[19]

                                    

                                          
Tim was hunched over the laptop with Richard close beside him. He had managed to unlock the system as well his father's email account and was browsing through the emails received by him.
                          
However, it didn't take much long for him to find what he was looking for since there was a whole section labelled as Little Lily. He knew that Little Lily would translate to Sayuri in Japanese so he quickly opened the section.
                          
And sure enough, there were whole conversations between father and daughter, displayed right in front. 
                          
"The last email she sent is of about four years ago," Tim noticed, "that means she was only in contact with him for two years after she left. He shouldn't have known what happened to her in the remaining three years."
                          
"She went to visit him in the GCPD once, I had seen the footage as well. She must have told him the rest there because judging from what I saw, they hadn't had an easy conversation."
                          
"And when was that?"
                          
"Probably three weeks ago. On the 12th, I assume."
                          
He nodded, "I see, that was two days before I had taken her to the hospital. My guess is that her condition grew worse after that visit; she was quite fine before."
                          
"Recalling it all must have triggered her memories," Richard agreed, "she had been burying everything inside but revealing it took its toll on her."
                          
Tim had gone through the first few emails which conveyed news of her arrival in Japan as well as mentions of pursuing higher education at a prestigious academy. He observed how she had never mentioned anything about what she was studying.
                          
"She's probably talking about the Ninjutsu Academy here," Tim pointed it, "see how she makes it seem like a regular University but never really talks about what she's actually studying?"
                          
He skimmed through the rest, disappointed at not finding anything relevant. In her mails Sayuri had taken great care to present a very normal outlook for nothing hinted that she was undergoing warfare training.
                          
"It seems as if she really just went there for studies," Dick remarked.
                          
"That's because she makes it seem that way. So even Dad hadn't known much about it back then."
                          
There were a few mentions of her routine, her friends including the name Ryuu. He took note of it since he had heard her say that name in front of him as well. It seemed as if Ryuu had been extremely important to her.
                          
"Also, I had been researching about her mother lately," Tim remarked, moving the cursor towards the frequently checked folders, "turns out that her mum, Nuriko Sasuke, was the leader of a rebel clan. The rank of the leader is passed on via heritage so in that case after her death, Sayuri must have taken up the rank. But the strange thing is that after Nuriko, the last known leader was... Wait..."
                          
Richard was looking at him attentively, aware that he had probably hit on some point worth noting.
                          
"Ryuu... The last known leader was Ryuu Ishikawa! This is even more complex than I expected, Dick."
                          
The name rung a bell somewhere in Dick's mind as well, "hey, I've heard that name before... From Sayuri herself."
                          
"Of course you heard it from her," he resumed, massaging his temples for he was getting fatigued, "tonight she was repeating this very name when she was having a nightmare. Ryuu shinanaide kudasai... she said this more than thrice. As if she was begging him not to die."
                          
"Shinanaide kudasai?"
                          
"It translates to please don't die."
                          
Richard pondered over his words, "he must have been quite dear to her."