Chapter Forty-Nine Hide and Seek
Chapter Forty-nine
Hide and Seek
Pebbles flew in their wake as Keishin and Hana sprinted across the rock garden. They had not thought of any plan beyond fleeing from the creatures that looked like children, and every stride they took thrust them deeper into the unknown. They ran toward the fake sun because, in a garden beneath the earth, it was the only thing that felt familiar. Hana dropped to her knees, gasping for air.
Keishin clutched his burning sides. “You need to get up. Just a little farther, okay?”
Hana pushed herself to her feet. She ran and stumbled.
Keishin rushed to her side. “Are you all right?”
“I just need to catch my breath.” Sweat beaded on her brow.
Keishin scanned the area. “We can’t stay out here in the open. We can rest over there,” he said, pointing to a grouping of rocks arranged to look like a mountain range.
Hana nodded and stood up.
“Hold on tight,” Keishin said.
“To what?”
Keishin scooped her up in his arms. “Me.”
—
Hana leaned against the rocks, breathing hard. “I thought I knew what to expect when Yasuhiro told us about the children.”
“Monsters,” Keishin said, staring at the cuts they had left on his arms. “They were monsters, Hana.”
“Monsters,” Hana said as though she had eaten something foul.
“No matter what they looked like, they weren’t children. You felt their touch. They were…hollow. Dead.”
“I know,” Hana said. “But I don’t think they meant us any harm.”
“That giant bump on your head might disagree with you.”
“That was an accident.”
“Clawing at us and dragging us into that tunnel wasn’t.”
“If they are monsters it is because my family failed in our duty.”
Keishin shook his head. “I’m not going to pretend that I know what these creatures are, why they exist, and why they do what they do. I just know that if we’re going to find your parents, we need to stay as far away from them as possible.”
Hana nodded. “We should wait here until—”
Footsteps crunched over pebbles.
Keishin clamped his hand over Hana’s mouth.
The footsteps grew closer.
Keishin’s muscles tensed, waiting for instructions: Fight or flee.
The footsteps stopped, scampered in the opposite direction, and grew faint.
“They’re gone.” Keishin exhaled, relaxing his shoulders. “You should try to get some rest. You’ll need to keep up your strength for tonight. This garden is huge. We have a lot of ground to cover.” Keishin fought a yawn. Whatever adrenaline had fueled his sprint was nearly exhausted, and what little remained he used to keep his eyes open. “I’ll keep watch.”
“I think you need sleep more than I do,” Hana said. “Go ahead. Rest. I couldn’t close my eyes even if I wanted to.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not important.”
“Is it that time of the day again when I need to remind you how stubborn I am and that I won’t accept no for an answer?”
“There is no need to remind me. It is not something you have allowed me to forget.”
“Then go on.” Keishin folded his arms. “I’m listening.”
Hana tucked her knees into her chest. “I can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to finally see my mother. Everything I know about her is from what my father and grandmother have told me. I used to have this perfect version of her that lived in my head.”
“And now?”
“I find myself blaming her for everything that’s happened. To my father. To Haruto. To you. We’re trapped beneath the ground and surrounded by these… things because she was selfish and took something that didn’t belong to her.” Hana picked up a stone and rolled it around in her hand. “There. I said it. Is that enough evidence for you? Is that enough proof that I am not the person you think I am? You think that I am this dutiful daughter on this brave quest to save her parents, but all I can think about doing when I finally see my mother is push her away. If being hollow and cold makes the children here monsters, then I am a monster too.”
“If you’re looking for someone to judge you for what you feel about your mother, I’m afraid you’re hiding behind rocks with the wrong person,” Keishin said. “You just described exactly how I feel about my own mother. I’ve spent my entire life trying to find ways to make me feel worthy of her love, but the truth is, all I want is to be able to look her in the eye and shove everything I’ve ever achieved without her in her face to prove to her that choosing another life over her son was a mistake. I’m a man pretending to care about discovering the origins of the universe when all I really care about is finding a way to hurt the woman who gave birth to me.”
“What a match we make,” Hana said. “Two monsters hiding behind rocks.”
“Feeling things for each other that, as you claim, aren’t real.”
“They aren’t.”
“At least tell me what these fake feelings you have for me are.”
“If they aren’t real, why does it matter?”
“I told you when we first met that I was a curious person. I want to know. I need to.” Keishin leaned in close enough to feel the heat radiating from her skin. “And maybe because something that feels real when you’re running for your life is close enough.”
Hana pulled Keishin to her lips. Keishin melted into her mouth, understanding that this was Hana’s answer. The heat between them burned through the time they had left, making Keishin keenly aware of their unique tragedy. The hours that strengthened bonds between lovers pulled them apart. Every passing moment dragged them back to worlds where the other could not follow. Including this kiss. There was no room for air between their lips, but Hana was already a thousand miles away.
Stay, Keishin screamed in his head. Stay with me.
“Hana?” a man’s voice called from behind the rocks.
Hana broke away from Keishin’s mouth.
“Hana?” the voice repeated with more urgency.
Hana attempted to stand.
Keishin grabbed her wrist. “Stay down,” he whispered. “It’s a trap.”
“No.” Hana pulled her hand away and stood up. “It’s my father.”
Keishin jumped to his feet. An older man with Hana’s cheekbones and the same quiet strength behind his eyes stared back at him. A girl no older than seven gripped the man’s hand with her talons. Unlike the other children, the dark wisps on her head were neatly combed into the smallest bun, more flowers and ribbon than hair.
“Otou-san…” Hana said.
Toshio gasped. “Hana.”
The girl tugged on Toshio’s hand and smiled up at him. “I told you, Otou-san.” She giggled. “I told you that our sister was hiding here.”