Kamimizu's jaw clenched. It was all her fault. Ayaka had suffered such abuse for six weeks, all because she chose to go to Paris with Kamikaze and Nihon Hiro Chimu, to help the Heroes of Paris stop the Turtle. She had been trapped in Angola for all that time, and Ayaka had been left here to wonder if she was even still alive – and to pray for an end to her suffering. Thinking back on the pain she had endured, on the false promises Ishii-san had given her, Kamimizu could almost feel her blood starting to boil. She had done so much for Ayaka – there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to keep her sister safe! But she had failed.

Walking the streets of Tokyo, searching for any sign of Nihon Hiro Chimu, any chance to protect Ayaka, there was nothing for Kamimizu to do but think about her actions, about her failures and how they had led her here.

So many of those decisions had been hers. She had decided to look for adventure in Tokyo. She had listened to the man who offered to pay their way there and help them get established. And she had listened to Kamikaze and joined him on that ill-fated trip to Paris. Did she regret that decision? Even for as much as seeing her sister's pain had stung… no. In Paris, in Angola, in Tarascon, she had used this gift to help people, something she had only been able to do a handful of times previously. When she had first begun the training, when she had unshackled her Chikara and put it to use in service of the Yakuza, her first emotion had been relief to be free from her previous station, from the shame and dishonor of prostitution… only for that relief to turn back to shame when she had realized that her situation was little different now than it had been before. Ayaka was still at the Yakuza's brothel. But now, she wasn't there to protect her. And still she was the Yakuza's property, their weapon.

But why? Why had she unlocked this gift? What made her different from all the other girls? It had to have come to her for a reason, right? But, far from turning it toward a noble purpose, she was using her gift against poor, helpless, innocent people, little different from herself or her sister or the parents they had left behind. That had only changed when she was in Joetsu, when she and the others had worked together to protect the city from tidal waves and then had fought against the Turtle alongside Nihon Hiro Chimu and the other heroes. And that had felt good! She had really been making a difference!

How could she go back to serving the Yakuza after that?

And yet, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Kamihenyo while walking down the streets of Tokyo and searching for signs of Nihon Hiro Chimu, she had to accept that this was who she was. She had to do Kamisenshi's bidding – in this just as much as she had when he first patronized her on her arrival at Tanoshi Endingu. Her position may have changed, but she still belonged to him. In Tarascon, she had imagined a future where she could leave Kamisenshi… but that had been a fool's dream. She would always belong to him – him and Ishii-san.

The only positive to come out of this entire ordeal was that if she could stop Nihon Hiro Chimu, then maybe Ishii-san would release Ayaka.

"Hey," Kamihenyo called, snapping her fingers in front of Kamimizu's face, "you still with me?"

Kamimizu blinked, shook her head, and nodded. "Sorry; I was just thinking." She frowned, eyeing Kamihenyo carefully. "After working alongside of them for months, doesn't it feel strange to you that we're hunting down Nihon Hiro Chimu now?"

Kamihenyo's mouth set in a thin line, working her jaw, and looked away. "I…" she sighed, giving Kamimizu a helpless look. "We don't exactly have to like our assignments, do we? I'm glad we were able to… to do what we did in Europe. It was nice to be able to help the heroes. But did that really change who we are? Does that really change our position? We're still kobun – our lives still belong to Kamisenshi. That means we have a job to do here." Her mouth twisted around in an expression of distaste. "Better to just get it over with as soon as we can."

Kamimizu hummed, nodding reluctantly, and glanced down the cross street they were approaching. The two of them were walking down a street a little north of downtown Tokyo, not far from where Kamihikari and Kamiikioi had fought Ryoku and Kunoichi a few nights earlier. In the late afternoon sunlight, the skyscrapers lining the street cast long shadows, obscuring the sidewalk on the west side of the street while bathing the opposite sidewalk in light, almost blinding her with the reflection. She furrowed her brows. "I wonder if Kamitsuchi or Kamiseikaku is having any better luck," she grumbled.

Kamihenyo shrugged. "They can't be doing any worse than we are," she pointed out. "Didn't Kamitsuchi say he would check near the Nihonto Yunyo building? I somehow doubt that Ronin has gone near there since winter."

Nodding, Kamimizu crossed the street, checking the roofs of the buildings they were passing as she went. So often, it seemed that Nihon Hiro Chimu went out at night; Kamisenshi's logic, it seemed, was to flood the city before sunset, and hope that they could get lucky But at the moment, her feet hurt, her legs were tired, and she wanted nothing more than to return to her apartment and rest. "This is useless," she complained, pursing her lips in annoyance. "There's no way we will find them like this."

"Maybe not," Kamihenyo allowed, glancing across the street as they crossed. "but this keeps Kamisenshi happy, doesn't it?" Kamimizu was silent. "The happier we keep him, the better it is for everyone. Besides," Kamihenyo continued, jerking her head across the street and turning to examine the window next to them, "fortune sometimes favors us…"

Kamimizu glanced in the indicated direction, and her breathing hitched in shock and she spun to study the decorative vase in the display window next to them, only barely noticing the object as her eyes scanned the reflection in the window. There stood Ronin, standing just outside of a high-rise apartment building and looking up and down the street, a long cloak breaking up his profile to hide the two sheaths at his side. He seemed not to have spotted them; he made no move in their direction. Instead, he turned and walked briskly down the street to a moped parked next to a traffic light, hopped onto it, and took off, driving up one block before turning at a signal arrow and speeding off to the west.

"Fortune favors us, indeed," Kamimizu mused, staring after him.

"You think he lives there?" muttered Kamihenyo, pointing across the street at the building he had left.. "If he does, we could end this right here and now."

Kamimizu's eyes widened. "Wait, go after his family?"

Kamihenyo hesitated, looking away. "I mean, it's just a possibility," she mumbled. She coughed, her voice growing stronger. "Look, I don't like it any more than you do, but just the threat might serve as enough of a deterrent that he backs down. That gets Nihon Hiro Chimu out of our way, and no one has to get hurt – and that includes your sister. Don't you think that would be worth it?"

Kamimizu gave her an annoyed look. "I'm not saving my sister by threatening Ronin's sister – at least, not if there's any other option available." She furrowed her brows in thought. "We can make note of this building and explore it in depth later. For now, we need to follow him, see where he's going."

"If we're going to do that, we'd better be quick about it," Kamihenyo grumbled, glancing up and down the street quickly before spotting a motorcycle parked in front of the convenience store a little further ahead. Ronin and his moped were already out of sight. Picking up a stone, Kamihenyo furrowed her brows in concentration as she slowly, carefully pushed the new-malleable rock into the ignition and turned. The motorcycle roared to life, and she climbed onto the seat and raised an eyebrow at Kamimizu meaningfully. Reluctantly, Kamimizu clambered onto the block and grabbed onto her, holding tightly as Kamihenyo revved the engine. Someone came out of the convenience store next to them, waving one hand in the air. But Kamimizu did not acknowledge him, all her focus on the motorcycle. Kamihenyo tore down the street at the bike's maximum speed. In moments they were racing after Ronin, turning west just in time to catch sight of him as he turned again. "Better let the others know we spotted him!" Kamihenyo called over her shoulder.

With a sigh, Kamimizu carefully pulled out her phone and hit the button, holding onto Kamihenyo tightly.

Ronin led them on a circuitous route across the city, through several neighborhoods and even past a pair of Yakuza hideouts. Three or four times, he took an extra dozen turns, doubling back on his route before continuing. Kamihenyo dropped back, placing a few cars between them so Ronin was only barely visible through the gaps. Each time, Kamimizu gritted her teeth, certain that they were about to be spotted, but Ronin continued to drive, not acting as though he knew they were following. Twice, he sped around a corner so fast that Kamimizu clung to Kamihenyo for dear life. Finally, he made a right turn and pulled up along the side of the road, slowing down to a crawl as he did so. Seeing this, Kamihenyo ducked down a side street just in time, and they watched around the corner as Kamikaze climbed onto the moped behind Ronin and they raced off. Kamihenyo took off after them, moving as fast as their motorcycle could go. Ronin turned another several times, doubled back, and led them all around Tokyo until he stopped and killed the engine a little more than a block away from a familiar neighborhood. It was a little more than an hour after they had first spotted Ronin when he and Kamikaze dismounted from the moped to continue the rest of the way on foot. Recognizing the location, Kamimizu's breath caught in her throat, a lump forming. What was he doing here?

"Why would they come here?" murmured Kamihenyo, pulling over to the curb and parking the motorcycle. Her mouth set in a thin line. The streets in this neighborhood were far too empty for them to go unnoticed on the motorcycle now; they would have to continue on foot.

Kamimizu shook her head jerkily, not taking her eyes off of Ronin and Kamikaze. Quickly she and Kamihenyo pressed against the buildings they were passing, sprinting between buildings to keep up with the other two. Finally, Ronin ducked into an alleyway, as Kamikaze propelled himself up onto the roof above. Looking up and down the street surreptitiously, Kamimizu stepped into the space between two buildings and sprinted down to the end, Kamihenyo hot on her heels. On reaching the next street, she looked out anxiously, searching for the street for any sign of Ronin or Kamikaze.

Instead, she saw a woman in a long kimono, hair immaculately done up on top of her head and face painted pure white, walking brazenly up the street. Kamimizu's breathing hitched on catching sight of the painted lotus on the wall next to her. But, without turning her head in either direction, the geisha pushed open the door of Tanoshi Endingu and stepped inside.

Kamihenyo blinked, mouth hanging slightly open. "Was–was that–no. It couldn't have been… Bu-Geisha?"

Kamimizu continued to stare at the brothel door. "What's she doing here?"