He was having the most pleasant dream. It was so simple, but it made him so happy. Lying beneath clean, fresh sheets. His arm wrapped around a warm, soft body. The comforting sound of her quiet breathing as she slept beside him.

Fingers lifted to trail through her silky, obsidian locks. She mumbled something in her sleep. Something sweet. Something that made his heart skip a beat. He gently brought her back closer against his chest and leaned up a bit so he could look down at her.

Neneko's expression was tranquil, but her lips were drawn into the slightest of smiles. He was so happy until he looked to her cheek. Marring her smooth porcelain skin was the deep scar that she had acquired the night they met. A reminder of how he failed to save her in time.

Jin woke in his bed in his hotel room; cold, alone, sweating. He missed the warmth from his dream and found himself rubbing at his face with one hand as the other reached for his phone. It was evening. Two days after he last saw Neneko.

The next meeting with the League of Villains would not be for a while so he would have to wait to see her again. Even then, she would be using her Mystic persona. Not exactly the woman he wanted to get close to. His frown deepened when he thought that to himself.

She's still Neneko. No way! Mystic's way hotter! He closed his eyes, holding his cellphone tighter. Mystic is Neneko! She just acts different! The internal argument continued until he could no longer take it and forced himself to get up from the bed. He grabbed his cigarettes and lighter, walking to the window and hoping to distract himself from thinking about her.

Down below, a variety of people were wandering around the streets in the cool evening air. He watched them, feeling a bitter envy for how "normal" people could enjoy such things. "Sane" people. "Good" people. He lit a cigarette and felt his pulse quicken as he remembered the way Neneko often described him.

Chivalrous. Noble. Things that he, by no means, saw himself as. He could never see himself as the man she saw when she looked at him. It honestly hurt a little to know he was nothing like the way she saw him, but at the same time he felt good when she described him that way. It gave him a tiny flicker of hope that he might, possibly, be able to become what she needed.

He saw a couple in their twenties walking down the sidewalk, the woman smiling up at the man. They were holding hands, fingers laced, and the two looked so happy together. So normal. So perfectly content.

Blowing a bit of smoke down from his window, Jin frowned again and rubbed at his scar. Could we ever be that way? Neneko doesn't like going out, but if we went out…would she want to walk like they are? Those two are never gonna last! They're probably gonna break up in a week! He shook his head and watched as the couple disappeared around a corner.

His dream of holding Neneko stirred up some other desires. He found himself daydreaming for a moment about what it might be like if they were in a real relationship. If they moved in together, what it would be like to wake up next to her every morning. If he proposed, how he would do it. What their wedding would be like. Obviously, it would be a very small and modest wedding. If they had children, what their kids might be like and what sort of parents they would be.

Jin was unsure of when he had finished his cigarette, but he found himself sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and his phone to his ear. The sound of ringing and then, finally, the soft greeting from his soulmate. "…Neneko…"

"Jin…" There was a pause, a meow in the background. "I am…truly happy to hear your voice." The translator's words held a warmth, a genuine joy. She sounded as if she was smiling and he could imagine her covering her mouth in that shy way she often did. "Is there…something that I can do for you?"

He ran his free hand through his hair, tugging at it gently as he closed his eyes. "I want to see you." It took courage for him to say this. He was terrified of being rejected. Of not seeing her as herself. Mystic was passionate and forward, but he preferred Neneko's timid sweetness.

"I…I would like to see you, too. I just…I can't…at the moment. Jin, you need to understand that it is dangerous for anyone to be near me now. I would love to see you. I…miss you…" Her tone dropped to sorrow and now it sounded like she may cry. "Jin…I…I dislike having to keep my distance, but it is for your own safety."

A mixture of emotions started to swirl in him. There was a tightness forming in his chest when he heard her sound so sad. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and comfort her. There was anger and frustration from being kept at a distance from the woman he loved. A sharp pain in his head came with the sudden conflict of thoughts and tears burned at the corners of his eyes.

"Just…let me come over! I don't care about the danger! What kind of danger are we talking about here? I'm not putting my life at risk!" He gritted his teeth and opened his eyes. Jin's vision was blurry as he pushed himself to stand and leaned against the wall, his head bowed and his free hand frantically running through his hair. "Neneko, please!"

"Please…please, allow me to take action. I will do whatever I must to keep you safe. I…failed you before, but I will not fail you again. Jin, I wish only for your safety and happiness-"

"Just let me love you!" He covered his mouth, his heart hammering hard and fast in his chest. The man slid to his knees, head leaning against the wall beside him as he listened to the awful silence on the other end of the call. He had blurted it out, but he knew it was the absolute truth. Neneko was his soulmate. He loved her more than he had ever loved someone before.

When Neneko finally spoke again, it was clear that she was crying. Her voice was even softer than usual and sounded almost strained. "Jin, I…I will take care of the issue. I promise you. I will take care of it…I will eliminate the danger…"

Shift P.O.V

She was sitting on the edge of her bed, slouching, a hand lifted as she chewed on a loose thread on the hem of her sleeve. Neneko's heart was beating faster than she could ever remember it beating before. Hearing Jin's love confession made her immeasurably happy, but at the same time it brought her immense despair.

Neneko loved him more than anyone she had ever been with in the past. He was kind and warm, in his own strange way. Noble. Chivalrous. Even as Twice and Mystic, their villain selves, she still loved him. That was why it was so important for her to settle her business with the yakuza before Jin could be hurt.

The man was still arguing with her, adamantly, but he was also starting to come apart. He was not just arguing with Neneko, but also himself. Saying something and then contradicting himself, shortly followed by him angrily telling himself to shut up.

She closed her eyes and let the tears fall. Hearing him struggle this way made her feel like she was being heartless. She wanted nothing more than to comfort him. To be able to hug him and feel his embrace. When he held her, he made her feel safe and warm.

The time to enact her plan was quickly drawing near. Giran had been absolutely right when he assumed she was trying to sever her ties to the yakuza. She had to, if she ever wanted to keep the people around her safe. Though it would be difficult to do this. She knew a lot about the Shie Hassaikai and she would need to be clever if she wanted to make it out of the partnership alive.

Neneko was about to try to console Jin when she heard something that made her blood run cold. She bit her lip and turned her head slowly, staring at her bedroom doorway. The door was currently open to allow her cat to come and go freely, but the cat was sitting beside her on the bed now.

As quietly as possible, Neneko tiptoed to the doorway and lingered just beyond it. Not quite in view of the hallway. Still within the safety of her bedroom. She could hear voices in her apartment, in the corridor, near the main door. Neneko swiftly backed up toward her bed, glancing over her shoulder toward the window. "I apologize, but I must go now. Jin, I…I love you," she whispered as softly as possible, to keep the intruders from hearing.

The phone was tucked into her skirt pocket and she reached a hand toward her cat. Stroking her fingertips over its pale fur, she tried to calm her nerves. It was nearly impossible, given who was standing out in the hallway. She was not prepared for this. She had intended to request a meeting and do things on her own terms. Now she would have to improvise.

Kurono's masked face popped into view as he looked into her room. "There you are. Kai came to see you. He's got something he wants to talk to you about." His head turned slightly to look at her cat and then back to the translator.

She was trembling, but refused to show it. Instead, she lifted her free hand and chewed at her thumbnail. "I see. Yes, I will be there momentarily. Kurono-san, would you be so kind as to show Chisaki-san to the meeting room?"

He remained rooted to the spot, but a hand gripped the edge of her doorway. "Come on. You don't want to make him wait around for you, Kuroiwa. He's a busy guy. You should be grateful he took the time to-"

"I fully understand the magnitude of his ambitions," she stated firmly. Neneko lifted the pale cat in her arms, her violet gaze locked on Kurono's mask in a silent challenge. "Though I suppose I could not expect you to understand. I am a person of good etiquette and it is only polite to prepare tea for guests. Now, if you would be so kind, could you please show Chisaki-san to the meeting room?"

As she walked past Kurono to get out of the room, she felt a chill race along her spine. Standing near her apartment door was the young man currently acting as head of the Shie Hassaikai. There was something different about him on this visit and it took only a second for her to realize what it was.

He usually wore black pants, a black button-up shirt, and a pale tie. Paired with pure white shoes, pure white gloves, and a black medical mask to cover his nose and mouth. Casual yet also appropriate for business. Today he was wearing a green jacket with the sleeves rolled up and thick, purple fur around the collar of it. This looked strange, actually quite out of place, when compared to the rest of his outfit. Though he seemed unfazed by her moment of puzzlement.

"Neneko. It's been a while," he greeted her. His tone held no friendliness, no warmth. As usual, the man was all business when it came to associating with her. "I heard that you've been pretty busy. Kind of hard to get a hold of sometimes."

"Ah…Chisaki-san…good evening." She bowed, still holding her cat. The woman was a bit fearful of letting Yori get near the man. He always regarded the feline with a look of disgust that set her on edge. "Would you…mind waiting for me in the meeting room while I make tea?"

An eyebrow raised and he looked to Kurono, who simply nodded. Turning his gaze back to her, he gave a nod. "I know my way there. Kurono will help you carry the tea set."

He does not trust me. Even after I have been nothing but cooperative with his malevolent whims. She gave him a small, polite smile before excusing herself. The pale-haired yakuza member was close behind her and stayed in the kitchen doorway as she started boiling water for tea.

As Neneko brought the tin of green tea from the cupboard, her mind raced for what she could possibly do to save herself. There was obviously a reason for this visit. Chisaki Kai never visited her as a friend or anything of the sort. After all, they were business associates only. Their relationship was even less warm than her relationship with Kurono.

"You were raised in a traditional household, weren't you?"

The question left her a bit taken aback. Kurono rarely attempted small talk and almost never wanted to discuss something so personal. "Ah…yes…I was brought up in a traditional household. When I was younger, I took classes in flower arrangement and tea ceremony."

This was true, unfortunately. Her father had been obsessed with tradition. He never allowed her or her mother to indulge in anything involving foreign cultures. No foreign films, no western-style food, no clothes in a style unbefitting for a traditional Japanese girl or woman. It was this behavior that had most likely driven her mother into the arms of an Italian man after the incident killed him.

"Traditional and quirk-less, huh?" He shook his head, almost as if in sympathy. The masked man took the tea set and carried it for her, walking behind the translator as she made her way to the meeting room.

Neneko seated herself across from Chisaki and bowed slightly. "I apologize for the delay, Chisaki-san. I hope that the tea is to your liking. I did not have cake, but I have mochi to offer as an accompanying sweet. I believe it will complement the flavor of the tea."

He saw her respectfully bow her head and carefully drew his mask down so he could indulge in the simple green tea. After a few sips, he replaced his mask and set the cup down. "You're an intelligent person so I'm sure you know why I'm here. You've been acting as our translator for a while now so you know how we operate. I know that you were born without a quirk so I've come to extend an offer to you that can ensure your safety. I want you to join the Shie Hassaikai and act as our translator exclusively."