I'm feeling something, something different
When you left, the picture changed
I was blinded, I'm not envisioned
The same face in a different frame – Disclosure & Sam Smith

It had been a while since I had slept that poorly.

It was the first time that I had faced a case that seemed so impossible to solve, and it was frustrating me to no end. I had no idea what to do, and all I could do was to wait for results - hopefully good ones - and hope that the killer didn't continue his murdering spree. However, I didn't quite believe that he would stop when he had killed two so quickly, and it was only fueling my frustration and anger. At least, I knew Tennoji was feeling the same, if not more, and knowing that I wasn't alone with it helped a tiny bit.

Nevertheless, the last thing I needed was for someone to comment on it.

The rest of the squad could clearly see how frustrated we were, so no one said anything. The autopsy told us nothing new, and no one had reported her missing. That left us with a Jane Doe. To make it all a little worse, my own coffee machine had died on me that morning, and the stock we usually had in the breakroom had been depleted.

The craving for caffeine had forced me a floor up to find the only other source of coffee we had. It was made in a vending machine and tasted horrible, but it was better than nothing. Despite the craving, I was still dreading the taste as I punched in the number and threw in the coins it told me on the screen. A cup fell into the holder, and the machine started making noise.

''Oooh, look who we have here.''

''It's another detective from the 2nd unit.''

I turned my head and found the obnoxious trio from the 1st unit looking at me with arrogant smiles on all their faces. I immediately felt my pulse quicken, and I held my tongue as they approached me, nearly forming a circle around me.

Seeing as I normally could just barely manage to contain myself around them, I wasn't exactly keen on seeing them.

''Sounds like she's got nothing to say,'' Sonada smiled at me, his eyes hidden behind his glasses.

''She knows it's the truth, why argue?'' Tokuda chuckled, and Uruta joined him.

''You've really got nothing better to do?'' I grumbled and rolled my eyes at them.

''We're taking a break from actually doing our jobs. As far as I've heard, you, little Miss Wood, can't even capture a single killer.'' Sonada spoke up, and I felt my blood beginning to boil.

''I've heard about your lack of skills as well. You definitively fit into the second unit, I've got to agree.''

''They should have given us the case. We would have arrested the guy before he killed that girl yesterday.''

''Let's see how many more people he gets to kill before they transfer the case to us.''

''There's no evidence, you couldn't possibly-'' I raised my voice but abruptly stopped when all three started laughing at me.

''Oh please, don't compare yourself to us.'' Tokuda leaned closer to me, and I glared angrily at him. ''You're just incompetent, Wood.''

Anger flared up inside me, and I felt as if I was about to blow up. I wanted to yell at them as loud as I could, vent some of my frustration that had me so angry, but I bit my tongue. I pushed past them instead, showing my shoulders into Tokuda and Sonada so I could leave the center of their little circle of hell, and went straight for the doors to the stairwell. I heard them calling out behind me, taunting me, but I kept going and headed up the stairs towards the roof. It wasn't a place I had visited a lot, but I needed the space. And I needed the air. Most of all, I needed the isolation for a moment.

I had to stop myself from throwing the door open, but I was breathing quickly by the time I felt the fresh air against my face and wanted to scream my lungs out.

''I am not incompetent!'' I groaned furiously and threw a punch behind me, aiming for the door, but something caught my wrist before my first slammed into anything.

''Wood, what the hell!'' Tennoji nearly yelled as he held my wrist.

''I'm not a poor detective!'' I yelled and tried to shake my arm free from his grip, completely ignoring his actual presence.

''Hey-!''

''It's not my fucking fault that they died!'' I continued, unable to stop now that I had begun. ''Wood-''

''I'm better than them!''

''Oh for fuck sake.'' He groaned before yanking me towards him and against his chest.

His arm moved around me as I struggled, but with the grip he had around my wrist and because of how tight he held me, I couldn't possibly get free. It didn't stop me from trying, though.

''Would you calm the fuck down?'' He groaned as he struggled to keep his grip on me.

''No! If it was just the same guy as before, then our failure could be excused by the fact that a whole unit couldn't catch him back then! If it had just been the same, then I wouldn't look like a total screw-up and incompetent! If-if…'' I ran out of air as I yelled, gradually calming down as I filled my lungs with air.

''You know all of that is bullshit.''

''I… I don't know what to do.'' My voice shook while I ducked my head down, making sure that he couldn't see my face. ''I don't know what I'm supposed to do. This is my first murder case in this division. It's supposed to be my specialty, yet I'm stuck with no leads whatsoever and two bodies with no suspect.'' My anger turned into frustration, and I suddenly felt overwhelmed by the situation.

''Quit making it sound like you're alone in this, you idiot.'' He sighed, and somehow making it sound angry.

''Kirisawa put me in charge, I can't help but feel responsible.'' I mumbled.

I felt as he loosed his grip around my wrist.

It was then I suddenly realized what exactly was happening. Instantly, heat rushed to my cheeks, and I felt my mouth dry up as I simply let the man I was crushing on quite badly embrace me on a rooftop.

''You're a fucking idiot.''

''Yeah, I probably am.'' I agreed with him and exhaled heavily.

''Are you done with your outburst?''

''Yes…'' I mumbled, suddenly embarrassed because of the way I acted. ''Sorry.''

Much to my dismay, he withdrew from me, and for a moment, neither of us could look at the other.

He cleared his throat before speaking. ''It's fine, as long as you don't throw a punch at me again.'' He smiled, and we both dared to look at each other again.

''To be fair, I didn't know you were behind me.''

''You never know who's behind you.'' He smiled at me before beginning to walk towards the door.

''Uh-huh, that sentence won't haunt me forever, I promise you.'' I sighed with a small smile and followed him.

''You're welcome… Come on, I'm starving for some lunch.'' He gestured for me to hurry up while he held the door open for me, and I quickly passed him.

''I swear, you're always thinking about food.'' I chuckled. ''Really, somewhere in the back of our mind, the thought of food is ever present.''

''Keep talking about food and you're gonna have to treat me to something.'' He grinned as he followed me down the stairs.

As much as I didn't want to acknowledge it, I knew I was falling faster and harder for him.

I just hoped that it wouldn't complicate things.

Uh-oh, dancin' past the point of no return
Let go, we can free ourselves of all we've learned
I love this secret language that we're speaking
Say it to me, let's embrace the point of no return
Let's embrace the point of no return
Let's embrace the point of no return – Disclosure feat. Lorde

''I swear, when you eat you turn into one of the most unflattering people I've ever met.'' I laughed as I watched him wolf his food down.

He was leaning down, being as close as he could to the plate without it seeming absurd, and was eating as if someone was going to take it away from him if he didn't finish it quickly enough.

''So, what you're saying is,'' he swallowed, ''you find me flattering when I'm not eating.'' He grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes at him.

''Saying you're flattering is aiming a bit high. You're…'' My finger pointed at him and went in a circle as I searched for words. ''You're…something.''

My answer was clearly not amusing to him, and he frowned as if I just taken his food from him.

''As if you're one to speak.'' He grumbled before retuning his attention to his plate.

''Please, I'm cute.'' I scoffed and used my hand to flip my curls behind my shoulder.

''How long did you practice that move?'' He snickered, and it was my turn to frown.

''Shut up.'' I mumbled and took a sip of my coffee as I glanced away.

''Hey.'' I looked at him again, and I was surprised by the sudden seriousness on his face. ''Be honest with me here. Do you still think it's the same guy?''

I stared at him, obviously hesitating whether I would tell him the truth or simply lie. I took a moment to consider the situation and eventually let out a brief sigh.

''I believe…'' I took a deep breath before continuing. ''I believe that it's an apprentice,'' I admitted. ''According to the files and the reports, the first guy never tortured or cut them like we saw today… but everything else just seems… I don't know, it fits too well.''

''There's still no proof, though.''

''Yeah, I know that… it's just,'' I paused and looked up at him. ''I have this gut feeling that tells me that they're somehow related. I know there's no evidence, and I'm not going to go crazy over this, but my instincts are just disagreeing with the facts.'' I sighed, obviously frustrated by it.

''Is that why you went insane on the roof?'' He asked and glanced at me, his usual grin lacking.

''I didn't-'' I was about to argue, but I felt the pent up anger deflate when I considered the situation. ''Wait, why were you on the roof in the first place?'' I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

''I saw you storming up the stairs… still don't know what made you run off like that.'' He spoke, trying to sound uninterested, but it came out halfhearted. ''Thought I'd stop you from doing any dumb shit, but I would have stayed away if I'd known that you'd try to punch me.''

''I told you, I didn't know you were there…'' I grumbled and watched as a grin tugged on the corners of his mouth. ''But thanks…''

''Yeah well, why did you race up there?''

''The trio ambushed me at the coffee machine… they just circled around me and kept saying all this shit about how poor I was doing my job. I just… just blew up… but I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of watching me snap.'' I explained before glancing away and mumbling to myself. ''God, for a moment, it felt like I was back in school…''

''Back in school? I like where this is going.'' He smirked at me, the promise of a story obviously had his interest piqued.

''It's… it wasn't, like, bad… I was just a bit nerdy, so…'' My voice trailed off as I noticed the growing smile on his face, and I frowned at him. ''Fuck you, it's not funny.''

''Jesus man, little Wood being all nerdy, I can just imagine it.'' He finally laughed, and I glared at him before looking away.

''Seriously, fuck you, Tennoji. Why did I even tell you?'' I grumbled and kept my eyes off him.

''Sharing is caring.''

''Yeah well, you're a piece of shit.''

''Oh come on, you're going to get all pissy about it? You said it yourself, it wasn't that bad.'' He subdued his laughter to a low chuckle before managing to shut up completely.

''Well, it was…'' I unknowingly pouted.

''Aw shit, what, like, you didn't get invited to amusement parks with the rest of the class?'' He couldn't stop himself from grinning, but it gradually disappeared when I stayed silent.

I kept looking away from him when he suddenly stood, effectively regaining my attention. ''Alright, let's go.'' He spoke as he tossed a few bills on the table before beginning to leave.

''What? Go where?'' I asked as I quickly followed him, rather confused by the sudden change in the conversation.

''To the west bay. I can't work with someone who's never been to an amusement park in high school.'' He spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and I suddenly had trouble keeping up with him due to my surprise.

''I-that's-never mind that! We're on the clock!'' I reminded him, suddenly flustered by his idea and the thought of going somewhere with him.

''Oh fuck, I forgot all about that.'' He grimaced shortly and slowed down, making it easier for me to catch up. ''Right… We have to fix that mistake later then.''

''Let's just get back to the station.'' I cleared my throat and approached the car, struggling with the heat I could feel lingering in my cheeks.

The car ride back to the station was… interesting. I had no idea what to say. I was pretty preoccupied with the thought of going to an amusement park with him, but luckily for me, he didn't seem to notice my vague answers in our mostly one-sided conversation. Awkward or not, it wasn't like we were in a hurry to get back to the station. Once we arrived, it was clear that nothing interesting had happened while we had been gone.

The case remained cold, and while lunch had been a nice little break from the depressing case, we knew we had to keep trying. Neither of us was very happy about the idea, but we spent the rest of the day looking through everything again, talking to the suspect we could get a hold of and going back to both crime scenes to see if we could find any new witnesses. As each hour passed, it became more evident that the case would remain without any leads. At least until the last victim was identified.

It was with a sense of defeat that we reentered the mostly empty office once it had gotten dark outside. Hanai and Eiki were the only ones present (while Kirisawa had the door closed to his office, presumably battling a fierce stack of paperwork and reports), and they both noticed the frustration we brought inside the room with our arrival.

''Judging by the look on your face, you didn't find anything.'' Eiki followed me to my desk and watched as I slumped down in my chair with a groan.

''There's nothing. We've talked to so many people, we've looked everything over five times, but we've learned nothing from it. All we can do is literally wait around for an I.D. on the victim, which could take… years!'' I threw my hands up in the air to emphasize how angry I was with the lack of development.

''There's still no missing person's report that matches her?''

''No, and considering her age, I don't understand it. She's been gone for two days now, and no one's noticed. The coroner said she was somewhere in her early twenties. It strikes me as odd that no one is missing her.'' I sighed and ran a hand through my curly hair.

''I'm pretty relieved that Kirisawa didn't assign me to the case.'' Eiki chuckled.

''I've never been stuck with an investigation like this.'' I sighed and glanced at the clock. ''It's already seven.''

''Yeah, I'm not sticking around for much longer. I hope something useful shows up.'' He smiled at me before moving back to his own desk.

''Thanks.'' I hummed and watched as he got ready to leave, closely followed by Hanai.

Thirty minutes later, Kirisawa went home as well, and we were left alone in the office.

I leaned back in my chair so I could stretch before glancing at Tennoji, trying to see what the redhead was occupying himself with. He had the case files open on his desk, staring blindly at the different photographs from the crime scenes. I exhaled shortly before speaking up.

''It's a long shot, but maybe we should look through the missing persons system manually. Both recent reports and older ones, just in case.'' He nodded in silence, not looking up from the photographs. "Alright. I'm getting some coffee first, do you want some?'' He shook his head and I shrugged.

The station was mostly empty at this point. The light in the hallways were always on, but the quiet offices were dark, and only a few detectives and technicians had not gone home yet. Honestly, seeing how the place was usually filled with people, I couldn't help but find it creepy when I was walking around alone in the empty place. To some extent, the creepiness was what made me move quickly, not interested in being alone in the place for any longer than necessary. Despite how I felt, the coffee machine had decided to take forever to spit out the dark liquid.

A chill ran down my spine as I stood and waited.

''Oh, miss Wood. Working late again?''

I jumped when I heard a nearby voice, and my glance shot in the direction.

The technician from yesterday stood there, smiling at me, and I let out a breath I wasn't aware that I had been holding.

''You startled me.'' I smiled in relief and shrugged. ''Well, we're a bit stuck but we can't just sit around and wait.''

''Still no I.D. on the girl?''

''No. At least there have been no new victims… at least that we know of.'' I sighed and glanced at the machine when it was finally done. ''I need to get back.'' I smiled politely and watched as he did the same.

''Of course. Don't overwork yourself.'' He smiled, and I kept smiling before turning around and walking away.

I heard as he entered an office behind me as I made my way back to the one I belonged to. For a moment, I wondered how long he was going to keep working, but he quickly left my thoughts as I reentered the office and glanced at Tennoji. His desk was as chaotic looking as when I had left, but considering how things were, I decided not to comment on it. For once, I could live without the usual comments between us.

Moving back to my desk, I took a sip of coffee while wiggling the mouse, bringing the computer to life. I accessed the relevant system and took a deep breath.

''You want old or new?''

''How old?''

''Two years?''

''I can work with that.'' He murmured.

''Okay… uh, by the way, I was wondering-''

''I'll give you a ride home, don't worry about It.'' he spoke without looking away from the screen and I watched him in slight surprise.

''Oh, um, thanks.'' I smiled, and he glanced at me for a second or two.

He didn't say a word, and for a moment, I considered the option that he might be mad at me, but when I couldn't find a reason for it, I dropped the thought. I focused on work instead of worrying about the redhead and began the search for the needle in the haystack. For the next hour and a half, the only sounds were those of the computer.

The search was honestly rather depressing. The 'new' cases went back a year, and a large majority of the missing people had never been found. I knew it was even worse when looking at the older cases, and I was somewhat relieved that he had taken those and left me the newer ones. To make it worse, by the time we were both done, neither of us had found anything useful.

''I give up on this case.'' I sighed as I covered my face with my hands and fell back in my chair. ''And this was immensely depressing to look at.''

''You expected it to be fun?'' He asked with a sigh, seemingly in the same mood as me.

''You know what I mean… it's the same with Jane Doe.'' I spoke as I looked at him, my mood brightening a tiny bit when he looked at me.

''What do you mean?''

''Well, she was so young, but she's been dead for two days, and no one's reported her missing. Imagine dying and having no one noticing that you're gone,'' I explained, and his expression shifted.

''Fucking hell, now you're making me sad.'' He huffed and stood up. ''Come on. I think we've been here enough for today.''

''Yeah…'' I murmured and glanced at the computer screen again, seeing all the open cases. ''I hope someone misses her soon,'' I spoke as my eyes ran over all the names.

''Jesus, Wood, you look like you're about to cry.'' He smiled as he passed me, nudging my shoulder with his hand. ''Let's hope someone reports her missing tomorrow. For now, we can't do shit.''

''I know, I know…'' I sighed and stood up as well, following him. ''Thanks again.''

''For what?''

''For driving me home. I know you don't exactly live in the same direction so-''

''We're partners, right?'' he interrupted me and looked at me, a soft smile making my heart jump.

''Even so, I appreciate it. Partners or not, it means a lot to me.'' I smiled, and he turned his head, suddenly looking bashful.

''Fuck man, you're making me blush. I get it, shut up about it.'' He groaned and took a few quick steps, putting a little distance between us.

I smiled to myself as I watched his broad back in front of me.

What an idiot I was falling for.