[hr][hr]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/t9QHYUq.png[/img]

[color=steelblue][b]「 Darker Waters 」[/b][/color][/center][hr]
[b][code]DOVE/RAVEN Headquarters, White Coast_[/code][/b]

Shizuka was more than happy to leave the cleanups to the Taylor brothers. After all, they were the most involved, deserved the credit for snatching the Devil's arm out of ZODIAC's clutches, and there were no better people to handle this case from here on. ("What about Meifeng?" - "[i]Puh-leeze.[/i]")

Was he looking for more excuses to push his job onto others? Not really. His involvement with the fierce crossfire at the Oakdell Harbor - of all places, [i]again[/i] - was minimal (thank goodness).

Maybe you'd want to argue that he wasn't ready for the task? Wrong again - that would be an insult to his marksmanship skill, and all the effort he had thrown into getting where he was today. Besides, Meifeng and the Taylors were more than enough to handle the frontline.

He had his own issue to deal with while the RAVENs were in a tug of war over... a disgusting piece of corpse from a decade ago.

Nothing could be more important than another encounter with the ghost of his past.

He reclined back into his chair, alone in the dim office room. On the table before the young agent was the box he had recovered three years back. And on top of the box, the diary of the woman he despised laid open before his tired eyes.

[quote][sub][color=silver][i]Sinking slowly
The lights out of my reach
Down the darker waters
To the point of no return.

Trapped in the cold agony
I looked into the mirror
That soulless gaze
Of a broken marionette.[/i][/color][/sub][/quote]
He let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. Too much to bear, and so little that him - or anyone else for that matter - could understand.

The truth that his mother knew. About Polaris. About Metahumans.

About what the twins were [i]created[/i] for.

[hr]
[hider=Final Fantasy XIV OST - The Sirensong Sea][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVJF1pBTnDo[/youtube][/hider][b][code]Few days ago | Oakdell Harbor, White Coast_[/code][/b]

[i]Shizuka knew he was supposed to be focusing on the fierce crossfire ahead from he was positioned at - where RAVEN was fighting hard against ZODIAC over the possession of the Devil's arm. Hidden among the shadows of the buildings away from the dogfight, the Japanese agent watched the chaos through the scope of his rifle (SRS this time for better mobility), adjusting every now and then to switch his view to survey the area surrounding the source of din while assisting the other agents to take out the ZODIAC members with every shot.[/i]

What a drag.

[i]He didn't so much as batting an eye while taking out the ZODIAC minions. None of them seemed to be aware of a sniper shaving down their numbers - his movement went unnoticed thanks to the chaotic gunfight as he ghosted through the walls, slipping through the shadows out of anyone's sight.

Though, everything was going too smoothly for the usually paranoid young man.

He paused his shooting spree and lowered the rifle, his eyes glanced to the side without turning his head. He could feel a presence stalking after him - merely observing his every move, but he didn't sense any malice from this person.

He raised the rifle up and peered through the scope. It wasn't hard to locate where his comrades - Meifeng and the Taylors - were amongst the mess, and they were holding their own grounds well against the monstrous Hound - or Sovereign - or whatever the fuck he was calling himself now.

Slinging the SRS behind his back, he pulled out a handgun and turned his back at the blazing gunfire, then began to stroll towards the source of the watching eyes.[/i]

"I know you're hiding there. Show yourself."

[i]Stepping out from around the corner, the tall, slim figure of Xing Huo came into Shizuka's vision.[/i] "Impressive! You could tell it's me without even using your powers. I know you are a much better specimen than the puppy and his little kitten up ahead."

[i]Seeing Shizuka's[/i] unimpressed [i]look with his gun still firmly trained on her, the Chinese woman let out a dramatic sigh.[/i] "And you're nowhere as cute as your older brother. How long are you going to play this police game with those 'friends' of yours?"

[i]Shizuka responded with an eye-roll.[/i] "Are you here just to lecture me about stupid things?"

"Uh-uh, you're no fun at all." [i]Xing Huo shook her head in mock disappointment, dropping the disgustingly sweet voice for a less shrill, more serious tone.[/i] "But you really shouldn't be wasting your time here. Especially when that--" [i]she jerked her chin to where RAVEN continued brawling with ZODIAC behind Shizuka,[/i] "--doesn't concern you one bit."

[i]Shizuka lowered his gun, but not without a narrowed look at her.[/i] "What do you want this time?"

"You don't seem surprised to see me," [i]Xing Huo replied, her lips curling into a smirk.[/i] "Ah, of course, that chloropathic 'sister' of yours. You're also probably aware that Haruka and that Caspin girl were already back in town, but you pretended not to know."

[i]She then started to walk towards Shizuka.[/i] "Oh well, I shall cut the chase. That 'Pandora's Box'... it's still with you, isn't it?"

[i]Shizuka didn't reply, but his hardened expression was all Xing Huo needed to know. Still smiling, she continued,[/i] "The robe is the key to what you have been searching for. Also, sometimes destruction is what you need to progress to the next step."

[i]Shizuka considered her words for a moment, then he ran a hand through his hair.[/i] "The cryptic way you talk really pisses me off." [i]But he did caught what this woman was trying to tell him.

Xing Huo shrugged.[/i] "Unwanted eyes and ears are everywhere, my dear. Especially when anyone who has a brain would love to have a piece of you and I." [i]Her eyes shifted to the gunfight beyond Shizuka's shoulder, earning another eye-roll from the young man.

However, the Chinese lady wasn't done with the conversation yet. She raised a fist before Shizuka's eyes, and a fine gold chain fell out of her balled-up hand, with a small, tear-shaped phial attached to the end that glowed with a strange blue light.[/i]

"Take this, for your personal insurance." [i]She dropped the necklace into Shizu's hand, then leaned closer to whisper into his ear,[/i] "No matter how hard you try, you can never be one step ahead of me."

[i]With a quick turn on her heels, Xing Huo's curvy figure disappeared into the shadows once more.[/i]

[hr]
[i]Stupid woman[/i], was the first thing Shizuka had thought when he read Asami Takashiro's diary. Even though he was beginning to understand what this failure of a mother had been through, he still couldn't forgive her. The hatred had run too deep in his memories filled with neglect and abuse, from the person who was supposed to teach the twins about family love.

Asami's diary was more than just a record of her daily, personal life. It felt more like a commonplace book as Shizuka thumbed through the neatly written pages that went from mundane writings - to-do lists, random poetry - to notes about Polaris and their inhuman experiments.

Even some terrifying secrets about Metahumans.

How and where did this woman get all these intel... these sensitive information that could easily turn this world upside down if they were ever publicized?

Also, whose side was his mother on in the first place?