[Hours later...]
The curtains are partially drawn, and the room is bathed in pale light from the window. On the couch where he was placed, Ryuichi slowly began to fidget, his eyelids fluttering as if resisting a heavy curtain of drowsiness.
He opened his eyes... slowly.
And then
his breath froze.
A young girl sitting in front of him, with wide eyes and a face that held a mixture of curiosity and surprise, had been silently watching him for minutes.
Ryuichi, without any preamble:
- "Aaaaah! Who are you? Where am I? Am I in a dream? Am I... Have I died?! Is this heaven? No wait, am I in a secret experimental laboratory?!!!"
Natsume, simply and with deadly innocence:
- "You're screaming too much, weird uncle."
At this moment, Mikiko entered the room at the sound of screaming, holding a glass of water, and glared at him with a look that was a mix of concern and annoyance:
- "You're finally awake... what's going on here?"
Ryuichi, sitting up slowly, still looking at the startled Natsumi, pointed a finger at her and muttered:
- "m...m...m...m...m...m...m...m...m...m...m...m...m...who's that...?"
His muttering was suspiciously long, as if his mouth was stuck in the "m" position for a full second before he uttered the last word.
Natsume, laughing:
- "I'm Natsumi! My mom said you were sick... but you look more funny than sick."
Miku (quietly, sharply):
- "Calm down, you idiot, it's Natsumi... my daughter."
Ryuichi (pauses for a second and then whispers to himself, confused):
- "Daughter? Wait... she told me this before... but... why did I forget? Oh, my brain! Did I get temporary amnesia from the trauma?!"
Natsumi (with the strange calmness of a child):
- "You look confused... Maybe it's because you woke up to a pretty face."
Ryuichi (slowly raising his hand to his head):
- "God, is this a dream? Or a nightmare? Or did I wake up in a nursery I don't recognize?"
Natsumi (blinks twice in surprise, then puts her hands on her hips):
- "A nursery school? I'm twenty-one years old, you blind man!"
Mikiko (sighs and sits on a chair next to him):
- "Calm down, I was unconscious. Nothing serious... Just rest."
Ryuichi (whispering to himself as if calling to the heavens):
- "Lord, if this is an ordeal... I'm too weak."
Ryuichi (pointing to Natsume):
- "So... Is this... your daughter? The one you spoke of?"
Miku (smiling):
- "Yes, this is Natsumi."
Natsumi (proudly):
- "Don't let my looks fool you, I can easily break your bones... if you want."
Ryuichi (whispering as he stares at the ceiling):
- "I've come back to life... But I'm not sure if I'm lucky or not."
Mikiko puts the glass of water on the side table and sits on the edge of the bed quietly. She gives him a look that is not sharp, but not entirely reassuring.
Miku (in a light but serious tone):
- "Drink a little... I'm still pale."
He took the cup slowly, took a small sip, and then sighed. He sets the cup aside, his voice still faint:
Ryuichi:
- "Where... am I exactly?"
Miku:
- "At my house. I brought you from the facility after Ryoko took you without permission. You were unconscious."
Ryuichi blinked slightly as he recalled the events. He seemed to be contemplating something, his eyes wandering for a moment, then he returned his gaze to Miku.
Ryuichi:
- "How long... has it been?"
Miku:
- "Just a few hours. Nothing serious, physically at least."
Natsumi (standing at the door, sensing that the conversation is getting serious):
- "I think I'll leave you two to it... I'll be in the kitchen."
She exits lightly, leaving behind a new silence, even more profound than before.
Miku was silent for a moment, then said in a hushed tone:
- "When you feel ready... tell me, Ryuichi. What exactly happened back there?"
Ryuichi didn't answer right away. He turned his face toward the window, where the late afternoon sun crept into the room. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if the words were stuck in his chest, waiting for the right moment to be said.
Moments after Natsume left, and Miku too
Miko quietly got up from the edge of the bed, turned to Ryuichi and said:
- "I'll let you rest for a bit... you look exhausted. If you need anything, I'm outside."
He nodded silently, and she left, the door closing gently behind her.
The place was silent, with only the sound of his light breathing and the sunlight creeping shyly through the curtains.
Ryuichi sat up slowly, felt his head, and then muttered anxiously as he turned around:
- "My glasses... where are they?"
A look of panic crossed his face:
- "Aura... are you okay?"
His frantic eyes searched the small room until they landed on the smart glasses on the bedside table. He quickly picked them up, placed them on his face, and pressed the power button.
Seconds... and then a familiar voice, but with a faintly sarcastic tone:
Aura (in a soft electronic voice, mixed with artificial humor):
- "Oh... the sleeping knight has returned from his slumber. I was wondering how long it would take before you started worrying about me instead of yourself."
Ryuichi breathed a sigh of relief, but kept his face grim, and said in a half-angry tone:
- "Ura! I thought you were... I don't know, hacked, turned off... or worse."
Aura (laughs):
- "Oh how dramatic you are. If you didn't worry so much about your classes, you might have gotten better grades."
Ryuichi (sighs):
- "Now is not the time for sarcasm..."
Aura (quietly, her voice softening):
- "I know... but I was worried too. What Ryoko did... it was unthinkable. I tried to protect you... but my energy was limited."
Ryuichi:
- "Did you... do something?"
Aura (hesitantly):
- "Maybe. Let's just say I made a small contingency plan to prevent any interference with your energy... and it worked. At least partially."
Ryuichi was silent for a moment, then looked out the window. The world seemed still, but inside he was churning with endless questions.
Ryuichi (in a whisper):
- "Mom... Ryoko... what the hell is going on?"
Aura:
- "That's what we're going to find out, you and I... together."
Ryuichi felt a sense of curiosity as he looked around. The room was very simple but full of things that reflected Natsume's personality. On the walls were some science-related posters, books were scattered here and there, and the furniture was arranged in an unconventional way that reflected her free spirit.
As he scanned the room with his gaze, Aura heard her voice coming out of the smart glasses on his face, but it wasn't to soothe his curiosity as usual, it was more sarcastic:
- "You're searching the room now? Did you forget that you were unconscious? Perhaps it would have been better to check your condition first before becoming a private investigator."
Ryuichi chuckled lightly as he tried to examine every corner of the room.
Then he added sarcastically, while touching one of the books:
- "If you're doubting my ability to use my brain properly, stop being sarcastic, Aura. I'm just checking... something."
He then paused for a moment as he looked at a science book on the table and said:
- "Despite all this, I seem to be in a strange place... I think I need to understand more."
At that moment, Aura was watching Ryuichi closely through the glasses, but she didn't respond to him directly, because she realized that this curiosity was part of Ryuichi's nature... even when he was at his most vulnerable.
The moment Ryuichi started wandering around Natsume's room, Aura decided to speak indirectly about what she had witnessed while Ryuichi was unconscious. Her tone was calm, as if she were carefully observing his movements as she relayed her observations about Ryoko:
- "I was unconscious for a long time, Ryuichi... During those moments, there was a lot going on."
Ryuichi stood there for a moment, surprised, then turned toward the smart glasses, feeling something tense in his chest.
- "What do you mean?" He asked in a tight voice.
- "You know that Ryoko was there, don't you?" "But what you don't know is that during the time you were unconscious, he treated you differently than when you were awake," Aura replied in a neutral tone.
Ryuichi looked surprised as he listened to Ora's words. Why was Ryoko acting differently? Was there really something behind his behavior?
- "What do you mean? What did you see?" Ryuichi asked, feeling a sudden worry come over him.
- "I was unconscious, but through observation... I noticed that there was another side to Ryoko. Not just as you see him when he's calm, but he was showing some other dimensions of his personality. He was nervous, and seemed to have doubts about you, but he was still making an effort to remain calm." Aura added in her quiet voice.
Ryuichi shook his head, trying to absorb everything Aura had said.
- "Was he worried about me?" Ryuichi wondered, as his mind began to move in different directions.
- "Maybe... But don't think it was all good. He was watching you closely, as if he was testing you in some way. Even when you were unconscious, he was acting like he wanted to make sure you weren't a threat." Aura added, watching Ryuichi with her eyes through the glasses.
Ryuichi felt something strange as he took in this information. Was Ryoko really watching him like that? But why? What did he want to find out?
- "What was he thinking then?" Ryuichi asked, now more interested than he had been at first.
- "I can't say exactly what was on his mind, but from his movements and facial expressions, there was something unspoken, something that was hiding behind his outward behaviors." Aura replied, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "He's a complicated person, Ryuichi. He may have hidden a lot from you."
Ryuichi was silent for a moment, trying to process the information he had received. There was something about Ryoko's actions that he didn't yet understand, something that made him doubt his intentions. However, he still had a strange feeling about those moments that had passed.
- "It seems like I should learn more about Ryoko... about everything." Ryuichi whispered, reconsidering what Aura had said.
As he continued to ponder Aura's words, the scene around him was changing invisibly, with each step he took towards discovering more about the person he thought he knew so well.
In the moment that Ryuichi was busy thinking, he inadvertently put his hand on Natsume's clothes that were hanging on a chair in the room. Completely oblivious to the situation, he didn't notice the close proximity of those clothes.
But at the same moment, Natsumi entered the room. As soon as she saw the scene, she froze for a moment, then exploded in anger:
- "What are you doing?" She shouted loudly, causing Ryuichi to recoil in shock, almost falling to the floor in surprise.
Then, as her anger began to escalate, Natsumi began to chant in a low voice as if whispering the most sacred of hymns. Her words were deep and mysterious, and her hesitation caused the atmosphere around her to change strangely. The room began to feel like it was disappearing, and the air became charged with an invisible energy.
Suddenly, the space around Ryuichi rippled, and he found himself in an infinite void. There were no walls or any form of space. It was as if time and space had frozen. He was surrounded by a deep, endless darkness, and his mind was swimming in the infinite void.
Natsumi smiled a strange smile as she looked at the place where Ryuichi had disappeared. Then she said, as if she had said something trivial:
- "I sent you to a place that might satisfy your curiosity, enjoy!"
With those words, Natsumi closed the portal that was opening the void around Ryuichi, leaving him trapped in this infinite void.
Inside the void, it was like a nightmare. The space around him was completely dark, without any kind of physical presence. There were no walls, ceiling, or floor; just a void filled with absolute silence. He tried to breathe, but the air was heavy and sterile, as if his lungs were shutting down.
The clock meant nothing in this place; time had come to a standstill. He tried to move, but it felt like every step he took was lost in a place that didn't exist. He couldn't tell where he was or where he should go. His thoughts were racing strangely, he tried to concentrate, but he couldn't. A strange sense of loss and disorientation washed over him. It was like his mind was replaying itself over and over again in a spiral of silence and isolation.
His thoughts were rapidly shifting between his fear of losing himself and his confusion at being in this faraway place. He wondered if he had entered another world or if he had died. His body was shaking with terror, with every heartbeat that echoed in the deep void.
Then, he felt something strange devouring him; it was as if he was being squeezed from every direction, as if the air had become compressed, and even invisible pains began to squeeze his body. He tried to escape, but nothing was real here. His feet had no surface to land on, and every attempt to move only plunged him further into darkness.
Moments later, Miku entered the room and looked around curiously, wondering:
- "What's going on here?"
But her gaze immediately stopped when she realized that Ryuichi had disappeared. The first thing that caught her attention was that Natsumi was standing there, furious but with a calm expression, as if she had accomplished something that could not be undone.
- "Where is Ryuichi?" Miku asked quickly, concern evident in her voice.
Natsumi turned to her coldly and said indifferently:
- "I sent him into the void of nothingness, to learn what curiosity means."
Miku, who had realized what had happened, looked at her in surprise and said firmly:
- "Please, give him back now!"
Natsumi sighed boredly and raised her hand in the air, beginning to put Ryuichi back in his place. Moments of silence and then, as if the walls had suddenly reappeared, Ryuichi returned to the room, but he was a mess. He stood there, frowning, breathing heavily, his eyes covered in dark circles from the trauma he had experienced in the Void.
He still seemed disoriented, as if his mind was unable to comprehend what had happened.
Ryuichi looked at Natsume and then at Miku as he tried to organize his thoughts, but instead of responding with logical words, he mumbled hoarsely:
- "Am I... Am I alive?"
Natsume, still angry, said sarcastically:
- "You're alive, but don't touch my clothes again."
Miku, who had approached Ryuichi, tried to calm him down:
- "Have you been okay? Can you talk?"
Ryuichi, who seemed to be still dazed, looked at her in confusion and then whispered:
- "I think I've lost my mind... Where am I? Is this a dream?"
At that moment it seemed as if he was still stuck in the void, as if everything around him was strange and unreal. He tried to take a step forward but was hesitant, as if the ground itself was unstable under his feet.
Natsumi, who had begun to calm down a bit, said amusedly:
- "Maybe it was curiosity that killed you... Don't think things here are normal."
Ryuichi responded with a puzzled look, but Mikiko tried to change the atmosphere a bit, saying:
- "Let's take it easy. Looks like you need a break, Ryuichi."
With those words, the room was gradually returning to its calm, but the tension was still there among everyone, especially with Natsume's ability to open portals to the Void, which proved to be more powerful than anyone had imagined.
While Ryuichi was still sitting on the bed, his consciousness foggy and his body still shaking from the effects of the Dark Void experience, Aura slowly approached him. She looked at him with eyes full of concern, trying to calm him down as best she could.
- "Ryuichi, I'm here... Everything is fine now. You're safe here."
At that moment, the miko was silently observing the situation, but she couldn't hold back her anger. Her nervousness was evident in her eyes, and she hesitantly walked toward Natsumi, who was standing in place, frowning. Then, suddenly, Mikiko addressed her with harsh words:
- "Natsumi! What were you thinking? Is this what your mother's upbringing taught you? To use this ability so indiscriminately?"
Natsumi took a step back, her features shifting between shame and anger. Her mother's words were very harsh on her, especially since she had no intention of hurting Ryuichi. But she couldn't respond, only looking down, stammering.
At that moment, something unexpected happened. Ryuichi, who had lost consciousness in a whirlwind of pain and loss, felt something deep in his heart. Miku's words reminded him of his mother's voice, her harsh voice in the past, chastising him in the same way. Those were the moments when he felt helpless, when he was held accountable for actions he didn't understand. His voice was hoarse from the crying that accompanied him as a child, from feeling let down.
In a moment when he was overwhelmed by the sadness in his mind, he felt something heavy building up in his chest that he couldn't relieve.
Without making a sound, Ryuichi began to shed tears. His tears were falling silently, as if the sound had stopped inside his mind. He couldn't scream, and there was no sound accompanying this silent weeping. Just tears running down his cheeks, glistening in the pale light of the room.
Ora, who was silently observing the scene, felt the heavy heart that Ryuichi was carrying. She was about to speak, but didn't dare say anything, so as not to add to his stress.
The real reason for the crying was not just what he had experienced in the void, but because his mind was going back to those days when he was with his mother. The image in his mind was filled with memories of his childhood, when his mother was the one who reassured him and was by his side at every moment. But now... She was in a coma. There was nothing he could do, and the pain he felt was indescribable. It was as if he had lost something he could never get back.
In the sad silence of the room, as Ryuichi's tears flowed silently down his cheeks, Mikiko caught the moment with the eye of a mother used to understanding silent pain. She looked at him carefully, noticing that his gaze was not directed at anything in the present, but rather was immersed in the depths of a painful past, in an irreparable loss.
She approached with quiet steps, leaned a little closer to him, and whispered in a warm, soft voice, but tinged with sorrow:
- "She's... Your mother, isn't she?"
Ryuichi didn't reply, but the trembling of his shoulders and the confusion in his eyes were enough to confirm what Mikiko felt. Gently placing her hand on his shoulder, she said, trying to calm him down:
- "I'm sorry, son... I'm so sorry for what happened to her today... You shouldn't have to go through all this alone..."
Ryuichi took a deep breath, as if those words had broken a dam inside his heart. He lifted his head slightly, his eyes filled with indescribable sadness, then said in a hushed, hoarse voice:
- "She was always there... Always there. Even when she was exhausted, she would smile at me... She would bring me food with her hands... She would stay by my side until I fell asleep..."
He swallowed a lump in his throat and continued in a shaky voice:
- "She would hug me if I freaked out from a dream, laugh at my stupid jokes, and encourage me when I failed. She would tell me that I was capable of anything... even when I was broken."
Another tear fell down his cheek, and he continued:
- "And now... She doesn't move, she doesn't open her eyes. Lying on a cold bed... And I can't do anything."
Miko felt her chest constrict, and she knelt in front of him, gently holding his hand:
- "Ryuichi... No one deserves to lose the light of their heart like that. I can't replace her... But I promise you, you won't be alone."
Ryuichi looked at her for a moment, then whispered bitterly:
- "I just... I want to hear her voice again. Even if she hits me... Even if she ignores me... Just her voice."
Miko closed her eyes painfully, and realized that this boy was carrying a wound inside him that no one could see. That moment of silent crying was not weakness, but loyalty, and the ache of missing something that time cannot replace.
Aura remained silent in the back, looking at Ryuichi with pity, while Natsumi stared at him with surprise and confusion, as if for the first time realizing that Ryuichi was not just a stubborn and angry young man... He was a broken heart looking for the warmth of his mother in a world that had failed him.