It's been one day since Hisao ran away. After that night, the truth was revealed and it turned out that the culprit was actually Arata. This blonde child could be considered Hisao's sidekick when it came to pranks, but this time however, Arata was the one who did the planning. Hisao was innocent.
Riko had angrily scolded Arata once she found out that he stole her undergarments. She murmured under her breath to get new locks and tighten the security around her room.
Kuroko volunteered to look for Hisao, but Riko prevented him from doing so. She told him Hisao would come out when he was hungry. He couldn't hide forever. Unfortunately, she was proven wrong as it was found that food was missing from the refrigerator, and that actually was Hisao's fault. It appeared that Hisao would steal food every night, forcing others to restock the food supply again more often. It angered Riko the most when Hisao stole more than what he can eat just to spite them.
Kuroko sighed as he walked down the hallway. He was worried about Hisao's well being, but he wasn't sure if going against Riko's words was the right decision. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to rest for a bit.
However, he was startled when the wall behind him suddenly moved, causing him to trip backwards. He landed on his butt with a thump. Kuroko massaged his back as he looked behind him. The wall had separated into two halves moved backwards and shifted different directions. Steps of a staircase revealed themselves with dim lights from light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. The walls looked like they were made of old bricks, creating the atmosphere of a dungeon.
Kuroko was unsure about whether it was a good idea to invade a space that Seirin hadn't shown to him, not to mention exploring someone's base without permission was rude and disrespectful. Unfortunately, curiosity got the best of him and Kuroko proceeded to move forward.
On the journey down, the darkness gave him the creeps, and his shadow made it seem like some supernatural creature was stalking him. He shivered as the cold came into contact with his skin, so he rubbed his hands on his arms with the hope that the friction would gave him warmth.
He finally walked down the whole staircase and was met with a wooden door. The door creaked as Kuroko pulled it open. First he poked his head inside and then looked the room over from left to right. When nothing seemed out of the ordinary (aside from the existence of the room itself), he entered and asked, "Hello? Is anybody here?"
He faintly heard shuffling sounds and that confirmed that someone/something was indeed there. "Where are the lights?" Kuroko moved his hand over the wall to search for the light switch. When he eventually found it, he flicked it upwards.
The light bulb flickered to life and darkness was pushed back.
Kuroko courageously walked closer to the center of the room, visually searching every corner. What was he searching for? He had no idea himself, but a gut feeling told him that something else was there.
Kuroko stumbled when he accidentally stepped on a potato chip bag. The bag didn't have any mold or fungi, so it must have been placed there recently.
"Um, whoever you are, please come out. I mean no harm," Kuroko said, raising both hands above his head to prove his point.
There was a silence, but then Kuroko caught sight of a navy blue cardigan on a cushion laying on the ground. "Isn't this Hisao-kun's?" Kuroko remembered the last time he saw Hisao, the child was wearing this piece of clothing.
"Hisao-kun, I know you're here. Please come out." Only silence answered him, and Kuroko decided to use his last resort, seeing as the other party was too stubborn for their own good, "If you don't come out now, I'll call the others here and you'll be forced to come out then."
"Tch." Hisao crawled out from under the bed and lifted the bed sheets to get out. He stood up and dusted off the dust on his pants. "How did you find me?"
"I unintentionally found the secret passageway when I leaned on the wall. Here, aren't you cold?" Kuroko placed Hisao's cardigan on its owner.
"I don't need it!" Hisao threw the piece of clothing on the floor. "What do you want anyway? Just go back upstairs and pretend you never saw me and we'll all be happy!"
"Hisao-kun, everyone's worried about you. And living here isn't the best living environment to be in. You should go back to where you belong," Kuroko said worriedly.
"Why should I when all of you blame me for something I never did! Just because I'm a prankster, that doesn't mean I always want to mess with people! Not every bad thing that happens in this compound is my fault! Why are you guys so unfair!?" Hisao screamed and stomped his feet. He clenched his fist and punched the wall to vent his rage.
"Hisao-kun!" Kuroko immediately rushed to his side, trapping the boy to prevent him from doing further damage to his hands. "I understand your feelings about this prejudice, but I'm sure everyone regrets accusing you. Everyone has misunderstandings and it's important for us to fix them when they happen. Never speaking our feelings makes us look like cowards, and the misunderstanding never gets resolved."
Taking Hisao's hands, Kuroko continued, "Let's go where everyone is, okay? Everything will be fine, I'll be by your side the whole time we're up there."
Hisao's brain took a second to process everything Kuroko said, but eventually he gave a weak nod.
When they arrived in the dining room, Hisao just looked firmly at the floor without budging. Kuroko explained to them what happened and sent looks to Furihata that urged him to apologize to Hisao.
After apologies and explanations were traded, Riko hugged Hisao tightly. She incessantly repeated how much of an idiot Hisao was, but she was obviously relieved that he came back at the end.
Meanwhile, Kuroko watched everything with a smile and felt glad that the family reunited. Feeling that there was no longer any need for him to be there, Kuroko retreated back to his room when no one was watching.
/
Riko typed rapidly on the keyboard. Her eyes moved quickly across the screen behind a pair of glasses. Her eyebrows furrowed together as a huge error sign appeared. No matter what she did, she couldn't access the file she was looking at.
"Just who in the world are you, Kuroko? I can't find any information on you, and even your basic background information is blocked…" She chewed on her nails and tapped her foot as frustration began to get to her. It was her job to find information on the family's newest member to make sure that they weren't related to any problematic figures that might trouble for Seirin. In other words, if there was a possibility that the member might be a spy from another clan, then she would have to take precautions and eliminate that person.
"Wait, didn't he mention his family members when he told his life story? Maybe I can find information on him based on those details..." Nodding her head, Riko closed her computer. She walked out the door in search of Hyuga.
/
"Hyuga, what do you think about this?" Riko started as she addressed the situation.
Seirin's leader tapped his fingers against the table, "Whoever is behind this is definitely a more talented a hacker than you, and that's really saying something. It's safe to suspect that maybe one of the better known hackers like Moriyama, Takao, or Himuro might be the culprit behind this. Maybe if we monitor their hacking patterns, we might get a clue as to how to decode it? But let's not get too over ahead of ourselves; Kuroko might not be related to any mafioso."
"Right," Riko nodded.
"Let's turn in for the night. It's getting late. Come here," Hyuga motioned Riko with his finger and Riko willingly obliged.
As they both lay on the bed, Riko hoped that Kuroko wasn't related to any Seirin enemies. She really wanted to be able to trust their newest member. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and decided she should sleep now to prepare for tomorrow.
Tomorrow, a whole lot of questions and answers would be needed, and there was no doubt that after the ordeal, she would be tired. Doubting a member of the family was never a pleasant feeling.