“WHAT?!” Kyousuke roared. He was at the police headquarters, getting briefed on Chief Arashi’s next plan of action.

“It’s the best chance we have at defeating Crimson,” Arashi said, not bothering to repeat what she said before.

“You’re fucking insane!” Kyousuke exclaimed. “That thing murdered my wife!” He enunciated every word with a passionate rage. “There’s no way in hell I’m working alongside it!”

“We don’t really have a choice here, Kyousuke,” Arashi told him. “Keep in mind that it’s not a person. Crimson is the one that killed Maria. Ice was just a device.”

“Yeah, a weapon!” Kyousuke emphasized. “You’re giving me the weapon that killed her and expecting me to be okay with that??”

“No, I don’t expect you to be okay,” Arashi said, calmly, as she slowly walked from one side of the wall to the other, the projector shining their plans onto her tall, sleek face and body, “but we all have to make sacrifices, or this maniac will never be stopped.” Arashi’s narrow purple eyes were curtained by her long straight light green hair. One could see the tip of pointed ears poking out from between the translucent strands. She was part of an alien race that assimilated into Earth society about a decade ago. She received some prejudice, mostly due to her masculine physique, but she was widely respected by her human officers. She didn’t care what people thought of her. After all, she found a man here on Earth who loved her dearly, and whom she would do whatever it took to protect, so that they can have the life that they’ve always wanted.

“What’s this guy even after, anyway?” Kyousuke crossed his arms and sat back down, his fumes of rage starting to subside for the moment. His appearance changed a little in these couple months since his wife’s murder. His long black hair was now ragged and wild looking. His eyes were even wilder, his red pupils were accentuated by the dark bags under his already fierce angular eyes. One look at him made it obvious that revenge was on his mind. He wore the same indigo police uniform as Arashi and the other officers, in the style of a late 19th century British uniform. But two additions stood out from his ensemble. One was the katana at his waist, made especially strong to cut through the strongest steel. After his bullets were useless during the battle where Maria lost her life, he vowed to use it to kill Ice and Crimson. The other point of note were the bandages on his wrists. Although his self-inflicted wounds had healed, he wore them as a reminder of his anguish to strengthen his desire for revenge. He chose to direct that rage toward the true source of his pain, rather than blaming himself.

“Kyousuke?” Arashi called to him and waved a lithe hand in front of his face. “Are you listening?”

Kyousuke blinked and snapped himself out of it. He wasn’t exactly present a lot of the time, letting his memories and emotions absorb him. It was something Maria would’ve been disappointed in him for. Whenever he started brooding, she would look at him with a gentle smile and say “why bother worrying? If you stop thinking so much, you’ll notice your pain goes away.” That was essentially her motto. The trick to a carefree life. Although her mission to bring down the terrorist Crimson didn’t allow for her to live that carefree life that she so craved.

“Kyousuke,” Arashi said his name in a motherly sympathetic tone, as she saw his eyes glisten slightly with the onset of tears. She walked around the table to his side and gave him a one-armed hug and pulled him to her rather flat breast. She was normally the most stoic person on the force. She can handle her own issues fine, but her bleeding heart wouldn’t let her sit by idly when someone else was in need. 

“I’m fine,” he said, pushing her off. “I get it. Crimson must be stopped. I don’t want you or anyone else to have to suffer like this.”