"Have you managed to trace the call?" Kusanagi asked through his walkie talkie. It beeped and remained static for two minutes before an alert voice replied.

"No, sir. We are still working on it." The wakie talkie beeped once more before it was silent. Kusanagi put the device on his lap and glanced at Touma quickly.

"I suspect, the killer was the person who had called us…" Kusanagi started to explain, his mind whirled and formed connection between events that had happened earlier. "The hospital had been on high alert since Ustumi was admitted, but the killer was still able to waltz in and commit a horrendous act. He or she was able to enter through the back door which is only authorized via a security code."

"And the security card was attainable from the security guards stationed in the hospital. One of them is missing…" Touma's voice trailed away. The reason why - Kusanagi understood very well, since the killer was able to murder ruthlessly – the missing security guard was most probably…

Touma pulled the release button for the car's back left door abruptly, the cold draft that entered the car dragged Kusanagi from his deep trance back to reality. Kusanagi noticed the coat and the familiar figure enter the back of the car. The figure was silent, Kusanagi glanced at him and then back at his walkie talkie. "We cannot afford another mistake…" he hissed angrily, his fingernails dugged deep into his flesh.

Touma whose face had turned rather dark since the grusome murder of his colleague; stared daggers through the mirror at the figure at the back. He was unwilling to let the professor into the car earlier but the former had stared into his window so intently that it made him uncomfortable from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. Why is this person so weird? He doesn't behave like a normal human being at all…

"Looks like the experiment failed." Yukawa Manabu whispered and folded his arms tightly. Kusanagi spun around swiftly causing the walkie talkie to slide in between the gaps of his seat and the door.

"Shit" he muttered under his breathe, and slide his hands in between the gap to grasp the device.

Touma peered over his shoulders and took a deep breathe. He had a deep dislike towards the professor but as a police officer; hearing the possibility of another murder taking place so soon after this incident put all his senses to his alert.

"What!" Touma seethed, his rudeness apparent to the professor as well as Kusanagi who had managed to pull the device up and hammered the top of Touma's head harshly without holding back.

"Adjust your tone. That is not how a respectable police officer would speak."

Touma shield himself from the blows swiftly and swatted the anntena of the walkie talkie that was close to his eye away.

"An experiment?!" Touma shouted angrily, he turned aruptedly and reached his hands towards the professor's collar.

"Touma! Stop it!" Kusanagi grabbed him by the shoulder, but the younger officer would not let go. His eyes burnt and rage was right up his neck.

"Its all an experiment to you? How heartless! Someone actually died! DIED! Cause of you and your stupid experiment!" Touma screamed wildly into the professor's face, his fingers tightened around the collar, Touma swore he might have done something worst if he had not notice the familiar click of a gun next to his head.

Touma's blood froze when he realized that his senior officer had pulled out his gun and had it steady at the side of his head. Kusanagi glare was intense but it was not hesitant.

"Stand down, officer." Kusanagi whispered dangerously.

For a moment, time seemed to have stopped. Touma's clench around the professor's collar did not loosen and Kusanagi showed no sign of backing down either.

Yukawa Manabu who had not said a word or flinched since Touma had gotten physically violent, considered Touma's behaviour for a second.

"Not again" he uttered. This behaviour reminds him of a certain someone years ago who was just as impatient and emotional. However she wasn't as rude or physically intrusive as this officer is at the moment, he stared at the drawn gun then his eyes darted around his surroundings. He closed his eyes briefly and certain memories flooded his mind.

"No, It's still in a hypothesis stage." He told her after removing his shades.

"Hypotheses are meaningless until that are proven through experiments" Yukawa Manabu continued after slotting the shades into his breast pocket. He heard her footsteps getting louder right behind him, but he will ignore that for now.

"I can't tell you until then" he added in with an afterthought.

"Even so, this is truly amusing" The incident stirred excitement within his soul, a feeling he hardly ever gotten at the university but his exclaimation did not seem to go well with her.

"What's so amusing about this?!" she shouted at him from behind. Admittedly, he was caught off guard, however he did turn around to face her – wearing look that states 'shocked'.

"A person died!" she added as she marched towards him, anger and disgust written clearly all over her face. "A boy who didn't even get to turn 20!"

He stared at her, his face frozen in a frown at her. He was never screamed at before, and with such a tone…Was she trying to gulit trip him?

"This case isn't for your amusement!", he thought he spotted disappointment in her expression but why was she getting so emotional towards him?

She – Ustumi Kaoru, walked towards him. "Stop playing around." She muttered as she stalked past him.

They were investigating their first case together. That boy who had his head burnt near that canal – which name he could not ever recall. He had a revelation about what might had actually happened but him being a scientist professional afterall, would never reveal the answers until it is proven.

And yet, this woman got upset that easily. Over a person who was not even related to her at all. How did she even become a police officer in the first place?

What an amusing one.

Yukawa opened his eyes, sighed and glance at Kusanagi coolly.

"If you are not planning to shoot. Why don't you put that away." Yukawa said simply, it wasn't a request but was a simple statement. Kusanagi returned his gun to his backpocket briskly, "Touma, you should calm down." He told his junior firmly but at the same time his tone was gentle.

Touma stared at his officer for a moment – it was probably the presence of the gun that caused his anger to ebb away. He loosened his grip around the professor's collar and turned away.

Yukawa pulled himself away and leaned back, "Oh, now it has creases on it…"

"I will not report you for your behaviour, Touma. But you have to get your emotions under control before it ruins your judgement." Kusanagi stated, before releasing the gear next to the wheel. He stepped on the pedal, and eased the car of the parking slot.

"You should listen." He told his junior calmly. "before you make any wrong judgement about Professor Manabu."

The car turned a corner and exited the basement carpark.

Touma remained silent, he glared at his reflection in the window. He would not listen. He would not want to listen to such a freak. What an inhuman person, a terrible person.

The car turned to the left and entered the highway. They were the only car on the road. Touma sunk deep into his seat but his eyes were wide open, fixated on the streetlight outside as the car past by. As the car switched lanes to the right. Touma thought he heard the professor muttering under his breath.

"How much will you give in return for the truth?" Yukawa muttered out of the blue. His eyes were closed again, but his expression was unaturally stern.

Touma did not reply, the question sank into his mind but Touma did not want to find the answers for it. Just like his professors in school way back then, always asking the vague questions that does not have a standard answer. He hated them, acting like some sort of pyschologist.

"As a scientist, we strive for the truth behind each question through various experiments, trial and error."

"When an experiment fails, we get upset; disappointed and angered."

"How do we not know the importance of each and every ingredient we used in those failed experiments."

"But yet, we push on; again and again. In order to attain truth to our questions."

"Now. Isn't what you do, the same just like as us?"

Touma stared at the space in between his legs. He did not want to listen. But…

"What is wrong, exactly for me to call this an experiment?"

….

….

….

…

…..

…

"The only wrong thing here, is your emotions."