Ryouma calmly but sternly paced across the street.

It had been three days since his run-in with Tsubaki Yayoi and the goth loli vampire Rachel. Since then, he had been staying at a lodging in Orient Town. He had contemplated staying in Ronin-Gai, but was ultimately dissuaded from the idea by its residents' anti-NOL sentiment.

He hadn't received any contact from Rachel.

Kokonoe, on the other hand, had him running in circles wandering the town and looking for Noel.

A portal opened up in an alleyway to Ryouma's right.

He gawked at the sight for a couple of seconds as Rachel emerged to greet him.

She walked down the alleyway, signaling for Ryouma to follow.

He quietly followed her, awaiting her instructions.

She tapped her living cat-shaped umbrella against the cold winter pavement, then started beating her plush toy against the wall with it, commenting, "It's taken a lot of effort to keep you out of Terumi's reticle."

She looked at Ryouma with a serious, pressing, almost demanding glance, almost as if trying to teach a pet how to perform a new trick without injuring itself.

Despite her contemptuous expression, Ryouma could tell she was genuinely concerned for him.

"It's also been exceedingly difficult to negotiate with Kokonoe," she continued. "But that's not the reason I opted to enlist your help this morning."

"You sound worried," Ryouma replied. "How've things been going?"

"Don't interrupt me," she interjected. "It's quite unkind. And to think you made such a courteous first impression."

Ryouma shut his mouth and gave an understanding nod, thinking to himself, She must really love to hear herself talk.

She looked up at him, resuming, "Of course, I can't blame you. It's only natural that you'd be curious."

She lifted her umbrella and opened another portal, continuing, "Out of personal dissatisfaction and a not-so-subtle outrage, Terumi has thrown a few other plebeians' lives into peril. I've been trying to protect those I can, but, for the most part, my endeavors have been offset by the sheer number of innocent bystanders he's had deliquesced for seithr."

Ryouma could hardly follow her esoteric babble, but gathered that Terumi had been slaughtering innocents left and right for seithr.

She went on without any hesitation, adding, "First and foremost among those Terumi has threatened are two of Noel Vermillion's associates: Jin Kisaragi and Makoto Nanaya. I suggest you become acquainted with the latter. She's one of Hazama's subordinates, and a spy for Kokonoe."

She took his hand and led him through the portal with a surprising amount of force.

"Thanks for the advice," Ryouma hurriedly commented. "Where are we going?"

"Oh, you'll bloody well find out!" Rachel answered, dragging him through the portal.

"And whom else has Terumi thrown into peril?" he asked, emerging, once again, at Kagutsuchi Port.

Ryouma strode out a couple steps to find a female squirrel beastkin in the standard attire of the Novus Orbis Librarium Intelligence Department—and a blond Praetorian Guard bleeding out on the pavement beside her. He immediately identified the katana the blond clutched in a death grip as the 2nd Causality Weapon: Yukianesa.

"Oh, my god; your injuries! What should I do?! I don't know any healing ars-" the beastkin bemoaned.

"That's quite enough," Rachel commented, cutting her off.

The squirrel looked ready to break down in tears, then turned and shot Ryouma a death glare, her visage turning to one of bitter wrath.

"YOU!" she screamed, flooring him with a single punch.

She turned and faced Rachel, delivering a glare that screamed "traitor."

Ryouma picked himself back up to steady himself as Makoto charged at him, ready to give him the beatdown of his admittedly short life.

He rose as quickly as possible and dodged her right uppercut, yelling. "Really, Rachel?! Bringing me to someone who KNOWS Hazama and doesn't know me?! That's just asking for trouble and confusion."

Makoto calmed down and, with a little patience and discernment, realized the situation wasn't what she initially thought.

"Before you start jumping to any conclusions, I'm not Hazama; just... a clone, for lack of a better word," Ryouma added. "Going on a guess, Mr. Bleeding Out is Jin Kisaragi and you're Makoto."

"Enough of that. I've had quite enough of listening to your voice for one day," Rachel plaintively commented towards him.

"Sorry," Makoto apologized. "It's just, what did you expect?"

"Anyways, it looks like the Hero of Ikaruga could use a hospital," Ryouma pitched in.

Rachel promptly created another portal and fled the scene through it, leaving the mortals to handle their current concerns.

"I just don't know how to deal with the world sometimes," Makoto sighed.

"I can relate to that," Ryouma replied. "She told me you work for Kokonoe as well, by the way... and you seem to be taking the fact I'm a clone rather easily."

"Yeah..." she responded. "Well, this isn't the first case I've heard about of someone getting cloned."

She twisted around, alerted by someone else's presence. "Who's there?!"

A wiry, gruff-voiced man with a scar on his face and a 6-foot nail tied onto his back stepped out from behind a corner.

"I couldn't help but notice that the man who had slain Lord Tenjou and made me an outlaw was bleeding to death in your hands," he proclaimed, lifting his fist.

Tenjou... Ryouma thought. "Heaven above." I feel like I should recognize the name but I don't.

"...Are you gonna kill him?!" Makoto asked.

"I'm not the kind to hold grudges, and to boot slaying a disarmed enemy is dishonorable," the ninja replied.

"You say you're an outlaw. Why stalk us law enforcement officers?" Ryouma asked.

"I already know you two are spies for the Sector. Ms. Litchi told me to search for you while she was mentioning that you're both coworkers for her bakeneko professor."

Kokonoe, Ryouma thought.

"Then let's haul him down to the clinic," Makoto said.

"Do you know any teleportation ars?" Ryouma asked.

"No. Sorry. The only ars magus I have is this Armagus on my back. It contains the soul of my master."

"So he's not dead?" Ryouma asked as he lifted Jin on his and Bang's arms.

"She, was brutally decapitated by this man."

"NO." Jin groaned in protest.

"She was able to transfer her soul to other creatures, other bodies," Bang elaborates. "It is her dying wish for her son to have safety. But I won't stop there—I won't be exonerated until the usurper that rules the NOL is out of office."

The sun began to set as they carried him to the hospital.