HA1 14.1 - A Promise
After sending the Black Van with all the loot to a hidden place, Hide went straight home. Apart from his original weapons and equipment, he brought only loot from the safe box. He returned his weapons and equipment to the secret storage in the garage, along with three 1-kg gold bars which he considered as his high-risk fee. As for the other seven gold bars and five bundles of 1,000 Ren bills, he left them in his backpack.
Hide then took a bath, packed some clothes, and checked every corner of the house. He would be away for a few days so he had to make a quick check and left a note in the fridge door for his father.
Then, he went to check his father. When he found his father was still fast asleep in his room, Hide breathed a sigh of relief. After that, he enjoyed a cup of warm tea in the kitchen while checking his smartphone.
'Twelve text messages and five callings, all from Hanna… Damn!'
After taking a deep breath, Hide then read the text messages from Hanna.
Hanna - 4:30 pm
// Why you don't come to Beauty & the Beast?//
Hanna - 6:05 pm
// Can we go out tonight?//
Hanna - 6:50 pm
// Why you don’t answer?//
Hanna - 7:05 pm
//Hide, where are you? Are you okay? Please contact me, ASAP.//
Hanna - 10:10 pm
// Damn Scoundrel!! You dare to ignore me.//
. . .
. . .
. . .
Hanna - 13:04 am
// I will kill you if you appear before me this week.//
'It seems I had to coax her before I go to Hakaido,' Hide muttered before finishing his tea.
Not long after that, Hide was already standing in front of his house, waiting for the taxi that would take him to Pine Abode. He was indeed very tired, but his eyes were clear and his determination remained as solid as steel.
---
The sun was already fully revealed itself by the time Hide entered Pine Abode's front yard, and before he knocked the door, Takeo had opened it for him.
"Thank God, you are safe.” Takeo took a deep breath full of relief before adding, “When I checked the footage from the CCTV, all I see is the villa burning fiercely.”
“I have to set it in fire to erase any forensic trace from myself and Shizuka. We left too many, and had no time to clean it properly.”
“I see.”
“Have you destroyed all the footages?”
“I have, using the procedure you taught me.”
“Good.” After a smile Hide asked, “Where did you park the Green SUV?"
"Rest area at south of Lake Hibino."
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"Good choice. Have you and Shizuka told your parents why you didn't come home last night?"
"We've convinced them not to worry."
"I see."
Hide then followed Takeo entered Pine Abode’s main room, and he found Anya sleeping peacefully under a thick blanket. Not far from her, Shizuka was sleeping soundly in an X-shaped position, while her sleeping sheet and blanket were five meters apart from her.
"Initially, she hugged Anya tightly, but after she fell asleep she then threw away her sleeping sheet and blanket."
"Well, last night she stripped the loots from more than 30 dead bodies. So, it's a good thing if she can sleep peacefully as usual.” Hide then turned his gaze back to Takeo and asked, "Do we have food here?"
"If you don't mind, I still have my lunch box. Shizuka also took some instant food from the villa."
"That's plenty enough, let's talk about our next move while eating."
---
In one corner of the room, Takeo and Hide arranged their breakfast. Two lunch boxes containing rice, nori, shrimp tempura, vegetable tempura, and cherry tomatoes. A big box of Tuppelware full of bite-sized roasted duck that was supposed to be Oldman Ronsoc's lunch. Two packs of instant ramen that was crushed and then sprinkled with its seasoning, and two bottles of mineral water.
At the same time, Anya woke up and immediately sat down. After rubbing her eyes she checked her surroundings. Not far from her, the New Maid was fast asleep in an X-shaped position. Meanwhile, in one of the corners, the New Guard and New Driver were about to eat breakfast. Without delay, Anya approached the two.
"New Guard, I'm hungry," Anya said as she sat next to Hide.
Hide gave Anya a smile, and then he said gently, "Wait for a moment, I'll make you a bowl of instant ramen."
While pointing at one of the lunch boxes in front of her Anya asked, "Can I eat it?"
"You can, but the rice is cold."
"No problem."
"How about you try it a little first? Then, you can decide."
"Mhm."
Wasting no time, Hide placed his left hand under Anya's chin, while his right hand brought a mouthful of rice and a piece of shrimp tempura to her mouth.
Hup!
Anya heartily enjoyed and gulped down the rice and piece of shrimp tempura, and then said, "It's delish."
"Are you sure? It will only take a few minutes to make a warm ramen," Hide asked.
And cheerfully, Takeo offered an additional option, "I can also make you a plate of fried rice."
"No need, the lunch box is good enough."
"Okay."
Hide then cheerfully fed Anya, who would occasionally pick up pieces of ramen.
"New Guard, do you have a name or should I keep calling you Apple?"
"You can call me Hide."
"You can call me Takeo," Takeo pointed at Shizuka as he added, "And she is Shizuka."
Anya nodded three times before saying, "My name is Anya Kurylenka, but you can call me Blood Mud or White Mutt like the other guards. I won't report it to Elder Moruyama."
As he sighed silently, Hide took out his smartphone and showed Anya the family picture when Aizawa was two years old.
While pointing to Emily's picture, he said, "She was my stepmom, a gentle and kind Britiss woman. So, I will never call any foreigner as White Mutt because that's tantamount to insulting her."
Then, Hide pointed at Aizawa as he added, "She is my little sister. She is a mixed-blood and I loved her so much. So, I will also never call a mixed-blood kid Blood Mud."
"Mhm," Anya nodded as a faint smile bloomed on her lips.
And without delay Takeo said, "I don't have foreigner or mixed-blood relatives in my family, but I've never called anyone White Mutt or Blood Mud in my life."
In an instant, another faint but bright smile bloomed on Anya's lips. "I see."
---
After the breakfast, Hide asked Anya to take a morning shower. Fortunately, Pine Abode was equipped with a water heater, so Anya could take a bath using warm water.
"Hide, can I wear a long-sleeved jersey while I'm here?"
"Of course you can, I mean, why not?"
"Elder Moruyama asks me to wear a fancy dress most of the time, and I hate it."
"Well, when you're with us, feel free to wear any clothes you like. Also, there's no need to worry about Elder Moruyama."
"Okay," Anya cheerfully replied.
After making sure the water in the shower was at the right temperature, Hide exited the bathroom, and as he closed the door a complicated emotion filled his heart.
He clearly remembered the news showed that two little girls at Villa Tigera were burned alive because they couldn't get out of the room where they were hiding, when the villa received a raid from a rival group and then being burned to the ground. At that time, he really couldn't imagine the panic, fear, and suffering they had to go through. Being burned alive was the most painful way of dying.
And, there was a possibility that Anya was one of those little girls. So, as he hardened his resolve Hide made a promise.
'In this life, I will not let you suffer the same fate.'
*****
