"Detective Shirogane, would you give us a moment?"

The chief leaned back in his chair when Sebastian entered the room and looked over Naoto. Head down, hat over eyes, and red faced. Had he made the detective upset? Naoto nodded her head quietly and closed the door behind her to leave the two alone. She took a deep breath and walked quietly and briskly to her office, locking the door and lowering the blinds. She wanted to be alone for a little while. She took off her hat and let her ponytail loose as she sat down in her chair, holding her head as she tried to calm down. Sebastian had turned to watch her go. Perhaps he had been a little rude. The voice in his head cleared its throat.

"Not to intervene at an inopportune time, but perhaps you should apologize later. Take the detective to dinner."

He didn't answer verbally but instead thought it. 'I'll make dinner later. Perhaps invite Naoto tonight. Clear the air.'

"Detective Chastity"

Sebastian turned back around to look at the chief who was now standing from his chair. He walked around his desk and offered his hand to him and Sebastian shook it firmly. Sebastian put on a small smile to the man, pleased he was speaking English to him regardless how unnecessary it was. He was getting a little tired of people assuming he didn't know the language. Did anyone in their tiny brains really think he would be dispatched to a place and walk around with an English to Japanese booklet in his pocket? He felt his right eye twitch.

"How was your flight over?"

"Dismal."

"And your temporary housing?"

"He didn't clean his sheets before he left. Rude if you ask me"

"I'll be sure to speak with him when he gets back"

"No you won't"

The man paused at his comment but cracked a small smile as he sat down in his chair, leaning back in it and folding his hands on his stomach.

"Have you read over the case file, Detective?"

"I have"

"Tell me what you think"

"I will need time with one of the bodies and a cornier before I can make a more solid assumption. But I must say that I am looking rather forward to working on this case"

"Good"

There was a moment of silence between the two of them as the chief eyed Sebastian up.

"What's on your mind, Detective?"

Sebastian was honest in his words and rarely held back to express what he was truly feeling. So when the man opened the door, Sebastian walked through it.

"I was wondering, Sir, if I am to expect the same bullshit attitude from you as the rest of the men and women of this police force?"

The man paused for a moment, caught off guard by his language, not truly accustom to being spoken to in such a fashion.

"Excuse me?"

"How long has word of my arrival been circulating around your officers?"

"Uh…about three days? Four if you include yesterday and this morning"

"So for the last four days it would seem I am some sort of joke or accident to your officers"

"I...I don't understand"

Sebastian yelled now, his fuse having been lit the moment he walked into the station. He cursed in Japanese to let the man understand he knew how to speak in the lands' tongue.

"Bullshit!"

There was a slow halt of traffic outside the office when he yelled. Naoto, in her office, dried her eyes on her sleeve and stood from her seat to see what the commotion was. She peeked through the curtains of her office window to watch the chief's office down the hall from hers. Sebastian's fuse had been lit. She wondered how he would react now.

"Detective Chastity-"

"I have been in this station less than ten minutes and all I have received so far are bets against me, ridicule, insults, and borderline threats from your officers."

Sebastian who had been leaning forward in his seat leaned back, flopping back in his seat.

"I am here because your officers can't solve this case on their own. Most likely because of their incompetence."

He turned in his seat to look out the glass door, making sure everyone within ear shot knew he was speaking to them.

"Incompetence!"

Naoto looked down and let go of the blinds, moving back to her chair, sitting quietly. Sebastian had seen her leave her spot by her blinds and felt the voice inside him sting a bit. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, smothering the anger that was trying to rise up inside his chest and stomach. He opened his eyes slowly and leaned back in his chair. He folded his hands in his lap and crossed his legs, now talking calmly and quietly.

"Look…I want to help you all. That's my job. But I won't help you if there isn't some level of respect between me and your officers. Or you for that matter."

"Detective-"

"I know you don't want me here, Sir. No one does…"

A small smile formed on his face

"…and if that be the case then let me just do my job so I can go home and get out of everyone's way."

The chief was quiet for a moment. Sebastian had been a point of joke and ridicule for the last few days around the office and he had let it go by. He had even joined in from time to time. But now that he was in front of him, he seemed to understand that he was just a man come to do his job. And regardless of his early, very warranted outburst, he was trying to be polite and professional.

"…What do you need from me Detective?"

Sebastian's smile grew a bit more.

"I will need a quiet place to work, away from your officers on the rare occasion I come into the office."

"Rare occasion?"

"I will not be in here every day, Sir."

"Why not?"

"I have my own methods, Sir. Field work. I will come in to update you on my progress once a week or to pull files or research documents necessary to my investigation. I do things my own way or not at all. That term is not negotiable, Sir"

The chief looked down at his desk and leaned forward, folding his hands on it. He wiped away a few specklets of dust off the wood. He was quiet as he considered the terms. It wasn't as though he had a choice. His superiors had turned in desperation to a man they didn't fully understand.

"…Very well. Anything else Detective?"

"Am I able to get transportation for the time I'm here? A ghost car preferably. Or a vehicle in general?"

The chief sighed as he thought.

"I may be able to acquire one from the next town over. But I can't promise anything."

"All I can ask is that you try, Sir."

"Will that be all?"

"I want Detective Shirogane as my partner for this case on a permanent basis for the duration of the investigation. To follow my same expected schedule"

"Why him?"

Sebastian smiled a little brighter exposing his white teeth in a half smile.

"Because he's smart enough to keep up with me"

The chief sucked his teeth for a moment before nodding.

"Anything else?"

"I think that will be all, Sir. Would you mind telling them to stop staring and to leave me alone?"

The chief looked past Sebastian to the outside office and stood from his seat, moving for his glass door. The traffic outside the office was still halted when the chief opened the door and took a step out into the offices. Sebastian continued to sit quietly, looking forward.

"Leave him alone to work. All of you. Shirogane!"

Naoto opened the door to her office after taking a moment to clean up and she stepped out to approach her superior

"Sir?"

"You will be assisting Detective Chastity on this case as his partner. Do you understand?"

Sebastian turned his head only slightly, indicating that he was listening to them. She sighed and nodded her head.

"Yes sir…"

"The two of you won't be coming into the office for the next little while. So grab what you need to now so you don't have to keep coming back"

She nodded her head again. The chief leaned his head down to whisper quietly.

"My previous order still stands"

"Understood, Sir."

Sebastian walked out from the office, approaching the chief. He offered his hand and the man took it.

"I will see you in one week's time, Sir, with an update on the case. I would like to speak with a coroner with a body tomorrow. Preferably someone with very steady hands and some skill with a knife"

"I'll see what I can do, Detective"

When Sebastian moved to let go, he was stopped and the man's hand gripped tighter on Sebastian's as he stood in front of him.

"I want to trust you Detective…"

"Then trust me"

The man let his hand go and Sebastian turned his attention to Naoto.

"I'll be outside when you're ready to leave"

Naoto didn't look at him but nodded her head. Sebastian glanced down at her jacket and noticed the few strands of grass attached to her coat. The voice growled to confirm a thought in his head before walking past them to go outside. Naoto turned to watch him leave as he straightened his tie, fixed the collar on his jacket, and ran his hands through his hair.

"Be careful with that one, Shirogane."

"I'm always careful, Sir"

"I want an update from you every evening, alright? You have my e-mail"

"Understood, Sir"

After Naoto had gathered her necessary things from her desk, she joined Sebastian outside the station. He was standing off to the side talking on his cellphone to someone. She didn't want to listen in, but she was his partner now and had nowhere to go to be out of earshot.

"I understand, Sir, but they were necessary"

…

"No. No I wouldn't say that"

…

"I understand, Sir."

…

"No. No. You aren't listening. This isn't a request. I'm not asking politely. Get me access to those damn files. I don't care if you have to send a ghost to get them. Just get it done"

…

"Then fire me. Send someone else to handle the case"

…

"Good. I'll expect them by Thursday then."

…

"Thank you, sir"

He hung up his phone and sighed, Naoto was certain he cursed in one of the other two languages he knew.

"Is everything alright Detective Chastity?"

He smiled with a small chuckle, running his tongue along his upper row of teeth

"It seems in order to get what I want; necessary bouts of rage must be distributed. I'm importing the work files of our victims. I'll have extra copies made for you when they arrive on Thursday"

"Thank you, Detective"

He turned half way to her with a small coy smile and she looked to the ground, correcting herself.

"Sebastian"

When she looked back up he approached her, moving a little closer than she was comfortable and she had to lean her head back slightly to look at him. His smile was gone.

"Naoto…I apologize for making you cry earlier. It was rude of me to assume your words were not honest when you said you were sorry and I apologize for making you upset. It was never my intention"

Naoto blinked and leaned her head back down, pulling her hat over her eyes.

"That is alright, Sebastian. It was warranted"

"It is not alright and it was not warranted, Detective. I apologize."

He took a small step back to give her her space and lifted the rim of her hat a bit to look at her.

"I want to be friends with you, Naoto. I really do. But I can't work with you if you won't start being honest with me. Understand?"

She didn't like him lifting her hat up, but she didn't think he could help himself. He was direct and honest. And she would need to get used to it. Or she could just be honest with him… He let go of her hat

"I will try, Sebastian"

"That's all I can ask of you I suppose"

There was a moment of silence between the two of them as they stared at one another. She liked this man. He was honest and kind. He was smart. Though he was a little volatile, as he had said he was, he was also very very strange. There was something off about him as well she just couldn't put her finger on. But it was there just out of her reach. Then it dawned on her. He had a secret as well. She could see it in his face and in his eyes. The same look she had from a day to day basis. The look she had perfected over years of practice to hide. But…if she knew he had a secret…did that mean he knew she had one? Worse yet, did he already know what it was? The thought caused her to shudder and she used everything she could to suppress it. She saw blood start to run from his nose.

"Detective…"

He blinked a few times and cleared his throat, reaching up to touch it.

"Excuse me"

He made his way over to the grass patch along the side of the building and pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket, bringing it up to his nose, coughing several times as he leaned over.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded his head several times.

"Sleep deprivation causes high blood pressure which in turn, on a rare occasion, causes nose bleeds. I try to keep myself active and do what is necessary to keep my blood pressure down. But every now and then…"

"Are you alright?"

"Just give me a minute"

He stayed leaned over for a few minutes waiting for it to stop. It finally did as the third minute began to creep up and he finally leaned his head back, testing and waiting to see if it would start again. Nothing. He cleared his throat and tucked the handkerchief back into his breast pocket, making sure to fold up the cloth so ensure no wet blood would touch the inside of his jacket. Naoto waited patiently, a little concerned for his health now.

"So…what is next on the agenda, Sebastian?"

He cleared his throat and straightened his tie.

"Now we go to Junes so you can help me with my groceries. I think we have made enough progress for today. We can start fresh tomorrow. Or rather, we can start when your superior gets me that coroner so I can take a look at the bodies you have"

"I'm afraid we only have two remaining"

"Then that will have to do to start my investigation"

"But the coroner already gave us the lab results. All had an inconclusive COD"

"But they didn't know where to look or what they were looking for"

"And you do?"

"I'll know it when I see it"

Naoto sighed quietly, rolling her eyes.

"You are a strange man, Detective Chastity"

He smiled in return.

"I know"

The walk to Junes had taken them almost an hour. In that hour, little had been said between the two. Naoto had nothing to say to the man that his movements and the way he acted could already give away. So this is what it felt like to be observed and not just seen. It was a little scary to her. But did she have a right to complain when she had been doing it for years? He held the door open for her and she nodded her head as she walked past him into the market, a warm blast of air sweeping over them once they had entered the building. Warm air in the winter, cool AC in the summer.

"Sebastian…"

He glanced over to her after he pushed the button on the elevator

"What am I to do in the mean time?"

He smiled and took a step into the elevator with her, pressing the button for the market on the first floor

"I expect you to wait. Keep yourself busy until I call on you. I want my partner there when I examine the body and to work with me when the work history of the deceased arrive. Speaking of which…"

He pulled his cellphone from his pocket and opened his contact list, punching in her name.

"…I will need your phone number, Detective. Your text messages come up as blocked. I assumed they were you however. No one else outside of my work knows my number."

He handed her his phone and she took in the condition, trying to be inconspicuous about it after punching in her number to the respective slot. But then she remembered who she was dealing with and decided to just do it out in the open. He leaned over to watch her work. She turned the phone over in her hands several times taking in what she could.

"What do you see, Naoto?"

She glanced up to him shyly but cleared her throat looking back down on at the phone.

"You take good care of it. The shell casing is in very good condition so you don't drop or damage it very often. You keep it in a pocket without anything else away from keys and loose change"

"Good. But you can go deeper than that. Try again"

She turned it to the charge port to examine the condition.

"You change it quite frequently. Possibly every night or morning like clockwork..."

She examined the headset jack.

"You don't' use it to listen to music. You keep a screen protector on it at all times."

"Good…but…"

She didn't know what else to say. Then an idea crossed her mind and she turned the screen off and then back on. There was no password required to get into his phone.

"You are the only one that handles this phone so you keep it unprotected. It's never far enough from you for you to worry about it…..it's always on?"

"Always"

"This phone means a lot to you as a product of your professionalism and business…"

"Which means…"

"You only hand it to those you trust…"

He took the phone from her and turned the screen off, slipping it back into his pocket. They had been standing quietly in the elevator with the doors open to the first floor for a few minutes, no doubt blocking the traffic for other elevator users. Naoto stepped off, followed quickly by Sebastian.

"Naoto…"

She paused in her stride to look at him.

"Would you care to come to dinner tonight? Say around…eightish? If that's not too late for you"

She froze at the offer

"T-tonight?"

"Yes tonight"

She felt her face begin to burn and looked down to the ground. On the one hand she needed to spy on him; on the other hand, she hadn't had a good home cooked meal in months. And he had claimed he was a good cook. Good enough to invite Dojima and Nanako to his house for dinner tomorrow night.

"U-umm"

"I'll be making beef stew"

Beef stew. Home made no less. Not that store bought stuff in a can.

"I am afraid I must decline. I am already preoccupied tonight"

He wasn't convinced.

"Are you?"

He knew there was too long of a pause in her response before she nodded her head.

"I am afraid I am already busy with duties for the chief. I hope you understand"

He could taste copper in his mouth from the lie, but if that is how Naoto wanted to play then so be it.

"Very well Detective. Should you wish to reconsider, you need only ask"

"Thank you for the offer Sebastian"

He nodded his head and walked past her, heading into the store

"S-Sebastian"

He turned to look at her

"You're going the wrong way"