"Sometimes the most influential thing we can do is listen" - Bob Burg

Marin put the reheated leftovers on the table; orzo beef hotpot. "Mind if I clean your cuts?" she asked.

Daki leaned forward in the chair her eyes closed muttering, "I just don't care anymore." So Marin focuses on her elbows dabbing antiseptic on them in silence. Her nose still looked bruised from when Marin backhanded her (the tingle in her hand still hadn't gone away from it) but her face looked good minus some small cuts.

"If you don't like it, I have other food," She grabs the fork and starts eating almost out of spite.

Marin asked what the commotion was about, specifically if she had slept with anyone else's husbands in the neighborhood but only received a non-committed 'I don't kiss and tell'. Oh well, again not like Mar could judge considering what she did to Hotaru. Eventually, Daki admitted she didn't homewreck the women who beat her. That's because their husbands were closeted. Story goes they were cheating on their wives with each other so she figured she could blackmail them out of some extra cash.

Ok, Yikes…

"They're so fucking retarded." she finishes.

"Daki, listen, I don't know if anyone has told you but perhaps you shouldn't say that about people. It's offensive."

"So what?" She yanked the remote from the table turning on the TV.

"so… why not just call them gay and stupid and leave it at that?" Daki gave a puzzled look when she saw the screen paused midway on Slippery Girls; the part where the male MC couldn't stop ejaculating in front of everyone.

"Because that's fucking retarded." she answered with a shrug making Marin cringe again, "OK, new rule, I'll let you tell your story however you want but you gotta promise you'll try not to call people retarded. One of my friends–

"-Why should I fucking care about you or your fucking friends?!" She yells, "All you privileged fucking bleeding hearts are the same you ask me to open up, but then complain about the way I do! You only pretend you care but you don't! Always bitching about stupid words! Words you change all the time! Well fuck you!"

Has being without Gojo made her insensitive? Marin called Hotaru a hypocrite for selectively giving his attention away… but was Marin doing the same? What would he do? He knows how to handle situations like this.

Daki storms out of the room, "Where are you going!? Stop!" she grabs her wrist before she reaches the door.

"I'm going home"

"Why? You don't have to." She turns around her eyes filled with unfallen tears again.

"Because fuck you, that's why!"

"Daki, I'm not kicking you out!" she says quickly, "I'm not mad, really" she pulls her back, but her feet are planted firm.

"Liar! It's what all of you do! Every time we do something wrong, every time we fuck up! Even if you don't now, you will later! I know you will!" Now she understood the depth of Kagaya and Amane's words.

"Daki, stay." Marin said firmly, "Just because you say things I don't like doesn't mean I don't like you, we'll work on it, ok? In the meantime, I don't want you home alone, not until Gyutaro comes back." The words strike her dead at first but in the next moment, she retaliates as if to test, "And what if I never stop saying them huh?! Not like I fucking care about your retarded fucking feelings Marin!" But it only made the strawberry blonde smile more, pointing a finger at her while laughing causing Daki to blink befuddled, "See? Did you hear yourself? You just called me Marin. Not bitch or slut or stupid." her mouth hangs open at the fact she DID call her Marin without realizing.

"I understand. You're upset. And for whatever reason, despite what's happened between us, you're confiding in me right now. So… please don't leave, I promise, you can say whatever you want to make yourself feel better." Despite the difficulties, she believed the siblings had a genuine desire to change, evident by their involvement in witness protection. Daki was practically begging without using words for someone to take her in. It was a no-brainer she was absolutely terrified of being alone.

"Wh-why" she's asked it before but can't help but keep asking. "Don't you get it? I… I'm…"

"Please don't." Marin holds up her hand. "I don't want to be like everyone else who disappoints you. My ex always said, 'Sometimes by helping others you're really helping yourself in the end.'." Marin pulled her by the wrist and sat her on the couch.

"Let's do a slippery girls marathon! You've seen Slippery Girls right?"

"I don't watch anime," she said in a dazed state.

"What?! I can't believe you haven't watched it, I mean you cosplayed it in your debut!"

"my manager handles all that stuff," she replies monotonously this time.

"O.M.G. then let's share contacts! Ohmygosh I can't believe I just thought of this now! We can do collabs and build our fanbases together and watch anime too! In fact, let's do a shoot this weekend!" Finally, she snaps out of her stupor, shaking her head as if to shake the stupidity of what Marin just said out her ears, "I only work solo" she growls but receives a rather generous slap on her shoulder, "oh Duckie, you sound just like my friend Juju! Now I have to introduce you… Let's do this weekend at the beach," she didn't even wait for a response before she was texting everyone in her phone to see what their availability was. Daki was still working through that "Duckie" pet name she hit her with, but there was another problem that Marin hadn't thought of, "You want us to take photos looking like beaten hookers?"

She froze mid-text "You're right we're gonna need some serious coverage, let me Google some."

"don't, I know exactly what we- er, what I need." she corrected haughtily, grabbing her fork to eat again, " not like it's my first beating," she smirked almost proudly at that declaration as she took another bite.

Don't comment on it Marin.

"Fine, we'll go shopping tomorrow."

"oh? But I'm expensive, you know." She smirks coyly.

"Don't worry, we'll cover it."

Daki was frowning now. "you sure you wanna do that?"

"Trust me it's on us, Duckie." she winces at the nickname again but Marin flashes her a beaming smile so bright even with her eyepatch and busted lip it was still like staring at the sun. "I can't wait to work with you!" Daki turned away muttering a whatever as she inspected her elbows and knees again. "They shouldn't have done that to you. What you and I had was personal."

She glanced up briefly, "So was this, my body is my job, It's what they wanted. I can't do videos like this," She faced forward again, playing with the food before adding, "But I couldn't let them destroy my brother's bike again, he won't be able to w-work when h-he... " Her eyes watered again as she forced herself to look down, "when he comes b-back."

"We'll store his bike in my garage." Marin pats her shoulder reassuringly, "So… does your income pay for most of the household expenses? She appeared annoyed but nodded. "Then why not call your manager and let them know what happened?" Might as well ask more probing questions about her situation.

"Why do you even care?" She eyes her peculiarly.

"I'm an accountant." Now Daki put her fork down, eyes furrowed in disbelief. "You? Ms. Tig-bitty? You're an accountant? What, you mean a porn-parody of an accountant or like an actual, boring poindexter who sits behind a desk?"

"That." she snaps her fingers affirmingly. Daki slumps, her small frame looked even smaller at this news. "So you aren't a model then?"

"I was." She replies warmly, earning another scowl. "Psh…wow! Of course, you are! Isn't everyone these days? Bet you always get scouted. Bet you love the attention!" Her complaint was like a parody of a month ago as she continued to whine in self-righteous indignation how unfair it is… and how Marin should drop dead. But Marin was focused on something else entirely. If she was doing her math correctly... Daki should be making a LOT more given how popular she is. Being an amateur model in the past Marin knew how the industry worked. "Daki is being a model your dream?"

"Well duh. You think I like being called a whore all day? What's better than being beautiful and getting paid and respected for it?"

Marin closes her eyes and leans back in the sofa, "Passion." Saying it out loud she could practically see Wakana there smiling, his ghost advising her on what material he thinks they should use for their next project. Always using logic instead of picking based on a whimsical need like she did, God gow she missed him.

"If not passion then freedom is a good runner-up." she added opening her eyes storing the memory in her head where it belonged. "I quit modeling after… he died" she nodded in the direction of her photo on the half-moon table. The two of them at the summer festival senior year of high school. She remembers like it was yesterday, The beautiful blue summer dress felt like a furnace on her body; the amount of hours it took on her hair only for the curls to fall flat, her feet a bloody mess from the heels. As for him he looked…well, like Gojo. Plain white tee, blue jeans, hugging her from behind so she wouldn't fall over because her feet hurt so bad, as the fireworks were going off in the background the picture was taken right at the exact moment he tickled her sides making her laugh.

"He was basically my manager too," she sighs, "I think you should tell your manager what happened, there are workarounds for-"

"-Just shut the fuck up. That asshole can't help me. I'm the one doing all the groundwork, he pockets all the money. He won't fucking help, he'll just bleed me dry till I recover."

Marin blinked, "What do you mean?"

"He deducts for weight gained, for reschedules, for time off.."

"What? That's not fair!" She stands up. Daki laughs bitterly, "'Please! As if you know what's fair , Ms. Teen magazine! You're the very definition of unfair." she was ice cold in her delivery, "Just shut up, Don't lecture me on what's fair, you have no idea the shit I've been through!" She gritted her teeth in frustration, "You think I'm some coward who cant make my own decisions, Some scared little girl without passions of her own, don't you?" Although the siblings spoke like caricatures of TV tropes she used to watch, she could see why they used that defense mechanism to keep people away, not that she was a psychologist, but she was an expert at putting up defenses herself.

"I didn't say that. I followed you because of your passion for your work, but maybe you just need better support.

"what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" she squared up like she was about to fight again. But Marin calmed her by clarifying, "I mean I can help you! I have friends that can help! I'm offering you a way to earn back your income! With the collab!" she thought this would entice Daki but instead she took the conversation off the beaten path and straight onto thin ice.

"Hmph, friends huh?" She sat back in her seat arms crossed before throwing a ghastly comment at her, "So without your boyfriend, you're completely washed up. How'd he die?" she wore this plastic smile on her face, trying to get a rise out of her, like with the HOA; The schadenfreude was her only reprieve after the humiliation of being at the mercy of Marin's kindness, it was obvious by the smirk on her face followed by the cruel chuckle afterward. If Gyutaro played the stereotypical anime villain who fights the male protagonist, Daki embodied the classic Disney villainess full of spite and disdain for those who rivaled her beauty or were more favored than herself who schemes. Daki's tone hurt Marin more than her words, Marin really didn't want to fall for the trap… but at the same time she was only human too.

"Car accident." she replied simply playing the game. "I can see you're still not over it."

"And You shouldn't do that."

"What? I was only asking questions, how sad it must be for you to be all alone." she chortles feigning ignorance. Eventuall,y her face fell into that thousand-yard stare again upon seeing how pissed it made Marin- almost as if she couldn't keep the act going. That's what this was; an act. She had to put on a final stand to save face. "I don't fault you." She murmurs.

Marin opted to take her sincerity at face value as the smile reappeared on her face, "When he died, I just lost all motivation to keep going. It's why I stopped posting and lost all my followers. " She admitted quietly, and looked back at the picture sitting on the half-moon table, "it's been pretty rough. So I get how you feel." She snarled angrily at that, "No you don't! Nobody fucking gets how I feel! Even without your stupid ex, you still have friends, a fucking career and this entire neighborhood backing you! What do I have?! huh?!"

Another long and uncomfortable silence followed before Marin asked a different question, "Daki, tell me, then." she turns her full body to face her, "what's something you want people to know about you and your brother, that they don't?" She was taken aback by the question sputtering words clumsily, before her eyes steeled into a glare trying her best to appear brave, though it seemed like a cheap mimicry of her brother. Seeing his glare and seeing Daki's made it obvious who really ran the show. Daki's antics lost an immense amount of potency the more she talked, "What is something people don't know about you two that you'd want them to know?" Marin repeats.

Her eyes appeared to glaze over before changing topics, answering with a question of her own, "Tell me since you're such a diehard fan, what other content did you like?" Does she not trust her yet? Regardless Marin went on a 5 minute rant on what she loved about Daki's work; theme, lighting, setup and what she believed Daki's strengths were, and even gave some suggestions to really beef up her performance.

"-they were some of the most beautiful shots I'd ever seen, you were able to capture that 'I'm a queen I bow to no one' vibe while simultaneously showing you would let the right one in if worthy"

Daki seemed engaged but when she finished talking she huffs and turns around. Marin's millionth apology left her unsure about the hostile exchange. But then Daki say, half-whispering and with the faintest of smiles, like a thought she didn't mean to say out loud, "Guess you're not... so bad." Was that approval? Was she finally growing on her? It sure sounded like it...

Before she could stop herself she hugged the girl, tightly. She protested fiercely of course, bitching and moaning that she had to pay to touch her but Marin didn't care, "I have clothes that would look amazing on you!" She says grabbing her hand and practically dragging her up the stairs to her bedroom.

Her eyes sparkled as she scanned her room her eyes fell on something in the corner. "Is that-"

"Yeap! The one and only Shizukutan! Gojo made it…it was the first cosplay we ever did!" she boasted proudly hands on her hips at the outfit on the mannequin by the wall.

But Daki frowned, "I meant those…" she pointed next to the mannequin where her 3 framed magazine cover photos hung. Suddenly, the room felt frigid. "Uhh, y-yeah.." She blubbered unable to mask the obvious disappointment that she didn't care about her cosplay. "Old shoots I did in high school for extra cash, but check these out" She rummages through her closet, tucking items under her arm, "Wanna try them on?"

"No fucking thanks" she scoffs as if she wasn't embarrassed she was still standing in a thong and lacey bra with Marin's shirt wrapped around her waist.

"Fine." she throws her hands over her head feigning disinterest too. "I mean I haven't worn these Burberry slides more than a few times..." She flicks her wrist with the shoes in hand.

"Burberry?" Daki whipped her head Unable to control herself "Are you fucking serious?" Ha! Got her!

"Yeah, a gift for modeling their brand… i was gonna give these shoes away to someone if they liked them enough.'' She dumped the other articles on her bed; tops, dresses, a couple of bottoms and even another pair of shoes, purposefully showing brand items to test the platinum blonde's passion for fashion. At first, she didn't move, giving off that trapped dog feeling' again when she spoke apprehensively, "You think I want your disgusting hand-me-downs?" She tried so hard to sound disgusted, but then Marin hit the nuclear button, pulling one particular item the poor girl didn't stand a chance-

"Is that?!"

-and like a game of chicken Marin's generosity won out. "Yup yup Givenchy vogue 2017 spring collection," she pulled out the black box dress with a golden chain strap flattening it gently on her chest. "This one is nice although…" she sifted through her wardrobe stopping at a fuzzy neon pink and magenta matching 3-piece. "This is so much more your style, it matches your overall vibe you know?" The outfit was a knit checkered bodycon skirt with a matching crop top and even a 3 button mini cardigan which matched Daki's cherry blossom makeup and oriental appeal. "Cute and classy."

"That's not a brand item, what, you afraid I'll show you up?" It was a genuine question, far more confused than mean.

"Not at all! The opposite, I'm confident you'll show me up in this little no-name outfit." But her face still showed she didn't get it. "Well, like, sure brand items are more expensive and well-known but like, a confident woman can sell a trash bag better than an unconfident woman could sell this dress. After all That's the beauty of confidence it sells itself. It doesn't always have to be real…people just have to believe it is." Daki's eyes sparkled, before blinking rapidly, muttering some petty insult.

"You don't think it's a bit foolish?" her tone went a little darker, "We are not friends…" It wasn't a question, not really anyway; the Question not spoken lay between her words. My, my still testing are we?

"It's foolish only if you're a bad person, I guess, but I Don't think you are." Daki looked as if she had been smacked, "What? How can you say that? We're literally strangers…! I fucking beat you up! You fucking slut! You're the reason my brother got taken in the first place!" her eyes began to water again as her anger climbed and she stood up fists clenched at her sides. But Marin disregarded her valid rationalizations. "A person can have faults and do bad things without necessarily being a bad person, I think."

Similar to Kagaya she told Daki a story: "Before my mom died I remember a conversation we had, there was this beautiful woman in our town everybody would talk trash about. I asked mom why nobody liked her and she told me it was because she was the town tramp. So I told mom," She put her hands on her hips mimicking a toddler version of herself, "Well Mom If that's what a tramp is then I wanna be just like that when I grow up!" She laughed, speaking normally. "So I guess what I'm saying is, who cares what people think? Only you know who you truly are inside, right?She remained silent, but her discomfort was clear.

So she gave a bit of comforting news instead, "I talked with Hotaru," now she scoffs, making a sound with her mouth like she wanted to spit. Marin couldn't help but laugh as she remembered a similar situation with Daia and Jim. "He's agreed to drop the charges this time for good, Daki," she said, pausing for a moment. "Mr. Ubuyashiki went with me, he has … already provided the money to bail out your brother. I promise you, he'll be back home tomorrow." She shot a hostile look, apparently not satisfied with the good news putting Marin on edge, so before things could escalate, she excused herself to make dinner. But Daki quickly speaks. "Say that again"

"Say what?" she asked.

"Say you promise he'll be home. Tomorrow." she says from her place on the bed.

"Ohhh" Marin knelt in front of her, grabbing her hands in her lap, "I promise he'll be home tomorrow," she said firmly, shaking her clasped hands for emphasis. And when she does Daki smiles- a real one. it was genuine and full and true a smile that reached her eyes. Not at all like the plastic ones she wore as pretense.

She was a true gem throughout the night. Gyutaro's spirit animal was a canine, fluctuating between beaten dog and ferocious wolf, but Daki's was a feline; when her guard was up she'd rip your throat out like a lioness but when she was happy she was delicate, adorably funny, even cute, but man did she shine! Marin wished more people knew how beautiful she looked when she smiled.

Despite its horrifying nature, treating her like an abused child was key. For example, Marin would praise her even for the smallest accomplishments like clapping when she applied fake eyelashes correctly in a single attempt. If Daki refused to do something like help out with dinner Marin would say "Fine, more for me" implying she wouldn't eat and then she'd comply. Her eyes even lit up like a kid on Christmas when she gifted all her designer items and anything else she wanted from her wardrobe. She gave a wary look at first, scrutinizing her words for deception like always.

"Why not sell them and take the money?" she picked at her fingernails, "It's what my brother would have done." but eventually, she melted like putty. She was a good girl beneath the bullshit. The brother remained a mystery, but maybe Daki truly didn't want to live at the expense of hurting others? Daki's question sparked numerous other questions, such as his occupation. Marin's curiosity about Gyutaro was like a thirst that needed to be quenched, after all there are only so many avenues he can take to earn a living… surely not everything he does is legal..? Perhaps she could help them manage their account so they can optimize their earnings. She offered the service but Daki denied saying she isn't trusting her with shit until Gyutaro said otherwise.

Hm, So he is the final decision maker, despite his sister being the breadwinner she still relies on him heavily to make decisions. Oh well...

Now she had more reason to talk to him.