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Chapter III

A door slides open into a room. A bedroom from the looks of it. Ryo enters and looks around for a moment. The room itself wasn't much to look at. His bed had thin gray sheets and pillows, and sat directly next to a window that had a gorgeous view of the outside world, which at the moment was nothing but blackness and twinkling stars. A nightstand and a lamp stood on the other side, a wardrobe sitting directly across from it at the other side of the room. Next to that was a door leading to his restroom.

Moments later,the sound of running water filled the room, as did a thick cloud of steam. Ryo stood in his shower, wet and covered by the hot steam. The hot water massaging his red fur was relaxing. He gave a relaxed sigh, and suddenly a whelp as he felt something grab him between the legs. He reached down into the fog and felt a wet head of hair, pulled up, and saw it was the playful cat, Chrys. Or perhaps a little too playful. She gave a seductive, yet playful smile. He returned it with a cold stare.

"Get out!" he shouted as she bolted out with a proud smirk on her face.

Moments later, after drying and dressing, he left his room, only to find Chrys waiting outside. At least this time she was dressed, but even so, he felt shy, and had difficulty looking at her.

"What did I tell you about behaving yourself?"

"I am behaving," she pouted.

"Groping someone in the shower is not considered good behavior."

"Well, you didn't say how I should behave," she teased. Ryo started to become irritated with her.

"I don't have time for this." He turned away and tried to leave, though that didn't seem to stop her from following close behind. He finally showed up at the cockpit to meet his avian friend, who took immediate notice of Chrys.

"Who's this?"

"This is Chrys. She stowed away before take off, so now we're stuck with her." He glimpsed at her and continued, "This is Dalian. He's our pilot, and a friend. You'll be staying with him until I can get a room set up."

"Aw, but I was hoping I would get to stay with you."

"After that stunt you pulled earlier? Not a chance." She continued to pout. Ryo just ignored her and returned his attention to Dalian. "Are we almost there?"

"Yep. We should be arriving at Nyko soon enough."

"Nyko?" Chrys puzzled.

"It's the name of the world we're visiting," Dal answered.

"I'm going there to visit a friend," Ryo added.

"A friend?" Chrys pondered, "What kind of friend?"

"Uh..." Ryo blushed for a moment, then quickly answered, "That's really none of your business." She looked at him suspiciously, which made him a bit nervous. "Seriously, I need to get ready. We'll be landing soon."

"Then I guess I'll see you when you get back." Ryo approached her, grabbed her hand and placed something in it. When she checked, she noticed money. About a hundred dollars to be exact.

"Take it and buy yourself some new clothes. I doubt you brought anything with you when you decided to sneak onboard."

"How generous of you," she joked, knowing full well this was an attempt to keep her from following him again.

"And," he quickly added and gestured to his phoenix friend, "he goes with you."

"What, don't you trust me?"

"No."

"Aw, I'm hurt. You can trust me."

"It's either that, or you can stay locked up in a room all day." She gave him a cold stare, then finally gave him an answer.

"Hmph... Fine."

Minutes later, the ship entered the planet's atmosphere, and landed at a port. Ryo was the first to exit. He came out on his hoverbike, and had put on a thin black jacket. It was a bit chilly out. He drove into a small, outdated town, stopping at an old coffee shop. He parked, hopped off, and entered through the glass door, triggering the shops bell. He took a look around. There wasn't too many people around. But then again, it was night. He took a seat at the counter, looking around for someone. The one he was looking for finally caught his eye.

A female fox who served as a waitress, in uniform and all, approached and sat directly across from him. Most of her fur was a light brownish color, with several exceptions, with her chin, neck, wrists, and her shoulder to back length hair being orange. Her ears, hands, feet, and the near tip of her tail were black. Her belly and the very tip of her tail were white. She had beautiful green eyes, and the cutest pink nose you ever did see, to him at least. Her name tag said 'Sylvia'.

"Hi, Ryo," she said cheerfully, "What are you doing here? Can I get you something?"

"No thanks. I'm just here to check on you."

"Ryo, I told you, you didn't have to do that. I'm fine."

"Well," he smirked, "maybe I just wanted to see you." She smiled warmly at him, then gave him a gentle nudge on the cheek, followed by a giggle.

"You're so sweet." Her attention was quickly averted by the entrance bell's ring, snapping her back to reality. "I better get back to work before I get in trouble."

"Go ahead, then. I'll wait."

As time went idly by, Ryo watched the fox girl, Sylvia, as she went from table to table, taking and giving orders. Eventually, she found herself behind the counter again. The bell rang again, and a shady, hooded figure entered. He seemed very suspicious to Ryo. The only thing he could make out was a pale green, lizard tail. He stopped at the counter, but didn't sit. Sylvia was directly across from him, and she suddenly became nervous. Ryo could just barely hear them chatting.

"Meet me out back," he said darkly,"We need to talk."

"But I'm on duty right now," she nearly choked trying to respond.

"Then make up an excuse. Don't keep me waiting." He turned around and left. Sylvia seemed a little shaken up. Ryo couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

Moments later, Sylvia had grabbed her jacket, a white one with a fuzzy collar, and left her post. Ryo didn't follow until she had walked out the door. As he walked out into the cold night, he suddenly noticed how quiet it was. He remembered the stranger mentioned meeting in the back, so that's where he felt he needed to go. He looked around the corner, and saw Sylvia backed up to the wall. The hooded figure was right up against her.

"Your payment's getting way past due, Sylvia. The boss is getting tired of waiting."

"Please, give me more time," she pleaded, "I'll have it by next week."

"You've already used up your last chance." He drew a knife from the belt under his cloak, and placed the sharp end against her neck, though not pressing hard enough to puncture her skin, the feeling of the sharp, ice cold steel against her flesh made her shudder. "Once I'm finished with you, I'll be sure to pay your folks a visit." Her assailant suddenly felt something blunt poke him behind the head, and the cock of a gun filled ears. Ryo stood directly behind him, gun ready, trigger finger itching. The lizard stood frozen for a moment.

"I don't think so," Ryo threatened. Sylvia seemed surprised to see him, if not relieved. With his free hand, Ryo motioned for her to come to him. She didn't hesitate, and quickly found herself behind him. He put a little more pressure on the lizard's head with his gun. "What business do you have with her?"

"They borrowed money from us some time ago," he hesitated,"she and her family were suppose to pay us back on a regular basis. But they haven't been paying on time, and its been coming later and later. I was ordered to take care of them for the last time." Ryo noticed something sticking out of the lizard's cloak pocket.

"Is that your phone?" He nodded nervously. "You have your boss's number?" The lizard nodded again. "Call him." Without thinking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, pressing a few buttons and finally dialing a number. Ryo gestured him to hand the phone over, and he did just so. He held the phone up to his ear. It gave a few rings before someone finally answered.

"You'd better have a good reason for calling me," a deep, dark voice answered.

"I believe I do," Ryo replied. The speaker could immediately tell it wasn't who he was expecting.

"Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. I understand the Bellehart family is s in some sort of debt?"

"I don't see how that's any business of yours."

"Did you order your lackey to kill them?"

"That's how things work around here. They failed to pay, and now they have to face the consequences. So why don't you do us a favor and stay out of the way?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Ryo boldly stated.

"What interest are the Bellehart's to you?"

"My interest is no concern of yours," he stated, "What if I were to pay off the debt, all at once?" Sylvia nearly gasped at his suggestion.

"Ryo!" She was immediately disregarded when he motioned a 'shush' at her.

"That would take them off the list, but I doubt you have that kind of money."

"Just name your price," he demanded.

"Very well. Ten thousand credits."

"Give me the account number, and I'll transfer the funds."

"Your really serious, aren't you?" Ryo said nothing in response, and awaited an answer. "Alright. The account number is fifty-four seventy-three." Ryo pushed a few buttons on his PDA system. It's tiny screen then stated 'transferring' with a progress bar. Within seconds, the bar filled, and the text changed to 'transfer complete'. "One sec," the other said as a beep was heard though the phone,"ten thousand, on the spot".

"Will you leave them alone now?" Ryo asked.

"I'll be sure to take them off the list immediately. Its been a pleasure doing business with you." With his final word, the call was ended with a beep. Ryo handed the phone back to the hooded figure, and gestured for him to leave. The lizard did so without hesitation, never looking back. Ryo then turned his attention to the fox girl, who was still astonished by what he'd done.

"We need to talk." He gestured for her to follow.