Who? Where? What?

"So it should have been Masunano Ward instead of Musutafu, boss?! Then what about the deal?"

"It's been canceled. Those guys ended up being undercover cops."

"Damn. Then, we got lucky this time."

"Yeah. Extremely lucky."

It was dark. The air was clean with a hint of lemon scented air freshener. For a moment, he was confused, listening to the voices that drifted into the room as he recollected his scattered memories.

Slowly sitting up on the unfamiliar soft futon, he found himself wearing different clothes from what he previously wore.

"Yo, I'm back. Hopper, you're still alive?" Hearing the distant sound of a door opening and closing, he stood up hesitantly. "I heard you brought back a kid, Shin."

Ah, that's right. He was supposed to have recreated his father and then... ended up killing him again. After that was-

Oh, he seemed to have killed three other people. And then he was brought here by two strangers?

Somehow, despite processing everything he ended up doing, he felt incredibly relaxed. Brain processes slowed down and his eyes kept focusing on the tiny bubbles that appeared at the corner of his vision.

Nevertheless, he tried to make his way to the door, passing by a mirror in the process which made him pause.

... Why was his hair white and not green?

Antoinette Syndrome?

Inside the common room of Himitsuno Yume's base, Dreamcloud sat on the couch, smoking. Beside him, the number one unwelcomed visitor but number one dealer, Shisei, cheerfully made himself at home.

"I really didn't expect you to be a risk taker, Shin-chan~ Taking a stranger to your base even before the first date! How bold!" Shisei grinned as he stole a stick of cigarette from the host's pack.

"You know that's not-" Dreamcloud tried to argue but Hopper cut him off, appearing from the kitchen with a crate of beer.

"Isn't it common knowledge by now that boss has a habit of picking up strays wherever he went, Shisei-san?"

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it-"

Suddenly, the sound of a door creaking open interrupted their conversation, bidding them to turn towards the hastily turned bedroom which was previously an unused storage room.

What greeted their sight was a young boy peeking at them through the crack of the door.

For a moment, there was an awkward silence.

"Oh... Hello." Dreamcloud waved hesitantly.

Suddenly, Shisei coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Alright. Welcome to the drug store. We sell drugs, we sell meds. We got drugs on deck-"

"Drugs on the floor."

Cutting off Shisei with a strange expression on his face, the boy opened the door wider, finally stepping fully into the three men's view.

"Hey, I like this kid! Can we keep him?" Shisei grinned, pointing at the boy.

Meanwhile, neither Hopper nor Dreamcloud knew exactly what just happened.

Ignoring Shisei's antics, Dreamcloud sent a reassuring smile to the boy. "I'm sure you're very confused about why you're here right now, but I assure you, you have nothing to worry about."

Upon hearing Dreamcloud's voice, the boy seemed to have realized something and walked towards the man steadily.

"For now, why don't we start with introdu-"

"What do you want?"

Cutting him off upon arriving right in front of Dreamcloud, the boy stared at the older man grimly.

"Wha-"

"Money? Service? Anyone specific that you want dead?" With a serious expression on his face, the boy spoke as if he wasn't spouting words a normal 12 yr old child shouldn't say. "As long as it's not completely impossible, I'll make it happen."

"Uh- uhm.? Introductions?" Stuttering, Dreamcloud felt incredibly offput by the intent stare the boy was giving him.

"Hi! Chibi-chan!" Barreling from out of nowhere, Shisei pushed Dreamcloud out of the way, forcing the boy's attention on him instead. "You're so tiny and cute! Wanna come work for me sometime? I go by Shisei around these parts! This guy-"

"Fuck! Get off me, Shisei!"

Shisei motioned to the boy, gripping Dreamcloud by the jaw. "-is Dreamcloud. While the stupidly bumbling guy behind me is called Hopper!"

"I'm not that stupid, Shisei-san!" Hopper declared, only to be ignored by everyone.

"So, what's your name?"

"Mi-" Suddenly, the boy bit his tongue forcefully.

"Mi?" Both Dreamcloud and Shisei tilted their heads in confusion.

"Mikumo..." The boy said quietly, as if unsure. "Akatani... Mikumo."

"Oh, Kumo-chan, right? Nice to meet you!" Shisei took the boy's hand and shook it cheerfully.

"I-"