Chapter 24: What kind of seduction skills did you use?

Friday, 9 May, 20XX - Part 5

The Kobayashi sisters lay on the ground, unconscious. Ryu frantically shook them, but neither responded. His brother, Kota, was still tied up in the white van, making noises.

“Hmm? Did no one ever tell you not to trust the enemy?”

Ryu looked up at Yui with disbelief.

“What did you do to them?!”

Despite his injuries, he lurched towards Yui, ready to grab her by the collar. I put myself between them and pushed him back. He still hadn’t regained his full strength. He fell to his knees.

“Just let her explain first.”

I more or less knew what Yui did. If my suspicions were true, then the two sisters weren’t in any danger.

Yui let out a sigh. She kneeled down in front of Ryu.

“We became enemies the moment Yuki and Fumi asked you two to report us to the police. So I slipped the same sleeping pill into their drinks. Don’t worry, I only gave them one each, so they should wake up in a few hours.” She leaned in, peering directly into his eyes. “You are right, you know? Haruto and I are runaway high schoolers. The police are looking for us. We don’t have permission to use that Kei car. You don’t know everything, though. We have to get away from our parents. We need to run as far as possible before the world ends. Our journey is important, you know? We’re going to die if we stay near the cities. If you reported us to the police, we’d be forced to go back to our parents.”

Ryu looked at her with exasperation.

“Then just go back to your parents! You’re lucky to have someplace to call home!”

Yui smiled gently. “You must come from a loving family. Did your parents ever hit you?”

“Of course! When I was little – “

“Do they still hit you?”

“That…”

“Do they beat you every day? Did you ever have to stop going to school because of your injuries?”

“That kind of thing…”

“Did your mother cook every day?”

“Well, yes…but sometimes we got food from the convenience store…”

“Did you ever have to steal from the convenience store because you didn’t get any money and there was no food at home?”

“N-No…”

Ryu fell silent.

“We can’t go back,” Yui said. “I’d rather travel to the end of the world than go back to that hell.”

Ryu looked at me. “Haruto, do you agree with her? You’re also being beaten at home every day?”

“No, my family isn’t like that.”

“Then why are you running away from home? Do you know how dangerous it is for high schoolers to travel on their own? You should go back while you still can.”

I smiled sadly. “I don’t have any parents.”

Ryu stared at me, speechless.

Yui clapped her hands together. “Yosh, now that everything has been settled, I feel that it’s time for us to go. Haruto, is there anything you still need to do here?”

“We should untie Kota before we go.”

“Heee? But what if he tries to stop us?”

“We should at least loosen the ropes. It might be dangerous for them if none of them can move properly after we leave.”

“Haruto, you’re too kind.”

Yui didn’t like the idea, but she went to the white van.

While she was taking care of Kota, I helped Ryu get up and sit in one of the camping chairs.

“Haruto, I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“It’s okay. I’ve been keeping it a secret from everyone.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to go back to school and graduate properly? You won’t be able to find a job like this.”

“If the world ends, then that is all meaningless. Isn’t that why all of you are camping out here? In case the world really ends? The electricity went out for six hours. Doesn’t that prove that the threat is real?”

“That…that’s true. But…do you really believe the world is going to end? There is no way that will happen, right?”

I finally understood. For Ryu, Kota, Yuki and Fumi, this was more like a fun escape from reality than a serious threat. Even though university life had its problems, they wanted to continue their day-to-day lives after this camping trip. Seeing the power go out for six hours didn’t change their minds because they had a good life to return to.

“Isn’t it easy to imagine?” I asked. “The person behind the messages has the power to hijack every screen on the planet, and they can also turn off the power at will. What do you think will happen if they decide to permanently turn off the power?”

“That kind of thing…there is no way that will happen.”

“If they can cut the power for six hours and the government is powerless to stop them, then they can do it permanently.”

Ryu said nothing.

“Guys like Yamaguchi will take over. There will be lots of gangs fighting over food, water, batteries and so on. It will be like the Sengoku Period, but even worse. We’re trying to get away from all of that.”

Yui appeared behind me.

She gave me an odd look. “Do you really think the world will end like that?”

She must’ve heard what I said to Ryu.

“I think that’s the most likely possibility,” I said. “The person sending the messages has proven that they have the power to control digital devices and every power grid in the world. Without electricity, the world as we know it will end. We will return to feudal times. Using this power to end the world makes a lot of sense.”

“I see…” Yui tilted her head slightly. “Should we go now?”

“Yeah.”

I got up, ready to go. Yui walked towards our red Kei car.

I still hadn’t told Yui about the invitation email. I glanced at Ryu. I should tell her after we had left him and his group behind.

I turned away, ready to join Yui.

“Haruto, wait,” Ryu said.

“Hmm?”

“I apologize for my rudeness before.” He lowered his head. “Thank you for saving us.”

“It’s nothing much.”

“And one more thing.” He took a breath. “Be careful with Yui. There is something about her that’s unsettling. I’m not saying that she is a bad person. Just…be careful.”

I said nothing. I joined Yui in the car, and we drove away. I made a turn and headed north, towards Aomori.

“Where should we go next?” Yui asked.

“The next email hasn’t been sent out yet, so we don’t know. But…”

“But?”

“I got a reply email earlier today.”

“Ohhhh!” Her eyes shone like the stars. “Show me, show me!”

I stopped the car next to a bus stop and showed Yui the invitation. She read it with bated breath.

“Haruto, this is incredible. No one on the Internet has gotten a reply, let alone an invitation to meet. What kind of seduction skills did you use to get them to invite you?!”

“I-I didn’t seduce anyone! They sent me an invitation just like that, okay?”

Yui nudged me with her elbow, her eyes smiling.

“Haruto, you sly fox. You could become the most popular host in all of Kabukicho.”

I laughed. “I’m not popular at all…”

“Heee, I think you’d be popular.”

I put my phone away.

“So we have one week to get to Aomori,” Yui said. “Do you think we can manage it?”

“If we drive every day, we should be able to get there in time. There is a chance that the roads will be full of people fleeing the city. In that case, we’ll have to find alternative routes.”

We drove down the countryside road, heading north.

Aomori was at the very tip of the Tohoku region, right across from Hakodate. It was nestled inside Mutsu Bay, seperated from Hokkaido by the Tsugaru Strait.

“I’ve never been that far north before,” I said.

“Me too. I hear their apple juice is good.”

“We need to try that before the world ends.”

Yui grinned and agreed with a nod.

While driving, Yui’s phone kept ringing. Every time she’d silence the call, only for it to ring again after a few minutes.

“Ughhh, how annoying!” she cried. “Someone has been calling my number ever since the electricity came back on.”

“Your parents?”

She shook her head. “It’s from an unknown number.”

She showed me her screen. It was indeed a phone number she hadn’t saved.

“I’ll block them,” she said.

“Wait.”

“Hmm?”

“What if it’s something important? It might be better to answer the call once before blocking them, just in case.”

“Okay.”

Out of the two of us, Yui was the one who took action without a second thought, while I was the one who was more careful. That much was clear to me now.

Information was the only advantage we had. If the caller could provide important clues, it would help us get ahead of everyone and maybe even survive the end of the world.

“I’ll answer the call,” Yui said.

She pressed the on-screen button and raised the phone to her ear.