Mazeru was a Japanese restaurant that had a little bit of everything, so finding something to eat off the menu was no difficult task for Fat Gum and his interns. They ordered their drinks, chatted a bit, then jumped into enjoying their meal as Risa brought it over. After a while, though, Seiryo came over to their section and asked how everything tasted.

"It's delicious!" Red Riot answered with a grin.

Seiryo chuckled. "I am glad to hear it." His gaze shifted to Fat Gum when he noticed that he was eying him. "Good to see you again, son."

Fat Gum dipped his head slightly towards him. "Been a long while, Mr. Fukuhara."

"So you're the heroes that saved my granddaughter yesterday?"

"Whoah, she's your granddaughter?"

Seiryo's smile grew. "Yes, Risa is all I have in fact since my wife passed away a few years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Seiryo looked back to Fat Gum. "Thank you, but it's alright. She had been sick for a long time if you recall."

Fat Gum nodded. "Cancer, right?"

Seiryo nodded. "It was time for her to rest." He looked to Risa as she laughed with some of the other customers. "Losing her was hard, harder on Risa I think than she lets on, but I know she stays strong for my sake and always finds a way to be happy."

Fat Gum looked to Risa as she moved on to a different table. "She seems like a good kid."

"She's hardly a kid anymore," Seiryo said with a laugh, "she's about your age, Fat Gum. In fact, she'll be twenty-seven in a few months."

At the main entrance of Mazeru, the bell jingled and a tall husky man walked in with half a dozen other guys with him. Risa turned to greet them, seeing that it was who she had been warned would be coming in today by Yoshi and the boys.

"Welcome back to Mazeru, please feel free to sit anywhere."

Back at the bar, Seiryo sighed. "Matsuro..."

"Matsuro Hidagaya, what's he doing here?"

"Mazeru is a place where everyone is welcome," Risa said as she came over to the employee side of the bar, "regardless of position or line of work. You respect our rules and everyone here, I don't care who you are. Everyone deserves good food and a welcoming atmosphere."

Seiryo looked at Risa. "Did I hear right about his lady friend?"

Risa nodded. "And apparently, he's extra bitter today so maybe have a round of sake ready just in case?"

"Understood."

Fat Gum and his interns watched as Risa approached Matsuro's table, handing them their menus and taking their order.

"Wow, she's handling him like a pro," Red Riot said in a low voice.

"Risa is like that with everyone," Seiryo said, pulling out a bottle of sake and placing it to the side, "she's no stranger to his kind."

"Is she...?" Fat Gum started to ask.

Seiryo shook his head, knowing his question even as it remained unspoken. "She's aware of our familial ties to that crowd, but I left that life behind me when I met Tsugi and have kept it from spilling over into our lives here. Any sort of talk in regards to what goes on there is forbidden on Mazeru property."

"I see." Fat Gum watched Risa moving from table to table, ignoring Matsuro as he grew impatient for his order and began demanding things left and right. He knew the man had a terrible temper, but that's not what surprised him. What surprised him was how it didn't phase Risa at all.

"Matsuro, your order is in the works, you know how long it takes. Don't let your personal shit get in the way of me or Gramps doing my job, m'kay?" Risa gave him a stern look, then walked away to clear away a table after the people who had been sitting there had left.

Off to the side, someone snickered and Fat Gum had to smile a bit. 'She's spunky.'

"Stupid bitch..." Matsuro grumbled. "Who does she think she is humiliating me like that...?"

Risa rolled her eyes and made her way to the washroom to deposit the dirty dishes. She started scraping the food remnants into the bin and rinsing them off before placing them in the washrack, but she didn't get very far as Matsuro yet again started to complain about the service.

Seiryo raised a hand and told her to wait a moment, then grabbed the bottle of sake and some cups for Matsuro's table.

Risa leaned against the doorway, arms crossed with a towel draped over her shoulder, and watched as her grandfather tried to appease Matsuro with the distraction of liquor.

"You OK, miss?"

Risa looked to the heroes in training, offering them a smile. "Yeah, just tired of this guy's crap. He's never this bad, but he's always been bad-tempered and it scares some of our regulars." She pushed back from the doorframe and started to go back towards the washroom, stopping when she heard glass shattering and people gasping.

Out on the floor, Matsuro smacked the bottle of sake- a type of sake that was not cheap- out of Seiryo's hand and onto the floor. He pushed Seiryo back as he stood and began berating the old man- despite one of his entourage trying to stop him.

"Matsuro!"

Matsuro looked up to find Risa coming over, glaring at him. "What do you want, pipsqueak?"

Risa checked on her grandfather first, then stood in front of him and crossed her arms as she continued to glare up at Matsuro. "You have to pay for that bottle, first of all, and second of all, you've got some major balls thinking you can push Gramps around like that. Pay for the bottle, apologize, then get the hell out."

Fat Gum watched as Risa took charge of the situation, wondering if he would need to step in at all. The rest of the customers had gone silent and watched as Matsuro tried to argue with Risa and intimidate her.

"I don't give a flying rat's ass what you have to say right now, Matsuro," Risa shot back, her eyes narrowing. "Pay for the bottle, apologize to Gramps, and get the hell out. I'm not going to say it again."

"And what are you going to do about it, little girl? Get your hero friends to come to your rescue?" He laughed and spit on the floor.

Off to the side, someone winced and shook their head as they called out that he should just do what she says and not make it worse for himself.

"Shut up, dumbass, mind your own damn business." Matsuro looked from the person who warned him back to where Risa and Sieryo stood, his eyes widening and beads of sweat starting to run down his face when he saw Risa's eyes glowing a bit. "What the hell?"

Risa was getting pissed but she was trying to keep it in check. "Out, now."

"Or what?" Matsuro smirked, feigning a brave face.

"Or I'll make you."

Matsuro balked at her threat but didn't back down- letting what was left of his pride get in the way. "Why you little..!"

Fat Gum and his interns saw that Matsuro was about to throw down with Risa, but before they could step in Risa surprised them again by dodging Matsuro's punch and using his momentum against him- making him lose his balance and tumble to the floor.

Matsuro crashed into a table and knocked it and its contents over before cursing under his breath and getting back to his feet. He turned and charged at Risa, but didn't watch his six and gave her an opening to parry his punches before dipping under his arm and hitting his pressure points- immobilizing his arms.

"Little bitch!"

Risa remained silent, driving her foot into his solar plexus- sending him flying through the door. She looked at his entourage, a few of whom were backing out of the restaurant to collect their boss while the others stayed to help clean up the mess Matsuro had made.

"Risa, we're so sorry..." one of Matsuro's men said, presenting her with the discarded tray.

Risa sighed, taking the tray from him. "It's not your fault, Koga, you tried to stop him."

"But still, his behavior was unacceptable." Koga retrieved his wallet and presented her with cash. "Here, for the bottle and the damages."

Risa took the money from Koga and offered him a half-smile. "You lot are still welcome here, but Matsuro and his big mouth are banned."

"Understood," Koga and the others echoed.

Risa made her way over to the register, putting the money into the till then retreated to the back. She hated when situations like that arose, but she was grateful that she had the training she did. She took a few moments to calm her nerves, working through her breathing exercises until she was settled down again. Going to the cooler, she pulled out the tray of assorted desserts that she had prepared for the day and walked them out into the restaurant.

"I apologize to our customers for that disturbance earlier and hope that some free dessert will make up for the inconvenience," she said, offering everyone a smile- Fat Gum noticing it turning into a genuine one as everyone cheered. She set the tray down, then turned to her grandfather. "Gramps, you sure you're alright?"

Seiryo nodded. "Don't worry about me, dear. Are you OK?"

Risa nodded, then turned to Fat Gum and his interns. "Sorry about that, not the best impression of Mazeru I know."

"Don't be, you handled the situation with minimal damage," Fat Gum said, "the food is great, and the overall atmosphere you and your grandfather create is warm and welcoming."

Risa smiled at that. "And you are welcome here anytime you'd like." She gestured to the desserts. "Please, help yourself."