Guys, I really need some more reviews. Amen!
Begin Chapter
Ryuu and Mary walked out of the cinema and were walking towards Yai's mansion to drop Mary off.
"Ryuu, thank you so much for taking me to the movie. I finally got to see it!. I have been waiting since it came out to see it, but my parents didn't have time to take me. Thank you," she said. Ryuu smiled and blushed a little bit at all of the gratitude that he was getting for this small act.
"Don't mention it," he told her, "It's no problem." "I just hope that my dad doesn't look at my credit card account and sees that I paid for a movie. He might be able to track me down," he thought anxiously. Mary looked over and saw the hint of anxiety on his face.
"Ryuu, you aren't going to get in trouble when you get home, are you?" she asked.
"No, no, it's just that my dad is a control freak about my account, and he'll just ask a few questions. It's ok," he quickly replied. "Well, I didn't lie entirely. My dad is a control freak about what I buy, and if he finds me, I will have to answer some questions." They were coming close to Yai's neighborhood, and Ryuu realized that he and Yai lived in the neighborhood. The route that they were taking was going to lead them right past his house.
"I love going this way. I get so see all of the big houses, including the Blaze mansion. It has to be my favorite mansion in Dentech," said Mary as they started to walk past Ryuu's true home.
"Just keep walking, stay calm," thought Ryuu was he began to speed up little by little. "I don't look like I did when I left. They won't recognize me, just keep moving." They passed the house and turned onto Yai's street. "Mary, do you know if there is another way out of this neighborhood? One that isn't past the Blaze mansion?" he asked, steeling a glance over his shoulder to make sure that no one was following them.
"Why? I thought that Chaud was your cousin," she asked, with a little laugh.
"Yeah, well, Mr. Blaze would never let me go back to Lan's home, and I already saw Chaud," Ryuu lied as they walked up Yai's front path.
"Well, I'm sure that Yai knows a way out," she commented as they reached the front steps and rang the doorbell. Yai opened the door and let them in.
"Ryuu, I didn't know that you were coming over," Yai said, beaming at the nervous boy.
"Well, I'm just dropping Mary off. Yai, do you know a way out of your neighborhood that doesn't pass the Blaze mansion?" he asked while he quickly took in his surroundings.
"I suspect that you want to get back to Lan's house, correct?" she asked. Ryuu shook his head yes and she continued. "Well, I can let you out the back, which backs up to the street with Higsby's shop on it. I know that you can get back to Lan's home from there."
"Yes, thank you. How do I get to the exit?" he asked.
"Here," said Yai as she took Ryuu by the wrist and led him out the back door while Mary followed. She took them through the garden, and to a gate that was barely visible. "Here you go. Bye Ch-, I mean Ryuu!"
"By Ryuu," said Mary giving a confused look to Yai. Ryuu took the exit and started down the street. He was halfway to Higsby's shop before Proto spoke up.
"Chaud, do you really think that your father is going to be watching the street in front of your house like a hawk?" he asked, thinking that his Op was being paranoid.
"You never know, and please don't call me Chaud until we get to Lan's house," he whispered. "Why don't we stop at Higsby's shop on the way back to see what he has?" He walked into the shop and started to look at the display.
"Good afternoon young man. What can I help you with?" asked Higsby when he noticed Ryuu.
"I'm just looking right now. Do you have any rare chips for sale?" he asked, doubtful of seeing any in this dump.
"Well, I do have a few in here," Higsby commented, patting a safe that was behind the counter, "but not all of them are for sale." Ryuu rolled his eyes at the chip otakou and went to look at the chips. He already had all of them, but they were at his house.
"Which ones are for sale?" he asked. Higsby pointed to three of the fifty that he had. "Ok, well, I have all three of those chips. I think that I'll just get these."
He put nine chips on the counter.
"That will be 1000 Zenny. I'm sorry that it's so expensive, but all of those are program advance chips," said Higsby as Ryuu handed him his card.
"Great, I know that if the old man looks at this that he's going to follow my trail back to Lan's," he thought frantically. Higsby handed Ryuu his chips and wished him a good day. Ryuu then walked out of the store and toward Lan's house.
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Mr. Blaze was working on the partnership deal with Ayano Tech when he heard his phone ring. "Mr. Blaze here," he said as a voice with a British accent came through the receiver.
"Sir, you told me to keep a look out for anyone that looks even the remotest like you son, and I think that you would like to know that a boy who had the same hairstyle as your son walked past the mansion this afternoon with the young lady that is staying with the Ayanos," said the butler.
"Are you sure? Has he walked back past it?" Mr. Blaze asked hastily.
"Yes sir, I'm sure, and he hasn't walked past the house again. I am under the impression that he took another way out of the neighborhood."
"Thank you," said Mr. Blaze as he hung up. He minimized the contract and called his standard Navi. "139, go and bring me my son's credit card account summary." The Navi bowed and left the computer and Mr. Blaze. "Chaud, please come home," he thought as he stared out the window. "I think that emailing him would be a good idea. I should also email Dr. Hikari, Chaud and Lan hang out together sometimes."
Mr. Blaze picked up his telephone and dialed the number for Sci-Labs.
"Sci-Labs, how may I help you?" asked the secretary at Sci-Labs.
"Hello, this is the president of Blaze Quest. Please connect me with Dr. Hikari," said Mr. Blaze in an authoritative tone. The secretary connected him to Dr. Hikari's office.
"Dr. Hikari here," said Dr. Hikari.
"Dr. Hikari, this is Mr. Blaze. I was wondering if you know where my son is," he said, sighing.
"Chaud, you mean," Dr. Hikari began before Mr. Blaze cut him off.
"Dr. Hikari, please, I haven't seen or heard from my son in two days. I am worried sick about him. Could you please just tell me if you have seen him or not."
"I have a question that I would like to ask before I answer, do you know why Chaud ran away?"
"Yes, I lost my temper with him, threw things at him, and, and," he said before he started to cry. "I threw a paperweight at him out of pure rage, and I knocked him out. I'm so sorry. If you are going to see him, tell him that I am very sorry," said Mr. Blaze as he broke down into tears and hung up.
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Chaud arrived at the Hikari's home ten minutes after he left Yai's house. He walked in to find Lan watching TV with Maylu. They turned to look at the door when they heard it open, and were shocked when they saw Chaud walk in quickly and run up to his room. "What happened to him?" asked Lan.
"I don't know," said Maylu, getting up from the couch, followed closely by Lan, and ran up the stairs to the spare bedroom. The door was shut, and Maylu knocked on the door. "Chaud, are you ok?"
"Yeah Chaud, open the door and talk to us," said Lan through the door.
"Go away," came his muffled reply.
"Lan, Maylu, you can come in," said Proto. They opened the door to find Chaud sitting on the bed and looking at Proto angrily.
"Chaud, what's wrong?" asked Lan, walking over to the bed with Maylu.
"I had to walk past my house to take Mary to Yai's, and I have a feeling that my dad is going to find me," he said. Maylu got that "I'm thinking" look.
"I've got it," said Maylu, walking to the door. "I'll be back in a minute." She left the two boys alone in the room to talk. She went back to her house and went up her room. From there she went to her desk, pulled out some bottles, and threw them in a bag. Once she made sure that she had everything, Maylu went back to Lan's house, and went up to Chaud's temporary room. "I'm back, and I brought the solution to your problem Chaud!"
"What is it?" he asked, looking at the bag. She opened it and dumped it on the bed. Five colors of hair dye and other hair care products fell on the bed. The boys picked up a bottle each and stared at them.
"Why do you have blonde, brunette, and red hair dye?" Lan asked, looking at Maylu.
"Because I have to do Yai's hair and makeup all the time, and I grabbed some of my mom's stuff. I'll have to replace this, but it should help with the situation at hand," she said. Chaud replied by looking at the different hair dyes.
"You don't have any black hair dye, do you? I don't want to look weird," he said.
"I don't think that I have any, but I can go to the store and get some," she said. "I'll go now. Roll, do you want to stay here with Mega and Proto?"
"Sure, someone has to keep an eye on them," said Roll as she was jacked in. Maylu said goodbye and left.
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Maylu took the long way to the store, passing Yai's house to see if she or Mary needed anything while she was there. Yai said that she was good on her supplies, but Mary chose to go with Maylu. They walked past Blaze Mansion, and saw a butler looking out one of the open windows. "Young ladies, may I ask you a question?" he asked. The two girls stopped and looked at the elderly gentlemen.
"That depends on the question," said Maylu, getting defensive.
"Have either of you seen Young Master Blaze?" panted the butler, exhausted from running.
"No, and we really need to get going," said Maylu as she grabbed Mary's hand and started walking again. "I'm sorry that we couldn't be of any more help. I hope that you find him."
"Thank you," he said, walking back to the mansion. Maylu and Mary started back towards the beauty supply shop, and were a few blocks away from the mansion before they said anything.
"Maylu, I have a question," said Mary, hanging her head.
"What is it Mary?"
"Do you really know where Chaud is? I mean, does Ryuu know that his cousin is missing?" Mary sighed after she asked the second question.
"Mary, why don't I just take you back to Lan's house with me, and I'll explain everything there. In the meantime, we should get to shopping," Maylu answered as they entered the store.
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Dr. Hikari was packing up for the day when Famous arrived in his office. "Hikari, I heard that Mr. Blaze called. What did he want?"
"He wanted to know where Chaud was, but he cut me off before I could say anything. He just told me to tell Chaud that he is sorry," said Dr. Hikari.
"Well, I don't really think that he had a change of heart. He nearly killed his son when he threw the paperweight at him," said Famous.
"I think that he misses Chaud, and that he just now realized what he had, now that he has lost it," Dr. Hikari sighed as he thought about Lan, and how blessed he was that Hub survived for five years.
"I have no idea what a parent goes through when they lose their child, but I'm just concerned for Chaud's safety," Famous commented as he looked at Dr. Hikari thinking, knowing that his thoughts were on Hub. "It's late, and your sons are at home waiting for you, so you should get home." Dr. Hikari smiled and grabbed his bags, and left.
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Maylu and Mary finished shopping and arrived at Lan's house and went straight to Chaud's room.
"Ok, Mary, here we are. This is Ryuu's room," said Maylu as she opened the door. Chaud was lying on his bed, and Lan was sitting against the wall. Mary jacked Ring in and then she walked over to Chaud and sat down on the bed next to him.
"Hey Ryuu, how are you?" Mary asked.
"Uh, fine," he answered. He gave Maylu a "why-is-she-here?" look, before he turned his attention back to Mary.
"Ryuu, I have a question," said Mary.
"What is it?"
"Did you know that Chaud is missing?" Chaud froze, not expecting the question, and took a minute to answer.
"Mary, I don't know how to say this, but, my name isn't really Ryuu," he said slowly. Lan and Maylu looked at each other, and left the room. "My name is Chaud. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, but I've run away, and I don't want my father to find me."
"Why did you run away Chaud?" Mary asked. Chaud was a taken aback a bit; he expected Mary to not believe him, but she did.
"Well, it's a long story, and I don't really want to tell it, but to make a long story short my dad got mad at me because of a business deal, he threw a paperweight at me, knocked me out, and when I woke up, I ran for it," he said.
"I'm so sorry," Mary said as she threw her arms around him. This action startled Chaud, but he soon got over it and hugged her back. He began to tremble in sorrow when the memories resurfaced, and he felt Mary hold him tighter. "It's going to be ok Chaud. I'm sure that your father didn't mean it, and if anything else happens, you can come back to Netopia with me."
Meanwhile, Lan and Maylu were sitting in Lan's room and were chatting about school, and what they were going to do tomorrow. "So, should we go and see a movie?" asked Lan.
"Sure, and Mega and Roll can do whatever they want to," said Maylu. They looked over at the computer where Mega and Roll were talking.
"We're going to go to the park, and just call us if you need us," said Mega. All of the sudden Lan got an email. "Uh, Lan, email from Mr. Blaze. It says that we need to tell Chaud, if we see him that is, that his dad is extremely sorry, and that he needs to go home."
"Should we tell him?" asked Maylu, looking at the wall that Chaud's room was behind.
"Yes, it is his father, and it's his decision," said Roll as she took the email from Mega. "We should give this to Proto." Mega and Roll linked to the guest room, gave the email to Proto, and linked back to Mega's room.
"Lan, we may need to stay here and make sure that Chaud is ok tomorrow," said Maylu.
"No, Mary can take care of him," said Lan. "But if he needs us, we'll be there for him."
End Chapter
