Questions

"Ugh, my head..." Amilia groaned as she woke up with a hangover.

"Good morning!" A familiar voice came from across the room she was in.

Amilia sat up, and she quickly recognized the she was in her and Yuuji's room. She looked towards the source of the voice, and she saw Yuuji standing to the side of a window, looking at her with a slight smile.

"How did I get in here?" Amilia asked, while rubbing her eyes.

"I carried you in here, you were a bit too drunk to get here yourself..." Yuuji said while scratching his cheek.

"Wait what..?" Amilia said. A moment later her face fully became red after comprehending Yuuji's words.

"Anyways, we should get prepared for today." Yuuji said whilst walking towards the door.

"W-Wait what are we doing today?" Amilia asked.

"We're going to be gathering information, remember?" Yuuji explained as he looked at Amilia.

"O-Oh, right."

"Anyways, I'll wait for you to get ready." Yuuji left the room after saying that.

"Hey! Did you two have fun last night?" The lady at the front asked as Yuuji got near.

"Huh?" Yuuji looked at her with a confused look, and he could see she had a weird smile.

"Did you and that girl have fun last night, she had a lot to say to you after drinking a bit~" The lady asked while a grin appeared on her face.

"Nothing happened!" Yuuji quickly exclaimed after realizing what she said.

"Oh~ Are you sure?"

"Yes! I'm sure!"

This kept going on for awhile, till Amilia caught up to Yuuji.

"Oh Amilia! We should get going quick, Allen and Kazuma already left before us." Yuuji quickly said to Amilia when he saw her.

The lady saw Amilia's slightly messy hair and groggy expression and smiled. "You sure did give her a fun time, good job Yuuji!" She said while giving a thumbs up to Yuuji.

"We- Amilia, come on lets go..." Yuuji mumbled.

"Have fun on your date you two!" The lady shouted as Yuuji and Amilia were about to leave.

"Huh?!" Amilia exclaimed as she looked back at the lady with a red face.

After leaving, Yuuji let out a sigh of relief.

"Where should we start?" He asked after looking at Amilia.

"Let's just ask around..." Amilia mumbled.

"Alright!"

Soon, they both set off.

"Hey sir!" Yuuji exclaimed as he found a man in a blue kimono standing at an entrance of a store.

"Hm?"

"Can we ask you a few questions?" Yuuji asked the man.

The man looked confused for a moment before allowing Yuuji to ask him questions.

"Has there been anything weird going on?"

The man looked confused for a second before realizing something.

"There have been people missing, actually a lot of people have gone missing recently..."

"Missing? How often do people end up missing?" Yuuji asked while furrowing his brows.

"It started off rarely... but recently, it's every other night..." The man said while a drop of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"I see... Thank you for answering our questions." Yuuji said before nodding towards Amilia. "Stay safe, sir."

The man nodded, and they left.

'People are getting kidnapped, huh... And the person Allen talked about these might be connected.' Yuuji thought to himself. "Amilia, let's go ask around at the shrine, I have a feeling that the people missing and the person Allen talked about might be connected."

"Hm? Alright." Amilia responded.

A short while later they made it to the shrine.

"Welcome guests! Is there anything we can do for you?" A young woman in a shrine maiden outfit greeted them with a smile.

"We just came here to ask some questions." Yuuji responded with a slight smile.

"Questions?" The shrine maiden asked while tilting her head.

"Just about the rumor of people missing."

"Oh..." The shrine maiden said with a worried look. "There has been people that went missing, but lately the amount of people have increased..."

"Alright thank you for answering..." Yuuji responded. "Do you know anyone that goes by the name Sakura Endou?"

"Oh, miss Sakura? Yes, I can get her if you need." The shrine maiden offered.

"Yes thatd be great!" Yuuji exclaimed.

"I'll be right back then!" The shrine maiden said. She shortly went into the main building of the shrine, leaving Amilia and Yuuji alone.

"Yuuji, I don't think this is a good idea.. What if Sakura is actually the person Allen talked about?" Amilia asked with a worried tone.

Yuuji sighed a little before responding to Amilia. "Its a good possibility that Sakura is that person, but there is a chance shes not."

"What if she is?" Amilia asked as she felt her heart was starting to race.

"Then, I have no idea..." Yuuji responded whilst scratching the back of his head. "But, I'm sure we will be fine."

A moment of silence occurred, soon Amilia and Yuuji saw Sakura and the shrine maiden leave the entrance of the shrine.

"Is there anything you need, Sir Yuuji, Miss Amilia?" Sakura asked when she got near them..

"Yes, we wanted to ask you some questions." Yuuji explained while scratching his cheek.

"Questions?" Sakura asked in a confused tone.

"Do you know anything about the people that have gone missing recently?"

"What?" Sakura blurted out.

Yuuji looked at Amilia before looking back at Sakura. "Did you not know?"

"I did not..." Sakura said before falling silent.

"You didn't? Then what are these ears for?" The shrine maiden behind Sakura asked while poking Sakuras ears.

"No one has talked about it near me." Sakura responded with an irritated tone while pushing the shrine maiden's hands away.

"Is there any more questions you want to ask?" Sakura asked a moment later.

"Yes, if you don't mind."

"How about we have a deal, then? I have a few questions for you two."

"Deal?" Yuuji asked with curiosity.

"We play a game of chess, if you win I answer a question that you have. However if I win you answer a question I have." Sakura explained.

"Hey! You can't ignore your du-" The shrine maiden exclaimed before getting cut off by sakura putting her palm on her face.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Yuuji asked Amilia in a hushed tone when Sakura wasn't paying attention to them.

"There a bunch of problems that can happen if we agree... but we might be able to get some answers." Amilia answered.

"So we should do it?" Yuuji qsked and Amilia nodded.

"We have a deal!" Yuuji exclaimed.

"Great, Mei can you tell the Shrine priestess I'll be busy with a few guests?" Sakura asked the shrine maiden who was trying to protest.

"B-But" Mei stammered.

"I will take you somewhere to eat if you do this." Sakura said.

"Deal!" Mei exclaimed before running into the shrine.

Sakura looked at Amilia and Yuuji then motioned them to follow her.

As they entered the main building of the shrine, Yuuji quickly got nostalgic. The interior was exactly the same as he remembered.

"Sir yuuji, is everything alright?" Sakura asked.

Yuuji shook his head as soon as he realized he was caught up in his memories. "Yes, sorry I just remembered something. Let's go."

Sakura lead them down a wooden hallway, with a few doors on each side. Sakura stopped at the second door to her right and opened it. Inside the room had a table in the middle with a chessboard on it. And on each side of the table had a few chairs.