2 in 1

2nd January 2017. 7 am

1 day after the incident that hit the world, it immediately became the top topic in news broadcasts on all media. This continued until the next day, today, everyone is still questioning the meaning of the light.

Sapphire and Karna are currently sitting on the sofa while watching the news on TV in their hotel room, while Jihan is who knows where he went.

Presenter : "صباح الخير للجميع-"

Karna : "Nope, nope, nope, nope"

Karna kept changing channels until he found a news broadcast that used a language he understood.

Presenter : "-A mysterious disaster that hitting the world right now"

Karna : "Finally"

Presenter : "Next news, still about the mysterious light 2 days ago. It is reported that several bodies that were registered as dead have mysteriously disappeared, both those that were recently buried, in hospitals and even random places where the deaths occurred."

Sapphire : "...... What the hell"

Both of them started to lock in their eyes on the news that was being broadcast, using all their brain power to digest every word, straining their ears so as not to mishear.

The door to their room opened and revealed Jihan with a large plastic bag hanging in his right hand. His eyes fell on the two of them, observing what they were doing, then following where they were looking.

Understanding how intense the situation was, he didn't say anything and sat next to them, took out 2 pizza-like boxes and placed one of them on Karna's lap.

Presenter : "It doesn't stop there, the strangest part of this incident is that the bodies that died before the light appeared were still there and did not disappear. Scientists concluded that only creatures who were exposed to the mysterious light while they were alive experienced mysterious disappearances."

Karna slowly opened the box on his lap and took a piece of pizza-shaped food and put it in his mouth very slowly. He also chewed slowly and carefully, not wanting to make the slightest sound that might disturb their hearing.

Presenter : "Oh, and this doesn't just apply to humans, but to animals too. This is still being researched by scientists for more information on the mysterious disappearance incidents. People are urged to stay at home and are asked to follow the instructions given by each government in each country. Several public facilities have also been forcibly closed, such as airports and ports, until further notice."

Even though there was more, Karna felt enough and turned off the TV. He threw the remote next to Sapphire and let out a sigh before taking another bite of the food in his hand. Sapphire also took one from Karna's lap.

Karna : "Mmm! What's this? It's very good"

As if forgetting the tension that was happening, Karna ate greedily because of the new pleasure for his tongue.

Jihan : "Manousheh"

Karna : "Man house, heh?"

Karna laughed and was accompanied by Sapphire who laughed along with the chew still in hia mouth. While Jihan kept chewing, not understanding what was so funny about it.

Karna's laughter stopped when his cellphone's football ringtone rang loudly. He took it out of his pocket and answered the call.

Karna : "Adyana? What's wrong?"

Adyana : "Ah. Um... Have you watched the news?"

Sapphire signalling at Jihan to give him a drink from a plastic bag. Jihan nodded once and took the bottled orange juice and guava, handing the orange to Sapphire and the guava to Karna.

Karna : "I don't know which one you're talking about but I'm sure I have."

Karna smiled seeing Jihan's gesture and temporarily held the phone away from his face.

Karna : "Thanks"

Adyana : "About the temporary closure of the airport and others"

Karna : "Oh. Yes. What's about it?"

Feeling that this was an important topic and not personal, Karna turned on speaker mode so that Sapphire and Jihan could hear clearly.

Adyana : "Professor Darius offers you a ride on his private jet"

Karna : "For real?!"

Karna turned to Sapphire who threw both his hands in the air with a happy face without making a sound, while Jihan just gave a thumbs up.

Adyana : "It's real, I'm not lying"

Karna's smile immediately faded and became a little suspicious.

Karna : "Wait a second. Isn't Professor Darius good friends with Doctor Tirta? Why tell us through you?"

Adyana : "Umm... I don't really understand either, but he said that Doctor Tirta is not someone who likes to carry a cellphone, so he's hard to contact."

Karna turned to Jihan and Sapphire for confirmation.

Sapphire : "It's true"

Jihan : "Affirmative"

Karna : "Ok, two people that know Dr. Tirta well have just confirmed it. So, what time are we leaving?”

Adyana : "In 1 hour, we leave"

.

Sapphire: "What?!"

Sapphire immediately moved his head closer to Karna's cellphone with a panicked face.

Sapphire : "Can't it be postponed?! at least 1 extra hour please"

Adyana : "Honestly, I was also surprised when the professor said that. We are also packing up right now, so you guys should do the same if you want to come along."

Sapphire immediately jumped off the sofa and ran to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and a change of clothes in the middle.

Meanwhile Jihan slowly stood up and walked out of the room casually.

Jihan : "I'm going to tell Doctor, you better pack up now"

Karna : "How about you?"

Jihan : "Already done"

Karna : "Okay Adya, thanks for letting us know, I'll hang up now ok?"

Adyana : "Mm, you're welcome"

Karna : "Love you"

....

Adya didn't answer and instead hung up the phone. Karna just chuckled seeing that and immediately stood up from the sofa to pack his not so much belongings.

Meanwhile

Adyana blushed badly because of Karna's sudden words. Her feelings were a mixture of happiness and annoyance.

Adyana : "Karna..."

Sofia : "Adyana.... Your hand stopped moving"

Adyana took a deep breath and the blush on her face slowly disappeared.

Adyana : "I know, you don't have to remind me"

55 minutes later

The four of them were already inside the private jet, but Darius and his 3 female students were nowhere to be seen.

Sapphire : "I thought we would be on the same jet as them"

Karna : "Yeah, me too"

Jihan : "That's quite unlikely. Our country's destinations are clearly the opposite"

Sapphire : "Come on, can't we at least rise up our hope?"

Jihan : "Illogical kind of hope"

Karna : "You're talking like you don't want the same thing"

Jihan : "Of course I want it too"

Sapphire was overcome with anger and stood up from his chair while pointing at Jihan.

Sapphire : "So stop arguing us back!."

Tirta : "Silent, all of you"

Then Darius came out from the direction of the toilet, laughing as he walked past them while putting his belt back on.

Darius : "It seems like it would be more fun to take care of these three creatures than the ones I'm taking care of now."

Darius took a seat opposite Tirta's left facing the three of them. He lifted both of his legs and put them on the table.

Karna : "They will be sad if they hear it, you know."

Darius : "What do I care? I'm just being honest"

Sapphire : "Ugh.... Now I understand why the media calls you a scum scientist"

Darius didn't care about Sapphire's words and kept his grinning face.

Darius : "Isn't that great? The media finally stopped throwing around bullshit"

Karna : "Oh? You're not denying it at all? Maybe you're not as bad as I thought"

Darius : "Forging authentic data is an insult to me. No matter who does it"

Jihan : "Sorry if this bothers you, it's okay if you don't want to answer, but why did you decide to come to Japan with us?"

Darius : "I refuse to answer, then"

Jihan : "Understood"

A few hours later

They finally managed to return to Japan safely. It's night in Japan now.

They walked out of the airport dragging their respective suitcases, except for Tirta whose suitcase was carried by Jihan.

Karna : "BTW Doctor Tirta, will classes still run next Sunday? You know, after that strange incident, shouldn't the campus be closed temporarily?"

Tirta : "In your dreams, I will still force you all to come in, unless you want to get a red mark on the attendance list"

Karna and Sapphire were disappointed because they had thought of a small plan if classes were temporarily canceled, while Jihan doesn't care at all.

Karna : "Sapphire, can you carry my suitcase? I'll just take the train."

Karna handed over his suitcase to Sapphire and he took it in confusion. Karna started walking away from the team with both hands in his jacket pockets.

Sapphire : "At least you can take a taxi there. Don't you want to?"

Karna : "Nah.... "

Sapphire : "Ok..."

Sapphire muttered to himself. He then looked towards Darius.

Darius : "What do you want?"

Sapphire : ".... Nothing, professor, nothing. Nothing~"

.....

With that, Darius went with Tirta to who knows where in his taxi while Jihan and Sapphire headed to their rented house.

At the rented house

Sapphire and Jihan are seen walking up the concrete stairs. Sapphire carried his suitcase like a small school bag on his back while Jihan carried two suitcases on his two broad shoulders.

Sapphire : "What a messy trip, isn't it?"

Jihan : "At least the organizers are willing to provide compensation"

Sapphire : "Sixty percent.....! I want 90!"

Jihan : "Be patient, maybe they will send more. Because you are not the only one complaining now"

After a few steps and arriving in front of their house, Jihan put the suitcases down and reached for the key in his suitcase. Meanwhile, Sapphire waited with his right hand resting on his suitcase. His eyes, which initially looked at Jihan, turned to the house on the right.

Without saying anything, Sapphire walked towards the house, leaving Jihan alone behind. Jihan, who realized this, didn't do anything but glanced at him for a moment then focused on looking for the key.

On Sapphire

Sapphire stopped in front of Minori's house, without thinking he pressed the doorbell, expecting a quick answer. His face looked uncomfortable, like someone who felt something was wrong.

.....

No response.

Here Sapphire felt increasingly uncomfortable, his brow furrowed, his mind drowning in a sea of possibilities.

'Tap'

A hand suddenly landed on Sapphire's shoulder, making him flinched for a moment.

Sapphire : "Your habit of sneaking behind people is really healthy for people's hearts"

Sapphire said sarcastically as he turned to face his silent friend.

Jihan : "Maybe Mrs. Minori is out socializing with other residents."

Sapphire : "Hiki did not respond"

Jihan was surprised to hear this, his eyes widened for a moment before sharpening and thinking hard.

Without hesitation, Jihan pulled down the doorknob and was again surprised by the fact that it was unlocked. He pushed her away and quickly walked inside with Sapphire following behind.

Jihan : "Hiki."

Jihan called out a name only to receive emptiness as an answer.

Sapphire : "Hiki....."

This time Sapphire also called out the same name a little louder and longer.

The two of them instinctively split up, Jihan went to the 2nd floor and Sapphire searched in the 1st floor.

A few minutes passed, Sapphire followed Jihan to the room on the 2nd floor. He sat on the bed while Jihan remained standing with his arms crossed and his index finger kept tapping.

Sapphire : "There's no way Mrs. Minori would take Hiki out. Could it be because he's sick?"

Jihan : "I don't think so. Even if he was sick, Mrs. Minori would have called a doctor here, and not the other way around."

Sapphire was starting to get fed up and he scratched his head hard before standing up.

Sapphire : "Let's just go back"

Sapphire started walking towards the exit followed by Jihan. However...

Sapphire : "WHOAAA!"

Mrs. Minori was already beside the door, her face also shocked and she reflexively held her chest. While Sapphire held onto the edge of the door while taking a deep breath.

Minori : "Oh my, I thought who it was, but it's you two."

It took a few seconds and a few breaths for Sapphire to calm down and speak.

Sapphire : "Fuh........ Mrs. Minori..... Where is Hiki?"

Sapphire couldn't think of any other words than what he was investigating on.

Minori : "I'm also looking for him, I don't know where he went."

Sapphire : "Then... want to look for him together?”

Minori's face showed disapproval and her forehead frowned slightly.

Minori : "You two just got back from Dubai, right? It's already night now, so go back to your rooms and get some rest."

Sapphire : "No, it's okay. We still have a lot of energy left, right Jihan?"

Sapphire elbowed Jihan lightly with an enthusiastic smile. Jihan just nodded once. Minori could only sigh in defeat.

Minori : "I think it's useless to advise you two, huh?."

Now they were around the tree-filled shrine where Minori always visited. Sapphire walked around the trees with a flashlight in his hand that Minori had just given to him, so is Jihan. They searched together at a distance not too far from each other.

Jihan showed strange behavior by occasionally glancing at Minori and not focusing on looking for Hiki.

For some reason, Minori suddenly started walking away from Jihan. Jihan instinctively increased his pace towards Minori while pointing his flashlight everywhere, pretending to join in the search.

Minori continued walking and Jihan's eyes didn't stop observing her. Until his view was blocked by a large tree, he flinched slightly and ran around, and was surprised not to see Minori.

He also began to realize that he had been unconsciously walking away from Sapphire.

Jihan : "SAPPHIREEE....!!"

Feeling something approaching quickly towards his head from behind, he ducked quickly and let the object pass over his head, grabbing its leg and slamming hard into the ground.

Jihan shone his flashlight on the figure's back and was surprised to see Minori with black hairy hands with sharp claws at the tip of each finger.

Jihan pressed the figure that looked like Minori on the nape of her neck, preventing her from standing.

Jihan : "SAPPHIREEE.....!"

Jihan shouted Sapphire's name once again, but louder. His eyes filled with alertness, he used all his strength to suppress whatever it was below from breaking free.

Not long after, Sapphire appeared running fast.

Sapphire : "What's wrong Jihan?!"

Sapphire stopped in her place about 6 meters from Jihan and looked at her with a shocked look.

Sapphire : "Jihan...... what the hell you think you are doing to Mrs. Minori?!"

Jihan : "Don't you see-"

Jihan's words were suddenly cut off when she saw the figure below her turn into a normal Minori, without fur or claws on her hands.

Minori : "Sapphire...! I don't know why Jihan suddenly attacked me..."

Jihan : "NO! LISTEN TO- keuck?!"

Suddenly Jihan was kicked hard by Sapphire and made hin fly about 2 meters.

Sapphire : "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?! YOU JUST ALMOST KILLED MRS. MINORI!"

Jihan immediately sat up and ignored the pain, he wanted to speak but the kick that hit his stomach made it difficult for him to get the words out. Sapphire clearly didn't hold back on that kick.

Sapphire reached out to help Mrs. Minori stand up, Minori accepted it and immediately pulled Sapphire hard and slashed his neck. Sapphire managed to pull his head back and reduce the possible damage his neck would have received.

But unfortunately, the cut was enough to make Sapphire permanently mute.

Minori prepared her next attack as she walked closer to Jihan first.

'Bang'

The sound of a gunshot was heard, followed by Minori's body falling to the ground with her head bleeding profusely. That was clearly a headshot.

Afterwards, he heard footsteps approaching and could see the figure who had fired the bullet.

Jihan : "Mr.. Kuga.."

Kuga : "Shut up, I've called an ambulance. You better treat Sapphire's wounds first."

Jihan : "Thank you...."

Jihan immediately approached Sapphire, tore his own clothes and tied them around Sapphire's bleeding neck.

Kuga : "Totally beyond what I've expected...."

In the hospital.

Tirta : "Your story is like a kindergarten child type of tales"

The two of them were now standing with a trundle bed between them. On top of it there is a human-shaped bend covered with white cloth.

Jihan : "Do you still say that after seeing this?"

Jihan opened the cloth and revealed Minori's corpse, whose entire body was covered in fur, and whose eyes were like those of a cat.

Tirta : "I said your story is like a kindergarten kid, not a nonsense"

.......

Jihan : "......."

His expression looked at Tirta with annoyance because he still didn't seem to care about what had just happened.

Tirta : "Please don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't care at all about what happens. It's just that you're not the first case."

Jihan : "What?"

The door to the room opened to reveal Karna carrying several bags of snacks and toys and a hyottoko mask on the right side of his head. His expression was unclear and looked tense, his eyes glanced at Tirta, the corpse then Jihan.

Karna : "Hi"

Jihan stared at Karna in disbelief while Tirta stared at him calmly.

Jihan : "Where have you been all this time?”

Karna's face began to look panicked and he averted his gaze from Jihan's eyes.

Karna: "I- I just.... stopped by the New Year's festival to cheer up my disappointment in Dubai and... got carried away by the atmosphere... yeah"

Tirta : "Do you have mochi in those bags?"

Jihan's attention immediately turned to Tirta with a questioning face.

Karna : "Yes.... Green tea flavour"

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