Eiji's partner was a woman named Ohato Bando, and she was about five years older than Mina Hongo. Monday afternoon found her sitting in one of the chairs in Mina Hongo's small office. She wore a conservative tan pants suit, and fake glasses with a small camera built into the bridge. Right on time, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Mina called.

Kyohei came in. He had an earpiece wired to his phone. He laughed as he listened to the conversation on the other end. "Ok…I'll talk to you again later." He pulled the earpiece out.

Mina and Bando stood up. "Kyohei?" Mina said. "This is our new psychologist, Dr. Keiko Yamada. Dr. Yamada, this is Kyohei Tachibana."

The traded bows. "I didn't know we had a psychologist," Kyo said as he sat down. "I've never seen you before."

Bando smiled. "It's a new directive from the Ministry of Education. I just started today."

Kyohei seemed to weigh this before nodding. Then he turned to Mina. "So, you wanted to talk to me about Sei."

"I'm concerned about you," Mina said. "Ever since you started working for Sei, you've missed classes, your grades - while still good - have fallen, and you've been tired and stressed out."

"Why don't you just come out and say it, Miss H.?"

"All right, Kyohei - are you having a sexual relationship with Sei?"

"NO. And as a matter of fact, she and I were talking about this right before the test. She said she likes her men a little older. I just work for her."

Bando said with a smile, "All right, but she is a beautiful woman, and you're a growing young man feeling…urges. It would be only natural for you to think about it."

"What, me and Sei? Yeah, if I was desperate! Sei can be cool sometimes, but I don't want her for a girlfriend - or any of them for that matter. I want someone normal in my life, like Eriko or Shiho, someone who isn't-" He broke off, then leaned closer to Bando, staring at her. "The glasses are nice," he said, "but I can tell they're not refracting the light at all. And the camera is pretty obvious; Amy could get you one that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb."

Bando's eyes flicked to Mina, then she took the glasses off. "Is that what gave it away?" she asked.

"And the way you're sitting," Kyohei said. "You're trying to look relaxed, but you're just like Jo - always watching, always ready to move. Who are you, really?"

"Detective Ohato Bando, National Police, Tokyo Special Investigations Unit."

"The goddamm sex police?" Kyohei said. "Did my dad call you?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Kyohei," Mina Hongo said, "that place reeked of sex and violence. You're an impressionable young man-"

"THEY'RE NOT DOING THAT TO ME!" Kyohei said. "I've been beaten up, shot at, blown up - Jo almost shot my junk off the first time she talked to me, though she gets like that every time Meg is kidnapped - I've been kidnapped, injected with nanotech that would have killed me in eight hours - if what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, those girls will make me the toughest S. O. B. to walk into any kitchen in Paris. I'll be cool as a cucumber and they'll say, 'How are you so calm?' And I'll say, 'I cooked for Sei.' 'Oh yeah, four crazy women, Mech, I hear ya.' It's great the cops looked into all that crap. Oh, wait you didn't. But Kyo knows girls who aren't wearing space suits the whole time? Sound the alarm! But, sorry to disappoint you, I haven't got laid once. They might as well as be a bunch of nuns walking around in their underwear for all the action that doesn't happen there. Jo doesn't even get 'my heroine' sex after she rescues Meg; she just zonks out to horror movies while Meg eats whatever she can find in the refrigerator and then they go to bed; Sei had to read Meg the riot act before she stopped eating the breakfasts I would leave for the next day. And yes, Meg and Jo have separate rooms, although I don't know who they think they're fooling at this point. Or maybe Jo just doesn't know what a lesbian is; you never know with her."

Bando soothed, "All right, all right, no need to get agitated Your teacher is just concerned about you-"

"I'm concerned about me! Don't you get it? I don't want to come here and say nice things about them. I cook for them because I want to get to France and Sei is the only person - the only one - who's supported me so far. I just hope it's worth it. But I've been in all sorts of trouble and they're a real pain the ass, but no, Sei is not, I repeat, not, let me say it again, NOT screwing me, at least not literally." He slapped his face. "I can't believe I just said that. I guess I'm going into 'protective custody' now."

Mina looked at Bando, then turned back to Kyohei and said, "All right, but you will let me know if she does anything out of the ordinary, all right?"

"As opposed to what? May I go now?"

"Yes."

After Kyohei had left, Mina said, "What do you think?"

"Hard to say. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's smitten with her, even if he denies it. They seem to have a lot of issues, but that could be within the context of a normal friendship, just in abnormal circumstances. But I'll tell you this, Miss Hongo: I've interviewed dozens of victims and potential victims. Would you care to guess how many of them saw through my cover when I affected one?"

"How many, Detective?"

"One, and he just left the room."