Author's Note:

As always when I post multiple chapters at once: Please be sure you have read chapter 19 and 20, since this won't make much sense otherwise.

Hope you enjoy and please R&R ^.^

Chapter 21 - Playing Dress Up

Saturday, January 19th

Chizuru idly sipped at her tea as she skimmed over the data on the screen in front of her. It was now eleven in the morning on a Saturday and everyone was already there with the exception of Okita. Hijikata had groused over his tardiness, but she'd simply decided to use the time to continue trying to discover any other patterns or irregularities. A noise by the door caught her attention and she glanced up just in time to see Okita walk through, seemingly unfazed and with a coffee in his hand.

"There you are," Hijikata folded his arms and his eyebrows drew together sharply as he said, "Glad you could join us. Care to explain what was so important?"

Okita rolled his eyes as he dropped into his seat across from her, since she was still commandeering Heisuke's desk. "It's a thing called sleeping. You should try it sometime. It might make you a little less grumpy."

For a split second, Hijikata looked like he wanted to throw the nearest object that wasn't tied down, but the moment passed and she was relieved when he settled for pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a long, exasperated sigh.

"Well, now that we're all here," He turned to the two men seated on the couch that she'd met once before. "Yamazaki, Shimada, what did you find out last night?"

His expression serious, Yamazaki promptly responded in clear, measured voice, "We began our investigation with the exterior of the building. Two sides face the street, with the main entrance being off 2nd avenue. The third side adjoins a valet parking area, and the fourth, a narrow alley. There are side entrances on both the back and valet sides, but only the back appears to remain unlocked, presumably so employees are able to smoke while on their break."

Shimada picked up the explanation, "The interior is dim, but not dark, with the exception of the stage. It's also pretty noisy and we didn't see any convenient places to put bugs near the tables, even if they could pick up anything. We noticed two hallways, and believe they lead to the doors we saw outside, but we were unable to confirm it. We did find that there were enough non-regulars among the clientele that we were able to avoid drawing attention."

"Did you see any of the suspected Syndicate members?" Saito asked.

Yamazaki nodded, "Yes, we saw two, each with their associates, and possibly one or two others we were unable to confirm without drawing attention to ourselves."

"That's fine, at least we have confirmation that they're there." Hijikata nodded before turning to a rather tired looking Heisuke. "It took a few favors, but I was able to get the warrant. It won't last longer than a week and I don't think I'll be able to get him to renew it, so I hope you've made some progress."

"I-" Heisuke yawned and ran a hand through his already tousled hair. "Sorry, I got the device working with my computer early this morning. We're going to need two things for this to work. First, we need their wifi certificate and password, but we can pick that up when we get there. Second, someone is going to need to change the Orchid's wifi so only we can get on. Once the device connects to that, I can control and monitor it from my computer. There's still some problems though-" Heisuke stifled another yawn as he held up a small cylinder about an inch in diameter and maybe a three inches long. "It takes about thirty to forty seconds to get everything off a device, and the hotspot range is still only about five feet."

Nagakura whistled as he folded his arms, "That's a long time to be hovering around someone, You sure you can't get it any shorter?"

"If you want to take a look at it, then go ahead, but I was up until four working on this thing and I don't think it's going to get much better than that."

Harada glanced around the room before he said, "I know I can't be the only one thinking this, but we're going to stick out like sore thumbs if any of us start hovering around tables for anything longer than a couple seconds."

There was a long pause as everyone thought that over and Chizuru considered what they could do to keep from standing out. Really, she didn't think there was anything they could do. Heisuke needed to be with his computer. Harada's bright red hair and Nagakura's overly defined form were sure to draw too much attention. Okita certainly blended in more, even with his height, but his personality and general aura would be setting off any number of alarm bells if he got within ten feet of someone even vaguely suspicious. He didn't exactly do subtle, and for that matter, neither did Hijikata. Saito was a possibility in her opinion, even with his unusual hair color, he had a unique ability to blend into the background of almost any situation. Yamazaki and Shimada were quiet enough, but that still didn't solve the problem of drawing attention if they hovered near someone's table. An unknown man hovering awkwardly near a table would draw anyone's attention, let alone a naturally suspicious Syndicate member.

A man…? Chizuru blinked and straightened slightly at the stray thought. Was that the answer?

"Um… What if I did it?"

There was a moment of shocked silence, before Nagakura said, "You?" at the same time Heisuke snapped out of his sleepy haze and all but shouted, "Uh uh, no way!"

"Now hold on a second," Harada said slowly as he looked at her appraisingly. "She might be on to something there."

Under the scrutiny of all their gazes, she tried to look more confident with her proposal than she felt. Honestly the more she thought about it, the more the idea of being in close proximity to such dangerous people scared her. It also didn't take into account the type of environment she'd be in, but Chizuru really didn't see another option. Out of all of them she was the plainest in terms of looks.

"Think about it for a moment, Heisuke." Harada said, "Men don't tend to notice women in places like that, at least not in the way they'd notice us. It's their job to mingle, and I hate to say it, but they're more like decorations than anything else. Pretty to look at, but not a threat."

Harada's attempt at a calming tone apparently did nothing to reassure Heisuke, because his face flushed with anger as he gestured wildly, "What the hell is wrong with you guys?! So you're all for sending her in with a bunch of perverted criminals?!"

"No we are not," Saito said firmly, "But we recognise the validity of her proposal. At the moment, it seems to be the best option we have."

Hijikata sighed, ignoring Heisuke's mutters and grumbling, and gave her a hard look that she did her best to meet squarely, "I can't say I like this option either, but if you're determined…"

"I am." Thankfully her voice came out clear and strong as she nodded. She'd been afraid some of her nerves might have shown through.

"Then I can't think of a good enough reason for you not to do it. You're certainly more suited to being unnoticed than any of us."

"Well I can." Okita drawled into the silence following Hijikata's statement. She looked over to find him leaning back in his chair, arms folded and his eyes surprisingly critical as he looked at her. "I don't think she can do it."

Chizuru felt some of her hastily constructed resolve slip away under Okita's blunt gaze.

"You realize what those women are there for right? What their job is?"

"Y-Yes, I do."

"Really," He raise one eyebrow, but there wasn't any of his usual teasing attitude in the gesture. "And how far are you willing to go for this ruse? Once you're in there, you can't go figuring out there's a line you can't cross."

"I… I…"

Part of her wanted to respond that she would be fine, that she could handle it… She just wanted to help, but with a sinking feeling in her chest, she knew he was also completely right. She had zero experience in this area and the thought of what could be asked to do did worry her. Still, Hijikata and Saito had both agreed that she was the best option they had. She didn't want to hobble the investigation because she was too afraid to do more that sit on the sidelines… but she also didn't want to be the cause for the whole thing falling apart either.

"Souji," Saito shot a hard look at Okita, his tone reprimanding and Hijikata frowned as he said, "She wouldn't be in there alone. Whoever was with her would be responsible for getting her out of any problematic situations."

Okita snorted, "Fine, but it doesn't solve the problem that I don't think she could look the part." His eyes lost some of their edge as he turned back to her. "Sorry, but you're not exactly exotic dancer material. We'd be better off sticking Yamazaki in a dress. I'm pretty sure he'd dress in drag and do the hula if Hijikata told him to."

Harada and Nagakura choked as they tried not to laugh, presumably at the thought of Yamazaki dancing in a grass skirt and lei. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yamazaki's hands clench into fists, but it only lasted a second before he took a deep breath and deliberately relaxed his fingers. He made no similar attempt to temper the dagger-like glare he was shooting at Okita.

Heisuke leaped to his feet, nodding enthusiastically, "Exactly! Yamazaki can-" but the glare Yamazaki leveled at Heisuke was enough to cause him to break off into an awkward, "Uh, I mean… Nevermind…"

Well, there wasn't anything she could do about her ability to play the part except do her best, but she realized there was something she could do about looking the part.

Chizuru straightened her spine and met Okita's gaze squarely as she said as confidently as she could, "I know it's out of my comfort zone, but I believe I can do this. I also know someone who can fix the, um… the whole looking like a-a dancer thing. There's no one better than her when it comes to fashion."

Hijikata turned to look at her speculatively, "And who would that be? I'd rather not involve any more people than we have to."

"Well, she's my roommate, but we grew up together. There's no one I trust more and I promise she can make me look the part." Chizuru bit at her lip anxiously as Hijikata thought over her proposal.

Eventually he gave a short nod. "Fine, you can find out if she's willing to help, but I want to talk to her before we decide anything."

"Thank you."

Pulling out her phone, she dialed Sen's number and waited while the dial tone rang in her ear. Finally, "Hey Chizuru, what's up?"

"Hey Sen. Um, hold on a second, I'm going to put you on speaker phone."

"Oh, all right."

Chizuru tapped the button and set her phone on the desk in front of her. "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. Now what's this all about?"

"Well," She noticed some of the guys, and Hijikata in particular, wince slightly at Sen's bubbly tone. "I need some help. You remember Halloween last year?"

"Mhm, of course, but why?"

Chizuru took a breath before she quickly rushed out, "I need something similar to what you wanted, just minus the wings."

"Ooh! Wait… Why do you need that? Those guys had better not be pressuring you into something inappropriate."

Almost instantly there was a chorus of "What?!", "No!", and "Of course not!"s, with the sole exception of Heisuke who blurted a rather loud "YES!"

During the slightly awkward pause that followed, Heisuke flushed as several of the others shot exasperated looks at him. The tension was broken, when Okita asked, "What was Halloween last year?"

Chizuru felt her stomach drop. She could only pray Sen would keep the explanation short…

"Well, I wanted to go as fairies, but Chizuru was too embarrassed, so we went as french maids instead! I mean it was a good choice, but oh, this is going to be so much fun! It's not every day I get to dress Chizuru up."

Well it was certainly short… She should probably have prayed for vague instead.

As Sen continued to ramble on, almost every gaze in the room was trained on her with varying degrees of surprise and she couldn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks. Okita was clearly fighting not to laugh as he said quietly, "Fairies and french maids, huh? You certainly have a weird taste in friends."

"Hey, I heard that! Hmph…You must be Okita."

He blinked in surprise at having been called out, but quickly recovered himself and raised a teasing eyebrow at her as if to say 'talking about me, were you?' Chizuru could feel her blush spreading to her ears as she frantically shook her head in denial.

"So, this is great and all, but you haven't told me what this is for. I can't do it right if I don't know the details."

Glad for the redirection, Chizuru quickly said, "Right, details," A quick look at Hijikata confirmed that he was okay with her explaining what they needed. "We need to get some information from some people without them knowing. Right now I'm the least likely to be noticed, but I need some help looking the part. The place is a gentlemen's club called the Midnight Orchid and um… I would need to look like one of their… uh, entertainers. Do you think it's possible?"

"Hold on a sec. Midnight Orchid, right?"

"Yeah…"

There was a brief silence, broken only by the sound of typing. Eventually they heard a delighted laugh from the phone.

"Oh, I could do this in my sleep. Don't you guys worry about a thing. You won't even recognize her when I'm through. Give me three hours to get everything I need and then I'll be right over."

Hijikata frowned at the phone, "Now wait a second-" But Sen had already hung up, presumably to get a head start on her shopping spree. He stared at the silent device for a moment longer, before he sighed and looked at her. "This had better not be more trouble than it's worth."

While she was still trying to figure out how to respond to that, Heisuke started grumbling under his breath again, before he abruptly pushed away from his desk and said, "I still think this is a bad idea, but apparently I'm the only one who seems to think that. I'm going to catch up on some sleep." With his hands shoved in his pockets, he left the room.

"Wait, Heisuke!" she called, and was about to follow him, but she felt a restraining hand on her shoulder.

When Chizuru turned, she found Harada looking at her kindly, "Let him be for now. He'll come round eventually."

"Oh… all right." She felt guilty for making Heisuke so upset, but she didn't see what she could have done differently. He was normally so bright and happy, that it felt like a complete one-eighty for him react this way.

With a sigh, Chizuru settled back into her seat. There wasn't much else to do but wait for Sen to show up and work her magic.

Souji was surprised when, at three hours on the dot, Hijikata got a call from reception that there was a girl loaded down with shopping bags asking for Chizuru. Whoever this 'Sen' was, he could hear her coming long before she actually burst through the doorway. The sound of dozens of paper shopping bags rustling had echoed like a cardboard freight train headed down the hallway.

As Sen stepped into the room, Chizuru was quick to leap to her feet, her smile as bright as he'd ever seen it as she rushed to hug her friend. "Thank you so much for doing this Sen. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Sen gave the same bubbly laugh he'd heard over the phone as she set down the numerous bags in her arms, "It's not a problem. Besides, this is going to be so much fun!"

The two of them made an interesting and surprisingly well balanced pair. He would have assumed that someone with Sen's over the top personality would have steamrolled right over Chizuru, even with her stubborn streak, but she seemed to pull Chizuru out of her shell, including her in her exuberance. The way she seemed relax and laugh more freely was a side he hadn't seen from her before.

With idle curiosity, he kept an eye on them as Sen pulled Chizuru off to the side and utterly failed at whispering to her, "Oh my god. What do you mean you 'guess' they're hot? They're so hot they make professional models look ugly. You're so lucky! How could you have been working here all this time and not mentioned this?!"

Ah, so he'd been right. She had been talking about them to her friend. A blush stained Chizuru's cheeks as she stammered some presumably noncommittal answer he couldn't hear. Souji managed to fight the impulse to tease her for a solid five seconds, but he wasn't about to let such a perfect opportunity go to waste.

Getting up, he waited until he was right in Chizuru's blindspot before he said, "Aww, you don't think I'm good looking? My feelings are hurt."

Instantly, she jumped and whirled around, her blush spreading down her neck and even up to her ears as she stammered, "No! I mean, yes! Wait, no, uh… Maybe…?"

And that right there was his problem with this whole plan. Though he really shouldn't have, he'd been surprised by her earlier flash of determination when she told him she could handle it, but that still didn't change the fact that she was just too innocent and naive. Forget telling a decent lie, the girl couldn't take the vaguest of insinuations without blushing like crazy. A fun rection to get from her, sure, but no woman working at that kind of establishment would react that way. Chizuru just wasn't naturally the type of person that could put on an act like that. Plus one slip up and she could not only put herself in danger, but also expose the whole operation.

And yet… he couldn't hold back a smirk at her flustered response. "You realize you make that way too easy."

While Chizuru's blush deepened and her mouth formed into a small pout, behind her back, Sen's sharp gaze flicked between them. Oh? Don't like that, huh? It seemed beneath that bubbly personality and supposedly shallow interests was someone who was not only protective of Chizuru, but also far more observant than she first appeared. He flashed a smirk at Sen and was rewarded for his efforts when she frowned and her eyebrows drew together.

Their low-key evaluation of each other was interrupted when Chizuru suddenly jumped and said, "Oh, sorry, I'm being rude. Sen, this is Okita."

"So I gathered." Sen said, her stern expression not lightening in the slightest.

Chizuru was looking puzzled at Sen's expression when a he heard Hijikata clear his throat behind them.

"I believe Yukimura said you could assist us." All three of them turned to look at Hijikata, who stood several feet away with his arms folded. "Everything is in place except whoever we decide to send in undercover. As Souji pointed out, Chizuru is our best option if she can look the part. Of course, one of us could step in, but it wouldn't be ideal."

"This is dangerous, isn't it." It was a statement, not a question and Souji was surprised when Sen's gaze and demeanor didn't give an inch when she met Hijikata's eyes squarely.

Hijikata shrugged. "Yes and no. There's always a risk to these kinds of operations, but we've prepared for them and she won't be in there on her own."

Sen glanced at Chizuru, who looked back at her pleadingly, "Please? I want to help. I'm sure I'll be fine."

Sen let out a quiet sigh before she turned her attention back to them. "All right, but you lot had better take care of her." He was surprised when gaze focused on him for a split-second longer than any of the others.

What was that about?

Souji didn't like not having all the information, especially when Sen kept subtly singling him out. He didn't think the others had picked up on it yet, but if she kept it up they would, and he didn't want to deal with whatever grief they'd give him over it.

With the decision made and her warning delivered, Sen's expression brightened back to her earlier carefree smile. "Come on, Chizuru. Ooh, I can't wait to get started. Give me a couple hours and I'll have her all done up." She made to scoop up the shopping bags, but paused and instead started digging around in her purse. "I almost forgot! Here, you'll need these."

Sen set down a bundle of receipts on the desk and Hijikata stared at the rolls of white paper, his forehead furrowing in confusion.

"For what?"

"For reimbursing me of course." Sen said as she scooped up the bags with one hand and looped her other arm through Chizuru's. "You didn't expect me to do this for free, did you? This stuff wasn't exactly cheap."

With another laugh, she pulled Chizuru out the doorway after her before Hijikata could find his voice. For her part, Chizuru's wide eyes and overwhelmed expression made her look like a deer caught in the headlights as she was dragged away.

Souji couldn't help but grin as Hijikata's face morphed into the exasperated, frustrated, 'my life is a living hell' expression he usually reserved just for him, and stormed off down the hallway after the pair. "Now hold on! No one said anything about that!"

He could hear Sen giggle again as the rustle of the bags picked up its pace, then faded as they presumably reached the safety of the woman's room. His guess was proven correct not two seconds later when he heard Chizuru's panicked yelp, "Hijikata, you can't be in here! This is the girl's room!"

Hajime shot him a less than pleased look as he snickered, picturing the scene in all of its embarrassing glory. He wasn't the only one though, Sano and Shinpachi both had grins on their faces as they exchanged looks.

His cheeks still tinged red, Hijikata stormed back through the room, grabbed the receipts off the desk and promptly shut himself away in his office.

Okay, so maybe Chizuru's friend wasn't all that bad bad. Anyone who could get that kind of reaction out of Hijikata was at least tolerable in his book. He noticed that Sen had left one of the bags behind. He took a quick peek at the contents, but it seemed to be only a couple of large, elaborate hair clips. He figured that if the needed it, they would come back for it, so he left it alone.

Across the way, Shinpachi sighed, "So I guess we should start planning then. I"ll go drag Heisuke awake… If he was even able to sleep through that racket."

"That would be advisable," Hajime said as he nodded in agreement and gestured for Yamazaki and Shimada to join them. Souji may think Yamazaki was an overly devoted ass-kisser with no sense of humor, but he also knew their first hand knowledge would be crucial in making sure things ran smoothly. Or at least as smoothly as their operations ever did, considering their not so great track record.

As Shinpachi got up, Sano ran a hand through his hair, "I just hope the he's over his earlier issues. I get where he's coming from, and in a way he's right…" Sano paused and looked over at him, one eyebrow raised curiously. "Come to think of it, you were pretty against it earlier too."

Souji snorted as he tried to lean casually back in his chair. "And? I just don't want her screwing this up for us."

Sano looked at him a moment longer before he said, "If you say so."

Souji frowned, wanting to know what, exactly, Sano meant by that comment, but Shinpachi and Heisuke chose that moment to return, and he figured it was better just to let it go. Besides, having Yamazaki in the room was basically like having a listening device linked straight to Hijikata. Hajime would keep most things to himself, unless he deemed it important enough, but Yamazaki was more like a one-way radio permanently set to the Hijikata channel.

It took twenty minutes for Hijikata to finally emerge from his office, now minus the receipts and with his usual reserved expression back in place and they had most of their plan sorted out by the time they heard two sets of heels clicking down the hallway.

Sen stopped dramatically in the doorway, her grin more than a little smug, "All done. You're lucky, it's not every day I manage to impress myself." She looked to her left, "Come on, Chizuru."

From the way Sen's lips pulled into a pout, Souji could easily picture Chizuru's frantic nonverbal refusal to move.

"Don't be silly, you look amazing. Now get out here."

Apparently Chizuru still refused to move, because Sen darted out of sight and there was an all too familiar panicked squeak as Chizuru was forcibly propelled out of hiding.

Except the person who now stood fidgeting next to Sen looked absolutely nothing like Chizuru.

Sure, her hair was the same color and if she lost the black heels, she'd be the right height, but that was about it. Her hair was up in tight curls and the heavy makeup served to sharpen her cheekbones and eyes, making her look more mature. He could tell she was uncomfortable in the low cut, strapless dress from the way she kept tugging at the hem, trying in vain to get it to be longer. Something was still off though… and it wasn't her hair or her clothes. It hit him when Chizuru ducked her head like she always did when she found herself at the center of attention. She wasn't blushing. Every single tell she was giving off told him she should have been red as a tomato from ears to neck, but nothing showed through the makeup Sen had apparently applied to hide it. Well that was one problem solved, and she looked like she'd fit right in, but it just… wasn't her

Where on earth had that thought come from? Unfortunately before he could figure it out, he was distracted by the other's reactions to Chizuru's appearance. Or more specifically, Shinpachi's.

"Dude, no way! This is too weird." He turned to Sano, "Did you know she was this hot?"

Sano stared in disbelief at his friend before hitting him soundly over the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" But Sano ignored Shinpachi, instead turning to Chizuru and offering her an apologetic smile, said, "I'd apologize for his idiocy, but at this point I'm starting to think there's really no hope for him."

Chizuru managed to squeak out a rather strangled sounding "T-That's all right," as Sen shot a death glare at a puzzled Shinpachi.

"What? What'd I say?"

Hajime's faint blush and dogged refusal to look at Chizuru would have been amusing and an excellent opportunity to tease the one normally unflappable person in their little group… if it wasn't for the person next to him. The sight of Heisuke, struck dumb with his eyes wide and mouth hanging open wide enough that Souji was amazed the kid wasn't drooling, was enough to sour any good mood he'd previously had with surprising speed. It was in the midst of that flash of irritation that he flicked a nearby pen at Heisuke, nailing him in the back of the head and jolting him out of his dazed state. Souji gave his best barbed, sarcastic smirk as Heisuke glanced at him briefly and his cheeks flared a brilliant shade of red.

Next to him, Hijikata cleared his throat to get everyone's attention before he said, "Well, it looks like you should be able to blend in without too much trouble. Is that good enough for you, Souji? Or is there something else you'd like to complain about."

He didn't know why he was so irrationally irritated at the moment, and frankly, he didn't really care. Without thinking, he said the first sarcastic comment that came to mind. "Oh no, this clearly fixes everything. How could anything possibly go wrong now?"

From Chizuru's wince, and the glares Sen and Harada sent his way, he figured he probably could have said that better, but if they thought dressing her up was the key issue, then they were delusional.

Hijikata folded his arms as his eyebrows drew together sharply."Fine then, since you're so worried, you can be one of the people to keep an eye on her. Saito, I want you in there as well."

Souji rolled his eyes as Hajime nodded seriously. Why was he always getting stuck with the babysitting duty?

"Shinpachi, Harada, you'll be outside with me just in case," Hijikata continued, "and Heisuke, is it better for you to be here or there?"

"Well, I'll get a better connection here… someone there just needs to alter the wifi so only our device can get on. Hold on a sec," Heisuke rummaged around in his desk door a few seconds before popping up with a small flash drive. "Just plug this into the router and it should switch if over. When we're done, whoever it is can remove it and everything should go back to normal."

"I can do that," Yamazaki's said, "I believe I know the most likely place for it to be.

Hijikata nodded. "Good, just be sure you aren't spotted."

Shinpachi suddenly let out a bark of laughter, attracting everyone's attention. "Guys, I think we've got a problem." He picked up the cylindrical device from Heisuke's desk and held it up. "Where exactly were you planning on putting this?"

Almost in slow motion they stared at the device for a long moment, before they all turned, with rather owlish expressions, to look at Chizuru. Under the weight of so many stares, Chizuru's eyes widened and she took a step back, wrapping her arms protectively around herself as she said, "D-Don't look at me like that!"

"Hmm," Harada frowned, "That is a problem… I'm going to assume the dress doesn't have pockets?"

Sen rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"

"Hey, it was just a question.

It was then that Souji remembered the shopping bag he'd noticed earlier. He ignored Sen as she started in on a lecture that sound vaguely like it was about how only a man would assume women's clothing had pockets and why did he think women carried purses? Instead, he went over to the bag and flipped through the three or so options Sen had brought, finally settling on a large, intricately wrought silver clip. After grabbing the device from an overwhelmed Shinpachi, he walked over to Chizuru.

"W-What are you doing?" She eyed the cylinder in his hand warily as she shifted away.

"Just hold still." With deft fingers, he easily gathered her curls, leaving a few to frame her face, and twisted them around and up so that they hid the device at the back of her head. Carefully, Souji slid the clip in, making sure it and the device wouldn't come loose. He took a step back to admire his work, "Hm, not bad."

Chizuru ducked her head in embarrassment as her fingers carefully felt the edges of the clip. "O-Oh… um, thank you."

"Hey! What are you doing. I spent hours on…" Sen's voice trailed off as she got a look at Chizuru. "Wow. Never mind."

Souji couldn't resist smirking as he said, "See? Problem solved."

"All right." Hijikata said, getting everyone's attention. "Yamazaki will handle the wifi and Heisuke will be here monitoring the device. Saito I want you to scout the place first, there's no use doing this if none of the big fish are there. Once he gives the all clear, Yukimura and Souji will slip in the back. Shinpachi, Harada, and myself will be nearby as backup just in case. If that's everything-"

"What about me?"

Hijikata frowned at Sen. "What about you?"

"Well, I'm not about to just sit at home twiddling my thumbs." Sen said as she folded her arms stubbornly.

"You're not about to come with us either."

The two glared at each other for a long moment before Hijikata finally sighed and said, "Fine. You can stay here with Heisuke, but that is all I'm allowing."

"Great." Sen grinned as she promptly sat in the nearest chair and rolled right up next to Heisuke. "So what are we doing? Are we hacking a government agency? Can I push the buttons?"

Heisuke, looking more than a little cornered, edged his chair away. "Uh… sure, I guess."

As Sen continued to pepper a more and more panicked looking Heisuke, Hijikata pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh. "Why can't anything ever be simple…"

Souji looked over at Chizuru. He still had his doubts about the plan, specifically Chizuru's ability to play the part, but at this point, he could only hope she'd prove him wrong.