Fragment 8. Parental Concerns

After a sleep that felt unbearably long, I opened my eyes. Light slowly entered my vision as a voice reached my ears.

"You're awake?"

My blurry sight began to regain its focus. The first thing I saw was a man with glasses, a gentle face, and neatly trimmed hair. But his expression twisted with worry.

"D…ad?"

Yes, he was my father. He always left early in the morning and came home late, so we rarely saw each other. Even so, it wasn’t possible for me to mistake my own father.

"Thank goodness."

My father let out a sigh of relief.

"Mom! Haruno's awake!"

Hearing his shout, footsteps thundered from the floor below. While waiting, I unintentionally looked around, feeling something was strange. My eyes widened at what surrounded me.

"Dad, what did you do to me?!"

Panic mixed with anger as I found myself in the middle of an altar—well, not exactly an altar, but my bedroom floor had been turned into something resembling a place for a ritual. I had woken up inside what looked like a magic circle. Candles were placed around the circle. For a second, I thought my own father planned to sacrifice me or something.

Before I could ask what the circle meant, the door burst open and my mother rushed toward me. She clung to me tightly and refused to let go.

"Um…"

I didn't know what to do because she just kept hugging me silently. She didn’t even move—so still that I wondered if she had fallen asleep.

In the end, I turned to my father, who simply stood there watching us.

"What exactly happened?"

Still with a gloomy expression, he answered, "You lost control."

"Lost control?! Did I hurt someone?"

"Fortunately, I arrived in time, so no casualties happened."

"I'm relieved…"

As I felt relieved, something bothered me.

"But how did you know I lost control?"

Reaching into his pocket, my father pulled out fragments of something that looked like a pendant. Seeing it shattered, I immediately grabbed my chest and realized my necklace was gone.

"My necklace!" I said, dejected.

I was saddened—it was the only keepsake from Grandpa. I didn’t remember when or how it broke. The only memory I had was being strangled and then losing consciousness. It should’ve still been intact then. Did something else happen afterwards that destroyed it?

"This isn’t your pendant. It’s mine."

"Huh?"

I didn’t understand. It was clearly the same necklace my grandfather gave me when I was a child. Even if it's broken, I would never mistake something that had been with me for ten years.

"The pendants you and I always wear come in a set. Your grandfather gave one to you and one to me. They are detectors that shatter when they sense an excess of energy. When yours breaks, so does mine. That’s how I knew you lost control."

"I… see."

I had never known the necklace had such a function. I thought it was just a pretty accessory. Turns out it was a detector made specifically for me.

If I remembered correctly, I got that necklace shortly after being separated from my parents. Was that how Grandpa reassured them—that I would be safe? For some reason, I felt annoyed that they had never told me.

"Wait, can the pendant track location too?"

"No. It only has one function."

"Then how did you know I was on a moving train?"

"About that…"

He pointed behind me. I turned to look.

"My bag?"

"More precisely, your keychain."

I had a cute rabbit doll as a bag charm. I only bought it after moving here when shopping for school supplies with Mom. How could that thing have told him my location?

"I asked your mother to put a tracking device inside the doll. Sorry we did it without telling you first."

He looked remorseful. He understood installing a tracker secretly was a violation of privacy. But he must have done it for his daughter's safety. So I forgave him.

"Wait, Dad. You know that’s dangerous, right? What if I touched it and lost control?"

"I considered that. You only lose control through direct contact with electronic devices. Besides, you don’t open your bag by pulling the charm—you use the zipper handle, right? So I assumed it would be safe."

"...I guess so."

His assumption was correct. Still! I could’ve lost control if I touched it accidentally! Just how many secrets are they hiding from me?!

"Oh right! What about the strange man wearing a fedora?" I asked, remembering the one who made me pass out.

"Man wearing a fedora? I don't recall seeing one when I calmed you down."

Father tilted his head in confusion. I mirrored his reaction. But then his expression hardened.

"Haru, tell me what really happened."

Swallowing, I told him everything. Everything since the first day of school—how I got lost, how I wandered into a barrier and saw a strange fight, how a mysterious man kept waiting for me after school, and the incident today. Once I began, words poured out like water through a broken dam.

After hearing my story, my mother suddenly stirred. She pushed me away and glared at me, worried and angry.

"Why didn’t you tell us?!"

"I-I didn’t want to make you worry," I panicked at being scolded.

"We’re your parents! It’s fine if you make us worry. Don’t shoulder everything alone!"

"S-sorry…"

I couldn’t argue. I never expected Mother to be this angry.

I just didn’t want them to worry about unnecessary things. Instead, I made them—

As tears pooled in my eyes, she hugged me again.

"Haruno, you're still a child. Don’t hesitate to rely on us. You must understand that you are our beloved daughter."

"S-sorry… uwaaah!"

I burst into sobs in her arms. All the emotions I’d bottled up washed away with my tears.

After I calmed down, I blew my nose into the tissues Father prepared. My room was a mess—not only because of the magic circle, but from tissues scattered everywhere. Luckily, the candles had been put out and the lights were on, or the house might’ve caught fire from all the tissue.

"Sorry," I muttered, still sniffling.

"It’s fine. Next time, talk to us more, no matter how trivial."

"Okay…"

Once I was steady, Father shared unexpected news.

"We’re returning to Shirakawa now."

"Eh? Right now?"

"Yes. The sooner, the better."

"But, Dad…"

I gazed toward the curtain-covered window. I didn’t know what time it was, but I was sure it was already midnight.

"We’ll take the earliest train. We need to get ready. Come on, Mom."

As if it was already decided, Mother rose without a word. Not knowing why we had to go back to our hometown, I could only stare blankly.

Father crouched in front of me and patted my shoulder.

"I know you're confused. Why are you seeing these things? Why do strange events keep happening to you? Why is someone attacking you? You'll get your answers once we return home."

I still didn’t understand. But if going back to Shirakawa would explain everything, I would follow without complaint.

"Alright. I’ll go."

"Good."

Satisfied with my answer, Father stood and walked away. But he paused at the doorway.

"If we're lucky, we can return the same day. If not, I'm afraid you’ll have to stay there for some time. If returning isn’t possible, I’ll contact your school. So don’t worry—just pack properly."

Hearing there was a chance I’d have to stay there for a long time, fear rose inside me. It wouldn’t have mattered before, but things were different now that Grandpa was gone.

He was my only family when I lived in Shirakawa. We had no other relatives there. After losing him, I could no longer call that place home. If I had to live there again, I would truly be alone.

But I believed my parents wouldn’t abandon me in a distant place. Trusting their decision, I began to pack.