Chapter 07
SUE'S RISK
"Entering an agreement with Sen was different from entering the S.A.T.
With the S.A.T., at risk was my life.
With Sen, at risk was my heart."
-H.S.
I hurried to the front gate, ignoring the fact that my hair was in complete disarray and that I was merely wearing polka-dotted pajamas and furry bunny slippers. Even though I saw him with my own two eyes, I still could not believe that Kato Kenta, whom I had been desperately looking for in the last two days, was actually there standing right in front of my house, alive and well to my greatest relief.
The good news was that there was already no need for me to randomly run around Shibuya or submit his high school yearbook picture to Tokyo TV just to find him. The bad news was: he was with Sen.
Oshima Sennichi, you'd better have a convincing explanation behind this.
That evening, however, I got none of that explanation. The moment I arrived on the front gate, Sen and Kenta were not there anymore.
Instead, I found a small note clipped on one of the rails.
On the note, this was all that was written –
.
5 – 0 = V.C.
6 – 0 = Already found him for you.
I'm 4 points away from taking your HEART.
~Sen
.
.
-VC-
The very first thing I did when I entered class the following morning was approach Sen. I had to admit that he was a pretty good actor too. Sensing my presence, he remained calm on his seat, reading a Neurology handbook and behaving as if he remembered nothing from the previous night.
"I have nothing to explain," Sen initiated the conversation, flipping the pages of his book coolly without looking at me. "Our deal was that I'd only findhim for you, nothing else. Now that you've seen Kato alive and well, are you already convinced that I'm not a liar?"
Instead of answering his question, I took out the business card Shou gave me the other day and placed it on top of his desk, merely saying two letters that nevertheless grabbed his attention –
"V.C."
Upon hearing what I said, Sen glanced over his book to see Shou's business card on the table. After a second or two, however, he simply resumed reading his book, acting nonchalantly.
"The Vena Cava Corporation, right?" I asked. "They're the ones who took Kato Kenta."
Sen merely nodded.
"But why did they take him away? Is it because of what he can do?" I sat beside Sen and reached for Shou's business card to put it back inside my pocket. "Shouhei Lascaux's corporation is in the nanotechnology business, right? Did they want Kenta-kun for research purposes? But even so, they can't just force him to come with them if he doesn't want to, all the more fire guns at him for that matter! It's against the law!"
"You have too many questions," Sen said, flipping the pages of his book. "If you're too curious, why don't you just accept my offer?"
I immediately replied without second thought. "Fine."
