Author's Note: This chapter is over 9,000 words. I have no idea how it got that long. I did not expect it to be that long! Each '()()()()()' means a POV shift takes place. I was actually good about not shifting perspectives in the middle for once! Contains some Gin/Sherry fluff at the end because I have no self-control.

… In Action

Shooting Akemi was no different from shooting anyone else with the exception that he wasn't aiming to kill for once. Gin shot her twice in the abdomen, his marksmanship as accurate as ever, and he and Vodka left the scene immediately after. There was no need to stay and wait for the woman to die; that was the impression he wanted to leave Vodka with anyway. Gin had already called for an ambulance in advance of this meeting to tip them off. It wouldn't be long before they arrived and Gin wanted to put as much distance between himself and this location. It would be bad if the ambulance arrived while they were still nearby. Vodka, of course, didn't know of his plan to save Akemi and he intended to keep it that way.

They made it back to his black Porsche without incident and Gin took his place in the driver's seat. He often let Vodka drive his car, but not tonight. Akemi's active participation in the plan had come to an end and it was time he takeover to see her through. He had set the stage, but she wasn't in the clear just yet. There was still much that could go wrong at this point in the game, so he wanted to drive because he wanted to feel 100% in-control of something before he waded out deeper into the murky waters of treachery.

Once the two black-clad men were settled in the car, Gin dialed 'that person's phone number as he pulled out onto one of the main streets, and he waited for either 'that person' to answer or to leave a message in voicemail. A few rings later, he got 'that person' on the line.

"You have news for me, Gin?" 'that person' said expectantly.

"I do. Akemi Miyano has been eliminated," Gin said.

"Ahh, perfect. You've done well, Gin. Your loyalty to this Organization is truly admirable."

Gin said nothing. To hear such words at a time like this was like a knife to the gut. "Would you like the details now or later?" he asked

"You can save me the details for tomorrow, Gin. It's not as if Akemi Miyano will be going anywhere anytime soon."

"Ah," Gin answered and hung up.

"Hey Bro, we just left Akemi's body behind," Vodka started, but Gin held up a hand to forestall him.

"Don't worry about it. I've already got it covered," Gin reassured him and Vodka seemed relieved to hear it, letting himself relax against the seat and stare out the side window.

Just so long as somebody was taking care of the body, Vodka didn't care who did it or how, just like he didn't care that Gin hadn't shot Akemi in the head per his normal style. He might not even have thought there was anything unusual enough about it to be considered noteworthy. It was for things like that that Gin both liked Vodka and found himself annoyed at him for. If anyone asked Vodka what happened to Akemi, he wouldn't think to mention that Gin had only shot her in the abdomen and not the head. The way he would tell the story, Gin shot Akemi and she died, which was exactly what Gin wanted everyone to believe. He truly could not have had a better partner to accompany him for this endeavor.

"Do you want me to drop you off anywhere in particular or do you want me to take you home?" Gin asked.

"Actually, if you could drop me off at the Blue Moon Club tonight, that would be ideal," Vodka said.

Gin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye then returned his gaze to the road after a beat. "Just don't get anyone pregnant," he warned.

"I haven't yet," Vodka mumbled, his tone only slightly embarrassed.

Gin let it slide without further comment and turned away from the direction of Vodka's home toward the Blue Moon Club. When Vodka was in the mood, he enjoyed seeing how many women he could hook up with in one night and he was generally a popular guy at places like that. Gin supposed it was because he dressed respectably, had a broad, muscular physique, and paid well for services rendered. He was just relieved he didn't have to make such a long trip to Vodka's home instead. Akemi would likely be in surgery for several hours yet, but he wanted to make sure he had everything prepared long before she got out, and he didn't like the idea of spending most of that time in-transit between places. He saw the neon blue crescent moon sign and pulled over to the side to let Vodka get out.

"Thanks, Bro. I'll see you tomorrow," Vodka said.

"Ah. I've still got a full night ahead of me, so if you do something stupid and careless, I'm not bailing you out."

"Geez, you're worse than my mother," Vodka groused and slammed the door in his face.

Gin watched him cross the street with an annoyed expression on his face. "Well, excuse me for caring," he muttered, only belatedly realizing how very Sherry-like that statement was.

He was amused at himself for maybe half a second before reality forced him to sober up. As soon as Sherry found out about Akemi's supposed death, he would never hear those biting quips of hers or share such light-hearted banter with her ever again. She would never forgive him for killing Akemi and by the time she learned he hadn't, she would be safely in hiding and he would never see her again. Maybe she would think more kindly of him then, but it ultimately made no difference. He sighed heavily and pulled back out into the traffic lanes. No matter. There was no point in dwelling on the future to come. He had committed himself to this course of action and he would see it through to the end. There was much work still left to be done.

Out of habit, Gin took a circuitous route to get back to his place of residence and took the stairs to his apartment two at a time, not a difficult feat for someone with his long stride. As soon as he was in his apartment, the first thing he did after he closed the door was remove his hat and coat as he made his way to his bedroom. He tossed them on his bed and started rummaging around in his closet for a change of clothes. Dressed in his normal work attire, he stood out in a crowd just as much as the white-suited Phantom Thief Kid on a dark night. It made disguising himself that much easier. People expected him to be dressed all in black, and he effectively became invisible if he wasn't. He exchanged his black slacks for jeans and his green turtleneck for a navy-blue collared t-shirt. He felt naked without long sleeves covering his arms, and it was for that reason he owned so few t-shirts to begin with.

When Gin looked at himself in the mirror, even he was shocked at the man staring back at him. Except for his face and hair, he really was completely unrecognizable. It made him debate on whether he wanted to add a different coat over his bare arms to hide his gun, as was his inclination, or risk going to the hospital without having his preferred weapon on him. He was still keeping the knife strapped to his lower calf, so he wouldn't be completely defenseless. He decided to go with having extra protection; now he just needed to see if he owned any coats that weren't black. A quick perusal through his closet revealed that yes, he did, and he pulled out a beige jacket with great distaste. He couldn't even remember buying such a thing; the color clashed horribly with his hair, but he put it on anyway. He supposed he should just be grateful the damned thing wasn't white. Gin returned to the mirror and frowned thoughtfully at his reflection. The different clothes really did most of the work, but he could do more. This time, he went to the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet to retrieve both a hair tie and colored contacts. The items found and set on the sink, Gin quickly ran a brush through his ash-blond hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. Despite his hair's long length, it was very fine and almost impossible to keep in any style for long. A ponytail wouldn't hide how long his hair actually was, but the presence or absence of hair around the neck changed how the face was framed and thus, the viewer's perception of a person's face. It was an incredibly cheap trick, but one he fully intended to take advantage of. With his hair out of the way, he opened up the colored contact box and selected the dark brown ones. No need to draw attention to himself by having an uncommon eye color.

Once he was done, he closed the case and put it back in the medicine cabinet, then took a moment to step back and examine himself in the mirror again. Anyone who knew him would recognize him, of course, but this disguise wasn't aimed at those who knew him. It was to make him somebody innocuous and forgettable to blend in with the average citizen, a wolf in sheep's clothing. The most interesting thing one of the sheep might remember about him would be as a tall man with long hair, but nothing more. His current appearance did nothing to suggest 'Beware! Dangerous criminal here!' and that was all he needed it to do. Satisfied with his work, Gin returned to his room for some other items. He retrieved his gun and phone from his black coat and placed them in the beige one he was now wearing, grabbed one of his fake IDs and some cash from his sock drawer and shoved them into his pants pockets, and picked up a brown paper bag carrying the materials for Akemi's disguise, since she obviously wouldn't be able to leave the hospital as herself.

With all his preparations complete, he left his apartment, but did not approach his car this time. Like his attire, his Porsche made it easy to identify him, so he would have to leave it behind for this particular mission. He waved down a taxi and gave the driver the name of the most likely hospital Akemi had been taken to. While the taxi drove to the hospital, Gin once more went over the basics of the plan he'd concocted in his head months ago. Unfortunately, there was only so much planning he could do for this, so much of it would have to rely on improv work, but he didn't expect to run into any difficulties there. It may be Vermouth's specialty, but she wasn't the only one who could lie and act convincingly.

Sometime later, the taxi stopped at the first hospital Gin intended to check and he got out. He was tempted to pay him extra to buy his silence, but he knew that was unnecessary. He tipped well, but not exorbitantly, told the driver 'Thank you for the ride', careful to use polite language, and made his way into the Beika Hospital lobby.

As expected, it was nearly empty and he strode right up to the reception desk. "Excuse me, was a young woman in about her mid-twenties brought into this hospital's ER a little over an hour ago? She might have been shot."

The receptionist's open-mouthed shock was all the answer he needed. Akemi was here. "Yes, there was a woman like that, but how did you know?"

"I thought so," he said and pulled out the fake ID he'd brought along with him. "My name is Kumashiro Takeki. I'm with the police and I have strong reason to believe that the woman brought in was my sister-in-law. I have received intel that suggests her safety may be at risk even now, so I need to speak with the director of this hospital immediately and privately. Can you arrange that?"

"Y-yes, I can do that. Hold on a moment," the woman stuttered and hastily reached over to grab the phone.

Gin didn't have to pretend to maintain his 'intensely-focused' expression as he carefully watched the receptionist for anything out of the ordinary. She seemed to believe his story, but she could just be a good actor and may try to leave a hint that something suspicious was going on. He did not expect such an action, but there was no such thing as 'too careful' in his line of work (though many would call it 'paranoid'). He had not given the poor girl any time to think about what it was he asking, as had been his intention with his brusque, assertive manner. He was certain there were protocols in place for dealing with this sort of thing, both on the hospital's end and the police's end, and he didn't want to be thwarted at the front desk before he'd even truly begun. The director, being so highly-ranked, could afford to bend rules whereas the receptionist was at the bottom of the totem pole and thus bound by the rules and regulations enforced from on high.

"Officer Takeki, Director Saikyuu will be able to see you in Conference Room B on the sixth floor in about fifteen minutes," the receptionist informed him after a few moments.

Gin nodded in assent. "That will do. I'll meet him there."

Without further prompting, Gin pretended to make his way over to the elevator and took a sharp turn to the stairs once he was out of sight of the front desk. There was still a possibility of security cameras being in the stairwell, but it was less likely than the elevator. So far, everything was working out according to plan, but the next part was one of the critical steps. He had secured a meeting with the director without issue. Now he had to make sure the director believed his story enough to follow through with the rest of the plan. If he didn't have that or if the director wanted to call someone else in for backup or to verify his story, then it would all fall apart. Gin could not remember the last time he'd felt so anxious about the successful completion of an assignment. Perhaps it was because he was completely on his own in this endeavor and the consequences of failure had never been so high nor so personal. Akemi's life, and Sherry's by extension, depended upon his success and failure meant all three of them were marked for death.

He reached the sixth floor landing and cracked the door open to peer through the slit. There was nobody in the hall that he could see, so he opened the door further and left the stairwell. His eyes darted to the plaque of every door in search of the conference room he was to meet the director in until he finally found it midway down the hall. Gin tried the door knob and found it wasn't locked, so he let himself in. No point standing around outside. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told him that the director should arrive in less than ten minutes. He had some time to kill. Gin walked around to the side of the long, rectangular conference table opposite the door and set down the bag he'd been carrying, placing it half-under the table next to one of the chairs, then sat himself down in that same chair to wait.

The conference room door opened a minute early and in walked a rather short man who only looked to be in his mid-forties. Despite his small stature, he carried himself with authority and confidence. This was not a man to be underestimated.

"Director Saikyuu?" Gin asked as he stood up from the table. He towered over him, but he was careful to keep his tone deferential. It was not worth crossing him and he recognized the shrewd expression on the man's face. It was one he often wore when he was sizing someone up.

The director gave a faint smile and extended his hand to shake his. "Yes, and you must be Officer Takeki. I admit, you're not what I expected when Miss. Nanami down at the front desk mentioned that a police officer wanted to speak with me."

Gin shook his hand and conceded the point. "I'm aware. I was working on an undercover assignment when I discovered the intel and I have to move fast to protect my sister-in-law."

The director quirked an eyebrow at him. "And how do you know the woman in question is your sister-in-law? She had no ID on her and we only know her name was Masami Hirota because the two kids that found her and called the ambulance to the scene were already familiar with her."

If Gin had been a younger man, this new piece of information would have completely thrown him for a loop and momentarily distracted him from what he needed to do. His many years of experience enabled him to keep his composure without disclosing anything to his wary adversary, but internally, his thoughts were racing. Why had there been kids present at the warehouses in the first place and how had they arrived at Akemi's location so soon after he'd shot her? No one should have been there. It was not the kind of place for kids to play and it was too late in the day for that anyway. They'd known her alias too, so she knew them or she wouldn't have introduced herself to them. Had they followed her to the docks? No, they couldn't have; he would have seen them. He would have to work through all of that later when he had more time. Right now, he had a director to convince.

"I didn't know for certain until just now. Did those kids really say her name was Masami Hirota?" Gin asked hurriedly.

Director Saikyuu frowned thoughtfully. "That's what I heard from the EMTs who brought her in," he said.

"Then she really is my sister-in-law," he said, letting his expression show barely-contained anger and the weight of his words carry the seriousness of the situation. "Director, just as doctors must respect client confidentiality, what I'm about to tell you is not allowed to leave this room."

The director straightened a little taller, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, and gave Gin his full attention. "You have my word as a doctor. What is it, officer?"

"I wasn't completely truthful with you or your receptionist downstairs when I said I was a police officer, but I hope you will understand why once I've explained the situation. There is a secret organization working for the Japanese government that, officially, doesn't even exist. It is known as the Security Police as part of the Planning Security Bureau, and that's who I work for."

As annoying as that group was, Gin could not be more thankful for its secret existence right at that point. It would be so much harder for anyone to confirm if an Officer Takeki actually worked for an organization if the organization in question wasn't even supposed to exist.

"I was working undercover following a lead on an incredibly sly and dangerous group of criminals when I overheard that an attack had been authorized tonight on a young woman that matched Masami's description."

Gin clenched his hands into fists at his sides in a visible display of anger and bared his teeth. It was all an act, of course, and it felt excessive for someone like him, but emotional reactions were more likely to garner sympathy and assistance. All the director should see was a young officer frustrated and angry about an attack made upon one of his family members that he was unable to prevent. He could quite clearly see that the director was buying into his story as well. Sheep were so easy to fool, but then if everyone was this easy, Vermouth's skills would become obsolete. Pity.

"Apparently there was a rumor that my sister-in-law had discovered one of their secrets and they made the move to silence her before she could take it to the police." He shook his head in seeming despair. "I don't know if she actually did learn one of their secrets or not, but they believed she had and that was enough for them. She doesn't know what I do for a living, so I don't think it was my connection with her that put her in danger. If that had been the case, it would have made more sense for them to target my wife rather than her sister if they were after me."

He released a heavy sigh and continued. "As soon as I had heard what happened and where it had occurred, I called for an ambulance to that location on the slightest chance that maybe I could save Masami, but I was told an ambulance was already on its way. I suppose that it must have been those kids you mentioned earlier that had called for an ambulance before I got the chance?" Gin asked the last of the director who nodded in confirmation. "Once I knew that, it was only a matter of figuring out which hospital she had likely been taken to based on her location, which brought me here as soon as I could feasibly get away. You don't happen to know her current health status, do you?"

Director Saikyuu shook his head. "No, she was still in surgery last I heard. Well, I can certainly understand your concern for your sister-in-law, but I don't understand why you wanted to meet with me and tell me all this."

Gin grinned inside. The fish was biting. Now to hook him and reel him in. "Because the criminals I've been working undercover with know that they failed to kill her and they will stop at nothing to see her dead. Putting her under police protection would be my preferred strategy under normal circumstances, but it's a large criminal organization with a vast network of resources and despite our efforts, the PSB is nowhere close to bringing it down at this point in time. We don't have the resources to set up a constant guard for her long-term and it would drastically interfere with her daily life. These criminals are relentless and will do anything to protect their secrets from exposure, whether the threat is real or not. Where you come in and where I need your help, Director, is to help me fake Masami's death if she survives her surgery."

Director Saikyuu's eyes widened and he took an involuntary step back. "Fake her death?" he repeated. "Does it really need to go that far?"

"It does," Gin said sternly. "Until we bring them down, she will never be safe any other way."

"But what do I need to do? If you asked for me at the front desk, then you must have thought this through, right?" the director asked.

Finally, Gin allowed himself a slight smirk, the first real expression on his face since arriving in the hospital. "I have. Regardless of the outcome for Masami's surgery, she must be listed as deceased. She could be written off as dead due to surgical complications; that's an innocuous reason. If she survives, then before the equipment is turned off, any equipment that automatically records the health status of the patient needs to be manually tampered with. If anyone comes looking into her death at this hospital, I don't want them to find any discrepancies. I trust you and the doctors and nurses here know best what information is recorded and stored and how you would process dead bodies here."

The director looked uneasy but nodded all the same. "Yes, it doesn't happen often, but for unknown deceased, we generally send them to the morgue for autopsy and then they're cremated once the morgue is finished. The name Masami Hirota is the only lead we have to your sister-in-law's identity, so she is basically an unknown to us and it would not be unusual for us to follow that procedure should she die on the operating table."

"Yes, follow that procedure. It will work well for our purposes. The first thing we need to do once my sister-in-law is out of surgery is move her to a secure, isolated ward with as few people as possible seeing her on the way. I'll be able to stand guard and watch over her until she comes around. I'll take care of everything else on her end with making sure she gets out safely. The less you know of that particular aspect, the better. Now about your procedure for sending bodies to the morgue, can you go into more detail about that?"

"Well, yes, but if these criminals you're hiding amongst are really as thorough as you say, wouldn't they find it suspicious that no body actually shows up at the morgue?" the director asked.

Gin really hated thorough-thinking people sometimes, but it wasn't an unreasonable thing to ask in his circumstance. "They would which is why I will be taking care of that after I've seen Masami safely alive out of this hospital. All you'll have to do on your end is file the morgue for an autopsy and I will take care of the rest and explain the situation to the one in charge there. I want to make sure that I have all the information I need about which morgue you use, normal operating procedure, required documents, and any current arrangements between this hospital and the morgue."

"Oh, that information is all in my office. Would you like to take a look at them now?"

"Yes please. I'm afraid I won't have time after Masami gets out of surgery and I'd rather not make a return trip so soon."

"Understood. Please follow me Officer Takeki," the director said with a wave of his hand and Gin followed him out. Director Saikyuu didn't need to know that the morgue, in fact, would be receiving a body tomorrow; it just wouldn't be Akemi Miyano's.

()()()()()

Akemi subconsciously felt the familiar, ominous presence nearby long before she was conscious enough to actually wake up. Therefore, she was thoroughly confused when she finally opened her eyes and saw a strange man in a beige jacket and jeans standing against the wall by the door with his arms crossed and watching her intently.

"Who are you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself, still groggy from the anesthesia-induced sleep.

The man smirked and suddenly, she did recognize him. "It's nice to know I can fool even you with a disguise as simple as this," Gin said smugly.

Akemi scowled at him. "I've never seen you with your hair up and it's not my fault you never wear anything but black."

Gin spread his arms wide. "And that's why it works so well with very little effort on my part," he said proudly. "It's good to see you've already got your spunk back; you're going to need it."

He stooped down and picked up a brown paper bag at his feet that Akemi hadn't seen from her reclining position. He walked over to her bedside and set it down at the foot of the bed. "In there, you will find all the materials you will need for your disguise. I know it would be better for your health to remain here a little longer to rest and regain your strength, but we don't have that luxury. I've secured the cooperation of the director of this hospital in keeping your survival a secret, and so far, no word has reached me that anyone is suspicious of the circumstances surrounding your death. We need to keep it that way, so getting you out of here as fast as possible is the only way forward."

Akemi slowly sat up, wincing a little as pain shot through her abdomen, and pulled the bag towards her to take a look inside. There was a change of clothes, a wig, some hair ties, and a pair of glasses. There was also a face mask, which she had no idea how he'd managed to secure without arousing suspicion because making those himself was not in Gin's skillset.

"I commissioned it from a makeup artist in an actor's guild," Gin said, seemingly reading her thoughts. "Vermouth had no hand in this."

Akemi hadn't realized how much she'd started to worry over that very thing until Gin reassured her otherwise. "The clothes better be my size. I'm already going to have to buy a whole new wardrobe and the less I have to buy, the better."

Gin scoffed. "Who do you take me for? More importantly, you need to be more observant. I entered your apartment two weeks ago to send some of your clothes on ahead to where you'll be in hiding, and you never noticed."

Akemi averted her eyes from the bag's contents and gaped at him in shock. "You broke into my apartment and went through my clothes?!" she exclaimed.

Gin gave her a deadpan stare that reminded her strongly of Shiho. "Yes, I broke into your apartment and went through your clothes. Excuse me for trying to ensure you didn't have to walk around in only one set of clothes for a week."

"Rude jerk," Akemi muttered under her breath and resumed her casual perusal of the bag's contents. There seemed to be several small things hiding down at the bottom. "What in the world…?"

"That would be money for your travel fare and food, your new ID – fake of course – and the key with a road map to your new apartment in Fukushima prefecture," Gin explained. "I rented it out for you months in advance in preparation for this moment."

"Wow, you've really gone all out on this whole disguise and hiding thing, haven't you?" Akemi said, her tone impressed.

Gin gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders. "If I'm going to commit treason, I might as well do it completely."

Akemi's brow furrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she reached into the bag for the clothes and hugged them to her chest as she got out of bed. It hurt to move, especially to bend at her waist, but she had no choice, not if she was supposed to remain dead in the eyes of the Organization. Gin watched her carefully, but made no move to stop her as she walked around the bed and retreated behind the curtain to change.

She had barely finished pulling the curtain closed when Gin spoke, his tone suspicious. "The hospital director actually mentioned something interesting I was not previously aware of. I did not expect when I arrived that the hospital would know your alias Masami Hirota considering you didn't have any ID on you."

Akemi froze in fear momentarily. "They did, huh? That is pretty interesting. How did they find out?" she asked, trying to sound genuinely curious.

"You don't know?" Gin asked, and she could hear his disbelief. "Apparently there were two kids who knew you that found you at the docks shortly after I left the area and also called for an ambulance."

She could easily hear the accusation in his voice, that she had led those two kids to their meeting location. She hadn't, but if he suspected they had seen something they shouldn't or if they made a fuss about her being injured, he would not hesitate to find out who they were and kill them, especially to protect the scene of his treachery where there were only supposed to be two living witnesses to the crime. Gin's mercy did not extend beyond protecting himself and maybe Shiho to an extent. It was a bitter reminder of his true nature and eased some of the guilt she felt about having told Conan Edo- no, Shinichi Kudo – about the Black Organization's existence.

"Well, if that's the case, I guess I have to believe you. I ended up passing out from blood loss, so if anyone appeared at the scene after that, I wouldn't know," Akemi said, grateful that she was speaking to Gin through the curtain and not directly to his face.

It wasn't a complete lie; she'd seen Conan before passing out, but she had no idea who this second kid mentioned was. Then she wondered if Gin had intentionally waited until she was behind the curtain to ask his questions. Did he not want to know if her responses and body language would give the truth away? That didn't seem like him.

"So what happens now?" Akemi asked as a change of subject and wondered if Gin would even allow it. "What's the plan after I get all dressed up in my disguise?"

Surprisingly, he did allow it. "After you're disguised, you will promptly leave the hospital ahead of me. Take a taxi to the train station and head to Fukushima prefecture. There should still be a few trains running in that direction at this time of night. That's all you have left to do, Akemi. Just get out of town and hide."

She finished pulling the shirt over her head, the last article of clothing she'd needed to change into, and pulled back the curtain to stare at Gin's profile. He was staring sideways down at the floor and he seemed… rather melancholy. It didn't suit him at all. "You really are risking a lot to help me, huh? I wish I knew how to thank you properly for all you've done to make this work," Akemi said softly.

Something shifted in those fake-colored eyes of his and Gin grunted, "Hmph. Even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to grant it. Just stay hidden and take care of Sherry. I'll send her to you once the Organization thinks she's dead too."

Akemi nodded absent-mindedly and retrieved the wig and face mask from the bag. The mask went on first and it was uncomfortable, as expected. She had to admit it was well-made though. A quick glimpse in a small hand mirror and even she didn't recognize the fifty-or-so-year-old person in the mirror as herself. It was incredibly surreal. She pulled out a few of the hair ties from the bag and bound up her hair in a ponytail that she then braided. She flattened it against the back of her head and placed the gray-peppered wig upon her head over her own black hair. The wig cut off at her shoulders and the bangs were long and straight, hanging well over her eyebrows. They were at that annoying length of being so long they got in the way of seeing, but too short to tuck behind her ears. Akemi had no idea how Gin could stand having his bangs at that length.

"If people saw us standing next to each other with me looking like this, they would think I'm your older sister," she griped as she returned to the brown bag and fished out the glasses. Ironically, they were circular frames just like the ones she'd been wearing earlier when Gin shot her.

"Then it's a good thing we won't be standing next to each other for much longer," Gin said drily.

Akemi rolled her eyes and put the glasses on. Well, at least she couldn't complain that she still looked like Akemi Miyano. She then withdrew the money, ID, keys, and map from the bag and stuffed them into the pockets of the black jacket she was wearing. "Well, I guess this is it then. I'll see you later, I suppose," Akemi said after turning to face Gin.

After she'd spoken, he had stopped staring at the floor and though his eyes weren't the green she knew they actually were beneath the colored contacts, they were no less intense and terrifying. "No," Gin said sharply, his gaze unwavering, his expression unyielding. "If everything goes well, Akemi, then you will never see me again. If I ever visited you, it would only risk drawing attention to your location and then all of our work will have been for nothing. From this moment on, you are dead to me; just another name and face that I'll forget alongside all the others I've killed. Goodbye, Akemi."

His voice was sharp with authority and a frigid warning, the kind of voice nobody would ever dare argue against or backtalk to, and Akemi had no intention of doing so. However, despite that, and the shivers running down her spine, she couldn't help but feel there was something sad lurking beneath it all, and she couldn't understand why. They weren't friends, so why should a parting like this be something to feel... anything over? Maybe it was because they weren't close and it was Gin who was standing there telling her she was dead to the world. He was still incredibly loyal to the Organization, yet it was him who was betraying his principles to protect her, and it was him who was standing there to see her off.

She walked past him in the doorway and whispered in gratitude, "Thank you, Gin."

Of course, he said nothing in reply, but she hadn't expected him to. He'd already given her his farewell and Gin was not the type of man to dwell on thoughts of the dead.

()()()()()

Gin remained motionless leaning against the wall next to the door for a long while after Akemi had left the room. It was mostly to give her time to get out of the hospital and put some distance between them before he made his own way out. Everything had gone smoothly and his responsibility for her was almost complete. He just had to send a corpse to the morgue tomorrow with the hospital's mailing information and paperwork and he would be completely rid of her. Soon, he would have to start planning how to fake Sherry's death. He knew he would not be able to do it the same way he had done with Akemi, and anything remotely suspicious with her would draw far more attention than with Akemi. He did not advertise it, but there were many important Organization members that knew or guessed of his intimate relationship with Sherry, a risk factor he would have to take into account when making his plans. Gin pushed off the wall and walked over to the bed Akemi had been laying in not even half an hour ago. He plucked a couple long, black hairs from the pillow and picked up the now-empty brown paper bag that had carried Akemi's disguise materials. He placed the hairs in the bag and then walked around to where Akemi had changed behind the curtain, placing the discarded hospital garments in the bag as well. He would have to wait until he got home to retrieve his uniform before he burned all traces of her presence.

The evidence in hand, Gin left the room and took the stairs once more. He reached the ground floor and exited the hospital through the lobby without pausing. Nobody stopped him. He flagged down a taxi and gave the driver the address to his apartment once he got in. While the taxi drove, he let his thoughts wander back to Sherry again. He wondered how long it would take her to find out her sister was killed and he wondered how long it would be after that before she became a traitor. How much more time would he have with her? And even after she rejected his presence, for how much longer would he continue being able to see her? These were things he didn't know, things he couldn't know. It all rested upon Sherry's shoulders now, though she didn't know it.

The first thing he did after arriving at his apartment was change back into his normal clothes and the low-key sense of alarm he'd been fighting since he last left his apartment finally disappeared. Semi-disguised or not, he did not like being exposed like that. Properly-dressed, he grabbed his phone and dialed Sherry's number.

()()()()()

Sherry first heard her phone ringing as if through a tunnel from a long distance away, except that her perception of it was disjointed and annoyingly obtrusive. It felt like forever before she realized that the phone wasn't ringing in her dream, but in the real world. Once she did though, she struggled to regain consciousness. With her vision blurred and her head still fuzzy with sleep, she fumbled around on the nightstand for the infernal torture device until she finally latched onto it. She brought it in front of her face and stared blearily at the caller ID on the screen. Gin?! What the hell did he want right now that he couldn't have bothered to tell her earlier in the day? If it was sex, he was out of luck, because if she wasn't in the mood before, she definitely wasn't now! She glared hatefully at his name, but pressed the 'call' button on her phone and brought it to her ear.

"What?" she snapped, making her displeasure with his poor timing known.

"Did I wake you?" he asked.

Sherry rolled her eyes so hard, they could have rolled right into her head. "No. I'm still asleep and I'm just sleep-talking with you over the phone right now, you asshole," she bit out with all the venomous sarcasm she possessed.

There was a brief pause on the other end in which she swore he just smirked at her annoyance with him. "Sorry. Sometimes you work late hours, so I wasn't sure if you were even home yet," he said.

Sherry raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Did you just say 'sorry'? If you're trying to pass off as the real Gin, you're doing a very poor job of it."

"Very funny, Sherry. I have one last errand to take care of and then I'm coming over for the night."

"Now hold on a minute!" Sherry exclaimed in outrage, suddenly wide awake. "You can't just decide to come over here late at night of your own accord merely because you want to see me!"

"Not want. Need."

"Huh?"

"I need to see you, Sherry."

Her mouth fell open in shock. In all the years she'd known him, she had never heard Gin say he needed her, not without a specific purpose in mind anyway. A suspicious thought crept into her mind and she snapped her mouth shut, her eyes narrowing.

"If you need a woman, then go see Vermouth or something. I'm in no mood for sex tonight," she said coldly. She didn't even know what that woman looked like, but she knew Gin had slept with her before their relationship had begun and she wasn't convinced that he didn't still sometimes see her on the side.

Gin chuckled over the line. "No sex, just your company," he assured her.

Sherry stopped glaring into the darkness and her brow contorted in confusion as she propped herself up on her elbow. "Are you okay, Gin? You really don't sound like yourself. You're not drunk, are you?"

"Oh, you would know if I was drunk, believe me. I become irrationally demanding and hot-tempered. I'll see you soon."

"Hey, wait, I never said-" Sherry began, but the line went dead mid-sentence. Gin had already hung up.

She blankly at the screen for a moment then suddenly frowned and slammed the phone back down on the nightstand, flicking the desk lamp on in the same breath. "Self-important, pretentious prick," she muttered darkly as warm light flooded her bedroom and she threw back the covers, stomping her way into the kitchen. "Calling whenever he feels like it and imposing himself on other people at unreasonable hours just because he can. Not even considerate enough to tell me when I should be expecting his arrival. I don't know why I even love him."

After flicking on the light, she filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil. She refused to change out of her pajamas just because Gin was coming over, but now that she was awake and forced to expect his company, she might as well make tea and see if she could get some work done while she waited.

Once she had her tea, she carried it with her over to the desktop situated in a corner of her bedroom. She pressed the power button and took a sip of her tea while she waited for the computer to boot up. If Gin was coming over from his apartment, it would probably take him about an hour to arrive, but she didn't know that he was coming from there nor how much time his 'errand' would take. However, he had said 'soon' right before he hung up. She supposed it would be safe to expect him sometime within the hour at the latest.

It was an hour and a half later before she heard a sharp knock on her door. Sherry startled at the sound, given the hour, before she remembered the reason why she was still awake in the first place. Remembering caused her scowl to deepen with every step she took from the computer in her bedroom to the front door. She didn't expect it to be anyone else - and what thief would go knocking on someone's door anyway? - but out of habit, she glanced through the peephole in the door to see if it really was the silvery-haired jerk outside. She quickly confirmed that yes, it was Gin, undid the locks, and swung the door open to glare up at the source of her annoyance tonight.

"On what planet is an hour and a half later considered 'soon'?" Sherry demanded icily.

He did not answer, but he moved forward so fast, she barely noticed except that she was forced to take a step backward and the door swung closed behind her. His hands came up to her shoulders and his lips came down to cover hers, demanding as always, but unusually soft. It completely threw her off and it almost made her forget that she was angry with him. Almost.

She broke off the kiss, though was unable to pull away because of his strong grip on her shoulders, and resumed glaring at him. "Seriously Gin, I don't care how important you are in the Organization, you can't just call me up out of the blue late at night and then force your presence on me just because you feel like it, rude jerk."

Something flashed in those green eyes and for the briefest moment, she had felt his fingers tighten on her shoulders. It was so quick, she almost thought she imagined it, but she knew better. Something she'd said had made him react, but what? It definitely wasn't the name-calling. He wasn't a sensitive about that sort of thing and she had called him worse to his face before. Maybe it was the implied slight on the Organization? That seemed more likely; he could be touchy about that sometimes.

Still, he gave her a wan smile. "My apologies, Sherry. I was at my apartment when I called and the unfinished task I had to do before coming took longer than expected."

The odd smile and the apology reminded her of something else that she had forgotten in her annoyance with him. He had apologized for waking her during the phone call and also said he needed her company. And that kiss just now; for him, it was incredibly tender. Her glare softened into a concerned frown of its own accord and she gripped the front of his black coat in tight fists. "Gin, please, what's going on? You're not acting like yourself and it's starting to scare me a little. You really are Gin and not some imposter, aren't you?"

He started chuckling as soon as she said 'imposter' and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "My dear Sherry, would an imposter know that I deflowered you the winter you turned fifteen during the season's first snowfall? Or of the beautiful red blood of your innocence staining the pure, snow-white sheets upon which you lay entangled with me and trembling with ecstasy?"

Sherry squeaked and her cheeks flushed dark red. "Not… not unless you told someone…" she mumbled under her breath.

"As if I would ever think of sharing such a precious secret," he purred and nuzzled her cheek, kissing the skin right next to her ear.

She closed her eyes, accepting his affection, and leaned forward into his broad chest, her forehead resting just below his collar bone. "I mean it, Gin. You're being unusually gentle and affectionate with me, and you're not even trying to seduce me? It's really not like you; what's the reason?"

"So persistent," he groaned in exasperation. "You know I can't share all my secrets with you, Sherry," he warned.

She sighed with resignation. "More secrets. You sure don't make it easy for a girl to trust you."

Gin finally pulled back and she was able to look into those cold, green eyes once more. "I told you before, didn't I? I will never be able to share everything with you and you will only end up disappointed if you expect as much."

Sherry let her shoulders sag and dipped her head down. "I know. I haven't forgotten," she said quietly. She felt his left hand slid across her shoulder at the same time that his right slid down her side and caressed her hip, and she closed her eyes. "Gin, what are you- Hey!" she gasped and her eyes flew open, for his right arm slipped around the backs of her thighs and he bent slightly at the knees.

In the next second, Sherry found herself hoisted up into the air and she instinctively grabbed onto Gin's shoulders to steady herself. She was now looking down at him and he was looking mighty pleased with himself, like a smug cat laying its kill on its owner's doorstep.

"You talk too much, Sherry," he said with his characteristic smirk and, still holding her in his arms, he carried her to the bedroom.

He set her down on his bed and true to his word, he made no move to undress her or himself beyond removing his hat and coat, not even caring that he had no pajamas to change into. Once he'd laid them over the back of her computer chair, he joined her under the covers and immediately wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest. He placed one last soft, lingering kiss on her lips before tucking her head under his chin, seemingly content to fall asleep after giving her a goodnight kiss. Sherry was not quite so ready to sleep though.

She absentmindedly stroked her fingers through the long silvery locks within reach while she considered everything that had just happened. While there was a great deal she did not know about the fair-haired man, she would be remiss to say she didn't know him at all. In truth, most of the missing information was in regards to his background rather than his personality and values, and Gin had been unusually affectionate with her this evening. Of course, she didn't mind the extra loving, but it wasn't like him to engage in such transparent displays of affection on a whim. Something must have happened recently, though she couldn't imagine what would unsettle him so. He was Gin: unflappable, highly-feared, and extremely dangerous. There wasn't much out there in the world that phased him.

Actually, his actions reminded her of something she'd either read or heard a while back. It was so long ago, she could no longer remember the original source, but the content had stuck with her. It must have been back when Akemi had first started dating Dai Moroboshi because she had only recently arrived in Japan from her schooling in America and been codenamed, and it was the first real experience she had encountering the world of dating and romantic relationships. Being the inquisitive, science-minded kid that she was back then, she had wanted to know everything she possibly could about this new, fascinating subject. One of the things she had found is that what tended to happen if both parties in the relationship were not invested in maintaining it, then the one more invested in not letting it end would sense the lack of interest in their partner and do even more to try and keep them together to not let the relationship end. Gin's actions were just like those of a man or woman desperate to keep a dying relationship going. The only problem with that reasoning was that she had no interest in breaking off her relationship with him, nor had she expressed or felt any such inclination.

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, nuzzling deeper into his warm embrace. Well, she supposed she would never know since Gin had no intention of telling her, so she would just enjoy the extra affection he bestowed upon her for as long as he was willing to offer it.