"Hey, Honoka,"
Hoseki called from downstairs, waving a letter in her hand.
"There's a letter for you, it's from Rin."
"Thanks, Seki-chan,"
Honoka came down the stairs and took the letter from the bronze-haired girl, opening it in an instant.
"Why would Rin-chan contact me though?"
Her blue eyes followed the words down the page and slowly, they widened.
"Seki-chan...we have to go back to Akihabara."
"Bu-But what about the bakery?"
"We'll come back for it, but we have to leave, pronto."
Honoka started sprinting up the stairs, leaving Hoseki in a bewildered state.
She had never seen Honoka run like that before.
"Honoka!"
"I'll answer your questions later, just get packing! We'll leave first thing in the morning!"
XXXXX
[Next morning]
"Honoka-chan..."
"Yes, Kotori-chan?"
"Where...are we going?"
"Akihabara."
Honoka hoisted the luggages into the taxi with the help of the driver and got into the vehicle.
Hoseki plopped herself down beside Kotori, who had her yellow pillow in hand while Honoka told the driver their destination.
"Why?"
"Rin-chan is meeting us at the airport. In Akihabara."
"For?"
"...She might have found Umi-chan's whereabouts."
XXXXX
[In The Plane ✈]
"Luckily Rin-chan actually booked us on this flight, if not we'd never arrive in Akihabara today."
Honoka explained to Hoseki who was sitting next to the window in the airplane. Kotori was on Honoka's left, sleeping peacefully into her yellow pillow, the Umi plushie she had taken from Honoka's house safely tucked in her arms.
Please let Umi-chan be okay.
Honoka prayed and looked out the window, trying to not mind the fact that seconds after she had talked to her, Hoseki was sleeping.
Hoseki sleeps really suddenly and she can sleep anywhere.
That was the only thing that seemed to be similar between Honoka and Hoseki.
When Honoka found her, she was sleeping in a drain, her legs tucked close to her chest, seemingly oblivious to the amount of rubbish surrounding her.
Honoka had taken pity on her and had carried her out of the drain, at the expense of the state of her clothes.
At that moment in time, Honoka felt as if she was carrying a younger version of herself.
The small body she had held then had felt so weak and so fragile. Not like the tall, tough girl now. The fruit of the hard work that Honoka had put in to bring her up for three years.
Honoka had named her "Hoseki", which meant "precious gem", and raised her as her own. Over the years, Hoseki never remembered her real name, and had just stuck to her current one.
Umi never believed that Honoka could manage, and had always found excuses to pop in and check on Hoseki.
Eli had felt the same, and even asked Honoka if Hoseki was some random kid she thought was cute, and had carried her back home without wondering if she had any parents.
It took them quite a few months to believe that Hoseki was indeed homeless.
Especially when no one ever came around to ask for a missing child.
Umi had dropped by the most, and pretty much acted like Hoseki's father, if she ever had one.
Kotori had simply adored Hoseki, and had volunteered countless times to take care of her while Honoka was busy with college work or attending to the bakery.
Over the years, Honoka began to consider Hoseki as her daughter, and addressed her as such.
She didn't mind that Hoseki didn't call her "Oka-san", or anything like that, which was a relief.
She was 20 now, and she didn't want to feel old. Not yet, at least.
Then, Umi disappeared, which gave Kotori so much stress that they had to move to Uchiura which, according to the psychologist, provided a healthy environment for Kotori to recover.
They then heard about Eli and Maki vanishing, which shocked Honoka even more.
She didn't even know if Kotori had registered all that when she had broke the news to the grey-haired girl.
She didn't even know if Kotori was still the same cheerful, positive and sweet girl she had known for her entire life.
XXXXX
The loud whirring of the plane's engine kept Honoka half awake through the entire flight.
Well, that's half the reason.
Mostly, it was because she was very anxious to hear what Rin had to say.
It was so important that she absolutely had to meet Rin in person.
"PASSENGERS, PLEASE PUT ON YOUR SEAT BELTS. WE WILL BE LANDING SHORTLY."
Miraculously, the loud voice over the intercom did not even stir Hoseki.
Kotori, on the other hand, had woken up, and was slowly rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"Good afternoon, Kotori-chan,"
The grey-haired girl's head bobbed up and down in mute reply, before reaching blindly for her seat belt.
"Oh,"
Honoka reached over to Hoseki's seat and pulled out the seat belt, drawing it over her daughter's sleeping body and clasping it in place.
"There."
She smiled affectionately at the sleeping girl, at the way her mouth opened ever so slightly, and the way her limbs were askew everywhere.
Kotori glanced over at Hoseki and it seemed, for a split second, that her old self had flickered back onto her face before it disappeared once more.
XXXXX
Tapping her passport out, Honoka pushed her luggage through the gantry and spotted a girl of average height with short, dark orange hair and greenish-yellow eyes.
"Rin-chan? Is that you?"
Honoka called out, and the girl turned around.
"Ho-Honoka-chan, nya!!" Rin speed-walked towards her, a briefcase in hand.
Hoseki pulled her luggage behind her, with Kotori tagging along.
"Honoka! You clipped my shirt in with the seat belt earlier!"
"Ah, sorry, Seki-chan!!"
Kotori remained silent and stayed by Honoka's side.
"We'd better find a quiet place to talk, nya."
Honoka tugged her luggage behind her and followed Rin swiftly.
"Lead the way."
XXXXX
[Akihabara]
Nozomi staggered in the snow, and finally stopped in front of a parfait shop.
This was where Eli brought her when they went on really special dates.
How she missed those times.
She hastened her pace and reached her apartment.
Home, I guess.
Slowly, she pushed the apartment door open and shut it behind her.
She set down the groceries she had bought just now at the supermarket, and put on an apron.
XXXXX
As she worked around the kitchen, she felt an unnerving presence behind her and kept looking up while she was dicing spring onions and peeling the potatoes.
Feeling a bit weirded out, she turned back to the bubbling soup she had kept on the stove, watching the bubbles arise from the liquid.
"Hey, Nozomi."
Shocked, the purplette jumped and snapped in the voice's direction.
"Elichi?!"
The tall blonde stood before the purplette, and spread her arms wide.
"I missed you."
Eli muttered and engulfed Nozomi in the warmest hug she had ever received, seeming to communicate all her love through it.
Nozomi, who was still shocked by this, barely registered the embrace that the Russian was giving her.
"Wa-Wait...Elichi, you've got to be kidding me...you left me...for-for two years...TWO years!"
She wailed into Eli's shoulder but stopped.
She sniffed.
She didn't smell right.
Where was that luxurious smell of chocolates?
XXXXX
"So, there was an invasion of a police station in Akihabara, Tokyo, nya. The raid was done at night and nothing was stolen except for a file of a certain murderer named Yokina Shiro. However, there were casualties, nya."
Rin opened her briefcase and pulled out a portfolio, removing papers from within.
She pushed them to Honoka over the table, who separated the papers thoughtfully.
On the papers, were details of the incident, including a photograph of a dead body.
"He was stabbed with a knife straight to his heart, nya. He died immediately, but I found something interesting, nya."
She reached into her case again and took hold of a zip lock bag. She handed it over to Honoka, whose eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
"Th-This..."
Honoka held the bag up and nudged Kotori gently, causing the grey-haired girl looked up from her plate.
Kotori's golden eyes glossed over and shakily, she reached over and lifted the bag from Honoka's hands delicately.
Inside the bag, sat a strand of dark blue hair.
"Ho-How?!"
Honoka demanded, there was NO way that Umi would have murdered someone.
Rin just stared into Honoka's blue eyes.
"We found this by the body, it took all my ability to sneak this away from the scene, that is why it is not included in the details, nya. I decided to give it to you instead, so please don't make my efforts go to waste, nya."
Honoka nodded slowly, understanding what Rin meant.
XXXXX
She stood behind the glass and watched the blonde, who was twitching uncontrollably.
Suddenly, the blonde lunged forward and slammed her fist on the glass, which cracked a little from the impact.
"Ooooo I had better ask them to fortify this," She commented casually, and knocked the glass.
"....give...her...back..." The blonde growled, as she felt the bones in her right fist slowly shatter, and snarled in pain.
"Not until you explain why it's gone." She removed her hand from the glass and stuffed it into her pocket.
Her metallic golden eyes flickered over the blonde's misshapen state, before sighing.
"I can't help you if you refuse to talk, you know. I'm your only ticket out of this place."
"I...refuse. Not until that...evil...man...fixes me..."
"I'm sorry, really I am, Eli."
"Huh...that's...the first time I...heard you call me by...my name..."
"But if you want her back, you have to answer. You know my brother won't let her go safe unless you do."
"I..."
The blonde's pupils narrowed, her breathing becoming heavier.
"Answer me, Eli."
"I..."
She leaned over the glass, an unknown emotion lit in her golden eyes.
"You what?"
"I...let them...take it..."
Her golden eyes narrowed, questions forming in her mind.
"I...told them...go, and...live once...more..."
Her eyes softened as she looked at the blonde, whose blood was everywhere by then, pooling on the floor and dripping onto her torn dress.
The blonde raised her head slowly, her pale lips quivering as tears formed at the corners of her baby blue eyes.
"That's all...we...truly...wanted..."
"...it was...so simple...yet..."
Her eyes locked with Yorokobi's, true sorrow hidden behind her orbs.
"We've...never...found...it, the life we...once lived..."
Finally, the blonde collapsed onto the floor and laid there motionless.
Yorokobi sighed,
"I'm becoming a softie,"
She took out her card and swiped it deftly over the door's magnetic system, and the large grey door groaned as it slid open to reveal the gloomy room.
The golden-brown haired girl approached the blonde and lifted the Russian onto her shoulders and laid her down gently onto the cool cement slab she had for a bed.
"Sleep tight." She whispered, removing her white coat, resting it on the blonde, and left the room, letting the door slam back into place.
XXXXX
"At least we know she's here, somewhere." Hoseki proposed helpfully.
"That's right, Kotori-chan, you don't have to cry,"
Honoka rubbed her childhood friend's back with a comforting hand.
"But...but...Umi-chan could be hurt, or-or in danger!" The grey-haired girl sobbed into her yellow pillow while clutching onto the zip lock bag.
"And that's why we're here, to find her, nya." Rin pushed the door open, bringing in a plate of cheesecake and set it down on the night stand.
"Honoka-chan!!" A girl with short, hazel brown hair and lilac eyes followed behind Rin, and engulfed Honoka in a hug.
"Hanayo-chan!!"
Rin grinned energetically at the two, and sat down on the edge of the bed, placing a recorder next to Kotori's sobbing figure.
"By the way, Honoka-chan, this is a recording of the interview we had with the junior police officers involved directly, nya."
Hanayo let go of Honoka, who snatched up the recording and looked up into Hoseki's bronze eyes.
"Can I play it?"
Rin nodded gravely.
XXXXX
"Ugh..."
Slowly, she opened her eyes, pulling the pink bedsheets off her.
"Maki, get me some water..."
She sat up, suddenly aware that her lover had left her two years ago, and stared at the empty spot beside her.
I miss you, Maki. Please come back.
She got up from the bed and muttered to herself, catching a glimpse of the last picture they had taken together on her night stand.
"You idiot...you left me all alone..."
XXXXX
You never know how important something is to you,
Until you lose it.
XXXXX
Nozomi sat up dizzily, and looked around the place she was in, drinking in its gloomy aura.
Where...am I?
"You're awake. Good."
The deep voice sent chills of recognition through her, and she snapped her head in its direction.
"Ka-Kanashimi?!"
The golden-brown orbs glowed in the dark, mysteriously more brown than golden, and drew closer to her, until a tall silhouette stepped out of the shadows.
"Toujou-san, I would actually prefer for you to address me as Korobi. I HATE my name. Imagine having such stupid parents who named you 'sorrow' and having to bear with it for the rest of your life."
Her green eyes met his, which were narrowed.
She recoiled immediately, mortified.
"Is there something about me that you're scared of, Toujou-san?"
He leaned closer to her.
She shook her head deftly, and instantly shifted away from him.
He grunted and turned away from her, leaving a sweeping trail behind him on the wet floor.
Still shocked, Nozomi could only stare at his back.
His eyeballs had turned completely golden-brown.
XXXXX