KIRIKO

"Can I say that I'm getting extremely nervous? Because I'm getting extremely nervous. This is my first time pulling something like this out of my ass and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react…"

I'm blabbering and ranting at this point. By the time we had donned the uniforms and we were approaching the Shimada's former home, my nerves caught up with me all at the same time. My palms were sweating, my teeth were chattering and my body was shaking. I was slowly but surely losing my composure.

I was so jumpy and nervous that I even found myself staring at Brian a little bit, noting in my head that he looked… kind of good in a suit.

I really felt like I was losing my marbles with that particular thought.

Needless to say, I was not feeling well.

Speaking of Brian… he apparently was as cool as a cucumber, at least compared to me. And at the time, I was starting to believe that he was completely unflippable. That nothing could make him panic.

How naive of me… as time passed and we worked together more, I started to realize that he was just as anxious as I was… he just did a better job at hiding it. The first and most obvious tell was that he was keeping his hands in his pockets, so that no one could see his fingers fidget. Or the way his jaw was contracted, like he was keeping something between his teeth and other small signs that I didn't caught on until much later in our… "carrier".

As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

We stopped at an ally out of sight of the castle, to review our cover stories that we discussed during our breaks from training. During these days, his boss kept on sending details about the people we were supposed to be impersonating…

It dawned on me just what I was supposed to be doing. Walking right into the lion's jaws, hoping that it was asleep and wouldn't just close his mouth and swallow us both in one gulp. The risks were massive, especially for someone like me who couldn't keep a low profile even if they wanted to.

But I had to. Brian was trusting me again with this. I didn't want to fuck up once more like I did back in Kanezaka. The consequences back then had been terrible… I couldn't even imagine what would have happened to us if we were discovered during our infiltration.

At least we had a budget that time around… and much more time to prepare. I even had to get rid of my green dye and make my hair go back to its natural black, while Brian had to actually go ahead and make his own hair dark. The Hashimoto were all Japanese after all, having dyed hair would just attract unwanted attention.

"Ok then, you start. What's your name, occupation and in which district are you active?"

It took me only a couple of seconds to remember.

"My name is Shirogane Hinata. I'm a bruiser, tasked with taking protection money from the merchants and shop owners around Kanezaka".

Fairly easy to remember, all things considered. Even if it made me sick having to say that…

He nodded, probably happy that he didn't have to over it again.

"My name is Yamaoka Amane. I'm an information gatherer, specifically I spy and report to my superiors all movements regarding omnics in Kanezaka as well. The two of us have partnered multiple times while on the job, because our skillsets compliment each other well, according to our superior".

Simple covers, but we were supposed to be simple grunts, so it checked out. Our "superior" was "sick" (in truth their invitation had been… intercepted) and we were sent as substitutes, because we were just that trustworthy.

Both he and I weren't terribly convinced, especially because of that last part, but his boss was sure that it would work.

I still had my doubts, which I didn't hesitate to express.

"Two grunts being sent to such an important meeting instead of higher rank members? This sounds extremely fishy, even to me…"

Brian's eyes twitch for a moment, looking right and left, before sighing.

"I'm… not supposed to tell you this, but I promised to communicate better with you. My own boss made some additional research on this 'superior', finding her to be a very… eccentric person. If anyone was going to send grunts to take part in an important meeting, it would be her. If we manage to get inside, we can blend in with the other members, even if they somehow managed to find a hole in our story.".

I… I couldn't believe it. Brian actually did not keep me in the dark that time. He was transparent and honest, no half truths or bite sized info. Purely what he knew, nothing more and nothing less.

"I was also not supposed to tell you any of this, so in case my boss asks… I kept my mouth shut. Understood?"

I nodded, the simple happiness of him finally trusting me with classified information smashing away my nervousness. I had even more reasons to do well, after all.

"As for the rest, follow my lead and let me do the talking. We'll get through this, okay?"

"And then you get angry when I call you 'leader'..."

He sighed in exasperation, while I laughed a bit. I would stop being relaxed the second the mission properly started, but I enjoyed that small moment of levity. It made me feel… normal. Just a girl having fun with her friend. It was but a mere illusion…

But it was fun while it lasted.

My face went back to neutral when Brian motioned with his head to follow him.

At least he appeared calm, which gave me a bit of security.

I hate infiltrations…

BRIAN

I was absolutely sweating bullets. This was shaping up to be one of the most dangerous missions I've ever been a part of. It escalated so much in such a small amount of time that I'm honestly still flabbergasted, when I think about it. From a small game, petty gang of criminals to a bonafide mafia organization in just a couple of days.

My boss either greatly underestimated them, greatly overestimated me or was just plainly trying to kill me off or something along those lines.

Unless they somehow knew about Kiriko ahead of time, but that would be ridiculous.

We were approaching the massive doors that lead to Temple Bell. The reunion was apparently going to be held in the dojo just ahead of it, as it was the only room big enough to hold all the representatives. But first, we had to get in. I just hoped that our cover stories would be enough…

The man standing in front of the gate couldn't be less inconspicuous if he tried. They really had the entirety of Hanamura in their back pocket if they could just… prance around like that without fear of being arrested. I could see my friend clench her teeth and hands already…

I slightly nudged her with the tip of my elbow, just a half a second touch, but it seemed to be enough for her to calm down. Or at least simply glare at the ground instead of looking like she's about to punch a bitch.

The man saw us just in time.

"Names?"

"Yamaoka Amane and Shirogane Hinata. We are the representatives of the East Kanezaka branch…"

The guard groaned.

"Kira again? What an insufferable woman…"

He muttered to himself while he made the necessary checks.

"All right, go on in. I swear, she cannot keep getting away with skipping meetings like this…"

Kiriko and I left the guard to complain to himself, while the massive doors of the castle opened up for us. While they did, I felt a familiar jolt in my heart. When I looked at my companion, she seemed to have felt it too.

The gate had opened in the Metaverse as well. Our path was clear.

But first, the meeting. We had to know what the Hashimoto were planning. My boss's ominous words had bounced around my head for almost a week now…

But in the meantime, the two of us stayed close (not too close of course) and we blended right in with the rest of the identically dressed members of the group. Nobody saw us, nobody talked to us or even looked directly at us. We became part of the crowd.

Kiriko looked extremely uncomfortable, as I supposed she would. But she was handling herself well, all things considered. Our cover was still strong. She really had taken to heart the lesson she learned back in Kanezaka. But she was nearing her limits…

Fortunately, Hashimoto Katsuki finally decided to show his face. Or… his mask, more like.

He had a Tengu mask on his face, while the rest of his body was shrouded in a thick robe. He almost looked like a fanatic…

Even his voice had a modulator, to hide his tone.

"Prized members of the Hashimoto Yakuza, welcome to this meeting and thank you for arriving so quickly. I know that we all are extremely busy and time is short, so I will be brief. We are currently under attack by an unknown individual or group of individuals".

Murmur started around us. He knew that we existed, then.

"In this last week, they struck hard and fast, leading to the downfall and arrest of some of my most capable and trusted collaborators. Times are dire, my friends, which means that we have to move faster. We have tried the gentle approach. Bribe, protection, drugs and the like. It was not enough. These… ruffians resist. They buckle and complain, fight against us. And now, with these unknown enemies on our tail, we have no choice but to go the hard way…"

Kiriko muttered beside me. What the hell was this guy talking about…?

"Prepare yourselves, my faithful followers. On three weeks, Kanezaka and Hanamura will be firmly in our grasp…"

Hashimoto Katsuki clenched his fist, his voice booming in the massive dojo.

"In three weeks, just about 21 days… we will wage war".

KIRIKO

Wage… war? On what? Against who?!

Is this guy out of his mind?!

Short answer… yes. He was completely insane.

Long answer… it was much more complicated than that.

The rest of the Yakuza organization started cheering, as if they were waiting for nothing more.

Animals… the lot of them. I knew they were not good people… far from it.

Hell, Kobayashi Ritsuko even managed to give a bit of hope that not all members were monsters.

That day… I finally realized that, sometimes, redemption was simply not an option.

During the chaos, Brian nudged me away, probably deeming that we had heard enough. While we went through the now empty Temple Bell courtyard and out of the castle, the new realizations made my head spin.

"Wage war…"

He muttered under his breath.

"Hey, Brian…"

"Mh?"

"Do you… think that this was our fault…?"

The old doubt that Shindo Ōkusa wormed in me when we fought him came back to the surface. It had only been a week… but it felt like forever ago, at that point.

"... Perhaps".

I chewed my lips, his brutal honesty hitting me with the strength of a freight train. It was all our fault then…

"But I also know that this was bound to happen. It wasn't a matter of 'if'. Just 'when'. Doing nothing was never an option, at the end of it all".

I remained silent, mulling his words and finding them to be true. I likely knew that already, but having almost involuntarily killed Yoshida-san and Akari did a number on me.

All of that… and I almost forgot one of the most important bits.

"Three weeks… 21 days… we have a time limit now! We have to go through the Palace as fast as we can!"

"Tomorrow we'll start, then".

Tomorrow?!

"We can't be wasting time like this! We have to start right away, we're gonna run out of time if…!"

Brian turned towards me, once more steely in both voice and eyes.

"We need time to let the news sink in. Plan ahead and… rest. I'm exhausted… and so are you, likely".

I… hated him, in that instant. Because he was right. And him being right meant risking so many innocent lives.

I wanted to go right away. Wanted to get started. But I couldn't… not while I could barely keep my eyes open. The meeting lasted only a handful of minutes, but the shock of the news drained me.

He was right. And I resented him for it. I resented his cold logic… his lack of urgency and emotional response.

It wasn't true, of course. But I didn't know. And so, even if only in my mind… I lashed out at him. But it only the start of our problems…

And so, while we lay on our makeshift beds, I struggled to fall asleep.

"I promise you, Kiriko. Tomorrow… will mark the start of Hashimoto Katsuki's downfall".

I doubted him. But, as I finally managed to close my eyes, I heard him one last time.

"I will not allow another war to take everything away again…"

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

Welcome, dudes and gentleladies, to another episode of UTFW, where infiltrations sometimes actually go well! Somewhat…

Aaaaaand we're back to the grind. Soon enough, the first Palace will begin and some rifts between our protagonists start to show, like it was foreshadowed in the earlier chapters. Will Kiriko and Brian manage to move past it? Or will their different ideologies cause them to drift apart? We shall see.

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