I walked through Ichiban Street three days later. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that even the increased Crusade, Raijin, and Sentinel patrols didn't drop this place's popularity. If anything, it looked even more booming than usual. Nothing went with vice like stress and fear.

Fortunately for the street urchins that preyed upon this place, all prospective Fangs, that meant many more pockets to pick. I barely had to look around to see several dozen kids moving through the crowd like fish in water, easily slipping their nubby hands into pockets and klepping the loot.

Seeing such a sight brought me back, way back when I was far younger and far less skilled. I still remembered that one time I nearly got my wrist broken by a merc who caught me back before I learned to differentiate people. His eyes held a sort of unnerving psychosis. Probably would've lost a limb back then if it weren't for a Fang 'conveniently' bumping into him…

Say what you will about the Fang, but they took care of their own. In a world of deception and misery, they were one of the few places with honor among thieves. It was rare, especially amongst the other gangs I'd seen through the years. Maybe it's because of the Jade Fang's strong Elders that kept them on track? Either way, it was damn impressive.

I passed along, feeling the heat of hundreds of people packed tightly like odorous sardines in a can. Speaking of odor, there was the particular scent of drugs, spices, and aphrodisiacs that were common in this place. The light rain and Autoducts helped keep both the heat and scent down, but it was definitely still noticeable.

I pushed a long lock of hair back behind my ear and adjusted my hat to block out the rain a bit better. I stepped before the massive dragon maw gate of the Dragoon Saloon, already feeling the watchful eyes of the guards as I approached. I noticed a familiar face in the group- the boy who stopped me a couple of months ago. He nodded at me as I cast a critical gaze across his body.

I wasn't the only one to have grown and changed in the last couple months. The boy no longer looked boyish, and I wouldn't have even noticed him if not for his face. His limbs had been fully replaced by chrome ones, and he stood a couple of feet taller than he used to. A metal jaw covered the lower half of his face, and the rest of his flesh was warped with the subtle hints of subdermal armor.

The guy stepped aside, pulling one of the other guards with him. "Welcome back, Shiro."

"Thanks." I tried to flash a smile at the guy. To my surprise, a small hint of a blush peeked over the metal edge of his jaw. I threw it to the back of my mind, trying not to hyper-analyze every little cue and tell as I walked past him.

I passed through the dragon's maw gate, entering the courtyard of the Dragoon Saloon. It was similar to the first time I saw it; people were laughing and chattering all around. Groups sat on the verdant grass or nursed a drink at the several short chabudai set up. It was oddly nice to see the Jade Fangs back to business as per usual.

I cast a glance around, appreciating the holographic sakura trees ever casting their blossoms across the area. It's funny now that I looked back at it. This scared me just after learning Fox's Paw. Now, though? Nothing. See! I was growing, if not in the way I wanted to. Or I grew too cold and heartless to care.

That thought was forced to the back of my head along with the rest of the things I didn't want floating around in the forefront. I walked through the courtyard and into the Dragoon Saloon's pavilion. My eyes immediately shot to Ishimaru, still drunker than any man had a right to be. He glanced up as if feeling my gaze and waved.

I waved back and looked around for Shinobu. He sat on the second floor, looking down on the place from the balcony. I headed up the stairs set off to the side and made my way over to him. A dark suitcase sat at his feet.

He waved me over to his booth, freshly polished arm shining brightly. "Shiro!"

Sitting down at his table, I couldn't help but curl my nose slightly at what he was drinking. I wasn't sure what exactly it was, but it was damn strong based on the stench. "Shinobu. I see you're… enjoying your day."

He glanced down at his glass and sheepishly rubbed at his head. "Haha… yeah… just trying to drink some of the stress away, you know?"

"Not really…" Though I'd been thinking of trying it recently. The last week had been… tiring in a weirdly mental way. Last thing I needed was to get addicted to alchy though.

"That's probably for the best… not like I can get drunk anyway with my bio-monitor." He easily slammed back the rest of his drink.

I'd heard some bio-monitors's were particularly annoying with that. Sure, they fought off all kinds of poisons, but alcohol was in that list. It was a piece of chrome not meant for everyone. "The shoe?"

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"I got ya', mikata." He slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out a black box about the size of a book. "Here you go, Squire Zuku."

I grabbed the box and opened it up, revealing a full ID, Blue Crusade badge, and several passports. There was even a sheet full of 'my' history. I ran a thumb over the ID, feeling a little weird seeing my face staring back under a different name. I was now Squire Zuku Ichima.

I traced the badge, feeling the cool metal lettering under my skin. It was so weird to see a Blue Crusade badge not attached to a member of the Crusade. Ah, but it was. It was best I got into the mindset now. I was a Squire. Not the petty kleptoid slowly slaughtering her way up anymore, but an 'honest' law-enforcing Squire out to make the world a better place.

I studied the Blue Crusade symbol. It was a heater shield with a wreath tucked behind it. I didn't have to be a thief anymore. Maybe after this I could do something else? Thinking such thoughts felt oddly… cathartic?

I was still young, I could hang up my life of crime and actually become an officer of the Blue Crusade. Or even go and become a doctor under Medtech. I knew better though… in my heart of hearts? I loved the thrill of my current life, even if I had to deal with some not-so-great things from time to time. Nothing beat the high of a successful heist.

I hefted the badge to my chest, holding it there like an actual Squire. "You sure this will work?"

He nodded seriously. "Scan the badge code. It's good stuff."

I followed his suggestion and ran my new code through the Crusade database. 'My' information easily popped up. Squire Zuku Ichima, 17, hired from amongst Aspirants two days ago by Inquisitor Ligh Strumgard. And I thought my own name was bad. His was definitely fake. "Ligh Strumgard?"

"Yeah." Shinobu raised his hand to a waiter and ordered another drink. The waiter looked at me slowly as if trying to gauge the best way to kill me. Thankfully they seemed to change their mind and move on. "He's apparently an Inquisitor infamous for picking out Squires amongst Aspirants while drunk and then forgetting about them. No one will question you, and if you don't know something you can quote a lack of guidance."

A frown came to my lips as I rubbed at my eyes. "Sounds like a deadbeat bastard. Why haven't they fired him?"

Shinobu shrugged. "From what my shoemaker says, he pulls off some real hero shit four times a year, so the Crusade keeps him on… and you know how they are. With as much effort as it takes to get through their ranks, they wouldn't want to fire one over something as small as this. They're understaffed as is."

"I guess." I stuffed the box into my pocket, intent on looking it over thoroughly later. "You have the ring's location in their lockup?"

"Chek." He pulled out his phone. A moment later, a message popped up in my HUD with the lockup's deets. Once more, I was ever thankful for the backdoor into the Blue Crusade database. I used it to pull the rest of the information into my HUD.

The evidence was linked to something called the Idism case. A bit more digging revealed it to be a serial thief of some kind. Stole from one too many people and found himself on the wrong end of the Crusade. Reading the case file made me oddly uncomfortable.

"Thanks for this. From what I've heard, that ring has been handed down ever since the Aetherium War back in the late eighteen hundreds. It's quite literally priceless."

I smiled at him lightly. "No problem. Happy to help you out."

He returned the smile and chuckled. "You should smile more. You're really cute when you do. Almost like there's a sense of innocence to ya'?"

"T-thanks…" Was Honest Face pulling an effect? It was one of those learned perks, but it might've affected how I smiled and reacted in general just like Fox's Paw did with walking.

"I've noticed over the past couple months. Every time I see you, you look more beautiful. Definitely inherited that from your mother… say, I have a nephew-"

I vehemently shook my head. "I-I'm good."

"I'm just saying, I know you don't have many friends, so…"

"I have plenty of friends! And I uh- I already have a boyfriend." What?

The enforcer looked needlessly surprised. "Oh?"

"Yep, it's been a umm- a week now?" What are you saying, dumb girl? And why are you attempting to defend yourself before Shinobu? It's not like he needed to know any of this stuff.

"Really?" He chuckled, doubt obvious in his eyes. Was I that bad at lying? Why were people always doubting me.

"He's quite handsome?" Stupid Shiro! Stop saying shitty lies! Even more revolting, why did Feras pop into your head? You're so dumb you'd probably drown looking up at a rain cloud! Though the world might be better off…

Shinobu helplessly shrugged his shoulders as if reluctantly agreeing with me. "Well then, nothing to be done about that…"

I cast a gaze about the Dragoon Saloon, resisting the blush rising to my cheeks as best I could. "S-so, about the gig… I don't have a Blue Crusade uniform."

He pushed the suitcase around to me. "I wasn't sure about your size, but I did manage to acquire some. Go ahead and keep all of this stuff. It's not like I really need it."

"Alright… I'll be able to just flash my badge and get into the lockup without hassle?" I tapped on the table and tried to mentally process the plan.

"Should be. You might have to bullshit your way through some extra paperwork, but it's in low-sec lockup, so there won't be any real problems as long as you're careful." He pulled a small evidence baggie holding a ring from his pocket and slid it to me. "This is a close replica. Just swap it out with the real one, and no one will know."

Except for me and you. And how long till you made that just you? I shook my head roughly. What was I thinking? Shinobue was a goody guy. He wouldn't stab me in the back over something this small… would he? Ugh- why was I being so paranoid?

I forced myself to stand up and snagged the ring and suitcase. "W-well, I guess I'll see you when it's over."

Shinobu stood up too, abandoning his drink, and patted me on the shoulder as if he were planting a bug. "Thank you, mikata. Seriously. It means a lot."

"No problem." I barely managed to suppress a flinch. I tried to smile again. From the look in his eyes, it didn't work.

Ugh- I already needed another break. I rubbed my eye and headed for the Dragoon Saloon's door. I needed to do a bit of research, but the sooner I got this over with, the better. I could really use some sleep.

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