Found (Bungo Stray Dogs)

Chapter 14

Jane got out of the car and was greeted by cold wind pulling at her hair and clothes. Dark clouds had gathered in the sky. The sea (despite having only small waves) was gray and threatening, a warning to keep away.

There were other cars around and men in black suits and sunglasses were gathered in smaller groups. It seemed to be some kind of a safe gathering place. Chuuya was so relaxed he didn't even need to look around. He knew that he and Jane were awaited by three subordinates on the walkway near the embankment.

"Sir! Miss!" they greeted. Jane didn't know where to look, so she looked at Chuuya. He was impossible to read or at least Jane didn't pick up on him doing anything special. But the men seemed to know what he was expecting.

One of the men revealed Jane's phone with the flower charm, put away into a plastic zip-bag, and stepped forward. Jane didn't know what she was meant to do, so she turned to Chuuya once again. Chuuya gestured for her to step forward. She did.

"I will now explain the process, Miss," the man began formally. The remaining suited men and Chuuya formed an outer circle while the two were engaged in the middle. "We were ordered not to do anything to the phone, so I do not know whether there will be anything suspicious inside. But I will show you the basic process so you can check for yourself at any time, Miss."

Jane nodded with her shoulders tense from the cold. She had her arms instinctively crossed and was rubbing them to warm up.

Without saying anything, someone placed something heavy on her shoulders. When she turned around, she saw Chuuya without his coat. He was looking away, staring at something in the sky, so Jane also tried to focus on her phone and the man doing the explaining.

"When we remove the back cover," he said, flipping the phone over and demonstrating, "we will usually see something like this. The battery and the SIM card. It may seem normal, but this is not where the chips are placed." Jane kept her eyes glued to the phone, not daring to look up once at the man's face as he continued his explanation. Instead, she enjoyed the weight of Chuuya's coat. "We have to first remove the battery and then—notice the line here—we have to remove this cover like so. And this is where the chips are placed."

He removed the cover and there was one. A chip. But Jane didn't want to lose hope. There was a chance that it wasn't what she thought it was or that the Mafia had lied and placed one there anyway. Jane pulled the sides of Chuuya's coat even closer together.

"These work even if the phone is turned off thanks to the metals in the phone, essentially. Now, if we remove it and use this device (which his colleague came to provide) to scan it, we will find information about the parent device." He removed the chip and put it onto the "plate" of the other device. "It shows us that the information on this chip was accessed using this device." The screen displayed a row of letters and numbers. "And the device with this unique code—if we scan the database, we see that—it was purchased by the Detective Agency."

Despite listening to the man, Jane pretended not to have heard. She was still sure that it could have been planted by the Mafia, but she couldn't shake the feeling that since Dazai orchestrated the purchase of her phone and was the one to insist on it in the first place, there was a possibility that the Mafia was telling the truth.

Chuuya stepped in closer to check as well. He also glanced at Jane, who was staring at something with a sad look on her face. His heart ached at the sight, a pain he tried to ignore.

Jane collected herself, found the courage to look at the man's face, and thanked him. She started walking away; Chuuya followed right behind.

"Jane! You forgot your phone!"

Jane stopped but didn't turn around. Chuuya huddled over her, partly to shield her from the wind. He pushed the phone to Jane's palm until she clutched it.

She asked, "Are you satisfied now, Chuuya?"

Chuuya kicked himself for not seeing that mood coming. "I'm not satisfied until you're happy. But we had to do this. I hope you see that."

"What will you do with this information?" Her voice was low and quiet. Chuuya barely heard her. She paid no mind to Chuuya putting his arm on her and taking interest in her happiness.

"The Mafia will do nothing. It is none of our business."

Jane was feeling ready to give Chuuya a piece of her mind but controlled herself. "Don't take this the wrong way, Chuuya, but how was it your business?"

Chuuya was spared from answering by an incoming phone call. "I have to take this." His following dialogue of "WhAT?" and "Very well" didn't reveal much to Jane, but after he had hung up, he explained, "There's a crime organization attacking one of our hideouts and killing our people. I have to go and help them. My men will drive you back wherever you need."

"Oh, no. It's okay. I can walk."

He was offended at her refusing his offer. "Do you know how far the Agency is from here? It will take you over an hour. Besides, you're underdressed and I don't want you to catch a cold."

One of his men ran up to him. "Sir!" The man looked desperate. Chuuya bit his lip, clearly torn between rushing to the scene and making sure Jane got back safely.

Jane started to feel guilty for stalling and facing him with such a difficult decision. She took Chuuya's coat and placed it on his shoulders, not letting go to take a step closer. "Go. I'll wait here."

She looked at her hands, still holding onto his coat for whatever reason. Her eyes shot up to look at Chuuya, his crystal blue eyes looking at her. He took a step closer too, slowly sliding his hands around her waist.

The wind ruffled Jane's hair, tickling her shoulders and getting stuck in front of her face. Still, her hand moved to fix Chuuya's hair. Her fingertips graced his cheek, which sent a chill down Chuuya's spine. They didn't have time for this.

"No," he said, removing his hands and pulling away. "You should go to your aunt's place. My men will drive you."

Jane opened her mouth to protest, but Chuuya anticipated her. "End of discussion."

He took a few steps back, activated his gift, and was gone. Jane remained standing at the same spot, staring at the sky, wishing she was wherever he was going so she could welcome him. Wait. Huh? What am I thinking?

"Miss."

Jane got in the backseat of the car to be driven home. Except it wasn't home and it felt a bit lonely.