"Hello again, Natsuki. I'll be your date for the rest of the day."

The cobalt-haired woman before Shizuru let a bright smile cross her face, as she reached forward and lightly wrapped her fingers around Shizuru's wrist. Natsuki then gently tugged Shizuru in through her front door, and into her apartment.

"Good to see you again, Shizuru. And so soon," Natsuki replied with a smug, little smile she was trying to hide and was failing terribly at.

Shizuru stood in the middle of the room she had been pulled into, moving a bit nervously from one foot to the other.

"Natsuki..." Shizuru began softly...hesitantly. "Why did you do it? Why did you...'purchase' me for the day. You made my...employer...upset...and he grew quite possessive. He's a very smart and crafty man. He seemed to immediately sense something...different about you. This is a dangerous game you're playing, Natsuki. My employer doesn't like when other people start playing...with his toys..." Shizuru's voice trailed off weakly at this last word.

Natsuki looked silently at Shizuru for a few seconds before she turned on her heel, and quickly made her way down the hallway towards her bedroom.

Shizuru looked curiously at Natsuki's vanishing back and then continued to watch quietly, as Natsuki came back up the hallway to stand before her.

"Well just so you know, I can be pretty dangerous myself," Natsuki said lightly, as she pulled something from behind her back, and lightly cocked back on the gleaming silver magnum pistol that she now held in her hand.

Shizuru merely raised one honey-coloured eyebrow lightly, as she already knew that Natsuki was a police cadet, so it wouldn't be unexpected for her to have her own weapon at home. And Reito carried his own weapon at all times, so she was more than used to being around people with guns.

"Well, it's good to see that you are at least well-equipped, though I still stand by my warning. Be careful with what you believe you are doing, Natsuki. I do not need to be 'saved'. I do not need a 'protector'. I know exactly what I am doing with my life, and I have my own personal reasons why I do what I do. I do not need a 'knight in shining armor' to come in and rescue me from my deeds," Shizuru said in a soft, hollow-sounding tone.

Natsuki un-cocked her weapon, and leaned forward to place it temporarily in a side table drawer. She then fixed the brunette before her with a small, unhappy frown.

"I'm sorry, Shizuru. I'm not trying to be your 'knight in shining armor.' I just thought...I just wanted...can't we just be frie...look...you're a really nice person. You try to hide that but I can already tell that you are. There is just...something about you that makes me want to spend some more time with you. And unfortunately, the only way for me to be able to do that is by 'buying' your time. Understandably if we had sex then this would fall under prostitution, and I'd find myself on the other side of the law I'm in training to uphold. But I'm not 'paying' you for sex. I just want to hang out with you today. That's all. Think of it as...an innocent 'escort service'. You keep me company as we go around town, and earn a little money on the side for it. Think of yourself as my 'tour guide', for simple fun around the city for the day," Natsuki said with an almost smirking grin.

Shizuru stared silently at Natsuki for a full half minute before she burst out laughing, slightly startling Natsuki before the ebony-haired woman joined in on the laughter. Shizuru allowed a few stray giggles to escape her, as she wiped away a tear or two from her eyes, before she turned a truly amused smile on the woman before her.

"My my, Ms Kuga. You do seem to have an answer for practically everything I throw at you, now don't you? I can see even from now that you will make an excellent police officer. You don't back down from a challenge, and you certainly don't give up when you decide you want something. I believe that I am going to enjoy this day out with you," Shizuru said as she flashed a smile at the dark-haired woman, that made Natsuki's heart skip a beat...or two.

"Ah...ah well...I...it's nothing like tha...dammit woman!" Natsuki stammered out as her face flamed bright red in shy embarrassment. No one had ever been able to pinpoint these attributes that she thought she kept well-hidden so easily, and it left the indigo-haired woman more flustered than she remembered being in a while.

"A-Anyway, we have things to do. Wait right here while I go get our...equipment...that we're going to need to start out this day," Natsuki said as her face began cooling down and she flashed Shizuru a roguish grin, before she turned and made her way back down the hallway towards her bedroom.

Shizuru stood curiously waiting again to see what Natsuki brought back this time. Her crimson-eyes widened when she saw the objects Natsuki was carrying back in her hands.

"Oh no no, I'm sorry Natsuki but that is not going to work," Shizuru said in a vehement tone.

Natsuki just grinned brightly at the chestnut-haired woman, and held the objects in her left hand up before her body, and indicated for Shizuru to take them.

"Oh yes yes, this is most definitely going to work, Shizuru. We are going rollerblading!" Natsuki exclaimed, as she deposited the pair of rollerblades she held out into Shizuru's hands.

"Natsuki, I can't rollerblade," Shizuru said in dismay, as she looked down at the skates in her hands as if they were radioactive.

Natsuki laughed at the expression Shizuru was making, thinking to herself that the brunette looked cute even when wearing an expression of total disdain.

"I figured as much, but you're gonna learn today. I love rollerblading, and I want to share something with you that I truly enjoy doing," Natsuki said as she gave Shizuru a soft smile, while slinging her own pair of blades up onto her shoulder.

Shizuru let out a deep resigned sigh, and turned ruby-red eyes up to stare into jade-green. Shizuru then gave Natsuki a slightly-sardonic grin as she replied, "okay then, I guess we're going rollerblading."


"NatsukiNatsukiNatsuki, I'm falling!" Shizuru cried out as she tried her best to balance on the rollerblades, while her arms pinwheeled and she began falling backwards towards the hard pavement of the city park.

"Ooof!" Natsuki exclaimed, as she quickly caught the falling brunette in her strong arms, and helped her shuffle over to a nearby park bench.

"Natsuki, I'm sorry but these things on my feet should be classified as deadly weapons. They're trying to kill me!" an incredibly-flustered Shizuru exclaimed, while desperately trying to regain her composure.

Natsuki did her best...she really really did...but the ebony-haired woman found herself bursting out laughing at the agitated, sexy-looking-even-when-slightly-sweaty woman sitting beside her.

Shizuru looked incredulously at the laughing woman beside her, and let out a huff as she crossed her arms over her chest, and scowled slightly down at the pavement below her. "Glad you're finding my complete inability to skate so amusing. I told you that I'd never rollerbladed before in my life," Shizuru pouted, as she continued to look down at the ground.

"Aww, come on I'm sorry," Natsuki said as she allowed her laughter to trail off, and a small grin to cross her face. The ebony-haired woman then leaned forward and gently poked Shizuru against her cheek. "No pouting now. It's incredibly cute on you and kinda sexy too, but let me show you how to skate one more time. We'll go slower this time, I promise," Natsuki said as her grin grew slightly when the brunette beside her blushed a bit, when Natsuki lightly poked her finger against her cheek.

"Well...alright. I'm willing to give this one more try," Shizuru said with a small agreeable smile, as she let Natsuki pull her carefully back up to wobbly feet. A strong arm came about Shizuru's slender waist and the brunette felt herself blush a bit, as Natsuki pulled her close against her body. The two of them then pushed off and away from the park bench and continued rolling slowly down the path, staying close beside each other the whole way.


"Oh my, I am exhausted but I must admit once I got the hang of it, rollerblading was fun," Shizuru said with a grin, as she sat beside the dark-haired woman at an outside table of a small sidewalk cafe.

"Told you you'd enjoy yourself," Natsuki replied with a grin before she flagged down a waitress, and put in an order for a cool iced tea. Shizuru ordered a regular hot cup of tea, which earned her a raised eyebrow from Natsuki.

"We just spent almost 3 hours rolling around, sweating in the hot sun, and then you order a cup of hot tea after all that," Natsuki said with an amused smile pulling at her lips.

Shizuru paid Natsuki absolutely no mind, as she wrapped her fingers around the cup of tea the server had just placed before her. She then closed her eyes in blissful pleasure as the hot liquid slipped down her throat, and she sighed happily when she had finished taking her first few sips.

Natsuki just shook her head and continued to smile in amusement, as she raised her cold glass of tea up to her lips, and heartily drank half of the glass in a few deep gulps.

"Natsuki? Natsuki! Awesome running into you like this. And who is this with yo...whoa! It's Miss Stripper!" a loud voice exclaimed right behind Natsuki, causing the sable-haired woman to almost choke on her drink. Natsuki hurriedly turned around in her seat, and yanked her loudmouthed red-haired friend down into the empty seat beside her.

"Can you be any louder? Dammit, Nao," Natsuki growled out in displeasure, as she slowly removed the hand she had quickly slapped over her friend's mouth, once she had her seated.

"Sorry about Nao, Natsuki. I would have kicked her to be quiet if I knew she was going to do that," another much quieter voice spoke up, and Natsuki watched as Mai sat down in the last available seat at the table.

Shizuru watched the three friends quietly, as she sipped lightly from her cup of tea. Her body had immediately tensed when Nao had called out her 'greeting'. She was feeling decided uncomfortable with these two other females around, as they both knew what she did for a living.

"So, what are the two of you doing out here together like this? Almost looks like a date to me. Did Ms. Stripper here really make such a good impression on you last night, you guys decided to take things even further," Nao said with a lecherous grin.

Shizuru calmly and quietly put her cup back down on its saucer with a soft clink. Then she slowly rose to her feet, and fixed Natsuki with an unreadable stare.

"Thank you for the day out Natsuki. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut it short. I have...things I must attend to," Shizuru said in a slightly-stiff tone, before she began walking quickly away.

Natsuki shot Nao a furious glare before she rose quickly to her feet, almost knocking over her chair in her haste, and rushed after Shizuru's rapidly-walking form.

"Good job, Nao," Mai said sarcastically as she leveled a glare at her troublesome, red-haired friend.

"What did I do?" Nao asked looking around in honest confusion, as to why almost everyone had suddenly gotten up and left.


"Shizuru! Wait! Shizuru, please wait!" Natsuki called out, as she rushed forward and gently grabbed Shizuru's wrist. She turned the other woman around with surprisingly little resistance, and was heart-stricken to see Shizuru's tear-brightened crimson eyes.

"Shizuru..." Natsuki trailed off softly. They were both standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and it didn't provide very much in the form of privacy. So Natsuki quickly tugged the other woman to the entrance of a small alleyway, and gently placed her so that Shizuru's back was pressed lightly up against the wall, while Natsuki faced her.

"Listen I'm sorry about Nao, and her overly-crass mouth. But please Shizuru, don't allow it to upset you like this. She really didn't mean anything by what she called you. She just...doesn't really know how to say things more...delicately," Natsuki said, as she gently ran her fingers down the side of Shizuru's tear-stained face.

Shizuru shook her head, dislodging Natsuki's fingers from her face as she turned her body slightly away from the other woman, and lightly wrapped her arms around her body as if she were cold.

"It's not as if what she said was wrong though, Natsuki. I am what I am. I sell my body for money. It's what I've been doing for the last half of my life, and it's what I'll be doing for however long it takes me to...well...I have my reasons for doing this," Shizuru said quietly, as she stared off almost sightlessly down the empty alleyway.

A gentle touch again against her cheek had Shizuru turning her gaze back to look into soft, emerald-green eyes.

"Shizuru...please tell me why you are in this profession. Maybe...maybe there is something I could do to help you, so that you don't have to live this kind of life anymore," Natsuki asked earnestly.

Shizuru looked conflicted for a few seconds before she let out a deep sigh, and gently pushed her way passed Natsuki and stood a few feet away, with her back turned towards the ebony-haired woman.

"Stay away from me, Natsuki. There is nothing...absolutely nothing that you can do for me. I have already signed my life away to Reito, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to change that. Let this be the very last time we cross paths with each other. Goodbye Natsuki...thank you for...for letting me feel what it would have been like to be free," Shizuru whispered in a softly choked voice, before she began striding swiftly away down the alleyway.

Natsuki stepped forward with her arm raised, her mouth opened to say something...anything...to call Shizuru back, but she knew that there would be no convincing Shizuru to stay this time. So she let Shizuru...walk away.

Natsuki allowed her arm to fall listlessly back to her side, as she watched unhappily as Shizuru walked away, and possibly walked out of her life for good.

But then something Shizuru had said began needling her brain, and Natsuki realized with a start that Shizuru had just provided her with a very valuable piece of information. She could use this information to begin an investigation, and just maybe be able to find out what she needed, to get Shizuru safely out of this life she was chained to. Natsuki wasn't sure if Shizuru had just provided that bit of information on purpose, or if it had been an unintentional slip of the tongue. Either way, Natsuki now had a starting point. A lead. And she would use all of the resources available to her to trace this lead back to its source.

Reito...I have your name now, you sleazebag hustler.

I have you now.


AN - Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews and your alerts and faves. You continue to inspire me to keep writing the best I can for you all ^_^

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review and let me know what you all thought of it ^.^