"Answer the goddamn phone!"
ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎
Hiyori can't still wipe the big smile on her face. She thought she just dreamt last night but it wasn't, she can still feel Cobra's lips on hers. She assured herself that it wasn't a dream.
They really did kiss last night. Cobra really kissed her.
The famous Sannoh Rengokai's leader kissed her.
Even though how many times she ran these words in her mind, it was still unbelievable.
Hiyori tried to keep herself from smiling as she entered the Itokan diner.
"Hey," she greeted. She frowned when she heard Naomi and Yamato arguing. It was still early in the morning and these two are already in each other's faces.
"Pay up!" Naomi yelled.
"I can't even pay for the food I'm ordering here!"
"Pay up, I won!" Naomi insisted.
"What are you guys doing?" she asked. Naomi, Yamato, Dan, and Tetsu looked at her.
"Good, there you are!" Naomi has a big smile on her face as she pulled Hiyori beside her. She let the girl sit down on the barstool as the four of them looked at her. Hiyori frowned at their actions.
"So, who was it?" Tetsu asked.
"What?"
"Who kissed first? Who started the kiss?" Hiyori widens her eyes in realization.
"What in the world are you guys talking about?!" she exclaimed.
"Just tell us, who kissed who first? You or Cobra?" Naomi asked impatiently.
"No! I'm not going to answer that!"
"Come on, Yori! We can't definitely ask Cobra about this, 'cuz he will kill us! You're our only hope!" Yamato pleaded. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Why do you guys need to know?"
"We had a bet on who will kiss who first. You or Cobra," Dan explained. Hiyori's mouth went agape.
"I can't believe you bet on us!"
"Please, you guys are too slow! Might as well make money while we're waiting!" Naomi exclaimed. Hiyori winced and nodded.
"Fine." She sighed and the four went silent. "It was Cobra." Tetsu jumped in excitement.
"I told you! I saw them!"
"You saw us?!"
"You guys were kissing on a sidewalk!" Tetsu retorted.
Hiyori could not comprehend how she got friends like this. These people are crazy. She sighed and went behind the counter.
--
Hiyori was staring in the air. She flinched when Tetsu slapped his hand on the table. He stood up and was followed by Dan as they muttered something to themselves.
Hiyori frowned but ignored the two. They were about to head to the door when Ozawa suddenly came in.
"Hey! Listen up!"
"We're busy," Dan complained. "We don't have the time to listen to your little talk."
"Little? Hey, I'm your senpai!" Ozawa retorted.
"What got you anxious?" Chiharu asked. He's sitting at one of the tables while eating.
"Ah, that's right. Hyuga has come out," he said. Hiyori gulped down nervously as she looked at Naomi, the latter wearing the same worried look on her face.
"You're lying, right?" Naomi muttered. They went silent.
"Who's that?" Chiharu asked all of a sudden.
Hiyori pressed her lips into a thin line as she wondered how someone like Hyuga Norihisa have come out of prison after almost murdering someone.
The only possible thing that can happen is that someone let him out. Someone who has the power over police officials. Someone—
"Shit," she whispered.
"I told you already, I'm going to buy Nikka's present by myself," Tetsu told Dan. They were about to leave but Ozawa kept on stopping them.
"Don't you guys go anywhere," Ozawa said but was ignored and shoved away from the two. They stopped arguing when someone came in.
"Daruma has come. A lot of them," Kabuto told them out of breath. Dan and Tetsu's expression changes as soon as he said that.
"Oi, gather the guys and someone tells Cobra and Yamato," Dan said. The members immediately went out to inform the others.
"Let's go by ourselves," Dan told Chiharu and Tetsu.
"Hey," Hiyori called.
"No!" the trio said in chorus making Hiyori shocked.
"You can't go with us. We get it, you can fight but we can't let you fight for ourselves," Dan told her.
"We will be fine. We can handle it," Tetsu said and nodded.
"Just go and tell Cobra and Yamato," Dan said.
"Wait a minute!" Naomi exclaimed. Dan looked at her.
"We got it, we won't fight in the neighborhood," he said and left.
Hiyori sighed and nodded. With that, they left.
Hiyori and Naomi immediately tried to call Cobra and Yamato but the duo was not answering their phone.
"What the hell are those two doing not answering their phone?" Hiyori muttered in frustration as she placed her phone on the counter.
"Shall we look for them?" Naomi asked. Nikka walked into the diner and Naomi asked that she watched the store for a while.
The two walked outside the streets of Sannoh until Hiyori thought of somewhere the two could be.
"Maybe they're at the bar," Hiyori said and Naomi nodded as they both went to the bar. They entered the store and saw the two sitting down on the bar.
"Answer the goddamn phone!" the two girls said at the same time. Cobra and Yamato looked at them in confusion.
"What?" Yamato asked.
"Go. The others need you," Naomi said as she panted heavily.
"Daruma came. Dan and the others led them to the abandoned mall," Hiyori added. The duo stood up and walked out of the bar.
"Try not to get hurt a lot," Hiyori said and the two just nodded at her as they hop on their bikes and speed off.
"Now I think I need a drink," Hiyori muttered. Naomi looked at her and frowned. She held the black-haired girl as she tried to get her away from the bar and go back to the diner.
The two girls waited for more than an hour for the guys to come. Hiyori sighed as she thought if the guys are alright. They are fighting Daruma Ikka, and they know that their leader Hyuga Norihisa is someone that loves to fight. He doesn't care if he wins or loses. He just wants to beat people badly.
And now, Iemura is joining the chaos around the district. Hiyori doesn't know but she felt that something big is coming if Iemura won't stop pestering the district.
It will be a bigger fight that would require the five gangs to form an alliance. If they can't do that, the SWORD district will fall.
Hiyori was snapped out of her own thoughts when Tetsu and Chiharu entered while breathing heavily.
"Noboru-san..." Chiharu said as he let out a breath.
"What? What about him?" Hiyori asked them as she looked at them with fear in her eyes.
"He got hit by a car. Cobra-san and the others took him to the hospital," Tetsu explained.
Hiyori and Naomi went out of the door as soon as Tetsu finished. Hiyori's mind flooded with a lot of horrifying things.
She was scared for all of them.
END OF ACT ONE