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People find the ocean relaxing as a sight; or as the waves crash, resonating to become a somewhat uneasily calming sound. Though, it wasn't the same for Madara.
Looking at the huge natural body of water right in front of him, he can't help but think of his old friend. How he loves the sea, so much so it's almost practically inseparable from him. It was as if there were no sea, he most likely wouldn't be there.
Madara can't help but sigh, resigning his fate to that of what it had become. How now, he's somehow stuck abroad, despite having loads of work to do in Japan. And that if he wanted to return home, he'll have to go through quite the process to go back. And he doesn't like dealing with all that complicated stuff; especially when he can sense that it's done for an ulterior motive.
The brunet did truly wonder; how did this turn of events happen? And why? And, even if he'd found the reason, has it impacted his old friend? Rather, has it even helped grow even more resentment towards him? What can he do to redeem all this — even if it wasn't his fault, or his doing?
Madara sat down, on the sand — a thousand questions still circulating in his mind. He stared at the blank, dark night sky, light only coming from the docks behind him. But suddenly, he felt a little tinge in his mind; alerting him of something that might be happening way across the horizon. Quickly, he took his phone and dialed a number immediately.
Morisawa Chiaki. That was the name of the hoped recipient. Despite being overseas, Madara had made an attempt to prepare for this moment; knowing that if his gut feeling was correct, his beloved childhood friend — Shinkai Kanata — might be in danger.
"Come on, Chiaki-san, pick up..." Madara muttered to himself, cursing the terrible reception in his area. He held on to the single strand of hope that was Chiaki answering the call.
"H, hello? Who is it? Please respond!" Madara laughed in joy as he heard Chiaki's familiar voice from across the line.
"Chiaki-san! It's an emergency, you have to listen to me!" He half-shouted, hoping what he said was clear enough for Chiaki to hear.
"Um, what's wrong? Please say something!"
"It's me, Madara, Mikejima Madara. Is my voice reaching you?"
"Your voice sounds muffled, I can't really hear you!"
Madara cursed the reception yet again — it'd worked well back when he was at the hotel, no, in the city — so why did it break now, is it because he was near the ocean? But that couldn't be true. It was working normally here just a moment ago, too.
"Can you hear me? Hello..?"
Madara tried to regain his sanity, and began again. "Chiaki-san, it's me, Mikejima Madara. Can you hear me clear enough?" This time, he tried to articulate his words to an extent he'd deem "even clearer".
"...Huh? Mikejima, as in, Mikejima-san?" Chiaki asked.
"Yes, it's me. You have to go to the seaside, no, the ocean, right now! It's an emergency, believe me!" By every word he said, Madara's tone grew more and more concerned.
"Ocean? What's happening in the ocean? Do I have to go there? No, wait, the ocean is pretty wide, so could you be more specific..?!" Chiaki sounded much more confused.
"I have a gut feeling that something's wrong. I think someone is trying to do something to themselves right now. You're really gonna have to–" Madara stopped in his tracks as he heard the familiar beeping sound, signaling that he'd lost connection with Chiaki.
"–come and see." Yet again, Madara internally cursed the terrible inter-continental connection. He sighed, feeling that now was the point where he'd finally given up. It wasn't like he could snap his fingers and fix the signal immediately.
At that moment, it was as if despair had finally engulfed Madara in a void that he can't comprehend himself. But he still wouldn't give up. He'd seen a shooting star just earlier, which remotely reminded him of the name of his current unit.
RYUSEITAI — the "ryusei", which held the meaning of "shooting star". He can't surrender now. There was still hope, even if it was just a small star in the whole, wide, universe.
"I only have one chance. And I won't mess this up."
Madara ran back to the place he stayed at, and as soon as he arrived, he rummaged through his belongings to take out a small drone he kept. After making sure it was connected to a separate drone — this time with super-stabilized connection — he turned it on, and connected it to a network of his own.
Through his laptop monitor, he could see them — Chiaki and Kanata, both on the shore. He knew his guts were right, and thankfully, Chiaki really had come to Kanata's rescue. He wanted to cry out of joy, seeing his childhood friend safe and sound with the person he currently trusts a teensy bit more in Yumenosaki.
Now was for him to wait for a chance to jump into their conversation. Madara could hear some mentions about Kanata talking about "a wish"; he scoffed, knowing Kanata's ideals were as the same as ever. Hearing Chiaki's response was what gave him a pretty good opening, though.
"Making friends isn't my wish nor my dream! My dream is—" In a split-second, Madara switched his microphone on.
"Your dream is to become a hero, riiight..?"