With both the front and rear entrances to the storeroom securely barricaded, Hanna and Rob settle down among packs of paper towels arranged to allow the couple to rest in relative comfort, Rob in Hanna's arms, both laying on their backs.

"It's nice being this way around for a change," Rob smiles, his eyes closed yet still wide awake.

"If I still had my tail, it'd be even nicer," Hanna sighs.

"Your legs make a more than adequate substitute," Rob compliments.

"And the stroking feels good," Hanna smiles.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"At one of the kill‑zones, you mentioned you wanted to be a teacher or carer," Rob reminds. "But before you could explain why you mentioned that, there was a breach and we joined the fight."

"That's not a question," Hanna replies. "Maria reminds me of the children I used to mentor," she adds a few moments later.

"Even though you're not much more than a year older than her."

"Age is irrelevant: it's the way she acts."

"Fair enough," Rob accepts.

"I like the fact she manages to retain her innocence, at least superficially," Hanna continues. "I lost mine a long time ago."

"The accident?"

"Yeah."

"And Maria is, in a way, a link to that lost innocence?"

Hanna pauses a moment. "I guess… Never thought about it that way before."

"We'll get her back."

"I know."

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Eh, why not."

"If I wasn't around, would you have ended up dating Maria?"

"That's a weird thing to ask," Hanna comments. "Any particular reason?"

"Curiosity."

"Fair enough." Hanna thinks a moment. "It would be interesting, that's for sure."

"You'd make a cute couple."

"So would you and Danny."

Rob can't help but chuckle at the thought. "It could work, but I prefer girls," he flirts.

"And I prefer boys," Hanna flirts in return.

"We should get some sleep," Rob suggests. "An hour should be enough to return to full strength."

"Are we safe here?" Hanna asks.

"No‑one can break in without waking you up," Rob assures.

"Works for me," Hanna smiles, closing her eyes.

A few moments later, the Skarletts slip into a restful yet wary sleep.

While the Skarletts sleep, an olive lynx arrives at the warehouse. Sticking to the shadows, the lynx sneaks silently into the building, her crimson eyes scanning every detail. Slowly, the lynx works her way through the warehouse, ninjato drawn and held in front of her, her ears constantly on the move, listening for even the slightest noises. Occasionally, she freezes in place at unexpected sounds, though it only takes a moment to recognise them as urban fauna.

After a few minutes, the lynx arrives at what remains of Tsubaki's improvised torture device. The lynx pauses in momentary confusion, then after checking the coast is clear, she sprints to the wreckage. Sheathing her sword, the lynx drops to all‑fours and sniffs around. They were here.

As the lynx continues her investigation, she starts to piece together the events that unfolded. But it's not until she looks up that she works out the final details. Hit by a sudden wave of surprise and shock, the lynx's eyes flicker between crimson and auburn as her emotions fight the power of the Shade Virus. Fighting back tears, she dashes away from the scene and hides behind a crate to calm down.

After a few minutes, the lynx emerges from behind the crate, her resolve recovered, and the Shade Virus back in full control. Returning to the wreckage, she once again drops to all‑fours. This time, she picks up the scent trail, and follows it out of the warehouse.

Outside, the lynx pauses, whistles a brief tune mimicking birdsong, then continues following the scent trail. Moments later, an ochre badger follows, his message to Kaede Himura already arriving at its destination.

A couple of miles away, Kaede stops when she senses a vibration in her pocket. She pulls out the compact communication device Arata Bando gave her and checks the message she just received. "Knew it."

Now it's Tsubaki's turn to stop. "Focus, Kaede. We're meant to be finding a way in."

"So, you don't want to know how badly your fear theatre failed," Kaede taunts.

"That rig was inescapable," Tsubaki mistakenly corrects.

"You'd be surprised what you can escape from," Kaede smirks. "Take it from someone who knows from experience."

"Another one of your repellent perversions?" Tsubaki inquires, refusing to hide her disgust.

"Extensive training, actually," Kaede corrects. "With the odd bit of recreation here and there," she adds quietly.

"Since you're the expert, how did they do it?"

"Dunno."

"You know what the rig was."

"Doesn't mean I know its weak points."

"Then stop wasting my time." Tsubaki turns to continue her search for a way into Kasai‑dojo.

"If I had to guess though: mechanical failure of the rig itself," Kaede guesses.

Tsubaki stops and turns to face Kaede, her expression one of thunder. "How dare you‽ My work is always impeccable!"

"Can you think of any other way?" Kaede replies calmly.

Tsubaki turns away with a snort of derision and resumes her search.

"What load was the ratchet rated for?" Kaede asks.

"It's irrelevant anyway," Tsubaki states with finality. "The strain on their limbs would have been so great, they won't be fit to fight for some time. They won't get far without resting, and with your slaves having already been to the warehouse, they won't be far behind. The Skarletts will be dead by sundown."

"A thousand yen they survive the night," Kaede bets.

"I don't gamble," Tsubaki refuses.

"That means you have doubts," Kaede taunts smugly.

Tsubaki refuses to answer.

The lynx arrives at an abandoned convenience store, led there by the scent trail. Replacing speed with caution, the lynx silently enters the store to find the interior rich with the scent of vixen and hare. Momentarily confused by the ubiquity of the scents, the lynx forgoes her sense of smell and scans the shelves. They've been raided for food… Cereals, cold meat… carbs and protein… not sure if that's icky or yummy.

Eventually, the lynx finds the door to the storeroom. Placing her ear flat against it, she listens intently. Two people… shallow breathing… asleep. He's snoring slightly, which is icky; purring is cuter. The lynx backs away from the door. They'll have barricaded every entrance in a way that breaking through will wake them. I'll need another way in…

Meanwhile, Tsubaki Moto and Kaede Himura finally find a way into the dojo.

"About time!" Tsubaki exclaims, striding confidently across the border.

"Hold on," Kaede cautions. "Don't you think it a little suspicious that the perimeter is so well‑defended except for this bit?"

"Obviously," Tsubaki confirms. "Won't stop me."

"You're walking into a kill‑zone!" Kaede warns, hesitating at the border.

"I know," Tsubaki acknowledges. "And I'll be doing the killing."

Kaede watches Tsubaki draw her swords and disappear into the shadows of the dojo. This is a very bad idea… Reluctantly, Kaede takes her tekko‑kagi in hand and follows Tsubaki into the dojo.

After an hour's sleep, Hanna wakes naturally, feeling much stronger and well refreshed. That worked wonders. Not quite there, but enough to get moving again. Hanna yawns and stretches, taking care not to disturb Rob, who is still asleep and snoring lightly. I'll give him a couple more minutes, then wake him up. Hanna then opens her eyes.

A pair of crimson eyes stare at her from the shadows.

Hanna almost jumps out her fur in surprise, scrambling backwards as best she can. Her movements wake Rob up, who reacts the same when he sees the crimson eyes.

"I thought you barricaded us in‽" Hanna hisses to Rob.

"I did!" Rob confirms. "There must have been another way in!"

The crimson eyes point up. Hanna and Rob look to the ceiling to see the open skylight.

"How did we not notice that?" Rob asks.

"There's only one person I know who could sneak in through that without waking me up," Hanna realises, her voice tinged with sadness.

Maria Shanmao emerges from the shadows, her ninjato and tanto in hand, murderous intent flashing in her crimson eyes.