Chihiro Hanagaki

Chapter 9 Part 2

Chihiro leaned on the crate in the alley where they shot both Takemichi and Naoto. Thirty minutes went by before she heard approaching footsteps. "Stop right there," Chihiro said, glancing up to see Kakucho standing six feet from her. Chihiro narrowed her eyes at him, "Let me guess, they sent you to kill me again. That's why you contacted me again." He held his arms up, "I'm unarmed." Chihiro crossed her arms, "You don't need a gun to kill someone Kakucho." Kakucho stiffened slightly at how she enunciated his full name.

"You still don't trust me." he sighed. Chihiro leaned back on the crate, huffing, "It's hard since you tried to kill me the first time we met in almost a decade." Kakucho glared at his feet as if he detested himself and wasn't worthy to make eye contact with her. Chihiro thought, 'Kakucho never hurt me. Even as children, he'd never play fight with me or would coddle me every time I fell or skinned my knee.' The two of them knew each other for a short time when his parents died, and Kakucho got placed into foster care. "I am truly deeply sorry for that," he said through gritted teeth. Chihiro could hear the sincerity in his words.

"I could hear their voices on the other side of the phone," she admitted. Kakucho sighed, carding a hand through his raven hair. Chihiro continued, "You don't intend to listen to them, do you?" Again, more silence was the only response given.

*Takemichi's POV*

After Akkun killed himself, I had even more resolve to stop Kisaki. Naoto and I were about to return to his apartment when I spotted Hibiki walking down the street. My heart sank when I noticed my sister wasn't with her. "Hibiki!" I called. Hibiki glanced over curiously, "Oh Michi, Oto!" I rushed to her, shaking her shoulders, "Where's Chihiro? She was supposed to be with you?!" Hibiki looked clueless as to what I was talking about. "Why would Chi be with me?" she asked.

Naoto also came over, "She said she texted you. We didn't want her going out by herself." Hibiki gasped, "Chi, bamboozled you guys!"

*No Ones POV W/Chihiro*

Chihiro's phone began ringing, and when she checked it, she sighed. "Damn it, Take!" she cursed, answering her phone. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" he screamed on the other line. Kakucho stared at her wide-eyed as she glared at her phone in annoyance. She rolled her eyes, "I was meeting a friend." Takemichi shot back, "IF THAT WAS THE CASE, THEN WHY DID YOU LIE!? HIBIKI IS THE ONLY FRIEND YOU KEPT IN CONTACT WITH!" Chihiro groaned, "Stop screeching, god damn Takemichi, my phone isn't even on speaker mode." Kakucho snickered quietly to himself, shaking his head. Chihiro narrowed her eyes at him, her look saying, 'Keep laughing and see what happens.'

"Get back to Naoto's apartment. Now. We're bringing Hibiki." he told her. Chihiro didn't appreciate his bossiness, but she did need to go. "Fine. I'll see you there," she said, hanging up. Chihiro turned to leave when Kakucho called out, "Wait, where are you going?!" Chihiro glanced back, "I need to meet my brother. All I wanted to tell you is that I didn't blame you. They were all correct, though you still did try to kill me. I trust you even though you're in a corrupt gang. Now, I need to make myself scarce. I'm sure you forgot to turn off your location. They didn't seem to trust you could actually hurt me. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't try to follow you after a while." *Bang Bang* Chihiro tumbled behind the crate just in time. Instead of hitting her, the bullets lodged in the crates.

"Shoot at me." Chihiro mouthed to Kakcuho. He blinked but begrudgingly took out his gun to shoot in her direction. Chihiro dodged out of the way and rushed down the alley. Some more shots rang out, and she felt a burning sensation in her arm. Chihiro looked down to see her arm got grazed by a bullet. Chihiro doubled back to Naoto's apartment, weaving through several allies to lose whoever could follow her.

*With Kakucho*

"What was that Kakucho?" Hanma questioned, coming out of hiding. "I don't know what you mean." he sighed, pocketing the gun he hid. Hanma holstered his gun with a frown, "You didn't go to the meeting place she told you to meet her before. We had to use your GPS to find you." Kakucho shrugged, "She texted me and told me a different location when I left. She seemed to know there would probably be backup." Hanma roughly grabbed his arm, "Then why didn't you notify us?!" Kakucho wrenched his arm free, "I didn't know someone would follow me."