A/N: Things will start picking up soon~ It's been angsty and slow so far, but I don't want to rush things, like I felt like I've done in my past fics...

Satoshi sat by himself, silently awaiting Keiichi's return. He was seated on the couch, legs pulled up to his chest, head resting on his knees. He stared at the TV, even though it was turned off. He sighed and wondered what he should do. The sound of a clock ticking was the only thing that kept it from being completely silent. Satoshi sighed and let himself fall sideways into a laying position. He kept staring straight ahead as his mind overflowed with unanswered questions.

Why couldn't he remember...?

It had been over an hour. Satoshi was sure of it. Keiichi had been gone so long...

Satoshi frowned.

He was growing attached too quickly... He couldn't stay here any longer than necessary. After remembering his past, like he was sure he would do, he would plan accordingly and leave. If things started to look bad, even if he still doesn't remember anything, he decided he would leave. He especially didn't want to cause any trouble for his host.

The blonde boy slowly closed his eyes. He felt hollow, empty. He felt like there wasn't anything to him anymore. Was he even alive? His hand unconsciously rose to his neck and felt his pulse. He had a pulse. He was breathing. He was alive.

But, he couldn't help but wonder, was there more to being alive than just breath and heartbeat? He knew he wasn't always like this...his life before the clinic... he knew he wasn't like this. What had changed him so much? What caused him to forget?

And why did it hurt him so much to be alone?

He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter as they began to well up with tears for a reason unknown to him. He sniffled pathetically and hugged his knees tighter against his chest as a single tear slid down his cheek. His eyes opened in surprise and his whole world was blurry. He sat up sniffling and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. What was wrong with him?

He had just calmed himself down when there was a sudden knock at the door. Satoshi jumped up, fear setting in almost too quickly. The knock sounded again, leaving Satoshi feeling paralyzed. Keiichi wouldn't knock at the door of his own house.

"Maebara-san? Hello? Maebara-san?"

Satoshi recognized the voice. It was the policemen from before. His knees began to shake uncontrollably, so much that he collapsed momentarily, only to catch himself and break off into a run. He was halfway up the stairs to Keiichi's room when he heard the older policeman call out a command in a stern voice.

"Open the door."

Satoshi slid Keiichi's door closed behind him and leaned against it. His heart was beating in his ears and felt as if it were going to pound its way out of his chest. He was breathing heavily until he heard the faint click of a door being unlocked. Suddenly, everything was silent. His everything was focused on the sound of foreign footsteps downstairs. Swallowing his fear best he could, he desperately looked around the room for somewhere to hide.

"As expected, Maebara Keiichi, nor his parents are home. We've sent some to watch after Maebara while he's with his friends."

Satoshi held his breath as the older policemen muttered,

"Thank you Kuma-chan."

More footsteps then silence.

"Where do you want to look first?"

Satoshi only grew more tense. The closet. He needed to hide there.

Adrenaline consumed his body. Thinking quickly, he gathered the clothes he'd worn last night and took them with him as he entered the closet. These clothes were the only thing he could think of that could possibly signify he was there. As he slid the door closed and scooted farther into the dark room, shielded by clothes, Satoshi heard footsteps. They were closer. They were coming up the stairs. Satoshi scooted as far back as he could, until his back bumped the wall. He pulled his feet in close to him and pushed a mound of clothes in front of him. Satoshi guessed Keiichi neglected to do his laundry.

But now really wasn't the time to think about that.

He heard someone silently open the room's door. Satoshi gripped the clothes in his hand tighter and stared at the bottom of the closet door, watching the light that seeped underneath. His eyes never left it, even when it became disrupted by someone's shadow. He held his breath when they stopped moving. This was it. His freedom was short lived. He'd never know of his past life. He'd never know a life outside the clinic. He'd never be able to see the people he once knew.

He'd never see Keiichi again.

He could hear someone's hand touch the door. Any second now, they would open it and he'd be exposed. He could feel the tears start to come again.

"Ooishi, find anything?"

Satoshi left out his breath. He watched as the person who was standing in front of the door slowly backed off.

"Nothing yet... You, Kuma-chan?"

"Nothing that directly states the boy is here. We did find it suspicious that there were two sets of dirty dishes in the sink, each of what appeared to be the same dish. It doesn't make sense, seeing as the Maebara's parents are away. It's not enough to confirm anything at all, but enough to keep him under suspicion."

The other man, Ooishi was his name, sighed.

"At this point, anything is better than nothing. So far, we've got nothing."

Kuma-chan made a noise of agreement.

"That kid has covered his tracks pretty well... Not that I really blame him..."

"Doesn't matter if you blame him or not, we need to get him back where he belongs...Enough talk, get back to searching before Maebara comes home..."

Satoshi had been listening so intently, he was surprised when the conversation suddenly stopped. Were they talking about him? Well who else could it have been... They already suspected Keiichi? Of what? Hiding him? Satoshi began to get so caught up in his thoughts he wasn't paying attention to anything else. It was when the closet door cracked open that he became fully alert once more. His eyes grew wide and his mouth felt dry. It was all over now... He shut his eyes. He wished he could have at least thanked Keiichi for the kindness he'd shown him. He wanted to tell the other not to worry, and that he'd be fine. He knew the other would probably worry himself sick. He seemed like the type that would. The tears again started to come. He didn't want it to end like this. It had been such a short time... it felt so wasted. A single tear slid down his cheek. He was as good as gone...

It was Ooishi's radio that saved him.

"Chief! Chief do you read me! Maebara's on his way home right now. Get out of there!"

"Shit," Ooishi cursed under his breath. Satoshi could see him through the clothes. He was older, and on the heavy side. His face looked tired and aged. He didn't linger long. He took off, leaving the closet door cracked open without fully looking inside.

"Kuma-chan, everyone, time to go. Leave everything as it was," Satoshi heard him yell out. A rush of footsteps followed by the sound of a closing door. That was all it took to calm Satoshi back down. He let his tense body relax completely and his breathing became more deep and even. He wiped beads of sweat off his forehead and struggled to crawl out of the closet. Everything was shaking.

He finally made it out of the closet and struggled to stand. He used the bed as support, but fell anyway. He tried one more time but to no avail. His legs were trembling too much to even consider standing. Sighing, he slid back down to a sitting position on the floor, just as Keiichi walked through the door.

The time Keiichi had spent with the club had been enjoyable. It always was. He loved his friends and the time he spent with them. He wouldn't give it up for anything. They were the world to him. However, this time around he found it difficult to concentrate. His mind wandered elsewhere, all because of this new, almost unbelievable information he'd received.

Satoshi Houjo was alive. And he was at his house.

He'd stayed a little later than planned, but figured Satoshi would be able to manage on his own. He was a year older than him, right? If Keiichi remembered right, this was true. He could hardly believe it...But that blonde hair and red eyes...there was no mistaking it. He fit the description perfectly.

Keiichi bit his lip as he mindlessly placed a card from his hand onto the table. He wanted to ask them about the other. A little info on the blonde could prove to be very useful. He glanced at Satoko. She was giggling and laughing with Rika while she placed a card on the table. Keiichi's gaze softened. He couldn't do that to her.

And so, Keiichi left, the subject of Satoshi never coming up. He said his goodbyes and apologized for leaving before the last game was over, but he couldn't leave his guest at home by himself any longer. He rode back home on his bike, thoughts heavily plaguing his mind. He hadn't expected all this to be so complicated. It had only been about a day and already he felt things proved to be difficult.

So what now? He wasn't sure what to do from here. Now that he knew the other's name, maybe calling him by it will help him remember. He could ask about Satoko...that could jog something. Maybe enough that the other would remember everything, and all this could be solved. He could only hope.

The more he thought about it, the more things didn't add up. If that really was Satoshi, which he was almost positive it was, then why were the police obviously looking for him? From Keiichi's perspective, the blonde looked too scared and frail to actually do anything wrong... So then what was their reasoning? It was like they didn't want him back in the village. Keiichi frowned and shook his head. But why would that be?

"Gah, I hope talking to this guy will help clear things up..." Keiichi mumbled aloud as he pulled into his driveway. He hopped off his bike and leaned it against the house before walking up to the front door. He turned it, expecting it to still be locked. When the knob turned and the door swung open, Keiichi knew something was wrong. He didn't walk inside. He stood in the threshold, thinking hard.

"I was sure I locked this, there's no way I wouldn't have. Why is it unlocked? Did Satoshi...? No, he wouldn't have. I bet he's still in the same place I left him. I know I locked this door... I'll ask Satoshi..."

He cautiously walked inside and shut the door softly behind him. He made sure he locked the door. Keiichi took off his shoes and called out,

"I'm home."

He peeked into the sitting room, expecting to see Satoshi sitting there like he had when Keiichi left. There was no one there. A small wave of panic washed over him. Maybe the door was unlocked because Satoshi left? Would he really do that? Keiichi swallowed nervously. He hoped not.

"Um, hey, you in here?" He called out, praying to every god he could think of that he'd get some kind of a reply. He waited, being absolutely still. It strained his ears, but he could hear a faint reply of,

"Up here..."

That was all Keiichi needed. He broke off into a run, almost tripping up his stairs.

"Hey!"

He slid his door back with a little too much force, to see Satoshi sitting on his floor, trembling and rocking back and forth. Keiichi knelt in front of the other and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked, shaking the other lightly. Satoshi wasn't looking at him. He was staring at the floor in front of him, eyes wide and afraid. Keiichi wasn't sure what to do. He shook the other ever so lightly. "Hey, look at me."

The blonde didn't move for a second. Keiichi waited as patiently as he could. He cupped the blonde's chin and forced the other's eyes up. They were frightened, worried, and a whole mix of emotions that Keiichi couldn't decipher. Tears began to form in Satoshi's eyes. Without warning, he threw his arms around Keiichi and pulled him in close. Keiichi was beyond surprised, but let him do what he wanted. When he felt the blonde's shoulders shake and heard him sniffle, the brunette tentatively placed his arms around the other as well. He held him close and waited for him to calm down before asking any questions.

"...I was so scared..." Keiichi heard the other mumble. When the tears had seemingly ceased and he stopped trembling, Satoshi pulled away and placed his hands in his lap. Keiichi placed his hands back on Satoshi's shoulders and looked at him with concern.

"I'm sorry..." Satoshi mumbled, barely audible. His eyes drifted down to his lap and he kept them there as he talked. "...I'm sorry..."

Keiichi gripped his shoulders firmly.

"Why are you apologizing? You haven't done anything!" Keiichi yelled exasperated. He shook the other lightly again. "Tell me what's happened. I know there's something."

Satoshi took a deep breath. He vaguely explained what had happened with the police and how he'd hid. Keiichi could tell he was trying his hardest to tell him everything.

"I think...I think they said you're under suspicion of something...Probably keeping me..." The blonde murmured. Keiichi had expected this, so it didn't come as much surprise. He could think of what to do about all this later. Everything would work out okay. "Why do they want me so badly...? I don't understand... I don't want to go back..." Keiichi sighed once Satoshi was done speaking.. At least they hadn't found him.

"At least you're okay...That's all the matters..." Keiichi smiled best he could. Satoshi looked up at him briefly before directing his gaze elsewhere. Keiichi embraced the other for a mere second before standing up and stretching. "I'm glad you're okay...Satoshi."

A/N: :D Cliffhanger...kinda. XD I tried my best at actiony/suspense...kinda. It's a field I need to work on when writing.