On a dark and rainy night in the city Las Vegas, a man stands outside a nightclub. He is dressed in a tuxedo and holds a black umbrella, his long unkempt white hair a signature feature of his. He lights a cigarette as he stands in the dark, he blows smoke as he stares at the busy street, people going in and out the nightclub, cars moving down and up the street. '
Las Vegas was always so lively, just not in a good day, easy to tell all that walk these streets at this hour are corrupted and wicked individuals who are slaves to their own desires.' the man thought as he smiled.
"I guess we all fall victim to our primitive desires." he says to himself, concluding his thought.
"Victim? I would say enablers, we allow our desires to run wild because we crave the feeling of satisfaction they leave us with when they come into fruition." a voice said behind the man, in the direction of the nightclub entrance.
He turned to see a beautiful woman, her dark hair highlighted by her green eyes. Her pale white skin, unblemished, covered a body withe most proportional curves, all covered by the most beautiful red dress.
"We're slaves. Enablers are still in control, as a person...you lose control the moment you accept the nightlife. Am I wrong, Celeste." Carlo said as he gave Celeste a gentle smile.
"Slaves? People like you and me benefit from these people wasting away at clubs, racking up debts, making the wrong decisions, getting mixed up with the wrong people. Me, I motivate them to keep going by giving them good company then performing on stage, being an idol they can get up close and personal with. You, wait for the to owe the wrong people, the collect debt. We're not slaves we're slavers." Celeste says as she gets close to Carlo, leaving only the cigarette between their faces.
"Slavers? I am simply a guy who stares the the situation. I just happen to have a job to do, otherwise I bear no participation to this world of desire." Carlo remarks.
"You judge them Carlo. Yet you never leave, you know, we both know we can leave this. Yet you never leave." Celeste taunts him.
"I repeat. Observation isn't participation." Carlo retorts.
"I know, it's worse. It's obsession." Celeste taunts him as she turns away and begins walking towards the entrance. Before entering she turns to Carlo.
"Don't miss my performance." she says as she smiles and enters the nightclub.
Carlo smiles to himself as he puts out he cigarette.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." he says to himself as he enters the club.
Music filled the air in the club as Celeste took center stage, her singing almost hypnotic. She sang as she swayed her body to the tune, her performances were truly artistic, on a balcony to the side watched Carlo. His expression was dulled, detached as usual. He smokes his cigarette, right next to a no smoking sign, showing he was above the laws that restrained others, as he caught a glimpse of this sign he chuckled to himself.
'Slaves huh? And yet here am I, showing I'm above the laws that hold most. Celeste why must you always be so right.' he thought to himself as he watched her entrancing performance.
Below the balcony, was a bar. At the bar a young man had a suit, poorly worn. His eyes showed a mixture of panic and regret. He was clearly drunk and not enjoying himself. As he drank, two men dressed in tuxedos approached him, the two men were huge, enforcers.
"Debts due." one of the men said.
"I'm still trying to get the money together, I'll pay soon." the young man answered.
Without warning one of the men grabbed his head and bashed it against the counter. The music may have swallowed the noise of this but it caught the attention of Carlo.
'Ethan Vale. Poker debt, one of the debtors I flagged.' Carlo thought to himself as he looked away as the men dragged the boy away, towards the exit of the nightclub. Carlo then watched Celeste.
As he watched her, their eyes locked. Her green, emerald eyes seemed to be egging him on, challenging him to do something, to stop watching, to participate rather then obsess.
Carlo let out a sigh as he broke eye contact with Celeste as he turned and ran towards the exit. Pushing aside people in front of him he finally made it out to see the two men drag Ethan into an alley. He followed them. As one of the men were beating Ethan with another pointing a gun, a voice interrupted them.
"That won't be necessary." Carlo said.
Both men turned.
Recognition flickered.
"You're not assigned to this," one said.
Carlo adjusted his cuffs calmly. "Assignments change."
"Orders don't."
The gun shifted — not at Ethan now.
At Carlo.
"You're crossing a line."
Carlo almost smiled. "I don't believe in lines."
Carlo then rushed at the man threw a quick jab that landed square on the man's nose, knocking him down. As the other man rushed at him, Carlo hit in across the face with a back heel roundhouse kick, making the man stagger as he held his face. Carlo then grabbed his head as he kneed the man's face five times. Each hit racking the mans brain. As Carlo let go the man fell, out cold.
*Pop*
A sound cracked and echoed through the alley, followed by a warm feeling in Carlos's chest. He stumbled as he turned to see the first man holding his bleeding nose with his left hand and holding a gun his right. Carlo's held his chest, pulling away his hand, it was bloody, he was shot.
He stumbled towards the man who just stood there confused why Carlo was still walking. When Carlo reached the man, he put his bloody left hand on the man's shoulder and smiled a bloody smile before using his last ounce of power to punch the man, knocking him out. After that Carlo stumbled as he held to a wall and slid down it, until he sat down. The rain seemed to give him comfort as he felt life leaving him.
He turned to see Ethan running and stumbling out of the alley onto the busy streets of Las Vegas.
The alley door opposite him opened slowly.
Celeste stepped out, her red dress untouched by the storm as if the rain refused to land on her.
She approached without hurry.
"You intervened," she said softly.
Carlo gave a weak breath that might've been a laugh. "Seems I did."
"You always said you were only observing."
He coughed, crimson staining his lips.
"Turns out… watching is still choosing."
She knelt beside him. She pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
"Your so righteous, you bustard." Celeste said as she put the cigarette on his lips. Carlo bit the cigarette and pulled. As he let out the smoke he said "I'm the morally high one remember."
Celeste cried softly as she heard Carlo say these words and soon she realized he stopped smoking the cigarette and it fell.
"You righteous bustard, why would you leave me alone like this." she said softly as she sobbed in the rain.
Carlo opened his eyes to see himself in the arms of a woman with brown hair, her gentle smile showed unconditional love.
"Welcome to the world, Mishima." she said as the eyes of the newborn seemed to burn with the will of fire, a trueborn son of the land of fire.