The key turned smoothly and quietly. The door opened just far enough for two bodies to slip through. It was closed and locked with the deft speed of long practice.

Mrs Fujimiya remembered the practice her children had, sneaking out on not too serious mischief. She cleared her throat and switched on the light.

They blinked around at the small, Western furnished dining room until they saw her. Ran said, "We didn't want to wake anyone..." Seeing she wasn't listening but looking at her daughter, he patted Aya's shoulder, gently urging her towards her mother, and left them together.

Aya was so excited she couldn't stop grinning, "Omi found something on Crawford's computer – he's awful good – Omi, I mean – Takatori said something about getting rid of the Fujimiya problem and Crawford said he would and he said on the seventh and that was when - " She blinked against the light and focused back on her mother. At once she stopped talking.

Sumiko Fujimiya stood still. There were a lot of emotions roiling around inside her, and she'd frozen them until she knew how to express them.

Aya seemed to think Sumiko's blank face for anger. "Oka-san, I apologise for all the anxiety I've caused you."

"But not for – first running away without any money, Ayan! And now burglary!"

Aya drew herself up to her full height. "I had to. You were sick. Nii-san was busy looking after you. Someone had to look out for my father! He always looked out for us."

It was as obvious and warming as daybreak. Kaito Fujimiya was an honest man, but he also put first his responsibilities to his family. Sumiko had been hating herself for the pleasure she'd taken in their new, rich life in Tokyo, blaming her own blindness for her husband's need to take just a little money. Aya had just absolved her. Kaito might, if really desperate, leave her, but he would never desert his children. Never. She'd been trying to live with being the widow of a man who'd given into temptation, when all the time..."He was murdered, then. He really was."

Aya looked shocked. It had never occurred to her otherwise. But she nodded without any doubt. Not until Aya smiled back did Sumiko realise she was smiling.

Sumiko gave her daughter a hug hard enough to make her squeak, then said, "Aya-chan, if you were a child, you'd have done well. But you're grown up enough to follow this long, boring process we call law..." She remembered how Ran had rather admired his sister's cheek and decided the lecture had better be addressed to both. "Where did your brother go?"

"He went out." Suddenly they looked at each other in horror. "He went back out."

Sumiko Fujimiya knew her son. He wasn't the type to be content with prowling around an empty office.

Aya-chan ran to the outer door. "Late night traffic and speeding, we can - "

"Wait!" Sumiko heard a noise in the corridor outside and made a warning gesture. Almost whispering, "He's already got a lead on us. Any fuss we make will cut down his chances of getting away."

"But, Kaasan! What chance does he have?"

Against a professional bodyguard, no doubt armed? "None. We just have to hope he realises that in time and gets out alive."

"The police might rescue him."

"They're more likely to shoot him."

The inner door opened, and Ouka came through. For once she wasn't smiling. When she saw their serious faces, she would have assumed their interview had gone much as her talk with her mother had. "Uh, Aya? I guess we're both reformed?" She smiled at Sumiko with a charm more self conscious than usual. "I know we've been lucky. Mum explained what could happen to us before Tousan got us out." She looked guiltily at Aya. Mrs Sakaki would have weighed in pretty heavily worse things could happen to Aya than Ouka.

Aya didn't hesitate. "Oh, Ouka! Ran's gone to kill Crawford!"

Ouka's eyes lit up. Just killing Crawford had the satisfying simplicity of genius. Indeed, though she was serious about Omi, maybe she had a brief pang as she wished he'd be able to come up with ideas like that. Then she looked dismayed. "If Tousan's there, he could get hurt!"

"No, no!" Aya-chan ran to her. "Ran wouldn't hurt your father!"

Ouka relaxed. "He and Crawford are both home by now." Now was three in the morning, and the Fujimiya women had to admit she was probably right. "Does Ran know where Crawford lives?"

Aya said unhappily, "The office did have his home address. The rest of us didn't think it mattered."

Sumiko said briskly, "Ran's not an idiot. Likely he'll just scout round the first night. He knows he can't revenge his father if he's dead." Her voice grew stronger as she spoke, convincing herself. Aya and Ouka cheered up as well.

Still, it was a long three hours, that wait. Mrs Sakaki's hotel was quite busy, and there was some traffic even in the dead of night. Every time a car drove near, or they heard a footfall, they'd expect it to be Ran. And every time it wasn't. Not until after six in the morning did the door open, so silently the two nearly sleeping girls missed it until Sumiko stood up.

While they were blinking awake and uncurling themselves from the couch, Sumiko studied her son. She said, "Well, Ran's back. You can go to bed."

"At six in the morning?" Ouka protested.

"That's how you've chosen to live. Now steal back to your coffins before the sun catches you."

The two girls made noises that tried to combine giggles and yawns. Aya was just awake enough to ask, "You didn't kill anyone?" When he shook his head, they returned to their beds like rather bouncy vampires.

When she was sure the girls were safely out of hearing, Sumiko said, "That bloody German, I suppose."

"Yes."

"I'll have him doing hard time for life."

"It wasn't rape."

Sumiko remembered hard blue eyes and a sneer. "I'm sure he was a perfect gentleman."

"That's between him and me."

Schuichi Takatori looked around. Everything was just right for an elegant, luxurious and traditional Japanese tea room. It was the sort of room to make a Takatori feel very nouveau riche. In it, in their best clothes, was Reiji Takatori's mistress, his daughter, his daughter's boyfriend, best friend and her brother and mother. It was the sort of room to make Schuichi Takatori very nervous.

Mrs Fujimiya bowed to him and passed him a cup of tea with the grace of a geisha. "I'm so grateful to you for taking the time off from your incredibly busy schedule. One murder must seem very petty to the National Commissioner."

Schuichi sipped his tea politely. "With all due respect, Fujimiya-san, it was ruled a suicide." He wondered if Omi getting so close to Ouka was a good thing or a bad thing. Something might have to be done about Ouka. At least she was a nice, safe girlfriend for him.

"I mean no slur on the competence or honesty of the police when I say that in this instance they were wrong."

Schuichi meant no offense when he asked, "But what leads you to - ?"

The Fujimiya boy snarled, "My father was an honest man! The cops were fools to ignore that!" For a second the smooth atmosphere crumpled like old paper.

Schuichi looked at him impassively. The boy would have been just perfect. Experience in kendo, a grudge against the Takatori family, no Tokyo connections...Too late now. He was in with Reiji's slut and bastard.

He waved aside Mrs Fujimiya's apologies. "Unfortunately even honest men can succumb to temptation, if they think it's safe. At least your father regretted it afterward." He'd have given a lot for Saijou to have ever felt regrets.

"No, Ran!"

Shuichi realised his shoulder was hurting, and blinked at the boy sitting again in perfect seiza.

Fast, too.

Ran was allowed to earn his keep, and Aya helped around the house much as Ouka did, but Mrs Sakiko had insisted the Fujimiyas have a good and private suite. Sumiko had slept well in the large Western bed.

Dressed, she was sitting looking into the dressing table mirror. She rubbed off the heavy make up with which she'd hidden the grey colour of her face, she took the varnish off her nails, she took off any colour. For a few minutes she sat breathing quietly, hiding away Sumiko, and leaving only the widow. When Ran came into the room, he went white and hurried toward her.

"It's okay," she told him. "I'm just getting ready for a tea party." Ran looked a bit surprised, but offered to call her a taxi. Sumiko assured him she had that, too, arranged. "Do you know, Ran, there are Hokkaido provincials almost everywhere, in almost every business? It's something Aya-chan should keep in mind, that she has a lot of remote cousins even in Tokyo. Where is she, by the way?"

"Aya's out with Ouka, boy watching in that flower shop."

"Fair enough, for now." Her talk with Aya should be more detailed anyway. "It's more urgent to tell you there can't be any more of last night's cowboying." She turned round and looked at him, her voice flattening. "I need you at my back. Keep your mouth shut, your eyes open. Learn about your enemy and make allies."

Ran scowled. "Aya did a lot more than that!"

Sumiko looked at him in exasperation. Were both her kids going to descend to ten-year-old level? "She acted like a child. I need you to act like a man." She saw the familiar signs of Ran struggling for self control and waited patiently. "I know it's the hardest thing I can ask of you. But it's necessary. For a while I need you to lead a stainless life. You will be under scrutiny, just like a political candidate. Work as hard as possible, never fail in manners. Public and private. Don't discuss religion or politics or anything that might be quoted against you. If anyone invites you to a whorehouse don't accept, but don't offend in declining. Any lapse will be seized on."

Ran gave her an measuring look. "I know you don't like my having anything to do with Schul- Jaeger. This isn't just a way to get me to get rid of him?"

She looked very like Ran in her own effort at self control. "I consider it a bonus." She admitted, "If Takatori's man comes after you, we can use that. But I'd rather he didn't. Your business is to be the perfect young Japanese. I'm not asking you to let your sword rust."

By his faint smile, he knew quite well she was appealing to his romanticism. "And Aya?"

"I'm asking for marvels, but not miracles."

He glanced away. Then he looked her in the eye and agreed.

She could tell when one of her kids was lying to her. "Ran! I'll have your precious Jaeger arrested."

"You mustn't even try."

"You're sure you don't mind us using the shop bike?"

Sumiko told him, "It's perfect."

Omi looked at Sumiko, dressed in the most formal mourning clothes. Without actually being Japanese, the clothes gave a Japanese impression. 'How do they do that?' Omi wondered. The clothes had obviously been most expensive, but had been worn thin. Then he looked at the shop bike. So very cheap, so very casual, so very..."It's pink," he told her.

"Pink is good," she said. She had a charming smile. Looking at the bike, she was smiling now.

He drove her to the front of one of the poshest private houses outside the Imperial grounds. Parking attendants were dealing with limousines, sports cars, an occasional vintage car. The bike had never felt so pink.

The most junior of the parking attendants approached with an expression suitable for someone who should be parking a Rolls Royce and gets a pink bike. "Your vehicle, madam?"

"My lift. And thank you, Omi."

"Not at all," said Omi. "Give me a call if you need me."

Crawford put the receiver down very, very carefully. He was beyond exasperation now.

"That is the fifth lot of suppliers who regret they must postpone delivery." Normally the last thing Reiji Takatori would have used his high priced bodyguards on was inventory, but at the moment it was the most important thing on his mind.

Schuldig obviously didn't like being the focus of that ruthless gaze. "But surely they have to pay default for that?"

"Surely. And their insurance covers that, if they can prove it wasn't malice or negligence, and I have a feeling they can."

Schuldig was so still Crawford knew he wanted to fidget. "Do you want me to go and put the frighteners on them?" They'd learned by now the person initialing the delay or non-delivery didn't know anything.

Frightening them wasn't much use either, but it made Takatori feel better.

Crawford shook his head. Scaring one or two might be exemplary, but this was too wide spread. At least one of the victims was likely to involve the police. Schuichi with an excuse to harass his brother...Crawford's headache jabbed again.

author's note: the elder Fujikmiyas' names Sumiko and Kaito are taken from golden_bastet's 'Fiction for Mac Lynn' (on her livejournal) which readers will enjoy.