Ronin fiddled with his fingers, watching the minutes go by on the office clock. The late mayor's son, Lloyd, had called him for a private meeting. The detective found it funny how the position was practically handed to the young boy, after the mayor's death and the vice mayor left town; no election for a new mayor. Then again, many said the boy was very wise for his age, which made up for his lack of years... And experience, for that matter.

The twelve-year-old opened the door and closed it gently, seating himself across from Ronin. "Good afternoon." Lloyd smiled, shaking Ronin's hand warmly. "You may know me already, but my name is Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon. It is such a pleasure to finally meet you, Detective. I've heard marvelous things about you."

Ronin studied the boy. He was sweet, cordial, and his eyes resembled his father's- seasoned, wise, relaxed... His smile was soft and spread across his bright face, his cheeks rosy and full of youth, his general appearance tidy and formal. He was like a little angel crossed with a businessman, if there were a such thing. Definitely not like most preteens of this generation.

"...It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Lloyd. Forgive my hesitation. I know you've heard this many times, but I'm terribly sorry about your father's death. As well as your uncle..." Ronin cleared his throat.

Lloyd looked down. "They were both wonderful and wise men... They will be dearly missed. I say the same for my uncle, because I know he will never return... And same goes for my mother..." He shook his head and smiled again. "But I'm happy with my life, despite those grievances. My guardian, Mr. Dareth, has been very kind to me."

Ronin nodded. "I'm glad you're doing okay, Lloyd."

The young Garmadon looked down at the files. "Ronin? Why do Kai and Nya go by those nicknames if the general public already knows their real names?"

Ronin bit his lip, thinking. "For one thing, the general public doesn't know their names are Kai and Nya yet. We haven't released that information because we at the HQ aren't certain if those even are their real names. For now, we're keeping the names under wraps until we figure out what's going on."

"Ah. So it's a police thing. What else do you know about them?"

"Very little. I apologize for the lack of information... this case is taking me a while. Let's see... Kai is 21 years old, half Japanese, half Filipino. Nya is two years younger. Kai has been a reported criminal since he was 11, and Nya since she was 13. However, they may have past, unreported crime history. They were practically experts when they were first reported."

"Anything on their backstories?"

Ronin frowned. "Once again, very little. However, there are rumors that their parents were murdered in front of them at a young age by an up-and-coming young criminal."

"What's his name?"

Ronin thought for a minute. Odd question. "He went by two names. 'Oblivion' and 'Kyūketsuki'. In addition to being a criminal, he was a sadist who killed people for laughs. He was also known to drink their blood and eat their flesh, organs, and ground up bones. However, once his fame had reached the skies, he was kidnapped, critically injured, and later found and put in a mental hospital. He killed himself there at age 29. We never found out his real name or origins."

Lloyd scrunched up his eyebrows. "Interesting. Sorry if that was a strange question, Detective..."

"No sweat. Anything else you'd like to know about Kai and Nya?"

"... Do you have a theory on their motives?"

Ronin thought for a minute. No one ever asked him that before. "Well... If the rumors are true, I'd like to think that they're trying to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. They probably think they've dug themselves too deep to get a job now, since they've been on their own and stealing for so long. Not to mention killing."

Lloyd looked down. "Thank you for your time, Ronin." He looked him in the eyes. "I promise what was said will never leave this room. You're a trusted ally, Detective. I respect you."

Ronin left the room after saying thanks.

Lloyd snickered, relaxing the crossed fingers behind his back and setting a "Do not disturb" sign on his office door. He opened the portal back to the underworld and crawled inside.