Riddle me this

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

A/N: Kazel15? What did you find confusing about the last chapter? I'll PM you with an explanation if you want.


They came like white feathers, a proclamation of a type of war that was festering between them.

How could you betray me like this? She could feel his anger by the indent the pen left on paper.

What are you talking about? I've kept your secret.

I may not be a detective, but don't patronize me. I know you figured it out by now.

I know what I'm doing.

You don't know anything. Oh now she felt insulted.

Then tell me.

I can't.

Can't or won't.

Both.

She found the letter in her shoe locker when she arrived, which meant that her Senpai was already at school. She went to her class thinking of her reply, after all she didn't want to disappoint her Senpai with her wording. It was clear that he was angry at her, but saying she knew 'nothing' was just a step too far. She left her class after first period and went to the second floor, 'accidentally' bumping into her Senpai as she slipped the letter into his hand. After school she retreated back to her apartment and began changing clothes. Fussing over each piece, while deciding what would make her look unsuspecting. After all, bait had to look like 'bait', she wasn't going to attract the killer if she dressed like she was prepared for him. Which meant giving up her gun, unbuckling it and setting down the hoister in a drawer. There was a knock at her door that caused her to turn and leave what she was doing, was it time? "Hello Princess."

In the moment that followed, before she could state her displeasure at being called 'Princess' her Senpai had put his hand on her shoulder and shoved her back. She expected to go back a step, not hit the ground as though she was a piece of cardboard. Was her stance that weak that she could be pushed around so easily? Her Senpai stood over her, his anger almost a palpable aura, something she had never seen before. Since the Hot Springs he had always been patient around her, this sudden act of anger left her floored. Unprepared with no idea what would happen next. But then she remembered that insulting 'princess' and her shock gave into her anger.

He was kicking off his shoes as she twisted to push herself from the ground when his hand grabbed her by her tie. It wasn't a flimsy clip on, thus she had to awkwardly follow his lead as he walked past her. She stumbled as he put her to the wall, her back hitting it with enough force to let her know he meant business. She struggled to free her hands in time as he dropped her tie but it was pointless. Before she knew it he had her hands above her head and his body against hers. A hard body pressed against her own, strength that she didn't believe he possessed containing her.

"What were you thinking? 'Were' you thinking?" He demanded. With every word it conveyed his anger at her. Yet she never felt safer then with that anger. Though she wouldn't admit it, she was afraid of going alone into this trap. Setting herself up was necessary, but necessity didn't make fear disappear. But if he was able to be angry, it meant that someone cared enough about her to 'get' angry. She'd hold on to that anger, use it to keep herself warm.

"Serving as bait." She replied, she kept her voice, low almost a soft growl. She'd show him her strength, she wasn't a weak child, a helpless girl who needed protection all the time. She wouldn't let him reduce her to that state in his mind! Even as he used his height to his full advantage, leaving her defenseless against the wall while he stared down at her. She refused to back down to him in any way. Earning his respect was on the top of her list and it if meant putting her life on the line she would do it. He was all she had left, after her appearance on TV she had been removed from the case by the police force. She had no reason left to be in Inaba, no one needed her unless she proved that the case wasn't over.

"This isn't a fishing trip!" Why was he telling her this? Did he think she got the title of 'Detective Prince' by being stupid? She knew the price she could ultimately be paying to do this. She knew it was dangerous and that she would initially look like just another run away. Unless that was how he thought of her to begin with. Just a girl to look after, was he stringing her along, pretending to take her seriously while looking after a stupid child? "You'll be gone, they'll just assume you've run away. They won't think you're in any sort of danger until they find you hanging upside down from a TV antennae!"

"Are you implying you can't save me?" Or was he implying that she had been mislead and that he wasn't the one rescuing people. Did he find a way to trick her and she was wasting her time around him? "Are you saying I've signed my death warrant because you're not even going to try?" She felt the stirrings of hot anger and betrayal at the thought. The riddles they played began to sting emotionally. Yet at the same time she couldn't ignore how strong his body had become. She could feel the harden muscles under his school uniform even as they were pressed up against each other. She could never be that strong physically only mentally.

Her hat blocked the view of his eyes, she only got a glance of what looked to be a deepened anger. He had her standing on her toes, his hand pinning her arms painfully to the wall. Grabbing her tie in his hand, he had yanked it and thus her upper body forward. Forced to stay on her toes she had to step away from the wall while her arms held her pinned back. But she couldn't go forward much either. She was helpless and alarmed. "How does it feel, Detective 'Prince'? How does it feel to have your feet on the ground and not know what the next five minutes are going to bring, as the situation you're currently in gets thrown completely out of balance?"

She felt him knock her feet out from under her, sending her flailing as she tried to stop her fall. He caught her arm yanking her to her feet while in the same move shoving her forward. "I go after these people because no one else can. But I don't go into it half cocked like this is some video game. There's no restart button on what I'm doing, there's no replay. No one is going to send me back in time a week to fix my screw up if someone dies."

"I'm more then just an empty headed girl with a fixation on romance." She shot back, moving as she refused to let him get his hands on her again. Is that all she was to him now? Was that why he called her 'Princess'? Because he thought of her as some empty headed girl looking for romance? How dare he! How could he think so little of her after she had tried so hard to be of use! Putting her on the same level as Risette?! HA! Maybe she was the fool for believing she had found someone who appreciated her! "But I've put myself into this situation as my last gamble. I tried to tell them they haven't got the original murderer, Kubo is just a copycat nothing more. They won't look, they won't listen because of my age. They're going to let Kubo go and take the blame for the three murders and the real culprit will be left to walk free." She felt hurt and betrayed and the venom of those feelings began to seep into her voice.

"So this is your solution? Make yourself into bait? If you die then everyone is going to realize you're right? We'll all throw a grand funeral and speak about how intelligent you were?" She felt like he had just punched her with that. How could he just talk about her efforts like it was as simple as that? How could he mock her dedication or her determination by implying such a thing? She was scared and he was talking about it like she was suicidal in her determination?!

"How dare you! How dare you talk to me this way!" she near shouted, losing control of her emotions. "You can't understand what it's like to be me! I was born to a family that prides itself on the detectives that have been born from it. All my life all I hear is that it's a 'shame' that I'm a girl. No matter how many cases I solve no matter what I try to do, I'm never going to be anything more then a baby carrier for another man's child. I can't even keep the Shirogane name!" she growled out her chest heaving with her anger. She wanted to cry from grief that he would betray her this way, she wanted to just fall on her knees and sob. "I need them to understand! I need them to realize the mistake they're making before it gets worse!" But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her break down and cry. No better then the rest of them, ignoring what she could do just because of her age and gender. She put her back to him a silent cue for him to get the hell out of her apartment. "I'm a detective, risk is involved in my line of work. If you're not man enough to accept that then get out of my apartment."

She felt cold inside, betrayed on the deepest of levels by Souji's actions. If he only saw her as some weak helpless girl, he was going to find out she wasn't. The letters had incited his anger, she'd do it again. She'd show him how cold she could be, how unfeeling she could be. Emotions were wasteful expenditures of energy that she could and would shut down. She tried to move away, but with a presence like her... like the Senpai she knew he was behind her. Letting him get his hands on her again was out of the question. He was too powerful, he'd have her at his mercy again and her pride would not allow for that! She counter grabbed his wrist when he grabbed her with her free hand, she wasn't a martial artist like Chie-senpai. But she knew the basics of a take down and several submission moves.

She took him down with it, too. Seeing him on his knees, one hand holding up his torso, his other arm being pinned by her. It excited her, it always did when she could put a strong man to his knees, when she could make them submit to her. Thus having the one person outside of her family who she craved the respect and admiration of, on his knees submitting to her was the ultimate high. She would make him submit to her, make him respect her. It was the way of all men after all, might made right.

"You wanted me to get upset." She smirked when he spoke, when she heard his injured tone. There was a vicious satisfaction she found in this victory. "Why? What do you gain to make me want to do this?"

"Because it proves me stronger." She replied simply. Let him hurt as he had hurt her."This way you respect my decisions, instead of trying to hide me away like some weak little girl."

"When have I ever treated you like you were weak?" His fingers were flexing, a typical response to help keep blood flow going. Holding his arm down over her thigh as tightly as she was only made it difficult for him. Twisting it as she did only made blood flow more difficult, thus he was going to have to appease her if he wanted relief.

"You won't tell me the truth. You won't tell me where the victims are being taken when kidnapped. You're hiding things from me even as you say you trust me. Why would you do that if you don't think I'm incapable of handling things."

"You think my concern is a sign of my contempt? You think my desire for your safety is my way of showing you unable to handle the case?" He sounded angry. Just the tone she wanted to hear out of the smug leader of the self titled Investigation Team. "Tell me Naoto, where are your neighbors during this time of the day?"

"Not home, but I don't see you escaping my hold." So there was no point in him for shouting for help. If he was willing to have people know that he got beat by a kid smaller then him in size.

"You have a hold on me that I can probably never break." His voice was firm though, did he honestly think he stood a chance? "But your shear unbridled, insufferable arrogance is something I'm going to break. You're so fixated on the excuses you create as to why you don't get the respect you feel is your due, that you ignore the very reason it happens. Simply put you act like a child!" Her nails dug into him as she took in his cruel words. How could he know about her hate of being treated like a child? "You think that people don't listen to you because of your age and gender alone? Perhaps the outside world does that. Maybe it's because when they tell you something you put them on ignore. You go into every situation thinking that people are looking down on you. Judging them before you even give them a chance. Because the only thing you know are the two dimensional characters in books. You have no life experiences, or understanding of the hearts that beat in people. Right now you have someone that is worried about you. But instead of seeing it for what it is, you automatically twist it into some type of misogynistic reason. You can't even comprehend that the reason I do what I do is because I'm worried about you. You just can not accept the idea that your life is important. Title be damned."

"How dare you..." her voice was trembling against her will. She wasn't arrogant! This was how men acted, all her life this was how men treated her and only accepted other men with any respect. Did he think that he could treat her with such cruelty and she take it? She refused to take any type of abuse from men, even him! And if it meant hiding her gender, changing her gender anything, she would do it! All she wanted was acceptance, and now the one person who she wanted to accept her the most was treating her like this? Perhaps all her knowledge was book learned, perhaps her social skills were terrible, but that was necessary! The more time she spent around people the faster they would pick up on her deception! She was sure Dojima-san already knew, he was all, but, pushing her out of the office when the hour got late. 'I have to sacrifice my social life for my job. All I have is my life as a detective, there isn't anything else left of me! I can't just give that up too! There's... there's nothing left of me otherwise...'

Out of nowhere he yanked his arm free of her grip, startling her as she fell to the floor before she scrambled to her feet. How could he break that hold like she was nothing? If he could do that why didn't he do it from the start? Why couldn't she have been born a boy? Then she would have been able to be his match! He wouldn't patronize her or look down on her like a weak little girl. He'd respect her, then, they all would. Then her chest wouldn't hurt with what he was saying to her, she wouldn't want to cry from his actions.

Then he stood up, "is that the type of men you respect? I can be that you know. I can be whatever type of man or leader you need. I can throw you to the ground, ignore you, treat you like dirt because I know what you hide under those clothes. Or I can treat you like a human being."

She tried to slap him, but he caught her hand and twisted it downward, forcing her to her toes and leaning against him. "Do you want me to break a bone or two in you Naoto-chan?" He asked his voice casual, and cruel in that casual ambivalence towards her pain.

"No,"she was scared as she spoke. While she had wanted him upset, she thought she had a chance against him. Now she knew she had no chance against him and within her fear, the desperation grew. It was a lost cause, she could never win his respect or admiration, his or anyone else. Her wrist hurt as he held it, she was forced to stay on her toes as he held her in such an uncomfortable position. But she could see it in his eyes, he couldn't keep this level of apathetic behavior up for long.

His fingers slackened letting Naoto go, but his question still bothered her. What type of man did she want or need? What kind of leader? All her feelings of betrayal aside, if his intentions were pure then he was only looking out for her. With that in mind, did she prefer a leader, a man in her life that tried to protect her from something that he apparently believed was more then she could handle? Or one that would let her go her own way and discover the truth on her own? Even if it meant her own death, without a single care about her as a person?

"Pretend... Pretend that I will believe and trust every word you say. Then tell me the truth about what is going on." She finally asked her voice soft and even. Defeat wasn't something she accepted easily. But she was left with no choice, he could overpower her easily, and her trap was still waiting to be sprung. But she didn't expect anything out of her request, he had denied her since the Hot Springs after all. No reason for this time to be different.

"I won't be able to find you. Rise is the one who finds people not me. But even then she just locates the path that leads to where the victim is held. Once that's found it's multiple levels and you'll be somewhere at the end of that building. We only have so many days until the victim is killed."

"They'll be killed on a foggy day. Which means if I get taken away soon, you have until the next foggy night to find me before the murderer kills me." Perhaps her method was wrong, perhaps allowing herself to be the proverbial 'bad cop' was the problem. It was a show of weakness, reaching out and touching his lower chest. She rested her hand against his lower ribcage feeling the strong muscles he had developed under her fingertips. Her wrist wasn't hurting badly, a mild form of disciplining for her behavior one could assume.

"Rescuing you, like the others takes time. We try to get it done all at once, but the locations are getting more difficult to enter." She found herself lost in thought, the possibility that she had just given him a cruel task finally hitting home. "I may never get the chance to see you again. If I fail this time, so forgive me." Suddenly he gripped her behind the head with a surprisingly gentle touch. His free arm wrapped itself around her, holding her to him in a way she knew from those old detective movies. But even with that knowledge it didn't prepare her for the kiss he stole when his lips touched hers. He was stealing her first kiss, and yet she couldn't find the strength to get angry. Her anger spent earlier in their private battle. But he held her tight to his body, his kiss soft against her lips and she couldn't fight this touch. A first kiss was a first kiss however; and she didn't know what to do. Her lips parted slightly as she reached up and rested her hand against his neck to pull him closer still. After a while though, the rush of her first kiss faded enough for her modesty to return. She pulled back turning her face away in shyness.

He left without a word, but that was fine. She didn't know what to say anyways, there had never been anyone who wanted her as a girl before. Naoto couldn't even remember what 'being a girl' was like. But if her Senpai wanted her that way...