A Mentor's Hand (文豪ストレイドッグス)

8

The two officials stood up, pushing their glasses up. "As you wish, Kiyo-san."
"This is mafia territory," Mori said smoothly, tilting his head to the side. "Here, you cannot even try to harm her."

"Kiyo will not always be under the direct protection of the mafia. Eventually, she will go on missions outside her territory as a skilled mafioso. Eventually, she will kill and we will have the obligation to arrest her. Mark my words, Mori Ougai: Kiyo will be ours."
The two officials left, dissipating into the air like smoke. "Damned government," Chuuya snarled. "Kiyo is becoming strong, Chuuya. In a mere year, the government won't have the ability to so much as lay a finger on her. She'll truly be a huge asset to the mafia." Chuuya thought about this.
"One day, she may even rise the ranks of executive," Mori continued. He let the thought sit on Kiyo. However, the girl had been thinking about such things since she had joined.

"As for now," Mori said after a moment, "your ability, Kiyo-chan. We haven't name it yet."
Kiyo thought about it for a moment. "My ability, like my soul, belongs to the mafia, Boss." (Chuuya chuckled)
"I was thinking 'unknown sword' because we never know which abilities you have stocked up, or whether you can actually use the weapon," Chuuya announced. Kiyo thought about it, then blushed. Of course, the name was perfect.

"Michi no Ken¹... I like it." Kiyo looked at the Boss for approval. She got it. Chuuya smirked, "Kiyo, you should go back to the house. Expect me in an hour."
"Hai, Chuuya-san." She bowed to the Boss one last time, and made her leave. On the way back, she was very cautious of the people around her. However, she did have access to Chuuya's ability should she encounter danger.

Along the way, Kiyo decided to test out her Michi no Ken; that is, she tried to figure out abilities of the people around her. If she focused, it came easy however staring at someone is generally considered rude and suspicious. It was quite difficult, as she wasn't sure if her target(s) even had an ability. With no success, Kiyo reached Chuuya's house. She locked the door behind her, and turned on the kitchen light. Evidence of her cooking was still on the counters, so naturally she cleaned it up. The mirin was put away, the knives were cleaned, garbage was taken out...
When she got to the table, Kiyo decided to let the food sit. She put a net over the plate to stop the bugs. Kiyo had already eaten hers. After that, there wasn't a whole lot more to do (Chuuya kept the house pretty tidy).

She went to her bedroom and shoved the mattress against the wall. Standing in a front stance position, Kiyo thrust her fist forward, drawing power from her feet and hips. Careful to maintain a tight pullback with the other fist, Kiyo stuck at the air again. She did this until her arms got tired and she could no longer keep her hands in a fist because of the sweat.
So she started to kick. First she did the roundhouse kick; the one she sees Chuuya do a lot. As her leg got tired, the amount she could raise her leg became lower. When she realized this, she would switch to a different technique.

Kiyo's mind wasn't blank while doing this, instead it was racing with all her thoughts. At the end of all of her thinking, when she was so tired that her thoughts were mush, she knew that she could only settle for the executive position. She would work beside Chuuya and the rest of the executives, instead of under them.

After the room was reassembled, Kiyo went outside to find Chuuya walking up the block. She couldn't help but smile.
"Oi brat, whater you smirking about?"
"You'll see, Chuuya-san." They both went inside. Kiyo went to her room and closed the door.

Immediately, she put her ear to it, listening for the other.
The soft sound of a microwave buzzing, fork and knife tinkling together, wine being poured and drank. Finally, appreciation of a good meal. Satisfied with herself, Kiyo went to bed.

*** ¹Michi no Ken: literally "unknown sword" (source: Google translate XD)