COMING OF AGE | Nishimura Riki

034 | the royal family's wanted list

sato mai 
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I never went back to the hostel. I was scared that the property owner would camp outside my room, ready to call the police and have another Forrest Gump run with them. Yesterday, after the police gave up on finding me, I managed to escape to the warehouse. It may not be the best place to go since I'm putting a lot of people in danger, but it was the only place to go to.

My options were the warehouse or Mom's hospital and I decided to go with the warehouse. The night was cold and I barely got enough sleep. I do not know if my Dad is at the hostel, lost somewhere, or worse, with the police. I had one job and that was to protect my Dad. I had one job and failed.

I have spent the whole night trying to figure out what the police wanted from me. There are hundreds of theories that could be the one. Worries about my Dad have also kept me up all night. Yesterday, I made the mistake of being selfish, to only think about myself, and what's better for me.

Running away from the police felt like the right option when I did it. But afterward, I realized it was the worst idea. Once you start running away, you have to run away forever. The police are out there looking after me and the longer I run away from them, the worse it's going to end.

The safest option right now is the stay at the warehouse. If the police know where I live, they probably know the school I attend. I had my school uniform when I met them, they know which school I attend by now. It wouldn't surprise me if they had figured out Mom's hospital as well. The warehouse is my only option, I cannot go anywhere else.

However, once you start skipping school, it's going to become a habit and I don't want to turn skipping school into a habit. Despite my worries, I ended up leaving the warehouse this morning. I have never felt so paranoid in my whole life like the walk from the warehouse to Jishin.

I have been staring at the Jishin building for the past 10 minutes because of a battle in my head about whether I should go or not. The police are not here yet, but there still is a risk to go. The news might be out and people know the police are searching for me.

"What are you doing?"

Hanami and Yui were standing behind me, almost breathing on my neck while trying to see what I was looking at.

"Do you want something?" I asked them.

"I must admit you are brave for showing up at school despite everything that is happening right now" Hanami said.

"Especially with Crown Prince Riki on the other side of the forest" Yui added and Hanami agreed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You are on the royal family's wanted list. Their and the police aim is to find you and then catch you" Yui answered.

"I still don't get it. Why is the royal family involved?" I replied.

Hanami and Yui looked at each other as if I just said something stupid. The two of them were nervous out of a sudden and started to debate who was going to tell me.

"You don't know that your Dad killed the king?" Hanami suddenly asked me.

Yui then gave me her phone that had an article opened. I did not read word for word, only the words that caught my attention. Despite barely reading the article, I already knew the plot. Not only is my Dad accused of killing the king, but he is also dead. Both of them were found in the king's office covered in blood. A gun was involved as well.

I scrolled down and found a picture that caught my eye. It was a picture of the royal family, the king and the queen together with their son, Crown Prince Riki. My eyes are not able to move on from the Crown Prince because he looks exactly like Ni-ki.

It makes sense why Ni-ki has been acting so nice and lovely. He wants revenge. The royal family must have planned it all along. I have been nothing but a play for him.

I handed over Yui's phone and started to head towards Kinmyaku. I don't care if taking a step back is my safest choice because I cannot take a step back and pretend nothing happened. Why would I step back and pretend nothing happened when I have been treated badly?

Lucky for me, Ni-ki was standing outside along with a group of friends. His friends spotted me and started to whisper to teach others, causing Ni-ki to look back at me. I explained to him to ignore my existence, but instead, he walked up to me.

He held a sweet smile, the same smile he always has whenever he sees me. There are also a lot of worries hiding behind that smile.

"I hate you" I said.

"I hate you and your family. Why do you and your family find it so entertaining to constantly ruin a young girl's life? I thought the royal family was busy traveling and attending events, but you must be so bored" I added.

"What do you mean?" Ni-ki responded while looking puzzled.

"I'm not an idiot, Crown Prince Riki" I said, causing Ni-ki to widen his eyes.

"But I am an idiot for trusting you. Your acting was great, I admit it since I really believed in you" I added.

"Maybe because I wasn't acting. You are the only person I don't have to put a mask on and be someone else. No excuse is going to make you forgive me, but I want you to know it's not as it seems" Ni-ki replied.

"I don't want to hear any excuses or explanations from you. Instead, I want to say congratulations for ruining a young girl's life once again. You did a great job" I said.

I backed off a few steps, still staring into Ni-ki who surprisingly looked devastated as if it's just gone through a heartbreak.

"There is something else I would like to say to you. Fuck you and your family" I said before I turned around and left.