7 SEVEN

Miu stands at the other side where Plutos left her in horror at what she just witnessed. Plutos just proved his statement to her earlier about his race being cruel by nature. What's more, she didn't notice him move. Only the air around her had cooled off the moment she saw him on the other side. Plutos looks at Miu and notices the fear on her face growing steadily when they make eye contact.

PLUTOS

"... don't give me that look he's actually fine. Here."

Plutos places his foot on his back and the sparks race from his torso down his foot and into Alto. Alto's arm suddenly grows back completely fresh.

PLUTOS

"If there's one thing about his kind that I envy, it's that they can regenerate any missing body part with a bit of spare energy. Just like a sea slug that can remove its entire body and grow it back. So long as the head and heart are still intact, he can live through any amount of torment. Well, that's if this wasn't his first experience."

MIU

"... what if it was?"

PLUTOS

"Hm? Well then the only difference is that he'll have to get over the trauma. Not like I care."

Plutos walks to Miu across the street as soon as she realized he was getting closer, she backed away from him in fear, shivering. Plutos notices this but doesn't seem to understand why and simply looks at her with disinterest.

PLUTOS

"Shall we continue?"

MIU

"Huh??"

PLUTOS

"What?"

MIU

"Uh… well…"

Miu looks at the now unconscious Alto across the street. His sleeve was still drenched from the blood of his old arm, which was now lying next to his head on the road. For some reason she felt relieved that no one was outside at the moment since not many people live in the area.

MIU

"We… we should.. Take him back to the station first."

PLUTOS

"Huh?"

MIU

"Eep! W-well… uh… w-we can't just leave him there. You know?"

PLUTOS

"If nothing else he'll simply wake up like it was a bad dream. Just leave him there."

MIU

"I-I can't do that! Ah!!"

Plutos glares at Miu with annoyance then sighs and gives in.

PLUTOS

"Ugrh… fine. We'll take him back. *mutter* I wonder if I should have just taken his head instead."

Plutos and Miu head back to the station with Plutos dragging Alto behind him by his shirt. Once there. Miu notices Matsuda and Flute talking to a nervous Officer Kosuke, who seemed to be panicking in confusion.

MIU

"Mr. Kosuke? What's the matter?"

OFFICER KOSUKE

"Uh… Miu? Geh! Mr. Plutos, sir. Hello again."

PLUTOS

"Officer."

OFFICER KOSUKE

"Miu, do you know what happened to… uh… uuh…!"

Officer Kosuke's face changes from nervousness to fear the moment he notices Alto getting dragged behind Plutos with a blood drenched sleeve.

PLUTOS

"I believe you would like this back."

Plutos throws the unconscious Alto at the feet of the trio before him and Miu. Matsuda and the officers in the room gasp at the sight of the Alto's unsightly appearance. Flute leans down to his son and checks his pulse. He was only unconscious but didn't seem well.

FLUTE

"... Would you like to explain what this is about?"

PLUTOS

"... I would think you of all others would have guessed at this point."

FLUTE

"I understand that. And I will take full responsibility for his actions against you. I simply wish to know how his blood ended up on his shirt like this yet there is nothing wrong with him. I just can't fathom it."

PLUTOS

"Oh, you can not be serious! Do none of your people know of your own kind's abilities? Have the knowledge of your race gone on vacation?? Now I feel embarrassed explaining this Miu. I am not explaining this again to the people that should actually know their own biology."

FLUTE

"I don't understand?"

MIU

"Plutes ripped his arm off and then did something to make him grow it back."

ALL OFFICERS/ MATSUDA

"Huuh!?"

Miu steps in front of Plutos holding her stomach, cringing. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves of the thought as she tries to explain.

MIU

"... *inhale* I saw it all. Alto was trying to make Plutos fight him and attacked him from behind. Then he decided to provoke Plutos, and the next thing I know,... Alto lost his arm to Plutos' tail and passed out immediately after. … I asked Plutos to take him back here so we can retire for the day… So uh…"

Miu looks at Plutos who feels her staring and meets her gaze with a calm glance. Again he was disinterested but also annoyed. She could feel his annoyance more than anything and it made her uncomfortable.

MIU

"Yeah, I think it would be best if I take him back home, okay?"

Everyone looks at Miu in concern but doesn't argue with her. All except Matsuda and Officer Flute.

OFFICER FLUTE

"Allow me to drop you off. I can take my son home after I drop you two off. You are fine with that yes, Commander Kosuke? Since you are very busy with your new documents from the evidence?"

OFFICER KOSUKE

"Uh. Ah! Yeah! Yes, that's right… but…"

MATSUDA

"I'll go too."

Matsuda walks next to Miu and Pats her head to calm her down. Plutos only stands by and watches curiously. The annoyance seemed to finally subside for a moment.

MATSUDA

*whisper* you should get some rest at home after this. You don't look so good."

MIU

*whisper* I am so not good at all right now. I think I'm close to herling soon."

MATSUDA

**"Alright. Officer Flute. We'll be in your care."

PLUTOS

" Just take her home. She seems very uncomfortable. I can take myself home faster than any vehicle anyway. Good bye then. I will see you again soon, Kosuke Family."

MATSUDA

"Huh??"

Before anyone could say anything to him, Plutos leaves the station and vanishes at the entrance in the blink of an eye. Some of those present rubbed their eyes or blinked to see If they missed him leaving, now everyone was distraught and confused. While the station was distracted, Flute picks up Alto and carries him to a patrol car outside and Miu and Matsuda follow him and enter the car. Flute get in after everyone was buckled in and drives off. Unbeknownst to all, Plutos was waiting for them to drive away from the station to follow them.

Inside the car, Matsuda sat in the front passenger seat while Miu sat in the back with Alto resting on her lap. He seemed to be having a fear dream since his expression looked uneasy.

FLUTE

"Miu. You said that person was your friend, yes?"

MIU

"Uh! W-well, to be far, we're more like acquaintances since we haven't really met that often."

MATSUDA

"Oh? You guys were oddly close back at the house earlier."

MIU

"I only met the guy like four times! Come on!"

MATSUDA

"Alright then."

FLUTE

"You should be careful about that one. He doesn't seem like the kind of person to forgive you even if you're friends."

MIU

"Y'know, I kind of figured that much when we first met. He didn't seem to see me as a threat at all when we first met, even though I smacked him for sneaking up on me out of nowhere."

MATSUDA

"You did what!?"

MIU

"Uh!! H-hear me out!"

MATSUDA

"I don't really have a choice after hearing that. You didn't say you smacked the guy on day one. What the hell!?"

MIU

"Okay! He snuck up on me out of nowhere! Of course I'm gonna smack him!"

MATSUDA

"Was it when you found that device he gave dad?"

FLUTE

"Wait that's his!?"

MATSUDA

"Ah. yeah. The whole reason we actually brought him to the station was to make sure dad didn't break the damn thing and introduce him to the station."

MIU

"But apparently, he seems to have bad luck with your race. Speaking of, he was calling you namekians like you were from another planet."

MATSUDA

"Let's get back to the part where you smacked that 'acquaintance' of yours. How the hell did that come about??"

MIU

"I was on my way to the apartment that day. I found it in that bastards office. I don't know how he got a hold of it but he was trying to break it open to see how it worked I think."

MATSUDA

"You know what, I wouldn't put it against him. So was, uh, Plutos looking for it in the area? How did you get a hold of it?"

MIU

"Took while he wasn't looking."

MATSUDA

"Pfft! Yeah okay. And let me guess, it became one of those fated encounter things you see in stories? You run into him on your way home and he gets mad at you?"

MIU

"Actually yes. But he was pretty understanding."

FLUTE

"How is someone with that kind of temper understanding? Did he think you were telling him the truth and not calling you a thief?"

MATSUDA

"Well, that would be my reaction if I didn't know Miu."

MIU

"Anyways! As I was saying, I told him the bastard had a track record of theft and he said he owed me one for giving it back then left."

FLUTE

"I feel like that's not all that was going on, But I will take your word for it. However I will tell you now. That friend of yours is plotting something. I suggest you be careful."

MIU

"... *mutter* says the guy that tried to pick a fight with him."

FLUTE

"I heard that, Miu."

MIU

"Geh… well…"

FLUTE

"And I wasn't the one picking a fight with him. Right Alto?"

Alto opens his eyes and groans in annoyance.

MIU

"Hey. your up?"

Alto sits up and leans on the window.

ALTO

"Yeah. sorry about that."

MIU

"Don't apologize to me. You started something you had no business in starting."

Alto looks at his arm that was now crusty from the blood on his shirt. He moved it around and wiggled his fingers to make sure it was still intact. The moment when he lost his arm and saw it fall in front of him and the cold chill of death rushing through his body as he felt his blood draining from his side. The sense of dread and fear came back to him in slow shivers.

ALTO

"... I'm still alive? I thought he killed me… why did he let me live? What… What the hell actually happened?"

MATSUDA

"That's my question."

MIU

"I don't actually know either. You made him mad and he took your arm as a result. I had to see something horrible because of you."

ALTO

"Ah… s-sorry."

MATSUDA

"Wait! You actually saw him chop his arm off!?"

MIU

"He ripped it off, not chopped it."

FLUTE

"Come again?"

MIU

"Like how you'd take a chicken leg off to eat it. He dislocated the shoulder and yanked it clean off… geh…"

Miu cringes from the memory and her fear returns, making her blood run cold.

MIU

"I don't know if I can handle dealing with that kind of torment."

MATSUDA

"Hey. Did he really want to be friends with you? Like, well… maybe he wants to just keep an eye on you or something… like uh…"

FLUTE

"What he's trying to say is, your new 'acquaintance' seems to think of you as a tool for something. We don't think it might be anything good. It might be in your best interest to try and cut ties with the one as soon as you can. Just knowing him is probably dangerous on its own."

MATSUDA

"... he's right. Maybe I can help you out a bit, to get you two in good distance?"

MIU

"How? If that's what's actually going on then it might already be too late for me to back out of this."

At Plutos' house, Plutos sits in his dining room thinking about what to do about the namekians he ran into at the station.

PLUTOS

(thinking) "To think I'd have to deal with those slugs the day after I get everything settled. Hopefully this won't disrupt anything in my plans to explore. Lords of the heavens, if they make this anymore annoying. I may well have to teach them a lesson, not just give them a warning."

Plutos sets down the device he carried with him on the table and turns it on. The display shows a new place filled with dust and broken buildings behind a largely built, twisted body with a long tail and four horns on a large, disfigured head. The body shakes it's hand and liquids fly off the hand as the body walks closer toward the display and crouches in front of it, showing a pair of glowing red eyes looking at the display curiously.

PLUTOS

"Heavens to light, what have you been up to, Thermo?"

THERMO

"Oh, good. It's just you, Plutos. I was dealing with some trash trying to figure out what's going on in this area. Nothing too important though since I got some good connections in the process. Though, I don't think you'd like the locals, so I advise you to stay clear of the northern sectors for a while."

PLUTOS

"A little late for that. Since those damn slugs decided to have a life in other places here, I had to deal with two already. If I didn't have to worry about a friend I made here, I would have killed them for being a nuisance."

THERMO

"You have a friend?"

PLUTOS

"Yes! Though I will have to make amends to something, so I will need your help for something. Do you think you can make the time?"

THERMO

"What does your friend have to do with the mission? You know Hypo is going to get on your tail for lazing around."

PLUTOS

"No no no! Listen to me! She is one of those few mysteries! Or part of it. She seems to be a different race from the larger population of this planet. And she's very rare to find here as well. Anyway, do you think you can get here or not?"

THERMO

"I do what I can, but for now, it sounds like you need to stay low for a while."

PLUTOS

"I won't need to since they started it. And I have one of my devices in one of their more secured places where I can get more information from through their system. But there are more things unknown about this place that meet the eye. I found out that there are other Frost demons on this planet that live here for leisure. So we can blend in just fine as we are. In our stronger forms no less."

THERMO

"... Really. So I didn't need to hold back my energy on this planet?"

PLUTOS

"No. I've been like this all day and not a single person fainted from my level of power increasing. I can stay comfortable in my own skin, but I will need to learn how to control my temper more often this way."

THERMO

*chuckle* "Sound like you'll need to train more."

PLUTOS

"No! Nope. I'm fine. Truly."

THERMO

"Well. I see what I can do for the time being but if your wasting my time, you better be ready for a beating later."

PLUTOS

"Ahehe."

THERMO

"I'll see you soon."

PLUTOS

"Yes. farewell, little brother."

The display disappears and Plutos stands and stretches out when he hears his doorbell ring. The display opened again and to his surprise, Kobi, Matsuda's little brother, was at his door, in the dim of the sunset, sticking a sheet of paper on the glass of the door and rushing off to the next house. Plutos goes to the front door and looks at the paper that was placed on it out of curiosity, only to be even more upset by the content of the information on it. Kobi had started making posters about Miu and someone else that looked similar to her. The information contained exaggerated information about Miu's violent nature. Her bloodline is related to a criminal currently in the prison unknown to the public.

Some of Plutos' anger faded from knowing a bit more about his friend, but the fact that someone was making her out to be an unwanted person became unsettling for him. The person he needed to help him with his mission was being made into a dead woman before he even started his ventures.

PLUTOS

"Hmph. how unsightly."

He crumples the paper in his hand and drops the now paper ball. It bursts into powder and blows off in the wind with the dust. Plutos vanishes from his front porch and appears again in front of his neighbors door and takes the poster off. He vanishes again and again from door to door down the whole road and across the street finding all of the posters and removing them from the doors and walls. He even checked the mail boxes to make sure he didn't put any in them and luckily for him, Kobi wasn't that smart since some of the mailboxes had locks. He finally catches up to Kobi, who was visibly out of breath going around the neighborhood, was on his last poster. He places it on the wall of the last house and leaves back to his house as fast as his short, heavy body would let him and shuts the door behind without checking for anyone watching until he looks back out through his window.

Kobi peeks around his house to make sure his mother wasn't around then looks back out of the window to see if anyone noticed his posters with a hopeful expression, only to find Plutos at the last house he just visited taking the poster down and looking at it. Plutos looks at Kobi's house and makes eye contact with him. A chill is sent down his spine as he watches Plutos destroy the posters in his hand and drop the ashes as they fly off in the wind. Plutos cringes as he stares at Kobi through the window, then vanishes from the last house. Kobi sinks down onto the ground and leans against the wall still breathing heavily from his unwanted exercise.

All of Kobi's hard work was instantly destroyed before his eyes before it even got to work. He starts to cry in frustration as he rushes up the stairs to the attic.

Miu and the crew make it to the Kosuke house and talk for a while before heading to their rooms for the night. Miu gets changed into her pajamas and gets ready to cut the lights so she could think of what to do about her foreboding predicament until her train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the window. She knew who it was and was reluctant to answer out of fear from what had happened earlier that day until he knocked again. She decided to answer and opens the window to find Plutos floating in air with his legs crossed and tail hanging loose and still as if he was willing to wait a long while for her to answer.

PLUTOS

"... I expected you to answer later, but this works out for the time I was willing to waste here."

MIU

"..."

PLUTOS

"If you're expecting an apology from me, then your namekian friend will have to own up first with his own. Only then would I consider it."

Miu averts her eyes in anxiety.

MIU

"... I wasn't going to ask."

PLUTOS

"You seem well. Don't tell me my actions made you squeamish."

MIU

"I-it… wasn't… well…"

PLUTOS

"... came to give you this. But I'm starting to rethink this and give it to The pig boy's father instead. It might be funnier to see while you stay clueless. He isn't home, yet is he?"

MIU

"H-he's still at work. But wait. What are you saying right now? It sounds like you found something important."

PLUTOS

"Important for me, but I don't think it'll be good for your mind right now. You should get some sleep. You may need it for tomorrow morning to watch a spectacle of a show."

Plutos turns around and lets his body relax as he hovers away.

MIU

"Wait a minute! I-"

PLUTOS

"Be prepared to leave soon. It may give you quite the shock."

Plutos flies off into the darkness and leaves Miu to disappear what might happen later on.