“Shizuko how does he know your name, who is he?”, the squirrel scratches his leg.    .

  “He’s my…..younger brother”

  The rat stares at the angry looking Akari.

  “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment.”

  Small specks of what looks like stars, form around Akari’s body. Wind starts filling the hotel hallway. Mikasa and Lacey are taken aback. Feeling Akari's Aura..”

  “I’ve waited my whole life.. TO SEE YOU DIE! IT ENDS HERE!”,

  Akari’s skin glitters and shines, as if he’s done the best skin care routine. Akari puts his hand on the wall. Bck aura forms on his arm. Akari’s arm, burst through a part of the wall.

  “AHHHH”, a man screams, awakening from seeing a hand in his hotel room.

  “AHHH”

  another man screams in the bed beside him. A Red and Bck colored energy ball forms in Akari's hand.

  “PLANETARY.. PLANETARY END”, Akari announces his attack. .

  “YOU'RE DONE”,

  Akari screams..

  Shizuko stays silent. Akari winds his hand back. Bck swirls color patterns and static coming. from his arm and hands. He charges at Shizuko.

  Mikasa and Lacey look upon the attack,

  Mikasa bites her fingernails. Akari runs down the hall. Scraping and scratching the wall.

  Getting closer and closer to Shizuko. the pnetary end ball in his hand. Akari winds his arm from the back and puts his hand out forward, facing Shizuko. Shizuko doesn’t flinch or move…

  -*BOOM*-

  An explosion occurs as Akari attacks Shizuko. Giant smoke covers the hallway. Mikasa tries to look and see through the smoke. Lacey coughs and rubs his eyes, amidst the debris. A chunk of the hotel has been destroyed. The smoke starts to clear..and within the smoke. The squirrel stands.

  Shizuko and Akari are right next to each other. Shizuko is grabbing Akari wrist, deflecting his pnetary end attack…Shizuko grips Akari's wrist.

  -*SNAP*-

  Shizuko breaks Akari's wrist.

  Akari grunts in pain. Shizuko throws Akari’s arm upward and flicks his tail at him. Hitting him in the chest. Akari flies down the hallway. Hitting a wall.

  “Akari-San”,

  Lacey screams

  . Mikasa and Lacey run up to him.

  “Are you ok?”, Mikasa crouches down.

  Akari ys against the wall. His eyes barely open. Lacey looks over at Shizuko and the Squirrel.

  Standing there menacingly. Lacey gets up, csping his hands together. Aura starts forming

  around him.

  “Stop.”, Akari moves Mikasas hand from his face.

  “This is my fight..”

  Akari slowly

  gets up, onto his feet. Akari yells. He runs over to Shizuko again. Stars spurting out his body, on and off.

  Akari charges at Shizuko. He gets close to him.

  Shizuko tail whips Akari in the face. Akari falls down a bit. He comes back up. His fist balled again trying to uppercut Shizuko, but his tail is faster. Shizuko strikes Akaris face again. From his left.

  Than the right..

  *Right left, left right.*

  Shizuko whips Akari with his tail over and over again... Then with his tiny rat like hand. Aura forms around it.

  Shizuko's dark elevation technique, picks Akari up in mid air. Twirling him.

  Akari spins around..slowly losing consciousness.

  “What have I been doing this whole time?”

  Akari thinks to himself.            .

  “Was it all…..for nothing?”

  Akari thinks back….to a time. He’s at the park, doing push ups in the sun. Punching the air in pce and kicking aswell.. Training his upper body and testing his strength.

  Akari then regains consciousness. He comes back to reality.

  Shizukos aura pushes Akari to the ground. Lacey closes his eyes and exhales

  Mikasa puts her hand over her mouth, in shock. Shizuko raises his hand. Bck magic swirls around Akari. Pushing him from off the floor, on to the wall.

  Akari also thinks of a time when he walked on the edge of a tall building. Bancing himself. Learning how to keep good precision.

  “Was it..useless…?”

  Akari thinks to himself, half unconscious.

  Shizuko uses some type of super speed and goes straight up to Akari.

  Looking at him face to face, as Akari leans against the wall.

  “You kno’m the reason Crissa stopped talking to you, in the tenth grade right?”

  Akari's eyes widen, hearing the shocking news.

  “You see Akari..”, Shizuko thinks back to that day..

  “When you invited her into your room and went to the bathroom. I waited to make sure you                  was gone…and had Baxter, the rat, run across her feet.

  Akari gasps. His mouth open and face frozen in disbelief.

  “Which grossed her out completely and made her abruptly leave” Shizuko ughs..

  “It.. it was you?”,

  Akari replied.

  “This whole time..”, Akari looks down at the ground.

  “You must’ve wondered why she stopped talking to you..all this time..all these years. It’s been eating at you, hasn’t it?” Shizuko smiles

  “Well no. I’ve been wondering why you killed our parents” Akari looks back at him.

  “Oh yea, I forgot about that”

  Shizuko rubs his chin.

  “You…FORGOT?”

  Akari thinks back to that

  day. Him walking in his house, as a child. Blood seeping into the living room carpet.. His mother,

  father, aunts, uncles. All dead, piled on top of each other. The child Akari, starts to cry.

  “Hey”,

  Shizuko snaps Akari back to reality.

  “You don’t have enough Aura”

  Shizuko leans close to his ear.

  “And you know something?, you never will..”, A shiver goes down Akari's spine. His face stuck in shock. Akari then closes his eyes. Drops his guard and accepts defeat. The wall suddenly turns orange, a creamy substance emits from it. Akari gets sucked into the wall. Shizuko makes a puzzled look.

  “Interesting technique..”, the squirrel grins. Shizuko turns around. Ocho is holding Akari..

  “You two seem like trouble”, Ocho stares at Shizuko and the squirrel

  . Lacey looks to his left in awe.

  “Ocho, you’re here”

  Mikasa says. Feeling relieved.

  “What is this technique?”,

  Shizuko touches the creamy textured wall.

  “That is sweep potatoes..”, Ocho raises his hand,

  emitting Aura.

  “You guys are in my sweet potato pie”

  Ocho reveals his technique

  The smaller mice, surrounding around the squirrel and Shizuko, start to get antsy.

  Squealing and cwing at the ground.

  The squirrel flicks his hand. Making a command. The mice start running towards Mikasa and the group.

  As the mice run. A pool of sweet potatoes fall from the ceiling, covering the rats. Trapping them underneath.

  “No one can move around safely in my potato pie, unless I allow them”

  Ocho puts his hands together. Colors and static form in his palms. From underneath Shizuko and the squirrel, chocote appears. The squirrel falls inside, as the floorboard near them, turns into chocote. Shizuko loses his feet pcement a bit but bances himself, on top of the chocote.Instead of falling in.

  From beneath the chocote. A chocote man appears. The chocote covered man walks to the group and picks up the unconscious Akari. He puts him on his shoulder. Shizuko gres at Mikasa, Ocho and Lacey.

  The group gets sucked into the ground, fleeing the scene.

  The group seeped through the floor. They go down very slowly. A force field like bubble

  surrounds them. Mikasa stares around her, as they touch the hotel lobby ground. The forcefield then comes off.

  “Let’s go in the van”, Ocho and the group run outside. The chocote man carries Akari. Ocho unlocks the van and gets in the drivers seat. Mikasa and Lacey sit in the backseat. Along with the chocote man and Akari. Everyone is quiet on the way back home..

  The following day.

  Mikasa walks into the clean up crew building. When she walks into the cssroom. Only Lacey and Ocho are there. Ocho, Drinking some coffee and reading a newspaper. Lacey sits there. His head, ying on his desk. They look at Mikasa as she walks in the room.

  “Good morning”, Ocho nods.

  “Morning”, Mikasa walks to her desk.

  “Hey Mikasa”,

  Lacey says in a somber tone.

  “”Hey”, Mikasa sits down, twiddling her fingers. A sad expression on her face.

  Ocho puts his newspaper down.

  “The cssroom seems a bit empty today.”, He looks side to side, around the room.

  “Yea”. Mikasa taps her fingers on her desk.

  “Yesterday was a bit much..A lot going on. I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner”, Ocho expresses.

  ““It’s fine, I mean at least we’re ok. Right Mikasa?”

  Ocho looks over at her. She gives a half smile..

  “I don’t know how Akari is doing tho ..”

  Lacey looks down.

  “Or Tatsuya..”, he scratches his head.

  “It’s not easy being an exterminator…especially nowadays”, Ocho states.

  “It’s a lot of preparation and training that needs to be done..We’re fighting against unworldly creatures and foes. Secrets that the government keeps hidden..”. Ocho walks around the room.  .

  Mikasa and Lacey sit there, listening.

  “We can do it though, keeping the streets clean for the public.”

  Ocho stands still..

  “Right Lacey? Mikasa?”, he looks over to them. Mikasa and Lacey sit at their desk, awkwardly. Unsure of what to say. Ocho pauses for a moment. Taking a long sip of his coffee.

  “Listen, this job scared me too when I first joined it..I was young, just trying to find my pce in the world..not really having any skills and not knowing what to do with my life. The job kind of just nded on my p really. Recommended by a family friend”

  Ocho expresses.

  “I went in there, just doing a job really.. but then it became much more than that. I realized I was bettering the world, doing things that others, might not want to do or be to scared to do”

  Ocho makes a serious face. Mikasa nods her head slowly, listening to Ocho.

  Lacey smiles. His eyes looking hopeful again.

  “It’s not easy no… but I think it’s worth it though. It’s brought me much fulfillment in my life.. a purpose and I think it will for you guys also”

  Ocho smiles

  Mikasa and Lacey look at each other, with agreement..

  “What about Akari and Tatsuya?”

  Mikasa looks at Ocho..

  “Good question”, Ocho stands up, stretching his legs.

  “I have an idea”

  Ocho grabs his keys..

  …………………………………

  Ocho drives the company van. Mikasa and Lacey are sitting in the backseat. He drives down Jamaica avenue. Stopping in front of a yellow and white painted, two family home.

  Lacey gets out of the van. Breathing in and out of his nose. Lacey looks back at the van.. Ocho slides down the front seat mirror.

  “We’re counting on you”, Ocho yells from inside the car. Mikasa puts her thumbs up, at the backseat window. The van then drives off.

  Lacey rings a doorbell. Awaiting for an answer. He taps his foot on the ground. The door swings

  open.

  “Oh hello”,

  a women opened the door. She has long blonde hair, a few freckles on her face and very tall. Lacey smiles showing all teeth.

  “Hi I was looking for Tatsuya, I’m his coworker Lacey, nice to meet you.”

  He bows his head.

  “Hello nice to meet you”,

  the women bows her head back..

  “My son has been acting very down since this weekend”, the woman pauses.

  “Well more down then usual”, she ughed

  “I’m not sure what’s been up with him.. Maybe you can talk to him?”

  the woman asked.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to do”, Lacey replied.

  The women gestures Lacey to come in. He walks inside. Looking at the nicely refined living room paintings. Also a fish tank and flowers sitting on a table.

  “He’s right down here, in the basement.”

  the woman guides Lacey to the door.

  Lacey walks down the basement stairs. He sees Tatsuya. Laying on a couch. His face buried in a pillow. With covers over his head and body.

  “Who’s there?”, Tatsuya murmurs. His face still in his pillow.

  “It’s Lacey..Lacey from Extermination Station”, Lacey scratches his head.

  “Oh brother”

  Tatsuya leans his head up a bit. His right eye looking at Lacey. His other eye, in his pillow still..

  “What do you want?”, Tatsuya buries his face, in the pillow again.

  “What’s up? Why didn’t you come to work?”

  Lacey questions him.

  “Why did you run away, back at the hotel?”, Lacey raises his hands, in confusion.

  “Why?….. Are you really asking me that? that job is way too crazy for me. I don’t want no parts, in none of that crazy ass stuff”

  Tatsuya turns his head to the side.

  “I mean yea..but the world itself is getting crazier, you know Ocho said, alot of stuff has been hidden from people and it’s just now starting to come out...”

  Lacey puts his hands behind his back. Pacing around the room a bit.

  “You might’ve ran into one of these creatures anyway, your house isn’t that far away from roachdale”

  Lacey excimed. Tatsuya stays quiet. Shifting his body on the couch.

  “Listen Tatsuya”, Lacey looks directly at him.

  “The world is changing whether you like it or not..”

  Lacey shook his head.

  “ Atleast with being an exterminator. Your infront of the chaos… I mean-“, Lacey covers his mouth.

  “Yea exactly..infront of the chaos..why would I want to be there?, fighting mutant roaches and supernatural rats..possibly getting myself killed. That sounds so fun”, Tatsuya says sarcastically.

  “That’s not what I meant. I meant like, you’ll be infront of what’s going on.. You know, you’ll have the know how, updates on cases. The necessary tools to defend yourself.. in case of an a attack.”

  Lacey emphasizes..

  “And being apart of something, that can actually impact the world. I think that’s pretty cool. Being able to make a difference”

  Lacey looks at the basement window.

  A small butterfly nds on the pavement..

  “I think that’s beautiful. Being apart of something.. bigger than yourself.”

  Laceys eyes radiant, his smile wide. Tatsuya has a bnk expression. Looking

  unfazed.

  “I can’t force you, I’m just gonna put it this way.”

  Lacey walks back towards the stairs.

  Turning away from him.

  “You need money, your getting older. You could help your mom around. You have a job..”

  Lacey turns his head around. Looking over his shoulder.

  “And like I said, the world is changing. Your either gonna adapt to the change or get left behind”,

  Lacey excims.

  “The choice is yours.”

  Lacey walks up the basement stairs and closes the door.

  Ocho pulls up to a luxurious looking house. Him and Mikasa get out the van. They walk up the steps and Ocho rings the doorbell. No one answers. Ocho rings the doorbell again. A dog begins to bark In the upstairs window. He barks for a little bit. Then the door opens..

  “Akari”, Ocho grins.

  Akari stares at Ocho and Mikasa. His bck hair messy. Face covered with bruises and bandages.. His eyes low, with bags under them.

  “Listen”, ocho exhales.

  “The other day. I know it was ruff! those guys...They are tuff opponents. Very strong enemies.”

  “If I had to take on both of them, I’d probably be killed”, Ocho chuckles. Akari seems lifeless, standing by his half opened door. Ochos face becomes more serious looking.

  “I just wanted to say that, it takes time and practice to really get good at your skills. Doing this

  line of work isn’t easy, just like I was telling Mikasa and Lacey”, Ocho states.

  “But it serves a great purpose and you will find joy and fulfil-“

  “My joy was taken from me a long time ago”,

  Akari cuts him off.

  “I gain nothing from being here anymore.”

  Mikasa makes a sad expression.

  Akari attempts to close the door but something stops him. Akari looks down at a floating chocote cake, that’s now hedged between the door. Covered in Aura.

  “I seen your lightning technique..it was nice”

  Ocho turns his back, standing on the patio. He looks up at the sky.

  “But if you really want it to be more powerful..you’d come back to the job and learn about your XT”, Ocho turns back to him.

  “Xt?”

  Akari says, curious.

  Night time rolls around. Mikasa is ying in bed. Her phone in her hand. She looks up at her ceiling. Lacey is up also, in his room. Laying in bed. A cat in his window. A hamster running in a cage. A frog ribbiting and his pet rabbit, eating a carrot.

  When the day breaks. Mikasa is walking to the job. Nervous. She bites her nails, as she opens the door to the building. When she walks into the cssroom. She begins to smile ear to ear. She sees Akari and Tatsuya sitting at their desk. Lacey follows up behind her.

  “Wahooo we’re all back”, Lacey jumps In pce.

  Tatsuya sucks his teeth. Looking at the two. Mikasa looks over at Akari. Who’s looking down at the floor. His right hand rubbing his chin.

  “Welcome back everyone”, Ocho appears in the room.

  “Shall we begin”, Ocho points at the board. That has the words “XT” on it.

  Chapter 3 End