Chapter 259 - Unforgiven

"Big bro, Koharu came to school today."

Ara had thought it was smart to inform her brother about it. Since Kou and Gin were both away, it's better to let him know.

"What? But she's supposed to take her exams at home. What was she doing there?"

Suzuki Aki's voice came out sounding incredulous as expected. It was a bit even too loud for Ara's ear, so she shifted her phone to her other ear in time to hear him complain. "That school's unreliable with security."

"Well, she probably sneaked out of her house after the test."

This was, of course, possible considering how sneaky Okada Koharu was. Once they reached the gym, they already had an idea about what happened. After the test, thinking that it was over, the teachers left the Okada residence, expecting Koharu to stay at home and behave or her parents to take over guarding her.

However, since the Okadas were busy with work and their sick son, it's not incorrect to think that it was easy to sneak out of the house and come to the school.

"Well…" Aki was silent for a moment as if he thought about it too. "Just be careful all the time, alright? Don't forget what I told you. Don't go anywhere without telling your security."

"I won't," Ara answered with a smile.

Aki really was a worrywart, but she totally appreciated how he fussed over her. With that, they ended the short call.

"What did Big Bro Aki say?" Midori asked and the others looked at her as they waited for the answer. The four of them sat on one of the stone benches outside the gym.

"Just to take care. It's not like we can really do something to make Koharu stay in her house," Ara said with a shrug.

"Guys, do you think someone really should put Koharu in an institution? The way she looked earlier was not really right. It's as if she's possessed by something."

Huh?

Come to think of it…

Ara remembered how Koharu looked and frowned. Due to the heat of the moment and her desire not to see her anymore, she ignored some details that would normally disturb her. For instance, Koharu's glassy eyes and shifting expressions…

"It's like she's not the Koharu from before. She doesn't seem human the way she spoke," Miharu continued and Ara's breath hitched.

Oh heavens…

A nagging suspicion came to Ara, but there was no way she could confirm it now that they knew Koharu would be gone by now. Also, if her suspicion was correct, she couldn't confront the girl in school where there were many people. That vile thing within her would probably transfer to someone immediately.

Shadow lurker…

Why didn't she realize it before?          

Huh?

She wondered if Kou and Gin also knew about this. Well, they probably did, considering they told her confidently that Koharu would be dealt with as soon as graduation's over. She had just assumed that Koharu would be sent to an institution, but it seemed she was wrong.

Koharu would die. She was too far gone to be saved.

Ara placed a hand on her chest, and she was confused when she realized that she felt nothing with this information. Aside from being surprised about the parasite, Okada Koharu's imminent and inevitable passing didn't make her feel anything else.

"Have I become so cold-hearted?"Ara wondered audibly, forgetting she was with other people.

"Of course not!" Rin answered, surprising Ara as the other took her hand in hers and gave her a squeeze. "You did your best to become a good friend. It's her fault she's so rotten. You have every right not to treat her like a friend after what she did to you."

Er…

"That's right, Ara. She went overboard. Even if someone would drag her to jail at this very moment, even I wouldn't mind. She deserves it," Miharu added seriously.

"I agree. Don't feel guilty," Midori advised. "Just look at what she told you earlier. She didn't even feel remorse about what she did. She even threatened you."

All three of them wore stern expressions and their voice sounded unforgiving. In spite of the misunderstanding of her statement, Ara nodded and smiled.

"Is Hiroaki going to take long?"Rin asked Midori just as the door to the gym opened and a tired-looking Sonoda came out.

"Sorry guys, I took a while," he apologized as he sat down to fix the laces of his shoes. It seemed he'd been in a hurry to get out that he hadn't completely tied them.

"It's fine. We needed to cool down too. We met someone unpleasant before coming here,"Rin said enigmatically, with a bland expression, but it made all the more easier for Sonoda to guess who the unpleasant person was.

"Okada was here?"

It was obvious that he too was shocked.

"Well, this is a school, not a security agency. They can't guard someone who is determined to escape."

The others nodded at Hiroaki's statement. It was true after all. The school was not equipped to do things like that.

"Where are we going then?" he asked afterwards, and Ara and the others told him about shopping.

The athlete just shrugged. Having three sisters and his mother, one could say he's an expert shopping assistant so he didn't mind.

"Wait, I'll just send a message to the security," Ara said as she typed on her phone.

She indicated the name of the shopping plaza in Shibuya – the same one she went with Chiaki just yesterday. She had seen that most of the stores there had promos and new stocks, and it would be fun to go there with the girls.

"Is it okay now?"Sonoda asked as soon as Ara finished typing and placed her phone back in her pocket.

"Yeah," she answered. "They will follow us in the car," she explained.

Ara knew the security parked a few meters away from the school gate. The security had a clear view of the people coming and going from that spot. She knew they wouldn't miss her group as soon as they got out. However, they were wrong…

"Stop," Sonoda told them, and Ara was surprised.

Hiroaki had good instincts.

As soon as they stepped out of the gate, a huge garbage truck blocked the street on the right. It meant that the gate was no longer in the view of the security. Also…

Ara's eyes narrowed on the black multipurpose vehicle which suddenly stopped in front of them.

"Run back inside!"Sonoda ordered as he turned and pushed the girls back to school.

But the others were slow in thinking and were frozen on their feet so Ara and Sonoda had to shake them to move. However, it was too late.  

Damn!

Several rough-looking men wearing masks alighted from the vehicle and grabbed Ara by the wrist, while another grabbed Rin by the collar and took her hostage. Ara was able to kick the man away from her easily, but then the man holding Rin suddenly whipped out a gun and pointed it at the side of her head. Everybody froze.

"You will come with me, or this girl will die."