Tokyo Docking Bay 3
Tokyo, Japan
17 November 2066, 01:13

Carefully crouched on the rooftop of an old, abandoned warehouse in the dark of the night, Rin Shinomiya pulled off her infrared goggles and smoothened out her shoulder-length blonde hair. She then took out her transmitter from the folds of her sleek, red trench coat, fumbling with it for a while in search for the right signal. Finally, she put it close to her lips and relayed, "Shigetsu to Gougetsureishiki. Detonation radius, 50 meters. Single explosion, part nuclear. Had to be an RS."

As she shifted her weight from one leg to another, she heard Dan Midou reply from their hideout that she continue observing from where she was --- or better yet, move even closer to get a better view of what remained of the androids' headquarters after the unexpected second explosion. She was aware, just like her comrades, that the Tokyo corps had gone in for a night raid, having been tipped about the underground base, but she was also aware that there was supposed to be only one explosion.

Although with a hint of reluctance, she put her headgear back on and began scanning the area for a more suitable watching post. "Nobody could've survived that," she whispered, her gaze landing on a taller building, closer to the raided Novus Homo headquarters, its rooftop sloping upward. The angle she just needed. She glanced at her twin brother, who was stationed at the building just across hers, and indicated their new watch post. Then, a look of surprise caught her face. "What? I don't think so. RS 'droids don't work in pairs."

The other Shinomiya, Rai, nodded and descended from his place, sliding down one of the pipes for a faster downward trip. Taking his two blasters from their holsters, which were strapped to the sides of his belt, he disappeared into the dark alleyway, but reappeared a couple of seconds later at the base of their new, agreed watching area. Using the pipes once again for leverage, he made his way up with much ease, being the most skillful climber of the group.

"Sougetsu to Gougetsu. I'm taking command."

At that, the blonde rose from her spot and mentally plotted the course she would take to where her twin was. Rai was the master of climbing pipes, yes, but it was Rin who perfected the art of jumping from one rooftop to another with android-like skill and precision. Switching her goggles from infrared to night vision mode, she checked her footwear one last time before she made her first leap.

A success. Though louder than she expected it to be, thanks to her boots' steel-plated heels to aid in her quest to kick android butt, she managed to do a two-feet landing that was, if properly executed, painless. She remained in a crouching position for a few more heartbeats, just to make sure that she arose no suspicion. Then, when the silence was urging her to take another jump, she dipped low and prepared to do it one more time…

Whoosh.

She looked away from her target, her hands reflexively darting towards the control knob of her goggles and twisting it back to infrared. Rai's figure was a blur of red and yellow at a distance, but through the alley a multi-colored figure was streaking past. No longer caring if they were going to be exposed, she bellowed as loud as she can, "Sougetsu! Below!"

She was quick, but her brother was quicker. Blaster fire poured on the dark walkway, disrupting the stillness of the night for the third time. Hoping to corner the runaway android, she bounced through the rooftops in a straight path, drawing her handgun out as she did so. An RS. An RS on the loose. Too dangerous an android to be kept alive. It must be disintegrated! she thought fiercely to herself, biting her lip.

But she misstepped, and the force plunged her downward in the blink of an eye, towards the cold, cemented ground. Fortunately, she managed to grab the edge of the rooftop she was aiming to jump into, but released her handgun as she did so. It dropped down and broke into many pieces, in a sound that made her cringe in fear. If she was going to fall, there was no way she could stand up again. She'd end up a mass of broken bones, or worse, die.

Her transmitter cackled. "---getsu, hang on---"

"Rai!" she screamed helplessly, unable to watch the wayward mechanical being any more, even from the corners of her eyes. She struggled to get back up to the rooftop, but the more she moved, the more she felt like slipping. There was no way she could catch up with the RS now. "The RS! It's getting away!"

"No. I got it," a third voice, calm and confident, broke into the conversation. And it wasn't Dan.

It was Kyousuke Jin.

"No. I got it. Leave it to me," he relayed, before shutting off his transmitter. He then held up his weapon against his chest, loading his blaster with a soft click and pushing his back against the cold, concrete wall. Their target was almost exactly in the same position, except that he wasn't carrying even a single weapon --- only a lethal bomb that was hidden inside of him. That the dark-haired android hunter knew, and so he kept in mind that he should make the first move before the other would get the chance to show off some fancy fireworks.

He pushed his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose and observed the mechanical creature closely, waiting for the right moment to jump out of his hiding place. After a few moments, the android slipped away, retreating towards the darker part of the alleyway, which was in actuality, a dead end. Smirking, Kyousuke sprinted after the 'droid, his weapon leveled and ready to fire.

Too late. It was too late when the android realized that he had walked right into a dead end.

"I'm sorry, but there's no way out for you now. Sayonara, android," the spectacled young man announced, his blaster aimed right at the robotic being's head. He was grinning mischievously at his accomplishment, his finger anchored on the trigger and ready to fire at a moment's notice, but it was at that precise moment when his target cocked his head to the side --- and caught his ebony-colored eyes with his deep, blue ones.

Kyousuke froze, his gaze locked into the other's intently. He found himself unable to move, unable to do anything except stare at the android's sapphire orbs. Those eyes, those icy cerulean eyes… he had seen those eyes before, had looked into those eyes in the very same way he was looking at them at the moment, though he was not actually believing what he was seeing. And then, for some unexplainable reason, he lowered his blaster and turned away. "Run."

The android didn't move.

"I said run!" he screamed, and he did so, he began to fire --- but not at the android he and his comrades were trying to capture and destroy. He was firing at the concrete wall instead, firing and firing until he was out of ammunition, until the wall had collapsed into a heap of stones and gravel, until the blue-eyed android had gotten away.

The dust settled, and Kyousuke was once again alone in the dark alley. Quickly, he took out his transmitter and fumbled for the twins' shared channel, before they could get to him and find out what he had just done. "Dino Spartan to Shigetsu and Sougetsu," he began, putting his blaster back into its holster, which was strapped on his back. "All clear. It was an RS. Piece of cake."

/To be continued…/

Notes: Kazie here. Sorry for the late update, everyone. I've had some trouble this week and so I wasn't able to type this chapter up as much as I wanted to. Had too many appointments with the doctor regarding my eye. *sheepish grin* Anyway, I once again used Gear names for code names, as you might've noticed; and sayonara means goodbye. Next up… well, they're Mara's chapters, although I still have to edit them and all, so I'll be uploading them sometime this week. Thanks for everything and until the next update!