Yutsuko's boss is trouble

Yutsuko sighed heavily as she typed away at her computer, filling out a lengthy report for her latest work task in a long list that was to be handled over a heavily packed schedule. She grumbled under her breath, stifling a yawn as she looked at the time. Eleven o'clock, close to lunch break. She looked at her terminal again and sighed.

"Crap, still a long way to go," She whined, "Let's see, how much longer do I have to work on this?"

She looked at her calendar, and her eyes widened; two days until the deadline.

"Fuck, and I've yet to finish it for my boss's review," She cursed, "Speaking of which, didn't those Yakuza earlier want to talk with him about something...?"

No matter how much time passed, she could not forget what those thugs said when they approached the office building, weapons brandished menacingly, demanding to talk with the office manager over some business disagreements. Having been there in the lobby, she heard every word loud and clear.

"Well, not that my boss would really care; he talks as if that thing never happened," Said Yutsuko.

The sad reality of countless salarymen and women in the business world is that much of the workforce are little better than wage slaves, stuck in a toxic work culture that rewards overtime, authority **** by bosses and an unwillingness to change companies in spite of horrible work conditions. Yutsuko, being a single mother who had to raise her son all alone, was **** to endure this culture for your sake.

"Hey, Yutsuko. Isn't that report done yet?"

Yutsuko bit her lip, then turned to face her boss: Amaya Montaro.

A sleazebag with a thin, skinny physique, eyes that never looked, a smile that never reached his lips, he was a scumbag walking the earth. Generic, unappealing, and with too much wealth and power in his hands, he could easily have his way with any woman whom he felt was 'affecting workplace performance', or so he put it.

Yutsuko knew better, and she could feel Montaro's eyes on her ample breasts and curvy rear.

"No, Boss. I'm only halfway through," Yutsuko bowed in deference.

"Hm. Please finish it by tonight, I expect it on my desk soon," Montaro said smilingly.

If one were to look more closely, they could imagine Montaro salivating at the sight of Yutsuko's sexy body, licking his lips in anticipation.

The moment he walked away, Yutsuko breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's just finish it by tonight," Yutsuko told herself, "Might have to pull overtime too. But crap, I was really looking forward to Elwur's homecooked dinner too."

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of keen eyes watched the entire exchange from a neighbouring rooftop, the observer concealed with invisibility magic.

Elwur glared at Ayama Montaro, and he knew he had much work to do investigating him. His backers too, just in case.

With that in mind, he cast a spell, and promptly vanished from the scene without a trace.

In a high-end library, there was a single woman manning the reception, a tall, comely, matronly woman with a huge rack of K-cup breasts and a beautiful face the envy of countless beauty stars. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail stretching past her waist, a pair of grey-rimmed spectacles complementing her brown eyes. Dressed professionally in a white shirt, light brown jacket and trousers with dark brown leather shoes, she cut the dashing figure of a sexy, sharp, no-nonsense intellectual.

She heard the door open, and she looked up from her desk to greet the new customer.

"Welcome to Mitsuyoshi Library. How can I help you?"

The new customer placed a single token on the counter, and her eyes flashed with recognition. Looking at the customer again, she knew full well who approached her.

"I would like to speak with your manager, please," Elwur answered.

"Very well. Please follow me," The librarian beckoned.

Elwur followed the receptionist to a single bookshelf in a very obscure part of the library, frequented by none but a handful of people. Filled with miscellaneous books and items, it looked otherwise unremarkable to the naked eye, and without any magic spells in place, magic detection spells would yield nothing.

The receptionist removed a book, pressed a button hidden behind, and it smoothly parted to reveal a secret passage behind. Elwur followed the woman behind until they reached a single underground chamber, its walls built of stone and the floor paved with ceramic tiles that resembled a mix of Edo-era and Meiji-era architecture. Furnished tastefully with exquisitely crafted furniture and thick tomes of bound leather, there were also tables and chairs for visitors, and next door was a kitchen for preparation of snacks, drinks and even meals.

Elwur glanced at another door, shut tight with a sign on its front which, in a foreign script, read: "Private Business only".

The woman pressed another button inside the room, and the bookshelf closed on itself. Once they were alone, the woman snapped her fingers, and at once her body was wreathed in a flash of light, revealing her true form.

"So, what brings the esteemed Elwur to my humble abode?" She asked, "And do you want tea?"

The woman that now stood before him was completely different, the glamour completely dispelled; her black hair now fell freely from its restraint, a variety of multi-coloured fabric strips decorating her mane, a pair of panther ears jutting out above her human ears. Her yellow-toned skin now held a dark olive colour, her face marked by tribal tattoos in white. Her clothes were now a black robe with pants, long leather boots and a mantle of bright teal, white and orange, a belt of black and gold at her waist. Her brown eyes became a striking amber, casting a predatory gaze upon an unfazed Elwur.

"I need information and help," Elwur curtly answered, "And I cannot stay for tea."

"Huh. Help, eh? Not every day the famed Boogeyman seeks out help, much less mine," The woman smiled, fetching a tea pot and pouring herself a cup of deep iron-colored drink, sipping it with satisfaction, "Who do you need help against?"

"Ayama Montaro, manager of this region's branch office of Matoi Corporation, and the Yakuza Kojuro Family," Elwur answered.

"Matoi Corporation... I hear it's become a Black Company in recent years," The woman muttered, "Ah, I see. You want me to help take care of all their backers in one single sweep, no? No offense, but even a man as fearsome and talented as you can only go so far against an organization with numerical and resource superiority."

Elwur said nothing, and the woman simply giggled as she finished her cup and refilled it.

"It's going to cost you much," She stated.

Elwur placed a heavy pouch of coins in the woman's hand, and opening it, she whistled in amazement.

"That's close to half your current savings, you know?" She pointed out.

"It does not matter," Elwur asserted, "Can I count on your help, Toshetuyek?"

Toshetuyek-ra-Kamun, former princess of the Kamun Clan of the island empire of Roshuk to the east, successor to the old Shogunate of Hi no Moto, one of Elwur's close allies in the eastern empire who formed part of his vast network of global connections. It is said that when her clan was forcibly dissolved, she sneakily managed to siphon fully half the family fortune, depositing it into a series of shell accounts to clean her trail and secure it for herself. From young, she invested in founding a tavern business, using it to build her own network of connections among political circles, and through said connections, she met a mysterious mentor who instructed her in the art of ****, manipulation, intimidation and diplomacy, turning her into one of the most fearsome assassins of her time and her country.

She was also one of the few to capably match Elwur head-on in battle, her use of sorcery and thaumaturgy a match for an Elven Archmage.

And as of three decades ago, the founder of a large, powerful organisation known as the Kurohyou (黒ヒョウ), the Black Panthers, dominating the Roshaik Underworld as the premier source of **** contracts.

"You certainly can, Elwur," Toshetuyek smiled, "After all, it's not every day the Boogeyman himself asks me for such a significant favour."

She took out one coin, holding it up to the nearby crystalline light to see clearly. It was a coin of pure gold, with other composite metals beneath the exterior, one face depicting a gathering of five cloaked figures with daggers in hand, another face depicting the symbol of a stylized 'E' in archaic Elven script, elegant yet harsh.

"We are fellow members of the Fellowship of Eternity," Said Elwur.

Toshetuyek nodded and fetched Elwur a sealed canister, seemingly unguarded at first glance, black and unassuming with only runic script on the body.

"Inside here is the information you need, Elwur," Toshetuyek said.

"Thank you, Toshetuyek," Elwur nodded, before taking his leave.