Movement.

It happened again. 
That black-out.
A knock out.
For some reason we ended up sleeping for twelve hours straight. 
It may still be too early not to call that a coincidence however I'm starting to wonder if there could be any logical meaning behind this. Or maybe something was done to me, something I am not allowed to remember afterwards. In any case it doesn't hurt anywhere so they must be a professional.

"Get up Haruka. Shion is done preparing lunch."

"I'm on my way."

"By the way, today I'll be investigating the son of the Nagamine. Well, I say today but I plan on tailing him for forty-eight hours. You wanna tag along ?"

"Is that even under your jurisdiction to go that far ?"

"Of course not and I won't bring my squad either, which is also why I ask you if you want to be part of it."

"Then what has he done that requires you to take such risks ? Is he suspected of being a murderer ? If that's the case please refrain from going alone, I'm sure at least one or two people from your squad would be ready to lend you a hand."

"I'll elaborate only if you agree to come with me, how does it sound ?"

"Dangerous."

"And your answer ?"

"I'm not qualified to assist you and I would not want to be a nuisance if we end up in a tight spot. If you want to be reckless so be it, but don't try to involve me in your plans."

"If I may, It would be about time you cease teasing him so much, don't you think Hana ?"

"Can't help it when he's so uptight. I wanted to see if I could provoc his desire to protect that way. But it seems like either we are not close enough yet, or he simply is like that all the time."

"..."

"Come on don't look at me with such disinterest, have I lost all appeal to you beccause of a single teasing ? Well not like I was ever anything to you in the first place anyway... sob" 

"Hana."

"Ok, ok I'll get to the point. Recall that guy Shion won against at that casion the other day ? His name is Nagamine Makoto, first son of the Nagamine Household. They are a small family of aristocrats on the verge of being demoted to the lower layers of the hierarchy. Their earnings will soon enough meet their expenses and it's to be expected that their balance will crash. So as I told you before, at the moment they are trying by all means to raise funds in the second and third district. Makoto was most likely sent to the second district in order to bring back money through gambling, which further shows how desperate they are. And the reason why I am interested in this Makoto is because he was seen in a lot of places at night, places seemingly unrelated to that duty he shoulders. So I want to investigate."

"I see. But then what could a total beginner like me provide you ?

"You'll be a decoy."

"..."

"Nothing I come up with will work on you huh. Shion give me a chair please, I need to sit down."

"The floor is clean Ojou-sama."

"I guess I asked for it.. Anyway ! If I want to bring you along Haruka, it's for you to earn some on the ground experience. What I mean is that since you entrusted me with your life more or less for a month, I would like you to lend me a hand occasionally like that. I deem that as a fair deal considering I provide you with a shelter, three meals a day and freedom."

"I understand. And then since it is likely we will simply be only observing and taking notes in this case, this would work nicely as a first taste for me, regarding your job."

"You got it, so then what do you say ?"

"I refuse."

"Wha-"

"To keep on being a freeloader without giving you some kind of payback. Plus despite appearances and me being heartless, I would actually be worried to let you go alone."

"O-oh.. So you are not all that reserved in the end ! Wait. Does it mean that you were in fact teasing me back each time I tried to make fun of you by faking anger and exhaustion ? Please tell me I'm wrong."

"Who knows."

"Wait, was that a smile on your face ?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."


That surprised me too, to be honest there were times when I certainly did feel offended or tired of her jokes, but for some reason this time I felt like omitting these details. I wanted to play along. 
And with that, shortly after lunch we left Shion and were on our way to our forty-eight hours pursuit.



"This must be what we are looking for, hurry Haruka."

Hanami-san received a phone call while we were on the road, and we were told where Nagamine Makoto had been seen a couple of minutes ago.
They mentioned a famous tailor shop in the second district, which should be closed on monday. But as of now we are in front of it and it seems like it is indeed closed.

"Maybe there is a door in the back ?"

"No I come here one to twice a month and I can guarantee you there is no such thing, nor is there some kind of mean to enter by the window or the celling. If there is a secret passage, it must be underground, but unfortunately our devices are made not to work in the sewers so I don't really want to go there with just the two of us right now."

"Understood, then should we try asking the people around ? If you prove them you are from the police they should cooperate."

"No can do, I doubt someone like Makoto would not have been trained against tailing and stalking considering where he is from and what he does to make a living. In the sense that if we go asking people around showing we are looking for someone or something, he might grow suspicious of us and it will be nearly impossible to track him down anymore."

"Makes sense, then I will follow your lead."

"Good decision. And I am glad to see you taking it seriously. Keep on providing me with useful informations about the surroundings and even if your ideas won't always or even never be of use, I'd like you to keep on thinking nevertheless."

"Got it."

"Oh there he is. Let's head back to the car and park it somewhere near that building he entered."

"Should I follow him inside while you do that ? I have the cellphone you gave me and you don't need me right now so I believe it's the right decision."

"Good point, go ahead and follow him. I'll provide support through the phone when I'm parked. That way I can also keep watch over the exterior of the building."

Alright here I go. 

He doesn't seem to be on the ground floor anymore, where should I start searching ?
Oh, there he is. Thanks to the elevator's section being made out of glass I can see who rides it and even to which floor they are headed to. Although there are two other people with him so I need to wait until he remains alone to be able to know which floor he stops at.

"Err.. Worst case scenario."

I forgot there would be more people stopping the elevator at higher floors. Now it will be impossible to tell where he stops at if I lose sight of him in the crowd that has formed in this tiny space.

"Well at least he shouldn't escape the building unnoticed if I stay here until he comes back."

vrrr...vrrrr..

"Hanami-san ?"

"What is the situation ?"

"Makoto-san just used the elevator and I couldn't get in with him and then lost sight of him.
I figured it should be safer to remain on the ground floor until he comes back so I did not move yet."

"Alright, that's a good decision however I can't help but worry about missing important clues if we don't see what he came here for, so take the elevator too and stop where you estimate would be five floors below him at most and start looking for him floor by floor ?"

"Got it, you are stationed in a way you can see the entrance I presume ?"

"Yeah so It should be fine even if you miss him."

"Understood."


This building contains a total of seventy-two floors and a lot of people stopped at the seventh.
I'll begin my research from there.

Only computers equipped with holographic display around here. But a lot of people are standing in line to use them. I wonder why. 
Anyway, this floor offers a great visibility so I would have spotted him right away if he was here. I'll head to the tenth floor.

Nothing.

"Haruka !"

"Woah ! Hanami-san didn't we hang up ?" 

"I'm connected to your earbuds, I can speak to you anytime after I called you once."

"O-ok, then why did you call me suddenly."

"Alright listen, I want you to head somewhere with a lot of people and blend in."

"Did something happen ?"

"There are suspicious people who entered the building so I want you to be able to tell me what they do while you remain in a safe spot. It's even possible they are after you if we imagine they saw us together. So make sure to be careful please."

"Got it. Now could you tell me how many they are ? That way I can come down safely if I see them all take the elevator."

"They were eleven."

Eleven, so it's very likely they will split up and at least one or two will remain on the ground floor to prevent any escape, that is if they truly are after someone who's inside. 
Thankfully I expected a change of clothes could come in handy in this job and I asked Hanami-san to lend me one of her suits.
One thing I learned by the way is that outside of dresses, the large majority of clothing is genderless. In the sense that once you wear them, a single signal from your wristband and your clothes will adapt its size and form to fit you.
Now the issue is finding a spot to change. But every floor has its walls and celling see-through. 

"Oh there is a bench, this should work."

"Update on the situation Haruka."

"Yes, three of them went above and the rest seems to still be stationing downstairs."

"Got it, so what will you do ?"

"I would like to check where the three from earlier are stopping, and depending on the situation I planned on taking the elevator upwards to see if there is any movement from the ones downstairs. And I might also come across Makoto-san if I'm lucky enough."

"I agree with your plan but If you think they might be after you, contact me as soon as possible."

"Yes, then I'll be on my way."

Those three went above the twentieth level it seems. Let's proceed to the thirteenth in the meantime.
Oh I found him.

"Hanami-san, I found him. What do I do next ?"

"Good, just tell me what he's doing in details for now while you move around casually."

"Understood. Then right now he is using one of those computers and he glances a lot towards his wristband it seems. Maybe comparing informations or downloading something."

"Got it, tell me if he does anything other than that."

I should also watch out for the rest of the group from earlier if they move from the ground floor.

"Hanami-san, four of the remaining eight guys took the elevator, I'll be moving away from Makoto-san for a minute in case they stop at this floor."

"Alright then keep it down as much as possible, you tell me if they indeed come to where you are, I'll be there right away."

[...]

"One is coming over here, I'll keep quiet until he leaves or if anything happens."

"Got it."

It definitely looks like they are looking for someone. It better not be me or I'll be in trouble considering their number.
Wait.

"Hanami-san, I think they are after Makoto-san."

"Are you sure ?"

"I saw Makoto-san look around him and then moving hurriedly towards the small crowd that formed in front of the elevator going downwards."

"We got our clue, well played Haruka. Stay still until the guy on your floor leaves the space."

I can still see Makoto-san from here, perfect.
Wait is he planning on going downstairs ? He seemed so focused on his business earlier, I doubt he knows of the remaining guys waiting by the entrance. And If he gets caught here, there might be no way for us the earn any more information from him, that's bad.

"Nagamine Makoto ? There are more of them waiting for you downstairs, I advice you to follow me quietly for now if you don't want to get caught."

"Understood, I'll keep my questions for now and do as you say."

Good it seems like I might be able to prevent him from jumping right in their claws for now.
But I still need to find a way to earn his trust in order to lead him to Hanami-san without him growing suspicious or making an enemy out of me.

"We should be safe for now but please use this spare change of clothes in the meantime. It's mine, I needed to change earlier in my car since I was late to work."

"I believe we should be able to stop whispering for now, and let me thank you for your help..hm.."

"Haruka, Morine Haruka."

"Thank you Morine-san, you can call me Makoto however I would like to avoid disclosing my family name if you don't mind."

"Sure no problem. You can call me Haruka then, we will be even."

"Understood, then Haruka-san how could you tell I was being followed ? And why did you help me ? If you don't mind me asking ."

"Well I am a psychologist so I have the habit of unconsciously paying attention to the people around me more than the average person, and I tend to notice their change of mood, or more precisely, I try to decipher those on people I come acrosss as a sort of training."

"I see, so then you realized I was in distress and with a look around you interpreted that this guy in a white suit might be the cause for it. Is that right ?"

"Yes exactly, and since I remembered seeing them enter the building as a group, I figured that if you were trying to avoid him, you would want to avoid the rest of them. Which is why I  approached you. As to why I decided to help you, I thought that if I misunderstood there would be no big deal, and on the contrary if I was right I would manage once you were out of danger."

"What do you mean ?"

"I thought that if you had a good reason to flee i'd help you, and if you had not and had given me your full name, I could use it as an hostage if you tried to dump me later or I could just denounce you right away. But since I don't know your situation and you refused to tell me your full name, I don't mind to help you escape the building."

"But what will you do if I end up being a criminal ?"

"Unless you kill me I should be fine. Since I don't know your family name there is no way for me to know who you are or what you are up to. And I can always say that you threatened me to help you, or that you lied abour your situation to earn my support. By the way, I would have helped them looking for you if they had been the first to come to me."

"You are clearly someone I wouldn't want as my enemy haha. Anyway I understand now, thank you. And thank you for helping me regardless."

"Don't mind it."

Oh ! great timing, it looks like the rest of the guys is coming up to help the search, it's our chance to escape.

"Makoto-san, I think we can move downstairs now."

"But there is still one of them, what's your plan ?"

"Since you changed into my clothes, all you need to do is to remove your glasses and walk face dow-"

HONNNKKK... HONK ....HONK..HONK....HOOOOOONK ! 

"What is this noise ? is there a fight outside ?"

"This might be our chance, follow me Makoto-san the one at the entrance went outside, we should be able to slip by behind his back."


"Wow if that wasn't a fortunate outcome I wonder what this is."

Fortunate huh. I doubt It was.

"Haruka you copy ?"

"Yes, what is it ?"

"Good job escorting him out of this, I moved three hundred meters away in the opposite direction from where we came, try to have him tag along until we meet, I'll take care of the rest."

"Understood, I'll do my best."

"So where will you go now ?"

"First I need to give you back your clothes."

"Oh right. Then would you mind to come with me to my car ? I parked it a little farther away from here."

"Sure."

It went smoothly, now I hope Hanami-san thought of something to prevent him from running away when he sees her because I doubt I would be able to withstand someone like him If I were to stop him myself. He is roughly ten centimeter taller than me and looks fairly muscular.

"There it is, sorry if it looks a bit intimidating, a friend of mine pestered me to rent this limousine for his wedding ceremony and today is the day I return it."

"..."

"Excuse me, is there something wrong Makoto-san ?" 

"CONGRATULATION !!"

"Wha- ?"

"Yo Haruka you were splendid. What a performance ! "

"What is the meaning of this Hanami-san ?"

"I'll explain. Originally Makoto here is part of my squad, and since I scouted you some time agao, I was looking for a way to test you in order to give you the opportunity to join me if you were to perform well enough. That's when Makoto came up with this idea. He would act suspiciously and we would tail him, and the goal was for me to see how you approach the case. When I said forty-eight hours by the way, I originally meant it. However our plans have changed it seems, so we will stop here. Plus you were more than convincing, so I'm ready to make you an active member of my squad right away if you wish to."

"Wait. Ok I understand about Makoto-san and the overall circomstances, but something bothers me. Weren't these guys part of your scheme then ?"

"The group in white suits ? No they were not, and I did not anticipate them to be here today. Which is also why I thought you did a particularily good job today. Since I did not have the luxury to provide Makoto with a phone to keep him in touch as well, you truly saved him back there."

"Ok but isn't that quite concerning ?"

"It is but I know who they are and I have a pretty good idea of what they are after. By the way this is also the reason why I sent Makoto to this place. The data he was able to recover there must be what they were also looking for."

"So then they were not after Makoto-san but that computer."

"Exactly, and once again let me introduce myself, properly this time. My name is Nagamine Makoto, twenty-one. I joined Hanami-san's squad a year ago. Pleased to meet you and I hope you will join our ranks."

"Nice to meet you as well, I have to say you were a really good actor. As for the proposition, I will think about it."

"Well now that everyone is safe and sound and that we have retrieved what we came for, Makoto, give back the clothes Haruka lent you and off we go. I'll drive you home."


Unexpectedly, it seems that Makoto doesn't live with his parents or any relative, he is a graduate from the academy and apparently he asked the headmaster if he could rent one of the appartments tied to the academy until he raises enough funds to move to a regular lodging. Which was accepted thanks to his exemplary behavior and grades back when we was a student.


That night Hanami-san was uncharacteristically quiet, she seemed conflicted about something.
But decided not to ask anything.
Since we live together, I deemed that if she ever wanted to tell me or to ask me anything, she would just do so. And if she didn't, then that meant I could not be of any help to her, or that it simply did not concern me.
Nevertheless she decided to join me for another night.
I had no reason to refuse this time either.
And I can use this opportunity to see if that coincidence occurs once again. 
Not that it is unpleasant anyway.
She deosn't move much, or at least not enough to wake me up.

"Good night Hanami-san."

"Night."