Death was a funny thing. Arashi had expected fire and brimstone, but it began with a bunch of nothing. No sounds, no sensation. He just drifted as if he was in an endless void. Then…White light. The smell of chemicals. Something beeping. Beep. Beep. Beep. His eyes snapped open. Arashi tried to move and he couldn't.Panic hit immediately, gripping his ribcage like chains. His arms were restrained. Legs too. He was lying flat on something cold and firm, tilted slightly upward.His vision blurred, head pounding like someone was hammering nails through his skull. What the fuck? He wasn't dead?He jerked against the restraints. They didn't budge."He's awake."The voice came from his left. Male."Vitals are stable. Neural integration at seventy-two percent. Better than projected."Arashi's vision cleared enough to see ceiling panels. White coating. The single lamp glared like the eye of an angry god. "Where…" His throat was raw. "Where am I?""Secure location." Different voice. Also

Arashi couldn’t relax when the tests ended. For one, he had failed.Failure wasn’t a foreign concept to him, but it was something he had never liked.That was the first thing he noticed about himself. His body refused the idea of completion. If there was no sense of finish to him, Arashi had no relief. All he would be left with is just a constant tension, like a hand hovering inches from his throat.So Arashi was still tense even when Rue told him it was over and he should get rest.What the fuck did the man mean by rest?Arashi still had blood pulsing behind his eyes and his knuckles throbbed where skin had split and re-sealed badly.They had taken him to the medical bay, but there were things not even medicine could solve.Arashi was about to finally close his eyes and sleep when Rue walked back in, this time sans black box or anything else, and his expression was unreadable.He didn’t need anyone to tell him Rue was simply here to deliver some news, but Arashi had other plans.“Yo

Arashi felt anger and irritation burst in his belly. Cassain was not stupid, so he must have clearly known this would happen.And he had let himself die. Dumb, annoying prick. Rue muttered under his breath. “Damn it.”His reaction told Arashi this was the first time Rue must have watched the recording, then he remembered that Arashi was the only way the recordings could be accessed in the first place.Great. Just fantastic. Arashi leaned forward, rubbing his temple. “So people are looking for me now? Because my old man was a troublemaker.”He was too fucking young for this.He had to be, right?Rue pursed his lips, staring off into the distance with an odd expression. “To tell you the truth, boyo, people were always looking for you. The search started after Cassian died. Despite how the government wrapped it up, people were still searching. Of course, some believe the empire was destroyed but they were wrong.”Arashi looked at Rue again, but the man wasn’t looking at him. He instead

Arashi ran a hand through his hair as frustration slammed into him like a boulder. “You do realise that you are the one I have been talking to all these while, right?” he snapped. There was a harsh bite in his voice, and even though speaking made him want to wince in pain, he made sure his expression remained blank. Selene crossed her arms over her chest as she deadpanned. “Who I am is none of your damn business! So stop whining like a kid and sit your ass down until Rue gets here.”Her words became increasingly condescending towards the end of her response, and it rankled Arashi. “Don't be rude. That's unbecoming of you,” he quipped in response. Selene narrowed her eyes at him, but decided not to dignify his words with a response. Selene knew a spoilt kid when she saw one, and to her, Arashi was most definitely a brat. He expected her to answer each and every one of his damn questions when he didn't even thank her for saving his life!“Where is this place? Why did you bring me he

“Where are we going?”Selene ignored him, staring instead at the window where the city flashed past. A knot formed in Arashi’s jaw. She was ignoring him on purpose. But he couldn't do anything about it. Rue’s instructions had been clear: Arashi was to follow her orders without issues. He hated every second of it. The car cut through Chicago traffic like a knife. Neon lights flashes by, like a thousand glowing eyes. They were in Kennedy Expressway already. Arashi raised an eyebrow at Selene, but she didn't rise to his question or bait. Several minutes passed. "Benicio Lara," she said, not looking at him. Her reflection filled the car window, all brown hair and green eyes. "He was an acccountant, one that worked for your father for twelve years.” She fixed eyes on him. “Now he's selling ledgers to a Shenyang-backed crew out of Chinatown."Arashi watched the city slide past. Grey sky, the colour of metal, brown slush filling the cracks between buildings. Chicago in March looked like a