Sad Kira Backstory

CHAPTER I: IN THE ALLEYS OF BLACKRIDGE

Blackridge. District 11. A gloomy alley in the shadow of skyscrapers. Flickering neon lights reflect on the wet cobblestones. Two black cars with tinted windows are parked in the alley, where a group of nine dangerous-looking men are gathered under a streetlamp. They belong to the Ashen Gang. Below the streetlamp, a man hangs upside down from a chain. His shirt and the upper body visible beneath are splattered with blood. He gasps for air and composure. "Are you trying to tell us something?" asks one of the Ashen gangsters, casually taking a puff from his cigarette. "You...you got the wrong guy!" stammers the bound man, spraying small drops of blood into the air. The gangster sighs. "And again, the wrong answer." He extinguishes his cigarette on the man's chest. His screams echo through the alley, but with the subsequent impact of a fist to his stomach, his cry is silenced. The rest of the Ashen Gang revels in the spectacle. But suddenly, a loud clinking interrupts the collective laughter. The men immediately grab their firearms and aim in the direction from which the sound came. Someone seems to be there. Someone who shouldn't be there. 

Suddenly, an engine roars. The sound comes from above. The gangsters snap their heads up. A motorcycle plunges towards them from the air. On it sits a female figure, entirely cloaked in black. Her motorcycle helmet has a tinted visor and... cat ears. In her right hand, she holds a modified pistol and fires at the chain from which the victim was hanging, while still in mid-air. The bound man falls to the ground. In the same second, the motorcycle slams into the ground, scattering the Ashen Gang. Three of them are dragged along by the impact, the rest manage to throw themselves aside in time. "It's Sad!" one of them screams in panic. While the rest frantically draw their weapons, Sad opens a wild barrage of fire from her pistol. She moves unnaturally fast, forcing the men to take cover behind their cars. Some of the gangsters blindly shoot in her direction. For Sad, time almost stands still. Instinctively, she shoots in the direction of a bullet speeding towards her. Both bullets shatter against each other and fall to the ground, to the astonishment of the Ashen Gang. Sad uses the moment of confusion and hoists the bound man onto the front of her motorcycle. But at that moment, one of the men peeks out from his cover and aims his weapon at her. With her back to him, Sad is an easy target. But before he can fire a shot, the black cat suddenly pounces on him and bites his hand. The cat springs off and lands on Sad's motorcycle. "Thanks, Churro," says Sad, floors the accelerator, and speeds away with the bound man. "Go. After her! We need him!" The Ashen Gang splits into the two cars and pursues her. 

Sad speeds out of the alley, around the next corner, and into the evening traffic of Blackridge. The two cars of the Ashen Gang are close on her heels. Neon-lit skyscrapers whiz past as Sad weaves through cars in a slalom to shake off her pursuers. But they are more persistent than expected. She turns off and heads towards a roadblock, behind which lies a construction site. "Duck your head," Sad says with cool determination to her involuntary companion. She increases her speed. The motorcycle's tires spin as she crashes through the wooden barrier at full force. 

The unfinished roads are full of cranes, excavators, and other heavy transport vehicles. Sad guides her motorcycle closely past the machines, but the Ashen Gang remains hot on her heels. Two construction vehicles facing each other block the road ahead. But the motorcycle is so narrow that Sad can easily guide it through the gap between them. The Ashen Gang's car, however, is not. It smashes unchecked against the obstacle and is totaled. But the impact created a larger gap through which the second car of the Ashen Gang can now pass. Sad speeds on. Ahead of her, the silhouette of an unfinished bridge looms. Beyond it, a dark abyss. The bound man sees her heading for the edge. "Ahhh... are you crazy!?" he screams. At the last moment, Sad suddenly spins the motorcycle around its own axis and fires. The driver of the second car has to take cover... and in doing so, misses the precipice. The car plummets into the depths. After a short time, she hears the impact into the water. 

"Hey, thanks, that was really strong. Now untie me and let's go back to the city." "No. We're exactly where we need to be." "What do you mean?" The bound man looks at Sad suspiciously. "I only saved you for one reason. So no one can hurt you. No one... except me, Enzo." The man swallows. "Your name is on my list. Second place," Sad says dryly. "What list? What... is going on here?" Enzo asks. The black cat Churro paces back and forth, like a predator stalking its prey. Enzo becomes increasingly uneasy. After the spectacular escape, he knows that escape is impossible. Slowly, he backs away, until the edge of the unfinished bridge forces him to stop. "Who are you?" Sad takes off her helmet. A 21-year-old woman emerges, with black hair, silver-gray eyes, and an ice-cold, determined gaze. The confusion in the man's eyes makes it clear to her that he has no idea who is standing before him. "Don't you recognize me? It's been nine years now. Nine years since I, as a child, escaped from you in the flames." Memories flash through the man's mind. He turns deathly pale. "How can this be? We killed all of you. You can't have survived. What are you? A ghost?" "Kira is enough." She raises her weapon, points it at him. "No, wait! Don't do that! You're making a big mistake!" "Look on the bright side. Most people die without knowing why," she replies and pulls the trigger. The shot echoes through the night. 

CHAPTER II: ALL OR NOTHING

Nine years earlier. A peripheral area in the 11th District. A small, remote-controlled helicopter flies through a 2-story family house. A camera is mounted at the front of the small aircraft. It is controlled by 12-year-old Kira Noir, who playfully mimics flying sounds. She is listening to music through her cat-ear headphones. She is completely absorbed in her world, flying the helicopter in wild maneuvers around the furniture, until suddenly her mother Mika gets into the flight path and gets hit on the head by the toy. 
"Ouch! Kira! Can't you be more careful?" Kira doesn't hear her mother, only sees her gesturing wildly and scolding. "Mom, I don't know sign language," Kira calls out. Her mother gets angrier and snatches the toy helicopter from Kira's hand. Kira finally takes off her headphones. "Have you even done the laundry yet? You won't get your dangerous toy back until you've done what I told you!" Kira rolls her eyes. She runs upstairs, to her room on the first floor. Mika calls out a warning after her, "And only the laundry!" In the upper hallway, Kira grabs a bundle of clothes and throws them down a laundry chute. She looks mischievously back and forth, then Kira herself climbs into the chute and slides down with joy. "Woohoo!" She lands in the basement, on the pile of laundry in a laundry cart. 

Mika hears the rumbling in the chute. That's not what a pile of laundry sounds like. And it doesn't shout "Woohoo!" Angrily, Mika turns her gaze to Ryo, Kira's father, who is engrossed in a sports newspaper. "Can you perhaps also take care of your child?" "I am doing that." As if to prove it, Ryo points to his lap. Ando, Kira's little brother, is sitting there. He is four and occupies himself with toy cars.
 
"I meant Kira," Mika adds. "She can't always turn the house upside down all day here. Can't you do something with her?" Ryo puts the newspaper aside. "I'm always doing things with Kira. We have the best father-daughter time ever!" 

What Ryo means by this is shown the following day: an extravagant motorcycle race. The air smells of gasoline. The racetrack resembles a wild neon roller coaster, where riders defy the laws of gravity with maximum speeds. Collisions and fatal accidents are not uncommon. 

Ryo stands tensely at the barrier, his gaze fixed on the racetrack. Next to him is Kira. At twelve years old, she is clearly too young for this place, but her face reveals: this is exactly where she belongs. She loves everything about this place. Especially because Ryo lets her choose the rider he places his bet on. "Okay, Kira, you have to concentrate now. So, why are we here?" Ryo asks her urgently. "To win!" Kira answers, quick as a flash. "Exactly. And what do we absolutely not want?" "To lose!" Ryo smiles. This time, Kira has chosen rider number 4. The motorcycles race past like lightning. The riders lean into the curve one last time, where the chance to overtake is greatest. Their bodywork shimmers in gaudy neon colors, leaving glowing sparks in the air. Number 4 overtakes Number 9 and thus takes first place.
Ryo shouts over the noise. "Yesss, Number 4! Another good choice, Kira! My little good luck charm." For Kira, it's the best feeling in the world when she's right and her father is proud of her.

Afterwards, Ryo collects his winnings and buys Kira an ice cream. "We've earned this. Two more wins like this, and I'll be debt-free."

It's already dark outside. On the way back, he stops at an opulent restaurant that has already closed. He does this sometimes, whenever he's won. "Stay in the car, Kira. I'll be back in a few minutes." Kira watches Ryo as he enters the building with a bag. She reads the neon sign hanging above the entrance. "Peko Peko".

20 minutes pass, and out of boredom, Kira gets out of the car with her remote-controlled helicopter in her hand, which she flies around the parking lot. She doesn't even notice the dubious figures entering and exiting the building.

"Kira! Back in the car with you, go. What did I tell you!" her father admonishes her when he returns. He is pale and sweating. When Kira asks what's wrong with him, he replies that everything is okay. Kira knows he is lying, but not about the perilous situation Ryo is in.

A few days later, Kira and Ryo are back at the edge of the racetrack. Kira sits on a discarded motorcycle, which stands a little apart and now serves only as decoration. "Look, Dad! Vroom vroom!" 

Ryo doesn't react to her. He seems more tense than usual. His hands are sweaty, and the betting slip in them has absorbed the moisture. Kira gets off the motorcycle and goes to him. "Is everything alright, Dad?" "Hm? Yes. You just have to bring me luck one more time, Kira. Just this one more time, you have to be right," he murmurs. 

The machines start. The roar fills the air. "Come on, Number 4!" Kira shouts. But this time, Number 4 has leaned a little too far into the curve. His red machine loses grip. Rider Number 4 slides across the finish line separated from his machine, landing just behind Number 6, in second place. Ryo stands motionless. The wet betting slip falls from his hand. "Oh, don't worry about it, Dad. At least it's second place." She smiles and looks at her father expectantly, but no reaction. "Dad?" Finally, Ryo says: "It's okay, Kira. You know... you always wanted to get out of Blackridge…"

CHAPTER III: CONSEQUENCES OF GREED

That same night, the family car stands ready for departure, packed with suitcases strapped to the roof. Ryo frantically tightens the last strap and gets into the car, where Mika, Ando, and Kira are already seated. But as Ryo starts the engine and is about to drive off, Kira gasps.  "Wait, Dad!"
"What?" "I forgot my heli!" Ryo takes a deep breath. "Kira... there's no time for that! We have to go!" "Please! There are important memories on it! I'll get it really quickly!" "Okay. But hurry!" Mika says admonishingly. Kira jumps out of the car, runs back into the house.
 
Kira frantically searches her room. She doesn't find her helicopter right away. She rips open drawers, reaches under the bed, until she finally holds it in her hand. Kira's brief moment of triumph is suddenly interrupted by a loud bang! It comes from outside and sounds like a gunshot. Kira jumps. Then another shot. And another! Kira runs as fast as she can, clutching her toy tightly, down the stairs and looks through the still open door. In front of her parents' car stand seven men in suits. They continue to shoot at the car. It is already riddled with holes and in flames. In the shimmer of the burning car, only the dark silhouettes of the shooters are recognizable. One of them has a strange figure sitting on his shoulder, a small, creepy monkey. But Kira only has eyes for her family anyway. Everyone in the car is dead. Her mother's lifeless body hangs halfway out of the car. She had obviously tried to flee. "Mommy, Daddy, nooooo!!!" She instinctively runs towards them. A man with a drawn gun blocks her way. Kira stops and looks him in the face. He grins. "Apparently old Ryo did have balls, otherwise nothing like this would have come out of it," he muses, playing with a golden lighter adorned with a bullseye.

Kira collapses and falls to her knees. Only the sheer incredulity of the entire situation prevents her from bursting into tears.

"Go on, Jaiden," calls the man with the monkey on his shoulder. "Alright, Boss." Jaiden makes a small, nodding motion. "You heard the Boss." Thereupon, two of the group move towards the house and pour a flammable liquid around it. Kira doesn't notice. She simply cannot take her eyes off her family. Jaiden lights a cigarette before throwing his golden lighter, with a burning flame, towards the house. It immediately catches fire. "Done." He looks at Kira again. "What do we do with the little one?" Jaiden asks his boss. "Take her with you." "Come on, kid. There's nothing left for you here." Jaiden takes a step towards Kira. Her gaze is now full of hatred. She lets out a scream and throws her helicopter with all her might into Jaiden's face. The metal rotors leave a deep scratch on his cheek. 

"Ahhh, damn it! Just you wait, you little beast!" He stomps on the helicopter, crushing it. Then he points his gun at Kira. But his boss holds Jaiden back. "I said take her!" The clarity with which he speaks makes his order even more threatening. Kira seizes the moment. She discovers the intact cassette in the wreckage of her toy, grabs it, and runs, into the burning house. 

"Go, get her!" Jaiden rages at the two men who had earlier distributed the accelerant. They follow Kira, but just before they arrive, the wooden veranda collapses, blocking the entrance to the house. The gangster boss watches the scene, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Go, Tobu, get her out of there." The monkey jumps from his shoulder, runs, and makes an aggressive leap through the gap of the broken entrance door, into the burning house. He spots Kira. She holds her bent arm protectively over her mouth and nose. The cassette from the helicopter is stowed in her pocket. Tobu roars! Kira panics and runs up the still intact stairs to the first floor, while the monkey makes his way through the flames behind her. Once at the top, Kira frantically looks for an exit, but it seems hopeless. But then Kira has an idea. She runs to the middle of the hallway, opens the laundry chute, and slides down it, into the basement, which has so far been spared from the fire. When Tobu reaches the first floor, Kira has already disappeared. The fire spreads quickly, and the angry monkey has to retreat outside.

"Go! No one can survive that. Clean up, then we'll leave," says the Boss, as the monkey climbs back onto his shoulder.

Kira’s mother’s body is thrown into the family car and the handbrake is released, sending it rolling towards the burning house. The group of seven then splits into their three cars and drives off.

Kira, coughing heavily, squeezes through a small basement window and lands directly in front of the burned-out veranda. There, she notices Jaiden's golden lighter. She grabs it and runs on. But now that she is safe, the enormous exertion takes its toll. She collapses, and everything around her goes black.

CHAPTER IV: TRAPPED AMONG STRANGERS

Three weeks have passed since Kira was found unconscious by curious neighbours who saw the fire from a distance. Since then, she has been housed in a municipal orphanage in District 14, as Kira has no other relatives. Everyday life in the orphanage is as bleak for Kira as the old building itself. The grey corridors connect the dormitories, separated by girls and boys, with the classrooms on the upper floors and the courtyard, which is completely empty except for a few swings. The entire building is completely surrounded by walls. Even the dormitory windows are barred. Kira hates this place. But at least she has a place to sleep. However, as soon as she closes her eyes, she sees the terrible images of that fateful evening before her eyes. She often wakes up screaming, much to the dismay of the other girls. Fearing the nightmares, she stays awake as long as she can each night. She listens to her favourite songs on her Discman through headphones and stares at the ceiling, playing with the golden lighter. Besides the Discman and the cassette from her destroyed helicopter, the lighter is the last personal item returned to her after an inconclusive police investigation. 

“Jaiden's lighter.” The only man whose name she had overheard that night. She had written it on a small piece of paper, followed by six question marks, representing the men whose names she did not know. “Not yet.” 
She clings to the hope that the police will soon find the seven perpetrators. But with each passing day, Kira's confidence wanes. Yet, during the questioning, she had not omitted a single detail of the insidious massacre of her family. “A Spirit?”, Detective Keller had interrupted her in her friendly voice. “Spirit!” At this word, Kira perked up. Could the fearsome monkey Tobu indeed have been one of these magical beings? “Unlikely, as rare as they are,” Keller’s colleague had countered. “It wasn't an ordinary monkey!” Kira protested. “It must have been a Spirit!” “The kid's making things up. Probably the shock.” But Detective Keller insisted on a manhunt. “I believe you,” she had said to Kira, giving her a glimmer of hope. “Here’s my card. If anything else comes to mind, call me.” Kira knew Keller’s number by heart in a short time, having called the detective so often in the first few weeks. The small banalities with which she kept supplementing her statement were merely a pretext to gain new information. But the answer was always the same. “No news, I'm afraid. I'll get in touch.” 

And so the days passed. The daily lessons are strict, and the food is monotonous. Small acts of disobedience are quickly punished here, in the worst case by days of confinement in the dreaded darkroom, a small, windowless room. Even apart from that, much in the orphanage resembles a prison. Everyone wants to know from each other how they ended up here. But Kira rejects every approach. “You can't sulk at the wall all the time. Come on, we all have a messed-up past. Or are you mute?” asks, for example, 16-year-old Raphael, who has made a notorious name for himself in the orphanage by constantly bullying the other children. “Can you sign language?” Kira responds wordlessly by giving him the middle finger, to the amusement of the other children. But Kira doesn't notice any of this because she retreats into her music again. 

Weeks turn into months. Kira has already had her 13th birthday. Something she hasn't told anyone. 
The initial daily phone calls with Detective Keller gradually developed into a monthly rhythm. As the investigation increasingly stalled, Kira and the detective turned more and more to personal topics.
“No... I don't feel like playing with the other children. I just want to be alone.” “Try it. It will surely do you good, and time will pass faster,” Keller suggests. 

Finally, Kira follows the advice of her only caregiver and introduces herself to a boy who has often tried to strike up a conversation with her. “Nice to meet you. I'm Sean,” the 14-year-old replies with a friendly grin. 
From that moment on, Kira allows Sean to involve her more in the other children's leisure activities. Mostly, they shoot plastic arrows from toy guns at small homemade targets. Kira would never admit it, but she is grateful that Sean included her in the group. Somehow, she finds him interesting. Again and again, he manages to get things that shouldn't even exist within the orphanage. Cigarettes, CDs, sweets, anything suitable for bartering. Once it's churros, one of which he offers Kira. After all these months, this sweet treat is a true taste explosion for Kira. A brief moment in which her world seems to be in order. 
One night, Kira is again lying awake in bed for a long time when she hears strange noises from outside. She creeps along the dormitory and peers through the barred windows, out into the darkness. There she sees a shadow flit by. “A cat!” Kira whispers to herself, before perceiving yet another shadow from the same perspective. It's Sean. He's outside the orphanage grounds! “How is that possible?” Kira wonders after getting back into bed. 

When she confronts Sean the next day, he explains that he has found a way to break out of the orphanage. “It's actually quite simple. All you need are two chopsticks from the canteen. Shall I show you?” Kira enthusiastically agrees. They meet that same night in an empty hallway on the 4th floor. Here the windows are not barred, but they are locked. Sean shows Kira how he opens the lock with a few skillful movements. “Here, you try.” Kira learns quickly and manages to open the locked window. Together they climb out of the window onto the small overhang. 
Kira unconsciously feels comfortable near Sean. “Hey Kira, how about you tell me your story? How you got here!” After a brief hesitation, Kira opens up for the first time and tells of the murder of her family. Sean listens attentively. “Here. This is the last thing I have of them.” She pulls the cassette from the toy helicopter. “It still has recordings of my family… but unfortunately, I have nothing to play them on.” Kira looks sad, and Sean senses it. On the way back to the orphanage, Kira hears the cat purring again. She looks through the window but can't see anything. 

When she turns 14, she even celebrates her birthday with a few children. The biggest surprise is Sean’s gift: a small player that can read the cassette from her helicopter. Kira can't believe it. “Thank you, Sean! How did you get that?” Sean proudly tells how he snuck into the matron’s office, and although he was caught outside on the way back, the device remained undiscovered. “Oh, was that why you were in the darkroom last week?!” “It was worth it!” he says, smiling. “They threatened me that if they catch me again, I'll be transferred to another orphanage… even worse than this one…” “I won't let that happen,” Kira assures him. She connects the device to an old TV. Her emotions overwhelm her as she hears her family's moving images and voices for the first time after all this time: her mother Mika doing the dishes, scolding her. Her little brother Ando stealing her toys. Her father Ryo reading the newspaper, completely unaware that he's being filmed. Kira bursts into tears. But suddenly, Kira excitedly presses pause. In the last recording in the Peko Peko parking lot, where she waited for her father, she thinks she has discovered something. “Could this really be possible?” Kira thinks. She gets very close to the TV and freezes. Despite the poor quality, she thinks she recognizes a face. “Jaiden!” Completely excited, Kira calls Detective Keller and reports her discovery.

“I’m sure it’s him! The way he moves! And more people are going in and out there. Maybe those are the other killers!” Kira almost tumbles over her words, she is so excited. “Peko Peko, did you say? The one in District 11?” Keller asks. “Interesting. The restaurant actually burned down 4 days ago.” Kira can’t believe her ears. “Just like our house…” “Seems to be a pattern. Okay. I’m heading straight there to personally secure the evidence at Peko Peko before everything is cleared out. Take good care of the cassette. I’ll come to you in a few days. I think now we can finally put a stop to them!” 
But that was the last time Kira heard Detective Keller’s voice. After a few days, she starts to get restless. “What’s wrong with Kira?” some of the children whisper. “I heard that the investigation is finally making progress.” “Oh, the police are corrupt! You can’t trust them,” Raphael says. “It just depends on which gangster pays the police the most right now.” “No, Detective Keller isn't corrupt!” Kira fires back. She couldn't ignore the gossip and now stomps off angrily. 

After more than a week, Kira couldn't take it anymore. She calls Keller's private number. “This number is not in service.” That can't be. Did she dial the wrong number? She tries again immediately. Same result. Kira tries the police directly, but she gets no further there either. “I'm sorry. There's no Detective Keller working here. Can I help you with anything else?” It's as if she vanished into thin air. 
The next day, Kira sits utterly dejected in the common room. “Maybe she’s working undercover on another case?” Sean tries to cheer her up. “No, she would never stand me up like that. Maybe they killed her!” Kira starts to cry. “Well, I told you so,” Raphael says maliciously. Suddenly, Kira stands up, pushes herself off a table, and kicks Raphael in the face. He immediately falls to the ground. The other children are impressed. But Kira's impulsive reaction has its price. 

Kira now has to spend a week in the darkroom. Her first time. Down here, Kira has a lot of time to think, while Jaiden’s golden lighter gives her light in the darkness. Raphael’s words echo in her mind for a long time. “Oh, the police are corrupt! You can’t trust them.” Was Raphael possibly right? Or was Detective Keller simply too close to the truth and that’s why she was taken out? It is clear to Kira that the murderers must not get away with it. At that moment, she makes a decision: “If I can’t rely on the police, then I have to take matters into my own hands.” 
When she finally emerges from the darkroom after a week, Sean hugs her. Kira explains to him that she wants to leave the orphanage for good. And Sean wants to go with her. 

That same night, they climb out the fourth-floor window onto the roof and down the drainpipe from there. Kira first. Sean follows her at a slight distance. He has climbed down the drainpipe many times before. But never with two people. After just a few meters, a loud crack sounds. The bracket tears from the wall. Kira falls to the ground. The drainpipe crashes loudly next to her. In no time, lights come on in several windows of the orphanage. She looks up frantically at Sean and sees that he has managed to pull himself up onto an overhang a few meters above her. “Damn…” “Quick, you have to find a way to get off the roof,” Kira shouts up to him from below. At that moment, a spotlight sweeps across the roof. “There! On the roof,” a voice shouts. Two guards immediately move. Sean looks down, directly into Kira's worried face. He smiles. “Go, Kira. Find your parents' murderers.” With those words, Sean moves away from the edge of the roof and out of Kira's sight. One last time she calls his name. But she knows he won't come back. Reluctantly, she runs off, away from the orphanage, outside the fence, and into the depths of Blackridge. 
When her lungs were already burning and forced her to stop, she was already in the middle of the city, surrounded by skyscrapers rising into the night sky. For the first time in over a year and a half, she was outside the orphanage. She trudges through Blackridge's 11th District, wiping tears from her face. The many neon lights make the night seem less dark than it is. In the distance, sirens and isolated gunshots can still be heard. She puts on her headphones and turns on music to block out the frightening reality. 

She gets into one of the many monorails that run over the city, without knowing the direction she needs to go.

It's past midnight when Kira, with the help of some passers-by, finally ends up in front of the large, cordoned-off ruins of the Peko Peko. The sign is barely identifiable, but Kira remembers this place exactly. “So this is where it all began.” She ignores the police barricade, removes one of the boards nailed over the ruins' windows, and climbs inside. Inside, she searches through rubble and ash for clues, but everything that once had value has turned to dust... just like with her. Just as Kira is about to give up, she finds something under a pile of half-burned papers. A flyer. Or what's left of it. She immediately recognizes the symbol on it. A target with the same ornate embellishments as the one on her lighter. Next to it, text: “Bullet Haven.” And an address: “301 Brass Alley, District 11, Blackridge.”

CHAPTER V: A SPARK OF HOPE

Kira feels no fatigue. Her long, involuntary training of staying awake at night is paying off. She is out until early dawn, searching for Brass Alley. She is hungry and her feet hurt. Then, finally, she arrives at her destination and stands before a shop with the glowing inscription 'Bullet Haven' and a target as its logo. She enters. From the inside, the shop is much larger than it appears from the outside. All around her, it's filled with weapons.

Finally, the shop owner behind the cash register notices her. A tall, portly man. He has a mustache and a name tag on his work clothes that reads 'Bobby'. He is holding a bag of churros. "How old are you, kid? 12? You shouldn't even be in here." Kira shows him the lighter. She lies, saying it's her father's lighter and she's trying to find him, describing the man who was among her family's killers two years ago. "No idea, don't know anyone who fits that description. Lots of people come in and out of here. Is that it?" Bobby asks. "No! Now use your brain! Come on. It can't be that hard," Kira confronts him sharply. "I didn't go through all this for nothing. I need something!" Bobby thinks for a moment, places the bag of churros on the counter, and meticulously examines the lighter. "Ah, yes! Now I remember. The guy was here a couple of years ago. He drove up in a red convertible with a purple air freshener in the shape of a carp." "Really?" Kira asks excitedly. Her eyes widen. "Of course not! About 800 people have bought this lighter in the last two years. If I had a photographic memory, I certainly wouldn't be working in this shop," Bobby says dryly. Kira angrily slams her fist on the churros bag. Bobby grins at her. "Well, you've got a lot of spunk, haven't you? Maybe your dad ran off because you're such a spoiled little brat." Kira stares deeply into Bobby's eyes, as if it were a game where the first one to look away loses. Meanwhile, she provocatively and slowly puts one of the churros into her mouth. "Okay, that's enough. If you're not here to clean the dirty toilets, then I'm calling the police now. And something tells me you already have enough trouble with them." Kira holds his gaze for another moment. Bobby, meanwhile, reaches for his phone's receiver, clamping it between his shoulder and ear, also without breaking Kira's gaze. Finally, Kira gives up. As a small act of satisfaction, she grabs the churros bag and angrily leaves the shop. "They're on the house! As long as you don't come back!" Bobby calls after her.
Exhausted, Kira had laid down in a narrow alley. "Just for a moment," she had thought. But when she woke up again, darkness had already fallen over Blackridge. Kira's exhaustion, however, had not lifted. For its origin lies not in lack of sleep, but rather in the hopelessness of her situation. She also can't shake a feeling since she woke up: that she is being watched. Kira walks aimlessly through the nocturnal streets of Blackridge. She can no longer go back to the orphanage, nor does she want to. She puts on her headphones and floods her mind with music. Kira climbs onto the roof of a tall building and steps up to the parapet. "Somewhere down there are the seven murderers of my family," she thinks. She looks out over the massive metropolis of the decaying city. "They are probably enjoying their lives and not even thinking about the crime they committed, and if they are, they're probably laughing about it. And I don't even have a lead. No one to help me." Her only clue hasn't helped her at all. "I just wanted them to get their just deserts. Instead, I've only caused more damage. Sean, Detective Keller... whatever I do, I just make everything worse." She screams with all her might, takes off her headphones, and throws them on the roof floor in front of her, where she stands. Then she steps onto the building's parapet. She has lost all hope. And even worse: the meaning in her life. She feels absolutely nothing anymore. Not even fear. The streets below seem almost inviting... but then Kira suddenly hears something. A faint meow.

Kira awakens as if from a trance and turns around. She moves away from the edge and follows the crying until she discovers a small, black cat stuck in the rubble. Small stones are still crumbling from the stairwell access. "That must have just happened," Kira thinks. The cat wears no collar. When Kira frees it, she notices a small wound on the cat's back right leg. "You look sad. There are two of us." She holds out the bag of churros to the cat, and it immediately begins to eat. Kira watches it. Compassion overcomes her. The worry for someone. A deep connection, much more intense than with a normal animal. "Tell me, haven't I seen you somewhere before? Did you follow me?" The cat makes an affirmative gesture, almost as if it understands Kira. Instinctively, Kira wants to help the injured cat, and this impulse suddenly feels incredibly good. She has a goal again. Less grand than finding her parents' murderers, but a goal nonetheless. And this time it benefits a living creature that is still breathing. She strokes the cat. "Everything will be alright. I'll help you get well again... Churro. Hmm... a fitting name. But how am I supposed to take care of you... without a place to stay... without money..."

With newfound determination, Kira returns to Bullet Haven. "I'll take the job!" she says to Bobby, slamming her fist on the counter again. "What?! Ah, the little troublemaker again. What job?" "Cleaning the dirty toilets. You said..." "Good heavens, that was a joke. I'm not letting a 12-year-old here..." "I'm 14! Be glad. If I were 12, I wouldn't be criminally responsible and I would have already kicked you in your fat ass!" Bobby falls silent. Kira's charisma seems to impress him. "12," he says. Kira screams: "FOURTEEN!" "No, I mean the hourly wage I'm offering you."

Less than 5 minutes later, Kira suddenly holds a mop and a cleaning bucket in her hand. Bobby explains the process to her. Her shift would begin in the evening, shortly before closing time, and end in the morning hours, when the store reopened. The twelve Quen that Bobby offered Kira are far below the minimum wage of District 11. "I have a feeling you might get into legal trouble if that gets out," Kira tries to negotiate a higher wage. "And I have a feeling it'll be worse for you than for me if that gets out," Bobby retorts. Kira agrees. It's not like she has a choice. For Bobby, Kira is a stroke of luck, as he has been looking for a cleaner in vain for a long time. It has been difficult for him to keep the store clean, as he has trouble standing for long periods due to an old leg injury.

From then on, Kira spends her evenings after closing time alone in Bullet Haven, cleaning. In the first month, Bobby allows her to sleep during the day in the storage room with her cleaning supplies. In the second month, she rents a small, run-down apartment. There, she nurses Churro back to health over several weeks. The bond between the two grows stronger over time. On days when Kira is sad, the cat also seems sad; on other days, when she is full of energy, Churro also feels alive. And Kira eventually realizes that she can almost see and feel what her cat sees and feels. Until she finally comes to the realization: "Churro, I think you are my spirit animal."

CHAPTER VI: DELAYED REVENGE

When Kira turns 15, she reaches the minimum age for an official work permit in Blackridge. From now on, Bobby no longer has to hide her only during the night shift and lets her work during the day as well. Churro is always by her side. At first, Bobby was against the cat roaming around his shop. But Kira always remained stubborn. "Either she stays, or we both leave," she had said. "What do you care about that critter, it's just a cat." "She's much more than that. My Spirit Animal!" "A spirit? You mean your cat is actually some kind of ghost in animal form? What nonsense," he says, rolling his eyes. "No nonsense! Just because they're rare doesn't mean they don't exist. I've even seen two. When a human and a spirit find each other, they remain connected for life and watch over each other. That's exactly how it is with Churro and me!" Bobby becomes a little thoughtful. "You know, when I was a kid, I believed in it too. Supposedly, they were created by the Eternal Gods because they were so lonely. In ancient times, there were many of them. And now, spirits are the last remnants of the Eternal Gods. Or so some claim." Bobby's warm voice fills Kira with a comforting reverence. "Well, you'll grow out of it."

The day shift gives Kira the chance to observe customers shooting alongside her work. She subconsciously begins to evaluate the customers. Some have good posture, others less so. At the orphanage, Kira developed a good feel for shooting during games. One night, curiosity gets the better of her, and she ventures to the shooting range herself. She wants to know if she can handle real ammunition as well as plastic ammunition. She can. "Let's see if it's enough for the professional arena," Kira thinks.

The Pro Arena consists of a time-based training course with moving animatronic targets in a city setting. A leaderboard of the top twenty is displayed on a digital screen in the shop's entrance area. Kira is quick. With every attempt, she becomes faster and more precise. Churro is always near her and scouts the surroundings. Kira can perceive what her cat perceives better and better. Animatronic targets behind her suddenly become part of her field of vision. It is only vaguely outlined, but it is enough to give her a temporal advantage, which allows her to climb higher and higher on the leaderboard. One could say Kira cheats, but who would believe that a cat is capable of such a thing? Of course, Bobby doesn't miss the fact that Kira secretly uses the course, but he lets her. He recognizes talent when he sees it. Eventually, he even starts giving her tips and further encouraging her, making her even better. One day, he observes Kira moving astonishingly fast on the course. So fast that it seems almost inhuman. When he spots Churro nearby, he wonders if there isn't something to the spirit animal idea after all. A thought he quickly dismisses, however.
By 16, Kira has become a master of all firearms. She holds the record in the Pro Arena. However, she is not listed there under 'Kira', but under the pseudonym 'Sad', a nickname Bobby gave her because he had never seen her laugh. Over the years, she has built a close friendship with him. So close that she even confided in him everything about her dark past.
Meanwhile, Kira no longer cleans floors. She cleans weapons and instructs customers in shooting.

Bobby was so impressed with her talent that one day he offered her a new job. "A very special one that better suits your skills," as he himself said. "It's a shame about my shop, but the pay is excellent. I worked there myself for years. Until my injury." He had given her a business card that read UNIT-01. "Better suits my skills?" In response, Bobby had merely formed his thumb and forefinger into a pistol. "I can't kill anyone. Especially not for money," Kira had replied, and Bobby accepted her answer.

The thought of revenge had long since faded from Kira's mind. She seemed to have left her past behind. Only Sean lingered in her thoughts for a while. She even tried to locate the new orphanage he was supposedly transferred to, but in vain. By now, she feels comfortable in her new life, together with Churro, Bobby, and the shop.
Until one day, a very special customer appears and asks for an open shooting range. Kira turns to him and freezes: That face, the scar under his eye. It's Jaiden, one of her parents' killers.

"Hey, kid! I'm talking to you!" The fragments of thought, running like a terrible movie in Kira's mind, are interrupted. "Uh k-k-sure?" she stammers, unusually uncertain. She hands him a weapon without looking at him, afraid her eyes will betray her. "Oh, you're shy, huh? I like the shy ones best! You know what they say about still waters...?" Jaiden grins. Bobby approaches, silently but with a presence that makes it clear he won't tolerate any disrespect towards Kira. "You're missing some cartridges, sweetie," Jaiden says. Suddenly, anger and determination reflect in Kira's gaze. "The cartridges are here." She points to the glass counter. Jaiden leans down. Suddenly, she grips his head with both hands out of nowhere and slams it against the counter. Again and again. Bobby and other guests in the Bullet Haven watch the spectacle horrified. Jaiden's nose is broken. Blood pools into a small lake on the shelf. "Well, do you recognize me, you murderer?" Jaiden screams. "I'm talking to you!"

"Hello, I'm talking to you!" Jaiden suddenly says emphatically. "The cartridges!"
Kira wakes up from her daydream. Jaiden stands before her, unharmed. "Oh, of course, I'm sorry." She gives him what he asks for and Jaiden goes over to the shooting range. Bobby asks Kira if everything is alright. He has rarely seen her so absent. "Everything is alright, yes," Kira says, still distracted.
A good 45 minutes pass, during which she doesn't know what to do. Until Jaiden finishes his slot and finally leaves the shop through the side entrance.
Kira is angry at her inaction. She hits herself on the head. "If only Detective Keller were still here..." Churro purrs in the corner. "You're right, Churro!" Kira instinctively grabs a small pistol from behind the counter and runs after Jaiden. Into the alleyway leading to the parking lot.

"Hey, wait." Jaiden turns around. Kira holds the weapon behind her back, clutching it tightly. But she hesitates. She seems frozen, unable to draw the weapon from behind her back. "Ahh, the little one from the cash register?" Jaiden finally breaks the silence. "Well, I really got to you, huh?" He gets uncomfortably close, and Kira backs away. "What's wrong? Still so shy. Come on, I'll help you loosen up." Just as Jaiden tries to grab her, Churro suddenly pounces and scratches his still unscarred cheek. Jaiden screams and reaches for his weapon, but drops it in the struggle with Churro. In a flash, Kira kicks the weapon away from him and pulls out her own. "Don't... move. I... I called the police. They should be here any minute," Kira lies. Jaiden laughs. "The police? Alright, let's wait for the police. I wouldn't miss this fun." He pulls out a cigarette and fumbles in his jacket pocket for a lighter, when Kira suddenly holds out the golden lighter with a blazing flame. "Attentive," Jaiden says as he lights his cigarette. "Don't you recognize it?" Kira asks calmly, but inwardly agitated. "That's your lighter. You lost it... three years ago." Jaiden thinks. Suddenly, it dawns on him. He remembers the moment he threw the lighter onto the house veranda back then. "Where did you get that?" Jaiden asks skeptically. "I picked it up, back then, after I fled the burning house. That you set on fire..." "You! You... live?" "No. I survive. All these years. For this moment." Kira now appears much more composed. But suddenly, Jaiden laughs out loud. "Ha! You hope for justice. Girl, be glad you're even alive. Damn, if Enzo hadn't stopped me, you'd be lying underground next to your parents now. Because here in Blackridge, my justice prevails. The police belong to us. Everything you see belongs to us, and anyone who opposes us dies. Just like your parents." Kira points the weapon even more meticulously at Jaiden. "Tell me, why did they have to die?"
"You apparently didn't know your parents at all, kid. So you don't know who they were..." "Who were they? Tell me!" Kira shouts at him. Tears well up in her eyes. For a moment, it looks like he wants to tell her the truth. But he decides against it: "They were... worthless trash that deserves to be disposed of! Just like you!" At that moment, a bang! A shot has been fired from the barrel of the pistol Kira holds in her hand. A precise headshot. Jaiden's lifeless body falls to the ground.

Startled, Kira drops the weapon. Bobby rushes out. "What... is going on here?" Kira is completely distraught. "I didn't want to do that, he... he threatened me." Kira clutches Bobby. He supports her. "It was him! Jaiden. He killed my parents and he wanted to kill me." Kira repeats the words over and over.
Bobby examines the corpse. "Quickly." Then he pulls Kira into the Bullet Haven and locks the back door. In the parking lot, out of sight of the alley, a black van is parked. Four gangsters are inside. "Damn, that shot was pretty close," one says and looks at his colleagues with a bad premonition. "Come on. Let's go check. Jaiden has been gone for a damn long time."

CHAPTER VII: UNIT-1

"Alright, the shop's closed. Get out of here, everyone!" Bobby calls to his customers as he and Kira go behind the counter. "What are you doing, Bobby?" "That Jaiden. Someone like him is never alone. Any moment now his people will show up and then there'll be a hell of an inferno!"

Bobby had barely finished his thoughts when the first shots rang out. By now at the latest, the last customers were fleeing the store in a panic. Bobby and Kira quickly took cover behind the counter. The gangsters had shot through the back door and were now opening fire. Bobby returned fire with a machine gun. He fought well, but the gangsters had called for reinforcements. Armed men were now pouring into the store through the front entrance as well. Bobby and Kira were increasingly in trouble. "Shit, what have I done?" Kira asked frantically, still hunkered down under the counter, next to Bobby, who had taken cover to reload. "The pig got what he deserved. And now get out, Sad. I can buy you some time." He pulled a grenade from under the counter. "What? No. You're coming with me. You have to come with me," Kira pleaded, but Bobby wouldn't tolerate any objection. "It was a pleasure with you. Sad." Kira cried. Bobby smiled. He wiped a tear from her cheek with fatherly tenderness. "And once again, you live up to your name. Now go!" He pulled the pin from the grenade and nodded to her one last time. Then he rolled the grenade towards his adversaries, who took cover. At the same time, Kira ran in the opposite direction to the side exit of the Bullet Haven. With the explosion of the grenade, Bobby shot up from behind the counter, holding the biggest weapon the Bullet Haven had to offer. He shot like a berserker, buying Kira the promised time until he finally succumbed to the hail of bullets from his enemies.

Kira managed to escape. She hid in her small apartment, crying, knowing that Bobby had died so she could live. If she had just let Jaiden go, this wouldn't have happened. Just like back then. If she had just left her helicopter behind, her parents might still be alive. She promised herself that from now on, she would only stay alone. "So that no one important to me ever has to suffer because of me again. At least not a human," she said, looking at Churro. "We'll make it. Together." An icy coldness sparkled in her eyes, as if she was now ready to accept her fate. In that moment, she made a decision. Kira rummaged for the small, crumpled note on which she had written Jaiden's name back then, followed by six question marks. She crossed out "Jaiden" and replaced the following question mark with the name "Enzo." "Number two on my list," she said before turning back to Churro.

"But if we want to take on the whole city, we need the necessary resources. Money, equipment, a network." She reached into her bag again. This time, she pulled out a business card. The one Bobby had given her back then. From Unit-1. The keycard to the world of contract killings, which she had rejected back then. But now there was no turning back. She was ready. "They will all pay for this. For Bobby, for Detective Keller, and for my family."

THE END