Sleeping. Need to be ready for anything.

In the morning, there is yet another routine you do, which includes showering, cleaning, eating, and then meeting up at the theater. The atmosphere should be loose; instead, it is tight and nerve-racking. There is an untold game of cat and mouse with more players than you are familiar with.

Mikka, Kenji, Zuprik, and you are important players, but Mikka made it sound like there are others involved. How many were against you? How many were really with you? You paid some attention to the room as you tried to pick out the possible characters that could be involved, but there was no clear indication.

In the thoughts of enemies and allies, however, is the wonder of getting Kenji off your trail. He must not know how involved you are because his attention is all drawn to Mikka. It gives you space, but you know that space won’t last once you begin dialog with Kenji again.

Akiko bumps into you to get your attention. The world blurs slightly when you see her. If circumstances allowed you more time with her, you would have taken the opportunity, but right now, all that Akiko is a distraction from your secondary job.

“What’s up?” You ask with a loose smile.

She sucks in her lips and moistens them before speaking. “Do you have anything for Sachio? I know I shouldn’t be asking about it since it’s kind of her own business, but…” she trails off, looking away.

The weight of your coat pockets weighs down, and you realize you’re carrying the bottle of pills Mikka had for Sachio. “Yes!” You regretfully shout.

“Oh?” Akiko’s attention is drawn to you. Her eyes flutter slightly as you stuff your hands down your pockets. Then, when you produce the pills out, she smiles. “Oh, thank you. She’s been kind of **** for these for some reason. Do you know what they are?”

You consider Kenji and wonder if you can trust Akiko to hide a secret. “I don’t really know, but I know some of the contractors and Red Ties use them to focus. I haven’t needed to use them, but everyone goes by it.”

Akiko rolls the bottle around in her hand, reading the label as she listens. “I wouldn’t let Kenji know that he’s giving them too, though,” you tell her. She looks away from the label and tilts her head in question.

“It’s from a private stock for us so that she might get in trouble, and so will I and Mikka,” you lie. “It isn’t something we get replenished easily anymore with the weather being the way that it is.”

Akiko seems a little worried now, and her smile fades out. “Is it worth the risk, then?”

“Well,” you consider for a moment and then nod. “Sachio is asking for them, isn’t she? So that must mean it’s helping her enough that she needs it. I’m just… you know, I’m just thinking.”

“OK,” she mumbles. “I guess that makes sense. She’d probably tell me if something wasn’t working anyway. She hasn’t been acting herself lately, and it’s probably because she’s out of whatever this is. Does it have a name?”

You shrug. It probably did, but you didn’t bother asking what it was. “I haven’t used it, so I haven’t bothered to ask.”

Akiko rolls her eyes. “Of course, that was a silly question.”

“Just between you and me, yeah?” You probe.

“Of course,” she smiles again, making you feel almost guilty for tricking her. “I wouldn’t want to get anyone in trouble. Especially you.”

A pinch of guilt comes to you, but it’s ignored. Can’t get emotionally attached to anyone right now…Sasha is enough. Perhaps you should get involved with her tonight to bury some of these feelings?

“I don’t know, Akiko. I think it might be best if you and I keep some distance. I’ll be rotated out of guard duty with you, and I might be gone for a long time. I don’t want you to be missing me.”

“Right,” she says, a small smile still on her mouth. “Thanks, Warren. If you do get rotated out, we really ought to talk more. I have much more free time on my hands, and I can only read so much before I’m out of things to do while I’m alone.”

“Don’t you and Kenji talk outside of the theater?”

Akiko shakes her head. “I’m not…I’m not from the home island of Japan. There are some cultural things you don’t know about the Japanese. We’re a different breed of people, and unfortunately, Okinawans aren’t exactly popular.”

“Like…?”

“Politics,” she deadpans. “It’s a subject I don’t want to dive into right now, but if you’re interested, you and I can sit down and talk about it sometime. How does that sound?”

“I like it,” you say, knowing it won’t ever happen. “I’ll reach out about it.”

She shakes the bottle and hides them in her coat pocket. “I’ll give these to Sachio now. Should I come back?”

You have to remind yourself you don’t have time for Akiko so that you can reject her offer. You stand up and frown. “I’ll find you when we’re closing out for the day. Stay with your people for now.”

The rest of the shift is spent dodging Kenji and pretending you’re too busy to talk to Akiko. Eventually, she understands she won’t be talking to you anymore and decides to stay with “her people,” who probably don’t want to be with her at all if every one of her colleagues has the same opinion about her as Kenji. You think it’s a little weird, but at the same time, you know people can never treat each other the same.

You only see Sachio briefly, but you don’t stop her from talking. You wanted to, but you didn’t want to risk Kenji stepping in between you. Mikka was doing his best to keep him away from you so you could manage to do something with the girls. But, at the same time, you suppose you still had to deal with him somehow.

As you are aimlessly walking, you run into someone also from the RTS. You recognize her as one of the “Wide Range Party” members… Or member. She was the last one alive since they were picked apart after arriving in Deadwood.

Clova was easily recognizable because she had jet-black hair and blood-red eyes. It becomes apparent that you’re the first person she’s run into. That could be usual because she stops you as soon as you make eye contact. “You’re new here, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say new,” you replay. “But I am one of the recent contractors your unit picked up.”

“Tiny’s Tavern, kid?” she asks.

“Sure. I’m from Tiny’s Tavern.”

She grumbles, looking at you with more disgust than you thought reasonable. “Don’t suppose you want to help me with a contract, do you?”

“Scraping the bottom of the barrel if you’re asking me if I’m interested,” you smile, but she doesn’t crack. “I’m not interested.”

“Didn’t think you would be. You probably staying inside,” she sighs and then looks around. “I came here for Kenji. I need someone I can trust, and Scarlet isn’t…well, I heard what happened to her.”

“Yeah,” you say. “I don’t think she’ll be working for a little bit. She deserves a break of some kind.”

“We all need breaks,” Clova remarks. “I’ve had my share of bullshit, yet here I am, getting sent out to investigate some fucking bullshit contract two days away.”

She grumbles again. “I’m getting side-tracked here. You know where Kenji is?”

“He’s somewhere in the building–” you start.

“I figured,” Clova cuts in.

“So, if I had to guess, probably where the dancers are. He’s been keeping pretty close to them,” you tell her.

Her eyes dart behind you, probably seeing one of the dancers move down the hall. She shivers slightly. “It’s kind of creepy seeing these random girls walking around in these empty halls, don’t you think?”

“Ghosts never bothered me,” you snicker. “Tiny’s Tavern was supposedly haunted, too, you know?”

Air escapes her nose, and her eyes focus on yours. “I scare myself all the time. I couldn’t stay in a cold and empty building like this for too long. It’d drive me insane.”

You didn’t notice it before when seeing her for the first time, but there was something in her eyes that did make her look a little…unhinged. She blinks. “What about Zuprik? He’s my second least favorite fuck here, but I know I could work with him if Kenji doesn’t budge.”

“Even more lost than me.”

“You’ve been incredibly helpful, Warren.”

“Sorry,” you tell Clova. “We’re just aimlessly patrolling around the building.”

“What a waste of fucking manpower you guys are,” she snaps. “Christ, I should be given all you clowns so you guys can do something productive.”

Clova looks like she’s about to go off, but she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I’m just– fucking…I can’t… This is bullshit, right? Tell me I’m right.”

“You’re right?”

“Thank you,” Clova looks beyond you again and shivers. You follow her gaze but don’t see or hear anything. When you turn to face her again, she is staring right at you. “Ghosts,” she says randomly.

She blinks again and then picks up like she just finished asking about Zuprik. “So, who would be easier to find then? Walk around and find Zuprik or brave myself for some culture shock.”