As soon as Yuna told me about Naomi, my anxiety started to raise.
I never had a deep bond of friendship with her, but I still cared since we used to get along since the school started.
She was part of our group and also a friend of mine.
If I remember well, Naomi and Yuna actually tried to help me with my initial situation with Hina, when I decided to take some distance from her…
But besides that , Naomi never did something else like talking or anything related to Hina.
"Yuna, can I ask you something?" I asked to her in a worried tone
She nodded.
"Yes, w-what is it?" Yuna replied.
"Does Naomi have a boyfriend?" I asked her, still with a worried tone of voice.
Yuna looked at me in a confused and bothered way.
She squinted her eyes and then spoke.
"Ah? What do you mean? Why should that matter?" Yuna replied.
"Just tell me yes or no. It's very important for me to know." I replied, with a direct and determined tone.
Yuna then sighed.
"No… but lately she has been a lot friendly with Haruto… I don't know to be honest…" she said while moving her hair behind her ear.
"B-But why do you want to know?" She added, with a flustered voice.
"Well… I had to be sure that she was still single." I replied, letting out a sigh of relief.
Yuna looked at me with an annoyed gaze.
"But why do you want to know?!? Do you like her or what???" She said with an "almost-angry" tone.
I looked at her, confused.
"What? No! I just didn't want to think that she was with bad company." I replied.
Yuna let out a sigh and put her hand on her chest, where her heart was.
It was probably… a sigh of relief?
"O-oh… okay." Yuna said with a relieved tone of voice.
But in the blink of an eye, her expression changed totally.
She blushed and said "W-well… about Naomi… I'm very worried… should I call the police?" Yuna avoided my gaze while speaking.
I didn't understand why she was reacting like this.
"N-No, calling the police is useless." I said to her.
"It's not useless, but they'll immediately inform Yuki Nakamura who'll call me to have informations about Hina, and I want to avoid this situation." I said to myself, while still trying to maintain the most natural expression I could.
"Mmh… okay. Then what should we do?" Yuna asked.
"Hmmm…" I started to think , rubbing my chin.
I thought for some instants to a possible track to follow.
Yuna was nervously touching her hands, sign of her anxiety.
Then, something just snapped inside my mind.
I remembered Hina's strange behavior.
"She left the house very rapidly and she didn't even write me a single text until this moment… and right now Naomi is disappeared." I thought in my mind.
My instinct was telling me that the two things were related.
But I needed to start from a point.
Calling the police wasn't an option.
The only thing I could do was calling Haruto to ask if he saw Naomi.
But first of all , I needed to accompany Yuna to her home.
"Yuna" I said.
She turned her head towards me.
"Y-Yes, Kai? What is it?" She asked , with a surprised tone.
"I'll take care of this situation, but first of all, I need to take you home safely." I said, with a reassuring smile.
She let out a small but positive gasp and her lips curved into a "happy" smile.
"Yes… okay. Thank you…" she said, with a smile on her face.
"You're welcome, Yuna." I replied, while taking my phone out.
Yuna's home was 20 minutes of walk distant from the souvenir shop where she worked.
To be safer, I decided to call a taxi and pay.
I didn't want to meet the same guys outside the shop who were watching her.
Well… they surely were bad people.
But the thing that disgusted me was their way of looking at Yuna.
It looked like they were stripping her with their eyes, not caring about her, just for the way she looks…
I knew for sure that they would've done something bad to her.
Then, after 5 minutes, the taxi arrived where we were waiting.
I opened the taxi door for Yuna and she slid in, her hands still nervously fidgeting.
I followed suit and gave the driver her address.
As we drove through the city streets, I could sense her tension easing slightly, though she kept glancing out the window, lost in thought.
"Yuna," I said softly, breaking the silence.
"Do you have any idea where Naomi might have gone? Did she mention anything unusual to you recently?"
She shook her head.
"No, she didn't. But… she did seem a bit off the last time we talked. Distracted, maybe? I didn't think much of it at the time."
I nodded, mulling over her words.
It was another piece of the puzzle, albeit a small one.
When we reached her house, I walked her to the door, making sure she got inside safely.
But not before telling the taxi to wait for me since he had to take me to another place.
She turned to me, her expression a mix of gratitude and worry.
"Please be careful, Kai. If something happens to Naomi…" Her voice trailed off, but the fear in her eyes spoke volumes.
"I will," I promised. "I'll find her." I said while turning around with a smile.
When I was about to walk away, Yuna grabbed the sleeve of my shirt.
My eyes widened a little in surprise after being stopped.
"W-wait a second, Kai!" She exclaimed.
I turned towards her again and noticed that she was looking at the floor with a blush on her face.
"What is it, Yuna?" I asked, a little bit confused.
"…" she hesitated before speaking.
"C-Can you stay with me here for some time? I'm scared to be alone…" she whispered, while still clinging to the sleeve of my shirt.
My eyes widened again in surprise at her request.
I felt sad after hearing that she was scared.
Maybe she didn't want to stay alone after the events of Naomi and the guys who bothered her.
"Yuna? Why?" I asked in curiosity.
"I… am just scared. Nothing more. I've been feeling some strange feelings of fear recently, like there's someone always observing me, and that's why it's becoming difficult to stay alone…" Yuna said, while still looking at way.
A part of me (the genuine and pure side one), wanted to say yes after seeing her face and expression since she was telling the truth.
The logic part , instead, told me that I was still engaged to Hina and that staying alone with Yuna would've led to a difficult situation, maybe.
The feeling of being watched… I knew that sensation way too well.
Something was happening behind me.
There was something much more profound lurking in the shadow… or… someone.
So…
"Yuna, I can't stay… I'm truly sorry. But… you can come with me, I'm going to Haruto's place." I said, with a sorry tone of voice.
Yuna then sighed and looked to the floor again while slowly releasing her grip from my sleeve.
"I know this would cause trouble to you and Hina… but I swear that I'm truly scared." Yuna said , with a shaky voice.
"Scared of what, exactly?" I asked, with an anxious tone.
Yuna kept looking at the floor , avoiding my gaze.
"I…" she said, but she stopped speaking.
She then looked right into my eyes.
"It's okay, Kai. Don't worry. I'll lock myself and I'll call some friends here. I'll text you to let you know if something happens." She said, with a "broken" smile.
It looked like she was forcing that expression.
I could even see that her body was softly trembling.
"Are you sure, Yuna?" I asked, while gently placing my head on my shoulder.
At my touch, her body twitched.
"Y-yes. Don't worry. Update me about Naomi, okay?" She said with a smile.
I knew that the situation seemed strange, but I had to find out about Naomi.
She was the top priority since she disappeared without a trace and every second lost could be fatal.
"Don't worry about that. If you need help just call the police and lock yourself in." I said, with a direct tone.
Yuna nodded.
"Take care." She said.
"You too, Yuna." I replied.
Then , with a smile, we waved goodbye.
With that, I headed back to the taxi and directed the driver to Haruto's place.
If Naomi had been spending time with him, he might know something.
As we drove, I tried calling Naomi's phone, but it went straight to voicemail.
When I arrived at Haruto's apartment, I felt a knot of anxiety tighten in my chest.
I didn't know Haruto so well since we never talked a lot outside our group, but he still was part of my circle of friends.
I hoped he would be willing to help.
I rang the doorbell, and after a few moments, Haruto answered, looking surprised to see me.
"Kai? What are you doing here?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"It's about Naomi," I said quickly. "She's missing, and I was wondering if you've seen her recently."
Haruto's expression shifted to one of concern. "Missing? What do you mean? I saw her yesterday, but we just hung out for a bit. She seemed fine."
"Did she say where she was going after that?" I pressed.
He shook his head.
"No, she didn't. But now that you mention it, she did seem a bit preoccupied. I thought it was just school stress or something."
I sighed, feeling the frustration build.
"Did she mention anyone she was meeting or any plans she had?"
Haruto frowned, thinking.
"Actually, she did mention something about meeting someone, but she didn't say who. She was pretty vague about it."
It wasn't much, but it was a lead.
"Thanks, Haruto. If you hear anything, please let me know."
He nodded, looking genuinely worried. "Of course. I hope you find her."
"I will, Haruto." I said with a determined voice.
"Please… she's… important for me… so please keep me updated." Haruto added with a sad voice.
I nodded and then I walked out of his apartment.
The strangest thing was that he didn't want to come with me to search for her.
I didn't notice it at first since I was focused on thinking about what to do.
As I left Haruto's place, I felt the weight of the situation bearing down on me.
Naomi's disappearance, Hina's strange behavior—it was all connected, I was sure of it.
But how? And what was I missing?
I decided to head home and gather my thoughts.
Maybe there was something I overlooked, some detail that would make everything click.
On the way, I replayed every conversation I'd had with Naomi, every interaction, searching for clues.
When I got home, I sat down with a notebook, jotting down everything I knew so far.
The connections between Hina, Naomi, and even Yuna seemed tenuous at best, but I couldn't shake the feeling that they were all part of the same tangled web.
Then, while I was lost in my thought, I heard my phone ringing.
It was a single ring, so I knew that it was a message.
I picked my phone up and… saw a message from Naomi.
My eyes widened I. Surprised and I immediately opened it.
The text was:
"I'm not ready for the math test, can you help me ?"
"Oh no…" my pupils became small in fear.