One day around 11 PM, Taro returned home from his work.
"I'm back, Yukiko," he called out.
However, nobody responded.
"Yukiko? She's still not home?" Taro whispered. "I remember she told me that she will go hang out with Ema, but isn't she too late?"
He hesitated at first, then decided to call Kenjiro's house. Yet, nobody seemed to answer. He tried once again, but still nothing.
"This is getting confusing... why aren't they answering?" He asked himself, worried. "Are they alright? I would go check by myself, but it's already too late. Maybe they already went to sleep together."
He sat on the couch for several minutes, arms crossed, his face showing clear nervousness.
"Thinking won't solve anything," he whispered. "I shall probably go to sleep now and visit Ema's house tomorrow."
After that, he headed to his parents' bedroom and prepared himself to sleep.
The next day...
Around 11 AM, Taro woke up and went to check on Yukiko in her bedroom. He knocked on the door, yet nobody answered.
"She didn't return yet," he whispered. "Are they still sleeping there?"
He wore his usual clothes, and headed to Kenjiro's house.
When he arrived, he pressed on the bell button. After a few seconds, Ema's mother opened the door. He immediately stared down and asked:
"Excuse me, Mrs Kenjiro. I'm one of your daughter's classmates: TaroAbodo. Are your daughter and a pink-haired girl here together?"
"Oh, no dear," she answered. "Ema hasn't been home since yesterday, and I have no idea about that pink-haired girl you mentioned."
"Understood, s-sorry for disturbing you," Taro replied, calming his voice.
"You're welcome anytime, Taro," she said. "I'll tell her when she arrives back."
He stood frozen on the sidewalk, hand on his chin, lost in confusion.
What's going on here? He thought. First, Yukiko didn't return. Second, Ema didn't answer my call yesterday. And now... both of them are missing. Where did they go?
He stood still in his place for seconds, not knowing what to do or where to go. That's until he remembered Vincy.
Guess I have to pay Vincy a visit, he thought, his expression hardening. He's close from here anyway.
After thirty minutes, he arrived at Giannsoni's house. He pressed on the bell button, yet nobody opened. He tried two more times, but still no use.
"Not you too, Vincy," he whispered, completely stressed.
He decided to knock on the door. Before he could, he realized the door was slightly open.
"It's not closed?" He asked, confused.
He entered quickly, finding the living room disarrayed.
"W-What happened here?!" He exclaimed, shocked. "Sounds like a hurricane caused this mess. Where's Vincy?"
He began searching around the house and everywhere inside. He found nobody in the end.
"Vincy is included in this bizarre disappearance," he said, catching his breath. "What can I do now?"
He stopped moving suddenly, finding a small trace of paper under the couch. He instantly grabbed it, reading carefully:
"I captured all your partners. You have to save them before midnight, or they will not make it alive. You must bring my king's heart for a fair trade. If you could not achieve any of these conditions, the exchange will be considered cancelled."
Taro snapped his teeth in nervousness, holding the paper so tightly it almost tore.
"This... isn't any of their handwriting," he whispered, sweating heavily. "I don't even have the heart anymore, and I don't know where I should go."
Then, he began inhaling and exhaling several times, removing the stress.
"Calm down, Abodo," he whispered to himself. "I still have plenty of time. The author of this message must be Valdar… that dark creature who served Armageddon, and the one behind the portal chaos in Brookhaven."
He flipped the paper, reading more:
"To make sure you are capable of finding me, you must solve these riddles. First riddle: Where waters rest yet never sleep, the heart of truth lies buried deep."
"Waters rest...? I think I know where to go. I'll solve his riddles, and rescue them without handing him the heart," Taro decided.
He closed the door behind him, heading home to equip his sword and wear his father's outfit. After that, he headed to the park.
When he arrived, he headed to the nearest fountains in the park. After checking the fifth one, he found another paper in a bottle underwater. He read:
"Second riddle: The soil remembers what the living forget. Who digs too deep uncovers his own sorrow.
"I don't know about this one," he whispered. "The only place that matches is..."
After a few hours, he arrived at the middle of the forest, where he buried Varnok.
"How could he know about my uncle's grave?" He wondered, confused. "No one else knows this place except Enzo and Yukiko. I have a bad feeling about this."
He dug the surface of the grave, only to find another paper covered with dirt. He blew the dirt away, and tried to read it. Before he could, he heard screaming coming away from the forest.
Taro hurried there, finding a portal opened. Out of it, a huge number of small dinosaurs appeared.
"I have no time for this... yet I can't let anyone get hurt!" He said.
Instantly, he faced them, letting citizens escape. The dinosaurs began targeting Taro. They jumped at him, but he used his {Azure Shield} to block, countering with slashes.
They surrounded him and attacked one after another. He blocked all of them and stabbed their heart. Instantly, he unleashed his shields to make a ladder out of them. Then, he landed with a strike killing them. He repeated the same process until the rest ran back to the portal they came from.
I hope I didn't waste much time, he thought. It's already 5 PM.
He checked the paper he found, and saw a map instead of riddles.
Why are there so many red X marks on the map? He thought, confused.
Suddenly, his stomach began growling.
No time for food now, he thought, clutching his stomach. I must find them first.
A few hours later, he went to the beach, where all the marks pointed. He began digging the sand each time he stood on them.
He found a paper from the first hole, yet it was empty.
"Empty papers? These marks must be fake," he declared. "I need to dig until I find the correct one."
He didn't hesitate and continued digging for hours with his bare hands.
I can't stop now! I must find them before it's too late! He thought.
After so many attempts, he finally found the correct paper.
"Last but not least, return to where you have been!" He read.
"Return?" He repeated. "I guess I need to return to Vincy's house again."
Around 10 PM, Taro returned to Giannsoni's house. He searched again everywhere, just in case he missed anything behind. After thirty minutes of searching, he found nothing.
"Something feels odd, did I miss anything?" He asked, confused.
He read the paper many times to check.
"Wait, do I return to my house?" He whispered.
After that, he rushed back home.
When he stepped outside, he noticed that all the lights are turned off.
Everything's quiet… strange, Taro thought, removing his mask.
He opened the door quietly, entering inside without making noises.
I can't see anything, he thought, sweating. I must be aware. I don't have the heart, so I need the perfect chance to kill him quickly.
Suddenly, someone covered his eyes from the back with two hands.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Taro exclaimed.
"Take a guess, darling," someone whispered softly.
He instantly recognized the voice, along with the fine, fascinating hands.
"Yukiko?! Is that you?!" He said, completely surprised.
Suddenly, the lights were turned on.
"SURPRISE!" Voices around him shouted suddenly.
"W-What's going on here?!" He asked, confused.
Yukiko removed her hands, restoring his sight.
He saw Vincy and Ema in front of him. Then, he saw a birthday cake on the table with candles. Upward, he saw a birthday banner, written on it:
"HBD to our greatest leader!"
"It's your birthday, buddy!" Vincy answered.
"B-Birthday? What is today's da–" Taro asked.
"It's October the seventh, silly," Ema responded quickly. "How could you forget about your birthday?"
He froze in confusion for a moment, then asked:
"W-What was all of that, then? Your disappearance, Valdar, the riddles... what was all of that?"
"Hehe, it was our plan to make things more spicy!" Vincy answered.
"Yeah, and buy us some time to let us bake the cake without ruining the surprise," Ema added.
"K-Kōmen, Taro," Yukiko apologized. "I tried to stop them... but they insisted."
(Flashback)
Vincy put a paper inside a bottle in one of the fountains. Yukiko, meanwhile, dug a small hole in Varnok's grave and put the second paper. Finally, they joined Ema, dug holes, and dropped papers inside.
The moment when Taro returned home to grab his sword, they were hiding in the garden, waiting for him to leave. Then, they began preparing everything for the party.
Back to Taro, he asked:
"All of this... was just for my birthday? What about the threatening message? Who wrote–"
"I wrote them... it was nothing," a voice answered suddenly from behind.
He saw Kevin and Lara behind.
"Kevin? You participated too?" He asked, surprised.
"Yes I did, is there a problem?" He asked back.
"That's why I couldn't identify the font," Taro replied, smiling.
"You'd notice it easily if any of us wrote it," Ema said. "That's why I invited and hired Kevin to help us. He was a great help in the end."
"Yeah yeah," Vincy whispered, irritated.
Suddenly, while Taro was smiling, tears dropped from his right eye.
"Whoa! Are you crying, buddy?!" Vincy asked, shocked.
"T-Taro?" Yukiko asked along.
"Before I could meet Enzo, my illness stopped me from crying," he said quietly. "I never told anyone about it... even my mother. Only my father and Enzo knew about it eventually. I think my eyes are getting cured over time."
Then, he added:
"I've never felt fear before. When I saw all of you safe and happy again, I couldn't hold back my emotions anymore... especially after seeing all the effort you put into this for me. This is the first time my eyes shed tears. Sorry, I feel pathetic..."
Instantly, Kevin interrupted with a small grin:
"Idiot, pure emotions are not pathetic."
After hearing that, Taro stared at everyone, saying:
"Thank you, guys... all of you. you're the best people I've ever met. I'll never forget any of this in my entire life."
After that, Vincy and Yukiko began tearing.
"Sheesh, man," Vincy exclaimed, "I can't stop crying now!"
Then, he added:
"Taro, my best bud, you deserve more than this for everything we've experienced together... every single day!"
Then, Yukiko said:
"AbodoTaro, darling, nobody ever loved, cared, or honored me more than you did... after my family passed away. I want to stay with you forever, and payback your love with mine."
After that, Ema declared:
"TaroAbodo, the leader who values everything and anything, and one of the best examples of people who shows how things work with dignity and justice. It was a pleasure to know you, along with the others."
Kevin remained silent for a few seconds, then smirked and joined:
"TaroAbodo, the Legendary Azure Knight. All rivals, or most of them, battle for proving who's better. Yet our battles... are built on respect. I'm grateful."
Finally, Lara said while struggling:
"TaroAbodo... well, we hadn't anything between us in common so I don't know exactly what to say. Despite what they said, I like your smile... always bright."
Taro remained silent, clearing the tears slowly. Then, he replied:
"Vincy... Yukiko... Ema... Kevin... and Lara, thank you again, guys. I always wanted to follow the right path and do what feels correct, but I never thought of the results. Guess everything is visible for me now."
Then, Vincy changed the topic, exclaiming:
"Meh, you better do something great for my birthday after four days!"
The trio laughed, then Taro replied:
"Sure, Vincy, of course I will... for my best friend."
"Slow down, man, I was joking," Vincy said, laughing. "Anyway, won't you blow the flames of the candle?"
"Yeah, you better 'wish' for something cool!" Ema added.
"I never believed in these things," Taro replied, laughing quietly, "but even if it was true, then it's not necessary. That's because... what I need is already here with me. If you insist, then I'll give it a boost to remain forever."
Then, he blew the flame!