Second Day

That evening, Lindsey came back from her ordinary school day. She casually stepped out of Ryuu's car and walked into her house, settling onto the sofa before even bothering to take off her uniform.

She still seemed to be turning over the right answer to Rita's offer from two days ago.

# Flashback, 2 days ago, right after Rita offered to make her a partner (On)

"Well, Lindsey?" Rita pressed further, tilting her head as she looked at her.

Lindsey paused for a moment. "Let's see... Is this a partnership for the Subject-X case specifically, or do you mean becoming your partner until you decide to end the contract?"

"Exactly! The second one," Rita answered, twirling her index finger as she pointed it at Lindsey.

"In that case, I think I'll have to pass," Lindsey replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Aw... why?" Rita asked, disappointed, tilting her head with wide eyes.

"If I become your partner, what happens to school?" Lindsey explained.

"Oh! You don't need to worry about that," Rita answered, waving all five fingers in the air.

"I'd only need you for the harder cases. And of course, I'd work around your free time," Rita continued, pointing her finger right at Lindsey.

"So there's nothing to worry about!" she added, pulling her finger back.

"And don't worry, there's pay involved too," Rita went on, tilting her head with raised eyebrows.

Lindsey thought it over for a moment, a finger resting on her chin. "Of course, I'll give you time to think about it. So take it easy," Rita said, tilting her head with a small smile.

# Flashback (Off)

— — — —

"Huh~" Lindsey let out a sigh, letting her tired body sink into the sofa's armrest.

"Ryuu..." Lindsey called out, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Hearing that, Ryuu got out of the car right away and walked into Lindsey's house. "Geez, Lindsey, at least change your clothes first..." he said, looking at her sprawled on the sofa.

Lindsey rolled over lazily. "Don't wanna," she answered in a tired voice.

Ryuu looked away, his cheeks turning slightly red. "F-fine, suit yourself. So, what did you call me for?" he asked, turning back to face her.

Lindsey rolled onto her back. "I forgot to ask Rita this earlier. Where did she come from?" she asked, glancing at Ryuu.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Ryuu asked, eyes widening.

Lindsey pushed herself up with some effort and sat leaning against the sofa. "I mean, where was she living before this?" she asked, looking at him.

"Oh, that... she came from Sumatra," Ryuu answered, pointing his finger up.

"Sumatra? How did she get here?" Lindsey pressed further, resting her chin on the table.

"Right, I remember her telling me she came over by ferry, through Bakauheni Port," Ryuu replied, looking up at the ceiling as if trying to recall something.

"Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?" Ryuu asked, tilting his head at her.

Lindsey said nothing, lost in thought for a moment. "Do you know why she came by ferry instead of flying?" she asked, fixing Ryuu with a sharp look.

"That's because air travel in this country is shut down right now," Ryuu answered, shrugging.

Hearing that, Lindsey sank back into her thoughts. Is the culprit counting on that? she wondered.

"Ryuu, I need you to find information on the nearest airport that's still operating!" Lindsey asked, her gaze turning serious.

"The nearest airport? But that..." Ryuu started, only to be cut off.

"It doesn't have to be an airport in this country!" Lindsey interrupted, leaning back against the armrest.

"And if you can, get the flight schedules too!" she added, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

Ryuu had no choice but to go along with it because of an earlier promise. "F-fine," he muttered without asking any further questions.

"Oh, and Ryuu, also look into which regions have been hit by the Subject-X virus," Lindsey continued, her tone a little calmer now.

"Regions? Well, it's already spread overseas, that much I know," Ryuu replied, raising a finger.

Lindsey sighed. "Yeah, I know that. I mean, which countries specifically?" she clarified.

"Oh, right. I'll dig into it further," Ryuu stammered, glancing away and blinking a few times.

"By the way, Lindsey, what do you think about my sister's offer from before?" Ryuu asked, walking over and sitting on the sofa across from her.

Lindsey shrugged before answering. "Not sure yet. I figure I'll decide once the Subject-X case is over."

Ryuu then stood up. "Alright, I guess I should get going. Still have some work left to finish," he said, giving her a small nod.

"Sure, don't forget what I asked, okay," Lindsey replied, rolling back onto her side lazily.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next day was Lindsey's second day of school. But there were a few things making her reluctant to go.

She stood at the wide, still-open school gate, surrounded by other kids her age. "Ryuu told me to wear this..." she murmured, pulling a light blue mask out of her skirt pocket.

She looked around. Everyone seemed to be wearing one. Even so, in her head she thought, Honestly, this is pretty pointless.

Because no matter what, the Subject-X virus can get through the skin too , she continued to herself with a small mutter as she put the mask on, then walked in after her brief pause.

Once she reached the hallway, Lindsey was still lost in her swirling thoughts. That ended up getting her into a minor mishap.

Thud! Lindsey crashed into someone carrying a stack of cardboard boxes.

"Ow..." she muttered, rubbing her aching side.

"Ah! Sorry!" said the person she'd bumped into. The voice sounded like a boy's, though Lindsey couldn't see him well with the boxes blocking her view.

The boy got up and walked over to her. He held out his hand. "You okay?" he asked, tilting his head.

He looked like a typical high schooler, which, well, he was. His hair was black and a little messy, like a storm cloud with sharp edges on every side. His face had a friendly look to it, with dark brown eyes.

Lindsey pushed herself up on her own, bracing with both hands. "I'm fine. Aren't you... in my class?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Really? Which class?" the boy asked, a little surprised.

Hearing that, Lindsey blinked. "You don't remember me? If I'm not wrong, your name is Koeri Vance, right?" she replied, pointing at him.

The boy looked genuinely startled. "Whoa, I didn't expect anyone to remember my name," he said, mouth dropping open in an o shape.

"S-sorry though, I'm just bad with names," Koeri added, scratching the back of his head.

Right then, the bell rang. Brrriiinnnggg~

Koeri hurriedly gathered up the boxes that had fallen. "Alright, I better get going," he mumbled.

Lindsey paused for a moment, then helped pick up one of the fallen boxes. "What's in here?" she asked.

"Oh, the teacher asked me to take it to the storage room," Koeri answered, stacking the boxes back up vertically.

"Anyway, you should probably get back to class too," he added, standing up and jogging off toward the storage room with quick little steps.

Lindsey watched him go for a moment before turning around. "Another weird first meeting," she muttered, continuing on her way to class.

When she got to the classroom, Lindsey sat down at her usual seat, same as the day before. She'd walked in right as the teacher did, so class started the moment she stepped inside.

Then came break time. "Lindsey, is something wrong?" Alicia asked, sitting beside her and turning to look.

Lindsey flinched, her body jerking back in surprise. "N-no, why would you think that?" she asked, looking at Alicia.

Alicia sighed. "Because you've just been staring out the window this whole time," she replied, sounding a bit annoyed as she glanced away.

Lindsey just stared back in confusion, not sure how to respond to Alicia's attitude. Though she could tell Alicia was sulking a little, since Lindsey hadn't talked to her at all during class.

"Well, fine then. I'm going outside for a bit. You wanna co..." Alicia started to ask, standing up from her chair, when... *Thud!* Someone crashed into her.

"Ow! What was that for?" Alicia snapped, stumbling into Lindsey.

Lindsey gently pushed her back upright. Then the same familiar boy from earlier came up from the floor, trying to stand after having bumped into Alicia. "Oh, we meet again!" Koeri said, pointing at Lindsey.

Alicia gasped in surprise. "Wait, you two have met before?" she asked, tilting her head.

"No, he's just talking nonsense," Lindsey replied flatly, waving a hand dismissively.

"By the way, where are you headed with that bag?" Lindsey added, looking at the bag slung over both of Koeri's shoulders.

"Oh, I'm heading home," Koeri answered casually.

"Huh? But school's not even over yet," Alicia cut in, slamming a hand on the desk, startled.

Koeri chuckled. "Don't get the wrong idea, I already got permission to go visit my family in the hospital," he explained, holding up a finger.

"You know, because of that virus that's been going around lately," he added, glancing away.

Hearing that, Lindsey leaned in sharply, startling Alicia. "What's your take on this virus, Koeri?" she asked.

Koeri thought for a moment. "Hmm, how should I put it... I think it's pretty terrifying, honestly," he answered.

"The virus is probably being spread by someone on purpose. Since it first showed up in Malang, the person behind it is probably somewhere around that city," Koeri continued, thinking with a hand on his chin.

"Who do you think this person is, and where are they from?" Lindsey pressed further, narrowing her eyes.

"The culprit's probably someone from a medical facility or something like that. If I had to guess, they're probably right here in this city," Koeri replied, still holding his chin.

Lindsey looked a little startled at that. "Alright, one more thing. What do you think this person is planning to do?" she asked.

"In the near future... I'd guess they're going to head for the nearest airport in another country, like Malaysia or Brunei, and put their big plan into motion," Koeri answered.

Hearing that answer, Lindsey fell silent for a moment. What is up with this guy? she thought, stunned.