The mind can forget... but the heart never!

Chapter 34

Bunny dragged herself out of the door the next morning, too tired to care if she was running late for school. She had spent half the night awake, her thoughts consumed by Seiya. But then, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Wasn't that Amaya standing at the street corner, waiting for her? "Hello, Bunny. What a coincidence that we're meeting here. We can go to school together," Amaya said. Bunny nodded sadly in response.

Of course, it wasn't a coincidence at all. Angel had received strict orders to keep an eye on Bunny until all the issues were resolved. She had plenty of other things to organize and didn't have time to play babysitter, but since it was a command from higher up, she complied. She squeezed herself into the overly modest school uniform again, took a detour to the Kou apartment where she left Seiya's letter at the door, and waited at the street corner for Bunny.

"Is there any news about the missing boy?" Angel asked, feigning innocence. Bunny looked at her sadly. "No. He's still missing without a trace."

Yaten and Taiki were on edge by now as well. They knew that something had happened to Seiya. Sudden disappearance without a reason didn't match his behavior, especially when he was happy. It just didn't make sense. Yaten was opening the apartment door as they were about to leave when he noticed a crumpled note on the doorstep. Curiously, he unfolded it, and his breath caught in his throat. "Taiki! This is from Seiya," he yelled over his shoulder.

"Who's from Seiya?" Taiki asked, approaching, and as he came closer, he recognized the note in Yaten's hand.

"Yaten, Taiki, I feel like back on Euphe, you know what I need. Everything is dark again. Always remember:

Search for your love Every day I sing this song for you. I'm waiting for you, Moonlight Princess.

The first concert back then was captivating. But I don't know if and when I'll return. Don't wait for me.

Seiya," Yaten read the few lines out loud.

Puzzled, Taiki furrowed his brows and took the note from Yaten's hand. "Can he be serious?! Five lines, and he's gone? Why? This doesn't make any sense," Yaten burst out.

"Please, be quiet for a moment. I believe Seiya is trying to tell us something with this. In the first row here, he says he feels like on Euphe, and we know what he needs."

"The only thing he needed on Euphe was a kick in the ass, one after another. Or have you forgotten how he acted?" Yaten hissed irritably.

Taiki rolled his eyes. "Yaten, he needed help. Our help. I'm sure that's what he means. Now, let me go through this in peace. He probably hid more clues. We'll find him."

Taiki sat down at the table and pulled a blank piece of paper closer. "But why quote lines from 'Search for Your Love'? That's senseless," Yaten said, pulling up a chair and also skimming the text.

Taiki rubbed his brow thoughtfully. He was convinced that this was a cry for help from his brother. But what did he want to tell him? - "The first concert was captivating" - he got stuck on this sentence. The first concert took place in Osaka back then, and it wasn't well attended at all.

"I think he's somewhere in Osaka," Taiki said after reading the sentence over and over again.

"How do you even come up with that?" Yaten asked.

"Do you remember our first Three Lights concert? We held it in Osaka, in a small bar. There was nothing spectacular about it, but he mentioned it here, and I'm sure he doesn't mean the concert was captivating. He's probably tied up or held somewhere there."

"Hmm... Osaka... but who's holding him and why?"

"If I only knew," Taiki mumbled, staring at the piece of paper. He felt there must be more information hidden here. Yet, he couldn't figure out what Seiya was trying to tell him. Yaten sat beside him, observing his contemplative brother and the note. After a while, he stood up.

"Come on, let's go to school first. Maybe Ami or the others have an idea." Taiki folded the message and slipped it into his pocket.

Classes had already started by the time Bunny and Amaya arrived, so they waited outside the classroom for Mrs. Haruna to let them in. Bunny leaned against the wall, resting her heavy head in her hands. Then, the voices of Yaten and Taiki echoed down the hallway, and she looked up abruptly. Hope shimmered in her eyes. "Is there any news?" she asked excitedly as the two approached.

Taiki reached into his pocket and pulled out the note, handing it to Bunny. Angel observed the scene but didn't say anything. She immediately recognized the smudged note. With trembling fingers, Bunny unfolded it, her heart pounding wildly. It was indeed a message from Seiya. Gently, she ran her finger over his signature, and a shiver ran down her spine. An uncomfortable goosebump spread rapidly across her entire body. Her gaze fixed on the stains. "Is that blood? Is it his blood?" she whispered, seeking eye contact with Taiki and Yaten. But before anyone could respond, Mrs. Haruna swung the door open.

"The class begins when the bell rings. You're all late! Come to the front after this class to collect your detention," she thundered, pointing her finger into the classroom. They all dragged themselves to their seats, Bunny looked sadly to her left. Where Seiya had been sitting just two days ago, creating a gruesome picture, Naru was sitting again, smiling encouragingly at her.

"If those brownish stains in the letter were really dried blood, then something must have happened to him," that was all Bunny could focus on. The hour passed by without her even realizing what it was about. Break time.

"Bunny, please give me the letter again. I just had an idea," Taiki asked her on the way out. Angel's curiosity was piqued, had Seiya really managed to convey a message? She had to keep a close eye on this. Further surprises would be catastrophic.

The friends settled down on the grass together, Taiki passed the letter around, explaining what he already suspected. As Taiki explained, Angel clenched her lips tightly. Osaka had indeed been Seiya's original destination, and it was fortunate that the plans had changed yesterday.

As everyone was deep in thought, pondering the message, no one noticed Bunny separating from the group. She only wanted to use the restroom quickly, but she never made it there. Two men dressed in black appeared out of nowhere and approached her. A stifled scream escaped her, and then everything went black.

Angel had to know what other information Seiya had hidden in those few lines. She had skimmed over them too quickly, dismissing them as unimportant. That couldn't lead her to a mistake. When her phone rang, she nervously glanced at the display. Diamond. He knew she was undercover, why on earth was he calling her now? She quickly declined the call. But he persisted, another call from Diamond. This seemed really important. Angel quickly got up and took a few steps before answering the call.

"What?" she hissed irritably into the receiver.

"I'm currently monitoring the Bunny's recordings, just wanted to make sure everything is okay with her, there were strange noises and a scream just now."

"Yeah, she's sitting..." Angel's words got stuck in her throat. No, she wasn't with the group anymore. Angel turned pale. "When was the scream?"

"About five minutes ago," Diamond grumbled from the other side.

This couldn't be true, she had only taken her eyes off Bunny for a moment. "I'll take care of it."

"Hey, guys, did you see Bunny? She came here with us, didn't she?" Angel asked the group after processing the initial shock.

However, she was met with questioning faces. Nobody had actually noticed.

"She's probably just gone to the restroom or something," Makoto tried to dismiss it.

"Then I'll go check on her. I still need to ask her something," Angel said and hurried off.

"Damn it, Chiba will kill me if something happens to the kid!" Angel thought. She searched the entire area, but without success. Restlessly, she pulled out her phone again. Call Diamond.

"What exactly did you hear?" she urgently wanted to know from him.

"Not much, just a scream followed by a thud, might have been an impact. Then silence."

"Dam..." Angel bit her lip. "Alright, keep your ears open. As soon as something happens, let me know immediately. No matter what you hear, analyze, and call."