The Hook

An abandoned warehouse.

"Hey, did you hear? Apparently Capo Stella died." A gravelly voice broke the silence.

"Huh?? How?" a brunette woman replied, soft and whispering. Though she was dwarfed by the white masked man in size, she didn't reserve any politeness in her voice.

"Look at this video, she was absolutely trashed. Serves her right, hated that bitch." Coarse words flowed past the black man's mouth as he raised his phone to a horizontal position.

The man's companion whistled as an unrecognizable body slammed into the asphalt ground, creating a visible blood splatter even from meters away.

Then a hint of uneasiness flashed past her eyes. The colors of her pupils shimmered and shifted in the dim light, like a kaleidoscope.

"Fuck, her eyes are gone, man. And her jaw... What happened, a bloodbath up there?"

"Apparently. It was at their own event, too. What about you, Captain, did ya see the video too?"

The two Fixers turned toward their Captain, a man set with glossy midnight hair and pale, delicate features.

A soft, dark-orange parka wrapped around his body. Downy feathers lined its hood, but the man wasn't warm in the slightest. Installed into its left side were two mechanical scythe extensions that scraped for dirt under his fingernails.

One of the scythes flicked forward, reaching the two Fixers' necks faster than their eyes could comprehend. The other blade continued to dig for more filth under the Captain's nails.

"Did I see the video?" His voice was dangerously thin.

"Yes, Captain." They grinned. Their Captain was definitely a unique soul.

The scythe backed away from their necks. With a swish, it planted its blade into the ground, piercing nearly a meter of solid concrete.

"That video is old. Go to Tube; A new video is public now."

Oh.

Tube. The only way to legally share and access videos to and from strangers in the City. A huge network conglomerate jointly managed by J Corp and V Corp.

Though the Hana Forum often had more useful information for Fixers, Tube was the second best alternative, as it had the bigger viewer base of the two. Of course, since there were more civilians than Fixers in the City, the contents of Tube varied from wildly compared to the strict information of the Hana Forum.

Using the area filter, the three Fixers found a new video in their Section titled 'Leaked 'Vivi' Mayhem'.

The masked man curled his lip.

No one in their right mind would believe that it was leaked. More like, given permission to be shown.

And if it was leaked onto Tube, it must have meant someone in the higher echelons wished for the public to know.

Even Taein had his attention to the screen in his hand.

And for good reason, too.

Because as the sound of brutality filled their ears, the abandoned warehouse fell into silence. Taein's hands began to shiver.

("Mad Demon?")

The boy in the video ripped off the Capo's jaw with a howl, using that same jaw to cave in the woman's face.

("Don't make me laugh!")

An illusionary haze stifled the air.

Taein narrowed his eyes, his skin turning an even sicker pale. Not an Urban Legend, not even a Plague. Nightmare... perhaps higher.

"An unknown variable. Naoki?" he spoke in a faded whisper.

The woman, Naoki, nodded her head. She tapped her screen a few times, displaying a fresh face from the Fixer archives.

Fixer archives?

"He's a... I-I can't believe it. But I recognize the face. A freshie, Grade 7. Just joined about a week ago. No achievements except for an Urban Myth called Rust Skulls- McCullin, stop shivering!"

"Gahaha! That's fuckin' scary. Gettin' goosebumps just think'n about it!" McCullin's voice subconsciously changed into a more noticeable accent.

The shark-like grin etched on the man's white mask looked more like a grimace by now.

Naoki scoffed, but she wasn't faring much better either. How long has it been since someone challenged the authority of the Thumb?

They of all Fixers have had the most experience with the Five Fingers, especially the Index and Thumb.

This was the Hook Office, after all. Every one of their members was previously from Syndicates.

"Tae, what's wrong? Is it hard to analyze?"

Another minute of silence passed as they waited for their Captain to finish his thoughts.

"...Not strength. It wasn't his raw strength for the most part. But that savagery... it turned around the entire flow in an instant."

"So you sayin' kid's not Grade 7? What d'ya say his real strength is at?"

"..." Taein sunk into thought once again.

McCullin went back to the video of the Capo falling to her death, back on the Hana Forum. He wasn't proud to admit it, but he sighed a breath of relief as he saw the boy plummet to the ground after Stella.

Taein coughed.

"Though he won, the Capo got caught off guard too. So I'd say he's a bit stronger than me, but still weaker than her, if she fought with her guard up."

Stronger than Captain?

Naoki gulped. Her Captain plainly saying that caused her a slight bit of unease.

"Tae, isn't he probably dead? He fell off the building, right? It doesn't matter how strong he is-"

Taein swung a baleful eye at her.

"You really think so? This is a monster on par with a Capo. He's most likely still alive. How about this..." Their Captain turned his phone toward them.

(Asher, Grade 7, rank 8799. Chimère Office.)

Naoki twitched; the boy's official rank was even lower than hers.

"He recently joined an Office. Chimère... It must be close by."

Taein stood up.

"Aye, Cap'n," McCullin shivered slightly as he rose to his feet, "What should I tell my men to do?"

"Tell them to do whatever. Train, drink, live, whatever floats their fancy. Naoki, yours too. Tell them we'll be back by noon."

The two Fixers nodded.

The Hook Office currently had 24 members, including the three executives, Naoki, McCullin, and Taein. They were fairly influential around the region, a stark contrast to the obscurity of the Chimere Office they were about to investigate.

Soon, the warehouse was empty again.

...

"Is that...?"

"Hook Office..."

"Executives..."

"Let's cross here..."

Nervous whispers echoed audibly as Taein, McCullin and Naoki walked down the street, with Taein in the center.

Their reputation had not fallen despite their recent lack of activity, perhaps because of their very distinctive uniform. Or rather, the complete lack of one.

Each member of the Hook Office was recognizable in their own right, simply from their unique, personalized outfits.

And everybody knew what the executives looked like.

Taein, the Web of Blades. Orange parka, feather hood, mechanical scythes. His thin stature was supplemented by a pure black facemask that hid his true expression, such that he exuded a mysterious, almost haunted aura.

The Captain scanned the street, the cold glint in his eyes bringing shivers to whoever dared meet his gaze.

McCullin, the Shark. A giant of massive proportions, nearing two meters in height. Contrasting his dark skin was a white, ovalish mask, hiding his entire face. Etched on it was a stylized, shark-like grin.

The only two holes in his mask showed a glimpse of the man behind the mask, a set of two protean gray pupils.

And Naoki, the Dual Fang. Nearly a dozen chains hung from her belt, each well-hung with an arsenal of knives for easy access. A muzzle-like gas mask covered her mouth in an oddly enticing manner.

Her pupils never seemed to settle on a single color, flashing past every color of the rainbow with mesmerizing speed.

All the executives' appearances combined to create an easily memorable trio.

The street emptied for their passage.

"Let's split up here. Ask around, but don't only look for them. Keep your eyes peeled for any interesting stuff."

With Taein's words, Naoki's figure flickered and disappeared. McCullin lumbered into a nearby alley, fading into the shadows.

Taein adjusted his breathing.

The man's mechanical scythes dug into a nearby wall, flinging him to the roof in an instant.

...

Pete gasped with exertion as he swung a crude metal club, at least as long as his arm, for the two hundredth time.

"Ugh- Why did I get *Cough* the heaviest weapon!?"

No one answered him.

He glanced to his right.

Sophie was working with two butterfly knives, clashing against Sayako in an intense spar on a patch of flat concrete. Aiko was practicing with a hammer and chisel (the oddest weapon combination of them all), and Mangchi was practicing hand-to-hand combat.

"Just why the hell!" Two hundred and one.

"Did I!" Two hundred and two.

"Get a!" Two hundred and three.

"Metal club!" Two hundred and four.

Pete gasped with exertion, flinging the weapon to the side. Sayako grunted with exasperation, but couldn't respond under the pressure of Sophie's erratic movements.

Mangchi responded for her.

"C'mon man, she said these are the best weapons for us. Don't be a downer, all of us are doing our best."

Pete shot him a withering glare.

'Weapons, my ass. What about your fist then??'

But his retort caught in his throat.

Mangchi's fist slammed into the pile of bricks laid out by Sayako.

The dark-skinned boy muttered to himself as he pulled his fist up.

"Ah, that hurt." His knuckles dripped with blood.

With only those three words, the fist swung down again.

And the brick crumbled.

Pete closed his mouth, and a clanging noise pulled his attention to where Aiko sat.

Her hammer swung down, and her chisel split a rock into two clean halves in the process. A pile of split rocks laid beside her, as well as a pool of sweat. She was lost in her own world, attending to the needs of her soul.

"Hold!" Sayako panted, raising her palm for a rest break. Sophie's knife paused in midair, interrupting her near victory.

Sophie nodded. A sheen of uncomfortable sweat glistened on her skin, which further smeared the ash on her dress.

The Fixers fell silent as their Captain and Sayako conversed quietly.

"Honestly, I have no clue what to teach you. Your movements are already perfect in terms of flexibility and utility. In fact, I'm fairly sure I'm only stronger than you physically."

Pete glanced at his friends with wide eyes. But it made sense too. At the start of the spar, they were shocked to see Sophie bend and twist past Sayako's attacks like a marionette.

"Then you weren't using your full strength?"

Sayako flicked her hair at Sophie's question.

"Of course I wasn't. But I guarantee that you would never lose against an opponent of the same strength. Now all that's left for you is to rise."

Sophie's eyes dimmed at the compliment. Except for Asher, no one knew that she could never gain stats by herself. The only way for her to get stronger was if Asher died. And of course she would never wish that on him.

Suddenly, Sayako's face twitched. She swung her gaze to the roof of a building over a hundred meters from them.

Someone sat on the edge of the rooftop, watching them. The eavesdropper was so far away that he only looked like an orange dot in the distance.

Sayako narrowed her eyes, attempting to decipher who it could be.

"-!" The orange dot leapt into the air, flinging itself toward them. The previously tiny dot slammed onto the rooftop, revealing it to be a man in an orange down parka.

Two scythes dug into the concrete, stopping the figure's forward momentum in an instant.

The roof was left with two wicked gash marks.

"Never thought I'd see you again." The man put his hands in his parka's pockets, mumbling with his back turned against them.

Sayako's lips trembled wordlessly.

As the man turned to face her, she stumbled back a step.

"Older sister." His voice twisted with hatred.

She shivered, forcing herself to stare into her brother's eyes.

The eyes of hollow guilt met the eyes of writhing hatred.