The World Beyond (A Yosuke Hanamura Love Story)

Gone!

Naoto's POV:

The school bell rang signalling the end of afternoon classes. I said a brief goodbye to Kanji before leaving the classroom, I headed straight to Ayame's house knowing, her she hadn't eaten anything all day from worrying about her mom so I decided to drop in to Junes real quick for some ingredients to make dinner.

''Its been ages since I made dinner for her, she used to always tell me how much she loved my cooking'' I chuckled to myself as I picked up my ingredients and headed to the check out. On my way there I passed by Yosuke who seemed to have just finished his shift after leaving school early to cover one of the sick employees.

''Hello Yosuke'' I said passing by him he gave me a bright smile,

''oh hey Naoto, you heading to Ayame's place the now? Everyone is just out in the food court so I was going to meet them there before you gave us a call'' he replied brightly I gave him a smile and nodded my head.

''Yes I am, don't worry I will give one of you a call when I arrive at her place I was just grabbing some stuff for dinner'' I said as he walked to the check out with me. We said goodbye to each other as we left the store Yosuke headed up to the food court whilst I made my way to Ayame's home I pulled my cell out and ringed her mobile. One ring..... two rings..... three rings...... voicemail.

''What? Ayame always picks up after the first ring'' I said to myself as I self-consciously picked up my pace ''I'm sure she's just in the shower or something'' I try to call her a second time, voicemail again now I was worried it was raining so the midnight channel would be on tonight but I mean why would she not pick her phone, somethings was very wrong and I started to get that bad feeling again and practically ran the rest of the way to her house. When I got there I gasped and dropped the bag.

The door was open, but it wasn't forced but when I went inside I saw signs of a struggle. Vases and cups were knocked off of the counter next to the door glass was smashed everywhere and her phone was on the ground I picked it up and looked at it the home screen picture was a picture of her and I the first time we met as I looked at the picture I could feel tears well up, I pulled out my phone and dialed the first number that came up after a few rings,

''Hey Naoto!'' the voice said nervously over the receiver, I was silent

''Naoto?'' they said concerned, I looked back down at my best friends phone again as tears spilled from my eyes before I whispered,

''Kanji..... I was too late''

Kanji's POV:

My phone rang whilst I was talking to everyone, we were all talking about random things. I looked at the caller ID and saw Naoto's name appear I blushed a little as I answered holding the phone up to my ear.

''Hey Naoto!'' I said a little nervously, she didn't speak for a minuet I started to get worried

''Naoto?'' I said concerned, everyone stopped talking and looked to me worriedly

''Kanji..... I was too late'' she whispered, I could hear it in her voice she was trying so hard not to break down and cry. My eyes widened as I shot up from my seat Yosuke seemed to have heard what Naoto had said as he did the same we gave each other a look before sprinting off, everyone chased after us wondering what was going on I told Naoto to wait there then hung up.

When we got there I saw Naoto standing outside the house not moving at all, she was looking at something, I walked up to her carefully,

''Naoto?'' I said gently placing my hand on her shoulder she turned around and instantly jumped into my arms crying into my chest. I would normally be completely flustered but despite having a little redness on my cheeks I hugged her back, tight trying to reassure her that everything would be okay and that we would save Ayame.

I looked over to Yosuke who looked to the ground I could tell he was holding back tears too I knew how much he liked Ayame we would talk with each other about our 'crushes' all the time so I could tell this was hurtin' him a load too. He looked to something on the ground that Naoto dropped when she jumped into me and picked it up when he looked at it his eyes widened and he placed a hand on Naoto's shoulder causing her to look up at him slightly as everyone else came to a stop just behind us.

''Don't worry Naoto, I know how you are feeling I can relate. We will find her and we will save her, I will not rest until we get her back here safe and sound I promise you that'' he said with a look of determination and resolve in his eyes. Everyone nodded and chimed in comforting her she pulled away I wiped her tears,

''Lets go, back to Junes and into the TV we need to check if she is there, if not we can check the midnight channel tonight. If she is there already then we can get to rescuing her right away, we're all here for you we're a team, all of us.'' I said she looked a little surprised and blushed at my action but nodded and smiled at us all,

''Yes your all right I don't have to do this alone. So I should stop being so emotional and start thinking of a way to save our friend'' she said we all looked to each other and smiled at her new found determination as we headed off back to Junes.

However the whole way there we noticed that Yosuke was holding something close to his heart and was quiet the whole time, I knew that when we found Ayame he would do anything to save her if it meant he could tell her how he really felt for her and never let her out of his sight again.