The train station was packed as always. Subaru always marveled that the everyday people of Tokyo didn't notice when a creature as powerful and dangerous as Junya walked amongst them. Apart from a few admiring stares for his height and expensive clothes, Junya was almost entirely ignored. Subaru was privately just a little grateful. He would have loathed to share.

"Wait here," Junya ordered when they got to the ticket booth. Subaru nodded and let Junya leave to buy the shinkansen tickets. He stuck his hands in his pockets, happy to people watch for a while.

"Excuse me? Could you show me the way to the East exit?" a woman asked. Subaru turned to her. She was average height, not much shorter than him, with long black hair and the clothes of an office lady. She wore a sick mask, not unusual for someone riding the subway.

"I'm about to catch a train," he said. Junya was at the back of the queue, engrossed in his phone like everyone else in the line. Although Junya was watching foreign stock markets rather than playing games like the rest of them.

"Oh... I'm just horribly lost. It'll only take a few moments," she said. Subaru sighed. Now she spoke more, he could hear a regional slant to her words. She may have been able to mimic the Tokyo dialect a little, but it was obviously not her home town.

"I really can't-" he began but then he noticed she seemed on the verge of tears.

"Please... I'm supposed to meet my boyfriend but I don't know Tokyo so well," she begged. Subaru sighed. Junya's line was the most slow moving, he'd barely moved.

"Alright... Follow me," he said, starting to walk towards the exit. She followed him dutifully, sniffling. He felt a growing sense of unease the further he got from Junya's protection. Who knew what monsters were lurking in the subway?

They were at the exit quickly and Subaru stopped, hands in his pockets.

"Here you are," he said. The woman looked out into the street.

"Do you know where Bar Solar is from here?" she asked. Subaru thought about it. Bar Solar was very close by, although in an area known for its love hotels and snack bars. It was also an area that was under Sai's protection. Subaru knew it well. Usually spirits didn't dare encroach on Sai's territory. He wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Even so, it wouldn't be the easiest bar to find alone.

He checked his phone. No messages from Junya. The other was probably still waiting.

"I'll take you," he offered. He'd get one of Sai's men to drop him back to the station afterwards. It would be alright. The woman looked overjoyed.

It was much quieter once they got further into the warren of alleys that made up the red light district. Although the bars blasted karaoke, no one seemed to be out on the streets.

The pungent smell of ramen broth and beer hung in the air. It felt close, like a thunderstorm was on its way. Subaru heard the footsteps behind him falter and he glanced over his shoulder to see what the problem was.

"We're almost there," he said. She was staring at him now, unblinkingly. The alley was quiet. The sounds of the city seemed muffled around them. Distantly, there was the sound of an ambulance, a car horn, millions of people talking to one another, trains running, the wind blowing... But to Subaru everything was silent except for the panicked beating of his heart.

Subaru felt a chill go through him.

Something was wrong. He wished he had some kind of psychic ability so he wouldn't get into these situations.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked. Subaru didn't know how to answer. He was pretty sure that answering that he only liked men wasn't the right one, but if she was a spirit, would she sense the lie?

He dug his hand into his pocket, trying to unlock his phone and contact Junya without being able to see it. He felt it vibrate once, a sign he'd got the code wrong.

"I... yes, you're pretty," he said. The woman's eyes crinkled to show she was probably smiling. The correct answer then.

"How about now?" she asked, removing the white mask.

Subaru's blood froze. Her face was completely disfigured. Her cheeks were cut through to reveal her teeth. Blood and pus ran down her chin and maggots wriggled amongst the infection.

"You're still pretty," Subaru forced out, trying to keep his voice steady. It seemed like she smiled again, though it was hard to tell with her perpetually grinning mouth.

"You think so? Then how about I make us look more alike?" she asked. Subaru took a reluctant step back. When she noticed it, she drew up her hand. In it she now had a rusted pair of scissors. Subaru could feel the phantom twinges in his cheeks already, imagining them parting his flesh.

He took another step backwards but then she was suddenly there, right in front of him. He felt the sharp blade of the scissors slice through his cheek. He flung himself back, hand going up to his face. It felt wet.

"You're pretty but I really really like my face," Subaru told her, tripping over his feet as he tried to escape. It didn't matter, he realized. She was somehow stronger than Teke-Teke-san. He'd never outrun her.

She raised her scissors again and Subaru raised his arms over his face to try to defend himself but the blow didn't come.

A pale hand had grabbed her wrist, twisting it around until the tension made her arm shake. There was a loud cracking sound as the bone snapped.

Subaru scrambled out of the way, seeing his savior against the red lights.

"Junya-sama..."