When Mio said “root,” she thought of the phrase root of all evil. The source that continually replenished the family, brought in new members, and kept it going for ages.
“Is the father doing all of it? Why is he so focused on a ‘family’ in the first place? He could just do all of this stuff on his own!”
So he was the one who put Hanaka and Senpai through all of that, ruling over them?
Kaname’s lips parted like he was going to reply.
But a massive sound ripped through the air and ground before he could.
A heavy booming erupted from below. The floor trembled and shook. Mio could sense the trembling in the air past the windows. It seemed like a large earthquake, but something wasn’t quite right. What was the difference…?
A smartphone vibrated.
It wasn’t Mio’s. It was the phone she’d been using to read the article. She hadn’t returned it to Kaname yet.
The online article with Yukiya Yasuda’s name in it was gone, replaced by a black incoming call screen with the name Yumeko displayed.
“Kaname, is this…?”
The quake persisted. It was so tremendous that Mio couldn’t tell if it was still going, if it had already ended, if things had truly been shaking to begin with, or if this was something else entirely. Mio felt like she’d stepped off a ship after a long time at sea, when you couldn’t trust your senses to function normally yet.
Kaname snatched the phone out of Mio’s hand and answered the call. “It’s Kaname. Yes… That’s right.” After a moment, his expression hardened.
He turned on the TV next to the bed where Mio had slept, then promptly reached for the remote. For a moment, Mio was afraid that he’d rouse Hanaka.
The ten o’clock news appeared on the screen. There was a video of a burning building.
“I’m here at the scene of the disaster, but we’ve got to be careful.
“It’s just a sea of fire around here.
“The explosion was so loud that it’s left me unable to hear for the moment.
“I can’t contact the rest of the crew.”
Zzkkshsk—
The audio cut out, and the image from the on-site camera turned diagonally and froze.
Suddenly, the feed returned to the studio. A grave-looking newscaster was in the center of the screen. He sounded shaken.
“If you’re just tuning in, at seven o’clock this evening, an employee at Yotsumiya Foods in Yokohama locked himself in the third floor of the office building that was the company headquarters. He’s a member of the second sales section, and as we understand it, he was in possession of some kind of explosive. In phone calls to the police, he claimed he attempted to rekindle a romance with an ex-girlfriend and threatened to kill his boss and coworkers if she did not take him back. Police were hard at work negotiating with the man until moments ago, when there appears to have been an explosion on the third floor. We cannot yet confirm the safety of every member of our breaking news crew on-site…”
Kaname changed the channel. Another station was playing an emergency broadcast covering the event. Red flames licked at the night sky on the screen.
Sirens were audible.
Not just one, but many.
They might have been ambulances, fire trucks, or police cars; it was impossible to tell. A plethora of sirens spread throughout the night, echoing and resonating with each other.
“I see it,” Kaname said to the person on the other end of the phone. “That’s right. Yotsumiya Foods is Father’s company.”
Mio went stiff and stared at Kaname, but he wasn’t looking in her direction. He was peering out the window, where one part of the sky was faintly brighter. For some reason, the roaring flames on the television and the light outside the window didn’t connect as one phenomenon in Mio’s mind. The burning structure’s windows were entirely shattered. In the picture, passersby and TV crew members on the street were huddled and prone, holding their heads.
Kaname ended the call and turned his attention to Mio.
“I’m sorry, Miss Harano, but will you go back to your place at Sawatari Apartments? Once you’re there, do not leave again tonight for any reason. Whatever happens, don’t worry. I’ll arrange a ride for you.”
“Is this the work of the Kanbaras’ father?”
He nodded. The sirens outside got louder and sharper. It was clear that they were getting closer.
“Our plans got messed up. The hospital was supposed to help us out, but it’s going to be overrun soon with new emergency patients. So you should really—”
He likely meant to finish with “go back home.”
But the words were drowned out.
Bang! There was a loud sound nearby, and Mio’s vision instantly went dark. She wasn’t sure what happened at first, but when she felt something light tap her head, she shut her eyes instinctually.
The fluorescent lights had burst. Kaname moved quickly, enveloping Mio’s body in his arms. He lifted her and moved her out of the way to protect her from debris.
The light had gone out all at once. Too much of it, in fact.
No illumination filtered through the window anymore.
Someone screamed. Someone else started talking in a panic. People conversed nervously.
The incident hadn’t been isolated to their room. Some unseen impact had shattered all the fluorescents in the hospital.
There was a muffled hum, and the dull orange glow of emergency lights came to life, revealing Mio and Kaname. The system had switched on in the other rooms, too. The approach to the hospital outside was tinted orange now.
The sirens abruptly stopped.
“He’s here,” Kaname muttered under his breath, his arm still around Mio’s back.