Just the Beginning

No more secrets. Chapter 49

Disclaimer: The chapter contains swearing. The song above is called "Smoke and Fire" by Sabrina Carpenter. I do not own the picture above and have only done some basic editing to it.

- 1:04 am: Friday morning, Kou Gasai -

Kino and I were sitting on my bed and had been chatting about random things until everything between us went silent. As if taking advantage of the situation, he starts asking me about what happened back at the realm. I sit up straight and finally decide to tell him what I went through.

"The thing is: I went there to spy on the meeting they were going to have today and was easily able to enter the tower since I had one of the talismans. I entered and well, found the room they were meeting in. Obviously, I stayed out of their sight but the leader just had to say my family's name." I take a break from speaking and hear him gasp. I look at him to see a shocked face.

"So you?..." He trails off and I just nod, already knowing what he was talking about.

"Vengeance took over and I think she... What did she do?" I whisper the last part to myself, but loud enough for Kino to hear. "I know for sure she went inside the room since the moment I took control was when I saw myself hanging from a chandelier in the room. Everyone was right beneath me, ready to attack." I tried to remember as best as I could and suddenly hear a loud gulp from him. "What?" He looks away as his cheeks start turning red.

"They were beneath you and you were hanging above them? Right? They were looking up at you? Uh..." He clears his throat and I look at him in confusion. I think over what he was struggling at and finally analyse the structuring of his sentence.

"I was wearing pants, not a skirt or a dress, don't worry." I hear him lightly sigh in relief and lightly chuckle.

"I-I mean, it's-it's nothing like that. I..." I giggle loudly at that and pat his shoulder at his embarrassed state. Not being able to stop myself from giggling, I hug him sideways and he stuffs his face in the crook of my neck, not being able to hold his embarrassment anymore. I calm both of us down and he motions for me to continue after a while. I hum in thought and come back on the track of speaking I left before.

"Well, I got down from the chandelier and started fighting against them. My only goal at that time was to get to the exit but everyone kept blocking it so I got on a table and threw sharp cutlery at everyone that tried to come closer." I say but hear him mutter "Feisty" under his breath, and me being me, I couldn't control the smile but continued nonetheless. "Eventually, I got pulled down and after yelling a 'fuck you' at the leader, I got kicked around. Then, I used all of my will to get out of there and create a portal as soon as I got into cover from all of them." I shiver at the memory I experienced some time ago and feel arms wrap around me.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you." I look at him in surprise and rub his head to make him feel better.

"You don't need to say sorry. It was my choice to go alone, and knowing me, I always make the wrong choice. Even the one where I didn't tell Alisha about any of this." I start feeling guilty and the door suddenly opens.

"You are very right." My eyes widen as I feel Kino's hands leave me. I get up from the bed and walk towards Alisha before she can leave. She starts stepping away as soon as I start walking towards her. I hug her immidiately, before she could walk away any further.

"Alisha, look: I'm very sorry. I didn't know what I should've done. It was too dangerous and I couldn't risk anything. You understand don't you?" She doesn't say anything so I eventually let her go hesitantly. Without any other exchange, she walks away and I stand there, feeling tears sting my eyes. I feel arms around me from behind me and feel the tears roll down my cheeks. Not wanting to show Kino my tears, I keep standing with my back to him, although already knowing he knows I am crying. 

"How did she come home so soon?" I almost stutter and he gasps as his arms loosen around me, still wrapped slightly.

"It was a half day today. I completely forgot about it." He groans and puts his head on my shoulder, tightening his arms around me again. I place my hands onto his wrists and wrap my palms around the back of his hands as they rest on my waist. 

"She won't talk to me now." I mutter as I tighten my grip on his hands and he tightens his grip around my waist in return. 

"She will talk to you again, she just needs some time." He snuggles his head into the crook of my neck as I feel his hair brush closer against my ear. All I can do is sigh while nodding.

"Hopefully." I say and look at him as he turns his gaze to me with a reassuring smile. 

- 12:34 am: Saturday morning, Kou Gasai -

I walk down the hallway in the school and look for Alisha since I hadn't seen her the whole day, not even at the house. I see Kou barge out of a classroom and I say hi to try to distract him. All he does is ignore me and walks past me. I react immidiately and grab his arm but he instantly snatches it back.

"What do you want?" He partially yells, making everyone in the hallway look at us. I step closer to him to speak in almost a whisper.

"What happened to you, Kou?" He sighs in frustration and slicks his hair back.

"Why don't you ask Alisha?!" He growls and is about to walk away when I grab his hand again. 

"What happened?" I ask, losing my temper. He calms down a little and crosses his arms while looking at the floor.

"I asked her to go out on a date with me yesterday. She has been acting weird ever since we reached the restaurant. To be honest, she is still being a bitch. Tell her to get her things together." I look at him in shock, not being able to tell him off for saying that about Alisha since he is already mixed in with the crowd. I look at the classroom he just came out of and start walking towards there.