NOTE: This is set in the world of A Hint Of A Threat, so please read that first. And bear in mind that it's only semi-canon!

Hara Masako stepped out of the ballroom, closed the door behind her and sighed with her back against the door. Social functions were always such effort.

Not to mention the glaringly obvious fact that someone had definitely been stealing the show.

When she had first heard that the little runt of an assistant was accompanying her date to this event, she presumed it was to act as his maid or something, not to accompany another man. And yet it wasn't the other man whose attention the runt had stolen.

Her date had assumed the façade of Narumi Kazuo, though almost everyone had fake names at this event. Everything was false. The business conducted was hidden in a mutual code just in case anyone was listening.

But there had been one thing that had not been fake: the look in Narumi Kazuo's eyes when he had been looking at the runt. What was her name? Taniyama?

Masako did not care. When they were out of this place she would deal with the assistant. She had thought she had made herself clear before, but evidently not…

Sighing once more, Masako leant down and pulled her strappy heels from her feet. She groaned as her feet adjusted to the suddenly flat floor and began walking back to their room.

Her long dark purple dress trailed on the floor. On every alternate step, her left leg made an appearance through the thigh high slit.

There had been a surprising number of women at the event, and yet Masako had still received the most attention. Almost every man had had his eyes on her as she had strut around, flaunting her body. She had winked at the men she had known and shared knowing smiles. And she had danced with those that she had not known; making new connections.

Her father would be proud, she thought bitterly.

A sudden noise ahead of her caused Masako to look up. A young woman was running towards her at full pelt. She was obviously not one of the staff nor was she even Asian, but the light was to see her well.

"Masako?" She asked as she stopped dead in her tracks. "Thank goodness, I got here in time!"

"What? Who are you?" Masako demanded, wishing that she had not left the party alone.

"I need you to trust me. I know you don't trust anyone, but please for your own sake, trust me right now." Her voice was serious and she finally stepped into a patch of the corridor that had better lighting. Masako drank in her appearance and mentally searched her for potential threats. The young woman was tall, taller than she was by far, but more shocking even than that was her hair.

Not only was it natural blonde, a rare sight in Japan, but it travelled down past her waist and finished just below her bum.

The young woman wasn't wearing the staff uniform, nor was she wearing a ball gown. Instead, she was wearing a tight black cat suit and thigh high black boots. Well, there was certainly nowhere she was going to hide a weapon if she had one.

"Your hair, it's really long…" Masako mumbled.

"Is it? Really? I had not noticed." The young woman replied sarcastically as she rolled her green eyes. "Masako, there is going to be an attempt on your life and I have to stop it, we need to get back to your room."

These words had an effect on Masako.

"How do you know that?"

"Because this-" The blonde gestured around her. "-is my party so to speak."

"But Urado organised this meet…" Masako replied, confused.

"Bless, look I really don't have time to deal with your inability to comprehend things bigger than the world you know, so please come with me now."

Masako hesitated for a moment, and then started forwards. The blonde took her hand and dragged her towards her bedroom.

"What's your name?" Masako asked as they ran.

"Hana." The blonde replied.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because you can't die yet." Hana replied before opening the door and shoving Masako inside. "Wait here and everything will be okay. Narumi Kazuo will return to you in a minute."

And before Masako could protest any further, Hana had closed the door and run off.

Narumi Kazuo watched the brunette dancing with the informant. She was laughing at a joke Echigoya had just told her as they fumbled their way around the dance floor.

"You're staring." Lin pointed out.

"So what?" He replied curtly. "You were staring at Madoka."

"Have you had any leads?" Lin asked, ignoring the young man's words.

"Yes, but I am not discussing them here." The young man stood up. "I'm going for a walk."

Lin did not protest, so Narumi left the hall as Hara-san had done twenty minutes before. He did not want to go back to the room he and Hara-san had been forced into sharing.

He turned into the corridor that would lead furthest from that room and began striding purposefully down it. This mansion was of an odd design. It had doors that led nowhere and stair cases going sideways. But Narumi had long since gotten used to the layout.

Then a knife appeared out of nowhere and was being held against his throat.

"Listen to me, Hara Masako is in danger and if you don't go and save her, suspicion will rest on your shoulders as you are her roommate, do you understand?" A female voice said behind him.

Narumi broke her grip, span around and pinned the blonde against the wall.

"Who are you and why are you speaking English?"

"Of course I'm speaking English."

"How did you know I knew English?"

"Because I know who you are." And then she mouthed a name he had never used in Japan. "And I know why you are here." She mouthed something else. Narumi paled.

"How do you know?" He growled.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to." The blonde replied. "Now as much as I love having you pin me against the wall, you need to get back to your room before Masako dies. Because you know as well as I do who they will hurt first if they find her dead."

"Mai."

And like that, the young man was sprinting away.

Masako had changed into her lacy nightie and was just climbing into bed when she felt someone strike her from behind. She fell face first with no time to steady herself, but her attacker quickly turned her around.

Masako looked up at the figure with fear in her eyes. Hana said she would be safe, so who was this black clad figure. Her attacker was definitely female judging by the way the black gi sat on her body. She was wearing a black balaclava over her head and… Glasses?

"I never met an assassin who wore glasses on a job before…" Masako croaked. The back of her head hurt quite a lot and she was barely aware of the woman crouching over her was doing.

"Well I'm glad I fulfilled that gap in your life before you died." The woman said as she pressed her hands around Masako's throat.

Yet the female assassin had barely been throttling her prey for ten seconds when the door burst open.

"Stop!" The black haired man ordered and the assassin paused. Her hands were still around Masako's neck, but there was less pressure in their touch.

"Naru?"

"Wait, what?" Naru, Narumi or whatever his name was, said.

"You are supposed to be downstairs." The assassin muttered. "Who sent you here?"

But the long haired blonde had appeared in the doorway.

"Hannah! What are you doing here?!" The assassin complained, switching languages in an instant.

"Amy, you have to let Masako go." Hannah said.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Naru asked, thoroughly nonplussed.

"Of course we do. How do you suppose I knew she was going to attack Masako?" Hannah replied.

"How did you know it was me?" Amy said as she pulled off the balaclava to release her short blonde hair.

"How many people do I know that want Masako dead?" Hannah asked flippantly.

"It could have been Nia…"

"Well yes but…" Hannah trailed off, evidently thrown by the idea.

"Why didn't-" Naru began, but Amy cut him off.

"You said I could throttle her!"

"And you have! But she can't die yet!" Hannah retorted.

"That was like the tiniest bit of throttling. I want to finish the job!" Amy complained.

"Amy." Hannah said in a warning tone.

"Why am I here if you knew she was doing this? You could have just stopped her yourself?" Naru asked, evidently frustrated.

"You're my back up." Hannah said, and a mischievous smirk widened on her face.

"You wouldn't…" Amy said with dawning realisation.

"I would. If you strangle her and she dies, Naru here will be forced to give her mouth to mouth." Hannah threatened.

"But she deserves to die."

"You do realise mouth to mouth is basically kissing."

"No it isn't." Naru corrected.

"Shut up will you? Persuading her that it is, is the only thing that's stopping you from having to do it." Hannah hissed.

"Naru, you wouldn't, would you?" Amy pleaded.

"I'd have to if you really did kill her. Her people will kill Mai otherwise." Naru replied coldly.

"And you don't want that do you Amy?" Hannah said coaxingly.

"What are you all talking about?" Masako whimpered and Amy smacked her hard around the face. Masako had been knocked out.

"Shut it." Amy growled. "I hate you Hannah. You said…"

"And you did get to throttle her but please, she has to live a little longer."

"Why are you two talking as if you can just plan out our lives?" Naru asked.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to." The two blonde women replied in perfect unison, both glaring at the young man before grinning at each other.

"Fine, I won't kill her now." She climbed off of the passed out Masako and turned to face the other two. "But I want you to promise that there will be a happy ending for this thing."

Hannah suddenly looked very uncomfortable. She started playing with a strand of hair and avoiding eye contact.

"Well…" She muttered quietly.

"Hannah?"

"I can't promise anything…" And she sprinted out of the room.

"Hannah!" Amy shrieked and chased after the long haired blonde. Naru watched them both go before checking Masako's pulse. It was still there. He walked back to the door and looked down the corridor.

But the two blondes had disappeared.

Author's note: So this is a fanfic of a fanfic written by a fanfic author for a fanfic author who wrote a fanfic for a fanfic.

Dedicated to AmyNChan in thanks for the piece she wrote about A Hint Of A Threat! So please check that out too! :D

Please note I will not take requests for anyone, but I will consider an exchange of writing or bribery in the form of food...