Noby was surprised and suspicious, but he kept calm and kept watching.

"Noby, I didn't see you there..." Before she could continue, Noby interrupted her.

"I suggest you get up and go to school now. I'll deal with you later..." he said with an authoritative tone. Sill just left.

"Look, I can explain," Kazumi said, surprised. She had never seen Noby so serious. He simply grabbed a glass of water and sat down.

"Go ahead, explain, but make it quick," he said before taking a sip. "You and her looked like long-time friends."

"Nothing like that. She let me in because I said I knew you. And I know I said I wouldn't come here, but I wanted to ask you for two things."

"It's getting a little hard to trust you, but tell me what you want. If it's within my reach, I'll make it happen."

"We need a place to store our equipment. So, could you help me with some space?"

Noby stood up and laughed.

"Sometimes I wonder if this mission of yours is even official, but it looks like you're in luck. The basement has plenty of space, and ventilation was installed recently."

"Thank you so much, I don't know how to repa..."

"But only on one condition," he interrupted her. "You sleep in my bed."

"What!?" She got all flustered. "I..., I..."

"Relax!" He laughed out loud. "I'm messing with you. Make yourselves at home."

"You... you asshole..." Kazumi, blushing, calmed herself and before leaving said, "I'll be back in an hour. Yuki and Susan will be here soon."

"Ok," he thought and realized something. "Wait, Susan?"

No answer. Kazumi left and fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang. Noby opened the door and there was Yuki and another girl.

"Hey Noby, looks like we're staying here," Yuki greeted. "Uh, this is Susan, a rookie from Interpol."

Susan stared at Noby and said, "So, aren't you going to say anything?"

"Was I supposed to say something?" That answer earned him a knee right between the legs. "What the fuck did I do?"

He collapsed on the floor in pain.

"Where's the basement?" Yuki asked.

"End of the hallway, to the right," he answered with difficulty.

In half an hour, the basement had turned into a headquarters.

"Thanks for lending us the basement," Yuki thanked him. "So, what do we do now?"

"You guys figure it out. In an hour, Sill will be here. Until then, I'll be in my room gaming."

"Go ahead, we'll stay in the living room."

Noby went to his room and, as usual, turned on his computer and started gaming with his partners, Valick and Pico, a shy student who barely spoke but was an incredible gamer.

"What!" Valick shouted after hearing the whole story. "Don't tell me you're not going to do anything! If I were you, I'd totally go for it."

"Only if I wanted to get shot. Better to keep this professional, or it'll screw up the whole mission."

"Your call. I'm gonna try hitting on Yuki. I love girls like her."

"You know all it takes is one phone call and you're going to jail, right?"

"I doubt you'd do that to your best friend."

The bedroom door slowly opened. It was Kazumi.

"Am I interrupting?"

"No, make yourself comfortable..."

"I just came to thank you again for this. I owe you one."

"The condition I gave still stands... but changing the subject, where did you find Susan?"

"She's a rookie from Interpol and offered to come, but don't worry. I've seen her in the field; she's a beast."

"That's not what worries me. I think she knows me."

"And you didn't recognize her?"

"Of course not."

"Poor girl, if I were in her place, I'd have killed you already," she got up and went to the door. "Maybe a good night's sleep will help you remember. Good night."

"I hope so..."

End of Chapter.