"How long have I been unconscious?" I asked Hinako, as we sat side by side.

Hinako put her index finger onto her lips as she tilted her head, thinking deeply. She said, "It's been more than thirty minutes, but I was observing your adorable sleeping face, so it was all worth it."

I touched my cheek with a reddened expression as Hinako continued to smile at my shy behavior. I attempted to pout at her with all of my strength, however Hinako's smile only continued to be brighter.

I heaved a sigh as I grabbed my knife, preparing to leave this school rooftop. However, just before I could stand up, Hinako stopped me. Her gaze was filled with nothing but uneasiness and worry.

Hinako took a deep breath as she sighed, "Hey, Sayoko. How did you defeat those undead swordfish?"

I thought of something before answering, yet only a little sigh could come out from my mouth. I glanced at my bloodied knife with green taint on it.

Hinako rushed to stand up as she saw my expression, "Actually nevermind, I was overstepping. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not overstepping. It's just, the truth is, I don't know," I replied to her with an honest answer.

In my entire life, I had never seen monsters that could defy physics like that. Nor do I know anything about souls or mana to even picture what those swordfish were that tried to attack us. I saw alien sightings and UFOs on the internet, however that was about it.

Hinako asked, "Can I see the engraving on your knife?"

I handed my knife to her as she tried to inspect it. She showed a puzzled expression as I observed her action, "Is something wrong?"

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Hinako's expression was clouded with an intense aura as she held the knife with a careful gesture. With a sudden motion, she glanced at me with an embarrassed look.

"I… I don't understand the writing," said Hinako as she pointed her finger towards the characters on my knife. With an instant, I remembered the time when I licked her neck to understand the language she was speaking. There was no reason she would be able to understand Japanese characters.

I simply said, "It's spelled out Akemi, Hoshimi Akemi."

Hinako's eyes were darkened with a rather scared expression. She looked at me with a worried gaze as I raised my eyebrow in confusion.

Hinako said, "When you were unconscious, you kept on calling 'Akemi'."

With a quick motion, I hid my eyes from Hinako as my cheek reddened in embarrassment. As soon as she saw me looking away, she apologized once more. However, I brushed off her apology.

"Akemi was a childhood friend of mine, we had been together ever since elementary school. She was like a sister to me," I explained. My heart was pounding hard as I spoke, however I suppressed it as I tried to continue.

Hinako looked at my pale complexion as she intervened, "You don't have to continue! Please rest for now!"

I could only smile at Hinako's worry as I kept on continuing, "Akemi was something you would call, a prodigy. Her father was a very successful CEO of a famous company called Hoshimi Ltd. In spite of that, she lived a normal life with a merry-go-round attitude."

Hinako was listening as she sat down with a focused expression. Deep memories inside me blazed with nostalgic flame as I continued to speak.

"We would like to play together, create all kinds of things. Until one day, she showed me a secret. As we played by the park at midnight, a cat was beaten up by a drunk man. Akemi rushed towards the injured cat as she muttered something, and a light would glow, healing the cat," I explained with a rather tired expression.

Hinako's eyes were twitching as if she had a premonition that my next words would be a horrible situation based on my tone. Even then, she was quiet and kept on listening.

"A few years later, Akemi's father hit a wall with his company. At the time, everything was going downhill at Hoshimi Ltd. At first, Akemi didn't want to do anything with the company his father created, until one day, his father was able to realize the true potential of Akemi's intelligence," I continued.

I took a deep breath before continuing even further. I looked upwards towards the bright sky with a rather lone expression.

"After we entered middle school, Hinako and I went our separate ways. However, we were still there for each other. Day by day, Akemi's complexion would degrade every time I saw her. At the time, I didn't know Akemi's father was forcing her to work at his company," I sighed after long winded words I just spewed.

Hinako's eyes were closed as she took a deep breath, "I'm assuming something was stopping Akemi from working, wasn't there?"

"Akemi's father was smart, but he was also cunning. His goal was a noble one; it was to make humanity live a better life. Akemi's intelligence alone was able to boost the technology of earth decades, no, centuries ahead. Akemi's father wanted to overwork her to death, no matter the methods. However, he also wouldn't want to hurt her daughter physically, not because he loved her, but because it would hinder her from working. That was why he found the perfect hostage as a bargaining chip to keep her on working."

I looked outside at the beautiful landscape of the city. I felt the sensation of a cold breeze hit me with a rather calm demeanor.

I smiled bittersweetly, "and that said hostage was me."