"Hold it right there"
I freeze in the hallway of the Headquarters medical unit at the sound of a stern voice.
"What are you doing here, Anri?" Shiori's voice reaches me from behind and my shoulders sag with a sigh.
"Couldn't I ask you the same thing? What's an intelligence engineer doing down here?" I return, choosing not to turn around so she doesn't see the packs of painkillers and bloodied uniform in my hands.
"Great. You're deflecting my question which means you're hiding something" I hear her footsteps rapidly approaching me so I turn around, keeping my hands behind my back.
"Just picking up some pills for a headache" I shrug "It's nothing special"
"A headache?" She echoes, nodding to herself.
"Yep" I reply "But you know what it's like working here, nose to the grindstone, so I'd better get going--"
"Not so fast" She says, grasping me by the shoulder with an ambiguous smile "We're so busy we barely get to see each other anymore. Shoma has been asking about you"
"Oh, right...I'll drop by sometime" I say hesitantly, unable to read the emotions behind her sweet smile as she grasps me tighter.
"I'll tell him, he'll be pleased to see you...well I'd better be going if there's nothing else you have to tell me—hug?"
"Wai-"
I'm about to put my hand against her chest to stop her, but her arms are around me before even I—a government trained operative—can stop her. I bite my lip, letting out a little squeak of air as she tightens her grip.
"That's nice, isn't it? Really makes up for how long it's been since we've had some quality time together" She says, meaningfully, patting me on the back. Every impact forces a whoosh of pained breath out of me.
"Y-yes—so, nice" I manage to say and Shiori breathes a satisfied sigh before holding me away from her and darting a hand out to poke me in the side of my ribs.
"Fucking—! Ow, ow!" I say as I double over and Shiori's consequent laugh is proof that she wasn't fooled for a second.
Typical.
"How many ribs did you crack?" She asks, and when i straighten up I see her looking at me through narrowed eyes behind her glasses, arms folded expectantly.
"Do you think it was hard to tell? I've worked here for long enough to know what it looks like, so answer me, Anri. Or tell another lie, just know I've probably heard them all" She prompts me, tapping her foot impatiently.
"...two" I reluctantly concede before she runs her finger over the freshly healing wound on my face.
"And this?"
"I stopped a knifepoint mugging"
"You expect me to believe a regular thief got a hit on you?" She asks dubiously.
"What can I say? clearly the common thief trains these days" I say, turning my face away as Shiori's hand falls.
"Does Tadaomi know about all of this?" She questions me, her fringe of black hair practically covering her glasses with how furrowed her brow is.
"What do you think? Nobody watches me closer than him" Apart from Asaoka apparently, I think to myself.
"You say that like it's a bad thing. Has it ever occurred to you that people watch you that closely because they care about you and want to help you?" She tells me and i wish she knew the problems that people watching me has caused me lately.
YOU ARE READING
To Kill For the Truth (BOOK 1)
Fanfiction~ "That's the problem here. You say you want the truth as if it means the same thing to you as it does to me, but there's a big difference here. I'll kill for the truth" ~ Anri Matsuoka had spent her whole life knowing what she was good at. Killing...
