Meika blinked as she tried her eyes to adjust to the dim lightings of her surroundings. She laid unmoved on top of her bed on her front. When her sense of sight could focus, she tried to move parts of her body. That's when she was welcomed by an excruciating pain. An inaudible grunt escaped her chapped lips. She felt the pull of her still healing injuries, specifically lash wounds, when she exerted force. But despite its difficulty, she still persevered. The physical pain she's currently suffering is nothing compared to the agonizing pain her heart is enduring.

When she was in a sitting position, she dragged the upper part of her black yukata to cover her upper body. She winced as the smooth texture of the clothing hit her, still healing back. It took her a few seconds to wait for the ache to pass. Once it did, she forced herself to walk towards the window. When the breathtaking view of the Tokyo metropolis graced her forlorn eyes, she told herself, she's finally home.

The knowledge of being home usually gives her a semblance of peace. The familiarity of the place comforts her restless spirit. But today, it didn't console her one bit. The successive failures she underwent in the past four months are heavily weighing on her shoulders.

She could still feel that simple joy of having spent St Dwynwen's evening in Penarth with him. It was brief, yes, but the intimacy of the moment made it so memorable because they seldom spend time together. The nature of her job always makes it almost impossible. Yi Xe's steadfastness and persistence that their relationship work is truly remarkable. Not once in their six years of marriage did he give up wooing her. Sometimes he disappears if he gets hurt by her indifference. But he always bounces back later, as if nothing happened.

At a very young age, she was already tasked with carrying the burden of saving her family from total annihilation. That's why she hardened herself in order to endure and withstand the trials and dangers coming for her family. Then Yi Xe happened.

It all started on a simple bet while they wait for their fathers to end their business dealings. They played a one set match of League of Lemuria. A MOBA type of video game that is composed of five professional e-gamers in one team to compete in a world-renowned stage. The twit was so arrogantly confident then that he could romp. Little did he know that she secretly plays that video game to relieve her frustrations and stress from her duties. As an ADC botlaner in LoL, she at least get to go all out and kill enemies without reservations. They were both shocked at what he, the skinny teenager, aged fifteen with huge red square glasses and a toothy grin, said to her. Also, a teenager aged nineteen with a petite figure and timid demeanor, said 'Marry me'. Since then, even though they were miles apart, they always find time to play with him as her support to back her battles up and win. Their partnership has always been invincible. Then and now. And it's in these instances that she always felt alive and thoroughly loved by Yi Xe. He never tired of wooing and proposing to her after their matches.

Her husband might currently work as a professional e-sports player for LoL with his self-owned team, Cyan Blue Gaming, but he's also a tech genius that could hack into anything. She recently discovered that he was the one who has been secretly supplying her with all the information she needs on her 'other' job. Then four months ago, he was kidnapped by his own cousin after their date in Penarth. He was blackmailed into using his tech abilities to run and cover its illegal activities.

In her attempt to save him, she and her husband's kidnapper have been playing cat and mouse, then hide and seek for the past three months. After Penarth, they globe-trotted and went to Seoul. Then to Rio de Janeiro and now Tokyo.

Five months ago, she followed her husband to Seoul. The asshole masqueraded as her twin sister's then fiancé, forced her husband to hack and plant false evidences to frame her twin sister's now husband so that he could be benched from playing LoL's seasonal competitions so that the rival team could win in an illegal betting. She and her twin sister even almost killed each other because she was trying to protect the asshole, thinking she was her then fiancé.

She could have saved him then. Only he didn't want to. Yet. Because his parents have been hostages too. That if he didn't cooperate, they would die.

Her husband's bloodied face and emaciated physique will forever be etched in her photographic memory. He still smiled at her, despite his condition, and told her to hang in there. That was White Day after he gave her a bouquet of mugunghwa.

Then four months ago he was dragged again to Rio de Janeiro because his doppelgänger masquerading as him was overseeing a shipment of 'live' goods to the cartel. The SOB threw her husband into the hands of the FBI in order to save his own ass when everything went downhill. It took her days to bail him out, and when she did, he was barely alive.

She failed to protect him from the brutality that exists in the world of organized crimes.

Now, her soul is screaming not for justice but for vengeance. The moment they dragged her kind husband into her dark world, all bets were off.

She never wished for all her life. Only now, and that her injuries taken from the Haradas heal immediately. The very reason she came back to her home country is not only to chase Yi Xe's cousin who's also in Japan right now, hiding, but to negotiate. The target she was supposed to eliminate in Penarth six months ago was a member of this clan. She went to them to clean her husband's name, then negotiated so that he can be spared from their retaliation. They came to an agreement and one of their demands was 150 lashes for CC. She took it for him, hence her back injuries now. She's not fazed about it. She's used to physical pain. But it was nothing compared to what her husband suffered at the hands of his own cousin, uncle, the cartel and FBI.

Two soft, successive knocks broke her from her dark musings. It was followed by a soft click of the door opening.

"You're up."

Her heart skipped a beat, but didn't bother to turn and acknowledge her uninvited guest. She willed her eyes focused on the dazzling city below, despite her wanting to turn around and hug said guest tightly.

A pair of hands gently squeezed the uninjured part of her shoulders and stood behind her.

"Until when are you gonna punish us for the things we have no control over? It really hurts more than what we both went through recently to see you like this."

What he just said made her turn and finally face him head on. She was greeted by the gentle and striking, genuinely worried but still smiling visage of the person she felt guilty of not saving as soon as possible.

Her hands must have a thought of its own since it voluntarily lifted and caressed his cheeks and jaw. Faint traces of bruises were still visible. She then suddenly moved to hug him tightly. Next, she showered his right shoulder with featherlight kisses, slowly moving towards a particular spot on his neck where a mole was located, and continued to shower it some more.

His grip on both her shoulders tightened. "Bâobâo..." He paused, panting. "Stop. You have no idea how much I want to take you right now and its killing me."

Embarrassed by the precipitous act she just did, she withdrew and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I..."

"You know why we can't do that for now," he chuckled. "Bâobâo, your current physical condition won't allow it."

"But..." He placed his right forefinger on her lips.

"I'm not an insensitive jerk who is callously driven by carnal desires," he continued. "I love you. If we do the deed, it will be making love, not just a momentary scratching of an itch, hmmm?"

Yi Xe cupped her face and gently kissed her forehead. Then lowered his head to touch her nose with his rubbing it affectionately. He paused to look at her beautiful face now with blazing eyes telling him she'll argue her cause but he pinched both her cheeks harder. That made her lips pucker.

The world-renowned LoL support chuckled before he descended his lips to hers. His left hand moved lower towards the right side of her neck while his right hand remained on her left cheek holding her steadily as he deepened their kiss. She tastes like heaven. Only said heaven waved bye-bye when he felt a sudden hard squeeze on his left butt cheek that made him yelp. His wife's glowering visage welcomed his sense of sight back and he can't help but laugh at her scary expression. It dispelled whatever magic was woven in the air.

"I want vengeance," she blurted. "Your uncle, cousin and Tomo must all together pay."

"I know." His right hand moved to lovingly pat her head. "But must you include your nursemaid? Her only mistake was falling for my cousin's false charms."

"She sold you to him!" She clenched her teeth as her voice pitched an octave higher. "And that I cannot forgive."

"Ok. I'll leave you on to your vendetta project, but on one condition."

Meika raised her head to look at him. "Ok?" Her smoldering hazel shaped sage eyes suddenly twinkled with dark excitement. "And that is?"

"You will accept help from your siblings."

*~*~*

When Meika grudgingly agreed to CC's condition, she thought she already prepared herself for what to come. She was so used to working only with Tomo and Yi Xe as her assists and mostly all alone with her missions that this kind of setup is all new.

She, Yi Xe, and her youngest sibling, Ruhvy, who follows her husband's footsteps in cyber technology are all currently working together to trace Yi Xe's uncle and cousin's whereabouts. They are hacking into various databases to transfer, convert and divert files needed to restore, forward evidences to various government crime agencies of its illegal activities and have them blacklisted on the black market so that they can no longer operate.

While Triz, her younger twin sister, Rogue, her husband and X, their middle sibling are outside doing the actual talking, convincing and negotiating with the people and agencies that could assist and help in hastening the accomplishment of their mission.

"Anou..."

Yi Xe momentarily paused at what he's decoding. "You found something?"

He responded with a slight and shy nod, then pointed something at the monitor. This made both Yi Xe and Meika completely stop from what they were doing to see what he was trying to convey.

Both their eyes widened at what they saw and Yi Xe swiftly pressed some keys to retrieve, decode some more and finally open files. When said files were exposed for them to see, Lyles gasped, Yi Xe beamed brightly and Meika quirked her lips. "There goes all my cousin's efforts to rule the triad. Poof! Down, down the proverbial drain."

"How'd you do it Ruhvy? Yi Xe curiously asked, using his gamer name. "I had a hard time breaking such code?"

"Fiore."

"Fiore? His brows knitted. "You mean Park Chung-Hee, Rogue's business partner and successor of Digital Factory in Seoul?"

"Hai! He nodded. "And he also wants me to tell you that by this, he paid his debt."

Yi Xe was rendered speechless. He and Fiore met briefly, and he only helped him escape from his cousin that time. They were really not friends because they were regional rivals. Him playing for the Chinese region and Fiore, South Korean region. This simple gesture touched him deeply. "Honestly, I never once thought that my act of kindness that time be returned. Still, tell him thank you."

The Phoenix Gaming Support shyly smiled as he nodded. "Aniue, we might all be competitive rivals in professional E-sports, but we're family. We'll help each other."

Ruhvy's statement made Meika feel an unfamiliar tug in her heart that urged her tear ducts to well up. For a someone who was trained and used to repress her emotions, this is truly kind of uncomfortable. Her youngest brother rekindled something she thought was already dead a long time ago. The act of feeling.

"Domo arigatou gozaimasu, otouto!" She whispered.

"Dou itteshimashite, Aneue." Her youngest brother whispered back.

Both never left their gazes on the huge monitor, watching all their target's wealth, connections and future turn to dust. Yi Xe broaden his beaming smile, looking at them, finally communicating.

"Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah! Roma, roma-ma! Gaga, ooh-la-la!" Lady Gaga's powerful melodious voice broke their shared silence and made Ruhvy jump.

"You and X assigned the same ringtone for Triz?" Yi Xe teased the now flustered Ruhvy. "Go on. Answer it immediately or you'll never hear the end of it." He chuckled. "We both know she can be an earful. Dunno how Rogue can tolerate it. But I thank Buddha I married the sane twin." His last statement earned him a scowl from his wife.

With a quivering hand, Ruhvy pressed answer.

"Baby, you ok?." Triz' loud voice reached both Meika's and Yi Xe's ears, which embarrassed him more. "Is Eika bullying you?" She added. "Tell me. Should I pull you out there right now and send Rogue instead?"

"Noona!" the youngest Sakurada exclaimed. "No one is bullying me here." His usually timid, low inflection rose. "We were just preoccupied by something urgent, but all's well."

"Good. Put me to loudspeaker," she commanded. "They also need to hear what I'll say."

Yi Xe has been observing his wife's reaction when she's with her newly acquainted siblings. He's happy to see she's slowly warming and opening up to them. When her parents separated, she was forced to go with their father and her siblings to their mother. Now, her siblings are trying their best to get to know her better. They only learned about her recently and it was even accidental. Their mother is also dying to reunite with her too, but that can wait.

"Baby, am I on loudspeaker already?"

Ruhvy wanted to answer, 'no need for that Noona, you're loud enough even the people on the other street can hear you.' But he will surely be smacked for that, so he opted for a polite and acceptable one. "Yes Noona."

"Good. A moment." They heard the phone being handed over to someone. "Someone would like to tell us very interesting news."

"Yo!" They were greeted with a deep and baritone voice. "This is X. Rogue-hyung and I just discovered your cousin's current whereabouts, Meiko." He suddenly paused and corrected himself. "Sorry, it's Yi Xe." He laughed uncomfortably. When he regained his composure, he continued. "Guess where our target is hiding."

"Where?"

*~*~*

"Minami-Azabu District in Minato?" Meika scoffed at the chosen hideout of their target. "Of all the places, he'd really have to choose an area here in Tokyo where the South Korean Mindan and the Chinese Embassy are located."

"He's hiding in plain sight, Bâobâo." Yi Xe responded, who's now driving.

"Takenyou?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"A man needs his regular bath," he countered good-naturedly. "Even you can't take that away from him."

"I'll drown him into its famous black water—" A crushing sound of canned soda was heard. "Then flush it to kingdom come so that even his unborn spawns can't find him."

"Shhhh! Refrain from sprouting death threats—" The famous support chided. "Or minor acts of violence," he flitted his eyes at the poor mangled can of empty diet coke. "We have a child in the car."

Ruhvy who was seated in the backseat, scratched his temple and smiled shyly. His eyes were glued outside, but they heard him suppress his chuckle.

"We've discussed what we'll do earlier, yes?" Deafening silence. Still, he continued. "And we all agreed that no any form of violence will be acted upon."

He waited again for a response. Still, silence. And that's when he knew without even saying it. She's sulking.

"Bâobâo," He slowed the car down, as they were almost there. "We'll do it the legal way and have him arrested. That's the..." Yi Xe couldn't finish his sentence because there were so many onlookers around the onsen. Three police cars and an ambulance already parked just outside it.

Meika sprinted the moment Yi Xe parked the car, and both he and Ruhvy followed.

What they all witnessed next left their mouths agape.

"Mr. Police, please let me see my fiancé!" A hysterical voice of a woman was pleading with one authority to allow her to see the covered dead body of the medics that were about to lift into the ambulance.

The police who's trying to explain what happened couldn't find the chance because the woman keeps on interrupting him with her hysteria and successive chatter.

"He told me he won't take long to scrub dead cells." She whined. "How the hell did he die from scrubbing dead cells?" She pounded the officer's chest as she asked. Then, in a yactosecond, she wailed like a banshee.

"We were supposed to get married tonight!" Hiccup. "What's gonna happen to me now?" Another hiccup, then more wails.

Then she pushed the police that even the poor guy was too shocked to react and dashed towards the dead body. Her nimble fingers unzipped the body bag in a flash and then wailed some more!

"Nimal ka! (You animal!)" She slapped the dead man's face several times. "Nganong namatay man ka ug kalit? (Why did you die all of a sudden?)" She proceeded to uproot his hair as she howled. "Wa man ko nimo huwata nga patyon ka animala ka! (Why didn't you wait for me to kill you!)" She persisted to assault the poor, lifeless body. "Waaaaah!" The mauling should have continued if the two familiar looking guys didn't come forward to restrain and lift her away from the defenseless dead.

"Sorry everyone!" The taller one among the two bowed low at the authorities and then at the onlookers. "She must have mistaken the victim as her fiancé who died five years ago." He clasped his hands together, then simultaneously rubbed it. An act of sincere apologizing by the Koreans. "Please forgive her behavior as she must have missed taking her medicines. If you'll excuse us and take her away now." The shorter one picked her up and hauled her ass away. "Again, we're so sorry." He bowed one last time and also left in a hurry.