Chapter 12: A big house with lots of empty rooms

Friday, 2 May, 20XX - Part 2

We were so busy buying additional supplies and finding a place to stay for the night, that I had almost forgotten about the reply email I sent.

I took a deep breath.

“Will anything happen between May 1 and May 8?”

That was the question I asked. This reply will hopefully contain the answer. Depending on what it said, Yui and I could plan ahead. We could continue to stay one step ahead of everyone else.

I opened the email.

“Nothing will happen between now and May 8.”

I let out a silent sigh of relief.

This relief was almost immediately replaced by worry. Whoever was writing these emails was somewhat annoyed that they weren’t being taken seriously. And after the traffic lights went out, it seemed that people in the cities still went about their lives as if nothing happened. It was chaotic for a few hours, but things went back to normal relatively quickly (in Japan at least). It stands to reason that whatever happens on or after May 8 will be an escalation.

“What will happen on or after May 8?” I asked.

A reply came almost immediately.

“That remains to be seen.”

I was about to reply, ready to press for more information, when my hand froze.

This brief, ambiguous reply actually contained more information than the sender might want to reveal.

1. Whatever happens next hasn’t been decided yet.

2. They have the power to decide what will happen next.

3. They have more than one option.

I imagined someone sitting at a desk, in front of a computer screen, their keyboard keys all powerful, capable of changing the world.

“What should I do next?” I wrote. Before I could send it, my phone began to vibrate.

The screen displayed a call from Chisato. I answered the call.

“Haruto?! Haruto! Are you there? Can you hear me?” Chisato said in a panicked voice.

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“I’ve been trying to call you since yesterday! I couldn’t connect the entire time!”

“Oh.”

“Oh?!”

I didn’t know how else to react.

“The phone lines must’ve been busy yesterday.”

“R-Right. Where are you, Haruto? Are you safe?”

Ah–

I never told Chisato that Yui and I were running away together. As far as she knew, I was still in Tokyo, close to where the danger was.

I told Chisato about what happened since the beginning of Golden Week.

“You and Yui ran away together!?”

Ouch – I had to remove the phone from my ear.

“Y-Yeah. We wanted to get away from the city before things become dangerous. The email said the world might end. So we thought it’s better to find somewhere else to stay until things become clearer.”

There was a pause from the other side of the line.

“So you and Yui are traveling together. Just the two of you?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Another pause.

“Haruto…as your ex I know I shouldn’t tell you which girl you should pursue…but please be careful with Yui. I have a bad feeling about her.”

It was the first time in a long time that Chisato mentioned that we used to date, even though our relationship was brief.

“You have a bad feeling?”

“Mh…”

Chisato was probably talking about the air surrounding Yui that caused everyone to avoid her. It was easy to sense that she came from a troubled home.

“I think it will be fine,” I said. “Yui doesn’t have many friends, but she is a good person.”

Chisato took a breath. A moment of hesitation.

“…mh! You’re right. I’m sorry for saying something weird. Uhm…”

Another moment of hesitation.

“What is it?”

“I-It’s nothing.”

“Just tell me. We’re childhood friends. We’ve known each other long enough.”

“R-Right.” Chisato took another breath, calming herself down. “Haruto, you’re not in the class LINE group, right?”

“No.”

After my mother passed away, I left the class chat group. I couldn’t take the messages filled with sympathy. I just wanted to be left alone. The only person I stayed in touch with was Chisato. And after that, Yui was the first and only new friend that I made.

“It’s just a rumor, but our class representative said our homeroom teacher received a call from the police yesterday.”

“A call from the police?”

“My.”

My heart pounded so hard I could hear it.

“Are they looking for Yui?”

“I don’t know. Himekawa said our homeroom teacher said the police contacted him and he asked her to tell him if anything unusual happened in our class group chat. Our teacher didn’t say what the police wanted.”

I said nothing. Different thoughts raced through my head. So, in the end, Yui’s parents did go to the police.

I didn’t expect the police to take action so quickly. Hundreds of kids run away from home every year. Most of the time, the police don’t even bother searching for them if it’s not a unique case. Maybe the parents were concerned that Yui took all of their money with her and wanted it back? Considering the vast sums (plus ID cards, ATM cards and credit cards) she took with her, the police might treat this as a robbery rather than a case of a mere runaway teenager.

“Haruto, be careful, okay? The email said something will happen on May 8.”

“Where will you be next week?” I asked.

“I don’t know. We were supposed to go back to Tokyo on May 4, but my mother thinks we should stay away from the city until after May 8. My father says that everyone is overreacting and that nothing will happen. My grandmother says we can stay with her for a while. She has a big house with lots of empty rooms.”

I let out a breath of relief. At least for now, Chisato was safe.

But –

Yui and I were in trouble.

Chisato and I promised to keep each other updated on each other’s situation, then ended the call.

Yui came back into the room.

“That bath was amazing! Haruto! You should take a morning bath too! It feels really good. Eh? Haruto? Why do you have such a serious expression?”

I told her about how the police contacted our homeroom teacher. She dropped her towel. Her eyes filled with panic.

“W-We should leave,” she said. “This is still too close to urban areas. We need to get as far away from Tokyo as possible.”

I agreed.

We packed our things and left the onsen inn. We could’ve eaten breakfast here, but convenience store food would have to do.

Once in the car, we drove down a national route, heading deeper into the countryside.

After we had left the onsen inn behind us, we breathed easy.

“Did Chisato say anything else?” Yui asked.

“No, she only said that our homeroom teacher asked Himekawa to update him on anything happening in the group chat because the police contacted him. It seems our teacher didn’t tell Himekawa why the police contacted him.”

“Maybe my parents asked him to be discreet,” Yui said. “My mother hates being embarrassed.”

“You stealing all of her money and bank cards is very embarrassing.”

We continued to drive without any real aim. Eventually, the road we were on led us through a small town.

“Should we have lunch here?” I asked. We were in such a rush to leave that we didn’t have breakfast. My stomach was empty and on the verge of rumbling.

“Mh, that’s a good idea.”

Before we could decide on what to eat, a police car showed up behind us. Its sirens weren’t wailing, but its lights were on.

“H-Haruto!”

“Stay calm. Put on your mask and hoodie.”

Yui nodded.

I changed to the left lane. The police car changed lanes with us. I gulped. There was no doubt about it. They wanted us to stop.

“Should we make a run for it?” Yui asked.

“No, that will just cause more trouble. It’s better to coorporate until we have a chance to run away.”

Yui said nothing.

I pulled to the side and stopped. The police car stopped behind us.

“Stay in the car,” I said.

“Mh.”

I got out of the car. A police officer came to meet me.

“I’m very sorry to trouble you when you’re busy,” he said. “May I see your driver’s license?”

“It’s no trouble at all. Please wait a moment.”

I took my wallet out of my pocket and extracted my driver’s license from it. It looked brand new. I handed it to the police officer.

He looked at me and then at the picture on the license, confirming that it was indeed me.

“Thank you. Please wait a moment while I check the information.”

He went back to his car. His colleague was sitting in the passenger seat. They discussed something while sneaking glances at me. I tried to pretend to be calm.

A moment later, he came back.

“I’m very sorry for the trouble. Here’s your license.”

“Thank you. If there is nothing else, then please excuse me.”

I turned to leave.

“Ah, please wait a moment.” The police officer touched my arm. “We’re looking for you, Iyama Haruto.”