Fourth installation! Thanks for you support, minna-san!
Joy: Thanks! Am continuing!
Tensaispira: Well, now you've noticed! Ha ha! Kiara IS something, isn't she?
Coolpriss: Ha ha! You're hardcore Mitsui fan?? *joins coolpriss in drooling* BTW,actually, I never meant the officer to be Anzai sensei – but now that you've brought it up, IT DOES SOUND LIKE HIM, DOES'T IT?? What a shock!
Eliar Swiftfire: Thanks! Well, now you know it's AU!
Yoriko: You beat Sendoh up, and yet you kiss Mitsui. ???
SLL: Thanks! It just occurred to me that Nobu could be Kiyota Nobunaga. What do you think??
Ferohcious: the action won't come for some time, I think. Sorry!
Fiery ice: number one, yes, micchy's a cop. Number two, yes, she did say that. :P number three, no, I got it from Nora Robert's novel 'Sacred Sin'. But I DO like YUA!!
Jo-sen7: Thanks! I'm so happy you like this.
Jeano: Thanks! I'll try to do my best. : )
Tiran: Thanks! Read on!
Kka: You know how this is gonna end up?? Humph! It seems I'll have to twist it, but in the end, you'll probably be right anyway!
Kiara's brain whirled to think of a dozen explanations to tell the officer. Oh no. Oh man. Toasted, I am toasted. Barbecued. Smoked. Willing herself to relax, she forced the colours back into her paling cheeks. She had to be cool and calm. Any sign of anxiety would give her away. "Self-defence," she said finally, her voice smooth and confident, flipping the dagger playfully. "You never know who you chance upon in this place." She smiled at him.
"Which brings us to the next question – what are you doing here?"
Argh, you no good busybody! "I hang out here."
"Alone?"
Well, now that two of my friends have taken off, yeah, alone. "Yes."
"But there are more than two couches here." He observed. "What, you like to move from one couch to another every few minutes?"
Kiara kept the impatient hiss in check. "It doesn't hurt. I get company sometimes." Deciding he was getting way too curious, she changed the tide. "So, what's a policeman doing out here in a bright, sunny afternoon?"
"Doing what a policeman usually does in a bright sunny afternoon," he replied. "Investigating. Mind if I come in?"
Yes, I mind. Get lost. "No, of course not. Have a couch." She invited sweetly. "Be my company for today, if you like." She watched him settle down, thoughts racing to figure out what to do. "Any progress on yesterday's robbery?"
"Working on it."
"Aah."
He looked at her. "You mentioned having company around here," he said, intently watching her face for any revealing signs. "Do any of them happen to be Luna Kimiwa and Pit Osagi?"
Her eyelashes didn't even flutter. "No. Why? Who are they?" She pretended to finally understand. "Oh, you mean, they're the culprits?"
Mitsui held her gaze steadily, undecided. Either she's telling the truth, or she's a damn terrific liar. He couldn't tell which, since she barely flinched under his gaze (which was famous for intimidating victims into confession) and instead stared back at him just as steadily. "That's what I want to find out," he answered. "They're merely suspects at the moment. There are reports that they are frequently seen around here. Maybe you've seen them?"
Kiara shrugged. "Maybe, but I wouldn't know if it was them, would I, if I don't even know how they look like?"
He nodded. "No, I don't suppose you would." He took out the profiles and showed it to her.
Kiara made some sounds as if she was trying hard to rack into her memory. Then, putting on a sympathetic but supportive face, she said," No, sorry. I've never seen them before. But they could be here. I don't know. Maybe they're new, and I have not had the chance to bump into them yet. Why don't you ask some of the other people around here?"
He shrugged. "I have." Lying, or not lying?? Who can tell?? Better resort to more questions and more facial-expression-observing. "Isn't it dangerous hanging out here all by yourself?"
Kiara lifted an eyebrow. "I thought we were discussing something else."
"This is a minor interruption." He replied easily. "This place is dangerous."
"Every place in Bokotu is dangerous." She chose her answers carefully, and flashed her dagger. "That's why I take this along with me wherever I go. Everybody here carries at least one weapon around for self-defence. It's almost a tradition." There! She gloated to herself. I've managed to answer that without giving anything away and explain the presence of my dagger at the same time. I should get a trophy.
He found himself admiring her quick-thinking brain. And the rest of her as well. "Ever had the chance to use that?"
Her eyes narrowed, and Kiara could feel her mask of tranquillity crack. "Why are you cross examining me, officer? Shouldn't you be spending your time looking for those two culprits with those funny names?"
"What's your name?" he asked suddenly.
Kiara's lips thinned in annoyance. Police tactics, she thought irritably. Changing the topic as fast as lightning in hope you'll trip yourself up and blurt what they want to hear. "I told you. Yoko."
"No, you lied to me. What's your name?"
Great, her deception wasn't just cracking, it was falling apart. How did he know?? Am I that obvious?? Have my lying skills gone tarnished?? "Sakura," she replied, telling herself firmly to calm down again. One can't lie when one's head is hot.
He shook his head. "No, your real name."
Kiara had tightened her grip on her dagger, unconsciously reacting to danger. He noticed it and put a restraining hand on hers. "Now, let's not hurt each other," he said carefully. "We're both armed, and we're both vulnerable. I won't do anything to you. I just want to know who you really are and why you're giving me false information of yourself."
His hold on her was firm and strong. She could, of course, twist her dagger just a little bit and slash his arm … and then what? Run? No doubt it'll take him less than ten seconds to catch up with her, and it'll only convince him further than she was involved.
She decided to play it safe and steer the conversation away from the Luna and Pit. She lowered her dagger and gently put it on the floor. He watched her and then nodded his approval. "I was brought up to be careful with strangers. I don't share true information with people that I don't know." She explained.
He raised an eyebrow. "I know you. You know me."
"Barely." She said wryly.
"Well then," he smiled. "We'll have to work on that, won't we?"
She didn't even notice the change of tone until he was on top of her, hands and lips linked. Anyone else would have received a limb-numbing kick in the groin that would ache for weeks as a reward for a move so daring. He, however, continued on without the slightest disturbance or protest from her, which she found rather puzzling and out-of-character. Something's wrong with me.
She waited until he was finished before pushing him away.
"There," he said brightly. "We know each other already."
Kiara managed a short laugh, cautiously backing away from him. "You have a point there."
"What's your name?"
"Aikawa." It was her middle name. She wasn't exactly lying. "Aikawa Kiminagi."
He seemed to buy that, and she secretly released a breath of relief. "Thank you, Aikawa. Now that we're properly introduced, mind telling me why you're here and not in Bokotu High on a school day?"
Shit. "I'm skipping school," she replied a little too quickly. The reason was logical. It's probably even expected, coming from an obviously corrupted Bokotu teen citizen. Students skipping school isn't exactly an issue anymore in places like this.
And it was quite true, she DID skip school a couple of years ago – more than once, for that matter. He seemed to buy it too, smiling understandingly. Kiara discovered that if she told half-truths, he wasn't able to recognise it as a lie. "Today, Maths. I hate Maths."
"Me too," he confessed, falling for it.
It had to do with the way she said it, she realised. When she told a lie, there was a certain level of stressed tones that no person on earth but him could detect. But if it was half-truth, the stressing of the words was less obvious. Interesting. It had been a long time since she last discovered something equally fascinating.
"But you might want to rethink your actions," he said suddenly. "Education is important. I realised that a little too late for my benefit."
Kiara raised an eyebrow. "You have quite a history of yourself, don't you? Maybe you could tell it to me someday."
"And you can tell me yours."
She tensed, recognising another police tactic and unable to help the reflex action. "I don't have anything to do with Luna Kimiwa and Pit Osagi," she said slowly, as if wanting the words to sink deeply into his head. It was true, she decided, watching her tones. She wasn't involved with the previous robbery, which kind of meant she didn't have anything to do with Luna and Pit at that particular time. Believe me, she prayed. Please believe me.
He looked at her distressed face in amusement. "It has nothing to do with the investigation," he assured her. "I have my reasons."
That wasn't soothing at all. "What sort of reasons?" she asked suspiciously.
"Personal ones." He grinned, an eye-catching stretch of the lips that unsettled her a bit. "I'll be in contact. Good day."