The girl kept walking through the streets like she didn't have a care in the world.
From the outside, she was just another student heading home after school.
Red hair fluttering in the wind.
Earphones tucked in.
A soft smile gracing her lips.
But anyone who looked closer — really looked — would have seen it.
That smile didn't reach her eyes.
The music wasn't even playing.
The earbuds were in just for show. A defense mechanism.
Hana Yamamoto's world had stopped making sense a long time ago.
After the fire that destroyed her house, she'd moved in with her grandparents — together with her parents — while Hiro lay in a hospital bed, still recovering from the big wounds.
She visited him every day.
Brought him books.
Joked like nothing happened.
Like nothing was falling apart inside her.
But it was.
No one knew. Not even Hiro.
And especially not Kai.
Since Yuna's kidnapping, she had disappeared from his life.
Not a single message. No calls. No visit.
She acted like she had erased him — but the truth was far more complicated.
She loved him.
Still loved him.
But watching him fall for someone else—someone like her—had twisted something deep inside Hana's soul.
Every day, she asked herself:
"What did I do wrong?"
And the answer, always, was the same:
"Hina."
That girl had stolen everything. His heart. His time. His loyalty.
And now Kai looked like he was suffering. Trapped. Changed.
Maybe he was already broken.
As she walked, her gaze slid across the streets and cafés she used to visit with friends.Places she once imagined she'd go with Kai.
Now, they just reminded her of what she'd lost.
"I miss everything." she whispered inside her head, biting her bottom lip until it hurt.
Then, she sped up, casting her gaze downward.
She couldn't afford to get lost in those thoughts again.
Not now.
Not when she was a target.
The deal with the Kurotaka Syndicate…
Her hands trembled in her pockets. She felt it again—that crawling unease behind her neck.
She told herself it was nothing.
Until she bumped into someone.
Hard.
"Ah—!" Her phone clattered to the pavement, along with the stranger's.
"O-oh! I'm so sorry!" she said quickly, reaching down.
"It's okay," a calm, feminine voice replied.
Hana looked up—and froze.
A young woman stood before her. Blonde hair. Soft grey eyes. The kind of elegance you'd expect from a foreign princess.
She looked familar.
Way too much.
But Hana couldn't figure out who was the person in front of her.
The stranger stared.
Not hostile. Not friendly.
Just... observing.
For a moment too long.
Hana cleared her throat awkwardly. "Uh… something wrong with my face?"
The girl blinked, then smiled politely. "No. Sorry. You just reminded me of someone."
She took her phone back and bowed lightly. "Have a good day."
Then walked away.
Hana remained frozen for a second, unease prickling her skin.
"People are so strange lately..."
She shook the thought and kept walking.
Then her phone rang.
She flinched.
The screen read:
Matsuda.
Her new "boss."
A shiver traced her spine.
"What now...?"
She answered.
"H-Hello, boss?" Hana replied in a shaky voice, like she was scared.
"Hana. Where are you?" The boss asked, with no hesitation.
His voice was sharp. Cold.
"I-I'm walking back from school… Why? What happened?" She replied, while looking around her.
"They're following you."
No hesitation.
Her heart dropped.
"W-What?! Why?! I haven't done anything!"
"You don't need to," he snapped. "You're bait now. Keep walking. One of my men is shadowing you, but he won't hold them off forever."
The line went dead.
Her breath stopped for a moment.
Then she ran.
No hesitation.
No looking back.
She rushed forward, nearly colliding with a man exiting a store. Then a woman with shopping bags.
"Sorry—!!"
She sprinted down the sidewalk, her bag thumping against her side.
Her pulse roaring in her ears.
She didn't dare look back.
But the sound of steps behind her — steady, casual — told her everything.
They weren't rushing.
They didn't need to.
Because she was being led.
Herded.
She reached her neighborhood, breath shallow, sweat dripping down her temple.
Her grandparents' house came into view.
Just a little farther.
One more turn.
She reached the door, slammed her back against it, and fumbled with her keys.Her fingers were shaking.
She finally got the door open, stumbled inside, and locked it behind her.
Click.
She slid down against the door and collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving.
She was safe.
For now.
But her hands were still shaking.
And that presence…
It was still there.
Just outside her reach.
Watching.
Waiting.
Her chest was heaving, lungs burning, and her heart still thundering inside her ribs like a drum.
She stumbled forward, bracing herself on the wall, gasping for air.
She had bumped into at least three people during her mad dash through the streets, and she couldn't even remember their faces.
All she knew was the chilling sensation that someone had been following her—just out of sight, always one step behind.
Now that she was inside, she tried to slow her breathing.
She leaned her forehead against the cool wall of the hallway and shut her eyes.
"Why am I this scared...?" she whispered to herself.
The image of Matsuda's call echoed in her mind. "They're following you."
But who? And why now?
Her body was trembling—not just from fear, but from confusion. Doubt. Guilt.
She stood upright, kicked off her shoes, and made her way upstairs to her room, passing the hallway like a ghost.
Once inside, she locked the door behind her, dropped her bag, and stripped off her jacket.
Her eyes moved to the full-length mirror in the corner.
She hesitated.
Then she reached back, slowly pulling her shirt over her head, revealing the skin of her shoulder.
There, etched onto her scapula like a scar that refused to fade, was the tattoo.
A black eagle with outstretched wings — the symbol of the Kurotaka Syndicate.
The ink had been there for weeks now, but it never stopped feeling foreign.
Alien.
Like it didn't belong on her skin.
A chill ran down her spine.
She hated looking at it.
It wasn't just a symbol of danger.
It was a permanent reminder of what she had done. Of what she was becoming.
And yet…
A crooked smile twisted her lips. Just for a second.
"They'll kill her," she whispered.
"No more Hina. No more nightmares. And Kai will be happy again." She added, with an almost satisfied voice.
She turned away from the mirror sharply, as if to outrun her reflection.
For some strange reason, the Kurotakas hadn't asked her for money. Or sex. Or loyalty, even.
The only thing that they wanted… was her.
Because somehow, they knew she would matter.
And she didn't even understand why.
But in that moment, Hana didn't even think about it.
She just wanted to relax.
But, before taking her shower, Hana collapsed face-first onto her bed, the towel still clutched in her hand. Her breathing was calmer now, but her mind remained a storm.
She turned to her side, reached toward her nightstand, and pulled open a small drawer.
A handful of polaroids spilled into her lap.
She shuffled through them slowly, carefully — photos of her and Kai.
In the park.
At school.
Laughing together at a summer festival.
A younger Kai, smiling with a spark in his eyes that was long gone now.
She pressed one of the pictures to her chest.
"I miss you," she whispered.
Then, with a sharp breath, she pushed herself up and walked into the bathroom.
The hot water poured down like rain.
She stood under it, letting it cleanse more than just her skin — though nothing could really wash away what was inside.
She wrapped herself in a towel when she was done and returned to her room, hair dripping, skin flushed from the heat.
She pulled on a clean shirt, a pair of shorts, and collapsed onto her bed again, this time hoping for a moment of peace.
But she barely closed her eyes before a knock came at her door.
"Hana?" her mother's voice called out.
She sat up instantly, alert.
"Yeah?"
"There's… someone at the door for you. She says she's a friend."
Hana blinked.
"A friend?"
"She's waiting downstairs. A blonde girl. She said that she's your friend-"
Hana froze.
Her blood turned cold.
The girl from the street.
The one with the calm eyes and distant smile.
Her hands gripped the bedsheets tightly.
No one was supposed to know where she lived.
No one was supposed to follow her.
And yet…
She stood up slowly, her legs unsteady.
"I'll… be right there," she said.
But inside, she was screaming.
Something wasn't right.
Not at all.