Simon watched the snow fall around the group of penguins. For some reason, he could stare into that snowglobe for hours. It really did brighten up his dismal cell. He was grateful to Inari for the gift. His mind wandered back to her – her true identity underneath the helmet. Perhaps she'd managed to recover somehow? Or maybe a surgical procedure and therapy got her legs moving again? But she didn't so much as limp.

“Blackquill, you've a lunch scheduled with a visitor.”

Simon looked up at the guard approaching his cell. He was used to this routine by now. About a couple times a week, Inari would join him for lunch. Fulbright put her up to it, of course, for his rehabilitation. But he'd grown to enjoy it now that he knew who she was. And who knows, maybe this'll be the day he confronts her about it.

~~~~~

“Thank you again, Miss Inari!”

Inari sighed. “You don't have to thank me every time, Detective. I told you it's fine. I don't mind doing it.”

“I'm sorry, but I can't help it! The just thing to do is to voice my gratitude! I think you've had a big impact on Prosecutor Blackquill’s rehabilitation! He seems to have a soft spot for you! Ha ha ha!”

Inari rolled her eyes. “You're exaggerating.”

“No, I mean it. The ‘Twisted Samurai’ becomes quite tame in your presence.” With that big annoying grin, the detective moved to Inari's side, placing a hand on her lower back to usher her toward the door with him. “I wonder why that is. Do you happen to know?”

Inari flinched away as soon as she felt his hand against the back of her shirt, pressing lightly against the metal underneath. “Don’t touch me, Fool Bright!” she snapped. “I assure you, I have no idea what you mean! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a schedule to keep!”

She practically shoved him aside and headed for the door to the cafeteria. She knew she might've seemed overly defensive, but she didn't want any hint of her identity or her connection to Simon getting out. And she especially didn't like anyone touching her back without permission. But since when was Fulbright so pushy? The guards allowed Inari in, and she had no trouble spotting the monochrome colors of Simon at the farthest table. That had become their favorite spot, allowing for more private chats. His gaze landed on her, and he watched with almost too intense of a gaze as she approached his table.

“Nice to see you, Prosecutor Blackquill.”

Simon gave a small nod, swallowing his bite of sandwich before speaking. “Likewise.” He suddenly smirked. “Maybe one of these days you'll actually eat something. Beats the point of joining me for lunch otherwise, don't you think?”

Inari tapped her helmet. “A little difficult to eat with this. And before you ask, no, I won't take it off.” She laughed lightly. “You're becoming quite the curious one. You bring up my helmet at nearly every visit now.”

Simon’s grin faded. “As I've told you before, I like to know who I'm dealing with. A bit difficult at times to rely on a faceless fox.” He took another bite of his meal before speaking again, lowering his voice. “Are you certain you don't want anything to eat? I know a fellow inmate who can satisfy a sweet tooth, if you have one.” He recalled Minerva always enjoying sweets, so in a way, that offer was a bit of a test.

Inari shook her head. “No thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I could just as easily…” Her sentence trailed off as she registered what he'd said. “Hold on. Are you implying that you guys have some kind of…secret sweets ring going on here?”

A teasing grin crossed his face. “Perhaps. A lot goes on behind bars. What, are you going to report it?”

The almost taunting look in his eyes made her smile to herself. “No. It's none of my business. I'm not paid to dig up jail gossip and secrets. I'm here for your rehabilitation. Nothing more.”

“Oh? I don't believe that's true. You asked me once about…UR-1. That's a part of your objective, isn't it? To earn my trust so I'll talk about it.”

The woman began fidgeting. “No… Well, actually…” She sighed. “Okay, so that is a part of it. I want to know everything I can about that incident.”

“Why?” Simon quirked a brow at her. “You mentioned before a connection to it concerning the ‘true killer'. Tell me more and I'll consider throwing you a bone.”

Inari's head hung a bit. “I can't go too in depth, but…I have reason to believe the culprit in that case is the same one who…who murdered my family. That's why I know for a fact it wasn't you, despite what you'd like the world to believe.”

“I see. Then I shall divulge something in return for your honesty. I do not know who the true culprit is, not by face or name, at least. But I did, in fact, plead guilty in order to protect my late mentor’s most valuable treasure. It is my duty to do so.”

“I knew it,” the woman mumbled aloud. “I knew you were innocent…I knew… Then that means you saved…” She closed her mouth before she blurted out anything more.

Simon stared hard at her, as if gauging her reaction, and then he did the unthinkable. “You can rest assured that I won't allow Athena to be indicted.” His tone softened a bit, and he almost couldn't help but grin when he saw Inari visibly stiffen.

“Wh-What…?” Inari was left stunned that he figured her out, and yet she couldn't think to do anything but play dumb. “I-I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Feigning ignorance, are you? Hmph. You don't have to keep up this facade…Minerva.”

Inari was quick to place a finger over where her lips would be. “Not so loud.” She quieted her voice and sighed. “How did you…figure it out?”

“I’ve known for a month now, ever since our case at Shipshape Aquarium. You didn't realize it, but at the gift shop…I caught sight of your pendant. It's the same one I gave you seven years ago.”

“Oh…” Inari sat back in her seat, as if exhaustion overtook her. She clutched at that very pendant hidden under her shirt.

“How are you here?” Simon suddenly asked with great interest, forgetting about his lunch for the time being. “I thought you were paraplegic. And since when did you get involved in crime and law? And what purpose do you have hiding your identity?” Overwhelmed, Inari started to get up, about to leave without a word. “Stop!” Simon said, loud and commanding enough to stop her in her tracks and silence any nearby chatter. “I need answers. All these years, I've wondered how you've been. I've wished to be able to see you. And now I find you hiding right under my nose… You always were clever.” He wore a small, honest smile, reminiscing a tiny bit.

Inari sat back down. “So…you missed me?” Her words made him turn his head away, as if to hide that little fact. “Honestly, I didn't want you to know. I wanted to keep my distance so we could track down our culprit. I never wanted to be a distraction.”

“Hmph. A little late for that.”

The woman hugged her arms. “I'm sorry. I can explain, if that's what you want. But you have to promise not to speak a word of this to anyone.” With a serious look, Simon nodded, causing her to take a deep breath to calm herself. “Aura and I…we created an apparatus to…fix me, so to speak. After the attack, my spinal cord suffered nerve damage, so we designed a replacement to send the proper signals to and from the brain. This allowed me to regain my mobility. And in between that long process, I studied crime and forensics in order to join the police out on the field with my newly designed helmet. I wanted so badly to find…the one who did this to me. And I wanted to save you from this false charge. I knew better than to go and show the world who I was, so I concealed my identity from the public. After all, I wouldn't want to scare away my target, would I? Or worse, have them try to silence me.”

“All this time…” For once, Simon actually looked and sounded…defeated. He hung his head, his bangs obscuring his eyes from her. “While I was here, you and Athena…you've both been growing as people. Metis would be proud of how far you've come.”

Under her helmet, the woman's lower lip quivered. “This…isn't the place for this discussion, Simon.” He lifted his head to look at her. “But I do want some kind of clearer answer on UR-1. I want the truth. Please.”

“I will…tell you as much as I'm able. I must ask though, how much of that incident do you remember?”

“A stranger attacked Aunt Metis and me in the lab. I'm afraid most of it's a blur. I couldn't identify my attacker if they were in the same room as me. But I know it wasn't you.”

“How can you be certain if you don't remember?”

“Because I just know.” Inari's voice was laced with sadness and desperation. “I know you, Simon. You'd never hurt us – hurt me. I believe in your innocence.”

Simon's eyes widened, yet his expression remained stoic. Hearing her say that filled his heart with…relief? Or maybe joy? He wasn't sure, but he knew now that he could trust her. “In that case, I will tell you what happened from my perspective. I found Athena there after the incident, covered in blood next to Metis's body. You were there as well, lying on the floor and covered in blood. I thought you were dead too. With how it looked, I truly thought Athena did it, despite how much I didn't want to believe it. So I used the katana to take apart Ponco and load her in one of the cases, and I took Athena back to her residence. Everything I did was to protect her.” His hands resting on the table clenched into fists, and a shaky breath left him. “If I'd known you were still alive, I'd have gotten you aid quicker. I'm…so sorry.”

Inari reached across the table without a second thought, placing a hand over his fist, immediately loosening his grip. “It's all right. You didn't know. You have my gratitude for getting Athena to safety.” She retracted her hand before she made things awkward. “But I do have to ask… Do you really think Athena did it?”

Simon seemed slightly distracted after her small gesture of comfort. “I…don't know. Honestly, I don't think she's capable of it. But the evidence…”

“It wasn't Athena,” Inari lightly argued. “If there's one thing I can confirm about our attacker, it's their stature. It was an adult. Athena wasn't even there when it happened.”

“That's a relief.” Simon's shoulders seemed to relax a little at that confirmation. But he also took a moment to think about the whole situation. He was doing everything he could to lure out the real killer, but if it didn't work…he would still accept his fate. With that in mind, he gave her a serious and harsh look. “Inari, I would ask that you quit while you're ahead.”

“What?”

“You're only putting yourself in harm's way. You think parading around as a faceless fox will keep you safe? Hmph. Not bloody likely.”

Inari clicked her tongue. “So, what? You want me to give up and do nothing while you rot away behind bars?”

“I don't want you getting yourself killed. It almost happened before. If there's one thing I want, it's for you to live – to become a great robotics engineer just like Aura.”

“I can't. I can't abandon you, Simon. I can't abandon the truth that's hiding out there. That's why I'm doing this. And there's nothing you can say or do to change my mind.”

Simon huffed. “Stubborn and reckless. Then you'd better stay on your toes. If you let anything happen to you, anything at all…” He scowled. “I’ll kill you myself.”

“So be it then.” Inari tapped her helmet. “Thanks for the information though. I'll be sure to add it to my database. Every little detail helps paint a clearer picture. Now we just have to-” Static suddenly obscured her vision, but only for a second. It was just enough to stop her train of thought. But then it did it again, and she lightly smacked the side of her helmet.

“What's wrong?” Simon asked, watching her.

“My system’s glitching,” she answered. “This has never happened before. Hopefully just a malfunction and not some kind of virus. The last thing I need is for my data to get corrupted or erased.” Static covered her screen and a white noise came with it, and it lasted at least a few seconds this time. “I'm sorry, I think I'll have to cut our meeting short. I've got some tinkering to do on this thing.”

She stood, and Simon’s expression softened. “I hope you discover the problem. And…please keep in touch. I bid you farewell for the time being…Minerva.” He spoke her name so quietly that only she would hear.

Inari nodded, smiling under her helmet. “I will. Until our next appointment, Simon.”

The woman took her leave. Simon stared down at his meal, no longer feeling as hungry. Too many thoughts swirled around in his head. He finally had some answers to the mysteries surrounding Inari, but now he had more worries. What if she ended up being targeted again? He had no way of helping her if she were. And he also hadn't told her of his execution date near the end of the year. How would she take it, he wondered. Despite all those thoughts, he couldn't deny the excitement for her next visit. Even though they were in very different positions, it still felt like their first date all over again.