A Young Girl's Odyssey [Epilogue ~COMPLETE~]

[rokun]

A rare morning posting! Of course, I just wanted to give more to read for you all who hadn't caught up with the last yet. This is kind of a crazy chapter as I'm sure you'll tell from the title. Please enjoy.

Chapter 23 – Egao YES Nude

Reina continued watching the lights, holding her eyes half-closed in a measure of half-sleep that she used quite often lately to recuperate some energy on the fly. Staying focused and calm as she needed to lately required quite a lot of energy – much more than the few short hours of sleep that she managed to get every night restored in her.

She slowly tilted her head to look at the phone she carried in her hand resting on her lap, and it flashed 1:28 back at her. It looked like she wouldn’t get much sleep tonight, either. She would be up at daybreak in a few hours to get in an early-morning workout before visiting a few of her business contacts. Maybe she would look into some other areas she might be able to expand into.

Eyes closing fully, she barked a soft laugh. Workout early in the morning, then off to the day at work. Finish it up with a night at the club… The schedule she now held was not so much different from her time in Morning Musume. Well, it wouldn’t have been if she had any sort of discipline then, that is. That made her wonder. Have I really changed… grown… so much?

She caught eyes peering at her through the rear-view mirror in the front windshield. “Is something wrong, Tanaka-san?” Daisuke asked from the driver’s seat, slight concern in his voice, but also amusement indicating his understanding of the hint of her mood.

Reina stayed silent a moment before responding. “Yes, as a matter of fact. Why did you accept the invitation to be my escort?” She did her best to hide the smirk that wanted to appear at the corner of her mouth.

“Someone as humble as me would be quite foolish not to take an opportunity like that offered by one such as you, Ma’am,” he responded. Reina grimaced. The boy almost sounded sincere!

“Opportunity, huh?” Reina mumbled. “Didn’t I tell you to not call me things like ‘Ma’am’? I get enough of that from all the sleaze balls working for me, so I definitely don’t want it from you…” She stopped after she said that, realizing she probably didn’t quite use the right choice of words just then.

Daisuke didn’t appear to notice, however. “That wouldn’t be proper, Tanaka-san. I could hardly be less polite when I was just assisting on your picture crews, so I definitely cannot now that you’re in your new… station.”

Reina thought for a second before sliding forward a bit on her seat and leaning up near the headrest of the driver’s. She noticed Daisuke’s eyes giving her glances through the rear-view mirror still, and she smiled back at him. The boy seemed to be getting nervous.

“Tanaka-san? What are you doing?” he asked. Reina noticed his knuckles pale slightly in the tight grip he held on the steering wheel.

“I’d really like it if you just called me Reina…” she nearly purred, taking a decorated fingernail and gliding it up his shoulder and slightly onto his neck. The boy swallowed. “Are you sure you can’t do that for me? You keep saying you’ll do anything I say, after all…”

“Er…” he started, eyes no longer darting to the mirror and instead fixed hard on the road ahead. “I… I guess I could…” Reina noticed him shiver slightly as she blew softly against the back of his neck.

‘I’m sure you can…” she cooed.

“Yes, Reina,” he said quickly. “I’m not sure if I trust myself enough, since I definitely wouldn’t be able to speak that way when we’re not alone, but I’ll do my best.” His quick speech indicated a strong nervousness and desire for the girl behind him to cease her teasing. Reina decided she wouldn’t let him off that easily, though.

“And why would that be a problem?” She now lazily drew her finger to and fro across the back of his neck.

“If anyone heard it, I’m afraid they might get the…” He finally glanced back into the mirror, though his eyes didn’t look as afraid as his words. “…wrong idea.”

“Oh?” Reina murmured. “Let them.” With a last touch to his ear, she drew back into her seat, still staring into the mirror at his eyes. Daisuke’s held them for a moment before returning quickly back to the road. After that though, the car was silent for a few minutes.

Reina smiled softly to herself and gazed back out into the city. Harajuku buildings were beginning to come into view. It wouldn’t be long now.

“How connected are we with UFW?” she asked after a time, not taking her eyes from the window. She could imagine the wide-eyed glances he gave her through the mirror, though.

“We aren’t, as far as I know,” he responded after the small hesitation. “I’m somewhat… independent. Call it a holdover from my university days.”

“You went to Tokyo University, right?” she asked. The boy didn’t respond. Well, she didn’t really expect him to. She could imagine the questions forming in his mind over how she knew that. In reality it was just a guess, but his silent confirmation dropped her into thought herself.

She knew she must have asked it a million times already, but truly, what had she gotten herself into? She’d seen movies and read stories about secret societies at the most elite colleges and even high schools, but she’d never really thought of it as more than fiction. Well, it was far beyond fiction now, and she was as tightly tied to it as the best of those Tokyo graduates. It made her want to laugh hysterically. For all her outward act, it was ridiculous for a small teenage girl from Fukuoka to think she deserved all of this. As the Hisuitora Mansion came into view from around a corner and she saw the small number of press still camped out at this hour across the street, her thoughts sobered. Whatever she thought, whatever she really deserved, this was reality.

Daisuke pulled up to a gate which fronted a large barred door at the side and punched a code into the mechanism beside them. As he pulled away from it, the gate slid slowly open and he drove up just past it, stopping as the gate closed and the door slid open. He then took them into the dimly lit underground car park, slowing and finally stopping beside an elevator door.

Daisuke didn’t speak since no words were necessary at the moment, and Reina put her hand to the handle. For some reason, she felt very antsy. Maybe it was the night’s work. Already turned as if to exit the vehicle, she turned her head back slightly to cast a glance up at what she could see of Daisuke in his seat. From this angle, she couldn’t see his face through the mirror.

She realized how vividly she felt her chest heave with her breath; her heart beating quickly. “Would you like to come up?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“…Excuse me?” Daisuke responded.

“Up,” she said simply, and in a voice a bit stronger. “To my rooms with me.” Her heart must be beating a million times an hour. What was happening to her?

There was a pause before Daisuke spoke again. “I’ll keep an eye out down here,” he said softly, “But I don’t think I should…”

“Of course,” Reina said quickly, and pushed open the door in a rush, swinging it shut and darting over to the elevator. Her heart didn’t stop pounding until its door slid open and she heard the car rumble slowly away.

Ducking in, she pushed for her floor and fell to the back of the carriage, laying against the wall and catching her breath, arms crossed tightly in front of her. Where did that come from? Daisuke was certainly cute with his mid-length dark scattered hair, and quite handsome with his high cheekbones and all, and… She shook herself. She supposed she always had somewhat of a crush on him since her photo shoot, but she didn’t think it was near to the extent of inviting him up to her apartment! He was her escort, after all. It just… It just wouldn’t be proper!

The door slid open again, and she walked out onto her floor. A large suited man was leaning against the wall not far from the elevator as always, and he gave her a look and a nod before returning to his intense study of the floor. She strode past and down the hall. She still felt like she wanted to jump out of her skin. She knew this feeling, but didn’t particularly like it right now. She thought she’d gotten rid of it since learning to school her thoughts and emotions, but obviously all that had fallen apart for some reason now. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried to be so amorous with Daisuke-kun to get him to loosen up with her…

At that thought she missed a step and blushed, quickening her stride until she reached her door, hurriedly swiping her card and slipping in, the lights flicking on automatically at her movement. She needed a cold bath. That made her think of Eri and the last time they shared a bath. That was the last time she’d felt this way…

She couldn’t make it into the washroom quickly enough.

An indeterminable amount of time later, she sat in her recliner in front of the flickering flames of the fireplace brushing her hair. She felt much better. That was definitely not something she’d let happen again. She glanced over at the clock which flashed 2:43 at her and sighed. She would get less sleep than she even originally thought tonight. Pulling the last stubborn knots from her precious hair, she set the brush on the end table and laid back, closing her eyes and just enjoying the coziness of her chair and the fire in front of her.

Upon returning to Tokyo, she and Ai met with a representative of Ai’s “sect”. Apparently somehow he had learned of Reina’s new position already, and he explained that he’d arranged a condo at Hisuitora for her. She was shocked, and at first couldn’t understand it. Aside from the obvious upgrade to her current Tokyo hotel room, she wondered how she could keep a low profile at such a high profile residence. She gave it a try however at his and Ai’s insistence – and Ai’s calm comment about how she herself lived there, in fact just down the hall from where Reina was now – and once she learned what kind of security they had here, she couldn’t turn it down. It had also been quite a surprise when, at another meeting, she found Daisuke as part of the crowd. Soon after, after both of them shared moments of surprise, Reina suddenly asked him if he’d be her escort, since Ai told her she should choose someone she trusted to accompany her and to act as her “bodyguard”. She distantly felt herself smile at that. If push came to shove, she had a good idea who would be whose bodyguard. Of course, Ai didn’t tell her who her own was, if she had one.

The soothing sounds of the crackling fire reverberated in her head, and her mind wandered. She thought of the moves she would practice in the morning. Knives appeared in her mind and flew around in chaos. One, guided by her hand, sliced the back of a knee not unlike earlier that night, though much more blood spurted in her vision than in reality. That blood then washed fully throughout her head, and faces rose up out of it. First Aya’s, which stared warmly as the friend she’d known shortly after Miki’s death, and then Miki’s herself. Those eyes, however, glared. Reina felt a yelp in the back of her throat at that, but it never made her lips…

…

Reina’s eyes opened to the dark embers of a dead fire before her. Bright white light reflected off the mantle, and she tenderly twisted her woozy head toward the source – the sun, shining in through the large window near the entrance to the kitchen. Her eyes widening, Reina sent jolts through her reluctant muscles and jumped up from her chair, nearly unable to stop her momentum from running her right into the opposite wall.

The sun was shining! What time was it?? She looked at the clock near the mantle and squinted her eyes to make out its dim glow against the sunlight. 11:15 it blinked slowly back at her.

“Shit…” she mumbled, and stumbled into her room trying her best to avoid tripping on her robe. Once in there she walked up to her dresser, but just stared at it.

So she overslept. She didn’t get up at 7 and work out like she’d hoped. She didn’t make her rounds of the businesses she dabbled in lately. So… what? There was no rule stating she had to work out at 7 – it was her own rule that she would do it. The businesses would run fine. They were all run by very capable people who knew what they were doing long before they knew anything about Reina Tanaka. Sure, they were doing things differently now at her discretion, but they would do it no matter whether she checked up on them or not – they knew what would happen if they broke one of her rules. Her rules…

Reina leaned over the dresser and laid her cheek on it, sighing. What did she do anymore that was not by her rule, her order? The council and the Chairman were her superiors, but they didn’t bother her. Ai never really bothered her since Kobe, either. All the meetings she’d joined her at were by polite invitation as between equals. She truly had free rein. For some reason, she felt like hugging herself. She wasn’t sure how much she liked that. Everyone always says they want to have no rules, do whatever they please, but now that she seemingly could… Why did she suddenly want to be told what to do?

Unthinkingly, she walked back out of her bedroom in her bare feet and robe, unconsciously tying it tighter around her waist. She grabbed her key card from the table next to the door and went through it out into the hall, looking around dazedly before walking down toward the elevator. The man at the end of the hall gave her a short gaze, but his expression betrayed nothing more and before long he dropped his eyes once again to the floor.

Before she knew it, Reina was walking along the street past stores a few short blocks from the mansion. A few people gave her a short glance as they passed, but most didn’t look and just kept to their business. She stopped in front of the Chanel store and looked at some of the hats they featured in their window. A sales clerk standing beside the front door gave her suspicious glances, but seemed content to leave her be as long as she stayed where she was. People continued passing by without any more glances than before until she sensed two small forms come up slowly to her and stop barely a meter away.

“Reina?” she heard one ask. She tilted her head to glance at the girl who addressed her and stared.

“Why am I not surprised to find you near here?” Koharu said with a furrowed brow. “I knew you and Takahashi-sama hadn’t gone missing and been killed. Though, I hadn’t heard word from her lately… Tsunku is in quite a state, you know.”

Reina stared at her for another moment. “You know you should call me Reina-sama now,” she said blandly, provoking widened eyes from the younger Musume.

After she spoke she heard a giggle from next to Koharu and turned fully around to view both girls. Aika stood with a smile, eyebrows raised in disbelief. “I know I don’t know everything about being in Morning Musume yet,” she said, “but I’m pretty sure I’m not going to start going around and calling you Reina-sama! Even if you did rise from the dead…” She tilted her head at that and acted as if she wanted to poke Reina to see if she was real, giving her queer looks up and down.

Reina looked herself up and down and seemed for the first time to realize she was barefoot in a dark robe with cherry blossoms printed all over it. She looked back up at the two girls. “You’re not going to be calling me anything, Aika-chan. As far as you know, I’m dead and out at the bottom of the sea somewhere.” The youngest girl seemed to feel her feathers ruffled by that and stuck out her lower lip, opening her mouth as if to argue, but her companion interrupted her.

“You??” Koharu nearly shouted. “I know Takahashi-sama always favored you for some reason and you had your own insane thoughts, but I can’t believe…” She said the last words over the newest Musume giggling at her way of saying Ai’s name again.

Reina opened her mouth as if to put the girl in her place, but stopped herself and suddenly smiled. “Actually, I don’t care what you call me. All you need to remember is to not tell anyone that you saw me. You know what Ai-chan will do if you were to blow her cover…” Koharu’s face paled at that. Reina actually wasn’t sure if Ai would do anything, but apparently the threat was good enough for the girl’s too-vivid imagination. All those stories in her head were apparently working in Reina’s favor finally… “And make sure to keep the lips of our newest friend here sealed just as well!” To go with her words, she patted the new girl’s head. Hard.

“Hey!” she retaliated, pushing Reina away before smoothing her hair. “I’ll tell whoever I want to t- mmm mmhhmm hmmm…” Whatever else the spunky girl was about to say was muffled by Koharu’s hand suddenly over her mouth, and her other arm quickly wrapped around the younger girl’s waist, Aika reacting to being restrained literally kicking and, well, attempting to scream.

“You tell Takahashi-sama we won’t say anything,” Koharu said with a cute glare at Reina, taking care to emphasize the name of the girl she apparently stood in awe of, and looked down at her younger companion. “Come on,” she told her, beginning to drag her back down the sidewalk. As they stumbled away, Reina heard Koharu continue mumbling, “I’ll have to have a talk with Miss Niigaki. It’s good to be assertive, but this is ridiculous…” If she said anything else, it was drowned out in the low murmur of the surrounding crowds and the growing distance between them.

For Reina’s part, she spun around and strode confidently back toward the mansion, her robe billowing slightly around her legs, which didn’t feel the cold at all. When she found her room once again, she picked up her phone and looked at the last text message she received early yesterday. It hadn’t made sense to her at the time, but the sudden revelation she had while in front of the Chanel store in her cherry blossom robe and bare feet while talking to her two former kouhai seemed almost too outrageous to be true. She was only guessing, but if it was true, she could have kicked herself for not realizing it sooner. Actually, kicking was not a strong enough response…

Clearing the text, she brought up her list of recent calls and stared a moment at a number that had no name next to it. Calling it, she listened to the other end ring four times before a click and a small voice tentatively saying, “Hello?”

“Ayaya,” Reina responded. “It’s Reina. We need to talk. I’ll also be bringing along a detective. His name’s Kitamura.”
__________________________________

Micchi

[JFC]

Aya's NOT DEAD!!! Reina didn't kill her!

[rndmnwierd]

*slaps thigh* I knew it!

[rokun]

And here I see how I deal with writing two stories at once again. I'm sorry for the gap between updates - it's been a long semester. The next two chapters, which will somewhat be just two different parts of a whole, will hopefully be worth it though (I'll post Chapter 25 at some point in the not too far distant future). This chapter moves kind of slow, so hopefully it gets everyone back into the swing of the story. With what's coming up, think of it as... the calm before the storm.

Chapter 24 – The Perfect Storm Arises

   Reina watched the people – mostly average salarymen with a few women in like dress wear sprinkled in – pass by along the busy Shinjuku sidewalks as Daisuke drove her steadily through the traffic. And all too slowly as well, at least for Reina’s current temperament. She tapped a lacquered fingernail against her cell, which was lying in the lap of the actually quite sophisticated, if still short, black skirt she wore beneath cream blouse and black tie. That was all and well, and quite expensive really – the silk and elaborate fabrics nothing she could have afforded while being only an idol celebrity - but it was the accoutrements she hoped would attract attention.

   Around the waist of the skirt in a slightly tilted circle, she wore beads that could be just taken as a teenager’s faux attempt at style, but upon closer inspection were revealed as akoya pearls of the highest quality she could find. Of course, it would normally be worn as a necklace, and a girl would have to be crazy to wear it around her waist. Well, Reina had wondered lately if she was crazy, and today was maybe the best day to find out for sure. A silver chain also hung from her side.

   Above her expensive lower body trappings, she wore a short jacket over the blouse. The jacket was designed specifically for her by Gucci, which was actually just a few blocks away from her present location. It had an inner lining of Italian leather with velvet trim, and arrayed on its front were silk textures flowing in patterns Reina sometimes thought she could lose herself in that she believed could only be found in Tokyo. She had done up her hair as well, wrapping it in a tight silk ribbon where it blossomed just to the right.

   It was quite an endeavor to get everything just right, but she wanted to attract attention today. Also, she had to admit, she liked wearing clothes that she never could have dreamed of years ago.

   She continued tapping her fingernail on the phone, her heavily shadowed eyes glancing from the passing salarymen down to it every few seconds. Eventually she couldn’t help herself and flipped it open, navigating quickly to her inbox to open a message from yesterday.

   “Find me when you’ve realized the cat directs only her pack of kittens. The lioness stands tall.”

   She stared at the message a moment before flipping her phone closed and pulling her eyes back to the window. She’d repeated the same process probably ten times since she got in the car, and imagined she’d repeat it ten more. Especially if they didn’t reach their destination soon. She growled under her breath and caught Daisuke’s eyes from the rear-view mirror.

   “If you keep giving me looks like that, I will make you come up to my rooms,” Reina warned, her eyes narrowly looking at those in the mirror.

   “Yes, Tanaka-san. Whatever you say, Tanaka-san,” the boy said. Reina thought she even detected a hint of a smile! She knew he would enjoy coming to her bed. Then she blushed slightly at that thought. Come on Reina, you can’t have your teenage hormones kick in at a time like this…

   Finally they arrived in front of the East Shinjuku police station, and as Daisuke pulled the limo into a park up against the curb she waited impatiently.

   “I’ll pull into the lot across the street, Tanaka-san. I’ll try to look for you when you come out.”

   “Just stay here, Daisuke-kun. I don’t want to have to walk across the street with the dear Detective.”

   “But Tanaka-san, I can’t stay parked…”

   “Just stay,” Reina said once more, firmly, and exited through her door.

   People began glancing at her right after she left the limo, probably partially from interest as to who was in a limo arriving at the police station, and also from surprise at seeing that it was a young girl in quite elaborate fashion. Reina spread smiles liberally among their skeptical faces, but none really gave her more than a passing glance. Well, no more than could be expected from the streets of Japan she supposed.

   She walked smoothly up to the door to the station and pulled it open. A uniformed officer manning the entrance gave her a short visual evaluation and glanced out at her limousine. “I presume your driver will move your vehicle to a legal parking location presently… Ma’am?” he asked gruffly and as if by rote, except for the slight hesitation before giving her a title.

   “He will not,” Reina said, paying the man no more mind and continuing her walk swiftly into the smallish lobby, and soon arrived at the counter. Once over her unexpected response, the door officer would obviously be radioing something within, but she wasn’t worried.

   The man at the desk was the same one who was there that night what seemed so long ago. She checked her Rolex, and the hands pronounced 15:00 back to her. She sighed. How shortened days came to be when you got up so late. Well, that explained why a second shift officer was on duty already.

   “Can I help you… Miss?” the man asked uncertainly. He had apparently seen the exchange at the door and was viewing her with an amount of suspicion. He also had the look as if he recognized her but couldn’t quite place who.

   “I need to see Lieutenant Kitamura,” Reina said plainly and with a patient voice.

   “May I ask what this is concerning? The Lieutenant doesn’t often see visitors… except by appointment. Do you have an appointment, Miss…?”

   “Tanaka,” she said. Her voice sounded as if the name held some mysterious significance. The officer’s eyes widened, now with recognition. “I believe he will be very interested to see me, and today I’d rather see him than Mr. Kuroshi.” The man’s eyes widened further at that. Not many people knew Mr. Kuroshi – at least by that name. He was one of the directors of the Tokyo police force, and that was his pseudonym for his dealings with the underworld. Reina was half-surprised the man at the desk recognized it.

   The officer appraised her once again, and when a guard at the door moved as if to cover her he quickly shook his head and shooed him away. “Yes, Miss… Tanaka. Will you wait here while I let the Lieutenant know you are…”

   “No thank you,” she interrupted. “You can just take me to his office.”

   “…Understood,” he responded after a moment, and lifted a detachable countertop so she could walk behind.

   As he ushered her through and around the desks arrayed across the floor – most with an officer seated busy with some paperwork or another – she glanced around at them. She couldn’t stop a slight flush of excitement running through her. For all her new status had allowed her to do, walking almost freely through the depths of an administrative police station still was quite a sensation. She almost envisioned herself as a criminal being escorted to a jail cell and supposed she could just as easily be doing that instead, especially if they really knew anything about her. And, of course, if they could get away with it. The times when she threatened Ai about calling the police came around to her memory, and she almost giggled at the ridiculousness of that had she known anything at the time. She was such a naïve girl… Well, she couldn’t afford to be anymore. A true test of that would come today.

   They came to a door with gold-threaded letters pronouncing the characters for “north” and “village”. “The detective should be in now,” the man said, and raised his hand to knock on the door.

   However, before he could do so, Reina took the handle and pushed the door open. Leaving the flummoxed under-officer with his hand raised, she entered the room and shut the door just behind her. A short man sat at a desk in a plain cream button-down short-sleeved shirt. She could see the trench coat she remembered hanging on a tall rack to the side of the desk. However, he didn’t wear the sunglasses she also remembered. That was probably because they were inside at the moment though…

   At first when she walked in, he stood up as if in surprise at the intrusion, but then he noticed who the intruder was. “Fancy outfit you’ve got there for a girl your age,” he said calmly and not at all as if he was impressed before sitting back down and reclining in his simple leather office chair. He then peered at her over hands he steepled below his dark eyes.

   Reina studied him for a moment, calm herself as well. “I take it you remember me?” she asked quietly.

   “Oh yes…” he responded just as quietly. He picked up some papers on his desk and appeared to browse through them. “Reina Tanaka, formerly of the all-girl singing group Morning Musume. Reported missing January twenty-fourth, two-thousand seven. Several weeks later the search still goes on, but Tanaka has officially been reported dead.” Laying down the papers, he sank back into his chair again, raising his arms as if to stretch before folding them behind his head.

   “Then, of course, what any papers don’t say. ‘Has risen to an unidentifiable but high post in an elite conglomerate of various activities, including organized crime. However, it is currently being reported that she is reforming such subordinate businesses across the city of Tokyo and even, if rumour serves, patrols the streets at night saving young girls from a, shall we say, not so graceful fate.’”

   Reina lowered her chin as he spoke, though kept her increasingly glowing eyes on the Lieutenant. She felt a surge of adrenaline over how much of interest she apparently was to authority figures she knew from before it all came about. “Things appear to be a little different than the last time we talked, Lieutenant…” she said, lost in her centered world of calm and focus.

   “I could have you arrested and thrown into jail right here on at least a hundred different charges, you know,” he stated matter-of-factly in response.

   “…And you know I’d be out while the night was still young,” she responded with a soft smile.

   “Are you so sure of that?” he responded quickly, leaning back toward her, his eyes adopting a piercing gaze at least as hard as Ai used to give her.

   Reina began to respond but caught herself at his intensity. This is true, Reina. Remember, that’s the whole reason you’re doing this today. Remember, there is always someone more powerful. That’s what the writer of that text message taught her. She relaxed and stayed silent. Kitamura, noticing she wasn’t going to respond, gestured to a chair near her. She sat down, taking care with her clothes and adornments.

   “Whether that’s true or not, I need to appear as if I’m indestructible,” she said carefully, adjusting her “belt” of pearls.

   It took a few seconds for Kitamura to respond. “I’m glad to see you haven’t adopted the wit that would match those trinkets you wear,” he said finally, and noticeably relaxed in his chair. “So Miss Tanaka, what can I do for you?”

   She studied him carefully again. Now that proprieties were out of the way… “Do you remember Aya Matsuura?” she asked.

   “Yes, of course,” he replied. “She was a sweet girl. She came to me with a want to help out as best she could. Unfortunately we couldn’t really do anything for her, and she didn’t know enough to help… It’s too bad though. I’m afraid we can’t expect to see her alive again.” He said that last looking carefully at Reina. Obviously he didn’t believe a word he was saying, and now the ball was in Reina’s court. This detective was no fool. Good… she thought. Not that I expected anything different. She was very conscious of the cell phone now lodged within her jacket pocket.

   “I was sent to kill her, you know,” she said easily. The Lieutenant’s expression didn’t change. “She was asking too many questions, and I don’t think they liked her talking to you.”

   “Shall I add murder to the list of charges against you then?” he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

   She chuckled a bit, lowering her eyes. For a fleeting moment her former self realized the situation she was in. Had she truly gone insane? Laughing when an officer of the law threatened charges of murder… Well, if she was, there wasn’t too much she could do about it right now. “You know, people I know have been receiving very odd text messages for months now. Aya received one that I think, along with another I received around the same time, partly resulted in my current situation. Then there was no word for a while until… Just yesterday, another one came. There’s no mistaking it came from the same place, although of course the number was unidentified.” She looked back up to the detective. For the first time she noticed a trace of some emotion behind his eyes. Obviously this news meant something to him. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about those, would you?”

   “I can’t say that I do,” he responded after a second. Noticing her apparently unconcealed look of skepticism, he continued, “I wish I did know. I’m not thrilled to hear that someone might be interfering with my investigation.” From his inflection, Reina could tell that “someone” he mentioned seemed to be a specific person.

   “I see,” Reina replied. “That’s too bad. You know, that’s interesting though. The message also led me here to you this afternoon. I guess…” She looked at him, a question already forming in her eyes. “I guess we should proceed with this little game of ours?”

   “I don’t know what games you are playing, but if you have something else to say, you have my ear.” He turned back to his desk as if to resume going through his notes. “I’m a busy man. I’ve no time for things like that.”

   Reina smiled at him. He was good, no doubts about that. Reina’s hopes raised a little more. “Well then. Shall we go see Aya?”

   He looked back up at her, though no surprise showed on his face. “If you’d like. I wouldn’t mind asking her some questions.” He rose slowly, straightening his clothes and reaching for his trench coat. “I hope it’s not a long walk. I’m getting to be an old man, so I’m not sure how far I could go.”

   Reina thought about her limo for a second. There really was no point in it. Her aim was to attract attention after all. “It’s not too far.” Kitamura simply nodded as they headed out the door.

[JFC]

Reina has remembered that she originally only joined in this mess to bring it down from the inside. Time to get the ball rolling.

I'm sorry for the gap between updates - it's been a long semester.

So long as it gets continued, it's all good dude.

[Sukoshi]

Glad to see you back 

ah the detective is good!    but so is Reina  so this should be interesting!  I wonder how Ayaya is holding up

[rokun]

Let the storm begin... Enjoy. I hope everyone who's been keeping up with this gets to read this. It's one of my most favorite chapters I've ever written. And because of the cliffhanger, I might just let it go a little while before the next update because you know I love torturing you all. Of course, if more people comment maybe I'll update quicker. I hope everyone who has been reading comments this time. ^^

Chapter 25 - The Perfect Storm

   When they left the police station, Reina saw her limo still parked out front. Daisuke sat in the driver’s window, left alone with officers apparently not approaching him, yet appearing visibly nervous.

   “Parking there’s illegal, you know,” Kitamura informed her. “I’ll add that to your list of charges.”

   “All right,” was all she said as she walked toward Daisuke, who looked quite relieved to see her.

   “Tanaka-san! Are you ready to go now?” He looked around again nervously and lowered his voice. “If you don’t do this to me again, I swear I’ll come up to your apartments and do whatever you want me to do…” The words seemed to come choked from his throat.

   Reina smiled. “I don’t think there’ll be any need for that, Daisuke-kun. But I have somewhere to run with the Lieutenant here.” Daisuke suddenly adopted a different look of suspicion as his attention turned to the man standing back from the curb. “Take a break. I’ll give you a call if I need to go anywhere else.”

   “Are you sure, Tanaka-san?” he asked, continuing to dart suspicious glares at Kitamura. “I can trail behind…”

   “Yes, quite sure,” Reina replied. “Now, take your break, or I will have to drag you to my apartments.” At that, the boy nodded and turned the other way to check traffic before pulling away from the curb.

   “Looks like you have quite the admirer there,” Kitamura said as Reina walked back up to him. “I hope he knows what kind of girl he’s getting into.” Reina gave him a sour look and started walking down the sidewalk. Kitamura smoothly kept to her side.

   “He’s just a boy,” she said, though she wasn’t sure who to. Images of a flower she’d been seeing for months now appeared in her head again. He was, after all.

   “Of course,” the Detective replied quietly.

   They walked in silence down the streets of the city. Occasionally the pair of them would get glances – a young girl dressed in outlandishly over-indulgent fashion accompanied by a middle aged man in a plain suit and trench coat. He’d put his sunglasses back on out here as well.

   Eventually they arrived at a wide alley that Reina turned them down until they reached an old, possibly even World War era, building. She pushed the door open and entered into a lobby area before heading down a dimly lit hall. Knowing by memory where she was headed, after a short walk they stopped at a door that looked just like any other, and she knocked.
      
   There was no sound for a moment before an unsteady voice called out from inside, “Who… Who is it?”

   “It’s me,” Reina responded. “Reina.”

   The door swung open and a wide-eyed Aya appeared. Reina could hear the television on in the background, and Aya pulled a robe over herself, concealing skin that was even paler than it used to be.

   “Hello,” she said with little emotion. She looked to the man.

   “This is the detective I told you about, Detective Kitamura,” Reina said in introduction.

   “We’ve met,” Kitamura said, and stepped forward, proffering his hand. “Hello again dear,” he said warmly. “I’m glad to see that you’re well. Not too much the worse for tear after being in hiding all this time. Believe me, I know what that can be like.”

   Aya took his hand slowly, but with recognition. “Thank you,” she managed. Reina couldn’t help herself but look into Aya’s shadowed face. It had lines now that shouldn’t even be hinted at on someone her age, and her eyes had a haunted, faraway look. Reina hadn’t seen her since bringing her here a couple months ago, and the change was drastic. She couldn’t help a feeling of guilt welling up inside her that she was the cause of it all. Well, I suppose it’s still better than being dead…

   “Please, come in,” Aya said without seeming to really feel it, and stepped back, gesturing them into her small apartment. Reina looked around at the small washroom branching off the main hall… the bare walls with slightly peeling paper… the combination living and bed room that couldn’t have been much larger than the washroom. It could barely have been four tatami mats in size. That hadn’t changed since she was last here.

   Aya closed the door softly behind them after likely instinctively looking up and down the hall and shuffled in to sit on the futon. Reina and Kitamura stood near the television. “I’m sorry, I don’t have much to offer you,” she apologized.

   Reina waved her hand in front of her face in dismissal and Kitamura bowed. “Thank you for the offer, Matsuura-san,” he said politely. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking anything. Your hospitality is plenty for me.” Aya just nodded and pulled her robe tighter around her. Reina almost felt like doing the same with her jacket; it was cold in here. The small space heater Reina provided her with apparently didn’t do the trick. She began to feel worse.

   “What can I do for you two then? Have you had any further breakthroughs in Mikitty’s case, Detective?” Aya looked up at them with big eyes while she spoke.

   Kitamura looked empathetically back at her and it seemed like he wanted to tell her something, but he stayed silent a moment before turning to Reina. “I think Tanaka-san is the one who wants to talk. She brought me here, after all.”

   Reina cleared her throat, staring at the floor where she was pushing a piece of broken-off plaster around with her toes. “You know, I’m not fully sure why I brought us together here. …Things… just seemed to lead me to do it. I guess I didn’t really know what to expect when we got here.”

   “I’m glad to see you both here,” Aya said, finally showing a brief smile.

   Reina finally looked up and into her face once again. After all she’d been through, it was still incredibly beautiful. It deserved to be seen by millions again, or hundreds, or just anyone other than nobody who has seen it the past two months. “I’ll get you out of here, Aya-chan…” she said under her breath, though it wasn’t soft enough for Aya not to hear. The girl’s eyes adopted a slight glow they hadn’t had since they walked in the door as she looked up to Reina.

   Before either of them could say anything more though, Kitamura cleared his throat. “How do you propose to do that, Tanaka-san?” He went on in a slow voice, as if asking in his voice for confirmation of the words, “If… I’m not mistaken, apart from the hysteria her sudden reappearance would cause in the public arena, and especially for her fans, she still has a death warrant that would become so large every mobster in Japan would be after her head.” He then gave Reina a sorrowful look, as if he wished he didn’t have to continue, “And yours would likely be even greater. You may have taken Tokyo quite impressively, but there’s always someone more powerful. Especially many someones.”

   “I believe I can answer that,” came a voice from well behind them. “If you’ll give me the pleasure of course, Tanaka-taisho.”

   Ai Takahashi strode through the door to Aya’s apartment. Reina stared at her, her mind suddenly gone blank. How had they not heard the door open? Of course Ai could probably do nearly anything completely noiselessly, but common sense knowledge like that fled her at this specific moment. Her eyes darted to Aya, who was looking among the three others seeming confused, before flying past the Lieutenant and back to the striking girl who now joined them in the room. Ai wore a long tight red dress with gold embroidery patterns down each breast and a belt that couldn’t have been much less fancy than Reina’s.

   “Takahashi-san, I presume?” Kitamura asked after appraising the new arrival.

   Ai nodded. “Lieutenant Kitamura, I presume?” she said in a voice and with a posture that appeared more self-assured and confident than Reina could ever imagine. Her breath nearly caught. Kitamura nodded as well in response. “I remember you from Miki’s memorial. That’s where I believe you also met our Reina here and made me begin to worry about her.”

   Kitamura looked carefully and warily at the girl addressing him. He might have played the wise figure of experience with Reina, but appeared to realize nothing of the sort would work on this girl. This… woman. Reina was sure her breath caught now. Many questions seemed to go through his mind and be rejected before reaching his mouth, and finally he said simply, “You said you can answer my question?”

   “Yes,” Ai responded. She looked around at the three in the room.

   “Excuse me…” Aya spoke up from the couch, strength seeming to return to her spirit now in her confusion. “Ai-chan? What are you doing here?” Her voice also reflected a near-frantic anxiety.

   Ai turned to the girl and smiled. “I suppose I’m not surprised she hasn’t told you yet, but I’m the one who ordered Reina to kill you,” she said casually.

   Aya didn’t seem to grasp that for a moment before spluttering, “What?!” Her eyes widened almost as far as they could go in astonishment and disbelief.

   “You seem to have accepted that Reina here was sent to kill you. Why is it so hard to think that I might have sent her?”

   “But…” Aya stuttered, “I…” She looked over at Reina, whose face felt clouded with emotion. However, there was definitely nothing in it to contradict Ai’s words. “How could you?!” She began to approach Ai, but Reina dashed forward and caught her before she reached her, pinning her arms to her sides, her pale robe now flowing forgotten out to her sides.

   “Aya-chan,” Reina whispered in her ear. “Now is not the time. I’m sure we’ll explain later.” Still holding the weakly struggling girl with no effort, she turned her eyes to the Detective. “Lieutenant, I’m sorry, could you please pour a cup of tea for Aya? She has a lot to absorb, and I think could use the calming influence…”

   Kitamura nodded without hesitation and disappeared around a corner into a kitchen Reina couldn’t see into. While he did what she asked of him, Reina looked back to the woman standing patiently near the hall. Kitamura’s death threats certainly seemed very real right now. She didn’t think that their supposedly “equal” ranks would make a difference in a matter such as this, a matter that in fact even was the reason for Reina’s position. Her mentor just looked around the room though, seemingly totally unfazed by the whole situation. She finally brought her eyes to Reina’s and smiled warmly. Reina stared back, comprehension dawning inside her. How long had the woman known?

   After just a short time, Kitamura returned with a steaming cup of tea. “If you’ll let your friend go, I’ll hand her the tea,” he informed Reina, whose eyes drifted from Ai to him. As if just remembering she was restraining the other girl, who had ceased to struggle and in fact now seemed as limp as ever, she loosened her hold. However, she quickly became worried whether the girl could stand on her own two feet, so she helped her to the futon, and Kitamura handed her the cup, to which she muttered a low thanks.

   After leaving Aya to fend for herself, Reina stood up straight again and cast her eyes back to Ai, who was now looking at Aya with a similar look of sadness Reina could have imagined she had just a short time ago.

   Aya took a small sip of the tea before turning her attention up to Ai as well. “You said you knew of a way to help me?” Her voice really did seem weaker than ever now and… resigned… to whatever fate, or in this case Ai and Reina, had in store for her.

   “Yes,” Ai said in a softer tone than she did before, and spread her glance among all three of them. “Now that I’ve located Aya-chan here, we can continue with the plan I’ve been developing for months now. With the preparation I’ve done, it’s impossible we won’t be able to accomplish the overall effect – a total coup on the Council of the Raven in Kobe and reformation of its policies – and the rest… Well, that will depend on how Reina and I perform individually. That is of course, if you’re up for it, Tanaka-taisho.” She looked at Reina with what felt like a sense of pride emanating from her. Reina couldn’t help but be inspired herself. The sense of fear that pervaded her just a minute ago was completely gone, replaced by excitement and… a lust… that what she felt she had been working toward all this time might finally become a reality. There was a different kind of lust too that she didn’t recognize as easily…

   “I’ve been hoping for this chance ever since I heard about Miki through a phone call. The chance for redemption and to just do something that… matters… was all that drove me through torturous training run by someone I thought was a killer…” Aya choked on her tea slightly and stood up, but Reina went on, “Ai-chan, whatever I can do to assist, please, just let me do my best.”

   “That,” came a strong voice from back at the door once again, “is precisely what I hope the both of you will be able to do.” The only sounds that cut the utter silence after those words were a terrified shriek from Reina and Aya’s teacup crashing to the hard, cold floor.

[iacus]

I was really confused at first, but then I realized that I had somehow missed two chapters you posted way back in February. So I read those and then read the two new chapters you posted up. And I must say, I was a bit surprised by the direction that Reina was taking. I didn't expect her to be quite as enthusiastic as she was with her new job: though, thinking about it now--after re-reading some of the story to bring myself back up to speed--it fits perfectly with Reina's slightly egotistical, power hungry, yet lonely, personality. But I would also wager a guess that she doesn't actually know what she wants.

Sorry if that was a bit scatter shot, I can't wait until you post the next chapter.

[coachie]

I can't believe it's been two months since the last chapter, I'm so happy you finally updated 

   “That,” came a strong voice from back at the door once again, “is precisely what I hope the both of you will be able to do.” The only sounds that cut the utter silence after those words were a terrified shriek from Reina and Aya’s teacup crashing to the hard, cold floor.

oh my, don't tell me Miki's back and her death was just part of a big scheme to bring down the Raven Council

[JFC]

The door swung open and a wide-eyed Aya appeared. Reina could hear the television on in the background, and Aya pulled a robe over herself, concealing skin that was even paler than it used to be.

Holy shit Aya's been in hiding all this time? No wonder the higher-ups weren't on Reina's case about killing her anymore. 

“What can I do for you two then? Have you had any further breakthroughs in Mikitty’s case, Detective?” Aya looked up at them with big eyes while she spoke.

That's friendship and loyalty right there folks. Aya's first question doesn't concern her situation, she doesn't want to know "when can I get out of here". No, her first concern is with Miki's case. 

   “I believe I can answer that,” came a voice from well behind them. “If you’ll give me the pleasure of course, Tanaka-taisho.”

   Ai Takahashi strode through the door to Aya’s apartment. Reina stared at her, her mind suddenly gone blank. How had they not heard the door open?

Aichan's got super-ninja skillz!

Of course Ai could probably do nearly anything completely noiselessly

Anythi-...nevermind, too easy.

   “That,” came a strong voice from back at the door once again, “is precisely what I hope the both of you will be able to do.” The only sounds that cut the utter silence after those words were a terrified shriek from Reina and Aya’s teacup crashing to the hard, cold floor.

Please let it be Miki, please let it be Miki, please let it be Miki, please let it be Miki, please let it be Miki, please let it be Miki, please let it be Miki, please let it be Miki, please let it be Miki...
 

[Sakura Momusu]

I'm pretty sure it's Miki...it has to be!! Her wake didn't include her body after all (reference: Chapter 3) 

Ai-chan's picked the right apprentice then, cause apparently, they did the same thing: saying they killed their targets but really secretly smuggled them to parts unknown. 

[Sukoshi]

Ah I like your idea Sakura Momusu!  It would be cool if Miki were really alive...well of course that would really mean that Reina is crazy though because all of those dreams would be her own imagination  :p  The poor thing.  But I'm glad that things are looking brighter if the mystery person doesn't spoil all of the fun.

[rokun]

Now... some of the mystery is revealed... This may be a little hard to follow, so you'll need to pay close attention
_______________________________________

Chapter 26 - Glimmers of Understanding

   “Mom…” Reina asked as her mother caught her eye while walking by her bedroom door. “Do you believe that people who die stay here with us, or do they go somewhere else?” Reina herself was seated cross-legged on the bed and had been looking through some photobooks she’d acquired over the years. Most of the time she received them free as gifts. She had them all nestled in a fashionable bookshelf near her bed. To her, they were the most precious reminders of the wonderful people she worked with. The walls of her room were plastered with posters of her, of Goto-san and others. It had been a long time since she really called this place “home”.

Her mother studied her quietly, and a bit sadly, before walking slowly into her room. Reina had been home for a few days now since the wake, and most of the time she spent quietly in her room thinking about things. Her mother was so kind; she didn’t say a word about it, only brought her food whenever she desired it. She would do anything for her daughter, and was so proud of how far she’d come. She came and sat at the side of the bed not far from Reina, but Reina didn’t look at her. She was still looking at the last page of her newest photobook of Miki. She also took a minute before responding. “Do you remember when your grandmother passed away?”

Reina nodded, looking slowly up into her mother’s face. “It was only a few years ago, Mom.”

Her mother smiled softly and her eyes adopted a faraway look. “When I sleep, I can feel her presence still. It’s as if she watches over my dreams, looking after me. I pray at her shrine every day in thanks for all she’s done for me.” She looked back down to Reina. “Even if you don’t have a shrine to remember someone by though, that doesn’t mean they don’t still become spirits and look after those of us still around in the world of Life.”

Reina looked back down at the book, and she noticed a tear had fallen on Miki’s shoulder in the picture it was open to. “She wouldn’t want to watch over me. We never really did much more than fight. She was the oldest that joined when I did, though especially after our first song I always thought I was the best and teased her about losing her chance at being a star when she fell from her solo career.” She carefully wiped the tear from the book, though despite her efforts another fell to take its place.

Her mother stayed silent, though Reina felt tender fingers begin running up and down her spine. She continued, “Recently we hadn’t been fighting as much. I guess we both became happy with the way things were in the group. In fact, we hadn’t hardly talked at all for months… Things were moving so quickly…”

“Things do move quickly, little girl. How old are you now? Eighteen yet?”

Reina looked back across the small gap between them into Miki’s face as she spoke. She could barely see it in the dark of her hotel room as it rose up from the depression it made in the pillow next to hers. “Seventeen,” she responded. Her voice sounded as if it was coming from somewhere far away from her body, but she still knew it to be her own.

“Seventeen…” Miki whistled through her teeth. “You were just thirteen when you came to be known and loved by every pervert in Japan, weren’t you?”

Reina’s eyes narrowed slightly. They weren’t all like… “Yes,” she heard her voice say.

“And what have you accomplished since?” the other girl pressed. Her fist appeared from beneath the sheets between them, and a finger popped up. “You haven’t graduated from high school. In fact, I hear you’re far from doing so… if ever…” Another finger joined the first. “You led your first single, but since then you haven’t done anything special. Three years after you joined you finally managed to get a solo on an album, but after that you fell to just another one of the faces of a train of girls from Morning Musume. Like me…” she finished with an evil looking grin.

“I…” Reina began in response. “I’ve risen faster than anyone has before in one of the largest businesses in Japan.”

“One of the largest crime syndicates, you mean,” Reina twiddled with her thumbs while Ai spoke from across from her. They were both seated on her bed, the light streaming in the windows illuminating their serene faces easily. “That’s quite an accomplishment, isn’t it? It only took a friend’s murder and blackmail to show you what your lot in life really is.”

Rage suddenly overwhelmed Reina, and she dove at the other girl, wrapping her fingers around her neck as she pushed her back to the bed. The girl didn’t struggle, and as she tightened her grip and saw Ai’s face begin to redden, the rage bled out of her. However, her fingers stayed strong. Looking into eyes whose life was slowly being drained from them, Reina’s face adopted a calm, pensive expression.

“I learned this from you, you know. When you murder someone, if you stay calm and shut out all external distraction, you detach yourself from the situation and it becomes nothing more than a part of your job.” She tilted her head slightly, the life now almost gone from the other girl’s eyes. “Do you think you’ll stay on this Earth when you’re gone? The person you killed did. She comes to me at night, giving me hints. Giving me direction. Torturing me… In fact, last time she said…”

“Fool girl. No wonder we always had to baby you. I swear I felt like your mother sometimes since you looked up to me more than the others as a comrade of sorts for joining the same time as you. Sure I talked up a good show and was rough enough that you might think I was a little dangerous, but there’s nothing strong about taking an innocent life.”

“We never did much more than fight. I always thought I was better than her…”

Her mother now began to massage her shoulders, and Reina fell into her as she was hugged close, now letting herself cry as much as she needed to. “Shh… Shh…” her mother soothed, rocking slightly. “You all were wonderful. She was a wonderful girl. I don’t remember those fights. What I remembered was my daughter, who had just found out the best news someone could hear, coming home and telling me that she was so happy she finally got to meet the people she loved to watch, and did I know Fujimoto-san was joining with her? With her! She looked forward to all she might be able to do with her new friends. In the next months you would call home every so often and tell me something or other, and a lot of the time it had to do with some talk or practice you had with Fujimoto-san… If you fought, she still managed to leave quite an impression on you.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Reina choked out, sniffing. “She’s gone…”

“There hasn’t been an innocent life lost so far because of this, and I sure hope it doesn’t start now. You won’t succeed until you see the Truth beyond the illusion of reality…” Miki’s outstretched finger moved closer to Reina’s face until it touched her nose. Her eyes crossed and her vision became a blur.

“No…” she said through the blur. “This couldn’t be more real.”
…

Reina cut off her scream as she heard Aya’s cup break against the floor.

“Well, I wasn’t hoping for the calmest reaction, but I’d yet to have someone scream when I walked into a room.”

“Mikitty!” Aya cried, and ran to embrace the girl in her arms, her robe hanging now totally forgotten at her sides. “I didn’t know what to do without you. I couldn’t even live my life…” She broke off in a fit of sobbing.

“I see that,” Miki said, patting the girl’s back awkwardly and frowning around at the other people filling the room. “I have a sneaking suspicion I’m not the only one here responsible for that though…”

“I would have had to kill her otherwise,” Reina said flatly, hardly able to think through the shock she felt. She still wasn’t sure if what she was seeing was real or just another of her hallucinations. They had to have been hallucinations now; this girl whom Aya was clinging to for dear life sure hadn’t been haunting anyone lately.

“Oh,” was all the other girl responded, giving Reina her intense scrutiny.

“Miki Fujimoto…” came another voice from across from Reina. “I have to say I’m a little surprised to… see you again.” For the first time since Reina saw her cry at the memorial, she could sense that her mentor was shaken.

“Ahh… the woman who tried to kill me,” Miki responded, giving Ai a careful evaluation as she held a still sobbing Aya to her. Finally recovering somewhat from her shock and realizing that what she was seeing was most definitely real, Reina noticed an intensity about Miki’s bearing that most definitely didn’t relax at whatever she found in that evaluation.

“You know what Ai does now,” Reina said with no hint of question in her voice.

Miki nodded, still keeping her eyes on the dangerous woman between them. “Yes,” she confirmed needlessly. “And I know she’s brought you into her world. But what I don’t know… is what that world really involves, or what your intentions are. At least, I didn’t know that last until I was happy to hear what I did while still standing outside the door. Since I remember you as my colleagues from Morning Musume, I don’t know whether you’re good enough to succeed in what would be, I hear, quite a challenging task.”

“Yes,” Reina responded with full confidence. “Whatever you’ve heard about the Council is most likely true… and you’d have to take it a step further to have an idea of what Ai-chan is capable of now.”

A man cleared his throat from behind Reina. “You can believe Miss Tanaka here, Miss Fujimoto. In the time since we’ve spoken last I’ve uncovered certain things as well, and these two girls seem to be capable of just about whatever they put their efforts into. In fact, I think Miss Tanaka belittles her own abilities.” Reina felt herself flush slightly at the compliment. Yes she knew she was good at the work she had been forced into doing, but she wasn’t the match of her teacher.

Miki’s eyes flashed finally away from the other girl to Reina, and she smiled slightly. “That’s something I can believe, Detective. Our little Reina always seemed to overachieve in anything she did because she has a work ethic and determination to match anyone I’ve known.” Her face became slightly thoughtful as she continued and Reina’s blush deepened. “I suppose I’ve no business calling her ‘little’ anymore though, have I?” Her attention switched to the Lieutenant. “Nice to see you again, Sir. I’m sorry I haven’t contacted you in so long, but I’ve been busy trying to lay plans of my own.”

“So I’ve heard,” Kitamura said as if unhappy with the hearing. “I think we have you to thank for today.”

“You do me too much honor, Detective. I just tried to push Reina in the right direction – nothing out of the ordinary.”

Kitamura chuckled. “I didn’t know you were so manipulative. Although I should have guessed it with how you pressed on with such determination even from supposed hiding. You know, the object of being hidden is so that no one knows where to find you.”

“Well it would seem that I succeeded at that fairly well, don’t you think, Sir?” Miki said with a sly grin. She looked back around at all three of them again. “So our quarry has a name now eh? Council of the Raven? It sounds so… mysterious…” She complimented that word with a sardonic twist to the corner of her mouth.

“Our quarry?” asked Ai, seeming to have quickly regained her composure.

Miki nodded. “You see, the Detective here recruited me about a year ago to help in an undercover operation attempting to infiltrate an underworld organization that had become too big for its own good. Its leader had apparently become quite skilled at his job. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out too well, and as most of you well know, I was found out and apparently came to be in considerable danger. Of course, at the time I was clueless and just thought I was helping out the law here, but after I had a mark on my head I had to grow up very quickly…”

Reina noticed Aya hugging her friend tighter as she continued telling the story, likely in sympathy and understanding of their shared situations. Miki went on though, “They managed to save me from the second accident after the blown first try, and sent me off to disappear. Though of course, that’s not my style. My career seemed over, and I was angry as hell. So I started working with the police and eventually gathered to myself some talented people who were able to help in tracking down this leader and his people, and we had just learned enough to solidify a plan to pull the organization down… Along the way I found the surprising news that one of my old friends and juniors had gotten involved for some reason as well…” She looked at Reina as she spoke now. “So I tried giving her hints about where to direct her path and to make sure she didn’t get too big a head. Just recently I found that someone else was also involved, and apparently much more deeply…” As she finished, her eyes fell once more on Ai.

“You don’t know what you’re getting into,” Ai said with an air of warning. “If the Lieutenant has been looking into us, surely he can give you the same idea that whatever group you’ve assembled can’t hope to go up against the power of the Council. No offense of course, Fujimoto-san. You may have started what I became, but now I’m the only one who can finish it.”

There was silence for a moment as everyone digested her words. Aya finally pulled herself away from Miki’s plain outfit to look at Ai as well. Miki studied her closely.

“She’s right,” Reina said. “You seem to know where I came from in all this, and so hopefully you can believe me if you aren’t able to trust her yet. I do have one question though…” She took a step closer to Miki, who looked over to her with the piercing gaze she left Ai with. Reina swallowed before continuing, “Are you really… alive and still with us?”

The girl’s stern face broke into a smile. “Yes I am, Reina-chan,” she responded assuringly. “I’m glad to see you still care.”

Reina looked up at her with big eyes as she still stepped slowly toward her until she nearly leapt the remaining distance and wrapped her arms tightly around both her and Aya as well. “I’m sorry, Mikitty… I’m so sorry…” she whimpered, letting loose tears she’d held in for weeks.

Miki was quite taken aback. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing to apologize for…” she said uncomfortably, again a bit awkwardly patting the younger girl’s head.

Aya smiled as she looked into the face of her best friend whom she thought was gone forever, and the two girls’ displays of affection made the Detective still standing off to the side slightly uncomfortable, though with a softened expression at witnessing such sweet acts of love. Ai also showed warring emotion and expression on her face, but didn’t move to join in with the tear-filled reunion herself…

[Sakura Momusu]

hmmm...can someone make a sketch of how he/she could imagine that last scene? it just seems a bit too sickeningly sweet. 

Hmmm...so I was wrong...Miki did everything on her own. Looks like she really wants to do a solo career so she went ahead and started the entire chain of events herself. 

[glcorps2002]

I finally read all of this story in 5 days. I officially rate this story: "Hella Good"!

But to be honest, I would have assumed that Ai had hid Miki like Reina hid Aya. So she really tried to kill her, huh? That's pretty fucked up! She's too damn focused on taking down the Council! She doesn't even know what happened to Risa does she?

But I feel the worse problem will come from Koharu somehow ratting them out!

[JFC]

“Miki Fujimoto…” came another voice from across from Reina. “I have to say I’m a little surprised to… see you again.” For the first time since Reina saw her cry at the memorial, she could sense that her mentor was shaken.

So Aichan did NOT hide Miki the same way that Reina hid Aya? She really did think that she killed her?

Her attention switched to the Lieutenant. “Nice to see you again, Sir. I’m sorry I haven’t contacted you in so long, but I’ve been busy trying to lay plans of my own.”

WTF Miki and Kitamura were in cahoots?!?!? They trying to expose the "Raven" society or something???

[iacus]

So Ai did try to kill Miki, But she's still alive and has been working with the police the whole time.  I can honestly say that I did not see that coming.

[Sukoshi]

Fujimoto is alive ! so Reina was crazy after all    Now that Miki's back in the picture and things are starting to move, I wonder if the other girls will be making appearances soon.

[rokun]

Umm... yeah... I have nothing to say about this right now. I'll let you guys do the talking... Who says Miki is going to come in and take over?

Chapter 27 – Before the Fire

The next week was a whirlwind of preparation and daily activity. Reina made sure all her business affairs were in order, though of course they definitely could manage by themselves. With Ai back in the picture, the two of them met often to discuss what they were going to do about the Council and, more specifically, the Chairman.

It turned out Ai had been having secret meetings with each of the Council members, and they had all given their unequivocal support of Ai’s plan. Even though it was Ai’s newness to the organization that spurred everything into action, the Chairman was obviously an unpopular leader. Unfortunately, he had too much power behind him to be dealt with easily. Tradition also prevented anyone from acting sooner. An organization like what the Council heads that could trace its roots back into even feudal times did not change easily. In fact, it seems to resist change. Leave it to the youngest initiate in generations to disrupt the old order.

For all of Reina’s established accomplishments as of late, Ai herself seemed to command a presence above and beyond anything Reina had begun to aspire to. Whenever she walked into the room, Reina felt like her breath caught at the aura she exuded. Of course, the tight leather uniform she’d taken to wearing regularly might have contributed to it. Reina wondered what exactly she had underneath it – it looked so solid, it must have been something quite protective. It also made Reina wonder nervously what she was doing where she needed protection like that…

Reina no longer wondered at her bodyguards – nearly everywhere she went since their pivotal meeting with Aya and Miki she was flanked by two large-muscled brutes that put to shame any of the bouncers Reina had encountered from the organization before. If worst came to worst, Reina still debated whether Ai would be the one needing protection. For example, Daisuke-kun was surely nothing compared to Ai’s men. Reina didn’t trust anyone other than herself if matters came to a point where security had to be thrown to the wind. Well, perhaps except for Ai. Still, she supposed there was always the possibility of a knife in the dark. If anyone could sneak up on Reina or Ai like that though, Daisuke-kun or even Ai’s men would probably matter little. She ended up deciding they were just for show. She certainly had ulterior motivations with Daisuke-kun…

The best thing that came out of their meeting at Aya’s was probably an improvement in the host girl’s situation. Now that Miki had found her, she took the girl to wherever she’d been hiding out to join up with their little task force. Reina was glad for that; the guilt she felt at Aya’s previous situation worsened considerably after that day. Obviously Miki was getting along quite fine in supposed hiding herself, so it must be a vast improvement for the other girl as well.

Reina didn’t know much about what those two and their companions were doing. They left the gathering with the detective, though she hadn’t seen any of them since then except for a short phone call from Kitamura asking if she knew when they would be ready to launch their coup. Reina still didn’t know yet of course, though she hoped it would happen soon. However, she didn’t know how much she wanted to tell him anyway because she was unsure of what they could actually help with…

Her current meeting with Ai had a different air about it, though. It was over a week since Miki’s appearance, and over that time they’d worked out how to handle the Chairman’s followers and set up their encounter with Yamagata himself. Miki’s group, without their knowledge of course, wasn’t really pulled into the process. They would be backup in case things went horribly wrong. The issue was just that things couldn’t, or else there would be nothing to back up.

This meeting took place in Ai’s apartments above Reina’s own at Hisuitora. They’d met here before, but this was definitely different. All this went through Reina’s mind as she sat quietly in a large armchair near the red crackling fire of Ai’s living room. The two had been sitting in identical chairs here in silence since Ai directed her to have a seat. Ai usually was the first to speak in these occasions, and Reina felt she had nothing to say, so they both stayed wrapped in their individual solitudes.

Reina was very comfortable in a floral-embroidered knee-length silk skirt and matching blouse. She always tried to dress to impress when she met with Ai, for reasons that could be obvious or veritably inscrutable. Tonight though, she felt overdressed since Ai sat in her chair with a bare foot pulled up onto it, the other crossed beneath it and her head resting on her upraised knee. She only wore plain mauve sweatpants with a light navy shirt. It was the most casual Reina had seen the girl in what seemed like ages, and made her almost wonder if she was planning a workout tonight, though her relaxed posture belied that theory. She remembered their long training sessions, though much time had passed since the last. Sometimes she was worried she was losing ground to her teacher without the benefit of her instruction. She did her best to improve herself all the time in any way she could, but the standard she was held to seemed insurmountably high.

“Do you ever wish for easier days?” Ai asked, almost startling Reina in the sudden break to the silence.

She gathered herself before responding, “I suppose easier days would seem nice, but going back to them after all this… I’d be afraid I’d fall into deep depression at the meaninglessness of it all.” Ai sighed and slid her head further down to where her forehead was propped against her knee. Had she said something wrong?

“I suppose I’m the same way,” she said after a moment. Then she coughed a laugh before arching an eyebrow toward Reina. “We were both always so ambitious, weren’t we?”

Reina looked calmly back at her. Yes, she supposed they were. Ai certainly seemed to be with all she’s done with her career, and Reina constantly tried to improve herself and her surroundings in any way she could. Unfortunately, as Reina had found out, ambition could easily become a double-edged sword.

Noticing that Reina wasn’t going to respond, Ai continued. “What did you think when Miki appeared in Aya’s doorway last week?”

Reina hadn’t exactly expected this question, but she thought carefully before responding, “Honestly, I thought I’d seen a ghost. Miki had come to me in dreams ever since…” She paused and looked back into the fire thoughtfully. “It wasn’t unlike how you appeared sometimes. I thought I’d gone crazy…”

“Do you still think you’re crazy?” Ai asked quickly.

Reina glanced back to the girl to see an intense look in response that she couldn’t turn away from. “How do you suppose I’d know if I was?”

Ai’s severe expression turned swiftly into a smile. “How indeed,” she said, and turned to the fire herself. Reina watched as the flames seemed to dance from the corners of her eyes, still unable to look anywhere but that stern and beautiful face.

“I felt like my whole life was being turned upside down,” the girl said slowly.

Concern now flooded Reina’s expression. “What are you talking about? You seemed perfectly composed to me.”

Ai coughed a laugh again. “Oh? Have I become that proficient at hiding everything I feel then?”

“Well, I noticed you seemed surprised. But it didn’t last long,” Reina said almost defensively.

“Do you know the last time someone else was able to tell how I felt by the expression on my face?” Ai asked. Reina stayed quiet. It was true; the little surprise the girl showed was probably equivalent to another screaming and falling faint on the spot. Yet more evidence of how far Reina herself was from matching up to her.

“Miki was the first person I… thought I’d killed,” Ai continued, seemingly entranced once more by the fire. “After that, it took me a long while before I could even live with myself again. But even once I could, I was changed. I had no problem taking a life if it was required of me or if it served a greater purpose. Do you know I was told to keep an eye on you once, and even to kill you if you came to know too much?” She glanced at Reina, who stared back captively. “Of course, not long after that I was elevated to a position where I could determine your fate myself. I thought, rightly so if I may say so myself, that you could contribute much more by living, even once you did come to know too much.”

Reina kept staring at the other girl. Why was she telling her this? Was it to make sure Reina knew how horrible a person she was? Was it so Reina knew exactly how the girl put herself on the line for her sake? If that last, there was no need, because the endless training and shared experience gave them a bond she didn’t think could ever be broken. And if it was to express her vileness… Well, Reina knew there was much more to her than that.

She looked back to see the girl fixing her with one of her piercing stares again. “Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?” she asked in a strong and insistent voice. “With Miki alive, everything I’ve built my life on since then has been a lie. I thought I’d lost my soul that day, but I’ve come to realize it’s bled out of me constantly ever since.” Reina swallowed, nearly breaking out into a sweat at the other girl’s words. “But do you know what? Here we are, you and me sitting here on the doorstep of righting a serious wrong in the world today. By the setting of tomorrow’s sun, we will have completed a mission I thought I couldn’t have conceived of not too long ago.” Tomorrow? That was sudden… but at least there was now a schedule for their judgment day.

“That evil in me was taking over,” Ai continued, “But from almost the moment you first came to me, something has been fighting it. You think of yourself as anyone does, but above and beyond that you hold such value for the sake of others. I knew about Aya from almost the beginning of course, but tell me, have your hands ever been permanently stained with the blood of another?” As Ai said this, she rose from her chair and walked slowly over to Reina, ending with taking her hands and holding them up as if inspecting them for that trace of blood.

Reina shook her head, looking up into those deep dark eyes. “No… I don’t know if I could live with myself if they were.”

Ai smiled a small, haunting smile. “How could I have guessed,” she said quietly. “You’ve taken an organization that prides itself on ‘necessary’ murder and greed by storm and become as powerful as those who are stained so deeply by it they can never turn back, and done it all with unwavering virtues antithetic even to its existence.”

Reina stood slowly before the girl, eyes never leaving hers, their hands still held between them. “And the deed that spiraled you down along what you call your path to depravity – a fall I don’t believe for an instant inevitable, by the way – has turned out to be nothing of the sort. After tomorrow things will be set fully right, and you can regain the life that you think is lost to you.” Her expression softened into a tender smile. “You’re still Ai-chan, after all.”

Reina thought she felt the other girl’s breathing quicken slightly, and her face hardened as if trying hard not to show some kind of emotion. Reina hoped she wouldn’t harden it too much. Emotion could be good sometimes.

“You have such faith, even against all odds…” Ai said in what could hardly be called other than a hoarse whisper. Reina definitely noticed the girl’s breathing quickening now. They were standing very close, and Reina could feel the heat emanating from her. She hoped she wasn’t giving off so much herself, but knew she must be.

“I love you, Reina…”

At those words Reina’s breath disappeared, and she wasn’t sure that her heartbeat didn’t either. Her mind became so full suddenly that she couldn’t form a coherent thought. What was going on? This couldn’t be happening…

In the next moment, her lips lit afire as the other girl’s met them. When they first touched in this very place it seemed there couldn’t be a better feeling. Now, after being through so much, she knew she was wrong.

Unlike that time the kiss deepened quickly, and she felt Ai’s hand run up her arm leaving a trail of sharp tingles along the way before sliding her blouse strap down her shoulder. The girl pulled her close, and she returned the embrace. The heat spread down from her lips until she felt her whole body enflame, and for a long while the infernal ecstasy of her and her idol’s intimacy was all she cared to know.

[JFC]

With Ai back in the picture, the two of them met often to discuss what they were going to do about the Council and, more specifically, the Chairman.

It turned out Ai had been having secret meetings with each of the Council members, and they had all given their unequivocal support of Ai’s plan. Even though it was Ai’s newness to the organization that spurred everything into action, the Chairman was obviously an unpopular leader. Unfortunately, he had too much power behind him to be dealt with easily. Tradition also prevented anyone from acting sooner.

That often is the case, isn't it? The leader is often disliked but has his/her position sewn up so well that one literally can't do anything to try and dispose him/her in a "traditional/proper" manner.

Ai herself seemed to command a presence above and beyond anything Reina had begun to aspire to. Whenever she walked into the room, Reina felt like her breath caught at the aura she exuded. Of course, the tight leather uniform she’d taken to wearing regularly might have contributed to it. Reina wondered what exactly she had underneath it – it looked so solid, it must have been something quite protective. It also made Reina wonder nervously what she was doing where she needed protection like that…

That outfit sounds damn hot. The description reminds me of Aya's battlesuit in the Sukeban Deka movie she did.

Reina didn’t know much about what those two and their companions were doing. They left the gathering with the detective, though she hadn’t seen any of them since then except for a short phone call from Kitamura asking if she knew when they would be ready to launch their coup. Reina still didn’t know yet of course, though she hoped it would happen soon. However, she didn’t know how much she wanted to tell him anyway because she was unsure of what they could actually help with…

Ah, so it's the type of scheme that works like a jigsaw puzzle. Everyone does their own thing, but no one knows what the others are doing, and in the end their combined efforts (hopefully) all work out together.

“Do you ever wish for easier days?” Ai asked, almost startling Reina in the sudden break to the silence.

Ah, someone's feeling "reflective". 

“Miki was the first person I… thought I’d killed,” Ai continued, seemingly entranced once more by the fire. “After that, it took me a long while before I could even live with myself again. But even once I could, I was changed. I had no problem taking a life if it was required of me or if it served a greater purpose. Do you know I was told to keep an eye on you once, and even to kill you if you came to know too much?” She glanced at Reina, who stared back captively. “Of course, not long after that I was elevated to a position where I could determine your fate myself. I thought, rightly so if I may say so myself, that you could contribute much more by living, even once you did come to know too much.”

Wow, Aichan's confessing a lot to Reina here. I guess it's been weighing on her mind for so long, she needed to let it out in front of someone and talk about it.

I knew about Aya from almost the beginning of course, but tell me, have your hands ever been permanently stained with the blood of another?” As Ai said this, she rose from her chair and walked slowly over to Reina, ending with taking her hands and holding them up as if inspecting them for that trace of blood.

Aichan knew Reina didn't kill Aya? She knew that she was still alive somewhere? And yet she kept it to herself. She must have really wanted Reina to be a part of her plan to bring down the chairman.  The fact that she didn't kill Aya must have shown Aichan that Reina could still be trusted to do the RIGHT thing.

Reina stood slowly before the girl, eyes never leaving hers, their hands still held between them. “And the deed that spiraled you down along what you call your path to depravity – a fall I don’t believe for an instant inevitable, by the way – has turned out to be nothing of the sort. After tomorrow things will be set fully right, and you can regain the life that you think is lost to you.” Her expression softened into a tender smile. “You’re still Ai-chan, after all.”

Aichan must see herself as a monster because of how she was able to kill those other people after she thought she had killed Miki. But Reina's right, she may have had to do some monstrous things, but that doesn't make her a heartless monster herself.

“I love you, Reina…”

See? Aichan can still "feel". She isn't a monster.