MISPER

Familiar Faces

Inspector Hyuuga and a few of his colleges were on their lunch break in the cafeteria when his phone ringed. He gulped down his ramen and fished out his phone, an unknown number on his display.

''Hyuuga.'' He said into the phone, taking a sip of his juice.

''Inspector Hyuuga?'' came a girly voice from the other side and Natsume choked on the juice. Natsume coughed, putting the phone a little away, and then cleared his throat. His colleges glanced at him chuckling, one clapping him on the back. Once he was all right, he glared at his co-workers and put the phone back to his ear.

''Miss Sakura.'' He rasped, still not believing she had called him. He seriously did not expect her to.

''Hello, inspector. I'm sorry to bother you.'' She apologized.

''Is anything wrong, miss? Has something happened?'' he asked concerned, balancing his phone between his ear and shoulder, while pulling out his wallet to place the money on the table.

''Uh, no. I'd like to talk to you in person if that's ok?''

Natsume stood up. ''Yeah, sure. Where do I find you?''

''Um… At the table in the corner.'' She told him and Natsume stopped in his movements, then slowly turned around. He noticed her waiving awkwardly at him from the far corner of the cafeteria. He sighed. ''All right.'' He ended the call, saluted his co-workers and made his way towards her. She sat up once he reached the table and shook his hand. ''Thanks for coming.''

They sat down opposite each other, Natsume noticing that her belly got bigger. He also noticed the huge yellow envelope she was holding in her hand. ''I haven't seen you in a month, Miss Sakura. What have you done this time?''

Mikan gave him a small smile that quickly disappeared, then pushed the envelope towards him. Natsume took it and opened it. He looked inside without taking anything out. His eyes widened once more, as he leafed through the photos. Then he closed the envelope and looked at Mikan with a serious expression. ''I told you we were tailing him since we got his fingerprints. Why did you follow him?''

Mikan did not flinch at his tone. ''As I already told you, I'm doing the nasty work here. And now you have photos that prove he's involved in something big.''

''Yes. This… These photos… I'm not even sure I want to know how you did it, but Sakura…'' he looked at her in anger. ''This isn't a game. It's very dangerous. If he had seen you, you would have been dead by now. Think about your life a little. Think about your child.'' He brought out forcefully, his fury visible on his face.

Mikan got angry too. ''I'm sorry, but if you had done your job properly, I wouldn't have gotten involved. Moreover, I was very careful not to be seen. And a pregnant woman, as short as I am, doesn't look suspicious.''

''I told you we did everything we could and now we're following these new clues. I don't want you to put yourself in danger.''

''You've seen the photos, didn't you?!'' she spat in anger. ''Do you know what he's doing? He's kidnapping pregnant women! And my mum, of course, had to be the one nurse who caught him in act and had to pay for it. I was the one who found this out. I was the one who did the dirty work. Don't tell me to stop now just because your ego is smashed.'' She threatened, trying hard not to be too loud.

''Mikan…'' he addressed her with her given name to calm her down. It felt strange for him to call her that. She, too, looked surprised, but she did calm down. ''Look, I can't imagine how you feel, but I have experience with such cases. We'll get him. Especially with these photos. With this, we can get a warrant to search through these places, all right…'' he explained, putting his hands on hers. He quickly pulled away after his speech, feeling a little awkward.

He should not start anything with this girl.

He scratched the back of his neck and glanced at her, only to gasp in horror. She had tears in her eyes, and she was grimacing as if she was desperately trying to hold in the emotional pain. She sniffed and turned her face away, discreetly wiping away her tears. Natsume respected her even more now.

''I'm sorry, I didn't meant to-''

''No.'' She brushed the matter off, clearing her throat. ''It's the hormones. I can't control my emotions. I'm sorry. I'm just… I just want to find my mum and bring her back home. I miss her. I don't have anyone else but her.'' She told him, her voice shaking.

He knew that. Her mother was a single mum. Mister Sakura had died in a car accident twenty years ago and even when there were a few other men in Yuka's life, she never married again. She brought her daughter up on her own, while working as a nurse in the maternity hospital. And it just had to be her who the dangerous criminal Persona decided to kidnap. Or kill. Who knew. In all honesty, Natsume was sure Yuka was already dead. Criminals had to get rid of witnesses as quickly as possible.

Natsume put his hand over Mikan's once again, this time not moving it away. She looked at him with teary eyes. ''I promise you, Mikan-'' he addressed her again by name to gain her trust, this time not feeling strange for saying her name. ''-we'll get him and lock him up for good.'' He did not promise her anything about her mother. He knew she knew why. She accepted his promise and nodded.

Her hand stayed firmly under his.

''Yes… Yes, I understand.'' She averted her eyes, pulling herself together.

They were silent for a few moments; then Natsume spoke up. ''So… How are you feeling?''

She knew he asked about her health. ''Fine… A little stressed from all this, but I'm all right. Mostly hormonal and crying without a reason.'' She joked gently, smiling a little, while her eyes were still glassy. Her cheeks were rosy, and she smelled incredible, and Natsume had to hold himself back to not do anything stupid.

He nodded. ''Do you have any financial problems now that-''

''No, I got a regular job at the nursery, and I'll soon go on my maternity leave. My friends help me… cope, and it's… It's all right…''

''What about-'' he glanced at her belly and she somehow knew what he wanted to ask. ''My baby has not father. Right before graduation I…'' she shrugged. ''I wanted to have some fun, drank too much, and forgot about it after. Then I realized I was pregnant and decided to keep it. I thought about abortion, but mum was so happy to become a grandmother, and I… I don't know. I love children. I got the chance to have my own now.'' She smiled, showing him her white teeth and dimples on her rosy cheeks. She looked very pretty.

It caused some problems to his poor heart.

''What about you, Inspector?'' she asked jokingly. ''Any children on their way?''

He gave her a half smile, his red eyes shining, and shook his head. ''No, no. No children here. Not even a romantic partner. My job takes up too much of my time and energy.'' He joked back, having no idea that the red on her cheek became brighter for a completely different reason than before.

''Oh, that sounds familiar. My friend says that too. Although her job is far from police work.'' Mikan chuckled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ears. The fact that the man opposite her was still holding her other hand in his was being ignored.

''Yeah?'' Natsume chuckled, enjoying the easy conversation. ''What is she doing?''

''Well… She doesn't have a regular job yet; she's one of the student researches of the National Institute for Basic Biology; she's being paid and all that, but it's not a regular job yet. Although working 12 hours a day should be considered double shift if you ask me…''

''That's to be admired. These kind of jobs are the most paid in Japan. At least on the field of research.''

''I know.'' Mikan nodded. ''Hotaru makes fun of me sometimes for working as a nursery teacher.''

''Nah, If you like what you're doing, you should be proud. Not everyone gets their dream job.''

''True… And as I said, I love my job.'' She sipped at her tea. ''What about you? Was this your dream job? Being an inspector?''

''Kind of. I just wanted to be a policeman since forever. So I became one.'' He admitted and smiled.

''Would you like something to drink?'' interrupted the waitress their conversation. The pair quickly pulled their hands away, and Natsume shook his head, realizing that she noticed him not drinking anything since he sat down. ''Thanks, but no. I already had something.''

''Can I pay?'' Mikan asked the waitress and the young girl nodded, looking for the receipt for this table in her hip-wallet that waitresses always carried around. She found it and put the piece of paper in front of Mikan. She paid and the waitress went back.

They both looked at each other again, holding a smile. ''I'm sorry again for bothering you, Inspector. I noticed you in here as I was on my way to the station and just called. I think everyone at the station hates me already.''

''Nah, you're just dedicated and very… brave… I guess.'' He told her, then his expression got serious. ''But please. Be careful. Call me if you want to do something. I will help you.'' He promised and Mikan nodded. ''I will, thank you.'' She drank up her tea and slowly stood up. Natsume took her in with his eyes. She was beautiful. The round belly only made her even more attractive.

Natsume stood up too and shook hands with her again. ''I'll bring these to the station.'' He referred to the photos. ''I'll contact you about what will happen next, all right?''

''Ok. Thanks.'' She smiled once again and then walked out. Natsume watched her go.