I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing thoughts.
"Hina," I said gently, "they're just classmates. We're only discussing schoolwork. You have to trust me."
Her grip loosened slightly, but her eyes still held that unsettling intensity.
"But Kai, I can't stand the thought of you with anyone else. I... I need you all to myself. The thought only is enough to make me… make me… crazy."
She said, while looking at me with puppy eyes.
But despite her efforts to appear like a fragile and delicate creature, it seemed like she was hiding something from me.
"Hina, you have to understand that I have friends and responsibilities outside of our relationship," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. "I care about you deeply, but I need you to trust me and give me some space."
She looked down, her expression conflicted. "I just... I don't want to lose you," she whispered. "Women are evil's creature, Kai…" Hina added while her pupils became small.
She was scary.
I still felt like my life was in danger , but despite that, i had a feeling that she wouldn't have attacked me.
"You won't lose me," I assured her, gently lifting her chin so she could see the sincerity in my eyes. "But we can't build our relationship on fear and jealousy. We need to support each other, not control each other."
For a moment, she seemed to soften, her eyes lost some of their intensity and her pupils became normal again.
"Okay, Kai. I'll try. I just... I've never felt this way before." She said, while shyly looking away.
I nodded, feeling a glimmer of hope. "Thank you, Hina. We'll get through this together."
Then, we walked home in silence hand hand but the tension between us was palpable.
I could sense a pressure in my mind during our little and peaceful walk.
It looked like a small voice inside my head was telling me to run away from this girl.
Me and Hina only kept walking hand in hand, pretending that this discussion never happened.
If there's something "cool" about me, it's my sincerity.
I can't say things that I don't think, and this goes even in relationships.
So, a long time ago I promised my self to talk with my future fiancée about every kind of problem inside our relationship, in order to find a proper solution.
Talking and discussing properly are the basics of a good relationship, or that's what I think.
Not everybody in this world has the courage to say the truth.
Well, that's what my father always said due to his experiences.
Despite our lovely walk together, i still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, that Hina's possessiveness was a deeper issue than she was letting on.
When we arrived at the park , the place where we usually part our ways to home, Hina didn't let go of my hand.
I tried to break free but her grip was too strong, enough to scare me.
Hina was looking at the sky while she was holding my hand.
She was daydreaming about something.
My efforts to free my hand were futile.
She had all the powers on me.
Then, after some seconds , she took a deep breath and snapped back to reality.
She released the grip from my hand, letting me free.
"O-oh… sorry, Kai! Did i hurt you?" Hina asked.
"N-no. It's okay! Don't worry." I said with a smile, trying to hide my pain.
My hand was really hurting. A lot.
Hina then smiled at me and said:
"I'm so grateful to destiny… I'm so grateful to have finally met a good person like you, Kai…" She said with a lovely tone, while her hair were swinging in the lovely wind that was embracing the night, while a beautiful moonlight was shining all above her.
Something was off.
I would've find this phrase very lovely, but i felt that her voice was trembling with… with… something strange.
I was starting to see over her veil of a fragile girl.
Hina was no ordinary girl, and other than the other day, she never mentioned her past or her family again.
I had to act like a normal boyfriend, pretending not to be scared of her.
So, i got close to Hina and hugged her very tightly.
She was surprised but she hugged me back, gently rubbing my back while her arms were wrapped around me.
I could say that Hina loved affection or physical contact in general.
She always wanted to hug, holding hands or anything that could make our bodies closer and she always wanted to be listened and pampered.
That night, Hina asked me to stay over, but i had to postpone this event again.
I felt like this was the best choice i could make in that situation.
But then , Hina asked me a question out of nowhere.
"Kai…" she whispered with a deadly tone. "Are you sure that you live alone? You're not bringing any woman at your place, right? I can 1000% trust you, right? Right…?" She asked.
Hina was looking at the floor while answering this question, and on her last "Right…?" She gave a deadly look to my eyes.
It looked like her iris were totally red, just like blood itself.
Once again, i felt threatened for my life.
Her menacing aura was enough to feel my heartbeat rising by a lot.
Every single drop of Hina was… crazy.
"Eh? W-Why do you think that, Hina?" I said, with a little scared tone while looking alway.
In the blink of an eye, Hina was no longer in front of me, and when i noticed that , i felt like her presence disappeared.
But I didn't even have the time of realize that that i heard a deadly whisper to my left ear.
"Kai… you're not lying, are you?" That's what I heard.
One 0,1 seconds later, I felt someone a hand on my neck.
"What the…-!" I tried to say, but my voice was stopped from someone chocking me.
"Promise me you're not lying, Kai. I won't forgive liars." That was Hina.
But another Hina.
It looked like she was about to commit a murder.
I was scared, terrified… too complicated to explain.
"I-I- I swe-ar…!" I managed to say.
Hina was holding my neck in a chokehold from behind, but as soon as I spoke , she immediately changed her behavior and released me.
As soon as she did, I could finally breathe properly again and finally, i took some rapid and short breaths to recover from what happened.
Then, I turned my head to Hina to see her face and i noticed that she became "normal" again.
She was gently smiling at me and then she said "Good boy…" followed by a giggle.
I had to pretend that nothing happene, while deep down I was feeling a lot of fear.
Then, Hina got closer to me and wrapped her arms around me, pulling my face close to her in a passionate kiss.
After our "lovely" moment, we finally said goodbye to each other and parted our ways.
During my walk at home, I felt watched , despite being completely alone.
Hina kept sending me too many messages.
"Where are you?"
"Are you at home?"
"Why is it taking so long?"
I couldn't put my phone away.
She would've gone mad…
After getting home, i went directly into my bedroom and locked my doors and windows.
I was scared for my life, despite my feelings of love towards Hina.
A part of me wanted to believe her genuine side to be what she really was.
Once again, i pretended that nothing happened, hoping that Hina would understand my point of view…
---
The next day, I met Hiro after school as he had suggested.
Hina wanted to accompany me at his home, to make sure that i didn't walk with any other woman.
She only left when Hiro opened the door.
When he opened his home, he tried his best to be as nice as possible.
He also properly introduced to Hina.
"I'm Hiro Yamamoto, sorry for not introducing my self properly earlier. I'm Kai's best friend. Your name should be… Hina, right?" He said with a fake and scared smile.
Hina nodded.
"The pleasure is all mine, Yamamoto-Kun." She replied.
"My name is Hina Takahashi. Nice to meet you, Kai's best friend." Hina added with a distant tone of voice.
Hiro smiled at her and then looked at me.
"Can you enter now, Kai? I'm cooking right now and I don't want to burn the food…" he said.
I nodded at him and then looked at Hina.
"See you later , okay?" I said with a smile while gently patting her head.
Hina blushed lightly and smiled warmly at me.
"Yes, darling. We'll obviously see each other later." She said.
Then, Hina gently bowed to me and Hiro and walked away.
After that, me and Hiro entered inside his home, where he closed the door behind us and motioned for me to sit.
He made sure that Hina left.
After that, he sit in front of me.
"So, what did you want to tell me about Hina?" I asked, curiosity and anxiety gnawing at me.
Hiro hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Kai, there are some rumors about Hina. People say she has a history of obsessive behavior. Her last boyfriend... well, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances."
My heart skipped a beat. "What are you saying, Hiro? Are you telling me Hina had a boyfriend before me? She told me that i was the first… i feel really… disappointed." I said, while trying to squeeze my heart.
"I don't know for sure, voices are still voices" Hiro replied, his voice serious. "But you need to be careful. Keep your eyes open and don't ignore the warning signs."
"Hiro? What do you mean?" I asked in alert.
"Well… haven't you heard about Shota Watanabe?" Hiro asked with a serious tone.
That name sounded familiar.
I felt like I've already heard it before.
"Mh… maybe?" I replied.
"Well, I'll be short." Hiro said while drinking a small cup of coffee from a table close to him. "Shota Watanabe was a guy coming in our school. He was very popular. He was a perfect student, cool with everyone etc. Everyone in the school loved him." He said with a serious tone.
"Then? What happened?" I asked in curiosity.
"Well, he confessed to a girl. He was so in love with this mysterious and lonely girl who studied alone in the same library where he used to go." Hiro replied.
"Then?" I asked.
"The two started dating, and day after day Shota's behavior was starting to change." Hiro was looking at the floor while talking.
"How?" My curiosity was almost at its peak.
"Well… he stopped talking to other people, the light in his eyes actually disappeared, replaced by an empty gaze. He even lost some weight." Hiro said.
"Why ?" I asked.
"Nobody knows that, but all he did was spending time alone with his girlfriend. But one day something strange happened." Hiro said.
"What happened?" I asked again.
"Well, his girlfriend was always with him, like his shadow. Constantly watching over him and controlling his actions and interactions with other people. One day his girlfriend was sick and he had the courage to speak to one of his classmates." Hiro then grabbed another cup of coffee and drank it.
"…" I didn't speak.
My silence was enough to make Hiro continue his talking.
"After talking with his classmate, who was called Aiko Nakamura, he felt a deep connection and after some days, he decided to break up with his girlfriend to confess to this other girl. Take in mind that Shota never mentioned Aiko's name." Hiro then put the empty cup of coffee again.
"Then?" I said, while swallowing some saliva.
"Then, when he dumped his girlfriend, he found a letter in his school locker, it looked like a love letter from this girl called Aiko. The letter said to meet in an empty class after school. And so he did."
"Then?" I asked.
"Then… he went there and saw a girl standing in the corner of a class. The girl looked like Aiko, but he got closer to her and… saw something horrible." Hiro was scared to tell this story, you could feel the fear in his voice.
"Shota saw that the girl in the corner was Aiko but… she was dead." He said.
I felt a shiver of fear running trough my spine and touching my heart.
"The girl was hanging up from the ceiling with a rope wrapped all around her neck and her body was full of deep cuts. Some of them formed the word "Bitch" on her belly. Aiko's face was blue from suffocation. Shota was terrified but he couldn't run away after seeing that." Hiro said.
"Oh my god…" I said while covering my mouth.
"The next day, they also found Shota's body. But he was… unrecognizable. His face was ruined from cuts and his body was full of stabs." Hiro said.
"And… what's the point with Hina?" I asked.
"Hina was Shota's girlfriend." Hiro said with a direct tone.
After his words, i felt like my entire body was numb.
I couldn't even become a muscle.
I was too shocked about his story.
"Is this story true?" That's what I could ask.
My voice was full of fear.
"I don't know, Kai. These are the rumours. I gathered my informations from a lot of people and united the pieces like a puzzle. That's why a lot of people avoid Hina." Hiro said.
"And why didn't the police arrest her?" I asked.
"I don't know , Kai. The story about this death case is true, but rumors also say that Hina was ill during that time and that she was at home, that's why they didn't say anything." Hiro replied.
"And why did I never hear something like that?" I asked.
"Simply because it's forbidden to talk about this story. Our school is one of the most important and modern and it's a jewel to the city. The government decided to cover the fact, by saying that the boy killed the girl and then himself , pretending that nothing happened." Hiro's words were actually sharp like knives.
I could feel his story trough my veins.
Hina's possessive behavior was starting to scare me off… but…
On the other side, you can also say that she became like this because of her loss.
Then, after our conversation , Hiro put a hand on my shoulder and only said "Take care of yourself, brother" before hugging me.
After that, I left Hiro's place with a heavy heart, the weight of his words pressing down on me.
Could Hina really be hiding something dark? I didn't want to believe it, but the signs were becoming harder to ignore.
---
Over the next few days, I tried to distance myself from Hina just a bit, hoping to observe her behavior more objectively.
I wasn't doing it on purpose , but I was surely being influcended by Hiro's words.
She seemed to notice my subtle withdrawal, her eyes always watching me with that same intense gaze
But despite that, i still played the part of the perfect boyfriend.
One evening, as I was studying in my room, my phone buzzed with a message from Hina: "Kai, I miss you. Can we meet up?"
I hesitated before replying, feeling a mixture of fear and guilt. "Sure, Hina. Let's meet at the park."
When I arrived, she was already there, sitting on our favorite bench.
She looked up at me with a smile, but I could see the tension in her eyes.
"Kai, is something wrong? You've been distant lately," she said, her voice tinged with worry.
I took a deep breath, deciding to be honest. "Hina, I've been thinking about our relationship. I feel like your possessiveness is starting to affect me. I need you to trust me and give me some space."
Her smile faded, and for a moment, her eyes flashed with anger. "Kai, I trust you, but I can't help how I feel. I love you so much that it hurts."
"I understand that, Hina, but we can't go on like this. We need to find a balance," I said, trying to keep my voice calm.
I was scared of telling these things, but at the same time i needed to make myself clear.
She looked away, her hands clenching into fists. "I'll try, Kai. I'll try to be better."
As we sat in the park, the evening air growing colder, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong.
Hina's behavior was becoming more unpredictable, and I didn't know how much longer I could handle it.
We kept watching the star as always, but my sense of unease was still in the air.
---
The following week, Hina's actions grew more erratic.
She would show up unexpectedly at my house, send me countless messages, and always seemed to be watching me.
I felt suffocated, trapped in a relationship that was spiraling out of control.
One night, after another argument about my interactions with other girls, I decided I needed to take a break.
I called Hina and asked to meet her at the park.
Then , she rapidly showed up and asked me "What's wrong, Kai?".
Her tone of voice voice was anxious...
"Hina, I think we need some time apart," I said, my voice trembling. "I need some space to think things over."
I knew that this was a risky move, but drastic moments require drastic solutions.
I vowed my self to be as sincere as i could…
"You can't be serious… Kai…" she said with a menacing tone…