3.

"Did you hear what I said, Shizuru Fujino?" the young girl behind me said, "We are with District One and we'd like you to come with us."

I regarded her with a cool gaze, then the two men from the sedan. I gave a light laugh.

"And I couldn't care any less about what you might want," I said to her breezily, "I have errands to run, and your whims don't interest me."

I knew the men in suits were advancing on me as I turned my back. Did they think to take me unawares? The fools. I am the First and Only heir of the Fujino Clan. Did they dare assume I was unprepared for them? I caught the first one in the chin with the heel of my shoe, knocking him back in to the car. The second found himself with a tanto to his throat as I produced it from my sleeve. I never took my eyes off of the girl, though. She struck me as dangerous.

She grinned at my maneuvers, then drew a huge sword from the case she'd been carrying on her back.

"Do you believe that having a hostage will keep you safe from me?" She asked.

I shook my head, "No. I daresay that your type seldom show that sort of concern for your compatriots. I merely wanted you to understand my own position on the issue clearly."

"Then let me offer my reply," she said, "I am Mikoto Minagi. And our current situation is partly my fault, as I failed to communicate to you properly that I was not extending a cordial invitation to be refused."

I chuckled, "I daresay you needn't shoulder all of the blame for this situation. I am to blame for failing to disabuse you of the notion that you had any authority in this situation at all. I am Shizuru Fujino, heiress and scion to the Fujino Clan. If you wish to speak with me about anything at all, you will need to schedule an appointment, and I will determine when, and if, I have the time to waste on someone as impudent as you."

"I was ordered to bring you in alive," Mikoto Minagi took a fighting stance, "I was not given any instructions about you keeping all of your limbs. You are, doubtless, a strong opponent, Fujino-san. But you will find that I am at least your equal."

I politely refrained from laughing at her for her foolish notion.

"Minagi-han, let me ask you a question; Do you seriously believe that someone of my importance would be left unguarded?"

In retrospect, it was probably not the wisest decision to warn Mikoto Minagi to be on her guard. But I'd been bored of late, and so it gave me some amusement to watch her do somersaults to evade the shuriken that struck the ground around her.

"The Okuzaki Clan have ever been faithful and stalwart defenders," I smiled to my current bodyguard, Akira Okuzaki as I spoke to Mikoto Minagi, "Now, just in case I hadn't made myself clear, depart. I have plans for this evening, and you're bothering me."

A voice came from the sedan, oily, smarmy, and with a playful but sharp tone, "Tut tut tut. Is all of this posturing truly necessary? Mikoto, be a dear and stand down, will you?"

"But Nagi, I…"

"You and the ninja can play with each other later. Miss Fujino," A young man with silvery hair and pink eyes stepped out of the back seat of the sedan, "Apologies for my people being just a tad melodramatic, although I have to say you don't have much room for complaint about that, yourself."

"Perhaps not," I smiled at him, "But then, you didn't extend the warmest of invitations."

"Why don't we walk and talk," he suggested, "I'm unarmed, in case you're concerned about me picking a fight. Violence isn't really my style, anyway."

"No, you seem more like someone who would resort to poison or a knife in the back," I replied cheerfully.

"You wound me, madam," He grinned.

"I may, in due time," I replied, but I walked alongside him after releasing the man in my grasp.

"Then let me be frank," he said, "My name is Nagi Homura, and I am the current head of District One. I'm sure that with your connections, you are aware of our organization."

"Let's not mince words. You wish to talk to me about Natsuki Kuga."

He whistled, "Impressive. How'd you know?"

"Powerful as District One is reputed to be, you've made no move to approach my family or myself these past few years. And then last night I met Natsuki, with her unique condition, and suddenly you want to have a chit chat. Now, I'm a top student, so I am perfectly capable of adding two and two and getting four. Clearly, you wish to talk to me about Natsuki. The only thing I cannot discern is why you would wish to talk to me. If you're aware of my coming into contact with her, then you already know where she lives. Therefore you do not need me to tell you such things. And you're clearly aware of her condition, or my meeting her would have been of no interest to you."

He chuckled, an unwholesome sound to be sure, "You're pretty on the ball. In any case, before I tell you why it's important that I talk to you specifically, let me tell you a bit about the situation on our hands.

"You're aware, of course, of Natsuki's…hmmm…condition. Well, the thing is, her mother, she used to work for District One as a researcher. She developed the serum that saved Natsuki's life, but under the terms of her contract, that serum was work product, and the rightful property of District One."

"I hope you're not saying that you regard Natsuki as your property," My tone was flat, and I'm sure my face was unpleasant to behold at that moment.

"No, no, nothing like that. The problem is that due to the way she botched the process with Natsuki, she's been trying to find a solution. One can hardly blame her. Anyone would do the same for their child, I'm sure," he said in a calm and reasonable way, "But she was afraid that we'd punish her for using it without permission. So, she took the serum to the Searrs Foundation. She has been looking for a way to correct the flaws in the serum, and stabilize Natsuki's condition. However, what Dr. Saeko Kuga doesn't know is that the Searrs Foundation has taken the serum and begun to conduct their own tests with it. Military applications, you know."

I could see how an army of bestial humans could make a tempting objective that would make any mad scientist with goals of world domination salivate.

"I suppose that is all standard fare for people like you. How, then, does it involve me?"

"Patience. I'm getting to that. The thing is, they've had a few successes. Well, in a manner of speaking. The thing is that to consider them true successes, they want to test them against a known and proven factor. That is to say, they want to pit them against Natsuki and see if they come out alive. And since you became romantically involved with her last night, that means that you're now a target to draw her out."

"I see. And why did you choose to tell me this?"

"Well, your father has done business with us and with the Searrs Foundation," Nagi shrugged, "He's a neutral third party. But one day you'll inherit the job, and that means we'd prefer you take sides. Naturally, we'd prefer you side with us. And, no matter what world we're talking about, I kinda have a soft spot for you two. Besides, it amused me."

I frowned, "You are an awful person."

"Aren't I just?" He beamed, "Anyway, I've had my say. I'm going to collect my people, assuming that your hired ninja hasn't dispatched them all in my absence. Though, I think she'd find Mikoto to be a bit of a handful. I delivered my message, and you are certainly free to warn Natsuki about what I've told you. She stands a better chance if she knows what to expect, after all."

He returned to his vehicle, and Mikoto Minagi was putting her sword away. She gave me a stern look.

"Things are not settled between us, and I will finish it one day," She said.

I reached into my purse and produced a card, handing it to her, "My phone number and address. When you think you can, you call me and we'll settle it."

"Count on it," She growled, getting into the sedan.

I turned to Akira Okuzaki, "Your assistance was timely."

"Thank you, Mistress."

I sighed, "So, what have you told my father?"

She raised an eyebrow at me, "Ma'am?"

"You were watching me at the restaurant last night?"

"I saw you have a meal with a classmate, and I saw you leave for another venue with that classmate. Nothing more than that."

I nodded, "I see."

"Ma'am, if I may…My duties are to keep you safe and guard you from threats. If there is no danger, there's nothing for me to report to your father."

"Thank you, Akira."

"There's no need to thank me for doing my duty, Mistress. It is an honor and privilege to serve."

I smiled at her, "Akira, tell me truthfully, without reservation, what you think of Natsuki Kuga."

Akira gave me a wry smile, "Honestly? She's not really my type, Mistress. She's all yours."

I chuckled, "Well, I'm glad to have the blessing of my bodyguard, anyway."

"Well, you have fun, tonight," Akira said, "I've actually got a date, myself. Met him in my art class."

I nodded, smiling, "Yes, yes. You'll have to settle down and raise a whole new generation of Okuzaki children to protect the world, before too long."

"Hey, let me finish school first before you start planning my marriage for me…uh…if you please, Mistress."

I laughed loudly, "Yes, yes. I look forward to hearing all about your date, later, Akira."

And with that, she took off.

After an afternoon of shopping, I hailed a cab and gave them directions to Natsuki's home. I arrived promptly at 5 o'clock. For most occasions, I preferred to arrive fashionably late, but I wanted Natsuki to know that I was serious, so I made sure to arrive at the time that she'd suggested.

I was about to knock on the door, when Nao and Miyu emerged from the house, arm in arm, Nao chatting at the scarlet eyed young woman, "…And the view of the sunset is…Oh, it's the mystery woman. You actually showed up in time to have dinner, huh?"

"But of course," I nodded.

"You are a braver woman than I," She smirked, patting my shoulder, "But you'll see for yourself."

A young girl with golden blonde hair came to the door, "You must be Shizuru. Natsuki has been telling me all about you."

"Only the good parts, I hope," I teased.

"Then she wouldn't have anything to talk about," Nao replied cattily, waving as she and Miyu walked down the path leading to the beach below.

"Please come in," Alyssa Searrs bowed slightly, "Please be kind to my sister. She's very sensitive."

"I have no intention of being anything but gentle with her."

"I was, of course, referring to her cooking," Alyssa sighed, "Just…be diplomatic."

Just then, Natsuki appeared, wearing an apron caked with bits of flour and wiping sweat from her forehead, "Oh, Shizuru! You're just in time! Tonight's gonna be a real treat. I'm making pork buns!"

Alyssa sighed, shaking her head, "As I said, please be diplomatic with her. It's truly troublesome when someone so sensitive is so proud of something they're so bad at."

And with that said, we went to the kitchen.