"Hikaru? Who the hell is he and what did he do to my daughter!" Shouted Chizuko.
"Honey, calm down." Daijiro consoled his wife from behind.
"He's a popular guy at school. I don't think he's a bad person." Chiho said. She had just received a phone call from Aimi's parents who told her Aimi hasn't come home nor has she returned their missed calls. She then explained to them that Aimi went to confess her feelings to him and maybe they were together right now.
However, it was 8pm right now, she couldn't have been that distracted unless they were… Chiho remembered back to their conversation in which they played the idea that he would accept her. Impossible! Not only did he accept her, but she was making out with him? Maybe more? Her cheeks were scalded red and she puffed envy.
Daijiro had taken over the phone.
"Then, we'll wait a bit longer, but you call us the moment you hear from her do you understand?"
"Ye-yes of course."
They hung up. Chiho laid down on her bed, listening to her heartbeat settle. She then called Aimi's cell phone; she could hear the ringing, so her phone still had battery. After a while, the ringing ended as expected.
This was an unusual situation. Chiho didn't know what to think of it. When something strange like this happens, it either went bad or well. She was hoping for the latter.
The parents didn't call back, so she thought Aimi got home. She fell asleep soundly while imagining about Aimi retelling her story. She dreamt about all the girls exploding when they saw Hikaru and Aimi together.
She got a call back at 12am. Aimi didn't come home.
She couldn't sleep all night. Her eyes were bloodshot. She thought that Aimi might have went away to get some space from everyone, but she remembered that Aimi expected that she would get rejected and pledged that she'd still love him for the rest of her life. This shouldn't have shocked her.
However, the most compelling thing about Aimi is her kindness for others. She would not have made her parents and best friend worry.
She remembered the day she got rejected by Hikaru. She had pretended that she hadn't been that hurt but she knew that Aimi saw through her, yet Aimi played along. She did this because she didn't want Chiho to be saddened that she was still worried.
Chiho went to school the next day and waited for Hikaru afterschool. She finally saw him after waiting the whole day. He was walking alone, not hand in hand with Aimi as she had dreamt last night.
"What happened yesterday? What do you mean you don't know where she is!"
Students walking home turned their heads towards the scene, but she didn't care. Hikaru was taken aback.
"Yesterday, she confessed her feelings to me… I tried to tell her… that I couldn't as politely as I could… but she kept screaming at me… then she ran off." He said solemnly.
"No. That isn't like her." She shook her head.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?"
"Because she's missing!"
"Missing? What do you mean?"
Chiho paused. There was something wrong about the way he said it.
"I tried calling her last night, but no one picked up."
(What.)
"Then-"
"Then her parents called me and said she hasn't come home. They're freaking out and I am too."
"Maybe she's been hanging out somewhere and will come home once she feels better."
(What is this.)
"I know her well. Even if she were heartbroken, she would never act the way you said, and she wouldn't run off like a loser in front of you."
"People under stress can-"
(Why?)
"No. I'm her best friend so I know her better than you do."
"Calm down. I understand that you're her best friend and that – "
(Why ARE YOU LYING!)
"I said no!"
That last outburst made her look like a nutcase in front of everyone. The crowd was on his side. She was fighting a losing battle and it was difficult fighting with someone she had a crush on. Chiho's state of mind was going overdrive.
The severity of the situation pushed her senses to the limit. She was trying to save her friend. She didn't understand what made her distrust Hikaru, but her subconscious took in the raw footage. It detected minute irregularities otherwise invisible before, in his voice and facial expressions.
Hikaru wasn't an Oscar actor, but he could easily slip through the social interactions from observation and simulation. His handsome face added to that. However, now Chiho could sense an inhuman element in Hikaru without being conscious of it. It greatly disturbed her. It was like finding out the idol you followed your whole life was a fraud.
Chiho had argued with Fumiye about the logic behind her accusations. The truth was, when she tracked the phone, the blip was on a residential building and she had assumed it was Hikaru's house. However, even if it was at his house, it didn't mean that he had done anything to Aimi. Fumiye was right, there was no reason for Hikaru to kidnap Aimi because he could have any girl she wanted.
All her theories had plot holes. She even believed that maybe some stranger kidnapped Aimi off the street. She was prepared to believe in that likely scenario, but it just didn't help that Hikaru gave off an unsettling vibe whenever he spoke about Aimi.
She could almost feel that Aimi was trapped somewhere behind him, calling for help but no one would hear. It was like she was hidden in the most unexpected place in plain sight. She couldn't let Aimi fall into despair. Much like how in a thriller movie scene, police had heard a sound inside the house but listened to the killer's casual comment that it was the tv. She had to check every corner no matter how ridiculous it seemed.
"Then Hikaru, would you please help me look for Aimi?" She asked with a furrow on her face.
***
"Then, show me to your bedroom." Chiho said not withholding anything.
Hikaru raised his eyes in surprise. Chiho stared him down, not relenting her determination for his moral and social high ground. He walked ahead of her and up the stairs. He stood next to the bedroom door and held an arm out saying, "After you." Coquettishly.
Her old self would have faltered to his charms but the current Chiho was immune. Girls before boys. Chiho was examining his bed closely.
At this moment, a tentacle suddenly reached out behind her. Her hair instantly stood on end.