2026-03-12 13:13 - X PST

Kiryu sneaked into Sacramento State University, evaded cameras, and managed to hack1 into the system to find information on Holly Zantosa’s room assignment and her classes. They were all, curiously, before sunset. Her last one, though, had less than a hundred students with a note next to it:

“Confidentiality is a serious matter”

He headed to her dorm. Even from afar, he could tell there was a raging party. He went in to try and find Holly. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Behind him is a pretty attractive man, with a low cut suit jacket, a bit of a tan, and nice slacks. He looks a little old for this type of party, more into his late 20’s. “Hey man. Watcha doing here?”

He managed to persuade the man to allow him to go about his business. He relented and asked who he was looking for.

Holly Zantosa. Got to talk to her about something important”

He managed to get her in his car, away from the groupies and take her to a quieter part of town. At this point in time, it was revealed to him that her bodyguard was also in the car with them. He asked they both stepped out, and when they did, he shot at Holly.

For one lethal, he grazes Holly in the side. “Your funeral.” Says the woman, moving to charge.

Kiryu put up a good fight at first, but was quickly grappled by the bodyguard, and had his blood drained. He managed in the end to get a few good shots at Holly, catching her in the shoulder, but he didn’t get to see the end result.

Kiryu’s consciousness begins to wane. He fights simply to survive, his strength draining from his neck through the fangs of the Kindred. Will Kiryu’s failure truly spell his end? What will his wife think? Kiryu hears footsteps behind him. A hallucination? A savior? What races through his mind, as Kiryu believes he faces his final moments of unlife?

He thought of his wife, and his bar, and how overconfidence had gotten the better of him. That’s when a man in a trenchcoat showed up and saved him. The next thing he saw, he was awake in a chair before the Sheriff. He reported what he found out, at least, and described to the best of his ability the person who’d dropped him off.

Barry picks the note off his desk. “I came back here, found you laying in a pile. Note reads: “‘You owe me.’ Very strange.” “As I said, you did good. You get a minor boon from me. Go and rest.”

Footnotes

  1. He got lucky and found user credentials for Jason Grimaldi on a sticky note