Go Home

1 am, I receive a call from Ayaka, saying that their house was broken into by the thief in the middle of the night. I'm so shocked when I hear the news and I ask if everyone is okay especially Erika as she's my only sister. I don't know what I would do if she were hurt, I probably will get angry to the point that I'll take anything I have to do to find the culprit who hurt her and torture him till he has no desire to live. Sounds like a psychopath but I don't care. They deserve it.

She says that everyone is fine and no one has been hurt thanks to Erika being a hero and knocking down the thief using a stun gun that I gave her when we were in Tokyo. Wow, I didn't expect she still has it. The thief had already been caught and they can live a normal life again but they can't because the event that just happens is causing them unable to sleep. They're traumatized by the event even though they were not personally involved and scared that the same event will happen again.

I want to go back now but it's 1.30 am and no trains are in service right now, so I have to wait until after dawn for them to open the service again. I tell her that I'll be back as soon as I can this morning and, "Don't worry, there's no way the same event will happen in one night in a row. You guys can go to sleep and wake up in the morning without having to worry about anything, okay?" I assure them. I also tell them that I can call my friend to guard their house if she wants but she says, "N-no, it's okay. I-I don't want to trouble your friend in the middle of the night. W-we'll go to the bed and try to s-sleep, okay?" She sounds like she's trembling in fear. I want to make them feel safe but she rejects my suggestion, so I can't do anything.

She hangs up the phone. I put my phone on the nightstand and sit on the bed. *Sigh* Why did the break-in happen when I'm away? I think it's just a coincidence and nothing have to do with me. Thank God that Erika brings the stun gun with her, if not I'm sure she'll think of other alternatives to take down the thief without having to fight him.

This event just open my eyes to the possible future, I need to teach her how to protect herself in case something bad like this happens again. I'll not always be there when she needs me and she needs to learn a bit about martial arts, I think some movement that can make her escape from danger is enough, unless she wants more. Maybe I'll teach her after I'm back or when we go on vacation. I know that vacation means relaxation and relieves stress but she needs to learn it as soon as possible. Don't worry, I'll not be hard on her because it's a vacation, we want to relax and unwind, not stress over something.

I go back to sleep until 6 am. I wake up, take a shower, and pack up my clothes because I want to check out of the hotel and go back home as quickly as I can. I don't want to waste any more time. Before I leave, I call Rena and tell her that I'll go back. She sounds surprised when I tell her and asks me why. I explain what happen and she understands the reason for my action and she wants to meet me before I go.

"Hmm? Rena-chan, is that Kai who're you talking to? Hehe, can I talk with him for a sec~?" I hear a half-sleep Hanako in the background, asking her to talk with me. Wait... why is she in her room? Did they sleep together last night? She didn't say anything about this. Maybe they want to catch up on their life and tell stories about each other life.

Rena gives the phone to her, "Hehe, hi, Kai-kun~! Why're ya' callin' on wee hours? Did ya' miss me already? Hehehe, I miss ya' too~!" She sounds drunk. What did she drink last night? And why Rena doesn't sound drunk too?

"Hey, Hana. I'm about to go back home, so I call her to let her know that. We'll meet later, bye." I'm about to hang up but Rena holds me. "Wait! Do you want to meet? In the lobby, maybe?" She asks. I agree and tell her to meet in the lobby.

I tidy up the room, grab my bag, and go to the lobby. When I reach the lobby, she's already waiting for me on the sofa. I walk closer to her, she notices my presence and gets up. We're standing in front of each other, not saying anything, and can't look at each other. I need to start the conversation.

"Uh, so, where's Hana? Is she not coming?" Why do I have started by asking about another woman? "Oh, uh, she wants to meet you but she fell asleep right after our call, so... yeah."

I don't know if she's that drunk. She needs to drink coffee after she wakes up to fight the hangover. I say to her to inform others about my leaving so she doesn't need to answer every single question thrown by them.

We live in different states, so it's quite difficult to meet again, and the only way to see each other is by video call. We're getting sick of it but we have no other choice.

Suddenly, she hugs me. I'm taken aback a bit by her action but I hug her back. I pat her back and assure her that we'll meet again. I promise. *Sniff* Wow, her hair smells great, smells like a mixture of strawberry and... blackberry? Stop smelling her hair, man! This is a sad moment, so don't ruin it.

"Call me when you arrive, please?" She asks me to call her when I arrive home, of course I can't reject her request, so I agree. Then, we're apart, I grab my bag and leave the hotel. I go to the subway station and when I reach it, there are only a few people there, maybe because it's still morning. I wait for the train to arrive on the bench.

10 minutes later, The train arrive and I go in and find a seat. It's pretty much empty, so there are a lot of seats available. I take the one that is nearest to the door, so I can get out first when the train arrives at my stop. The train departs and it'll stop at a few stations, thus it'll take an hour or two before arrives. In the meantime, I hear songs on my phone using an earphone that I brought and have no time to use it at the event. Most of the songs are shuffled because I don't have any preferable songs.

The train stops and people get in. Nothing odd except for one old woman that I really know. "Grandma? Is that you? Haha, we meet again!" I greet an old woman I met when I was on my way to the convention. I gave her my seat before because all seats were occupied and she gave me candy as a thank you for the seat.

This time, the seat next to me is not occupied yet, so I tell her to sit beside me and she does. "Y-young man, was it you who I gave the candy?" She asks in a weak voice. I confirm her doubt and ask her where she's going. From there, we talk a lot again like before until the train stops at my station. I tell her that this is my station and I need to go but before that, she gives me candy again, the same candy she gave me before. I thank her and leave the train and go to the surface when I'm in the middle of the city.

*Sniff the air* *Inhale* This is home, I'm home! ...Well, not yet. I have to either take a taxi or walk to reach home but I'm tired already, so I'm gonna take a taxi. Along the way, the taxi driver tells me the news that happened around the neighborhood where I live. He says that the break-in happened to one of the houses in the neighborhood where a beautiful woman and her younger sister live.

He must talk about the break-in that happened to Ayaka's house. I don't want to spoil anything, so I let him keep talking. " I heard the rumors saying that the thief is actually her ex who wants to take back the gifts he gave her but I don't believe in that rumors. There's no way a goddess like her had an ex crazy like him, hahaha!" He's laughing loudly while tapping on the steering.

Ex? Does it mean that she had a boyfriend before? More importantly, does she currently has a boyfriend? No, he said it's just rumors and rumors don't necessarily mean it's true, right? ...Right? I hope it's wrong.