Chapter 83: An unpleasant meeting

And so, at the sight of that unpleasant person who had been the cause of Yuna and Naomi's kidnapping, Kai's heart began to heat up.

But it was a very negative heat, one that only fueled the anger burning inside him.

For some strange reason, Kai felt fear, but it wasn't fear of Haruto.

No, it was fear of what he might do in that moment, what he was capable of.

Because of him, Kai had been pushed into a situation of no return, forced to kill just to survive.

And he perfectly knew that he was capable of doing something awful to his "friend".

But Haruto, standing there, seemed different now.

His voice was lighter, his usual dark hair was the same, and he bore no scars on his face or arms and acting like nothing has happened, like he always went to school.

He looked just like the Haruto from before, back when they were still part of the same group of friends.

But there was something that was strange in the entire situation.

So, Kai played along, quickly reminding himself that during Yuna's rescue, no one had seen him.

To Haruto, he should be just an innocent bystander.

He couldn't afford to show any signs of suspicion or guilt.

In a moment, Kai forced himself to contain his growing rage, and spoke as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, Haruto! It's been a while, my friend," Kai replied, his tone almost sarcastic.

His eyes remained fixed on Haruto, analyzing every subtle movement, every nuance of his expression, like Hina used to with him when she was searching for the minimum evidence of a lie.

"Yeah, it's been some time," Haruto answered, taking a deep breath and spreading his arms as if to enjoy the fresh breeze blowing across the rooftop.

"I heard you were sick. What happened to you?" he asked, his tone laced with concern.

"Nothing serious, just caught a little fever that kept me in bed. I recovered soon enough, and I've been with my parents since they came to visit," Kai responded, his voice cold and distant.

In that moment, it seemed like someone else was speaking instead of Kai.

"Oh, I see. I'm glad you're feeling better," Haruto said with a smile, though he touched his chin, as if he doubted Kai's words.

There was a brief silence between them, the wind rustling the edges of their uniforms.

"You know, I visited Hiro just last night," Haruto added, his tone suddenly more serious.

Kai nearly clenched his fists, but he resisted. He knew Haruto was trying to rile him up by mentioning his best friend.

Knowing Haruto's true nature now, it was clear what he was trying to do.

Provoke him, test his patience in order to cause a reaction by him on instinct.

Haruto was probably trying to find out if Kai was really there when he kidnapped Yuna.

Kai's heart began to pound faster.

He could feel the sweat starting to form on his brow, the familiar sensation of adrenaline rushing through his veins.

It wasn't just anger now.

There was something deeper, more primal… a sense of impending danger.

As if every instinct in his body was telling him to be ready for anything.

Yet, despite the storm brewing inside him, Kai forced himself to stay calm.

His expression remained neutral, his eyes never wavering from Haruto's face.

If this would've happened in another moment before this day, Kai would've probably reacted differently.

But the Haruto he saw was the leader of a criminal gang, and when he said that he could easily deflect the officer's attack, Kai knew that he was no ordinary guy.

Maybe he was someone who could really fight three people at once… or he had a knife in his pocket… who knows.

"That's nice. I haven't seen Hiro in a while either, how is he doing?" Kai responded, his voice flat, almost devoid of emotion.

But he still replied with a smile.

He could feel the weight of Haruto's gaze on him, as if Haruto was searching for cracks in his composure.

Haruto's eyes became sharper and kept staying locked on him.

But Kai wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

Not yet.

For a moment, there was silence again, only the sound of the wind and distant voices from the school below.

The rooftop felt eerily detached from the rest of the world, like a place where time slowed down, and only the two of them existed in that tense bubble.

Kai's mind raced, trying to make sense of Haruto's appearance and his sudden change in demeanor.

Haruto looked so ordinary now, just like the "old" days when they were friends.

But something about him felt off.

Was it the way he was speaking? The way he smiled, too relaxed, too casual, like everything was normal?

The more Kai thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

Kai even started to think that the person in front of him and the other one he saw in the building might have been two different people, but he also knew that he couldn't lower his guard.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking but… Hiro said to be careful." He said in his mind.

Haruto then spoke again.

He turned his gaze to the sky while putting his hands in his pocket.

"He's doing pretty well. But he was pretty surprised when he saw me. Hana was with him." He said, while moving his gaze towards Kai again, probably to trigger a reaction from him.

But our protagonist didn't even blink an eye or show any sign of anger or anything that could be suspicious.

The only one who knew about Kai's inner anger was only himself.

But the mention of Hana actually brought him a wave of heat to his heart.

Haruto mentioned her only to scare Kai, like he was saying "I'm gonna hurt her the next time I'll see her."

"I'm so glad that Hiro is okay. And why was Hana there?" Kai asked.

He thought that Hana was at the cafeteria.

"Well, she was crying. And she also said that Yuna was kidnapped by a criminal gang and that you and Hina went to rescue her… but I saw Yuna at school today. I don't even know what to think." He said , with a teasing tone.

Kai's eyes widened a little in surprise.

If he knew something like this… that could've mean that he and the other one weren't the same person.

And about the kidnap…

Yuki Nakamura would've probably tried to cancel it and say that it was nothing more than a gang war.

"What? Hahaha-That's completely no-sense. I was with my parents and Hina was with me during the evening." Kai said with a fake laugh.

Haruto couldn't contest his words, otherwise he would've revealed himself.

"But hey, im pretty worried, you know. A lot of strange accidents are happening during these weeks. Don't you watch the TV news? Two men were brutally murdered…" Haruto said, again with his teasing tone.

He was referring to the men who assaulted Kai at his home.

Haruto even knew this.

But Kai pretended he didn't know anything, he kept acting like a stranger.

"Yeah… But we can't let us refuse to live because of these things… we have to go on and… catch the criminals, one by one." Kai said with a more teasing tone, while marking his last words, like he was launching a challenge to him.

He couldn't have the proof that the person in front of him was his friend or a criminal, and that's why he couldn't lower his guard.

Memories of their last "confrontation" flooded his mind.

the violence, the blood, the fear.

The Haruto he saw had been ruthless, almost monstrous.

And now, standing in front of him, was this facade of a friend, pretending like nothing had happened.

Haruto let out a small laugh.

"Oh… I'm sure that they'll catch them , if they're good enough." He said, while locking his eyes on him.

The tension was growing with every passing second, and a loud silence filled the atmosphere.

Kai was about to throw a punch to his face, but he remembered how Hina used to act in these situations.

He had to stay calm and have cold blood flowing in his veins.

Rushing things wasn't the good choice. Not at all.

But suddenly, Haruto took some steps foward towards Kai.

Something was going to happen…