Chapter 4! Random fact: I got the idea for this story while I was showering early morning on Christmas Day (yes, I wrote it that long ago). On that note, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :D

Chapter 4: Understanding the Concept

"Gohan. I'm not sure you should be doing this." A lady with blue hair was talking to me.

"What did I say earlier? It'll be no big deal!" I heard myself say the words, but I had no control over my actions. "I'll be fine! And even if something happens, we always have our plan!"

The blue-headed lady looked back at her car and let out a deep breath. "Your mother is going to go on a rampage if she ever finds out that I put you in potential danger!"

I gave a flashy grin. "You are the smartest person I know! With your skills put to use, nothing could go wrong! There will be no danger! I think that this will be kind of fun actually! I'm curious to see how it goes!"

She sighed loudly. "Just...don't do anything stupid, okay? Make it back safe, or else your mother-"

"It'll be over in a jiffy!" I cut her off. "Thanks again for your help!"

"Just remember-"

I shot straight up from wherever I was lying down. Great. I was awake. That was my first real memory of an event and not just some small snippet of something, and I woke up without learning anything new. A blue haired woman was helping me with some sort of dangerous plan. That wasn't much to go off of. What was did she want me to remember?

"Great!" Videl cheered from beside me. I looked around and realized I was on my bed, and she was in a chair next to me. "I'm glad you're awake! Are you feeling better?"

"Feeling better...?" I questioned with uncertainty.

She nodded slowly. "You weren't doing too great earlier. You started talking all crazy... Well, crazier than normal anyway. Something about an alternate universe. Anyway, you then started shouting in pain and collapsed."

"Oh," was all I had to say.

"Once again, you've done an excellent job of freaking me out," she said. "I was really hoping you'd be out of my house by now, but you're clearly in no condition to leave."

I met her eyes. "How long was I out?"

"Something like two hours."

"And you stayed here the whole time?"

Her cheeks got a little flushed and she looked away. "Well, yeah. Who else was supposed to make sure there wasn't a dead body lying around? I had to make sure you were still alive."

I smirked. "Phew! For a second there I thought you might have been getting attached to me!"

"Oh shut up!" she shouted. "You've made me actually question my very own existence, and yet you act like a child when it comes to things like this! Grow up already! I am trying to do the nice and mature thing and help you out. I could have just dumped you out on the street while you were unconscious, but I graciously allowed you to stay here a little bit longer."

"So does that mean you actually believe my 'crazy talk'?" I asked with a goofy grin.

Videl rolled her eyes. "I definitely think there is a lot more to your story than what either of us know, and also that either of us could easily be misinformed about certain things, but that doesn't mean I believe everything you say. Something weird is going on though..."

"Definitely," I agreed. Then I changed the subject a little. "I'm sorry that I have to keep bothering you with all my...issues, but thank you so much for letting me stay here for quite some time despite all that has been going on."

I wasn't really sure why, but Videl was making an angry face at me. I was just trying to be a respectful guest, like I'm sure I had been raised to be. She didn't seem to appreciate my appreciation though. Her scowl grew more intense the longer I looked at her.

"What did I do?" I asked. "I was just trying to be nice. I guess I just feel a little guilty that I've had to overwhelm you with all of my problems as of late. You didn't sign up for this. Neither of us did. But without you, I think I'd be kind of lost right now. Who knows where I'd be staying? And who knows what I would know? You've been such a big help between giving me a place to temporarily stay at and awakening my memories and glimpses of my past, even if you aren't completely sure how accurate they are."

I thought that giving a little thank-you spiel would really help calm her sudden anger down, but it only seemed to grow as if I were just feeding the flames. What else could I do at this point? I guess it was time for me to get out of her hair and leave. That would probably be the wisest choice, but where to now? I still didn't know very much.

Videl grabbed the collar of my shirt, and she pulled me very close to her. Once again, I was grateful that she smelled really nice. "Gohan. You have made my life a complete wreck lately! I tried to convince myself that you were a hopeless jerk, an insane criminal, just some pretty-boy prankster. It's clear to me that I was wrong for trying to believe those things.

"Like I said earlier, this doesn't mean that I completely believe you, but I do know how to recognize the truth in someone's voice. You've genuinely believed everything that you have said, no matter how crazy it seems to me. You're also genuinely a really nice, good guy, and I know that you could never have been a criminal.

"Even though I only wanted to help you out just a little, even though I don't know what's really going on, and even though I am still tempted to dump you out on the streets, I realize that things are much more complex than I could have ever imagined. And at this point, I'm too involved in the mess that I guess is your life to leave you hanging.

"You act like a gentleman for the most part, even though sometimes you try to be funny when you're not, and I'm often the world's biggest jerk, so I feel a little guilty. You've done nothing wrong. You're just lost and confused, like a poor little puppy. I guess what I'm really trying to say is...that you can stay at my house until we get to the bottom of this."

I blinked twice as she dropped my collar and backed away. "That long speech only to tell me that I could stay at your house?"

Videl crossed her arms. "I put my heart into that! Don't make me take back anything and everything I said!"

I shook my head quickly. "No! It's all good! I enjoyed listening to your heartfelt monolgue. So does this mean you'll listen to my crazy talk?"

She made a face, and I knew we were back to the same routine. "Yes. I'll listen to your crazy talk, but I am in no way obligated to agree with everything you say!"

Smiling, I got up off of the bed and wandered around the room. "Great! Now where should I start my crazy talk?"

Videl let out a sigh. "Well, before you passed out, you were saying some crazy things about alternate universes and stuff. That's somewhere to start. Although, I'm a little worried you'll faint again."

"I'll be fine," I said reassuringly. "When I fainted earlier, it was because I was trying to remember the universe where I think I am from. See, I think the pain in my temples is triggered by me trying to remember my past life. However, I can explain the concept of other universes using basic theoretical science, which is not a memory of my past. I'm no expert, but I'm not going to question why I have the little knowledge I do have on the subject. Doing that would trigger the pain."

"You must be quite the nerd," Videl commented.

I laughed a little and felt myself grow a little anxious. I was worried she would stir some memories and cause the pain in my head, but nothing happened. "Yeah, I guess I can be. Would you like to hear my explanation now?"

"Go for it," she stated. "I have a feeling this is not going to be something easy for me to comprehend."

"We'll see," I told her. "So to start off, you'll need to be a bit familiar with the concept of multiple timelines, which I'm sure you are. No? Okay. How should I explain this?" I paced around a bit.

"In this explanation of time, time doesn't just move forwards or backwards or any of that. Time shouldn't really be seen as a line, but more of...an ongoing web, with an infinite number of timelines occurring all at once. See, for each choice you have to make, a new timeline is created with the consequences of any other action you could have taken at that moment. In these new timelines, more and more different choices are offered and create what is essentially another universe.

"When most people think of traveling back in time, they are probably actually thinking of someone traveling to an alternate timeline, or because I don't like the fact that it's seen as a line, an alternate universe. Because these two universes are separate, if someone were to go back and change something, those changes would have no effect in that person's original universe."

Videl actually appeared to be following for the most part. "So 'Back to the Future' could never happen?"

"According to this theory...no," I answered. "Anyway, I guess you could even say that I traveled through time to get to this universe somehow. I'm not sure if I did or not because this could be the same point in 'time' that my universe is in right now. That type of time referring to the day and hour and such. The only reason my universe and yours are different is because of the consequences of a choice someone made. Does this make sense to you?"

After staring at me for a second, she slowly nodded. "Sort of, but wow. You really are a nerd. I think I do get the gist of it though. Whenever someone has to make a choice, another universe is created with the consequences of another action that could have been taken instead. And you're from a world where different choices were made."

I grinned happily. My explanation seemed to be effective. "That was a great summary! You seem to understand! Awesome! So now do you see how on the earth that I am from, I could be friends with you and go to a school in Satan City and everything else?"

Just as I began to bring up my actual past my temples began to ache again. "Great. My head is hurting. Not nearly as intense as earlier, but because we're talking about my universe specifically now, I guess it's their cue to start hurting."

I needed to sit down, so I took a seat on the bed. Videl watched me try to handle the pain like a man from her chair beside the bed. "Do you think you're just experiencing this because you're from another universe? Is that also why you can't remember anything?"

I shook my head, which was starting to feel a little better. "That's just assuming that I'm right about this alternate universe theory, which I do feel pretty confident in. So even if we do assume that what I said is true, forgetting everything would make it be extremely difficult for me to return to my own universe. In order to go back, I'd have to remember that it was there and remember how to get there to begin with. It just doesn't make any sense to forget everything all of the sudden."

"But what about the pain?" she asked with concern.

I shrugged. "I'm not really sure. It's possible that it could be from that, but it's also possible that it isn't. To me, it just seems like I'm trying too hard to grasp at memories that aren't there, and my body just physically can't handle it."

She looked down at her hand and started wiggling her fingers anxiously. "I'm not- I'm not saying that I believe you about all of this, but it certainly would explain a lot of things... I think that I understand what you're saying, and I'm amazed that this could actually be possible. It's just a little hard to actually comprehend everything that's been going on, but I'm doing my best."

"You're doing great," I added with a smile. "You seem to understand the concept, and right now it doesn't really matter if you believe it. To be honest, I'm not sure even I believe it fully. It was just an idea that came to mind, but based on the way my temples reacted, it definitely seems to hold at least some truth."

I waited for her to say something more, but she stayed quiet. It was kind of weird really. She was such a loud and frustrated girl earlier today, to see her finally shut up was kind of surprising. Videl seemed like she was in a bit of shock though. I guess I really freaked her out by passing out, and now I really was speaking crazy talk.

My stomach growled and interrupted the silence. I rubbed the back of my head out of embarrassment, and Videl just shook her head as she looked at me. It wasn't my fault I was hungry!

"Uhh..." I awkwardly said. "I'm kind of hungry, I guess. I didn't eat breakfast earlier, and then I was unconscious for a little while... All this thinking and stuff certainly has made me starving!"

Videl looked at the door and stood up. She seemed to be trying to go back to her usual aura of nonchalance. "Well, it is basically lunch time now. I guess since you'll be staying here for a bit, you'll be dining with us too."

"Maybe now I can meet your father!" I said excitedly.

She made a face. "Umm... He has been gone a lot recently, so probably not. I'm sure you will eventually meet him though. Just don't...tell him about...anything. If he finds out that you've been feeding me 'crazy talk,' you will not be welcomed so easily. If you just talk to him nicely, then he probably won't care...I hope."

I met her eyes. "So lunch now?"

"Yeah," she agreed, gesturing for me to follow her out of the room. "Let's go downstairs to the kitchen."

After quickly shoving the few possessions I owned in my pockets again, I followed Videl to the kitchen where the chef was beginning to make preparations for lunch. He smiled and greeted Videl kindly, but when he saw me, I could practically see the color drain from his face.

"I enjoyed your soup so much last night, I cannot wait to taste what you're preparing for lunch!" I said with genuine excitement.

Chef shook his head violently. "No! No! There will be no lunch for you! You eat too much food too quickly, and I will not have enough ingredients to prepare this meal for everyone in this house!"

"But it was so good!" I tried to encourage him to let me eat. "I really liked it. Doesn't that make you want to cook more?"

"I already told you, we will not have enough ingredients to prepare a meal for you too!" he shouted. "Do you not understand that there are more people in this household than just the Satan family, and they need to eat too! I will not feed you again you little-" A bunch of words came out of his mouth that I didn't understand. They were in another language.

I looked over at Videl as Chef turned around and walked away from us. "What did he just say?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. I don't speak that language. I'm sure it wasn't pretty though. He is known to have...a bit of a temper."

"I've noticed," I commented as I remembered him shouting at the maid last night. "So what am I supposed to eat?"

Videl didn't look too happy about this either. "Hey Chef!" she shouted to the man in the kitchen. "Gohan and I are going to eat out somewhere, so don't worry about us for lunch, okay?" She looked at me. "That is okay with you, right?"

I nodded. "Sure! Where are we going?"

She began to walk away from the kitchen, so I assumed we were now leaving her house. "There's this great little restaurant just down the street. We could actually walk there, it's that close."

"I could go for a walk," I told her.

Videl nodded, and I followed her to the door. She grabbed a purse, hanging on a rack nearby, then opened the door and we were immediately refreshed by the nice day it was. She even made a comment about how great it felt outside. I was just glad that she seemed to be in a better mood. I also wondered though if this was just her feeling a little bit guilty about earlier, especially when she punched me.

I walked alongside her on the sidewalk. "So I guess this could, uh, count as that date that I owe you, right?"

She rolled her eyes, but surprisingly didn't blow up in my face like I had half-expected her too. "No way! It's just a casual meal at a restaurant. I'll have to speak with our chef about preparing meals for you in the future though. But, um, Gohan?"

"Yeah?" I questioned.

"Could you, uh, try not to eat so much and so quickly for the well-being of my family's chef and his sanity?" she asked.

At first I thought she might be joking (and she was somewhat), but then I realized she actually did expect me to eat less. I figured that now was not the time to bring up the fact that I didn't even eat enough to completely satisfy me last night. Maybe eating at the restaurant would be my last chance at stuffing myself...

Then a realization hit me. "The cost!" I exclaimed. "I don't have any money to pay for the meal! The proper thing would be for me to pay for your meal too Videl, but I don't even have any money at all!"

Videl reached into her purse and pulled out a slim wallet. "It's fine, Gohan. I already told you it's not a date or anything. Besides, in this wallet, I have a debit card to pay for everything with. Thanks to my dad, I now have more money than I know what to do with."

"Oh yeah," I said quietly as we arrived at the restaurant.

"Here we are!" she said with a grin. "I'm sure you'll love this place! Everyone working here is so nice, and everything tastes so great! Let's go talk to them and get a seat!"

We entered the restaurant together, and Videl talked to one of the workers. "Hi! Can we get a table for two please? Oh! Can we actually eat outside?"

"No problem," he told us. "Follow me please." He led us through a crowded central dining location to a door that went outside. "Here is a table, and here are your menus. I will go get Gloria, who will be your waitress."

Even though she said it wasn't a date, I still did the gentlemanly thing to do, and pulled out the chair for Videl to sit in before taking a seat of my own. "Outside, huh? Well, it is a nice day."

She shrugged. "I figured that you wouldn't mind. Plus, you could use some more sunlight. You're pretty pale."

"And I'm sure that sitting in a shaded area is going to help that a lot," I joked.

"Hey! You never know!" Suddenly, she became more serious as she opened her menu. "Do you really think a whole other universe is created just because I will choose...one type of noodles over another?"

I opened my menu and stared at all the options. "Well, I guess so. It seems pretty simple, but you never really know what long-term affect it may have."

"Yeah, I guess," she said quietly. "So...do you think there is also a universe where I got my car by opening door two instead of getting you on that game show?"

"I'm sure there is, based on this theory anyway. I mean, it's the same situation as the choice between foods, only the outcome is a bit more-" I stopped talking and suddenly realized what she was thinking. "Wait a minute. You aren't actually thinking about going to that universe, are you?"

"Well, I mean-"

"You can't just do that! We don't even know how to travel there! Just because I'm here, doesn't mean that you can go somewhere else too. We don't know how or why I came here to begin with, remember?" I realized I was a little loud, so I stopped talking.

She let out a sigh of disappointment. "Yeah, you're right. Our main focus needs to be figuring out why you are here and getting your memories back."

Before either of us could say anything more, a pretty red-headed woman in her early twenties strolled over to our table. "Hello! I'll be your waitress for today. My name is Gloria. Can I get you guys started on something to drink and any appetizers?"

"Water for me," Videl answered quickly.

"Yeah, me too," I said, not knowing what kinds of things I liked to drink.

Gloria smiled, mainly at me. "Okay, but are you sure you don't want to try-"

"Just water is fine," I cut her off.

"I'll be sure to be back in a jiffy," she said with that same smile and even a wink. She hardly even seemed to pay Videl any attention. I was kind of surprised, since she was a celebrity.

As soon as she left, I was ready to continue my conversation with Videl, but she had a look on her face as if she had just tasted something sour. "I don't like that waitress. She's new."

"She seemed nice to me..."

"Whatever," Videl said curtly. "I think I'm going to go to the bathroom. Don't try anything stupid." Then she stood up and walked away, making me look like a loner.

It wasn't too shortly after that Gloria came back with our drinks. "Wow! You are fast," I commented.

She smiled and winked at me. "I wouldn't lie to someone like you! Hey, where'd your girlfriend go?"

"Oh. She's not my girlfriend," I explained awkwardly. "She just left for the bathroom, like, 30 seconds ago."

The waitress's smile widened. "Oh, really? Well, I guess I'll just come back to get your orders in a few. Don't go anywhere!" Then with another wink, she walked off. I was beginning to wonder if she was actually winking, or if she just had a really bad eye-twitch.

A young man with a bouquet of flowers was led to a table next to mine, where he slumped over and banged his head against the tabletop. I looked over at him. "Are you okay, man?"

He looked up at me and narrowed his eyes. "Why'd you care? My girlfriend just stood me up, but- Oh! D'you get stood up too?" His eyes fell on the empty seat in front of me.

"What?!" I looked over at it too. "Oh! No! Videl just left to use the restroom real quick."

The man's eyes widened. "Videl? As in, Videl Satan?"

"Yep," I answered. "Daughter of Mr. Satan himself."

"Whoa! How'd you hook up with her?" he quickly asked. "All the guys 'round here are totally into her, but she says she's got no time for relationships. She's a babe though!"

I gave an awkward laugh and grin. "Yeah, she is very pretty...but we're not on a date or anything. We just decided to eat lunch here together."

"Is that not the same thing?" He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you're not on a date, then what business do you have with Videl?"

"We're, um, partners for a school project," I quickly lied.

He stared at me funny. "During the summer time?"

It's summer?! Oh boy... "She's, uh, taking a summer class with me! Yeah!"

"You're an awful liar," he told me. "I don't believe you. There's no way Videl Satan would ever even talk to such an awkward fella like you!"

It was at that very moment Videl entered the outside from the restaurant again. "Oh good. We got our drinks. I'm sure Gloria enjoyed doing that..."

She sat back down at the table, and the guy next to us nearly fell over. "NO WAY! YOU WASN'T LYING! IT ACTUALLY IS VIDEL SATAN!"

"Perks of being famous," she softly muttered sarcastically. "Do you want an autograph?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "My girlfriend will never believe this! Can you sign it on my forehead please?"

"Sure thing. Let me grab a pen." Videl fished around in her purse for a thick, black pen. "What do you want it to say?"

"'Take that Sheryl' and then your name, please!"

Videl scribbled the words on his forehead quickly, and then she sat back down at our table. The man ran off screaming, "You've just made my day!"

"That was really nice of you," I told her.

"Yeah, yeah," she said. "It certainly gets old after a while though. But lookee here! Gloria is coming to take our orders and 'subtly' flirt with you again!"

"How can you tell?" I asked as Gloria walked over to our table. Videl gestured to her, using her eyes. Then, she looked back at me and I got her nonverbal message. Watch.

The waitress hovered behind me. "So what can I get the young lady and handsome young man to eat?"

"Hmm... I've never tried the ramen her before," Videl commented as she looked at her menu. "I guess I'll have that."

"And you, young man?" she asked, resting a hand on my shoulder. I remembered all the winks from earlier.

I shot Videl a look. She was right. And this was getting creepy. "Um...uh..." I stared down at my menu. "It all sounds so good. Can I have one of everything?"

The lady's hand shot up off of my shoulder and both she and Videl nearly fell over. "One of...everything? Are you sure?" She was now backing away to a more central position instead of standing right next to me.

Videl narrowed her eyes at me, then looked over at Gloria. "I'm sorry. My friend here hasn't eaten in a...few days."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "But I ate-"

"That cookie doesn't count!" she strangely interrupted. Then I caught on to what she was doing. I guess she was covering for me to make me seem somewhat normal. I was worried that she was going to be mad at me for ordering such a large amount of food that would end up costing a lot, but she seemed mainly concerned with trying to make ourselves look as natural as possible.

Gloria stared blankly at me. "Well...I guess I can bring out some of the foods first..." She walked off genuinely surprised at my appetite.

"Gohan..." Videl said, drawing out my name. "You really need to get that appetite of yours under control when the chef makes meals for you again. For now, I'll let this slide...I guess. But are you really going to eat all of that food?"

"Of course!" I said loudly. "I'm starving! I haven't eaten in forever! I need a good meal to satisfy me."

She seemed to be at a loss for words temporarily. Then she broke the silence. "Can I see your bracelet again?"

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah." I shuffled through my pockets to find it, then I plopped it on top of the table. "It's kind of weird, isn't it? All metallic and stuff."

She picked it up and began to examine it closely. "It is pretty weird. I don't know much about anything, but do you think this bracelet could somehow double as the device that linked you to this universe to begin with?"

I watched her fiddle with the accessory. "I never really thought of that... Yeah. Yeah! Maybe you're right! I don't know how it works though. Are there any buttons?"

"It doesn't look like it," she answered as she squinted her eyes, still examining it. "Maybe there's some sort of trigger that causes it to work though? Is that possible?"

I shrugged. "I'm not some sort of expert on this stuff, you know. Or at least I don't think I am. If it were triggered by an external force, then perhaps it might respond to some sort of specific electromagnetic signal."

"Wow," Videl breathed. "I have no idea what you just said, but it makes it sound like this is like a magic bracelet or something..."

I opened my hand out to her as a request for the bracelet back. She took a second, but complied. I bounced it in my hand. "The density of it, especially this specific round area right here, it makes me think it might be a magnet. I'm not sure. I don't remember anymore specific science details, and I have gone a decent amount of time without a headache, so I'm not going to try and think about this too hard for now, okay?"

She nodded. "I understand. The pale and awkward nerd with a big apetite and hardly any memories just wants to enjoy his food."

I smiled. "And the obnoxious, sometimes nice, sometimes jerky girl with a fist bigger than her head and an ego only rivaled by her dad's is certainly one to call people names."

"You remembered my dad's big ego," she said. "Is your head starting to hurt now?"

I shook my head. "No. I guess it really only happens when I try to purposely reach for information that's not there. Whenever I blurt out random things that naturally flow out of my mouth without even thinking, like that bit about your dad, I don't feel any side-effects."

"Gohan," Videl slowly began to say. "Do you think- Do I- Are we-" She was having trouble forming her question, but it didn't matter because Gloria brought out our food.

She gave Videl her ramen, and then she gave me three different dishes, all of which looked so good. "This is just to start. We have more being prepared right now. I hope you enjoy."

Gloria walked off and we both began to dig in. Videl was still a lot slower than me, even with one dish when I had three. I had already finished all three of the bowls that they brought out for me by the time Videl had eaten maybe half of her meal.

"Hey, weren't you going to ask something?" I questioned as I watched her continue to eat.

She shrugged and swallowed. "It doesn't matter now. It- It's fine. I forgot what it was anyway."

Videl seemed so uncertain, I wasn't sure how to react. "Well, okay, I guess. I hope they bring out my next dishes soon. I'm still hungry. I feel a lot better than I did earlier, but I am not at all full."

Suddenly, some strange object whooshed past the two of us and went down the street really fast. Videl didn't make a big deal of it, but I was more concerned. "What was that?"

"Hmm?" she questioned. Then she realized I was talking about whatever had just gone whoosh down the street. "Oh that. That was just one of the androids. I think I briefly mentioned about how they are the protectors of this city. Anyway, it probably just has some lead or something on an important criminal-tracking case. They're notorious for those. It gets really annoying really quickly."

I panicked momentarily as a thought occurred to me. "I'm not a criminal."

"Well, hopefully not," she agreed, a little surprised by my sudden statement. "You don't seem like it. And if you are really from another world, then maybe you aren't."

"But the me from this universe is, right?" I asked. "And you mistook me for him!"

"Yeah..."

"Think about it!"

"Are you saying-"

"If one of those androids sees me, they might think that I'm him! They might think that I'm some sort of escaped criminal! They might try to come after me!"

Videl caught on and began to get just as antsy as me, especially when another flew by. "What about you not having a scar? And what about your alternate universe theory?"

"Something tells me that that might not be enough evidence to get me out of that sticky situation," I said with a huff.

She looked me dead in the eyes. "You need to get out of the public. You need to stay under the radar until this whole thing is sorted out. No more restaurants."

"Let's leave," I curtly stated. "Now."

"What about paying?" she asked with concern.

I made a face and shrugged. "I don't know! What can we do?"

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and pulled her wallet out of her purse. "Emergency cash. I hate to use it now, but it looks like we have no choice." She pulled out some money and placed it on the table.

...

(Somewhere else, in a dark room...as always)

"The androids are searching, sir!"

"Great! It's about time!"

"They've actually been out searching for an hour now."

"Why are they taking so long?"

"Well, um, sir...we have absolutely no idea where the boy ran off to or where to even start the search."

"That's right... He doesn't have any sort of GPS on him so we can track him, does he?"

"I wouldn't know, sir..."

"Just agree with me!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Just remind me to immediately give him a GPS tracker once we recapture him."

And so this concludes chapter four. The story is 9 chapters and an epilogue, so we're close to halfway there. Sorry if everything's a bit Americanized, by the way. I'm just not all that familiar with Japenese culture.

Anyway, I'm excited to hear what you guys think so far! Fell free to follow/favorite/review!

-TOW