The Path Unknown

25. Reflecting on the Past

On the 78th floor, people waited anxiously as the time seemed to move in an ever-slow pace. Kage had been missing for a week, now, and not a single trail could be traced to him. Michiko wasn't as worried as people thought she would have been, but they dismissed it as a defensive maneuver; mainly denial.

Haru wasn't worried either, mostly because of the fact that he didn't know Kage as well as any of the others. It was simple where he went, though. The item was gone and so was his gear: he was soloing the boss. He didn't want to say anything to the others, it wasn't worth getting into the battle with him. What did it matter to Haru, though, Kage was a cocky bastard who couldn't keep his mouth shut for anything even if his life depended on it - or so he judged. Better if he dies, his hero archetype isn't one that I prefer. Things like that Haru thought often because of what happened before time. It became somewhat of a habit after the things he went through.

There is only a select few he can trust...

Haru leaned against the tree, thinking about the friends that he left outside of the game. Especially "her." Maybe it was for the better that he hid the Nervegear from her, though it would have been nice to have her by his side. Plus, anything he said here didn't have to be remembered; he could have probably admitted something that had to be said soon. He hoped that nothing happened with her since he entered the game. Two years have passed, unfortunately, so something would have had to happen; whether it be that someone else told her or some freak accident happened. Either way, it was mostly pointless. Haru could run through calculations of how likely it would be that nothing happened, but it would just seem a little odd - creepy even.

He met her around 14 years ago at some sort of party. Some days it seems as if it was a wedding party, while others feel like it was a birthday party. Why is that so important? It wasn't like him to dwell on slight details like that, although he did for her. It was at an inflatable castle that he saw her. He didn't think anything of it and asked if they could be friends. Without a skip of a beat, she agreed and they kept bouncing there. Hours felt like minutes, of course to a child with not a care in the world. It was like any other person he called a friend, just another person he knew that he liked. There was no complicated feelings about it.

As they started going into school, they were separated; but that didn't stop them. They started talking more and more about things they liked and what their aspirations were through the aid of social media. She would console him about his bullies and he would help her with her math, because she had the hardest time there. Though he didn't have many, he was hurt often by said bullies; not physically, but psychologically. He could beat the shit out of them, but the things they said stuck worse than glue between fingers. She helped take them off of him and help him relax. They seemed like a couple, though neither one of them mentioned one thing about flushed feelings.

Going into high school, he had a strong mind and a guarded heart. He did develop feelings for her, but kept brushing it off as a jumpy conclusion accelerated by hormones. He would often bring up her romantic fantasies and those she had an eye for and she would come back with stories of what she would like to do with someone, but never stated a name no matter how much he pried. She was as locked down about it as he was. She would say something and expect a responding answer to the same question from him. He would oblige, but kept things very vague.

Before he got stuck in what is now known as the longest running death-game in the history of mankind, he was invited over for dinner, as he knew the parents well. That was when he saw the Nervegear on the couch by the fireplace. Drawing an aura of approaching disaster, he took it while she napped on the couch and put it up in the attic. For one reason or another, she didn't like to go up there; so he knew she wouldn't check there. It was odd that he would feel something so strongly one-sided and not even think about what would come out of the alternate outcome, but he did it anyway.