I knocked at the door N3 several times and then simply stood in front of it, waiting. Murakami had come from the kitchen and started waiting with me. Yet even after a minute, there was no response. I was about to try knocking again, when suddenly:
"Hey, see that," said the girl and pointed at the slit below the door. I lowered my eyes and saw a white note sliding there.
I picked that note up and unfolded it. Then Murakami, standing just behind me with her head above my shoulder, read its content aloud:
"Still too early..."
I felt her warm breath brush my cheek…
I shook my head and tried to concentrate.
What's 'early'? What exactly is the meaning of this message?
"Maybe there's a vampire living there that can only go out during the night?" said Murakami in an overly carefree voice for such a ghastly assumption.
"I doubt it."
After all, there were no 'vampires' among my genres.
...As of yet.
"Hmm…"
I tried knocking again and then raised my voice:
"It isn't Aoi… We are your neighbors. Can you give us the food box that she had passed to you? Or maybe just read the address on it. We need to know where Lu lives… We just want to give her a visit."
…Somehow that sounded really suspiciously.
The door was at first silent. Murakami mentioned that there was some garlic in the kitchen and that we could use it to drive the inhabitant of this room out… I was actually considering this proposition when suddenly I heard the phone in my pocket ring. I took it out. Turned out, I had received a message… From an anonym.
Strange… I read that message and felt even more surprised. There were several letters and numbers inside of it, — an address. Meanwhile, Murakami has taken out her own phone. She also had received the very same message.
We looked at each other and then simultaneously turned toward the closed door.
...How exactly the girl from the other side had learned our numbers? I had many theories flashing in my mind, but there was no time to think about that stuff.
"So… I guess we should go," smiled Murakami.
"I guess…"
We walked out of the dorm. The girl went to get her bike. When I saw that red thing approach me, I suddenly remembered our previous ride… I was hoping that this time Murakami will be more careful, but…
"Here we go!"
…I really need to get myself insurance…
…
…
...
Not so long after I was walking through a tight little street, looking at the shop windows shining left and right.
Murakami and I first descended to the foot of the hill, and then took a bus into the city. After that we had a long ride on a metro, and, at last, we have reached a rather comfortable commercial street. The buildings were short there, nothing higher than five stories, and wherever you look, you would see a shop.
I was patiently standing in front of one such building. At last, after five minutes of waiting, Murakami has come out from it. She wore a large hat and had big blue glasses on her face. One more pair of glasses, a pink one, she tried to give me.
"It's for disguise," the girl said.
"I think I'll refrain."
"Ha-ha. Okay. More to me, than," she smiled and placed the second pair of glasses on her nose. After that, the girl became the most suspicious character on the entire street… And it was still very easy to recognize her because of the long white hair and red tracksuit.
…She's just having fun, right?
Once again, we started walking through the street. I mean, I was walking, while Murakami was riding her bike. My stomach felt sick whenever I was looking at that thing.
It was still the middle of the workday, so there weren't many people around. After walking for some time in peaceful silence, Murakami has taken a bag of candies from her pocket started chewing on them.
Suddenly, she stretched the bag to me and said:
"Wanna some?"
Not really. To tell you the truth, I rarely take food from other people — one can consider that an oddity of mine. Yet right now… Right now I was living in a Rom-Com, and eating from the same bag, albeit not hygienic, was kind of romantic… So, after hesitating for some time, I took the candy and placed it into my mouth.
It was sour and sweet.
Murakami smiled and said while taking out another one:
"We're almost there."
That's true.
According to the GPS that I had been checking on my phone from time to time, we just had to make one more turn to reach the restaurant.
When that turn was approaching, Murakami and I slowed down and carefully looked from behind the corner.
We saw one more street full of shop windows and small restaurants stretch before us.
After looking for some time, I found among them the one that we needed: "Noodles and Rice".
What a simple title. The signboard was white with red characters on it. There were also some yellow dots.
It was the restaurant of Lu's family.
And just in front of it, I saw a very… Strange pair.
There was an elderly man dressed as a samurai — hair tied in a bun, a rubber sword hanging on his waist, — and before him a man in a blue uniform.
A police officer.
I suddenly felt an urge to run away...
Having restrained myself, I looked over the building again and saw that the yellow dots were covering not only the signboard but the entire façade. As if someone had been throwing some stuff at it.
Then I saw that one of the windows was broken, which made my theory even more plausible.
Someone has assaulted this place...