"I'm sorry, Miss Kazuya, but it's a total write-off. It'd be cheaper for you to replace it than to pay for the repairs."

"Aww, man."

Ryou couldn't believe that she'd totalled her car. And technically, it hadn't even been her fault. They'd been tailing a new witch, whose craft gave him a limited control over time itself - he was able to create specific time lags over a particular individual or other moving object. This apparently included vehicles.

Ryou had ran a red light during their chase and she swore they would have been able to make it through, had their witch not put a lag on her car and slowed them to a complete standstill in the middle of the junction. No matter how much she'd put her foot down, she'd had no control over it. A speeding cab had then ploughed straight into the driver's side.

The STN-J had managed to get Ryou out of trouble with the police for running the red light and causing a collision - effectively keeping the incident off her insurance records. They'd also footed the bill for the repairs to the cab, but that was as far as they'd been willing to go. Ryou had to take care of her own car herself. Including the costs.

It was all well and good for the mechanic to say that it'd be cheaper for her to get an entirely new car, but she knew that the insurance for it would skyrocket if the company somehow found out what had happened to her old one. The checks they did nowadays were quite extensive and Ryou was sure that with her luck, they would find out, despite the STN-J's best efforts to keep her record clean.

She sighed. "But you can repair it, right?"

The mechanic looked surprised. "We can definitely do the repairs, but it really is going to cost you."

Ryou thought it was nice of him to warn her that it wouldn't be the cheapest option, especially since the money would be going into his pocket. That made her feel just the tiniest bit happier about the amount she was going to have to spend on this. She was definitely going to have to switch to more home cooked meals rather than takeouts this month. And maybe the next few after that too.

"I know," agreed Ryou grudgingly. "But I think this'll be better for me in the long run, particularly when it comes to insurance. And it's a really reliable car - I use it a lot for work, so I'd rather stick with what I know."

"Alright then," the mechanic conceded, though he still seemed sceptical of her decision. "We're going to order quite a lot of new parts, so the repairs could take as long as a month."

"A month?" Ryou repeated incredulously. How was she supposed to go about without her car for a whole month?

"We can offer you a courtesy car from our partner company until then," the mechanic suggested. "And I can get it discounted for you since you're going to be paying above our standard repair rate anyway."

Ryou resisted the urge to make a face. She had nothing against the idea of a temporary car - more the possibility of her totalling another one. She wasn't sure that the courtesy car's company would include 'chasing witches' under their insurance policy. And she most definitely couldn't afford to have two cars repaired.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," she said. "I'm sure I can find an alternative means of travel for the next few weeks."

The mechanic shrugged. "Alright then. In that case, I'll need to take your details for these repair forms."

Ryou left the garage fifteen minutes later, feeling considerably grumpy and more than considerably broke. Haruto was waiting outside for her, kicking tracks in the gravel with the toes of his sneakers. He stopped and looked round when he heard the door open.

"Well?" he asked, even though Ryou's face said it all.

"It's a complete write-off," said Ryou gloomily. "It's costing me a bomb and it could take up to a month to repair."

"Damn. That's a bummer," said Haruto sympathetically.

"Tell me about it," agreed Ryou. "The cost's bad enough, but I'm gonna be really stuffed without my car. I don't know what I'm gonna do for work stuff now."

"In case you're forgetting, I do have a bike," Haruto reminded her. "And I have a spare helmet." Ryou made a face at that. She wasn't really a fan of motorbikes. Haruto caught the look she was giving him. "What? I thought you liked being reckless. Everyone knows motorbikes are high on the thrill charts."

"I think I'd rather find my thrills elsewhere," said Ryou dubiously.

"Oh, come on, you act like I'm a terrible driver," Haruto complained. "I promise I'll be extra careful whilst having a passenger."

"Fine," Ryou sighed. It wasn't like she really had another option. She could find a way around getting to and from the STN-J headquarters, but she could hardly direct cab drivers around on actual cases. "But I get to kick you in the shins if I see you make any mistakes."

Haruto laughed. "Then I'll definitely be careful."

Ryou couldn't help but laugh too, though she instantly regretted it. She winced as the movement pulled at her face painfully. She'd gotten a particularly nasty gash along one side of her face from the crash, stretching from her temple down to her jaw line. She counted herself incredibly lucky that she hadn't needed stitches.

Haruto noticed her reaction. "Hey, are you alright?"

"It's fine," Ryou assured him hastily. "I just need to get used to not moving my face too much."

"I guess it's just lucky you weren't hurt worse," said Haruto gravely. "That cab really ploughed into your door."

Besides the wicked face wound, Ryou had escaped with nothing more than a few other cuts and bruises. Haruto was right - she really was very lucky. She was surprised to note a touch of concern in his voice. It made her feel a little uneasy.

"Yeah, really lucky," she agreed awkwardly. She retrieved her cell phone from her pocket. "Anyway, let's see if Miho will still hold up on her promise to pick us back up."

After the accident, they'd had to notify headquarters first thing. They'd been told by the chief inspector to take a cab straight to the hospital to get checked over, whilst the STN-J arranged a tow for Ryou's car to be taken to the garage. Ryou had insisted on it being looked at straightaway so that she'd know the score.

Miho had been kind enough to fetch them from the hospital and then drop them both at the garage, promising to pick them up again afterwards, as long as she hadn't been called away from headquarters. Haruto had insisted on going to the garage with Ryou to keep an eye on her, as she'd come off worse from the crash. That had also made Ryou feel uneasy.

"Wait..." Haruto stayed her hand before she could dial the number. "I've just realised that you live on the other side of town to me."

Ryou realised that he was still thinking of the transport situation. "That's okay," she said with a shrug. "I can just get cabs to and from the STN-J building."

"But that'll cost you a bomb," Haruto exclaimed.

"Haruto, I can't expect you to drive all the way across town just to pick me up and then drop me off," Ryou pointed out, guessing that was what he was getting at.

"Actually, I was gonna suggest you stayed at my place," said Haruto unexpectedly. He then quickly added, "Y'know, just until your car's fixed. I know my place isn't that great, but I don't mind sleeping on the couch."

Okay, that was not what Ryou had expected him to suggest. Alarm bells suddenly started going off in her head as she desperately tried to think of a way out of the situation. "Oh, wow, um, that's sweet of you... But I'm not sure it would be the best idea."

"Look, I just thought it might make things easier for you," said Haruto reasonably. "I didn't mean it in a creepy way or anything."

"Oh, no, I didn't think that!" said Ryou hastily. They were entering into a very awkward conversation and she didn't quite know how to diffuse it.

"Well, since we're friends, I thought it would be okay," Haruto added with a shrug. "So what's the problem?"

Ryou took a deep breath, hating what she was about to say. But she needed to get out of this and fast. "I just feel we should maintain some boundaries. We're co-workers; not friends."

Haruto stared at her in surprise. She knew straightaway that she'd hurt his feelings and she instantly regretted it. A million other possibilities suddenly flooded her head. She could have said she didn't want to leave her mom at home on her own. She could have said she didn't like staying in strange places. So why had she gone and said something that was mean and - as much as she didn't want to admit it - untrue?

"Fine," said Haruto coolly, after what seemed like forever. "Go ahead and ring our other co-worker then and see if she can still do us that strictly work-related favour."

Ouch. Ryou couldn't say she hadn't asked for that. She meekly busied herself with calling Miho, silently begging for an answer. Thankfully, it didn't take long to get one. Miho had already left headquarters, but only to run an errand, so she assured Ryou that she'd pick them up on her way back. To make the situation easier, she already wasn't far from the garage. Ryou was endlessly grateful for that. She and Haruto hadn't said another word to each other the whole time they were waiting.

It was cowardly, but when Miho pulled up, Ryou then took the passenger seat so that she could ride up front. There was still no talking. Miho immediately picked up that the younger team had had some kind of row and wisely didn't say anything either. It was the most agonisingly silent journey that Ryou had ever endured. And it was all her fault.

She hadn't meant to be quite so mean about it. She'd just panicked. She didn't know how else to push people away successfully. She'd always managed to keep her relationships at the STN-J at a strictly professional level. Every time she'd felt she was pushing those boundaries, she'd backed up and given herself the space she needed.

But Haruto had somehow managed to break through those barriers. He'd proved too many times already that he was more comfortable around her than she wanted anyone to be. She was supposed to have kept him at arm's length like everybody else. That was why she'd had to push him back out. Though it didn't mean she couldn't feel guilty about it.

They pulled up at the STN-J building and Haruto let himself out without a word. Ryou made to do the same, but Miho spoke up just as she opened the door. "Hang on, Kazuya... Just shut the door a second."

Ryou had an idea of what the older woman was going to say, but it didn't mean she necessarily wanted to get into it. She reluctantly closed the door again and slouched back in her seat. "What?" she asked defensively.

"You know what," said Miho. "Have you and Sakaki fallen out?"

"No," Ryou lied, as if the idea was ridiculous.

"I'm not stupid, Ryou," said Miho reproachfully. Ryou knew she was serious if she was first-naming her. "You don't have to talk to me about it. But you are going to have to resolve things with your partner if you want to be in a job like this."

Ryou remained silent. Eventually, she just got out of the car and headed into the STN-J building herself, still without saying anything. She hated that Miho was right. Why had she gone and gotten herself into this mess?

XXX

Later that night, Ryou found herself thinking the same thing yet again. With Michael's super tech skills, he'd managed to put them back on track of their time-controlling witch, Ren Aikawa. Which was why they were trekking through some honest-to-god woods at a ridiculous hour in the cold.

Ryou wrapped her coat tightly around herself. Why couldn't they get a witch who liked to hang out somewhere warm for a change? Aikawa had tried to lead them off his trail, which probably explained the woods, but with Michael's help, they'd managed to find the right one again. Plus having four sets of eyes and ears certainly made tracking a little easier.

When Ryou had entered headquarters earlier that day, she'd been hoping to hide in a corner by herself for a while to think things over. Instead, she'd been summoned by Kosaka, along with Haruto - just to add to the icy atmosphere - to meet the new team of hunters who had transferred in from Britain.

That was why she and Haruto were following two other hunters as they navigated round the trees in the dark. Ryou had thought that the mood between them wouldn't be as awkward with other people there, but instead, it seemed to just serve as a reminder that they still weren't talking to each other.

The new hunters had introduced themselves simply as Dark and Lithium, with no indication as to whether they were real names or aliases. Without thinking about it, Haruto had muttered to Ryou, "Dark and Lithium? Are they for real?" When he'd seen Ryou's face light up, he'd then remembered that he was still annoyed with her and added, "Forget it."

Then later that night, Ryou had been tempted to tease Haruto about the arrival of the new team. He'd been grumbling before that he still didn't have another male hunter on his side - Lucio was a married man; he was smart enough to always side with Alcina - and now he had two new boys to play with. But Ryou had to remind herself that Haruto didn't want to talk to her.

It didn't take long for it to become obvious that it was a moot point anyway. Ryou doubted that Haruto would want to be teaming up with Dark and Lithium. So far, the new hunters had barely said a word to them. They'd just whisper and occasionally giggle amongst themselves. It was totally creepy. Ryou could see from Haruto's discomfort that he thought the same.

It was a shame she'd had to go and spoil things. If she'd been able to gossip to Haruto about them, then it would have lightened the mood a little. But instead, they had to move through the woods in silence, following the platinum blonde and the raven head that they could barely even see in the dark. Neither of the new hunters wore com-links. Instead, Lithium had a large pair of bumblebee headphones clamped over his ears.

All Dark had said about it when he'd seen Ryou's eyebrows raise was, "He likes to hunt to a beat." Definitely creepy.

When Ryou couldn't stand the silence any longer, she eventually spoke up. "So are we sure we're not just on a wild goose chase here? We've been trekking through these woods for a while now and still haven't seen or heard anything."

"Oh, he's here alright," replied Dark, without looking back.

"These woods reek of witch," Lithium agreed, who up until now hadn't given any indication that he could even hear them over the music buzzing through his headphones.

Ryou wasn't entirely comfortable with the way he'd phrased his answer. He could smell witches? Like a gun dog or something? "So, err, are you guys craft-users?" she asked, trying to sound casual as she stepped carefully over a large, twisted tree root.

Dark actually turned back at that. He smiled, flashing white pointy teeth at her. "You'll have to wait and see."

Okay, Ryou was officially creeped out. She reverted to walking in silence again and fell back into step with Haruto. Maybe Dark and Lithium had been vampires in another life or something. That would explain the air of mystery and general creepiness about them. Or maybe Ryou had just watched one too many bad horror movies.

The woods opened out into a hollow. The dispersing of the trees actually allowed some moonlight to shine through, illuminating the ground better. If anything, the effect was more eerie than comforting. Ryou had gotten fed up of traipsing through the woods, but now, she felt herself slip into high alert mode. They may have been able to see better, but they were sacrificing their cover for it.

They slowly made their way further out into the hollow. Ryou then jumped as something cracked somewhere behind her. They all turned to see Ren Aikawa appear out of the shadows, holding a gun in plain sight. They carefully, but efficiently formed a semi-circle around him. They may have had an advantage in numbers, but they still couldn't account for Aikawa's craft. And once again, Orbo seemed to prove ineffective against him.

Dark and Lithium were both armed with real guns, which they'd already drawn. Ryou steadied her Firestar too. Haruto was the only one who didn't have anything besides his Orbo gun. Maybe she'd have to help him try and get licensed for a real, bullet-shooting gun after all.

"Why do witches all suddenly carry guns now?" Haruto complained, forgetting his previous stubborn silence.

Ryou actually wished he'd still kept his mouth shut. He was already the obvious weak link by not being armed with an actual gun. Why did he have to go and draw even more attention to himself? Aikawa seemed to be thinking the same thing.

He smiled dangerously. "Well, I can't speak for the others like me, but personally? I think there's nothing more fascinating than seeing a speeding bullet in slow motion. Here, allow me to demonstrate."

He aimed the gun at Haruto and pulled the trigger. It was like watching a scene frame-by-frame. A cloud of powder burst from the gun as the bullet left the barrel. Ryou's brain was still going at a million miles an hour, but her body just wouldn't react at anywhere near the same pace.

Every one of her limbs felt as if they were full of lead. It was like she was trying to push every movement through a thick, unforgiving sludge. Nobody else was moving either. Ryou knew that Aikawa was using his craft on everyone, immobilising them all to an almost complete standstill.

Every cell in her brain was screaming at Ryou to jump in front of the bullet - the signals just weren't reaching the rest of her body fast enough. She knew she wouldn't be able to do anything but stand and watch the bullet inevitably hit Haruto.

The next thing she knew, Dark had suddenly pushed past her. He used the barrel of his own gun to knock the bullet clean out of the air, then spun on his heel and shot a hole through Aikawa's thigh. Aikawa screamed in pain and crumpled to the floor, his power lifting as his concentration was broken.

Ryou was suddenly able to move again as time rapidly sped back up to normal. But she wasn't prepared for it - the movement she'd already started in slow motion then seemed to fast forward and she found herself diving to one side before her brain could catch up. Still not ready to even try and right herself, she hit the cold ground hard, smashing her arm against the solid dirt and stone.

Aikawa was still screaming, though now in rage at Dark, as he poorly attempted to pull himself up on his injured leg . "You bastard! How did you break my time lag? I swear to god I'll kill you, I'll..."

Lithium clubbed him hard over the back of the head with the butt of his gun, effectively silencing him as he slumped to the floor once more. "I could barely hear my music over your whining," he told the limp form irritably.

Dark flashed those white teeth at Ryou again, who Haruto had automatically helped to her feet without thinking about it. "Nice dive."

Ryou couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "Thanks, but it felt more like a fall to me."

"What were you hitting the deck for anyway? He wasn't aiming at you," Haruto grumbled, after reminding himself again that he was still annoyed with her. It didn't help that he also wasn't happy that he'd been rendered useless by a witch yet again.

"I thought I'd just be prepared," Ryou replied sarcastically. She knew it was her fault that Haruto was mad at her, but she'd never really been one to not bite back.

"I'd be a little nicer, boy. She was trying to take that bullet for you," Dark revealed, though he seemed quite amused by their little squabble. People were so interesting sometimes. Seeing the look of surprise on Haruto's face, he added, "She started that dive before time caught back up. That was why she couldn't then control it."

Haruto fell silent at that. Ryou barely even noticed - she was too busy staring at Dark. "How did you know that?"

"I see things a little... faster than most," Dark answered uninterestedly. He was now inspecting his gun for scuff marks from Aikawa's bullet.

"You have a craft, don't you?" Ryou realised. "That's why you were still able to move."

Lithium actually laughed for the first time at that. "Oh, ol' Speedy Gonzalez has a craft alright."

Dark grinned. "Yeah, I guess you could say my speed neutralised the effects of our witch's craft. On me anyway."

"Why do you think your director insisted on putting us on this case with you?" Lithium pointed out.

"So you didn't need us at all, did you?" said Haruto incredulously. "You knew you had a secret weapon all along."

Dark shrugged. "Eh, you were good for distraction purposes..."

"Oh, great; nice to know I can be of use."

Lithium nudged Aikawa's unconscious form with the toe of his boot. "Anyway, we'd better concentrate on getting this guy out of the woods. We won't be getting a van down here."

"Alright," agreed Dark. "I'll get the head and you can get the legs."

"But I always get the legs! You get the legs this time."

"How about I race you for it?"

Lithium sighed. "Oh, forget it; I'll get the legs..."

Ryou couldn't help but smile to herself. Maybe these two weren't so bad after all. Haruto was clearly thinking along the same lines, because he tentatively suggested, "Err, do you guys need any help?"

Dark and Lithium hoisted Aikawa off the floor between them, seemingly without any difficulty, considering that neither of them were very tall. "Nope, we got it," they chorused in unison. Or maybe they were still a little creepy.

"You guys go on ahead and call us a ride so we can get rid of this guy," said Lithium.

"We'll give you some privacy to kiss and make up," Dark added with another flash of teeth.

Ryou rolled her eyes. Or maybe they were just a pair of idiots. "Whatever. Let's go, Haruto."

They started trudging back the way they'd came, leaving Dark and Lithium with the unconscious witch. "I didn't realise taking bullets for your co-workers was in the job description," Haruto commented.

"If it was, then I'd quit," said Ryou lightly, ignoring the jibe and concentrating on rubbing her elbow. She really wished she'd had more time to prepare for her landing. She was sure she must have chipped something.

Haruto noticed and went quiet again for a few minutes, before eventually confessing, "I'm sorry. I've been really crappy to you today, yet you were still willing to take a bullet for me."

Ryou flushed slightly. Yeesh, it sounded so dramatic when it was put like that. She may have had good intention, but all she'd really ended up doing was falling over. Well... That was how it would have looked anyway. At least to everyone other than Dark, apparently.

"That didn't really change anything. And it was my fault in the first place. I said something to you that was really unfair and that..." Ryou paused. Miho's words from earlier flashed through her mind again. You have to resolve things with your partner if you want to be in a job like this. "And that I didn't really mean. So I'm sorry too."

"Then... why did you say it if you didn't mean it?" Haruto asked, confused.

Ryou frowned to herself, unsure how to answer. She couldn't really get into the issue with him without breaking that no-trust rule that had caused all the trouble in the first place. "I don't know - I really wasn't thinking. I've just always had a thing about trying to keep my work and my personal life separate. I mean it when I say that it's my issue though. You honestly haven't done anything wrong."

It sounded like a terrible excuse and she didn't expect Haruto to buy it at all, but he could actually see that, whatever exactly the issue was, she didn't want to go into it and that he shouldn't push her to. At least not yet anyway. They'd only been working together for a few months after all. There was still time for that later on, if she ever opened up more.

So instead, he surprised her by smiling. "So when you say you didn't mean it... That means we are friends, right?"

Ryou couldn't help but laugh. He really never gave up. And this time, she couldn't stop herself from giving in. She held out her hand for a fist bump. "We're not just friends - we're partners."

Haruto grinned and happily returned the fist bump. "Even better."

XXX

Author's Note!

Ahh Ryou, you're such an idiot. Don't be mean to your partner - he's just being a cutie! xD More of Ryou's no-trust issues will become apparent later on... Didn't want to give too much away at once ;)

I don't own Dark and Lithium - they belong to ravenvolf (who can be found under that name on deviantART or Wattpad). They're actually vampires from his original story, hence that little nod that I just couldn't resist including!

Prepare to start seeing some mythical creatures other than witches from the next chapter onwards too |D