Sae Nijima

(chapter originally by faith on writing.com)

"In any event, let's move on to the next target. The victim this time was-"

"Wait." Joker said. The next major incident was far down the timeline. Up until now Sae had insisted on a careful albeit abridged reconstruction of the events day by day. It had been an extremely effective work around to the **** impeding his recollections. Why was she suddenly skipping...actually, hadn't there been something significant very soon after the last point she had questioned him on? What was she...

"We have little time. We should move ahead to the next event." Sae said emphatically.

"No. There was something else. I'm sure of it. Something..." Joker stared at her intently, confusion slowly giving way...a smirk slowly spreading across his face.

"Wh-whatever you might be thinking r-right now is most likely an effect of the ****! Let's move on before you grow too befuddled to give me a proper-"

"You were naked." Joker said, a smug certainty in his face.

Sae looked him directly in the eye now, the way a mouse stares at the cat who has cornered it. With a clear air of alarm she glanced back at the video camera. She doubted they had a microphone on the camera, but it was still possible to lip read. Unlikely, but suddenly Sae was feeling more than a little paranoid.

"Don't say that. As far as your concerned, it never happened. Am I clear?" Sae said, attempting to look stern and authoritative once again. "Now, answer my-"

"Were there any photos?" Joker asked, suddenly more at ease than at any point during questioning. "Of course there are. You aren't the type to ignore evidence, even if it humiliates you."

"You..." Sae took another glance at the camera. "You need to stop right now or...or I'll leave and...and...."

"And never hear the end of the story? Not likely. You don't like loose ends. Compared to some of these things you've done to make a case, a little loss of composure is nothing." Joker smiled. "Show me."

"I..." Sae let out a stray cry. "But...no one can know. If the camera sees..."

"Then be discreet. I mean, if your worried now, just think what might slip out if your friends try interrogating me again!"

Sae glared and opened her mouth in protest, then closed it and blushed in frustration. Slowly she withdrew a picture from her briefcase, moving it face down across the table.

"Well, well, well." Joker said, looking over the picture. "Your shadow's little black dress made it clear you have a nice body, Niijima-san. But I had no idea it was this nice."

"Yes, yes. Enjoy your little joke. Now, let's move on-"

"More."

"What?"

"This one little picture isn't really enough, you know. Especially these little censor bars. I'm sure you have others. You've probably collected all the pictures people took, right? And I'm sure you have the originals on hand to boot. The uncensored ones?"

"Absolutely not! This is...you are the prisoner! I am the prosecutor! I will not be...be..."

Joker just gave a knowing smile. Sae's face fell, realizing that she would not be able to intimidate her way out of this. With a trembling hand, she produced a folder that clearly bulged with unknown contents. Joker casually took the envelope, and began fishing out one picture at a time. He made a show of looking each one over closely, like a thief assessing a stolen good. He nodded, clucked his tongue, whispered softly to himself "Interesting." or "I had no idea.". Sae stood by, waiting, seething, and blushing, her arms clutched tightly around his business suit. Picking up one photo, Joker let out a small laugh as he glanced between the picture and the woman. Turning it around he revealed Sae making a nearly identical pose, except the picture was crossing her arms to hide her glorious breasts. Sae blanched.

"Don't let the camera see!" She begged.

"I won't. I'm being very careful, I promise. A gentleman thief knows how to be discreet."

"A g-gentleman is hardly a term I would use to describe what you are doing!" Sae shot back.

"Good point. So how did it happen?"

"What? I'm...I'm not..."

"We don't have much time. You should start talking."

"I'm not the one under interrogation!" Sae snapped back.

"Turnabout is fair play. Think of it as a chance for me to relax my mind a little so I can remember more detail later."

"Makoto no doubt already informed you of the details. You clearly know what-"

"I have some information. But I'll need your account to present my case. Please, won't you tell me what happened?" Joker said softly.

Sae blushed. The prisoner was clearly enjoying himself, and the odd lilt to his words made it clear he was mocking her.

"I...I don't have time to-"

"ANSWER ME!" Joker said in a high pitched tone, placing both hands on the table in clear mimicry of Sae's own demanding pose.

"....I...I don't sound like that." Sae whispered, slowly taking her seat across from him. Her hands were clutched in her lap. "You...you promise it won't leave this room?"

"Of course. Like I said, discreet." Joker smiled, a look of reassurance hidden under miles of smug glee.

"F-Fine!" Sae said at last.