Sleeping peacefully in their beds are Aaron and Roberta. Both of them are somewhere in Venezuela enjoying their last day of their honeymoon. The two of them are both naked while cuddling each other as Roberta rests on top of Aaron. Aaron seems to be awake though his eyes are still resting.
"You awake?" Aaron whispers to Roberta.
"I am." Roberta answers while still resting on her husband. "You're leaving today?"
Aaron hesitates to answer his wife's question. He even opens his eyes and takes a deep sigh before replying to Roberta.
"I have to. I can't let the agency- "
"You don't have to explain yourself my love." Said Roberta cutting off Aaron as she leans her head to face Aaron. "I know what you have to do to keep me and the family safe."
Roberta gives her husband comfort with a kiss to the forehead before replying back to him.
"Just promise me that you'll come back safely."
"I promise." Said Aaron without hesitation.
The two smile at each other before the two start to press each other's lips as the two enjoy their mourning together before Aaron has to leave back to Roanapur.
Aaron wakes up with a gasp as his body is lifted up and holding his pistol aiming forward. As breathing heavily, he was being high alert as he was ready to pull to trigger if there was an intruder in his location. He then calms himself down as he just awoken from a nightmare of his past back in Bloodstone. He returned to Roanapur yesterday night. Aaron still hates the fact that he has to come back here and away from his family. Suddenly he hears a couple of knocks from his door. He quickly pointed his pistol at the door as he's ready to shoot an intruder.
"Who's there!?" Aaron commanded.
"Hey man, it's me."
Aaron recognized the voice which made him lower his gun.
"B-Benny?"
"Yeah man, it's me."
Aaron gives out a deep sigh of relief before walking up to the door. The only clothes he's wearing are his blue jeans and had to tuck his pistol in the back of his pants. He comes to the door and opens it to see Benny on the other side. Benny starts to be surprised by Aaron's appearance as Aaron looks like a wild man. His facial hair even grew into a beard.
"Damn man. You look like shit." Benny commented.
"Eh. I had bad sleep." Aaron answered. "New job?"
"No, no. I just came here to see if you were back." Benny answered. "Take it you got back last night."
"I did."
"How did things go in the real world?" Benny asked as Aaron got something to drink. He offered Benny but he declined politely.
"It was good. Really wish I could stay longer than this hell hole." Said Aaron.
"I'm guessing you couldn't because you're trying to protect the Lovelace family right?"
"That's correct and it's really annoying. I've been looking over my shoulders for years trying to stay in the shadows from the people after me and wished that they just give up. But it's very difficult that I brought the family into my situation and I can't stay there longer."
Benny gives nods as he understands what Aaron is going through.
"Yeah I know how that feels since I had the mob and the FBI after me." Said Benny. "I had to leave friends and family behind."
"Have you ever tried to contact your friends and family?"
"Nah...it's better that I lose all contact from them."
Aaron could read Benny as he knows he has been through hell escaping the mafia and the FBI. He could even see that someone close to them was either killed. Aaron decided to change the subject as he says,
"So...how are the others?"
"Well Dutch and I were doing alright. My relationship with my girlfriend is good too...but Rock and Revy...that's another."
At Rock's apartment, Rock has just woken up from sleeping and is already putting on his pants and tank top shirt. He is staring at the mirror looking directly to his reflection. Rock was having flashbacks of his time in Japan. He would remember the horror images that he witnessed such as remembering Balalaika breaking the Yakuza's leader's neck, held at gunpoint by Balalaika and he even remembers the faces of the japanese girl he met at the festival, Yukio Washimine along with Ginji Matsuzaki. His flashback then started to become mixed with different flashbacks including with the vampire twins as he was starting to feel unsure if it even happened and going to the point where he's living in a dream. He then heard his door knocking which brought him out from his flashbacks. He sighed then walked up to it to answer it.
"Who is it?" Rock asked.
"It's Aaron." Aaron replied.
Rock opens the door which reveals to be true as it is Aaron outside of his door.
"Aaron. It felt like you've been gone for nearly a month." Said Rock.
"Yeah I felt like I had to stay for a few more days before coming back to this shithole. I just got back last night. Anyway...Benny told me about what happened back in Japan. But tell me your story...I wanna hear it from you."
Rock sighed as he pinched his temple of the nose.
"Alright." He said as he stared at Aaron as he was about to explain what happened in Japan.
(A month ago)
"Revy! Revy!" Rock yelled.
Rock made it to Revy and kneels down to check on her wound.
"I'm all right." Said Revy. "Those words you made her say. That was the real reason that killed Jumbo. If it weren't for that, I'd be the one on the ground."
"Don't talk! This is gonna hurt. You'll have to withstand it."
Rock immediately pulled the katana out from Revy's leg where she gave out a scream of pain.
"Raise your leg, Revy! I'm gonna rewrap it!" Said Rock.
Rock quickly treats Revy's leg the best way he can so that he could stop the bleeding which he managed to do by using a cloth as a Tourniquet.
"なぜ...なぜこれにならざるを得なかったのですか？(Why...Why did it have to come to this?)"
Rock turns around to face Yukio who stands over the dead body of Ginji and even holds his katana.
"あなたが歪められるのは...あなたがこれを望んでいると自分に嘘をついたときです。あなたは賢すぎて自分をだますことができませんでした。(Where you became distorted...is when you lied to yourself that you wanted this. You were too smart to fool yourself.)"
"イレブン...それは私の命令の下で殺された人々の数です...その夜から私はサイコロを投げました (Eleven...That's the number of people...who have been killed under my orders...since that night I threw the dice.)"
"私たちの街はそのような生活を送る人々でいっぱいです。(Our city is filled with people who live their life like that.)"
"目が覚めた今、その土地は私には遠すぎます。(Now that I've woken up, that land is too far away for me.)"
Yukio then takes a deep sigh before replying back to Rock.
"ご迷惑をおかけしましたことをお詫び申し上げます。この瞬間...すべてを終わらせます。(I apologize for having troubled you. As of this moment...I will bring everything to an end.)"
Revy noticed what Yukio was doing and turns to Rock and yells:
"Don't look at her, Rock! Look at me!"
It was too late as Rock witnessed Yukio Washimine, kumicho and the last member of the Washimine-gumi commit Seppuku as she stabbed herself in the throat with Genji's sword as she died next to Ginji on the dock.
(Present)
Rock told the entire story of his time being in Japan for Hotel Moscow. Balalaika and her men were ordered to wipe out The Washimine Group in Japan. Rock and Revy got caught in the crossfire as Rock was trying to help Yukio but she chose the path to go to war against Hotel Moscow. Though it failed she and Genji decided to move to Roanapur to start over. After hearing the story from Rock, Aaron knows that he's completely traumatized. Rock still remains his usual sadden face. Aaron felt bad for the poor Japanese businessman knowing what he's been through. Aaron takes a deep sigh before trying to comfort Rock.
"I understand." Said Aaron. "You were trying to help her...getting her out of that life though she chose differently which led to her death."
"Or maybe I did."
Aaron still feels bad for Rock as he's still blaming himself for that...though there something more than that. Aaron starts to read more of Rock's expression as could tell that something is growing inside him...something much dangerous that will lead Rock into a dark path.
"We all have to make our own choices...hopefully, it's the right one." Aaron does his best to cheer up his friend and then tries to change the subject. "Anyway, what about Revy? How is her injury?"
Rock grabs his cigarette from his box then lights it up. He took a big smoke then inhaled,
"She's fine. Her leg will recover sooner or later. I swear she can be mouth-full but she is still a bad-ass." Rock said while taking another puff.
"I see."
Aaron then starts to realize something about him and Revy. After hearing the story, he starts to put the pieces together which made him start to question Rock.
"Rock let me ask you this...do you care about Revy despite her bullshit towards you?"
Rock looks confused at Aaron's question.
"What do you mean? Of course, I care about her, she is my partner." Rock answered.
"That's not what I meant." Said Aaron. "I meant...do you really care about her...despite dealing with her shit."
"Oh...to be honest with you, I do, I really care for her ever since we met for the first time. She's shown me that I don't need to be some dog to be controlled by their master. I can be my own master and then some."
Aaron sighed.
"That's good to hear because like I said, the two of you are lucky to have each other.."
Rock smiles.
"Yeah, I know anyway I gotta go, I'll talk to you later back at Dutch's office."
"Alright, see you there and tell Revy I said hey."
"Sure thing, see ya." Rock hangs up and takes another puff.
Aaron pats Rock on the back before walking out of his apartment.
"Who the fuck was that, Rock?"
Rock turned around and saw Revy, covering herself with a blanket. He grabs another cigarette and hands it to her.
"That was Aaron, he came back to Roanapur from his trip. He said 'hey'."
Revy got up, stretching her muscles as she thanked him and she lit it up with his cigarette then got off the bed and looked for her clothes that scattered across the room.
"So that Asshole is still alive, huh?" Revy grabs her panties, wears it then puts on her shorts. "What did you guys talk about?"