The city left them alone. They left the city alone. It was a balance that had held for years.
Benjamin had been told all of this by Erica the day before.
It seemed like the perfect place a rat would like to hide.
It was the obvious conclusion once someone said it out loud. The kind of conclusion that made you wonder why you hadn't seen it sooner, so they decided to go in person.
***
That morning, they set out with Katana.
She had announced, with the careful pride of someone who did not want to keep asking for favors, that she intended to buy a sheath for her new sword.
Benjamin had already done far too much, so she reasoned she would handle the rest herself.
She met them at the gates of Erica's manor, Fudō resting against her shoulder in the early light.
The dark blade with its thin gold lines looked almost ordinary until the sun caught the temper pattern and made it move.
"How was your night, Katana?" Benjamin asked as they started walking.
