More footsteps outside. They were grouping together. Hisao had no idea what they were equipping, but anything larger than a peashooter spelt trouble for them. It wasn't easy to make sense of it all, the adrenaline started it's journey through his body the moment he had heard the screeching brakes. The fact they had brought multiple cars meant they were outnumbered. He subsconsiously went for his gun, his fingers wrapping around the cool metal. If he was going to die, he'd die trying to save her.

"Hisao, help me with this crate." Thom was over by a heavy-looking crate, looking anxious to get some sembelance of defense ready before they came in. The wood might not protect them from bullets, but whatever's inside should, at least he hoped.

Hisao jogged over and took his position on the other-side of the crate, noting but not caring about the sign that said 'Handle with care.' With great effort, they pushed and pulled the crate over to a more advantageous position. It was near the middle of the room, but if offered a defensive position covering the main doors.

They only had a few moments before the men outside oriented themselves and breached the building. If they were taking this long, they were obviously entering through two separate routes, maybe more. Hisao's heart continued to race, unabated by his worries of his condition. If it was anything that could prevent him from having an attack, it was his steely determination.

As they settled the crate into it's new spot, Hisao grunted and looked up. Thom was wiping off his hands, putting a leather glove on his right. He took this opportunity to ask him something that had been bugging him. Something about this man put him off.

"How do you know my name?" He asked Thom with a careful, methodical voice. Thom hesitated for a second before answering. He seemed to be pondering his answer in his head, slowly rolling it around until it fit the conversation.

"Why would I charge in to help you defend against a group of armed men without learning your names first?" Thom answered. He answered the question with another question, typical. Nevertheless, Hisao wasn't in any condition to start questioning Thom's motives.

Once that was finished, Hisao called for everyone to form in the center of the warehouse. They needed some sort of plan. The warehouse was a simple 'L' shape, it was nearly devoid of cargo, only the occasional abandoned crate to provide any sembelence of security. The two ends of the warehouse had heavy sheet metal doors, but could easily be rolled up by two men. Other than those entry points, he supposed that they could boost someone to the roof. The angular windows above made him more than cautious of an aerial assault, but he didn't think that their attack force was large enough to justify such a tactic.

Luckily, they had enough crates to provide cover from both angles. They dragged the crates to the corner of the warehouse, thusly the entire team could engage foes from both sides. Unfortunately, it didn't really help the impression that they were trapped like rats.

"Alright." Hisao said as the group gathered together. His words were slightly choked. He hadn't been in real combat before, none of them had. "Akira and Miki, you'll take that side." He pointed over to the side facing the long end of the warehouse, the only thing between them and the door were a couple of crates and some flimsy wooden pallets. "Kenji and Thom, you'll take the other side."

"Wait, where are you then?" Thom questioned. It wasn't a genuine question, that was for sure. Was he… testing him? Why would he do that? The statement gave him pause. Where did this leave him? His gaze wandered to a raised catwalk on the upper level, bridged to the floor by a flimsy ladder. The catwalk had next to nil in the way of cover, only a few barrels and pallets strewn about to give it the impression of an abandoned warehouse.

"There." He said, pointing to where a group of detritus, by chance had clustered together. Thom slowly nodded, evidentally satisfied with his answer. The rest gave short murmurs of approval, dampened by the approaching situation.

Hisao jogged over to the ladder. It had certainly seen better days, the rusted paint looked ready to chip with the slightest touch. As he gripped it, he cringed as the paint slightly dug into his palms. Now wasn't the time for comfort, he thought as he quickly ascended the ladder.

As he pulled himself up, the catwalk groaned underneath him, threatening to give out before the fight had even started. He carefully tested the path ahead before continuing, seemed steady.

A myriad of pipes that led down to the floor was on his right, with various valves and unused gauges that he found himself trying to avoid on the narrow catwalk. He stepped over another unused barrel, finding himself at the corner of the warehouse. Here, he had a perfect view of the entire layout. He was Akira and Miki taking positions on the same side of the crate, he could see their lips moving, as if one was comforting another. At this distance, he couldn't really tell who was talking to whom. On the other side, Kenji eyed Thom with concern. He had always been the suspicious type, and he didn't seem to be ruling out the possibility of Thom turning around and popping one in his head.

Despite the enormous amount of questions floating through the space surrounding their heads, they would rest unanswered for now, for the bell tolled for each of them as they heard the group outside split up.

Hisao looked down, his gaze completely focused as his body saturated in adrenaline. His gun was loaded, at the ready.

But was he? Were any of them?

It may have been the adrenaline, or the situation at hand, but something inside Hisao's mind clicked. It wasn't often that anything really made sense to him, an aftertaste of the girl he had once knew. But now, it was different. It felt like that for the first time, everything in his life was completely clear, black and white. In a strange sort of way, it was almost freeing. It felt good to not be limited by any set of morality.

Each of the metal doors vibrated as the men tried to gain entry, the rollers creaking as they inched upwards. The people below him snapped to attention, as if someone has touched their trip-wires.

He was good.

A shot rang out. He didn't know if it came from the five of them or who-knows outside. He didn't really care. It landed in one of the crates near Akira. She flinched as splinters flew at her, landing in her pristine clothing.

They were bad.

One of the garage doors rolled up, it was on the girl's side. Three men filed into the warehouse, diving into cover as the combined fire of Miki and Akira pelted the wall behind them, lighting up the dismal atmosphere of the warehouse. The men returned fire, making one of the pallets lying on a support near their position little more then firewood.

Bad people took her.

The other garage door flung open, releasing another group of three men into the men's side. They were more cautious with their approach, firing off a few rounds into the defensive position of both Kenji and Thom as they made their way into cover. A short psshh sound resonated around the room, a burst of steam flew outward dangerously close to Thom's head.

Therefore, they must die.

With that basic, almost animalistic thought, Hisao's hand raised his pistol, aiming it at the men suppressing the girl's position. His finger moved of it's own accord, his entire arm compensating for the recoil. His crystal clear vision had spotted a target, the bullets impacting his flesh, sending rivulets of crimson red spiraling down to the floor.

Miki rose up, using the opportunity to pump lead into the chest of an unsuspecting man. She held the gun with her good hand, flinching less than him while she shot. He fell down as well, clutching his upper chest. She ducked back in cover, giving Hisao a view of her wide, vacant eyes. They were the eyes of a killer, little orbs deadened to seeing the loss of another. It was strange, something about them reminded Hisao of himself.

He turned to see Kenji and Thom pinned down by heavy fire, the bullets ricocheting off the top of their cover, sending a piece of shrapenal dangerously close to Hisao's position. His arm shot out of his cover, the shots echoing across the cold metal walls of the warehouse. His cold eyes focused on a particularly unlucky individual, his mind dehumanizing him. As he dropped to the ground, his gun clattering on the floor, he felt no remorse.

Only a sick sort of joy.

Kenji and Thom took the chance to return fire, sending multiple shots over their own paltry cover. More impacts with hot flesh could be heard, the bullets tearing right through the tendons, imbedding themselves in the steel walls.

One more shot resonated around the room, as if it were a gong, bringing a cease to the battle. They were all silent for a few moments, before gradually, they all began to stand up. Akira exhaled heavily, laying her hands on the cover that had saved her life. Miki carefully replaced her pistol in her holster, taking care not to drop it from her shaking hands. She still held the same eyes she wore during combat. Kenji didn't move, instead opting to survey the situation around him, whitened knuckles still gripping the cool black steel. Thom simply had his arms crossed, looking at each of them before looking up to Hisao.

"Nice…" Thom said, trailing off his last word. Hisao wasn't really in the condition to start dissecting Thom's words. "I'm serious, that was pretty good."

Akira took the opportunity to speak up, her newsboy cap almost drooping off her head. "So what, we're alive. I'm guessing that benefits you somehow… dickhead." Akira seemed to see right through Thom's apparently paper-thin motives, earning a chuckle from the latter. Though whether it was from her apparent conviction, or her language was yet to be seen.

"I'll answer everything sweetheart, but the cops in this city are very quick, and if you don't want to be pinned for all of these murders, we need to leave now." Thom said, walking out one of the open garage doors, and into the sunlight. Dazedly, the others below began to follow. Hisao took his time in descending the ladder, crossing over to the door was done quickly. He paused to look at one of the bodies he had created, a lifeless corpse he had crafted out of brass and powder. The crimson tide leaked onto the floor, following set patterns and channels set in the tilework.

Hisao didn't feel anything. In fact, he'd venture to say that everyone here who was still alive felt numb.

He crossed the threshold, into the sunlight. He squinted, his adrenaline infused eyes groaning with the effort to dilate his pupils. As his eyes adjusted, he saw the rest piling into one of the cars the men had left, engine still running. They obviously expected to return from this alive.

A different man might've reflected on this, but Hisao only dazedly stepped into the front passenger seat, and Thom drove them through the city streets. They didn't ask for a destination, they didn't care. A couple of police cars roared past them, concerned more with the scene of the crime then the criminals escaping from it.

With that, Hisao turned his head, resting it on the velvety headrest.

And for the first time in what felt like years, Hisao fell asleep.