Staying by your side [End]

Outside, Pete checked his watch before sighing.

"Gracie's vitals are gone, and Sidney's barely clinging to life. Guess I'll have the boys storm in-"

*BOOM*

Pete had failed to notice an explosive that had been thrown at him from behind. He was killed instantly as his killer stared at her work.

"Well that's one plus all the fodder down. Time for the main dish. You ready Izumi?" Hanabi asked.

"Izumi's ready," Izumi affirmed.

Hanabi nodded and the two vanished before appearing in front of the restaurant.

"Looks like a battle. Shit! Someone might've been caught up!" Hanabi shouted as she and Izumi cautiously rushed for the kitchen.

At the same time, Masaru had walked back to the restaurant after failing to get in contact with Rika. Upon seeing the damaged door, he immediately rushed inside. Upon sensing Masaru, Hanabi and Izumi hid under a table as he ran into the kitchen.

"W- What happened!? AH! T- There's a corpse! There's blood everywhere- RIKA!"

Masaru immediately rushed to the barely conscious Rika and kneeled in front of her.

"Ma- Masaru? Sorry... I made a mess," Rika weakly smiled.

"RIKA! NO! YOU CAN'T DIE!" Masaru tearfully shouted.

"Let us help," Hanabi said as she and Izumi appeared behind Masaru.

"D- Did you two do this!?" Masaru tearfully glared.

"No...Hanabi's good," Rika meekly muttered.

"I assume she got in a fight with the Hasselhan sisters. We were actually commissioned to hunt them down, so luckily we have the antidote for the poison they carry with them," Hanabi stated as she injected the antidote into Rika's arm.

Rika's breathing immediately stabilized as her discolored skin began to return to normal.

"Ugh, thanks. I owe you big time," Rika groaned as she attempted to stand up.

"Don't even think about it! Rika what happened!?" Masaru tearfully glared as he sat Rika back down.

"Sorry. Those two showed up and attacked me. I ended up killing them and- There's a sniper-"

"Hanabi already killed him," Izumi smiled.

"K- Killed!?" Masaru trembled.

"Ah, Hanabi's actually my distant cousin. She ditched the family and became a bounty hunter with her partner, Izumi," Rika stated.

"Bounty hunters!?"

"Yeah. We're a duo known as Izuhana," Hanabi stated.

"So were you chasing them?" Rika asked.

"Yeah. We got commissioned to take them out. We didn't know they'd go after you though. Sorry. If we had we'd have rushed through their footsoldiers faster than we did."

"Rika, is that woman dead?" Masaru asked as he pointed at Gracie's corpse.

"Yeah. Sorry. I had no choice but to kill her."

"Why!? Did I not tell you I don't approve of killing? Couldn't you just immobilize her?"

"It isn't so easy. In the assassin world, it's kill or be killed. That deranged lunatic also had me on the ropes for a bit. If I hadn't killed her when I did, the poison would have kicked in at the worst possible time and I'd probably be the one dead on the floor of the kitchen."

Masaru was taken aback by Rika's grizzly statement. Sirens then began to blare in the distance as Rika leaned her head back into the counter.

"Sorry. I can never erase my killer instinct. Especially if my life or the lives of those I care about are in danger. Looks like this is it for me. Even if I don't die, there's no way I'm talking my way out of this mess," Rika weakly smiled as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"NO! Rika, since when did you become one to give up!?" Masaru glared as he hoisted Rika to her feet.

"But look at this mess! How can I explain this to the police!? Plus if your sister's the one that comes-"

"I'll handle them. Tell your cousin to clean up the mess!"

"She's got a point. If they find that blood, you'd both be in trouble. Sorry. They likely came because of the explosion. Actually, there may be a way, but Rika probably won't like it," Hanabi stated.

"*Sigh* Do it gently or have Izumi do it. Also there's another corpse in the freezer," Rika sighed.

"Huh!? Another one!? Rika- Wait! What do you mean "do it gently"!?" Masaru asked.

"We're gonna make it look like WE were the main perpetrators and you two just got caught up in our mess. But to do that, we'd have to make it look like you were involved in the skirmish, thus we'd need to rough you up a bit," Hanabi stated.

"Very well. I don't want to scold Rika from behind jail bars so hit me with your best shot!"

"Thanks Masaru," Rika smiled as Izumi punched Masaru in the face before knocking him out.

                                                                            ...

"This is the police! Release the hostages immediately!" Himawari ordered.

"A nice getaway car. Oh, and a 100,000 in euros," Hanabi sneered in a masculine voice as she held her knife up to a bound and gagged Rika's neck.

"Damn lucky she had her disguise kit on her. Now we might get out of this," Rika thought as she acted her role.

As Himawari signaled her men to move forward, Hanabi chucked a smoke bomb out the window before using the diversion to make her escape. Once she was free, she reandevoued with Izumi and made their escape via their car.

Back at the restaurant, the police cautiously entered where they found Rika and Masaru bound together with a bomb attached to them.

"Mmph ngh mmph!" Rika tearfully pleaded as Himawari glared at her.

"The bomb looks real. Have the bomb squad come in," Himawari ordered.

                                                                        ...

"Well seems like you had quite the ordeal. Now mid telling me what happened?" Himawari glared as Rika and Masaru were freed.

Masaru slowly regained consciousness as Rika tearfully embraced him in a hug.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know those customers were trying to rob us!" Rika cried.

Her tears were genuine, but not for the reason she stated. Though the act was enough to alleviate any suspicion Himawari had, until she examined the kitchen.

"And who is this?" Himawari glared as she stared at Gracie's corpse.

"One of the robbers. They had a falling out and killed her in a fight," Rika stated.

Himawari nodded and immediately headed for the freezer.

"I see some blood in here too. I don't think it's from the corpse. You two don't look like you were held in the freezer either so who's blood is it?" she glared.

"One of the robbers. I told you they had a falling out and got in a fight. But when Masaru came back and tried to surprise them, they stopped fighting and beat him up before tying him to me."

"Commissioner! Some reinforcements have arrived. Apparently SHE'S amongst them," an officer reported.

"*Tch* Then we're done with the questioning. Have forensics analyze as many of these blood samples as well as the time bomb and corpse," Himawari growled as she stormed away.

Outside, Himawari glared as she was approached by Reika.

"Ara, fancy seeing you here Commissioner Rikuma," Reika smiled.

"Likewise, Detective," Himawari growled as she headed to her squad car.

                                                                                  ...

"Well nice to see you too," Rika glared at Reika.

"Rika, are you aquainted with her?" Masaru asked.

"Sadly yes."

"Ara, we just don't get along to well. I am Detective Reika Yuzume. Pleased to make your acquaintance Masaru Ryono," Reika smiled.

"She may not be reliable all the time, but it's OK to tell her what really happened," Rika nodded.

"I already have a good idea on what happened considering your injuries. Now allow me to do some forensics work for the official report," Reika smiled as she put on her gloves and walked over to Gracie's corpse.

Once they were alone, Masaru turned to face Rika.

"Rika, I don't approve of you killing, but I won't ask you to handicap yourself if you find yourself in a life or death fight. I don't want you getting hurt or killed just because you tried to incapacitate rather than kill your attacker. However, I would still encourage you to try not to kill as best you can, and try not to make a big mess of things if possible," Masaru glared.

"Heh, thanks for the scolding. I'll be smarter in the future," Rika smiled as she kissed Masaru on the lips.

"Ri- RIKA!?"

"Sorry, but that's just how I feel. Thank you for sticking by me. Considering these two came after me shortly after my parents were taken out, I'll probably be roped into an even bigger brawl than this one."

"Must you fight though?"

"No choice sadly."

"Why can't those bounty hunters fight for you like before?"

"I don't have any issues with that. But I also don't want to force them to protect me 24/7. They have lives too. Plus an enemy could easily attack me while they're away."

"That is regrettable, though I will at least do all I can to stay by your side.

"Thank you Masaru, here's another kiss," Rika smiled as she once again kissed Masaru on the lips.

A few days later...

Rika danced as she brought some customers their meals. "Here you go Numa-kun," she smiled as she placed the food down.

"That shrimp asiago never gets old," a man sitting at the table smiled as he and his buddies began eating the meals.

Rika's eyes narrowed as she noticed a shady looking man in a brown trench coat sneaking around outside. She cautiously went outside to confront him. "What do you want?" she glared.

The man responded by pulling out a gun, and firing at her. As the smoke cleared, the man's eyes widened as Rika was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, he felt a great pain throughout his body as he slumped down to the ground and begun to bleed out.

"That should do it," Rika thought as she shook the blood off her knife and returned to the restaurant.

"Rika! You better not have killed that man!" Masaru glared as he blocked Rika's path.

"Relax, I just sliced his tendons, he's alive," Rika grumbled as she retrieved the man's gun.

"Rika, you do realize he'll die from blood loss if he isn't treated," Masaru glared.

Rika nervously checked the man's pulse. "Uh... whoops," Rika nervously chuckled.

"RIKA!"

"I'm sorry! You know it's not easy for me to get rid of my killer instincts," Rika cried as she checked to make sure no one was looking.

"I understand that assassins are coming after you, but every time you kill one of them, you risk getting caught," Masaru sighed as Rika chucked the corpse in a nearby dumpster."

"Don't worry about that. Even when I was still killing, I hardly ever got caught," Rika smiled.

"Well, at least you aren't drenched in blood. I just hope you don't get in any trouble."

                                                                           ...

Himawari glared at Rika as police officers examined the corpse Rika had chucked in the dumpster. "And care to explain why there's a corpse in your dumpster?" Himawari growled.

"Thought that was the karaoke place's dumpster though," Rika nervously stated.

"Miss Komachi, ever since that incident where we found a notorious assassin dead in your place a few days ago, various assassins have been found dead in the vicinity of your place," Himawari glared.

"Well, our place includes all the parts of the abandoned mall we haven't yet renovated, so that is a pretty big area. As for the incident in question, she was killed after getting in a scuffle with her buddies. Me and Masaru were tied up while it happened."

"I still have my suspicions. You were pretty banged up back then."

"I tried to defend myself, but they overpowered me. I'm a chef not an assassin."

"Well, we'll just have forensics analyze this corpse. The fact that notorious assassins have been turning up dead near your places means there is SOMETHING going on. Would you care to enlighten us?"

"No clue."

"Playing innocent. I know you are hiding something. Perhaps-"

"Sorry for the wait, here's your chicken pot pie with naan crust to go!" Mimi smiled as she handed a to-go box to Himawari.

"Y- You- YOU! HOW DARE YOU TRIGGER MY PTSD!" Himawari cried as she smacked the box out of the girl's hand, sending it falling to the ground.

Himawari had always wanted to be a chef, however, after losing a cook-off to Masaru many years ago, she was expelled from Tabemono Gakuin and blacklisted from the culinary world. The dish she and Masaru had been tasked to cook was a chicken pot pie with naan crust. As such, Himawari developed PTSD and would go into a state of trauma whenever she came into contact with and/or saw a chicken pot pie.

However, the to-go box Himawari had been handed apparently did not contain a chicken pot pie of any kind. Instead, a giant maple cinnamon bun fell out of the box when it hit the ground.

"Wow, not cool girl. That was meant to be shared with everyone at the station," Rika glared.

"Y- YOU TRICKED ME!" Himawari fumed as she stormed away with her face red with embarrassment.

"But its actually a chicken pot pie made to look like a cinnamon bun," Mimi pouted.

"No worries Mimi, you did good driving her away. Besides, it didn't get too much dirt on it," Rika smiled as she knelt down and began eating the meal. "Not bad, guess we got a new menu item," Rika grinned.

"Rika, I appreciate that you won't let food go to waste, but that doesn't mean I want you to just eat food off the ground all the time," Masaru sighed.

"If that bitch ever comes back, which sadly I think she will, we'll bill her for this mess."

"Is the interrogation over? Then please come back inside. We need all hands on deck," Matcha glared as she stepped out.

"You say that, but we can't really make much else until we have free space in one of the stoves," Waki sighed as she wrapped her arm around the green-haired girl's shoulders.

"And when did I say you could touch me?"

"Aren't we dating?"

"NO!"

As the group headed inside, they ran into Zuina. "Mimi! I need backup!" she cried.

"Aye aye!" Mimi smiled as she immediately pulled out her notepad and ran off to a table.

"My, has the cavalry arrived?" While I CAN effortlessly handle the demand of the afternoon rush, even I am but a single woman," Benihime proclaimed as she exited the kitchen with two full rolling carts of food.

"I can give you a hand," Itsuki said as she poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Nah, you've been working non-stop since we were pulled out for the interrogation. In fact, take a break, Masaru and I can handle the cooking. Zuina and Hime-chan should also take 5," Rika smiled as she relieved Benihime of the rolling carts.

"My female knight in shining armor, you are but a savior. Rest shall restore me to my glorious state," Benihime nodded as she joined Zuina in taking a break.

Itsuki sighed as she begrudgingly stepped out of the kitchen and joined the two. "You're going to need us back on duty soon, considering how packed we are," she grumbled.

                                                                                     ...

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the last customer of the night left. "Ugh, I think that might have been our busiest day yet," Rika groaned.

"Hardly, but I imagine more days like that are to come. Business is booming. Even that arcade area you had installed has been adding to our profits," Masaru stated as he slumped into a booth.

"Told ya that arcade would do well. Speaking of which, now's the right time to get the renovation team going on something new."

Ryokoma was originally renovated from a small portion of a large abandoned mall. Rika and Masaru had been able to make the abandoned mall their own, thanks to Masaru graduating at the top of the class at Tabemono Gakuin, and thus being granted the right to choose the location of his restaurant and no charge. While renovating the entire mall, was not included in the costs, that didn't stop Rika from wanting to turn the entire mall into one giant restaurant.

"If I recall correctly, you were adamant about a movie theater," Matcha grumbled.

"That'd be perfect! Then we could serve popcorn and watch movies after work," Mimi smiled.

"It would also bring in a host of other problems. We would then need to modify our business hours, secure movies to show, it would be a mess!" Itsuki glared.

"Considering we're already working ourselves to the bone just handle our main business, adding a movie theater would just make things harder than not," Zuina sighed.

"I could always handle the night shift," Rika smiled.

"And if you're too tired, then what?" Matcha glared.

"I say it's time to let democracy speak and hold a vote," Benihime suggested.

"A wise suggestion. We shall vote on whether to focus on renovating the theater. If it wins, we do it, and if not, we discuss the other ideas," Masaru nodded.

The proposal ended up failing on a 5 to 3 vote. "It is regrettable, my female knight, that your idea go down in defeat, but since the majority wishes not to embark on such an endeavor, I must side with them," Benihime sighed.

"Well, no worries. Even if you did side with us it would have been a tie. Guess I'll push for the hotel," Rika sighed.

"Sounds like you just replaced one unreasonable request with another," Matcha growled.

"Heh, guess maybe I am a bit more eccentric than passionate," Rika grinned.

"No, perhaps you're both. Don't worry, no matter what trials we may face, I'll make sure to stay by your side through it all."

"So can I take this as a proposal?"

"Pr- PROPOSAL!? F- Fine. I did say I'd take your hand in marriage. Though I'd prefer to not get married immediately."

"No worries. I can wait. For now, we'll just say we're engaged. Oh! Maybe we could renovate an area to dedicate to wedding ceremonies!"

Everyone simply burst into laughter.

"Rika, you are the spice that makes life happy and fun," Masaru smiled.

"And you're the one that puts me at ease," Rika serenely smiled as she kissed Masaru on the lips.

                                                                                [End]