As Kai heard those words from his mother, his soul immediately went on alert.
He probably thought that his mother meant what she said in the most negative way possible, like she knew that Hina would kill everyone who could hurt him.
"Oh..." Hina whispered, turning her gaze to him and squeezing his hand a little more. "Of course I'll protect him... from every danger..." She said in a formal tone, but her voice sounded like a snake.
Kai forced a smile to return her affection and then looked to his mother.
"Yes. She always calls me early in the morning so I won't be late for school." He said while scratching the back of his head.
Haruka, her husband, and also Hina laughed a little at his statement.
"Haha... she truly looks like a responsible girl, no wonder that you two get along." Kai's mother spoke.
"Now, let's drink the Tea, okay?" She said, while picking up the cup of tea next to her.
Kai, Hina, and Yuna nodded, and they drank everything.
"This is delicious, Mrs. Suzuki," Hina said, with a satisfied smile on her face.
"You're too kind, Hina. Thank you. This is my favorite Tea." Haruka replied.
Kai kept playing the part of the perfect family member so as not to raise any suspicion, despite all the anxiety in his heart.
Well, it was only a matter of time until they would've found out what happened with Yuna.
He didn't dare to tell what happened to his mother.
And more than that, there were also some secrets.
Kai had skipped school some days.
And some of those days were just random absences.
His parents would've gotten angry.
They had to stay out of everything and anything to be safe.
Another question also started to linger in Kai's mind.
"Why didn't Yuna's parents come to check on her? And how did she become so calm?" Kai kept asking himself.
There were a lot of questions and doubts...
"To be honest, I kinda never liked Tea, but this one is delicious, I must admit." This time, Kai's father spoke.
Haruka looked at her husband in an annoyed way.
"Liar. You also liked the Tea of your ex." She said, while giving him a small pout.
Everyone laughed at that statement.
Then, the dinner kept going between laughs and talks.
Hina had a very big and interesting conversation with Kai's parents.
They spoke about random things, from the anime series that Kai's father created to their childhood memories of Kai.
For example, Haruka told Hina all the times Kai cried because he always wanted his mother's company.
Then she even spoke about a dangerous topic: Kai's childhood friend.
"So, Hina-Chan, do you know Kai's childhood friends Hiro and Hana?" She asked.
Hina nodded her head.
"Yes. I already met them, but I didn't have the chance to have a proper talk with them..." Hina said with a friendly tone, while squeezing Kai's hand again.
She probably meant it positively, but Kai knew that she clearly didn't want to speak with them.
Especially not after treating Hana that way.
More than that, Hana had disappeared.
Not even a single message to Kai... or to Yuna. How strange...
"Oh, they're good people. They always used to play with Kai. And they remained friends until now." Fumihiro spoke.
"I see..." Hina sighed, probably thinking about her interaction with Hana. "I'll speak to them one day." She said with a smile.
"You'll surely get along with Hana. She is a very good girl..." Haruka said in a soft voice.
"I hope that I will... I usually don't get along with girls... haha..." Hina giggled nervously.
Kai perfectly knew why she gave that answer.
The reason was her jealousy.
"And more than them, there's also another one," Haruka said.
Then, Hina's expression changed from normal to curious.
She took a rapid glance at Kai and then looked at his mother again.
"Who is it?" Hina asked, in curiosity.
"Well, her name is Emi Fujimoto," Haruka said.
Kai could feel Hina's hand twitching after hearing her name, like it wasn't the first time that she had heard it.
Her expression even darkened a little.
But after an instant, she returned to her normal self.
"Oh well, Kai-Kun never told me about this girl." She said, while moving her gaze towards her boyfriend.
Haruka and her husband let out a little laugh after sensing the small feeling of jealousy coming from Hina.
But what they didn't see was the murderous aura around Hina.
That was probably something that only Kai could see.
He felt a shiver down his spine.
"W-Well, I never told you, only because the last time I saw her was when I was 7." He said.
That was an obvious lie, but his tone of voice was calm and direct, so Hina believed him.
"Okay.... You're safe." Hina said, before smiling and chuckling softly.
After that little scene, the evening kept going for a while longer.
But the strangest thing was that Kai's parents weren't speaking with Yuna.
Kai noticed that, but he decided not to say anything or speak to his friend.
He wanted to leave Yuna in her own world since he had the feeling that someone was keeping a secret from him.
She stayed silent, exchanging glances with the others in the dining room.
Then, after the talk ended, Kai decided it was time to go back home.
He thought that it was the best thing to do.
Some strange sensations started to form in his heart.
Someone was probably coming for them... or his parents had a different plan... or they could be working with the police...
Too many doubts.
But the answer to all of them was going back to his original home.
Staying for the night would've been problematic.
Yuki Nakamura could call at any time.
Kai then took a look at the clock in the right corner of the room and introduced the topic.
"Mom, Dad, it was really nice to have met you, but I think that Hina, Yuna, and I should go back home now... we have school tomorrow."