Disclaimer: Not mine.


silent masquerade
(#2; enter the lady investigator — 050)


Brooklyn, New york, USA.

Location: Thieves hideout
Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday
Time: 10 00

The girl hid behind one of the bushes, her hands encircled in a pistol. She was squatting down, sweat dribbling from her face to her jaws. Her shoulder-length golden-blonde hair cascaded down her neck, stuck to her skin like leeches, and the sweat-soaked strands of hair obscured her view of the deserted house lying in front of her sight.

She stared at the old and battered house tensely, with the pistol pressed firmly to the side of her face. Her eyes were determined and focused, and not once did they leave the scene. Behind her, though, were several other cops that followed her lead. Instead of watching the scene intently, they were examining their nails in absolute boredom, and some of them were even starting to show signs of dozing off.

The girl's ears perked with interest when she heard a few sounds coming from within the house in front of her. Tightening her grip on the pistol, she made her way to the right, being careful not to reveal herself to the enemy, or to show herself in an open space, and crossed over to the back of the house. The men swiftly followed behind her, but the girl could hear sounds of protests coming from them.

It annoyed her to no end; she was expecting perfect cooperation, not a wrecked-up team formed by conflicting personalities and beliefs. If so, how were they supposed to be able to work together to nab those cowardly brutes?

"Quiet!" She commanded, lowering her pistol to the ground. She flattened herself on the walls of the abandoned house, and crept slowly and steadily to where the entrance was located, being prudent enough to avoid lines of sight, especially windows and holes on the walls.

By the looks of it, the people inside weren't doing anything; it was strangely silent. Normally if she'd walked past the hideout of a few minor criminals, they'd be laughing merrily, creating a big hoo-ha within their own space. Such silence disturbed the girl; what exactly were they doing inside?

"Now, guys, when I count to three, we all barge inside and arrest those thieves." The girl turned to face them, only to notice that some of them were rather annoyed with how she was handling things from here. Apparently, the girl couldn't be bothered about them and their pesky little opinions. "Is that clear? I want no mistakes this time. Everyone is to do their job!"

"Yes Ma'am!" The men answered, though the look on their faces proved otherwise. No ma'am. We don't want to go inside. Not now. Not this time, because…

"One." The girl analyzed her surroundings; according to the map she'd found on the Internet, there were little potential areas of escapes that these thieves could use. The only entrance or exit to this abandoned little house was via this door, which was the reason as to why she had ordered some of the men to keep a lookout for this door in order to set up an ambush for the thieves residing in this hideout.

"Two…" She trailed off, preparing herself for what was to come. Behind the doors could be several severely dangerous thieves that were properly armed with fatal life-threatening weapons such as a grenade, or… maybe a chainsaw. Chainsaws shouldn't be underestimated; she'd seen movies where people were massacred by chainsaws.

"Three!" She shouted, and almost immediately, she threw herself towards the door…

… Only to find it unlocked.

As a result of her imprudence, her whole body collapsed towards the floor after the door gave way and she winced in pain as the cement hit her spine and her tailbone. It wasn't a serious hit, but it still hurt a lot.

But that wasn't the only thing that resulted from her imprudence—the house… was completely empty. There was not a single soul inside.

Not a single thief.

No criminal.

She could hear the faint whisperings of the men behind her. Some of them were complaining and some of them were muttering about how careless she was, but she didn't bother to correct them.

"There she goes again—yayaya, and then, voila! It's all a ruse!"

"How many times has it been? Ten? I've lost count—she's always getting the wrong information for things! We'll never complete our jobs!"

"I knew I shouldn't have transferred to the department under her—I want to go back to Kaito sir's department!"

"Crap! We're getting it again this time! Madame Sakine is going to kill us for this!"

"And multiple cops have been deployed out for this mission! Even cops that were supposed to be following the recent murder case in central Brooklyn has been sent to her department! Poor Colonel Kaito's got a shortage of manpower because of her! Look what we got—"

The girl resisted the urge to rub her temples at the chaos behind her. She picked herself up, barely concealing the look of shame and embarrassment on her face, evident with the tint of cherry-pink on her face.

She was so going to get screwed on the head.

By that renowned harpy, no less.


Location: Lieutenant's office
Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday
Time: 13 00

"Explain," Sakine Meiko ordered strictly with a look of anger on her face, "Why you came back with nothing despite the fact that most manpower has already been sent to you, as requested."

Nothing? Rin thought to herself silently, it wasn't all for nothing, I knew there were crooks inside but I really don't know where in heaven's sake they'd went!

The girl lowered her gaze onto the floor, as if there was something amusing there that had caught her attention. She couldn't bring herself to look up at her superior because she knew that she had been such a letdown to her; every single time she had asked and demanded for more manpower, her mission would end up in failure. She didn't know why.

She didn't think it was her fault, of course; no way in heavens would she put the blame on herself. It wasn't her fault; it was just time's fault! Perhaps it was because they were a tiny-winy bit late by a few seconds, or perhaps they'd got a glimpse of the cops approaching, and therefore took the opportunity to make a dash for it before they'd managed to arrive and brought them away in those striking little cars they had.

"Rin!" The woman behind the table growled, demanding for attention. The deepness of her voice sent shivers down Rin's spine and caused Rin to flinch momentarily.

"Y-Yes! Lieutenant!" Rin immediately responded. She didn't want to incur the wrath of this ferocious woman any further; her job was at stake here. Even if she didn't like it, she'd have to follow… but it wasn't her fault, was it not? She was merely doing her job well! True, it might be her who had insisted that she would definitely nab those crooks this time, but it wasn't her fault that the conclusion would be the same as any other time!

The shade on the ferocious lieutenant's face was crimson with fury, just like the shade of the carpet that adorned the floor Rin was stepping on. She was very much afraid; she looked as though she could strangle Rin any moment, or have her gun pointed at her forehead in an instance.

"You!" Meiko roared, pointing accusingly at Rin, "This was not the first time you've made such a blunder! You've shamed your department, and your colleagues have lost trust and faith in you!"

"I know!" Wailed Rin, "I know! Please, forgive me! It won't happen again, I swear—"

"—That was exactly what you told me last time, Rin! You've said this over and over, but have you really done it? No! You're incorrigible, Rin—this line is not suited for you!"

"But I—" Rin gritted her teeth. She wasn't going to have another chance of explaining herself.

"Silence!" Meiko interrupted her coolly. "I shall hear no more of such nonsense from you! I thought of transferring you to other departments, or maybe have the Colonel teach you a lesson or two on how to be a better officer, but you… you don't change!

"Surrender your pistol, now. I'm putting you on suspension—you are to be suspended until further notice. Meanwhile, go and reflect on what you can do as an enforcer of the country's law! Brooklyn has no need for someone like you!"

Rin winced inwardly. It was harsh, hearing those words spewing out from her superior's mouth. She wasn't sure if it was really meant to be an insult, or if it were a way to make her reflect upon her own actions and change, but either way, she didn't want to surrender her belongings; she was an investigator, a law-enforcer, someone who fought crimes! She wasn't going to give up that easily, no, she wouldn't.

She was going to follow the footsteps of her mother. She was going to fight crimes. She was going to be a successful law-enforcer like she was, even if she wasn't a prosecutor like her mom—Reia Lynn.

She had to… she couldn't give up now. She was so close, so close… If she worked harder, if she tried to capture all of the criminals lurking in the dark, murky depths of New York City's alleyway, then perhaps… perhaps she could find that person.

"No ma'am," Rin willed her courage to utter those words, words that could have signified defiance against her superior, words that might get her into further trouble than she already is in… but what difference would it make, for her? "No, ma'am. I don't want to follow orders! Not this time round, please!"

"What?" Meiko uttered, her voice lined with shock. Her eyes widened and she gaped at Rin's insolent behavior. She was retorting back at her superior! Did she have guts of steel? Was she not afraid of losing more than what she already has lost?

"What the heck? Are you… Did I hear you correctly? Are you actually threatening me? Are you defying my orders?"

Rin showed a grim look. "Ma'am, please—"

"I gave you enough as it is! What more do you expect from me, you—"

"Please, I deserve another—"

Meiko looked absolutely livid. "Be quiet! If everyone could get away with their faults that easily, then the whole department would be full of loopholes and insolent brats like you who doesn't take their jobs seriously—"

"Please!"

Meiko stared at the pleading girl in front of her. Her face looked pained, her eyes were filled with something that screamed for attention—she didn't look quite right. She was nervous, Meiko could tell. Her lips were trembling with fear and her cheeks were no longer as rosy as they should be. They were pale.

She didn't get why this girl in front of her was so desperate for a chance to be given to her; she knew that she'd already given her multiple opportunities, but why was she so insistent on staying? It was just a suspension! She'd be called back the moment they were short of manpower, or the moment she saw her fit to be back at work!

Yet, she seemed to be exaggerating things.

"Ma'am," Rin spoke, sounding as though there was something caught in her breath. It came out more like a whine. "I promise you, I assure you… this would be the end of it. I want one more chance, Ma'am, just one. If I can't nab a single crook even after this chance has been given to me, then I'll resign; I'll leave by myself. I'll go. Willingly."

Meiko managed to stop herself from gasping. The way Rin talked… sounded as though she was writing a will before her final struggle with life. It sounded so grim, so determined, and so peculiar. No matter, Meiko didn't want to single-handedly crush that child's dream, no matter how small it was; she might be able to really succeed this time round.

Who knows?

Besides… her tone was…

"Alright," Meiko said, hoping that she wouldn't regret any of her decisions, "Alright. One more chance."

In front of her, the child let out a relieved sigh that she had been holding back ever since she'd set foot into the lieutenant's office.

She was safe.


Location: Bartlett Street, Brooklyn, New York city
Date: 11 February 20XX, Wednesday
Time: 15 00

Her footsteps felt extremely heavy as she trotted down the crowded parts of Brooklyn's streets. She could hear silent whispers, sweet mumblings and whatnot coming from the noisy bunch of people who occasionally brushed past her in a hurry, but all of these seem to appear as incoherent murmurs in the depths of her preoccupied mind.

When some of these people rammed into her by accident, they immediately apologized to refrain from getting into any trouble with the fellow investigator. Perhaps it was because her face was dark and her nostrils were flared; it gave a rather good portrayal of a devil in an angel's disguise and it was the ultimate representation of death itself; she looked like a pseudo-murderer. Or perhaps it was because of the fact that she was properly clad in a silky black jacket that had one of the police's badges embroidered into its top right breast pocket; it gave her a sense of authority, but also reminded the public that she was a law-enforcer, one that could not be easily trifled with.

As such, when somebody rammed into her brutally and did not even have the decency to utter words of apology, she glared daggers into that person in front of her to have a better look at him, but apparently his head was bowed down and his hood was veiling his prominent features from being displayed.

Suspicious, Rin thought.

And she was right.

Almost instantly after the man had banged into her, a voice resonated from beside Rin, from somewhere within the alleyway. Rin always had a sharp vision; she was able to even spot the tiny little ants crawling on the speckle of dust on the inspector's table, so she took no difficulty trying to spot the source of that cry. When she did look, she briefly caught a glimpse of a girl with shoulder-length emerald-like hair standing behind one of the barrels placed beside a wall.

"Help!" She cried desperately, her voice cracking.

She wasn't sure what happened, but as soon as the man heard her cries of help, he turned and took off, dashing across the streets with his hand secured on the hood he was wearing. He took off clumsily, and Rin could spot him in the distance, trying to blend in with the crowd but of course, he did a rather horrendous job at it.

Rin was convinced that he had something to do with the poor girl's cries of help.

Hence, she followed him from behind, making her way through the excited bunch of crowd that seemed to be aware of what was transpiring between them. She had a hard time pushing through everyone, even having the courtesy to apologize after she'd almost crashed into an innocent bystander with a toddler in his hands, but not once did she falter; she continued to chase after the man like a predator chasing its prey with unwavering speed.

The man seemed to know that she was catching up, for he panicked for a moment or two. He turned to see how much further Rin had to go to catch up with him, and that was truly a mistake, because it sealed his fate; the moment he did that, he missed the large metal pole in front of him and as a result, he collapsed and fell backwards upon coming into contact with the stiff object.

It was all Rin needed to catch up with him.

She twisted both of his wrists and rendered him immobile before she pushed him flat-face to the ground, removing that hood of his and then taking a closer inspection of him.

He looked like a horrible mess. His face was scarred in every way possible, and his skin looked it was marred by a sharp object; it looked as though his face had been cut into half and then sewn back together with a needle. Well, that was how Rin thought of things, but Rin's thoughts were always crude. Period.

"What did you do to the girl?" She spat, her voice trembling with rage, "Speak!"

"W-what?" The man shivered beneath her torturous grasp. "I have n-no idea what the heck you're on about!"

"Don't lie!" She screamed, her own voice ringing in her ears, "I saw it with my own eyes! You did something to her!"

"T-the hell?"

"You'd better come clean with me! I'll take you back for further inspection if you do not—"

"—Wait!"

Rin turned her head to look at the newcomer that stood shyly in front of her. That voice… she could remember it, she had heard it just now, in the alleyway. She was the girl who had been crying for help.

Upon closer examination of the girl, Rin realized that the girl was panting, gasping for air and greedily breathing more oxygen than she should. It looked as though she had came running all the way from another country… she looked so tired, so lost.

"I caught him," Rin mumbled, flashing her a toothy smile, "Don't worry!"

And she stared. The unknown girl with hair that had a strange hue of emerald stared at her with a look of bewilderment, her eyes penetrating deep into Rin's softer ones. Her face was flushed, and she cleared her throat as if she was preparing for some speech that got her extremely nervous.

"Umm," The girl started, "You know…"

Rin lifted her gaze off of the girl in front of her and let her gaze linger on the man that she'd nabbed. He wasn't moving now—he looked as though he had given up trying to get her off of him. Strange.

Rin might have never successfully nabbed a criminal before, but she definitely has had her share of interrogating some of them before, or successfully catching some of those thugs that had committed minor crimes, like this one below her. However, when she'd managed to get them pinned down beneath her, all of them shared a common trait—they'd struggle to get free, all the while throwing insults and showing off their wonderfully colorful vocabulary to the investigator.

This one… was silent.

"I thought he stole my wallet," The girl started off again, "And… well, I managed to find it… miraculously. It was in the pocket of my coat."

Oh. So, it had been a misunderstanding all along? Was that what she was trying to tell Rin? That this person here she'd caught was an innocent man after all?

No.

"Then, why did he run?" Rin questioned inquisitively. The man beneath her started writhing until she loosened her grasp on his wrists.

"Of course I ran!" He bellowed, "You looked like you wanted to murder me when you heard her shout! I thought you wanted to kill me! How was I to know?"

She let a brief moment of silence pass through them; it seemed like it was all a misunderstanding, but was she able to just let him go like that? It was humiliating, to have caught the wrong person! Of course, she did consider all of the possible scenarios that could have happened; he might be lying, for his own sake, but the victim… even the girl had mentioned that it was a misunderstanding.

She had no reason to have him detained.

She felt heat being absorbed into her cheeks and it did felt like they were on fire. With a few nervous sighs, she let the man go free, watching as the man slowly got onto his knees and then shooting her a glare before he'd left them alone.

The girl giggled nervously. "I guess… I got you into all of this? Sorry."

"It's… okay," Rin mumbled, but her heart said otherwise. No it isn't okay. It's happened tons of times before but it isn't okay.

She wasn't going to blame the innocent girl, though; anyone in their right mind who'd lost their wallet after coming into contact with another suspicious looking person who naturally accuse the other of having stolen their property! Besides, that man really did look like a thug. His face… it reminded Rin of the Mafia and its association.

If anything, she was to blame for making such a rash move.

"I guess… you wouldn't mind if I made it up to you, would you?" The girl flashed her a sheepish grin, offering her hand to the female investigator.

Rin took her hand. "It's alright, I—"

"No! I caused this. Please, allow me to make it up to you."

"But I—"

"Don't decline my offer," She pleaded, and it looked like Rin didn't have a choice here, "Please, come with me; I have a café nearby that offers freshly brewed tea and coffee… perfect for calming and soothing your nerves!"

Rin sighed. She didn't really mind a cup of coffee anyway; she'd been craving for more caffeine since the start of a horrible day.

She nodded, and let the girl lead her through the streets.


(because i don't even know you)

Author's note: Not a very long chapter, but the next chapter will make up for it. Next chapter; Len meets Rin -le gasp- (finally), what would happen to the both of them?

Keep your eyes peeled for the next TRS update... which is about, tomorrow, I'd say! :3

Oh, aaand, does anyone here have any good Wii games to recommend me? I mean, I want something that's like a stimulation game. I was considering "Harvest Moon: Animal Parade" and "Harvest Moon: Tree Of Tranquility" because I have been a rabid harvest moon fan for years (of course you can't tell; I don't even tell it to my friends!) but I don't know which one's better, though I heard that the former has good looking bachelors? -cough-

Review? Thanks everyone :)