The evening had broken and the streets were getting livelier by the minute. Living really close to a pub, idle chatter could be heard when the window was open. Right now, preparations were being made. It had been a while since he last went out, and whenever he did go out, it wasn’t for drinking with buddies.

Ymeno grew up surrounded by a lot of girls, who would usually try to make him all pretty. Using some of their tips, his hair was neatly slicked back using water and a brush. Not being into fashion at all, he grabbed one of the blouses he had in his closet, alongside some standard blue denim pants. Then grabbing his cream colored jacket and glancing at the mask and katana, Ymeno stepped into the nightlife for the first time in years.

Walking through the ever growing crowd of people both sober and tipsy, he was supposed to meet Kane in front of the statue of the great traveler Gordon, which was a popular meetup place in the middle of the city. Arriving at the statue, Kane was already standing there, wearing a very expensive jacket and proudly flaunting a watch on his wrist which had a value on it that Ymeno could only dream of, his signature smile beamed throughout the crowd as he saw his gardener.

Kane's whole outfit screamed expensive. It made sense given how wealthy he was, he probably took every oppurtunity to dress as sharply as he could. Lights illuminated the statue, and Kane almost looked a bit divine due to the reflection.
"How long have you been waiting?" Ymeno asked.
"10 minutes, but don't feel bad, I was watching the people here rendezvouz”
"Where are we going?"
"I know a fantastic place, follow me!"
Kane sounded excited, even a bit childlike in said excitement. Ymeno felt a bit weird wearing his usual blank face. His eyes shifted from alley to alley, seemingly familiar with every nook and cranny of this city. A habit from the past. Somehow, the city kept getting busier, but soon enough, Kane stopped walking.

“Here we are!”

They both stood in front of a peach colored building named "Bar 'nd Co". People were sitting outside on the terrace, and looking in from the window, it seemed to be very busy. What surprised Ymeno is that this place is actually somewhat unknown in the grand scheme of things. The more upper class people go to mingle at the bars in the upper part of the city. While this place isn't run down by any means, it wasn't the first thing that came to his mindwhen Kane talked about that fantastic place.

Before going in, Ymeno fired off a question.
"Wait, aren't you somewhat famous? Is it okay for you to go in here."
To which Kane simply replied:
"Around these parts of the city, no one gives a damn."

And with that, the doors opened. Within the peach colored building was a somewhat old, japanese styled bar. This place has existed for quite a while, and that could be seen as some tables were a bit run down. There was also a giant door that lead down to a hallway.
Nevertheless, there was a certain, warm vibe to it all. There were multiple people sitting at the counter, Kane and Ymeno took the last two empty seats.
"What do you drink?"
"I don't drink alcohol, so just give me a cola."
"Alright, my treat!"
Kane ordered a cola and a large beer. After receiving said beer, he held it up towards Ymeno.
"On this fine night."
Ymeno nodded. With a clank, they started drinking.
"Why did you buy that mansion?" Ymeno asked.
"Oh, questions already coming, eh?" Kane put his right hand against his chin.
"You know what I do. Giving financial advice to a lot of famous people, shaking hands with the big heads. But my wife, she runs an orphanage."
This captured Ymeno's interest.
"She's such a sweet soul, and I wanted to thank her for being in my life. Those kids take a liking to me too, so I bought the mansion for them specifically. That garden is gigantic, as you've seen. And even better, it's a good place to get my own job done, win win, y'know."

For the first time tonight, a small smile appeared on Ymeno's face. He personally knew how those kids could feel, and for Kane to do all that, it made him realise that he was truly good natured.

"What do you think?" Kane now asked.
"Of?"
"The mansion, the job, all that."
"It's huge. But I'm enjoying it."
"I noticed, you far exceeded my expectations. Not only mine, but the kids keep talking about 'that gardener with the suit'." He laughed boldly.
Ymeno rubbed the back of his head, first Clara, now Kane.
Before Ymeno could ask another question, someone tapped Kane on the shoulder.
"Kane Qur, right?"
Turning around, Kane saw a man wearing a bright pink sweater with an 'R' on it. He stood out between all the people who were all dressed less loud. Behind him sat a woman facepalming, her whole posture was screaming "God, let me out of here."

...He seemed so familiar...
"Big fan of you. Didn't expect you to be here, haha!" The man was loud.
Kane laughed. "Seems I was wrong, Ymeno! I got someone here who knows who I am."
"Of course, it's my job to keep busy with the likes of you, ha!"
"Oh? What's that job then?" Kane instantly asked. But before he could answer, the girl behind him pulled at his ear.
"Don't say it out loud, You never know if someone is listening in." Her monotone voice said.
"Ow, ow, ow, geez!"

The man stood up, rubbing against his ear. Because of this, Ymeno could finally get a look at the woman. She had brown-blondish hair, but it also looked like the roots of her hair were a different color. She was wearing some makeup to hide some rather obvious bags under her
eyes. She had a tired look in said eyes. That same feeling of familiarity once again crept up on Ymeno. Just like that bright sweatered man.
"We're.. I'm a bit on edge." She looked around her, eyes shifting quickly at all the people in the bar, before speaking again.
letting out a sigh, she introduced herself.
"The name's Fari Heir."
"And I'm Rick!" Even though he sounded really excited, he managed to keep his voice down enough so that just the 4 of them could hear it.
Oh.
Of all the people that Ymeno could run into in this gigantic city, it just had to be them. They looked so different, but on second inspection, he could see some green in the roots of Fari's hair, and Rick mostly looked the same, although he was even more buff.

So the policewoman he saw was Fari, it had been 6 years when they last saw each other, after all. But the changes to her character were so drastic that it really surprised Ymeno. But then another question popped up. Did she recognize Ymeno? She only ever saw him as Ray, but Ymeno didn't really change his physique throughout the years, he only got a bit taller. His mind went racing, he actually really wanted to get out of here. Everything that reminded him of the past made him nauseous. All sorts of excuses popped up in his mind.

Stay calm, stay calm.

Thankfully, Ymeno's neutral face didn't show a hint of the panic that he was going through. The eventual conclusion was that he should just act normal. It had been 6 years after all, they might've forgotten about it.
"Fari, the police prodigy, right?" Kane responded.
Fari nodded.
"And I'm her partner/bodyguard." Rick did a thumbs up pose.
"Partner? As in?"
"Police partner, absolutely not romantic." He quickly responded.
Kane laughed.
"Alright then, this is the gardener of my mansion. Ymeno"
Ymeno held out his hand to shake Fari's hand, but she didn't shake back. After Kane chatted a bit with Rick, an idea was thrown into the group.
"Why don't we go into one of the back rooms and play some games?" Kane said.
This bar was a bit special, behind 2 massive doors there was a hallway with multiple doors, each leading into their own small room. Like a karaoke place, but instead of karaoke, it had a lot of board games. Ymeno hesitantly agreed, and after a while, Fari was convinced too by Rick.

One of the employees took them to their room. Inside the room was a small tablet where you could order drinks, and a wall with a closet full of board games. The table looked fancy too, even having a built in shuffler for card games. Kane grabbed 2 fresh decks.
"How about some Poker?" He suggested. A mutual agreement was made.
Everyone sat down as Kane put all the chips on the table. every person got the same amount of chips. This game was gonna be played until only one person was left with all the chips, and then it would reset and start all over again.
"We all know the rules, right?" Kane asked.
Fari and Ymeno, who were sitting opposite of each other, nodded, however, Rick was quickly typing on his phone.
"I don't! But I can manage, haha!"
“Everyone starts with a total of 200. Let’s play until there’s only one person left”
“…shall we make this a bit more interesting?” Fari said, putting away the tablet for drinks.
One of the workers entered the room with a bottle of Smirnoff.
“First one to fold each round takes a shot.”
This made Kane laugh. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
Ymeno didn’t know how to feel about this, knowing for a fact that his tolerance for alcohol was abysmal. But he was strung along nonetheless

A shot glass was filled halfway with this pure vodka now accompanied the cards that were in front of everyone. 2 Shuffled cards were put in front of Ymeno, Fari and Rick. Kane put his cards last, as he was the dealer this round. The person left to him, Ymeno, was the small blind this round. Taking a look at his cards, it was kind of a crappy one, a 3 of hearts and a 7 of spades.

Rick put in the big blind. And just like that, the first round was afoot. Everyone except Rick had their cards laying on the table. A small tap came from Fari, and then one from Kane. With a slight hesitation, Ymeno tapped too. With a very quick draw from the pile, 3 cards laid in front of them. It was all hot garbage for Ymeno. He quickly glanced at everyone’s faces, but it was an unreadable situation.
A tap from Ymeno, a tap from Rick, A tap from Fari. But Kane quickly and put in 40 chips.
“Raise.” Was the only thing that he said.

Ymeno hesitated for a few moments, before putting his cards away, a fold meant he had to take a shot, yet he wasn’t going to risk losing chips already. Quickly grabbing his shot glass, there wasn’t a hint of hesitation as he threw the glass backwards. It burned like hell.
Kane couldn’t help but smile. As it turns out, Ymeno was really bad at handling alcohol, as he already felt the effects of it kicking in.

The first round was won by Fari, who started off with a phenomenal hand. Her face still didn’t show any emotion as she grabbed all the chips that were now hers.
Round 2, Ymeno was the dealer. His hand consisted of a pair of aces. The atmosphere tensed up again as everyone checked. Three cards were on the table. 2 duds and another ace.
‘Three of a kind with aces. Keep it calm’
He glanced at Rick, whose face had the word “SHIT” written all over it. With a tap, it was Fari’s turn. Leaning into her left hand. she sighed and folded. Very quickly taking the shot afterwards. Three people still in, although Rick was obviously going to falter. The 4th and 5th card placed on the table. Ymeno still only had a three of a kind, but he was confident. And then Kane raised again. This time with 20. Even with said confidence, Ymeno still doubted his hand.

But, after some consideration, he called the raise. Rick folded, happy that he didn’t have to take a shot. Ymeno turned his cards around, three of a kind with aces. Kane had nothing, it was a bluff. An internal sigh came from Ymeno, glad that the bluff was called.

Next round, another pair, this time of 4s. Looking next to him, Rick had the absolute dumbest smile on his face. The corners of Fari’s mouth trembled a bit as she saw Rick. With a tap from everyone, the three cards were placed on the table. The mood was significantly less tense than the previous rounds because Rick was beaming, which was rubbing off on the rest.
“Good hand?” Ymeno asked.
“Not telling.”
As those words were spoken, the pot was raised by 50, which caused Fari to smile a very tiny bit. Putting her cards away, she filled her glass all the way.
“Cheers, Rick.”
Kane couldn’t help but laugh as Fari took an entire shot at once. Seems like the alcohol was slowly, but surely, getting to her too. Kane called, Ymeno folded. This round’s winner was Rick with a four of a kind, kings.

Fari’s demeaner began to change as the full shot started to kick in.
“Aren’t we all just a bit too tense here, come on, let’s enjoy this night.”
Rick couldn’t help but agree. Filling his shot glass to the brim.
“To this night!” He shouted, before gulping it down.
Kane also raised his shot glass. “Cheers.” And it was gone.
They all looked at Ymeno, their stares piercing through his body. With no other choice, the glass was filled, and with a small prayer, he downed it. It burned, once again. And after a few seconds, Ymeno’s vision began lagging a bit. His poker face broke entirely as he began smiling at the whole group. All the tenseness that he felt just being in the same room with Fari faded away.

Perhaps, it was time for him to let a bit more loose. Or perhaps, he was just being drunk. The cards were shuffled once again. After looking at her cards, Fari’s head slumped down. Said cards were quickly put away, as another shot was being prepared.
“Please don’t drink too much.” Rick said, surprisingly softly.
“Nahh, don’t worry.”
Gulp. Another shot was gone. The rest of the round wasn’t important, Kane raked in the chips.
“So Fari, how’s the job been treating you?” Kane asked.
“I don’t wanna talk about it. They’ve been overworking me so much. “ She groaned.
“Just because she’s a prodigy, doesn’t mean she can’t take breaks. But when I try to tell the higher
ups, they get mad at me.” Rick added.
“That’s too bad. But you’re doing great work out there, at least you’re appreciated.”
“Yeah, a lot of bad people are cleaned from the streets, y’know.” Ymeno said.
Even when they clashed against each other in the past, there was respect for her. Admittedly, there was some shock when he saw her again without the green hair or anything bunny related. Seems like time hit her hard too.
“It’s not enough.” Fari played with her shot glass.
“What do you mean?” Kane asked.
“There are just some people that are too persistent, ones I can’t even catch. I can’t live up to my name until I get those that inhabit my list.”
“You have a list, huh?” Kane was leading this conversation.
Fari just nodded.
“All part of the job. But enough about that crap.”
And just like that. The next few rounds came and went. Both Ymeno and Fari had to take shots. Ymeno kept folding whenever someone raised. And Fari, admittedly, had some very good hands, but it seemed like she just wanted to drink more.

Round 10, Ymeno had a straight flush. The only one who was still in the round was Kane, who had never folded the entire night. The sudden festive mood seemingly disappeared in an instant as Kane raised the pot, nearly tripling it, slamming his chips on the table. With a face that was unreadable, that move put Ymeno into a corner. Hesitation and doubt poured over him. It didn’t help that Kane’s demeanor changed with such ease, like a switch being flicked.
“Call, or raise?”
Kane never yields, that’s something that had become obvious throughout the night. But the chance that he had a royal flush scared Ymeno. Fear that couldn’t be read from his face, but fear nonetheless.
“Come on, Ymeno.”
Pressure built up in Ymeno’s chest. A choice had to be made now.
“Fold.”
He threw away his cards. Kane turned his around. It was a dud. Absolute garbage. He successfully bluffed his way out of the best hand that Ymeno had.
“Could you show me your cards?”
Ymeno turned them around, revealing the straight flush.
“Wow! You threw that away?”
Looking away, the feeling of dumbness was certainly felt because of the fold. Readjusting his glasses, the game continued.
“Y’know… something has been bugging me.” Fari’s speech was a tad bit slurred.
“Ymeno… you seem.. familiar? I don’t know why. Maybe your face is just kinda generic.” She laughed.

Ymeno laughed too, he was full on drunk and didn’t care anymore.
“You guys should see this guy when he’s on the job. He’s a gardener for my mansion, yet he always wear a black suit. I thought he was fused with it.”
Rick laughed.
“Sounds interesting, alright!”
“Look, back in the day, my foster mom told me to always dress sharp for the job. I might’ve taken it to heart a bit too literally.” Ymeno giggled, adjusting his glasses again.
“Hey, Rick, you’re a bodyguard. How strong are you?” Ymeno asked, knowing damn well he fought him on multiple occasions.
“Heh, pretty strong, if I say so myself.” He snorted.
“I’ve devoted my life to becoming stronger and stronger, all to be the greatest bodyguard out there.”
He glanced at Fari.
“How long have you two known each other?” The questions just kept getting fired from both parties.
“Oh dear.. 9 years?” Fari responded.
“Yep, something like that. Time sure flies, huh?” Rick grinned at the lady next to him.
Kane leaned towards Ymeno.
“Those two make a cute couple, don’t they?”
Fari heard that, and a small blush appeared on her face.
“No comment.” They both said.
Time kept passing. And soon enough, it was closing time. Everyone was standing outside, Fari leaning heavily on Rick as she had drunk way, way too much. After exchanging contact information, both duos went their own way.

Kane walked a short while with Ymeno. The city had become way more silent. The walk towards the statue felt way longer than it did when the night started. Only a few people were still walking on these empty streets, yet due to force of habit, Ymeno couldn’t help but peek a slight glance at every alley that they passed.

“They were fun, weren’t they?”
“How are you not drunk, Kane.”
“Haha, I am. I just don’t show it. Can you walk home?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. See you next monday.”
With a handshake into a hug, they parted ways. Taking the quick route home, Ymeno stumbled with opening the appartement door, but after walking inside the living room, he just fell down on the couch and snoozed within seconds. 

On the other hand, Rick was taking Fari to her home. A small apartment on the upper side of the city.
“Riiiick, please stay overr.” She asked.
But he just shook his head. Surprisingly not affected by the alcohol.
“Sorry, maybe next time.”
“Okayyy.”
“Please call me if you’re not doing well, you drank a worrying amount.”
“Haha, worrywart, I’ll be fine.” She hugged him.
“Thanks for tonight.” She softly said.
“Of course!”
And just like that, she went inside her apartment. Rick walked down towards his own place, before stopping at a random streetlight and shouting into his hand. His heart was positively racing, poor guy.
Fari entered the apartment and turned on the light.
“Fei, Flour. I’m home.”
After taking off her coat and shoes, she lied down in front of a rabbit cage. Two rabbits came hopping out of their tiny house inside a large blue cage.
“Did you miss me? Sorry for being out so long. Hopefully you guys had fun. I met two new people,
they seemed really nice.”
A bit of silence.
“It was so fun with Rick, too. I’m happy he convinced me to do this.”
She clumsily tried to stand up.
“I’m going to sleep. You two stay safe.”
After walking out of her living room, she walked into another room, turning on the light to reveal a large bulletin board with all sorts of pictures, news articles and red strings. This was her list of unsolved mysteries. People she wanted to catch, no matter what. In the left corner of the board was only a single image.

The disappeared white masked vigilante, Ray.

He was connected to all this. Fari had a theory about what happened 6 years ago, but no one in the police force wanted to hear it, so the investigation was kept secret. She was told to quit it, even bribed for it, but that could never happen. That wasn’t in her blood.
Walking into the bathroom, she quickly brushed her teeth. Looking into the mirror afterwards, a single sentence unknowingly escaped her.
“Who are you?”
There was sadness in her voice. Stumbling into her large two person bed, memories of the past sneaked in.
Green hair, Braces, a delinquent.
Drifting into sleep, she wished to relive the happiest time of her live. A time where the thing she loved doing the most wasn’t a chore. The thing that she devoted her life to, as she had nothing else. The only way to bring back that happiness was to find the truth. But deep down she knew.

She had given up on that happiness.