The first surprising thing was the laughter. It echoed down the hall and invaded her office through the cracked door. Laughter was always in short supply at Section 9, and it had been completely absent since Batou's death four days before. Who was it? She listened, but couldn't tell. Anger flared in her, but she tamped it down. She couldn't deny the men whatever joke was bringing them a moment of humor.
Togusa abruptly appeared in her office door, grinning broadly. "Major! You won't believe it. Come on, look!"
She rose and strode to the door. Togusa stepped aside. He was standing on the balls of his feet, almost bouncing with glee. Ishikawa and Saito were in the corridor, shoulder to shoulder, but even their combined bulk couldn't hide the man who towered above them both. Her breath caught in her throat; if
she'd had a heart it would have stuttered in her chest. It could have been anyone, her mind insisted; prosthetic bodies were hardly unique. But when he raised his head and smiled that familiar, feral smile, she knew it was him.
"Hey Major,", he said jovially. "Nice to see you."
"What the hell were you doing?" Each word was clipped, bitten off in anger.
"Sorry about that. The Chief needed me to be dead for a while, top-secret stuff. He said I couldn't even tell you. He can explain everything, if you want to ask." He shrugged.
"I thought you were dead for three days."
"Well," He rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess that makes us even, then."
She moved too quickly for anyone to see it coming. Her fist caught Batou squarely on the jaw, so hard his head snapped to one side. She paused, her clenched hand still half-raised. He raised his head, stretched his neck with an audible crack, and rubbed his face.
"Missed you too, Major," he drawled. The corners of his eyes crinkled as if he was amused, but he stood tensely, expecting another blow.
She didn't give it to him. "Togusa's wife called me. She wanted to know if there would be a memorial. She wanted to bring the kids. Because she respected you so much."
She turned on her heel and stalked away, down the hall. To Aramaki's office. She opened it without knocking and strode inside.
The four men waited. No shouting, no screaming, no crashes as things were thrown around the room. Somehow the quiet was worse.
Batou cleared his throat. "So, boys. Which one of you cried the hardest when you thought I was dead?"
"Togusa," Ishikawa and Saito chorused. Togusa shook his head.
"Shut up," he grinned. "But," he added, in a voice just low enough for Batou alone to hear. "You know it was her."
Batou rubbed the fading red mark on his jaw. "No," he murmured thoughtfully. "I didn't know."