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[h3][color=cyan]HI*KA*RI[/color][/h3]
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[color=cyan]“My, my… Mr. Chantharat, what time is it already?”[/color]

Hikari stopped her fingers from plucking the shamisen she had been playing for some moments. The client lazily leaned on his side as he watched the silver-haired lady, clad in her ornate kimono performed some classics. The calming ambient filled the private chamber they shared in this establishment right at the heart of Sakanoshita district. Regardless, the man still showed no sign of drowsiness; he looked as if he had been waiting. He already took his suit jacket off, with his shirt already got loosened and his chest bared.

“Why are you stopping, Tsubaki-san? The night is still long, and I have paid much enough for you to stay until morning, why waste it with sleeping?”

[color=cyan]“Indeed, Mr. Chantharat… would you allow me to pour some Sake for you to sip?”[/color]

“No more Sake, Tsubaki-san… I don’t want to get drunk, I want to savor this night with you with my eyes open.”

[color=cyan]“Well, maybe some tea… to calm the passionate mind.”[/color]

“Fine… if you insist.”

Hikari took the ornate teapot she brought along with the set when she previously entered this chamber. The pot bore some shapes unfamiliar for those who had no interest for history. There were also some strange holes around the ornament. Hikari poured the warm liquid mixture inside the teapot into a pair of cups; one she would serve to the client, one for herself. The steam from the light colored green tea in the cup filled the nostrils.

[color=cyan]“Please, Mr. Chantharat”  Hikari said as her fingers pushed the cup she had just prepared for the man in front of her.[/color]

“So graceful, Tsubaki-san.”

Hikari sipped the tea she had on her cup and put it back on the Kotatsu, the low table they shared together. She gave her smile to the client, ensuring the safety of her tea. Chantharat then took his cup and gulped the bitter liquid inside it at once. This put a wider smile on Hikari’s face. That old man banged the low table with the empty cup and walked toward Hikari. His hands were quick to land around Hikari’s shoulders and he immediately tried to pull her kimono down.

[color=cyan]“Mr. Chantharat, please don’t rush…”[/color] Hikari said as she held Chantharat’s wrists.

“I want the worth of my money paid for your service!”

[color=cyan]“I understand, Mr. Chantharat… I was meant to guide you so that this night would not end too quickly for you-”[/color]

“What? Now you’re mocking me?!”

[color=cyan]“No, please let me guide you, please let me use my charm for you to savor…”[/color]

Hikari’s persuasion worked. The client calmed himself down. Hikari then allowed the man to lay his head on her laps. She caressed his head and began her conversation, slowly to induce his emotion and trigger the increase of his heartbeat. It all began with small talks of sharing what they like, their favorite pastimes, and gradually moved to the routines of the jobs. This was where things got serious, something that Hikari had been waiting to come.

Of course, Hikari was not literally one of the hostess in that establishment. This Hanamachi was under the protection of another group; the Forgotten, as far as Hikari remembered. She rarely went against other gangs, either those operating in proximity of Kurosagi’s region or the other less accessible ones, except when Fujino-san asked her to do some job, for or against them. However, Hikari made an exception for this night. Somehow, she found out about this high-ranking staff of The Institute venturing himself deep in Sakanoshita, rather far away from their safe haven in Maebara district. Hikari had been hunting these folks, trying to excavate their secrets and the conspiracy behind their facade, even assassinating their members if necessary.

Through manipulating the database, Hikari had slipped herself pretending to be one of the hostess, someone registered under this Hanamachi with the name Tsubaki. She assigned herself to meet the Institute’s district manager who had booked for a premium service from one of the hostess. With the large number of young women employed under the Hanamachi, they could not notice the additional lady with high customer rating and quality review. Those ratings were bogus, of course; injected by the fake information Hikari added to the database.

That was how Hikari infiltrated herself to have access to this district manager of The Institute. With her charm, she managed to persuade this Chantharat to reveal some internal office politics between the members of The Institute. Hikari gained some information of feuding key members along with the secret projects which The Institute had been undertaking. The talk went quite long, but Hikari had gained enough. She just needed to wait for the poison to work, one she slipped into this man’s bloodstream through the tea she served using an ancient tool called the [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkrgUT70Mbo]Assassin’s Teapot[/url].

“Ah… Tsubaki, talking with you is so relaxing, your massage is also great… I feel so calm, even I begin to have my fingers numbed… yes, I can’t feel my fingers, I can’t move them… oh no, I feel sleepy…”

Of course, that was how some dose of fugu poison worked. It paralyzed the victim’s muscles and eventually stopped the heart. The Assassin’s Teapot was filled with two different liquids inside its separated reservoir. One was a humble green tea mixture, while the other had been mixed with the subtle essence of fugu poison. No smell, no taste, but the dose was enough to kill an adult man.

Hikari still remained on her sitting position with Chantharat’s head on her lap. The man had already closed his eyes, but Hikari still had to examine his pulses. The wrist slowly got colder, there was no noticeable chest movement. The man had lost his pulse, the poison had just killed him. Another member of the Institute had just been eliminated. Justice had been served, or so Hikari believed.

[color=cyan]“Oh my… I’m late”[/color] Hikari said as she looked at the clock. She stood up and let Chantharat unmoving head to fall from her lap and bump on the floor. Hikari then poured the remaining liquid inside the Assassin’s Teapot to the sink and put it inside the pouch she brought along. She tidied up her kimono and readied herself to exit the chamber and brought herself out of the complex. A high-ranking member of The Institute had just died after he ordered a service under the establishment ran by the Forgotten. Hikari wondered what would be the consequence of all she had just done.

[@Salsa Verde]

Regardless, Hikari had another matter to focus. She took her smartphone out and called a fellow member of Kurosagi. [color=cyan]“Uhm, moshi moshi Unagi-chan… I might need your help this time, I would likely be late for this night gathering, so... would you please pick me up around Hanamachi? Thank you, sweetie…”[/color]

Hikari walked out of the complex, still without any suspicion raised around the establishment. Subtly, she removed the contact lenses she had been wearing. The feature of her red iris was now revealed, previously hidden by the purple lenses. She opened her umbrella and waited for her fellow to come. Her fingers subtly ran some apps on her smartphone, connected to the net, infiltrated the database, and erased any entry of a hostess with the name Tsubaki; all in a single tap.