Misaki-chan

Misaki felt far more in control once she took some deep breaths. You are in control. Nothing else. You. In the distance, she could see the road lit up by a flaming car. Figuring it was the idiot's car (she had, after all, made sure to activate something in the back of his car at Sakila's suggestion), she sped up just a little to get the the wreckage sooner. She wanted to talk to him, and if it meant causing him to lose his car, so be it. His behavior, from attacking her unprovoked to cruelly beating up people she thought decently of, was less than acceptable and she was going to tell him that. She watched from the car for a moment as he stared at the flames dance on his now-ruined car before getting out, allowing the door to shut loudly so he would know of her presence without needing to waste words. At the sound of the slamming car door, he picked up his bag before heading to the side of the road. "I said you are tempered girl," he said when he came closer. She could see the soot and burns covering him. "Don't call me tempered," she replied, making sure to raise her voice so she could be heard. "A-aa. Relax," he defensively said before shooting a dart of some sorts at her. It buried itself in her shoulder, causing a light wave of dizziness to fall over her, though she held her ground and didn't sway. Misaki knew she had to do something. He was trying to knock her out, or worse, and she needed to retaliate or else. And honestly, she wasn't going to take any of his crap anymore after calling her an idiot and shooting her with a sedative before asking any questions. Dramatically, she spun to turn her back to the idiot, making it look like a heavy wave of drowsiness was befalling her. Before he could see what she was doing, she snapped open the container around her neck and got out one of the small silver needles while making sure not to accidentally stick herself with it. She got ready as he roughly pinned her against her car. As he injected a syringe into her neck, she grabbed his wrist, making it look like she was trying to fight back. He emptied the liquid into her bloodstream while she pricked his palm with the needle hidden in her hand, knowing full-well that he would later be suffering rather annoying symptoms, including but not limited to coughing, nausea, fever, rash, pain in different areas of the body, and lack of energy. While not fatal, the poison injected was a pain to find and to get rid of. It would take the doctors at least a day to figure out what was wrong due to labs along with several more for getting rid of it and recovery. In short, the idiot would be out of commission for at least five days, if not more. Of course, had he been given the golden needle, also tucked inside the container, first before being pricked by the silver one, the symptoms would have been less severe and had acted more as a relaxant than anything. Her vision blurred, and while she couldn't see anything clearly she could see a small dot of blood form on his hand. I got him. Good. Taking one last conscious breath, she allowed herself to succumb to the drug, the world around her quickly fading to black. ~~~~ The first thing she saw when she awoke was white, a crisp difference from the black she had been seeing just moments ago. As the world slowly came back into focus, a nurse bent over and smiled, "Good, you're awake." "What happened...?" Misaki asked, starting to feel a headache pound in her head. "A man, a nice one who was blonde and around your age, brought you in and said he found you on the street unconscious. It was very nice of him, since he could have left you there and who knows what could have happened then!" "I'm sure you also think it was very nice of him to be the one to knock me unconscious," she retorted, the pounding headache clashing with the voice of the overly cheerful nurse, causing her normally dormant sarcastic nature to rise to the surface. The nurse was taken aback by her comment, but replied, "Ah, well you're being kept here overnight for-" "Get me some AMA forms." "But-" "Now. And please tell me where my items are." Obviously intimidated by her tone, they quickly pointed to the table next to her, where her things were neatly folded and stacked, before scurrying off to get her the proper paperwork. Once they had left, she took out the IV they had given her carefully before stepping out of the hospital gown they had given her and into her normal clothes. Looking around the room, she could see she had been given a private room, likely because they had seen her watch on her wrist. Before Misaki could pick up her phone and call her cousin to get picked up (after all, it was very unlikely the idiot left the car in the parking lot for her), her watch began to loudly beeped. A low growl left her mouth as she rubbed her head, still pounding. "Alright another announcement hunters. Prey have appeared at the headquarters." That was quick. "Looks like you slacked off. Oh. And looks like one of you have ended up in the hospital. Hope that one ain't done in by the prey." Merely by an idiot. One that will be emptying his stomach contents very soon. "Anyway, I will need some capable hunters to head to the headquarters as prey are gradually swarming in. The games will end when any one prey managed to find our organizer. It means you guys lost. Well, not that it matters to me but it will affect your performance and credibility and it would end the games prematurely. Summary, buck up. That is all. And don't forget to come to the headquarters." And with that, the message ended. Without wasting another minute, she got her cell phone before dialing up Tony's phone. After a few rings, he answered. "Misaki! Where are you? We've been waiting for a while now!" "Hospital. Judging from where I was when I was knocked unconscious by the idiot, it's likely Midora General." "That-!" "Tony, I have a pounding headache right now. So please do not complain." "Do you want us to pick you up?" "I would like that. I assume that the idiot either left your car or took it." "He better have not!" "Lower your voice Tony. Headache." "Sorry. Well, we'll be there in ten to fifteen minutes." "I'll be waiting." As she hung up, the nurse came back with the AMA forms and a pen, which she signed promptly. Once she made sure she had forgotten nothing and got some pain killers for her headache, she made her way out to the entrance. By now the group should be close enough to be arriving any moment. So she stood outside, the cool night air brushing against her as she popped a pill into her mouth.

Before Sakila could answer, someone called out, "CALL FOR SAKILA. IS THERE SOMEONE CALLED SAKILA? SOMEONE CALLED TJ IS ASKING FOR." TJ shouldn't be asking for Sakila. He doesn't know her. They looked towards the person in unison before Misaki noted, "You realize this is quite likely a trap since TJ would call my phone if he wished to reach us?" "Of course. But it's best to make him think we're falling for his trap, isn't it?" "That would be a good course of action." So the two girls headed over to the man holding the phone. "I'm Sakila" she said as she took the phone and put it on speaker so the she could hear. She made sure to pause before continuing, "Hello... hello...? TJ...?" "No, not TJ. It's me and as you can guess, I'm still free," the idiot laughed. Of course. So predictable. "How did you know where I was?" Sakila asked, obviously feigning surprise. "Well, look the car." They directed their gaze to the car, where the idiot was grinning and waving. "Who is now idiot? YOU TWO ARE!" Without saying another word, he drove off in a flash, leaving a blank-staring Sakila and a slightly-frowning Misaki. After a minute of silence, she said, "Let's go back inside. No point standing outside." As they began to walk back in, she noticed her bike still in the parking lot. "Why is my bike still in the parking lot? It should be in TJ's garage." "Ah... Um..." ".... You told them where the idiot was, didn't you?" "I might have..." "Were you aware I told them not to go after him?" "... Yes." Before the prey could realize what had happened, she was pulled closer to the hunter. Her fingernails pressed into the skin as Misaki said, her voice taking a deeper tone than usual and her face unreadable, "Listen, if I say not to do something, you are not to do it or help it be done. Do you understand? Failure to do so in the future shall result in extermination of our... partnership." The girl paused before giving a nod. "I'm glad we've come to an agreement," she continued as she released her arm. "Now, are TJ and Tony in his room?" "Last I saw them, they were." "Let's go there then. Knowing how the idiot works, they're probably still there. So show me the way." And so they headed up to the room, where they found the two unconscious, with a pool of blood slowly spreading out underneath TJ. With a gentle jab from her shoe, they began to stir. "Ughhh..." one of them groaned as the two began to sat up. Misaki squatted down to meet them at eye level, analyzing their injuries and everything nearby. As she began to untie them, she said, "You two came in, deciding it was wise to go against what I told you to do, but before you could hit him, the idiot used a metal pipe and hit TJ in the face, though you should have been able to dodge it since you've been through worse from your gang days." "Hey!" he interrupted. "He caught me off guard, ok?" "Or you are getting rusty. Afterwards, Tony was likely threatened with something, probably with a gun, and was forced to tell him where I was since there's no way he'd know where I was otherwise. Afterwards, he gave you the metal canister, filled with sleeping gas, which knocked you two unconscious. Once you were out, he tied you up. Based off the evidence I can see, I assume I'm correct." Tony nervously confirmed, "Yeah..." She gently began to dab at TJ's face with her handkerchief, causing the man to wince, as she said, "Well, while I understand that you had to tell him where I was in fear of your life, I still disapprove of the fact that you two disregarded what I said." Misaki continued, her voice becoming darker, "From now on, you are not to go after him. He is mine." TJ said, curious at the usage of a tone of voice he hadn't heard in years, "Damn girl, what did he do?" "He implied that I was an idiot and was dumber than him." "Shit, does he have a death wish or something?" Tony added in. Sakila asked, "How did he get a death wish from calling Mimorin a name?" Her cousin let out a snort. "Mimorin?" Misaki shot him a look, causing him to shut up. TJ explained, "This girl here has a thing about havin' her intelligence insulted, especially towards people who disrespect her as well. Last time it happened, it was when I wanted out of the gang five years ago and Cap, the leader, said no. My girl decided to help a bro out and had a chat with the gang. He told her off and called her a stupid bitch, she took out his eye and almost killed him. Would have too had we not stopped her. As a result, I got out and she managed to get the gang shitting bricks whenever she came in the area." The girl stared at her for a second before saying, "... Wow." "Yeah," Tony continued for his friend, "Cuz rarely loses her temper, but insulting her intelligence is something that blows her top really quick. Though Unc ragged on her really hard afterwards when she did. I don't think I had ever seen him as angry as I saw that day. She ended up being grounded for a week. No one could see her, not even the family. Though the family sure as hell didn't want much to to do with her since-" "There is no need to share unnecessary information," she cut in. "I did as I saw fit and I continue to stand by my decision." "Hey, we ain't complaining," TJ said, hands up defensively. "You got me out girl and I'll always be grateful for that." Misaki got up from her crouch before grabbing Tony's keys from his pocket and heading to the door. "I'm heading out for a while. Need to do some hunting," she said. "Borrowing your car since you failed to get my bike fixed like I asked." "But it's almost 1 AM!" Tony replied. "Still got time to catch someone before the beeping stops," she continued. "Sakila, take those two up to my room and take care of their injuries. You know where it is. Here's the key." The girl threw the key to her. And without another word, she left, heading downstairs to the parking lot. Once she was outside, she could hear the faint shrills of the preys' watches. Sticking the key into the car's ignition, she turned it and began to drive. Misaki let open a window, finding the breeze coming from it pleasant. As she left one hand on the steering wheel, her other hand found its way up to the small container around her neck. She gently stroked the metal a few times before letting her hand fall as she took slow breaths in. And out. In. And out. I must stay in control. I must.

Misaki let out a content sigh as she soaked in the bath, the hot water soothing to her muscles. It was rare she took baths, but when she did, she thoroughly enjoyed them. Though she had planned to stay in longer, a familiar ringtone rang out from the bedroom. The small smile that had rested on her lips turned into a frown as she quickly wrapped a towel around herself before going over to the nightstand to get her phone and answer it. "Hello Tony." "Hey Cuz! You won't believe this! I found prey! Yeah, at the hotel! No idea how she got in here though." Most likely her. Best make sure though. "She has short, messy hair, correct?" "What? Yeah. Um, yeah, she is. How do you know-" "Black clothing?" "-yeah she's wearing black clothes." Thought so. She must do a better job hiding from the masses. "I see. She is my... partner. "What? WHAT?! Partner?! What partner?! But I--but you--but--so what do I do?" "Leave her be." "Aw man! And I really wanted to-" "Tony. You are to leave her. Do you understand?" "Fine! I got it! Don't worry, Cuz, you can trust me." "Good. Goodbye Tony." "Yeah. Okay. Later." Snapping her phone shut, she began to start drying off as she headed back to the bathroom to get dressed, put some make up on and do her hair. While it was late, she always liked to look the best she could. A half hour later, she was ready and was about to go downstair when her watch started to project a voice. "Heya all." It was the Weasel. "I've received news that the sponsors are not very amused with your pace. As such, I shall impose a time limit on the kill. One day. One kill. If you do not meet this criteria, I shall disable the watches on you. Well, I'm sure with your abilities, that should be awfully easy. That is all." The screen of the watches changed to display a timer. 24:00:00. She stared at the watch for a moment, watching as the seconds ticked away. Criteria's annoying, though more than manageable. Without wasting a second more at looking at her watch, she made her way downstairs. She figured that if her side had been given a new twist, the other side would get one as well. Especially since the sponsors were not amused at the pace. If that was the case, likelihood was that she would be getting a phone call from Sakila any- RING RING RING RING She answered right away. In the background, she could hear a a rather loud beeping sound, but before she could say anything, the girl spoke. "Yo, Mimorin?" She deadpanned. "Do not call me that." The girl ignored her statement. "We might just have a problem. And I really need your help!" "Where are we meeting?" "Parking lot." "And what is that annoying beeping sound?" "I'll explain when you get here." "Fine. I'll be down soon." Without saying goodbye, she hung up as the elevator doors opened. It didn't take her long to find the girl, since the annoyingly loud beeping was ringing throughout the parking lot. "I'm here," she said as she approached Sakila. "Hey," she replied. "So, you have any idea how to help me out with my problem?" "Depends. What exactly is the problem?" "Every day, midnight to one AM the watch will beep continuously. However, it'll point us to the HQ." "So what exactly do you need help with?"

(Well you weren't exactly clear what you did to my bike.)

"... And then he jumped out of nowhere, scaring the crap outta me!" As Tony laughed heartily, she made sure to put up a humored face as well even though she didn't see the joke. Misaki twirled her pasta onto her fork, placing the last of the well-made dish into her mouth. Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she noted, "I must say, you were telling the truth when you said this was a good restaurant. Definitely could be better, but for being in a casio/hotel, rather good." "Have I ever steered you wrong?" he asked, a grin still plastered on his face. She replied, "No, but that's because most of the time your ideas are not very good ones and I ignore them." "Geez Cuz," he said, "always going right for the gut, aren't you?" "Merely telling the truth Tony." Before Tony could reply, their waiter asked, "Would you like anything else?" "No thank you," she replied. As she got up, the waiter said, "Ah, wait miss, your bill-" She flashed her watch, causing them to pale. "A-Ah, yes. Have a good evening then." With a curt nod, she exited the restaurant with her cousin following close behind. "So Cuz," he asked, "you heading out?" "Yes, I am. I plan on staying at a different hotel than this one." "Well, how about I accompany you? Can't let a lady like you go all alone in the dark!" "Tony-" Suddenly, she could hear her phone buzz in her pocket. Taking it out, she quickly glanced at it before continuing, "I would like that. Thank you." Misaki could see the slight surprise on his face from her acceptance of his offer. She was a rather independent soul, one that often refused companionship or help, especially when it was being offered because of her gender or age. But, knowing Tony, he was offering because she had done a good deal for him today and only wanted to be of help. So, she let him. After all, it didn't really impact her in any way and if she needed to, she could use him as a human shield. So they walked out until they reached her bike. After walking over to the side with the ignition, she stuck her key in and turned it before pressing her foot against the pedal. The bike let out a pathetic sputter, one that shouldn't be happening since she had just gotten her bike fixed. ... Well. I didn't take him as the type to do something like this without any sort of provocation. Tony, concerned, asked, "Hey, what's up with your bike Cuz? You normally keep this baby in top condition." "It seems a certain immature, sexist idiot has tampered with my bike once again." "Again? What'd he do the first time? And when?" "He caused me to flip over by stabbing a stick between my spokes while I was driving before taking out the tires because I had shot at his earlier in the day. And this took place yesterday afternoon." "What?! Cuz, who is this asshole?! Tell me and I'll go set them straight since no one gets away with messing with my cousin!" "Tony, that is unnecessary. I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own problems. And while a nuisance, it's nothing worth fighting over." He let out a whining noise. "But Cuzzzz." "I don't know his name, though he is the F-1 race car driver representative for the Hunt." He lightened up at the information. "Then I can find him right away and make him learn not to mess with the Mimoris'!" "Tony, no. I told you, do not fight him. It is a waste of energy. I will take care of this on my own." "But he messed with one of us! That's not cool!" "I don't care. I will deal with it." He let out a pout. "Fine..." She continued, "However, could you take my bike to TJ's on your way home and pick me up in the morning so I can retrieve my bike?" He shot her a smile. "Of course Cuz. Anything for you!" After grabbing her stuff out of the bike's compartment, she said, "You can take it now. I'll call TJ to tell him you're coming." "Kay Cuz! See you!" With a wave, she walked away from her cousin, leaving him with her precious bike. Once she was a few yards away, she took out her phone before dialing the familiar number. "Damn fool! Where you at? Told you to be here an hour ago!" "Hello TJ." "Girl! Sorry 'bout that, thought you were your boneheaded cousin." "That's why there's such a thing called caller ID. To know who's calling." "Sarcastic, aren't cha? Said I was sorry girl!" "I was merely stating a fact. But you will be seeing Tony quite soon. He'll be bringing in my bike once again." "Same guy?" "Yes." "Geez girl, you need to report this shit! Much as I love workin' on your ride, it pains me to see it being treated so cruelly!" "I will do as I see fit." "Want me to beat 'im up for ya? While I don't normally offer, I'd do it for you 'cause we tight." "Tony already offered. I refused. I can take care of myself TJ." "Kay, kay. So whatcha want done?" "Fix whatever is wrong. Besides that, do as you deem necessary." "Got it girl! Come get it at noon?" "OK. I will see you then. Goodnight TJ." "Night girl~ Sweet dreams~!" Snapping her phone shut, she made her way to the hotel portion of the large building. She would need somewhere to stay tonight and this was the best option. After flashing her watch to the front desk, they gave her a key to a nice room up on the 20th floor. Once she got upstairs, she placed her stuff on the bed before making her way to the bathroom. She was in dire need of a bath and she was going to have one, especially after the last few days.

Misaki had been on the road for a while when she heard a familiar ringtone fill her ears. Pressing the button on the side of her helmet, she said, "What did you do this time Tony?" "Geez Cuz! What makes you think I did something?" "You only call when you need something from me. And normally, needing something means you screwed up." "... You got me. Look, I'm at this casino-" "Uncle told you not to go to casinos anymore lest you wanted to be shot." "Which is why you can't tell him!" "I'll do as I see fit. Now continue your story." "OK, I'm at this casino, where I was playing some poker, and I may or may have not gotten some bad hands and got into debt..." "How much?" ".... A few hundred thousand?" "You really should stop gambling. This always happens." "I can't help it! It's just so addicting!" "You know Father would help you about your addiction." "I know... It's just... I can't, ok?" "How much in debt are you exactly?" "500 thousand dollars." "I will help you out of your debt." "I knew I could count on you Cuz!" "However, you will attend biweekly meetings with my father regarding my father indefinitely." "But-!" "You rather I not help, leaving you to be beaten up by the security guards like that one time three years ago?" ".... Fine." "Where are you?" "Midora Opryland." "I will be there in about 20 minutes. Meet me in the lobby." "You are a lifesaver!" "Goodbye Tony." She hung up, the ends of her mouth curving downward. ~~~~~ A wave of cool air immediately blowing against her skin as she entered the lobby. Misaki could see her cousin waving widely as he ran over to her, followed by two huge, muscular men. "Cuz!" he yelled out. She gave a curt wave as she met up with the small group. "Tony," she replied. Looking over to the men behind him, she said, "Since I know you two are not my cousin's friends, I assume you are the people meant to watch him while he is still in debt?" When one of them nodded, she continued, "I will be taking care of that. You should have your money by the end of the day." Without waiting for a response, she made her way to the place where one would get gambling chips before heading to a table playing blackjack. "Deal me in," she stated as she pushed several chips forward. "You got it hun." The cards were shuffled before they were dealt. She gave a blank look at her cards. Well this shall be easy. Three hours later and she had enough to cover Tony's debts and then some more to give to her father to help him cover his office costs. He wouldn't be happy to accept it, but he would. He always does. Misaki pressed the stack of bills into the hand of one of the muscular men. "Here you go." He gave a curt nod before turning to his partner, giving another nod and without a second to delay, they left. The minute they were out of sight, Tony grinned ecstatically, "Thank you Cuz! You're the best!" He attempted to entrap her in a hug, but she sidestepped him before responding, "Remember. You are to attend biweekly meetings with my father about your addiction." "Of course!" "Failure to do so will result in having to pay me back the amount your debt was in full plus a 5% interest rate for every month that passes along with never to be helped out in a future situation." "I won't, I promise!" "Don't promise, do. Understand?" "Yep. Now come on, let me treat you to a drink and dinner! This place got a real good restaurant!" She flashed him her watch. "No need." "Woah!" he exclaimed, grabbing her wrist to admire the device. "I heard from Uncle that you were in the Hunt, but I've never seen this before! It's soooo coooool!" "It's just a watch," she said. "Now let's go and get some dinner. I'm rather hungry since I haven't eaten since before getting your call asking for help to take care of your debts." "Geez, right in the gut Cuz." "It's the truth. Now let's go."

Misaki slowed to a stop as she pulled up to a gas pump. Her tank was near empty and needed to be filled. After it was filled up, she walked into the station, since even though she had the watch, she still needed to show it lest she wanted to be chased. And that would just be annoying. As she passed an aisle, chock full of snacks, her stomach let out a small growl. I should probably grab something. It's around lunch time and I haven't eaten since 5 AM. So, she grabbed a few snacks, not looking close enough to see what exactly she was getting, and headed up to the cash register to show her watch when suddenly two masked figures broke into the gas station. "GET ON THE GROUND!" one of them yelled out as they both held up their guns. Everyone did as they were told, afraid for their lives, except for her. She kept walking over to the counter and when she got there, held out her wrist and packs of food so the cashier could see it. "I also filled my tank. Just thought you should know," she said before heading to the door. "HEY!" the other one yelled out as they turned around and aimed their gun at her. "GET DOWN NOW!" With a deadpan look on her face, she asked, "Why? I'm leaving now." "BITCH, YOU GET ON THE GROUND NOW!" "Or what?" To answer her question, he pulled the trigger, shooting straight at her (as she predicted; the common criminal is so easy to guess). As she moved to the side, avoiding the flying bullet, she caught a glance at a watch on his hand, glowing an angry red. "Oh, how convenient," she noted as she whipped out her own gun and fired two shots. Before they could react, they were on the ground, blood pooling from their heads. "They aren't very smart prey..." she muttered to herself as she glanced at their dead bodies. She then turned to the cashier, who was now getting up off the floor and said, "I apologize for the mess in here." And with that, she left, opening up a bag of chips and placing one into her mouth, breaking it with a satisfying crunch.

TJ stood outside, an amused grin on his face, as she drove into the the garage. "Right on the dot girl," he said. "Of course. We agreed seven AM, I'm here seven AM. No earlier, no later." As Misaki walked over, she threw the borrowed bike's key back to him, and he to her. After giving her fixed bike a good look, she said, "Looks nice TJ." "Course! I worked on it after all girl. Now see, I did what you asked, but I also added some awesome upgrades to your ride. Made sure your bike can go faster than ever before, plus I gave it a sweet new paint job!" "Thanks. You did good work." "Awwww, girl, that's probably the sweetest damn thing you've said to me!" "It's the truth. And thank you for letting me borrow your bike." "Anythin' for you girl! Be sure to come back sometime, mkay? And bring some of your auntie's cookies too! They are da bomb!" She handed a small baggie, filled with cookies. "She says she sends her love. And you're my mechanic TJ. Will always be unless you die before I stop needing your services. Then I'll have to find another guy." "Thanks for the cookies girl~! And I promise not to die before you stop needing me." "I'm off. Thanks for fixing up my bike." "Anytime girl! See ya!" With a small wave, she was off, ready to start the new day with some prey killing.

"Thank you for the cookies Aunt," Misaki said as she wiped the chocolate off her face. Her aunt smiled, "You're welcome dear! Anything for you." "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go. Still need to hunt some prey." As she got up and headed to the garage, her father grabbed her and said, "Be careful. OK?" "OK Father. I will." Five minutes later, she was off, heading back towards the more densely populated part of the city when the idiot jumped out of a bush and stuck a stick in her spokes. She flew off as the bike flipped over, sticking out her hands to help lessen the impact of the fall. Managing to roll to safety with only a few scratches, she looked at her bike, now being stolen by the idiot. "You know, I don't like woman driving. They are so easily heated up," he said as he drove off. Again with the comments about how I'm "hot tempered". She whipped out her Glock and fired a shot at the back wheel, causing it to go flat. This didn't stop the idiot from jumping off, taking out his knife and saying as he stabbed it into the front tire, "And this is for front tire." And as she sat there, dropping her helmet to the ground, she watched him walk off. Misaki would have gone after him, but there's a time and a place for everything and this wasn't it. She would definitely make him regret messing with her bike though. She could hear her family running towards her as she got up, yelling out, "Are you ok?!" "Just a few scratches," she replied. "Come on Misa," her aunt said when they were only a few feet away, "let's get them cleaned up." "Yes Aunt." And thus ten minutes later she was being wrapped up by her aunt as her uncle and father sat on the other side of the kitchen table. "So do you want to tell us what happened?" her father asked. "A rather sexist idiot who is also a part of the Hunt and has nothing better to do but follow me around because he's so incompetent he can't rely on himself decided to stick a stick into the spoke of my bike, causing me to flip over, before taking it. I shot at him, causing the back tire to go out. Then he took his knife and took out my front tire. After that, he left." "How dare he!" her aunt yelled out. "That son of a bitch!" her uncle swore. "I swear I'm going to go after him and make him pay for hurting you!" Misaki said, "I can take care of myself Uncle. No need to go after him." "Did he do it because you took out the wheels on his bike?" her father asked. "That is most likely the cause. Though I did what I did because I felt him following me was annoying and wanted to discourage him from continuing to do so in the future." "Misaki... Haven't I told you time and time again that not using your words isn't the best course of action?" "You have. However, that would mean I would have to talk to him and as a result, I would have to listen to his nonsense." Before anyone could say anything more, she got up as she said, "I should get going. Father, Uncle, could either of you drive me to TJ's Motor Shop? I need to get my bike fixed." "I'll take you," offered her father. "Take my truck," her uncle added. She gave an nod in thanks to the two of them as they headed out to his car. Once her bike was loaded onto the back, they were off. The car ride was silent, though as they pulled into TJ's, he said, "Don't get hurt. And be sure to come by every once in a while." "I will Father." "Damn! Whatcha do to your bike girl? Haven't ever seen it this messed up!" TJ yelled out as he walked out to meet them. "I didn't do anything. An idiot with a stick and knife did this." "Well sure as hell am glad I ain't that poor sucker!" "Can you fix up my bike?" "Of course I can girl! Whatcha need done?" "Well, repair what's been broken obviously. Could you also add some covers for the spokes so sticks can't get put through my wheels and cause me to flip over?" "Got it!" "Make it a priority, will you? I want it back ASAP." "You're always a priority girl." "Nice to know. So how fast can you get the job done?" "Normally would take me a day, but since it's you, I'll stay up and get it done for you by the morning." "Thanks TJ." "No problem girl. How're you payin'?" Misaki flashed her watch at him. "Woah girl, didn't know you got into the Hunt!" "I am the best of the best," she replied. "But I'll be here 6 AM tomorrow. And can I borrow one of your bikes for the day?" "Course girl! Take your pick. Keys are on the wall. And make it seven?" "OK. I'll see you then. Thanks." "Bu-bye girl." She made her way to where TJ kept the bikes. After taking a quick look at the selection, she chose the bike that was closest to her model before grabbing the key and jumped on. I've lost some time. Better hurry and try and get a few more prey while there's still sun out. Once it goes down, might make it a bit harder.

She was just pulling out of the gun store's parking when Misaki glanced at her bike's mirror, letting out an annoyed huff as she saw the idiot was still following her. He's not very good at trailing. And while she would much rather take care of it, she decided she would do it in a place less populated by wandering civilians. So she rode her bike until she was in a residential neighborhood. The sun was setting as she parked in the garage of the house she often spent time in. Quickly, she snatched the key from hanging from a hook nearby before closing the garage door and entering the house. As she closed the door, she said, "Uncle? Aunt? Father? Stopping by." The minute she said a word, her family made their way to her. "Misaki!" her uncle jollily said as he patted her on the back. "How's the Hunt?" "OK," she responded. "Though I'd like to borrow your rifle for a few minutes." "Of course, of course! Anything for the Hunt!" As he ran to go get it, her father came in closer and asked, "What do you need a rifle for for a few minutes?" "Need to take care of a problem." "Misaki..." "It is a problem. One that's been needing to be taken care of for quite some time." Before her father could question her further, her aunt stepped in and asked, "Misa, would you like some chocolate chip cookies? I just made some and I know they're your favorite!" "Perhaps a little later." Her uncle had now come back with the gun, assembled and ready to use. He handed it to her as he proudly stated, "Best rifle you'll ever see!" "I'm sure Uncle," she replied as she made her way upstairs. "Where are you going dear?" her aunt asked. "Upstairs to take care of my problem." As she heard the worried mutters from her family, she situated herself in her cousin's room. From there, she had a clear view of the idiot's bike. Aiming carefully, she pulled the trigger twice, sending each bullet into the wheels of his bike. That'll take care of him for a while. And though it's not the best plan, it'll work for now.

"Hey. All hunters in the centre of the ring please" People looked around, but complied to the Weasel's request. Suddenly, the scenery changed and next thing she knew, they were somewhere that wasn't the stadium. Looking around, Misaki saw that they were on top of a building. As she peered over the edge, she could see a group of people at the base of the building. Must be the prey. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a gigantic airship flew overhead, covering them in a large shadow. "TO ALL PARTICIPANTS OF THE HUNT~! WELCOME!" The Weasel muttered something, though she didn't catch what. The welcome echoed throughout the entire area as the other host continued. "We are the main organizers of the event and we welcome you to our headquarters. Or at least an image of our head quarters. NOW, I'm sure the hunters already know the rules pretty well, but I shall do a basic introduction to the rules! 3 things you need to note. No hurting any civilians, try not to destroy the infrastructure! Kill all the prey! That's all. Now the prey. THOSE PEOPLE BELOW, if you still don't get it, you're the PREY! It means, you are the ones getting HUNTED! If you all want to know what's going on, why you're here, how to get back... There is only one way... And that is.. TO FIND ME! Where am I you ask?" Suddenly the words "I AM HERE" appeared on the body of the air ship, glowing a bright green. The voice continued."As you can see. I am on this ship. Find me~ but I'm sure you won't be able to~" A banner trailed from the back of the ship. It displayed the words 'YOU CAN'T CATCH ME'. "So what you need to do is to survive. Your watches will flash a red light when the hunters are within 500 meters of you. Survive and catch me. Now since all of you know the rules, let us start the games. The games will start when you return to your starting location. The battle field this year, is the ENTIRE NEW MIDORA!" Lovely. This will be fun. Fireworks blasted, causing some people to jump, and filled the entire sky in rainbow colors. Even the airship spouted fireworks. "Alright, let us begin. GOODLUCK ALL PARTICIPANTS!" With that, the surrounding changed again and returned back to the original location. Chatter immediately filled the air as people began to pair up to work together. Some started to walk away, Misaki included, intent on going after the prey alone. The Hunt's HQ is about a half hour to forty five minutes away by motorcycle. Since most of the prey are not from here, they don't know the area at all. So they're probably going to run, try and find the Rabbit ASAP. I'm sure some will hide till dark as well. Well, since they're going in all directions, I'm probably going to run into a few on my way. She got on her bike as she stuck her hand into her bag, getting out a Glock and its holster. Sticking it on her belt, she got her bike started and then she was off. It was about twenty minutes in when she saw her first prey. They were hiding (quite badly she thought) behind a trash can in an alley. Turning her bike into it, she followed the prey, who was now running away from her, getting out her Glock and leaving only one hand on the handle bars. In a snap second, she took the other hand off, took off the safety, and shot. She watched, satisfied, as the person fell to the ground. Blood pooled around the head as she brought her bike closer to the body, wanting to look at this prey. She wasn't surprised when she saw that it had nothing on it. Of course The Hunt took their personal belongings. With one last glance, Misaki turned around and headed back towards the streets. Well, might as well hit a gun store. A hunting store too would be nice. Maybe I'll stop by my house. Grab more of my stuff, drop off what I don't need.

The hunt will be starting soon. Please gather at the starting point within 30 minutes for the starting briefing. If you're not there within 30 minutes, we will take it that you will not be participating and disqualify you from this year's hunt. The games will be starting straight after the briefing, so bring whatever you need to the briefing. The venue for the starting point this year is the twenty-twenty baseball stadium. End of message. Misaki quickly scanned the message before getting up and heading up to her room. After grabbing her stuff from her room, she mad her way back downstairs and to the parking lot. Thankfully, since she owned a motorcycle (despite her troupe leader's protests), she had been able to grab a spot very close to the entrance and only a few minutes later she was off, making her way to the stadium. She got there ten minutes later and stood outside to admire the architecture for a minute after grabbing her bag out of her motorcycle's compartment. The stadium was a big one, one of the biggest in the New Mirdora. It was well built as well, both aesthetically and technically. Putting on her sunglasses to keep the sun out of her eyes, she began to walk inside to get onto the field. Counting the number of people that were on the field as she stepped out on the fake grass, she figured that about a third of the group had beat her there. She glanced at the government-provided watch and saw there was still about thirteen minutes before the briefing started. So in the meantime, she took out her newspaper, sat down on the grass and read.

Misaki could feel the sun on her skin as she stretched, using the bar provided by the Hunt. After finishing her almost hour-long routine, she sipped water from her bottle as she wiped her sweat from her skin. Taking a look at the clock, she saw it was 6:55 AM. The restaurant downstairs is opening in a few minutes. Better go now so I can avoid the rush. Quickly, she threw on the outfit she had decided on the night and grabbed her watch and newspaper, sticking it in her pocket, before before heading downstairs to the cafe. As she entered, she was cheerily greeted by a server. "Welcome to Cafe Captatio! Table for one?" "Yes," she replied. Captatio. Latin. I like it. "Right this way!" the server said as she led her to a table. "Here's your menu. Do you want anything to drink?" "May I have a coffee and a glass of water please?" "What blend?" "Your best one." With a smile on their face, the server happily left her to go get her drinks. It didn't take long, and soon Misaki could hear the clinking of the cups on the table as she looked over the menu. "Have you decided what you want to eat?" "I would like a croissant and vegetarian omlette please." Another happy smile was sent her way before they merrily skipped off once more. By now, she could hear more participants started to file in, slowly filling up the large cafe. As she read her newspaper, the server set down her food. "Here you go!" "Thank you," she said as she put up a small smile before beginning to eat. By now, almost everyone had come down and was happily eating. As for her, she was contently reading her newspaper as she sipped her second cup of coffee when it happened. At first it was one watch beeping. Then two. Finally, the cafe filled with beeping as everyone checked their watches, reading what was on the screen.

The lights suddenly flashed on, causing Misaki to squint, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. A voice announced, "Attention. All robots eliminated. Participants please gather in generator room." The two looked upward towards the speaker, but stayed put since both were already in the generator room. Soon more people filed in and eventually everyone was more or less present. She noticed there were plenty of people wounded along with five people missing. A screen flashed on, showing the Weasel. "Alright. Congratulations on making it here. It was easy wasn't it?" he said. "All of you who made it here passed the trial. A pity. 5 died," he continued. "However, let's ignore the insignificant and start with our briefing shall we. Please look at the screen." The screen changed, replacing the Weasel with a full screen full of photos. "These are your targets for this year. We'll be handing out the information lists in a while so you do not have to worry." There are a great deal of people I don't recognize. And since the prey often are criminals and are on TV... Hm, so they've started to do that.... "Oh yes. I see some alarmed faces. Could it be you're surprised by the sheer number of people you have never seen before on the list? Or could it be because the number of targets increased compared to the previous years?" The Weasel paused for some response before he said, "Well, there's no need to worry. I'm hundred percent certain you'll never have seen these people in your life before." The screen turned back to the Weasel, showing him taking a puff from his pipe. "We'll be handing out the watches with the target's information now." A compartment opened from below the screen and several mechanical arms emerged from within holding what seems to be a watch. The mechanical arms handed the watch to every participant. Looking around, she saw that some started to play around with it immediately. After all has been handed out, the Weasel continued his explanation. "Alright. Since some of you are new, I will explain to you about the watches. This watch is a communication device between me an you. It will also contain all the information I pass to you. The first piece of information I'll be passing to you is the target information. There is also data access to the entire libraries in New Mirdora from this watch. You can search for whatever information as you like. This watch is also a pass for you to buy all the items you require. Just step into any shop and show them this watch. You will be able to get any items you need." More people started fiddling with the item. "Now, it is late. We will start the games the first thing in the morning. I will announce you the start of the hunt through the watch, so pay attention. The maps to your rooms is in your watches as well. You can move freely in this building until the start of the games. Any other questions?" A hand raised. "Yes?" "I have checked and there are no available information for some of the targets." "Ah. Didn't I mention this just now? That I was sure you have never ever seen these people before? Well, that is because these people DO NOT EXIST in this world." Misaki saw quite a couple of alarmed faces. She herself was slightly surprised, but not because she didn't know the technology to do so wasn't around. No, it was more because she didn't think it would happen so soon. She had estimated the government wouldn't do so for at least another five years, but with the lack of criminals and the love for the Hunt, it made sense that they would do so sooner. "What this means is entirely up to your interpretations, but since they do not exist, we'll have no information to supply you with. Good luck with that. Any other questions?" Chatter filled the entire room, words bouncing all around. "Well if no other questions, please head to your room for the night. You can send me a message through the watch. I'll reply to you if I feel like it. Lastly, remember to pay attention to your watch for the start of the hunt. Good night." With that, the weasel disappeared from the screen. ~~~~~ The beginning notes from a score in Coppélia entered the air as Misaki stepped out of her bathroom, fresh from a shower. Since she was feeling grimy after the long day, the hot shower had felt pleasing for her body. She noticed the music right away and grabbed her phone before answering, not even needing to check the caller ID to see who was on the other end. "Hello Father," she answered as she rubbed her hair in her towel. "Misaki! How are you?" "I'm well. So what are you calling for?" "Always to the point, aren't you?" "Easier that way, don't you think?" "I know, I know. So, how is it?" "If you're calling just to express your disapproval, please get on with it." "Look, I just don't think-" "-that it wouldn't be good for me, especially with how I am. I know Father. But remember, I am not one, I am merely like one." "You know just as much as I do that you are one." "Not what you told me." "You've always told me not to tell you what you already know." "Touché." "So have you found what was new about this year's Hunt?" "They're using prey not from our world." "WHAT?!" "Oh Father, you know just as well as I do that this was going to happen eventually. Our technology is advance enough to do so after all and we are running out of criminals to use as prey." "But still! This is an outrage! I mean, it was ok before when they just were using criminals, but now they're dragging people who have nothing to do with our world! And-" "You know your ranting will do little to change the facts, so there's no use doing so. You're just a man with big thoughts and a big mouth, but don't have the balls to do shit." "Misaki!" "It's the truth. Plain and simple." "You truly need to learn more tact... But Misaki, since you know what's new, there's no need to participate." "Perhaps not in your opinion, but I would like to meet one of these people and learn more about their world. They intrigue me." "Misaki...." "Don't worry Father, I'll be fine. I promise if I get out of control, I'll use it. That's always been the plan, has it not?" "Doesn't mean I like it." "It works though, doesn't it?" "Ugh... Look, I'm going to bed. Please... Be careful, ok?" "OK Father, OK." "Good night Misaki. Love you." "Good night Father." She snapped her phone shut before setting it down on the nightstand, looking at the clock as she did so. The red numbers read 22:30. I best get to bed. It's late and I need my sleep. Misaki threw her towels to the ground before putting on some sleeping clothes and heading over to the switch to turn off the lights. After that, she slipped under the sheets and put in some earbuds. She grabbed her music player and scrolled through her playlist, wondering what ballet she should listen to. Eventually, she chose Cinderella and snuggled under the covers. Soon, she was lulled to sleep, the images of dance steps in her dreams.

"Don't worry, I'm not in love to you," he said, clarifying his mutter. Good. People in love are such a nuisance. They fell into a blissful quiet for a few minutes, one Misaki was appreciative to have. But sadly, all good things come to an end. He asked, "Do you think we should move on?" "Do what you want," she replied as she kept going forward.

"I guess that you are Misaki Mimori. You are quite well know in the world," Aleksander said gloomily. So he does know me. Well, then it was a waste of time to ask for my name. "And I guess that you know me even I think you are not sophisticated either. And oh could you give my knife back." Actually, I don't know your name. Though I really don't want to either. And did you really just say I was not sophisticated? Adding "ignorant" to the list since he obviously would not know sophistication even if it hit him in the face. "Actually, I was going to keep it," Misaki replied, annoyed he would even dare suggest that she wasn't sophisticated and as a result, wasn't in the mood to give it back just yet. "Don't you dare. If you don't give it as good, I'll take it as bad," Aleksander threatened. She could hear him pick something up, though she couldn't tell what. Is he really trying to threaten me? Wow. Must have a deep attachment to the knife. Perhaps from a dead relative. Judging from his age, grandfather is a likely choice. But best find out what he has as his weapon. That way I know what I'm dealing with. She swung her bat, figuring that it'd either hit him or his weapon. Lucky for her, it was the latter. A strong ringing sound echoed out as he blocked her swing. Judging from the ringing sound and taking into account what I used to hit it with... Metal, thin. Probably a pipe since there's no way he'd try and hit me if I had the longer weapon. So it's likely around the same length as the bat. He doesn't want to kill me or knock me out. No, he just wants me to bruise a little but stay conscious. Which means... She could hear the whoosh of air as he swung the weapon at her. Swiftly, she contorted her body so that the pipe barely made contact with her diaphragm. She fell onto the ground, since if she hadn't the pipe really would have made contact with her. As she made gasping sounds, letting him under the impression he had actually hit her, he took his knife out of her pocket. "Like I said, I'll take what's mine," Aleksander said as she rubbed the bottom of her pants. Ugh, damnit, I think I got my pants dirty. Can't tell without any light though. Misaki got up, already making a plan to get back as the idiot if her pants did end up dirty, when she heard him mutter, "Sorry mi love..." She froze for a second before continuing to make her way around the generator room. .... I hope he's not talking about me. People in love are so annoying.

It's said that when someone is deprived of one of their sense, the other four become sharper. Misaki knew for a fact that was true. As she walked around carefully, she could hear her heels clicking, the idiot's shoes squeaking, and their controlled breaths. But the sound of squeaking was soon replaced by something else. The constant muffled sound of metal clicking together. Automatically, she began to make connections, though she still kept moving. No more shoe squeaking - The idiot stopped walking. Thank god, the sound was really annoying. Muffled sound - He's putting something in his backpack. Maybe pocket, though the bag is more likely. Clicking of metal - What he's putting in his bag is metal. The multiple clicks - It's more than one. Judging from the clicking sound, it's likely a large amount of the same thing. There's been a lot of clicks, so there's a lot of them too. Gears and tools are a logical choice, though they would weigh him down significantly and would take up a good amount of room. Also, too many clicks for it to be possible. Since this is the Hunt.... A logical conclusion would be bullets. Small knives are also an option. As to why.... Most likely the same reason I took the bat, he- "Hey tell me, what is your name?" Aleksander asked, interrupting her thoughts. Not really wanting to tell him, she replied, "You should know it. I am very well known within my circle. Of course, you're rather unsophisticated so it makes sense."

Misaki walked around for a while, the blonde trailing behind her like a lost puppy. She would much prefer it if he just left her alone, but decided that she could always just use him for the dirty work (after all, it'd be terrible if she got her new leather coat dirty). Eventually, they came across a room, with the words GENERATOR ROOM printed in red at the top of the door. She gave it a push, though it didn't open. As she grimaced at the black substance (most likely grease or something like it) that now stained her hand, she wiped it on a nearby wall and said, "It's locked up." "Would you please let me to open the door?" he replied as he began to dig around in his bag, not waiting for a response. I normally wouldn't, but for the sake of my clothing, might as well see how badly he manages to screw u- Are. You. Kidding. Me. He took the bomb out of his backpack. As to why he thought it would be a great idea to carry a bomb around was beyond even her capability to understand. And she could understand a lot. In the meantime, he attached the bomb into the lock before taking the ends of two wires, attached them to an old fashion detonator (as to where he got that, she had no clue) and walked around the corner. "Would you come here please," he said. I'd rather cut off my hand than listen to what you want, but I would rather not be blown up. As a result, she walked over slowly, making sure to show in her body language she wasn't listening to him because she wanted to, but because she would rather not be blown up. As soon as she joined him, he pressed down the lever. BOOOM! The bomb wasn't very big in size, but with the sound of the explosion reverberating off the walls, it could fool one into thinking it was far bigger. The two entered the room, which was pitch black. "Pe*rkele! You got flashlight?" he asked. "Does it look like I have one?" she replied as she kept walking, feeling her way around the room. While this isn't ideal (after all, I could ruin any article of clothing if I manage to slip in anything), it's the best option for now. He remained silent.

"Yes. I got a pocket knife. Move away!" Aleksander answered. Misaki didn't move, since this idiot would just kill them both if she did. Instead, she held out her hand, waiting for the knife to be put in her hand. However, the blonde didn't seem to want to give it up, so instead he shoved her onto the floor. She allowed his hand to make contact with her body, but moved discreetly and quickly enough so that she would land unharmed. After all, had he injured her, things would not end up pretty. After rudely pushing her down, he opened up the bottom part of the panel. Idiot. Complete and utter idiot. I best respond to him in ways that he should be able to understand. Otherwise, his stupidity might not let the message through. "WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE DOING?!" she shouted to him, positive that using a raw-sounding emotion would make him respond. "I just saved our lives from your temperament. I guess you where just going to cut that and attach that with few more things but you wasn't going to open the bottom half," Aleksander replied. The irony. But adding "likes to make assumptions based on little to no facts" to the list on him, since he has no proof I wasn't going to open the bottom portion even though I didn't feel the need to until I got to Step 23. Though for the sake of being able to get an upper hand when needed, I best act as he thinks I am like. After all, idiots can only understand others who act like idiots. "Well why should I?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer. "If you don't want to blow that thing up," the idiot said as he pointed the bomb. Bombs blowing up are generally something people don't want to happen. Really, this is an insult to my intelligence. I would hope he would think I'd have enough common sense to know that. "You see this very thin wire here attached to the bomb. Well, it will blow it up if you add electricity from this opening button to it as I guess you were going to do." Really, I feel insulted. I had a different plan entirely. Idiots should not pretend to be smart. "So first..." He stopped speaking as he put his knife against the thin wire, ready to cut. But true to her nature, Misaki would not let an idiot like him take care of the wire. While I'd much rather keep up this idiot act (as it pains me to admit) so I can get the upper hand when needed, keeping a bomb from killing me take pertinence. So instead of watching him cut it, she swung her leg out and made him topple to the floor. Swiftly, she grabbed the knife out of his hand and stood up. Looking at the bottom part of the panel, she took in the setup in milliseconds. The wiring was a little different than she had first thought (though nothing she didn't think could happen), so she quickly switched from Plan 2HR7 to Plan 9EU8 before she began. It didn't take her long to do what was needed, and by the time a minute had passed, she had the door open and a still-intact bomb. As Misaki picked up her fallen baseball bat, she looked at the blonde, obviously perplexed at what she had done, and said, her tone frosted over, "You really should treat a lady with more respect. It's quite rude to push one on the ground." And with that she walked away, the sound of her clicking heels on tile echoing in the hall.

Suddenly, a loud buzz rang through the air. Misaki looked around, curious as to where the sound was coming from. "Hey. All participants of the hunt." It was the Weasel. "Let's do a summary of results up til now shall we? Let's see... Thirty minutes have passed. Number of robots killed. 80. Number of robots remaining. 20." He paused. "Hmm... Looks like some of the newbies this year are doing well. Taken down more than half of them robots. The rest of you, I'm sure you don't wanna lose to the newbies eh? Time to buck up..." Another pause. "Anyway, the remaining 20 robots are nearing the generator room already. Start to hurry people. You don't want to be stuck here until the games next year do you? Pick your butts up and head to the generator room now. I'll be waiting." Silence. With the announcement done with, she began walking again since there were still robots to be destroyed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a flashing light, but didn't really care enough about it to look further. She could hear footsteps, probably from the race car driver moving around before a rumble echoed in the hall. His footsteps quickened as he came back over to her and whispered (though as to why she didn't know; they were alone), "There is door. Come and help me to get it up. Quickly, there is a bomb too." Great. A bomb. Just what I need. "Fine," she said. "I'll help. So tell me: how did you get the door open in the first place?" "I pressed a button," he replied as he pointed to it. Misaki walked over to it and studied it for a minute. Adding to assessment: Finland Boy isn't very smart. After all, the solution is quite simple. Taking a bobby pin out of her hair, she used it to unscrew the top part of the panel. Underneath laid wires and circuit boards. Need to cut that, attach it there, hook it up over there.... She ran through what she needed to do in her head and was about to begin when she realized she needed something to cut the wires with. Could use my teeth, but I'd rather not. "Hey. Do you have something sharp, like a knife?"

(When did I get hair and blood on the bat? The only time it was used was when the NPC I stole it from used it to crush the robots.) "Hey! Have you seen those rabbits?" Misaki turned around, wanting to see who was speaking. There stood a blonde male, rather tall and pale. From his appearance alone, it's quite obviously from Finland. His indicators say race car driver, though not payed for by his family. Plays cards as well. She responded, making sure to add surprise to her tone, "Rabbits?" "Yes. Rabbits. The robots?" he clarified. "Oh, I see. Well, I haven't seen them yet. Here's hoping I don't run into too many!" she said as she put up a smile.

As the screen shut off, the crowd was left chattering amongst themselves. Already Misaki could see people finding familiar faces and teaming up to take down the robots. But she did not follow their lead, since she was never the type to work in a group when it could be avoided. Instead, her eyes quickly scanned the room, looking for anything she could use a weapon (since after all, it'd be stupid to try and destroy robots with a high current). Spotting a wooden bat being held by the baseball player standing all alone, she smirked as she sauntered over there. Already she had a plan formulated in her head as to how to get it. "Hey," she greeted, allowing her tone to take a slight flirtatious tone as she approached him. "Hello Sweetheart," he replied. She internally cringed. "So I was wondering," she continued, fingering the cloth on his shirt, "maybe we could work together, you and me? After all, you're big and strong and I'd love to have the help." He cockily grinned, obviously under the impression that she was interested in him (though he was nothing special; his intelligence was an insult to the human race and he was far too buff for her tastes). "Well, I'd love to," he said as he smacked his bat against his beefy hand. "So shall we go and destroy some robots?" With a flirty grin, she replied, "We shall." Tugging on his sleeve, she led him out of the room and into the large hallway. Unlike the hallway she had taken to get to the room, this one had a long row of doors. "How about this room?" he asked as he pointed to a door. "Sure," Misaki replied as she followed him in. The room wasn't lit, but she could see the dim glow of the robots' eyes. Right away, the man began to swing his bat, crushing the robots one by one. It didn't take him long to take out the group, since there weren't many of them. While he was taking them out, she watched him do it, not seeing the point of doing it if he was taking care of it for her. As the last robot fell to the ground, destroyed, he smiled triumphantly. "Check that out! The Brucemeister winssssss!" She put a smile on her face to match his as she stepped closer before gently placing her hand on his face. "Congratulations... Brucemeister." His hand fell onto the small of her back as he roughly pulled her closer, pressing them together. He leaned his face closer, his breath stinking of hot dogs, he asked, "So, how about a good job kiss?" She leaned closer as well as her hand slipped down to his next, their noses touching. "I'd love to..." Squeezing tightly, Misaki held onto a pressure point on his neck, one she knew for a fact would knock him out quickly. True to her knowledge, in seconds the man was sprawled over the floor. As she picked up the bat, she gave him a pat on the head. "... Take your bat," she continued. "Have fun without it." Slinging it over her shoulder, she slipped out of the room and shut it behind her. "Fool," she muttered to herself as she stalked down the hall, the sound of her heels echoing. "Shouldn't be so trusting."

Six months ago... A thunderous applaud grew louder as Misaki bowed, sweat slipping down her painted face. Moving back a few steps, the curtains swept shut, hiding the smiling cast on stage. As soon as it closed, praise bounce around the area. "Great job!" "You were amazing as Odette Misaki!"" "Your fouetté rond de jambe en tournant was perfect!" She put up a smile as she said, "Thank you everyone. But this show wouldn't have been great without you all!" Small chatter filled the air as everyone headed to the dressing rooms, more than ready to get out of the ballet shoes and costumes, until only she was left. It was only then she let her smile drop, leaving her face blank. "My fouetté rond de jambe en tournant was flawed," she muttered to herself as she began to spin, ready to practice to move until she was satisfied. "Really now? I thought it was quite lovely." "Well then, you must not be cultured enough to know any different," she replied as she glanced over in the left wing, where the source of the voice was. Standing there was a man, clad in a black suit. Well-kept. A bit cocky. Does repetitive motions. Knows how to handle people. So obviously from the government. Here for a reason. Probably The Hunt. "Ouch," he said, acting as if he had actually been hurt, "Cruel." "Well, I feel that is the truth. So let me guess, you want me to compete to enter The Hunt?" "How did you-" "You're from the government and you're here for a reason. It's also that season. Honestly, you shouldn't ask such stupid questions." "Well," he said, "since you already know why I'm here, I'll leave the details here on this chair for you to look at later." "No need. Not interested," her reply was as she kept spinning. He asked, his voice full of shock, "But why?! The Hunt-" "-is a boring event. If I wanted to join, I would have done so before," she interrupted. "But as you should know, it is very rare that-" "-people are recruited. I know. I'm not an idiot like you. Like I said, not interested." He fell silent for a second before saying, "Well, I shouldn't be saying this-" "Then don't." "-BUT," he continued, ignoring her statement, "this year is going to be different." This caught her attention. She slowed to a stop as she asked, "Well, do you care to specify?" He gave a catlike grin. "If you want to find out, you have to enter." And with that he gently set the stack of papers on the chair nearby and walked away. "Even if I'm an uncultured idiot, I still believe you were great!" The stage fell silent as she stood there, alone. Slowly, she made her way to the packet and sat down, flipping through the pages. "Hm. Well, still looks boring, but I do want to know what's going to be different..." Present day Misaki walk down the long stretch of a corridor, no one but her in sight. Six months ago, she had been approached by that government man and now here she was. She had beat everyone else (obviously) and was now about to see what the difference was now from past years. A door soon came into view, at least twice her size. For a moment, she studied the patterns held on the door before pushing it open. Inside was a rectangular room, already filled with people and a huge screen at the other end of the room. She headed for the wall, leaning against it as her eyes studied the people around and listed off all the sports she knew they played. Baseball. Football. Cricket. Croquette. Frisbee. Archery. "Heya all." Everyone looked up at the screen, where a moustached weasel, wearing a deer stalker hat and holding a pipe in its hand was. "My name is Weasel. Before I explain anything, to all the returning and new participants of 'THE HUNT', welcome, and congratulations." The participants remained silent to the greeting. "We have lost a few players the last year, so there will be a few newbies joining us. This year, as usual, I will be your host for the games. Specially for this event, I am granted access to all the networks under the sky and will be the one answering all of your questions and passing you messages from the organizers." He stopped, taking a puff from his pipe before continuing. "... The games will start tomorrow and your goal this year will be the same as always - Kill all your enemies before they reach their goal." The room filled with excitement, though she couldn't see why. It was the same as always. He lied. "Well, I guess that's all the explanation you need for now." The weasel took another puff from his pipe. "Ah," he continued. "Since we have the time, let's do a trial run shall we? I have released some robots in this building. Their aim is to destroy the power generator of this building. Find and destroy these robots before they can destroy the generator." Boring~. "Ah yes. I forgot to mention. The robots are charged up with an exceedingly high current. You will not want them touching you... And one more thing. As the doors in this building runs on electricity, if the generator gets destroyed, you will probably never be able to get out of this building in a while..." The weasel took yet another puff from his pipe. "... Destroy all the robots and get to the generator room. This is your goal for now. That is all. Good luck." With that, the weasel disappeared from the screen.

The evening's cool wind brushed against her as Misaki walked through the silent cemetery. It hadn't been long since she had last came, her previous visit happening a week ago, but she had to come. She had to tell Kate what had happened. How it was all over. It didn't take her long to get to where her mentor's final resting spot was, since her frequent visits over the years has made it easy for her to get there without wasting much time. A gentle smile rose to her face as she sat down on the grass in front of the gravestone. She, like every time she did when she came, read the description inscribed on it as she placed a smooth bolt on top of her grave. Katherine Alexander November 21, XXXX - August 5, XXXX A beloved daughter, friend and mentor who shall always live in our hearts. "We did it." Her voice broke through the silence as she continued, "We finally did it. We beat the Armed Forces." She paused, as if she was having a conversation and not just talking to a grave. "Well, we had the IS's help, but still. It was mostly us." With a grin, she took another pause. "I also found out who caused the massacre you were a part of," she said as her face turned more somber. "It was Sakila. I've mentioned her a few times. Turns out she used to help the Armed Forces with their strategy since her uncle was Greyfield. Oh, and guess what? The guy has a daughter too. Sparrow. Though she's way better than her "dad". And you know Mokou? She got killed. Recently too. But apparently she was Yi's daughter. Pretty weird, I know. "Well, getting back to Sakila: In case you're wonder, I didn't kill her. I knew you wouldn't approve, even if she did cause your death. I let her live so she could be with the guilt of killing you and so many others for the rest of her life. But..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered what had happened earlier. "Hey, Vivi!" Sakila shouted out. The rest of the group kept going but Misaki, Vivi and Sparrow turned back around. "Guess what?" Her voice began to tremble as tears fell from her eyes. "I really considered you a friend," she shouted out. "And not just you! Misaki, too! And Sparrow! You're my cousin aren't you?!" The older girl looked away but nodded. Slowly, Sakila reached into her purse and pulled out a silver object. The sun finally peeked through the clouds, making it shine in the light. Misaki froze, only able to watch the girl as she yelled out, "YOU GUYS ARE GREAT! I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING!" And with that, she brought the knife in her hand to her neck and slit it. She fell to the ground, smiling. "...Really, sorry for everything," "No!" Sparrow ran to the fallen girl and dropped to her knees beside her. "This isn't how it ends! I promised..." She grabbed the knife and tore off her right glove, letting a picture fall to the ground. The girl cut her palm before pressing it to Sakila's wound. Tears started falling from her cheeks as the wound began to close. "Don't do this... Saki, you're all I have, I promised them- I'd protect you... Dammit, don't be too late." By now Misaki and Vivi had made their way over to the pair, checking anxiously to see if the girl was still alive. As her eyes began to flutter open, Sparrow shouted out happily, "Sakila! Sakila, you're alive!!" "What... What happened...?" she asked, her voice sounding weak and tired. "I reversed the effects of Reaper's Touch, making it heal, instead of hurt. How are you feeling?" "Like I just died." "You did," Vivi said. "I just have one question," she began, as she struggled to sit up. Sparrow put her arm around her back and helped her do so. "...Who are you all? Better yet, who am I?" "She forgot... She forgot who she was, what she did.... Everything." Misaki dug her fingernails into her palms. Her vision blurred as she felt something wet fall onto her knee. Quickly, she wiped away the tears that had begun to fall before any more could come. She didn't want to cry, especially in front of Kate. Her skin felt raw as the gentle breeze dried her tears. Once again, she wiped her face to get rid of any evidence she had ever cried. The whistling of the wind and the rustling of leaves was all that could be heard as she sat silently in front of the grave. "Say, Kate..." she said, her voice just above a murmur. "Do you think I should forgive her? Even if she got you killed?" The girl paused before letting out a chuckle. "What am I saying? Of course you want me to. You were always like that. Always wanting me to be more forgiving." "So maybe I will." Taking in a breath, she rose from her sitting position and stood up. "I better go," she said as she got up. "There's going to be a party for our success and I said I'd go." She began to walk away, but couldn't help looking at the now distant gravestone one last time. A soft smile appeared on her face as she whispered, "Goodbye Kate. Rest in peace."