Kenmei let out a frustrated sigh as she stared at her reflection in her full length body mirror, smoothing out the fabric of her skirt. She had dressed in the best clothing she owned, though she still found the outfit was lacking sophistication. A light blue button-down silk top tucked into a high-waisted black pencil skirt, black stockings to hide her still scraped up legs, and black two inch heels. Though she had done her hair in loose curls and waves with an annoyingly massive amount of makeup, she found herself boring looking. She felt as though there was nothing redeeming about her features, and she knew she was going to have to rely on wit to get to her goal.

Turning her body to look at her backside, she adjusted the position of the skirt slightly so the slit up the back was aligned in the middle. Face flushing slightly from embarrassment about how tight the skirt was, she could only hope she wouldn't gain any unwanted attention. Her focus was broken by her father calling to her from downstairs, and her time to prepare was over. Grabbing her small purse, she quickly made her way down the stairs. Before she reached the bottom floor, she had to stop to catch herself once on the railing of the stairway, fumbling over her heels.

Gathering her composure, she made her way to the front door of the home, catching Keneiji's gaze. No change of his sour expression nor words came from him as he exited, leaving her to follow. After shutting and locking the front door behind her, she went to the passenger side of the waiting car, settling into the front seat. It felt odd to her, being in the car like this. Months had passed since she had even looked inside it, and she felt like she was betraying herself by sharing this space with Keneiji. As the engine came to life and the car began to roll backwards out of the driveway, Kenmei fumbled nervously with her small purse.

"How far of a drive is it?" Her voice was meek, but she wanted to know how long she had to rehearse her lines.

Keneiji ignored her question until he was making his way forward down the road. "About twenty minutes outside of town. It's just over that large hill." He lifted a finger to point without removing his hand from the steering wheel, and Kenmei observed the landscape that surrounded the town. "I see…" Swallowing the lump in her throat, she brought her gaze down to stare at her purse. She could see the small brown bag staring at her from inside, and it only made her anxiety grow. The fact that she was putting herself in such a dangerous situation slowly began to swim in her mind, and she wondered if it was really worth it.

Of course it is, she thought to herself, tightening her grip on her purse. To save him, and maybe save others… It's worth it.

Her mind too lost in chaotic, anxiety ridden thoughts, she subdued a gasp as the car came to a stop. Looking up, she noticed that they had stopped in a parking lot, and she had spent the entire trip mulling over useless concerns. Silently cursing at herself for not focusing on her plans, she got out of the car as Keneiji did, careful not to slam it closed. She knew doing so upset him, and she wanted to avoid making him angry at all costs. With a quick glance around, she noticed that the parking lot was situated between two hills, and they had gone through a small tunnel to reach it.

"Seems like they don't want people to notice this, huh?" She followed her father as he began to head towards a small building at the far end of the parking lot. Keneiji didn't look back at her, but he nodded. "Confidentiality is key here. And we will do anything to make sure that it is kept priority."

Kenmei felt her stomach churn at those words, clutching her purse closer to her. She knew that was a threat, telling her that she had to keep her mouth shut. In truth, she wouldn't put it past him to get rid of her in some way if she did cause trouble. That would have to be calculated into her plans for sure, to make sure that she didn't get caught or killed in the process of saving Judar.

Stopping at the small building, Kenmei observed the huge steel door that blocked the entrance to what appeared to be a tunnel. Attached to the door was a fence, which stood over ten feet tall and made its entire way around the parking lot. Her thoughts about how stupid and pointless it was were interrupted by the sound of a new voice, making her jump slightly and pull her attention to the small building. A tan man with disheveled white hair was leaning a little ways outside of the now open window, observing Kenmei with impatience.

"I-I'm sorry?" Kenmei assumed he had been talking to her, which was confirmed by the way he rolled his eyes.

"Your ID, ma'am." He held his hand out towards her, and Kenmei was quick to fumble through her purse. Finding her town's residency card, she handed it over and he took it into the building with the rest of his body. "You'll get it back when you leave." He spoke from inside, typing her information from the card into a computer. Looking back up at Keneiji, she watched as he held a card up to a sensor on the side of the building, and the large metal door in front of them opened.

She followed him through the new opening, and the door promptly shut behind them. Keneiji held his card up to yet another door, which opened up into a tunnel. Kenmei restrained herself from making any remarks about the security, and followed him inside. Immediately she felt suffocated, the narrow tunnel with metal walls and floor making her incredibly uncomfortable. The lights were not on the roof, instead the sickening yellow fluorescent bulbs placed underneath the slightly raised grated metal path blinded her from below.

Kenmei felt as if they were going to be walking forever, feeling her stomach twist into knots with each set of stairs they descended. If this place was underground, that was only going to make things more difficult, and she could only hope they would go up some stairs before they exited this hallway.

Those hopes were dashed as they reached the end of the hallway, yet another door blocking their path. After opening it with his card, Keneiji allowed Kenmei to go in first, which was something she found odd. Hesitating at first, she cautiously stepped into the new hallway, which she instantly observed as different than the one they were just in. It was still the same narrow space, but the structure was more secure. The lights came from above instead, and there were long oblong windows along the walls. They were sporadic, but no light shone through them. Instead, a murky blue stared back at her. Immediately, Kenmei knew that they were in a tunnel underwater, and she felt her heart jump into her throat.

Stumbling back a bit as she nearly fainted from the realization, she caught herself on the wall, taking in a few deep breaths. "You didn't say this was underwater!" Keneiji shut the door behind him with an irritated grunt in response. "Like I would tell you anything about it. Hurry up, we're going to be late." Gathering the pieces of herself, she walked forward on trembling legs, eyes locked on the ground. She couldn't find the courage to look out of the windows, worried she would see something terrifying. A giant creature of the depths, a shark, or the tortured image of those trapped here.

To Kenmei's relief, this hallway was not as long, and another door was breached before they came into a large open room. Immediately feeling relief, Kenmei fanned herself a bit with her hand, just noticing that she was quite flushed. Further observation confirmed that this room was like a lobby, with a woman sitting behind a desk. Keneiji walked up, leaning his arms on the top of the desk as he began to chat with her. Kenmei felt a bit of rage build within her at his cheerful, almost flirty tone and she fidgeted nervously in her spot.

"Will you let Sinbad know we're heading up?" He handed the woman the card he had been using to open doors, and she slid it through a card reader connected to her computer. "Sure thing, Kenni. New recruit today?" Blue eyes peered at Kenmei over the desk, and she forced a pleasant smile onto her face. Keneiji took his card back and began to head over towards an elevator. "Yeah, something like that. Her info should already be in the system as my guest."

Kenmei followed Keneiji, though she was startled as the woman at the desk gave a shocked gasp. "She's your daughter?!" Keneiji chuckled, a sound Kenmei had rarely heard in her life. Pushing the button to call the elevator, he crossed his arms as he waited. "Yeah, she is." The woman pouted at him from her desk, leaning back in her chair. "You never told any of us that." Keneiji shrugged, looking up to check the status of the elevator. It was currently on the fifth floor, still heading down. "Well, family and work life is supposed to be kept separate, is it not?"

With a sigh, she turned back to her computer. "I suppose. I guess that means I won't be seeing you after work?" With a shake of his head, Keneiji walked into the elevator as it opened with a pleasant ding. "Nope, maybe next time." Kenmei was quick to get into the elevator as it began to shut, hearing the woman call after them. "Your loss, Kenni!"

Kenmei watched as Keneiji hit the button for the highest floor, which was labeled with the number eight. "Who was that woman?" Though she tried to control it, her voice shook, unable to control her anger. Keneiji leaned against the wall, crossing his arms back over his chest again. "A woman I like to fuck. Though, I shouldn't have to remind you to mind your own business." Clenching the handle of her purse tightly to calm her trembling, Kenmei kept her comments to herself, glaring at a particular spot on the tile floor. Pig.

By the time the elevator reached the desired floor, Kenmei had regained her composure, knowing that going into this angry would only hurt her chances. Once the door opened, she followed Keneiji out, immediately noticing the brightness of this new lobby area. It was made with a high class feeling, marble floors and ornate decorations bringing an uneasiness to Kenmei's gut. To the left, a floor to ceiling window cast light into the room, and Kenmei felt her curiosity peek.

As Keneiji headed towards the desk, Kenmei walked over to the window, peering down the scene below. All she could see around them was open ocean, and while she assumed the land was visible from the other side of the room, she wondered how far out they were. From the horizon, her eyes were drawn to the incredibly tall fence that surrounded the structure. There were red signs sporadically placed along this fence, but she could not see them from her position.

Within the parameter of the fence was what appeared to be a series of walkways, each separating what looked to be pools of water. Kenmei was not able to observe further as her name was called, pulling her back to her immediate surroundings. Her father and another man standing behind a desk were both staring at her, and she felt her face flush from embarrassment.

Get your act together, idiot, she mentally cursed at herself, putting on a pleasant smile as she began to walk over. "I apologize, I was just admiring the view." The man behind the desk smiled at her, and she felt a sense of familiarity at the freckles sprinkled across his cheeks and nose. He gave a small shake of his head, disturbing the form of his short white hair. "That's fine, I can understand the curiosity of a new environment. I'm Ja'far, the Head Chairman of this facility." He reached his hand across the desk, and Kenmei took it in a firm welcoming handshake.

"Yes sir, it's nice to meet you." Kenmei brought her hand back to herself, wondering how someone with such kind features could help run a place like this. Ja'far began to go through some folders on the desk, seeming a bit hurried. "Our secretary stepped out and forgot to give me some papers… Ah, here! New hire paperwork." He put the papers into a folder and walked out from behind a desk, heading towards a door at the other end of the room. "Please follow me, we're already a bit behind schedule."

Kenmei followed after him, starting to feel her stomach bubble violently with nerves. She nearly lost her composure when she was greeted the instant she walked through the door by a tall, extremely well dressed man. It was like he appeared out of thin air in front of her, taking her hand into his. "Hello, Kenmei! It's a pleasure to finally meet you!" He smiled down at her, cupping his free hand over the top of hers. Kenmei stammered to speak, finding his upfront nature to be very disconcerting.

"H-Hello, sir. Yes, it is a pleasure. Sinbad, I presume?" She observed him, a bit surprised by his brilliant purple hair. He nodded in response to her question, releasing her hand and gesturing her to come further into the room. "Yes, that's correct. Welcome, please come in and have a seat."

"Thank you." As Kenmei walked past him, she caught his gaze for a moment. In that second before she passed him, she couldn't help but to notice a malicious gleam in his golden eyes.