September 4th, 2003

What would have been her father's 43rd birthday was getting off to a very bad start for Belle. The only thing she felt like doing once she got to the Japanese bathhouse on the street connecting to the Yakuza's car showroom was relaxing in one of the baths and doing anything it took to remove her mind from what had happened that day.

Night had fallen, and Belle had failed both of the missions the Yakuza had set her that day. First, she had been sent to find and kill a fellow Yakuza member who had defected to the Cartel. However, no sooner had she reached the neighbouring district where the traitor was located did she discover that he had fled to the airport, with someone having evidently been warned about her coming for him. And by the time she had reached the airport, his plane had already left. This instantly led to the head of the Yakuza, Keisuke Ido, suspecting that there was another rat in the organization, and that rat had to be found and wiped out as soon as it could be proven.

Her second mission, however, had proven utterly humiliating for her. It was a mission without as much at stake, although it had been an equally challenging one. She had been told to steal four sports cars that were being driven around the city to compensate for a missed shipment of stolen and repainted vehicles - a task that initially sounded daunting, but that she then found herself more than willing to do. She'd managed to get the first three vehicles through viciously carjacking them when they stopped at traffic lights, but the Cartel had reached the fourth one before she had, and had driven off with it just when she spotted it in view. Even though the vehicle she'd been driving was fast, she had no chance of being able to catch up with this one as it sped off into the distance. Keisuke Ido had been furious when he found out, stating aloud that he felt she'd brought great shame to the Yakuza due to the distributors of the vehicles having robbed their showroom almost immediately after they heard about her failure to acquire the fourth car.

Despite him not going as far as stating he'd wanted her killed, Belle knew that she'd let her bosses down - that she'd have a lot of making up to do if she was to regain their respect. It wasn't the first time he'd become angry with her, and the previous time, he'd given her a chance to redeem herself, which she'd done. But this time, she feared that she'd lost their respect for good, and that she would soon be fired or killed. And she knew she couldn't let this happen to her without her avenging Barry or Lucy's deaths...whoever their Cartel killers were. And as she made her way to the Japanese bathhouse and climbed into one of the available baths, drawing stares on the way, she knew she was in deep trouble. She realized that she would have to watch her back very carefully the moment she left.

And here we have a rare request from the great and talented  PlagueBug, who produced this lovely piece of work in her End of the World stream. ^^ First time I've gone for a piece of work that has shown her in this mood, but it was a pleasant surprise to see it done in the stream. Thanks again, PB! =D

Original image: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9518207/