The downside to the tiny ramen bar was the heat. Of course, it wasn’t quite as bad for us as it was for the owner in the kitchen. He had a sweatband around his head and was beet red. An older fellow. Stern. Had pointed us to the bar and not asked any questions. I kind of liked that. The gruffness. It reminded me of the stalls back in Tokyo. Kitayashi didn’t have a shop like this and I’d missed it. My mouth had started watering as soon as we’d entered.

There were no different choices, just one type of bowl that we could order. The only difference between options was how many slices of pork, how many marinated eggs or extra noodles. Kira ordered extra… everything. When the bowl came I swear I’d never seen a woman so excited.

She blushed, rubbing her hands together excitedly. I swear I even saw some drool escape her lips. It was kind of sexy in a bizarre animalistic way. Hana was equally excited, but more reserved, I saw her dig in and begin slurping up the noodles. Kira watched Hana, her eyes squinting, analyzing this method of eating for a moment before attacking the bowl ferociously.

I smiled and sighed watching the two women. It was a rare moment of peace. I would have loved a beer but it was not the time. Akashi Black, my favorite. I saw a poster of it on the wall next to me with a man in a suit grinning, clutching a bottle. A salaryman. A life that could have awaited me had I stayed in Tokyo. Thank god I had gotten out. Even as difficult as my guardian life was, it was mine.

And it has given me these beautiful and vibrant women as friends and partners.

My bowl arrived last. It smelled divine, rich creamy yellow broth with fatty pork and perfectly cooked noodles. The chef merely said ”here you are” then went back to his station. I gave him a small bowl then looked down into the glorious bowl, losing myself in the aroma and sight.

I only managed to hold off for a moment before I attacked it ferociously, slurping noodles greedily and grunting in satisfaction. There was little talk, just the sounds of slurping and sighs of enjoyment as we all tucked in heartily.

By the end of our session Hana had eaten two bowls, and Kira three. I honestly wondered where the cat spirit put all that food! She was like a vacuum. I had only had one bowl, more than enough for me. I’d always been a light eater and my skinny frame was evidence of that. Somewhere between Kira’s second and third bowl the chef had taken an interest in our group. I noticed him cracking a small smile and spending more time closer to the edge of the bar. He clearly liked to see young folk enjoying his food.

It was Hana, of course, who finally broke the silence and extended a verbal olive branch. “Your broth is delicious, is it a family recipe?” She asked. The old man nodded.

“A secret. Young lady,” he turned to Kira, “You can really eat well! I guess working the rails can really bring out the appetite in a person!”

“Rails?” Kira cocked her head at the man.

Shit. The uniform.

Hana and I exchanged a glance. She shook her head and I took her meaning. My turn to deal with this.

“Um, yes! Kira works for the railway! But she’s on vacation at the moment. We are taking her to visit our… um… Grandma!” I remembered Hana’s cover story and decided to use it with this new stranger as well. It was likely better if we were consistent. It was a bigger town than Kitayashi, but not that big. We didn’t want to get caught in a lie before we found our target.

Kira raised her chopsticks in the air and I gripped my knees tightly, silently willing her to not do anything crazy.

“Yes! I love trains!” She exclaimed.

There was silence and then the old man broke into loud deep guffaws. He doubled over, clutching his large aproned belly.

“Trains and ramen huh? What a girl! Warms my heart to see such an energetic young woman. Well, welcome to Okaino you three!”

“Um mister, my master and mistress need help. Can you help us?” Kira said, leaning over the counter and capturing the man’s gaze in her big yellow eyes. The pot-bellied chef scratched the back of his head.

“Well of course young lady. Mighty respectful of you to use honorifics to refer to your siblings that way, don’t hear that much anymore. What can I help you with?”

Stolen story; please report.

“We want to get into the big red building, but it's locked!” She blurted out.

Hana helped explain what we were looking for.

I watched the two of them interacting with the chef and felt pride swelling in my breast once more. They were already making a good team, the two of them. Cutesy crazy Kira and Hana the charmer and smooth talker. We were in luck, it seemed. The chef knew the owner of the shrine, at least peripherally. Since the ramen shop was so close by he visited semi frequently. The chef mentioned that the shrine owner also frequented a nearby bar and that we might be able to ask around at.

After we said our goodbyes and paid we headed back out onto the street. We bowed and thanked the owner profusely, for not only had he given us vital information but he’d also given us a substantial discount on the ramen… and with how much the two girls had eaten i was rather appreciative of the fact.

We walked back to check the gate once more and see if the shrine had been unlocked. We were not lucky, the owner, it seemed, had not returned. We had to reassess once more. It was now early afternoon. It was early to go to the bar and follow that lead as it was not yet open. After some discussion we agreed to follow a small diversion to get Kira a new outfit and ditch the train uniform.

The third outfit she’s had since we met. This girl goes through clothes like nobody's business!

***

I was on the phone with Miku, sitting on a bench outside the boutique while Hana and Kira tried on clothes. Miku sounded stressed, and I could tell there was a lot she wasn't telling me. It seemed things were not going great in our absence in Kitayashi but when I asked she tersely told me things were fine, that instead I should fill her in on everything that was happening here in Okaino.

I told her, to the best of my ability, the events of the day. But everything was so crazy I continually had to backtrack to explain things. The truth was we’d spent most of the mine messing around, getting in and out of trouble. All we’d learned was the location of a shrine which may or may not have a clue for us. And beyond that we were still totally out of luck. Miku promised to do some further investigation on the town and shrine and said she’d entered a search into the police computer. She apologized profusely then, saying she had an emergency she had to attend to, and then hung up.

Well that is… odd. Unlike her.

I stood up and pocketed the phone and went to enter the boutique to check on the girls. Instead

I nearly collided with them as the door swung open and they exited just as I was about to enter. I did a double take.

“Wow you two look…”

“Good right!?” Kira said with a grin, doing a spin for me.

That was… one word for it.

Kira was a leopard print tracksuit. It hugged all her curves. Tightly. Too tightly. But at least there was no risk of her flashing anyone. Although… the leopard print was a little on the nose.

“Didn’t we agree on a lower profile outfit, Hana? Um.. Hana?!” I was stopped mid sentence once I got a good look at Hana. She was wearing exactly the same tracksuit but a pink and black version.

God damn, both of them look… good. Shit. Kira is right. They look like members of some kind of sexy K-POP group

Hana grinned. “Oh, what’s the matter, cat got your tongue there Ryo-chan?”

I shook my head in disbelief. It was a good pun, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled.

“Hana, don’t you think… this… is even more distracting!?”

I watched as Kira kicked her legs and began stretching, clearly enjoying the feel and flexibility of the fabric. It did indeed have that advantage over the uniform.

“Less. Look, we look like tourists now. Which is our cover. Plus if Kira ever reveals her tail or ears, people will just think she’s a neko cosplayer. It's perfect. Anyways… she was throwing a fit, she wanted us to have these as matching outfits and the lady was starting to ask a few too many questions. I thought it best to buy them and get us out of there.” Hana smirked at me. “And I think the only one distracted is you.”

Here logic was sound. And I was distracted. Very.

“Plus… I look pretty damn good, dont’cha think?” It was Hana’s turn to do a little twirl for me, at the end she gave me a wink. She knew she had a good body and she was flaunting it. Damnit these two! I felt a buzzing in my pocket, interrupting the moment. It was Miku. The text brought me back to reality.

It read simply: “No further leads. I’m out on a call. Please be safe. Call me if you find the owner.”

“Right, Miku has nothing for us. It’s about that time. We should head to the bar, it’s a little early but maybe the bartender or someone can tell us something.” I motioned for the girls to follow me and that we should go.

“Ooh we can show off our new outfits, maybe get Kira and I a hot date for the night,” Hana teased.

“Master, can I have a hot d-a-t-e? Is it food?”

Hana burst into a fit of laughter and Kira beamed, proud of a joke she didn’t even know she made.

I shook my head and let out a long sigh.

If it wasn’t the demons or the summoner, it’d be these two that killed me.