Destiny opened her eyes, but she was in complete darkness. "What's going on?" a part of her mind asked her, though most of her mind was focused on the thin strips of light that indicated a doorway in front of her.
She noted that she was sitting on a rather uncomfortable chair, and that her hands were cuffed behind her back. Suddenly she was blinded by the lights in the room flicking on.
Somebody burst in through the doorway, and she waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light before she saw who it was. Amazingly though, she wasn't surprised when she saw herself standing in the doorway.
"Destiny!" she said loudly, in Tanoshii's voice, "get out of here!"
"No, Tanoshii! I'm not leaving you!" Destiny said, sounding distressed.
"No, you have to leave! It's a trap!" the original Destiny attempted to say, but someone clapped their hand over her mouth.
"Ah, Miss Migoto. What a...pleasant surprise" a male voice said from behind her. She felt something sharp against her neck, and the Destiny who had burst in gasped. "One false move and your partner here dets it" the voice said.
"W-what is that?" Destiny asked, her eyes wide.
"Cyanide. But more potent than normal. This is highly refined. One drop is enough to kill ten people in under a minute. Imagine how fast even one CC would work. I have forty" the voice said.
Destiny's hands flew up to her mouth, "don't do it. Whatever you want..." she said, her eyes welling up with ters.
"I want you to leave" the voice said.
Destiny nodded, but the original Destiny noticed her hand moving towards her laser. "No! Don't do it! You'll kill us all!" she attempted to say, but the person behind her's hand still being over her mouth, nobody heard her.
Before she could blink, Destiny had her laser out, pointing it at whoever was behind.
"Oh, I'm sorry Miss Migoto. But that was the wrong decision. Say good-bye to your partner. Forever" the voice said.
Destiny felt a sharp pain in her neck.
"No!" the other Destiny said loudly.
Everything went black for the original Destiny; the last thing she heard before nothingness was her own voice screaming.
Destiny awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright. She was covered in sweat and her arm twinged massively when she put any weight on it.
"What...was that about?" she asked herself, panting heavily as though she'd been running. "It was only a dream...only...a dream" she told herself, between laboured breaths.
"Or was it?" a part of her said, "What if it was a vision? What is it's going to happen the next time you see Tanoshii?"
"No! I will not let it happen!" Besides, it was a drug-induced hallucination! How could it possibly happen" she told herself aloud, shaking a finger.
There was a knock on the door, and Annelise walked in. "Hey Destiny. I didn't expect you to be awake" Annelise said, smiling.
"I just had the most freakishly weird dream where I was Tanoshii and somebody killed me with a needle!" Destiny shivered, blinking heavily.
"Really? That's weird. How exactly did they kill you?" Annelise asked curiously.
"They said something about highly refined cyanide. And they stabbed me in the neck with a needle" she shrugged.
"Well, it's probably just a dream. I mean, how many times are dreams like that real?" Annelise said, rolling her eyes.
"Precisely. Anywho, I do want to check it out a little, though. I've had visions before. None this big, mind you, but I've had them. I just want to put my mind at ease" Destiny said.
"Well, that we can do" Annelise agreed.
"Good" Destiny smiled.
*
Tanoshii no longer looked so apathetic. He felt as though his life wasn't so despondent. Though he knew he shouldn't be happy and that even though Zola had had a change of heart, he should still be upset about the fact that he still may never get out.
He heard footsteps outside, running down an apparently long hall, before the door opened and Zola burst in, looking upset. "Tanoshii! bad news!" she said, trying not to collapse on the floor.
"Zola? What's wrong?" he asked, standing up.
"Ve 'ave gotten new orders... Ve are to let Destiny find us...But vhen she does ve are to kill you!" she said, her eyes wide.
"And how? Are you going to shoot me?" he asked sarcastically, not afraid at all.
"No...it's a lot less painful, zhough a lot more dramatic" she said, taking a small, black case out of her pocket. She opened it with an audiable click, and removed a hypodermic syringe filled with a clear liquid.
"What is it?" she asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Cyanide. But...it's almost ten times more potent zhan normal" she said, swirling it around.
"Well, isn't that just a kick in the...pants" Tanoshii sighed, looking downcast.
"Do not vorry. I vill find some vay to help" she said, walking out of the room and closing the door.
Tanoshii sat down, and frowned. "It's hard not to worry. Because I know you'll come for me, Des. And that'll be the wrong thing to do" he muttered.
*
The next morning, returning to work, Destiny took Annelise with her as they went to investigate Destiny's dream.
"I know it seems silly to check into it but I really need to know that it was only a dream" Destiny said, as they walked.
"I know what you mean. Like, it's Tanoshii. Your partner. Your mentor. Your best friend. I know you need to be clear on anything that has to do or doesn't have to do with him" Annelise smiled at her.
"Thanks, Annelise" Destiny said, smiling back.
"So..." Annelise said, looking around. They were in an unfamiliar part of Tokyo, "Where exactly are we going?" she asked.
"Oh, we're going to talk to Yudachi. You can get almost anything from him. He's the number one source of illegal substances in Tokyo" Destiny explained. Noticing the look on Annelise's face, she continued, "Why, you may ask, haven't we arrested him yet? Very simple, actually. He gives us the info wee need, and in return, we don't bust his tail and give him a million years in maximum security"
"Oh..." Annelise said simply.
"You still don't get it, do you?" Destiny asked, looking at her.
"Not a word" Annelise said, shaking her head.
Destiny sighed and rolled her eyes, turning back to the crowd. "Look, there he is. YUDACHI!" she yelled, waving wildly.
Annelise squinted at the crowd, in the direction Destiny waved; she saw no one who fit the general idea of a dealer of illegal substances.
Destiny grabbed her wrist, dragging her up to a very well dressed man.
He looked rather nervous, though, "Oh man. You're busting me, aren't you? I knew this day would come" he said, balling his hands into fists to stop himself from fidgetting, "I'm not useful anymore, so you're throwing me in the slammer, aren't ya? aren't ya?!" he asked.
"No, we need some information. You're still useful, and you know very well that cell doors don't slam. They're pneumatic" Destiny smirked.
"Ah. In that case..." he said, looking at Annelise carefully, "who's the new kid, Destiny?"
"This is Annelise Colfer. She's my temporary partner" Destiny said.
Annelise smiled, and bowed politely.
"Temp? Where's Tanoshii?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Tanoshii's been abducted. That's actually what we need to talk to you about" Destiny said.
"Why would I kidnap a police officer?" he asked, his eyes wide, "especially your partner?"
Destiny shook her head, "No, that's not what I mean. We know who did it, we're just having trouble finding them. We need to see your record of purchases" Destiny explained.
"Oh! In that case....follow me" Yudachi said, leading them away from the crowd.
Destiny followed him, but Annelise hesitated nervously. "Come on, Annelise!" Destiny called over her shoulder.
" 'kay!" Annelise replied, running to catch up.
Annelise followed Destiny and Yudachi, and was surprised when they led her into a very well kept, high-tech shop. "Well, this is not what I expected. At all" she said, looking around.
Destiny looked over at her, and smiled, "I know, it's great" she said.
"So, purchase records is it? Come over here" Yudachi said, sitting at one of many computers.
Destiny walked over, and sat down next to him. He typed in a few secret passwords, and handed the computer over to Destiny. She scanned it quickly, but found no information. "Well, that's a relief" she said, smiling.
"What's a relief?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I didn't find any records of cyanide purchases from you" she said, still sounding relieved.
"Cyanide? What kind; regular or concentrated?" he asked.
"Concentraded" she said shortly.
"Oh! Just got a whole bunch of that in. Very deadly. Ten times more so than regular cyanide. Only sold a bit of it, though. I've been a little behind; I haven't added all the recent purchases in yet" he explained.
Destiny's eyes widened, "Who bought it? How much of it?" she asked.
"A little Russian girl...black hair and hauntingly deep blue eyes... she bought forty CCs of it. Not sure why, though" he said, shrugging.
"Did she leave any more information? Like; contact information? Or even a name?" Destiny asked, a little excited.
"All she said was that her name was Zola" he said.
"Well this is awful!" Destiny moaned, leaning back in the chair she sat in and staring at the ceiling.
"Why is it awful?" Yudachi asked, looking at Annelise.
"Because Destiny had this vision where Tanoshii was going to be killed using exactly forty CCs of concentrated cyanide. And it'll only happen if she gets anywhere near him. but that's impossible to help because we have to find him" Annelise explained, as Destiny spun herself slowly in the chair.
"Well, if I'd known that I wouldn't have sold it to her! I'm sorry Destiny!" Yudachi said, stopping her.
"It's not your fault. It's your job. I forgive you. but now we have to find her. We've got to find Zola, right Annelise?" Destiny said.
"Right! We'll find them!" Annelise smiled.
"Augh, this is terrible!" Destiny said loudly, once the partners were back on the street.
"Well, at least you know she bought it" Annelise said, trying to sound comforting.
"Yeah, but that's not much to go on. I don't know where they are. And if I do find out and go, I'll get Tanoshii killed. It's not a good situation, and not an easy decision" Destiny sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets.
"We'll figure something out, I know it. Now, we should get back to HQ before they notice we're gone. We weren't supposed to be out today" Annelise said, blushing slightly.
Destiny sat down heavily at her desk, and commenced repeatedly banging her head on it.
"What's the matter, Migoto?" Yasashimi asked, from behind her.
She ceased banging her head, to look up at him. "I went to Yudachi's to check something out and ended up getting more information and yet less than I needed" she said.
He raised his eyebrows, "Does this have anything to do with Yamato?" he asked.
"Yes. Have you found anything out on him?" she asked curiously, turning to face him.
Yasashimi sighed heavily, looking to the floor, "Migoto...we're closing the case" he said.
"WHAT?!" Destiny shrieked.
Instantly, the whole office was silent. Even the steady ringing of phones stopped.
"Yeah. I'm sorry to say, Destiny, but Tanoshii isn't coming back. We're calling him KIA and leaving it at that. And I forbid you to check this out on your own. You could end up getting killed" he explained to her.
"Why?! Why are you giving up on him?!" she cried, her eyes welling up.
"It's just a waste of time, Destiny. We have to face the facts; we weren't getting anywhere, and we probably won't. If we find something out we'll re-open the file. But if not we're just going to leave it" he said.
Destiny fell to her knees on the floor, crying. "I can't...believe...that you would... would j-just let...your best officer die" she said, between sobs.
"I know, I'm not happy about it, either" he said, kneeling next to her.
She looked at him, still crying, only silently now, "B-but... Yasashimi he was my b-best f-friend. It's j-just so hard t-to let him go" she stammered.
He sighed, "Tell you what, Migoto. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?" he said.
"B-but..."
"Go home, Migoto. You need to" he said, pulling her up.
"Okay...see you tomorrow, then" she said, smiling weakly.
Yasashimi watched her walk out of the room, and was surprised as the phone on her desk rang. "Tokyo Police Department" he answered it. Listening for a moment, he frowned.
When the person on the other end hung up, he dropped the reciever and ran down the hallway after Destiny. "Migoto!" he yelled, catching up to her.
"Yasashimi? What is it?" she asked, turning as he ran up to her.
"You, Aidoru, and Colfer have to go back to Yudachi's. There's been a murder" he said.
*
About half an hour previously, Yudachi had watched the girls leave. "Heheh, I'm glad she's been promoted" he said to himself, "It seems only yesterday she was busting me as a private for selling..." he trailed off, as the door opened.
He squinted, but couldn't see who came in. "Hello?" he asked warily.
"Zdravstvutye" a female voice said, from behind him. He whirled around to see Zola standing there, holding a laser to his head.
"You're...you're that girl...that Destiny is looking for" he said, his eyes wide.
"I? Yes. I 'ave orders to kill you" she said,
"W-why is that?" he asked, his mind racing for a way out of his situation.
"Because you 'ave information. Not much, but some. It is enough to kill for" she said, sighing, "If it vhere up to me, I vouldn't kill you. but it is not up to me. You 'ave to be eliminated" she said, pulling the trigger.
*
Destiny, Izuko, and Annelise went back down to Yudachi's shop.
Destiny, being first in, paled at the sight of blood. "Oh...my gosh" she said, her eyes wide.
Annelise looked over her shoulder, "What is it?" she asked. Upon seeing the massive ammount of blood surrounding Yudachi's body, she instantly ran bck out.
Izuko, on the other hand, calmly walked in. "Come on, girls! We've got work to do!" he said cheerfully.
Destiny stared coldly at him, "You enjoy this kind of work, don't you?" she asked icily.
"Ooh, I'm gettin' frostbite! Of course I do! I enjoy any work!" he said, still grinning.
Destiny sighed, kneeling next to Yudachi. He appeared as though he was only asleep, though he wasn't the type to fall asleep with a rather large wound in his skull.
Izuko frowned at her, "If you must touch anything, wear gloves. We don't want you contaminating the scene now, do we?" he said, throwing a pair to her.
She slipped them on, and removed Yudachi's glasses, which had shattered. "I guess Zola was here" she said sadly.
"Zola? What's her last name?" Izuko asked, looking up from scribbling something on a piece of paper, apparently pertinant to the investigation.
"I dunno..." Destiny said, standing up.
"Because if it's Keidran, I know who you're talking about" Izuko said, walking over to her, "And this looks like something she'd do. Although, I think she was in a bit of a hurry" he continued.
"Why do you say that?" Destiny asked curiously.
"Because she was being careless" he said, pointing to the floor.
Destiny looked; there was a trail of bloody footprints leading out the door. Unfortunately it faded, and disappeared a few feet from the door. "That doesn't help much!" Destiny said exasperatedly.
Izuko merely rolled his eyes, "Apparently you're new to forensics" he said, walking back over to the vehicle they came in.
Destiny raised a single eyebrow.
"Ahah!" he said triumphantly, coming back with a spray bottle and a flashlight.
Destiny raised the other eyebrow. "What's...?" she began, but Izuko interrupted.
"It's kind of hard to explain. Basically, this chemical can detect even the smallest trace of blood anywhere, except the water" he explained, as well as he could.
"Oh..."
"You still don't get it, do you?" he asked, smirking.
"Not at all" she said, grinning sheepishly.
He sighed heavily, and walked out the door. Stopping where the trail disappeared, he sprayed the ground and turned on the flashlight.
Destiny watched curiously. "Whoa...!" she smiled. In the light, blue footprints appeared. "That's so awesome! Annelise! Get over here!" Destiny called.
"Huh?" Annelise came around the corner, and over to them. She looked very pale.
Destiny smirked, waving her over, "Look at this"
"What is it?" Annelise asked, looking confused.
"It's blood. Zola had it on her shoes" Destiny said.
Annelise looked at it, a thoughtful look on her face. Finally, she concluded, "She has nice shoes"
Destiny slapped her forehead, moaning.
"What? She does! It's not very often assassins wear heels!" Annelise said defensively.
"Just...gimme the bottle" Destiny said, holding out her hand to Izuko.
"Good thinking, private" he said, handing her the bottle and Annelise the flashlight.
"I AM NOT A PRIVATE!" she yelled, slightly more than little irritated.
He laughed, and walked back inside. "I'll handle this"
"Don't you want any help, Izuko?" Annelise asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Thanks for the offer, Annie, but I don't want any distractions, if you know what I mean" he popped his head out the door and winked at her.
She blushed slightly, and nodded.
The two followed the trail down the street for a while, before Destiny stopped. "Well this sucks" she said, frowning.
"What does?" Annelise asked.
"Look. The trail ends here" she said, pointing to the ground. The trail of blue footprints did end there, as though Zola had an escape vehicle.
"Well, that sucks" Annelise echoed.
"I know! How are we supposed to find her now?" Destiny said, crossing her arms annoyedly.
"Anyhow, we should get back to Izuko. See if he's found anything important" Annelise said.
Destiny blinked heavily, then grinned. "You like him, don't you?" she asked.
Annelise shook her head, though blushed as well. "Of course not. He's only a friend" she said.
"but you want more than that, don't you?" Destiny asked.
"Of course not!" Annelise repeated, steadily going a deeper shade of red.
Destiny sighed, "Just...oh, I know! You should ask him if he wants to come to my birthday party!" she said, smiling brightly.
"Your...birthday? when is that, anyhow? you never told me" Annelise said.
"It's at the end of May. But I won't have my party until Tanoshii is safely back... at home" Destiny blushed slightly, thinking better of saying "safely back in my arms".
"Alright, I'll ask him. That's low-risk enough" Annelise said rather doubtfully.
"Did you two find anything?" Izuko asked, when they came back.
"No. Apparently, she had an escape vehicle" Destiny said, "did you find anything?"
"Nope. Nothing useful" he said, shrugging. Destiny sat at Yudachi's desk, spinning in the chair.
While she did that, Annelise made her move. "So, Izuko..." she began.
He stood up, properly, pulling his gloves off. "What's up, Annie?" he asked.
"I was just wondering whether you're coming to Destiny's birthday party at the end of the month?" she said hopefully.
"Destiny's birthday party? Hmm...for that weirdo? I wouldn't miss it for the world!" he grinned.
"Great!" she said, smiling.
"See you there?" he asked.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the universe! After all, she's the best friend I've had in a long time" she sighed.
Destiny fell off the chair, landing heavily on the floor.
Annelise giggled, smiling slightly.
"But..." Izuko continued.
She looked back at him, looking interested.
"Maybe we can hook up before then?" he asked.
"Oh...like...when?" she asked, starting to blush again.
"Umm...doing anything this weekend?" he asked. She shook her head, and he smiled. "Great! I know just what to do! I'll call you tonight to discuss it, 'kay?" he said.
"S-sure" she said, grinning.
Destiny sat straight up, a surprised look on her face.
Annelise noticed, and raised her eyebrows, "What's up Destiny?" she asked.
"One...did Izuko just ask you out?!" Destiny said, her eyes wide.
Annelise nodded and Izuko smiled.
"Okay, that's what I thought. And two; I figured out a way to track Zola!" she continued.
"How?" both others asked at the sae time.
"If we ask witnesses if they saw Zola, then we might be able to get the licence number of the car!" she said, jumping up.
"I guess you get your best ideas on the floor then, Destiny" Izuko laughed.
"Not funny" Destiny frowned, though it was hard to frown at Izuko.
For the rest of the afternoon, the three questioned everyone in the area about Zola. Nobody seemed to know anything about her, until Destiny found a witness.
"Yes, I saw her. About...three hours ago" he said. He was the shopkeeper from across the street, and seemed to have seen everything that had gone on that day.
"Ahah! That's exactly when we got the call! Did you see the car?" she asked.
"Yeah, it was black. The new Toyota Hato model. Very nice" he said.
"I don't care what it was; what was the licence plate number?" she asked.
"It didn't have one" she said shortly.
"Didn't...have one?" she asked, blinking heavily.
"Nope. No licence plate. Very suspicious" he said.
"Damn it!" she said loudly, walking out and back over to Izuko and Annelise.
"Damn what?" Izuko asked curiously.
"Well, apparently, the car doesn't have a plate" she said airily, trying to hide her annoyance.
"Well, that just makes things easier" Izuko shrugged.
"How does that make thing easier?" Destiny asked.
"There are two ways to find that car. First, we check with all the dealers about purchases of the new odel. Then, if we don't get anything on that, we do one of those old fashioned stake-out whatever they called 'em. Y'know, sit at the side of the road and look for cars fitting the description" he explained.
"Wow, that was brilliant" Annelise said shortly, kind of stunned.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Destiny muttered.
