Anari did not anticipate using her venom that evening, but that was before everything went absolutely south at the mixer. Bai's true intentions for throwing the event made themselves known faster than Anari had the time to react to them.

She hadn't been there long before it happened. The spider spirit was doing her duty – mingling and trying out horderves even though none of them were of the breakfast variety.

As Anari stood around, chatting casually and admiring the pyramid structure of the atrium ceiling, she vaguely wondered if she should be nervous. Was Bai going to use this event to let her know that he was onto her?

Anari was about to suffer quietly through another meatball skewer when a sudden blast of cold mountain wind temporarily blinded her senses.

At the same time, a sense of relief settled over her.

Oh, good. It's only a drill.

A glass shattered against the floor. Everyone turned, but nobody gave an indication that what had just happened was strange or unusual.

The spirit who had dropped their drink looked around in absolute horror.

"W-what was that? Did someone open a window or maybe..." they swallowed, confused by all of the blank stares they were getting. "Maybe there's something wrong with the paper space on the outside."

"Mr. Shang, I'm going to need you to come with me, please."

The terrified-looking spirit was immediately escorted off of the premises. Then, as if nothing had happened, casual chatter came back to the hall. Everyone returned to their conversations.

Next thing Anari knew, Bai was in her head – just hers this time – asking her to join him in his office.

This was not good.

Anari maintained a professional attitude as she traveled to Bai's most secure study. She was a little surprised by what had just happened. Long ago when Bai first started his company, he had insisted on training all of his employees to become accustomed to his psychic presence. It was designed for cases such as this, where Bai wasn't sure if the people in his company were actually reliable. It seemed that he had just pinpointed an undercover agent of some kind. This was someone who was listed as an employee under Next Dimension Inc, but had never undergone an authentic orientation. That could only mean one thing.

"It's been a while since I've had to deal with a spy," Bai said once he and Anari were alone in a room together. She had a feeling that the trespassing spirit was somewhere nearby. Perhaps on the other side of the wall.

Why did you bring me with you, Sun Bai? Anari wanted to ask. Instead she said, "He's not a very good one."

Bai nodded. "His rank is definitely low as far as spirits are concerned. So much so that I don't think anyone would really notice if he disappeared. Not even the agency that dispatched him. They probably have a dozen just like him."

Anari knew all too well what Bai was describing.

She replied, "It's no secret that those who feel threatened by you won't hesitate to make use of as many cheap spies as they can. Every company has to deal with it at some point."

If they were more scared of you, then they would stop.

Anari felt something slip through her ear as she finished the thought and in that moment, she wanted to kick herself. Bai had heard her. He hadn't left her mind since he summoned her. Damn her for not realizing it!

"Anari, if I let Shang go, he might give my competitors a real reason to fear me. As of now, my psychic abilities are simply rumors. People can choose to believe in them if they want. But if they find out that my esper abilities are genuine, it would draw more attention than I can honestly handle right now."

Anari tried to keep her glamour in check. Bai knew. He knew that she didn't want to kill this spirit for spying on the company. Her skills of quiet killing were for big, scary bastards and criminal warlords. Not for petty little spies.

Bai quietly went on. "I quite like being known as the understated investor. The developer of a company that can be a nuisance sometimes, but in the end, one that isn't worth making it into the papers. Angry, powerful swine-controlled conglomerates are one thing. But journalists on the other hand... they get everyone involved in our business. That's no good."

"There are less drastic ways to silence this spy," Anari said, meeting Bai's gaze. But his eyes were once again hidden behind the glare of his lenses. It told her that this wasn't up for debate. He wasn't open to being persuaded.

"There are." Bai acknowledged without defending himself any further. "But I've made my decision, Anari." Then he gave Anari instructions on where to locate the spy right before leaving her alone with the task.

So her boss was keeping her close now. To use her as he would a knife.

He was afraid, that was for sure. She did not want to think what it would be like if he turned that fear and paranoia on her. She would stop investigating this mess with the bridge for now. Save it until after Sevenfold Peach, when she could reliably put some distance between her and her boss.

Anari reluctantly, but deliberately made her way to where the spy was being contained. She flexed her fangs and unspooled her silk.

Her promise to make things quick and painless was the only kindness she had a right to grant.

Bodhi met up with Ham Song and Sun Ritsu at the Divine Cave of Three Stars stadium. When Ritsu saw the monk emerging from the parking lot and onto the crowded stadium grounds, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. Thanks to Surina's meddling, Bodhi was essentially on parole until the tournament was over. If Ritsu's party ranked in the final three at the end, then Bodhi's sentence would be shortened. If Ritsu happened to beat everyone he went up against, the Kawaii Village Federal Court would pardon Bodhi.

For that reason, Sun Ritsu aimed to win.

((This strong will of determination and drive beating in your chest right now is more like it, Ri-kun!))

By now, Ritsu had surmised that whenever the Rod referred to him like that, it meant that he was pleased with him. Ritsu wasn't used to the Golden-Hooped Rod expressing approval. He didn't hate it, but...

"Does this mean that I can rely on you to actually help me win this thing?" Ritsu asked under his breath so that his approaching companions wouldn't catch him talking to himself.

((That all depends on you, Ri-kun.))

"Why the long face, Sun Ritsu?"

The question came from Bodhi, who had decided to show up in gray sweats as opposed to their more traditional monastic robes.

A season of sobriety left the monk looking sharper in their expression, but more tired too.

Bodhi was keeping things casual, but Ritsu couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to have a word with them. Sober or not, it didn't change the fact that when under the right amount of pressure, Bodhi would act in a way that sometimes didn't serve everyone's best interests — including their own.

Sun Ritsu saved his worries for later. Scratching the back of his head, he answered Bodhi's question honestly.

"I'm just a little nervous. This place is huge and I have no idea where we're supposed to go or how we sign up."

Sun Ritsu could have sworn he saw smoke leave Ham Song's nostrils. The fiery-tempered pig flared up at Bodhi and spat, "Since you're Ritsu's trainer, you were supposed to have all of this stuff taken care of by now. Sun Surina gave you all of the information, right?"

Bodhi turned slightly away from the pig and folded their arms. "Yeah, but this stuff can't be too hard to figure out. I mean, we're here aren't we?"

Ham Song's dark eyes boiled. "You sloth-proned human wraith!"

Ritsu was about to break up yet another quarrel between these two, when someone else jogged up to them, holding up pamphlets and laminated passes.

"Good morning, Team Lemon Lime!"

Ritsu had never been so happy to see Seven's golden-toothed smile. Bodhi and Ham Song were struck with bewildered looks as Seven greeted them brightly and started handing out passes and room keys.

"Sorry, forgot to introduce you to our sponsor. This is Sun Seven." Ristu said as he gave the other sun clone a grateful smile. He used the exchange to lift the final room key from Seven before it could end up in Bodhi's hands.

Ham Song released a happy breath. "We get our own rooms! No more dumpster diving for busted paper spaces."

When Bodhi noticed that Ritsu was holding onto two sets of keys, they arched an eyebrow in his direction, but the sun clone was already pointing up the broad set of steps leading inside the stadium.

Ritsu went on ahead. He walked through a tunnel of concrete and onto a lush but tightly groomed lawn. When he looked overhead, he saw a sea of stars. Some of the true sky was visible thanks to a lateral opening that stretched the entire length of the dome.

Everything from the ceiling to the ground level was all sleek curves and spotless interior. Starlight danced across every surface, never blinking in the same spot twice. This light of distant worlds competed against the strong flood lights overhead. The brightness of the old and the new were at war with each other.

Dear Traveler, this was the upgraded replica of the Divine Cave of Three Stars.

And our hero was standing inside of it.

It was an incredible feeling, really. Much like how Ritsu felt when he entered the Hall of Perfect Light. It's just unfortunate that he could not truly bask and soak in all of this legendary atmosphere due to the overwhelming number of teams and contestants whom he shared the space with.

The other three came up behind him, muttering softly among themselves about the state of Ritsu's competition. Many of the contestants were already giving off a faint glow — one of those clear physical manifestations of the strength behind their spiritual energy.

"Uhhh," Seven groaned as he assessed the congested lawn, "Looks like we've got some time until the opening ceremonies. We should check into our hotel rooms and come back."

Taking Ritsu by the arm, Seven added, "Plus, I've got something special for you, Lemon Lime poster child. Let's go."

As they made their way across the lawn to the resort located across the parking lot on the opposite side of the arena, Ritsu took in the sight of what was likely to be his future opponents. He got that impression because they were all emitting a warm glow. Not unlike how our clueless hero did when he drank a can of peach soda pop before pursuing Sailor Sun in the abandoned theme park.

When it came to the teams surrounding these competitors – the sponsors and coaches – Ritsu noticed a fair number of oxen as well as tigers. Many of the teams were larger than Ritsu's piss poor party. These full-fledged entourages were loaded with dogs, elementals, tree spirits, and to Ritsu's surprise, sheep.

While Sun Ritsu knew of the existence of sheep spirits, he had never seen one pass through the old noodle shop. It's not that they were rare like fox spirits or elusive like the luminaries; they just had a reputation for not wasting their time anywhere they deemed unproductive or meaningless. With their functional eyewear and robust horns, every sheep present looked as if they meant business.

There were additional sun clones roaming about that were not glowing, but still appeared in on the action. The roles they played must have been similar to Seven's.

Once at the hotel, Seven handed Ritsu a package wrapped in plastic. "Try it on and let me know if I need to make any adjustments."

With that, the clone was off to find his room. Ritsu and Bodhi went with Ham Song to open the door to his room since he couldn't handle a key between his hooves and the keylock was too high for him to reach. Once the porker was settled in, Ritsu and Bodhi were alone in the hallway.

"So are you going to let me have my key, or what?" Bodhi asked as they crossed their arms.

Ritsu didn't want to have to do this, but...

"No." He turned on his heel and headed towards his room.

Bodhi followed, their uncertainty hitting Ritsu's back in waves. They muttered an exasperated why under their breath as they tried to keep up.

Ritsu set his jaw, squeezed the room key in his palm and pressed forward.

"Because you're sleeping in my room. With me."