A/N: I wanted to get this posted just as the last chapter of AssClass is coming out. Way back when I first started this fic, I was determined to make it canon compliant, and I tried the best I could to stick with the manga twists up until I couldn't do it anymore (around 132, I think). I was going to start posting as soon as the last chapter ended. Looking back, I think I probably could've made it work, but I'm happy with where the story went. Ironically, I post the sixteenth chapter (what I had originally estimated as the last chapter when I first started writing) as 180 comes out (when I was first going to start posting this fic).

Bless U AssClass I love you.

Chapter 16 - Time to Get Started

The precinct was quiet. Most of the day shift investigators and police had left for the day. A few people had shown up for their night shifts, and the dispatch room on the basement was just as busy as ever. A couple of cops lounged on the ground floor, waiting for their shift to begin, or getting a brief reprieve from the chaos that was Tokyo.

Many levels above the cool commotion of the ground floor was Kimura Masayoshi.

"Sorry to bother you right before you leave, I just need some tapes from August 12th, please," he said, flashing his ID to the clerk. It was an unnecessary gesture. She knew him very well at this point.

"Certainly," the secretary at the desk said, "I still have some work to finish up before I leave, so don't worry about it. Still working on that murder-suicide?" Kimura nodded.

"Yeah, we're inches away from a break." The woman behind the desk smiled, typing into the computer.

"I'm glad to hear it," she said pleasantly, "What time during the 12th did you want the tapes for?" Kimura glanced down at his notebook. It held coded notes for himself, Hayami, and Chiba.

"I'm looking for all tapes between 16:30 and 18:00," Kimura told her. It was during those times that the emergency calls were made to divert police away from the scene of Nagisa's crime. If they were lucky, they could dissect the calls to gather a lead for them to follow.

"Our first step is to take down Asano's network," Hayami said, her voice echoing against the hard steel of the room's walls. "If his network is destroyed, then his ability to move is limited. We take away his eyes and ears, and then we silence him."

"This will also lessen risk for us when we make the ultimate move," Chiba continued, "Asano is much less likely to see us coming if some part of his network is stifled. Through interrogation, we might also be able to find out more about his motives and his daily habits." Kimura shivered. Depending on how loyal his followers were, that could involve some cruelty, to put it lightly.

"What would that involve, exactly?" Yada asked quietly, her soft voice echoing. Hayami stopped her writing, the chalk clinking against the board. She turned around.

"I'm not going to mince words. While capture and interrogation is ideal, it may not work out like that. Some of us may be required to kill. You're going to need to be prepared for that."

Kimura glanced down at his hands, flexing them experimentally. He had a bad feeling about this. As a detective, he had minimal confrontation, not the kind of things that frontline police officers dealt with on a daily basis. He had punched, kicked, and even fought, but never killed. Not yet, anyway. Next to him, Yada shivered.

"Won't Asano notice his network dropping one-by-one?" Mimura asked, "If he catches on, then who knows what he'll do?"

"It's unlikely that Asano is interacting with them every day," Nagisa said, speaking up for the first time, "For someone like him, who is constantly working to present himself as a hard-working salaryman, it wouldn't make sense for him to keep constant tabs on them. The distance would benefit him. I've seen it before in South American drug lords."

"Even so, isn't it possible that someone would alert him that something's up? What do we do then?"

"Then we move early," Chiba said, "It'll be riskier, but the last thing we need is Asano aware of the fact that we're trying to kill him." A shiver went up Kimura's spine at the thought. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In a worst case situation, it was possible that he would end up like his friends: hiding away from the police, unable to face their friends, family, and lovers ever again. Kimura was aiding those accused of treason. It was impossible to shake that kind of fact off.

But he knew it was necessary.

"Where do we begin?" Kimura asked, "We know nothing other than the fact that this network supposedly exists."

"I know where we can start," Karma said, sitting forward on his chair. Kimura's eyes were drawn towards his torn shirt, which showed his bound wound. "At the time of Nagisa's assassination attempt, there were calls from all around Tokyo that diverted the police away from that area. If we can figure out who was making those calls, then we've got our guys."

"What then?" Kimura pushed, "Even if we can identify the nameless voices, then what do we do?"

"We capture them," Nagisa answered, "Once we get our hands on them, we interrogate."

"Their phones should be useful too," Chiba added, "We may be able to make a move based on what we find on them." Kimura gulped and nodded. That was a lot easier said than done.

"All tapes?" the woman repeated, adjusting her glasses, "We have 37 calls between those times on that day. Do you need them all?"

"Yes, please."

"Do you need anything out of precinct?" Kimura blinked, thinking for a moment. He shouldn't… any cops that were diverted from the area Nagisa was arrested would've been in precinct.

"No, in precinct will be fine."

"I'll have those sent to your computer right away," she said with a nod. The woman gave him a kind smile. "I wish you the best of luck!"

"Thanks," he said kindly, "I'll let you know how it goes."

"I look forward to it," she said sweetly, the clack of her fingers against the keyboard punctuating her statement.

Kimura left, walking down the long hallway that houses the precinct's administrative and archival divisions. He let out a sigh of relief; phase one of their plan was complete. Kimura pulled his phone out, opening up his messages.

To: Rinka-chan

I've got the tapes. Grabbing a laptop now. Meet you in five up on the 12th floor?

There was no immediate response. Reception was notoriously terrible in the building, having become common complaint among the law enforcement across many different levels and departments.

"Oof!" Kimura let out a grunt as he collided with another person. He had been so focused on his phone that he hadn't seen or heard the other person coming down the hallway. Kimura rubbed his shoulder where they had made contact. His mouth dropped open at the sight before him.

"K-Kurofuji-san!" he stammered. His inattentive ass had run into the head of investigation! This was his boss's boss! Oh god, what had he done?! The dark-haired man rubbed his own shoulder and let out a chuckle. "I'm sorry!"

"No need to apologize," Kurofuji Yuichi said with a chuckle. The man rubbed where they had made contact. "You've got a strong torso, Kimura-san. Have you considered entering the frontlines?"

"I-I," Kimura stuttered. He stopped himself, taking a brief moment to calm himself because he had just run into his boss's boss holy shit. "I tried for a bit, sir, but it just wasn't made for me. I'm fast, but that's about it." Kimura adjusted himself so that he stood just an iota taller and straighter. "Besides, I like the thinking power that investigations require. There's something satisfying about catching a sly criminal who thinks he's gotten away with a crime." Kurofuji gave him a smile.

"That's a good answer, kid," he said, slapping Kimura on the back, "In a few years, you'll be an excellent lead." Kimura's heart pounded at the praise. He and Kurofuji hadn't had much interaction before. It was incredible to know that his name had somehow made it up the ranks and into the office of their department head. It was satisfying to know that all of Kimura's work wasn't for naught.

"Thank you, sir!" he said enthusiastically. Kurofuji gave him a nod.

"Just be careful, kid. What with these goddamn terrorists causing chaos everywhere, you gotta watch your back." Kimura's expression almost slipped, betraying the momentary fear that he felt. If he knew that I was helping them… Kimura nodded.

"R-right. We'll catch them, sir, I'm sure of it. They can't keep hiding forever, not with all of Japan looking for them."

"I certainly hope so, Kimura-san," Kurofuji said quietly, "After all, we've got to protect the peace, and we've failed so far." Kimura wasn't sure what to say to that, especially knowing the truth. Kurofuji didn't seem to notice or mind his silence. The man glanced down at his watch. "This conversation was enlightening, Kimura-san, but I'm late for a meeting with Ishigaki-san and Usui-san. Have a good evening, Kimura-san, and keep working hard."

Kimura saluted. "I will, sir!" Kurofuji winked.

"And maybe put the phone away when you're walking." Kimura turned red.

"R-right!"

Kurofuji gave him another nod just as the man squeezed passed him towards a conference room at the end of the building. Kimura let out a sigh of relief. What terrible timing! He glanced down at his phone.

1 Message from Rinka-chan

Sure! Ryu-kun and I are in the Sakura Room.

Kimura nodded, heading down the stairs to the investigation department to grab his laptop. It was time to get to work.

Kurahashi Hinano sat at a small booth in the corner of a café. Hazama was next to her, flipping through her phone with cool disinterest to her surroundings. Yada sat next to Fuwa, sipping quietly on her coffee. Fuwa was furiously typing on her computer, finishing up some of her work away from the office before they got down to business.

"I also have two leads for you to follow," Nagisa said, standing up next to Chiba. Kurahashi marveled at how he had changed since their last meeting. His hair was long again, held back in a short ponytail. His eyes were hardened, and she was sure she could see a scar or two on his exposed arms. "When I was being interrogated, the man questioning me mentioned Asano by name, and although the other guy didn't speak, he overheard everything." Karma perked up.

"Sakubara Mokichi and Shinozaki Kaoru," Karma interrupted.

"Huh?" Nagisa asked.

"It's the head of interrogation in the Ministry and some low-level recruit," the red-haired man explained.

"Head of interrogation?!" Sugino exclaimed.

"Yeah," Terasaka confirmed, "I looked into it. Those were the two who interrogated you."

"I would focus on the second guy," Karma advised, "He talks big, but he doesn't have the bite."

"He also deserves a solid punch in the face," Terasaka growled. He added under his breath, "Asshole." Kurahashi wondered what exactly this Shinozaki had done to annoy Terasaka so much.

"It'll be easier," Nagisa added, "The other guy is likely to have extra protection given the panic Japan is currently in. If you go for the low level guy first and he doesn't have the information you need, then you can move up."

"Kurahashi, Hazama, Yada, Fuwa," Hayami called. Kurahashi stiffened in her seat. "We're going to have you on that team."

"Why us?" Yada asked.

"He's a boy in his mid-twenties," Hayami said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "If there's a team that could get information out of him, it's this one."

"So you're going to send a team with two lesbians to seduce a guy for information?" Hazama asked dryly. Yada snickered, silently giving Hazama a fist bump. Hayami flushed, as though that hadn't even crossed her mind (it probably hadn't).

"W-well, I'm sure the principles are the same!"

"If you need some help, I can give you some tips for picking up guys," Isogai said, giving them a wink. Yada and Hazama laughed, and a small giggle escaped Kurahashi. Hayami recovered her thoughts, although pink dusted her cheeks.

"R-right, a-anyway. So you guys'll be responsible for getting to him." Kurahashi closed her eyes, thinking over Hayami's words. They would be responsible for kidnapping him. She would actually have to kidnap someone. Life had gotten very strange for her very fast.

"Andddd…" Fuwa said, furiously typing, "Done!" She finished her typing with a flourish and a loud clack. She closed her laptop, now ready to begin working on their game plan. Hazama sipped on her black coffee, looking decidedly unenthusiastic. None of them were particularly happy about their role in this, but they knew that it was necessary.

"So…where do we want to begin?" Yada asked, her tone low and serious.

"We should map out areas we'd expect a guy to go after work. Like bars and train stations…" Kurahashi suggested, "I mean, there's only so many places he could go right?"

"Like love hotels, brothels, and casinos," Hazama added sarcastically.

"I'm not posing as a prostitute!" Fuwa exclaimed, horrified by the possibility. She got a few odd looks from nearby patrons. Kurahashi shushed her.

"Quiet!" Kurahashi said in a hushed voice, "We're in public, Fuwa!" The patrons turned back to what they were doing, none of them, thankfully, deciding to say anything. It was a busy café, which was why they had picked this location to develop their plan. It was close to the Ministry of Defense and it would be hard for anyone to overhear them. A small child ran by holding a muffin. The whole area was popular, and it wouldn't seem out of place for a few girls to be meeting up.

"R-right," Fuwa said, flushed, "Sorry."

"What does this guy even look like?" Hazama asked, "I don't want to be searching all of Japan for one unremarkable guy."

"I looked it up last night," Fuwa said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She flipped through the device, opening her photo gallery and turning the phone around for the rest of the group to see. It was a screenshot of a Facebook page. A man with dark hair and a round face was laughing in his profile picture. She swiped through, showing them a couple of other screenshots. A picture of him at the beach with a few friends. A selfie. Another selfie. A shot of his about me page. Another fucking selfie. Him at a beer tasting.

"Wait!" Kurahashi said, "Go back!" Fuwa swiped back. His smug selfie filled the screen. "One more." The about me page. Kurahashi took Fuwa's phone from out of her hand. She brought it closer to her face, reading over every word. Something had caught her eye, but what?

Name: Shinozaki Kaoru

Not interesting.

Age: 25

Not interesting.

Blood Type: A

Not relevant.

Relationship Status: Single

Not interesting, but could be useful.

University: Toyo University

Her eyes widened.

"We went to the same school," Kurahashi said, disbelieving. She handed the phone back to Fuwa, instead pulling out her own pink encased device. She quickly pulled up Facebook, typing in his name.

Shinozaki Kaoru

10 mutual friends.

Hazama was over her shoulder, her own brows furrowed.

"We had a class together," Hazama realized, "A long, long time ago, during our freshman year. It was a gen ed." Kurahashi frowned, she had probably passed him on the way to class more than once. But back then, she had been more focused on studying than making friends.

"We could use that," Yada said quietly, "If you guys went to the same university, you could probably message him and try to meet up with him."

"What kind of story could we use?" Kurahashi wondered, "I mean, we're four years out of uni by now, why on earth would I want to meet him?"

"Long lost crush? A desire to catch up? You could make something up about a friend of a friend wanting to introduce you two." Disgust curled in Kurahashi's stomach at the thought. The very idea of pretending to be interested in someone who had indirectly helped ruin her friends' lives revolted her.

"We could also try and locate him in a bar or something, and you could make something up about being in the same class years ago. I know that I barely remember uni, so I'm sure if you say you were in one of his classes he'd believe you," Fuwa suggested. Every fiber of Kurahashi's being want to say no, it recoiled at the idea of trying to meet up with this guy, but she knew she couldn't say no. She closed her eyes. Hazama squeezed her arm.

"I could do it," Hazama said, "I did after all, actually share a class with him."

"Yeah, but you declared yourself a raging lesbian at any and every point in college," Kurahashi said, "I'm sure he'd realize something's off if you messaged him." Hazama shrugged.

"True. Just thought I'd offer." Kurahashi sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it."

Her fingers hovered above the add friend button. She was about to lose her last line of defense against him: her anonymity. If he connected the dots, who knew what would happen to her? She pressed it and a small box popped up to send a message with her friend request.

Hey Shinozaki-kun, I know this is kind of sudden, but a friend of a friend suggested that I add you as a friend. I think we may've had a class together way back in freshman year or something, lol.

"How does this sound?" Kurahashi asked, reading the message out loud.

"Add a winky face," Yada said, "I'm pretty sure guys like that."

"Remind me again why Rinka-chan put two lesbians on this team?" Kurahashi muttered, rolling her eyes.

Hey Shinozaki-kun, I know this is kind of sudden, but a friend of a friend suggested that I add you as a friend. ;) I think we may've had a class together way back in freshman year or something, lol.

"Yeah! That's perfect! It's slightly suggestive!" Fuwa said enthusiastically, furiously nodding her head. Kurahashi hit send before anyone else could give their own suggestive edits.

"Come on, there's no way that'll work," Kurahashi said, "He'll probably just block me or something."

"Hinano-chan, you're a cute girl. That's all you need," Yada said. Kurahashi blushed.

"If you wanted, you could have guys wrapped around your fingers," Hazama said, leaning on her arm.

"Besides, this is the best shot we have," Fuwa said, "We could go with our original plan, but that'll be much harder and a much longer route to take. Wherever we can save time, we should." Kurahashi shrugged.

"I guess, I just feel kind of gross about it." She sipped on her smoothie, the slightly melted mango drink giving her some strange kind of comfort. "So I guess we just wait then?"

"What else can we do?" Yada said with a shrug.

"Well, if we're waiting, why don't we do something?" Kurahashi suggested, "I mean, we all took the day off of work, we may as well make something of it." There were murmurs of agreement around the table. Kurahashi slid out from the booth, allowing Hazama the room to leave. Kurahashi pressed herself against the wall as a small blond child ran passed her.

"Tourists," Hazama whispered, causing Kurahashi to giggle, "Can't they control their kids?"

"Aleksandr!" a woman's voice called. Kurahashi twisted towards the source, her eyes wide. What?!

"Irina-sensei!" she realized loudly. She knew that Irina and Karasuma had a child, but she hadn't actually seen him before. Fuwa, Yada, and Hazama froze in place. Fuwa and Yada's eyes shot to the blonde woman, who looked incredibly irritated. She hadn't noticed the group.

"Aleksandr!" she said, catching the young boy in his tracks, "What did I say about running around in public?!" The boy flushed red, avoiding eye contact with his mother.

"Tha' I shouldn't do it," he said quietly.

"That's right, Alek," she said, leaning down so that she was at eye level with him. Kurahashi couldn't tear her eyes away. It was so bizarre to see Bitch-sensei being motherly. Life was strange and bizarre and utterly incomprehensible. "You know what we do now?"

"Say sorry?" he said shamefully.

"That's right, Alek," she said, giving him a bop on the nose, "It's okay to be excited about things, just be mindful of others."

"Okay, mommy," he said. She stood up, pushing him towards the girls. He hobbled over to the girls. As Irina's eyes drifted away from her son, they fell on the group. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped. Completely unaware of the tension, Aleksander bowed to them. "I'm sorry!"

Kurahashi swallowed a lump in her throat, and choked out, "It's okay." What's Irina-sensei going to think of all of this? What's she going to do if she knows? She's the wife of the Minister of Defense! She looked at Irina. "It's good to see you again, sensei." Irina's mouth opened as though she was going to say something, but it closed again as she thought better of it. She reached down to hold her son's hand. Kurahashi could see hesitation in her eyes.

"I think I know why you guys are here," Irina said quietly, "Meet me outside."

Kurahashi glanced back towards Hazama, Fuwa, and Yada, all of whom looked as though the last thing they wanted to do was follow her. Is she going to stop us? Hazama reached out, squeezing her arm. Kurahashi let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"We can handle it," Hazama whispered, "Don't worry, Sunshine."

"Thanks, Kira," she whispered back.

Together, they followed, keeping a safe enough distance so that they could bolt if they needed to. Irina kept her gaze forward, not sparing a glance back. It was oddly reminiscent of a lesson they had learned years and years ago.

"Reconnaissance," Irina said, pointing towards the words written on the chalkboard, "Normally I'd leave this kind of thing to Karasuma, but what does he know anyway?" Kurahashi blinked. Such venom! What had Karasuma done this time?

"We've covered reconnaissance a bit before. There's an art to seduction that allows you to get anywhere you need to be. If you play it right, you can get more information than you ever asked for out of your target. The tools I am giving you through language will help you succeed." Kurahashi sat up just a bit straighter, whenever Bitch-sensei went off the lesson plan, it was always interesting.

"But there's a follow-up to information gathering that I've never given you. So you've got what you've wanted out of the target, how do you get that information back to your client? It's not always easy. Once, I was stuck in a very wealthy ambassador's home. I had gathered his plans for infiltrating the country's capital to weaken their army, but I needed to get out." Bitch-sensei leaned against her desk.

"He, naturally, didn't think anything of me, just a drunk socialite. The perimeter was guarded, the doors were guarded, and there were cameras everywhere. How do you think I got out?" Kimura raised his hand.

"The window?" he suggested.

"The roof?" Nakamura asked. Bitch-sensei shook her head.

"No, no, any other guesses?"

"You slaughtered your way out?" Terasaka bit, somewhat sarcastically.

"I walked right out," Irina said. Kurahashi blinked. "The key to infiltration and reconnaissance is acting like you belong there. As an assassin, you have to take in a lot of information at once. In an instant, you need to know your surroundings, who your target is, and where everyone else is. When I left his room, I just walked with my head held high. If anyone confronted me, I sneered at them and asked them if they knew who I was. In their hesitation, I would move on." She held up two fingers. "There are two things you need to know. One. Walk like you own the world. Two. Never look back. The second you do that, you lose all credibility. If the cameras catch you doing that, your alibi is gone. Don't ever look back."

Kurahashi kept her head forward, never glancing towards the area where they had seen Irina-sensei and her son. The fact that they were leaving together was a coincidence, and nothing more. Any witnesses here could attest to that. As Irina left the café, she turned the corner, ducking into an alley. It was so swift, that had Kurahashi not been paying attention, she wouldn't have noticed. She glanced between herself and the group. She gave a soft nod. They would do it.

They followed her.

"Here, Aleksandr, play on mommy's phone," Irina said, giving her phone over to her five year old.

"Yay! Can I play Ninja versus Samurai!?" Irina looked momentarily pained.

"Sure, whatever you want, honey," she said, her voice strained, "Just let the grown-ups talk for a bit."

"Kayyyy," The kid said, already excitedly flipping through her phone. Irina winced. Apparently whatever this game was, she didn't like.

"And make sure you ask before you hit any purchase buttons!"

"Kayyyy," the kid dismissed. Kurahashi held back a giggle, apparently this kid was as much of a pain as Kurahashi would've expected.

"Irina-sensei," Fuwa greeted, "It's been a long time."

"Not that long," Irina said, "My wedding wasn't that long ago." She counted the years silently on her fingers "…Right? Not that long…" She was silent for a moment before she shook her head.

"Either way, it's been awhile since we saw you," Yada interrupted. Kurahashi silently thanked her.

"Right," Irina said. As if in an instant, she stood straighter and her expression became serious. Her mouth was a thin line. Kurahashi shivered. She forgot how scary Irina could be if she willed it. "You guys are helping him, aren't you?"

"That answer is going to depend on who you mean by him," Hazama said, crossing her arms.

"Nagisa," Irina said in a harsh whisper, "I met him just before everything went south at that same café." Kurahashi blinked, she hadn't known that.

"Yes," Yada said, "He was framed."

"I knew as much, Tadaomi told me," Irina said.

"Wait, Karasuma told you?" Fuwa asked, "He knew?! Wasn't there anything he could do?"

"With a case that public and that serious? Absolutely not," Irina said, shaking her head, "When a case is that public and you're in a position that powerful, you don't really have a choice." She gave them a serious look. "You know who's behind everything, don't you? Who is it?"

"Asano Gakushuu," Kurahashi said. Irina's eyes widened. "He's behind everything."

"That little shit?" she asked, immediately covering her mouth and glancing towards Aleksandr. Thankfully, he was too absorbed in his mobile game to notice that his own mother had just said a naughty word. Quieter, she continued, "Him? What for?"

"We're not sure," Yada said, "But it's complicated."

"Try me."

And so they explained. They explained everything from how he had tricked Nagisa to his underworld connections. They told her how they had learned that they were being monitored, and how they had come together to try and get them out of this. How they were planning to take Asano down. By the end of everything, Irina looked more than a little contemplative.

"So you're taking down his network first?" Irina mused.

"Yes," Fuwa confirmed.

"Very smart, brats. You actually learned something during our time together." Irina became thoughtful as she thought through this information. Although the woman may've been years out of the field, Kurahashi could see the contemplation and expertise in her eyes. This wasn't the mother, wife, or teacher, Irina Karasuma. This was the assassin, Irina Jelavic.

"This Shinozaki Kaoru isn't likely that far up on the food chain," she said, "Who you're really after is Sakubara Mokichi. If there's anyone with power and direct contact with Asano, it's likely him."

"We're hoping that we can get to Sakubara through Shinozaki," Yada explained, "There's no way we could directly get into the Ministry, especially after everything."

"Or you could go directly to the source," Irina said, "As Karasuma's wife, I have visiting access to the Ministry, even in times like this." Kurahashi's eyes widened.

"You don't mean-!" Kurahashi exclaimed, "You can't!" She glanced meaningfully towards Aleksandr.

"Just because I'm out of practice doesn't mean I can't do my job!" Irina countered, "I was trained for this! I trained you brats for this!" Irina held herself tall. "I can do this, I'm the best shot you have."

Kurahashi had to admit she was right, there was no one else on their team that could get close to Sakubara. Irina was in the perfect position. Even so, that didn't make her feel right about it. Irina had given up that life. She was married, with a steady job, and a kid. It wouldn't be right to ask this of her.

"You don't have to do this," Kurahashi begged, "Think about everything you have!" Irina's eyes softened.

"You don't have to remind me," she said, "But…but Nagisa was a special pupil to me. Almost like my first kid. If there's anything I can do, I will. I…we owe it to him." She took a deep breath.

"I'll do it," she said, "I'll get whatever you need out of Sakubara." She steeled herself. "And I'll kill him."

Kurahashi shivered, Irina's intensity hadn't wavered in her years out of the field. As the woman took her phone out of her child's hand and walked away with a sway in her hip, unbeknownst to Kurahashi, her phone buzzed with a new message from Shinozaki.

It was all just beginning.

The Sakura Room was notorious in the precinct. Unlike its soft name, it was cold, unfriendly, and the last room on floor that any officer ever wanted to work or meet in. It was the only conference room on the floor that did not have a single window. The heating and cooling unit was so broken that no matter how many tax dollars went towards repairing it, the room was either too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. There was even a rumor that the room was haunted. Its only saving grace was an old, faded painting of a cherry blossom tree hanging on the far wall. No one ever wanted to be in the Sakura Room.

It was perfect for them.

Kimura closed the door behind him, his work laptop tucked underneath his arm. He locked the door behind him as an extra precaution.

"Sorry, I ran into Sergeant Kurofuji on my way here," Kimura said, "Quite literally, in fact." He set the computer on the table, opening it up to the lock screen. Kimura glanced around as the device began to load the desktop. "Did you guys…?" He gestured vaguely around the room, hoping that they would understand.

"There are no bugs," Chiba confirmed, "No listening or visual devices." Kimura let out a sigh of relief. He had a bad feeling that by the time this whole situation was over, he'd have a lot of paranoia issues to work through. "Did you get the dispatch calls?"

"Yes," Kimura confirmed, opening up the server that stored his personal files. They sat in a new folder, copied from the main server. "We have 37 calls to listen to." Hayami and Chiba, ever the professionals, took this information without complaint.

"Do you also have the reports for each call included?" Hayami asked. Kimura nodded.

"It comes with the files," he said, moving the cursor over to the first file, "You ready to begin?"

The next hour went by in a flash of screaming women seeking help from attackers, panicked men reporting car accidents, and children crying about their family. They were only 3/4ths of the way through, and Kimura was already feeling emotionally drained. Chiba and Hayami were still holding up, but this wasn't easy for them either. It wasn't enjoyable hearing people in their greatest moments of desperation, anguish, and panic. The few times Kimura had to listen in on recorded dispatch calls hadn't made this time any easier than the times before it.

He opened the case file for the next dispatch call. So far nothing had given them a definitive lead. They were standard calls, and none seemed particularly out of place. They listened to the cries of a woman reporting her child being kidnapped. Kimura looked over the case details. The call was placed at 17:01. We're getting closer to the assassination time.

"Please, you have to help me! They took my baby!" The woman cried, the static cutting in and out of her words. It was probably a cell connection. The case wasn't resolved, no perpetrator was discovered. He skimmed over the rest of the information, doubtful it held anything new or interesting. Just as he was about to hit play on the next one, his eye caught something unusual.

"The dispatch lasted an hour," he muttered. Hayami and Chiba looked up. Kimura noted absently that Hayami's hand rested on her belly. She must be so worried about the future of their child, especially if we can't fix this.

"That isn't unusual," Chiba said.

"Yeah," Kimura agreed quietly. He furrowed his brows, something about this was off. Officers Yunosuke and Koiso responded. They were at Kagurazaka before that, responding to a robbery. Chiba and Hayami watched him, unsure if they should break his train of thought.

"Masayoshi?"

"Kagurazaka…" Kimura repeated aloud. He opened up their mapping program. "That's only a few blocks away from the Ministry…"

"Where was the woman?" Hayami asked.

"The Waseda station. It's not that far off, but if the officers were occupied for an hour…"

"Then they couldn't respond," Chiba concluded. Kimura replayed the call, listening carefully. He pulled out a notebook, writing down the woman's information. A part of him strongly doubted that this was her real name and information, but it was their best shot so far.

"So we have one," Hayami said, "That's a start at least."

"Yeah, but out of how many?" Kimura muttered. He flagged the file and moved onto the next call. They listened for anything out of the ordinary, but most of the calls were irrelevant. They flagged a second call from a man reporting a serious car accident around 5:50, although reports showed that the cops couldn't find the man or the car accident by the time the cops arrived. It was dismissed as a prank. Kimura dutifully wrote down the information, although this one was appearing to be a dead end.

"I-I just witnessed a stabbing at Tokyo Tower!" A heavily accented voice said. Kimura glanced at the call number. It was a foreign number. It looked to be European, based on the device's country code. "Please hurry! A man is bleeding out!" Kimura's eyes scanned the file.

"It's fake," he said, "There was no one hurt by the time officers arrived, and on duty security didn't report any unusual activity. It did divert officers from the Kojimachi station to the tower. By the time they arrived, the assassination had already happened." He added the number to their suspect list.

"Can you replay that?" Chiba requested.

"Sure," Kimura said, hitting the replay button. The sound of the man blasted through the weak computer speaker.

"Please hurry! A man is bleeding out!"

"Doesn't that voice sound familiar?" Chiba asked. Familiar? Kimura hit replay again, trying to place the voice.

"I-I just witnessed a stabbing at Tokyo Tower!"

Now that Chiba mentioned it, the voice did sound familiar. With the third replay, it was becoming obvious that the accent wasn't real. The way the man said his words was inconsistent. He was faking it. But why cover up a voice?

Unless someone could recognize it.

He played the recording for a fourth time. He closed his eyes, shutting out all other senses and distractions. "Please hurry!" He mentally deconstructed the voice, peeling away accent inconsistencies and returning the voice to its original state. "A man is bleeding out!"

Kimura stood up, his chair creaking against the hard wood of the floor. His face had gone white, the implications of his realization hitting him like a gunshot.

"After all, we've got to protect the peace, and we've failed so far."

"That's Kurofuji," Kimura said, stepping backwards, "That's the goddamn head of investigations." Hayami and Chiba slowly looked up, as the realization dawned upon them. "It makes sense, who else could divert police better than someone who has access to their locations? He was probably giving orders to Asano's other underlings the whole time."

"And he diverted that final car so that Asano could send his men in," Hayami whispered.

Kimura gulped.

So they just had to capture and interrogate the Head of Investigation.

No big deal.

Shiota Nagisa was more than a little antsy. He had been unable to keep himself still for hours and had taken to taking walks around and pacing around the abandoned police facility. He couldn't focus on anything, and his attempts to use the shooting range and indoor track had been unsuccessful.

The days of being cooped inside were getting to him. It wasn't the first time he had been stuck in a small space for an extended period of time, but that was by will. He had no choice in this. He was a sitting duck. Hayami, Chiba, and the others had made it a little easier. They had brought over everything they could possibly needed. They brought food, clothes, medicine, and other minor toiletries (the girls were very excited to shower again). Sugaya had even taken 47 into his possession so that the poor dog could finally see sunlight again.

Still, even with the extra space to move around and the minor luxuries, it wasn't making his days off any easier. He hated being reliant on others, being stuck here like this. It brought back bad memories of the time in his life when he couldn't control anything, when he was stuck listening to others.

When he wasn't free.

The door to the break room opened and a tired looking Kayano walked in. She stopped, surprised by the presence of another person.

"Hi, Nagisa," she greeted with a loud yawn.

"Were you sleeping?" he asked, amused.

"Look, my sleep schedule is all messed up, I'll take what I can get," she said, sitting in a chair next to him. She leaned on her arm. "Next time Hayami and Chiba are here, I'm gonna ask them to pick up coffee. This is ridiculous." Nagisa gave her a smile, hoping that his previous musing didn't show on his face. Kayano slowly blinked, as if realizing something.

"Are you alright, Nagisa?" Kayano asked. Apparently he hadn't been fast enough.

"I'm fine," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

"You don't look it," she said. She yawned and regarded him with surprisingly bright eyes. "You're not happy with the way things are happening, are you?"

"What gave it away? The part where I told you all to abandon me and go off on your own?" Nagisa said dryly. He was too tired to put up a pretense of politeness.

"You don't like relying on others," Kayano translated for him, "Even when we were in high school, you didn't like people doing things for you. Remember that time when we were free climbing, and you needed a hand to help you up, and you refused?" Kayano chuckled at the memory. "I just sat back and watched while Karma desperately tried to get you to budge. You were stubborn. You did eventually figure it out, I'll give you that at least." She laughed and the sides of Nagisa's mouth twitched upwards. "I know you're not happy about how everything turned out, but it's not bad to trust in others. Hayami, Chiba, and everyone else are all doing their best."

"It's not that I don't trust them, it's that I don't want them in danger." Kayano nodded sleepily.

"I understand how you feel, Nagisa. The last thing I want is for anyone to be in this position," she said, "But you also need understand that they aren't just doing this for you. They respect you, we all do, but they need the chance to defend themselves. Asano hasn't just targeted you, he's gone after them as well. Who knows how long it'll be before they're in danger too?"

Nagisa was silent, contemplating her words. He knew they were correct. He had heard the story many times from many different perspectives after everyone had gathered. Still, it didn't make him feel any better about the situation.

"I know," he said simply, "That doesn't make me feel any better."

"You're used to doing things on your own," Kayano said, leaning forward, "The idea of people helping you is strange to you." She stood up and took a step forward. Nagisa leaned back against his chair. "But really, at your core, you want to make sure they're safe. Your independence comes from protecting others, but there's nothing wrong with opening up to others and letting them protect you." She tapped him on the chest with the back of her hand and smiled. "Really, beneath your tough exterior you've got a heart of gold."

Nagisa's hand hovered over where Kayano's hand made contact. He let out a sigh, unsure of how to respond to that. In the end it didn't matter, because Kayano continued on, "There are a lot of people who care about you."

"Why?" he asked. His hand formed a fist, right above his heart. "Why would anyone care about me? What've I done for them? I left everyone without a second thought. I didn't even look back. I don't deserve anything." Kayano's eyes grew sympathetic. She took his fist and cupped it in her hands.

"Nagisa, we're your friends. We don't need anything from you," she said, "Our time together, as short as it may've been in middle school and high school, was enough. You're our friend."

Nagisa wanted to tell her she was wrong. That she didn't understand. That she couldn't possibly understand.

"We may not be happy with how everything turned out, Nagisa, but you should understand, from the bottom of our hearts, that if we had the choice, we would do it again." She let go of his hand, taking a step back. "We don't have any regrets, and it might take a moment for our losses to heal, but we respect you." Nagisa gulped, a swell of emotion going through his body. "It wouldn't hurt to open up to us, you know. We're going to be stuck with you for a while." She winked. "Besides, I think Karma's eagerly awaiting that day." Nagisa's cheeks flushed at the reminder.

"R-right," he said. She pulled him into a hug.

"We just want you to be happy, Nagisa. Don't shut us out, okay?" Nagisa fidgeted beneath her arms, but relaxed as she tightened her grip.

"Okay," he said softly. He wasn't sure it was going to be as easy as Kayano said it would be, but he resolved to try. He wasn't giving it his all, when everyone else was. He had to have faith in them, no matter how hard it was going to be. She released him.

"Alright, Nagisa! Why don't we try our hand at the shooting range? I'm a bit out of practice and I'm meeting Nakamura there in ten!"

He just needed to have some faith.

Irina Jelavic sat against their kitchen counter, sipping a glass of red wine. Aleksandr had been put to bed hours ago. Karasuma had returned about an hour ago and was typing away on his laptop, presumably finishing up some work before he went to bed. The taste of the wine against her tongue was cheap comfort for the conversation that was about to ensue. They had never discussed her time as an assassin, besides a few drunken conversations and even fewer heart-to-hearts. Karasuma knew what he needed to know and that was all.

He didn't need to know about the scars, the fearful nights, the blood that coated her body from head to toe, the first mission at age 12. She had spent her formative years with a bloody knife in her hand and a deep-seated fear that even a loud car alarm could set off. Her present life was blessed and she loved every minute of it.

"Tadaomi, do you trust me?" she asked. A tendril of fear curled through her. It was stupid and uncalled for, but there was a part of her that was terrified of the answer. The man's typing ceased as he looked up from the fluorescent screen.

"Yes," he said, "Undoubtedly." The fear settled, though her heart still pounded. "Why? Where is this coming from?" She took another sip of her wine, hoping the liquid would make this conversation easier.

"I came across some intel today," she said carefully, "In the form of Touka Yada, Kurahashi Hinano, Hazama Kirara, and Fuwa Yuzuki." Karasuma's brows furrowed, emphasizing the stress lines on his face. He would understand the implications. Slowly he shut the computer, his work forgotten for a later time. "I ran into them today at that café."

"They were together?" he repeated. Irina took a deep breath.

"Yes," she confirmed, "They're helping him." Karasuma stood up.

"They're what?"

"They're helping him," she repeated, a bit firmer, "They know who's behind everything." Karasuma's eyes widened and he stopped in his place.

"Who?"

"Asano Gakushuu." Karasuma's eyes widened comically.

"What?"

"That was my reaction as well," she said, "I've only heard parts of it but…but he had managed to bug and monitor the kids. He somehow knew about everything and pulled the strings from behind the curtain. He was Nagisa's original target." Karasuma stood disbelieving. "He's got a ridiculous network, potentially as big as some of the Yakuza leaders and Russian mafia leaders I've come across."

"How far does it extend?" Karasuma asked, although Irina could already see him putting the pieces together.

"As far as the Ministry of Defense," she confirmed, "They suspect the police department as well." Irina placed the wine glass on the counter, the sound of glass against marble echoing through the room. "They said that Nagisa identified two people in the Ministry who said they were working for him. Shinozaki Kaoru…"

"I don't know him," Karasuma said, racking his brain.

"They said he's pretty low level," Irina explained, "And Sakubara Mokichi."

"Sakubara?!" he exclaimed. Irina shushed him, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Aleksandr's room. Karasuma continued quieter, "You're telling me that my head of interrogation is reporting to someone else?"

"That's what Nagisa reported," she said. She regarded him seriously. "The kids are planning to assassinate Asano. But first they're taking down his network." She went quiet. Karasuma would realize what she meant.

"You're the only one who would have access to the Ministry," he stated, more for himself than anyone. Irina solemnly nodded.

"The girls have a clever plan for getting to Shinozaki…but I'm the only one who could get to Sakubara without raising suspicion." Karasuma ran his fingers through his hair. Irina stepped towards him, taking his free hand. She laced their fingers together, the touch bringing her some peace. Karasuma closed his eyes.

"What would you do?"

"I would seduce him, and when he least expects it, I'll capture him." She could feel Karasuma squeeze her hand. "And once I get the information I need out of him…I would kill him."

"You don't foresee a route where you don't have to kill," Karasuma said, more of a statement to himself than a question.

"No," Irina confirmed, "If he knows I am…was an assassin, that I'm working with Nagisa, who knows what that would mean for you? Besides…do you really want someone disloyal to you in the Ministry?" Karasuma closed his eyes.

"No," he said quietly, "But, Irina, do you want to do this? You left that life behind."

"I know," she said, "But I'll do it for them. These kids showed me what a life could be like without killing, without the threat of death hanging over your head at every moment. A life without fear. I owe it to them to ensure that can find some safety."

"Irina," he said quietly. He bumped his forehead against Irina's, an unusual display of affection for the normally stoic man.

"So, I ask you again. Do you trust me?" Karasuma kissed her forehead.

"Yes," he said, "I do."