After a while, we actually entered the hospital and eventually arrived where Hiro was.
During our walk me and the others kept talking about various topics.
I heard some strange gossips about some classmates who started dating.
The boy, named Kazuki Inoue, cheated on his current girlfriend to date a classmate of ours, named Aoi Watanabe.
Voices and rumors said that when he dumped her, she tried to kill herself but was saved by her mother.
They also said that she's in cure in a psychiatric hospital.
Too many gossips, but Yuna loves these kind of things.
Then, when we arrived at the room where Hiro was resting , Hana looked at us and said: "wait a second, I'm going to check up on him" before entering for first.
After some minutes, she came out and told us "Hiro is fine and happy to see you again. Please, come inside." She said with a warm smile.
After her invitation , we all entered and saw Hiro.
My eyes were shocked and I felt so sorry for him.
Luckily , his face and hair were intact , but his body was covered in bandages and he was struggling to move one single muscle.
When he saw us, his eyes started to sparkle.
He was very happy to see us.
Hiro was also very active and looked like his usual self despite the wounds and all the things he's gone trough.
"G-Guys… I'm sorry… I've been defeated… I couldn't control my powers…" he said with a sarcastic tone.
"Ah yes, he's totally okay." Naomi said with a smile.
Yuna nodded in agreement.
"Yes, it's him." She added.
"Well… we have an unfinished fight, boy." Haruto said with a challenging tone.
Hiro laughed playfully.
"Oh, Hiro, I have a little present for you." I said.
He then looked at me with a surprised look.
The others did the same.
"What is it, Kai?" Hiro asked in curiosity.
"Hehe… it's this!" I said while taking out the manga i took for him.
"This is the last volume of Spirit of Vengeance, with a sign of the original author." I said with a proud tone. "And this is yours, Hiro." Then, i slowly put the book next to him.
All the guys were surprised.
"How the heck did you get a sign from the author?!? This volume didn't even come out to public!!!" Haruto asked in shock.
"Secrets are secrets. If you tell a secret to someone, it won't be a secret anymore, right?" I said while crossing my arms to show my "dominance".
Hiro was truly happy about this gift and didn't expect it.
"T-Thank you so much, Kai." He said with a grateful tone of voice.
He then took a better look at us and was still trying to move, but the burns were causing him some pain.
"Brother! Don't move!!" Hana said , worried about her brother.
His parents were still in the room and didn't speak a word, and Hiro didn't even greet them.
I wondered why… but I preferred not to interfere in their family issues.
"It's okay, Hana. I can move a little bit more now. Big bro is strong, you know?" Hiro said, while blinking his eye.
Hana calmed down and smiled.
"You've always been the same." She said.
Then, his parents spoke.
"Hiro, do you need something? I can call the nurses if there's' any pro-" His mother said, but Hiro interrupted her.
"No, there's no need now. I'm pretty fine, thank you, mother." He put on a smile, but it was a fake one.
Hiro had some kind of hostility towards his parents.
"Then, we'll go now. Call for me or your father for anything." His mother said, before bowing her head and walking out with her consort.
An embarrassing silence filled the room for some seconds, but Hana broke it.
"So, guys, are we gonna plan something when Hiro will be discharged from the hospital?" She asked.
"Mmmm yes. We are planning to take a trip on the Hoshikawa islands. We wanted to go this weekend but we'll wait for Hiro." Yuna said.
"Oh? Really ? The island where you can pet wild monkeys?? I always wanted to go there!" Hiro said with an excited tone.
Yuna nodded.
"Yes, exactly ! That place!!" She added.
Then, we all kept talking for a while until Hiro began to feel tired because of the medicines he was taking.
"Sorry, guys, but i think that i might rest for a bit… Thank you for coming… it made me happy.*yawn*" he said while gently closing his eyes.
He looked like a baby.
Then, we all smiled at him and decided to go out the room to give him some space.
I had lots of questions to ask to Hiro, but i also knew that it wasn't the right moment.
When we were out of the room, Yuna and Haruto spoke about something.
They were planning to go to the karaoke tonight, with other friends.
"Kai, would you like to come with us?" Yuna asked.
"Oh, i heard that you're a good singer, Kai. Why don't you show us this talent?" Haruto said playfully.
Well, yes. He wasn't wrong.
I had a talent for singing , because my mother has a really beautiful voice, but she never cultivated this passion and worked on something else completely.
"Mmmh… I don't know, to be honest… can I send you a message later?" I asked, feeling a bit uncertain.
Yuna sighed. "Okay, just let me know before 18, okay?" She then asked.
I nodded at her.
"Yeah, don't worry about that." I replied.
Naomi then looked at us, and focused on me specifically.
"Mmh… are you allowed to walk alone ?" She asked in curiosity.
My eyes widened at her question, confused about what she meant.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Then, Naomi excused herself.
"Oh! Nothing.. nothing. It's that you're always with your girlfriend… that's why I asked." She said with a nervous laugh.
Then, Yuna interrupted the conversation and said :
"We should go now, I think. We still have time to go to the Yukka river."
"Oh yeah! You're right ! Kai, do you want to come with us?" Haruto asked.
For some reason, i felt like i had to decline their offer.
"I think I'll stay here for a while but thanks for asking. Next time I'll surely be one of you." I replied.
Haruto sighed. "Okay, okay." He said.
Then, Yuna, Naomi and Haruto waved goodbye and walked out to exit the hospital.
The only people remaining were me and Hana.
She sat down on a chair outside the room and patted the spot next to her, inviting me to take a seat.
I accepted her invitation and sat next to her.
We were alone.
Despite being day , that part of the hospital was completely silent.
Hana looked at me with a lovely expression.
Then, a small blush spread all across her face and she looked away.
"T-Thanks for coming, Kai… You made Hiro happy with today's visit." She said while looking at the floor.
I also noticed that she was playing with her fingers.
"It's okay. You know that you and him are family to me." I said with a smile,
Then, Hana looked at me.
"Well… uhm… i know that… I know that we're like family but… i…" she was trying to say something, but she was too nervous to talk, you could see that the movement of her fingers became more evident.
"What is it, Hana?" I asked.
Hana's eyes were actually sparkling with some kind of emotion.
"I know that… that you have a girlfriend but…" she tried to say.
"Eh? So what?" I asked.
"So… it's okay. Nothing…" she said with a sigh.
I looked at her in a confused way.
"I think that Hiro wants to talk you privately… he didn't feel asleep for real…" she then added.
I was surprised about that.
"Really?" I asked.
Hana nodded. "I know when he's faking. So you should enter inside." She added.
I was a bit confused but i decided to listen to her suggestion.
"So, can i enter inside?" I asked to Hana, to be sure.
She nodded again and smiled.
"Yes. Go in." She said while still playing with her fingers.
Then, i stood up from the chair and went inside.
Hiro was really awake and was looking at me.
His condition was improving, and he was starting to recover properly.
Hiro was still on the bed and he was looking relieved.
As he looked at me, I couldn't shake off a strange feeling that time was running out.
I felt like i had to get all my information quickly, because someone was coming.
I had to find a way to get the truth from Hiro before it was too late.
Finally, Hiro spoken up , with a weak tone of voice .
He tried to smile.
"Hey, you're awak again" I said, relief flooding through me.
Hiro nodded slowly. "Kai... I tried to warn you..."
My eyes actually opened wide.
"What… what do you mean, Hiro?" I asked with a glimpse of fear in my voice.
Hiro looked at me, his eyes filled with urgency.
"Kai, Hina... she's dangerous. I found out things... about her past. She's not who she says she is. I was… gathering information… and… suddenly , i heard a small noise… and then my whole house got set on fire…"
"Hiro… who was with you?" I asked with a direct tone, trying not to fall to my emotions.
"I… I was with… Hikari… Hikari Kobayashi." He said.
His body was trembling and a tear fell from his eyes.
"Hikari…? You mean the same Hikari from the music class?" I asked. My voice was trembling as i was connecting all the pieces of the puzzle.
"Yes. We were secretly dating… my parents didn't like her since she came from a poor family… and that day, i invited her at my house while doing some researches on Hina." Hiro tried to speak, his voice was shaking.
This wasn't a good topic for him…
"Then?" I asked.
"Then… we had a beautiful evening together… but suddenly… an electric problem caused my house to black out" he said.
"Hiro, it's okay if you don't wanna talk." I said, while getting close to him.
Hiro started to cry softly but he then stopped and shook his head.
"No, you must know." He said with a firm but shaky tone.
"When i fixed the electricity, i heard a scream coming from above. It was a scream of pain."
Hiro said.
I remained silent, listening to him.
"Then, i ran upstairs and saw a trail of blood coming from the living room that continued into the kitchen. I was scared but i thought that she probably hurt herself… but when… but when i opened the kitchen , i saw Hikari's body laying down on the floor… *sob*" Hiro started to cry again.
I tried to calm him down , while noticing that his heartbeat on the monitor was raising.
But despite his cries, Hiro kept talking.
"She had stabs all over her body, her throat was cut , and her fingers were cut off from her hand… next to her… a… a small piece of paper where "Payback" was written…" Hiro kept crying.
"I tried to reanimate the body but… I couldn't… I tried to call the police… but… in the moment the phone rang, i heard an explosion and… in the blink of an eye, the house was on fire…" Hiro said while sobbing.
I was shocked about what he told me.
"Hiro… are you sure that-" i tried to say, but he stopped me.
"YES! YES! SOMEONE WANTED TO KILL ME!" He shouted, between a sob and a cry while trying to move his body.
Seeing him like this left me speechless and my pupils became smaller from shock.
I felt so many things.
He then calmed down a little and spoke again.
"All I could do was dragging the body outside… and I don't know how i survived. I was supposed to die." He said with a resigned tone.
"Before passing out, while the fire was still savage… I saw a figure smiling at me, it was outside, and I saw it from the windows… it was a girl. Her smile was creepy and malicious but that's all i remember." He said.
I didn't know what to say.
I just took some tissues and cleaned his face.
"She's coming from me, Kai. I'm already dead. It was just a lucky coincidence." Hiro said, with a glimpse of desperation and resignation in his voice.
"What the hell are you saying, Hiro?! Don't say stuff like this, please!!" I said, trying to calm his mind.
"You don't know, Kai. All you can do now is protect the others. Only you can." He said, before giving me an empty look , like he was saying "my time is over."
I was too shocked to formulate proper phrases and all my thoughts focused on Hina.
Was she really the author of what happened?
"I don't think so, but I must investigate." I thought to myself.
My suspicions were still lingering in my mind. "Hiro. I found your notebook. I'm trying to figure out what to do." I said, trying to have some answers.
He coughed, wincing in pain. "Be careful, Kai. She's manipulative. She'll do anything to keep her secrets hidden. All the information in my notebook is gold. Everything it's 100% true. Please , don't let anyone die." He said.
Then , he added one last thing.
He looked at me with a deadly eye.
"Take care of Hana, please." He said.
I nodded, my resolve hardening. "I will, Hiro. I promise."
Then, Hiro started to cough and said "I need a rest." before flossing his eyes.
As Hiro drifted back to sleep, I knew what I had to do.
I had to find a way to know Hina's secrets without putting anyone in danger.
Maybe Hiro's words were caused by his trauma, but still, I had to investigate.
It was time to take the next step in my plan.
I walked out from the room and saw Hana still sitting on the chair.
As soon as she saw me , she stood up and clung to my arm.
"Can you make me company…?" She gently asked.
She was scared to walk alone, so that's why she wanted my company.
Still, I couldn't leave Hiro alone, not after what he said, so we called out for a nurse to take care of him.
A nurse came after 10 minutes of waiting and told us "it's okay, you can go now."
And that's what we did.
Me and Hana thanked the nurse and walked out the hospital.
Then, when we walked out , we saw a police car waiting for us.
Me and Hana got approached by a couple of officers.
"Excuse me, are you Kai Suzuki?" Said the first officer.
I nodded at him in surprise.
"Yes, it's me, why?" I asked.
Hana was still clung to my arm.
Then , he showed me a photo of a girl.
"Do you know this person?" He asked with a friendly tone.
She was wearing a straitjacket, her black hair were a mess and she had some blood on her face.
I didn't know who this girl was.
I shook my head, not recognising the girl.
"Her name is… Hina Ishikawa." The officer said. "Does that name sound familiar to you?" He asked again.
My eyes widened in shock.
I took a better look at the photo, and noticed that the girl in the picture was… my girlfriend.
"Yes… I know her. She's my girlfriend." I said with a low whisper.
Hana had a scared look on her face.
The officers took a look at each other and then they looked at me.
"We have some questions to ask you. Would you like to come with us?" He asked.
I didn't have any choice , but at the same time I didn't want to leave Hana alone.
"Yes, but can this girl come with me?" I gently asked.
They nodded and then we entered into the police car, headed to the nearest police station…