"Are you sure about that? What a stare you have~" Pete and Aiko glanced at Mangchi, whose eyes were filled with excitement.
Sayako hummed a tune, satisfied.
"Let's start with a preliminary test. Fight me, all three of you at once. Get your weapons out."
Mangchi and the others drew their blades.
And the training began.
Asher, watching his Fixers train with Sayako, once again was struck by a thought that had occurred to him before.
She was not called the Dark Cloud Blade for show. After all, what did her name mean?
Dark, symbolizing her fluttering midnight gown. Cloud, symbolizing her shimmering footsteps as she gracefully dodged every slash and stab.
Her 'Blade' hid in her sheath, which she used periodically to tap Pete and Aiko in places their defenses were lacking.
Even when holding back her strength to their level, she didn't get hit once during the entire fifteen minute session.
It was a wonderful display of technique and talent.
Pete and Aiko collapsed to the floor, wheezing as they tried to catch their breath. Mangchi took a deep breath, the light in his eyes flickering into something more feral as he snarled.
The boy stopped himself with a bite of his tongue. His hand fiercely clutched the cloth on his chest as he bowed instead.
"The Dame's strength is truly larger than life. Are there any areas in which we may improve in?"
Sometimes, it seemed to Asher like Mangchi knew even more than he did. For instance, the respect for authority that the Thumb and their subsidiaries placed so much importance in, Mangchi replicated it perfectly.
And did he have a heart problem or something? Just what was that look of pain on his face as he clutched his chest?
Mangchi's respectful demeanor relaxed Sayako somewhat, placing her in a habitat she was comfortable with and more used to hearing.
"Your eyes... Holding back?"
Pete and Aiko shot a glance at their friend, but he only tilted his head, neither confirming nor denying that.
"I don't have a chance against you right now."
Sayako smirked.
She looked to where Sophie sat, but the girl had disappeared.
"That's cute. Let's rest for a few minutes before going to the next step. Tell me a bit about your Captain."
...
After seeing Sayako hold back sufficiently as she sparred with his Fixers, Asher silently slung down the roof. It seemed that he could trust her to train them for today.
And truthfully, He had no idea what he would have done with their training if he took the lead instead of Sayako.
Since he had always relied on the System, he had no basis for how to get stronger other than death. Should he try to teach them Sophie's own fighting style, [Puppet Movements]? How would he even teach that?
Sayako was born, raised, and trained in the Backstreets. She was more qualified to instruct his Fixers in matters like these, simple as that.
And as a certainly intended benefit, now he was free to do other things. Making his way to the main entrance, he found the six husks originally placed by Pete and Aiko thrown to the side, buried by trash and furniture. It seemed like someone didn't like his decorations.
At first, Asher was surprised, but after a short moment of thought, it made sense to him. This was the main room, where most people would enter. It would not be wise to keep the husks out in the open, and frankly, they were irritating to look at.
'Tch, but I really liked that plan though...'
But in the end, it didn't really matter to him. The only place where husks were required was in the room with the stash of money. He stowed the husks back into the storage room, saving them for later whenever he needed them again.
In fact, the only reason Asher wanted to spread the husks out on all the floors was due to a tinge of greed. The apartment in its entirety was still a monumental piece of architecture, with four floors and many tens of thousands of square feet of space.
Since it was completely empty... no, the apartment wasn't completely empty anymore. He remembered the woman from yesterday who his husks scared half to death.
Might as well just open it up completely, Asher thought.
'Anyway, enough about that. What else should I do as they're training?'
He twirled Sophie's long blonde hair around his finger in thought.
...
Sayako smiled at the sight in front of her. Being one of the most prominent figures of the Kurokumo Clan in recent history - even to the point of receiving the attention of the Sottocapo, she couldn't be compared to ordinary humans.
Even so, the three kids in front of her showed a fair bit of promise, even when compared to the acolytes within her own clan.
Although their physical weakness was apparent, their determination had a distinct quality to it, forged by years of hardship.
Her nose wrinkled as Aiko retched onto the floor. The girl had been doing a variety of intense aerobic exercises for a few dozen minutes now. Despite her obvious aminosity towards Sayako, she followed her instructions with zealous determination.
The idea of becoming stronger surpassed Aiko's other emotions, and even she firmly grasped the opportunity in front of her.
"Okay, stop!"
Aiko glared at Sayako, staggering to her feet as her muscles screamed in pain.
"Kuh- Why are we only-" she coughed, "Doing muscle training-" She stumbled, and Pete caught her in his arms.
Despite her exhaustion, Aiko attempted to push away from him, but her legs couldn't hold up. She sank back into Pete's embrace with a relieved sigh.
The moment was shattered when Pete collapsed as well, unable to bear the weight after the hellish training. They both fell to the floor, and the small moment of chemistry between them in that second devolved into a bickering argument.
Mangchi observed the spectacle in front of him. He sat beside Sayako, panting as his skin shone with sweat.
"Why are you doing all of this for us? ...Not to judge, but I thought-"
"That I'd kill you guys or something? I don't know why I'm doing this either." She took off her glove, lifting her grainy black arm. It crackled as the light filtered through, casting a faint shadow on the gravel below. "Your Captain reminded me of a few things I did in the past. Killing you three would leave a bad taste in my mouth."
"Then what about when you were on that call a few hours ago, torturing other people?"
Sayako glanced beside her. She felt an inexplicable urge to pat the boy's head.
"You're sharp, but still a bit childish. What does an Urban Plague clan mean to you?"
"...I understand now."
He flinched as her normal hand clasped his shoulder.
Her hand was petite and unexpectedly warm, smaller and softer than his own, despite the difference in strength.
"For my clan's sake, I can't grow weak. Or soft. Think about it, if the Dark Cloud Blade suddenly spared her enemies? And-" her eyes sharpened, "those people deserved it. But I'm sorry for being like that to you guys a few days ago."
Mangchi didn't press her further.
They sat together in a strange, understanding silence, waiting for Pete and Aiko to stop bickering. Anyone could tell their argument wasn't serious.
A few minutes passed as the pair caught their breath.
"Okay, you all should be hungry, right? Let's get something to eat." Sayako and Mangchi stood up from the roof's edge.
Pete and Aiko looked at their friend, then at Sayako. Since he seemed to trust Sayako, they let down their guard slightly.
The two of them groaned as they stood up. Sayako led them ahead, and they straggled behind her and Mangchi like lost ducklings.
Surprisingly, as they stepped down into the main room, they saw Sophie talking with a blonde woman outside.
Beside the two of them was a wood and blackboard sign.
"Hm? Captain, what's up?"
Sophie glanced at them for a second before introducing the new face.
"This is Camille. She just moved into room 207 yesterday."
The blonde woman looked at each of them passingly, but she opened her mouth as someone who she expected to be there was not.
"So these four are the Fixers you were talking about? But where's that little girl with the fan that I saw yesterday?"
Sayako raised her eyebrow. Another Fixer of Sophie's?
"He," Sophie took great care to stress the correct pronoun, "has something else to attend to today. I won't hold you any longer, miss. Hope you get that job."
Camille nodded her head in gratitude before rushing away.
Sophie glanced back at them, gesturing to the sign. Written sloppily on the blackboard were the words 'Chimère Office'.
Sophie's handwriting was unexpectedly messy, Aiko thought.
"Taking Urban Legend and below..." Mangchi's words trailed away as he looked at his friends in excitement. With this, they were official.
Sayako clapped thrice.
"'Grats, kiddo. I was just about to get some food with your Fixers. Want to join us?"
Sayako's tone had softened somewhat. It didn't have the same fear as it did in the morning.
She really had changed.
Sophie shook her head, shooing them away with a hand.
"Today's going to be a busy day for me. Take care of them, alright?"
Sayako flashed a small smile, allowing the three Fixers to wave goodbye to their Captain before they left. Aiko looked back at Sophie almost regretfully, unable to muster up the strength to ask if she could join her instead of Sayako.
The group walked away, leaving the tiny, frail-looking girl behind.
And with a blink, she faded into thin air.