A/N: So it's been over a year since I last updated this story, and if there's anyone still following it I sincerely apologize for the long break. I always wanted to finish it, so I hope I can pick up where I left off. Also, a big thank you to those of you who have reviewed and given me your feedback - it is very much appreciated. You guys are great :) -C


Chapter 12
Hard but Hardly
Somewhere in her dreams, Mai was hearing music. It was cool, like a gasp from a dusty windowsill air conditioner across her heated forehead. She stirred, turning her head from side to side, chasing pale shadows from the edges of her consciousness. She didn't want to wake, but the lilting refrain nagged at her mind until her eyes sluggishly blinked open.

Where am I, she thought, as an unfamiliar paneled ceiling came into focus. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to remember what had happened. I was at the Count's. There was a woman. She... Her eyes opened wide. Ichirou.

She tried to lift her head, only to have it snap back harshly against the pillow. Groaning softly, she turned her head to one side, noting that padded leather restraints bound her chest and wrists. Oh, she thought numbly. That's right. I'm a dangerous criminal now. She bit her tongue to keep from giggling madly. Then the thought of going to jail swiftly stilled her mirth.

I guess it's true what they say, a voice in her head chided softly. You can never go home again.

Lifting her head again, more carefully this time, the dark-haired girl tried to take a survey of her surroundings. Sea-foam green curtains fringed her peripheral vision on both sides, attached to sliding rings on the ceiling. Strips of sterile flourescent lighting hummed quietly as her eyes slid down to the wall in front of her. Beyond her feet, which were also held in soft leather restraints, she could see a single cabinet sporting a stainless steel sink and a round magnifying mirror tilted to one side. She almost smiled.

In the mirror, she could see the wall concealed behind the curtain to her right. A closed door stood in the middle of the wall, and in the door there was a window. It was small and frosted, so that she could see nothing clearly, but whenever someone walked by the shadow of their silhouette flickered dimly across the textured surface.

It wasn't much, but it was enough. She let her head fall back, closing her eyes against a sudden wave of nausea. After a few deep breaths, she began to move her right hand slowly, concentrating hard on pulling her fingers inward, contracting her palm, working against the restraint. Her lower lip quivered and beads of sweat began to trickle down her face from the painstaking effort.

She bit back tears and steeled herself against the pain. Hard, she thought. But hardly impossible.

It was just a matter of time.


"Dear Ulala. Get well soon. The apartment is a mess. Love, Maya." Ulala read her card out loud before setting it on the table next to her. "What a lovely sentiment," she chuckled, struggling to see around the unnecessarily large bouquet of flowers on her lap. "Ma-ya," she added. "These wouldn't be guilt flowers, would they?"

"Not at all!" her roommate chirped, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Ulala gave her a look and her shoulders sagged a little. "Okay, maybe a little." She sighed softly. "I feel terrible. I shouldn't have let you go alone."

"Ma-ya," Ulala said, smiling gently. She huffed and handed the cumbersome bouquet to Baofu, who took it awkwardly and did his best to look like he was holding it for someone else. She brushed her hands against the smooth hospital blanket before taking one of Maya's into her own. "I'm sorry I scared you. But I made my own decision," she urged. "Please don't blame yourself. Any of you." She glanced up at Baofu and Katsuya, who stood off to one side. The lanky investigator cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose with one long finger.

Maya clenched her hand tightly. "Ulala," she said, a shy smile appearing on her face. "I was worried. And I don't ever want to go through that again! But still... I'm really proud of you."

Ulala flushed, her eyes twinkling happily under her tousled red hair. She reached up to brush a part of it out of her face, taking care not to jostle her injured shoulder. That morning they'd taken the IV out and declared that her system was recovering nicely. Not that she'd been able to palate any of the mush they'd shoved at her for breakfast. She was beginning to wish Maya's guilt flowers were edible.

"I did do pretty okay," she grinned, turning back towards her friend. "Not bad, even! And believe me when I say that clocking the Count was the best thing I have ever done. Pun very much intended."

Maya laughed, her hair glinting in the sunlight streaming in from the window. "You were great. Katsuya says they have both children in custody now. The Time Castle is closed for the investigation, which should inconvenience Senor Monoclock for a couple of days at least. And," she glanced mischievously over at Baofu. "I'd say that warrants a raise or something, wouldn't you?"

Baofu snorted. "Like hell it does. If she got a compensation review every time she knocked out a sadistic bastard, I'd be out of business before you could say 'Makimura'."

"Aww, Bao," Ulala screwed her face into a mock pout. "Not even a bonus?"

He raised one eyebrow suggestively, hooking it into an amused arc above his trademark sunglasses. "What," he drawled, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "This job doesn't have enough benefits for you?" Ulala stuck out her tongue and turned back to Maya, who wore a look that demanded immediate and thorough explanation.

"Oh yeah," she laughed nervously, wringing her hands in the hem of her blanket. "That."

As she tried her best to tastefully explain the situation, Katsuya just looked impassively out the window. Baofu's imploring look and the tittering voices of the girls behind him barely registered on his senses. He didn't feel connected to what was going on around him; the hospital bed, the pool of sunlight, the bright array of flowers. Something in his investigator's instinct wouldn't let him relax just yet. There were too many loose ends. Too many unanswered questions.

He frowned and glanced over at Maya, who was shaking Ulala's arm and practically beaming. She saw his look and smiled brightly at him. He nodded, forcing a smile despite the thoughts that weighed on his mind. And there is still the matter of Tatsuya.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about not sharing in the happy occasion. After all, Miss Serizawa had performed brilliantly, and they had the suspects safely restrained. He had little doubt that the investigation would go smoothly, assuming that the Time Count didn't press assault charges. But he'd have to have more than an ace up his sleeve to pull that one off, given that as far as anyone could tell, he didn't have an identity to press charges with. Ulala seemed to be recovering quite well from her injury, and soon everything would be as it was. He might even have a stack of paperwork at the station to keep him busy for a few weeks. The possibility seemed almost appealing.

He should have known it wouldn't be that easy, but you know what they say about hindsight. And for some lucky few, foresight.

As if on cue, Baofu's head snapped up in alarm. A split second later, Katsuya's cell phone clamored against his breast.

"Damn," he cursed, and snatched it out of his jacket. "Suou."

Ulala and Maya looked up at the two men, their happy faces falling as silence descended on the room. They didn't need to hear from Katsuya what was already written on Baofu's face. The young investigator nodded solemnly to the thin voice on the other end of the line. "I understand," he said. "I'll be right there." He closed his phone with a diminutive click and looked up at them.

"She's gone," he said.

Ulala sighed and wished she could be surprised.


Katsuya was livid. He'd done a good job of containing his anger in front of his friends, but as soon as he met up with the other officers he made it quite clear how he felt.

"I want to know how this happened," he growled, cornering the two police officers who had been in charge of her custody. "I'll give you five minutes to explain it before I recommend to the captain that he bust both of your asses back to the beat."

The two men looked at each other for a moment, then spoke up at the same time, each clamoring over the other.

"We did what you said, we restrained her and everything -"

"- she was securely fastened to the bed, you can ask any of the orderlies -"

"- plus the doctor said she'd be unconscious for the rest of the day! That sedative she got hit with was savage, wasn't it..."

"Yeah, she was down for the count, no one knows how she woke up so soon."

"Or how she got out of her restraints." The officers nodded earnestly.

Katsuya closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He spoke very slowly and deliberately. "I don't care how she woke up so soon, or how she got out of her restraints. What I am interested in right now is, and stay with me on this one." He paused for dramatic effect. "What I'm interested in right now is how the hell she got out of this room!"

The two officers could only look at each other, then at Katsuya, then at each other again, then at the floor. Finally the shorter one spoke up. "Sir, we didn't establish a guard," he murmured apologetically.

The other one spoke up before Katsuya could tear into them. "You have to understand, we just thought this was a little girl. She's restrained, heavily sedated, the door's locked and there are no windows." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir. We didn't know what we were dealing with."

The investigator took a deep breath and let it out slowly, folding his arms over his chest. "Just please tell me that Ichirou is still in custody."

They nodded. "Yes, sir. We put him in a separate hospital, just like you asked. Hartley Clinic up on Main. Officer Satou called them right after the incident and had the nurses put an extra watch on him. Apparently he hasn't even woken up yet."

Katsuya nodded, visible relief playing across his features. "I want you both to go over there, establish a guard outside of his room. At least two men at all times, in rotating shifts. Establish surveillance on the building's main entrances as well. I want to be notified if anything strange shows up, anything at all. Do not underestimate the situation again, do you understand me?"

They nodded their compliance, confusion showing in their faces. It was the short one that spoke up. "Sir, if I may ask, is this kid really that dangerous? He's still unconscious, isn't he?"

The investigator closed his eyes. "You're not going there to restrain him. You're going there to protect him. From a dangerous suspect with a penchant for vigilante justice." He opened them again, looking at them intently. "Do you understand?"

The officer whistled through his teeth. "I think I do, sir. Consider it done."

"Good. So do it." He watched them shuffle off, then turned his head thoughtfully. He touched two fingers to his temple, mulling over the situation in his mind. Mai was gone, having left them with no more evidence than an empty hospital bed and an abandoned patient's gown. At least he doubted that she had very many places to escape to. They already had men at the Time Castle and her family's house. That left the Zodiac, any number of teenage hangouts around town, and the school. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his home number. It rang three times before a gruff, sleepy voice answered it.

"Hello?"

"Tatsuya? Were you really still asleep? It's nearly one o'clock!"

The teenager stifled a yawn. "Yeah, and it's Saturday. What's your point?"

Katsuya shook his head. "Never mind. We can bicker about your sleeping habits later. Can you do something for me?"

"Depends. What's in it for me?"

He smirked wryly. "Room and board?"

"Touche."

"Can you go to Sevens and... now now, just quiet down for two seconds... yes, go to Sevens and take a look around, keep an eye out for a girl named Mai Ogawa. Do you know her? Yes, she's one of the suspects in the attack on the two students. No, I didn't screw up and let her go, it was... look, never mind that right now. Will you do it for me?"

Tatsuya whined a bit more before reluctantly acquiescing. "Alright, fine. I'll look her up in the yearbook or something. Hanging out at school on a weekend, though... you owe me, Big Brother."

Katsuya smiled despite himself. "Okay, I owe you. We'll figure out compensation later. I seriously doubt she'll return to the school, but I want someone there just in case. Someone not as obvious as a cop. You're perfect for the job. Consider it valuable investigating experience."

The sound of eyes rolling could almost be heard over the line. "Yeah, yeah. Only for a few hours though. I'm going out later."

"Fine. Just call me when you're done. Oh, and - do you have a female friend you can bring?"

Tatsuya groaned. "I'm going to school on a Saturday and you're asking me to bring a date?"

"Tatsuya," Katsuya said, his voice low and warning. "This girl is very, very dangerous, even if she doesn't seem like it. And she might feel... threatened by men. You're just keeping watch, so I don't expect a confrontation, but I'd still feel much better about it if you had a girl with you. Besides," he added, with a more lighthearted tone. "It might be good for you."

"If that's your idea of a romantic outing, it's no wonder you never dated much."

"Provoking me won't help, you know. Listen, I've got to get back to work now. Get out there. Be safe. Let me know when you get home."

"Will do, Mom."

"Love you too." He grinned and clicked his phone shut before stuffing it back into his front pocket. Feeling that damage control had been more or less accomplished, and happy that he'd given his lazy lump of a brother something to do with his day, he decided it was finally time to get some real answers. He headed out to the street and hailed a cab, telling the driver to go to the Hartley Clinic on Main. He made a few more calls on the way, then turned his face towards the window, his mind churning as he watched the busy city streets pass by.