[hider=Tl;dr: At home. A family scene, ft. slight drama.]The grating beep-Beep-BEEP-BEEEEP! sound of an alarm woke her up, and half in a haze, Katherine slammed the snooze button, then rolled on her other side with a groan. But she was up in a few minutes, even before her phone could ring again. Preemptively, she turned it off with a grumble. Just why…?

She sighed as she remembered the reason she’d been trying to get up earlier. Ayame. After they met on their travels, Karin had returned to her family home, fox in tow. It’d been about two months now since she’d brought the youkai here. ‘Here’ being her grandparents’ house, situated in the middle of nowhere. 

Standing up, Karin stretched as she padded to the window, and opened the blinds to let in the early morning light. The stretches of farmland, meadows, forests, and hills were in contrast to the more modern look she’d managed to imbue into her room throughout the years. 

The most prominent were her walls. Almost every bare centimeter had been covered. By her bed were posters of a few bands and select idols (ranging from obscure to famous), and a few memorable photos. The rest was taken up by printouts of foreign cities and landscapes, world famous and scenic locations she wanted to visit sometime.

…But before that. She and Ayame had money to earn. A place of their own wouldn’t be too bad either, though Karin [i]supposed[/i] they could make do with this place. [i]Not[/i] forever, of course. Just. Until they had to.

The adolescent got ready first, then strode to the fox’s room. The youkai had been put in a guest room; she’d fussily refused staying in either of her older brother’s vacated rooms. Katherine now pounded on the other woman’s door. “Ayame!” she shouted. She didn’t have to worry about waking up anyone – everyone else would already be up. “You’re not still sleeping, right?! You better come down for breakfast when we call for you, else I’ll be hauling you down – ‘decent’ or not!”

Karin had been insistent the fox learn how to take care of herself [i]all on her own[/i] and [i]on time[/i], but it was a challenge. The [i]ojou-sama[/i] had apparently had others do that for her before, and expected the same treatment here. Katherine wasn’t entirely unwilling to help. But she didn’t give in easy – if at all. And she sure as hell wouldn’t be her ‘good little servant’, or whatever else the demon fox imagined.

[center]***[/center]
When, and however Ayame came down, however, breakfast would wait for her. Seated by the table were Katherine, her youngest brother, her (step) mother, and her grandparents. Her father was away on business, Torashi had moved out a while ago, and Haruki resided in a college dorm.

“[i]Itadakimasu,[/i]” came the collective murmur of those gathered. Karin sent Ayame a sharp glance. She expected the youkai to show some genuine appreciation for the food that’d been made for her.

Low, comfortable chatter passed between those seated. However, her grandpa’s habit of turning up the TV when the news was on was its undoing. There was a report on a recent Grudge infestation. As always, when things like this happened, it was sensationalized. 

A tense silence ensued.

“Do you really have to…?” her mother asked worriedly, biting her lip. Though it’d been several weeks since her daughter had become a professional Grudge-slayer, Miyato-san was by no means accepting of it.

Though he’d been caught up in a conversation with [i]baa-san[/i], Akihiro looked up at her wide-eyed. “You fight those?”

Karin smiled down at him, tight-lipped. “Don’t worry, I’m really strong.” She glanced at Ayame. “We both are.” She looked back at her younger brother, then at the other members of her family. “Like I said before…we don’t go in on our own. I have a team, okay?”

“But–” her mother tried to interject, when a raised hand from one of the elders stopped her.

“[i]Maa[/i], let her do as she likes. She’s an adult already,” grandmother pitched in.

“Hmph,” her grandfather gave Ayame a side-look. “If that demon is as [i]wonderful[/i] as she makes out to be, then it’s not a problem, is it?” He was clearly challenging the demon fox to prove her prowess, which in his opinion, she did not yet do.

When that [i]fun[/i] exchange was over, Karin excused them. “We really have to go now. See you later.”[/hider]

By the time the duo arrived to Icelit HQ, two pairs of senpais and two pairs of kohais had finalized getting into Sato’s van, and were departing. Katherine parked her bike, removed her helmet, and offered Ayame her free hand. She didn’t mind escorting the fox, especially not when she knew ‘her ladyship’ might hold them up for even longer otherwise. And they were late. Karin said nothing about that, however.

“Huh, right, so it’s today the new hires are coming in.” Which meant Karin and Ayame would finally no longer be the freshest meat around. Now they’d be the senpais to someone. If only by a month and a half.

The adolescent led them both in, and stopped by their locker to store their helmets. Then, she walked to the office proper, and got Ayame settled in a chair. “Morning,” she greeted Akane and Higasha, who were apparently late too. Thankfully, even the latest arrivals were there just in time to catch Fumi explaining that “there was an incident at Umeda Park.”

Karin perched on the table while she listened. “Which apartment?” she asked with a glance towards Sakamori. But she got her answer when Akane passed her the mission papers. When done, Karin handed them to her partner. “Read,” she instructed the fox.

[@Vertigo] [@PKMNB0Y] [@VitaVitaAR][@RolePlayerRoxas]