Rise felt like the specimen on the lab tables they had to dissect back in middle school as her client circled around her like a lion would a gazelle. But instead of being intimidating, it was really annoying. She felt like she was being sized up by a hunched-over stickman.

"So you're the best assassin they have in employment, huh." He gave her the elevator eye again, but he stopped circling her. "Never would've thought they'd send the famous teeny-bopper Risette. Man, what a shocker!"

Hearing this creepy, slouched over sleaze call her Risette made bile crawl up her throat, but she swallowed it down along with the list of long-ranging insults she wanted to hurl at him. Risette isn't who she is anymore. After this last job, she's leaving the life, no matter how difficult.

Her organization pumps out the best idols in Japan, and each idol goes through intense training to ensure they produce top records and make people smile across the country and even the world. What many people don't know is that idols also go through rigorous training to kill without being caught, fulfill their clients orders no matter how disturbing or gruesome, and bring in money no matter how bloody.

It's an existence she wants no part in anymore. Standing on that stage, hearing everyone calling a name that wasn't her own…

She couldn't take it anymore.

"What? The screeching canary finally sang its last tune?"

This mission may end with a different dead body than expected.

"Where is your payment? All requesters must be met with the money upfront." Rise made sure to keep her voice flat to not give the jester any edge.

"Wow. Somebody fell out the wrong side of the cage this morning." Her expression didn't give an inch. "Fine, fine. No sense of humor. Your agency has received the payment."

He must want a group kill. If the requestor wants more than one person killed they have to give the money straight to the company rather than the assassin. Group kills were messier, more factors to mess up the kills and a higher chance of collateral damage.

"Who do you want me to kill?"

"Straight to the point, huh. I bet you're great at children's parties." He reached for the inside of his jacket pocket and pulled out a photo. In the photo was a group of six people sitting together at a food court, each looking like they were in high school. They were all eating and some were in mid laughter when the photo was taken. They overall looked like they were having a good time.

She's jealous. They looked like an ordinary group of friends. What could they have done for this person to want them dead?

"They call themselves "The Investigation Team". The bunch of brats go around solving mysteries like some knock-off Scooby-Doo gang. It makes me want to vomit."

Ahh. They must've investigated too closely. She couldn't count on both hands how many lives she took just because someone was sticking their nose too far into other people's business. "Do you want them all dead?"

"Why else would they all be in the picture? Kill them all and any more that enter their little group, but I have a special request. This one-" Using his other hand, he pointed to one of the people in the photo: the teen's silver hair was cut in a bob and amidst the table of seemingly chaotic screaming and laughing, he was drinking from the straw of his drink, watching the scene with a weird calmness, as if he was watching a movie.

"This one's death is mandatory. Kill him first."

"Yes sir. Are there any preferences of how you want him to die?"

The client shrugged. "Surprise me. Just make sure it's slow and painful."

"Yes sir."

Coming back to the small town of Yasoinaba after having toured many different big cities and staying in some herself was like a breath of fresh air. It felt nice to return to a place where everyone was so friendly and personal. Inaba was so small that everyone knew each other's business in seconds. It was warming compared to the coldness of the big cities. It reminded her of a younger Rise, who even though was shy still had a kind innocence to her.

Now Risette follows her everywhere.

"I heard that Rise just arrived in Inaba like yesterday."

"Seriously! I wonder where she could be now!"

"What is she's in Junes with us right now at this very moment?"

If they only knew.

Rise pulled the rim of her floppy sun hat lower over her face. Even with her aviator shades, the more skin covered up, the better.

She only came to Junes for some light shopping. A couple clothes, maybe a gift for her grandma, but then a couple became a few and a few shortly became five bags.

If being famous did anything, it definitely fueled her love of shopping. When she was little, she would watch the stars walking the red carpet on the TV and admire their beautiful and sparkly clothes. Shy, little Rise, sitting in her parent's living room, could only dream of wearing clothes like that. When the idol competition came around and she found out she won, she thought her life would change for the better. Now she's not so sure.

But now that she has the money to buy those fabulous clothes, she was going to buy them.

Rise was looking at a pair of shoes when she got a shiver down her spine. Someone was following her. As an idol she was used to being followed around, but as a trained assassin she also learned how to avoid them.

First thing's first: she needed to lose them in the crowd. In training, one of the first lessons she learned was how to memorize her surroundings. She's on the second floor. Junes has two elevators. The first elevator was out of the question; it was too close-by and too easy to get to. To get to the second elevator, she'd have to round the entire floor and cut through the large clothing store.

The second floor it is.

She made extra care to keep her shades straight and keep her hat down over her head as she maneuvered through crowds of people. Worst case scenario: they fall off and she causes a rampage. It would make for an excellent distraction, but she honestly didn't feel like being manhandled or being crowded today. It had to be a last case scenario.

When she made it to the large clothing store she made sure to stick to the smaller, narrower corners: every tight squeeze between the clothes racks, the aisles of the shoe racks, between the dressing rooms. The elevator was in sight. She couldn't feel the person following her anymore, but she still wasn't sure what they looked like to be certain. It would be best if she just hurried up and left.

She watched as the red numbers ticked down and it opened to her floor. Rise released the breath she was holding in as he stepped aboard. She made it without anyone recognizing her. She even managed to find a pretty gift for her grandma. She couldn't wait to give it to her. She started to rummage through the bags as the elevator doors started to close.

A foot wedged itself in between the doors.

Rise backed against the metal wall as the door opened again and her assailant stepped forward. She recognized him. The bowl cut hairstyle was a dead give away. This was the boy she was tasked to kill brutally. Did he know she was sent to kill him? Did he come to finish her off first before she got to him and his friends? Her hand was sneaky when she eased it behind her back as she clutched her weapon in the hidden pocket of her dress.

Her phone was dangling in front of her face from his hands.

"You dropped this."

"Huh?" Did he seriously chase her around the second floor just to return her phone

She was flabbergasted. She snatched it from his hand.

"Why didn't you say so a whole lot sooner!"

"My bad. I'm sorry about that," he apologized. She had just begun to regain her bearings when he stopped and looked back.

"Oh, and that strap looks pretty tasty," he said before the elevator door closed behind him.

What's wrong with this guy?

The news of her arrival in Inaba striked faster than she thought it would, but it wasn't unexpected. The flow of information was not something to underestimate. She has no idea how they found out she was working with her grandma at Marukyu.

Inaba is a sleepy town. No restaurant or stores besides Junes has ever had such an influx of customers at the same time except maybe on holidays. Now people were lining up by the tens outside of Marukyu, and most of them were definitely not here to buy tofu.

She felt bad for her grandma. She didn't need all of this commotion that she's brought her. But her grandmother said she didn't mind. She admitted to being more worried for her than herself, like the sweet lady she was.

However, the ruckus did have a bright side.

It brought her closer to her targets. And thanks to the ruckus, she was looking at three of them right now.

When she heard of "The Investigation Team", the first word that came to mind was nosy. She had no idea they went to this extent. What were they investigating anyway?

"Wait if that's…, then who is…" That was her cue.

She turned around to face "The Investigation Team".

Huh. They looked different face-to-face than from a polaroid picture. The false blonde walked up to the counter while the brunette gawked in place behind him.

"Uh, are you Rise?"

"Yeah. What do you want?" She had no energy to play the preppy idol today. At her dulled tone, the brunette sobered up and ended up looking confused. He must know who she is.

"Are you really Rise! Wait, no that's not what I- uh. Tofu, please." He definitely knew who she was.

"What kind?"

"Uh," he hesitated. He shot his friend with a withering look. "Psst. Kanji! Order something!"

"Why me? You said ganmodoki a few minutes ago." The brawny man huffed. "Two orders of Tofu and this guy wants ganmodoki."

"Okay." She went about preparing their order. She could hear them whispering behind her. Maybe she's just tired. She wasn't tired, not the sleepy kind anyway.

"Rise, can you get that pot for me from that top shelf? The ladder is in the back!"

"Hai!"

Sizing the two of them up, the fake blonde would definitely be a problem. Judging by his build and his straight-to-the-point way of speaking, he would definitely be a problem. But the brunette seems to be an easy target. He was obviously a big fan of hers and a little too girl crazy himself. It would be an easy kill if she managed to get him alone by himself.

Or maybe even close enough…

Lesson 2: Seduction. A little slip of the foot should work.

"Ah!" Her foot 'slipped'.

"Woah!"

"Dude she's falling!"

She never hit the ground. She had a smile of triumph before she opened her eyes and saw who her savior was.

Gray eyes met her instead of brown.

"It's you!"

"That is my name."

She scrambled out of his arms. The teen stood up like nothing happened, aloof and calm as if he just walked into a normal working day in a restaurant with a waitress fixing the food.

Where did he come from? Why didn't he come in with his friends? She asked these questions to herself while brushing off her apron.

"Are you all right?" The bowl-haired boy asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm fine."

She could practically hear the implosion behind them.

"Why did she just said "it's you"? Have they already met before?"

'Woah! Senpai is the man!"

"Oh, Rise! Are you okay?" She didn't know her grandma had seen her fall.

"I'm okay." The boy reached around her and grabbed the pot for her from the top shelf. He gave it to her grandma. "Here you go ma'am."

"Thank you. Such a kind young man."

Great. Now her grandma is taking a liking to him. Rise sighed. It should be fine. This was gonna be the only time they'd meet.

"Rise, have you noticed anything strange since you've been back?"

After helping her grandma close up, she left out for some fresh air. It was late enough where everyone was mostly home by now.

"The Midnight Channel, huh?" It's been a few hours since The Investigation Team left the tofu shop to warn her. She remembered watching a channel like that the first night she had arrived, but she thought it was just some prank, a parody someone put together that somehow made it to TV. It wouldn't be the first time.

But a murderer on the loose, a magical TV channel that only appears at midnight. Just what has her client gotten her into?

No. It was just the start of her mission. She hasn't even been here for a week yet. It was too early to say she was up to her neck, but a higher bonus was definitely going to be demanded for leaving out important information.

"Hey, is that Risette?!"

Shit.

"That has to be her! Let's go ask for an autograph!"

Shit.

She took off. She could hear running footsteps behind her. It wasn't enough to be a stampede, but it had to be more than six people. Too much attention. She couldn't go back home with them on her tail, but she had nowhere else to go. She'd have to lose them then camp out somewhere until they leave.

Lesson 3: Always have an exit.

She could cut across the bushing coming up. Or maybe she could cut through an alley and duck into a building until the people chasing her give up and go home, but that may cause more of a hassle. The bushes were the best solution.

She made a beeline for the tall bushes in front of the sidewalk when…

"Ah!"

Her arm was tugged, and she was pulled along.

"Shh. This way."

"Wha? Is that you?"

"That is my name."

"You already said that!"

He laughed at that, his voice still low to not alert their chasers. "This way."

As a small mountain town, once you got out of the neighborhoods the rest was pretty much foliage and highway depending on the direction you went. In the direction they were going she could hear moving water.

"The Samegawa flood plains?"

"I found this spot a few weeks after I moved her. They shouldn't think to come down here." The "spot" was the grassy expanse down the hill and off the main road.

Wait? Moved?

"You just moved here?"

"Yeah. A few weeks ago," he answered her. He started walking towards the water while Rise stood still stuck in her contemplations.

He just moved here! Just what has he done in a few weeks to get someone to kill him so badly? As an assassin, questions were not something you asked. Whatever they wanted you just went with it, no matter how disgusting or random it was. It was how Rise climbed the ropes so quickly. She caught on fast and she flawlessly did as she was told. No questions asked.

So why was this one boy making her question so much?

"Just make sure it's slow and painful."

Just who is he?