By the time Larkin arrived back home, he had figured everyone would be fast asleep.
But as he opened the door, he was greeted by a familiar pink presence.
"Papa!" She cried, throwing her arms around him.
Larkin, completely caught off guard, patted her head awkwardly.
"Kari..." He began.
"Shouldn't you...be in bed?"
She sniffled, looking up.
"Mim said we had something to discuss!" She exclaimed as she grabbed his hand.
"We're in the meeting room, papa!"
As she led him to the room, Larkin suddenly thought about those kids. Those kids that he had betrayed so many years ago.
It was merely a game of pretending... He reassured himself.
As the two came up to the meeting room, the door opened to reveal two other people sitting at a table.
"Yo," A man with pink hair gave a wave.
"Any news?"
The other person, a lady, stood up.
"One of our spies found two possible candidates. She s
“Hey,” Keren began, placing her hands on her hips.Norio looked up from the newspaper.“Hah?”Keren frowned.“You’ve been even more irritatingly quiet lately.”Norio looked back down at the paper.“Oi! Don’t go ignoring me, you jerk!” Keren cried.Norio groaned.“It’s too early for your crap!” He grumbled as he stood up.Keren folded her arms and sighed.*As he got breakfast ready, Norio turned to Emersyn and Vera.“Do you two want to help put the blueberries in?”The two quickly looked up.“Really!?” Emersyn cried.“Mm!” Vera nodded eagerly.It’s not that big a deal... Norio thought to himself.Keren leaning against the wall, smiled softly.“He’s really at his best when it comes to these kids...” She whispered.
As Keren walked up to the steps, she was shocked to see Norio standing on the porch.As he lifted his head, utter despair filled his eye."What the hell happened!?" She exclaimed, running up to him."Somebody took her," Norio replied."What do you mean!?" Keren cried."Come," he said, grabbing her by the wrist.As they walked to the back, the garage door was left open."No..." Keren covered her mouth."I just went on a walk," he paused."By the time I got back..." He looked down."She wasn't happy with me but,"Keren shot him a look."What do you mean...?"Norio sighed."She told me she...loved me."Keren looked at him."Are you sure this is a case of kidnapping and not,"Norio shot her a look."I'm damn sure, Emersyn wouldn't get so upset she'd leave because of three words."Keren let out a sigh."Where is Vera?"Norio pointed to his sis
As the following day came, everyone arrived outside of Sena's shop."Where's Rick?" Tammy asked."He's still getting ready," Chris replied.“How'd you guys sleep?" Chris asked as he looked around."Not too well..." Sena replied as Abbey let out a yawn.They then heard the creaking of the porch steps.“What the hell took you so long?" Chris asked."Sorry, sorry," Rick said, scratching his head."Maru," Tammy began."How are you?"Maru, who was half asleep, rubbed her eyes."I'm really sleepy..."Tammy giggled.*As they began walking toward the dojo, Abbey momentarily stopped."So, what's the game plan, leader?" Abbey asked."We go in with our guards up, is all," Rick said."What the hell kind of vague plan is," before she could finish, Rick, carrying a sleepy Maru, looked over his shoulder at her."One of you will stand outside with Maru, in case.
"Nori..." Keren whispered."Hah?" He responded, looking down at his phone."Are we almost there yet?"Norio frowned."Do you want Emersyn back or not?"Keren shot him a look."Don't be silly!" She cried."Shh!" Rick put a finger to his mouth."We could have driven, but then they'd definitely see us coming," Chris said, sighing.*"Boss," Mim began, walking into the room."Hm?" Larkin turned around."One of our spies claimed to have sent out threats."Larkin nodded his head."This just got very interesting," he said with a grin.*"Hold on!" Tammy cried out.Everyone turned to look at her."My phone lost its signal..." She whispered."What do you expect? We're in the middle of a forest." Norio huffed."Looks like we're," before he could finish, Chris suddenly pointed."Behind those trees..." He whispered."Is that it...?" Sena quest
"Now!" Rick cried out.More enemies came pouring out of the entrance.The rest of the group came charging out from behind the bushes.Rick cut through a few of the enemies with ease."Sena!" Abbey cried as she drew her sword, running in front of her.“I knew you'd be reluctant!" She cried."But!" Sena exclaimed."I need to be of use somehow!" She shouted."If you want to be of use," Keren began."Shut that pretty mouth of yours and start throwing some punches!" She cried.Sena gave a determined nod."Chris!" Rick shouted."Yo!" He replied."How are you holding up with Maru!?" He cried out.Maru, who was clinging to Chris's shoulder, whimpered."Fine!" He responded as he kicked an enemy.The enemy quickly got back up."Tch!" Chris grumbled, kicking him again."Stay down, you damn cockroach!" He shouted.One of the enemies coming from behind him be
"Are we ready?" Rick questioned, surveying the room. There were several nods. "Great," he paused. "Now, here's the strategy," he began, using a pointer on a projector. "We're going to split up." Whispers were going around. "Don't you think that's dangerous?" Abbey asked. Rick shook his head. "I think it'll get us to our goal quicker." He said. He pointed to the projector. "Keren, Abbey, Sena, and Tammy, you guys will go towards the Eastern wing." "Mikael, Iris Azalea, and I will head toward the Northern wing." He then looked at Norio and Chris. "You two will go toward the Western wing," he paused. "With Maru." The two quickly lifted their heads. "Rick, you can't be serious," Chris began but paused as Rick narrowed his eyes. "No objections, right?" Mikael asked as he stood up. "To make our lives much easier, we have these walkie-talkies we ca
"This way," Chris said. "Hold up," Norio began as he came to a stop. "Huh?" Chris turned. "I'm going to check out this room; you go check out the one next door." Chris looked at him. "Eh!?" He cried. "Relax, I'll be right next door," Norio reassured. "I don't get the point, but whatever..." Chris said, letting out a sigh. * As they stepped into the room, Chris placed Maru down. "You ok, kiddo?" Chris asked. "Mm," Maru replied. "Good." He smiled. "Why don't you take that thing off for now?" He said as he knelt to take off the blindfold. "Hey, Chris!" A voice called out from behind the door. Chris froze. "Rick...?" Chris whispered, standing up. "What happened to splitting up?" He asked. "Nothing, I changed my mind; I want to take Maru with me." Chris narrowed his eyes. "Open the door, would you?" The voice asked. "...Pr
Footsteps could be heard running through the hallway.The door slammed open, revealing Norio."Holy shit." He gasped, staring at Chris."Tch, I didn't want to use this if I didn't need to, but," he began, as he started digging in his pants pocket."Oi, you better be alive, idiot." He said, kneeling.Chris slightly twitched."Listen," Norio huffed."If you care about them, if you truly love my brother, you'll get the hell up and continue fighting!" Norio cried.He then pulled out a tiny bottle labeled 'The Cure.'"Looks like you'll need a bit more than Emersyn did..." He sighed, pouring a little into Chris’s mouth.He narrowed his eye."Swallow." He scolded.Suddenly, Chris started coughing."Damnit, that stuff tastes awful." He groaned, wiping his mouth with his sleeve."Now's not the time to bitch and moan," Norio said, helping him up."Tch, you're in no shape to fight." H