Once morning arrives, the group gathers in the briefing room of Ethereal HQ. They sit in their usual spots, and as always, Vern walks to the furthest wall and nods at everyone in greeting after facing forward. "Good morning."

"I hope you all slept well," Klaus moves his head left to right in an attempt to mock Vern's voice. Being the source of the caricature, he laughs it off as a jest.

"Thank you, Mr. Fulgur. That was surprisingly accurate."

"I used to do puppet shows for the children."

"Fuck did you want to talk about, Vern?"

"Ah, yes," Vern says, respectfully setting his gaze on Lux to acknowledge his words. Behind Vern is a holographic screen preceding the back wall formed by beams of light which display a large map of what looks to be a certain state.

"This, as you all well know, is Alimoor. Ever since we took Meriport, we have been getting requests to join jobs from anonymous employers offered to us and odd cases that need attention. The request and the job offers are all checked for validation of course. It seems they are small Abnormal groups in hiding. This is a chance for us to gain allies to help our cause. There are many things to do in Alimoor and its cities. We must be ready when the time comes to attack the Baron's main base. Are there any questions?"

"Nah," Lux answers. "We'll take these jobs and get extra pay. Simple."

"Very good. Now, what is our consensus?"

"Think we should end this shit here."

"Very well. This meeting is adjourned."

Everyone goes their separate ways throughout Atlacall after the meeting. Lux steps out of the room approaching Dawson who's standing near the holo map display. Dawson gives a respectful nod before greeting him. "Halcyon."

"Yo, Dawson. Wassup?"

"I'm not sure if Matthias told you already, but there are some matters that need to be attended to."

"Hell does that even mean?"

"I honestly can't give you a lot of specifics. Just know that if you and your people accept and complete these tasks, you'll be well compensated."

"Start with that shit next time. Now what's this all about?"

"It's better if I show you all to understand what you're going to be dealing with. Follow me."

"Alright. I'll call everybody."

Lux calls upon Jade, Vern, and Klaus. Once they meet up in the map room, they all follow behind Dawson down to the submarine port. When they step forward out of the elevator, they see a group of Abnormal soldiers surrounding a docked submarine. The group along with Dawson walk up to the gathering of soldiers and one of them greets Dawson as they approach. "Sir."

"Any movement?" Dawson inquires, fixing his eyes on his fellow servicemen.

"No, sir. She's still in there. Hasn't come out since we found her."

"May I ask what the issue is, Dawson?" Vern takes the lead past the others, glancing back and forth between the submarine and his commander.

"Yes, sir. About an hour or two ago, we discovered a stowaway."

"A stowaway? How did your dumbasses let that happen?" Lux's face is virtually scrunched in irritation. Dawson waves him off, cutting down any forms of assumption.

"Trust me, we recheck the submarines thoroughly. We're not sure how they got on, but we do know it's a young woman."

"You're surrounding a submarine for a girl?" Jade interposes, heaving a sigh into the air.

"We have to take the necessary precautions. For all we know, she could be a Blightshade or worse and attempt to hurt someone."

"You and your men did well to follow the precautions in place, Dawson," Vern assures, placing his hand on his commander's shoulders. "The hires and I will take it from here."

"Sir."

"This is ridiculous," Jade expresses in an irritated tone. Lux, with his arms crossed, shrugs before saying his peace.

"Least we're getting paid."

The group climb atop of the submarine, open the hatch and hop inside. They glance down the narrow hallways, instantly noticing that the lights are turned off. Vern turns to his left to flip the switch on the small wall beside him, but nothing happens. "Hm. How curious."

"There's nothing curious about it," Lux bluntly remarks. "It isn't turning on."

"How are we supposed to see? Wait, Jade, where are you?!" Klaus shouts toward the end of the hallway. Only a loud echo of a slap can be heard, the sound originating from Jade's left hand passing by Klaus' head. He winces and slowly rubs the back of his head, immediately feeling the pain on his scalp.

"Ah..."

"I'm not that dark, idiot. Next time you turn on the kitchen light, I'll look around to see if you're there."

"That's fair, honestly. You can call me Cream Boy too, if you want."

"I am definitely not doing that," Jade replies with a laugh.

"We should proceed with extreme caution. As Dawson mentioned before, any appearances should not be underestimated."

"I don't give a shit what it looks like. If it's a problem, I'm killin' it."

The group searches around the submarine's interior for the stowaway, they check behind doors, small mechanisms, even under the panels in the control room. Lux alone returns to the hallways to continue the search. As he takes a step forward, he hears a small scuffle coming from the supply room and glances in its direction. He walks up to its entrance door, pushing the steel open before looking around.

There are many barrels alongside small boxes to his immediate left, with supplies and a large net on the floor to his immediate right. Lux closes the door behind him to ensure whatever he believes is in the room with him does not escape. Once again, he hears a small scuffle towards his left beyond the barrels and boxes. He does not hesitate, he strides towards the boxes immediately and effortlessly picking them up before throwing them aside to reveal what's hiding behind them.

He uncovers in front of him, peering up at his looming figure in fright, tucked in the dark and dusty corner, a small, young woman with pastel skin. Close enough to see her in the dark, he can make out that she has short blackish-light purple hair with noticeable scarlett stained streaks. She continues to stare back at Lux with her blood red eyes that tell a story of fear and confusion. Whimpering and shivering like a cold, wet cat, she attempts to scoot away further into the corner, afraid of being harmed. It's not until Lux gets closer that he realizes she's completely naked.

"'Ey, you know I can see you, right? Either you move out of that corner, or I'll do it for you." He declares in an assertive tone. It takes a moment until she complies. She reluctantly crawls out from her hiding space, stopping in front of a small box.

"Alright. So you can understand me," he says as he turns his head to scan the area. Spotting a large, tattered overcoat hanging on a hook near the back right wall, he takes a hold of it and tosses it towards the young woman, practically commanding her to put it on. "Wear this." The young woman glances down at the coat with shocked eyes. She does not speak, yet still complies and slips into the overcoat.

"You try some shit and I've got no problem blowin' your head off. I've got other people on this sub, so it's only a matter of time before they come in here. They think you're a Blightshade, so tell me how and why you're here and I may be able to help you," Lux directs her.

Slowly turning her head to look at Lux, the fear in her eyes has nearly faded away. She hesitantly opens her mouth to speak, another language spilling out from her cracked skinned lips. "I-Ichi..." She mumbles in a foreign language. Thankfully, Lux recognizes the language. It's Japanese. With this acknowledgement, he responds in the same language.

"Who's this Ichi? Talk."

"He's my friend. H-He came here...They took him and I followed..." she manages to force out.

"That your pet or something?"

"N-No, not a pet...I need to find him," she shyly confirms.

"We'll find your friend. But you ain't leavin' this city now, got it?" He commands.

The young woman peers into Lux's eyes with instant happiness. She nods, forming a dim smile on her face. "Yes. Thank you..."

"I don't need your thanks. You're getting one chance. Can you walk?"

"Yes..."

"Good. Stand up."

Although her legs begin to shake from weakness, the young woman still manages to leisurely stand herself up. Lux steps towards the door and motions his head for the young woman to follow. "C'mon. Keep your mouth shut. I'm gonna speak for you, got that?"

"Y-Yes."

"Following directions. I like that. What's your name?" He responds with still no smile in sight.

"...It's Sakuro."

"Lux. Only sayin' it once, so if you forget it, that's too bad."

"Lux..." she repeats as they approach their destination.

"Yo! Found 'em!" Lux swings open the door and yells to get the others' attention.

His new find closely follows him hiding behind his legs hoping no one will see her. Sakuro watches as Lux walks up to Jade, Klaus, and Vern in the narrow hallway. Confused, Klaus fires his intense gaze in every direction in an attempt to find this bounty. "Thought you said you found something."

"I did," Lux retorts, quickly motioning his head for Sakuro to move from behind his legs. On cue, she slowly peaks her head out and nervously glances at everyone. "This is what your men were panicking about, Vern. Hope it was worth it."

"Hm. This does not mean she is harmless."

"Took care of that. She ain't keen on speaking, but I at least got a name and why she's here."

"It's alive...!" Klaus whispers to himself after releasing a short lived gasp.

"Very well. I trust your judgment, Lux. We shall discuss things outside."

One by one, the group climb up the hatch ladder to leave, Lux and Sakuro are the last to climb out. She follows him and carefully hops off the submarine, continuing to hide behind him as the group walks up to Dawson, who instantly notices Sakuro, and gives her a cautious look. "Is this her?"

"Yeah. Names Sakuro. Looking for her friend named Ichi. Know somethin' about that?"

"Hm...well, before we even thought to tell you all about this, we rescued a small fox from one of the towns we took from the AAF. The fox ran off after we brought it out, so we checked to see if anything else was in the submarine. Hence, finding her," Dawson finishes. Hearing his words come to an infallible end, Vern nods, understanding the context of the situation at its fullest.

"I see. It is most likely they were imprisoned together and she followed you into the submarine. Still, that was careless of all of you and it will not happen again."

"Yes, sir. It won't happen again."

"Good. She seems to have taken a liking to Lux. I will help them search for this fox and will pay them for these troubles. You are all dismissed."

"Sir."
Sakuro watches as Dawson and his men walk off and leave the submarine port. Vern then faces everyone, giving them a confirming nod. "Now, let us search for this fox. Ichi, was it?"

"Yeah. Yo, Sakuro. Snow White over here is Vern. That's Jade and Klaus."

Sakuro looks around at the group individually. Vern gives her a stern, yet calm look, Jade an amicable look, and Klaus makes a wide smile to try and make himself seem approachable. "Hello, little child! We are here to help youuu!"

"Babe, don't be a weirdo."

"I thought you were supposed to smile like that for children or whatever."

"Where'd you get that from?"

"Roger said it shows that you're friendly."

"Roger is a teddy bear."

"Woah! Woah! Don't use the t-word, man...He's the last of his species."

Jade giggles, walking forward with Klaus and Vern following behind her. Before he joins the others, Lux looks back at Sakuro. "Good shit following directions. We're gonna find your friend or whatever then I'll figure out what to do with you."

"Okay..." Sakuro responds softly as she glances up at Lux.

"C'mon."

Sakuro follows Lux as he leaves the submarine port. Once outside, Vern turns to everyone to discuss where exactly to look. "Any suggestions as to where to look first?"

"I think we should check alleyways," Jade suggests. "Lots of trash to eat there."

"The hell does a fox even look like?" Lux asks, lifting his head in thought.

"Please tell me you aren't serious," Jade says after sighing. She's not entirely sure if she should feel disappointed or annoyed.

"Yeah, I'm serious. Never seen one before."

"If we find out it's dead, I'll make a balloon animal to replace it," Klaus jokingly says aloud.

"I suppose we'll have to begin our search and hope for the best," Vern exclaims, finalizing the conversation.

They search the alleyways of Atlacall asking any passing Abnormals if they've seen a fox running about. With an hour of searching spent, the group has turned up with nothing. Lux feels a wave of irritation flow through his body, he wants nothing more than to punch a wall in right now. After a few steps forward, Sakuro stops, instantly sensing the presence of her close friend. She glances up at the top of a small roof, and Lux looks down at Sakuro to see why she stopped moving. "Wassup?"

"Ichi..."

Lux quickly glances up towards the roof on his left. Sure enough, he sees a small white fox with a red petal symbol on its forehead and a tanto strapped to its back. "Oh shit, is that him? We'll grab him and-" Lux's words are cut off when Ichi unexpectedly dashes away and begins running along the roofs of the buildings in front of it. "And...he ran away. Great. 'Ey, get on my back. Gonna need you to catch 'em."

Sakuro slowly climbs onto Lux's back. She wraps her arms around his neck as Lux jumps up onto the surface of the rooftops. "Hey, Ichi! Where you goin?!"

He commences the chase jumping from rooftop to rooftop, advancing on his prey with each movement. Each time Lux closes the gap between the two of them, Ichi somehow manages to slip away. Jade, Vern, and Klaus join in on the chase, creating a small perimeter to keep Ichi in an isolated space. After a short while of chasing, he finally manages to corner Ichi in front of a building currently under construction. Before he flees once again, Sakuro lets out a commanding shout, her voice slightly breaking from dehydration. "Ichigo! Stop. It's me."

Ichi's ears twitch. Hearing his friend's voice, he then turns around and looks in Sakuro's direction. Jade and Vern land slowly on the ground a fair distance from Sakuro and Lux, and Klaus stops in his tracks behind them, almost tripping over his own feet. Sakuro hops off of Lux's back and walks up to Ichi. Both Ichi and Sakuro gaze into each other's eyes, as if they were speaking to each other without having to say any words. Sakuro smiles then lunges herself forward to give Ichi a tight hug. After a moment of two friends reuniting, Ichi hops onto Sakuro's left shoulder, who then walks over to Lux to give him a thankful smile. "Thank you."

"Told you I don't need your thanks. You all good now?"

"Yes..."

"Glad to hear," Lux says, nodding his head twice. Without warning, he drives his right foot into Sakuro's stomach, launching her a fair distance away from him. Jade shakes her head, annoyed with Lux's decision. Knowing him, she knew he would attempt to fight a new face at some point in time.

"And now here we go with this."

"Damm!" Klaus shouts, placing both his hands on his head. Due to being hit by Lux in previous encounters, he can imagine the pain of the hit without being harmed himself.

Vern places his hands behind his back, completely unsurprised by Lux's actions. His eyes gleam in faint curiosity as to what Lux intends to do. After landing on her back, Sakuro slowly stands up, coughing heavily as she does.

"She shoulda died from that, even if she was Abnormal. 'Ey Sakuro, you got caged up by the blue skins, right? Which means you got at least some kinda power in that little body of yours. You ain't die from my kick either, so you must be pretty strong too. You're not going anywhere until you show me that power of yours. So put 'em up, show me what you got. You lose then I'm gonna be disappointed," Lux finishes, sending his antagonistic energy toward his proceeding opponent.

Sakuro stays still and silent for a moment. She looks down at Ichi, then nods at him. Ichi growls, then jumps up into the air, beginning to transform. A bright red light emerges, when it dims, a nodachi and tanto is floating in front of Sakuro. The nodachi and the tanto have similar designed sheathes, the blades are a dark blood red with black-purple hilts, and the sheathes are an obsidian black.

In addition to the colors of their hilts, the nodachi has a black wrapping around its hilt, and the tanto with a miroscaled, garnet bow. Using a durable white string, Sakuro wraps it around her waist as a way to hold her belongings, then straps the tanto to her left hip. She then puts the nodachi's sheathe on the same side as the tanto, but keeps the blade in her hand.

She swings the nodachi twice then assumes an elegant fighting stance. Lux smirks in excitement and assumes his fighting stance as well. "Now that's more like it. Don't make this shit boring, alright?"

"...Yes. I understand."

Sakuro dashes forward to make the first move. She swiftly swings Ichigo in a precise manner, ending her onslaught with a powerful vertical strike. Sakuro's swings were so fast, Lux almost couldn't see them. He feels a piercing pain in his arms and legs as he quickly evades her strikes, immediately counter-striking by punching the ground, causing a small eruption to screen his next attack.

Once the fire dissipates, Lux notices that Sakuro isn't in front of him anymore. He quickly glances up in the sky, then jumps back to avoid the descending plunge of her blade. Retaining the pressure, she rushes forward towards Lux before he can stabilize himself, and unleashes a violent fury of swift strikes.

Lux plants his feet onto the ground then begins clashing with Sakuro with an excited smirk on his face, matching her speeds by blocking or parrying with punches or kicks of his own. Their stalemate quickly comes to an end, as they start to exchange blows with each other. Lux takes the piercing stings of Sakuro's cuts, while she's only harmed by a few punches.

Lux let's forth a powerful uppercut, then a left extension punch to follow up. Sakuro evades the uppercut, then hops off of his left arm and lands behind him. Before Lux can turn around, Sakuro begins zipping in multiple directions, cutting his legs each time she passes by.

Once she realizes Lux can't keep up, Sakuro leaps forward, jabs the back of his neck with the hilt of her blade, then swiftly kicks the sensitive parts of his legs to force him on his knees. She spins around to face her opponent, pushing the sharpness of Ichigo up against his neck as she locks eyes with him.

Lux knows he's been defeated, yet an entertained smirk still forms across his face. He loves the pain he feels from the cuts, the adrenaline that courses through his veins when he's near death, the excitement he feels when he's fighting an opponent of equal skill. He chuckles, the segmented howls quickly turning into a full blown laugh. "Well, damm! You sure as hell didn't disappoint."

His skilled opponent steps back, then tosses her nodachi directly above her. The nodachi reverts back into Ichi's fox form and he lands on her left shoulder. Lux groans as he gets up, then stretches causally as he glances back at Vern. "Yo, Vern. Sakuro gets a part of my cut from now on, alright?"

"Very well."

"Nice. What do you say, Sakuro? You like shelter and money?"

"Yes."

"There you have it. You're one of us now."

"I should've known. You always do this," Jade says, sending Lux a concentrated look to express her displeasure with his actions.

"You're just mad 'cause I kicked your ass when we first met."

"I assume you'll be taking her back to the estate?"

"That's right."

"Very well. I shall inform Dawson of this. Until then, I have matters to attend to. Good day." Vern politely nods to indicate his departure, then walks off. With a satisfied grin, Lux returns his sights back to Sakuro.

"Welcome to the squad. C'mon. We're going back to the house. I'll show you around."

"Okay..."

After a short walk, the group returned to Kenvale. Once they step inside, they walk past the narrow hallway. When they emerge from the walkway, Sakuro and Ichi glance around the interior with curiosity. Jade goes into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich while Klaus flops on the couch in the lounging area before turning on the TV.

"This here is where you're livingfrom now on. Pretty fuckin' fancy, huh? There's rooms upstairs. Pick whichever one you want because there's a lot of rooms. That guy Vern you saw before? We work for him and his Abnormal group, so get used to being called on for jobs and other shit. What else is there? Guess that's pretty much it."

Lux's surprisingly friendly mood is quickly thrown away. When he looks down at Sakuro, she can clearly see the change and hear the switch of tone in his voice. "Out there in the world, ain't nobody gonna give a shit about Abnormals like us. Here, we look out for each other. If you're not with that, I've got no problem dealing with you myself." Lux exclaims, his earnest attitude leaking out through his words. His statement completely goes over Sakuro's head. She smiles warmly as she looks back at him, then suddenly hugs his legs to show him appreciation.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I said before that I don't need it."

"Yes, I'm sorry." Sakuro mutters before stepping away, responding to Lux's words with a simple nod.

"Good. I'm not watchin' over you either. I'm not your dad. Do what you want, but if you do something stupid, then you're dealin' with me. Here."

Lux reaches into his pocket, and takes out a large wad of cash. He tosses it to Sakuro and she catches it before giving it a confusing glance. "Ten thousand right there. Go buy some clothes or whatever you do. Just be ready when we need to work."

"Okay. May I..." she begins before pausing.

"Hm? Spit it out. Ain't got all day."

"May I call you Brother...?"

"Yeah, sure. Could care less. Ain't calling you nothin' but Sakuro, though, so don't expect anything back."

"Okay."

"Cool. I need a smoke," He states as he steps into the balcony area. Once he's comfortable, he begins smoking, casually sitting on one of the small sofas. Jade helps Sakuro find a room to her liking and the two of them decide to sleep for the rest of the day.