A look of vague horror flitted across the woman's face, and she drew her hand up to her mouth. "I don't remember. I don't remember my given name," she said, sounding stunned.

Ogata was alarmed, but he didn't want to upset the woman into tears. "I'm sure it will come to you soon. I'll just call you Fujiwara-san for now. Do you remember how old you are?"

She thought for a moment, then bit her lip. "No."

"Where do you live?"

She shook her head.

"Who's the prime minister?"

" 'Prime minister'...?"

"Do you have a headache, or does your neck feel stiff?"

"No, I don't think so."

That was odd. Ogata figured the woman – Fujiwara – ought to be experiencing at least some pain if her injury were severe enough to make her forget her name. "Can you hold your right arm out like this?" He stretched his own over the dashboard.

Fujiwara mimicked him easily, then stretched out the left as well.

"You don't seem to have any motor skills problems." Ogata fiddled with his glasses again, rather intrigued to have run across someone with apparent, genuine amnesia. It was like a puzzle. Puzzles could be fun off the goban, too.

"Are you a doctor?"

Ogata made a small, dry laugh. "No, I just spent a lot of time harassing one when I was a brat, following her around and playing with her stethoscope. I'm a professional go player; that is, I play games for a living," he said, waiting for her inevitable reaction of surprise or befuddlement or even disdain. He'd gotten some terribly amusing reactions before, as if he'd just admitted to playing professional strip poker for a living.

"That's wonderful," Fujiwara said, her voice soft, but there was something so openly genuine in her tone that Ogata glanced away for a moment, embarrassed at his own assumptions.

"I don't suppose you're familiar with go, then?"

"I apologize. I don't think so. It's just that when you mentioned go, you seemed... happy. Like you love it."

"Sometimes. But that's not really important now," Ogata said, mentally scolding himself. Peppering an amnesiac about go, honestly, Seiji. "I don't think you're in immediate danger, so I think it would be okay for you to go home, although you really ought to go to a doctor tomorrow and at least get a scan done. Have you remembered where you live, or your phone number? Your parents?"

Fujiwara looked down at her folded hands. "Please excuse me. Nothing's coming back yet."

Ogata knew then he was stuck in a tough spot. He really didn't know where else to bring her since her amnesia made her afraid of the hospital and the police. He supposed he could just dump her off at one of those places against her wishes, but the thought of doing that to a young woman this beautiful sat wrong in his gut.

Then Ogata heard the sound of a seat-belt being unfastened, and saw that Fujiwara's face was set in resolve.

"Ogata-san, thank you very much for your assistance. I apologize for taking up so much of your evening and getting you wet. I wish there was some way I could repay your kindness."

"You're just going to start walking?" Ogata asked in disbelief as she put her hand on the door handle, and Fujiwara nodded firmly.

"Where exactly are you going to walk to? It's dark, you're not well, and you don't remember anything. You're also young to be wandering around by yourself." A little harsh, but Fujiwara needed to realize she was being foolish, especially since her sensitive behavior and mannerisms suggested she was used to being sheltered by her probably doting parents, who could afford to buy her authentic, silk costumes.

"I'll be fine. I'm sure things will start to come to me soon. Please forgive the inconveniences," Fujiwara said with a trace of haughtiness as she got out of the car. Ogata realized his miscalculation then: because of Fujiwara's politeness, he hadn't realized that he was dealing with a very proud woman.

Ogata watched her stand in the parking lot, clearly trying to decide which direction to take. I ought to just let her walk around by herself in the dark, sopping wet. She'll learn a valuable lesson. She'd be fine, Ogata reasoned. He ought to forget about her and go back to the Association and actually study for a hour or so, then dinner.

Except it would just be his luck to start worrying about her instead of concentrating. She was exceptionally beautiful, after all. Maybe someone would try to take advantage of her. Or she would start hemorrhaging from an undetected internal injury. Or his mother would find out he let a young woman wander off by herself in the dark. Ogata drew a sharp breath: his mother was a force of nature not to be meddled with.

Well, time for a new game strategy. Ogata got out of his car. "Fujiwara-san, I apologize if I offended you. Why don't you stay at my apartment tonight?" he proposed smoothly. "After you've had some rest, you'll probably start remembering things, and then you can call someone to come pick you up." Ogata usually did not invite people to his apartment, even his girlfriends. He had a very particular order and he liked things quiet so he could concentrate. But one night was okay, and hadn't he been wanting to try something new anyway? Rescuing a lovely stranger was cheaper and safer than skydiving.

Fujiwara hesitated, but Ogata could see uncertainty starting to crumble her proud expression. "You... wouldn't mind? I wouldn't be imposing on you and your family?"

"No, it's not a problem. And I live alone."

Fujiwara bowed to him deeply, almost to her waist. "Then, please accept my deepest gratitude. You are truly a kind man."

Ogata bowed back, a little awkwardly. She really was well-mannered, if a little old-fashioned. And kindness wasn't a trait that was usually attributed to Ogata, but it wasn't like he could have just left her alone in the dark.

###

On the drive to his apartment, Ogata learned a few interesting things. Fujiwara's amnesia was not complete. When they'd driven by a hospital, Ogata had pointed it out to her. She'd recognized the ambulances in front of it, and recalled having ridden in one before, and that memory triggered other memories of doctors and nurses inside the hospital. So she hadn't actually "forgotten" the concept of a hospital, she just didn't recognize the word hospital. The mechanisms of the brain were intriguing indeed.

Given that, Ogata wondered if she did really work for the Takarazuka theater troupe. She hadn't recognized the name when he'd asked her about it, but given her amnesia, perhaps that didn't mean much. He'd gotten a chance to examine her costume more closely, and was convinced it was an extremely accurate replica of a Heian-era nobleman's clothing, especially since Fujiwara had sadly noted that she'd lost her "eboshi" (that funny-looking black hat, if he remembered his history classes correctly.) It had been awhile since he'd attended a Takarazuka performance, but Ogata recalled that the all-female troupe specialized in historical re-enactments, and the actresses who played the male roles were both notably tall and beautiful. He was tall himself, but when Fujiwara had been standing outside of the car, he realized she was actually a little taller. Also, if she were used to playing a character like a Heian noble, it would also explain the deep bowing and why she hid her mouth behind that water-ruined fan when she giggled or was embarrassed. Strange, but yet oddly charming – like one would expect an actor to be.

Ogata removed his shoes in his apartment's entranceway and left Fujiwara there while he fetched towels. She tried valiantly to dry off, but there were simply too many layers of clothing for her to be successful. "You'll have to hang those up to dry. Come to the restroom, I'll give you a change of clothes – I think it should fit you okay, as long as you don't mind wearing men's clothes."

Fujiwara gave him a puzzled look. "No, of course not." Then she glanced down at his floor, hesitating to step forward.

"Don't worry. This apartment is all tile – no tatami here." Ogata gave her a reassuring smile, and she followed him down the hallway. Ogata noticed that her eyes lit up when they passed by the opened door of his study – she must have seen the aquarium, glowing in the dark.

Ogata opened the door to the restroom and gestured inside. "There are more towels in that cabinet under the sink if you need them. Wait and I'll get the clothes."

Ogata went to his bedroom and rummaged through his bottom dresser drawer, where he stashed clothes he no longer wore. He settled on a pair of cotton sweatpants with a drawstring, and a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a pair of thick socks. Ogata, naturally, owned no women's underclothes, so he supposed Fujiwara would just have to make do with whatever she was already wearing or go commando if she so chose. Then he grabbed some hangers so she could hang her clothes on the shower rod.

He handed the clothes and hangers to Fujiwara, who accepted them with a smile. "I'll be in the kitchen putting on some tea for when you're done." The tea would be good for Fujiwara's raspy throat, and maybe it would stave off a cold.

Ogata was pouring the hot water into the teacups by the time he heard Fujiwara emerge from the bathroom. Must have taken awhile to dry off all that hair, a thought that was confirmed by the mussed appearance of her now-unbound hair when she stepped into the kitchen. "I'm glad the clothes seem to fit. Luckily you've got long arms and legs too," he said as he added a bit of honey into his own tea. "Do you want anything in yours?"

"No thank you."

Ogata handed the cup to Fujiwara before enjoying a few sips of his own. He flicked his gaze over her discreetly, noting that she definitely seemed a lot better, displaying no weakness or trembling as she had when he'd first pulled her out. Her body seemed lean and strong, so that would doubtless aid in her recovery from amnesia.

Ogata was almost finished with his tea when he realized that Fujiwara's body was a little too lean and flat. As a matter of fact, she... had no breasts at all.

"You're not a woman." To his credit, he managed to state it fairly calmly.

"Ehhhhh?!" Fujiwara turned a brilliant red and jumped a little, almost sloshing her-his tea out of the cup. "Why would you think I was a woman? I was wearing men's clothes – I'm wearing men's clothes now!"

Ogata almost mentioned the Takarazuka again before remembering that Fujiwara didn't recall the troupe. He could definitely see a little Adam's apple in Fujiwara's throat now that he knew to look for it; earlier, it had been concealed by the robes. But even knowing that, Fujiwara still seemed remarkably feminine in appearance. Ogata had seen beautiful men before—Ko Yong Ha included -but he'd never mistaken them for women. Maybe it was the body language and the behavior. Fujiwara's definitely had a few wires crossed. "Well, you do have long hair and you're wearing earrings, too," Ogata finally stated, trying to pick features that seemed like relatively neutral territory.

Fujiwara fingered his earrings with a slight pout. "Men can wear earrings and long hair too." Then he furrowed his brow in worry. "You're not... upset with me, are you?"

"No, just a little surprised is all. It doesn't really matter," Ogata said calmly. It wasn't as if Fujiwara had ever explicitly claimed to be a woman, or that he had asked. They'd both just acted on their own assumptions. True, Ogata would have been a little more wary of letting a strange man in his apartment, but Fujiwara just didn't seem capable of posing any sort of threat. Although they were both about the same height, Fujiwara looked very slender. Ogata wasn't a big-framed man like Touya Kouyou, but he did work out regularly enough to have a well-muscled body. Fujiwara didn't give the impression of being capable of physical aggression, either.

Ogata let his gaze flick over Fujiwara again, noticing that the other man had lovely posture. Fujiwara being male didn't change the fact that he was pleasant to look at. Ogata could manage with a strange man in his apartment for one night.