Saito rubbed the back of his neck, still recovering from the whole ordeal.
"Well..."
"I've got a long day tomorrow."
He straightened up, dusting himself off, and made his way toward the door.
"Nice to meet you, Lily."
He reached for the handle—
Thwip!
A dagger sailed past his head, missing by less than an inch, embedding itself deep into the wooden door frame right beside him.
Saito froze completely, eyes wide, hand still hovering in midair.
"...!"
Slowly, he turned his head toward Lily.
She stood there, one hand still extended from the throw, expression calm and utterly unbothered.
"Where do you think you're going, mister?"
Saito's voice came out strained.
"...Home?"
"To my own room?"
"The one that isn't yours?"
Lily tilted her head, smirking.
"Mm-mm."
"Not so fast."
She crossed her arms.
"You barged into my room, saw things you shouldn't have, and now you're just gonna walk off like nothing happened?"
Saito raised both hands defensively.
"I told you, I didn't see anything! I closed my eyes the whole—"
"Doesn't matter."
She cut him off, stepping closer, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"You still owe me."
Saito's shoulders slumped.
"...Owe you what, exactly?"
Lily grinned wide.
"Haven't decided yet."
She reached over, yanking the dagger free from the door with practiced ease.
"But you're not leaving until I do."
Saito let out a long, defeated groan, sliding down against the door.
"...Great. Just great."
Lily glanced toward the window, watching the moonlight filter in.
"It's still not midnight."
"We could chat for a bit."
Saito let out a tired sigh.
"I'd really prefer sleep, actually—"
Her eyes narrowed slightly, dagger twirling idly between her fingers.
"What was that?"
Saito's spine straightened instantly.
"I mean—yes! Yes, we could totally chat!"
"Chatting sounds great, actually. Love chatting."
Lily smirked, satisfied, tossing the dagger onto the nearby table and plopping down into a chair.
She gestured for him to sit as well.
Saito hesitantly lowered himself onto the edge of the bed, still eyeing the door longingly.
Lily rested her chin on her hand, studying him with genuine curiosity now.
"So..."
"How exactly does someone become a gangster?"
Saito blinked, caught slightly off guard by the sincerity of the question.
"Oh, uh—"
He scratched his head, thinking it over.
"Well, I trained a lot."
"Got stronger."
He smiled slightly, thinking back.
"And honestly? The biggest part was finding people I could trust."
"Building a crew that actually has my back, no matter what."
Lily nodded slowly, absorbing his answer.
"Strength and loyalty, huh?"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Simple answer."
"But I guess the real world isn't that simple, is it?"
Saito shrugged, a small, genuine smile forming.
"Nah, it's really not."
"But it's a good place to start."
Lily glanced over, noticing Saito's eyelids drooping, his responses growing slower with each passing minute.
She sighed, waving a hand dismissively.
"Fine."
"You can go."
Saito's eyes lit up instantly, sleepiness forgotten.
"Wait, really?"
Lily nodded, smirking. "Really. Go on, before I change my mind."
Saito practically shot up from the bed, exhaling in relief.
"Oh, thank goodness—"
He hurried toward the door, fumbling slightly with the handle in his rush.
Just as he pulled it open—
"Hey."
He paused, glancing back.
Lily leaned against her chair, arms crossed, a knowing smirk on her face.
"Remember..."
"Don't go barging into the wrong room again."
Her eyes narrowed playfully.
"Especially not a woman's room."
Saito nodded rapidly, already halfway out the door.
"Got it, got it, lesson learned, loud and clear—"
"Goodnight, Lily!"
He darted out into the hallway, the door clicking shut behind him.
Saito let out a long breath once safely in the corridor, leaning back against the wall for a moment.
"...What a night."
Shaking his head, he finally made his way down the hall, this time squinting carefully at every single door number before daring to open one.
"Fifty... six..."
He double, triple-checked the number this time before stepping inside, closing the door firmly behind him, more than ready to collapse into bed.
The next morning, the meeting room buzzed with quiet anticipation.
Alpha stood at the front, cane resting against the large board behind him, various notes and diagrams pinned across its surface.
"Alright..."
He glanced around the room.
"Everyone's here."
"So we can finally continue discussing our mission properly."
Shiro stood beside him, nodding in agreement.
Alpha tapped the board.
"Regarding Sector X..."
"According to the intel Scrapper provided..."
"Noxus is a member of Calamity Table."
"And their chief scientist."
Hashima leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
"Who knows what kind of crazy experiments she's cooked up by now."
Alpha's expression darkened slightly.
"Given her history..."
"Probably a dozen, at minimum."
He tapped a specific point on the map pinned to the board.
"We've confirmed her base is located here."
"In Haruki Village."
His brow furrowed.
"Which, honestly, surprised even me."
"I never imagined their base would end up right in my own territory."
Shiro crossed his arms, considering.
"Could be a distraction."
"Something meant to draw attention away from their real operation."
Alpha shook his head firmly.
"My connections confirmed it directly."
"This is no distraction."
He straightened, gaze hardening.
"Sector X is operating right under our noses."
Saito leaned forward slightly, listening intently.
"So what's the plan?"
"Straight assault, or something sneakier?"
Alpha's eyes flicked toward him.
"That's exactly what we're about to discuss."
Hashima leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"Our leader's suggestion is straightforward."
"Infiltrate their base."
"End Noxus before she causes any more damage."
Alpha nodded, reaching toward the board.
"But we have to be careful."
"Noxus doesn't operate alone."
"She has men under her command."
He pinned a photograph onto the board — a man with sharp black glasses, dressed in a crisp scientist's uniform, expression unreadable.
"This is Brody."
"One of Sector X's scientists."
The room's attention sharpened instantly.
Alpha tapped the photo firmly.
"He's also the most frequently mentioned name..."
"In recent news reports."
His tone grew grimmer.
"Connected to a string of missing persons cases."
"Civilians and police officers alike."
Fanny's eyes widened. "Wait, missing police officers too?"
Alpha nodded gravely. "Several precincts have quietly reported officers vanishing during investigations tied to Sector X."
Rin frowned, arms crossed. "So this guy's not just some lab assistant. He's actively covering their tracks."
Alpha nodded again. "Precisely. Brody handles their... cleanup."
Kaito's jaw tightened. "Cleanup meaning..."
Shiro's expression remained solemn. "Meaning anyone who gets too close tends to disappear."
Saito's eyes narrowed, fists clenching slightly beneath the table.
"So we're not just rescuing Yin."
"We're stopping whatever they're covering up too."
Alpha met his gaze evenly.
"Exactly."
The room fell into a tense, focused silence, the weight of the mission settling firmly over them all.
Alpha's expression darkened further.
"But it's not just Brody."
He pinned another photograph to the board.
This one showed a figure with the head of a deer, humanoid body twisted unnaturally between man and beast.
Saito's face scrunched in disbelief.
"Okay, now that's... that's messed up."
Alpha tapped the image firmly.
"This is Fawn."
"One of Noxus's experimental subjects."
He paused, letting the weight of the information settle.
"We spotted him during surveillance of one of Sector X's experiments."
Fanny leaned forward, staring at the photo with wide eyes.
"Wait... that's a person?"
"Or was one?"
Alpha nodded grimly.
"We believe so."
"Which brings us to the real concern here."
He gestured between both photographs — Brody's cold, calculating stare and Fawn's twisted, inhuman form.
"After seeing these two..."
"We now understand that Sector X isn't running normal experiments."
Bomb muttered under his breath. "Define 'normal' at this point."
Rin's jaw tightened. "So we're not just dealing with corrupted scientists."
"We're dealing with whatever they've been turning people into."
Kaito's eyes narrowed. "That explains the missing persons cases."
Alya's fingers moved quickly across her tablet, cross-referencing data.
"If Fawn is a former human subject..."
She looked up, expression troubled.
"There could be more like him."
Alpha nodded solemnly.
"That's exactly what worries me."
Shiro's tone remained steady, though his eyes carried genuine concern.
"Which is why we need to move quickly."
"Before Sector X creates something even worse."
Saito's expression hardened with resolve.
"Then let's stop wasting time talking."
"Let's go save Yin and shut this whole operation down."