Colorful neon lights of the city, shining!<br/>Loud music, blasting from every corner, screaming!<br/><br/>The Capital was a maze of streets, rushing cars and trains, flickering lights of commercials and never stopping life. Every bar, bursting with life, every shop where money went from hand to hand, every spinning wheel on every car, every human being breathing the thick, polluted air in and out. Fumes and streetlights, offices and billboards, one house was glued to the other, all accompanied by the colorful mosaic of street signs. Slowly darkening skies were almost devoid of stars, and yet the city's colors only grew that much brighter with all the lights that were turned on all of a sudden.<br/><br/>The underground railway was no less busy or colorful. At this hour, it was at its very fullest. The crowd was so dense that the already hot air of a summer's evening was heated to nigh-unsurvivable proportions. It was like an enormous oven...<br/>Definitely not something for a man of the high class like Suketsune. He was cranky to the extreme, smoking one cigarette after another as he pushed his way crudely through the crowd. Stinky people... Eh, he was never a big fan of them, anyway.<br/><br/>His unnerved mood was lingering around him in the air, easy to feel by anyone who wasn't a complete idiot, to say it meekly. Like a veil, hanging around him. He got onto the nearest train, aimlessly going through the city once more. The Empress was the only thing that was only mind, even as the crowd was forcefully pushed in and made way for the door to close. His fist clenched around the nearest seat by his side, and as the train moved forth, he drew a sharp breath in, yanked by the sudden pull of the mechanism. What unsavory folks were around him... Some woman was trying to keep her pre-school kid from crying frantically and wailing something, an obviously tired businessman was browsing his phone - only the reflection on the window glass showed that he was actually looking at not the most professional sort of pictures instead of the management he was pretending to do. And then there was that weirdo with a hood so big Suketsune couldn't see into his face clearly.<br/><br/>Something was just driving him more and more insane about this ride. He got off on the next step and hurried through the crowds, rushing like if someone set his back on fire, but he couldn't escape that feeling. Something as if was following. He didn't like that. The streets became hazy as he brisked up, already up on the crowded pavements.<br/><br/>All of a sudden, a hand appeared on his shoulder. A young boy. Could have been a high-schooler at the very most, with messy mousy hair and narrow black eyes... "Sir, please come with me." the boy spoke to him.<br/>Suketsune's eyes widened behind the tinted lens of his glasses. What? A stranger was asking him to come with him? Was this a dream of sorts, or an animated TV show? Stuff like this doesn't happen in real life!<br/>"Or what, punk?" he blew a cloud of cigarette smoke into the kid's face, barring his teeth.<br/>"Or we make you."<br/><br/>What a bad time to be in a dark street. There was a lot of people around him, that was true... But none the less, it was a very dark street... Out of service, he didn't have his gun on his person... Oh, bad luck.<br/>By sheer instinct, his knee flew up, hitting the boy in the stomach, and sent him stumbling back by the force, while Suketsune himself lunged forth, to regain his footing, twist on his heel, and run back. But a couple of arms, suddenly flinging up, stopped him, sending him a few steps back by the impact.<br/>And then, something clenched around his neck.<br/>"Silly boy, you think you can run?" a voice, akin to that of a slithering snake, spoke into his ear.<br/>A disgusting crack followed, his vision immediately fading into black.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>He woke up. Tied up and aching, his body lay on the cold floor in some unfamiliar room. The muscles and bones were protesting as he struggled to writhe out of the bonds. What the hell was going on? Where was he? There was nothing but dim lights on the ceiling and concrete floor, and the long, thin fingers of several shadows, standing over him. How utterly unnerving. His stomach groaned from hunger, and only then did he realize how thirsty he was. Several hours must have passed... How utterly awful.<br/>Drawing a sharp breath in, he rolled over on the ground, the shadows suddenly becoming clear. Three tall, dark figures, towering over him. He recognized the hood from yesterday...<br/><br/>The one at the front, holding a long wooden pole wrapped in threads and ribbons, stepped forth, accompanied by the thud of heavy boots. The red and black scarf, draped over their face, black leather gloves pulled over the sleeves of the hoodie, more akin to the armor of a warrior or a biker's gear than ordinary wear, emitting a silent creak as he passed the pole from one hand to the other. The pair of sunglasses was taped over by... Banknotes?<br/>"Yamahata Suketsune, it's a pleasure to have you here." a muffled voice spoke.<br/>"We all sincerely believe you will cooperate and make it easy for the both sides."<br/><br/>Make it easy for them? Was he some sort of-<br/>"But I'm afraid that you don't have much of a choice, either way. Sir Yamahata, you are a hostage, if you haven't figured it out yet. Tell me everything you know about the Council's members, and you'll be set free."<br/>He barred his teeth at the figure, staring down at him. "Who do you think you are?" His lips moved, but the voice was little more than a ragged whisper, what forced a loud laughter from the figure.<br/>"I'll be your personal assistant for now..." the voice chirped, eerily melodic with a cheerful undertone.<br/><br/>Suketsune wasn't planning on talking.<br/><br/>For a long while, the figure in black waited. But after more than five minutes passed, and he was still in his defiant silence. Following a sigh, the hand with the pole was raised, and the somewhat blunt end of the stick hit him right above the collarbone. Suketsune gasped in pain - that strike had more force behind itself than anticipated...<br/>"Come on, talk. Your silence bores me, snobby."<br/>His bound fists clenching underneath his back, Suketsune barred his teeth at the figure. What annoying sunglasses... The money on their lens annoyed him.<br/>"Do I look like I want to talk to you?"<br/>"Not at all..." the head shook. "You gotta ease up those muscles. Should I help you?" The edges of the scarf were lifted up as his muscles shifted, a maddened smirk forming on his lips.<br/><br/>The heavy tip of his boot was smacked into Suketsune's shoulder, sending him rolling across the floor with its sheer force. He ended face-down, but got no time to rest, as the same boot crushed his chest from the back just a moment after. It forced him to roll over, just to land a heavy kick at his tied knees. And the pole was slammed into his stomach.<br/>Suketsune's mouth filled with blood. His pupils dilated, feeling the warmth of the crimson trickling down his lips and face. The pain was biting and mind-shattering, but he had a bad feeling that this was just the start.<br/><br/>But his loyalty to the Empress knew no bounds. He'd never talk. He'd never talk!<br/><br/>Another sigh was released from the figure. He slammed the pole into the palm of one of his hands, putting one feet onto Suketsune's ankles. "You're tiring me, I told you already... I don't have an entire day to kick you around. You're not even that fun to mess with."<br/>Just silence.<br/><br/>"C, R, take him. I'm bored of him." the voice spoke once more, stepping away, and handing the pole over.