Nobuyuki

I closed the door on Eizo and Azami, before stealing a look at them-both exhausted, though Eizo had done a good job of trying to quash it the moment that he saw Azami again. The two of them were now sitting quite close together, heads bowed as they talked. Or rather, Eizo talked, voice low and soothing, words barely distinguishable. But for now, they seemed none the worse for wear. Or so I hoped as I turned to face the others.

"So, what are we deciding for now?" I asked.

"Cut them loose for now, I say." Evalynn flippantly announced. "I mean, they are all in different states right now and we don't even know what's fully going on with the trackers."

"Actually, about that." Shizuka interjected. "I had the technicians fast-track tests on their status first, and it appears that the trackers have been dormant all this time."

"So, they haven't been used to follow the survivors over the past two decades." Detective Hirawa added.

"That's good at least." I said. "They'll be glad to know that. "

"Have we found anything else?" another of the detectives inquired.

"Not yet," Hirawa said. "But we're working on it."

There was a brief discussion about what we'd gleaned from the various interviews we'd managed to have with those survivors who were here. Which was to say, not much. Though it seemed that Azami, of all people, had been more open. I would have pegged her to be the most reluctant to talk of all of them, but clearly not-though she had inevitably reached her limit very quickly. It was hardly news at this point, but the gentle approach was most definitely needed in at least her case, and I would make sure this was known. Eizo, on the other hand, had been less helpful. Oh, he'd had an open manner to him, and had seemed to be trying, but there was a wall that he'd reach and then just halt at, no matter my gentle direction or Evalynn's more to-the-point jabbing. Friede had been similar in the short interview Gabe had had with her before she'd gone in to surgery.

"So, at the moment, unless they need to stay in the hospital overnight, those who are finished are welcome to go home for the night, and then we can regather them in the morning. Of course, we'll need a presence here for those still here and yet to arrive. I trust that you can delegate amongst yourselves and the officers about that."

"Yeah, yeah." Evalynn said breezily, for all of us.

"Should we not just question them now?" another detective asked. "They'll have time to get their stories straight this way."

"They've had twenty years to get their story straight in case you didn't notice." Evalynn snarked.

Technically, they had, but they hadn't as far as I could see. With a few exceptions here and there, this had been the first time they'd seen each other. Which in itself was an interesting piece of evidence. Having a few group interviews under such circumstances would also most likely yield some interesting information. And speaking of interesting circumstances…

"Just one more question, Superintendent-are you going to recuse Detective Arisato?"

Shizuka considered me for a moment, then shook her head.

"At this stage, his connection doesn't outweigh the benefits of his past experience. But I'll be monitoring the situation. "

"Yes, at the moment I think even with the trackers, we don't have a strong enough direction to go in to make the relationship a problem just yet." Hirawa interjected.

"But send him home with Arisato-san for now." Shizuka added. "Are there any more questions from anyone?"

Since there weren't, we all set off in our different directions. Evalynn went to get Gabe to tell him that those who had finished were able to go home, while I went off to the hospital room that Mai was in, and opened the door. Mai was sitting in the bed, Juro on a chair pulled right up, the two of them holding hands while Juro talked and Mai looked at him anxiously. When I knocked, they both startled, but Juro at least put a smile on as I opened the door.

"Why, hello there. How are you feeling now?"

"I'm…I'm okay. " Mai said, sounding decidedly not okay.

"I was just telling Mai that Sachi is staying with Kanon-san and Naomi-chan, and that Akio is with a school friend."

Okay, that explains why she looks particularly upset. Mai was one of those people that particularly enjoyed being a mother. Indeed, it was when she'd given birth to Akio that I'd really been able to set aside the fact that she'd been a survivor of a tragedy, pushing that fact about her to the back of my mind (I could not entirely forget, of course) until now. She didn't smother her kids, but having them away from her was not something she'd ever found easy.

"It's a good idea, that way you guys can talk about things-well, not about the case, as such, but you know, talk about it and you don't have to worry about them. They're going to hear about things on the news anyway, but at least this way they're not in the thick of it."

"I know…" Mai sighed sadly, and released one of her hands from Juro's grip to pick up a black hair bow that was on the bedside table.

"Anyway, Juro, can I talk to you a moment?"

At that, Mai whipped back around and stared at the two of us, wide eyed. She looked incredibly young in that moment. Thinking about it, in a way, she was incredibly young. She had been especially so when Juro had married her (though, there was nothing wrong there. She hadn't been underage, and nothing had happened while she was-Gabe had made a covert point of randomly visiting the two of them when Mai had been staying with him while looking for her own home, often dragging me and Evalynn along, just to be sure. Even if he would never admit that had bene the real reason to anyone), but it had not been age so much as…well, this. This wide-eyed, fearful vulnerability. Yes, she loved him, but also, she needed him. Now, more than ever, she needed him.

"It's okay," Juro reassured. "You can see me through the window? I won't be a minute."

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, Mai." I breezed.

Nonetheless, once we were outside, Mai watched us worriedly through that window. I wasn't sure how good her lipreading skills were, so I angled myself slightly so she couldn't see as I updated Juro quickly on the situation.

"So," I concluded. "You can go home for now."

"Are you sure? I don't want to not be pulling my weight?"

"Look, Juro, at the moment, I reckon getting Mai calm enough to be able to face the coming days is probably your best bet at the moment. She's cleared, right?"

"Technically, but not on her own."

"Exactly, there you go. Take your wife home, Juro. Make her dinner for a change and talk or…you know, don't talk."

I gave a cheeky grin, and waggled my eyebrows deliberately. Juro groaned and shook his head, but he couldn't fight the smile.

"Nobu-kun!"

"Look, no kids in the house, you may as well make full use of it."

"Nobu-kun!" Juro repeated in protest, though he was grinning and slightly blushing now. "Fine, okay! But if there is anything, call me, okay?"

"Of course."

I watched, for a moment, as Juro went back in, and Mai visibly relaxed and leaned into him for a reassuring embrace, before he helped her get up and gathered her things for her. I waved to them through the window as they came to the door, and then set off.

Perhaps in the end it would be best if Juro stepped aside. But we would just have to wait and see.

…

Eizo

"So, I don't know about you, but I'm ravenous." I said, trying to keep my tone bright. "How about we stop to get something on the way?"

Azami considered this for a moment, and then nodded cautiously. All things considered, she seemed okay after having her tracker removed and after being questioned, but I couldn't be too sure-she'd barely said anything when the detectives had let us go home for the night.

As we got into the car, I reached out to momentarily squeeze her hand, and she looked at me, wide-eyed, before tentatively squeezing back. Then, we settled into our seats, and I started to drive.

"What…what did they ask you about?" Azami asked after a few moments.

"Mostly about the trackers-did we have any idea about them, that kind of thing." I said. "They asked us about our ears hurting."

"They asked the same for me."

"What did you say?"

There was a long pause. Since the road was relatively clear, I snuck a quick look at her before returning my attention to the driving. Her lips were pursed and she was frowning.

"I mean, if you want to talk about it." I said hurriedly.

"The Electro-IDs. They asked about those again." Azami said, in almost a monotone.

"Oh." I scrambled. "They asked me the same, as well, after the trackers. I think they must think they would be connected in some way."

I had wracked my brains as to how this could be, and the best I could theorise was that it had been fingerprint technology of some sort, working in sync with the trackers in some way or another. New Hope's Peak was going to be using something fairly similar except without trackers inside people. I had not divulged that when I had been interviewed, though. I had been veering into dangerous territory by mentioning Monobear anyway, and I wasn't sure of the line between helping them and making things worse for us. Hopefully I had managed to walk it. But how long would I be able to keep balancing?

"So….there you have it." She sighed, closing her amber eyes for a moment. "That's how I killed Yuri. I trust that ties up any loose ends."

"Yes. I was fairly confident it was you."

Kimiko said this calmly, but it didn't really take a psychic to work out that she wasn't calm at all. I looked askance at Yuki, expecting him to yell at us or have a tantrum, or something. But instead, he was just clutching his toys and looking even more like a child than usual, all wide-eyed and lost.

"But what the hell, why?" Sen'ya burst out, breaking the silence. "She didn't do shit to you."

Once again, she closed her eyes.

"I know she didn't, because none of you did. But if it had been someone else in that workroom, they would have been the one to die instead. It was never about Yuri, specifically."

"But why?" Sen'ya repeated.

"Mmm." Teiichi murmured. "I don't understand it. You were always trying to keep us going."

"Oh, boohoo, I just want to know whyyyyyyyyyyyy. God, you guys are such bores!" Monobear complained, rolling around on his throne. "But fine, whatever. Just get it the fuck over with."

Her eyes opened, and she sighed heavily.

"I was tired. I've had enough of these tragedies. I know it might seem crazy to you, but I wanted it all to be over, and I didn't see another way. I tried, though."

"But you just caused another tragedy, though." Eikichi pointed out. "You had more than enough sense to see that, didn't you?"

The answer was a simple shrug, and another sigh. Looking at her, she really did seem tired. Pale under the tan, deep bags under the eyes, and an overall pervasive aura of sheer exhaustion. Just looking at her, I wanted to curl up as well. I looked to the stand on my right, empty like the one that was to the right of that, which I stared at next, imagining Fumiaki there, wondering what he would say to all this. Because surely, he would know something to say. Something to the point, that wouldn't fix this as such (because I knew there was no fixing it) but something that'd help, at least.

The sudden sob that seemed to rip itself out from somewhere deep within Osamu put a stop to such thoughts. Fumiaki wasn't here. Katsuya, Kiran, Moeka, Akari, Yuri and Rin weren't here either.

And now, we'd be losing someone else.

"I don't remember anything, anyway." Azami murmured absently. "I don't remember anything."

"Did you tell them that?" I asked, alert to any distress in her voice. "They shouldn't be questioning you so much anyway, under your circumstances. "

"Mmmmm."

Azami let out a sigh, and when I snuck a look at her again she was leaning her head against the window, staring out at the darkness. Her hair fell over her face slightly, and I wanted so badly to brush it back. But instead, I asked;

"So, what do you feel like eating?"

"I don't know. You decide."

"Alright then, erm…."

We continued driving, and I looked around. There were a few different restaurants and takeaway places on this street, but none caught my eye as such. But one of them was an American-style diner which also did takeaway orders, and I was convinced that we'd been to it before, twenty years ago. Or if not this one specifically, then one like it.

"He's coming, he's coming!"

Sadie suddenly leaned around the booth seat and looked at the rest of us, eyes bright in excitement.

"Teiichi-kun's just sent me a message to say they're coming in from the station."

"Ooooh!" Yuki exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Does that mean cake time?"

"It does, but we need to wait for Kiran-chan to get here." Yuri reminded her brother, though she had a big smile on her face even as she said it, her light green eyes sparkling.

Yuki pouted impressively, but this was quickly forgotten as he watched the spectacle of the cake that Moeka and Kimiko had bought having the candles and other decorations being stuck in. Meanwhile, Akari and Azami got their cameras ready, and the rest of us waited on tenterhooks, getting into birthday mode everytime the entrance door rang, only to realise that it wasn't Teiichi and Kiran each time.

"Oh man," I whispered. "I really want to eat something."

"Same, man, same." Rin commiserated. "But hey, kiddo will be here soon, won't he?"

At that moment, the bell rang again as the door opened, and we all looked. I got onto my knees so I could peer over the booths, and sure enough, this time it was Teiichi and Kiran, both wrapped up, the latter dragging a suitcase that seemed much too bulky for him to carry. Teiichi noticed us and waved, then tapped Kiran, who looked up, and after a moment of confused blinking, beamed sunnily at us and waved, though he looked a little quizzical.

"Come on!" Katsuya yelled across the diner. "We're all waiting!"

Some of us cheered in confirmation, causing more than a few faces to look our way, startled but quickly becoming amused. Fumiaki elbowed me, but I just stuck my tongue out at him as I sat back down normally as Teiichi and Kiran approached.

"Alright," Moeka whispered. "One, two, three and…."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRAN!"

We all yelled this in unison as Kiran approached, looking swamped underneath his winter clothing. Nonetheless, as he looked around at all of us, sitting in our booths expectantly waiting, he beamed. Teiichi nodded in greeting before going to sit in Sadie's booth, promptly getting on his knees and peering over to look at the cake.

"You guys really did this for me!" he exclaimed.

"Well of course we did!" Azami exclaimed. "It's practically a tradition now, since we've done it for everyone!"

"We'll be doing it for you guys too, naturally." Moeka said. "Though I'm guessing not in a diner?"

"Picnic!" Azami exclaimed, instantly.

"Let's think about that later," Akari said. "It's Nanakai-kun's day now."

"Quick, quick!" Yuki exclaimed. "Cut the cake so we can eat it! And I've got a pressie for you! Yuri has too, we made them!"

"Okay, okay," Kiran laughed sweetly. "Lemme just take my jacket off, 'kay?"

"I have a present for you too-how could I not, we're February babies after all, right, Jinsai!" Osamu laughed.

Takaaki, sitting in the opposite booth simply pulled a face and deadpanned:

"You are now one year older, congrats."

This made Kiran giggle as he finally managed to get his coat off and transformed from a walking igloo into the twig that he was.

"You need to come and sit over here," Yuri said, "Then you'll be able to cut the cake. Come, let's get out of the booth so he can squeeze in."

Yuri, Yuki and I all got out, let Kiran in, and then sat back down again, Yuri ending up next to Kiran. She opened her mouth to speak, then paused to blow at her honey-brown fringe in annoyance, before smiling again.

"Alright, do you want the song, or do you just want to blow out the candles?"

"Ah, I did all the singing at home-Inaya loved the singing, though I'm not sure she knew why she was singing. But!" Kiran said with another smile. "She's been going to the shops on her own, which Mum's pleased about."

"Oh, that's great!" Yuri exclaimed. "But alright then, just blow out the candles then."

"Make a wish, too!" Yuki exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, don't forget the wish!" Moeka exclaimed. "But don't tell us what it is."

"I know."

Kiran adopted a look of deep concentration, then stared at the cake and the 18 candles on it. He closed his eyes, then opened them again and looked around at us, before taking a deep breath and blowing. Most of the candles were blown out, but a few lingered. Kiran pouted at them, before taking another breath and blowing again. This time, the rest went out in one go. All of us clapped, and a few of us cheered, before Yuri picked up the cake knife that we'd borrowed from the diner's kitchen and decorated with a ribbon around the handle, and handed it to Kiran. He took a couple of moments to get the right grip on the knife, but he soon had it, and started to cut the cake. Moeka grabbed the paper plates and napkins and loaded slices as Kiran cut them with a great deal of concentration, and handed them out to everyone.

"What about there?" I asked simply, indicating with my head since I still had to park.

"Sure." Azami shrugged, not giving any indication as to whether she had any familiarity with the place or not.

Once the car was parked, we crossed the road and went inside. There were a lot of people sitting around tables and in booths, but at the bar itself there were only a few people.

"Welcome! Are you eating in or taking away?"

The waitress-who looked like she was still in high school-beamed at us. I smiled back at her, hoping that her life would continue to be as happy as she herself seemed now.

"We're taking away, thanks."

"Alright, then please go that way and someone should be with you. There are menus on that rack over there if you can't see the ones on the boards up there. Have a nice evening!"

"Thanks, you too." I replied.

While we waited, we each read one of the menu cards. I decided that I would get some fried chicken and chips, while Azami opted for a simple hamburger. I also decided to treat us both to chocolate milkshakes, for no other reason than why not. I also looked around a little at the different customers. There were a good mix of ages and types, but a lot of them were groups of friends, skewing young and inevitably reminding me of myself, of Azami, of all of us.

"Are you having a good birthday?" the waitress asked as she set down the tray of milkshakes.

"I am!" Kiran beamed happily as he finished unwrapping the present.

"Oh, good. Let us know if you need anything!"

As she left, Kiran finally managed to undo the paper, and he lifted up the small plushie elephant, decorated Indian-style with bright colours and ornate beadwork. He grinned, and made its trunk 'boop' his nose, giggling, before smiling at Yuri.

"It's beautiful. Thank you!"

"Open mine next, open mine next!" Yuki chanted.

"Okay, okay!"

Eventually, it was our turn, and I gave our orders, and then we sat on one of the stools to wait.

"Did we ever come here?" Azami asked, surprising me.

"I don't think here, specifically, but there's a few other places like it around Towa, so maybe one of those." I answered. "We had a lot of fun, like when it was Kiran's birthday. Though I think once Komiya and Hatakawayama started a chip fight with Yuki and some of the others, so we almost got kicked out one time. Not on the birthday though."

This produced a short laugh from Azami, who shook her head in amusement.

"Seriously? That does sound like them, though."

"Yep. They were always the ones who would usually be doing something silly. Ayuna and Jinsai too, for that matter. "

"And you?"

I looked at Azami, who had the hint of a smile on her face. I grinned back, and felt myself blush slightly.

"I'll let you decide that for yourself." I teased.

The smile widened. Only by a fraction, but it widened all the same. It was not that dazzling, billion-dollar smile of old, but it was a smile.

"That definitely means yes."

"Like I said, I'll let you decide for yourself."

It was then that someone called for our order, so I quickly went to get it. When I came back though, Azami's smile had gone entirely, and she was staring out of the windows.

"Azami?"

"There's an old man wandering outside…" she pointed. "I think maybe he might be lost or…"

I looked to where she was pointing, and sure enough there was someone who seemed to be pacing somewhat aimlessly, looking frustrated, possibly muttering to himself.

"Let's go and check on him, then. We're on our way out anyway."

We left the busy restaurant and its happy customers, and headed out onto the street, making to approach the man. But we didn't even need to do that, as he abruptly turned and then bumped into us.

"Woah there, old man!" I said. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright, I'm sure I saw the-" the man broke off and shook his head. "Unless it wasn't, and they're sti-"

"Hold on a moment, have you lost someone?"

"Let go of me." The man said harshly, and then looked properly at the both of us and abruptly stopped.

He stared for a long time.

"Old man?"

For a moment, I didn't recognise him. But then, at the same time his suspicious frown was first replaced by shock and then an angry glare, the little niggles of familiarity I was starting to feel pulled themselves together.

"Moeka's dad?"

"What?" Azami asked quizzically. "You were outside. The apartments."

"And you didn't even recognise me." The man-no, Moeka's dad, Tetsuji-said with bitterness in his voice, his lip curling slightly.

"Well," I said, trying for diplomatic. "It has been twenty years since we would have last seen you."

"And you've just been getting on with your lives in the meantime, right?"

Still, that same thread of bitterness in his voice. I could hardly blame him-it was his daughter who had died, after all. I hesitated a moment, then smiled again as I replied.

"Trying to. Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Yes, actually. You can give me some answers. Especially you."

Tetsuji advanced a little closer, almost leaning into Azami, who stepped back a step, startling.

"M-me?"

"Yes, you. You're able to talk now."

"I mean…yes…." Azami stared at him, shoulders tensing.

"Then you can tell me what's going on? Did you come from the hospital?"

Quickly, I quietly angled myself so I was subtly shielding her. Tetsuji glared at me, but I stayed where I was. I wasn't having anyone have a go at her, not when she was still fragile. But, asides from that, I wondered how it was he had known that we were at the hospital. Did he still work for the police, or had he retired? But then, wouldn't we have seen him around before?

I remained firm though, and shook my head.

"Didn't the police tell you? I'm sure they would have? If not, you could always ask."

Tetsuji let out a laugh at that.

"Right, because that'll actually accomplish something, will it?"

"Um….." Azami just blinked at him.

"Why are you bandaged up like that?" Tetsuji asked suddenly, frowning at the bandages on our ears.

Azami opened her mouth, but I answered before she could.

"Again, I think you should, erm, really ask the police. We need to go. Come on, Azami."

Quickly, decisively, I indicated to Azami to follow me, and then set off across the road. I heard Tetsuji yell something-or attempt to, because it sounded rather raspy and easily swallowed up by the noises around us-but I didn't pay attention, until we got to the car and I heard:

"I'm talking to you!"

Both of us turned to see Tetsuji struggling across the road. I moved to help him, but he managed to get to the car well enough.

"I said, I'm talking to you. And to you!" Again, he focused on Azami. "Talk to me now. Tell me."

"I…." Azami said. "I can't…"

"You're talking to me now. So tell me." He almost spat. "Tell me what happened. "

"Leave her alone."

"Fine, then I'll ask you. Eizo. What happened?"

"At the hospital? Again, you'll have to ask the police."

"I'm asking you. Both of you." Tetsuji responded. "And I don't care whether it's about the hospital, or what actually happened. Actually, why don't we stick with that? Twenty years ago."

"I don't remember anything, though." Azami said quietly.

"Like hell you don't."

"I…I really don't. I'm sorry. Moeka-chan was my friend, and I'm sorry, but-"

"That sorry means nothing, when you won't even tell anyone what happened back then." Tetsuji spat. "Can you not even say who it was who killed her? You saw it, didn't you?"

Unbidden, I found myself nodding. In my head, I imagined levers and buttons and pulleys, and cruel, robotic laughter in the background. Moeka, asking us to forgive her.

"I can't…"

"Azami, it's okay." I soothed, before turning to Tetsuji. "We need to go now. Please, leave us alone."

"Not until I get an answer."

Tetsuji coughed suddenly, but once it had subsided, he squared himself up to me, getting as into my face as he could. He was too close, but it was better than it being Azami whose space he was getting into.

"Hey, there's another knife here!" I said, pointing at it.

"Regardless," Kimiko said. "I do think that this one is most likely the cause of death. Though I'll give her a proper examination just in case. Moeka-chan, you will help me as usual? "

"Huh? What? Oh, uh, yeah, sure okay….." Moeka stuttered, clearly taken aback.

Kimiko gave her an odd look, then pointed to the knife that was still stuck in Akari's body to illustrate her point. I nodded and swallowed.

"There are footprints in the blood here and o-" Seiko paused. "Right, Azami-san stepped in it?"

"Oh goodness, I didn't even notice." Sadie said, worriedly from where she was sitting on the floor nearby with Azami, whom she, Friede and Yuri had somehow managed to get sitting down. Yuri, of course, was now trying to corral Yuki, but Sadie and Friede were still sitting either side of her, protective and worried. Sure enough, there were some rather blurry looking red footprints that stopped just in front of them, and I followed them with my gaze all the way back to Akari. I took a careful breath in, and a careful breath out.

There was a pause in the usual flurry as we all looked over at Azami, who had utterly transformed the moment her eyes had settled on Akari's dead body. She was still semi-rocking, but there was no indication that she had heard anything we had said. Her eyes looked completely blank. I hadn't realised eyes could look that blank.

"Is it real, I wonder?" Lilian mused.

"It's a rare, extreme reaction. But yes, it is real." Kimiko told her coolly.

"The issue right now is those blood-soaked shoes, if indeed they are." Eikichi interjected briskly. "We can't have her wandering around in a daze and potentially complicating the investigation."

"Yes, yes, sure. Azami-chan?" Sadie asked softly. "I need to take off your shoes. "

We all waited for a reaction. But there was none, none at all. Not even the vaguest flicker. Sadie's face creased, but she gently lifted Azami's foot and unlaced one pink sneaker, and then the other, before holding them up expectantly. Eikichi went over and took them, and carried them back to Kimiko. Then, he turned to us.

"We all know how this goes by now. Get cracking. Sadie-san, Heiwa-san, you can either look after Azami-san or come and join in."

I watched for a moment longer as after a moment of whispering to each other, Friede got up and went to help Osamu and Seiko, while Sadie gently pulled Azami up and steered her to somewhere away from the main action. A part of me wanted to follow them. A bigger part was too scared to.

So, after a long moment, I went over to join Kimiko and Moeka and see what they had found out.

I stepped forward to open the car door, but Tetsuji shifted himself so that he was standing in front of it. I was starting to feel slightly light headed, and now my stomach was grumbling with a vengeance.

"Go around the other side." I whispered to Azami, indicating that she should go around to the other door.

"Eizo?"

Azami looked worried, but I nodded quickly at her, and she turned and almost ran around the back of the car and onto the pavement.

"Oh no you don-"

Tetsuji reached out to grab Azami, and just as quickly, I shot my hand out to stop his, and only to stop it. I tightened my grip enough to make sure he couldn't hurt me, but not enough to hurt him. I couldn't, after all. He was old, but he was still Moeka's dad.

"I'm really sorry, but we need to go. Please, leave us alone."

"Why can't you just tell me? Tell me who killed Moeka?"

"I…."

"You know, don't you?" he snarled, properly snarled. "You both know, and you're both hiding it. Some friends you were. Tell me, who killed her?"

"That…I…"

Don't go accusing us, when it was Moeka that killed Akari, I wanted to say to him. It wouldn't have been fair-he was her dad after all, but I needed him to stop. I just needed him to stop.

"What?"

Tetsuji stopped abruptly. He blinked, confused, and I stared back with just as much confusion. But when Azami let out a soft gasp, and I looked over the top of the car to see that she'd gone completely pale, her hands trembling as they came to cover her mouth, it hit me:

I had said it out loud.

Characters introduced this chapter

Victims

Kiran Nanakai, former SHSL Museum Tour Guide (my OC)

Sayuri 'Yuri' Fujimoto, former SHSL Plushmaker (created by: Abitat Eco)

I've been playing around a little bit with names that I use in the narration where Ayuna is concerned. Obviously, in the present day she is Ayuna, and no two ways about that, but flashbacks are a little trickier. In previous chapters I still used 'Ayuna' and feminine pronouns anyway, but I wondered if that was consistent, considering I've been using 'Sadie' in flashbacks and 'Mai' in the present for Mai. So here I tried using 'Osamu' in flashbacks, so let me know if you think that works, or if I should just stick to what I was doing before.