+Anyway, when's your buddy going to get here? I like to plan these things ahead of time, and breaking this kind of thing to my parents isn't going to be easy.+
+I never thought of that,+ he admitted, feeling stupid and thoughtless. +I'm sorry.+
+You couldn't have known; stop apologizing for stupid stuff.+
Sho sat back; Ryan had sounded more annoyed than he'd ever heard him sound before. +I guess he's going to get here at the end of the day – Agito, I mean. You'll have time to tell your family about what happened, time to explain what Chronos is and what they do.+ Time I never really had, Sho thought semi-bitterly.
But then that wasn't really true. He'd had more time than Ryan to tell his father what had been going on in his life, what he'd been doing while he was away from the house for all those sleepless nights and strange days. He'd just thought that his father would have been safer – less prone to worry or try to help and thereby endanger himself – if he didn't know what his son was actually doing. He'd been painfully, horribly wrong: his father had been only one of many casualties of the battle he and Chronos fought.
And now Mr. Murakami… Mr. Murakami was… He couldn't even bring himself to think it: thinking it would make it real, and reality was not a pleasant place for him now.
+So, is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?+
His thoughts brought firmly back to the room he was in and the bed he was sitting on by Ryan's mental voice, Sho considered the question. +No; there really isn't anything more I can think of at the moment, Ryan, but I'll let you know if anything comes up.+
+You do that,+ Ryan said, nodding. +I'll see you at lunch.+
+See you, Ryan.+
Leaving the other Guyver to his reading, Sho turned and left the room.
XxXxXxX
It had taken most of the day to trace the signals from Fukamachi and Crouger's Guyver units, but in the end he had managed to find the place where Guyvers I and V were staying. It was a modest suburban home – modest for this area, at least. Back in Japan, owning a place like this would have been considered quite prestigious. But those kinds of thoughts served no purpose for him here; it was best that he concentrate on the task ahead.
He still did not know how Crouger would react to the situation he had stumbled into; Fukamachi's description painted the other Guyver as being a levelheaded sort, but anyone who knew him knew that Fukamachi was not a good judge of character.
+Fukamachi, are you well?+
+Agito?+ the younger Guyver paused for a moment, though whether to gather his thoughts or contemplate his current situation Agito neither knew nor particularly cared. +Yes, I'm fine. Ryan and his family are talking in his living room.+
+Have you told him that I will be coming today?+
+I did.+
+And how did he react?+ he asked, somewhat annoyed that he even had to pose the question. Fukamachi was not the brightest of people, true, but even he should have been able to anticipate that Agito would want to know how Crouger had responded.
+He wished that he had been given more time to deal with things; he said he likes to plan ahead.+
Some decent news for a change, he mused. If Crouger had said that, then he did indeed sound like the type of person who would be able to handle himself – certainly much better than another weak-willed boy like Fukamachi. Still, best to make his own assessment. There might be other factors at play.
XxXxXxX
Sitting in Ryan's living room, hearing the conversation that the other Guyver was having with his parents, it seemed to Sho that he was having a hard time convincing them. Sho could make an educated guess as to what they were talking – or rather, disagreeing – about. Ryan was talking – and sometimes gesturing – animatedly while his parents sat back on the long couch and stared at him.
He could only make out a few words of the discussion, due both to his rusty English skills and the speed they were all speaking at. A knock at the door caused Ryan to pause, looking mildly curious about who was doing the knocking. When the younger Guyver got up, waving to his parents as his mother started to rise from her seat, Sho turned to watch him leave. Judging by the looks on all three faces, Ryan wasn't have the best time getting through to his parents.
+Things aren't going well, are they Ryan?+
+I think the phrase 'so happy I could stick a fork in my eye' just about covers it.+
+Oh.+
He watched as Ryan left, wishing that there was a way he could help his parents understand the urgency of the situation their son was facing, but like Ryan had said, there was still a language barrier. Hearing Ryan's voice again, just for a few seconds, before he came striding back into the living room with an expression of slight annoyance on his face, Sho turned to look his way again.
+Who was that, Ryan?+
+Some guy.+
When he sat back down on the couch next to his family, speaking to them in the same hurried tone he'd been using for the entire conversation, Sho started to wonder just when Agito was going to make it here. Surely he could help Ryan explain the situation to his mother and father – having another Guyver who could likely speak English could only help Ryan's case.
+Fukamachi?+
+Agito! I was wondering if you were going to contact me again before you got here; are you going to be here soon?+
+I am here, Fukamachi,+ Agito said, sounding mildly irritated. +Do you know why Crouger closed the door in my face?+
+He did?+ he asked, turning to look back at Ryan as he spoke with his parents. +Why do you think he would do something like that?+
+I'm sure I don't know. Now could you tell Crouger why I'm here?+
+Of course,+ he said, nodding. +Ryan, Agito's here. He says you closed the door in his face? Why did you do that?+
+We get a lot of door-to-door morons around here; I just figured he was one of them. I guess I'll go let him in now, yeah?+
+I think that would be best.+
Ryan, levering himself out of his seat, waved his hands in what looked to Sho like a placating gesture to his parents, and made his way back to the front of the house. From where he was sitting, he could hear Ryan and Agito talking. He couldn't understand that conversation any more than he had understood the one between Ryan and his parents, but he was glad to know that the three of them were back together at last.
That meant they would be able to leave soon.
He didn't quite know why Chronos hadn't sent any Zoanoids to the house, even with all the time they had been spending there, but he was glad for whatever it had been that had protected them. But, now that Agito was here and could help Ryan explain things to his parents, they could leave before Chronos decided to come for them.