Chapter CXVII: The Search, Part 2
Day two of the search begins and let's see how the other side is working, just at 8:01am at the Shinomiya Highschool Faculty Room, at their meeting room.
The early morning sun slants through the vertical blinds of the faculty's meeting room, illuminating the room like a divine stage as three figures sit in front of a large city map taped haphazardly to the whiteboard.
Principal Fukushu, in his suit that still smells faintly of menthol and coffee, sits upright, eyes scanning the city layout as though he were a seasoned general mapping a warzone. Next to him is Ms. Ezura, calm yet visibly determined, sipping her herbal tea like a noblewoman preparing for psychological warfare. And across from them, their third—Mr. Amane, who has already been awake for four hours and is now on his third cup of black coffee, a hint of frustration etched on his brow.
Mr. Amane clears his throat and begins the briefing.
Mr. Amane: "I had my assistant start digging through the city's CCTV network yesterday. Since it was a session day at City Hall, I was able to fast-track the review process."
He presses a button on the conference remote, and a small TV on the corner stand hums to life.
Ms. Ezura: "You did this before we even had breakfast?"
Mr. Amane (deadpan): "I had a breakfast granola bar while walking. That counts."
Principal Fukushu nods in approval, secretly impressed. He himself had just wrestled with a stubborn tie fifteen minutes ago and almost gave up entirely.
The three now sit fully assembled. A large map of the city spreads out on the wall behind them, dotted with red pins and yellow markers. The word "AKIKOTA" is scribbled on a blue-purple gradient sticky note right of the map, to indicate where Akiko and Kota who have gone to.
Principal Fukushu: "I've contacted all school heads within the city limits. I gave them both student photos and the following descriptors: Kota—blue hair, Akiko—purple hair. As striking as a K-pop duo at a ramen bar."
Ms. Ezura: "And?"
Principal Fukushu (exhaling deeply): "Nothing. Zip. Nada. Like they vanished in a poof of student smoke."
Mr. Amane: "I hate to say it, but if they're not in the schools, malls, or any government facility, they're either on the move... or someone's hiding them."
Ms. Ezura (raising a brow): "Someone? Or some two?"
She draws an X over the two malls on the map—City Center Mall and the old mall complex on the outskirts of the city—based on the report the Akikota Squad sent earlier at evening.
Ms. Ezura: "So, we eliminate the mall angle."
Principal Fukushu (leaning closer to the map): "Where does that leave us?"
The three begin marking key points: The train station. Local guesthouses. The suburbs. Forested outskirts. A few old motels.
Just as things are getting tense, the black desk phone sitting on Mr. Amane's corner of the table rings with the classic brrring-brrring that always sounds ten times louder in tense meetings.
Mr. Amane (standing up): "Excuse me. That's the direct line."
He walks out of the meeting room swiftly, tie flapping like a cape in a weak breeze.
Principal Fukushu (serious): "If Mr. Amane finds something, we alert the Akikota Squad immediately. They're already several leads ahead of us. We need to be fast."
Ms. Ezura (nodding): "Agreed. I'll start drafting a secondary search plan for sectors beyond the business districts."
Just then, the door opens with a theatrical creak, and Mr. Amane strides back in, holding a USB drive in one hand like a golden key.
Mr. Amane (excited): "My assistant found something. You're going to want to see this."
He plugs the USB into the desktop computer connected to the TV monitor. The screen flashes blue, then opens a folder labeled:
[City CCTV | Suburbs | Amanaguchi Zone]
He flashes a video on screen.
The video begins to play. Time-stamped from two nights ago, the angle is from a high corner of a convenience store located in a quiet suburb just outside the city. The footage shows two hooded individuals entering the frame.
Ms. Ezura (squinting): "That height... they could be students."
Principal Fukushu: "Wait. Let's see what they do."
The two figures approach the drinks cooler. One grabs a water bottle, the other a box of cookies. Then, as they walk up to the counter, something strange happens.
Both of them remove their hoods.
The screen freezes at the right moment.
Mr. Amane: "Blonde. Both of them. A boy and a girl."
They wear large sunglasses and face masks, so the facial structure is vague, but something is unmistakable:
Ms. Ezura (shaking her head): "That's not Akiko or Kota. The bone structure's off. The body language, too. See how the guy slouches and the girl walks with a skip?"
Principal Fukushu (zooming in): "They're imposters."
Mr. Amane: "Or decoys."
They watch as the video continues. The two pay for their items and walk out. Outside, a white van picks them up. No plate number is visible due to glare from the streetlight.
Principal Fukushu (gritting teeth): "We've been thrown off deliberately."
Ms. Ezura: "Someone wants us to believe that Akiko and Kota are still in the city when they're not."
Mr. Amane: "Or worse—they're being used to confuse us while the real pair are somewhere else."
The video ends. Silence fills the room.
Principal Fukushu: "Rewind. Let's check the moments before this. Maybe the van's tail light has something unique. A decal, a scratch... anything."
Mr. Amane begins to scroll back five minutes before the two even enter the frame. As the footage rewinds, the trio watches in complete silence. Then—
Something flashes. A glimmer. A reflection in the window. They pause. Zoom in.
The screen shows something.
Ms. Ezura (pointing): "There. Do you see that?"
The camera angle begins to glitch slightly—brief static lines flash.
Mr. Amane (confused): "Wait, so glitchy, this is at the alleyway at Claris Street. The footage has been tampered."
Principal Fukushu (leaning in): "Freeze it. Zoom in again."
Mr. Amane does so.
Before anyone can react further, the footage abruptly glitches, the screen goes black, and then the system reboots itself.
Mr. Amane (checking): "What the—? The system just force closed."
Ms. Ezura: "Was that file corrupted?"
Principal Fukushu: "No. That was remote interference."
They look at each other.
The faculty room falls silent again, tension thick in the air. Outside, the sound of distant students playing echoes faintly. But inside, something darker brews.
Mr. Amane (serious): "We're not just searching for students now... We're dealing with something bigger."
Principal Fukushu walks to the whiteboard map slowly, takes out a black pin, and sticks it directly on the convenience store location and another at the alleyway near Claris Street.
"Let's check it again to make sure?", he says.
Mr. Amane winds up the clip and again, and as they watch,
"So this what they boarded and might have gone to", Principal Fukushu says.
Back to 7:05 AM and sunlight floods the Chisai household. Hatsune, Hina, Hana, and Hayato stand in the hallway, coats and scarves stacked over arms, ready to leave. They look like an expedition team—caps, umbrellas, and determination all aligned.
Hatsune (sighing): "Okay, squad—Operation Bring Our Daughter and Her Boyfriend Home begins now."
Hina (checking her phone): "Funny, I've been up since four—Hana and I had that cleaning fiasco yesterday, remember?"
Hana (rubbing her shin): "I fell over that laundry basket, remember? Good times."
Hayato (smirking): "That's why I snoozed until five. I needed healing after your... epic wipeout."
They all share a half-amused, half-exasperated look.
Hatsune: "Enough. Step one: police station. Step two: mall. Step three: track every crumb these two dropped."
Hayato nods: "Got it. Akiko,—and Kota, her kind boyfriend—they're gone nine days. Time's up."
With a collective crunch of snacks and shuffling coats, they head out.
They go to the city police station.
At the station entrance, Hayato clears his throat as they approach the receptionist.
Hayato (firm): "Officer, any update on missing persons?"
Receptionist (shakes head apologetically): "No reports matched them yet. Keep your phone line open. We call if—"
Hatsune (interrupting): "Of course. You have it. We're no amateurs at this."
They exit. Silence falls as disappointment creeps in.
Hina (sighing): "This feels like wandering into nowhere."
Hana tries optimism: "Maybe they're safe somewhere, just off-grid."
Hayato: "Or in trouble. We won't know till we find something."
And so they mount the car and drive to the city mall.
Inside the glossy corridors of the mall, they ask at information booths and lost-and-found desks. Several security staff point them to various stores.
They leave each store with a shake of the head, except at one.
Just before exiting, Hana spies something near an open lost bag bin near the old food street.
Hana (gasps): "Guys... look."
As Hana takes it out, to their disappointment, it's just a cosplay purple wig.
They walk eastward.
They gather under a neon StarYen sign in the corner of the old mall's walkway. The clip in hand glimmers under artificial lights.
All four gather. Nestled in the bin with stray dog tags and forgotten receipts lies a purple hair clip, adorned with a tiny bead heart—a clip identical to the one Akiko often wears.
Their eyes lock.
Hatsune (in disbelief): "That is... handmade. Kota made this for Akiko."
Hayato kneels to inspect.
Hayato (gentle): "No way he or she just loses this by accident. That's from their collection."
He gazes to the attendant.
Hayato: "That clipped in here three days ago?"
Attendant (checks log): "Actually, I returned on duty three days ago—but this item got logged ten days back. My colleague over there would know, if he's around..."
They walk toward a slightly older coworker, who glances at the item, squints.
Coworker: "Oh, yeah! That was turned in by me, and it was owned a purple-haired high school girl—wide-eyed, hoodie sweater. And a blue-haired guy—definitely a student. The girl dropped it here when they went out here exactly 9 days ago."
They all exchange silent looks.
Hatsune: "That matches the description."
Hayato: "So they dropped this just before vanishing."
Hatsune pockets the clip, determination settling in like concrete.
Hatsune (soft): "This is what we needed—that's proof they were here."
Hina and Hana hug their sister. Hayato places hands on shoulders.
Hayato: "That clip... it's the first real lead."
Under the StarYen neon hum, the glow reflects off their eyes—strong, determined.
They exit into evening's drizzle—darkening alleyway beyond lit mall entrance.
Hatsune: "So clip at day minus nine. Does that mean they left somewhere else... then disappeared the next day?"
Hina: "Maybe someone picked them up... or they left by choice."
Hana: "Or were picked up."
Hayato (grim): "We aren't letting anything go unanswered."
Hatsune, simultaneously sister, and keen detective (not actually but wants to investigate more for her daughter), glances at the clip like it's a lifeline.
They reach the car and buckle up.
Hayato: "Tomorrow, cops, CCTV—mall entry, StarYen, walkway camera, parking lot."
Hatsune: "And we scour every store's back rooms."
Hina: "If we come across those two, we'll get answers."
Hana nods: "We have a clip. Now we build the case."
They drive off under neon lights fading behind.
It's already 11:17 AM at the same day and the Akikota Search Squad Version 2.0—Asahi, Gin, Enmei, Natsuki, Yui, Himari, Haru, and Masashi—marches along the edge of the dike.
The wind here is strong, sweeping up dust and the occasional leaf right into people's faces.
Himari (brushing off hair): "You'd think if they were here, they'd at least leave a breadcrumb. A sock. Maybe a crumpled Yakisoba wrapper."
Gin: *"Or a dramatic letter in a bottle saying, 'We have eloped, don't look for us, also we took the last takoyaki.'"
Yui: "If Akiko eloped, she'd probably leave a checklist, not a letter."
They all scatter across the grassy walkway, peeking at benches, the water level, even poking around random rocks like it's a video game.
Masashi (kneeling, peering into a drain): "No teens in here. Just a very angry crab."
Enmei: "Crab might know something."
Asahi: "We'll interrogate him later, or else might do a raid. You know, the meme."
After thirty minutes, they regroup under a half-shaded tree, sweating and tired.
Natsuki: "That's a bust. Where to next?"
Asahi: "The Prefecture Food Park across the avenue. If they were hungry, they'd be there."
Gin: "If Kota is anything like me, food trumps safety."
Haru: "So you admit you'd risk kidnapping for ramen?"
Gin (nodding solemnly): "Correct."
The group crosses the busy avenue and spreads through the food stalls. A guy grilling squid waves enthusiastically at them.
Squid Vendor: "You kids lost? Or craving calories?"
Enmei: "Both."
They check tables, trash bins, CCTV placements—everything short of crawling under chairs.
Yui (lifting a paper bag): "Nothing but rice crumbs and a very sad receipt."
Next stop: the Stadium and the Bicentennial Park.
They fan out again. Masashi even tries to climb a tree before Himari pulls him back down.
Himari (deadpan): "Unless Akiko turned into a squirrel, that's not helpful."
Masashi (dangling): "Never say never!"
By 12:50 PM, they reconvene at the bridge connecting the park to the road.
Asahi: "Still nothing."
Natsuki: "How are these two ghosting us this hard?"
Gin: "Are they in the Shadow Realm?"
Yui: "Let's eat before we hallucinate their shadows in the puddles."
They settle into the cozy Mrs. Donuts, just beside the tiny church near the market. The scent of fried rice and steaks and Takoyaki fills the air.
Waitress: "Table for eight, yes? Big group, big appetite?"
Asahi: "Big stomachs, tiny hopes."
They order in batches. Sizzling platters arrive and laughter breaks through the solemnity.
Masashi (mouth full): "So Kyoto Revengers this week—banger episode. That rooftop scene?"
Enmei: "Dude, the flashback twist? I gasped. Out loud."
Natsuki: "I'm obsessed with Otaku Siblings. Yuu's reaction to his sister's secret anime shrine? Iconic."
Gin: "I feel exposed."
Himari: "As you should."
By the time dessert—matcha flan—arrives, the group finally feels human again.
Yui: "No sign of Akiko and Kota, but hey... sugar heals trauma."
Asahi: "Speaking of trauma, say, anyone up for a bazaar? Because it's market time."
They exit into the humid afternoon, turning right, passing by the church, entering the bustling Shinso Street. Umbrellas, vegetable carts, and fish stalls surround them like a festival scene.
And then—
Haru: "Wait, isn't that—?"
Walking directly toward them from the other end of the street are Hatsune, Hayato, Hina, and Hana—squad members of equal determination and exhaustion.
There's a moment of stunned silence as the two squads freeze like a face-off in an anime opening.
Hayato: "Is this... a crossover episode?"
Asahi (grinning): "Plot twist."
They all laugh and collapse near the tofu cart like they've found an oasis.
Hina: "You guys too?"
Gin: "Yeah Oba-san, scoured half the city. Found a crab, but no teens."
Hana: "We found a hair clip at StarYen. Definitely Akiko's. Turns out they were there nine days ago."
The entire Akikota Search Coalition exchanges glances.
Natsuki: "We've been a step behind them the whole time, ma'am."
Hatsune (nodding): "But we're catching up. If they weren't here, they must be in—"
Just then, Asahi's phone buzzes. It's Mr. Amane.
Asahi: "Excuse me—yeah, sir?"
He turns away from the group slightly, voice softening into seriousness.
Mr. Amane (on phone): "Asahi, we've confirmed. They aren't anywhere within city limits or rural sectors. But... we found where they might have gone. I can't say much over the line, but it's far. Further than you think."
Asahi (heart racing): "Understood. Thank you, sir."
He ends the call. The street noise fades into background static. The entire group eyes him, sensing a change in the air.
Himari: "What is it?"
Enmei: "Asahi...?"
Asahi (taking a breath): "Guys... I think I know where they've gone."
Everyone leans in.
Hayato: "Where?"
Asahi (resolute): "Let's take the train."
Everyone stares.
Yui: "The train? You mean... to—"
Asahi (cutting in): "No time. Pack light. We ride tonight."
They all look at each other, the weight of days of searching finally pulling toward a single direction. Asahi doesn't say it aloud, but in his eyes, something is certain:
Akiko and Kota are far. And they're running out of time.
The group turns, their silhouettes against the sun, walking steadily toward the train station—toward something more than a search now.
It's a rescue.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1ClEh1Ilt
and then Add to home screen.