Love or Vengeance/Ai Soretomo Fukushû

Chapter 2. Kiba

"Damn. I missed." Said Kiba as he took out his phone.
"What news do you have for me, Kiba?"
"I'm terribly sorry, master. I missed. Lady Cana jumped in front of Prince Julius and I shot her instead. I will accept any punishment you see fit."
"No, Kiba. It's exactly as I predicted it. I knew Cana would jump in front of the Prince. It's all going according to plan. Now, get out of there as quickly as you can. I will contact you soon for further instructions. You know what you need to do now, don't you?"
"Yes, master." Said Kiba as he held out his right arm and broke it.

◆◆◆ 

"Don't worry, my prince. I'm sure Cana will be just fine." Said the Ishin.
"Why? Why is she risking her life for me like this?" Asked Yamato as he sat with his face in his hands.
"Mochizuki-sama." Called the doctor as he came towards the two.
"How is she, doctor?" Asked Ishin.
"She is fine. The bullet missed any vital organs. She should be okay after a few days of rest. You can go and see her."
"Thank you, doctor. Let's go Yamato-kun."
Inside the room,
"How are you feeling, Cana my dear?" Asked Ishin as he touched her head.
"I am fine father. The doctor said that there is no problem. He said that I only need to rest and everything will be fine." Said Cana then looked to Yamato who held his head low.
"I'll give you two some time alone." Said Ishin as he walked out.
"I'm sorry, Cana-chan. I'm really sorry." Said Yamato.
"What are you saying, Yamato? Why are you apologizing?"
"Because it's my fault that you are in this condition. It's my fault that you were shot."
"No it isn't. I chose to jump in front of you, in order to protect you."
"But why? Why do you want to protect me? Why do you want to risk your life for me?"
"Because... because you are Prince Julius and I am your knight. I was given this task by my father and I must follow trough."
"But what kind of prince am I that I can't even protect those close to me? I'm not worthy of your protection."
"Don't say that, Yamato. You are more worthy than you can imagine. You will understand one day. I will always be by your side. I'm your fiance after all, aren't I?"
Yamato looked up to see Cana smiling at him.
"Yes. You are."
After some time, Yamato came out.
"Is she doing fine?" Asked Ishin.
"Yes. She is fine." Said Yamato. Suddenly his expression changed. "I will find who did this to her. And when I do, I'll tear him limb from limb."
"It's clear that the person that shot Cana was actually after you. So we can only assume that the person that shot Cana was working with the assassins that killed your parents."
"It could be. How are we going to handle this? The news about Cana being shot should be spreading like wildfire by now."
"It is. As a matter of fact, it's on every news channel." Said Ishin as he pointed to a TV.
"This is going to be hard to explain at school tomorrow."
At school,
"Tanaka-kun? We heard the news. How is she? How's Cana-san doing?" Asked Akari who surrounded Yamato.
"Don't worry. She is fine. She just needs to rest for a few days and she'll be back to her old self." Said Yamato.
"Kiba-kun?!! What happened to you?" Asked Reina as she saw Kiba walk in with a broken arm and bandaged up.
"Yeah. You left us last night saying that you think you forgot your phone at Yamato's place."
"Kiba, are you okay?"
"Yeah. Last night I came back because I thought I forgot my phone and I heard a gunshot. Then I saw a person come down from a tree and trying to run away. So I pounced on him and we fought for a bit, but he managed to break my arm and run away."
"Did you see his face? Do you know what he looks like?" Asked Yamato.
"No. He was wearing a mask. I couldn't see him."
"Damn it!" Said Yamato as he punched the table. "I'll find him. I'll surely find him. He's gonna pay for what he did."
"You can sure as hell bet on that." Said Kiba.
"But how are we gonna do that?" Asked Reina.
"Well, first of all we should go to where Kiba saw the person and look for clues." Said Yamato.
"That sounds like a good idea." Said Akari.
"We should go there this Saturday. We're all free, right?" Asked Reina.
"Yeah, but first we should go and see Cana-chan." Sad Yamato.
"That's a good idea. We should get her something too." Said Kiba.
"What does she like, Yamato-kun? You should know better than any of us." Said Akari.
"I love red things. Red is my favorite color."
"Well, she loves red things. And I know that she really loves roses and strawberries. We should get her that." Said Yamato.
"That sounds great. But you should get the roses, lover boy." Said Reina.
"Alright. Let's go then." Said Kiba.
At the hospital,
"Before we go in, nobody mention that Kiba got injured by going after the shooter, okay?" Said Yamato.
"Yeah. It's better if she doesn't know. Just say you fell or something." Said Akari.
"Fine." Said Kiba.
KNOCK, KNOCK!!!
"Come in." Called out Cana.
"Hi there, Cana-chan." Greeted Akari and Reina as everyone came in.
"Everyone. It's so good to see you." Said Cana with a smile.
"How are you doing? We were so worried when we heard what happened." Said Kiba.
"Oh my. Kiba-kun, what happened to you?"
"Oh, this? I just fell down the stairs this morning. Nothing to worry about. More importantly, are you doing okay?" Asked Kiba.
"Yes. I'm fine. It doesn't hurt like before."
"Here. We brought you some roses and some strawberries." Said Akari as she placed them on the table next to Cana's bed then turned to whisper to Cana. "Thank Yamato-kun for that. It was his idea."
"Really?" Asked Cana as she turned to look at Yamato who was talking to Kiba. She smiled and turned to Akari and Reina. "I'm sorry for worrying all of you."
"We're just glad you're okay." Said Reina.
"Yeah. you just rest up. When you get out, let's go somewhere fun, okay?" Said Akari.
"Chill out, Akari." Said Yamato as he gave her a little knock on the head. "Let her get better first."
"Ouch. That hurt. Why did you do that for?"
"Someone is getting overprotective." Said Kiba.
"Well, that's what you get when you are about to get married." Teased Reina.
"It's nothing like that. It's just..."
"Just what?" Asked the three of them.
"Umm...well..."
"Ah, young love. No fair. I want one too." Said Akari.
"I'd be happy to be of service." Said Kiba.
"Pass. Besides, you're broken."
Everyone just laughed.
The four of then turned to see Cana laughing so hard that tears started coming out.
"See? Even Cana thinks so too."
"Hmm. You'll see. One day I'm gonna get married to a princess and you're gonna wish that you hadn't laughed at me."
"Sure. Whatever you say, Prince Charming." Said Akari.
Later after they left,
"Thank you." Said Cana.
"For what?" Asked Yamato.
"For everything. For bringing everyone to see me, or bringing my favorite things and for being here." Said Cana as tears started coming down her cheeks. "If you had died last night, I don't know what I would have done."
"Don't worry. I'll always be here." Said Yamato as he held her hand."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
At home,
"Welcome home, master." Said Ayumi as she bowed.
"Thank you, Suzutski-san."
"Ah, Yamato-kun. Welcome home. I hope you had a good day at school." Said Ishin.
"Thank you, Mochizuki-san. Everything went well today. And I have an update on our current situation."
"Very good. What is it?"
"It's my friend Kiba. Who was here last night. He saw the shooter. Not only that but he also fought him."
"Did he see his face?"
"Unfortunately the shooter was wearing a mask. The attacker broke Kiba's arm before running away."
"Hmm. This is getting more and more complicated. Have you told Cana about it yet?"
"No. I didn't want to worry her"
"I have a bit of information myself." Said Ishin. "Look at this."
"This is footage from that night."
"Yes. And look at the time."
"It was half an hour before we arrived."
"Yes. Meaning that the attacker was here before you arrived home."
"Yes. He destroyed the camera and made his way in. So that must be the same way he used to get out."
"Exactly."