| $ | A Single Moment | $ |
With a stagnant feeling in the stomach Ibiki looked around the big office.
It showed off with wealth and the inhabitant of this space didn't intend to turn on big light. Smaller lamps in all corners distributed, donated meagerly light.
With self-controlled posture the chairperson of Washington FBI stood before his huge window and watched the animated street. The grey hair of the man was strictly pulled back. Sarutobi turned round and took a briefcase of his big desk.
"After my information, you have lost some days ago an extremely important man because of the case Uchiha."
Ibiki was quiet. He knew that it had no sense to contradict this man or to point out even to the fact that his nephew had been also killed not long time by Uchiha. Finally, he stood in the hierarchic above him and, besides, he was still feared for his quick-fitted answers.
The first rule, Ibiki had learnt when he had come to the FBI, was:
Sarutobi is always right!
The old man pulled kept a straight face when he looked through the report once again. "Sloppy work."
Ibiki clenched his hands to fists. He didn't like it if one condemned former pupils of him without knowing them or being able to estimate even their abilities.
"You haven't called me here to inform me of this, have you?"
Sarutobi denied surprised and looked up. A thin smile adorned his lips. "Your team exists only of three people and I wish that this is changed."
This was clear to the hulk. He would leave the group even by no means so small, however, till present he hadn't come yet in addition to determine Aburame's successor.
The choice had to be well considered, because, otherwise, it could come to fatal results.
Sarutobi walked calmly around his desk. "What about the agent who has solved the case Orlando?"
"You mean the case with the serial killer whom one called 'Dracula' because he has speared his victims, primarily women, like Vlad Tepes?" murmured Ibiki and Sarutobi nodded before he sat down on his desk.
"Yes … after nearly 76 corpses in two years the men got slightly nervous and one sent somebody from Cansas City, 24 years old, just with the education and he solved the case against any expectations, within just three months."
Sarutobi's eyes were glowing. It was clear to him to look that the young man was likeable to him. Not every novice got to earn the respect of the chairperson from the head office.
Ibiki swallowed and knew what would come.
"Why haven't you assigned him to the case Uchiha?"
The big man swallowed hard, before he answered: "You know, he is untraceable since quite long time and meanwhile we assume that he is dead."
Sarutobi stopped short. How could it be that one of the best agents of the USA disappeared overnight without a trace? He pronounced his doubts; however, Ibiki could call to him no information which was useful.
So he dropped the subject, even if he firmly decided to enquire once again about the young man.
"In any case," He turned round and passed Ibiki another thin briefcase. "I would like you to follow my recommendation and give this young man a chance."
The instructor opened it and studied the curriculum vitae of an unknown man.
"Of course Watson is not to be compared to Aburame, but indeed useful. His way to work, differs of his colleagues clearly. Particularly coded codes are his specialty."
Ibiki looked up and wanted to know more than however Sarutobi spoke already further: "Tsunade holds him for cheap, because he cannot express himself in her opinion. However, the real problem consists in the fact rather that Watson owns such an extensive vocabulary that he mostly communicates at a very intellectual level with people."
Ibiki knew what this had to mean and couldn't help it to grin, because, he thought directly of his young, red-headed, former pupil. "This might be no problem. I know there somebody who certainly comes on his level."
"To the fact comes that he owns a quite high IQ. What is maybe due to the fact that he had jumped over some courses on the college in Vegas. However, you have to take a look at the boy. I am sure, you will not be disappointed."
Ibiki stuck the briefcase under his arm and nodded. He knew that this was a request to leave and at the same time a sort of an order to get the boy in the team.
However, whether this miracle boy was really good, he would still have to check. If it had gone by his will, he would have clung long time ago to that legendary agent, who had solved the case 'Dracula', however, unfortunately, one not always got everything in the life what one wished.
Just like this time.
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Quietly the young woman had closed the door behind her and looked around her room. To the change it was well-arranged once, because she was in hardly at home lately.
Tenten already took amiss of her, but at the moment she had other fish to fry instead to argue with her friend. Izumi really wasn't in the mood for fights, so she went out of Tenten's way. Tiredly she buckled on her bed and put the package on her nightstand.
Izumi still didn't know what she was supposed to think of it.
Why had one given her something what Shino had held shortly before his death in his hands?
The light of the street lantern fell in her room and Izumi decided to turn on her post-table lamp.
Should she really take a look what one had assigned to her?
The redhead sat down and leant with the backs against the orange colored wall. In her head thoughts were rushing through fast. Her gaze fell on her bulletin board, which was hanging above her desk and her look touched the old photo of Sasuke.
Immediately she had to think of the wonderful night that they had spent together. She had never met such a wonderful man. The word wonderful did not describe him properly. And the fact that he was interested still just in her, she found still strange.
When she thought of his touches and the affectionate words which he had breathed to her ear in the pool, creeps overcame her. Izumi pulled her legs to her body and embraced them with her arms.
It was getting harder for her every time she met Sasuke to imagine that this miraculous man should be such a cruel tyrant. It was as if he had two absolutely different sides in him and she knew only the pleasant and property one.
It was only a frickin' job!
She hit with her fist against the wall.
And why was she about just to fall in love with him seriously?
He released a chaos of feelings in her and the young woman threw furiously the cushions from her bed, so that they clapped hard against her cupboard.
Finally, uncertain she looked at the package and decided to open it. She tore open the cord and slowly pulled the wrapped material open. The first what she saw was a cassette, then several letters and a diary followed.
She found below a photo.
Surprised she looked at the picture: her dead colleague with a pretty woman in his arm. She didn't knew this side of Shino at all. Happily he smiled in the camera and looked content.
Izumi turned the pages of the diary and fast it became clear to her that it belonged to a woman called Kin Kurosaki. She flew over some pages; finally, she realized that this woman had to have been once Shino's fiancée.
Izumi's heart got heavier, now probably she was devastated and could do nothing else than cry.
However, shortly after the redhead shook her head if this was his fiancée, why had he her diary? Quick she turned the pages before and looked at the last entry.
January 30th
This was too long ago. Now they soon had November.
Something fell out from the book and she froze. Unbelieving she took the ultrasonic picture and scrutinized it. A puzzle part submitted to the next one and she opened the first letter. Already according to the first words Izumi had to swallow hard.
These letters were not determined for her but for Kin. With words on paper Shino told her, how much he loved her, missed and the emptiness in him became bigger and bigger. Slowly Izumi it became obvious line by line that Shino had lost his big love. As far as she understood now, a bank robbery was responsible for that.
The redhead put aside the first letter, her body felt strangely deaf. The lump in her throat became bigger and bigger, because for any reason she already had a bad foreboding. In the second letter told Shino his fiancées, how much he would have been glad about the child. Water stains showed that he had to have cried as he was writing the letter.
Only hard Izumi could imagine how bad the time had been for him. To lose a beloved person, was as one would die internally. She knew from what she talked and Shino also apparently knew it. Blinded from grief, he imagined, how wonderful her future could have been. A small house in the town, the child would have become certainly a girl.
He would have painted her children's room in tender rose and would have played, finally, for hours with her dolls. Izumi had to cry without noticing it. Only a tear rolled over her cheek and she didn't know yet, why. The sentences of her colleague were formulated so affectionately and expressed a longing which was to her strange.
She had always that Aburame Shino was an unemotional and self-controlled, however, the letters showed her that he had been a sensitive person in reality.
It was hard for the young woman to put aside the second letter and to start, finally, with the third one. Her hands were trembling when she opened the envelope and unfolded, finally, the paper. However, if she had expected affectionate words and longing wishes again, it was disappointed this time. He had let out all his fury about the murderer of his fiancée.
Only in the kind, how hard he had pressed the feather of the fountain pen that the hatred had to have been awfully big. He cursed this man and Izumi became conscious that he meant with it Sasuke.
With carefully well-chosen words Shino explained his life aim. He wanted to pull Uchiha to account, only his revenge counted. Izumi didn't read the letter to an end and put it aside. Halting she took the cassette and went to her arrangement.
She was curious what she would hear.
Already after the first tones she faltered. Her core solidified. Immediately she turned around and threw a look at the unpacked package. The message accepted a clear figure. Izumi leant beside her stereo against the wall and slided to the ground, there on the soft carpet she stayed.
The redhead had to smile, anyhow it was for her, how an irony of the destiny. Just the colleague from she had thought, he could not express his feelings especially well, now exactly from him, she got support. Her feelings were confused what was not further surprising in view of the last events and exactly this Shino had foreseen.
Maybe he would have spoken sometime once with her? S
he didn't know it, however, the salient point was that he wanted that she heard in spite of her duty compared with the state on her heart.
Of course the law was important, however, besides, she should not forget her own condition and he wanted to make clear exactly this to her with this song. Only who was able to feel all the same which kind of feelings, grief, hatred, fury, desperation or joy, warmth and even love was to be observed in the situation his opponent with the right eyes.
Since she might never forget one, the opponent also was only a person who owned feelings exactly like her, even if she could hardly fancy it.
Shino had loved Kin and exactly this had made him a very good agent. He had something what he wanted to protect and just this will lent to an unexpected force.
Be it physically or psychically.
His strength was the mind and exactly her mind she should use according to his opinion. Izumi lifted her look off the ground, the knots in her breast had burst.
"Shino, old mate, I must confess, you were by far more brilliant than I myself have ever thought!"
She had fallen in love with Sasuke, no question.
Still this was not her biggest problem and exactly this calmed her.
The problem, was somewhere different.
Sometime the point would come where she would betray him and then she had to decide.
Love or law.
She might not hesitate if the time had come.
No moment.
Since this could destroy her life and the life of many other people.
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Ino sat down on the desk of her colleague. She had crossed her legs elegantly.
Kiba who sat directly in front of her sighed deeply. "What is wrong?"
The two were, as usual, in the office to consider how they should go forward now. The blonde held to him a slip of paper where a few numbers were noted.
Unsuspectingly Kiba took it from her and asked: "What is on November 22nd?"
"Uchiha's 30th birthday." In spite of the death of her colleague she had kept on working.
On the one hand deflect herself, on the other hand because she knew that long funereal time didn't belong to her job.
"We should slowly look after Izumi's safety measures. Since I can imagine that on the party everything who is anybody will show up. At least in the criminal scene."
Kiba understood, this was the best opportunity to detain the eyes after possible suspects. Still he saw a problem with the whole. "Do you know where he will celebrate?"
Ino shook her head: "Caribbean or Italy, but the likelyhood that he will choose Rome is very low. Since with his last stay there, there had been some disagreeable incidents of our side."
The brown-haired man nodded and sighed, since Shino was dead, he lacked any motivation.
For what has his friend died?
For nothing and again nothing!
Constantly they accepted losses and Uchiha spread his power out more and more, however what could they do against him?
Nothing!
Somebody knocked at the door and surprised Ino and Kiba looked up. Their superior stepped in, however, not alone. He had somebody with him. The black-haired young man looked arrogantly round the room and appreciated them of no look.
Haughtily he sat down on a free chair and buried his hands in his trouser pocket. Ibiki tried to let make a note of nothing and turned to his employees. "May I introduce to you Shinos successor? Sai Watson."
The new nodded only and noted: "Poor little hut here."
The blonde rose and pressed her hands in the hips. "If you don't like it here, you can raise your small ass and you know the way you walked in is also the way out."
Sai rolled his eyes. "Keep cool, bunny." The black-haired scrutinized her and looked surprised. "Such a rack, like you, has really got involved Uchiha?"
"Before you start to offend us, you should learn as the first to rein your tongue!" growled Kiba and got up threatening.
Ibiki sighed deeply.
He saw this scenario coming already when he had fetched Watson from the airport.
The boastfulness and arrogance of the agent made him blind for the essentials. Secretly he asked himself what had made Sarutobi suggest this man.
"Do you feel attacked? Maybe you should get a thicker skin." Sai seemed to be badly amused and a malicious grin crept over his lips.
"You shouldn't talk about stuff you have no idea about."
The women's voice let him turn round. Sai stopped short when he saw Izumi in the door. The redheadwalked in the office, hang her coat and welcomed Ibiki with a nod. "Am I correct, Watson?"
"You know my name?"
Ino and Kiba looked dumbfounded at each other. To them it was hard to follow the conversation, particularly since Izumi spoke in rhymes. The redhead poured herself a cup of coffee, before she answered to the novice.
"You know …" Izumi laid her head crooked and scrutinized him. "I incline to remember the names of rivals that I have defeated. If you don't remember it, I was that ugly girl who has beat you in the theoretical, national final examination."
Sai was dumbfounded. "I-Izumi Sousei?"
Ino raised her eyebrow. She never had been able to understand how her friend had done this. At that time Watson stated since beginning of her education the list as the best agent of the theoretical area.
However, at that time with the last check Izumi left him behind. She might have been so bad in practice, however this had brought to her a high degree in admiration.
"Correct. Listen Watson, the case Uchiha is nothing for beginners or idiots if you want to make a big bloke, then you go back to the kindergarten. However, if you want to catch the biggest and most dangerous gang boss of all time, you are very welcome here."
The black-haired's gaze wandered from Izumi to Ino and Kiba. He knew that the young Sousei put him before the existing facts.
He stroked through his hair, then he looked up of the ground and spoke: "I cannot promise that we will well get by with each other. But as long as we can work together without big misunderstandings, I will try to stick my tongue to the thumb if a vicious remark should leave my mouth."
Izumi wanted to smile, however, she was not able to do it, instead, she stretched her hand out to him. The last days had simply been too much for her. Shino's personal resignation had taken a lot from her. Months they had worked together and at one single moment her whole picture what she had of him had changed.
Sai had probably fancied a better group with more stars of the FBI and, nevertheless, he was confronted with people of his age which disappointed him a little.
Izumi leant beside Ibiki against the wall and laid her hands on her back. Once again she thought about that one single moment could change everything.
It had never been aware to her so clearly how dangerous this job was. Although she could not imagine in Sasuke's present that he could be so cruel, she had to pull herself together day by day.
Of course she enjoyed the nearness of the Uchiha, even if she denied it over and over again; she wasn't not different than the remaining women. His words, actions and caress released in her one wave of unexpected feelings. Feelings she could not define in words.
"When will you meet Uchiha again?"
The quiet rough voice of her former superior tore her from her thoughts and she looked up. "In two hours … I just don't .. well I .. don't know how … I"
She looked for the right words, however, Ibiki took this from her. "You do not know, like you should explain to him, your bad constitution, particularly since it is even worse today than it was one week ago."
He laid a hand on her head and all of a sudden Izumi believed to be a small child especially since Ibiki had a gigantic paw.
"Why do you keep on hitting the nail properly?" Her voice was so quiet that only the man beside her understood her. He laughed almost silently and thereby released a confusion within her.
"Sousei, Sousei … you tell him, the reason for your condition."
Immediately she pulled up her eyebrows and tapped her forehead. "Then I can kill myself at once."
Ibiki rolled his eyes and bent down to her. Quietly he whispered something in her ear and the longer he spoke, the more Izumi's face relaxed. Her former instructor proved once more, why he enjoyed such a good reputation.
"Try it with that."
She hardly nodded noticeably and turned again to her colleagues.
"The plan has backfired and now Sousei must play a double role?"
Ino sighed deeply and explained that they got at least near Uchiha and Izumi played her role more than only well.
Sai listened patiently to her report, until the Sousei looked at the clock and noted that she already had to say goodbye. She put an embroidering on Kiba's desk, before she turned to walk. Ibiki walked to the window and observed the young woman as she left the main building through the back exit and interfered among the people Los Angeles.
Still it tormented Ibiki that he had sent a person like Izumi in her sure death, while he allowed that she dealt with such a dangerous order. He liked the young woman and this not without firm reasons .
Izumi Sousei embodied the new picture of a woman in the FBI. She stood out with her brain but still had those female charms.
Ibiki could state without bad conscience that he felt admiration for her. She was young and unused and exactly this he appreciated in her, even if he could never tell it her. The situation would soon taper to a point, he could feel it formally and then Izumi had to plan every step she acted, exactly.
A moment of the inattentiveness and there would be another name on the list of agents who had disappeared over night.
And this was the least what he wanted.
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