After the brief, tense conversation with her daughter, Hana's mother retreated downstairs to attend to their guest.
Hana remained alone in her room, a hollow silence filling the space around her. Suddenly, the walls felt closer, as if the very air was thickening into a physical weight.
A swarm of intrusive thoughts and a primal sense of danger coiled around her heart, tightening like a cold fist.
Without realizing it, her hand flew to her chest, her fingers digging into the fabric of her shirt as her breathing quickened into ragged, shallow gasps.
The panic was a physical thing, a frantic drumbeat in her ears.
In a blurred motion of survival instinct, she dressed herself, the fabric of her clothes feeling abrasive against her trembling skin. She finished drying her hair with frantic movements, her voice coming out as a strangled, breathless shout: "I'm coming! Just five minutes!"
Even though she was within the familiar sanctuary of her own home, Hana felt as if the world had warped into a vast, lightless tunnel where every step forward could lead to an abyss. The safety she had known her whole life had vanished, replaced by an suffocating atmosphere of dread.
"There's no point in staying here and doing nothing..." she whispered, trying to summon a shred of the courage she had lost when Kai left her.
Slowly, she forced her legs to move toward the door. As a desperate precaution, her eyes landed on a small, pointed pair of scissors on her nightstand. She grabbed them, the cold metal feeling deceptively heavy, and slipped them into the pocket of her tracksuit. It was a small, pathetic weapon, but it was the only thing standing between her and the unknown.
Then, she descended the stairs with agonizing slowness, her eyes scanning every corner. There was no one in sight except for her mother in the hallway below. And yet, the air felt charged, as if a predator were already lurking in the shadows. After a few more steps, she finally found herself standing before the front door.
And there she was.
The girl stood in the entryway, the same "gentle" stranger Hana had collided with by "accident" earlier that day. She was currently apologizing to Hana's mother for the intrusion, her voice a melody of polite refinement. She wore the same clothes, radiating an aura of a refined princess that seemed to illuminate the mundane hallway.
Grey eyes, long flowing blonde hair, and skin as pale and flawless as an angel's... or perhaps a demon's.
She wore a small, closed-lip smile, a mask of innocence so perfect it felt hollow and deeply unsettling.
Hana's eyes widened, her heart hammering against her ribs. A thick knot formed in her throat, making it nearly impossible to swallow.
"I-I'm here," Hana managed to say in a low voice, nervously scratching her head to hide her trembling.
Both her mother and the girl turned toward her.
"Oh, finally. I hope I didn't disturb you, Hana," the girl said with a graceful bow, but as she straightened, she threw a glance at Hana that was threateningly invisible to anyone else—a sharp, icy warning that sent a shiver racing down Hana's spine.
How does she know my name? The thought screamed in Hana's mind.
"N-No, don't worry! Haha~," Hana forced a nervous laugh, her body betrayed by the visible tension in her shoulders. "What... what are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound natural, but her voice was thin and brittle.
"Don't tell me you forgot," the girl sighed, her tone mockingly disappointed. "We were supposed to study together today, yet you ran away from school. Did you totally forget? We have so much homework to do," she added, her voice so calm it felt predatory.
Hana's heart skipped a beat. The lie was seamless, leaving her no room to retreat.
"Y-Yes! You're right! Ahaha! Come on up to my room, I was already studying," Hana stammered, gesturing toward the stairs.
Her mother watched the scene with a look of profound confusion. She had never seen this girl before, and the sudden "friendship" seemed out of place, yet she said nothing.
"Thank you very much," the girl said, turning back to Hana's mother with another polite bow. "Excuse me—" she whispered, stepping into the house.
Hana led the guest up the stairs and into her bedroom. The girl stepped inside, her eyes immediately scanning the personal details of the room.
Click.
Hana closed the door, her head bowed. Her hand was buried deep in her pocket, her fingers clenching the scissors until the plastic handle dug into her palm.
"What a beautiful room you have..." the girl remarked, admiring the decor until her gaze landed on the polaroid photos scattered across the bed. Photos of Hana, Kai, and Hiro. Moments of a life that no longer existed.
"Oh, what do we have here—" she started, reaching for a photo.
"It's nothing that concerns you. Don't touch those," Hana interrupted, her voice dropping into a menacing growl as her grip on the scissors tightened.
"Eh? Why so angry? Are you really that possessive?" the girl asked, giggling softly. "Are you sure the devil is Hina?"
Hana's expression darkened instantly. Her teeth ground together as she struggled to contain the sudden surge of bile in her throat.
Hearing that name—the name of the girl who had stolen the love of her life—felt like a hot needle being driven into her heart.
"Who are you? What do you want? How do you know all of this?" Hana demanded, looking her straight in the eyes.
The girl's gaze remained the same: empty, disconnected, and chillingly still.
"I'll be happy to answer your questions. But first, you should lower your voice. Someone might hear you," she said, casually taking a seat at Hana's desk.
Hana didn't respond. Her muscles remained coiled, her entire body on high alert.
"Did you really think you could join the Kurotaka without the boss knowing?" the girl asked playfully. "And for what? Because a psychopathic girl with over 200+ confirmed kills stole your boyfriend?"
Hana's hand twitched involuntarily, but she forced herself to remain still.
She knew too much.
"Matsuda let me in. He's the boss," Hana replied coldly.
"Matsuda is just a disobedient idiot with a protagonist complex," the girl said, standing up. She turned her back to Hana and slowly began to pull her dress down from her shoulders, letting it slide just enough to reveal her skin as she brushed her long hair to the side.
Hana's eyes nearly bulged out of her head.
The girl's back was covered by a massive, stylized tattoo of an eagle with its wings spread wide, fused with a jagged sword. But beneath the ink, the skin was a map of trauma—scars and old marks covered her entire back.
"I am Emi Fujimoto, the actual head of the Kurotaka. Matsuda disobeyed orders, involving my men in something that didn't concern us, and he will pay dearly for his arrogance," Emi said, pulling her dress back up and turning toward a trembling Hana.
"And you, pathetic girl... you threw your life away for such a selfish choice? Just because a psycho stole your guy?" She remarked. "This is your fault. You had an entire lifetime to confess your feelings, and now that you've lost him, you want to kill his girlfriend to get him back? You've dragged me and my gang into a war against the Kobayashi. Do you realize what you've done?" Emi's voice was soft, but every word felt like it was devouring Hana from the inside out.
"I... I..." Hana stammered. Tears welled in her eyes, and her knees gave way, sending her crashing to the floor.
"Don't let yourself be heard, little Hana. It would be a shame if someone knocked on the door again, wouldn't it?" Emi asked, looming over her.
Hana wept in silence, her eyes wide with terror. Her heart was screaming at her to run, but she knew there was no escape. Any word, any movement, could mean death.
"...you don't know the pain I'm feeling... you can't know what it's like to lose the only thing you love in this world..." she whispered through her sobs, covering her face with her hands.
"I know pain better than any individual in this world, and that is the only thing I share with Hina. And I know Kai much better than you ever did," Emi stated flatly.
At the mention of Kai, something in Hana snapped. The pain turned into a blinding, irrational rage. Her body moved on its own.
In an instant, she pulled the scissors from her pocket and lunged at Emi.
But the attack was pathetic.
Emi dodged the strike with practiced ease, immobilized Hana's arm, and delivered a brutal knee directly into her stomach before throwing her back onto the bed.
Hana gasped for air, the impact so severe she felt her gastric juices rise in a sickening mix with the metallic taste of blood.
"I'm giving you one last chance to live, Hana. Only because Kai probably wants you alive. Otherwise, I would have skinned you alive for putting us in this position," Emi said, her voice now devoid of any playfulness. "For this entire week, do not step a single foot out of this house, or I will have my men kidnap and kill you."
Hana stared at her, clutching her stomach as her body contorted in agony.
"And let me tell you this: forget about Kai. He isn't the angel you think he is. He's a weapon of war, a time bomb that's been on stand-by for far too long. And weapons are not meant to be loved. They are meant to be used. That's why I will be the one to save him. If you truly love that boy, disappear."
With that final sentence, Emi turned and walked out. Hana couldn't even find the breath to respond.
The door closed with a sharp, final click.
Footsteps faded down the hall. The sound of the front door. Then, a silence so heavy it made her ears ache.
Hana remained curled on the bed, her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection.
She wasn't crying anymore. She couldn't.
The physical pain was merging with something deeper, something filthier. Emi's words bounced around her skull like shrapnel.
'Weapons are not meant to be loved. Forget about Kai. It's your fault.'
Her fingers slowly slid toward the scissors lying on the floor. She stared at them for a long time. Then, she picked them up. Her hands were still shaking... but less than before.
Her reflection in the thin metal of the blade was different.
The girl looking back wasn't just a victim anymore. Something dark was taking root in the fertile soil of her trauma.
From downstairs, her mother's voice drifted up: "Hana? Is everything okay? Your friend has left!"
Hana remained silent for a heartbeat. Then, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"Yes, Mom," she replied, her voice strangely stable. Too stable.
Hana's gaze fell upon the photos on the bed. Kai smiling. Kai oblivious.
"I won't disappear," she whispered to the empty room.
The pain in her chest wasn't fading. It was transforming into a cold, sharp blade. And for the first time in her life... Hana was no longer afraid.
She wanted Kai back in her life.