red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter lxxix: what's left to do

"kazua-chan!"

takemitchy stood by the door with his girlfriend, tachibana hinata, standing right behind him with a bouquet of flowers on her hands. the two were shocked to see that the girl was already conscious, reading a novel while leaning against a stack of pillows on her hospital bed. speaking of, her attention was caught when hinata called her, looking up from her book to send the two a small smile.

"hey," she greeted, "it's been awhile, hina-chan. takemitchy, looks like you're not full of bruises this time. that's a sight."

"k-kazua?! you're alright!" the two literally ran to her bed, gently sandwiching her between their embrace. the ash-haired patient let go of her book, letting it fall on her lap without even marking her page to return their warm embrace. "should we call the doctor? have you—"

"it's alright. i already talked to them earlier this morning." kazua gently pushed them away. her body was fragile and stingy from her injuries, and the doctor advised her to keep resting and avoid moving around so much as she recovers.

it was only the next day after her surgery, and she was already awake from her long slumber. "you two are actually the first ones to visit." she says.

"i'm glad you're alright." hina put the flowers in an empty vase, carefully arranging them to bring a more pleasant visual. "we always seem to be meeting when you're in the hospital. it's worrying."

"heh, i hope we don't next time." kazua grinned back. "say, wanna go shopping around harajuku with emma and senju soon? i know a store that fits your style!"

"when you recover, let's do just that." hinata nodded, delighted by the idea of hanging out with a dear friend of her boyfriend. after all, kazua is the one who had been helping takemitchy with his mission to save both her and toman. she's more than grateful for her.

"sounds great!" kazua giggled, then she turned back to takemitchy. she gently smiled at him, secretly hoping for good news. "well, what happened while i was out?"

"w-well," takemitchy rubbed the back of his neck, "we haven't heard much from rokuhara tandai just yet, but hanma was arrested at the scene of the crime. as for brahman, senju officially announced that she will step down from her position as leader and appointed takeomi-kun as the new leader."

"that's good. with hanma in prison, rokuhara tandai's activities should be put on hold for awhile. that, or the authorities hunt down the rest of the members. senju didn't tell me anything about quitting, though." kazua muttered. she folded her arms over her chest and nibbled on her bottom lip. "and kantou manji?"

takemitchy and hina looked at each other, both not knowing how to answer her question. kazua sensed their hesitance almost immediately, and she assumed that nothing much has been changed on that side of the story. "i see. we failed?"

"n-not exactly." takemitchy quickly answered. "it's just that...after your surgery, mikey-kun paid for your hospital expenses and left without a word after. draken-kun and emma-chan are looking for him right now."

kazua didn't know what to make out of that information. she didn't know that mikey would be the one to pay for her bills. after all, she has enough money to fend for herself.

right, he made a powerful organization with koko. with that man, money is not even a problem anymore. he was a cunning fellow in the field of finances. there is nothing that can stop him from obtaining large sums of money in a flash.