Chapter 17 – The Name in the Shadows
The next morning, Hanako sat at her desk, her usual energy strangely subdued. For once, she didn't announce her arrival with her bright, mischievous voice. Instead, she fiddled nervously with an envelope she'd received that morning.
The paper was plain, but the handwriting inside was sharp, calculated. Just a few sentences, no signature—only initials at the bottom.
Her hands trembled as she read it again:
"Stay away from Natsuki. He doesn't belong to you. If you don't, you'll regret it.
— H.T."
She glanced at Natsuki across the classroom. He sat in his usual seat, staring out the window as though the world beyond it was far more interesting than the whispers buzzing around him. Mitsuri Saionji was a few desks away, her perfect posture hiding the storm of emotions swirling in her chest.
Hanako bit her lip. Should she tell him? Should she show Mitsuri? The warning felt personal, dangerous. And yet, the name beneath the initials burned into her mind: Hoshino Toshiaki.
It was a name she hadn't heard in years… but she knew it belonged to someone from their old neighborhood. Someone who once ran with the gangs Natsuki used to fight beside.
---
By lunch, the tension in the air was unbearable. Hanako finally snapped.
"Natsuki," she called, her voice echoing across the classroom.
Everyone turned. Whispers started instantly—she'd chosen the worst possible place to confront him. But Hanako didn't care. She marched straight to his desk, slamming the envelope down in front of him.
"Explain this."
Natsuki's eyes flicked to the paper. He didn't move at first, his body rigid, as if the weight of the letter was heavier than lead. Slowly, he picked it up, scanning the lines. His jaw clenched when his eyes landed on the initials.
"…H.T." His voice was barely audible, but the anger in it was unmistakable.
Mitsuri Saionji rose from her seat, alarm flashing in her eyes. "What's going on?"
Hanako crossed her arms, meeting Natsuki's gaze with defiance. "You know who that is, don't you? Hoshino Toshiaki."
The name sent a ripple through the room. Most students didn't understand, but the intensity in Hanako's voice and the way Natsuki froze made it clear—this wasn't a game.
Mitsuri stepped closer, her voice sharp. "Who is he, Natsuki?"
Silence stretched for a moment too long. Natsuki finally crumpled the letter in his hand, his eyes hard as steel. "He's someone you don't need to know about."
"That's not good enough," Mitsuri shot back, her voice rising. "If he's threatening Hanako, if he's threatening you, then it concerns all of us—"
"It doesn't!" Natsuki snapped, louder than he intended. His voice cut through the classroom, silencing the whispers.
The tension between the three of them was suffocating. Hanako glared, refusing to back down. Mitsuri's hands trembled at her sides, torn between anger and fear. And Natsuki… Natsuki looked like he was carrying the weight of a hundred shadows on his shoulders.
---
After school, Hanako refused to let it go. She cornered Natsuki by the school gates, her eyes blazing.
"Hoshino Toshiaki," she said firmly. "He was part of your old gang, wasn't he? He's the one who dragged you into fights, into trouble, into everything you tried to leave behind."
Natsuki's silence was answer enough.
Hanako's voice softened, though her eyes didn't lose their determination. "You can pretend you don't care, but I know you, Natsuki. If he's sending me letters, it means he's already close. He's watching us."
Mitsuri Saionji arrived just in time to hear the last words. Her chest tightened, but she forced herself to stand tall. "Then we need to do something. Together."
Natsuki shook his head. "No. You two stay out of this. Hoshino won't stop, but that doesn't mean you have to get dragged into it. This is my fight."
Hanako's eyes flashed. "Stop saying that! You think we'll just stand here and watch you self-destruct? I won't let you push me away again, Natsuki. Not now, not ever."
Mitsuri stepped closer too, her voice firm, unshaken. "She's right. You don't get to decide for us. If we're in danger, if someone like him is targeting us, then it's not just your fight anymore."
Natsuki looked at them both, frustration boiling inside him. Part of him wanted to scream, to shove them away before the darkness of his past swallowed them whole. But another part—the part he hated admitting existed—was terrified of losing them.
He clenched his fists, his voice low. "…Hoshino Toshiaki isn't just a thug. He's worse. He doesn't just fight—he destroys. And now he's coming for me. For anyone close to me."
Hanako and Mitsuri exchanged a glance. For once, the rivalry between them melted, replaced by something heavier. Fear. Determination. And a silent vow—they wouldn't let Natsuki face this alone, no matter how much he tried to push them away.
---
Far away, in a dimly lit bar tucked into the shadows of the city, a man leaned back in his chair. His grin was sharp, cruel, his eyes glinting like a predator's.
Hoshino Toshiaki tapped ash from his cigarette, muttering to himself as he thought of the boy he once called an ally.
"Natsuki… you should know better than anyone. No one leaves the past behind. Not me. Not you."
He smirked, the smoke curling upward like a phantom.
"And soon… I'll prove it."
---