(A New Distortion has begun to form in front of us. Let us see where this Distortion shall lead us...)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 4

The Midnight Cat, an Otsunian institution. A bar where all the four heads and their respective criminal organizations can meet in what is considered Otsu's gray area, where power and territory did not matter. This is also the place where Otsunians were celebrating their city's independence from the Novus Orbis Librarium and Makoto was heading to the Midnight Cat to see the celebrations herself.

Was this going to help her find a way to get to Sora? Of course it wouldn't, she's just going to a celebration. But after her time with Jasmine, she realized that she needed to decompress, reset her mind. For the longest time, she had been spending time trying to find Sora rather than spend time taking care of her own health and mind. As much as she wanted to go finding him right away, She also had to take care of her own mental state otherwise she would simply make Sora worry in the case where she manages to find him.

"Still...am I dressed for the occasion. Zhang Pi never told me the dress code." Makoto said to herself, looking at her clothes which was just her normal clothes that she wore. Makoto simply shrugged as she approached the door and noticed a guard standing in front of the door as Makoto pulled out of her phone and showed him the message from Zhang Pi. The guard then pressed onto his earpiece to confirm Makoto was an invited guest.

"Looks like it's a busy night. Are you one of the guards for this event?" Makoto questioned, wanting to start up a conversation as the man looked at her. "Yes. Just for tonight. You're good to go." The bouncer said as his hand opened the door for Makoto, greeting her to the sight of several people getting wasted with booze, bottles of beer strewn through the floor as Pikaka was sprinting through the bar.

"GODDAMMIT! STOP THROWING THE DAMN BOTTLES ALL OVER MY NICE WOODEN FLOOR!" Pikaka shouted but it was less of anger and more of joy as she grabbed one of the unopened bottles of beer and drank it herself, clearly getting wasted herself as Makoto walked into the scene as a person crashed right into her, nearly making her fall as the woman's face was literally red with booze.

"HEYYYY. You look sexy. You wanna fuck later on in the bathroom?" The woman asked in a drunk stupor as her friend quickly rushed to her. "Come on now. It's too early to be this wasted. You're going to miss the speech being this drunk." Her friend said as Makoto couldn't help but sweat as she checked for the time and saw it was just 6PM. 'God this is very early to get plastered. Otsunians really like to drink a lot huh.' Makoto said as she felt a massive hand be placed on her shoulder.

"HAHAHA! I SEE YOU MADE IT COMRADE NANAYA!" Vlad said, his big bearded smile making Makoto chuckle a bit as she could see a slight red tinge on his face. "And I see you're drinking hard as well Vlad. Am I late to the party?" Makoto questioned as Vlad laughed. "Of course not! We are just getting started that is all!" Vlad answered as he took Makoto over to the table that the four heads usually occupy.

"I see you decided to come and celebrate Otsu's independence with us." Zhang Pi said, drinking her cup of green tea as Makoto smiled and sat down next to her. "I figured I got nothing else to do today and you did offer it in the first place… So why not I figured." Makoto said as Zhang Pi chuckled and gave Makoto a cup of green tea for her to drink. "Thanks Zhang Pi." Makoto said and took a sip of the green tea, nearly choking as she could have tasted some traces of strong strong vokda in the tea.

"Hehehe, What. You figured I wouldn't be drinking right now even though I am in a bar." Zhang Pi said as Makoto looked at Zhang Pi, struggling to register the taste of strong vokda and bitter green tea in her mouth. "Here. Have this to chase down that terrible concoction." Tetsu said, sliding a cup of cold sake for Makoto to quickly chase down as she looked at her savior. "Thanks a lot Tetsu." Makoto thanked as a person, a bum, suddenly appeared beside Tetsu as Makoto could have sworn that this person was using ninja techniques.

"Sir, we have finished patrolling the areas like you asked." The person said as Tetsu quickly turned to the man and nearly spilled the cup of Sake he was holding as he looked at the mam who just came in. "Good… Just...leave the information on the table and leave… Don't do that again." Tetsu warned as the man simply nodded, placed a file in front of Tetsu and left again as Makoto couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"I don't believe the Yakuza have trained ninjas in their midst, Recent additions?" Makoto questioned as Tetsu cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. "A long time now. They are actually some Ikarugan ninjas in the Yakuza's midst, despondent over the loss of their hometown and feeling betrayed by the Ikarugan heads at the time. I took them in and made them a part of the family." Tetsu explained as this intrigued Makoto.

"Took them in? I thought most of the Ikarugan ninjas went over to Kagutsuchi?" Makoto said as Tetsu chuckled. "Not everyone. I know of the group that is at Kagutsuchi's Ronin-Gai that is currently run by Bang Shishigami, a devout follower of Lord Tenjo. The ninjas that are in my care are those who are still passionate in regaining Ikaruga from the NOL rather than try to restart from the beginning." Tetsu explained.

"They are useful in a lot of things but we also aren't just having them work in the Yakuza to pay off some debt. A lot of them were lost back when Ikaruga fell and a lot of us here in Otsu are familiar with what it's like to be abandoned by society due to some label placed on us. No need for more vagabonds out there I say." Tetsu continued as he sipped on his sake, savoring the taste as Makoto nodded her head at that.

"You know...for a group of criminal heads, you all are awfully nice." Makoto commented as Sofia scoffed at that. "We are nice because it's in our benefit to do so. Otsu's a small country right now and making enemies with those that are not of the NOL will not help us. The NOL's breathing down our necks already no need to get other people mad at us for whatever reason." Sofia commented as Vlad laughed at that.

"As much as I would like to say that Otsu is a big friendly country that welcomes people in, Otsunians are people who got burned by a lot of things. Whether it be from their past lives or their current ones. The least us four heads is keep the peace around here." Vlad added as Makoto turned around and saw a fist fight begin to happen as two men, drunk out of their minds begin to swing their fists despite both of them packing heat.

"This city and it's people are criminals, but we are proud of that heritage. Where most Hierarchical Cities try to shame them, we give them a home. Otsu's the only place a criminal can be a criminal and not be judged for it. It is expensive to fund such a carefree lifestyle? You would be surprised how cheap it really is when you don't have to pay insurance for a lot of things." Vlad concluded as Tetsu shook his head at that.

"As much as I want to argue with that last part, the rest of what Vlad said is the truth. Otsu is a place that criminals need in order to feel like they have a place to belong. Even if their lives are threatened, at least being Otsunian means to be free unlike being in the rule of the NOL." Tetsu said as Makoto had another cup of sake poured for her and Tetsu raised his glass, prompting Makoto to just go with the flow and clinking her glass with his.

"So… am I Otsunian enough to know the history of this fine city? Of how you guys were even able to gain independence in the first place?" Makoto said as the heads looked at each other before their gazes went back to Makoto as Zhang Pi decided a small test was in order. "You see that man whose minding his own business at Pikaka's side. Do whatever you want with him." Zhang Pi said as Makoto looked at the man that Zhang Pi pointed to.

The man was big, very big. He easily towered her in height and had the muscles to easily pin her down and rape her on the spot. She wondered why the heads would choose such a man but Makoto, always eager to learn more about the world she lives in, decided to oblige the request. As she walked towards him, Makoto wondered what would be the best thing she should do to prove her worth to the Otsunians. It was then she realized she was overthinking things and decided to do the one thing she knew to do.

Without even saying a word, Makoto sat right next to the man. The man looked at her direction and simply looked back at his drink, not bothering her as Pikaka slid her a full beer for Makoto to drink. It was then Makoto then stood on the chair for more height and boldly poured the beer on top of the man's head, letting the foam accumulate over his head as the bar suddenly gasped and looked at the incident with glee.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The crowd cheered as Makoto had done it. The man continued to remain quiet before giving a small smirk as he placed down a few blaybloo dollars in front of Makoto, his wager for her as it was clear he was confident in his fighting skill. Makoto, feeling a bit cheeky, decided to go one step further and instead of offering money, boldly removed her panties and placed them on top of the man's stack of Blaybloo, further exciting the crowd as Makoto could feel some gaze towards her and her now naked ass, covered by her skirt.

"That woman sure knows how to stir the pot huh." Jasmine said as she took her seat next to Zhang Pi as the heads were amused by this. "The woman's bold, I got to give her that." Sofia commented as Vlad whistled, cheering on the sight as Tetsu and Zhang Pi kept to themselves as the man, now enticed by what he was seeing agreed as soon Makoto and the man were now face to face, Makoto having to look up as the man towered over her.

"Better not regret this little lady." The man said as he cracked his fists before flexing his fingers. Makoto entered stance and rushed right towards him. She threw a quick jab but the man was more interested in pinning her down for a different kind of fight as he used his immense frame to tackle her to the ground. Makoto could feel his junk rub all over her breasts as she immediately headbutted his crotch, causing him to get off her as he cupped his balls in pain.

Normally, if this was any normal hierarchical city, Makoto would have immediately tried to run away, put on a pair of panties and try to avoid someone who did what this man did to her. But whether it was Otsu's lawlessness itself, the booze she had been drinking or something within her, Makoto felt no fear of sorts. In a swift motion, Makoto got on top of the man, her naked bottom sitting on the man's chest as she began to do a ground and pound as the man raised his arms to protect his head.

"What's wrong little man. Little lady here giving you trouble!?" Makoto taunted as the crowd was going with the flow. "YEAH! YOU GOING TO LOSE TO A PETITE BITCH MAN!?" The crowd jeered as the man immediately grabbed her by the breasts and used his strength to force her off him and slammed her down to the ground. Makoto coughed as it was the man's turn to get on top of her as she could see him try to unzip his pants, fully intent on raping her.

Her heart was racing. She could have felt fear at that moment overtake her but it didn't. Instead it was an adrenaline rush, a high she couldn't explain herself. As the man got closer, his pants unzipped, Makoto reached out and grabbed a broom and without hesitation struck the man at his weakest point yet again. The man crumpled as Makoto grabbed her emptied glass and smashed it over his head as hard as she could, making the glass shatter as the crowd howled at blood being spilled.

The man soon collapsed, falling unconscious as the crowd cheered for Makoto. "Fine show! Who knew slutty squirrels can fight as well!" a man commented as both lewd and insulting comments were thrown her way. Yet Makoto felt nothing wrong as she simply chuckled and took her prizes as she turned around and slowly put her underwear back on, giving the men a show of her naked ass as she could hear their howls and cheers as she walked back to the table that the heads were at.

"So? Did I pass your test?" Makoto questioned as she noticed Jasmine there, clapping. "Wow Wow Wow, This is the first time I have ever seen you fight but it was pretty impressive from the brief glimpses of it. Are you having some sort of sexual awakening?" Jasmine teased as Makoto scratched her head. "Hey Hey now. I could have hurt him harder but it's just a bar fight. No need to put anybody in a body bag and I know my fists can send anybody flying with the right force." Makoto said with some confidence in her voice as Zhang Pi smiled.

"I do not know if you would pass with flying colors, but I can safely say that you have adapted to this city's way of living very nicely." Zhang Pi commented as Vlad simply raised his body of Vokda high into the air, approving of her display. "It was crude, lewd and most of all brutish. But then again most Otsunians are like that anyways." Tetsu commented, making Makoto sweat as she figured that was Tetsu's approval of her.

"Yeah you passed. Doubt I would let you into my crew but hey, Vlad's always looking for another meathead to fight and fuck with." Sofia commented as Vlad raised his hand. "Now now there. No need for that. Fight yes. Fuck? Come on now. As much as it's best to steal someone else's girlfriend/wife for your own even I have standards." Vlad commented as Makoto couldn't help but give a small chuckle to what she was hearing as she sat down relaxed and looked at the heads at the eyes.

"Now I did what you asked, now give me this city's fine history please." Makoto said, feeling a bit cocky to place her foot on the table as Zhang Pi immediately slapped her foot off the table, giving her a slight glare as Makoto giggled a bit. "Very well, the short history story is that this city used to be used by the NOL to keep the criminals away from Akitsu-Ko, a sort of class system over here. When the 10th Hierarchical city was built, they named that city Otsu as an attempt to wipe us out of the map and establish us as an official part of Ko." Zhang Pi explained.

"Over time however, they found it difficult to do so. The criminals had managed to band together and formed the four cartels, aka the crime rings all four of us run in this city, The Triads, Yakuza, Mafia and Free Company Mercenaries. The crime rings were what helped to maintain the balance here but the NOL took all the credit to save face. This repeated for several years as the NOL tried to get rid of us. This included assassins like the ones who murdered the previous Mafia boss, Sofia's father." Zhang Pi explained as Makoto couldn't help but look at Sofia a bit saddened, now understanding why a little girl like her was running an organized crime ring.

"Yeah, they killed pops. But that didn't do jack shit. I took over afterwards and had the people who whacked him sleep with the fishes themselves." Sofia said, drinking a strong glass of whiskey as Makoto nodded her head at that. "They would have probably succeeded in driving us out eventually, but then life happened to the NOL and now we are a proud independent country, separate from the NOL and free to have our own laws… well, lack of official laws that police the people." Zhang Pi concluded as Makoto nodded her head at that.

"Alright. I got the short gist… Better to save the full history for another time. What about the whole story of Otsu getting independence from the NOL? Isn't that normally impossible?" Makoto questioned as Vlad chuckled at that. "Yes indeed comrade Nanaya. You are right in saying that the NOL would have denied us such pleasures in the first place. But I ask you this, you know when we declared independence?" Vlad questioned as this made Makoto put on her thinking cap.

"If I remember right… it was one month after Black Rebellion was calmed down by the NOL." Makoto said as that immediately made a light in her mind lit up as Sofia pulled out her phone and slid it to Makoto's hands, allowing her to see that there was a video already there, ready to be played. "Go ahead and play the video already. It would be faster for you to understand how we did it." Sofia explained as Makoto simply shrugged.

And played the video…

Recording Start

"Dear citizens of the world. This is an honest plea from just a little girl." A girl said as footage began to play. A little girl was seen speaking towards the camera, standing behind a railing that was clearly in disrepair.

"I am a little girl who is currently living in the city known as Otsu. I am an only child and have to live by myself in these very streets that the NOL are supposed to keep safe." The girl said as the footage then cuts to a boy who is walking down an Otsunian street surrounding by various people.

"For many years, the people of the world have demanded the NOL try to control the criminals down here and make Otsu an official part of Akitsu-Ko. Today I am here to tell you that is not true." The Boy said as the footage then cuts to an elderly couple, sitting down on their rocking chair as the camera was filming their home behind them

"The criminals who call this city their own home have been the ones protecting us this whole time. The NOL who are stationed here treat us like dirt because we just happen to live in a bad neighborhood." The elderly man said as he stood up and walked up to his wife

"I am telling you this is the truth. My wife here, My sweet wife, was beaten up by NOL police to this near catatonic state. It's a miracle she's even alive but the doctors say she may never speak again." The man continued, tears emerging out of his eye as his wife simply placed her wrinkly hands on his, struggling to say something to comfort him as the elderly couple began to break down.

"The NOL failed us here man. I look around everywhere and all I see is fucking despair. They just want to take over this part and build over it so that the rich elites of Akitsu-Ko gets their own private mansion, spa whatever the rich do to relax nowadays." A shopkeeper said, his store in disrepair as the NOL Soldiers walked by his place.

"HEY YOU GUYS! FIX THIS PLACE ALREADY!" The shopkeeper shouted but the soldiers simply walked past, continuing on their patrols as the shopkeeper slammed his fist down in frustration.

"If it wasn't for the criminals helping me to pay this place's rent I would have ended up homeless like so many others here in Otsu. But it doesn't matter if this place doesn't get fixed soon..." The shopkeeper explained as the video then cuts to a slums like area constructed in the middle of the sewer system that runs around Otsu.

"Yes the NOL has established a homelessness initiative here in Otsu. But the facilities are poorly maintained and the staff is very unfriendly. I even have a bruise I am still recovering from when one of the staff members beat me up when I begged for one more day to pay for my fees and kicked me out of the program. The criminals helped me to find work, legitimate work to help me pay off the rest of my fees and I am thankful for that." A middle aged bum spoked as the footage then finally cuts to Tetsu, Zhang Pi, Vlad and Sofia, the four figures obscuring their identities with clever using of lighting and shadows.

"These are some of the testaments we have picked up from the people of Otsu. We are speaking of the truth of the people who have tried to make their lives here in Otsu." Tetsu said, his voice distorted thanks to technology.

"The NOL would like you to believe that they have everything under control here in Otsu, that they are managing the crisis here with hopes of being able to integrate them back into the society of Akitsu-Ko but that is not true." Zhang Pi added

"The reality is that the NOL is just waiting for city of Otsu and it's citizens to fall into disarray! They are not protecting the people, we are!" Vlad said seriously, for once the cheerful Russian's voice not betraying that tone.

"Which is why we, the criminals of Otsu have decided for the best interest, to plead with you, the people of the world to give us a chance to run this small city neglected by Otsu." Sofia pleaded as the heads bowed towards the camera, their honest pleas coming through.

"Please! Give us the chance to give these people the life that the NOL has failed to give them!" The four heads pleaded, their distorted voices in sync as the image of the four heads faded and the logo of the 1st free city of Otsu appeared with it's now famous slogan. "Otsu, A city run by Criminals, For everyone's benefit."

Recording End

As the video finished playing, Makoto handed Sofia's phone back to her, both impressed by the film quality and also judging the film's integrity. "Now that I think about it… wasn't this very video shown to a lot of news outlets, both NOL Run and independent?" Makoto asked, her remembering the early days of her running around the NOL Intelligence offices dealing with this ad that appeared all over TV all of the sudden. "Why yes it was. We made sure everyone got a copy of this. Along with leaking footage of the NOL abusing their power over this gray zone city." Zhang Pi explained.

"I'm surprised you guys got away with that. The NOL usually has quite the grip on everything. How did you guys bypass the censorship the NOL was blasting as soon as the news outlets started reporting on it." Makoto questioned as Tetsu pushed up his glasses. "We didn't. We wanted the public attention. You see, we wanted the NOL to start trying to censor up, cover things up like how they normally would." Tetsu explained as Makoto looked at him a bit surprised before it all clicked in her head.

"Because by censoring what happens in Otsu, the general public will get riled up and further believe the video as the truth." Makoto said as Vlad nodded his head. "We suspected the NOL would try to suppress the truth and normally it would work. But the timing was also crucial in all of this." Vlad continued as the heads didn't need to say anything, Makoto was already getting the bigger picture as things began to click into place within Makoto's mind.

"You leaked the video while the whole mess with the Ikarugan war and the Black Rebellion was occurring. The whole public outrage at the time must have been wild." Makoto said as Zhang Pi simply smiled and slid over to Makoto some more footage for her to look at as she read various news headlines such as, "Riots in Akitsu-Ko over supposed reunification plans." and "Over 200 protestors arrested in front of NOL Ikaruga headquarters."

Opinion pieces that directly criticized the current NOL system ranging from angry posts online over how the NOL got students involved in a war that was right underneath the NOL's noses and was forcibly enlisting them into the army instead of sending troops currently fighting in the Ikaruga war to Torifune. Even the world's elite were critical with the way the NOL handled the situation, with one scholar stating that this had been the weakest the NOL has ever looked in current times.

"The Ikarugan war was something people did not approve of. Even when the NOL was trying to put in a positive spin by stating they were just crushing rebels to the NOL's rule who threatened the world. The Black Rebellion changed all of that when out of nowhere, a mercenary group later revealed to have worked with the NOL suddenly attacked the students who were residing at Torifune academy, leading up to a bloody battle that while won by the NOL had several people injured and even more dead as a result." Tetsu said.

"By taking advantage of the public outcry at the time, we were able to forcibly make the NOL choose the one option that would make them look good. To save their own backsides. Anything else they had tried would have further painted them in a bad light and they couldn't risk it." Sofia explained as Makoto realized that this whole plan the heads had come up with to gain Otsu's independence was relying on a lot of what if's.

"By the looks of your face, you understand we took a lot of risks with this plan. A lot of things had to go our way and if they didn't we would have been crushed on the spot by the NOL. But gamble we did because there was no other option for us." Vlad explained as Makoto couldn't help but look down at her drink and gulp it down to process everything. "And our risks paid off, the public was on our side and no amount of force the NOL tried to apply would make them see differently, thus they were forced to give us our independence that day and when that happened, the whole of Otsu was celebrating like they never had before." Zhang Pi said

"And thus the 1st Free city of Otsu, the very first city in the centuries long rule of the NOL to finally achieve self government and reliance was born." Makoto said as she couldn't help but feel impressed by the level of planning and gambling involved. "Yes it is… and we intend to keep it that way even if the NOL conspires to crush us like how they did with Ikaruga. The way they are maneuvering around Ko is already telling us that this was their plan all along when they gave us independence." Tetsu said as Makoto now understood the reason why they asked her to go snooping around Akitsu-ko's cauldron as Tetsu stood up and walked down to the middle of the bar.

"PEOPLE OF OTSU! GIVE ME YOUR EARS FOR A MINUTE!" Tetsu yelled as everyone in the bar became quiet, the loud celebratory mood dying down in favor of respect towards their current head. "As you all know, today is an important day for us Otsunians, it's a day where we finally became free, we were finally able to live our lives by our own rules, not dictated by some higher power who deemed us to be rebels of the system." Tetsu said as the crowds raised their glasses to that.

"But we all know that the NOL would not let us live freely like this forever, the NOL has been plotting and waiting for the world's eyes to be away from them. To not focus on them as much and that time is approaching. Soon we will have NOL troops marching into here to try and take our home away from us." As soon as Tetsu said those words, the expressions of everyone in the crowd became serious as the rest of the heads got off their seats and walked towards Tetsu.

"Tetsu's right! The NOL gave us our freedom but it has always been a temporary one in their eyes. They have always seen it as they will just take Otsu away from us when the world isn't looking. We know that is how they have always operated and they will never change about that." Vlad added as Makoto turned towards the speech happening in front of her, Jasmine sitting beside her as she couldn't help but notice Makoto's intrigue towards this speech.

"Thus it is up to us! The Otsunian people to keep on fighting for Otsu's independence, Otsu's freedom not just for us, but for the kids and their grand kids! This will be the 1st Free City of Otsu's biggest trial yet so grit those teeth people!" Sofia shouted as this riled up the crowds, making everyone cheer loudly as Zhang Pi raised her hand to calm everyone down. "Now Now. While I understand that this is something to be serious about, tonight is still our independence night. So while we still can, let us celebrate and come out of this together! Not as just a group of criminals who have banded together, but as one united front!" Zhang Pi added as everyone cheered to that.

"YEAH! We got to show the NOL that us Otsunians are not going to be treated like dirt anymore!" An Otsunian man shouted as more people began to get rowdy. "While the night is young! Let us drink like mad!" A woman added as Sofia grinned and looked at Pikaka. "Pikaka! All drinks on me tonight! We're going to celebrate like no other hierarchical city has ever celebrated before!" Sofia shouted as the crowd went wild hearing that.

"So… How is your first independence celebration?" Jasmine questioned, unable to help herself as she teased Makoto's exposed belly button as Makoto pouted a bit at Jasmine's teasing. "So far… I wish more hierarchical cities would do something like this because it really is a good reason to drink a lot." Makoto said, taking a glass of beer that was being passed around and drank it nearly in one shot. "At least you seem a lot happier than yesterday." Jasmine noticed as Makoto smiled.

Makoto: Well… I have a few reasons to be happy right now. The booze, the sex last night… the clarity of what I am supposed to do with my life now.

Jasmine: I see. it's good to see you're actually smiling right now.

Makoto: What about you? Aren't you supposed to be working right now?

Jasmine: Hey, even prostitutes have to have a life now. Don't think sex is everything we want to do. I even asked for paid leave for today.

Makoto: Wow, your boss really must want you to work if you had to get paid leave of all things.

Jasmine: Not really. I just took the cash from the register and gave myself a paid leave that's all.

"That's the most Otsunian response I have ever heard… yet I don't mind that at all." Makoto said as Jasmine smiled at that. "Well you look at that. The squirrel lady whose a demon on the bed is finally loosening up for once in her life." Jasmine commented as Makoto couldn't help but chuckle as she took a sip of her beer. Regardless of what was happening around her in her life right now, there was things becoming clearer to her now, things that she would have taken for granted before.

'So this is the reason why Sora decided to stay in a town like this..' Makoto thought as Jasmine tapped Makoto at the back. "Come on Makoto, the night's young and the crowd will definitely be riled up until who knows when." Jasmine said as Makoto simply gestured for Jasmine to go on ahead as Makoto sat there and watched the lively scene unfold in front of her. Various bar fights and flirting happening around her as she looked down on her hands and began to rub on them as she reached out for her necklace and pulled it out, staring at it fondly as she stroked it.

'I promise Sora… I will protect this town in your place… Whatever the NOL throws this town's way I will stand by it. I have to protect this place… Your place in your stead.' Makoto swore as she could feel something within well up inside her. Was this determination that she had deep within her or was it the alcohol finally creeping up to her till she wanted to puke. Regardless, Makoto couldn't help but be swept up the flow of what was happening and just decided to party all night long.

...determined to do whatever it takes to make that promise a reality…

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING IN THIS FINE MONTH WE ARE IN! I am grateful sometimes that February is a short month, it means that there isn't that many day for the month for bad things to happen and they go away equally as fast. This also means that time is some things will need to be managed much more carefully before we get screwed over in the first place. Oh well, such is the cycle of life.

SO WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT TO OTSU!? AS THE PIECES SLOWLY MOVE THEMSELVES ONTO THE BOARD, HOW WILL MAKOTO REACT TO THE SITUATIONS THROWN HER WAY. WILL SHE BE ABLE TO LIVE UP TO HER PROMISE OF FINALLY FINDING SORA OR WILL THE WORLD SWALLOW HER WHOLE!? Well, read on if you want to find out the fates of those involved.