RESOLUTIONS
Author: Yumari
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I don't own Taiho Shichauzo!.

"And here I thought I'm the only person in Toyko who'll be welcoming the New Year alone."

Assistant Inspector Kaoruko Kinoshita promptly stiffened before she spun around to meet the eyes of the intruder. "Kachou," she greeted, her voice almost devoid of emotion as she bowed. She had not expected anyone she knew to come up the tower, especially when New Year was just a few hours away. Not even the chief of Bokuto Station, who goes there almost on a daily basis. That was, until Tadashi Emoto finally showed up.

"Kinoshita-keibuho," Kachou said as he stepped out of the shadows and walked to where the woman was. When he reached her side, he placed his hands on the banister and leaned on them to take a good look at the area below them. "My, my, isn't that a sight for sore eyes," he muttered, his breath mixing with the cold December air that had seeped its way into the glass-enclosed observation room of the Tokyo Tower. Then, with a sigh, he turned to Kinoshita who was just watching him the whole time.

"So. What are you doing here?" He asked, curious as to why a charming lady like Kinoshita would be all by her lonesome on New Year's Eve. Charming, he smiled inwardly. And stunning in her white number.'

"Ah. I had a lot of paperwork due tomorrow. I couldn't spend the New Year with my family even if I wanted to." The assistant inspector replied with a soft laugh as she ran a gloved hand through her short dark hair. "How about you?" She tilted her head to the side to give him a questioning sidelong glance.

Kachou met her eyes, and for a moment he just stared, admiring the way how her piercing gaze always seemed to captivate him. But before his thoughts managed to trail away, he shrugged and looked down at the view of Tokyo in all its neon glory. "Just sorting out my thoughts."

Kinoshita merely nodded. If she ever understood what he meant, he would never know. She stepped closer to the glass window and pressed a hand against it.

"Your father will terribly miss you."

"It's alright. I gave him a call. I'll call him again later," she said with a soft smile as she ran her fingers along the glass, tracing the outline of some random skyscraper.

"I remember you used to be afraid of heights." Kachou thought at loud as he watched her movement.

Kinoshita gave him an incredulous look. "That was so long ago."

He could not help but laugh at the memory. "Really? You were only slightly younger than Tsujimoto and Kobayakawa back then. You were supposed to rescue a practice dummy from a balcony. You practically froze on the spot."

Seeing the scene play once more before her eyes, Kinoshita shook her head as she bit her lip to muffle the laughter that threatened to escape her lips. "I made quite a mess back there."

"But you've changed over the years."

"Well, I can't remain scared of heights forever. Ne, Kachou?" Having said so, she moved away from the window, spun around and leaned on the railing in a perfect, fluid movement.

"Uh-huh." Came the older man's affirmative response.

She was nothing short of grace.

Meeting each others' eyes, they both sighed. Silence ensued for what seemed like a lifetime until the tanned man finally cleared his drying throat.

"So many things have happened."

"Yes."

"I wonder..."

"Hm?"

"Keibuho."

Kinoshita started at the sound of her title on his lips. "What is it, Kachou?"

"How are you?"

"Fine," she replied with a perfectly arched brow raised. "A little stressed, but I'm good. And you?"

"Ditto."

"All those paper and field work..."

"hyper-active officers..."

"annoying supervisors..."

Kachou was visibly surprised. "The Evil Checkman annoys you?" 1

Kinoshita's eyes lit up as she pressed a finger to her lips as if to say "this is our secret, okay?". "Well, there ARE times, but the ones who really give me the headache are those above him."

"I see." Kachou chuckled.

"What about your hyper-active officers?"

"Oh, you know," Kachou tilted his head. "Same old, same old. Just yesterday, Nikaido pulled another scheme, I think it was about Futaba - I was at a meeting when it happened so I don't really know. But basically, the whole department went... Nuts."

"Always the hyper one, that Nikaido." Kinoshita mused.

"Speaking of hyper... Tsujimoto? How is she doing?"

Kinoshita gave him an awkward smile. "She's a bundle of energy, as always. She sneaks out of the programs every once in a while to visit her friends. All of ther escapades were supposed to be in secret, but I always find out anyway."

"I hope she isn't causing you any trouble."

"Oh no!" The woman straightened up from her position. "Well, not on a daily basis," she added after a moment of reconsideration. "But she's really good."

"Ah, yeah."

There was a tinge of sadness in his voice, and Kinoshita did not hesitate to attribute that to Natsumi's having left Bokuto. "I know you're worried about her. She's like a daughter to you, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Kachou nodded. "It's really not the same without that, as you put it, bundle of energy around, but I'm not worried." He looked down at Kinoshita, who was watching him, and locked eyes with her. He smiled. "Because she's under your wing now."

She couldn't explain why, but Kinoshita felt her cheeks burn at that. It wasn't as if he said anything to embarass her or anything. Nevertheless, she felt lucky that the observation deck was a little dim, so she didn't have to feel too conscious if ever she really did blush. (Oh, how she hoped she didn't!) But if she did, he didn't seem to have noticed, as he just casually averted his eyes towards the view outside the deck again. "I'm doing my best to look after her," she said, after finally regaining her composure.

Then there was that godawful silence once more.

Kinoshita's eyes trailed along the flickering neon lights below the observatory. From Kachou's view, she looked pretty much deep in thought, and for some strange reason, he suddenly felt uneasy.

This time, it was the woman who broke the monotony of the moment. "Kachou," she started, her voice soft and almost uncertain. It was a tone he almost never heard her use when talking to him, and it worried him to hear it now. When the younger woman's brows furrowed, Kachou's worry began to grow. He pulled at his collar.

"Is there -" he was going to ask if something was wrong (but then again, the answer's probably obvious already) but she cut him off before he could even finish what he was going to say.

"Ne, Kachou..."

"Yes?"

"What's your New Year's resolution?"

"Eh?" The chief practically sweatdropped. That's what she's been deep in thought of? "I haven't thought of one yet, actually..." He said with a sheepish smile as his hand went behind his head to rub at his neck. "You?"

Kinoshita lightly pursed her lips in thought. "This year... I'm going to work harder. Somehow, I feel like I haven't been performing well these past few months."

Oh, so it's still about work, eh? He thought with a tinge of disappointment. But then, what else would he expect of her? If anything, she was the ultimate career woman. "Not performing well? You? Now, THAT's new," he jested instead.

"No, seriously... Something feels amiss." She said with a frown. "I don't know what, though."

"You think so?"

She nodded and, briefly glancing at him, said "yes".

Kachou tugged harder at his collar. It was snowing outside but suddenly, the deck seemed very hot. He felt as if all the air in his body left him when she looked at him. There was something in her eyes, an emotion that he couldn't quite put a finger to.

"Am I too... Serious?"

"Eh?"

Kinoshita blinked at his response, as if she suddenly awoke from a trance and tried to restate her question. "I mean, am I too -"

"I think understood what you meant," he said with a slight nod, his voice taking on a more serious note. "Keibuho, if anything, you're just dedicated to your duties. In fact, I don't think I've ever met anyone who's as devoted as you are."

Kinoshita nodded silently. "But is that really good? I mean, I know it's good to take your work to heart, but sometimes... I wonder if that's also the reason why I tend to drift away from others."

And he knew exactly what she meant. She was a woman, and it was no doubt that it had been really difficult for her to rise up the ranks. He was there. He saw her pour her heart and soul to her job. He saw how, from a young lady who was still uncertain of a lot of things, she grew to be a mature and responsible officer.

He was there when it all happened. And all that time he -

Kachou decided that it would be best to put that train of thoughts on hold.

"Don't worry about things like that, keibuho." He said with a good-natured laugh, stressing on the "keibuho" to remind her of her achievements. "You may not always be there where the parties are because you're working almost on a daily basis, but because of your efforts, you're able to make Japan - or at least a part of it - safe enough for others to have fun."

Kinoshita blinked. Suddenly, Bokuto's Traffic Control Department chief was being talkative than usual. But that wasn't the part that surprised her, it was the fact that he was able to voice out exactly the same thing that she's been trying to tell herself all these years. Perhaps the guy was really more perceptive than she gave him credit for.

"You may not know it, but a lot of the young ones really admire you." Judging from the look on the assistant inspector, Kachou could tell that she was oblivious about that.

"I'm..." she began, not knowing what to say as her eyes locked with his. "I'm... Touched," she said with a small smile as she placed her hand above where her heart was.

"You should be," he replied with a smirk. "Else, you really ARE the Iron Lady the youngsters deem you to be."

The woman raised a perfect eyebrow at that, her sudden feeling of loneliness momentarily forgotten. "Iron Lady?"

"Yeah," Kachou nodded, then realized something. "But don't tell anyone that I told you," he quickly added, suddenly worried about his welfare.

"Alright." Kinoshita nodded with an amused smile. There was a pause, then she suddenly started laughing behind her hand. "Really?"

"Yeah," he grinned.

"But perhaps I am."

When the laughing subsided, their eyes met again, and Kachou was suprised to find a beautiful sparkle of childish happiness in her dark brown eyes. It was definitely a sight to behold, especially since Kinoshita usually looked like she's on a manhunt.

Okay, maybe that was too exaggerated.

"I honestly don't know why I suddenly asked you that," she said, referring to the question that brought them to their current state of conversation, her voice almost a whisper.

"Perhaps you just needed an outlet, and I was there at the right time?" Kachou suggested as he gave her a smug grin, to which she responded with a roll of her eyes. "Right."

Silence.

Kinoshita sighed. "Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution: to go easy on the workload. After all, I'm not getting any younger. I don't want to abuse myself too much."

"Gonna catch up on your beauty sleep?" Kachou asked offhandedly.

"Now where did that come from?" Kinoshita asked with a raised eyebrow, her hands instantly at her waist. But instead of saying something to defend himself, Kachou just shrugged gave her one of his most charming smiles (or as charming as he could afford it to be).

"Really, Kachou..." Kinoshita shook her head and sighed exasperatedly.

Then, there was silence once again. Kachou frowned. Another moment of nothing but stale air, eh? But he was glad, because even though they had those silent in-betweens, what would follow was always quite a revelation. Somehow, he's always felt that there's something behind Kinoshita's cool and stern demeanor - no, wait, he KNEW! - but to actually hear from her... To know, at least a bit, of how she really feels... That was definitely a privilege.

Kachou was getting lost in his own world when Kinoshita broke the silence again. "What about you, Kachou?"

"Eh?" There went the deer-in-the-headlights look of his.

"It's almost New Year. Do you have any sort of resolution?"

"Ah..." A finger crept up to scratch his chin as he thought of an answer to that. Did he have any resolution for the coming year? He never really thought about things like that. In fact, now that he thought about, he never really made any resolutions. It wasn't because he found himself flawless to have no need to attempt change, but it was just that he never really followed them through.

There was, however, one thing he's always wanted to do. It was something within him that has been clawing for release for years but was never given the chance. It was something that lay hidden deep within his heart that has suddenly awakened, (without) thanks to her inquiry. He had been, for the longest time, struggling to contain it, but perhaps... It's about time that he let it out?

"Well?"

"I think..." he paused in mid-sentence. Six years. It was six long years. He's waited for a perfect chance all those years, but never found it. Now was certainly not what he'd envisioned that "perfect chance" to be, but...

It really is about time.

Kinoshita waited.

Waited.

"I think I want to be more... honest. With my feelings."

"Why?"

Really, must she ask that kind of question? Kachou didn't know if he would be annoyed or amused; for someone so smart, she could also be so frustratingly dense. "Why?"

Why?

Kachou smiled a sweet, sincere smile that brought shivers down Kinoshita's spine. "Because I haven't been completely honest with myself for the past six years."

She continued to give him that curious look.

"Or to you, either."

All of a sudden, the kind, innocent look on Kinoshita's eyes was replaced with an interesting mix of shock and embarassment. She looked away, taking sudden interest in the cracking black paint on the handrail.

"Stop it," she whispered. Her heart was racing in her chest, her head was spinning, and she didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. She'd be lying if she said she didn't have any idea what he meant by that, but...

"No."

"I'm sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked." With her hands slightly trembling, she straightened her coat.

"KAORUKO."

"I don't know why we met up here. It may be fate or just pure coincidence, but regardless of the reason, I want to take this opportunity to let you know that -"

"Please, Kachou. I need to go now. Have a good night." She turned around to leave. She didn't like where the conversation was headed; it made her uncomfortable.

"I'm not going to let you go that easily anymore!" And with that fierce declaration, he walked up to her and pulled her into a tight embrace from behind.

"Kachou!"

"Kaoru," he whispered, his voice strained, pained...

"Stop it already!" She cried, and the tears started to form unbidden in her eyes. Emotions that she has learned to restrain over the years suddenly came raging forth. She's always liked him from afar, but she has long resigned to the fact her feelings would never be returned. Besides, it was no use. Her career would always take precedence over things like that...

Unknown to her, he has long been struggling inside, too. She's always been aloof... She was untouchable. He felt for her from the very beginning, but he knew his feelings had to be suppressed - and he did. Because he'd rather that their relationship remain on a professional level. It was better that way. She had the potential, he knew she was going to rise up the ranks. He knew he'll have to work closely to her, and he wanted everything to work smoothly between them.

He didn't want to jeopardize anything.

But here he was, holding her and baring his soul to her against his better judgement. "No. You started this. We'll finish it right here and now," he whispered as his hand travelled to her head to stuck a stray hair behind her ear.

"Finish what?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her mind continued to spin. She couldn't understand; they were talking normally just a few minutes ago then everything just had to go haywire.

Kachou swallowed hard. What was it that he wanted again? And why was he holding on to her so tightly as if she'd disappear if he loosened his grip even for a fraction. He didn't even know why he was doing what he was doing... All he knew was that he had an opportunity, and he didn't dare let it go. Not anymore.

"Being here with you now, whether by coincidence or not... Is a rare moment that I want to hold on to forever. Even if that will be the only memory I could have of the two of us together outside work and just being ourselves, without pretenses," the words just flowed out of his mouth before he could even register what they meant.

"Kachou...?"

"I know it might seen cheesy, and I know this is uncalled for, but Assistant Inspector Kinoshita..." he paused to place his hands on her arms and turn her around to face him. He looked straight into her eyes and she met his gaze, searching...

"I... Love you," he said finally. And he felt a thousand times lighter.

Until tears started streaming from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he started, bringing his thumb to her face to gently wipe away her tears. "It was never my style to be forward, but I thought maybe it's about time that I let you know."

Kinoshita's response came in the form a resounding slap on his left cheek.

Kachou's eyes flew wide open as he fell backwards, his butt landing hard on the tiled floor, his hand covering his stinging cheek. Before him, Kaoruko stood. In the darkness, he could see her trembling with her fists clenched tightly at her sides. She was crying, he could tell. Crying, and probably thinking of ways to kill him after his oh-so-bold (and oh-so-stupid) declaration of love.

Kachou sat himself up and brought his hands to his face. He should have seen this coming. And he should have just kept everything to himself like he's done again and again whenever she's around. He raised his head and stared at the darkness above him and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said. His voice trembled, it sounded like it would break.

"No - I'm..."

"No, I should have known something like this would happen," he said with a bitter chuckle. He pushed himself up from the floor and straightened his coat. He looked at her and gave her a tight smile. "It was nice meeting you here, Kinoshita-keibuho." And with a bow, he turned to leave.

But before Kinoshita could even realize what she was doing, she turned and grabbed his arm -

And kissed him.

Kachou's eyes widened at her sudden actions. First she sent him reeling on the floor, and now she's kissing him?! He would love to figure out what was going on, but the rational part his mind has already left him. All he could think of was the feel of her lips against her own (and that she tasted like strawberries), and how tight her arms were circled around his neck. He kissed her back.

The clock on the observatory began to strike twelve.

It was only after the twelve strikes that they finally pulled away from each other.

"What -?" Kachou started, wanting to know just what happened and what in the world came over her. But she silenced him with a smile and a finger to his lips.

"What do you think?"

Kachou opened his mouth against her finger to say something, only to realize that he didn't know what to say. He closed them again. He looked into her eyes instead, surprised in the rawness of the emotion he found there. Are you letting me in, Kaoru?

As if reading his mind, she leaned into him, whispering "Happy New Year, Kachou," before kissing him again.

Outside, fireworks in all colors, shapes and sizes littered the night sky.

---- OWARI ---

A/N: When I started writing this, it was two years ago. I was done with more than half of the story by last year, and it was only now that I got to finally finish it. XD Don't ask me why it took me THAT long for something this short; I'm just as clueless. Also, if you've noticed, their conversation didn't have any direction at all. Same with the story, I didn't have anything specific to put in there while I was writing this. All I knew was that it had to end somewhere. I already had an idea of how the story should end before I started writing it, but as to how it would get to the kind of ending I've envisioned, I had no idea. Everything was done spontaneously, and that's precisely what I wanted to achieve in this story. I wanted the events and the train of conversation between Kachou and Kinoshita to flow just as normal conversations between two people would: spontaneous, seemingly pointless but definitely with something to be gained for both parties involved. I just hope that I was really able to do that. Let me know, okay?

And to you guys who are waiting for Carnation to be updated, I'm really sorry for the delay, but I want you to know, I haven't forgotten about it. I will definitely update. It might just take me some time to finish the next chapter.

1 Evil Checkman (from Hell) - Arizuka