Hide stood rooted in the blood-slicked asphalt of the plaza, his fingers gripping the scabbard of his katana.
Looking down at Kai's bowed head, an ache tore through his chest. His best friend was alive. But standing this close, the toll of the last two months was laid bare. Kai's face was gaunt, his skin pale beneath streaks of dried monster blood and black grime. His broad shoulders slumped under the weight of exhaustion, and every small shift of his stance was accompanied by the mechanical hum and pneumatic hiss of his prosthetic leg.
Hide wanted to tear off the disguise, and pull Kai into an embrace.
'Not here,' He thought, his jaw tightening.
Around the broken plaza, thirty battered fighters and exterminators were slowly getting back to their feet. They were staring at Hide and Kiko with breathless, wide-eyed awe. If Hide shed his disguise right now, someone would recognize him as the guy with five-billion-credit bounty on his head.
