Working at Moshi-Moshi was a definite change of pace for Arisu. She wasn't so keen on having to dress traditionally, much less having to behave traditionally, but the hours were good for her, and the pay was excellent. And, of course, Akamatsu-san was able to declare the distinction of employing a Matsumara among his waiting staff. As the afternoon began to turn into evening, Arisu stepped out of the sushi restaurant, shaking her hair loose over her shoulders once again, and stretched out her back. "God, those obis really hold you in a weird way."

Hayato had been rather distant over the last few days, giving her time to settle into her new job while wondering if everything they'd managed to sneak past the observation of others was a good idea. Their entire situation put him in a very tricky spot, his respect for Tatsuomo not to mention his loyalty and the enormous debt he owed the older man made him wonder at what might happen if he disapproved. Thus, Hayato stuck mainly to doing his job. He kept watch and he followed her, though was rarely within sight and tried his best to avoid physical contact when they spoke.

This, however, put a certain amount of guilt on his conscience and became a crutch just as much as his unwavering loyalties were, and so he abandoned it on this particular night when she left the sushi restaurant to instead greet her with a small smile. "I'm waiting for the day you decide you don't want to wear one."

It was, perhaps, easier on Arisu, but only just. Her father was ludicrously busy, sometimes going for days at a time without even seeing his family, much less have the time for her to speak to him about the burgeoning closeness rising between his daughter and the man assigned to guard her for the time being. She understood why Hayato had been distant, but she hadn't made it easy for him either.

His smiling greeting tonight was a welcome change, and one she greeted with a wider smile of her own. "Believe it or not, I actually kinda like the kimono," she admitted with a faint shrug. "Just not having to wear them and be the good little quiet girl for hours on end."

When he realized that she wasn't angry with him, his smile stretched just a touch wider. "It's a good look for you," he admitted. "Though very different." His head turned and he looked down the street and over his shoulder, a hand rising to scratch against his jaw. "Are you going home?"

She shrugged again, chuckling at his admission that he apparently liked to see her in the butter-yellow kimono that was her new uniform. "I'd rather not go home right away," she confessed, falling into an easy amble along the street that set the layered hem of her dress to swaying about her calves. "Obaasan or Mama-san will have girly things for me to do. You know, they want me to start looking after the boys? Is that fair? They're all older than me, they know how to look after themselves!"

"Your brothers?" he chuckled quietly as he twisted around to walk alongside her. "I imagine you're the one who needs looking after more than them. That's probably their plan, you know. If you're looking after them they all know what you're up to."

"Isn't that what you're for?" she asked cheekily. "Aren't you, like, reporting back everything I do, the people I talk to, all that?" She bumped her shoulder to his - a seemingly absent gesture before regaining her balance, but they both knew better.

"That wasn't in the job description," he replied with an easy grin, thankful that she did not begrudge him for his silence over the last few days. "I was just told to keep you out of trouble, not tell everyone what sort of misadventures you decided to go and get yourself caught up in."

"Oh, really?" Mischief lit up her face for a moment as she flashed him a grin, not really caring who saw the friendliness between them. After all, friendly eyes would report back to her father that she was getting on with her guardian, and he wouldn't believe a word of it if unfriendly eyes started to spread malicious rumors.

"That doesn't mean you can start running off and getting into trouble deliberately," he added quickly when he saw the mischief in her gaze. "Things are dangerous enough around here without you actively looking to hurt yourself."

She pouted playfully, laughing. "You're always spoiling my fun," was her sunny complaint at that, her eyes flickering toward the Zen Building as they came level with it, moving past at a gentle pace. "What do you think Obaasan would do if I moved out?"

"She'd ... likely have a fit and bring the whole city to its knees," he shrugged, fixing her with a curious grin. "Why? Planning on moving out sometime soon?"

"Are you kidding? Getting out of that compound is like the Holy Grail," Arisu laughed. "Or finding a million dollars in the Buddha's left buttcheek."

He smiled again and shrugged at the thought. "It won't be easy, you know. Have you started looking already?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "No, I don't have enough money to even think about looking yet," she admitted ruefully. "I'm not going to be one of those people who lives on daddy's wallet. If I'm moving out, I'm paying my own way."

Hayato nodded slowly and turned his gaze to the street ahead as they walked, considering her predicament in silence for a short time. "Would you take any help at all? Just enough to help get things rolling?"

"Only if the help was properly organised and prepared to let me pay them back." She was firm on this point. Arisu was independent enough in spirit to want freedom now, but practical enough to know that freedom wouldn't last unless she worked at making sure of it.

"Then let me know if and when you find a place you like," he suggested, tilting his head to study her curiously in order to judge her reaction to the offer. "And I'll do what I can to help get you started."

Her face lit up with a warm smile, silently appreciating his offer even if she had no intention of actually taking him up on it. Hands swaying by her sides, her smile turned into a somewhat impish little smirk, her lips barely moving as she answered softly, "You'd do that, but you won't let me seduce you?"

"I've nearly slipped several times now," he countered, shaking his head and trying to hide his grin as he looked forward again. It was a true struggle to keep his thoughts of her as appropriate as possible as it was, but with her constantly reminding him it became a true test of will. "You know how I feel about it."

"You do know you can see China, Thailand, and Korea just by walking around in a big circle inside the boundary, right?" she asked him with a faint smile, but she wasn't pushing this. "Rhy'Din doesn't conform to anywhere on Earth, really. I mean, parts of it are like America, but there's this whole medieval European vibe going on around the Red Dragon, and then Stars End is like George Lucas and Gene Roddenberry had a baby and landscaped it."

"I know but, within the boundary, they're all places I've seen before. More than anywhere else, Rhy'Din at least has a bit more of the western world to offer, not to mention all the crazy looking people walking down the street. Not so many of those in Little Asia."

"Well, anyone who doesn't look like they belong is warned off being in Little Asia, aren't they?" she said pointedly, not so subtly reminding him of the friend she'd had to warn off coming into her home district after he had suggested Tav might have made himself a target.

"I know, and that's just the way it is. The older men and women in Little Asia have this air of elitism that will surely prove to be a crutch in the future, maybe the city will start to rub off on them, though. We'll just have to wait and see," he nodded toward a building at the end of the street. "That's my building."

Her eyes lifted to the end of the block. "And where in your building is your apartment?" she asked, her emphasis impish as she nudged his side once again.

He chuckled quietly. "Up on the third floor." He lengthened his stride to approach the building and push through the doors. It opened into a small lobby area, displaying a few seats for people to sit and wait, a desk behind which stood an elderly man and a wall with four elevators.

Rubbing a hand against her neck under the heavy fall of her hair, she chuckled with him as they stepped into the building, her lips falling into a knowing grin as she looked around. "Very Western."

"Very," he smiled, crossing the lobby to approach the elevator. "It's a nice enough place, not terribly fancy and quiet. Most of the neighbors are a little older, so there's little enough to worry about as far as they're concerned."

Her sneakers squeaked quietly on the polished floor as she followed him, flashing a warm smile to the man on the desk as they passed him. "Fancy just attracts trouble, anyways."

He punched a button to call the elevator and turned to laugh at her. "Speaking from experience?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Lookin' at the two of us, it's the other way around."

The elevator bell rang and the doors slid open, he reached out to take her hand and stepped through the doors to pull her in with him. "I wouldn't know, I stay out of trouble."

She laughed as he took charge of her, barely objecting to being tugged after him to bounce warmly off his arm. "Not for long," she promised with a cheeky wink.

He pushed the third button in the elevator and the doors slowly rolled shut to before the little compartment began to rise. He turned to smile at her with a curious arch of a brow. "Not for long? You suggesting I'm about to be in trouble?"

"Well, you're always saying I am trouble," she clarified with a low chuckle, leaning back against the wall of the elevator as her thumb smoothed over his knuckle.

"You are." He leaned beside her, his shoulder pressed against the wall as he squeezed her hand. "Maybe I'm here to whip you into shape."

Her giggle was decidedly playful as she let her head rest back against the cool metal wall, dark eyes on his with impish good humor. "So you don't really want to be in trouble, then?"

"Does anyone ever want to actually be in trouble?"

She pouted at his deliberate refusal to engage with her teasing, her free hand rising to poke at his side. "You're being difficult."

"Now you know how I feel all the time," he countered as his hand rose to poke her side in retaliation.

She jerked away with a snort of laughter, batting at his hand before he could make contact. "That's different, you're paid to put up with me."

"I'm paid to keep you out of danger," he corrected with a grin, reaching out to try and poke again since she was so insistent about not being touched.

With one hand still held in his, she only had one left to try and defend herself against having her ticklish sides discovered and exploited, grinning as she flailed about trying to catch his wrist. "Ah, you said danger, not trouble."

"Doesn't mean I want to get in trouble." He settled for catching her free hand instead, leaning forward to brush a kiss to her lips before stepping back as the elevator door's opened. He tugged gently, releasing one of her hands as he turned to step into the hall.

She submitted to the kiss with surprising softness, her smile almost kittenish as he moved to pull her out of the elevator. "You know, some people would call winning an argument like that cheating."

Arisu let out a piercing squeal of laughter as he finally made his attack on her sensitive side, wriggling wildly in his grasp as she flailed at him with one hand, bending double, twisting, trying to jerk away, all to no avail. "No .... stop! This isn't fair!"

One arm wrapped around her middle to hold her off the ground with ease when she began to kick and writhe and jerk away, the other attacking her side with merciless amusement as he laughed aloud at the newfound sensitivity and his small victory. "What's the matter?" he asked cheefully.

"Stop it!" She was pleading through her giggles now, breathless, her eyes watering as her fingers finally wrapped about his wrist. The only problem was, she was laughing too hard to have any strength to pull his hand away with.

He dropped to a knee, half setting her on the floor before his hand stilled against her side, his grinning lips close to her ear. "Looks like I found a new weakness, huh?"

Slumped in his arms on the floor, she could only lean back against him, panting for breath as her giggles subsided, her face twisted toward his as she tried to get a hold on herself. "Planning on using it against me often?"

"Depends on how difficult you intend to be in the future, it's good to have a contingency plan," he explained, brushing a kiss against her cheek.

"Can't use it without manhandling me," she pointed out, releasing his wrist to curl her hand back against his jaw, turning her head to brush an answering kiss to his chin.

"That's just one of the perks," he replied without missing a beat, slipping down to sit so he was just behind her, rather than leaning over her.

She twisted to face him, her grin wide as she caught her breath. "So all I have to do to avoid being punished for being difficult is stay where my brothers can see me." It was an interesting flaw in his plan, but ultimately one he would no doubt overcome.

"You forget, I know where you are almost all the time. It'll be tricky to stay within earshot and sight of them every second of every day. Besides, I get the idea that you want to be manhandled a little bit."

"Not so much like that," she grinned, not even trying to deny this fact. She wanted it as much as he did, with only a little less restraint to keep it from actually happening so long as manhandling her was still a death sentence for him.

He chuckled and leaned forward to give her another brief kiss before slowly beginning to rise, offering her a hand to do the same. "So, decide what you wanted to drink yet?"

Tempted as she was to tease a little more, Arisu had a feeling she was coming up on her cut-off point, letting him draw her up onto her feet again as she laughed softly. "Juice sounds good."

With a nod and a smile he turned away and stepped into the kitchen, reaching up to open a cabinet and grab a glass. The fridge was next and he reached into it to pull out a bottle of orange juice that he opened up and used to fill her glass with. "I hear your father is going to be at the Kotetsu Social Club tomorrow evening for a meeting with Ishi-san."

Arisu blinked, frowning a little as she leaned onto the counter. "You know more than me," she pointed out. "Why is he going to the Social Club? He usually stays away, does most of his business at Moshi-Moshi or at home." She watched as Hayato poured out the juice. "Why does Ishi-san want to see him at all?"

"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted with a dismissive shrug. "Likely something to do with me; he'll probably ask if I've been doing my job, things like that." He turned and offered the glass over. "Maybe he has news from higher up."

"You definitely need to talk to Obaasan tonight, then," Arisu told him, wrapping her fingers around the glass he offered her. "Aren't you having a drink?"

"I'm not thirsty," he smiled. "And I will talk to her, soon as I take you home."

She smiled faintly, almost shy for a moment, looking down at the glass in her hand as her fingertips traced the cool rim of the receptacle. "Are you allowed to tell me how everything is going, out there?"

"I don't know," he replied with a shrug. "And I honestly don't know much of anything, since my new job I haven't been given access to a whole load of info."

The new job being her, of course. She nodded slowly, taking a sip of juice. "Well, hopefully you'll be back in the loop before long, then."

"I'm in no rush," he admitted, flashing her a smile.

The smile was irrepressible, difficult to ignore, bringing a smile of her own to her face. "Now you're teasing me."

"No, I'm not," he promised. "Getting paid for this is maybe the best job I could ask for."

That did it. Arisu blushed, ducking her head to avoid his gaze as she laughed very softly, slightly incredulous of his stubborn insistence. "So if you weren't being paid, you'd have asked me out?"

"So why have a place of your own at all if you're never here?" Arisu was full of questions today, curious to know more about Hayato since he seemed prepared to share those little details for once.

"For when I don't want to sleep at the Social Club, or need some time away from Little Asia. It's nice to know that it's here if I ever need it."

She couldn't fault his reasoning, but being the independent spirit she was without the means to support that independence by herself, she couldn't imagine the expense of maintaining a place he seemingly never used. "I guess that's ... reasonable."

He chuckled quietly and shrugged at her again, turning to look forward as he reclined in his seat. "You sound confused."

"Confused is a good word," she agreed with a smiling nod, twisting a little way to look at him more comfortably. "And kinda jealous, too. You have the kind of space and peace that I just can't get right now."

"Well..." Hayato shifted in his seat, turning to glance at her for a brief moment. "Since I'm going to talk to Obaasan tonight, I imagine she wouldn't be terribly upset with you if you decided to stay here every now and then."

"Mama-san would, though," Arisu pointed out quietly, one shoulder rising and falling in a slow shrug. "She's quieter than Obaasan, but she's the one who makes me feel bad for wanting to get away."

"Well, you can either stay there and keep dreaming about leaving, or leave and hope she'll eventually accept it. But... I'm not trying to pressure you into doing anything."

"Oh, trust me, you're not putting any pressure on me," she promised, reaching over to pat his leg companionably. It might not be an ideal situation, but it was the best either of them were likely to come up with. "They're the ones putting the pressure on. I mean, you don't have to talk to Obaasan, not if you're not sure."

He frowned thoughtfully at her and arched a brow as he turned toward her again. "Not sure?"

"Well, yeah." Arisu shrugged again, dark almond eyes lifting to meet his. "This isn't just about me, it's you as well."

He flashed her a small smile and leaned over to brush a kiss to her cheek. "Just let me know when you're ready to go, yeah?"

What was it about his smiles that made her smile in response? It was the smile more than the kiss that reassured her, her expression soft as he drew back. "How about now?"

"If you're ready," he nodded, turning to stand and offering a hand to help her do the same.

"I'm as ready as I'm gonna get." It was honest, if not the most confident of responses. Taking his hand, she drew herself up onto her feet, stepping close to siphon off a little of his seeming calm confidence with a gentle brush of her lips to his. "I promise, I'll try not to pick any fights."

"That'll definitely help me make my case," he chuckled against her lips, turning to lead her toward the door.

Laughing quietly to hide the minor panic rising in her chest, Arisu fell into step with Hayato, snagging her blazer down from the hook as they passed. She was determined, no matter what the answer from Obaasan - and ultimately, her Papa-san - turned out to be, that she was going to get out of Little Asia one way or another. If it happened to be in Hayato's company, then all the better. She just hoped he was going to survive the inevitable punishment that would be dealt out by her brothers for seducing their little sister.

((Thanks to Hayato's player for this scene! And for indulging the loooooong wait mid-way through to get it finished!))