AN: Ok so some of you have been hoping for a chance to see Shizuru back in her prime. Well here is where it all starts. I didn't make her major in criminology for nothing!
On another note, in this chapter there shall be mature language. I don't particularly like it, but the situation calls for it, so sorry. Just thought I might warn you.
R+R please!
At first I honestly thought absolutely nothing could go wrong. I was getting to sleep in at a nice spa with the love of my life right next to me. Nothing could ruin my good mood, even when I was half asleep. Just as long as Shizuru was with me, I was on top of the world.
Then, a loud crash sounded from outside. Years of strenuous conditioning caused me to jump, surveying my surroundings. Shizuru sat up, wrapping her arms lazily around my neck. At first I thought I had just been imagining it. But, as I was about to lay down again, the sound came again, this time closer.
It was a sound I was not pleased to be familiar with.
People began screaming, running past our door as they fumbled for an escape. "Nobody leaves!" someone barked. More gunshots sounded, one coming from right next to the door. "Until that bitch is found every woman is kept here, understand?"
"Shit!" I said under my breath.
"Natsuki, what's going on?" Shizuru asked, only keeping from hysterics because of our exposure to such violence in the past.
"I'll explain later. Right now we need to leave." I whispered, throwing some clothes at her to change into. I did the same and when we were dressed I poked my head out the door. They were starting to scan the rooms, starting from each end and working their way to the middle. It wouldn't be long until they got here and found us. Then we would really be in for it.
Only one way out…
"This is gonna suck." I sighed, grabbing Shizuru's hand. "Do you trust me?"
She nodded. "I always have and nothing will change that."
"Good." I grinned, running towards the window. At the last second I turned my back to it, wrapping my arms around Shizuru. We landed on the ground far below and I stood, having landed without hitting anything important. Someone shouted and gunshots pelted the ground at our heels, but I pulled Shizuru ahead of me and spun back, taking aim.
One down.
A howl sounded and my life just suddenly got a lot worse. But of course they would release the dogs. I was just that unlucky. First he showed up out of nowhere and now he had an entire freaking mob chasing after me!
Two down.
The dogs were closer than I thought.
My mind was running faster than I was as I was thinking of escape routes through the trees to throw off our pursuers. Not only that, but I was running statistics and racking my brain for how many subjects there were. From what I had heard, there were at least eight, though now it was only six. And beneath all of that I was doing all the math to see how long it would take the police to be informed, get here, and save the hostages. Would Mato and her friend be alright by that time? Surely since the majority of these criminals were now focused on us.
I was about to turn to point out a river to Natsuki when a dog came sprinting past me. It slammed into Natsuki, tackling her to the ground. The gun she thought she had concealed from me this entire trip now flew out across the ground and another dog stepped between it and me, snarling.
This just wasn't my day.
The dark continued to snarl and bark and I rolled my eyes, pulling my treasure from where it was secured around my thigh. "Oh shut up!" I snapped, hitting the dog squarely between the eyes. It yelped and the other jumped, lunging at me next. It was dispatched just a quickly, a second knife stabbing straight in the center of its chest.
Natsuki stared at me, dumbfounded. I grabbed her wrist, pulling her up and into the river. The water was freezing, but when we finally got to the other side we were far out of range. We sat gasping for a while, staring at each other.
"Clearly we haven't told each other everything, have we?" I asked.
It was late evening and Natsuki was sitting cross-legged on the bed of our motel room. She looked extremely uncomfortable, a sense of guilt flooding her gaze. She kept apologizing, trying to convince me that she didn't know who they were even though I believed her. No matter what I said I couldn't get her to slow down. Instead, an idea formed in the back of my mind and I acted on it.
Natsuki's voice was silenced as I pressed my lips to hers. She blinked, that oh so familiar blush hinting on her cheeks. I gave her a gentle smile, oddly enough not feeling any compulsion to tease her into an ever redder hue.
"Why don't you start from the beginning?" I asked, gently.
Natsuki nodded. "Well, you see, I'm a writer and sometimes my fans get a little… obsessed. I have a pen name so they won't know who I really am and my publisher handles all the public appeal stuff, but…"
"But?" I pressed.
"About two months ago I started getting bouquets. At first I just thought it was one of my classmates, but then the little trinkets and the letters got a little… intense." she mumbled. "I tried ignoring them, but then I got this one."
Natsuki pulled a piece of folded paper from her pocket and handed it to me. I opened it and a photo fell out. It was of the two of us. I remembered the day quite well. We had been reading in the garden. Natsuki had fallen asleep and I was sprawled out next to her, enjoying the warm sun on my skin.
But no one had been there to take pictures.
I'LL MAKE SURE NOTHING GETS IN THE WAY THIS TIME. That was the only thing written in the letter. They were written in printed caps, but the pressure put into each letter nearly tore the paper. Whoever had written this had obviously not only been angry, but enraged to the point of madness.
Shizuru stared at the letter and the photo for a long time, but my eyes kept wandering to the remaining knives strapped around her thigh beneath her skirt. She noticed my stare and sighed, standing me up and half dragging me to the nearest payphone. First we called the police, finding out that three women had been killed but four suspects were found, not including the dead ones. After that she made a call to someone else, listening for a long while as the person spoke with erratic speed.
"Mina, calm down." Shizuru sighed. "Look, I am coming in today and I'm bringing a friend with me." She glanced at me as the other person spoke. "Tell Haguro we may have a new case."
"Shizuru, what's going on?" I asked as she led me down the streets. Her hand rested in the crook of my elbow, parading me about as if we were close friends and she was completely drunk.
Then, we reached the doors to a government office. Before I could object she dragged me inside. Just as I had expected, our drop-in led to several officers seeing the gun at my side and pointing even bigger ones at me. Much to my surprise, though, Shizuru stepped in front of me.
"Stand down!" she snapped. "This girl is a witness and in my custody, got it?"
The officers hesitated, but a twinge of fear came from them both as they backed off. I was grateful when Shizuru grabbed my hand and I did not let go of it until we walked into a huge room with several desks surrounded by more private offices half a level up. I had just barely noticed the strange stares I was getting when a very colorful blonde with jewelry galore and strangely designed glasses walked up and examined me. A huge smile fell on her face and she looked to Shizuru, pointing to me and stuttering.
"W-Where did you find this girl?" she demanded. "There is absolutely no way you could possibly know her!"
Shizuru smiled, sheepishly. "I sorta just pieced this together, but is there any chance that someone hacked your computer looking for your files, Natsuki?"
"Um… about three months ago. My publisher said it was taken care of, but the person got some of my poems." I mumbled, my nerves completely shot.
"That's not all she got." Shizuru sighed.
"I am your biggest fan Suki-sama! I love your poems so much!" the blonde exclaimed.
I blinked. "Natsuki, this is Hitsunagi Mina, one of the best hackers in Japan and tech support for CPS."
"Tell me, how do you know the Criminal Profiling Support Unit's star profiler?" the blonde asked.
Don't worry. All will be explained in due time...