Knock! Knock! Knock!

I know it's her again, based on the familiar knock pattern of a typical OCD patient: one long knock followed by two shorts. It's like clockwork. She knocks on my door every two weeks, give or take. If I'm out in Esthar and miss her bi-weekly 'realization,' she'll definitely return the following weekend.

"Coming!"

I answer while unhurriedly getting my lasso—Acma's lasso, to be exact. I can't believe I'm getting involved with another girl, but this time I'm the one wielding the lasso. Life is strange. Hyne is paying me back in an unexpected way.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Coming!"

I step closer to the door and swing it like I am dancing.

"Hi! I'm looking for... Ah!"

I pull her into my house and, in a circular motion, wrap her in the lasso.

"Help!"

Duct tape covers her mouth. My job is done.

Or not.

"Ahhh!"

I scream as a blast of pepper spray hits my eyes. Damn, she comes prepared this time. She must have brought a small knife to cut the lasso. Nice try. But I'm good at withstanding pain and can maneuver around this amateur without my vision. I grab her wrist, knock her tiny knife to the floor, and use the rest of the lasso to tighten her before shoving her into a cushioned chair.

Double cushioned, mind you—my courtesy to a disabled gal.

"Um... Um..."

She tries to talk or scream while struggling to get loose from the chair. I'm waiting for the pepper spray to dissipate before I prepare the memory-erasing device, which will leave another set of holes in her skull. Without good vision, I might accidentally kill her or leave her mentally impaired. Believe me, girl, your life would be much easier if you hadn't been born a peculiar genius.

"Don't resist," I say, unable to tolerate the bi-weekly commotion in my house. "Yes, Angelo was not killed by you. We erased your memory. Something fishy happened, detective. And I'll keep erasing your memory if you keep coming back. I've tried to talk you out of this so many times, but it's no use. Does eating ramen make you stubborn, or is it really your nature? Anyway, shut up and stay still. In fifteen minutes, this will be over. I'll send you back to Deling first thing in the morning. Does that answer all your questions, Dr. Yue?"

She stops making noise.

"Um? Um?"

"Fine, don't scream," I sigh, then remove the duct tape from her mouth.

"Don't erase me this time..." she pleads.

"Sure!" I smile and say sarcastically.

"No, really, how different does it make? I've counted my Balamb train tickets. I've been doing this for a dozen times. Apparently, that memory eraser doesn't work on me."

She has a point.

"And..." she continues reluctantly, "you haven't killed me yet."

Shit.

"Yet," I emphasize.

"I bet you won't."

"What makes you think I won't eventually do that if you keep coming to my house with more weapons?"

"Statistics."

I chuckle. "Right, math will save you from my gunblade."

She's silent this time. My vision is starting to clear, though not completely.

"I'll get better next time. And the time after that," she says. "I'm able to spray you this time. Maybe I'll even make a scratch on you next time, Colonel Smailes. By simple logics, if you don't kill me and I get better, eventually, I'll be the last one standing."

"Not without your boosters."

"Oh! Now you're not even tiptoeing around a disability joke, huh?" says the one who just breaks into my house with a knife and pepper spray.

"I'm sorry," I sigh. How double standard! But it doesn't hurt to hear her out. "What do you suggest?"

"I won't say a word about Angelo…"

"Sure you won't," I chuckle.

"Really," she frowns more. "I'm serious. Why are you laughing like that?"

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to accuse you of being a pathological liar, jerk, weirdo, opportunist, or con artist," I enjoy her frown as my vision returns to normal, "but I'll lose my job if I let you go free with top-secret information."

"Too bad, I'm prepared. Before coming here, I already wrote down what I remember on a USB. If I don't come back…"

"If you don't come back in a few hours, Dr. Cassidy will spread the information about Angelo," I help her finish her lie. "Yeah, I'm so scared, doc."

She looks terrified.

"Yeah, you've said that. But I figured you wouldn't write anything down because that would be proof that you remember and would get you killed faster anyway, as you figured I'm not the only SeeD in the case. That's why you keep coming back to my house."

Checkmate.

"Right," she murmurs. "And I take my chance to come here without anything to guarantee my life because... I remember our walk—"

I hold my breath.

"Do you like me?" she asks. "You won't let me die, right?"

That's how I got checked, mates.