Another day, another kill.

Marluxia stood over the corpse of a notrius leader of a sex trafficing ring. She cleaned her katana with a quick flick of her wrist, before returning it to its sheath across her back. Squatting down, she stared deep into the hollows of his eyes, a look of disgust played her face. “May your soul never find peace..you piece of shit.” She whispered at it. Not a moment later, her cellphone rang. She fished it out of her pocket, and brought it up to her ear. “It’s done. I expect the half million units to be moved to my account within the hour.” Marluxia whispered to the person on the other side, before ending the call. The nekojin stood back up, and began walking out of the hotel room. She reached behind her head, and lifted her hood over her head. It was going to be a long trip to the next city, and Marluxia set out on her next journey, unaware what fate had in store for her.

Marluxia spent the day walking along an interstate, deep in the trees where she would not be seen. She had been walking for hours,stopping here and there to rest and replenish, Nightfall quickly approached, although she could have kept walking, something told her to stop for the night. She walked a little bit more until she found a clearing in the woods, with a nearby stream; she decided she would rest here for the night.

After refilling her canteen, and a quick bath in the river, Marluxia sat comfortably in a tree, with her Switch in her hands. She leaned against the truck of the tree, with her legs resting on a branch. The Nekojin was nomadic, rarely did she ever need a bed. She was so lost in her adventure with her little pink commerad, she didn’t hear footsteps approaching the clearing. What caught her attention was the smell of a fresh campfire coming to life. Quickly putting her toy away, Marluxia went to go investigate.

Sticking to the shadows, Marluxia crept closer to the newcomers. She scanned them, and taking mental notes of their features. There were four men, they seemed to be close friends by the way they interacted with one another. Marluxia curiously watched them, making sure she wasn't seen. She was about to leave, until the tall blond said a name, “Gladio.” Her eyes widened, as she was instantly reminded of her childhood friend. That couldn’t be him, she thought, staring at him with piercing emerald orbs. She had to get a closer look. Carefully, Marluxia climbed another tree, and crawled along it’s branches. His scent was starting to smell familiar, but he looked so different. He was a man now, and a handsome one at that. Her heart twinched with pain; she had to stay away for his sake.

Deciding that it would be best to carry on, Marluxia would keep on walking.

The next afternoon, Marluxia had reached her destination. Her body exhausted from the trip, a hotel room was well needed. However, her stomach roared with hunger. She would stop at a nearby diner for a quick bite to eat. The nekojin was seated at a booth, and ordered a cup of coffee while she scanned over the menu. Her ears perked to the sound of the door bells, and without looking, she knew she was in trouble. It was them. “Damnit, what are the chances?” She cursed to herself. Marluxia prayed that Gladio wouldn’t recognize her, but her hair and markings were a dead giveaway. She stayed quiet, “Maybe he won’t see me..”