“K!” I called out and waved my hand as soon as I saw her coming from the park. “Over here!”

She gazed in my direction, her brow furrowing in curiosity, and continued to stroll in a rather lazy pace towards me.

“Nik san. Something happened?”

K’s low and somewhat disinterested tone of voice made me feel as if she was doing me a favour by engaging in this conversation.

“No, no…well…I saw something strange. Can we go to your place, I’ll explain on the way…”

Her gaze dropped from my face toward my hands. “What’s that?”

“It’s the food Sunny prepared for you…Can we just…” I answered impatiently, hurrying her along.

A loud puff of air came from her mouth before she complied.

“Earlier I went to your place and I saw Fujiwara---“

“Why did you go to my place?”

“To bring you Sunny’s food….never mind that. When I was there I saw Fujiwara and I think he was involved in some dodgy stuff. “

She chuckled. “What dodgy stuff?”

“There was this woman, all hidden under a cloak, and Fujiwara and his men…it looked like she was their prisoner.”

K stopped, her eyes narrowed. “Wait, what are you saying?”

I took her by her arm and pulled her after me. “Let’s just go up. I’ll show you to which apartment they went.”

She shook off my grip and continued to walk with me.

“Are you sure it was Fujiwara sama you saw?” she asked while we were ascending the stairs. “I was in the meeting with him this morning at the Tenku club. It’s odd that he’d come here after that.”

“Yes, I’m sure it was him.”

As we reached K’s floor, I quieted down my footsteps.

“Okay, so show me which door,” K said out loud

“Shhh…they can still be here.”

She looked amused by my seriousness and made no effort to follow my good example of walking light-footedly down the hallway.

I stopped in front of the door and pressed my ear against it. No sounds were coming from behind it. In fact, the whole hallway was completely quiet.

“It happened an hour ago, maybe even more. Perhaps they left,” I whispered.

Giving me a look of impatience K exhaled loudly and knocked on the door.

“Hey…what are you doing?” My voice came out louder than I planned.

She ignored me and knocked again, this time stronger. “Nobody’s here. Let’s go,” she said when there was no response and started walking away.

I didn’t move. “Wait…Do you know who is usually staying in this apartment?”

She frowned slightly, putting her finger on her lips. “Well…I wouldn’t know who’s in that apartment specifically, but Yamada san has an apartment on this floor, some of the coaches, the cook--“

“Didn’t you say that Fujiwara is also staying here?”

“Mh-mmm…” She nodded. “But that’s only on occasion and he’s on the first floor. He and other high-ranking personnel….and well…Kentaro.”

“And yet, I saw him up here…” I muttered, talking more to myself than to K.

“Give me the food,” she said, reaching for the bag I still held in my hand.

Feeling slightly disappointed by how quickly she dismissed my recount I gave her the bag which she took to her apartment. She left the door open, and since she didn’t return right away I went after her. I was about to enter when she reappeared at the doorway, almost bumping into me.

We faced each other, standing very close.

“W-why are you standing here? Move!”

I stayed put. “So what do we do now?”

A spark of defiance ignited in her eyes just before she pushed me, causing me to stumble backwards.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m meeting with some of the coaches to discuss your trainings for the next week,” she retorted and locked the door.

“You sure that’s what you’re going to discuss?” I asked, lowering my stare at the plastic bag full of beer cans she had in her hand.

“Yup. Let’s go.”

By the time we descended the stairs, I started to have doubts about what I saw earlier. Once again I went over it in my mind, while K spoke with the guard at the reception area.

As we continued out of the house she looked pensive.

“So, did he tell you anything? Did he confirm Fujiwara was here?”

She stopped and scowled at me. “First, it’s Fujiwara sama. And yes, he came by. “

“Ha! I told you!”

“It doesn’t mean anything, he could have been here for any reason. Besides, the guard said they settled on the first floor, as they always do.”

“Well, I know what I saw,” I stood firm.

My dormitory being in the same direction I continued to tag along with K.

“Sunny made a great lunch…”

“Mhmm-mm.”

“Shin came too.”

“Mhmm-mm.”

Suddenly K’s arm extended over my stomach, stopping me on the spot. Following her gaze, I saw at a group of people coming towards us. She pushed me to the side of the road, and just before the group reached us she made a deep bow, pulling me down with her by grabbing my shirt.

“What—“

“Quiet!” she hissed and hid the bag with beers behind her back.

I remained bowed, observing discreetly the men that passed us. At the center of the group was a man in an expensive-looking black suit and a coat. His dark eyes projected the same piercing focus as Fujiwara’s, and the lines on his clean-shaven face hinted to a similar, mature age. He had a sturdy build, a thick neck, and unnaturally shiny black hair. The three younger men around him strived to match his decisive stride. As he walked by he acknowledged us with a mere glance sideways.

I straightened up, but K’s harsh glare forced me to bow again and remain in this position until the group was at a considerable distance from us.

“Who were they?” I asked, surprised by K’s display of humility.

Her gaze was still locked on the group, which was slowly disappearing from our sight.

“So?”

She turned to me in a sudden motion, as if startled by my voice. Her eyes opened wide. “Don’t you know? This was Minamoto sama, the head of Yamato Damashi.”

“Huh? So that’s the big boss then?”

She nodded and turned her stare once again in the direction of the group.

“Where’s he going?”

“They’re heading toward Yashiki.”

“Where?”

She pointed her finger at the house we just came from.

“Ah…so that’s how’s called. Maybe he’s meeting with your boss…”

“Interesting…” she muttered, ignoring my words.

“What’s so interesting?”

“That he’s here.”