The morning light filtered through the marshal’s office, casting long shadows across the wooden floorboards. Akiko stood by the desk, her arms crossed as Kane unfurled a map across the table. The city of San Francisco sprawled across the parchment, marked with notations of trouble spots—gang territories, smuggling routes, and places the law rarely ventured.

  “If we’re going to make a dent in this city,” Kane began, tapping a finger against one of the marked locations, “we need to start here. This is where the Hartley Gang has been operating. Smuggling, extortion, and now they’ve started branching into kidnapping immigrant workers to sell to the highest bidder.”

  Akiko’s jaw tightened, her hand instinctively resting on the hilt of her katana. “Then we stop them.”

  Kane nodded but held up a hand. “Not so fast. There’s a way we do things here. You’re a deputy now, and that badge comes with rules.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Rules that allow such men to thrive?”

  Kane exhaled, clearly accustomed to this kind of pushback but not from someone like her. “Look, I get it. You’re used to acting on instinct, but here, we have to gather evidence, follow procedure, and build a case. If we don’t, these bastards walk free the moment they’re in front of a judge. That’s how the system works.”

  Akiko didn’t reply immediately, her gaze flickering to the map. She understood the logic, but it grated against everything she had been taught. In her world, justice was swift and decisive. The notion of waiting for permission to act felt foreign, even reckless in its hesitance.

  The days that followed were an uneasy mix of lessons and practice. Kane took her through the protocols of American law enforcement: how to issue warnings, how to arrest suspects, and how to document evidence. Akiko absorbed the information with quiet diligence, though her disapproval often simmered just beneath the surface.

  “If you’re going to cuff someone,” Kane said one afternoon as they stood in the training yard behind the office, “you’ve got to make it quick. Hesitate, and they’ll fight back or run.”

  He demonstrated, twisting Akiko’s arm gently into a practiced hold and securing the iron cuffs around her wrists. “See? Quick and clean.”

  Akiko raised an eyebrow as he removed the cuffs. “Your methods rely on submission. My methods ensure they cannot fight back.”

  Before Kane could respond, Akiko grabbed his arm and twisted it with lightning speed, sending him stumbling forward. She followed with a sweep of his legs, and in the blink of an eye, Kane was on his back, her knee pressing lightly against his chest.

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  “Effective,” she said, standing and offering him a hand.

  Kane groaned but accepted the help. “All right, I’ll give you that one. But maybe try not to break anyone’s arm unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

  Their partnership was tested during a raid on a Hartley Gang hideout. The building was an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the docks, its windows boarded up and its exterior cloaked in shadows. Kane had gathered a small team of deputies, but Akiko’s presence was a point of contention among them.

  “A sword?” one deputy muttered as they approached the warehouse. “What’s she going to do, duel them?”

  “Enough,” Kane snapped, silencing the murmurs. “You’ll be glad she’s here when things go south. Trust me.”

  The plan was straightforward: Kane and his deputies would breach the front entrance, while Akiko used the shadows to enter from the back. The goal was to catch the gang off guard and minimize their chances of escape.

  Akiko moved like a wraith, her footsteps silent as she slipped through the alley behind the warehouse. She found a side entrance, its lock rusted and easy to break. Inside, the air was thick with the smell of sweat and stale liquor. Voices echoed through the dimly lit space, their tones casual and unworried.

  From her vantage point in the shadows, Akiko counted six men. Two were near the entrance, guarding with lazy disinterest, while the others sat at a makeshift table, playing cards and laughing. She drew her katana, the blade’s quiet hiss sending a thrill of focus through her.

  At the same time, the sound of Kane’s voice boomed from the front entrance. “U.S. Marshals! Drop your weapons and come out with your hands up!”

  Panic erupted among the gang members. One of the guards bolted toward the back, only to be met by Akiko’s blade. She struck with precision, her katana cutting the weapon from his hand before delivering a sharp blow to his side that sent him crumpling to the ground. Another charged at her with a knife, but she sidestepped and disarmed him with a single, fluid motion.

  Gunfire erupted near the front as Kane and his deputies stormed in. The gang members scrambled for cover, their shots wild and uncoordinated. Akiko pressed forward, her movements deliberate and controlled. She dispatched two more attackers, her strikes disabling rather than killing. The chaos subsided quickly, the gang overwhelmed by the coordinated assault.

  When the dust settled, the gang members were bound and subdued, their weapons confiscated. Kane strode through the warehouse, his eyes sweeping over the scene. He found Akiko standing near the back, her blade still in hand, her expression unreadable.

  “Good work,” he said, his tone sincere. “You were right. Your way worked.”

  Akiko nodded but said nothing, her thoughts elsewhere. She had proven her worth, but the disconnect between their methods still lingered.

  As they escorted the prisoners back to the marshal’s office, Kane fell into step beside her. “You know, we make a pretty good team,” he said, his voice lighter than usual.

  Akiko glanced at him, her brow furrowing slightly. “We succeeded because our goals aligned. But your way and mine… they are not the same.”

  Kane sighed, adjusting his hat. “Maybe not. But if we’re going to keep this up, we’ll need to find a middle ground. The city’s a mess, and it’s going to take both of us to start cleaning it up.”

  Akiko considered his words, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “Perhaps. But do not expect me to abandon what I know."

  “Fair enough,” Kane said with a chuckle. “Just try not to put me on my ass again, all right?”

  For the first time, Akiko allowed herself a small, genuine smile. “No promises, Marshal.”