DISCLAIMER: Mai-Hime doesn't belong to me but reading this chapter will make you pull your hair because of the cliffhanger of a sadistic author who made this.
CHAPTER EIGHT: TWISTS AND TURNS
"Do you know what you're doing?!" Shizuru snarled at her. Natsuki swallowed thickly.
"What did I do?" Pretending to be innocent, she asked her.
Shizuru strode past her and Natsuki watched her as the older woman closed the door with so much force the walls shook. Warily emerald eyes watched Shizuru as she took off her apron and threw it.
Fuming, Shizuru rubbed her temple to ease her irritation. Someone's been asking too much about your background. You don't want your months of work to be ruined right? Shizuru cursed loudly and she gritted her teeth as she faced Natsuki.
"Don't pretend that you don't know it." Her Kyoto-ben accent was laced with fury. "You have been probing in my background you prick."
Natsuki's jaw dropped. She never heard Shizuru talk to anyone this way. "I—I" Too shock to answer, she gaped stupidly to Shizuru.
"Do you have any idea how much work you'll destroy," Shizuru walk towards her slowly and her hands were shaking with too much fury. "How many lives you're endangering because you can't resist your curiosity?!"
"I know Shiz, I'm sorry. It's just that I can't accept what I saw in your background check. I almost went out of my mind. The next thing I knew, I can't stop myself; I need to know why and when we notice it's too late to stop." Natsuki said softly.
Shizuru gave her a hollow laugh. "Really?" Shizuru eyes were hard. "That wasn't the impression you gave me and I clearly remembered that you were calling me a pimp."
Natsuki took a step towards her, and she stopped when she saw Shizuru stiffened. "Dammit Shizuru, try to understand. I need to check everyone including you, but when we saw it; my friends were all ready to bring you down. That's why I need to protect you; I need all the bullets I can get to protect you from getting hurt by Feds."
All of a sudden, Shizuru pivoted and punched her in the jaw. Natsuki's vision blurred and she shook her head to clear it. "You believed it Natsuki and I saw it in your eyes." Shizuru knew she was being childish and unfair; she couldn't be professional about it. Natsuki's accusations still sting.
Natsuki steadied herself and she stared back at Shizuru. Shizuru's eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "No, I couldn't believe it Shizuru, that why I kept digging. I knew in my heart that the Shizuru I loved wouldn't do those kinds of things." Natsuki said with conviction.
Shizuru's barriers broke and she lost her remaining control. Shizuru felt the sting of tears and fiercely, she tried to blink it away.
"Shizuru."
Shizuru felt Natsuki's hand on her shoulder. Natsuki's presence was too much for her to handle, she needed to escape. Shizuru needed to run. Years of training burst out of her, and she acted as if Natsuki was a threat to her.
With a blinding speed and reflexes, Shizuru twisted Natsuki's hand in an expert move. The next thing Shizuru knew, her own hand had been twisted behind her back. Before she could counter, Natsuki took her other hand and she twisted it the same way. Breathless and surprised, she tried to wiggle, realizing that she was beaten, the older woman sighed.
Natsuki could feel Shizuru's body heat pressed to her own body. She was able to counter the older woman's attack without hurting her. Natsuki gazed at the other woman tenderly. "You're trapped."
"Let go of me," Shizuru said. She could feel Natsuki's ragged breath as the younger woman continue to gaze at her.
"I wish I can," Natsuki said quietly. She wanted to trap Shizuru in her arms forever, she wanted to protect from any harm but she can't. Slowly, she released Shizuru's wrists and the older woman rubbed it.
"Did I hurt you?" Natsuki asked softly.
In more than ways. Shizuru bit back her words. Shizuru needs to separate her work from her emotions. Right now, she needs to stop Natsuki from talking, she's still not sure if someone planted a bug in this house.
"I don't give a damn what you think of me Natsuki but right now, you are here where we wanted you to be." Shizuru strode past her but Natsuki grabbed her arms to stop her.
"I think you are a—"A loud groan escaped Natsuki as she fell back after Shizuru threw another punch in her stomach.
"Shut up." Shizuru hissed. Shizuru grabbed her collar and dragged her out of the kitchen. Alarmed at the situation, Reito tried to stop them but she was silenced by Shizuru.
"I'll talk to you later." Natsuki was trying to keep up with Shizuru's quick stride.
Shizuru opened her car and she pushed Natsuki inside. She closed the passenger door and she circled back into the driver's seat to get inside.
Groaning in pain, Natsuki adjusted to her seat. "Why do you have to be so rough?"
"I thought FBI agents were smarter that this Natsuki." Natsuki winced.
"If you could have been honest—"
Shizuru glared at her, Natsuki shriveled a little. "I don't shoot off my mouth every chance I get!" Shizuru snapped. Quickly, Shizuru clamped her mouth shut when she realized that she was exactly doing it now.
"I knew it. You are a CIA undercover." Natsuki breathes in a sigh of relief.
"Shut it Kuga!" Cursing once more, Shizuru closed her eyes for a second and rubbed her temple to compose herself. "What do you think I'm involved with?'
Natsuki didn't hesitate. "I think you are an undercover. You're working for CIA who wanted to put Kanzaki behind bars."
Shizuru's expression remains unchanged. "It's FBI's case Natsuki, haven't you forgotten?"
"What?" Natsuki said.
"White slavery is not CIA's jurisdiction Kuga." Shizuru crossed her arms.
"But—"
"This case was given to you right?" Natsuki nodded.
"You are the primary of this case now tell me," Shizuru's face was expressionless. "Did you include the CIA in your investigation?"
Reality sank, Natsuki stared at her. "But why are you in here?"
Shizuru cackled and Natsuki watched her dumbly. Natsuki felt like she was in a scene in a movie without any script. She was totally clueless. "Answer me Shizuru. Why are you here?"
Shizuru lifted her hands to smooth Natsuki's eyebrows and she gazed at those stunned emerald eyes. "You were brought into this case, now be a good girl and follow the lead that was given to you. Nothing more."
Natsuki swallowed, suddenly aware of Shizuru's hand in her face. "I lead this case Shizuru; I need to know why the spooks are in my case," Natsuki said menacingly.
"Who said I'm from CIA?" Shizuru said playfully. Before Natsuki could answer, the older woman opened the driver's seat and walked out of the car.
"Dammit, Shizuru! Answer me!" Natsuki opened her own door to follow her.
Shizuru looked back to her, long glorious ash blond hair was flowing through the air making her look like an angel. "Push through your case, find everything that could tie this case into a nice knot and present it to the prosecutor's office and by the end of this you'll understand why Feds were brought in. That's all you need to know. For now."
Shizuru walked away. As she remembered something, she looked back to Natsuki. "And by the way, I'm still not sure if it is safe to talk inside. I guess this wraps up our meeting Special Agent Kuga." Shizuru smirked to herself as she heard Natsuki murmur under her breath that sounded like shit.
"What's the status?" Natsuki slammed the door in the office and called on her partner Nao.
"I told Sensei what you found out and I booked the conference room for the squad meeting. The whole task force will be there." They rode the elevator up to the conference room. Natsuki was furious.
After she took the couple to Kanzaki's office, Natsuki contacted her partner for the update. Like her, Nao was furious. This was their op, their case. Why there is someone planted before they took the case?
They got off the elevator and at the same time Nao's phone rang. Nao answered it quickly, after a few seconds, she hung up. "Sensei's on site."
Natsuki opened the door leading to the conference room and the agents who are milling around hushed.
The younger woman moved to the front of the room. "The briefing will start in five, take your seats. Sensei's on site."
"Hey Kuga, what the heck is going on?" One of the agents asked her.
"I would love to answer your question but as you can see, I'm clueless just like you." Natsuki countered back. She settled a seat near the front.
"When I told them, they were all pissed." Nao murmured beside her.
"Who wouldn't be?" Natsuki mumbled. A lavender-haired woman opened the door and all the noise emanating from the room ceased as she walked in front of them.
All of the agents shifted to attention, snapped a salute and held it. "Director Kazahana," Natsuki said, and every agent in the room followed her.
"At ease agents. Take your seats." A few shuffles and everybody was seated. Director Mashiro Kazahana, one of the youngest Executive Assistant Director in FBI. Kazahana is one very capable strategist, making her the director of the criminal investigative division a very young age. She is 5'7 in height. Her voice was quiet but firm with the faintest British accent. Her aquamarine eyes were kind but sharp. Her lavender hair was braided and scooped up in the back in some neat twist. She traveled her eyes to everyone inside the room, and Natsuki was pretty sure that she was making them more aware of her formidable presence.
"We have a situation, men." She waited for a beat. "A few hours ago, Special Agent Kuga reported to me that there is a mole inside Reito's life. It was checked and confirmed by Agent Kuga herself when she talked to the undercover. Her objective is not clear, and Agent Kuga wasn't able to verify if she came from the spooks because of the UC's uncanny…behavior."
The director paused before resuming. "I talked to the Deputy Director of CIA himself and he gave me a very unusual answer." Her voice was sharp and laced with suppressed fury. "He said, "Be grateful that the FBI was brought into this case. If I were you, I'll investigate the lost girls' case within your jurisdiction.""
Natsuki grimaced, in plain words; the CIA told them to back the fuck off in a very nice way. "Agent Kuga, your report."
Instinctively Natsuki shifted to attention. "Sir, at approximately zero six hundred hours, agent Yuuki called me for an update for a background check for a certain individual at Kanzaki's life."
She laid it out with a military precision, the agents questioned her ruthlessly but Natsuki was prepared for it. She expected it. Natsuki never faltered, and she never changed a single detail.
"Did you identify the certain individual you were talking about, Agent?" The director asked her.
"Yes, sir. We were able to identify her real name but her background is still shaky." Natsuki answered precisely.
"Forget her background, for all we know its all fraud." She said nothing more for a moment, then—very quietly—sighed. "Sit down, Agent Kuga."
Director Kazahana rubbed her temple, and then dropped her hands. "I talked about this with our Deputy Director and she was aware of a mole before we investigated this." Angry murmurs echoed around Natsuki, she too was irritated at the thought leaving her in the dark about the UC.
"I know how you feel but just as you, I 'am not aware of the planted agent inside. We all know how important it is to coordinate these kinds of operation but, the Deputy Director issued a command. We will follow Reito's trail and avoid crossing the UC's line."
"What the heck?" Natsuki outburst.
Her boss gave her a reprimanding look. "Believe me Agent Kuga, I share the same sentiment but this is a chain of command and we will follow this. After you provide us the location of the exchange of merchandise we will move out immediately as planned. You are still on heightened alert, take turns in duty. Dot leave Agent Kuga unprotected. The meeting is adjourned; Kuga and Yuuki follow me in my office now."
"Shit," Natsuki mumbled as both of them rose from their seat. She could see that most of the agents were pissed at the sudden development of this case. All of them worked hard to crack this case. Reito was protected by layers of good reputation and loyal employees, but because of a sheer luck they caught a scent when one of the missing girls manage to draw attention when she was transferred into one of the hundreds of Reito's safe house. Months of accumulated information, months of undercover operation and finally they managed to infiltrate the mastermind itself.
They followed their boss into the elevator and they all rode in silence. Based on the rigid form of her boss, she knew she was royally pissed and she knew that wasn't a good sign. They're in for a good beating. Natsuki grimaced at the thought.
Natsuki opened the door leading inside. Kazahana and her companions entered. Natsuki was still amazed how can her Sensei kept her working station in orderly fashion despite being busy. Her desk is tidy, but not clear. Kazahana kept the photo of the three of them in her table. She and Yuuki were just starting their training in the academy when the photo was taken. They were all smiling despite the scruffy appearance of Natsuki and Nao.
Natsuki still remembers the exact words of Kazahana to them when they graduated. I'm so proud to have you both. Her aquamarine eyes were shining with tears. Both of them were adopted by Kazahana, and despite not being related by blood, their Sensei treated them like a family.
"Tell me, who the hell ordered a deep background check to Shizuru?" Kazahana balled a fist in her side and stared to both of them. Her aquamarine eyes were shining with fury.
Both women grimaced and look away from their Sensei and it made their boss angrier. "Tell me now or I'm gonna kick both of your asses!" She roared.
Nao pointed at her hastily. "It's Natsuki Sensei. She won't let go of it! She's still hung up to Shizuru."
To Natsuki's horror, Kazahana smacked her loudly in the head and Natsuki groaned in pain. "What the—?!" Kazahana's cold gaze stopped Natsuki's words.
"Do you have any idea what mess I cleaned because of what you did?" She snapped to Natsuki. She grabbed Natsuki's collar and shook her hard. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you if Kanzaki got a wind of it?" Natsuki cringed.
"You worked like hell to expose Shizuru's cover as fake and you didn't notice that you were exposing your cover as well! You put yourself and Shizuru in a risky situation!" Kazahana yelled.
"I'm sorry…" Natsuki guiltily murmured.
Behind Kazahana's anger, they could see that she was genuinely worried. No, she was scared witless. Her face turned pale because of the gut-twisting fear she felt when her superior told her about the deep background checking to the UC by her agents. Her daughters. Kazahana knew how evil mind works, and just the thought of Natsuki being trapped at the mercy of the likes of Reito makes her blood run cold.
"I—"Natsuki paused. She looked sad and helpless.
"My heart just can't accept it Sensei. When Nao told me about it, I went crazy." Natsuki drew a deep breath.
"Right there and then I wanted to ask her, I wanted answers. Please try to understand, I met her when we were still young. She was sweet and innocent, a young girl with laughing eyes but after years I met her again but this time, it's like her eyes were dead, without any emotion and all I had was her rock solid criminal background. Every word was burning into my mind Sensei. For a minute, I was blaming myself, that maybe if I didn't leave her she wouldn't end up a criminal." Natsuki said hoarsely.
Slowly, Kazahana released her. "You really are an idiot." Releasing a deep sigh, Kazahana heavily sat on her chair.
Nao released a relieved sigh but their Sensei glared at her. "I'm not through with you." The woman gulped.
"You should have stopped her but no, you helped her dig your own damn graves!" Their boss snapped once more at them.
"Sorry…" Nao mumbled.
"You undermined my authority, in this case, I could both write you up. I could give you a thirty-day rip." Before Nao could reason out, Kazahana silenced her. "Not another word Agent."
"Sensei, it's my entire fault. No need to drag Nao into this." Natsuki said ruefully.
Kazahana studied her for few seconds. "You don't have to worry Natsuki, I'll write you up and file the rip once you finished this case but, for now, we should focus on the task at hand."
She folded her hands on the table in front of them. "It seems there is more than meets the eye in this case and I want both of you to watch your back. Probably, Shizuru is not the only UC in there."
Both of them nodded remorsefully. "The only reason I can think of is Reito is wanted not only in the lost girls case but maybe something bigger," Natsuki said.
"Yes, I agree, so we need to keep our distance to Shizuru. I can only guess that Shizuru gave us the tip about Reito's involvement in our case."
"What?" Surprise, Nao gaped at her boss.
"Yes, we were able to follow the trail because of CIA's tip, particularly Shizuru," Kazahana said seriously.
"Wow…" Natsuki's smile spread and her emerald eyes twinkled at the thought.
Nao rolled her eyes to her partner. "She is a spook you dummy, they are a competition!"
"We have no business to her, except your past, Natsuki. In spite of that, we need to distance our case into theirs. Locate all the children, make sure that they are safe and retrieve them as soon as we can. No funny business both of you," She glowered at them "Or I'll take you off in this case and I fucking mean it." Nao and Natsuki shivered in fear.
Kazahana smiled thinly to her daughters. "Now go back to your posts and continue your swore duty to the citizen of this country. Scram!"
They stood together, snapped a salute and bid their goodbye. After they left their mother's room, Nao finally said something. "Good thing Shizuru is with the spooks, you won't have to arrest her anymore."
Natsuki only nodded. "Yeah, I won't have to worry about her too much." At last, she can finally focus her energy on her case without thinking about her ex-girlfriend. Hopefully. Natsuki mused.
"So did she finally get it?"
Shizuru glanced at the man hunched in front of the computer. "Maybe." She answered Her Kyoto-ben voice was neutral.
The man gave her a momentary look and continued to work something on his computer. "You're not worried that something might go wrong? He's a dangerous individual FYI."
"Not dangerous enough to scare me." Unruffled, Shizuru answered casually.
The man just shrugged, he knew Shizuru's reputation. If she's confident, then she'll see through it. "With any luck, the info that we gave them can keep them satisfied for a while. We need to stop them from sniffing more cover ups. They might mess up even our investigation."
"She is not an amateur," Shizuru said dryly. "You saw her file. Special Agent Kuga was one of the most brilliant agents who made an astounding number of arrests and convictions in her generation."
There was a long silence, and then the man said, "Sorry…"
"Did you manage to dig up his financial accounts?" Shizuru said without acknowledging his apology.
"Of course," the man was slightly offended.
Shizuru gave him an amused smile. "Secure them, send a soft copy to HQ and make me a hard copy. I'll burn it after."
Shizuru straightened herself and started to walked away from her colleague. "Take care of yourself." The man reminded her.
"By the way," Shizuru glanced back at him. "Learn to turn off the mike when needed, you lousy pervert." She said eerily.
The man blushed furiously and nodded to her. Damn, it's not his fault that her handler decided to let go of her inner lust when they were in a middle of an op. He was just too damn shocked to turn it off in time. He shook her head and grinned broadly. Maybe he was really a lousy pervert after all.
"Who is on duty tonight?" Natsuki asked Nao on the other line. After turning off the ignition, out of habit, she checked her surroundings. Seeing that everything was normal, she opened the door of her car and got out of it.
"Okay, just stay alert." After their preparations in the war room, Natsuki decided to wear cameras for the entrapment operation. Her gut feeling was nagging her that soon Reito will move out.
"Try turning it on Natsuki," Nao said from the other line.
"I would like to kick someone's butt," Natsuki grinned at her chosen phrase.
Nao laughed. "Yep, I can see everything in crystal clear. This one is the latest model, this baby costs more than our combined salary for two months so try not to break it Natsuki."
"Yeah, yeah." Natsuki murmured. The guard waved at her and she nodded. It was already past five in the afternoon but she could still see a few employees milling around. She continued to walk towards the elevator and waited for it to open.
"I'll hang up now. Let's see if you can still hear me." Without waiting for her response, Nao hung up. The elevator opened, Natsuki walked inside and she pressed the number of the floor to Reito's office.
Natsuki cringed at the sudden static in her ears. "Can you hear me Natsuki?"
Hiding her face from the camera at the elevator, she mumbled, "Crystal clear."
"Everything is set. We will be in the van, in case something happens just turn on the camera." Nao instructed her.
Without changing her expression, Natsuki listened to her. "I could use some coffee." Natsuki murmured and the sound in her ears vanished. Nobody would be suspicious at her chosen phrases, she thought.
A gentle ping shook off her thoughts and the door of the elevator opened. Natsuki casually walked towards Kanzaki's office. She waved to Fumi, who was currently busy talking someone on the phone.
For a moment, Natsuki forgot to knock on the door, and without giving it a thought she opened the door.
Jealousy ran through her blood when she saw Kanzaki hugging Shizuru tightly to his chest. Did Shizuru really have to go this far to get information to the man? Natsuki thought angrily.
Crimson eyes met her furious gaze and Shizuru tapped Reito's back to gain his attention. "Sweetie, we have company." Shizuru somberly said.
Natsuki heard a little sniff before Kanzaki released Shizuru. The man turned his back on her but Natsuki can still see him wiping his face.
This is weird. There is something wrong in here. Natsuki thought. Discomfort and suspicion were gnawing her gut. Why was he so distraught?
Before she could formulate some answer, the man excused himself to go to the bathroom.
Natsuki returned her gaze to the woman in front of her. "Do you really have to go that far for some information?"
Shizuru gave her a cold stare. "What exactly do you mean Natsuki?"
Before she could herself, Natsuki answered hotly. "You were almost clinging to him."
Shizuru laughed coldly. "Now you're accusing me that I'm a whore."
Natsuki gritted her teeth. "I am not saying that you are a whore. What I mean is that do you really have to be so-," Natsuki struggled for proper words. "So sweet and clingy to him?"
"My, my aren't we jealous," Shizuru said without any amusement.
"I'm serious Shizuru, you might get hurt. What if he suddenly became obsess with you?"
"You have an active imagination Natsuki," Shizuru said dryly, her eyes crinkled with amusement.
"Well, I'm paid to have an overly active imagination."
Shizuru smiled a little. "It's not what you think Natsuki." She said quietly. Shizuru had to stop herself from divulging any more information.
Frustrated, Natsuki released a long sigh. She took a long glance at the woman in front of her. She could see the exhaustion under Shizuru's eyes, and Natsuki stopped her urge to wiped it away.
Her heart started to beat fast, this is usually her reaction whenever she stare at Shizuru. Natsuki could feel the warmth spreading through her chest and into her belly whenever the woman was around her.
Screw butterflies, the whole zoo erupt at the mere thought of Shizuru. Screw logic and pride, Natsuki decided to tell Shizuru her feelings. "I still love you Shizuru," Natsuki said emotionally.
Shizuru caught her breath, she could feel her emotions rushing to her throat. Her crimson eyes widen and her heart fluttered inside her chest. She wasn't' expecting Natsuki's declaration. She stumbled back when the younger woman took a step forward to her.
"I know this is not the right time to say this, but I still love you Shizuru."
"Natsuki..." The older woman said helplessly.
"We still have to talk about what happened in the past but I need you to know that I still love you, that I never stopped loving you," Natsuki said hoarsely. She couldn't stop the words flowing, Natsuki needed to say it. Just to let Shizuru know that her feelings never changed.
Shizuru could feel her emotions betraying her, she knew that any minute, she'll break down and spill her unwanted emotions. "Natsuki we are in the middle of an op, we can't mix business with pleasure-"
"Damn it, Shizuru-" They both stopped when the door burst out open. Natsuki's hand was automatically in her holster but she stopped when she saw Reito's pale face.
"It's time," Reito said numbly. Beside her, Shizuru grimaced.
"What?" Puzzled, Natsuki asked him.
"The schedule has been changed. We need to move now." Reito's voice was slightly trembling.
Realization hits her, and with tremendous effort, Natsuki calmed herself. "I would like to kick someone's butt."
to be continued...
A/N: This is not an edited chapter so sorry for the grammatical errors!
Hello, guys! Like I promise, an update! hooray! hope you'll like this chapter! I tried my best to make it sound like a professional so forgive me if I kinda failed at the CIA & FBI lingo thingy. Brace yourselves for the remaining twists in the story of RS! *evil laugh* and by the waaaaay, give me two weeks to write the chapter 2 of Curtain Falls! If I failed to fulfill my promise, well maybe I got swamped up with my work! Don't be stingy to comments! Come on guys! I want to hear more of you! Ciao guys!