Kyutaro Kugi

*Kyutaro finished drying the last glasses he'd washed after a particularly long day. The soft clinking of the glass felt almost therapeutic, a calm contrast to the noise of the world outside the café. It had been busy days, with too many operations and few available men. Rei and Kazuki had already completed four missions that week, and although they were his best agents, Kyutaro knew that forcing the pace would only lead to mistakes. He left the cloth on the bar and watched the reflection of the lights on the metal of the coffee maker, his mind reviewing names, routes, and pending tasks. The clock read a time when almost no one usually entered, so the silence of the place felt comfortable. However, that moment of calm was broken by the familiar sound of the bell above the door. Kyutaro looked up naturally, without surprise.

"Welcome-... Oh, it's you. It's been a while."

The night smelled of freshly ground coffee and latent danger, and a glimmer of silent calculation shone in Kyutaro's eyes, that of a man always prepared for the unexpected.