186 Does Yuki get hurt a lot?

nina comes back to the motel room. her body feels heavy, but her heart is heavier. she looks around. there's nothing to take except for her gun and her bag. she has to buy her tools and find a place to hide. she wonders why she's trusting rie. there's no reason to trust rie. they are not friends or family. rie will drop her the moment she becomes a danger to her. aren't they all like that? 

should she have kept ren with her? keeping ren doesn't guarantee her life. rie would have done something insane if she didn't follow her words. she might have put a bounty on her head and send the underworld after her. no one in the dh inner circle is to be underestimated. she can run away. until when? the dh will chase her till the end. rather than being hunted down, she will die fighting. 

the stupid man keeps popping in her head. she walks out of the motel room while cursing a certain red-head. where should she go? black market? the dh will keep an eye on her. she hasn't figured out what dh wants from her and rie, but she's safe until she's proven useless.

nina heads toward the bus station. she sighs when she feels the stares. she's alone. there are times when she wonders why should she live. the fun moments are fleeting. she has money. she can find men to warm her bed easily. drowning in lust to fill the emptiness in her soul is addicting. can she never love? possibly, he's right. she can't.

she started controlling men with her body because she had no choice once. she could have run away, but she decided to take that path. she watched them die with pleasure. she could have stopped back then. she was addicted to lust. 

even someone immoral like her has certain beliefs. she can't do what they did to her. still, she feels regretful. she should have kissed that redhead once before he left. 

could she? she doesn't think so. there are times when she wonders if it worths anything. there are times when she misses her family. she's addicted to the loneliness that promises to engulf her in time. she only has herself. in this big cruel world, she is nina, only nina. she abandoned her last name when she killed those people. there's nothing left for her.

she sighs. "at least, i have myself."

it seems like she will abandon nina too. it's time to become only nano.

the bus arrives. being upset for no reason won't do well for her. she has to get to the black market and lose the man tailing her.

***

"when did you become his friend?" takeshi begins with simple questions first. sora seems like a child who trusts others easily as normal children do. that's not a good thing, but it's one of the children's characteristics. the children are born with the ability to trust people and they lose it little by little as they grow up. life teaches them to be less trusting. then, there comes a time when trusting others becomes a luxury. others must work hard to gain trust. 

but, sora is truly like a child. there are yuta and yuki who is baffling his mind ever since he met them. 

"we have been friends for..." sora tries to recall. it's been a long time. "big brother, i don't remember."

takeshi pats the boy's head. "it's okay. you must have been friends for a long time."

"yes, big brother." sora grins. "yuki and aunty came to see my father's shop once. my father fixed his violin. we became friend then."

"can you also play the violin?" takeshi glances at sora's hands. there's not a single scratch. a musician's hands should be free of the wounds. it's the same for a child, though it's not strange if the child gets hurt while playing. yuki's hands carried several minor scratches.

"my father is teaching me," sora tells him. "but, i can't play like yuki. my father said that yuki is gifted just like everyone else in his family. his grandfather was also famous too, but he became..."

sora looks to the right and left. he signals takeshi to comes closer. when takeshi leans closer to him, he whispers in takeshi's ears, "his grandfather is crazy. he never comes out of the house. everyone in the village calls him a madman."

just because someone doesn't like to come out of his house, it doesn't mean he's a madman.

after a short pause, takeshi questions him, "does yuki get hurt a lot?"

sora's expression change to sadness. "big brother, i promised him that i would never say his secret to anyone."find authorized novels in webnovel，faster updates, better experience，please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

"i won't make you break your promise." takeshi sits beside him by the roadside. he can guess that something's not right at yuki's home. the child might be mistreated. "does yuki go to school?"

"no, his grandfather and mother don't him to go to school. they want him to play music only. yuki can't come to play every day because of them. i don't like them," sora complains. "his father was good, big brother. his father was going to leave with him. but, he left without yuki because yuki's mother fought with his father. yuki is sad. he wanted to leave with his father. he told me that his father was going to send him to a big school in another country. his father also read him stories every night. yuki doesn't say it, but he's waiting for his father to come back."

sora pauses for a moment, looking down at his feet. "i am happy that yuki didn't leave, but i also feel bad because yuki is upset. he won't say that he's sad. he hides and cries alone, but he won't ever say it. i want to make him happy. i don't know how to make him happy."

he purses his lips. a child can fall for depression if his parent leaves him. did something bad happen between yuki's parents? this sounds a lot like what happened to his sister-in-law. his mother left her adoptive father and her life changed since that point. though yuki isn't being tormented at school like her sister-in-law had been tormented, it's nothing less horrible if yuki's family is tormenting yuki.

"did he mention the country's name?" takeshi asks him. if he can pin down yuki's father, he can inform him about yuki's situation. first, he has to be sure that yuki is being abused at his home. he can't inform the authority without proof. it might cause more problems for yuki.

it's too soon to judge yuki's mother. it's only been a day.

"it was..." sora creases his brow hard. "big brother, i don't remember. it's somewhere far away. yuki told me that you can't take train or bus to go to that place."

takeshi sighs. it can't be helped. the child is not sharp. there's one question that's been irking him since last night. "sora, is yuki a girl who dresses like a boy?"

"girl?" sora frowns. why is everyone calling his best friend a boy? "no, big brother. he's a boy."

yuki acts and dresses like a boy. the people in the village including this boy treats him like a boy. why did his nephew call him a girl? did his nephew notice something that he didn't? 

"sora, thank you." takeshi offers his hand for a handshake and reveals a bright smile. "you are a nice boy."

sora shakes his hand with confusion in his eyes. "why are you thank me, big brother?"

"you might have helped someone today." takeshi chuckles. the boy is simple. "i have an advice for you, sora."

"what is it, big brother?" sora looks at him with curiosity. 

"you shouldn't trust strangers easily. i am a good man, but there are bad men who might hurt you and your friend." he rubs the boy's head. "do you understand?"

sora scratches his head. he doesn't comprehend his words. but, he doesn't want anyone to hurt him and his friend. his mother often tells him that he will understand better when he grows up. maybe he will understand big brother's words after he grows up. he will save it in his brain to understand later then. "big brother, i will not forget your words."