Aoi's past and a surprising encounter.

"Echoes of Love: A second chance."

[Chapter 32 Start]

I told Jun that I'll help him later. I got out of school and set out for the hospital to meet Aoi. As I was heading for the hospital. I saw some flowers placed at the side of the road with a picture of a little girl and a black cat sitting in front of it.

"I think I've seen that little girl before." A thought crossed my mind as I entered the hospital. I paid it no attention and went to the ward Aoi was in.

"I'm coming in," I said as I opened the door.

Aoi looked at me and a bright smile appeared on her face. She had a manga in her hand while some fruits were lying on the table waiting for their turn to be eaten. The environment just got much better with her smile.

"How was the festival today?" She asked.

"Nothing much, I'm at the top."

"You don't look like it."

"That's because I'm tied with another guy."

'Woah, I never knew there was someone as athletic as you." She said in a surprising tone.

"It's Jun from the basketball club."

'Woahh,"

I never expected her to be this surprised. I was happy to know that she believed me to be better than everyone else.

'Here, take this." I handed her a box of chocolates.

"Hmm, what's this?"

'It's your favorite chocolates from the cafe we went to last time."

'Thank you! I was very bored from eating fruits and fruits.'

Her thank you and smile made my day. We talked lovely for some time. I could feel her being entertained with my jokes and my stories. I was very happy.

"I hope I can improve quickly and join you again. I also need to go to work and pay my bills."

"Your bills?" I asked.

'yeah. I worked part-time to pay my bills but because I'm in the hospital, I'm as good as fired. So I gotta find new jobs quickly so I can pay house bills.

'Why do you pay your house bills?" I asked in a serious tone.

"What do you mean 'why?'. It's because no one else pays for it. My family is unable to pay because of some problems. So, I gotta do it myself.

"Your father doesn't even pay for your bills?" I said angrily.

She looked at me with surprise.

"Don't tell me you met him!?" She said.

"I did. When you were kidnapped, I went to him to ask for information about your disappearance. I also got to know some of what happened. But I didn't dig too much."

"I see. So you already know." tears started rolling up her eyes.

"You. From now on, live together with me. My father also threw me aside so I need to pay for my house bills myself. Instead of worrying, why don't we get together and pay it together? You can save money too."

"Really!" She was crying but I could feel her cheer up a little.

"Yes, I'll be happy to live with you."

She hugged me as she started to cry loudly.

"My father, he's been an asshole from as far as I know. Thank you Iharu, thank you very much." She said while crying.

"It's okay, I feel your pain." It started to hurt me too.

"How much do you know?" She asked.

"Just that your father doesn't care about you," I replied.

"My father wasn't like that before. He was actually a very good father and husband till he found out my mother had affairs with many men. From that day, there were always fights in the household. My parents got divorced. My mother died of an illness so I was supposed to live with my father. He didn't think of me as his daughter so he cast me aside to here. Only mangas and anime were able to cheer me up until I met you. Thank you very much." 

I hugged her tightly as I started crying too. We talked till evening like that. The sun was setting now. It was time for me to go home. Or at least that's what was supposed to happen.

I said goodbye to Aoi and exited the hospital. The cat was still there as I started walking towards the way to my house. I focused on the cat. It looked like she hadn't eaten for quite a long time. It approached me slowly as she stood in the middle of the road. While she was approaching, a truck came at the speed of Sonic running away from child support, and in a flash, it went away. However, The truck had an impact on the cat at full speed. Tragically, The cat was still alive. Suffering from internal injuries because of the impact of the impact. 

I didn't know what to do. As I stood there in horror. A girl rushed towards the half-dead cat and hugged it in tears.

It was her. It was Haruno. I approached her. She looked at me and asked me for help. I agreed but I didn't know what to do. As there were no vets nearby, Haruno suggested we take the cat to her house. I obliged and we set out at maximum speed.

When we reached her house, The cat was already dead.

[Chapter 32 End]