Hiro didn’t argue. He nodded and shuffled towards the bathroom, his body heavy with exhaustion. The hot water felt good against his skin, soothing his tense muscles and calming his chaotic thoughts. After washing up, he dried off, and slipped into the new clothes they had bought earlier—a plain cream-coloured shirt and black pants, simple but comfortable.
Once clean, Hiro wandered into Michi’s bedroom and plopped onto the bed with a heavy sigh, feeling drained both physically and emotionally. His mind was a ss, swirling with questions about Raiden, Shoji, and everything else. He didn’t know what to believe. The fact that Raiden lied to him about going to Arica broke the trust he had in him. Not to talk of the issue with Ginro. He wondered, what would he do if everything he thought of turned out to be true? What would he do if Raiden had been playing him all along? Their tis together, both the sweet and the steamy ones, the way treated him and took care of him? What if it was all part of so hidden agenda? His heartbeat quickened and he shook his head, not wanting to even imagine it. At that mont, his phone began to ring.
He groaned as he reached for it, frowning when he saw Raiden’s na on the screen. He didn’t want to talk to him right now. With a shaky breath, Hiro hung up the call and tossed the phone back onto the bed. But almost imdiately, it began ringing again.
"Really?" Hiro muttered, frustrated and hung up again. But Raiden was persistent. The phone rang again and Hiro hung up. It rang again and Hiro hung up again. This continued for a few more minutes.
Hiro clenched his fists, anger bubbling up inside him when his screen lip up with Raiden’s na and face again after he hung up. He didn’t want to talk to him. He didn’t want to hear any more lies. He didn’t want to face Raiden, not after what he’d seen. After a few more rounds of Raiden calling and Hiro hanging up, he finally had enough and turned his phone off entirely. Tossing it aside, he buried his face in the pillow, trying to sleep. He just didn’t want to think about anything.
He let out a deep, weary sigh and his mind had just began to drift on the edge of unconsciousness, when suddenly, the door to the room was kicked open with a loud crash.
Hiro bolted upright, his heart pounding in his chest. His eyes widened in shock as he turned towards the door and there stood Raiden, his expression dark, his smokey grey eyes blazing with fury.
Raiden was pissed.
Hiro swallowed, his throat dry as he gazed up at Raiden. He wanted to speak but his voice caught, faltering beneath the weight of Raiden’s icy stare. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly guilt weigh down on him like an anchor. He had seen Raiden in the warehouse with his own eyes so why did he feel so small and cornered?
“Co here.” Raiden commanded. His voice was a sharp and cold, like ice cutting through the air. His curt tone left no room for argunt, no space for hesitation. His smokey grey eyes locked onto Hiro’s with a predatory focus and so level of restraint. As if it was taking everything in him to hold himself back from exploding right there.
Raiden was dressed in a sleek black suit, the red streaks in his dark hair adding an edge of danger to his otherwise polished appearance. His presence was so overpowering that it sucked the air from the room. Hiro felt himself shrinking beneath it, his mind going blank. He also felt a little scared.
"Will you co here," Raiden’s voice deepened. "or should I co get you?"
Hiro’s heart raced and he wanted to run away but the intensityof Raiden’sgaze kept him rooted to his spot. Besides, there was nowhere to run. Raiden was blocking the only exit.
"Know this, Hiro," Raiden said, stepping forward, "if I go over to you myself, I will teach your behind exactly what it ans to disobey and trust , you wouldn’t want that for I promise you, you will never be able to walk through this neighborhood with your head held high again."
Hiro’s chest tightened as he realised that Raiden wasn’t bluffing. When Raiden made a threat, he always followed through. He had known that about Raiden since they were in high-school. He wanted refuse but he couldn’t. It was like his body reacted instinctively to the authority in Raiden’s voice. He just couldn’t disobey.
Without a word, Hiro scrambled off the bed, his movents hurried and small, like a frightened kitten. He grabbed his phone and stuffed it into his pocket then walked ekly to Raiden with his head lowered. This wasn’t how he imagined confronting Raiden but as he stood before Raiden, he found his resolve crumbling. He could not utter a word nor could he raise his head. He bit his lower lip and tugged on the edge of his shirt due to nervousness.
Satisfied with Hiro’s response, Raiden turned and strode out of the room. “We’re leaving,” he said coldly, not bothering to look back. “Say goodbye to your friend. You won’t be seeing him for a couple of days.”
Hiro hesitated for a mont, glancing at Michi who appeared in the doorway. Michi sneaked a look at Raiden then mouthed the words, “Should I call the police?”
Hiro imdiately shook his head. Although Raiden was angry, he knew Raiden would never hurt him. Not like that.
Michi nodded then mouthed; "Good luck."
Hiro forced a weak smile. He wanted to rush over and hug Michi but just as the thought crossed his mind, Raiden’s voice snapped through the air like a whip. “Don’t even think about it.”
Hiro’s chest tightened, his lip trembling as he simply mouthed, “I’ll call you,” to Michi before hurrying after Raiden.
Outside, Raiden stood by the passenger door of his car, holding it open for Hiro. When Hiro got closer, Raiden helped him into the seat and buckled his seatbelt. Hiro was slightly taken aback by Raiden’s actions. They were things Raiden did all the ti but since Raiden was angry with him, he thought Raiden wouldn’t do it but it seed like nothing had changed. Raiden was still treating him the sa way.
Despite the simring fury beneath Raiden’s cold deanor, he wasn’t rough at all. In fact, his movents were precise and careful. Even more than he usually was.
But Hiro quickly shook his head. He couldn’t let himself be swayed by Raiden’s gentleness. He was angry too. Angry at the lies, angry at the deceit. The vision of Raiden collecting Sora’s bag from Ginro kept replaying in his mind. There was much to discuss. He could not stay weak.
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