17

Yano received a call from Yukie.

“What?” Yano halted.

“Boss, did they find nee-chan?” asked Nino.

All members of Yano’s group were there as well as Maki, Yui and Shun. Smile on their faces when Yano nodded.

“Is Mao ok?” Maki questioned.

Yano took a bow. His reaction spun everybody’s gladness.

“What happened?” Shun fretted as Yano muttered a bad news. “The hospital phoned in our house. Mao was there.”

**

“I saw her under the bridge” narrated Kame, the guy who brought me in the hospital.

Shun, Rina, Jin and Haruma were investigating.

“Who could ever do such thing to Mao knowing that she is Yano’s wife?” Rina wondered.

Kame was clueless.

*

All of my relatives and good friends were waiting outside the operating room. Father was holding on his forehead. He used to be calm all the time but now he couldn’t hide his worries.  My mom was crying aloud. As a comfort, Nino smoothed her back “Daijoubu, nee-chan will be fine!”

Yukie was standing at one corner, quietly while Yano walked back and forth.

Maki, Yui and Yamapi were sitting on a bench.

All of them released from worrying when the doctor came out.

“Doc, how is she?” Almost everyone asked except Yukie who remained silent.

“She’s out of danger” said the doctor. It was a relief for everyone.

“How about the baby?” Yano questioned.

The doctor paused.

“He’s okay, right?” asked Yano.

“We tried everything to save him” said the doctor “but we didn’t make it, I’m really sorry”

It turned Yano crazy. He shouted punching the wall.

In the middle of everyone’s grief Yukie walked away. She headed inside the elevator. There wasn’t any sign of worries in her face but flaming eyes. Her family was killed long ago and now, another family member stole away from her. She took and dialed her phone.

“How it is, have you find them?”

“Yes”

“Good” answered Yukie. “Just don’t touch her, give me the privilege to kill her.”

**

When I opened my eyes I saw everybody glaring. They were whispering- talking but I didn’t understand any. All I see was the white surrounding. “What am I doing here?”  I wondered. A flashback re-ran in my mind.

There was a girl named Shibasaki who brought me in unfamiliar roof top. She paid someone from the café to put drug in my drinks; she also introduced herself as part of Petal.

“You’re from Petal?” I repeated.

She didn’t answer.

“If you’re from Petal you shouldn’t do this to me, I’m Yano’s wife-”

“That’s the exact reason why I brought you here!” She yelled. “I can’t accept you as his wife”

I was shrugged but realized her reason. This girl was in love with Yano.

“I already admitted that I’m nothing compared to Erika Yamato but after her assassination, I started to hope again, but still Yano couldn’t recognize me. That was the reason why I joined Petal- to reach Yano. To dismay me I discovered that he only wanted girls from Village 1. That made me gave up. I quit Petal and went in Rome, until I heard about his marriage” Shibasaki gave me nasty looks. “Do you know how it feels-“she continued “Of course you can’t understand my feelings- I can’t even understand why Yano ended with you!”

“Is this a revenge?” I questioned.

She smiled. “No, don’t worry, I won’t hurt or kill you… I just want to try your ability”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re from Village 3 but still took the heart of my Yano; for sure you have something special. I want to see your fighting style” She moved closer to me and then slapped my face. To her surprise I failed to avoid it. “What kind of fighter are you?”

“I’m not a fighter, I only know archery!” I answered.

“Archery? So…that’s the reason. She fell for you because you know archery like Erika.”

“No! It just-“

“Then let’s have an archery match” she challenged.

“Stop it!” I shouted. “I don’t want to entertain your insane ideas. I’m going!” I turned away but she grabbed my arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Please Shibasaki, let me go!”

“Not until you beat me in a battle.”

I sighed. “To tell you the truth Yano didn’t marry me because he likes me. It just-“ I didn’t continue but she got it.

“You seduced him?”

“No!”

“I hate you!” She shouted as she hit my face.

I tried to run away but she didn’t give me way. She grabbed my hair “How dare you to seduce her?”

“Y-you don’t understand” I tried to explain but she wasn’t listening, she seemed insane. “Please, stop this, I’m pregnant”

“Really?” Shibasaki gave an evil grinned.

“It’s true, so please stop hurting me- for the sake of my child” I begged but she was def. She pushed me, I stepped to run but she grabbed me again. She just held up when I started to cry out of pain. I hugged my stomach. It was really painful. Before I realized I was bleeding.

“N-No- stop acting, you can't fool me!”

As she realized I wasn’t joking, she immediately brought me down to her car.

*

“Hold on!” she shouted. She was really nervous upon driving. “This is not my plan… I just want to challenge her, that’s all” She whispered. Shibasaki planned to bring me in the hospital but fear stopped her. She would definitely kill by Matsumoto. “What should I do what should I do?” She mumbled.

In the end she took me out of her car and left beside the bridge.

*

“Shibasaki, where are you going?” asked her parents as she so her packing her things.

“I’ll go back in Rome” She left quickly. She even forgot to kiss her mom.

She was entering her car when she heard noises. “Who’s there?” It was dark so she couldn’t recognize it. “No, it can’t be…”

As she thought, it was Petal. She saw three people standing next to her. Though they were wearing mask she knew them because of the numbers on their black shirts. Yukie was the number 11, the other one had the number 17 and the other one was number 1. She couldn’t believe to see their leader- What had she done to be hunt by these skilled killers?

“Let me explain, it wasn’t my plan, it was an accident!”

She tried to explain but no one was listening. Blood began to spill.

***