I woke up to the unfamiliar smell of breakfast. One that wasn't prepared by Nancy anyway. Nancy is a humungo white guy who works in the kitchen at HQ. He's equipped from head to toe in tribal tattoos, but perhaps the most interesting one is the one that covers the who left side of his face. Its not really tribal, its Celtic. Its vines that run in Celtic knots all around the left side of his face. No one ever bothers Nancy. However, Nancy isn't his real name. Its Butch, which raises more questions that no one dares ask, not even Vicious himself. As for Vicious, we all suspect that Vicious is also not his real name, but that's one thing we'd never ask him about. You want to know? Be my guest.

I opened my eyes and looked about the place. The place was wonderfully furnished, beautiful it was. I wondered how someone like Gren, who plays the Sax for a ruddy old downtown bar, could afford a place like this. I'm not one to pass judgment onto another, however. My eyes stopped upon Gren, who was in the kitchen, apron equipped, humming the same tune he played on his sax the previous night. I smiled slightly and turned over, letting the sound permeate my head and soon I was fast asleep, only to convulse awake soon after a light hand touched my shoulder. "Its time to wake up Kasumi." He said. " I saw you moving. Breakfast is done, are you hungry?" He asked. I turned over and smiled at him.

"As long as Nancy isn't cooking, then yes." I said and laughed slightly. "After three years of eating rock hard, ice cold scrambled eggs, you'd be willing to eat anything even if its poisoned." I finished. He seemed quite satisfied with my answer. He held out his hand and I took it. For such a small person, you'd think he'd be weak, however, he was much stronger than myself. He pulled me directly into him, still holding his place. I laughed slightly and smiled, looking into his beautiful sad blue eyes. I could tell this man had been hurt and betrayed many times, just as I had in my life. But something had caused him much emotional pain. Something like no mortal or immortal should ever have to deal with, leaving their heart drooping from the wait of the pain. It was something horrible, and I knew it had to do with Vicious.

I had seen it in his eyes too. Though cold and hard as they may be, they still hold a shred of humanity, of sadness. He is still holding onto the shred of humanity that he has left, its slipping fast from his hands, like grains of sand in an hourglass. They say we're dying from the day that we are born. Something that happened between these to men, and things that have happened to them throughout their lives, is speeding up the fate. And their deaths shall come at a speed greater than that of most men. I felt the salty tears stinging at the back of my eye lids, tugging, trying to get out so that they may spill from my eyes, down my cheeks, and over my heart. Its hard to see someone in so much agony, so much that they have to live with every day of their lives. I believe that when someone in some much pain dies, their soul explodes into space, only to condense into a star that shines brightly down on the ones they cared about.

"I suspect you slept well." He said. I smiled and nodded, swallowing the eggs. The eggs that weren't rock hard, that weren't ice cold. The eggs that Gren had made, and not Nancy. I smiled and looked over at him.

"Yes. That couch is quite comfortable." I said, taking a bite from the toast. I swallowed politely and finished, " I appreciate what you've done for me, Gren. I have to pay you back somehow." I said. He smiled and shook his head.

"No. I am doing a favor for a kind soul." He said. I shook my head, still smiling.

"Kind soul? Sir, I've killed so many that I have a nice thick bounty on my head. You sir, are the kind soul. The one who takes in an almost complete stranger in the night, then feeds them and clothes them, bathes them. Its regular Greek hospitality, I tell you. You realize, now going by that rule, you can't kill me." I said and smiled laughing slightly, he joined in the laughed as well. I loved hearing him laugh. The only other person who ever laughed at me when I meant to be funny was Lin. I missed him, so much. I smiled again at him and closed my eyes. How nice to be around a gentleman that isn't cold.

" Well, I was going to poison you, but I decided against it." He said. We both heartily laughed again. I finished off the toast I had and brought the plate to the sink. I walked back over and snatched away his plate as well, seeing as he was done before me. I smiled some to him.

"May I wash the dishes?" I asked.

"Oh no, you're the guest, I couldn't-" He started.

"Please? After all, it's the least I can do. I can cook and clean and such while you're out." I asked. I turned to look upon him with the saddest eyes I could muster. I figure I looked pretty damn pathetic, but that didn't matter a bit. He sighed and smiled warmly at me.

"Fine…" He said and laughed quietly. I smiled and began to wash the dishes, humming an old Japanese tune to myself. I found myself singing, suddenly.

"Kaki ne no, Kaki ne no, magari ka do. Takibi da takibi da, o chi ba taki. A ta ro-o ka, a ta ro-o yo. Kita kaze pipu, fui tei ru." I sang and repeated it, several times until the dishes were done.

"What was that?" He asked smiling. It seemed that even behind his sad blue eyes, he still was happy.

"Its an old folk tune. Takibi." I said and smiled at him slightly. "Honestly, I've forgotten what it means, but I still remember the words. My mother and I used to sing it a long time ago." I finished.

"A beautiful tune." He said. We both walked back into the living room but I stopped jus outside the kitchen door. Something had caught my eye. It was a picture of Gren and Vicious. It was taken many year ago. Neither of them had wrinkles, no signs of aging at all. I could see no sadness in Gren's eyes, but still Vicious' eyes remained as icy as ever. A forlorn love, perhaps? I sighed and looked at many of the pictures, then I turned to Gren who had been watching me the whole time. I frowned slightly.

"I don't mean to stir up bad blood, but how do you know Master Vicious?" I asked. I was then told of a story of betrayal. A story of two men, of comrades in arms. A Red Eye drug deal was going down with Vicious. Something went horribly wrong, and foolish Gren took the blame. He thought he'd be helping a true friend. He was framed and sent to prison, where he was illegally tested on by scientists. He was given some kind of drug that fried his hormones and was slowly turning into a woman. He had only developed breasts thus far. One day he escaped, and had a thick bounty placed on his head. So, he went to cold Callisto, the planet of men, to escape. He had lived there ever since and no one there had ever questioned him, and no one had ever come for him there. He had lived peacefully, plotting against his 'comrade in arms', the very same man who also betrayed and abandoned me. Vicious.

How I hated the man now. Hearing Gren's stories were horrible enough to bear. Suddenly a wave of grief for my victims washed over me, and I cried on his shoulder. Why was I crying. I am a red Dragon Syndicate Member. I do not cry! How pathetic! I remembered that the last time I cried was three years ago, when I had dared to back moth Vicious. He had just previously come down from the Red Eye he had taken, and I confronted him about the drug. He backhanded me into a wall, a few cuts, but I was fine. I was just afraid. More for Vicious than for myself. Red Eye is a dangerous drug. It causes its user to become manic, enraged. One can kill without realizing that they do it. One's vision becomes blurred and red tinted, just like the eye of the user. It is taken like an eye drop. It in itself can completely destroy the user and everything that ever mattered to them. I saw Vicious take someone on while on Red Eye. There was barely anything left of the man when Vicious was done. I had vomited about three times that night. I had never seen some much blood in my life. Through my years in the Syndicate, I have become emotionless when taking a victim. I can rip their throat from their chest, feeling its last beat, watching its last beat, while the blood runs down my hands. Once I felt empowered, immortal by this feeling, and was rightfully put in my true place by Vicious. I didn't cry that time. I sighed and looked over the pictures once more, before turning back to him. "Are you going to play again tonight?" I asked. He nodded slowly as the smile returned to him. "May I come and watch?" I asked.

"Of course." He said warmly. This brought a smile to my face. I loved hearing him play. He was amazing. As soon as his fingers hit those keys on that sax, music played. It emanated from his soul, though his finger tips and out the bell of that saxophone. It was like ecstasy to the ears to hear him play. I had asked the name of the song he had played the night previous. He had told me 'Julia,' and tears welled in his eyes. I became curious, but said nothing more. I smiled at him and watched him quietly before getting up. I needed a shower badly, and to change my clothes. So that is what I did. The warm water against my bare skin felt lovely. As apposed to the stinging cold outside, I'd rather have water that smolders my skin. I sighed and ran the soap along my arms and legs, scrubbing the dirt away. I scrubbed as though I thought I might scrub Vicious away, like he was some sort of dirt that wouldn't just come off with water. I felt so dirty, like it was under my skin, he was under my skin. I scrubbed at my scalp with the shampoo, letting that wash away in the warm water as well. Snatching the conditioner, I opened the bottle, and squeezed it, allowing a pile to lay like jelly in my hands. I sighed and scrubbed at my scalp with that too, leaving it for a while. I leaned against the opposite wall, leaning my head back. How I longed for my past, before the Syndicate. After about five more minutes of loathing, I washed the conditioner from my hair. The conditioner washed my hair completely smooth, it fell strait and wet over my breasts and reached to my belly button. I let it hang free, placing my hand under some of it. I lifted up those strands and looked at how they shined that dark brown color where the light met the water that clung to my hair for dear life. The same water that dripped down my body, beading at my shoulders and dripping down. I decided I had wasted more than my fair share of water, and shut the faucets off. I stepped out of the shower with long slender legs, grabbing the burgundy towel I had brought with me. I wrapped it around me and tucked the loose end into the top, where it had ended. I heard Gren call to me, so I opened the door a crack, peeking my head out.

"Yes?" I called. He told me he was going out for a few minutes and that he would be back soon, so I confirmed it and he was off. I walked over to the bag on the floor, lifting it up onto the toilet seat. I pulled a pair of black cloth pants from it, and a red spaghetti-strap shirt from it. I also grabbed my brush and pulled it though my long hair, letting it fall with no restraint. Something I hadn't done in three years. I sighed looking into my reflection. That woman was not me. She was an empty shell, who had lost her place somewhere she was accepted. Cold blue eyes stared back at me, but today there was a fleck, a tiny infinitesimal piece of something else in there. Happiness. Happiness restrained for three years, held back, wasted. For what? Some cold, amoral old silver haired man who couldn't care less weather or not you died, so long as you served for him and the Van that he worked for. I sighed and turned my head away. Maybe this was where I belonged. The place I've been searching for since my mother's murder, since I lost contact wit reality and joined a group of people that served under the very same Van that had ordered the death of my mother. A man I had never met, but for some reason, I knew well. I became one of the people I hated most, and found a reason to live, but I still wanted to die. We're all dying from the day that we're born, some of us just die sooner than the others.

…………

I sat watching Gren play his saxophone that night, just as he had done previously. Fortunately there was no trouble with the bartender this time. No throat trimming today. I sighed and sipped at my drink, cheek in hand, elbow to table, legs crossed. All of it. Gren's eyes were closed and he moved his body to the beat, swaying the right or to the left slowly with the song itself. Like he was a puppet on a string and the beat was the force of the wind. He was a true musician, and no one could say different. I sat lost in the moment, watching him carefully. There will never be another like him, so kind, caring. How sad it was, to hear the tails of betrayal. He was betrayed by a man that I thought I knew well, one that I thought I could trust. Typical asset. I wanted to knock that head from his shoulders, tell him whats what. Vicious was a force not to be reckoned with. I was no where near his level of martial arts, nor would I ever be. I wouldn't stand a chance against him, and would once again be put in my place, if not killed on the spot. I was determined, however, to take my revenge on that man. For his victims, and for mine. For their families. For everyone who I'd affected, even if it meant taking myself out with him.

I spent the next few weeks training as hard as I could, in a near by gym. One day I heard a familiar voice call to me. I turned around to find myself face to face with Lin. Lin who I hadn't seen in more than a month. He wore the same uniform as I used to, everyday for three years. I felt a sudden dizziness wash over me as I dropped to my knees.

" Kasumi!" He'd called. I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't. I didn't want to leave, and I knew that's what he was here for. I growled under my breath at him, cursed. Lin wasn't actually a bad guy, nor was his brother, Shin. I didn't hate either one of them, just what they did. "Its been a while. Vicious decided me misses you. He thinks you should come home."

…………

Author's Notes:

This one was posted because Ash said so. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know there isn't any humor in it really, but this is more of a serious chapter, you know? I tried my best at description, hope you like it Ash.