text40708;"""I was woken up by Kagome's grumbling, and immediately felt that I was sick.""" text40709;"""My head was burning and the surrounding world looked unreal.""" text40710;"""Niko-san, I understand, but we still have to go to school.""" text40711;"""I'm sick…""" text40712;"""I moaned and turned to the other side.""" text40713;"""Sick?""" text40714;"""Kagome said with surprise, came closer, and touched my forehead.""" text40715;"""How did you manage to get sick?""" text40716;"""I'm not going anywhere, get off me!""" text40717;"""I had to cover my head with a pillow in order to not hear her anymore.""" text40718;"""I probably should have taken the bathroom first yesterday.""" text40719;"""Anyway, Kagome decided not to argue and left me in peace.""" text40720;"""…""" text40721;"""When I woke up again, the clock read three in the afternoon.""" text40722;"""My fever seemed to be gone, and I generally felt refreshed and rested.""" text40723;"""I tried to listen to the surrounding sounds — the house was enveloped by a strange silence, even though Kagome was supposed to be back from school already.""" text40724;"""Moriyuki-san?""" text40725;"""I walked into the kitchen, but nobody was there, either.""" text40726;"""Their room was empty as well.""" text40727;"""Sure, Kagome could have been held up for any number of reasons — after all, she was still a class representative, and teachers know nothing of what happens outside school grounds.""" text40728;"""I opened the fridge, looking for food and found a plate with tofu.""" text40729;"""I didn't seem to remember it being there yesterday — had Kagome left something for me to eat?""" text40730;"""Still, I was really hungry, so I ate the tofu without any second thoughts.""" text40731;"""Even if I'd had a fever in the morning, it was now miraculously gone.""" text40732;"""Maybe it was just due to exhaustion, not hyperthermia?""" text40733;"""The memories of the previous night started to come back one after another like disorganized rows of medieval soldiers heading off for war, following the whims of their petty king.""" text40734;"""Why do decisions that seemed so simple the night before, become absolutely unbearable in the morning?""" text40735;"""After I finished the tofu, I washed the dishes and paced around the kitchen.""" text40736;"""Would I be better off waiting for Kagome or acting on my own?""" text40737;"""If I decided to release Ellie after all, was I supposed to tell Iwamura?""" text40738;"""If things were to go completely wrong, they'd soon come for us…""" text40739;"""Kagome had the right to know, right?""" text40740;"""I was treating all these possibilities like they were something abstract, not directly concerning me.""" text40741;"""This was the only way I could maintain the determination to do what I had to.""" text40742;"""To imagine what's happening isn't happening to you — what could be easier…?""" text40743;"""…""" text40744;"""It was getting late, but neither Kagome nor Moriyuki-san had returned.""" text40745;"""What if…""" text40746;"""The anxious thought, having once entered my mind, stuck there firmly — and I could no longer think of anything else.""" text40747;"""What if while I was sleeping, Ellie had managed to escape somehow?""" text40748;"""Or the police, people from the Corporation, or some random person had come across her?""" text40749;"""Or the owners of the warehouse returned?""" text40750;"""Or…""" text40751;"""But why had nobody come for me then?""" text40752;"""I dashed to the hall and grabbed the phone.""" text40753;"""…""" text40754;"""Kyosuke told me that Kagome sat through every class at school and then left.""" text40755;"""Everything seemed to be in order…""" text40756;"""I looked out the window: my yard, the road, Himitsu's house — everything looked normal.""" text40757;"""And it seemed unbelievable that Kagome and her grandfather had been captured while I had been left to sleep.""" text40758;"""But doubt that has found the way to one's heart can be difficult to get rid of.""" text40759;"""According to the clock, only five had minutes passed, but it felt much longer for me.""" text40760;"""What if they decided that I wasn't going anywhere and they didn't need to hurry?""" text40761;"""Then I had to run! Right now, immediately!""" text40762;"""In a fit of panic, I leapt out to the street, and froze.""" text40763;"""But run where? And wasn't I being too hot-headed?""" text40764;"""Of course, I could just wait, but if Kagome and her grandfather had been captured, the longer I waited, the more danger I was in.""" text40765;"""Although, there was a sure way to check what had really happened.""" text40766;"""I had to know whether Ellie was still there!""" text40767;"""…""" text40768;"""I carefully entered the back alley through the hole and walked to the station, constantly looking around.""" text40769;"""My paranoid delusions, only recently relenting, were once again hounding me.""" text40770;"""It wasn't that late, so the station was occupied by a crowd of tired Japanese people.""" text40771;"""The train would steadily spit out one group of people in order to take in another one, and the workers leaving the steel monster's belly looked a little happier than the ones only just preparing to become its dinner.""" text40772;"""I was swept up by the flow and felt a bit calmer with all the hussle.""" text40773;"""…""" text40774;"""When we arrived at the station, night had already descended upon Tokyo.""" text40775;"""I was dressed warmer this time, so when I walked onto the street, breathing in a lungful the frosty, salt-filled air, I didn't feel a nasty shiver go down my spine.""" text40776;"""Kagome's burnt restaurant was just a five minute walk from my location, but I felt zero desire to look at the ashes at night.""" text40777;"""I turned my collar up and quickly walked towards the warehouses.""" text40778;"""…""" text40779;"""Finding the right one without Kagome turned out to be no easy task.""" text40780;"""They all looked similar by default, and the darkness took it a step further, making them look like twin brothers.""" text40781;"""The warehouse looked exactly like it had last time.""" text40782;"""There wasn't a soul around, which already implied that Ellie was still there, in the depths of this grim building.""" text40783;"""I couldn't force myself to go in — as if knew something bad would happen. But since I was there, it was too late to retreat!""" text40784;"""…""" text40785;"""Complete darkness surrounded me as soon as I entered the warehouse.""" text40786;"""There was no sound, no movement of air.""" text40787;"""There must have been mice and other critters — but they all seemed to be sleeping or, maybe, they just went silent when they heard my footsteps.""" text40788;"""I fumbled in the darkness, trying to find the place where Ellie had been last time.""" text40789;"""And I found her there after all!""" text40790;"""The girl was asleep.""" text40791;"""I stopped, not knowing what to do next.""" text40792;"""Wake her up or just leave quietly?""" text40793;"""I'd achieved my objective — found out that Ellie was still there.""" text40794;"""Plus I still felt ashamed to look her in the eyes and had nothing to say to her…""" text40795;"""I turned around to leave this horrible place as soon as possible, but, blinded by the darkness, kicked an iron rod that responded with a piercing clang.""" text40796;"""Mmm…""" text40797;"""Ellie stretched and opened her eyes.""" text40798;"""Who's there?""" text40799;"""…""" text40800;"""Nick, is that you?""" text40801;"""I froze, trying not to breath.""" text40802;"""Nick…? I can see it's you.""" text40803;"""Maybe her eyes had adapted to the darkness over these days?""" text40804;"""Nick, are you alone? Without that crazy bitch?""" text40805;"""…""" text40806;"""I still couldn't reply.""" text40807;"""Nick, untie me, I beg you! I know you aren't going along with her voluntarily.""" text40808;"""…""" text40809;"""Ellie stopped for a moment and then said with a strain in her voice:""" text40810;"""Untie me or you'll have to answer my grandfather!""" text40811;"""We can forget it all here and now — and nobody will suffer, except for that bitch!""" text40812;"""Yes, I had initially come here with the intention to free Ellie.""" text40813;"""But really, I was almost sure I wouldn't find her!""" text40814;"""Unfortunately, it often turns out like this: you go to do the right thing with a grim look on your face, but deep down you hope everything has already been resolved without you somehow.""" text40815;"""Nick!""" text40816;"""Ellie growled in a stranger's voice.""" text40817;"""I knew I'd find you here.""" text40818;"""A familiar voice came from behind me, making my heart drop.""" text40819;"""I turned around and saw Kagome's silhouette in the darkness, slowly approaching us like a ghost — sailing across the frozen space of the warehouse.""" text40820;"""You!""" text40821;"""Ellie's cry turned into a squeal.""" text40822;"""Niko-san, we almost got our way, but you decided to mess everything up.""" text40823;"""What \""way\"" did you get?""" text40824;"""I said with a strain in my voice.""" text40825;"""Kagome stopped in a spot of moonlight, wrapped her arms around herself and looked at me reproachfully.""" text40826;"""Niko-san—""" text40827;"""But I immediately interrupted her.""" text40828;"""Maybe because I was afraid to hear what she was about to say.""" text40829;"""Where have you been the whole day? Where is Moriyuki-san?""" text40830;"""Let me go, bastards!""" text40831;"""Ellie tried to free herself from the ropes, but Kagome seemed to have forgotten about her prisoner.""" text40832;"""I had things to do, grandfather was with me.""" text40833;"""Things?""" text40834;"""I laughed nervously.""" text40835;"""You understand what situation we're in, right? You could've at least left a note! I waited until evening and then…""" text40836;"""And then you came here immediately.""" text40837;"""Yes, because… I thought you were captured, arrested…""" text40838;"""Or maybe you just finally got an opportunity to free her.""" text40839;"""Kagome finally shifted her gaze to Ellie, actively demonstrating extreme disdain towards her.""" text40840;"""Hey, I'm still here, don't ignore me!""" text40841;"""Ellie somewhat calmed down.""" text40842;"""Why do I have to explain myself to you at all?!""" text40843;"""Yeah, I don't want to be a part of this anymore! I was thinking about it a lot and…""" text40844;"""Nick!""" text40845;"""Ellie begged but I didn't move from my place.""" text40846;"""What were you thinking about, Niko-san? About yourself as usual, I suppose.""" text40847;"""Have you thought about my father, me, my feelings?""" text40848;"""Not all means can be justified by their ends.""" text40849;"""That's sophistry, Niko-san. You're trying to deprive someone of the only way they can fight back against injustice, justifying it with your old-fashioned ideas of morality.""" text40850;"""I really am happy that you're in this too — this way, you can understand at least some of my feelings.""" text40851;"""It's always easier to judge from the outside, when you're not the one has to choose whether to give up and drown or try to struggle and reach the shore!""" text40852;"""But of course, you… all of you… have the right to judge what is right and what is not!""" text40853;"""What's right about the fact that everything went to shit after my mom died?!""" text40854;"""I kept living like that, tolerating everything, not saying a word… Putting up with her gang humiliating me, others ostracizing me.""" text40855;"""What did I do to deserve that, Niko-san? Before high school I wasn't any better than anyone else, but I wasn't worse, either!""" text40856;"""I had friends and acquaintances, a place in life.""" text40857;"""And then…""" text40858;"""She suddenly broke into tears.""" text40859;"""I don't want to blame anyone for mom's death, but… Sometimes, it seems like someone has to be punishing me with all this!""" text40860;"""I was surprised that Kagome was so open in Ellie's presence, but I didn't dare to interrupt her.""" text40861;"""And I could've waited patiently until graduation and then forgotten it like a nightmare, but…""" text40862;"""I can't tolerate it anymore, after they kidnapped my father!""" text40863;"""Why am I the only one who has to think about my own actions? Does she, or her friends, her grandfather and his entire damn Corporation?!""" text40864;"""They don't need to answer to anyone, they're untouchable!""" text40865;"""And you, Niko-san? How do you act? You ended up on my side, on the victim's side. But you still came here to…""" text40866;"""She stopped, heavily breathing in the cold air and exhaling long clouds of steam.""" text40867;"""And you're still playing by their rules! You blame me, yet you're ashamed of helping me.""" text40868;"""That is what they want — why fight people if you can make them fight each other?""" text40869;"""They teach you what's good and what's bad. They teach you to think that things can't be different!""" text40870;"""Was it a good act to kidnap my father? Well, it's the Corporation — you'd say, as if that makes anyone feel better!""" text40871;"""And if we can't hold them responsible, we just cowardly keep quiet and hide in a corner?""" text40872;"""Well, I don't want to and won't live like that!""" text40873;"""Nick, can't you see she's not well in the head?""" text40874;"""Ellie finally interrupted Kagome's monologue.""" text40875;"""Shut up!""" text40876;"""She shouted in response.""" text40877;"""You have no right to bully me! No right to take my place! No right to have Niko-san…""" text40878;"""Kagome kept talking and, at some point, it became difficult for me to follow her endless flow of words, but I could clearly understand her mood and emotions.""" text40879;"""She suddenly gave me a piercing look that left no doubts about her sincerity.""" text40880;"""Kagome's eyes were gleaming with tears.""" text40881;"""I just wanted to test you…""" text40882;"""And you didn't hold for even half a day — you immediately ran to her.""" text40883;"""To test me…?""" text40884;"""For a moment, it seemed like you understood me. Or, at least, that you'd be able to.""" text40885;"""Over the past three years I forgot how to trust people. Unfortunately, for good reason, as it turns out.""" text40886;"""Test?""" text40887;"""So Kagome deliberately took her grandfather with her and waited to see how I reacted?""" text40888;"""And I fell for this simple trick so easily!""" text40889;"""Maybe in a different situation, with a cooler head, I would have questioned the soundness of Kagome's actions…""" text40890;"""But in the heat of the moment, the sincerity of her words seemed more important.""" text40891;"""Nick, don't listen to her…""" text40892;"""Ellie's voice suddenly started to sound resigned.""" text40893;"""Niko-san, you're probably thinking you're doing the right thing, that otherwise you'd be eaten by your guilty conscience.""" text40894;"""Except, doing the right thing doesn't entitle you to a reward — and my reward will be rescuing my father.""" text40895;"""So what, you think that even if you get what you want, you'll just get away with it?!""" text40896;"""Ellie was tied up, but her grim voice was frightening nonetheless.""" text40897;"""Grandfather will never forgive you! And you can be sure you two won't have a life in Japan!""" text40898;"""He really does love his granddaughter.""" text40899;"""Kagome suddenly smirked, turned to Ellie, and looked down at her for the first time today.""" text40900;"""Are you surprised by that?""" text40901;"""How I'd love to change places with you — to see how you'd survive alone, without money or status.""" text40902;"""I at least wouldn't kidnap anyone!""" text40903;"""Like your grandfather didn't kidnap my father, right! Or like your friends didn't burn my restaurant down!""" text40904;"""She looked at me.""" text40905;"""It's all about ifs again, Niko-san.""" text40906;"""Meanwhile, I was no longer at all sure that I wanted to let Ellie go. That I wanted to do it right now, for Kagome to see.""" text40907;"""You won't leave me here, Nick, will you?""" text40908;"""Ellie's voice was reaching deep into my heart, wounding it deeper than I could bear.""" text40909;"""But Kagome's monologue had planted a seed of doubt in my mind, made me rethink what had seemed so obvious.""" text40910;"""I… I'm not the one who started it — I shouldn't be the one to deal with it!""" text40911;"""My words sounded cowardly, but it seemed to be the best course of action for the time being.""" text40912;"""My feet carried me outside by themselves, into the starry night, under the light of the moon that was emotionlessly observing people's sins.""" text40913;"""Cold sweat was running down my neck, and I felt a tension in my head, as if someone put a deflated football in there and began to pump it up.""" text40914;"""Kagome hadn't come out after ten minutes, and just when I began to worry, I heard her footsteps, and my accomplice walked out onto the street with a grim look on her face.""" text40915;"""Have you decided?""" text40916;"""Decided what?""" text40917;"""I snapped at her, not looking in her direction.""" text40918;"""She's still there, waiting for you. Hurry up!""" text40919;"""Kagome smirked and passed by me, resolutely walking away from the warehouse.""" text40920;"""I had to be honest, at least with myself — if I'd really wanted to release Ellie, I would've done it right away.""" text40921;"""Wait!""" text40922;"""I ran after Kagome.""" text40923;"""…""" text40924;"""We were quiet all the way to the station, but I finally couldn't hold it.""" text40925;"""Don't you think that… testing me like that isn't fair?""" text40926;"""But I achieved my purpose. I wanted to see how you'd act in a difficult situation…""" text40927;"""She sighed and slowed down.""" text40928;"""And you, unfortunately, did everything I was afraid you'd do.""" text40929;"""I thought that you and Moriyuki-san had been captured! What else could I do?""" text40930;"""And of course, first thing first you ran to her. How would Kobayashi help you?""" text40931;"""That's because…""" text40932;"""Why do I even have to explain myself to you?!""" text40933;"""I understand, Niko-san.""" text40934;"""Kagome said in an unexpectedly calm voice.""" text40935;"""I'm not even accusing you of anything — you're right.""" text40936;"""Kobayashi is right, too.""" text40937;"""Everyone is right in their own way in this situation. But I'm like a compass, I can't just stay in flux — for me, the world is polar.""" text40938;"""I either put my all into rescuing my father or give up and accept my punishment.""" text40939;"""What else can I do? Go to the police, send a complaint to the prosecutor, go to an international court?""" text40940;"""She laughed bitterly.""" text40941;"""Niko-san, you want me to obey the laws that they don't!""" text40942;"""For them, kidnapping a person is a trifle, and yet you're ready to crucify me for it!""" text40943;"""I'm not going to crucify anybody…""" text40944;"""You just don't understand that I've been facing a choice here: it's all or nothing!""" text40945;"""And it's not even about being a radical! They forced these rules on me.""" text40946;"""I'd already noted that she was constantly talking about them — some disembodied figures.""" text40947;"""Obviously, she meant the Corporation, Kobayashi Jun and even Ellie, but that impersonal pronoun gave it an unnecessary philosophical spin.""" text40948;"""But do you understand that in the end, there are very real and specific people who suffer for it? Ellie is suffering…""" text40949;"""And I'm not?!""" text40950;"""Kagome stopped, shouted, waved her hand as if trying to slap someone invisible and, burst into tears.""" text40951;"""I felt sorry for Ellie, even now.""" text40952;"""But, seeing Kagome like this, it was getting more and more difficult to emotionlessly assess her actions, judge her only from the perspective of a civil society.""" text40953;"""I came closer, hugged this tired, trapped girl, and pulled her close to me.""" text40954;"""Niko-san, why are you doing this?""" text40955;"""Doing what?""" text40956;"""Why do you run to her first, do everything so that I'd hate you, and now… now…""" text40957;"""She seemed to be crying more out of exhaustion than anger.""" text40958;"""At long last, all the emotions that had been suppressed by anger and wrath found their way out.""" text40959;"""…""" text40960;"""Niko-san, it's not fair!""" text40961;"""I was hugging Kagome and looking over her head into the night, at the station, seeing the last trains leaving, and wanted this moment to last as long as possible.""" text40962;"""If not for Ellie and the Corporation, we, most likely, wouldn't have met each other.""" text40963;"""This string of accidents that many people call fate.""" text40964;"""It brings completely different people together.""" text40965;"""And not just that — it puts them together the same boat, so they can only reach the shore through their combined effort.""" text40966;"""What about my feelings?""" text40967;"""In reality, I was no longer facing a choice between Kagome and Ellie.""" text40968;"""I had turned Ellie down earlier. The choice now was between Kagome and common sense.""" text40969;"""Kagome or myself?""" text40970;"""You're asking me to do something I'd never have done under different circumstances.""" text40971;"""And for a different person?""" text40972;"""Kagome sobbed.""" text40973;"""What do you mean?""" text40974;"""I pretended I didn't understand her.""" text40975;"""If Kobayashi asked you to help kidnap someone?""" text40976;"""She wouldn't!""" text40977;"""I smirked, but Kagome grabbed my jacket tighter and pulled it down.""" text40978;"""You only think about yourself.""" text40979;"""If I really was, I wouldn't even be here, for one.""" text40980;"""But I didn't say anything out loud and instead kept playing the role of Kagome's support.""" text40981;"""What are you planning to do next?""" text40982;"""It was getting too cold to keep standing in the same place.""" text40983;"""Tomorrow…""" text40984;"""Kagome turned away from me, took a step back, wiped her eyes, and shook her head.""" text40985;"""Tomorrow we'll act according to the plan.""" text40986;"""I hope you have one…""" text40987;"""Luckily, it wasn't that late, so we made it to the station in time and didn't have to call a taxi — I really didn't want to sit next to Kagome for another hour or two.""" text40988;"""I deliberately took the seat opposite her, and we didn't even look at each other the whole way back.""" text40989;"""Perhaps we were accomplices now, but I still needed some time to digest everything.""" text40990;"""The house greeted us with the deafening sound of Moriyuki-san's snore.""" text40991;"""Where were you hiding him?""" text40992;"""What does it matter?""" text40993;"""Kagome shrugged, took off her shoes, and walked past me into the kitchen.""" text40994;"""I lingered a bit, thinking of what to talk with her about for the rest of the evening. We wouldn't just sit quietly until bed time, would we… ?""" text40995;"""But Kagome had already started cooking dinner.""" text40996;"""I didn't want to eat at all, but I wanted to disappoint her even less, so I didn't say I wasn't hungry.""" text40997;"""You know, all this reminds of a film, somehow. Or its never-released sequel, to be more precise.""" text40998;"""The protagonists have defeated all the world's evil and returned to their normal lives in their six-tatami apartment.""" text40999;"""Have you ever thought about where they get money from? Who pays them their salary?""" text41000;"""I'm not interested in comics.""" text41001;"""She replied in a bored voice.""" text41002;"""And manga?""" text41003;"""…""" text41004;"""Kagome seemed somehow unreachably mature to me — and there I was, with my comics and manga…""" text41005;"""Eat.""" text41006;"""Finally, the simple dinner was ready.""" text41007;"""Kidnapper or not, you still need to eat…""" text41008;"""How did Ellie feel, eating once a day?""" text41009;"""These thoughts made me sick, and I couldn't even look at the food.""" text41010;"""You don't want it?""" text41011;"""Got a stomach ache.""" text41012;"""Why all of a sudden?""" text41013;"""I don't know! It just hurts.""" text41014;"""I abruptly stood up but immediately froze.""" text41015;"""Thank you… I'll eat in the morning…""" text41016;"""Then I quickly walked to my room.""" text41017;"""Maybe I was just punishing myself over and over for my indecisiveness?""" text41018;"""There should be a certain script for detective stories in real life, right?""" text41019;"""In the end, Kagome — both a victim and a criminal, and I — hopefully just a witness, were living under the same roof.""" text41020;"""Ellie couldn't be blamed for anything but seemed to be suffering more than anyone else.""" text41021;"""Only Kobayashi Jun seemed to be following the script properly.""" text41022;"""People aren't interested in boring truth and always prefer a complicated explanation to a simple one.""" text41023;"""Somehow, it seems to us that the abundance of details as well as a twisted plot are more trustworthy than a boring everyday story.""" text41024;"""Kidnapping Ellie was a detective story, but the rest — although it looked like a tragedy to me — would've probably resembled a comedy to an outsider.""" text41025;"""But, if my role really wasn't written in a script somewhere, could I change it…?"""