(A/N): Hey! We're almost at chapter 20! Wow...I remember when I first uploaded this...ha, that was a while ago :L My sister has suggested that we make a video blog, and she said that I should do questions and answers about this, so if you do have any questions about Amnesia, feel free to put them in your reviews. By the way, this will make sense later, but the 'saved your life' thing is a game that said sister likes to play. She's 18, just so you know.

The next morning, I woke up to find myself lying on Takigawa's sofa with his jacket covering me. Slowly, I pushed myself into an upright position. The most recent memory that I had recovered left me confused and suspicious. What had Kazuki known about Mattaku? What secrets had he been hiding? It seemed the only way we were going to find out was to visit his apartment, and see if he had left anything behind.

Hurrying into the kitchen, I saw Takigawa sitting at the table, looking miserable. In front of him was an open pack of painkillers, and he was eating a slice of bread very slowly.

"Good morning." I greeted him. He nodded in response.

"How are you feeling?"

"Ugggh…" He rubbed his head. "It's not the worst hangover I've had, but still…"

I sat down next to him. "When did you get up? I didn't notice –"

Takigawa, who had been drinking a glass of water, choked and began to cough. I patted him on the back until he managed to control his coughing fit.

"…Sorry." He swallowed the water. "I, um…sorry about that."

"You can't help a coughing fit if you choke, Takigawa-kun."

"Um…no, I meant…last night…" He looked embarrassed. "I, er…fell asleep…"

"Don't worry about it." I saved him from his abashed apology.

"So…" Takigawa seemed keen to move on the conversation. "Did you…remember anything?"

I nodded. "Yes. And I think that we should definitely visit Kazuki's apartment."

"How come?"
"He…I think he knew something about Mattaku ward. I told him about Sayomi-san's situation, and then later, he was talking about it more. He was…very concerned about me investigating it, and he slipped up."

"He slipped up?"

"Yeah, I hadn't told him the name of the ward, but he used the name 'Mattaku' anyway. So, he must have heard of it before. But how? I could barely find a thing on it – we could barely find a thing on it – so unless he had read Howe's report himself, which I really doubt, there was no way he could have known."

Takigawa nodded, his expression troubled. "Well, we should definitely check it out anyway."

Outside, the air was much warmer and lighter than the previous night, and the heat was pleasantly gentle. The sky had cleared and while it seemed everyone on the streets of Tokyo were appreciating the change of weather, Takigawa seemed uncomfortable with the brightness of the day.

"I swear, all it takes is a few drinks and the next day, I'm like a freaking vampire…" I heard him mutter under his breath. We were walking on the streets of Tokyo, relocating Takigawa's car that we had been forced to abandon the night before. Today, our pace was much quicker and it did not take long to reach the car. Despite my worries the previous night, the car had not been stolen and remained untouched from the night before.

"Right, let's see…" Takigawa began his routine examination of the car, searching it thoroughly. A thought occurred to me as he did this.

"Hey…you don't think the car has been…bugged? Like the duffle bag?"

This stopped Takigawa in his tracks. "You know…" He gave the interior another careful search, but shook his head.

"I can't see anything…" He stepped out. "But it might not be a good idea to discuss anything important while we're driving."

Before we could get in, my mobile began to ring. Considering the last time there had been a mobile in my jacket pocket, it made me jump, but I quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"This is Kazuya." His tone was easy to recognise. "I wanted to ask something. Where is Brooks-san's apartment?"

"Oh, we were just planning to go there ourselves."

"Come by the office and meet us. It'll be more efficient with more people."

At the SPR office, we had barely walked in before Kazuya was ushering us out again. Lin was by his side, but other than the two of them, no one was there. Remembering Kazuya's instructions to everyone the day before, this made sense. We quickly headed outside, with Lin at the front, constantly watching all those who passed us.

"Are you sure you know the way?" Kazuya had asked me repeatedly.

"Yes, I can remember going there quite a few times." I had reassured him. Even so, Kazuya still looked unsure.

"You haven't had any trouble since yesterday, have you?" He asked.

"No, don't worry." Again, it seemed that I could not ease him of his concern. "Has everyone else been ok?"

"They all said they were fine. But knowing them, if something were to happen to them, they probably wouldn't even notice."

In one of the company vans, I directed Lin as he drove the streets of Tokyo. His driving was careful and steady, and much safer in comparison to Yasuhara's. Looking out through the black tinted windows, the memories of cases flashed in my mind. These vans were used to transport all the different equipment, and I remembered the long processes of setting up and then packing away the various cameras. Somehow, I began to wonder, with the company having been halted, if we would ever have the chance to do that again. With my current situation, I wondered if I would ever be able to work another case with the company. The things we had all seen together, the horrors and the miracles, each fight and each reconciliation, every cruelty and every kindness…Honestly, I missed it.

Following my directions, we began to come nearer to Kazuki's apartment, and I could not hide a feeling of anxiety. What would we find there? Anything to help us uncover more information about Mattaku?

At last, we reached it: the tall, looming apartment. As I stepped out, I looked up to the top floor, where I could see the balcony.

"Do you think the place is untouched?" Takigawa asked, standing next to me.

"I don't know…it would be strange if colleague-san hadn't given the place a search himself, to get rid of any evidence…I mean, he burnt down Watanabe-san's apartment, so I would think he'd at least search the place if he was willing to do something that drastic."

"Well, we'll just have to make sure we give it a thorough search." Kazuya began to walk towards the apartment. "What floor is it?"

"The top floor."

Unsurprisingly, the apartment door was locked.

"Great." Takigawa frowned, leaning against the wall. "How are we going to get in?"

Lin, who was carrying a large bag, moved closer to the door, observing it closely. Kazuya asked him, "If there's a trap or a trigger on the door, will you be able to tell?"

Getting down on the floor, Lin looked under the door. "So far, I can't see anything." He stood up and opened up the bag he had been carrying. Taking out a small mirror, he angled it under the door.

"What kind of…trap do you mean?" I asked Kazuya.

"If colleague-san was willing to burn down Watanabe-san's apartment, then I'm not taking any chances here."

"What, you don't really think that, I don't know, the place will blow up if we open the door?" Takigawa did not bother to hide the scepticism from his voice.

"We cannot rule out any single possibility, not when we are dealing with a sadist who acts in ways we can't understand yet very methodically. I'm sure you have told this before." Likewise, Kazuya did not bother to hide the anger from his voice.

After a few minutes of examination, Lin deemed the door to be harmless.

"No traps?" Kazuya asked.

"None by the door." Lin confirmed.

"That doesn't solve how we'll get in." Takigawa pointed out.

In response, Lin took out a small wire of some sort and stood by the lock on the door. Within a few seconds, there was a click and the door opened.

"I'm going in first. Stay out here." Lin did not wait for Kazuya's approval, and moved inside the apartment. However, Kazuya ignored his request and followed him. Takigawa frowned and followed Kazuya, saying, "That's very hypocritical, you know, lecturing us on being careful when you walk straight into a potentially dangerous location."

"Ummm…" I called to Takigawa, "Shouldn't we, you know…wait outside? Like Lin-san said?"

When Takigawa failed to answer me, I walked cautiously into the apartment. At once, the familiarity hit me like a bullet, and I was overwhelmed with flashes of memory for a brief second. The emptiness and plainness of the room, the bare walls, even a scent that my mind associated with him…it all sent pictures through my brain in a single surge.

Shaking my head of the memories, I walked into the main room, where I saw Lin looking between us with a scowl.

"I thought I told you to wait outside." His anger was mainly directed at Kazuya. "What if something had happened?"

"Then you would have protected me." I had heard this argument between the two of them before. "And nothing has happened."

"That doesn't mean this area is safe."

"Then you should get back to searching, shouldn't you?"

Lin looked at Takigawa and me. "What are your excuses, then?"

"Uhhh…" Takigawa pointed to Kazuya. "I was just following him."

Now Lin waited for my answer. "…Sorry. We'll be more careful in the future."

As Lin searched the apartment, we waited without moving in the slightest, as we had been instructed to. Kazuya did not look happy about this, but he obeyed Lin's orders anyway.

"What do you remember about being here?" Kazuya decided to question me instead.

"Umm…well, I can't see that much has changed here…Kazuki never really had much furniture, it's always been a bit…empty."

"You never saw anything personal of his, did you?"

"Not really…"

"If anything was out of place, would you be able to tell?"

"I think so."

Kazuya looked to Lin, who had just finished searching Kazuki's bedroom. "Well? Is it safe?"

"Safe? Yes. If the place has been bugged, though…that's a different matter."

"Is there any way to tell?"
"No. We'd need a bug detector for that."

Kazuya sighed, troubled. "That's…unfortunate. Nonetheless, we can't leave this place without a thorough search."

And so, our search began. Once more, Lin searched the bedroom, accompanied by Kazuya this time, leaving Takigawa and me to scout the main room. It felt…disrespectful, rifling through Kazuki's belongings like this, but I knew that it was necessary. Whether I liked it or not, Kazuki had known something about Mattaku. We had to discover what he knew and how he knew about it, before the colleague did and destroyed any evidence – if he hadn't done already.

"So…did you come here a lot?" Takigawa asked, trying not to sound too inquisitive.

"Um…I guess…" It was not a topic I felt was open for discussion. Takigawa, sensing this, quickly changed the subject.

"Ok, so if Brooks-san knew something about Mattaku, maybe he had a record of it somewhere, where would he keep this record?"

So far, we had not found anything. Nothing looked out of place, but then again, neither had my apartment, which, I was certain, had been searched.

"Well, probably somewhere completely out of reach or notice from anyone who might visit. If he hadn't had been under the influence of alcohol, he probably wouldn't have mentioned Mattaku. When I first mentioned the situation to him, he showed no form of recognition."

"What do you mean?"

"He knew about Mattaku, and from his warning, it sounds like he had at least heard about these 'transfers' and disappearances that Howe talked about in his report. Yet when I told him about Sayomi-san's situation, he didn't look shocked or act like he recognised the situation. That means either he didn't make the connection at the time, which I highly doubt, or he automatically hid his recognition. If that's the case, then it would make sense that whatever he knew about Mattaku, he wanted to keep it a secret, even the fact he had heard of it. So if he did have a source or record about Mattaku, he would have made sure to keep it hidden."

"Oh, I see…" Takigawa roamed his gaze around the apartment. "Where do you think he could have hidden it?"

"Somewhere that no one would expect or think to look, especially someone who was searching for it."

Takigawa stared up at the ceiling. "Well, we should definitely look up. Kenji-san taught us that lesson."

"Hmm…" Where else would no one think to look? Kazuki's apartment was very minimalistic. Any compartments would be found very easily, so I doubted Kazuki would have placed anything important in a safe or other compartment. The walls seemed an unlikely hiding place. Even the ceiling seemed improbable.

Then my eye fell upon the glass doors. What about the balcony?

Sliding open the door, I stepped outside onto the balcony, where a cold breeze hit me. Again, the nostalgic familiarity made me hesitate. Down below, the streets of Tokyo were as busy as ever.

The balcony was not particularly big, and the floor was concrete. Hiding something out here would be difficult, and impractical – which was why it would be such a good place to hide something important, for no one would think to look out here. I let my gaze roam around the balcony, from the floor up to the roof of the apartment.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Takigawa joined me, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Where would you hide something out here?" I asked.

Takigawa looked around. "Ummm…I don't think you can…"

I looked down at the concrete floor. There were a few cracks, but nothing looked like it had been removed…so maybe not under the concrete floor…

Takigawa stood by the railings. "Wow. I forgot we were so high up." He leaned over the railings fearlessly.

"Ah, please be careful." Just watching him made me feel nervous. I walked over to join him, his antics suddenly making the drop seem a lot bigger than it had before.

"Relax, I'm not going to fall." He grinned at me. "Come on. I dare you, lean over."

I shook my head. "No way."

"Why not?"

"It's dangerous." I edged up to the railings, now feeling very uneasy. I had bad experiences with high up places as a child, in particular when an older sibling or relative was involved; pushing me closer towards the edge then yanking me back quickly whilst screaming "Saved your life!" was one of their favourite games.

Takigawa gave me a look. "We're not going to fall."

"No one thinks they're going to fall, and people still do." I peered over the edge, down at the miniature people who walked on the streets below.

Then something caught my eye.

"Wait a minute." I got on my knees and snaked my hand through the railings.

"What are you doing?" Takigawa asked, bemused.

"I think…I saw something…" My hand groped around the outside of the balcony, beneath the railings. When my fingers brushed something, I knew I had been right.

"I've found something. But…" I strained my hand, but to no avail. "I can't…reach…"

"Here, let me try." Takigawa knelt beside me and reached down. With ease, he ripped something off the outside of the balcony and brought back his hand.

"Got it." A plastic wallet filled with papers, with layers of masking tape across it, was gripped in his hand.

Back inside the apartment, Lin opened the plastic wallet cautiously, and pulled out the wad of papers. The wallet was covered in dust and grime, and as he shook out the papers, I saw that some were covered in mould and mildew. They must have been very old.

Lin flicked through them. "A lot of these are illegible. They've been exposed to the weather for too long, even inside the plastic case. The remaining ones are either in Japanese or in English."

Kazuya nodded in understanding, taking a selection of the papers from Lin. He scanned through them.

"…Well…this is interesting…" He murmured.

"What?" Takigawa asked. "Does it mention Mattaku?"

"…No…But it does mention something else." Kazuya passed the paper to me.

"…It's a missing person's report." I read the notice. A picture of a man, with ice blue eyes, was on the front. From his appearance, particularly his red hair, I immediately knew he was a westerner. Strangely, the picture had been circled repeatedly in a red biro, and a number had been written beside it and underlined several times.

"Matthew Forcit, age 31. There's a number next to his profile picture…12 9 1 18. It looks like he went missing 2 years ago, while he was in Japan…wait a minute." I stared at the information. "He's an FBI agent."

"What?" Takigawa's eyes widened. "FBI?"

"Yeah, he was investigating a case and he just…vanished. He was last seen in Tokyo, looking for a man called…" I exhaled sharply. "…Dimitri Chekskov."

"Wasn't that the man mentioned in Howe-san's report? The one who saw another patient being abducted?"

"Yeah. That was him." I read on. "He said he was investigating the matters surrounding Chekskov's transfer, when he disappeared."

"What was an FBI agent doing in Japan?" Takigawa asked in bewilderment.

"It's very strange. What's more, why would an FBI agent be investigating such a matter? And in a different country?" Kazuya frowned. "This is very unusual indeed. Carry on reading the other papers."

Flicking to the next sheet, I saw that it was written in Japanese this time. The only English was the name 'Matthew Forcit'. "Ok…um…it's some kind of form…?"

"What do you mean?" Takigawa peered over my shoulder. "Oh, I get you…like a form you fill out when you're at the hospital or something? Except it's a lot more brief."

"Yeah. It has 'name', 'age', 'gender', and 'information'."

This time, Takigawa read it out. "It says, 'Matthew Forcit, 31, male, U.S citizen. No family. FBI agent. Suffering from…Bipolar Disorder." He frowned. "Special patient…Treatment B needed…?"

"What does that mean?" I wondered.

"Hey…underneath the paragraph, there's a number…12 9 1 18…"

"That's the same as the one on the missing person's report." I pointed out.

Kazuya frowned, but said nothing. I flicked to the next piece of paper. It was written in English again.

"This is an…autopsy report." I scanned through the information, which spread across several pages. "There's a lot here."

"Can I look?" I passed the papers to Kazuya. His eyes darted back and forth swiftly as he read the information. Within about five minutes, he had finished.

"…This is…" His brow was furrowed. For a moment, he just stared at the paper. When he looked up, his eyes were narrowed.

"John. Recount to me exactly what you were told by the couple who found you at the river."

His request seemed a bit strange, but I did not dare question it as his eyes bore intently into me. As I described the account, his face became more and more troubled. Not only that, but Lin was watching me very carefully too, and while his face gave nothing away, his gaze was fixed on me.

The second I had finished, Kazuya grabbed me by the wrists and pulled me towards him. He then began to unbutton my shirt.

"Woah, Kazuya, what are you doing?!" I tried to step away, but he grabbed me by my wrist.

"The autopsy report talked about a woman who had been found wondering through a village outside Tokyo. She had been severely beaten and was suffering from dehydration, malnutrition and hypothermia. Before she passed out, she managed to say that she had been wondering around a forest for the past week. However, after falling unconscious, she went through cardiac arrest and passed away. No one was able to identify the woman, who was aged around 27, and her DNA did not match anyone in the missing person's database. In the autopsy examination, the full extents of her beating was revealed to the pathologist who did the examination. But what really caught the pathologist's eye was a number on the woman's back. It had been branded onto her."

"What?" Kazuya finished unbuttoning my shirt and pulled it off, before turning me around roughly. Most of the bandages were gone, apart from a few around my shoulders and back. I had not taken them off, as Doctor Nakumura had told me the wounds underneath would take a month or so to heal.

"The couple who had found you said that you had been wearing a blue uniform of some kind, similar to that worn by hospital patients. A blue shirt and trousers. Yes?"

"Yes…" I did not like where this was going.

"What's underneath these bandages?"

"I don't know, I was never told."

"Pass me some scissors." My heart sped up when I realised what Kazuya wanted to do.

"Naru-kun, are you sure that's a good idea?" I heard Takigawa say. "I mean, shouldn't you ask a doctor first or something?"

Kazuya did not reply. Instead, he began to cut away at the bandages. Reluctantly, I stood still, as the cold metal of the scissors brushed my skin and made me shiver. When the last of the bandages fell away, Kazuya stood back.

He inhaled sharply.

Takigawa hissed, "Holy shit…"

Lin remained silent, but placed a hand on my shoulder.

"What is it?" I asked him, although I already knew the answer.

"…There's a number on your back."

I shut my eyes, swallowing the fear that was creeping up my throat. "I-Is it…has it been b-branded…on?"

"Yes."

It was only through deep breathing and every inch of effort I could scrounge that stopped me from throwing up. Someone had branded me. Oh, God. I felt defiled and desecrated. My back itched and the skin crawled. Reaching my hand down it, I tentatively felt the area where the bandages had been. At first, the skin was smooth. Then my finger ran over something rougher. I retracted my hand at once.

"Umm…I need some air…" My voice displayed a calmness that did not exist.

Kazuya passed me my shirt and I hastily pulled it on, before walking out to the balcony. This was so messed up. Part of me was still trying to comprehend what I had just learnt, let alone what it meant. I had been branded. Branded. How? By who? Why? What did it all mean? Oh God, this was so twisted. I leant against the railings, almost gasping for breath. What did this all mean? The missing detective had a number. The woman from the autopsy report had a number. And I had a number. What did it all mean?

"John-kun."

I started, as Takigawa walked up to me. "You ok?"

"Not really." I wasn't going to lie.

"Look…listen, we're going to find out what happened. And we're going to make the bastard that did this pay. I promise."

"How can you be so sure?"

"No one can do this much evil and get away with it."

I didn't reply to this, so he continued.

"We're getting closer. This information can give us a lot to go on." Despite his reassurance, these words brought me no comfort.

"Anyway, Kazuya thinks we should go now."

Sighing, I nodded. "Ok. Let's go."

As we left the apartment, Kazuya was noticeably quiet. He did not say anything more on the matter of the number. In fact, he did not say a single word altogether, leaving me to try and guess what exactly had driven him to look at my back. There was a single idea at the back of my mind, but I didn't want to acknowledge it. Instead, I tried to think how we could use the information from Kazuki's apartment to help us.

"Do you think we'll be able to find out more about this woman? It didn't say who she was, did it?" Takigawa asked.

"No, she was never identified." Kazuya finally spoke up. "As for that FBI agent…I would be surprised if we couldn't find out more about him."

"But surely it would be difficult for us to get any information on him? He's from the U.S, for one, and I don't think the FBI would be happy about us poking around an agent's history." Takigawa pointed out as we walked back to the van, with people striding past us on the streets.

"Well, I could try and contact Sinead again…" I suggested. "She might be able to look into that for us. The only problem is, she hasn't been picking up her phone recently."

Kazuya remained silent, and his face was…taut, almost, as Takigawa asked,

"Oh, your cousin? Why?"

"She's…a liaison officer, and she's worked with the FBI quite a few times, so it shouldn't be a problem for her."

"Do you know why she isn't picking up her phone?" Takigawa asked me.

"I'm not –"

Our eyes met. Across the road, in a throng of people, standing perfectly still as everyone bustled past him, almost unnoticeable. There he was. His mouth twitched into a smile as he watched me.

"Hey, John-kun, are you –"

"Colleague-san." I breathed the name. "He's there. He's over there."

"What?" Takigawa looked wildly for him, trying to see past the string of traffic that stalled down the road. But as the cars cleared, he was gone.

"Damn it!" Takigawa shouted. "Where is he?"

Lin looked across the street. "He can't be far. Kazuya, stay here with Father Brown. Takigawa-san, come with me."

There was no time to protest as Takigawa and Lin dashed across the road, dodging between the various cars and vans that went past.

"He was there?" Kazuya did not break his calm exterior.

"Yeah, he was just across the road…"

"Why do you think he would be out in the open like this? If he's so careful, then why would he be here in broad daylight?"

"I don't know, maybe…" A realisation dawned on me. "Wait. What if it's a trap? What if Lin-san and Takigawa-kun get hurt?"

Kazuya frowned. "That's a troubling possibility, and a likely one at that. Stay here."

"What?"

"Make sure you're constantly in the open, don't go anywhere that someone might not be able to see you." Without another word, Kazuya took off in pursuit of Takigawa and Lin.

I stood where I was, waiting anxiously for the three of them to return. Would they be ok? Had the colleague already hurt them? I tried to push these thoughts out of my mind. They would be fine. They would be perfectly fine. No matter how much I tried to tell myself this, I could not believe it. Had Kazuki's apartment been bugged all along? Is that how the colleague knew where we were?

"I really thought you would learn to be more careful."

I could not move a muscle before I felt a pair of hands at my waist. My entire body paralysed.

"Do you really think the trap was set to get those two grunts?" A familiar voice whispered startlingly close to my ear, enough to make me shiver and for my back to start prickling.

"Well, it would be very handy if we could just do away with them, but orders are orders." It was a man's voice, one that I had heard before. "No. It was set for you."

"Who are you?" I did not dare make a move; for some reason, I knew that fighting back would only end badly for me. Not now, anyway.

"Me? Don't you remember me?" No one seemed to notice what was happening as they walked past, or they pretended not to notice.

"Oh, right, of course. You have amnesia." The man told me mockingly. "Well, let me tell you." The grip around my waist tightened.

"My name is Saburou. I'm sure you've heard of me."

At once, my hand flew to my neck. This made the man laugh.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"What do you want?"

"I heard you found out about my…welcoming gift."

"…Was it you? Was it you who…left the number on my back?"

"Yes. Now I want to ask you something. Where did you find those papers?"

So not all of our conversation had been overheard… "Why would I tell you that?"

"I would strongly advice you not to disagree with me, John." Saburou grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind me in a painful position. "Where did you find those papers?"

"I'm not telling."

My defiance somehow made Saburou hesitate, and I took the opportunity to struggle from his grip, kicking him in the shin as I did so.

"Stay away from me." I hissed at him, turning around and seeing his face for the first time. The first thing I noticed was his hands. They were scarred and gnarled, with faint lines running across his fingers and the backs of his hands. His hair was closely shaved to his skull, but there was something almost peaceful about his face. It showed no malice or violence, although his eyes said otherwise. It was a face I had seen before.

"…Ok. I have to leave, anyway. Next time, it won't be so easy." His retreat surprised me, and he simply turned and walked away. Within seconds, he had turned the corner and disappeared.

In that moment, the dim memories in my mind connected, and I could remember where I had seen and heard this man before. He was the man who had chased me over the edge of the cliff, the man from the abandoned house. Now I knew his name – Saburou.

"John-kun!" I turned around, to see Takigawa running towards me. "Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" I was relieved to see him.

"No. We lost him. I'm sorry." Behind him, I saw Lin and Kazuya approaching. "Hey…are you sure you're ok? You look pretty shaken up."

"Umm…" I swallowed. "While you were gone…a man came and he wanted to know where we found those papers –"

"Wait, did he hurt you?" Takigawa sounded angry already.

"No, I'm fine. But he's working for colleague-san. His name is Saburou."

Takigawa narrowed his eyes. "Isn't that the man who…"

I rubbed my neck. "Yeah. That was him."

Now, Lin and Kazuya had reached us. Immediately, I asked,

"Lin-san, do you still have those papers?"

To my relief, he handed the plastic wallet to me.

"Good. We need to make sure we keep an eye on these. Colleague-san wants them."

"How do you know this?"

"I'll explain later. Can we just…go? Somewhere safer? Please?"

"Of course." Kazuya turned to go back to the car, but there was still something I wanted to ask him.

"Kazuya-san…" He paused, and faced me. "Why did you want to know about what I was wearing when Rin-san and Hayate-san found me? Do you think that…I was…"

"I don't want to jump to any conclusions until I am certain." Kazuya failed to give the answer I had been dreading. "Now, I think we should go."

I looked around me one last time. Wherever Saburou and the colleague were, I couldn't see them now. What did they want with the papers we had found? And to what lengths would they go to get them?

Most importantly, how much longer did I have left until the colleague decided my time was up?

"…Yeah. Let's go."