"Alright. Oh, no problem. Haven't dropped it off yet. Luckily." Ryoji Kaji wiped off the wound on the back of his hand and slightly turned his shoulder to fix his phone to ear. There wasn't blood anymore, so he squeezed the slightly-blood-soaked gauze to the sink and turned on the faucet. Red trickles, clearly visible even in the dark, were all gone in a second. "I guess. Yeah. Ah, it was fine. The cargo was cooperative. Thanks for asking."

Except for the last-resort-biting right before the packaging, after the failed negotiation and quick but brutal wrestling that ended in Kaji overpowering him handily. Kaji checked his wounded hand again, smirking, while extending his other hand to the side to rip off some tissues, and began to wipe the sink. Not like he could hide the trace from a dedicated investigator this way, so this was close to a silly habit he had. A sort of occupational disease. He had to shrug again to adjust the phone, his motion almost making it slip out. "It's nothing serious, right?" Half angry, half dumbfounded answer. "I mean, not serious serious. Yeah. Figured."

While the tired voice continued over the phone, Kaji put the used tissue in the toilet and flushed. By the time the redish tissues disappeared with the pink vortex, the voice also stopped. There was no one to watch it, but nonetheless he nodded to the mirror. "That's good to hear. Yeah. Later, then. Kaji out."

Some boring parting words, by the voice screaming mental fatigue, then it was over. He slipped his phone into the pocket and clicked his tongue. It would be a lie if he didn't feel slightly annoyed to know this admittedly non-small trouble was for nothing. As for the emergency he just was informed through the call, he didn't give much thought, honestly. It wouldn't have much effect in the long run, he thought, so it left a little impression on him.

He opened the folding door to the stale, stuffy air. The afternoon sun was heating up the air that was trapped by closed windows. From the spotless sink that was a testament to the character of its manager came a stinging yet intoxicating smell of detergent, amplified by hot air. And other smells, too, something even the dominant and strong smell couldn't completely overpower. The smell of the inhabitants of this house, fused into dark corners of the walls and the ceiling and the sliding door papers and everywhere. The smell of life going on.

There was nothing special about it, but somehow it made Kaji engulfed in feelings he could not explain himself. A mish-mash lump of conflicting emotions that felt like longing but at the same time disgust, drawn but at the same time repulsed. He stood still at the threshold between the bathroom and the kitchen in confusion for a while, then shook his head and moved again. He suddenly wanted to smoke, but he'll have to wait for that. He didn't want to leave his mark in this place. Or contribute his own scent to the mix, so to speak. Half crossing the kitchen to the icebox between the table and the refrigerator, he knelt and undid the plastic lock. Before he could proceed the whole box shook from side to side and the lid flew off, nearly exploding away. The would-be kidnapping victim jumped up from inside, raised his head, and was mortified after finding his would-be abductor. Kaji flashed his easygoing smirk to the distrustful beady eyes.

"I'm afraid the onsen trip is canceled, little friend."

"Wark!"

His little black eyes were so animated and full of emotions, more than Kaji often saw in many people's eyes in his business. He couldn't resist a bitter smile at that thought. What an interesting pet choice Katsuragi made. "One of your roommates was seriously injured during today's operation, they say."

The creature tilted his head. Whether he understood what was spoken to him or not, the spy wasn't sure. Kaji, for a moment, thought about patting his head as people often did to dogs and cats, but recalled what happened earlier and stopped. Instead he shook his head and stood up.

"Bye, then. Have a good day."