In kids' minds, parents are supposed to be their heroes with their protection and love. They always give their respect and are also, got influenced by them. Nea used to be like that. Then suddenly, his father disappeared from his life without a trace. Everything seems to collapse before his eyes—no more laughter in the family, no more warmth from his parent's love. He saw his mother's sadness in her eyes, and she saw his. He tried to deceive himself that his father was just busy with all his work he would come back to his family soon. Time passed, days, months, years, then ten years already passed. He prayed to God, but all his prays were left unanswered. Where is his loving father? Why did he leave them? Is he alive or not? All those questions kept lingering in his mind. They made the father figure in his mind turn worse and no more the same as it was. He lived his life in negative thoughts as they crushed his mind to despair. All those times and the will to keep his family together trained him like a psycho. He must be more vital to protect his mother and beat his old man up if he ever sees him again. But training didn't wain down the anger and sadness from his heart. It kept it somewhere in his heart so he could be calm in front of everyone else. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but he almost killed his opponent when all those feelings buried deep down just overwhelmed his consciousness. Regretted, sinful, despaired, those are what he felt after the match. He wanted strength to protect his loved ones, not to cause pain to others. He had become powerful, but he knew he had to control his strength.

- Hey, doofus. Why the long face? Let's get some ice cream.

Nea looked at Kusari and laughed. His best friend always acts cool with a funny attitude to cheer him up. The world didn't seem so bad when he had his two best friends by his side. He felt relieved:

- Wanna see who can finish this faster? – Kusari said.

- You will get your brains to freeze with that dump contest! – Aizu stepped in.

The three friends were laughing in the ice cream shop.

Nea and Kusari took Aizu home and went to the bookstore later on.

Kusari's look makes him seem like a thug who likes to cause trouble for everyone, but he prefers to tell jokes and make fun of things to lighten up the atmosphere with his friends. He was born without knowing his parents' faces or love. Got sick of the orphanage at 6. He broke out of that place to do anything to survive. He later met Nea in a park without even caring about each other. However, seeing Nea playing alone all the time and getting bullied by the other kids, he went in to teach them a lesson. That is how they become best friends.

- Are you buying those silly comics? Look at these! – Kusari pointed at the adult magazines.

- Really? Hah – Nea sighed.

Kusari quickly put the magazine in his pant later to find himself caught for buying the adult thing. After being yelled at and kicked out of the place, they went to the park where they first met. Nea sat on the old swing, thinking:

- How long have we known each other?

- 10 years already. Quite a while, you know – Kusari answered while swinging.

- Time flew.

Nea turned to his friends:

- It's weird but have you ever wanted to know about your parents? Who are they? Where are they?

- Yeah. Lots of times.

- Sorry if it bothered you.

- Nah. Don't be so formal, man! We knew each other long enough to skip all of that bs.

- If someone told you where to find your parents, would you go to find them?

- Interesting! I never thought about that, but I don't have time for it, even if it's real. I already have you and Aizu. Who needs someone? I don't even know their faces.

Nea saw in Kusari the mature thoughts. Unlike Nea, who used to have both of his parents, he has been through a lot. Even when his father went missing, he still had his mother's love. Nea didn't lack anything. However, his father's absence did have an impact on his way of thinking. The situation was not pleasant at all. He felt empathy toward Kusari after all of the ordinary things they have.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

But with Kusari's answer, Nea realized their commonality could have been better since his friend didn't have any memory of his parents while Nea did. He wanted everything to went back to the way it used to be. Nea wanted to ask his father about where he was all those times, and he wanted his mother to feel happy again. Kusari's answer helped him to find his resolutions.

The sky turned dark quickly as they were about to go home. Before Nea and Kusari parted, Nea asked:

- Do you really like Aizu?

- I want her to be my wife!

- I will look to that day.

- Ok, Mr.Magician.

*******

The next day at school, Nea didn't see Kusari at all. Thinking his friend might skip school again, he didn't worry that much. However, Aizu was also absent from the cold yesterday made Nea go home alone after missing his last class. The words of the mystery man were still in his mind. The way he disappeared was like a fantasy comic character he used to read. Almost like a ghost, his existence was gone, just like it was wiped from the air. No way! There is no ghost! Nea was scared of ghosts and monsters, but now he had lost faith in all those supernatural forces. It was hard for him to understand. The card that was left behind felt unnormal. As he showed it to his friends yesterday, it is only a blank card. They even thought Nea was doing a magic trick. When he picked the card up, the messages started to show up. Busy thinking, Nea found himself in front of the subway station. It was still early that he decided to go to the address on the card.

It was tough to find the place, except it was at the city's center. This ramen shop was right across the Miyazaki HQ building, where his father used to work. It was rush hour, so he had to wait in a line of people for hours to get into this old ramen shop. Why did it have to be so mysterious?

The waitress went to Nea:

- Hello! Just one?

The waitress indeed left a great impression on Nea. She is not Japanese, with blond curly hair tied up ponytailed. From his guess, she must be an international student, or she moved here with her family. Nea lost his focus for a sec on her beauty. She was the second woman to put him stuck in a daze. She waved in front of his face just for him to snap back to reality. She pointed at the card in his hand and smiled:

- Your reservation table is right here.

"My reservation? I didn't make any!"

The waitress took him to a small at the back of the shop.

- May I have it? – She pointed at the card.

Nea gave the card to her as she walked away and told him to pick dishes for free while waiting. The smell was terrific and made him feel hungry. As a guy who eats a lot, Nea did look happy to try some food here, especially when it was free.

After two bowls of ramen and many other side dishes, he finally filled up his stomach. The waitress returned after a while to inform him:

- Sorry for taking too long. We may now move on.

She then took him down to the basement, which was filled with refrigerators and boxes all around. They stopped at the door at the corner. She opened the iron door immediately, and a cold breeze flew out. This looked like a freezer.

"If this is a real secret hideout place, there must be something behind this," Nea thought.

She asked him to get in. He walked closer to see it was a bottomless hole under the shelves of food. Nea slowly moved backward with his hand holding the door snap. The waitress smiled and pushed him down that deep dark hole.