28 A Roar in Desperation

◎Witnessed it!◎

"Brother, Hezi threw his phone away. He must know your location..."

Gin paused in front of the utility room door, his brows furrowed.

Inside the house, Chiheko Hanano even breathed more lightly, her hand resting on the broken door lock, trying to seek some psychological comfort.

When Rei Furuya saw Hanano Chiheko like this, he looked reluctant. He patted Hanano Chiheko's back through her long hair with one hand and covered Hanano Chiheko's hand with the other hand.

Fūya Rei said silently: "Don't be afraid."

The temperature of Fūya Rei's palm was extremely hot, gradually dispelling the coldness in Hanano Chiheko's heart.

But even so, as soon as Hanano Chihoko closed her eyes, the tragic scene of the man in the pool of blood would still come to her mind as expected.

At that moment, as if looking for a comforting pillow, Hanano Chihoko tightly grasped the only life-saving straw in front of her - Furuya Rei.

Suddenly, a little man stuck to Rei Jōgō's arms, and the familiar fruity scent filled Rei Jōgō's breath without warning.

Jōgu Rei's brain froze for a moment, and he suddenly realized that the person in his arms had obviously entered a state of combat readiness, motionless like a dormant cat.

Before Jōgō Rei had time to think about it, the handle he had been holding suddenly moved due to the force.

Hanano Chihoko and Furuya Rei, who were always prepared, crossed their hands and exerted force almost simultaneously.

"Um?"

Vodka, who was standing at the door, tried twice, but the doorknob remained motionless. He then said to Gin, who was standing beside him, "Brother, it's locked."

Big Brother...

Jōgō Rei inside the door frowned slightly. This kind of name sounded like the name used within a gang.

At this moment, compared to vodka, Chihoko Hanano's senses were more focused on Gin outside.

Because the corridor was shady and dark, Vodka did not notice anything unusual about the door lock.

"bass."

Gin moved the lighter downwards to illuminate the small area.

Chihoko Hanano looked at the faint light coming through the crack in the door, her pupils dilated.

Gin stared at the handle for a while, with an interested sneer on his lips. The moment the Burapha rifle with a silencer was raised, Furaya Rei also instantly sensed the danger and his expression became serious.

Just before the bullet was about to fire a beautiful flash of light, Hanano Chiheko suddenly shouted urgently: "Brother!"

Gin paused when pulling the trigger, and even Vodka beside him was surprised.

"Don't do that again..."

Chihoko Hanano listened to the slightly rapid heartbeat of Rei Furuya and silently clenched her hand on the door lock.

Gin's expression darkened.

"Brother." Vodka also spoke. As an insider, Vodka knew that with Kazuko's temper, the situation would be difficult to resolve.

Gin didn't answer anyone, but remained silent for a long time.

"Tick-tock." The clock in the movie waiting room continued to tick as usual.

Furiya Rei had been turning his head to observe the movements outside the door since a while ago. He immediately noticed something and his eyes turned slightly. "The people outside have gone far away... Kazuko?"

In front of Rei Furugaya, Chihoko Hanano's face was flushed with nervousness, and her breathing was obviously much faster.

The two of them could hear each other's breathing. In the narrow and closed storage room, the sound of breathing was infinitely amplified, and the ambiguous atmosphere continued to rise.

When Rei Furuya came to his senses, his hands holding Chihoko Hanano stiffened for a moment.

Chihoko Hanano was completely unaware and fell down as if she had lost her strength.

"Kazuko!" Fūya Rei bent his knees to support Hanano Chihoko's body and softly comforted her, "It's okay, it's okay."

It's okay...

Chihoko Hanano's unfocused eyes regained focus, and her face, which had been tense since a while ago, finally revealed a hint of hope that she had survived the disaster.

When Furuya Rei's gaze met the slightly moist corners of Hanano Chiheko's eyes, his eyes froze and he stretched out his hand.

Hanano Chiheko's eyelashes felt a little itchy, she blinked and unconsciously shrank back.

"It will be over soon." Furuya Rei couldn't help but slow down his movements, stroking Hanano Chiheko's cheek with his fingers, focused and gentle.

Hanano Chihoko was no stranger to the extremely close proximity of Furuya Rei. Her heartbeat was still beating wildly and showing no signs of slowing down due to the tension just now.

Hanano Chiheko forced herself to calm down and opened her mouth, "Can we... just pretend that what just happened never happened?"

Fūya Rei paused his fingertips, raised his eyes and stared at Hanano Chiheko who was staring at him without blinking. The strange atmosphere that had been lingering between them since they came in suddenly disappeared.

Three seconds, for most people, is a time that passes by in a flash, but for Chihoko Hanano who is waiting for Rei Furuya to pass his verdict on her, it is particularly unbearable.

Three seconds later, Fūya Rei smiled faintly, and when he was about to speak, the door behind him, which was originally closed, suddenly opened.

Could it be...

Fūya Rei looked a little dangerous and turned around quickly.

Hanano Chiheko was also startled and suddenly looked towards the door.

A dark shadow in the bright light of the corridor instantly cast a shadow behind the two people who were cuddling each other.

Holding a giant popcorn bucket and wearing a plaid scarf, Matsuda Jinpei looked at Furuya Rei and Hanano Chihoko with a rare moment of silence. "You, you guys..."

"Huh?" Hagiwara Kenji popped his head out from beside Matsuda Jinpei. "Isn't this Kowako and Kofuya?"

Chihoko Hanano breathed a sigh of relief and jumped up instantly.

Suddenly, Fūya Rei's arms felt empty, and his expression became subtle for a moment.

After realizing his abnormality, Furiya Rei restrained himself and withdrew his hand. He stood up and looked at Hanano Chihoko who had run to the door and looked left and right guiltily.

It turned out that the movie had ended and many people came out of the cinema. Some were very excited, while others were still nervous and shared the plot points of the movie with their companions.

Chihoko Hanano didn't find a familiar figure in the crowd and breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment her collar suddenly tightened.

"Oh!" Hanano Chiheko struggled and screamed, but she didn't get any sympathy from Matsuda Jinpei. "Did you do something bad again? You're so sneaky..."

"How could I!" Hanano Chiheko was furious, but she didn't dare to make any loud noise to attract attention. She could only cry out in a hoarse voice, "If you don't believe me, ask Zero. I'm innocent!"

When Matsuda Jinpei heard this rare name, his eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth, but saw Hanano Chihoko's hand being held by Furuya Rei. "Kazuko just watched a horror movie and is a little scared."

Jinpei Matsuda looked back at Hanano Chihoko with some disbelief. The other person looked so innocent, which was really convincing...if Jinpei Matsuda had not seen Hanano Chihoko's superb acting skills when she was being lazy.

Matsuda Jinpei pulled a cool arc, stopped hesitating, and loosened his grip.

Hanano Chihoko landed gracefully, as if saving her dignity, and asked curiously, "What about you guys? Why are you here?"

Hagiwara Kenji looked at his own little friend and sighed, "By the way, does this look familiar to you, Kowako?"

"What?" Hanano Chihoko followed the direction Hagiwara Kenji pointed and saw the empty popcorn bucket in Matsuda Jinpei's hand. Suddenly, her memory came back.

"This can't be..." Hanano Chiheko opened her eyes wide in surprise and asked Matsuda Jinpei, "You spent the whole afternoon with it?"

When Matsuda Jinpei looked at Hanano Chiheko, he gave her a look that suggested she was a scumbag. "...What else? If someone hadn't just bought it and run away, I wouldn't be in this situation."

"And me too~" Hagiwara Kenji raised his hand and added, "Because there was a lot of popcorn left, we couldn't just throw it all away, so I suggested we come over and 'use it up' while watching the movie. That way it wouldn't be too boring. Oh, and by the way, Jinpei-chan even gave some to the kids in the cinema who loved it."

As Hagiwara Kenji spoke, he seemed to be amused by the memory and smiled. He then said to Hanano Chiheko, "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that you are here too."

Hanano Chihoko agreed with Hagiwara Kenji's point about not wasting food. She immediately hid behind Furuya Rei in shame, assuring him, "I'm sorry. I'll definitely change my ways and be a good person in the future!"

Fūya Rei's expression brightened a bit, "Okay."

"cut……"

As for the slightly disdainful tone at the end, Chihoko Hanano didn't even have to think about who made it.

Hanano Chiheko immediately glanced at Matsuda Jinpei in dissatisfaction, but was attracted by the very familiar plaid scarf. She immediately forgot what she was about to say and asked, "Is this scarf... bought for yourself?"

Fūya Rei also noticed the unfamiliar scarf and looked at Matsuda Jinpei in confusion, "This... doesn't seem to match your usual style."

Faced with the two people's interrogating gazes, Matsuda Jinpei felt inexplicably pressured.

Matsuda Jinpei lowered his head unconsciously. When his gaze fell on the scarf, it inexplicably moved to Hanano Chiheko. His eyes flashed, "This is..."