Chapter 4 - 3 - The Flight Home
Their return to the hotel room was uneventful, as was the remainder of the evening. Given tomorrow's plans, the Tomoshibi family retired to their respective rooms fairly early; Shouri and Taika shared his. Taika had been given several blankets and pillows as a makeshift bed, a luxury upgrade when compared to her previous living situation.
Regardless of her sleeping arrangement, she was over the moon. Sleeping on the bed next to her was her Maestro. A Maestro who cared! It was like she had been sucked into her books and was living all of her greatest fantasies. She wouldn't have even minded having a Maestro that just used her as a tool. Anything away from that mansion was an improvement.
But no, by some stroke of cosmic luck, not only did she manage to get a Maestro, but he chose her specifically. He told her that his parents had tried to set him up with many other Resonators; and apparently, Resonators from very prestigious clans at that. But out of all of them, he just found her on the street and said "You, I want you."
For the first time in her seventeen-year life, she had found genuine happiness.
"Such a mistake."
"What good are you?"
"Why are you still around?"
"You're just a burden"
"Just a waste of money."
"Can you hurry up and die already?"
Such cruel words maliciously fired at her; vocal arrows filled with vitriol and hate, each one piercing her heart, reminding her of how trapped she was. They taunted and tore away at her psyche until-
"Hah?!"
Taika gasped, sitting up with a start, as she took in deep breaths; her heart raced as if she had just broken the surface of the water. It was still dark, though she had no trouble with sight. She was still in the hotel room she had fallen asleep in; with her Maestro no less. She peeked over the edge of the bed – he slept peacefully, so her sudden awakening hadn't disturbed him thankfully.
With a quiet breath, she attempted to go back to sleep. As she lay there, staring at the ceiling that dream haunted her. It was more like a nightmare really. Why was it that thought about them now that she was finally free?
Fear.
She was afraid. They hadn't left after all. There was the very real possibility of her previous caretakers hunting her down and dragging her away from her newfound paradise, by force. With that horrifying thought in mind, poor Taika didn't get any further sleep.
Shouri greeted the next morning by sitting up and stretching. He felt good. It had been a long time since he had felt so motivated. He glanced over at the nightstand and saw his new shiny black tuner sitting there. A big dumb grin rose on his lips. When compared to yesterday, he was like a whole new person. There was so much he wanted to do now – the previous apathy in his life was completely eradicated and he had Taika to thank for that. Rhythm was a hell of a drug, and he was an addict for sure.
There was quiet trepidation about the tuner's red control button but, he was upfront and honest with her about it, so that's all that mattered to him. He couldn't conceive a situation where he would use it on her.
He gently scooped up the device and reclined against the bed's headboard, navigating the many menus the tuner had to offer. He was still getting used to working his way through the interface, so a lot of it was trial and error.
Eventually, he stumbled across Taika's vitals: