Ryuichi hit the ground, his cheek throbbing with pain, shock shaking his being, not only from the force of the blow... but from the fact that Ryoko had done it.
He slowly raised his head, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his gaze alternating between surprise, anger, and devastation.
Aura was silent for a moment, as if she had lost the ability to speak, then whispered in a cautious voice:
- "Ryuichi... don't get up now... stay calm... he's not an enemy."
But Ryuichi didn't listen.
He pushed his body up with difficulty, wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, and shouted as he stared at Ryoko:
- "You're hitting me...?! What do you know about my pain? What do you know about my pain? My mother... is dying in front of me! And you want me to stay still?"
Ryoko approached him slowly, his voice becoming deeper, more painful than Ryuichi had expected:
- "I know the pain, Ryuichi... more than you can imagine. But acting out of madness... won't bring anyone back."
Ryuichi looked at him with eyes blazing with rebellion:
- "I'm not crazy! I just... I don't want to lose her too..."
Here, Mikiko took a step, but stopped, unable to find anything to say.
Ryuichi fell silent, his eyes still teary.
Then, in a hoarse voice, he said:
- "She's not just my mom... she's all I have left..."
Silence.
In the silence, Ryuichi sat on the floor, his lips trembling as he repeatedly muttered his mother's name:
- "Seira... Sera... Sera..."
His tone was a mixture of hope and collapse, and everyone around him felt the weight of that moment, but no one dared to approach.
Miku was looking at him with eyes that oscillated between sadness and concern, and Ryoko remained still, as if waiting for something.
Suddenly... Ryoko disappeared.
There was no visible movement, just a brief flash. He appeared behind Ryuichi, light and noiseless.
He raised his hand and touched a delicate point on Ryuichi's neck, pressing it carefully and expertly.
Ryuichi felt nothing but a sudden numbness, then lost consciousness, falling to the ground slowly, as if the world around him had stopped.
At that moment, inside the lenses of his glasses, Aura was still watching. Her digital eye didn't blink, but she was silent.
An intentional silence.
A silence that held a thousand questions.
She knew it was not the right time to speak.
Not yet... Not with Ryoko.
After Ryuichi passed out and fell to the ground, Ryoko slowly leaned toward him. His eyes are serious, full of caution.
He reached his hand toward Ryuichi's forehead, held his fingers there for a second, and whispered in a barely audible voice:
- "Let me see... what are you hiding...?"
From his fingertips, a faint flash of blue light shot out, silently penetrating into Ryuichi's head. A rare, secret technique, mastered by only a few... mental regression.
The miko watched him intently, then took a step closer and said skeptically:
- "What are you doing?"
But Ryoko didn't answer.
Seconds passed... and then suddenly, Ryoko pulled his hand back with force, as if something inside had pushed him away!
His breath hitched a little, and his eyes flashed with concern... but he didn't speak.
Rising from his knees, he turned to Miku with a steady gaze, and said in a low voice:
- "He's calmed down now... I need to take him with me for a while."
He said it like a command, not a request.
Miko, noticing the change in Ryoko's expression, sensed that there was something left unsaid... but she didn't question him. She just stared at him silently.
As for Aura, inside Ryuichi's glasses... she remained frozen, not saying a word, afraid that Ryoko would realize her presence.
---------------------------------------
Miku's Secret Laboratory - A few hours later
In an isolated corner of the city, behind high-security gates, Miku quietly descends into her private laboratory. The lighting is dim, and the equipment operates in an almost eerie silence. In front of her is a huge screen displaying Aura's activity, Mana Sera's indicators, and Ryuichi's strange data.
Miko looks at the screen, her eyes filled with doubt and hesitation.
She opens a secret recording she had taken earlier, showing Aura's mana fluctuating as Ryuichi approaches her... and then opens a new tab labeled:
"Possible hypotheses: Is Ryuichi the manipulator?"
But before she presses the button, she pauses, looking at an old group photo on the wall that includes her, Ryuichi, Sera, and Hiroshi.
Miku (in a whisper):
"I don't want to believe this... but the data doesn't lie."
She suddenly turns her head toward the screen as a new notification appears:
"Warning: Unauthorized mana fluctuation - Location: Outside Organization Boundaries - Monitoring Unit 05."
Miko gets up immediately, taps the screen to expand the map... and a red spot appears near a deserted forest.
Miko (anxiously):
"Ryoko... what are you doing?"
In an isolated location in a secret facility belonging to the Ryoko family
The light is dull and bluish. Ryuichi's body lies on an advanced examination table, surrounded by analytical mana circuits, spectral symbols crisscrossing the air around him. Ryoko stands beside him, his sharp eyes watching the movement of energy within his body.
Ryoko (in a low voice as he reviews the data):
"Sera's mana oscillation... was extraordinary... but why did Ryuichi sense it so intensely? What is the connection between his body and those vibrations?"
A moment of silence passes, as a holographic mana map appears over Ryuichi's body, its energy lines twitching... but not in the same pattern as Sera's oscillation.
Ryoko (thinking):
"The same frequency... but in a reversed pattern? Like his body is trying to... stabilize her disturbance?"
Ryoko tries to adjust a scanning device known as a "biosynchronization detector," which monitors for any internal response or bounce between the mana of two biologically related people.
But...
The scanner emits a red signal and flashes intermittently.
Ryoko (with faint anger):
"Nothing... no direct transmission... or the link is... hidden somehow."
Ryoko (deep in thought):
"If there is a way to explore the link between Sera's fluctuating mana and her son... the mana center in Ryuichi's body must be the key point."
He placed his hand on the remote control and began to activate Ryuichi's mana center, attempting to introduce directed energy to stimulate the flow of mana within his body. The digital printer beeped intermittently.
Ryoko (in a hushed voice, trying to be accurate):
"If we can stimulate this area... we might find the answer to this interference."
As the activation process begins, the devices around him begin to make strange noises, the monitors display incomprehensible data, and suddenly:
Boom!
One of the devices emits an electrical spark, followed by a series of intermittent noises, and then suddenly... they all fail in an instant.
Ryoko (startled, taking his hand off the device):
"What...?"
The light in the room began to dim strangely. Ryoko's gaze turns stunned as he realizes that all the devices have suddenly stopped working. No screen, no lights, no signals. A deadly silence fills the room.
Ryoko (in a whisper):
"How? What happened?"
It couldn't have been an ordinary glitch. This was something unexpected, something out of his control. He also had no explanation for this sudden stoppage.
At that moment, he felt something strange in the air, as if an invisible flow had passed by him. A faint tone from inside his head, but he couldn't pinpoint its source.
While he was in that state of confusion, Aura felt the need to appear. She was the one who intervened, no doubt about it. But Ryoko didn't know the reason behind the pause.
Ryoko (muttering to himself):
"This is... not a coincidence..."
He shook his head, taking a step back. But still, nothing in this moment explains what happened, as if some greater force had stepped in to protect Ryuichi from something that would have happened to him if Ryoko had continued to stimulate the mana center.
Ryoko (staring at the malfunctioning devices):
"Who did this, and why?"
He stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend what had happened, but still unable to comprehend what had happened. There was something strange about this situation, but the answer remained in the dark.
On the other hand, Miko had arrived at the facility and was standing in front of the door, her face taut with obvious nervousness, all her thoughts focused on what had happened. Following Ryoko's mana signal, she realized where he was. Her anger was rising, and a sense of tension filled her heart.
She quickly picked up her phone and sent a direct call to Ryoko, while staring at the huge door in front of her.
Miku (in an angry voice, after holding the phone up to her ear):
"Open the door now, Ryoko."
A brief moment of silence passed before a reply came from the other end, Ryoko's voice clearly audible in the ear.
Ryoko (calm voice, but with some hesitation):
"Miko, what are you doing here?"
Miku (angrily):
"Open the door, I don't have time to talk. Open it now!"
Moments later, she hears the sound of the mechanism on the other side, and then the door slowly begins to open. Miku quickly enters, her eyes searching for Ryoko inside.
As she stands on the doorstep, Ryoko is in the corner, standing coldly, his gaze fixed on her, waiting for her reaction.
Miku (provoked, unable to hide her anger):
"Where is he? What were you doing with him? Why did you take Ryuichi? Why did you examine him without permission?"
Ryoko shows no surprise at her anger, remaining as calm as ever.
Ryoko (calmly):
"I didn't take Ryuichi for anything bad, Miku. I just wanted to check on his condition."
Miku (angry, with a sharp tone):
"Check on him?! Do you know what it means to leave him in that state? Why didn't you tell me?"
At this moment, Ryoko felt a little embarrassed. He knew that Miku was right to be angry, but he also didn't have ready-made explanations.
Ryoko (quietly, trying to calm her down):
"I didn't want to complicate things, but he had to be examined. There were abnormal signs."
Miku (with eyes glowing with anger):
"Signs?! And you think you're the only one who can decide?"
Miko took a step forward, her eyes fixed on him.
Miko (in a low, nervous voice):
"You know very well how delicate the situation with Ryuichi is. Don't take it lightly. All I want is for you to bring him back to us safely."
Ryoko took a deep breath, then gave a small smile before replying.
Ryoko (seriously):
"I won't harm him, Miko. Don't be afraid. But I need to be sure. That's all."
He then turned, as if to open up a conversation, but Miku had already decided that she didn't want to go any deeper into this discussion. Her feelings were mixed between concern and anger, and she was more than certain that she wasn't going to let Ryoko make decisions on her own anymore.
When the miko left Ryoko behind, she gingerly picked up Ryuichi and began walking quickly toward her car. His face was pale, his eyes tightly closed, and he was not in his normal state. He looked like he was in a deep coma, but Mikiko didn't stop moving. Anger and worry mixed in her heart, she didn't know exactly what had happened with Ryuichi, but now was not the time to think about everything.
Mikiko closed the car door behind her after putting Ryuichi on the back seat. Looking at his face, she felt a mixture of concern and sadness. This is not the situation she expected to see him in, he wasn't supposed to be in this state. Her hand was fidgeting on the steering wheel as she thought about what to do next, how to handle this strange and confusing situation.
Miku finally arrived at her house, the lights seemed to dim inside, everything was strangely quiet, as if the place was waiting for something. She wasn't in the mood to pay attention to anything but Ryuichi, but she knew she had to be careful.
She reached the front door, quickly opened it and stepped inside. She stood there for a moment, breathing deeply, realizing that she would be bringing someone new into the house-someone she feared would be in a very difficult situation.
Inside, the miko's daughter, Natsume, was sitting in the living room, focused on her book, but as soon as she heard the sound of the door, she lifted her head. A girl in her mid-teens, with long black hair and sharp eyes, she looked up at her mother, who was holding Ryuichi.
Natsumi (in astonishment):
"Mom, who is that?"
Miku (carefully placing Ryuichi on the couch):
"It's... It's Ryuichi. He's in very bad shape, we have to take care of him."
Natsumi took a step forward, looking at Ryuichi with concern, then said in a low voice:
Natsumi:
"Is he okay? Why does he look like that?"
Miku (with a serious expression):
"No, he's not fine, but he'll regain consciousness soon. At the moment, what matters is that we're here for him."
Natsumi was watching intently, trying to make sense of the situation. She feared that something serious was going on around her, but she didn't want to ask more.
In Natsumi's room
Mikiko placed Ryuichi on the bed in Natsume's room, closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down. Natsumi was sitting next to him, wondering what was going on, but Mikiko couldn't explain everything to her right now.
Natsumi (in a hushed voice):
"Is he going to be okay?"
Miku (with a tense expression):
"Yes, I think he will be fine. But there are a lot of questions I haven't been able to answer yet."
Miku looked at Ryuichi, then at her daughter. She was feeling a bit guilty that she was closing herself off from the people who loved her, even her daughter, but she needed to focus on Ryuichi first.