text2051;"""I woke up late, it was already past noon.""" text2052;"""The house was quiet, too quiet really.""" text2053;"""I'd missed school again… Oh well, to hell with it!""" text2054;"""After all, my life was on the line now!""" text2055;"""Or was I being overly dramatic?""" text2056;"""I walked into the kitchen and stood there in a stupor. My head felt heavy, thoughts jumbled together.""" text2057;"""I wanted to sleep a little longer, maybe just another ten hours!""" text2058;"""A glass of cold water helped bring me to my senses.""" text2059;"""I looked at myself in the mirror. Oddly enough, the black eye was gone.""" text2060;"""I checked all the doors and windows — they were locked securely, the way I had left them the night before.""" text2061;"""I found a note from Himitsu in the hall.""" text2062;"""\""I was worried…\"" blah blah, \""…will come by after school…\"", more blah-blah-blah.""" text2063;"""Thank you, but no thank you.""" text2064;"""This must have been the first time in my eighteen years alive I'd faced a situation like this.""" text2065;"""The move to Japan at an early age, the challenges of adaptation, the deaths of my parents…""" text2066;"""All these had been tough, but they'd seemed more like fate than someone acting against me.""" text2067;"""This time was different — something was threatening me directly; someone was warning, cautioning me — sincerely or not.""" text2068;"""But who could possibly be interested in me?""" text2069;"""Then it hit me.""" text2070;"""It was improbable that I personally would be of interest, but it might be about my parents.""" text2071;"""They had emigrated from the USSR after all, and they worked for Kobayashi Corporation.""" text2072;"""And the voice on the phone yesterday had been speaking Russian — the sound was altered, sure, but it was clearly unaccented.""" text2073;"""I didn't know exactly what my parents were working on, but it might have been something serious.""" text2074;"""A lump formed in my throat… work serious enough to kill for!""" text2075;"""The most frustrating thing was that I knew nothing about it.""" text2076;"""Except, who was going to believe me?""" text2077;"""I had to act fast!""" text2078;"""I pulled out my dad's old address book and scanned through it for the numbers of his coworkers.""" text2079;"""A few I'd met, some I'd heard of… In any case, anything was better than sitting and waiting.""" text2080;"""Good afternoon, my name is Nikolai Anokhin, and I…""" text2081;"""No luck with the first dozen numbers.""" text2082;"""Some were no longer at their old jobs, others didn't pick up, one had even passed away.""" text2083;"""I turned the page.""" text2084;"""There was a number, written in my father's firm, even hand, and underneath it a name: Ichinose-san. Ichinose… Ichinose…""" text2085;"""I'd heard that last name before.""" text2086;"""Long dial tone… One, two…""" text2087;"""After ten, I was about to hang up when a familiar, elderly voice said on the other end:""" text2088;"""Hello.""" text2089;"""At that point, I remembered — Ichinose-san used to visit frequently when I was younger.""" text2090;"""An ever polite, affable, good-natured old gentleman.""" text2091;"""He used to bring me candy and ask me about school and my hobbies.""" text2092;"""Then he and dad would sit together in the garden for long stretches of time, and, with an air of importance, do a lot of smoking and talking.""" text2093;"""Good afternoon, my name is Nikolai Anokhin, and I…""" text2094;"""Oh, Nikolai-kun!""" text2095;"""He interrupted.""" text2096;"""Long time no see. How are things?""" text2097;"""Fine.""" text2098;"""I gave a stock answer.""" text2099;"""Was I supposed to dump everything at once on him, everything that had happened to me in the last few days?""" text2100;"""I'm sorry about your parents.""" text2101;"""The voice in the receiver turned somber.""" text2102;"""I vaguely recalled seeing Ichinose-san at the funeral.""" text2103;"""Thank you. Actually, that's why I'm calling. I mean, not literally, of course…""" text2104;"""For a moment, I remained silent.""" text2105;"""Sorry, I'm a bit nervous. Could you please tell me about my father's work? I know he worked as an engineer, but what exactly did he work on?""" text2106;"""Has something happened? Why the sudden interest? And now of all times…""" text2107;"""To tell the truth, something has happened, but it's not important.""" text2108;"""Why not? Can't you tell me?""" text2109;"""Yes, of course, I could, but it's just…""" text2110;"""What reason did I actually have to trust him?""" text2111;"""Just because he'd been over to our house a couple times and had been nice to me?""" text2112;"""So are you going to tell me or not? Is this some kind of secret?""" text2113;"""Not a secret, no, but it's somewhat complicated.""" text2114;"""I get that it's complicated. I'm not a child anymore.""" text2115;"""I grumbled back.""" text2116;"""So what happened?""" text2117;"""Some people came by and asked questions about my father, about his work…""" text2118;"""I lied.""" text2119;"""Asked about his work, did they…""" text2120;"""Ichinose stretched out the words ambiguously.""" text2121;"""And what exactly did they ask?""" text2122;"""I don't know. I mean, I didn't tell them anything because I don't know anything myself!""" text2123;"""And how did they question you?""" text2124;"""What do you mean?""" text2125;"""Well, what was the tone?""" text2126;"""Now I was absolutely certain Ichinose knew far more than he was letting on.""" text2127;"""What's more, Ichinose seemed apprehensive.""" text2128;"""Should I be worried?""" text2129;"""That's for you to know.""" text2130;"""He replied coldly.""" text2131;"""If I knew anything, I wouldn't be calling you, right?""" text2132;"""Nikolai, you shouldn't drag yourself into this.""" text2133;"""Why? Do you know something? Tell me! This concerns me too, you know.""" text2134;"""No, this does not, in fact, concern you, and if you lay low, everything will be alright.""" text2135;"""But…""" text2136;"""That's all I'm going to say. Don't call here again.""" text2137;"""Short tones followed…""" text2138;"""\""Everything will be alright\"" — yeah, right!""" text2139;"""On the other hand, I could at least thank him for indirectly confirming my suspicions — this was indeed about my father.""" text2140;"""I collected my thoughts and tried to remember everything my father had ever told me about his job.""" text2141;"""An engineer… What do engineers do?""" text2142;"""Build stuff or, more accurately, draw up plans.""" text2143;"""God, what did a sixteen year old kid care about details like that?""" text2144;"""What had mattered to me was that I received my allowance and that all was well at home.""" text2145;"""I was certain about one thing — my father hadn't been working in conventional construction.""" text2146;"""Defense maybe? Had he worked for the military?""" text2147;"""But what difference did that make?""" text2148;"""I still didn't know a thing about his actual work.""" text2149;"""Unless the whole thing was someone's sick joke!""" text2150;"""…""" text2151;"""The hour hand on the clock moved inexorably towards three, and I hadn't even eaten breakfast yet.""" text2152;"""Himitsu would arrive soon — the note made that clear.""" text2153;"""Enough already! She wasn't my mother!""" text2154;"""Of course, as I thought that, I felt the sting of my conscience…""" text2155;"""Still, I absolutely had to get some fresh air.""" text2156;"""I decided to go to my favorite bar for lunch.""" text2157;"""…even if it was the site of yesterday's unfortunate incident.""" text2158;"""The bell above the door rang as I entered, but none of the few patrons present looked my way.""" text2159;"""Only the Bartender gave me the usual smile and waved at me:""" text2160;"""Hey, Kolya! Been seeing a lot of you lately! Not that I don't enjoy your company, but after yesterday…""" text2161;"""I stopped in front of the bar, not knowing what to say.""" text2162;"""No, my anger toward him had already passed — after all, people have their own lives and jobs to worry about.""" text2163;"""Will it be the usual?""" text2164;"""No, I've come for lunch.""" text2165;"""Got it. What would you like?""" text2166;"""Don't know… Give me a steak, I guess.""" text2167;"""It shall be done!""" text2168;"""The Bartender managed to imitate the Japanese way of addressing guests to near perfection, but he twisted it in his own peculiar way, so he ended up sounding more like the overly hospitable host of a medieval tavern.""" text2169;"""I sat down at a table and sank into thought.""" text2170;"""…""" text2171;"""The steak turned out well, as expected.""" text2172;"""The food here was as good as the beer.""" text2173;"""I was lazily picking my teeth with a toothpick when the doorbell rang out pleasantly again, signalling the arrival of a new customer.""" text2174;"""Standing in the doorway was Michael.""" text2175;"""That was one person I'd never expected to see here. Though, why not?""" text2176;"""He noticed me and came to sit at my table.""" text2177;"""A split second later, the Bartender appeared beside us and placed a menu in front of Michael.""" text2178;"""A friend of yours, Nikola?""" text2179;"""He asked in Russian, hideously drawing out my name in a French manner.""" text2180;"""Something like that, yes — a classmate.""" text2181;"""I replied in Japanese.""" text2182;"""What does the sir desire?""" text2183;"""I couldn't decide whether I was more irritated or amused by his performance…""" text2184;"""Just coffee.""" text2185;"""Right away.""" text2186;"""Chimed the Bartender before taking off.""" text2187;"""Is school over?""" text2188;"""It is, and you didn't show up.""" text2189;"""Yeah, let's just say I had some business to take care of…""" text2190;"""I had known Michael for two and a half years.""" text2191;"""He was from the States, and his parents have also been working in Japan for a while.""" text2192;"""We were never particularly close, but his seriousness and strange maturity commanded a certain respect.""" text2193;"""You could say he was the perfect opposite of Kyosuke.""" text2194;"""I take it you don't want to go into detail.""" text2195;"""Not particularly.""" text2196;"""Some guys at school have been bragging that they beat someone up yesterday.""" text2197;"""And?""" text2198;"""I snarled back, irritated.""" text2199;"""It was hard to tell with Michael if he was hinting at me or just sharing gossip.""" text2200;"""You haven't heard anything about that?""" text2201;"""No.""" text2202;"""I see.""" text2203;"""He kept sipping his coffee, gazing somewhere past me.""" text2204;"""As uncommunicative as I could be at times, Michael was something else… Was he really comfortable now?""" text2205;"""So, what's going on at school?""" text2206;"""The usual.""" text2207;"""And how's Catherine?""" text2208;"""The question slipped off my tongue of its own accord.""" text2209;"""I hadn't even thought about her until that moment!""" text2210;"""Michael set his cup down and stared at me intently.""" text2211;"""I don't know. We're not acquainted, remember.""" text2212;"""Oh, right. Back then we were in different classes…""" text2213;"""He kept looking at me strangely.""" text2214;"""What?""" text2215;"""Was there something between the two of you?""" text2216;"""You've probably already heard everything from Kyosuke.""" text2217;"""But I'm asking you right now.""" text2218;"""Okay, yes, there used to be something, but that was a long time ago.""" text2219;"""And now?""" text2220;"""And now, there's nothing.""" text2221;"""I see.""" text2222;"""Are you curious because you're from the same country?""" text2223;"""I'm just wondering… Why did she enroll at this particular school?""" text2224;"""I don't know. You'd have to ask her.""" text2225;"""By now I was sick of this question, even if usually I was the one posing it to myself.""" text2226;"""Have you thought that maybe there's a reason behind it?""" text2227;"""What difference does it make what I have or haven't thought?! You don't know Catherine — thinking is wasted on her.""" text2228;"""Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.""" text2229;"""It's nothing to do with you! I've just got more important stuff on my mind.""" text2230;"""Michael kept his voice so calm and level the entire time that it was beginning to annoy me.""" text2231;"""If he didn't actually care, why ask so many questions?""" text2232;"""Anyway, this isn't the most pleasant of subjects.""" text2233;"""Sorry. I didn't realize that the two of you still…""" text2234;"""He coughed pointedly.""" text2235;"""…that it was an unpleasant topic for you.""" text2236;"""But he could have guessed.""" text2237;"""Imagine that.""" text2238;"""I felt like tossing some bills on the table and walking out.""" text2239;"""But I had few friends as it was, and this kind of behavior was pretty typical of Michael.""" text2240;"""Did anyone ask about me at school?""" text2241;"""Not that I heard.""" text2242;"""I see… And how are you doing anyway?""" text2243;"""Not too bad, except that I have no free time at all. I'm preparing for college admission.""" text2244;"""College admission…""" text2245;"""I drew out the words.""" text2246;"""Where do you want to go?""" text2247;"""Back to the States, most likely.""" text2248;"""What, tired of this place?""" text2249;"""I smirked.""" text2250;"""It's just that higher education is better there.""" text2251;"""Michael calmly responded.""" text2252;"""His words touched a nerve — unlike him, I had little choice.""" text2253;"""And even if I wanted to, the best I could hope for with my grades was a minimum wage job.""" text2254;"""Our conversation had stalled right out of the gates.""" text2255;"""Well, I think I'll be heading out. See you at school tomorrow.""" text2256;"""See you.""" text2257;"""He said in the same level tone.""" text2258;"""I waved goodbye to the Bartender and left.""" text2259;"""Had the bar been a courtroom, Michael would have fit the part of the prosecutor to perfection — stern, cold, dispassionate, operating only on facts.""" text2260;"""And what would my chances have been then, seeing how I flew off the handle at the drop of a hat?""" text2261;"""…""" text2262;"""I wandered aimlessly around the city, passing street after street and neighborhood after neighborhood.""" text2263;"""I found myself in a part of town where I'd never been before…""" text2264;"""A curious thing… Tokyo was, of course, much larger than my hometown, but back during my childhood everything seemed huge to me: the apartment, the yard, the kindergarten, the store across the street…""" text2265;"""So my mind could comfortably draw comparisons between that tiny place from my childhood and this multi-million person metropolis.""" text2266;"""I suppose I was always at ease in a crowd of perpetually rushing strangers.""" text2267;"""Sometimes I walked in the same direction as them, as though in lockstep, and other times I went against the flow.""" text2268;"""The crowd paid me no attention, accepting me as one of their own, and thank goodness for that.""" text2269;"""Maybe because of this ability of mine, I noticed someone was following me.""" text2270;"""Sure, it's often the case that a stranger happens to be going the same way as you.""" text2271;"""One turn, two, a crossing wouldn't be a problem. But when you're just wandering around, and someone mimics your every move without fail, you know it's no coincidence.""" text2272;"""I quickened my pace, crossed on red, turned into an alleyway and walked briskly through it.""" text2273;"""There were two possibilities: either I was just being paranoid, or I'd managed to put some distance between me and him.""" text2274;"""I pretended to be checking out a TV behind the window of an electronics store.""" text2275;"""At least five minutes passed, but my mysterious \""pursuer\"" hadn't shown up.""" text2276;"""It occurred to me that I had finally lost my mind.""" text2277;"""That called for a sedative… or a drink.""" text2278;"""But I hadn't made it up!""" text2279;"""I was sure that someone had been following me. Who and why, that was another question.""" text2280;"""Maybe I relaxed too early. Was it worth checking again?""" text2281;"""Try to find the tail""" text2282;"""Do nothing""" text2283;"""Anyway, it couldn't hurt to try!""" text2284;"""And if it was a professional shadowing me, then he wouldn't let me bust him so easily twice in a row.""" text2285;"""…""" text2286;"""I went into a clothing store and, as quickly as I could, bought a brightly colored windbreaker and a cap, after confirming no one was watching me from the street.""" text2287;"""If you want to hide something, hide it in plain sight! The idea worked in crowds as well.""" text2288;"""I darted into one of the numerous side streets, threw on the jacket and the hat, tucked the shopping bag behind a pipe, and ran to the next street.""" text2289;"""I stopped around the corner, next to a news stand, drew the cap low over my face and glanced around me.""" text2290;"""Sure enough, before long the now-familiar figure appeared in the distance.""" text2291;"""It made sense — he'd gone down a parallel street instead of following right behind me.""" text2292;"""I made a half turn, hunched my shoulders, and even crouched slightly so as to appear shorter.""" text2293;"""My pursuer was looking around frantically, having clearly lost sight of me.""" text2294;"""Yet he passed right by the news stand without paying any attention to the guy in the flashy windbreaker.""" text2295;"""I followed him.""" text2296;"""The man was middle aged, dressed in an unseasonably warm trench coat, dark pants, and black shoes.""" text2297;"""He looked like a typical office worker.""" text2298;"""He stopped at an intersection, looked around and sighed loudly.""" text2299;"""I was just two meters behind him.""" text2300;"""Lost someone?""" text2301;"""I finally ventured.""" text2302;"""Huh?""" text2303;"""He turned sharply and gave me a bewildered stare.""" text2304;"""N-no, everything's alright.""" text2305;"""Just as quickly, the stranger's expression went blank, and he prepared to leave.""" text2306;"""Why were you following me?""" text2307;"""Following you? I wasn't following anyone.""" text2308;"""He'd regained his composure in the blink of an eye.""" text2309;"""I was supposed to meet someone here, but it looks like they aren't going to show up.""" text2310;"""That someone — is it me?""" text2311;"""Young man…""" text2312;"""He looked me up and down and continued coldly:""" text2313;"""This is the first time I've ever seen you.""" text2314;"""Then why follow someone you've never met?""" text2315;"""I have to go.""" text2316;"""I didn't try to stop him — that would have been something else!""" text2317;"""But damn it, things were going from bad to worse!""" text2318;"""First the notes, then the calls, the mysteries of my family's past, and now someone trailing me…""" text2319;"""The one thing that brought relief was that I was still alive.""" text2320;"""A nervous laugh escaped my lips.""" text2321;"""Some schoolgirls nearby exchanged anxious whispers.""" text2322;"""Enough, it was time to put an end to this! I'd call my grandparents the very next day!""" text2323;"""\""Quit psyching yourself out!\"", my mind protested.""" text2324;"""Why couldn't I just have imagined it?""" text2325;"""Or maybe they were two different people who just so happened to look alike?""" text2326;"""I took a deep breath and continued my aimless wandering.""" text2327;"""…""" text2328;"""I still kept looking around, but there was no one following me anymore.""" text2329;"""It was already dark when I found myself in front of a music club I'd occasionally visit to see the local underground bands.""" text2330;"""If daytime in Tokyo still felt as warm as in summer, the evenings were getting increasingly colder.""" text2331;"""I wrapped myself more tightly in my denim jacket and shivered. The house was some distance from the club, so it made sense to go in and warm up.""" text2332;"""The inside of the club was pretty crowded. Cigarette smoke hung heavy, and the air was saturated with the spicy aromas of beer, sake, whiskey, plus God knows what else.""" text2333;"""Frankly, drinking hadn't been on my to-do list for the day, but this was too much to pass up!""" text2334;"""I got a beer from the bar and squeezed myself closer to the stage.""" text2335;"""The first band was playing some basic heavy metal.""" text2336;"""Japanese bands that played this kind of music didn't try to reinvent the wheel, happy to copy the Western masters. Some did it better than others.""" text2337;"""This band was only so-so, which is why the majority of the audience were occupied with anything and everything except listening to the music.""" text2338;"""The unfortunate metalheads couldn't possibly not have noticed and by the end had given up, just trying not to make complete fools of themselves.""" text2339;"""Then again, who was I to judge? I couldn't play my bass even at their level.""" text2340;"""The next band was dressed in 70's fashion — a sure sign that some old-school rock was to follow — so I went off to wander the club.""" text2341;"""Although I would come here from time to time, I'd never made any friends. Usually I just stood around by myself, guzzling beer.""" text2342;"""It was pointless to expect international stars here, and I only cared about the local bands so far as they helped me while away yet another boring evening.""" text2343;"""I remembered how I brought Catherine here once, although she hadn't liked it at all.""" text2344;"""Himitsu meanwhile refused to go to concerts at all for some reason.""" text2345;"""A young couple was cuddling in the corner, I watched them for a good while and suddenly felt revulsion…""" text2346;"""\""No, that won't do\"", I told myself — \""tonight, at least, I'm going to relax\"".""" text2347;"""I dashed to the bar, downed three shots of whiskey, picked up another beer, and headed back into the crowd, this time at a far less steady gait.""" text2348;"""The old farts had finished playing, and the stage was now occupied by some glam rockers tuning their instruments.""" text2349;"""Come on, let's get rocking!""" text2350;"""I yelled.""" text2351;"""A guy standing near me glanced my way and said:""" text2352;"""We're gonna rock alright, don't you worry.""" text2353;"""What, are you, err… playing too, or what?""" text2354;"""Sure am!""" text2355;"""Then why aren't you on the stage? They're all busy tuning…""" text2356;"""I don't need any tuning, I'm always tuned.""" text2357;"""He adjusted his sunglasses. Why was he wearing them indoors?""" text2358;"""See you.""" text2359;"""With that, the guy disappeared into the dressing room.""" text2360;"""The lights dimmed, and the speakers erupted with the first guitar chords.""" text2361;"""Hi, everybody! We're Z FEEL-Z!""" text2362;"""A familiar voice came over the microphone as bright lights beamed down from the rafters.""" text2363;"""Standing center stage, in a rather unusual outfit, was Ellie, guitar in hand.""" text2364;"""Standing, then singing and playing!""" text2365;"""Now this I was not ready for…""" text2366;"""I said out loud, but no one could hear me over the thundering music.""" text2367;"""Yesterday's episode in the old music classroom came right back to me.""" text2368;"""Had the money driven her insane!? I could understand learning music on the side, but this here…""" text2369;"""I listened more intently. They were actually pretty good, no wonder they'd been asked to headline.""" text2370;"""The crowd clearly took well to the music too.""" text2371;"""As the first song ended, Ellie shouted \""Thank you!\"" into the mic and surveyed the audience, lingering on me for a second. Did she spot me?""" text2372;"""Judging by the surprise and even embarrassment on her face, she did.""" text2373;"""So what? Did she really think no one would find out about her night time transformation from perfect student and lady into the queen of Tokyo's glam rock scene?""" text2374;"""Heheh.""" text2375;"""I chuckled.""" text2376;"""Fell for her?""" text2377;"""Where did you come from?!""" text2378;"""That weird kid, the keyboardist for Z FEEL-Z, was standing next to me again.""" text2379;"""You were just up on stage!""" text2380;"""She's going to take some effort.""" text2381;"""Look, I haven't… We just go to the same school and sort of know each other.""" text2382;"""Oh, is that so?""" text2383;"""His eyes flashed from behind his sunglasses.""" text2384;"""What kind of dumb name is that anyway? Z feel…""" text2385;"""It's pronounced \""Zed Feelz\"", like the anime robot, you know…""" text2386;"""I looked at him skeptically.""" text2387;"""It's to attract fans.""" text2388;"""If the jam-packed club floor was any indication, Z FEEL-Z didn't lack for fans, at least not around here.""" text2389;"""The crowd was getting hyped up in anticipation of the next song. An instant later, the guy I'd been talking to was back on stage, behind his instrument.""" text2390;"""They were playing some kind of ballad.""" text2391;"""Ellie kept shooting angry looks my way.""" text2392;"""Of course, I was here just so I could distract her from her performance!""" text2393;"""Still, she did have a nice voice and played well too.""" text2394;"""Maybe she had a gift, but even so — to get this far, with all her other obligations and responsibilities as the scion of a respected family… Time is finite, after all.""" text2395;"""I had no obligations, no responsibilities, and yet all I'd learned to play were two or three songs from tabs.""" text2396;"""I suddenly felt a surge of respect for Ellie and backed away from the stage so as not to embarrass her further.""" text2397;"""I leaned back against a wall, where she couldn't see me.""" text2398;"""She doesn't do as well without you — anger imparts strength.""" text2399;"""What the hell?! You guys are playing now… as in, right now!""" text2400;"""Right now there's a solo!""" text2401;"""This kid was starting to get to me, so I went back to stand near the stage.""" text2402;"""Seeing me, Ellie fumbled with her strings, a metallic twang roiling out from the speakers.""" text2403;"""Were her fans and servants going to lynch me now?""" text2404;"""But she quickly recovered and carried on playing as though nothing had happened.""" text2405;"""But once the song was over and before the next one began, Ellie subtly shook her finger at me from the stage.""" text2406;"""Now, that was just ridiculous!""" text2407;"""How was that my fault? Was she obsessed or what?""" text2408;"""I made a point of not looking at her, focusing my attention on the other members of Z FEEL-Z.""" text2409;"""The bassist looked fairly ordinary, almost to a fault. Considering the band's style, I'd have expected edgier attire.""" text2410;"""Still, he was better at it than I was. How long would it have taken me to be able to play his parts as cleanly?""" text2411;"""I couldn't make out the drummer's features behind his equipment and unfortunately, I'd already met the keyboardist.""" text2412;"""That turned out to be their last song.""" text2413;"""The audience demanded an encore, but the band quickly disappeared off stage.""" text2414;"""Maybe they didn't have a particularly large repertoire…""" text2415;"""And what was I going to do next?""" text2416;"""On one hand, I wanted to talk to Ellie and tell her that I liked her music.""" text2417;"""On the other, wouldn't that sound like a trite compliment?""" text2418;"""Besides, she was clearly not happy to see me at her concert.""" text2419;"""While I contemplated, the crowd began to disperse, and still Z FEEL-Z hadn't emerged from the dressing room.""" text2420;"""They must have left through the back door.""" text2421;"""Oh well, I didn't have much to say to her anyway.""" text2422;"""Still, I was grateful to Ellie, her music had allowed me to escape my problems, if only briefly.""" text2423;"""The club was almost empty now, but I remained frozen in the middle of the dance floor, immersed in my own thoughts.""" text2424;"""Usually I would leave before the end of a concert, in high spirits, rather than hang around for the bitter aftertaste of fun's conclusion.""" text2425;"""…""" text2426;"""Either it had gotten warmer outside, or the alcohol was warming me up…""" text2427;"""Somehow, I made it home in no time at all.""" text2428;"""Another note from Himitsu rested on the doorstep.""" text2429;"""Surely this time she could have let herself in with her key since I hadn't bolted the door from the inside. She could have made dinner and waited for me, like she'd done the day before.""" text2430;"""But the note made it clear that I couldn't even begin to count on it.""" text2431;"""What, did she think that I was just out having fun?""" text2432;"""The note, the mysteries, the man shadowing me… Just because I couldn't tell her about all that stuff didn't mean I didn't want to!""" text2433;"""The note, the mysteries… Just because I couldn't tell her about all that stuff didn't mean I didn't want to!""" text2434;"""So I'd gone to a concert, what did it matter? A guy had to enjoy some culture once in a while!""" text2435;"""Of course, none of this was Himitsu's fault, I was just tired of her incessant, misplaced worrying.""" text2436;"""I'd started to feel like I was in a cage when I was around her.""" text2437;"""Children usually become more independent as they age, but Himitsu had essentially replaced my deceased parents and little had actually changed in my life.""" text2438;"""But to take all this for granted… Did I really feel no gratitude toward her?""" text2439;"""Judging by the note, she wasn't just upset but hurt too!""" text2440;"""Maybe I could at least call her…""" text2441;"""I didn't need to give any details — just tell her that everything was okay.""" text2442;"""I could, of course, stop by her place, but it was already late, I reeked of alcohol, and a phone call was enough in this situation.""" text2443;"""I dialed the phone number I'd known since childhood.""" text2444;"""Almost immediately her voice came over the line.""" text2445;"""Hello. Niko-kun?""" text2446;"""Just about what I'd expected…""" text2447;"""Hi, sorry I disappeared today.""" text2448;"""Silence on the other end.""" text2449;"""You wouldn't believe me if I told you I had things to do, would you?""" text2450;"""Did you?""" text2451;"""I sighed heavily.""" text2452;"""I'm hurt you're hiding something from me.""" text2453;"""If I was, there would be good reasons for it.""" text2454;"""But I'm not hiding anything, haha!""" text2455;"""The inane laugh was meant to diffuse the situation.""" text2456;"""You know I'm always here for you, if anything happens.""" text2457;"""Okay, I'll see you at school tomorrow.""" text2458;"""Good night.""" text2459;"""Good night!""" text2460;"""I hung up and paused to think.""" text2461;"""What if I told her everything?""" text2462;"""I doubted Himitsu could help me in any way, but at least I wouldn't have to shoulder my problems alone.""" text2463;"""I was gazing at the phone and was just about to head to bed, when it rang.""" text2464;"""Himitsu again? Did she forget to say something?""" text2465;"""Yeah, hi…""" text2466;"""I started automatically.""" text2467;"""Seriously, who else would call me this late?""" text2468;"""Who else would call me, period?""" text2469;"""Nikolai-kun.""" text2470;"""But I was wrong —it was Ichinose-san.""" text2471;"""Ichinose-san? …I'm listening.""" text2472;"""Nikolai-kun, I thought hard about whether to call you. After all, I did tell you this morning to keep out of this business. But I owe much to your father, you see, and since he's no longer with us, the least I can do is repay my debt to his son.""" text2473;"""…""" text2474;"""I simply didn't know what to say.""" text2475;"""Are you listening to me?""" text2476;"""Yes, absolutely, I'm all ears!""" text2477;"""I don't know all that much myself, nor did your father, I suspect. But there is a person… Write this down. No, memorize it! His name is Akira Shinji. He used to work with your father and I, but he was laid off. He now owns a little restaurant somewhere on the waterfront.""" text2478;"""Ichinose fell silent for a moment, then continued hastily:""" text2479;"""Nikolai, I don't know if you're in any danger, but please be careful!""" text2480;"""Ichinose-san, which waterfront exactly? There's so many in Tokyo! The name is pretty common too.""" text2481;"""I… I… I can't — I have to go! Take care of yourself!""" text2482;"""He hung up.""" text2483;"""He was clearly afraid of something.""" text2484;"""Afraid, yes, but he still called and warned me, and even gave me a clue.""" text2485;"""Although the name alone might not end up being enough…""" text2486;"""For some reason, I felt no fear at that moment, more like reckless excitement and boldness.""" text2487;"""…probably owing to the quantity of alcohol consumed earlier.""" text2488;"""The second I got off the call with Ichinose, I felt incredibly sleepy. I barely made it to my bed before crashing."""