text16937;"""The new day started unusually early for me."""
text16938;"""I got up determined to learn why Kagome was behaving like she was."""
text16939;"""That desire was motivated by fear for my own wellbeing after Kobayashi Jun's <i>request</i> to keep an eye on her, concern about Kagome's fate, and suspicions that had arisen after my conversation with Ellie."""
text16940;"""Was I really suspecting Iwamura?"""
text16941;"""When you have eliminated the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth, right?"""
text16942;"""But if anything, relationships follow the laws of quantum mechanics — where the event is inseparable from its observer."""
text16943;"""And if I were to imagine that Kagome really…"""
text16944;"""The image of Charles Manson kept showing up in my mind's eye, the inappropriate comparison with Iwamura making me smile, albeit blasphemously."""
text16945;"""I spent a long time washing my face and, in the end, decided to take a shower."""
text16946;"""I made several buterbrods with cheese for breakfast."""
text16947;"""Why don't the Japanese eat buterbrods?!"""
text16948;"""I remembered that when I was little they made up most of my breakfasts and dinners."""
text16949;"""Sure, normal sandwiches offer more variety in terms of filling, but the beauty of this Soviet cuisine is in its simplicity."""
text16950;"""A slice of white bread with butter and sugar can be a great substitute for a cookie."""
text16951;"""Rye bread (which you can't find anywhere in Japan) with sunflower oil and salt makes for a fine snack."""
text16952;"""Sushki, baranki, bubliki… <w><note=note67>Bread is the stuff of life</note>!"""
text16953;"""It was still pretty early, but the employed population of Tokyo was already rushing to work; for whatever reason everyone on the street appeared especially unfriendly to me today."""
text16954;"""Of course, they couldn't know that only yesterday eight innocent students had been brutally murdered…"""
text16955;"""Although surely it wasn't a record high for Tokyo's daily crime stats!"""
text16956;"""I didn't know the exact numbers, but what did it matter anyway?"""
text16957;"""Statistics show everything about the life of a population, but absolutely nothing about the life of an individual."""
text16958;"""I was one of the first to come to school."""
text16959;"""It felt a little strange sitting in an empty classroom, and at some point I felt a strange anxiety swell up in my throat."""
text16960;"""Dozens of completely unbelievable scenarios started to play out in my head, one after another."""
text16961;"""There were the two detectives from yesterday, accusing me of the murders."""
text16962;"""Then there was an armed squad from Kobayashi Corporation breaking down the door and shooting everyone dead."""
text16963;"""Then a meteor fell to Earth — right on top of our school…"""
text16964;"""When the first yawning students started to appear in the classroom, I felt somewhat calmer, and even started a meaningless conversation with a few, even though I rarely talked to anyone but Kyosuke and Michael."""
text16965;"""Kagome came right before the bell rang."""
text16966;"""She didn't look much like Charles Manson's daughter, at least outwardly."""
text16967;"""…"""
text16968;"""I confidently approached her during break and said, determined:"""
text16969;"""We need to talk!"""
text16970;"""Sure."""
text16971;"""She shrugged and stood up."""
text16972;"""Once on the roof, we immediately felt the cold hug of the autumn wind."""
text16973;"""The closer October got, the more uncomfortable it was to be up on the roof in only a single layer of clothing."""
text16974;"""Do you know what I want to say?"""
text16975;"""I do."""
text16976;"""So?"""
text16977;"""What?"""
text16978;"""She looked openly disinterested."""
text16979;"""It feels like you <i>want</i> to be accused of these murders."""
text16980;"""If <i>she</i> has come to a decision already, what does it matter what I want?"""
text16981;"""Kagome responded calmly, as if we were talking about something utterly mundane."""
text16982;"""Who's <i>she</i>? Ellie? Do you really think she <i>personally</i> controls Kobayashi Corporation, or the police? Maybe she runs the entirety of Japan?"""
text16983;"""If not her, then her grandfather."""
text16984;"""Wait…"""
text16985;"""I was beginning to understand."""
text16986;"""You think you've been framed?"""
text16987;"""Don't you?"""
text16988;"""I think killing eight people for that is a bit much. One would do the trick."""
text16989;"""But eight is more convincing."""
text16990;"""And who, do you think, would want that?"""
text16991;"""You tell me."""
text16992;"""What do I have to do with it?"""
text16993;"""You talked to her grandfather."""
text16994;"""Only because he called me up there. As you might recall, you weren't invited."""
text16995;"""Of course, I'm a girl."""
text16996;"""Kagome smirked."""
text16997;"""Christ, you could as well be an attack helicopter!"""
text16998;"""I'm sure he had his reasons. Besides, I relayed the entire conversation to you in detail."""
text16999;"""Yes, except you lied first."""
text17000;"""But… I did tell the truth in the end."""
text17001;"""She just scoffed in response and turned away."""
text17002;"""Maybe you really believe what you're saying."""
text17003;"""But it doesn't make my life any easier."""
text17004;"""The only thing not making your life easier is your own actions! You could've just denied everything from the start…"""
text17005;"""Yeaaaah? And how would that help?"""
text17006;"""She bared her teeth."""
text17007;"""What are you even accusing me of? Do you know any details about the murders? Where they happened? What the murder weapon was?"""
text17008;"""Do you know anything apart from what the principal said yesterday?"""
text17009;"""N-no…"""
text17010;"""I mumbled and immediately felt guilty."""
text17011;"""But you could at least say that you had an alibi."""
text17012;"""For what time? If it happened in the night — it must've — I was sleeping in my room. Alone."""
text17013;"""The only person who can confirm that is my grandfather, but he's… you saw him…"""
text17014;"""Still…"""
text17015;"""Now I had a better grasp of what she was thinking."""
text17016;"""I still think you're going overboard."""
text17017;"""I don't know if it's fatalism or whatever, but you can't actually believe this is out of your control."""
text17018;"""How about you tell me what I should do, then?"""
text17019;"""Kagome asked angrily."""
text17020;"""Sure: don't provoke Ellie!"""
text17021;"""Didn't you just tell me she can't do anything?"""
text17022;"""Ellie's threat yesterday to tell her grandfather everything immediately came to my mind."""
text17023;"""Maybe she didn't actually control things, but she was very capable of complicating Kagome's life."""
text17024;"""Just don't. You aren't in a position to…"""
text17025;"""To what?"""
text17026;"""Nothing!"""
text17027;"""This conversation started to really get on my nerves."""
text17028;"""So you aren't going to listen to me?"""
text17029;"""Fine…"""
text17030;"""She agreed begrudgingly."""
text17031;"""I'll keep quiet. But it won't change a thing — you'll see!"""
text17032;"""Better safe than sorry."""
text17033;"""We returned to the classroom, and the following classes passed without any incident."""
text17034;"""During lunch break, I went to the canteen with Michael and Kyosuke."""
text17035;"""It had an unusually large number of free seats, and the students, standing in the queue or sitting behind the tables, looked like they were there for a funeral, not lunch."""
text17036;"""Do you guys also think the atmosphere is a little heavy?"""
text17037;"""No wonder."""
text17038;"""What Mike was trying to say is that this is a terrible tragedy for our school!"""
text17039;"""Oh, we had no clue."""
text17040;"""I scoffed without much irritation."""
text17041;"""Well, now I'm going to tell you something you definitely have no clue about!"""
text17042;"""Kyosuke leaned back and looked at us victoriously, clearly expecting if not applause, at least enthusiastic questioning."""
text17043;"""What, you aren't curious at all?"""
text17044;"""Tell us already."""
text17045;"""I talked to dad and learned some details about the murders!"""
text17046;"""Really?"""
text17047;"""Now I was actually surprised."""
text17048;"""I'd always thought his father was just some low-ranking government employee."""
text17049;"""I know you've always believed in me, but…"""
text17050;"""Come on, Kyosuke! This isn't a game!"""
text17051;"""Fine…"""
text17052;"""He sighed with disappointment and continued:"""
text17053;"""They were all killed inside an abandoned warehouse."""
text17054;"""He named the district."""
text17055;"""Shot, to be precise."""
text17056;"""…"""
text17057;"""I could label this clique all I wanted in my mind, but what could they be doing inside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city on a Sunday night?"""
text17058;"""They were rich kids, not drug addicts with a track record!"""
text17059;"""And they were shot! <w>Which meant Kagome clearly had nothing to do with it."""
text17060;"""Are you sure?"""
text17061;"""My own father wouldn't lie to me, would he?"""
text17062;"""No, he wouldn't…"""
text17063;"""I repeated and looked at him more closely."""
text17064;"""Kyosuke liked to exaggerate, but this wasn't anime we were talking about."""
text17065;"""What do you think?"""
text17066;"""I asked Michael."""
text17067;"""I don't know yet, we don't have enough facts."""
text17068;"""Take a guess."""
text17069;"""My guesses won't help crack the case."""
text17070;"""We aren't trying to crack anything."""
text17071;"""Why not?! I think this is very interesting!"""
text17072;"""People died, Kyosuke. This isn't a detective novel."""
text17073;"""I know that perfectly well. We can't bring them back to life anyway, but the murderers should face their just punishment!"""
text17074;"""He said in the tone of Kiyama-sensei."""
text17075;"""The police will take care of that."""
text17076;"""Police, police…"""
text17077;"""He grumbled."""
text17078;"""I've been reading a manga recently…"""
text17079;"""Suddenly, he stopped himself, blushed, went silent, and focused on his <note=note68>udon</note>."""
text17080;"""As for me, it seems very strange that eight students from good families suddenly ended up in some abandoned warehouse at night."""
text17081;"""What do you think, Michael?"""
text17082;"""I guess it is."""
text17083;"""Seeing his reaction, you'd think we were discussing a boring TV show."""
text17084;"""So there must've been a reason for it?"""
text17085;"""Or they were brought there."""
text17086;"""To be killed?"""
text17087;"""Maybe."""
text17088;"""Which means there's no way a single person could've done it."""
text17089;"""Who says it was one person?"""
text17090;"""Nobody, I'm just thinking out loud."""
text17091;"""Alright, guys, I've got something <i>really</i> important to do, so I'll leave you here."""
text17092;"""Kyosuke giggled idiotically, but Michael didn't react in any way."""
text17093;"""…"""
text17094;"""I had to talk to Ellie."""
text17095;"""Of course, she could learn all these details (and more) from her grandfather, but something was telling me he wouldn't upset his granddaughter more than necessary."""
text17096;"""Without bothering to drop by her classroom, I headed directly for the old school wing."""
text17097;"""Hi!"""
text17098;"""Ellie was sitting behind the piano, clearly bored, looking out the window."""
text17099;"""Nick? Hi."""
text17100;"""She responded emotionlessly."""
text17101;"""Why the long face?"""
text17102;"""Well…"""
text17103;"""Okay, I get it. I have news."""
text17104;"""What news?"""
text17105;"""I learned from a classmate that your friends were murdered together, on Sunday night in an old abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city. They were shot."""
text17106;"""But… that can't be!"""
text17107;"""What would they be doing there?"""
text17108;"""That's the first thing I thought."""
text17109;"""Can your classmate be trusted?"""
text17110;"""He has no reason to lie."""
text17111;"""He could've mixed something up."""
text17112;"""I mean, that's possible, sure."""
text17113;"""I want to see it with my own eyes! Do you know the exact address?"""
text17114;"""Ellie was staring me down, cold determination in her eyes."""
text17115;"""Right now she bore an elusive resemblance to Kobayashi Jun, which I couldn't help but find disturbing."""
text17116;"""Well, I know what district it's in, but…"""
text17117;"""We're going there tonight!"""
text17118;"""Are you sure that's a good idea?"""
text17119;"""If it's true, I have to see it for myself!"""
text17120;"""There must be police there — they won't let us in."""
text17121;"""If there are police then at least it'll mean your classmate wasn't lying."""
text17122;"""It didn't look like I could change Ellie's mind. <w>Perhaps I shouldn't have told her about this at all."""
text17123;"""How do you think your grandfather will react to that?"""
text17124;"""I don't care! I asked him what really happened but he didn't tell me anything."""
text17125;"""Maybe he's protecting my feelings or whatever — but I'm not a child anymore! He can't keep me on a short leash my entire life!"""
text17126;"""I mean sure, that's true, I agree, but…"""
text17127;"""If you don't want to, I'll go there alone!"""
text17128;"""Consciously or not, Ellie used the best trick in the book: narrow down the choice to two options, one of which is clearly unacceptable."""
text17129;"""Fine, we'll go together. But if something happens, I've warned you…"""
text17130;"""Great, then I'll drop by your place tonight, at ten."""
text17131;"""My house was most likely under surveillance, so it was a bad idea."""
text17132;"""Let's meet at the station instead."""
text17133;"""Why? Are you afraid of something?"""
text17134;"""It'll just be quicker."""
text17135;"""She didn't seem to believe that but didn't argue."""
text17136;"""Alright, then at ten o'clock at the station."""
text17137;"""And don't be late, or I'll leave without you!"""
text17138;"""…"""
text17139;"""The school day ended without any further incidents."""
text17140;"""Himitsu wasn't waiting for me at the gate, and home met me with its usual silence."""
text17141;"""Ellie's idea still seemed stupid, but not necessarily dangerous."""
text17142;"""The police would probably be there, so most likely we just wouldn't be allowed near the crime scene."""
text17143;"""There was nothing to fear…"""
text17144;"""But the mere thought was making me tremble inside."""
text17145;"""Something was wrong, some almost imperceptible deviation in the harmonious model of the universe that was threatening my very existence."""
text17146;"""How had Kyosuke's father learned the details of the crime in the first place?"""
text17147;"""Why had these poor students really been killed?"""
text17148;"""The more I thought about it, the more questions I had."""
text17149;"""Even the fact that Kagome was no longer the main suspect didn't bring me any peace."""
text17150;"""Because now anyone could be!"""
text17151;"""Indecisiveness obviously wasn't among Irina's or Kobayashi Jun's sins, but up to this point they'd limited themselves to talking."""
text17152;"""And then, eight people at the same time…"""
text17153;"""If it was a warning, even a blind man would have noticed it!"""
text17154;"""On the other hand, I couldn't just see everything that happened as a conspiracy against me — there was a solid chance that even if those murders weren't accidental, they weren't related to Kagome, Kobayashi, or me."""
text17155;"""Although that was hard to believe…"""
text17156;"""Evolutionarily, humans are programmed to find patterns everywhere."""
text17157;"""If the bushes next to you move at night — there must be a wild animal hiding in them."""
text17158;"""A stick in the grass might be a snake."""
text17159;"""Thunder from the sky is the gods' wrath!"""
text17160;"""It is better to be safe than sorry and build absolutely surreal causal links in order to stay alive."""
text17161;"""Rational but dead Homo sapiens don't propagate their genes."""
text17162;"""As early as half past nine, I was nervously shifting from one foot to another at the station, occasionally glancing at the clock."""
text17163;"""It was noticeably colder in the evening — autumn was gently but persistently driving summer to rest."""
text17164;"""I was constantly looking around on my way to the station, trying to find anyone following me, but noticed nothing."""
text17165;"""I wondered how Irina would react if she knew where I was going tonight. <w>And with who…"""
text17166;"""Ellie came at ten o'clock sharp."""
text17167;"""I found the exact place!"""
text17168;"""She exclaimed instead of a greeting."""
text17169;"""I asked our butler to help. He tried to deny it at first, but when I told him I know almost everything anyway, he had no choice."""
text17170;"""Nicely done."""
text17171;"""You bet!"""
text17172;"""She smiled, clearly proud of herself."""
text17173;"""Really though, we had little reason to be happy."""
text17174;"""…"""
text17175;"""All the way there, Ellie looked somewhat reserved, constantly staring into space."""
text17176;"""We left the subway at a station in the port district of Tokyo, and I filled my lungs with the unusually fresh air."""
text17177;"""Have you never taken the subway or something?"""
text17178;"""Of course I have!"""
text17179;"""Ellie asked with slight offence."""
text17180;"""What's up, then?"""
text17181;"""What?"""
text17182;"""You looked like like you were taking an exam you were totally unprepared for."""
text17183;"""Yeah, imagine that, I don't visit murder scenes every day."""
text17184;"""I told you it was a bad idea."""
text17185;"""Too late now!"""
text17186;"""She waved me away and looked around."""
text17187;"""If my butler is to be believed, we need to go… there!"""
text17188;"""…"""
text17189;"""The industrial district turned out to be much scarier at night than I could've imagined."""
text17190;"""In the darkness, the endless rows of identical warehouses resembled giant petrified mastodons."""
text17191;"""Motionless, they still commanded respect for their prior greatness, even if long-forgotten."""
text17192;"""You may not know what a monument symbolizes, but its appearance alone can still make you tremble."""
text17193;"""There wasn't a soul around — and that scared me more than any potential criminals that could be nearby."""
text17194;"""It seemed like I was left alone on Earth."""
text17195;"""If not for Ellie next to me…"""
text17196;"""Looks like we're here."""
text17197;"""She stopped near a building that looked just like the others."""
text17198;"""Are you sure? They're all the same."""
text17199;"""Well yeah, see for yourself."""
text17200;"""Indeed, there was police tape hanging from the gate."""
text17201;"""I guess you're right. But where are the police?"""
text17202;"""There were only the two of us here."""
text17203;"""I was starting to feel seriously uneasy."""
text17204;"""Alright, you've seen it now. Let's go?"""
text17205;"""What, getting cold feet?"""
text17206;"""Ellie smirked unkindly (or maybe the fear was making me take everything personally)."""
text17207;"""Aren't you? Ever heard of the self-preservation instinct?"""
text17208;"""But there's no one here!"""
text17209;"""She took a flashlight out of her pocket and pointed it at the gate."""
text17210;"""See?"""
text17211;"""Give it to me!"""
text17212;"""I suddenly felt unbearably ashamed for my vanishing masculinity and I snatched the flashlight out of her hands."""
text17213;"""We walked around the building several times but noticed nothing interesting."""
text17214;"""So they were killed inside…"""
text17215;"""You wanted to be certain that it happened here. Well, now you are! I don't think we need any extra details."""
text17216;"""Ellie, about to keep going, hesitated."""
text17217;"""But we won't find… there…"""
text17218;"""I guess not, but…"""
text17219;"""Of course, the bodies had long been taken away, but there could be blood stains."""
text17220;"""I could hardly imagine what happens when a person gets shot in real life."""
text17221;"""In movies, you sometimes see literal litres of blood splashing all over the place even from a minor wound."""
text17222;"""But there had to be <i>some</i> traces left, right?"""
text17223;"""Firearm possession was prohibited in Japan, so they most likely had been shot with a regular revolver, not turned into swiss cheese with a machine gun…"""
text17224;"""Nick?"""
text17225;"""Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking."""
text17226;"""Maybe you're right — we shouldn't…"""
text17227;"""Suddenly, somebody's shadow flickered in the light."""
text17228;"""Aaaah!"""
text17229;"""Ellie shouted and jumped to me."""
text17230;"""Although at that moment I also wanted to be anywhere but here."""
text17231;"""Who's there?"""
text17232;"""My voice was trembling."""
text17233;"""A person stepped out of the darkness."""
text17234;"""Nick…"""
text17235;"""Ellie sunk her fingernails into my hand so hard I almost shouted."""
text17236;"""We had to run, but I was so paralyzed by fear my legs refused to obey me."""
text17237;"""Calm down already."""
text17238;"""The voice sounded familiar."""
text17239;"""And then Kagome stepped into the light."""
text17240;"""What are <i>you</i> doing here?!"""
text17241;"""I immediately felt like I could breathe again — like there'd been a rope binding my chest, and then it snapped."""
text17242;"""The same thing as you, I assume. I came to see the crime scene."""
text17243;"""But… how…?"""
text17244;"""It wasn't hard to follow you."""
text17245;"""Follow us?"""
text17246;"""So wait, had Iwamura been watching my house until evening, then followed me to the station so well I hadn't noticed, boarded the train… <w>No, that sounded ridiculous!"""
text17247;"""How had she even found out I was going somewhere tonight?!"""
text17248;"""You're lying!"""
text17249;"""Ellie shouted, finally coming to her senses."""
text17250;"""Maybe I am."""
text17251;"""Kagome shrugged, nonplussed."""
text17252;"""But think for yourself: why would I return to the crime scene and reveal myself to you?"""
text17253;"""Because you're crazy!"""
text17254;"""This is too much! What are you trying to do?"""
text17255;"""What am I trying to do?"""
text17256;"""She pretended to think about it but immediately smirked:"""
text17257;"""What does it matter? Whatever I say, <i>she</i> won't ever believe me. Now you won't either!"""
text17258;"""Iwamura was stubbornly digging herself a deeper and deeper grave, ignoring all logic and common sense."""
text17259;"""Nick, let's leave, I'm scared."""
text17260;"""Ellie whispered, but I paid no attention to it, still trying to figure out what was really going on."""
text17261;"""Can you explain what you're doing?"""
text17262;"""Maybe I just enjoy making you miserable?"""
text17263;"""…"""
text17264;"""Fine."""
text17265;"""You wanted to see the crime scene. So did I. I need to know what I'm being accused of."""
text17266;"""In the silence of the night, Kagome's voice sounded unnatural, like the villain from a black and white movie."""
text17267;"""Nick…"""
text17268;"""Ellie was pulling on my sleeve."""
text17269;"""I couldn't understand what Kagome was doing here. <w>I couldn't figure what she was trying to accomplish."""
text17270;"""But she definitely had a reason to behave the way she was."""
text17271;"""How did you even end up here?"""
text17272;"""I told you…"""
text17273;"""I don't believe it! You weren't following me — I would've noticed!"""
text17274;"""Well, think whatever you want! I'll say it again: I'm not going to prove anything to you."""
text17275;"""You know what, fine! I've done everything I could!"""
text17276;"""Ellie kept trembling, and it took some effort to lead her away from that damned warehouse and Iwamura."""
text17277;"""…"""
text17278;"""We reached the station without saying a word to each other."""
text17279;"""The last train brought us to the city centre."""
text17280;"""Will you make it home?"""
text17281;"""Don't worry, I live nearby."""
text17282;"""And you?"""
text17283;"""I'll make a call, they'll pick me up in a car."""
text17284;"""What will your grandfather say?"""
text17285;"""I don't care."""
text17286;"""Ellie hadn't smiled once in the last hour, the usual twinkle in her eye nowhere to be seen."""
text17287;"""Well, alright then?"""
text17288;"""I was about to leave, not knowing what else I could say after everything that'd happened."""
text17289;"""Could you stay with me for a bit?"""
text17290;"""She asked quietly and sat on a bench."""
text17291;"""I sat next to her. <w>Ellie looked exhausted and was just staring at Kobayashi Corporation's office."""
text17292;"""You've been there, right?"""
text17293;"""I have."""
text17294;"""I've always thought it was a terrible place. All that steel, concrete, and glass — it seems, like, undead."""
text17295;"""…"""
text17296;"""Like a metal monster from a children's fairytale."""
text17297;"""She made a little smile but immediately lowered her head."""
text17298;"""You think I'm stupid, don't you?"""
text17299;"""No, not at all! Why would you think that?"""
text17300;"""You'd think that having recovered from her shock a bit, Ellie would start cursing Kagome, but she looked as if she was to blame for everything that'd happened."""
text17301;"""Because you told me we shouldn't go <i>there</i>. And I didn't listen."""
text17302;"""Well, yeah, I did. But you know, now I think it wasn't for nothing."""
text17303;"""What do you mean?"""
text17304;"""I really didn't expect to meet Iwamura there… But maybe, it's for the better."""
text17305;"""So also you think she's the murderer?"""
text17306;"""I don't know what to think anymore."""
text17307;"""The wind grew stronger, and Ellie shivered."""
text17308;"""I immediately stood up, took off my jacket, and put it over her shoulders."""
text17309;"""Thank you."""
text17310;"""I thought you'd resist a bit for the sake of decency."""
text17311;"""Accept what you're given, run when you're beaten."""
text17312;"""She answered calmly and bundled up a bit tighter."""
text17313;"""The words of a true lady!"""
text17314;"""Ellie laughed, but almost immediately looked up at me and <seq el_serious>asked seriously:"""
text17315;"""What should I do next?"""
text17316;"""You're asking if you should tell your grandfather?"""
text17317;"""She nodded."""
text17318;"""A couple hours ago, I would've said it was a bad idea. But now I'm not so sure."""
text17319;"""To keep protecting Iwamura after everything she'd done?! <w>Was she my mother, sister, wife?"""
text17320;"""I started cracking my knuckles, Ellie noticed it and slapped me on the hands."""
text17321;"""You still need them for rehearsal tomorrow!"""
text17322;"""Right, the rehearsal…"""
text17323;"""Don't tell me you forgot!"""
text17324;"""I didn't. It just slipped my mind."""
text17325;"""Yeah, maybe it's not the best time for this."""
text17326;"""Ellie smiled sadly and lowered her head again like she was guilty of something."""
text17327;"""And here I thought giving up in the face of difficulties wasn't your style!"""
text17328;"""Honestly, right now music was one of the things I cared the least about, but I had an overwhelming desire to cheer her up somehow."""
text17329;"""Do you really think so?"""
text17330;"""Absolutely!"""
text17331;"""Well then…"""
text17332;"""Ellie stood up, and the familiar spark flared in her eyes again."""
text17333;"""Don't be late!"""
text17334;"""Yes ma'am!"""
text17335;"""I saluted her in farewell."""
text17336;"""…"""
text17337;"""But still! <w>How had Kagome managed to follow me so effortlessly?"""
text17338;"""I was walking home down the streets of nighttime Tokyo, glancing back around every now and then."""
text17339;"""Or had she actually not followed anyone at all?"""
text17340;"""But then how had Kagome learned where the crime scene was?"""
text17341;"""And even if she had!<w> Why would she make a scene again, provoke more misunderstandings?"""
text17342;"""It's like she was doing everything she could to make herself the suspect of these murders."""
text17343;"""A strange way to find her father…"""
text17344;"""The colder it got, the darker the nights."""
text17345;"""Maybe it was the Earth's rotation or whatever — but it is at night when you can feel the departure of summer the most."""
text17346;"""During the day, the sun still shone strongly enough to create the false illusion of warm weather, but the coming of twilight set things as they ought to be."""
text17347;"""I hadn't taken my jacket from Ellie (or, maybe, she didn't want to give it back), so the night's cold made itself known after only a few minutes — I had to pick up my pace."""
text17348;"""Maybe, to a stranger's eye, a guy wearing only a shirt in this weather looked strange, but I didn't meet a single living soul the entire way back, even though a significant part of my route lay through the city centre."""
text17349;"""Sometimes, I would notice a late drunkard idly trudging along the other side of the street, but no one ever walked in my direction."""
text17350;"""It was interesting how difficult I always found it to handle the heat yet how effortlessly I was running now that the temperature had dropped into a range I found comfortable."""
text17351;"""\""Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner\"" by Iron Maiden played in my head, and I smirked at the clear discrepancy between reality and my thoughts."""
text17352;"""If somebody really was following me now, did they realize I just felt cold and wasn't trying to run away from anything or anyone?"""
text17353;"""On the other hand, if that was possible, I'd be probably be sprinting ahead with all my might, having cast every thought out of my mind!"""
text17354;"""It was just as cold inside the house as outside — even colder, after I finally stopped and started to cool down."""
text17355;"""I could heat up the kotatsu — but wasn't it too early?"""
text17356;"""I looked at the clock — no, it was time to sleep!"""
text17357;"""But first — a hot bath!"""
text17358;"""I still failed to grasp some Japanese traditions even after so many years."""
text17359;"""For example, sitting in a hot bath daily."""
text17360;"""Although \""sitting\"" would be an overstatement, considering the size of the bath and my height."""
text17361;"""It was more like folding over myself."""
text17362;"""But it was exactly what I needed after a marathon in the cold."""
text17363;"""Unlike the Japanese, I climbed into the warm bath first, sat there for about ten minutes, and only then washed myself."""
text17364;"""Theoretically the heat should've made me even more drowsy, but, lying in bed, I felt somewhat rested."""
text17365;"""Thoughts about Kagome came back with a vengeance."""
text17366;"""A person can hardly change so radically in a couple of weeks, but your mental image of them can."""
text17367;"""Yes, she had seemed a bit odd to me from the start, but I could never have imagined anything like this!"""
text17368;"""I couldn't seriously believe that Iwamura killed eight people, but I also had no idea what to think of her behavior."""
text17369;"""Maybe I was just… <w>afraid of Kagome?"""
text17370;"""That thought made waves of anxiety rise from somewhere in my stomach."""
text17371;"""Kobayashi Jun, Irina — they made me feel an understable fear, there was nothing strange or unnatural about that."""
text17372;"""Prey is afraid of its hunter — from an evolutionary standpoint, it was logical."""
text17373;"""But in terms of my feelings for Kagome, there was something fundamentally different."""
text17374;"""Perhaps this was that one fear that we should ever fear, as some American president said."""
text17375;"""An existential fear, the fear of the unknown — the strongest of them all, so psychologists claim."""
text17376;"""I didn't know what she was capable of and couldn't quite match the image of a quiet class representative with the maniacal cruelty of a murderer."""
text17377;"""Even in view of the facts. <w>Even despite her strange behavior."""
text17378;"""The most terrifying creatures in Japanese folklore are changelings. The worst fear of a Japanese is when something familiar turns out to be something else."""
text17379;"""Maybe I'd spent too much time living in this country…?"""