https://youtu.be/Q-s1R8A-vYg

Once they received their food and returned to their tables, the two of them wasted no time in finishing it, not even exchanging many words between them. Fuelling their bodies was a priority, it seemed. And why wouldn't it, thought Silas, glancing over to them every now and then as he tended to his customers.

The two of them made a most unlikely pair, he mused silently. One bubbly, one flat. One constantly changing her mood, one almost never emoting. One with a sweet tooth, one with a palate for more savoury, bitter tastes. That last one was the weirdest, he thought, because if he had just met them for the first time, he'd never have been able to correctly guess which was which. But, alas, here they were, getting along reasonably well. Here was hoping something nice would come out of this.

For now, though, he focused on his work, allowing them to plot and scheme however they pleased. Until the afternoon, he'd make Erdeland happier in his own, small way, while they could go and do it in their larger one. He'd get his day when the weekend came, but for now, he'd work for the cafe and put a smile on his mother's face.

Watching the two leave after they had finished, Silas smiled, silently wishing them well in their endeavours. Today had been a good day so far, especially with the large tip that Azurine gave him after her order. Whether it was out of the goodness of her heart or gratitude for making her laugh so much, it certainly reassured him up know that for every Minori in the world, there was an Azurine.

Who was Minori, you may ask? That was Vitamin Girl's real name, which she insisted on telling him once she entered today. It was a rare name, probably Han'eian, so he'd taken the time to ask her if she knew this meant her name was something of a Minori-ty. Thanks to that, for the first time, he got to see her unambiguously emote, and at the same time, it was still quite ambiguous. She'd gone from snickering a little bit to glaring very angrily at him, and finally calming down and returning to her emotionless face. Very mixed messages indeed.

For now, though, he went over his schedule for the day. Until five, he'd have to work at the Hole. Then, he'd go to the gym - hopefully, his gym buddy would be waiting for him. Once that was done, he'd look into any criminals plaguing Arc Town before returning to Blackstar by eight. Pretty solid plan, if a little typical. So he'd have to freak with it for now and smile through his work, allowing his allies to do their own thing.

.........

The town of Furvus was as dark and grungy as always, with people walking through it and mostly keeping to themselves or within their little cliques. Entering the town, Inigo and Azurine began their patrol, sticking together on Azurine's insistence as they looked around for criminals and Libera scum to take down. A town dressed in all black, Inigo observed, seemed like it'd be right up this Iago's alley, unless he preferred to stand out.

"Hey, Smurfette." he spoke up, earning a glare from her which he didn't notice because he was too busy looking around. "What can you tell me about Iago? Besides the fact that he kills people."

"Huh? Why are you so interested?"

"He seems peculiar. I'm curious." Inigo shrugged, glancing down at her. "And you seem to know him pretty well, so..."

"Well..." Azurine visibly cringed a little. "He's a character."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes. He's the weirdest guy you'll ever meet on this side of Erdeland!" Azurine warned, as though she was reading out a ghost story by a campfire. "If you thought I was crazy, just wait until you meet Iago!"

"Even his name sounds evil." Inigo shrugged. "So, from what I'm gathering, he's obsessed with the colour black. I get we're all big on colours here, but even by those standards, he's uncanny."

"I know, right! So odd..."

"And worst of all, it probably means he only drinks his coffee black."

"Wait...what's wrong with that?" Azurine raised an eyebrow. "Black coffee is great!"

"It's poison." Inigo scoffed, putting a hand on his pocket. "Can't stand it. If it tasted as good as it smelt-"

"It does! You just haven't had good coffee!" she pouted. "When we get to the diner, I'll make you my special blend! You'll see!"

"Okay, but I'm warning you. I can't even stomach a latte." Inigo pointed out, crossing his arms. "That aside, don't you think you ought to lay off the caffeine?"

"Never!" Azurine glowered indignantly, her hands on her hips. "Not until the day I die!"

"That won't be long if you keep drinking all that coffee."

"What? I'll manage, I'm sure! I'm still alive now!" Azurine declared, shaking her head. "You'll never scare me out of this, Inigo!"

Inigo shrugged simply. "It's your funeral."

The two of them continued walking, chatting in this vein while remaining observant of their surroundings. And fortunately, they didn't see much criminal activity. There was a purse snatcher or two, plus one really angry man who mistook Azurine for the minx who swindled him out of 1,000,000V. After roaming up and down Furvus a couple of times, they made a mutual agreement to move on, and together they progressed to Caerulus. It'd be a long walk, but they both knew the way, and were both prepared. So, what could go wrong?

.........

https://youtu.be/9Kv9AMdnN9E

Their eyes met, and he felt an unmistakable, dissonant beating of the heart as he watched the grim scene ahead of him, too paralysed by dread to act. On one hand, there was the honourable warrior, laying on the ground, his Natura shield broken as he faced his doom with a smile. And on the other, there stood the misty-haired assassin, with his cane gathering a pressurised bullet of dark magic on its tip, his eyes, dead and blue like a watery grave, staring into the boy's own.

"...Father?"

That seemed to be all the assassin cared to wait for. Without further ado, he looked back at the warrior and struck the finishing blow.

"Father, NO!"

The warrior, the hero, had fallen, and the assassin, stoic as ever, unsummoned his cane and dusted off his gloves as if to say "All in a day's work." He departed the scene almost casually, exiting the household while the boy approached and knelt before his father, grief and desperation in his eyes.

"Father, stay with me! Come on, you have to!" he pleaded, nudging and shaking his body while blood laced with an orange glow poured out from the hole in his head. "Father...please..."

But no matter how heartfelt his pleas were, they fell on deaf ears. There was no response, and at once, the truth sank in, transforming his misery into tears. He closed his eyes, gently sobbing as he held onto his father one last time.

But deep within, his newfound sadness began to take on a different form. A searing light, whose heat could be felt in every inch of his body. A blazing wrath that reminded him of his family's great loss - to their honour, and to their members. And at once, he knew.

"I will have justice. I will reclaim what was lost."

"...always the same dream."

And that light, that wrath, it burned bright even today. Even as he woke up in his room, which was bland and grey all over - he'd gotten an economy room, so actual colours were apparently paywalled - his light shone, inspiring his every move. Going about his routine, he kept this in mind, vowing to one day banish the darkness that was Inigo Lenahan.

So, dressed in a white suit and trilby with orange trim, he exited the inn he was staying out, stepping out of the building and into the great city of Caerulus. This city was blue, the colour of calm, and the people here presented as cool and sophisticated. Much like the settlement itself, with its large river leading up to the fountain in the city Square - which depicted the androgynously beautiful visage of Deus Spero, who had order as one of his domains. In the distance, skyscrapers could be seen reaching into the heavens, but before that laid all manner of buildings - houses, tall apartment complexes, and several facilities. Truly, this was a place for only the most lucrative of folks, but Makoto was no slave to capitalism - hence the economy room.

This was a large city, indeed, but the chances that Inigo would be here were definitely greater than zero. It would certainly be an excellent hiding spot for a coward like him. So he wasted no time and went off to search every nook and cranny of Caerulus.

He wasn't sure if it was his tracking skills, Inigo's own hiding skills, luck, or if Inigo simply wasn't here, but as the hours passed, Makoto found himself coming up completely dry. He contemplated taking a break, only to immediately strike that thought from his mind. He couldn't afford to rest. So he kept on moving.

"There he is! The Dawnspear!"

And before he knew it, he was surrounded.

https://youtu.be/ItxWMuW3jQg

A dozen men in suits - black suits, unlike his, and capped off with sunglasses. Of course they emerged from behind the buildings the second he walked into the city plaza. He should've seen it coming, what with how strangely empty and quiet such an open area had been. Did his sister know he was here, somehow? Or had this been a failsafe of sorts? A trap, laid out just in case one of her enemies came across this place. Summoning his spear to hand, he looked around, seeing the suited men - members of Libera - slowly approaching him, with their myriad guns pointed directly at him.

"Well, well, well." one man spoke, his voice taking on a rhotic accent. "What do we have here?"

"Looks like you walked right into the fire, Dawnspear." another man spoke, this one dark-skinned as a fireball began forming on his gun barrel. "And now, it's going to take you away."

"I've already told you, I'm never coming with you." Makoto glared at them, preparing to take flight as his wings flared out from his back in a flash of light. "Aren't you usually more discreet than this?"

"I dunno what you mean. Discretion never got us bandits anywhere."

"You're not just any bandits! I know you're Libera!" Makoto snarled, gripping his spear tightly. "Who else would be out for me?"

"Hey, now, don't lump us in with those guys. We're just a buncha dudes in suits, that's all..."

"No you're not!" Makoto protested. "I despise lies, and your mafia is made of nothing else!"

"Aww, don't hate the player, hate the game!" a sixth, tall and lanky man spoke, smirking widely as he pointed his gun at Makoto. "Speaking of...Shade Squad! Let's show this little birdie some game!"

Hearing this was all the incentive Makoto needed to fly up to the air, with the sound of gunshots peppering the air as the elemental bullets narrowly missed him and collided with one another as he ascended. Cloaking his spear in Light Natura, he began flying around, watching as they pointed their guns up towards him, firing more or less randomly in hopes that something would hit.

This wasn't fully unsuccessful, as even while flying at his highest speed, he still felt shells of fire, ice, shadows and wood, among other things, graze him. Not deterred, he continued to fly, focusing on one man shooting Shadow Natura and thrusting at the air in front of him, firing his signature cross-beams. Seeing a wide salvo of multicoloured bullets coming his way, however, he stopped, turned around, and twirled his spear in front of him, it acting as his shield and blocking the magical onslaught.

After that, things returned to normal, though Makoto didn't attack, instead circling them while his spear glowed a bright orange all over, its aura taking on a cross shape. Quickly, he hurled it down at the most concentrated group of enemies. It landed at one of their feet and spread out into a wide eruption of light, engulfing at least four of them.

Makoto dived down to a different foe, landing in front of him and filling his hands with cross-shaped light blades. He then did a series of palm strikes - one to his head, one to his stomach, before reaching across to hit each shoulder with the opposite hand. Then, he drew his hands across from one another, emulating a mighty cross slash, and then finally striking his chest with both palms, triggering an explosion of light. To finish things off, he summoned his spear back to his hand and hurled it at the staggered man's face, knocking him onto the ground.

Slowly realising that he had the upper hand if he could simply get in close, he called his spear again and soared towards a pair of gunners, deflecting their fire while doing his best to shrug off everyone else's, and made a wide swing once he approached. He landed in front of them and performed a rapid flurry of blows, alternating jabs between the two of them.

Once they were sufficiently terrorised, he turned around, ready to face the others as he pointed his spear at them. "Alright, who else wants some?"

"I think I'll have this dance!"

A voice, almost taunting in its flamboyance, announced itself, and everyone immediately stopped to look around fearfully. Makoto looked up and found many things - like a flock of pigeons, one of which was strangely red, sitting atop a flat roof. But the one thing that caught his eye most was a black-clad figure on top of one of the shorter buildings nearby, and he shouldn't help but gasp a little, tightening his hold on his weapon.

The man in black did not waste any time, crossing his arms and cloaking his body in a black aura shaped like a demonic goat's head, with dreadful fangs, red glowing eyes and curled horns. He jumped, practically soaring, and when he landed on the ground, in the middle of all the combatants, his impact released a mighty wave of darkness that engulfed the plaza. The sound of shattering glass could be heard repeatedly, and when the darkness vanished, most of the Shade Squad were lying on the ground, evidently weakened.

As for Makoto, he was brought to his knees, panting slightly, and could feel his Natura shield barely holding on. He looked up at his assailant with gritted teeth, never once letting go of his spear.

This assailant with a pale face, his black hair medium in length with bangs obscuring one eye. His other, exposed eye was bright red, an arrogant gleam in it, and his face wore a smug smirk as he looked down at Makoto. His lanky frame was covered in some very dapper clothing - a white shirt with a red tie, beneath a black, tailed waistcoat and matching dress pants. His attire, combined with the look on his face, made it clear beyond doubt that this man was dressed to kill.