8:42 PM

Mrs. Tsujimoto: Good evening, I would like to ask if anyone has seen Riku today?

Haruto Minakami: he was with us today, ma'am 

Mrs. Tsujimoto: You went home with him? 

Kenji Takamine: Aunt Yui, Riku said that he'd be off to the market. He said you asked him to.

Mrs. Tsujimoto: I told him there's no need to go to the market. I asked him to pick up some groceries on his way home, but his father already did.

Reiji Murotani: auntie, i could check the market. i would update here once i've found him.

Mrs. Tsujimoto: Thank you, Rei. Riku wasn't answering any of my calls or texts. I'm worried.

Kenji Takamine: You rest now, Aunt Yui. We'd find Riku.

》》》》》》》》》》

"Stay safe. You can use my motorcycle until tomorrow," Kenji told Reiji as he tossed him the keys.

"Sure you're not coming with me?" Reiji asked.

"No. I'll search around the forest," Kenji answered.

"Why there?"

Kenji paused, hesitating.

"You know how there’s been an increasing number of people getting lost in the woods, right? Maybe Riku’s there," he said.

Reiji nodded and revved the engine to life. Kenji watched him disappear into the street before calling Risa.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yep. Pick me up down the street. Your engine makes so much noise—it might wake my family," Risa said on the other line.

Kenji agreed and ended the call. Fifteen minutes later, he was parked at the spot Risa had told him. There were no moon or stars that night. The lamp post beside his car was flickering. He was so deep in thought that he jumped when someone knocked on his window.

"Open up, the mosquitoes are biting me," Risa said.

They parked on the far side of the forest again, well away from Old Man Saburō’s house. Kenji still had his father’s Glock tucked into his waistband. Risa had come prepared too—she carried a knife.

"Listen," Risa said, "if the cracks appear again, we try our best not to fall in. Once we feel the ground shake, we run."

"It was you, right?" Kenji asked as he lifted the bag onto his back.

"Me?"

"You kept the portal open. I saw the cracks disappear. The crater got smaller, but it didn’t close."

"Yeah. It’s been too long since I used that much power. I only do minor stuff now—getting things, closing doors," Risa laughed. "I thought it was going to kill me."

"So promise me one thing too. We stay away from the cracks. And you don’t use your power," Kenji said.

Risa nodded. Kenji took out his compass. They circled the forest, searching for a spot that would trigger the needles.

"This way," Kenji said, taking Risa’s hand.

They hid behind the boulder again, choosing to wait in case the ground shook.

"Kenji, it’s been five minutes. We should start looking around now," Risa whispered.

"Last time, we were here for half an hour before the earthquake happened," he said.

They fell into silence. The forest was unnervingly still. No insects. No wind. Just their own heartbeats filling the space. Risa was starting to drift off when they heard a scream—not close, but not too far either.

"Think that’s Riku?" Risa asked.

"Stay here. I’ll take a look. If I shout for you to run, go to Old Man Saburō’s house. Tell him to call the cops," Kenji said. He didn’t wait for her response.

Risa listened as his footsteps vanished into the dark. Silence followed. Cold sweat gathered on her skin.

"RISA! HE’S HERE!" Kenji shouted minutes later.

She stood up from behind the boulder and looked around for him. Complete darkness swallowed the forest. The flashlight in her hand was useless—it kept flickering. Kenji had the backpack with the extra batteries. Then she spotted another light blinking near the building’s entrance.

She ran as fast as she could toward it. Kenji was kneeling on the ground, taking off his jacket. Riku lay unconscious beside him, shirtless.

"What happened to him?" Risa asked, her voice trembling.

"I don’t know. Let’s get him back to the car," Kenji said.

Riku was deathly pale, his skin almost translucent. He groaned quietly, but he didn’t respond no matter how many times they called his name.

"Oh my God—what is that?" Risa pointed at his neck.

His veins were starkly visible. Black lines snaked from his neck down his chest, back, and arms. His skin felt like ice. Kenji lifted Riku onto his back.

Twigs snapped somewhere in the distance—slow, deliberate, as though something else was moving through the forest with them.

"Hurry. Get to the car first," Kenji told Risa, pressing the keys into her hand.

Risa nodded and ran.

》》》》》》》》》》

"We found Riku. He says he doesn’t want to be home tonight. Tell Aunt Yui he’s safe," Kenji said, pausing. "Okay. See you tomorrow at school."

Risa stared as he set his phone down.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Reiji," he answered. "How’s Riku?"

"His temperature’s below normal. He groans when I call him, but that’s it."

"That’s a good sign, right? The groaning?"

Risa lifted her shoulders. Kenji went digging through his closet for clothes for Riku and Risa. They’d decided to spend the night together at his house. Kenji’s mom had already called Risa’s parents to tell them she was staying over. Risa’s dad, in his usual cheer, said they should ‘have a good time.’

"Get changed," Kenji said as he handed Risa a pair of his basketball shorts and a T-shirt. "I’ll change Riku. Don’t come in unless I say so."

Risa nodded and slipped into the bathroom.

She was back five minutes later, rushing, her face still wet.

"What’s wrong?" Kenji asked. "I told you—don’t come out unless I call you. I haven’t even put Riku’s shorts on yet."

"Do you have an old TV or a radio with no signal? It doesn’t have to work completely. I just need the static," she said.

"All our old electronics get passed to relatives. Why?"

"I think Riku is stuck."

"Stuck? Where?"

"In the place where he fell."

"Are you serious? Riku’s body is right here," Kenji said, brows tightening.

"Have you heard of astral projection? They say it’s like dreaming but you’re outside your own body—floating, watching yourself sleep. And then you snap back and wake up," Risa explained.

"So you’re saying Riku is doing that?"

"Kind of. Astral projection doesn’t send you to another dimension. But I think Riku’s consciousness is still there—where you both fell."

"And you want to use your powers again. That’s why you need the static," Kenji said, concern creeping in.

"Yes. It’s the only way. We have to find him. He’s not dead, but imagine how he must feel right now."

"But we don’t have any broken TVs or radios…" Kenji froze. "You have Haruto’s radio, right? But it won’t work without the oscillator."

He started pacing, thinking through plans—how to sneak into Haruto’s basement without looking suspicious, how to ask for the oscillator back without raising questions.

"I have it," Risa finally said.

Kenji stared, confused.

"I have the crystal oscillator. I took it the day we stored the radio in the toolshed. Something about that signal didn’t sit right with me. The worst crime in Tsuyukusa is someone’s dog shitting in the wrong yard. Aside from the fire, there’s nothing. So why would we get a mysterious SOS and not one word from the local cops telling us to be careful?" Risa said.

"You planned to… figure everything out by yourself?" Kenji asked.

"No. I just wanted to check if my intuition was right. I planned to channel through the frequency that sent the message. See where it came from. And then I forgot about it."

"Do you think your parents will kill us if we break into your house at this hour?" Kenji asked.

"Not if they’re asleep," Risa answered.

Kenji nodded. He pulled a hoodie from his closet and handed it to her. They locked his bedroom door and blasted music before leaving.

"My parents never knock if there’s music. They’ll think we’re… busy," Kenji said with a grin. They slipped out to his car.

"Let’s make it quick. Riku needs us," Risa said.

The twenty-minute ride to Risa’s house somehow turned into five. They had to move fast—before Riku slipped too far to reach.

》》》》》》》》》》

Kenji carried Haruto's radio with both hands as they tiptoed toward Risa’s room. But before they could reach the stairs, her father emerged from the darkness of the living room and switched on the lights.

"Oh—I thought you two were working on a project. What are you doing here?" Risa’s father asked, still half-asleep. Risa froze, panic written all over her face.

"Yes, sir. We’re working on something. We just left a part in Risa’s room that we need for this to function," Kenji said quickly.

"Well…" Uncle Shouhei stared for a moment. "Since I’m hungry, help me make something to eat, Kenji. And you can just call me Uncle Shouhei."

Risa shot Kenji a look and nodded before sneaking upstairs to search for the missing piece that would bring the radio to life.

"What’s this thing you’re working on?" her father asked as he headed to the kitchen.

"Oh—uh… it’s for our physics project. We were told to create something based on our past lessons. Risa and I picked the electromagnetic spectrum," Kenji answered, fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie.

"Electromagnetic spectrum? Then what’s that radio-telephone hybrid you're carrying?" Uncle Shouhei laughed.

"Well, radios send waves through the air. Telephones use electric signals to send voices. So Risa and I tried to make something that could do both. If it works, we can lock onto a specific frequency like a radio—but also respond. Not just listening anymore. Actually answering," Kenji said as he poured hot water into three cups.

"So I could talk to radio broadcasters?" Uncle Shouhei laughed. "Imagine a song comes on and I just say, ‘Hey, I don’t like this one.’ People would lose their minds hearing some random man complain on air."

"And live," Kenji laughed along.

He cooked the ramen while Uncle Shouhei fried eggs.

"Did you know Risa likes her eggs fried with crispy edges? When she was little, she always asked me to make them that way. Not burnt—just brown, crispy, salty," her father said.

Kenji watched him carefully crisp the edges, matching Risa’s preference.

"But I stopped making them like that four years ago. Soon she only ate the yolk. I used to scold her for it," Uncle Shouhei sighed, voice cracking. "When Haji was born… my wife and I forgot about her. Risa was adopted, you know. We found her on a bench by the river. It was winter, and she was only wearing a hospital gown. She looked lifeless. You know that look people have when they’ve given up? A five-year-old girl had it. The cold made her skin stick to the metal bench. We had to call an ambulance because we were afraid her skin would rip if we moved her ourselves."

"Risa never told us much about what happened to her at home. She’d hide her bruises," Kenji said quietly.

"I’ve been a bad father to Risa. We forgot she was ours. We poured everything into Haji and neglected her," he whispered. "My wife told me Risa is one semester away from college. I was… shocked. I didn’t realize so much time had passed. I didn’t realize my little girl had grown up. When you introduced yourself as her boyfriend, I thought maybe… maybe it was my chance to rebuild something. I hope she forgives me."

"She will, Uncle Shouhei. Risa doesn’t hold grudges," Kenji said.

Her father tapped Kenji’s back, asking how long he had known Risa. Kenji mentioned being adopted too, and they exchanged soft laughter as Uncle Shouhei told childhood stories—until Risa came rushing down the stairs.

"What’s wrong?" Kenji asked.

"It’s gone," she said. "The crystal oscillator. I can’t find it."

"Maybe you left it in your pocket?"

"No! I don't know—I don’t remember," Risa said, voice cracking. "We need it. Otherwise this won’t work."

"Hey, hey, calm down. Sit and eat. I’ll check the toolshed—maybe we still have spare oscillators," her father said.

Kenji and Risa watched him step outside with a flashlight. Kenji guided Risa to sit.

"Your father and I made this," he said softly.

Risa took a sip of the coffee and exhaled shakily. She reached for one of the fried eggs—the one without crispy edges.

"Not that one," Kenji said, switching them. "This is yours. Your father made it exactly the way you like it."

"He did?" Risa whispered, smiling.

They ate in silence. Risa refused to finish hers until her father returned. Then came a knock on the door.

"I’ll get it. Stay here," Kenji said.

He opened the door to find Uncle Shouhei balancing two old radios in his arms and a tool sleeve gripped between his teeth. He nudged the door with his foot, smiling through the leather. Kenji quickly helped him inside.

"What’s this?" Risa asked.

"When you were young, we owned a ton of radios," Uncle Shouhei said, placing the sleeve and radios on the table. "This red Sony was mine. Your mom borrowed it when she left her first desk job in 1984. We weren’t even a couple then. She’d ask me to turn it on whenever the bosses weren’t around. It worked perfectly until 2008—then broke two weeks after we adopted you."

Kenji smirked at Risa; she rolled her eyes.

"And this one’s a Toshiba. Got it in ’92. Broke two days after your mom’s radio did," Uncle Shouhei chuckled. "We bought so many until you turned nine. They just kept breaking. Maybe radios from the 2000s were weak."

"If Mom left her job in 1984, how did you meet again?" Risa asked.

"We never told you?" he said, surprised. She shook her head. "We met again here in Tsuyukusa in 1996. Both working for Child Protection Services. I was stationed in Tokyo, she was in Saitama, but there was a shortage here. When I walked into the office and saw my old Sony on her desk… we started talking again. Dated. Married two years after. A decade later, we had a daughter. We had you."

"That’s beautiful," Kenji said.

"It’s fate. Twelve years passed before we met again. Every day, I thank the heavens I met Sayuri. Without her, I wouldn’t have this life… or these kids," Uncle Shouhei said.

Kenji looked at Risa. Her eyes were welling with tears. Her father smiled gently as he took a screwdriver from the sleeve.

"You kids eat. I’ll extract the crystal oscillator from these radios and install it in your invention."

"But we waited for you. The ramen’s getting cold," Risa said.

"I can heat it later. Besides," he smiled, "I want to be useful."