Part Eleven: Gathering
Alright, this wasn't too hard to play with. I could totally be the next big film director.
My uncle Haru, the owner of the electronic store, looked at me as if I was some sort of idiot before snatching the camera out of my hand and turning it upside-down. … Oops.
"I swear, Riku, anything that's not your stupid computer you need both hands and a lantern to find your ass." He commented with a smile, and I could tell from the way his mouth was twitching that he really, really wanted to start laughing. Asshole. I glared at him but he just turned the camera back off and handed it over.
I flipped the little camcorder open again, pulled out the small screen to just where I wanted it, slipped my hand underneath the holding band, and pushed the red power button. There was no small amount of pride when it turned on normally and started recording my uncle's face.
He leaned on the counter and stuck out his tongue at me, wiggling his ears for good measure as I practiced. "There you go, that's it!" Uncle cheered as I waved the camera around and then stepped closer to make sure I got a good shot of the dragon tattoo that curled around his neck. Where's the zoom on this thing?
"Just how good is the audio on this?" I asked curiously before lowering it to the counter to get a shot of the five other cameras I would be taking with me. The boxes were neatly lined up in a row next to the six baggies that held the recorders.
Uncle Haru rubbed his mouth before answering with a shrug. "The cameras are alright, nothing all that special, but the wires are even better. We use them in police work, so they're damn sensitive. They'll pick up anything for about… oh, ten feet or more, depending on how the air is blowing. Wind will knock them right out cause they're not really designed for the outdoors. If it's windy, all you'll get is a –" He makes a dull whistling noise and shrugs. "Anyway, just tape them right about here-" Haru made a motion to his chest, right near his heart and by his shirt pocket. "And you guys should be fine. There's no wind on the forecast tonight anyway."
I nodded and grinned. "Alright, Uncle, thanks!"
He just smiled. "You guys just be careful tonight," Haru said softly before looking out the window. A frown slowly emerged on his face, a clear sign he was thinking hard about something. After a moment, he turned back to me. "I want you guys to keep your phones charged up and for everyone to have something to protect yourselves with."
I blinked hard before staring at him. He shook his head hard and then leaned back on the counter, running his fingers through his cropped white hair for a moment. "Whoever took Sora… he's still out there, Riku," Haru murmured quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself instead of me. There was a faraway look in his eyes as he looked at me. "I remember the day he disappeared… he came in here on the way back to the school and asked me if I could give him a juice and he said thank you like he always did… I remember… that I told him to be careful on the way back to school. He said he would and he just walked out with that little math book under his arm and chugging his juice and not a damn care in the world. Well… the next thing I knew, I was hearing reports that he was gone. Kidnapped and no one could find 'im."
Taking his hand in mine, I let Uncle swear viciously under his breath and then I wiped the tears from his eyes. "It's okay, Haru," I told him with a smile.
He shook his head hard and yanked out of my grasp. "Just be careful and then I won't have to worry about you," He said gruffly before pulling out a paper bag and beginning to drop the cameras inside. "And you better not fuck up my stuff." He added just when I was beginning to think he cared a little more about me than he let on.
"Will do, Uncle Haru." I chuckled.
He nodded and kept getting my purchases ready. For whatever reason, I began thinking about the other five kids that would be joining my experiment. After Selphie's radio broadcast, everyone was getting ready to finish this once and for all. I knew I was ready to put this to an end. A smile crossed my lips as I leaned against the counter; I could finally put the words together in the way I wanted them.
Tonight, I would finally write Sora's sad story an ending. Tonight was the night we finally got to put Sora's ghost to rest.