Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners. I don't
own Sailormoon but I'll like to own Haruka & Michiru. ^_^
Warning: This fanfic is set in an alternate universe. All characters
will retain their names but some of the characters will be manipulated
such that they do not resemble their namesakes in the BSSM series.
C&Cs are much appreciated.
DESTINED
Part 1
By GSL
"He's running away!" A voice shouted.
"Damn!" Curses of similar vintage were made in response to the
shout. The usual rowdy crowd on the street took it all in their stride,
as things that common suburban folk would find shocking were ordinary
fare here.
Dividing a crowd was a man dressed in form fitting shirt and
pants, pushing his way and shoving unlucky passer-by aside when they
became an obstruction to his flight.
He was far from being alone. Two persons emerged from an
ubiquitous car parked in the side alley and gave chase. Another two,
dressed as hawkers, left their wares unattended and joined the chase.
It was a moonless night. The street lamps barely illuminated the
roads as the chase took place. The cool evening air was doing its best
to bring people out from homes, lending themselves into the crowded
streets.
"Damn!" A curse escaped, out of frustration. The prey was slowly
losing himself in the sea of crowd. It wasn't supposed to happen like
this, but when did life follow men's plans?
She wanted him badly, if only for her respected colleague still
recovering from a gun injury. If there was one thing she hated most, it
was to lose to this bastard in a chase.
"He's turning into Sakura Lane," came the sweet reply to her
unspoken question, via her hidden earpiece. She took off in the
direction, barely noticing if the young lad assigned to her was keeping
up.
It was a known fact that she bore a personal vengeance against
drug dealers, but nobody knew why. An informant had told them the
information that they needed. They were there at the right time with the
right equipment. Just as they got the evidence that they needed, the
suspect seemed to have noticed them and flew like a professional
sprinter.
Threading past the crowd seemed to be a tricky task, but for one
as experienced as her, she did not falter for a second, as did her
'partner'. A temporary one, she reminded herself, until Sergeant Shinji
reported for duty from his bedrest and claim back his rookie. She
congratulated herself that the fateful day would be only a couple of
hours from now.
It wasn't too soon before she was shouting at the suspect to stop
running. Of course, it didn't work. The least it did was to inform him
that she was a police officer, which in turn made the suspect run
faster.
Sakura Lane was said to be haunted. For what reason, she couldn't
remember but most people tried to avoid this place, even though it
presented the nearest shortcut to the subway. In a moment of clarity,
she realised that the suspect was trying for the subway. It was a
logical choice since traffic jams were a permanent feature for Tokyo
streets.
She knew she had him when her two colleagues showed up at the
other end of the deserted backlane. There was nowhere he could run
without crossing their paths. He chose to challenge her, being a single
officer as compared to two.
It was a big mistake, for, within a minute, he was down onto the
ground and handcuffed. There was little satisfaction in the arrest,
given the fact that the drug dealing gang he belonged to would still be
around.
"Officer Tenoh."
The blonde turned and faced her chief. Setsuna Meioh, she was an
effigy of intelligence and beauty. They had got along fine, so to speak,
never crossing the lines that they knew existed. There weren't many
people that earned her respect; Setsuna was one of the rare few. Even
so, with her obstinate character, there were moments of disagreement
and, from the tone of Setsuna's voice, she knew one was coming.
Young Keisuke had finally arrived at the scene, out of breath. She
had left him to fend for his own again. Well, she'd caught the guy,
didn't that mean anything?
"While I would commend your efforts, please do not act
singularly."
Apparently not. Tenoh Haruka shrugged in response. "It's not my
fault that he can't keep up." The exasperated look on her chief's face
was something that she had grown used to.
Haruka had nothing against Keisuke. She just didn't want to be
confined by a partner. It was a fact made known to Setsuna, yet it
didn't stop her from pairing her up with other people.
"May I remind you that your actual partner would be arriving
tomorrow. And you better be in. Understand?"
"Whatever."
This was just another day.
**********
"Good morning, Inspector Meioh." The tall woman greeted, suitably
dressed in pants and shirt. Upon entering the office, she couldn't help
noticing the wide array of books that lined the shelves, speaking so
much about the woman before her.
"It's nice to formally meet you. You were highly spoken of by your
superiors at Osaka."
From that tone her new superior used, she could gather that
Inspector Meioh was a polite and confident person. She too would have to
keep up with the standards. "And I've heard many incredible stories
about you."
Meanwhile, outside the office ...
"Haruka, where are you? The chief is asking."
"Hotaru-chan, is that the way to greet me? Not even a hello?"
Hotaru blushed. "But you know..."
"I'm on a case right now. Be in later." With that, the telephone
was disconnected.
***********
"Chief," Hotaru interrupted the two women guiltily as she entered
Setsuna's office. The hesitance in her voice could not be missed,
"Haruka would be in later."
There was a look of resignation on Setsuna's face.
"It's okay," the teal haired newcomer began, "I've made inquires
on that partner that I'll be working with. And this seems to be her
S.O.P."
Hotaru couldn't suppress her smile. Imagine telling Haruka that
her uncooperativeness was her standard operating procedure. It was a
good thing that she was in the blonde's good books. Some even say that
she might get away with anything that ruffled Haruka's feathers.
"Let's start the introductions. Sergeant Kaioh, meet Corporal
Tomoe Hotaru, our research specialist. If you want to find out about
anything or anyone, go to her."
"Call me Michiru." The sweet smile on her face was enough to
warrant anyone to like her.
"And Hotaru, meet Kaioh Michiru. She will be Haruka's partner.
Since she is not around, can you please take her around the station?"
*************
In a forgotten place, long time ago, there used to live a family -
- A father who was gainfully employed, a mother who painstakingly looked
after the whole household and a delightful daughter whom everyone doted.
It was the perfect family, loving parents, intelligent and filial
daughter, a lifestyle that was above average.
But then again, good things never last.
"Michiru?"
Lost in a world of her own, the girl blushed in having been caught
inattentive. "I'm sorry. You were saying?"
"Are you feeling unwell?"
She smiled sweetly, shaking her head slightly. Her companion still
bore a mask of worry and her heart swelled at the thought. Ten years ago
when they were still little kids, she could remember a time when nobody
would play with her, he did. His mischievous eyes, marring his innocent
little face, had always shine with concern for her and his hands were
always there to wipe away her tears. Even after all these years, these
things had not changed.
"I was just thinking of something." As if for reassurance, she
laid her hand over his.
Seiya sensed that this was one of Michiru's melancholy moods and
did not probe further. "How was your first day of work?" He asked,
deciding to change the topic, but was met with a sigh by the girl whom
he could still picture as a twelve-year-old, crying in the park alone.
"My partner didn't show up." She confided.
"That bad?"
"I...," Before she could continue, their conversation was broken
by a shrill of a telephone. Apologising, Michiru answered the phone.
Having been left on his devices, Seiya idly looked around the
restaurant. This was one of the better ones in the city and chances
were, he might meet some of his business associates. He chuckled at the
thought. Whoever would have guessed that he became a businessman. Some
have thought that he would become a pop idol, given his singing
abilities, and he smiled in remembrance of Michiru's shocked expression
when he told her his decision.
They had gone through a lot since they met. The initial years were
a nightmare, at least for Michiru. The sudden death of her parents
reduced her to an orphan. He could never forget seeing her for the first
time, a twelve-year-old crying under a huge oak tree, a scene so
compelling that he promised in his heart that he would protect her
forever.
"I'm sorry, I have to go." Michiru interrupted his thoughts.
"Now?"
She could detect some amount of exasperation in his voice. "You
know how it goes."
With resignation on his face, he accepted her chaste kiss on the
cheek and watched her exit the restaurant. As he did so, he couldn't
help thinking that she was hardly the same girl he met those ten years
ago.
*************
"This is a dream come true." Haruka smiled widely at the scene
before her.
"This isn't right, you know that." Hotaru chipped in, although she
could barely keep a solemn face.
"No way, I'm going to enjoy this as much as I can."
"Not if I have anything to say." Setsuna chastised, seemingly
appearing out of nowhere.
The forensic officers hurried around as the detectives stayed out
of their way. Not one inch of the hotel room was left unexamined. In the
middle was a king-sized bed, its white sheets were dyed brownish-red.
The source was a naked lifeless body that lay on it.
Chiba Mamoru, one of the three forces that controlled drug
circulation in Tokyo, was found dead. It was a gruesome sight, to say
the least, but the officers just went on with their work professionally.
For Haruka, it was the sweetest sight. She had always wanted to
arrest him for his crimes and misdeeds but had always been lacking in
evidence. Now that he was dead, she felt as though the world had become
a better place to live in.
"Sorry I'm late."
At the tune of the voice, Haruka turned to finally see her
partner. Sergeant Kaioh Michiru, as she was told, a nice lady. She took
a glance and was met with deep blue eyes. The new gal was tall, although
not as tall as she was, and beautiful, with a long dress that clung
snugly to her body, revealing alluring shapes. Her brows deepened.
A dress and a crime scene definitely did not mix.
Setsuna took the opportunity to formally introduce the partners.
Michiru having finally coming face to face with the person she would be
working with, was slowing evaluating the blonde. While it was true that
she heard stories about her elusive partner, she could not prepare
herself for their first meeting.
She knew that Tenoh Haruka was female but the jeans and pullover
hardly revealed that fact. She looked strong, commanding. What affected
her most was her partner's piercing eyes which seemed to spear deep into
her soul.
And then it was gone. The unwavering eyes left her and she could
detect a slight disapproval on Haruka's part. Michiru hastened to
explain her lateness, "I was on the other part of the town. I came here
as fast as I could and didn't have time to change."
"It's okay. In fact, you were just on time. The pathologist and
her assistant had just arrived." Setsuna added.
Hotaru took this as her cue to leave and went on to perform her
share of tasks.
The forensic team began packing up as the newly formed partners
and Setsuna followed the pathologist towards the body. Haruka was still
silently observing her partner. If she were to vomit at the sight of the
corpse, she would definitely cajole Setsuna to change the pairing. The
last thing she needed was to babysit a lady.
And it seemed that Michiru had passed the test. Haruka sighed and
began to pay full attention to the preliminary examination. Mizuno Ami
was one of the best pathologists that the coroner's office had. Haruka
could never guess how such a meek person like Ami could do her job so
well.
"I'm sorry. Do you know the person? You seemed to hesitate for a
moment." Michiru interrupted.
"No. No." Ami quickly added. There was a far away look on her
eyes. "I find him quite familiar but I don't know him."
"Maybe you had seen him from the newspapers. He was the president
of the Chiba Corporation." Setsuna reasoned.
"And a notorious leader of Chiba drug dealing society." Haruka
decided to add her few cents worth.
Ami nodded in comprehension. She began her work, steadfastly.
"Victim had multiple knife wounds. There were nine at his chest area.
One particularly deep that probably killed him immediately. No signs of
bruises."
"Wait a minute. He didn't put up a struggle?" Haruka quickly
asked.
"Doesn't seem like it." Ami answered.
"Intoxication?" Michiru suggested.
"We'll do the tests. The formal report will be out in three day's
time." With that, Ami began to leave.
Setsuna quickly called for attention. "Shinji and Keisuke have
gone around interviewing the staff. Keiko and Tetsu, the guests. I have
asked Hotaru to review the security tapes. The two of you," Setsuna
said, indicating Haruka and Michiru, "are to make a formal visit to
Chiba's residence. Bring a couple of men along."
*************
The ride to the residence was somewhat interesting. Michiru should
have known something was wrong when none of the officers were willing to
take a ride in Haruka's sedan. It took all of her control and her hold
onto the dashboard to abstain from screaming out.
Some of the moves that Haruka made were purely suicidal. Yet she
was able to pull it off with finesse. In fact, Michiru could see that
the blonde thrived on speed. That was another thing that she could add
to Haruka's personal records.
Michiru didn't make any conversation to get to know her partner
better, not when her heart threatened to jump out. But she did notice a
couple of things about her partner.
Tenoh Haruka was a walled-up person, so to speak. Her eyes were
predatory and determined, signalling her distrust in people. Her gruff
exterior also meant that Michiru would have a hard time getting close
enough to work effectively as a team.
As of now, she could already feel the ill vibes coming from
Haruka. On second thought, this ride could be considered as Haruka's
call of challenge.
It couldn't be sooner before they arrived at the mansion, a good
fifteen minutes before the rest would arrive. While taking a breather
outside the car, Michiru noticed Haruka making her way towards the gate.
"Shouldn't we wait?" shouted Michiru.
Haruka took one glance at her and shook her head resignedly.
Tracing her steps back to Michiru, she spoke to her for the first time,
"It figures that chief would get someone who cares nothing but proper
procedures to check on me."
"Don't you think it is unfair to sum up things like that on me?"
It wasn't a question that Michiru was raising. Haruka etched her
eyebrow, getting the hint that the shorter girl was definitely no
pushover.
Haruka leaned onto the car, next to Michiru, and sighed.
"We should try to get along." Michiru stated. She turned and stuck
her hand out. "Kaioh Michiru. I'll put in my best efforts and will
appreciate any help that you would give me."
There was something about the smile that Haruka couldn't quite
understand. Before she knew it, she was shaking her partner's hand and a
tenuous truce was formed.
Soon, police patrol cars arrived at the scene. Officers left their
vehicles and gathered before Haruka. With a command, she led them
towards the house, with a search warrant in her hand.
************
It was a new day after a long night at the Chiba residence. It
wasn't often that they get a chance to visit a druglord's house and they
were using every opportunity they had to carry any material, book,
diskette, and computer back to the headquarters. In Haruka's opinion,
this was the sole reason she was there in the first place.
Sure, they met some obstructions in the form of Chiba's henchmen.
Michiru, to her surprise, had shown some smooth moves and the deal was
done. There were no hindrances after that, and Michiru left her alone to
do her own investigating or, as she put it, snooping around.
Now, in a room that was filled with people, Tenoh Haruka mostly
kept to herself. She wasn't one of idle chatter and people respected
that. Other than the few greetings, she was relatively left at peace to
ponder about the case and to think about what she would be saying in the
general meeting that Setsuna had called upon.
The file felt heavy on her hands. They always did. How pathetic it
was to measure one's life on a few pieces of paper clipped in a file.
Even if it belonged to one of the most notorious druglords, Haruka felt
uneasiness, but for a different reason.
How could she put herself into arresting someone who did good to
the society at large? What was the motive? Was there a sad story behind
the killing? She knew for a fact that many lives were shattered by
Chiba's actions.
She had the dream again. It always came at the most untimely
moment. Rubbing her temples, she tried to ignore her emerging feelings
as remnants of the dream continued to torture her.
"Haruka, are you sick?"
The uncertainty in the other's voice brought a smile to her lips.
She shook her head and gazed warmly at Hotaru. How the girl managed to
position herself in that special place in Haruka's heart was beyond her.
Perhaps Hotaru's innocent approach to life made people want to protect
her and Haruka was not immune to that.
"Are you sure?" The younger girl asked again.
"I almost wished that I were, so that you would pamper me." The
blonde teased, setting that question to dust. It came as a surprise when
Hotaru flirted back but Haruka managed to recover in time, to slip into
the role of a suave gentleman.
Their antics were not lost on Kaioh Michiru, presently surrounded
by a couple of her male colleagues. She maintained a polite conversation
with all of them, out of courtesy more than want.
As she tuned out expertly on the small talk around her, she
wondered how she was able to tackle her not-so-friendly partner. She
might have scored a little victory last night, but she knew now that she
was far from becoming friends with the blonde.
For a moment, she thought she caught Haruka's eye and blushed in
response to being caught watching her. She turned away immediately,
drawing attention to herself from the company that she was having.
She felt herself being watched by determined green eyes but
luckily the ordeal was cut short by Setsuna's entrance.
Everyone came to attention. The once noisy meeting room was turned
into a serious discussion area.
"We have the autopsy report. Chiba Mamoru, died of a knife wound
that reached his heart. He was killed instantly and nine other thrusts
damaged his lungs and spleen. The time of death is estimated to be
between 2300 hours to 2400 hours.
"There were no unusual bruises found on his body. There is some
level of alcoholic content in his blood but believed to be not enough to
warrant him unconscious."
The uproar was unmistakable.
"Yes, he didn't put up much of a struggle." Setsuna said, trying
to regain some sort of order.
"Perhaps he was asleep?" Michiru contributed.
Setsuna did not voice her opinion but continued, as the rest
seemed to chew on that idea. "There were no drugs, medicinal or
otherwise, found in his blood. No sexual activity. That is all from the
coroner's office." She paused and signalled Hotaru to begin.
"I have reviewed the security tapes. The most important discovery
was that a female was found to be with Chiba. They entered the hotel
room together at 2247 hours and she left calmly at 2352 hours. No others
were seen to have entered the room.
"The woman's face was hidden by the shawl. She was medium built
and was wearing a dark long evening dress." As Hotaru stopped her
recount, Sergeant Shinji began, "According to the hotel staff, the room
was permanently reserved for Chiba to entertain his guests. No one has
seen the female identified in the tapes."
"The same goes with the guests," interjected Corporal Keiko.
As all eyes turned to Haruka, she spoke, "We have thoroughly
searched the Chiba residence. We brought back many things -- computers,
diskettes, documents etc. Preliminary findings indicate nothing of the
killing, but we may instead expose more of his drug dealings. More time
is needed to sieve through the data. Our IT techs have begun breaking
codes to access password-protected computer data."
Setsuna took back control of the meeting. "We have a female
suspect. No one knows what she looks like. We assume that she was
invited by him to have a rendezvous. He didn't succeed, or he died
before he could. What is the motive?"
"Personal vengeance." Shinji replied. "The multiple wounds
indicate a deep hatred for Chiba."
"This can also be a case of fighting for turf. Who stands to gain
the most from his death?" Haruka interrupted. "Yaten Kou and Taiki Kou.
Just two days ago, the Yaten gang and Chiba gang clashed, leading to
multiple deaths and injuries. We cannot cross them out, either."
There were murmurs in the room. Each arguing for what they felt
was right. As the discussion seemed to go out of hand, Setsuna called
for attention. "All these are possible leads. Three teams will be
formed. Shinji, you are to lead the investigations on personal attacks.
Haruka, you are on Yaten. Keiko, you start on Taiki. All three of you
are free to choose your team and are to report to me directly."
As the meeting came to an end, Haruka felt her mind racing. How
was she going to start her investigations? It would be a dangerous task
and a wrong move could cost her the lives of her teammates. So immersed
she was in her thoughts that she didn't realise deep blue eyes watching
her back intently.
************
Music played softly in the background. An un-named singer blended
her voice to the lovely tune that Haruka couldn't put a name to. Her
companion was breathtakingly beautiful. Not surprising, considering this
was Michiru, with her sharp cheekbones, deep eyelashes and her glorious
crown of hair.
What was amazing was that she managed to achieve all that in half
an hour's time; picking the clothes for herself and Haruka, the priming,
so that they would not look out of place in this top notch restaurant.
Dinner was ordered with the help of Michiru, since Haruka didn't
understand a word of French. She had grudging began to admit that
Michiru did have some flair that she could need.
What happened after that was a blur, since they kept their eyes on
Yaten as inconspicuously as they could. Back up was ready just in case
anything should happened, not that they were many, just two aides, Naru
and Umino completing the Tenoh team. Both of them were presently in a
van, waiting to be called into action. It was the only course of action
that her team had thought out through their brainstorming session -- to
trail Yaten in the hopes that the female suspect would contact him.
Luck was not on their side. After three days, they still had
nothing. On the other hand, Haruka was slowly getting used to Michiru's
presence. It was a good thing that Michiru seemed to understand her need
of space and had proved herself useful in certain situations.
But, could she trust her?
"Haruka, you are drawing attention to yourself." Michiru intoned.
As emphasis, she drew her hand to cover the blonde's.
The touch was enough to wake her to mindfulness. Belatedly, she
realised that a few henchmen of Yaten's were looking her way. Stifling a
curse, she pretended to engage in a lover's banter with Michiru.
"Have I blown it?" Haruka asked, as Michiru risked a glance and
replied in negative.
"I'm sorry." The words didn't match the smile that she was
displaying. But Michiru understood and accepted Haruka's apologies.
"I guess we better reprise the roles of lovers." Michiru said, in
between sips of wine. In response, Haruka regained her hold on Michiru's
hand on the table and looked at Michiru affectionately.
"I suppose."
Michiru had to admit that Haurka looked rather fetching in the
suit that she was wearing. This was not to say that Haruka's normal
attire of jeans and T-shirt looked bad on her. It just made her look at
the blonde in a different light.
"How do you know French?" Haruka asked, just to disperse the
silence between them.
"My mother was a lover of French cuisine. So, I picked up quite a
few words. But no, I don't really know French."
"For a moment, I thought you were Ms Know-It-All."
"It seems that the arrogant Sergeant Tenoh can be wrong
sometimes."
"Most people would get into trouble for the comment that you'd
just passed."
"But, I'm not?"
Haruka looked deeply into the eyes before her and replied somewhat
huskily, "No, you're not."
Michiru liked this Haruka before her, so different from hours ago
when she was gruff and slightly desperate at the futility of their
actions. Probably it was the couple of drinks that they had, but Michiru
felt that she could get comfortable with Haruka.
"He's standing up." The romantic mood was dispelled by Haruka's
comment. Michiru turned slightly to the table where Yaten was
entertaining his business associates. She was in time to see him
grabbing a woman, a socialite she supposed, to the dance floor.
"Shall we?" Haruka stood up, her hand extended to which Michiru
accepted with no objections. They made their way to the crowded area
where couples gyrated to the soft music.
They were the envy of people that surrounded them. A couple so
strikingly beautiful that would not be tossed to the background. Every
move that they made was in tandem with each other.
"You're pretty good." Haruka commented, out of the blue, her eyes
never leaving Yaten's back.
"So are you." Michiru was genuinely beginning to enjoy the
evening. More so, if they didn't have the added task of spying on a
certain somebody.
"He's looking our way," whispered Haruka as she pulled Michiru
closer to her.
On her part, Michiru leaned her head on Haruka's shoulder, acting
the loving couple that they were. It felt strangely warm when she was so
close to the blonde. But the feelings were subdued quickly when she
noticed that Yaten was walking towards them.
Every danger instinct she had was screaming at her. Even Haruka's
tightening hold on her could do little.
It was this exact moment when Yaten made a stop before them,
breaking their hold.
"I'm Yaten Kou, president of the Yaten Group, may I have the
pleasure of having the next dance with you?" He didn't wait for her
answer as he pulled her away from her partner. Haruka started to protest
but found herself cornered by uniformly suited men.
Just as the blonde's mind was racing, she caught her partner's
pleading eyes that told her not to voice any objection.
Begrudging, Haruka silently watched as her partner began laughing
and flirting with the devil himself.
************
The wait was horrendous. Between spying and worrying, they had
managed to slip a set of mic and earpiece into Michiru's possession
during a trip to the ladies. Naru had performed the task unerringly, to
the relief of Haruka's already fidgety nerves.
With the communication kit on, they could now hear what was
happening in the pub Yaten and Michiru were in now. It wasn't much,
given how noisy the background was, but at the very least, if Michiru
yelled for help, they would be able to hear it.
Plans were promptly formed in the surveillance van that they
parked across the street from the pub. It didn't take a genius to know
what Michiru intended to do but it had taken all of Haruka's will not to
curse her new partner for taking matters into her own hands.
From what little that they knew, Yaten was treating Michiru to
quite a lot of wine, his intentions loud and clear to Haruka's panicking
mind. Through the many drinks, it was a wonder that Michiru managed to
hold on for so long.
Alarmed, Haruka sent Umino and Naru into the pub, leaving herself
alone in the van. Through their reports and a tiny camera that Umino
carried, Haruka had a pretty good view of what was happening inside.
What she saw was a sore to the eye. Yaten was becoming bolder in
his attempts to 'molest' Michiru. First, a touch on the hands, then the
shoulder. Haruka was getting increasing worried that Michiru could not
handle the man. It also wasn't reassuring to hear some amount of
tipsiness in Michiru's voice to dissuade the man.
Just as she was about to go in and yank Michiru off his grasp,
Michiru made the first move to leave the place. He offered to send her
home, his home. She declined politely and asked to meet him again the
next day. That seemed to calm his libido but he still stuck on to her,
offering a ride to her home.
Having prepared for this, Haruka yelled her instruction to
Michiru, detailing the place where her home would be. Naru and Umino
quickly paid for their purchases and joined Haruka in the van. They
began to trail the limousine which Yaten and Michiru got into.
They arrived at the entrance of a high rise apartment, where
Michiru made her exit. Yaten wanted to follow but Michiru stopped him
with a smile that promised his greatest desire if he would listen to
her. Miraculously, it worked and she was rewarded with the rev of engine
pulling away.
Haruka jumped out of the van, leaving the task of following Yaten
to Umino and Naru. She quickly made her way to Michiru, catching the
flushed girl who lost her balance as she neared.
"I'm sorry," Michiru started, knowing the reproach would be
coming. She hung onto Haruka, not trusting her legs anymore. It was a
surprise that she held on for so long.
Seeing that state that Michiru was in, Haruka lost her resolve to
scream at the young girl. "You have worried everyone with the stunt that
you'd just pulled."
Michiru apologised again, in gibberish language. Shaking her head,
Haruka felt the mental weight in her heart dropped. Gathering her in her
arms with strength that she didn't know she possessed, she slowly made
her way to the apartment that they got for her partner.
************************
A terrible headache had assaulted her numb mind the first moment
Michiru opened her eyes, reminding her not so gently of what had
trespassed the night before.
The light shinning from the bedroom's window was not doing
anything good for her moods. Sensing that she was not ready for the
glaring daylight, she promptly closed her eyes again, lying dejectedly
on the bed and willing the pain to go away. If she had bothered to look
around, she would have noticed that she was in an unfamiliar room.
But nothing mattered now, except for the constant ache in the
head. Hence, it was cool relief when she felt two strong hands joining
hers in rubbing her temples. Her hands fell away almost immediately
enjoying what this person was doing to her.
Instinctively, she felt no threat from the newcomer and had not
bothered to open her eyes.
"This is what you get for taking things into your own hands." A
deep voice intoned, one that Michiru had slowly grown to recognise. She
opened her dark blue eyes and was met with a set of intense greens.
Despite the words being said, Michiru felt that she was already
forgiven.
As if sensing the somewhat intimate position they were in, Haruka
pulled away. She handed a couple of aspirins to the grateful girl who
washed them down with a glass of water that Haruka had considerately
brought in too.
Watching the girl, Haruka wondered what had possessed her to be so
gentle to the girl. If word went around about this, her reputation would
be irreparable.
"Thanks!" Michiru began, slowly taking in the surroundings from
her seated position on the bed. The room was like any other rooms with
walls painted white, a study desk near the window, a cupboard situated
not too far from the desk, and a vanity. As her eyes returned to rest on
Haruka, who was sitting on a chair in an expression that was unreadable,
Michiru began to recall more of the previous night and remembered how
safe she felt in the blonde's arms.
"I hope I wasn't too much of a bother last night." Michiru asked,
apologetic.
"Nothing much," the blonde began, then in a straight face, "You
just managed to vomit all over our rented suits."
A blush appeared on Michiru's face and turned a deeper red as she
realised that she was in a different set of clothes that she remembered
wearing. And this meant that someone had changed her clothes for her.
Sensing what was on her partner's mind, Haruka said, "don't worry,
I didn't look more than necessary."
"Are you sure?" It was weird that she was having so much
reservation about this. Haruka was a woman too, even though her
appearances said otherwise.
"What do you think I am, a pervert?"
Seeing Haruka so worked up, Michiru dispelled her doubts but
couldn't stop an evil thought from surfacing. "No, but I think I am
attractive enough to convert you into one."
"So, shall I tear off your clothes to take a better look?" Haruka
challenged, feeling oddly up to the teasing.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Antagonise me like that again and see if I would."
Michiru felt her spirits lifted with their light banter. Haruka
had not admonished her, like she had feared. Behind the façade of
coldness, she was sure that a warm heart existed. And then, it struck.
One way to 'open' up Haruka was to tease her.
"I've made breakfast. Go freshen up and join me at the table."
It sounded more like a command but Michiru reacted with surprise,
rightfully so. "You cook?"
"I won't poison you. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done
that last night." There was a small smile to Haruka's lips as she spoke.
It was hard not to learn how to cook, considering she lived in solitude
most of her life.
She was an orphan and had grown up in an orphanage that was more a
roof over her head than a home. Her pride had rendered her to become a
loner. Only few had a glimpse of who the true Tenoh Haruka was, but they
were mostly dead.
"Well then, I better get ready for the feast."
"And the talk." Haruka added before Michiru had a chance to leave.
"What talk?"
"Of how we are getting you more acquainted with a certain white
hair guy."
Somehow, Michiru felt that Haruka was grinning too much for her
own good.
*************************
"Hey, you are the one who wanted to get close to the guy." Haruka
smoothly added. Her calm exterior was annoying her partner and it was
apparent to both that she loved every minute of it.
"Is this some sort of revenge?!" Michiru gathered from across the
breakfast table. Their meal was quickly devoured, a testament to how
hungry they were. Their discussion on the direction of the case was
slowly becoming ludicrous, with the latest mention that Michiru should
put up a lap dance to garner Yaten's trust.
"Me?" The innocent look that Haruka was going for failed miserably
in Michiru's eyes. But the blonde continued her charade. "Why would I
want to seek revenge on you?"
"Do you know that I don't believe in that a single bit." There was
a great urge to wipe that smile off the blonde's face. It was
infuriating to say the least.
"If you do not like my ideas, what do you suggest?"
"Well, although I agree that I need to get closer to Yaten, I'm
not sacrificing my body." She didn't understand why her look of despair
was bringing loads of laughter out from Haruka. In seconds, she was
poking at Haruka to stop.
"Okay, I understand." Haruka said, slowly regaining her calm, "I
promise it will never come to that."
Even though there was a mischievous sparkle in Haruka's eyes,
Michiru found herself believing in the blonde.
Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Naru and Umino
who had come to report to Haruka. Their short recount was uneventful but
necessary.
"Wait a minute, if both of you are here, who is watching Yaten?"
Michiru asked, slightly alarmed.
"I've asked for back up. Kei and Jun would be on the case, since
you have messed up big time. They are at his tail right now." Haruka
noticed the nod from Naru before eyeing at Michiru meaningfully. "And if
Setsuna ever got to carrying out her threat for waking her in the middle
of the night, I will be hunting for you."
"What did she say?" It was the question on all their minds, except
it was Michiru who voiced out.
"Nothing." Haruka stubbornly refused to say. But she did get
goosebumps for thinking about it. Introducing her to the more feminine
aspects of life, what was Setsuna thinking?
*************************
So Michiru had a boyfriend.
She wondered why the thought had bothered her. In fact it had
pestered her to no end, the scene of Michiru speaking over the phone
with her loverboy kept playing in her head. "Darling, I'm on a case
right now. Will be uncontactable for days. Don't worry, I'll take care
of myself."
Baka. Haruka mentally scolded herself. Shaking herself out of her
reverie, she refocused herself on the task on hand. Lives depended on
her, especially the green haired one.
Michiru had outdone herself again. With the whole afternoon to
prepare for her date with the druglord, Michiru had primed, powdered and
dressed to become the beautiful creature that she was now seeing through
the windows of her stakeout van.
She was parked across the street from the restaurant where her
partner was in. Her monitoring devices were on, each recording the
happenings in the restaurant at this exact moment.
"You own this restaurant?" Michiru feigned surprise as Yaten
laughed heartily. "Yes. I do own quite a lot of things and not limited
to inanimate objects." The druglord replied meaningfully.
The secret agent deliberately ignored the innuendo and spoke
again, "so that's why we are the only guests here."
"Don't you like it this way?"
The girl smiled uncommittingly. Her glance swept across the room.
She had counted four bodyguards that were littered around the
restaurant. Her little investigation was disrupted when Yaten stood up
and laid a hand in front of her.
Soft music began at once, and Michiru found herself accepting the
silent dance request and moved to the rhythm, along with her 'date'.
Yaten was a surprisingly good dancer, and that was the only good comment
she could come up with about him.
"Say, why don't we go back to your apartment after dinner?"
Faced with his lecherous grin, Michiru tried to hide her disgust
and replied sweetly, "It's not convenient. My roommate is in today."
"Then, a hotel it is."
"Woah, hold it right there." Michiru pushed him away purposefully.
"Do you think I'm that sort of girl?"
Yaten laughed in amusement. Michiru was different; he felt that
the moment he laid eyes on her. He would be enjoying the chase very
much.
**********************
"So, everything is fine?"
There was this look in Setsuna's eyes that forced her to look
away. Her body was rigid and tensed as opposed to the other sitting in
her big comfy chair in the small office.
She had learnt long ago that it was useless to hide anything from
her superior. "We have made no progress in this investigation against
Yaten. And I'm worried; Yaten is getting more persistent. I'm not too
sure how long Michiru can hold him off."
Tenoh Haruka admitting defeat, this was something new to her,
startling even. "If it becomes too dangerous, we can pull your team out
and drop another team in."
"No." Haruka intoned sharply. "We can't do this, not after what we
have done to come so far."
"So what are you going to do next?"
"We are considering infiltrating into Yaten's office."
"Haruka." With that one word, disagreement and worry were clearly
conveyed. "Do not act in desperation."
"I don't."
Setsuna sighed as she looked into the steely gaze of the blonde.
"You know that your decision will endanger your teammates. And I don't
think you can survive another case of dead partner."
"I know that."
The edge in her voice was unmistakable and Setsuna surrendered.
"If you need more backup, let me know."
*********************
"Maybe we are looking at the wrong angle. Maybe Yaten is not the
mastermind behind the killing." Haruka said softly from her position on
the ledge of the window. The view up there was beautiful but she could
not find it in her heart to enjoy it.
Michiru stopped towelling her hair and looked at Haruka. The
sunset was casting its orange rays across the sky. With Haruka sitting
against the backdrop, the scene was almost surreal.
They were in her room, in the house that belonged to the police
force. It was in this room that they had the heated discussion to sneak
into Yaten's office.
"We have arrived at the decision together. It was the logical next
step to do." Still fresh from her bath, Michiru fitted in her robes,
walked the few steps towards Haruka. "You can't have second thoughts
now."
"But."
"No buts. All our other surveillance has failed. By getting into
his office, that is the best chance I can get any incriminating evidence
on him." Michiru hardened. When Haruka didn't respond, she continued
softly, "I need this to end, I can't take it anymore. I don't want to
feel his hands on me, his lecherous gazes, I..."
Her tirade was stopped when she felt the soft embrace from her
partner. It was warm and calming, not possessive or violating. She felt
herself leaning into the hug, genuinely enjoying the security that the
taut body offered her.
"I'm sorry you have to go through that. But it ends today." Haruka
softly coaxed, "whether we succeed or not."
Michiru looked up and could see the concern flooding in her
partner's eyes. There was no way she could object to that. With a smile,
she pulled away, as if realising for the first time how intimate the
position they were in. The sensation of loss was great but it was
overshadowed by the awkwardness that followed.
Then, to dispel the tensed atmosphere, "Shoo, I need to get
changed," Michiru added. The blonde obliged willingly and left almost in
an instant. Once she was gone, Michiru was left to ponder about the
blush that had formed on Haruka's face just moments ago.
*********************
Dressed in a low cut navy gown, Michiru did her fair share of
making heads turn. Given that, there would be many men wanting to
introduce themselves to her, if not for the company she was currently
having.
Yaten and herself were presently at a pub situated at the highest
floor of the Yaten building. And just one level below them was the
office that Yaten operated his operations from. He was surprised when
she voiced her desire to come to this pub but thankfully said nothing
else.
In a far corner of the room where they were seated, Michiru raised
her cup to meet Yaten's and promptly sipped the contents to quell her
nerves from acting up.
Tonight was the night when everything would ended. Running through
the plan in her mind again, she faked a smile to mask her hidden
intentions from her companion.
Michiru had earlier surprised Yaten with a visit to his office.
She had noticed his discomfort at her presence and he had almost chased
her away. She did however notice a couple of things, him shutting down
his computer at her barging into his office and a safe kept close to his
desk -- the model of which she memorised in her heart. He was almost
angry at her but with her charms turned on, he couldn't stay like that
for long.
Her mission for today was to steal his keys for his office and
safe, pass them to a waiting Umino, and distract Yaten while his office
was being ransacked. And to complete the first part of the mission, she
invited him to a dance.
Her hands brushed against his body to feel the budge of keys. He
was enjoying the act too much, to her disgust, to be aware of her true
intentions. She found it in his pants pocket and suppressed a shudder.
To her chagrin, Yaten was beginning to return the favour by
running his hands on her. She pushed him away coyly and headed back to
their secluded seat meaningfully. He followed her like a puppy dog on a
leash. The moment he sat down, he found his pant's leg drenched with
beer.
"I'm so sorry, sir." The obviously new waiter was panicking as he
tried to wipe the foul stain away. His actions were thwarted when he was
pushed away and fell onto the hard floor.
He apologised fervourishly but hardly dampened the anger that the
white haired man held for him. Michiru was slightly taken aback by the
sudden turn of events. She did her best to try to calm down Yaten while
she strained to remember all the details that were transmitted via her
hidden earpiece.
"Why don't you change your pants?" Michiru asked sweetly.
Yaten nodded, "I'll be in my office."
"I'll wait here for you." Michiru responded just as sweetly.
Before he left, he remembered to give his death glare to the young
waiter whom Michiru knew as Umino.
**********************
Yaten's cell phone rang before he reached his office. He answered
it and was met with a voice muffled by voice changing device.
"A hacker has just hacked into your computer. All your files have
been transferred to me. If you want them back, be prepared to pay a
hundred million yen."
At that, the phone line was disconnected. With disbelief in his
face, Yaten rushed into his office and turned on his computer, stained
pants forgotten.
**********************
"Where did boss go?" One of Yaten's henchmen asked.
"Oh, don't worry. He said he was going back to the office for a
while." Michiru answered with a killer smile and then continued, "it's
supposed to be a private thing and he has given specific instructions
that no one is to bother him."
Then, she batted her eyelids at him and asked, "would you be so
kind to bring me another one of this?" She charmed, holding an empty
glass.
***********************
"Damn! He's bluffing." Yaten cursed in relief as he scrolled
through the computer screen, calling up his most important trade data
and assuring himself that nothing was deleted.
But before he could celebrate, he felt a sharp pain at his neck
and darkness overtook him.
With the door slightly ajar, Umino was in time to see Haruka
dropping noiselessly from the air-con vent, landing conveniently behind
Yaten and delivering a karate chop. When Yaten was unconscious, he
quickly entered the office and locked the door behind him. "Wow. That
was something you only get to see in movies." Umino exclaimed as his
respect for Haruka grew a few notches more.
"Learnt from the best." Haruka responded, rather pleased with
herself. But this wasn't the time for self-congratulation. "Come on, we
don't have much time."
Umino moved swiftly. He searched through Yaten's pants pocket and
fished out a set of keys. Then he began to try the keys on the safe.
Once he found the right one, he pressed his ears against the safe and
listened to the 'pulse' of the safe, as he called it, to identify the
correct set of combinations for the lock.
Haruka was not idle either. She put a disk into the computer and
tried to download the drug dealing information onto it. It took her some
time to figure out how to use the system but once it was downloading,
she turned her attention to Yaten. Grabbing a rope that was tied behind
her back, she used it to restrain Yaten to his chair. As a final touch,
she placed a rag into his mouth to prevent him from shouting.
That done, she returned to the computer and began scanning through
some of the other files that Yaten had. There was a directory of agents,
scheduled tasks, and financial reports -- things that she were eager to
save into the disks that she had, only fearing that she did not have the
luxury of time.
**********************
Michiru was doing her best to stall Yaten's bodyguards. It was
apparent that after twenty minutes, they were not listening to her
anymore.
"I'm bored here. Why don't you all danced with me?" Michiru acted
tipsily, pretending to fall over a young man.
**********************
"Yes, I've got it." Umino could hardly hide his euphoria of
getting the safe to open. Inside he could see documents, cash, and even
guns.
Before he could do more, both Haruka and himself could clearly
hear the warning that Naru provided them. "Quick! His men are coming."
The two officers hastened their retrieval process.
Naru had stationed herself at the surveillance van and was
responsible for relaying information. And where the need arose, she
along with Kei and Jun will form their backup. The latter two officers
were already in the building on standby. From their reports, they were
following the four bodyguards to the office, and Michiru was not far
behind.
Umino quickly shoved the documents in the safe into a bag.
"His men are on your level."
Haruka gathered her disks and threw them into her bag.
"They entered the reception area. Quick!"
Umino tried to pull Haruka away from the computer that was still
downloading agents' information into a floppy disk.
"Get out now!"
Haruka pulled the disk out of the drive, disregarding the fact
that the download was incomplete. Dumping it into her bag, she joined
Umino in climbing up into the air-con vent. She barely made it up when
the door was knocked open and the four bodyguards emerged.
Umino quietly placed the metal frame back into position and they
crawled just as quietly out of the almost battleground. When they were
far away from being heard, Haruka reported their status to a relieved
Naru.
It turned out that when the others did not hear any sounds of
gunshot and fighting, they quickly returned to the van, ready for the
take off. Haruka and Umino joined them later, and the van was making its
way to the headquarters, unobstructed.
Author's notes:
I hope you have enjoyed this new fanfic that I've written, especially
those who have waited for me to complete this for so long. I would
appreciate any comments you have to help me improve on this fic.
Again, many thanks to my pre-readers, Cass & Albrecht Halbstein, who
spotted my numerous grammar and spelling mistakes.
Thanks for reading.
GSL
12 September 2001
own Sailormoon but I'll like to own Haruka & Michiru. ^_^
Warning: This fanfic is set in an alternate universe. All characters
will retain their names but some of the characters will be manipulated
such that they do not resemble their namesakes in the BSSM series.
C&Cs are much appreciated.
DESTINED
Part 1
By GSL
"He's running away!" A voice shouted.
"Damn!" Curses of similar vintage were made in response to the
shout. The usual rowdy crowd on the street took it all in their stride,
as things that common suburban folk would find shocking were ordinary
fare here.
Dividing a crowd was a man dressed in form fitting shirt and
pants, pushing his way and shoving unlucky passer-by aside when they
became an obstruction to his flight.
He was far from being alone. Two persons emerged from an
ubiquitous car parked in the side alley and gave chase. Another two,
dressed as hawkers, left their wares unattended and joined the chase.
It was a moonless night. The street lamps barely illuminated the
roads as the chase took place. The cool evening air was doing its best
to bring people out from homes, lending themselves into the crowded
streets.
"Damn!" A curse escaped, out of frustration. The prey was slowly
losing himself in the sea of crowd. It wasn't supposed to happen like
this, but when did life follow men's plans?
She wanted him badly, if only for her respected colleague still
recovering from a gun injury. If there was one thing she hated most, it
was to lose to this bastard in a chase.
"He's turning into Sakura Lane," came the sweet reply to her
unspoken question, via her hidden earpiece. She took off in the
direction, barely noticing if the young lad assigned to her was keeping
up.
It was a known fact that she bore a personal vengeance against
drug dealers, but nobody knew why. An informant had told them the
information that they needed. They were there at the right time with the
right equipment. Just as they got the evidence that they needed, the
suspect seemed to have noticed them and flew like a professional
sprinter.
Threading past the crowd seemed to be a tricky task, but for one
as experienced as her, she did not falter for a second, as did her
'partner'. A temporary one, she reminded herself, until Sergeant Shinji
reported for duty from his bedrest and claim back his rookie. She
congratulated herself that the fateful day would be only a couple of
hours from now.
It wasn't too soon before she was shouting at the suspect to stop
running. Of course, it didn't work. The least it did was to inform him
that she was a police officer, which in turn made the suspect run
faster.
Sakura Lane was said to be haunted. For what reason, she couldn't
remember but most people tried to avoid this place, even though it
presented the nearest shortcut to the subway. In a moment of clarity,
she realised that the suspect was trying for the subway. It was a
logical choice since traffic jams were a permanent feature for Tokyo
streets.
She knew she had him when her two colleagues showed up at the
other end of the deserted backlane. There was nowhere he could run
without crossing their paths. He chose to challenge her, being a single
officer as compared to two.
It was a big mistake, for, within a minute, he was down onto the
ground and handcuffed. There was little satisfaction in the arrest,
given the fact that the drug dealing gang he belonged to would still be
around.
"Officer Tenoh."
The blonde turned and faced her chief. Setsuna Meioh, she was an
effigy of intelligence and beauty. They had got along fine, so to speak,
never crossing the lines that they knew existed. There weren't many
people that earned her respect; Setsuna was one of the rare few. Even
so, with her obstinate character, there were moments of disagreement
and, from the tone of Setsuna's voice, she knew one was coming.
Young Keisuke had finally arrived at the scene, out of breath. She
had left him to fend for his own again. Well, she'd caught the guy,
didn't that mean anything?
"While I would commend your efforts, please do not act
singularly."
Apparently not. Tenoh Haruka shrugged in response. "It's not my
fault that he can't keep up." The exasperated look on her chief's face
was something that she had grown used to.
Haruka had nothing against Keisuke. She just didn't want to be
confined by a partner. It was a fact made known to Setsuna, yet it
didn't stop her from pairing her up with other people.
"May I remind you that your actual partner would be arriving
tomorrow. And you better be in. Understand?"
"Whatever."
This was just another day.
**********
"Good morning, Inspector Meioh." The tall woman greeted, suitably
dressed in pants and shirt. Upon entering the office, she couldn't help
noticing the wide array of books that lined the shelves, speaking so
much about the woman before her.
"It's nice to formally meet you. You were highly spoken of by your
superiors at Osaka."
From that tone her new superior used, she could gather that
Inspector Meioh was a polite and confident person. She too would have to
keep up with the standards. "And I've heard many incredible stories
about you."
Meanwhile, outside the office ...
"Haruka, where are you? The chief is asking."
"Hotaru-chan, is that the way to greet me? Not even a hello?"
Hotaru blushed. "But you know..."
"I'm on a case right now. Be in later." With that, the telephone
was disconnected.
***********
"Chief," Hotaru interrupted the two women guiltily as she entered
Setsuna's office. The hesitance in her voice could not be missed,
"Haruka would be in later."
There was a look of resignation on Setsuna's face.
"It's okay," the teal haired newcomer began, "I've made inquires
on that partner that I'll be working with. And this seems to be her
S.O.P."
Hotaru couldn't suppress her smile. Imagine telling Haruka that
her uncooperativeness was her standard operating procedure. It was a
good thing that she was in the blonde's good books. Some even say that
she might get away with anything that ruffled Haruka's feathers.
"Let's start the introductions. Sergeant Kaioh, meet Corporal
Tomoe Hotaru, our research specialist. If you want to find out about
anything or anyone, go to her."
"Call me Michiru." The sweet smile on her face was enough to
warrant anyone to like her.
"And Hotaru, meet Kaioh Michiru. She will be Haruka's partner.
Since she is not around, can you please take her around the station?"
*************
In a forgotten place, long time ago, there used to live a family -
- A father who was gainfully employed, a mother who painstakingly looked
after the whole household and a delightful daughter whom everyone doted.
It was the perfect family, loving parents, intelligent and filial
daughter, a lifestyle that was above average.
But then again, good things never last.
"Michiru?"
Lost in a world of her own, the girl blushed in having been caught
inattentive. "I'm sorry. You were saying?"
"Are you feeling unwell?"
She smiled sweetly, shaking her head slightly. Her companion still
bore a mask of worry and her heart swelled at the thought. Ten years ago
when they were still little kids, she could remember a time when nobody
would play with her, he did. His mischievous eyes, marring his innocent
little face, had always shine with concern for her and his hands were
always there to wipe away her tears. Even after all these years, these
things had not changed.
"I was just thinking of something." As if for reassurance, she
laid her hand over his.
Seiya sensed that this was one of Michiru's melancholy moods and
did not probe further. "How was your first day of work?" He asked,
deciding to change the topic, but was met with a sigh by the girl whom
he could still picture as a twelve-year-old, crying in the park alone.
"My partner didn't show up." She confided.
"That bad?"
"I...," Before she could continue, their conversation was broken
by a shrill of a telephone. Apologising, Michiru answered the phone.
Having been left on his devices, Seiya idly looked around the
restaurant. This was one of the better ones in the city and chances
were, he might meet some of his business associates. He chuckled at the
thought. Whoever would have guessed that he became a businessman. Some
have thought that he would become a pop idol, given his singing
abilities, and he smiled in remembrance of Michiru's shocked expression
when he told her his decision.
They had gone through a lot since they met. The initial years were
a nightmare, at least for Michiru. The sudden death of her parents
reduced her to an orphan. He could never forget seeing her for the first
time, a twelve-year-old crying under a huge oak tree, a scene so
compelling that he promised in his heart that he would protect her
forever.
"I'm sorry, I have to go." Michiru interrupted his thoughts.
"Now?"
She could detect some amount of exasperation in his voice. "You
know how it goes."
With resignation on his face, he accepted her chaste kiss on the
cheek and watched her exit the restaurant. As he did so, he couldn't
help thinking that she was hardly the same girl he met those ten years
ago.
*************
"This is a dream come true." Haruka smiled widely at the scene
before her.
"This isn't right, you know that." Hotaru chipped in, although she
could barely keep a solemn face.
"No way, I'm going to enjoy this as much as I can."
"Not if I have anything to say." Setsuna chastised, seemingly
appearing out of nowhere.
The forensic officers hurried around as the detectives stayed out
of their way. Not one inch of the hotel room was left unexamined. In the
middle was a king-sized bed, its white sheets were dyed brownish-red.
The source was a naked lifeless body that lay on it.
Chiba Mamoru, one of the three forces that controlled drug
circulation in Tokyo, was found dead. It was a gruesome sight, to say
the least, but the officers just went on with their work professionally.
For Haruka, it was the sweetest sight. She had always wanted to
arrest him for his crimes and misdeeds but had always been lacking in
evidence. Now that he was dead, she felt as though the world had become
a better place to live in.
"Sorry I'm late."
At the tune of the voice, Haruka turned to finally see her
partner. Sergeant Kaioh Michiru, as she was told, a nice lady. She took
a glance and was met with deep blue eyes. The new gal was tall, although
not as tall as she was, and beautiful, with a long dress that clung
snugly to her body, revealing alluring shapes. Her brows deepened.
A dress and a crime scene definitely did not mix.
Setsuna took the opportunity to formally introduce the partners.
Michiru having finally coming face to face with the person she would be
working with, was slowing evaluating the blonde. While it was true that
she heard stories about her elusive partner, she could not prepare
herself for their first meeting.
She knew that Tenoh Haruka was female but the jeans and pullover
hardly revealed that fact. She looked strong, commanding. What affected
her most was her partner's piercing eyes which seemed to spear deep into
her soul.
And then it was gone. The unwavering eyes left her and she could
detect a slight disapproval on Haruka's part. Michiru hastened to
explain her lateness, "I was on the other part of the town. I came here
as fast as I could and didn't have time to change."
"It's okay. In fact, you were just on time. The pathologist and
her assistant had just arrived." Setsuna added.
Hotaru took this as her cue to leave and went on to perform her
share of tasks.
The forensic team began packing up as the newly formed partners
and Setsuna followed the pathologist towards the body. Haruka was still
silently observing her partner. If she were to vomit at the sight of the
corpse, she would definitely cajole Setsuna to change the pairing. The
last thing she needed was to babysit a lady.
And it seemed that Michiru had passed the test. Haruka sighed and
began to pay full attention to the preliminary examination. Mizuno Ami
was one of the best pathologists that the coroner's office had. Haruka
could never guess how such a meek person like Ami could do her job so
well.
"I'm sorry. Do you know the person? You seemed to hesitate for a
moment." Michiru interrupted.
"No. No." Ami quickly added. There was a far away look on her
eyes. "I find him quite familiar but I don't know him."
"Maybe you had seen him from the newspapers. He was the president
of the Chiba Corporation." Setsuna reasoned.
"And a notorious leader of Chiba drug dealing society." Haruka
decided to add her few cents worth.
Ami nodded in comprehension. She began her work, steadfastly.
"Victim had multiple knife wounds. There were nine at his chest area.
One particularly deep that probably killed him immediately. No signs of
bruises."
"Wait a minute. He didn't put up a struggle?" Haruka quickly
asked.
"Doesn't seem like it." Ami answered.
"Intoxication?" Michiru suggested.
"We'll do the tests. The formal report will be out in three day's
time." With that, Ami began to leave.
Setsuna quickly called for attention. "Shinji and Keisuke have
gone around interviewing the staff. Keiko and Tetsu, the guests. I have
asked Hotaru to review the security tapes. The two of you," Setsuna
said, indicating Haruka and Michiru, "are to make a formal visit to
Chiba's residence. Bring a couple of men along."
*************
The ride to the residence was somewhat interesting. Michiru should
have known something was wrong when none of the officers were willing to
take a ride in Haruka's sedan. It took all of her control and her hold
onto the dashboard to abstain from screaming out.
Some of the moves that Haruka made were purely suicidal. Yet she
was able to pull it off with finesse. In fact, Michiru could see that
the blonde thrived on speed. That was another thing that she could add
to Haruka's personal records.
Michiru didn't make any conversation to get to know her partner
better, not when her heart threatened to jump out. But she did notice a
couple of things about her partner.
Tenoh Haruka was a walled-up person, so to speak. Her eyes were
predatory and determined, signalling her distrust in people. Her gruff
exterior also meant that Michiru would have a hard time getting close
enough to work effectively as a team.
As of now, she could already feel the ill vibes coming from
Haruka. On second thought, this ride could be considered as Haruka's
call of challenge.
It couldn't be sooner before they arrived at the mansion, a good
fifteen minutes before the rest would arrive. While taking a breather
outside the car, Michiru noticed Haruka making her way towards the gate.
"Shouldn't we wait?" shouted Michiru.
Haruka took one glance at her and shook her head resignedly.
Tracing her steps back to Michiru, she spoke to her for the first time,
"It figures that chief would get someone who cares nothing but proper
procedures to check on me."
"Don't you think it is unfair to sum up things like that on me?"
It wasn't a question that Michiru was raising. Haruka etched her
eyebrow, getting the hint that the shorter girl was definitely no
pushover.
Haruka leaned onto the car, next to Michiru, and sighed.
"We should try to get along." Michiru stated. She turned and stuck
her hand out. "Kaioh Michiru. I'll put in my best efforts and will
appreciate any help that you would give me."
There was something about the smile that Haruka couldn't quite
understand. Before she knew it, she was shaking her partner's hand and a
tenuous truce was formed.
Soon, police patrol cars arrived at the scene. Officers left their
vehicles and gathered before Haruka. With a command, she led them
towards the house, with a search warrant in her hand.
************
It was a new day after a long night at the Chiba residence. It
wasn't often that they get a chance to visit a druglord's house and they
were using every opportunity they had to carry any material, book,
diskette, and computer back to the headquarters. In Haruka's opinion,
this was the sole reason she was there in the first place.
Sure, they met some obstructions in the form of Chiba's henchmen.
Michiru, to her surprise, had shown some smooth moves and the deal was
done. There were no hindrances after that, and Michiru left her alone to
do her own investigating or, as she put it, snooping around.
Now, in a room that was filled with people, Tenoh Haruka mostly
kept to herself. She wasn't one of idle chatter and people respected
that. Other than the few greetings, she was relatively left at peace to
ponder about the case and to think about what she would be saying in the
general meeting that Setsuna had called upon.
The file felt heavy on her hands. They always did. How pathetic it
was to measure one's life on a few pieces of paper clipped in a file.
Even if it belonged to one of the most notorious druglords, Haruka felt
uneasiness, but for a different reason.
How could she put herself into arresting someone who did good to
the society at large? What was the motive? Was there a sad story behind
the killing? She knew for a fact that many lives were shattered by
Chiba's actions.
She had the dream again. It always came at the most untimely
moment. Rubbing her temples, she tried to ignore her emerging feelings
as remnants of the dream continued to torture her.
"Haruka, are you sick?"
The uncertainty in the other's voice brought a smile to her lips.
She shook her head and gazed warmly at Hotaru. How the girl managed to
position herself in that special place in Haruka's heart was beyond her.
Perhaps Hotaru's innocent approach to life made people want to protect
her and Haruka was not immune to that.
"Are you sure?" The younger girl asked again.
"I almost wished that I were, so that you would pamper me." The
blonde teased, setting that question to dust. It came as a surprise when
Hotaru flirted back but Haruka managed to recover in time, to slip into
the role of a suave gentleman.
Their antics were not lost on Kaioh Michiru, presently surrounded
by a couple of her male colleagues. She maintained a polite conversation
with all of them, out of courtesy more than want.
As she tuned out expertly on the small talk around her, she
wondered how she was able to tackle her not-so-friendly partner. She
might have scored a little victory last night, but she knew now that she
was far from becoming friends with the blonde.
For a moment, she thought she caught Haruka's eye and blushed in
response to being caught watching her. She turned away immediately,
drawing attention to herself from the company that she was having.
She felt herself being watched by determined green eyes but
luckily the ordeal was cut short by Setsuna's entrance.
Everyone came to attention. The once noisy meeting room was turned
into a serious discussion area.
"We have the autopsy report. Chiba Mamoru, died of a knife wound
that reached his heart. He was killed instantly and nine other thrusts
damaged his lungs and spleen. The time of death is estimated to be
between 2300 hours to 2400 hours.
"There were no unusual bruises found on his body. There is some
level of alcoholic content in his blood but believed to be not enough to
warrant him unconscious."
The uproar was unmistakable.
"Yes, he didn't put up much of a struggle." Setsuna said, trying
to regain some sort of order.
"Perhaps he was asleep?" Michiru contributed.
Setsuna did not voice her opinion but continued, as the rest
seemed to chew on that idea. "There were no drugs, medicinal or
otherwise, found in his blood. No sexual activity. That is all from the
coroner's office." She paused and signalled Hotaru to begin.
"I have reviewed the security tapes. The most important discovery
was that a female was found to be with Chiba. They entered the hotel
room together at 2247 hours and she left calmly at 2352 hours. No others
were seen to have entered the room.
"The woman's face was hidden by the shawl. She was medium built
and was wearing a dark long evening dress." As Hotaru stopped her
recount, Sergeant Shinji began, "According to the hotel staff, the room
was permanently reserved for Chiba to entertain his guests. No one has
seen the female identified in the tapes."
"The same goes with the guests," interjected Corporal Keiko.
As all eyes turned to Haruka, she spoke, "We have thoroughly
searched the Chiba residence. We brought back many things -- computers,
diskettes, documents etc. Preliminary findings indicate nothing of the
killing, but we may instead expose more of his drug dealings. More time
is needed to sieve through the data. Our IT techs have begun breaking
codes to access password-protected computer data."
Setsuna took back control of the meeting. "We have a female
suspect. No one knows what she looks like. We assume that she was
invited by him to have a rendezvous. He didn't succeed, or he died
before he could. What is the motive?"
"Personal vengeance." Shinji replied. "The multiple wounds
indicate a deep hatred for Chiba."
"This can also be a case of fighting for turf. Who stands to gain
the most from his death?" Haruka interrupted. "Yaten Kou and Taiki Kou.
Just two days ago, the Yaten gang and Chiba gang clashed, leading to
multiple deaths and injuries. We cannot cross them out, either."
There were murmurs in the room. Each arguing for what they felt
was right. As the discussion seemed to go out of hand, Setsuna called
for attention. "All these are possible leads. Three teams will be
formed. Shinji, you are to lead the investigations on personal attacks.
Haruka, you are on Yaten. Keiko, you start on Taiki. All three of you
are free to choose your team and are to report to me directly."
As the meeting came to an end, Haruka felt her mind racing. How
was she going to start her investigations? It would be a dangerous task
and a wrong move could cost her the lives of her teammates. So immersed
she was in her thoughts that she didn't realise deep blue eyes watching
her back intently.
************
Music played softly in the background. An un-named singer blended
her voice to the lovely tune that Haruka couldn't put a name to. Her
companion was breathtakingly beautiful. Not surprising, considering this
was Michiru, with her sharp cheekbones, deep eyelashes and her glorious
crown of hair.
What was amazing was that she managed to achieve all that in half
an hour's time; picking the clothes for herself and Haruka, the priming,
so that they would not look out of place in this top notch restaurant.
Dinner was ordered with the help of Michiru, since Haruka didn't
understand a word of French. She had grudging began to admit that
Michiru did have some flair that she could need.
What happened after that was a blur, since they kept their eyes on
Yaten as inconspicuously as they could. Back up was ready just in case
anything should happened, not that they were many, just two aides, Naru
and Umino completing the Tenoh team. Both of them were presently in a
van, waiting to be called into action. It was the only course of action
that her team had thought out through their brainstorming session -- to
trail Yaten in the hopes that the female suspect would contact him.
Luck was not on their side. After three days, they still had
nothing. On the other hand, Haruka was slowly getting used to Michiru's
presence. It was a good thing that Michiru seemed to understand her need
of space and had proved herself useful in certain situations.
But, could she trust her?
"Haruka, you are drawing attention to yourself." Michiru intoned.
As emphasis, she drew her hand to cover the blonde's.
The touch was enough to wake her to mindfulness. Belatedly, she
realised that a few henchmen of Yaten's were looking her way. Stifling a
curse, she pretended to engage in a lover's banter with Michiru.
"Have I blown it?" Haruka asked, as Michiru risked a glance and
replied in negative.
"I'm sorry." The words didn't match the smile that she was
displaying. But Michiru understood and accepted Haruka's apologies.
"I guess we better reprise the roles of lovers." Michiru said, in
between sips of wine. In response, Haruka regained her hold on Michiru's
hand on the table and looked at Michiru affectionately.
"I suppose."
Michiru had to admit that Haurka looked rather fetching in the
suit that she was wearing. This was not to say that Haruka's normal
attire of jeans and T-shirt looked bad on her. It just made her look at
the blonde in a different light.
"How do you know French?" Haruka asked, just to disperse the
silence between them.
"My mother was a lover of French cuisine. So, I picked up quite a
few words. But no, I don't really know French."
"For a moment, I thought you were Ms Know-It-All."
"It seems that the arrogant Sergeant Tenoh can be wrong
sometimes."
"Most people would get into trouble for the comment that you'd
just passed."
"But, I'm not?"
Haruka looked deeply into the eyes before her and replied somewhat
huskily, "No, you're not."
Michiru liked this Haruka before her, so different from hours ago
when she was gruff and slightly desperate at the futility of their
actions. Probably it was the couple of drinks that they had, but Michiru
felt that she could get comfortable with Haruka.
"He's standing up." The romantic mood was dispelled by Haruka's
comment. Michiru turned slightly to the table where Yaten was
entertaining his business associates. She was in time to see him
grabbing a woman, a socialite she supposed, to the dance floor.
"Shall we?" Haruka stood up, her hand extended to which Michiru
accepted with no objections. They made their way to the crowded area
where couples gyrated to the soft music.
They were the envy of people that surrounded them. A couple so
strikingly beautiful that would not be tossed to the background. Every
move that they made was in tandem with each other.
"You're pretty good." Haruka commented, out of the blue, her eyes
never leaving Yaten's back.
"So are you." Michiru was genuinely beginning to enjoy the
evening. More so, if they didn't have the added task of spying on a
certain somebody.
"He's looking our way," whispered Haruka as she pulled Michiru
closer to her.
On her part, Michiru leaned her head on Haruka's shoulder, acting
the loving couple that they were. It felt strangely warm when she was so
close to the blonde. But the feelings were subdued quickly when she
noticed that Yaten was walking towards them.
Every danger instinct she had was screaming at her. Even Haruka's
tightening hold on her could do little.
It was this exact moment when Yaten made a stop before them,
breaking their hold.
"I'm Yaten Kou, president of the Yaten Group, may I have the
pleasure of having the next dance with you?" He didn't wait for her
answer as he pulled her away from her partner. Haruka started to protest
but found herself cornered by uniformly suited men.
Just as the blonde's mind was racing, she caught her partner's
pleading eyes that told her not to voice any objection.
Begrudging, Haruka silently watched as her partner began laughing
and flirting with the devil himself.
************
The wait was horrendous. Between spying and worrying, they had
managed to slip a set of mic and earpiece into Michiru's possession
during a trip to the ladies. Naru had performed the task unerringly, to
the relief of Haruka's already fidgety nerves.
With the communication kit on, they could now hear what was
happening in the pub Yaten and Michiru were in now. It wasn't much,
given how noisy the background was, but at the very least, if Michiru
yelled for help, they would be able to hear it.
Plans were promptly formed in the surveillance van that they
parked across the street from the pub. It didn't take a genius to know
what Michiru intended to do but it had taken all of Haruka's will not to
curse her new partner for taking matters into her own hands.
From what little that they knew, Yaten was treating Michiru to
quite a lot of wine, his intentions loud and clear to Haruka's panicking
mind. Through the many drinks, it was a wonder that Michiru managed to
hold on for so long.
Alarmed, Haruka sent Umino and Naru into the pub, leaving herself
alone in the van. Through their reports and a tiny camera that Umino
carried, Haruka had a pretty good view of what was happening inside.
What she saw was a sore to the eye. Yaten was becoming bolder in
his attempts to 'molest' Michiru. First, a touch on the hands, then the
shoulder. Haruka was getting increasing worried that Michiru could not
handle the man. It also wasn't reassuring to hear some amount of
tipsiness in Michiru's voice to dissuade the man.
Just as she was about to go in and yank Michiru off his grasp,
Michiru made the first move to leave the place. He offered to send her
home, his home. She declined politely and asked to meet him again the
next day. That seemed to calm his libido but he still stuck on to her,
offering a ride to her home.
Having prepared for this, Haruka yelled her instruction to
Michiru, detailing the place where her home would be. Naru and Umino
quickly paid for their purchases and joined Haruka in the van. They
began to trail the limousine which Yaten and Michiru got into.
They arrived at the entrance of a high rise apartment, where
Michiru made her exit. Yaten wanted to follow but Michiru stopped him
with a smile that promised his greatest desire if he would listen to
her. Miraculously, it worked and she was rewarded with the rev of engine
pulling away.
Haruka jumped out of the van, leaving the task of following Yaten
to Umino and Naru. She quickly made her way to Michiru, catching the
flushed girl who lost her balance as she neared.
"I'm sorry," Michiru started, knowing the reproach would be
coming. She hung onto Haruka, not trusting her legs anymore. It was a
surprise that she held on for so long.
Seeing that state that Michiru was in, Haruka lost her resolve to
scream at the young girl. "You have worried everyone with the stunt that
you'd just pulled."
Michiru apologised again, in gibberish language. Shaking her head,
Haruka felt the mental weight in her heart dropped. Gathering her in her
arms with strength that she didn't know she possessed, she slowly made
her way to the apartment that they got for her partner.
************************
A terrible headache had assaulted her numb mind the first moment
Michiru opened her eyes, reminding her not so gently of what had
trespassed the night before.
The light shinning from the bedroom's window was not doing
anything good for her moods. Sensing that she was not ready for the
glaring daylight, she promptly closed her eyes again, lying dejectedly
on the bed and willing the pain to go away. If she had bothered to look
around, she would have noticed that she was in an unfamiliar room.
But nothing mattered now, except for the constant ache in the
head. Hence, it was cool relief when she felt two strong hands joining
hers in rubbing her temples. Her hands fell away almost immediately
enjoying what this person was doing to her.
Instinctively, she felt no threat from the newcomer and had not
bothered to open her eyes.
"This is what you get for taking things into your own hands." A
deep voice intoned, one that Michiru had slowly grown to recognise. She
opened her dark blue eyes and was met with a set of intense greens.
Despite the words being said, Michiru felt that she was already
forgiven.
As if sensing the somewhat intimate position they were in, Haruka
pulled away. She handed a couple of aspirins to the grateful girl who
washed them down with a glass of water that Haruka had considerately
brought in too.
Watching the girl, Haruka wondered what had possessed her to be so
gentle to the girl. If word went around about this, her reputation would
be irreparable.
"Thanks!" Michiru began, slowly taking in the surroundings from
her seated position on the bed. The room was like any other rooms with
walls painted white, a study desk near the window, a cupboard situated
not too far from the desk, and a vanity. As her eyes returned to rest on
Haruka, who was sitting on a chair in an expression that was unreadable,
Michiru began to recall more of the previous night and remembered how
safe she felt in the blonde's arms.
"I hope I wasn't too much of a bother last night." Michiru asked,
apologetic.
"Nothing much," the blonde began, then in a straight face, "You
just managed to vomit all over our rented suits."
A blush appeared on Michiru's face and turned a deeper red as she
realised that she was in a different set of clothes that she remembered
wearing. And this meant that someone had changed her clothes for her.
Sensing what was on her partner's mind, Haruka said, "don't worry,
I didn't look more than necessary."
"Are you sure?" It was weird that she was having so much
reservation about this. Haruka was a woman too, even though her
appearances said otherwise.
"What do you think I am, a pervert?"
Seeing Haruka so worked up, Michiru dispelled her doubts but
couldn't stop an evil thought from surfacing. "No, but I think I am
attractive enough to convert you into one."
"So, shall I tear off your clothes to take a better look?" Haruka
challenged, feeling oddly up to the teasing.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Antagonise me like that again and see if I would."
Michiru felt her spirits lifted with their light banter. Haruka
had not admonished her, like she had feared. Behind the façade of
coldness, she was sure that a warm heart existed. And then, it struck.
One way to 'open' up Haruka was to tease her.
"I've made breakfast. Go freshen up and join me at the table."
It sounded more like a command but Michiru reacted with surprise,
rightfully so. "You cook?"
"I won't poison you. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done
that last night." There was a small smile to Haruka's lips as she spoke.
It was hard not to learn how to cook, considering she lived in solitude
most of her life.
She was an orphan and had grown up in an orphanage that was more a
roof over her head than a home. Her pride had rendered her to become a
loner. Only few had a glimpse of who the true Tenoh Haruka was, but they
were mostly dead.
"Well then, I better get ready for the feast."
"And the talk." Haruka added before Michiru had a chance to leave.
"What talk?"
"Of how we are getting you more acquainted with a certain white
hair guy."
Somehow, Michiru felt that Haruka was grinning too much for her
own good.
*************************
"Hey, you are the one who wanted to get close to the guy." Haruka
smoothly added. Her calm exterior was annoying her partner and it was
apparent to both that she loved every minute of it.
"Is this some sort of revenge?!" Michiru gathered from across the
breakfast table. Their meal was quickly devoured, a testament to how
hungry they were. Their discussion on the direction of the case was
slowly becoming ludicrous, with the latest mention that Michiru should
put up a lap dance to garner Yaten's trust.
"Me?" The innocent look that Haruka was going for failed miserably
in Michiru's eyes. But the blonde continued her charade. "Why would I
want to seek revenge on you?"
"Do you know that I don't believe in that a single bit." There was
a great urge to wipe that smile off the blonde's face. It was
infuriating to say the least.
"If you do not like my ideas, what do you suggest?"
"Well, although I agree that I need to get closer to Yaten, I'm
not sacrificing my body." She didn't understand why her look of despair
was bringing loads of laughter out from Haruka. In seconds, she was
poking at Haruka to stop.
"Okay, I understand." Haruka said, slowly regaining her calm, "I
promise it will never come to that."
Even though there was a mischievous sparkle in Haruka's eyes,
Michiru found herself believing in the blonde.
Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Naru and Umino
who had come to report to Haruka. Their short recount was uneventful but
necessary.
"Wait a minute, if both of you are here, who is watching Yaten?"
Michiru asked, slightly alarmed.
"I've asked for back up. Kei and Jun would be on the case, since
you have messed up big time. They are at his tail right now." Haruka
noticed the nod from Naru before eyeing at Michiru meaningfully. "And if
Setsuna ever got to carrying out her threat for waking her in the middle
of the night, I will be hunting for you."
"What did she say?" It was the question on all their minds, except
it was Michiru who voiced out.
"Nothing." Haruka stubbornly refused to say. But she did get
goosebumps for thinking about it. Introducing her to the more feminine
aspects of life, what was Setsuna thinking?
*************************
So Michiru had a boyfriend.
She wondered why the thought had bothered her. In fact it had
pestered her to no end, the scene of Michiru speaking over the phone
with her loverboy kept playing in her head. "Darling, I'm on a case
right now. Will be uncontactable for days. Don't worry, I'll take care
of myself."
Baka. Haruka mentally scolded herself. Shaking herself out of her
reverie, she refocused herself on the task on hand. Lives depended on
her, especially the green haired one.
Michiru had outdone herself again. With the whole afternoon to
prepare for her date with the druglord, Michiru had primed, powdered and
dressed to become the beautiful creature that she was now seeing through
the windows of her stakeout van.
She was parked across the street from the restaurant where her
partner was in. Her monitoring devices were on, each recording the
happenings in the restaurant at this exact moment.
"You own this restaurant?" Michiru feigned surprise as Yaten
laughed heartily. "Yes. I do own quite a lot of things and not limited
to inanimate objects." The druglord replied meaningfully.
The secret agent deliberately ignored the innuendo and spoke
again, "so that's why we are the only guests here."
"Don't you like it this way?"
The girl smiled uncommittingly. Her glance swept across the room.
She had counted four bodyguards that were littered around the
restaurant. Her little investigation was disrupted when Yaten stood up
and laid a hand in front of her.
Soft music began at once, and Michiru found herself accepting the
silent dance request and moved to the rhythm, along with her 'date'.
Yaten was a surprisingly good dancer, and that was the only good comment
she could come up with about him.
"Say, why don't we go back to your apartment after dinner?"
Faced with his lecherous grin, Michiru tried to hide her disgust
and replied sweetly, "It's not convenient. My roommate is in today."
"Then, a hotel it is."
"Woah, hold it right there." Michiru pushed him away purposefully.
"Do you think I'm that sort of girl?"
Yaten laughed in amusement. Michiru was different; he felt that
the moment he laid eyes on her. He would be enjoying the chase very
much.
**********************
"So, everything is fine?"
There was this look in Setsuna's eyes that forced her to look
away. Her body was rigid and tensed as opposed to the other sitting in
her big comfy chair in the small office.
She had learnt long ago that it was useless to hide anything from
her superior. "We have made no progress in this investigation against
Yaten. And I'm worried; Yaten is getting more persistent. I'm not too
sure how long Michiru can hold him off."
Tenoh Haruka admitting defeat, this was something new to her,
startling even. "If it becomes too dangerous, we can pull your team out
and drop another team in."
"No." Haruka intoned sharply. "We can't do this, not after what we
have done to come so far."
"So what are you going to do next?"
"We are considering infiltrating into Yaten's office."
"Haruka." With that one word, disagreement and worry were clearly
conveyed. "Do not act in desperation."
"I don't."
Setsuna sighed as she looked into the steely gaze of the blonde.
"You know that your decision will endanger your teammates. And I don't
think you can survive another case of dead partner."
"I know that."
The edge in her voice was unmistakable and Setsuna surrendered.
"If you need more backup, let me know."
*********************
"Maybe we are looking at the wrong angle. Maybe Yaten is not the
mastermind behind the killing." Haruka said softly from her position on
the ledge of the window. The view up there was beautiful but she could
not find it in her heart to enjoy it.
Michiru stopped towelling her hair and looked at Haruka. The
sunset was casting its orange rays across the sky. With Haruka sitting
against the backdrop, the scene was almost surreal.
They were in her room, in the house that belonged to the police
force. It was in this room that they had the heated discussion to sneak
into Yaten's office.
"We have arrived at the decision together. It was the logical next
step to do." Still fresh from her bath, Michiru fitted in her robes,
walked the few steps towards Haruka. "You can't have second thoughts
now."
"But."
"No buts. All our other surveillance has failed. By getting into
his office, that is the best chance I can get any incriminating evidence
on him." Michiru hardened. When Haruka didn't respond, she continued
softly, "I need this to end, I can't take it anymore. I don't want to
feel his hands on me, his lecherous gazes, I..."
Her tirade was stopped when she felt the soft embrace from her
partner. It was warm and calming, not possessive or violating. She felt
herself leaning into the hug, genuinely enjoying the security that the
taut body offered her.
"I'm sorry you have to go through that. But it ends today." Haruka
softly coaxed, "whether we succeed or not."
Michiru looked up and could see the concern flooding in her
partner's eyes. There was no way she could object to that. With a smile,
she pulled away, as if realising for the first time how intimate the
position they were in. The sensation of loss was great but it was
overshadowed by the awkwardness that followed.
Then, to dispel the tensed atmosphere, "Shoo, I need to get
changed," Michiru added. The blonde obliged willingly and left almost in
an instant. Once she was gone, Michiru was left to ponder about the
blush that had formed on Haruka's face just moments ago.
*********************
Dressed in a low cut navy gown, Michiru did her fair share of
making heads turn. Given that, there would be many men wanting to
introduce themselves to her, if not for the company she was currently
having.
Yaten and herself were presently at a pub situated at the highest
floor of the Yaten building. And just one level below them was the
office that Yaten operated his operations from. He was surprised when
she voiced her desire to come to this pub but thankfully said nothing
else.
In a far corner of the room where they were seated, Michiru raised
her cup to meet Yaten's and promptly sipped the contents to quell her
nerves from acting up.
Tonight was the night when everything would ended. Running through
the plan in her mind again, she faked a smile to mask her hidden
intentions from her companion.
Michiru had earlier surprised Yaten with a visit to his office.
She had noticed his discomfort at her presence and he had almost chased
her away. She did however notice a couple of things, him shutting down
his computer at her barging into his office and a safe kept close to his
desk -- the model of which she memorised in her heart. He was almost
angry at her but with her charms turned on, he couldn't stay like that
for long.
Her mission for today was to steal his keys for his office and
safe, pass them to a waiting Umino, and distract Yaten while his office
was being ransacked. And to complete the first part of the mission, she
invited him to a dance.
Her hands brushed against his body to feel the budge of keys. He
was enjoying the act too much, to her disgust, to be aware of her true
intentions. She found it in his pants pocket and suppressed a shudder.
To her chagrin, Yaten was beginning to return the favour by
running his hands on her. She pushed him away coyly and headed back to
their secluded seat meaningfully. He followed her like a puppy dog on a
leash. The moment he sat down, he found his pant's leg drenched with
beer.
"I'm so sorry, sir." The obviously new waiter was panicking as he
tried to wipe the foul stain away. His actions were thwarted when he was
pushed away and fell onto the hard floor.
He apologised fervourishly but hardly dampened the anger that the
white haired man held for him. Michiru was slightly taken aback by the
sudden turn of events. She did her best to try to calm down Yaten while
she strained to remember all the details that were transmitted via her
hidden earpiece.
"Why don't you change your pants?" Michiru asked sweetly.
Yaten nodded, "I'll be in my office."
"I'll wait here for you." Michiru responded just as sweetly.
Before he left, he remembered to give his death glare to the young
waiter whom Michiru knew as Umino.
**********************
Yaten's cell phone rang before he reached his office. He answered
it and was met with a voice muffled by voice changing device.
"A hacker has just hacked into your computer. All your files have
been transferred to me. If you want them back, be prepared to pay a
hundred million yen."
At that, the phone line was disconnected. With disbelief in his
face, Yaten rushed into his office and turned on his computer, stained
pants forgotten.
**********************
"Where did boss go?" One of Yaten's henchmen asked.
"Oh, don't worry. He said he was going back to the office for a
while." Michiru answered with a killer smile and then continued, "it's
supposed to be a private thing and he has given specific instructions
that no one is to bother him."
Then, she batted her eyelids at him and asked, "would you be so
kind to bring me another one of this?" She charmed, holding an empty
glass.
***********************
"Damn! He's bluffing." Yaten cursed in relief as he scrolled
through the computer screen, calling up his most important trade data
and assuring himself that nothing was deleted.
But before he could celebrate, he felt a sharp pain at his neck
and darkness overtook him.
With the door slightly ajar, Umino was in time to see Haruka
dropping noiselessly from the air-con vent, landing conveniently behind
Yaten and delivering a karate chop. When Yaten was unconscious, he
quickly entered the office and locked the door behind him. "Wow. That
was something you only get to see in movies." Umino exclaimed as his
respect for Haruka grew a few notches more.
"Learnt from the best." Haruka responded, rather pleased with
herself. But this wasn't the time for self-congratulation. "Come on, we
don't have much time."
Umino moved swiftly. He searched through Yaten's pants pocket and
fished out a set of keys. Then he began to try the keys on the safe.
Once he found the right one, he pressed his ears against the safe and
listened to the 'pulse' of the safe, as he called it, to identify the
correct set of combinations for the lock.
Haruka was not idle either. She put a disk into the computer and
tried to download the drug dealing information onto it. It took her some
time to figure out how to use the system but once it was downloading,
she turned her attention to Yaten. Grabbing a rope that was tied behind
her back, she used it to restrain Yaten to his chair. As a final touch,
she placed a rag into his mouth to prevent him from shouting.
That done, she returned to the computer and began scanning through
some of the other files that Yaten had. There was a directory of agents,
scheduled tasks, and financial reports -- things that she were eager to
save into the disks that she had, only fearing that she did not have the
luxury of time.
**********************
Michiru was doing her best to stall Yaten's bodyguards. It was
apparent that after twenty minutes, they were not listening to her
anymore.
"I'm bored here. Why don't you all danced with me?" Michiru acted
tipsily, pretending to fall over a young man.
**********************
"Yes, I've got it." Umino could hardly hide his euphoria of
getting the safe to open. Inside he could see documents, cash, and even
guns.
Before he could do more, both Haruka and himself could clearly
hear the warning that Naru provided them. "Quick! His men are coming."
The two officers hastened their retrieval process.
Naru had stationed herself at the surveillance van and was
responsible for relaying information. And where the need arose, she
along with Kei and Jun will form their backup. The latter two officers
were already in the building on standby. From their reports, they were
following the four bodyguards to the office, and Michiru was not far
behind.
Umino quickly shoved the documents in the safe into a bag.
"His men are on your level."
Haruka gathered her disks and threw them into her bag.
"They entered the reception area. Quick!"
Umino tried to pull Haruka away from the computer that was still
downloading agents' information into a floppy disk.
"Get out now!"
Haruka pulled the disk out of the drive, disregarding the fact
that the download was incomplete. Dumping it into her bag, she joined
Umino in climbing up into the air-con vent. She barely made it up when
the door was knocked open and the four bodyguards emerged.
Umino quietly placed the metal frame back into position and they
crawled just as quietly out of the almost battleground. When they were
far away from being heard, Haruka reported their status to a relieved
Naru.
It turned out that when the others did not hear any sounds of
gunshot and fighting, they quickly returned to the van, ready for the
take off. Haruka and Umino joined them later, and the van was making its
way to the headquarters, unobstructed.
Author's notes:
I hope you have enjoyed this new fanfic that I've written, especially
those who have waited for me to complete this for so long. I would
appreciate any comments you have to help me improve on this fic.
Again, many thanks to my pre-readers, Cass & Albrecht Halbstein, who
spotted my numerous grammar and spelling mistakes.
Thanks for reading.
GSL
12 September 2001