Where is Nanako?

Holding a hot coffee mug in one hand and a pencil with the other, Konoko struggled to keep her eyes open. Seated in the lotus position with her head suspended over the paper, she felt as if a strong force drew her to the floor. Her hair hung like curtains, keeping everything from left and right out of her sight. Because of this, along with a feeling of numbness, she didn't realize when Ichirou came back to her room carrying a small folding table. He had brought some warmed-up okonomiyaki. Taken by surprise, Konoko raised her head to watch him place the table in front of her.

"You have to eat something! It will give you some strength!" he announced cheerfully.

Konoko stared at him in amazement.

"Where do you get this energy at this hour?"

"I like mornings! They're so peaceful and long! All this time is completely yours! No one bothers you at this moment of the day!"

Konoko looked at him annoyed. She definitely did not have the morning to herself! Ichirou had completely invaded that tranquil time that she would have otherwise spent sleeping. Yet, it was her own decision to wake up earlier to draw. Or not? After all, Ichirou came up with this idea last night! He cornered her in a vulnerable moment as she was sleepy, and convinced her to agree to waking up two hours earlier! But would she have been capable of drawing during the night? Why not? Though it was unlikely. At any rate, she couldn't draw now. Ichirou brought his coffee as well and joined her to the improvised breakfast.

Konoko was angry at him as everything felt so unnatural to her. However, she contained her feelings. She did accept his help after all. A few bites of okonomiyaki made her feel much better. The coffee was tasty too! With the folding table placed right above her drawings, she furtively glanced at them while eating. She became inspired. Leaving the food on the table, Konoko bent under it and stooped over her papers to draw. As Ichirou was close to finishing his meal, he could see from time to time his friend's left hand tapping the table in search of okonomiyaki slices. He bent his head under the table curiously. The only thing he could see was Konoko's right hand, all covered in her black hair, moving on the paper. Her face too was completely concealed by that hair. Sensing him, she raised her head. Konoko expressed a funny face as she held a big chunk of okonomiyaki pancake in her mouth without eating it. She put the okonomiyaki piece away.

"Let me show you a secret!" she whispered while her cheeks became purple with excitement. "But you can't tell no one, especially not Nanako!" she stressed the last words.

Ichirou felt completely taken aback. Konoko never shared anything with him that she hadn't shared with Nanako first! She gave him one of the pages. It was a new character, yet why did it feel so familiar? When he realized why, he looked euphorically at Konoko.

"Is this Nanako?"

"It is not Nanako!" retorted Konoko, as if he spoiled her surprise. "It's Grace! Grace Flemmings of Leer! She is the main character of the side story!" Konoko waited fidgety for Ichirou's reaction.

"No! You made a character for Nako?" exclaimed Ichirou."That's so cool! It does look like her!" Konoko blushed. "That's amazing Konoko!" he continued while browsing through other sketches where Grace interacted with Konoko's already famous characters. "But how did you get this idea?"

"I want this special chapter to be a present for Nako's birthday!" confessed Konoko. "I have thought about it for a long time now. The idea first came to me last year, but it was too late to do something back then."

"Nanako's birthday!" panicked Ichirou. "When is it?"

"In two weeks, on the 31st of October! That's when the chapter is to be released as well! The coincidence was too striking to let this opportunity slip away."

"There's still time!" he observed with relief.

"For you maybe!" observed Konoko."Not for me! I have to turn this in next week!"

"Do you also have anything related to Halloween in your story?"

"Why should I?" asked Konoko, surprised.

"Well, because your chapter will be released on Halloween, duh?"

"So?" Konoko had a blank look. Ichirou was amazed at how dense she could be at times.

"It would certainly be more popular if it had something that fitted the festivity!" he explained.

Konoko blinked as if she had a sudden revelation.

"Oh! You're right!" she started enthusiastically. Because of the brusque agitation, she almost choked on a piece of okonomiyaki.

Ichirou jumped and came by her side to help her. She hadn't completely recovered when she wanted to speak again. Tears ran down her flush red face.

"Take it easy Konoko!" advised her Ichirou, a bit alarmed.

"I could have a surprise goblin attack! Maybe I can bring in a warlock who comes from a faraway land too!" Konoko had already started to prefigure her Halloween-inspired story.

"What land? I thought Hesperia was the only magical land in your story!"

"Well, that's what the characters know at this moment. But perhaps there are other magical places as well, which they will discover in time." She looked intensely at Ichirou as if she could find in his eyes new territories and creatures for her story. Ichirou returned the piercing look, wishing to know what was going through her head.

"That was a great idea Ichirou!" she observed after a few moments. "Sometimes I wonder if you secretly talk to Mr. Yuno." While she meant that as a joke, she still gave Ichirou a suspicious look.

"Don't forget, I'll be soon in this field too. As an animator! Then, I'll quickly become a famous director! You'll beg me to make an anime after your manga!" he teased her.

"Ha, ha! We'll see about that! At any rate, The Lost Kingdom of Hesperia will have become an anime long before you get to direct!" she replied with a smirk.

After they finished breakfast, Ichirou took the table and let Konoko return to work. He reappeared only when they had to prepare to go to class. Konoko quickly packed up her drawings and hid them somewhere out of immediate reach. Then, she randomly picked something to get dressed and was ready in only a couple of minutes. She remembered to lock her room before she left, though she was amused at the thought she changed her habits on account of a dream. But what if it wasn't a dream after all? That idea alone made her heart jump with anticipation, imagining she would find Chie and Saitou in her room when she returned.

*

Konoko came back from her classes early. She skipped the practice courses as she thought to herself that working on her manga was some kind of practice too. It was a risky decision though, considering her project for the course was not manga related and she definitely needed to exercise more on different artistic styles. However, this was an emergency! As her pesky conscience kept troubling her peace of mind, she finally decided to implement new artistic features in some of her panels so that she killed two birds with one stone. It was going to be hard though! Just thinking of it, she felt pressure in her chest. She was already in front of her room. The memory of the two guardians returned. Before opening the door, her heart became filled with trepidation and her head felt dizzy at the prospect of finding anime characters there. "What's going to be inside?" she asked herself, slowly pushing the door.

"Hey Noko!" greeted Nanako.

Completely absorbed in her inspection, Konoko was so startled at Nanako's sudden appearance that she let out a short sharp shriek.

"Oh! I'm sorry Noko! I didn't mean to—"

"That's okay Nako! It's not your fault!" laughed Konoko nervously. "I was just too engrossed in my thoughts," she continued while regaining her composure. The door opened widely. Konoko couldn't help but give it a furtive glance. There seemed to be no one there. If they had been, they probably ran away when hearing her and Nanako. Konoko felt frustrated.

"You came back early Nako!" she observed.

"I received an important project at work!" began Nanako with enthusiasm."I think it's the greatest opportunity I've gotten since working here! If things go well, this will bring me a major advantage in my future career! I have so many ideas already!"

She was obviously very excited. A lot of details came right after, with Konoko following along in fascination. She only interrupted her friend with short exclamations of admiration. Nanako spoke faster and faster until Konoko had trouble understanding what she was saying.

"Anyway," concluded Nanako "the teachers from my last two classes allowed me to leave earlier so that I could work on the project! They even said that I could use it as a course assignment if I wanted!"

"That's great Nako! I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to see your designs! When are you supposed to turn it in?"

"I have two months! I won't be working alone, but I'm the one to decide the approach!" Nanako looked completely enthralled. Her cheeks became pink and her eyes had a special glow.

"Oh Nako! You really wished for this day to come! I'm so glad it finally did!"

"Well, I really wanted to test my abilities! How else could I make any progress? I know I have to be patient as a beginner, but all those routine tasks were just killing me! I felt like dying each time I had an idea during a project, though it was not my place to speak!"

"But you said you did make some observations at times!" remembered Konoko.

"I did! Some of the seniors are friendlier and I felt comfortable to speak more freely to them. Truth is, it's mostly thanks to those interventions that they decided to entrust me with this project…" she wanted to add more but Konoko interrupted.

"They liked your ideas!" she shouted in excitement.

"Yes! They actually remembered them. When I first mentioned my ideas, Mr. Tanaka and Ms. Isao included them in those projects only partially, but on this occasion they believed my ideas were perfect for the new project!"

"I'd say it's a great achievement Nako! It's rare for young people like us to receive ownership for projects! Especially part timers!" observed Konoko."You must have impressed them very much!" she added with a strong feeling of pride toward her friend.

"Noko, would you like to drink a cup of green tea with me in the living room?" proposed Nanako. "I intended to have one before starting to work. This way, we could also talk in a more comfortable way and not stand in the middle of the hallway!"

"Sure!" replied Konoko.

"Then we can both focus on our work!"

"Yes!" agreed Konoko.

Just as they wanted to move toward the living room, Konoko's phone started ringing. It was Mr. Yuno.

"Nako, I'll be with you in a sec!" Konoko excused herself and went to her room.

"Sure! You know where to find me!"

The discussion happened to be longer than expected. Konoko went outside to her motorcycle to find some sketches and notes she had left in a small bag that she kept attached to her seat. As the discussion intensified, she remained outside to talk. When she finally finished, Konoko was shocked to discover she had been on the phone for two hours! While she hurried back to the apartment, she became troubled that her time for work had been severely diminished. Because of her anxiety, her heart pounded and her sight became blurry. However, she hadn't lost time! She tried to convince herself. Her editor provided valuable information and they even agreed on some of her ideas. But she really needed that time to actually draw! Well, at least now there were better chances that significant changes were no longer required after she finished. Besides, Mr. Yuno had insisted that she didn't copy her drawings on the computer this time. Two assistants that he had spoken to were to do it in her place. That would have given her precious time, which should have been reassuring. Still, the conceiving part was the hardest and her drawings were messy. She feared that the assistants wouldn't have copied them correctly on the computer.

Caught between conflicting thoughts, Konoko entered her room stormily. She had completely forgotten about the anime guardians or the tea with Nanako until she noticed on her bed a cup of tea on a small tray. She froze upon realizing that she had left Nanako waiting without a word. Konoko hurried to Nanako's room, but before knocking, she became intimidated by the thick silence. Nanako was probably working right now. She had skipped two classes to focus on her job. It was not fair to interrupt her after leaving her to wait. It was best that she apologized later when Nanako finished her work for the day. Dinner was the appropriate moment. Konoko consoled herself at the thought that she too would have felt bothered if someone interrupted her in the middle of her work. She returned remorseful to her room. The tea was cold. She drank small sips of it and decided to finish it cold as a penalty. During this time, she also started to work.

*

Time flew fast, but Konoko was happy that she made considerable progress. The side story was almost ready. It only needed small adjustments. She would be able to present it to Mr. Yuno the next day. It was possible that he would request some changes even after their discussion from today, so having it completed earlier was a great advantage. She couldn't believe she advanced so much in such a short time! The anxiety that she had lost time must have been the reason for her speed. It was also because of her guilt toward Nanako. She used her work as a refuge to avoid the distressing thoughts. Her achievement brought some compensation. Nanako would forgive her after seeing that she didn't waste that time. It was pretty late in the evening, but she only realized it when Ichirou knocked vigorously at her door.

"What's up?" she asked him while inviting him in.

"Where is Nako?" he asked intrigued. Konoko remained silent for a few moments as the question puzzled her.

"Well, did you try her room?" she finally replied.

"Yes! Quite a few times!"

"I know she was supposed to work intensely on a new project. Perhaps she played music while doing it and that prevented her from hearing?"

"I knocked very loudly during my last attempt! Even if she had music, she doesn't use high volume! Besides, it's past 10 p.m.! She should have taken a break at least. It's not her style to lose awareness of herself regardless of how passionate she is about something! We're talking about Nanako here, the balance of this house!"

Konoko started to think that Nanako might have been upset because of their arrangement. Her look darkened. Ichirou immediately noticed the change in demeanor.

"Did something happen, Konoko?"

"Well, not really! I don't think it could explain her lack of response... but, this afternoon she invited me to have tea together in the living room. She was very excited about her new project and we were supposed to chat more about it over tea. I had a sudden call from Mr. Yuno and, before I knew it, two hours flew by like nothing. I wasn't even in the apartment. I had to go to my motorbike to search for some notes Mr. Yuno needed. I didn't have the chance to say a word to Nanako... Do you think she got mad?" asked Konoko fearfully.

"Did you try to talk to her after you returned?"

"I wanted to, but I feared I might have bothered her. She had skipped two classes to work on that project. I said I would talk to her after she finished…"

"I don't think that Nanako would get upset for such a trivial thing! Besides, she knows how air-headed you are! I doubt she had any expectations." Konoko considered insulting Ichirou's naturalness as he made such a description of her.

"I'm not always air-headed!" she burst angrily. "And who are you to judge me anyway?"

"Hold your horses Konoko! This is not about you! Let's think about what could have happened with Nanako!" Ichirou kept a composed yet concerned demeanor. Konoko felt ignored and wished to protest more, though he was right. A fight wouldn't help find Nanako. There was enough time to scorn him later.

"Is there any possibility that she left somewhere? Perhaps she too avoided bothering you during your work or during your phone conversation. Or something may have come up and she couldn't tell you because she wasn't able to reach you. You were outside, on the phone."

"I doubt it," said Konoko thoughtfully. "I found a cup of tea on a tray in my room. It was cold. She did make tea!"

"Something might have come up after she made tea! Go to her room and try to see if she is there! I think she wouldn't mind too much if it was you who checked her room. I'll call Kenji! Maybe she's with him or he might know something."

"It is very unlikely that she left, Ichirou! She usually leaves notes or phone messages when going out suddenly. Neither you nor I received any!" Konoko started to gnaw her nails nervously. "I almost wish that she's upset in her room!" she continued with a trembled voice.

"Becoming distressed for something such as what you recounted is unlikely as well, Konoko!" remarked Ichirou. He had a worried look. "Now, don't get too worked up about this," he added as he noticed how troubled Konoko appeared. "I'm sure we'll find her in no time! She'll probably laugh at us for worrying over nothing haha." Though Ichirou tried his best to remain positive, he felt just as perturbed.

Konoko went to Nanako's room. She knocked a few times, but she received no reply. It was the same silence from when she first came. Konoko started worrying that maybe Nanako hadn't been in her room all along. If only she had thought about that earlier... She knocked harder, and harder... but still no answer. She tried the door. It was open. She crept in. Nanako was not there. Even more, the room of perfect tidiness didn't look like someone had been there during the last few hours. Konoko inspected the place for clues. Then she suddenly got an idea! None of them had tried calling Nanako yet. Konoko felt hopeful as she noticed Nanako's phone was not there. She ran back to her room, took her phone, and called Nanako. Nanako wasn't picking up. Konoko left her room moving back toward Nanako's. On her way there, she started hearing a faint melody in the distance. She followed the sound until she reached the living room. Nanako's phone was on the couch. Konoko's anxiety suddenly increased as she noticed a cup of green tea just like hers, abandoned on the small coffee table. The tea was untouched! Nanako never got the chance to drink it! Ichirou was right! Something happened and she must have left in haste. But if someone called her, she couldn't have left without her phone. Was it possible that anything so disturbing had happened such as to make the calm Nanako forget her phone? She had been indeed more agitated than usual today because of her new project. But to think that she had frantically left the apartment without a note or her phone? Something really bad must have happened to explain a behavior like that! These thoughts made Konoko feel like fainting. Her knees trembled and her legs became weak. She had to lean on the couch. Her right palm sweated on her phone and it became slippery. Ichirou came into the living room only to see Konoko bending over the couch, leaning on both hands. From his angle, Konoko's face was again concealed by her hair.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Konoko raised her head to look at him. Her face was white. He came nearer and noticed she trembled a little.

"She never drank her tea!" began Konoko with a shaky voice. Ichirou noticed only then the cup from the coffee table. "And her phone is he—" Konoko couldn't continue because she was about to cry. She became very scared.

"Kenji doesn't know where she is either," added Ichirou. "He knew that she was busy today, so he didn't call her. He only sent her a few messages, but she didn't answer. It seemed normal to him since he knew she had to work. He'll arrive here soon! We'll go together to check some places. In the meantime, could you please call Nanako's parents and brother? And her grandma too? Maybe they know something." He glanced at Konoko, a bit troubled. "Just make sure you don't make them too worried…" he added.

Konoko didn't say a thing, standing motionless with her face down. Ichirou grabbed both her arms, pulled her hands from the couch and made her turn toward him.

"It's no time to get depressed Konoko!" he spoke to her firmly. "We have to find Nanako, do you understand me?" Ichirou's voice started to get louder. "I need you Konoko! I need you here!" he almost shouted.

She was surprised by his approach, but she agreed with him. Her eyes became livelier. Small tears appeared, ready to fall. She nodded as she couldn't speak. Ichirou let go of her with doubt. He sat on the couch. Konoko remained standing on the opposite side behind the couch and called Nanako's family. Until Kenji arrived, Ichirou listened to her talking with each member of Nanako's family, hoping for some good news. However, no one knew about her whereabouts. Ichirou was still impressed with Konoko. Despite being emotionally troubled, she proved unexpectedly composed on the phone and did an amazing job with picking the right words so as to not make Nanako's family too worried. He didn't even think she was listening to him when he asked her to be careful about what she said.

Right after Kenji arrived, they went all together to search for Nanako. They couldn't find her anywhere. It was like she had simply vanished. Her phone was of no help either. She never got any call after she came home and she only had messages from Kenji. They decided to go to the police only the next day. There were no signs something bad had happened to her. They had investigated the hospitals, but she wasn't at any of them. None of the recently announced incidents involved a person that could match Nanako's description. As strange as her disappearance was, they preferred to wait a little longer just in case she showed up in the meantime. Kenji decided to stay with Ichirou and Konoko for the night. He wanted to be there when Nanako returned. As they entered the apartment, Konoko's mind was already filled with the most dreadful thoughts! She couldn't repress her feelings anymore. She took her shoes off, fell on her knees, and started crying. Ichirou and Kenji crouched by her side. Kenji put his hand on her shoulder and whispered in an encouraging resolute voice.

"Don't despair Konoko! We will find her! Tomorrow for certain!" It was not that he was sure of that, but he didn't want to think otherwise.

Both him and Ichirou helped her get up again, but she wouldn't stop crying. Ichirou held her. She struggled to release herself from his clutch, but he wouldn't let her go.

"If I only went to the living room after I saw the cup in my room!" she mumbled between sobs.

"What use would it have been?" asked Ichirou. "She was already gone at that moment."

"We would have known earlier! We would have found her perhaps! There was more time in any case!" fretted Konoko. "At least if I went to the kitchen earlier to leave my cup…" she insisted.

The boys couldn't say anything more. Kenji took a seat on the couch and put his face into his hands. Ichirou kept holding an unconsoled Konoko who wouldn't stop wailing. Every time she tried to free herself, he held her tighter.