Well, of course she'd feel vulnerable. I mean, being stalked?
Now that I think of it, I remembered aneki was a victim of it a few years ago. I remembered her finding out who it was in a matter of seconds and she beat the daylights out of him. She never heard from the guy again.
But, this is Chitanda we're talking about here. And though I was thankful she didn't have the physical build to torture me like Aneki does, it's still undeniably hard for Chitanda to run away from situations like these.
"Chitanda...", I said again, trying to get my point across.
She must have sensed the urgency in my voice, for she stopped making any sounds.
And she looked at me.
I didn't know why I would go through with this mess. It's not like it's something I have to do. So I won't do it.
But.. if I have to do it, then I'll make it quick.
So why do I not stick by my motto?
..Maybe I was. Maybe I was staying true to it this whole time without realising it.
Chitanda was someone I had to protect.
And so, I'll make it quick.
So I said, "I'll help,"
She presented a weak smile.
"..What do you mean?"
Taking a deep breath, I decided to sit upright, and said, "I'll catch that guy,"
And beat the crap out of him if it's the last thing I'll do.
Then, Chitanda stood from her seat, and ran towards me.
Huh?
She's hugging me. Oh.
We nearly fell backwards from the chair I sat on, but thankfully the wall was behind us. It caught our fall.
Well now, how'd we get ourselves here?
"It- It's going to be alright."
Chitanda, who was on top of me, nodded into my shirt.
The fabric is stained with her tears now.
But I didn't really mind.
My hand hovered over her back. I had no idea if it was appropriate to pat her reassuringly, and murmur calm words to her ear..
I retreated. I let her rest.
After a few moments in complete silence, I realised something.
"Chitanda, get down,"
"Hmm?"
I didn't mean to sound rude..sorry.
"Can I see your text messages again?"
A pause, and then she nodded, pulled herself off my chest, and nodded once more.
Her eyes were red and watery.
I.. I shouldn't look too much.
Searching through my pocket, I took out my handkerchief.
I handed it to her, and she wiped her face with it while laughing hollowly, "I'm sorry, it's stupid isn't it?"
She continued to laugh. Her voice shook terribly.
"It's not funny."
I was surprised at what I had just said. But.. no. This was what I really wanted to say. I won't lie, I won't fake my feelings. I won't.
"It's not stupid either." I found myself say.
"It's not."
Once again, I began reading the messages, searching for anything that could serve as clues. I was still at a loss.
"Chitanda, did you lose your phone recently?"
Hopefully her answer would lead us somewhere.
"Oh, yes, just last week."
"Where?"
She suppressed a laugh behind her hand.
Even through dry tears she's laughing.
Amazing.
"At the cafe in town."
And amazingly enough, we had our first lead.