"At least let me take my father's katana."

"I'd rather you don't." I answered my girlfriend.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Was she using bad words more often since we met? I clearly didn't remember her using 'fucking' so much before. Was I a bad influence?

"Sias?"

"Sorry Panzer Frei."

"Do NOT call me that."

"S'xcuse me M'am."

She shouted in rage, her voice slightly echoing in the empty dojo.

A bunch of weapons and clothing were disposed on the tatamis in front of us, clearly disrespecting the Dojo. But thinking about it, we did way more disrespectful things in the Dojo before.

And as we had only 24 hours before our meeting with Shikami, I didn't think Morihei-sama would have cared that much.

"No weapons. Really?" She repeated.

"Yeah, sorry. Could you listen to my explanation before you use that scalpel you're brandishing since the last five minutes."

"Talk!" She said without dropping the scalpel.

What was a scalpel good for anyway? Where did she find one? Shiwazaki-sensei? What would he be doing with a...

"SIAS."

Now that one was pretty scary I'll admit.

"If everything goes to plan, we won't have to move a finger. I'd rather not tempt Shikami and his goons to shoot us on sight because we look armed."

She took a deep breath, thank god. Still had the scalpel though.

"What should I expect."

"I told you I won't tell you."

"Sias..."

"Fine, I'll give you something, you know about our family's old deathsquad right?"

"The miniature soulless army? Maker of ghost-towns?"

"Yup."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"Didn't it get destroyed by your mom?"

"Oh no, they were not technically part of the family, just long term business associates. They have nothing to do with the old Jourdin's bodyguards."

"Those are all dead."

"Yup." I stated again.

"What have I gotten myself into."

"You can still..."

She pointed the scalpel at my neck.

I shut up.

"No problem taking the bulletproof clothes then." By her voice, it didn't seem negociable. I didn't add anything, not wanting to get scalped, but also because she was right. There was no reason we shouldn't take the clothes. Especially considering their high quality: protecting chest, thighs and neck. Quite on the heavy side, but not so much considering the large range of protection they offered. It wouldn't stop an assault rifle, but considering we were in Japan, we should only be expecting small calibers. What's more, they were relatively hidden, we'd need to wear thick clothing, but with the beginning of spring, it wouldn't seem all that strange.

"Tou-san gave them to us." She added.

I had guessed already, but nodded nonetheless. Bodyguard teacher and all.

We dressed in silence, we would scout the area of the meet tonight. Our plan had been established throughout the week. I hadn't told Frei what to fully expect during the meeting because I wanted her to geniunely feel uneasy. I didn't trust her acting. I actually told that straight to her face two days ago. She agreed with me, but not before beating the shit out of me in training.

"Ikou." She told me, her eyes full of fire. Probably coming out of the engines of an old german tank hidden somewhere inside her blood.

"Allons-y!"

"Did you just quote the Doctor?"

"Who?"

The meet was at To-ji, one of the most touristic spot of Kyoto, which, considering the number of them, was pretty impressive. Still, what was more impressive was that it had been closed for tomorrow, as a closeby poster informed us.

Me and Frei shared a quick glance when we first saw it. Knowing full well what it meant. Shikami wanted to be undisturbed on our meeting. This wasn't boding well for our chances of resolving the conflict without violence.

Well it's not like this was unexpected, and it just made me sigh.

We couldn't get inside the temple, or shrine (I never knew which was which) as it was closed for the night, but I went to the place in the past.

Kyoto didn't have any tall buildings, a law preventing skyscrapers of ruining the beauty of the old city. As such, there was no risks of snipers. To-ji being surrounded by a park, there was no line of sight. This was actually good and bad at the same time. We wouldn't have to deal with snipers, but it would also mean my father wouldn't be able to deploy some of our own.

All in all, it meant our scouting was cut short, and we rested at a nearby net café.

It was certain we would be spotted there, but that was the point. We were innocent, weak and dumb little girls, hiding in a place full of cameras.

If we didn't take into account my slight intimidation with the message in blood at the hotel, the first bodyguards had been taken down by my mother, the crazy teenager had gone AWOL and the Osaka killer had died in a mysterious dust explosion.

Well, if it was me I definitely would review my danger rating of the target, but what I understood of Shikami was that he was far different from Takehiro Kakeshi, the old japanese "magician". As much as Kakeshi was calm, calculating and crazy manipulative, Shikami seemed temperamental and prideful. Still he wasn't to be underestimated, to avoid any kind of retribution by the law, he had to have at least the same number of contacts as the old onmyouji.

Frei was sleeping while I was thinking. Her head resting on my shoulder. It made me feel giddy. I didn't even know I could feel like that. Still something was bothering me, it was pretty hard to have such a large network, two different people, two japanese ones at that, using that kind of network to kill me. Something was off. Still they were definitely two different individuals. Takehiro had shown his hand already, and proved he could win whenever he wanted. There was no reason to use this kind of action for him.

Pensive, I unconsciously began stroking Frei's hair. This was slowly becoming a habit. Good. Next I studied her face, this too was getting a regular thing.

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No way you could see any german engineering within her resting face.

The thought made me smile.

Four hours until sunrise.

I woke up two hours later, the lit screen of my smarthpone disturbing my sleep.

Frei was, as usual, snuggling to me like I was a big teddy bear.

I managed to free myself without waking her, well at least partially enough to read the message.

"What the..." I whispered.

An unknown number had sent me a message.

'When light rises First,

come to the place of the mass,

recieve help from Order.'

"What the hell." I blurted out.

That woke Frei up. I saw her emerging from sleep, which looked comfortable, and her cute face slowly growing aware, pensive and concentrated.

"Greetings angel from the deep, have you come to reap my heart or steal my soul."

It seemed she was trying to show annoyance by my flirting, but only managed to look cuter.

"You definitely have something mixed up in that sentence."

"Hardly, I just made it up seeing my world brigthen up as you stood up."

"Shut up" She said, kissing me next. "You're a horrible flirter."

"It would seem I'm a pretty good one considering I got exactly what I wanted."

She made half a facepalm, and decided to ignore me completely and read the message.

"Is this supposed to be a Haiku?"

I re-read my message.

5-7-5?

"Is it?"

"I think, it's really bad though."

Ah, I finally understood who sent it to me.

"A weapons dealer and an artist is pretty incompatible after all."

"You know who that is." She stated.

"Yeah thanks to you. I know only one guy who sends those kind of poetry-fueled bullcrap. Erm, Bodaway Kuwanlelenta is his name, or codename, if I remember well."

"What kind of name is that?"

"Native American I think. He looks like one too. He always freaked me out when I was younger."

"Why?"

"Well, he's the reason why I'm not against the idea of Kakeshi Takehiro actually being a real onmyouji user."

Frei didn't add anything.

"Basically it sometimes feels like he sees the future."

"I know another person who does that time to time." She sarcastically added.

"I don't see the future."

"But you damn well can guess someone's past with two sentences and a handshake."

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah sure, and that is why Japan is hell, not one person to handshake, such tragedy for my powers."

"You know what I mean. I'm pretty serious too."

"I can't see a person's past Frei."

"Just continue telling yourself that."

I sighed.

"Anyway we've got a meeting with Bodaway in..." I looked at the time on my phone. "Less than two hours, at what I guess is a conveniece store near To-ji..."

"You think the place of the mass is a convenience store?" She said after re-reading the message herself.

"Feels like that to me. By mass he means the masses, which to him are no better than animals shitting and eating. The place where you do that in Japan is convenience stores."

"Could as well be a Ramen shop."

...

"Yes."

"You didn't think about that did you. So we're supposed to find a guy in a convenience store or a ramen shop, or an izakaya, or anywhere really, around one of the busiest places of Kyoto."

"Yes." I repeated blankly.

It was Frei's turn to sigh.

"Are you sure we can trust this guy? He's part of the deathsquad right? Looking at how he sees groups of human..."

"Yeah, you definitely need fucked up views of humankind to justify those kind of actions. To him a normal human has no more value than a cow. Still, he considers the Jourdin as some of the exceptional people, fighting against chaos, worth the sacrifice of everyone else."

Frei nodded. "I got it. So we're out to meet a crazy native american seer who kills people in the name of the natural Order."

"It is a nice summary of the situation, yes. He only sells weapons though."

"Only." She sighed again, and got herself dressed.

It seemed my first guess had been correct. As we found a crazy native american guy dressed like a japanese businessman, reading the pornographic magazines inside the conbini closest to To-ji.

"Sias, it has been too long." He told me without looking away from the busty japanese girl in a swimsuit at least two sizes too short.

"Bodaway."

"I call myself Bukishogun now." He said, turning the page to see another japanese girl, as busty as the previous one but this time wearing a school uniform no school had ever sold.

Frei gave me a hard, long look.

ARE YOU SERIOUS.

I raised my hands and shoulders.

"Erm since when?" I asked.

"Since I arrived in this magnificent country."

"And you arrived...?" Asked Frei, her voice hardly hiding her tremendous annoyance.

Her voice made him turn around, looking at us both, he stared Frei a few instants, like he was gauging her price on a meat market, before answering.

"Well I arrived two days ago. I was supposed to only land this morning, but I heard so much about this place, I had to take a few days for myself."

Frei pinched her nose.

This conversation was going to have to end quickly.

"So...Bukishogun? What do I owe the pleasure, you don't actively participate in the group's events right?"

"No, of course not, I only create the metal and fire, and lend them in exchange for the life's essence."

Translation: Money.

"So I repeat, what do I owe the pleasure."

We were stopped by a sudden gust of wind.

A japanese businessman had entered the conbini. He saw me and Frei first, then looked at the erotic book, before giving the greatest condescending stare ever at the person holding it.

In response, the latter just turned to another page.

Strange how much clothing had dissapeared from the schoolgirl, with the exception of the actual school uniform.

The japanese man clearly outraged 'at those disgusting gaijins' left for the back of the store, leaving us to our ridiculous conversation.

"Bokishogun?"

"Bukishogun." He corrected.

Then he changed. The aura around him went from a nonchalant, empty feeling, to one filled with danger and something else, something old.

"I have something you shall recieve." Said another voice, still coming from the same man.

"Sias..." Frei had felt the change in athmosphere too.

"I shall? No options given?" I asked carefully.

"They didn't give me a choice, you shan't have one either."

"They? Sias, what is this guy talking about?" Frei was getting slightly freaked out, as was I if I was honest. Things always happened around Bodaway Kuwanlelenta, but never like this.

I had a vague idea who They were but now wasn't the time.

Bodaway Kuwanlelenta drew out a knife. A rather small one, but filled with unreadable inscriptions. It's blade seemed coated with something.

We immediately readied ourselves, but he didn't wield the weapon.

He let it lie in his palms, blade facing us.

"Mrowendalanagi." He chanted.

Without him moving a finger, the knife flew out of his hands, clearly going straight for my jugular.

I didn't have time to react, too surprised by the impossible act, but Frei did.

Without any hesitation she pushed me away from the blade's trajectory.

"Frei, no...!" I shouted, falling, understanding what was going to happen as I was going to hit the ground.

She was now in the knife's path and she wouldn't be able to...

But nothing happened.

Frei was still standing up, and I was on the ground. Dumbly watching the knife in the Native American's hands, having not moved an inch.

"It seems you are not deemed chaotic. Both of you. As such this knife is now yours. I thought having been the one to kill such a Paragon of Order as was the bì'át'íní Jourdin would have made you the final recipient of the bee na'anishí, but it seems I was wrong. Sias, let us see each other soon." He said, his aura having changed back. He turned around and continued to read his magazine.

Frei helped me up.

"What the hell happened." Her eyes were fixed on the man's back. "What's more he didn't give you the bee naaan thing anyway, what is he thinking."

I winced. I wasn't hurt, it was what I felt under my clothes that made me react so.

I quickly checked.

A knife had found it's place in a hidden holster next to my heart. A holster I didn't own and a knife that was still supposed to be in Bodaway's hands.

"Sias, you're alright?"

"I have the knife."

She turned around to look at me.

"I have the knife" I repeated, looking her in the eyes.

Once more, a sudden gust of wind cut our talk short. The convience store's doors had once more opened.

But no one came in or out.

And as we looked back at the store's adult section, Bodaway had vanished without trace. If not for a missing magazine.

"I don't like your old pals."

"Me neither."