sees smoke billow out. "Wh-where? How? When? HUH?"

"Oh my god." She flicks him on the tip of his nose and turns back to the TV.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze, for the longest time, thought the tickets were fake. From everything she learned about Jin, he wasn't the planner of the relationship - more along the ride for whatever she had planned out for that day. It's not like he was going to break that routine either, he never disagreed with what was happening. And the one time he made plans after the night in the alley, they got jumped by the Ghost Devil. Since then, he hasn't been too forward leading the way for daily plans.

'No way would Jin actually plan this all out.' She kept telling herself on the days leading up to this moment. She assumed Paris was a new restaurant in town, filled with an interior that's vaguely like the city it'd be intimidating. The food would probably be fine, but nothing like the real thing. Paris has always been on her bucket list - from what the movies and pictures showed was a place of beauty, art, food, and most importantly: love. Ending up in Paris for two lovers in a film usually meant a happily ever after for the couples. When Reze would be dispatched on her missions, there'd be some downtime as specific pieces were put together, so it gave her time to work on her schoolbook and scroll through the channels. Whenever a movie featuring the Eiffel Tower came on, she would immediately slam her book shut and watch intently. Her heart always tugged for the lovers as they explored the city, tried the French cuisine, and somehow always ended up kissing at the top of that tower.

Usual rom-com endings - a dream so distant in that dingy room while she waited to eliminate another unknowing target.

-It's too good to be true.-

And to her surprise, a loud shuffling snapped her out of her memories in the dead of night. When she leaped out of bed and tackled the unknown threat in the apartment, Jin was under her and uselessly struggling underneath her and stammering something about 'WE'RE SO BEHIND!' When Reze looked up at Jin's phone - which was dropped right next to his face from the tackle - the time showing 1 AM along with an alarm vibrating away on the carpet told her all she needed to know.

This trip is real and, most importantly - they didn't pack at all.

So, they frantically started throwing in clothes and other various things into their carry-on suitcases. The bedroom became a whirlwind of panic and muffled laughter as they finished up. At the end, Jin carefully folded his jean jacket into the case and fought with the zipper to fully close the denim in. When Reze asked if he could wear that on the plane to save space in the already bulging case, he quickly shut it down and was VERY adamant on the jacket being protected. For something seemingly meaningless in the plans of things, and Jin's visceral reaction to not wanting to take it out, one thought went through her mind:

-Does he already have a ring?-

And as they stand in the seemingly endless line in security while Jin impatiently taps his foot, she glances at him. He's laser focused on the security guard silently gesturing for the next travel to show their ID.

-...No way…-

Their sweatshirts and sweatpants combo is perfect for the upcoming flight, and with their phones charged for the long excursion, Reze has already researched a list of movies they could watch while the taxi sped through the fading moonlit streets. And as the line sputters forward, their hands are intertwined as she leads Jin in his first experience to an airport. While she looks over her overstimulated boyfriend, her gaze catches on his bright green hat with a beaver on it. Out of everyone in line, it's sticking out like a sore thumb.

"...You know, undercover means something, right?" She says as her eyes remain steady onto the hat, her hand squeezes his clammy grasp.

Jin shakes his head and turns to meet her gaze. "Yeah, but if we look so inconspicuous, it'll be obvious. Ever heard of 'hiding in plain sight', Ms. Assassin?"

"I know you didn't just call me that." She twists his arm, sending him nearly tumbling into her body. "And usually that means wearing things that blend into your environment. Not when you're the only one with the stupid beaver hat." She flicks the brim of it, knocking it off his head. Jin catches it as it flutters to the ground and puts it back on quickly.

"My hair's a mess. I wanted to keep the beast down." He pats at the top of his head as Reze accidentally lets a giggle out. "Besides, 'Go Dam It'"

"The hell did you just say to me?" She lets go of his hand, wiping away his sweat on her pants. The line crawls forward as Jin pulls both rollerbags forward, accidentally knocking into the belt barriers.

"I don't know, it's their thing, every American Football team has something like it. I remember my dad was a huge fan of them. Joe is too - they're from the same area in the States, and that was the local team. I got a lot of good memories with them waking up early and watching games before…" Jin stares ahead, remembering everything about the apartment: how the TV would only work if the wire was bent a certain way, and Joe and his dad arguing over which players should start. Then, a bright orange flame burns through, melting away the fond memory in an instant. "...After everything, Joe would make sure to wake me up for games. Seen them play in three championships and we won two of them." He beams a warm smile at her, shoving the burning memory deep into himself. "Just something about it."

Reze leans to his cheek and plants a soft kiss onto his skin. "I love the sentiment. Just want you to think about things." She ropes her arms around his hip and brings him close as the line moves forward again. "Maybe we can watch a game?"

Jin's eyes light up at the words and instantly hugs her. "Yeah! The season starts soon, so it'll be perfect! You ever watch one?"

Reze nods and pulls Jin a few steps forward with the line. "I accidentally caught a few when I was waiting to be dispatched. By the way, I'm choosing my own team."

"Wh-" His mouth is instantly covered by her hand.

"IT'LL BE MORE FUN."

"But imagine rooting with each other!" He points at the cartoon beaver on his head. "And saying 'Go Dam It' together!"

"And think about how fun it'll be when we play against each other!" She steps in front of him, causing the roller bags to slam into the back of his legs. He stumbles into her, and she quickly catches him, pulling him close. "We can make bets…"

"...You're obsessed with sex."

"Nah, I just like fucking with you." She bites his ear and lets her lips linger on them for a moment before whispering -

"But that doesn't mean I don't like it."

"Oh we're doing the like thing again?" He drags the bags down the line with her as they both giggle. "You know Joe might kill you if he sees you rooting against the Beavers, right?"

"Is that a promise or a threat?" She glances at the line in front of them - a few more travels between them and the bored security guard. "I'd love to see him try, honestly."

"Alright, whatever you say babe." Jin tries to smile, but a quick jab in the ribs sends him keeling over. Reze casually takes her discarded bag and rolls it forward as Jin catches his breath, with a growing line of disgruntled travelers grumbling behind him.

"STOP WITH THE NAMES."

Reze finally gets to the front of the line, and the tired looking security officer calls her forward. She steps up and smiles, handing over her passport through the small hole in the glass. The man silently scans it and looks up at her.

"What's your destination?" He asks, his voice a low growl from the long day he's had.

"Paris! Trip with my boyfriend." She beams, turning to Jin - who is currently dragging his bag in a hunched position.

*I still can't believe it.*

The man glances over her shoulder to Jin, then back at her passport. After reading over it again, he hands it back to her. "Thank you Matilda. Enjoy your trip."

Reze walks by the booth, then turns around to watch Jin get called up. Unable to brake his roller bag in time, it crashes right into the security officer's podium. The sound doesn't faze the officer, who waits as Jin frantically checks every pocket for his passport. Eventually - in a back pocket that he forgot about - he finds the small booklet and hands it over.

The security guard looks at the passport, then back up at Jin. His tired eyes immediately illuminate when they meet the beaver. The man immediately hands the passport back and smiles at him.

"'Go Dam It'!" The security officer says joyously, quickly rolling up his sleeve to reveal an expertly crafted tattoo of the team mascot on his bicep. Jin stares at it in amazement before looking back up to the man's eyes and nods, taking his ID and rolling his bag towards a surprised Reze. When he gets next to her, he hooks his arm around her hand and takes her bag, clumsily dragging her away. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"Wha- ho- how did you do that?" She slides along, with the back of her legs bumping into the suitcases as they navigate the crowd.

"What? Get through like that? You wouldn't get it." Jin shrugs as his eyes dart around the different stores, trying to take everything in. The differences of the fast food services shoved next to high end shopping stores is something he'd never thought would happen, especially in an airport.

"He didn't even ask you where you're going…" Reze glances at the Departures screen, trying to find their flight. Luckily for them, they have no layovers, so worrying about catching an additional flight - something she thinks Jin would meltdown over - isn't going to be an issue. The line to Paris leads to Gate B26, and by the looks of the map next to the screen, it's just around the corner.

Jin shrugs and detaches his grip, hauling the suitcases with him. "Be a Beavers fan then!" He shouts back over his shoulder, which is barely audible from a crowd of passing travelers. A small boy runs into Jin's leg, nearly toppling him over the luggage.

*WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING??*

"Wait, where are you going?" She shouts back, but knows it's a futile attempt to get his attention. She looks at the sign of the storefront Jin walked into - a convenience store with snacks and drinks lining the outer wall. She loses Jin as he passes behind shelves, but between the top of his hat and the ensuing chaos of the bags crashing into the display, he isn't the hardest to track down. Reze crosses her arms and shakes her head when he finally reappears at the checkout counter.

-How did he LIVE without me?-

It's annoyingly endearing.

As he pays at the counter, a few people mumble amongst themselves and point at Jin, who's clearly ignoring everything they're saying. When the attendant hands him his receipt, he charges out, causing nearby travelers to dive out of the way from his destructive path.

"I don't think I can take you anywhere anymore." She says as Jin stops beside her.

"Sorry, but I thought this'd be good for the trip!" He hands her a heavy plastic bag he bought, which crinkles as it swings. Reze raises an eyebrow and peers inside the bag. Her heartbeat races when a family sized bag of Skittles stares back at her. How much that cost - way more than it should be - crosses her mind for a second.

Then again, money isn't really an issue anymore.

"You… asshole!" She hugs him, kissing his cheek and looking back down into the bag. "This is SO MUCH. Holy hell…" Her hand laces around Jin's again as she tosses the bag on top of their luggage. "Thanks for indulging my addiction."

"Couldn't let the bomb girl get TOO bored during the flight. Besides, you gotta snack on SOMETHING for the movies we're watching." The suitcases trail behind him as he follows Reze down the terminal.

"It's really cute you think you're gonna be picking the movies."

They reach their gate, picking out a secluded spot away from prying eyes. Reze plops down and immediately opens the bag of Skittles, popping a handful into her mouth and sinking into the seat with a big smile.

"What do you mean? I thought it'd be fair to split 50/50 on the movies?" He settles down next to her, letting go of the rolling masses of destruction.

Reze chews thoughtfully. "Usually, yeah. But someone decided to go play hero and almost get himself killed." She glares at him, though there's a hint of genuine care underneath the rage. It causes Jin's leg to start bouncing with anxiety, but her hand calmingly pats the restless limb. "I swear I'll pick movies we'll both like."

He chuckles to himself as the flight attendant begins to call passengers for pre-boarding. His gaze immediately locks onto the growing line of travelers forming by the jetway. "Bet you are…"

His mind begins to wander, immediately drifting to Final Destination - specifically when the main character has a premonition of the plane exploding during takeoff. And for his first flight, it feels like a completely normal, rational thing to fixate on.

*Right?*

Next to Reze, he shifts uncomfortably in the pleather seat. The material squeaks loudly, causing Reze to swing her head back to Jin.

"What's up? First flight jitters?" She rubs his leg, momentarily stopping the bouncing.

"I mean it's like a giant bus, right?" He doesn't turn around, still focusing on people now scanning their tickets and walking right into the jetway. "But what if something's wrong with the plane? Like an engine fails, the wing breaks off, you know? They check that stuff before, they HAVE to. But if something goes wrong, wouldn't that me-"

"Hey, Jin?" Her hand tightens on his thigh. "Your mind's doing the thing again. Can you look at me for a sec?" She keeps her voice steady and calm. After the next batch of travelers board, he traces his eyes up to hers, his pupils dilated with fear. "You're right, they check the plane over and over so something like that doesn't happen. So we'll be ok. And if anything does go wrong…" Her hand moves around his neck and pulls him closer. "I'll make sure me and you are gonna live." She turns his head around and plants a kiss on his cracked lips. "You gotta get like chapstick or something, by the way."

Jin nods when she leans back, taking her hand and gripping it tightly. "…Thanks. I think I needed to hear that." He stands up, pulling Reze to her feet. She instantly cuddles into his warmth, burying her face against his sweatshirt and breathing him in. He smells exactly like his soap, the cool mint green filling her senses in a deeply comforting way.

"You know… you don't have to save me all the time…" His mouth whispers into the top of her head.

"Debatable… but the last couple times? If I wasn't there, you'd be hurt or worse." She squeezes him tighter. "And I'm not letting that happen."

Suddenly, their boarding group is called on the crackling loudspeaker. Jin shifts into go mode, rolling over a few toes as his bag careens into the jetway. He quickly scans his ticket and rushes after the bags as Reze shakes her head in disbelief - along with laughing silently at him - while her ticket pings on the scanner. She catches up to Jin, who catches the bags they tumbled down the open door leading to the tarmac. The plane they board is massive, with three seats on the window sides and the middle aisle with four seats. Luckily, they scored a window seat - Jin more than happy to give Reze his spot next to the glass - as she watches him awkwardly struggle to shove their luggage into the overhead compartments. She slides into the seat, followed by Jin who plops down in the middle row, immediately checking his phone and turning it to airplane mode.

Reze giggles watching him snap his head towards a flight attendant helping out a passenger with their luggage. And she knows what he's thinking.

"You're ridiculous… do you want me to text Joe that we're all good on the plane?"

Jin's head whips towards her. "Wh-when did Joe give you his number?"

"When you and Soldat were taking forever in the bathroom. You guys were probably making out, right?" She laughs again, playfully poking at his ribs. "By the way, what were you two talking about?"

Jin's skin goes instantly cold as his body halts all operations. A cold sweat begins to pool on the back of his neck while he stares at her breathlessly.

Reze looks him up and down in concern at his new demeanor. "…Wait did you guys actually make out?"

His pupils blow out at the question. "N-NO! NOWHERE EVEN NEAR THAT WE-" A loud shush comes from behind him, derailing his train of thought. He wipes his eyes - trying to discreetly clean off a drip of sweat from his forehead - before looking back at her, instantly gets lost in her gaze. In the harsh, artificial light inside the cabin, the green pupils shine brightly, causing him to forget what the question was. "-…We, uh, we talked about Dimitri. Then he told me about the other two hybrids - which we already knew about. Guess he was just checking in on us."

She leans back into her seat with a chuckle. "Sureee… I bet he was checking you out." She lightly shoves him, which sends Jin's back into the man next to him. He shoots Jin a look of disgust, who can only smile back fearfully and apologize profusely.

The flight attendants begin their final sweep and push the luggage compartments up. It causes Jin's leg to bounce again, which Reze instantly silences by placing a hand on his knee. Pulling out her phone with her other hand, she types out a quick message and turns the screen towards him. A fresh blue text sits open to a contact - Joe

>On the plane. Jin thinks it's gonna explode <

Jin's heart plummets into his stomach. "Don't… no, please god don't-" He tries to reach for the phone with no plan to erase the message from history. Reze easily blocks his attempts and turns around, facing the screen away from her.

BZZTBZZT

Reze checks the new message and bursts into laughter. She looks up to Jin and turns the screen back around to the response.

<'I'LL BET MONEY HES.THNKIN OF.FINAL DESTINATION>

Jin shakes his head, thanking whatever higher power that his phone's unable to receive any messages. All he can do is click his seatbelt on and resign himself to his fate. The flight attendants come into the aisle and begin to go over the safety protocols. Jin locks into the demonstration, compartmentalizing where everything is if an emergency was to happen. Besides him, Reze's busy scrolling through the in-flight movie options. There's a lot to choose from, with a hundred new movies ready to play, but nothing that catches her eye. She keeps scrolling down to the bottom, then stopping at the 'That's So 2000's!' section. A large smile creeps across her face.

"Oh, yeah I found out what we're watching." She says, giving Jin's leg a tug. He politely swats her away, causing her to grab his shoulder and force him around. Jin's body instantly tenses as he tries to pay attention to the safety display.

"Yo - you're not listening to this? What if there's an emergency?"

She grabs her wireless earphones and jams one into his ear. "What happens is that I grab you and we explode out of here." A few of the travelers nearby turn around and glare at her.

"I…don't think you can say that out loud…" Jin whispers, adjusting his earphone as he takes a peek at her phone. Easy A illuminates back at him, breaking his trance from the flight attendants instantly. "Alright, fine. Start that, PLEASE."

She nudges him and leans onto his shoulder, kissing his neck as she gets comfortable. "We're gonna be moving soon. If ya need a hand to squeeze…" She snakes her hand onto his leg and finds his clammy palms. "…You can squeeze away."

Jin's head nuzzles closer to her head, kissing the top of her dark purple hair. "I love you, like, so much. Thank you." He intertwines his fingers with hers, testing out a squeeze. As soon as he does, the plane lurches, causing him to instantly vice grip around her hand. Reze glances over watching his face cycle between pure terror and pure awe. She smiles and presses play.

"Come on, we haven't even taken off yet." Reze murmurs, nudging him again. "Watch this with me, it'll take your mind off it."

The plane begins to taxi down the tarmac, and Jin - already forgetting what Reze said - is trying to catch a glimpse out of Reze's window. He watches the terminal fade away, changing into open asphalt and parked jets before they halt at the edge of the runway. The engines roar to life as a sharp whine of the rotors cuts through his singular earpiece. Then, the plane surges forward. The whole cabin shakes as loose luggage in the compartments above bang into the plastic container. His sweaty hands are like a vice on Reze's, who sits up and rubs his side.

"Hey, this is totally normal. We're ok…" Her lips brush onto his cheek. "Remember what we've been through? That's been way scarier than this, right?" She smiles at him, watching a portion of fear subside as his face softens. "I had you up in the air when you had nothing. Trust me, you got this."

Jin nods while the plane rattles down the tarmac. The pilot jerks the jet up, causing the passengers' stomachs to drop as they ascend into the early morning sky.

"The worst part's over, I promise." She turns back to the movie and readjusts her earphone. "Now… let's start the marathon." The light rumbling of the plane disappears for the two - Jin fully focusing on the movie to forget that he's currently climbing altitudes he never thought he'd be at, while Reze keeps one arm firmly locked around him. If this plane's going down - which at this point Reze wouldn't be surprised by - she'll get him out of it. They'll land somewhere and make a new life together. Besides, the Hybrid Division surely wouldn't think they'd survive a plane crash.

Right?

-…They'd still hunt us down.-

As the movie drones on, Reze's eyes start to get heavy. She takes long, forceful blinks to stay awake, but it's a losing battle. Behind her eyes, the call of sleep beckons her like a siren. She takes one last glance at Jin - who's fully engrossed in the movie - and snuggles closer to him and throws a few pieces of Skittles into her mouth. Before she knows it, the warm blanket of sleep envelops her, taking her mind to a deep dream of Notre Dame.

__________

The plane lightly bumps her back awake, Reze's green eyes fluttering open to take in her surroundings. Her phone screen reflects the dim cabin light, showing her own hazy expression. And in the reflection, along with a heavy pressure on the top of her head, she watches a sleeping Jin breathe rhythmically. The smile forms back on her face while she picks her phone up. She turns on the camera, and flips the capture to selfie mode.

She sticks out her tongue and winks as Jin snores away.

CLICK

She giggles at her new memory - eyes beaming as she locks onto Jin's sleeping face. She places the phone back onto the tray table and gently rubs his knee. After a loud snort, Jin jolts awake. He swings his head around and stops when he meets Reze's eyes.

"I love watching you sleep." She says in a deadpan tone.

"Are you sure you're not a serial killer?" Jin rubs his eyes and glances at his phone. The in-flight tracker shows eleven and a half hours left. Jin stretches his legs as much as possible in the economy seats.

"Yeah, careful, might eat your Frosted Flakes." She joins him in the stretch, moving her legs into his footwell.

"…That sounds so good right now."

"RIGHT?"

Another shush comes from behind them, causing both of their faces to flush with embarrassment before they dissolve into muffled laughter.

"So…" Jin stretches his arms up, shaking out his muscles. "Would you say Paris is high on your bucket list?"

"Yeah." Her eyes glisten in excitement. "Probably near the top. What about you? What's your bucket list?"

Jin purses his lips in deep thought. "Like, uh… I mean there's the obvious ones, like have a family, get super rich… I checked that one off…" He winks at her as they both giggle silently. "But really… I think I wanna play in front of people."

Reze's eyes light up. "Yes. YES. CAN I HELP YOU FIND A BAND?" She shouts, making the man next to Jin snort awake for a moment before sleep envelops him again.

"Sure. Why not? It's not like I know anyone else…"

Excited sounds escape her as she quietly claps to herself. "I'm gonna find the best people for you!" She stares ahead, dreaming of Jin on a stage. "That's officially going on my list."

"What about you?"

"Well, other than actually going to a night school… I'm with you on the obvious ones." Reze taps Jin's legs with her foot. A loud rush of water comes from down behind, causing her to move her gaze towards the sound. A small girl opens the bathroom door and scurries back to her seat. The red light above the door blinks to green, waiting for someone to enter it.

"And…." She nudges him hard. "The Mile High club?"

His face freezes as blood boils up through his body and rushes to his cheeks. "Wh-wh-wh-"

"You heard me." A matching flush creeps up her neck, though far more subtle than Jin's now glowing red complexion.

"N-now?" He drops his voice to a rattling whisper as he points to the sleeping stranger next to him. "He's gonna know! Everyone's gonna know! What happens if we get caught? Is there a jail on the plane??"

"To answer you…" She holds up four fingers, counting them down with each answer. "…So what, so what, we'll figure it out, and NO." Reze leans back in her seat, slowly unbuckling her seatbelt. "They'd probably duct tape us to our seat."

"Th-that doesn't make it any better?"

"Well, let's see what happens." She gives him a soft kiss and lets her lips brush over his ear with a near inaudible whisper.

"Don't keep me waiting."

Jin shakily taps his neighbor awake, and both slide out of the row to let Reze pass by. Her hips swing intentionally, catching the eye of more than a few awake travelers as she makes her way to the restroom. Right before she steps inside, she throws Jin a sly smile before sliding the door shut.

Jin stares at the green light, which taunts him like the woman who just entered. He darts his eyes between the bathroom door, his disgruntled neighbor, and the mix of travelers and flight attendants either sleeping or chatting away. He slams his head on the back of his seat, trying to calm himself down. He pictures her waiting patiently in there, sitting on the small sink as she stares at the door.

And it gives him the vigor he needs. He pounds his feet into the ground and stands up.

CLUNK

Jin's head crunches into the overhead compartment. He unceremoniously collapses back down onto his seat and instantly grabs the top of his head. A pounding headache fills his head as bright flashes of light cover his vision.

"Fuck…" He rubs his head, pointing over the man to walk into the aisle. The man shakes his head and leans his seat back, refusing to move. Jin sighs and clumsily steps over the man, who watches with wide eyes as the nearly concussed man stumbles into the aisle and heads to the back of the plane. Before he opens the bathroom door, he does one last sweep to make sure no one's watching. In his hazy vision, it doesn't seem like anyone is paying attention to him.

He takes a deep breath, shakes his head to calm the pulsating pain and opens the door, sliding in quickly and locking the door behind him. A subtle red light bleeds through a crack, and when Jin turns around Reze is - like he predicted - sitting on the counter of the sink, sliding down the cheap counter to make as much space for them. She grabs his arms and pulls him deeper into the cramped space.

"... Did you hit your head?"

"…"

"Jin?"

"...It really hurt."

They both silently snicker in the bathroom. When Reze's done, she traces a finger up onto his head, flicking the hat off and then twirling a strand of his hair tantalizingly.

"Let me… take your mind off it."

_______________

Jin's the first to slip out of the bathroom. He readjusts the hat that's barely hanging on his head while staring ahead in amazement. How they made all that work in the tiny space is going to stick with him for a long time. He turns down the aisle and makes his way back to his seat slowly, taking deep breaths to calm down his still beating heart. He steps over his now sleeping neighbor and collapses onto his seat, keeping his focus forward. Luckily, the pounding headache he had is completely gone, making it incredibly easy for him to study the bent pamphlet of the plane in front of him.

A moment later, Reze gracefully steps out, smoothing out her sweatshirt and closes the door. She saunters back with a satisfied twinkle in her eye as she climbs over the man and Jin to settle back into her seat. Their hands immediately intertwine as they both try to hide their red faces from each other.

"I think we can cross that off my bucket list."

Jin nods.

"How the hell did we do all that in there?"

Jin nods again.

"...Blew your mind that bad?"

Jin nods once again, but this time squeezes her hand to show there is a sign of life. Words'll take a while to come back, though.

Chuckling softly to herself, Reze props her phone back up on the tray table. She hands Jin his earphone back, which he takes with a trembling hand as Reze scrolls for their next movie. After a minute, 'Legally Blonde 2' flashes in the middle of the screen, which she instantly presses play.

"Only eleven more hours…" Reze snuggles back into him.

Jin hooks his arm around her, letting his Elle Woods get closer.

______________

Reze jumps high in the air and spins, landing flat on her back across the mattress. As she sinks into the hotel bed, she lets out a tired, yet satisfied, sigh.

"God… this is perfect."

Jin lets go of the roller bags, which crash onto a table holding a bronze bust of some French general. The sculpture wobbles and nearly falls over, but catches itself on its base and rattles back down to the wooden top. Jin, oblivious of the potential disaster behind him, flips his hat backward and falls face first onto the mattress next to Reze.

"How the hell are we here right now?" His voice is muffled from the blanket.

"You tell me." She ropes her arm around his back. "You got the flights, the hotel… if only we had a tiny bathroom here…"

Jin sinks his head more into the soft material. "There. Was. No. Space."

Suddenly, Reze rolls Jin over - who doesn't put up any type of fight. "That's. The. Point. You. Idiot." She says as she flicks his nose. Jin swats her finger away and stretches his body out.

"Wanna relax for a bit, then head out? Find a cafe and grab lunch?"

She nods, lazily tracing a finger onto his chest. "Please." She turns towards the ceiling, which is embossed with an intricate gold leaf pattern woven around the room. Her eyes follow down towards the now settled bust, along with the meticulously placed historical decor of the suite.

"I gotta say - you did a great job with the hotel."

Even though the inside is stunning, the location is better - right in the heart of Paris. It's perfect for them, not having the worry about the Hybrid Division breathing down their necks. And with the crowds of tourists, another large scale assault would be impossible for them to do - if they wanted to stay inconspicuous.

Reze lets out a deep, grounding breath.

-Please don't be here.-

After a few minutes of stillness, she sits up and slides off the edge of the bed. She turns around and tugs at Jin's arms - who was drifting back to sleep - and drags him to a wobbly stand.

"Come on, we got a city to explore." She winks, taking his hand and pulling him towards the door. But, his arm goes stiff, locking her in place. She turns around, confused, and gets yanked into his chest for a big hug.

"I'm really happy, Rez." He murmurs against her hair, tightening his grip around her. "I'v- I've never been this happy."

Reze chuckles and gently rubs his back. "…Me neither." She turns her head towards his, their lips meeting instantly. They hold onto the embrace for a quiet moment before unlatching. When their eyes meet, both their minds drift into their own voids - Reze watching maggots swarm and crawl over Jin's peeling and rotting skin, while Jin stares at her mangled body that lies lifeless on a street.

Their bodies stay rigid as they stare at each other in dread.

*-That's not gonna happen.-*

Reze blinks hard to push the nightmare away, and lets a comforting hand run over his smooth skin. "Ya still with me?"

The touch shatters Jin's trance, making him shake his head and grab her hand. "Yeah, still here. With you."

His body flies back onto the bed and sinks into the mattress. Reze stands over him with her outstretched arms, giggling at him.

"I'll leave right now if you don't stop being sappy."

"WE JUST HAD A CUTE MOMENT!"

"SO?" She turns around, taking her phone out and starts to text Joe.

> We survived, btw ;p <

A soft pillow slams on the back of her head. She gasps and turns around to Jin, who's grasping a pillow with a devious smile spread across his face.

"You… ASSHOLE!"

She leaps on top of him and grabs onto both his arms. When she lands, she pins his arms to the bed. "Ya know you're asking for it, right?" She leans dangerously close to Jin's face. "Almost like y-"

Jin's fingers loop through hers as he leans up, cutting her off with a passionate kiss. And, to Reze's surprise, breaks free from her hold, flipping her onto her back while he climbs up to straddle her.

He doesn't want to leave the room just yet.

He needs to make a good memory right now.

"Yo-you HORNDOG!" She shoves him off back to a seated position. Instead of laying down, she sits up and wraps her arms around him. "I thought 'I was obsessed with sex'…"

"Aren't you?" He whispers raspily, his fingers tracing down Reze's body and hooking under the hem of her sweatshirt. He pulls up as Reze chuckles to herself, with her face growing redder with each inch of fabric lifted.

Moments later, clothes fly off into different directions, covering the polished floors with their dirty travelwear. The blankets and pillows follow soon after, nearly toppling over the same bust again.

And, somehow, the hat stayed on.

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze cocks her head sideways at the framed painting. It's impressive, sure but it's way smaller than she imagined. The sea of tourists elbowing past them and snapping photos on their phones isn't doing much to sell the experience, either.

Luckily - unlike them fighting the hordes of tourists to get into the Louvre - their first few days have been spent in relative peace. They started in the outer regions of the city to dodge the chaos, before braving the heart of Paris. Today is their day to hit the more touristy spots. First thing in the morning, Reze had dragged him through the Catacombs. The whole time, however, Jin kept a vice grip and muttered 'I don't wanna get lost down here' at least a hundred times - to the dismay of the small children who became fearful of their own entombment below the city. And to the ire of their parents, whom Reze apologized profusely to when they finally resurfaced with their tour guide.

But, she's been noticing something about Jin particularly - minus the minor freak out in the Catacombs. There's something about the way he walks and leads her through a group of tourists, or how his shoulders stay confidently firm when he asks for something. A far cry from the mess of a guy who stumbled into the café. She knows she's the reason for it, and she absolutely loves the effect she has on him.

Right now, though, he's acting a tad strange. Mainly because he keeps subconsciously patting down his jean jacket every five-ish minutes like a nervous tic.

-Is he really gonna propose to me here?-

It's the most cliché movie trope imaginable, and she'd be lying if she said she never dreamed of something like this. But now that it could be possibly real?

-No. Jin wouldn't do it here.-

She figures he'd probably pop the question back in their apartment, in the safety of just them away from any prying eyes. She wouldn't mind that either, just the two of them for that moment - but the idea of it happening here gives her a sudden rush.

She glances over at Jin. His head is cocked at the same exact angle as her, squinting at the painting in utter confusion. The Mona Lisa stares back at the two with her soft, famous smile - almost like she's teasing them knowing the absurdity of the attention.

"Reze… why is it so small?"

"Right? Weird, huh?"

"Like, ya watch the movies, hear people RAVE about it… and they make it seem SO MUCH bigger."

Reze squeezes his hand and yanks him to her side. "Sounds like someone I know."

"You're a fucking asshole, you know that?" He tries to break away, failing miserably. He settles for looking away with a red blush creeping up his neck."… Size isn't everything."

Her emerald eyes widen in mock shock as she leans into his line of sight. "Ok, NOW you're making it sexual."

"YOU -"He forcefully exhales out of his nose to stop himself from ruining another family's trip. "- Can't be serious. The one time I…"

"It's okay." She pats his chest with fake sympathy and gently presses her lips next to his ear. "It's all about the motion of the ocean anyway."

"I hate you."

Reze's muffled giggles break right through his embarrassment. He can't help but crack a smile, letting her drag him away from the next wave of tourists. She wants to survey the rest of what the Louvre has to offer, since this is one of the final stops of the trip. And an open window framing the distant Eiffel Tower points them towards their final destination - a perfect way to cap their Parisian adventure.

"I'm so excited to get over there. Think we can sneak to the top?" She winks at him and continues tugging him down another exhibit. Jin nods nervously as he stares at the Tower while it disappears behind the museum wall. To Jin, he's excited too, but the spire looming over the city means one thing to him:

That's where he's going to do it.

In a strange way, he's been dreading the Tower. It's been taunting him ever since they arrived in the city, looming in the background of every skyline, and beckoning him toward the most terrifying moment of his life - so far.

And suddenly, before he knows it, the setting sun hits his face as they exit the museum. He'd been so lost in his head, completely mocked by the Parisian architecture, that he barely registered the rest of the art exhibits. Every step out of the Louvre lands like a heavy weight that scrunches Jin's shoulders. He slouches so heavily it looks like he's physically shrinking. Reze watches him huff down the cobblestone street like a wounded animal limping back to its den.

"Hey, are you good?"

His eyes snap wide open as he turns around with a flushed face. "Wh - ye - yeah! Great! Awesome! Small picture, right?"

"…Ok? You're not hiding anything from me, right?" She playfully smacks his butt, earning a high pitched yelp from him. "You've been kinda weird today. Other than the Catacombs."

Jin shakes his head frantically and grabs her hand. Instead of grounding him, the pressure makes his shoulders sag even further. "Would you wanna get lost under the city with millions of bones and ghosts?"

"We literally killed the Ghost Devil…?"

"…Shut up." He rolls his shoulders to relieve a modicum of tension in his muscles.

"Jin." She yanks him to a halt. "Ya look like you're carrying a boulder. Are you sure you're ok?"

Suddenly, he locks his spine, forcing his posture painfully straight just to shed the illusion of the weight. "Nah, I'm good. Guess I'm just sad that the trip's almost over."

She looks him up and down, her nose crinkling as her eyes narrow. "… Uh-huh."

"What?"

"Nothing..." A sly smile creeps onto her lips. "Just… nothing."

"Rez you're scaring me."

"I bet. Are ya sure you're not hiding anything?"

Without warning, she jumps onto him. He yelps in that same high pitched sound as her hand dives straight into his outer jacket pocket. Instead of finding what she expected, her fingertips brush the cold glass of his phone and the rough leather of his wallet.

"Wh-what are you doing??"

She slides off him as she chuckles quietly to herself. "Just checking…"

Jin's legs wobble like jelly. The weight careens back onto him, collapsing his posture into that nervous slouch all over again.

*I'm gonna fucking die.*

"Wha-? What would you be checking for…?" Jin dusts off his jacket and tries his best to act normal. As he moves, the hard, square edge of the wooden ring box - safely tucked inside an interior pocket - grazes against his ribs.

"Am I not allowed to jump on my boyfriend?" She leaps into him again, this time shoving both her hands into his front pockets. Jin wriggles as he tries to fight her off, but lets her rummage through every pocket but the right one.

"GET - OFF ME - YOU DEVIL WOMAN!"He finally manages to shove her back, their laughter echoing off the historic stonework. "WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M HIDING??"

Reze sighs and drops her face into an exaggerated pout. "... Fine. You're no fun."

"Stop. No. Don't do that. That's not fair."

Her overtly fake puppy dog eyes look up at him. Despite knowing better, a small twang of guilt plucks at his heart. But if he's learned anything, it's that he needs to be smarter than this.

"Do - are you seriously doing this to me? Really?"

"It was worth a shot." Reze's face instantly returns to normal as she shrugs. "It worked before." She lightly shoves him forward.

His foot bumps on the edge of a curb, sending him stumbling down the sidewalk. He catches himself on a crumbling brick facade just before his face implants into the stone. The sound of loud laughter spins him around with a bright red face.

"You're evil. Like actually evil."

"It's how I was raised." She throws him a teasing look. "I'm a product of my environment, or something."

Their footsteps continue to echo down the cobblestone as Reze catches up to him. Despite the teasing, genuine smiles flash across both their faces under the igniting streetlights. As they turn down a new road, Reze's voice trails off in Jin's mind. He's too busy staring at the Eiffel Tower, which looms dangerously close. Sweat starts to form on his forehead, which he quickly wipes away and nods blindly at her mush of unintelligible words.

Suddenly, a rhythm swirls down the historic street - a heavy thumping of drums along with the distorted strum of a guitar dance between the encased streets. The larger the Tower rises, the louder the music gets. Jin's heart nearly jumps out of his chest, with his sweating hand constricting around Reze's grip.

"Y-ya think a clown's gonna bust out around the corner?" Jin asks, trying to break through his own mental fog and trying to calm himself.

It gets a soft giggle from Reze. She quickly detaches from this vice grip, wiping her hands on his pants before interlacing her fingers with his once again. "I never liked the Trap Devil. Ya know when I was a kid they made me fight him? It was a nightmare." She gives his fingers a reassuring squeeze, only to be met by sweat pouring out his pores like a sponge. She stops and yanks him back. "Jesus Jin, can ya tell me what's up?"

Jin, losing his momentum, crashes into her stiff body. They look at each other for a moment, golden streetlights catching the sparkle in their irises. The beat ends when Jin leans down and kisses her.

"Just nervous I got a cute girl with me, is all."

She rolls her eyes and shoves his trembling body off her.

-Oh my god, he's gonna do it.-

The row of buildings breaks open, revealing the bustling park at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Live music swirls around the trees and shrubs as couples dance to a band playing directly underneath the shining metal monument. Jin's heart drops low - somewhere deeper than the Catacombs below them. He was hoping it wouldn't be that crowded. The sheer amount of people is making his brain short circuit as he calculates an audible for his proposal plan.

It doesn't help that Reze's eyes instantly brighten and starts pulling him towards the ongoing festival. Fliers are strung on the fences, scribbled in purposely awful handwriting with smiling band members. She snatches Jin's phone from his jacket pocket and opens the translator app that they've been relying on all week.

'Sign up to join a Random Band! Special performance by -'

The device is shoved back into Jin's chest before she finishes reading the rest.

"JIN!!! BUCKET LIST!!"

Suddenly, Reze darts off in the direction of a booth painted bright blue. It takes him a second to realize what she's implying. He double takes between her bouncing purple hair and the flyer.

"No."

She reaches the booth, where she waves her hands wildly to get the attention of a young attendant.

"No no." He mutters while his legs literally tremble. His eyes blow wide open as the attendant hands Reze a clipboard, and she immediately begins scribbling furiously.

"NO NO NO!" Jin takes off, shoving concertgoers out of the way, descending deeper into the festival in a desperate bid to stop her. For the few times he's tried, he's barely been able to play a full song for Reze. The thought of being put on stage next to people with actual talent sends him into a full tailspin, making the booth feel impossibly far away.

After clawing his way between another group of dancers, it's too late. Reze finishes writing something on the clipboard and giddily hands it back to the attendant. She turns to Jin's disheveled, panicked form with a mischievous smile. "You're gonna do great!!"

"I - yo- I -" He stutters as he watches the attendant insert the registration into a device. It slurps the paper in and instantly displays the information on a nearby monitor. "TOO MANY!"

"Aw come on." She gestures to the swaying crowd behind him. "This is a layup. And think about it - ya play here, you can do it anywhere!"

"BU - BU - BU -"

A soft, yet firm, hand covers his mouth as Reze drags him directly into the dancing crowd. Up on stage, a guitarist hits their final chord, sending the attendees into a delighted uproar. The band bows with their hands thrown up in victory before quickly moving out of the way for the next group.

Immediately, they launch into a pop-punk cover, and the crowd - Reze included - starts bouncing. She pulls Jin against the heat of her body, swaying with him as the Eiffel Tower illuminates above them, the lights shifting colors with every chord progression. The chemistry between the band is palpable - this isn't the first time they've played with each other. The bassist locks perfectly into the guitarist's rhythm, and the lead singer steps in right as the solo ends like they share the same brain. Speaking of their lead singer, it's like she's on another level - a professional voice hoping to get noticed by someone in the crowd of dancing attendees. Her voice snakes through the crowd, cutting right through Jin's overloaded brain. He takes a deep breath, forcing himself to ground his racing thoughts and focus entirely on the present moment.

And right in his arms is Reze, who's looking back at him with a massive smile as she tries to make an immovable object dance.

Jin finally unlocks his rigid joints. He lets Reze lead while holding her tight. The melody picks up, and Reze spins lightly beneath Jin's outstretched arm. As her twirl ends, she tugs him back in close just as the guitarist shreds into their solo. Reze leans her head against his shoulder, raising her voice to be heard over the music. "You're awfully calm about this. I'm surprised you're not, like, hiding in the bathroom."

The guitar wails as the musician steps to the very edge of the stage, drawing another massive cheer from the park. For whatever reason, the terrifying reality of having to follow that professional performance suddenly stops mattering. He's too lost in the sparkling of her emerald eyes.

"Me too. But if it's for you, what's there to worry about?" His heart jumps as he says it, but the weight of the impending question doesn't feel quite as crushing anymore.

*I just gotta do one thing.*

A deafening rush of applause erupts around them as the drummer slams his snare, while the guitarist strums in rhythm until they hit one final, ringing chord. Instinctively, riding a sudden, massive surge of confidence, Jin spins Reze around and presses his lips firmly against hers as their bodies fit flush together. She arches her back into the kiss with sudden passion while her fingers bury into the back of his head.

When they pull back, she lets out a husky huff as her eyes trace over his face. "Now… where the fuck did that come from?" Reze crinkles her nose for a moment before pulling his head right back down to hers.

Behind them, the stage microphone unceremoniously screeches to life.

They break apart and turn their heads towards a woman on stage adjusting the mic stand. She starts speaking rapidly in French, while behind her a giant monitor lights up, displaying a massive digital wheel filled with names. The wheel spins and lands on the name Phillipe, accompanied by a small musical note icon. A loud roar of approval goes up from the crowd.

The wheel begins to spin again. This time, a large guitar symbol is plastered in the center of the screen.

Jin's grip tightens on Reze's hip. His free hand nervously fidgets with the hidden square box in his jacket. Whatever newfound confidence he has shatters into a million pieces as he watches his name blur with the other countless contestants past the arrow. A sudden thought hits him: if he dropped to one knee right now, he wouldn't have to get on that stage. He could just pop the question and run.

The thought instantly dies when the wheel slows.The ticker ticks past the last few names, finally clipping a light blue sliver.

The name Jin flashes across the giant screen.

A smattering of confused, polite applause ripples through the crowd. Jin's eyes blow wide in absolute horror, only for Reze's teasing smile to block his view of the stage.

"Uh-oh." She quickly kisses his cheek and gives him a tight squeeze while rubbing his back. "Go get 'em. I'll find ya after!"

Frozen completely in place, Jin stares blankly at the spinning wheel as it searches for a bassist. His internal functions feel like they're shutting down one by one, right up until Reze gives him a firm push towards the stage. He looks up at the looming Eiffel Tower, seemingly mocking him with its sparkling lights. Instead of letting the anxiety take over, he shakes his head with a loud exhale and walks towards the stage. The security guard looks over his disheveled frame up and down, then tilts his head. Jin blinks back at him, then realizes what the man's looking for.

"R-right. I'm, uh, I -" He weakly points up to the screen above with his name flashing on it.

The guard's eyebrows raise in surprise as he unlocks the gate. Jin nods his thanks and begins the long, agonizing climb up the wooden structure.

When he gets to the top, a small rack of worn instruments sits waiting. A man in a sweatshirt is pacing down the line, stopping when his ears perk up at the sound of Jin's heavy footsteps on the creaking wood.

"You Jin?" The man's distinct English accent catches Jin off guard as an excited hand shoots out to greet him. "I'm Phillipe! Nice to meet you."

Jin glances between the extended hand and Phillipe's grinning face. He nods, taking the hand and shaking it. "It - It's a pleasure."

"Dude, your hand…" Phillipe wipes his palm onto his sweatshirt. "You ok? First time?"

"Yup…" Jin leans over and tries to focus on the guitars in front of him to not think about what's about to happen. "And I was gonna propose to my girlfriend, but she wanted to see me up here."

"DUDE!" Phillipe shakes Jin's shoulders, which sends a jolt of pain up his right shoulder. "CONGRATS! Want me to do anything special? Like I can get her up here, or wait! We can do-"

"PLEASE GOD NO." The wave of panic rushes right back to the forefront of Jin's mind. "Jus- I got an idea and I'm gonna roll with it."

It's a complete lie.

Phillipe flashes a warm smile and affectionately cups Jin's cheek. "I gotcha bud. You're gonna kill it up there for her!"

"Who we killing it for?" A man in cutoff sleeves climbs up the stairs. "Drums. Call me Fred." He strolls past them and heads straight for a bucket. He shoves his hands inside, pulling out two matching drumsticks that he effortlessly twirls between his fingers. "What song are we doin'?" He asks in a vaguely Germanic accent.

"I don't know, Jin you got an idea?" Phillipe turns to him. "I can sing whatever."

"Just… anything you guys wanna do. I'm not picky." Jin's voice trails off as he heads over towards the guitar rack.

Another creaking of the floorboards comes from his side. A tattooed arm reaches past him to grab onto an electric bass in front of him.

"You're looking at basses, you know that right?" The woman's French voice teases him. "Guitars are down there."

Jin's face flares a bright red as he turns towards the girl. Her soft smile, along with a nose piercing, sends a shiver down his spine as he nods to her and quickly turns away. "R-Right. S-Sorry… I'm proposing to my girlfriend tonight!" He blurts out.

The other band members pause, casting him amused, raised eyebrows before continuing with their song debate.

"Well…" Her hand lightly traces down Jin's arm. "If she says no… Buy me a drink sometime." She winks at him and walks towards the other band members.

As they continue to deliberate, Jin's brain overloads as a wall of red and green guitars stares back at him. His hands slide over the various necks, until his fingers brush against something tucked behind the flashy other instruments. He tugs it out, revealing the faded, beat up white guitar that stubbornly refuses to sparkle like the rest. Jin turns it over, then gives it a quick strum. Over the muffled thrum of another band playing, the perfectly tuned strings sing back to him with a warm, familiar resonance. He lets out a quiet sigh of relief, nods to himself, and walks over to a communal bowl to grab a pick.

"- No, I don't know that one." Fred continues to spin his sticks as he inspects a snare drum. He suddenly stops and pounds out a loud rhythm that makes him grin. "There's like three billion songs, we gotta have something, right?"

Phillipe taps at his chin thoughtfully and scans over his random bandmates. "Uh… hm…" He suddenly snaps his fingers. "Ah, got it! Sing Along, Sturgill Simpson! Known kinda well enough, but most people out there are gonna hear it for the first time!"

A round of knowing nods passes through the group. Jin had stumbled across the song in a music anime film that happened to be on TV after a particularly exhausting day at work. It hooked him instantly, and he taught himself the parts over the years.

But he hasn't actually played it in a long time.

"I…uh…fuck it." Jin shakes his head and pulls the leather strap of the guitar around his shoulder. "Let's do it."

He glances out towards the crowd, which is swaying to the current band's romantic melody. He strains his eyes, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of a familiar set of emerald eyes in the sea of people, but it's impossible. Jin turns around just as the bassist finishes tuning her pitch black instrument and nods towards her group.

"Lemme go grab the MC." She winks at Jin and passes by Fred. He starts spinning the sticks again, stepping toward the edge of the curtain to bob his head to the music. Phillipe slaps Jin's back and heads over with Fred, who wraps a friendly arm around the singer as they bounce to the rhythm. Jin takes a grounding breath and walks over to join them, just as the band hits their final, ringing chord. The park erupts in applause, with the band bowing with beaming smiles and jogs off stage, squeezing past Jin.

"They're insane out there! Kill it guys!" The lead singer shouts happily, disappearing into the backstage shadows. The bassist returns just as the MC heads out, along with the digital wheel spinning to life on the monitor behind her.

"You ready?" The bassist whispers to Jin as she quietly tests out the bassline.

"Gotta be, right?" Jin forces a small, terrified smile.

A deafening roar comes from outside as the MC points towards Jin's bandmembers. Fred and Phillipe nod and gesture for Jin and the bassist to step out.

They emerge into the blinding lights before a seemingly endless wall of shouting people. The sound hits Jin like a sack of bricks, making his knees tremble under the weight of thousands of staring eyes. He clumsily picks up a wire and plugs it into the guitar jack. The amp lets out a sharp, earsplitting screech of feedback that makes him jump a foot in the air. He winces, turning defensively to the crowd and hoping nobody noticed. A few nearby attendees chuckle and point his way.

*Everyone's in their underwear.*

He forces a hollow laugh out and gives the amp a nervous pat. Then, he straightens his posture and takes one last sweeping scan of the mingling crowd to find the emerald eyes. If finding a needle in a haystack was hard, trying to find a trained assassin in a moving, swinging mass of bodies impatiently waiting for the music to start is nearly impossible.

Jin begrudgingly gives up and glances at his bandmates. Phillipe finishes adjusting his microphone and flashes Jin a massive thumbs up and mouths. "You ready?"

Jin tightens his grip on the neck of the guitar, and throws him a thumbs up.

The mic screeches as Phillipe taps on the metal grille. The crowd turns instantly, erupting into cheers for the beaming Englishman.

"PARIS!"

The crowd screams back.

"It's AWESOME to be up here. We got a fun group - first off, I'm Phillipe, and yes ladies, I'll see ya after the show." He winks out and across the sea of people, then towards the bassist. "Odette's gonna lay out our bassline -"

Odette smiles, waving both hands in the air with a playful duck face while swinging her hips.

"- Behind me, that beast of a man, Fred's got us on drums -"

Fred raises his hands and spins the sticks in a blur between his fingers again as he bops his head to his internal beat.

"- And, on guitar, ready to shred, is Jin!"

The sudden callout catches Jin completely off guard. He flinches, leaning awkwardly into the spare microphone beside him. "H-hi." He stammers while giving a weak, trembling wave.

The crowd's cheering dips in polite, confused murmurs before shifting back to Phillipe, who's currently pacing the stage and getting the band ready.

Then, Fred hoists his sticks high above his head.

And Jin's heart plummets straight into his stomach.

TACK TACK TACK TACK

Odette's bass roars to life as her fingers masterfully pluck out the notes along with Fred's stage rattling beat. Phillipe steps up to the microphone and clears his throat, the grips the stand with both hands and leans into it. His voice shifts effortlessly from his polite English accent into a gritty, roaring rasp that instantly commands the park.

And before Jin knows it, his cue is here.

His body locks up as he presses his fingers onto the fretboard and drags them down the neck, with the distorted fuzzy sound on the guitar exploding out behind him. Right at the end of the cadence, though, his finger slips, with the dead note emitting a loud hollow thump that echoes out into the night.

His panic spikes. His legs start to tremble, but the rhythm continues on. He sucks in a breath and resets his grip - and hits the next bar with the right tone and pressure.

They power through the rest of the first verse. With each clean pluck, an incremental drop of confidence trickles into Jin's chest; maybe he can survive up there without proverbial tomatoes getting thrown at him. He glances up again, just to see if he can catch the set of familiar eyes.

As the drums go, he suddenly realizes that it's the interlude - and he completely misses the first note out of sheer panic. He scrambles to find the cadence once again, forcing his eyes to stare back down at the instrument, locking every ounce of focus onto the fretboard and blocking out the crowd.

*Let her go.*

The snare kicks as Fred continues to command the pace of the song, while Odette's steady bassline acts as a metronome, keeping Jin from speeding up in his terror. Phillipe smiles, rips the microphone off the stand and struts around the stage to the absolute delight of the audience. He saunters over to Odette and wraps a friendly arm around her shoulder to sway with her bouncing form. She beams and leans closer to him, without missing a single note on the bass. Jin strums along while his sweaty, shaking fingers occasionally clunk a dead note as they skitter between frets.

Phillipe then dances over to rigid form of Jin. He looks at his stiff guitarist up and down, then steps in close, giving Jin a playful bump with his hip.

It's like hitting a sturdy brick wall. Phillipe recoils backward with a surprised laugh. Jin's focus snaps, his head jerking toward the chuckling frontman, who points right at him as he finishes the final notes of the cadence.

*The fucking solo.*

Jin's hand glides up to the neck as Odette hits a smooth bass slide to set him up. His head begins to bounce unconsciously to the rhythm his bandmates are building around him. Fred's snare drives a relentless pulse that vibrates through the wooden floorboards under his shoes.

Finally, it gives him a moment to let go of everything.

The solo isn't overly complicated, and any dead note would be instantly swallowed by the booming melody of the bass or the shaking slam of the drums. As he hits the final note, he turns to Phillipe with a smile, slowly sliding his finger down the string to hand the lead back to the singer.

As the Eiffel Tower overhead flashes in rhythmic tandem with the bassline, the dead weight of anxiety leaves him. Somewhere out in the dancing sea of bodies, she's watching. A jolt of electricity surges through his nerves that makes him shiver, just as his part pauses.

Phillipe jogs to the front edge of the stage and sits with his feet dangling off the drop. Odette trails behind him, carefully watching the singer's voice for her cue. Once he hits that final note, she drags her finger down the neck with a heavy bass note that momentarily sucks the ambient noise right out of the park.

The crowd erupts.

Phillipe vaults back up and struts triumphantly across the stage. Jin locks back into his part, hitting his entry clean and without a dead note. His rigid body unlocks as he starts to swing his head to the beat, just as Phillipe snaps the mic back into its stand for the finale. Once he hits the last word, a sharp wave from Phillipe stops the band cold.

Absolute silence hangs in the air for a single, agonizing beat, sending Jin's stomach into a tight knot.

Then, the park explodes.

Wild applause and deafening hollering wash over the stage. Jin's ears ring from the sheer volume as Phillipe grabs his arm and drags him to center stage. They interlock their arms and all bow, with Jin's guitar slipping from his slick, sweaty grip - only for the leather strap to catch the body inches before it smashes onto the floorboards.

The crowd roars with laughter. Jin lets out a nervous laugh of his own and snatches the hanging guitar back up, and follows the band offstage behind the curtain.

As soon as they cross the threshold, a rush of wind blows towards Jin as the bandmembers all squeeze together in a huddle.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Fred screams while slamming his sticks onto the floor. Then, he grabs Phillipe by the shoulders and starts to shake him excitedly. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A DRUMMER!!"

"Brother, I'm a free agent." He smiles and drags Odette next to him. "Gonna need you too."

She smiles, then turns to Jin. "Only if he's in."

Jin chuckles nervously and glances between them. "N - sorry. I live, like, super far away. Besides, you can get someone way better."

He turns away, heading back to the instrument stand while his band members continue to plan out their group name - and address the urgent need to find an actual guitarist.

When he reaches the empty slot in the rack, he pulls the rough leather strap over his head and takes one last look at the faded guitar. Even under the sparkling lights, the instrument still refuses to shine. A smile slowly grows on his face as he carefully places it back behind the rest of the instruments. The sudden fuzz from the microphone makes Jin look up to the MC happily talking on stage.

While he watches, the floorboards behind him creak just slightly. Jin's ears perk up as he crosses his arms and spins around on his heel. "Yeah, listen I'm not the guy ya -"

Reze is standing right there.

Glistening tears trace paths down her cheeks, but a radiant grin is plastered across her face with her hands tucked neatly behind her back.

Immediately, Jin's face flushes into a deep red and he jolts back in surprise. His elbow slams into the neck of a guitar, which starts a domino effect of the instruments crashing into one another.

Panicking, he scrambles across the floor, lunging to catch the end of the falling line of guitars just before the last one slams into the floorboards. He lets out a sharp exhale, hauling them upright as his heart hammers against his ribs.

Behind him, a soft chuckle comes from Reze, who steps over to him and wraps her arms firmly around his waist. He spins around, and when her hand rubs up his back, the last lingering shreds of anxiety evaporate into the night air and drift past the sparkling Tower.

"Ya missed a few notes…" She murmurs as she digs her head into his chest. "But I'm so proud of you." Her hands grip onto his jacket tighter.

He chuckles as he tightens the hug around her, which accidentally drives the ringbox straight into his ribs. As his fingers trace the line of her spine, an internal switch flips. He takes a deep, shuddered breath and gently pushes Reze back just enough to look into her sparkling emerald eyes.

"You, uh, you crinkle your nose when you think." He starts off while lightly massaging the back of her hands with his thumb. "You do this thing with your eyes when you love something and it's, like, the cutest thing in the world."

Reze's head cocks sideways. "What does th-"

He silences her with a gentle finger pressed softly onto her lips. "You love to compare yourself to Elle Woods because what ya show on the surface isn't everything. You take pride in the things you can control, like making your coffee special, which we gotta make more of. For SOME REASON, you love the thought of school -" They both share a chuckle at that. "- but I wanna see you in class showing everyone how smart you are. And you love Skittles, probably more than anything else in the universe."

Reze nods with another breathless laugh, while wiping away a rogue tear off her blushing face. As Jin pulls her close enough to feel the heat of his breath, the voice of the MC dissipates into background static.

"I don't think I've seen a smile make me so scared and… fuck, this happy. It's terrifying -" He gives her hands a firm squeeze. "- And I fucking love that. Everything I know about you, every little detail I watch in your routines, fills me with this deep happiness I've NEVER had. And I want to spend the rest of my - probably short - life learning everything about you. I wanna see all the good and all the bad because I just… love YOU."

The hidden pocket flaps open as Jin reaches inside.

The dam holding back Reze's tears finally breaks, sending a steady stream spilling down her cheeks. A loud roar erupts from the crowd, threatening to pull her out of the moment.

Almost.

Jin carefully drops down onto a knee while his sweaty palms grip hers. "Sorry, I'm terrible with words. Reze…" His pointer sticks to the front of the opening, waiting for the right moment to pop the box open.

Soft, happy, whimpers escape Reze's quivering lips. She sinks down to her knees right in front of him, her hands gripping fiercely onto his arm.

Behind Jin, heavy footsteps rapidly ascend the wooden stairs.

The mismatched, black sclera eyes of several figures lock directly onto her wet eyes.

"Will you…"

The voice of the MC finally cuts through their moment, and in words they can both understand.: "- ZE HYBRIDSSSSSS!"

Jin's heart stops beating as Reze's face freezes. He watches the genuine, radiant joy in her emerald eyes fracture and instantly hardening into pure, unadulterated fury.

Jin slowly turns his head toward the footsteps creeping up beside them. And his soul shatters into pieces.

The new band casually strolls past the kneeling couple. To anyone else in the park, they might look like eccentric performers, but the dead, predatory glare in their singular black sclera locks onto them like wolves sizing up their prey. They carry their custom instruments toward the stage, and trailing behind them all is the lead singer - the same one from the alley.

The frontman glances down at the kneeling couple and lazily salutes the two with toothy snarl before strutting out into the stage lights.

A loud, hitched breath escapes Reze. Her voice chokes as boiling rage constricts the muscles in her neck.

"...This was my moment."

She stands up and hauls Jin to his feet beside her. The green hellfire of her stare bores a hole through the back of the rocker's head.

"MY moment."

Her fingers dig deep into Jin's arm. Her nails pierce through the jean jacket and into his skin, causing him to hiss sharply in pain as he quickly tucks the box back into his hidden pocket. He caresses her hands, which gently breaks the vice grip on him.

"Hey."

Her tear ridden gaze rushes over to Jin's terrified, yet resolute, expression.

"Let's get these assholes. I swear you'll get your moment." Jin says while digging into his back pants pocket. His balaclava bursts out and flutters silently to the floorboards.

"...Fuck."

Jin sighs, leaning down to scoop up the fabric. When he stands back up, Reze is staring flatly at him. "You really brought that with you?"

"I thought you said to be prepared for anything." He places the ridiculous mask loosely on the top of his head. Before he can pull it down, Reze grabs his hips and pulls him flush against her for a fierce kiss.

"You better show me what's in that box, you asshole."

Microphone feedback shrieks through the park speakers when the rocker snatches the mic stand. "PARIS! YOU READY TO LOSE YOUR FUCKING MINDS?!"

The crowd roars as he nods towards his band. They start stretching and tune up their instruments, and begin with a heavy, fuzzy melody. And down in the dancing mass of bodies, Jin notices several attendees casually plucking out their contact lenses, revealing singular dark eyeballs beneath. As they do, they slink back into the shadows of the crowd while hidden weapons are drawn and aimed directly at the stage.

"Now, THAT'S what I'm talking about!!" The rocker screams into the mic.

Reze reaches up, grabs the hem of Jin's balaclava, and yanks it firmly down over his face, enshrouding his features behind the terribly drawn bomb.

Jin adjusts the eyehole just as the rocker raises his free hand. A bubble of dark flesh rolls up the length of his finger, slicing cleanly through his own skin to forge a small, jagged guitar pick out of congealed blood and bone tissue. He holds it high in the air, flashing a grin straight back at Jin and Reze.

"Let's rock."

 

[usefulfinish421]

Reze's heard of the Rock Devil - one of the newest hybrids that Thoth created after a string of particularly vicious, yet successful, operations across the globe. He was never alone; his personal strike team followed him everywhere he was deployed. Usually, three soldiers would spell disaster, but they were well trained from whatever corner of the earth they came from. In the hallways of the main base, however, whispers spread that soldiers weren't exactly happy about his rapid promotion.

'That fucking punk got a heart before me??'

'He's only strong because of his strike team! You drop him in alone and he couldn't do shit.'

Ironically, those voices would mysteriously disappear day by day. And, coincidentally, one of his strike team members would just happen to be in the area at the time. Whatever Reze believed - hits orchestrated by the Rock Devil to preserve whatever fragile ego he has, or fabrications to literally scare the rest of the soldiers into falling in line.

-What an asshole.-

As she watches his arrogant smile grow in front of the roaring crowd, her heartbeat quickens. Unknowingly, she steps in front of Jin, nearly blocking his view of the band. He tries to lean around her just to catch the twinkle of light flashing off his surprisingly white teeth.

With a quick downward swipe, the flesh pick slams into the guitar.

A visible soundwave barrels into the crowd, instantly silencing it as it passes through the attendees. Then, in unison, they begin to clap along to the drumbeat with uncanny accuracy, their rigid bodies staring straight ahead with blank expressions. As the song's bassline picks up, their feet stomp onto the grass below, shaking the wooden stage like a small earthquake. Any items they were carrying - phones, snacks, even merchandise - carelessly fall to the dirt to be crushed underfoot. The hidden agents, however, move rapidly through the crowd, pushing and clawing through the mindbent attendees to reach the stage.

The rocker continues to wail on his instrument, then quickly spins around and strikes a distorted chord. A soundwave launches towards the two, and Reze drags Jin to the floorboards just as the sonic boom slices over them. Guitar necks are sheared straight through with the taut strings snapping outwards, scuffing and splintering the wooden stage and instrument lockers. Jin adjusts the balaclava one last time and turns to Reze, who's already standing back up and glaring at the band. The two others turn towards her, and with each note hit, their instruments morph into flesh covered monstrosities. The bassist aims the head of his instrument towards the two, launching out balls of solidified, vibrating blood toward the backstage area. Reze dodges to the side, the organic projectiles pulsing with sound that thumps in rhythm with her heart.

CRACKCRACKCRACK

A round slices past Reze's arm. A streak of blood splatters out and stains Jin's balaclava as he pulls her behind the instrument rack. More guitars shatter under the impacting lead, embedding splinters and shards of metal into Jin's jacket. A flash of purple light comes from Jin as he holds the rifle over his head and blindly fires back. The Eiffel Tower illuminates shadows bolting closer to the stage while the rocker's overdriven riff crackles over the speakers.

Reze grabs the barrel of Jin's rifle and forcefully lowers it. She gestures deeper backstage, and before Jin can say anything, she shoves him backward onto the hardwood. He slides across the surprisingly slick wood and crashes into metal containers. Then, Reze jumps back to him and flips one of the heavy boxes in front of them - just as bullets crater into the steel side. Her hand reaches for her pin, but before she can ignite a spark, Jin snatches her wrist and pulls it down.

"Are you sure you wanna go, ya know -" He makes a mock explosion sound and looks at her. The annoyed glare in response doesn't fill him with hope.

"That's the dumbest thing you ever said."

"No I g- doesn't it hurt?" He tries to take her free hand, which she swiftly swipes away.

"Honestly? It does." Her expression shifts into an almost dissociative state, her knuckles whitening as her fingers tighten on her trigger. "But I'm not gonna think about it. Especially not now."

She tries to pull her pin again, but Jin tightens his grip. "You're not this weapon, Rez. You don't gotta transform, we'll find out a b-"

Kneecaps are some of the strongest bones that humans - and hybrids - have. So, when Reze twists her form to strike Jin directly in his stomach, he keels over and thinks for a split second:

*What the fuck's wrong with me?*

"Jin. Shut up right now."

As he continues to cough over the cracking of gunfire, he drags his hands up to her neck. His fingers slide in next to Reze's, right between the metal ring and wrap around it.

"I just - huk - wanted to give ya the option…"

"We're not doing this introspective sap shit right now." She moves her palm over to cover the back of Jin's hand and nods.

They both pull the pin off her neck.

BOOOOOOOOOM

A small explosion sends Jin rolling back into a set of drums. The cymbals clatter as Jin breaks through the bass drum and hits the wall behind, slamming the back of his head onto the wood. He rubs his now pounding head, feeling the cold steel of Reze's pin still around his ring finger. When he looks up, the Bomb Devil stands framed in the hole of the drum as Russian shouts echo over the melody from the stage.

"Stay safe. I don't know him like Dimitri, but he's dangerous." The black, wired fingers point up, firing yellow energy up to the sky and flakking the band members. They dive behind the booming speakers to cover themselves from the flying debris, yelling out to flanking agents rushing up the stairs - right next to Reze's exposed side.

thupthup

The two lead agents fall limp, causing the third to trip over their bodies. He looks up - only for the last thing he'll ever see is a terribly drawn bomb glaring at him.

thup

The bullet drills a hole into the agent's forehead, splattering blood onto the ground below. Jin scrambles over to the Bomb Devil's position. Once he's next to her, he taps on the bare shoulder, causing the warhead to drop down and turn to him.

"Wanna try the thing?" Jin asks, pointing over the cover and towards the rocker.

"You wanna do that now??" She grumbles. All the times that they've tried this, it usually ends with Jin on his back lying on the cold concrete ground, moaning while his paper target stands completely unscathed.

But it's not the worst idea.

Cupping her hands, she places them against the floorboards. "You gonna hit your shot this time?"

"Come on…" Jin presses his one foot into the makeshift launchpad and gives her a nod. "You gotta trust me eventually, right?"

With a heave, Jin is launched up into the air and above the metal cover. He swings the rifle towards the rocker, but when his vision clears in the digital display, a visible soundwave is already sailing toward him. The distorted acoustics ripple through Jin's ribs, shooting him backwards and through the wooden wall. He slams into the dirt and bounces out into a group of brainwashed backstage workers rhythmically stomping and clapping. He moans out in pain, but manages a weak thumbs up to Reze while he tries to regain his footing.

The warhead shakes in disbelief, shifting her lower jaw as she watches. One of those acoustic balls sails past her head, exploding mere inches from her. The distorted thump deafens her as she blasts herself deeper backstage, aggressively rubbing at where her ears would be to clear the sensation. Once the high pitched whine dissipates, she aims her fingers toward the back wall.

Explosive energy detonates on the wood, showering the band members in splinters. The drummer and bassist fall forward, just missing a collapsing display careening onto the stage. The rocker turns around while still laying out a melody, sending acoustic waves to cut through the falling wreckage. Suddenly, the stage below the band erupts in a fiery detonation, launching them wildly into the air. The rocker and the bassist fly forward and skid into the crowd, while the drummer launches backstage.

Jin, finally getting to his feet, looks up just in time for the massive drummer to bodyslam him back down into the grass.

The Bomb Devil walks to the front of the destroyed, ablaze stage and looks down at the hybrid and his elite soldier. The bassist looks towards the rocker in horror, scanning his face for any order on how to proceed.

BROOOOOSH

When he turns back around, his instrument is yanked out of his hands, the flesh leather strap snapping into two wriggling pieces. A backblast rushes over his flowing hair as the bass is stabbed through his chest. His guttural, wet scream is silenced when the Bomb Devil drags her finger over the four strings. Brain, tissue, and muscle explode out of the bassist's body as his mangled corpse crumples over, still vibrating from the latent sonic energy. Reze grabs the embedded instrument and swings it around, connecting the body of it with the rocker's face. He careens back, slamming into the mindless crowd as he screams in fury.

She launches forward just as jagged soundwaves slice right through the crowd, their bisected bodies sailing toward her as grotesque debris. While the pieces slap onto her, a hidden wave crushes into her chest, knocking her up into the sky. The air vibrates around her, forcing her to expertly twist to dodge another set of acoustic waves. The Bomb Devil spins back to the ground and aims her arm out, with the wires twisting and molding into a small missile. The payload blasts off, snaking through the body parts and the crowd, locking onto the hidden rocker with a beep.

It disappears between the attendees. The guitar solo suddenly shifts as the speakers across the park all blow out simultaneously, a shockwave of sound expanding outward. Inside it, the smoke trail of the missile swings around, redirecting its target toward the now hyperventilating Bomb Devil.

Beep

BOOM

The missile explodes directly against Reze's chest, crumpling her to the ground. She grunts, brushing ash from her detonator apron, and wobbles back to her feet. Right as her vision clears, a hail of bullets deflects off her metal casing with a deafening screech, blurring the colors in front of her into a warped sense of reality. Aside from the chaotic blur of movement, the other thing she can truly register is the blinding flash of gunfire ahead.

It's visible enough.

Another detonation launches her forward towards the muzzle flash. Her hand wraps around the neck of a soldier, who drops his weapon instantly while begging for his life. The lack of rifle rounds slamming onto her head lets her eyesight steady as the ringing subsides, finally allowing her to locate the rocker.

He slams the flesh pick onto his instrument and slides his fingers up the neck of the guitar, beginning to transform into his Devil form. Large, bony spikes jut out of his body, sliding in and out wherever he moves his guitar - just like his wristbands, but the spikes move and wriggle like eels. His facial features droop forward, morphing into a mix of his own facial features and those of a roadkilled wolf. His hair grows longer, igniting into a red hue that pulses to the acoustic waves he's producing.

The soldier shrieks as yellow energy is forced deep through his existence. The Bomb Devil's wires snake into his open mouth, leaving trails of the black ropes as he vibrates wildly. When the Rock Devil glides his fingers across the fretboard, more slices of sound sail towards her. She jumps up, dodging the attack, letting her hostage get cut in two. She kicks the top half towards the rocker, then lands and snags the flailing legs, launching them right behind the torso.

Another chord strikes as an acoustic field around the rocker regenerates. The top half of the corpse slams into the barrier, exploding harmlessly with a muffled, distorted pop. It leaves a small opening in the soundwave - just big enough for the legs to sail through - and detonates right in front of the rocker. He flies backwards, skidding on his heels as his guitar continues to ring with fuzzy chords. He glances down at his blast-ridden body, then swipes the guitar to the side, decapitating a flanking friendly soldier. The head topples into the air with surprised eyes as blood spills onto the open mouth of the Rock Devil, instantly healing the wounds. He shakes his head, locking eyes with the Bomb Devil while forming a cocky smile and blowing her a kiss.

"Aw… sweetheart. You don't play nice, do ya? I like it…"

A blast erupts from behind the Bomb Devil, shooting her forward through the crowd. She rears up a crackling, charged punch that connects with the guitar. The instrument holds steady, deflecting the explosive energy away from the rocker. Reze slams her foot into the ground, yellow light fracturing the earth around him in a trail of explosions. The rocker strums a collection of chords and angles his instrument to the ground, launching himself into the night air right as the earth erupts from under him. Smoke and dirt cover his face as he lets out an exasperated sigh, only for a boot to cut through the visual obstruction. His snout cracks from the explosive impact, sending him tumbling down the parkway and smashing into a large tree.

He pushes himself back up, only for a yellow ball of energy to slam into his chest, carrying him straight through the bark. He crashes into the park wall just as the Bomb Devil lands nearby and walks intently towards him.

"You ruined my moment." She grabs his throat and lifts him up. Her wires twist, trying to force their way into his open orifices, but his twitching head makes it nearly impossible to find a way in. "When's Thoth gonna learn to leave us alone?"

The Rock Devil coughs out a bloody chuckle. "Right when you learn that you're too busy in your own la-la land to remember how the world works." He digs his kneecap into her side, forcing her wires to retract back into her arm. "And, ya know what? I get it - but WE have a job to do." Another strike crumples her, but she keeps her grip rigid on his neck. "So cut the shit - you know how this ends."

His free hand finally finds his guitar, swinging it across him to smash directly onto the warhead. Reze recoils, allowing the rocker to suck in a much needed breath before hammering out more distorted notes on his fretboard.

Soundwaves careen out of the guitar, bouncing off the features of the park and gliding back towards her. Another explosion peels her off the ground. Dodging the incoming projectiles, she charges another explosive punch toward the Rock Devil.

The sound barrier breaks.

Her strike whiffs at an empty space. She snaps her head around to face another shimmering acoustic slice, which nicks her arm and cuts a deep wound into her flesh, staining the pristine grass with her blood. More slices whistle past her as she rolls out of the way, her foot sinking to the ground and exploding forward. She keeps dodging as explosions trail behind her footsteps.

Distorted riffs fill the area, with the rocker laughing while his phonic strikes sail into the night. More energy balls snap from the Bomb Devil's fingers, weaving seamlessly through his counter attacks as energy shears through his assault. The balls detonate harmlessly behind him as he swings his guitar toward her hip. She catches the moving instrument, flipping him up and slamming him into a metal bench. The steel bends around his free arm as he desperately tries to pull it free.

She lands squarely on top of him with crackling energy radiating from her clenched fist.

"Let me show you how this is gonna end."

____________

Under the weight of the dazed drummer, Jin's ribs creak and nearly pop out from their sockets. It doesn't help that the constant, rhythmic visible shockwaves from distant explosive strikes crush the heavy man down onto him. Jin grunts and tries to roll the drummer off, but the limp weight is impossible to move.

Through the rhythmic stomping, out of sync footsteps rush to their location. Jin turns his head just as an oncoming soldier brandishes a large knife, raising it high over the two prone men. Jin shifts his body, just keeping the blade from impaling his arm. The sudden maneuver knocks the drummer loose, rolling him off and onto the soldier's foot. The dazed drummer begins to come to, shaking his head heavily as his comrade tries to pull away. The soldier looks up at a suppressor materializing right in his face.

thup

The soldier's head recoils back and drops the knife, piercing the dirt right next to the now fully aware drummer. Jin swings his weapon down, but is knocked off his feet by a swift strike from his target's drumsticks. He tumbles down, accidentally morphing the Whisper back into its bracelet form, forcing him to snatch the knife instead. Above the scrambling Jin, the drummer spins his sticks, which transform with a purple, bloodsoaked hue into two large hammers.

"Don't you guys need me alive???" Jin screams, spreading his legs to narrowly dodge a downward strike. The ground around him fissures, sending deep cracks tearing through the crowd. Some backstage workers are sucked into the earth, still clapping as half their bodies are swallowed into the ground. The drummer drags his weapons up, forcing Jin backwards to just miss the sharp end of both hammers swinging past his face.

"I'm gonna make you a fucking vegetable." The drummer snarls, bringing his weapons above his head. Jin kicks at the man's kneecap, buckling the joint and dropping him to a single knee. It gives Jin enough time to get back to his feet and bolt towards the sound of the explosions, slipping the knife into the waistband of his pants.

Suddenly, the music picks back up.

In the sky, the warhead sails up past the moon as the Rock Devil follows up with a guitar strike. And around Jin, the crowd simultaneously turns their heads towards him. Their stares send a shiver straight up his spine as he rushes between them.

"Shit shit shit shit shit shit -" He mumbles as he readjusts the eyeholes to get a clearer sight of the now encroaching crowd.

An arm wraps around his neck and pulls him back. He struggles, trying to pull the arm off him, and turns around to face Phillipe's blank stare. Jin's heart drops as he punches the singer across the face, knocking a tooth loose that's stomped into the dirt.

"Du-DUDE! LET GO!" Jin screams, now clawing at the arm to desperately pull it off him. And right behind Phillipe's head, the drummer slowly makes his way through the attendees with a devilish grin, spinning a hammer lazily as he paces around his trapped target.

"Ya know, I'm gonna get a devil heart when I bring you in?" The drummer keeps his focus locked onto his prey, grabbing Jin by the crown of his head and yanking it back. "You probably get this a lot -"

He tugs Jin's head down further, straining his tense neck muscles as Jin shrieks in pain.

"- Why the fuck are you that important?"

BOOOOOM

A flash of white and orange light comes from their side. Jin catches a bleeding Bomb Devil sliding across the dirt, upending the soil from her heels. She swings a cracking fist into the drummer's face, blasting back through the masses.

Phillipe's arm is snapped in half - without even a breath from him - as Reze yanks Jin out of the singer's grip.

"You good?"

"I th-"

Above Reze, the Rock Devil sails with his pick aimed towards the stars.

"BACK!"

Jin shoves Reze back, just as two sonic booms slice through the air where she once stood. The Rock Devil lands between them, staring at Jin with malice.

"Your girlfriend's a bitch."

He steps towards Jin while his riff accelerates in tempo. Jin resummons his rifle, raising the barrel toward the encroaching hybrid.

"Everyone's a critic."

thupthupthup

All three rounds are blocked by the swinging guitar, deflecting into the crowd with loud plings. The Rock Devil rushes forward, expertly dodging the now wild shots from Jin. He swipes his instrument sideways, connecting hard into Jin's left side. Jin buckles and stumbles to the left, ducking just as the neck of the guitar sweeps above him. Sliding his hands down the barrel, Jin uses the rifle like a makeshift bat, swinging it wildly towards the Rock Devil. The blow is parried by the instrument as the rocker spins around to slam another chord right in front of Jin.

A black, wired hand seizes the hand with the pick, locking it before the strings can echo out another melody.

"Just say ya like me."

The Rock Devil turns to the warhead standing behind. Her grip crushes into the fretboard, leaving deep craters in the wooden neck. He's about to yell back, but the stock of a rifle CRACKS across his jaw. The Rock Devil stumbles, looking up as Jin swings the rifle's stock skyward. It connects with the rocker's chin, lifting him up just as yellow energy detonates next to his eyes. A white light overtakes his vision, but he catches brief glimpses of the balaclava clad target striking him with his makeshift melee weapon as the Bomb Devil follows up to keep the brutal assault alive. After a charged punch that ripples into his torso and shatters his collarbone, his vision clears to catch Jin's suppressor aiming directly at his nose. He yanks the gun to the side, sending a wide eyed Jin barreling into the crowd.

Attendees collapse to the ground as Jin takes out their legs. He scrambles back up, catching an acoustic ripple glide past the Bomb Devil. He tries to get back in the fight, but a loud footstep perks his ears up. Instinctively, he falls onto the ground, with a rush of wind screaming overhead. Pushing himself forward, he spins around just in time to dodge a swinging strike from two massive hammers.

"STAY. STILL!"

The drummer pulverizes the ground, fracturing the dirt around them. The soil shifts into a jagged oval around them, then collapses underneath the two. They tumble into the newly formed pit as pebbles and mounds of dirt slide down the steep incline. Jin stands back up as the drummer lunges towards him. He barely dodges the tackle, but an outstretched hammer glances off Jin's chest, knocking the wind out of him in a dizzying spin as he staggers to the opposite end of the earthen arena. The drummer chuckles, turns around, and - to Jin's absolute disgust - poses with the weapons.

"Who's gonna save you now?"

Jin slides the knife out from his waistband and shakily points it forward. His vision darkens as his adrenaline crashes, his body suddenly screaming in localized agony from every wound.

"Fuck you."

More dirt tumbles down as the drummer's heavy footsteps shake the earth. He twirls the hammers, then violently swings them across his body. Jin rolls to the side as the bloodsoaked soil stains his jacket. He lunges forward with the knife, catching the drummer's outstretched wrist. He sucks in a pained hiss, accidentally backhanding Jin when he jerks to stem the new flow of blood.

Stars sparkle in Jin's vision, and when he looks up at the blur of lights, he can't tell where the night sky ends and where the Eiffel Tower's twinkling begins.

What he does perceive is a quick motion in his peripherals. It takes every remaining ounce of energy to leap aside, narrowly dodging an overhead strike that sprays blood across his jacket. He watches the drummer try to follow up with a headbutt, misjudging the distance and stumbling forward. It gives Jin a window to reposition on the other side of the arena. As the drummer weakly starts to stand back up, Jin searches for a way out. Above the cratered ground, Odette stands mindlessly clapping and stomping her feet, shaking loose dirt over the edge.

And she's right above the now standing drummer.

Jin flicks his wrist, raising the cold metal of the rifle to aim at Odette's knee.

thup

The round passes between Odette's legs, flying harmlessly into the night. Jin slaps at the Whisper's scope as the drummer locks his gaze onto his prey.

thup

The second round catches her knee, finally buckling her stiff stance. With a low, hollow gasp, she pitches over the edge of the crater, her body digging into the side of the crater. Loose soil and flailing limbs collapse from above like a miniature landslide.

The wall of dirt slams squarely into the drummer, burying him mid windup and knocking the hammers into the shifting earth.

It gives Jin the moment he needs. He rushes back as his weapon morphs back. Gasping for air with his ribs screaming in torment, he skitters up the shifting slope, digging his knife in like an icepick to haul himself over the threshold of the hole just as a furious roar echoes from below. Jin rolls onto his back, sucking in ragged, shuddering breaths as the cold night air burns his overworked lungs. Above, the stars in his eyes clear just as the sky illuminates in flickering orange and yellow bursts.

He forces his fading consciousness to hang on just a bit longer, sluggishly getting back to his feet and limping forward.

The ground vibrates deep below him.

Instantly, the drummer launches himself through his earthly entombment, landing between the drooling husks of concert goers. Piles of packed dirt plug his open wounds, slightly stemming the blood loss as he stumbles toward Jin with uncoordinated fury.

"Where do you think you're going?" He snarls, crouching down and brandishing both his hammers once again.

Jin summons his rifle back, resting the barrel on his trembling arm while clutching the knife in his other hand. The digital display flickers, giving him a distorted image of the charging brute.

thupthup

Silenced rounds drill into the drummer's chest, failing to halt his relentless momentum. A wild hammer swing knocks Jin's weapon aside, giving Jin an opening to dive forward and plunge his knife into the exposed man's neck. Blood spurts out, staining Jin's denim jacket crimson.

With a rough shove, Jin is forced back onto the ground. The drummer wobbles, clutching frantically at the new wound, white knuckling his remaining hammer with blind, overriding fury.

And behind him, a bright flash of orange glitters.

___________

The rocker sails up into the air from an explosive-laced strike. The Bomb Devil could follow and finish him right now, but when she glances down to the ground - where a prone Jin lies terrified under a rising hammer - priorities shift.

BROOOOOOOSH

CRRUUCK

A wired hand penetrates the drummer's mighty chest. In her hand, the man's still beating heart spurts red liquid that reflects the sparkling Tower. She pulls her arm back through, causing the drummer to slump onto the ground. His hammers fall to the side, morphing back into two drumsticks that roll away.

Next to the fallen drummer, Jin lies wide eyed, covered in a mess of gore. He sinks his head back into the blood soaked dirt and groans.

"Get up."

A bloody hand extends towards him. He begrudgingly takes it, pulling himself back to his feet. Reze tries to brush the large mounds of dirt, muscle, and blood off of his jacket, but it's already set deep into the fibers.

"Man…" Jin grumbles, tossing the knife aside. "I really liked this…"

"We can get you another one." She lets go of his hand, catching the form of the Rock Devil careening back onto the ruined stage. He shakes his animalistic head, then locks onto the Bomb Devil and Jin. A low, grunge sound comes from the splintered instrument, surrounding him in the acoustic shield like before.

Behind her, Jin stumbles onto her back with a heavy huff of air. She turns, letting him slide forward into her arms as she catches him. "Just a bit longer. You got this."

Jin nods, tracing his hands down to her wire wrapped digits. "...What's the plan?"

Staring at the acoustic shield, Reze knows that the only thing that pierced it was the soldier's explosive body. And she's not about to do that to an innocent bystander.

Luckily, he drops the phonic energy when he's pursuing.

And she has his target right here.

"Do you trust me?"

"Rez, that scares me."

"Yes or no, Jin."

"Y-Yeah..."

Wires tightly snake around Jin's hand.

"Good. You're my bait."

"I'm sorry, wh-"

The air whips past his ears while he flies onto the burning, destroyed stage, slamming his back onto the wood and sliding into a stack of broken speakers. The lights from the Eiffel Tower glistens above him as Reze blasts over his moaning body towards the rocker.

Wires snap together and sizzle when she lands, immediately digging her arm deep into the stage. The floorboards bend and crack as the fin of a dark torpedo swims through the wood. It crosses under the swirling soundwaves and detonates underneath him. The barrier ruptures as the Rock Devil lurches forward, finding Jin alone. He, for a moment, stops strumming, letting the sound dissipate around him. A shockwave erupts toward the rocker, a hard strike shattering his ribs. It sends him skidding across the stage, landing right next to Jin. Ragged breaths shudder out of the rocker, churning a mix of blood and saliva in his mouth before he spits it onto the stage.

For a second, his fingers hit a collection of dead notes, but his digits stiffen through the pain as he locks eyes with his target.

"Thanks for giving him to me."

Another sonic boom pops through the park. Where Jin and the Rock Devil stood is empty. Fortunately, Jin's scream is loud enough for her to locate them - their forms visible through the sparkling lights rising up the steel monument.

-Perfect.-

She ignites forward, destroying the rest of the stage underfoot. Her fist connects with the back of the rocker's head, sending him and his hostage upward. Their bodies twist and spin wildly, fast enough that Jin nearly passes out from the sheer G-Force. The rocker flings an arm out, his rustling spikes hardening and firing downward toward the rising balls of explosive energy.

When the tips of the spikes collide with the energy, detonations envelop the Bomb Devil, who swirls around the explosions as she climbs higher. Another punch shatters a sharp quill; twisting her body, she leads with a spinning backfist that connects solidly with the rocker's head. His face is shoved into the light fixtures on the tower, slicing his cheek as he continues his upward momentum. In the chaos, his guitar catches onto a lightbox, shattering into pieces that rain down onto the crowd below. His other wristband stiffens, firing a wild barrage of spikes that graze her body, leaving small cuts across her sweating skin.

The rocker pushes off the lights at the top of the monument, finally breaking out into the night sky. Jin's stomach rises as he finally locks eyes with his captor - the wolf eyes narrowing in sheer disgust for his abductee.

They crash onto the observation deck. Jin's cheek slams against the grated floor; he's quickly dragged up, his back pulled flush against the rocker's chest. A final explosion cuts through the night as Reze lands across from them, her blood dripping lightly onto the grated steel. The rocker yanks Jin back, holding him as a human shield between himself and the Bomb Devil.

"GET THE FUCK BACK!" Another set of pointed spikes punctures through the rocker's arm. The tips stop just at the base of Jin's neck, lightly nicking his pulsating jugular.

"I thought you needed him alive?" The warhead takes a step forward. Instantly, the spikes jut up a centimeter, releasing a small trickle of blood that glides down the bone-like quill.

"YOU TWO SERIO- FUCK YOU! I ACTUALLY give a fuck about living!" He takes a few steps back on the small deck. Jin tries to work the quill out of his skin, just enough to pull the tip out of his neck. "TAKE ANOTHER STEP, AND I'LL KILL HIM!"

"If you do kill him, what makes you think I'm gonna stop looking for you?" Her footsteps clank on the grate as she keeps a safe distance between them.

"...I'd love to have you follow me. We'd have some fun." His tongue glides over his bloody lips while a wicked smile splits his face. The spikes painstakingly grow along his arm and back into Jin's neck.

As Jin tries to stop the encroaching spikes, the cool touch of metal on his ring finger sends a shiver up his arm. He peeks down to see Reze's trigger - the metal pin still loosely hanging onto his digit. And at the base of the pin is the small outcrop that once sat in Reze's neck. The edge looks dull, but just sharp enough.

Suddenly, Jin wiggles his foot, which goes unnoticed by the rocker. Reze catches it, and ever-so-slightly tilts her head at him. Jin shows off the pin, flipping the outcrop upward from his finger and clenching his hand into a makeshift spiked knuckle.

Under his covered face, she knows he's smiling.

The fingers on Jin's other hand release from the rocker's arm, pressing flat against his own chest. He holds up three fingers towards the Bomb Devil.

She takes another step forward, sending the spikes higher into Jin's neck. He winces as the Rock Devil pulls back, fighting off the agonizing pressure.

Two.

The Bomb Devil crouches slightly, ready to take off at a moment's notice, to the confusion of the Rock Devil.

One.

"What the fu-"

Jin swings his fist backwards, driving the small outcrop of steel into the rocker's snout. It pierces his nose, forcing a loud, pained yelp that empties his lungs, causing the spikes to retract back into the rocker's arm. He rubs at the impact point, snarling as he tries to retake Jin into his grasp.

Before he can, a wired hand crushes the Rock Devil's neck, yanking him away from his target. His eyes bulge as Reze's iron grip collapses his windpipe. He tries to scream out anything to get one last acoustic wave to save him.

But all the air has been sucked out of his lungs.

Wires detach from Reze's arm and crawl painfully into the open mouth of the Rock Devil. He tries to fight it off and clamp his mouth shut, but her other hand snaps both of his arms at the elbows, leaving his appendages to hang uselessly at his sides. As more wires enter his mouth, a yellow glow overtakes his skin, and he begins to vibrate frantically.

Once the light becomes blinding, the Bomb Devil hurls the rocker off the edge of the observation deck. His body sails for barely a second before the light violently expands outward.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Lights from the surrounding buildings - along with the Eiffel Tower's own sparkling glow - shimmer from the shockwave as colorful explosions paint the night sky like fireworks.

The warhead fizzles away as Reze leans onto the railing, breathing heavily as she takes in her work. Next to her, tired, stumbling footsteps on the grate join her. She turns to Jin, who's busy pulling off his soaked balaclava, and finally meeting her glittering emerald eyes, shimmering in the moonlight.

"Rez… I don't want you to hurt anymore."

Jin grips the railing as he shakily forces himself back onto one pained knee. Reze drops down with him, clutching his arms to keep his trembling, near-fainting frame upright. He reaches into his ruined jacket to bring out the fractured wooden box. When he flips the top open, it snaps off from the hinges entirely, clattering onto the grated floor and bouncing off the Tower.

The ring, however, is still in pristine condition. Its platinum band and sparkling diamond are extended toward her on a wobbly arm as he fights tooth and nail to stay conscious.

"…So you wanna get fucking married?"

Colors from the lingering explosions dance behind her head. She presses her hands over his quivering ones, tears finally spilling over as she clutches onto him.

"Yes... please. Yes."

Jin smiles weakly, then throws her a shaky thumbs up.

"...Cooool."

Blackness overtakes his vision as his mortal body finally gives out. He expects to hit the hard metal of the observation deck, letting the grate knock him out into a deep sleep.

"No you don't."

Reze yanks Jin's body back up as their lips crash into each other while another set of colorful detonations ignites above. She presses her forehead against his, both of them letting out breathless, exhausted chuckles, holding onto each other as if the world might snap them out of reality at any moment. Jin, after a moment, pulls back and takes her left hand, sliding the engagement ring onto her ring finger. The six and a half size glides smoothly over her skin, settling snugly just past her knuckle.

*Perfect.*

The ring glistens under the fireworks as Reze inspects it, unable to hide the beaming smile breaking across her face. "This fits perfectly! How'd ya know what size?"

Jin looks at her through heavy, tired eyes, then cocks his head with a smug grin.

"Soldat."

They say in unison, dissolving into a fit of soft giggles. Reze pulls Jin to his feet, leaning him gently against the railing and keeping an arm wrapped firmly around his hip as they watch the remainder of the explosions rip through the Parisian night.

______________

The rocker's severed arm tumbles out of the tree, leaving a trail of blood staining the meticulously cut leaves. Rigor mortis keeps the hand firmly clenched around the flesh pick in its grip as a purple rift tears open beneath the limb. It, along with a collection of the mangled pieces of the Rock Devil, falls into a pool of red, rippling blood. A team of soldiers and scientists moves briskly around the liquid, meticulously monitoring dials on old-school control panels.

After a couple of minutes, a hand breaks through the surface tension, followed by the rocker's head gasping for air. He grabs onto the tiled side of the pool, hauling himself out and rolling onto the cold surface. An annoyed grunt huffs out when he realizes which room he's in as blood drips onto the pristine white tile. The agents all freeze at their stations, staring at the revived hybrid while their equipment emits a chorus of loud, echoing buzzes.

Loud, precise footsteps thud from behind him.

And the rocker knows who it is already.

"Look, I know how it looks -" He scrambles to his feet, turning around and bringing his hands up defensively. "The bastard got lucky and took out my strike team. Next time, I'll bring better guys. Won't happen again."

Thoth walks past him, barely acknowledging the man. His hands are clenched into shaking fists, and the threatening echo of his deliberate stride fills the room with suffocating dread. Realizing how the energy has shifted, the researchers quietly pack up their data and head for the exits. Anyone leaving calmly is wearing a very thin facade.

"You failed."

"...Did you hear what I said? I didn't fail, he got LUCKY."

The hood turns slowly towards the rocker in absolute disgust. "...Say that again."

A cold, primal fear drives a chill straight up the rocker's spine. He gulps and takes a step backwards, replaying the assault in his head to place blame on anything else. "I'm… I'm sorry. He caught me by surprise, he had this like, tack, or something. And the soldiers - Christ - they didn't do shit. I-I should have known, should have stepped up more."

A timer materializes on Thoth's cloak as he advances on the backpedaling hybrid.

=2 minutes=

The rocker tries to retreat further, but his feet hold firm. Pulling his leg doesn't help; instead, he nearly pops the bone out of his socket as Thoth gets closer. Looking down, his heart shatters - the floor tiles have seamlessly fused with his boots, swallowing his feet beneath the clean surface.

"WH - WH - WHAT THE FUCK? WE'RE NOT DOING THIS RIGHT NOW!!" He pleads.

A gloved hand grasps a handful of his long hair, violently yanking his head up and ripping follicles from his scalp with a loud CRACK as his leg bones fracture. A jagged scream tears out of the rocker as he thrashes at Thoth's grip.

=1:45=

With a low grunt, Thoth wrenches the rocker's torso from his trapped legs. Bones and blood slosh onto the pristine floor as his legs remain standing stiffly in the tile. Then, the rocker's body is slammed onto the ground, shattering his spine and paralyzing him instantly. The sheer agony overloads his nervous system, numbing his body into a hollow shock as he groans helplessly.

The rocker's torso floats into the air as Thoth paces backwards. He tries to move his arms, but his limbs refuse to answer to the control center while his terrified gaze traces Thoth across the room.

The timer on Thoth's cloak ticks to a stop. The floor shifts, pushing the severed legs out of the tile to collapse back into the blood-filled pool.

"Please… I'm sorry! I won't fuck up again! I'll -"

"You're always a nuisance."

The rocker's body crashes back into the ground before levitating into the air once more.

"Every assignment I give you, I'd pray for something to finally give me a reason to stop giving every version of you the Rock Devil heart."

Concrete fractures as the rocker's body is violently crumpled into an adjacent wall.

"But I can't be that lucky, can I?"

A pained grunt escapes the rocker as his body peels off the stone. He manages to tilt his neck, watching his torso helplessly travel over the tiled floor and over the blood pool.

He tries to claw at the empty air again, attempting to swim through nothingness back toward solid ground.

Not even a twitch.

Thoth glares at the squirming body as more false promises spill out from the mumbling mouth. The words are all garbled in Thoth's ears - he's heard all of them before.

"Your services are no longer needed."

Inside the rocker's chest, agony rips and tears beneath his skin. His tortured screams echo off the walls while his ribs crackle and pop violently. A thick mass thumps visibly against his torso, ripping the skin at its pores as his arching back buckles. The bony cage holding his heart back finally snaps outwards, slicing through his rough skin and laying his organs bare. His beating heart soars out of its captivity, gliding straight into Thoth's outstretched hand. It continues to pulsate as Thoth clutches it in a tight grip, spilling blood onto the floor around him.

One of the blood pools bubbles before slicing open a fresh rift beside him. Without breaking eye contact from the dying rocker, Thoth reaches his free hand into the tear and pulls a silver container into the room. He drops it onto the bloodsoaked ground; it automatically hisses open, revealing internal dials and tubes waiting for an organ. The heart drops into the box, and when the muscle touches the foam covering the inside of its new home, the tubes hook into the broken arteries, pumping blood back into the muscle as numbers beep onto a digital display at the base.

The container seals shut, floating up and sailing straight back through the rift, which dissipates the moment it collects its prize. Thoth sighs as he watches the rocker begin his death throes, his head hanging back in a painful daze. Ragged breaths escape from the hybrid's throat. The hole in his chest frames his slashed and collapsing lungs; he cannot hold onto the smallest amount of oxygen.

"Now, for once, be useful to me."

WHRR-GHK

The timer restarts.

The rocker's body is finally released. But the pool of blood he expects to fall into isn't a liquid anymore - instead, rows of snarling, cracked teeth and twisted flesh snap upward in a feeding frenzy. His body is caught between the rows of enamel, his bones snapping cleanly as his blood and tissue feed the makeshift beast. The last thing the rocker comprehends is a dagger-like tooth puncturing straight through the middle of his face.

=1:30=

Thoth turns on his heel and walks away from the gore, letting the monster enjoy its meal in peace. He leaves the room after a particularly loud crunching of the rocker's skeleton, stepping alone down the starkly lit hallway. A piece of his cloak rips off and rolls onto his hand, changing into a radio that's already fizzling with static.

"As assumed, he failed. You have two weeks to make contact. Give them your all."

=1 minute=

A researcher turns the corner quickly, heavily focusing on readings of one of the new prototype weapons from the R&D center. When he looks up, his eyes widen in horror as Thoth passes by.

"You. Hybrid recovery area. Now."

The hair stands on the back of his neck as he quickly nods and salutes the cloaked figure. The closer he gets to the entrance of his new assignment, the louder and wetter the sounds of bone and muscle being greedily consumed become. Just before he carefully leans into the opening, a papercut opens on his finger. A single drop of blood sails behind him, right as a timer stops down the hallway.

WHRR-GHK

When his eyesight crosses the threshold, the blood pool is rippling gently, almost waiting for the next recovery. He steps in, looking for where the horrific sounds originated, but another noise catches his ear - a loud, familiar hiss. He pauses, leaning cautiously back out of the doorway just in time to catch a rift slice open before Thoth. Colors sparkle out of the tear, flashing brightly against the dark material of the cloaked figure as the booming sound of distant fireworks echoes faintly down the hall. Thoth stares into the rift wordlessly, clenching his fist tight enough to make his knuckles pop, while heavy, shuddering breaths break through the distant explosions.

And the researcher swears he hears a small, pained whimper slip from under the hood.