First off, apologies for the mistake I made of deleting the entire chapter and replacing it with a one-sentenced one. *smiles sheepishly* This is what happens when you try to upload five chapters in the space of half an hour! Sorry, minna-san!

            "All five suspects investigated," Akagi reported back in the police station as they lounged around the meeting room, feet comfortably placed on the polished wooden table. "One was in a video arcade at the time of the crime. Three of his friends and the manager of the arcade confirmed it."

            "Hmm."

            "Another one was eating at a restaurant. Five witnesses – mostly the waitresses that he flirted with. One more was stuck in the hospital with a fractured leg – still is, actually. A video recording of the room showed he was asleep at the time of the crime. The other two have their alibis, but they're yet to be proven."

            "Hmm."

            Akagi scowled, disappointed at his partner's lack of appreciation for his undoubtedly hard work. "What about you?"

            "Dead."

            "Huh??"

            "Three of the suspects were gang drug dealers. They were involved in a drug exchange in the next district, got discovered by the police over there and were shot to death after a series of fights."

            Akagi nodded grimly. "Good. Fewer troublemakers. The other two?"

            "Missing."

            "HAH??"

            Mitsui faced his partner's wrath. "Gone. Disappeared." His face crunched up in frustration. "Got away before I came."

            Akagi had grown twice his size and now stood looming over Mitsui, who was comfortably sprawled over his chair. "You're losing your touch, Mitsui. This never happened before."

            Mitsui gritted his teeth. "It won't happen again. I'll get them."

            "And exactly how are you going to that?"

            "It's called searching. Manually. I'll dig to the centre of the earth if I have to." He sighed, brooding. "Besides, I think I might have a lead."

            "Oh, really?"

            He nodded. "Really. Female." His expression automatically changed, his eyes glinting and his smile mischievous. "Smart, quick-thinking and brave." He paused. "Sexy."

            Akagi didn't bother to conceal his disgusted groan. "You think about a woman like that and you're bound to get into trouble."

            Mitsui smirked. "I like trouble."

            Akagi reached forward and shook his partner roughly by the shoulders. "Come back to reality, you idiot. If she's going to be your investigation subject, you better think twice about getting involved with her. You don't want to have anything to do with her when the time comes for you to arrest her."

            "She's just hiding something from me. I doubt she's involved in the robbery."

            Akagi decided arguing with a stubborn man wouldn't get him anywhere. "Have it your way," he gave up. "But I'm warning you, don't mix in your personal life with your professional one. It's not wise."

            "Whoever said I was wise?"

            Akagi sighed. "Never mind."

            Kiara was thoughtfully chewing on a doomed fry near the glass wall of the restaurant when her cell phone buzzed. She absently flipped it open and brought it to her ear. "Kiara speaking."

            "Shush!" Luna shushed her in a hoarse whisper. "Use code names! This phone's probably tapped! I'm Blue Organ, and you-know-who is Headless Neck!"

            "More like Brainless Head." Kiara muttered, her anger refreshing itself. "Sorry. Don't know you. Goodbye."

            "I knew you'd be furious," Luna sighed. "Listen, Kiara, we couldn't find you. We were in a hurry."

            "You know, I'm getting tired of that worn out excuse." Kiara chewed on another fry, more viciously. "What do you want, Blue Organ? And there's no such thing as a blue organ."

            "Yes, there is. Veins are blue in colour."

            "Veins are not organs."

            There was a pause. Luna hissed. "Shut up, biologist." Her voice took on an anxious note. "Is the policeman still looking for us?"

            "He's hot on your trails," Kiara supplied cheerfully. "When he shoves both of you into prison, remember to send me a postcard." She ignored Luna's curse of locking her in a chest and burying her ten thousand feet underground.

            "Come on, Kiara," Luna moaned. "Be a sport, okay?"

            "You left me," Kiara started, her eyes flashing. A pity Luna couldn't see it. "You knew the police were coming, and you left me. Did it occur to you that I was not aware of it and that one wrong move could've ended my life? Did it ever occur to you that I could've been arrested? Does it even matter to you?"

            "You're not going to tell on us, are you?"

            Kiara snorted. "Of course not. I'm not a backstabber, which is more than I can say for you."

            "Don't you ever run out of sting?" Luna muttered irritably. "I'm sorry, okay? What do you want me to do? Drop down in front of you and kiss the ground you walk on?"

            "I'd prefer you licked it."

            "You're going to have to learn the value of forgiveness, Kiara."

            "Someday. Where are you?" Kiara fished another fry out.

            "I can't tell you. This phone might be tapped." There was a pause. "Look, don't say anything to the police officer, whoever he is, okay? Be careful."

            "I'm always careful." Kiara muttered, but the phone line got disconnected. She dropped her cell phone back onto the seat next to her and stared grumpily out the glass.

Suddenly, somebody took a firm hold of her chin, lifted it upwards and planted a lingering kiss on her lips.

            "Hello." Mitsui's sharp eyes were boring into hers.

            Kiara's eyes were wide, and her cheeks were still hot. But she managed to compose herself as he invited himself onto the seat across her. "That's quite a way of greeting somebody 'hello'." She muttered.

            "I thought we might need to get to know each other a little more." His face was more serious to fit her liking. "You're not in Bokotu High School."

She froze. DANGER flashed in her face in neon colours, followed by UH OH, RUN and DEAD MEAT.

            The officer had researched her.

            "You were from Bokotu High School," he continued calmly, but there was an edge of violence in his voice. "But you dropped out one year before graduation, much to everyone's surprise." He paused, assessing her reaction. "But you're name is Aikawa. I'm surprised that wasn't a lie. Still, you're known with another name entirely. I still haven't figured that out." Again, he paused. "What else did you lie about?"

            Kiara counted her breaths to steady it. She narrowed her eyes to hide the panic in them. "Which point of view are you asking me from?" she asked coolly. "An officer on duty or an acquaintance?"

            "A friend who's furious about being lied at."

            She snorted. "You're not my friend."

            "I am now." The glint in his steel eyes warned her not to argue. "And I'll probably be more than that as we progress along."

            Kiara's eyebrows arched. "That's rather direct."

            "I don't dawdle," he replied, somewhat gruffly. "I like you, and I want you."

            Kiara was thankful she hadn't been drinking anything, hadn't been drinking anything, rayed it out of her mouth in her shock of so frank a declaration. She sputtered foolishly, struggling to get hold of herself and wondering why a sentence containing less than ten words could shake her so. "May I remind you that you're a policeman?"

            "So?" he questioned. "It shouldn't be a problem… unless you're involved with the robbery, or Luna and Pit, to be specific." Her sharp breath revealed her. He looked at her grimly. "You do have something to do with this." Ironically, when it should've been her instead of him, he felt sick.

            Kiara thought about leaping over the restaurant counter and running out through the back door, but she changed her mind. Too late to run. But still too early to give in. "Perhaps I do have something to do with your investigation – then again, perhaps I don't," she shrugged calmly. "But you can hardly prove either one of those, can you?"

            Yes, he confirmed it in his thoughts, judging her reaction, she's involved. "How much?"

            "Huh?"

            "How much were you involved? What part did you play?"

            No use denying, Kiara realised. She was on shaky grounds. "You're the investigator. Find out yourself."

            They stared at each other for what seemed like a long time.

            "You're going to have to cooperate sooner or later," he murmured finally, voice oozing out unreasonable anger.

            "Well, then I'll just take my own sweet time." She could see he was angry. Sure, she'd lied and eluded him, but it hardly deserved this amount of anger. She wondered what else was bugging him so much.

            "I'll have to put you under police surveillance."

            Kiara's plans of escaping at the soonest opportunity tumbled down. "Whose?"

            "Mine." His eyes flashed. "Starting right this minute."