Chapter Text
A small CRTV set perched on his uncle’s desk, displaying a whiteboard with a crudely drawn diagram of Micronesia. A woman used a dry-erase marker to explain the current situation involving a luxury cruise, a storm, and a young girl lost in the chaos.
“...The captain believes she has drifted to the southeast starting from this point, and, because she wore a lifejacket, she will be recoverable, if not alive. Other survivors believe they saw an inner tube drift to the southwest instead…”
The voice of Reporter Okamoto Yoshi was drowned out by the panicked rampage of a young man with pale skin sticking out from black attire. He ripped open a new box of push pins so quickly, it spewed said push pins all over the floor. The yarn unfurled in a similar crazed manner. With only seconds to decide what could be put away, he yanked paper clippings from other cases from the bulletin board.
“Southeast, off the coast of the Philippines…That’s the Caroline Islands, right?”
The boy rushed for his world map.
“Yeah, Caroline Islands…She can’t have gone far…”
No sooner had he begun to theorize her whereabouts did his phone vibrate. He retrieved it to receive a call from one of his friends: Amami Rantaro, known interchangeably as the Former Ultimate Survivor and the Former Ultimate Adventurer. Knowing him, the boy knew exactly what this call was about.
“Shuichi, are you watching the news?”
“I am! I’ve already begun to figure out where she is.”
“Cool. I’ll be right over. This is a job for both of us, and possibly Korekiyo, and Kyoko, too. Maybe we can also get Sonia to contribute her fleet.”
“Would it be an inconvenience for you? I mean, I thought you’d-”
“I’ll multitask,” Rantaro spoke seriously. “If I can search for all my sisters at once, I can add a close friend to the list. Plus, this way, you won’t have to pay for someone to sail you around.”
“The way things look, we might actually have to fly to her location.”
“Okay, then we’ll arrange a flight. Anything to get her home safe as quickly as possible.” Rantaro’s voice turned sympathetic. “Shuichi, don’t panic. I promise, I’m coming as quickly as I can. I’m literally catching an Uber right now. And when I get there, we’ll form our plan. We’re gonna save her, one way or another.”
It was exactly what Shuichi needed to hear. Someone else knowing their friend was lost, and throwing down everything to help him help her. He wasn’t going to be alone in this rescue effort.
“Thank you, Rantaro. Thank you. I’ll let my uncle know you’re coming.” With that, Shuichi stumbled out of the room, allowing the TV to play on.
“I’m Okamoto Yoshi. For those of you just joining me, we are recounting the sinking of a luxury cruise, where there are no confirmed casualties…but Tojo Kirumi, the Former Ultimate Maid, is currently missing.”