The message arrived in Aiko's academy forum inbox two days after Javier had told her about his conversation with Viktor Petrov. She was reviewing technique videos from her Spain training when the notification chimed, displaying a sender name that immediately caught her attention.
Esperanza Delgado - Instituto de Belleza Barcelona - International Division
The message was written in careful English with occasional Spanish phrases:
"Aiko Matsumoto - I have been following your competition victories through international hairstyling networks. My family has connections to Japanese documentation networks from 1990s period. Also competing in IMS Championship Milan. A Russian competitor Viktor Petrov suggested we connect. Would like to discuss our shared backgrounds. Perhaps video conference? - Esperanza"
Aiko felt her pulse quicken. Another competitor with family connections to the same historical period, and Viktor had already been building bridges between them. She clicked through Esperanza's profile, finding videos of advanced styling work mixed with what appeared to be traditional Spanish techniques that looked different from Isabella's Madrid-based training.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Javier: "Viktor mentioned he was going to reach out to other competitors. Are you hearing from anyone?"
"Actually yes," Aiko replied, forwarding him Esperanza's message. "Spanish stylist from Barcelona. Says her family has connections to Japanese networks from the 1990s."
"That's the same period Viktor's father was talking about. Should we set up a group call?"
"I think so. This feels important."
That evening, Aiko found herself in the academy's international communication room, setting up for what she hoped would be an enlightening three-way conversation. The space was designed for students to maintain connections with training partners abroad, but tonight felt different—more like piecing together a puzzle whose scope she was only beginning to understand.
Viktor's face appeared first on the screen, his familiar intense expression brightening when he saw her. "Aiko! Finally, I get to meet the girl from Javier's search videos. I must say, his descriptions didn't do you justice."
"Thank you, Viktor. Javier's told me about your father's work with his family's networks. It sounds like our backgrounds are more connected than any of us realized."
Esperanza joined the call moments later, her camera revealing a young woman about Aiko's age with striking features and hair styled with the kind of effortless elegance that spoke of deep technical knowledge. The Barcelona studio behind her looked professional but carried the warmth of family-owned tradition.
"Hola," Esperanza said with a warm smile, her accent distinctly Catalonian. "I am honored to meet both of you. Viktor, thank you for facilitating this connection."
"Esperanza," Aiko said, studying the Spanish girl's face, "your message mentioned connections to Japanese documentation networks. What kind of connections?"
"My grandmother was part of international knowledge preservation efforts during the 1990s," Esperanza replied, settling into her chair with graceful precision. "She worked with practitioners from many countries to preserve traditional techniques that were being systematically suppressed."
"Suppressed by whom?" Viktor asked, though his tone suggested he suspected the answer.
"The same networks of corrupt oligarchs that your father documented in military institutions," Esperanza said, her expression growing serious. "But from the beauty industry perspective. My grandmother preserved correspondence showing how traditional hairstyling knowledge was being systematically targeted because it enhanced human cognitive abilities."
Aiko felt chills of recognition. "Esperanza, what was your grandmother's name?"
"Carmen Delgado. She specialized in traditional Catalonian techniques, but she collaborated with practitioners from Asia, including a master from Japan named..." Esperanza consulted notes beside her computer. "Emiko Matsumoto."
"That's my mother," Aiko whispered.
"Your mother?" Esperanza's eyes widened with amazement. "Carmen kept all their correspondence! She told me stories about the Japanese master who combined technical excellence with spiritual understanding. She said Emiko was one of the most remarkable practitioners she ever encountered."
Viktor leaned forward with intense interest. "So all three of our families were part of the same resistance networks, just operating in different sectors?"
"It appears so," Aiko said, trying to process the implications. "My mother preserved knowledge about traditional techniques, Viktor's father documented military corruption, and Esperanza's grandmother maintained international practitioner connections."
"There's more," Esperanza said, pulling out photographs that had been carefully preserved. "Look at this image from a coordination meeting in 1998."
The photograph showed about twenty people of various ages and backgrounds arranged around a conference table. Aiko immediately recognized her mother among them, but also saw faces that seemed familiar from other contexts.
"Is that...?" Viktor pointed to a man in the background.
"My father," Viktor confirmed, studying the image. "This proves they were all working together, not just in parallel."
"My grandmother is there too," Esperanza said, indicating a woman with elegant silver hair. "She told me this meeting was about coordinating preservation efforts across multiple continents."
As their conversation continued, the three young competitors found themselves sharing family stories that revealed an increasingly complex picture of coordinated resistance activities. Traditional knowledge preservation, military documentation, international networking—all of it connected through the same underlying purpose.
"Viktor," Aiko said carefully, "how many other competitors do you think have similar family backgrounds?"
"Based on names I recognize from my father's documentation and what Esperanza's grandmother preserved... probably the majority of the fifty-six confirmed participants."
"This can't be coincidence," Esperanza observed. "A competition where most participants are children of resistance networks, all reaching championship level at the same time, all gathering in the same place..."
"It feels like something we were meant to discover together," Aiko said quietly. "Like the competition is bringing together people who were separated by their parents' dangerous work."
Viktor's expression grew more serious. "I think we need to organize a larger group call. Contact as many other competitors as possible before we meet in Milan. If most of us share these family connections, we should understand what that means before we're all in the same space."
"Agreed," Esperanza said. "I can reach out to competitors from Spain and other European countries. Many of them have been asking questions about family histories since the competitor list was published."
"I'll coordinate with cycling networks to contact athletically trained competitors," Viktor offered. "Many of them seem to have similar backgrounds to Javier."
"And I'll work through Asian hairstyling networks," Aiko said. "There are several Japanese competitors, plus others from China, Korea, and Thailand who might have family connections."
As their call wound down, all three felt they had discovered something significant that went far beyond competition preparation.
"One more thing," Esperanza said as they prepared to end the call. "My grandmother wanted me to tell anyone I met with family connections from that period that 'the children are finally safe to gather.' She said we would understand what that meant when the time came."
"My father said something similar," Viktor replied. "That the IMS Championship represents the first time since the 1990s that the children of resistance families could come together without fear of targeting."
"And my aunt recently told me that my mother always believed this day would come," Aiko added. "A time when the knowledge that was preserved through so much sacrifice could finally be shared openly."
After ending the call, Aiko sat in the quiet communication room processing the weight of what she had learned. The competition was beginning to feel less like individual achievement and more like a family reunion of people who had been scattered across the globe by their parents' resistance work.
Tomorrow, she would help coordinate the larger group call that would connect dozens of competitors and begin revealing the full scope of their shared inheritance. The feeling that they were all part of something much larger than personal success was growing stronger with each new connection and each recognition that their freedom to compete openly had been purchased with tremendous sacrifice.
The real preparation for Milan was about more than perfecting techniques—it was about understanding the legacy they were inheriting and the responsibilities that came with being the first generation to benefit from the transparent systems their parents had died to create.