Chapter 2

"That him?"

"Hm - hey don't stare! We don't him to tell Guide Segawa we're making him uncomfortable".

"Alright, alright. Geez. ... For someone requiring this much security, he feels a little normal, don't you think?"

"You don't know what you're talking about".

"No, really! Weren't you expecting someone more... special? I mean if that someone has gained the attention of Guide Segawa, they've got to be special".

A heavy sigh. "Shut your mouth".

Shintokyo's Metropolitan Police Department Security Police is used to being put on guard duty for some of the most notorious figures in the nation. And, admittedly, among them, this one is definitely one of the most unusual.

They're guarding a boy.

It is not a matter of age. They have had the opportunity to guard someone as young, if not younger; from the child of a diplomat to a young key witness to a high-profile case. However, it is interesting how the amount of precautions and manpower demanded for this assignment comes with barely any explanation as to why. And when the higher-ups are secretive about their assignments, it goes without saying that the mission involves multiple high-profile names. Rumors have been flying around that the Prime Minister himself is involved in the protection of this child. Some have even confessed to seeing the likes of Matsuzaka Kei in Hospital Room 207, which further piques everyone's curiosity.

Yet, the person of interest himself is as plain as plain goes. He appears just like any other 16-year-old; perhaps too thin and too silent for his own good. At the moment, he is sitting on the bed with a book, grabbed from a tall pile Guide Segawa has brought from his own home, with his blanket covering the bottom half of his body. He is preppily dressed by the hands of Guide Segawa himself, in a collared shirt under a light-colored sweater and a pair of shorts. A couple of hours ago, the Guide even scooped him out of the hospital for an outing to the trendy Golden Bean Cafe, and rumor has it Guide Segawa invited an executive to the recently established Esper Organization called YES.

"You think he's joining YES?"

"... no way. An F-Class can't become an Esper".

To their surprise, the ever-silent boy suddenly voices his opinion in English from the opposite side of the room.

"That's rude".

***

Ren did not mean to say that to the two guards in the lounge of Room 207. In fact, it was not even directed to both of them.

He was talking to the boy with the blonde hair that nobody else besides himself could somehow see.

Along with the two guards, the blonde boy turns their heads so quickly that Ren wonders how they don't hurt a nerve.

"W-we're sorry!" One of the guards rushes to apologize. He bows his head repeatedly while also pushing the other guard's head down in a bow, "We'll keep our mouths shut next time. We're really, really sorry!"

"N-no, I wasn't -," Ren switches to Japanese as he tries to explain that he wasn't directing that comment to them, but it would be hard to tell them there's a boy they all can't see in the room without coming off as crazy, wouldn't it?

The blonde, however, looks at Ren like he has just grown a second head. It seems that he did not expect this turn of events - that out of anyone in the room, it is the boy in the bed who notices him first. And really, if it wasn't for that wish Ren made, Ren wouldn't have noticed him.

***

It all started a week ago when Ren woke up in a bed unfamiliar to him with an IV hooked into his right arm.

"You'll be fine," the nurse standing by his bedside told him. The name 'Masaharu' is written on his nametag. "Do you remember your name?" Masaharu asked him instead.

"Hinata Ren," Ren found his tongue heavy; making his answer closer to a drunk grumble. More tedious questions quickly followed; what's your date of birth? Where do you study?; and when he asked Ren if he remembered his own age, Ren was a little miffed.

That is until he asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Ren's brows instantly met as he pondered the question. To his own confusion, he was lost on how to answer.

Masaharu mumbled to himself as he jotted more notes onto his tablet. Soon, a doctor entered his room, doing the exact same questioning routine but ended his series of questions with, "Do you know where you are?"

Ren looked around, "I assume the hospital," he licked his chapped lips nervously, "something happened, didn't it?"

It was a question more than it was a statement. There was sympathy - or pity, a look Ren is quite familiar with - growing in the doctor's gaze and the man landed a gentle hand on top of Ren's thin one. "You're right. Something did happen to you. Something extremely traumatic and horrendous. Your body has survived a brutal and ferocious assault," a kind smile, "but you are fine now. And that is what's important".

The man then introduced himself and the nurse, explaining where he was and how long he had been in a coma. He was informed that his body suffered a shock the moment he woke up, and they put him into an induced sleep to slowly bring him back to consciousness.

Strangely enough, Ren took this in calmly. Perhaps it's the drugs in his system; perhaps he's never been out of shock. However, Ren is aware enough to note that the doctor avoided telling him what exactly happened that brought him to the hospital in the first place.

But deep down, Ren knew he couldn't get his answers from the doctor or the nurse. It's in the way they look at him; or in how the Guards would sometimes whisper among themselves. There was a mixture of awe and fear in how they saw him; the boy stuck in his hospital bed. Masaharu, in particular, would have a faraway look in his eyes whenever he checked on Ren's vitals; as if his mind took him elsewhere; somewhere scary enough that his face turned a little pale before he snapped out of it and would blurt out the most random suggestion to Ren; something along the lines of, "Would you like some pudding? The kitchen is making this nice strawberry pudding today". 

The person with all the answers appeared the next day; right after Ren woke up from a short afternoon nap.

Tall and silent; when Ren first recognized his form, the man was eyeing the collar of his hospital gown in distaste. "We need to get you proper clothes," the man muttered, "something that actually looks proper; not this plastic bag".

There was no hello nor any recognition of Ren's wakefulness. Instead, the man took hold of his hand and inspected his nails. "Someone get me a nail clipper," He ordered. As soon as he requested it, another man appeared with said tool ready in his outreached hand.

"Thank you," the previous man grumbled before getting to work on Ren's nails.

He only introduced himself once he was happy with Ren's nails. "I'm Yasuo".

No last name. "I-I'm Ren".

"I know".

"Dad?" Ren's brain dumbly provided - a side effect of growing up orphaned. But he knew what he saw. The man looked like he stepped right out of a perfume commercial; with a model-like appearance and ironed clothes that surely came with thick embossed price tags. And Ren, humble orphaned Ren, is in no way related to someone so so charming.

In that short amount of time, Ren figured out that Yasuo is many other things besides his charms. He is busy; and by busy, Ren meant he receives many phone calls - and he seems busy enough to be able to tell another person (his assistant, Ren assumed) to tell the person on the call that he's busy. He is also in charge - of what, Ren had no idea. But there were people following his orders. Two of them stood in Ren's room all the time, keeping guard. Ren found out later that there were a lot more of them around the area.

Ren knew then Yasuo was the man with all the answers.

It's in his posture, the calm and collected manner he spoke to Ren. One has to be in the know to have their composure in control.

There were many things Ren wanted to ask the man known only by the name Yasuo; but Ren's eyes grew heavy and managed to muster another word. "Have a good rest, Ren," Ren felt himself being tucked in, just like a child, "I'll see you tomorrow".

***

The next time Ren came to, he was sitting straight, with long cold fingers holding his jaw so his mouth would open. Those fingers belong to the one and only mysterious man; Yasuo.

"You're awake now, are you?" Yasuo mused. Ren dumbly nodded, somehow feeling like he had one foot on the land of dreams, and another on the land of the living. A spoonful of porridge was shoved into his mouth before the order came, "Close your mouth," Ren closed his mouth, "Swallow," and so Ren did.

Yasuo huffed. At first, Ren thought the man was annoyed; but when he looked at the man, there was a small smile forming on his face. Yasuo was holding back a chuckle. "What do I do with you?" He said, "I believe you can sit straight on your own now?" 

It took Ren a moment to comprehend the full question. Yasuo has been helping him eat; although how he woke up in the middle of it confused Ren greatly. He nodded, to which the long fingers left Ren's face alone. Ren felt himself losing his balance just a little before he garnered enough strength to keep himself upright. Sitting somehow felt like such a chore.

"You were talking in your sleep, it seems," Yasuo informed him, not a halt in his task of feeding Ren. Ren opened his mouth and took in another spoonful of porridge from his breakfast set that had been set beautifully in front of him alongside a serving of fruit slices, bread, soup, and tea. Ren nodded dumbly to Tasuo.

"With your eyes open," Yasuo continued. Again, Ren nodded, not having the energy to speak. "Looking like you're awake".

Ren frowned. Has he been acting awake enough in his sleep to eat? He supposed he had. After all, why would Yasuo feed him if his sleep-talking wasn't that convincing?

"You said a lot of things," Yasuo said. Ren felt horror creeping into him.

"What did I say?" His words were a little jumbled with grogginess and the food in his mouth.

"Oh, just something about wanting to work in the Ministry".

Thank goodness. Nothing embarrassing.

"You called me 'Dad'"

The embarrassment came like taking a bucket of ice water to the head, and yet Ren did not even have the energy to appear flustered. He simply took in another spoonful of porridge and swallowed dutifully. 

Ren was in the middle of trying to hold his teacup, with great difficulty, when Yasuo suddenly said, "You were in close proximity to a newly opened portal".

It was said quite nonchalantly, in between comments on how working for the ministry is not worth it that Ren did not pay any mind to it except understanding why everyone was fussing over him. He's a victim of a portal-related incident. Of course, people would feel bad for him.

Afterward, they talked about signing him up for physiotherapy sessions to help him gain mobility after being in a coma. He did not think of what escaping a portal would mean for him and the people he cared about.

***

It was the third day after he woke up from his coma. Ren was staring at the flower arrangements displayed on the long cabinet opposite his bed. He wondered who in his short list of contacts could afford to send him these beautiful bouquets. It was definitely not Tetsu; flowers are so not in his gesture of kindness.

And thinking of Tetsu, he realized that not even his orphanage could afford these flowers. In fact, they could not afford the medical bills that surely had piled up at that point. 

"You know, my orphanage can't afford this" Ren pointed around the room to elaborate.

Yasuo, who was sitting on the lounge chair with a tablet in hand, lifted an eyebrow, "of course, they can't," the man answered coolly, "So can't your next one".

"Am I being transferred to a different orphanage?"

The older scoffed, "A glorified institution called YES".

"That's a funny name," Ren idly responded. Someone named their orphanage the same name as that Esper Organization Tetsu was so obsessed with.

Ren's mind roamed to the thought of his orphanage and his friends there. Imagine how worried the orphanage carers and supervisors would be! Tetsu would be so pissed Ren got himself in this trouble without him!

And how about school? Oh, there would be many homework to do and lessons to keep up with once he got released from the hospital. He wondered where his classmates were in their studies at the moment; and with that in mind, he tried remembering the last thing he learned in class.

There was that difficult homework from Mori-sensei...

That was when he realized that class with Mori-sensei was actually the last thing he could remember.

"I was at school," Ren suddenly mentioned in the middle of his thoughts, "when something happened, I was at school".

Yasuo put his tablet on his lap and propped his face with a fist. His expression was that of a proud parent. "Correct," the man replied, sounding unbothered, "the portal opened at your school, on a school day".

"With students inside".

"With students inside, yes," Yasuo nodded.

His jaw slacked as his hollow gaze followed Yasuo. "And... my friends?"

"If by friends you meant your classmates, well, they were not as fortunate. The portal opened in Class 2-2, your classroom. So far 89 students are still publicly announced as 'missing'".

Missing.

Ren did not have a lot in this world - not even a parent. And now they're taking the only people that mattered in his life too.

Ren didn't even notice when Yasuo left the room to go home. He sat there in silence, as still as a statue, until the nurse told him it was his bedtime. He followed the nurse's instruction like a robot; pulling the blanket up to his chest, closing his eyes the moment the light was flicked off.

He did not cry. After all, to someone like Ren having no one is simply another reality. It's a matter of perspective. Even at the orphanage, he can easily be lonely by reminding himself he has no parents of his own; and yet it is also as easy to not be lonely when he considers the fact that he slept with 3 other boys every night, and ate his meals with dozens others all the time. Even now, it might hurt to think his friends were gone, but he is not alone. Two guards are standing by in the lounge room of his room, and there's that nurse, Masaharu, the doctor, and Yasuo.

He controlled his breathing. In another realm, perhaps Ren would cry in silence under the covers. But not in this reality. Ren has long learned crying never solves his problems.

Ren woke up feeling tired. His thoughts were full of Tetsu.

Tetsu is his bunkmate at the orphanage; the only person he would deem a family in his life. Stupidly, he hoped for Tetsu to escape the portal. After all, Tetsu is an A-Class. And his best friend, Hajime, is an S-Class. Those two would make the best team against the host of the portal. Surely, they would be able to escape the portal and rescue everyone.

Until then though, Ren can simply hope for the best.

So silently, he wished.

He wished he could see Tetsu for the last time and that newly blonde hair he bleached in secret in their shared bedroom. Ren had told him many times how stupid the hair looked, but oh how he would love to see that stupid blonde hair once more on that boy's head.

That was when he found him.

The boy with the blonde hair.

***

Blonde and somewhat pale-skinned, the boy, who can't be older than Ren himself, looked like a character in Western films. His hair was pulled back to a lazy ponytail, with long bangs on the side. His coloring implied a foreign lineage, and yet he also carried some Japanese features. That shade of blonde though is the exact shade of blonde Tetsu had wanted to achieve - to no avail.

Ren found him as soon as he thought of Tetsu. He blinked once, and suddenly, the boy with the blonde hair was there, blowing bubble gum, sitting cross-legged on top of the long cabinet, next to the pile of gifts and bouquets from strangers Ren never met. In his hands was a handheld console - one of those next-gen one that all the orphanage kids talked about yet never could afford - that was playing a very loud video game. In fact, the loud music had always been playing in the background, so much so that it felt like a white noise.

Why didn't they notice these details? That boy is dressed so brightly in trendy clothes; and with such an unusual hair color; they should've noticed such an eye-catching person sooner.

"Damn it!!" The blonde boy cussed at his video game, and yet none of the guards batted an eye. It's either they knew the boy was there, or they didn't notice him at all.

Ren was almost convinced he was seeing a ghost. After all, he was at a hospital; God knows how many people have died there. It's that, or Ren was going insane. Yet, if that boy was a product of his hallucinations, why wouldn't he at least look more like Tetsu, the person he wanted to see the most, or even notice Ren back?

What's crazier is that one of the guards entered the room with a large bouquet. She smiled, announcing, "More flowers from Matsuzaka-san!" Unfortunately, she found no more space on the cabinet. So she casually handed the bouquet to the blonde boy who dropped his console to take the bouquet in his own hands.

"What the hell?" The blonde protested in perfect English, "Why in the world am I holding these flowers?" The boy looked thoroughly offended.

As though she didn't hear the loud complaints, the woman chuckled and completely talked over the blonde to address Ren, "There. He's a sweet man, isn't he? That Matsuzaka-san".

Ren realized then that they were not ignoring the boy; they simply couldn't notice the boy. The female guard just handed that bouquet perfectly without missing the placement or dropping the flowers, almost as if she unconsciously knew she was giving it to another person; and yet she behaved as if she didn't see him there. The rest of the guards did the same. They never walked through him, nor took the seat the boy was sitting on; it's almost like they knew he was there and yet they didn't.

Even more bizarre, the boy with the blonde hair threw the bouquet to the floor without an amount of care before leaving the room, and that female guard, who seemed to care a lot more about those flowers than Ren ever would, and the 2 guards in the lounge room, who were always wary of whoever enters and exits the room, did not say a word nor turn their heads.

The female guard looked surprised instead when she noticed the bouquet on the floor, "Oh my! Sorry about that, I should've put them in a better spot".

***

Ren does not tell anyone about the boy with the blonde hair - not when the boy is there with him in the room, not when the boy goes to wherever it is he goes to the moment he exits Ren's room. The boy does not seem to pay Ren any mind, and so Ren acts accordingly by ignoring him.

The boy with the blonde hair was mostly around in the afternoon. Sometimes Ren caught him entering his room casually after lunch, sometimes he woke up from his nap to the boy already sitting on the cabinet, playing video games. He always carried those handheld consoles with him and he always had something sweet on him, like a chocolate bar or candy.

He was never there when Ren had guests though, like when Yasuo was visiting.

And while he never talked to the boy, or been talked to by the boy; Ren enjoys the silent company. Whether he's a ghost or a hallucination, Ren considers the boy a constant company. He looks forward to his presence whenever lunchtime is nearing its end.

Ren was worried he wouldn't see the boy that day, seeing that Yasuo took him out of the hospital to celebrate him being able to walk again. Thankfully, he was back in his spot on the cabinet by the time Ren returned with the help of two guards he had never seen before.

The usual two guards stationed in the room with Ren followed Yasuo into a meeting with the hospital staff. These two are replacements, and they visibly look like they have little idea of what they're doing there. Still, they help Ren to his bed as moving from standing to sitting and vice versa is still difficult at the moment.

The boy with the blonde hair, who normally doesn't care about his surroundings, raises his gaze from his console to give the two new guards the side-eye. "What's lower ranks like you doing here?" The blonde snidely remarks in English.

The guards return to their station without acknowledging the rude comment. Instead, the two adult men are whispering among themselves - what about, Ren has no idea, but he's sure they are not talking about the blonde boy in the room.

"Losers" the blonde adds, with the coldest condescending tone Ren ever heard coming out of someone else's mouth. Sadly, the guards fail to notice a thing despite being talked to so impolitely.

Ren may not speak English as fluently as the blonde, but he understands them very well thanks to those American movies he downloaded from the internet. 

Before he knows it, the words jump out of his mouth in English too, "That's rude".

That is how Ren got into his current predicament; with the two new guards apologizing profusely. And for the first time ever, Ren's eyes meet the harsh glare of that boy with the blonde hair. There's no denying it. There's only one other person who has been speaking English in the room and it wasn't any of these two guards. It is clear now that the two boys can see each other, and is acknowledging the other's presence.

Thankfully, the two guards Ren is familiar with returned to the room right at that second. "Hey, return to your previous post. We're taking over," one of them said. The two other men look so glad to be relieved of the task and of apologizing to the boy they have offended.

Ren, however, is not relieved of the intense gaze the blonde boy has subjected him to.

"Hinata-kun, are you okay?" Asks one of the guards when they see how tense Ren is.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine".

"Do you want me to call the nurse?"

"N-no! Really, I'm fine".

"All right. It's okay, Guide Segawa is on his way here".

And just as they mentioned 'Guide Segawa', panic flashes through the blonde boy's expression before he rushes to leave.

***

Ari admits that he surprises himself at times when it comes to the lengths he would go to in the name of his career. That includes venturing into the woods to find the secret hiding place of a Yakuza heiress - all because he needs to contact his ward, Takenouchi Sora.

"Mr. Banks..."

To be frank, this heiress is also one of his wards.

"Mr. Banks..."

But that doesn't mean Ari can't be afraid of them. A lot of parents are scared of their own children.

"Mr. Banks..."

And considering her affiliations, Ari has a good reason to be afraid of her.

"Mr. Banks -"

"Can you please just shut your mouth, Alex!!?"

Alex whines, "But Mr. Banks, are you sure we're going in the right direction? Why are we even here?" The secretary then yelps and cries at the sight of a hopping bug.

"Because you were there when I made that call, Alex!! That man said we'd find Rika here!" When they called her number, it was answered by a man claiming to be Rika's bodyguard. That man was the one who gave them these directions.

"What if this is a trap?" Alex's voice cracks.

Ari stops in his tracks. Right. Why did he not consider that possibility?

"Mr. Banks?"

After all, this is the Yakuza he's dealing with. A bunch of criminals! He shouldn't have trusted everything they said!

"Mr. Banks?"

Plus, Rika was not even on the call to confirm that Ari could meet her there at the designated place. This may be a trap!

"Mr. Banks?"

"WHAT!?"

Alex points a trembling finger ahead. Ari slowly turns to follow that direction, only to find a tall bulky man with a bald flat head looming over them. The man is dressed in a black suit, quite a contrast to the woody scenery, just like them.

"Identify yourself," the hulking figure croaks flatly. Ari finds himself fixing his tie out of nerve.

"H-h-hi! I'm Ari. Arilio Banks. This is m-my assistant, Alex".

"A-Alex! Alex Wu!"

Both of them are stuttering, and trembling.

"Explain why you are here," the man croaks again.

"Y-y-yes, of course! I'm looking for Rika-chan," the man looms closer, his face darkening as Ari witnesses a puff of air coming out of the man's nostril.

"Ojou-sama?"

"R-right! R-rika-ojou-sa-sama!"

The man hums lowly, or growls. Honestly, Ari cannot tell the difference.

"Elaborate," the man says.

"W-we called her phone number -".

"And a man answered," Alex fills in.

"R-right. A man. Her bodyguard, w-we believe".

The large man hums yet again, "Haruhito-san".

"Y-yes! Maybe i-it is Haruhito-san!" Ari tries laughing, albeit nervously.

"Yes!" Alex adds.

"A-and he said to follow some directions to find R-rika-chan-"

"Rika-ojou-chan," Alex corrects him.

"O-Ojou-sama. And that's how we're here!"

The gigantic man does not say anything for a full ten seconds before he says, "Yes".

"Yes?" Ari copies, a habit he learned from Business 101.

"You're from YES".

"YES? Oh, yes! We're from YES".

The large man gives another heavy hum before he turns around and walks ahead. "Follow me," he says. Ari and Alex can finally release their bated breath.

The man leads them through bushes and trees until they hear voices in the background growing clearer and clearer. They reach a clearing with the ruins of what used to be a castle. Around the clearing are teenagers, all dressed in black serafuku and gakuran. Some are adults, dressed in black suits and sporting a peculiar hairdo.

This. This is a Yakuza youth gathering.

In the middle of this gathering is a man in just his brief. His clothes are in a pile in the corner, guarded by two boys holding a baseball bat each. The naked man is on all fours, his head covered with a black bag, and a dog collar is looped around his neck. The leash is held by one of the girls.

"I'm sorry, Rika-sama!! I swear upon my life, I will never disappoint you again!!" The leashed man howls.

Right, the girl he is bowing to is the girl Ari is looking for. Kurozaya Rika; 18 years old, and second in line to the Kurozaya-kai's leadership. Of course, being related to a large organized crime family, Rika rarely ever used her real last name. Instead, she lists herself as Kikuya Rika.

Rika, the girl with strawberry blonde hair styled into 2 ponytails, is standing tall in front of the naked man. The skirt of her black serafuku is billowing as she gazes upon the man with her one hand resting on a spiked baseball bat.

"Say woof," the girl coldly says.

"W-what?" The man asks, confused. Some of the girls giggle.

"Say woof".

Hesitant, the man abides, "w-woof".

"Louder".

"Woof!!"

The girls are giggling loudly now, making the whole scene more sickening to watch.

"Ojou-sama," the large man calls. And suddenly, any noise goes silent. Kurozaya Rika - no, Kikuya Rika turns her attention toward them. "You have a guest," the man finally states before stepping to the side to reveal Ari and Alex.

Rika gazes upon them for a moment, before she hands her bat to the boy standing next to her. She walks towards them and stops right in front of Ari.

"Ari," Rika mutters as a greeting. For a split second, she appears to be just that; a beautiful young lady who could easily lead a life of the popular girl in high school. Yet here she is, obviously standing as the ringleader of this whole debacle in the middle of the woods. Ari tries to understand how the likes of Sora and Koukichi, both being part of well-respected families in Neo Japan, can befriend a girl born among the most cunning and wicked.

"Y-yes, Rika-chan. I apologize for bothering you in the middle of your... spare time - uh, if you mind, I have a favor to ask you," the girl keeps her silence as a sign for Ari to continue, "As you know, Sora has not been around. I need you to tell him I need to speak to him".

"Sora is busy," she does not hesitate to rebut.

"I understand but," Ari pauses to lean closer and whisper, "it's related to Segawa Yasuo".

She figures out in an instant what this is all about. After all, it was the same topic when Ari brought up that man to them last time. "I believe Sora has told you we don't need a Guide in the team".

"Right, right, I know, but listen!" Ari presses on, "he is offering his second son".

"We don't need a second Segawa".

"No! Listen, he said his second son's ability is the answer to solving Shun-En".

The only girl in the team is suddenly so still and silent. Ari has always thought she was scary whenever she was like this.

"He wants Sora to talk to him," Ari whispers, "Actually, Sora needs to talk to me before he goes to talk to Segawa Yasuo".

The wind blows and ruffles the trees surrounding them. Rika's eyes wander towards those trees as if she is seeing something in the wind.

"I'll see what I can do," Rika states finally before turning around to return to her... crowd.

"Oh, and Rika-chan?" Ari calls before he leaves. The girl stops to see him. "Tell Sora that his uncle, the Prime Minister, and Matsuzaka Kei both have their eyes on this Guide". He points smartly using his finger, knowing full well that Rika would consider passing over that tiny little detail to Sora who cares too much about what any other public figures are doing.

Still, he and Alex leave without knowing whether the message will reach Sora. They drive back to the Headquarters, with Alex rambling along the way about how scary but hot that giant man greeting them was.

He does not do much after arriving back at the office. Instead, he goes home early to his luxurious penthouse. He is pleased to find it clean thanks to his hired help but is quite unsure how he feels about finding it vacant of any signs of life besides his own being.

No matter. Being alone is the perfect cool-down after a long day at work. And what other way is best to celebrate this silence besides a nice drink and a meal?

Ari takes off his shoes and, after a playful spin in the empty living room, he dims down the light and turns on the large TV screen to continue where he left off in the latest series he's watching. He rolls his sleeves and goes to the kitchen, where he pours himself a glass of whisky over a large crystal ice, and takes out several produce from the fridge.

Not long after, he finds himself humming lightly over the stove. His potatoes and vegetables are roasting in the oven, and his rib eye is sizzling on the cast iron skillet. Soon, he serves himself a perfectly cooked meal, which he eats from the kitchen island, with a knife and a fork, and his eyes are trained to the large screen.

Cleaning is swift and easy. All he does is throw everything into the dishwasher and what is left is a little wiping job on his kitchen surface. Afterward, he goes for a nice hot shower.

The popular online series he's watching is still playing on the screen on his bathroom wall when he exits the shower in his expensive robe. He stops by the large sink to watch his reflection in the mirror; a ritual he does before brushing his teeth in the evening - hmm, it seems like he needs a new eye cream.

"Phew, finally! That was a long shower, Ari. I'm tired of waiting".

That is not Ari's voice.

Ari jumps and turns around to find a boy with black hair sitting cross-legged upside down from his ceiling. "Woah! What is it? You look like you just seen a ghost!" The boy exclaims.

And just like that, Ari screams for his life.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

***

To be continued.