Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Suspended Ties
Hana stood there, her arms crossed and an adorable pout on her face. "Kai," she began, her tone slightly light-angry, "we need to talk."
"H-Hana? How did you recognize me?" I asked, genuinely surprised.
"Mpf," she said, looking away and avoiding my question. "You've been ignoring me lately, Kai. I don't understand why."
I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Hana. I've just had a lot going on."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "A lot going on, huh? Like what? You haven't even replied to my texts."
I swallowed hard, trying to find the right words. "It's just... personal stuff. Family issues."
Hana's expression softened slightly, but her eyes still held a hint of frustration.
"I get that, Kai. But we used to talk about everything. Now it feels like you're keeping me at arm's length. What happened to our friendship?"
I sighed, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me.
"It's not that I don't want to talk to you, Hana. I just... I don't want to drag you into my problems." I said, while giving her a sorry look.
She uncrossed her arms and took a step closer, her eyes searching mine.
"Kai, we've been friends for years and years since we were little. You don't have to protect me from everything. I can handle it. You know how strong i am... and you know how much i care about you." Hana said with a pretty sad tone of voice.
I looked away, feeling a pang of guilt. "I know, Hana. But this is different."
I really wanted to protect her and Hiro since they were like family to me, but at the same time i knew that i was ignoring her way too much.
So many things happened that i forgot to reply at her texts and that lead to this situation.
Hana's eyes flickered with something I couldn't quite place.
Was it... jealousy?
"Different how? Does it have anything to do with Hina?" Hana said with a shaky voice while gripping her right arm.
She seemed... nervous.
When i heard the name of Hina coming from her mouth, i heard a glimpse of... hate, jealousy.
Hana was worried about me and probably had something against Hina for the fact that my "adventure" started when I met her.
My heart skipped a beat.
"Hina? What makes you say that?" I asked.
Hana shrugged, trying to play it cool. "I don't know. You've just been spending a lot of time with her lately, way too much time that you even forgot your friends... It feels like she's the only thing on your mind." Hana said while looking away.
She was still holding a tight grip on her right arm, sign of her agitation.
I hesitated, not sure how to respond.
I knew that i couldn't talk to Hana about the things that happened recently, especially if i wanted her to stay safe.
To protect someone, sometimes you have to push them away.
I tried to find the best excuse i could.
"Hana, Hina's been going through a tough time. She needs someone to be there for her." I said, while scratching the back of my head.
"And I don't?" Hana's voice cracked slightly, betraying her emotions.
Her reply caught me off guard.
I felt a surge of guilt.
"Of course you do, Hana. I'm sorry if I've made you feel like you don't matter. You do. More than you know." I said, trying to reassure her about my feelings.
"I'm the only one for Hina and she's relying on me. She's my girlfriend, you know that." I added, with a weak smile.
I saw Hana's body twitching for a second and a small gasp came out from my mind.
"It's... okay... just don't forget about me." She replied, while looking down.
"Don't worry, Hana, you're still too important for me." I said, while patting her head.
Hana's eyes softened, but there was still a hint of hurt in them. "I just miss you, Kai. I miss us."
I reached out and gently took her hand. "I miss us too, Hana. I'm sorry for making you feel this way. I promise I'll do better."
She squeezed my hand, her expression a mix of relief and lingering sadness. "Just... don't shut me out, okay?"
"I won't," I promised, feeling a renewed sense of determination. "I'll always be your family, you know." I added, with a wide and lovingly smile.
Hana nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Okay. Just remember, I'm here for you too. I'm dead worried about you!!!" She said, while pinching my cheek playfully.
"D-Don't worry about me , i'm totally fine. 100%" I said.
Then, she took some steps back and her eyes became softer than before.
"Hey, Kai, I just remembered that my brother asked about you. Are you free tomorrow?" Hana gently asked.
"Mmmh, let me think for a second..." I said, while rubbing my chin and thinking.
I tried to remember the things that i had to do the next day but nothing came to my mind.
"Well... considerind the fact that i have to watch over Hina to make sure that she won't go around the city murdering random people... Mh... maybe i can take her with me... but I'll wait for tomorrow." That's what i thought.
I decided to say yes to Hana, hoping that the next day Hina could come with me or that she had something to do.
Then, after taking my decision, i smiled to Hana.
"I think that i'm free tomorrow, so we'll go visit Hiro." I said to her.
Hana's lips curved into a wide and happy smile and she ran towards me , embracing in a tight hug.
I still had bruises all over my body, so her hug actually hurt me, but I tried my best to hide my pain.
Then, after some seconds, she broke the hug and stepped back.
"Okay!! See you tomorrow at 10:30, okay?" She said with a very happy tone of voice.
I nodded in agreement and smiled back.
"Yes, Hana." I said.
"See you tomorrow then!" She said, before turning me and waving.
I waved her back and then began to walk towards my home.
"Uhm... Hana didn't ask about my mask. That's... strange." I said to my self, thinking.
Then, i started walking towards my home and a strange feeling of unease began to form in my mind.
Once again , I felt like someone was watching me from distance.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but at every step that i took, the feeling was getting more intense, to the point that i started to feel scared.
Because of that, I began to walk more rapidly and a normal walk soon transformed into a run.
I even saw a strange figure walking trough the crowd behind me from the mirror of my telephone.
Considering its short height, it should've been a girl.
"She" was dressed with a hood that was going the same speed as mine.
That surely wasn't a coincidence.
I kept walking faster and faster and the girl behind me matched my speed.
To be sure that i was being followed, I walked into a nearby bar and remained there for some minutes.
I gently asked the bartender to sell me a bottle of water.
While he was grabbing it, i took a look around me and the girl was gone.
"Maybe it really was my imagination..." I said to myself, letting out a sigh or relief.
"Here is your water, Mr. Customer. It's 100 yen." The bartender said behind me.
I jumped a little bit, caught by surprise.
Then, I turned my head towards him and gave him the money before taking the bottle.
I drank a little and took another look around me, to be sure that I wasn't being followed.
"Okay... I think that nobody is following me... I can go now" I said to myself, before starting to walk.
Then, I kept walking and walking trough the crowd until I finally arrived home.
I couldn't wash off the bad feeling despite being sure that nobody was following me but, luckily, it seemed that I had finally arrived.
Once I finally entered my home home, I locked the door and I checked my phone again.
Still no reply from Hina.
My anxiety spiked once more, but I forced myself to stay calm.
I had to trust that she was okay, that she would reach out to me when she could.
But I knew that something was off.
Someone was hiding something from me.
My sixth sense was telling me this.
The day was too calm.
Then, after some seconds of thinking, i heard my phone ringing.
I picked it up, hoping that it was Hina, but it wasn't.
"Hey, Kai!! I just spoke to Hiro and told me that you're coming with us tomorrow. He's very happy!! I can't wait to see you again!!" The text said.
It was a message from Hana.
I should've expected something like that from her.
"Oh, I can't wait too! I'm gonna go buy something for him later." I texted back.
"Haha~ Okay! I won't tell him anything." She replied almost instantly.
"Thank you, Hana. I'm going to take a shower now. I'll text you later!" I wrote.
"Okay! Good shower! Don't make me worried!" She replied again.
Then, with a sigh, I slowly put the phone away and removed my hat, sunglasses and mask.
"Ahh-" I could finally breathe again. "This is so refreshing-" I said to myself while taking deep breaths, savoring the fresh air into my lungs.
Then, i decided to relax a bit into by sitting on my sofa and turning on the television.
I grabbed some snacks from my fridge and then sat down.
"Maybe there are cool shows today... who knows." I said to myself, while turning on the TV.
The first channel that appeared was the news channel, which was speaking about some cooking recipes.
I saw a beautiful chef girl baking some stuff like cookies, muffins etc.
"Oh, those are some high quality muffins, aren't they?" I said to myself, while admiring them.
Then, my attention moved on the girl.
"Wait a sec- she has a very familiar face..." I thought, while taking a better look at her.
Then, the news reporter asked her some questions.
"Okay, Emi Fujimoto-San, what brings you here? And where does your passion for bakery come from?"
My eyes actually widened.
"Emi... Fujimoto? Isn't that the name of the girl I met at the station?" I asked to myself.
Then , the camera moved to her face so I could see her face way better.
And yes, it was her.
What a surprise.
I didn't expect something like that.
"Well... my passion came from... a special person. When I was little, he said that if i would've learned how to bake cookies and muffins, he would marry me!!" She said, with a slight blush on her face.
"Ahw, what a cutie. The man she loves must be a lucky one." I said, with a smile.
"Oh! That's a revelation!! Who is the lucky guy?" The reporter asked.
"Well... he's an old friend from my childhood... I just met him recently..." She said, with a smile.
"Mmm, I think that he's watching the show too and he's super embarassed." I said, with a playful laugh.
Then, after her little declaration, I changed TV channel and went on another News channel.
But this time... it really caught my attention, in a negative way.
I saw the news about a murder of two men.
They were brutally stabbed in the chest more than 20 times.
Her throats were slit open and the news said that their face were totally disfigured.
And more than that, one of them had his genitals cut.
It was a 18+ channel, so that's why they described all the scenery they found.
I was actually shocked and disgusted, I must admit.
"What the hell... Where did it happen?" I asked to myself.
Then , the channel showed the face of the dead men.
My eyes widened in shock and fear.
These two men were... the one who broke into my house.
I remember that Hina removed their mask and i could see a glimpse of their faces while running away.
"What the..." I said to myself in shock.
The situation was getting worse by every passing second.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone