"If I…" Erina gulped, her green eyes on the contract in front of her. "If I don't—"

  "What was that?" said Akira loudly, cupping her hand beside her ear. "Sorry, I suddenly had a bout of hearing loss for no reason. I didn't hear anything you might've been saying at all. Did you say something?"

  Erina took a slow, shaky breath. A cold hand had its icy grip around her heart. "…No," she whispered. "It was nothing."

  A pen rested in the top of the clipboard. How much choice did she really have? She steeled herself and reached up, but another hand touched her wrist and stopped her.

  "Wait," said Akira. She unholstered a knife from the belt on her leg, the blade spinning effortlessly through her fingers before settling with its handle extended. "This is your ink. One drop will do."

  Erina's mouth was a thin line. She took up the knife and pressed the tip to her left index finger. Just by resting the point on her skin, she could feel the sharpness of the blade.

  Her heart pounded in her ears. She took one more deep breath, and applied pressure. The knife withdrew. Akira picked up the pen and took her hand, guiding it over. The tiny prick of pain intensified for a moment as Akira squeezed her finger. A dark red bead formed, hung, and then fell onto the tip of the pen. It sizzled, a tiny trail of black smoke escaping as the blood drained into the pen.

  Akira released her, taking the knife with her and offering the pen in its place.

  Too late to turn back now. Erina accepted and wrote her name in dark red at the end of the oath. She couldn't resist the feeling that she had just done something she wasn't supposed to. Is that all it takes? With that, I just…?

  "So that's how you write it," noted Akira. As the guard took away the paper and the knife, she turned to Hiro. "Sir. Can I take it that there's no problem now?"

  "…Indeed." Hiro watched and let it all happen in front of him. "There is one more matter before you begin your investigation, however." His eyes narrowed over his steepled fingers. "Is the Akanaga Family in any position to disrespect the Kirigami Family by assaulting their men?"

  Erina opened her mouth, but Akira stepped in front of her before a word could come out.

  "Word travels fast," she muttered under her breath. Akira bowed her head. "We will make amends. I will not bring trouble to the family, sir."

  Hiro nodded slowly. "See to it that you don't. Every finger on both hands is worthless coming from you."

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  "I understand." Akira raised her head and met his harsh gaze. "That is all I have to report."

  "Then be on your way."

  "Thank you for your time, sir."

  They bowed again and left the way they came. It was just Akira and Erina in the elevator as it descended back towards the city.

  "Akira?" Erina eventually said.

  "I'm listening," said Akira, "just say it."

  "Right." Erina narrowly avoided stuttering. "Doesn't that sector belong to you?"

  "Yeah."

  "So those men trespassed onto your territory?"

  "Yeah."

  "Then wouldn't that mean the wrongdoing—"

  "Doesn't matter." Akira's eyes were locked forward. "As far as the clan goes, I'm just the little finger of the Kano Clan. A dead sector like mine is no man's land. No one wants to try turning a profit off it. Nobody's coming to back me up if I pick a fight. Sometimes it's not worth the hell you'd have to raise to stand your ground." She looked at Erina. "Something you know pretty well by now too."

  "Excuse me?"

  "You're calm." Akira smiled wryly. "Forced to sign your life away in front of one of the most dangerous men in the country, deep in the heart of yakuza HQ, and your fingers don't even shake. Grown adults would be wetting themselves for less. Aren't you scared?"

  "Yes," admitted Erina quietly. "I am scared. But I have nothing else I can do. I can't fight you and hope to win. Even if I run, I have nowhere to go. There isn't any life for me to go back to."

  Akira adjusted her weight, resting a hand on her hip as she watched her.

  That was right. It didn't matter if Erina escaped. If the laboratory was Akira's territory, she couldn't even retreat there. Not a single other option presented itself.

  "I have no say in the matter," concluded Erina. "All I can do is all I can do. So I am."

  Akira whistled a low note. "And clear-headed too. You're making me want to induct you for real."

  She blinked. "For real?" she repeated. "But the oath I signed just now…"

  "You are still mine, mind." Akira shot her a cool grin. Whatever else she was thinking, she didn't bother to elaborate.

  Ding. The elevator opened.

  "First things first," said Akira. "Come with me. We've got a long ride ahead of us."

  They got in an expensive-looking car and set off. Akira slipped a few inches down in her seat as she leaned on the side of the car, watching the buildings go by. Erina couldn't help but think how strange it already felt to see Akira, fearsome and menacing as she could be, doing something that made her look so small.

  The soft hum of the engine and the vibration of the car made Erina's eyelids grow heavy. She fought it off and opened her eyes as best she could. They were heading away from the city center again.

  Where were they going? Building after building flitted past them on the road. As they left the city, the buildings gave way to a view of the other highways around them, glimpses of the forested mountains beyond sneaking in between. Erina gently swayed with the rocking of the car. She knew she was technically involved in the altercation, but would she be held at fault too? What sort of role did Akira want Erina to play on this trip? She didn't know the first thing about this strange lifestyle.

  Akira seemed lost in thought as she stared out the window. Erina didn't know what was going on in that head. She had saved her, but Erina still didn't know whether she could trust her. But then again, who else did she have to turn to?

  The soft drizzle had stopped. On the fading horizon near the setting sun, Erina could see the first break in the clouds. The sky was cast in beautiful hues of orange and dark blue. The evening set in as their car carried on down the highway towards its destination.

  In the reflection in the window, Akira watched Erina's eyes flutter shut as she drifted off into a quiet slumber.