The Time-Out Room Hideout

Natasha stared at the empty bowl Shu offered, then at the other bowl, piled high with rice, practically compressed into a cake. Her hand, holding the serving spoon, froze mid-air.

"Don't get the wrong idea. This isn't for me. My appetite is perfectly normal," Shu said, grabbing Lyle's normal-sized portion with a knowing look.

Compared to this mountain of rice, even Kiana's appetite seemed reasonable. But Shu knew, even with these two bowls, she would likely still be hungry.

Fortunately, Mei and Natasha had prepared plenty of food. After filling a bowl to the brim with the spicy dish, Natasha practically shooed Shu away.

Shu shuffled over to the time-out room and knocked lightly. "Open up."

Kiana's muffled voice came from inside. "Restricted area. No admittance."

Huh? Shouldn't she be begging for forgiveness? Something was definitely amiss.

"Food delivery!" Shu called out, raising his voice.

Did someone say free food?!

Before he could finish the sentence, the door cracked open, a hand reaching out blindly to snatch the food.

Shu reacted quickly, wedging his foot in the doorway. Kiana was fast; she almost managed to grab the food before he could react. But the door remained ajar.

Kiana, realizing something was wrong, pushed against the door. "Wait, Shu, what are you doing?! This is time-out!"

"Can't I come in for a visit?" Shu's foot was starting to hurt. He grabbed the doorframe, gritting his teeth. "Are you hiding something in there, Kiana?"

"No! Of course not!" Kiana's muffled voice replied.

Shu's expression changed. You're still eating while arguing with me?! The audacity!

He pushed hard against the door, and with a yelp from Kiana, it swung open, allowing him to slip inside. Before Kiana could close it again, Shu was already across the room. His sudden push had nearly caused her to drop her bowl, and she had instinctively moved to save her precious food.

"Uh… Shu…" Kiana leaned against the door, still chewing rapidly.

Shu glared at her, then looked around the room, trying to figure out what could possibly make Kiana want to stay in time-out.

The room was dark. Shu squinted, trying to see.

Too dark… He rubbed his eyes, but it didn't help. Kiana, after listening at the door for a moment, approached him.

"Shu, you're not going to tell on me, are you?" she asked nervously, still chewing.

The chili-laden fumes assaulted Shu's nostrils, and he instinctively leaned away.

"Depends. What are you hiding?" he said, unrelenting. "If it's something serious…"

"No, no! It's nothing like that!" Kiana shook her head vigorously, then gestured towards Lyle, who was standing quietly in the corner. "Right, Lyle?"

Lyle, startled, nodded quickly.

Shu noticed that Lyle was hiding something behind his back. Lyle's little secret, huh?

He raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. A time-out regular turning the time-out room into a secret hideout? He was all too familiar with that scenario. That's why he had barged in.

Let's see what you've got. Shu nodded expectantly at Lyle.

Lyle coughed. "You can't tell, okay? Kiana said you were a good person…"

On second thought, maybe I don't want to know. Shu shot Kiana a look. She avoided his gaze, shoveling food into her mouth. Lyle's untouched portion sat beside her, while hers was already half-gone.

"Fine," Shu relented. Lyle visibly relaxed, then produced… several sheets of paper covered in writing?

What is this? Classified documents? Shu peered at the papers. The title, scrawled in large letters, read: The Case of the Missing Little Tian.

Shu's eyes widened. "Who's Little Tian?"

"He's a member of Lyle's… Sky Bunnies Squad!" Kiana, having devoured both bowls of rice, chimed in, wiping her mouth.

Sky Bunnies Squad? Shu frowned. "Is he your friend?" he asked Lyle.

Lyle nodded, then produced a flashlight, shining it on the wall. Shu instinctively shielded his eyes from the sudden beam, then lowered his arm as he heard the sound of curtains being drawn.

He looked up and froze.

Before him was a whiteboard covered in photographs connected by arrows drawn with a black marker. Notes and annotations surrounded the pictures. And beside the whiteboard hung a large map…

Is this some kind of crime scene investigation board?!

"You made this?" Shu asked, staring at Lyle, who stood beside the board with his arms crossed, looking incredibly serious.

"No, Adam made it. Sora and I just helped," Lyle replied.

Shu's eyes widened further.

"So it's a group project?!"

Lyle nodded proudly, then frowned, looking at Shu quizzically. "A group project? Why does that sound… wrong?"

"Ahem, it's nothing," Shu said quickly, then turned his attention to the photographs and notes.

The central photo was of a small boy, looking shyly at the camera. He seemed quite small, even smaller than Lyle, judging by Lyle's arm visible in the photo.

This must be "Little Tian."

Shu read the note beside the photo.

"Little Tian, our friend, 11 years old, went missing on December 7th."

December 7th? That was the seventh day after the Great Honkai Eruption.