John stared out the window from his office, sweeping his spiritual sense throughout the city again.
Nothing. The only supernatural beings he detected were himself, Bai, Qing, Alphy, Betty, and Titor.
Not a single trace of either Yue or g.
"Where are you two...?" John muttered.
He would have thought that they would arrive nearby if they ca to Earth. That they would be sowhere in Tokyo, or Japan at the least. But they weren't. And neither were they anywhere in the world... nor anywhere else in the nearby cosmos.
And then there was the fact that tracking down the devices that sent those ssages in the stream led to a dead end with nothing more than garbled data...
A cold chill in his heart. And as if in response to John's mood, snowflakes drifted past his window, covering everything in a pure white.
Like the moon.
Like Yue.
John let out a deep sigh and shook his head, walking back to sit at his desk.
It was noon.
Right now, Rin should be streaming upstairs and doing a karaoke stream for the Ohana. Alphy should be relaxing in her room playing so gas. Betty was having a girl's day out with Asako. anwhile, Bai and Qing were setting things up for the stream, finalizing business negotiations and the other preparations required for John's stream later that evening.
John placed his elbows on his desk and then covered his face. "Did I upset you that much...? Or are you hurt?"
He couldn't detect them anywhere nearby. Neither Yue nor g. But if they were coming after him, then they should have arrived sowhere close. After all, it wasn't like he was hiding his powers.
Well, he was, but not to the extent that soone like them couldn't notice it.
So he was worried. Still worried.
Logically, he knew that they were probably fine. g wouldn't let anything happen to her dear mother, and Yue was too ticulous to have run into harm.
But what if? What if they did?
He couldn't sense them, but there was no mistaking those ssages. Furthermore, his instincts were telling him that they were here. That Yue and g were sowhere on Earth.
But he couldn't sense them. His 'eyes' covered the whole world, but they were hidden from his gaze. As if so invisible force were blocking them from his view... Or was he just so worried that his senses were being distorted?
What if-
"Hah. Get a hold of yourself, John." He shook his head and then got out of his chair.
There wasn't any point to worrying. He just had to believe. Believe that the two were out there safe and sound. That they were just upset and hiding from him.
Staring out the window again, John found himself fiddling with his wedding ring. The golden dragon, holding the jade moon...
"You never really learn to appreciate sothing til it's missing, huh?"
John had gotten so used to Yue's presence that he didn't realize just how much he missed her until now.
And then there was g too.
Did she finish mastering the 64 hexagrams from the book of changes? Was she eating properly? Did she encounter any problems in her cultivation while he was gone? Did she cry after he broke his promise with her to take her along with him to explore the void?
John blinked and then let out a wry laugh. "Damn. My age is catching up with , huh? Acting like my parents..." He shook his head and then pulled out his phone.
The stream was already scheduled, and it looked like there were already around a thousand people waiting.
John glanced at the chat, scrolling through the ssages in the hopes that he could catch a glimpse of Yue or g. That either of them were in the chat with a ssage for him. But...
"Not that easy, huh?"
...There wasn't any sign of them. Not any real sign, that is.
John noted a few people pretending to be Yue and confessing their love.
To those, he imdiately destroyed their routers and deleted their accounts.
Giving him false hope like that-!
A sudden notification and a ringtone.
[Play ]
Rin nodded and then turned back forward, closing her eyes to get ready to sing.
After hearing the instruntal start, Alpha sighed and then huffed. "Those two... they could have at least told they'd be busy today..."
Alpha shook her head and then went back to carefully monitoring the stream... and desperately praying that nothing broke.
-----AI|IA-----
Around 7 PM PST, California. A certain famous the park with a mouse logo.
Tsuki ran ahead, pulling Oga along with her. "Co on, ggie! Let's go through Galaxy Wars again!"
"H-Hmph. Such a trifling attraction could not-"
"I'll let you pilot the Millennium Raptor this ti!"
"Really?" Oga's eyes widened and she quickly said, "You can't take back your word!"
"Promise!"
"Then what are waiting for! Let's go, go, go!" That ti, Oga took the lead and started dashing off, pulling Tsuki behind her. But it seed that Oga was conscious of the other girl, since Oga didn't run in a full sprint towards the attraction.
From a table nearby, shaded by a big mouse umbrella, Yue watched the two girls duck into the line for the Galaxy Wars Star Fighters attraction and let out a faint smile.
Kai walked over, carrying a tray of food, four wrapped burgers and boxes of fries, as well as a bag of soda bottles. His gaze followed Tsuki and Oga before he said, "Seems like the girls are having a good ti."
Yue glanced back at Kai and nodded. "It would appear so. But I'm surprised. My daughter can be a bit... well, difficult to handle." She shifted her gaze back towards her daughter before saying, "I'm glad that she found a proper friend."
Kai sat down across from Yue and placed down the food. "I'm glad too. It's been hard for Tsuki to make so friends that she can play with." He paused. "Well, I suppose there's Rin, but she's a bit too old to play with Tsuki like ggie."
"Mm." Yue gave a noncommittal response and then glanced towards the food. "That... may I?"
"Of course." Kai waved his hand and said, "Help yourself."
Yue nodded and then grabbed one of the burgers and a bottle of orange soda. After carefully unwrapping the burger, she glanced at it and said, "So this is the food of my husband's holand..."
Kai glanced at her and frowned. "Did John never take you out to eat burgers?"
"No. My dear husband has served this fare before. However, he ntioned that there was a certain flavor he couldn't replicate, and I'm fairly curious on what that may be."
What was it again? Sothing about trash food...? No, junk food. Yes, it was that he couldn't replicate junk food because his cooking skills were too high...
Yue took a bite... and then instantly grimaced, placing the rest of the burger to the side. She didn't spit out the bite, considering that it'd be rude. But still, she felt an instant repulsion towards the taste and had to force it down. "Urgh..." She took a napkin from the tray and wiped her mouth. "Disgusting."
Kai laughed and said, "That's Arican food for you."
Yue opened the bottle of soda and took a sip from that next. When she did, she winced and quickly closed that as well. "Such acrid taste and sweetness..."
Kai frowned and said, "Should I get sothing else?"
Yue wiped her mouth again and shook her head. "No. I suppose I can simply wait until afterwards to have a proper al. More importantly..." She tilted her head and said, "You were telling more about my dear husband's recent affairs?"
"John, huh?" Kai mumbled and then grabbed a soda from the bag. Mount Dew. Cracking it open, he took a swig and said, "Well. To start off with, I t your dear husband when-"
A soft pitter patter.
"Hm?" Kai paused and then looked off to the side. "Rain?"
Yue frowned. "...Were the skies not just clear?"
"They were. Huh." Kai shook his head. "Guess California's weather really is volatile. Must be all of that pollution."
The soft patter of rain slowly grew in frequency and intensity, turning into a steady shower.
Seeing that, Kai glanced at the line where Tsuki and Oga were standing. "...Maybe we should head get the kids and head back for the day. It'd be bad for them to catch a cold, and I've heard that this place is infamous for spreading germs."
Yue paused and stared at the sky.
Stormy gray clouds with the occasional flash of lightning.
Yue subconsciously brushed her abdon and said, "...Yes. I believe that may be for the best."
_________
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