International Airport

She decided once more that she hated flying. The flight had been eleven hours and she was sore all over. She was annoyed at the fact that she ended up in Japan, a place that she did not know how to walk around in and hadn't been there since her young childhood. The weather very different from Los Angeles, it was windier and the sun was missing something she felt that she would miss most of all of Los Angeles.

She waited annoyed at the fact that she had to pick up her luggage and as she tugged it along towards the visitor area she felt she needed a heavy dose of coffee. She let out another yawn and tugged the paper out of her pocket.



She sighed and looked around wondering just what stranger was going to pick her up.

Near stood uncomfortably with Rester, who held up a sign so that A would find them easier. He twiddled his hair, an unreadable expression on his face; he hadn't seen her in years, and was unsure of exactly how the new work arrangement would work. Not to mention the fact that, as a child, he'd always had a slight crush on her, and was unsure if these feelings still stood or not.

She hated the airport. Within the visitors area she knew that there were people covered in bacteria, mysterious colds and worst of all emotional people. Now, she didn't really push away emotions, but honestly sobbing was not something she usually saw as a necessity in her life.

And as she tugged her luggage she looked around at the signs. She wrinkled her nose, for a second not believing she would be one of those people. Those people looking at the signs and having people waiting for her.

The moment she saw the sign, she realized just who she was working under. She forced herself not to show much disappointment as she saw who was waiting for her. This tall blonde figure was not someone she was used to working with. She was working with a stranger. She sighed and walked towards him, oblivious to the fact that behind him was the real boss.

He looked her over as she approached, recognizing her almost immediately despite the differences in her appearance from the time that had lapsed since their last meeting. He watched as Rester greeted her and took some of her things to assist in carrying her, twiddling his fingers in his hair as he wondered when she was going to notice he was there.

She blinked at the way he acted, as if he was merely a servant.

"Thank you" she murmured.

As he moved she saw someone that she hadn't seen in years. She remembered him clearly. Near. Near was someone she had always known in her childhood, at least by sight. He was not much of a talker, but he was always someone to watch as he would be the successor.

"Hello" she whispered.

She didn't know just why she felt uncomfortable, but she did, and so she reacted as she usually did, she became somewhat reserved.

Near had been watching a young couple in a waiting area amuse their young son with an action figure of some sort, and been trying to recall whether or not he had that particular figure or not when his attention was pulled back to Angel, who'd finally noticed him.
"Hello, A." he responded, nodding to her slightly.

She realized that it was really a return to the most intense part of her life. She disliked becoming a letter, she had avoided that for years replacing that with normalcy.

She looked at him, really looked at him. From the top of his white curly hair, to his white...socks? She wrinkled her nose wondering just how clean that would be, but she didn't want to comment on that.

"You haven't changed I see."

"I may not have changed, but it appears at least on the exterior, you have." he responded, letting his eyes wander back over to the young boy with the action figure.

She raised her brow wondering just when had he noticed anything about her. Sure it had been around ten years, but she never really realized he even really noticed her.

"What are you.."

She followed his gaze and soon she landed on the small boy. She wondered why Near had such a fascination with the stranger but as she landed on the bright colored toy, she let out a sigh. Once Rester returned he told her the car was ready.

"Well..I'll be in the car and hope that the real boss is in there. For I would hate to work for a man still fascinated with toys after all those years"

She shook her head and walked with her hand bag. He was nineteen and still fascinated with those damned toys. She wrinkled her nose and briefly wondered just how bad Wammy had affected her and if it was bad as Near obviously had.

He wound one strand of hair around his index finger, deciding that he did indeed have the action figure he'd been studying, and turned to follow the others out to the parking lot. He didn't really understand why Angel had gotten so annoyed with him so quickly, he hadn't said hardly anything to her yet.

Just her luck. Honestly, could L be any more frustrating than ever. She had worked hard on her own, working on cases in Los Angeles. Here in Kanto she felt like she was going back to square one. Back to the bottom of the pyramid and she now had to work under a child. No matter how much older he was than her, he was still a child. She couldn't believe that she was screwed over once more.

"This is why I work alone" she murmured.

She was reconsidering her decision of followed L's orders. She only did it because she was being trailed. She wasn't stupid, so getting on L's bad side was not a good thing, he was a manipulator and she would play along only for now. She would rather be a pawn in this game, than a puppet out in the world.

She looked the other side not wanting to really notice him as he slipped in. She didn't want to deal with him, nor respect him, for he had not earned any of that from his current actions. The only persons she truly respected was L and Soar, both whom she admired greatly, specifically Soar for being a woman in the higher ranks of the organization.

Near paid no notice to the fact that Angel was still ignoring him, instead, he had begun to ponder other things, staring out the window as the car pulled away.

She thought about how this had to be the most awkward moment of her life. The quiet made not only her uncomfortable but Rester as well. He looked back many times wondering just why it was so quiet.

She looked around the car trying to entertain herself. She knew this was going to be a hard couple of months.

Oblivious to the fact that Angel was likely quite uncomfortable, Near continued to look out the window, waiting for the headquarters to come into view. He himself was much more comfortable now in the privacy of a car than he had been in the crowded airport.

She wondered if the work load was this quiet. She wouldn't like that, she thought to herself, and decided that if he was going to be quiet, then she was going to make noise.

"Excuse me, but what should I call you?" she asked Rester.

"Rester miss."

She let out a smile realizing that not all of the people working would be so stiff.

"Lovely to meet you" she murmured.

He paid no notice to the small talk going on around him, instead focused deeply on his own thoughts.
It wasn't until the base came into view that he made any sound at all.
"We've arrived." he announced.

She admitted that Rester seemed friendly enough. He had admitted that there were more people in the organization other than Near and himself. He was honest and blunt and she admittedly liked it.

She was admittedly surprised that Near interrupted their small talk, but as she looked out of the building, she saw the building she could be dealing with as her second home.

"Huh" was all she could really utter.

She didn't have much to say with the building, it wasn't too luxurious as L had once made her live in, but she supposed it would do.

He wasn't sure what sort of reaction her simple phrase of "huh" had been, but he didn't let it bother him, and resumed looking out of the window until the car had passed all the security measures and come to a stop.

As the car stopped, she slipped out and walked over to her luggage only for it to be carried by Rester himself. She looked towards Near and wondered if this location symbolized who he was.

It was dark, and quiet, and no real human noise around here. She felt shivers running down her spine and simply waited for him as she held her bag.

Near exited the car and walked over to the main entrance, fiddling with his hair as he placed his palm on a scanner to be recognized before he could access the building.
"You'll need to let the computer register your hand print, A." he murmured, looking over his shoulder at her.

She inwardly sighed, wondering just why he made her react so quickly. Since a young age, she felt some sort of quick reaction towards him. He easily made her be angry, and as well little things did bring amusement towards her and even now, even now he made her react towards his usual mannerisms.

She decided that years of annoyance was enough and she would act like the mature adult she was.

"Okay" she murmured.

She put her bag on the ground before placing her hand over the scanner. As the bright red light hit her hand, she had to admit there was more than met the eye in this building.

As he waited for the registration process to complete, Near leaned against the wall, beginning to consider just what sort of things he'd have Angel be doing to help with the case at hand. He supposed he'd start her out with Lidner, perhaps just until she got the hang of the way things were run in the SPK.

As the door opened once more, she picked up her bag and walked in. She admitted it was a quiet and every step she took behind Rester, she heard it clearly echo throughout the room. Now, she had done her fair share of profiling and she realized that this was done on purpose to pose as an intimidation technique.

"Charming and warm" she murmured sarcastically.

"You'll find the headquarters is several stories tall." Near said, lost to her sarcasm.
"The lower floors generally contain investigation setups and offices, while the upper areas are mostly living quarters."

While she listened to his comments she wondered just how hard it would be to work here. Hearing his last words, she froze and turned around looking at him shocked.

"Living quarters?"