Chapter One

Yassi never thought she’d be able to see their group insignia ever again. Well, deep in her heart, whether she admits it or not, she did hope for it to happen. But, she never expected it to happen. Not after their team’s fall out.

Pacing back in forth in her apartment’s spacious living room, she tightly held, but not enough to crumple it, the small white envelope with the said insignia in her right hand. She didn’t mind the small boxes of cereals that she kept on kicking on her littered floor, together with the several plastic bottles of soft drinks, as she walked on. On the far side of the room, where her bed is located, dirty and clean clothes alike lay around the area as if thrown away by its user. The other parts of the apartment are no different from the situation that can be seen on the living room and bed, if not much messier.

After an hour of pondering and numerous lollipop wrappers were added to the littered floor, she finally decided to sit down on her surprisingly clean leather sofa (probably the only clean part of her apartment). She pulled a lighter out from the inside pocket of her red leather jacket and lit up the envelope before putting it down on the ashtray. She grinned as she watched how the envelope slowly turned to dust, while her heartbeat started beating faster. 

Just as she expected, the ashes slowly changed color from the grayish-black into a pinkish shade. After a few seconds, the ashes started to float as if being swept away by air, despite the closed windows and airless state of the room. It swirled around the dirty area and dispersed into different directions, before it finally disappeared as if nothing happened.

“Nostalgic,” Yassi stated in a half-bitter, half-excited tone. She glanced at her lopsidedly placed wall clock just above her television before striding across her room.  After a few minutes of stuffing her pockets with various materials that she thought she might need in her so-called appointment (like a half-eaten sandwich and swiss knife), she left her home in a frenzy, not bothering to lock her door.

It didn’t take a minute before Yassi reached the parking lot just beside the apartment’s building and mounted her beautifully designed, yet very speedy red motorcycle. She checked the time on her wristwatch for the last time, confirming that she still has over an hour to reach the designated meeting place. It takes a 1-hour drive with a car to arrive there, but with the vehicle she’s using, plus Yassi’s over the speed limit driving style, she’ll be able to reach it within 20 minutes. Without any further ado, she turned the motor on after wearing her helmet and sped up along the busy streets of the city.

The air is chilly as the morning sun refused to rise up just yet, leaving the busy city in the dark. The city clock can be seen by many as it shows the time, 4:30 in the morning. Ten minutes has passed since her take off, and Yassi already sped across numerous red lights and outsped several police cars. She’s already in the part of the city filled with narrow streets with people never ceasing to bustle around. That, however, still didn’t stop the girl from speeding up more which obviously angered the ones she passes by as curses can be heard directed to her. The nearer she gets to her destination, the stronger the excitement she feels.

Unfortunately, her momentum was forced into a stop as a white van crashed right into her and smashed her into the wall, as she was passing by a T-intersection. Pain striked through her body and her head felt light. Still dizzy due to the impact, she groggily removed herself between the wall and the van. The people who noticed the accident and formed a circle around the area watched in awe as the victim seemed more conscious than the one who crushed her. She pushed the van with her left hand, with a puff, to give her space, in which she easily succeeded, and freed herself from being sandwiched.

Taking a moment to fix her senses, she leaned her head backwards to the wall and closed her eyes, while standing up. After a few seconds, she heard someone leave the van and walked up in front of her. The excitement that once filled the woman’s body is now replaced with anger. In a split second, Yassi pounced to the man in front of her, without any second thoughts. They rolled on the muddy ground as she let out an inhumane  growl while the surprised man only managed to groan.

Not wasting another second, she punched her opponent several times in the stomach before grabbing the collars of his shirt and standing up. She effortlessly and aggressively threw her opponent to the wall . She did this in under thirty seconds time.

Now fully back into her senses, she observed the muscular man who seemed to be the one who caused the accident. He’s wearing a tuxedo, now muddy and crumpled, and his hair, which was actually once tidily fixed, is wet and messy also because of the mud. He looked like a year older than SY, maybe 24 or 25, and is also obviously taller than her. 

Unsatisfied with what she did, but remembering that she still has to attend something, she walked up to her motorcycle, and observed any damages. There should’ve been none, despite the strong impact, since it’s made of the strongest and most durable materials ever invented. However, the scratches on both sides of her motorcycle made her frown. She released a frustrated sigh and was about to reach out for her vehicle when she felt an attack coming from behind her.

The man, who Yassi really, really despises right now, tried to kick her on the back. Luckily, she has the instincts of a wolf so she was able to turn and block it with her hands.

“Seriously, as much as I want to kill you, I don’t have the time,” Yassi declared with a murderous look making sure to scare her opponent. She added, “Now, if you wanna live, then leave.”

“I don’t think so. You started a fight with me, so finish it!” The man replied challengingly with an annoyed look, releasing a punch which she easily avoided. It was followed by another series of punches with some kicks. Even if it had been a long time since I fought someone, I sure am doing a good job, she thought to herself, while evading all the attacks.

“Correction. You started it.” She pointed out, this time, the one initiating the attack. She did a series of feints which successfully caught her opponent off guard, before she quickly tried to sweep his legs. It did make him off balance but he made a smooth landing as he used his hands to maneuver himself. 

“Weren’t you the one who crashed me into the wall?” Yassi fiercely asked. 

The man quickly stood up and faced her. They are at least a few meters away from each other. The number of people watching the commotion grew, chanting and betting on who’ll win. This scenario isn’t new to the city, as it always happens here and there. Additionally, the people who live in the area are barbaric and war freaks, always looking for action.

“Oh, yeah I did. But, when I was about to humbly and genuinely say sorry, you suddenly pounced on me like a hungry wolf.” He responded with a snark, his expression showing how pissed off he is.

The gesture only ticked her off. “Well, it’s your fault for not driving carefully!”

“Huh, says the one who suddenly appeared out of nowhere riding over the speed limit!”

The comment hit a spot on Yassi, but her expression remained stoic. People started to shout “Boos” and “Bahs”, one even shouted, “Fight already! Stop that du*mbass lover’s quarrel!” SY looked at the guy who made the comment and gave him an excruciating look, which was more than enough to make him shake in fear (and even the ones around him).

“Why don’t you all mind your own businesses, huh?!” The man she fought (or still fighting) bellowed to the people watching. His eyebrows are knitted together and his deep, manly voice echoed through the place. Luckily for them, their threats worked and they were left alone in the dark intersection within seconds.

“Now, how about we continue settling this, huh?”

Yassi shook her head in response, as she tricked her mind into calming down and leaving the place immediately. She answered, “I have somewhere else to go and a much, much more important thing to do. More than your useless .”

He, however, didn’t let her answer affect him as he continued to charge forward with another series of attacks. Seeing how he has no plans on letting her go, she immediately gave up the idea of getting to her destination early in time.

“Oh, well. I was always late anyways.” Yassi muttered to herself before meeting all the attacks thrown to her.

The following moments went by fast. The two exchanged numerous attacks with the other one mostly efficiently deflecting it. Both of them are totally covered in mud, adding to the bruises they received from each other. They had been continuously fighting, yet the other seemed not to back down with every move, despite getting tired with every second and with attack they weren’t able to avoid. 

Yassi almost cursed when her opponent successfully landed a kick on her stomach. Instead of taking time in recovering, she instantly countered by sweeping her enemy off his feet. This time, the man wasn’t able to react fast and landed on the muddy ground face first. Yassi didn’t stop and immediately followed it up with another attack, swiftly kicking up in the air with her left leg, then forcefully swinging it down with all the strength she had to her enemy’s back. She couldn’t help but grin as she heard numerous curses and a groan escape from the man’s mouth.

Realizing that it already started to get bright, despite the sun still not showing up, she immediately rushed to her motorcycle. Even before the man could get up, Yassi already managed to start the motor. She glanced at her back and gave the man a smirk.

“We’re not done yet!” The man shouted, obviously not accepting his defeat. Yassi chuckled at his appearance, mud is all over his face and his attire is barely recognizable. Knowing she doesn’t look any different with his state, Yassi only shook her head, not really bothered with how dirty she is.

“Game over, man. You lose,” She teased, the smirk not leaving her face, and in a taunting voice. The van owner still tried to run after her while shouting profanities, but his words fell on deaf ears. With that, Yassi sped up once again along the now much more busier street with a winning smile.

More than ten minutes later, she reached her destination. Even though disappointed with the delay, plus the fact that she wasn’t able to ride as fast as she can because of their fight, it was all surpassed with the excitement she felt.

“Long time no see, Mr. Paradise,” Yassi greeted the extravagant and shining-in-gold building in front of her.

Her destination is a 50-storey building designed in a very fashionably way, glittering in gold and painted in white. It is at least as wide as a basketball court and has two grand wooden doors in the middle, also painted in pure gold. Despite its guardless state outside, no one from the surrounding place, which is a total squatters’ area filled with criminals, dared to enter.

Heaving a big sigh, Yassi dismounted from her vehicle and went straight to the door, not minding to remove her helmet nor park her motorcycle somewhere else. The inside of the building is a total opposite of the outside. The moment she opened the doors, the chilly air from inside greeted her.

The door opened to a dark, narrow hallway. The walls are all painted in black and the place is dimly lit, the hallway can be compared to those in horror movies.  At the end is a receptionist’s desk with a woman in her early thirties behind it. She entered the premises and closed the door behind her. The familiar eerie feeling entered her body which gave her goosebumps. She calmly approached the receptionist, with only the “click-clack” sound made by her black combat boots being heard.

“Oh, you’re new.” Yassi told the receptionist, a bit surprised.

“Uhm, no. I’ve been working here for more than a year now.” The woman replied in a matter-of-fact tone, with one brow raised. “You are new.” She added.

“Ah, right. It’s been two years since the last I came here. I just never expected the higher-ups to change the oh-so-strict and quiet receptionist.” Yassi explained, more like saying her thoughts to herself out loud. 

The receptionist only rolled her eyes and gave her a dirty look, as she saw how muddy she was and the dirty traces she left behind on the hallway. Yassi only grinned as a reply before glancing at the woman’s name tag and entering the mini- elevator on their left.

“Don’t you need your card, muddy girl?” Ivy, as Yassi came to know, asked, being irritated with what she thinks is her ignorance.

“Nah, pretty girl. Don’t need it.” She responded with a wink, amused at the nickname she was given, and at the same time loving the short temper of the receptionist. She chuckled as she saw how Ivy’s face crumpled in disgust with her reply.

Yassi pressed the close button for the elevator gates, even before the receptionist might attempt to do anything out of annoyance. Before the elevator totally closed, she bit her lip passionately and winked at the woman once more to for the last time. After that, she bursted out laughing as she heard Ivy screamed out loud in horror and exasperation.

It took her around a minute before she was able to compose herself. Taking a few deep breaths to totally calm herself, she then pressed the black button on the elevator. A male robotic voice then started to speak which shocked Yassi. They changed the system?, she thought to herself.

“Welcome to Mr. Paradise. State your group tier, role, and rank.”

“Uhh, Black,-” 

Yassi wasn’t able to continue when she heard electricity crackle and she felt her body get electrocuted. Her muscles felt like contracting and she let out a wolf-like growl as she threw herself backwards. She did her best to endure it, as she thrashed herself back and forth just to try to remove the pain, even if she feels like her veins are about to pop out. After a minute, which felt like an hour to her, the electrocution stopped. She gasped for air and panted heavily due to the shock and remained on the floor.

“Welcome to Mr. Paradise. State your group tier, role, and rank.” She heard the robotic voice once again.

Out of rage, she shouted in a raspy voice, despite her dizziness and body’s state, in reply, “Black, CB, Third!”.

“Identity confirmed. Proceeding to floor 50.” Unlike what happened earlier, she received a reply from the robotic voice to her relief.

She finally felt the elevator move upwards and her body loosened a bit. She was barely able to stand up because of the pain combined by her earlier fight and the electric shock she experienced. Darn, what voltage was that? The mud must’ve also had an effect, Yassi cursed in her mind.

After a few seconds, the elevator made a beeping sound signaling that she arrived at her designated floor. Brushing her short blond hair with her right hand in exasperation, she helped herself stand without leaning to the walls, in which she barely succeeded and waited for the elevator gates to open. So much for just trying to go to a cursed reunion, she couldn’t help but blame the meeting she’s going for.

When she finally thought that she'd be able to relax and bring her guards down, a combat knife came flying directly towards her. Unprepared and surprised, she wasn’t able to avoid it and felt a piercing pain strike through her left shoulder.