Chapter 126: Inner demons

Kai's mind raced as Akira's words sank in.

Hana, Hiro's sister—the girl who had always been so kind, so gentle—was now entangled with the Kurotaka? It didn't make sense.

He thought of Hiro, of the times they had spent together, of the promises they had made to always be friends no matter what.

And now, Hiro was in hospital after an house fire, and Hana... She was part of something that threatened the person he loved most.

Milions of different thoughts were storming Kai's mind, enveloping his soul into a spiral of confusion.

"You are lying..." Kai muttered, more to himself than to Akira. "Hana... she was like family. She would never—"

"People change, Kai," Akira interrupted, her voice firm but not unkind. "Especially when they're desperate. And the Kurotaka... they have a way of twisting people, of making them do things they never thought they would." Akira said, with a whispered but almost scared tone of voice, while she was trying to break free from Kai's grip.

Kai's hands tightened around her collar. "But why? Why would she target Hina? What does she have to gain?"

Akira hesitated, her gaze dropping for a moment before meeting his again.

"I don't know all the details," she admitted. "But from what I gathered, it's personal. I don't know anything about her..." Akira replied.

Kai's heart sank.

Hina's past was a minefield of pain and secrets, and now it was coming back to haunt them in the worst possible way.

He thought of the diary, of the cryptic entries and the bloodstains.

Was this connected? Was Hana part of the "shadow organization" the diary had mentioned?

"Not possible..." that's what Kai thought.

Hana, such a gentle and kind soul to his eyes, actually made a deal to eliminate his girlfriend for no actual reason.

Kai's eyes remained locked into Akira's for some instants before realizing that he was doing something bad to Akira, and the bad feelings of anger slowly got replaced by another one: Sadness.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier...?" Kai asked with a whisper, while shaking Akira a little, by pushing her against the wall.

"Ahh, Damn! Kai , what happened to you?!?" She exclaimed after the cold touch of the wall touched her back.

"Speak." Kai replied, with his eyes locking into hers.

The collision hurt Akira a little.

"I-- I just-" She mumbled while trying to break free but with no results. 

Kai's grip was too strong without any particular reason, and it seemed like he didn't want to understand.

Her only choice was to explain.

"I... I just didn't have the time...!" She exclaimed, while her hands were on Kai's arms, pressing against them to be free.

After hearing her words, Kai remained still for some instants, with his mind being filled by thoughts and questions.

He then looked down on the floor, like he was trying to figure out things. 

"What the hell is happening...? Is she saying the truth?"  After asking these questions to himself, Kai looked at Akira's eyes again and noticed that she was scared.

He then realized that he wasn't in control of his body, like some kind of demon took his body.

"What am I doing...?" He said, while slowly releasing the grip he had on Akira's collar.

He took some steps back, realizing that the person speaking wasnt him.

It looked like he returned to his normal self as the blood in his eyes disappeared almost completely, leaving only a big headache.

Akira took a deep breath before looking at Kai, who was holding his head while looking on the floor.

"Damn! What is this pain?!" Kai exclaimed , while falling on his knees...