It had started to rain again; the noise of it was everywhere, and the droplets that slid down the windows cast odd shadows as the lights from the city filtered through them.

The Prime Minister lay on her back, gazing up at the ceiling with an expression that suggested she was somewhere else entirely; somewhere very, very pleasant. She was practically glowing, even in the dim light from outside, and her breasts rose and sank smoothly in time with her soft, even breathing.

I sat on the bed next to her with my back against the wall, looking out at the rain-blurred cityscape without really seeing it. Usually at this point in the proceedings I was long gone, but leaving her, especially when I'd just be going to sit in some other room of the apartment, had seemed heartless, so here I was.

I couldn't decide which was worse – the fact that I'd gone to bed with the Prime Minister of Japan in the first place, or the fact that I'd actually enjoyed it on a level beyond mere physical pleasure.

I also felt perfectly justified in saying that, at this moment, 'awkward' was an enormous understatement.

Still, there was nothing to do, really, but sit there and wait for her to fall asleep, so that was what I did. The Prime Minister, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content to lie awake and stare at the ceiling all night.

"You're so quiet," I said at last, when her stillness had gotten to the point where I was slightly concerned. She sighed.

"My husband used to say the same thing," she said. She turned her head to look at me. "I feel like I've gone out of my head, to be honest."

"Probably not a bad place for you to be," I said. She laughed.

I needed to stop talking. Talking to a woman in this sort of setting generally implied that one actually cared about her, which was most certainly not the case here.

And yet only half an hour ago, I'd been all too eager to use her for the emotional high her pent-up affection produced.

Why the hell hadn't I thought about how complicated this would become? It wasn't at all like me.

I should have left. Should have made it clear to her that none of this meant anything to me. She'd never confront me about it, anyway.

There was still plenty of time to leave, to just end whatever had even begun.

My body refused to move.

It wasn't even like the Prime Minister was making this difficult by being overly clingy or anything like that, which seemed odd to me, considering how she'd been just a little while ago. It was as if all of her fear and frustration had evaporated, and now the only thing that was left was a kind of blank state of peace.

Although for all I knew, it was normal for her to treat sex like a full-on religious experience. Given how she reacted to a simple data link, it wouldn't have surprised me in the slightest.

After several more minutes of silence, she turned so she was facing me.

"I just had an idea."

"Hmm?"

"It's going to sound wild and impulsive."

I very much doubted that; after this, nothing the Prime Minister did would seem wild and impulsive to me ever again.

"What is it?"

She took a deep breath.

"Let's go pay a visit to the Minister of Home Affairs."

"…Right now?"

She nodded. I waited a moment before answering.

"I wouldn't advise it. He's probably used his connections in the Department of Defense to set up a blockade, and also, in case you've forgotten, you're still injured."

"It's feeling much better than it did last night. And I'm not worried; I'll have you with me, after all."

"I'm kind of the reason you're injured in the first place – shouldn't you be worried?"

She sat up, leaning forward slightly.

"You're also the reason I'm alive right now," she said, her voice soft and low. "More than a few times over."

I had a sudden, powerful urge to pull her close to me and kiss her again.

Maybe that was why I'd stayed, because I was hoping for an opportunity to link with her again.

How was she able to act like none of this had happened when I kept replaying the whole damn thing in my head? Shouldn't it have been the other way around?

The Prime Minister watched me expectantly, waiting. I sighed.

"All right. Suit up, and then we'll go get my car and head out."

There was little to no traffic on the road, due to the late hour, so it was barely any time at all before I was guiding the car off the exit ramp and onto the highway, away from Niihama and around the wide loop that would eventually bring me to Fukuoka. It would have been faster to fly, of course, but as Section 9 was currently on lockdown and I wasn't about to even consider attempting to sneak the Prime Minister onto a commercial flight, driving was much safer.

Instead of actually calling and getting an earful about recklessness and disobeying direct orders, I'd sent a quick note to the chief explaining myself before we'd left. It had come down to the fact that I was under orders from someone who was his direct superior (which I was), so there wasn't much I could do, and I was still taking every precaution. At any rate, as an independent contractor, the worst penalty I might incur for this would be not receiving another contract from Section 9, which I knew wasn't going to happen.

The Prime Minister was in the seat next to me, back in camouflage for the second night in a row, this time wearing a spare set of my body armor as well. It fit her better than I'd thought it would; although she was rather smaller than I was, proportionally, I was narrower, so it balanced out well enough. And of course she'd been able to zip the jacket all the way up to her chin, something I'd never quite managed.

Holstered underneath the Prime Minister's jacket was a Seburo M-5 semiautomatic, a twin to the pistol that hung from my belt, although I'd told her that she wasn't to use it unless it was a dire emergency and she was absolutely certain she'd be able to fire. Not wanting a repeat of the previous night's events, I was going in armed to the teeth this time; in addition to the handgun, my C-26A assault rifle lay in the back seat of the car, and I'd packed plenty of ammunition for both, along with a few stun grenades for good measure. Still, I was fairly sure that I wouldn't have to resort to such tactics; I was running someone who could cloak herself into a building she had full clearance to access. Easy.

The tricky part would be getting near the building in the first place.

"So," said the Prime Minister, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, "exactly what sort of reception can we expect?"

"Probably some form of roadblock around Fukuoka," I said, "and then after that, I can't be sure. Since it would be too time-consuming, not to mention conspicuous, to check every car coming into Fukuoka, that particular barrier will most likely be digital, and we'll be able to breeze right past – this car throws out a false registration ID if it's scanned. However, I'm willing to bet that Maekawa will have actual troops waiting for us when we get closer in."

"Oh," said the Prime Minister, and she smoothed her hair back again.

"Don't worry," I said. "He's probably banking on you trying to get back to your own offices, not his. And if we run into trouble, just turn your camo on and sit tight." I turned my head slightly, giving her a shadow of a smile. "You won't get shot again, I can promise that much."

She froze momentarily, and then nodded eagerly, her eyes narrowing in a silent laugh. I was entirely beyond even trying to ignore just how good she looked, with the camouflage tight around her body, her hair back in a messy ponytail, and now that momentary expression of exhilarated glee. Part of my mind was honestly still reeling from the fact that I'd slept with her, but the best I could do was just store everything away for later. There would be a time and place for it once this was all over; right now, I had a job to do.

We came within sight of Fukuoka just as the horizon was beginning to lighten, and as I'd expected, at least three choppers, each a dull military gray-green, were circling the airspace. My car's onboard computer chimed an alert, telling me that its registration had been requested and successfully authenticated.

"There's level one cleared," I said, slowing the car slightly; the last thing I needed was to get pulled over for speeding with no valid form of identification that would excuse me.

I turned off the highway at the appropriate exit, and another half-hour's maneuvering through still sparsely populated city streets brought us to the building that housed the offices of the Home Affairs Ministry. I circled the block once; aside from the usual security and the new installations at the front gate, it seemed fairly quiet. Once I was positive that no one was paying any attention to us, I parked the car in an open lot across the street.

"Okay – you ready to get this over with?"

"I take it you've already got a plan to get past the security, then?" said the Prime Minister.

I nodded. "It's fairly simple; we go right in through the front gate."

The Prime Minister's mouth opened slightly, as if to question me, but she thought better of it.

"I'm going to project a mask that will effectively prevent us from being detected by a cyberbrain," I continued. "However, I'll have to stay linked with you for both of us to be protected – otherwise you won't be able to see or hear me either." I turned my head slowly to look at her. "Are you going to be all right with that?"

She nodded, although I could see the faintest trace of a blush in her cheeks.

"This would also be an excellent opportunity to practice keeping your thoughts to yourself."

She was blushing in earnest now, and I had to laugh. From the expression on her face, it was obvious that she wasn't the slightest bit amused; I supposed I should have known better than to tease her like that just yet. I sighed.

"Well, there's no sense in waiting around. Let's go."

I strapped my C-26A across my back, then linked up with the Prime Minister. The brief sensation of discomfort I'd come to associate with establishing a connection with her cyberbrain was noticeably absent – I filed that away with the things I'd think over later, once I was back home and all of this was behind me.

Activating mask array.

A display flashed into my field of vision, testing and re-testing the mask functions before giving me an all clear. I reset the parameters to detect the Prime Minister's body as an extension of my own, and waited for the system to reconfigure itself.

Mask array active and fully functioning. If you need to say anything to me, Prime Minister, use your cybercomm.

Understood.

All right. Here we go.

I took hold of her wrist, and we moved quickly across the street, up to the gate. Two soldiers stood on each side, and when a car turned into the driveway, the man closest to the driver moved forward to ask for identification.

Nice and easy, now.

Once the car had passed, I strode forward through the gate, with the Prime Minister clutching at my arm. Not one of the soldiers so much as batted an eye.

This seems almost too simple.

The Prime Minister's shaky relief came through even in the cybercomm transmission – I was still getting some bleed-over from her emotions, but it was easier to shut out now that I knew what to expect. I squeezed her wrist gently.

See what happens when I finally make some time to sleep?

Indeed. I'll have to talk to Chief Aramaki about your pay scale – I'd hate to think how much this is going to cost the taxpayers now that you're actually fully capable of doing what you were contracted to do.

So maybe some teasing was allowed.

The front door of the building was being monitored both by members of the security team and a receptionist, all of whom would most certainly have noticed the door opening seemingly of its own accord, so we circled around to a staff entrance and snuck quickly inside. From there I was able to call up the floor plans and chart the quickest route to the office of the Home Affairs Minister.

Let's just hope he comes into the office early.

Sure enough, as we rounded the corner into the hallway that led to Maekawa's office, the light was on and the door was ajar. I could see him at his desk, with his eyes closed and his brow furrowed in concentration. He was mid-transmission, and after a moment of fumbling I was able work around the encryption and listen in.

For the last time, I am not going to accept 'disappeared' as an answer. We are dealing with one of our own agencies, which I know for a fact has neither the resources nor the talent to simply make someone vanish.

I'm sorry sir, but…we've run surveillance scans up and down the country, and our target is nowhere to be found. Plus, every member of Section 9 has been accounted for.

Even the woman who was tailing the Prime Minister for the last month?

About that, sir…you were certain you heard the Prime Minister address her as 'Major Kusanagi'?

Yes, why?

The only relevant record we were able to turn up was for a Major Motoko Kusanagi, employed by Section 9 until 2030, when she was killed in the line of duty. Brain death due to head trauma inflicted by a sniper.

I sensed the Prime Minister turning questioningly towards me, and I shrugged.

I had to disappear somehow when I retired – reworking existing records just seemed like the easiest way to do it.

She nodded. Maekawa, meanwhile, was resting his forehead against his hands.

But there has to be…no, never mind. It doesn't matter who takes the fall for this – pick someone off the team, list them as unaccounted for, and when the Prime Minister'sbody turnsup, I want them having pulled the trigger.

…Yes, sir.

And don't call me again until you have good news.

Understood.

The transmission ended. I turned to the Prime Minister.

Well?

Un-mask me, or…whatever. I'm going to go in for a chat – you cover me.

I could feel her anger seething through the data link.

Yes, ma'am.

I disconnected from the Prime Minister's cyberbrain, and she shimmered back into the visible spectrum, striding purposefully across the wide hallway to the office door. Pulling my handgun from its holster, I followed close behind her, still completely invisible. She raised her hand and knocked sharply on the door.

There was a scuffle of movement, of drawers being opened and shut and papers being rearranged, and then Maekawa's voice.

"Come in."

The Prime Minister pushed the door open and stepped into the office, her eyes fixed on the Minister of Home Affairs, who sat stock still, an expression of extreme distaste twisting his features.

"Well," said the Prime Minister, folding her arms across her chest. "I suppose I've saved you the trouble of trying to find me – now it's just a matter of calling your people up here to finish the job, and your plan will have come to fruition."

He did try to go for it, but not quickly enough; the moment I saw his hand twitch toward the console on his desk, I fired three warning shots into the plaster an inch to the left of his head. He raised both hands shakily into the air.

"It's unlikely that you'll live long after being sentenced for this offense," continued the Prime Minister -the smirk in her voice was absolutely delightful to listen to—"but I will tell you that my desire for some form of explanation for all of this is one of the only things keeping me from having you killed right now."

The Minister's eyes were scanning the room desperately, trying to pick out where I was, his hands still trembling above his head.

"This…This is exactly why I wanted to decommission Section 9 altogether," he spat angrily. "You've become corrupted yourself, Prime Minister, thinking you can threaten people with your own secret police force!"

The Prime Minister laughed quietly. "It seems to me that this is the sort of situation which proves the exact usefulness of an organization such as Section 9. After all, you've tried to assassinate me by means of my security team, the self-defense forces for whom I act as commander-in-chief, and even my personal assistant – from where I stand, having another line of defense to fall back on seems like a terrific idea."

"That sort of paranoid thinking is what led to the formation of that death squad in the first place!" said the Minister of Home Affairs; it seemed to still be sinking in that he'd lost this round, and badly. "You have to understand that as long as it exists, people are going to be suspicious of your motives for keeping it intact! And-" he drew himself up as best he could "-I can show you a whole host of people who agree with me."

"I can't imagine you'll find too many people willing to back you up once you've been convicted of treason," said the Prime Minister coldly, "which, if I'm not mistaken, is still a hanging offense."

It finally hit home; the color drained from Maekawa's face.

At that moment, four police officers burst into the room, and I stepped out of the way.

When did you-?

After we disconnected – I reactivated my GPS and sent out a distress signal. The security here would have picked it up first, although I expect my own team will arrive soon enough. Stay nearby, please.

Of course.

I backed inconspicuously into a corner, my gun still at the ready.

"I'm all right," the Prime Minister was saying, waving away any concern that anyone should think about offering in her direction. "I want the Minister of Home Affairs placed under arrest, along with any recent additions to this building's security personnel."

And just like that, it was all over.

-Two Days Later-

"The actions of the Home Affairs Minister and his conspirators were shameful, and it is my most sincere hope that my administration can move forward from this point in honor and honesty. Thank you."

There was the usual flicker of camera flashes, and then a member of the audience stood.

"Madam, the statements made by the Home Affairs Ministry during the incident implicated Public Security Section 9 as the responsible party. Was this group involved in any way?"

"To the best of my knowledge, Section 9 was disbanded by my predecessor, and no such organization currently exists. Its name was chosen by the Minister of Home Affairs merely to serve as a convenient scapegoat."

The conference dissolved into the customary storm of questions, and after answering a few of them as politely as she could, the Prime Minister left the dais and disappeared behind the surrounding curtains. I cut the broadcast transmission and leaned back against the sofa, waiting.

It wasn't too long before the Prime Minister came through her office door, one hand to her forehead. I stood and bowed, and she jumped slightly as she noticed me.

"Oh…Major Kusanagi…I thought you'd've left already."

"I didn't think it would be right to leave without coming to see you first, ma'am," I said, determined to keep things as formal as possible.

"I appreciate it," she said, smiling warmly, still looking somewhat flustered. She set her notes down on her desk, and then walked over to where I was standing; as she moved, I happened to notice a square bandage taped to her calf, just visible under her stockings.

My fault.

She noticed me staring, and shook her head.

"There won't even be a scar once it finishes healing, and I can barely feel it at all now anyway."

"Still, I'm sorry, ma'am."

It was one of the few times in my life that I'd said something like that and actually meant it.

She stepped closer to me and took my hands in hers.

"I'm glad you came up to see me one last time," she said. "I wanted to thank you in person. For…everything."

She was looking up at me, and for a moment her eyes were those of the woman I'd held in the darkness, to whom I'd whispered the name Yoko when she'd asked.

She blinked, and then she was the Prime Minister again.

"I was only doing my job, ma'am," I said. "And…there was something I wanted to give you."

"Oh?"

I reached into the pocket of my skirt and removed a folded piece of paper, which I handed to the Prime Minister.

"You told the former Minister of Home Affairs that you kept Section 9 around because it served as a line of defense for you when you had no one else to turn to. Although I have faith in the continued integrity of the organization as long as my former teammates are still a part of it…if that line should ever break on you as well, you'll always be able to contact me through those instructions."

The Prime Minister's mouth opened slightly.

"I…thank you."

"Hopefully you'll have a good long stretch of quiet after all of this, at least."

"Right," said the Prime Minister thoughtfully. "So, should I save this for emergencies, or…?"

I smiled. "Well, let's just say that if you have a job for me, I'm not likely to turn you down. Speaking of which, I should be on my way."

"I see," she said quietly. "Take care of yourself."

"Likewise."

I bowed shortly, and left the office.

As I walked out to my car, a fierce battle roiled in my mind of things I should have said versus things I was better off leaving unspoken, and where exactly the line between them fell.

Momentary lapses in decorum aside, she was still the Prime Minister of Japan, and, from time to time, my direct superior. The conflict of interest was astronomical to consider.

It was easier like this.

With a heavy sigh, I got into the car and drove away.

(A/N: The end, yay! I've actually been working on this story for over a year, so I can't express how relieved I am to finally have finished writing it :P Review and let me know what you thought, especially if you'd like to see more of this pairing from me, because I've got a few more ideas floating around the back of my head for them.)