KIRIKO

"Ever been to a onsen before?"

Brian crossed his arms, likely translating in his head quickly the Japanese word I just said him.

"Onsen… oh yeah, that public bath building that is so popular around these parts! No, can't say that I have. You want to go to one?"

I nodded my head.

"Yuppers. We both stink of sweat, after that last fight today, and I refuse to go pick up food while smelling of body odor. We go in, take a quick bath to clean up, get something to eat and then we can call it a night. Tomorrow is a big day, after all".

It sure was. We were about to clear the first major obstacle in our path towards Hashimoto Katsuki. That gate haunted my dreams for four days straight, and we were finally close to opening it. Our disguises likely weren't going to carry us further than that, which meant that we had to choose between going in guns blazing and being stealthy.

Knowing Brian it wasn't even going to be an issue which one to pick, and I was inclined to agree. A straight fight would have been suicidal in the best case scenario.

"I suppose you have a point. We've been so busy lately that we kind of ignored everything else. Good for our wallets, not as good for our hygiene…"

I blew a raspberry.

"We can afford to wash up, you know? We're not swimming in cash, but it's still too soon to worry about the budget".

He rolled his eyes at me.

"I'm aware, who do you think has been keeping up with our finances from the beginning? Not you, that's for sure".

I swatted his arm.

"Jackass. Are we going to take a damn bath or not? I'm tired of smelling like I took a trip in the sewers".

A half smirk was his only answer.

Fine, if that's how he wanted to play.

"After you… Leader".

His smirk dropped from his face, going right into mine.

"Know what? I think that's how I'm gonna nickname you from now on. Perfect fit, if I do say so myself".

"Who's the jackass now?"

I showed him my tongue.

"Still you! I'm just the innocent maiden finally retaliating to my oppressor! I shall have my freedom yet!"

I shake my fist in front of me, likely attracting some attention. Not that I cared, I was having way too much fun.

He gave a low chuckle. I… kind of liked that sound.

"Not until you manage to win in one of our spars".

I gasped, before pouting.

"Low blow dude… very low".

He mockingly flips his hair.

"If you don't like it, get on my damn level then".

We jokingly bickered and argued for the entirety of the trip to the onsen. I still hadn't managed to get him to openly laugh, but I was determined at that point. No friend of mine was going to keep on being a grumpy pants for long! I just had to find the right topic…

Yeah, I was setting myself up for failure, I know.

But I had managed to make him chuckle two more times, so I was feeling like hot shit. Bite me.

Once we made it inside, we split up to get undressed and entered the sauna, divided by a big wooden wall. I groaned when I immerged my body and I heard Brian on the other side do the exact same. We both needed the break, it would seem. Can't say I'm too surprised, considering what we had been dealing with. We were the only two at the moment, so we had some minutes of much needed peace and quiet.

Until my ADHD decided that peace and quiet were overrated.

"I feel really dumb, having forgotten about my Kitsune Rush like that. Could have saved us a lot of headaches in past battles…"

He hummed.

"Perhaps. But I don't blame you, anyone would have been overwhelmed in your shoes. Especially because you had no formal Metaverse training…"

"Maybe. But I still feel like a dummy for having the option slip from my mind. It was like during our first spar, where I forgot I could teleport and use Suzus. That had been embarrassing too…"

"It sure was. You were so angry as well…"

"Well, excuse me! Someone that I shall not name had promised me a friendly spar and I ended up with a steleed boot to the stomach! You're gonna have to forgive me for being slightly pissed off!"

Another chuckle from him made me instinctively smile.

"Guilty as charged. But in my defense, I had to see what you could do before thrusting you in mortal danger, you know? But I guess I shouldn't have worried, you and Tamamo are more than up to the task".

I felt my face burn a bit. It was high praise coming from an expert like him, so I was a bit flattered. In my head, I could almost hear my Persona agree with him.

"Speaking of… how long have you been doing this… 'job' of yours?

It took him a moment to answer.

"Couple of years, give or take. Around the time Tim… was not around anymore".

I winced. I didn't mean to trudge up painful memories…

"We don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to…"

"Thank you. Maybe you'll know someday, if we ever meet again after this mission is over".

I scoffed. As if I was going to let him slink into the shadows like nothing happened.

"We're gonna keep in touch bucko. Don't think you're getting rid of me that easy!"

"I had no doubts Kiri. None at all".

He was smiling. I knew that he was. Suddenly, without really knowing why, I was filled with the… urge to see it. The stretch of his lips. I couldn't explain the reason behind that decision of mine, back then. The answer came later… bringing in a whole new set of issues that I never even considered before.

Whether it was a good answer or not… I would deal with it in due time.

BRIAN

More often than not, paranoia can prove to be a curse just as much as it is boon. Being distrustful and hyper aware of my surroundings were at the root of many of my successes and failures, with the added problem that they never turn off, even while I'm relaxed.

As such, mere moments after I finished my sentence, I heard a noise coming from behind the wall, where Kiriko was bathing…

Better not to think about that, lest I gave myself a panic attack. But that noise… like someone was climbing something, I think?

Then… that feeling of eyes on your person. Someone was looking at me. Alarm bells started blaring and I was instantly on guard. I was being stared at… but from where? And who was doing it?

My senses quickly pointed me at the top of said wall… where I could barely see a mop of green hair I was very familiar with.

Kiriko was… peeking on me. Not with any hostility or… other intentions (don't think about it! Don't you dare!), but I reacted instinctively.

By throwing a bucket at her exposed face. A grunt and then the painful sounding noise of someone falling on their ass.

Silence stretched for a bit. Knocked out cold, probably. Good.

I went back to my bath, trying to will my hands to stop shaking already. They weren't particularly keen on obeying my commands, much to my dismay. What the hell, that was a much stronger reaction than usual! I mean, I had an idea of why… but they were not happy memories. Ones that I hoped would never resurface. For just a moment, I hallucinated, thinking that I was back… in her care.

"Do not be afraid, little one. I will take GOOD care of you, I promise…"

By the time I was ready to get out, I had managed to calm down. The source of my distress was waiting for me outside, wearing a big bandaid on her nose. She looked sheepish, as she should have.

We stared at each other for a moment. Then I uttered a single word.

"Pervert".

She almost stumbled after me when I started to walk off towards a restaurant. I was feeling some ramen, while Kiriko tried to explain herself.

"Wait, no, you got it all wrong! I was just trying to… uhhhh… I was…"

She trailed off, not knowing how to explain her actions. Because there was no explanation.

"Never do that again. Ever. Understood?"

She gulped and nodded quickly.

"R-Right! I'm sorry…"

I sighed and decided to let it go. I have no idea to this day what exactly compelled her to do what she had done, even if I can probably hazard a guess. But there was no point in holding a grudge.

"Let's look for a good ramen stall. I'm starving".

The hidden meaning was obvious: no cooking for you tonight.

She pouted, but didn't dare to protest. She knew that I was letting her off the hook relatively easily. I knew that she did not mean anything bad… but she still poured salt on some old wounds, even if involuntarily. Best to just forget it and move on, I would tell myself. Thinking about it would bring nothing good. Only unnecessary pain.

I actually had never eaten ramen before then. It was just the first thing that sprung in my mind after exiting the onsen. It was a fairly simple dish to replicate, all things considered. I ate maybe half a bowl before I was full.

Kiriko ate hers, a second one and then she had enough space to finish mine. It always baffled me how a woman so… petite, for lack of better words, could fit all that stuff in her stomach. A mystery that I never managed to resolve, not even after all the time we spent together. Kiri always had a habit of defying what was actually possible and not, a trait of hers that I both envied and pitied at the same time. She always had a lot of expectations on her shoulders for that same reason.

When we finally made it back to the outskirts of our base (rigorously cutting through various alleys) it was night time. The streets were relatively quiet, but I could see and hear it. A shadow moving around us. Keeping up with us.

We were being followed.

I looked back at Kiriko, who offered an almost imperceptible nod. She had noticed as well. Maybe my paranoia was starting to rub off on her.

But who was following us? A robber? The Hashimoto? Or someone… something else?

We rounded a corner and my companion gently laid a hand on her shoulders, barely even touching me as to not cause me discomfort, before teleporting us above, on an emergency staircase.

Our pursuer arrived not a moment later.

"What? Where did they go?! They just came here!"

Female. Singular. Around our age, by the tone of her voice. Likely not a robber then. She was also dressed relatively casual. Sure, the hoodie was a bit on the nose, but it was definitely not an Hashimoto.

Who the fuck…?

"Maya? Is that you?"

"Kiriko?! Where are you?!"

My friend didn't hesitate in dropping down and I followed her lead. Maya? That Yokai member that was almost tortured for information during our first visit to Hanamura? How interesting…

What could she possibly want? I had a bad feeling about it…

KIRIKO

Brian's paranoia was most definitely rubbing off on me. Not only was I paying enough attention to notice Maya after us, but the fact that she felt the need to follow us without announcing her presence was putting me on edge.

But for the most part, my worry was vastly overshadowing my suspicions.

"What are you doing out here? There's Hashimoto members all over the streets, you know? You could be captured again!"

I was slightly exaggerating obviously. There were enemies around, not so many to warrant having to skulk around, but enough that we had to start being a bit more cautious. I mean, that almost torture session with Norumi Mikoto hadn't been enough for her?

"I know! I just… figured that you would know a safe route and decided to follow you! Just this once!"

And she couldn't have just asked because…? I was finding it hard to not be distrustful. Maya was one of my best friends, I didn't want to doubt her…

But the way she was acting was just too much. And Brian, naturally, didn't believe a single word coming out of her mouth. And I couldn't blame him, no matter how much I wanted to.

"So, this is that Brian guy you mentioned the other day? The one helping you with our… common problem?"

Deflecting… come on girl, give me just one reason to not doubt you! Please, I was about to get on my knees and beg her!

"That's him, yeah. He… brought a whole different perspective on the matter. I've been making a lot more progress thanks to his experience!"

Maya smirked. I knew that expression.

"Experience you say, hm? Is that what it is called these days?"

I caught on straight away, being familiar with her mannerism.

My companion did not, tilting his head to one side.

"What's what called?"

Nope! Not going there! I already screwed up once that day, wasn't gonna do it again!

"Ignore her, Leader. She likes to tease".

I almost slapped my hand against my mouth. Fuck, it slipped!

"Leader? My oh my, already at that stage? Can I be the flower girl? I always wanted to be one…"

This time around, even Brian got the memo.

"You mean… oooooohhhhh. Nah, Kiri and I are just friends, nothing more".

Don't call me like that in front of her, you absolute monkey! And stop squirming, you are not convincing her!

"Suuuure you are. Ah well, I guess this is as close as I'm gonna get to where I need to go. Catch you lovebirds later!"

She skipped away, cackling like a maniac.

That could have gone better…

"She's hiding something. I don't think we should trust her…"

Straight to the point huh? Can't say I'm surprised…

"She's… unique, but she's a good friend of mine. We've been through a lot together…"

While I could advocate my friendship with her… I couldn't do the same with the first half of his statement. Maya was obviously hiding something. And I had a terrible feeling about it.

"I'll let you deal with her, then. You know best in this case. Let's go get some sleep, we have a long day ahead of us, tomorrow…"

I yawned without really meaning to, silently agreeing with him. I could deal with Maya at a later date… the Palace came first.

… as soon as my ears stopped burning from all that teasing anyway!

Hello?! Is this thing on?! It is?! Noice.

Welcome, dudes and gentleladies, to another episode of UTFW, the show where the cliche onsen scene doesn't go exactly the way it usually does.

No Metaverse this chapter, just our protagonists interacting and bonding together, like good little children. How many of you expected Maya to come back? Not a lot, I bet! She's going to be important later on, so best to keep an eye on her! She ain't telling the whole story.

That's all folks! Ta-ta for now!