Mayako and Arita walked down the streets of the town, in search of anything that resembled a bath house "Do you see one yet?" Mayako looked over at Arita who looked back and just shook his head Mayako sighed, "How long have we been looking?" Arita grumbled and scratched his head "About Two minuets" Mayako groaned in frustration "Are we ever going to find one? Is there even one in this town?" Arita stopped and groaned. Mayako stopped as well, "Do you want to keep looking?" Mayako hummed "I don't know, what if we're just wasting our time?" Arita crossed his arms and grumbled he looked at some of the businesses that lined the road they were on "I could go ask someone about it?" Mayako groaned "Sure, if you think it'll help" Arita chukled. He could tell that Mayako was fed up with the whole searching for a bath house shitick, "Okay, you stay here, I'm gonna go ask in there" he pointed to a building that was most likely a reasturant he handed Mayako the bags of snacks and she took them with a not to please look.

  Mayako sighed as Arita walked over to the resturant, Mayako was now standing alone in the street holding the bags in her hand "I hope he comes back with good news" as Mayako waited alone she had no idea that she had three pairs of eyes on her, the eyes of the three thugs that had been fallowing her and Arita.The tall goonish one chuckled, "Look boss, the girls all alone" the shifty looking one sneered "This is the chance we've been waiting for" he proceeded to pull the knife he had at his side out. The boss grinned, "Your right boys, lets play with out new 'friend' shall we?" he chuckled evily his two henchmen nodded in unison, they then came out from the alleyway they had been watching from and mosied their way towards Mayako. Mayako's back was turned to them but her senses alerted her to their approach, she didn't turn around right away, she didn't want them to realize she had noticed them, "Three of them, all males" she whispered she cursed under her breath "What do they want with me?" sudden fear came to her face, "Are they with the Elder Council?" Mayako redied herself "Arita better hurry it up in there" she thought.

  As the three men got closer and closer to her Mayako started to curse under her breath, "Wait? What am I doing!?" she asked herself, if these guys were with the Elder Council then she shouldn't be letting them get so close to her. Mayako was about to wheel around and sick her tails on them but before she could, she felt something poke into her back she cursed, she heard a chuckle "Don't move, I've got a knife pointed right in your back" Mayako gritted her teeth "Fuck..." a goonish chuckle fallowed "Don't try anything alright, if you do as we say we won't hurt you" Mayako cursed the heavens. Mayako was about to speak but a deep gruff voice stopped her, "Well, Well what do we have here?" a chuckle fallowed, "A little fox all by herself" the two that spoke before laughed Mayako grumbled, "What do you want?" the one with the deep voice spoke "Oh, nothing much just a moment of your time" Mayako scowled "Are you with the Elder Council?" the three said nothing.

  "The Elder Council? What's that?" came the goonish voice, "I don't know, do you know boss?" the one who had the knife to Mayako's back asked the one he refered to as boss grunted in confusion, "No, not a clue" Mayako soon realized that she had been worried for nothing. The three men behind her weren't with the Elder Council, with that notion she sighed in relief but then a grin appeared on her face, "If these guys aren't with the Elder Council, then they're just simple thugs" Mayako smirked while the three were distracted with her earlier question Mayako's tail slammed into the one who had the knife at her back. She heard him groan in pain as he flew back and collieded with a wall of a building "Holy shit!" the goonish one shouted Mayako didn't stop she wheeled around and extended her leg and kicked the goonish one in the head and sent him sailing to the ground Mayako smirked as she stared eye to eye with the one the two were calling boss.

  The big man looked at his two knocked out henchmen, "You little bitch!" he glard at her and he cracked his kncukles "I'm going to make you pay for that!" Mayako dropped the bags of snacks and her duffle bag "Bring it" she gestured, the big man growled and ran at Mayako who smirked,she stepped out the way and extended her leg the big man got tripped up and tumbled to the ground. Mayako circled around and grinned, "Is that all you got? Boss?" she mocked the big man growled and he hopped back up "I'm going to fucking kill you!" he shouted and ran at Mayako who ran at him. Elsewhere, in the resturant Arita had gone into, he was just finishing up talking with the owner "So, you go further down the street, take a right and you'll be at the bath house" the owner explained Arita smiled "Thanks, you just saved my ass" the owner chuckled "Don't mention it man, I know how it feels when you want to pamper your girlfriend" Arita blushed and chuckled nervously. "Uh, she's not my girlfriend" the owner chuckled "Whatever you say sonny" Arita rubbed the back of his head and smiled "Uhm, well thanks for the directions" the owner grinned "Sure, how about after your trip to the bath house you bring your girl here" Arita blushed harder "I said she's not my girlfriend!" Arita grumbled and the owner laughed loudly.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Arita flushed with embarassment as parteons looked at him, he palmed his face and sighed "Thanks again" the owner had a huge grin on his face and nodded and Arita went on his way when "Alright, gotta get back to Mayako" as Arita walked what the owner of the resturant had said stuck in his head. He blushed a bit but quickly shook his head, "She's not my girlfriend, she's just a girl I'm protecting because her scary ass dad asked me to" images of him and Mayako spending time together flashed in his head, he shouted out loud in exsaperation "What the hell is wrong with me!?" Mayako was a really beautiful girl and she was fun to be around. Arita shook his head, "No, I'm just protecting her!" try as he might though images of Mayako smiling and laughing swirled in his head he blushed again "She is a great girl..." he whispered "I really wouldn't mind if after this is over..." just as Arita was about to finish his sentance he heard the sounds of fighting. He looked and saw Mayako being chased around by a big guy that was yelling and cursing at her he duffle bag plus their bags of snacks were on the ground, he also saw two guys out cold on the ground.

  Arita scowled, "Are they with the Elder Council!?" wasting no time Arita rushed off, Mayako was chuckling as the big guy tried to keep up with her, he was huffing and panting and he was covered in brusies and dirt "You really should just give up" Mayako proposed. The big guy gritted his teeth and kept after Mayako who sighed, "Alright, you can blame yourself if you get really hurt" the big guy growled and started to swing his huge fists.To Mayako the punches were in slow motion, she moved out of the way of each of them she felt it was because of the training she had been doing plus, the fact she was able to now control the vast power that she had with her four tails. Mayako was about to knock the big guy out when she heard Arita's voice, she looked and saw him running towards her with a angry look on his face "Hey you! What the hell do you think your doing to Mayako!" the big guy stopped in his tracks and looked at Arita and grinned "Well, if it isn't the man of the hour" he chuckled Arita grumbled "So, you Elder Coucnil bastards know about me!" Mayako palmed her face and the big guy had a confused look on his face.

  "What is this Elder Council you two are talkin-" the big guy didn't have time to finish his sentance as Arita's fist slammed into his face and he was sent flying back Mayako moved out of the way before he crashed into him. The big guy groaned as he stayed on the ground, Arita had a flabbergasted look on his face "Wait? how come a operative of the Elder Council is so weak?" Mayako stomped towards Arita "Because he's not with the Elder Council you dumb cat!" Arita gasped "Really, then why was he fighting you then!?" Mayako grumbled annoyed. "He and his friends here were just some thugs that picked a fight" Arita felt like a big fool, "I see, I assumed since they were fighting you they were" he looked at the big guy who wasn't moving he groaned "I hope I didn't kill the poor fool" Mayako palmed her face "You hit him with full power didn't you!?" Arita jumped back.

  "I'm sorry! I thought he was from the Elder Council!" Mayako grumbled "Great, now you might be a murderer" Arita panicked "No! I'm too young to go to jail! I haven't done it with a girl yet!" Mayako groaned in disgust, Arita ran over to the big guy and knelt down and started shaking him "Hey! Come on buddy wake up! Your not dead are you!?" Mayako sighed and walked over as she did she didn't notice that the thug with the knife she had blasted into a building was concious. He was dazed at first, slowly his mind became clear he groaned, "Agh, god damn, that hurt" he rubbed his aching neck and moved away from the building he chuckled "Man, girl hits harder then I expected" as he looked around he saw this tall goonsih friend knocked out on the ground "Shit!" he then grew concerned for the boss. His eyes went wide when he saw him laying knocked out on the ground and Arita kneeling next to him he grumbled, "How dare you do that to the boss!" he then took his knife in hand and ran towards Mayako.

  Mayako heard the thugs stomping footsteps behind her, but when she turned around to combat him he had already closed in on her he had his knife brandished above his head Mayako was too caught off gaurd to move, "Shit!" she cursed and started to throw her arms up but, the knife was coming down faster then her arms were going up. [Ch.21 Part 2 END]