The cottage door creaked open as Yutaka stepped inside, his arms laden with groceries. "Hiro, I'm back!" he called out, shuffling towards the small kitchen. Met with silence, Yutaka shrugged and began unpacking the bags, the rustling of plastic filling the air.
He pulled out a package of ramen noodles and some vegetables. "Dinner will be ready soon," Yutaka said loudly, assuming Hiro was resting upstairs after his intense battle. The steady rhythm of chopping carrots and onions filled the space as a pot of water came to a boil on the stove.
Minutes later, the savoury aroma of miso ramen wafted through the cottage. "Hiro, come eat while it's hot," Yutaka shouted, setting two steaming bowls on the wooden table. Still no response. Yutaka rolled his eyes and headed toward the back of the kitchen.
He climbed the narrow stairs, the aged wood groaning under his feet. He knocked gently on Hiro's door. "Hiro? Dinner's ready." He pressed his ear to the door but didn't even hear the faint rustling of sheets from the other side. Feeling like something was off, Yutaka pushed open the door. The bed was empty, sheets rumpled and cold.
"Hiro? Hiro!" Yutaka's voice echoed through the cottage as he frantically searched the bathroom, the garden, and every corner of their hideout. But the injured teenager was nowhere to be found. Yutaka's mind raced. Where could he have gone? Did he leave on his own? Why wouldn't he have left a note?
Returning to the living room, Yutaka spotted a glint of glass under the coffee table. He reached down and retrieved Hiro's slab, tucked just out of sight. Hiro never went anywhere without it.
Yutaka sat down on the couch to think and that is when the idea came to him. The girl - Ai. If Hiro had gone anywhere, it would be to check on her and ensure she was safe after everything they'd been through together.
Slabs were easy to hack, and Yutaka wasted no time bypassing the biometrics, scanning through Hiro's contacts until he found her. Ai with a small blue heart by her name. He tapped on her photo and dialled, his fingers tapping on the armrest while he waited for Ai to pick up.
"Please be with her," Yutaka muttered under his breath. "Please tell me he's safe." Each ring without a response felt like a taunt, his eyes locked on the ringing slab, praying that this was all one big miscommunication. Hiro had just gone to see her and like all teenagers, didn't think it all through. Yutaka tried to reason this was the only possible explanation.
The line clicked. "Hey Hiro, I have been so worried about you." Yutaka took a deep breath, her response told him everything he needed to know.
---
Ai had just stepped out of the warm water of the hot spring, wrapping the white towel around her. After months of fighting and hiding, she finally felt a sense of peace, making her way back to the changerooms.
Her peace was shattered by the distant ringing of her phone, echoing from her locker. Ai sighed, trying to remember the combination for the lock. After a few more insistent rings, she finally typed in the right code and began digging for her pants.
The ringing grew louder as she finally freed her slab from her pocket. Upon looking down at it, Ai's eyes widened at seeing her phone screen lit up with a call from Hiro, the one person she wanted to hear from most. As she typed the talk button, a man's scarred face appeared on the screen, but she didn't notice until she had already started talking.
"Hey Hiro, I've been so worried about you," Ai began, coming to a full stop when she realized it wasn't Hiro on the other end.
"I'm afraid I'm not Hiro," the man replied, looking worried. "My name is Yutaka. I take it Hiro isn't there with you, is he?"
Ai's brow furrowed. "Hiro? No, I haven't seen him since the night we managed to get back to campus. He hasn't called or texted me at all, I didn't even know if he made it."
There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by a heavy sigh. "I see. He must have stepped out for some air. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I'll have him call you when I find him."
Before Ai could respond, the line went dead. She stared at her phone, a sense of unease creeping up her spine. Hiro had enemies, powerful ones within the Japanese government who wouldn't hesitate to eliminate him if given the chance.
"I have to find him," Ai muttered to herself, wondering if they had been watched the whole time. She quickly changed into her clothes and gathered her belongings. The relaxing day at the hot springs was over. Hiro needed her, and she wouldn't rest until she knew he was safe.
As she hurried out of the spa, Ai raced toward the bus station. She about where Hiro could have gone? If someone might have taken him? She knew she had to start at the school, with any luck Hector would be there to help her.
She reached the bus stop and her heart sank, it would be another hour until the right bus arrived, she pulled out her phone and started searching for an alternate route. She scrolled through endless bus routes, each one longer than the rest. She cursed under her breath, it was like the world was trying to prevent her from getting back, as if Hiro wasn't meant to be found.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
As Ai looked up from her phone in a panic, a familiar figure caught her eye. There, casually strolling down the street, was Masumi. Ai's breath caught in her throat as memories of Masumi turning Hiro over to the Canadians. Ai wondered if Masumi was still on the side of the Canadians, and if she may have something to do with Hiro's disappearance.
"What if she's here to keep an eye on me for them," Ai wondered, her brows furrowed in suspicion. She knew Masumi had been pulled out of the academy after the incident, so her presence at the same hot springs as Ai seemed suspicious. A nagging thought tugged at the back of Ai's mind: This was a trap, they had Hiro and were coming after her now.
Ai's eyes narrowed as she made a split-second decision. She was going to turn the tables on Masumi, now she had the upper hand. She slipped back toward the street Masumi had turned down, her movements stealthy and deliberate. From a distance, she watched as Masumi moved from one shop to another, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
As Ai tailed Masumi, she strained her ears to catch any snippets of conversation, hoping to glean some information about what Matsumi had been up to since she saw her last. However, it quickly became apparent that Masumi was alone, with no one but the shop owners to talk to. The chances of her revealing anything seemed slim.
"Should I confront her?" Ai pondered, weighing her options. "Maybe if I pretend to bump into her, and act surprised to see her here, I can get her to start talking."
Ai's mind warned that this could be exactly what Masumi wanted. Luring her away from the main road so she could kidnap her without any witnesses. Ai knew she had to tread carefully, but time was of the essence. With a deep breath, Ai decided to confront her, ready to expose Masumi as a traitor and get some answers.
Masumi turned the corner and made her way to the quaint café with anime characters lining the windows. As she settled into a corner table, a steaming cup of matcha cradled in her hands, she let out a contented sigh. The warmth of the drink seeped through her fingers, and her gaze turned to the window for a little people watching while she drank.
As she peered out the window, a familiar set of eyes looked back at her. Masumi inhaled sharply, and she nearly choked on her tea as she recognized Ai's face pressed against the glass. Before she could compose herself, Ai stormed into the café and slid into the seat directly across from her, the scrape of the chair against the floor had everyone's eyes on them in the otherwise tranquil space.
"Masumi," Ai's voice was tight, looking at Masumi as if she had a weapon hidden on her. "Do you know where Hiro is?"
Masumi blinked, taken aback by the direct question. "I... I don't," she stammered, her hands tightening around her cup. "I haven't talked to anyone about him since the greenhouse. Honestly, I just want to forget that night entirely, it was a nightmare."
Ai leaned forward, her gaze intense. "How can I trust anything you say, Masumi? After everything that's happened, you'll have to do better than that to convince me you're not involved in Hiro's disappearance."
Masumi shifted uncomfortably in her seat, pulling on the hem of her sweater. She glanced around the café, ensuring no one was within earshot before leaning in and lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Ai, I know I made a mistake," Masumi began, her eyes starting to well with tears. "The Canadians told me my uncle Daiki had been murdered, and they traced the killing to the campus. I wanted to help bring his killer to justice, I didn't care who I hurt to do it. I let my emotions cloud my judgment and I put you and Kazuki at risk."
She paused, looking up at Ai. "What I regret most is dragging you and Kazuki into this mess. I mean they labelled you as a terrorist, I know that's not you. They used Kazuki as bait and almost killed him. I should never have trusted them."
Ai tried to stay mad at Masumi, her mind racing as she tried to gauge the sincerity in Masumi's words. The pain and regret etched on the other girl's face seemed genuine, and Ai knew all too well what it was like to do something stupid out of love.
"I want to believe you, Masumi," Ai said, her voice softening slightly. "But you have to understand why it's hard for me to trust you. I mean everyone said you just mysteriously left after, where did you go? How do you know the Canadians still don't have eyes on you?"
Masumi stopped to think, understanding the gravity of the situation. As she began to recount the events leading up to that fateful night at the greenhouse, Ai listened carefully, wanting more than anything to have her old friend back. "They brought me back to campus but I couldn't stay, I could face you and Kazuki after that, so I called mom and said I needed a break. She flew me out to Rome to see her."
Masumi took a deep breath, her eyes distant as she recalled the events that followed. "But even trying to relax, I couldn't stop thinking about what Hiro said. I needed to know the truth, so I watched the news coverage of the Canadian Embassy attack."
Her voice trembled slightly as she continued. "I watched the whole fight, I heard my uncle's voice calling out in pain. And then I saw Hiro, hesitating before he..." She paused, swallowing hard. "I know now that he had no other choice. But at the time, they told me it was Hiro's fault."
Ai reached out, placing a comforting hand on Masumi's arm. The gesture surprised them both, and Masumi almost pulled away before she realized what was happening. "I'm sorry for the pain you've gone through, Masumi. I really am. No one deserves to lose someone they love like that."
Masumi offered a weak smile, her eyes red and puffy from her tears. "I'm the one who should be apologizing Ai. My actions nearly got us all killed. I can never make up for that, but I want you to know that I'm truly sorry."
Ai nodded, she was sure this wasn't some kind of ploy now. She believed Masumi, the sincerity in her voice undeniable. Yet, the realization that Masumi had no connection to Hiro's current disappearance left Ai feeling deflated. She was back at square one, no closer to finding him than before.
Rising from her seat, Ai offered a small smile. "Thank you, Masumi. I hope you'll come back to campus one day. I'd be happy to be your friend again, really."
As Ai turned to leave, Masumi's hand shot out, grasping her wrist tightly. "Ai, wait." She didn't look up at Ai, her tightening. "Please, stay away from Hiro and the Machs, it isn't safe for people like us. You could die."
Ai looked down at Masumi. "I know the risks, Masumi. But only Hiro has the power to destroy the Machs, everyone else wants to use Machs as war machines. People have died trying to stop the government, I won't let Hiro be one of them. I'm going to help him any way I can."
Masumi's grip loosened her expression a mixture of understanding and worry. As Ai walked away, she could feel Masumi's eyes locked on her. She knew she could be making a mistake, but she also knew Hiro was in trouble and her love for him won out every time.