Hiroshi Kuromaru was a proud man - and who wouldn't be, in his position?

The director of the Special Investigations Unit was the leader of a crack team of lawyers and investigators. They hadn't lost a case in over 50 years, and while not all of that was during Hiroshi's time, the majority of it was. Anyone else would see that as a point of pride, a clean sign of his effective leadership.

Hiroshi himself knew that it was all a sham. While there were a number of legitimate wins within his overseen cases, there were more than a few that had only been won with forged evidence - bribed witnesses, planted objects, and other such methods were all part of Hiroshi's playbook, and he was not afraid to use them to preserve his position and power.

He was no amateur, either - he wouldn't have gotten as high up as he did if he had been careless. No detail had been spared in these instances, with paper trails created, incriminating data deleted, and more than a few redundancies in place to prevent scrutiny. He was, above all, careful and precise.

That just made being under Masayoshi Shido's thumb all the more frustrating.

How Shido found out, he didn't know. He did know that Shido's other main lackey had some kind of strange ability to cause mental shutdowns and learn things nobody else could know, but the exact details were lost on him, despite his best attempts at finding out. He was only able to glean as much as he could because of Sae Niijima's work, and all that had really gotten him was something about "cognitive psience". Shido had told him to drop it, dangling his crimes over his head.

He had once tried to call Shido's bluff. The email he received soon after changed his tune, and his defiant attitude towards the upstart politician had shifted dramatically. Now, he was just another servant, something he had spent his whole life working against. He had licked enough boots and kissed enough ass to work his way up the ladder until he no longer had to, until he was the director of the SIU. Nobody, not even the prime minister, was beyond his reach.

Except for Shido. The one man he couldn't touch. The one man he couldn't even look into without fear of reprisal. He had planned and planned and planned, and every time he ran into the same brick wall - Masayoshi Shido could kill him, or worse, ruin him. There was no mutually assured destruction possible here, for Shido had not only the power to avoid prosecution, he had the power to kill anyone in his way in an untraceable manner.

Hiroshi had seen the power of mental shutdowns, and he had no desire to be a part of it.

So he sat behind his desk like a good little boy, following the script Shido gave him, pulling the strings of others as his own strings were pulled in turn, having long given up on being able to snip them and take control of his own fate.

Hiroshi Kuromaru was not a man who wanted to be resigned to his fate, but their whims had put him here anyway. Perhaps it was karma, he had mused one day while reviewing old case files. Perhaps Masayoshi Shido was a form of divine retribution, a devil who had come to pay him what he was owed. A reversal of fortune, his castle crumbled, his stage no longer his own.

Or, he thought as he passed by the statue of Justice in the SIU headquarters one afternoon, perhaps it was judgement.

The courthouse was nearly empty by the time Naoto finally glanced at the clock. Akechi sat across from her at the small table they shared, papers scattered about and laptops open. Behind her was a whiteboard with a few dozen photographs magneted to it, clustered together into several groups. A few take-out containers sat empty in the trash, having long since been eaten.

Naoto groaned when her eyes fell upon the time, and she leaned back in her chair, adding and then ridding herself of a small ache in her back. Her jacket was hanging on the back of the chair, her cuffs were unbuttoned, and her sleeves were rolled up - it was long past time when anyone who cared about her dress would be present. She rubbed her eyes, trying to free them of the exhaustion that had settled in, but no luck.

And yet, there was still work to be done.

Akechi looked over at her noises, looking more alert than she suspected he actually was. "Ready to give up for tonight, Shirogane-san?" His voice had a hint of playfulness, and he smiled at his own joke.

"Almost, Akechi-kun, but...just so we're clear…"

"Just so we're clear," he repeated, tired eyes still scanning a case file.

"Both of us - sane, respected, experienced detectives, with sterling reputations amd numerous honors and accolades each - are agreeing that the Phantom Thieves are killing people by sneaking into their 'cognitive worlds', which are spaces created by the victim's own thoughts and perceptions, and performing mental shutdowns through as-of-yet unknown means."

"Yes," he agreed with a nod, "that's correct."

Naoto sighed and sat up straight, dropping her pen onto the table. "This is insanity. We can't go public with this. Who would believe us? They'd laugh us all the way to Inaba. It sounds like a science fiction story, and a bad one at that. What's next, it turns out we're actually Kamen Riders?"

"While I certainly agree that it sounds preposterous," Akechi replied, his voice measured despite the late hour, "the facts add up. I have no doubt that Sae-san came to the same conclusions we have, albeit somewhat less informed. No wonder she was having such difficulties tracking down a culprit...and it explains why she is so desperate to find a culprit."

Akechi did his own small round of stretching, setting aside the case file. "Whatever theory or facts she had before now have likely been discarded in favor of her current crusade. To think she would stoop as low as she has…" He shook his head, disapproving of their mutual friend. "She must be truly desperate to resort to such despicable methods, simply to please her superiors."

At his words, Naoto narrowed her eyes. Akechi was brilliant, yes, but he was still young and, most relevantly, not a woman. His judgement of Sae, while somewhat true, was missing a few facts. Naoto had also thought Sae had merely buckled under the pressure, but their lunch together and Naoto's own digging had changed her opinion on the situation - and the woman at the center of it.

She leaned her chair back on two legs to think, bringing a hand to her chin. "Pardon my rudeness, Akechi-kun, but I don't believe you're in a position to make such a judgement. Were I in her place, I would consider such methods," she said matter-of-factly. "She can't afford to fail, both for herself, and for her sister. Best-case, her failure means being let go. Worst-case...well, you can surely guess.

"And, not to be blunt, but I don't believe you understand the trials she has had to face to get to her position. She's been underestimated and overjudged for her entire career, due to her age and gender more than any other factors. There was a reason I disguised myself as a boy for the majority of my early work - it was difficult enough to be treated fairly as a teenager, much less as a teenage girl."

She shook her head, setting her chair back down as the dismissive taunts and tired looks of the many police who doubted her ran through her mind. She had forgotten many of their names by now, but their looks and words were permanently etched into her memories. "We need to be helping her, not dismissing her. Her actions now are out of desperation, not malice. She's been through enough doubt and dismissal."

Akechi met Naoto's eyes as he mulled over her words before nodding and flipping shut the case folder. "You're right, of course. My apologies - I had not meant to be so dismissive of her accomplishments, or her experiences. I've certainly had a few frustrating moments myself, being in something similar to her position."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to, but I appreciate the sentiment," Naoto replied with a friendly smile, closing the lid of her laptop. The concession of an apology didn't surprise her, but the admission of his own struggles did - Akechi was rarely one to talk about his own past.

This could be my in.

"I could fill a book with the resistance I met when I was in your position," she continued. "I worked hard to get here, and I'm sure you have too, having run into all sorts of obstacles and obstinates."

"Oh, yes," Akechi said with a humorless chuckle. His normally pleasant smile turned minutely dark, and while Naoto was not one to believe in auras, she felt the air between them shift. "I have had more than my fair share of detractors and doubters throughout the years, Shirogane-san, many of them unearned. My ambitions have carried me far, and I aim to have them carry me farther still. There is much I have left to do."

There was a curious note of restrained fury in Akechi's words. Perhaps being so tired had made him drop his guard, or perhaps Naoto had finally hit on a common sore spot between them, but whatever the reason, she had found something that Akechi normally kept hidden.

Time to capitalize on this.

"You have a very strong sense of justice for one so young, Akechi-kun. I know the frustration of dealing with those who do not see your way - or, worse, those who do not see you. "

"I merely dealt with them the way I dealt with the other hardships in my life - I clawed my way past them." His restrained fury was becoming less restrained with every breath. "With a dead mother and a deadbeat father that barely deserves that particular title, I had no advantages and no handouts - I've had to earn my place through the injustice of this world. I'm sure you, of all people, can understand. My work is not yet done, and believe me, I do not intend on letting a collection of brainwashing malcontents deny me what I have been working towards my entire life."

There was a second of silence before Akechi caught himself, and the chuckle he gave this time was his usual relaxed demeanor. "My apologies, Shirogane-san. I believe my flair for the dramatic got the better of me, and the hour is late. I must be more tired than I thought."

Naoto got the feeling that he was less casual about it than he appeared, but her own gamble had paid off. His words and tone reminded her of a certain nihilistic policeman back in Inaba, one that she had helped put behind bars for life. While Akechi certainly did not seem the nihilist, there was clearly a darker side that he worked to keep hidden. Her own upbringing, while tragic, had been filled with love from her grandfather, and she had come to terms with the death of her parents. Akechi, it seemed, was still using them as fuel.

She wondered if, one day, it would burn him through.

"I understand, Akechi-kun," Naoto said with as much sincerity as she could muster. "And I share your desire to unmask these criminals." She gathered together the case files as she spoke, setting them into a pile before pushing her chair back and standing up. "I believe we've pored over the case files enough - it's time we take action."

"Oh?" Akechi said, sitting up straight as he cleaned up his own folders. "What do you have in mind?"

She moved to the board behind her, hand going back to her chin. "We have suspects, we have ideas on their targets, and we have enough of a method, however fantastical it may be. That's enough for us to set out a honey pot and wait for them to fall for it."

Akechi, now more relaxed, leaned forward onto the table, lacing his fingers together. "I agree. It's good to know that we're on the same page. I suppose you have the same idea as I do for our target?"

Naoto glanced at Sae's photograph on the board, wishing in her heart that she did not, but knowing that she did. "I do."

"Then let's get to work…tomorrow. It is, after all, a school night. The faster we catch those Thieves, the faster we ease up pressure on Sae, and the faster I can go back to worrying about entrance exams more than this case."

That got a nostalgic smile from Naoto. As the two detectives packed their bags, though, the smile faded. Naoto had come to get some insight into Akechi, and what she had gotten, she didn't like.

Why was he so focused on catching the Thieves? What was it about his sense of justice that drove him to catch them, in particular, in a world filled with awful, horrible people? What did they represent to him?

She had no answers. Perhaps, soon enough, she would find them. There would be more chances...though, she felt, not as many as she would like.

I'll have to keep digging . But digging could wait until tomorrow.

Tonight, she had someone to check up on. It probably wasn't too late for a visit, right?

As Naoto rapped her knuckles on Sae's apartment door, she wondered if Sae would even answer.

The last few times Naoto had seen Sae at the courthouse or SIU building, Sae had been in various states of frazzled, tired, or pissed off. Given the stress she was under, Naoto couldn't blame her. They didn't say much there, partially out of secrecy, partially out of Naoto not really knowing where she stood with Sae anymore. The last time they'd really talked to each other, Sae had asked her for help without actually asking her for help.

As much as she wanted to find out who was behind these murders, she was also doing this for Sae - to free her friend from this prison she'd been trapped in. Duty was a strange kind of prison, but for Sae, who fought for every inch of respect she now had, it was the one she had chosen.

The door, to Naoto's surprise, opened to reveal an exhausted Sae Niijima. She had bags under her eyes that could carry a week's worth of groceries. Her makeup from the day was still on, but the long day and late hour had done a number on it, and no amount of concealer or blush could hide how worn out she was.

Naoto couldn't keep the crestfallen look from her face, but it was only there for a second. "May I come in?"

After a moment of deliberation, Sae stepped away from the door and walked back down the hall. Naoto followed, closing the door behind her and pulling her outerwear off as she followed - the apartment was comfortably warm.

Sae sat down at the kitchen table, her laptop open and papers strewn about. Naoto set her bag and jacket down by the couch and looked around, taking in the state of the place. It looked fairly tidy, with the exception of the Sae's workspace - Makoto's doing, Naoto presumed.

"Why are you here?"

Sae's aggressive tone got Naoto's attention as much as the question itself did, and she looked over to find Sae glaring at her over her opened laptop.

Those eyes…

"I wanted to check in on you," Naoto said as she moved to the table and sat down across from Sae. "I know this is a bit of a...stressful time, so I wanted to make sure you're doing okay."

"I'm fine," came the automatic, expected reply, and Sae's eyes darted back down to focus on the screen. "I just need to finish this case."

For one brief moment, Naoto considered just accepting that and leaving, but the thought vanished as soon as it bubbled up. It was unthinkable to pursue it further, not when she knew Sae was under so much stress.

"No, you're not," Naoto countered. "Have you checked yourself in the mirror? You look drained, Sae. I don't need to be a detective to see that much."

"I'm fine . I can handle this."

Naoto let out a sigh, rubbing her own tired eyes. "I'm not saying you can't, Sae-san, I'm just... worried . I'm doing everything I can, I just need to know that you're taking care of yourself."

Sae kept typing, refusing to make eye contact. "I told you, I'm handling it. You don't need to check on me."

The fact that you're like this means I absolutely do, but Naoto bit back her tongue to think more about her words. She decided to go neutral, factual. "Are you? I've heard you lash out at work, and I come visit you at...what, nearly midnight, and you're still working? When did you last get a full night's rest?"

"I am an adult , Naoto-san," Sae said with a petulant tone. Naoto felt her hands tighten into fists as a spark of annoyance flared up at Sae's misunderstanding. Perhaps she would have to be more blunt. Was she always this stubborn?

...actually, yes.

"I'm doing what I have to for this case," Sae continued, lecturing Naoto was she would an ignorant intern, "and I don't need you acting like my boss and making sure I'm still wo-"

"I don't care about the case, Sae!" Naoto exclaimed, leaping out of her chair and smacking her splayed hands onto the table. "I don't care about the case," she repeated after a few seconds of Sae's shocked silence, levelling out her voice after a small sigh. What did she think Naoto was here for? "I mean, I do , but...I care about you more than that. I'm worried sick about you, I'm scared that you're pushing yourself so hard you'll burn out before this is even done, and then there won't be anything left. I'm here because we're... friends , Sae." Even if I wish we were more.

Hopefully, Sae didn't notice the pause. Naoto continued, quiet, fervent. "And I know that if I were in your place...I could really use a break. You can't burn the midnight oil every night, or eventually, there won't be anything left to burn. So, please, just for tonight, take a break? For me?"

Sae kept avoiding her eyes, but at least she'd stopped typing. Her expression was still dark, but she seemed to at least be thinking it over. All Naoto could do was wait and hope.

She didn't have to wait long. Sae's held scowl morphed into a tired frown, and her entire body slumped over as she released the straight-backed tension she'd been holding. She pressed a few more keys, then closed the laptop and leaned forward onto the table, rubbing her eyes.

"Okay. Okay, Naoto-san. You win." She let out a sigh that moved her entire body, and Naoto let her own tension out, letting her head hang before she sat back down

"I'm so tired of this case," Sae mumbled, "But I can't...I can't stop. I can't just let it go, not until it's over. The weight of it has been crushing me, even when I sleep. When I got this assignment, I thought, this is it. This is my chance. " She glared down at the laptop. "But they didn't give me a job, they just gave me a rope to hang myself with."

She leaned back in her chair, eyes dull, gaze loosely focused on one of the many papers strewn about the table. "I hate this. I hate every part of this. I hate feeling like a rat trapped in a cage. I did everything they wanted, and better than anyone, and this is how they thank me? By giving me this farce of an investigation? By staking my reputation, my word on this? It's..." She huffed, not sure of what to say next. It was a lot of things, all of them equally awful.

"I know, Sae-san," Naoto said, understanding. "We'll figure something out. What kind of a Detective Prince would I be if I didn't?"

The small chuckle that drew from Sae made Naoto's heart flutter, and there seemed to be some spark in her after all as she looked up at Naoto, the corners of her eyes crinkled in amusement. "Here to sweep me off my feet, eh? I've always been more of a princess girl, myself."

Wait, did she just…?

The same thought seemed to occur to Sae at the same moment, and a tinge of red came to the woman's cheeks as she looked away from Naoto. The awkward silence hung in the air between them as Naoto's brain short-circuited and Sae was trying to pretend like she hadn't said anything.

"And what of the other Detective Prince?" Sae finally, mercifully continued. "Is he helping you to figure something out?"

"He, uh...yeah," Naoto stuttered, not fully recovered from the potential implications of Sae's words. Was she...flirting with me? "We're, um, working on something. I'm glad you're aware of the whole situation, though, and not just playing right into their hands. I...thought as much, at lunch that time, but I couldn't really be sure."

Sae gave the woman a small nod, glad to have moved past her moment of weakness. "Your resistance made me realize how truly screwed up this all is - without that faceoff we had in my office, I'd still be their ignorant stooge, arranging this... farce of justice with a fully-devoted heart. I detest every part of it, but what else am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing. You're doing what you should, Sae-san. Akechi despises this as much as I do, and we'll have something soon enough." With a little help from the Phantom Thieves. "But until then...keep at it, okay?"

Sae's hands were set out in front of her, resting on the table, and Naoto couldn't help but flick her eyes down to one...and her own, folded in her lap There was an urge, a wonderful, daring urge, to reach out and take Sae's hands, to squeeze them, to tell her in that way that everything was going to be all right.

Words, actions, comfort, those were all Rise's speciality. Naoto just knew how to figure out motivations and prod at weaknesses, but discerning someone's more subtle feelings? Their quieter, hidden emotions? Those were harder, even if they sprang from the same source of the heart. Did Sae want Naoto to take her hand? Was this even a good time, as stressed and bottled up as Sae was? What could Naoto do to help, more than she had?

...actually…

"Have you had any dinner?" Naoto asked, quirking an eyebrow up. Sae shook her head. "I'll make you something, then. Go, uh...go take a bath - a warm, long, scented bath. Soak some of that stress away. Dinner will be done by the time you get out."

Sae was still for a moment, but she eventually nodded and stood up. Her movements were slow, sluggish, imprecise, and Naoto's heart broke just a little more at seeing yet another sign of just how bone tired her friend was.

"...thank you, Naoto," Sae mumbled, stepping away from the table and trudging down the hall. Still, the intimacy of her saying Naoto's name with nothing after it…

"You're welcome, Sae," Naoto called after her. It made the detective blush, a sight she was glad Sae did not see. She managed to suppress anything stronger for the time being, and as she heard the bathroom door close, she got to work scavenging through the kitchen for a meal.

As she pulled various ingredients down, she made a mental note to thank Makoto for her constant vigilance on keeping the kitchen stocked. When she'd pulled down a suitable potential banquet, she rolled up her sleeves, pulled out her phone, and texted Yu. He'd know what to do.

It was verging on 1 AM by the time Sae emerged, dressed in a night shirt and sleeping pants. Though she was still tired, Naoto could see that the bath had done her some good - she was more relaxed, a pleasant smile on her lips. Her long, gray hair was dried and combed, hanging free and loose around her gorgeous face.

"Welcome back," Naoto said, only glancing over for a second so Sae would not see the blush that had resurged onto her cheeks.

I'm entirely too lesbian for this.

"Feeling better?" she asked, attention focused on finishing up the fish and vegetables.

"Marginally," Sae replied as she sat down at the cleared table. Naoto had cleaned it off, setting the laptop and papers on the couch table, in plain sight. "Thank you again for...all of this. I feel more like myself now than I have since getting this assignment."

Naoto gave Sae another small grin, starting to plate the dish. "I'm glad I could help. It's...I know it hasn't been as hard on me as it has you, but I hate seeing you so unlike yourself. I miss seeing you."

"I've missed seeing you, too. I haven't had a meal with anyone except Makoto in a while." Naoto risked a glance over, and the smile that Sae had nearly killed Naoto on the spot - honest, genuine, and absolutely stunning.

Sae must have noticed, as she tilted her head when Naoto froze and stared at her. "What? Is there something on my face?"

So much beauty is on your face.

"N-no, sorry, it's...you just look, uh, a lot better, is all. Much better. You look great, even," Naoto sputtered out, looking back down at the plate she was putting the finishing touches on. Satisfied, she set it down in front of Sae, then hurried back to the kitchen so she couldn't say any more stupid things. "Green tea?"

"...thank you. And yes, please," Sae said with a waver in her voice as she picked up the chopsticks and began to eat. Naoto heard clinking as she poured the tea, bringing two cups to the table when she returned - and the fish was mostly gone by that point. "First the omelette, and now this. Where did you learn to cook so well?"

"A good friend of mine I met back in Inaba gave me lessons for a few weeks. He's an amazing cook, and he's worked hard at it. Kind of like you and law." She sat down across from Sae and held the warming teacup in her hands, enjoying the heat almost as much as the company.

"Don't flatter me," Sae said, the tone in her voice clearly indicating she wanted to be flattered more. "I'm not that special."

"Passing the bar exam in high school is at least a little special, Sae-san. Even you have to admit that."

"You'll never hear it from me," Sae said with a playful lilt as she lifted the cup to her lips, giving Naoto a fleeting wish that it was her own lips there and not the tea.

Am I that desperate? The thought didn't really trouble Naoto so much as it made her realize that maybe she was in too deep. So many things were uncertain, unclear, unknowable, that getting even a little bit closer to Sae could be dangerous. There were still forces in the shadows - and in the Shadows - waiting to wipe them all out.

"Naoto, may I ask something...personal?"

The question brought Naoto out of her thoughts, and she blinked as she looked up at Sae, who at this point was close to cleaning her plate. The woman was looking at her with a curious, studying expression, as though she was looking far beyond skin deep.

"Of course. Ask away," Naoto said, lifting her own cup to her lips.

"Why are you so interested in me?"

Naoto was thankful she was sipping some tea at the time, or the words because I'm stupendously gay would've slipped right out. She instead had time to compose a more dignified answer of "What do you mean?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't really have a lot of friends at the SIU. I've been career focused since graduating high school, and...focused on Makoto since our father passed away." Her grip on her cup tightened, and Sae looked away, down at the table. "Not to say that I don't appreciate our friendship, I just...why me?"

Naoto had to think about that one, and Sae sat in silence, waiting for the answer. There were a lot of reasons, of course. Sae was whip smart, and Naoto appreciated that in a person. Sae was gorgeous, and Naoto definitely appreciated that in a person. Part of it was a definite self-interest in getting to know Sae better for romantic reasons, but most of all…

"...Because I know how it feels to get forced onto a pedestal, and then get blamed for being there. The kind of career you've had, the kind of path we've both followed, it automatically puts you above others. Not maliciously, of course - just naturally. You work diligently to make up for your shortcomings. You work intelligently to overcome your obstacles. And you force your way to the top only to find that, even if you didn't step on anyone to get there, everyone sure as hell thinks you did.

"I had a lot of lonely days at the precinct when I was just getting big. I was too young to be taken seriously, but too good to be ignored. I'm sure you've experienced the same insults I have - conversations people think you can't hear, or they don't care if you can. Looks that communicate just the right amount of contempt. Roadblocks nobody else seems to face."

She looked down into her tea, faint steam rising from it. "I met some good friends 5 years ago when I was investigating the Inaba murders, and they...saved me," she said with a fond smile. "We're still close now. I talk with them often. And...apologies for being presumptuous, but I figured, maybe you could use somebody like that too.

"I don't know if you need anyone to save you, Sae. I don't know what you need, aside from this case to be over with, but...nobody should be alone in this world, you least of all. I know what it's like to be alone like that, because nobody ever bothered to try with me until they did, and I...I'm never going back to that point again. So, if you're wondering why you, it's because I know what it feels like, and I'm not going to let anyone else feel like I did."

A moment. Naoto remained fixated on her tea, wondering if Sae would say something. Eventually, she continued on, trying to lighten the mood. "And that was, uh, probably about two hundred more words than you were hoping for, huh? Sorry, I..."

Naoto trailed off because she'd finally worked up the courage to look back at Sae, only to find her friend fast asleep, sitting up in her chair.

Naoto would've burst out laughing if she wasn't sure it would've woken Sae up, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face. Rise had found her like this once, overworked and underslept, fast asleep at her desk. I guess we're more alike than I thought.

"Of course I'd fall in love with you, Sae Niijima," she said quietly to herself, letting out the rest of her breath with a sigh. "What else could I possibly do?"

It took some finagling to get Sae into bed, but after managing that and cleaning up the kitchen, Naoto found that her own exhaustion could no longer be ignored. She pulled off her shirt, thankful for her camisole, and settled onto the couch. As she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, trying to calm her brain enough to get to sleep, her phone buzzed - it was a text from Yu.

Did it work? How did it go?

A warm feeling suffused Naoto as she replied.

DELICIOUSLY. THX FOR THE HELP.

Anytime, Naoto. Talk to you soon.

Thoughts sufficiently calmed, Naoto set her phone down, rolled onto her side, and fell into a dreamless sleep.