Minako felt like a super spy.

A glamorous, gorgeous, sexy undercover super spy in a fabulous party. The theme song of Mission Impossible played in her head as she stepped onto the stairs leading toward the museum entrance in a golden Grecian style dress courtesy of her Crescent Compact’s disguise. Her usually straight hair was styled in an elegant wave, making her look much older than her age. She only regretted the fact that the compact could not create a stylish car or limousine for her to step out from to complete the scene. (She asked Artemis if he had any such magical device that could produce one. He just stared at her judgingly.)

Minako made her way inside, and after a couple minutes she spotted Saito. Ooh, he cleans up nicely. She decided she definitely liked him in a suit, and not a lot of guys could pull off a white suit when they weren’t at a wedding without looking like a douche, but white was certainly Saito’s color.

Deciding to play a little game and see how good of a detective he was, she did not immediately approach him and tell him who she was. Instead, she casually walked by, grabbing a drink from a passing tray, and threw him a smile when their eyes met.

As soon as she walked in, Saito's gaze fell on her, and he froze in place. Who was this woman in the golden, sleeveless dress? Her blonde hair, her blue eyes, the smile she sent his way... It was all familiar. This could not have been the first time they met. Something in the back of his mind recognized her, like an instinct or faded memory. 

He could picture her in a moonlit courtyard in an outfit so similar to the one she wore now. Her eyes were harder, more jaded, but they seemed to soften for him...

"Saito, you alright?" A hand touched his shoulder, and he fell back to reality. A broad shouldered man with wavy brown hair that fell beyond his shoulder was beside him, blue eyes watching him with a mix of concern and amusement. "I've seen men space out over women before, but you were on another planet," Nao said, smiling at him. Saito tore his gaze away from her, regaining his stoic demeanor. 

"I thought I knew her, that's all." 

"Well if you're going to use my museum to catch this thief guy, try not to get lost in someone else's eyes, alright?" Nao slapped his shoulder and grabbed a drink for himself. "So where's your partner?"

The fish has caught the bait.

Minako smiled in amusement as she noticed Saito’s eyes following her. The next time she glanced at him again, she noticed another man had joined him. This one also looked like a more grown up version of one of the boys from his picture. Hmm. He had friends in all the places, it seemed.

Deciding she had had her fun, Minako walked slowly toward the two guys, before pausing in front of them just in time to answer Saito’s friend’s question.

“Right here.” She winked at Saito. “Guess my disguise was just too good, huh? I admit, I don’t dress up much.” Which was a pity, considering she was really turning heads in this dress. Maybe she should crash more of these prestigious social events.

“So, have you got a visual on The Ghost yet?” she asked Saito, raising an eyebrow. “Get it? Phantom—ghost—hey, we should have agreed on cool code names before we got here.”

The Golden Venus has landed. Yesssssh. That sounds good.

Saito looked genuinely surprised before fixing his expression again. No wonder he had recognized then then, it was just Sailor V. Yet he still found himself disappointed, as if she should have been someone else. But who was he even looking for in the first place? He could have sworn he saw Nao's eyes glint when he made the connection, and he braced himself for his incoming comment.

"Ah, so this is your new partner, no wonder you didn't mention her before!" Nao said, elbowing him. "Is the department trying to set you up now?"

"It's just for this case..." Saito explained. He refrained from rolling his eyes at Sailor V codename idea. "We're police, not the Prime Minister's guards. We shouldn't need code names." 

"You're too serious sometimes. Lighten up, will you?" Nao picked up a drink from a nearby platter. "You're gonna strain something at age 30 if you don't." Saito shook his head.

"No, no one's reported anyone that matches Ace's description, and I haven't seen him either. If he's here, he didn't come through a main entrance."

"Maybe traffic's bad," Nao said, glancing at his watch with a slight frown. "My girlfriend said she'd be here 20 minutes ago, so maybe you're thief is stuck downtown. Tokyo gets pretty congested at night."

Minako should have known Saito would be a buzzkill. “But it makes it more fun. I bet you don’t have a lot of fun in your line of work.”

And then as if on cue, his friend chimed in about how serious he was, and Minako grinned at him. “Thank you. If you won’t listen to me, at least listen to him.” She winked at his friend. “Detective Akemi Hoshino, at your service.”

She glanced back at the guests, trying to scan for Ace’s build and hair color. He wore a mask, so it wasn’t as if it was easy to identify him on sight. Even face recognition software would be useless. “All we’ve got is his vague description… without a face, this is going to be hard. He could be anyone.”

She looked at Saito’s friend, a bit disappointed to hear him mention a girlfriend. Well, she supposed someone with that hair couldn’t possibly be single. He seemed more her type than Zakari, though.

“Somehow I find it hard to imagine Ace stuck in traffic. He’s an expert in eluding obstacles.” She kept an eye on the centerpiece of this exhibit. It was protected under a glass case equipped with an alarm and right in the middle of the room where everyone could see it. If Ace was going to do some sleight of hand... he would make a distraction for sure. Or turn off the lights or something.

She mustn’t let her sight leave the watch.

"Nice to meet you, Detective. I'm Nao Mitsugi, the museum curator," Nao said, returning her greeting. Saito shook his head at their antics, and his silver eyes moved form person to person, hoping to recognize one of them as the thief. But would he dare show his face at such a public event? He was expecting some kind of sneak attack at this point, or were they just being lured into a false sense of security. 

"He's biding his time..." Saito said. That kind of strategy might have worked on someone else, but he had no intentions of dozing off or relaxing until the night was over. Either Ace would realize that and just make his attempt already, or he wouldn't show up at all. "But he won't miss this event. There's too much publicity at stake."

"Who are you talking about? Is someone else late too?" Nao's eyes brightened as he turned to watch a tall young woman with long brown hair a few shades lighter than his own approach them. Her eyes were green, and she wore a set of rose earrings with her formal black dress.

"Mako-chan!" he said, enthusiastically enough to cause her to blush. "I was wondering if I would have to go out and get you myself."

"Have some patience, Nao-kun," she said, attempting to scold him, but she smiled back at him anyway. Saito rolled his eyes at his friend's behavior as he continued to embarrass and flatter his girlfriend at the same time, already used to the display. 

"Detective Saito, it's nice to see you again," Makoto said to him, and then turned to Minako. "And who's this?" 

"This is my current partner, Detective Hoshino," he answered smoothly.

She noted Saito’s friend’s name and how he’d certainly done well for himself just like that reclusive Zakari. Now that she’d seen two of his friends and where they were at in life currently, the fact that Saito was just a detective made her wonder if he was the underachiever of the group. Or maybe the noble one, dedicating his life for service rather than personal gain.

At the sound of a familiar voice, Minako turned, and was quite shocked when she recognized the woman approaching them. Makoto?!

Mako was one of her friends—the few people who knew her identity both as Minako and Sailor V—and had always been a blessing when Minako came home late from crime fighting and was too lazy to even make a bowl of instant noodle. In those days she’d sometimes crash in Mako’s apartment instead of going home, and it was really convenient that Mako lived alone too, so she could drop by at all hours without suspicion from anyone else. Mako had been kind of her primary feeder and caretaker for a while now since Minako moved out of her parents’ house.

She blinked when Mako looked at her and did not recognize her, but then remembered her disguise. That was just as well, since as much as Minako loved Mako, Mako was kind of a terrible liar. Her poker face was nonexistent, and there’d be too many questions that Minako didn’t want to answer right now. So she put on her best smile and extended her hand.

“You may call me Akemi,” she said cheerfully. “It’s very nice to meet the lucky girl. I’ve only known Mitsugi-san for five minutes and he’s already charmed me.”

She felt a tad unsettled that Mako was here, but hopefully whatever happened with Ace, nobody would get hurt.

Completely unaware of Minako's disguise, Makoto smiled back at her and shook her hand. "He does have that sort of effect," she said. After exchanging a few more words as the exhibit was setting up, Makoto went to get refreshments. 

And then the lights flickered out, blanketing the hall in darkness. Saito tensed as the guests around him gasped and started talked nervously among themselves. 

"He's here...." Saito said to Sailor V. He opened up his jacket and pulled out a flashlight, flicking it on. He turned the beam towards where the watch was displayed, only for it to land on an empty glass case. Saito cursed under his breath.

"The Phantom Thief has the pocket watch!" he relayed to the officers outside with his radio. Before Kunzite could run off towards the door, he heard a scuffle somewhere, and then the sound of someone hitting the tiled floor, glass shattering. Nao grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wait until the generator kicks in..." Not long after he spoke, there was a low hum, and the hall was illuminated with dimmer emergency lights. Halfway to the exit was Makoto, clearly upset as she stood over a white haired man on the ground wearing a mask, cradling his cheek from the punch he had just taken. Next to them was a broken drink glass and Zakari's locket.

As she had expected, Ace turned off the lights of the museum. Minako felt smug for predicting his move for once, sure that this time they were going to be one step ahead of him. Saito fished out a flashlight quickly, but by the time its beam landed on the glass case displaying the watch, it was already gone.

Damn. Ace sure moved fast. She headed for the doors, but then she heard a thud and a crash. She froze, wondering if Ace was still here after all. Had someone gotten hurt?

The next moment, emergency lights came on, and Minako was surprised to see Mako standing over what looked to be Ace. Had Mako punched and taken down Ace in the dark?! Minako was going to have to comment on that badassery when this was all over.

She dashed toward them and jumped to pounce on top of Ace with the intent of pinning him to the ground. I’ve really gotten you now, Ace!

Ace panicked when he saw Minako coming, though he didn't recognize her either. He rolled out of the way, grabbed the pocket watch, and flipped back onto his feet before running for the door. He made sure to not make the mistake of trying to push past Makoto again.

"Don't let him get away!" Saito said, and the door guards stepped in front of the exit, only to watch as he turned into another hallway instead.

"He's going to the emergency exit!" Nao said, and Saito turned to pursue the man, assuming Sailor V would follow. But by the time he got to the back doors, they were wide open.

"We'll have to use the tracking device..." Saito dug out the old cellphone and handed it to her. "Here, I parked my motorcycle nearby, we can follow him to wherever he's going to hide, but we can't let him get too far or the signal will get too faint."

In as many times within a couple days, Minako pounced on the elusive Phantom Ace only to grab air. Well, the first time she grabbed Saito, but that was irrelevant. That time he had disappeared like the annoying phantom he was, too. She couldn’t believe she didn’t get him. No one had ever managed to elude Sailor V this long! The fact that she was wearing a dress and untransformed should not have been relevant. And then he got the pocket watch, to boot. She was glad Artemis wasn’t here to witness this embarrassment.

The slippery phantom went for the door but then swerved toward another hallway. Minako rushed to follow behind Saito, but he wasn’t fast enough either. Cursing under her breath, she accepted the phone and activated the tracking program. “Okay, looks like he’s heading north. There are some old warehouses up there; could be his lair.”

Minako glanced at her dress and almost cursed again. No way she could be expected to fight like this. As she ran behind Saito toward his motorcycle, she cried, “Moon Power, Transform!” and shifted into Sailor V without breaking her pace.

It was the second time he had witnessed Sailor V's "magical" (he refused to acknowledge magic as an actual thing) costume change, but he still couldn't figure out how she did it. Nevertheless, he got to his motorcycle without incident, waited for her to get on behind him, and followed her directions. He knew how to get to the warehouse district from here...

"Hold on tightly," Saito warned her, before he flipped his helmet visor down and turned on his police siren. The engine revved as he pealed out of the lot and made a hard turn into traffic. As soon as he straightened out, he picked up speed, using his siren and smaller vehicle to weave through cars as they headed north. He usually wasn't one to break speed limits or pull any reckless motorcycle maneuvers, but they couldn't afford to fall behind Ace now...

Well. This was rather thrilling.

If they weren’t chasing a criminal right now—actually, scratch that. The whole chasing criminal bit definitely added to it—Minako would feel like she was in a movie. Holding on to an admittedly handsome detective while she rode on his motorcycle, swerving in and out of traffic while clearly ignoring speed limits. She was in an actual chase!

This time Ace wouldn’t elude her anymore, though. He had evaded her for the last time!

She continued monitoring the tracer, making sure they were following it closely and shouting the directions to Saito. At last, it stopped, and they arrived at the place where the dot remained unmoving.

“This is it,” she announced as she climbed off the motorcycle and turned toward the building in front of them. “He should be in there. Or at least the tracer is. How should we approach this? Did you call for back up? I want to make sure we cover all possible exits so he has nowhere to go.”

"I just have to confirm our position, and there should be officers on the way," Saito said, parking his motorcycle. They were so close, and he had no intentions of messing up now and letting their thief slip away. He pulled out his walkie-talkie and double checked the address before reciting it back to the police station. 

"They'll take ten minutes to get here, we just need to make sure he doesn't slip away before that." Tucking the walkie talkie away, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun.

"We should confirm he's still in there and stall for time if we can." Saito looked at the huge, worn down warehouse. If this was really Ace's home base, who knew what was inside. "But we should take it slowly. it's possible that he could have the entire building trapped just in case he was trailed."

Ten minutes. Sure, they could hold Ace for ten minutes. They would have probably had him tied up by then. Otherwise, she could not call herself Sailor V anymore.

She didn’t really like this stalling plan, her fingers already itching to catch Ace for real, but Saito made a good point about traps. She nodded and pointed to the front door. “How about you go through the front, and I’ll go around back. If I find any other entrances on the way, I’ll let you know. Hey, do you have an extra walkie-talkie or something so we can communicate?”

He opened up a compartment in his motorcycle to look for something, and handed her a small radio, one that looked like a clunky cellphone with an antenna.

"This one is a spare I keep in case of emergencies, but it should still work fine," Saito said. He hesitated before speaking again. "Be careful in there..." There was no sarcasm in his tone. Phantom Ace had fooled them both before, so it was very possible that he could do it again and blindside her. And if he wasn't there to back her up... He shook the dark thought from his mind.

"Just...don't get overconfident. Use the radio if you think you're in over your head."

V tested the radio Saito handed her, and once she established that it was indeed working, she nodded at him. “You, too,” she replied with a smile. She wasn’t used to working with a partner, but it actually felt nice knowing there was someone else who could have her back. For all her life Minako had only ever been alone with only Artemis as her back up, and as well-meaning as he was, he was just a cat. In a life and death situation there wasn’t much he could do, and she had had to rely on herself almost 90% of the time. The idea of someone else helping, let alone saving her had long become just an impossible, foolish hope.

She left Saito and went to the back of the warehouse, gripping the radio in one hand and her Crescent Compact on the other. This time, she was the one who would catch Ace off guard for sure. Cautiously she searched for a door and tried the handle, being as quiet as she could manage.

Saito tested the handle of the front door, and to his suspicion, it creaked open. It wasn't even locked... Was their Phantom Thief just careless, or was this some kind of set up for an ambush? He didn't have much of a choice but to keep going anyway, if only to confirm that Ace was still inside. Despite his instincts screaming not to go, Saito pressed on.

The warehouse was dark as he walked in, and the walls were covered in tall metal shelves, though they were mostly empty. The only things being stored now were abandoned crates and dust, until Ace had moved in. So far there were no signs of life, but Saito spotted a staircase to go to the upper catwalks.

"I'm going to check out the upper floor..." he said through the radio, before climbing up. 

______________________________________

The front door opened for Sailor V, showing her a dark hallway that led to a larger open space with a few boxes scattered around.

“Copy that,” she whispered into the radio as she pushed the door—suspiciously unlocked. She immediately wished she had brought a flashlight when she saw how dark it was. There was no sign of Ace yet, but the watch was definitely here… had he figured out it was tracked and got rid of the tracker? She certainly hoped not. That thing was expensive.

“Not much activity down here, how about there?” she asked, still keeping her voice low. She moved slowly, so as not to bump into things in the dark and alert Ace of her presence. Her heart felt as if it was beating loud enough to be heard in the stillness, but she was sure that was just her imagination.

"Nothing here either, but I'll keep looking..." Saito said, before cutting off his radio again. But it would be difficult to find evidence of a single man hiding in a place this large. They'd just have to keep looking... His boots made a quiet but prominent clanging sound as he walked on the metal catwalk, and he took care to move as slowly as possible to minimize the noise. 

When the path he had been following took him over a large gap, he stopped and looked down at the first floor from a new vantage point. He strained to make out the dim figure moving below, and identified the blonde hair and red tie that was Sailor V. But just as he was about to tell her he could see her, a second shadow moved closer. His hand was about to click the radio to warn her, but he stopped himself.

If that really was Ace approaching, then Saito was better off watching from here where he had the upper hand. He could cover Sailor V from this catwalk without giving away his own position and spoiling their ambush. He drew his gun, got on one knee to make himself harder to spot, and took careful aim.

_____________________________________________

"So you've found my base," a familiar voice said from behind Sailor V. Phantom Ace seemed to melt out of the shadows, and a playing card was in between his fingers. He tossed the card up, and caught it again. The pocket watch dangled on a chain, attached to the belt loop of his pants. "You're a bit more competent than when we met in the alley, I'm impressed."

V could almost literally feel her blood running cold when she heard Ace’s voice behind her. How could he get the drop on her? Again?

She whipped around, her Crescent Compact in one hand, the radio in the other. Something stopped her from alerting Saito right away, though she had no idea what it was. The desire to spend a few minutes alone with Ace after chasing him for so long only to meet ghosts and shadows, maybe? Her gaze fell upon the pocket watch, glad to see it still intact and on his person.

“Don’t underestimate me,” she said in barely suppressed annoyance. “I found your lair, didn’t you? Now how about we stop playing games? We’ve called backup and the place is surrounded by police. You might as well give up now.”

"Oh, so you're working with the police now?" Ace barely concealed a smirk. "Honestly, I just don't understand your reasoning sometimes, Sailor V." He shook his head. "I've been...keeping tabs on you for a long time, and I've realized something. You aren't truly happy doing this, are you? You have all this power at your disposal, yet you do charity work with a mask over your face." Ace walked towards her, no fear in his eyes as he continued to speak.

"You're beautiful, a shining jewel, yet you'll never get any fame or recognition. You toil in silence for these thankless people, and receive nothing tangible in return. A pointless struggle. But if you just... joined me, I could give you anything in the world. Anything you desire." He was so close that he could touch her now as he let his offer sink in. 

"All the trinkets, money, and adoration you crave. You can be anything you want, even an Idol, and all you have to do is stop being the good guy. "Heroes" don't get anything in the end. So what do you say? How about you dump that sucker of a cop you've been saddled with and come with me?" 

Ace held his hand out for her to take, staring at her as if she meant the whole world to him.

She narrowed her eyes at him as he said he’d been keeping tabs on her. His words hit a nerve, though she tried not to show her surprise. Was she happy doing this? Or did it feel like an obligation that she never asked for?

“I… I’m famous,” she countered, but even she knew that was weak. Nobody knew who was behind the mask. That wasn’t the kind of fame she wanted and yearned.

And if she were to continue being a soldier of justice, she would never have the time to pursue her actual dreams. And all those lonely nights spent tending to her wounds alone, feeling so lonely and miserable with only Artemis as her company…

His every word echoed the thoughts deep inside her, thoughts that she never gave voice to or entertain for more than a few miserable minutes. It’s the right thing to do. If not me, who else?

Join him? She blinked at the unexpected offer. An idol. Fame. Everything she wanted.

But… stop being the good guy? Was she okay with that?

She couldn’t help but picture Artemis’ disappointed face.

She stared at his outstretched hand, then to his eyes, looking at her the way no one had looked at her. How had he known her so well? How could he figure out her deepest darkest secrets?

“Who are you?” she whispered, even as she unconsciously stepped closer.

"Let's just say that we've met before," Ace said, lowering his voice to barely a whisper. "Long ago. But fate has brought us together once again, and this time, you don't have to be a slave to your duty. You don't owe these people anything." There was barely any space between them now, and Ace's body was now blocking Sailor V from view.



From the catwalk, all Saito could see was them talking, but he couldn't hear a word of it. Was Sailor V trying to stall for time? Or was something else going on? The Phantom Thief held a hand out to her, and Saito watched, transfixed as Sailor V stepped closer to him. 

Were they... working together? Saito felt something inside of him snap when he realized what was going on. And to think that he had actually begun to trust her... He would have laughed at his own naivety if he could. He pointed his gun, flipped off the safety, and fired.

Ace jerked away from Sailor V when he heard the gun go off. The wall behind him was dented with a bullet, and he looked up to the catwalk to see a figure hop off the railing and land on a stack of boxes. Saito climbed down to the ground floor with relative speed, and pointed his gun at Ace again. 

"Don't move," he said. He didn't even look at Minako.

They’ve met before? Minako didn’t understand what he meant. She certainly hadn’t recognized him, though maybe if he got rid of his mask…? She tried to look at the man behind the façade, the one who claimed to know her better than herself. No longer be a slave to my duty…

Tempting thoughts swayed her, but then a shot in the dark broke the spell. V jumped back and instinctively ducked down for cover, looking up toward the direction where the bullet came from. Saito!

He moved with seemingly impossible speed, and suddenly he was in front of them, his gun aimed at Ace.

How long had he been up there? Did he hear them talking? Did he see how she was on the verge of forgetting her duty for freedom? Guilt weighed in her chest as she looked back and forth between the two men.

“Don’t shoot him,” she pleaded. She needed to know more about what he meant. About how they knew each other long ago.

She glanced at the bullet embedded on the wall behind where Ace had been. Had that been a warning shot, or did Saito mean to aim for Ace? Police officers weren’t supposed to shoot unless the suspect was also armed, right?

“Ace, just… return the watch and come with us,” she added to the Phantom Thief. “No one needs to get hurt.”

"Why? Because you're attached to him?" Saito said dryly. His gun never wavered from Ace. "I won't shoot this scum if her cooperates, that was to get his attention." That was what he was telling himself, anyway. He couldn't be jealous of some egotistical thief. 

Ace smiled at Saito, though his hands were up in what looked like surrender. 

"Well aren't you high strung today, officer? You think you have me cornered." Ace glanced at Sailor V. "Don't worry about my safety, I wouldn't let a brute with a gun keep us apart for long. But for now..." He winked at her and slowly reached for his belt. The watch was unhooked in one smooth motion, and he tossed it at Saito.

Saito was forced to let go of his gun to catch it before it hit his face, and by the time he looked up again, the Phantom Thief was gone. With a growl, Saito flipped his gun's safety back on and shoved it into his holster. 

"Flirting with the enemy," he said, his silver eyes staring at Sailor V accusingly. "Just when I thought you weren't some kid playing hero, you stoop that low! I should have known better..."

Her head whipped toward Saito in surprise at his accusation. “What are you even talking about?” she demanded, hurt that he would even think that.

Still, she was flustered when Ace began to talk to her as if they were lovers or something. Her gaze followed his hand as it traveled down, then grabbed the watch and returned it to them. As Saito was distracted with catching the watch, Ace somehow managed to vanish like magic. She cursed as, once again, he slipped through their fingers. How did he keep doing that?

When Saito spoke again, with outright accusation this time, she bristled. “I wasn’t flirting with him! Did you even hear what we were talking about? He was trying to tell me something about his identity. Admit it; you never viewed me as more than an incompetent girl who’s playing dress up, have you?”

She huffed in annoyance and walked back toward the entrance, angry with both Saito and herself. She did let her guard down a little earlier. She should have just captured him immediately, instead of listening to his words. How could she even know he was telling the truth? Maybe he was trying to manipulate her.

But then… how did he know so much about her? And why did her heart ache when she thought about his words?

Saito didn't respond to Sailor V, his teeth grit as he fought to control himself again. There was no point in having an argument in an empty warehouse. They needed to inform the Chief about their failed mission.

It was a long, awkward, drive back to police headquarters, though Saito didn't say anything else to provoke Sailor V further, too busy stewing in his own head. And after their noticeably tense debriefing session, he left the station alone. He needed to drop Zakari's pocket watch back off to its rightful owner. At least he had gotten it back. Saito wasn't sure he could forgive himself if he lost something so valuable to his friend. It was early in the morning when Saito pulled up to his apartment. The sun wasn't even up yet as he fumbled for his keys to get the door, and his lack of sleep combined with his mind still being preoccupied with the failed mission made him unaware of the shadow trailing him.

Before he could react, a piece of cloth was pressed over his mouth from behind, and he collapsed from the fumes.
_____________________________________________

Later that morning, General Sakurada waited in her office for Minako and Saito to arrive. Phantom Thief Ace might have slipped away again, but they had to keep trying to catch him. Though it was odd that Detective Saito wasn't back at the station. It was unlike him to be late, judging by his records...

Minako came to the police station that morning still fuming about what happened yesterday. She thought she was finally getting along with Saito. She thought he’d started looking at her as a capable warrior of justice, someone competent who was reliable and could work just as well as the police. It wasn’t that she cared about his opinion, exactly, but…

She realized now that she had sort of been trying to prove herself to him. She had wanted him to see her a certain way, had wanted to impress him. Everything she’d done since she’d been assigned to work with him had been—indirectly—to show how capable Sailor V was to him. And she thought she never cared whether he liked her or not. Of course, she cared about her reputation, but Saito was… he was judgmental and infuriating and she didn’t care about him, so she shouldn’t care about his opinion either.

But now that she knew he thought she was fraternizing—no, flirting—with the enemy, it endlessly bothered her. So much so that she felt like a ball of anxiety as she entered Natsuna’s office.

She half expected Saito to be there already—more punctual than she was, just to show her up as usual—but was surprised when he wasn’t.

“Where’s your best officer?” she asked Natsuna, a hint of saltiness in her voice—couldn’t be helped.

Natsuna looked confused by Sailor V's change in tone, but didn't ask if anything was wrong. 

"I was about to ask you the same thing, actually. He didn't show up for work this morning. In fact, no one has seen him since debriefing last night." Just where could he be? He couldn't possibly be skipping work, not in the middle of an important case. The door swung open, and a desk officer burst in, an envelope in his hand. 

"General!" he said, panting slightly. "Someone dropped off this letter on the front steps, and it's addressed to you!" 

"What?" Natsuna's eyes hardened, and she strode over to take it from him. She tore the letter open and pulled out a folded piece of paper and a single photo. She gasped when she realized what she was looking at.

"It-it appears we have a hostage situation..." she said, turning the photo around for Sailor V to look at. It was Saito, in the same clothes he'd been in last night, but in a darkened warehouse. He was tied to a steel support beam, and his eyes were closed. Whether he was sleeping or worse was impossible to tell. General Sakurada unfolded the letter and read it carefully.

"The Phantom Thief wants you to meet him at the warehouse you cornered him in yesterday...alone. If any police officers enter, Detective Saito... may not survive."