*I am tired, coffee and then reports?*
*Agreed*
They head back to the station and give their reports. This routine continued for three months with Julia taking a week off each month when one day she was called into the office about Jiban
*You asked for me sir?*
*Yes as you know your assigned partner Tamura Naoto is still in America helping the FBI with the Japanese criminals who are proving to be more difficult than first thought*
*Yes, we've actually been in regular contact since he knows me from before I became a police officer*
*Unfortunately you won't be able to meet him for a while longer*
*Sir?*
*The assignment for him is over but for you it's just beginning, along with the help of the Japanese military we need you to fake your death and go deep undercover*
(Sighs) *I can't fully go undercover, Tamura won't be fooled*
*What for?*
*Okay due to your rank you have clearance but first I need to see what all you know. Have you ever heard of the police officer known as Jiban?*
*Yes, I even have his file where it explains that a civilian several years ago made a connection with him due to classified reasons, and even though I have the clearance to know said classified reasons I requested not to be informed unless absolutely necessary what those reasons were*
*Okay, did the file mention the fact that Jiban has a civilian identity?*
*Yes, that part is also classified unless you have my rank but again I decided that for me it would be a need to know basis*
*Okay, it's need to know, Jiban's civilian identity is Tamura Naoto and I am the person he has a connection with due to my Arranyan powers, he has pseudo-powers and one of them is being able to identify me no matter what. As such no matter what disguise I take as soon as he sees me he'll know it's me and that I'm actually still alive. We need to bring him in on the assignment since he's going to find out anyways*
*Can you block the ability that allows him to know it's you?*
*Nope*
*And he knows as soon as it's you?*
*Yes, you see several years ago right when he came back I was supposedly killed, but was in fact taken by a group which I will not explain right now and they brainwashed me into thinking my friends and family were the ones who abandoned me and left me to die, though it took a bit before they succeeded in getting past my mental defenses. The first time I came across Jiban he instantly recognized me and used a fighting style unique to the two of us to see if it was really me and it was*
*Okay he does need brought in but only him*
*I know that and he'll understand the need to keep it quiet too. In fact this might actually be for the best since this ways you'll be able to have contact with me through him*
*How?*
*Now that you don't need to know, just understand we have a way to communicate that is secure*
*Why don't I need to know?*
*Because it's...not something easily accepted and while you technically have the rank to know due to said complication unless something comes up you really don't need to know how we keep communication secure*
*Fine, but we need to discuss how regular it will be and when you will implement the plan seeing as how I think you're going to wait until Tamura gets back to fake your death*
*Actually we can fake my death before he gets back, however you're going to have to reveal the mission to him immediately, especially if he finds out about my death in the American news papers first*
*I thought you said...*
*Okay here's something you need to understand, the ability to detect me requires proximity*
*Oh, so until he's close to you he'll think you're dead*
*Exactly*
*Okay I can tell him the truth, now then you report for training next week, in that time think of how you're going to fake your death*
*Oh I have a good idea already, but it all depends on if I go to the training I think I'm going to because while we have a rotation the Japanese government could change my assignment at a moments notice just like if I was in America*
*Okay, just find a way to make contact when you do fake your death so that I know you're starting your mission*
*Okay, it might not be through Tamura the first time*
*Don't worry you'll know when he's back in Japan*
*I'm sure I will, see you later sir*
*See you later Kerenai*
The next week Julia actually didn't have the training she thought she would have, she originally thought she would have training with ground forces but instead was told that she would be doing air training, specifically rescue swimming, and part of that was due to a new member that needed training as well and as such they decided to just combine the two people for one training
*Understood*
*Kerenai, we also know about your police assignment, when you think the time is right how are you going to fake your death?*
*Sorry, but I think it best you don't know when or how so that you have genuine reactions*
Over the next three days Julia and the recruit were doing great and Julia finally decided that on the fourth day when there was a chance she would fake her death knowing that the newest member would go far if they kept up the enthusiasm and training they were doing and had at the moment. The next day Julia got her chance in a live rescue with several boats. She got one person into the basket after having already made seven trips earlier and when she let go of the basket simply let herself sink into the ocean activating her special shields which allowed her to breath underwater with a special air bubble surrounding her. An ability discovered only a year after she returned with the help of Jiban due to an accident in America when both were needed to not only confirm Jiban's honorary status with the government but also for special training in weapons that the EDC was developing but hadn't put through field tests yet except in certain locations and only in America. Once the rescue mission was over the pilot gave the report that one person was missing and presumed dead, all survivors rescued and they were returning to base for a debrief
*Sir her endurance was excellent the entire time, she volunteered to go back all seven times when we told her that her first rescue was to be the only one because conditions were starting to go against her, why her eighth trip managed to exhaust her to the point of drowning I don't know*
*We may never find out why she simply passed out, there could be any number of reasons besides exhaustion, unless we find a body we'll never know though*
*We can't search for her either...sir she's under American jurisdiction as well, it's how she managed to join when she did do we...?*
*Yes, we tell America through official channels first and once they tell us the right people have been informed we give official word through the news, for now...for now we mention the mission on the news and explain that certain aspects of the mission are currently on going and we'll give more information at a later date when we have information to give*
Three days later the Japanese Self Defense Force was telling people about Julia's death in the news and then a few hours later Jiban heard of it in the FBI headquarters in Washington DC
"Kerenai can't be dead, she's...she's too strong for that"
"Naoto, she's dead, the Japanese Self Defense Force themselves declared she was lost in a rescue mission, they were apparently actually on a training exercise when the call came in"
"Kerenai...I need to go home, they're going to need me home"
"Tamura...Naoto, we still have Japanese nationals committing crimes and you're the only one authorized to arrest them"
"Actually I finally figured out their hiding place, we can do the raid in three hours and have them ready to be deported within six"
"Go for it Naoto"
"Thank you sir, I already have the team in mind that I need"
"Good, get the team together and get going then"
"With pleasure"
Six hours later Naoto and the criminals from Japan were finally heading home. Two hours beforehand though in Japan the police had finally received word from Julia that she was finally beginning her mission and would report in once again at a later date through Naoto
*Sir there's a letter for you, however I can't read it and I don't recognize the handwriting*
*Understood*
The chief receives the letter and quickly realizes that it's written in English. Many years earlier it had been made a requirement that any Japanese police officer that was to work closely with the EDC had to learn English to the point of if not fluency then close enough that they rarely had to ask for translation by the EDC and even then it was only a few words here or there or even an acronym that occasionally popped up that regular Japanese police officers didn't come across on a regular basis. The chief and the station were not that close to the EDC but the chief had decided on his own a few years earlier to learn English just in case and made sure to keep in practice and he knew that Julia knew about his fluency in English so once he reads the message he shreds it and then makes sure it's burned