Had it not been for Naomi's track record of being (almost) entirely truthful, it might have taken hours to convince her supervisor that she hadn't been kidnapped (not exactly, anyway), she'd just been spirited away to a mall to fight off a zombie horde. Tanizaki, Fujiko, and the chief had all been frantic over her disappearance-- the latter two because losing a Level Six esper was a tremendous blow and they were both fond of her, and the latter because he still maintained hope that he'd have a bride soon enough. She was now eighteen, after all, a fine marriageable age, and she'd once been so eager to please.

And right now, she was just as eager to end the conversation after the fifth round of explanations. The director had accepted her story, with some sleepy mention about how it took forever to get zombie gunk out of clothes, and now the esper was making her way outside with Tanizaki hot on her heels.

"I really am fine, Supervisor, so--"

"I refuse to believe it, Naomi! Surely you fell victim to some dirty-handed rogue, who's just waiting to get his hands on you again! As your supervisor and the one responsible for you, I won't leave your side for even a minute, in order to protect you!"

Out of six years of respect drilled into her, Naomi held her tongue, lengthening her strides and peering into the parking lot for a glimpse of the blue she'd become so familiar with. At the moment, there was only one male whose company she was willing to seek out, and it certainly wasn't the one still ranting loudly behind her.