Chapter One

Franziska Von Karma was incensed. How could this be?

"Don't look at me, sis," Lang said, avoiding her gaze. "I gave you the details on the plane over here."

Well, yes. She supposed that was true. But there was a difference between being told a tradition was practiced and being expected to follow it.

"Now, madam, if you would please change into something a little more… appropriate," the bearded man continued in his nasally voice. "It's not proper for women in Borginia to show their legs as you are."

"You f… sir," Franziska grit her teeth in frustration. "I understand your land may have their own special customs, but I am not here to blend with the culture. I am a prosecutor from Germany, representing Interpol. I am only here to conduct business. I was assured you would at least allow me to do that…?"

"Sis, can ya please just wear the longer skirt?" Lang asked out the edge of his mouth. "It's not like they're asking much."

"Listen to your male, madam. And yes, Borginia will allow you to work cases in our country, irregular as it may be. We only ask that you keep a man at your side at all times, investigation and court."

"Court?" Lang stared at the bearded man, eyes wide. "I'm no prosecutor, Mister!"

Their greeter seemed very surprised to hear this. "Oh, you're not her…?" He shook his head. "That simply won't do. What can I do to fix this awful breach of- oh!"

"What is it now?" Franziska gripped her sleeve, at this point very impatient. "Have you come up with a solution to this unknown issue?"

"Yes, I have. As it happens, madam, you are not the only foreign prosecutor in this land. Mister Sahdmadhi has been here a few weeks, and I'm told he's quite exceptional. He has no open cases at the moment. I will call him right away, and have him briefed on your case."

What was this?! Franziska Von Karma, prodigy prosecutor of fourteen years, was to be supervised? How dare this stranger usurp her case! This investigation belonged to Interpol.

"Foolish man! Such an arrangement will not be necessary. I assure you, I am fully qualified to prosecute this case alone."

"Nonsense, nonsense! It is against the very foundation of Borginia to allow such outlandish practices in our country. Perhaps the western nations have grown arrogant to the natural order of things, but Borginia knows the way: women are to be watched over at all times."

It went against the fiber of Franziska's being not to whip this man into oblivion. Show him what a woman was truly capable of. It was only the stern hand on her arm that stopped her.

"Come on, sis. This case is really important to stopping the money laundering conspiracy: we need to keep it in our hands. Just think of it like getting an extra set of help. Another wolf joining us on the hunt. Lang Zi says-"

"I don't care what Lang Zi says!" she snapped, then realized she had no other choice. "Fine."

"Wonderful. I will call the prosecutor now."

So Franziska held her tongue. For now. She would have plenty to tell this new "wolf", should he think he was in any way in charge of this investigation. Heck, she even wore the foolish navy skirt offered to her at the hotel. By a woman in a full veil. Lang had the audacity to suggest she consider herself lucky.

When both were settled down into their adjacent hotel rooms, they met together in the lobby, poring over their case file and waiting for the second prosecutor to show up. Could the fool be any later?

"Hmph. Who is this Sahdmadhi, anyhow?"

"I've heard his name, in passing," Lang replied, organizing the short suspect list by increasing distance from their current location and method of approach: interrogation, stakeout, or simple digging into their past. "He's from the Far East too, Khura'in I think. Laws are weird there. But he's got a good reputation for being able to solve the most difficult of cases in the blink of an eye. He travels all over the world, mostly sticking to Asia and East Europe."

"Is he with Interpol?"

"No, actually. He travels around the world on behalf of his government, trying to catch the people aiding terrorists in his country. And while he's there, he takes other cases in exchange for being allowed to work."

"Anything else?"

"One more thing: Khura'in is known for being a really religious country. I don't know how Khura'inism works, but all their officials and higher ups are members of the clergy, and this guy's no different. Pretty sure he's a monk."

"A prosecuting monk? How ridiculous," Franziska knew she wasn't being fais. "How long has this man been in the job?"

"Of international prosecution?" Lang shrugged. "No idea. Pretty sure the pup's young, though."

"Hmph," Franziska stood from her seat, pacing like a pensive mare. "Well, if this monk doesn't get himself here soon, we're going to start without him."

Franziska had to remind herself she'd wanted to take this case. Agent Lang had told her what Borginia would be like, but she hadn't listened. As long as no foolish fool asked why she wasn't in the home where she belonged, she would bear through it.

The whip wielding prosecutor couldn't say this was a sensation she was that familiar with. Sure, she had come across the odd individual, but never had she truly felt discriminated against for her gender. Father was very insistent that all his children were capable of perfection, and had expected both his daughters to follow in his footsteps. No matter that female prosecutors hadn't become a normal sight until during his long career. He'd recounted the story to her, saying it was "about time some women showed themselves capable of such a noble profession. Men can be so foolish."

Sure, Franziska had heard the stories of countries where women were orphaned for not being a son, denied education, married to grown men as children, and harassed constantly for being in public. Compared to some nations, Borginia was only mild in their foolish offense. Until coming here, Franziska hadn't given the matter of inequality much thought.

Now it ate at her.

"Excuse me, but are you Prosecutor Von Karma?"

Franziska was taken out of her thoughts by a soft, accented voice behind her. When she turned, she was confronted by a tall, feminine looking man with lavender hair. He was so feminine looking, she wondered why he didn't need a supervisor. Some women might have thought he was pretty, but Franziska was too irritated to care.

"I assume you are Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, oh late one?" she tutted, shaking her gloved finger in his direction. "I am Franziska Von Karma, lead prosecutor of this case. This matter is the business of Interpol. Do you understand?"

He didn't respond to her harsh tone, only closing his eyes and shaping his fingers like jackals. "I understand, Prosecutor Von Karma. Truly, this is an unfortunate arrangement. But you accuse me of lateness, and I wish to explain myself. You see, I was reviewing the case at hand when a most unfortunate incident came to light."

"Incident?" Lang was on his feet in a flash, looking ready to growl. "What are you talking about?"

"And you are…?"

"Shi-Long Lang. Interpol agent. What incident are you talking about? What does it have to do with our case?"

"Ah, pleasure to make your acquaintance, both of you." Get to the point, foolish fool. "You see, I had been going through the suspect list in the file cleared to me when I heard on the radio news: your supposed perpetrator at the top of the pyramid has been murdered. I sought us rights to investigate the crime scene, as it may relate to the laundering scheme."

"Murder? Why… am I not surprised?" Lang sighed. "Well, let's get to the crime scene."

"Agreed."

The three of them got into a taxi, with Franziska in the middle. Oh how she longed for the feeling of her worn leather whip in her hands. Unfortunately, she was sitting on it, and couldn't reach it from her position. Stupid skirt.

"...and that's all I know about the supposed murder of one Monty Laundarier, the French businessman you suspect," the monk finished his explanation with a slight flourish. "I apologize. Neither the news report or police were all that specific. But it was surprisingly easy to claim the case as our own. Do you know why that may be?"

"Guy's a brute," Lang laid it down simple. "He probably had half the police force running tail between their legs a week after landing here."

"I don't think you realize what sort of case you've gotten into, Nahyuta Sahdmadhi," Franziska spoke with crossed arms. "More than a trillion euros of ill gotten profits has been laundered through Monty Laundarier's organization, costing some countries billions in lost revenue. The last agent to take this case was found shot in apparent 'suicide'. Every time we get a confirmed hit on their activities, Monty Laundarier and his men skip town. Interpol isn't happy they've been forced to add another liability to such a delicate situation."

"Thank you for your concern, Prosecutor Von Karma, but I can assure you, this is not my first venture to occur on an international scale. I do not intend to be a liability in any sense of the word. Though by the way you talk… dare I say it was a stroke of good karma, for this group's ringleader to die when your team arrived? One can hardly cover their tracks from the Twilight Realm."

Twilight Realm? Did she want to know? "That may be, but we must secure the scene as soon as possible if we want to get anywhere. If his subordinates alter the crime scene before then, we may never find what we need."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lang kicked the passenger seat in frustration. "How much farther to his hotel?"

Lang's outburst only got the agent a loud, angry string of Borginian from the driver, who seemed to have a limited grasp on English.

The monk turned to Franziska and Lang. "We'll be there in five minutes at most. He asks for your patience."

Lucky for Franziska's mood, the driver's prediction held true. When the three reached the penthouse their victim had reserved, the police were photographing the body, which had a steak knife sticking out of it.

She cracked her whip for attention. "This crime scene has been placed under the express jurisdiction of Interpol. All officers report to me. I want a clear suspect by midnight!"

Whatever reaction she'd been expecting, none wasn't it. The policemen (they were, indeed, all men) simply stared at her, as if she'd grown a second head. Did they not know English?

But then Lang spoke up. "What are you pups waiting on? Prosecutor Von Karma told you what to do. Buck up!"

Her cheeks went red as each one obediently set off to a corner of the room, investigating blood spatter, the plate from room service, and even going out into the hall to find the maid who called in the murder. Nahyuta Sahdmadhi himself was kneeling over the body, hands folded and lips moving. How dare these fools... It didn't matter. Not when she had work to do.

So she went over to join the prosecutor, huffing as she got down on her knees with him. She waited until he was done praying to open her mouth. "Why would you spare words for this man, Nahyuta Sahdmadhi? Did we not tell you what sort of man he was?"

"Whatever his sins in life, he's lost his chance to be judged here. Now, his soul goes to the Twilight Realm, where the Holy Mother will offer either divine mercy or divine retribution. If what you say is true, then he will spend ten thousand years in the Hell of Eternal Poverty. His lust of wealth destroyed his soul, so it is wealth he must not know. When he is finally reborn, I expect his life to be one of a starving vulture, who achieves nothing for himself and lives only by the neglect of others."

Franziska had no idea how to respond to such a comment. Could anyone truly believe in such foolishness?

"Also, the steak knife is not the true murder weapon. The wound in his abdomen is far too large, and I see no signs of cutting." He nodded in almost curt acknowledgement. "That might be helpful to keep in mind, for your investigation."

She looked at the victim's body. He was right.

Who even was this man?

A/N's: So this is based on another kink meme prompt, asking about what Franziska's been up to in the DD/SoJ era. I figured if she were still an international prosecutor at that time, she might have run into a certain someone. These two remind me of each other so much, and writing them interact with each other is pure gold.

Also, I have other motives for wanting to write from the POV of Franziska. Not gonna tell you what those are, but anyone who reads my work can probably guess anyway.

I have two more chapters of this to upload and a Middle portion of AAI3 case two to work on, so thanks for reading, please review, and I'll see you on the far side!