Xu Jiao-tu clutched the strap of her messenger bag tightly as she stood in the brightly lit hall. It was emptier than usual - most of the other students were at dinner, or preparing for their evening classes.
She took a deep breath, and stepped up to the office door. She'd put this off long enough. Not because she was afraid of Professor Iwakara. Mei-li was afraid of him; Jiao-tu had asked her come with her tonight (to help the other girl get over her fear - not because Jiao-tu was afraid to talk to him alone), but Mei-li had pretended that she had too much homework.
No, Jiao-tu was just hesitating because she didn't want to be rude. Professor Iwakara had a tendency to shout at students who were rude.
You're a dragon, not a rabbit, she reminded herself. Jiao-tu raised her hand to knock. She paused though when she heard the sound of angry voices through the door. Great, he was in a bad mood already.
It sounded more like an argument than an angry lecture. She could only catch a few of the words, and she couldn't tell who was speaking. Jiao-tu leaned in closer to the door. Not because she was snooping; she just didn't to interrupt something important.
"How…willing to sell…than financial gain?"
"…I…my intellectual…none of your..."
"Your property? …theory is just as much…!"
"…you work…everything inside…of yours belongs to me!"
"…money…so badly…Pandora…theory is correct…repercussions will… neutral hands-"
"…Pandora line again…seem to think. …Schroeder?" Jiao-tu's ears perked up at the mention of Pandora. She strained to hear better.
"Of course…papers..."
"Yes…don't know…Pandora got hold…and no one…since."
"…hundred reasons…none…Pandora."
"…want to think. I'm done with…discussion. …belongs to me, and I'll…Now get out…appointment..."
"Fine…making a mistake."
Then, abruptly, the argument cut off, and a door slammed so hard that the frosted glass in the one in front of her rattled.
Maybe it would be better to come back tomorrow…
Jiao-tu gave a frightened rabbit squeak as the door flew open in front of her. Her bag fell from her hands to land on the floor of the hallway, papers and pens spilling out.
"Xu! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," said the most beautiful voice Jiao-tu had ever heard. She felt a thrill at the knowledge that he knew her name - then realized that as one of the only two females in the class, it would be stranger if he didn't.
"Um, no, I'm sorry," she stammered, and dropped to the ground to pick up her things. Because it was her fault she'd dropped the bag; not because she was afraid to look at him.
"Here, let me help you with that," said Arakawa Hiro, Professor Iwakara's teaching assistant. He squatted down to gather the things that had spilled from her bag.
"Are you here to pick up your assignment?" Arakawa asked, glancing at her with his caramel-y brown eyes.
Jiao-tu felt her heart melting, but she forced herself to speak. "Um, yes."
Arakawa stood and handed her the bag. As she took it, his fingers lightly brushed against hers. She tried not to squeak again.
"The professor's not in the best mood - we were just arguing about the way I was grading the papers." Arakawa put his hands in his pockets, looking a little embarrassed. "I hope he doesn't bite your head off."
You're a dragon, not a rabbit. Jiao-tu took a deep breath, and smiled nervously. "Don't worry, I'll be fine - I know kung fu." She hoped she hadn't mangled the sentence - she was much less adept at speaking Japanese than she was at understanding it.
She must have done alright, because Arakawa laughed. "Good, you might need it. Even so, I'd better go in with you - for moral support."
He held the outer office door open for her, and she entered a room that held one desk, several computer monitors, and enough stacks of paper to fill half of Tokodai's library. The room was empty of people, however.
"He's in the lab," Arakawa said, gesturing to a door on the right. Then he leaned over to whisper in her ear (Jiao-tu felt her knees go weak). "Best not to argue with him. Just nod and look contrite, and you'll escape without a scratch."
He opened the door, and this time went ahead of her. "Miss Xu to see you, Professor."
Jiao-tu followed him in. The lab space wasn't huge, but if it were possible, it was even more crowded than the office. Four benches held a fascinating array of equipment - she recognized a scanning probing microscope from one of her lectures, as well as a dilution refrigerator. Where the office was littered with paper, the lab was a jungle of wires and spare mechanical parts.
Jiao-tu looked at the instruments longingly. If she had been alone with Arakawa, she would have begged him to show her how they worked. She didn't dare try that with Iwakara though.
Professor Iwakara was sitting at a computer that was crammed into the corner near the door. Jiao-tu would definitely have preferred to be alone with Arakawa. The middle-aged professor had the look of a man who had once been fit, but spent far too many hours in front of a computer; what was left of his black hair was oily and streaked with gray. She really didn't mind his physical appearance that much - it was the perpetual scowl on his face that made her want to turn tail and make a run for the door.
He looked cross to see Arakawa back so soon, and even crosser to see Jiao-tu there as well. "Xu, was it?" he asked brusquely, and turned to sift through a stack of papers on his left.
"They're on the other side," Arakawa said good-naturedly. The professor shot him a disapproving glare, but picked up the stack on his right and thumbed through them until he found hers.
"Ah, Xu. I remember this one. You make a solid argument, but even a monkey could explain electronic band structure. Here," he hit the paper with the back of his hand, "you completely ignore the Fermi-Dirac distribution…"
Jiao-tu didn't need to remember Arakawa's advice; she stood silently and let the professor's criticisms squash her flat like several dozen steam rollers. She couldn't follow half of what he was saying, because he was speaking much faster than he ever did in the lecture hall, and most of it was interspersed with Japanese swears she hadn't learned yet.
At one point Jiao-tu glanced over at Arakawa, who winked at her before backing out to wait in the office. It was a long wait.
Finally she exited the lab, closing the door gently behind her. Arakawa looked up from one of the computer monitors. "Good job - sounds like he liked your work." He laughed at the look she gave him. "I mean it - he only called you a monkey once, and gave you actual criticisms instead of just tearing you a new one. There was a guy in here earlier who left in tears."
Jiao-tu managed a smile. She was afraid she would break down in tears if she tried to say anything.
"Oh!" Arakawa said, then reached into his pocket to pull out a cell phone. "Is this yours? I found it next to the bookcase." He pointed to a large fixture that was next to the main door.
"Oh, yes!" Jaio-tu recognized the dragon charm she'd tied to it. She took it from him shyly. Just as with her bag, their hands touched ever so briefly. "Thanks."
"No problem. It must have fallen out of your bag when you dropped it earlier. Well, I have some work to finish up in the library. See you in class tomorrow." He smiled.
"See you." Blushing furiously, she left the office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hei exited the restaurant through the sweltering kitchen; the cool night air was a pleasant change. He exchanged a friendly nod with one of the cooks, who was outside taking a smoke break, and strolled casually out to the street.
"Perfect night for a walk in the park," said a voice at his feet. He didn't need to look down to know it was Mao.
"Which park?" Hei asked quietly, so as not to appear to be talking to himself in public. It was early evening, and the streets were still busy.
"The one just down the block, near the university." The cat turned down an alley. Hei followed. It was empty of people; they could talk here without being observed.
Hei was glad they finally had work after such a long break. A job gave him something to focus on, gave him a reprieve from trying to live like a normal human. These days, he felt as if he was running out energy to put in the effort necessary to fake human interactions. On a job, only the physical and mental was required - emotion never entered into it, false or otherwise.
Mao hopped onto a dumpster. "It's closed this time of night and dark besides. Even better, there aren't any power lines, and hardly any lamps - the police doll network isn't going to be able to see anything. The only downside is, as dry as it has been lately, there isn't much water for Yin. You're to meet your contact by a drinking fountain on one of the paths, so she'll at least be able to observe him - but no other areas."
"Are we expecting trouble?" Hei squatted down and reached behind the dumpster. His bulletproof coat, knives and mask neatly folded up inside, was tucked between the metal and the concrete wall.
"It's possible. The Syndicate is paying a hefty price for this flash drive; something as hot as this may attract a rival organization or two."
"How do you know how much they're paying?"
Mao licked a paw casually, but Hei thought he looked a little smug. "The Syndicate set up a special account for the money transfer," the cat explained. "I have access to it. As soon as our contact hands over the drive, I transfer the money to his account."
"Sounds simple."
Mao gave a snort. "It's always the simple ones that go wrong."