Part 3: One Horrific Fate
Kamamura didn't know why, but he felt careless since he dropped two sushi plates at the time. He immediately picked up the scattered shards but his father already saw him doing it.
He was surprised that his son carelessly dropped some plates when Kawamura Takashi was so focused in his duties (cleaning duties) earlier. Just what in the world was bothering Takashi to commit such careless mistake at this busy hour?
If only Mr. Kawamura knew that his son Takashi didn't have any idea or how to answer that, he would've smacked him on the head right there and then.
Takashi was startled about something, though right now, he couldn't actually point his finger to a particular issue. All he knew was that he felt something foreboding—one that she hadn't felt in a long time. But what could it be? He couldn't go on working and helping his father in that shop now that it had come to this.
But he mustn't waver at this point, even though that foreboding feeling really gave him the reason to call Aika. He needed to make sure she was alright. He did leave her on the park even though he promised that he would take her home. Somehow, he felt guilty because of that.
Just what kind of person he was for doing that? For him to promise something and then he wouldn't fulfill it in the end.
"Takashi, if you're that worried about Aika-chan, then go. I don't want any more damage to the utensils in here before it reaches my customers."
He raised his head upon hearing that. He found his father smiling at him knowingly and encouragingly.
"Dad…"
"Go before I change my mind about letting you go after her."
He smiled widely after that. After cleaning up the scattered plate shards on the floor, he immediately went out of the shop. Takashi decided to head straight to the spot on the park where he left her.
But she wasn't there.
She must have gone home already, he thought and was about to head to the direction going to Aika's house.
However, ear-splitting screech of tires and loud honk of the car's horn made him stop to his tracks. Hearing them made it feel like something terrible had happened. His heart was beating wildly for some weird reason. It was a foreboding type of beating, similar to what he had felt while he was still at the sushi shop.
Now he knew that what he felt was already like a premonition—one that was probably mean for the person he was looking for.
Without a second thought, he ran towards the direction where he heard the screeching tires and the honking car horn—which turned out to be the sound belonging to an FD car. But that wasn't exactly what made him freeze to his spot.
The sight of the blood did… along with a figure lying lifelessly on the ground and covered with the red substance all over.
He shook his head slowly then eventually doing so vehemently when he realized that the lifeless figure was too familiar. He did so in denial and disbelief.
It couldn't be, right?
It couldn't be… her.
Before he knew it, he walked—or rather dragged his feet—towards the blood-covered figure lying on its side. Soon after, his walking turned to running when impatience and denial continued to wash over him. He needed to make sure his suspicions were wrong.
He needed to do so in order not to worry anymore.
He ignored his crazily thumping heart as he approached the figure. But his nightmare came true in front of him when one of the onlookers—who turned out to be a doctor and a familiar person, as well—decided to check on the body of a girl lying on that road.
And it was—as he had feared—a girl with long maroon hair… similar to that of—
"Aika…" he muttered in disbelief. "It can't be… right?" With that, he approached the figure as he ignored the others' warnings. "Aika! Aika! How could you let this happen to you? Aika!"
As he continued to shout the girl's name—who really turned out to be Aika in her Seigaku high school uniform—with denial continuously echoing in his head, another figure watched the whole scene.
Just like Kawamura, that figure was also in a state of shock and disbelief in the situation. But that state was also mixed with one other emotion—guilt.
That seaweed-haired boy wearing a Rikkaidai uniform watched the scene in denial and disbelief as he continued to mutter incoherent words that only he could hear. But he was repeating some of his words over and over as he let himself wallow in guilt.
"It's my fault… It's my fault…" were the boy's words that he continued to utter over and over, blaming himself for what happened to the maroon-haired girl now lying lifeless on the ground and covered in blood.
The boy's friends later spotted him now collapsed to his knees.
"Akaya!"
"Kirihara-kun!"
"Kirihara!"
That boy turned out to be the current captain of Rikkaidai Fuzoku Middle School's tennis club—Kirihara Akaya.
Kawamura later saw that seaweed-haired boy with the other Rikkaidai boys (who were the boy's former teammates) comforting Kirihara somehow. But right now, it didn't matter to him. What was important to him was to save Aika as soon as possible.
He had to save her… if he wanted to save his heart from breaking apart and never lose her to the hands of Death.
"Don't give up now, Aika… Do it for me… Just don't give up and live, okay?"
