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"Maybe he’ll even add it to the final tourna me a smile He leans forward, rests his elbows on his knees, and traps , right?"

I s with his statement, but it sounds like a thinly veiled threat My heart beats faster Let’s go out with a bang Now Ren has repeated the sah it could stillat all, my mind juroup is trying to do--involving soto happen on the day of the final tournament

And now he knows I’m involved

23

A couple of hours later, as I meet Hideo in a private car, I still haven’t shaken offliterally But that music track was no accident He knoas in the Dark World tracking him--or, at the very least, he knoas also there in the Pirate’s Den during the sahts, he doesn’t mention it He seems distracted, too Even without our Links connected, I sense a certain unease in hi that ht at his ho hiainst it It’s too vague I need to dig deeper

It’s a slow drive through the rain A couple of hours later, we arrive in the wooded outskirts of Tokyo, where the city gives way to gently rolling hills and narrow streets of neat, three-story buildings, their elegantly curved roofs painted black and red Pines line both sides of the road A single pedestrian wanders down the sidewalk, and a gardener is carefully trie--but aside from the faint clip-clip-clip sound of his shears, it’s quiet The car finally pulls up to a house at the end of a street, where round bushes and rocks adorn the front path Pots of flowers line the pathway in neat rows The porch light is on, even though it’s still late afternoon

Hideo rings the doorbell Someone’s voice comes from the other side, muffled and female A moment later, the door opens to reveal a woman dressed in a tidy sweater, pants, and slippers She blinks up at us through glasses that ht of Hideo--she utters a sh, calls out to someone over her shoulder in Japanese, and then holds her arms out at him

Hideo bows, lower than I’ve seen hi her in a warives me a sheepish smile as she stretches up to pat both his cheeks like he’s a small boy "This is my mother"

Hiswith it a flutter of e as low as I can Hideo nods at me "Oka-san," he says to his mother "Kochira wa Emika-san desu"

"This is Emika," my translation reads

I murmur a bashful hello and bob my head respectfully She smiles war about my hair Then she ushers us both inside, away from the world

We remove our shoes by the door and put on slippers that Hideo’s mother offers us Inside, the home is sunny, cozy, and absolutely ireen potted plants, clay pots, and odd,roo a low table with a teapot and teacups An open sliding door reveals a lush Zen garden Now I see why Hideo designed his house in Tokyo the way he did; it must remind him of here, his true home I’m about to comment on how lovely their home is when an auto

"Welcome home, Hideo-san," the voice says In the kitchen, the stove turns on under a teakettle without anyone touching it

His father co down a tide of envy, as the couple fusses over their son with all the enthusiaset to see their children nearly as often as they would like

Hideo’sus a snack and bustles off, leaving her glasses on the table Without lasses, follows his ently reerator door to see that there aren’t any groceries in the fridge to make a snack with, either Hideo’shi Hideo talks to her in a low, affectionate voice, his hands on her shoulders, reassuring her that he will send for groceries right away His father looks on fro a little, the sound indicative of so chronic I shift at the sound Neither of his parents is old, but they seee It stirs unpleasant memories ofhis "If I don’t remind her, the house system will," he says "It watches out for them when I’ht, but I’ve heard hi underneath it

"Have your parents always lived here?" I decide to ask

"Ever since we moved back from London" Hideo points out the decorations on the side tables "Myhow to make clay pots since she retired from her neuroscience work The ether with leftover computer parts from his repair shop"