Depending on the mood of his charge, Hayato would sometimes keep his distance, letting her walk in the illusion of being alone while he followed from behind with an ever watchful gaze focused on her. Tonight was such a night. He followed from a distance with hands in his pockets and his senses turned outward. He'd been on edge since the second group of Makos came into the Social Club looking to avenge the pair he'd killed a few nights before.

Arisu was hardly unaware of the warfare going on undercover of darkness in Rhy'Din's streets, especially in and around Little Asia. Bodies were beginning to become a regular find for those who woke earliest in the mornings, and even if there weren't bodies to find, the destruction left behind by dirty fighting was always there. She probably shouldn't have gone out for a drink with her friends from the Shanachie, but since getting a job at Moshi-Moshi, the sushi restaurant just to the south of Little Asia's market, she was working off her notice and wanted to leave them with a good impression of her. Which was how she had ended up walking back toward Little Asia after midnight, hands in her pockets and ears alert, aware of her always present shadow but more aware of the scuffling that betrayed others following along with them.

He'd checked his gun several times before she'd even left work, made sure he had a handful of spare ammunition and that his knife was in servicable condition. Everything was as good as he could hope, but he was still on edge and wished Arisu would take longer strides to get home sooner. He was confident in himself but they could easily become overwhelmed if enough Makos decided to attack. His hand rose into his jacket to unclasp the strip of leather that helped secure his gun into place so he could draw it at a moment's notice.

He had obviously overlooked the fact that Arisu had three brothers in the Yakuza, as well as a father higher in those ranks. They were not likely to allow the baby girl of the family to get away without at least a working understanding of how to defend herself, even if she wasn't highly trained in any of the arts. She could throw a western style punch better than any of her brothers. Still, she refused to speed up, understanding that if she even seemed to show fear to the jackals converging on her, they would already have won. Besides, she was only a couple of blocks from the Torii Gate, and once through there, Little Asia's more violent defenders would rip those following her to pieces anyway.

His eyes closed for only a moment as he listened to the scuffling sounds of their followers. He counted them out and decided that if it came down to it, he could most likely take the bulk of them while she escaped. Trained or not, it was Hayato's job to keep watch over Arisu and he'd hate to upset her father and brothers.

Of course, that would be all well and good, if the Makos following Arisu had not realised that they were also following him. They weren't stupid enough to focus all their strength on just one target when two presented themselves. Arisu's hearing wasn't as attuned as her unwanted protector's, but she knew when the numbers began stacking up against him. Unconsciously, she lengthened her stride, wanting to be inside the Torii Gate sooner rather than later.

Hayato rolled his shoulders and shook his head, his stride subtly lengthening to keep up with Arisu. He decided to close the gap between them, if they got separated by a wall of enemies things would be infinitely more difficult for the both of them. He leaned close to her. "If they attack," he whispered. "You need to run fast."

To her credit, she didn't even flinch as she felt him come up close, her gaze flickering briefly toward him before settling eyes front once again. Her hands fell loose from her pockets, carefully settling her bag more securely over her shoulder. "You think they will?" she asked under her breath, deliberately pitching her voice into the native language they shared, rather than the easily distinguishable common tongue spoken here.

"They might," he replied, his hand rising to curl around the grip of his gun. He could feel them closing in. "Just be ready to go at a moment's notice, don't slow down until you're inside the Torii Gate. Understand?"

"I am not a child," she snapped back. "Nor am I stupid enough to try and take them all on by myself." But that was all she said. She certainly wasn't stupid enough to try and convince a Nishimura that he was being an idiot.

Hayato, unfortunately, was indeed stupid enough to try and take them all at once. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to catch the sight of someone ducking into an alleyway. His lip curled. "Go."

Almost immediately after he spoke someone stepped out from an alley to stand in her path but fell instantly, dropping the knife in his hand at the sound of a gunshot and the trickle of blood that drew a red line down his face as Hayato shot him.

Arisu didn't need telling twice. She broke into a run almost from a standing start, ignoring the tempting darkness of an alleyway shortcut in favor of staying in the wider streets, hearing the sounds of open warfare behind her. And in front ... there was another fight going on directly outside the Torii Gate, and it didn't look like it was Yakuza fighting off the Mako this time. She swore, ducking out of sight behind a low wall, and winced, realising she was cut off from a safe escape entirely.

Behind her, Hayato had to whip around to kick someone in the face, punching out with the barrel of his gun to hit another attacker in the throat with it before pulling the trigger to down a third. He backed up and quickly realized that the situation was worse than he had assumed. He turned to run after Arisu and toward the sounds of combat outside the Torii Gate, cursing under his breath as he was cut off by another pair of Makos, whom he made quick work of with a pair of gunshots.

Hiding had not helped Arisu much. She'd been seen rounding the corner, ducking out of sight, and now - much to her dismay - she was being dragged by the hair out onto the street by one of the Mako, a native Rhy'Dinian who didn't seem to realise that the Triad were not going to care if he killed a Japanese woman.

The man dragging her by the hair turned just in time to see a foot kicking up to connect with his jaw. He fell back to the concrete ground with a hard thud and Hayato stepped forward to press down on his throat, lowering the barrel of his gun to shoot and kill him on the spot. He turned toward Arisu. "Come on, we're going to the roofs."

She was knocked down onto the pavement as her captor went down, pale-faced and in a fair amount of pain from being dragged around by the hair. Arisu looked up just in time to see Hayato shoot the Mako in cold blood, letting out a shocked yelp as she jumped, scrambling up onto her feet. And this man was the one protecting her. Suddenly terrified, she didn't argue with him as he declared their destination, just nodding as fast as she could.

He slowed to a halt in front of her, calm in the face of her anger. "You're alive," he reminded her again. "Know what that man would have done to you? Besides killing you? You don't. But I've dealt with the Makos before, I know the kind of trash they are, and I know what they do to pretty young women before cutting their throats."

She stared at him, wanting an angry reaction to her anger, something to spark off and get rid of the shaky, uncomfortable distress that marked her usually sunny disposition. "Well, it can't be any worse than what you'd do to me first, can it?"

"What would I do to you?" He shook his head at her. "Nothing, I wouldn't hurt you."

She rolled her eyes, her hands flailing as she turned away. "Of course you don't get the point, do you? Because you're so honorable!"

His hands snapped out to curl around her arm as he turned her to face him again. "Why don't you explain yourself then?"

She cried out as his hand took hold of her, cringing away in obvious fear. "Let go of me."

He released her immediately. "You're going to have to get over your fear of me."

Stepping back, she straightened her shoulders, dark eyes rising to meet his with quiet, fearful confidence. "You think I shouldn't be afraid of a man who'd kill me without a second thought, if he was ordered to? No one's that big a fool."

"I know your father and your brothers, it was your father who suggested I take up this particular job. He wouldn't do that if he thought I'd ever hurt you for any reason." As ever, his expression was ultimately unreadable. It took a certain amount of insight to read into the unwavering stare he fixed on her.

Insight she didn't have, and never expected to have. Her hands came up to tuck into her pockets once again, uncomfortable and aware that the fighting was probably still going on somewhere too close for comfort.

"You'd disobey a direct order if it meant hurting me, would you?" Arisu mocked softly, not believing a word of it.

"Let's hope we never have to find out, I wouldn't survive the outcome either way," he replied, stepping past her to lead her out of the alley. "It doesn't matter, be afraid if that's what's easiest for you. I'm only supposed to protect you, not make sure you're comfortable."

Never mind that my knees are bleeding from that tumble on the roof, then, she thought to herself, but didn't mention it aloud. It was going to be difficult enough to sneak in without her grandmother catching her, much less her brothers. She turned to follow him out of the alley, still shaken enough not to guard her tongue. "Why wouldn't you?" she asked, quieter now. "If my father ordered you to shoot me, or if ... if the Boss did. Why wouldn't you do it? I didn't even know who you were until a week ago."

"Your father won't order me to shoot you," he replied with a shrug. "And it's a rule of mine." Thankfully they were safe from attackers now and he was able to walk at a more comfortable pace. "We should stop by the fountain, clean you up a bit before going home. It won't be as difficult for you if you don't have dried blood on your knees."

"It'd be difficult even if I wasn't bleeding," she pointed out in a low voice."I'm late."

"You are late," he agreed. "But at least you're with a nice Asian boy." He rolled his eyes. "It's up to you."

"A nice Asian boy who everyone in my house knows by reputation," she corrected, but sighed. He'd won the argument before it had begun. She was too shaken and too tired to fight it - if he wanted to clean her knees up and try and wash the blood out of her jeans before delivering her home, he was welcome to try.

He slowed and turned the corner to a little square where a fountain waited. "Go ahead and have a seat on the edge, roll up your pants," he slid out of his coat and started to unbutton his shirt, lowering the shoulder holster to the ground.

Frowning in vague suspicion as he started to undress himself, Arisu did as she was told, lowering to the edge of the fountain to carefully roll her jeans up, wincing at the sting. Her knees were badly abraided, but nothing more serious than that, thankfully, protected from contamination with grit by her jeans. "What're you doing?"

"Need something to wash with," he reminded her. Beneath that shirt, he wore a thin, plain white t-shirt that he tugged overhead and tossed over the edge of the fountain before he slid back into darker shirt he'd been wearing beneath the coat and buttoned it back up. He dropped to a knee, dipping the discarded cloth into the water, and turned it toward her knees to gingerly wipe at the dried blood.

He couldn't move that fast enough to keep her from seeing the tattoos. She'd seen them before, of course, variations on the same themes worn by her brothers, her father; body-sleeves of ink that could take thirty years to complete fully. The pictures had always fascinated her. The sight of Hayato Nishimura's inked skin instantly sparked her curiosity, and Arisu found herself disappointed when he covered himself again, wondering what was wrong with her. How had she gone from anger, to reigned patience, to curiosity within minutes?

She hissed as the wet cloth touched her knee, flinching this time in pain as her fingers gripped the edge of the fountain. "I'll bet you've never had to babysit anyone who can make themselves bleed just by falling over before."

One week to go. One more week of walking back from the Shanachie Theater late at night through the less than hospitable border between Little Asia and the rest of Rhy'Din. Arisu wasn't sure how she felt about confining her life to Little Tokyo, but it was the best way to live a quiet life in the same compound as Obaasan. She filed out of the theater along with the rest of the bar staff, hands in her pockets as dark eyes scanned the street. He was always somewhere nearby, no matter how long she made him wait.

Her suspicions were confirmed when he pushed from his lean in the shadow of an alleyway to join her side. True to their agreement, Hayato no longer waited for Arisu to be alone before approaching. Instead, he came near as her coworkers said their goodnights for the day before they each went their separate ways. He didn't speak once during the exchange.

"Konbanwa, Hayato-san." Yes, she was trying to be civil these days, offering her ever-present shadow a flicker of her sunny smile as she fell into step, wriggling her fingers in farewell to her colleagues as they went their separate ways. "Long night, was it?"

"Not terribly. It gave me some time to read," he replied with a shrug. "Are you going to head straight home or do you care to take a detour this evening?" Obaasan wouldn't be pleased either way.

She scuffed the toe of her sneakers against the cobbles thoughtfully. "Well, I'm gonna get yelled at anyway," was her thoughtful response. "What did you have in mind?"

"Follow me," he gestured with an otherwise idle hand as he turned and started walking in the opposite direction of the route they normally took. "If she gets too upset, just tell her we had to circumvent the usual streets because of all the fighting lately. I wouldn't want you to get hurt, after all."

"She enjoys yelling at me, I'm the only one who yells back," Arisu snickered impishly. "She's got two sons and five grandsons who just stand and take it." Turning to walk alongside him, she didn't question the route. Despite her wariness around his weapons, Arisu did actually trust Hayato.

"Some people prefer a challenge," he agreed. "Do you enjoy yelling at her? You do everything in your power to go against what she says half the time." He tossed a glance over at her, squinting thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I grew up in a city that didn't make a big deal out of traditions," she shrugged, glancing at him. "I don't like the formality Obaasan insists on. I'd rather just, you know, live."

"Did you not grow up with her?"

"Well, yeah, sure." Arisu shrugged again, running a hand through her hair. "I grew up in the same house, but I was in America, I was going to an American highschool where kids get a lot more freedom. It's not like I didn't do what she wanted - I graduated, I just didn't go to college."

They turned the corner down onto a street lined with mostly dark storefronts of shops closed down for the night. A handful still flashed their open signs near the end. "Why didn't you?"

"I didn't want to," she admitted with a chuckle. "I'm not an academic kind of person. School was boring, I wanted to get out there and get a job and learn stuff. Obaasan doesn't see it that way, though. She says since I'm not getting an education, I should be popping out babies."

That made him laugh. It was a quiet sound, but a laugh nonetheless. "What is she going to do when she realizes that won't be happening anytime soon? I'm assuming you don't plan on popping out babies for at least a few more years."

It was a nice surprise to hear him laugh, earning him the most relaxed smile he'd seen from her yet. "I think she'd just be pleased if I got myself a nice Japanese boyfriend," she snickered, rolling her eyes. "She nearly had a fit when she found out my first boyfriend was black."

"I can only imagine." He'd met Obaasan a few times in passing before he was assigned to watch over Arisu, usually when he had business with her father or brothers. Since taking up his most recent duty, however, he'd been seeing the old woman a lot more. "Do you ever want to go back to America?"

The question gave her pause. It was a difficult one to answer. "I, uh ... I don't really know," she admitted reluctantly, tucking her hands deeper into her pockets. "Going back would mean starting over, on my own, without my family anywhere close by. I mean, it's a freer way to live but ... they wouldn't be there."

"So, you don't want to leave your family but you don't want to conform to the lifestyle they've chosen for you?" he shrugged. "You're in a tight spot, it seems."

"Couldn't be much tighter," she chuckled, shaking her head. "I'll find a place to fit in, eventually. Of course, I could completely scandalise everyone and go live outside Little Asia."

"Obaasan wouldn't react kindly to that at all," he replied with another quiet laugh. "So you don't have a plan?"

"Gee, mister, what gave me away?" Arisu broke into a peal of giggly laughter, jumping up to click her heels at random. "Why, you offering to make up a plan for me?"

He paused to arch a brow at her and shrugged. "No, it's not my place to make plans for you. Your father would have a fit if I did anything other than make sure you weren't shot and didn't get knocked up by a non-Asian boy."

"Oh, so you're here to frighten off any guy who likes me who isn't Asian, too?" She snorted, rolling her eyes. "My dad is as bad as his mother." A thought occurred to her as she glanced teasingly at him. "So ... you can't do anything if I decide the best way to get my revenge for being followed around is to get freaky with a Korean?"

Silence it was, then. Awkward, uncomfortable silence on her part, at least. Arisu was too defensive a lot of the time, very aware of her place as the only daughter in the Matsumara family and how that simple fact had tradition and overprotective relatives crowding in to lay out her life for her in detail. Hayato was one of those details that she'd almost convinced herself might be a friend, but every now and then, he said something or did something to remind her that he was only in her company as a punishment for something he had done elsewhere in the organization. It was galling and annoying, and no matter what he said, it was clear that almost everyone she knew still saw her as a child.

They walked and passed by countless turns that would have led them back to Little Asia; it seemed he was either taking an incredibly long route or he had another idea. It wasn't until they came upon a large, noisy building with lights shining warmly through the windows that he slowed down and gestured to the door. "Want that drink?"

Drawn to a halt in surprise, Arisu's dark eyes flickered from Hayato to the bar he indicated. A peace offering, it seemed. Slowly, a small smile reappeared on her face as she tucked her hair back behind her ear. "Yeah," she nodded, her voice quiet. "Yeah, that'd be nice."

The place he'd led her to was loud, obnoxious and very much unlike the drinking establishments of Little Asia. It had a decidedly more western air to it, abandoning the more complicated customs of the east for the simplicity of comfort and a friendly atmosphere. Given the hour, most of the patrons were well past drunk and most of the staff were looking haggard. Few paid them mind when they first stepped in.

Bars like this were places Arisu was well used to. She'd been to more than a few with a fake ID in the past couple of years to be completely confident in picking her way between the tables and groups of people to get to the bar. Glancing back at Hayato, she flashed him a faint grin. "You sure you're comfortable here?"

"I'm not as tied to tradition as everyone else is," he reminded her with a small smile. "It doesn't kill me to get a drink outside of Little Asia."

"Uh-huh." She snickered softly, pulling her wallet out from her back pocket as one of the 'tenders approached. "Two Badsiders, two shots of Everclear please."

He reached out to try and still her hand while fishing for his own wallet. "This is on me."

Blinking in surprise that he'd actually laid a hand on her without her life being threatened, Arisu's smile grew, her hand sliding her wallet away as he stepped up. "Be my guest."

He studied her thoughtfully for a moment before turning to the slightly exasperated bartender to hand over payment for the drinks. "I'm sorry that I upset you earlier, I really was just trying to get to know you."

She bit her lip, settling into a perch against one of the stools as she met his eyes. "People don't talk to me," she told him in a low voice. "They don't tell me the truth about the things that affect me, the things that are safe for me to know. I know I'm difficult, but it's hard not to be when you have to fight for every little scrap of information about your own life."

"I wasn't trying to be secretive, either," he replied. "Yes, I took you that way partly to keep you safe but it wasn't the only reason. Your father never said I had to keep things from you and I don't intend to. This is a business your family is involved in and you need to know."

"Only because I'm a target," she pointed out thoughtfully, flashing a grateful smile to the 'tender who finally brought their drinks to them. "I'm in deep just because I'm a Matsumara and they think keeping secrets from me keeps me safe. It just means I'm not gonna know what I'm dying for, that's all."

"No one's going to kill you." He didn't bother mentioning that kidnapping was a very viable option as well.

He didn't need to mention it. She knew it. Her fingertips lingered on the curve of her shot glass for a moment before she knocked it back, grimacing a little as she swallowed the potent spirit. "Well, not until you get forgiven."

He didn't comment on that. When that time came he wasn't sure what would happen next, likely she'd be assigned a new guard. He wasn't sure who that would be, though. "Cheers." He brought his shot glass into the air for her before knocking it back and setting it back on the bar.

She snorted, impressed he'd managed to down the liquor in one go without retching. "Not bad," she grinned impishly, enjoying the slow spread of warmth as the Everclear hit the spot. "But you wanted to get to know me, huh? What did you want to know?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, pushing the glass away to replace it with the Badsider. "I'm not so good at this."

"You're better than most of the guys I know," she pointed out with a chuckle. "You haven't even tried to grope me, and we've known each other at least a couple of weeks now."

"Yet," he replied with a little shake of his bottle. "I haven't tried yet."

"Yet." That brought another of those giggly peals of laughter from her lips as she lifted her own bottle to her mouth. Handsome as he was, Arisu didn't believe for a second Hayato was interested in her. He had his pick of women who didn't give him a headache, after all.

"I just need to get a few more drinks in me," he elaborated as he watched her with a small smile. "Why do you think I brought you here? Now we're out of earshot of your family."

He smiled at her and turned to down the second shot just as easily as the first before he picked up the bottle and slid from the stool. "Because it's nice to agree with people every once in a while. Come on, we should get out of their hair."

Taking up her own beer, Arisu slid down with Hayato. "You're right, we should," she agreed, just to see his reaction to this from such an apparently argumentative woman.

He turned to look at her with a completely unblinking, passive gaze for a few seconds before another small smile split and he jerked his head to the door. "After you."

Her own smirk was wide and obvious as she held his gaze, flashing him a wink as she slipped out ahead of him. "What a gentleman."

He took a sip of his Badsider as he followed her out into the street. "I was told to treat you like a proper lady," he explained, letting the drink swing by his side as it hung between a pair of fingers.

"And what does that mean, exactly?" she asked curiously, her head tipping to one side as she looked him over, tapping the neck of her own bottle against her cheek.

"Letting you go ahead of me, being generally nice, things like that, I would imagine. How am I doing so far?"

"You're getting there," she chuckled, rubbing a hand through her hair as a whim took her for a moment. She didn't act on it, but it was there, at least.

"I'm glad to know I'm not disappointing."

"Definitely not disappointing yet." There went that whim again, and Arisu gave up. The worst that could happen wasn't exactly life or death, after all. Her hand swung around to curl to the back of Hayato's neck, drawing him to her for a kiss she was never going to admit to having wanted for a while now.

"Yet?" he asked, arching a brow at her before she swung around to pull him into that kiss. He stumbled forward, caught completely off guard and by total surprise. Interestingly enough, his free hand rose to curl against her jaw as his lips began to move against hers.

She had intended it to be just a tease, never expecting him to return the gesture and send her intentions off into the ether somewhere. Her smile faded as she stepped closer, lips parting just enough to taste him on her tongue before she remembered herself, drawing back with a soft gasp. Dark eyes opened to stare at him in amazement.

Immediately his hand withdrew and he stepped back. His attempt at masking his thoughts was not as successful as before and his equally dark eyes were alight with anxious uncertainty and desire. He smoothed out his shirt and cleared his throat, unsure of what to say next.

Her own hand had not retreated from him, fingertips curling into the short crop of his hair at his nape. "I didn't think you liked me," she heard herself murmur in faint confusion, her own eyes darker with an echo of his anxious desire. "Not enough to want me to do that, anyway."

"Well...why do you think I wanted to take you out?" It felt strange, the prolonged contact from her. It also gave him cause to step forward again, to close the distance between them so he could taste her breath in the air and ignore the voice in the back of his mind that warned against what might happen if he didn't decide to use some self control.

His step forward was enough to reassure her that she hadn't just made a silly mistake. "You already said it," she said softly, her lips curved in a teasingly rueful smile. "I'm a very stupid woman." She drew him in once again, wanting more than his breath on her lips as her eyes closed to savor the intimate contact.

It was difficult not to smile at her in return as she drew him in. The curve of his lips didn't last long against hers, though, and he closed his eyes to the world as the rush of that intimate delight swept through him. For a time he allowed himself to ignore the voice in the back of his head and his duty so he could enjoy the moment for as long as it would last.

Her lips played beneath his for what felt like an eternity, tasting him, enjoying the relaxed response he gave her in these moments. Even when she drew back, it wasn't far - just far enough to meet his eyes with another small smile. "You gonna take me home, Hayato?" she breathed softly. "Or did you want to take me somewhere else?"

"Somewhere else? Do you want to serve my head up on a dish?" he chuckled quietly, his voice a careful whisper of sound. "Wakarimasen. You're a big girl. You decide. I'm just supposed to follow you."

"Hmm ..." Her laugh this time was soft and low, brushing her breath over his lips as her nose stroked against his. "Maybe I'll save that for another night, then."

"Assuming Obaasan doesn't decide we should just share a room?" he flashed her a smile and leaned close to touch his lips to hers again. "I should get you home."

"Before I decide to take advantage of you right here," she teased laughingly, her hand reluctant in its gentle release of him. Her beer had been almost forgotten by this point. "Obaasan would probably insist on sitting in to make sure we did it right."