Chapter 52: What Was Left Behind
The rain lashed against the concrete like a thousand shattered whispers as Naoto, Rika, and Himari bolted through the winding streets of Hoshikawa's outskirts. The path to the old river tunnel was barely visible, the streetlamps flickering like dying stars in the storm.
Naoto's breathing was sharp, ragged, but his grip on the two girls never faltered. He could still feel the weight of Shinji Hayato's words pressing down on him, clashing with the sounds of the engines that chased them.
Himari was calm—too calm. She had been prepared for this. Rika, however, was shaking. Not from the cold, but from the weight of realization.
"My father…" she whispered breathlessly as they turned another corner. "He lied to me… about everything."
Naoto didn't answer. The truth was, he didn't know what to say. He wanted to comfort her, but every part of him was still trying to process what they'd just learned. The betrayal. The toxic secret. The debt. The enemies.
And now, the three of them were being hunted.
As they approached the old bridge that arched above the river, Himari finally broke the silence. "There," she pointed. "Below the arch—there's an entrance behind the stone wall. It's covered in vines."
Naoto led the way, practically tearing the vines off the wall. Beneath them, a rusted iron door came into view, the metal groaning in protest as he forced it open.
They stepped inside, swallowed by the damp darkness.
The tunnel was narrow and musty, lined with bricks from decades ago. Water dripped from the ceiling and echoed off the walls, making every sound ten times louder. Naoto flicked on the small flashlight from his phone.
"We can hide here," Himari said. "They won't find us unless they know about this place."
Naoto finally let himself breathe. He dropped down onto a cracked concrete step, hands on his knees, staring at the water-stained floor. Rika sat nearby, legs pulled to her chest, silently trying to hold back tears.
"You okay?" he finally asked her, his voice gentle.
She nodded—but barely. "I thought he was trying to control me," she whispered. "But he was trying to protect me… and I didn't even know who he really was."
Naoto clenched his fists. "I didn't either."
There was a long pause. Only the storm outside and the soft sounds of dripping water remained.
Then Himari spoke. "This isn't just about your father, Naoto. Or even Shinji."
Both of them looked at her.
Himari knelt down, her eyes glinting with something more—something deeper. "There's a reason you were dragged into all of this. You're not just some boy caught in a powerful man's shadow."
Naoto narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I haven't told you everything," Himari said softly. "Because I wasn't sure when it would be safe. But now… I have no choice."
She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small, worn notebook. Its leather cover was frayed, its pages yellowed with time. She held it out to Naoto.
He hesitated, then took it.
It was his father's handwriting.
Naoto's heart skipped a beat.
"How… how do you have this?" he asked, voice low.
"He gave it to me," Himari said. "Before he disappeared. He told me to give it to you if the day ever came when the past caught up with the present."
Naoto stared at the pages, fingers trembling as he opened the cover.
> Naoto, if you're reading this, then the silence I swore to keep has finally broken. There are things about me—and you—that you were never supposed to learn. But this is the world we live in. Where truth is dangerous. And innocence doesn't last forever.
> I loved you and your mother more than anything. Everything I did was to protect you. But I fear the day will come when you'll have to choose whether to follow my footsteps—or break away from the path I walked. This journal contains everything. The names. The deals. The danger.
> And a secret that even Shinji never knew.
Naoto's breath caught. "What… secret?"
Himari looked at him solemnly. "Your father… was part of something much bigger. A silent war between two underground factions—one that used corporations as pawns."
Naoto couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're saying… my father was part of an organization?"
"Yes," she replied. "And not just any organization. One that knew about people like me."
"People like…?" he started, then paused. "Wait. Are you saying this is connected to you too?"
"I was born into it," Himari admitted. "But I ran. I thought I could live normally. Meet you again. Stay hidden. But now… they know I'm with you."
Naoto stared at her in stunned silence. He felt like the world he knew was falling apart all over again.
"So what happens now?" Rika finally asked, her voice small.
"We survive," Himari said. "We stay together. We protect each other. And we dig into that journal, because everything—everything that's happening now—started with what's written in there."
Naoto slowly nodded, his eyes falling on the first real entry of the journal. A date… from seventeen years ago.
Before he was even born.
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