As the days pass, Zhen becomes more worrisome, fretting over little details like there's no tomorrow. By the time his birthday rolls around, he can no longer feel joy over the coming of his official indictment. All he can think of throughout the graduation ceremony is his missing hair clip. The only time he feels relaxed is when he is alone with his mother as she straightens up his hair. To ensure that their conversation remains private, they speak in the Japanese woman's native language.
“Zhen-chan, your hair's growing quite long,” she says as her fingers brush his bangs aside. “Why haven't you brought your favorite clip to tie it up? You'd look beautiful with it on.”
Zhen's body stiffens up. “A-actually, I... I lost it. I'm sorry, mom.”
She gasps in surprise, but sighs sadly and continues brushing his hair. “I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I suppose such things happen.” She takes his long bangs and slicks it back. “This style doesn't look cute on you, but it makes you look mature. It's probably better this way.” Moving around to face him, her eyes are level with his. “My little panda, why do you cry? What's done is done. All we can do now is look forward.” Three knocks on the door cut her speech short, and she switches to English. “Come in.”
The door slides open, and Joey enters. “Oi, Peanut-chan. You ready or what?” Upon noticing the presence of the woman on the floor, he stops and bows frantically. “Sorry. I didn't notice you were there, Dou-san.”
“Ah, don't worry. We're friends now. And please call me Haruka-chan; 'Dou-san' sounds so formal!”
“Uh, sure, Haruka... chan.” He turns his attention to Zhen. “You look different.”
Haruka laughs loudly. “I know, right? He looks too young for this look, I say. He'd look cuter with a headband or something.”
“Wait, I think I might have something.” He digs through his pockets and takes out a red ribbon and his knife. He then proceeds to restyle Zhen's hair, cutting the bangs short and wrapping the ribbon around like a headband. “There,” he says as he adjusts the bow he made. “That oughta do it.”
Zhen stares at the mirror in shock. “Dammit, now I look like a girl! Everybody's gonna laugh at me.”
Joey places his hands on Zhen's shoulders. “Cheer up, kid. Even if they make fun of you, they'll stop laughing once you kick their ass. C'mon. Let's go.”
As they're about to leave, Haruka stops them for a moment. “Zhen-y, Baba called earlier and said he'll be working late tonight. I'm sorry.”
The ceremony goes over peacefully, with each student walking the stage with their partner and receiving their diplomas. Zhen hears some of his peers snickering behind their back, but he chooses to ignore it and strut the stage with pride. As the head principal hands him his diploma, he takes a side glance at the audience; as his mother had warned, his father is nowhere in sight. Being one of the top students at the academy, he receives his diploma early and sneaks out with Joey. Their plan for the evening was to get the graduation part over with and continue searching for the missing hairpiece. They start by heading straight for the barracks.
“If what Luca is saying is correct, he should know where it is,” Zhen whispers as they tiptoe down the halls of the first floor. At this time of night, the lights are turned off and all of the rooms are locked. All except one: the infirmary. In order to get to the stairway leading to the second floor, they will need to pass by that door without catching suspicion. As they step by the door, they notice a dim light shining from the crack underneath—indicating use of a lamp, rather than the much brighter overhead lights. The likely conclusion is that he's slaving away at the desk, not the operating table. In the second that it takes to pass by the office, the duo could feel a chilling and overbearing level of tension never felt before, even in the midst of combat.
Finally, they reach the second floor. Joey—a former resident of the barracks—knows from memory which room belongs to whom, as well as many of his teammates' sleeping habits. He was unfortunate enough to have had the prissy RED Spy as a roommate, but as he makes a beeline for the room, he considers himself grateful for it. He turns the knob and slowly opens the door. As more of the dorm room is revealed, his mood shatters, as his luck has just run out.
“Hello, boys,” says a monotone of a young man. Standing in front of the window is a lanky figure, holding a blade that glimmers in the bluish light. “Luca was expecting you, so he invited me here for the night.” The figure grins, white teeth faintly visible even in the dark. “Sorry to say, you guys aren't welcome here. But while you're here, perhaps you can do me a favor and stand still while I cut you up.”
Joey growls and whips out his Bushwacka. “Like hell we will!”
“Oh, but you will. See, I just got this new toy recently, and I've been meaning to put it to good use.” He proudly shows off his blade—a cleaver. “I've only used it once before. Have I ever mentioned how annoying your sort are? Always going on about 'honor' and 'pride', as if they think they're better than the rest of us. They're awfully persistent, too—almost as if they want to die. But I will give them credit for one thing: they make damn good sushi.”
As the figure—whom neither can deny is Valdo—lovingly stares at every side of the cleaver, Zhen catches a glimpse of kanji symbols engraved on each side of the blade. “Baba,” his lips let loose before he finally screams, “What did you do with Baba?”
“Baba? I don't know any 'Baba', but I do know this knife belonged to somebody that worked at that sushi place. He put up a good fight, but in the end, I won. His blood tasted sooo good, too! Isn't that right, Cleavy?” He pressed his cheek against the cleaver's face and gently stroked the sharp edge with his fingers. “But you're still hungry, aren't you? Hungry for more of that sweet, sticky, red stuff. Such beautiful red stuff, oh, how I thirst for thee.” He giggles like a child playing with his favorite toy. “Don't worry, Cleavy, I'm gonna feed you nice and good. There's more than enough here for the both of us.”
Immediately, Valdo makes a dash towards Zhen, only to have Joey block him off. “Bastard! What was the purpose of killing him?”
The Scout pulls back and makes an overhead swing, which Joey parries. “Simple: because it worked. Dou Boy's too scared to even move now. It's just as he planned.”
“Who? Dante?” He makes another defensive swing.
“Uh-huh. And Luca, too. For some reason, they're working together now. Hoping to create the ultimate super-soldier or something.” He evades Joey's swipe and swings again. “Which is totally stupid, 'cause they already have me.”
“Well, you're not gender-confused, that's for sure.” He strikes again, this time leaving a cut on the Scout's cheek. “You must be Dante's test subject.”
Valdo's eye twitches, and he hesitates before attacking. “I'm not some mere guinea pig. I am the ultimate superhuman, the most powerful person who's ever lived. I am Dante's son!”
The Scout takes a giant, momentous swing, which is severely mistimed, as the Sniper had already come to expect it and moved to the side, causing the cleaver to cling stubbornly to the wall. As he struggles to free his weapon, Joey takes the opportunity to slice the base of his neck, decapitating him. Zhen, still traumatized, has to be carried all the way out.
“Blood, blood, blood...” The Soldier repeats the word under his breath, in his parents' native tongues, until they reach the restaurant. He is afraid of what he might see, but his curiosity soon takes over, and he enters through the back door. As he slowly approaches the kitchen, he can see the murder scene as he imagines it: a man—no, a monster—breaking in from the back door and fighting with his father until he grabs hold of the cleaver and butchers him. When he finally arrives at the scene, he's mortified by the gruesome sight before him, yet relieved that—as he discovers—the victim was not his father. It takes him but a moment before he asks Joey to help clean up the mess.
Later, after they have wiped every last spot of blood, Joey drives Zhen back home. His father, who had left his restaurant shortly before the attack, is surprised to see his son jumping into his arms and crying for joy. Thinking it was his fault, he apologizes to Zhen and offers to whip up a special something for him and his partner. A ball of guilt wells up in Joey's throat, but he knows well enough that even if the police do catch wind of the man's death, the killer would never be caught. He ignores any further thoughts and concentrates on having a good time. Tonight was a crazy night, and it's only gonna get crazier from here.
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