Should I tell the truth?

After Kasumi left, Ayame quickly exited the stadium and rushed her way back home. Returning to the same waystone she activated the spell and returned back to the small forest.

Due to being in a rush, she wasn't able to position herself properly, so when she appeared in the forest, she was suspended in the air and ended up landing on her ass.

"Ow!" Rubbing her lower back, once the pain was gone she got up from the ground and as she turned was met with Tomoe.

Looking up into Tomoe's eyes, Ayame felt incredibly small being stared down by her.

"You took your time." Although it wasn't an angry look it was still a look that scared Ayame a little.

"The deal took a bit longer and I almost had a run-in with the mysterious person our clients wanted the identity of. So I took the time to not get caught, but I ended up trapped before I could escape." Ayame twisted the truth as she knew Tomoe was good at telling if she was lying so it was better to not try to deceive Tomoe too much.

*Sigh* "As long as you are safe, now come to my office so we can process the soul." Tomoe couldn't be annoyed as it was a good enough reason why Ayame was gone for so long.

Ayame felt relieved and followed Tomoe back to their house hoping Tomoe won't ask any more questions.

*

Once in Tomoe's office, one of the bookshelves was moved and a statue of a female kitsune was in its place. The statue had a kimono and on its chest was a sigil that looked exactly like the symbol that appeared when Ayame used her spells.

The statue had its hands clasped together and a slit in between which was the right size for the dagger.

Ayame knew what to do so she pulled out the dagger and inserted it into the slit of the statue's hands. Once it was fully in, the gem glowed brightly and small orange lines appeared on the statue. The lines went along the arm and up into the head.

Once it reached the head, the eyes glowed for a brief moment before going back to being dormant. The lines then retracted all the way back to the blade and the orange light diminished.

Ayame took back the dagger and Tomoe pushed a button under her desk. Suddenly the statue moved back into the wall and the bookshelf covered it up.

"Alright good, now were you able to find out anything about this person?" Tomoe got straight to the point as she wanted to report the mission was finished.

"I couldn't find anything useful, they were covered head to toe and I wasn't even able to pick up their voice." Ayame really wanted to tell the truth, but she considered her life more valuable than some piece of information.

"Hmm, I see."

"Who are our clients anyway?" Ayame wanted this information as it was a major factor why she kept quiet and knew it wasn't the government, as their requests are handled very differently.

"I don't know much other than it is someone with a very high position in the business world and they usually send us corrupt targets. I can guess they are investigating who this mysterious person is, hence the optional part of the mission." Tomoe said as much as she could and didn't blame Ayame for asking as it was a rather odd mission.

"They seem to be a rather good client." Ayame was glad as it seemed like it was the right choice to stay quiet.

'If I said anything, I would probably have to assassinate her and there is no way that is happening.' Ayame felt goosebumps thinking back to Kasumi's demonstration of power and knowing it was some rich hotshot wanting information, reinforced her decision to be silent.

"They give us good money and basically cover most of the expenses when we get one of their jobs, so be happy we have them." Tomoe began to type on her laptop seemingly filling out a report to send to the client.

"Oh?" A notification sound went off on Tomoe's laptop which caught her attention as it was a sign of a new job.

"A new mission?" Ayame's first thoughts were Kasumi as she just recently gave their details.

"Gimme a sec." Wanting to finish the report, she typed away as fast as she could.

After a couple of minutes, Tomoe was finished and she opened the new mission they received.

"Uhhh, Ayame?" Tomoe had a strange look on her face as she read the details.

"Master?" Ayame began to sweat as she couldn't imagine what the hell Kasumi would have written as she seemed to be rather eccentric.

"Did you accidentally give someone our work details? Because this sounds like someone is asking you out on a date." Tomoe turned her laptop around confused about how someone would have gotten their information.

[Hey Ayame, It's Kasumi and I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out on the weekend.]

Ayame shook for a moment as she couldn't believe Kasumi would be so forward and even use her name.

"Who is she?" Tomoe also had become very suspicious as it was rare for Ayame to make contact with others.

"I-I umm." Ayame was at a loss for words and didn't know how to respond.

"Is that why you took so long? Were you going out playing around instead?" Forgetting how it could be related to the mission Tomoe assumed Ayame was using the extra time she had to explore the city.

However, this was the perfect way out of this awkward situation since Tomoe didn't link it to the mission.

"M-maybe, it was in the heat of the moment so I think I gave the wrong details." Still acting unsure and blushing, this was enough to convince Tomoe.

'This child, I knew she was excited to go, but going out at night is dangerous.' Tomoe was fine if Ayame wanted to spend some time out, but she would like to at least know.

"You know you could have just asked and not secretly gone out. You are an adult now and I can't keep you here, just tell me when, so I don't stress that something bad could have happened." Tomoe turned the laptop back around and although she was still curious about who Kasumi was, it wasn't her place to dig.

'I hope she doesn't see me as an overprotective mother.' Tomoe being Ayame's foster mother tried her best to raise Ayame, but sometimes felt she was too harsh.

"I-I understand. Sorry for not telling you and if I'm honest it was on a whim, but I still should have messaged you." Ayame continued to play into the lie which weighed heavily on her consciousness, but it was for the best.

"Good, I will give Kasumi your details so you can organise your little date. Also if it isn't too much to ask, can I meet her?" Even though Ayame would be meeting new people all the time with her uni she couldn't help wanting to know everyone.

"I will see, but I can get a photo if you want." Ayame was starting to calm down and was surprised to see Tomoe act this way like she was holding back.

'It seems like Master is trying to be more considerate.' Usually being locked up in the shrine, it was very unnatural for Tomoe to allow so much freedom.

"Good, now I will let you go, please don't forget you have work to do tomorrow." Tomoe leaned on her hand while smiling warmly at Ayame.

"Mhm." Feeling relieved that everything in the end went smoothly, she quickly exited the room.

'This damn girl, now I feel like I'm going to light.' Being unsure if she did the right thing, Tomoe shook her head and proceeded to reply back to Kasumi with Ayame's contact information.

*

'I felt like I talked to a completely different person.' Ayame was back in her room and quickly changed into loose clothes. Face planting on her bed, she thought about how Tomoe didn't yell or was super strict.

'Ever since she said I was going to uni, she has stopped being so strict.' Knowing when the sudden change was, it seemed like to Ayame, Tomoe had some sort of awakening in her.

'Oh well, I kind of like it, I feel like she is more of a… mother.' Staring off into space thinking back to all the fond memories she had. Her phone would start ringing bringing her back to reality and causing her to jump up.

Almost falling off her bed, she stumbled to grab her phone and saw it was an unknown number.

'It's probably Kasumi.' Ayame was starting to freak out as she never intended to get close or even become friends, but now it was unavoidable.

"Here goes nothing." Pressing answer, Ayame nervously held the phone to her ear wondering if she just ruined her life.

"Ayame?" Kasumi's face echoed out and some relief was felt, but it still did not help with the nerves.

"Y-yes." Ayame's voice shook, hoping this is just what Kasumi said in the message.

"Oh good, good. I didn't mean to contact you right away, but I may or may not have stalked you." Kasumi being brutally honest had actually tailed Ayame home as well as investigated her online presence.

"WHAT!?" Ayame dashed to the window and looked outside to see if she could spot anyone.

"Wait, wait, wait. Before you get creeped out I only did it since I was doing a background check and I found out you are looking at attending the same uni." Kasumi quickly explained herself as she wanted to make sure Ayame wasn't a part of anything corrupt.

"Still creepy." Ayame felt violated, but at the same time couldn't really blame her as it was a very dangerous practice.

"Geh, anyway, I figured to contact you since well, I don't have any friends and we are attending the same place." Kasumi showing a much more reserved side took Ayame by surprise.

"W-woah hold on, friends? You literally threatened to kill me." Ayame was struggling to process the crazy actions of the woman on the other side of the phone.

"Hmm it was an empty threat and I still intend to use your service, but what's wrong with getting to know each other?" Kasumi explained a little more of her plans which left Ayame stunned.

*THUD* Ayame had fallen back on the floor as she was freaking out about what to do, but in the end it was pointless.

"Ayame?" Kasumi heard the thud and was worried that something had happened.

"YOU MADE ME THINK MY LIFE WAS AT RISK!!" Ayame shouted as the amount of internal turmoil she went through was immense.

"Oops sorry, I didn't mean to scare you that bad, but I had to because of the guards I was with."

"I-I guess I can't blame you then, but I must ask why me?" Ayame still wasn't sure if she should trust Kasumi, but it seemed like she was desperate for friends.

"Hmm well mainly because we are in the same world and you seemed to be nicer compared to some of the others I have interacted with."

"I-I.." Ayame rubbed her face, still debating whether it was a good idea.

'It will be outside my job so it isn't like it will interfere.' Since it was going to be an informal setting Ayame saw no harm in getting closer as long as in the end, she didn't need to assassinate her.

"So what do you say, want to hang out?" Kasumi sounded rather genuine and hoped Ayame wouldn't turn her down but understood if she did.

"F-fine." Whispering into the phone Ayame figured she would give it a go despite it being very dangerous.

"Great! Did you want to hang out somewhere in the city or did you want me to come over?" Kasumi was excited to hear a yes and so she instantly started making plans.

"Well my Master wants to meet you so it might be good if you come over first." Ayame was still speaking quietly, wondering still if it was the right choice.

"Master?" Kasumi was a little confused about who it was but assumed it was the person who sent Ayame's details.

"S-she is the one that gave you my details and looks after me."

"Ohh I see, so your mother."

"I-I... Well, y-yes." Ayame couldn't deny Tomoe was basically her mother, so she agreed with Kasumi's judgement.

"Alright cool, is Saturday okay?"

"Y-yes."

After Ayame said yes Kasumi hung up the phone so she could prepare for the weekend.

Ayame on the other hand was in shock and having an internal crisis about what she is going to do.