Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gakushuu looked around the hotel in interest, his father keeping a hand on his shoulder as they walked over to the main Reception desk. He clutched his backpack tight, absorbing everything around him.

Washington was different from the last American state he'd visited, everything seemed more spaced out and bigger, with large monuments towering above. The hotel was big as well, but also old, decorated with plush red carpets and patterned wallpaper. The main lobby area full of people and lots of leather furniture.

There were lots of other kids too, mostly in large groups with some wearing their soccer team uniforms proudly while standing with their chaperones or coaches. They all looked so different and all seemed from different parts of the world.

His father nudged him forward as they were addressed by the receptionist. 'A reservation under Asano please,' his father spoke in English.

Gakushuu looked up a murmured the sentence under his breath to remember, his father had said he should use every opportunity to practice his English while they were here.

'Ah, yes,' the woman checking them in sounded overly-cheerful. 'Do you have your booking reference and a credit card?'

Gakushuu looked around while his dad got his wallet out. His gaze paused on a girl around his age dressed in a nice coat and purple scarf, with thick blonde hair that cascaded down like a Princess; he'd never seen a girl that looked like that. She looked like something from a fairytale book.

"Gakushuu?" His father nudged him.

"Huh?" Gakushuu blinked a few times like being broken from a trance and looked up at his father who had the hotel room keys in hand and didn't look impressed.

"Stop gawking at people and come along," his father said lightly, taking a step forward while gripping his shoulder like he was afraid he'd disappear.

Gakushuu kept walking ahead but then scowled faintly when he couldn't see the girl anymore.

The hotel they were staying at had a horrendous Internet connection, something with the Wifi signal in the room which seemed linked to the old structure of the luxury hotel that was as dated as the garish oak furnishings and strangely patterned wallpaper.

Gakuhou grimaced, trying to load up the revised budget proposal his assistant had emailed over for what felt like the tenth time within the hour. He checked the clock above, it was currently 8pm here in Washington which meant would be 10am in Tokyo right now, so if he emailed over the review by 10:30am Tokyo time so it could be discussed in the conference call—

Something thudded from the wall opposite where Gakushuu's room was. Gakuhou looked over at the wall irritably, before he started looking through the proposal, reading through three pages until another thud on the wall distracted him.

For goodness sake!

Gakuhou stood up and walked over to the doorway that connected his son's hotel room since the ten-year-old child seemed not to be studying quietly. "Gakushuu," he said sharply when he opened the door and found his son kicking the football back and forth. "What are you doing?"

His son tensed up, holding the ball tight. "...I'm practicing." His eyes narrowed, glancing at the desk where the study papers were neatly piled. "I finished studying ages ago..."

Gakuhou frowned when he glanced at the work and saw it was all completed and neatly stacked next to some of his son's books. "Then do some reading quietly," he instructed. "I have a lot of work I need to get through."

"But I need to practice for the match tomorrow," his son insisted, frowning. "Can I go outside and practice?"

"No," he replied sternly.

The hotel was barely 4 stars, he didn't trust their security. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact the hotel was the closest to the playing field where the International Youth Football matches were taking place, he wouldn't be anywhere near here.

The rest of Gakushuu's teammates were staying in a 3 star hotel further down the street, which was another reason he hadn't trusted letting him come to America with just a chaperone, soccer coach, and assistant coach as guardianship.

It was a miracle none of the other children had been kidnapped and sold off because of their lack of standards.

"But I need to practice," Gakushuu's brow furrowed. "Can't we just—"

Gakuhou raised a hand to shush him when his phone rang; it was his assistant. "Hello, Katou," he greeted, leaving the room and closing the door behind him while his son glared at him.

"Sir!" Katou's voice was shaky. "H-how was your flight? Is Gakushuu settling in alright? I hear the weather there is wonderful this time of year."

Gakuhou raised an eyebrow, tapping his finger on the desk when he sat down in front of the laptop again. "He's fine," he replied evenly. "I'm reviewing the proposal." He scanned fifteen more pages quickly, scrolling through. "Why isn't the budget for the tennis court included?"

"I-I thought we were just focusing on the main building construction for the south wing," Katou stammered, shuffling of papers heard in the background. "I looked through your notes—"

"I emailed over the adjustments before my flight last night," he interrupted coldly. "I don't want the meeting re-scheduled because—"

Another thud came from next door.

Gakuhou gripped the phone tight, feeling his composure crack a little.

"Sir, I can chair the meeting if—"

"No," he interrupted sternly, shooting the idea down. "There's no need." He glanced at the door when another thud sounded. "I'll personally oversee this as usual."

Katou was spineless, he couldn't be trusted to chair a meeting. The finances related to the school, which meant they were his responsibility. No one else could be trusted to handle it properly.

"Very well...will you be joining through video call or dial in?" his assistant asked.

"Dial-in." He didn't trust the internet connection. "Make sure everything is printed—"

The next thud shook the wall.

"Sir?"

Gakuhou narrowed his eyes at the wall. "I'll email over the amendments." He hung up and went back to reading, trying to focus.

He couldn't understand why his son kept insisting on these petulant antics. The boy was ten, he should be growing out of these acts, but if anything he seemed to be getting worse, despite knowing the consequences.

Gakuhou finished reading through the proposal and wrote up the feedback in the email of the final adjustments that just needed to be made, ignoring the persistent noise coming from the other room.

But when he tried to send the email back the email refused to send, the connection was weak.

Gakuhou's eye twitched, his patience breaking while his son obnoxiously kicked the ball against the wall repeatedly like a spoiled little—

He got up and pushed the door open again. "I told you to be quiet," he snapped, making his son jump and quickly back away. "What do you think you're doing?"

Gakushuu backed away more until he ran out of distance and hit the wall. "...I need to practice," he mumbled, clutching the ball possessively like he was afraid it would be taken away; which it should be. "Dad, I'm sorry! I just want to practice."

He was starting to regret agreeing to chaperone his son, part of him wishing he could shove him in some closet or room so he wouldn't bother him for a few hours while he was trying to work like they normally did when they were home. Gakushuu was much more agreeable after a timeout session.

His gaze shifted to the bathroom and then his son. If his son couldn't be trusted to be quiet for just a few hours then he'd need to learn.

"I do not have time for this." Gakuhou snatched the ball from him and grabbed his arm. "If you can't behave properly then you'll stay in there until you do."

"No!" Gakushuu tried to kick him, fighting against the grip when he was shoved into the sparkling bathroom. "Wait, dad—"

He shut the door shut while Gakushuu banged on it. "The more noise you make the longer you'll stay in there." He dragged the chair from the desk to block the door handle from opening.

Gakuhou sighed while his son kept banging on the door and making a fuss. He tossed the ball on the bed and went back into his room to re-send the email and get ready for the call.

Gakushuu kicked the bathroom door for one final time before slumping on the white tiles.

If his father was so busy with work, then why had he even agreed to come with him to Washington DC!?

Part of him had hoped it was because his father wanted to watch him play the match live, but he seemed so busy with work that seemed less and less likely. He hadn't even asked his father to come, he'd wanted to go and be with the rest of his team and be in the same hotel as them so they could hang out and practice together, but his father wouldn't even let him do that!

Gakushuu kicked the toilet out of frustration, feeling cold while sitting on the tiles. He rubbed his eyes when the lights were too bright.

It wasn't fair! He wanted to whine about it, but complaining wouldn't help fix things.

His ears perked up when he heard a noise from outside that sounded like other kids. He wandered over to the window and parted the curtains, standing on the toilet seat to open the window wide to look down. Their hotel room wasn't that far up and was just on the second floor, overlooking the garden area where a mixed group of children, some of them yelling in English, French, and Spanish, were kicking around a soccer ball to each other, with the rest of the garden area being empty.

Gakushuu looked further out, the warmth from the summer heat outside contrasting against the cold air-conditioned bathroom. He recognised one of two of the boys from when he'd arrived at the airport and assumed they were all apart of the upcoming competition sine a lot of the international teams were staying here and all the hotels nearby.

They seemed rather good, he'd admit, the blond boy who was the tallest and most heavily built seemed the best, manoeuvring passed and kicking the ball into the make-shift goal made from two outside chairs.

He watched them play for a while, analysing their moved and compiling it for later in the competition.

The blond boy paused when he looked up and saw him. 'Hey!' he spoke in American English and grinned up at him while the others paused from their game, causing Gakushuu too tense. 'You wanna play?!'

Gakushuu stared at them in surprise. "Uh..." He looked at the door which was locked, and then down below...It wasn't that high...

He looked to the side where the there was ivory growing along the aged bricks of the building, he'd climbed higher mountains than this building as part of junior rock climbing club, and the roof at home...even though he had broken his leg but...

'Are you coming down or not?!' Another boy with a French accent yelled.

Gakushuu glanced at the door anxiously before looking down, feeling a spark of anger when he thought about his father. He was so busy with meetings and work, it wasn't like he'd notice. He recalled the time last week when he'd been locked in the closet for four hours just because he'd knocked over a vase by accident.

His father probably wouldn't even check on him until morning.

Gakushuu looked down at the boys again. '...Okay!' he yelled down, climbing onto the top of the toilet lid to climb out.

'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!' The boys below yelled.

Gakushuu looked annoyed, travelling down the thick vines. 'It's fine!'

Honestly, why were they even panicking? It wasn't that far up.

The boys kept yelling while he was climbing down and only quietened when he two foot from the ground and jumped down onto the pavement.

'It is fine.' Gakushuu rolled his eyes, dusting off his knee from stray leaves and twigs.

'How come you can climb so good!?' the blond boy exclaimed.

Gakushuu frowned, translating in his head. '...Rock climbing club.'

'But why are you even climbing out the window?' another boy with darker skin and braids in his hair asked.

He thought quickly. '...It's faster.'

The other boys exchanged confused looks.

'Oh.' The blond boy frowned briefly but then grinned, punching his arm. 'Cool. My name's Kevin.' He gestured to two other boys; one with dark hair who was tall and the other was dark skin and hair in braids. 'This is Jason and Steve.'

'I'm Baylee. From France.' A boy with curly brown hair smiled and gestured to another boy with Sunkissed skin and darker hair. 'This is Dario.'

'I live in Spain,' Dario said, smiling. 'What's your name?'

'Asano Gakushuu, I am from Japan,' he replied, careful to enunciate like his father had been teaching him. 'Are you competing too?'

'In the football matches? Yeah," Kevin kept smiling as he kicked the ball up and down. 'Come on, you can be on my team!' He patted him on the back, surprising him with the gesture. 'What position do you normally play?'

'Attack.' Gakushuu balanced the ball on his foot when Kevin kicked it over to him. 'I am team—I am the team captain.' He started to smile, kicking the ball up and balancing it on his head. 'You?'

'I'm team captain too!' Kevin smiled back as they got into position.

Gakushuu's smile grew, kicking the ball back to him. He glanced up at the window and tensed when he saw the curtain shift from his father's room. 'If we are going to play a real game we should go somewhere with more space.'

'Like where?' Jason asked.

'I know a park!' Dario suggested. 'It's close.'

Gakushuu nodded, looking up at the window apprehensively before plastering on a smile. 'Let's go then!'

"—The timelines for the construction need to be adjusted to cause the least amount of disruption to the school day-to-day activities," Gakuhou informed them, checking the time on the clock as he was on the phone in the meeting with the rest of the school board.

"Y-yes, we understand that, sir," one of the member's replied nervously. "There's just the overtime costs which may be an issue..."

Gakuhou held back a sigh as another board member made their excuses. He wandered over to the window, parting the curtains out of curiosity when he saw someone had laid out chairs like some goalposts in the garden area.

"Sir?"

"Yes, I'm aware of the extra cost," he replied, walking back over to the desk. "I've weighed up the numbers. It's more effective to pay the overtime now and get the work done instead of spreading the hours. Get the contracts drawn up." He checked the time, it had been just over an hour since his son was placed in timeout and he'd been quiet. Too quiet. "Take a short lunch and then re-convene in fifteen minutes."

"Yes, sir."

Gakuhou hung up and walked into the next room which was silent. He slipped his phone into his pocket and walked over to the bathroom door which was still jammed with the chair. "Gakushuu?"

His eyes narrowed when his son didn't respond. He removed the chair and opened the door to find the bathroom empty.

...Why wasn't his son here?

Gakuhou gripped the handle of the door tight as the there around him sucked out and the colour drained from his face, as a terrifying and raw panic spread over him in a flash.

WHY WASN'T HIS SON HERE!?

'I understand this is upsetting, sir,' the woman at reception said calmly while Gakuhou narrowed his eyes. Her pretty smile looking obnoxious; her brown hair tied up in a braid and her pale skin freckled. 'But I've already told security, and they are looking into it—'

'I don't need you looking into it, I need you to find my son,' Gakuhou said tightly, forcing a smile. 'He's ten years old and it is late. You need to find him quickly before something happens.'

'Yes, sir.' She nodded too much, irritating him more. 'We understand.' Why did she keep insisting on using 'we' when they were having a direct conversation? 'And security is checking the cameras.'

'Then why am I not being permitted to oversee this?' he replied tightly.

''Guests aren't permitted to review the security footage unless an emergency—'

His composure wavered when the frustration became too much, but he took a deep breath, keeping his smile fixed in place. '...Ms Sandra Allen, isn't it?' he said lightly, glancing at her golden nametag while she frowned.

'Um...yes, but everyone here calls me Sandra.'

His smile twitched. 'Sandra. English is not my first language, so please forgive my directness, but if you do not call security and allow me to oversee the search for my child then no one here will call you Sandra.' His gaze was like ice. 'Because you will no longer work here.'

'I-I'm sorry?' She looked confused and frightened, her eyes widening in alarm. 'Sir, I don't think—'

'I currently have enough assets to buy this hotel for the sole purpose of firing you,' he told her coldly, tapping the desk pointedly. 'And as well to sue you for manslaughter if by your incompetence my son ends up dead. So, I will ask you one last time to pick up the phone and tell security to let me oversee. Do you understand?'

She made a strange gulping noise. 'I...'

His eyes narrowed, causing her to tense.

Sandra grabbed the phone and punched in the number. 'Yes, t-this is the front desk, Mr Asano would like to assist in helping find his son. Please help him where you can!'

'Wow!' Gakushuu stared in amazement when Kevin showed him the rarer Transformers cards, while he and the other others had snuck into the park. 'Is this generation 1?'

'Yep!' Kevin grinned, the two of them sat on a park bench while the street lights lit up the green area. 'My dad helped me get them! They're original.'

Gakushuu looked through the cards like they were a lost treasure. 'You are missing three,' he said, frowning when he couldn't find Bumblebee, Smokescreen, or Optimus Prime.

'Yeah, the others are really hard to get.' Kevin sighed, looking annoyed. 'Do you have any cards?'

Gakushuu held the cards tight. 'Yes.' He thought of his meagre collection back at home, but his father hadn't bought him any new cards for years and the rarer ones were hard to find. He felt a small swell of jealousy threaten to sprout up when he thought about Kevin's dad buying him all the cards the boy wanted.

'Are you guys coming to play another game or not?' Jason complained while the other boys were kicking around the ball.

'We're busy!' Kevin yelled back, rolling his eyes. 'I'm tired anyway.'

'I'm not.' Gakushuu looked up at the night sky. 'It is morning in Japan so I haven't adjusted to the time difference.'

'Yeah, I was like that when I travelled through a few states.' Kevin looked interested. 'Hey, what's the weather like in Japan?'

A slightly off question, but Gakushuu thought about it. 'The summers are hot and the winters are cold.' What else was there to say? 'Where are you from and what's the weather like?'

'Oh, California,' Kevin replied, still smiling. 'It's okay. The weather is hot a lot and it doesn't really get cold in winter.'

Gakushuu's eyes widened in interest. 'So it's always warm?'

'Yeah.' Kevin shrugged. 'Which is kind of boring...Do you get lots of snow where you live?'

'Yes, but not too much,' he replied, remembering the cold. 'It snowed a lot last winter, and it's hot now because it's summer.' He thought back to the competition. 'Are you just travelling for the football matches?'

'Yeah, but we're going on vacation after,' Kevin replied. 'We're going to a waterpark in New Jersey. What about you?'

'Home,' Gakushuu replied, shrugging. 'I have competitions in Japan, and my father is working.'

'Oh, okay.' Kevin pauses for a moment, seeming to think about something. 'What kind of competitions?'

Gakushuu counted on his fingers. 'Tennis, Archery, swimming, track, kendo, Chess, shoji, Piano, Violin and...' His brow furrowed, trying to remember. '...And Akido.'

Kevin gawked. 'T-that's a lot!'

He shrugged. 'I suppose so.'

'Are you really good at all that stuff?' the boy asked, eyes dazzling. 'I don't know anyone who could do half of that!'

'I practice a lot,' Gakushuu replied, remembering Ren had seemed surprised as well. 'I always win.' He smiled smugly. 'So I have lots of trophies.'

Kevin scoffed. 'You can't win all the time!'

His smile grew. 'Yes, I can.'

Kavin eyed him suspiciously. 'So you've never lost ever?'

Gakushuu's smile wavered, remembering the Akido, Swimming, and Chess competitions he had lost two years ago, and the consequences that came after. '...Not anymore.'

Kavin stared at him curiously as an uneasy silence settled after that. 'Well, okay...' He scratched the back of his neck. 'What does your dad do then?'

He was confused a little by the phrasing at first but then realised what the boy was trying to say. 'He's a teacher.'

Kevin frowned. 'But it's summer, why's he working?'

'Teacher's work in the summer,' he replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. 'He is the Principal, so he works a lot...' He tried to remember a time when his father wasn't working so much but the memories were fuzzy. 'He owns a school.'

'Like actually owns it?' Kevin asked curiously.

'Yes. He is very important,' Gakushuu replied, growing uncomfortable.

'If he's working then who's with you at the hotel?' Kevin tidied and put the cards away. 'Is it your mom?'

'No.' Gakushuu stomach twisted, grasping his hands tight on his lap. 'My father is with me. He's just working from the hotel.'

'Oh, okay, my mom's with me,' Kevin told him. 'My dad's looking after my sister and brother back at home.'

Gakushuu frowned. 'Does she know you're out?'

'Yeah, but she doesn't mind, I just need to get back before ten.' Kevin checked his phone.

'...Your mom lets you explore on your own?' he asked, watching him in interest.

Kevin grinned. 'Yeah, she's really cool,' he replied. 'Why?' His brow furrowed. 'Does your dad not know you went out?'

That much should have been obvious since he'd climbed out of a window, but the other boys didn't seem all that perceptive. 

'...No.' Gakushuu shrugged. 'He was busy so he locked me in the bathroom.'

'What?!' Kevin made a choking noise, gawking at him. 'He locked you in the bathroom?!'

'Yes.' Gakushuu shrugged again, wondering why Kevin looked so flustered.

Perhaps he'd translated it wrong?

'Why would he do that?' Kevin's eyes were wide and he was staring at him like he'd said something horrible.

'I was annoying him,' Gakushuu answered. 'It's called timeout.'

'That doesn't sound like a timeout.' Kevin shook his head, looking worried. 'My mom puts my sister in timeout all the time and she just makes her sit on the stairs for an hour and think about what she's done!'

Gakushuu's brow furrowed. 'That's not timeout.'

Kevin looked at him warily. '...So what? Your dad's idea of timeout is locking you up?'

He stayed quiet, hesitating when he felt a dread in his stomach for some reason, like it was some kind of secret he wasn't supposed to talk about. 'He...he only locks me in a room on my own if I'm bad.'

'...What kind of room?' Kevin looked more worried.

'Just a room...sometimes a closet,' he replied, growing uncomfortable. 'Only if I'm bad or annoy him.'

'...Is that legal?' Kevin looked confused. 'Is he allowed to do that?'

Gakushuu was quiet for a moment, he'd never really given it that much thought. It wasn't like it was abuse, the teachers at school had explained to them that abuse was hitting or getting beaten up. So what his father did was just discipline...

'Yes,' he replied numbly, feeling unsure. 'Yes, he is.'

Kevin still looked confused. 'Are you sure? It just sounds weird.'

Gakushuu started to grow guarded. Being strange or weird was not a good label to have.

'And...and how would you know?' he shot back, causing Kevin to frown. 'Things are different in Japan. It's not weird.'

Kevin only thought it was strange because he didn't understand, his father had already explained that certain groups of people didn't understand his teaching methods because they were weak-minded and Kevin didn't seem all that bright anyway.

'Sorry!' Kevin apologised, raising his hands. 'I didn't mean to be offensive. I just think it's kinda...' he trailed off when Gakushuu glared at him. '...Do your friends' parents do that stuff too?'

Gakushuu stiffened, his glare lessening when he was caught off guard.

His mind drifted to his friends and classmates parents at school and how their parents all seemed different than his father.

Ren's dad was always hugging him and joking with him. He'd only seen Mr Sakikabara yell at Ren once and that was because they'd made a mess in the kitchen trying to make coffee flavoured brownies. When he saw his teammates parents at games they were always cheering them on, while his father was nowhere to be seen.

'No...' Gakushuu admitted, his stomach twisting. 'But...but I'm special so I...my lessons are different.'

His father may be controlling, but he was just trying to teach him to be strong, so he could survive in the world.

'Yeah, but don't you get scared getting locked up?' Kevin asked quietly, looking sad for some reason.

Gakushuu frowned, picking at his skin on his hand. 'When I was little, but not anymore.' He hadn't cried because of 'timeout' sessions for a while now, crying and being scared wouldn't help. 'I'm not scared.' He kicked the air. 'I'm not scared of anything,' he lied, ignoring the pit in his stomach.

Kavin's eyes widened a fraction before he frowned again. 'I think I'd still be scared...' Then his frown faded when he smiled a little tightly. 'You must be really brave then.' His eyes sparkled with admiration. 'I thought so when you climbed down the wall! I'd be too scared!' He looked at the Transformer's cards thoughtfully. 'You're like Blackjack!'

Gakushuu looked surprised as the boy held up the card of the purple and black transformer. 'Excuse me?'

'You're smart and brave,' Kevin explained, grinning.

'Oh.' He took the card and looked at it. 'Then which one are you?'

Kevin puffed out his chest. 'I'm Optimus Prime!'

'No, you're not,' Gakushuu replied dryly.

'Yes, I am!' Kevin whined.

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. 'You act more like Ironhide.'

'You think so?' Kevin searched through the cards. 'He is tough.'

Gakushuu watched him in amusement the more Kevin seemed to think about it, the boy's stomach growled loudly.
'Hm...' The blond rubbed his head. 'I'm still hungry.' He smiled. 'The restaurant would have closed by now, you wanna ditch these guys and sneak leftovers from the kitchen?'

Gakuhou drummed his fingers impatiently against the chair while he watched the guards try to locate his son. The three of them in the cramped security office where numerous screens showed different parts of the hotel.

'This is taking longer than expected.'

The security officer with a moustache and balled head exchanged a look with the female office with short blond hair.

'We are trying, sir, but here are a lot of cameras,' the man with the moustache, Chris, said dully.

Gakuhou grimaced and sighed when his phone rang. 'Yes?' Then he quickly switched back to Japanese. "Hello?"

"Um, sir?" Katou sounded nervous. "Are you able to re-join the meeting or should I re-schedule?"

Damn it...

Gakuhou turned away and ran a hand down his face, growing tired. "Just..." He couldn't trust these idiots to hunt down his son safely. "Fine. Re-schedule the meeting for tomorrow. I'm busy at the moment."

"Of course, sir," Katou replied, his tone shifting to worry. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine," Gakuhou replied sharply. "Goodbye." He hung up before his assistant could reply.

'I think we have something,' the woman security officer, Rachel, spoke up, pointing at one of the screens. 'This was about over an hour ago.'

Gakuhou moved closer to the screen, growing alarmed when he saw his son climb down a wall infested with vines to go play football with a group of boys, and then the boys wandered off camera a few minutes later. 'Where did they go?'

Chris quickly looked through the next lot of footage. 'They went off-site towards the park around back.'

Gakuhou started to feel sick. 'Do you have a camera feed?'

'Only the edge of it.' She showed footage on another screen of Gakushuu and the other boys wandering into the park before disappearing into the park.

Gakuhou felt like he was watching his worst nightmare unfold right before his eyes.

What if his son was kidnapped? Or worse, dead?

What if he never saw his son again?

He stepped back, trying to remain calm.

He didn't think he'd be able to live with himself if he lost Gakushuu...

'Sir?' Chris spoke up warily.

Gakuhou clenched his hands into fists, glaring at the security officer. 'Find my son,' he warned them coldly, placing a hand on the chair. 'I don't care how much it costs to—'

The door burst open where a pale-skinned man in a dark suit who looked came in looking out of breath. 'Princess Lea is missing!' The man's accent sounded similar to Northern Europe. 'Lockdown the hotel!'

There was a pause as Gakuhou and the security officer stared at the strange man who had barged in.

...Wait, what?!

Gakushuu grinned, enjoying the spoonful of mint ice cream while he and Kevin hid in a small corner of the kitchen underneath a metal countertop.

There were only a few staff in to cater to the guests' room service so the two of them were hardly noticed in the farthest corner out of sight. He looked up when he heard something rustling from above near the pipes and air vents.

'This is great,' Kevin whispered, eating his chocolate ice cream messily with some of it smearing on his cheeks. 'It tastes so good.'

Gakushuu nodded, smiling more as he licked the spoon. This was the most fun he'd had in a while since summer had started and Ren had gone away on vacation. 'It was a good idea.'

Kevin grinned. 'Thanks.' He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. 'Do you have a phone?'

Gakushuu looked over curiously. 'It's in my hotel room.'

Kavin grabbed one of the napkins Gakushuu had grabbed for them when they'd stolen the ice cream. 'I'll give you my house number then.' He rummaged into his pocket and took out a broken crayon. 'I wanna hear more about Japan when you go back.'

He watched him in surprise. 'Oh...' Kevin wanted to keep in touch with him? 'That...that sounds good.' He smiled politely while Kevin wrote down on the napkin. 'I would like that as well.'

His father was always telling him having good connections was important, and Kevin was fun to hang around with and could be a useful contact for the future.

'We can send each other postcard.' Kevin handed him the napkin which had a telephone number and address on it. 'Like Pen pals!'

Gakushuu's smile grew amused, staring at the napkin. 'That's a good idea—'

The two of them nearly jumped out of their skin when the air vent grip popped off and clattered on the kitchen tiles, a small girl with an abundance of blond hair tumbling out and onto the kitchen counter.

"Ugh!" The girl slid off the counter and stumbled to the ground, nearly falling flat on her face. She started speaking in a language he didn't recognise, but it sounded Finnish or Swedish, or maybe even a mixture of the two.

It took him another second to recognise it was the girl he'd seen at reception, her mass of blond hair a mess and the expensive blue dress she was wearing was torn at the hem of the skirt.

'Who are you?!' Kevin was the first to recover, gawking at her, as some of the kitchen staff started moving around to find the source of the commotion.

Then she looked at them, her green eyes wide. "Uh..." She smiled sheepishly and quickly cleared her throat. 'My....many apologies...' Her English was weak, a blush on her face. 'But...' She cleared her throat again, murmuring under her breath like she was thinking her next word over very carefully, and then said with what sounded like well-practised ease. 'Please alert the nearest authority for I am being kidnapped!'

Gakushuu's mouth was opening and closing, the ice cream sliding off the spoon and landing into his lap. 

Chapter Text

What?

Gakushuu could only just stare at the girl a moment, repeating what she’d said.

Please alert the authorities for I am being kidnapped.

What?!

‘What’s going on?’ Three of the kitchen staff were approaching them.

The girl with long hair and a torn dress tensed up. “Uh…”

‘What are you kids doing here?’ One of the porters looked at them angrily. ‘Are you stealing ice cream?!’

Gakushuu quickly tossed the tube to the side and scrambled to his feet along with Kevin.

‘Wait are you seriously being kidnapped?’ Kevin asked as the three of them backed away, staring at her in awe.

‘Um, yes…’ she gave a nervous laugh, backing away as he staff approached, picking up a handed pot. ‘Please assist?’

Kevin looked over at the kitchen staff, making Gakushuu nearly facepalm when he finally regained his bearings. ‘The staff are not the kidnappers, Kevin—’

‘STAY AWAY!!’ Kevin picked up a large soup pot around half the size of him and hurled it at the kitchen porter.

‘Kevin!’ Gakushuu snapped.

‘COME ON!’ Kevin grabbed Gakushuu’s and the girl’s hand. ‘WE GOTTA GO!’

‘Run!’ The girl cried as Gakushuu was dragged along into the madness when they bolted, running like bulls through a china shop.

Gakushuu leant against the wall of the hotel when they stopped running when they reached outside.

“Phew!” The girl sighed in relief, wiping sweat from her brow. ‘We are lucky.’ She smiled brightly and patted Gakushuu on the back. ‘Thank you, for—’

‘What is going on!?’ Gakushuu snapped, making her jump.

‘Hey, you’re not supposed to yell at girls!’ Kevin scolded.

‘I wasn’t yelling I was asking a question.” Gakushuu replied defensively, crossing his arms as he glared at the girl. ‘This is all crazy, who are you?”

The girl grimaced, looking down guiltily. ‘I am sorry,’ she sounded earnest, and then quickly held her head high. ‘I am Princess Lea the First, from the Norgo Kingdom.’

Gakushuu’s eyes widened slightly, wondering if this was a joke. ‘What?’

‘Wait, you’re really a princess?’ Kevin question, eyes sparkling in wonder. ‘You really own a whole country?!’

‘Not exactly,’ she replied frowning. ‘But yes, I am heir to the throne.’ She took out her expensive-looking phone. ‘I have pictures.’

“Huh?” Gakushuu frowned, leaning over to look.

‘See!’ She grinned, showing a selfie with her and a few important US Politicians.

“Uh…” Gakushuu raised an eyebrow when he saw the selfie of her sat on a hotel sofa wearing a giant crown and sunglasses.

Hm…okay, fine so she probably was a princess.

‘Nice crown,’ Kevin complimented.

She grinned. ‘Thank you! I borrowed it from my father.’ The next photo showed posing on a throne with the crown on her head while wearing two sets of sunglasses and making the peace symbol. ‘I’m not allowed to wear it, so I can’t post the pictures...’

Gakushuu sighed, running a hand down his face. “Why is this happening?!”

‘Huh?’ Kevin looked confused when he switched to Japanese.

‘It does not matter.’ Gakushuu grimaced, looking at the princess. ‘Who is trying to kidnap you and why?’

‘I am not sure, but there is a conflict between my mother’s country and my kingdom – there have been attempts to hurt my mother.’ Princess Lea’s brow furrowed. ‘My chaperone Jamari.’ She raised her hand. ‘He is old and tall.’ She scowled. ‘I ran away because he was acting odd and I heard him tell one of the men to use a drug on me when they thought I was sleeping.’

Gakushuu’s stomach twisted, feeling sick. ‘They were going to use drugs?’

‘That’s messed up!’ Kevin looked angry. ‘We need to go to the police!’

Gakushuu frowned. ‘We need evidence first.’ He looked back at the princess. ‘Is there anyone you can go to that you trust?’

Princess Lea grimaced. ‘My father’s bodyguard Taavi. He was supposed to meet us at another hotel but Jamari said there was a security risk and that we had to come here.’

‘So when is Taavi coming?’ Gakushuu asked, trying to think of a plan.

‘He is in New York now. He is getting another plane to Washington – he sent a text message twenty minutes ago.’ She frowned. 'I tried to call him but I couldn't get through so I think he's on the plane, but I tried to send a message through the internet, but he still hasn't replied...'

‘Then he’s only under an hour away,’ Kevin told them. ‘This hotel is close to the airport.’

Princess Lea grimaced. ‘But what if Jamari does something to him?’

‘Then we need to find evidence quickly,’ Gakushuu replied, thinking quickly. ‘If they wanted to use a drug, then we could steal it. It would have fingerprints on it.’

The Princess looked impressed. ‘Good idea!’ Then she blushed. ‘My apologies, but I do not know your names.’

‘I’m Kevin!’ He grinned and did a horrible bow. ‘This is Asano…wait what’s your last name again?’

Gakushuu sighed. ‘Asano is my last name, Gakushuu is my first name,’ he explained, causing Kevin to frown.

‘In Japan, it’s rude to use a person’s first name if you don’t know them very well,’ Princess Lea explained, smiling and causing Gakushuu to raise an eyebrow. ‘My mother loved Japan! She taught me a lot.’ Then she looked sheepish. ‘But I have never been…’

‘Oh.’ Gakushuu tensed a little when she smiled at him brightly. ‘Um…well, anyway.’ He quickly cleared his throat. ‘Yes, my name is Asano Gakushuu. Kevin and I are here because of a soccer tournament.’

‘And we’ll help you!’ Kevin grinned. ‘My mom always says you should help girls if they’re in trouble and Mario is always saving Princess Peaches so—’

‘I think she understands, Kevin,’ Gakushuu interrupted lightly.

She laughed. ‘Yes! And thank you.’ Her face grew serious. ‘I will reward you appropriately if you can help me.’

Kevin looked intrigued. ‘Can we have gold—? Ow!’

Gakushuu had swiftly kicked him. ‘Don’t be rude.’

Princess Lea laughed nervously. ‘Unfortunately, I do not have access to those funds yet.’ She fidgeted. ‘But I shall speak to my father once all is said and done, but until then…’ She reached into the pockets of her ruined dress. ‘I can provide a half-eaten snicker bar…’ She took out the half-melted chocolate. ‘And a full American Twinkie!’

‘Cool!’ Kevin looked overjoyed and grabbed the twinkie. ‘First dibs.’

Gakushuu sighed deeply. ‘…No thank you, I’m not hungry,’ he said when the half-melted bar was presented to him. ‘We need to hurry before security finds us.’

‘We can move through the vents!’ The Princess said, pocketing the chocolate bar back in her dress. ‘We need to hurry.’

‘How big are the vents though?’ Kevin asked, frowning.

She smiled brightly. ‘Don’t worry. They are very big.’

The vents were not very big.

Gakushuu scowled, struggling to crawl through the tight space as he followed behind the princess. ‘You said they were big!’

‘They’re a lot bigger on TV,’ Kevin said, trying to shuffle after.

The Princess looked over her shoulder and shrugged. ‘They’re fine for me.’

Gakushuu glared at her. ‘Just hurry up.’ Then he cowed when she narrowed her eyes at him. ‘…Please.’

She huffed. ‘It’s not much further.’

Gakushuu hummed, shuffling along further. ‘We need to be careful when he gets there, we could be outnumbered.’

‘I have a weapon,’ the princess said confidently, pushing the handled pot along the vent.

‘That’s not a weapon, it is a kitchen tool,’ Gakushuu told her firmly.

‘I’m pretty sure it can be used as a weapon,’ Kevin argued.

‘Ssh!’ she shushed them. ‘We are here.’ She pointed ahead, there were some faint voices echoing.

Gakushuu took a deep breath, swallowing his nerves as he looked over her shoulder; there were two men walking around the room, there was one bodyguard sitting in a chair, talking quietly on his phone.

Leaders didn’t cower, that was the first thing his father had taught him.

…His father also told him not to be stupid and rush into danger, but circumstances were circumstances.

Besides, he couldn’t allow a princess to be in the line of danger, that would be dishonourable!

‘Where are the rest?’ he said, trying to squeeze passed her, their shoulder pressing together.

‘Most likely looking for me, there are only five who are with me,’ she whispered, frowning. ‘That is Kamaira.’

‘Is he aggressive?’ he asked, frowning. The man didn’t look too muscular, he seemed lean and in his twenties.

‘No, I don’t think so.’ She shrugged. ‘He doesn’t talk much.’

Gakushuu hummed, scrutinising the man. ‘Okay.’ He looked over his shoulder. ‘Kevin, we need a distraction.’

Kevin stiffened. ‘Uh…’

‘Go to the left to get into the hallway.’

Kevin frowned. ‘But what do I distract them with?’

Gakushuu sighed. ‘Think of something,’ he whispered. ‘Come on, go.’

‘Don’t be mean,’ the Princess scolded, nudging him.

He scowled. ‘We don’t have much time.’

‘Okay, I’m going,’ Kevin mumbled, turning to the left of the vent. ‘But it’s your fault if I get kidnapped.’

Gakushuu rolled his eyes and looked down the vent grid where the man was. ‘He will be fine.’

‘I hope so.’ Her brow furrowed. ‘So what is the plan? We go in when Kevin distracts him?’

He nodded. ‘We need to find the drug. If it’s not there they might be carrying it.’

She frowned. ‘That would be risky as they can be searched.’

He hummed, trying to think. ‘You said there’s a conflict with your mother’s country and yours?’

The Princess nodded. ‘She came to my father’s country as a refugee, she is from the territory that intersects my Kingdom with the rest of the continent, which is where the conflict started.’ She sighed. ‘My father is advocating for peace, but there are large groups who disagree.’

Gakushuu rubbed his chin, feeling his nerves return.

If it was a large group, possibly terrorist, then they were in over their heads.

He grew on edge when the door to the hotel room knocked and the bodyguard stood up to go answer it.

‘I am sorry I dragged you into this,’ she apologised, lowering her gaze.

He looked at her apprehensively, feeling strange when he saw the sad look on her face. ‘It’s fine.’

She gave him a soft look, smiling warmly. ‘Thank you.’

Gakushuu tensed, feeling his cheeks heat up when she smiled at him. ‘Um…’

‘Ah!’ That was Kevin.

‘Come back here, you little shit!’ The bodyguard snapped, some struggling happening just out of sight.

“Shit,” Gakushuu switched to Japanese. “Stay here.”

‘What?’ She didn’t understand him.

He didn’t try to translate and pushed the grid away.

Gakuhou glared at the newcomer who had the audacity to commandeer the security room. ‘What are you talking about?’

The man wrinkled his nose when he saw him. ‘The Princes Lea of the Norgo Kingdom is missing!’ he snapped impatiently. ‘As her chaperone it is my duty to secure her safety.’

‘Norgo kingdom?’ Chris exchanged a look with the other security guard who shrugged.

‘We are running out of time!’ The man snapped, taking out some identification and some paperwork; his full name read Jamari Nilsson, Royal Chaperone of the Norgo Kingdom.  ‘If this isn’t handled properly it could turn into an international incident—she’s a child.’

The security guards look through the paperwork briefly before exchanging a confused look and radioed their colleagues of the emergency.

Gakuhou bristled, narrowing his eyes at the man. ‘And why on Earth would a princess be staying here?’ He scrutinised the man, feeling a rise of suspicion.

The man narrowed his eyes. ‘I brought her here because of a security risk.’ He looked at his phone. ‘We are supposed to be flying back to the Norgo Kingdom in the morning.’ He scowled. ‘I do not have many security officers at my disposal.’

That doesn’t mean he could distract them from finding his son!

‘Nevertheless, she isn’t the only child that is missing,’ Gakuhou said curtly.

The man started turning red with rage. ‘The Princess—”

‘Wait, I think we might have found something,’ Chris interrupted, rewinding some footage. ‘This is from fifteen minutes ago.’

Gakuhou quickly hurried over to the screen, while the chaperone tried to push passed.

‘It matches both the kid’s description,’ Chris said, freezing the image.

He felt relieved and both confused when he saw his son running for dear life alongside a blonde girl holding a pot and a taller blond boy flailing like an imbecile.

Just what on earth was he doing?!

Then his brow furrowed. ‘It seems your princess appears unharmed,’ he commented, glancing at the chaperone shrewdly.

Jamari scowled. ‘She needs to be returned safely, she has a history of running off and landing herself in danger.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘No doubt she has been dragged into it by your child it appears.’

Gakuhou narrowed his eyes coldly. ‘How curious you would think that when you just confessed to her having a history of rebellious antics,’ he replied evening, causing the man to stiffen. ‘Perhaps the fault here surely lies in a lack of discipline and watchfulness on your part.’

The man’s gaze sharpened. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Uh…’ Chris exchanged a look with Rachel. ‘Um, okay, guys, let’s just—’

‘I meant no offence of course,’ Gakuhou replied lightly. ‘I’m just concerned by the accusation that you would think my son would drag anyone into trouble.’ He smiled pleasantly. ‘I’m just confused how you would come to the conclusion that he would be the instigator of such troublesome matters.’ He scoffed. ‘Gakushuu is a sensible and responsible boy, he knows better and would never take part in this type of delinquent behaviour.’

Gakushuu whacked Kamaira out with the wooden chair the man had been sitting on, while he had a hold of Kevin by the boy’s collar.

Kevin stumbled back when Kamaira hit the carpet with a thud.

Gakushuu looked impressed with how much the hit had worked.

Huh…

That worked better than he thought!

‘Wow!’ Princess Lea jumped down from the vent, her dress puffing up like a parachute before her feet hit the floor.

Gakushuu sighed I relief, the adrenaline started to subside when they were out of danger. He put the chair down, rubbing his arms when they hurt from lifting it.

‘Thanks,’ Kevin said, out of breath while Gakushuu held out his hand.

‘It’s fine.’ Gakushuu helped him up. ‘I thought you were going to run?’

‘I tried! But he grabbed me,’ Kevin complained, looking down at the unconscious man. ‘He’s fast…’

The princess started to search the man. ‘There are two bedrooms,’ she told them. ‘Jamari’s room is to the right.’

Gakushuu nodded. ‘Kevin, come on, let’s look.’

The two of them searched as quickly as they could, Jamari’s room was sparce, with a large bed, wardrobe and television on the desk facing the bed.

‘I can’t see anything.’ Kevin was looking through drawers. ‘If you had a drug, where would you hide it?’

Gakushuu paused from looking in the suitcase, scrutinising the room. ‘…How would he drug her?’ he said aloud, trying to imagine it. ‘They could put it in her food or a drink, but it’s after dinner, and there’s no sign of any drinks.’ He frowned. ‘And they must have known her other bodyguard was flying over, so they would have needed to act fast.’

‘Maybe they were gonna inject her?’ Kevin offered, looking under the bed. ‘They could have tried to grab her and then injected her.’

‘Yeah…’ Gakushuu moved towards the bathroom. ‘But where would you hide it quickly?’ He looked around the bathroom. ‘That bodyguard stayed back for a reason…’ He grimaced when he went to the toilet and lifted the lift to the inside. ‘Ugh…’

His suspicions were correct when he found a small bottle inside, it didn’t have a label and was a pale brown colour.

‘Did you find it?’ Kevin walked over.

‘Yeah.’ Gakushuu wrinkled his nose and rolled up his sleeve.

‘Ew.’ Kevin grimaced when Gakushuu pulled the bottle out of the water. ‘That’s gross.’

He sighed, shaking his arm to get the drops off. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ He looked at the bottle. ‘But the fingerprints might have washed off.’

‘Boys!’ The Princess yelled from the other room. ‘I found something!’

“Coming!” Gakushuu quickly washed his hands while Kevin hurried off.

When they went back to where the bodyguard was the Princess was holding up a phone. ‘The  phone is locked, but there are text messages on the screen!”

He looked and saw there were previews of the text on the smartphone but it wasn’t in English or a language he knew. “Is it in your language?”

She smiled, nodding. “Yes, but they are being cryptic. They say has the private breakfast been reserved? As the meal plan is sensitive.’ She scratched her head. ‘Though they could perhaps be literally discussing the breakfast at the hotel.’

Kevin nodded. ‘It is really good.’

Gakushuu sighed. ‘Considering the text was listed as sent ten minutes ago, I do not think booking a literal breakfast was the top priority for them considering the Princess has escaped.’

‘Maybe they are referring to a pick-up?’ She rubbed her chin. ‘If they wanted to kidnap me they would need to arrange the correct transport?’

‘If that’s the case then if we can get the police on our side then they can catch the other kidnappers involved,’ Gakushuu proposed. ‘But we need to find a way to unlock the phone to get evidence…’ he looked at the phone screen. ‘We could check the fingerprints on the glass?’

‘Then just guess the passcode with the numbers?’ Kevin looked at the phone curiously. ‘It’d be just like those spy movies!’

Gakushuu frowned. ‘There is a way we can get fingerprints…”

‘Like with a powder?’ Princess Lea asked, frowning. ‘There’s a recipe, I think…you use chalk or soot.”

‘I think I remember this was this tv show that used soot and corn-starch once,’ Kevin said. ‘We can get that from the kitchen!’

‘So, if we unlock the phone there should be lots of evidence on that!’ The princess replied brightly.

Gakushuu nodded, trying to think of a plan. ‘That might be enough evidence to have people listen to us at least.’ He rubbed a chin. ‘then we can set a trap for the kidnappers.’

‘So, we make a trap?’ Kevin asked.

The princess nodded, looking excited. ‘Just like in Home Alone!’

‘What’s Home Alone?’ Gakushuu looked confused.

‘Nevermind.’ She didn’t explain and grabbed his hand, causing his cheeks to flush. ‘Let’s go!’