20 A Parent's Resolution And Despair

"Miyauchi!! ...Miyauchi!!"

A middle-aged woman was screaming, searching for someone desperately. At the side of the little road in the neighbourhood, the mature-looking lady was running.

Her pants were becoming heavy. That did not stop the woman from lowering her voice. Instead, it made her even screech louder due to the extreme frustration she felt.

After a few minutes of frantically searching for Miyauchi, she stopped because she reached her limits. The woman leaned on the wall for support.

"Hah.....Hah.....Haa....."

"!!"

A little girl approached the frustrated woman. She looked to be a middle-schooler with her small figure. Her brown short hair flickered rapidly as she ran to the woman named Arata.

"Oba-san! You are running recklessly! You will fall down and hurt yourself! Take a rest!"

Arata's eyes were not focused on the little girl. She was ignoring everything else as she continued to drag herself on the side of the road.

"Miyauchi...Haah....."

The anxiety of Arata kept piling up as time kept going, disregarding this pitiful woman.

A sip of tear uncontrollably slipped out of the woman's eyes. Her anxiousness peaked as she didn't know what to do.

The little girl too was endlessly worried about Miyauchi. The sky that became darker loomed over the two helpless individuals. Their minds were blank and did not think calmly in this dire situation.

It was late and Arata still cannot get in contact with her son.

The little girl and Arata were catching their breath and soon heard the hurried clattering of shoes. The little girl veered her head to the sound and blurted out.

"Oji-san!"

Mrs Arata did not hear the outburst from the little girl, over the sound of her own panting.

The middle-aged man, considering his age, could be called decent looking if you ignored the grim expression that was plastered on his face.

The white shirt he wore sway and it could be seen, if they took a closer look, that he was drenched from his own sweats in different spots. The middle-aged man jogged to Mrs Arata.

"Dear! I told you to stay at home!"

The man supported Arata as she leaned on him. That was until then that she noticed her husband's presence.

"...Haa.....Dear... Miyauchi is...!!"

The man gently embraced the woman as her sad face was buried on his chest.

The frustrations she had, she let it all out.

She cried and screamed as tears endlessly fell out like a waterfall. The man clenched his hands, seeing how his wife was in this state.

"Miyauchi...!...Miyauchi is!!....."

"I know Dear! I will try our best to find our son! I have already informed the police. I too will cooperate with them. Dear.....do not worry....."

The sobbing did not stop but the man had a determined look that emerged, as his fatherhood spiked in him.

"I'll find my son, as soon as possible."

The little girl who was watching their interaction felt Mr Shinagawa firm declaration. He really gave off the vibe that he would cross many oceans and lands just to find his son.

After a few moments, Mr Shinagawa while still comforting his wife in his gentle custody, glanced at the little girl.

"Aika-chan. It's late. Your parents must be worried about you. You should go home. Thank you for accompanying my stubborn wife."

"It is no problem Oji-san. But I want to help you. It is my fault that this happened."

"I appreciate your aid Aika-chan."

Suddenly, Mr Shinagawa's tone turned serious.

"It's now my turn to search Miyauchi."

Aika could not say anything due to Mr Shinagawa's firmness on this matter. Nevertheless, she wanted to help even the slightest.

After all, Miyauchi is her crush.

"I-"

"Arata-san!?"

From a distance, there was a figure that approached the 3 troubled individuals.

Aika and Mr Shinagawa swept their glance and recognized the person that was worriedly coming towards them.

"Harue Onii-san!"

He was holding a white plastic that contained vegetables, yoghurt and some other ingredients to prepare for a meal. The bag was swaying violently with the content getting shook simultaneously.

Obviously, uneasiness crept onto Harue's facial expression since he saw the scenery that would bring up negative ideas in anyone's mind.

Arata was sweating densely, discomfort and frustration emerged, sprouting that something negative evidently happened.

He reached to the 3 of them and inquired about the situation as his sight hovered over Arata.

"Mitsuo-san. What happened!?"

Mitsuo. Shinagawa Mitsuo did not say anything to the anxious Harue. Instead, he contemplated something. Before Aika could explain to Harue, Mitsuo cut her off.

"Harue-kun. Aika-chan."

Mitsuo looked at them respectively.

"Can you two take care of my wife. She is really tired. Take her home."

Harue and Aika couldn't be more in unison as they replied simultaneously to Mitsuo.

Harue lent his shoulder as Mitsuo passed his wife to him gently. Harue's worries piqued as he took a closer look at Arata's condition.

"Hah...Miyauchi....."

Her whispers that called out to her son, flowed into Harue's ear, which made him twitch and made him more curious about what exactly happened.

Aika supported Mrs Shinagawa alongside Harue, raising the possibility of her not falling due to exhaustion.

The three left Mr Shinagawa on his own as he went off in a different direction. Harue had never seen the Shinagawa couple like this before.

Heck, Harue bet that no one saw them in a state like this.

Aika and Harue led the frustrated woman to her house, next to the Fukuyama's. He did not ask any questions to Arata since she did not seem in the condition to do so. Plus, he thought that it would aggravate her health.

Aika beckoned Harue to carefully place Mrs Shinagawa on the comfortable soft.

"Hah...Hah..."

Aika brought a tissue and swept it on Mrs Shinagawa's forehead, getting rid of the sweats. Meanwhile, Harue got to the kitchen and filled a glass with cold water.

As he approached Mrs Shinagawa, he caught Aika's glance. Instead of giving her the glass of water, he decided to quench his curiosity.

He approached near Aika and whispered.

"Quickly tell me exactly what happened."

Aika's face was sombre.

"Miyauchi-kun.....is missing."

"Wh-!?"

Unbelievable.

Harue could not muster a word when Aika revealed what was going on. That explains why the Shinagawa couple were like this.

Harue continued,

"Just how-"

"Miyauchi....Where....Hah..."

He was interrupted by the extremely anxious mother. She couldn't utter any subject other than the whereabouts of her son.

Harue felt sympathetic.

A glass of water lingered near Mrs Shinagawa's lips.

"Here Arata-san, drink some."

".....Harue...kun...."

She welled up tears and asked him.

"Harue-kun...Miyauchi is.....He is..."

"Arata-san. Calm down. I know but we will see him soon. I guarantee you that. Believe in Mitsuo-san. He will surely find your son."

"But-!"

"Arata-san. Miyauchi will be found."

*Sniffs*

Harue would not notice it himself but he has the same trait that his older sister Akane had.

Stubbornness.

That was the only thing he could invoke so as to settle down Mrs Shinagawa's weep.

That did not completely do the job, thus, he added a final touch.

"Besides, do you want Miyauchi-kun to see you like this. He will be worried."

Pausing as her sobbing declined in volume, she accepted the glass of water.

"That's right. Miyauchi will definitely come."

Aika nodded along with Mrs Shinagawa's assertion. Harue stepped back and glanced at Aika. He beckoned her to bring her ear closer.

"Aika-chan, can you stay will Arata-san a little bit longer? I will prepare food for her."

"...Okay "

Harue noticed it earlier when he fetched some water from the kitchen. Nothing, in particular, was prepared for dinner.

So while Aika was taking care of Mrs Shinagawa, Harue cooked some food. Nothing so extravagant but the food he cooked looked delicious.

After that, Mrs Shinagawa needed some convincing to even have a morsel of what Harue made. It was difficult but in the end, somehow, both of them managed to make Mrs Shinagawa comply with them.

Harue told Aika that it was time to go home. Honestly, she did not want to. But at the right timing, her parents called and compelled her to come home.

Harue was now alone with Mrs Shinagawa, still worried about her. He couldn't just leave her alone so he accompanied her.

Besides, Harue's house was next to the Shinagawa Household so he did not find any problem to stay.

After some time, the husband came home. He saw Harue attending to his wife, who was anxiously talking with him.

"Dear. Harue-kun."

Mr Shinagawa drew the two's attention as he entered his house.

Mrs Shinagawa got up and walked fast towards her husband. Harue too got up and waited for Mr Shinagawa's response.

"Dear, did you find him!?"

"Not yet. Dear, you have to come with me to the police station. We need as much information as possible."

"...Y-Yes. Let's go. Hurry."

Mr Shinagawa swept a glance at Harue and saw a half-empty bowl, which had food in it, on the table.

He had the gist of what happened so he expressed his gratitude to his young neighbour Harue.

"Harue-kun, again, thank you for taking care of my wife. I'm sorry that I can't repay you for your help right now."

Harue looked a little angry as he hovered his sight at the troubled parents.

"What are you saying at this moment Mitsuo-san! Hurry up and search for Miyauchi-kun! He is waiting for you!"

Mr Shinagawa nodded at Harue and signalled his wife to come along quickly, rushing to his white car.

Harue was left in their house. He grabbed the plastic bag that earlier he brought to carry various ingredients to prepare for dinner. Apparently, before he met Mrs Shinagawa, he was out shopping.

Anyways, he went to his own house and opened the door. Upon entering, he encountered both Akane and Kana.

"Geez, what took you so long?"

"Were you lost?"

Of course, Harue wasn't that enthusiastic to reply to them like usual. Both of them inquired about what was the reason he was behaving sullenly.

Then Harue told them everything.

Akane was blatantly appalled at what his younger brother was sprouting.

Unexpectedly, Kana, who always ignored the little Miyauchi whenever they met, was also surprised by the turn of events. Harue noticed it nonetheless, he did not go into much details with her.

Akane tried to go to the Shinagawa's household but Harue stopped her, saying that they went to the police station.

The mood was heavy around the siblings as Harue cooked for the 2 girls. Everyone was quiet and did not know how to react to this.

Akane was not that enthusiastic about eating Harue's cooking while Kana silently ate as she looked like she is swallowing dry bread.

Harue sighed, looking at them and reassuring them as he did with Mrs Shinagawa.

"*Sigh*. Do not worry, Miyauchi will definitely be found. Mitsuo-san and Arata-san are searching for him after all."

Akane slowly nodded to Harue's word while Kana paused for a moment, then continued eating.

Harue stayed silent after that because he did not know what to say in this delicate situation that they have never been in before.

Those three silently went on to their respective rooms after eating dinner and saying their goodnights.

The truth is, behind the close doors, all three of them were having difficulty get into a deep slumber. Yet, they can't do anything for Miyauchi, so tried to cope with their worries.

The next day morning, all three of them paid their neighbour a visit. Strangely enough, they weren't at home.

"Maybe they have got a clue of where Miyauchi-kun is." Harue kept the optimistic thoughts reign over the grievous atmosphere.

"Yea, I hope so." Akane agreed, wanting it to be the case.

Kana stayed silent as her gaze over the house of the Shinagawa couple.

The Fukuyama siblings stepped off the small yard of their neighbour's house.

Akane greeted her two younger siblings as she rushed off to another direction. She was a bit late to catch the train.

Meanwhile, Kana and Harue both started to walk to the same bus stop.

This day, is the day that Harue will start his third year of high school.

Not a great start to be honest. Getting injured in a life-threatening hostage situation and then a well-acquainted kid that went missing.

It is as if, all of the bad luck had gathered to Harue.

He sighed as he swept a glance to his left. Kana was walking with that indifferent expression, who looked like she was totally oblivious to the matter.

Alas, Harue saw through her. She is actually worried about Miyauchi too.

They arrived at the bus stop and waited for the bus. Harue looked up at the sky.

His words flowed senselessly as he murmured.

"I hope Miyauchi gets found."

....

Two hours before the three Fukuyamas visited Shinagawa's house early in the morning.

A middle-aged man and woman stood anxiously outside of a warehouse.

Sirens and policemen completely shrouded the place. It seems to be near the sea, there was a plentiful of warehouses.

"...De...ar....."

The woman's trembling word unfazed the man's horrified face.

A long stretcher and a white sheet covering a body were in front of the couple.

A middle-aged police officer sympathised with them as he asked in a low voice.

"Can you identify...the body?"

The tears came out of the woman's red pained eyes. She buried her sorrowful face onto her husband's chest. The man remained soundless.

The face was beyond recognition. Nevertheless, the only ones who could know that boy in this atrocious state, would only be his parents.

The cry of the woman touched many policemen and paramedics on the site as the man continued gazing at his son.

...That was the saddening fact here.

Those two knew the boy, which left them heartbroken than they could ever imagine.