*
Time had passed and before long, we were ready to head back home. The sky transitioned to a mellow gold brighter than Myuu's hair as the clouds shifted and shadows expand. My chest began to housed a loud beating rhythm as I got exhilarated. Was it because I get to walk home with Myuu? Or was it something else? But there was one thing I still need to do.
"Myuu, I need to check something real quick. Want to come with?"
"... Sure!" (Myuu)
Her refreshing reply sent a slight shock into my spine. Why was she so trusting of me? Well, we did spend most of our lives together, I guess it was a given. But it still felt odd having someone who invested so much trust in you. I would feel bad if I tricked her in the future. In this life, I had everything I ever wanted. A guaranteed job, a joyful childhood with Myuu, this small and insignificant daily exuberance. It warmed my body thinking how happy I was. I had what I wanted.
I walked to the back of the building on the other side of the elevators. Sure enough, there was nothing there. I didn't know why myself, but I simply had the urge to check the back of the building. Was I expecting something? If I was, what could possibly be here other than the trash collecting site?
***(?A)
"That was close... I almost interacted with her. Looks like the catalyst isn't ready yet."(?)
***
Brushing past that odd experience, we quickly sauntered back to our homes. Despite the abundance of resources, food and jobs, there were still criminals around. Criminals that get sent to jail immediately. It was a basic precaution not to stay outside too late so as to avoid them. In a society where most needs are met, criminals are formed from those with needs that are not met, and these needs... Would be those that are unreasonable. Some may simply call them insane. They weren't normal after all.
Getting back inside my home, it felt like all my energy had already been drained out. Without the will to continue working hard in studying, I collapsed onto my bed with a heavy thud. My face presses against the soft cushioning of the pillow and my body against the bed. Hmmm? How did I sleep again...? Which direction did I usually face? Even if sleeping was as natural as instinct from birth, that didn't mean we couldn't consciously develop preferences in how we layed down.
Hmmm~~... Too... Sleepy. I'll just lie on my side. I feel like I used to have something to hug, but now it's gone. There's nothing there, was I imagining it? It was a shady evening and the lights weren't on, the air was at a comfortable mix of humidity and dryness, warmth and coolness. It was the perfect conditions for a nap... I'll just do my revision... Next morning.
***(Myuu)
... Kaori's acting weird. Her school uniform has always been sloppy, but it felt like today she just gave up and didn't put on her chest ribbon... I thought I could understand her thoughts once I got closer to her, but I suppose I could never. Ever since that day...
The kindergarten I went to was a little further away. Perhaps I was happy? I no longer remember nor do I care to try. It was the last month of attending kindergarten and the weight of seperating from my friendships had seized control of my thoughts. How did I think of it? I dreaded it, like it was the end of my life. Despite how much I know my parents love me, they never have time for me. It was selfish to desire so, I knew it was selfish too, but how could I care about that? I only cared for myself.
I was an only child who had the home to herself all her life. I didn't bother to invite any friends over since I found them quite noisy. Did I just hate them? No, I really liked them, but I suppose my wants outweighed my needs. Even if I really enjoyed talking an dplaying with them, I wanted the house to myself more. I wanted to quietness and peace that came with it. I wanted the place to be special just for me, since my parents were rarely in it anyway.
I also had everything I needed. Anything I wanted, they would buy for me. If I didn't need anything, they would save their money. After receiving enough toys year after year, it felt like a well had dried up inside me. Did I lose all desire? No, not really. I still wanted to live, I still wanted to spend time with my parents and play with them. I still wanted a normal life, but I guess my Greed shrunked. After a certain point, I simply saw no value in my toys, the dress up doll, the miniature drivable car, the stuff toys that ornamented my bed and the countless little replicas of other objects. I simply got bored and couldn't find them fun anymore, so I left them in a corner of my room and my memories.
In the large meantime, I spent time with my friends instead. I used them as substitutes to past the time and get on with life. Since I had nothing to do at home, I thought it would be productive to learn ahead of others or familiarise myself with existing content. My studying became ahead of others because of that, though that may have attracted some jealousy, it mostly didn't get in the way of my daily life. I got good results, I laugh with my friends, I study. Was this what normal really is? Was I a husk? No... If I could have these thoughts then it means I'm still doing it out of my own volition... I'm suppose to live like this... Right?
I suppose it was the second time in my life. The first was preschool and now its kindergarten. I would leave my friends once more as we get redistributed across the schools in the residential area. Other than the trouble of making new friends and the tedium of self introduction... Maybe I actually liked my old friends. Even if I was just using them to past the time, could I seriously say all my emotions were faked until now? No... They really were just substitutes for my toys... But I... Really enjoyed being all of them!
Before I had noticed, my tears had already welled up in my eyes and it became too blurry to see in front of me. I don't want it... I don't want to seperate from them... I want to spend more time with them! I want to get to know them instead of being shallow like I've been doing for the past few years! I want to act like an actual friend!!!
Again, before I had noticed, I ran out of breath. My body quivered and my spine felt a little weak. But my joints creaked forward in this mundane routine of walking back home. I had gotten used to it long ago, it was as if I could walk back home with my eyes closed. At least that wa show I felt since my body kept moving as usual even though I was both physically and mentally exhausted. As a kid at that time, I didn't have much stamina in the first place. I was walking through the aching pain of my heels and knees.
Without much energy to resist, I was kidnapped. It was dark and damped in the black van I was pulled into. A attention stealing metallic sheen has zoomed into my peripheral vision before 2 large arms wrapped around me. Even if the van wasn't travelling at a fast pace, it was fast for me. I was so terrified that I grabbed onto those arms out of fear of being dropped. Then I was carried into back and locked there. Since I didn't resist much, they didn't have any particular trouble.
"Oi... What's with the kid... Isn't screaming her head off and struggling around more normal?" (?)
The driver spoke to his 2 accomplices, one of them only shrugged as the other put up a reply.
"Beats us, she wasn't like this 2 weeks ago." (?)
Were these... The child kidnappers that the news has been going on about...? How have they not been caught... This pungent smell.... Might be chlorine... They had wrapped of damp cloth over my face after shoving me into the back. It smelt horrible yet familiar. It was a bit like the pool I used to go to... Alone. I had been looking forward to it for a long time. It had been my fifth birthday and I was planning to ask my parents to bring me to the pool. Why the hell do they work on weekends too? Are they really my concerned about work then they are about me?
Anyway, this cloth smelt similar, but not the same. It was more concentrated to the point of being almost entirely different. It was a whiff of the less concentrated parts that brushed past my cheeks. I just saw it in a show once so I could roughly guess what it was... How disingenuous, the chlorine doesn't knock you out immediately.
At the end of all of this, I... Want a friend. I know I was being selfish! I know I was a jerk for using my classmates to past the time! I know how awkward I was actually making the atmosphere, about how everyone was avoiding me, about how nobody thinks particularly anything about me! I WANT TO OCCUPY SOMEONE'S MIND! I WANT TO BE IMPORTANT TO SOMEONE!!! I DON'T WANT TO BE KIDNAPPED OR TRAFFICKED!!!!!!!
I screamed my soul out over the damn cloth as turbulence struck the van immediately after. I knocked my head pretty hard on the wall, but otherwise nothing had happened to me. The door to the back of the van opened up personnel had seemed to have surrounded the lopsided van. It was stuck in an odd position as a gradual smoke arose from the front side. Shit, was it going to explode? I felt terrified that I ran outside with my own legs despite having my arms tied up. I was nearly going to fall out of the van when a pair of small arms caught me.
She was shorter than me and she had straight black hair that was smoother and more elegant compared to my unkempt pigtails. A girl smaller than me had saved me... She looked rather beat up with dust all over her face and scratches here and there covering her limbs. It was the first time, I met Kaori. She's so cute, but ah.... The cloth had been on my face for too long, my body felt exponentially more numb as my head dropped like a rock. I was taken to the hospital immediately after, with the small girl waiting at my bedside.
Apparently she just happened to be there when I was kidnapped. She was in her father's car when it happened, her father was a respectable police officer who immediately informed a colleague who was working his shift about what they saw and what road they were on. Due to it being dangerous, her dad had initially stopped following the van. To his surprise, she knocked open the door and rolled onto the ground outside to clear the momentum. Then she ran after it as fast as she could and barely caught up to catch me.
Thankfully the police station was nearby, so the dispatch was really quick. The quick-setup road spikes worked like a charm but the kidnappers panicked and collided their van into a wall.
"... Thank you... For catching me."
"No problem! Hehe...!" (Kaori)
She gave the brightest and largest smile her little face could pull off and put up a V-sign with her fingers for victory.
"Yes problem!" (Mr Kanegawa)
"Uuu!?" (Kaori)
Receiving a chop on the head from her father, she sharply cried out in pain as she clutched her head.
"Jeez this tomboy daughter...! Don't ever jump out of the car again! Did you think you were some kind of hero? What if they didn't stop the van before you arrived!" (Mr Kanegawa)
Apparently she had a slightly sporty personality, but also a surprisingly girly taste in clothes and aesthetics. Well, I would only learn that later on when I saw her wardrobe was half sportswear and half frilly dresses. She feels embarrassed wearing the dresses in public, so people have usually only seen her casual sportswear. Shirts and shorts fit for her to run at any time, apparently she enjoyed running to school in the morning since it allow her to get there before everyone else.
Over the years she mellowed out... Or maybe she got worse? While she slowly grew out of her love to run, she still regularly jogged to keep fit, but now she was able to shamelessly wear her fluffy dresses outside of her home. Even I would be blushing if I was caught in such a get up, but she simply brushed it off even if she met someone she knew in public.
Jeez, how does she have the time to be so carefree? She exercises in the morning and gets exhausted physically as a result, then she spends all of her mind comprehending and memorising during class and gets exhausted mentally as a result. She would always be way too fatigued to do anything after school. With so much energy that seemed like it would never run out one day, she would probably be fine, but what would I do without her...