Once the door closes behind YUYO and Mr. Meowkazawa, Yuna leans against it with her eyes closed and her head tipped back. She’d been expecting Yumi to be her normal energetic self, but that...

“That wasn’t what I was expecting from her.”

Yumi’s response to Yuna having bodyguards had been the last thing Yuna had been expecting.

“Did that really happen?”

She opens her eyes and looks at said bodyguards in disbelief.

“Did she really do all that!?”

Eun Seok hides his cough with one hand before answering her. “I’m afraid she did.”

Si-Woo had been the one who’d avoided Yumi after patting down Mr. Meowkazawa. “She’s...” He trails off, not sure how to finish the sentence.

Yuna wrinkles her nose then sighs. “She’s out of control is what she is. I fear for the future of the Shining Maidens if she doesn’t get a handle on herself.” She’s worried about all of them. It’s in her nature to worry about people she cares for.

Seung Yoon shakes his head as he clears the tea set from the table and puts it in the kitchen for washing later. “I wasn’t expecting her to behave like that either. She acted like...” He stops himself before coming out of the kitchen and carefully settling on the couch.

Yuna comes away from the door and knows exactly what Seung Yoon is trying not to say. “She acted like a child.” She sits on the couch and laughs when Si-Woo throws himself across Seung Yoon’s lap.

Eun Seok tries not to laugh as he sits in the armchair. “They’ve been acting like this for the last little while. I don’t stop them because they need to burn energy somehow.”

“That’s fair. Si-Woo, if they come back, please be more respectful of Mr. Meowkazawa.”

Si-Woo settles on the floor near Seung Yoon’s feet and nods. “Of course I will. I was just doing my job, but if they return, I’ll be gentler.”

“Thank you.” Yuna sighs and leans back on the couch to look at the ceiling. “I might have to do something about Yumi if she doesn’t smarten up.”

Seung Yoon reaches over and puts his hand on her shoulder for a moment before he sits back. “What would you do if you had to step up?”

“I don’t know.” Yuna shakes her head then runs her hand through her hair to get it out of her face. “I hope I don’t have to.”

Eun Seok makes a soft sound as he finally gets comfortable. “We all hope it doesn’t get to that point. But the way things are going, it might.”

“All we can do is hope. Though if I do have to step up, my first step would be talking to her and hoping she’ll listen to reason.”

“That’s actually a good place to start. She seems like the type to listen if she’s spoken to in a certain way.”

“That’s an accurate statement. I’ve had to address her about her behavior before and when I approached her tactfully she was totally willing to listen to me.” Yuna sighs again and seems to visibly deflate. “But lately she’s been getting more...” She thinks for a second before finding a tactful way to finish that statement. “She’s been leaning more toward anime recently, and that worries me.”

Si-Woo looks at her from his spot on the floor. “What do you think NEMO and SAWA are thinking about her recent behavior?”

“Sakura thinks Yumi can do no wrong. She’ll follow her to the ends of the Earth without asking questions. That could be a problem down the road.” Sakura is SAWA’s first name. “As for Neko...” Yuna shakes her head again then sighs gustily. “Neko is the most down to earth one and if I know her the way I think I do, she’s been calling Yumi out on it. Neko’s not afraid to speak her mind and she doesn’t sugarcoat anything.” Neko is NEMO’s first name. And if she’s being honest, Yuna wouldn’t want to meet Neko in a dark alley.

Seung Yoon hears something in Yuna’s voice when she talks about Neko and Sakura that makes him raise an eyebrow. “Are you actually scared of Neko, Yuna?”

“Not so much scared as I have a very healthy respect for her. She may take it the wrong way if I have to take Yumi to task for how she’s acting. That’s usually up to Neko and Mr. Meowkazawa and they may not like it if I get involved.”

“And Sakura?”

Yuna grimaces faintly. “Sakura’s not one for confrontation, but she’s fiercely loyal to Yumi. If she thinks I’m crossing a line, she’ll do everything she can to talk me out of it. She’s the most sensitive one and expresses her emotions freely. I hesitate to confront Yumi because of Sakura.”

“You’re protecting Sakura, aren’t you?”

“Very astute, Seung Yoon. I am.” Sakura is the most vulnerable one because of her gentle nature and Yuna will do everything she can to protect her.

“You have a good heart.”

“Thank you, Seung Yoon.” She stands up and pulls her hair back in a ponytail. “I’m going to wash the tea set before I forget. Then we can talk more afterward.”

“Would you like some help?”

Yuna turns around and smiles at them. “I can do it myself, but thank you for asking.” She goes into the kitchen and talks loudly enough for them to hear her. “I couldn’t have asked for better friends.” The tea set is uncharacteristically dusty and she frowns as she sets to work washing it. She really does have to step out; that wasn’t an excuse to get Yumi out of her apartment. But the way her nerves are right now, taking the time to wash the tea set is a good idea. “You three go ahead and get ready to go. I’m almost done washing the tea set.”

Eun Seok nods to Seung Yoon and Si-Woo before he answers her. “Okay.” He’s seen her look after the tea set before so he knows she’ll do it right. The three of them are waiting for her when she finally comes out of the kitchen.

Yuna smiles brilliantly and gets ready. “You three are something else, you know that?” Her phone gets tucked into the oversized shoulder bag she’s started using as her purse because she’s taken to carrying more than she used to. “This is going to take a fair bit of time; hopefully we don’t get caught in traffic again!”

Eun Seok nods at Si-Woo and Seung Yoon groaning at the reminder of San Diego traffic. “That was terrible.”

“That’s one word for it!” She unlocks the door and they all step out into the hallway. Her lists are on her phone because it’s just easier for her that way. Once she closes the door, she takes her keys out to lock it - and finds herself hesitating. Her hand is shaking as she forces the key into the locks one after the other, then she frowns at it. “I have never had this much trouble locking my door before. What is wrong with me!?”

Seung Yoon puts his hand over hers and holds it there. “I saw you hesitate... Are you worried one of them left something in your apartment?”

Si-Woo chimes in quietly. “Or took something out of it?”

Their gentle voices go a long way to settle her nerves. “No, Yumi and Mr. Meowkazawa aren’t like that. It’s something else.”

Eun Seok has a theory. “Are you wary about leaving any angry spirits in your apartment?”

“That’s it! Thank you, Eun Seok, I know what it is! I’ll be right back!” She unlocks the door again and steps inside. Once she reaches her bedroom, she takes out a small green and white box. Inside is her spirit ward. She focuses her intent on it as she takes it to its customary place and hangs it from the hook in her ceiling. She’d gotten permission to hang hooks in the ceiling of her apartment for purposes like this one. Resting its support on the hook, she whispers a prayer to Amaterasu and the shaking stops. “I never should have taken you down, even for a moment.” She comes out of the apartment and locks the door again with a steady hand and she’s humming.

“What did you have to do?”

“I forgot to put my spirit ward back on the hook.” She’d taken it down shortly after arranging the visit with Mr. Meowkazawa because she didn’t want Yumi to have something else to rant about.

“Ah. That is an important item and I don’t blame you for going back in to put it back.” Her spirit ward keeps evil spirits at bay so she can have a safe haven.

“Thank you.” Her keys are dropped into her purse and she turns toward the elevator. “Shall we, gentlemen?”

“We shall.”

- - -

The doorknob rattles before finally opening. Yuna sighs explosively as she props it open and moves out of the way so the others can bring everything inside. “I don’t know what was worse, the traffic or the other people out shopping today!”

Si-Woo grunts as he and Eun Seok bring in the heavier bags and boxes. “They were equally as bad in my opinion!”

Seung Yoon grumbles as he brings in the lighter bags. “My vote goes to the other shoppers being worse.” He’d been repeatedly shoved around until Eun Seok had intervened. “Thank you for stepping in, hyung.”

Eun Seok smiles a little as he starts sorting what Yuna bought. “That’s what friends are for.” He looks up and sees something lurking in the younger man’s eyes. “Have you been getting enough sleep lately?”

“I have. Which is a miracle.” Seung Yoon rubs his eyes and stretches before helping with the sorting.

Yuna frowns as she takes her groceries to the kitchen and puts them away. “What’s bothering you, then?”

“I’ll explain after we’re done with the sorting and deliveries.” Yuna’s been giving food and household supplies to the less fortunate since she got to San Diego. The list of families she helps has been getting smaller and smaller as people join in to spread the kindness. She herself only has five households to make deliveries to.

“Are you sure?”

Seung Yoon looks at her and sees genuine concern in her eyes. His smile is true and makes his eyes smile. “Yes. We’re cutting it close this time.”

“But we’ll be on time thanks to you three.” She gives them all a smile before making the address labels.

Eun Seok and Si-Woo look at each other and Eun Seok nods to Si-Woo. Si-Woo nods in return and speaks quietly. “Eun Seok hyung and I can handle the deliveries. It’s only five households.”

Seung Yoon looks at the boxes of food and supplies. “Then why are there eight hampers of goods?”

Yuna giggles. “Those three go to people in this building.” She affixes number tags to the other three instead of address labels. “You and I can handle these ones.”

“Oh, okay.” Seung Yoon giggles a little at himself, then gets serious. “Have they hit a rough patch for you to help them?”

“They have. Unexpectedly high expenses have left them unable to fully provide for themselves.”

Si-Woo smiles. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You have a good heart, Yuna.”

“Thank you, Si-Woo.” She watches Si-Woo and Eun Seok take the five external deliveries to the elevator then exhales quietly. “Let’s go, Seung Yoon. These are all on this floor.”

Seung Yoon smiles and lifts the stack of two. “They’ll be very happy to see these hampers.”

“Absolutely they will.” Yuna moves the third one out into the hallway then closes and locks her door before putting her keys in her purse.

“Do you knock on the door then hide or do you wait for them to answer?”

“They know I’ve been helping them so I don’t have to hide.”

“Okay.” He pauses for a moment. “What about the deliveries Si-Woo and Eun Seok are making? Do those households know it’s you?”

Yuna pauses for a moment before she picks up the hamper in front of her. “No, actually, they don’t know it’s me... They just know someone’s being a good person and helping them out. I told Eun Seok to move out of sight after knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell but not to leave the hampers unobserved. I had three hampers stolen because I didn’t stay to make sure they were taken inside before I left. Now I watch to make sure they don’t get stolen.”

“Have you had anyone reject a hamper out of pride?”

“Surprisingly, no. I think that’s because I don’t buy the super expensive products; I try to be reasonable.”

“And by providing reasonably priced goods, you’re telling them ‘I can relate, and I want to help’.”

“Exactly!” She hums under her breath as they go to the first apartment. “Here, Seung Yoon. You have this one on the bottom.”

“Thank you.” Seung Yoon puts the hampers down in front of the door, then takes the top one back.

Yuna sets hers against her hip and knocks firmly on the door. She waits patiently and finally hears someone at the door. The resident calls out from behind the solid barrier. “Who’s there, please?”

Yuna winces at the tremor in the usually confident voice. “It’s me, Mrs. Hannigan.”

The door is unlocked and eased open until the elderly resident sees Yuna standing there. “Oh, Yuna, dear, I am so glad to see you!” Mrs. Hannigan opens the door all the way.

Seung Yoon puts the other hamper down and gently lifts hers up. “Let me bring this inside for you, ma’am.”

Mrs. Hannigan recognizes him from all the times he and his friends have come to hang out with Yuna. “Thank you. Just put it in the kitchen please, dear boy.” She moves out of the way so he can do exactly that.

Seung Yoon brings the hamper into the apartment and goes directly to the kitchen. He takes note of the state of the room but says nothing as he puts it near the fridge then leaves as he went in; unintrusive. “I hope it helps you.”

“Oh, my dear boy, Yuna’s hampers always help me. Not just for what’s in them, either. Her thoughtfulness always brings a smile to my face.”

Yuna smiles brightly. “I’m glad!”

Seung Yoon waits until Mrs. Hannigan closes the door before speaking in a low voice. “She’s been ill recently. Her kitchen is very untidy.”

“I’ll call her grandson when we get back to my apartment. That worries me.”

- - -

Yuna sits at her desk with her hands folded in front of her.

“Despite your claims to the contrary, I do not lead the Shining Maidens. YUYO does. I freely admit my behavior leading up to the Chamber match at Under Attack was unacceptable. I got arrogant. I’m young. It happens.”

She pauses to take a sip of water from the green bottle on her desk.

“David. I apologize to you for my actions in the battle royal. How I won was dishonorable. I see that now. But for you to imply that YUYO and I have no honor at all is unacceptable. We have always acted with honor and integrity. Even when we were across from each other, we behaved honorably. It only multiplied when we stood beside each other and fought as a team. What, did you think we never teamed before? That only shows how little you’ve been paying attention to us. Do you really think we’re a joke? That we don’t belong here? That only NEMO and SAWA are honorable people? No, gentlemen, we are not a joke. We have only just BEGUN to show the SCW what we are capable of! We belong here! All four of us! We may be young, but we have not yet begun to fight!”

Yuna takes another drink from her water bottle and sets it on her desk with a bang.

“As a woman of honor, I will instruct my bodyguards to remain backstage unless their presence is required. With the Fall of Man running amok backstage, they may well be needed.”

Yuna sits back and folds her hands in front of her again.

“When we meet in the ring on Breakdown, Chris and David, you are in for a very rude awakening. YUYO and I have the ability to think as one person because our goals are the same. The two of you have been partners for quite some time, it’s true, but are you actually on the same page like me and YUYO? Can you implicitly trust each other not to make a mistake and wind up losing the match? Can you intrinsically understand the unspoken signals you give each other to navigate a victory? I think not. We may be smaller than you but that gives us an advantage. If you were to watch Japanese wrestling, you would understand what I mean by that without me having to explain. We are faster and more agile than you think we are. We are also smarter and craftier than you think. So discard your preconceived notions and come to the ring with open minds. A person with an open mind is the most Dangerous of all, because to them, everything is possible. How can you be Dangerous Minds when yours are closed off and not open to learning and expanding your knowledge? No, gentlemen, you are not Dangerous at all. YUYO and I are more dangerous than you, and when you step into the ring with us, you will find that out first hand. We will see you on Breakdown... And if the Gods are merciful, you will be able to see us.”

The camera shuts off and she gets up from her desk to check the viewscreen. ‘Upload complete under the clickable link ‘Antics and Reality’.’ “Good. That’s done.”

Eun Seok and Si-Woo had come back later than planned, so she’d held off on her promo until they returned. Eun Seok rubs his neck and winces when his knee pops. “The traffic was tolerable, but we had to apprehend a would-be thief at each of the first three drop-off locations before the families were able to open the door and take the hampers inside.”

Si-Woo chimes in. “The last two houses were insane in their own way... One of them had attack dogs in the yard and we had to wait until they were called in to eat before we could make the delivery.”

Yuna frowns. “That would be the Lancasters... When did they get dogs and why are they attack dogs?”

“I don’t know. Eun Seok hyung decided to use snowballs to let them know someone was at the door. One of them hit the doorbell square on and we watched from behind a big tree as they found the hamper. The wife exclaimed ‘Jud! We’ve been remembered by the Hamper Angel!’ Then she took it inside.”

Yuna laughs. “Yup, that’s the Lancasters, all right! They call me the Hamper Angel because I always know what they need and make sure they get it.” She’d made sure to include replacement filters for their furnace and console humidifiers this time around, which is why their hamper was so big.

Eun Seok smiles, but it doesn’t last long. “The last house had police cars on both sides of the street and armed officers standing outside!” He shivers. “We had to write down why we were there before they’d let us put the hamper on the step.”

“Police officers!? Are they all right!?”

“Yes, thank goodness. They had a break-in and there was a bomb threat across the street. It turned out to be a misidentified package from another Good Samaritan.”

“At least they didn’t just laugh it off and have it be a real bomb!”

“That was our thought! We knocked loudly and hid at the side of the house. One of the owners came to the door with an officer as a safety precaution.” He smiles at the memory of what they said. “He was absolutely ecstatic as he said ‘Margie! Our mysterious benefactor strikes again!’.”

Yuna can’t help smiling. “That’s the Crandall family. They’ll need what I gave them for sure now.” And she sighs. “Will people stop being so cruel to others?”

The three of them look at each other at her question and Seung Yoon answers her. “They will. I don’t know when that will happen, but it will.”

Eun Seok puts his hand on her shoulder because she moved over to sit on the couch after verifying the upload. “With any luck, it’ll start in our lifetime.”

Yuna sighs again. “I hope so. This hate has got to end!”

“We agree.”

Yuna picks up the remote from the coffee table and points it at the ceiling. Her flat-screen TV unfolds silently and elegantly to hang in front of them. “What shall we watch today, gentlemen?”

“Not the news!”

“You won’t get any argument from me!” Yuna opens the channel menu and they browse what’s available.

Si-Woo exclaims excitedly. “The Wrestler is on HBO Max!”

Yuna looks around and sees the other two nodding with smiles. “The Wrestler it is.” She navigates to the channel and selects it. Personally she thinks Mickey Rourke is a very underrated actor.