Onna: And the almighty disclaimer! Minekura-sama, Saiyuki. Me, none of the characters that appear. And no SuzySic-san, Hakkai and Yaone did not do the deed. I do not write or even imply lemons. *grins* But I'm considering raising the rating to R because of the violence. Do you guys think I should do that? Or is the PG-13 rating appropriate?

Anyway, Ruby-san, I know that originally you pinch the person's nose shut if you resuscitate, but the way I was trained it's no longer applied. Both hands are needed to tilt the person's head back and support it, thus the need to press the cheek against the nostrils. And if the nostrils weren't closed, the air wouldn't even reach the lungs. Therefore, it'll be useless. Maybe that's not the way you know it works, but that was how I was trained.

Yaone: Please get on with it...

Onna: Hai~!

*****

Gojyo watched as paramedics carted off the body of the gangster, a bloody white sheet draped over him. He exhaled deeply and turned to the direction of Kougaiji's office, and boy, does he have a lot of explaining to do.

When he and his brother returned to the station they found Kougaiji aiming his gun at the gangster, just in time to hear the bastard taunt their captain. They weren't fast enough to stop Kougaiji from shooting him, stopping him from doing anything stupid.

Kougaiji's shots didn't kill the man though.

Like the other one in the alley, he turned his gun on himself.

"Death is better than capture..."

Gojyo snorted. Those guys reminded him of kamikaze pilots. He just wished their mouths made more noise than their guns.

"Oi, I'm coming in, whether you like it or not," he said as he opened the door.

"You could at least knock," his brother shot back.

"Nah. We don't have time for formalities. Now," Gojyo stalked to the desk, "what's the deal, Captain?"

Kougaiji had his face in his hands. "I'll only tell you what I know..."

"That may be all we need to get these guys. Now, spit it out."

The hands lowered. "They came to me a year ago, after they ravished and murdered my mother. Threatened to incinerate her remains, leaving me with nothing to bury, if I didn't help them. At first, I refused, vowing to bust their gang to get my mother back. Then they threatened Lirin...

"They kidnapped her, and beat her up badly. I searched for her frantically before I found her two days later. She was left for dead. Then I got a phone call, saying that they'll do much worse to Lirin if I don't cooperate."

Dokugakuji leaned on the desk. "What did they have you do then?"

"I was supposed to send them information on the progress of this case, and do my best to throw monkey wrenches into each operation. I assigned Yaone into the case because... I thought she's incapable of solving this case."

"Underestimated her, eh?" Gojyo smirked. "She's smarter than you give her credit for."

Kougaiji nodded regretfully. "I thought that Yaone was just going to rush into that alley alone. That would have made things easy pickings for the gang. But then I heard her radio you guys, and immediately I knew that the gang had picked that up as well. So they changed their plans."

"And what were they originally?"

"If Yaone went alone, they were to call for 3 or more gang members into the area. They would leave Houfa in that alley, and turn on Yaone. Beat her up or something like that."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on there a minute!" Gojyo raised his hands. "You make it sound like Yaone's the target here, not Hakkai."

"That's right."

"Say WHAT?!"

"All this time, they were after Yaone, not Hakkai. These are a group of radical conservatists. They believe women have no place in the world except as a wife and mother. So when Yaone became one of the first women undercover agents in Togenkyo, they were livid. They argued that soon all women will do the same and rise up against the men of society. So..."

Dokugakuji frowned. "They wanted to make her an example, right? Get her to fail her job to accent the inferiority of women, then kill her to make the other women afraid to take a stand."

Kougaiji nodded again.

"What about the other women they kidnapped and raped?!" Gojyo snapped. "Don't tell me they were considered collateral casualties! And what about the times they threatened Hakkai and threw a bomb into his place?!"

"The end justifies the means, they believe. Another way to assert man's superiority, by using women to deceive other women."

"Damn, these people are sick..."

"As for Hakkai, I don't know how he's involved in this, other than Kanan..."

"I see," Dokugakuji mused.

Kougaiji leaned back in his chair, placing his badge and gun on the desk. "The Police Commissioners' Committee will decide what to do with me, so I'm turning in my badge. Sha Jien, you are now acting Captain of this station until the committee makes your promotion official."

Dokugakuji felt it wasn't the right time to thank his former captain. "And about Yaone?"

"Return her badge and gun."

Lirin struggled against the bonds on her wrists and ankles, chewing on the gag in her mouth. She wasn't just going to let these people take advantage of her for the second time!

"Now, now, Lirin-chan," Shufa's deceptively soothing voice floated towards her. "Don't struggle so much. You'll make the rope cut the skin of your wrists."

She glared at her, Toufa's older sister. How could she work for people who would hurt her own family?! How could she allow those scumbags to order her around like a slave?!

Shufa smiled coldly at Lirin. "Why, you ask? I could see that question written all over her face."

Lirin just growled.

Her gaze darkened. "Women are made to be subject to men, Lirin-chan. It has always been the rule of nature. We are to be seen, not heard. We are to work and move quietly, and respect the men by letting them step all over us."

You're wrong! Lirin screamed in her head. You're wrong you're wrong you're WRONG!

"My sisters, Shunfa and Shenfa, were not like that," she said, her voice coloring with sarcasm. "They wanted independence they said. They will not be stepped on by men, and they will live their own lives the way they want to. And what happened to them? Men thought they were too independent for their own good, and decided they're better off as old maids. Independent? Ha! They couldn't even cook a single decent dish for themselves! They wouldn't survive three days on their own!"

Lirin's eyes widened, Shufa and Toufa had two more sisters?

"So I did what I had to do. My lord asked me to take care of them, and I did. It didn't take a lot, just one slash across their throats."

She killed them...? She killed her own sisters?! If so... If so...! Toufa-chan!!!

Yaone had never experienced a deeper conversation than she did with Hakkai the night before. They talked, and talked, and talked until both their throats were sore.

And still they continued to talk.

She could see the pain and regret flashing through Hakkai's eyes every time he mentioned his ex-wife. Even though he said he was slowly getting over her, it was clear that he loved her dearly.

And that he still did.

Yaone swallowed a small lump in her throat. By his description, she could easily imagine Kanan. The soft, braided brown hair, the soulful eyes, the gentle smile that took Hakkai's heart the instant he saw her.

Even if she tried for a hundred years, she could never be anything like her.

She rose from the bed, gently working to remove the kinks on her back and arms. Her neck was a little red from the incident the night before, and she winced, not wanting the experience repeated.

She had just exited her room when Goku barged in, panic lacing his voice. "Hakkai! Yaone-neechan! Lirin-chan's gone!"

"What?!"

"Nani?!" Yaone cried, panic gripping her chest. Not another one. "Who? Did anyone see it happen?"

Toufa raised teary eyes at her, lower lip trembling. "They said they saw my sister knock her out and drag her somewhere."

"Shufa-san..." Hakkai sounded incredulous, his green eyes narrowed into slits. "She didn't..."

Toufa nodded before bursting into uncontrollable sobs. Goku quickly place a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, and pleaded with them with his eyes.

"Save Lirin-chan! Onegai!"

The girl beside Goku nodded. "Onegai! Help her!"

Yaone clenched her fists. She wasn't going to let these people have their way. She didn't care that she didn't have a badge, all she needed was a gun.

Unfortunately, she didn't have that.

They heard loud knocks on the door. Hakkai ran to answer it, and upon opening she recognized Gojyo's trademark smirk.

He tossed a bag at her, which she opened while looking at him with a questioning gaze. As she peered into it she recognized both items.

Her badge and her gun.

"Kougaiji confessed," Gojyo remarked. "He was the mole. He provided those idiots with police radios and information."

"That explains why he kept discouraging me from taking up the kidnapping case."

"Well, Dokugaku's acting captain now, and his first order was to reinstate you as an investigator. But you better be careful, Yaone."

"You know I will. Now if you'll excuse me I have a job to do," she said as she determinedly walked out the door.

The moment Yaone was out of earshot, Hakkai looked at Gojyo for a long moment. "You know?"

The red-haired man nodded. "Pretty much everything, including the fact that Yaone is the prime target here, not you."

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"And blow your cover? You know we're smarter than that."

"Sou..."

His evil smirk widened into a grin as he held the receiver to his ear. "So, she's on her way, eh? Thank you, you have been very helpful. Just make sure she doesn't see you as you head here."

Shufa appeared, dragging Lirin by the scruff of her shirt, when he replaced the receiver. "My lord, she's coming?"

He nodded before laughing softly. "Oh, this is going to be fun..."

*****

Onna: I'm guessing that there will be at least 2 to 3 more chapters to go! Hope to see you guys in the next one! ^^

Hakkai: How do you feel about this chapter, Onna-san?

Onna: A bit of writers' block, but heck! I think this is pretty good!