Chapter 17: Sakura Ishikawa, part 2

"Rina is also a victim of Hina."

Sakura's words echoed in my mind a few times and my soul.

When she said that, the world around me seemed to freeze and the time stopped.

All my memories with Hina turned into a shade of bloody red.

Beautiful memories, the time we almost had our first time… our first meeting…

Every good sensation vanished like dust in the wind.

I couldn't believe that a murderer was my girlfriend.

And for that exact reason, i had a question in my mind.

"Why didn't Hina hurt me?" I kept asking to myself.

Maybe she really loved me, who knows…

I still had to have my answers.

Then, after what seemed an eternity of silence, i had the courage of speaking again.

I tried not to show my internal state of shock and spoke in a cold voice, avoiding Sakura's gaze.

"How is Hina involved in this?" I asked.

Sakura sighed a little before replying.

"Rina… that girl is being celebrated like a saint. She was known for her good behavior , her beauty… but no one knew her true identity." She said with a cold and direct voice.

"…" I didn't reply.

My silence was speaking for me.

"Rina was… a criminal. She used to work for bad people… she was the leader of a criminal gang with her boyfriend. And most of all, she was one of Hina's classmates who used to bully and insult her every single day of school…" Sakura said.

She was telling me too many things.

I was a stranger to her, so before she could continue, I stopped her.

"Wait a second, Ishikawa-San." I said, while looking into her eyes.

Her gaze was empty and emotionless, like a cold piece of ice.

"Uhm? What is it?" She asked in curiosity.

"You barely know me. Why are you telling me all these things?" I asked.

"The answer is very simple, Kai." She said while putting her hands on the table.

"We both want answers, and you're the only one who can control Hina right now". She said with a firm tone.

Sakura-san knew almost everything about me and my relationship with Hina. 

But during her talks, i noticed that she avoided to mention her son.

If he was Hina's ex-boyfriend, that would have meant that they probably had the same age...

They probably knew each other since children.

But judging from her caress on my cheek, her son was probably a very sensitive topic for her.

"What do you mean by saying that i'm the only one who can control her...?" I asked, in confusion.

"She didn't kill you, and you're the first who came in contact with her. Then , you hold genuine feelings for her and i can read on your face that you still want to believe her innocence. And i can be sure about the fact that Hina truly loves you and would never hurt you." Sakura said, with a gentle but firm tone of voice, while still looking deep into my eyes.

I was really suprised after hearing that. 

This woman truly saw trough me.

But the fact that she based her sensation on the thing that i was still alive was a little bit strange and creepy.

I shivered after hearing her words.

"I'll follow you, Sakura-San." I said.

"Good boy... now i'll continue with what i was saying." She said with a small grin.

 I nodded in silence, ready to listen carefully all her words.

The atmosphere around us was silent.

No one was in the radius of 10 meters, not even the waiters.

"Rina... kept bullying Hina for years, but my nephew didn't care at all since she was happy with the way she was living, but one day... something bad happened..." She said, before taking a deep breath and starting to talk again.

"Rina and her gang assaulted Hina phisycally, by injuring her body and beating her... Rina was a horrible person" She added with a sigh.

I was actually shocked about these news.

"And why did they assault her?" I asked, swallowing some saliva.

"Jealousy. Rina was jealous about Hina's beauty and she didn't like the fact that Hina kept smiling and not caring about violence... But despite that assault, Hina didn't do anything. She didn't want to be involved since she... she.. she promised my son to be a good girl." She said.

"Oh... i have a question..." I said.

"Tell me, Kai." She replied with a normal tone of voice.

"You told me that your son was her ex boyfriend, right? And where was he when Hina assaulted your ex husband? Were they already in a relationship?" I asked, full of curiosity.

"Well... they met way later. My son grew up with my grandparents. I didn't want him to know his father... and i've always been absent for him... Okay, wait , i'm making a lot of confusion here... i said too many things..." She said, with a flustered tone of voice.

It wasn't easy for her to speak about so many things.

"It's okay, Sakura-San. Take your time." i said with a calm voice.

Sakura took another deep breath and spoke again.

"I forgot to say that before my official marriage, i had a baby with another man... I really loved him until the day he died in a car "accident"... but i'm still sure that my ex husband caused it... He didn't want my little baby with me... so, when i married him, i gave my son to my grandparents... and i always sneaked out of the house to see him everyday until the bad man found me out and locked me away, not even letting me see Hina." Sakura said.

"He was 1 year old when i gave him to them... and Hina was already four..." She added.

Her voice was a mix of emptiness and sorrow.

There were so many sign that were expressing all her frustation and pain.

Her hands were clenched into fists and were trembling on the table like she could suddenly punch it, her eyes were wet and her voice could break in any moment.

Her explanation was still confused and messy, but i figured out some things.

Basically, she was on the verge of marrying a man whom she had a baby with, then the man died and she married a rich man who didn't want her son, so Sakura gave him to her grandparents who grew him and Hina. She always saw them everyday until she's been found out and locked in her home, not seeing her son and Hina for one year...

All that informations entered in conflict with what i knew.

According to what i knew, Hina was living with her parents until they died, and then she transferred with her grandparents... but now Sakura said that she lived with her (Sakura) Grandparents.

 "Sorry to interrupt you, but i heard from other sources that Hina lived lived with her grandparents and not yours... and nobody mentioned your son, not even Detective Saito... something seems off" I said.

"They were MY grandparents. The one who truly wanted to adopt me. My parents are... the bad ones. They are who the ones who arranged my marriage by force... And about my son... nobody knows about his true identity. Not even Detective Saito. I never told him anything... and when the first murder happened, my son moved to another city with my grandparents... and that's where Hina followed him and met Rina." Sakura said.

I thought that she was giving me too many information...

To the point that i was getting annoyed... but i had to know everything.

Then, something snapped inside of me.

I remembered the first thing that my friends told me about the murder case in my school.

"Sakura-San... Sorry if i'm asking... but... is your son..-" My voice got immediately interrupted by her.

"Yes. He was the guy who died in your school, Kai." Sakura said, with a cold and direct tone with a glimpse of anger.

My eyes widened after hearing such a big revelation and my soul became a mix of twisted emotion.

So... the guy who died was her son... Hina's ex-boyfriend...

Such a shocking revelation.

"So... who is the responsible for his... death?" I asked, with a scared tone.

"Stay sure that it's not Hina." Sakura replied.

"Our meeting was fated by destiny, Kai. You'll help me to bring justice to my son... I need you... and i need Hina's help... but she hates me and she'll probably slit my throat if she finds me." Sakura added, with a sad tone of voice.

I was a little bit relieved by the fact that Sakura said that Hina was not the culprit and that she would've not hurt me... but... she was still someone who killed people... 

All i knew was that Hina was unpredictable and that would've put me even more at risk.

I couldn't be 100% sure that Hina wouldn't have hurt me, not after her crisis and her jealousy scene.

And why would Hina kill her aunt if she loved her so much?

I had too many question and doubts and i was about to ask other questions to her.

"Sak-" I tried to say, but she shutted my mouth with her finger.

"Stay quiet for a second." She said while standing up a little and looking outside the café.

All i heard were some people talking to each other.

"I can't talk anymore, Kai. Bad people are outside. Let's move to my place. I'll give you some things that you need for your journey. Fast." She said with a cold voice.

Then she grabbed my hand and we both sneaked outside, making sure that nobody saw us.

After that, Sakura made sure that nobody was around and behind us and after she made sure that nobody was around, she grabbed my hand again and we started to run towards the exit.

"Sakura-San! Why are we running?!? I only saw a bunch of old men!" I said while running.

"They are gangsters from Rina's gang. Someone probably told them that i was around... They want to kill me because of my relation with Hina." She said while looking back to me.

"Oh, great. Now i'm also involved with gansters. My life is so freakin beautiful now." I said to myself.

During our escape, Sakura dialed a number on her phone and started to talk with someone called "Yuto".

"Yuto, come pick me up fast!!! I'm almost outside!" She said with an anxious tone, before hanging up the call.

After 8 minutes of running, we arrived to the exit and saw a car waiting for us.

"Get in now, boy." Sakura said, while stopping outside the car and making sure that i entered.

Once i was in, she followed me and the driver started to drive.

Everything that happened was too sudden.

I didn't even have the time to think.

Then , the driver finally spoke and i took a better look at him.

He was an old man with white hair and a big mustache.

"That thing looks familiar." i said to myself, while thinking about Detective Saito.

"Where are we going, Ishikawa?" He asked, with a cold voice.

"To my house. And be fast, please." She replied.

"Roger." He said, while speeding up.

I was scared for my life.

Then, my phone buzzed and i took it out from my pocket.

I saw another message from Hina.

"Hey... you should be awake by now... Are you alive...?" The text said.

A reply was mandatory.

I sent her the photo of me and my grandma outside my house, with a phrase on it.

"Yeah, i'm alive. They just came to pick me up, sorry for not answering, i was preparing myself. Now i'm into the car, gonna send you a message when i arrive home. Love you~" I Texted.

Hina's reply came instantly.

"Oh!! You're so adorable! And your grandma is gorgeus!! Okay then... i'm going to school. See you later, my love." She texted.

Then, i put my phone away.

I noticed that the driver didn't ask any question to me like "Who are you? What's your name?".

It seemed like he already knew me.

There was a loud silence in the car.

Nobody was speaking.

Sakura was looking outside the mirror to see any potential threat while the driver seemed not to care about anything.

Then, after 20 minutes of "traveling" at the speed of light, we arrived in an isolated countryside.

The car stopped and Sakura made sign to me to get out with her.

I did what she asked and then, when we walked out, the driver immediately ran away.

I found my self, alone, with a woman who almost told me everything about her past, with the risk of getting killed by gangsters.

Everything was getting too unreal.

All i had to do was gathering information, not going far like this.

Then, Sakura-San patted my back and said "follow me".

I did what she asked and we both walked into the countryside.

There was no sign of any house.

Only fields of grain and tall grass.

"Excuse me, Sakura-san, but where's the house." I asked.

"Shh." She replied.

Then , we walked for other 10 minutes until she said "Stop"

We were surrounded by tall grass and grain.

I could easily get lost.

No sign of any house.

Then , Sakura-san lowered on her knees and removed some terrain , revealing a huge manhole on the ground.

She then "opened" it in some way and said "Get inside."

I did what she asked, not asking any further question and found myself inside of a bunker.

She followed me and closed the manhole.

I took a look around and saw that the place was an underground house, with all the comforts.

"Welcome to my house, Kai." She said.

"Oh woah... it's so nice here..." I said replied, while taking a look around.

Then, i heard the sound of a zip opening.

I looked back and saw Sakura half naked.

All i could see was Sakura-San standing there, wearing nothing more than a sexy lingerie.

I stood frozen in place.

Sakura's body was stunningly beautiful and athletic, and i saw lots of scars on her belly and legs.

She had a blush all across her face, but she didn't seem embarassed.

Instead... she said something that made me shiver.

"Kai... I need you..." She whispered...