Chapter 4: American Invasion

Ding Dong!

Ding Dong!

The sound of the doorbell was getting impossible to ignore as Hayato swept his room.

"Who could it be on a Saturday morning?" he muttered in annoyance.

From the kitchen, his mother’s voice reached him like an indirect order.

"Son, could you get the door? I’m busy baking a cake…"

Hayato raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"Baking a cake, she said? Mom’s not the type to do that… Is she feeling okay?" he murmured sarcastically.

But the doorbell gave him no rest.

Ding Dong!
Ding Dong!

Hayato opened the front door with his eyes half-closed, ready to reject whatever was waiting outside.

"We’re not interested in any subscriptions—"

His words stopped as he saw a young girl with blue eyes and long golden hair, wearing a delicate dress.

He just stood there, speechless… and not because of her looks; socializing wasn’t exactly his strong suit.

"Hayato Ando! Go with me in a date!" said the girl, speaking Japanese with a heavy foreign accent.

"Sorry, I don’t speak English…" he replied, closing the door slowly.

Hayato leaned against the door.

"What the heck was that? Who is this girl?"

Knock knock!
Knock knock!

The girl was knocking on the door.

"Hayato!" her voice came through the wood.

The boy opened the door again, just enough to peek through.

"I don’t understand a word you’re saying, but you’ve got the wrong place," he said before closing it again.

"Hayato! Don’t pretend you can’t understand me! I speak perfect Japanese!"

"P… Please leave before you bother the neighbors," he said, exasperated.

Hayato’s mother peeked out from the kitchen.

"Sweetie, who’s at the door?"

"No one, Mom. Probably someone trying to scam us," he replied with resignation.

Suddenly, the door burst open, pushing Hayato to the floor.

"Hayato Ando! I’m finally here!" she exclaimed with a radiant smile.

The boy crawled on the floor as if crying for help.

"Mom! Call the police before—!" he shouted in fake desperation.

His mother smiled and waved at the girl.

"Asley, welcome!" she said in the warm tone of a loving mother.

"Mrs. Ando, it’s a pleasure," said the American girl, bowing politely.

"Oh, don’t be so formal, you know you can call me Nozomi," she replied with a light laugh.

"I brought you this as a gift! They say it’s a popular present among relatives!" exclaimed the girl with a big smile.

Asley walked up to Nozomi and handed her a square watermelon sealed inside a glass case.

Nozomi looked at the watermelon with curiosity, while Hayato remained on the floor, completely lost about what was happening. He couldn’t understand a single thing.

Slowly, the boy got to his feet in the middle of that bewildering scene.

"Mom… do you know this girl?"

His mother’s smile carried a hint of irony.

"How can you not know Asley? She’s been the one taking care of you all these days at the hospital."

"Taking care of me…? I’ve never even seen her before!"

At that moment, like a flash, the memory of the flowers and the English-written card came rushing back to his mind.

"That’s right," she said proudly, with dramatic flair. "I’m Asley Freya, your fiancée!"

Her words echoed in Hayato’s mind with such confidence that they seemed to reverberate endlessly.

Fiancée… Fiancée…

Fi…an…cée.

"Please tell me this is a joke…" he said, on the verge of collapse. "Who gets engaged without even meeting first?"

"Mom, say something, please…" he pleaded, seeking comfort from his mother.

With theatrical flair, Asley dropped to her knees, a beam of light seemingly illuminating her as if she were on stage.

"How heartless you are… And after all the trouble I went through to take care of you…"

"After flying all the way from America on a private jet…"

"What a cruel fate… Sobs, sobs," she said dramatically.

Hayato just stared at her in disbelief.

"There was no need to make such a scene…"

"Wait a second… did she just say private jet?"

His mother covered her face, pretending to cry.

"I’ve failed as a mother… Sobs, sobs…"

"Just leave me alone already!" shouted Hayato as he fled to his room.

His mother and Asley exchanged a look, then burst into laughter, partners in crime.

*****************************************************************************

Far away from there, in a dimly lit room illuminated only by monitors… A man in a lab coat placed a stack of reports on a metal table.

"A shifting Dual and a Valkyrie Dual… impressive."

The air was thick with the scent of tobacco and engine oil.

His footsteps echoed through the silent laboratory as he walked past the screens, stopping before a massive glass tube faintly glowing from within.

"I think it’s time to test the new product," he said with a macabre smile.

"But, sir, the simulation data isn’t conclusive…" another voice replied from across the room.

"There’s no time for that nonsense, boy… progress doesn’t wait."

"Call Shepard and tell him that if he spots those Duals again, he’s to report immediately."

His gaze hardened.

"It’s time to show those fools that Project NEXUS is the future."

The young man said nothing, simply obeying, while the smoke from the cigarette mingled with the silence and secrets of the lab.