Juuzou sat in a CGG office, glaring at Kiniko from across the table. He had purposely been avoiding his partner since the incidents of the week before, but Amon had forced them together to look into some things on the eyepatch, who had narrowly escaped from Arima and was still on the loose.

Amon had apologized about what he had said, not that that meant anything to Suzuya. He had texted Sen several times, but the conversations were short. It seemed to be that the author was always busy. Or she doesn't want to talk to me, he thought.

Kiniko was staring at the reports with an expressionless look, as he had been doing for the last ten minutes. There was a white bandage on his nose.

"I really don't want to do this," he said, leaning back, blue eyes glazed from staring at the papers.

"Well, that's what we're paying paid to do."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Kiniko said, pulling out his wallet. He pulled out a hundred dollars and dropped a hundred Yen in front of Juuzou. "You won."

"What did I win?"

"The bet," Kiniko muttered. "You got the author chick."

"No," Juuzou said, sliding the money back to his partner. "Sen and I are just friends."

"But didn't she take you back to your place?"

"Yes."

"And you did absolutely nothing?"

"Yes."

"Wow," Kiniko scoffed. "Well, even if you won't take the money, good on you. Sen's one of two women who rejected me."

"Who was the other?"

"Akira," Kiniko scowled. "Maybe she's seeing somebody."

"Akira seeing somebody?" Juuzou laughed. "Akira's just work, work, work. No fun."

"I don't know."

Suddenly, Juuzou's phone buzzed. He opened it and stared at the message, heart fluttering.

Hey! Do u wanna go see a movie with me tonight?

"Sen just asked me if I want to go to the movies with her tonight," he said, not sure if he was convincing himself what he was reading or telling Kiniko.

"Seriously?" Kiniko exclaimed. "Say yes!"

"I am," Juuzou said as he responded.

Great, Sen replied. Meet me at the Yoieiga theater at 8:30.

After that, Juuzou's day seemed even longer. When he finally got off of work, he practically ran to theater.

Sen was standing out front, wearing a pretty blue dress. She smiled and waved when she saw him.

"Hi," he blushed.

"Ready?" she asked.

The two walked into the theater and bought tickets.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Juuzou asked.

"No thanks, I just had dinner."

Juuzou bought some candy, not wanting to admit all the sugar he had just bought was his dinner.

They sat in the back, and Juuzou's heart was hammering through the whole film. The movie was a comedy, but he was to nervous to laugh. He watched a man in front of them put his arm around the woman he was with, and Suzuya wondered if that's what Sen wanted him to do.

He opted not to.

When the movie was over, Juuzou walked Sen to her apartment. They talked of all different things, and Sen semed genuinely interested in how Suzuya was feeling; how things were going at work for him.

"So, what's your family like?" Juuzou asked.

Sen gave him a questioning look.

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Oh, no," Sen said. "No cousins either."

"What are your parents like?"

A sad look flashed across Sen's face.

"My mother died when I was a baby," she said softly. "And then my father abandoned me. He died not to long ago."

"I'm so sorry," Juuzou said, placing his hand on her shoulder and feeling awkward for bringing it up. "Who raised you?"

"My father's friend."

"What was his name?"

"His name was Noroi."

"Oh," Juuzou said. "I'm sorry that you lost him too."

"No, he isn't dead. He just goes by a different name now. Not that it matters, he doesn't talk anymore anyway."

"Oh."

"Well, this is my place," Sen said, stopping in front of a fancy apartment complex.

Juuzou stared into her green eyes, and he fought the urge to kiss her right then and there. Deep down, he knew Kiniko was right. He did like this woman. But he also knew that Sen was rich and popular, and then he would never be more than a friend to her.

"Goodnight, Sen," he said, putting more hidden emotion into those words then Sen Takatsuki would ever know.

She smiled. "Goodnight, Juuzou."

And then she hugged him. At first, he was to shocked to move. Then, he wrapped his arms around her. She still smelled of coffee, and instead of flowers, the scent of candy lingered. But beneath the sweet smells, Juuzou couldn't help but detect rancid, metallic smell that he knew all to well. Blood.