Disclaimer: I don't own Oreimo.

'This outfit has the latest bulletproof material. It's comfortable, and, most importantly, practical. The boots have a sharp, yet stable heel, not to mention this fabulous new belt. It carries all essential weapons without giving anything away. What do you think, Miss Kirino?' Ayase's eyes looked hopefully at Kirino, who was circling around it.

'Don't look so worried, Ayase. It's perfect. Much better than my previous ensemble.' Kirino gave a reassuring smile towards Ayase, but it disappeared quicker than it appeared.

'I'm glad…' Ayase looked down, blushing slightly. You couldn't tell if you were there, though. The room was dark, and the only light was coming from the outfit. It was on a plastic mannequin made to look exactly like Kirino, so that she knew what she would look like in it. Ayase was holding a remote which would rotate the mannequin to be seen at all angles. Ayase then switched off the mannequin, and turned the room lights back on.

Kirino changed into the outfit, and Ayase walked outside the creation lab, as it was called, only to be pulled to the side suddenly.

'Woah!' Ayase turned to see her abductor. 'Miss Kuroneko?! Don't scare me like that…You know what happens when you do that.'

'Do I? Or, more importantly, do you? You're a trained fighter. You're meant to react properly. What if that wasn't me, but an enemy? You'd be dead by now.' Kuroneko looked down at Ayase, studying her face.

'Yes, Miss Kuroneko…'

'Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. You need to be more careful.'

Ayase opened her mouth to speak, but Kuroneko quickly silenced her.

'Don't. I mean you can't be showing your emotions so easily to anyone. You're an executive, like me. I know you have a relaxed personality, but you need to drop that! Even if you think you're alone, with this job, you can never be too sure. You never know when an enemy can use someone against you. The results can be deadly. Remember that.' And with that, Kuroneko turned and left.

Ayase sighed sadly and slid down the wall.

'That's the one thing I hate about this job…'

'Got anything for me?' Kuroneko walked into the offices, where Kanako and Saori worked.

'Well, I have the usual small time jobs…' Saori trailed off.

Kuroneko groaned. 'Kanako? Please tell me there's something good there. We need to test Kirino's weapons ASAP.'

'There's something…It's just…well…'

Kuroneko raised an eyebrow. 'What?'

*sigh*'It's in Chiba…' Kanako looked at Kuroneko awkwardly.

'What's the job?'

Saori and Kanako looked at Kuroneko in shock.

'But…Kuroneko! You can't possibly be considering this! You know what happened between…' Saori faltered seeing Kuroneko's expression.

'There's hardly a chance that she'll run into him there. Chiba isn't that small. And even if that happens, Kirino's an advanced spy and assassin. He won't see her.' Kuroneko looked determined. 'The only hard part will be telling her this.'

'I think Ayase should.' Kanako said. Saori and Kuroneko stared at her. 'What? If any of us said it, she'd go crazy. Kirino never gets mad in front of Ayase.'

'What are you trying to say?' Kuroneko asked sharply, staring her down. Kuroneko sighed. 'I'm sorry. I just talked to Ayase about being...careless with her emotions. I guess the subject is worse than I thought.'

'Go easy on Ayase, Kuroneko. Remember it used to just be her and Kirino before. She had, and still has, a special bond with the boss.'

'I know, I just…I hope it doesn't become more than that and cost us our lives.'

This is a new story that I hope I can regularly update. The chapters will get longer if I get positive feedback to continue. I would rather have constructive criticism instead of people just saying nice things all the time. It doesn't help me improve otherwise. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed :)