In Search of Clues

Neo looked at his calendar and remembered the promise he had made weeks ago. As soon as he got a job and took the exams, he would search for his mother. 

However, he didn't have any clues about her, not even a name. He didn't remember where she lived or who she was before. It was getting quite difficult. He was starting to feel a bit frustrated. 

During the break, he heard an unusual sound at the place where he usually trained with the baseball team. There were two green nets set up and two machines that were shooting baseballs, where Takeshi and Tadashi were practicing batting. Both of them were very focused. The sound of the machine shooting the balls and the thud of the bats hitting them broke the silence of the place.

He was impressed. Neither of them missed a shot, and they were perfectly synchronized.

Takeshi lost his concentration when he looked to the side and saw Neo. Because of the sun, it was hard to see, so it took him a little while to recognize who it was.

"NEO!" he shouted, waving his hand as soon as he recognized him.

Neo was about to respond, but he laughed as Takeshi got hit by several balls that the machine kept shooting.

"How do I stop this?" he asked while continuing to get hit.

Tadashi couldn't help but laugh and stopped his own machine to watch his brother clumsily try to dodge and catch the balls with his hands to defend himself. When he got tired of watching the boy struggle, he took a small remote control out of his pocket and turned off his machine.

"I thought it would never end," Takeshi said, exhausted and out of breath.

Since the class was about to end, Tadashi started packing up while Neo approached them and greeted both of them.

"We got two of these machines to train with because we qualified for the championship."

 "Interesting, I've never used one."

"How about trying it now?"

Neo looked at it and thought, why not? "Yes," he said, nodding in agreement.

"Just stand where I was and get ready," Takeshi instructed.

Neo raised the bat and waited for the machine to be turned on.

"Ready?" Takeshi asked.

"Yes!"

Takeshi pressed the button, and Neo waited.

The machine took a moment and then launched a slow ball that he easily hit. It launched another, and the situation repeated itself. Neo noticed that the balls were launched every two seconds, always in the same direction.

This presented no challenge, and Neo started to get bored. He looked at Takeshi, who had a smile on his face as if he were enjoying watching Neo bat.

"Takeshi, this is really boring," Neo said, annoyed.

"Ah, true! I was having fun watching you bat," Takeshi replied.

Takeshi turned off the machine and showed Neo the control. On that control, there was a number one written, along with other commands like increase/decrease speed, increase/decrease height, and others. But what Takeshi wanted him to pay attention to was the number one and the increase/decrease level command.

"Do you see? The machine was on level one, that's why it was so easy, but it goes up to ten."

Neo observed the control with curiosity, and Takeshi continued, "Tadashi and I managed to train at level 8 and a bit at level 9, but I think you could train at level 9, just gradually increase it."

"What's level 10 like?" Neo asked curiously.

"Almost impossible, we tried it, but it's way too difficult, almost superhuman," he said, widening his eyes.

Neo was curious to see what it was like, but Tadashi interrupted them. "The break is almost over, let's pack things up."

Quickly, the three of them tidied everything and took it to the locker designated for their club, where Takeshi, who had a key, locked it.

"Whenever you want to train and no one from the baseball team is around, you can use this copy of the key," he said as he handed over the key. "I gave one to each team member. Just remember to take care of it and put it back after using it."

"Okay."

The bell for the end of the break rang.

"Come train whenever you can and want, it's good for you, helps you think and forget things that might be bothering you," he said.

With those words, Neo began to imagine that Takeshi already knew how he was feeling. It seemed like quite a coincidence. It was just like Shike had said, Takeshi seemed to understand everyone very well.

His focus returned to his thoughts of finding his mother. Perhaps the secret was in her name. Had he heard any unfamiliar name he couldn't remember?

"Mia."

Maybe Len knew something else. That's why they talked in the dormitory that night.

"I'll help you with anything, I just want to ask for something," Len said.

"What?" "If you told me the whole story."

Neo then remembered everything from the time he woke up in the strange square to the moment he was there talking to him.

Len then understood better why the boy was searching for his mother. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything."

This saddened Neo, who had hoped for something useful from his friend. When he thought about hearing the name Mia for the first time, he had an idea, and his sadness turned to happiness.

"Len! Did I say anything more while I was asleep?"

He thought and thought. The answer was, "No." 

Neo felt sad again. He thought he had found something.

Then Len thought of something that could help. "Are you sure you don't want to ask your siblings? I think they might know much more than I do."

"But they wouldn't tell me anything about the past. It was the same as my brother told me." Thinking of his siblings, Neo had an idea.

"Wait! My sister! She has a machine that can record dreams. If I use it, I might learn more."

"It could work. Where is she?"

Once again, Neo found himself hitting a wall. "That's the problem, I don't know. I saw her once. I could search for her at her school, but it would probably take a while."

"You don't remember anything about her?"

Neo strained his memory, trying to find something beyond what he already remembered or knew.

"She liked to eat."

"And?" Len asked, curious about the next revelations.

"She REALLY liked to eat. Her favorite foods were sushi and instant noodles."

"That doesn't help much," Len said, disappointed.

"True..."

"What about your brother, Leo?"

"What about him? He wouldn't tell me anything about the past."

Thinking about his brothers, Neo had an idea.

"Couldn't he tell you where your sister is?" Len suggested.

"Good idea! But I don't know where he is."

"Well, he goes to Hoshi School."

"Really?!" Neo asked, surprised.

"Yes, haven't you seen him?"

"No."

But it made sense when, on the day of the party where only students were allowed to enter, Neo met his brother. And it made even more sense when he mentioned seeing his brother dance that day. So it was easy.

The next day, Neo looked for Leo during the break. He was in the middle of a group of people. 

"Leo, can I talk to you?"

Of course, he was startled, but he couldn't refuse his brother's sudden request. They went to a quieter, more secluded place.

"Have you regained your memories?" It was the first thing Leo asked, seeing that his brother had contacted him at school.

"No, I just used my head a little."

"Sometimes that's good."

"Hey!" Neo protested, while Leo laughed.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Do you know how to find Carolina?" Leo thought about where his sister might be.

"Depends, do you want to talk to her privately?"

"Yes. I wanted to see one of her inventions."

"If it's about her inventions, it's best to go when she's in her lab. She goes there after school." 

"And where is it?" 

"That's the tricky part! It's hidden. I know the location. I'll draw a map and give it to you after class."