Mei sat quietly in the back seat of the car. She remembered that afternoon over a month ago when Michael had brought Seele back; she had been left alone in the car just like this.
Back then, her heart had been filled with fear and unease. Even though she knew the mech, "Little Black," was capable of protecting her, and even though she kept telling herself that Michael was trustworthy, she had felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
But not anymore. Even though, strictly speaking, not much had happened in the past month. Mei's life seemed to have returned to normal, so uneventful and calm that she had once almost forgotten about her father...
But now, over a month later, when Michael once again left her alone in the car, she no longer felt any fear or anxiety.
She trusted Michael, trusted everything he did, and was grateful for everything he did, especially today... and these feelings didn't require constant reminders, either spoken or in her head.
"Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad to just keep going like this."
It wasn't the first time the thought had crossed her mind. She relied on Michael, cherishing their relationship that was part teacher, part friend, part brother, and part father. But it always felt a little strange to put him and her own father on the same level.
But now, for some reason, she started to fantasize about the days after her father got out of prison, when he, Kiana, Bronya, and Seele would form a big family and live together.
Perhaps it was because of her father's behavior today. After learning about her current situation, most of his questions had been about Michael.
It wasn't exactly a good sign. Such excessive questioning, if not out of concern for Michael, could only be out of distrust. But it didn't matter. Mei believed that once her father knew that her current peaceful life was all thanks to Michael, all his distrust would naturally vanish. And maybe then, he would accept Michael, and by extension, Kiana, Bronya, and Seele too?
For a moment, she was completely lost in her own fantasy.
"Um, can you open the window, Little Black?"
The car's doors and windows were all shut tight, but Mei was so happy and excited that her breathing became a little ragged, and the enclosed space of the car felt stuffy and unbearable.
Click—
Being a relatively low-level AI, Little Black didn't respond with words like a certain chatty individual would. But after passing voice and facial recognition, it was programmatically driven to lower the window by Mei's side by half.
The window was lowered enough for Mei to see the night view outside, but the remaining height was still enough to cover the lower half of her face. Though for someone truly "determined," just seeing the car itself would be enough to identify her...
But Michael had already thought of that possibility...
Mei gently stroked the edge of the window. The alley was narrow, but Michael had still managed, with his superb skills... okay, with Little Black's smart parking technology, to park the car diagonally.
So, when Mei opened the rear window, she could peer through the narrow mouth of the alley and gaze at the colorful lights outside, feeling nothing but peace of mind.
She was starting to understand why she relied on Michael so much. He always seemed to anticipate every situation, good or bad, before she did. By the time she foolishly realized there was danger, she would find that Michael had already arranged everything.
And it wasn't just danger; he was also incredibly attentive to all her little moods... Most importantly, she never had to worry about him in return, because in her mind, Michael was omnipotent, and no difficulty could ever stump him.
This was completely different from her relationships with Kiana, Bronya, and Seele. When she was with girls her own age, or rather, younger than her, she always found herself unconsciously worrying if this one hadn't eaten enough, or that one hadn't slept well... especially a certain idiot.
So, her reliance on Michael didn't seem so strange to her anymore. After all, the feeling of being so relaxed that she didn't need to think at all, just be responsible for spacing out, smiling, being happy, and even sleeping... only Michael had ever given her that feeling in her entire life...
No, there was one other person. One other person who could give her that feeling. But in the past, he had been too busy, and on the rare occasions he had free time, he always put on a stern face.
Looking back now on the little moments with her father, the happiest memories she had were of practicing swordsmanship with the "Homu Sword Saint" at the Homu Kendo dojo...
But... this was good too, wasn't it? She had two fathers now! Even though both of them were busy men, at least most of the time, one of them could be by her side, giving her the fatherly love she had longed for since she was a child.
Mei giggled foolishly. She even imagined many more wonderful endings, like her father being disillusioned after this setback, and after getting out of prison, he would stop paying so much attention to ME Corp and spend more time with her.
But then her smile vanished. She thought of another possibility—after her father was released, would Michael fulfill his agreement with him and just leave?
Given his personality, it wasn't just possible, it was highly likely.
And just like that, Mei was filled with anxiety and uncertainty again.
As for whether her father would be released, since Michael had already stepped in, what was there for her to worry about?
"Tch!"
"Who's there?"
The sudden sneer startled her. She immediately scanned her surroundings. The car and the area outside were completely empty, and Little Black's defense system hadn't been triggered.
"That's impossible, just now I clearly..."
She had definitely heard a sneer just now. The voice sounded a bit like Mobius, almost like a deliberate imitation. And because of that, Mei didn't think she was hearing things.
But the fact was, according to Little Black's radar system, there was indeed no one around.
"Am I really hearing things?" Mei rubbed her temples. "That's impossible! I've been on vacation for the past two weeks. Besides cooking, Seele does most of the housework. I haven't been that tired, so how could I be hearing things?"
Mei had just smoothed her brow when it furrowed again.
"Forget it, I'll just assume I'm hearing things."
Maybe it was just a stray cat passing by? In any case, Little Black's radar hadn't detected any humans nearby, so there was no danger.
Mei was in a good mood and didn't want to be bothered by such a strange thing.
"But... Michael's been gone for so long, why isn't he back yet?"
Mei looked at the sky outside. It was dusk when Michael had left her here, but now the sky was completely dark.
"Right, Father and Michael must have something important to discuss... If Michael could just bring Father out tonight... Ugh! Mei, oh Mei, you're really letting your imagination run wild!"
In the end, she couldn't help but mock herself in a tone that imitated Kiana's.
She understood, of course. Michael had even told her about this possibility—
"I'm sorry, Mei, I never told you, but you've probably noticed. With my power, I could easily just break Mr. Ryoma out. And if you two were willing, I could even arrange for a place where no one would bother you, and you could live peacefully for the rest of your lives... But I'm not going to do that."
"Why... uh, Michael, that's not what I meant, it's just... uh... just why... no, I mean... for what reason?"
"Because I don't want you to be reunited in that way—what I mean is, you both deserve a better ending. To have all the charges cleared and to live openly and honorably in this familiar world. Do you understand?"
---||---
"Mhm!"
Mei leaned back in her seat. Even though Michael wasn't beside her, she was lost in the memory, nodding firmly. She had made a promise with Michael, so even though she desperately wanted to rescue her father right now, she had to be patient.
Beep—
Little Black's alarm was a bit shrill, but it immediately pulled Mei back to reality.
"Someone's coming!"
Mei's heart skipped a beat. She was just about to close the window in a panic when she saw a flash of red, still dazzling even in the darkness, darting into the alley.
Seeing a car parked diagonally in such a narrow alley, almost completely blocking the path, the person's steps faltered. But it seemed she had no other choice. After a moment's hesitation, she clutched the leather jacket slung over her upper body with one hand, lifted the hem of her long white skirt with the other, and started running in her high heels.
"Active defense mode initiated."
"Wait—Little Black, wait—"
Mei spoke a second too late. Just as the woman took off and leaped, preparing to jump over the car, Little Black's front door suddenly flipped upwards, like a big black hand suddenly popping up to swat down a woman who was about to dunk... ah, no, hurdle over it.
"Ah! Are you okay?"
Mei turned off Little Black's active defense mode and got out of the car to check on the woman's injuries. But before she could, the woman grabbed her, pushed her against the wall, and roughly covered her mouth with her hand.
"Shh! Don't make a sound! Don't make a sound!"
Mei was initially flustered by the sudden attack, and the strong smell of alcohol on the woman's breath almost made her gag. But hearing the undisguised plea in her voice, Mei's heart steadied.
She narrowed her eyes, and though the lower half of her face was hidden, it was undoubtedly a polite but awkward smile.
She raised her index finger and pointed behind the red-haired woman. The woman turned her head in confusion, only to see that Little Black's rearview mirror had disappeared, replaced by the dark muzzle of a gun, pointed right at the back of her head.
Mei had indeed turned off Little Black's active defense system, but there was still the passive one!
"What the hell kind of car is this, so advanced?"
Himeko was no stranger to tactical mechs, but she never expected a random car on the side of the road to be one!
And who was this young girl in front of her? Ordinary people wouldn't have access to this kind of thing. Could she be...
"Shh! I'm sorry, can you do me a favor?" Himeko pleaded in a whisper, releasing her hand from Mei's mouth.
At this moment, Mei's brain, which hadn't been running at high speed for a long time, finally kicked into full gear. In just two or three seconds, she had already concocted a complete storyline—
In the dark of night (the sky didn't seem that dark yet), a tall woman (couldn't tell if she was pretty because she couldn't see her features clearly) had just completed an assassination mission at a hotel (you wouldn't wear such a gorgeous dress and perfume to a bar), and was trying to escape when she aroused the enemy's suspicion (or maybe her rendezvous contact never showed up), so she hid here...
She was lost in her fantasy when she heard hurried footsteps from outside the alley.
It was a bit strange, really. It wasn't the dead of night, and the surrounding area was noisy with the sounds of traffic and people. The winter night wind howled as usual, rustling the dry bushes and branches.
Especially for Mei, ever since "that day," she could even hear the whispers of pedestrians a hundred meters away. With so much background noise, the sound of nearby footsteps should have been diluted.
But Mei heard them. Not only heard them but also easily picked up the anxiety in them. Were the pursuers here?!
The woman in front of her reacted in a way that confirmed her suspicions. She almost completely ignored the gun pointed at the back of her head, pressed down on Mei's shoulders, and pleaded again, "Please, let me hide!"
"I..."
Mei had been starting to relax, but being pushed by the woman in front of her made her tense and hesitant again, unable to even make a sound.
"Damn it... Sigh, sorry, I've troubled you..."
Himeko knew she had probably scared the girl in front of her. But the "pursuer" behind her... heh, it wasn't a big deal, just annoying.
"Forget it, just go back to your car... eh!"
Just as she was resigning herself to her fate, a force suddenly pulled from behind, sucking both her and Mei into Little Black's back seat.
Then, the car door closed gently, without a sound.
A well-dressed man soon walked into the alley. Seeing the car blocking the way, he spat on the ground and leaned against the window, trying to see if there was anyone inside. But Little Black's windows were one-way, so he couldn't see anything. He paced around for a bit before finally turning and leaving, extremely unwillingly.
"Tsk! What a handsome pretty boy. Where did you pick him up?"
The man in the driver's seat was breathing erratically, as if he were trying hard not to laugh!
"You're back!"
Mei shot up from her seat, but Michael poked her in the forehead with his index finger, pushing her back down.
"We'll deal with your business later. First, allow me to interview our beautiful Miss Himeko—what happened to you? Were you picking up people on the street for a date again? How did you end up hiding all over the place?"
"Eh? You two know each other... Huh? A date? Picking up people for a date? What do you mean..."
"Uh... cough, cough, cough! About that... can I not say?"
Himeko really hadn't expected the world to be so small. The fear of social death washed over her, and she covered her face in sorrow.
"Ooh—"
Michael deliberately dragged out the sound, then turned to Mei for her opinion:
"Do you want to hear?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, then I won't tell you."
"?"
I was going to make this chapter longer, but this cliffhanger is too good to resist...