Chapter 7: Danger

I was terrified of what I would've found.

As I raced through the streets, my thoughts were a chaotic swirl.

Hiro was more than a friend; he was like a brother to me.

The thought of losing him was unbearable.

The closer I got to his house, the more my anxiety grew.

The sky was darkening even more , almost like it was sucking all the light of the world, and the flickering flames from the fire cast an eerie glow over the neighborhood.

When I finally arrived, the scene was chaotic.

Firefighters were battling the blaze, and police officers were keeping onlookers at a safe distance.

There was a huge crowd watching the horrifying scene.

I felt like i could cry at any moment, praying to god that Hiro was safe.

I spotted Hiro's parents, Hiroshi and Mei, standing with a group of neighbors, their faces etched with horror and grief.

My heart sank further at the sight of them.

I rapidly approached an officer, my voice shaking. "Excuse me, sir, is Hiro... is he really...?"

The officer looked at me with sympathy. "Hiro got taken by an ambulance to the closest hospital. He was still alive, but his conditions were awful."

There also was another body on the ground, next to the house.

It was the body of a girl… and it had a familiar shape but it was totally burned and unrecognizable.

That surely was a very horrific scene…

It was way too shocking for me too something like this.

Usually, this kind of things rarely happens in my town…

A cold dread settled over me.

I was feeling anxious and suspicious.

Could this be connected to Hina? The thought seemed paranoid, but given everything that had been happening, I couldn't dismiss it.

"Impossible… it would be impossible… she was with me… and it took me a short amount of time to get home… to set this kind of fire without being noticed… and… and…" then, something just snapped inside of me.

"Hina knew where Hiro lived… but she has no reason to hate or hurt him…" i thought in my mind.

"I must go to the hospital right now… I don't have time to overthink." i said to myself.

But suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and I glanced at it, half-expecting another message from Hina.

My body trembled at the thought of Hina.

Instead, it was Hiro's sister, Hana.

"Kai, where are you? Please, come to the hospital. They think Hiro might still be in good conditions!"

Hope surged within me, and I quickly made my way to the hospital, praying that Hana's information was correct.

But before going , i asked to the police officer who was the other body on the ground and he said that he didn't know.

After that, i ran to the nearest taxi and gave him the directions.

When I arrived at the hospital where they took Hiro, i ran inside.

I was truly in panic , thinking about the worst possible scenario.

I didn't want to lose my best friend like this…

A tear fell from my eyes without even noticing.

Then, i found a nurse and asked her about Hiro.

I still had tear in my eyes.

She didn't understand what I meant and then i tried to calm myself down by taking some deep breaths before properly formulating the question.

"Excuse me! I'm talking about the guy who's been saved from a hours fire!!" I said with panic in my voice.

The nurse immediately understood and indicated me the way where they took him.

He was in the intensive care unit and we couldn't visit him yet.

Then, i thanked the nurse and ran trough the hospital until i found Hana.

She pacing the waiting room and her eyes were actually red from crying.

"Kai!" she exclaimed, rushing over to me with a hug.

"They managed to get him out. He's in critical condition, but he's alive. They're doing everything they can."

Relief washed over me, and I hugged Hana tightly. "Thank God. What happened, Hana? Do they know?"

She shook her head, her voice trembling. "I don't know. I just hope he pulls through."

Hana kept crying into my arms for a while.

She was very attached with her brother and the thought that he could be dead was actually destroying her from the inside…

Hana was a very beautiful and sensitive girl and she was very popular in our school.

Way too popular.

Well, she used to be a model due to her physique , her beautiful red hair and her particular purple eyes caused by a rare genetic condition.

We sat together in the waiting room, the minutes stretching into hours.

Hana kept clinging and hugging me to have some comfort.

She wanted to be reassured and also wanted some company.

Showing affection like this to another girl outside from Hina was something unusual from me, but for Hiro's sister it was different.

We three literally grew up together.

We're family in some way…

And… I had a crush on her last year.

During our time in the waiting room, the tension in the air was palpable, and every time a doctor or nurse walked by, our hearts would leap.

Finally, a doctor approached us, looking grave but hopeful.

Me and Hana were still sitting on the chair, with her staying on my chest.

"Ms. Yamamoto? Your brother is stable for now. He's in a medically induced coma, but his chances are good. We'll need to keep a close watch over him."

Hana thanked the doctor, tears of relief streaming down her face.

"What happened to him?" I asked the doctor.

"His body is full of high degree burns , but that's not the reason of why he risked his life." The doctor replied, while taking a look at his documents. "Hiro Yamamoto inhaled way too much smoke and his lungs are damaged. Luckily , we saved him just in time." He said.

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes while moving my gaze to the floor in a very sad way.

Hana was still clinging on my arm and eyes were still red from crying, but she let out a sigh of relief after hearing that her brother's life was not in danger anymore.

"Thank you, doctor." That was all i could say.

"There's no need to thank me. This is my job. You can wait here if you want." He said, while gently bowing his head and walking away.

I felt a mix of emotions—relief that Hiro was alive, but also a growing unease about the circumstances.

As I sat with Hana, my thoughts kept drifting back to Hina.

Could she really be involved in this?

Me and Hana were still in the hospital , our only company was the loud silence of the corridors.

Hospitals at night are very scary.

It looked like a monster could come out at any moment.

Thinking about Hina, I noticed that I didn't receive any message from her after she texted me "Goodnight, my love, I'm very tired so I'm going to sleep early."

It may sound strange, but Hina never texted anything else when she sends me the good night.

That was the reason of why i could never suspect anything about her.

Then, after a while, i started to feel asleep.

Hana had already closed her eyes and she was already into a deep sleep, with her head resting on my shoulder.

I wanted to go home to rest in my bed but I couldn't leave Hana alone.

I felt like I had to protect her… from something.

I didn't want to put Hana in danger.

Maybe the night hospital mood was scary, but still, I knew deep down my soul that I had to stay with her.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of some footsteps coming from the corridors.

"Uh…? Who's there?" I asked to myself.

I gently stood up by gently adjusting Hana's head and took a look outside the waiting room and there was no one.

"Maybe it was just my immagination…" I said to myself while returning to my place.

Suddenly, I felt a small touch on my shoulder.

My whole body trembled.

A shiver of fear and terror ran trough my whole spine.

I rapidly turned my head back to see who touched me and I was about to scream.

"Hi-" I was saying, but once i saw who was in front of me.

In front of me, there were Hiro's parents looking at me with a pale face.

"Sorry for scaring you, Kai!" Hiro's mother apologized.

I got really scared.

I could feel my heart beating too fast.

After seeing them, I let out a sigh of relief.

"It's okay…" I said, while trying to take some air.

Then, i explained them Hiro's situation and in return, they told me what happened.

To be short, a malfunction in the house's electronic implant caused the whole house to burn.

A normal accident… but… I still had the feeling that this was not an accident.

And a girl died; her identity was still unknown.

"You can go home now, Kai. I paid you a taxi." Hiro's father said to me, while gently patting my shoulder.

His eyes were also red.

Hiro didn't have a good relationship with his father, but it was obvious that his parent loved him more than anything.

"Thank you… I can stay he-" I tried to say, but Hiro's mother interrupted me.

"Go home, Kai. Don't worry." She said.

Her voice was trembling a little, maybe from sadness, or maybe from… fear.

I nodded in silence and walked out.

A taxi was waiting me outside.

Later that night, when I finally returned home, I found another message from Hina waiting for me.

My eyes actually widened in surprise.

I didn't expect for her to stay up at that hour of the night.

"Kai, are you okay? I heard about the fire. I'm so worried about you."

How did she know about the fire…?

Her words seemed genuine, but a part of me couldn't shake off the suspicion.

I replied cautiously, "I'm fine, Hina. Just worried about Hiro."

She responded almost immediately, "I'm here for you, Kai. If you need anything, just let me know."

I stared at her message, my mind racing.

If Hina was involved in this, confronting her directly could be dangerous.

But if she wasn't, accusing her without proof could destroy any chance of her getting better.

"She can't be involved. Hina would never do something like this." I said to myself while sitting on my bed with my hands on my hair, like I was trying to hold my head.

I was looking at the floor, thinking about so many things.

I kept thinking about my situation: about Hina, about Hiro, about the fact that he almost died…

Everything happened in such a short period of time…

And everything was so… random.

I decided to keep my distance for now, focusing on Hiro's recovery and trying to gather more information.

The next few days were a blur of hospital visits and sleepless nights.

Hina continued to message me, her concern seeming more like obsession with each passing day.

But despite that, she kept me a lot of company and always tried to cheer me up.

I saw that she was making big steps with her jealousy and that she was less possessive.

Our relationship seemed more genuine and i was happy about that.

She was starting to respect my boundaries and spaces and everything seemed more natural and normal.

But one evening, as I was leaving the hospital, Hana pulled me aside. "Kai, I found something. It's about Hina."

"How do you know about Hina?" I asked.

I never spoke to Hana about my girlfriend.

"I'm a good stalker." She said with a cold tone. "But there is no times for jokes, you have to listen to me carefully."

My heart skipped a beat. "What is it, Hana?"

She handed me a small notebook. "I found this in Hiro's room. It has notes about Hina, things he found out. I think he was trying to protect you."

I opened the notebook, my hands shaking.

Inside were detailed entries about Hina's behavior, her past relationships, and even some disturbing incidents that hadn't been publicized that involved people who all knew her.

Hiro had been digging into her background, trying to find out if the rumors were true.

There were a lot of things, but everything that was written inside of it was classified as a rumor.

Also, a lot of journal articles writing about murder cases and "accidents" where some people died in very strange circumstances.

Everyone of those victims was an acquaintance of Hina.

Hiro was trying to find out everything he could, and suddenly, something like this happened.

He was doing all of that for my sake and safety.

I felt a lot of pain and sadness after finding out how much he cared for me.

As I read through the entries, a chilling realization settled over me.

Hiro had discovered something that made him believe Hina was dangerous.

And now, he was in the hospital, fighting for his life.

"Where did you find this, Hana?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"It was inside of his school bag." She said. "Hiro had the habit of always putting his school bag in his school closet. So he never took it home." She added.

"So , I asked to the school to open his closet to have his things back and I found this." Hana said.

"Understood… so… how is Hiro now?" I asked.

"He's much better. His conditions are now stable and he started to breathe on his own." Hana said with a happy voice.

"Thank goodness…" I said with a happy sigh.

I knew I had to confront Hina, but I needed to be careful.

I couldn't let her know that I suspected her involvement.

I decided to find more informations, to find out the truth once and for all.

But Hina was constantly with me, so investigating on her would've been dangerous.

I had to figure everything out by my own.

"Hana, can I take these notes ?" I gently asked.

She nodded and gave them to me.

"Be careful, Kai." Hana replied with a very worried tone of voice.

The next day, I visited the school counselor, Ms. Tanaka, and told her everything. She listened carefully, her expression serious.

I told her about the fire and about my suspicious about the fact that it wasn't an "accident".

"Kai, this is very serious. If what you're saying is true, we need to take action. I'll contact the authorities and make sure they investigate the situation."

I nodded, feeling a sense of urgency. "Thank you, Ms. Tanaka. I just want everyone to be safe."

As I left her office, I felt a mixture of fear and determination.

I had to protect myself and my friends.

And I had to find out the truth about Hina, no matter what it took.

The first step that i had to do was to know about her past, but directly from her.

So, i planned the perfect plan to find out.

I needed to invite her to stay over at my place.

That night, I received another message from Hina.

"Kai, can we meet? I miss you so much."

Taking a deep breath, I replied, "Sure, Hina. Let's meet tomorrow at the park."

I knew I was walking into a potential trap, but I had to confront her.

The next day, as I approached the park, I steeled myself for whatever might come.

Hina was already there, her expression a mix of relief and anticipation.

"Kai, I've been so worried," she said, stepping closer.

I kept my distance, my voice steady. "Hina, we need to talk…"

Hina's eyes widened in fear.

"What is it… Kai?" She asked with a shaking voice.

"Be a man… Kai." I said to myself.

I had to calculate every single step in order not to make Hina feels suspicious.

I needed for her to trust me completely.

And that was the reason of why I needed to change my behavior…

My life was already in danger in the same moment that i spoke to Hina for the first time.