Misao

Misao knocked on the oaken door of her boss's office, trying not to shake with excitement. "Come in." she heard. She adjusted the collar of her shirt and patted her hair. God, I should have changed into a dress. Why is it that I'm wearing men's clothes every time he calls me up here…? Ugh. It's like fate has a vendetta against me. Will it hurt to look pretty for once, especially in front of him?!

She pulled the cool metal handle and stepped in, booted footsteps muffled by the thick red carpet on the floor. The door closed softly behind her. At the back of the room there were large windows, but there were deep red curtains across them, the same color as the carpet. The boss's desk was in front of those windows and he sat facing the entrance, his elbows resting on the polished surface.

"Misao." He said, glancing at her and arranging the papers on his desk. "Take a seat."

Misao sat in an armchair that faced him and eagerly laced her fingers together, biting her lip to keep herself from smiling and being unable to do a thing about her flushed cheeks and wide sea-green eyes. I'm not going to speak first. This isn't my first job after all. I'm no kid. But augh! This is so exciting! Finally!

"I believe you understand why I called you here?" he said coolly, neither angular face, nor icy blue eyes betraying a thing.

Uh-oh. That sounds bad. I thought it was about a job. Did I mess up somehow? She opened her mouth and tried to choose her words carefully. "I'm… I'm not in trouble, am I, Aoshi-sama?"

He raised an eyebrow, face still blank. "Have you done anything worth me troubling about?"

Misao put a hand to her forehead, trying to think. "Well, last night's dinner was kind of rushed… Did I add sugar instead of salt to the stir-fry?" her eyebrows furrowed into a worried peak. "Or was it because I almost shot the wrong guy on Friday? …I mean, I didn't end up shooting him! How was I supposed to know he had a brother who looked just like him?" She gasped, her eyes widening. "Or was it the book that you lent me? Did I give it back yet? I think I did. If not, it's probably still on my desk in my room." She jumped up. "I'll go get it!"

"Sit down, Misao." He said, a slightly amused glint in his icy blue eyes. "The stir-fry last night was perfect. You did very well in checking your target – and as for the book, I'm sure you will find time to return it later."

"Oh! Yeah! Thanks!" Misao beamed happily, for praise from Shinomori Aoshi was not often given. My stir-fry was perfect! I did very well in checking my target! Yes-s!

He resumed his business-like tone and Misao snapped back to reality. "I have called you here today to act as my partner for a job. We will be boarding a train going across the country – to New York. Our target will be on the train itself."

Misao's smile widened, if such a thing was possible. Ha! A job! Together with Aoshi-sama! For the first time, I'll be working with him alone! "R-really? What's going on? You're going on a job? Why not just send me?"

"We need people back home and I plan to spend some time in New York. …You know about Wu Heishin, I presume?" Aoshi pulled open a drawer and pulled out a photograph of a short Chinese man in his early middle age with four large bodyguards. He was smirking, looking straight at the camera, a cigar in one hand.

"Ugh. That guy. He was the one who ended up messing up the agreement with us over the weapons deal. Are we finally taking him out?" she lit a cigarette.

"Indeed we are." Aoshi said. "He has been getting much too comfortable on our territory. Killing him will not start a war, as he has repeatedly made enemies of every single syndicate and gang in this country and others. But we will allow him to take advantage of us for any longer. Most of his subordinates have already betrayed him. The reason he has not been taken out yet is because of his bodyguards, money and connections to Takeda Kanryuu – that drug lord who's starting to get into weapons now. The bodyguards are known as the 'four gods'."

Misao clicked her tongue. "Tacky nickname. But looking at things, they're the ones we really need to watch out for, right? They'll be the stars of the show, really." Misao blew out a stream of smoke. "But we're the Oniwabanshu. Anything below five-star ain't gonna cut it." She grinned, winking. I just made the best joke of my life. Can everyone just acknowledge that? I'm a genius.

"Indeed." Aoshi nodded amusedly. "But I need to explain something to you. Before killing him, we must make it seem as if we are entering into business with him. He will sign a paper which will entrust to us a large portion of his weapon trade. Up until the moment we pull the trigger, we are the most cordial of business partners, Misao. We want him to trust us, as much as he can, in the short time he'll know us. It'll be easier to kill him. There is a saying – keep your friends close and your enemies even closer."

"I… I see."

"As soon as we have a part of his assets, we can get the rest forged. After that, we, the Oniwabanshu, will have the biggest bargaining chip – part of Hong Kong and part of New York. As well as our Chicago, we will be undeniably the strongest."

Misao grinned. "I won't hesitate."

Aoshi nodded slowly. "We will board the train tomorrow morning. The trip itself will take three days. You can get a gun from Shiro. Kuro can tell you more about the whole thing. Bring your knives just in case, of course."

"Alright!" Misao stood up, stubbing her cigarette into the glass ashtray on the coffee table near the armchair. "Thank you, Aoshi-sama! I'm definitely going to do my absolute best!"

"Yes." Aoshi also stood up. He looked at her, seeming to speak very carefully. "…I want to warn you. If anything goes wrong, run. Hide on top of the train until things even out. I've heard that there are other syndicates involved in this train ride. Something to do with Shishio Makoto. It could get dangerous."

"If you didn't think I could deal with the job, you wouldn't have chosen me, right, Aoshi-sama?" Misao smiled, tilting her head to the side a little. "Besides… If Aoshi-sama's there, then nothing could go wrong!" She did not notice Aoshi's eyes widening as she gave a little salute and walked out of the room with a spring in her step.