"I'd like to apologise to you both, it wasn't my intention that things would… get so out of hand".

Makima stood in front of Denji and Reze, both of whom looked exhausted. Their tattered and burnt clothes were the only remaining signs that they had been fighting for their lives mere moments before.

"Despite that, however, you both performed admirably. Well done."

They finally looked up at Makima, both the hybrid's gazes having been focused on the corpses lying directly behind her, Quanxi's lone eye gazing blankly towards them, her expression frozen in resigned despair as it disappeared from view as Public Safety agents began their work of packing up the bodies of her and her fiends.

"I… uhhh…", Denji slowly turned his gaze towards Makima, his eyes widening as he registered what Makima had said, "T-thanks Miss Makima! Was hardly a problem!"

Denji's exuberance was more subdued than usual. Once he couldn't imagine anything better than being praised by the woman who saved him, who gave him this dream life. But seeing how easily Makima had snuffed out three lives so casually, even after they surrendered… it had clearly unsettled the boy.

'I know she was gonna try and kill us again, but she was surrenderin…', Denji quickly shook off those thoughts, 'What am I doing, Miss Makima knows way about this than me. No point second-guessing her like that…'

"Y-yeah…" Reze's reaction was much more muted than Denji's, the girl basically freezing where she stood as her gaze rose up to meet Makima's. Because in Makima's expression, she saw no warmth, no gratitude: all she saw was the same smile, the same empty smile that sent a chill down her spine.

The same smile that made her feel that the woman could see right through her, right into her soul…

"Miss Makima!" Denji was oblivious to his girlfriend's distress as his eyes widened in alarm, his eyes widening as he realised he'd basically just shouted in the woman's face. As Makima's gaze turned back to him, her head tilted quizzically, Denji found his mouth had gone dry as he nervously met her gaze.

"I, umm… Are Aki and Power going to be okay?"

Denji had only just realised as the last of the smoke cleared, that Aki and Power were nowhere to be found among the ranks of Makima's entourage.

Makima didn't say anything for a moment, curiosity still playing across her face as Denji began to squirm under her gaze until, finally, a small smile came to her face.

"You don't need to worry about Hayakawa and Power, Denji", despite her smile, her tone was as professional as ever as she replied, "They have been taken to the hospital along with the other surviving Public Safety agents who were transported to Hell. We've also sent an agent with a contract specialising in the reattachment of limbs, so we hope that they will make a full recovery".

"Oh… that's good then…" It would be a stretch to describe Makima's clinical tone as comforting, but it seemed to have the desired effect on Denji, the boy visibly relaxing as some of the tension left his body.

Reze however didn't ease up at all, her eyes wandering back to where the bodies of Quanxi and her fiends, a group of the agents carrying off one of the corpses in a body bag and into a waiting van.

"What's going to happen to them?" the words had left her mouth before she had the time to regret them. The question certainly seemed to have an effect on the woman, an almost imperceptible frown coming to her face for a moment – before vanishing just as quickly.

"As a precaution, we always take the bodies of fiends in for storage: even if deceased. In Quanxi's case, someone as dangerous as her will be kept in custody: indefinitely", as if sensing the incoming question, Makima continued on, "There was no sense hiring Quanxi, she has a prior history with Public Safety and she's unpredictable."

The answer made sense, Reze wouldn't exactly be thrilled to work with Quanxi, after all the woman had practically decapitated her. But there was a clear implication behind Makima's words: she and Denji weren't seen as threats to her, instead, they were seen as predictable and thus, controllable. Reze grimaced bitterly at the thought.

"Well, if you two could excuse me, I need to go help with the cleanup. The officials always get worked up about this sort of thing. Mr Kishibe will make sure you make it home."

The woman walked away with those last words, not even waiting for a response, leaving Denji and Reze behind in the middle of what looked like a war zone.

'At least Powy and Aki are alright, kinda thought they were a goner back in Hell. No way Miss Makima would let them croak it so easy!', Denji thought, trying to keep his spirits high. The truth, however, was that he felt this uncomfortable twisting in his gut: just what would he have done if they had died?

Would he have cried then?

He shook those thoughts from his head, turning to look at Reze, who had been strangely quiet up to this point.

"Hey Reze, how are you hold-", Denji stopped mid-question as Reze just continued staring after where Makima had disappeared to, not even registering his words. Then he noticed something else, her hands… were they shaking?

"Reze, are you alright…?", Denji asked, reaching out to touch her hand.

As soon as his hand made contact with hers Reze jumped, turning to look up at him, surprise painted across her face before giving way to relief.

"Oh Denji… sorry about that, just kinda zoned out there for a moment", Reze threw Denji one of her usual practised smiles, but this time it did little to soothe the boy's worries.

"Reze… I know that's a lie, you were shaking there. What happened in Hell, after I, y'know…?", Denji's brow creased in worry as he spoke, Reze's eyes flashed with surprise before she broke eye contact again, whilst tightly grasping his hand back.

"I… not here Denji…", Reze then slowly moves closer, resting her head on his chest, exhausted, "We can talk back home, okay?"

"Yeah… sure", Denji exhaled through his nose before embracing the girl, resting his head lightly on her own, a frown coming to his face as he still felt the girl shaking slightly.

'Just what happened in there…?'

"I hate to be the one to break up such a touching scene, but I figured that you two would want filled in on everything. Doubt she'd have told you much."

Denji and Reze tiredly looked towards this familiar gruff voice, Kishibe stood there, tipping his hipflask upside down, as if checking if there was any left. Despite this, the look on his face conveyed a complete lack of surprise, almost as if he was checking out of pure habit.

"Master…?", Denji was the first to speak, "You saying you can tell us more about what happened?"

"Hmm… well I know how all those who returned from hell are doing anyway", he eyed both of them appraisingly, noticeably avoiding looking in the direction of the Public Safety agents packing up Quanxi and the fiends into the waiting van. Indeed, his pall continence being an obvious hint of his feelings on the matter.

"What do you know then old man…?", Reze asked, the snarky comment being betrayed by her quiet, subdued voice.

"Heh, you two are human-devil hybrids, so you're sturdy enough to make smart-ass comments even after visiting hell itself", a small smirk came to Kishibe's face, though it seemed hollow, as he pulled out a business card from his pocket, "I've written the address of the hospital Aki and Power are in on the back of this. No doubt she didn't even tell you that much."

"Thank you master!", Denji exclaimed, before his face twisted back into a questioning expression, "Anything more than just that though?"

"Ahh… Well, all the fiends bar Power and Beam are dead, Aki and Angel we're pretty unharmed barring their arms… though we'll see what Public Safety's finest have to say about that."

Kishibe lights up a cigarette, taking a puff before throwing the rest on the ground in disinterest, "Kobeni's also handed me her resignation, or well, without the arms…", He shrugged half-heartedly, "Well she's resigned anyways, a shame for sure. She had good instincts and a strong contract."

'Oh…'Reze's face fell, she had actually been quite excited upon first speaking to Kobeni and Violence; they'd been a breath of fresh air in her new life and she'd almost fooled herself into thinking she could've made a friend. But now, they were simply banished to the past like all the rest.

"Who again?", Denji tilted his head. He had no idea about international politics, never mind the small woman who made up one of his few fully human co-workers until moments ago…

"Denji!", Reze swatted his arm at that, "She was in there with us!"

"Ah! Sorry…!", Denji scratched the back of his head, "She, uhhh... Kinda stabbed me, but… she was kinda okay, I guess…"

Reze felt a weight settle in her gut, that poor girl… She'd been so timid, yet she'd even tried to approach and befriend her… and she'd quite literally nearly killed her!

'At least she's free now…', Reze always envied those who controlled their own fates.

"Well, anyway… the best to you both", Kishibe smirks at them both, "I really do hope everything ends up well for you. Heh, maybe it's for the best, the fewer deaths I see the better. This new generation dies too easy…"

With that Kishibe left them, neither Denji nor Reze had much to say as they leaned against each other, the pair making their way towards the waiting chauffeur, surely organised by Makima herself. Neither Reze nor Denji felt comforted by either of the adults. Neither Makima's aloofness nor Kishibe's cynical worldliness brought much comfort to either as they silently made their way home, leaning on each other as their only support.

Denji had practically run to the toilet as soon as they had entered the flat, something that hadn't surprised Reze in the slightest, much to the amusement of the girl, who had felt Denji's leg shaking through the drive.

It had been a quiet drive, both the teens leaning on each other as the faceless bureaucrat in the driver's seat made his way to their home.

'That girl… what did she do to deserve that…?', Reze tried keeping her mind off of Hell as much as possible, though her mind kept wandering back to the girl who had tried to befriend her, despite having been her enemy not long before. She had been fighting for herself and had quit as soon as things had proven to be going towards the deep end.

Sadly, neither Reze or Denji had that choice, and for that reason alone the Russian found herself feeling fatalistic as the driver pulled up outside the Hayakawa residence. She is snapped out of her reverie as her door is opened for her, Denji offering her a hand as he opens the door, his face filled with both curiosity and concern.

A few minutes later, and both of the hybrids were inside the flat and sitting around the table; the business card sitting in front of them. The card had the hospital address, that was true for sure, but it also had something else written on it, a single phrase: 'Careful Now.'

Neither of them really knew what Kishibe had meant by that, Denji had just assumed that it was about Aki and Power, whilst Reze thought it was to do with Makima, though what specifically she had no idea.

"You have any idea what he meant by that Reze? Surely Aki and Power aren't that bad off…?", Denji asked, his voice laced with worry over the status of Aki and the blood fiend. Reze had an inkling that the warning had little to do with the two other members of the Hayakawa family: instead remembering the letter that he had held up to Quanxi in the mall, 'Makima is Listening'.

"No point worrying about it now, they're alive and that's all that matters", Reze said matter-of-factly, "We'll visit them tomorrow, hopefully, they'll be fine."

For a while they just sat, side-by-side, watching some movie that had happened to come on. Neither was paying all that much attention to it though, with Reze staring off into space and Denji being more concerned about the girl next to him. Finally, as he noticed he shoulders shaking again, he'd finally had enough.

"And what 'bout you Reze? You said you'd tell me what's up."

"Ah, yeah… that…", her face fell as she remembered her promise: she'd hoped Denji would just let it go, but judging by the concern on his face he wouldn't let her simply brush this under the carpet.

"That monster, Darkness… all it did was show me my own past", Denji listened raptly as Reze began speaking, recounting what happened to her in Hell in an emotionless, monotone voice, "I guess it just made me… brought me back too…"

She stumbled over her words, unable to maintain her stoic façade as her shoulders slumped, the shaking returning as she continued speaking, her voice cracking, "H-hardly any of us survived, back in that room. They just left us in the dark, plucking us out one at a time, to prod, poke and experiment on us… Didn't even give us the luxury of a name… just a number."

She looked up at Denji, the boy being momentarily stunned as his eyes met Reze's, shocked to see tears brimming in them.

"Once they were taken, we'd either never see them again, or they'd just sit there, staring at the walls…", a bitter frown marred her face as she continued on, "Then… it was my turn, and lo and behold; I was the first and only success. They finally got their monster…"

"I was knocked out for the surgery, but they told me what they did", her hand drifted down, resting on her lower abdomen, "They didn't even care what they took from me… just rushed me to another room and locked me up again, alone…"

"You don't need to worry about that", Denji smiled easily as he put his arm around he shoulder, drawing her into his chest. Barring a jolt of surprise, she gave little resistance, with Denji choosing not to comment on the tears seeping into his t-shirt.

"Cause I'll never leave you. You can count on that."

He mumbled the last words as he embraced her, but Reze heard them loud and clear, a genuine smile coming to her face as she returned the embrace, squeezing Denji hard enough to make the boy wince.

After a moment, Reze pulled back just enough to look up at Denji, her face red and her eyes puffy, but with a small, sincere smile still lighting up her face, "You better not… I'll be holding you to that promise you know!"

"Wouldn't expect any less", Denji smiled back at her as they settled back down into the sofa, getting into a comfortable position leaning against each other, "How 'bout we see what else is on? This movie is pretty crap, and not in the 'so crap it's good' kinda way either…"

"You don't need to ask me twice!", she still seemed a little down, but Reze seemed a bit more like her usual self, a sly smile coming to her face as she looked up at Denji once more. Then in one smooth motion, she planted a kiss right on the bottom of his chin.

"And just so you know…", Reze said, practically purring, "I don't want to leave you either. Never…"

"Ohh uhhh… Yeah?", Denji was surprised and flustered in equal measure, not knowing how to respond and Reze pressed herself against him, a pleased smirk on her face as she continued.

"And to keep that promise… how bout we share you're bed tonight, hmmm?"

Needless to say, Reze spent the next few minutes laughing as Denji's face went bright red, he could drop a smooth line now sure, but he was still so easy to embarrass. What made it even better was that, despite the fact that she had been teasing him, she had meant every word.

Despite everything going on around them, between Devils, Public Safety, Assassins and even Makima, she wouldn't be going anywhere.

They had sat there watching forgettable movie after forgettable movie, at one point they'd even been watching some crappy Christmas flick; God knows why they were playing this in early Autumn…

They had only started to move to get ready for bed after the news had come on; neither of them had any desire to watch these talking heads talk about the destruction left in the wake of Santa Claus, never mind the fact that Public Safety had ensured that the whole thing was censored. The official line given to the new stations seemed to be that it had been a freak gas leak.

The lie didn't seem all that believable to either of the hybrids, but people would rather believe in a comforting lie than the hard truth. Better that it had been a freak accident, rather than the rampaging avatar of the human fear of darkness…

Not long after they both got changed and ready for bed. Denji simply wore his t-shirt and boxers to bed, whilst Reze settled for filching one of his t-shirts; she was his girlfriend after all, she may as well enjoy the perks that come with the title.

They both lay in Denji's bed, though they soon found that sleep eluded them as they stared up at the roof, counting the seconds and waiting for sleep that felt like it would never come. After a while, Reze had had enough waiting as she finally broke the silence.

"961"

"Huh, what?", Denji turned his head to look at her, confused, "What do you mean 961?"

"That was what they called me, back in Moscow", she glanced at him and, to his surprise, there was a faint smile on her face, "When I first arrived in Tokyo they gave me the name 'Reze'. Old man Kayo called me it at work sure, and I signed it for paperwork and the like, but…"

Reze had turned her whole body to face him at this point, a tender look on her face as she spoke.

"It only started feeling like my name when a certain blondie started visiting that café every day, just to see little ol' me", she moved closer to him, snuggling into his side, " So… thanks for that, Denji"

Denji then turns to her and puts his arms around her, pulling her in even closer, "Y'know, those people, the ones back in Russia. They didn't make you who you are, and I didn't either. You did that yourself."

"You said on the beach that your personality when we met was a lie, but you still act like that now; makin' dirty jokes and teasing me", Reze froze as he spoke, eyes widened as she lay flush to Denji's chest, "Far as I'm concerned, you worry too much about all that. You're just Reze, always have been and always will be – far as I'm concerned anyway…"

"Heh… I worry too much, huh? You sure have a funny way of comforting a girl, Denji…", Reze responded dryly, though there was a hint of amusement in her voice as she relaxed into his arms.

"Wha- did I say something wro-?!" Denji's alarmed questioning was interrupted by Reze pinching his side, "Ow, what was that for?!"

"Be still, I'm comfy here!", Reze snapped with faux-seriousness, before smiling wryly, "You said nothing wrong, I'd go as far to say you were right on the money"

'At least, I hope you are anyway…'

"Ah, that's good… did you really need to pinch me though?"

"Yup", Reze responded succinctly, popping the 'p' as she rested her head on his chest, "Now quiet down, we'll never get to sleep if my pillow keeps talking, hmmm?"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

It was pitch black in the room when Reze's eyes snapped open. It must have only been a couple of hours since she and Denji had dosed off, but her she was wide awake again, whilst Denji snored away.

Talking with Denji had gone a long way towards soothing her fears, but it had done little to stop the nightmares. It had been like reliving it all over again, the room, Hell, Darkness…

But there had been something else, someone else, in her dreams as well: Makima. The woman had somehow made her way to hell to save them, but the way Santa had spoken about her, it made her feel like they had just been… bait. Bait to lure Makima in.

But why would they want Makima? Reze knew from her reputation that she was powerful, but she was only human…

A shudder travels it's way up Reze's spine, another memory flashed through her mind: Makima kneeling in the familiar grassy plains of Hell, a giant sabre jutting from her chest, blood leaking from her mouth…

'Just what contracts does that woman have…', Reze grips Denji tighter as a feeling of dread creeps into her gut.

As she slowly drifted back off to sleep, courtesy of pure exhaustion, another memory echoed through the back of her mind, fractured and unclear.

'…a contract. You can live… in exchange.. give me-'

And thus, Reze fell back into a tormented sleep.

When morning came, both Denji and Reze still felt somewhat drained. They had shambled out of bed and went through their regular motions, showering, getting changed, brushing their teeth; it was only when they'd had their morning coffee that any semblance of life returned to them. They may be semi-immortal beings, but that didn't automatically make them morning people.

As soon as the pair were ready and awake, they had quickly made plans to visit the hospital Kishibe had directed them to; with Denji being especially keen to visit Aki and Power as soon as possible.

It must have been 11am by the time they arrived at the hospital. Thankfully it had only been a short walk from the flat to the nearest train station, they'd even had time to stop and grab some snacks for Aki and Power from a 7/11 on the way. The poor cashier had seemed particularly confused by the sheer amount of meat-based snacks they'd bought for Power.

As they stood outside the door of the room the hospital's receptionist had directed them to, Denji's hand rose up to rap on the door, only to hesitate as he brought his hand back to knock. Reze watched as Denji's brow furrowed, his face screwed up in worry.

"They'll be fine you know", she poked Denji gently in the side before smiling slyly, "Never figured you as a worrywart Deeenjiii~"

"Oh shaddup…", he snapped out of his trance with a huff, quickly rapping the door. Just as quickly a reply sounded out from the other side of the door.

"Come in!"

Denji slid the door open, the two of them walking in to see an unamused-looking Aki sitting up in his bed.

The man was looking relatively fine, he didn't seem tired and, judging by his deadpan gaze, he had more than enough energy to be irritated by them.

"You two always know how to make noise, don't you", as he turned to face them the covers fell off from around him, revealing a bandaged-up stump where his left arm used to be.

"Your arm! I thought-!"

"Quiet down Denji, don't shout inside!", Aki scolded Denji, before sighing, "The specialist Miss Makima brought in, his contract is…fickle. Turns out it was asking too much to reattach both in my case."

Aki gives both Denji and Reze a once-over, before a small smile comes to his face, "Well, at least you two are fine. Must be nice to be able to grow back limbs."

"Eh… I mean that's a plus. Being lit on fire kinda sucks though…", Denji winced at the memory: adrenaline and the constant healing courtesy of the blood of the dolls had helped, but he wouldn't call it a pleasant experience either way.

"You did that to yourself Denji…", Reze shot him a dry look. She hadn't been a fan of that specific tactic of his, even if it had proven effective.

"I… You know what, I don't even want to know at this point", Aki shakes his head just as Reze lifts up the carrier bag she had been holding, plopping it down on Aki's lap, the thin plastic of the bag near-bursting from the strain of all of the snacks.

"We thought you might get tired of hospital food, so we grabbed some snacks on the way here", Reze says, "It's just some bentos and stuff, so don't get your hopes up."

And that is just what Aki found for the most part: packs of jerky and assorted bentos and snacks. However, there was one last thing at the bottom of the bag: a small Tupperware tub of crudely cut apple slices.

"Ah, we brought those from home, seemed only fair after last time…", Denji was looking out the window, not wanting anyone to comment on his thoughtfulness.

Aki just smiled fondly as he looked down at the tub.

"Tha-"

Aki was cut off as the door to the room opened with a loud clatter, the door slamming into the frame as a result of the super-human strength of the culprit.

"AKIIIII! H-HE'S HERE! GETTIM' AWAY!"

A tearful Power stood akimbo in the doorway, the flimsy hospital gown meaning that anyone passing by would be getting an eyeful.

"I SEEN IT, I SEEN IT! I SWEAAAR!"

Power ran to Aki's bed, burying her head in the sheets as she continued babbling about Darkness, not even registering Denji and Reze as she barged past them.

"What's wrong with her?", Denji asks, his voice dripping with concern, whilst Reze just looked on at the girl, pity in her eyes. She could only imagine what effect such a monster would have on a devil…

"She's done this a couple of times already", Aki responds, gently rubbing the bawling fiend's back, "She thinks that devil is in every dark corner, can't say I blame her…"

"Yes, Darkness was no normal Devil Hayakawa. Devils and fiends feel that difference more so than humans"

A soft, yet commanding voice coming from the doorway caused all of them to turn around, with even Power jolting up, her face going pale at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Ah Miss Makima, to what do I owe the pleasure?", Aki asked, pleasantly surprised that the woman had taken the time out of her busy schedule to visit, not that he was complaining of course.

Makima walked through the doorway towards them, a couple of orderlies and nurses filtering into the room behind her.

"Well, I was here to check up on everyone's recovery of course", her expression was unchanged as she spoke, "I heard about all the commotion Power here was causing and figured she'd probably make her way here again."

With that said, Makima looked pointedly at her entourage, who began carefully closing in on Power, who only now registered that Denji and Reze were even in the room.

"DENJI? DENJI! DON'T LET THEM TAKE MEEEE!", Power wailed melodramatically, tightly latching onto his arm.

"It's alright Powy… it's just Miss Makima. Darkness isn't here, 'kay?", Denji tried calming the fiend to no avail.

"EVEN WORSE! EVEN WORSE! I DON'T WANNAAA!"

"Power. Be a good girl and let the nurses help you", Makima's expression was still set in that same calm smile, but her voice was steely as she spoke, brokering no room for argument.

With those words, Power froze, withering under Makima's gaze as the nurses closed in, the only sounds coming from the boisterous devil being low whimpers as her vice-like grip on Denji's arm tightened.

Suddenly she let out a hiss of pain as one of the nurses worked up the nerve and jabbed her in the backside with a needle, quickly withdrawing before the fiend had a chance to lash out. But she never did, instead, Denji felt her slump down against him, her body becoming dead-weight.

"Hey! What'd you do to her?!", Denji turned around, glaring at the responsible nurse until Makima's voice rang out again.

"Don't worry Denji, she's just been given some relaxants and a sedative to calm her down. Once her hysteric episodes ease, she'll be free to go home."

Denji frowned uneasily as he struggled to hold up a woozy Power, even with Reze moving to support Power from her other side, it was still awkward to hold up the fiend.

"If all goes well, we hope to have you and Power released in a couple of days Hayakawa", Makima was talking to Aki again now as the orderlies took Power from Denji and Reze and led her out of the room, "So until then, rest up."

"Yes ma'am", Aki, the workaholic that he was. frowned at this even as he acquiesced.

Makima then turned her gaze again to Denji and Reze, "You two feel free to take some time off, at least until Power and Aki are released, and take as much time visiting as you need."

"Y-yes, thanks Miss Makima!"

"Thanks…"

As Makima left them, Reze let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She had found the woman unsettling before, but now after what she had seen in Hell, she felt downright oppressive…

Throughout that exchange, it had taken all she had to just look at the woman, her piercing gaze and frozen smile, she was like a porcelain doll given life; her uncanny creepiness setting off alarms in the back of her head.

'Just what are you, Makima…?'

Kamiya Mitsuyo was having a pretty rotten day so far.

He'd booked this day off months ago, yet his boss still insisted that he went to pick up that shipment from Okaya.

'Okaya! What's so important about getting a shipment from Nagano that the bastard threatened my bonus over it!?'

As far as Kamiya could tell it was just a standard grocery pick-up destined for a supermarket in Tokyo, he could only assume that his boss had screwed up his dates and was now foisting the responsibility for his fuck up onto him.

He'd originally booked today off for his son's birthday, after the debacle last year he'd wanted to make sure that they had plenty of time to celebrate as a family. But now here he was, rushing back to deliver some vegetables in the early hours of the morning. At least he should make it home in time at this rate. God help him if he didn't, his wife would nag his ear off for sure…

He'd decided to take a back road for this very reason, with this route usually being free of traffic around this time of day, the clear road giving him a nearly free run to Tokyo. However the road today wasn't quite clear, sure, there weren't any cars, but…

Why was there a woman walking up the side of the road ahead…?

'A hitchhiker maybe…? No. What kind of hitchhiker would wear a suit?'

It wasn't just her attire either, she seemed to be hobblingand, as he drew closer, he realised that she seemed to be covered in dirt and grime.

Kamiya quickly pulled over at the side of the road a short distance in front of her, putting up the handbrake of his van and hopping out.

"Miss, miss! Are you okay?!"

As he jogged up to the woman, who he could now see was clearly dragging a leg limply behind her, she looked up at him: teeth gritted and her eyes bleary with pain.

Despite her stooped posture, the woman stood roughly as tall as he was; she was quite the looker too, at least if it wasn't for the horizontal scar running the full breadth of her face and the shaggy, dirt-matted that framed it.

And then, with little fanfare, she collapsed face-first on the ground.

"Miss!", Kamiya quickly ran to the woman's side, flipping her over and gently shaking her, only to let out a breath of relief as the woman groaned, still barely conscious. Then she began to speak, he could only make out a few words; she was clearly struggling to speak, with her voice being raspy and dry.

"T-tendo… Public… Safety…"

With that, the fight seemed to leave her as she slipped into unconsciousness, passing out as Kamiya looked down. He let out a deep sigh as he stooped down and lifted the woman up, carrying her over to the passenger side of his van.

'Guess I can kiss goodbye to that bonus'

He carefully strapped her in before rushing around to the other side and starting the vehicle, not even bothering to buckle his seat belt as he tore off down the road as fast as his small van could take him towards the nearest hospital.

'My wife's gonna kill me for real this time…'

Well, here we have the first post-Assassins chapter (or at least the first part of what would've been one long chapter). So hope you all enjoy a couple of chapters of the Hayakawa family having some peace/recovering from Hell. Also glad I finally wrote the reveal of Tendo's survival, have had the idea in my head for ages and I did really enjoy writing her earlier in the story.

Anyway, thanks again for reading and I'll hope to have the second part of this chapter out later this month!