Chapter 5: Affair?
--- Chapter 4 ---
For those who didn't know, Aki's parents had a divorce in the original.
---
A few weeks had passed ever since Aki became friends with the rest.
Masamune, Ren, Aki and Yoshino would play together every day. Out in the garden, or sometimes at her house.
Everything was going great for Aki. She never felt as happy as she was now.
She made friends, had a lot of fun, met new people.
But it all went downhill after her mother caught her dad cheating.
She remembered how it happened.
She was jumping happily towards her room, only to see both of her parents fighting.
Her mother was shouting at her dad whilst the latter couldn't accept the fact that he got caught red-handed.
Unfortunately, Aki didn't know this and thought that everything will be alright later, just like it always was.
But she was wrong...
---
A few days later, her dad left with person he had an affair with, leaving her mother all alone.
Aki tried to comfort her, tried to talk to her, but she couldn't.
Her mother was locked up in her room because of depression while leaving her daughter alone.
Aki witnessed all this happening, making her stop interacting with Ren and Masamune in fear of them leaving her to play with someone else.
It was at that moment she thought that she couldn't trust anyone.
So she decided to run away.
She ran away from her home, towards the forest.
She wanted to be alone, away from all the pain that she had went through. Seeing both of the people who raised her, separate.
So she hid, in hope of nothing finding her.
Although, she knew that this was false. She wanted someone to help her. Someone that could understand what she was going through, but she just couldn't express it.
So she crouched beneath a tree and started sobbing silently.
Her soft cries echoed, but it was overshadowed by the rain...
---
(Ren PoV)
Something was off.
Aki would always come to our house to play with Yoshino but she stopped a few days ago.
I continued walking but then stopped when I saw Masamune sobbing on the doorway.
'Yoshino decided to leave with her mother for maid training, leaving Aki all alone...'
'Where would she be then?'
I continued walking and thinking until I was next to Masamune.
I tapped his shoulder, asking him as to why he was crying.
"My balls got stuck in the forest and I can't get it!"
Masamune then continued crying making me rethink what he said.
'Balls... right his footballs.'
I then took Masamune's hand whilst walking outside, not forgetting to bring an umbrella.
Masamune suddenly stopped crying while looking at me with confusion.
I saw this and smiled while jogging towards the forest.
"Let's go and get it quickly...mom wouldn't know. I think..."
Masamune then looked at me with teary eyes before hugging me.
"Thank you, Ren!"
I slowed down my pace as he continued hugging me for a while.
I just sighed and decided that we can walk the rest of the distance to the forest.
---
Ren and Masamune soon arrived inside the forest, looking around for the balls.
They were about to continue looking for a while before freezing.
Ren slowly turned his head towards Masamune who was slightly shivering.
"R-ren do you think it's a ghost..?"
Ren looked at Masamune before shaking his head.
"No way..."
Under normal circumstances, Ren would definitely run away from this place.
After all who would explore after finding out that some creepy ass being lived here?
Idiots.
Ren definitely knew he was an idiot for staying here, but he felt like something was off.
'Though I have never heard a ghost cry, this sound seems more humane...like a girl crying...'
Ren slowly walked towards the sound as Masamune followed behind him.
Masamune peeked his head out before stuttering.
"R-ren I think we should just go..."
Ren continued walking whilst answering Masamune's question.
"Let's just take a peek..."
Masamune wanted to refuse, but seeing Ren still going into the forest made him change his mind.
---
(Ren PoV)
I slowly walked towards the place I heard the cries from.
I looked from left to right, just to make sure that no one was there, before looking upwards.
DRIP!
The umbrella started shaking slightly from my grip as I felt the rainfall increase.
CRUNCH!
I flinched slightly before stopping my tracks.
I snapped my head towards my right whilst my heart started beating rapidly.
'No way...there can't be a ghost...'
I continued staring at the nearby trees before seeing something odd.
I saw a figure crouching beneath the branches, shaking slightly.
I looked at it with a bit of confusion before walking slowly towards it.
'Screw it. I already died once...'
I tiptoes towards the figure while Masamune followed right after me.
After walking towards it I realized that it probably couldn't hear us due to the rain.
I put all those thought to think for later while continuing to walk.
I then arrived near the figure after a few second of walking.
I took the umbrella and moved it above the figure before crouching.
Right when I was about to say something it looked up at me with red eyes.
I then felt like the figure was familiar.
'Black hair into two pigtails...'
'Isn't that Aki?'
I widened my eyes realizing who the figure was while Aki stopped crying, seeing me.
I then opened my mouth, wanting to ask here as to why she was alone in the forest but stopped.
Aki suddenly jumped on me and grabbed my shoulder.
I froze as I felt some liquid staining my clothes.
'She is crying again?'
I instinctively caressed her head with one hand while the other was blocking the rain with the umbrella.
I was about to say something but then stopped when I saw that Masamune had arrived behind us.
Masamune walked beside me before crouching and hugging me, making al three of us sit underneath the tree.
I just sighed before the place went silent. Only hearing the rain drops fall.
I looked up at the cloudy skies and closed my eyes and started enjoying the warmth beside me.
---
After a few minutes, Aki stopped sobbing and lifted her head from my shoulder.
I turned my head towards her in confusion.
Her body was shaking slightly as she asked me a question.
"...You guy's wont leave me, right?"
I sat still for a moment before answering her.
"Of course."
Amid then looked at me and Masamune before shouting.
"Promise me! Promise that you won't leave me like dad!"
Her voice started cracking slightly as her eyes watered.
She then started crying, making Masamune tear up slightly as well.
I stared at both of them before sighing.
I put down the umbrella that was shielding us from the rain before patting both of them.
I then smiled gently at Aki before answering her previous question.
"I promise."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone