Chapter 81: Chapter 78: Answers
And so, Kai moved a little closer to the door to better hear his parents' conversation.
It was now clear to him that they knew far more than they were letting on.
In fact, everything felt off since the moment they met.
"You're absolutely right, Fumi… that person is really… dangerous… I think I've finally realized it," Kai's mother said, her voice carrying an edge of fear.
"We can't afford to let our guard down for even a second… we're in a point where there's no return now. We have to protect him at all costs, and I believe making them stay the night is one of the best decisions we've made," Fumihiro replied, his tone heavy with concern.
Kai, pressing his ear to the door, continued to listen, his heart racing.
So, all the generosity they had shown Hina was just an act? Were they only pretending to be kind so they wouldn't raise suspicions?
His heart sank, plummeting into a bottomless pit of disappointment and delusion.
His chest tightened with a sharp pang of betrayal.
Anger began to stir, bubbling up from deep inside him.
Just as he was about to burst through the door and confront his parents, he felt a firm grip on his arm.
Startled, he spun around to find Hina standing there, her expression unreadable.
The strangest part was that he hadn't heard her approach at all.
"Hi-" Kai began to whisper, but Hina silenced him with a soft gesture, pressing her finger gently to his lips.
"Shhh…" she hushed him, her eyes flickering toward the door, a strange, knowing smile playing on her lips.
Kai followed her gaze.
Without words, she seemed to be telling him, "Wait. Don't do anything rash."
Inside, his mother's voice drifted through the slightly ajar door.
"You're right… I wish he could stay with us every night… That way, Yuki Nakamura will understand that neither Kai nor his girlfriend have anything to do with this mess," Haruka said, her voice laden with an odd mixture of sorrow and determination. "Hina is a good girl… too good. You can see how much she cares for our son. I don't understand how Yuki could even think she would ever harm him…" Haruka added, sitting down heavily in one of the chairs, her weariness evident in her posture.
Kai's eyes widened in shock.
They know everything, he realized. They've known all along.
His parents had accepted Hina without any prejudice and without hesitation.
They had ignored whatever warnings Yuki Nakamura had given them.
"Yes. And they even saved that girl from that criminal hideout… Yuki should be thanking Hina instead of trying to turn everyone against her," Fumihiro responded, standing by the window, staring out at the cold, snowy night.
Kai couldn't believe what he was hearing.
His parents were on Hina's side, all this time.
They knew about the dangerous events that had unfolded, about everything Hina had done.
And still, they chose to trust her.
To protect her and him.
Hina remained silent beside him, her expression calm, but Kai could feel her presence like a steadying force, as if she had always known this moment would come.
"Yes, Hina really is a good girl," Haruka said again, her voice softening. "I knew from the first moment I met her. You know how quickly I can sense when someone isn't right."
Fumihiro turned from the window, his gaze thoughtful as he looked at his wife.
"Yuki Nakamura has been pressuring us for quite some time now. I think we'll have to confront her sooner or later. But Kai is an adult, a responsible one. Whatever Yuki has to say, she should be saying it to him, not to us."
His father's voice, though calm, carried a subtle weariness, like a man who had grown tired of someone else's games.
Fumihiro then sat next to his wife.
Haruka nodded her head in agreement
Kai's pulse pounded in his ears as the weight of everything he had overheard settled on his shoulders.
His parents had placed their trust in Hina.
Not only that, but they were fighting to protect him, to shield him from Yuki Nakamura's suspicions.
But why did Yuki call his parents? She had promised that she wouldn't have done it… but she probably lied.
Kai also had to talk with his parents.
During their conversation, Hina was listening carefully, without speaking any single word or showing any kind of emotion.
It was something that the criminal life taught to her.
To never act driven by emotions.
Kai's mind swirled with questions, each one more troubling than the last.
Yet, for the first time in a long while, a glimmer of hope flickered within him.
His parents weren't the enemy.
They were on his side.
But what did that mean for Hina? What secrets was she hiding from him? And most importantly, how long could they all keep living in this fragile bubble of safety before everything came crashing down?
Kai knew the truth would surface soon enough.
But deep down, he also knew that he had to change himself drastically.
Being the good guy who wants to save everyone by ignoring everything wouldn't have worked.
He had to fight.
Being a hero would've led to nothing.
Fumihiro stood up from his chair, stretching his arms with a tired gesture.
"Anyway, I think we need to talk to Kai tomorrow," he said, breaking the silence that had fallen between him and his wife. "After school, it will be the right time. We can't keep him in the dark anymore. We need to be clear, even about Hina. He deserves to know, especially if his safety is at risk."
Kai held his breath.
Hearing his name, tied to such heavy words, made his heart skip a beat.
His pulse pounded in his ears as the tension inside him built.
What did they want to tell him? What did he need to know about Hina that he didn't already?
"He does deserve it," Haruka agreed, lowering her gaze to the floor. "I can't keep looking him in the eye without telling him the truth. We'll protect him, like we always have, but we can't keep hiding things. He's still our precious baby after all…"
Kai felt a lump in his throat, the anxiety of the impending revelation weighing down on him.
Hina, standing beside him, remained still, but he could feel her calm presence.
Maybe, in some way, she also knew that the moment was coming.
"Tomorrow, then," Fumihiro concluded, pushing the chair back as he made his way toward the hallway. "When he gets back from school, we'll talk to him. Everything needs to be clear. We can't afford any more secrets."
"You're right, Dear…" Haruka said with a small sigh. "I just don't want anything to happen to our precious boy…" she said.
Fumihiro laughed a little.
"He's no longer a baby, you know that." He said, while offering his hand to her.
Haruka chuckled softly and then gently accepted his hand and grabbed it.
Fumihiro gently helped his wife to get up from the chair and as soon as she did it, they hugged each other for some moments.
Kai closed his eyes for a moment, trying to process everything he had just heard and saw.
He felt trapped in a whirlwind of thoughts and doubts.
His parents were ready to tell him the truth, but was he ready to hear it?
He felt Hina gently tug on his arm, signaling that it was time to leave.
His parents' conversation had come to an end.
With quiet movements, they slipped away from the hallway and returned to their wing of the house, ready to go to sleep or… spending a night like a normal married couple.
Once they were safely away, Kai stopped and turned to Hina.
Her face was cast in shadow, but he could still see the glimmer of her eyes, deep and unreadable.
She still had her empty and passive expression on her face.
A question burned on his lips, but he couldn't find the courage to voice it.
"Thank you," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Thank you for stopping me."
Hina gave him a small, enigmatic smile. "It wasn't the right time," she said softly. "Some things have to be discovered at the right moment. And that's why you never have to act rashly."
Kai nodded, feeling strangely comforted by her words.
But a sense of urgency gnawed at him.
He now had the chance to talk to her about what happened while he was escaping with Yuna.
He couldn't let the night pass without speaking to her, without understanding what was truly going on.
Then, Kai and Hina walked back until they found themselves standing outside their respective rooms with the silence of the house broken only by the faint creak of the floor beneath their feet.
Kai hesitated for a moment, staring at the door to his room, before turning back to Hina.
"Hina…" he began, his voice uncertain. "Come to my room. We need to talk."
Hina looked at him, her face calm and unreadable.
She said nothing, but her eyes indicated that she might have already anticipated his request.
All she did was just nodding her head, nothing more.
Kai opened the door to his room and gestured for her to enter.
The air was thick with tension, but he knew he couldn't delay the conversation any longer.
Hina took a look around the room and admired it, while Kai closed and locked the door.
As soon as she heard the sound of the door locking, Hina turned her gaze towards her boyfriend.
She tilted her head to the side in a curious way, wondering why Kai was so eager to talk with her.
Kai then turned his head towards her and locked his eyes into hers.
His look was so… decisive.
Enough to turn Hina on.
"So… what is it, Kai-Kun?" Hina asked while biting her index finger in a very "sensual" way.
"Hina… this… this is a serious issue." Kai said, with a low but flustered tone of voice.
"Oh? Is it about your parents? It seems like they really like me. And… I can say the same. I like them too. They're kind and genuine people…" she said, while smiling at him.
"No, Hina… it's not this… it's about me." Kai said, while clenching his fists.
His body started to shake a little as he was recalling the moment where he stabbed the man.
He was trying to gather all the force he could to speak about something like this.
It seemed like words were struck at the bottom of his mouth.
Hina kept looking at him, but this time she didn't get closer to comfort him.
Instead, she probably knew what Kai wanted to say, but she didn't want to interfere.
She wanted for him to say it by his own will.
Hina's eyes darkened as Kai's words stumbled on the edge of confession.
He could see her chest rise and fall, her breath quickening.
Slowly, almost deliberately, she brought her finger to her lips and bit down, her gaze never leaving his.
It was a subtle, yet unnerving gesture, one that made the air between them feel thicker. Kai froze, confused.
He was about to spill something painful, yet the way Hina looked at him… it was as though she was waiting for it, anticipating something that thrilled her in a way he couldn't understand.
The tension in the air was growing with each passing second.
Hina was waiting for Kai to speak, while he was trying to gather some courage.
After some moments, Kai took a deep breath and then finally spoke.
"Hina… I…."
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