"I didn't know such a place existed." We were approaching a small store located in-between the backs of Warehouse No 38 and No 90, the backs of the other Warehouses closing it off and creating a mini plaza, only accessible by squeezing in-between warehouses No 36 and No 37.

"Of course you wouldn't know, anyone who uses this shop wouldn't have told you about it." I replied, before Myoukou could reply I walked up to the counter and knocked twice, paused then once. At once the green haired shopkeeper of greed shot up from behind the counter.

"Welcome dear customer, how can Akashi help you today, Nya?"

"Akashi?!"

"Nyaaa!" I just gazed back at Myoukou without moving, I had expected this sort of reaction.

"Wait a minute what are you doing here, I thought your shop was near the Central Plaza?"

"It is" I answered "This shop is where you can get any unauthorized items. For a fee." Of course, immediately after saying the word 'unauthorized' Myoukou immediately began reading Akashi her rights. All the time Akashi was wailing like the grim reaper was coming to collect her soul.

"Akashi, I am arresting you for the sale of unauthorized items, you have the right to remain silent, anything that you do say can be written in evidence-"

"Nyo,nyo,nyo,nyo!" I stopped Myoukou with my arm before she could have the chance to advance any further.

"However," I continued "She has been known to give us some particularly useful information, for a fee." Akashi by now was cowering in the corner, with tears in her eyes. "Now then you know why I am here." I grabbed a bag from my shorts and put in on the counter, no sooner as the bag touched the counter then Akashi pounced on it opened it up and began examining the contents. "50 Red Gems, as usual."

"WAIT A MINUTE, YOUR'E GIVING HER RED GEMS?" Myoukou yelled from behind me.

"Yes?"

"50 RED GEMS?"

"Yeah, Hornet managed to get us a pretty good discount." Myoukou just stood there in shock.

"Nyokay! These are all okay!" Akashi pulled the bag of Gems across the counter before placing it under the counter. "There was something that happened a couple of weeks ago, nya. I came back from my other shop after a break in, when I discovered that a couple of items were missing: a length of rope and a roll of duct tape, they even left me 5,000 coins on the counter."

"And you just took it?" Myoukou gritted.

"Nyof course, business is business." Akashi nodded with closed eyes and folded arms "But I would have sold them at their proper price."

"You mean double their proper price, plus your commission." I countered; Akashi just shrugged her shoulders.

"Mew know me too well."

"Hey just a second!" Myoukou said "You just said that there was a break in at your other shop? Why didn't you tell us, or even the Royal Knights?"

"Nya, didn't think it was worth your time, they only stole a juicer."

"A juicer?" I asked.

"Yep, a juicer."

"What's a juicer?" Myoukou asked.

"Mew stick fruit in it, and it makes juice, apples into apple juice, and so forth." Akashi explained.

"Why would anyone steal a juicer?" she asked.

"I've got an idea. But I'm going to need more proof." I handed Akashi another 50 Red Gems, as compensation for getting a scare by Myoukou. "Here you go Akashi, a bonus for you."

"Another-" Myoukou started, but to my surprise Akashi shook her head.

"You can keep that, nya, seeing as you are good friends of Akashi, I'll give you something for free, nya. Though if it's of any use is up to you."

"Go on then." I said.

"Well then, Shikikan seems to have placed the big three on a lot of commissions recently."

"You mean Amagi, Akagi and Kaga?" Myoukou asked. I shook my head.

"She means the three you don't visit unless you have a death wish: Akagi, Taihou and Atago." I explained.

"Also, nya, Shiranui seems to have sold a lot of Full Course meals recently."

"Really, to who?" asked Myoukou.

"Don't know, nya, Shiranui won't tell me, nya."

"But she must have written down, who she sold it to!"

"Maybe, but we have a term of customer confidentiality, nya."

"But-"

"Thank you for that Akashi, that was very useful." I said, grabbing Myoukou by her sleeve before dragging her away from the shop.

"Thank you for your patronyage, nya."

It was only when I dragged Myoukou to a bench in Central Plaza that I let go of her arm. I knew that she would still be mad at the fact that she had to let a 'criminal' go even if it was for the greater good, plus I needed time to think.

"Who does she think she is?" my partner asked, "Selling illegal products, overcharging for said products, and she won't even tell us who it was that has been buying these suspicious items."

"Of course she won't" I said, "Think about it, would you feel comfortable with everyone knowing your shopping habits?" Myoukou paused for a moment, before drooping her head.

"N-no, I guess not."

"Well, there you go then."

"But this is an emergency! We have to force Shiranui to show us the logbook!"

"It wouldn't do any good, Shiranui is a shopkeeper at heart, she won't let anyone near her logbook, not only that but she's not a… social person, so she wouldn't remember who she would have sold those items to."

"A bit like you then." I decided to ignore the insubordination and continue with my train of thought.

"There wasn't even a point in going there, we just wasted our time. Taihou is clearly guilty, it'll only be a matter of time before she confesses."

"That's your problem, you see things as they are set out, you have to look deeper, you, for example would say that 1+1=2."

"That's right."

"Well it doesn't, it makes five." My partner looked at me in a rather peculiar way.

"But it doesn't?"

"Yes it does, you turn the two 'ones' on their side and it makes 'V'." Again, my partner looked at me weirdly. "'V' is the roman numeral for five."

"Does that mean, I have to think outside the box?"

"No, you just look, but don't see." I gave a sigh, "Did you notice anything unusual about the paper in Taihou's room?"

"Huh? The paper?" Myoukou thought for a moment, "There was nothing that looked unusual, it did smell funny though, like-"

"Lavender."

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"I've got an idea about what happened, but it feels like I'm forgetting something." I recollected over the events of the day, from Myoukou's officiation ceremony to dragging her to the bench we were now sitting on, for some reason there was one moment that kept sticking in my mind, but I just didn't understand what was wrong with it, and then it hit me. "I'm an idiot!" I shouted, causing Myoukou to jump, "How could I have overlooked that? It was right in front of me the whole time!" I jumped off my seat and started running away from the Plaza.

"Indianapolis! Where are you going?" Myoukou yelled running after me.

I turned around without slowing down and yelled "Records Department!"

"Oh great! It's you." Nice welcome from Amazon as always.

"Now then Amazon, it's not nice to greet people like that." Langley interrupted "How can I help you today Indianapolis?"

"I need the reports of all the commissions from the last 6 months!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't just demand that we hand over sensitive reports like that to anyone." Langley however was having a think.

"Funny thing is…Enterprise ordered us to sort out all of these files…I guess Homunculus Protocol is in effect."

"What! You can't be serious!"

"The reports, please."

"You are serious aren't you."

"I'm always serious." I replied.

By the time I was finishing reading the most recent of reports, it had already turned dark, I turned on my phone, it was 4:07, we had less than 8 hours remaining, if we were going to save Azur Lane, we were going to have to get a move on. Langley and Amazon were busy sorting the older files at the other end of the building, ready to burn them should the commander not reappear in the remaining time.

"So…" Myoukou asked, surrounded by mounds of paper "Do you think that Shikikan was kidnapped by someone currently on commission?"

"Right idea, wrong direction." I said reading through the last document, now if my hunch was correct… "YES! 100% match rate!" I yelled, causing Myoukou to jump slightly causing pieces of paper to flutter everywhere.

"You know who kidnapped shikikan?"

"Without a doubt, but just in case…" I jumped up and grabbed a piece of paper and quickly wrote down a note and folded the paper up. "Find Valiant, ask her how her interview with Akagi went, then ask her the question on this piece of paper, I passed her the piece of paper "if the answer is no, and I expect it to be, then find Hornet and give her this" I began scribbling another note on another piece of paper and gave it to Myoukou writing the word 'Hornet on both sides so she would remember which was which, I resisted the urge to groan "You'd best find Queen Elizabeth too."

"Do you know where Shikikan is being held?"

"No not yet, but I might figure it out by the time you return. Now go!" Myoukou rushed to her feet, scattering bits of paper all over the place. I stood in the foyer thinking 'If I was a creepy stalker, where would I put my object of my desire?' I immediately thought of Portland but pushed it to the back of my mind, by my logic there was only one place that she could hide him, I rushed outside and made my way to the forest surrounding the outskirts of the base.