Escape

Chiaki awakened in the center of the testing grounds in the underground, where he and Ryo were tossed towards and forced to make a dilemma that would cost them their lives. As he was handcuffed behind his back, Chiaki squirmed against the cold solid girder floors to maneuver his way towards the scientists that were experimenting on the nanosuits that Sez was able to retrieve in the past. With enough cybernetic enhancements, the scientists were on the verge of achieving technological success that could create enhanced indestructible super soldiers just by wearing a suit made out of nanotech.

"Goddamn it..." Chiaki whispered underneath the brink of tension. "To think Sez got his hands on Polycyclone's shit... but how the hell did they get it in the first place?"

Chiaki closed his eyes as soon as one of the scientists stormed past him, holding a tarp made out of nanotech. The scientist proceeded to place the tarp underneath a smelting table, experimenting with the technology to see if it could withstand extreme volatile temperatures, including magma. More scientists stormed past Chiaki with more tarps of nanotech, extracted from the nanosuits from Polycyclone Industries, experimenting with cooling agents and electric currents to see if the suits could withstand the possibilities of multiple threat engagements.

"To think the boss really wants these suits to be perfect kinda tires me out sometimes, y'know..." One of the Yakuza members on the sidelines whined while waiting for instructions. "Now that he and that exile's on that mission right now, we're gonna make a fortune. We won't need to mess with these suits anymore if we can buy them right off the black market!"

"Silence yourself," One of the scientists ordered. "You do realize that these suits were manufactured and directly sent to us. There are no other ways to obtain such technology. You should be honored that they even decided to lend their aid for our noble cause."

"Noble, my ass," The Yakuza member's baffled voice exploded in passion. "You guys are the one that's fucking with the nanosuits. If you ask me, your ass should be fucking fired. Y'all are part of Polycylone, aren't you? Why the fuck you guys down here for? You should be up there giving the big boss the big news."

Chiaki clenched his teeth with indisputable rage. He knew about the truth of the nanosuits and their origins from Polycyclone from his uncle. Now it was brought into total fruition and taken advantage of for heist missions. The idea of being an individual who studied the nanosuits on his own disgusted him. If only Chiaki had known that the study of the nanosuits would result in such despicable behavior from multifaceted corporations, then Chiaki would have found another hobby.

"Don't think we're obligated to support your cause," The scientist shunned away from the Yakuza member's comment. "You were only a few selected in Japan to be part of our research. Your boss has connections with us that even you wouldn't understand. Our industry will expand the more we research and experiment. Get that through your thick skull."

During their conversation, Chiaki squirmed back and forth in an attempt to stand on his two feet. While the scientists were busy experimenting on their nanosuits, Chiaki simultaneously searched for a method to escape his handcuffs and the underground completely. With the testing facility environment in mind, Chiaki deduced that the experiments on the nanosuits were unstable, meaning explosive or chemical reactions tying with their end results were still possible. If the scientists were occupied with their experiments, Chiaki believed he only had a few seconds of time to escape and cause as much mayhem as possible.

"Can't believe that exiled rat decided to pop his fat dick back in the Yakuza," The curious member referenced to Ryo. "What a pussy. Some story he had, wanting to "find his true purpose." What a bullshit excuse. You think the boss is gonna spare him?"

"I highly doubt it," The scientist replied. "We have no need for insignificant outliers."

Hearing their conversation insulting Ryo's existence in the Yakuza only fueled Chiaki's hatred for the corporation even further. Even though he hated the Yakuza and how they treated Ryo, he didn't blame himself for wanting to explore it; otherwise, he might have never met Ryo in the first place. But while they were occupied, Chiaki wiggled his way over to one of the empty testing sites that focused on experimenting with magma and extreme temperatures. He placed his sweaty back against the cerulean brick wall and focused his lower body to pull himself upwards with the force of his legs. As soon as Chiaki finally stood on his two legs, one of the scientists caught his presence.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" The scientist roared, charging over to Chiaki with the intent to injure.

Inhaling a deep breath, Chiaki placed his handcuffs over one of the smelting tables filled with magma within. The intense scorching heat scalded his skin and burned it intensely, causing Chiaki to scream in immense pain. However, with his sacrifice, his handcuffs were melting and easier to escape from. Combining his rage for the corporation's goals, Chiaki split his handcuffs apart with the last bit of his strength. He grabbed the charging scientist and splattered his right cheek against the smelting table, burning his head into a crisp as he screamed in agony.

"I can overload the fucking thing..." Chiaki whispered as he grabbed a tarp of nanotech armor from one of the testing tables. Knowing its instability with magma, Chiaki dropped the entire tarp into the magma, creating a bubbling reaction that mimicked a volcano about to burst. Now that Chiaki planned his distraction, all he had to do was escape.

"SHIT!" One of the Yakuza members shouted.

Chiaki sprinted at lightning speed towards the entrance of the underground testing facility. He leaped into the air and covered his head. The nanotech's reaction with the magma created a massive volatile explosion that detonated within the testing facility, killing most of the researchers, scientists, and Yakuza members being experimented on. The reaction blasted a massive hole in the wall where the smelting table remained, creating Chiaki's escape route. Years and decades of experimentation with the suits were incinerated with Chiaki's action, and he smirked knowing that these corporations had lost something that was crucial for their efforts.

"What the fuck? What the hell's going on in there?" A voice called from outside of the testing facility.

Magma splattered across Chiaki's environment, leaking into the girders below him. The scorching heat of the room would soon be impossible to traverse in a few seconds. Chiaki leaped over the magma with what little strength he had left before it had spread chaotically. On the opposing side of where Chiaki once was, Yakuza members entered the facility with weaponry but failed to enter any further with the hazard beneath them.

"Hey, where the fuck is Chiaki?" A voice echoed through the passageway of where Chiaki slumped towards. The magma reaction blasted a tunnel through an escape route that led to a street. With enough time on his hands, he entered the middle of the road while ongoing traffic came through, attempting to hitchhike for further assistance.

"There he is! Fucking shoot him!" Voices called from the distance, and the Asahikawa Yakuza began to appear through the tunnel.

Luckily, a van housing a family of three stopped in the middle of the road for Chiaki. He pulled the door of the vehicle's rear seats and entered, scaring the children inside with his scalding scars and injuries on his hands and feet. The mother and daughter screamed, forcing the father to start to drive forward. However, a stray bullet struck the father's arm, which forced Chiaki to propel himself forward in the driver's seat. Using his feet, Chiaki stepped on the pedal where the father's foot was, shooting the car forward through the street to escape the Yakuza.

"What the fuck!? What the fuck!?" The mother screeched, grabbing her husband's arm in total shock. "Dear! Are you okay? Dear!?"

"I'm... okay..." The husband said.

Chiaki steered the wheel with his right hand while he pedaled forward. He drove the vehicle through the streets while the last remaining bullets missed the vehicle's presence. After a few seconds, Chiaki sped through the opening to a highway, where he and the family were safe.

"What are you doing?! Get out of the car!" The mother forcefully ordered, slapping Chiaki's arms with full force.

"I can't," He said, steering the car with his focus on the road. "I need to get to Aries. We have to get to one of the transports."

"Aries? What the-" The mother complained, putting pressure on her husband's wound. "Get the fuck out of the car, right now! I don't care where you're going!"

"Do you all wanna die?" Chiaki's enraged voice couldn't take the stress. "If we don't get to those transports, we're all going to die. I'm getting off there and you can all go home afterward. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I dragged you all into this mess."

"Mommy..." The daughter cried.

"Just go..." The husband agreed to Chiaki's demands. "I'll be fine."

After the traffic began to die down during the night, Chiaki drove through the highway without much issue. He stopped the vehicle through one of the intersections between one of the transports to Aries. It was only a few minutes before the transports were closing, so Chiaki knew he had to hurry.

"Thank you. Please, take care of yourself. I'm sorry." Chiaki stated before exiting the vehicle. The family drove off as Chiaki sprinted towards one of the transports barefoot. They were only several feet away, but the destination and travel distance were miles away according to Chiaki's rattling mind. He clutched onto his scalding hands tightly, braving through the pressures of his insecurities as an individual in the universe. Midnight fell on the streets of Asahikawa as his bare feet dragged against the asphalt, stepping through puddles of water and pebbles created from erosion. It reminded him of his dirty hands and feet after his father would drag his hair and toss him like a tool.

"We don't want you anymore, Chiaki. Now that we'll never have the chance to change you, you're nothing to us."

His family's words echoed inside Chiaki's unstable mind as he forced himself through the asphalt streets. "You're wrong..." He whispered. "I am wanted. I am something to someone else. And even though it's not you, at least I have some worth in this universe because he believes in me. And I will never let that go, no matter what, mother. I will never be a puppet for you again, father."

The insecurities that he had lived with as a child, being forced to live his life as a female and accepting it by force was no longer within his system. Gone are the days that he devoted his time to studying the nanosuits that his uncle provided with him ever since his divorce. Gone are the days that he devoted his effort into become a full-fledged genius to discover his identity as a male to forget his past. Ever since the day he had met Ryo Nakai and joined the Yakuza, he had regretted all but one part; meeting Ryo and being with him. Now that his knight in shining armor was in danger, Chiaki's new goal to define his worth in his universe was to save him, no matter what.

He had a legacy worth sacrificing for because he was his role model. He was the only remaining one.

"I'm coming, Ryo..." Chiaki whispered after entering one of the Aries transports. "Please be okay..."

You were right, Chiaki. I am sad, but that never changed the fact that I enjoyed being with you.