2 Inside the Closet

Chapter 02: Inside the Closet

Day 001 – 08:06

It was just a normal day.

Asagami Roku headed to school the school he was attending, Nanba High School, after preparing all the necessities. He would walk the same route and pass the same blocks in every weekdays. Today, was the same. He soon arrived at the school gate and just after passing it, he heard the usual voice of a certain girl.

"Good morning." It was said by a timid looking girl with a braided, black hair and eye glasses. She wore a darkish-gray blazer, which was of different with boys, and a black skirt that was cut above the knee. It was the uniform of the girls in their school.

"…Oh, Good morning. Thanks for greeting as always."

Roku returned the greeting of the girl whose name he didn't know. However, that doesn't mean she was a stranger, the two were more like an acquaintance. The timid girl would always greet him, there was never a time when he greeted first. Before Roku could notice, she would had greeted him already. Their relationship could be called Greet Buddies, since all their interaction was to greet one another.

The girl then bowed her head, causing her face to be hidden. She muttered, "Thank you too…Roku-san."

Roku was unable to hear the last part of the girl's speech because of her weak voice but he understood that he had been thanked too.

"I'll be going now…" she said before bowing further and then trotting to the school building.

"Yeah…" Roku watched the back of that girl as he said to himself, "Oh yeah, I still don't know her name." The realization was brought by the conversation and he was actually going to say her name—that was, if he knew it.

'Well, I guess she doesn't know my name too. I never told her after all.'

"She is from class A, her name is Fukase Youko. She has a slender body, a timid attitude, and she's quite a beauty too." A sudden voice inserted. "Is that kind your type, Roku-dono?"

"Don't eavesdrop on me, Nakayama," Roku said to the person to his side, Nakayama Goudo, who just took a picture of Youko. He was the infamous information broker in their school. However, his information were all about girls. "I didn't ask anything so don't expect even a cent on me."

"That was free service, Roku-dono." Goudo smiled and it was obvious that he was scheming something. "However, the other private info will cost you."

"Let's hear about them." Roku replied, taking interest to what Goudo had said.

"As expected of you. I knew you would want these things." He looked around and checked if people could hear them. He then whispered into Roku's ear, "I know her birthday, her hobbies, and her three sizes. So, how about it?"

He was already grinning at Roku, who was actually really impressed to this person's information network. However…

"I'm short on cash, I'll pass." Roku was interested in those things but the problem was that he didn't have money to spare.

"That's too bad. Anyway, just tell me when you want information about a girl. I'll dig whatever you want for the right price."

"Even dirt?"

Goudo smiled. "Even dirt."

"Actually, there's this girl that I wanna pay back for things that she has done to me. So can you find some weaknesses that I can exploit?" Roku asked as he and Goudo walked towards the school building. "I'll pay when I have the cash so can you start as soon as possible?"

"Ho. To think that Roku-dono has someone he despises. Okay, I'll start tomorrow." Goudo grinned and Roku returned a grin of the same evil quality. "So what's her name?"

Roku changed into his indoor slippers and then closed the locker before answering him in a low voice. "She's quite famous actually. I'm pretty sure you know her. Natsuki Namie."

"Her!? The girl you were hanging with? That super popular Natsuki Namie?"

"Yeah, that girl. She's athletic, has cute face, and she's excellent at studies too." Roku then stated in an irritated tone. "However, her attitude sucks!"

"That's a tough order. I tried getting her three sizes back then, I failed though. She have an unbelievable instinct."

"Then, are you saying you can't after all?"

"Nah, her three sizes might be hard but a background check and some few stalking to do, I think I could pull it."

"That's amazing. Awesome! I'm expecting results." Roku couldn't contain his voice and shouted. "Whooo! Just wait for me Nana-san! I'll be giving extra interest to my debt to you all this time. Hahahaha!"

"So what are you two planning to do?"

In was smooth voice of a girl that carried hostility that came from Roku's' back.

"Man, this is bad." Roku nervously said to Goudo as he was very familiar to that voice. He yelled, "Nakayama, Run!"

Goudo was already in-action but he was grabbed in the collar by the owner of the voice, who turned out to be Namie like what Roku had been expecting. The sudden events caused other students to watch the happenings.

"Hey, Nakayama Goudo-kun? What were you planning to do?" Namie smiled in a threatening way as she lifted Goudo with few inches above the ground with her thin arms. She grabbed the camera slung on his neck and by one of her hand and then dropped it to the ground. "I let you go last time you attempted to do anything. This time, I won't."

"Ahh! What have you done?!!" Goudo in his pathetic state of being held up by a girl was screaming in pure shock.

Namie then stomped on the camera repeatedly with her feet causing the place to be filled with cracking sounds alongside gasps of the people who were present there.

"What the fuck are you doing, you bitch!? Do you think it's alright to destroy someone else's property?!"

"So?" Namie replied to the furious Goudo.

"I'll report this—"

"Just try." She released her grip from the collar and then crouched down to scavenge the camera and she took the memory card inside before she lifted it in front of Goudo's face, who was on the floor. "I'll see to it that everyone in the world would know what this contains."

"…." Goudo was unable to say anything with his mouth agape and an expression of pure terror plastered on his face.

Namie smirked. "Don't try anything funny with me, ever again. Got it?"

"…Yes."

With that, Goudo had been silenced and he would probably live his school life in shame. 'Sorry for dragging you into this, Nakayama.'

"Whoa, I bet that contained all sorts of improper, stolen pictures."

"Disgusting."

"Serves him right."

"Natsuki-san is cool, but terrifying too."

Those were some of the few comments of the students near Roku. 'And I goddamn agree with that last comment!!'

He was too occupied watching the events and lost his chance to escape and right now, Namie was heading into his direction with a "friendly" smile.

"Roku, you never learn." Hachi came out of nowhere and suddenly tapped his shoulder. He was looking at him sympathetically. "Don't expect any help from me. Just wait for you judgment."

'You fucking traitor!'

"Roku-kun."

The only time Namie added "kun" into Roku's name was whenever she was very angry,

"Nana-san…!"

"You know what's coming, right?"

He gulped with a loud sound as he saw Namie headed for the stairs upward. Roku and Hachi followed after her. In the meanwhile, the rest of the students were only able to watch the three ascend the stairs.

They arrived at the destination.

The location was the rooftop, the hang-out place of the three. However, this time, what would happen here was different.

"Are you ready?"

"…Yes. As a man, I won't run this time." Roku gathered his resolve and he continued, "I'll avenge, Nakayama too."

"Good luck, Roku! I'll be cheering on you!" Hachi shouted from a distance.

"Survive for five-minutes." She casually laid down her backpack after she cracked her knuckles. "My anger should have subsided by then."

In response, Roku cracked his knuckles too, imitating Namie. "You should worry about yourself, Nana-san."

With his false bravado, he readied himself for the incoming battle.

And then Roku raised his fist.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Day 002 – 8:02

Asagami Roku washed his face using the water from the faucet. He faced the mirror installed at the sink as he observed his features.

He ran his hand on his dark-blue hair to smooth it down before he stared at his reflection. His eyes were colored grey like always but there was a bit sign of tiredness in them. However, he was confident that he would recover soon enough. He wiped his face and his hand with his handkerchief that he put inside his pants' pocket.

"Okay," he muttered, pumping himself up.

He left the restroom and went to the living room where the two stayed. They were sitting while facing each other. Between them was a small table and a near turned off television. Roku too, seated on the sofa beside Hachi.

"So how is it?" Roku asked as he glanced at the television.

Hachi shrugged his shoulder. "No signal, no network, and no internet. Seems that there's no improvement since yesterday."

"How about electricity?"

"Still running," Namie answered. "I doubt it will remain like this for long though."

"Yeah, yeah. Good thing I found a charger inside this house."

Roku noticed the socket beside the television where he saw Hachi's phone charging.

"Hey, Hachi, you've got other charger?" He asked as he thought about his own phone. It was still around 80% and there wasn't really the need to charge it for now. That is, if everything was normal. The electricity might disappear soon due to some unknown events. He thought that it was better to play safe whenever he could.

"Nope. Found one only. You gotta find your own."

"Oh great." He glanced at Namie, who returned a glare at him. Roku who took that as a normal thing for Namie asked, "Do you have any charger, Nana-san?"

"I would be using it right now if I did, idiot. Do you even have what is called the freaking common sense?" Namie started.

"You know, common sense told me that your phone's battery might be full so you aren't just using it. Got it, genius?" Roku was the type of a person who won't back down to these conversations—arguments, especially if the opponent was Namie.

"That isn't common sense. It was only your interpretation. It was not mine, nor Hachi's. Therefore it's not common. So let's call it Roku sense instead—"

"Hey, don't twist things here!"

Namie smirked, ignoring Roku as she continued. "There isn't any reliable Roku. That's a fact. So basically, that Roku sense just now has been nothing but a useless, idiotic assumption."

"Oh really, what a genius we have here." Roku had no choice but to confront Namie in the same alley. Logic won't win in a battle like this. "If we have an Idiotic Roku sense, I guess there is a Gorilla sense too, which uses her muscles to—"

"Hey hey hey hey hey hey." Hachi suddenly interjected. "We were just talking about charger right!? How come it went to some Roku and Gorilla whatnot senses?"

"…Well." Roku realized that he should be finding for a charger instead of arguing with Namie. The three of them decided earlier to rest here for a while and charge their phone if the electricity was still running. Even with that said, they should not linger too long here and consume as little time as they could. "Right, I'll look for a charger upstairs."

"Yeah sure," Hachi answered to his friend before shifting his gaze to the other person. "You sure you won't charge your phone Nana-san?"

"I've charged mine back at home so there isn't need right now."

"Hear that, Roku? Seems that you'll be finding your own charger alone."

"Yeah," he was bit annoyed since Hachi was making it sound like he wanted Namie to accompany him. "I wasn't expecting any companion."

Roku climbed the stairs, holding his metal pipe. The second floor had four doors; one was a restroom and the three bedrooms. The three of them checked every rooms of this house earlier after they had just arrived here. The blue-haired teen was certain that there were no zombies around. All he had to do was now was to search for a smartphone's charger.

"Not here too huh? Damn," Roku muttered to himself. He had already basically rummaged through all the things in this floor. He searched under the beds and found a hidden porn magazine. He would have been happy finding it if the situation was different. One more thing notable was that he actually opened all drawers and cabinets, where he saw women's undergarments many times. Even though he regretted doing along the way, he still proceeded with it.

Although in the end he didn't examine the drawers thoroughly by looking through the clothing, he declared that there were no more smartphone chargers. It was his way as a man to avoid touching those kinds of things, it violates his pride.

'If I touch them right now, it would mean that I'm admitting that I will never be able to touch anyone's panties! I will never allow that. I will not die a virgin!'

Roku clenched his fist along with determined, and at the time, a smug face. He had after all defeated his desire to touch them.

However, this didn't mean that he gave up finding a charger. There were still other places where he hadn't searched yet.

He opened a sliding door leading to the balcony and exited the room from there. Holding on the railings, he examined the neighborhood only to see a few zombies loitering around the place. It was the reason why the three of them stopped in this place. The other observation Roku got was that there were no human in sight, most were probably hiding or went to escape somewhere. In any case, it was a good thing.

"Okay, it seems jumpable."

Yes, the reason why he didn't want people to see him was because of this. It might look like he was going steal in someone else's house after all. He stared hardly at the other house just across from him. The room in it had a glass sliding door too, same with the house Roku currently stay. From the glass he could see that the room was clean and in proper order. Certainly, no trace of zombies. He had made up his mind now.

He went back into room, all the way back to the stairway to notify his partner waiting at the living room.

"Hachi, there's no charger here so I'm going to the other house. I'll be jumping from the balcony."

"That sounds fun! I would have wanted to join too if I'm not charging my phone here." Hachi as he stood up and started climbing the stairs. "So I'll just be watching you instead. Who knows if you will mess up."

"Thanks. By the way, where's Nana-san?" Roku asked as he noticed that she was not in the living room.

"In the kitchen. Dunno what's she's doing though." Hachi looked at the direction of the kitchen and then shouted in a somehow quiet way. "Nana-san, I'll be going to upstairs too!"

Roku then lead the way to the balcony with Hachi following him. He handed his metal pipe to his partner and then proceeded with the act. First, he placed one foot on the railing while his hands were both acting as a support. And then gradually, he slowly lifted all his body and stood completely with both feet stepping on the railing with no hand support. He continued to balance.

The distance was more or less two meters. "Okay, here I go." Roku jumped.

And he was able to land on the other balcony successfully.

After regaining his posture, he immediately turned back to catch his weapon, which Hachi threw at him. He then checked to see whether the door was locked or unlocked. Fortunately, the result was the former and the door slid without a problem. He signaled an okay-sign for his partner, who was still watching him at the previous room.

"Now, now, a charger…" Roku was lucky this time. A few moment after he viewed the interior of the room, he immediately saw a black object on the right most part atop a desk. Upon closer inspection, it was really a smartphone's charger. He took it and placed it inside his pocket "It was here all along. I should've jumped from the balcony right at the moment I thought it was fun to do it, haha…"

Roku signaled Hachi on the other side that he found a charger. He stepped on the doorway leading to the balcony—a sudden sound came behind, causing him to step back, and rotating his body to position his metal pipe to his back.

Then it was followed with another sound.

"Eek!"

More specifically, it was a shriek.

"What's wrong?" Hachi asked with a worried tone.

"…I think I found a survivor…" Roku replied without looking back, his eyes were glued to the closet he had ignore before. Stepping forward, he asked, "Is anyone there…?"

No reply came.

He stretched his left hand and slowly touched the handle. Only it was then when he heard the person inside the closet speak again.

"I'm sorry…I'm…sorry. Please don't…hurt me… Waaahh!!" A surprising reply came. The person inside was crying.

"Yes, I promise. I won't hurt you," Roku assured as he opened the cabinet.

Based from the voice and the reply of the person inside, Roku had an inkling that it was a little girl. His thought was proven right as he saw the girl to be around the third grade of elementary school. She had blue, chest-length hair tied in twin tails. Her clothes were a shirt and a skirt, along with a pair of indoor slippers. The girl in mention, looked upwards.

"You won't?" Her eyes were still wet.

"Yes, I won't hurt you." Roku offered his left hand to the girl and she reluctantly held it to support herself to stand. The reason why the girl hid in the cabinet was to hide from zombies, and probably also because there were no one to protect her. "What's your name?"

"Hoshimi." Her reply was weak. "What about, onii-san?"

"I'm Asagami Roku. Hoshimi, how long have you been hiding there?"

"Since last night, Mommy…told me to."

He swallowed a large lump in his throat. This question was something that he should not ask. "Do you know where your family are?"

"…Mommy…and Daddy—waaah!"

"Shhh." He immediately covered the Hoshimi's mouth. As he feared, something probably happened to her parents and he could guess what that something was. "Please be quiet okay?"

She nodded while tears were still flowing from her eyes. Roku removed his hands slowly.

"…They…are….downstairs…" Her face was fearful so he smiled and then patted her head to reassure her. 'Downstairs, huh… What the hell.'

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

"Hey Roku, what's happening here—oh." To Roku's surprise, he saw Hachi at his back. He also jumped over the balcony it seemed. "I thought it was an emergency… Well, this can be an emergency too."

"Hachi, Let's take Hoshimi along with us until we can find someone like her relatives who would take care of her."

"I don't mind it. But are you sure?"

"…Yeah. I guess we head first to you house and after that, focus on finding her relatives next, maybe?" He answered with uncertainty. Roku looked at the girl who was eyeing the two of them with clear anxiety on her expression. Perhaps she thought that the two of them would leave her alone. "He smiled at her again and then spoke, "Hoshimi, do you have nearby relatives here?"

"Um… None."

That answer alone made the partners nervous. They both stayed silent as they stared at each other's eyes.

"But, but…" Hoshimi said worriedly as she probably noticed the faces the two made. "I…I think Sissy's school is near."

"Sissy?" Hachi asked in a confused way.

"Your...sister?" Roku realized that the only people Hoshimi told that were downstairs were her parents.

"…Mm-hmm."

"…Alright, we'll go to your sister," Roku decided.

"What's the school's name?"

"Um, Nanba High."

"That's the same school we attend to!" Hachi could not hide his surprise. "What a coincidence… So what's your sister's name…? We might know her."

Although Hachi was trying to speak normal, it was obvious for his friend to notice that he was thinking about the possibility that her sister had died too, given the state their school was in. Nevertheless, it was not completely impossible that her sister was alive. She could have escaped too, or perhaps still within the school grounds hiding somewhere.

"…Senri-oneechan."

In his left vision, Roku saw a picture frame, also on the top of the desk where he found the charger. From what he could discern, it was an image of at least three people. He had just ignored it earlier but this time, he was intrigued on the faces of what could be Hoshimi's family members so he left the two talking and went to pick up the object.

"Senri? Hmmm… That name rings a bell," Hachi said in a bewildered way.

The frame contained a family picture, like Roku expected. There were four people in the picture, a couple around their late thirties, and two daughters. The first was Hoshimi standing in the center and there was a blue-haired girl who about the same age as him standing beside her. She was probably her sister. Her name was Senri apparently–

His eyes stared hard at the picture. 'I know this person…'

"Senri… Kuribayashi Senri?" Roku muttered out loud.

Hoshimi heard him and her face suddenly brightened. "You're friends with my sissy, Onii-san?"

"Hmm. More like acquaintance, I guess." He smiled at her.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Kuribayashi Senri? The beautiful, sexy, erotic, student council president!?"

"Yeah." Roku handed the picture frame to Hachi who was still skeptical. He grabbed it and then his eyes widened.

"It's' really her!" Hachi exclaimed. "Ohhh, to think that we coincidentally found her home—it's her casual clothing, Roku! She is wearing a simple shirt here and shorts. You only see her in uniform but here, we can see her wearing casual clothes!"

"Hey Hachi, you're creeping Hoshimi—"

"Look, look, you can see clearly see the curves of her body in this thin shirt. The D Cup can be clearly determined!" Hachi spoke at such high energy that Roku could not help but wonder, causing him to unconsciously reply.

"Seriously!?"

Roku went beside Hachi and the two stared at the picture, both with awe on their faces while continuing their own conversation.

"The damned legs. It's so amazing. It looks so smooth," Roku commented. "I have been always looking at her stockings, to think that this day would come where I could see her bare thighs."

"Um, um…"

"Yeah, the black shorts complimented her white skin really well, maximizing the sexiness," Hachi added with a grin. "You agree right?"

"Um, Onii-san…?"

The two continued their discussion, both telling their opinion about their student council president. Both agreed on some things while they had a different thoughts about certain areas. Eventually, it came to the point that they have to find someone who would take their side. In other words…

"Hoshimi-chan, you also think that your sister's boobs is her best trait is her chest, don't you?" Hachi asked to the little girl shaking in fear.

Roku was about to add another comment when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"She's sexy, huh?" A voice behind him said.

"There's no 'huh?'. It's clear as day, Nana-san, Kuribayashi-senpai is really an erotic…" Roku replied instinctively but he didn't realize that the voice who called out to him was Namie until he had actually said it. "…Aha-ha. Nana-san…?"

"You perverts. You should die this instant. Disgusting!" Namie kicked Roku's back.

"Hey why'd you do that!?"

"You deserve that at least. I'm technically part of the school's disciplinary committee, I mean that I am just enacting such duty."

"We're just admiring her though…" Hachi excused.

"Admiring my foot. Are you two even aware that you're discussing such sickening things right in front your subject's little sister?"

"…I got it, Nana-san. We're sorry." Hachi admitted.

Roku was not satisfied being defeated by Namie here but he realized that they were indeed wrong letting Hoshimi hear all those "admiration." He crouched down and met the little girl's face. "I'm sorry Hoshimi."

She shook her head. "Mm-mm. It's okay. I forgive you, onii-san."

It was then when they heard something bumped at the room's door, and all of their eye shifted to observe it.

"So there's a zombie in the hallway?" Namie asked in a low voice.

Roku answered neared Namie and Hachi before he whispered, "That's probably one of Hoshimi's parent."

"I see. Hachi and I will deal with them."

Roku led Hoshimi to face a different direction while he could see that Hachi opened the door carefully. When the zombie was in sight in the door's gap, Namie immediately thrust her baseball bat to push it back. She then entered the doorway, followed by Hachi, who slowly closed the door.

Roku heard a single blunt sound immediately and then it stayed silent for a while. It hadn't even reach a minute when Namie came back to say that it was over. He noticed that her bat was not smeared in blood though.

"I guess, we should change her clothes if we're bringing her along with us. Hachi told me about it."

"Wait, you're coming with us?"

Roku was a bit surprised when Namie suggested that she would accompany them. The three had been hanging out a lot and he could consider her as a kind of friend already—but of course, he mainly treats her as his rival. Even with that said, he wasn't still sure how Namie view the two of them.

"Guess I'll tag along with you guys for a little bit. I'll help finding Senri. I can't just leave her little sister here alone."

"Oh! Nana-san, thank you so much!!"

"Hachi had the same reaction earlier though."

There was nothing to wonder at. Hachi was probably delighted that they could have Namie accompanying them. Roku bet that he was probably thinking the same line or something like this: "We have a goddamned tank with us. Hell yeah!"

"So what are you waiting for?" Namie stared at Roku and he returned a blank look. He was clueless why she was doing that until she sighed and talked. "Get out already, you cretin. Or are you perhaps a pedo, ha?"

"…Ah! Okay," he replied when he finally able to get what she meant. He hurriedly opened the door leading to the hallway.

"And while you're at it, find Hoshimi's shoes or something."

"Yeah. Got it."

He closed the door and then faced his back. Sure enough there was a corpse of a woman laid down on the floor with its head cracked, probably done by Namie. The blood was still slowly expanding, near it was a single crumpled cloth stained with blood.

"I was surprised, you know," Hachi spoke as he leaned at the wall. "Nana-san took a rag from the kitchen below and then wiped her bat before entering the room again. I thought she just doesn't want her weapon dirty but…"

"She was considerate enough by not showing Hoshimi a bloodstained bat that can lead her to think that her parents were smashed. Is that what you're implying?"

"Yeah. Thought she was just a tomboy but turns out that she can be nice too."

"Maybe you're right," Roku replied remembering some moments before where Namie helped them. "Anyway, help me look for Hoshimi's shoes. Have you seen them below?"

"Haven't searched yet."

The two then headed downstairs to find the item and Roku immediately noticed another corpse laying lifeless, which he tried to pay not too much attention. While at it, they started looking various things that could be helpful. When they found the shoes, the next they found another kitchen knife, making the total count two since they had already acquired one in the first house. The two also found a new backpack and few empty bottles which they of course filled with water.

The two went back to the room. Hoshimi had already changed her clothes into a long sleeved shirt, paired with a red skirt. It was almost the same with the one she wore earlier except for the color since the former was blue. She was sitting on the bed as she innocently looked at the partners.

"Here, the shoes." Roku threw them in the air tracing an arc until they were caught by Namie. She handed the footwear to Hoshimi, who slowly wore them.

Hachi, in the meantime, jumped over the balcony first after confirming that they will be returning to the first house after Hoshimi put on her shoes. He headed inside the house to check on the things they left behind. Some humans, or zombies could have entered the place when all three of them had left it after all.

Roku, on the other hand was thinking hard on how he could take the little girl to the other house. Carrying her would be hard since it cause his jumping power to decrease resulting with the two of them falling down.

"Roku, outta way." He had heard Namie spoke behind him and he was surprised to see her actually carrying Hoshimi, who had a worried look, on her back. "I'll jump first."

"Wait Nana-san, can you really jump the veranda while carrying her?"

"Hmph. Who do you think I am," she confidently state as she grinned. Then she suddenly took a short run, hopped on the railings, and then jumped towards the other balcony.

"Whoa." She had landed safely. No, in fact, it almost looked like that she had not exerted not much effort in doing the feat. It was a normal stunt for her. "Oh damn."

He just smiled wryly at them before he jumped on the other balcony. But before they could enter the room—

"Where are you people taking Hoshimi-chan!?" A voice came from Roku's right. There was a house in the neighborhood with an open window. From there, he could see an adult man staring at them. "Oy, where are you going to take her!?"

The man was angry at them but Roku could also tell that he was concerned about Hoshimi. He might be a good man. Looking at Hoshimi, he saw noticed her trying to hide from the man, and the expression on her face.

'Could it be, she's scared of him?'

Roku didn't know anything about the man. But he does know a little about Hoshimi. She had spent time here alone since last night. No one was there for her. She must have endured loneliness and fear all alone.

And yet this man here. Acting like he has been worried for her. Then where the hell—

"Shut up, old man!" Namie shouted back. "'Since I am her neighbor I must at least try to save her' that kind of thinking? Ha! Keep your pig act, since we'll be taking her anyway."

"Nana-san…" I let out a small smile as I watched her take Hoshimi inside the room.

"What did you say!!? You guys are suspicious, isn't it natural for me to get worried when my neighbor, especially a little girl is taken away by some unknown people!?"

This man really gets on my nerves, Roku thought as he could feel something hot in his chest. His hand as well felt like it could explode.

"Hey Roku, he said 'worried', right?" Hachi who came from inside the room said as he stepped out to the balcony. He pointed his metal pipe to the man. "Then when did you actually tried to confirm her safety? Tell me, mister."

The man inside the window was taken aback, probably realizing that what Hachi said was true. He could not look anymore at his eyes seeing how he shifted his gaze to the ground.

"Well, that's enough, Hachi," Roku tapped his partner's shoulder. He beckoned him to get inside already since he could see that there were other people, beside the man, who were peeking from windows of their own houses.

"Oh. Alright. Yeah. Sorry there, I took your line."

"You noticed?" Roku asked as the two of them started walking.

"Why of course. You were about to swing your metal pipe to the railing earlier, right?"

Roku was surprised. It was like what Hachi said, his anger and irritation was about to make him do that. He knew that for long now. He was a person who could keep a calm and logical attitude. But when something irritates him, all reasoning, good or bad, will go down in drain.

In these times, the ones who would stop or help him were Namie and Hachi.

"Yeah." He smiled. "But you know, you could have at least left me with some lines to say. You two took all the glory."

"Haha. Sorry."