"Megumi, you're finally home." Kikuchi Koji's face seemed to soften at the sight of their daughter, relieved that nothing happened to her on the way home. His wife, Saori, also shifted her expression into relief while giving Megumi a gentle hug.
The very first thing that Megumi noticed was the shakiness in her father's voice, not to mention the quivering hands that hugged her ever so gently. She could tell at first glance that there was something wrong, or at the very least, something unexpected that happened while she was gone. Nevertheless, as much as she was curious, she also didn't want to be as insensitive as to directly ask what happened. Her parents can explain it to her at their own pace and there was no need for her to pry and squeeze information out of them. First off, she needed to assure them to relax. They've already regained their composure, but that doesn't mean that they weren't still shaken up inside— whatever it is that shook them.
"Let's head back inside," Kikuchi Koji finally beckoned, pushing the front gate open and leading everyone inside without uttering another word in between.
Megumi and her mom, Saori, nodded along as they quietly followed. As Megumi entered in, the first thing that she noticed was the small cracks in the glass windows that covered the majority of their house. They were scattered, sort of like abstract art with broken glass as its theme. Megumi wondered if they were on purpose or if her parents were the ones who put them up as design. However, the scattered cracks were so randomly placed. What were those cracks for? And aren't our windows made out of bulletproof glass? Who made those cracks? Megumi's thoughts swirled in her mind but she was left with even more questions instead of answers. All the while she remained silent, praying that her parents would at least tell her what was going on.
"I'll brew some tea, would Earl Grey suffice?" Franz asked and headed out of the room before Koji could approve of his choice of tea. He only asked that in order to come up with a reason to leave the room. After all, Megumi needed to know what happened straight from her parents. He was already briefed about what happened a few moments ago while he busily tagged along with Megumi's stalking so there was no need for him to sit in. Besides, he was exhausted for the day, and brewing tea would give him the little rest he so deserved.
As Franz left the Kikuchi family to themselves, the heavy atmosphere that encompassed the room got even heavier, almost as if it was about to choke the three of them. Megumi gulped, and then she let out an exhale before asking the all-too-important question. "What happened?"
"First, Megumi, let me just say that you don't have to worry about anything.." Megumi's dad vaguely explained as if that helped with Megumi's anxiety. "The police already took care of it."
"We w-were attacked, Megumi." Saori's voice stammered. "There were people outside and they almost got in. We don't know who sent them— "
"— And they meant business. They didn't think twice about getting in our yard and firing bullets at us." Koji interrupted his wife who seemed to be having a hard time putting the words in her mouth. "Fortunately, our windows are bulletproof and we were able to call the cops before more damage was done. The police were able to round them up but as usual, they won't talk about their boss nor who gave them the order to infiltrate our house."
Megumi was speechless. While she was having a blast trying to interrupt Hajime's date, her parents had met danger that she couldn't even imagine. Although these occurrences are normal when it comes to rich people, Megumi was still shocked beyond belief since she wasn't expecting something of that gravity to happen to her family. They came from a poor family and by some luck, they managed to climb the social ladder— but who would've thought that climbing it would bring forth such consequences?
"Did the police... at least get what their goals were for attacking us?" Megumi asked. Anything, the police should have wrung out something from the captured attackers.
"No, that's the thing. Even though they were all rounded up with enough evidence to lock them in prison for at least a few years if they don't cooperate with the investigation... they still won't talk. The investigators made it clear for them that doing so would lighten their sentence, but they're all tight-lipped." Koji explained. "I think... I think we're dealing with something big here... I just don't want to think such is the case."
A sigh came out of Koji's mouth before he shook his head in worry and concern. He wasn't worried about himself, at the very least, but he was worried about his wife and most especially his daughter. If these attacks are possible, then what's stopping them from kidnapping their daughter and asking for ransom? If money was their ulterior motive, of course.
Should he tell her to stop going to school? No, that would make it all the more worse. Just when his daughter finally made a friend after all these years of adjustment, there's no way he could take that little happiness from his daughter. There's danger, and he knew that Megumi would approve if they were to ask her... but what good would it do if they showed their fear towards the attackers?
"Megumi, I know this would be a hard decision but— " Kikuchi Saori glanced towards her husband, hoping that he would change his mind even though they've already come to a conclusion that Megumi would continue studying at home.
"Actually about that... how about taking in that Hajime kid as your bodyguard? I mean she's a close friend of yours and he'd most definitely understand the situation if you explained how dangerous it is to him. And as an added bonus, he gets to earn pocket money." Koji suddenly brought up, a light bulb turning on in his head.
"What?!" Megumi almost jumped out of her seat, wondering where her dad's thoughts came from.