Ebony

by EbonyAnimalSpirit

It started with a single crimson feather. One single feather, fallen among a sea of black... Lost to the fluttering, ebony waves, cold and drowning... Alone. We should have guessed we were bad for one another... but we didn't... Idiot {My Hero Academia} {HawksXOC} {Spoilers for Anime/Manga}

16. Chapter 16- Know

Chapter 16

Know

.:+:.

... I should never have...

.:+:.

Hawkward

Anima's mum is alright with moving the
hours for tomorrow, so let's plan to do
a joint patrol from 5pm to midnight. If at
all possible, I would rather stay in Heiku
for patrol.

...
Sweet~! 5-12 is good with us, Sunshine~!
And we can stay in Heiku, no problem~!
Probably better that way, we can all
meet up at my Agency Building~!

...
Your Agency is located in Heiku?

...
Yep~! I bought it middle of last week,
so you'll have to forgive me it's still
a bit in the works and not fully finished
just yet~! But I got it for a pretty good
price, and it should be totally up and
running real quick~!

...
What possessed you to buy a building
in Heiku? You don't even normally
patrol that area.

...
Well Heiku's been growing on me!
And there's lots of cool stuff around
it~!

...
If you say so

...
It's true! I've found lots of interesting
things in Heiku~
Plus the building is settled at a
pretty good vantage point between
Heiku, Hosu and Kamino Ward, so I
can keep extra eye on all those places,
and wing it between them real easy!

...
That makes a lot more sense on why
to settle in Heiku than it just being
an 'interesting' place, Feathers.

...
Fair enough ~!
But anyway, I'll send you the address
and we can all meet up there before
heading out on patrol~!

...
Fine

...
And don't forget, my offer for you
and your Intern to spend the night
is still open ~!

...
Don't hold your breath Feathers, it's
not gonna happen.

...
Ah come on~! It'll be fun, ya know~!
We could all pile in sleeping bags,
tell scary stories and eat smores~!
That's gotta be at least a little tempting!

...
Yeah, if you're like eight years old

...
Harsh!
But I get your point, you want something
a little more adult, huh~? I can certainly
accommodate~! You know, once the
kiddos have been tucked in bed~

Spirit's jaw snapped shut rather audibly, her teeth gritting and glaring at the phone in hand as she fought the urge to mutter a few curses aloud. It wouldn't do to start cursing in the middle of her shift at the bar, it was already bad enough she was on her phone- but damn this Bird-Brain.

Her eyes dropped closed for a few seconds as she did her utmost to squash that bubbling anger in her core, her hand shaking as she gripped the phone harder.

He's impossible... He's seriously impossible

Why does he have to say shit like that...?!

She shook her head hotly and quickly tapped her thumbs against the keyboard, grumbling all the while.

Hawkward

...
Harsh!
But I get your point, you want something
a little more adult, huh~? I can certainly
accommodate~! You know, once the
kiddos have been tucked in bed~

...
This conversation is over. And quit
pushing your luck, Feather-Fuck.

...
That's a very interesting nickname
given the current topic of conversation,
Sunshine~

...
Stop talking. I'm not going to reply
to anymore of your bullshit tonight.

She smashed the lock button on the phone and shut the screen off, only to feel it vibrate in her hand a few seconds later- he'd sent a reply in as quick a time as ever, but she stuffed her phone in her back pocket and ignored it.

He's such a skeevy prat... Ugh, why do I even tolerate him...?!

...Though to be entirely honest, even Hawks' stupid and crude comments were something of a welcome distraction from what terrible twisted knot was still settled in her core from earlier. You know, the call she had with Death Arms, and concerning the utterly unpleasant idea that she would have to face the one person that right now... She just felt she couldn't face.

It had taken her longer than she would like to admit to get off that roof and go home. And the whole way there, and her flight through the rain, she'd been so wrapped up in her own head that the journey was a big blur, and the getting ready for work at the club was just as bad. She couldn't shake that terrible twisted sensation in her stomach no matter how hard she tried, and it was harder than anything not to let it show outwardly.

She felt like a big, knotted, tense ball of too many emotions to count, and it was exhausting. That and her mind was racing a million miles an hour, looping on end back to what Hawks had said after she snapped at him, why he changed so suddenly, and then to Igenium, that day with Stain, the daunting idea of seeing him again... and then to the nightmare and a slew of things and thoughts and memories she just didn't want to touch.

And trying to pry her thoughts away from them all? That was ten times more exhausting... and infuriating, because it was a fruitless venture. She felt dead on her feet and she wanted sleep. She had gotten to the point where she was afraid she might just doze off if she let herself sit down or take a break.

All of it had sapped her energy, all the worrying and the questions, and the training too... though grant you, feeling so tired might have just been from regular sleep-deprivation.

I have been awake since 4 this morning... small solace I'll actually have plenty of time to sleep tonight, after my shift. Since I won't be meeting Anima at 8 in the morning.

She sighed, dropping her hands on her hips and shaking her head a little.

... though of course that just reminds me that I'm gonna have to deal with Feathers tomorrow... him and his stupid comments.

... whatever... at least the club's been slower than it has been the last few days, because of the storm outside.

And it had been much slower than the past few nights, the bustling tempo that was common of the happy hour was whittled down to something like a plain old Wednesday evening. Which meant it was busy enough to keep her on her feet, but not so much she was moving back and forth without end. There were people in here, about fifty or so, and there was a sporadic stream of them in and out the door (grumbling against the storm awaiting them outside, and others dropping water on floor in front of the door as they came in). Though they were all mostly amusing themselves out on the floor and with the tables and the stage, only half a dozen or so at a time stayed at the bartop for her to serve... and that was fine, at least they kept her somewhat busy- and Okita running drinks on to the floor helped too.

The young girl wasn't as busy as she had been the last few days, and that meant she was hanging out more behind the bar with Spirit. Though still nervous as Okita was, she hadn't really been up to talking all that much. And Spirit left it alone, though she kept a close eye on her nonetheless... another distraction from the thoughts and tension that was sorely needed.

"Ah? Kage, you look like you're blushin' rather hard there!"

Spirit blinked, stiffening slightly at the comment and quickly looking left toward the owner of the voice- Bisha, who had popped herself around the corner and to Spirit's side of the bar. She planted herself on Spirit's left, leaning against the counter with her elbow, smirking. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, leaning away from the woman as Bisha leaned in a bit toward her, smiling coyly.

Blushing...?

Spirit grit her teeth, grumbling silently to herself as she kept her face as straight as possible- though in an instant she knew that Bisha was referring to that goddamn heat she'd felt wash over her cheeks when reading Hawks' stupid message about 'adult' things.

Damn you Bird-Boy

"Hmm? You up to something saucy, texting whoever that is on your phone?" Bisha hummed brightly, pointing a finger at her and twirling it slightly, "A guy perhaps?" She asked, and Spirit groaned internally.

Seriously, damn you Feathers

"No, nothing 'saucy' of the sort." Spirit replied coolly, looking away from Bisha and picking up a glass from the sink to dry it. "And he's nobody special, it was just the delivery guy who's bringing a new nightstand to my apartment tomorrow." Spirit explained, the lies rolling off her tongue like it was nothing. Flawless even... But of course Bisha wasn't gonna drop the subject so easily, even if Spirit's execution of the lie didn't give Bisha any reason not to believe it.

"Ah, well that's awfully boring, Kage." Bisha chuckled, "But I'm not gonna drop it so quick~! Come on, there's gotta be something juicy going on, why else are you so flushed~?"

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, cursing Hawks and his stupid comments one last time, before shaking her head and offering a small smile up to Bisha.

"Couldn't tell you, 'cause there really isn't anything interesting going on." She replied lightly, her eyes leaving Bisha as she finished drying the glass in hand and stacked it. Spirit shrugged slightly, busying herself with pulling the dirty cups and whatnot that Okita brought back on her tray, the young girl stopping on Spirit's opposite shoulder from where Bisha was. "It's probably just because it's so stuffy in here." Spirit added as an (almost) afterthought, and Bisha narrowed her eyes at it, looking pensive.

"Hmm... I mean I guess." Bisha mumbled, "But it's always a bit stuffy in here, Kage, and I've never seen it make you flush." She commented, Spirit simply shrugged again, still focused on the dishes.

... Hopefully she just drops it...? I mean any redness is gonna go away in a minute or two... It was just because of Feathers' stupid comments...

And sure enough, as a few more moments went by, Spirit could feel the lingering heat in her face fade to nothing- and surely whatever flush Bisha had noticed went away too.

"Key, Kage." Bisha said after a moment or two of silence, and Spirit spared a sideways glance at her.

"Hmm?"

"Face me, please~" Bisha hummed, pushing herself up from having been leaning on the counter. Spirit blinked in surprise at the request, before letting out a small breath and putting down what she was doing, turning to face Bisha all the way.

"Alright, but what for?" She murmured and Bisha waved a hand a bit, ignoring the question for now and peering around Spirit toward Okita behind her a bit.

"Okita~! Come here a minute, will you please~?" Bisha asked lightly, and the young girl jumped a little, looking nervous and unsure, before nodding stiffly and rounding Spirit to stand at Bisha's shoulder instead. Spirit watched quietly, brow quirking at the two as Bisha turned Okita to face Spirit, so both of them were facing her now.

Okay..?

"Look at Kage, does she look a little pale to you?" Bisha asked of the younger, though her eyes were scanning Kage quite intently even as she said the words. Spirit blinked,

Pale..?

Okita looked unsure for a moment, her own eyes searching for a few seconds before offering up a tentative nod. "O-oh... Maybe a little...?" She murmured, and Bisha frowned.

"Yeah." She mumbled, her hand suddenly raising and moving toward Spirit without warning. Spirit had to stop herself from reflexively pulling away, and simply bit the inside of her cheek as Bisha's hand pressed lightly against her forehead. "You feeling okay, Kage? You're kinda warm..."

Spirit stepped back a little to force Bisha's hand to pull away and nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes I feel fine, don't worry about it." She replied with ease.

Well not fine... More like a big stress ball ready to fall asleep- but not sick or anything.

"Honestly I am okay. It's nothing to concern yourself over." Spirit assured, returning to cleaning up the rest of the glasses. "Maybe we can steer the conversation to something else? Surely you can find something more interesting to talk about than me." Spirit chuckled lightly, and Bisha paused, her face scrunching up in thought while Okita stood by unsure- but Bisha smiled and nodded after a moment anyway.

"Okay, if you're sure Kage! Just don't work to hard if you start feeling bad, kay?" Bisha asked, and Spirit nodded.

Unnecessary warning- but whatever.

"Alright, I won't."

"Good! Now- Okita! I do have something I wanna talk about with you~!" Bisha announced brightly, turning to the younger girl and earning a nervous and surprised look.

"M-me...?" Okita stammered,

"Yep~! You saw the feed on Animal Spirit tonight, yeah~?" Bisha asked, and Spirit's hands jerked a little in her drying, her eye twitching as she glared at the glass she held on to.

Oh of course it's too much to ask we not talk about me... damn it

"O-oh, you mean the one about her and Hawks...?" Okita asked softly, Bisha smiled.

"The very one~!" Bisha trilled, "You saw the pic that guy sent out, yeah? Where Hawks put his wings up around him and Animal Spirit?" Okita nodded slightly and Spirit blinked, her brow quirking though she never spared another glance back up at the two of them. "What do you think that was about? Looked a little intimate to me~!"

Intimate?

"... U-uhm... I'm just sure he was trying to... help block the rain..." Okita replied uncertainly, blushing a bit as she looked away from Bisha altogether.

"Hmm? I dunno, it kinda looked like the thing he'd try to do so he could steal a kiss away from the eyes of the crowd~!" Bisha told her in a sing-song sort of way, and Spirit felt her jaw lock.

Steal a kiss?!

She spared a sideways glance at them this time, eyes narrowed to slits and grumbling under her breath. Okita went bright red, flustered as all hell suddenly and pulling at her bangs in that same nervous tick she had had from the beginning.

"Come on! You must be on top of all the news about her and Hawks, since you're such a huge Animal Spirit fan, yeah~?" Bisha kept on, "I mean you know all about the rumors that they might be starting up a relationship, huh~? They went out on a coffee date a few days ago, yeah~!?"

Fucking hell... all that rumor shit is going wild, and it's totally off base..!

It was not a goddamn coffee date!

"W-we don't know that it was a d-date...!" Okita answered quickly, shaking her head a little. "T-They could have just been taking a break... a.. a normal break...! A-After patrolling...!"

And thank you Okita, my unexpected voice of reason!

"Hmm, but why would they be spending so much time together all of a sudden~?" Bisha countered, and Okita wrung her hands together.

"W-Well... Animal Spirit is an Independent Pro... she's not part... of an Agency or anything... m... maybe Hawks is trying to scout her...? Y-you know... for his new Agency..." Okita suggested, and Spirit sighed internally.

... that's not what's going on, but I like that reasoning better than automatically jumping to the conclusion that we're 'dating'...ugh

"I guessss...!" Bisha sighed, shrugging. "But that's so boring...! Oh! But what if they're teaming up in a professional and a personal capacity...?! Oh my god, I bet that's totally it!"

No

He's lucky I'm even willing to work with him on a joint Patrol... And even then, I'm only doing it so that poor Intern of his actually gets paid attention to for one day.

"... B...but there's no way to know that..." Okita mumbled, still red in the face and fidgeting with her bangs. "... I-i mean... Not unless either of them... Confirm it... A-and even then... Animal Spirit isn't really in to the publicity stuff... So there's n-not really a good chance... That she'd want that s-sort of thing... T.. to be public..."

"Ah, but it would be so juicy!" Bisha hummed, "Those two are both in the spotlight all for their own reasons- but could you imagine? The two top, youngest heroes in Japan getting together?! Ahhhh, that would be so cute and romantic!" Bisha trilled, clapping her hands together in front of her. "They're already such a hot topic, they'd take the media by storm if they get together! They'd probably even be top on The Vigilante's Hottest Pro Couples list!"

... Ugh, not that thing

The Vigilante was a popular gossip tabloid in Tokyo that pretty much did nothing but spread outrageous stories about popular Pro Heroes, and speculate on things that were waaaaaay outside of the realm of logic. It published a lot of so-called 'scandals' and things that she was fairly sure were only 5% pulling in actual truth and fact. But the public ate it up, because it was (as Bisha put it) juicy.

One of the tabloid's most popular portions (outside of 'Your Hero Horoscope' and 'Which Pro is Match for You?') was that list- Japan's Hottest Pro Couples.

It was a way of prodding and poking at a Pro Heroes romantic lives with their significant other, and commenting on it where it was likely not welcomed. As well as digging up any interesting bit of information they could, and flashing it for the whole of Japan to see- and making a massive fuss of everything. It was stupid, and a massive invasion of what little amount of privacy or subtlety any of those Pros might want or have.

... But such is the life of a Hero... That's why I don't get involved in fanfare and media, at least as much as can be helped.

"Quick, Kage! Who's your favorite Pro Couple?!" Bisha asked quickly, rounding on Spirit and pointing a finger at her.

"... I don't know, I don't pay attention." Spirit mumbled, stacking the last clean glass and drying her hands off. Bisha sighed,

"You're no fun!" She whined, and Spirit just shrugged.

"Hey! How about less chit-chat and more drink pouring?!"

Bisha's talking cut off to the annoyed call from the floor, a man waving a hand at them at the bar and looking quite cross. Okita nearly jumped out of her skin at it and Bisha looked less than pleased with the interruption, though she kept her mouth shut and refused to look his way. Spirit let out a silent sigh, her 'blue' eyes trailing up to look at the man and nodding slightly.

"Yes sir, coming right up." She replied coolly, and he clicked his tongue and waved a hand at her dismissively, still scowling up a storm. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek while Bisha stuck her tongue out at the guy when he turned his back.

"Mm... Guess I oughtta get back to work." Bisha sighed, "You two have fun, okay? And be careful, don't work yourselves too hard!"

"A-Alright..." Okita mumbled, Spirit nodded just once.

"...kay."

.:+:.

... It's only been three hours and I already want to die...

She stacked up the next round of drinks for Okita on the young girl's tray and watched her set back out onto the floor... Slow and stiff-shouldered, but expressionless and as calm as she possibly could get. Spirit leaned back against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest and posture wilting slightly.

... But honestly, I just wanna go to sleep... And I just wanna not think about literally anything...

"... Hello again."

Spirit stiffened, her eyes snapping away from watching Okita and toward the owner of that utterly monotone voice- and she grit her teeth.

Her 'blue' eyes met those pale green eyes of his, glinting behind the pair of glasses perched on the edge of his nose. He offered up a small smile, his fingers linking together on the bar counter in front of him and totally at ease under the stare she settled on him.

Oh, of course he pops back up

Yeah, you remember- the guy who came in two nights back, and watched her pretty much through her whole shift? Mr. 'I can't find anything to catch my interest'?

"... Mamoru." Spirit murmured flatly, and his placid smile pulled a bit further at the edges.

"Ah, you remembered." He hummed lightly, and she huffed. "Shall I take that as a compliment? Or just more sign to how wary you are of me?"

"... Try the latter." Spirit mumbled lowly, and he smiled still a bit more, and nodded.

"I see. Well, I do apologize for making you uneasy." He apologized with ease, and Spirit did nothing but blink at it. He hummed and cast her a small glance, his eyes glittering. "... Though should it be such a surprise I am interested in you? You are a very beautiful woman after all, it is only natural I would wish to talk with you, and pay you mind."

Spirit's eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise, her jaw clenching a bit harder.

... I'm sorry what...?

Is he trying to tell me that all his watching and whatever is because... He's trying to flirt with me?

She settled him with a deadpan stare and he seemed rather amused by it... You know, with that same, barren, almost bored air he couldn't seem to get rid of, even when 'flirting'.

"You don't look convinced." He hummed lightly, "I assure you I am being completely honest, for what little my word may be worth to you. Surely someone as beautiful as you has earned the attention of many people before now, not just me? Especially around here, hmm?"

"... Mostly drunken, and unwanted attention." Spirit deadpanned lowly, his lips twitched upward a bit more on one side.

"Fair enough." He hummed, "Though, I can assure you I am not drunk, and I do not intend to drink enough to come close to it either... I simply thought perhaps since you seem less busy tonight, you might care to chat for a little while?" He asked, and Spirit's eyes narrowed.

"... Chat about what?" She asked lowly, and he shrugged.

"Oh, it can be anything you please. Simple small talk, mundane things even- nothing important if that suits you." He hummed, Spirit blinked.

"... And what makes you think I'm the sort of person that would even care to 'chat'?" Spirit muttered, he chuckled a bit under his breath... Dry and low, but somewhat amused it sounded like.

"Aren't we all looking to connect with another person, at least some of the time?" He answered with ease, "Humans are very social creatures at their hearts, after all. Even the most solitary of us do enjoy interacting with others, every once in awhile." He explained, leaning forward on his elbows and peering up at her from behind his glasses. Spirit just held his gaze steadily, one brow quirking.

Social creatures, huh?

"Besides," he added, looking away from her and letting his eyes drop closed. He unlinked his hands slightly, bringing them up and resting his chin against the back of them as he leaned onto his elbows a bit more. "You look like you could use a bit of a distraction for awhile. You seem quite a bit more tense today than the last time I was here... I do hope nothing too serious is bothering you, Kage."

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling internally and hating that any amount of tension or weighty thoughts of her mind were that noticeable.

She crossed her arms over her chest, grumbling a few low, choice words under her breath- and mostly curses toward herself.

Damn it Spirit, you can't let it be that easy to see that you're not exactly in the best mindset... Or that anything is bothering you, shit.

I thought we'd gotten good at hiding it?

I guess fucking not

Ugh

"... Not particularly." She replied lowly, after a moment or two of silence between them. He cracked one eye open, looking none-too-convinced with the answer, but he shrugged slightly and smiled calmly.

"So, care for a chat?" He asked lightly,

"You do realize I am in the middle of a shift." Spirit mumbled,

"I am aware, but you do spend most all your time here at the bar. I don't suppose it would be too hard to carry a conversation while you're here. And of course I will not mind when you break off to fulfill your duties. I am a very patient person." He hummed, "Pauses in the conversation will be well worth it, given I was lucky enough to be talking with you at all."

... Damn he's laying it on pretty thick, huh?

He must think he's charming

"... Does this usually work for you?" Spirit asked flatly, and he smiled.

"I wouldn't know. You're the only person I've been truly interested in for a very long while, so this is somewhat my first attempt at trying to catch someone's attention." He replied easily, she blinked.

Somehow I'm not sure that's truth... But at the same time, this guy also doesn't really strike me as the kind of person that goes around flirting with lots of people either... So why me?

Why does this self described guy who 'can't ever find anything to interest him'- seem so interested in me? I'm not that interesting... Kage is not interesting, I literally work all the time and I don't give anyone a side glance while I'm here and I clearly give off the vibe that I'm not interested (right?).

So what the hell?

Once again, it all came off as suspicious to her, and she couldn't help it.

She had looked him up, by the way. 'Yoichi Mamoru'... And nothing came up, really. Just your general, run of the mill search results- this common social media account, tagged in this picture, blah, blah... It was all normal.

And while she was sure anyone with an ulterior motive wouldn't really go posting their dastardly deeds on the Internet- and in light of that, his web presence being normal didn't really count for much- it was normal enough she was mostly sure he wasn't... I don't know, an evil Villain looking to fuck my life up?

(Because to be entirely honest, someone like that probably wouldn't exist on the internet at all... Though possibly he made it all up as a cover?)

She bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling internally.

Maybe that was just ingrained paranoia talking... But being wary and suspicious is better than being too trusting and getting screwed over.

But it probably wouldn't do any good to be an outright bitch- as much as she distrusted this guy, his sudden appearance, and odd interest in her- she could try and be some sort of civil... Like how she was with other Pros, when she had to be.

She swallowed though, hating that the instant 'other Pros' came into the picture all the thoughts and wonderings and emotions of the day came crashing back down, and she cursed herself in her head.

... Maybe I do need a bit of a distraction.

She sighed, her eyes dropping closed for a moment and her posture wilting the slightest bit. And though she didn't see it, Mamoru looked up at her quietly, his green eyes narrowing as he tilted his head.

"... Fine, let's see if you can entertain me." Spirit murmured at length, and his lips pulled in a wry smirk at the answer. "But if you're gonna sit here, you have to order something. Or security will toss you out." She added, and he nodded.

"Of course. And I will certainly do my best to provide some level of entertainment." He replied, and Spirit just blinked her eyes open, arms still crossed over her chest and expression flat.

"So what can I get you?" She asked flatly,

"Surprise me." He smiled, and she blinked, quirking a brow and quiet for a moment, before nodding.

"... Mmm... Fine." She sighed, turning her back on him for a moment and moving to gather things up and fulfill his 'surprise' order.

It wasn't really often someone left their order up to her, most of the people who came here stuck to their usual and just that. But occasionally she was left with the choice, and she didn't usually have a hard time coming up with something at least suitable.

She paused with her back turned, her eyes dropping closed and taking in a low, slow, and deep breath... The scent of smoke and sweat ever heavy on the air was first to invade her senses, and quickly followed with the scent of liquor. Underneath all of that was the musty smell of BO and cheap cologne, with a whiff of perfume here and there and the scent of the other miscellaneous drink/foodstuffs she had here at the bar. And after all of that, was the lingering scent of rain let in from the outside... but she really didn't care about any of that, she was interested in one thing in particular.

Truth be told, this had once upon a time been a big habit for her... just smelling things.

(Does that sound weird...? ...eh, a little, whatever)

Her nose had always been sensitive even when not Shifted into an animal, and her ears and eyes were sharper than what might be considered 'normal' standards as well. But her nose had always been stronger than all the rest (not that she knew why), and when she was younger and growing up she'd been pretty consistent on spending time picking scents apart. This old habit was why she recognized different smells with such ease nowadays, and back in school she'd even managed a mental checklist on the scents associated with her classmates, and could pick them apart without ever having to physically see them.

She could probably pick out individual people based on their specific scent if she cared to... Though to be honest, for about 2-3 years now she'd stopped relying that much on her nose. Mostly because she was nothing but a loner now, and she wasn't around people enough (or long enough) to even care to put in the effort to memorize their scent. She'd probably put much more stock in her ears and eyes now than anything else, so even using her nose against Anima earlier today wasn't as frequent an occurrence than it could have been... Or should be, honestly.

I mean anything to get an edge against enemies is a plus... And if this guy is gonna be so interested in me, it'll probably be worth my while to learn his scent. That way even if I can't see or hear him, and if he's spying or hiding around me, I might be able to pick up on him being there.

Plus people's scents sometimes give clues to what they do, or what sort of places they spend time around. The smell of rabbit mixed in with Anima's scent from earlier, and pegging him with a pet rabbit, being one such example of 'things to learn about someone by their smell'.

So that's what she was looking for now, under the booze and the smoke and sweat and cheap cologne (seriously, the men here need to tone it down...). His scent, whatever it may be, or might tell her about who Yoichi Mamoru was.

And to her genuine surprise, the thing she picked up on coming from him was something like... flowers?

Hmm... some kind of flower, though I'm not sure which exactly.

It was a peculiar one to be sure. Both earthy and bitter, while also being mixed with something light and sweet that was akin to... vanilla, was probably closest.

But she was surprised at it, because she'd expected some sort of cologne or even the scent of some kind of paper, or cigarette smoke, or something of that nature... But no, he smelled like flowers, and for a moment she wondered if he was wearing perfume. Of course in the next instant she threw the thought away, because the smell wasn't artificial enough. It actually smelled quite natural, as if he'd ripped up a whole patch of vegetation and stuffed it in his pockets before coming here.

Not likely, but a sort of amusing thought... I gotta wonder if him smelling like that is because of his Quirk, in some way?

She cast the question off and continued on with what she was doing, pulling supplies down and settling her attention on putting the order together.

The smirk Mamoru had been wearing faded again as he watched Spirit work, and after awhile bobbed his head left and right a few times, seemingly musing to himself in silence... or maybe he was just subconsciously mimicking the movement of her hands.

Either way he stilled again by the time she turned back around, her expression still so very neutral as she stepped up to the bar. "Here you go." Spirit mumbled, setting the glass down on the counter in front of him. She stuck a lime wedge on the edge of a glass filled with honey-colored liquid and ice, and he blinked at it.

"... and whatever am I drinking this evening?" He asked lightly, pulling the glass toward him and tapping the lime with a finger.

"Lime Whiskey Highball." Spirit replied flatly, he blinked in surprise, before smirking and picking the glass up.

"Ah," He murmured lightly, "I've had few variations on whiskey before, even Highball... but never a lime version... it sounds quite interesting."

"... you don't go drinking often, do you?" Spirit muttered, and he blinked, a little surprised with the question.

"Hmm? What makes you say that?" He asked,

"Whiskey Highball is probably the most common drink you can get made at any bar, and lime's a common flavor for it too." Spirit mumbled, "You'd know that if you actually went out and ordered anything enough times."

"Ah, well I actually frequent bars quite a bit." He smiled wearily, Spirit quirked a brow. "Though admittedly, I don't branch my orders out very much. Nor do I pay much attention to what other people drink while I'm there."

"... do you literally just order whiskey every time and nothing else?" Spirit deadpanned, and he smiled, though this time a touch embarrassed.

"Yes." He hummed, "It is one of the very few things I am rigid with and do not vary." He added, tilting the drink in his hand a bit, before lifting it up to his lips and taking a sip of it. He hummed once he had, tilting the glass back and blinking twice. "Hmm... Interesting." He murmured, "Perhaps I've been cheating myself out of more flavorful drinks... I must admit this does taste good. A bit odd to start, but the aftertaste is rather pleasant, actually." He smiled coolly as he set the glass down again, dipping his head toward her. "I suppose I should thank you for introducing me to something new, and commend you your ability to choose something your customer will like with such ease. You seem to be a very good bartender, Kage. It seemed to me that you know your way around a bar quite well, from what I've seen of your work."

"... I suppose." She mumbled,

"How long have you been working here?" He asked with ease, and she bit the inside of her cheek at the question.

Prying... But sort of general 'chit-chat' too, right...?

... It better just be chit-chat.

"A year." She grumbled, he blinked in slight surprise.

"That's quite some time." He hummed, "Did you learn to bartend on this job, or did you have some experience beforehand?" He asked next, and she bit into her cheek a little harder, her eyes narrowing.

... Now we're going back farther than I like.

"... I learned several years ago." Was the vague, and rather curt answer she gave him and he paused, his eyes widening a bit.

"Several years?" He echoed, "Now that is a surprise. You seem rather young to have been doing this work for that amount of time." He commented, but he smiled a bit regardless. "Well, at least to be working legally in this profession, anyway." He added, and she huffed a bit at it, but he shook his head and let his eyes fall to the drink. "Though of course I am not accusing you of anything, nor trying to admonish you either. Who am I to begrudge you your hobbies? I have participated in quite a few questionable hobbies myself." He hummed lightly, and Spirit blinked.

Questionable hobbies? Such as?

She almost asked the question out loud- though only almost. She knew it was better to let people lead themselves into touchy subjects rather than pry... Especially if said person might have ulterior motivations for this whole 'chit-chat' thing.

"Heh, though perhaps I'll not scare you off with the more distasteful bits to start." He murmured, taking another drink and then pushing his glasses back up his nose a bit. "Shall we try to talk of some simple things then? Your favorite movie perhaps? Favorite food, or color?" He asked lightly, almost like they weren't serious questions, and Spirit sighed.

... Such stupid questions...

"Are you honestly interested in any of those?" She asked flatly, and he smiled pleasantly.

"Of course, even such seemingly trivial details are quite interesting in their own way. And perhaps they might even present a bit of commonality between us, hmm?" He answered, and she looked away, actively fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

... Those questions sound like the sort of stupid shit Feathers would-

-wait, we're not thinking about him, remember? Quit.

"... Fine." Spirit mumbled, "I'm not sure it'll give you anything, but whatever..." She muttered, and he smiled still as he waited for her reply with patience. She let her eyes drop closed and crossed her arms over her chest, her hip cocking slightly. "I don't watch movies, or TV, or anything like that, so your first question is a bust." She grumbled, "Food-wise I'm pretty boring, but if I had to pick something it'd probably be sashimi... Or melonpan." She mumbled, trailing off at the end there as memory of the baked good given to her by Anima earlier today invaded her thoughts.

Because usually she would have just said sashimi and been done with it... But that melonpan earlier was really freakin' good.

And though she missed it because her eyes were closed, the two food choices did earn quite a curious look from Mamoru- and rightly so. Those two foods were basically on opposite ends of the spectrum.

"... And in terms of color I don't really care much... But I suppose I'll pick white." She finished, skimping straight on to the next question and finally opening her eyes again, and just as before he looked a little curious at her reply... But that faded quickly.

"Technically white isn't a color, but instead a lack of all color." He pointed out lightly, and she huffed.

"Don't ask if you're just gonna bash on what I pick." She muttered sharply, and he smiled, shaking his head a little.

"I wasn't trying to, my apologies if it came out that way." He replied with the utmost ease and calm. "Though your answers are all very interesting, and I would like to see if we could perhaps strike up a conversation about your choice or food?" He hummed, and she blinked.

"... Not until you answer the questions yourself." She replied, and he blinked in surprise. "It's only fair you answer whatever you ask of me." She pointed out lowly, and he nodded.

"True enough." He hummed, "In terms of movies, I have seen a great deal too many to narrow them down to one... But I do favor action movies that are fast-paced and have a lot going on in most every scene." He answered first, and Spirit quirked a brow at it.

... Okay, not what I might have expected...

"And food is near the same, I've tried so many things... Though I can probably narrow it down to the more flavorful variations of onigiri." He went on,

... I guess that's a basic enough choice... But what the hell does he mean by flavorful? Like spicy or something...?

"As for color, I can easily say that I am rather fond of red." He finished, and Spirit blinked, nodding slowly.

"... Alright, so what did you wanna talk about in regards to my food choices?" She asked after a moment, "And you'd better not be about to bash those too." She added flatly, and he looked amused by the comment.

"Of course not." He hummed, "I'm just curious what type of sashimi you typically lean toward?"

"... I like sake or kenpachi usually, but ika is the next best." She mumbled, "... And I usually prefer it without any added things, like ginger or shoyu." She added, almost as an afterthought, and he smiled slightly.

"I see, you lean toward simplicity in your meals, hmm?" He hummed, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

Not so much as a taste choice, 'simplicity'... But maybe a little. Simple things were cheaper to buy (sashimi a bit less cheap, though...), and she honestly liked sashimi because it was... Well, for lack of a better descriptor- natural. More just... regular, raw, natural fish.

... The predatory side to be sure-

"I can't say the same for myself, though. I rather prefer more complicated things, or relatively odd flavors and mixtures." Mamoru kept on, oblivious to her thoughts and easily breaking them off. Spirit blinked at that, her head tilting.

Again with flavor... Odd flavors? Complicated...?

"... Do you just eat any weird food you can find?" She asked flatly, and he smiled.

"That is one way of seeing it, yes." He chuckled, "I like to be adventurous with my meals where I can... Gives me something to get a little excited over, at least for a time. And to bring something new and interesting to my day."

"... because you have a hard time finding anything to amuse you for very long." Spirit deadpanned slightly, reiterating his words from that first night and he smiled a bit.

"Indeed."

"And why do you have such a hard time finding interest, or whatever?" Spirit asked flatly, and he paused, his smile fading for a moment as his green eyes fell to his drink, musing in a way.

"A good question, though I'm not sure I have an answer. It's always been that way for me, even from a very young age." He replied after a moment, shrugging slightly as he took another drink, before setting the glass back down softly. "Hmm... Though I suppose some of it may have to do with the nature of my Quirk, if I were to make a guess." He added lightly, almost as an afterthought and Spirit's narrowed a bit.

... His Quirk...?

... Maybe his weird smell does something to do with his Quirk after all... But what?

He didn't seem to be looking to elaborate on the point, and she wasn't going to press it even if she did wonder. It wouldn't really do to pry at him and make him suspicious of her... her own suspicions were enough for the both of them right now.

"Might I ask what interests you, though?" He asked coolly, and she blinked. "Any particular hobbies you enjoy? Or something in particular that never fails to put you in a good mood?"

Spirit paused, her eyes dropping from him and to the side, her fingers digging into her arms a bit when... well, she drew a blank.

Because let's be honest, she didn't actually do anything other than flit between working here at the club and working as a Pro. Sure, she got an odd 4-6 hours of sleep in between, and a meal or two every day... and on very intermittent occasions she would go out to eat with Death Arms for a few hours. But other than that, she did nothing else. No 'hobbies', no little inconsequential habits or routines, or even just mindlessly reading a book or watching movies or anything.

She literally just worked, for 95% of every day, every week, and every month and year. And she didn't even give a second thought to doing anything else, it just didn't really occur to her... or interest her, maybe.

She had just never considered doing anything else, she supposed. She was more concerned with being busy and doing her job, and doing it right. She always had been, because in some ways she hated wasting any amount of time on anything not productive or official.

... huh.

... I've never really figured that... but maybe working all the time isn't like a normal thing people do? Or at least, should do?

I've always worked, like a lot... I mean, I know socially speaking you should probably do more than work, but I've never really cared, or thought too much about it.

... but now I really don't have an answer to this question. Like at all.

She blinked, her eyes narrowing at the bar counter she was glaring at now for a few long moments.

Well damn

"... I guess... I like singing." She mumbled at length, her eyes still fixed to the bartop and missing the way his eyes widened at the answer. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek a few times, her arms crossing over her chest a bit tighter and her gaze darting from the bartop and toward the side for a moment, not meeting his eyes. "... I do it mostly without thinking, and in small bursts... but it's probably the closest to a 'hobby' or habit that I have." She added softly, sighing a bit as her eyes moved back toward him, and he just returned the look in silence, his expression now utterly blank.

And that silence settled between the both of them for a few moments much too long, and Spirit's lips pulled downward at the edges as she began to feel herself bristle.

"... what?" She asked a little sharply, and he shook his head, his expression still so blank.

"Nothing, I'm just a little surprised with your answer." He murmured, and she grit her teeth slightly.

"... tch... you asked what I like to do-" She started hotly, but he shook his head again, a cool smile appearing back on his lips as his green eyes glittered in amusement.

"There's no need to get worked up, Kage. I'm not implying your hobby is a bad one, or anything of the sort. It's actually rather intriguing, and my interest is quite peaked." He chuckled lightly, "I wonder if I will ever earn the chance to hear you sing? I'm sure your voice is no less beautiful than you are. It would be a wonderful treat if I could hear a song or two from you, someday." He hummed pleasantly, and this time Spirit felt her face heat up, though only a smidgen. Because it was still shameless flirting, and it seemed to come so easily for him- but for some reason this time, it struck a chord and she felt a flash of nervousness run through her.

Tch...

"... I don't sing for other people." She grumbled lowly, pointedly looking away from him again and he tilted his head, before he smiled softly.

"Ah, a true shame." He hummed, "I will not press you if that is your choice, but perhaps once we get to know one another better, you might permit me a small view of your vocal skills." He said, and Spirit only huffed a bit in answer, still not looking at him.

She was saved from further participation in the conversation (at least for now) by the call from a man sitting on the far end of the bar, asking for another drink. Spirit uncrossed her arms from over her chest and nodded to the man in sign she heard him. Her eyes met with Mamoru's green ones for a small moment as he nodded at her, silently acknowledging the fact that she needed to step away.

Spirit turned her back on him and headed toward the other man to gather up his empty glass and set to work replacing it. She was faintly thankful for the interruption, though she could still feel Mamoru watching her work every once in awhile this time, and it still put her on edge... just maybe less so than it had that first day.

She took a bit of time to not only fulfill the order of the man who had called out, but to take care of all the rest around the bar and the new tray of glasses Okita brought back. She did her best not to cast Mamoru a glance or anything of the sort as she did so, intent on just letting her attention fall away from him for what time she could... but still, his eyes followed her around incessantly, and she grumbled a bit.

Fine. He could watch her, but she would sure as hell take her sweet time before heading back over to continue whatever 'chat' they had started.

She cast a small, imperceptible glance over her shoulder toward him after a few minutes as she was filling up a line of drinks. She found his green eyes locked on her again, though they weren't on her face and instead seemed to be stuck a bit lower down. She grit her teeth slightly, huffing under her breath and suppressing the flash of flusterdness that rose up in her core, and the slight agitation.

... tch... is he staring at my ass?

She set the filled glass down on the counter beside her a bit harder than was needed, and poor Okita fidgeting a few feet away in the corner jumped at the noise- though Spirit hardly cared.

Maybe he really was just flirting, and had no ulterior motive.

... maybe...

Either way, she did let herself relax, just a little... be social and somewhat not bitchy, right? Let herself have a distraction from everything terrible and shitty and too much from the day? From her life?

Even if he was staring at my ass openly

She forced a heavy sigh and stacked up the filled drinks on Okita's tray, murmuring a quick few words toward the girl and asking if she was okay- to which received the usual shy nod and mumbled 'I'm okay' Okita seemed bent on sticking to. And Spirit didn't believe it so easily, but she didn't press too hard either. Instead she handed the tray over and quietly instructed the younger girl to deliver them, and then take a fifteen minute break back in the changing rooms and away from the crowds. Okita nodded in understanding and headed off, Spirit affording a few more moments of ignoring Mamoru time to watch Okita walk off, before slowly trailing her way back toward where the man was waiting ever so patiently.

And he greeted her with that same flat, nearly monotone, yet pleasant tone of voice he had adopted since the start. Completely at ease and falling back into the chatting in little to no time at all.

He lead the bulk of the conversation for the rest of the two hours it lasted, and she let him do so. The topic of conversation never really went anywhere all that interesting, or even 'deep' in any sense of the word. It was all just light, nearly nonsensical chatter- stupid things really... More this hobby, that hobby, semi-interesting factoid here, a thinly veiled flirt there.

To be quite honest, it was probably the most normal and at ease conversation she had been apart of for a year or so... Maybe longer. The only other person she could recall having this sort of conversation with was Death Arms, and quite honestly they never really talked about a lot of unimportant stuff, even when they did hang out together.

And maybe... it was somewhat enjoyable. And a sorely needed distraction from literally everything.

The biggest thing she had learned through it, was that Mamoru had apparently tried out a lot of different hobbies- ranging from standard to weird, and spanning over a number that was just kind of insane.

Fencing, pottery, playing the flute, cooking, collecting (many, many different things... including poker chips?), and taking a ludicrous number of surveys online for three weeks one time. Also writing, hiking, tasting any food he could get his hands on, fishing (more food motivation?), gambling (legally he assured... but maybe the poker chips thing wasn't so odd, given this), trolling online forums (sounded boring as hell to her... and apt to drag you into some dark corner of the internet you really, really would be better off not knowing about), soap carving, swimming... you get the point.

And he didn't really elaborate on most of them, though she was increasingly curious as he mentioned more and more throughout the whole of the conversation. Of course he didn't list them all at once like that, he just dropped one here and waited awhile, casually mentioned another- and most of the time trying to open up an avenue for her to put her own input into the conversation. And it worked, sometimes, but of course she was still cautious, even if after awhile she found herself more than a little engaged in the whole interaction.

Because seriously, who does that much? Or even attempts? Or has the time or energy?

She certainly didn't.

... Though I suppose in that way, he's sort of living a life I don't have... so many it's not weird I find it at last a little interesting.

So she tried to participate a bit in the conversation, commenting on his hobbies or adding her own opinion about something when asked, or when there was an opening for it. Of the many things he had done, Mamoru seemed to have taken more to dining and drinking as his favorite pastimes. And the other places he could get his thrills seemed to be in a more active side- the swimming, hiking, fencing, and whatnot... and this small tidbit had included another barely hidden hint at expending energy doing 'other' activities. Though he said it with such ease and grace it didn't come off as flirty as it was, and instead more charming. He was good at that.

So by the end of it, he had made it very clear why he was so interested in her- and it did seem to only be because he was pursuing her in a romantic (or maybe more sensual) way. And still he was very cordial about the whole thing, and never blatantly lewd or anything of the sort. It had been a very long time since anyone and their advances had been so polite, and longer since where she wasn't immediately annoyed by it, or only wanted to slam her fist into their face. Kind of a nice change of pace from all the lustful, skeevy catcalls and lecherous stares she got from 90% of the people who came into this Club... And to Mamoru's credit, he did manage to make her forget about everything that was bothering her nearly all the way- which put her in a much finer mood.

(Ah, and also kept her awake and from dozing off as she had been afraid of earlier)

Mamoru finished the last of what was his third drink, and cast her a smile, climbing to his feet and dipping his head toward her.

"I think it time I head home." He announced softly, "It was wonderful talking with you Kage, I hope to do so again soon." His green eyes flashed behind his glasses as he set the empty glass back down on the counter and the napkin it had been sitting atop of, before he slid it her way. "Perhaps next time I might even convince you to come out with me for a meal? I know a wonderful restaurant that sells some of the finest sashimi on this side of the city." He added lightly, and Spirit blinked.

"Hmph, don't get ahead of yourself." She answered flatly, and he smiled still, nodding. "And just so you know, I can't be bribed with food." She pointed out, her tone dropping just a bit, and he chuckled under his breath at the words.

"Well, nevertheless- I wish you a wonderful rest of your night." He hummed, "Till I see you again, Kage." He called lightly, waving a hand over his shoulder as he began to walk away and Spirit watched him. Once he was gone and out of sight through the door, her eyes dropped to the empty glass on the bar counter and she sighed.

She still had another two and a half hours before the shift was over... but even then she couldn't go home right away. Because she had given such short notice on not being able to come to work tomorrow evening at the start of her shift (and instead would have to head over after the joint patrol with Hawks and the Interns), she had to make up for it by staying late tonight and helping to clean and close up. There was a small span of a few hours that the club wasn't open at all, and it was reserved for actually doing a thorough cleaning of the floor and putting everything away, and whatever else was needed. Usually she didn't stick around for that part, but she had little choice in the matter.

She picked the glass up and the napkin with it, intent on cleaning up but halting when she realized there were numbers sprawled across the napkin in pen.

Seriously? He gave me his number?

She bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes narrowing at the writing before she crumpled the napkin up and huffed.

He is really laying it on heavy, huh? When did he even write it?

She moved toward the sink with the glass and the napkin balled up in hand, shaking her head at herself.

... mm... probably sometime when I stepped away to take care of other orders.

She deposited the cup in the sink's basin and paused, her eyes falling on the crumpled up napkin in her palm.

"Uhm... Kage...?"

Spirit glanced up at Okita's soft voice, her hand closing around the napkin instinctively and turning toward the younger girl behind her.

"Hmm? What's up?" Spirit asked, Okita's eyes averted slightly.

"Uh... I have the new round of orders..." Okita mumbled shyly, her hand extending with the slip of paper and the orders with it. Spirit nodded, offering up a faint (and slightly weary) smile, and taking it from Okita, her other hand stuffing the napkin in her back pocket.

"Thank you, I'll have these right up."

Back to work I guess... Yay

.:+:.

"Do... Do you need help with anything else, Kage...?" Okita asked softly, her hands fiddling with her bangs and blue eyes darting from the ground, to the rest of the (now empty) floor, and then over to Spirit on a loop. She had changed out of her 'uniform' and into a pair of jeans, a tank top with a jacket over it, her long pale hair pulled up into a messy bun- it was somewhat an odd sight, seeing her so dressed down, where usually she was rather dressed up for work... not that she looked bad or anything, mind you.

The whole of the building was quiet around them, the club having closed down about an hour beforehand and most everyone on the staff having gone home a bit before that. What was left was Spirit and Okita to do cleanup for the day, stacking chairs, wiping tables, cleaning stage, vacuuming, restocking the bar- the works.

Okita was stuck on cleaning duty being a newbie and all, and Spirit as payment for cutting tomorrow's shift short. Technically Shiga was supposed to be helping with the cleaning tonight too, but she'd left about half and hour ago so she could get home in time to get a jump on some online coursework. Spirit didn't mind much, especially given Okita was such an efficient worker. Between the two of them they had actually gotten the bulk of the cleaning duties done in fairly impressive time.

Spirit straightened up from stacking things in the underside of the bar, peering over the counter to match gazes with the younger girl.

"No, I only have a little more to finish up, I can handle it on my own. Thank you for the offer though." Spirit told her, "... If you give me like twenty minutes or so, I'll be done and we can walk together, at least for a little while. It's pretty late, and dark." Spirit added and Okita stiffened a bit, looking nervous, but shaking her head quickly.

"N-no, that's okay... I'll just start heading home now, I'm fine to walk on my own..." She assured, though her voice was less confident than she probably would have liked. "B-besides... I really doubt we'd be headed in the same direction anyway... So it's okay... I've gone back by myself before..."

Spirit bit the inside of her cheek. "... It wouldn't be a bother." She murmured, but Okita shook her head again.

"I-it's okay... Really... I don't live that far..." Okita mumbled, and Spirit sighed silently.

"... Are you sure...?"

"Yes...b..but... T-thank you... For offering... Kage..." Okita mumbled softly, her eyes stuck to the floor and never moving back up toward Spirit again.

She's still so nervous about everything, but she always seems really nervous around me- more so than other people...? Why...?

But even if I do make her fidget for whatever reason, I would have thought my company was a better alternative than walking the Red Light District alone at 3am... Guess not.

"... Alright, but be careful." Spirit told her slowly, and Okita nodded stiffly in affirmation, her purple eyes still trained to the floor as she turned and started toward the back door.

"...uhm... Goodnight... Kage..." She called out quietly as she went,

".. 'Night." Spirit mumbled in reply, losing sight of the younger girl as she stepped through the threshold of the hallway and disappeared toward the back. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek a few times, letting out a sigh and dropping her eyes back down to what she was doing before being interrupted.

... is there something about me that sets her on edge...? I mean she seems pretty shy around everybody, not just the customers but the other girls too... but with me she always seems just a bit more on edge... and I thought she'd relaxed around me after we talked that first day we met... but guess not...

... even working with me this week, she's hardly said 50 words to me the whole time... she just seems to want to keep to herself...

Spirit wilted slightly, her eyes dropping closed and her head tilting forward enough that her forehead pressed against the lip of the cupboard.

... mmm... at least one Intern thing is going well, even if the other isn't... I just don't know what's up with Okita... And I kinda doubt she'd tell me if I went and asked...

She shook her head, mussing up her bangs against the the cupboard, though she couldn't care less about that. She felt herself sway slightly on the balls of her feet, a bit composure and her balance from where she was crouched on the floor slipping away from her, though she did her best not to let it... she just didn't have the energy. What energy she'd had at all, had drained the last few hours of her shift, and if she'd felt dead on her feet before- she was definitely six feet in the earth right now.

... I am so tired... Just a few more shelves to stock Spirit and you can go home, and sleep for as long as you want... You don't have to be anywhere until 5pm...

Oh that sounded absolutely amazing... walking back home right now, not so much. But a necessary evil she would have to endure.

With a sigh she resumed the terribly dull work of placing bottles of liquor, and other various supplies in their proper places on the shelves. Once she was done, she stacked up the empty boxes needing to be thrown out, gathered up her wallet and keys, made sure the front door was locked up tight, and headed out the back door.

It was near pitch black outside, courtesy of the thick covering of clouds leftover from the storm earlier. What little light was available was from dirty and buzzing lamps stuck to the edges of the buildings sparsely, and bounced oddly off the puddles of dirty water dotted across the ground. The air itself was chill and full of moisture, a thin haze made up of her breath washed out in front of Spirit as she let out a sigh, and locked the back door behind her.

She diverted down the alleyway and away from the street to toss the empty boxes in the garbage bin, all of them thudding against the bags on the inside and shattering the dead silence all around. She winced internally at the sound, and more so at the slam the lid of the bin made when she dropped it back down. It was actually almost uncomfortably loud against the nothing... Or maybe she was just more sensitive to it, given how tired she felt.

She turned back up the alleyway and toward the street it dumped out on, ready to take a right and head for home, but she never made actually made it to the street before her feet stalled.

She stopped, her hands in her pants pockets and eyes locked straight ahead to that lone streetlight settled at the end of the alleyway, quiet. She didn't know why she stopped, her feet seemed to be acting of their own accord just then, and her tired mind was struggling to come to terms with it... and with the fact that she felt a shiver run down her spine, a tingle running through every inch of her as a sense of unease settled into her core without warning.

She didn't know why, or what- but immediately she sensed something was off. An innate, instinctual feeling, and a very real one.

What the hell...?

Her eyes narrowed to slits, her shoulders stiffening slightly as she slowly turned her head just enough she could cast a cautious glance over her shoulder.

Was someone watching her? Somewhere she couldn't' see them, but still feel them lurking...?

Her teeth grit, her tiredness quickly dissipating in the wave of tension that suddenly swallowed her whole. Her mind immediately flashed to the idea of Mamoru and his interest, and she hissed lowly at the idea he was out here waiting, hoping to catch her off guard- because of course that's the first place her thoughts went to. So she sucked in a sharp breath of air, anticipating the odd scent of flowers- but she didn't find it, and instead she picked up on something lighter, and sweeter, like honey.

She turned around now, about halfway as she glanced up the side of the alleyway that lead to another few, interweaving behind the buildings pressed up against the club and whatever else around it. Her 'blue' eyes flashed in the dim, her lips pulling downward at the edges and grumbling a bit under her breath.

Despite where her thoughts first jumped to, she knew what it felt like to be watched- and this wasn't it. This was something different, and that new smell- the honey-like one- that struck a chord with her, though at first she couldn't figure why.

She only wondered on it for a few seconds more, before her thoughts clicked together and she realized what the scent was. Or rather, who it belonged to.

... don't tell me...

She was moving in the opposite direction of the street in no time at all, her hands moving out of her pockets and steps brisk. Her pace steadily picked up as she scanned the alley walls and turned her attention on to whatever her ears and nose could pick up, given it was rather dark. She didn't know what she was looking for... well actually, she hoped she wouldn't pick up on what she was afraid might have brought on this sudden unease.

I'm just being regular, paranoid me, right?

But after ten minutes of fast walking, a faint, fairly far-off sound of a soft yelp and the clatter of a trashcan tipping over dashed her hopes of just being paranoid.

She started off into a run, rounding corners at break-neck speed and feeling her agitation rising as the sound of feet scraping over concrete got clearer- as did the sound of someone's voice being muffled and straining. And then those were quickly followed by hushed voices and snickers, and something else got tipped over and something shattered.

"M..mmm... l...t...e... go...!"

"No, no, no- be quiet now, got it? We're just talking..!"

"Yeah, just talking, you don't gotta get all worked up...!"

"Hey, quit moving so much...!"

"...mmph... p... ease...! S...op..!"

"He..hehe... you're real pretty, ya know..."

"Hey, ain't she one of the girls from Hikari..?"

"Oh yeah..! Come on, this is just like work for you, huh?"

"Yeah, ain't it your job to entertain us?"

"Totally, so start entertainin'...!"

The muffled yell was louder this time around, and the sound of struggling too. Spirit's jaw clenched so hard her teeth threatened to crack. She rounded the last corner and her eyes swept out across the small back alley clearing in three second time, taking in every little detail.

Six men, of varying sizes and shapes, all wobbly and many of them holding beer bottles, and completely smashed. Trash everywhere, puddles of filthy water too many to count. One barely functioning light stapled to one building, and much too far up to afford any light on the alley floor.

And one man, pinning a ruffled, and terrified Okita to the alley wall, his hand over her mouth and the other keeping her trapped in place- while a second and a third man hovered on either side of the first. One of them was playing with her hair and holding tightly to her left arm, while the other was slowly unzipping her jacket and kept her right arm still. And Okita was fidgeting and squirming underneath them, her cries smothered and nearly on the verge of tears, but none of her efforts made a difference. All of these men easily had at least 100 pounds on her, and the one with his hand over her mouth was the size of a fucking giant. Spirit would have been surprised if Okita could breathe with his dinner-plate hand on her face and throat.

All of it sent a wave of anger and rage rushing through Spirit like a goddamn wildfire. And even before the three seconds of her scanning the area were up, she was already making a beeline toward the nearest drunk asshole.

His blurry attention found her for no more than an instant before she grabbed tight hold of the front of his shirt, and the half-full beer bottle in his hand. Drunk Asshole #1 let out a startled yelp as she dug her heel into the cement and threw her weight around, dragging him with her and slamming him into the alley wall hard enough his teeth rattled. The air was driven from his lungs, dazing him and Spirit ripped the beer bottle from his hand, releasing his shirt and that hand finding the side of his face. She promptly slammed him into the wall again for good measure, and this time he slumped to the ground, groaning in pain and not likely to get to his feet anytime soon.

The commotion with #1 earned the attention of Drunk Asshole #2 a few feet ahead, and he whipped around unsteadily only to stumble back when Spirit threw the beer bottle in hand at him, and it smashed into his chest with a painful thump. He coughed, staggering backward but staying on his feet as that bottle and the one he had been holding on to hit the ground, and shattered.

By now #3, #4, #5 and the Giant were aware of the commotion and her sudden appearance in the alley behind them- but Spirit wasn't quite focused on them yet. She had darted forward and rounded on #2 slightly, gripping the back of his shirt and flinging him around to ram into a pile of trash cans. He lost his footing and fell among the trash heap with a groan, and Spirit glanced up, her furious glare locking with the Giant.

"Oi, ugly!" She snapped hotly, her voice scathing and biting on the cold air. The Giant turned his head to look at her, fury trickling into his face.

".. ugly...?" He echoed lowly, Spirit clicked her tongue.

"You fucking heard me." She hissed back, the Giant's face contorted further. "Let her go right now, and let's have you and the rest of you bloody assholes have a go at me instead. Kicking your asses will be damned good 'entertainment'." She hissed lowly, and the men frowned, the bleariness of their gazes sharpening just a bit in anger.

"What the hell did you just say?" Drunk Asshole #4 growled hotly,

"You think you can just bud in...?!" #3 snapped,

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" #5 yelled,

"I'm the one that's gonna kick all your asses." Spirit replied hotly,

"Like hell you are..!"

"There's more of us than you...!"

"Hah, scrawny chick like you? I think we'll have fun with both you, and the tiny one here."

Spirit hissed, hooking her foot underneath the the lid of a trashcan lying near her and flipping it up into the air. She caught it with ease, and in the next instant sent it spinning through air, aimed directly at the Giant's head.

The metal lid hit his skull with a satisfying clang, before clattering to the ground. His face darkened, glaring daggers at her as she returned the stare tenfold.

"I told you to let her go." Spirit muttered lowly.

The Giant growled, slamming Okita back against the wall rather roughly, before letting her go at last. The young girl let out a breathless gasp, dropping to her knees and sputtering for air as she coughed- but the Giant turned his back on her, and #3,4, and 5 turned to face Spirit all the way too.

"Big mistake." #4 muttered lowly, #3 and #5 nodding in agreement. The three of them and the Giant took a few, 'menacing' steps in her direction, though of course they were not as scary nor imposing to her as they might have been to someone else. All of them probably thought she was secretly shaking in her boots and putting up a face- and oh how wrong they were.

I've faced worse than you assholes, trust me.

Naturally, since she was a Pro Hero. Though in this situation all she could really afford to flaunt was her lack of fear and her hand-to-hand skills, but only just. She couldn't use her Quirk, lest she expose who she really was (and lose her clothes), and she couldn't really fight like a Pro would either- for the same reason as the first. She had to hold back, at least a little.

So no real fancy stuff, not unless she really needed it, and she doubted she would. Even without knowing what sorts of Quirks these guys might have, they were all very drunk and very unbalanced, which didn't make fighting easier by any means.

#3 was the first one to make a real move, his arms swinging out in her direction and elongating as he did so, easily clearing the space between them and Spirit huffed. She sidestepped and ducked underneath them at near the last moment, moving left and darting forward, clearing what space was between them in no time at all. He recoiled as she got closer, his arms flailing a little as he tried his best to use them and block her, but he couldn't retract them fast enough and her fist slammed hard against his jaw with a loud and painful thud.

He was sent sprawling backwards, falling against the concrete on his back and yelping. Spirit's eyes snapped to her right, #5 letting out an angry yell and throwing his fist out in a rushed and sloppy attempt of a punch. Spirit brought her arm up and jammed it into the inside of his, deflecting his punch to the side and swinging her free hand forward from the opposite side. She stiffened in the middle of it though, feeling her shirt sleeve on the arm she had used to deflect his hit suddenly catching on his skin and ripping- ah shit.

There was little light available to see anything, or why her shirt ripped when her arm rubbed against his skin, but she could guess. And first thing that came to mind was a Quirk, and specifically one that either cut things he came into contact with, or hardened his skin into something not so flesh-like.

But she had too much momentum going in her punch to redirect or stop herself, and she grumbled internally, preparing herself for the very real possibility that punching this asshole was gonna hurt- like a lot more than usual.

Her left hand slammed into #5's jaw hard enough to crack teeth, though the only thing she heard crack were her fingers. Pain jolted through her bones and all the way up her arm, her fist met with what felt like a stone wall rather than a face, and her hand bounced off his cheek slightly, making the hit a lot less solid than it should have been. Her left hand and knuckles scraped and tore as they dragged across his now harsh, jagged, bumpy and rock-like skin, earning a well of blood in their quake. She bit back a wince of pain and let out an aggravated growl instead.

Yeah, definitely some sort of Hardening Quirk... ugh, what a pain.

She didn't let herself pause on it though, and she sure as hell didn't give him even two seconds to think he had gained the upper hand either. Her right hand snapped forward and grabbed to the tie around his neck, jerking him and his head down roughly and bringing her knee up to meet his chin with a jarring (and again, painful for her) uppercut. His teeth clacked together and he stumbled back, winded but not enough to be down and she kept on- releasing his tie as he and swinging her right fist backward. He was winded enough now that the next hit should do some damage, and she was squared now and more grounded- as opposed to her running at him with the first punch.

Her right fist crashed against the other side of his face, following through this time and sending him spinning backward, before promptly smacking against the alley wall behind him and hitting the floor with a groan. The knuckles on her right hand tore just as badly as the left had, and her bones cracked and ached under the impact, but still she bit back at the sting of pain and focused on her next target- the Giant. Who was now running at her, his heavy footfalls echoing off the alley walls.

He was huge, and surely packed a punch to boot- but his running was slow, and his reaction-times were sure to be just as sluggish, and more so given how badly his breath reeked of booze. He kept up his charge, headed straight toward her and clearing what distance remained between them in only a few steps, and Spirit waited for him to get closer.

She was faintly aware of Drunk Asshole #4 in the corner of her eye, though that guy looked about ready to piss himself at how quickly she'd downed #1,2,3 and 5- and she really doubted he'd muster up the courage to take a swing at her now, even with all that alcohol he was hopped up on.

The Giant swung a meaty fist down at her and she spun slightly to avoid it, stepping passed him and turning on her heel to face his back. His fist smashed into the ground, cracking the cement and Spirit took advantage of the precious few seconds he remained hunched over, the base of her foot colliding with the center of his back. The force behind the kick was enough to send him skidding forward onto his front and his face, despite his advantage in size. Spirit paused for only a few seconds to steady herself again on two feet, her mind racing with what her next move needed to be in order to deal with the big guy.

Movement in the corner of her eye halted that plan though, and her teeth grit as she quickly rounded on whatever was coming her way, jumping back in an instinctual attempt to avoid it.

#3 had apparently found his feet again even after getting punched in the face, and his Elasto-Arms were moving out toward her at breakneck speed from the other end of the alleyway. She managed to avoid him at first as he tried to grab hold of her, by rounding a set of garbage bins and other miscellaneous trash. But #3 was still hot on her trail and scooped up several metal bins of trash and tossed them and all their contents at her, and she had no way or avoiding it all. She missed two, but one of them was filled with no small amount of filthy, stinking rainwater mixed with who knows what else.

The water cascaded through the air, falling over her head and shoulders, drenching her- while also peppering her with smaller bits of filth that were mixed in. She closed her eyes against it instinctively, her arms moving up to shield her face and teeth gritting as her world got washed out in the sound of water splashing, and her nose filled with the scent of rot so strong her stomach turned at it.

But that fleeting moment where she stopped and her eyes shut? Big mistake.

She only heard one heavy footfall, her eyes snapping open and blurry from water dripping into them. And she only saw a big, hulking silhouette coming in fast- and she had no time to react, or dodge, or anything of the sort. What little her feet moved were just her shoes slipping across the now very wet cement.

The Giant was right next to her, angrier than ever now, and his hands swinging out toward her. Spirit's arms moved up, doing her best to try and block at least a little, but it didn't account for much- like not at all, really.

His fist slammed hard against her right side, straight into her torso and just under ribs, and with terrifying, unbelievable, absolutely brutal force. Right where the Hero Killer had stuck his sword through her body a week prior.

Every shred of air left her lungs, agony burning like hellfire through her entire body and the wound, so red-hot it was icy cold all at once. No amount of stubbornness, experience or willpower could have kept her composure from crumbling just then, and she doubled over, her muscles locking and unable to breath- absolutely winded, and her thoughts wiped blank in an instant under all the pain. That hurt, so much more than words could ever begin to describe. It maybe hurt worse than the sword going through the first time.

"K...kage..!" Okita's terrified voice rung out, but Spirit hardly heard her at all.

Spirit doubled over, folding in on herself and breathless as she coughed out what little air she had. The Giant's other hand clapped down onto her head and his fingers curled into her hair, jerking her up roughly and dragging her around a bit, before throwing her into the ground a few feet away.

Her body smacked against the cement in another wave of agony, her bones rattling and the wound in her side searing in a new wave of pain. Spirit gasped out as she hit the floor and stayed there, her body rigid and eyes shut, holding her breath against it and unmoving. Her jaw clenched, and she could taste blood on her tongue from her lip splitting upon her face hitting the cement, adding to the scarlet still staining her knuckles on her hands.

Of all the places he could have hit her, did it have to be there?

S..shit... That... That really fucking hurt...

She let out the breath she was holding slowly and in a hiss, her teeth gritting further as her fingers curled into fists against the cement, her fingernails digging into her palms.

Damn it... now I am super pissed... tch...

"Not so tough now are you..?!" #4 snapped, gaining a bit of bravado now that she'd actually taken a hit.

"That'll teach you to run your mouth like that!" #3 chimed in,

Spirit growled, her shoulders hunching slightly as she shifted and pressed her hands against the ground, forcing herself up and to sitting on her heels. Her hair hung and stuck to her face in stinking, watery tendrils and she shook her head furiously at what further pain moving caused- not that even that would stop her now, mind you. But she did pause for a second as she settled onto her knees, her left hand moving up to hold tenderly to where she'd been hit and her other hand steadying herself against the ground still, swallowing back at the pain as it continued to throb terribly, but the initial intensity was fading.

Ok, I am definitely gonna smash that Giant asshole's face in for that

Drunk Asshole #3 moved up to stand beside where she was still hunched over on the ground. He sneered, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he glared down at her, and wrinkled his nose.

"Ugh, you smell like ass now." He muttered. Spirit shot him a glare, but she didn't lift her head enough for their eyes to meet, so she shot the look at his feet to her right instead. "Serves you right, bitch. You shouldn't have started a fight, cause now you're finished." He hissed lowly and Spirit stiffened, her eyes narrowing to slits as his feet shifted and he started to raise one.

- but I'll get to smashing Giant's face in a second, first I deal with you, hmm?

"Next time mind your own fucking business, huh?!" #3 yelled loudly, his foot raising higher and kicking out toward her.

Spirit's right hand shot up and caught the base of his foot in her palm in an instant, halting the kick dead in it's tracks. Her fingers curled around his shoe and her eyes raised enough this time that her steely, and deadly cold stare caught his gaze- and he paled at the look, and what amount of murder there seemed to be in her eyes. More so as he instinctively tried to pull his foot back, but she wasn't letting go, and inklings of panic began to quickly spread over his face.

Spirit jerked his foot forward and to the side, instantly pulling his feet out from under him and sending #3 falling flat on his ass. He yelped as he made contact with the ground, eyes wide and frantic as she let go of his foot and was already moving again. She lift her right arm up and jammed her elbow backward, dead-center into his face, his nose making a sickening crack under the hit as he was thrown backward into the ground, and his head smacked against the concrete with a very loud thump.

His yell of pain rung on the air in the alleyway, wriggling and squirming as he held a profusely bleeding nose. All eyes (of those who had gotten back to their feet at all) turned from having migrated back to Okita and toward the sound, but Spirit wasn't on the ground anymore. She was on her feet already and moving fast, darting sideways and hoisting up a separate garbage bin filled to the brim with trash- she didn't care all what was in it, only that it was heavy.

She spun around once, pulling the bin around with her to gain momentum, before letting go again and sending it flying through the air straight toward the Giant guy. Some of the trash spilled out midair, but most of it's weight rammed into him straight on. Him being both too slow, and too surprised with Spirit moving again after that hit to dodge or even think of blocking it. It thudded against his chest and sent him stumbling backward, and Spirit was right in front of him in the next second, her tie (which had been around her neck, as per her uniform for the bar) now in her hand after unwinding it as she moved.

She ducked around the Giant, twisting her tie around his ankle and tugging up upward with all her might. He stumbled forward passed her, unbalanced and struggling to keep his composure as he was forced down onto one knee. Spirit released her hold on the tie and dug her heel into the ground hard, whipping her entire body around and and bringing her leg up in the same instant. Her leg smashed into the side of his face as he was brought level with her after being forced to his knee, the momentum and force behind the kick throwing him into the ground and earning a pained groan as the breath was driven from him.

Spirit stepped back down, straightening herself a bit and hissing when he started to push himself back up again- oh no, not a chance.

Her hands clapped down onto the back of his shirt, pulling him around with her as she kept him from getting to his feet by tossing him forward a bit (as much she could anyway... She was stronger than she looked, but he weighed a ton).

He stumbled again, his palms scraping across the ground and grunting as he rolled a bit. And still he tried to get to his feet, grumbling and huffing as he shot a blood-shot glare back at her, but his eyes only ever locked to her fist a centimeter or two from his face.

She punched him, her bones rattling again and the torn flesh of her knuckles stinging like hell with the impact- and the much too violent force she put behind it, but she was seething and couldn't care.

This time around the Giant seemed to take the hint, or was otherwise too battered and dizzy to keep up. #4 darted up from fidgeting on the sidelines the whole time and quickly began to try and drag the larger man to his feet, casting furtive and terrified glances at Spirit all the while. #2 stumbled over to help #3 up off the ground, his hands clapped over a very broken nose and dripping blood as they both hurried toward the exit of the alleyway, where #1 was already running off without a second thought. The Giant and #4 scrambled to their feet, stumbling after all the rest in wobbly, unsteady fashion and grumbling all the while.

Spirit stood in her spot, straight-backed, soaked, dirty, knuckles bloody, lip too, and her 'blue' eyes glinting in fury as she watched them all scurry off in retreat. She grit her teeth, panting slightly and feeling her body shaking, her fingers gripping to the bottom of her vest as the throbbing from the stab wound kept on on ultra-high, and steadily got worse as the rush and adrenaline of (the very short-lived) fight came to a close.

Seriously, this sucked. Like really sucked.

She was so angry, at all of them, and Stain, and every little bad or suspicious thing that has happened today. And herself too, for letting any of it happen at all.

An all new surge of pain rushing through her caused her to stiffen though and break off her thoughts, sucking in a sharp breath of air and her eyes shutting tight against it, and she hunched a little too without wanting it.

... Craaaaap... I really hope the stitches didn't rip because of that... Please, please don't have ripped.

She couldn't tell though, and she hadn't time to pause and try to figure it out either. What her mind turned to next while ignoring all the pain, anger, herself and whatever else- was Okita.

Spirit turned around, her eyes landing on the young girl pressed against the back wall and her knees drawn into her chest, still sitting on the ground, petrified. Her teary, purple eyes darted up and matched with Spirit's as she started to take a few (albeit stiff) steps toward her, Spirit biting back at the way the throbbing increased as she began to move.

Okita sucked in a shaky breath of air as Spirit started toward her, flecks of moisture pecking at the corners of her eyes and trembling. She looked frazzled, and her jacket had been unzipped, but other than that she didn't look hurt anywhere- at least not that Spirit could tell just then.

"... K...Kage..." Okita stammered breathlessly, Spirit nodded a bit.

"You okay?" Spirit murmured gently, drawing up beside the girl. She slowly dropped down into a crouch on the balls of her feet, her hand sliding along the wall to help keep herself steady, and swallowing against the sharp stab of pain that followed. "... You aren't hurt, are you? No injuries?" Spirit pressed further, her hands hovering slightly and hesitating on reaching out toward the girl, lest she not want the contact.

Okita shook her head slowly, sucking in another breath of air and holding it this time in an attempt to steady herself. She let it out as slow as she could manage, shaking herself out a bit and unhooking her hands from gripping her knees.

"I... I think I'm OK..." She stammered, her eyes falling from Kage and landing on her shaking hands. She swallowed hard, her eyes closing for a few seconds as she did her best to steady her breathing some more, and Spirit watched her quietly. "... Y... Yeah... I'm okay... They just... That freaked me out... B... But they didn't hurt me... It... It was just... Sc...scary..." She hissed, shaking her head a little and her shoulders hunching. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek, nodding a bit to the younger girl's words.

"I know." Spirit murmured softly, Okita sucked in a deep breath of air and let it out slower than all the rest. After a moment the young girl stiffened, her eyes snapping back up and toward Spirit.

"Oh, K-Kage, are you okay...?" She asked quickly, her eyes glittering like mad as her eyes darted from Spirit's bloody lip to her torn up knuckles and about everywhere else in between. "Y-you got hurt...! A-and that guy hit you really hard..!" She stammered quickly and Spirit shook her head a bit, silencing the girl.

"I'm okay." She murmured with ease (and lied... But she couldn't very well let her pain show about the stab wound that Okita couldn't know about).

"B-but you..." Okita stammered, Spirit shook her head.

"Don't worry about me, Okita." Spirit murmured softly, her left hand extending slowly toward the girl. "Come on, I'm gonna take you home." Spirit told her gently, and Okita hesitated, her eyes finding Spirit's hand.

Tentatively she reached out, their fingers winding together as Spirit nodded at her.

"Good, you're gonna be okay. I promise, I'll get you home safe."

.:+:.

Okita never let go of holding on to Spirit's hand the whole trek through the dark and quiet streets of Shinjuku Kabukicho. There were few people out and about at the latest hour it was, and what few they did pass by only cast them wary glances. (Most assuredly most of the looks they earned were because of Spirit's haggard appearance, but even then seeing someone bleeding and ruffled was sort of commonplace in this district... especially at this late hour.)

Okita said little to nothing the whole way. Nothing, apart from small words on directions toward where she lived here and there, and Spirit just nodded in affirmation of them all. Mostly her attention was fixed on ignoring the ache and throbbing in her body, and blinking furiously several times a minute in a futile attempt at clearing her blurry vision... Some section of filth, and/or other tiny bits of garbage had gotten into her eyes when she got soaked with the trashcan rainwater, and her color contacts were dirty now. They were irritating her eyes quite a bit, while also making it hard to see clearly, and it was rather agitating. She couldn't wait to take them out, but she would have to wait until Okita was back home and settled to do so.

And once Spirit got back to her own home, she could do more than just take out the contacts- she could take a shower, for one. And she could take a look at the stab wound and see if all the pain it was causing her now was because the stitches had ripped, or otherwise... Because of course the wound being punched did nothing to help, but how much damage had it actually done?

... Not a lot... I hope...

"... Y.. You... You are a really good fighter, Kage..." Okita's soft voice spoke up after a long time, and Spirit blinked in tired surprise.

"... Hmm? I guess do well enough..." Spirit mumbled softly, Okita shook her head slightly, her eyes on the ground as they moved, shoulder to shoulder and their hands still linked together.

"No... You... Were amazing..." Okita mumbled slowly, and Spirit cast the girl a sideways glance but never caught her eye. "... You beat them all... You were outnumbered, and their Quirks... That guy was so much bigger than you... But you didn't hesitate... And you did so well... I never imagined you could do something like that..."

Spirit glanced away, electing for silence instead of replying to any of it... What was she supposed to say anyway? It's not like she could explain that she could fight was because she was actually a Pro Hero.

"... Thank you, for saving me." Okita murmured quietly, her hand squeezing tighter around Spirit's.

"... You don't have to thank me." Spirit mumbled, glancing ahead and away from Okita altogether. Okita cast a glance up at Spirit at that, her purple eyes glittering in the dim and quiet, almost thoughtful... And Spirit never saw the look.

Silence fell between them again for the rest of the way, Okita slowing up and Spirit following her lead as they came up on an apartment building stuffed between two other very large buildings that looked... Less than functional. And the apartment building itself looked a little rough outside, even for Redlight District standards. Their hands separated for the first time and Okita wrung hers together in front of her, her feet fidgeting a bit.

"...uhm... This is it." Okita mumbled, her eyes moving up to Spirit shyly.

"Alright, do you need me to walk you to your door?" Spirit asked quietly, and Okita paused, her eyes darting away again almost nervously.

"... I... Would like that but...not just..." Okita started and Spirit tilted her head a bit. "... Uhm... Kage..." She started and then trailed off again, looking a little frustrated with herself now and Spirit blinked.

Okita quit her fidgeting with her feet and took in a deep breath, her hands pulling apart and her arms moving to stick straight at her sides. She snapped her head up, her eyes locking with Spirit's and the nervousness on her face suddenly replaced with... Is that determination, or...?

"Kage, please come inside and stay, at least for a little..!" Okita said quickly, her voice hushed but surprisingly steady and Spirit stiffened, a little taken aback.

... Uh... What...? Stay...?

"... I'm... Sorry...?" Spirit mumbled reflexively, Okita's eyes flashed.

"Y-You're hurt, regardless if you say you're fine or not...! A-And you got hurt helping me, I have to make it up to you somehow, and thank you for what you did...!" Okita replied, "You can come in, I h-have a first aid kit and I'll help clean and dress your injuries... A-and you can take a shower, and get washed up too from getting all dirty, and I can lend you some clothes... O-or I can make us some tea or something... Please just let me help take care of you, at least a little bit..! I owe you at least that much for how hard you worked to... To protect me, Kage...! A-and for walking me all the way home...!"

Spirit stared slightly, her expression blank and kinda lost for words... Because that was the most amount of words Okita had ever said to her all at once. By far.

"... Ah... Okita it's really not necessary-" Spirit started, and it wasn't. But mostly the protest came from the fact that it was literally the last thing she wanted to do. She just wanted to go home... She needed to go home.

"-please Kage!" Okita cut her off though, and Spirit grumbled silently. ".. I h-have to do at least something... Y-you got hurt protecting me, while I just... Sat there... Please Kage, I want to help you...!" She pressed still, and Spirit jaw clenched at the way Okita's purple eyes shown as she said it, and how her voice seemed to tighten too.

... Why is she so persistent on this...?

Spirit's eyes dropped closed as she bit the inside of both cheeks, silence falling between the both of them again.

I really don't want to stay out here any longer than I have to-

"Please." Okita murmured again, halting Spirit's thoughts and earning her eyes opening up again. Spirit stiffened, feeling her stomach churn as Okita suddenly lowered herself into a bow, her hands folded together against her knees and head lowered. "... Please, Kage... Let me return the kindness you showed for me tonight. Let me make it up to you, as much as I am able."

Spirit stiffened, her teeth gritting further at the bowing younger and her eyes narrowing to slits at the gesture.

... Why... Why does this mean so much to her...? I don't get it... But shit.

Spirit stifled a groan of exasperation, her head tilting up toward the dark and overcast sky for a moment, and gritting her teeth even further.

Tch...

Her head tilted back down, cursing herself in her head more than a few times, and settling a stare on Okita. Who was still bowed and not looking up at her.

"... Fine, but I'm only staying for a little while." Spirit grumbled at length, and Okita glanced up swiftly, her eyes glittering in the dim.

"... Y..yes...! I understand..!" Okita murmured, nodding quickly and Spirit let out a silent sigh. "Thank you...! P-please... Follow me...!"

The walk up the four flights of stairs to Okita's door was goddamn torture on Spirit, her fingers gripping the handrail so hard her knuckles turned white. She hardly dared to breathe for how hard she was trying to stifle winces of pain or whatever. And she was paying little attention to anything Okita said as they stepped inside the younger girl's apartment, the light switching on brightening a room that had been pitch black two seconds before. The abrupt change made Spirit's eyes shut instinctively, and she stood in the small genkan at the door with them shut for a few moments, while Okita quickly worked to pull off her shoes.

"... I-I'll get you a bag to put your clothes in, and lend you some of mine, so you have something clean to change into after you take a shower..." Okita explained quickly, already out of her shoes and heading further into the apartment ahead of Spirit. Spirit opened her eyes as the girl said it, ready to protest- but Okita had already disappeared around a corner ahead of her.

Spirit grumbled, chewing on the inside of her cheek for a moment, before starting to take her shoes off as well (with a little difficulty...).

Once she'd managed it, she stepped up cautiously and blinked a few times, hoping in vain her vision would clear- but unless she took the contacts out, that wasn't likely to happen. What she made out of Okita's home was little, it was cozy and quaint, and rather clean on the inside and well kept in comparison to how the outside of the building had looked. Of course there were a few bits of wear and tear, but it was decorated with little knickknacks stacked on small shelves, pictures on the walls and whatnot. The entrance connected with a hallway that opened up into a living room, covered in tatami mats and with a small kotatsu table in the center. To the left was a little kitchen corner, and to the right lead to what Spirit assumed was Okita's bedroom, and where the girl had disappeared to.

Spirit moved right slowly, pausing at the entrance to the room and catching sight of Okita digging through her closet. Spirit didn't move an inch, she just let her eyes drop to the floor and waited in silence until Okita found what she was looking for, and glanced her way.

"U-uhm... These might be a little snug on you, but they should be okay." Okita murmured softly, clothes in her hand. And 'Snug' might have been putting it politely, considering Okita was a bit smaller (and much shorter) than Spirit was. "... I put a plastic bag in the bathroom, and a few towels for you. I'll set these in there and you can wash up... I-I'll make some tea, in the meantime, and I'll help with your injuries when you're done... I'll have to grab the first-aid kit in the kitchen..." She mumbled quickly, her eyes falling from Spirit and to the clothes in her hands almost shyly, and Spirit sighed silently.

... I guess a shower is fine, I can wash off the blood... and it'll give me time to take a look at this stupid stab wound by myself too... It might also be good not to smell like a garbage can anymore.

"... Alright." Spirit murmured softly and Okita nodded, quickly depositing the clothes in the bathroom attached to the room, and then brushing passed Spirit and out of the bedroom entirely. She closed the door behind her and left Spirit in silence, her eyes lingering on the bedroom door for a few seconds, before heading into the bathroom, and closing that door behind her too.

Spirit let out a long, heavy sigh, her hands finding traction on the sink counter and leaning against it slightly as what little composure she had managed on the walk here, just suddenly shattered. Her head bowed, hanging as her eyes closed, silent and unmoving for a few long seconds that seemed to last so much longer.

... So much of today just sucks...

... It's not even 'today' anymore though... It's already the next day... But whatever... The point still stands...

She tilted her head back up, grumbling under her breath and bending over just a bit. She slowly pulled open the drawers attached to the sink counter, blinking several times a minute as she scanned through the contents. A bit rude maybe, but she was only really interested in one sort of thing in particular.

First things first, get these fucking contacts out, they're annoying the hell out of me.

A few drawers in, she found what she was searching for- a little pile of throwaway cups of the like you'd use for mouthwash or whatever. She plucked two up from the many and filled them with water, before working to remove the color contacts from her eyes and deposit them in one cup each... Rendering her 'blue' eyes their regular crimson and sighing when her vision finally cleared near all the way. And then she actually got a good look at herself in the mirror, and she grimaced.

I look like crap

And she really did. Bloody lip, scrapes and soaked like a drowned rat. Her shirt sleeves were torn and her other bits of clothes were stuck with dirt and other flecks of rotting food and ick. Her hair had mostly fallen out of the bun she had had it in, and her vest was lacking a tie- she'd not actually bothered to get it back after using in in the fight. And the worst of all the outside damage was her hands, the flesh of her knuckles and fingers ripped up and cached in dry blood, and already bruising. And rather swollen in general actually... That's what you get when you punch someone with a Quirk that makes them as hard as a rock.

But if she looked this bad just outwardly, she could not imagine what the wound in her side must look like. Small mercy her vest was black, and if she was bleeding from ripped stitches or anything you couldn't tell easily.

She sighed again and turned the shower on, wanting to at least get it running before Okita wondered why she had taken so long to get undressed.

The air started to steam as she managed to get her socks and pants off, and was warming up as she worked to unbutton the vest and then slowly pull it back- and hissed under her breath when she saw the crimson stains peppered across the white collared shirt underneath it.

Shit

She bit down on her tongue as she undid the buttons on the long sleeve, and slowly began to take it off too. She pulled her left arm out first and then held her breath as the shirt fabric stuck to her skin and the wound from the blood, and she had to literally peel it off. And that really hurt.

She hunched a bit, her teeth gritting and body rigid as her left hand pushed against the counter for support and her right hand held tightly to the shirt itself- holding it up and off her body after pulling it off the wound, but not bothering to pull her arm out of the sleeve just yet. She stayed still, a low, strained hiss escaping passed her lips and legs shaking as the persistent throb of pain rose into something sharper and hotter after agitating it with the shirt.

Fucking... Hell...

She gave it a few long moments, sucking in a breath of air and doing her best to let it out slowly... Hoping it would help to settle herself and the pain too before she tried anything further, or tried to get a good look at the damage. When the pain did recede enough she could take it, she pulled her arm out of the sleeve and dropped the blood-stained white shirt into a heap atop her other discarded clothes on the countertop.

... Well... That shirt is definitely ruined...

She took in a deep breath and straightened a bit, turning her eyes to the wound and frowning to herself as she scanned it. It was definitely agitated, and inflamed to all hell- and yes, it looked like some of the stitches had pulled and tightened quite a bit, but not pulled all the way out.

So hey, they weren't ripped, and hadn't been totally reopened... But the wound was definitely swollen, and hurt like an absolute bitch, even at the littlest things. What blood that had ruined her white shirt seemed to have only been a small amount, and it was mostly dry now and not at all fresh. The wound must have only bled after she had first gotten hit, but stopped soon after.

So great, it was not as bad as it could have been, just overall very irritating. More so at the thought that she was probably going to be really sore after this, and it would take little for the wound to cause her real pain for at least a few days.

... If I'm not careful on that Patrol with Feathers and the Interns, I might do something that'll really really hurt... Ugh

She shook her head at herself and undressed the rest of the way. She stepped into the shower, her fists clenching at the very unpleasant stab of pain that followed as the warm water splashed against the wound. She gave it a few moments to fade back out a little, before sighing and slowly washing out her bloody knuckles, hair, and everywhere else. Little by little, doing away with the bulk of the filth, blood and the grime, and washing off the putrid scent that had come with it. And after awhile, the shower felt kind of nice... Warm (much warmer than her own shower could ever get) and soothing, and she felt the tautness in her muscles from the fighting, anger and the pain slowly fade away with the mess.

... Mmmm... I have to call the Club Owner and let him know what happened... Okita's gonna need a few days off after this...

She ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes closed and sighing as she stood still for a moment. The warmth of the water pecking against her skin and washing over her was wonderful. But for a split second, all of that faded in a flash of anger igniting again in her core at the thought of what had happened.

... Those assholes... What they tried to do... Tch...

She shook her head and threw all of the thoughts away. She hadn't the energy to get worked up about it all over again, so she wouldn't.

Thogugh she did silently promise that if she ever saw those men again, she would teach them another (harsher) lesson- preferably when there was no Okita or anyone else watching, and she wouldn't have to limit herself on ability... You know, so no one questioned why 'Kage' seemed to fight as well as you might expect a Pro Hero (or Villain) to, and started asking unwanted questions.

Spirit stayed in the shower in utterr silence a little while longer, just enjoying the warmth of the water and running her fingers absently through her hair, picking out tangles where she could find them. She felt her mind slipping toward somewhere quiet and blissfully empty more and more as she did so, until eventually she caught herself staring into space for a bit too long, and decided it was probably time to get out.

She shut the water off and stepped out slowly, pulling up one of the towels Okita had stacked on the counter. She dried off quickly, taking care to be gentle around the stab wound and wringing the moisture out of her hair. She pulled on the sweatpants that Okita had left for her, and smiled wearily when they were more capris than the full-length pants they were supposed to be.

Spirit smiled wryly to herself, sighing as she picked up her bra from the pile of her own clothes, and grimaced slightly at the dampness of it, but it wasn't too bad. She put it on, and then paused breifly in getting dressed to pull her damp hair up into a loose ponytail, and stuff her other clothes away in the plastic grocery bag Okita had fished out for her. She was halfway through that endeavor when movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention, and a soft few knocks on the door.

"U-uhm, sorry Kage... I just wanted to make sure you were okay... And that the clothes weren't way too small...?" Okita's soft voice filtered in, the doorway sliding open just a crack. Enough Okita could peer inside the small sliver of an opening, and her purple eyes locked on to 'Kage' standing at the sink with her blood-stained shirt in hand, unmoving.

First, Okita's face went bright red- probably at Spirit's lack of a shirt and just being in a bra- and for it the young girls nervousness ignited on ultrahigh in no time at all. She sucked in a startled breath of air, her eyes going wide as her attention snapped quickly away from Spirit's lack of a shirt and found what she was holding in her hand- the bloody shirt, and that breath she'd sucked in stalled in Okita's throat, her heart skipping a beat. Her eyes snapped to the swollen stitching threaded into Spirit's flesh, the red flush from Okita's face disappearing in an instant as she paled at the sight of the wound.

The young girl's mouth fell open, moving a bit as if she meant to say something, but the words never came out. Instead, Okita's eyes slowly moved from the wound and up- matching with Spirit's crimson gaze for the first time since cracking the door open, and Spirit could only stare. Her mind had shuddered to a halt at Okita's completely unexpected intrusion. While conversely, Okita's mind seemed to be racing now.

The girl went from flustered and flushed, to stunned and white as a sheet in about six seconds flat, her mouth still dropped and trembling now as her violet eyes glittered like mad.

"...y..you... Y...you're..." Okita stammered, her voice breathless and faint, the confusion, shock and question on her face quickly morphing into realization.

"... You're... Animal Spirit..." Okita nearly squeaked,

Spirit felt a heavy weight fall into the pits of her stomach, stiffening and rigid at the words instantly. Okita backed up from the door a bit, swallowing hard as she shook her head once or twice in disbelief, and then promptly fell out of sight altogether. A heavy thud sounded on the other side of the door as the girl hit the floor, and Spirit blinked rapidly.

Did she just...?

Spirit hissed, her eyes flashing and frowning as her thoughts stopped whirling for a few seconds, and her shock wore off in the next instant.

"... Shit!"

.:+:.

...tch... Damn it, I should have known this was a bad idea...

Spirit grumbled under her breath a bit, shaking her head at herself and carefully picking the steaming kettle up off the stove. Truthfully, it had been more than ready to come off the stove earlier than now, but she'd been a little busy trying to rouse Okita after the girl fainted at the realization that her house guest 'Kage' was actually the Ebony Hero.

How the hell did she piece that together so fast anyway? I mean even without the color contacts, or with the wound, pegging me as Animal Spirit that quickly? That's all kinda a really big leap.

I've been working at the Club for a little over a year now and no one has caught on, at all. Okita's been here for only two weeks, and she figured it out.

Spirit shook her head and huffed, picking the kettle up in hand and heading out of the kitchen slowly toward the living room and the kotasu table... To which Okita was sitting cross-legged beside, her face in her hands and elbows on the tabletop, utterly quiet. She'd settled there in stiff silence after Spirit had managed to wake her up and get her to her feet, and had been staring at the tabletop in slightly panicked silence before deciding it best to hide her face from the rest of the world instead. And apart from Spirit's few little commands and instructions on getting her up and to sit and try to just calm down, there had been nothing else said between them- and Okita had not said a word.

Hell, she hadn't even dared to look at Spirit at all, and she seemed to plan on sticking to that line of action now even as Spirit approached the table, two cups and a pot filled with tealeaves already set out. Okita had done most of the preparation before deciding to peek in on Spirit, and now after the aforementioned fainting and 'secret identity' exposing- here they were.

And what the hell am I supposed to do about this?

Spirit shook her head again and drew up on the other side of the table from Okita, bending down slowly onto one knee with the kettle still in hand and hissing lightly under breath when doing so sent a stab of pain rushing through her from the wound. She faltered in her movement about halfway through, gritting her teeth against it, before continuing stiffly onto her knees and setting the kettle on the tabletop. The show of pain actually managed to earn Okita's eyes from behind her fingers, but it was fleeting and Spirit certainly didn't notice the glance as she silently began to pour the water into pot, before setting the kettle back down on the table top again.

Spirit shifted a little to sit cross-legged, her posture wilting once she had done so and her eyes dropped closed, letting out a long, deep sigh. She was actually wearing a shirt now by the way, the one that Okita had lent her- and unlike the pants, it fit fairly well... Which was nice, it didn't cling to the wound on her side too much that way.

(And it probably also helped in calming Okita down a little too... flustered reactions that came with her being shirtless aside, the young girl would have probably been unnerved further if she could get good look at the wound still.)

But all of that was less important than the main thing-

"... So needless to say, you really weren't supposed to know about... Well, me." Spirit said at length, her voice shattering the silence of the house. Okita's shoulders stiffened, her hands slowly lowering from her face just enough her eyes peeked out from over the top of her fingers, her gaze searching the older woman. But Spirit's eyes were still shut and not looking Okita's way.

"... And I'm not gonna try and play it off or deny it either, even though I might like to... I get the feeling it wouldn't work. You guessed who I was way too fast for me to be able to dodge the assumption... I think you are pretty sure of it, and I won't convince you otherwise no matter what I might try... so I won't." Spirit added, though internally she hated that last bit, but whatever for now-

"I would like to know how, or why, you came to the conclusion of who I am, as fast as you did though." Spirit kept on, and Okita's eyes dropped again. Spirit blinked her eyes open this time, her crimson gaze steady and level even as Okita tried to avoid direct eye contact, and her tone was calm as could be. If a bit low, and serious too.

But this was a serious matter (mishap?), so it was called for. Spirit just had to remind herself who she was talking to, and that she couldn't be too curt or cold with the girl, lest she make her even more nervous than she was... Or make her pass out again.

"... I... I'm... Sorry..." Okita stammered at last, slowly and her voice just shy of a whisper. "... I... I didn't mean to... I just... I... I can't believe this whole time... I've b-been working with... A... And talking to... To the Animal Spirit... And... I never imagined..." She started, rambling a bit and Spirit's jaw clenched slightly.

"... Okita, how did you figure out it was me that quickly?" Spirit pressed again, cutting off the girl's rambling with ease. "For most people it would take more than just taking out the color contacts and seeing the wound... Hell, I don't think most people would even automatically figure where that wound came from at all, if they saw it. They'd be too shocked or concerned, or ask too many questions to put two and two together... But you did, didn't you?"

"Uh... Y..yes..." Okita squeaked.

"How?" Spirit asked again, and Okita's hands moved up to pull at her bangs nervously.

"...uhm... Well... T-the thing is... Well it's... My Quirk..." Okita started off uncertainly and Spirit's eyes narrowed a little. "... B-because of my Quirk, I am really, really good at memorizing things... Even small details a-and things other people would forget or find unimportant... I'm just detail-oriented to an extreme... So I pick up on specific things, e-especially about other people... And I can r-recognize those specific details really easily... So..." She trailed off for a moment, her face flushing as she stared at the table and tugged on her bangs a bit more. "... T-that's why I can remember all the orders at work, a-and where they go without having to write them down... t...though I still write them down for you...but... well... A-and I remember important dates too, a-and the way people move, how they talk, what clothes they wear on a specific day..." She swallowed a bit, flushing further as her eyes shut tight.

"S-so... Well I'm... I'm such a huge fan of... Of you, so I read a lot of stuff, and watch all the videos and news coverage of y-you... I've memorized h-how you fight, your moves, your different Forms... and your general l-look, weight... O-other appearance stuff... A-and I remember every detail of... Of the f-fight against the Hero Killer, f-from the leaked footage, a...and exactly where... He... H-hurt you... How..." Okita kept on, her voice dropping near the end there and stiffening. She shook her head a bit and sucked in a big breath of air, holding it for a few seconds, before letting it out again.

"... Y.. You... See... I actually sort of thought that... You know, you did kinda look like Animal Spirit, that first day I met you... Just for a split second..." Okita mumbled, "... Same height, build, hair color... E-even your voice sounded familiar from the news... But I just threw that idea away, b-because I couldn't imagine... Why you would work there... And I didn't think about it again..." She paused, her shoulders hunching a bit further. "B-but then you changed your regular shift for this week to Happy Hour... A-and I thought about it again... Well, you usually work on Animal Spirit's off hours... And then right when you changed your shift, she- oh, uhm, y-you- started that Internship... With the boy from UA... But... But I just thought it was coincidence...! I-it had to be, right...?"

She broke off for a few moments longer this time, her eyes still shut tight and her hands still on her bangs... But no longer tugging at them and fidgeting.

"... But... When you showed up tonight... The way you fought against those guys... I-it wasn't really noticeable at all... B-but the way you moved... The way you used your tie as a rope... It was all so familiar to h-how I recognize how Animal Spirit fights ... A-and then that guy hit you, and it looked like it hurt so bad... B-but... I still wasn't sure... N-not until I saw... In the bathroom..." She trailed off all the way this time for a few very long moments, and Spirit bit the inside of her cheek. "... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to... To barge in... I k-know it's none of my business... I'm sorry..." Okita finished softly, and Spirit sighed internally.

... Of course the one person who has a Quirk that makes her 100% aware of every little detail ended up at the exact same club I bartend at... It's not a wonder she pegged me if all of that is true... But shit, that's just my luck, isn't it?

Oi... What a mess... Wait, if she's wondered about me possibly being Animal Spirit since the start... Is that why she's always been so jumpy around me?

"... I.. I swear... I won't tell anyone about you... O-or who you are... I won't post it on the internet or anything, and I won't say anything to the others at work... I won't tell a single person, I promise...!" Okita told her quickly, her eyes finally moving up and meeting Spirit's for the first time in a long while, and the Pro paused, expression neutral. "I d-don't really understand why you work at the Club... B-but it's none of my business, and you clearly want your privacy or else you wouldn't be keeping all this secret... S-so I won't out you or anything, I swear...! S-so please don't feel as if you n-need to... To stop working around me, or anything... I w-won't do anything that'll cause suspicion... O-or make you distrust me... A-and I won't press you for anything, you don't have to explain anything to me...!"

Spirit just held Okita in a quiet stare, their eyes locked and unwavering as Okita said her piece in a quick, hushed, and yet utterly serious tone. She meant it, all her promises and whatever... And Spirit just felt exhausted for it. Both at the many (many) assurances, and that ever persistent twinge of unease and paranoia still lurking ever in her core. Because this?

This was the absolute last thing she had ever wanted to happen from working at the Club... Hell, just living here in the Red Light District. No one was supposed to know Kage was Animal Spirit, and that Animal Spirit actually lived and worked as a bartender in the most notorious District of the city. The sheer scandal alone... Plus all the unwanted questions and attention that would come with it.

She didn't trust anyone with knowing both halves of her life, and she never wanted to be in the situation where she would have to... Yet here we are.

And it's this nervous, flighty as hell girl I met literally two weeks ago. And know literally nothing about.

... I should have just gone home once I got her here... I hate myself

"... It's a big ask, Okita." Spirit said at length, her voice low. "... I know you mean what you're saying, and I would really appreciate if you did keep this between us... Fact is, I need you to. Nobody can know, and I can't talk about this really at all... Especially not in public or anything." Spirit murmured, and Okita blinked. "But it's not just privacy or whatever that I don't tell anybody who I am, you know. There's things that can happen to people who know Pro Heroes, dangerous things... And it's especially dangerous for people who know things about Pros that the rest of the world knows so little about. You could become a target if a Villain or the wrong person ever even got wind of you, and you knowing who I am, and where I work... You understand that, right?" Spirit asked lowly, and Okita stiffened slightly.

And it didn't just extend to knowing about Spirit- if Okita really did pick up on such fine details, and memorize so much that she could tell who Spirit was just from her movements and general appearance? That kind of Quirk and extreme attention to detail could be used to gather information on just about anything. And that information could be used to manipulate things and people, and as a serious edge or weapon in the right circumstances... Which made Okita a bigger asset and potential weapon than the girl probably even realized.

"... I understand that... I know lots of Pros don't ever have personal relationships or anything public, because the people they know might become targets... Or be used as leverage, or to get information on Heroes..." Okita mumbled, "... It's a real risk that comes with being a Pro Hero, and all the work you put in to dismantle criminal activity, and defeat Villains... You get targeted sometimes, and the people that know you are easy to prey on... I know that." Okita told her softly. "... And I know I'm probably the last person you would have ever even trusted with knowing who you are... I'm sorry, I made this a huge mess... But I promise, on everything I have... I will never tell a single soul, or let it be known that I have this information... I won't ever do anything to put you in danger, or out you... Nobody will ever know any of this happened. I swear."

Spirit sighed a bit, her eyes flashing as Okita gave her one, solemn, stiff nod as she made the promise... And regardless of the certainty, and hearing no lie in the girl's voice, Spirit couldn't get rid of the unease all the way.

Never all the way...

"... Alright." Spirit mumbled, nodding back just once and letting her eyes drop to the tea pot that had been left to stew for the whole conversation. She picked it up lightly in her hands and poured some into the cups that had been set out. She set the pot back down again, Okita mumbling a soft thanks as Spirit hooked her fingers around her own cup and drew it closer.

"... Okita, how many people know about your Quirk?" Spirit asked after a few moments of Okita sipping at her tea, and the girl jumped a little at the question.

"... Uhm... Just... You... And maybe two others... Friends of mine... From when I used to live in... Kyoto..." Okita mumbled, Spirit nodded a bit.

"... I wouldn't let any more people know about it... And that you can collect and memorize such detailed information, even things others might never notice." Spirit told her quietly, "If you aren't careful, some day you are going to piece together something dangerous, like how you pieced together who I was... And you don't want a target placed on you for something you have no part in. Or to be used to hurt other people, willingly or not."

"... R-right..." Okita murmured quickly, nodding her head stiffly a few times. "... U...uhm... Animal Spirit...?" Okita started, and Spirit shook her head.

"... It'll be easier on you, if you just keep calling me Kage." Spirit told her softly, "... Less chance you slip up when we aren't alone."

"O-oh... That... That makes sense... B-but it feels... Odd..." Okita stammered, and Spirit sighed. "I-I... I mean it's not your real name, is it...? 'Kage'...?"

"... No, but technically Animal Spirit isn't my real name either." Spirit replied, her eyes on her tea and not the younger girl. "... But if you have to, you can just call me Spirit when we're completely alone like this... As long as you remember it's Kage everywhere else." Spirit relented lowly, and Okita nodded once.

"A-alright..." Okita murmured, and Spirit tilted her head back slightly, her eyes falling closed as she took a drink of her tea.

"... I just... Are you alright?" Okita asked after Spirit took her drink, and the Pro blinked her eyes open slowly. "... When you got hit earlier... Did the wound you got from... From the Hero Killer... Get reopened...? Y-you only got injured a week ago... It hasn't been very long since it happened.. And... Well you were holding back when you fought those guys... To try and not reveal who you are... If I hadn't been there, you would have been able to use your Quirk... And you might not have gotten hit like that... Or..."

"... No, it's not reopened or anything. It's just agitated, so I'm sore." Spirit replied evenly, shaking her head a bit. "Don't worry about it, or about you being there or whatever, it's not your fault." Okita looked little reassured by the words though... But Okita let it be, her eyes dropping into her own tea cup for a long while before slowly trailing up and toward the first-aid kit she had dug out earlier and set on the tabletop, untouched and mostly unnoticed for the whole of the conversation. Upon taking note of it again however, her eyes quickly moved from it and across the table toward Spirit, trailing along the dark bruising and tears torn into her hands and knuckles, and the woman's split lip too, and Okita bit the insides of her cheeks.

"... Uhm... S.. Spirit...?" Okita stammered softly, and Spirit glanced up slowly after having faded away into her own thoughts and quiet for a few minutes there. She blinked, her head tilting a bit as she met Okita's eyes, and the younger girl set her cup back down on the top of the table.

"Hmm...?" Spirit hummed a bit tiredly,

"... Ah... Please, let me treat your hands." Okita mumbled softly, her head tilting toward Spirit's hands and earning a blink of surprise from the Pro. Okita was already reaching for the first-aid kit and pulling it closer, shifting out of her sitting position and getting ready to get closer before Spirit actually registered what she was doing.

"Oh, you don't need to-" she started, and Okita shook her head quickly.

"Please." Okita repeated softly, and Spirit sighed.

"... Alright..."

They fell into (stiff) silence again as Okita rounded the table and settled to sit on her heels in front of Spirit, her hands working slowly as she pulled supplies from the first-aid kit and set them out. The younger girl cast Spirit a small look once she was done with that part, and Spirit offered her hands up to the girl with a heavy, internal sigh.

In the long run it didn't matter much if Okita bandaged her hands or not, because eventually she would just take it all off again when she (inevitably) took another shower before heading off to the Internship... Ugh, right. The Internship Patrol with Hawks.

I almost managed to forget

... Anyway, even if it didn't matter for much, at least it was something to appease Okita with. You know, after all the fighting and the scare and the fainting at the No. 26 Hero being in her bathroom.

And to spare Okita anymore nervousness or whatever, Spirit kept herself utterly quiet and still as the girl worked to dab disinfectant on the wounds littering her hands, and she didn't dare flinch or pull away from the sting and pain that arose with it. She stayed absolutely still, her eyes locked to Okita's (slightly trembling) hands and swallowing back the winces every once in awhile. Okita murmured small apologies and other things that were a bit too low for even Spirit to catch, until the young girl had finished, and pulled away again to cleanup the used supplies and put the rest back where it needed be.

Spirit pulled her hands back toward herself and sighed, her shoulders and posture sinking a little as her red eyes trailed sluggishly over the bandages.

"... Thank you, Okita." Spirit murmured after a few moments, and Okita's hands stalled at the sudden (and maybe a little unexpected) thank you from the Pro. Okita cast a quick glance up toward Spirit, but never managed to catch her eyes before quickly looking away again, and nodding just once.

"... Y...you're welcome... And thank you for everything you did tonight..." Okita mumbled softly, "... You saved me..."

Well that is my job... Saving people

Spirit kept her mouth shut though, and just nodded in reply. She returned her attention to her tea while Okita put things away, and only diverted her attention back to the girl after catching sight of a clock sitting on a bookshelf nearby, and reading the time;

Shit, it's already 4 in the morning

"... Okita." Spirit murmured, her red eyes lifting and settling on the girl who had settled back down across the table from her, and who had been staring pensively into her cup. The younger girl jumped a little at suddenly being addressed, her purple eyes meeting Spirit's quickly. "I'm going to call the Club Owner and let him know what happened, you need a few days off after tonight. Alright?" Spirit murmured, and Okita nodded stiffly.

"... I suppose that might be best..." She mumbled softly, "... do... do you think he'll mind me taking time off...?" She asked uncertainly, Spirit shook her head.

"No, he won't say anything about it. Trust me." Spirit murmured, and really the Owner wouldn't- because he would have matronly Tenshi to talk to if he did try and comment, and meeting that woman's ire was not something people did lightly, even the Owner. And Tenshi was sure to be relatively unhappy with the chain of events of tonight when she found out... which is another thing I don't wanna think about right now.

"... o... okay..." Okita mumbled, her eyes dropping again. Spirit set her cup down on the table and shifted to sit on her heels, her hands resting on the tabletop a moment as she sighed.

"... It's time I head home." Spirit announced quietly, and Okita's eyes glittered at the news. "It's late, and I'm tired... I need a few hours of sleep before this evening." Spirit mumbled,

"... O-oh... you still have your Internship to do... right...?" Okita asked quietly, and Spirit nodded once. "Are... are you going to be okay to do it...?" She asked, and Spirit blinked.

"Yeah." She replied evenly, before pushing herself slowly up onto her feet and biting back the throb of pain that awakened anew with the movement. Okita quickly shifted to stand as well, her eyes glittering as she watched the No. 26 (or No. 19?) carefully, her hands clasped together.

Spirit paused as she straightened up all the way, her eyes closed for a few moments and the room quiet as she simply stood there and settled. It was a huge chore to get up from sitting, and she felt dead on her feet more than usual... she really needed to go home and just go to sleep.

But before that...

"... thank you, for letting me shower, the tea and lending me clothes... and for helping with my hands." Spirit said at length, her eyes opening slowly to glance Okita's way again. "... I appreciate it, and you keeping all of this to yourself." She told her softly, her head bowing slightly in a show of respect and Okita's eyes widened at the gesture.

".. O.. of course..." She murmured almost breathlessly, Spirit lift her head again.

"I'll be sure to wash these clothes before I give them back to you, the next time I see you at the Club." Spirit added quietly,

"... o-oh, ah.. thank you." Okita stammered, Spirit nodded, before moving off to gather up her things and the bag of her own (very gross) clothes. Okita trailed behind her as she made her way toward the door and waited patiently as Spirit pulled her shoes back on to leave. Once she had, she glanced toward Okita one last time.

"You have my mobile number." Spirit told the girl softly, and Okita blinked. "I gave it to you that first day we met, yeah? You can call or text me if you need something, and I will do my best to answer... just keep in mind I might be a bit busy at times." Spirit murmured, and Okita nodded quickly.

"... oh... uhm... yes, I understand..." She replied softly, though honestly Okita looked a little more flustered now- she was probably coming to the realization that she had Animal Spirit's phone number, and not just 'Kage's'. It was the actual phone number of an actual Pro Hero!

"... t.. thank you... I won't bother you unless it's really important, I promise..." Okita told her softly, shaking off the surge of disbeif that rammed into her for a moment there, and Spirit nodded a bit.

"Alright.. then goodnight, Okita." Spirit sighed, not pausing very long before she turned away and reached for the door handle. She was two seconds from opening it before being halted by Okita's voice behind her.

".. Spirit... uhm... before you go." Okita stammered quickly, and Spirit glanced over her shoulder to see the girl pulling at her bangs nervously, her eyes on the floor and a little flushed.

"Hmm..?"

"... well... I just wanted to say... uhm.. goodnight. I hope you sleep well... a-and good luck later, with your Intern... and thank you again..." Okita stammered quickly, and Spirit blinked when the girl flushed a bit further and seemed to be wrestling with the next few words for a few moments. "... a..and... well it's actually... Shoko." Okita mumbled quietly, and Spirit's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. Okita took in a quick breath, shaking herself out a little.

"... M-my name... it's not Okita... it's Shoko Sasaki..."

Spirit stiffened faintly, her red eyes flashing as the younger girl slowly looked up from the floor, meeting Spirit's gaze shyly. "... I figure... if I get to know a secret of who you are, it... it's only fair you know something of who I am too..." Okita explained softly, blushing further and pulling her bangs forward in front of her face, hiding it slightly in her nervousness and embarrassment. "S-so that's something... my real name... Shoko Sasaki..."

Spirit just stood there in sheer silence for a few moments that seemed to stretch much longer than they should have, with Okita fidgeting more because of it.

... her real name...?

She'd always been under the assumption that 'Okita' was not her real name, no one at the club went by their actual names, they were all pseudo-names or monikers. Okita, Tenshi, Jeriko, Bisha, Jishi- all those names she knew so well for all the girls at the club, and yet all fake names, like 'Kage' was for her.

But what did she mean? In offering up something that personal, that real...? And just for finding out she was Animal Spirit...?

... she gave me her real name... even though she doesn't know mine...? ... living here, it's not really something anyone does... you don't give out your real name, not to anyone... let alone... me... she doesn't even know mine...

Spirit swallowed slightly, her red eyes flashing as they dropped away from the nervous girl altogether.

... no one knows mine...

She sighed, casting the thought off and nodding just once, her hand twisting the doorhandle and opening it a sliver. She paused for a moment, casting a glance over her shoulder as she took a single step through the threshold, only to halt again as she looked back. Her eyes matched with those purple ones of the young girl she had saved that night, and the one who had become an unwanted holder and knower of her double-life.

"... goodnight, Sasaki."

---

Hello!

So sorry I fibbed a little last chapter, there actually wasn't much at all between Hawks and Spirit this time... though only because I misjudged how long this bit of the story was gonna take. XD

So have this extra long, slightly(?) exciting chapter! I do hope you liked it! w And thank you all for your continued reading and support!

Also! I have set up a Ko-Fi account (under my main user EnergyMageFrea), so if you really like my work and wanna buy me a coffee, I would really appreciate it! QwQ The link to it is in my profile bio!

Anyhoo, thank you for reading!

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