Heya, long time no see! Thanks for the reviews, they were very much appreciated…I should really be studying for finals, but I wrote this instead. It's been a while, so you might want to refresh your memory by reading the previous chapter.

I suppose this chapter could be rated M…but I leave it to your good judgment. Enjoy.

Nao scanned the seemingly-abandoned dock from her vantage point before activating the transmitter in her ear. "Red Leader, north side of docks is all clear."

The transmitter crackled to life, emitting Midori's voice. "Roger that. In approximately two minutes, Team 2 will proceed to port side of the Salacia. Follow and infiltrate."

"Yes, ma'am." Nao ended the transmission and turned to Chie. "I feel like a little kid holding a lit match next to a shit-ton of dynamite."

Chie popped her gum. "I'm nervous, too. How come Midori gets a cool codename while the rest of us get called numbers?"

"Silence, Charlie Two, or I'll have you written up for insubordination. Besides, Midori totally showed herself to be a sci-fi nerd with that codename." Nao spotted Team 2 steadily creeping towards the docked cargo ship. "Ready to rock and roll?"

Chie checked the ammunition of her weapon before nodding. "Let's go."

The two silently joined their comrades. Although she couldn't see it, Nao knew that Midori and Teams 4 and 5 were doing the same thing on the other side of the cargo ship. They would each sweep their respective sides of the ship, taking out any belligerents who posed a threat, until any evidence of a drug shipment was found.

Nao's hands were slightly shaking as she lightly landed on the deck of the Salacia. Agents rarely were killed on their first missions, but it was known to happen—and Nao would be damned if she were one of the unlucky few.

One of the agents, superior in ranking to Nao and Chie, gestured to a door. "Take the upper levels of the hold, Team 3. We'll search the lower deck."

Nao and Chie nodded before disappearing through the door. Nao tapped on her night-vision goggles and indicated for Chie to follow her.

They had barely gone more than a few steps when Nao was alerted to voices ahead. She immediately halted and peered around the corner, seeing two guards casually conversing with each other. Nao turned to look at Chie and held up two fingers before indicating she would take the one on the left. Chie nodded.

They both stepped into the light at the same time. The two guards looked up in shock. The only sound was two little pffts of air; seconds later, the guards dropped to the floor, blood gushing out of neat holes in their foreheads.

Nao carefully stepped over the growing puddle of blood. First kill—easy as pulling a trigger.

Nao and Chie continued down the narrow corridor and peeked out. They were overlooking some kind of holding bay where huge crates were stored. The crewmen of the ship were buzzing around, unbuckling the crates from their restraints and loading them onto small lift trucks. The men were looking around uneasily. One man, who seemed to be the supervisor, was barking into a walkie-talkie and apparently receiving no response.

"They know something's up," Chie noted to Nao.

They heard Midori's voice through their headsets. "Team 1 will create a distraction in the holding area. Team 2 and 3, you go down there to secure the crates—capture-before-kill basis. Don't let yourself get shot, but I want some witnesses alive as well. In 3…2…1…"

The crewmen below cried out, first in shock, then in pain, when several flash-bang grenades seemed to rain down from nowhere. Several of the men, panicked from being blinded, began to shoot wildly.

Nao and Chie jumped down from the platform and easily took out the few men who were firing blindly. On the other side of the cargo area, Team 2 was doing the same.

Being in an actual firefight was nothing like Nao had expected. It wasn't fun like in the video games. Nao would have no extra lives to continue playing: if she was shot, that was it. She wasn't naïve enough to not have expected the smoke, smell of blood, and god-awful, ear-ringing sound of semi-automatic gun fire; Nao wasn't a regular soldier, after all. Still, a small part of her wanted to drop her gun and flee, especially when she saw Chie jerk back and clutch the side of her head, a strange grimace of pain on her face and blood pouring from beneath her fingers.

Nao almost darted out from behind a crate to get to Chie, but an agent roughly grabbed the back of her shirt, barking out, "Stay where you are, rookie!" Nao gritted her teeth and remained behind cover after she saw another agent had dragged Chie out of the line of fire. Oh God, if Chie died, Aoi was totally going to kill Nao…

Nao didn't allow herself to think until the firefight was over. Barely two minutes had passed, and yet all of Salacia's crewmen lay dead or wounded on the floor of the cargo hold.

The agent who had grabbed Nao, an older man who had clearly been doing his job for a long time, turned on his communicator. "Red Leader, holding area is secure. All targets have been eliminated."

"Good work, Alpha Two. We've secured the upper decks here and have been interrogating the captain, but he won't speak. Check the shipment."

"Yes, ma'am." Alpha Two ended the connection and turned to scowl at Nao. "Do you realize how stupid you acted during that engagement?"

Nao's throat felt dry. "Sorry, sir—"

"Always keep your focus on the fight, or else it might not be your friend getting shot, it'll be you. Comprende?"

"Yes."

"Good. Stupid rookies and their mistakes…" the older agent walked away, grumbling to himself.

Nao ran over to where a pale Chie was on the floor, propped up against a crate. An agent was dispassionately winding a roll of gauze around Chie's head and looked up at Nao's arrival. Chie's eyes were closed.

Nao crouched down by Chie and frowned. "Chie?"

Chie didn't move. Nao leaned in to see if Chie was breathing.

"Get away from me, you smell like sweat and blood," Chie suddenly muttered. Nao jumped and grinned widely.

"You dumb fuck, I thought you were dead!" the redhead said enthusiastically. "What kind of dumbass gets shot up on their first mission?"

"What are you talking about? It's only a flesh wound," Chie deadpanned.

The agent wrapping Chie's head barked out a laugh. "That's the spirit, rookie. Though if the bullet went an inch to the left, you'd be dead right now." She finished dressing the wound and patted Chie's shoulder before leaving Nao and Chie alone.

Nao looked curiously at the bandage. "That was a fuckload of blood for a flesh wound."

"Head wounds always bleed the most, you know that," Chie said. "The bullet grazed my temple—hurt like a real bitch."

"At least you'll have a cool scar."

"I know, right?" Chie beamed.

Nao pulled Chie to her feet. "Come on, they're checking the shipment. I don't want to miss it."

Chie obligingly followed Nao to where an agent was opening a crate. "I really hope the tip-off was correct. I'd hate for a piece of my head to be missing for no reason."

"You already were missing something in your head," Nao riposted.

The agent finally got the top off the crate and ripped open out of the sacks. White powder gleamed in the low light.

"How do we tell if it's sugar or heroin?" someone voiced out.

Before anyone could stop her, Nao licked her finger and dipped it into the powder before putting it into her mouth. She immediately gagged. "Yep, that's pure heroin."

The small team of agents burst into cheers. Alpha Two smirked and tapped his headset. "Red Leader, operation is a success. Shipment has been recovered."

Nao nudged Chie with a smile. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"The gash in my head begs to differ."

"Okay, now you're just milking it." Nao lightly punched her arm. "How about I buy you a drink? First war wound, and all."

"Nah, not tonight. I have to get home; Aoi's probably worried. Rain check on that drink?"

"Ah, fine, whatever. You're no fun, being all responsible and whatnot."

Chie stuck her tongue out. Truthfully, she was slightly shaken by how close the bullet came to killing her, and she just wanted to get home to Aoi.

Tokyo, Japan

"Sorry, am I getting you wet?"

Shizuru couldn't tear her eyes away from smoldering emerald eyes. Emerald eyes that were getting closer and closer until their lips were practically brushing—

"Ahem."

Shizuru turned her head to the side so that Natsuki's lips brushed against her cheek. Natsuki also looked to the intruder with a scowl. Shiho stood there with raised eyebrows. "If you're going to do that in my bathhouse, at least have the decency to pay for a room."

The now wide-awake girls behind Shiho giggled. "Aw, Munakata-san, you ruined the moment!"

"They were being so cute!"

"Don't mind us, keep going!"

Shizuru slipped under Natsuki's arm to stand before Shiho. "That won't be necessary, Shiho-san, we're leaving now. I will pay for the damages if you send me the bill."

Shiho grunted. "I'll be sure to do that. Don't come back for a while, Viola—you're bad news."

"That's common knowledge, isn't it?" Shizuru winked at the girls, who giggled and looked at her in adoration. "Come, Natsuki, our business here is done."

Natsuki scowled at the command. "Would it kill you to say please?"

"Perhaps not, but why take the chance? And the faster we get to my apartment, the faster we can get you out of those clothes…"

Natsuki's eyebrows rose. Say what?

"I have dry clothes Natsuki can change into." Shizuru smirked at Natsuki's expression. "What did Natsuki think I meant?"

"Something a lot more fun than that."

"Careful what you wish for, Natsuki." Shizuru tossed her a smirk and led the way out of the bath house.

A car was idling in front of the entrance; Natsuki noticed the same bodyguards from before were inside. Nice to see they were here now, and not when she was being assaulted by 20 other goons.

Shizuru slid into the backseat and moved over to make room for Natsuki. She opened the briefcase and perused through the thin file of papers inside.

Natsuki moved closer to Shizuru, their knees touching. "What's inside?"

"Money being moved into accounts, then taken out again and placed into different accounts, that sort of thing…" Shizuru scanned one of the papers more closely. "This one might be useful. First District Tokyo received several shipments of bismuth—a certain metal, I believe. There's even some sort of blueprint for a nuclear reactor, though I suspect it's a bit different than a usual reactor. Now, what use would Reito have for that?"

"The man's insane, I thought we established that!"

"True, but Reito is still as calculating as ever—after all, he is a Viola."

"Insanity also happens to be genetic," Natsuki muttered.

"What was that?"

Natsuki coughed. "Nothing."

"I thought so. Now, you have your information; I want mine. What did you learn about my father's assassination?"

Natsuki couldn't help the shiver up her spine when Shizuru began to trace her collarbone. She grabbed Shizuru's hand to stop her caresses; Natsuki felt she was going to lose it if Shizuru kept it up. "Not yet, Shizuru, I need to know what the bismuth is for."

"That's hardly fair, is it?" Shizuru's eyes were hooded, her voice husky with lust. Natsuki couldn't keep herself from running a hand up Shizuru's thigh. Shizuru caught her hand and intertwined their fingers.

"I don't play fair." They were so close to finishing that almost-kiss in the bathhouse—

The door on Shizuru's side opened. "Viola-san, we have arrived."

Natsuki glared at the man who had opened the door. Fucking great timing, jackass.

Shizuru pushed Natsuki away and picked up the briefcase, which had fallen to the floor. She nodded her thanks towards the driver and got out of the car.

Natsuki had to hurry her pace to catch up with Shizuru's strides. Damn her for having longer legs…legs that would look very nice wrapped around my waist—no! Focus on the mission, Kruger!

"In a hurry, are we?" Natsuki asked dryly when Shizuru bypassed her bowing subordinates with barely a cursory glance and nod.

"There's much we have to do, so I advise Natsuki to keep up."

Natsuki followed Shizuru into the lab. Irina was bent over some metal thingamajig and jerked back in surprise when Shizuru threw the briefcase onto the desk. "Shizuru-sama?"

"Irina-chan. I need you to look at these papers, hack into First District's database, and put two and two together. Figure out what they're planning to do. Can you do that for me?"

Irina opened the briefcase and scanned the papers. "I'll just need some time to sort it all out."

"That's fine; just send it up to my apartment when you're done. Natsuki and I need to have a little chat, anyways."

Natsuki ignored the little taunting oooh Irina let out. "About what?"

"What you know about my father."

"You won't get a single thing out of me until I learn what Kanzaki's up to."

"And what if I don't give you the information unless you give me what I want?"

"…That's not going to happen."

"Why not? It seems fairer than Natsuki's way."

"How is it fairer?"

"Fairer to me, I meant."

"I'm not saying anything until you give me what I want to know."

"Ara, most people want me for my body, not my mind."

"…Can't I have both?"

"Yes, once you tell me what you learned about my father."

Irina groaned and covered her ears. "Enough already! Jesus Christ, you two argue like a married couple."

Shizuru and Natsuki glared at each other, then at Irina. Shizuru scoffed. "As if I would marry someone like Natsuki." She started to walk off in the direction of the elevator.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsuki snapped at Shizuru, hot on her heels.

Irina rolled her eyes as the two adults' squabbling died away. "God, they're bipolar as fuck."

-000-000-

Natsuki was still scowling as she got out of the shower. Infuriating, stubborn woman—why couldn't Shizuru just give her the information?

She roughly put on the white button-up shirt and short shorts Shizuru had given her—literally thrown into her face, actually. It seemed the great crime leader could be quite petty during arguments.

Her interactions with Shizuru seemed to be strictly limited to fighting or flirting. Natsuki supposed she argued with Shizuru because if she didn't distract herself with anger, she just might slam Shizuru against the wall and fuck her senseless.

This was bad.

Natsuki slept with a lot of people, but even she drew the line at sleeping with a known criminal leader. Or she used to, anyway. Now, she was this close to saying, 'Screw the rules, just screw Shizuru."

But look at what happened to 009! 009 slept with one of the leaders of the Irish mob…ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean with a knife in his back for his troubles, the poor man. And Shizuru herself didn't seem that bad, but the Irish mob was child's play compared to what the VCS could do.

Fuck. Shit. Natsuki absolutely couldn't let herself succumb to Shizuru.

…Which was going to be exceedingly difficult with Shizuru wearing that skimpy silk robe.

Natsuki stared at Shizuru with an open mouth. Shizuru, sitting at the table with a cup of tea, was wearing a very short black robe…and nothing else, it seemed.

Shizuru looked up at Natsuki's presence. "Is Natsuki going to stand there the entire night or does she want a cup of tea?"

Natsuki shook herself out of her stupor and sat down. "No."

"No to standing or no to tea?"

Natsuki scowled. "Both."

Shizuru eyed Natsuki's attire. There was something rather appealing at seeing her own clothes on the dark-haired agent. The short shorts showcasing her toned legs, maybe, or was it the crisp white fabric stretching across her chest and emphasizing her body in oh-so-just the right places?

Natsuki could barely contain her shit-eating grin when she noticed crimson eyes roving over her body. "My eyes are up here, you know."

Shizuru's gaze snapped to amused emerald eyes. Natsuki smirked. "See something you like?"

"Natsuki looks rather good in white—and in my clothes."

"Maybe I'll have to wear them all the time, then, if you think so." Natsuki mentally smacked herself. Bad Natsuki! No flirting!

"Maybe I'd prefer to see Natsuki out of them." Shizuru stood and slowly walked around the table towards Natsuki. Natsuki willed her eyes to not drop below Shizuru's face. Don't look at her legs, don't look at her legs—

Natsuki warily watched Shizuru as she settled herself on Natsuki's lap. Natsuki had to place her palms flat down on the table in order to resist the urge to run her hands up Shizuru's legs.

Shizuru noticed Natsuki's tense posture. The look in her eyes turned impossibly sultrier. "Ara, don't tell me I make Natsuki nervous?"

Natsuki scoffed. "No."

Shizuru took Natsuki's hand and placed it on her thigh. She kept her hand on Natsuki's and threaded her other hand in dark hair. "I think Natsuki's lying."

"This shouldn't be happening."

"And why not?"

"I don't know, maybe because you probably wouldn't hesitate to put a knife in my back to save your own skin?"

"Like Natsuki wouldn't do the same?"

Natsuki stiffened when Shizuru began to plant light kisses down her jaw line. "What are you doing?"

"Tell me you're not enjoying this," Shizuru challenged.

"Fine. I'm not enjoying this." Natsuki struggled to keep her breathing even.

Light, superficial kisses turned into hot, wet caresses of the tongue. "And now?"

"Not even close." Lies, all lies.

"Well, we'll have to rectify this situation, won't we?" Shizuru turned to properly straddle Natsuki, making sure to grind in all the right places as she shifted positions.

Natsuki's eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head. "Stop that."

"Why? You want me to do this." Crimson eyes had turned alluringly dark in contrast to sharp, clear emerald.

"I never said that."

"Words are unnecessary. I only have to look at the way your body reacts to know you're lying." Shizuru's fingers traced Natsuki's face, causing her eyes to flutter shut. "Sight can be blinded, hearing can deceive, but touch? It can neither be faked nor ignored. The body will always give away your deepest desires, despite everything you do…"

"That doesn't mean you have to act on them," Natsuki gritted out.

"Ara, so stubborn. What is Natsuki afraid of? Touch can evoke the greatest pleasure…"

Natsuki couldn't help a gasp from escaping when Shizuru cupped her breast. She narrowed her eyes at Shizuru's shit-eating grin.

"It can also bring excruciating pain," Natsuki countered, taking Shizuru's hand and moving it up to a thin, long scar beneath her right collar bone, the scarred area a shade darker than the surrounding skin and just barely visible underneath the collar of her shirt. Shizuru surmised it was some kind of stab wound, since it was too narrow to be a bullet wound or a cigar burn.

At Shizuru's inquiring look, Natsuki explained. "A souvenir from my first mission in Andorra. I almost bled out before reaching a safe house."

Shizuru gently traced the slightly-raised scar with her fingers. "If pain did not exist, how would anyone know what pleasure felt like?"

"Can't you just live without feeling?" Natsuki asked almost plaintively. Shizuru could almost see the child that was forced to grow up too quickly and grew dispassionate and cynical towards the world in response.

Shizuru shrugged. "Humans are, by nature, emotive creatures. We are spurred on by rage, fear, envy, sorrow, joy, love, lust…Our emotions are the basis of the greatest epics, the most heart-breaking tragedies, and the most passionate affairs…" Shizuru trailed off pointedly, looking down at Natsuki in pure want.

Natsuki's mouth felt dry. "What do you want from me?" She let her lips brush against the hollow of Shizuru's throat, lingering on Shizuru's rapidly-beating pulse.

Shizuru closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards to allow Natsuki greater access to her neck. Natsuki felt Shizuru's throat vibrate underneath her lips as Shizuru started speaking.

"Ara, you still don't know? I shall put it more bluntly for Natsuki's sake, then." She drew away from Natsuki to look her coyly in the eye. "You're attractive. I'm attractive. We're both obviously attracted to each other, so why are we just fucking around and not actually fucking?"

At hearing Shizuru's words, Natsuki felt a fire ignite within and spread throughout her body. Shizuru was practically dangling a carrot in front of her, and damned if Natsuki didn't take the bait.

Natsuki suddenly stood up. She easily caught Shizuru around the waist, smirking at Shizuru's startled gasp, and lifted her onto the table. Natsuki planted her hands firmly next to each side of Shizuru and captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

Shizuru immediately responded enthusiastically, placing one hand on the back of Natsuki's neck and tangling the other in dark hair to pull Natsuki even closer.

The need for air eventually broke them apart. Natsuki raggedly panted against Shizuru's shoulder and blinked in surprise when she saw that Shizuru had somehow completely unbuttoned her shirt without her noticing. "I'm impressed."

Shizuru smirked. "Years of practice."

Natsuki rolled her eyes at the cocky answer but refused to answer, instead using her mouth for more productive action…such as placing wet kisses on Shizuru's throat. Her hands were caressing Shizuru's legs, pushing that short robe up even higher and eliciting approving moans from the honey-brunette. Natsuki's fingers barely breached Shizuru's panties when Shizuru suddenly shoved Natsuki away.

Natsuki landed in the chair with a surprised oomph. She looked up in annoyance, which was promptly washed away when Shizuru straddled her. By this time, Shizuru's robe had loosened considerably, a sight Natsuki greatly appreciated. Shizuru frowned and looked down to notice her bra was suddenly missing. "How—?"

She looked up at Natsuki's low chuckle. Natsuki smirked and threw Shizuru's bra to the side. "Years of practice," she mocked.

Natsuki's smug smile was immediately erased when Shizuru slowly slid down Natsuki's body, her teeth scraping Natsuki's abdomen as she went. Shizuru stopped eye-level at Natsuki's center, smirking at Natsuki's subtle squirming when she made no move.

Natsuki felt close to having a heart attack when Shizuru proceeded to use her teeth to pull down the zipper of Natsuki's shorts, maintaining eye contact all the while. Holy shit, it was kind of pathetic how turned on she was right now.

Natsuki couldn't help her head from falling back when Shizuru slipped her hand into Natsuki's shorts. "Jesus!"

Shizuru chuckled lowly. "You can call me Shizuru."

Natsuki impatiently tugged Shizuru up to straddle her leg. Natsuki pulled Shizuru in closer and dipped her head to trace circles on one breast with her tongue while massaging the other with her hand. She could barely contain her smirk at Shizuru's husky moan.

Just as Natsuki thought she was finally going to get that robe off of Shizuru, an annoying ringing echoed in the apartment. Shizuru groaned and opened her eyes.

"Ignore it," Natsuki said. Her fingers were on the verge of pulling off Shizuru's panties, which were literally soaked through.

Shizuru sighed regretfully. "I can't. It's probably important."

Natsuki almost whimpered when Shizuru pushed her hands away and tightened her robe. "Tell them you're busy."

Shizuru leaned back and surveyed Natsuki with amusement. "I don't think my uncle will accept that excuse."

Natsuki frowned. "How do you know it's him?"

"He has a direct line to all VCS leaders. He rarely uses mine, though, so I'm assuming he's not calling just to catch up with his niece."

Natsuki scowled. "And what do you expect me to do while you have some family-bonding time with your uncle?"

Shizuru smiled devilishly. Natsuki was distracted by Shizuru's proximity to her face when she heard a series of sharp clicks and felt something cold encircle her left wrist. She looked down in confusion to see she had been handcuffed to the chair.

Natsuki tugged fruitlessly at her chained wrist before glaring at a smug Shizuru. "Seriously?"

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." Shizuru slyly teased the fabric over Natsuki's clit with her fingers, making her gasp, before blowing Natsuki a kiss and sauntering out of the kitchen.

Natsuki immediately bolted up to follow, but the unwieldy chair she was chained to prevented her from doing so. She clenched her jaw in frustration. Damn that woman!

-000-000-

Once Shizuru was sure she was out of Natsuki's sight, she let the coy expression on her face to fall away, to be replaced with a fierce scowl. Someone damn well better be dying—Reito, hopefully.

Shizuru stood in front of the massive video screen and accepted the call. "What, Uncle?" She snapped.

Akio frowned indulgently, his cold, crimson gaze cutting through Shizuru even through the screen. "Ara, Shi-chan, is that any way to speak to your elders?"

Shizuru reined in her temper; her uncle, after all, was a very dangerous man. "My apologies. What do you need, Uncle?"

"Certain rumors are floating around, Shi-chan. Usually I'm not one for gossip, but when they involve the future of VCS…well, I can't help but listen. Do you understand me?"

"Crystal clear, Uncle." Shizuru folded her arms and attempted to look bored. "Do you need me to pay the right people, break a few arms?"

"That hopefully won't be necessary, Shi-chan. I have all of what I need right in front of me."

Shizuru paused. "Excuse me?"

Akio's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing with a British intelligence agent, Shizuru?"

Shizuru didn't miss the absence of her uncle's pet name for her. "I…"

"Come now, don't be shy. I'm sure it's a fascinating story."

Shizuru recovered quickly. "Nothing that concerns you, Uncle."

"Ah, but that's where you're mistaken, my dear niece—anything that involves VCS is my concern."

"You're not in charge anymore; therefore, it is none of your concern," Shizuru calmly stated.

Akio finally lost his temper, slamming his fist onto the table. "I will always be in charge, and I will not let a couple of children ruin what I have worked my entire life to build!"

Shizuru quirked an eyebrow. "Ah, so I assume you've finally discovered that Reito has lost control of the South American branches?"

"That worthless piece of shit destroyed a decade's worth of work!" Akio seethed. "And you! That British agent, Shizuru—"

"—Is of no importance, I assure you. She is helping me with a personal matter."

"What am I supposed to think? If I cannot trust family, you expect me to trust MI6?"

Shizuru rolled her eyes. "Did Reito tell you that? I find it tiring that he tells on me whenever things do not go his way. Did you know he's here in Japan, planning some insane scheme for control over my branches? Reito is having delusions of grandeur; perhaps you should speak to him, Uncle."

"Oh, I will—I expect he's hiding at our old summer home. But that agent—"

"She's going to help me find Father's killer," Shizuru coldly announced.

Akio momentarily looked taken aback before scowling heavily. "Again with this nonsense, Shizuru? We have eliminated every possible suspect in his murder—one of them was bound to be the culprit."

"I need hard evidence for sake of mind, Uncle. As I said, it does not concern you."

"You are being distracted from your duties! Forget this bullshit and focus on your job, Shi-chan." Akio spoke with finality. "Now, I was thinking we could open another trade route with the Thai Mafia—"

"No."

"No?" Akio frowned. "The Taiwanese, then? Both are looking for a strong ally, I hear—"

"I mean no as in no, I will not let this matter drop. Finding my father's killer is my first and only priority," Shizuru stated calmly.

Akio's face turned an interesting shade of puce. "Shizuru, I'm warning you—"

"You and I both know I wasn't supposed to be involved in VCS, that Father didn't want me a part of it. So, Uncle, I have no special attachment to VCS, and I don't particularly care if it lives or dies—consider that my warning."

"You wouldn't dare—" Akio looked apoplectic.

"Now, I'm going to go back to bed, where a certain British agent is waiting. If you'll excuse me—" Shizuru sarcastically waved at the infuriated Akio and ended the call.

She momentarily allowed herself to bask in the adrenaline from defying her uncle before dropping her face into her hands and groaning. Akio Viola did not forgive easily; she was kind of-maybe-definitely in serious trouble with her uncle—the type of trouble that involved physical punishment. Perhaps a few bruised ribs, or a fractured wrist; the last time she had displeased Akio, her abdomen ended up looking black-and-blue for weeks.

Shizuru composed herself. She would deal with her uncle when the time came. For now, she just wanted to feel nothing but pleasure; she considered it compensation for the many injuries she received in her line of work. Natsuki had better live up to her reputation—though clearly, the agent knew what she was doing if the state of Shizuru's panties were any indication.

Shizuru returned to where she had left Natsuki, expecting to be met with glowering emerald eyes. "Ara, I hope I did not keep Natsuki waiting—" She paused at seeing the empty chair. Shizuru sighed in frustration; she was in no mood to play games.

"Looking for something?"

Shizuru whirled around. Natsuki was leaning against the doorframe, twirling the handcuffs around a finger with a shit-eating grin firmly affixed on her face.

"How did you—?"

"Please. You think handcuffs can hold me?" Natsuki scoffed. She looked over Shizuru with a critical eye. "Though I might have to punish you for even trying it in the first place…"

Shizuru took a step towards Natsuki and let her robe drop to the ground. Foreplay was done; all she wanted was release, damn it! From the look on Natsuki's face, the agent whole-heartedly agreed.

The next few minutes were a blur, but somehow they ended up on Shizuru's luxurious king-sized bed. Clothes were completely strewn about the room, not that Natsuki noticed, or cared.

Natsuki yelped when Shizuru suddenly flipped them over and straddled her, smirking at Natsuki's shock. "Sorry, but I like to be in control."

She cut off any protest with a kiss, her hands wandering down Natsuki's body.

It was going to be a long night.

-000-000-

Natsuki wasn't sure what time it was, though she guessed it was somewhere in the early hours of the morning. The night had faded away without notice from either of the bed's occupants.

Now that most of their passion had been sated—Natsuki had lost count after the eighth round—Natsuki was half-sitting, half-reclining against the head of the bed. Shizuru was lying on her stomach with her arms wrapped around her pillow, wine-red eyes half closed.

It took Natsuki some effort to string two coherent thoughts together; clearly, the bar had been raised for mind-blowing sex.

Natsuki's eyes were trained on Shizuru's back—or more specifically, on the beautifully-inked serpent tattoo that started on Shizuru's hip, stretched across her back, and ended on her opposite shoulder.

"You have a tattoo." It wasn't a question.

Shizuru lazily opened her eyes. "So I do."

"Why is that ridiculously hot?" Natsuki muttered to herself.

Shizuru heard her anyways and chuckled. "I got it when I was 17…I don't think I ever saw my father that angry in my entire life. He didn't let me out of his sight for an entire year."

"Does it mean anything?" Natsuki trailed her finger along the intricately-detailed ink.

Shizuru smiled at the almost-childish intensity Natsuki was regarding her tattoo with. "You could say that. There's an old myth about Kiyohime, a beautiful woman who was driven mad when her lover abandoned her. She transformed into an enormous serpent and pursued him across the land, eventually burning him to death."

Natsuki's fingers stilled. "…Are you threatening me?"

Shizuru looked amused. "Hardly. My mother used to tell me the story all the time before she was killed. It's one of the few things I remember about her."

"That's…nice." Natsuki paused. "I don't really know what to say."

Shizuru flashed her a quick smile. "Words aren't necessary."

"My mother abandoned me. I don't think I'd want anything to remember her by," Natsuki mused.

Shizuru shifted onto her back to face Natsuki. "Do you wish it were different?"

"Wish what?"

"I don't know…your mother. Your life. Everything, I suppose."

Natsuki slid down next to Shizuru. "Do you?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Shizuru countered.

"Dreams are only for normal people, not for people like us."

"Natsuki doesn't allow herself to dream, but willingly engages in pillow talk?"

Natsuki scowled. "I usually leave after sex, but I have no place to go."

"Unfortunately for Natsuki, I usually kick people out of my apartment after sex."

"Then I guess we're not finished yet." Natsuki smirked and rolled on top of Shizuru.

Shizuru let out a shaky breath and squeezed her eyes shut when Natsuki began to grind slowly against her center. Natsuki stared down at her in fascination; Shizuru truly was the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen.

It didn't take long to push Shizuru over the edge; Natsuki smugly noted that Shizuru was probably still sensitive from earlier. Natsuki didn't know what possessed her to do it, but as Shizuru panted into her ear, she blurted it out. "Kumo."

Shizuru's eyes slowly opened. "What?"

"Your father's assassin. Goes by the name Kumo; last known location is Torishima Island." Natsuki shifted self-consciously. "Is that good enough for you?"

The look on Shizuru's face was appreciative and calculating all at once. "It's a start."

Hey look, a predominately ShizNat chapter. Don't you think that deserves a review? ;)

Also, I am going to obnoxiously self-promote my other story, Sucker Punch, in this AN…

*ahem*: Hear ye, hear ye! If you have the time, give Sucker Punch a read!

…There, consider it promoted. 'Til next time.