Koda stands still, leaning against the building. Ryo sits on a box on the ground beside Koda.
"Trust them?" Ryo asks looking up at Koda.
"Don't know... but keep an eye on them while I talk to them. If you notice anything, signal me." Koda implies. Ryo nods and look in the direction where someone is walking towards them.
"You're late... If you mean business... I would think you would be more considerate and proper." Koda pushes himself from the wall and walks towards them.
"I know- the train got delayed... apparently someone jumped in front of it..." The girl says.
"Is that so..."
"Mhm..."
Ayame stops walking and stands beside the girl and a guy stops beside her.
"Who are they?" Koda asks, smiling at Ayame.
"My name is Hana..." The girl says.
"Hana... and you?" Koda asks pointing to the guy.
"Ren."
"Kay... so did you bring the money?" Koda asks. Hana clenches her hand and takes a deep breath.
"It's not exactly money... but- I have the key to my grandmothers store. Inside there's a lot of valuables... If you sold all of it- you would make at least fifteen million yen.
"Fifteen..." Koda slowly says. "Show me this store."
Hana furrows her eyebrows and takes a deep breath. "It's not in Tokyo... its more towards the mountains."
"Mmm..."
"I will give you the key to the place once you do what I ask." Hana implies.
"Right..." he smiles and pulls out his cigarette box. "How am I supposed to trust that if I can't see what you're offering." He stares down at Hana. Hana relaxes her eyes.
"He's right Hana." Ayame says to Hana. Hana sighs and nods.
"Fine... I will take you to it the day of."
"The day of?"
"Mhm..."
Koda looks towards Ryo and Ryo nods. Koda smiles at Hana and then nods.
"Fine then..."
"Thank you." The three of them turn away and walk off.
"Wait..." Koda takes another puff from his cigarette and then flicks it. "Why do you want me to kill Yuki...?"
"Do I need to tell you?" Hana huffs.
"No- but I would like to know why I'm doing business with you. I want to know why you want me to kill her... if she's even worth killing- you know?" He asks, a smile on his face. Hana furrows her eyebrows.
"...She deserves it- trust me." Hana says turning away. Koda smiles more.
"And Tetta?" Koda says causing Hana to stop walking.
"That request is from me." Ayame turns her head to look at Koda, Koda stares back at her.
"Alright. I'm satisfied... Let's meet again this Saturday Hana... five days from now..." Koda smiles. Hana nods and turns away. Koda watches them disappear.
"You got their name, Ryo?"
"Hana Kaneko... a third year in high school... and Cheol-su Nishimura... a second year in highschool."
"Cheol-su? Who's that...? Ren?" Koda asks. Ryo looks up at him and nods. Koda slowly nods. "And Tetta... did you find anything out about him."
"Not much..."
"What did you find?"
"He's in a new named gang called Tenjiku."
"Tenjiku?"
"Mmm."
Koda smiles and flicks his cigarette and then takes another puff from it. He turns his head and smiles at Ryo.
"And what was your take on our conversation?" He smiles.
"Don't trust." Ryo slowly responds looking up at Koda. Koda smiles more and drops the cigarette on the ground, stepping on it.
"Good... we are on the same page." He puts his hands into his pockets and takes a deep breath. "Let's go... "
You sit in the bathroom, staring down at the water going down the drain. You rub the shampoo more in your head slowly. You take a deep breath and push yourself more towards the running water, putting your head under it. After you finish washing your hair you slowly make your way out the room. You get dressed into something more comfortable and slowly wrap your hair in a towel.
"Knock Knock" A voice says from outside the room. The door slowly opens and Hikari peaks her head in.
"I brought food home... thought you might wanna dig in and eat with me." Hikari softly says. You slowly look at her and nod.
"Yeah... I'll come out in a bit." You softly reply. Hikari stares at you for a bit and then nods, closing the door. You slowly lay down and cover yourself with the blanket. Your eyes soften and then close.
You sit at the table, across from Hikari who's studying. She's wearing glasses and tapping her pen on the table. You mix your noodles and lean your head on your hand. Hikari looks up at you and then back down at her paper.
"What's wrong?" She asks, writing down numbers in her notebook.
"I don't know..." You slowly say.
"Mmm..."
"I feel lost- that's all."
"I'm guessing the boy you like rejected you...?" Hikari asks, looking up at you. Your eyes widen then narrow.
"How-"
"I've been rejected before Yuki-" She replies. "Especially by a Sano brother."
You shake your head and begin to eat the noodles. You swallow your food and take a deep breath.
"It's whatever... I was just being stupid." You say, slurping up more noodles.
"If you say so..." She slowly says, flipping to the next page of her textbook. You stare at the front of her textbook. It has a diagraph of a human body in the front. You furrow your eyebrows thinking about Takemichi.
"Hey... Hikari. I have a question." You slowly say. She looks up from her textbook. "Have you heard about the boy who looked melted and was found in a river?"
She raises an eyebrow and looks back at her textbook. She furrows her eyebrows and flips the page. She then slowly nods.
"Yeah... it was a teen boy they found..."
"Did they ever find out who he was?" You ask.
"I don't know... I don't think they ever shared that information..."
"Mmm..."
"I heard some people say it was because of privacy reasons... but others have said it was because he was so unidentifiable that they couldn't figure out who he was." She adds.
"Oh."
"Why do you ask?" Hikari looks up at you. You shrug and look down at the bowl of noodles.
"My friend used to date this boy who went missing... I heard about the melted boy and so I got curious."
"Did he have black hair?"
"Huh?" You look up at her.
"Did he have black hair?"
"I- don't think so..."
"Well the boy who was found in that river... his hair was black." Hikari replies. You furrow your eyebrows. She looks back at her textbook. You relax your body and continue eating.
"Though... now you bring it up... did you hear about the kid who jumped in front of the train yesterday night?"
"Huh?"
"It's pretty sad... he was your age."
"What was his name?"
"Atsushi Sendo... I think is what they said."
"Atsushi... Sendo?" You furrow your eyebrows and look down at the table. That name doesn't ring a bell.
"Oh and by the way- I will be home late tomorrow so- you'll have to make yourself dinner. I'm going to hang out with the girls." She smiles. You nod.
You sit downstairs in the bakery thinking about the name. Atsushi Sendo. You stand up and walk out the bakery.
You stand outside of Hina's house preparing to knock on the door. You pause for a second and then take a deep breath.
Hopefully she isn't upset at me for disappearing the other day... You think to yourself.
"Yuki?" A voice says from beside you. You turn your head to see Hina.
"Hina..."
"What are you doing here?" She asks. She's wearing her school uniform.
"I have a question..." You say, frowning a bit.
You sit in Hina's room, staring at her as she pulls out her homework.
"Exams are starting soon?" You ask. She nods.
"So... what did you want to talk about?" She asks, smiling back at you. You clench onto your pants and slowly take a deep breath.
"Did you hear about the boy who jumped in front of the train a few days ago...?" You slowly ask. She stares at you before her eyes relax and she looks down at her homework in front of her.
"Yeah... I've heard."
"My aunt told me about it... she said his name and it sounds familiar but I can't exactly figure out who it was." You frown and look down at the table. "It probably sounds random... and you probably have no idea who he is but I still wanted to-"
"Atsushi Sendo." Hina interrupts.
"Yeah."
"He went to the same school I did... and we are in the same grade." She continues.
"So... you do know who he is?"
"Mhm... he's Takemichi's friend."
Your eyes widen.
"Do you think he committed?" She asks. You furrow your eyebrows and relax your eyes.
"I don't know... I haven't really talked to him..."
"I have..." She softly says. "Recently actually..."
"Huh?"
"Honestly... around the time Takemichi went missing was when they found the boy in the river. I got scared that it was Takemichi but the boy's hair was black. Takemichi's hair was blond." She softly says. You stare at her and then down at the table. "But-"
You look back up at her and her eyes look teary and her lips are pouty.
"The day before... the day before I told you about the boy they found in the river... Atsushi Sendo came up to me. He seemed odd- like hysterical. He apologized to me... saying it's his fault... that Takemichi's disappearance was his fault. I didn't understand what he meant... that's why I told you about the boy in the river- maybe thinking you would figure out what happened to Takemichi." She takes a deep breath. "When Atsushi-san said all of that... he also mentioned he would atone for his sins." Her eyes relax. "And then... the news said that Atsushi Sendo jumped in front of the train... taking his own life."
"..." Your eyes widen.
"I don't have the heart for any of this..." She softly says, a frown on her face. "I didn't know he meant... he was going to kill himself."
"..."
"I wonder what happened to Takemichi... I don't even care if he doesn't come back to me... I just- hope he's okay." She says to you. A tear falling down her cheek. You frown.
You lay in your bed staring at the ceiling. Your eyebrows furrow thinking about the conversation you had with Hina. All of it sounding super messy. Atsushi Sendo... that must be Akkun. If you remember clearly you met with him some months ago... and when you asked him about Takemichi he told you he had no idea. Was that all bluff? You furrow your eyebrows and turn over onto your side. If Akkun actually knew about Takemichi's whereabouts... and if Takemichi is still alive... then there's no way of really finding out. Not anymore at least.
BZZZ BZZZ
You pull your phone out of your sweater pocket. You flip it open to see who is calling. Izana. You answer the phone and hold it up to your ear.
"Hello?" You softly say into the phone.
"Hi Yuki... I was wondering if I could take you out tonight..."
"Why?"
"I thought it could be fun... and I wanted to do something nice with you."
"I don't know."
"Please..."
You furrow your eyebrows and relax your eyes. He sounds desperate. You sigh and then nod.
"Fine... sure."
"Okay! I will be there to come get you in half an hour... Dress nice... okay?" He bubbles.
"Okay." You reply. The phone hangs up and you drop your hand to your side, letting go of the phone. You hold onto your face and roll over onto your stomach and groan loudly.
"I'm so tired..." You pout.