~Reina's POV~
"Reina, you're closing up alright!" I heard my boss tell me. "Yes, sir!" I replied as he left. I sighed and wiped down the tables. When I finished up cleaning, I took off the apron I was wearing and emptied out the tip I got today. I took out the ¥5,000 I got today from Kyouko. The thought of her came back to my head and I felt my heart clutch in guilt.
The day she left, I felt my heart break. She left without saying goodbye and without a trace. She hated us that much... She wasn't lying when she said she hated us. The amount of hatred that day in her eyes were enough to break someone down.
Even till today, her hatred for us was still there. She couldn't even stand to look me in the eyes. I felt something wet run down my cheeks. When I wiped my cheeks, I realized it they were tears. I wiped away my tears and took my share of the money then locked up the cafe.
I kept thinking of Kyouko and how much she had changed. Even after all these years, she's still able to make me flustered and my heartbeat quicken. No one was able to do that. I felt my breath hitch slightly as the realization hit me.
I still love her....
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~Mai's POV~
I leaned back in my chair and cracked my back. I sighed tiredly as I looked at my computer screen. I wasn't able to focus on work today ever since I bumped into Kyouko. I couldn't stop thinking about how she acted towards me. She acted so differently. I could tell by her attitude she was angry.
How can I blame her? I hurt her so much. And I made it even worse by saying all those things on the day she left. The three of us knew that when we found out that she left, it was because of us.
I rested my head on my desk. I remembered the tears streaming down her cheeks as she screamed back at us. I felt my heart hurt as I remembered the way she used to smile brightly at me. I knew that she would never be like that again towards me.
I sniffled and felt myself tremble slightly. I sat back up and covered my eyes with my hands. I felt the palms of my hands grow wet from the tears. No matter how hard I tried to hold back my tears, my mind would make me remember Kyouko back before we hurt her and after we hurt her.
Who am I kidding? No matter how hard I tried to move on. I tried to distract myself with Haruhiko but it never worked. Whenever I looked at him, it would only remind me of Kyouko's broken and hatred expressions.
What have I done...
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~Koito's POV~
I sat on my bed curled up. I stared out the window of my room. I was trying to study for my upcoming tests but I couldn't focus. My thoughts would always wander back to that girl Kyouko was talking to over the phone.
I gritted my teeth as I thought of that girl with Kyouko. Cuddling.... Kissing... Holding hands... Doing that... Makes me sick!
I sighed sadly and hugged my knees. I'm way too jealous of this girl. Besides, I did this to myself. I lost Kyouko to another girl. I hated this. I hated knowing that Kyouko belongs to someone else besides me. I wanted her for so long and I drove her away. She still hates me even till this day. And I couldn't blame her.
I was the one who drove her away. When I saw her come back today, I thought I could start over with her but I knew by the way she acted, she wasn't looking for us to start over. Since she left, my place had felt so empty. I was so used to waking up to Kyouko complaining in the morning about school and sudden surprise hugs from behind. I barely spoke to anyone knew ever since she left. I laid down on my bed and hugged Kyouko's old jacket.
When Kyouko left, she left everything she had at my place and never came back to get them. Hugging her jacket was the closest thing I had. I buried my face in her jacket and hugged myself tightly.
I need her back...
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~Kyouko's POV~
"Ac-Achoo!" I sneezed loudly. "Woah there. Are you cold?" Makoto asked me. I shook my head and sniffled. "No, I don't know why I suddenly sneezed. I'm not cold and there's not much pollen." I replied. Makoto shrugged it off as we headed back to the university. The sun was setting and everyone was at their dorms or back home. "The phantom is around here correct?" Makoto said and looked at the building. I nodded and began to look around as well.
Not long after, we heard a branch snap from behind us. My ears perk up in alert and looked behind us. I could sense someone was there but I couldn't see them. I moved closer to check but then I heard rumbles and stones shaking on the ground.
"Up there!" Makoto called my attention and pointed up at the building. It was the same phantom from before but it was no longer hiding. It had long webbed claws, sharp long teeth, and scales. It was dark purple and some parts of it glowed green.
"Ew, it smells like hot garbage!" I fake gagged and covered my nose. The phantom got down from the building and snarled at us. "Have you been around the public pool?!" I yelled at it. Makoto rolled her eyes and growled, "Will you stop messing around?" I huffed my cheeks and mumbled, "Fine fine. You're no fun." I replied and smashed my fists together and an explosion of black flames surrounds me. "Come on! Show me what you got! I'm 10 minutes behind dinner time and I'm fucking hungry!" I yelled.
The phantom roared and slashed its claws at me which I quickly dodged. "That was a close one but not fast enough," I said and stuck my tongue out at it. It snarled angrily and tried to slam down its claw. I made the flames around me more intense making it burn the phantom's hand. It whimpered in pain and pulled away. I laughed as it whimpered. It roared angrily and began to shoot black ooze at me. I quickly moved away before it hit me.
"What the fuck man?! I just got this shirt last week!" I yelled. It growled and tried to shoot another blast of black ooze at me. I growled and shot a black fireball at it burning the ooze in mid-air. A small bit of ooze got on my shirt.
My eyes glowed bright blue as the flames around me increased ten times. "Okay, that's it!" I roared. The monster roared back and swiped its spiky tail at me. I jumped up, dodging the tail. I ran up the phantom while it was trying to hit me. When I got on its head, I slammed my fist hard down on its skull. I heard a loud crack as the monster roared in pain. It began to lash back and forth while roaring loudly. I growled and held on. "Makoto!" I yelled at her.
She nods as her eyes turned bright green and I watched her transform into a large white wolf with yellow eyes. "I asked for help! Not for you to fucking show off!" I yelled. She ignored me and ran towards the phantom then slams herself against it, causing the phantom to fly back. I got off before it crashed into a large tree.
Makoto clamps her teeth down on the phantom's throat and threw it aside. I sat on the ground and muttered stubbornly. "Show off... Just because I can't transform into a wolf yet, you always show off." I grumbled. Makoto pins down the phantom under her paws and barks towards me.
"I got it. I got it." I sighed and got up. I went over and slashed the phantom with the same dagger I always used. The phantom lets out one last growl as it disintegrated.
Makoto looked down at me with a small smirk. "Oh wipe that smirk off of your face and transform back to your normal form," I scoffed. Makoto snickered and transformed back to her normal form.
"Makoto, let's go get some food now!" I cheered. She rolled her eyes and smiles, "Sure." We began to walk around town for a place to eat. I whistled as the two of walked along. I swished my tail happily from another successful phantom hunting.
"Kyouko?" I heard someone call us from behind. I stopped whistling and swishing my tail and looked behind me to see the three girls. I glared slightly and turned away from them. I was about to walk again but Makoto pulled me back. She turned to the girls and smiled warmly. "It's nice to see you girls again." She greeted. They gave Makoto a small smile and wave. "What bring you here?" Makoto asked. I tried to pull away from her but her grip only tightened.
"Well we were heading to dinner," Mai said. "Mind if the two of us join you? We're looking for a place to eat dinner." Makoto asked. I glared hard at Makoto and growled quietly, "What the fuck are you doing?" She ignored me and continued to pay attention to the girls. "O-Of course," Reina said. Makoto smiled and nodded. "Excellent. Why don't you three lead the way and we follow?" Makoto suggested. They nodded and walked past us. While walking past us, they glanced over at me.
They began to walk with us following them. "What the fuck is your problem?" I growled quietly to Makoto. She glared at me and smacked my head. "Language. And I'm trying to help you guys. All of you need to make up." She whispered. "Like hell, I will!" I snarled quietly. "You'll get along with these girls if you want to continue phantom hunting. I can hunt down all these phantoms by myself. So you can either be nice to them and get along so you can hunt along with me. Or be a stubborn child and not hunt phantoms." She hissed under her breath.
I growled and scoffed. This is the worst day ever.