“What will you do for work?”

Chiyo glances up from her plain bowl of rice. It’s so dry it’s a chore to get down, but she has to eat, and so does Natsu. Chiyo forces herself to swallow her mouthful, adjusts her legs beneath the folds of her clothes, and says, “I haven’t thought that far ahead, but I’m willing to do anything. Hard labor, restaurant service, secretarial work.”

Natsu snorts. “Like anyone would hire a woman for secretarial work.”

“Kyoto’s different. If we want to survive, we have to adapt, even if it means blending in with the enemy.”