Swarms of children frolicked all across the vast playground. The early autumn sun of the dawn had arrived once more, the earth and streets of Japan coated with leaves and, notably, cherry blossoms. No more or less than six years of age, a young boy came to believe that he was the ruler of these brilliant lands.

Or so, the boy dreamed; dreamed of escape, dreamed of greatness, dreamed of the dreams undreamed.

[b]"I'm just gonna..."[/b]

One quick reflex, one simple motion, and the boy seized [i]it.[/i] The contents of the reward were succulent and refreshing; it was the sweet taste of victory, the spoils of a war fought long yet worthwhile, and even then, the [i]girl[/i] could only sit and watch him...

---

[b]"... take this."[/b]

The juice pouch was emptied rather quickly by the time [b]Saito Iwasaki[/b] left the corner store, making sure to walk over the beat-up thief as he departed. It had been a stick-up gone wrong for the poor fellow at the moment he walked into the convenient store rather... [i]conveniently,[/i] he had practically done the job for the cops. [i]They're all too slow, anyway. Kid would've gotten away before they even left.[/i]

[b]"Man, this stinks,"[/b] Saito sighed as he tossed the empty juice pouch into the garbage can beside the street. His hands rested in the pockets of his hoodie as he set his destination for the bar, leaving one of the suburban sectors. [b]"Shu wants to have a meeting... at least Chew's probably doing something useful. Bleh."[/b]

Saito kept his head lowered as he entered the commerical, bustling portion of Shizume City. He disliked being amidst large crowds of people. Pushing him as they trudged through, walking on like robots. Even so, he did his best to isolate himself from the most dense of the flock, and pressed onward towards the direction of the bar.

Some time passed, and his sneakers stepped beyond the threshold that separated home from the outside world. [b]"Hi, everyone,"[/b] he greeted as he flipped the hood back, wagging his head like a dog after a bath. He walked past his clansmen and peered at his reflection in a small mirror hanging beside the bar, adjusting his hair. [b]"Yeah, I know. I look like I just beat up some dude trying to steal some candy bars from a store... but you don't have to remind me that I looked good doing it."[/b]

Saito finished fixing his hair, hopping onto one of the seats and yawning. Gatherings like such were not all that common from Shu. It was usually himself that organized them, though, Shu seemed a bit serious. [b]"What's up, people? Shu?"[/b]