The surrounding noise echoed in her ears, yet Ichiko simply hugged Haruko, her face somewhat blank.
Yuna came, and they started fighting again.
What he said after that was a little unclear.
They just got into the car together in a daze, her eyes only seeing the weak and pale little face.
The car drove around, arriving at Inari's private Hospital. He had clearly just rushed over as well. After having the Doctor lift Haruko onto a stretcher, he frowned and looked at Ichiko.
"What happened again? Did she hurt herself again?"
"It was that Sento who did it!" Yuna stood right beside Ichiko, the anger in his eyes undiminished.
Just now, he had a big fight with the bodyguards Sento brought, along with his Little Brothers.
Which of his ten Little Brothers hadn't been following him and fighting alongside him for the past two years? Even though Sento's bodyguards had undergone standard training, that group was clearly recruited in a standardized way.
They simply didn't have that ruthlessness.
It didn't even take ten minutes before the entire group was sprawled on the ground.
Wails were constant.
And Sento was beaten half to death by the enraged him, covered in bruises. Even so, his arrogance as a CEO still didn't let him fall or beg for mercy.
If Mana hadn't pulled him back, saying that the subsequent handling of the situation would only be worse if something happened to Sento.
Yuna would have at least beaten him into a cripple.
Due to the immense pressure given by Haruko, Ichiko's brain briefly crashed, losing her rationality.
Yuna and his group of Little Brothers were also rough and careless straight men.
They hadn't considered the consequences of beating Sento like that at all. Realizing belatedly, afraid that Haruko's 'orange juice' would run out, they quickly took her to the Hospital.
Yuna glanced at Ichiko, who was still a bit lost in thought, and sighed, "Ritsuko must have also been hit quite hard."
His large hand gently patted her back.
Only then did Ichiko suddenly snap back to reality.
Her haggard face tried to force out a smile, but after finding it incredibly bitter, she lowered her head again.
The scattered snowflakes on her shoulders and beautiful hair hadn't been wiped away.
"Sorry, I was spacing out."
Ichiko turned her head again, watching the Doctors and nurses going inside, her mood becoming increasingly heavy and complex.
Inari looked at Ichiko, feeling like her expression was familiar.
On the night she came down from the rooftop, Ichiko had this expression for a long time as well.
Like autism, yet even more severe than autism.
Lost, pained, conflicted, like someone drowning in water struggling with all their might.
Her incredibly haggard face made people feel heartache.
Her tender pink lips were chapped from the cold, but she didn't even feel it herself.
After sighing helplessly, Inari looked at Yuna, his gaze flashing over the broken arm, and asked, "Brother, can you tell me exactly what happened?"
Saying this, Inari extended a hand, "My name is Inari, and I'm a friend of Haruko and Ichiko."
Yuna was startled for a moment.
After wiping his hand on his clothes a few times, he shook Inari's hand and laughed frankly, "My name is Yuna, and I'm Haruko's older brother."
"I've heard of you." Inari glanced at Ichiko, then led Yuna to the side, "Ichiko told me that although she's an orphan, there's someone who treats her like a real older brother."
Yuna smiled shyly, "Ritsuko also mentioned you to me."
Inari raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What did Ichiko say about me?"
"She said you're a kind-hearted tsundere, a good person."
Instantly, Inari's face froze.
Come on, man, brag all you want, but don't friend-zone me.
When have I, Inari, ever been a tsundere!
He clicked his tongue and decisively changed the subject, "Brother Chi, what do you mean by saying Sento did it?"
Yuna sighed and recounted the scene that had unfolded there.
"When I arrived, I saw that Sento stab my Little Sister and also try to lay hands on Ritsuko. I respected him as a Young Master of the Yamato Family, and even knowing he was targeting my Little Sister these past few days, I didn't look for trouble with him."
"Who would have thought this guy was crazy enough to attack two defenseless young girls!"
These two young girls looked delicate and fragile with their fair skin and tender flesh; they probably wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken.
Even like this, Sento still wanted to lay hands on them!
Truly not a human being!
After hearing Yuna's description, Inari couldn't help but gasp.
He only knew that Sento and Haruko had some minor conflict.
But he never expected it to escalate this much!
However, to know exactly what happened, he would have to ask Ichiko.
Returning to the Hospital entrance, Inari saw Ichiko still sitting on the chair in a daze and couldn't help but sigh, abandoning his intention to ask questions.
Looking at her with heartache, he said, "If you're tired, go back and rest, or you can sleep here at the Hospital. There are many empty rooms."
Ichiko parted her dry lips, "Haruko... is she okay?"
At this moment, a female Doctor walked over, "She's fine. The knife didn't hit a vital spot and wasn't very deep. Her cells are more active than a normal person's, so don't worry."
Hearing the Doctor's words, both Ichiko and Inari breathed a sigh of relief.
Ichiko closed her eyes, her words full of confusion, "Inari, what do you think I should do?"
Inari said softly, "Don't think too much. Although I don't know what happened, you should get some sleep first. Your complexion is very poor."
To describe Ichiko as merely having a 'poor' complexion was an understatement.
Her hair was messy, her face deathly pale, fine lines creased at the corners of her eyes from frowning in pain for a long time, and the color in her once beautiful eyes was pitifully scarce.
It was as if she had been broken; her whole being exuded an aura of despairing melancholy.
Ichiko parted her lips and looked pleadingly at the handsome man in front of her, "Inari, can you talk with me for a while?"
Inari's heart softened, but he still shook his head, "I'm sorry, Ichiko, you've caused such a big incident. Not to mention Sento himself, the people around him will also investigate and target you and Haruko."
"Before things escalate further, I must go handle this, otherwise it will affect your lives later."
Having said that, Inari looked at Yuna, "Brother Chi, you were too impulsive earlier. Come with me as well. At the very least, you need to apologize. With me by your side, they won't dare to make things difficult for you, and there's a possibility of moving past this."
Watching Inari and Yuna say goodbye and leave, Ichiko leaned against the wall, slowly got up, and walked lifelessly towards the outside of the Hospital.
She called Shin on her phone.
The call didn't connect.
She sent a message to Dr. Kaito.
Dr. Kaito was busy and hadn't read it.
Yuri and her roommate didn't know where they went and couldn't be contacted.
It seemed as if everyone related to Haruko who could let her confide in them and become her pillar had all disappeared.
She naturally had other friends, but...
Could she tell them about something like this? If Haruko was like this towards Sento, would involving more people hurt them?
Keeping things bottled up inside made it increasingly heavy.
She just walked aimlessly, and without realizing it, Ichiko found herself at Haruko's doorstep.
This large door brought back memories of scene after scene from the dark room a week ago.
Breathing... is so painful.
Thinking... is so difficult.
She wanted to give up thinking, give up reality, give up everything.
But falling down here, what difference is there from abandoning Haruko?
But if she doesn't abandon her, is the current Haruko still Haruko?
Fear, dread.
Conflict, struggle.
Ichiko desperately wanted to find something that could be her fulcrum, something to relieve her pressure.
No matter what it was, whether it would make people uncomfortable, as long as it could make her forget everything that happened today!
She slowly walked into the living room, suddenly looked at the counter, and her throat bobbed.
She... kind of wanted to drink.
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