I stayed silent for a few seconds, not wanting to speak.
But Sakura got closer to me and took a better look at the bruise on my cheek.
She touched it, to make sure that it wasn't fake.
"O-Ouch...!" I softly gasped.
"What happened, Kai?" Sakura asked, with a worried tone.
I had to tell the truth.
"Well... let's say that two armed guys actually broke into my house and did what you see, nothing more," I said, avoiding looking into Sakura's eyes.
"Suzuki-Kun, did they say something?" Junpei-San asked in a worried tone.
Once again, I had to tell the truth.
I nodded in agreement.
"Yes. They said that I needed to be taught a lesson and not to interfere in their plans... one of them even tried to have his way with me... it was pretty... traumatizing." I said in a scared tone, remembering last night's events.
I looked at the floor and noticed that my entire body was trembling.
Junpei-San threw another punch at the wall in anger.
"How could someone hurt a defenseless boy like you...?" He said in a furious whisper, gritting his teeth.
"Kai, what else did they do to you?" Sakura asked.
"Luckily... nothing more... because..." I hesitated, feeling torn about telling them about Hina, which keeps readers curious and tense.
I couldn't tell them about Hina.
"What, Kai? Please, tell me." Sakura said, still with a worried voice.
"... I d-destroyed them with m-my hands!!" I said in a fake-proud tone.
"Hehe... first, I blocked their hits, then I easily kicked their guts and-" I tried to speak, but Sakura stopped me.
"Stop, that's a ridiculous lie." She said with a direct voice.
"Was it so obvious?" I asked, embarrassed.
Sakura and Junpei-San both nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for trusting my words," I said while giving them a thumbs-up.
"You're too kind to hurt another human being, Kai," Sakura said with a sigh.
She was totally right.
In my life, I never fought against anyone.
Maybe because of fear, or maybe because of my good nature.
Who knows.
Then, with a sigh, I lowered my gaze to the floor again.
"So? What happened?" Sakura asked again.
"Hina..." I whispered.
"Hina... what?" Sakura replied.
"Hina s-saved me and she almost brutally murdered those two in front of my eyes... She even broke the wrist of one of them..." I said, recalling the events.
Sakura and Junpei's eyes widened in surprise.
"S-So... Hina saved you?! That's not good... I think that Saito will surely know about this." Sakura said with a worried tone.
"What do you mean, Sakura-San?" I asked in curiosity.
"Tell me something, boy. Has Hina replied to some of your messages today?" She asked.
"Mmh... no. Not yet. Why? But she's at school." I said, confused by her question.
"Okay... this could mean two things. She's either tracking down the ones who hurt you to kill them without being seen by you, or she's avoiding using her telephone not to be tracked..." Sakura said.
Junpei-San, in the meantime, grabbed some whiskey and poured it into some little glasses.
"Drink some of this; it will make your soul burn." He said, while drinking.
Sakura thanked him and drank too.
The only one left was me.
I never drank alcohol, but in that situation, I had to prove that I was an adult, so I drank a glass too.
After drinking it, I had an expression of disgust on my face.
The flavor was a mix of sweet and bitterness... I could feel all the alcohol burning in my stomach.
"Drinking is not for me," I said to myself.
"Oh? You already drink? What a good boy." Sakura said, while gently patting my head.
"Mh--" I said, trying to compose myself.
"I don't know what Hina is doing right now. I hope nothing bad happened to her..." I said, with a worried tone of voice.
"Kai, you should go search for her to prevent her psycho side from committing other murders," Sakura said.
"Eh? What?" I gasped in shock.
"I think that I understood the situation... the most probable situation is that Hina is actually going to kill the whole gang for hurting you. If she commits a murder, Detective Saito will immediately arrest her... I think that we entered into a loop... It's a free-for-all." Sakura said with a sigh.
"Kai." She then said while looking straight into my eyes.
"YESSIR!" I said, acting like a soldier as I stood up.
"Your mission is to track down Hina and stop her. In the meantime, I'll do other research. I'll call you when I'm done." Sakura said, sounding like a commander.
"YESSIR!" I said again, before doing a soldier salute.
"NOW GO, KAI!" Sakura shouted while getting up from the chair.
"Why am I acting like this?" I said to myself, embarrassed.
My body felt lighter, and my mind felt a little bit dizzy.
Maybe it was the alcohol's fault.
"Yes, Sakura!" I said while turning back.
"Wait, Kai!" Sakura said.
"What is it?" I asked in curiosity.
She leaned closer and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a very tight hug.
My eyes widened.
Sakura was holding me very tightly in her arms.
My head was gently resting on her majestic boobs, and the feeling was really pleasant.
But despite that, I felt Sakura's body trembling a little.
"Please, be careful, Kai..." She gently whispered.
Her hug was... different from Hina's.
It seemed like she was hugging me like I was her son...
It was a motherly hug, and that would've explained why she became so attached to me in such a short period of time.
Maybe she saw me as her son... who knows.
Then, after some seconds, Sakura broke the hug and playfully patted my head.
"Don't get hurt, okay?" She said.
"Y-Yes... I promise." I replied.
"Be careful." She said again.
"Thank you, Sakura-San. I'll be careful." I said.
Then, Junpei-San gently guided me to the exit.
We walked up, leaving only Sakura in that basement, but not before grabbing my things, like the mask, the hat, and the sunglasses.
He then gave me a friendly pat on my back like a father, but he was way too strong, and I almost fell to the floor from that hit.
As I left the café, I felt the weight of the folder in my bag and the weight of the truth pressing down on me.
I had to return home as soon as possible to grab some things that could've helped me, like the knife-gun.
During my walk at home, I kept thinking about lots of things, but my thoughts were mainly focused on Hina.
Her past was darker and more dangerous than I could ever imagine, but I was determined to stand by her side, no matter what.
Deep down, I knew that Hina was just a girl who wanted to be loved and accepted for who she was, and the fact that she saved me only proved that she had a genuine, good side.
She wasn't a monster; she was only a girl with a very bad past.
But the rational part of me kept saying, "You're still in time to get out of this bad situation. Leave her and go to live with your parents; nobody will know anything. You can't trust someone who has already killed people in her life!!!"
Well... it wasn't wrong but still... I wanted to save her, in some way.
During my walk home, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
That feeling remained even when I arrived at my house.
I double-checked my locks and closed the blinds, trying to create a sense of security.
But my mind kept racing, thinking about the next steps and how to keep Hina and me safe.
I sent a quick text to Hina, hoping to get a reply this time: "Hey, just went out to buy some groceries for today. How is school going?" I texted, hoping for a reply from her.
No response.
My anxiety spiked again, but I tried to stay calm. She was probably just busy with classes.
As I waited for her reply, I began to formulate a plan.
I needed to gather more information, stay close to Sakura-San, and most importantly, keep Hina safe without her realizing the full extent of the danger.
It was a delicate balance, but I was ready to face whatever came next.
I had to track down Hina to make sure that she wasn't hurting anybody...
The only thing that I could do was go to school to see if she was really there, but it was risky...
"Ahhh! What should I do?!?" I said with a "desperate" look while sitting on the sofa.
I kept thinking about what to do, and without noticing, 1 hour had already passed, and still no word from Hina.
I then decided to visit the school, hoping to see her during a break.
So I grabbed the things I needed from my room and walked to my school.
When I arrived, I scanned the crowded hallways, looking for her familiar face.
Finally, I spotted her near the lockers at the entrance, talking to some classmates.
I was surprised, since I had never seen Hina speak with other people, at least not in my presence.
Whenever we were together, her attention was focused only on me, not on other people.
Luckily, it was break time, and I could go there.
I walked near her locker and hid myself behind it.
"Psst! Hina!" I whispered while showing myself to her.
She looked at me with a strange expression on her face since she didn't recognize me.
But then, I saw her sniffing the air.
*Sniff sniff*
She then smiled when she realized that the person in front of her was me. "Kai! What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see you," I said, trying to keep my tone light. "I missed you."
She laughed softly. "You're sweet. How was the breakfast?"
"It was amazing, thank you. But I noticed you didn't reply to my text. I was dead worried!!" I said, trying to show my frustration.
For a few seconds, I saw Hina's lips curve into a malicious, evil grin, and I could also see her eyes go red and narrow.
But maybe it was just the fruit of my imagination.
Then, Hina's smile faltered for a moment. "Oh, I'm s-sorry. I was really busy with classes and didn't get a chance to check my phone." She said, while avoiding my gaze
Luckily, Hina was really at school, and she looked exactly like she did in the morning.
"It's okay," I said, trying to reassure her. "I just wanted to make sure everything was alright."
She nodded, but I could see a hint of worry in her eyes. "Everything's fine, Kai. Don't worry."
I wanted to believe her, but after everything Sakura-San had shown me, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the story.
"Ah... I'm so glad nothing happened..." I said, with a sigh of relief.
After what I said, Hina's voice grew colder than ice.
"What do you mean , Kai-Kun?" She asked, with a deadly whisper.
Her pupils were small.
She scared me.
"W-Well... I mean, I was worried you were tired of me... and I got sad... that's why I came here. I wanted to see you." I said, while scratching the back of my head.
Then, Hina's expression softened after my reply.
"Oh... I-I see." She said, while letting out a sigh of relief.
She then smiled lovingly at me.
"I could never get tired of you, you know, Kai." She said, while poking my left cheek.
**DRIN DRIIIN* That was the sound of the bell.
As the bell rang, signaling the end of the break, Hina leaned in and kissed my cheek.
"I have to go to class. I'll see you after school, okay?" She said with a warm smile.
"Okay, see you later," I said, watching her walk away.
I watched her figure grow smaller in the distance.
Then, while I was about to go home again, I felt a small tap on my shoulder.
I turned my head out of curiosity to see who had called me and noticed Hana standing there.
My eyes widened in surprise, as I wasn't expecting her to be there, since she was studying at another school.
"Kaaai," Hana said with a light-angry tone of voice and an adorable pout on her face.
"H-Hana? How did you recognize me?" I asked, surprised.
"Mpf." She said while crossing her arms and looking away.
I didn't get what she wanted for me.
"We need to talk seriously, Kai," Hana said while looking straight into my eyes...
"Oh gosh. I don't have a good feeling about this..." I thought.