Hiroki...is no longer in the country?

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

NO!

It can't be!

My mind was wracked by a tempest, eating me up from the inside out. I lost the strength in my legs, feeling my knees touch the ground. My clouded eyes locked onto the asphalt, gazing vacantly at it as my teeth bit into the inside of my cheek with sufficient force to cause a small laceration. The metallic taste of blood hit my tongue and dispersed along with my saliva. But none of this was enough to snap me out of my trance.

Has he really moved on from his old life, and above all from me?

Has he really gotten over us and carried on with his life?

If so, has he replaced me with a new girlfriend?

No, that's unacceptable!

Even if he got over the trauma, he could never get over me! I'll always be there, both in his mind and in his heart!

As I sank deeper and deeper into my own reflections, a delicate hand took my chin and turned my face towards her. It was Kaede.

''Nao-chan, pull yourself together! Lamenting won't change anything!" - Kaede said loudly.

"You know, she's right, little bitch." Mori Saito's despicable voice boomed at me. Now out of my thoughts, I glared at him with raw resentment. - "None of you will ever see Hiroki again, so putting on this little drama show isn't going to change that."

"It's like you said, Saito. We'll never see him again, so couldn't you at least tell us what country he's living in? Just as an act of charity for us." Kaede pleaded with wet eyes.

She doesn't care about her son, so why is she bothering to ask? Is it for my sake? After all, she's the only one who truly knows how hard I've worked and dedicated myself to finding Hiroki over the last four years.

The blond man looked at her with utter disdain.

"Are you crazy? I have no obligation or willingness to tell you. The two of you should actually be grateful that you only won't be seeing him for the rest of your lives. You know, Kaede, ever since you showed up on my doorstep, I've been trying not to beat you up. Hiroki showed me that video where you not only defiled my brother's altar but also insulted both him and your own son for the stinking dick of a guy you hadn't known for more than a month! If it weren't for Hiroki and his overly kind heart, I would have ended all of your lives by now, the evidence in our possession is more than enough for that. So, if you don't want to have your lives ruined, your own families hating you or rotting in jail, leave the boy the fuck alone!" - He growled, thick veins marking his neck, proof of his rage.

"But Sait-"

"Shut the fuck up and just grab that bitch next to you and get the hell out of here. That is, unless if you want to go to the police station with me to explain about the videos." He spoke gravely, an edge of anger still present in his voice.

Putting an end to this conversation, Saito took one last look at us, went into his house and closed the door, leaving us alone on the street. Silence ensued after that. Kaede helped pulled me off from the floor and we made our way to the car without saying a single word, and it remained that way for the next three hours until we arrived back at our hometown. I think we both not only had a lot on our minds, but were also emotionally drained.

Saito's threat honestly didn't faze me. Although I was underage at that point in the video, Kokujin was too, so at least in my case, even if the police got involved, I wouldn't run any risk of going to jail. I could also just say that I had been forced by Kokujin to say those things. Even if they didn't believe me, the worst that could happen would be for the people around me to look at me with contempt and perhaps for me to be kicked out of my house. And frankly, I didn't care about that. I was already planning to move into an apartment anyway.

As long as Hiroki was mine at last, nothing else mattered. They could swear at me and point accusatory fingers too, nothing would affect me. I just needed my sweetheart with me and everything would be fine.

But now that he's gone, what am I going to do? I don't even know his location, so I'm back to square one.

Will I really never see that beautiful smile again?

Will I never be able to feel his touch on me? Will our bodies never come together in a jumble of sweet sighs and animalistic moans?

I don't want that.

I want you, Hiroki. Come back to me, please...

A solitary tear ran down my cheek as our small town loomed in the distance, covered by the immense blue sky.

xxxxx

A week has flown by since our discussion with Mori Saito. Life went on as normal for the people around me, except for me. I ended up falling into a major state of depression. I stopped attending both the college I had fought so hard to get into and my job as well. I completely lost the will to do anything.

My mother and father grew extremely worried about my condition and started leaving work early so that they could monitor me for longer periods. They didn't know the reason for my mental decline, but they wanted to give me as much support as they could. Most of the times, my mother called me to dinner in an unsuccessful attempt to get me out of my room, but I refused. She then started leaving the plates in my room. They were ignored by me till my own body couldn't take the hunger anymore.

I didn't feel like doing a darn thing, all I did was observe a photo of me with Hiroki. It had been taken on one of our dates. We were standing side by side, me facing Hiroki while tiptoing as I placed a tender kiss on his cheek. On his end, Hiroki was petrified, his face flushed with embarrassment. He was so lovely.

I brought the photo close to my face and kissed it with tears in my eyes.

Every time I thought about how I would have to live without him here, it felt like a piece of my soul was being torn apart.

I want him back.

Please God, have mercy on your poor daughter and give me my boyfriend back!

As if calculated along with my request, my phone rang. I didn't bother to get up and pick it, I just left it ringing. As soon as it ceased, I exhaled a sigh of relief. All I wanted to do was to keep thinking about Hiroki, so I was internally thankful that the noise blocking me from going back to my recollections of better days had died down. Or so I thought The phone rang again, and the same pattern persisted for another four calls.

For fuck's sake, can't whoever is calling just leave me alone?!

Already upset, I got up and went to my desk, answering the call with a scowl on my face, not checking who the caller was.

"What do you want?" I muttered with a growl.

"Nao, it's Kanoko. I need you to come to our house immediately."

Kanoko calling me? Been a while. What's this wench looking for? I hope that it's not what Im thinking it is.

"Look Kanoko, I think I've made it more than clear that I don't want to have sex with you or Kokujin anymore." - I replied grumpily.

"It's not about the sex and truthfully, I've given up on that. I think you'll actually be very interested in what I have to say." - She blurted out. I could feel a hint of teasing in her voice. I won't deny that I was a little curious about what it might be.

"And what would be the, oh, so interesting stuff you want to say to me?" - I inquired.

"I think it's better if I show you rather than tell you. I'll turn off the call, hold on." - Kanoko said before hanging up on me. I rolled my eyes but waited. 30 seconds later, I received a notification on my line and opened it instantly. It was a photo of a small package wrapped in yellowish plastic.

I looked at it in puzzlement for a few moments, before my eyes went wide when they landed on the tag attached to the package.

[From: Mori Hiroki

Addressed to: Mori Kaede and Mori Kanoko.]

Still in shock, I just gawked at my phone as a new message popped up above the photo.

[Konoko: So, are you coming now?]

I remained silent, staring at both the photo sent to me and the message. My mind reverted to its chaotic state, but if I said it was the same as it had been previously, I'd be lying. I could feel a hint of hope rising. A small, but powerful spark. With no words spoken, I took off my pajamas, put on a decent pair of shorts alongside a white blouse and

headed out to the Mori's residence once again.

xxxxx

Author's Note: Next chapter will be fun a one to write.