33 Can't look or touch

"um...elder sister?" takeshi points toward his face.

takeuchi rie raises her brows. "what?"

"that..." haru points toward his head, awkwardly. takeshi's sister looks really mad right now. takeshi's brother doesn't look any good either. haru is sure that he can feeling repelling angry waves coming out of them.

"did you lose your ability to speak clearly?" takeuchi rie yells, annoyed and frustrated.

"your mask...," takeshi tells her awkwardly. she took her mask and hood off when she was trying to beat up ren. there is utter silence. everyone is staring at her with different expressions- amazement, dislike, anger, shock, and infatuation. kiyohira stands beside her, glaring and memorizing their faces who are watching the certain clueless woman like hawks.

"merciless lady!" a middle-aged man suddenly falls near her feet. "you are a goddess."

"oh, crap!" her shoulders slouch down when she realizes what's going on. she curses the red-head fool. kiyohira pulls her back before the man could grab on to her feet. she stumbles and falls into his arms. she looks up at him with confusion and asks, "what's wrong with you?"

kiyohira doesn't answer. he drags her behind him. for the first time of his life, the middle-aged man experiences the direct invisible wrath rays. his body freezes when he meets kiyohira's eyes.

kiyohira bends down on his one knee and tells him in a low voice, "can't look or touch."

"i won't...i won't...ever..." the man trembles. he wants to run back to his house now. his realizes that he can't move his legs because of the fear.

"disappear."

the man has received the emperor's decree, but his legs are not cooperating. he crawls backward, fast. kiyohira turns around to talk to her, but she is already gone.

"she said that she is going back to the room to rest," takeshi informs him. "i am going too. good luck with defending her from her fans."

"what fans?" kiyohira mutters to himself. how many people did she offend in her life?

***

"rie chan?" he is surprised to see me outside his school. "did you skip school today?"

"yes." i smile at him. "ren kun, today is your birthday."

"you remember?" his eyes shine with excitement. he is always like a child. pure but lonely boy. like a star in the dark sky. ren is always shining, but his laughter is lonely. when i was ten, i met him at the gaming parlor. his family is broken like mine. both of us found solace in games. since then, we have been friends.

"how can i forget?" i take his hand and slip in the hand-made bracelet. "i wish you every year. still, you have the same reaction."

"rie chan, even i can't remember my own birthday." ren inspects the bracelet on his wrist. "you made it for me?"

"don't ask the obvious." i chuckled when i saw his reaction. he is stumped. he must have thought that i am not capable of making these sort of things."

"i will always cherish it." his voice is barely a whisper. there is a lone look in his eyes. he must be thinking about his family. a few days ago, he told me the truth about his family. his younger brother is sickly. his parents spend most of their times working to pay his younger brother's hospital charges. he wants to win the world hack series to pay for his brother's surgery. he hopes that his parents will finally pay attention to him after his brother gets well.

i cough uneasily to bring his attention back. "i have something else for you."

"what is it?" he eyes me with expectations. this boy loves gifts.

"promise me." i hand him the sealed letter. "you will read this after the world hack series ends."

"rie chan, why are you writing a letter?" he blinks at me. then, there is a look of horror in his eyes. "don't tell me...this is a suicide letter. you are going to kill yourself."

"..." i want to know how he deduced that. "don't be ridiculous. if i wanted to kill myself. i would have done it that day."

"you were too embarrassed to jump because i found you there." he pockets the letter. "i will still follow you to death. you will be blamed for my death if you do anything dangerous."

i stare at my feet. it was in middle school. i was going to jump off the bridge. i don't know how ren found me that day. he kept yelling that he would follow me to death if i did it. it was embarrassing and annoying at the same time.

"i won't do it." i let out a sigh. "but i wonder if i can live my life like this."

"rie chan, you just have to live it for me." he pats my head. "i will make sure that our lives become easier with time."

after the world hack series ends, ren completely disappears. a few days later, i find out that he has gone abroad for studies with the money.

i don't think that i am upset about his lies. if he wanted to go abroad for studies, that was fine. he left without a word. he lied about his reasons. if he had told me the truth, i still would have lost willingly. back then, if he had come to me and apologized before he left, i would have forgiven him anyway.

my parents have left me. ren also left me. it is nothing new.