text13060;"""I woke up at sunrise without an alarm bell.""" text13061;"""I'd say I hadn't felt that rested and full of energy for a long while.""" text13062;"""Maybe it was just a burst of energy before a battle — when preparing for a hard fight, you either get yourself together or hide in a dark corner where your enemies won't find you.""" text13063;"""My lifted spirits didn't benefit me in and of themselves though — I was in the same dead end as yesterday.""" text13064;"""And the only person I could ask for help was… well, yeah, Catherine's mother again!""" text13065;"""It was stupid to think I'd get anything more tangible from her this time, but I didn't have much choice but to be a broken record.""" text13066;"""I was shuffling from foot to foot in front of the door of her apartment and casting glances at my watch every five seconds hoping that the hand would move faster.""" text13067;"""Wasn't it too early? What if I wake up Mrs Winters, she'd be in a bad mood and, consequently…""" text13068;"""But the time for niceties had long passed, and nobody was going to be nice to me anyway.""" text13069;"""I confidently pressed the buzzer and, after a minute, heard a sleepy voice:""" text13070;"""That you, Nikolai?""" text13071;"""Yes, we need to talk.""" text13072;"""No doubt.""" text13073;"""She sighed and opened the door.""" text13074;"""When I walked out of the elevator and entered the apartment, Catherine's mother was already dressed and had even put on a minimal amount of makeup, although her hair was still messy after the night's sleep.""" text13075;"""Overall, she looked pretty amusing, and I couldn't help but smile.""" text13076;"""Sorry I haven't rolled out the red carpet.""" text13077;"""Excuse me, but I need to discuss something urgent!""" text13078;"""You always do.""" text13079;"""She said skeptically and looked around, like a short-sighted person searching for their glasses.""" text13080;"""Mind if I make myself some coffee?""" text13081;"""Sure.""" text13082;"""Do you want some?""" text13083;"""No, thank you.""" text13084;"""She went to the kitchen, leaving me alone in the living room.""" text13085;"""On the way here I had rehearsed everything I wanted to tell her in my head many times over, prepared to blurt it out at once, in a single breath — and now Mrs Winters just waved all my confidence away with a single hand gesture.""" text13086;"""She was gone for a few minutes, but to me they seemed like hours.""" text13087;"""Catherine's mother returned with a big steaming mug in her hands, sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and looked at me expectantly.""" text13088;"""So, what do you want to talk about this time?""" text13089;"""I know that Catherine was kidnapped by people from the Corporation!""" text13090;"""I blurted out.""" text13091;"""Is that so? And where did you get this information from?""" text13092;"""From… reliable sources!""" text13093;"""However you looked at it, Kobayashi Ellie could hardly be called a reliable source, but on the other hand, she was the last person who had any reason to lie to me.""" text13094;"""And what are those sources, if I may ask?""" text13095;"""I'm sure you guarantee the anonymity of your sources in the CIA — so I hope you'll understand my desire to keep hers.""" text13096;"""Hers, is it?""" text13097;"""I bit my lip.""" text13098;"""Although my slip only reduced the number of potential informants to sixty million people.""" text13099;"""It doesn't matter! She at least has no reason to lie to me.""" text13100;"""And I do?""" text13101;"""I only then noticed that Mrs Winters was acting unusually serious, without even a shadow of sarcasm.""" text13102;"""I think so.""" text13103;"""Well, Nikolai, let's say you're right.""" text13104;"""She said after a pause.""" text13105;"""But how does it help us?""" text13106;"""Don't you think that I, at least, had the right to know the truth?""" text13107;"""Well, now you do.""" text13108;"""She responded phlegmatically and took a sip of her coffee.""" text13109;"""I'm really wondering — don't you feel ashamed at all?""" text13110;"""Should I?""" text13111;"""Alright, it's obviously too late to educate you.""" text13112;"""Suddenly, I felt a surge of confidence — perhaps because I knew I was right.""" text13113;"""I didn't come here to point fingers, although I don't understand how you can be so calm knowing that your daughter has been kidnapped.""" text13114;"""Or, maybe, you're hiding something else from me?""" text13115;"""I've already told you everything I deemed necessary.""" text13116;"""Think about it, Nikolai, even if things are so bad… hypothetically… How could you help?""" text13117;"""Maybe you used to be a marine, or you have some connections, or a position in the government?""" text13118;"""Maybe you have significant financial resources?""" text13119;"""Well, Nikolai, how can you help?""" text13120;"""Do you see everyone just as how they can benefit you? Catherine must not be very important then!""" text13121;"""Sheryl Winters' face changed.""" text13122;"""If I'm not running all over Tokyo, I don't care?""" text13123;"""What's the point of all your flailing around? Has it helped Catherine at all? I see only one result so far. Or saw, rather.""" text13124;"""I realized she meant Catherine's pregnancy and felt disgusted — I wanted to respond with something explicit, but, in the end, it'd only make things more complicated.""" text13125;"""I agree I haven't always done the right thing, but does that mean I deserve this treatment?""" text13126;"""Catherine's mother only scoffed in response and gripped her mug tighter, warming her hands.""" text13127;"""Fine, I realize that arguing with you won't get me anywhere.""" text13128;"""Thank you.""" text13129;"""She hemmed.""" text13130;"""But I'm still waiting for answers to my questions.""" text13131;"""Nikolai, I'm still trying to explain that you can't help in any way, but you can make things worse.""" text13132;"""And how can a simple Japanese student make things worse for a mighty Japanese corporation?""" text13133;"""I laughed.""" text13134;"""Some people believe you know more than you're letting on.""" text13135;"""And I take it you're one of these people?""" text13136;"""You've yet to convince me otherwise.""" text13137;"""So I have to convince you? I thought we had the presumption of innocence!""" text13138;"""I made an emotional gesture and started walking across the room.""" text13139;"""Mrs Winters, we might be talking about your daughter's life!""" text13140;"""Although maybe I was exaggerating and it wasn't that serious?""" text13141;"""What if she was hiding Catherine somewhere herself…?""" text13142;"""Unless you have something to do with it…""" text13143;"""I said slowly.""" text13144;"""Why would I kidnap my own daughter?""" text13145;"""But you don't deny that she's been kidnapped?""" text13146;"""All I can say now is that you shouldn't poke your nose any deeper into his. You can only make things worse. Unless, of course…""" text13147;"""Unless, of course… what?""" text13148;"""Let's assume that Catherine is indeed being held hostage. Then it's obvious that they need something from me.""" text13149;"""From you? Not from me?""" text13150;"""You've seen the letter, haven't you?""" text13151;"""But you received the same one.""" text13152;"""The meaning of those letters was becoming less and less obvious.""" text13153;"""If you wanted a ransom, you wouldn't ask someone not to look for the victim.""" text13154;"""Mrs Winters lifted her eyebrows like she'd heard someone speaking her mother tongue in a crowd of strangers.""" text13155;"""You're learning fast.""" text13156;"""I'm just trying to think logically.""" text13157;"""Right.""" text13158;"""She sniffed and stood up.""" text13159;"""I need to go to work. If that's all…""" text13160;"""All…? We haven't even started yet!""" text13161;"""Yet that's how we'll have to end it.""" text13162;"""Fine. But you should know that I'm not going to give up looking for Catherine! And I will find her even without your help!""" text13163;"""Make sure you don't burn yourself, Nikolai.""" text13164;"""I'll put my gloves on!""" text13165;"""I replied and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door.""" text13166;"""Sheryl Winters acted like she'd been doing me a favor by telling the truth. Or, to be precise, a small portion of it.""" text13167;"""However, nothing about the bigger picture had changed and, most importantly, I still didn't know what had happened to Catherine and had no way to help her.""" text13168;"""Besides, I just couldn't make sense of her mother's behavior right after Catherine had disappeared compared to the days since.""" text13169;"""Like she'd learned something that meant she didn't need to worry anymore.""" text13170;"""She just happened to forget to tell me about it.""" text13171;"""But now I had, if not an ally, at least a person who cared a little bit about me.""" text13172;"""Kobayashi Ellie.""" text13173;"""Maybe I was exaggerating her sympathy toward me, but I wasn't about to give up.""" text13174;"""In any other situation it would've been a good idea to ignore my first impulse and think carefully.""" text13175;"""Then I definitely wouldn't run to her without a second thought.""" text13176;"""But you can't always just stop and calmly analyze your plans when, after everything seemed to be over, you've just found a glimmer of hope in the distance.""" text13177;"""I wasn't a regular guest at school these days, hence why — or maybe, because of my crazed look — I caught a lot of surprised glances.""" text13178;"""Most likely it was because I barged into a different class right after the bell for recess.""" text13179;"""But my noble impulse was to no avail — Ellie hadn't come to school today…""" text13180;"""I didn't have the time to be disappointed — while mindlessly wandering the corridors, I ran into Himitsu.""" text13181;"""A pity I hadn't noticed her earlier — I could've tried to avoid an unpleasant conversation.""" text13182;"""Niko-kun!""" text13183;"""She was cheery as usual, but then grew gloomy.""" text13184;"""I'm glad you came today.""" text13185;"""I just… Dropped by to find someone.""" text13186;"""But Katty-chan…""" text13187;"""No, not Catherine!""" text13188;"""I grabbed Himitsu by the hand and walked away with her to avoid anyone eavesdropping.""" text13189;"""The Japanese, as it seemed to me, were way too curious about things that didn't concern them directly.""" text13190;"""Discussing other people, rumors, even their unhealthy interest toward urban legends — of course, not everyone was as fanatical as Kyosuke, but I personally didn't under their passion.""" text13191;"""Maybe there just wasn't enough happening in their own lives…""" text13192;"""Meanwhile mine was eventful enough for a dozen average Japanese and change.""" text13193;"""Niko-kun?""" text13194;"""Yes, and about Catherine…""" text13195;"""I started speaking in Russian — to make sure nobody could understand us.""" text13196;"""Of course she didn't go anywhere, she was kidnapped!""" text13197;"""How do you know that?""" text13198;"""Why does it matter?! I just do! Don't tell me that you believed all that garbage about returning to the US!""" text13199;"""Unlike you, I don't see conspiracies everywhere.""" text13200;"""She replied dryly.""" text13201;"""Of course you'd want it to be that way! But it's not Catherine's fault that our relationship…""" text13202;"""I felt I was trying to look for excuses again — and, what's worse, starting to feel guilty!""" text13203;"""It was as if my words were triggering a reflex, or maybe just seeing Himitsu was enough.""" text13204;"""How long can we talk about this?!""" text13205;"""You started it, Niko-kun…""" text13206;"""Yes, I wanted you to know the truth! But you don't seem particularly surprised.""" text13207;"""Niko-kun, you can blame me all you want for what happened to Katty-chan, but none of it is my fault!""" text13208;"""She frowned, not even trying to conceal her annoyance.""" text13209;"""Oh, sorry I'm not always ready to believe every word you say these days!""" text13210;"""I shouted and an English teacher passing by reprimanded me:""" text13211;"""It's good you're practising Russian, but you don't have to be so loud.""" text13212;"""Sorry, sensei.""" text13213;"""I said nothing, trying not to look him in the eyes and waited until the weird teacher walked further away.""" text13214;"""Look who's talking! He doesn't even know Japanese!""" text13215;"""Niko-kun, I don't recognize you at all. You've changed so much since Katty-chan returned! And not for the better! It's a pity that you don't notice it yourself.""" text13216;"""Changed…""" text13217;"""I scoffed, but it made me think.""" text13218;"""What if I've always been like that and you just never noticed?""" text13219;"""I would've noticed over ten years.""" text13220;"""Then maybe there hasn't been any reason to show my true colors. Like maniacs, you know? Afterwards in the interviews their family, friends, neighbors, always always say that they were such kind people!""" text13221;"""Then it's weird you didn't kill anyone after your parents died and the first time Katty-chan left.""" text13222;"""I didn't want to acknowledge it, but she was right.""" text13223;"""Of course, my current life could hardly be called normal — and it'd be hard to call my behavior unnatural, but what happened a year and a half ago could also drive anyone, even the most strong-willed person, mad.""" text13224;"""On the other hand, there was a cumulative effect — my psyche could more or less bear with the stress until a certain point but in the end started to inevitably crack.""" text13225;"""You would've wanted that, wouldn't you? You'd be bringing me parcels in prison, writing letters, something like that? And I would be safe and sound there, well-protected from Catherine's advances!""" text13226;"""Niko-kun, I'm tired of listening to this nonsense. If you ever want to talk normally, I'll be glad to listen.""" text13227;"""Nonsense, huh…?""" text13228;"""I felt my emotions boiling up.""" text13229;"""Maybe because I realized that even Himitsu had obviously gotten tired of me.""" text13230;"""At some point, almost every person wonders that if the entire world is against them, maybe it's not the world's fault.""" text13231;"""What is this sophistry anyway?! It doesn't change the facts, and the facts are that Catherine has been kidnapped!""" text13232;"""If they don't find her, I won't be upset.""" text13233;"""Himitsu forced out through gnashed teeth and turned away, pretending she noticed someone familiar in the crowd of students passing by.""" text13234;"""I've no doubt!""" text13235;"""That was the end of the conversation.""" text13236;"""Naturally, it wasn't our first fight, but I could feel something come apart inside me after it.""" text13237;"""Apparently she no longer intended to mindlessly back down from me, thinking she was in the right.""" text13238;"""And I couldn't accept her being right in this way — not everything in this world can be defined as correct or incorrect — it also matters what stands behind that correctness!""" text13239;"""Himitsu liked to twist the facts, constantly reprimanding me for my behavior, but, at the same time, deliberately ignoring the reasons for it!""" text13240;"""Maybe I didn't act in the most adequate way at times — and so what?!""" text13241;"""There were only a couple of minutes left before the end of break.""" text13242;"""I ran into the classroom and, paying attention to no one else, started looking for Kyosuke.""" text13243;"""Of course there were many ways to find out where Ellie lived, but they were all tied to all sorts of problems and inquiries that would raise questions.""" text13244;"""Kyosuke was the only person who could do no harm to me besides giving me a snarky look.""" text13245;"""Let's go for a walk!""" text13246;"""I grabbed him by the arm and virtually dragged him out of the classroom.""" text13247;"""Nick, but the class…""" text13248;"""We'll be quick.""" text13249;"""We walked to the furthest staircase, usually the most deserted one.""" text13250;"""You must know where Kobayashi Ellie lives.""" text13251;"""Ellie… Kobayashi…?""" text13252;"""He repeated as if tasting the words.""" text13253;"""Well yeah, I do. Everybody does.""" text13254;"""He said seriously, without a shade of irony in his voice.""" text13255;"""I'm afraid to even ask why you would need her address. You haven't spent long mourning Catherine-san…""" text13256;"""You're right to be afraid.""" text13257;"""I growled.""" text13258;"""Fine, listen.""" text13259;"""He gave me the address.""" text13260;"""Man, you've got a good memory for these things!""" text13261;"""Nick, you do realize that you can't simply walk into her mansion, right? She doesn't live there alone!""" text13262;"""They must have enough bodyguards for a small private army!""" text13263;"""Then I'm about to wage a small private war.""" text13264;"""Kyosuke wanted to say something else but the bell rang.""" text13265;"""Be careful!""" text13266;"""Thank you.""" text13267;"""I was genuinely grateful.""" text13268;"""He went to the classroom, and I — to once again tempt my fate.""" text13269;"""I didn't manage to go far — Michael was waiting around the corner.""" text13270;"""He was leaning against a wall, looking out the window with an absent minded expression.""" text13271;"""I stopped, not knowing what to do — ignore him or approach after all?""" text13272;"""He hadn't ended up there after the bell for no reason.""" text13273;"""Finally, Michael looked at me himself.""" text13274;"""Don't you think you could skip the theatrics?""" text13275;"""For a second, I saw a glimmer of annoyance on his face, but when he spoke his voice was calm as usual:""" text13276;"""I heard what you were talking about.""" text13277;"""Yeah, and has your mom ever told you that it's rude to eavesdrop?""" text13278;"""Michael sighed in the same dramatic manner.""" text13279;"""I think I might help you find Catherine.""" text13280;"""Can you now?""" text13281;"""I didn't know what he was trying to achieve and had no reason to trust him.""" text13282;"""But if I believed Michael had feelings for Catherine, I could at least assume that he wasn't going to do her harm.""" text13283;"""Do you think it's a good idea to show up to Kobayashi's mansion alone and demand explanations?""" text13284;"""Why do you assume I need an explanation?""" text13285;"""Then why?""" text13286;"""Michael looked unfazed, and I immediately realized he knew more than he was saying.""" text13287;"""It's none of your business!""" text13288;"""Is it somehow related to Catherine's disappearance?""" text13289;"""Who told you that she disappeared?""" text13290;"""You.""" text13291;"""I never said that!""" text13292;"""I didn't, right?""" text13293;"""So you intend to be stubborn?""" text13294;"""What made you think that I need your help?""" text13295;"""To be honest, after yesterday's encounter I felt far less confident — not that I started to fear Michael, but, at least, now I looked at him with more respect.""" text13296;"""You still haven't learned a thing.""" text13297;"""He sighed again and closed his eyes.""" text13298;"""Okay, what do you know?""" text13299;"""I asked carefully.""" text13300;"""That Catherine didn't go anywhere. And that you are trying to pressure Kobayashi Ellie.""" text13301;"""Pressure!""" text13302;"""I smirked.""" text13303;"""However, no matter how hard it was for me to admit, he was right.""" text13304;"""I'm still wondering how you got this information.""" text13305;"""These are just my logical assumptions.""" text13306;"""Yeah, right…""" text13307;"""I scoffed but decided to play along.""" text13308;"""And what can you even do? Sorry, but both of us are simple students. I was dragged into all this — even if against my will — but you…""" text13309;"""If I'm the only problem, I can promise I'm not going to stand in your way when Catherine is found.""" text13310;"""Why the 180?""" text13311;"""I was genuinely surprised.""" text13312;"""I thought about it and decided that I was being too pushy — it could only achieve the opposite result.""" text13313;"""So you're going to pretend that you support me, just to present yourself as the hero at the right moment?""" text13314;"""Nick, despite what you might think, not everyone around you is plotting against you.""" text13315;"""Of course not! But you were very clear about your intentions with Catherine.""" text13316;"""That doesn't mean I believe that if I can't have her, no one can.""" text13317;"""Michael was telling the truth, or at least I wanted to believe he was.""" text13318;"""And that made me feel even worse about my behavior yesterday.""" text13319;"""I didn't mean anything like that!""" text13320;"""And I'm sorry. Either way, I shouldn't have reacted like that yesterday.""" text13321;"""I didn't know to what extent this apology was sincere — I was probably just trying to make myself look good to placate him.""" text13322;"""Sorry about the bruise.""" text13323;"""Is it that noticeable?""" text13324;"""No, not at all…""" text13325;"""I had no idea you knew martial arts.""" text13326;"""Used to do some, back in the States.""" text13327;"""Were you good?""" text13328;"""You tell me.""" text13329;"""He smiled, and all the tension in the air disappeared at once.""" text13330;"""So, what are you suggesting?""" text13331;"""Kobayashi is performing tonight — we can try to talk to her there. Without witnesses.""" text13332;"""Concerts every other day, like a real rockstar!""" text13333;"""I suggest we meet tonight at the club.""" text13334;"""Don't you want to know why I want to talk to Ellie specifically?""" text13335;"""I'm used to solving problems as they come.""" text13336;"""Alright, let's do it.""" text13337;"""For a second, there was an awkward pause — everything had been said, but I couldn't bring myself to finish the conversation, and Michael kept standing there, as if waiting for something.""" text13338;"""Then… See you tonight?""" text13339;"""See you.""" text13340;"""He nodded and returned to the classroom, as if entering it in the middle of a lesson was nothing out of the ordinary to him.""" text13341;"""…""" text13342;"""That conversation with Michael gave me the crazed confidence that everything was going to be alright.""" text13343;"""Perhaps because this was the first time in a long while I felt I had some real support, even if for now it was in word only.""" text13344;"""Or perhaps I just desperately wanted to believe that someone actually cared.""" text13345;"""Strictly speaking, this conversation hadn't given me new reasons to trust Michael — but it was also hard to suspect him of having something against me.""" text13346;"""What mattered now wasn't our relationship but finding Catherine.""" text13347;"""Disagreeing on one thing but standing together on another, we could easily share a common goal.""" text13348;"""The entire way back home, I felt like someone was watching me.""" text13349;"""Sure, this wasn't the first time, but there was something new about the feeling — as if I were wearing freshly bought shoes.""" text13350;"""The same face kept flashing in the crowd, and I was nervously looking over my shoulder at intersections, occasionally shivering even though it was pretty warm outside.""" text13351;"""This time I didn't feel like finding the tail — what was the point if tomorrow there would be another?""" text13352;"""Besides, it might have just been a result of my fevered imagination.""" text13353;"""As soon as I came home, I took a bath.""" text13354;"""A European would have a hard time understanding the Japanese tradition of washing in the same water with the entire family, but I had no family and could enjoy bathing in proud solitude.""" text13355;"""Maybe it was about saving money — the Japanese are naturally very frugal, but I definitely didn't suffer from that ailment.""" text13356;"""The inability to manage my finances would sooner or later bring me disaster, but so long as I had money (even if there wasn't a lot left), I didn't even want to think about that.""" text13357;"""Another person in my place might have been able to stretch the money left by my parents over many years, but I just hoped to make it until graduation.""" text13358;"""Used to hope, to be exact — before. These days I didn't care about school either…""" text13359;"""However, watching Ellie, I couldn't say she was particularly happy to inherit her grandfather's billions.""" text13360;"""Now performing on stage was another matter to her!""" text13361;"""Mom often used to say that I never really felt the bitter taste of life and was living \""all-inclusive\"", that I would act very differently if I suddenly had nothing to eat.""" text13362;"""And, of course, that back in their time…""" text13363;"""My timid responses that we weren't living in the forties were simply waved away.""" text13364;"""Would I really face hunger — at the end of twentieth century, in a developed country with one of the strongest economies in the world? Probably not.""" text13365;"""I was rather afraid of changing my familiar lifestyle and having to count every penny, saving up for things I'd taken for granted or limiting myself in any way at all.""" text13366;"""Mom used to say everyone lives like that… Well, children still starve in Africa — is that a good thing?""" text13367;"""And why was it that if everyone jumps off a bridge I can't do the same, but when everyone lives according to their means (meaning poorly, let's be honest), that was normal and worth imitating?""" text13368;"""I could never understand that — not when I was seven, not when I was twelve, and not even now.""" text13369;"""Clean, fresh, and fragrant, I was standing in front of the club waiting for Michael.""" text13370;"""It felt as if I had lost a hundred layers of dirt, sweat, and negativity — I'd never felt so renewed.""" text13371;"""I was ready to move mountains and, if I had to, raze the head office of Kobayashi Corporation to the ground.""" text13372;"""At the same time, all my confidence was based on my trust in Michael — the same Michael who had punched me in the face just yesterday.""" text13373;"""I was quite successful at ignoring this logical mismatch, which in itself was weird.""" text13374;"""I wasn't the most sociable person in the world, was even less easy to influence by suggestion, and rarely listened to people's advice at all.""" text13375;"""I usually didn't even hear it, letting it glance off my mind.""" text13376;"""And then came Michael with his vague offers of help…""" text13377;"""And speak of the devil.""" text13378;"""Hi. Have you been waiting long?""" text13379;"""I just got here.""" text13380;"""I unwillingly snapped in response.""" text13381;"""Is everything alright?""" text13382;"""Everything's great! I'm dying to hear your plan.""" text13383;"""He slowly looked around, made sure that there was nobody in close proximity and said quietly:""" text13384;"""I had to put pressure on some people, but I got the information we need.""" text13385;"""Put pressure? Mike, we're high schoolers for fuck's sake! This isn't a James Bond movie!""" text13386;"""Michael frowned but continued in the same calm tone:""" text13387;"""My father works with Kobayashi Corporation for a reason.""" text13388;"""Okay, sorry, I'm listening.""" text13389;"""Lately…""" text13390;"""Suddenly, he went quiet and knit his eyebrows.""" text13391;"""There she is.""" text13392;"""Z FEEL-Z were indeed approaching us.""" text13393;"""Ellie noticed me, frowned, said something to the other members of the band, and came up to us.""" text13394;"""What are you doing here?""" text13395;"""We need to talk. By the way, this is Michael.""" text13396;"""I told you I'd call if I learned anything.""" text13397;"""She said with irritation, ignoring my introduction of Michael as if he wasn't even there.""" text13398;"""Sorry, Kobayashi-san, but we can't wait.""" text13399;"""And who is that?""" text13400;"""Ellie looked at Michael up and down with clear contempt in her eyes.""" text13401;"""Michael, I've just…""" text13402;"""Nick and I are in the same class, and I'm also concerned about Catherine Winters' fate.""" text13403;"""Ah, I see.""" text13404;"""She smirked, and her eyes flashed.""" text13405;"""But I already said everything yesterday and I have nothing to add just yet.""" text13406;"""Kobayashi-san, we have good reason to believe your grandfather's company was involved in the kidnapping of Ms Winters.""" text13407;"""What's he going on about?""" text13408;"""Ellie addressed me.""" text13409;"""Michael's Japanese wasn't perfect and when he switched to keigo, his speech sounded pretty funny.""" text13410;"""Ellie-san, I am positive that you can help us.""" text13411;"""He said with clear irritation.""" text13412;"""I guess I never really noticed how Michael talked to girls.""" text13413;"""Maybe his showy seriousness with me was just an attempt to look like an alpha male?""" text13414;"""I don't know anything about my grandfather's business! If I did, I would've told you already! Do you really think I'm all over the Corporation?""" text13415;"""Really? Strange to hear that from Kobayashi Jun's only heir.""" text13416;"""Like I care about his inheritance!""" text13417;"""Ellie waved his words away with a very elegant, even aristocratic gesture.""" text13418;"""Perhaps you'll change your opinion after you see this.""" text13419;"""Michael rummaged through his bag and took out a few photos.""" text13420;"""Are these photos of me on stage? If you think you're the first \""clever\""…""" text13421;"""She looked at the photos and her expression changed.""" text13422;"""How do you have this…?""" text13423;"""Ellie's terrified eyes were shifting from him to me, then she looked at the photographs again and tore them into pieces with trembling hands.""" text13424;"""The originals are kept in a secure place.""" text13425;"""This is despicable! It's despicable to do something like that! What do you need from me?!""" text13426;"""And you!""" text13427;"""She pierced me with a hateful glare.""" text13428;"""Are you also involved with this blackmail? First you tried to get closer to me and now this! You must've been following me!""" text13429;"""I felt like an idiot because I couldn't understand what this was all about but was too afraid to show it.""" text13430;"""After all, Michael managed to find some approach to her — even though I couldn't yet understand what was going on.""" text13431;"""In the end, I had to just cowardly look away.""" text13432;"""Kobayashi-san, these photos don't have to end up in the newspapers. All you need to do is to get information about Catherine Winters from your grandfather.""" text13433;"""What if he has nothing to do with it? What if your Catherine just hit the sauce, fell into the sea and drowned?""" text13434;"""In that case, I'm sure you would be able to prove it.""" text13435;"""Ellie lowered her head, long hair covering her face.""" text13436;"""Bastards…""" text13437;"""She clenched her teeth.""" text13438;"""You're both bastards who can't do anything except leech off others' suffering!""" text13439;"""What have I done to you? I'm just trying to live my life! Is that really enough to… Everyone makes mistakes!""" text13440;"""Why are my mistakes studied under a microscope, while others live their whole life just about killing people, and nobody cares?!""" text13441;"""Ellie was weeping but didn't seem to even notice.""" text13442;"""Bastards…""" text13443;"""Finally, she seemed to catch herself, wiped her tears, looked at her wet sleeve with surprise, and dashed away.""" text13444;"""She'll need time to calm down and think it through with a clear head.""" text13445;"""What's in the photos?""" text13446;"""I asked coldly.""" text13447;"""I felt genuinely sorry for Kobayashi Ellie, and Michael was smiling maliciously, triumphantly, not at all like an eighteen year old highschool student should smile.""" text13448;"""Let's put it this way, Kobayashi-san doesn't always refuse the help of illicit substances to relieve stress.""" text13449;"""You've got to be shitting me! Show it!""" text13450;"""But Ellie had taken the torn up photos with her.""" text13451;"""And yet Michael's expression didn't change at all as he took seemingly exact copies of them out of his bag.""" text13452;"""In the photos was Kobayashi Ellie, clearly buying drugs from some sketchy character.""" text13453;"""I was no attorney and didn't know whether these photos would hold up in court, but they would absolutely be enough for the media.""" text13454;"""The dealer has been arrested, and is ready to testify.""" text13455;"""Michael seemed to have read my mind.""" text13456;"""How come you have this?""" text13457;"""I already told you my father's company works with Kobayashi Corporation. And, more precisely, competes with them in certain markets.""" text13458;"""I was trying to find something useful in my father's files and stumbled upon these photos. He wants to use them to push the Corporation out of a construction project.""" text13459;"""Fucking hell, Mike, I don't know…!""" text13460;"""I squatted down and grasped my head with my hands.""" text13461;"""Just half an hour ago I had been sure that I'd do anything for Catherine's sake, but now…""" text13462;"""Ellie's genuine tears made me, at the very least, think twice about it.""" text13463;"""Did I have the right to ruin another person's life for my own happiness?""" text13464;"""Nick, I understand your moral dilemma, but it's going to be alright! Kobayashi will do what's needed — and no one will ever see these photos again.""" text13465;"""And what about your dad? Will you talk him down too?""" text13466;"""I smirked bitterly.""" text13467;"""I can only hope that Kobayashi Jun will be sensible enough.""" text13468;"""Wait… Does your father even know that you have these photos?""" text13469;"""Michael smiled unnaturally in response.""" text13470;"""Oh God…""" text13471;"""I moaned.""" text13472;"""Mike, I don't know if you're a great strategist or an exceptional idiot!""" text13473;"""You will have the time to thank me later.""" text13474;"""Michael looked triumphant, as if he had already found Catherine.""" text13475;"""Either way, now we can only wait.""" text13476;"""Wait for the people from the Corporation to come for our heads, yeah!""" text13477;"""It's obvious that Kobayashi is impulsive, but she isn't stupid.""" text13478;"""And to me she looked like a scared girl first and foremost! And just so you know, logic is the last thing scared girls rely on!""" text13479;"""Are you basing this on personal experience?""" text13480;"""I'll pretend I didn't hear that.""" text13481;"""Sure, whatever you say. But Catherine doesn't come off as an airheaded rich girl.""" text13482;"""You know, when she's alone with someone she loves, she can show another side.""" text13483;"""I said in a tone meant to taunt him.""" text13484;"""I don't particularly want to know about your personal life.""" text13485;"""For example, in the park…""" text13486;"""I stopped myself there — was it a good idea to tell him that?""" text13487;"""Although what's wrong about simple dates in a park?""" text13488;"""When we're in the park, you know the one. We even have our bench there.""" text13489;"""Michael looked at me for a long time, as if trying to catch my meaning.""" text13490;"""Is that all?""" text13491;"""If you want, I can tell you even more… But yes, that's all for now.""" text13492;"""Okay. See you at school tomorrow in that case. I hope everything will be clear by then.""" text13493;"""I waved at him and didn't even bother to say goodbye, just kept squatting until my knees started to hurt.""" text13494;"""And when I finally managed to stand up, I noticed that there were a lot of people in front of the club.""" text13495;"""The lights were on — but I was so used to my home resembling a transit lane I wasn't even very surprised.""" text13496;"""It was probably Himitsu — even though our conversation hadn't ended on a good note today.""" text13497;"""There were shoes in the hall and delicious smells coming from the kitchen.""" text13498;"""Niko-kun, you came.""" text13499;"""Himitsu said as if we hadn't seen each other for a week.""" text13500;"""I didn't think you would come.""" text13501;"""I only came to my senses when everything was already over.""" text13502;"""She said seriously — and I couldn't immediately figure out whether she was joking or not.""" text13503;"""Not that this was the time for jokes…""" text13504;"""Great, I'm really hungry!""" text13505;"""…""" text13506;"""After finishing dinner, I sprawled out on a chair, not knowing what to do now.""" text13507;"""Himitsu was sitting across from me with her hands folded on her knees, looking at me with melancholy in her eyes.""" text13508;"""If there's nothing else, I'll go to sleep — it's been a crazy day!""" text13509;"""I'll wash the dishes myself, thank you.""" text13510;"""Accepting Himitsu's mundane care was becoming more and more difficult.""" text13511;"""I knew full well how inappropriate and illogical my behavior was but couldn't help it.""" text13512;"""Besides, I couldn't let that dinner go to waste…""" text13513;"""Niko-kun, is that all you want to tell me?""" text13514;"""Meanwhile, she seemingly just wasn't hearing what I was telling her — telling her more and more persistently.""" text13515;"""Telling her that this is wrong and that this relationship cannot continue.""" text13516;"""However, time and time again, Himitsu kept pretending nothing was happening.""" text13517;"""And to be honest sometimes this stunned me, I was at a loss as to how to react.""" text13518;"""Well, yes.""" text13519;"""I absolutely didn't plan on discussing Catherine's kidnapping with her.""" text13520;"""Good night then.""" text13521;"""Good night.""" text13522;"""When the door closed behind Himitsu, I let out a sigh of relief.""" text13523;"""So, Kobayashi Ellie was a rock star in all senses.""" text13524;"""I wasn't even surprised she would play around with drugs — what really surprised me was Michael — who I expected to be logical, rational, and meticulous, but under no circumstances a spy.""" text13525;"""On the other hand, I couldn't understand why Ellie would buy that stuff herself in the first place!""" text13526;"""She could've asked her maid or something, after all! (She had one, right?)""" text13527;"""Or, say, one of her fellow band members — that seemed like a more realistic scenario.""" text13528;"""Despite her impulsivity, she hadn't become the granddaughter of the head of Kobayashi Corporation's just yesterday and had to have been taking in their code of conduct with her mother's milk!""" text13529;"""Nobody says the powerful in this world are good and innocent like angels, but what they are good at is saving face.""" text13530;"""Ellie, as she had said herself, didn't really care about her inheritance — and apparently, those weren't empty words.""" text13531;"""But I still felt like a bastard for having participated in this blackmail.""" text13532;"""Maybe Michael wasn't really planning to go through with his threats, but I couldn't be so sure about his father.""" text13533;"""Although he was going to blackmail Kobayashi Jun anyway, Michael had just taken advantage of the situation.""" text13534;"""But then why would he need me — wouldn't it be easier to do it alone and then show up as the only savior, Catherine's Prince Charming?""" text13535;"""His behavior was confusing me, and it was foolish to assume Michael had dragged me into all this simply by oversight.""" text13536;"""In virtually half a day, my attitude towards him had made a complete circle — from hostility to sympathy to suspicion.""" text13537;"""Obviously, Michael wasn't on my side — nobody was on anyone's here, there were only short-term mutually beneficial alliances.""" text13538;"""What was definitely a bad idea was trusting him blindly and counting only on his help rescuing Catherine.""" text13539;"""However, objectively speaking, prior to Michael I had neither ideas nor clues…""" text13540;"""Suddenly I started to feel like I wasn't deciding anything here.""" text13541;"""Of course, I couldn't say that Michael turned everything on its head — even before him, my life fully depended on my parents, the KGB, the CIA, Kobayashi Corporation, and, in many senses, on Himitsu and even her father.""" text13542;"""But all these people were objectively more powerful than me, I even respected some of them, while Michael…""" text13543;"""I mean, I did hold him in some esteem, of course, but I wasn't ready to acknowledge that over the course of a single night he'd turned from a normal student to a confident problem solver able to deftly resolve any situation.""" text13544;"""The intrigue around me was coiling up faster and faster — it was easy to drown in it and lose myself.""" text13545;"""Periodically, I would catch myself thinking of reality as a game of chess, having forgotten about Catherine.""" text13546;"""With new secrets, lies, and betrayals, this spy thriller that had started decades ago, became more important to me than the fate of the girl I loved…""" text13547;"""My imagination immediately brought up unfortunate images of the torture Catherine could be subjected to by the Japanese.""" text13548;"""No, right now I had to think about rescuing her and nothing else!""" text13549;"""If to do that I had to join forces with Michael — so be it.""" text13550;"""They say that when you're worried, you live through the stress twice — during and after it happens.""" text13551;"""That was probably right, but I also couldn't do anything about it — I spent half the night twisting and turning and fell asleep only when the sky in the east started to brighten."""