"Hey, you don't know about the weird girl?"
"Who?"
"You know,her. The one that always broods in the back of the class with that scowl on her face."
"Oh, yeah,her. What about her?"
"Her dad killed a girl."
"What!? Seriously!?"
"Shh, don't look, moron!"
Ignore them.
"Right, right, sorry. You don't have to yell at me, you know. Still, it's hard to believe that something like that could happen. She's a freak, yeah, but murder…"
"Well, believe it. He went psycho and sliced up a girl our age. It was all over the news a while back. Spilled her guts all over the floor."
"Eww, sick! You're gonna make me puke… H-Hey, you don't think she knew, do you? What if she's just like him!? Like father, like daughter or something...?"
Ignore them.
"It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. You know how she talks to everybody. I don't think one kind word has ever come out of her mouth. The freak was probably there to enjoy the show."
"U-Ugh... Still, you gotta feel bad for that girl. To die so horribly, and in middle school…"
"That's not all. Daddy's a police officer, and he told me it was that one girl. You know, the only one who was du-"
"Shut up."
The voices silenced as Hinako Mishuku turned the corner.
"H-Hey, Hinako… You didn't, uh, hear that, d-did you?"
Hinako's voice was as cold and sharp as steel. "If you don't keep those meaty mouths of yours shut, I'll show you just how much my father and I have in common."
Her classmates backed away from their position in front of their lockers. The smarmier one jerked towards her, but yielded when the cowardly one grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, you got something you wanna-!"
"Let's just go, Mika, please?"
"Why shouldn't I cave her face in…!?" she sneered, looking down on Hinako. An insistent tug on her arm halted her advance. "... Consider yourself lucky, freak. I woulda wiped the floor with you," she postured.
"I'm absolutely terrified," Hinako said, face as still as a statue. "Now piss off."
The students ran off, one fuming and the other as white as a sheet. Hinako sighed, eyes closed, and turned back to her empty locker, shutting it. Aimlessly, she looked around at the crowd of her fellow middle school students, running a hand through her curly black hair. Turning on her heel, she made her way to the school's exit, fists clenched and jaw tight.
It had been this way for a long while, now; she was only surprised that those two were talking about it like it was some kind of recent event. Hinako Mishuku was the daughter of a murderer, and therefore, was no better herself. After all, anyone who got close to her could be next, and nobody wanted to die likeher.
Don't think about it.
It doesn't matter anymore.
What does?
Focused on setting one foot in front of the other, Hinako avoided her thoughts until she found herself at her family's home. 'Not that I have much of a "family," anymore…'she thought, despite herself. She clenched her eyes shut tight and braced her head against the front door. She breathed in.'One, two, three…'She breathed out.'One, two, three, four, five.'Turning the key in its latch, she made her way into the house.
"Mom, I'm back!" she called. "You didn't text me that you wanted anything, so I didn't stop. You better not say anything about it now!"
She waited a few seconds, but no reply found its way to her.
"Mom?"
She paused again. Silence.
This was unusual, her mother always talked to her when she got home. She had always been overbearing, to make up for how often she was away for work, but she had recently gotten near intolerable ever since…
Stop.
She walked through the dark of the house, turning on the light-switch next to her as she made her way to her par- mom's bedroom. 'Something is wrong…'She had no real reason to feel so apprehensive, yet some primal voice inside of her could tell, clear as day, that something wasoff.Like something was...over. As though things, after today, could not possibly be the same.
You already know what that's like, though, don't you? Let's hope this change will be merciful.
Approaching the door, she clamped down tight on the voice that was telling her to 'turn around and run, everything's wrong, RUN!'She put her hand on the doorknob, took a breath, and turned.
"Mom…?"
The room was pitch black. The voice was screaming in her ears by this point. She ignored it and reached for the light-switch.
"Oh."
There were no words. The corpse of her mother was hanging by the rope around its neck. Her eyes stuck open wide; bloodshot and glazed. Her mouth twisted into a warped post-mortem snarl.
"M-Mom…" Hinako backed up, eyes round.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
She didn't have time to scream as a sharp pinch made itself known on the back of her neck.
Consciousness found Hinako through the freezing cold tile floor pressed hard against her face. Over and over, she blinked, clearing her blurred vision. Nose wrinkled, she attempted to survey the room; not effectively, seeing as they'd sprawled her across the floor.
As she waited for her muscles to recover the little strength they had, she tried to puzzle out mentally just what thehellwas going on. 'I was heading home, after another miserable day at that stuffy rich kid school. Mika bitched me out, again. Mom forgot to text me and…'
Mom.
"Oh. Oh no," Hinako clenched her eyes shut until stars burst across her vision, moaning in despair. "Mom, why would you…? W-Was I that much of a burden to you? To where you'd…"
Don't think about it.
There's no point.
It was bound to happen, eventually. It was that or she would have killed you instead.
'She should have…'Hinako opened her eyes back up to greet the stinging white lights, grief stinging in her chest, pumping in her throat. 'It would have been easier on the both of us.'
Sitting up and wincing, Hinako blinked the tears from her eyes, took the thought of her mother's hanged body, and shoved it into the darkest depths of her consciousness alongside her father and…her.
"Wh-Where the hell am I, anyway? A locker room?" Hinako stared at the bland, medium-sized lockers. "Oh,ew,how long was my face on this floor!?" she gagged, shuddering. "I'll never be clean again…"
Observing the lockers again, Hinako noticed that the group opposite the (very heavy-duty seeming) steel door seemed to have some drawings scribbled on their surfaces. A section of wall segmented into two sets of nine with two shelves in between; the low one holding a walkie-talkie looking device and the higher holding a small radio. Figuring it would be smart to take anything that might help her in a situation like this, she reached up, sparing with no small amount of effort, to grab it. 'Even if whoever's kidnapped me likely left this here on purpose…'
Observing the wall, she could see that the lockers on the left pictured a star, a book, a printer, a strange podium with a microphone attached and some monitors, another locker, two symbols with a person going up and going down, and a classroom desk. The lockers on the right pictured a door with a symbol of a man and woman above it, a temple's entrance, a boxing ring, a graveyard, another locker, another elevator symbol, and an image of a painting with a paintbrush.
"What the hell…" Hinako's brow wrinkled. "Why are these-"
Suddenly, the door behind her opened and a booming, mechanical voice blared from the radio on the shelf blared. She winced."... This is the First Trial."
"Whuh…?"
"You have five minutes. If you cannot escape in time, you lose your life. You are not alone. Your fate is tied to someone you cannot see. However, if you refuse this connection and are willing to betray them, you can leave safely. Follow the voice in your heart."
Hinako knew terror. She knew petrification and helplessness. She knew ragged sobs and desperate pleas. This clown on the microphone couldn't scare her. Hinako refused to be afraid of death. She had no right.
'My heart...? Are they going to kill me…?'Her jaw tightened. "Well, panicking will do nothing for me right now; I'd better hurry up and use this walkie. I don't doubt they'll ditch me…'
Hinako let out a slow, shuddering breath.'Do I even want to...? If my life could...'Snorting, she shook her head. "No... Not here. This is interesting, if nothing else."
She pressed the side button of the walkie. "... Is anyone there?"
No response issued forth. The gravity in the room seemed heavier, somehow.
"Hah, does that mean that they've…"
"Identify yourself, strange girl!" a tinny voice rang out from the walkie-talkie. "Are you one of my captors, or merely a victim yourself?"
"Uh…" Hinako replied eloquently. "I'm Hinako Mishuku. I really doubt that I'd be the one that kidnapped you. I'm in middle school." The voice was strangely androgynous, but maybe that was just a side-effect of the tinny walkie speaker. She certainly wasn't excited to have her life placed in some stranger's hands, in any case. "Who are you, anyway?"
"Hmph… a young girl, huh…?" the voice spoke. "Hrrng, damn my brotherly instincts! My name is A… G-Gonbee, uh, Yamada! There's no need to panic. My quick wit and practiced hand shall assure your survival."
Hinako pressed down on the button, "What the hell…? Do you talk like that to everyone, or are you just feeling especially loquacious today?"
"Gah…! Such a rude young woman! Don't they instill good manners in you kids these days?"
"No, but they teach us words like 'loquacious.'" Hinako paused, blinking. "Wait, does that really matter right now? You heard that weird voice too, right?" Hinako questioned. "They're going to kill us unless we figure out what the hell to do. You don't want that, right, Old Man?"
"Old Man… How utterly inaccurate!" Gonbee wilted, or at least Hinako hoped so. "Hrmph, very well! I shall give you a rundown of the room I've found myself captive in!"
"You aren't necessarily captive, you know. You can leave and kill me at any time," Hinako grinned. "Hell, if things go south in here, I hope you do."
"Wha...? Cease your suicidal prattling, Hinako Mishuku!"
'My full name, really?'
"Perhaps I could have left you to die and never regretted it… But I am dedicated now! My duty as an elder brother dictates I never abandon a poor helpless girl like yourself!" Gonbee cried out.
"Helpless…?" Hinako glared, ineffectively, since Gonbee couldn't see her.
"I am currently in a sparsely decorated locker room. Now that I'm actually observing my surroundings, there are several strange, disparate objects lining the floor. The lockers themselves are mostly closed but," Gonbee paused, humming, "those on the wall opposite the exit are all open."
"Hah, I assume our little debacle here has something to do with those lockers then," Hinako looked back at the illustrations. "My room-"
Before she could list off the different drawings on the lockers, her throat tightened, cutting her train of thought to slivers. The gravity in the room felt like it had increased five-fold.'Huh? Have we… run out of time? No… I've been tracking it in my head. We have at least two whole minutes to go, so why...?'
Hinako's eyes widened, tears pricking at her eyes. She grinned. 'Oh.He made a break for it, huh? Can't blame him. If I had more motivation to live, I'd have done the same damn thing.'It was getting harder to breathe through the constriction in her throat. She swore she could feel the ground pulling away from her feet. Her grip remained tight; white knuckles exerting pressure on the walkie, as well as the cold ring of metal wrapped around her neck.
You can never trust adults, after all.
Kids don't mean a damned thing as long as they can keep doing whatever the hell they want.
It's not like this ain't the best outcome. The world will be much cleaner once you're done polluting it.
Isn't that right, Hinako?
"Right… I'd been… wanting to die, hadn't I…?" She felt a tear slip down her cheek. She told herself it was from joy. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest from excitement. This was what she had been waiting for, right?
For the pain to stop.
"Keff, keff… are you quite alright, Hinako Mishuku…!?"
'He's… back.' The pressure eased.
What a moron. He should have just saved himself.
Struggling slightly, and bemoaning the considerable amount of speaking she would soon have to perform, Hinako answered, "I'm… fine. Bit harder for a tiny little girl like me to breathe than a big, powerful man like you, though. Let's hurry this up. If I'm gonna die, I don't want it to be slow."
Even if that's all you deserve.
"The lockers here… all have pictures on them. I'm assuming I have to tell you which object to put in which locker. At least, I hope so, or we're both screwed." The pressure was even worse when she spoke, but Old-Timer didn't seem like he'd ditch her, and she didn't want yet another death on her hands.
"Ah, I see! However, I counted, and there's a disparate amount of items to open lockers. Perhaps they are only meant to confuse me…?"
"Probably, look," Hinako coughed, "the left set, from top left to bottom right, is…" She released the walkie's button to clear her throat.'The pain is getting worse… Ah, this sucks.' She sniffed, face hot, "... a star, a book, a printer, a weird-looking podium with a microphone attached and some monitors, I think, another locker, two symbols with a guy going up and then down, and a desk."
"Hmm… I wonder if I…" Gonbee's voice trailed off.
"Old-timer…?" Hinako really wondered what was going on in this guy's head. A few more seconds passed where she just wished he would save himself and leave her hanging literally, instead, before his voice came back through the walkie.
"Splendid! I have made excellent progress, Hinako Mishuku! Now hurry and tell me the other set of illustrations before my sentence is closed in a most undignified manner."
"... What?"
"Err… that is… just… j-just give me the damn pictures before we die, strange girl!" he exclaimed.
'You're one to talk, old-timer…'Hinako thought. "There's… a door with a symbol of a man and woman above it, an entrance to a temple, a boxing ring, a graveyard, another locker, another elevator symbol, and an image of a painting with a paintbrush."
"My thanks!" Gonbee's voice disappeared again.
'He'd better hurry before he gets himself killed. We can't have more than 30 or 40 seconds left.'Hinako was certainly glad she wasn't the one who had to do the physical part. 'I'd be too damn short to reach the top lockers. How embarrassing…'
The pull got around her neck got unbearable. She could feel her shoes slide off of her feet, leaving her legs in only her stockings. "Gah…! Hnng…!" It was difficult to breathe, and speaking was impossible. Tears spilled from her eyes as her hands instinctively leapt to the metal - a collar, she realized - clamped tightly to her throat, her hands fumbling the walkie, sending it clattering to the ground. 'Mom… is this… what you felt? Is this what I drove you to…?'
She smiled and closed her eyes as a sob wracked her slight frame. "I'm… sorry."
Suddenly, whatever was pulling her taught to the ceiling released its hold upon her. She thwumped to the ground unceremoniously.
"Ow…"
She opened her eyes again to look at the room; it was funnily reminiscent of when she initially awoke, she deliriously noted. "What the… the h-hell," she choked and sputtered. She broke into a coughing fit that seemed to last for a second lifetime. She coughed so harsh and heavy, she figured she'd still suffocate even when they had freed her. 'Wouldn't that be ironic…'Eventually, though, her throat felt smooth enough to speak once more.
She picked the walkie up and clicked its button. "If I survived that, Old Timer, then you sure as shit did, too. What happened?"
She waited for a beat. No response.
"This silent treatment is getting pretty old. I hope you talk to your kids more than this."
The walkie crackled to life. "If I had children, they would be a damn sight more polite than you, Hinako Mishuku!"
"You're okay, then. I would've almost been worried… if I gave a shit."
"You've only survived thanks to my dauntless heroism. Don't you forget that! Nevertheless, I don't wish to spend a second longer in this dreadful place. Farewell, Hinako Mishuku. May our paths never again cross."
"So condescending… Don't be such an idiot, you coulda ditched me. I wouldn't have cared," Hinako sneered, though the walkie did not issue another response.
'Guess he left. I probably should too. Once I get my bearings, that is.'She was still panting, the weight of being hanged taking its toll on her body. "Ugh, I don't… f-feel too well," she groaned, falling to her knees. Her body spasmed and her gut churned, sickly, yellowish-green bile forcing its way out of her stomach and all over the shockingly pristine locker room floor.
She heaved, sliding her slick palms away from the puddle. "G-God, what a fucking mess. Not that I didn't wanna leave before, but now I really can't stand this place." She gradually made her way back up to her feet, wincing. "I just hope these kidnapping assholes have fun cleaning this up."
She looked around the room once more. There really was nothing to do besides leave through the opened door. The lockers were all closed, and she certainly didn't know the codes to any. 'Probably wouldn't be anything in them, either way… First things first, before I ditch this shithole.'She turned to the radio which had given the instruction for the "First Trial."
"I probably don't need this anymore," she said, looking down at the walkie she still had clenched in her hand. She wound her arm back and threw, sending the walkie sailing towards the radio. Her aim was true, and the radio and walkie both clattered to the ground, shattering. 'Fuck, I didn't mean to break it. I just wanted to see if I could yell at the dickheads who put me in here.'
'Whatever, it's time I left, anyway.'She turned around to face the exit, only to come face to face with a human figure.
"Holy Hell!"
"Aww, I was hopin' that I'd get a fresh pair of kicks," the red-headed stranger bemoaned. "None of you human freaks are dying as quick as I'd hoped. I'm looking totally plain here, bastards!" He moved towards Hinako. She took a step back. "Well, whatever, you'll start dropping soon enough! Time for you to meet your new friends, midget!"
"Huh? G-Get away from-"
As quickly as a viper, the freak jabbed her right in the stomach with some sort of syringe.
"Wh-What…? What did you… do?"
"Nighty-night, bastard!" his smile twisted into something unrecognizable as human.
Hinako's vision was fading fast. "Dammit, not… not again."
And then she was falling, and the world turned as black as coal.
"... Hey, are you okay, kiddo?"
Hinako groaned. "This has gotten very stale, very quickly," she scowled at the (well-polished) floor.
"Hah, looks like you'll survive. Here, can you stand?" She felt a hand come to rest around her arm, pulling her upward.
"I'm… I'm fine." She blinked hard a few times, attempting to clear the stars from her vision. "Who… Who are you?"
"Name's Reko Yabusame, kid. What's yours?"
She sniffed. "Hinako Mishuku."
'Reko… wait, what?'Hinako's vision finally cleared as she eyed the young woman in the leather jacket and heavy gothic makeup helping her to her feet. "Oh, my God. You're RECO."
"Heh, recognize me, huh? Guess it was inevitable, even in a situation like this."
Hinako flushed. "A bit. I've heard of Samurai Yaiba a few times. Not like I'm a die-hard or anything…"
'I own a copy of every single one of their albums.'
"Well, right now, don't think of me as a rockstar," Reko said, looking down at her. "Skullnutz is my band, anyway. Samurai Yaiba is… long since dead." She sniffed, glancing away. "Anyway, you've probably noticed by now that I ain't the only one here," she gestured behind herself.
She was right. From her spot in the corner, Hinako could see a large group of people all cautiously interacting. A beanie-clad man; a weird-looking child in an animal costume; an old man with wild hair and awful posture; a girl with long red hair wearing a paint-smeared apron; a boring-looking man wearing a suit and glasses; and a fluffy white-haired boy sporting a crop top and a truly excessive amount of bandages were all conversing on the right side of the room. 'They're all wearing collars, like mine,'Hinako realized.
"Hey, how about we calm down?" Beanie spoke. "I don't think freaking out's going to help anyone, right now."
"I almost fucking died! Don't tell me to calm down!" Fluffy retorted, face flushed.
"I certainly understand your issue, young man. I've had a terrible fright, myself." Mad Scientist cleared his throat, legs bent to match Fluffy's height. "However, Miss Nao and I would have most certainly been killed, had we panicked."
"Err, p-professor, Iwaspanicking. You saved my life!" Paint Stains claimed.
"Now, now, Nao. You give yourself too little credit."
"Snrrk,y-you're seriously telling that dumb joke now, of all times!?" Paint Stains groaned, jitters calming. "You know how much I hate it..."
"Mwahaha... And as such, I will never stop telling it," he grinned like a madman.
"I-I'm more worried that there seem to be even children here," Spectacles chimed in, turning to the weird child and kneeling. "A-Are you, uh, alright…?"
"I'm fine, woof! My mom told me not to talk to strangers, though, meow!"
"That's perfectly… uh, reasonable, but," Spectacles trailed off. "You're going to have to talk to us eventually, you know."
Cat Kid wasn't having it. "Stranger danger, Suit 'n' Specs, I'm not gonna talk until we aren't strangers anymore, woof!"
"But how, uh… n-never mind."
Hinako decided she'd heard enough over there, and looked to the opposite side of the room. Over there, a girl about her age with a bucket on her head; a black-haired high school aged girl who seemed to know her, given how attached at the hip they were; and a woman with an incredibly stupid-looking hat were talking.
"Ah, Hello there~!" Hat Lady spoke. "Your name is Kanna, right…? I couldn't help but overhear..."
"A-Ah, yes…" Buckethead replied, "Kanna is pleased to meet you..."
The high schooler stepped in front of Buckethead, eyes narrow and lip curled. "And what's your name?"
Hat Lady smiled sunnily. "I'm Mai Tsurugi, sweetheart~ It's a pleasure!"
The high schooler frowned, unimpressed. "... I'm sure."
Hat Lady swallowed, her sugary disposition faltering. "E-Erm... Thank you...?"
Hinako tuned out and looked to the people in the middle of the room, hoping that they were less… eccentric. There was a tall, bleach-blond man; an absolutely massive, muscular red-haired man with a goatee; a slender, feminine-looking man with long black hair; a muscular man clad in a ratty tank top with tan skin and dark blue hair; and a high school aged girl in… 'Ajester's hood? Guess it's not as weird as the kid's animal costume…'
"We should wait until everyone gets here before we introduce ourselves," Blondie said. "Don't wanna waste time repeating ourselves, do we?"
"I'm fine with that, gives us more time to figure out where the hell we are," Wife-Beater said. "I don't want to waste a second we can use to get outta here!"
"D-do you really think we'll figure it out that fast…?" Clown girl muttered.
"What was that!?"
"N-nothing, haha…!"
The Giant nodded in Wife-Beater's direction. "Naw, I get whatcher sayin', man... but what I'm real concerned about are these damn collars…"
'What the hell is that accent…?'
"I'm afraid I am going to have to agree with the police officer," the Thin Man spoke. "There doesn't seem to be much we can do as of now." He glanced at the Giant. "Especially since we seem to still be missing a key for your box."
'So Blondie's a cop, huh? He doesn't much look the part…'She shoved that thought aside and looked at the giant. He was indeed holding a large box with three locks in his hands. Hinako turned back to Reko. "This is… everyone, right?"
"A few of us have been waiting to see if we're gonna get any more people in, but…" Reko paused, "at this point, anyone who ain't here already must be…" She grimaced.
'Old-timer…'
Hinako looked back at the crowd, "I'll wait until-"
The sound of a loud thud cut her off, and the room quieted.
"Hey, what was-"
"Man, there sure are a lotta people here!" A ridiculously gaudy boy burst through an opening on the left side of the room. He blinked in shock, sizing up the crowd. "Hey what's up with those necklaces, some kinda fashion statement?"
Reko was on him in an instant. "You're sayin' you don't have a collar…!?"
"Hey, c-calm down! What are you…!?"
She craned her neck to look at his: a collar was fit perfectly around its girth. She sighed, "Don't be sayin' crap that makes you look suspicious, kid…"
He reached up to his neck and his fingers met the smooth metal, "Whoa, freaky…" His face scrunched up in thought, "this place is just getting weirder and weirder…"
Hinako had made her way over by this point, shoving her hands in her jumper's pockets. "You must be the last of us, then. Seventeen seems like a strange number, though." Her face darkened. "Makes you think a couple of us must not have made it…"
"Woah, hold up a sec! My best friend's here too, she's just a bit winded right now…" Fashion Disaster scratched the back of his head nervously. "She'll be here any second, I swear."
A beat passed.
Two.
Three.
"Are we supp-"
A girl, about high school aged and wearing a similar uniform to Fashion Disaster, slipped into the room.
"Oh. I guess you weren't bullshitting."
"Wh-Why would I have been…?"
"Joe, what's the matter with you!? Why did you run ahead of me?" The girl didn't look too torn up about it, despite her words.
"Sorry, who are you?" Fashion Disaster, apparently named Joe, stared at her blankly. The girl's eyes widened.
"Wha…? It's me, Sara! Your best friend!?"
"Oh, you wouldn't happen to be," Joe broke out into a wide grin, "the Sara who's awful at swimming, now, would you?"
'Is this really the time to try and be funny...? This guy's totally obnoxious.'
Sara sputtered. "Y-You ass!" She punched him in the arm. Hard. "Don't joke around in a place like this!"
Joe winced in pain. "O-Ow, sorry Sara…" His eyes widened and his lower lip puffed out, trembling. "C-Can you ever forgive me?"
'Seriously? He's even faking sniffles…'
Sara rolled her eyes and struggled not to smile. "Oh, shut up…"
Reko grinned at Hinako. "At least a few of us know each other. This atmosphere's already making me feel more comfortable."
"Speak for yourself," Hinako scowled.
Distracted as she was by the theatrics, Hinako didn't notice Blondie had snuck up on the four of them. "Hey there, you're awake. Was getting kinda worried…"
Hinako didnotyelp in surprise or recoil at the unexpected proximity of the cop when she turned around. "Gah…! What's the matter with you, Blondie!?"
"Blondie, huh? That's adorable. I might just have to take you home with me, kid," he smirked.
Hinako sneered at him. "Don't make me throw up, again."
His eyebrows raised. "Again, huh? Your trial must have been pretty rough."
"So, you had a trial, too."
"Yup, figure everyone here has. Real lucky that so many people survived something so… brutal."
"Luck's not what I would call it." Hinako trailed off, something twinging in the back of her mind. She gazed intently at Blondie's face, cogs churning to no avail.
"Hmm? Something wrong?" he asked, eyebrow quirked.
"... Do I know you from somewhere?"
Silent, he stared right back at her. There was an almost piercing quality to his gaze, accentuated by the dark rings around his eyes. "... Nope. You must have me mistaken for someone else, waha."
Hinako's eyes narrowed. "Right, I must be mistaken." She backed away as he moved over to talk to Sara and Joe.
"You feelin' alright, Hinako? That guy says he's a cop, but I can't help but think the bastard looks real suspicious…" Reko leered at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me so much."
"Don't sweat it, kid. I was just saying," Reko's voice lowered, "the way you two were glarin' at each other seemed weird to me, 'sall."
"It was nothing." Hinako watched the cop as he and the girl, Sara, called for everyone's attention. "Nothing at all."