Ren and I went back to the dining table. Erii looked at me with curiosity while Ritsu looked at Ren with her eyebrows raised up, Ren nodded to Ritsu, and then we sat back to eat our sushi.
After we're done with our food, we all went to the smoking area to smoke. Ren didn't smoke and he observed the surroundings if there's someone with us here. After he was sure there was nobody in here with us, he looked at me and then pointed his eyes towards Erii. I nodded and then I say to Erii,
"Erii, there's something you need to know."
I sat beside Ren while Ritsu sat beside Erii and put her hand behind her back. Erii looked at us with confusion and replies,
"What is it, Aze?"
I reply,
"First of all, I want to apologize for what happened earlier in the lobby. I wanted you to not get involved with my plans, but after I found out that you're no longer safe, it's too late for you to not get involved with this."
Erii confused and asks.
"What do you mean?"
I gave her the photos that Ren gave to me. Erii shocked and looked at it with disbelief. Ritsu comforted her by rubbing Erii's back. Then Erii asks,
"What is this?"
I explained everything to Erii about what's going on. She still couldn't believe what I said and her hands were shaking the entire time. Then I looked at Ren and he nodded. I say,
"There's also another thing that you should know. The Hasegawa family is an infamous yakuza and they're one of the families that rule Japan from behind the curtains."
Erii looked at Ren and comforted herself by hugging herself so tightly. Ren then says,
"Yamaguchi-San, the reason why I asked him to tell you this is because we both shared the same interest. We never thought that they're also going to make a move towards the people that are close with Norl-Kun. I promised him that I will guarantee your safety. I will promise you that nobody can harm you as long as the Hasegawa family is still alive. The only thing I want for that is for you to not get too close with Norl-Kun. If can, avoid him and never make any contact with him in the meantime."
I'm surprised that he said that, but deep down I knew that something like that is a necessity for her safety. Erii shook her head in denial and replies,
"No! I will not be going to do that!"
Ren stood up and approached Erii. Ritsu held Erii's wrist so tightly and pulled her away from Ren. Ritsu stared at Ren furiously, then Ren sighed. I stood up and ask,
"What were you trying to do to her?"
Ren tilted his head and turned his head. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. He replies,
"I tried to warn her of course."
I say with a blank expression,
"I don't like the way you do that."
Ren raised his eyebrow and replies,
"So?"
It pissed me off and I had enough with his acts. I approached him and threw a punch at him. In a split second, I saw his elbow was about to hit my face and I barely dodged it. When I'm about to stand properly, his other elbow hit me in the head. My face hit the floor and my vision was blurry. I stood up weakly. I still haven't recovered from his blow. Ren walked towards me and when he's about to punch my throat, Ritsu screamed his name and stopped him. He ignored Ritsu and ready to throw a punch at me, but luckily his phone was ringing.
He checked his phone and when he's about to leave, he says,
"You can't do anything as you please, especially when it comes to interfering with my plan. Don't you ever forget who I am. You don't want to make another enemy don't you?"
He slapped my face gently three times and then left to answer the call. Erii and Ritsu approached me and checked my condition. They helped me walk and put me on the sofa. Erii looked at me with worries. Ritsu left to speak with Ren.
Erii is rubbing my head and check if I have another injury. We can see Ren and Ritsu are having a conversation through the transparent glass. Ritsu seems angry at Ren and he's looking at her while having a phone call. Ren's face is as calm as the sea and his expression doesn't seem that he's annoyed by Ritsu's rants. He's listening to Ritsu's words while he's also listening to the person he's talking with on the phone. Erii is holding my hand so tightly and she says,
"I don't want to..."
I'm looking at her face, and I can tell that she's feeling guilty and she's also sulking about it. She continues,
"I don't want to avoid you. I want to be with you no matter what happens."
I smile and nod weakly. I reply,
"I know. You're really in love with me huh?"
She smacked my head and it hurts so bad. She's murmurings,
"Baka (Idiot)."
I chuckled and teased her more.
We looked at them through the glass. They spoke for quite a while and Ritsu seemed that she managed to calm herself and Ren seemed to apologize to Ritsu for what he did. Then they came back inside and Ritsu immediately sat beside me and Erii. Ren looked at me and I couldn't tell what was he thinking and what was that look for. He asks,
"How's your head?"
I flipped my finger at him. He chuckled. Then he looked at Erii and he asks,
"So? What's your choice? You can't have both."
Erii replies,
"I don't need any protection. I can protect myself."
Ren nods and sighs at the same time. He says,
"Alright, do what you want. But my offer is still up. If one day you changed your mind, just come to me and I'll make sure that you're safe."
Erii nods. Ritsu then claps her hands and says,
"I'm craving for some mochis... anyone wants some mochis as well?"
Erii replies,
"I love mochi! Do you know the best mochi in Kyoto?"
Ritsu replies,
"I know exactly where it is. Let's go, it's my treat this time!"
Ritsu smiles and so we all going to where Ritsu is leading us to.
On our way to the mochi's place, Erii and Ritsu are in front of us. They're enjoying their times and laughing at Ritsu's stories. Ren has been quiet the entire time. He says,
"Just so you know that I would never do something bad to Yamaguchi-San. I never do something bad to any woman in general. You were misunderstanding."
I reply,
"I don't think so. The way you looked at her was obvious."
Ren smirks and says,
"I guess you're right. But after what I have experienced, I can't become a normal person anymore."
I looked at him with curiosity and I wondered what was the meaning of what he said.
We arrived at the mochi's place and Ritsu ordered everything for us. Then we enjoyed the mochi in the park nearby. The mochis are so delicious compared to the other mochi I had.
After we ate our mochi, we went to so many places and we took so many pictures together. It was so fun and we didn't realize that the sun is already down. So we all went to eat dinner together. After that, Ritsu and Ren have something else to do, so Erii and I go back to the hotel after we said goodbye to them. Erii seemed satisfied with today's trip. We held our hands the entire time on our way back to the hotel. We went to our own room to rest.
I took a nice bath and I heard a knocking on the door. I opened the door and Erii was there in her pajamas. She went inside and when we were in front of the bed, without saying a single word, she pushed me to my bed. I ask,
"Erii, what are you doing?"
She covered my mouth with her finger. She says,
"Ssshhh..."
She suddenly kissed me so passionately. Her soft and sweet lips were so mesmerizing. The first thing that came to my mind was the mochis that we ate this evening, then my mind went blank. After that, we spent the night together watching tv on my bed. I honestly want to do it with her, but I held myself back because I don't think neither of us is ready for that. She looked at me so passionately and she says,
"I love you, Aze..."
She wrapped her arms around my body. I held my tears and reply,
"I love you too, Erii..."
She surprised to see my eyes were watering. She was so happy because she thought that I was crying because of her words moved me, but the truth was that I don't have any rubber on me, and I forgot to buy it... I should've prepared it since I know this is going to happen.
She fell asleep in my arm and I looked at her and stroke her hair. Then I also fell asleep not long after that.