[AllTakemichi] Control

Chapter 66

While Hinata is still caught in that restless confusion-wanting to go find Kisaki despite her little brother's desperate attempts to stop her-Kazutora appears out of nowhere.

In truth, he has been there the whole time, ever since Hinata and Chifuyu started talking. He is also the one who gives Hinata Chifuyu's phone number in the first place.

He thinks that maybe, through this, he will finally overhear the secret both Baji and Chifuyu keep from him.

But it seems the two of them are far too good at keeping quiet. Even when Hinata asks, she gets nothing.

"Kisaki is far more dangerous than you think, Hinata-chan," Kazutora says at last. "He once manipulated me into turning against Takemichi. So if you want to keep yourself safe-and Takemichi safe too-you shouldn't try to approach him."

He leaves only that warning behind before walking away.

He knows Hinata will be terribly disappointed. But the truth remains-this is not something she should involve herself in, and there is nothing she can do about it anyway.

For a long time now, Kazutora vaguely senses that something exists between Baji, Chifuyu, and Takemichi-some secret they never tell him. Back then, however, he carried the weight of his own guilt for hurting the three of them. So he keeps silent. He does not pry.

But Takemichi's condition worsening during the Tenjiku battle-along with the abnormal level of self-reproach and torment from both Baji and Chifuyu-makes it impossible for Kazutora to sit still any longer.

Still... how can he make them talk?

Those two are unbelievably tight-lipped about this.

He is certain everyone notices something is wrong. Yet whatever Takemichi hides seems to act like the fragile counterweight holding his already-cracking mind together. And so everyone chooses silence, no matter how many doubts and tangled questions churn inside them.

Because what if it is a secret so enormous that, once exposed, this fragile illusion of peace and happiness collapses back into the chaos it once is?

Everything feels as though it hangs by a single thread.

The longer the questions and suspicions are suppressed, the more they resemble ticking bombs.

And...

I never like the feeling of being left behind.

It feels too much like betrayal.

And that is the one feeling I hate the most.

Why doesn't Takemichi tell me?

Is it because I hurt him before... so I don't deserve his trust?

Amid the silent storm raging in his mind, Hinata suddenly comes into view again. She is investigating the matter. And everyone knows-if there is one person in the world who always understands Takemichi and the troubles he faces, it is Chifuyu.

After all, Hinata is Takemichi's girlfriend. Maybe Chifuyu will speak out of respect for her.

So Kazutora simply gives fate a little push.

And it amounts to absolutely nothing.

But even Hinata cannot make Chifuyu talk... could it mean this has something to do with her?

Hinata and Kisaki were once close friends.

Why does Kazutora feel like that detail is trying to tell him something?

Could they be connected?

Huh...?

Kazutora suddenly stiffens, a realization striking him out of nowhere.