Chapter 27: This situation must be stopped.

The weight of the situation bore down on me as I stood there, torn between loyalty to Ema and the need to assert my own independence.

Evangeline's concerned gaze lingered on us, her expression filled with empathy and understanding.

Suzuki-san and Benjiro exchanged a worried glance, clearly unsure of how to diffuse the tension that hung in the air like a thick fog.

But despite the pressure mounting around us, I knew that ultimately, the decision rested on my shoulders.

"Ema," I began, my voice steady despite the turmoil swirling within me. "I understand that you're feeling uncomfortable right now, but leaving like this isn't the solution."

She turned to me, her eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and hurt.

"You don't understand anything!" she snapped, her voice laced with bitterness.

I flinched at her words, feeling a pang of guilt for failing to ease her suffering.

She then looked right into my eyes.

"So that's your choice, right? Instead of staying with your girlfriend ?" She said.

Evangeline, Suzuki and Benjiro looked at her with a negatively surprised expression, not expecting her to behave like this.

Evangeline wanted to speak but Benjiro tapped his hand on her shoulder , like he wanted to stop her from saying anything.

Evangeline understood the message and remained silent, despite a glimpse of sadness in her eyes.

I was totally annoyed by this situation.

I thought that everything was over and that Ema returned her normal self , but i was wrong.

I needed to confront her once again , and ask for informations about this Chiko and her lies and why she was behaving like a psychopath.

So I refused to back down, knowing that sometimes the hardest decisions are the ones that need to be made.

"I can't just abandon Evangeline and the others," I continued, trying to keep my voice calm and steady.

"They're our friends, and they've done nothing wrong, and Arai-Sensei is counting on me."

Ema's grip on my arm tightened even further, her nails digging into my skin like tiny daggers.

"I don't care about them!" she spat, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion. "I just want to go home!"

After that, she released me from her grip and left the cafeteria.

She looked back to me.

"So is that your decision? To stay with her? Okay." She said before walking and ignoring me completely.

Her words cut through me like a knife, each syllable piercing my heart with its raw intensity.

I gave a look to Evangeline , Benjiro and Suzuki.

"Pardon me, I'll be back soon. I need to fix this situation alone this time." I said.

Benjiro and Suzuki nodded in agreement.

"Take your time, Fumi." Benjiro said.

I smiled at him despite all my negative feelings assaulting my soul.

But deep down, I knew that giving in to Ema's demands wouldn't solve anything.

If anything, it would only reinforce her belief that she could manipulate me at will, bending me to her every whim.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I knew would be a difficult conversation.

I then ran and reached Emma outside the school.

We were outside the school garden, but we were totally alone.

"Ema! Come here!" I said firmly while reaching her. "I care about you, I really do. But we can't keep running away from our problems."

She recoiled as if stung, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"What do you mean?" she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper.

I reached out to touch her cheek, tracing the lines of her face with gentle fingers.

Her body trembled at my touch, like she was feeling scared.

"We need to talk about what's been bothering you," I said softly, searching her eyes for any sign of understanding. "We can't keep pretending that everything's fine when it clearly isn't."

Tears welled up in her eyes, glistening like diamonds in the harsh fluorescent light.

"I-I'm scared," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "Scared of losing you, of losing everything."

"What? Ema? Are you even serious?" I said with disbelief.

"What makes you think that you're going to lose me?!" i added.

She looked away and remained silent.

"Ema? Can you give me a proper explanation for this? Your behavior is TOO strange! You're acting like a psychopath who only wants to control me like its puppet!!" I yelled.

She didn't answer. 

Instead she kept looking the floor while her hands were clenched in a fist.

She was also trembling.

"Not this time, Ema. Sorry for saying this." I thought.

"Ema, you've been acting strange after we discussed about the cheating thing. Even Benjiro apologized to you." I said, trying to make her speak.

Ema finally raised her head.

Her eyes met mine. 

She cried.

"Fumihiro... I'm sorry... But i've been lying to you." She said, with a choking sob.

In that istant , my heart froze.

"Lying? What do you mean?" These were the only words that managed to come out from my mouth.

"I wasn't lying about the cheating. I never did... but... There's something bothering me. Or... someone." She said.

My heart started to beat again, but my anxiety levels were reaching insane levels.

"Kiko... is a guy. His name is Chiko." She said.

After hearing that name, my heartbeat started to increase.

I already knew that.

I became really furious, but i was still acting like a calm and polite person.

"This guy has been bothering me since a while. He wants us to break up." She said while crying.

I kept listening to her but , for some reason, i didn't feel the urge to hug or comfort her.

"I felt guilty for not telling you and... hiding things from you... That's why i'm feeling so possessive lately. Just the fact that this guy literally bothered me a lot of times and knows where i live makes me feel... guilty... I'm so sorry." She said, with tears in her eyes.

"I don't want you to leave me for even a split second and i want you all for myself. I don't even want you to interact with any female at all." She added, while getting close to me.

"I'm so scared, Fumi." Ema then embraced me.

All i could do was staying silent and hugging her back.

Her soft body was trembling into my arms.

Her head was gently rubbing against my chest.

Ema was seeking for some protection. 

She didn't want to be left alone.

"It's okay, Ema." I said, with a calm but very angry tone.

I was angry against this "Chiko".

I needed to teach a lesson to this guy, a lesson that someone would never forget.

"I'll protect you." I said, while hugging her tight.

From the distance, i saw Evangeline looking at me with a sad smile on her face.

She waved at me, just like she wanted to say "Take your time, i'm here.".

I gave her a smile in return and she returned inside.

Ema then raised her head up to meet my eyes.

"Fumi, can you take me home?" She asked.

Her eyes were still wet from the tears but she managed to calm down a bit.

"Yes, let's go. I'll pay a taxi." I said, smiling at her.

We then started to walk until the school gate and saw a taxi just at the school entrance.

"Oh. I guess that this is our lucky day." I said.

Ema nodded and gave me a sweet giggle. 

She really calmed down.

"Let's go , Fumi. Kanna is waiting me home." Ema added.

After that, we entered the taxi and i accompained Ema to her house.

~~~~~~Time skip of 20 mins~~~~~~

"And, we arrived!" Said the taxi driver.

"Thank you!" Me and Ema said.

I then gave him the money and got out from the car.

And so we arrived at her front door.

We rang the doorbell and, after a few seconds, her parents opened the door directly for us.

"They were very quick to open the door, as if they knew Ema was already there.

"Hey! Fumihiro! It's been a week since we've seen you!" Ema's mother said.

"But look who's back!" her father added.

Both of them hugged me warmly.

Their affection has always been very strong towards me.

I think it's because they've always wanted a son.

So it's like I'm their son in a way.

I returned their hug and laughed with them.

"I missed you guys! Haha!" I said.

As cute as it may seem, my heart hadn't fully calmed down from the discussion with Ema.

I was still very agitated and anxious.

I've always been a guy who has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks, so this situation wasn't doing me much good.

"Why are you back already?" Ema's father said.

"Well, I wasn't feeling well and we wanted to come back. Fumihiro was kind enough to pay for the taxi," Ema said in a friendly tone.

She didn't have a wonderful relationship with her parents.

"Oh... I see," her mother said. "Why don't you come in? I was preparing some tea," she added, inviting us.

Ema shook her head. "Fumihiro can't. He has school commitments," she said, with a cold and detached tone.

Ema's father had a disappointed look on his face.

"Alright... Maybe next time," he said, scratching his head.

"School commitments? But wasn't she the one who brought me here?" I thought.

In that moment, Ema touched my shoulder twice discreetly.

It was her way of telling me she would explain why.

I played along.

"She's right. I have to go back to school for some commitments. But I can come for dinner," I said.

Ema smiled, pleased that I would come to see her.

"Of course! Why not! Then I'll prepare many delicious things," her mother said in a very cheerful tone.

"Fumihiro-Kun, is that taxi waiting for you? It's still parked there." her father said, pointing to the car that had brought us home.

I nodded in acknowledgment of Ema's father's question, glancing out the door to see the taxi still idling by the curb.

"Oh, right! Thank you for reminding me," I replied, offering a grateful smile.

"Then, i'll go now. See you for dinner!" I said with a bow.

Ema smiled warmly at me and said: "See you this evening, Fumi!" 

I nodded and then walked towards the taxi.

"Excuse me, can you take me back to school?" I gently asked while getting close to the car.

The driver, a middle-aged man with a friendly demeanor, nodded understandingly. "No problem at all. Take your time," he said, gesturing for meto get in.

As I settled into the car, a wave of exhaustion washed over me, the tension from the earlier confrontation with Ema finally catching up to me.

The driver took me back to school and , after paying and thanking him again, i finally went back to see Evangeline and the others.

I went into the cafeteria and they were still there.

They were sat at 

They were laughing and talking about random topics while eating some curry.

They were sitting at a table eating curry.

In the meantime, I could see their laughter as they talked about various topics.

Evangeline had already integrated and seemed to get along very well with Suzuki and Benjiro.

I approached them, and after they saw me, they smiled at me in a very friendly way.

Evangeline was the first to speak.

"Everything okay, Fumi? Sit with us! There's some curry left," she said, offering me a seat next to her.

I nodded and accepted her invitation and sat down there.

My stomach grumbled a bit after seeing that curry.

"Hehehe... sorry," I said, embarrassed, scratching my head.

Benjiro, Suzuki, and Evangeline laughed in unison.

"Don't worry, it's normal," Benjiro said with a playful tone.

"Okay then... Itadakimasu!" I said, before eating.

After some minutes of talking and finishing the meal, Suzuki and Benjiro stood up.

"What's wrong? Where are you going?" I asked.

"Well... i need to go home. My idols are waiting me at home. I must finish that game." He said.

Ah yes... that game.

"I need to talk with Arai-Sensei for the spring school festival... I need to organize certain things..." She said.

"Oh... Okay." I replied.

"See you, brother!" Benjiro said.

"See you tomorrow, Fumihiro!" Suzuki-san added with a warm smile.

The fact that they were already leaving made me a little bit sad.

After some seconds, they waved at me and started walking away. 

Evangeline, who was sitting next to me, then looked right into my eyes.

She then clung to my arm in a friendly way.

"Soooo... You'll be my guide now, right...?" She said with a very playful tone.

I blushed.

"Y-Yes, i think so." I replied, while looking away.

I couldn't push her away.

I could even feel her breast pressing against my arm.

I felt guilty for Ema.

"So, where are we going , F-u-m-i-h-i-r-o?" She said in a tesing tone.

"I feel that something awful is gonna happen." I thought.