AN: Wow it's been a long time. Viruses will do that to you, though. So I won't sit here and explain. Just enjoy.
R+R please!
Was so beyond confused as the lively blonde circled around me like some little fan girl. Obviously she had somehow discovered who I was, but I could not fathom how her brain worked as she went from explaining how my poems affected her to dragging me about on a tour of the office.
As I listened, I discovered that Shizuru had just started working here at the CPS just three months ago and had already made it to this elite team. Apparently these people were the best of the best. Mina here had been arrested for hacking into some secret government facility's mainframe and then offered a job because they couldn't prove it.
The others were just as interesting.
"Kai, get over here!" Mina shouted. A young man who couldn't have been older than twenty appeared in a very awkward fashion. He looked me over, giving me a welcoming smile, or what he could manage. "Suki-san, this is Hiburagi Kai. His IQ is ones of the highest in the district and he is one of the youngest recruits to be brought into this unit, besides Shizuru."
"Nice to meet you. Um, how did you get past security?" he asked.
"Kai, this is that friend everyone has been theorizing about. The one that Shizuru lost," Mina replied.
"So this is the girl that brought my baby girl to Tokyo, huh?" a large black man observed. He offered his hand. "The name is Derricks. James Derricks."
I shook his hand.
"Hey, could you answer a question for me?" Kai inquired. "In order for Shizuru to be capable of bringing someone from her personal life into this building, probability and statistics based off of her personality state it has to be someone extremely important to her. So assuming that you are not merely close friends, would you mind describing your relationship with her to me?"
"Boys, interrogating our guest is not a way to make friends." A brunette appeared from around the corner with a gentle smile. "Shizuru sent me out here to check on you. She's discussing something with the boss at the moment, but she'll be right out."
I was too overwhelmed to actually respond, so I nodded. The sympathetic woman led me into her private office where she slammed the door in the three faces of my pursuers. "Thanks," I finally managed to mumble as she handed me a cup of coffee.
"It's my pleasure. I'm Kirihara," she said, warmly. "Shizuru helped me out of jam practically her first week here, so I owe her a favor."
"Are they always like that?" I asked, glancing out the window to spot the trio trying to get a good look at me from another office.
Kirihara shut the blinds. "They're just a bit excited." she explained. "Shizuru is very private, so we have yet to meet anyone from her personal life. You're sort of the new specimen that everyone wants to study."
"I see…"
The woman laughed. "I'm really sorry. It's somewhat hard to explain."
"Try me," I challenged.
She grinned. "Shizuru is very skilled at hiding what she's thinking or feeling. Not a single one of us has ever been able to read her, not even our boss." she explained. "However, over the last week or two, we've been able to catch her off guard. That's a sign that something big has changed in her life. We've tried getting Mina to hack her file, but someone very high up has an eye on our little blonde. All we could figure out is that one of her old classmates is moving into a very… spacious apartment in three days. It was easy after that to infer that this Kuga Natsuki person was very important to Shizuru. It just surprised us that she brought you here so soon."
Suddenly, the door opened. Shizuru made it to my side in two strides and hugged me. "I'm sorry, Natsuki. I didn't mean to leave you for so long."
"Now I see what you've done with your talents." I mumbled. "Who knew being a skilled manipulator would come in handy."
Shizuru gave a pout at my tease. "Ikezu…" she mumbled, falling into that painfully familiar Kouto-ben dialect.
"Shizuru," A tall, older man appeared in the doorway. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask your friend a few questions regarding her little stalker."
"Haguro-san, you don't have to do this." Shizuru objected.
"This person's obsession with your friend here may be a threat to one of my best agents. This is definitely my problem."
Shizuru looked at me, silently telling me it was okay if I didn't want to. Still, I couldn't get the man's words out of my head. If this stalker was any sort of threat to Shizuru, they would be lucky if I didn't find him first. After all, Tokyo was already due for a new order. What did it matter if I asserted my newfound power a little prematurely?
"You sure know how to pick them, Shizuru." Kirihara smirked.
"At least she's not a terrorist." I shot back, recalling that the older woman's last relationship ended with a suicide bombing.
"Ah, but is the heir to one of the world's most notorious crime families much better?"
"I think so." I replied. "At least she won't off herself."
The older woman frowned. "I'm only saying this because I know your relationship with that girl is more personal than just an old friend."
"Oh?"
"You've made more personal contact with that girl in the last ten minutes than anyone on this team since you've been here. I've seen more emotion on your face since you walked in this room than I have since you applied for a job here." she ranted. "Plus that kid is as easy to read as a children's book. She was uneasy and stiff with everyone, even when I was being so empathetic, until you came into the room. The only difference is that while you are completely dependent on her happiness, that girl will most likely move on as soon as she gets into power. You're expendable to her and I don't want to see you hurt."
I laughed. "Do you think I haven't realized that?" Kirihara looked taken aback. "I understand that she could throw me aside at any moment. I simply don't care. Until that time comes, I am perfectly happy being any use I can to her."
"Shizu-"
"That being said," I interrupted, "I am going to give you a little warning, as I do enjoy your company. I do hope that we can remain friends, but if you cause Natsuki any sort of harm, I'll make sure you disappear within the week."
I said all of this with my trademark smile, feeling a tinge of the madness that had almost destroyed me during the Hime incident. Kirihara knew I was perfectly capable of making good on my threat, even if I was unlikely to do so. I loved this job and my colleagues, but none of that mattered compared to Natsuki. She had restored a part of me that I thought was irreplaceable. And though I would probably never be the same person she claimed to fall in love with, I was perfectly content with this median and there was nothing in the world that could make me give it up.
Kirihara nodded, seemingly accepting my statement. I knew she would understand and that was what I liked about her. No matter what, she would be the person to understand my need for Natsuki, even if it was not good for me.
I walked out of the room just as Natsuki finished her questioning. Haguro-san gave me the day off and told me to go home. That proved difficult, however, as I had to sneak Natsuki through the doors. Once we were indeed safe on the streets, though, I relaxed, grabbing her hand.
"Hmmm…" That contemplative tone was not one I was familiar with, so I looked up at Natsuki, curiously. "Your coworkers are… interesting."
I sighed. "I am terribly sorry. They all think it's some huge mystery that I avoid telling them about my personal life."
She shook her head. "I've met worse. You have no idea how strange the underclassmen are at school, especially in the English department."
At that point our walk home was filled with an uneasy silence. I had almost forgotten about the last year. It felt like a dream now that I was with Natsuki again. She had pulled me out of this endless abyss more than once, but this time I needed to at least make an attempt on my own. No matter how much I hated to admit it, Kirihara was right. I was completely expendable to this raven-haired girl. She was an accomplished writer now and could probably get any man or woman in the world she wanted. Then there was the fact that, at any given time, she could take back a legendary organized crime family that had been handed down to her by her estranged father, another job that gave her plenty of opportunities to upgrade to a better lover or whatever it is that we were. And on top of that, if that became a possibility, she would certainly have to end my life in order to remain a ghost.
I unlocked the door to my apartment, letting Natsuki in first. Her phone rang, but it was not the one I had seen her with for the past week. Instead this was a nicer smart phone with some sort of insignia on the back.
The conversation was short, but as I passed by her I could hear someone shouting on the other end about a publishing date. As she hung up, I saw my chance to fall back into my devious old patterns and as I drew closer I wondered if I could still summon that incredible red on my precious biker's face.
"I almost forgot," I mused with a grin, "You haven't told me what you do, exactly."
"I told you. I'm a writer." she mumbled.
I circled around her, holding up the expensive phone I had lifted from her pocket. "But you haven't shown me any of your work."
In vain Natsuki attempted to steal back her phone. Her predictability was sad as I guessed her password on the first try and went through the draft she had just been sent of her latest work. But as I read, I wish she had managed to steal the phone away from me. I wished that I couldn't guess the password or find the file so easily as I read the words of her latest work.
This heart is empty,
This heart is cold,
And my soul feels so very old.
You're cruelty cut me to the core
Until even my bones ached.
I'm lost, confused.
How could I live feeling so abused?
Sometimes it's worse to have lost,
Than to have ever had at all.
It's simply a curse to have love
And to feel it all dissolve.
AN: Just a heads up. The next chapter will probably push the rating, but if you've read this far I doubt you care. This is a courtesy for those of you who do.