Yashiro Isana was a charismatic man. With silvery hair , amber eyes and boyish good looks , despite having been unconscious in the cargo hold of a plane for a long time , seemed fresh and cheerful. When Cray and Wilson came into his room , Neko and Kuroh were with him. Both glared , although Kuroh seemed to have come to some kind of understanding and therefore looked more tolerant.

"Don't worry. " Cray said in halting Japanese.

Instantly, Yashiro Isana twigged that the two of them were foreign. He rattled off a string of German. Cray and Wilson gave each other a look.

"I took German in high school. " Wilson said

"Lucky you. I took Spanish. " Cray replied

Wilson turned back to Yashiro Isana, and in her high-school-level German explained to him that they were American and from NCIS. The young man nodded , and then spoke in heavily accented but grammatically flawless English.

"I see. This is to do with Tatara Totsuka, yes? Kuroh and Neko told me a little when they got here. I had nothing to do with it , and I met Totsuka-san once , so I'll be happy to cooperate. But first things first , please just call me Shiro. I might be the supposed next Silver King , but formalities do annoy me. "Shiro gave a smile. Cray imagined that smile had swept many teenage girls off their feet at one time.

Kuroh said something to Shiro, sounding mock-annoyed.

Shiro laughed and made a dismissive gesture. Kuroh glared, and then laughed too. Shiro turned back to the two agents and said.

"Well then , where shall we start?"

Cray answered " Our boss back in America wants to interview you too , so tomorrow , after you have got some rest , we are going to set up a video conference , but for now perhaps we'll just ask some preliminary questions. "

"of course , but the time gap is quite impressive. How will you work that?"

"Oh , this investigation has meant pulling some long hours , they'll be fine. "

"I see. Ask away, then."

Wilson collected her thoughts , then asked

"Could you tell us where you've been the past…8 years."

"I couldn't honestly tell you where , specifically but…." Shiro shut his eyes , as if recalling something. "I was in the back of a van a lot. I'd often wake in weird places and then be dragged back in the van . I was in America once…..I remember seeing the White House ….but I couldn't really tell you when. To be honest, I'm still shocked that we're already in the 2030's. "

Wilson stifled a smile , as did Cray.

"You say dragged…you ever see by who?" Wilson asked

"Some guy….really thin . Thin body , long face , thin eyes , long nose….I'm sure you get the picture. Anyway , he had black hair , and his eye colour was just as dark…..that's all I can remember. "

"That's fine…" Wilson was about to continue questioning him when he let out a large yawn. Kuroh was quick to say something in a stream of very angry Japanese to Wilson and Cray , who were unable to make head or tail of it. Shiro was the one to translate it.

"he thinks I'm overtired and you're pushing me….I am tired , but….."

"It's fine. " Cray said. "We can come back tomorrow….we'll need to check with your nurses , but would 10am be OK with you?"

"Sure. "

"Well in that case , goodnight."

"Oyasuminasai " both agents recalled that this was the word for 'Goodnight' , and couldn't help smiling as they went back to the hotel.

…

The next day , Kuroh and Neko were nowhere to be seen. Instead , Awashima and Munakata accompanied Wilson and Cray.

Awashima and Munakata questioned Shiro themselves as Wilson and Cray set about connecting the laptop and setting up the video conference. Soon enough , the image of Lynnie in MTAC filled up the screen.

"Wilson , Cray! How have you been?"

"Long time no see Boss! We've been good. Tell your brother we said thanks for the phrase book. " Cray replied.

"Oh , so it was helpful then?"

"Yeah."

"Is that Isana there? Shall we get down to business?"

"That would be an idea." Wilson glared meaningfully at Cray as she said this . They moved slightly out of the way.

"Isana-san , hello there. I'm special agent Lindsay DiNozzo of NCIS."

"Oh. Ohayou . Please, just call me Shiro. "

"Shiro-san, then. Now , I understand that you've told my two crazy agents a few things yesterday-"

"Yeah ." Shiro then went on to recount everything he had told Wilson and Cray. Lynnie seemed impressed.

"For someone who has no sense of time , you're pretty composed."

"Hah! Well , I've been on the receiving end of investigations before. Back before I discovered I was the Silver King. Man , once I'd found that out , it certainly helped explain a lot. Like why I knew German without ever being taught. Anyway, that's off topic."

"Can you remember anything about the HOMRA fire? Do you know why the Colourless King would chase after remaining HOMRA members after 7 years? " Lynnie asked.

"I remember nothing about that fire. I came across a newspaper scrap which told of it , saying that the Totsuka boy and the little girl were the only survivors." The 'little girl' being Anna . "I met her once actually , at Ashinaka Gakuen – That was a while ago , and I had thought the Colourless King was dead. I can only imagine that for whatever reason his vendetta against the Red Clan is more personal than anything to do with hierarchy and tradition. "

"Ok…we'll note that. Ah , here's our Sketch Artist! thank you , Lisa. Now , Shiro , does this look like our culprit? The Colourless King?" Lynnie held up a picture. Shiro peered at the screen.

"Yes. His hair's more spiky though."

"OK. Reisi Munakata-san ?"

"Yes?" Reisi put himself in better view of the laptop screen.

"I'll be sending this image to you as well , so if you could circulate it …?"

"Airports , bus-stations, schools , etc. , I know. We have a BOLO system also , except it doesn't really have a name . We'll do so once we get back to Headquarters. "

"Thank You." The screen went blank. Wilson shut down the laptop and put it in its bag.

"Well. Well." Cray flashed a look at his colleague. She looked annoyed. He took over

"Thanks for that , Shiro . "

"I'm guessing you'll be back later. " Shiro said wryly.

"If we have further questions , yes. Thanks again. Come on , Wilson."

…

Wilson was still mad that she hadn't had much time to talk to Lynnie . She was seriously starting to miss America. She liked Shizume City a lot –it had its charms , but she felt like it was working a spell on her , and she needed to get home before she was trapped forever.

Which was why she refused to go back to the hotel with Cray.

"Aren't you gonna get lost?"

"Nah. There are some good shops near the HOMRA bar. I could probably get some questioning done as well as getting some new clothes-which I DO NEED , by the way!"

"Ok….Call me if you get lost."

"Whatever, Crayfish. " she called him that just to annoy him. Petty , but it made her feel better. "See you tonight. "

She headed in the opposite direction , and soon found the bar. Before she knew it , she was soon able to forget her duties for a while and be a tourist again – she hadn't taken a holiday in ages.

She was just coming out of a shoe shop when a rushing figure caught her eye. Curious , instead of simply checking out the second-hand store she had been eyeing , she followed this figure across the street , dodging crowds as she did so- and still managing to hold on to her bags.

When she got a sighting of the figure , she stifled a gasp.

It was Saruhiko Fushimi.

He was in work clothes , but judging by his careful movements , he wasn't doing work. Suspicious. Quietly , so as to not alert him , she followed his escaping figure all the way to an alleyway. Although she kept moving to keep him in sight , she hesitated.

If you go , you may never be able to return

Wilson didn't know why she thought this, but she felt it was true. But she had to keep going –it might be the key to the case. So , before she had time to think , she quickly sent a message to Cray , then set off into the darkness.

…

Shiro had finished eating, but he wasn't sleepy. Neko, on the other hand , was , and she was curled up , much like a little kitten ,at the end of the bed. Smiling at the sight of her , he turned to Kuroh.

"It's been a while , hasn't it?"

"Since what?"

"Being like this. "

"I suppose. "

There was a silence, in which Shiro weighed up what he had to say. Then:

"Kuroh?"

"Did you feel it?"

"Eh?"

"A Red Flame. There is another Red King."

"Well…I felt it . " He looked Kuroh in the eye, willing him to guess what it was he was so hesitant to say.

Thankfully, he did.

"No! No way! That can't be!"

"Yes . I am afraid so. The next Red King will be one of those American agents."

….

So , there are a couple of cliff-hangers here . Unfortunately, the next chapter might take a while to come. Sorry about that. And sorry about the shortness of the chapter . I hope you managed to enjoy it anyway.

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