Chapter 132 - You did well

"Rie." Kiyohira looks to his right. He sees an unfamiliar face. It's a nurse. She's saying something to him. "Rie... I want to see her."

His memories are fuzzy. His pupils move to the left and right. He's in a hospital. Where's Rie? Where's Takeshi and his grandmother?

"Can you hear me?" The doctor looks into his eyes. 

"Yes." He can't see anyone from his family. All the faces belong to strangers. "Where's Rie and Takeshi?"

The doctor lets out a breath of relief. "Your brother is on his way. Please calm down first."

They didn't say anything about Rie. Is she not coming? Did she leave him already? She must have been mad at him because he didn't tell her about Chisa. He was going to tell her. 

"Call my wife." He tries to get up. "I need to see her."

"About that..." The doctor hesitates and glances at the nurse.

Kiyohira notices the way they exchange looks. Memories of fire charge through his brain. He slowly blinks his eyes. When he came back, he saw the mansion being swallowed by the fire. He didn't see Rie among the survivors. Takeshi was there, but he was unconscious. He ran inside before they could stop him. Two years ago, she nearly died in the fire. She suffered a lot that night. He couldn't let the same happen again. If he couldn't save her, he would rather die with her in that fire.

He feels pangs of pain in his heart. "Call her. She might not pick the call... Text her or mail her. She will respond to a text faster than a call."

"Mr. Kamiyama, please don't be agitated." The doctor is worried. This person just woke up and he already looks like he would pass out again. "They didn't find her corpse. Your brother will come and explain."

Kiyohira looks at them with dread. He knows that she is not dead. He can feel it in his heart. He wouldn't survive if she was dead too. His Rie was supposed to live without any fear after Chisa was gone. She wouldn't die before having that chance at life.

"Brother." Takeshi bolts into the room. Seeing his brother awake, he bursts into tears. The last time he cried was at his grandmother's funeral. He hugs his brother. "Thank god, you came back to me."

Kiyohira wraps his arm around Takeshi's shoulders. He can see that his younger brother faced a lot while he was asleep. "You did well, Takeshi."

"Thank you for coming back." Though he has Iori and Haru, a brother is a brother. "I thought that you would leave me like grandmother and sister-in-law."

Kiyohira's heart constricts painfully when he hears those words. This time, he reacts calmer than before.

"Is Rie really gone?" He asks his young brother quietly. "I heard that... she wasn't found."

He can't call her a corpse. 

"She wasn't found," Takeshi composes himself and tells him straightforwardly. "Hashimoto Chisa and Morikawa were found dead. Her father held a funeral for sister-in-law. If she was alive, she would have met him. She could have contacted someone. There's been no sight of her."

He tells him the details of that night and everything that happened after that night. Kiyohira listens to him quietly. He still can't believe that she died. His heart won't accept. Why is it still beating if she's dead?

Takeshi is afraid. His elder brother's eyes are full of pain and sorrow. He knows how much his brother loved his sister-in-law. "Brother, you are my only family. Everyone is gone. You can't leave either."

Takeshi's words snap him out of his thoughts. 

"I am not going anywhere." He smiles at Takeshi. "I am your elder brother. How can I leave you alone? Father would whip me if I do."

His brother has been alone without him. His brother can't fend the world alone. His parents and grandmother are dead. Even his wife might be dead. If she was alive, would she leave Takeshi alone? She cared about him. She wouldn't leave her father alone either.

Unless she's being held somewhere against her will, she would come back for her father and Takeshi. He won't dare to think that she loved him. She wouldn't come back for him even if he was dying.

Hashimoto Chisa and her secretary Morikawa sent the assassins to kill Rie. Who sent the drones that night? Drones aren't Chisa's style.

Someone must have sent the drones to attack the assassins. Nobody investigated those drones. Someone wanted to save Rie from the assassins. How did they find out that there will be an attack? 

He has to find them.

She's alive. He's more convinced. His heart refuses to believe that she died that night. 

Ren told him that some hacker groups were interested in Rie. Chisa Hashimoto's phone was hacked by someone when Rie had it. Some hacker was already connected to Chisa. About the world of hackers, Ren is most knowledgeable than him. He will know if they are involved.

***

[Kiyohira, I was waiting for you to wake up.]

Noticing his light tone, he can guess. Rie's alive. "Where is she?"

[I don't know.]

"Ren!"

[I am saying the truth, Kiyohira. I looked into it. There's a notorious black hat who is also a drone expert. His name is Madhatter. He's one of the top black hats.]

"Black hat?"

[You muggles won't know. Black hats are hackers who belong to the dark side. Have you seen harry potter? Black hats would be dark wizards. There are good hackers who are called white hats. Then, there are gray hates like me. Dude, you married Rie. You don't have basic knowledge of her world.]

"You haven't heard anything about her yet?"

[If she became a blackhat, she will belong to the inner circle. I belong to the outer circle. I am not privy to the secrets of the inner circle. So, I don't know for sure.]

Ren pauses for a moment.

[I heard gossips. There's a new blackhat in the inner circle. The name is Nano.]

"Is it her?"

[I am not completely sure. The black hat emerged a week ago. The name is Nano. She hacked into the military and thrashed their cybersecurity. She left her name, making sure that they know it's her.]

It doesn't sound like her.

Kiyohira has seen her gaming a few times. She's direct and brute when she's excited. When she's cool-headed, she will plan like a little fox. When she's angry, she will raise storms. When she's super angry and hateful, she will become unusually calm. No one can tell what she's thinking when she's silent. 

"Is there anyone else who could be her?"

[I haven't heard of anyone else. I think that it's Nano. Rie's reaction time is amazing. Nano's speed matches hers. I will contact her.]