She wanted to glance over her shoulder, but knew she couldn't risk slowing down to do so.

She was being stalked, hunted.

She wiped the sweat from her brow and tried to remain calm, even as she ran. Predators smell fear, and the smell of fear entices them.

The path ahead was dark. Her footsteps thudded on the hard ground, the only sound to be heard save for the pounding of her heart. A little further...just a little further and she could get away...

Her foot caught on a rock and she fell, hard. She fought the urge to cry out as pain shot up her leg, telling her she had twisted her ankle. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to will the pain away. To will her fear away.

She opened her eyes. Eyes stared back into her own. Large, luminous blue eyes, gleaming with a predatory light. She gasped.

The predator's mouth opened, exposing glistening fangs, fangs which would certainly clamp down on her throat, tearing out her jugular, ending her life. And then the predator would feed on her flesh. Involuntarily, she opened her mouth to scream...

* * * * *

"Kiyone! Wake up, Kiyone!"

The sleeping teal-haired detective opened her eyes, which locked immediately with the pair of bright, shining blue eyes mere millimeters from her face. She screamed.

"Waaaaaaah!" Kiyone's scream startled the blond leaning over her, causing her to fall. She flailed her arms wildly as she landed on top of Kiyone, who started to scream again—then blinked.

"Mihoshi?"

"Waaah! You scared me!" Mihoshi bawled, still flailing.

Kiyone gently placed her hands on her partner's shoulders, pushing her up enough so that she could rise to a sitting position. "Shh, it's okay." She paused, taking a deep breath as reality set in. "Why did you wake me up?" she asked.

Mihoshi stopped flailing, her panicked tears drying up. "We're late, Kiyone! We overslept! We gotta get to work or we're gonna be in trouble!"

Kiyone blinked. "What?! That's impossible! What time is it?"

Mihoshi thrust a digital clock in her face. The bright green display read [9:13].

Kiyone stared at it for a moment. *How the hell—?* She stood up and looked around. Something was seriously amiss. If it was that late in the morning, why was the apartment so dark...?

She walked over to the window and opened the blinds. Darkness greeted her. She blinked.

After a moment, realization dawned. "Mihoshi," she began quietly. "You bought one of those 12-hour clocks, didn't you?"

"Umm...yes?" Mihoshi offered.

Kiyone took a deep breath, clenched her fists...then wheeled on the blond. "IDIOT!" she screamed. "It's nine o'clock AT NIGHT! As in 2100 hours!"

Mihoshi blinked. "Umm...oops?" She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

Kiyone sighed, frustrated. "Mihoshi, go to sleep," she bit off tersely. She shuffled back to her own futon and slid into it.

The blond looked like she was going to cry. Finally, she slipped into her own futon. Kiyone could hear her sniffling, and for a moment, felt guilty enough to comfort her well-meaning but scatterbrained partner. Then, the sniffling gave way to gentle snores.

Sighing, Kiyone closed her eyes, eventually drifting off into slumber.

* * * * *

Kiyone hadn't been asleep thirty minutes when a persistent beeping awakened her. She sat up, grumbled irritably, and searched for the source of the sound. A glance across the room revealed that her partner was still asleep. *If it's that dipshit clock of hers, I'm going to brain her with it,* Kiyone thought darkly.

Five minutes elapsed before she located the beeping culprit. Still grumpy and irritated, she was about to grind the offending object into dust when a part of her mind which had somehow become more awake relayed to the still-unconscious part that the object in question was her wrist comm, her link to Yagami's monitor relays. Immediately, her full mind snapped into focus. Headquarters was calling.

Throwing on a bathrobe in an attempt to make herself presentable, she made her way to the roof, above which the Yagami stood cloaked. Boarding the ship, she activated the comm station and played the incoming communication.

//Galaxy Police Temp Recall Notice 1071-1701A: Detective First Class Mihoshi Ordered To Report To Headquarters As Soon As Possible For Required Physical Examination By Order Of Galaxy Police Chief Medical Officer.//

Kiyone blinked. *A physical? That doesn't make any sense...we both had our physicals at the same time, three months ago. She isn't due for another one for at least six months...* Kiyone knew for a fact that both of them had been given a clean bill of health; if Medical had found anything out of the ordinary, Mihoshi would have been placed on sick leave until it could be taken care of. Kiyone contemplated this unusual order. Headquarters would not have issued a recall for an impromptu medical examination without a reason.

But what could that reason be? There weren't many circumstances which could warrant such a recall; in fact, Kiyone could only think of three offhand. Officers suspected of substance abuse would be subject to such an examination; Kiyone dismissed this idea without a second thought. Mihoshi drank her fair share of sake; they all did. But never while on duty, and Galaxy Police officers were required to accept a filter implant which would prevent alcohol damage to their bodies. Aside from that, there was no way Mihoshi was abusing any chemical substance. Kiyone would know about it by now if that were the case.

A second possibility would be if Mihoshi were pregnant. That was a ludicrous thought; one frequent topic of conversation during the girls' drunken bath parties at the Masaki house was the two stunningly beautiful detectives' complete lack of anything even remotely resembling love lives. No, if Mihoshi had been doing anything with a man, Kiyone would already know way more about it than she would ever care to, right down to a wrinkle count.

The only other possibility would be that Medical had reason to believe there was something seriously wrong with Mihoshi. A terminal illness, complications from an old injury, something of that nature.

That notion troubled Kiyone. She briefly considered logging into the GP database and pulling up Mihoshi's medical record, but decided against it—even if Medical had a suspicion that something was wrong, it wouldn't be stated in open record until it had been confirmed.

Sighing, Kiyone disembarked, returning to the apartment. As she slid into her futon, she cast a worried glance at her sleeping partner and decided that she would keep a closer eye on the ditz for a while.

* * * * *

She blinked at the walls of the corridor. Glassy and shiny, like a hall of mirrors, the narrow walls, floor, and ceiling were smooth and cold to the touch. She shivered, wishing she had a pair of shoes. Or any clothing, for she was naked.

The corridor seemed to stretch into infinity in either direction, the distance obscured in dark shadows. Walking aimlessly, she gazed into the walls. Though mirrorlike in their composition, what they were showing was no reflection. The images in the glass were smoky, seen through a filter of thick gray haze, and often were completely obscured.

Here, she saw a man who looked familiar. Who was it? Her grandfather. Grandfather? Yes, grandfather. The kindly man who looked after her when she was small, who helped her become what she wanted to be when she was older.

What she wanted to be? What had she wanted to be? She wanted to be...a police officer. Yes. That's right. A police officer. Just like grandfather.

Why did she want to be a police officer? Because grandfather was one? Yes, because grandfather was one. That's right.

Here, a lot of people who didn't seem familiar at all. They were so big, and she was scared. But some of them were even more scared. She could tell. How could she tell? She didn't know. But she could tell. One of them started moving towards her, and then the smoke filled the mirror and she couldn't see any more.

She looked around. There, going to school. School? The Academy? That's right, the Academy. Funny, she couldn't remember much about the Academy. But there were her classmates. There were her teachers. She felt their eyes on her. Awe. Respect. Admiration. Envy? Fear?

More portals full of smoke so thick she could see nothing else. A few held brief flashes of scenes. Here, a flicker of a man shooting behind him while running away. There, a flicker of a stern lieutenant, glaring at her. Over there, grandfather, getting ready to hang a medal around her neck. There, a pair of alien eyes, staring up at her in fear and terror.

She could move no further, and her body had become numb. There was a final mirror beyond the shadows, obscured by fog so thick nothing was visible. She reached out to it, touched it.

Pain.

Lightning in her body. Lightning up her spine. Lightning in her skull. Lightning in her eyes. So much pain it hurt. It hurt and it wouldn't stop hurting and then the bright light and then the dark shadow and then the fog and she knew that the fog was pain and the pain made the fog and she had to get out of the fog had to clear it out of her way but there was so much pain it hurt the pain the fog the pain the pain oh god the pain it's making the fog the fog is the pain it hurt so much the PAIN—

* * * * *

Mihoshi bolted upright in her futon, clutching her chest. Her heart hammered; sweat plastered her pajamas to her skin. She ran a hand through her damp hair and stared at it.

"Was that a dream?" she wondered. A scent assailed her nostrils. She frowned. It smelled salty, damp, like

[fear]

sweat...she was smelling her sweat? That couldn't be right. But she was. She sniffed the air. Yes, definitely

[fear]

sweat. But there were two smells. With a frown, she wondered how she knew

[the smell of fear]

that there were two scents. She smelled her own

[fear]

sweat, very close, and smelled more

[fear]

across the room, coming from Kiyone. Kiyone? Yes, it smelled like

[fear]

Kiyone. But how did she know that? She sat, brow furrowed in thought for a long moment. Something tickled at the back of her mind, like she should remember

[pain]

something important. Finally, frustrated and becoming tired of the

[pain]

smell and of being drenched in sweat, she got up and went to take a bath, careful not to disturb her sleeping partner.

* * * * *

Kiyone yawned as she groggily stirred from slumber. She glanced at the clock and blearily confirmed that it was five in the morning.

And the light over the kitchenette was on.

She sat up and glanced over to see Mihoshi sitting quietly in the corner, holding a mug from which she occasionally sipped. The aroma of broth tickled Kiyone's nose.

Mihoshi's head snapped up suddenly. "Good morning, Kiyone," she said quietly.

Kiyone blinked. Mihoshi hadn't even been facing her, and the light wasn't quite bright enough to illuminate the sleeping area. How had the blond known she was awake? "Um...good morning, Mihoshi," she said. Slowly pulling herself up from the futon, she regarded her partner. "Are you alright?"

Mihoshi took a long sip of her soup, then nodded. "I'm fine," she said distractedly. She looked up and smiled at Kiyone. "Why don't you go have a bath while I fix some breakfast?"

Kiyone blinked. She started to make a protest, but Mihoshi cut her off. "Please, I insist," the blond said. In the dim light, Kiyone could almost swear she saw Mihoshi's nose wrinkle in distaste.

"Umm...sure, Mihoshi," she said, shuffling off to the bath.

As she slid the door closed behind her, she sniffed herself. *Funny, I don't smell anything. But from the way Mihoshi was acting, you'd think I had otaku-level body odor or something.* Frowning, she undressed and started to lather up. She noted absently that Mihoshi must have bathed some time during the night; there were subtle signs the bath had seen use since the previous day.

Quickly scrubbing and rinsing off, she lowered herself into the small furo, sighing. Something was definitely wrong. Mihoshi being awake and dressed this early in the morning, for one, was bizarre. She also seemed...subdued, quiet.

She thought back to the night before, and the communique from headquarters. Had Mihoshi found out about that? Was that the reason she was acting strangely? Or was it something else...?

After a few minutes, she emerged from the furo and dried herself off. Tossing on a robe and slippers, she stepped out of the bath. "I'm going up to the ship to take care of some paperwork, okay Mihoshi?"

Mihoshi shrugged. "Alright. Need any help?"

Kiyone shook her head. "No, that's alright. You just...take it easy, okay? Watch some television or something. I won't be long."

"Oh...okay, Kiyone. Have fun!" Mihoshi said cheerfully. *She seems to be alright,* Kiyone mused as she made her way to the roof. *Still...*

* * * * *

Raiding ship's stores for a cup of coffee, Kiyone seated herself at the computer console and logged into the GP database. *I'm not sure I'll find anything, but this is the best place to start,* she told herself. Accessing the medical records, she called up Mihoshi's file.

 GALAXY POLICE MEDICAL RECORDS
 FILE 776432-0239B
 KURAMITSU, MIHOSHI  DET. 1C

 DATE OF BIRTH  JGC 10798.32 AGE 24
 PLACE OF BIRTH UNKNOWN
 RACE           UNKNOWN
 SEX            FEMALE

"That's odd...race unknown?" Kiyone mused. She realized that she didn't know what planet Mihoshi was from...it had never come up in conversation...but surely that information would be in her records...

   MEDICAL HISTORY
*—TRANSMISSION OF FILE TERMINATED—*
*—RESTRICTED ACCESS DATABASE FILE—*_

Kiyone blinked. "Restricted access?" That didn't make any sense. Service records and medical profiles were usually available to all Galaxy Police operatives above Detective Third Class.

Brow furrowing, she tried to call up Mihoshi's service record. The GP network refused her request, citing restricted access. "Okay, this is getting weird," she commented.

She frowned, wondering what to do next. There was something going on here, and she was determined to find out what it was. Despite the fact that Mihoshi frequently got on her nerves, and she often wished she was not partnered with the ditz, she did care about her, and she wouldn't be able to rest until she found out what the administration was trying to hide.

Logging out of the network, she modified the comm frequencies on the computer console, and configured the equipment to transmit an anonymous login. Internal affairs often practiced this procedure, she had learned, when doing checks on officers, so that their computer activities would not be attributed to their personal terminals.

She hesitated. She could get into a lot of trouble if she was discovered. She might even be throwing her career away.

An image flickered through her mind of Mihoshi lying on a hospital bed, pale and weak, dying from some incurable illness, unable to do so much as breathe for herself.

Eyes hardening in determination, she logged in.

>WELCOME TO GALAXY POLICE NETWORK
>PLEASE ENTER YOUR REQUEST
>1. PUBLIC INFORMATION
>2. RECENT POLICE ACTIVITY REPORTS
>3. PERSONNEL RECORDS_

Kiyone pressed [3].

>PLEASE ENTER THE NAME OF THE OFFICER YOU ARE INQUIRING ABOUT._

Kiyone typed in [Kuramitsu, Mihoshi].

>RESTRICTED ACCESS FILE. PLEASE ENTER YOUR ACCESS CODE,
 OR PRESS 'Q' TO ABORT._

Kiyone was by no means a computer expert, but she had picked up a few tricks...she knew she might be able to crack the access code. Pausing for a moment, she thought about the few internal affairs officers she knew and had seen in action, trying to remember anything she'd be able to use.

Cracking her knuckles, she typed [11A2B].

>VERIFYING, PLEASE WAIT...

>ACCESS GRANTED. TRANSMITTING FILE._

Kiyone blinked rapidly as the database began transmitting an extremely large file to her terminal. *This is way too big to be a service record file,* she thought. Once the transmission was complete, she terminated her connection and brought up the file she'd received.

GALAXY POLICE RESTRICTED FILE R-69913650225-11235

SUBJECT: KURAMITSU MIHOSHI
SECURITY LEVEL: ALPHA

[WARNING! THIS IS A CLASSIFIED GALAXY POLICE DOCUMENT.
IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS DOCUMENT, TRIPLE-
ENCRYPT IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOT MAKE HARD COPIES. 
EXTREME PENALTY WILL BE ISSUED IN THE EVENT OF A
SECURITY BREACH.]

>ENCRYPTED DOCUMENT._

With mounting trepidation, Kiyone instructed the computer to decrypt the file...

* * * * *

Kiyone staggered down the roof access stairs, her mind reeling. The file she'd just hacked out of the Galaxy Police database had yet to yield any complete answers to her original questions. In fact, it had opened up a whole new can of worms, and she'd just barely scratched the surface of what lay within the file.

She stared down at the data disc she held in almost nerveless fingers. She had further violated security orders by copying the file, but she had seen no alternative. It would take a long time to examine the entire document...far too long. The information in the cover summary alone had blown her mind. She wasn't entirely certain if she wanted to know what else lay buried in the classified service record of her partner.

She hid the disc in her robe and slipped into the apartment. In the main area, Mihoshi was giggling at some anime program on television. Kiyone studied the blond. The partner she had often wished she could rid herself of. The ditziest, klutziest, most inept excuse for a detective in all of the Galaxy Police.

Or was she?

Kiyone was so lost in thought that she never noticed the slight twitch of Mihoshi's nose. She was, however, shaken out of her reverie when the blond looked up and smiled at her. "Finished already, Kiyone?"

"Umm...yeah, I guess," Kiyone said. "Still more stuff I need to look at, but I'll deal with it later."

"Okay! Ne, Kiyone?"

"What is it, Mihoshi?" Kiyone asked.

"Wanna go over to Tenchi's place for breakfast?" the blond asked. "We're a little low on groceries, and you know Sasami always makes plenty..."

Kiyone smiled. "Sure, why not. I'll get dressed."

"Wai!" Mihoshi cheered.

Kiyone shook her head as she shuffled to the closet. She couldn't reconcile the bubbly blond she knew and tolerated with the officer depicted in the file. The sooner she got to the bottom of this, the better.

* * * * *

"Are you sure you don't want more rice, Mihoshi?" Sasami asked.

"No thanks, I'm fine with this," Mihoshi said, taking a large bite of a piece of fish. Sasami shrugged and went about dishing out more rice for the others.

On any other day, Kiyone might not have paid much heed to what Mihoshi was eating. However, she was now in full observation mode concerning her partner, and thus she noticed that Mihoshi was eating practically nothing but fish. She'd barely eaten any rice, and had only downed about half of her miso. But the fish...she'd put a bigger dent in that than anyone else present.

She also noticed that Mihoshi's nose was twitching every few seconds, and every so often, she'd see a look of confusion or contemplation cross the blond's face. *This is getting really weird,* she mused.

She suddenly realized that Sasami and Tenchi were looking at her with concern. "Kiyone?" Sasami prompted.

Kiyone started, and looked up. "Yes?"

"Did you want some more rice?" the young princess asked.

"Uh...no, no thanks. I'm not very hungry this morning," Kiyone said.

"Are you okay?" Sasami asked. "You looked a little spaced-out there."

"I'm fine, Sasami," Kiyone said, forcing a smile. "Just fine."

Sasami looked unconvinced, but shrugged and went on about her business. Sipping her tea to calm herself, Kiyone furrowed her brow. *Okay, that's it. I've got to read that file, and soon.* Of course, she realized, she'd have a problem doing that without attracting attention to herself...not to mention the fact that she and Mihoshi had to go to work in an hour. *Hmmm...*

Excusing herself from the table, Kiyone wandered over to the door which appeared to lead to a storage space.

* * * * *

"Ah, good morning, Kiyone," the diminuitive scientist said as the detective entered her lab.

"Good morning, Washuu," Kiyone said. She paused. "I need to ask a small favor, if I may," she said.

Washuu raised an eyebrow. "A favor? Such as?"

Kiyone extracted a small data disc from her pocket. "I've got an important file on this disc," she began, "and I need to go through it as soon as I can. But I've got work in a little while, and I won't be able to get back to the Yagami until tonight."

"And you don't want to wait that long," Washuu said, rubbing her chin. "Must be some file."

"It is," Kiyone said. "So I was wondering...do you happen to have a device I can pass off as a pocket television or something, that I could view this on?"

Washuu snorted. "That's easy enough. I'm assuming that's a standard Galaxy Police data disc?" At Kiyone's nod, Washuu summoned her floating keyboard. After a moment, a small hole opened in midair, and a palm-sized black box shot out of it. Kiyone caught the object and looked at it. It had a fairly large screen for a device its size, a few operational controls, and a disc slot. A cord trailing from the base of the box split into a set of small earbuds.

"You can set it for a holographic display when you're alone; the display will switch off if anyone else comes within range of its proximity sensor," the redhead explained.

"Thanks, Washuu. I owe you one," Kiyone said.

Washuu grinned. "It was nothing, especially for the greatest scientist in the universe!" She cackled.

"You're the greatest, Washuu-chan!" a puppet said as it sprang up over her right shoulder.

"Household electronics are a cinch for you, Washuu-chan!" proclaimed a second puppet, appearing over her left shoulder.

Kiyone sighed. *Does she have to do that EVERY time?* she wondered. "Anyway, I have to be going now. Thanks a bunch, Washuu."

Washuu waved. "Enjoy!"

As soon as the detective exited the lab, Washuu grinned, eyes twinkling mischieviously. "It must indeed be some file. I can't wait to see it for myself." Cackling, she entered a few commands on her floating keyboard.

* * * * *

Kiyone thanked the gods for the blessing of luck they had bestowed upon her. She and Mihoshi had arrived at their current place of Earthly work, and discovered a note taped inside the door. Their employer was ill, and would not be opening shop today.

After convincing Mihoshi to pay a visit to the Masaki residence and hang out with the others for the day (which had taken only a marginal amount of convincing) and assuring her partner that she wanted to catch up on the latest news from Headquarters, Kiyone returned to the apartment and slipped the disc into the reader Washuu had given her.

She pulled up the biographical data section of the file first. A three-dimensional holographic representation of Mihoshi, dressed in the standard Galaxy Police uniform and standing at attention, appeared in midair. She noted a few subtle differences: in this image, in which Mihoshi appeared a few years younger, there was a gleam in the blond detective's eyes which she had never seen before. This gleam spoke of a sharp mind, intelligent and focused. There was also something...feral about her. Savage, even.

There were also a large number of decorations on the young woman's uniform. Commendations, medals, valor awards.

Text flickered into existence next to the slowly rotating image.

KURAMITSU, MIHOSHI

VITAL DATA
DATE OF BIRTH:   JGC 10798.32
PLACE OF BIRTH:  JURAI IMPERIAL GENETIC RESEARCH FACILITY
RACE:            UNCLASSIFIED HUMANOID/ANIMAL HYBRID
SEX:             FEMALE

Kiyone stared at the information which had been listed as 'unknown' in the public copy of the file for a moment before continuing.

CURRENT RANK:            DETECTIVE 1ST CLASS
HIGHEST RANK ACHIEVED:   SPECIAL OPS CAPTURE DIVISION COMMANDER

Kiyone blinked. Several times. "SPECIAL OPS!?" she shouted into the emptiness of the apartment. "And a division commander too..." That hadn't been in the cover summary. She frowned. *This can't be right. But if it is...how did she get busted back down to D1C?*

After a moment, she continued reading. The bio was full of a long list of commendations that Mihoshi had received. Skimming that information with growing astonishment, she finally reached the end of the entry. Her eyes widened.

COMMANDER KURAMITSU CRITICALLY WOUNDED JGC 10817.93 DURING PURSUIT OF
CLASS-A CRIMINAL KOROZON (MISSION SUMMARY "KOROZON")
COMMANDER KURAMITSU FOUND DEAD ON ARRIVAL
COMMANDER KURAMITSU RESUSCITATED; GP MEDICAL DISCOVERED EXTENSIVE
PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE (MEDICAL HISTORY DETAIL FILE)
UPON RECOVERY FROM INJURY, OFFICER DETERMINED TO BE CAPABLE OF LIGHT
DUTY, DEMOTED TO DETECTIVE FIRST CLASS, OPERATIVE STATUS REMOVED
(RANK ADVANCE SUMMARY)
DETECTIVE KURAMITSU ASSIGNED PARTNER: D1C KIYONE MAKIBI
(ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY "GUARDIAN")

Kiyone gasped. *Brain damage...and they kept her on the force?* That explained a lot of things. It also made her wonder what Mihoshi must have been like before...

The last entry in the bio caught her attention. "Guardian?" she mused. After giving that some thought, she decided she'd rather not explore that further at the moment. Especially since she had a pretty good idea what it meant.

She switched the reader off and pondered what she had learned thus far. She thought back to the reason she had originally begun this search for information about her partner's history. She decided it was a safe assumption that whatever Medical wanted with Mihoshi at present, it had something to do with the brain damage she had suffered. She recalled the date on that entry, and frowned. *Five years. It's been five years since that happened.*

She was still having difficulty accepting the information she had just read. It was a bit difficult to believe that her partner had been, of all things, a special operative, then suffered brain damage, and allowed to return to duty as a detective. It didn't add up. She needed some kind of proof that this was factual information.

And she knew just who could obtain that proof.

* * * * *

Kiyone approached the Masaki house with a growing sense of anxiety and trepidation. Ryo-oh-ki ran past her as she neared the house, giving her a brief "miya" by way of greeting before dashing off toward the carrot patch.

Mihoshi lay stretched out on the veranda, napping in the warm afternoon sun. Kiyone looked at the blond sadly. *If it's true...oh, Mihoshi...* Steeling herself, she continued onward.

"Good afternoon, Kiyone!" Sasami greeted.

"Good afternoon, Sasami," Kiyone returned, smiling at the princess. "Is Washuu still in her lab?"

"Where else would she be?" cracked Ryoko, who had just phased through the wall and was making her way outside. Almost as an afterthought, she waved to Kiyone.

"Yeah, she's down there," Sasami nodded.

"Thanks," Kiyone said, as she approached the door to the lab for the second time that day.

* * * * *

Washuu smirked as the door to her lab opened. "Back so soon, Kiyone? Miss my company that much?" she quipped.

"Washuu," Kiyone began hesitantly.

The child-sized scientist's expression turned serious. "What's up?" she asked.

"Washuu, have you ever..." Kiyone began. "I know you have genetic data on all of us. Do you...have medical scans as well?"

Washuu raised an eyebrow. "Medical scans? Not really...why?"

Kiyone was quiet for a long moment. "I'd like to ask a favor," she said.

Washuu smirked. "You're not afraid you're pregnant or something, are you?"

"No, no!" Kiyone blushed. "It's nothing like that!" Gathering herself, she explained, "I was wondering if maybe you could scan Mihoshi. There's something I need to know. It's important."

Washuu's brow furrowed. "Sure," she shrugged. "Tell her to come—"

"I'd rather her not know about it, if you don't mind," Kiyone interrupted.

Washuu's eyebrow reached for the ceiling. "That's not something I'd expect from you, Kiyone," she said.

"I know," Kiyone said, "but it's very important. She's sleeping on the veranda right now...please help me."

Washuu hmmed. "Alright, let me dig up a portable medscanner." *I don't blame her. This, I want to see for myself...*

* * * * *

Several minutes later, Washuu and Kiyone stood in front of a console in the lab. Washuu removed a crystalline cylinder from a device she held and inserted it into a slot on the console. "Let's see what we've got here," she said. Glancing at Kiyone, she added, "It'd save some time if you told me exactly what you're trying to find."

Kiyone hesitated briefly. "An analysis of Mihoshi's brain."

"Didn't think she had one," the scientist quipped. Seeing an uncharacteristic scowl cross Kiyone's face, she shrugged and entered a command into the console. The screen above them came to life, displaying a close view of Mihoshi's head, which faded into a silhouette. A three-dimensional representation of her skull appeared briefly, before fading to reveal the core of her nervous system. Four different views of the brain appeared on the screen, along with a series of chemical analysis readings and tissue analysis data.

Washuu frowned at the display. "Well. This is odd."

"What is it?" Kiyone asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

Washuu shook her head in amazement. "She shouldn't even be ALIVE, Kiyone. More than forty percent of her brain is scar tissue." She gestured at the various scans. "The damage is widespread...there's scarring in almost every region of the brain. No wonder she's...the way she is. She shouldn't even be able to walk in this condition."

"So it's true..." Kiyone said. "It's all true..."

"Wait a minute..." Washuu said suddenly. She began tapping at the controls furiously, causing the multiple views of Mihoshi's brain to zoom in, down to almost the cellular level. Wildly flickering readouts accompanied the new visuals. Washuu raised an eyebrow. "Well."

Kiyone stared uncomprehendingly at the readouts. "What? What's going on, Washuu?"

Washuu turned to regard the detective with an unreadable expression. "The scar tissue in the di—in Mihoshi's head...it's regenerating."

"Regenerating?" Kiyone echoed.

Washuu nodded, turning back to the readouts. "That's right. Impossible as it may seem, this brain is repairing itself. And—" She paused to manipulate the controls again, and blinked. "I don't believe it." She stared at the display. "That should not be possible. Not at all."

"What shouldn't?"

"As you know," Washuu lectured, "the brain is the body's control center and its data storage area. Memories, things learned, voluntary and involuntary muscle control...it's all in the brain.

"When brain tissue is damaged, there may be loss of some of this data. Whatever is lost can be re-learned, and stored elsewhere in the brain, in many cases, but once brain tissue is damaged, whatever was there is lost. It doesn't come back on its own."

She gestured up at the display screen. "But somehow, if what these readings are telling me is true, the regenerated tissues in Mihoshi's brain are being fully restored. They're not blank, like they should be. Whatever was in there before..." she paused. "Is there again now."

Kiyone blinked. "Is that why they want her to come in...? I wonder..."

Washuu summoned her floating keyboard and entered a few commands. Kiyone stared as the cover page of Mihoshi's file appeared. "How did you—?"

Washuu gave her a look.

Kiyone sighed. "Right, stupid question."

Washuu patted her on the shoulder. "We'd better get started, Kiyone." With a few taps of the floating keyboard, the two women delved into the file...

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Author's Notes

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Since 12/30/12