The quiet tap of rain against the window, the gentle click of the keyboard as she typed, the soft purring of the cat curled up in its bed beside her desk. Her world was serene inside of her apartment and she loved it that way. She made great efforts to make her home as comforting as possible.

Kuroiwa Neneko was a recluse. A shut in. It was rare for her to leave the apartment at all. The incident a few days prior had been one of those uncommon instances where she was forced to venture out into the world.

She had someone that she typically paid to run errands for her. A young man that was currently in college. The extra income helped him afford to feed himself so she was more than happy to pay him a good salary in exchange for him getting her groceries and the like. However, he had to go back to his family home in the country due to an emergency so, when she ran out of food, she had to go out.

Her luck was never good so it came as only a slight surprise when she found herself being dragged into an alley and roughed up. The men demanded her wallet, but she had only brought enough cash for a few days' worth of groceries. They had determined that they would just take her and were about to call for a car when her rescuer appeared at the end of the alley.

Bathed in the soft glow from the streetlight, standing there ready to take them on. The memory sent a pleasant shiver down her spine and she smiled to herself. Bubaigawara Jin. Such a kind, noble gentleman. Not many would rush to help a stranger, especially in a situation where he could have simply walked away. I hope that I can repay him in some way.

Deciding to take a break from her work, Neneko pulled up a search to see what sort of information she could find regarding him. She was surprised to find that he was, in fact, a wanted criminal. Digging further, she browsed the list of his offenses. It seemed to be mostly non-violent crimes. Theft, for the most part. One traffic accident in which a young man was injured, having occurred when he was a teenager.

For being a wanted criminal, he had treated her incredibly gently. He seems like a kind soul. These crimes really don't match the man that rescued me. Most of these charges are from years ago. She sat back in her seat, chewing absently at her thumbnail. Still, to imagine that he did commit these crimes. Could it be that something occurred to change him? None of these crimes are recent.

The cat shifted in its bed and stood, stretching. It sat up and began to clean its face, drawing her attention. Neneko leaned down to stroke the top of its head, earning a meow of appreciation. As she looked at an old mugshot of Bubaigawara, she propped her chin in her hand and found herself falling into a daydream.

As a teenager, as he was in this photo, Neneko was often bullied for her soft voice. She rarely spoke and always had her head down. So now she was trying to imagine what it might have been like if she had known him back then. If perhaps they would have been friends. Though she doubted it. She doubted that he would have even noticed her.

She clicked back to the document that she was currently translating for a client, attempting to return her focus to the task. It was proving difficult as she remembered his peculiar behavior. The outbursts of conflicting statements. Rather than unsettling, it was intriguing.

I don't suppose he will call on me for assistance. Why would he need a translator? Only businesses make use of my services, as well as the occasional order from shadier fellows.

She decided that, even if she liked him, she would probably never see him again. It was unfortunate, but it was the harsh reality of the situation. This was life. It was not a fairy tale where a frumpy witch is rescued by a gallant knight, instantly made beautiful by the power of love, and they live happily ever after.

Shift P.O.V

A look in the bathroom mirror showed that his bruises were fading. He was really lucky to have escaped without a broken nose or stab wound. Of course, he attributed that luck to her being there. Something seemed almost magical about her. She had made him feel so strong, so confident and brave.

He gripped the edges of the sink, glaring at his reflection. Glaring at his own gruff, intimidating face. The sort of face that scared people away. Yet, by some miracle, Kuroiwa was unfazed. She was patient during his outburst and remained completely calm.

Jin splashed some water on his face, rubbing at it as he tried to push away the remnants of grogginess from just waking up. It was mid-afternoon, but he had nowhere to be. No business to attend to. No one to meet up with him. Basically, Jin knew that he had no reason to actually get out of bed. Yet here he was.

Standing at the window, he lit a cigarette and frowned as he looked down at the street. The mid-afternoon crowd was way less intense than the morning or evening hordes, but they still provided him the slight entertainment of people-watching. Normally, he might enjoy the wide variety of strangers walking past. Today, he found himself glancing from one to the next and subconsciously searching for a woman with black hair and violet eyes.

He released a frustrated sigh and ran a hand over his hair, knowing that it was ridiculous. What had occurred was a chance encounter. Nothing more, nothing less. Even if he had been walking past that alley at just the right moment, had growled to himself at just the right moment. Looking at the folded handkerchief and business card sitting on top of the little television, he had to wonder if it was fate that had brought them together that night.

What am I supposed to do? I don't have anything for her to translate. I can't just call her; I don't want to bother her. I should just call her and tell her I like her! He pressed a hand at his right temple, gritting his teeth for a moment. "No! I can't just…say that to her."

Unfortunately, she was now all he could think about. Specifically the way that she looked at him, her violet eyes shining wetly. She had looked at him with such amazement, such admiration. No one had ever looked at Jin the way that she had and this simple fact made his pulse race.

Before he could really think about what he was doing, he was calling the only person who could probably provide him with something Kuroiwa could translate for him. "Hey…what languages do you know?" Jin struggled to ask this, feeling kind of ashamed and hoping that his acquaintance would not question the request.

"Huh? Uh…why? I mean, I know a little English, but it's not great," Giran replied. "Why? You need someone to translate-?"

"No! I mean, I…" The muscles in his neck tensed, teeth clenched together tightly as he tried to hold himself together. "Can you send me stuff in English?"

There was a pause, in which Giran was definitely wondering about Jin's motives. Thankfully, he seemed as if he would just wait before asking questions. He probably wanted to see just what it was that Jin needed the English words for. "I guess I could probably use a search engine translator. You're in luck; I was going to send you some stuff anyway. I'll send it pretty soon."

"…thanks…" Jin slouched forward in defeat. This is a bad idea. She said that she'd help, but I'm going to bother her. This is gonna make her day. I hope Giran sends something good. He winced and pressed a hand at the side of his head again, hoping that Giran would hurry up.

Shift P.O.V

"Ah…?" Neneko hesitantly picked up her phone, her pulse pounding at the thought of speaking to someone. It was an unknown number. It was always was, so this was no surprise. What was a surprise was the voice that greeted her.

"K-Kuroiwa Neneko?" Jin's voice held a strain. As if he was trying desperately to be quiet, wherever he was.

She felt a smile creep onto her face and she lifted a hand, hiding her mouth behind the baggy sleeve of her sweater. "Bubaigawara-san…? Yes, this is Kuroiwa Neneko...and…how can I be of service to you?" It was her typical greeting to customers. After all, she was afraid that this might just be a call to ask for assistance. She would help him, of course. She had promised to repay him in whatever way she could. However, there was a faint hope that perhaps her gallant rescuer would want to just converse.

There was a slight pause and he seemed to mutter to himself, the phone apparently held at a distance for a moment. When Jin spoke again, he sounded exhausted. "I just…I got a message and it's all in English. I can speak English! No! I can't…I don't know any English so could you…?"

Neneko stared at her computer screen. It was open to a document that was sent from a respectable, business client and it was all in English so she was already in an English language sort of mindset. Not to mention, she did really want to see him again. "Ah…alright. Bubaigawara-san…if I could impose upon you once more…would it be alright with you if I were to send you my address and you could come here to my apartment?"

Some might think that it was dangerous for her to invite him to her home. However, this was normal. She even had a room that was set aside specifically for meeting with her most important clients. Lesser clients were spoken to via webcam. If things were to get out of hand, Neneko had a blade hidden beneath the table that she could use to defend herself. Though it had never come to that before.

He's a rarity, she thought to herself as she started some water to boil. A man so brave, so kind. Someone of his caliber and virtue would never do something unseemly. She skimmed through her tea selection until she found a suitable one and gathered her tea set onto a tray.

From what he had said, he would be there fairly soon. It seemed as if where he was staying was not too far from her apartment building. She was both glad and nervous. It felt like little bubbles of anticipation were forming in her veins, giving the slightest sensation of being giddy.

"…almost as if it's fate…" she murmured to herself. Neneko smiled coyly and covered it with a hand. Fate was an odd thing. She knew this. It could make the strangest, most terrible things happen sometimes and then turn everything around. It was unpredictable, chaotic.

Shift P.O.V

This was a mistake. This is gonna be great. His hands curled into fists, teeth gritted as he tried to calm down. Jin already felt like he was starting to split apart. The whole walk to her building, he could feel himself getting more and more anxious. Just thinking about seeing her again was enough to make him crave the tight security of his mask.

He checked his pocket to be sure his mask was tucked there and was glad to find it. If he could just stay calm, he might be able to fight against the feeling. He wanted to see her so he would try to just make it quick before he could do something to make her afraid of him.

When the door opened, Jin was unsure of what he had expected, but this was a pleasant surprise. Kuroiwa stared up at him, a sleeve-hidden hand in front of her mouth as she tilted her head slightly. A pure white cat came trotting from down the hall behind her, rubbing against the side of her leg and meowing up at Jin.

Kuroiwa looked exceptionally comfy; wearing an oversized black sweater and a long violet skirt. She bowed, murmuring a quiet welcome, and stepped aside to let him in. "The tea room…is where we can discuss the translation and message. Down the hallway and to the right."

Her soft, whispery voice sent a pleasant shiver down his spine and he gave a nod of understanding. He walked ahead of her, digging in his pocket for his phone to open the messages from Giran. They were lengthy. In a burst of enthusiasm and confidence in his ability to keep himself together, he had asked Giran to make sure it would take a while for someone to translate the messages. He wanted as much time as possible with the violet-eyed young woman.

Sitting across the coffee table from her, his stare settled on the healing cut on her left cheek. He was instantly reminded of the attacker who had pointed a knife at her throat and threatened her life. Jin felt a sort of twisting in his gut. Guilt. He wished that he had arrived earlier; he might have saved her from being scarred like this.

"I…made a pot of tea…I hope you don't mind, but I don't have any coffee…too acidic for my taste..." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she leaned forward to pour tea into their cups. Her cat was now rubbing against Jin's leg and meowing for affection.

"It's fine. I don't want your gross leaf water! I want coffee!" He covered his mouth, teeth gritting as he tried to avoid her gaze. It was frustrating. Like the night that they met, he just wished that he could do a simple, adult thing like shopping for groceries or talking to another adult without feeling like he might split in half.

Instead of acting offended, she ducked her head in order to hide the faint hint of warmth rising to her face. A bit of honey was drizzled into both cups and Kuroiwa offered one to him, her lips curled into a timid smile. "Bubaigawara-san…this is a chamomile lavender tea that I personally enjoy…it helps me to feel relaxed…when I feel anxious about something."

My soulmate…Jin tried to hide how happy he felt, but he really wanted to smile. She understands me. She's just making fun of me! The kindness with which she regarded him clashed vastly with that contradicting thought.