HaibaraDaiFan

Summary: Shiho just wants to get the company back into the safe zone so she can continue her life - a life that guarantees a monetary upper hand. A meeting that wasn't meant to be introduces her to someone that has the potential to change her life. AU Note: Bold is English, normal is Japanese dialogue (I forgot to bold and whatnot in the one published on fanfictionnet but... yeah. Tell me your thoughts please.. and if you feel like it, review my story on ffnet.. more chapters to come, but I think it'll just be there not here so..) You and I… We were never destined to meet. We should've run while we had the chance. But now… It's too late. The sound of the keys clicking away on the keyboard stopped suddenly. The hands that had been pounding on them lifted into the air. A yawn escaped the owner's mouth. "Well… I ought to take a break." She muttered, standing up and stretching some more. Office jobs were alright, but being the only one who seemed to sincerely work was annoying to say the least. Sorting out the huge mess the company seemed to allow its workers to make was a task that only the bravest of creatures would ever take on. Or those poor dear souls who work in their father's company just to keep it from crashing to the ground. The young woman walked down to the break room which was left empty. It was midnight already and everyone was gone. She was working after hours, trying to salvage the mess made by the fools who worked for her father. "Why did you leave the company to such incompetent people, father?" She muttered out loud, grabbing a paper cup and filling it was ice cold water. The young woman didn't have any plans to take over the place, but she knew that the large sums of money she received as 'allowance' would go missing rather abruptly if the company were to fail. With her father in the hospital and her mother long dead, the only person really able to run these matters was her. This definitely wasn't her first choice at a job. She had already finished college here in America to become a medical scientist. But before she could take the job that was offered to her, she had to fix this problem. A crashing sound and a yell tore her out of her thoughts. She looked around her, seeing nothing. It sounded as if it came from outside. Slowly she approached the outer window and peered outside. Vaguely, the young woman could make out the figure of a person near the entrance. She watched for a few seconds longer and saw a glint come off of something that she imagined could be a knife or gun. Immediately she backed up, not wanting to get involved. "I should just call the police…" She muttered, grabbing one of the desk phones. It was then that she heard a cry of pain. "Oh come on…" the words escaped her lips as she pressed the 9 on the phone. Another cry of pain came. Clenching her teeth, she pushed the end button and raced down the stairs and out the front. "What's going on here?" She yelled in a threatening voice. A man on the ground began to scramble away by crawling. Immediately identifying the one standing over him and heaving as the attacker, she glared at him. He looked up at her, and suddenly seemed to be defensive. "I… didn't do it…" He said in heavily accented English. At that moment, he made a run for it. For a moment, the young woman stood still. It was best not to run after a criminal on your own. It was best to leave the situation. She didn't have time to deal with this as well. She just needed to fix the company problem and go on with her life as a medical scientist. But no. "Get back here!" She yelled angrily, tearing off down the road after him. After about a block he tripped on the sidewalk and fell face down. She immediately caught up. "You!" She pulled him up by his suit jacket. "You dare run away after doing that? I'm turning your sorry butt in to the police." "Please… don't… I don't even know what's going on…" His words caught her off guard. First off, they weren't in English. But she did understand him; her first language was Japanese after all. "Come on." She continued in English and pulled him along with her, seeing as he seemed rather pathetic right about then. Seeing a nearby open café, she walked in and sat him down at a table. In the bright light, she was slightly surprised despite herself to see that he was Japanese. He looked to be around eighteen. Before whatever had occurred, it seemed that he was wearing a school uniform in a tidy manner, but she could only speculate, seeing as it was ripped and dirty. He had a cut on his face. "He attacked me. It was self defense." He spoke, defending his position again. She frowned, putting her chin on her hand and looking at him with sharp eyes. "Then why did he-"Realizing the absolute possibility of this, considering the other guy was the first to run, she stopped mid-sentence. She sighed. "What's your name?" He paused for a moment, and then pulled out a student notebook. "Shinichi Kudo." Somehow the name seemed familiar, but she ignored it. She gave him a half-smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Shannon Miyano." She then paused, somehow feeling guilty for telling him her English first name. He was Japanese, as well, and shared his real name. She broke into a sweeter smile then. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Miyano Shiho." Her perfect Japanese obviously surprised the young man, considering his shocked expression. "You're Japanese?" He asked. He had a very good reason to be shocked; after all, she didn't look very Japanese at all. Her strawberry blonde hair was definitely not something you'd see in a typical Japanese girl either. She snorted. "Just a bit. Where are you staying? I can call a cab to get you there." Shinichi frowned in response. "I don't… really know." Shiho gave him a look. How could he not know where he lived? "Did you just move here or something? You should at least know the address, right?" He looked down. "I have no idea what it is. I don't even know why I'm here." Shinichi flipped through his notebook, but apparently he wasn't finding what he wanted to. "Hmm. It was hard enough to believe that you weren't the attacker, but now this?" He looked up at her and she felt like taking her words back. He looked lost and hurt, then suddenly contained no particular emotion. "I guess you're right. Well… I'll be off now." He stood up and walked out the door. "Hey wait!" Shiho called, but it was too late. She sighed. Catching the eye of a waitress, she asked for a cup of coffee. She had this uneasy feeling that her life was about to get a lot more troublesome than it already was.

So I wanted to see what people's reactions were to this story, considering I didn't get much feedback on fanfiction.net by the time I reached my third chapter. I'll post chapter one here (it's really short) and if you want me to post more of it, tell me. I also want to know your opinion of both the idea and the actual written story. Thanks Presence I've given up things like hopes and dreams. I had held onto the thought that I could live a 'normal' life for the longest time. And now I find a life of death. Out of all this, someone has taken me in and taught me how to embrace this reality. "Sherry?" I still wasn't used to my codename. I turned to the person with the ice cold voice. Inside, I flinched. On the outside, I was unaffected. "What do you need?" My voice was just as cold, but his achieved some sort of level that I doubt was normal for any human being. He looked at me and smirked. "So you're Sherry." I glared. "What of it?" I didn't know who this guy was. He just waltzed into my lab. But judging from all of my researchers' actions, he must have some sort of power in this sick system. The cold smirk didn't leave his face. "I just wanted to see the little girl who was made of equal rank of me upon joining." Little girl? Did he want to die? "And you are?" My voice leveled out to a bored tone. If I needed to take this freak on, I would. However, I knew better than to react to foolish words. His facial expression still kept its smirk. "Gin." I waited for a moment, waiting for him to say what he wanted. Instead, he just stood there. I finally had enough of entertaining his presence. I walked past him and began to instruct one of my researchers. I felt a hand suddenly grab my right wrist, pull me to the right side, then another hand grabbed my left shoulder. His face was composed, but I could feel the anger radiating from him. My back was against the wall, literally. Unlike most people, I didn't struggle. I didn't show any fear. I simply looked at him, observing the look in his eyes. "Don't blow me off." He hissed. I frowned. "Your breath reeks of smoke." I stated simply. There was a pause. He then let go of me, and I watched, half astonished, as he began to erupt with a low laughter. Everyone in my lab was staring. He then straightened up. His eyes still managed to look dead cold. "Meet me at the warehouse in an hour. Anokata released you for a mission." He walked out of the lab, his presence leaving a tenseness that had never been reached here. This entire place was evil, clothed in black, fear, and malicious ideas. But he had made it feel more intense, more sickening to my stomach. I returned to instructing the researcher from a few minutes ago. After finishing, I began to make my way to my own personal computer. An e-mail was waiting on it. Sherry, Gin is your partner for your first official mission. He'll be your leader. No failure accepted. I glared at the screen. I had only gotten a few messages from the boss, and every message he sent ended with those words. No failure accepted. I gritted my teeth and deleted the message. After completing what I needed to, I traded my white lab coat for a dark brown jacket of mine and walked swiftly out the door. I stopped a few feet from the warehouse. I could sense his presence, although it was too dark for me to see the man clad in all black. "Yo, Sherry."

*doesn't have the energy to reprimand Kohai-chan* *glares instead* NO MORE OF THAT, YOUNG LADY. And I guess I'm adopting a signature now~ Cool stuff.