Our Destiny (Bungo Stray Dogs Soukoku)[Book 1]

Chapter 20- Game of Clue

Warning
Mental manipulation
Kidnapping
Cliffhanger
Description of minor injury

The train station in the Motomachi District wasn't that far from the cafe. When she was my student, I would walk Haruko to the train station whenever we met up, partially because it was only right to escort a young lady to her destination and partially because she had trauma with waiting on the train alone.

The odd drowsy feeling was still present but I did what I could to ignore it. My priority at the moment was to make sure that Haruko made it to the train station safely, the tiredness could be dealt with later.

We talked as we made our way through the streets. It was pretty crowded today so there were many times when Haruko would hold onto my arm so we wouldn't be separated.

It was rather enjoyable, if not for the overbearing feeling of being followed and watched. I had felt it even back when we had left the cafe and so far I still felt it even through the large crowd.

"Mr. Kunikida," Haruko's voice was quiet and sounded nervous. Her grip on my arm had tightened as we walked. "I have a weird feeling like we're being followed."

So she had noticed it too. This wasn't good, considering we don't know who it was that was following us, not to mention what they wanted.

Continuing on, I noticed a narrow alleyway on the right side. If my directions were correct, that alleyway should actually get us closer to the train station.

"Haruko, on our right is an alley, we're going to go through it and the train station should be but a block from it." I looked down at her, her face pressed closely to my arm.

When had she done that? All I knew was when she looked up, her eyes were filled with so much trust, even though they showed how scared she was.

I was going to make sure she was going to be alright. I was going to make sure she made it safely to the train station. But what if she isn't safe even then, what do I do?

I could always take her back to the Agency to ensure her safety, but it was possible that she had business to attend to. If she didn't feel safe even after arriving at the train station, she would most likely inform me, she's done it times before.

When we approach the alleyway and was about to turn down it, Haruko let out a soft pained whine as she placed a hand to her forehead.

"Haruko, are you alright?" Concerned, I stopped just after turning into the opening of the alley and looked down at her. She lowered her hand and looked up at me with half lidded eyes. Was she falling asleep?

"Kuni...kida? My head started hurting and I... suddenly got very sleepy." She stumbled backwards, almost falling to the ground had I not caught her by the waist. I eased her back so she was leaning against the wall. "I feel like my body is getting weaker the longer I stand."

She slid down the wall and brought her knees to her chest. She seemed concerned by what was happening to her. I couldn't blame her because I was also feeling the weight of tiredness weighing on me.

I had to fight through it though and ensure that Haruko was safe. I bent down so I could look at her.

"Were you on your way somewhere important?" I asked her as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.