As the police car roared to life, the weight of the situation settled heavily on my shoulders.
Hina sat beside me, her grip on my hand firm and possessive.
Her eyes were fixed ahead, a glint of something dangerous flickering in their depths.
The night air was thick with tension, a palpable sense of dread mingling with the urgency of our mission.
The officer driving glanced back at us through the rearview mirror. "We'll get there as fast as we can. Just hold tight." He said, while speeding up the car.
Hina responded with a curt nod, her expression unreadable.
I couldn't help but notice how calm she seemed, almost... eager.
It was unsettling, to say the least.
The contrast between her composed exterior and the burning intensity in her eyes made my skin crawl.
The Hina I knew was unpredictable, and in this moment, she was an enigma wrapped in a mystery.
It seemed like she was containing her inner side, but I could see her body trembling with excitement from what she could've done to other people.
As the city lights blurred past us, my mind raced. Hana's fear-stricken face flashed in my thoughts, her words echoing in my ears.
A lot of grey clouds covered the sun , making the afternood looking of an empty color.
Hina was still holding my hand tightly and she squeezed it a couple of times, like she didn't want me to overthink.
She then looked into my eyes and smiled again.
"Kai-Kun... am I a good girl...?" She whispered while biting her lower lip and rubbing her legs together.
Her question actually caught me off guard...
I nodded my head in agreement.
"Yes, you're a very good girl, Hina. Why do you ask?" I said while gently patting her head.
She smiled and closed her eyes for some instants before opening them again.
She then leaned closer to me and whispered something to my ear.
"Well... seeing that girl hugging you in my presence actually made my blood boil and, for a second, I felt the urge to hurt her... but I promised to be a better girl for you... someone who won't make you feel sad... are you proud of me, Kai-Kun...?" She whispered in a very low voice like a snake, before slowly pulling my face away.
I was actually right... she could really hurt Hana but she didn't do anything just becase I would've felt sad.
She was really improving for me... lovely.
"Yes, I'm proud of you, Hina." I said, while patting her head again, like an owner does with his puppy.
She was happy to receive my affection , in fact her smile grew wider.
But despite that, I kept thinking about lot of things.
"Haruto... Yuna... Kidnap..." The name Haruto was becoming more and more twisted, like a shadowy figure from the darker corners of our town's underworld.
He was known to be a friend of me and Hiro... but it seemed like he was not who we believed he was.
Then, Hina's voice broke the silence, her tone surprisingly soft.
"Kai-kun, you're trembling." Her thumb stroked the back of my hand, a gesture that was both comforting and disconcerting. "You need to stay strong... you must stay strong..."
I glanced at her, catching the edge of a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I know, Hina. I'm just... worried."
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze intense. "Worried about Yuna? Or worried about me?" There was an almost playful lilt to her question, but beneath it lay a cold, calculating edge.
She knew that I was worried that she would've killed someone and got in trouble with the justice.
"Both," I admitted, not sure which answer would appease her.
Her reaction was unreadable, and it made my heart pound harder.
She let out a little playful but "almost-sadistic" giggle as she kept holding my hand tightly.
Suddenly, the police car took a sharp turn, and the industrial outskirts of the city came into view.
The officer driving spoke into his radio, coordinating with other units.
The streets grew darker, the buildings more dilapidated.
It seemed like we were entering in a whole different world, wrapped in an eternal night.
The Hoshizora construction site loomed ahead, a skeletal structure of steel and concrete shrouded in shadow.
It was a place long abandoned, whispers of shady dealings and ghost stories hanging in the air.
For example, there's a story of a worker who went to work in his free day and he decided to end his life by jumping off to building due to overwork.
After his death, lot of witnesses talks about some "accidents" which seemed too connected to be called accidents.
And someone also swore on his family that he had seen shadows moving in that building, objects falling off... a lot of scary stuff...
But I also knew that a lot of young people used to go there to have some kind of rave parties...
Nobody knew the truth.
The construction site officially closed for the sudden cancellation of the main project: a very big shopping centre.
A lot of "wars" between activists and government happened and in the end, the construction stopped.
Then, after some time of fast driving, we finally arrived.
But another question started to linger in my mind: Why would a random police officer bring two innocent and young people to solve a dangerous case where a girl was kidnapped?
I had a strange feeling.
Maybe it wasn't totally random.
And I didn't call the police before going to see Hana.
They were already there... but...
"Hana surely didn't call them..." I thought in my mind.
Yuki Nakamura was a really smart woman and she probably knew that Yuna was a friend of mine... but if it was her fault... how did she know that my friend was kidnapped?
So she would've predicted that I would've gone to save her... and that Hina would've came with me...
I decided not to ask any question to the police officer until we finally arrived at destination.
We pulled to a stop a short distance away.
The officer turned to us, his face serious. "We'll set up a perimeter. Stay close and follow my lead. This could get dangerous."
Hina's grip tightened on my hand, and she leaned in, her voice a mere whisper.
"Stay close to me, Kai-kun. I won't let anything happen to you." She said, with a reassuring but crazy tone.
I could feel her body trembling from excitement, and she was trying her best to contain her usual sadistic and crazy smile.
But there also was a promise in her tone, one that sent a chill down my spine.
It was as if she was more concerned about keeping me to herself than saving Yuna... like she didn't care about anything else other than me and killing people...
As we exited the car, the cold night air hit us.
The silence was heavy, punctuated only by the distant sounds of the city.
The construction site loomed, a labyrinth of unfinished structures and shadows.
The police officers moved in with caution, their flashlights cutting through the darkness.
Hina stepped forward, her posture confident.
"This way," she said, leading us through the maze of concrete pillars and rusted scaffolding.
The policeman was following Hina and talking trough his radio, informing his collegues about any movement he made, so that they could come.
It was eerie how well she seemed to know the place, navigating the twists and turns with ease.
As we moved deeper into the site, a faint sound reached my ears.
A muffled cry, barely audible over the rustling wind.
My heart raced, adrenaline surging through my veins. I
exchanged a glance with the officer, who nodded, signaling us to stay quiet.
"Don't worry, reinforcements are coming. I'm telling them everything. I'll protect you, don't worry." He said with a reassuring tone, but you could sense fear in his words.
We followed the sound, Hina moving with a grace and stealth that was almost unnatural.
She perfectly knew everything about that building...
We kept slowly walking until we reached a small corridor.
We arrived at the corner and our only way was to turn left, but Hina stopped us.
"Wait..." Hina whispered, signaling us to stop and closing her eyes.
She then took a silent but deep breath with her nose and then opened her eyes again.
"Shh..." she softly said while taking out a small rounded object from her pocket.
She then unfolded it, revealing the content.
The object that she was using had a brush and a mirror.
It was a thing that girls usually use.
She extended her arms forward and moved that small mirror slightly, as if she wanted to see what was behind her, being very careful not to be seen.
After some instants, she said, with a low voice:
"There are... two of them... armed... with a machine gun..." She whispered.
"I'll take care of it... so stand back..." She added before taking a deep breath.
Without any kind of explanation, me and the officer walked back until we lost vision of Hina.
But I was too curious, so I was peeking from behind the wall.
I saw Hina in action, like in a stealth action movie.
She was on her knees and she took a deep breath.
After that, Hina picked a small stone from the ground since the place was old and dirty.
The only smell of dust was filling the air.
She then launched the rock to the unseen side of the corridor.
I heard a manly voice saying "What was that?", followed by the sound of footsteps.
The sound was getting louder and then we saw an armed man with a balaclava.
Hina was on her knees but he didn't notice her.
She was about to grab a knife from her pocket but... she didn't.
Instead, she knocked out the man in an instant with a chop on the neck.
He then fell on the ground unconscious.
In a matter of seconds, Hina gagged him and tied his hands and legs.
"Where the fuck did she take that tape?!" The policeman whispered.
I was looking at Hina with admiration in my eyes.
She was so cool...
"I'm so lucky that she's my girlfriend." I said to myself.
Then, I heard another voice.
"Oh? Luke? Are you okay?" The voice said.
Another sound of footsteps echoed in the corridors.
Once again, Hina knocked him out rapidly and did the same treatment as the other man.
She then turned her head towards us and signaled us to follow her.
She had such a serious expression on her face.
We then followed her and kept walking trought the infinite labyrinth of alleys and corridors until we began to hear the noisy sound of the cries of a girl.
The cries grew louder and more desperate with every step that we took.
We rounded a corner, until we arrived at an opened door.
Hina rapidly analyzed it and then opened it.
And there, bound and gagged, we saw Yuna.
Her eyes widened in terror as she saw us, her muffled pleas for help echoing in the cold night air.
Without thinking, I rushed forward, but Hina's hand shot out, stopping me.
Her eyes were sharp, scanning the area. "Wait," she whispered. "This is a trap."
My breath caught in my throat.
Of course, she was right.
This was too easy, too simple.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I scanned the shadows, looking for any sign of movement.
Then, the policeman stepped in.
"I don't think it's a trap... We silently took the men out, didn't we? I'll rapidly untie her and take her out, then we'll run away from here. Reinforcements are waiting outside." The policeman said, before walking out the door, closer to Yuna.
Hina didn't stop him, for some kind of reason.
She just remained in silence, observing everything and scanning the area.
As he approached Yuna, the tension was almost unbearable.
My eyes darted around, every shadow a potential threat.
Once he was close, Yuna's body began to move and struggle heavily while she was mumbling some strange and muffled sounds, like she was trying to scream.
She had a look of fear and terror in her eyes.
"Okay, I'm here. You're safe." He said, while putting his pistol aside and taking out a knife to free her. But...
Hina's grip on my arm was like iron, her presence a strange mix of comfort and danger.
Just as he reached Yuna, a sudden noise shattered the silence.
A group of men emerged from the shadows, their faces obscured by masks.
The air crackled with a tense energy, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.
"Oh... look at who we have here..." A voice said, while emerging from the shadows.
And there... my eyes widened in anger and shock.
It was Haruto.