Chapter Summary: They have the Gem of Amara, now what? Soup?
Chapter Word Count: 5,204
Posted: 30-Sep-2020
Willow joined them back at Giles' apartment, which they'd gone to after a quick attempt to clean up and remove the evidence of their fight in the caves.
"So, that's it?" she said, poking the ring with a pencil. "Doesn't give off any evil vibes."
"It isn't necessarily evil," Giles said, looking through a large book, a scrap of paper containing the symbols that had been on the inside of the ring in front of him. "And it likely wasn't originally meant to be worn by a vampire."
"Any idea what those mean?" Buffy said, tapping the paper.
"I'm not very familiar with these symbols," Giles said. "It could be a prophecy. Or a recipe." He looked down at his book.
"So, Harmony's really dead this time?" Willow said.
"Just another dust bunny in Sunnydale," Buffy said. "No coming back from that."
"Kind of sad," Willow said.
"I'm not sad," Buffy said. "Not going to hold a party to celebrate, but I won't miss her."
"That's why I said 'kind of'," Willow said. "Another part of my childhood gone." She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. Opening them she said, "All done. Over it."
"What happens to it now?" Buffy asked, looking at Sita, Mika, and Yuki. "Now that you have it?"
"It should be destroyed," Sita said.
"That may not be possible," Giles said, turning a page, and writing on the scrap paper. "This inscription seems to imply that the ring itself is invulnerable. And anything not containing a soul may inherit that invulnerability."
"So, no reason to give it to Angel?" Willow said. "Might work. Might not?"
"Angel?" Sita said.
"Vampire. With a soul," Willow said. "Doing the brooding detective thing in LA."
"That is surprising," Mika said. "How does a soulless creature get a soul?"
"It's a Gypsy curse," Willow said. "Made him remember every thing he'd done as a vampire, but now with a soul."
"Not to go all philosophical, since that is more Su's approach to life than mine," Yuki said, "but what reason is there to stuff a soul into a vampire? Is it some kind of punishment for the soul? Or punishment for the vampire? Who actually suffers?"
"We know why they did it. It was revenge for something the soulless vampire did. But the reasoning never really made sense," Buffy said. "And the way to break the curse? Not a fan."
"Some of us were less fans of that than others," Willow said, giving Giles a quick glance, receiving a grimace in response.
"How was the curse broken?" Sita asked. "That would tell us a lot about those who cursed this creature."
"A moment of true happiness," Willow said, wincing.
"What would make a vampire happy?" Yuki said.
"True love," Willow said. "Or something like it."
"Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, as the saying goes," Buffy said, looking down at the table.
"Really?" Mika said. "You and he...?"
"Yup," Buffy said. "Seemed like a true love kind of moment, with a nasty surprise at the end."
"We have no need to rehash ancient history," Giles said firmly. "Mistakes were made, people died, some innocent. And we've moved on."
"Right. moving on," Buffy said, taking the hint. "As much as I would like to give it to him... But we don't know if it'll work while he has his soul, and not really wanting to test it, seems dangerous."
"If he lost his soul again he'd be definitely invincible," Willow said.
"What'd I miss?" Xander said, wandering into the room, Anya in tow. "What's this about Broody Boy?"
"That's the Gem of Amara, isn't it?" Anya said. "How'd you get it?"
"We got lucky," Willow said. "Harmony found it, but we got it away from her before Spike could get it."
"You staked her, didn't you? Please say you staked her!" Xander said, grinning.
"Dust," Buffy said. "I think I should feel bad, but I don't. Should I call Cordelia? She was Cordelia's friend."
"Did you ever tell Cordelia that she was a vampire?" Willow asked, frowning.
"I didn't, though who knows if Harmony did," Buffy said.
"What do we do with it?" Xander said, leaning over to stare at the gem. "Doesn't seem like much."
"Sell it," Anaya said. "What? It's priceless. Should go for quite a bit on Demon List."
"Demon List?" Willow said. "I haven't heard about that before."
"Like Crag's List," Anya said, "but it's been around longer. You can buy and sell all sorts of things there."
"We aren't selling it," Buffy said. "It needs to be destroyed, or go to a safe place so no vampire can use it."
"We have a safe place," Mika said, "but it was found in your town."
"We have that cache to go through," Buffy said. "I'm sure we can find a lot of other things to sell on Anya's Demon's List place."
Sita took a small mesh bag out of a pocket, and placed it on the table. "This should shield it, so no one can track it."
"It doesn't give off any energy," Yanzy added, "but if someone does have a way of tracking it, that should protect it."
"So, you're just going to drive off into the sunset?" Buffy said. "Will we see you again?"
"LA first," Sita said, "after we arrange for this to be taken somewhere safe. And then we'll work our way back north."
"Don't really want to keep that thing with us," Yuki said. "If any vampires realize we have it they'll try to take it from us."
"Only Spike knows it might be in that cave," Willow said.
"And he left before we took it from that other vampire," Yuki said. "And all of the other vampires were taken care of, permanently."
"So, Spike, the bleached blond wonder is going to come back to avenge Harmony?" Xander asked, gulping. "He can be a vindictive vamp."
"I don't think he would care," Buffy said. "He wasn't too happy with her himself."
"She said someone called Dru left him for a slime demon," Mika said, "when she was fighting us."
"Yeah, he wouldn't want anyone to know about that. Not very Big Bad-is to lose your girlfriend to a slime demon. He probably would have killed her himself," Willow said. "She could be annoying."
"Ready to go?" Buffy asked, standing outside on the curb with Sita, next to their van.
"We packed the van earlier, and checked out just in case," Sita said. "I enjoyed working with you on this."
"I had fun too," Buffy said. "And those were some awesome moves. Wish I could do that flame thing. Flaming a bunch of vampires like that could be useful in an emergency."
"With the right training, I suspect you could do it," Sita said. She bowed low to Buffy. "It has been an honor," she said, before turning and climbing into the van.
"An honor," Buffy said quietly.
"She's just standing there watching us leave," Yuki said, staring out the back window. "You must have made a big impression."
"We're in a sim," Sita said softly, "It doesn't matter."
"How do we end it?" Mika asked. "This isn't a regular training pod setup."
"Where we began it?" Yanzy suggested. "Go to the edge of town and get out of the van and see what happens?"
"That makes too much sense," Yuki said. "Do you think we did it or are we going to have to do it all over again?"
"We never ran into that secret government agency," Mika said.
"Is that good or bad?" Yuki said, poking Sita who was watching the town pass as they headed out. "You liked her, even if she was a sim character?"
"She felt real," Sita said. "Someone I could be friends with, like you. But different than the three of you."
"Yeah, this whole thing felt too real, actually," Yuki said. "Even if we didn't suffer any injuries or die."
"Only demons and vampires died in this sim," Yanzy said. "In the original TV show normal people also died, and there was a lot of property damage."
"Is there a point to property damage if you're in a sim?" Yuki said.
"I'd like to see the real versions of Mr. Giles' books. I know we don't have demons like those in the real world but I bet they would make fascinating reading," Mika said.
"Are there real demons in the real world?" Yuki say. "We saw that dragon but it wasn't a demon and was somewhere else. And the kitsune at home are yokai but not demons."
"The kitsune keep them away from our village and the Fox God keeps demons away from the temple," Sita said.
"You've seen them?" Yanzy said. "Real demons, I mean."
"Only in visions from the Fox God," Sita said.
Yuki frowned, and listed to something only she could hear. "Brother Coyote says there used to be demons in our dimension but nothing like the sim. There was no need for a demon hunting magical girl. They left through the thin walls between the dimensions before the first Serpent Clan arrived."
"Will they be back?" Yanzy said, glancing back at her, eyes wide.
"He doesn't know. Possibly, if the Serpent Clan loses," Yuki said. "It isn't a sure thing that they'll defeat their ancient foe."
"They will, and we will help," Sita said.
"Need to get out of this sim first," Yuki grumbled. "Can we stop for a muffin first?"
"No," Sita said. "You can have a muffin later."
"From where? The muffins in Sunnydale are perfect. Where can we get some like that?" Yuki said.
"It's a sim," Mika said, sighing. "Those weren't real muffins. Real muffins are rarely perfect."
"Lumpy," Yanzy said.
"Too soft," Sita said.
"Too hard, and too sweet," Mika said.
"Okay, okay," Yuki said. "I get it. Sunnydale was a muffin paradise and we've been kicked out."
"The Christians believe a serpent got them kicked out of paradise," Mika said.
"And we're getting kicked out by the Serpent Clan," Yuki said.
"We're here," Yanzy said, coming to a stop. "There's the Welcome sign. Still bent over."
"Sunnydale is in the rearview mirror," Mao said.
"Time to leave," Sita said.
"Do we have the ring gem?" Yuki said. "It'd be too bad if we had to go back for it, and some of those delicious muffins."
"Yes, I still have it," Sita said, patting her breast pocket.
"Leave everything else here?" Yanzy said.
"I'm sure we can come back if we need any of it," Yuki said.
Ready?" Mika said, her hand on the sliding door.
"Ready," the others replied.
Mika reached out and pulled it open. "It's dark out."
"Just go," Yuki said impatiently. "Not getting any closer if you just stay there."
Mika nodded, and stepped out, disappearing into the dark. One by one the others followed, Sita leaving the van last, after a last look at the inside of the van.
They came out into the conference room they'd originally left from, wearing the same clothes as before, and no signs of the battle suits they'd been wearing in the van.
"There's no place like home," Yuki said, looking around, and squinting in the bright light. "Or this room. apparently."
"We're still in the pods, but out of the sim," Mika said. "Now what?"
"We wait," Sita said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
"Do you still have the gem?" Yuki asked. "Can we see it? Does it still look like it did?"
Sita reached into a pocket and pulled out the small glittering mesh bag. Squeezing one end, she popped it open, and shook the ring out onto the table.
"Still looks very mystical," Mika said, leaning forward to look at it. "Think it still works?"
"No," Sita said. "It's just a virtual object."
"That isn't strictly true," Lady Shadow said from the door. "Although we're in the training pods, it does have some reality of its own while you are in here. And some things can be taken out."
"But it's science," Yuki said. "All in our heads. How is that possible?"
"I never understood the explanation," Lady Shadow said. "It's rare but the pods are able to manifest some objects as real. So, that ring may become real when you leave."
"May become?" Sita said, frowning, and picking up the ring. "So, the manifestation of a virtual object is not a certain thing."
"No," Lady Shadow said. "There are some rules," she added. "Nothing organic or living may manifest from the pods. And nothing large."
"How large?" Yuki said. "Basketball? Football? Coin?"
"I've yet to see anything larger than a golf ball manifest," Lady Shadow said. "And usually it is something that you may need in the future."
"So, some element of magic is involved?" Sita said. frowning.
"If you believe in that sort of thing. Some people never see anything manifest, because they have no spiritual connection to the world's magic." Lady Shadow came into the room and sat at the head of the conference table.
"Did we pass?" Yuki asked. "We can always go back."
Lady Shadow tilted her head as if listening to something for a moment. "Ah, you liked the muffins," she said grinning "Those are based on a recipe by one of the Clan pastry chefs."
"They are?" Yuki said, jumping up. "Why are we hanging around here then?"
"Sit, you goof," Mika said, poking her. "Debrief, I assume, then you can go in search of the perfect muffin."
"But, muffins!" Yuki said. "I haven't had one in hours."
"You were in a sim and we're still in the pods," Sita said. "Time has no meaning at the moment. You won't die if you have to wait."
"How can you say that?" Yuki said. "There are muffins to be eaten!"
"I think we'll keep you," Lady Shadow said, winking at Yuki. "You fit right in with the craziness."
"We do have responsibilities," Sita said. "We're going back out on tour in a month."
"You are also now provisional Shadow agents," Lady Shadow said.
"Provisional?" Yanzy said.
"You need to earn the title of full agent," she said. "After your first mission."
"Assuming we don't die," Sita said.
"We don't expect you to die," Lady Shadow said. "It's a simple operation. But we can go over the details at a later date. Right now we need to review your actions in the sim."
"I think we did very well," Yuki said. "We didn't die and we got the trinket."
"And what did you learn in the process?" Lady Shadow said.
"Where to get some awesome muffins?" Yuki said.
"Other than that," Lady Shadow said, waving a hand, causing cups of tea to appear in front of them.
"How do you do that?" Mika asked, curious. "I did not know it was possible to create things in the learning pods."
"It takes experience," Lady Shadow said.
"And you have to be special," Joy said, as she and Harriet joined them. "Only Lady Shadow has that kind of ability in the pods in this mode."
"So, there's a Goddess mode in the pods?" Mika said. "And none of us are at that level?"
"That is one way to put it," Lady Shadow said, laughing.
"We have some game sims where you can play with Goddess mode," Harriet said. "We'll have to bring you along some time."
"But not right now," Lady Shadow said. "Review time." She waved at the blank screens on the wall. Scenes from their sim experience began to play on them.
"It was an interesting approach," she said. "You stuck somewhere in the middle. Instead of sneaking around when you weren't on stage, you let the sim characters know why you were there but you played it straight, mostly."
"And we have recordings of your playing if you want to see it," Joy said. "You were surprisingly good, even if the sim provided the experience with the band instruments."
"It was fun," Yuki said. "We probably won't be able to do something like that for real, the opportunity just isn't there in an idol band."
"Will we remember how to play them when we leave here?" Mika said.
"I already know how to play," Yanzy said, "And Sita was lead singer before this."
"Of course," Lady Shadow said. "The sim does stuff some pseudo-experience into your long term memories, and doesn't remove it later. But you'd have to practice in the real world to retain the knowledge as more than faint memories."
"I don't think we need to remember how to kill vampires," Mika said. "There aren't real vampires, are there?"
"No,' Joy said. "Just in the movies, tv, and books."
"Good," Mika said. "They were scary, after a fashion. I'd rather not run into one in a dark alley."
"So, if we practice we could actually have a small band on the side, just for fun," Yuki said.
"We don't have instruments," Sita said. "And nowhere to keep them if we did."
"That is a solvable problem," Yanzy said. 'But I'm sure Lady Shadow doesn't want to hear your plans for world domination."
"Not today," Lady Shadow said. "Maybe some other time. Getting back to the important part of the exercise, yes you did pass."
"Even though we didn't do it exactly the way you said to?" Yanzy asked.
"You were creative and original," Lady Shadow said. "The sim allows a certain amount of freedom to improvise, otherwise there would be no point. We saw how well the four of you work together, and you experienced how to work with the locals."
"They weren't real people, were they?" Yuki asked. "They felt very real."
"Wondered if you'd notice," Lady Shadow said, nodding. "The main characters were controlled by several different AI's. They had enough freedom to improvise their own parts in the sim."
"So, there's a Giles AI somewhere?" Mika asked.
"Yes," Lady Shadow said. "The AI's often use the sims as training tools, and were happy to populate your sim."
"Who else?" Yuki said. "Buffy and Willow? Were they AI? They must have been," she muttered to herself. "Very real."
"So, there were some free agents running around in the sim?" Mika asked. "Can we meet them?"
"That isn't normally done," Harriet said. "They prefer anonymity. It makes it easier to run a sim."
"Okay," Mika said, taking note of the expression that flew across Su's face.
"Now what?" Yuki said. "We've done the sim, and we have a mission to plan for at some point in the future."
"Go home and get ready for your next tour?" Lady Shadow said. "I'm sure you have a lot of work to do to prepare for it."
"Yes," Sita said. "A lot of work goes into one of our tours, by everyone."
"And we're off," Yuki said. "There's no place like home."
The conference room faded around them, and they woke up in their pods. Yuki quickly climbed out, nodding at Frea. She anxiously went over to Su's pod and waited for her to emerge.
"Do you have it?" she asked. "Where's the ring?"
"There is only a very slim chance that the ring would cross over back into the world with us. You heard Lady Shadow. It can happen but rarely does," Sita said.
"I wonder what has crossed over in the past, and what happened to it?" Mika said.
"Well?" Yuki said impatiently.
Sita held up her left hand, and slowly rotated it in front of Yuki's face.
"You got it!" Yuki said excitedly. "What do you think it does in the real world?"
"We'll see," Sita said. "But I think dinner would be a good thing now."
"And then we have a muffin cook to hunt down," Yuki said.
"Someone is still a bit obsessed with a certain muffin," Yanzy said. "We're going to need to find a muffin detox group for her."
"Just find me some of those muffins and I'll behave," Yuki said.
"I can support that," Sita said. Turning, she headed into the locker room to change back into her street clothes, followed by the others.
Brittany, Joy, and Harriet met later in Brittany's office to review the sim recordings and their meeting with Yuki, Sita, Mika and Yanzy.
"They didn't do too bad, Boss," Joy said. "I don't think I would have involved the Scoobies like that."
"And getting the ring before Spike could grab it from Harmony shortened things by several days. Where did that book and map come from?"
"Random event generation," Brittany said. "If they did it again it would probably go differently. But this way was fine."
"Think that ring will cross over with them?" Joy said. "I wonder if they understood how rare such an occurrence like that would be?"
"Very rare," Brittany said. "It would require intervention."
"They do have their Fox God and that pest Brother Coyote," Harriet said. "I'm sure one of them will end up with that ring."
"But will it have any power?" Brittany said. "That is the question. "Will it just be a slightly unfashionable ring? Or will it be a magical object?"
"Mystical? Or magical? I thought magic didn't work?" Joy said.
"Mystical, likely," Brittany said. "Magic isn't compatible with this universe. Mysticism, on the other hand, can be useful."
"That AI who played Buffy in the sim seemed to be forming a connection with Sita," Harriet said. "Are you going to allow that to continue?"
"I'll have to discuss it with the local AI Council to see if it is advisable," Brittany said. "That was just a character she was playing. There isn't any way for them to interact currently."
"Comm?" Harriet said.
"There is that," Brittany said. "Are you scheming? Not sure the Fox God will agree with that."
Harriet shrugged. "Just an idea. Watch them interacting again and then tell me there's nothing there."
"I'm sure you are seeing something," Brittany said. "But don't stretch your imagination too hard."
"Yes, Boss," Harriet said, nodding. "But think how helpful it would be if they had an AI willing to work with them? Yanzy could do more than sit and be their handler."
"That had occurred to me," Brittany said. "But we're at the edge of what's allowed just by having AI's involved in their training sim."
"That's a stupid rule," Harriet said. "Three of them aren't even Terrans."
"Unfortunately, their fourth is Terran, so the rule about AI interference in native lives still applies." Brittany shrugged. "We'll figure something out. By the time the PanGalactic AI Council notices this, we'll be in the middle of a war so they won't be able to do anything."
"Good," Joy said. "You know the best ways to get things to work out our way."
"Why did you pick that sim anyway, Boss?" Harriet said. "It doesn't really fit anything they'll be doing for us."
"I had my reasons," Brittany said. "I think they handled it well."
"They didn't die," Harriet said. "Or get seriously injured. Or injured at all."
"I was hoping to see how they'd deal with injuries, but all they had was Yuki getting a stomach ache from eating too many of those virtual muffins," Joy said. "And she's going to want the real recipe."
"Now, I have a meeting to get to out in Fleet," Brittany said. "We'll have to continue this discussion later."
"Yes, Boss," Harriet and Joy said.
"Here you go," Yanzy said, dropping a catalog down on their table, in front of Yuki. "They aren't quite the same as the ones in the sim but you can get an electronic drum kit for a reasonable price through this store."
"Your idea of reasonable price and ours don't quite match," Mika said, leaning over Yuki to peer at the circled items. "This would eat a large chunk out of our tour bonus."
"What else am I going to spend that on?" Yuki asked, peering down at the catalog. "We're Fox God priestesses. Everything we ever need is provided by the temple."
"I can think of things that it can be spent on," Mika said.
"Any guitars?" Yuki said. "I liked that bass Mika had in the sim."
"It was taller than you," Yanzy said. "You can get a smaller one that is easier to handle at almost any music shop in the city."
"When do we get Maestro Dio to let us actually play?" Yuki said.
"Not any time soon," Yanzy said, shaking her head. "It's going to have to be a hobby at least through the next tour."
"But we can show that we can play, right?" Yuki say. "We don't need to hide it?"
"The rest of the band is curious," Yanzy admitted.
"What did you tell them?" Yuki said, bouncing on her feet.
"That you've been learning some instruments because you were curious. They want to see what you can do," Yanzy said. "You're invited to the jam session after Saturday's practice."
"Awesome!" You said. "All of us?"
"They know I can sing," Sita said. "They don't need to see me do it."
"The music you sang in the sim was a bit different," Yanzy said. "Your voice worked very well with our instruments. We weren't just simulating the music."
"I'm not sure what you mean," Sita said. "I sang like I always do."
"No, it was different," Mika said. "And not just because of your audience."
"Buffy enjoyed her singing," Yuki said, smirking.
"And she was in the sim and not here," Sita said, groaning. "So it doesn't matter."
"It matters," Yuki said. "Now you know what you like in a person. Before you were just too busy with the band or priestess training and duties."
"Short blondes?" Mika said. "Or short skinny blondes?"
"Who can beat her in a match," Yuki said. "Short blonde is easy, but someone who can keep up with her is rare."
"We can keep up with her," Mika said. "Not hard to do."
"You've been with her since you were children," Yanzy said. "Of course you can keep up with her. The rest of us? We only keep up if she wants us to."
"That isn't true," Sita said. "You make me sound stuck up, or very self centered. I'm just a normal woman."
"Who's lead singer in a metal band," Mika said. "You aren't a common person."
"And, you're a Fox God priestess who gets visions from the Fox God. And you know more forms than anyone else," Yuki said. "You aren't remotely normal."
"Do we know what our first mission is going to be?" Yanzy said.
"Something before we forget everything we learned," Mika said. "Though that could be a while if we have to wait until we go on tour again."
"Dio and Kiki are working on the tour now," Sita said. "It will have interesting stops. Places we haven't been before."
"Like where?" Yuki said. "Paris? Berlin? Moscow?"
"No, maybe and not likely," Sita said. "We may have fans all over the world but there are only so many venues, or festivals, that would welcome our brand of metal."
"As long as it isn't the North Pole," Yuki said. "Or the Amazon."
"No, the North Pole wasn't on their list," Sita said. "They're planning a wider attack. Twice as many stops as last time."
"Good," Yuki said. "A lot of our fans were disappointed that we weren't able to play near them."
"We aren't a message band," Mika said. "At least not that kind of message. So some locations won't make the cut."
"Paris would be awesome," Yuki said. "Playing under the Eiffel Tower on Valentines day?"
"Very unlikely," Sita said. "That's not our image."
"Paris would still be awesome," Yuki said. "Just need someone to share it with. Sita has Buffy, what about the rest of us?"
"Sita does not have Buffy," Mika said. "And none of us have time for that. We're too busy."
"The guards keeping away anyone interesting while we're on tour might also have something to do with it," Yanzy said, giggling.
"I think we need a plan to get around that on the next tour," Yuki said. "Nothing contract breaking."
"Of course not," Mika said, nodding solemnly. "Nothing that will threaten our squeaky idol headbanger images."
"You might have to get your contracts rewritten to change that," Yanzy said.
"Not likely to happen," Mika said.
"Dinner?" Yanzy said.
"Pizza?" Yuki said.
"Not muffins?" Mika said, poking her.
"No one makes them the way I like," Yuki said. "Harriet said she'd let me know when they opened a bakery in Tokyo or licensed the recipe to a local shop. I think it is going to be a long time."
"There's a new vegetarian soup place down near the club district," Sita said. "I'm sure you can find something you like there."
"Haven't had vegetarian soup since second year at the temple," Mika said.
"It wasn't a highlight of that year," Yuki said. "a different collection of ingredients every week. Some went together, some shouldn't have been in the same room together. Not very happy soups."
"I think the cooks were experimenting, and using us as taste testers." Mika said. "In search of that perfectly harmonious soup."
"Harmonious soup?" Yanzy said. "Soup artists?"
"Possibly," Sita said. "They left at the end of the year, and took several priestess candidates with them."
"A nine day scandal," Yuki said. "The temple masters couldn't understand why someone would rather make soup than become a Fox God priestess."
"The Fox God gave his approval," Sita said. "He thought spreading peace through soup was a noble pursuit."
"How did you find that out?" Yuki said.
"Vision," Sita said. "A lot clearer than most that year."
"And you never told us?" Mika said.
"There didn't seem to be any reason to," Sita said. "Would have knowing that the Fox God sent some of us out into the world to spread peace with food made any difference to what we were doing?"
"No," Yuki said, "but it would have been amusing to see the Master's reaction to that. Did they at least know it was the will of the Fox God?"
"Unlikely," Sita said. "The Fox God works in mysterious ways and rarely explains one of his plans."
"Now I really need to try this soup," Yanzy said, speeding up, "Do you think this is one of those places?"
"Not sure what happened to them," Sita said. "We weren't in a position to track them down."
"We'll have to keep an eye out for them," Yanzy said. "World Peace in a bowl of soup!"
"That's catchy," Yuki said.
"No, right there," Yanzy said pointing at an unobtrusive sign. "That's their slogan."
"And, it looks like they might actually be those Fox Temple cooks," Mika said, pointing at a small symbol on the sign. "Only Fox God approved businesses can have that symbol on them."
"And if you don't have approval?" Yanzy asked.
"Brother Coyote may pay a visit," Yuki said. "Not recommended for anyone not part of the Fox temple."
"They don't seem very crowded right now," Yanzy said.
"Must be a lull," Mika said. "Shall we?" She gestured at the door.