. The laboratory unit hung just a few stories above the roiling ocean of primordial mana. Small capsules like the one they found Erina in lined the walls, all manner of tubes and cables hanging from the ceiling and connecting to them. Metal cylinders enclosed them, concealing their glass. A hole in the inner wall near the corner of the ceiling revealed the interior workings of the unit between its outer metal shell and the white room inside. A clear pipe pumped a faintly glowing green liquid, its source and destination alike unseen.

  Screens turned on above the capsules, dominating the wall. Most were filled with red zeroes, their capsules empty. The largest screen read, UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.

  "Oh, right." Pinning her phone between her head and her shoulder, Akira reached into her pocket and held up a lock of black hair.

  Several panels on the walls flipped out on mechanical arms with small blue lights on their ends. They looked at the strand of hair and then at Akira. The text on the screen changed.

  DNA MATCH FOUND. SECONDARY BIOMETRICS VERIFIED.

  PROXY AUTHENTICATION GRANTED. WELCOME, AKIRA.

  The panels retracted, blending seamlessly into the white surface. The metal shell lowered around one capsule with a quiet whirr. Akira set her call to video and held out her phone. "Here it is, sir."

  A small column of bubbles floated through the suspension liquid to the top of the capsule and drained away. Rotating slowly in the middle was the bound figure of the tiny dragon, still buried under layers of seals. Faint red light pulsed in waves through the talismans.

  "Yamata no Orochi, you claim." Hiro observed it through the other side of the screen. "I warned you not to let the Association involve themselves."

  "You have my sincerest apologies, sir."

  Hiro leaned back in his office, looking at something else off-camera. The sound of flipping papers came through the call. "Entertainment district is fine as always," he noted. "Very high market earnings. The deal with the Association went through with your assistance. I see your contribution has been exceptional this quarter. I suppose I should've expected as much from you." He returned his attention to her. "I'll overlook it this once."

  "Thank you very much, sir." Akira could tell from his tone she couldn't rely on any mercy again. She changed the phone camera to face her and stepped back as it floated in the air. "There has been no sign of activity from the Kirigami Family since then. Kirigami himself is also missing. My men have begun acquiring their resources and territory. Discussions are underway."

  "Good." Hiro sat back, a cigarette in hand. "Seven years ago, you appeared to me, offering your services. You cleared the path to consolidate what would become the Kano Clan in a time of turmoil… but since then, you have done nothing but busy yourself with the entertainment district. Most would say you wasted your time with a dead sector. The turf wars, infighting, uprisings since then—you hardly lifted a finger." A mocking smile crossed his face. "Word of mouth was that you'd lost your touch."

  Akira didn't avert her eyes.

  "It's good to see your fangs are still there. I'd only tolerate a desk jockey in your position for so long, after all." Hiro angled his chair away, turning his attention to something else she couldn't see. "Well done, Lieutenant Akanaga. I expect more great things from you in the future."

  "Of course. Thank you, sir."

  The call cut out. Akira kicked the table in annoyance, leaving a dent in the thin metal.

  What a pain in the ass. She shouldn't have sold off all those tsuchinoko so fast. Now he expected her to pull in the same profits again by next quarter. Ugh.

  She got a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it. She still needed to visit Erina proper. She'd only had time to stop by in the dead of night after the battle and confirm Erina had made it home before she had to fulfill her other responsibilities. So many meetings, so many deals, so many vipers slavering and waiting for the first sign of weakness they got. Sometimes she wondered why she ever bothered climbing the ladder when this was all she ever got to do. The glitz and the glory didn't mean a damn thing to her. Never did from the start.

  A cloud of smoke filled the air before Akira. No, actually. She knew full well why she was here.

  Or rather, she'd had a reminder from a certain young girl recently.

  The ember burned bright as she breathed in again. A long, slow exhale. Her shoulders loosened. It'd been nothing but work, work, work until this moment, and she needed to defuse right now. The politicking, the negotiations, she'd think about it later.

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  "Ugh." Erina rolled over and out of bed, right onto the floor. She squirmed and got to her feet, bleary-eyed and still in her pajamas. "Coming…" Sure enough, it was Yuuta again for who knows how many days in a row. "I appreciate it, but don't you have classes to attend…?"

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  "I thought about asking the same to you, Emisane-san," he said as she let him in. "But also, it's afternoon."

  Erina squinted into the sunlight through the open door. "Oh… it is."

  "I'll prepare something to eat. You go ahead and—" Yuuta faltered all of a sudden, his composure breaking. "Um, get dressed, or, you know, whatever it is you need to do…"

  By the time she came out of the bathroom fully dressed and feeling a little more awake, food was already waiting on the table. Omelets and broiled chicken with seasoning over rice were the order of the day.

  "Thank you for the meal," said Erina, now in her usual attire. "And thank you for the hard work. I'm in your debt."

  "How are you feeling?" said Yuuta as they sat down. "It's been a few days."

  "You didn't have to go so far for me. I appreciate it, but even so…"

  "It's not like I could just walk away after I got here. You had bruises all over." He pointed out where they used to be on his own skin. "Here, here, here, here… everywhere. I'm not trying to pry, and I get it if you don't want to talk. But when I come over and I see you looking like that, I can't exactly turn around and walk away the next day hoping it'll all be okay on its own. It doesn't sit right with me."

  Erina swallowed a mouthful of food. It was good. "…Thank you."

  "So, with that said…" Yuuta's eyes flicked about the apartment. "Would you mind telling me what happened?"

  Her chopsticks stopped. This was a regular human, she reminded herself. She had to be careful with what she said, lest she attract the Association's attention.

  Knock.

  "Another visitor…? I'll get the door." Erina got up. Who else was going to pay her a visit?

  "Yo, Erina." Akira grinned and invited herself in with a large briefcase in hand. "Sorry, took me a while to get around to coming here. Business stops for none of us. Good to see you made it back in one piece. How's—"

  Gold eyes slid across the room to Yuuta and she stopped in her tracks.

  Erina stiffened. Yuuta looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He didn't need to know who exactly she was; one look and the alarm bells were going off in his head.

  "Wouldja look at that," said Akira airily. "And this is?"

  "This is Takeuchi-san," said Erina. "He was here to visit me while I recovered."

  "This chump over here?" hooted Akira. "Since when did you get all chummy with some…" She trailed off, her eyes still fixed on the boy. "Group of five or so kids," she muttered to herself, too quiet for him to hear. "Asked for her number."

  Erina shivered as a low snarl bled into her patriarch's tone.

  "You were there…"

  "He doesn't know anything," said Erina quickly. It was a fight to keep her voice down. "He doesn't know anything at all." She looked over her shoulder and said to him, "Thank you for everything. I truly mean it. And I'm sorry, but I need you to go now. Please."

  Yuuta's eyes were on Akira. Slowly, methodically, he pushed his chair back, rose to his feet, and stepped around the table.

  "Am I supposed to know you?" said Yuuta.

  "Better that you don't." Akira grinned. "And even better if you keep it that way."

  "She's my…" Erina trailed off. Somehow, she got the feeling that 'patriarch' was the last thing she should say right now. Manager didn't seem like the right fit. And caretaker was a little hard to say, all things considered…

  "I'm the one looking out for Erina," said Akira. "Shame it's been a hectic couple of days. Wish I could've turned up sooner. I'm taking it you've been the one keeping an eye on her while I was out." Her eyes roved about the apartment, taking in the used pots and pans. "Looking real comfortable here too! Been visiting often?"

  "Every day for the past several days," he said warily. "You say you're looking out for her when she's as banged up as this?"

  "Look, kid," said Akira, "I'm not here to beef with you. You been checking in while I had my hands full? Lemme put it like this, then." She made sure he was looking right at her. "You have my gratitude. Thanks."

  Erina blinked.

  "And I'm gonna need you to scram now," said Akira. "Go on."

  "That doesn't answer my question!" said Yuuta.

  "You know, every once in a while, there's some things in the world you're better off not knowing. Only makes life harder. That's one of them."

  He stepped forward. "If you've been hurting her—"

  The patriarch's gaze sharpened into a cutting glare and he froze on the spot. Erina felt her heart squeeze tight.

  Akira closed her eyes. She turned away, exhaling. It'd be so, so easy to do what she wanted right now. What a shame things couldn't ever be simple.

  She chuckled and put her easiest, lightest grin on as she turned back. "You like Erina. Am I right, or am I right?"

  "Huh?! Well, no—we've barely had a chance to talk, but—I mean—that's not…" Yuuta pointed a finger at her and loudly declared, "W-What does that have to do with anything?!"

  "Exaa~actly. No need to get carried away! It's not Romeo and Juliet, no big final farewell with thunder and lightning as the world comes crumblin' down. Life goes on, the world keeps on spinning, and tonight you can call her up and make sure she's all safe and sound. She's been good to me, anyway. Last thing I'm lookin' to do is boot her into the frying pan. So—if you're cool with it, our dear gallant noble friend—I'll be taking a slice of her time right now, 'kay?"

  Yuuta bristled. "Can you at least tell me what's going on?"

  "Only thing I can't give you," she shrugged.

  He turned to Erina.

  "It was… something I resolved to go through with," she said. "I can't tell you what. I'm sorry." She managed to catch his eyes glancing her way. "Please trust me."

  Yuuta and Akira looked at each other again.

  "I got some respect for you, kid," she said lightly. "Head full o' rocks, but heart in the right place. Good to see a man sticking his neck out for what he thinks is right. So, a word of advice for a friend of a friend."

  "I'm listening," he said.

  The smile faded off her face.

  "I've got my own position to think about," she said in a low voice. "So this is the last time I'll say it. You're not in the game. And if I were you, I wouldn't start playing."

  "In the game…?" he muttered. Erina could've sworn she saw the neurons connecting in his brain, and his eyes went wide. A chair tipped over as he started. "You're with the y—!"

  "Shhhh-shh-shh-shh." Akira put a finger to her lips. "What did I just say? I like you, so let's keep it a clean break between us. Erina, let him know how you're doing later tonight."

  "Um," said Erina. "Yes, si… I mean, yes. I'll be in contact." Catching his glance, she gently insisted, "It's okay. I promise."

  Akira stepped aside, out of his way to the door. Yuuta left, but not without one last lingering look at Erina in her apartment with the yakuza at her side.

  Akira closed the door behind him. She thumped her back against it and blew out a hard breath. "Regulars are a real pain," she said. "One wrong word and the Association's got both sides on the hook. Not the best look today, yeah, Erina?"

  "Erm," she said. "I don't…"

  "It's okay. I don't need to hear it." Unknotting the hard lines of her expression, Akira softened her gaze and looked back up. "Your food's going cold, by the way."

  And whose fault was that…? But Erina kept that one in.