Kapitel 44: Chapter 44: Visiting Hiro, again.
Then, after my exchange of messages with Hana, she soon arrived at my house.
I was still wondering what Hina was doing, considering her behavior, and I must admit that I was really worried about her.
I rapidly changed my clothes into something more comfortable to go to the hospital and then I grabbed my school bag, filled with the things I had to give to Hiro.
Then, I suddenly heard the doorbell.
Not surprised , I walked closer to the door but as soon as I approached it, a little wave of fear invaded my heart.
I remembered when the two men broke into my house and assaulted me , so despite knowing that it was Hana, I still felt a little bit scared.
"W-who's there?" I asked with a trembling voice.
"It's me!! Hana!!" A cheerful voice came from the outside.
I let out a sigh of relief after hearing Hana's voice coming from outside.
I took a small peek from the peephole and confirmed that it was Hana.
I then opened the door and saw her standing on the entrance with a big and warm smile on her face.
She was a complete stranger to everything that happened around me, and most of all, she was a very precious person for me.
"In another life , we would've probably married, but in this one… " I thought.
Her smile brought a wave of warm in my heart, a pure and beautiful sensation.
I smiled back at her and said "Hello, Hana!" With a very lovingly tone of voice.
"Kai!!" She exclaimed, while hugging me very tightly.
I could smell her beautiful parfum on her… and the sensation of her soft body was very… pleasant.
She then broke the hug and I took better look at her.
She was wearing some casual but "elegant" clothes.
She was so pretty, and she even used a very nice lipstick, of a bloody red.
It looked so good on her.
"Then, shall we go now~?" Hana asked , while offering me her arm , still with a big smile on her face.
With a sigh of approval, I accepted her "offer" and walked with her "arm in arm".
To me, it was completely normal since we always walked like this before, but at the same time, the atmosphere around us looked "different."
It's pretty hard to explain but I felt a strange aura coming from Hana.
I closed the door behind me, carefully locking it, and then we started to walk.
During our walk towards the hospital , she was blushing most of the time, and she was playing with her hair.
Maybe it was just my impression, but it seemed like her tone of voice was more "higher".
We decided to take a taxi to go to the hospital, by splitting the cost of the run.
Then, after some time, we finally arrived.
Hana kept speaking about lots of things like school, dreams etc, and she looked more eloquent than usual.
When we arrived at the hospital, I was struck by the calm that reigned in the hallways.
The antiseptic smell and the constant sound of monitoring machines were a sort of comfort, a reminder that Hiro was safe.
But at the same time, I knew that he wanted to say something new to me.
We kept walking and walking towards his room.
The hospital seemed empty.
Me and Hana were the only living souls.
Then, we found ourselves outside his room.
A wave of anxiety filled my thoughts, but Hana's presence was a reminder of peace, so I calmed myself down.
I was thinking about a lot of things , like Hina… Haruto… Naomi… everything that happened before, but it seemed like my mind stopped my feelings.
When we entered his room, Hiro greeted us with a tired smile.
It was evident he was fighting an inner battle.
"Hiro," I said, trying to infuse strength into my voice. "How are you?"
Hiro gave a weak nod.
"I'm surviving, Kai… I can stand on my feet now, but at the same time I feel destroyed by the medicine… I want to heal so bad…" he said with a sigh.
He was still laying down on his bed, tired and thinking about something.
"Oh… you're a champion, you know that." I said while taking my school bag.
"I brought something to you." I added, smiling warmly.
"Oh? What is it?" Hiro looked with a curious gaze.
With a proud expression, I took out another signed copy of my father's opera "The tale of a Vampire Slayer".
Hiro's eyes sparkled.
"Is this… for me?" He said, sounding like he was about to cry.
I nodded in agreement.
"Exactly! This is for you!!" I said , while giving him the book.
Hiro took it and smiled at me.
"Thank you, brother…" He said, while putting it aside next to his bed.
Hana was looking at our interaction with a lovingly smile on her face.
It seemed that she loved seeing me being so friendly with her brother, or… she was probably thinking about something else like… a future.
I then sat down next to his bed, with Hana taking a seat beside me.
I took a better look at my best friend.
Hiro looked more fragile than I remembered, his body marked by the recent ordeal of the fire and he still had bandages all over his body.
Then, the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by an empty expression.
"Kai, can I talk to you about something?" He said, while giving a rapid glare to his sister.
Hana smiled and walked out of the room.
She probably knew that Hiro wanted to talk to me about something.
And deep inside I knew that he wanted to talk to me about something, so I wasn't suprised.
"Yes, Hiro. Tell me everything." I said, while putting on a serious expression.
"I have nightmares every night," he began, his voice trembling. "I see someone watching me, even here in the hospital. I can't shake this feeling."
I looked at him with concern. "Hiro, you're safe here. No one can hurt you." I said, while trying to reassure him.
The safest place in this town was the hospital.
He shook his head, interrupting my attempt to reassure him.
"You don't understand, Kai. It's not just a feeling. There's really someone. I know… I know that someone is watching us from distance. The same someone who set my house on fire and killed my… girlfriend." Hiro said , with a cold voice.
It seemed like he didn't even have the strength to cry anymore.
I kept listening to him, not wanting to interrupt his words.
"I remembered something, Kai." He said while looking me directly in the eye.
"The only one who knew about my girlfriend was Haruto… it seemed normal, but… then I found out that he was hitting up on that girl… my girlfriend told me that the same evening where she died… but… I connected some piece of the puzzle…" he said, almost on the verge of tears.
His body was trembling slightly.
"What is it, Hiro?" I asked.
"He was the only one who knew that I wasn't alone that night. And… another thing… Did you notice that he detached from us when you started your relationship with Hina…? He told us so many bad things about her… the voices, the rumors… it seemed like he wanted us to hate you and her… but… I couldn't , and I argued a lot of times with him." Hiro said.
I kept listening carefully, slowly connecting all the pieces of the puzzle.
"Haruto… became more distant, like he was scared of Hina more than ever… and now that I remember the time where she saw us, he didn't look at her directly in the eyes… I'm so sorry for… talking back to you… but I swear that I always defended you." He said.
I nodded.
"Yes, I believe you. Keep going." I said.
"I… I am pretty sure that the real culprit is Haruto. When he smiled at me last time we saw each other, he wasn't smiling because he was happy to see me… he was smiling because he was happy to see me in this state. He wanted me to die." Hiro said , while clenching his fists.
"More than that… Naomi was in love with him and followed him everywhere, but I managed to hear them talk in the corridors about a criminal "gang". So I'm pretty sure that he's dangerous. I was writing all of this stuff on my notebook but I didn't have enough time. I wanted to protect you. You're the only one who can save us." Hiro said, with a broken voice.
His words made me confirm all my suspects.
But I wasn't 100% sure that Naomi was in love with Haruto.
But at the same time, I knew that he was the culprit of all this situation.
Haruto all the answers I needed.
Then, something snapped.
When I went to his home, he didn't want to come to save Naomi…
He knew that Hina was about to go there.
He would've died…
But Haruto, a friend of mine. Someone who claimed to be our friends, nearly killed Hiro.
All I had to do was to investigate.
That was the perfect time to call detective Saito.
"I'll do my best, Hiro. You're safe here." I said, while placing a hand on his shoulder.
He thanked me while a tear fell from his eyes.
"It hurts me so much… I want to live again…" he said.
Then, Hana walked back into the room with something to eat.
And then, Hiro rapidly wiped his tears away.
He didn't want his sister to look at him in that state.
So, when Hana came back, we spent some moments of "normality by talking about various things, until Hiro turned on the TV.
Of course the news channel popped up, and the first thing that it showed was… the massacre at the abandoned school.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein