Monday came, and Kei still hadn’t shown up for school.
“That makes it a whole week. And she hasn’t responded to any of my texts. I’m seriously worried now.” Saki’s expression showed immense concern, and the rest of us hardly looked better. We knew better than anyone that a girl going missing in Tokyo was bound to be serious bad news.
“You’re all talking about Mira again, am I correct?” Our teacher interrupted our conversation, a sombre look on her face. “I’m sorry to be the ones to inform you, but we’ve officially opened a missing persons case for her and her family. The school’s wellness check found no one at her address, and after a conversation with the police they agreed that the circumstances were too suspicious to be ignored. I’m afraid something dreadful may have befallen the Mira family.”
All of our expressions turned from worried to grim. A missing persons case? So Kei wasn’t just absent, she was completely missing? My terrible hunch from before had been right.
“Thank you for letting us know, Sensei. Here’s hoping they come home safely soon.”
“You’re welcome, Tachibana. It breaks my heart to have one of my own students potentially in danger.”
The teacher left us to prepare for the lesson ahead, but the four of us continued the conversation in hushed voices.
“This has sketchy written all over it. Something here is wrong, and we need to find out what it is.”
“But Saki, what can we even do?” I asked
“We have to investigate. If she was kidnapped, there’d be signs at where she was taken from, and signs where she’d been taken to. We just have to investigate those two places.”
“Easier said than done. Even if we assume she was taken from her home, there’s no way to tell where she they took her to.”
“Well, we at least have somewhere to start,” Saki said, and upon seeing our confused faces, she added “the magical girl hideout where we got kidnapped.”
***
“You and Mai alright to investigate Kei’s house while me and Nao check the hideout?”
“I already feel bad about sneaking into the school to find her address records, may as well add breaking and entering to the list too.”
Saki had made the call for the four of us to split into pairs. Mai and I would investigate the empty Mira household for clues about a potential abduction, while Saki and Sunao would search the old magical girl hideout.
I had my gripes about us being apart while potentially running into danger, but we needed answers sooner rather than later, and we could be more covert in pairs than we could as a full squad. I begrudgingly accepted Saki’s suggestion to separate, though I still harboured doubts.
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“According to the documents Shin found, Kei’s house is way on the other side of Shibuya. Taking the train all the way there could potentially alert our enemies, especially as they know our real identities. The fastest way to get there would be for Nao to fly the both of you there then return to me. That cool with everyone?”
“I’m okay with it, but Nao, can you carry two of us at once? Especially over such a long distance?”
“I-I think I should be fine. Carrying one person is surprisingly easy, so two shouldn’t be super difficult.”
I supposed that made logical sense, given the extreme increase in strength given to us by the magical girl serum, but the thought of someone as physically frail-looking as Nao carrying the both of us still made me a tad uneasy.
“We’ve wasted enough time already, let’s get going. I’m worried that every second we delay puts her in more danger.” Mai urged us to get going, and despite my misgivings I couldn’t help but agree.
She and I stood on either side of Nao, who wrapped an arm around each of us and spread her enormous wings.
“Stay safe, guys. And good luck.”
“You too, Saki. Be careful.”
With those last few words, Nao took off in the direction of Kei’s house, leaving Saki alone. Despite the extreme speed, it was a surprisingly smooth ride. It was clear that flying had become completely second nature to Nao at this point.
“Hmph.” Mai let out a noise of frustration and disappointment.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… this is the first time we’re flying somewhere alone together and it’s not even for a romantic getaway.”
“I should have known it was something stupid like that.” I sighed as Mai grinned at her own dumb joke, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stifling a smile myself. Her completely lame sense of humour was one of the things I loved about her.
“Y-you guys know I’m here? Right?” Said Nao, making me realise that our flirting was probably making her feel like an uncomfortable third wheel.
“You don’t count the pilot when you talk about ‘flying somewhere together,’ duh.”
“That’s not what I… never mind.” Nao’s social ineptitude and Mai’s social cluelessness once again lead to a conversation that was painful to listen to, but being around these two had made me numb to social awkwardness.
Besides, I had something else on my mind.
“Didn’t Hana already storm the hideout and find it completely abandoned? I feel like investigating it now is gonna be a long shot at best.”
I had intended to raise the same issue with Saki, but in the rush to get moving I had missed my chance. Predictably, our enemies had abandoned their hideout after the defeat of the Director, likely anticipating a standoff with Hana’s forces if they remained. No activity had been recorded there in weeks.
“Bear in mind that that was over a fortnight ago. No one’s been back since, so they’d likely assume that the heat had worn off a little,” Mai reasoned. “Not to mention, if they were back to kidnapping people they’d need somewhere to keep them. All their other locations are under police control at the moment, the flying hideout is the only one that Hana’s army took under their jurisdiction. It’d likely be their only option to keep hostages.”
Her reasoning was fair, but part of me still felt that it was a fool’s errand. Hana had them running scared, I doubted they’d have the courage to move back to a place with such a huge crosshair painted on it.
Then again, I had no other suggestions, and I was willing to follow any possible thread that could bring Kei back.
While I was still deep in thought, I felt a steady deceleration, and Nao slowly and gently brought us to the ground. She really had carried two of us her like it was nothing.
“You’ve gotten fast as hell, Nao. Thanks for the lift,” said Mai.
“Hehe. You’re welcome. Keep yourself safe, guys.” Nao smoothly turned around, spread her wings again, and took off at incredible speed.
“Well then. Shall we?” Mai pointed her hand to the apartment building in front of us. We had arrived at Mira residence, but I suddenly had a really bad feeling about what we might find.