The quiet sound of bare feet on bare wood preceded Hanako, Wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and thus matching the season if not the weather, the child came down with her rabbit plushie under one arm and a few sheets of paper in her free hand. At the bottom of the stairs, she stopped and looked at the surprisingly crowded room, then to her aunt, and then to the people. She recognised Jun but the others were complete strangers to her.

Ignoring all the strange new people for a second, the child walked forwards and placed her papers--maths homework, as it turned out--on the table, and then turned back to look at the smoking redhead. "Are they clients, Toshiko?"