Today, of all your classes were in the morning.

*Ring ring ring… ring ring ring… ring ring ring….*

On your way to meet Cadance for lunch after your final lecture, you suddenly get a call in the middle of the hallway.

Without thinking, you reached to your belt for your new camera-phone, but curses when you realize that the ringtone is coming from the old phone in your bag. You haven’t transferred your contacts list yet, and calls still come to your old phone from people who don’t know the new number.

When you finally fish the phone from your bag, the name you see on the display sends a chill up your spine.

Shining Armor.

Why now? What does he want? It’s hard to be happy about a call from Shining after the incident at the Shadow house. “Hello?”

“Hey. You’re done with class for today, right?”

“Yeah…” Of course Shining know that you’re free on Thursday afternoons.

“I need to talk to you about something. Can you come to the parking lot?”

“Now?”

“Yeah, I’ll be waiting.” Shining hangs up without another word.

What’s gotten into him? What does he want? You wonder as he sticks the phone into your jacket pocket. This sudden change is disturbing after a week of Shining avoiding both you and Cadance. Maybe he’s finally ready to talk – in which case, you should probably consider this a good thing. However, you can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.

“Did I keep you waiting?”

“Nah.”

In the parking lot, you find Shining leaning against the fender of your Accord. The last time you met was in the darkness of an abandoned house. This is the first time in over a week that you’ve spoken face-to-face in the light. Perhaps that is why you sensed something strange in Shining’s expression. You’re not sure what, exactly, but something has changed.

“I think I told you before that I’m looking for information on a man named Shadow.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“Well, it’s starting to get more complicated. It looks like I can’t handle it by myself after all.” Shining seems more relaxed than before. He used to be tense all the time, like he was terrified of something, but now his expression is calm. He’s even wearing what resembles a sheepish grin. “I need your help, friend.”

Nevertheless, some instinct is telling you that Shining’s changes are not for the better. “Why the sudden change of heart?” You asked, keeping your expression neutral to conceal your suspicion.

“You’re interested, aren’t you?” Shining responds coolly. His smile, unreadable as ever, offers no glimpse of his true motives. “You searched Dr. Shadow’s house after me. It’s a waste of time for us to look for him separately. We should team up.”

You stared at him silently, having second thoughts of doing this with him or not. Why? Why does he sense malice, thick and viscous, lurking behind Shining’s smile?

“Anyway, I need your car today. Mind driving?”

“… I guess not.” Shining’s car was destroyed in the accident, so you’re not surprised that he needs a lift.
You unlock your car and gestures for Shining to take the passenger seat, then got behind the wheel and starts the engine. “Well? Where are we going?”

“Torchwood Prefecture, near Fillydelphia Heights.”

“Torchwood?” You can’t believe your ears.

“Here’s the address,” Shining says, handing you a photo with an address on the back. “We need to find this building.” He seriously expects to be driven over a hundred kilometers and back? You don’t know whether to be angry or impressed. “If we leave now, we should get there by evening, right?”

“…Yeah, maybe.” You sigh heavily, tapping the steering wheel as you calm yourself down. Now that you come this far, the only thing you can do is see your friend’s craziness through to the end. “Is this a vacation home or something?”

“Probably. Dr. Shadow should be there.”

You’re not looking forward on meeting the owner of that creepy house, but you felt even more uneasy about letting Shining go alone. It looks like you just have to grin and bear it. “We might not get back until night.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“…Don’t mention it.” You drove out of the parking lot, leaving the rest of what you’d thought to say unspoken. Shining’s smile seems wrong somehow, like an expressionless mask glued to his face.

Cadance finds herself sitting alone in the cafeteria, searching for a familiar face as her lunch cools on the table in front of her. She was hoping to see her remaining friend [You] today, but he must have had other plans. That wouldn’t be at all unusual. Normally, Cherry and Shining would pick up the slack.

But Cherry and Shining aren’t here anymore.

Cadence puts down her spoon, her appetite ruined by the lack of company – and by the anxiety eating at her. Cherry is missing, Shining had turned on her, and she has no idea why. If her certain last friend [You] was here, she could count on him to distract her with some idle conversation.

Now that she’s all by herself, Cadence becomes keenly aware of how little tolerance she has for loneliness. She begins to feel paranoid, like the whole world is plotting to take from her everything that she cherishes.

What’s going on here? Where has Cherry gone? Is Shining really unrelated to her disappearance? Or is he the key to this mystery, as her friend [You] and Dr. Shadow suspect?

Cadence recalls the events of last Thursday. Alone and without an outlet for her pain after Shining verbally eviscerated her, Cadence was lucky enough to run into [You]. Although he could hardly make her problem go away, his kindness was a comfort. At the same time, Cherry was on her way to Shining’s house… and she hasn’t been heard since.

Cadence has only been aware of Shining’s connection to Cherry’s disappearance since yesterday, when her friend [You] revealed the truth during their visit to the hospital.

What if…

A new possibility occurs to her, a reason for why Cherry suddenly decided to visit Shining. What if it hadn’t been a coincidence that Cherry ran into [You] that day? What if [You] and Cherry had known what transpired between her and Shining, and had decided to act separately? Cherry might have seen the confrontation in the courtyard; she might have been eavesdropping. It’s not unthinkable.

Cadence was petrified. As the idea formed in her mind, Cadence feels as though something is tearing apart her body from the inside. It’s only a possibility, but if it’s true… then whatever happened to Cherry is Cadence’s responsibility too, isn’t it?

She sighed sadly. Cadence clutches her head, groaning in agony.

The food on her tray is now cold – not that she would have eaten it anyway.

Despite her frustration and anxiety, Cadence is unable to act on her own. She has never been good at adapting to challenges, and no one would ever call her proactive. She hasn’t the slightest idea how to respond to this situation.

If Cherry were here, she would probably tell Cadence to think positive and trust her instincts. Cadence has always depended on her best friend’s energy; now that Cherry is gone, Cadence realizes just how weak and useless she is. She can only sink deeper and deeper into the abyss of self-loathing.

*Breep-breep-breep! Breep-breep-breep!*

The sudden ringing of her phone pulls her back from the brink of despair. It’s a text message. There’s no title, and the sender is…

“Cherry!?” Cadence cries out in shock. The message itself is even more baffling.

The message bears no trace of Cherry’s personality, but Cadence can’t deny that it was sent from her phone. She takes a deep breath to calm herself before typing her reply, taking care that excitement doesn’t cause her fingers to slip.

*Beep… beep..beep…* “Is that you, Cherry? Where are you?” *Beep… beep… beep.*

Cadence presses send. The screen shows that her message was received. As she waits for a reply, her mind fills with questions. Is someone else using Cherry’s phone to send text messages? If so, why to her?

Something suddenly occurs to her. She and Cherry have exchanged countless messages over the years, many of which contained the sort of embarrassing confessions that close girlfriends share. At times when her feelings for Shining grew too strong to contain, Cadence often put them into words for Cherry to read. Did Cherry put a password on her phone? Even if she had, the person who sent the message was obviously able to unlock it – which means that whoever it is has full access to her history.

Cadence reads the strange message one more time. Whoever sent it must believe that Cadence has an interest in Shining.

*Breep-breep-breep! Breep-breep-breep!*

The phone rings again, startling Cadence, but she quickly recovers and looks at the screen. There’s no title, and the sender is still Cherry Blossom.

It’s not Cherry. She would never try to scare Cadence with such a mean-spirited prank. Anxiery has brought Cadence almost to tears. Her mind isn’t made to deal with something like this. Who is using Cherry’s phone and promising to reveal Shining’s secrets? Who!?

Cadence desperately want’s advice from [You] – from anyone. She even starts to dial [Your] cell, but a sudden suspicion stops her. The sender might be somewhere nearby, watching her at this very moment. A cold chill runs down her spine as she looks furtively around the cafeteria.

“Come alone. Tell no one.”

The lifeless characters on the screen are like a knife against her throat. However. Cadence clutches her phone and forces her heart to stop pounding. Isn’t this cowardice exactly what she hates most about herself? Doesn’t she want to know what she’s capable of? Doesn’t she want to do more than sit and wait?

Cadence realizes that her hand is shaking. How easy it would be to just give in to her cowardice, to convince herself that Cherry and Shining are beyond her reach. That is what she truly wants. Even if it means abandoning dignity and loyalty, she wants to flee from the unknown.

But she also knows that even escape is beyond her. Cadence understands herself well. She knows that no matter how far she runs, regret and self-loathing will consume her after everything else had fallen apart. In the end, Cadence is unable to overcome her cowardice alone. She lacks both the willpower and the courage to run.

At that same moment, Icy Lance happens to pass by the school when he notices Cadence coming out of the school in a hurry. It was mid afternoon, and school wasn’t over just yet. She seems in a hurry. “Hey, Cadence! Where are you going?” he asked in full curiosity.

Cadence seems to be startled by the sudden call of her name. She looks at Icy with such suspicion, she hesitated for a while to talk, and then tells him. “I’m… going somewhere.” She stammers.

“Going somewhere?” Icy raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t really explains a lot you know, I need details.”

Cadence shook her head and walks off. “It’s something personal. I can’t tell you, please… leave me alone.” And with that, she ran off disappearing as soon as she turns the corner.

Icy seems to think that her actions seems to be sketchy, but he thought about that it may be the issue about her and Shining. Thinking that, that may be the ‘personal’ thing she meant, he shrugs it off and heads instead towards the university laboratories to investigate by himself about the guy in question… Shining Armor.