Hisao tried to pack up his things quickly to be out of the door as soon as the last lesson ended. Unfortunately, Shizune wasn't one to be fooled twice: she already had Misha in position barring the door, only letting through anyone who wasn't Hisao.

"Sorry Hicchan," said Misha, sounding genuinely contrite. Shizune, on the other hand, looked anything but sorry – indeed, there was a sinister glint in her eyes as she rose from her desk to confront Hisao.

Hisao noticed Mutou looking on with a faint frown of concern, but he didn't seem too eager to intervene just yet. Still, Hisao felt a bit better knowing he'd have someone to back him up if Shizune went too far: Misha's loyalties were understandably divided in this case.

Shizune signed fiercely at Hisao. He waited for the translation, but none came.

"Misha?" he asked, looking around.

"What?"

Hisao realised what the problem was and stepped out of the way: now Misha could see Shizune. Sight tends to be a prerequisite for the successful use of sign language.

Shizune repeated herself: this time the translation was more forthcoming. "I – that is to say, Shicchan – am VERY disappointed in you, Junior Council Member. I thought you were a hard worker who understood the value of committing to a project, but it seems as though you've been doing nothing but slacking off these past two days."

Hisao's first instinct was to correct Shizune by saying 'not slacking – just directing my energy into other projects', but if he had any knowledge of the furious female's temperament talking down to her like that wasn't likely to result in a favourable exchange. He had to play this carefully and he had to make amends, one way or another.

"I know, and I apologise for breaking my promise," said Hisao kindly yet firmly, looking directly into Shizune's eyes: he needed to make as direct a link to her as possible, so going through Misha would have to be kept to the absolute minimum. "I said that I would only take one day, and to my knowledge at that time I would only need one. However, certain other things came up that I simply couldn't skip out on."

"Oh? Like what?" The reply shot back like the carriage return of a typewriter.

"As it happens I was just about to leave to discuss some important matters with a friend of mine. Personal matters," Hisao added, before Shizune could ask the obvious question. "I'm sorry to have shut you out like this, and I realise that this sounds contradictory to how I'm acting, but I need you to trust me."

Hisao realised that Shizune was shifting slightly, both her body and her eyes. He suspected that it might be a result of him staring at her so intently and so closely: since people normally talked to her through Misha it was unlikely that they ever gave Shizune their full attention when talking to her. Her signing was also less sharp, becoming slightly slower and hesitant.

"I can't just give you my trust like that, without condition."

Hisao smiled warmly and moved slightly closer: Shizune looked like she desperately wanted to step away but stared defiantly back at him, standing her ground.

"That's the only way you can trust. Placing your faith in someone is always a gamble, but it's a gamble one has to make. For example, when I asked to join the Student Council I placed my faith in you as the Council President. I trusted that the jobs you gave me to do were genuinely for the good of the student body and all those going to the festival and not once have I questioned that trust. I didn't ask for time off because I've stopped believing in you, Shizune: I simply have other commitments, other parts of my life that I need to see to besides Student Council work. It isn't as if I signed over my soul to you when I joined the Council – I still have other concerns," said Hisao, doing a good job of making a potentially angry statement in a lighthearted joke. He made the last change in tack that would seal the deal, both abating Shizune's anger and developing their relationship further. "But I can see that all this talk isn't making you feel any better, so how 'bout I make it up to you? There must be a cafe or restaurant in town: we can go there tomorrow, my treat. Would you like that?"

There was a loud gasp from behind Hisao no doubt emanating from an excited Misha, but he ignored that completely: every last scrap of his attention was focused on Shizune. She was definitely looking away from him now, something akin to embarrassment in her eyes, her face, the way her hands fidgeted – although she would rather have died on the spot than admit it, of course.

"Ooh! Ooh! We could go to the Shanghai! I love that place – they do the BEST parfaits there! Oh, and Shicchan says it'd be okay with her," said Misha.

Hisao put on his best charming smile. "Wonderful. I'll give you my number, just hang on a sec-" Hisao reached into his pocket and was extremely surprised when he felt a small rectangle of cardboard being pushed up into his fingers. He took it out to look at it.

A business card. The Blackheart had just given him a bloody business card (for all he knew the print on there was actually dyed blood). It even had a sparkly golden border, for crying out loud. This would make him look like a monumental douche, but he had to say that it was much smoother and stylish than the old 'give me your number oh wait I'm not ready yet okay my contacts are open just a second let me make a new one okay go' rigamarole that normally ensued such an encounter.

"Here," said Hisao, handing Shizune the card. "Send me a message whenever you feel like it." He leaned closer to Shizune as though whispering playfully to her but still had to say it loud enough for Misha to hear – Shizune's eyes went wide. "Now you can talk to me directly without drill-hair over there getting in the way."

"Hey!" protested Misha as she translated, although not with a great deal of venom.

"But I'm afraid I must go now. Only if I'm free to do so, of course." One last burst of charm...

Shizune made a dismissive gesture, turning her face away from Hisao instantly. Hisao knew what that meant: it was the movement of a girl confused and embarrassed beyond her immediate ability to process such emotions, desperate to get some critical distance and work things out. In other words he was back in Shizune's good books, or on the way there. Score.

"See you later!" Hisao slung his bag over his back and strolled out of the now Mishaless door. Wondering whether this was something she'd punish him for later, Hisao imitated Akira by doing her casual over-the-shoulder wave as he left.

There was silence in Class 3-3 for a good few seconds afterwards. Every single student still in that room was staring in wonderment at Shizune: she was doing her best to avoid all their gazes as she packed and made ready to leave, hastily gesturing for Misha to do the same.

Mutou was staring at Hisao's retreating back with a thoughtful look on his face.

...and, in the far back corner of the room, Hanako let out a silent sob, ignored by all.


"A business card? Really?"

"I just made you look cooler and that's the thanks I get?" asked the Blackheart in a bored, grating tone.

"You made me look like a douche."

The Blackheart let out a burst of static that Hisao realised was a laugh. "You don't need my help with that."

Hisao rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this. Put yourself on Silent."

"As you wish, Glorious Leader."

Hisao stepped out onto the roof for the second time that day. The sun was in the descendant, approaching the horizon in its stately fashion and all was strangely calm, the world covered in a soft orange filter.

Akira stood at the opposite end of the roof facing towards the sun, her hand at once holding the side of her face in a contemplative gesture and holding in place a cigarette that gently glowed embers into the balmy afternoon air. Her shadow was long and dark, its slender silhouette stretching away across the roof behind her. Despite the silent beauty of the scene, Hisao tried not to look too closely at Akira's shadow. Those who stared into the darkness for too long often found themselves seeing things that the light would never show; the darkness cast by an agent of Diablo is bound to be darker than most.

"Akira!"

Akira remained perfectly motionless, making Hisao wonder for a moment whether she'd heard him. However, as he reached a certain point between the door and Akira's position, Akira spoke, low and urgently.

"We're being watched."

"What?"

"Hisao, good to see you!" Akira suddenly raised her voice jovially and turned to him, spreading her arms welcomingly. "Glad you could make it."

Hisao sighed inwardly: so this whole meeting was to be a charade put on for a spy's benefit. He might as well act his part.

"Yeah, I got your message." He paused. "I must say, you look very different from Lilly."

Akira shrugged nonchalantly, cigarette throwing looping trails of smoke. "I get that a lot. Or Lilly gets told that she looks nothing like me, on the odd occasion that one of my colleagues sees her. Either way, that's not what I came to talk to you about."

"Your message was delivered kinda secretively," said Hisao. "I took it to mean that something important is up."

"Oh, it is – well, in a way. I'll tell you now." Akira took a drag and let it out towards Hisao. He was about to object to Akira's loutish behaviour when he saw, before his very eyes, the smoke cloud reshaping into a message:

Stay right where you are. You're blocking their vision of these words. More to follow.

Hisao read them without tilting his head down: if he was blocking their vision, he reasoned, that meant they were watching from behind him. From the door?

"So yeah. I take it you are at least acquainted with Lilly?"

"I'd say we're on first-name terms, yes."

"Splendid. In that case, you could help me with a little something." Another drag, another cloud, another message.

Shizune and Misha are watching us. Don't bother looking; you won't see them.

"I need you to try and find out for me – over the next few weeks, there's no rush – just what kind of presents she might like for her birthday this year."

Hisao was genuinely interested to hear this. "Oh, her birthday's that close?"

"Sure is. I feel kinda bad asking you to do this for me, actually, but the simple fact of the matter is that I'm so busy at work that I don't really have the time to gauge how Lilly's tastes might have changed." Akira put the ciggy back in between her lips, then paused thoughtfully. She smiled at a recollection, then laughed, letting the ciggy drop to her waist. "You know, I still remember that one Christmas where Lilly and I got... unusual presents from our parents. As a joke, they got a matching pair of dolls for us: I got a devil, Lilly got an angel. I was furious about it at the time, of course, but I guess I just proved their point." She chuckled again. "Lilly – bless her soul – tried to cheer me up by offering to swap the dolls or even destroy both of them, but I refused. Even if it was childish, I just couldn't help but spite our parents by playing the role, you know?" She shook her head nostalgically. "Kids. Ha. I'll be damned if I ever have any of my own, that's for sure."

Hisao felt as though his heart had turned to lead and cracked into two pieces, falling into each of his feet and rooting him in place. If what Akira said was true, Hisao's job had just become more difficult by a factor of a number so incredibly high that even Euclid would shrug and say 'beats me'.

"What a story Akira," said Hisao, injecting some false bored sarcasm into his voice in the hope that that would cover up his shock.

Akira grinned as though taking Hisao's jab in good humour. "Oh, let a lady reminisce, Hisao. Anyway, yeah, that's pretty much all I wanted to say. Think you could do that for me?"

"I'll give it my best shot," said Hisao, trying to sound as positive as he could under the circumstances.

"Cool, cool. Here's my number, by the way." Akira drew a business card from her pocket. It looked almost exactly the same as the one Hisao had given Shizune earlier. The Blackheart vibrated repeatedly in silent laughter. "Oh? Do you need to answer that?"

"Nah, probably just some more spam messages from my provider," said Hisao, accepting the card with a weary expression. "Thanks for this, by the way: I'll add you and send you a message later."

"Please do. Go on ahead if you like: I'll just stay up here and finish my smoke. I know the way out."

"All right, bye for now."

"Buh-bye."

Akira returned to the pose she'd first assumed upon Hisao's arrival. Hisao turned – and for a moment, saw something in the door: a strange shimmer in the air like a convection current, a mirage in the desert. It vanished as soon as he looked at it. Doing his best to act casual, Hisao left through that same door. He didn't see the shimmer again that day.

Akira remained on the rooftop, apparently lost in thought, still staring in the direction of the sun. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and said "It isn't polite to spy, Lilly. Don't tell me you're getting as bad as Shizune now."

Almost invisible against the sun's fading brilliance, a brighter point of light shifted and then flew down, disappearing from view. It almost looked like a falling star.

Akira sighed deeply. "For what it's worth, Hisao, I am genuinely sorry."