“Weird choice for a location...” Rick muttered, stepping out of the cab.
He looked up at the building.
He then realized the location was part of what used to be the Labs. The building was mostly destroyed, with a lot of rubble lying around.
Rick closed his eyes for a moment.
He thought about the day he rescued Maru.
His thoughts then wandered on to think about the last time he saw Norio.
*
Fourteen years ago, a family was getting ready for bed. A man tucked two boys into bed.
“I’m going to go say goodnight to your sister now,” the man paused for a minute.
He then gave a smile.
“Boys...I just wanted to tell you...” He gulped and looked down.
Before he could get another word out, they heard a loud banging on the door.
The man quickly turned his attention toward the doorway.
“...Hold on.” He said.
As he stepped out into the kitchen, he
Rick stared for a good second.As he stepped over some rubble, his mind went blank. However, his body kept moving.Walking towards the boy he had let down fourteen years ago.He opened his mouth.“Nori-” He tried to get the words out, but they got caught in his throat.“Oh?” Norio turned around.Rick quickly turned.Chris and Maru pulled up.“Hey!” Chris ran out.“Wait, what the hell are you two-”Norio stared at Maru.“Ah.” He said.Rick quickly turned back to Norio.“I’m sorry, I don’t know why they’re here-“Norio closed his eye, nodding his head.“Nah, it’s fine.” He then opened his eye.“What’s the kid's name?” He questioned.“M-”Norio narrowed his eye at Rick.“Let her answer.” He said.Maru
"Rick!" A voice cried out from behind the door.Rick rose from the couch.As he opened the door, he was greeted by Sena."How is she?" Sena looked over at Maru, who was huddled up in a blanket.Rick smiled sadly."I guess she could be better."Sena looked around the room."How's Chris...?"Rick frowned."I don’t know; why don't you ask him?"Sena sighed."Because he won't answer mine or Abbey's calls."Rick scratched his head and let out a sigh."I'm sorry for such a short stay, but I have to go back downstairs to make sure there aren't any customers stopping by potentially," she said, taking her leave.As she opened the door, the adults heard a whine.Sena and Rick quickly turned around."Sena..." Maru whimpered.Sena quickly went over to her."What is it, Maru...?" She said, pulling the blanket off the girl’s head, stroking her hair."Ple
As the day progressed, Maru remained huddled in her blanket."Maru," Rick gently called out.However, she did not look up."How about we eat something?" He suggested as he began walking over.Maru quickly hid her face in the blanket.Rick sighed as he sat down."Maru, you seriously need to eat something," he paused.The blanket began shaking."Maru..." He whispered."Please tell me you're not..."He quickly pried the blanket off her head.Maru squeaked.Rick touched his lips to her forehead.His eyes widened."You're burning up!" He cried.He quickly rose, rushing to the refrigerator.He went into the freezer, quickly grabbing an ice pack.Damnit! How the hell was I so clueless!? He thought to himself.As Rick got back to the couch, he gently placed the ice pack on the girl’s forehead. She flinched."Maru..." He whispered, caressing her
As night fell, the city was bustling.In the middle of the commotion was a bar.The bar was relatively empty in contrast to the outside bustle. However, business went on.As the door creaked open, leaking a hint of the night into the dim-lit bar, a cloaked man entered."Ah, welcome." The bartender greeted.The man simply waved.Only one other customer was seated at the bar."What can I get for you?" The bartender asked the man."I don't care." The man replied.The bartender looked at him for a second.“Uh,” he began.“D-do you have an ID...?"The man blushed."H-here..." He grumbled, pulling out his ID.The other man seated at the bar turned his head; his eyes widened.The bartender gave a nod.The man sat next to the other bar visitor.The other man kept his gaze steadily on his glass."Nice night," the cloaked man smiled.The man ne
By the time Larkin arrived back home, he had figured everyone would be fast asleep.But as he opened the door, he was greeted by a familiar pink presence."Papa!" She cried, throwing her arms around him.Larkin, completely caught off guard, patted her head awkwardly."Kari..." He began."Shouldn't you...be in bed?"She sniffled, looking up."Mim said we had something to discuss!" She exclaimed as she grabbed his hand."We're in the meeting room, papa!"As she led him to the room, Larkin suddenly thought about those kids. Those kids that he had betrayed so many years ago.It was merely a game of pretending... He reassured himself.As the two came up to the meeting room, the door opened to reveal two other people sitting at a table."Yo," A man with pink hair gave a wave."Any news?"The other person, a lady, stood up."One of our spies found two possible candidates. She s
“Hey,” Keren began, placing her hands on her hips.Norio looked up from the newspaper.“Hah?”Keren frowned.“You’ve been even more irritatingly quiet lately.”Norio looked back down at the paper.“Oi! Don’t go ignoring me, you jerk!” Keren cried.Norio groaned.“It’s too early for your crap!” He grumbled as he stood up.Keren folded her arms and sighed.*As he got breakfast ready, Norio turned to Emersyn and Vera.“Do you two want to help put the blueberries in?”The two quickly looked up.“Really!?” Emersyn cried.“Mm!” Vera nodded eagerly.It’s not that big a deal... Norio thought to himself.Keren leaning against the wall, smiled softly.“He’s really at his best when it comes to these kids...” She whispered.
As Keren walked up to the steps, she was shocked to see Norio standing on the porch.As he lifted his head, utter despair filled his eye."What the hell happened!?" She exclaimed, running up to him."Somebody took her," Norio replied."What do you mean!?" Keren cried."Come," he said, grabbing her by the wrist.As they walked to the back, the garage door was left open."No..." Keren covered her mouth."I just went on a walk," he paused."By the time I got back..." He looked down."She wasn't happy with me but,"Keren shot him a look."What do you mean...?"Norio sighed."She told me she...loved me."Keren looked at him."Are you sure this is a case of kidnapping and not,"Norio shot her a look."I'm damn sure, Emersyn wouldn't get so upset she'd leave because of three words."Keren let out a sigh."Where is Vera?"Norio pointed to his sis
As the following day came, everyone arrived outside of Sena's shop."Where's Rick?" Tammy asked."He's still getting ready," Chris replied.“How'd you guys sleep?" Chris asked as he looked around."Not too well..." Sena replied as Abbey let out a yawn.They then heard the creaking of the porch steps.“What the hell took you so long?" Chris asked."Sorry, sorry," Rick said, scratching his head."Maru," Tammy began."How are you?"Maru, who was half asleep, rubbed her eyes."I'm really sleepy..."Tammy giggled.*As they began walking toward the dojo, Abbey momentarily stopped."So, what's the game plan, leader?" Abbey asked."We go in with our guards up, is all," Rick said."What the hell kind of vague plan is," before she could finish, Rick, carrying a sleepy Maru, looked over his shoulder at her."One of you will stand outside with Maru, in case.