AN: A more timely update? About to get into the meat of things? Yes to both.

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"The final form of this bill is the fruit of the efforts of many people, and I'd like to express my gratitude to them. For the hours spent on ensuring it fits within the boundaries established by the Constitution, for every addition and improvement made, I am grateful to all members of the committee," Hinagiku gave a bow in the direction of the aforementioned group of people sitting in a row across from her. One woman nodded back at her, followed by another shaky nod from one of her colleagues. The rest remained perfectly still. The people whose contribution was being applauded wore masks of stone, unsure of how to react to draw the least attention possible. Sitting at the very front of the hall, they couldn't see the faces of the people turning to look at them. But the smothering silence in the hall was so deep they could hear the rustle of cloth that accompanied the movement.

"However, it is now our responsibility to make good use of their hard work," the committee members let out a collective sigh of relief as the death stares traveled back to Hinagiku "We now have in our hands a tool to smash the injustice pervading our everyday lives. Many of us have faltered in the past – we have seen momentary victories fading in the face of an enemy too numerous and relentless to be ultimately defeated. Sometimes it was money, sometimes it were shady connections, but each time we cut the monster's head off, there was something that stopped us from delivering the final blow. But this time, we hold the power to slay it outright, no matter how deep the darkness that hides it. I am aware of the differences between us. The paths we take may not have much in common. But all of us represent one people, we are the sword of our nation's justice. The power to achieve anything lies within our votes."

Hinagiku finished her speech and descended from the podium. Each step she made on the way back to her seat could be perfectly heard. This silence was an even split between outrage and apprehension.

"You're mad, Katsura."

What broke the stillness was not a murmur, but a raised voice. It came from the lips of Tsuchimikado, the only person in the room who could afford to speak anything he wanted even with the hordes of reporters standing at the ready all around them.

"You can't win this!"

Hinagiku glanced at the politician, but neither changed her pace nor tried to respond. Her own words would be taken apart and used against her now, whatever she might say.

"You're just painting a crosshair on your forehead!"

As she was about to sit down, Hinagiku turned to the flashing cameras and gave them her best smile.

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Chapter 4

Venus Flytrap

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Instead of immediately getting down to the voting, the Speaker had to announce a break in the proceedings. Some of the politicians sitting in the back rows had failed to endure the high tension levels in the room and started a fiery argument. It was decided to give everybody a chance to calm down rather than risk having things evolve into a fistfight.

This was to be expected. From the very beginning, the bill was something which had put people on edge. It would mean the creation of a body with the right to investigate all crime in the world of big corporations. This would also entail the right to observe multiple companies and the families supporting them, as long as sufficient evidence was provided that any one part of the chain warrants suspicion. The investigation would be kept secret from everybody in the Diet but the Prime Minister.

Hinagiku had not been lying when she said every detail of the bill had to be carefully worded for it not to be in conflict with the Constitution. What she was trying to create was a monster with the ability to sink its claws into every person's life. She claimed only this would be enough to bring down the true masterminds of crime, the people with enough wealth and influence to dispose of their compromised puppets again and again while evading justice, like lizards shedding their tails to escape. To slay the Hydra, Hinagiku would create a beast fearsome enough to be its equal.

Under normal circumstances, enough people would be opposed to such extreme ideas to make it impossible to pass such a bill. Even if it came under vote, it would merely be a watered-down version of the original, no longer coherent enough to be taken seriously. This was supposed to be the same – a risky populist stunt Katsura Hinagiku used to jumpstart her political career. However, something went wrong along the way. The changes proposed by the specialist commission didn't kill the bill. It didn't get stuck forever in the Speaker's drawer. The people in the know suspected her influence came from her connections with a former Prime Minister's family - his group still held sway in the current government. But that was no reason for worry. There were plenty of powerful people in the Diet, and all of them knew power had to be used carefully and in responsible ways.

But what they didn't expect was for all the unspoken agreements to be broken at the very last moment. The bill reached the Diet in a form no less dangerous than its original shape. Because those who had sworn to keep an eye on the legislation had never had the intention of doing so. This was the trump card of great betrayal Hinagiku held, the ace of diamonds called Sanzenin.

Mob mentality, Hinagiku mused. She had only gotten so far because everybody concerned had been all to eager to push the responsibility of stopping her onto somebody else. She could no longer rely on this complacency alone to pull her through. The stakes were too high here, with many of her new colleagues directly threatened by what she was putting forward.

But right now, she had to escape from the ambush of journalists coming at her from both sides. She kept moving even after the bombardment of questions began. Keeping still only made it easier for them to encircle you.

"Let me comment after we actually vote," she threw the words at the reporters to her left, waving dismissively at the ones to her right at the same time. It wasn't enough to make them let her go, obviously, but she didn't bother trying to decipher the questions they kept on throwing at her back as she forced her way forward.

There was enough other prey for them to lose interest in her after a while. The fistfight duo would attract a lot of attention, of course. Hinagiku had a hunch those two had been set up to disturb the proceedings by somebody higher up. This wasn't exactly surprising, and she was confident it would amount to nothing but stalling for time. In truth, the battle of today had already been decided long ago. It was the battle ahead she had to be worried about.

As she lost the last of the persistent cameramen following her, Hinagiku cracked a smile. Today's news would probably be full of speculation regarding whether she would get expelled from the party for her crazy ideas. She had asked Ayumu to tape the stuff beforehand.

"A cup of tea, please," Hinagiku smiled at the young woman serving in the cafeteria "Make it extra sweet, too."

There were some props to this job, Hinagiku decided as the steaming cup of tea was brought to her only a short moment later. She carefully dipped her lips in the hot liquid, finding the taste to her satisfaction.

She sensed somebody approaching her before she had the time to step away from the counter. To her surprise, the footsteps creeping up on her were not the hurried ones of a reporter ready for another go at her but ones measured and confident. She put the cup down, schooled her expression into a polite smile and turned around.

"Nakamaura-san!" she met the taller man's eyes "What pleasure to meet you."

The elder of the Nakamura family returned her gaze coldly, not caring to reciprocate Hinagiku's fake friendliness. He stood in silence, letting his adversary feel the pressure. His grey eyes were boulders weighing down on anyone foolish enough to oppose him. In the back of her head, even Hinagiku felt intimidated. But the desire to face that glare head-on, cultivated for many years, was burning white-hot and blinded her to any fear she might have held.

"What might be the matter, Nakamura-san?"

The man kept her waiting a moment longer before opening his mouth. The wrinkles all over his face shifted with his every word.

"We expected a few improvements to the bill, Katsura."

"Oh, don't worry," Hinagiku shot back immediately "We worked really hard on it, taking all suggestions into account. Like the provision that the Head of the Bureau cannot serve any other public function simultaneously, or the one that the Bureau is to present the use of its funds at the end of every year. Advice coming from members of your party was as valuable as any of our own ideas."

Nakamura let his customary moment of silence pass. And then his lips twisted in a crooked smile. A low, halting laugh, much like a cough, came from his throat.

"Is that what Yochiba and Kendo sold themselves for? You will find a way to gobble them up with or without those puny restrictions, you ugly thing."

"Thank you, I age well."

It was their first proper meeting, but the hatred between the two was like matured wine.

"This is your last chance, Katsura. Call this off and tell your buddies you've come to your senses and don't expect them to vote for this mad idea."

"I don't expect anything, Nakamura-san. I know they will vote for it."

"Aren't there enough corpses in the grave of five years ago?"

For just a second, Hinagiku felt her voice die in her throat. Just a second.

"There is more than enough room for you there, Nakamura-san. I'm sure the bugs can't wait."

For all her self-control, Hinagiku felt her muscles tense as she spat out the reply. All of her body screamed at her to plunge a fist deep into the man's face. This wasn't the honorable battle she desired. This was a filthy swamp no amount of preparation could have made less repulsive.

"Fine," Nakamura finished the conversation, easily reading from Hinagiku's face that there was no point in discussing things any further. This was the legendary 'fine' Hinagiku had heard so much about – the one that meant your fate was sealed and that you no longer existed.

Indeed, Nakamura turned around and left her with neither more threats nor a single word of farewell, like a cat bored with a dead mouse.

For a moment, Hinagiku watched the man's retreating back, turning things over in her head. This was the first domino piece falling over. In the elaborate labyrinth of schemes and plots, she was no longer sure which pieces would be toppled and which would remain standing. Only one thing was certain, the chain of destruction could no longer be stopped after being put into motion.

Hinagiku was about to go her own way, but her mind told her she was forgetting something. She turned around and remembered.

Her tea was still there on the counter, along with the visibly distressed girl who had served it. No sane person would have approached the counter with the pair arguing there.

Hinagiku tried her best to wipe the threatening frown off her face and flashed the girl an apologetic smile.

X

XXX

X

Peering through the windscreen, Hinagiku took a good look at Johan's sleeping face. His mouth was open and his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. There was some kind of foreign magazine lying in his lap. So that's how he spent his working hours when Hinagiku wasn't there.

Hinagiku walked over to the driver's door and opened it as gently as possible. As she had expected, Johan kept on snoring lightly. Hinagiku smirked, placed the briefcase in her hands on the ground and leaned over the man's sleeping form. She stretched her arm and reached into the pocket of Johan's jacket. After a bit of fishing around, she withdrew her arm, now with the car keys in her hand.

It was impossible to close the door soundlessly, but Hinagiku tried her best. It was enough for the chauffeur not to wake up. Hinagiku picked her briefcase up and skirted happily to the back door, opening and closing them as forcefully as possible.

Suddenly brought back to the waking world, Johan tried to gather his bearings as best he could. His eyes caught Hinagiku in the rear-view mirror.

"Ah! Katsura-san. You scared me."

"Did I really?" Hinagiku asked with an all-too-innocent smile on her face. She took out a paper from her briefcase and pretended to read it.

"Yes, I was, uh... resting my eyes for a moment."

Hinagiku's grin grew wider as she watched Johan attempt to start the car. His hand went into the pocket where he kept his keys, but found nothing there. Johan paused in surprise, but went on to check the other pocket. Having found nothing there either, he grew a little panicky. Hinagiku secretly watched his growing distress.

Finally, Johan slumped and let out a defeated sigh.

"The car keys please, Katsura-san."

"Here you go," Hinagiku answered easily, handing over her prize.

"I'm sorry, Katsura-san."

"Whatever for?"

As Johan put the key in the ignition, Hinagiku returned the paper to her briefcase.

"What was it that had my chauffeur sleeping in the middle of the day?"

Johan drove into the streets, not having to ask Hinagiku to know where they were going now.

"We were fixing the church roof last night. The church can't afford to hire people to help out so..."

Hinagiku rested her elbow on an armrest and let her head lean on her hand.

"I don't mind you doing whatever you want after hours, but I don't want you falling asleep behind the wheel. I don't know if I can survive a car crush just yet."

"No worries, ma'am," Johan assured her immediately, deciding not to dwell on how serious she was being.

They drove slowly through the streets, the number of cars not allowing them to go any faster. Johan took his hands off the steering wheel when they had to stop at a crossing.

"Seeing that you were in the mood for pranks, Katsura-san, I take it things went well today."

"Hmmm... Hinagiku muttered back, looking outside at the passing people "The Investigation Bureau bill went through. Fifty-eight percent for, just the usual voting blocks. Nobody really voted against their party's official stance."

Johan was surprised at the lack of enthusiasm in Hinagiku's voice.

"Wasn't that one of the bills you cared most about, Katsura-san?"

"That's the only bill I care about, Johan-kun," Hinagiku huffed "And if things really went as planned today, then everything is about to fall apart."

X

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X

Hinagiku peeked into her letterbox. No letters this time around. The leaflet people were afraid of her, for some inexplicable reason, so she never got the usual supermarket leaflets. But her position of influence meant there was a constant stream of people trying to get in touch with her: email, mail, phone, whatever. It wasn't enough that this small flat wasn't her official address.

She inserted the key into the lock and turned it twice as she always did. She did the same with another lock. Hinagiku couldn't accept half-measures.

She took off her shoes and entered her humble abode. She threw her suit and necktie onto a clothes hanger on the nearby wall. There were other pieces of clothing hanging all over the flat. Hinagiku wouldn't let anyone else in to take care of the place, but couldn't find the time to do it herself. The thin layer of dust covering her lesser-used furniture was proof enough that housekeeping had been a challenge.

Hinagiku went to the bathroom and splashed cold water over her face. A day of work always left her feeling like a zombie. Suffering through hours of back and forth in official garb could probably serve as punishment for minor offenses. But at least everyday tasks would usually leave her tired enough to stop her thinking about everything else, not a restless wreck like today.

Special Internal Investigation Bureau, eh...

She didn't feel like turning on the TV and finding out what the press had to say about her performance. She would go around giving interviews and getting mud thrown at her starting tomorrow. She didn't have it in her to call the usual sources for an update, either. She went down her cell phone's address book absent-mindedly. The list of members had grown to an absurd length in the last year, and yet she couldn't remember the faces of half the people there.

Her hand stopped when a familiar number came up. Her finger hovered over the dial button. Stupid, she berated herself. Only in business matters and emergencies, remember? The powerful grip of melancholy told her she had to hear that voice again. Her common sense argued that it was too great a risk: the phone could be bugged, her telephone bills were likely under tight scrutiny... Besides, they could meet on Friday, like always, with a perfectly fine excuse. There was no need to put themselves in jeopardy.

Her own arguments seemed laughably unconvincing. She started pacing all over the flat, pouring the nervous energy building up in her internal struggle into movement as best she could. She circled the table in the living room. She filled a glass with water in the kitchen and downed it in one gulp. She set the glass down with a clatter. She went to the office room. She stopped and dropped the phone.

The desk lamp was on. The bright light brought the desk out from the surrounding darkness. Hinagiku could feel no other presence in the room. In the silence, she would have heard the shallowest breath. But she was the only one allowed within here. And no one but her could have left the envelope resting proudly in the ring of light.

Hinagiku crossed the room with slow steps, as if unsure of her surroundings. She saw nothing out of place and merely confirmed that she was all alone in the room. She reached out for the envelope, this alien object which existed against all reason, as if to taunt her.

Her fingers touched the paper. It didn't dissolve – it was no illusion. The texture was that of genuine high-grade paper. Hinagiku lifted the envelope.

There were no markings or a return address. The envelope was not stamped or sealed. There wasn't even a slip of paper inside. But with the light streaming upon it, something within the envelope left a weak shadow. Hinagiku flipped the envelope upside down and shook it.

She stared at the thing with dumbfounded eyes as it drew lazy arcs on its way down. Left, right, left, right and it landed gracefully on the desk – a single pitch-black feather from a snow-white envelope.

"They will try to bite back, you know."

Hinagiku traced the edges of the feather with her fingers.

"You're painting a crosshair on your forehead!"

She tossed the envelope aside and carefully picked the feather up to place it in her palm.

"Aren't there enough corpses in the grave of five years ago?"

Her composure broke.

"Yes!" she smashed her free fist into the desk, quickly raising it again for another blow "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The desk trembled under her strikes, and Hinagiku felt pain shoot through her arm. There was a dent where the wood had met her hand.

"Come at me!" she screamed, bent over and stifling a laugh "Let your little bird show me what he's got!"

With stumbling steps, she moved backwards to rest against the wall. She had clenched the hand holding the feather during her outburst, and now she opened it. The broken and bent feather fell straight to the ground. Sliding down with her back to the wall, Hinagiku followed its path.

Sobs of laughter still shook her frame as she tried unsuccessfully to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes. She forgot about the cell phone on the floor and the tasks awaiting her tomorrow. She stared straight ahead and laughed.

This was how the girl celebrated her victory.

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Venus flytrap (bot.) - n. An insectivorous plant (Dionaea muscipula) having sensitive, hinged, marginally bristled, two-lobed leaf blades that close and entrap insects.

It was her wedding day, and for once she wasn't sure if she wanted him by her side.