Trigger Warning: Blood, gore, character death, and a crying Kasumi Goto. Consider yourself warned. (If any of that bothers you, you can skip this chapter in its entirety. The next chapter happens at the exact same time but in a different Point of View, and across an ocean or two).

Please review. I'm not a mind reader; I can't tell whether you like it or not if you don't tell me in the review section (Or PM, whatever floats your yacht).

Milky Way, Earth Systems Alliance Space, Local Cluster, Sol System, Earth, Japan, Kyoto, Okuda's Condo suite: 1045

October 14th, 2174—Earth Standard

Kasumi Goto was never the type of person to stay in one place for an extended period of time, call her paranoid, but she never felt safe enough. However that was before she met Keiji Okuda that September night. Call her a romantic, but she felt safe around him. Sure, their meeting was anything but ordinary, but it was fate—two skilled thieves hired by two different people to steal the same painting on the same night, if that's not fate, Kasumi didn't know what was. That was also the reason she—unofficially, of course—moved in with him.

"Honey, I'm home," she jokingly called out once she entered the ten-story condominium suite's window, her preferred mode of entry.

She frowned under her hood when the usual response of, "We have a door, Kasumi," didn't reach her sensitive ears. She closed the window and tentatively checked every corner of the main living room for her partner-in-crime. It wasn't until she reached the hallway did her dark eyes catch sight of a trail of dried blood seconds before her nose caught its tangy scent. Kasumi gasped, covering her mouth in case the assailant was still around and kicking. With shaky feet, she followed the trail. She opened the door with hesitant fingers, and fell to her knees at the sight that greeted her.

The master bedroom was just as she left it in the morning. The bed was made, and the end tables were uncluttered; Keiji was quite the perfectionist and neat freak, Kasumi found it endearing on most days, and hilarious on others, especially when she would purposing mess with something and then watch him fuss over it. He never got mad at her, frustrated on occasion but he had a great sense of humor and that was the many reason Kasumi loved about him.

But Kasumi couldn't—didn't want to—believe the sight in front of her. Keiji couldn't be… He just couldn't. It was Keiji. He was just passed out on the floor, no doubt too tired to make it to bed, she was sure of it. She crawled over to him, and tried to wake her lover up.

"Hey, Keiji," Kasumi started her voice cracking, "Come on, this isn't the time to joke around."

She shook him lightly at first, and then, as he remained unresponsive, she shook him vehemently, "Wake up, Keiji! You're scaring me!"

Kasumi refused to look at his face, knowing that if she did she would have to accept it, but even she couldn't help but glimpse as he turned towards her. A sob got caught in her throat, and she covered her mouth with bloodstained hands.

"No, no," she moaned, screwing her eyes shut, "Keiji, please."

His head—or what was left of it—had been cut in half, and grey matter oozed out of his ears, and the wound. There were other wounds on his body as well, cuts, holes and the like, and Kasumi subconsciously prayed that his head wound killed him. It was less painful that way. She pounded on his unmoving chest, her eyes still shut, and shouted in between her sobs:

"Dammit, Keiji! Wake up! Please, wake up! I need you!"

"Kasumi," her head shot up as his anxious voice reached her ears, and was gravely disappointed when it was just his omni-tool and not Keiji himself. Kasumi stifled a sob, wanting to listen to her lover's last message, "I don't have much time, they're coming after me. I need you to find Sawyer, tell her what happened. Please, Kasumi. It's important, I—"

A bang was heard and loud incomprehensible shouting followed. The sounds cut out a few seconds after that, and the omni-tool disappeared. Kasumi rested her head on his chest, and cried until she had no more tears left.

Hours later, she groggily reached the phone, and dialed Sawyer's number that Keiji had her memorize when she first, unintentionally, moved in. It rang three times before Sawyer herself picked up.

"Grazie, Sam. Yeah, Keiji, what is it?"

Kasumi sniffled, feeling a new bout of tears coming along, but she fought it with all her remaining strength, "Sawyer?"

There was a slight pause before Sawyer continued, "Who's this?"

"You don't know me," Kasumi rubbed at her eyes, "I'm Kasumi Goto. I'm Keiji's girlfriend," she paused, "I was his girlfriend."

An audible sigh was heard through the speakers, "Look, I don't know what Keiji told you about me, but I'm not a matchmaker. I can't make him take you back."

"He can't, Sawyer," Kasumi sobbed, "Keiji is dead."