Although he had gotten the chance to talk to a few people, there was still no sign of Kotetsu. Barnaby let out a slow breath and tried not to look as anxious as he felt. Logically, Kotetsu could handle himself just fine. Even with his knack for getting into trouble, the man had a way of pulling through -- or, at the very least, attracting enough attention for Barnaby to come to his rescue.

This was still ridiculous, though. Barnaby was glad he hadn't let the man stuff him into one of those yukata. He would have been uncomfortable on top of annoyed.

Frowning, Barnaby glanced down at the text message he'd typed.

If I don't hear from you soon, I'm leaving. That sounded firm and to the point, so he hit "send". Once he received notification that the message had been delivered, Barnaby looked up and surveyed the crowd again.

After a few minutes, he caught sight of the young woman he'd spoken to his first day here. If memory served correctly, they'd also been placed in the same group that night. Barnaby smoothly walked up beside her and paused long enough to make eye contact.

"Hi," he greeted with a slight incline of his head. "Sorry to intrude, but I don't suppose you've seen my companion anywhere, have you? He's an old man wearing a hat, vest, and a green dress shirt."