HA1 14.1 - A Promise
After sending the Black Van with all the loot to a hidden place, Hide then went home. Apart from his original weapons and equipment, he only brought loot from the safe box. He returned his weapons and equipment to secret storage in the garage, along with three 1-kg gold bars which he considered as his high-risk fee. 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, for he would be away for a few days. When he found his father still fast asleep in his room, Hide immediately 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 Hanna's text message.
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 dare to appear before me this week.//
'It seems I had to coax her before I go to Hakaido,' Hide muttered before he drank his warm tea.
Not long after that, Hide was already standing in front of his house, waiting for the taxi to 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 fully up by the time Hide entered Pine Abode's front yard, and before he could knock Takeo had already opened the door for him.
"Thank God, you were able to escape safely. When I had the chance to check the villa, all I saw was flames."
Hide smiled cheerfully and then he said, "Well, I'll have to burn it to erase forensic traces."
"I see."
"Where did you park the Green SUV?"
"Rest area south of Hibino Lake."
"Good choice, have you and Shizuka told your parents why you didn't come home last night?"
"We've convinced them not to worry."
"Good."
Hide then followed Takeo entered Pine Abode, 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.
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"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, actually it's good that she was able to sleep as usual."
Hide then turned to Takeo and asked, "Do you have any food?"
"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 box of Tuppelware filled with one-bite size roast duck that was supposed to be Oldman Ronsoc's lunch. Two packs of instant ramen that was crushed and then sprinkled with the 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 some breakfast. Without delay, Anya approached the two.
"New Guard, I'm hungry," Anya said as she sat next to Hide.
Hide smiled, and then he said gently, "Wait a moment, I'll make you a bowl of instant ramen."
While pointing to one of the lunch boxes Anya asked, "Can I eat it?"
"You can, but the rice is very cold."
"No problem."
"How about you taste 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 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 continued, "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 his family photo 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, "As for me, I don't have foreigner or mixed-blood relatives in my family, but I've never called anyone as White Mutt or Blood Mud in my life."
In an instant, another faint but bright smile bloomed on Anya's lips. "I see."
---
After breakfast, Hide then 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. 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 then exited the bathroom, and as he closed the door, a complicated emotion filled his heart.
Hide clearly remembered the forensics showed that two little girls at Villa Tigera were burned alive because they couldn't get out of the room where they were hiding. At that time, he really couldn't imagine the panic, fear, and suffering they had to go through, as being burned alive was the most painful death.
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.'
*****