Weeks passed and never did Kaiyo encounter the usual people who had been coming to see her constantly before and speak face to face. She saw them walking down a street before. Totsuka and Yata. They made eye contact with her, but they never approached her. She never saw Anna ever since as well.
Totsuka had withheld the end of his promise.
She didn't long for their appearances. But the sudden total disappearance and physical conversations made her feel as if a piece of something was missing.
--Her emotions were contradicting themselves.
She wanted to return the red marble back as well. To continue holding onto such a precious item when they agreed not to see each other anymore, she felt like she was betraying them.
--It's an ugly feeling.
Breathing out a sigh, Kaiyo let her upper body sink onto her desk. She reared her head away from her arms when she felt the throb of pain when her head leaned onto her left arm. Folding up her blazer and inner white dress shirt's sleeve of her left arm, her eyes stared at the bluish-brown bruise that covered over her skin. As if something had hit her arm forcefully hard.
"Were you hit by something...?" Sakura's voice floated over to her side. Kaiyo tore her eyes away from her arm and moved her head to the side. She met eyes with Sakura.
"Yeah, I was... It was nothing. I stepped on a bottle on the floor and slipped. My arm hit the corner of a table while I was doing so."
--A lie.
Pity crossed Sakura's face and she grasped Kaiyo's uninjured arm. "Come on." She said, pulling the raven head up from her seat and out the classroom.
Kaiyo stumbled for a few steps at the start before she let Sakura drag her to her destination.
"Where are you going?"
"To the infirmary. We are going to get your hand treated with something."
Kaiyo tugged her arm back. "It's fine Sakura. It will heal by itself within a few more days."
"No can do. Just let me do something. I want to help." Sakura didn't let her friend go and her grip only tightened, showing her concern and care for her.
Smiling softly with a slight bitterness to it, Kaiyo gave up and let Sakura be with her decision.
Appearing in the infirmary, she was greeted by the school's nurse. She was appalled by the bruise on Kaiyo's arm when Sakura brought her attention to it. Having her sit on the chair, she went to grab the appropriate items to treat a bruise.
"It's a good thing that there's no open wound. But it is still painful to you right?" The nurse asked, "Is it causing you any discomfort?"
Kaiyo shook her head. "Not really. It only hurts when I apply pressure on it."
"It's good that it's not causing you discomfort." She said, inspecting the bruise. "Well, the blood is starting to seep back into the body, so that's a good thing." Taking a small bottle, she squeezed out a fair amount of cream onto her hand. "I will be giving you some vitamin K cream." She applied the cream on her arm, lightly and gently wiping the white substance on her bruise. "And I recommend that you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. The vitamin C in them has anti-inflammatory properties and can be used to promote healing." She further explained.
"I understand." Kaiyo nodded her head.
"Umu!" Closing the bottle's cap, she gave the bottle to the ravenette. "Here. This is for yours to keep. Take care of yourself in the future."
Kaiyo thanked the nurse with a bow of her head and she and Sakura left the nurse office.
"Now then," Sakura pointed out. Kaiyo sent her a confused gaze; only to have her get pulled towards the classroom this time.
Appearing in the class, Amaro who had gone to grab his lunch from the cafeteria, greeted the both of them with a question about their whereabouts.
"We went to the nurse office to get Kaiyo's bruise treated," Sakura whispered, not wanting her classmates to hear and get rumors floating around the school again.
"Bruise?"
Kaiyo looked away, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. "Ye-Yeah... I fell and hit my arm on the corner of a table."
"Are you sure...?" Amaro hissed under his breath. When he saw the look on her face, he dropped the subject and let out a sigh. Digging into the plastic bag he had on his desk, he threw the item at Kaiyo. Flabbergasted, Kaiyo fumbled to catch the item he had thrown to her. Finally holding the item in both of her hands, she stared at the item.
"An apple?" She inquired.
Amaro shrugged his shoulders. "I figured that you would need that more than me. Vitamin C, you know?"
"I'm surprised that someone like you know that Vitamin C is good for your body." Sakura taunted slyly.
Amaro's face flared slightly pinkish. "Hey! What do you mean by that?!"
"As it is, Gamer-boy!"
"As if!!"
Kaiyo chuckled to herself as she watched the two of them bicker between themselves. The act of caring for her brought forth a sensation of gratefulness and kindness growing in her. She couldn't ask for more.
--Thank you.
Classes soon started and many students dreaded the next few hours of schooling and studies before the bells rang throughout the whole building. Students thanked their teacher with a bow before they started shuffling out of their classes once they had finished packing their materials.
"Are you going home soon, Kai-chan?" Sakura placed her bag on Kaiyo's desk and asked. Said female shook her head. "I have some time to spare. My father is working and won't be able to come home for the next few days. Rimu has to finish his school's project and will be coming home late today, and I'm not on working shift for the next few days."
Hearing about this, a bright wide smile spread across Sakura's lips. "That's great!" She cheered.
Raising a brow, Kaiyo asked, "What are you so happy about?"
"There's a new pastry café that had opened just a few streets away from school. I had wanted to try it the moment it opened last week, but I wanted to go with you. But you didn't look the usual you, so I pushed the visit to this week."
Amaro popped up from the side, giving the two females his signature smirk. "What is this about?" He asked joyfully.
"There's a new pastry café that had opened a few streets down from school. I'm planning to go with Kai-chan. Do you want to come along??"
"Pastry?"
"Yes!" Sakura beamed out happily. They could see her comically drooling as she imagined the cakes and food in her mind when she walked past them this morning. "They looked so nice! I wanted to eat that strawberry shortcake! Oh oh maybe the matcha cheesecake I saw! Or maybe the coffee chocolate truffles!"
"Those will get you fat, Sakura." Amaro snickered.
Sakura smacked him on the head, causing the male to lash back with a 'hey, that hurt.'
Laughing to herself, Kaiyo pushed both of her friends apart. "Sure, why not." Kaiyo agreed to go along with Sakura to the pastry café. "It sounds nice. A quick change in environment from all these studying and life problems is good for the mental health."
"Really?! Thank you so much!" Sakura jumped and wrapped her arms around the raven head. Kaiyo caught both of their weight so that they wouldn't tumble to the ground.
Amaro scratched the back of his neck before he let his lips pull into a smile. "Alright alright. I guess the change in environment is good."
"For you, it would be taking a break from gaming rather than studying." Sakura mocked playfully.
"KORA SAKURA!!"
Kaiyo, who was still in the arms of Sakura, laughed along with their antics towards each other.
Not wanting to waste too much time, the three of them decided to leave for the café after they had calmed down.
It had been minutes since they left the school and ever since then Sakura was walking with a bounce in her strides. Any words that left her lips was regarding what food or which cake she would eat, and what drinks should she pair her dessert with.
"Hearing all of those calories are killing my ears. I thought all females take much care of their weight?" Amaro spoke the first things that came to his mind.
"And I thought all males are supposed to be considerate?" Sakura shot back within a heartbeat. "Are you a male yourself?"
A gasp left the male teen. "Say what?!"
Kaiyo pushed the both of them apart and walked in the middle. "Why are the two of you always at each other's necks?" She asked whilst choking on her own laughter.
"Because it is her/him!" Both teens answered. Realising that they spoke at the same time, they turned their heads to face each other and gnashed their teeth at each other.
"Okay okay." Kaiyo hit them beneath their chin, grabbing their attention away from each other and to herself. "This is making me feel as if I'm third-wheeling. You're making it look like a couple's quarrel."
That made Sakura and Amaro face to turn red.
"Wh-What. We are not that!!" Amaro yelled.
"Ye-Yeah!! Oh oh! I see the café! Let's go!!" Flustered and not wanting to touch onto that subject anymore, Sakura grabbed onto their wrists and dragged the both of them into the café.
Getting their seats, the previous act was gone from their minds. Kaiyo let it slipped, but she would bring it up again in the future.
Each ordering a plate of dessert and a cup of drink, they sat on their table and talked about their studies and what they wanted to be in the future.
"What are you aiming for, Amaro-kun?" Sakura asked the male.
"A pro-gamer." A haughty laugh left his mouth.
"You've got to be kidding me." Sakura dead-panned.
"Yeah, I'm joking with you."
"Be serious!!"
"I am! It's just part of what I want to be. Something like a side character job."
Sakura held her head and sighed. She then moved along to Kaiyo. "What do you plan to do in the future?"
"Hmm... Medicine? Nurse? Doctor? Somewhere in the medical field, I guess."
"A medical student? That's known to be hard and harsh!!" Sakura was surprised by her decision. Amaro was too for he dropped the piece of cake he had wanted to eat back onto his plate when it slipped off his fork.
"I know..."
Sakura's features softened. "What pushed you to take that career path?"
"... My mother was once in the medical field. She was a nurse, working in the neighbourhood hospital. She was the best person while she was working. Working hard to care and tend for the people, no matter who they are. When she was at home, she was the best mother I could ever ask for..." A look of utter guilt and ruin fell upon her face.
When they saw her expression, they knew something had happened. They were told that her mother had passed but wasn't told why and how. But they knew better than to ask what had happened. It wasn't their part to keep asking.
"So you want to follow in your mother's footsteps?" Amaro inquired carefully.
Kaiyo shook her head; much to their surprise. "The main reason is because I want to take proper care of Rimu."
"Your little brother?"
"Yes." Kaiyo set her fork down on her plate. Her eyes turned to look out the window glasses. "I'm sure there would be a day where I would lose this special ability." Her hand came up and took her necklace that laid beneath her uniform. Her eyes stared at the glittering precious jewellery. "And when that time comes, I wouldn't want to be helpless if Rimu ever gets injured. Plus, it would help myself as well."
"Kaiyo..." Amaro mumbled out, "you think that this would continue even after you graduate?"
Kaiyo let out a subdued breathing of air through her mouth; as if she was mocking something. "It happened for years. It will happen forever."
"You can always ask for help you know?"
"And he would lie through his teeth. My neighbours believed his gullible lies. And I get the brunt of letting them know afterwards." Kaiyo seethed. Her hand that was on the table was clenched into fists. "At some point, I just gave up... And thought that ensuring Rimu isn't harm too badly is more important than having others know about my situation. If someone knew about the things happening in the house, I would get it in the end.
That's why I didn't want you two to be seen anywhere near my house or get seen with me. If he saw, I can explain that it was for a school project if it was the two of you. But it's not the same with Suoh-san when he saw that time. Because you know he isn't a student with his clothing style."
Sakura and Amaro understood where she was coming from. But their feelings of worry were an emotion they can never get rid of no matter how much Kaiyo would say she was fine.
--Because she isn't fine.
And they knew.
Almost an hour had passed and the three of them were still there slowly enjoying their time at the café and conversing.
Two figures appeared in the corner of Kaiyo's field of sight and her eyes automatically moved to them.
--Those are...
Sakura seemed to notice who Kaiyo was looking at and their names left her lips.
"Aren't they—"
Kaiyo's body automatically moved, and she stood up from her chair. "I will be right back! I have to return something!" Hands flying to her bag, she dug out a pouch and ran out of café before either of her friends could stop her.
Taking in a deep breath, Kaiyo ran onto the road since they were on the opposite side of the street she was on. Cars stopped when she ran onto their lanes and they honked their horns loudly. She bowed her head and yelled out a few apologies as she ran.
Standing onto the other street, she ran a few more meters and let out a yell.
"Anna-chan! Totsuka-san!"
The white-haired female paused in her walk and turned her head over her shoulder. When she noticed the person who called her name that sounded very familiar, her mouth dropped open and the raven's name fell out from her mouth.
"Kaiyo?"
Totsuka, who was the other person walking beside Anna and heard Anna's name, realised that it was Kaiyo behind them.
"Kaiyo-chan?"
Running out to them was impromptu, and Kaiyo was regretting having done it. But she wanted to return Anna's item back to her.
Sucking in a deep breath, Kaiyo took a step forward. "Uh-Uhm..." She didn't know how to start. It was awkward.
"Do you need something, Kaiyo-chan?" Totsuka asked. He knew she came to them for a reason. On multiple occasions where they saw each other and met eye-contact, she didn't approach them. But she approached them today. Which meant she had something to speak to with them.
"I..."
"Kaiyo?"
"I have something... I want to give back." Kaiyo took up the courage and closed the distance between them and her. She had to return it. She had to.
Kaiyo held out the pouch she was holding in her hand. Anna shot her a curious gaze when she did so.
"It's... your marble that you gifted me that time." Kaiyo answered hesitantly. "I have been wanting to return it to you, but you weren't with the rest whenever I saw them walking down the streets. And I couldn't bare to... step into the bar after that incident. So..." Opening the pouch, Kaiyo let the marble slid onto her hand. "I feel guilty about holding onto this... And I thought it was best to return this to you."
Anna stared down at the red marble in Kaiyo's hand. It was the very same marble she gave to her. Not any fake or any other marbles found in any shops. It was her original one.
--She kept it ever since...
Anna smiled softly. She was glad Kaiyo kept it with her till now. But she was saddened that Kaiyo wanted to return it back. With looks of gloom, Anna looked up at her.
"But Kaiyo..." Anna started, "I want you to—"
"No, I can't keep it..." Kaiyo replied, cutting Anna off before she could complete her sentence. She knew what the female wanted to say. "I can't accept this... I can't keep it... It's a very... precious item to receive from you, but every time I see this marble, it just reminds me of things I didn't want to be reminded off.
"Of ties. Of relationships with people. Of friends. Of family..."
Anna felt despair and grief splashed into her systems. It was overflowing from the female standing in front of her. What made her scared for the ravenette was that those feelings weren't towards the Red Clan. But towards herself—Kaiyo—and her own life.
Anna reached out a hand towards Kaiyo's face. "Kaiyo... Why do you—"
"Look out!" Totsuka screamed out of the blue before he grabbed onto the two females and dragged them towards him. Yelps left their lips as they tumbled to the ground with Totsuka cushioning their fall.
Screeches of tires sounded behind her and Kaiyo felt the rush of wind cut through the air on the back of her exposed neck.
Apologising quickly, Kaiyo pushed herself off Totsuka and onto a sitting position. Turning her head behind her, she saw a van having went up the curb and had more than half of its body on the pavement—close to having smashed right into the building by the side.
"Wh-What the hell." The string of words left the raven head. Her brows frowned towards each other when the back door of the van slid open and two people dressed in the usual gang-style appeared slid out from the vehicle. One of them held a metal bat, while the other held a baton.
Seeing their dress code and the weapons they were holding, she knew they weren't ordinary commuters. Moreover, normal people wouldn't try and run them over.
"Who are you guys?" Kaiyo hissed out, moving into a cautious stance.
"Who are we?" The guy holding onto the metallic bat let out a sarcastic laugh. "Gurl... Your worst nightmare."
"My worst nightmare? I have had worse."
"We don't have time for this." The other male holding the baton groaned out. "Hand us the female behind you. Then we will let you and the other guy off without any fight or injuries on you. Call us having mercy."
Upon hearing that, Kaiyo's head swiftly turned around to glance over upon Totsuka and Anna. "Do you know them?"
Totsuka shook his head. "Not that I know off." Anna shook her head as well.
"How dare you?! You—!"
"Stop it!" Another male slid out from the van. He didn't have any weapon on himself and had a bandanna over his head. "If they do not know who we are, they just made our job easier." A malicious smirk grew on his face. "Hand them over and we will let you off."
Kaiyo took a step back when one of them took one forward.
"Let's make a run!" Totsuka yelled and he grabbed both females' hands. When they turned around, they skidded to a stop when they saw two people holding a weapon in their hands, they knew they belonged to the same group as the three males behind them.
Kaiyo turned and stood in a position where her eyes could see both sides easier. "Why do you want her?" She asked lowly.
"Because Boss says so. He wants the Red's princess."
"You know about..."
"So what? Hand her over and stop being so annoying!" The bat-wielding guy spoke again.
"Leave her alone and drive off," fishing out her phone, Kaiyo tapped on her screen, "or I will call the police right this instance."
"You—!"
"Wait." A voice rose out. The van's window pulled downwards. "Isn't she the one that our member sent to Boss and said we could take in as well because she seemed close to them?"
"Now that you said it, it is her." The baton-wielding guy had his mouth shaped into an 'o' from the sudden revelation. With that newfound information, it seemed to hype up their energy. Their eyes brimmed with malicious intent.
Instincts told Kaiyo that she was now one of their targets. It wasn't good. She kept her phone back into her pocket.
"Get behind me," Kaiyo said as she pushed Anna behind her. Totsuka was facing the other side, saying that he would take the other one since it had lesser people and his combat abilities were not as strong as hers.
The first to make a move was the male who wields that bat. "Hiyah!" He ran towards her and swung his bat. Kaiyo took a step to the side and dodged the bat. Kicking out her leg, her foot met the male's stomach harshly. Pushed backwards by the impact, he collided with the baton-wielding male behind and they tumbled to the ground.
"Wh-What no one told me that she could fight this well!!" The bat-wielding guy cried out as he pushed himself into a sitting position.
"Get the **** off me!!" the baton guy underneath his comrade, pushed him away, "If she fights well, then you fight back as hard! Use dirty means if you need!"
The guy stumbled forward from the sudden push. But amid his actions, he managed to swing his bat in a wide arch from his left to the right.
Kaiyo squatted down to her knees, dodging the bat. Sweeping her right leg out, she kicked the male's feet from beneath him. As he fell towards the ground, Kaiyo sent an uppercut to his stomach, striking with her palm.
He was sent backwards, choking on his saliva. Just as he did so, the unarmed enemy sprinted forward with his left fist raised to throw a jab.
Kaiyo pulled up her right hand to block the attack, only to have her curse to herself when she realised that it was a feint. His right hand came from under in an uppercut.
Rearing her head backwards, her left-right foot skidded back to prevent her from tumbling on her behind as the male's fist barely missed her chin. She could feel the air change sharply when the fist moved passed her face.
If that were to hit her, she would have bitten her tongue off.
Snapping her jaws, she had her teeth biting down on each other for fear of biting herself.
A 'tsk' left the unarmed male and he visibly leaned his weight on his right leg.
Seeing his actions, Kaiyo immediately lifted her arms and covered the swift kick that he had delivered to her. She winced when his leg met her arm. She had to use her left hand to support and take the impact as well.
A whistle left his mouth next. "You're good."
"You're strong."
He thanked the female for the compliment.
'At least he has manners.'
This time, he took a few steps back and launched himself forward, kicking off the floor. His body twisted and he kicked out his leg for the first attack. Kaiyo defended it with her right arm. The second kick was defended using her left palm to stop the feet from hitting her chest. The third and highest point of the kick was aimed towards her face. Kneeling down just enough to avoid the leg, Kaiyo threw a punch the moment his leg touched the floor.
When he had his hand out to catch her fist, Kaiyo pulled her hand back and used that momentum to deliver a reverse roundhouse kick.
At the last second, the male reeled himself backwards and managed to dodge the kick.
From the side, the bat-wielding guy appeared out of the blue, taking Kaiyo by surprise. She had forgotten that there were other people around them.
He swung his bat. Subconsciously, Kaiyo blocked it using her left arm, only to regret with it hit the area where her bruise was. Sharp pain shot through the nerves of her arm and down her whole body.
A yelp escaped her mouth and she instinctively drew her arm and held it with her other hand. This chance was used by the unarmed male and he kicked out his right leg. Kaiyo was kicked and she flung back from the momentum. Luckily, she as able to protect her stomach, and his foot met her right arm instead.
Tumbling to the ground on her side, she heard Anna call her name. She looked up in time to see Anna throw one marble of hers towards the male which took him by surprise and he hesitated in swinging his bat.
Pushing herself to her knees, Kaiyo took a hold of the bat that was swung towards her from the top. Pulling the bat towards her, she swung her hand forward and sent a clean punch to the bat-wielding guy's nose.
A crack was heard, and a scream tore out from the male's throat. Blood gushed out from his now broken nose. He dropped his bat in favour of covering his bleeding, injured nose.
Holding the bat in her hand, Kaiyo used it as her weapon this time.
A 'tsk' left both of the two males in front of her—except the injured male—and they both took off to subdue the female.
Various punches, kicks and swinging of their weapons happened and Kaiyo was barely able to get herself away from getting injured.
A familiar scream rang out before another familiar yelp reached her ears. Kaiyo's head snapped to the side and her eyes saw Totsuka laying on the ground, clutching his bleeding head. He seemed to have been struck there with something. One of the members had laid their hand on Anna, holding her in a choking holding using their arm around her neck.
"Anna—"
"Look out Kaiyo!" Anna screamed out loudly.
But the ravenette was too late. Something hit the base of the back of her neck and she saw various colours flashing over her sight. Her body instinctively moved and delivered a roundhouse kick, but amid that, a pair of hands wrapped around her arms and she struggled to get them off. A choked gasp left her lips when a punch connected to her stomach and she fell forward. Black spots danced in her vision before they swarmed over fully and consumed her in the darkness.
Anna let out a scream for Kaiyo's name when she saw her falling to the ground unconscious. She was then knocked out with a taser gun, followed by Totsuka.
Once they had loaded the two females into the van, the members pulled Totsuka into the alleyway just beside them and they drove off as quickly as they could, not wanting to get caught by people or the police—if anyone had called for them.
"Hey Amaro-kun?" Sakura called his name.
Amaro hummed out, signaling her to continue.
"Don't you think. That Kaiyo-chan is taking a while? She had been gone for a while..."
"Maybe they are having a scuffle? She did say that she isn't on good terms with them ever since a few weeks ago." Amaro explained as he took the last sip of his drink.
"But she just wanted to return something..." Sakura trailed off, "Maybe something had happened? Hey, let's go check it out." She was worried. Something was off. She felt as if something was off. Call it woman's instincts.
Amaro sighed. "All right all right." He agreed. Packing his things into his bag, he picked up Kaiyo's bag and the three of them left the cafe.
"If I'm not wrong, she ran onto the other side," Sakura muttered under her breath. They crossed the road and walked down the street.
"That's weird..." Sakura said out loud. "They were on this side of the street. When Kaiyo saw them, they wouldn't have gone far. She would have caught up with them and be around here."
As she was looking at the floor, car tires jeering from the side and went up the pavement. This caught Sakura's curiosity.
"Maybe they pulled her to another area—" Amaro cuts himself with a gasp leaving his lips.
Confused, Sakura lifted her head to see Amaro squatting on the ground two or three meters in front of her.
"Hey, Sakura..." Amaro called her name. Confused, Sakura closed the distance between the both of them. As she stood by his side, Amaro held up a necklace.
"Isn't this..." Sakura's voice got stuck to her throat. A cross-like sword necklace with small beads of different colours attached to the sides and the middle.
"It's Kai-chan's!"
"This is her most precious item... She wouldn't leave it here on the ground like this."
Sakura saw something laying on the ground and went over to pick it up. It was the pouch that they saw Kaiyo pulled it out from her bag. And just beside it was another red marble but albeit bigger in size.
She dropped both the items she wanted to return and her precious necklace she would always keep on herself. 'What happened?' Sakura thought in her head. Thinking that the other red marble was supposed to be in the pouch, Sakura kept the marble inside it.
"He-Hey!" Amaro's sharp voice cuts through the air. Sakura turned her head to see him walking into the alleyway just beside him. "Hey, are you okay?!"
Curious, Sakura walked into the alleyway as well. Amaro was squatting by the side of a trash bin. Leaning her head over, she realised that Amaro was tending to a guy leaning against the wall. He shook the unconscious guy, trying to wake him up.
Upon a closer look, Sakura recognised the person's face. "Wa-wait aren't you?!" She pushed Amaro over a little, scooting to his side. Holding onto the male's shoulder, she confirmed her recognition. "Hey what happened?! Did something happen when Kaiyo wet you?? Wait, you're bleeding on the head?"
"Let me just call the ambula—"
The groan coming from the male in front of them caught their attention and they stopped talking.
When his eyes fluttered open, his hand went to the injury on his head. As if he had remembered the things that had transpired before he was knocked unconscious, a gasp left his lips, and Anna and Kaiyo's name left his throat in a yell.
"So you know what happened to Kai-chan?!"
Sakura's voice caught Totsuka's attention and he then noticed Sakura and Amaro squatting in front of him.
"You... You're Kaiyo's friends."
"Let me call an ambua—"
"Wait! There's no need. I need you to bring me to someplace else first." He pushed himself off from the floor, using the wall behind him as leverage to support his still numbed and shaking legs.
"What's more important than getting you to the hospital?!" Amaro cried out.
"I need to tell them! Tell them that something had happened!" Totsuka yelled. Amaro's voice got caught in his throat and he shut his mouth from how adamant he was.
"What happened?" Sakura echoed after the older male.
Totsuka's face took on one of horror and guilt. He looked away, favouring to not look into the eyes of Kaiyo's friends. He was a clansman, yet he allowed those people to kidnap the two females.
They seemed to recognise who Anna was, and Kaiyo was wrongfully thought to be affiliated to the Red Clan.
Pushing himself away from the wall, he struggled to walk straight since he just woke up. His hand was then slung over Amaro's shoulders, who offered to be his support. "I will help you. But if you were to faint halfway, don't blame me for not bringing you to the hospital first."
Totsuka let out a dry laugh before he thanked the male for helping him. Amaro passed Kaiyo's bag and her necklace for Sakura to hold onto. "Where do you want to go?"
"HOMRA. HOMRA bar." Totsuka answered as they walked out of the alleyway. He then signalled the both of them to walk faster by increasing his own speed.
"Let me call my brother." Pulling out her phone, Sakura typed in a phone number and dialled it.
The other end rang for a few times before the receiver picked up the call.
"What is it Sakura? I thought I told you never to call me closer to the start of the evening?"
"Nii-san! Your friend's injured! Totsuka-san!"
A choked gasp could be heard from her speaker. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know but something happened. Totsuka-san said he wants to see you at the bar. We are going over now."
"See us? ... Alright. Come over safely."
Ending the call from his end, Kusanagi placed his phone onto the countertop with his screen facing downwards. With his cigarette in his hand, no words left his mouth when a few Red members questioned him about the call—seeing as he had a look of fear and caution on his face after picking up and hearing the other person on the other end speak.
"Who is it?" The voice of their King dragged Kusanagi from his dark thoughts.
Kusanagi lifted his head and glanced over to Mikoto who sat on the couch. He was using his elbow as leverage to support his upper body to look over at his member. He had a feeling something had happened because not many things would faze the blondie. The look on his face was enough to say something.
"It was from my sister." Kusanagi finally answered. "Something happened to Totsuka. She said he was injured."
"Injured?" One of the members inquired. "Maybe he fell down onto the floor and scraped his knee or something? That does sound like him sometimes."
Kusanagi shook his head seemingly not convinced. His inner intuition was telling him that something was not right. Something was very wrong.
"I don't know... I have a bad feeling about this." The blondie mumbled.
"You said that they are coming back aren't they?"
"Hai."
"Then we will wait for their return. No point worrying so much now. It's not good to jump to conclusions." Mikoto answered firmly. "But keep the guard on."
The members nodded their heads. The only one who didn't do so was Kusanagi. He just couldn't keep his trembling intuition from bugging him.
Several minutes later after he was told what had happened from Totsuka himself, he then realised, his bugging intuition was more than just right on the dot. It was a very horrendous surprise that would shake the whole Red Clan.
Barging through the entrance which caught everyone's attention in the building, the first two people who came into view were Amaro supporting the injured Totsuka. Behind them was Sakura.
"Kusanagi!" Totsuka called.
Seeing the look of horror and pain writhing on his friend's face, Kusanagi nodded his head. Jumping over the wooden empty countertop, he directed his voice towards the people sitting in the bar.
"Alright! I'm sorry for the coming sudden event, but I will have to close the bar for today!" Kusanagi stated, giving a low bow towards his customers.
Various disagreements and words of despair floated in the bar but the customers were willing to leave and not cause a scene.
Within minutes, the bar was closed and only members so of the Red Clan were inside along with Amaro and Sakura.
Mikoto, who saw that Totsuka was bleeding from his head, was the very first to stand up and approach the male the moment the customers left the bar. "What happened?"
"I will... tell you in a while," Totsuka panted out, tired from walking all the way even with Amaro's support. Mikoto took over Amaro's job and directed the injured male to sit on the couch.
One of the members ran out with a first-aid kit in his hand and placed it on the table. Kusanagi took a clean, fresh towel and pressed it against his head wound. As he was doing so, Sakura stood behind the couch.
"Nii-san..."
"I thank you for bringing him to us." It was then, he noticed something.
Anna wasn't with them. It was only Totsuka.
"Hey, Saku—"
"Kaiyo-chan is missing Nii-san!"
Upon hearing that, Kusanagi stopped his administration of first aid on his friend. His hand just froze for a second.
"Did something happen?"
"They were kidnapped. Both Anna and Kaiyo." Totsuka answered for Sakura since she didn't see nor was there when the incident had happened.
Multiple gasps filled the room. Both from the two high school students and the Red members. Tears were pooling out from the female student's eyes when the words registered in her mind.
"Kidnapped...?" Sakura echoed after. "What... What do you mean?"
Totsuka apologised. "I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything. Even when I took on two people while Kaiyo-chan took on three, I lost and was the cause of reason for their captures."
With tears running down her cheeks now, Sakura held out the items she had found. "These... Is that-Is that why I found these?"
Mikoto, being the closest to the female student, turned his head and glanced upon the items she was holding out. His eyes widened when he recognised the silver necklace. Kusanagi appeared from the side and saw the items on his sister's hand. Reaching out, he took the small pouch and opened it.
Mouth hanging wide open, he slid out the two marbles. The smaller red marble had swirls of colours in its main body, while the other marble—which was slightly bigger in size—was a normal red coloured marble.
The Red members knew better. About who the owner of these items was. Especially Mikoto and Kusanagi, who knew who Anna had given the smaller red marble to.
"We were in a café and Kaiyo-chan saw Totsuka and Anna walk over on the other side of the street. She said about returning them an item, which is the one in the pouch." Sakura explained, "She didn't return for quite a while, and we went out to look for her. We found her things and we knew something had happened. Kaiyo-chan treasures this necklace a lot. I know she wouldn't drop it on the floor like that. While trying to find her, we found Totsuka-san in the alleyway. And now we are here." She sniffled once.
Seeing the heartbroken and worried state his sister was for Kaiyo, Kusanagi wiped the tears away from her face. "Don't cry." He said, giving her a gentle smile. "C'mon. We will find her for you." He kept the marbles back into the pouch and he picked up the necklace from her palm. "I will keep these for the time being and return it to her." Kusanagi patted her head, "Go home first and rest, okay? Send me a text when you're home." consoling her.
Nodding her head, Sakura handed Kaiyo's bag to Kusanagi as well. "Please, find her..."
"We will."
Trusting those words, Sakura gave him a hug before leaving with Amaro trying to console her to stop crying and be confident.
Watching the door closing behind them, he signaled one of the members to lock the doors.
"So, what really happened, Totsuka?" Kusanagi questioned.
Totsuka then retold his story again. Telling them and explaining what had happened from the start till the end while another member treated his wounds and bruised arm.
The more he explained the more the members were turning red from anger; both physically and mentally.
By the end of the story, the one trying to hold his anger the most was Mikoto.
"Who's this gang?" Mikoto asked. His voice was low and cold; sending through the message that he was on the verge of flaming his aura to burn the whole building down.
"I'm not sure." Totsuka fumbled with his phone and pulled up a picture. "But I took a photo of their car plate number and the driver's face."
Kusanagi took his phone swiftly and stared at the picture. "He looks familiar. But I can't say who... Alright. I will send this to my contacts to see if they can find their whereabouts."
"Get it fast and quick." Mikoto spoke, "Some of you, return to the scene and see if you can find anything that would tell us their location. The rest of you spread out around the districts and see if you can find this car plate number." The flames he couldn't hold was seeping out from his clenched fists held firmly by his sides.
"Hai King!" With the instructions being given, most of the members left the bar to start the search. Those who were left behind were those tasked to search the scene and needed the street name from Totsuka, Kusanagi and Mikoto.
"I have a bad feeling..." Kusanagi muttered out.
Mikoto's anger flared more and his red aura flames flickered and crawled up to his elbows. He kept thinking that something would befall upon Anna and it just caused his emotions to go wild.
--Not conscious that his anger wasn't only on those thoughts and there was another thing in his mind.