Back to Back

by EvanescentAmethyst

When Natsuki Kruger--an Elite, secret-service agent--is transferred, her already-life-threatening job gets even more interesting. It's not the case load that makes it hard to stay professional, but her new partner: the dangerously alluring Shizuru Viola.

5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys. :D Here's chapter 5. Lol, this is one is even longer than usual, cause I had no clue where to end it (and we all know when that happens I just keep writing until I'm ready to collapse). Lol, I literally fell asleep when going over this today (I'm sleep deprived, but it still can't be a good omen, lol). Hopefully it doesn't have the same effect on you. :D

I'd like to say a big thank you once again to WouldBeSenpai for beta-ing this for me. :D And I might as well take full advantage of this opportunity to try and coerce her into updating her own story, Chimera, because I'm dying to know what happens (lol, who ever said peer pressure was a negative thing?). :D

Thanks also to everyone reading this (and even to those who know how badly I ramble in these things and have skipped right onto the story – I totally don't blame you :D) and to everyone who reviewed last chapter. :D

I hope you like it! :D

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Chapter# 5: Flirting with the Enemy

Natsuki tossed the beige rag down with a small sigh. Light reflected off the spotless windows in a satisfying manner; Natsuki paused to examine them with a surprising amount of self-gratification. Who knew being a janitor could feel so fulfilling?

"You do know that you're not actually getting paid to make the windows look perfect, right?" Nao's voice mercilessly shattered the moment. Natsuki bit her lip in mild annoyance, though Nao did have a point. Still, Natsuki needed to keep up appearances.

"Ah, Fujino-san," a male voice came from about ten feet behind Natsuki. "We were just going to go grab some lunch." There was a hesitant pause. "We were wondering if you wanted to come with us," he asked – voice filled with uncertainty.

Natsuki refrained from turning to face the front desk. Instead, she casually picked up the discarded rag and began to half-heartedly wipe the glass pane once more. Quickly, she positioned herself so she could see Shizuru's desk in the window's reflection.

Shizuru was still sitting, but Masumi (the Public Relations Manager) and his assistant were standing over her. Natsuki watched – her heart racing – as Shizuru smiled warmly.

"Ookini," Shizuru replied smoothly, "you are very considerate." Unconsciously, Natsuki began rubbing the window with more force than necessary. Was Shizuru really going to say 'yes'? "But I'm afraid that I really shouldn't leave my desk," Shizuru added after a moment.

Feeling more satisfaction than Natsuki knew that she should have, she watched as the man's shoulders drooped slightly. "W...well is there something that I can pick up for you?" he offered.

"Just give up," Natsuki mentally scowled. Shizuru was definitely anything but attainable. The navy-haired agent gripped the rag tightly – the realization cutting into her sharply like a knife. Her mind traveled instantly back to the closet incident that morning. The uncomfortable look on Shizuru's face was etched into Natsuki's memory with extraordinary detail.

"Some tea would be wonderful," Shizuru replied with a small smile. "Ookini." Natsuki knew that she was just trying to give Masumi a break. The tall man perked up instantly and nodded. "May I ask you something?" Shizuru added.

"O...of course," he replied. The poor man looked quite shocked that Shizuru was actually choosing to continue the conversation. Natsuki was pleased to make note of the way that his assistant shifted around on his feet impatiently. Finally, someone who's not already in love with her.

Shizuru seemed to pick up on the younger man's annoyance as well. "Both of you?" She locked eyes with the assistant and gave him a gentle smile. The man blinked for a moment – as if he didn't believe that Shizuru was actually talking to him – before blushing furiously and nodding as well. Natsuki exhaled sharply and scrubbed more forcefully. So much for that.

"I must confess that I'm a little nervous being here," Shizuru continued after a moment. "I remember hearing news of Arai-san's death just last week. I..." Shizuru hesitated for a moment. "Is it true that Arai-san was killed in this very building?" she asked in a tantalizingly hushed voice.

Both the Public Affairs Manager and his assistant looked a little taken aback, but they soon recovered.

"Well...yeah," the assistant answered slowly.

"But the police have assured us that there is nothing to be afraid of," Masumi added.

Natsuki studied the men's reflections quite carefully: Shizuru's forced show of insecurity had clearly given both of them a confidence boost, but other than that, there were no incriminating reactions.

"Well..." Shizuru continued. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and lowered her voice even more. "...You don't believe that someone here could have..." she trailed off – her implications coming through quite strongly.

"Someone working here?" the Public Relations Manager asked. To Natsuki, he seemed just a little too shocked by the suggestion. She didn't know whether it was an act to make Shizuru feel better, or an attempt to divert Shizuru's attention from the office. "No," he replied emphatically, "never."

The assistant turned to him with raised eyebrows but didn't say anything. Shizuru instantly picked up on his obvious disagreement. She turned to the younger man with a questioning look. The assistant turned a brighter shade of red, though he made an obvious show of looking at the P.R Manager as though he had lost it. "Are you kidding me?" he asked with a laugh. "Have you met some of the people that we work with?"

"Ara," Shizuru gave the younger man an intrigued look that pushed him to continue.

"What are you talking about?" Masumi scowled. "You shouldn't joke about things like that."

"What do you mean?" Shizuru urged the younger man forward. The Public Relations Manager looked at the younger man and shook his head slightly.

"Look, I'm just saying," the younger man continued, "there are a few people in this office with serious issues."

"Like who?" the Public Relations Manager scoffed. Natsuki couldn't help but notice the masked look of pleasant surprise on Shizuru's face. He'd practically stolen the words right out of her mouth.

"What about Sasaki?" the young man asked him with an arrogant look. "I heard that he went to Arai-san for a promotion two weeks ago."

"You heard?" the Public Relations Manager asked skeptically. "Do you listen to everything that..."

"He got turned down," the assistant cut him off with a small smirk. "Coincidence, don't you think?"

"That's ridiculous," Masumi sighed. "And that's definitely not a motive for murder."

Both Shizuru and Natsuki silently begged to differ. All it took was someone in the right state of mind, an available weapon, and a temporary lapse of judgment. A small push could send he or she right over the edge.

The assistant opened his mouth to reply, but the Public Relations Manager cut him off sharply. "We should really get going," he said firmly before turning to Shizuru. "I'll be sure to remember your tea, Fujino-san."

Shizuru smiled softly and gave a small nod in return. The Public Relations Manager walked over to the door without waiting for his assistant. The younger man frowned and hurried after him.

When they had left, Shizuru glanced briefly over at Natsuki. The younger woman had been cleaning the same spot for quite a while now. It was a little odd though – Natsuki's gaze wasn't quite fixed on the spot that she was wiping. "Is... is she watching me in the reflection?" Shizuru wondered for a moment. The brown-haired agent raised an eyebrow, fixed her gaze on the spot that Natsuki was looking at, and allowed the corners of her mouth to turn up into a slight smile.

Just for a moment, Natsuki's wiping stopped abruptly. Shizuru's smile widened; though Natsuki's back was turned, she could picture the blush forming on the younger agent's face. Ara, perhaps I was right.

"B...baka," Natsuki scolded herself. "She knew all along that you were watching her." Natsuki quickly continued wiping like nothing was wrong, but she knew that her brief hesitation had already given her away. "It's your job to watch her," Natsuki reminded herself. "She's not going to think anything of it." She inhaled slowly and shifted over a little.

The sound of footsteps behind Natsuki made her instantly tense up. Her heart furiously raced, but she continued cleaning. "Please, let that not be Shizuru," Natsuki mentally chanted. She soon relaxed when she realized that the sound of the footsteps was wrong; if Shizuru was walking up behind her, Natsuki doubted that she would be able to hear anything at all.

"I think the window's pretty clean by now," a woman's voice came from behind Natsuki. Natsuki turned and immediately recognized Kanae, the woman who had spoken to her on behalf of the office's former custodian.

Natsuki winced slightly, before turning to face her. "It's not bad," she shrugged and tossed her rag back on the cart.

"Are you okay...um," the woman paused. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name before. I was late for a video conference," she laughed.

"Kuga," Natsuki replied. "Kuga Natsuki."

"Well, in case you forgot, Natsuki-san, my name's Miyake Kanae. Feel free just to call me Kanae though," the short woman grinned.

After a brief pause, Natsuki smiled. "Right," she replied. She was a little uncomfortable with the use of her first name, but she wasn't going to say anything.

"Are you okay though?" Kanae repeated. "You seemed kind of... dazed." She pointed to the window for a moment before lowering her hand.

"W...what?" Natsuki asked – her face flushing slightly. Had she really been that obvious?! Even people who weren't elite agents had noticed.

"I could kind of see you from my office," Kanae added with a small laugh.

"Oh," Natsuki laughed in an attempt to recover smoothly. The shorter woman was clearly waiting for an explanation. "I was watching some guy drool over the new secretary in the reflection," Natsuki grinned. As uncomfortably close to the truth as it was, it was the best that she could come up with on the spot.

"Kruger-san!" Nao quietly exclaimed into the ear piece. "Watch it," she added warningly.

"Seriously?" The short, brown-haired woman laughed. She stood a little taller so that she could look at the spot where Natsuki was pointing. "I'm impressed," she laughed after a moment. "How very spy-like of you, Natsuki-san."

"A...arigato," Natsuki laughed, though her heart was pounding. It was her job not to look spy-like.

"Didn't I tell you to leave your 'Ask me about becoming an elite secret agent' sticker at home?" Nao hissed.

Shizuru discreetly watched the two women interact from her desk. They were speaking just a little too quietly for her to hear; all that she could make out was an odd word or two. Natsuki laughed and Shizuru felt jealously immediately flare up inside her. How could Natsuki get along so well with a woman that she didn't even know?

"Anyway," Kanae grinned, "I was just going to round up a few people so we could go get some lunch. Do you want to come with us?" she offered.

Natsuki hesitated for a moment. Should she go with them? It was her job to get to know people, but it could prove useful to have the office a little more to herself.

"Go with her," Nao ordered her quickly. "If you say 'no' now, she's less likely to ask you again."

Natsuki hid her annoyance at being ordered around like a first-class agent, but she presumed that Nao knew her stuff. "Sure," Natsuki nodded.

"Great," the woman smiled. "Let's go get the others." With that, she began walking over to the front desk. Natsuki hesitated for a moment, but when Kanae turned and waved her over, she had no choice but to follow.

"Natsuki-san and I are grabbing some lunch," Kanae told Shizuru. "You want to come?"

Shizuru locked eyes with Natsuki immediately after the use of Natsuki's first name. The navy-haired woman said nothing, but met her gaze evenly.

"...I see," Shizuru replied quietly – her eyes not leaving Natsuki's. Natsuki knew that her eyes were probably playing tricks on her, but – for one small moment – Shizuru almost looked hurt. "I'm afraid my place is here," Shizuru said finally. Her gaze shifted from Natsuki to Kanae. "Ookini for the offer," she added, though her voice verged on revealing her sudden flare of jealously.

"What a big surprise; she doesn't want to eat with you," Natsuki taunted herself. After what had happened that morning, it wasn't exactly a surprise. Natsuki was going to kill Nao the next time that she saw her.

"Good luck," Kanae smiled, before walking away. Natsuki opened her mouth to mutter a quick goodbye, but Shizuru glanced back down at the papers on her desk. After an awkward pause, Natsuki reluctantly followed after Kanae.

Shizuru exhaled softly. She glanced up and watched as Natsuki walked down the hall with the other woman. When Natsuki paused to glance back, Shizuru quickly turned away.

"So where are we going?" Natsuki asked. Kanae led her over to the Foreign Affairs Minister's office and rested her hand against the handle.

"We're going to go kidnap Omori-san," Kanae grinned. "She just... seems really off today, you know?" Natsuki studied the shorter woman's face, but didn't say anything. Did Kanae mean 'off' as in throwing up the bathroom, or as in something else? "I think she and Arai-san were pretty close," Kanae continued quietly. "He always seemed like a good man," she added after a moment.

Natsuki nodded, but before she could say anything to lead into a conversation that could prove useful to the case, Kanae opened the door and stepped inside. Natsuki glanced around the room as she stepped inside too. The door to Arai's – though Natsuki supposed it was really Ikeda's now – office was just to the right of Omori's desk. Natsuki couldn't help but notice that it was still labeled 'Hirohito Arai'. There were a couple chairs lined up on the opposite wall – implying that it was a much smaller version of the waiting room in the main lobby.

"...Kanae-san," Omori glanced up and gave a wide smile. Omori's gaze shifted from Kanae to Natsuki, then back to Kanae. She gave the brown-haired woman a questioning look.

"We're getting lunch," Kanae explained, "and you're coming with us." The petite woman grinned – even nodding for emphasis, when Omori's eyes widened slightly.

"I...I can't," Omori stuttered. She put down the pencil that she had been writing with; Natsuki noticed with interest that her hands were lightly shaking.

"Yes, you can," Kanae insisted. Just for a second, her gaze rested on the Affairs Minister's office. "You just need to get out of here for a while," she pushed quietly.

Omori chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement. "Okay," she replied. The word was so quiet that Natsuki almost couldn't hear her at all. Finally, she got up and started to walk past her desk. The movement itself was quite abrupt, and in the process her hand accidentally knocked over a few items.

The secretary took a deep breath, before bending over to pick up the papers on the ground. Natsuki took a step forward and crouched down too. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed a small bottle that had been knocked from the desk. A subtle shake confirmed that there were probably pills inside, but the bottle itself was unmarked.

Natsuki glanced up – pausing when she realized that Omori was watching her. "Here," she smiled and held out the bottle. With trembling hands, Omori reached out and took the bottle back. She locked eyes with Natsuki, then quickly looked away.

Natsuki watched her curiously; what, exactly, was she taking? The agent made a mental note to check it out later.

"I...I'll be there in a moment," Omori told her. "I have to..." she turned to face the office door, "...I have to check with Ikeda-san first."

Natsuki glanced back over at the office door. It would be easy for anyone to just storm in at any time. His office was completely unprotected, but why? Why had Ikeda refused the bodyguard that the police had offered him? If Natsuki was going to work in the same place where someone had been murdered the week before, she would have never refused protection. "Well, not that I need protection," Natsuki smirked to herself.

"Hey, Kruger-san, Agent Zhang has..." Takeda's voice cut off abruptly.

"Hands off, Masashi," Nao hissed in the background. "Go play with your own microphone."

Natsuki blinked. There was a moment of stunned silence from the other end. "That's clearly not what I meant, hentai," Nao rolled her eyes. "Grab another mike and hook it up. You can talk to Viola-san, and I can talk to Agent Kruger." There was a brief pause. "No, I'm talking to her," Nao insisted. "...Because – aside from the idea of you and Agent Kruger ever having sex – it's one of the few things in life that I find truly amusing."

It took all of Natsuki's willpower to stop herself from reacting visibly.

"Did she hear that!?" Takeda demanded furiously.

"No," Nao laughed, though both Natsuki and Nao knew it was an utter lie. Natsuki slowly stood up and forced a brief smile at Omori.

"Alright," Nao spoke finally. "This may sound kinda strange, but I need you to barge into Ikeda's office," she instructed. "Study his reaction."

"What?!" Natsuki asked herself. "Why – exactly – am I supposed to do that?" The man was going to think that she was insane.

"Just do it," Nao groaned. "I'll explain later."

"This had better be useful," Natsuki mentally hissed in the attempt to send Nao threatening messages telepathically. "I'll tell him," Natsuki offered. Without waiting for a reply, she walked straight over to Ikeda's office – pausing only to wince slightly as she ripped open the door.

"Wh..." Ikeda glanced up from the pile of papers on his desk. He was obviously a little shocked by the sudden entrance, but he soon regained his composure. "May I help you?" he asked Natsuki with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir," Natsuki replied. She briefly glanced around the large office; nothing seemed particularly suspicious. "Omori-san was just going to go grab some lunch with us, alright?"

"I...alright," Ikeda replied after a moment. "I'll be sure to take all my calls." Natsuki nodded and briefly scanned the room once more. Ikeda hardly ever left his office during normal hours. This would probably be the only chance that she'd get to examine things for a while. "Have a nice lunch," Ikeda continued, when Natsuki didn't leave.

"Arigato," Natsuki grinned sheepishly. The navy-haired agent backed out of the room, and closed the door gently behind her.

"Well that takes care of that," Kanae laughed. "Let's go."

"I...I just have some things to take care of," Omori said quietly. "I'll catch up," she smiled. Kanae hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and began walking out of the room.

Natsuki gave a quick nod as well and then brushed past the shorter woman. "I'm just going to use the bathroom," she told Kanae. "I'll catch up too."

"Okay then," Kanae replied. "We can take my car. Omori-san knows which one it is," she added. Natsuki watched as she walked down the hall, before quickly ducking into the women's washroom.

When Natsuki had made sure that the bathroom was empty, she leaned back against the long cupboard.

"What the hell was that about?" Natsuki quietly exclaimed. "Barge into his office? What sort of protocol is that?!"

An exaggerated sigh came from the other end. "Look, there are no cameras inside of offices, so you're going to have to describe Ikeda's reaction for me," Nao replied.

"What do you mean by reaction?" Natsuki demanded furiously. "Like the fact that he probably believes that I'm mentally unstable?!" she hissed.

"His file does say that he's an intelligent man," Nao smirked. Natsuki opened her mouth to respond, but Nao immediately cut her off. "Okay, look, you don't have time for this, Agent Kruger. How did he react?"

"How do you think he reacted?" Natsuki snapped. "He was obviously a little surprised to see me."

"Surprised as in shoving his chair back and covering his face reflexively in fear?" Nao pushed. "Or surprised as in 'what is the insane janitor doing in my office'?"

Natsuki growled slightly at the second option. "The second one," she replied. "How is this relevant? Because if you just did that to make me look like a total baka..."

"Down girl," Nao replied with a laugh. "Everything that I ask you to do has a purpose. And I don't really think that you need help with that."

Natsuki took a very slow, deep breath. "What about this morning?" she snarled. "What purpose did that serve, Agent Zhang?" she demanded, her mind snapping back to the closet incident once more.

Even Nao was impressed by how menacing the navy-haired agent had managed to sound. "Okay, that was just for my own personal amusement," she admitted with a smirk. "But everything else that I ask you to do has a purpose."

"You better hope that you're armed the next time that I see you," Natsuki hissed.

"Anyway," Nao laughed, "that does actually tell us quite a bit. Ikeda inherited both the Foreign Affair's Minister's position and office—meaning that if the murder was related to the upcoming trade agreement, Ikeda would be the next probable target. One would presume, if Ikeda has anything resembling a brain, that he might be a little nervous sitting in the same spot where his boss was offed only a week ago. So when you burst in without any warning, one would also presume that Ikeda would jump, flinch, and/or shriek. Trust me, I've seen him," Nao added with a smirk. "I'd say this guy is definitely a shrieker. Moving on," she continued, "you're description of his reaction leads me to believe that he isn't overly concerned for his own well-being, which – as you might agree – is a little suspicious."

Natsuki closed her now-slightly-open mouth. "O...okay," Natsuki replied slowly. "I do see your point." She could practically feel Nao smirk in contentment at her words. "But," Natsuki added quickly – not wanting to give Nao the satisfaction of her agreement, "what if Ikeda just assumes that the probability of an attack happening in broad daylight is extremely low?"

"That's rational thinking," Nao agreed. Natsuki was just about to smirk right back, when Nao sharply cut her off. "But fear is anything but rational, Agent Kruger," she scolded. A sly smile crossed the red-head's face. "Take – for instance – your fear of rejection."

"I'm leaving," Natsuki growled warningly. Without waiting for Nao's inevitable laughter to sound over her ear piece, Natsuki exited the washroom. She walked back to the office – pausing just outside the door. Omori was seated back at her desk, though the woman inhaled shakily and stood up after a moment. Natsuki took a small step to the side, so that she wouldn't be seen by the other woman. Omori glanced numbly down at the bottle that Natsuki had handed her, and dropped it wordlessly into the garbage can.

The bottle made a loud clank, as it hit the bottom. "Why would she throw the bottle out?" Natsuki wondered. It wasn't like it was empty, and – whatever the medication was for – Natsuki presumed that Omori was taking it for a reason.

With a small cough, Natsuki finally walked into the room. Omori glanced up, but immediately averted her gaze. She wasn't quite quick enough; Natsuki had no trouble realizing that the woman was about to cry.

"A...are you alright?" Natsuki asked hesitantly. Should she pretend to ignore the tears forming in the secretary's eyes?

"I'm fine," the woman replied shakily. She brushed passed Natsuki, walked briskly out of the office, and didn't glance back.

Natsuki glanced back at the garbage can, before also taking her leave. The woman's reaction had only reinforced what Natsuki already suspected; she'd definitely need to send whatever Omori was taking in for analysis.

---

Though Natsuki had only been gone for about half an hour, it seemed like far longer. Shizuru sat at her desk – unable to leave her post – and ran images of Natsuki and Kanae talking over lunch through her head.

"They're both women," Shizuru reminded herself. "They're coworkers and they've only just met." She allowed a soft sigh to escape her lips. "I might as well be talking about Natsuki and myself," she realized. But – as far as Shizuru knew – Natsuki didn't even like women romantically; it was pointless to get so worked up over a simple lunch. "Ara," Shizuru scolded herself, "all of this is quite unnecessary."

The sound of the main doors opening interrupted her thoughts. Shizuru calmly watched as Natsuki, Kanae, and Omori walked into the office. Natsuki held the door open for Kanae; Shizuru bit the bottom of her lip gently.

"I'll see you later, Natsuki-san," Kanae called out over her shoulder as she walked Omori back to her office. Natsuki nodded, watching as the two women walked away, then paused to glance briefly over at the front desk. Shizuru's startling red eyes met hers from across the room.

Natsuki quickly averted her gaze. "Oh, subtle," Natsuki hissed to herself after the fact; Shizuru had—no doubt—seen her. She forced herself to turn back and give Shizuru a small nod.

Shizuru studied the faint blush that had appeared on the younger agent's face – unsure how to respond. Before she could do anything, Natsuki walked briskly down the hallway and grabbed her cart.

---

After a few more hours had passed, Natsuki pulled up the long sleeves of her shirt and checked her watch. It was now 6:22; the Foreign Affairs Office had officially closed twenty-two minutes ago. Most of the employees had already left – a fact that Natsuki was counting on as she entered the small waiting room in front of Ikeda's office. Omori was nowhere to be seen.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Nao demanded. "Omori's not gone, you know. She's just using the washroom."

"I'll be quick," Natsuki muttered. The navy-haired agent walked over to the secretary's desk and took a moment to memorize the placement of the items.

"I'm not going to be able to give you much notice," Nao replied warningly. "The bathroom's right next to you."

Natsuki ignored Nao and continued her search.

"When I say 'next to', I mean like right next to you," Nao emphasized. Natsuki didn't reply. The navy-haired agent walked around the desk so that she could get to Omori's garbage can. She grabbed the bottle of pills from the bottom, quickly twisted off the lid, and dumped a few of the pills into a small plastic bag. She threw the cap back on, tossed the bottle back into the garbage, and went back to checking out Omori's desk.

There were various files scattered on top – most of them regarding the upcoming trade agreement. Natsuki bent down and reached for the first drawer.

"The bathroom door just opened," Nao exclaimed. Natsuki withdrew her hand and instantly took a few steps back. Omori walked in, no more than a second later.

"Hi," Natsuki grinned sheepishly. "I didn't want to worry Kanae-san, you know how she is," Natsuki grinned. "But, I just wanted to see if you were feeling better. You know, after this morning," Natsuki laughed sheepishly – referring to the bathroom incident.

Omori looked more than a little startled. The woman's gaze shifted from Natsuki to her desk. Natsuki quickly took another few steps away from the desk.

"I... I see," Omori replied slowly. "I'm fine, arigato."

"Do you need a ride home?" Natsuki offered. "Please say no," Natsuki silently chanted.

"No, I'm alright," Omori forced a smile. She remained standing by the doorway – as if Natsuki had to leave before she could sit back down at her desk.

"Okay then," Natsuki smiled. "That could have gone better," Natsuki couldn't help but think. For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that the other woman didn't like her. She walked out of the office and grabbed her cart from just outside the door.

"You're giving us all heart attacks, you know that right?" Nao asked.

"I'm going to leave the office now," Natsuki muttered – using a well-placed hand to discreetly cover her mouth as she spoke. "If I stay any longer, I'm going to look suspicious."

"Okay, Kruger-san," Takeda's voice buzzed in her ear a moment later. "Agent Viola's not quite ready to leave. I think she still has a bit of work to finish." Natsuki wordlessly wheeled her cart into the supply room and let the door close behind her. She could feel her face flush as she opened the closet door inside, though she desperately tried to ignore it. Her eyes slowly drifted closed; she could still feel Shizuru's fingers trace patterns on the back of her hand. Slowly exhaling, Natsuki snapped herself out of her daze. She shoved her cart quickly inside of the closet, and briskly left the room.

"Get a grip," she ordered herself. "This is definitely not what you should be concentrating on right now."

"Going home, Kuga-san?" Shizuru called out softly, as Natsuki walked passed. Natsuki froze, turned towards Shizuru with a growing blush, and nodded.

"Yeah," she replied. "Are you still working?" Natsuki gestured questioningly to the keyboard that Shizuru had been typing on a second ago.

"I'm almost finished," Shizuru smiled. "Well," she paused – locking eyes with Natsuki, "have a nice night." Natsuki's eyes drifted down to Shizuru's lips – watching as they curled into a soft smile.

"Y...yeah, you too," Natsuki replied. "Leave now," Natsuki ordered herself, but her eyes remained fixed on Shizuru's lips for just a little too long. Natsuki blinked suddenly – realizing what she had been doing – and quickly made her way towards the front doors.

Shizuru watched her leave with a thoughtful frown. Normally, she'd have no trouble discerning if someone was attracted to her. Natsuki, however, was a very different story. The younger agent's body language and facial expressions were all across the board.

Shizuru's mind wandered back to way that Kanae had called Natsuki by her first name, and the brown-haired agent sighed. She definitely didn't like what Natsuki was doing to her; under normal circumstances Shizuru had always felt like she was in control. Her training allowed her to read most people and their emotions like they were an open book. But introduce an incredibly attractive woman with the same amount of training, and suddenly things began to get uncomfortably complex.

Natsuki started to walk over to her car, but then hesitated for a second. The parking lot was already close to empty. Natsuki's eyes scanned the large skid mark that stretched across the ground. A small grin formed on her face when she realized that there was now a car parked at the origin of the mark. "Hey, I'm going to give you a license plate number," Natsuki muttered. "I need you guys to check who it's registered to."

"Already got it," Nao smirked. "And you'll never guess who it's registered to."

"What?" Natsuki exclaimed quietly. "How did you already get it?"

"Most Garderrobe agents wouldn't even have to ask if they knew that Viola-san was working with them," Nao smirked. "Don't worry," she added, "I'm sure you'll get used to being second best."

Natsuki growled as she unlocked her car, though she refrained from replying. When she had gotten in, she grabbed her cellphone from her pocket, flipped it open, and held it up to her ear. "So who does it belong to?" Natsuki sighed.

"Our very own Foreign Affairs Aide," Nao replied. "Sound suspicious?"

"Ikeda?" Natsuki replied with a pensive frown. "Well, the way the skid mark is oriented implies that Ikeda sped out of the parking lot either before or after hours. The mark goes right through some of the other spots, so there couldn't possibly have been other cars in the lot. Arai was killed after hours," Natsuki finished.

"True, but wasn't your money on Sasaki a minute ago?" Nao asked. "This suggests that Ikeda took matters into his own hands."

"No," Natsuki replied. "My money was on Sasaki and Ikeda. But if you think about it – about the amount of time that it took the murderer to get in, kill Arai, get the security tapes, and get back out – it makes sense that there might have been more than one person present. Who ever was responsible for Arai's death managed to pull all of that off – very carefully I might add – in a couple of minutes. Having some help would have made all of that quite a bit easier."

"What a very inconclusive rationalization," Nao smirked. "Someone who knew their way around the place well enough could have probably pulled it off too."

"Well what do you have?" Natsuki replied defensively. Her gaze fell down to the plastic bag in her hands. "Oh, tell your analyst I have something for her, will you?"

"Hmmm?" Nao replied. "What do you mean?"

"Some of the pills that Omori has been taking," Natsuki answered. "Any ideas?"

"Antidepressants?" Nao offered. "On the police interviews, she was really shaken up. Or maybe something to help control anxiety?"

"Yeah," Natsuki muttered. "Well, I'll get the pills to you tomorrow."

"Wait, so you really stole pills from a seriously distraught woman?" Nao snickered. "That's a little low, even for you. Not to mention, well, illegal."

"She threw them out," Natsuki replied – her annoyed tone traveling through the speaker quite clearly. "But don't you really think that we should know if she's taking medication to control some sort of mental illness?"

"I suppose," Nao grinned. "So you really think that this woman deserves a top place on our list?"

"She's hiding something," Natsuki replied thoughtfully. "So how are things on your end?"

"Interesting that you should ask that," Nao replied with a laugh. "Apparently the other districts have already begun laughing at us for reopening the Foreign Affairs office. And I've also been told that – when the news that Ikeda didn't have a bodyguard got out – the look on Director Morioka's face was nothing short of spectacular."

"We can't force security on him," Natsuki scowled. "It's not our fault that he's a complete baka."

"Or – alternatively – guilty as hell," Nao agreed. "But you should know that it's been mutually decided all over the country that our already infamous district is going to fail once again. You should probably also know where our little pep talk came from," she added.

"Who?" Natsuki winced, though she could already guess.

"Director Wong," Nao smirked. "So yeah, Agent Kruger. Feel free to take your own sweet time solving that case."

"I only just finished my first day here!" Natsuki exclaimed.

"That just means that you've already failed," Nao sighed. "Really Kruger-san, try not to make this a habit."

Nao couldn't help but laugh at the menacing growl the other agent let out.

---

Natsuki hit the steering wheel in frustration and abruptly stopped her car. This was the third red light that she'd caught in a row.

"Drive faster, Agent Kruger," Nao sighed. "We spent way too long getting you guys hooked up this morning."

It was Natsuki's second day undercover; showing up late on her second day wouldn't exactly inspire confidence, and the last thing that they needed was for one of their agents to get fired.

"I'm almost there," Natsuki growled. "And just for the record, I have six minutes to spare."

"Viola-san got there ten minutes ago," Nao smirked. "And she's wearing heels."

"First of all, Viola-san got assigned a car that goes faster than 30 miles an hour," Natsuki replied defensively. "And secondly," Natsuki continued, "she's driving a car. Heels have absolutely nothing to do with it."

"Have you tried to drive while wearing heels?" Nao countered. "Or do you just avoid anything even remotely feminine?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsuki growled.

"Just get there," Nao laughed. "Every minute that you have in there should be considered a privilege." The redhead hesitated, before continuing. "Agent Masashi and I don't know how long we're going to be able to keep this up."

"What do you mean?" Natsuki frowned. "We have all the time that we need."

"I never realized that you were so naive," Nao smirked. "Agent Masashi just got word from Agent Hallard. Apparently Norito – the Affair's Office's janitor – has been asking some questions."

Natsuki's hands clenched her steering wheel tightly. "What sort of questions?" she asked, though she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted an answer.

"Questions about why our psychologist keeps insisting that he's too traumatized to go back to work," Nao continued. "Naturally – with our luck – this guy seems to be about as far away from a hypochondriac as you can get. The Affair's Office secretary seems to be convinced for now, but there's no telling how long Norito's going to hold out."

"Do you think that he's a threat?" Natsuki asked thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't put it past him to try and show up to work in a couple of days," Nao answered. "And if that happens, we're pretty much done."

"Tell me you've got surveillance on him," Natsuki replied.

"I'm not an amateur, Agent Kruger," Nao smirked. "I've got a second-class agent on him. But I'm telling you, there's only so much that we can do. If he decides that he wants to go back to work, there's nothing that we can legally do to stop him."

"What if we tell him instead?" Natsuki asked thoughtfully.

"That's where I was going with this," Nao grinned. "We're taking a vote. Agent Masashi and I and in favor of telling him. Viola-san just told Agent Masashi that's she on the fence. I don't think it's a great idea either, but..." Nao trailed off.

Natsuki bit her lip thoughtfully. "Well," she said finally, "his alibi is solid. That means that there's nothing tying him to Arai's death. Sure, it's a risk. But if we tell him, I think it gives us at least some control over the situation."

"Okay then," Nao replied. "I'm drafting up a confidentiality contract as we speak. I'll run it by Director Wong, and I should have it for Norito by this afternoon."

"Alright," Natsuki nodded. "Oh, did you send those pills in for testing?" she added as an afterthought.

"No," Nao scoffed. "I sent Agent Masashi to do it. Helene-san has been pretty backed up, but he's going to ask her to make it a priority."

"Good," Natsuki replied. She signaled and slowly turned into the parking lot. "I'm here," she added quietly. Her gaze fell down to the rental car's clock. "And I'm even two minutes early," she smirked.

"Just get inside," Nao grinned.

When Natsuki walked inside, her eyes immediately fell on the front desk. Shizuru glanced up, and her mouth curled into a soft smile. Natsuki exhaled slowly and went to go get her cart.

"Okay, today we want you to focus on Omori and Sasaki," Nao instructed. "I need you to find a way to bring up Arai when Omori's around. Study her reactions, report them to me, and I should be able to tell if her behavior is out of the normal range."

"You do know that she hates me, right?" Natsuki clarified as she wheeled that large cart over to the supply room door. She shoved passed, pushed open the door, and backed the cart out of the room.

"Well – if you can't handle it – I guess we could always have Viola-san do it," Nao replied – a smirk forming on her face. "She certainly seems to have a way with people."

Natsuki scowled. "I can handle it just fine," she muttered angrily.

"Oh really?" Nao replied with raised eyebrows.

As if to prove her point immediately, Natsuki wheeled her cart straight for the small room where Omori's desk was located.

Nao watched as Natsuki wheeled her cart with newfound purpose. With a grin, the redhead switched the microphone connection to Shizuru's ear piece.

"You know, you act as an incredible source of motivation," Nao smirk cut sharply into Shizuru's ear.

"Hmm?" Shizuru murmured. She glanced up as the Public Relations Manager walked in—smiling at him from across the room.

"Good morning, Fujino-san," he grinned. He walked over to her desk and hesitated for a moment. "Have you... um," he paused. Shizuru stared at him for a moment.

"You know, they should really think of excuses to talk to you before they actually try it," Nao smirked.

"Have you seen Sasaki-san?" the manager finally managed to get out. He glanced around the office at nothing in particular, as if he was looking for the object of his inquiry.

"I'm afraid that I haven't," Shizuru replied calmly. "Is there anything that I can do to help?" she offered.

The Public Relations Manager turned a light shade of red, but quickly shook his head. "Oh, it's okay," he laughed. "He's probably just in talking with Ikeda-san."

"Interesting comment," Nao murmured into the microphone. Shizuru couldn't help but agree.

"Is Sasaki-san good friends with him?" Shizuru asked – carefully trying to get more detailed information. She studied the Public Relations Manager's face as he replied.

"Oh, yeah," he laughed once more. "Some days it seems like Sasaki-san is in Ikeda-san's office more than his own. But then again, the upcoming trade agreement requires everyone to be pretty much on the same page," the man added.

"Of course," Shizuru replied with a small smile. She watched as the Public Relations Manager sheepishly walked back to his office.

"That was... informative," Nao commented. "Talk to you in a few minutes," she added. Quickly, she switched the microphone back to connect her to Natsuki.

Natsuki tentatively knocked on the door frame. Omori immediately glanced up from her work. "W...what?" she stuttered.

"Nervous?" Natsuki wondered. "Hi," she smiled warmly. "I just came for your garbage," she explained. The navy-haired agent held up the garbage bag in her hands for emphasis.

"Oh," Omori replied. Natsuki studied the way that her body relaxed – suggesting that the woman was relieved. "Okay," she nodded.

Natsuki walked into the room and picked up the small garbage bin by the secretary's desk. As she tipped the contents into the bag, she could practically feel Omori's eyes on her. "Now how exactly do I work her dead boss into casual conversation?" she asked herself. An image of Arai's name on the office door to her right came to her suddenly.

As she put the garbage pail down, Natsuki glanced over at the door. She hesitated, squinting lightly for a moment as she read the name. "Hey," she asked Omori quietly, "don't you think that someone should have that replaced?"

Omori followed her gaze to Arai's name on the door. She froze for a moment, as if it took her a while to register what she had just read. "Oh," she softly replied.

"What was he like?" Natsuki asked thoughtfully. "Did you know him well?"

"Not bad," Nao cut in on Natsuki's ear piece – a mildly impressed tone in her voice. Natsuki hid a satisfied smirk.

Omori locked eyes with Natsuki – her expression just a little too serious. "I'm sorry," she replied firmly, "but I really have a lot of work to do." Natsuki hesitated. Should she press the matter?

"Let it go," Nao quietly instructed her. "Take a quick look at body language for me, but drop the issue. If Omori is involved, we don't want her on the defensive."

Natsuki turned back to Omori, and scanned the woman's positioning briefly. "Sure," she replied. Giving Omori a small smile goodbye, Natsuki quickly exited the room.

"Well?" Nao asked her.

"Her body language is practically screaming 'uncomfortable'," Natsuki muttered. "Her hands were closed, her back completely rigid. Her reluctance to make eye contact is a bit of a giveaway, but what strikes me as the most odd is the thin layer of sweat coating her forehead," Natsuki added. "Oh, I'm sorry," she smirked. "Was I supposed to wait for you to diagnose our suspect?"

Nao gave an offended gasp. "Just for that," she replied, "I'm gonna let Mashasi-san take over when he gets back."

A poorly concealed look of horror crossed Natsuki's face. She opened her mouth to reply, but the static sound buzzing in her ear abruptly cut off – implying that Nao had temporarily cut her voice connection. Natsuki scowled, before grabbing the broom from her cart.

---

"It's almost home time," Nao spoke into Shizuru's ear piece. There was a small pause. "Bored?" Nao smirked.

Shizuru didn't say anything, but briefly pried her eyes away from the spectacle in front of her. She glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room. It was more than a little annoying being confined to a desk. Thankfully, her coworkers didn't seem to mind interrupting her work to talk, but it was hard extracting information that no one seemed to have.

Shizuru's eyes fell back on the navy-haired woman mopping the floor around the main door. Her gaze trailed down Natsuki's perfect form as she worked, and Shizuru's breath gently hitched. Still, the past few minutes had been far more entertaining than most.

"I didn't think so," Nao answered her own question with a knowing grin. "Watching our new agent do all the dirty work?" she asked. "I know of at least six Foreign Affairs Office employees who would kill to have you look at them with half as much interest. Well, maybe not kill," Nao added as an afterthought. "But – then again – that's what we're here to determine."

"Ara," Shizuru replied behind a well-placed hand, "I'm sure that I don't know what you're trying to imply." She quickly turned to her computer and began scrolling over the agenda on the screen.

"Oh, I'm sure," Nao replied – a tone of unconcealed amusement in her voice. "She must be something to have caught your eye, Viola-san," she grinned.

Shizuru bit her bottom lip gently, but chose to ignore the comment entirely.

"Tell me," Nao smirked, "was it love at first sight?"

There was a loud screech, as Shizuru abruptly rolled her chair back. Shizuru barely managed to stop herself from replying, took a slow, deep breath, and reached for a file from the other end of her desk. "Calm down," she instructed herself. She took a moment to slow her heart rate back down, before considering what had just happened. "I was simply caught off guard," Shizuru decided for her own benefit. Still, she couldn't deny that the words had probably struck her far harder than Nao had intended them too.

Nao paused – her finger hovering over the button that would connect the microphone to Shizuru – and grinned. That was certainly a more spectacular reaction than she had expected. And from Shizuru, no less; the brown-haired agent had come dangerously close to showing actual emotion. Wisely, Nao decided that she should let it go. When she pushed the button once more, she was focused back on the case.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Nao continued. "I sent out Agent Mashashi to talk to Norito about an hour ago. Director Wong gave us the go ahead without too much convincing. He just really, really wants this case solved"

"Ookini," Shizuru murmured softly – making Nao wonder if Shizuru was thanking her for the new information, or for dropping their previous conversation topic.

"I've also been thinking about Ikeda," Nao added. "We need to get inside his office and his head, and I think I've come up with a way to do both simultaneously." Nao knew she had intrigued the other agent, though Shizuru couldn't openly respond. "See how Agent Kruger is packing up her things?" Nao asked. "It just turned six, so she's going to put everything back, get into her car, and park it a block away. When almost everyone has left, we're going to sneak her back inside. Now Ikeda is used to working late, but you're going to take care of that for us," she grinned.

Shizuru wasn't sure that she like the tone in the other woman's voice. I am, am I?

"Being the friendly secretary that you are, you're going to ask Ikeda to leave his work for long enough to go out to dinner with you," Nao continued. "And, being as helpless as most men – and even some women – seem to be around you, he's going to agree. Which – of course – leaves the office clear for Agent Kruger to snoop around to her little heart's content."

Shizuru hesitated for a moment. It would be almost impossible to pretend that the dinner was just a friendly get together, and considering that Ikeda was a suspect in one of the largest murder cases ever to hit Garderrobe, Shizuru wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of leading him on.

"It's for the greater good," Nao added as if sensing the brunette's reluctance.

"I suppose," Shizuru sighed softly. She glanced up to smile as one of the employees waved goodbye to her from the entrance. Her gaze shifted back to Natsuki, and Shizuru watched as the navy-haired woman finished up her work.

Nao switched the setting back over to Natsuki's ear piece. "Okay," Nao's voice sounded into Natsuki's ear. "I've filled in Viola-san. The place should be clear in about twenty minutes or so."

"Got it," Natsuki replied quietly. She wheeled her cart down the hallway and quickly put it away. Natsuki briefly glanced down at her watch, then started to make her way to the exit.

Anxiously, Natsuki got into her car and dropped it off on the closest side street. She wanted to return right away, but Nao insisted that she should wait a couple of minutes before walking back. By the time that Natsuki returned, there were only four cars left in the parking lot.

"Watch out," Nao warned as Natsuki neared the entrance. "Omori's leaving."

Without pausing to think, Natsuki instantly flattened herself against the brick wall a few feet to the left of the entrance. Omori walked out of the door, seconds later.

Natsuki waited for her to get around ten feet away, before quickly entering the building. Her heart pounded, as she glanced over at the front desk. Shizuru remained seated, but smiled at her from across the lobby. Before she could stop herself, Natsuki grinned back reflexively.

Shizuru felt her face heat up lightly, and her smile grew. "Ara," Shizuru thought to herself. Was Natsuki really that happy to see her?

Natsuki's eyes widened slightly when she realized that she was effectively grinning like a baka, and the navy-haired agent quickly looked away.

"Yes, stand in the middle of the lobby, Agent Kruger," Nao cut in sarcastically. "No one will ever notice you there."

Natsuki took full advantage of the deserted lobby, and turned to glare directly at the camera. Nao's laughter rang through Natsuki's ear piece shortly after. Without wasting any more time, Natsuki walked to the woman's washroom and waited inside.

A few agonizingly long minutes passed. Natsuki paced back and forth inside the washroom – her stomach tightening nervously as she waited. The more time that she took to consider what was about to happen, the more anxious she became. As much as she would have loved to convince herself, it wasn't the fear of being caught that was getting to her.

"Okay," Nao interrupted her thoughts. "Except for you, Viola-san, and Ikeda, the office is entirely empty."

"Look, Agent Zhang..." Natsuki began.

"Hold that thought," Nao cut her off. "Fujino-san is on her way to talk to Ikeda."

"What?!" Natsuki asked – her panic kicking in sharply. She quickly walked over to the bathroom door and paused. After taking a deep breath, she shoved the door open.

There was a hollow 'thump' as the door collided with something halfway. A stifled gasp came from the other side. Natsuki froze – blinking a few times before squeezing out of the washroom through the half-opened door.

Shizuru stood frozen in the hallway behind it. Natsuki's eyes widened as her gaze shifted from Shizuru's surprised face down the leg that was still in contact with the washroom door. Natsuki's mouth fell open as she examined the red mark that was rapidly forming on Shizuru's smooth skin. "Baka!" her mind screamed in sharp realization.

"V...Viola-san..." Natsuki began, but Shizuru quickly raised a hand to Natsuki's mouth to silence her. Shizuru glanced over at the next room over, but there was no movement. It appeared that Ikeda hadn't heard anything.

Keeping her hand gently over Natsuki's mouth, Shizuru opened the washroom door the whole way, and led Natsuki inside. The door closed softly behind them.

Natsuki's green eyes met Shizuru's questioningly. Slowly, both Shizuru and Natsuki glanced down at the hand clamped over Natsuki's mouth. Shizuru lowered her hand after a moment – her fingers gently brushing against Natsuki's lips as she did.

Natsuki immediately took a step back to put some distance between her and Shizuru.

"Is there a problem, Kruger-san?" Shizuru asked with an amused look on her face.

"S...sorry," Natsuki stuttered. "I didn't mean..." Her eyes fell down to Shizuru's leg, as she trailed off.

"It's perfectly alright," Shizuru replied – a hint of a smile forming on her face. "You really do seem to have particularly bad luck with doors," she teased gently. Natsuki scowled, and Shizuru's smile widened. "Did you wish to speak with me?" Shizuru asked Natsuki, though it was almost impossible to force her mind back to the case.

"I...yeah," Natsuki replied. Shizuru watched as an unmasked look of concern formed on the younger woman's face. Natsuki hesitated before speaking. "I don't know if it's such a good idea anymore," she finally spoke.

"...You don't wish to speak to me?" Shizuru clarified with raised eyebrows.

"No, not that," Natsuki quickly replied. "Baka," Natsuki scolded herself. "Way to clarify things." "I don't know if this plan is a good idea anymore," she corrected.

"Why not?" Shizuru frowned slightly. She took a small step towards Natsuki. "Agent Zhang said that you agreed with the plan."

"She did," Nao cut in over Shizuru's ear piece. "I don't know what's wrong with her now."

Shizuru ignored the comment from Nao entirely. "Well, I did," Natsuki replied hesitantly. "But now I'm just... I'm not so sure." She took a slow breath. Why was this so embarrassing to admit? Her concern was valid, wasn't it?

"What's wrong, Natsuki?" Shizuru softly asked. When she realized that she had accidentally used Natsuki's first name, she involuntarily winced. Natsuki, on the other hand, didn't even notice; the words had come out sounding so natural.

Natsuki opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. She hesitated for a moment – searching for the right words to say. "I just..." Natsuki paused. "...I don't want to leave you alone with him," she finished.

Shizuru's eyes widened slightly, but a small smile formed on her face. This is what Natsuki had been worried about?

"I mean..." Natuski's eyes widened as well. "...Not because I don't want you two to..." Natsuki tailed off, and a slight blush formed on her face. "...I...I mean, because he's a possible murderer," she quickly clarified.

Shizuru studied the faint red tint to Natsuki's cheeks and inhaled sharply. The younger woman was clearly flustered, but that only made her seem more alluring. "Ookini," Shizuru whispered – her eyes locked firmly with Natsuki's.

Before she could restrain herself, Shizuru raised her hand up to brush a stray strand of hair from the younger agent's face. Natsuki froze – trying desperately not to blush – as Shizuru pulled her hand back.

"Ookini," Shizuru repeated after clearing her throat, "but I assure you, Kruger-san, I'll be perfectly fine."

"Yeah, but Ikeda is a murder suspect," Natsuki argued. "Asking him out to dinner probably isn't the safest thing to do. Look, I don't mind hanging out in here until he decides to leave," Natsuki offered.

"I assure you, I can handle myself," Shizuru gently laughed. "It will be a good opportunity to gain some insight into his character. And Agent Zhang has promised me that I'll have a surveillance team to back me up."

"But..." Natsuki protested. She really didn't want Shizuru to have to take the risk. If he caught her off guard, who knew what could happen?

"If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think that you were jealous," Shizuru teased. Though the playful smile on her face implied otherwise, Natsuki's reaction meant more to Shizuru than Natsuki knew.

"W...what?" Natsuki stuttered. Had Shizuru realized how attracted Natsuki was to her?

"I..." Shizuru studied the defensive look on Natsuki's face – her heart sinking. "Ikeda-san is an attractive man, is he not?" Shizuru added, though it was almost painful to force the excuse out.

"Oh," Natsuki laughed – relief hitting her solidly. "I...I guess," she nodded. "Wait," Natsuki realized, "does that mean that Shizuru finds him attractive?" Her chest clenched painfully – making it far harder to breathe than it should have been. "...Don't you think so?" she asked. The words were barely audible. Breathlessly, she waited for Shizuru's response.

Shizuru numbly moistened her suddenly dry mouth. "Well," she replied, "objectively, he is a very handsome man." Though her words were carefully chosen to neither confirm nor deny her attraction, Natsuki immediately assumed the worst; Shizuru was attracted to Ikeda.

"Yes, his face is very symmetrical," Nao finally cut in – her annoyance coming through loud and clear. "So was Arai's. That is, until someone like Ikeda blew a hole through the middle," she snapped. "Are you two really having this discussion? I mean, did you just up and forget the apparently-not-so-obvious factor that makes this entire discussion completely and utterly ridiculous…he's a suspect." Nao sighed; she really had tried to stay out of their little angst marathon, but they did have a time-sensitive case to work on.

Natsuki's face flushed a deeper shade of red, when she realized that Nao had been listening. "Baka. Of course she was listening," Natsuki realized. "She doesn't really have a choice." Shizuru's face heated up slightly too. The two agents just stared at each other for a moment – painfully aware of how close the other was – until Natsuki finally cleared her throat.

"Well, just be careful," Natsuki said finally. Shizuru nodded wordlessly, and gave Natsuki one last glance before walking out of the bathroom.

As soon as the door closed, Natsuki slumped against the wall. "Baka," she hissed, as she ran her hand through her hair.

"I agree," Nao smirked. "Just try and stay focused on the case for now." Natsuki exhaled slowly, and went back to pacing back and forth in the washroom.

Shizuru paused to straighten out her dress, before walking into the small waiting room that connected Ikeda's office to the hallway. Confidently, she walked over to the office door, and knocked.

"May I come in, Ikeda-san?" she called out from the doorway. Faintly, Shizuru could hear the sound of a chair rolling back. A couple of seconds later, the door opened.

"Fujino-san," Ikeda smiled warmly. "I apologize; I thought that I was the only one still here."

"Oh, I was just resolving a scheduling conflict," Shizuru laughed. She made a show of hesitating visibly.

"Is something wrong?" Ikeda frowned. He took a step towards Shizuru and studied her face.

"I just..." Shizuru trailed off. She bit her bottom lip gently, and locked eyes with Ikeda. "Just pretend that you're talking to Natsuki," she instructed herself. She could feel her cheeks begin to lightly heat up. "Would you join me for dinner?" she asked shakily

Ikeda's eyes widened slightly as he registered what she had just said. His back straightened immediately and he gave a small chuckle. "Oh, is that what this is about?" he asked her – an amused smile forming on his face.

It took quite a lot of control for Shizuru to keep her face expressionless. This man was definitely more than a little arrogant.

"I'll tell you what," Ikeda grinned. "Give me ten minutes to finish up and you just might have a deal."

"Of course," Shizuru replied with a smile – though in actuality she was anything but pleased. Was this man really going to make her wait? "I'll be at my desk," she called over her shoulder, as she walked out of the room. As soon as the office door closed behind her, Nao's laughter sounded through her ear piece.

"Wow," Nao laughed. "Has that ever happened before? Someone with the ego to both believe that you're interested in them and ask you to wait?"

Shizuru sighed gently as she walked down the hallway. "Ara," she mused, "that was a little demeaning."

Nao grinned. "Yep," she laughed. "But it also confirms just how much of a control freak Ikeda really is.

"Does it?" Shizuru replied. She walked over to her desk and carefully sat down in a way that wouldn't wrinkle her dress.

"Of course," Nao replied. "Ikeda is an attractive and powerful man, so I'm guessing he's pretty used to being in charge. When you did the unexpected and made the first move, you probably threw the man a little off balance. I'm guessing that he asked you to wait in an effort to establish his dominance over your growing relationship."

"Is that your professional opinion?" Shizuru asked in an amused tone. Nao could make even the smallest gesture into a deep, underlaying psychological default.

"All of my opinions are professional," Nao frowned. "But this just confirms that Ikeda's a little power hungry. And – if you catch my drift – there's a pretty big power leap from Foreign Affairs Aide to Foreign Affairs Minister."

"I suppose you're right," Shizuru replied thoughtfully.

Fifteen minutes later, Ikeda finally left his office. "He's on the move," Nao smirked. "And only five minutes later than he said he would be."

Shizuru sighed, but smiled warmly when Ikeda walked into the lobby. She really didn't want to go through with this.

"Okay," Ikeda grinned. "I've got the perfect place to take you to."

"Do you?" Shizuru replied, though Nao was the only one who detected the cynicism behind her statement. Together, Shizuru and Ikeda walked through the front doors..

"I've just got to lock up," Ikeda told her. He pulled a large set of keys out of his pocket and locked the external doors. Shizuru studied the keys with slightly raised eyebrows.

"So Ikeda has his own keys?" Nao asked. "That would explain the clean entrance and exit when Arai was killed." She paused for a moment – a smile forming on her face. "Well," she finally added with a smirk, "you two have fun now." She switched the microphone interface back to Natsuki's ear piece. "Okay, Agent Kruger. The place is all yours."

"Got it," Natsuki replied. She shoved open the bathroom door and immediately headed for Ikeda's office. "Okay, I'm in," Natsuki called out when she was inside the reception area. The navy-haired agent grabbed the clear gloves from her back pocket and slid them on. "You know what?" Natsuki asked Nao. "I'm going to check out Omori's desk when I'm here. Something about that woman just doesn't seem right."

"Go for it," Nao replied. Natsuki walked over and crouched down in front of the secretary's desk. She opened the first drawer slowly, so that she wouldn't jostle whatever was inside. The drawer contained a large binder full of information about the upcoming trade agreement. After scanning it briefly, Natsuki put everything back and reached for the second.

She pulled open the drawer carefully – her eyes falling immediately on another small bottle. It was the same type of bottle as Natsuki had taken the pills from, but – unlike the previous one – this one had a label. "I think I have something," Natsuki called out – excitement in her voice. She picked up the bottle and breifly scanned the label.

"What is it?" Nao replied anxiously.

Natsuki took one look at the printed words and winced preemptively. Slowly, Natsuki lowered the bottle back in and closed the drawer. "We are such complete bakas, Agent Zhang," she concluded.

"What?" Nao grunted. This was Natsuki's startling revelation?

"Ever heard of morning sickness?" Natsuki asked bitterly. "Omori wasn't throwing up because covering up a murder was too much for her to handle," Natsuki sighed. "She's pregnant, Agent Zhang."

Nao groaned loudly. "You have got to be kidding me," she exclaimed. "There goes one of our top suspects." Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense. Omori probably didn't want anyone to know that she was pregnant. She wasn't married; such things were usually frowned upon. That explained her reluctance to have too much contact with Natsuki. Natsuki was the only one who had seen enough to put the pieces together.

"Well, I guess that's one less desk that I have to search," Natsuki offered. "You might as well tell Helene-san to forget about those pills. I'm guessing that they weren't the most effective anyway," she added as an afterthought.

"I'm on it," Nao sighed. "You should probably move on into Ikeda's office then."

"Yeah," Natsuki replied. She still couldn't believe that she had been so off base. Natsuki sighed, as she walked over to Ikeda's office.

Without pausing, Natsuki walked over to Ikeda's desk and carefully took in the placement of the various items displayed. When she was certain that she could make sure everything went back in it's rightful place, she started carefully moving some of the things around.

There didn't seem to be anything too out of the ordinary. Natsuki flipped through a few folders, but nothing stood out. Her eyes fell on the small day planner sitting on the corner of Ikeda's desk. Natsuki reached out and flipped the planner open to a few days before Arai's death. There were a few meetings scheduled and one telephone conference, but no 'plot to kill my boss' notes written in on the margins.

"See anything?" Nao asked.

"Not yet," Natsuki replied. She flipped to the exact date of Arai's death, and paused. "Hey, Agent Zhang," she began, "remind me, what was Ikeda's alibi on the night that Arai was shot?"

"Apparently, he was at home reading," Nao replied.

"Was he?" Natsuki smirked. "Because according to this, Ikeda had a seven o'clock meeting with Sasaki that night."

"Seven?" Nao frowned. "But that's an hour passed closing time. Was it scheduled to take place at the office?"

"It doesn't say," Natsuki replied. "The note's crossed out like the meeting was canceled. But what if it the meeting went ahead as planned?" she grinned.

"Then we've just managed to place Sasaki and Ikeda at the scene of the crime an hour before it happened," Nao grinned. "Nice catch, Agent Kruger."

"Should I bag this?" Natsuki asked Nao. "I could rip the page out, but if Ikeda realizes that it's missing before we get solid proof, we're going to be in trouble."

"No, just leave it for now," Nao replied. "But snap a picture just in case. Even if we can't fingerprint it right now, we can always get a text analyst to prove that it's Ikeda's writing."

"Okay," Natsuki nodded. She reached into her right pocket and took out the small camera that she had been carrying. Carefully, Natsuki took a few close-up pictures of the writing, then put her camera away. "I'm going to keep looking." The navy-haired agent walked over to the large cabinet in the corner of the room, then started to rummage around inside. "So... how's Viola-san doing?" Natsuki attempted to ask casually.

"Well," Nao grinned, "Ikeda's not cheap. And she actually sounds like she's having a good time."

Natsuki nearly dropped the sheet of paper in her hand. "What?!" she exclaimed. "You... you're going to tell her about what I just found, right?"

Nao laughed. "I didn't say that she was actually having fun," she replied. "Viola-san is just very good at what she does."

"O...oh," Natsuki replied. "This is so stupid," Natsuki couldn't help but think. "I'm jealous of a murdersuspect. Not to mention the fact that I never had a chance with Shizuru to begin with."

"Just keep looking," Nao grinned.

Wordlessly, Natsuki continued her search. Crouching down, she reached for a small, unmarked folder. She flipped it open – her eyes scanning over the pages. When she had flipped through a few pages, Natsuki stopped abruptly.

"Guess what I just found?" Natsuki smirked. "Looks like Ikeda keeps his own private collection of those threatening letters that Arai got sent."

"Does he?" Nao grinned. "That's more like it. Anything to suggest that he was the one who sent them?"

Natsuki hesitated; Nao was right. Just because Ikeda had the letters in his possession didn't mean that he sent them. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. Natsuki quickly snapped couple of pictures with her camera, then put the folder back. "I have an idea," she muttered.

"Hmm?" Nao replied.

Natsuki walked over to Ikeda's desk and opened the top drawer once more. A grin formed on her face, when she found what she was looking for. "Let's see what Ikeda's glue is made of," Natsuki smirked. She took out one of the small envelopes from her pocket and uncapped the glue stick from Ikeda's drawer.

"Good thinking," Nao replied – an impressed tone in her voice. If they could match the glue in his office to the glue used to seal the mailed envelopes, they would be one step closer to proving Ikeda's guilt. "I knew we had you transferred for a reason."

Natsuki paused, then sighed as she rubbed some of the glue off on the inside of the envelope. "There was a reason alright," she muttered angrily.

When she was finished going over the rest of his office, she made sure to put everything back where it belonged. "There's just one more place I need to check out," Natsuki told Nao.

"You don't have much time," Nao replied. "They're just saying their goodbyes. And unless Agent Viola decides to take her job very seriously and agrees to go back to his apartment, he'll probably be there in about ten minutes."

"He asked her back to his apartment!?" Natsuki demanded. "On their first date?"

"You know, if you don't hurry up I'm going to have ask Viola-san to buy you some time," Nao warned. "And I'm sure you know what that would mean," she smirked.

"Baka," Natsuki hissed. As Natsuki walked over to Sasaki's office, an image of Shizuru and Ikeda flashed through her mind. Natsuki's grip tightened on the envelope in her hand.

Natsuki swung open the door and took a few steps inside. After a moment, she walked over to the filing cabinet and tried the top drawer. It was still locked. The navy-haired agent had her lock picks out in a second. Carefully, she inserted them into the lock and crouched down so that the lock was at eye level.

"Do you remember the locked drawer that I was telling you about?" Natsuki asked. Tentatively, she used the picks to gently nudge the small pins out of the way.

"It's my job to remember," Nao replied defensively.

There was a small click; Natsuki withdrew the picks. "Well," Natsuki grinned, "it's not locked anymore." She stood up and hesitantly reached for the handle. After taking a deep breath, Natsuki opened the drawer.

"What's in it?" Nao asked.

A slow grin formed on Natsuki's face. "I think we may have just found what we're looking for," she replied. Her eyes rested on the revolver that lay on the bottom of the drawer. "It appears that Viola-san and I aren't the only ones around here who come to work armed and dangerous."

"You found a gun?" Nao replied – voice filled with anticipation. "What model?"

"Beretta M9," Natsuki replied. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"Well," Nao replied, "the Desert Eagle was abandoned at the scene. It makes sense that – if the gun was Sasaki's – he wouldn't have two of the same model. But the appearance of the gun is fairly consistent. I'd say that Sasaki was going for effect, not function. Both of the weapons look extremely powerful."

"Yeah," Natsuki muttered. Carefully, she picked up the weapon and checked the magazine. "The gun's fully loaded."

"I don't get it though," Nao replied thoughtfully. "If Arai's out of the way, why would Sasaki risk exposure by bringing a gun into work?"

"Maybe Arai's not the only one that he wants gone," Natsuki replied.

"You think that Sasaki would double-cross Ikeda?" Nao asked thoughtfully. "Well, I guess it makes sense. Sasaki befriends Ikeda and convinces him that having Arai gone is in both of their best interests. Ikeda would have no problem faking those threats to divert attention away from the office. But then Sasaki is left with a problem," Nao continued. "This guy really likes control. In his eyes, Ikeda would be a loose end."

"I guess so," Natsuki nodded. She placed the gun back down and took out her camera once more.

"You know, it's extremely unlikely that Sasaki and Ikeda would get along in the first place," Nao continued. "They both have very dominant personalities. But in a situation where both of their interests would be nurtured, they might be convinced to share the alpha male title."

"For how long?" Natsuki asked. She snapped a couple of photos of the weapon, before putting her camera away.

"Well, my guess is that as soon as the need for cooperation ends, they'll go right back to puffing their chests out," Nao replied.

"If you say so," Natsuki smirked. "What should I do with the gun?"

"Well, technically he doesn't have a license for it," Nao replied. "You could take it if you wanted to."

Natsuki shook her head, though there were no cameras in the office. "You didn't see how nervous he was when I got too close to it," she replied. "I'm guessing that this is gonna be first thing that he checks when he comes in tommorow."

"So what do you suggest?" Nao replied. "We leave a loaded gun in the hands of a murder suspect?"

"I never said that it had to be loaded," Natsuki smirked. "Ask Sugiura-san if she can get her hands on some blanks."

"I'm on it," Nao grinned. There was a small pause. Natsuki closed the drawer and briefly glanced around the room. "Hey, Agent Kruger, you should get out of there now. He's on his way and the restaurant really is pretty close."

"Okay," Natsuki nodded.

"You can go through the front, but you have to be quick," Nao added. "You have your own keys, and Masashi-san can disable the alarm."

"Alright," Natsuki replied. Quickly, she jogged out of the office and toward the front doors. Just as she was about to reach for the handle, a car turned into the front parking lot. Natsuki pulled her hand back, and flattened against the wall so that she couldn't be seen. "Okay, slight change of plans," she added. "Masashi-san?"

"Yeah Kruger-san?" Takeda sounded a little surprised that Natsuki was talking to him

"Get that alarm back up, now," Natsuki ordered.

"O...okay, no problem," he replied. "Is something wrong?"

"Are the windows wired up to the alarm system?" Natsuki asked. She sprinted for the one office with a large enough window for her to fit through.

"Masashi-san can isolate them and shut them down," Nao replied. "But unless you're planning a sleepover, you really better move it."

Natsuki darted inside Ikeda's office and slammed the door closed behind her. "Thanks for the advanced notice, Agent Zhang," she muttered sarcastically. Quickly, Natsuki ran over to the window and released the emergency lock so that opened it the full way. Cool air from outside blew her long hair back. Thankfully, there was no screen stopping her from climbing through.

"I'm out," Natsuki announced on the other side. She snapped the window back into place behind her, and started to make her way back to her car.

"Record time," Nao smirked. "Your parents must have had a fun time grounding you."

Natsuki grinned. Though her father hadn't exactly been in the picture, she didn't bother correcting the other agent.

"So, can you drop that sample off tonight?" Nao asked after a moment. "Helene-san said that she'd get the analysis started."

Natsuki rolled up her sleeve to check her watch. It was getting pretty late, but she didn't mind putting in an extra hour. "Yeah," she agreed.

"I mean, unless you have other plans," Nao added – a smirk forming on her face. "But – given your painfully obvious social dysfunction – I'm guessing that you don't."

"We're going to have a second murder on our hands very soon," Natsuki growled. "And for your information, I have to unpack all of my stuff. I just moved into my new apartment yesterday." Her steps gradually shifted into a light run, and a few seconds later, Natsuki reached her car.

"Uh huh," Nao replied with an amused look on her face.

"And I'm not socially dysfunctional," Natsuki muttered angrily. With a quick twist of her keys, Natsuki began driving back to the agency.

---

"Hey," Nao nodded to Natsuki as she walked through the doors.

"Agent Zhang," Natsuki growled. Wordlessly, she held up the small envelope that contained the sample.

"Arigato," Nao grinned. Before Natsuki could protest, she grabbed the envelope with a swipe of her hand.

"Hey," Natsuki frowned.

"Here, let me," Nao spoke as she walked over to the secondary door. She slid her ID card through the reader and pressed her thumb against the scanner. "We don't have all night," she smirked.

Natsuki took a slow breath, before following. "Just stay calm," she instructed herself. Part of her wanted to confront the other agent, especially after what had happened the day before. Still, Natsuki knew that reacting so emphatically would just demonstrate how much it had affected her. And Nao would – no doubt – pick up on it right away.

Natsuki followed Nao down the hallway to their usual room. "This place is usually pretty empty around now," Nao explained. Natsuki nodded; if it hadn't been for Nao, the place would have looked deserted.

A door opened to her left. Takeda stepped out of the room – pausing when he noticed Natsuki. "K...Kruger-san," he smiled.

Nao stopped mid-step and turned to regard the other two agents. Her gaze shifted from the eager look on Takeda's face to the defensive look on Natsuki's. "Yeah, I don't need to see this," Nao muttered. She turned and began walking down the hallway once more. "I'm going to get this to Agent Helene," she called over her shoulder.

"Is that the..." Takeda trailed off.

"Yep," Natsuki replied. There was a brief moment of awkward silence. "Well..." Natsuki began.

"Kruger-san?" Takeda cut her off mid-sentence.

"Yes?" Natsuki replied with raised eyebrows.

"I think you're doing really well on this case," he continued. Natsuki opened her mouth to reply, but didn't exactly know how to respond. "And, I was thinking," Takeda continued hesitantly, "that maybe you'd let me buy you dinner sometime."

The main door opened suddenly, and both agents turned. Natsuki stared at the door – frozen – as Shizuru stepped into the hallway. Natsuki could feel her cheeks begin to burn.

"Agent Kruger," Shizuru smiled. Natsuki opened her mouth to speak, but was once again left speechless.

"Kruger-san?" Takeda asked. Natsuki turned back to face Takeda with a confused look on her face. What had he just said to her? "Is that a 'yes'?" he asked sheepishly.

"W...what?" Natsuki asked. She turned back to Shizuru. The brown-haired woman was looking from her to Takeda with an expectant look on her face. "O...oh," Natsuki stuttered. "...Sure?" she offered, though she had no clue what had just happened.

"Great," Takeda beamed. "How about on Friday?"

Shizuru watched wordlessly, as relief crossed Takeda's face. Her gaze shifted to study the faint blush on Natsuki's face. "Did she just..." her thoughts trailed off as her stomach clenched painfully. Had Natsuki just agreed to go out with Takeda? Shizuru inhaled shakily and struggled to keep her face neutral.

Natsuki studied the look on Takeda's face, and her eyes soon widened. What had she just agreed to? "W...wait," Natsuki stuttered. "What did you ask me?"

"Is Friday alright?" Takeda repeated.

"Excuse me," Shizuru cut in – her voice sounding void of any emotion. She brushed passed Natsuki and quickly walked down the hallway. When she reached their usual room, she steeped inside and closed the door behind her. Exhaling slowly, Shizuru leaned back against the door. "Well that answers that," Shizuru thought bitterly.

Natsuki stared at Takeda blankly. "No, I mean... what did I just agree to?" she asked. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't really listening."

"Y...you said that we could have dinner," Takeda replied hesitantly. Concern slowly crossed his face.

Natsuki eyes widened even more, and she felt herself blush furiously. "Baka!" she screamed at herself. "Look, Agent Masashi," Natsuki began. "I'm really sorry, but... I'm..." she trailed off. "I just..." Natsuki continued, then paused. "I just really don't think that this would work," she finally managed to say.

"What?" Takeda asked her. Natsuki couldn't help but feel guilty. "Look," he added, "just dinner as friends. That's it." It wasn't exactly what he had been going for, but he was willing to take what he could get.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Natsuki replied. Though the words were fairly neutral, she glared slightly in an effort to get the message across.

"Come on," Takeda grinned. "You're new here. I just want to get to know you a little better. Especially since we're going to be working together on this case."

Natsuki hesitated. This was definitely not a good idea. If she hadn't accidentally said 'yes' before, she wouldn't even be considering it now. "Okay, look," Natsuki replied seriously. "I'll eat dinner with you as coworkers. Got it?" she glared. She didn't want to give him any false hope.

Takeda looked a little taken aback, but he nodded anyway. "Great," he smiled. "See you Friday night." With that, he quickly walked down the hall before Natsuki could change her mind. Natsuki ran a hand through her hair and let out a frustrated sigh. Something told her that Takeda didn't exactly get the point. "Baka," Natsuki scolded herself. "You walked right into that one."

Natsuki stood alone in the hallway for a moment. Finally, she walked over to their conference room and stepped inside.

Shizuru glanced up; she was seated at the large table in the center of the room.

"Viola-san," Natsuki gulped.

"Agent Kruger," Shizuru replied coldly. Natsuki paused in the doorway, before finally walking in and sitting down across the table. She locked eyes with Shizuru, though neither woman spoke.

Finally, Shizuru broke the silence. "If you wish, I could catalog those pictures for you," she said quietly. "Then you would be free to go."

"Hey guys," Nao barged into to room. "Agent Helene is starting on the analysis right now. Do you have your camera?" she asked Natsuki. The red-haired agent stopped for a moment, then took in the expression on Natsuki and Shizuru's faces curiously.

Natsuki looked from Nao to Shizuru. "It's okay," she said finally to Shizuru. "I don't mind staying." The brown-haired woman regarded her with a calm stare, and Natsuki studied her face carefully. Was something wrong?

"I thought you had to unpack," Nao replied with a frown. "Just leave them with us."

Natsuki's gaze shifted from Nao to Shizuru once more. Her eyes met Shizuru's for a moment, but the other woman immediately averted her gaze. Natsuki hesitated for a moment. "O...okay," she said finally. "Arigato."

Nao nodded and took the camera from Natsuki's outstretched hand. Before walking out of the door, Natsuki glanced back at Shizuru once more. Why did she suddenly seem so different?

Sighing once more, Natsuki made her way out of the building.

---

The next morning came far too quickly. "That's what you get for staying up till 3:00 unpacking," Natsuki mentally groaned. She couldn't help but yawn, as she walked through the Foreign Affairs Office doors.

"I think you'll blend in more if you don't look dead," Nao smirked.

Natsuki took a few steps inside, then paused. Shizuru had no doubt seen her enter the building. But instead of giving Natsuki her usual smile, she didn't acknowledge Natsuki's presence at all. "And that shouldn't bug you," Natsuki reminded herself. "We're not even really supposed to know each other."

Natsuki walked straight over to the supply room. But instead of grabbing her cart, Natsuki grabbed the mop and bucket and walked out of the room. With a pained look on her face, Natsuki cautiously stepped into the woman's washroom.

"Now that's courage," Nao smirked.

Natsuki took one look at the floor and sighed. Finally, she walked into the furthest stall and dipped her mop into the bucket.

"I really don't know," a woman laughed. The washroom door opened suddenly and Natsuki stiffened. Two sets of footsteps entered the bathroom. "I mean, it's been what? Three days now? He can't have been that affected by what happened."

"I know," a second woman laughed. Natsuki didn't recognize their voices; she would have to have a clear view of their faces to identify them. "But that's not the only thing that's so weird about it. I called him up yesterday, to see how he was doing."

The tap turned on abruptly, and a couple splashing sounds followed.

"How is he?" the first woman asked curiously.

"He sounds perfectly fine to me, but he didn't say much," the other woman replied. "But it's more of what he did say that I thought was weird."

"What do you mean?" the first woman pushed. The sound of running water stopped.

"Well, I almost got the feeling that he was hiding something. But you know that new janitor?"

"Oh, that new woman? What about her?" the other woman replied.

"Norito said that he couldn't tell me much, but he said that the new janitor was definitely here for a reason. Whatever that means," she laughed.

"What reason?" the first woman scoffed. "To clean our floors? We already knew that."

"I don't know," the second woman laughed. There were a few footsteps, and Natsuki could hear the door swing open and shut shortly afterwards.

"I could hardly make out any of that," Nao spoke. "What happened?"

Natsuki stepped out of the stall – her heart pounding furiously. "Tell Agent Viola to meet me in the supply room now," she ordered.

"What? Why?" Nao asked.

Natsuki hesitated for a moment, then ran her hand through her long hair. This really wasn't good.

"Because," she replied grimly, "our cover just got blown."

---

Thanks for reading! :D Reviews are greatly appreciated!