You stand in the center of the burnt bakery. Hikari is talking to a guy. Your grandma used your grandpa's savings to fix the bakery. Though your grandma kept asking Hikari if she really wants to stay. No matter how many times she asks, Hikari tells her this is what she wanted. You cross your arms as you stare at the back door. Now thinking about it... who even was that and why did someone blow up the bakery? You question. You furrow your eyebrows as you try and think about all the possibilities and reasons to why someone could have done it. Did someone want you dead? You turn away and walk out the bakery.
You knock on Baji's door in hopes he would answer. When you don't get an answer you slowly turn away but then his door opens causing you to pause and look back at it.
"Yuki...?" Baji softly says.
"Hi-"
You sit in Baji's room. He comes back into the room and hands you a drink then sits beside you on the bed.
"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to leave?" Baji asks. "You leave in a couple of days."
"Yeah I know... but there was something I wanted to ask." You slowly say.
"Okay... ask." He says. He leans back a bit and you turn towards him, staring him in the eyes. As you do his eyes widen a bit. "W-what?" He asks in a confused tone.
"How did you know where Kisaki and I were going to be...?" You softly ask. Baji's eyes relax and he takes a deep breath.
"Draken called me..." Baji slowly answers.
"He called you?"
"He said that Izana mentioned something... serious- and that's why he told me to go check up on you. When I went to the bakery it was on fire... but there was like a small blood trail leading away from the bakery."
"So, you followed it?" You ask. He nods.
"Truthfully- I was scared... I thought it was your blood... and that you were dead somewhere... and that I didn't make it to you on time..." He looks down when he says that. You furrow your eyebrows and look down to. "But-" He lifts his head and shakes it. "You're alive... so none of that matters."
"Right." You nod.
"... I have a question actually."
"Mm?"
"Did Kisaki do that to the bakery?" Baji questions. You stare at him and then you look down.
"I don't think so." You reply. Baji stares at you and then off into the distance.
"So, someone either wanted the bakery destroyed... or wanted you dead."
"... maybe." You slowly nod. Baji looks back at you and then takes a loud and clear deep breath. You look up at him when he does.
"You know Mikey disbanded toman yesterday."
"HUH?" You look at Baji in shock. "Why!?"
"He said he felt like it was the right thing to do..." Baji adds.
"... oh." You look back down, furrowing your eyebrows then you softly smile, looking back up at Baji. Baji raises an eyebrow when you do. "You're friends with Mikey again?" You smile. Baji stares at you before answering.
"... I wouldn't exactly say that. I'm still mad at him."
"Well, its improvement at least." You chuckle. Baji narrows his eyes at you then sighs.
"Oh... yeah- by the way-"
"Hm?"
"We are throwing a goodbye party for you tomorrow..." Baji softly says.
"Huh?" You tilt your head a bit. Baji smiles and nods.
"It was my idea... I want to celebrate for when you leave..."
"But- I won't be gone for long." You say in confusion.
"Yeah but- I still wanted to throw a goodbye party for you." He smiles. "It's tomorrow- so don't be late."
"Where at?" You ask.
"The shrine... the place you were at when you spied on us... I guess you can say- our first encounter." He smiles at you. You stare at him.
You slowly make your way into the hospital. You make your way to Emma's hospital room. You stand outside of it, holding the four keychains in your hand. You fixed Emma's keychain, super gluing the head back on. You walk into Emma's hospital room and then stop when you see Draken sitting beside her.
"Hi..." You softly say.
"Hey."
"How's Emma?" You ask as you stop beside Draken. He looks back towards her.
"She seems fine." He calmly says. "The doctors said she's improving."
You nod and stare down at her. She looks pale. You slowly look at Draken and then took a deep breath.
"Here..." You softly say, grabbing his hand. He looks at you with a semi confused face. You open his hand and then stare down at it. It looks rough. You slowly look at Emma and then back at Draken. You place her keychain and his keychain in his hand.
"Emma wanted to give you the orange one... and hers is the magenta one."
"..."
"She was going to give this to you the day of your date..." You softly say. "I know you love Emma..." You look Draken in the eyes. He looks back at you. "When she wakes up... tell her how you feel- and give her the keychain." You softly smile. Draken looks down at the keychains in his hand. "That's all... I'll see you tomorrow at the party."
"... Yuki-"
"Bye bye." You smile and wave. Draken watches you walk away. He looks down at his hand and then back towards the door.
You walk out the hospital and slowly pull your phone out, calling someone.
"Hello?"
"Hi... Hina- can you help me with something?" You softly ask.
"Sure- what's up?"
"Let's meet up." You softly say into the phone.
"Alright."
You stand outside a store waiting for Hina to come. You stare down at the keychains in your hand then you feel a tap on your shoulder causing you to flinch. Hina smiles at you.
"Hi." You look at her in surprise.
"Did I scare you?" She giggles.
"N-nooooo." You look away smiling. She smiles more and looks down at your hand.
"Those are so cute..." She coos. You look down at your hand and then nod.
"Yeah." You slowly nod. "That's what I need you to help me with." You put the keychains in your pocket, turning towards Hina.
"Hm? You want me to help you find more keychains... or-"
"I want you to help me find a bracelet."
"Mm? What kind?" She softly asks.
"The kind that keeps bad energy away."
"Huh."
"You know how people would have stones... or whatever to keep bad energy away."
"Yeah."
"I want to get a bracelet for that." You imply. Hina nods and then smiles.
"Alright- then let's go!" She pulls you with her.
The first store you go into seem like some kind of antique store. Hina shows you a bracelet. You stare at it for a bit. It looks really nice.
"What you think?" She smiles.
"It's really nice... what do you think the price is?" You ask.
"I'm sure it's not too expensive." She softly says as she picks up the price tag. Her eyes widen and then she smiles at you awkwardly. "Actually- let's look somewhere else."
"Huh? Why... what's wrong with it?"
The second store you two visit, the bracelets there seemed and felt cheap. The store owner tried to shmooze the two of you into buying her stuff but you both were too smart to stay. The third store was oddly also very expensive.
The sky is slowly darkening. You and Hina are losing hope. You both stand outside a store that looks quite unique.
"This is the last place I can think of..." Hina softly sighs. You look at her then at the store. You walk into the store. You walk in, walking through hanging beads that covered the front door. You look around with wide eyes. There are a lot of cool things in the store.
"Hello Hello." A woman says. She's sitting in the corner of the store picking at her toe nails. You and Hina look at her with a disgusted face. She quickly looks up at the two of you. "Eh... teenagers..." She puts her foot down and then wipes them with a rag. She stands up wiping her hands with the same rag while walking behind the counter in the store.
"Hi." Hina softly says.
"What do you two want? A tarot reading? A fortune telling...?" The woman asks.
"I'm here to look for a bracelet... the kind with beads- that keep bad energy away... do you have anything like that?" You ask. You and Hina stand at the counter. Hina is examining the crystals at the corner of the counter.
"Mm... I have something like that- yes." She leans down and then grabs two baskets, placing them on the counter. You and Hina look at the basket and then start going through it.
"Do these work?" You ask.
"Yeaaahh... I don't sell fake shit..."
"How do these work?" Hina asks, holding a pink beaded one. The woman grabs a few of them and then shows them to you, shining a light through a few of the beads. You and Hina gawk at how cool the stones shine under the light.
"Both of these baskets are different. The one on the left wards off bad energy. And if or when something really bad tries to get at you, the bracelet will break."
"Why would it break?" Hina asks.
"It breaks to protect you." The woman answers.
"OH! Kinda like taking the hit for you?" Hina asks. The woman nods.
"And what about the other ones?" You ask. The woman looks at you then looks at the basket on the right, pushing them towards you.
"These consume negative energy. Once it consumes enough, it will break."
"What's the difference between both?" Hina asks. The woman holds one bracelet from each basket.
"One keeps negative energy away and the other consumes your negative energy."
"So is one supposed to be like protection and the other is like for calming."
"Something like that." The woman says. Hina nods and looks at you.
"This is what you were looking for right?" Hina questions. You stare at the baskets and then back at the woman.
"How much do they cost?" You ask.
"They are two thousand yen each... or you can do a bundle for five thousand yen..." The woman answers.
"What's in the bundle?" You question.
"A fortune telling, two bracelets, a necklace and a pick of a few of these crystals." The woman says pointing to a bin of crystals. "I will even add a few clips in there." The woman adds. You think about the deal and then look back at Hina.
"Okay. I'll take the bundle. Hina will get the fortune and can pick any of the other stuff. But can I get one bracelet from each of the baskets?" You ask. The woman nods. Hina looks at you in shock.
"Are you sure?" Hina asks. You nod. Hina smiles. "But you should pick out the crystals. I'm happy enough with the fortune telling."
"You sure?" You ask. Hina nods.
The woman allows you to grab two bracelets from the baskets. You grab a light pink one and a black one. The woman takes Hina to the back to do a fortune telling while you search through the crystals. You examine all the different shapes and colors, grabbing three of them, placing them in a bag, and then placing it on the counter.
You stand at the counter with your eyes close. You feel a tap on your shoulder and slowly look to see Hina smiling at you.
"Are you done?" You ask.
"Yup."
"Alright. This all is five thousand yen." The woman says. You nod and pull the money out from your jacket, handing it to her. You both leave the store. Hina holds a lollipop in her hand the lady gave. It has a bug in the center of the lollipop.
"Do people actually eat this?" She asks as you two walk down the sidewalk.
"Maybe... are you scared to eat it." She looks at you then back at the lollipop. "Oh... and here." You hand her the pink bracelet.
"Huh?"
"I want you to have this..." You softly say.
"Really?"
"Mhm."
"Are you sure."
"I'm sure." You smile. Hina smiles back and places it on her wrist.
"Which one is this one."
"That one protects you from negative energy."
"Oh... and I'm guessing the other one consumes your negative energy?" Hina questions.
"Mhm..."
"Who is that for?" Hina asks. You stop walking and look at her. She smiles then giggles a little. "Come on... don't look at me in shock- Is it for Mikey?" She bubbles. You furrows your eyebrows and then slowly nod. She smiles and then nods. "You two are cute."
"You think?"
"Mhm. That's what you would say to me about me and Takemichi." She coos. You smile at her cuteness.
You and Hina stand outside of her apartment.
"Thank you for taking me out~" She bubbles. You furrow your eyebrows. She smiles more.
"Of course... Thank you for helping me." You smile.
"I had a lot of fun too!" Hina says in a perky tone. Her smile softens a bit and she stares you directly in the eyes. "I will miss you... Yuki-"
"Huh?"
"It felt like I just got a really good friend back... and now you're leaving me again." She laughs awkwardly. "But I know you'll come back so I'm not too worried... You'll come back... right?"
"Right."
"Okay!" She smiles. "I'll be waiting for you Yuki."
You nod and smile.
"Bye bye Hina... see you later."
"Bye bye Yuki~"
The day before you leave... today is the goodbye party. You sit on the mat on the floor at your grandmas house staring down at the bracelet and two keychains in your hand.
"Yuki..." Hikari pops her head into your room.
"Hm?" You hum, looking up at Hikari.
"Your boyfriend is here for you." Hikari smiles at you in a teasing way. You squint your eyes.
"I don't have a boyfriend." You sigh.
"Ouch." Mikey says, smiling at you. Your eyes widen. You quickly put the bracelet and keychains in your pocket.
"Hi."
"Hi." He bubbles. "Ready to go? Everyone is waiting."
"Yeah." You nod.
"Alright, lets go." Mikey holds his hand out for you to grab. You grab his hand, and he pulls you up.
TO BE CONTINUED OCTOBER 15TH... 2 MORE CHAPTERS LEFT!