Ryuko laid back on the lawn chair. She had never thought much about the future, yet she was surprised that everything turned out good for her. She made a loyal friend and got a family who cared for her, even if it was just one sister and her friend's eccentric family. However, she felt like she was forgetting something, a minor detail...

And then her head came flying off, caught by a grey-haired man with a gun and saber strapped on him. "A shame to kill such a pretty young girl, but the only way to retire from this gig is six feet under. Well, I, Jim Helter-Skelter, am one step closer to avenging my brothers..."

"Ryuko!" Helter-Skelter turned, though his head turned more after Satsuki had cut him with her katana. "Ryuko! Damn, I'm too late!"

"Satsuki..." Ryuko spoke. "Your foot's on my thread."

"Oh." Satsuki stepped back and watched as Ryuko's body tried to stick her head back on. Satsuki turned her attention to the assassin. "Who is he?"

Ryuko adjusted her head. "Well, I may have joined a questionable organization to track down our father's killer..."

"And she was such a good assassin." A blond bombshell walked into the scene, followed by two men strapped with flamethrowers. "Congratulations on making the 25th Rank."

"Sylvia." Ryuko spat. "Wait, what do you mean, 25th? I was ranked third."

"Ah, but he killed you before we got here, then your...friend killed him when we got here. I'm afraid that's what the evidence points to." Sylvia purred. "Maybe if you signed up for the life insurance, things wouldn't be so...messy."

"Hey, I didn't think the 'come back from the dead' option applied to me at the time!" Ryuko growled.

Satsuki pointed her katana at Sylvia's neck, ignoring the two men who just finished cleaning up the scene. "I don't know who you are or what my sister has to do with this, but we don't want any part in this."

"Satsuki..."

Sylvia simply pushed the katana away. "I'm afraid it does not work like that. No civilian could take down a trained assassin, so you are registered as an assassin, Ranked 25th. The only way an assassin can retire is if they stop breathing or if they can...persuade the UAA, though I don't believe the assassins would like you to attack their source of income."

Satsuki lowered her katana. "Fine, I suppose we'll go the normal way for now. Meanwhile, I would like to talk to my sister about her...extracurricular activities."

Sylvia shrugged as she and her two accomplices left the neighborhood.

"S-satsuki, please put that sword down..."

Sylvia reviewed the files. It turns out that Ryuko and Satsuki really were sisters, though one was probably experimented with a strange power and the other had run a school with a militaristic point of view. Why, the whole thing was like a plot for an anime.

Ah, there was an idea to make things more...interesting. She quickly dialed a number. "Hello, Travis. How would you like a paid all-expense trip to Japan?"