As They Toiled...

Asher found himself in the maws of HamHamPangPang.

Sophie tilted her head as Asher shivered.

"I understand. Let us go somewhere else."

Asher nodded his head, allowing Sophie to whisk him away.

Considering Sophie's expressionless face, it was likely she was caring for him in her own, unique way.

"Then, how about a day in the Backstreets? There are bound to be interesting stuff in those alleys." Sophie said what was on her mind as she walked.

Asher shrugged.

"I'll just follow. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Sophie didn't respond for a few minutes, simply leading him silently by the hand.

It was only when the neon light began to filter through the alleys did she open her mouth again.

"Sayako said... Sayako said it was Yan who fought her and Taein. She said that Yan seemed different somehow."

Sophie winced as Asher jerked to a stop, squeezing her hand with a vice-like grip.

"..."

She looked into his eyes, but not a hint of worry could be seen in his expression.

"I wished to tell you in person. Because-"

Asher waved his other hand dismissively.

"It's fine."

With that, the conversation effectively ended. Seeing as Asher didn't want to continue the topic, Sophie could only pull him along once again.

"Other than that, I have an experiment I want to perform."

Asher could get behind that. Tossing aside the words Sophie spoke earlier, he perked up.

"Sounds cool. What is it?"

"You know how your fight with Stella is on Tube already? I have a feeling that people might recognize you."

Sophie explained her thoughts as they neared an opening to the Neon District's market street.

"Quick, switch to one of your E.G.O."

Asher complied. The trademark blue-green armor surfaced on his skin, and the wand-like club 'Wingbeat' strapped on his back.

Sophie admired the complementing-colored dyes on Asher's gear, soft blues and exotic greens.

This was an outfit that would surely stand out among Fixers. An unreplaceable masterpiece.

And a good 'figurehead' for their Office. Just like how everyone could recognize Taein, Naoki, and McCullin, she had a feeling that Asher's E.G.O's alone would garner that same fame, and beyond, eventually.

As for her?

She didn't want any sort of fame like that. She thought that her ash covered dress was pretty plain.

How wrong she would be...

But that was for another time.

For now, the attention was on Asher.

Indeed, what Sophie said earlier was true. At least half of the pedestrians turned their head toward Asher's softly glowing suit as he stepped fully into the Neon Streets.

Whispers skittered about like rats whenever he took a step.

Asher shrank back, clearly uncomfortable.

"Asher, stand up straight. Confidence." Sophie spoke reassuring words behind Asher as she placed her hand between his shoulder blades.

He gave a relieved glance behind him. At least Sophie was there. Her form shimmered in the smoke; her concealing ability active but doing little under their close proximity.

Asher could tell that it wasn't just the exoticness of his outfit that caused the stares and whispers. Pedestrians actively avoided walking beside him, like he could explode at any moment.

On the other hand, some shadows in the darkness stared unblinkingly at him, judging his demeanor and general aura.

A light flashed in Asher's eyes.

Without warning, the air filled with the smell of cherry blossoms.

Asher's greenish armor was replaced with a soft pink kimono.

The hollowness of his eyes multiplied, giving a haunted, more dangerous aura to his steps.

And with that, the shadows' presence faded, from glaringly obvious to a lighter curiosity. Now, it was less like they were challenging his rumored strength, and more like they were observing him with interest.

In short, the presences were satisfied by Asher's display of his 'true nature'.

Sophie hardly blinked as she breathed in the sickly aroma.

"Here. Let's eat lunch."

She stopped by a dim restaurant door.

'Jin's Family Ramen'.

It seemed like even life in the Backstreets followed natural human needs. A nearly ordinary restaurant was placed in the middle of a crowded street.

The only difference was the addition of two suited bodyguards positioned at the front entrance.

...

Lunch was a cheap and delicious affair, but hardly anything worthy of note.

Afterwards, Asher and Sophie roamed around the shops of the Neon Streets.

The main mission of today was to chart out a bit of the unfamiliar territory around their apartment.

They took note of anything interesting, including a few augmentation shops and weapons stores.

Most notable of the augments were cybernetics, drugs, and tattoos. They were all fairly average, with the most expensive one being ten thousand Ahn, a swirling blood pill that healed the user and gave an instant of explosive power.

"Hey, I wonder where Sayako got that hammer and stake. This store doesn't have them," Sophie passingly remarked as they looked through their street's largest weapon store's wares.

"Well, it would be fairly easy to procure one by yourself." He pointed to a hammer, then to an iron bar on display.

Sophie shrugged, agreeing with an "ah".

Asher bought himself a beautiful bamboo umbrella in a fashion store, well-suited for his [Cherry Grave] E.G.O.

All in all, it made for a very pleasant and productive afternoon.

Asher snapped open his umbrella, hiding under it to complement his kimono and fan. The way his umbrella wreathed his facial features in rippling shadows practically forced any passersby into a second, even third glance at his exotic beauty.

Sophie smiled as she hid behind Asher's back. There was no way to tell which of Asher's E.G.O would be more memorable, the [Fairy Queen] or the [Cherry Grave].

Only a scant few noticed her behind him, since she was hidden completely under the shadow of Asher's umbrella.

Suddenly, Asher took her hand.

"Sophie. I feel we're being followed." Asher retained his expression as he whispered through his smile. Sophie nodded.

"I can feel it too."

They both could sense about a dozen presences behind them, their stares piercing through Asher and Sophie's backs.

"And they don't seem to care about hiding themselves."

Asher tightened his hand.

"Really?" Sophie shot a look behind her.

Her gaze locked with a burly, grey-haired man.

The man's dark skin rippled with an underlayer of muscle. All articles of his clothing were pure black.

His forearms were covered with black wrappings, partially obscuring the tattoos which snaked across the length of his arm. Black rings wrapped around his fingers, and a single, gigantic silver chain hung around his neck.

He shot Sophie a dangerously fierce grin. By his side were around a dozen similarly tattooed and dressed men, simply walking behind Asher and Sophie without a noise.

"It seems we have garnered some unwanted attention. Should we shake them off?"

Asher nodded.

"Alright. Left." Sophie suddenly bolted to her left, disappearing into the alley next to them. She slowed down just enough so Asher could make out her figure as she led the way.

However, even with a minute of sprinting, they could still hear the heavy thumps of footsteps behind them.

Asher's eyes sharpened. He realized these pursuers were not average humans.

Because in five minutes' time, he and Sophie had dashed from the Neon Streets to the Warehouse District, a pace completely impossible for a normal human to match.

"We may have to fight. Inside is better. Break this."

Sophie gestured to a locked warehouse door. Asher switched to [Fairy Queen], bashing down the heavy metal door with a few good swings of his wand. Clouds of dust obscured their vision as they ran to the center.

With their hasty preparation completed, Asher and Sophie turned back to face their pursuers.

The same man Sophie locked eyes with earlier laughed and walked toward them, through the open warehouse door.

"Well, well... It's the 'Little Starlet' and his bitsy mascot girl!"

Sophie glanced at Asher, a streak of confusion entering her expression.

"'Little starlet'? Asher, McCullin said those exact-"

The man in the center cracked his knuckles, jarringly interrupting her words.

"I'm talking here." However, his eyes flickered with a fury that told them that he knew McCullin.

The men inched closer, their expressions becoming unseemly as well.

"So, a Syndicate..." Asher remembered the words of Yan, that Hook Office was formed from past members of Syndicates.

"Nn."

Asher prepared his club. Sophie flicked her wrists, and two pink butterfly knives appeared in her hands, knives that Sayo gave her.

But first, the girl tried to make peace, despite the hostility in the air.

"Let us not fight. None will benefit from useless conflict."

The men barked with laughter, and the grating noises filled Asher's ears.

One of the men stepped forward, his shirtless body displaying a myriad of abstract black tattoos on his arms and left side.

"How would this be useless? If you two die here, where will the 'Capo-killing prestige' go? To us, the Stray Dogs!"

So that's how it was. There was no need to be courteous now.

"Pfft, Stray Dogs? Hahaha, no wonder McCullin left!" Asher cackled. Sophie squeezed his arm as the atmosphere became increasingly hostile towards them.

A fight was eminent.

Sparks flew in the air as the leader slammed his fists together, the rings on his fingers acting as flint and steel, lighting up the air around them with a burst of searing intensity.

"Dino. Zulu. Leave them alive for me." The leader of the Stray Dogs flicked his head. Dino, the shirtless man from earlier, and Zulu, a bald man wearing a black gauze mask, stretched as they leisurely stepped forward.

These two seemed to be the right/left hand men of their leader, who Sophie and Asher still did not know the name of.

The remaining men stayed behind them, not intending to join the fight.

Asher felt a sense of pressure from those two men, unlike the complete lack of danger from Hansen of the Axe Gang. But he also didn't feel the same stifling menace that he felt with the Carnival.

Sophie nodded, guessing his thoughts.

"Now is a good time to find out what an Urban Legend is like."

Asher's life had a very strange sense of progression. Completing Urban Myths like Jack and Pierre, thrown into the maws of the Stella and Sayako... But not once did he ever face an Urban Legend.

Stray Dogs, an Urban Legend Subsidiary of the Thumb.

"I got right!" Dino dashed forward, wishing to face the rumored 'Capo-killer' before Zulu could.

Zulu grumbled discontently, but it was what it was.

"Jones, get the recording ready. The new Capo wants one." Zulu shot a glance to a man that stayed behind by his leader's side.

The new Capo... Involuntary shivers ran down his neck. A kid transferred from another region. The phrase of 'frog in a well' never applied to them before that day.

Before the boy mercilessly beat a Soldato to death in the middle of the induction celebration.

Zulu looked back, suppressing his trembles.

Now was not the time to think about that.

To the Capo-killer's left was a presence even more mysterious. A small girl in a simple yet elegant dress, covered in ash and char.

The girl shifted the two knives in her grip, so that one faced forward and one faced backwards.

Zulu grinned, and the tattoos snaking around his arms began to move.

A 'tattoo-type' augment.