KS: This social distancing racket has reached a whole new level where I live. I'm seeing line ups in places such as Walmart and the like. It's crazy. But you probably didn't come here to listen to me rant. I should go on and give you what you want. Enjoy.

Weiss had to admit that the architecture of the hideout she was in was spot on. The floor design, the statues, the windows, she fell in love with it all. Just walking around made her feel like she was somewhere else entirely. Unlike her home, it did not feel oppressive in the slightest.

"This place is wonderful," she said as she walked down the hall. "I'm fully aware that they're criminals, but at least they have a good eye for interior design."

She continued walking and turned a corner, only to find a young woman wearing a suit standing in front of her.

"Oh, hello. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The woman narrowed her eyes. "You're the girl that Humo walked in with. Weiss Schnee, is it?"

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the woman. Loathe is she to admit, but watching her father speak with various business partners have given her the ability to sense ill intent. And the woman standing in front of her was basically oozing with it, in her opinion.

"Why does my family name matter to you?" she asked.

"It matters because it leaves a bad taste in our mouths whenever we say it," the woman replied in an irate tone. "Just like your presence leave a bad feeling in our eyes."

Weiss sighs. "Is that it? Well, the person who brought me here is going to help me with an errand, so you won't have to worry about sticking around for too long. I'll leave at some point."

The woman chuckled darkly. "Oh, you're going to leave here, alright…"

She pulled out a short sword with electrical wires crudely wrapped around the blade, and a small generator strapped to the hilt.

"But I doubt you will be able to do so without falling to pieces.

Weiss was more horrified at the woman poorly-constructed excuse of a weapon than the threat of being murdered and having her parts forcefully separated after the fact.

"Please tell me you don't intend to fight me with that disaster," she said in a tone rife with disbelief and sarcasm.

"This 'disaster' you speak of is going to tear you to shreds," the woman said in a hostile tone. "And even if I fail, I got plenty of friends who are willing to finish the job in my stead."

Undeterred, Weiss brought out Myrtenaster and lunged at her assailant. Fortunately for her, the assailant's fighting prowess just as poor as her weapon, considering Weiss was able to dodge and/or parry every attack thrown at her.

"Looks like someone has been letting their mouth write a check their sword is unable to cash," Weiss snarked as she parried another strike. "How did you get into this organization with your poor skills?"

"None of your damn business, you frosted bint!" the woman snapped as she swung at Weiss. "Just know that I'll have your head and show it off to everyone here!"

Weiss scoffed. "Considering what I've seen so far, I highly doubt it."

She dodged the next strike, then knocked the weapon out of the woman's hands and froze her feet to the ground for good measure.

"You must think you're so clever, beating me in a fight," the woman sneered. "Well, I got news for you: I already alerted everyone in this building, and they're no fans of anyone from Atlas. Especially those who are affiliated with your family."

"You know, between your weapon, fighting and jokes, I can't tell among which of them is more pitiful," Weiss said. "In fact, I don't know why I'm wasting time hearing a hollow threat from a thug who's head is just as hollow."

(Yakuza 0 OST: tusk)

Weiss immediately heard footsteps approaching behind her felt her heart beat a little faster. She turned around to see several suited women armed with crudely made weapons. It amazed and disturbed her because they appeared much worse than the one she knocked away. Yet these thugs appear like they can actually hold their own in a fight, what with the scars they have.

"Thought I was bluffing, huh?" the woman said in a smug tone. "I bet your shaking in your precious little heels now."

"Please," Weiss huffed. "If anything, this will be a warm up."

The henchwomen charged towards Weiss with full intention of making short work of her. Unfortunately for them, they were not dealing with an amateur. The former heiress parried and dodged their attacks, retaliating with her own followed by freezing their hands or feet solid. She ran down the hall and turned at a corner, breaking open a door to a break room only to find more armed thugs standing around, startled by her brash entry.

"Out of the frying pan, as it seems," she muttered to herself.

She readied herself, as well as the thugs that brought out their own crude weapons. One of them charged at Weiss, armed with a battle axe attached to a flamethrower. He pressed a button and fire spurted out with every swing.

"This is just sad," Weiss said as she dodged the attack. "It's one thing for your weapons to be below par, but your skills leave a lot to be desired." She knocked the weapon out of his hand and froze him to the ground. "Actually, it's too kind to say they leave a lot to be desired. They just suck."

"So does your mother," the thug sneered.

Weiss glared at him fiercely, then froze his mouth solid.

"I've heard enough out of you."

Two more thugs armed with twin daggers dashed towards Weiss and attacked her in tandem. Unlike the previous thugs, they actually proved to be a challenge for Weiss, as both them simultaneously attacked her, keeping her on her toes.

"At least you two can put up a fight," she complimented. "And you've done nothing horrendous with your weapons. I'll give you that. Still…"

She dodged their attack and summoned a glyph beneath their feet.

"I have better things to do right now!"

She pierced the floor with her weapon, and the glyph the two attackers stood on created a major shift in gravity, sending them down on the ground.

"Gah!"

"What the hell?!"

Weiss took Myrtenaster out of the floor just in time to dodge another attack. When she faced her assailant, her face paled upon seeing what she had for a weapon.

It was nothing more than a bat with barbed wire wrapped around it.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" she asked in exasperation as she blocked the bat. "What in the world would possess you to… you know what? I gave up questioning your weapon choice upon seeing the previous disasters. I'll do away with you and be on my way."

The thug snorted derisively. "Always looking down on anything they don't like. Typical Schnee behavior."

The comment had clearly struck a nerve in Weiss, as she knocked the thug back. "My family name has no bearing on this fight."

"Wrong!" the thug snapped as she clashed with Weiss once more. "It has everything to do with this fight. You and every other privileged hellspawn from Atlas think it's okay to treat commonfolk like their lower than bugs just 'cause you were all born on high society." She kicked Weiss back and swung her bat at her, which was dodged. "Well, I got news for you, ice pick: your money and prestige won't get you anywhere around here. You're better off lying on the ground and dying like the bitch you are."

Weiss gave her a blank stare as she blocked another another attack. "For heaven's sake, even your insults lack cleverness. It's as if you took every negative stereotype from the kingdom I was born in and pasted them on a blank sheet of paper without adding anything you came up with yourself." She parried the attack. "This is getting real sad."

"I'll show you sad, you frigid bint!" the thug yelled, swinging at Weiss again.

Letting out a sigh, Weiss dodged the swing and froze the bat to the ground, along with the hands of her assailant. The remaining thugs stood in front of her, ready to fight her.

"I see all of you wish to continue this farce," she said in annoyance. "Very well. I'll put an end to it."

"Don't bother," a voice called out. "I've have more entertainment listening to a screaming match during TDM."

(End song)

Weiss was confused by whoever spoke, and even more so at what they said. Additionally, the thugs lowered their weapons and stepped aside, making way for the speaker.

"Alright, let's take a good look at this noob."

Walking towards Weiss was a young woman gray eyes with gray hair with a green streak on the front. She wore a green tank top over a purple vest, a plaid skirt with spikes and black and green combat boots. She looked at Weiss with a bored expression.

"Um… can I help you?" the former heiress asked.

"I could use your name, if that works," the woman replied in a tired tone.

Weiss blinked at her offstandish demeanor. She thought that this girl could give Blake a run for her money, but quickly set it aside. "My name is Weiss Schnee. I'm-"

"A student from Beacon Academy before it went FUBAR," the woman said dismissively. "Yeah, I've heard about you. I saw your fight in the tournament. Can't say I'm impressed."

Weiss felt herself grow annoyed with this girl. Not a minute has passed, and already she was pushing her buttons.

"But that's enough trolling from me. I'm Zinnia Belphegor."

Suddenly, everything made sense to Weiss when she saw the girl. She wondered why she didn't pick it up the moment she laid eyes on her.

"Of course… I see it now."

"See what?" Zinnia asked.

"The thugs' fighting, their shoddy weapons, even their insults are lazy beyond comprehension," Weiss said, pointing an accusing finger towards Zinnia. "They all get it from you."

Zinnia let out big a yawn while stretching her arms. "Yeah, so I'm lazy. What of it?"

"What of it?" Weiss repeated with a hint of irritation. "Your henchwomen clearly take after your slothful nature, what with their weapons and fighting. I'm amazed that they're not dead yet."

"Well, that's only because they've been holding back," Zinnia said. "They just need something to motivate them and they'll fight like they were possessed."

Weiss sighed and facepalmed. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what exactly do you use as motivation?"

Zinnia's bored features let slip a small grin. "XP and loot drops."

All of Zinnia's minions hollered in joy at the mention of "XP and loot drops", terms that Weiss was clearly unfamiliar with.

"What in the hell are you talking abut?" she asked.

"Have you never played video games before?" Zinna asked in response.

Weiss blinked. "Never in my life. Not even since I was enrolled in Beacon."

Zinnia stared at her, then let out a sigh. "I see. Well, let's rectify that, shall we?" She turned around and snapped her fingers. "Take her to the Den."

She walked off, leaving Weiss very confused. She would have followed her, but two of her henchwomen suddenly lifted her up by the arms and carried her.

"What's going on? Where are you taking me?"

"You heard her," one of the women said. "We're going to the Den."

"What is the Den?"

The Den, as they called it, was a large theater with a multitude of seats and a large screen at the front. Weiss and Zinnia were seated in the middle, where the former still had no clue what was happening.

"This is what you call the Den?" she asked incredulously. "This is a theater."

"Me and my girls like to call it the Den," Zinnia replied. "Don't question it."

"I'm already questioning it, along with your decision to refer it as such," Weiss said in a dry tone.

"Once you get used to coming here, you'll get used to calling it the Den," Zinnia said, taking out her scroll. "Now, take a look this."

She pressed a button on her scroll and the screen turned on, showing a large amount of video game titles.

"Wow… you sure have a lot of games featured," Weiss said in amazement. "Wait, how did you set this up?"

"I had a large prototype console built in the basement," Zinnia said, scrolling through the games. "It's able to hold at least 500 games on it."

"500?!" Weiss exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how much memory it would take to play these games of yours?"

Zinnia gave her a blank look. "I don't play them all at once."

Weiss stared at her, then sighed and facepalmed. "That's not the point. Where do you get the time and effort to build such an advanced machine?"

"I didn't build it," Zinnia said. "I just hired some people to build the thing and make sure it worked. When it did, I paid them all handsomely for it."

"How did you pay for that?" Weiss asked. "What's your occupation in this group?"

"I'm a hacker," Zinnia answered, still looking through her game catalogue. "I take data from companies and sell it to their rivals, getting a lot of dough in exchange for my services. A fair trade, don't you think?"

Weiss sighed once more and rubbed the sides of her head. "I should have figured. There was no way you could have gotten so much money through legitimate methods."

"You say it as if you're surprised by it," Zinnia said.

"I'm not," Weiss replied in an exasperated tone. "I just find it flabbergasting that I am having a normal conversation with a member of one of the world's oldest criminal organizations. Better scratch that one off the bucket list."

Zinnia turned towards Weiss. "You have a bucket list?"

"After everything I've been through, I might as well start making one," Weiss said dryly.

Zinnia laughed out loud. "To think, people say Atlesians have no sense of humor. Never thought I would be proven wrong."

Weiss groaned. "Just show me what you have before I leave."

"Alright, alright, enough jabs for now," Zinnia replied, scrolling through the catalogue. Eventually, she selected a game with a very unique cover. "This one is my favorite, and it's a bestseller. We should start with this one."

Weiss did not register what Zinnia said to her, as she was engrossed in the cover's artwork. It depicted a girl in a white dress standing next to a large wolf with white fur in the middle of a forest. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it all sounded familiar to her.

"Like the art, huh?"

Hearing Zinnia finally snapped Weiss out of her stupor.

"I'll admit, it does bring a certain… atmosphere," she replied dumbly.

"Atmosphere?" Zinnia snorted. "Atmosphere is irrelevant. I had this bad boy drawn with a very specific condition: that it was based off of the rumor of the Chained Girl."

Weiss turned to Zinnia in surprise. "The Chained Girl?"

"Oh yeah," Zinnia replied in an excited tone. "It's all about this urban myth about a girl chained to a Beowolf. And get this: the Beowolf in question has white fur and blue-highlights, completely different from a regular Grimm."

Weiss' eyes widened with every word that was spoken. "Tell me more about this Grimm."

"I will," Zinnia said with a wide grin. "But only if you play some games with me."

In an instant, all of the air deflated from Weiss' expression. "Are you seriously going on about that?"

"I certainly am," Zinnia said, picking up a game controller, then tossing another to Weiss. "Let's have some fun."

Weiss let out a sigh and looked towards the screen. "If I must."

Humo sat at a table, polishing his pistol with a cloth. He examined it closely to see if there were any smudges that needed to be wiped, and was satisfied to see there weren't any.

"Glad to see you're taking care of your weapon."

The gunman turned to his left to see Sitri walking towards him and taking a seat next to him.

"A hunter always takes proper care of their gear," he replied as he spun the gun's barrel. "You know what they say: a man's only as good as his tool."

Sitri chuckled. "Careful you don't let Asmodeus hear that, or we'll both get in trouble."

Humo chuckled as well. "Don't remind me."

"Still, it comes to no surprise that you care more for your weapon than you do people," Sitri said.

Humo put a thumb on the barrel, preventing it from spinning any more.

"…What are you getting at?"

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Sitri asked in a chipper tone, but what he said next contradicted it. "That little snowflake you brought along ran into Zinnia."

Humo was silent for a brief moment before speaking again. "What of it?"

Sitri faked a sigh of disappointment. "I figured you wouldn't care about her. I mean, I know she's from Atlas, and a Schnee at that, but I'd expect you have some fragment of concern for the poor dear."

"Quit going on like she's delicate," Humo said in a dark tone. "She survived the Fall of Beacon, for crying out loud."

Sitri tittered in response. "Sure, sure, go on like you have no relation to her. Even though we both know the truth."

Humo pointed his gun at Sitri's head, his obstructive gaze meeting the pink-haired man's innocent look.

"Not another word, Pinky, or the next one goes right in your head," he warned.

"Bold words coming from a man with an unloaded gun," Sitri replied in a casual tone. "Now what was that about a hunter taking care of their gear earlier?"

Humo growled in frustration, then moved the gun away from Sitri and stood up, walking away.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot," Sitri said in an irritated tone and expression. "My hair's not pink. It's lightish red."

"Like it makes any difference," Humo called out in the distance.

Sitri huffed. "Honestly, why do I bother with that man? Oh well, I'd honestly love to see what will happen when the little snowflake learns more about her savior."

KS: Weiss sure got herself into quite a mess, having a gaming session with a hacker. Also, what secret Humo have that Sitri seems to know about? And how will Weiss react when she finds out? All these questions will be answered in due time. Also, that line Sitri said at the end, it pretty obvious who he was referencing. Anyways, I'll see you all next time. Peace out.