As the light of morning began to break, Ayame was still passed out on her bedroom floor from the tumultuous activities of the night before.

She was still in her blood-soaked clothes; her once-white shirt now mostly red and crinkled, and her black slacks stained in the dark, coppery liquid that didn’t belong to her. Asleep, this was probably the most peaceful she’d ever look - but nothing could disrupt peace quite like a bucket of ice water being thrown on your face.

Launching herself upright with a choked, enraged splutter, Ayame found herself now sitting up and frozen solid.

“Wha-?!” Ayame yelled; now drenched. “Owner?! What the fuck?! I’ll fucking kill you!”

Owner stood before Ayame’s half asleep vision with a blue bucket in her hands.

“Did you sleep on the floor all night, Ayame-chan?” Owner smiled serenely. “You can always sleep with me next time, if you want…I don't mind what kinds of human debris you have stuck to you, you know.”

“You…!”

Ayame lunged forward with the intent to strangle the life out of Owner, but the woman in question swiftly ducked with a mischievous giggle, causing Ayame to stumble forward somewhat. Even Owner could see that Ayame was hitting her limit of being toyed with so soon after being woken up, and she decided to ease up on her teasing for the time being.

“Now, now...don't get too excited, my beloved. Save some of that energy for the day's work, won't you?”

Ayame ignored the sickly lurch in her stomach from this vile presence calling her a lovey-dovey pet name, and met her eyes with a ferocious glare.

“The hell do you mean by today's work? I'm not doin' jack shit today.”

“Bzzt! Not true! Today, you'll be helping me.”

Though Ayame wanted nothing more than to scream expletives in Owner's face; to snarl and scratch and fight her way through this conversation until she was left well alone...something in her gut told her that the sooner she gave up and agreed to whatever ridiculous task she was about to be sent on, the sooner she could go back to life as normal.

“...What do you want from me?”

Owner's Cheshire cat grin only widened further.

“Clean yourself up, and meet me in the foyer in ten minutes. Make me wait, and I'll cut out your tongue. Okay?”

Ayame wasn't even given a chance to bark back a response, as Owner slipped out of the room with a faint, wispy giggle. As quickly as she had come, she was gone...and Ayame knew better than to disobey.

After a quick – and now arguably unnecessary – shower accompanied by a change of clothes, Ayame reluctantly stormed her way down to the mansion's foyer. There, in front of the familiar heavy-set front doors, stood Owner.

The unexpected sight of Chinami Saizuki at her side, however, made Ayame briefly wonder if today wouldn't be as abysmal as she was initially expecting after all.

“Ah...hi,” Ayame mumbled, awkwardly freeing a hand from her pants pocket to raise it in greeting.

Chinami offered a soft hello and bowed politely in response, as aloof as ever.

Owner, who was stood between the two of them, let her eyes dart from one woman to another, carefully observing the way they interacted with one another. Her expression remained neutral, which felt like a bit of a worry when it came to the constantly smiling fox.

“Come on. We have somewhere to be.”

She motioned for the two of them to follow her as she walked out of the mansion and up to an unfamiliar car that was parked out front. It was a vehicle that screamed wealth to anyone that laid eyes upon it; a sleek, black foreign convertible that looked as though it had just been driven off the lot.

Chinami's eyes had a sparkle to them as she took her place in the driver's seat, flexing her fingers around the steering wheel with a satisfying leather squeeze. Ayame practically threw herself onto a seat in the back, taking in the sights and scents of such a luxury car with wide-eyed wonder.

“Wow. Is this your car, Chinami?”

“Actually, darling, it's my car,” Owner chimed in with a sing-song tone, shoving herself right up next to Ayame in the back. The two of them were nearly cheek to cheek, and Owner smelled divine; like vanilla tinged with the slight waft of incense, which just pissed Ayame off all the more. The cheeky glint she held in her eye as she looked at Ayame this close sent a shiver down her spine. A shiver of what, she couldn't say, but it was a shiver all the same.

With a grunt of annoyance, Ayame shimmied her way as far into the corner of the car as she could. Owner chuckled from behind her hand, and as Chinami carefully began to drive off, Ayame already found herself wishing the day would hurry up and finish. That sliver of hope was as good as dead.

“What's going on today, anyway? You haven't told me shit. As usual.”

“We're going on a date,” Owner stated plainly. Ayame sighed loudly, crossing one leg over the other.

“Like hell we are.”

Though it was obvious Owner was just trying to wind up her so-called beloved, Ayame couldn't help but let her tired gaze fall onto Chinami once more. The mysterious woman didn't seem to have an outward reaction to Owner's teasing, but Ayame could've done without the fox putting terrible ideas into the driver's head.

The Tokugawa mansion was situated on the outskirts of the Nakago ward, which was one of the more modern neighbourhoods Kyoto had to offer. In the day, the city was a different entity compared to the neon-soaked beast it became past midnight. The overall city of Kyoto was a culturally rich place full of history and beautiful sights; and even with modern day conveniences cropping up here and there, the Nakago ward was no exception. As was the case with most places, it was the little alleyways that claimed to lead to good times and happy endings that one had to be the most wary of.

Even when she was feeling her worst, the beauty of her surroundings was never lost on Ayame. The small Shinto shrines tucked away beneath the shade of verdant arbour, in particular, always piqued her interest. She always made a mental note to take a day and visit one on her own...but it felt as though life never slowed down enough to allow her a moment of peace.

Eventually, the car crawled to an eventual stop in front of a ritzy looking restaurant called Still Spring Water. At a glance, it seemed as though it looked like they specialized in high-end Japanese cuisine. There was a long line of hopeful tourists eager to dine there that nearly coiled around the corner of the sidewalk – a sign stuck onto a telephone pole claimed that it was a three hour wait past that point, but the few dozen people piled up behind it seemed to pay it no mind.

Before leaving the car, Owner reached into her lounging kimono, and procured a thick manilla envelope. She handed it to Ayame, who took it with a sense of trepidation about her.

“I'll see the both of you to the front door. Go in and sit at the only empty table on the western wall. When the waitress comes over, order two bowls of wagyu sukiyaki, and hand her this envelope. Once she brings you your order, eat your meal as normal. Leave out the back, and I'll meet you there. Got it?”

“...I'm going, too?” Chinami asked, to which Owner nodded her head.

“It would look far too suspicious for someone as yakuza looking as Ayame-chan to be sitting alone at a table eating her meal, wouldn't it?”

Ayame let out a heavy sigh.

“Let's just get this over with, huh?”

Owner climbed out of the car, and Ayame and Chinami followed suit.

She briskly weaved her way past the gaggle of people crowding around the restaurant's entrance, which earned her more than a few disapproving grumbles from the tourists swarming the place. The hostess minding the front door scrutinized the questionable looking group, until Owner leaned forward to whisper something in the woman's ear. As Owner pulled back, the girl smiled politely, though the slight fear and discomfort on her face couldn't be easily hidden.

“A-ah, Owner-san! Good work out there! I-I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you!”

The hostess bowed deeply at the waist, to which Owner didn't so much as crack a smile. She turned to face both Ayame and Chinami, and suddenly, the smile was back on in full.

“Have a nice meal. I'll be in the car whenever you're done.”

With a small chuckle, Owner kissed Ayame on the cheek, to which she was promptly met with a disgruntled flinch.

As the two of them were ushered inside by the hostess, the restaurant was the textbook definition of rich. Dark marble floors and pillars lined the way to the dining area; bustling with pretty waitresses darting to and fro, as well as countless people happily eating their ridiculously expensive meals.

“Something tells me we're not just here to have a free lunch,” Ayame mumbled to Chinami under her breath, who hummed in agreement as they walked towards the lone empty table on the western wall, just as Owner instructed.

“Hello, thank you for choosing to dine at the Still Spring Water! What can I get for you today?”

“Two servings of wagyu sukiyaki,” Ayame said bluntly, and handed over the heavy envelope over to the girl as casually as she could muster.

The waitress took it from Ayame's hands gingerly; a grim understanding washing over her face as she did so.

“...Understood.”

Chinami blinked from behind her glasses as she watched the waitress disappear into a back room. She then locked her eyes onto Ayame, who sat up a bit straighter at the unexpected attention.

“...Hm? Somethin' on my face?”

“I've never seen you like this before...” Chinami replied, moving a finger quickly around her face in a swift motion. “Without the blood.”

Ayame felt her cheeks sear an embarrassingly bright red, and decided to go for a strategic pivot onto a change in conversation.

“So...what did you do before working for us?”

Chinami stared up at the ceiling for a moment; mulling over her answer.

“I was a student, and then worked for Owner for some time. There were some odd jobs in-between, but I think that's about it.”

“Right, right...you've been stuck puttin' up with Owner's nonsense for some time then, eh?”

Ayame noticed the corners of Chinami's eyes crinkle upward, into what was undoubtedly a smile behind her face mask. The sight made Ayame smile as well.

“...That's one way to put it.”

“I see.”

Chinami and Ayame paused, though the silence wasn't uncomfortable.

There were a ton of questions Ayame wanted to ask Chinami. She wanted to know why she had to work for Owner; what she was a student for; and just why it was she'd ended up back here. Instead, she opted for something a little less dark for a first conversation.

Ayame motioned toward the small, colourful pin Chinami had stuck to her vest lapel. It was red, with a black lightning bolt decal on it.

“What's that you're wearing there?”

“Ah...” Chinami trailed off, glancing down at the pin herself. “A gift from my sister. It is my good luck charm.”

“You've got siblings too, eh?”

“Only one.”

“Is she...y'know...doing this kind of thing, too?” Ayame asked, dropping her voice to a low murmur.

“No,” Chinami answered quickly, with an animated shake of her head. “No, no. She's a civilian. Only thirteen. But...she's a handful in her own way.”

“Heh, yeah. Kids that age tend to be.”

There was a brief silence before Chinami continued.

“...What did you want to be when you grew up, Ayame-san?”

Ayame stared in a slightly stunned silence. She stroked her chin in thought as she tried to remember; to call back to an innocent time before total destruction blocked the path she walked through life.

“Me? Well, I...I used to be really into the idea of being an artist. A painter, specifically. I guess.”

Ayame nervously tapped her leg as she avoided Chinami's intense gaze, feeling the red creep up on her cheeks once more. She hadn't thought about the pockets of tranquillity painting used to bring her in many, many years.

“You like art?”

“Yeah. I mean...I used to. It's a peaceful thing. Haven't done it in a long time, though. What makes you ask that?”

“Ah. It's just that my sister...”

Just as the conversation was beginning to flow, a different waitress finally came around, carrying two servings of wagyu sukiyaki on an unusually chunky tray.

She expertly placed a plate of the mouth watering food in front of the both of them, and also set the tray itself in Ayame's lap. Just as a question of protest rose up her throat, a glance at the supposed “tray” revealed that it was, in fact, a briefcase.

Suddenly, everything was starting to make sense. The surprising sense of normalcy talking to Chinami brought to her was beginning to fade upon being thrown back into reality – a reality full of crime, hostility, and shady dealings – with full force.

“...Guess we've gotta eat this stuff before we go,” Ayame said with a smile she couldn't hide even if she tried. Nothing takes the edge off of a hellish night quite like a delicious hot meal.

“I'll pass,” Chinami said quietly.

“You sure? It's not every day you get to eat wagyu beef on someone elses dime.”

“I'm okay. But thank you.”

Though Ayame was privately a touch disappointed that it meant she didn't get to sneak a peek at Chinami's face, she still took great pleasure in scarfing down not one, but two plates of exquisitely made wagyu sukiyaki. This job did have its perks on occasion.

Once she had her fill of gorging on beef, she stood from the table with a satisfied sigh.

“Alright, let's get outta here.”

The two of them stood from their seats and began to move to the back of the restaurant, just as planned. The staff didn't dare to glance upward as the two yakuza women briskly pushed through the double doors that lead through the bustling kitchen. As they marched to the exit, Ayame privately grit her teeth as the heavy briefcase tugged at her arm with every step. She wasn't about to gripe in front of Chinami, though.

Waiting in the back alley was the flashy sports car they arrived in. Ayame tossed the briefcase into the trunk; as she did so, she thought she heard Owner shout something at her, though she paid it no mind. She rarely did.

“Your special delivery is safe and sound in the back,” Ayame said gruffly; slumping down in the passenger's seat besides Chinami. An action unintended, but sitting besides Chinami instead of Owner was not something she was going to complain about, either.

Owner pouted.

“Aww, Ayame-chan...don't you wanna sit next to me?”

“No. What the fuck was in that thing, anyway? A bunch of bricks?”

“Bzzt bzzt! Close, but no cigar!”

“...”

Owner fell silent. Ayame blinked.

“Well?! What was it?! Don't just stop talking!”

Owner giggled.

“It's sixty pounds of semtex and C4.”

Chinami's eyebrows raised. Ayame's jaw dropped.

“And you let me throw it into the trunk like that?!”

“I tried to warn you, my love, but you weren't listening...”

“Ugh.”

A nice meal with a girl she liked, a strange event happening, and a cruel bump back to reality – maybe this really was a date Ayame Tokugawa was supposed to experience, after all...and to completely eclipse the second piece of interesting news that awaited her back home.