Four (3264w)

Ran dreamt about him that night.

After much musings and reflections before slump, her subconscious helped her replace every person who could have known about her condition.

When she first learned about her syndrom, she was eight and hold herself with optimism as her parents told her they're doing everything they could so her life won't be much different from others. And they did, school was difficult only in maths and when her hypoacusis acted up. But in two years, she learned to read on lips and could easily understand French and Dutch, and English of course, by the way the teachers rolled their lips. She was shorter than most and sometimes get free pass in p.e. class because the parents already told so to the headmaster who delegated it to the physical education teacher.

Things only started to get sour with her brother said how he felt left out by their parents because they're always at her side.

Although not envious, it rubbed him on the wrong way that the family and their butler slash grandfather Tachibana had to move across the world just to ease her life. Sure, Japan wasn't the best place to raise disable people as the citizens do not understand of differency, but in Belgium, they were seen as exocity or mistook as Chinese. Ran would always have both of the parents' attention while Rei spent most of his childhood with Tachibana Eijun.

Ran never doubted anything and just thought that Rei was in his teenager phase and would isolate himself to the point of wanting to emencipate so he could return to Japan. They eventually came up with a solution, he's still under their guardianship till both of their adult age but Rei could live and study in Japan thanks to Sakura Kanako's parents who lived in Kyoto. So, as soon as Rei's 14, he renewed his Japanese passport for underage and did every papers admission to be a Japanese high school boy by April 2014 giving him a half gap year from July 2013 to march 2014.

Around the same time, Ran was hit by a wave of sadness knowing that she created some sort of gap between her and her brother since she was born. She wandered into a flower shop with one Japanese worker she called onii-san wanting the sibling she lost in Rei. She may have told him more about her life than she should to some stranger but she felt familiarity because he was the first Japanese she met at Brussels. Then, as Rei's depature was getting close, he disappeared as easily as he came into her life. And that's how she lost both brother figure overnight.

It's been five years since.

If Rei would come to Belgium every year by summer, Ran forgot about the gorgeous Japanese man she confide every secrets. Now, it backfired and she's being taken by his henchmen to meet him in Thailand.

Needless to say, Ran had a huge headache this morning. Especially since her bed was jolting her around.

After making sure she was steady enough to get out of bed, she chose to change into some summer clothes by trying to clip some bra, in case she could be out of the van sometime during the day, and went to refresh her face without aknowledging anyone she happened to meet on the way to the wc.

Now more awaken, she greeted Alexei who was finishing his breakfast by asking him what there were.

"Rice and eggs. And your fruits for digestion."

She served herself in her container and ate in silence, feeling that Sun wouldn't appreciate listening to her voice after some long hour of driving going by the dark rings under his eyes. And since Luan wasn't in sight, he must be one of the driver on the morning shift. But after rinsing her plate and silverware, and seeing how Alexei seemed to be free and Sun asleep, she couldn't held it anymore.

"Can you help me unlock the window by the bed? I want to ventilate."

They didn't even need to raise up the store, but just to aerate the deep corner that had mustered heat and smell during her sleep. Then, seeing he was now here anyway, she invited him to sit with her and talk to her, so their voice won't bother Sun.

"Your friend, the one you're doing all that for, is he onii-san?"

Perhaps taking him by surprise like that wouldn't help her uncover the mystery, but now she had a start of hint, she wanted to know the answer.

"You need to be more specific. What do you mean by onii-san? Are you talking about your real brother?"

"Oh, no, I'm referencing a man I met five years ago. He was working in a flower shop, and we came to meet and talk because we're both Japanese, hence onii-san. But he vanished overnight and I didn't get any answer when asked around. Then, I was asked to meet a friend of your some years later, while most part of your group are Asian-"

She stopped herself seeing the man raise a brow at that.

"I mean, I assumed you're Russian, and from my point of view, it's part of Asia for me, so-"

"Alright, I get your point. And I'm indeed from Russia. I can't be sure that we're talking about the same man, though I had to admit I don't know him that much, I only joined his side a year or two ago."

Well, back to square one. Then again, it's her fault for not knowing her onii-san's name, which she never actually asked him, anyway.

"And why did you join his side?"

Suddenly, she also didn't want to be right about the friend's identity. Because, as she realized that she was riding with some organized criminals who may looking like taking care of her still worked shadily, it would mean her onii-san was a criminal too.

From Alexei's probing stare, she understood it that she may have asked a question without being prepared of the answer, yet he humored her and told her the truth.

"I killed someone back in Russia, he was kind of known by the thugs and they couldn't let his death gone easily, so I fleed the country and ran into them."

She didn't doubt it was the truth, yet, she still wanted to know more about his story. Maybe she should have known she's not normal to not back away from a killer.

"And why did you kill him?"

"He raped my sister. Well, I guess I was also at fault to first spent time with thugs like them, but my family and I grew up in some nasty place, it was a matter of time before those trash took interest in us."

As a former high schooler that the toughest problem was dealing with subtil bullying, she always thought that the messiest crime would be adultery because the sin was just straight up immoral and performed by narcissist just looking for problem while violence like beating and killing happened because of anger issue. Like, cheating could be easily avoided if both parties just agreed their relationship is an open one and they could have sex with whoever they want. The rest, it's just some trigger that make people react with fist rather than words.

But rape? It's cruel, it's dehumanizing, it's using power to up someone else. It's enslaving the other and not giving them a chance to decide. And that's definitely the worst crime one could commit. So, Ran wasn't judging Alexei for acting in his sister's name.

"How did your family reacted when you told them you're leaving the country?"

"They didn't know. As rataliation for killing one of them, they take down my mother. Angered by the loss, my father killed some of them too and was jailed by the police who need to end the case. I fleed before anyone could get me."

She's definitely with him, here, not that he would care. And not that she would tell him that, because that happened two years ago and who knows what other crime he did after. Like stalking and participating in an abduction.

They stayed silent for a moment before Alexei made his intention to leave her side clear. Ran had a huge need to stop him to keep talking but didn't know what.

"W- where are we, right now?"

He checked his watch and she had to wonder if it was a gadget like all those items Luan showed her yesterday.

"We're close to Nuremberg, Germany."

"We're visiting the prison?"

"That only exists in Harry Potter universe. At the very least, we could drive past the Palace of Justice where the Nuremberg Trials took place but we're not going to stop there. We don't even need to take a break for food supplies, the cupboards are full, but we'll be arriving soon."

"Where?"

"Prague, Czech Republic."

"What are we stopping here for?"

Once again, he stared at her, but this time, he let her go.

"Don't ask question you don't want to hear the answer."

She didn't let it deter her.

"How long will it take?"

"Soon."

Soon turned out to be four hours and they arrived before noon. Ran spent the time talking to Alexei about pop culture, because the fact he mentioned the world's reknown saga put him closer to her, knowledges' wise. After all, he did seem to know what onii-san standed for and if not for anime he must be watching before going rogue. And he did asked her some tips in Japanese, whereas by genuine curiosity or because of Japan fetichization.

Then, Ran learned that he was born in 1992, making them 8 years apart.

"Huh, you're Millenials."

"Still better than gen Z."

"Oh, come on, you're going to spit on generations, now?"

"You started it. And worse of all, you're a two thousand, making you the first of the worst generation-"

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you, but you don't have to trash so much on my generation."

"And to think you're the future the world's going to bear," he kept going as if she didn't interrupt with her apologizes. "Lazy, unmotivated, sarcastic and unambitious."

"Now, I have to stop you. If it wasn't for the former generation trashing the planet, trashing our self-confidence and just being unhelpful, we could have change the world. There are a lot of organization trying to help the polluted seas that the elder were the cause and who are still causing harm, and there are those soulless and very stupid poachers who would hunted animals to extinction just to sold their fur or whatever to the rich who happened to be the old and fat people despite all the law forbidding it. If we're so lazy and unambitous, it's because there's nothing left for us, we only got the garbage and mistake the older generations piled up."

Luan's voice suddenly picked up beside them.

"I don't want to bother, but once you finished your complaint, would you ready yourself to go out?"

"I'm done."

Not really but she was more appealed by the prospect to go out than keeping on the argument that neither her nor Alexei wanted to yield.

They had parked the van somewhere along a river and they were all out except for Quy. Sun and Alexei took the backpack where her former damp clothes were and the inside must smell musty but it was somehow advantageous for them, while Luan lead her somewhere by pretending taking lunch.

It was a little hard to eat with the addition of the lingual braces but they weren't in hurry, so she became used of it after awhile. Then, after making sure she had the hairpins covered, he lent her a phone.

He merely reacted at her utmost disbelieving look.

"Don't think too much of it. We're going to get rid of it once you finished sending all the messages you need to. But for the afternoon, you're free to use it to contact your family as you want."

"But why do you have this with you?"

"Well, we need an account to book the airbnb or even to rent a car without suspicion. And not knowing how to connect online nowadays would be the first wrong step to set into the society."

"Speaking of which, how old are you?"

Instead of answering her, he smiled mischievously.

"I'm born in the year of rabbit."

"Huh? We're counting on Chinese astrology year now?"

"You don't know your Chinese astrology signs?"

"Of course I do! Rabbit's the year before mine, so you're a year older than me!"

"Is that what you want?"

That made her pause. He looked young but it could have been make-up as he knew how to use it. He did say he wasn't used of technology. Then again, he could be coming from somewhere not easy access of internet. Was Thailand in dire situation with technology?

"I think that what I want doesn't matter in this situation."

"True. So, it won't change that you know or not the actual answer, right?"

It seemed his age was a sensitive subject.

"Here, I set a timer in the phone, I'll be back at you when it rang so don't get too caught up by whatever you're doing. See you."

She didn't have the time to ask him how he was going to find her back as he vanished out of the Cafe in a blink of eye. She did so after making sure the meal was paid, feeling grateful because Czech Republic wasn't part of Euro zone. Using the map, she found herself wandering into the nearest park and enjoyed the nature of the capital city.

She took some pictures and made the same program to sent it to her family later in the evening. But seeing there was the Skype app, she logged on and waited with bated breath to see if Rei was log on too. He was and he seemed to have been waiting for her as he sent a videocall as soon as her profile turned green.

'Where are you?' Came the question in Japanese as soon as she accepted the call.

"Hello to you too, Rei! I'm also fine, just enjoying my summer holiday because, hah, we're free by July in Belgium."

'Ran, I'm being serious right now. Where are you? Why did you pull up this run away scheme and scare the parents like an immature child?'

"I didn't run away. And I did tell them about it beforehand. Maybe scarcely but I did make my intention to go out clear. I'm in Prague, by the double u."

'You're so cringe. And immature.'

"Yeah, you already said that. Broaden your vocabulary. How's Japan school doing to you?"

'It's great, Ran-chan. We're trying to loosen your twin since he picked up in stiffness once accepted in his dream university, but thankfully he had devoted friends.'

"Hey, Shin-kun. Lovely evening."

'Shut up, the evening's ruined the moment we're in contact. And you, don't interrupted in private call.'

'It stopped being private starting the moment you send the video call for us to hear.'

"Hey, Yuki-kun. Sorry, didn't thought that international call would interrupted your evening."

'I guess some break wouldn't hurt. How's Prague? It's around midday for you, right?'

"Indeed. With the friends, we're enjoying the sun in the park. Here, I show you. Nice, innit?" She asked after twirling the phone so the cam could take her surrounding fast enough that no one would comment the absence of her 'friends'.

'Yesterday, you were in Netherlands, how did you manage to get in Czech so fast?'

"What can I say? My friends are fast driver. And cautious too."

'what do you plan to see by driving past the countries'

"It's special road trip made for our taste. We're planning to cross Europe at the fastest speed we can."

'What's the point? Couldn' t you have set planned itinerary like we did for the Mediterranean cruise in 2013? '

"Well, you said it yourself. That was a cruise then, it' s a road trip now. Besides, you don't get to say anything. Absentee don't get to choose."

'It' s not like I can even attend it.'

"You could if you have been in Belgium. But you' ré not. Anyway, my friends calling me, I had to go and will you guys for the night. Bye."

She tried to end the call quickly even after her brother insist on giving her instruction to reassure their parents while he's the first leaving them. Of course, he did with preparation and told them and it wasn't like Ran really had a choice. Anyway, she tried her best to send as much mails to them, but maybe with more proof of her friends would be nice.

Problem is, she didn't know how to create friends that won't scream dangerous and suspicious.

Because that's the aura Sun and Alexei gave off. Probably could even add menacing for Quy. Only Luan could pull it off and mostly thanks to his disguisement. But only having him on picture would be weird, if he accepted his pic to be taken in the first place.

Suddenly, some voices speaking in French came into her hearing.

Three young people, around her age, namely 18 or so, were laughing at each other while getting out of the park. Ran only hesitated for a moment before going after them.

"Excusez-moi, désolée de vous déranger mais vous êtes aussi en roadtrip ?"

The girl of the trio looked at her with a big smile, all welcoming, and told her that yes, they were in roadtrip to discover the east of Europe. One of the guys piped up and said they were joining back their other friends who were keeping the pickup. Ran invited herself with them, saying she lost her friend and that none were answering her calls and texts and that she could at least spend the time that she'd be found with friendly people.

"Mais tu as quel âge?" One of the other guy asked him while bending a little to talk to her.

And Ran remembered that she's way too small to be 18 and to hang around people in age to do most adult thing.

"14. Mes amies m'ont invité à leur voyage en famille et elles m'ont de toute évidence oublié."

All three of them, Diane, Gérard and Benoît she'll learn, awed at her and softened to the point of inviting to pay her something to give her courage. Honestly, if Ran were self-conscious, she would ask for self-awareness more than anything. But she's little an airhead and rather like to go with the flow so she asked for a bag of cherries that she shared with them.

Then, after talking for awhile and becoming overly friendly, she asked for a selfie with them. She also exchanged Skype so she could send them all the souvenir and proceeded to do so immediately, fearing that the incoming ringtone would also mean the end of usage of the phone. When it did ring, she made a show to answer a phone call and left the friendly French group of friend.

Except, she stopped around the corner and waited for something that would happen to the phone.

Nothing happened but her braces made a crack sound and she received a text message from a masked number. Not thinking it could be spam, she opened it.

They were directives to where to wait for them. As she went to the appointment localisation, she sent the pictures of her new and temporary friends to her parents, telling them she loved them so much and thought about them whenever she see beautiful views the world bear.

Luan took away the phone and discharged it under her eyes.

He also told her to pack some clothes in her bag and to bring her new fantastic glasses because they will be stopping at Vienna, Austria, for awhile. When she asked for the reason, she didn't get an answer other than it was time.

Not ominous at all.