Chapter 60: Family reunion

The air in the bunker grew thick with tension as Sakura Ishikawa's voice echoed through the small space.

The shock on Kai, Hina, and Akira's faces was unmistakable.

For a moment, the world seemed to freeze, the weight of the situation pressing down on them.

Sakura stood at the center of the room, her presence commanding and unnervingly calm.

She wore a knowing smile, the kind that sent shivers down Kai's spine.

Yuna, standing slightly behind Sakura, seemed more hesitant, her eyes darting nervously between the newcomers and the ground.

"Sakura..." Kai managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper.

His mind raced, trying to process how she had ended up here, in what was supposed to be Akira's safe and secret place.

The thought of another confrontation filled him with dread.

Kai was scared that this time Hina would've done something bad after seeing her auntie.

But for some strange reasons, he also that nothing was going to happen.

Little did he know that this was the perfect moment to have some answers.

But the thing that he surprised him the most was Yuna's presence.

"Surprised, aren't you?" Sakura's voice was almost playful, but there was a sharp edge to it.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out about this place? Akira, my dear, you're not the only one who had a bad past, you know?." Sakura said, while playing with a pair of keys in her right hand.

Akira's jaw clenched, and her hand instinctively moved toward the knife she had sheathed at her side.

But she hesitated, glancing at Hina and Kai.

Hina, still clinging to Kai's arm, tightened her grip, her body trembling slightly.

It was clear that the sight of Sakura had dredged up memories Hina would rather forget.

Then, Kai remembered what Yuki Nakamura told him about Sakura's past: 

She used to be a spy who infiltrated into the Kobayashi Dragon gang to help the police and left when she met her husband.

So, the fact that she and Akira already knew each other didn't seem to surprise him.

On the other hand, Hina was still holding Kai's arm tightly, like she was holding herself from doing something awful.

"What do you want, Sakura?" Akira asked, her voice low and dangerous.

The casual banter from moments ago had vanished, replaced by the hardened demeanor of someone ready to fight if necessary.

Sakura's smile widened as she took a step closer.

"Oh, Akira, you wound me. Do you think I'd go through all this trouble just for a little chat?" Her eyes flicked to Hina, who was doing her best to appear brave despite the fear in her eyes.

"I came for Hina, of course. She's a valuable asset, and I can't have her running off with a boy who has no idea what he's gotten himself into." Sakura said, with a smile on her face.

"What do you mean, Auntie?" Hina asked, while tightening her grip on Kai's arm.

"Well, do you know that the life of your precious and innocent boyfriend is now completely fucked, right?" Sakura said, with a normal but almost aggressive tone.

Hina didn't answer. 

Instead, she remained in silence, not wanting to reply.

Sakura was actually right.

Kai felt a knot in his stomach as he couldn't reply to her words.

His life arrived to a point where he couldn't turn back anymore.

"Sakura, what's the point now? What did you want to say?" Akira asked, with a firm tone while crossing her arms.

Then, Sakura's lips curved into a mischievous smile, like she was waiting for this question.

"Well, the only way to find peace is to eliminate the Kobayashi Dragons, and Hina is the only one who can do it. If you're worrying about the police, don't worry about it all. I'll take care of everything." Sakura said, while moving her gaze towards Hina again.

She hid herself behind Kai , while his eyes widened after Sakura's sentence.

"What?!?!? Eliminate the whole gang is IMPOSSIBLE!" Akira exclaimed. 

Then, Sakura took a look at Hina who was hiding behind Kai.

That gesture surprised even Akira, who was "shocked" to see such a deadly machine to act like a normal girl.

"Yes... she clearly wants revenge... and..." Sakura then moved her eyes to Akira. "And you too, right...?" She said, with a mischievous tone of voice.

"Ah-!" Akira gasped.

It seemd like Sakura hit a sensitive spot of Akira.

"..." The ex-military then moved her gaze to the floor and clenched her fists.

Sakura took some steps towards her and put a hand on her left shoulder.

"You lost your eye because of them... You've always been used like a tool... it's time to get revenge..." Sakura whispered, like a tempting serpent.

"The events of today only proved the fact that you must eliminate them." She added.

Kai was listening carefully, trying to connect every piece of what he had heard/seen about Akira and Hina.

Considering from their conversation, it seemed like they were forced to live their life.

Hina also mentioned the fact that Akira "Took her happiness away once". 

Kai still tried to figure out what she meant.

He had to ask, but it wasn't the right moment to do it.

"Sakura..." She whispered after raising up her head and gently removing the woman's hand from her shoulder. 

"I'm not a traitor... but... I'm dirty..." She struggled to find the right words. "I've killed a lot of innocent people just to live a life where I thought that someone could accept me after being fired from the army... They promised me revenge... and so many time passed without result... I guess that you're right... they lied to me and..." She then then moved her eyes towards Hina. "They made me lie to my sister too." She said, while getting closer to her.

Hina was still hiding herself behind Kai and she clearly didn't want to leave his side.

Kai knew that Akira only wanted redemption and Sakura words seemed to have a big effect on her.

Sakura stood in silence.

Yuna was also watching the scene in silence.

Kai gently turned towards Hina and patted her head in order to reassure her soul.

"It's okay, Hina." He said after gently calming her.

She released the grip on his arm and then faced her "sister".

Then, Akira hugged her tightly and whispered "I'm sorry...".

Hina didn't return the hug immediately, but did so after a moment.

Kai's heart warmed and Sakura looked at the scene with a soft expression.

It was the first time after a long time that Hina received affection from someone who's not Kai.

After some moments Akira broke the hug and the two sisters, finally reunited, looked into each other's eyes and smiled.

For some strange reasons, the bloodlust aura disappeared from Hina.

But... it seemed like she was doing all of this only for Kai.

The fact that he could get sad because of her behavior was too much for her to bear.

Hina didn't even shed a tear.

"You're still my little sister... right?" Akira asked after the hug.

Hina took a rapid glance at Kai before replying.

She looked at him with a sad expression, like she wanted to be reassured.

"Is this going to make Kai happy...? Am I doing this well...?" That's what she was probably thinking.

Then, Hina nodded at Akira with a smile.

Akira smiled back and then turned her head towards Sakura.

"Okay... I think I'm with you now..." She said, while scratching the back of her head.

Sakura smiled, but deep down she knew that Hina didn't forgive her or Akira.

She was doing all of that for Kai's sake, and that's why Sakura kept "Toying" with Kai only for her main goal to eliminate the Kobayashi Dragons.

Then, Yuna spoke.

"Excuse me..." She gently whispered, with a low voice.

Everyone's attention moved to her.

Hina tilted her head to the side, sign of her curiosity.

Yuna then took a deep breath and walked close to Hina.

She immediately stood on guard since she didn't know who Yuna was, but Kai gently placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her that Yuna wasn't a bad person.

Hina only knew that she was her boyfriend's friend and she was also a little bit jealous of her.

Once she was close enough, some tears fell from Yuna's eyes as she hugged Hina too and said:

"T-Thank you, Hina-Chan... You're the one who saved my life... I was so wrong about you... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... let's be friends..." Yuna said, with an almost broken voice.

That gesture was so unexpected that Hina didn't even react.

Her eyes widened in surprise after seeing Yuna's affection towards her.

"F...F...Friends..." Hina whispered in the air, while Yuna hugged her.

She didn't return the hug since she never experienced something like this from someone else beside her partner.

Hina didn't know what the word "Friend" meant since she always lived her life to survive a cruel past.

Everyone watched the lovely scene with a soft expression.

As Yuna broke the hug, she offered her hand to Hina.

"Hina, would you like to be my friend ?" She asked, with a soft tone of voice.

Hina had a very confused expression on her face.

"Friends..." She repeated in her mind while looking at Yuna's hand.

In an instant, Hina's mind raced with a milion different thoughts.

"Do I really deserve this...? Can I really have a normal life...? Does she really want to be my friend...?" Those were her thoughts

She didn't expect something like that to happen.

She took another rapid glance at Kai like she was asking "What should I do, Kai?"

But the onjly thing that she received from Kai was a gentle smile , like he was saying "Do what your heart want to do."

Then , Hina looked at Yuna again and , with a forced smile, shook her hand.

At her gesture, Yuna's smile widened even more as she had a new friend.

"Let's get along, okay?" She said.

Hina was more shocked than happy.

She didn't expect for someone who saw her killing people wanting to be her friend.

But Yuna probably done that because she didn't want to be on Hina's bad side...

... Or was she being genuine and sincere? Only Yuna knew the answer.

After their little moment, Kai's phone started to ring.

Everyone's attention moved to Kai.

He took his phone out and saw the name on the screen: Detective Saito.

"Oh shit..." He said...