Misunderstanding - Hero's Lies Arc

Wisteria woke up with a jump. She groaned and rubbed her forehead. Her head and stomach were in so much pain, and her mind was so fuzzy, she could hardly stand. She stood up anyway, immediatly stumbling and falling against a wardrobe. Wisteria had no idea how she had even gotten there. The last thing she remembered was being in the tavern, drinking with everyone, having fun. So, why did she feel so bad about herself?

She rubbed her eyes. They felt red. Was she crying last night? Why?

Bibi rushed into the room, and instantly grabbed her, putting her back on the bed slowly.

"Hey...Wisteria...it's just me, you alright?" She asked with a concerned look on her face. "It's almost two o'clock in the day! You slept for over twelve hours!"

"I slept for that long? Damn, I wish I could sleep this long all the time," Wisteria let out a little laugh as she laid back down on the matress, and allowed Bibi to put a pillow under her head. "What even happened last night?"

"You don't remember? Oh,shit," Bibi looked away, not knowing what to say next to her friend.

"What? What happened?" Wisteria asked, worry growing on her face. "What happened?!"

"You...told Hiroshi that the death of Blossom was his fault..."

"I what?!" Wisteria covered her mouth with her hand. She was mortified at her actions. The booze made her words come out all wrong. 

"I'm sorry Wisteria, but yes, it happened," Bibi told Wisteria sternly to make her understand.

"I...I love Hiroshi..."

"I know you do, but...he probably won't love you after this. You also told him you loved some other man? Whose that?" Bibi raised an eyebrow.

"I...I don't love another man!" She yelped. Last night sounded like such a disaster. "I must have said it so that I wouldn't reveal that I loved him? I'm not sure...I don't know if I want to let him know that I love him or not."

"Well, he doesn't know that, does he? What the hell were you thinking, Wisteria?"

"I was just...scared...after he had to endure that loss...I didn't want to be an extra burden to him. I want to...spend my life with him."

"Well, it was a weird choice of words you used last night," Bibi said with honesty. 

"I'm going to go over to him and apologise to him straight away!" 

Wisteria attempted to leave her bed in a hurry, however, Bibi took her hand in her own.

"That's...why I came here. Hiroshi has been missing since last night."

"What?!" Wisteria shot up like a bullet out of a gun. "He's not at home?" 

Bibi answered with a single shake of her head. Wisteria stared at her hands. In that moment, she hated herself more than anything in the world.

"Tomokazu has gone out to look for him. He will turn back up eventually. Just give him space, alright?" Bibi instructed Wisteria, who listened to her orders. She laid back down on the bed once more, feeling even worse than she already did.

Meanwhile, in Lodestown, the capital of Acebia, Hiroshi also woke up with a jolt. He had been scouting the city most of the night, looking for a strong vantage point. He felt his ears. He was confused as to why they were so red. Hiroshi decided to ignore it and looked down off the side of the building.

The center of Lodestown had incredibly tall buildings with red tile roofs, which Hiroshi liked the archetiture of. It made him feel calm and collected. He had slept on that building for the past few hours. 

Hiroshi noticed how small people looked down on the street. They seemed to be scurring along, preparing for the celebration for Touma Schulz to leave for his quest to find the Love Crystal.

He laid back down and smiled to himself. It was the first time since his training started where he felt comfortable.

Peaceful. Birds singing. Cold breeze on his skin.

Alone...

Hiroshi waited for the next hour for the parade to start.

Tomokazu sighed. He had been flying around for the past couple of hours. Hiroshi was nowhere to be seen. He wiped the sweat from his brow. Hiroshi had been gone for the past half a day. Where was he? He was getting himself, Bibi and Wisteria worried. He didn't know what to do if he found him. Probably kill him. Then again, he understood.

Hiroshi looked over the edge of the building. The parade was in full swing. People gathered in crowds so large, they were uncountable. Hiroshi stopped counting after two hundred. Too boring. Floaties past by, of Schulz and presumably other heroes.

As well as Zetsubo Onuki.

Hiroshi clenched his fist. He still remembered that day. The trauma. The defeat. The feeling of uselessness. 

Never again.

"Isn't it better when it's just us?" Kuro-Yami asked Hiroshi, who was really focused on pinpointing Schulz's location. "No distractions. No people to get in our way. Nobody to get into our soul and deter us. Just us."

"I suppose it's really nice," Hiroshi forced to give a little smile. "But...I...nevermind." He was still uncertain of his future. Without his friends, he was nobody.

Without them, he wasn't human. Just an empty husk of a body.

Or was he stronger without them? 

His train of thought was broken as finally, he got an eye on Touma Schulz, riding on top of a podium on a big stage, which resembled a forest of some kind, with vines and trees sticking out all over the place. 

"What a strange parade," Hiroshi said to himself, looking even more freaked out. "What an egoist. Damn loser. It's all about him, not anyone else. He stands on that podium thinking he's everything. Not when I'm done with him, he won't be."

He looked closer at the stage. There was two people with him, on smaller podiums on either side. One side had a beautiful woman with long, red head, and entirely green attire that looked like it was made from leaves and vines from a forest.

The other podium had a man that made Hiroshi's eyes bulge wide open in shock.

Grant.

Wisteria's ex-boyfriend.