Private Eyes

Prologue: The night that changed it all

The sound of the day's final customer leaving the store was the only thing Miyuki heard as she yawned. After a day at work, she was quite exhausted. Miyuki's attention was ripped away by the footsteps of her coworker, Alex, as he walked up to her.
"Hey, Yuki! Another day gone, we get our paychecks tomorrow." He cheered, leaning on the counter as he opened up the till. He started putting the money in a bag. "So, your turn to take this to the bank. Be careful now, I don't want to have to do everything in your absence."
Miyuki laughed, "Oh, I'll be sure to beat away all the ravenous coyotes with my charm!" She took the bag from him, slipping her own purse over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
Miyuki waved as she passed the glass window of the cafe, seeing Alex beginning to work on the tables. She stared up at the blank sky. The bank was close to Miyuki's house, so she took it more days than Alex, who lived on the other side of town. She honestly didn't mind. The peaceful walks were nice, but so was the tranquil warmth the empty cafe provided.
Miyuki thought she heard something as she got closer to the bank. The streets were emptier than usual; Miyuki hadn't passed a single person on her whole trip.
"Weird.." Miyuki whispered, growing more uncomfortable by the second. She was about to start running to get to the bank faster when a hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her into the dark of the alleyway. Miyuki was about to scream, but the hand let go. Miyuki whipped around to see a man wearing black slumped against the wall, a piece of loose concrete next to him, a bit of blood on it.
"What the..?!" Miyuki whimpered, in shock as she backed up, her legs giving out on her as she fell backwards. "Is someone there..?"
She heard the sound of chattering, before a small, meek voice came from the darkness at the end of the alley. "He said you don't look evil. ...You're not evil, right?"
"Evil..?" Miyuki murmured curiously before responding. "No. I'm not evil.."
"Good.." A small child stepped out of the shadows as a large cat followed behind her. The child was wearing a dark green hood, and Miyuki could barely see under it. She could, however, see a bit of pale white hair and the pale glow of golden eyes. The cat seemed to simply be a Calico cat, but he was wearing what looked like a masquerade mask.
"What the...?" Miyuki was utterly suprised at the turn of events, even more so when the child walked up to her.
"Who are  ?" The child asked. The cat next to her wasn't making any noise, simply watching everything. "I'm Serenity."
Miyuki took a moment to collect herself, eventually replying after a long pause. "Miyuki. Miyuki McNamara. Wait- are you all alone out here?"
"No, of course not. I have Monarch! Say hi!" Serenity nudged her companion, the cat barely moving. Eventually though, he opened his muzzle. "I'm Monarch, I'm taking care of Serenity. Don't you try anything, I'll see through it."
Miyuki was a little bit unsettled by the cat's comment and it took the young woman a moment to even realise a cat just spoke to her. "Wait- you're a cat! How did you just talk?"
"Not cat, overseer." Monarch corrected, keeping his eyes fixed on Miyuki.
"Yay, you're both getting along!" Serenity smiled, having warmed up to Miyuki already. She looked very young, so it wasn't all too suprising. "Miyuki, right? Why were you in a cold, damp, uncomfortable alleyway with a man holding you?"
In all her suprise, Miyuki had almost forgotten about the events that lead up to this, including the attempted robbery. "I think he was trying to take the money I was carrying. It's not the first time it's happened to workers at the cafe.."
"Cafe? What's a cafe?" Serenity asked, curiosity shining in her eyes as even Monarch sat down, his muscles relaxing a bit.
Miyuki tucked her skirt under herself and repositioned. "Well, a cafe is a place where you can buy coffee and sweets. A lot of people go there to meet up, go on dates and make friends!" She smiled, chuckling at their shared intrigue.
"Miyuki?" A voice called out from nearby, causing Miyuki to turn back towards the street where she saw Alex walking by.  
"Alex! Over here!" Miyuki called out, waving. As she remembered Serenity and Monarch, she turned around to face them. "Don't worry, he's a good guy."
"Miyuki! What are you doing back here? I usually see you walking home by the time I finished up.. What happened?!" Alex questioned, rushing over to Miyuki and helping her up.
"I got attacked. A guy grabbed me, but these two saved me. I'm fine, don't worry." Miyuki explained, amused by her coworker's frantic fussing.
Alex finally stopped looking over Miyuki and turned to Serenity and Monarch. "Thank you. Running the cafe would be lonely without Ms. McNamara here.."
Miyuki rolled her eyes a little. "You act like I'm some damsel in distress. But still, thank you both. Even if I would have been able to defend myself, I doubt I'd be unscathed as I am now. Honsestly, I have no idea how I could repay you both.."
Monarch thought for a moment, before speaking; much to the alarm of Alex. "Pastries. I'll take a life time subscription to your most delicious pastries."
Miyuki took a moment to consider this option, before adding her own idea to the table, "Maybe you could both stay with me? I live far under my budget, I'm sure I could manage it. I could even pay for all those pastries for you. Not to mention I could use the protection.."
Serenity looked at Monarch, shrugging. "We don't seem to have a better option. Monarch?"
The calico nodded. "It's settled. Ms. Miyuki, we're officially under your care now."
Alex was quite taken aback by this turn of events. "Well, that was settled much faster than I expected.." He went closer to Miyuki, picking up the bag of cash. "I think I'll cover bank shift tonight.. I don't believe it'd be polite to keep these two waiting for you at the bank. See you tomorrow!"
Miyuki waved him off as she picked up her bag. "Well, ready to see your new home?"
Her two new companions nodded, following Miyuki as they walked to a new tomorrow.